Hi everyone! I'm back again with more Prinxiety stuff, as usual.
Remember, if you have questions or requests or anything else for me, you can always DM me or leave a review :)
See you all after this oneshot!
This is gonna be a long one, so strap in xD
Also, if y'all like this enough, let me know and I might make a second instalment. Just let me know.
Without any further ado, let's go!
Human AU, Band AU.
Warnings: explicit language, sporadic adult themes but no smut, crappy emo jokes and quite a few Gerard Way quotes (sorry, not sorry).
Heads-up: MCR never actually existed in this AU (I would not want to live in this AU...) so that's why there's no proper referencing them or anything.
Finally, the album they are performing is Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, by My Chemical Romance, in case anyone was wondering.
Roman Prince paces around backstage nervously, biting his fingernails before Virgil Storm clears his throat and shakes his head when he gets Roman's attention. Roman blushes and ducks his head as he drops his hand to his side again. He then wraps them around his torso as he shakes.
It's understandable, but Roman is never normally nervous. Sure, this is the band's first live show in a while, but he's never normally nervous about the shows. Usually, it's Virgil who's curled up in a corner, practically vibrating and sobbing from the nerves. This time, however, he is eerily calm.
"How are you so calm about all this?!" Roman explodes, though not angrily, and Virgil shrugs.
"I have no clue, but just breathe, okay?" He takes Roman's hand into his own and holds it to his chest. "Just follow my breathing. You feel my heartbeat?" Roman soon calms down, though the fear is still evident in his eyes. Virgil's eyes narrow even as Joan, the band's manager, pokes their head into the backstage area that the band are waiting in.
"Only twenty more minutes, you lot, so pull yourselves together. We can't have anyone breaking down onstage again." Their eyes land on Virgil, who blushes a deep red beneath his pale white foundation.
"Hey, that was one time!" He shouts, only for Joan to disappear and the other three band members to struggle at holding back their chuckles. "Betrayal." He hisses under his breath as he faces Roman, Patton Hart and Logan Berry. Roman is laughing without a care in the world, Patton is trying his hardest to hold his side to stop the pain of stitches but failing miserably, and Logan is simply trying to hold in his laughter by clenching his mouth shut and covering it with his hand. Virgil sighs and shakes his head.
"Come on you three." Roman leads the way to the edge of the stage, barely still in the wing before he is pulled back by Joan.
"Careful, you'll drive the fangirls crazy if you appear even a second before the show actually starts." They joke, and Virgil barely restrains from rolling his eyes. Roman shoots him a glare, his gorgeous, golden brown eyes narrowing playfully. Virgil can feel a blush creep back onto his cheeks again.
"They do have a point, Roman." Logan speaks up from the back of the group, and Roman and Virgil roll their eyes in perfect sync. They take one look at each other and burst out laughing.
Virgil finally registers for the first time how out-of-place the others look. Sure, maybe he doesn't look completely normal either, but at least the outfits are slightly close to his usual colour scheme...
The band had decided to design new outfits for this show, once again, and they all currently had black button-up shirts, black blazers which would be discarded by almost all of the band nearly immediately after they appeared on the stage, black pants (Roman and Logan had been very reluctant to let Virgil argue his point on why they should wear black jeans before they gave in and simply said to wear black trousers of any kind) and deep, blood-red ties. Their hairstyles are all pretty similar, though Virgil's is definitely closest to the original outlined idea. Much to his dislike, Virgil had been banned from having his usual purple highlights in his hair, since the colour 'didn't go well with the outfit scheme', but he had still snuck a new dark red dye, very similar in colour to the ties, into his luggage and into his hair only an hour before the show. Since the dye could only be removed by washing the hair, and Virgil's hair wouldn't dry for hours, the others had simply sighed and given in.
He now rakes his hand through the dark red dye, brushing his bangs even lower over his eyes, somehow, until Roman shoots him a look.
"Really, bro?" He asks, and Virgil raises an eyebrow. "Quit fretting. You look fine. Good, even." Virgil fights back a tiny blush, before scolding himself mentally.
