Trustfall || Sanders Sides Equestrian AU

Chapter 13 - To Be a Kid

Roman couldn't let go.

The chilly air of the dusk shifting into night was left locked safely beyond his window, and nothing but his room's warmth now threatened his skin. But Roman couldn't let go.

He'd only noticed he was still wearing Virgil's hoodie once he was already on his way home, his mind quite naturally travelling back to the quiet boy. Not that he complained. And he most certainly didn't complain when Virgil said he could keep it, after Roman had texted him saying he'd forgotten to return it to him. He definitely didn't complain when he crashed onto his bed on his back and sank into the fabric, and the warm scent of the boy remained with him as though he weren't on the other side of town. It was the pleasant, home-ish scent of a bleeding day, as though someone had taken the literal sunset and melted it into a scent. Roman hadn't realised until now the fact he'd memorized the scent in question long ago. And he hadn't realised how dearly he loved it.

Because holy Disney, he did.

For the first time in forever, he allowed himself his guilty pleasure of collapsing onto his bed before taking a shower. Usually he'd never do such thing, especially not after a day he'd spent at the stables, but Roman wasn't feeling himself. He was barely feeling anything, really. All he felt was Virgil's hoodie against his skin, his scent in his nose and his smile flashing in his head. Virgil had a modest, subtle smile, like a rare flower peeking into the sun once in a lifetime to bless the world with its shy beauty. The kind of smile that curled up at the edges like it was up to no good. The kind of no good you wanted to be a part of.

In all honesty, lately Roman had been wanting to be a part of everything his teammate was up to.

He sat up, bringing his hands up to rub his face and run his fingers through his hair as he met his own eyes in the mirror across the room. The familiar face returned him a flushed, hopeful look. And an identical one (however bearing a very different expression) in his peripheral caught his attention. He snapped his gaze away from the mirror and over to his twin.

"Someone's looking smiley." Remus leaned against the lintel of the door. "So who did you f-"

"For Disney's sake, Remus, get out!"

He chuckled his twisty laugh. "Gee, brother, no need to yell an organ out. Welp, I'm gonna go dye my moustache green. Don't eat the expired cheese in the fridge, it's mine."

Roman wrinkled his nose. "I'll do my best to fight the temptation."

His brother left – typically – without closing the door behind him. Roman groaned and dragged himself off his bed and across the room to shut it. There was no point in yelling any further, especially considering that knowing Remus, that was probably the reaction he was trying to get out of him.

His phone's notification sound – a bird's chirp – echoed from within his back. Roman's stomach made an unexplainable flip. He reached into his bag and drew the device out. Why was a bizarre hope igniting in his chest?

What is going on with you, man? his brain uttered as he unlocked his phone, and his eyes darted across the screen. It was a message from Patton on their group chat; unsurprisingly, a gif of two puppies wagging their tails with the caption "better luck tomorrow!" soon to be followed by the gif of a pony captioned "sweet dreams" with a bunch of hearts and carrot emojis.

Roman immediately typed a response. Three dots by Logan's contact told him he was typing as well.

Me: 'Love ya buddy.'

Microsoft Nerd: 'Patton, I don't see the point in sending vibrant, flashy images that take up more storage space when you can simply wish us an adequate night using the text feature. Logan.'