Why do you have to react so much to that one little comment?! It was just a friendly remark! Calm down!
Talyn, an assistant for the band's shows, gives Joan the double thumbs-up signal, and Joan whistles between their fingers to get the boys' attention.
"Look alive, sunshine!" Roman calls to Virgil as he runs on the stage, unaware as to the increasing blush on his cheeks and tears building up in his eyes. Virgil bites back the slightly pained sob as he snatches his guitar and slings the strap over his shoulder. The crowd go crazy, screaming and shouting and cheering as each boy takes up his position. Patton steps behind the drums, Logan snags his own guitar before taking his place near the back left of the stage from the audience's point of view, Virgil slowly approaches his spot on the opposite side, and Roman twirls his microphone into the air and watches as it spins. It lands back into his hand expertly with a dull thump, the noise echoing surprisingly quietly around the area. Roman chuckles to himself as the crowd cheers louder, the deep sound of his laughter reverberating around the area and causing Virgil's heartstrings to vibrate like the strings of a harp in heaven. Virgil lets a near-silent, dreamy sigh escape his lips before noticing Logan eying him with a knowing expression from the other side of the stage. He fights down a deeper blush as he sends the bird Logan's way, earning a loud and offended gasp from Patton, who sits at the drums about halfway between Roman and Virgil, though backwards a few feet. From the wing of the stage, Patton is the furthest back, then Logan on the other side, Virgil near the wing and Roman, right at the front, the very edge of the stage just beyond arm's reach from his toes. Not a single member of the front row in the audience can reach him from there - Virgil can tell he's learned his lesson since their very first show.
Roman takes a deep breath as he brings the microphone up to his lips.
"Greetings all!" The crowd nearly drown out his voice with their cheers, cries and shouts, and Roman holds back another chuckle. He then sets the microphone back into the holder, giving him freedom of his hands again, ready to shake off his blazer at any second.
Wow, nice ass...
Virgil shakes himself back into reality as Roman speaks up again.
"On behalf of the entire band and our brilliant team, I'd like to thank you all for coming out here tonight! I mean, you could have been anywhere in the world tonight, but you're here with us." A ripple of laughter echoes through the crowd, followed by a smattering of applause and about three cheers. (Wow, I hate myself...)
Roman smiles at the other boys behind him, checking for their signals that they're ready to get this show started. After Virgil gives his signature half-assed two-finger salute, another set of cheers break through the crowd. Virgil holds back a laugh as he opens his mouth to speak into the microphone in front of him. Normally he'd only use it for backing vocals when he isn't nearer to Roman, in which case he'd just sing into Roman's microphone and neglect the one meant for him, but this is pretty important to him. For his comedy side, anyway.
"Chill out, you lot, we haven't even started the damn song yet." He voice echoes around the area, followed by laughter from almost the whole audience, joined by multiple cheers and claps. Even Roman giggles behind his hand.
Wait, he giggled?!
Virgil's eyes widen at Roman even as he takes a calming breath and speaks to the audience again.
"He has a point though..." he says quietly, almost like he's addressing the rest of the band more than the crowd, before taking another breath and talking louder. "Anyway, it's a pleasure to have you all here tonight. Now, in case anyone didn't get the memo, if you don't like our band, you wait outside for your girlfriend, yeah?" He gestures with his right hand as his left adjusts the microphone stand slightly. The crowd laugh again but Roman can tell they're getting impatient - they came for a concert, not a comedy show.
Virgil plays a few warm-up chords to remind Roman to get a move on, and Logan copies from the other side of the stage. He feels a world away to Virgil. The feeling is strange, unusual - they're all normally so close to each other. Patton plays a small tune on his drums and fiddles with his drumsticks excitedly, though Virgil can clearly see the anxiety set deep in his eyes.
"Now, let me tell you all what happens normally whenever we do a show." Roman speaks up from at the front of the stage, and Virgil's eyes snap back to the lead singer expectantly. "Normally, whenever we get onstage, we get a bunch of fucking... bras thrown at us, and some panties, and it fucking sucks, so let's keep that to minimum, yeah?" He walks around the front of the stage as he talks, having taken the microphone from the holder. He then walks back towards it, once again securing the microphone before signaling behind his back. Patton lays down his drumsticks, Virgil lets his guitar fall against his body and Logan simply puts his own guitar on the stage, since he hadn't put the strap over his shoulders for this very reason. The four band members shrug off their blazers in almost perfect synchronisation, and the crowd screams again. Roman acts like he's about to hurl the blazer into the crowd and many people near the front jump up to try to grab it should it come near them, but he pulls his band back at the last second and simply throws it to Virgil, who in turn chucks it off to Joan and the rest of the team after secretly pressing a kiss to the material. Joan sends Virgil a thumbs-up sign, which he then passes on to Roman, and the lead singer nods sharply once. He then faces the gathered crowd again, a devious shine in his eyes and a smirk playing on his lips. Virgil can say with full confidence that making that one face is one of the hottest things that Roman has ever done, period. Also up there are biting his lip, giving Virgil that one look through the sides of his eyes, blinking slowly in the process while a sly grin teases his lips, and finally flicking his tongue over his pink bottom lip rapidly during the concerts. Every time is like the first for Virgil.
"Now," Roman calls to the crowd, "let's fucking go!" The crowd go wild again before Virgil can even start the intro to their first song of the night.
Somehow, this one convert goes off without an issue - no one forgets their note or lyric, no one has a breakdown on the stage, no one actually gets hurt too bad (sure, Virgil had bumped into Roman about halfway through the fourth song and caused them to fall over each other during the guitar solo break from Logan, but neither of them had come out of it with major injuries, just a scratch or two on the arms), and no one falls off the front of the stage because of fangirls grabbing at their shoes as they pass them - for about half of the duration of the entire show.
Only about half of it.
The band take a brief intermission after about five or six songs to get water and take a short break, instrumentals of other songs playing for the crowd, and a few of the people with VIP tickets or passes come to the stage door for autographs, though they get turned away almost instantly every time. The band have already agreed to sign most of the stuff after the show. After all, it's not like Roman had been signing shit since the beginning of the show with the black marker he always carries around with him on tours.
"Seriously Roman, I fail to understand why you do that every show." Logan complains as Roman paces backwards and forwards behind the stage, suddenly itching to get back into the action. Seeing the singer's restlessness, Virgil steps forward and lays a single hand on his shoulder.
"You good?" He asks under his breath. Roman jumps slightly at the sudden contact, his head snapping to meet Virgil's dark brown eyes, before nodding simply and feeling the familiar burning sensation of a blush creeping across his cheeks. "Okay. If you need anything, just say, yeah?" Roman nods quickly again, forcing a flashing, tight smile before turning his head away again. He stares at the opening of the wing, tapping his right foot against the ground anxiously. Virgil sighs. There's no point in arguing.
"Come on, we should probably get back out there." He addresses the rest of the band despite his rising anxiety at the idea of going back onstage so soon, but the other three nod rather vigorously. He holds out a hand to lift Roman up from his sitting position on top of a large wooden box painted a dark red similar to the ties around each band member's neck. Roman gratefully accepts the hand before pulling himself close to Virgil's ear.
"Such a gentleman..." he whispers into Virgil's ear, and the boy freezes as a deep red blush coats his face. He stutters a bit, his voice completely stuck, his mouth hanging open slightly as his eyes stay wide. His legs don't move.
Finally, after a scolding from the manager, a seemingly-meaningless apology to Virgil on Roman's part and an additional twenty minutes of break, the band step back out onto the stage. The instrumental music swells as the curtain in front of the band shifts slightly. The crowd silence themselves almost immediately, and Roman holds in more laughter at the sudden drop in noise. The guitar solo music comes to a stop with an explosive finish at the end of the instrumental song, and the curtain lifts to reveal the four boys, back in their original places. The crowd go wild again, some waving banners and flags while others try to push through the throngs to reach the front of the group to either possibly get something signed by Roman or simply piss off security. Either way, it seems to work for them all.
During the second to last song of the album the band is performing live, Roman walks right to edge of the stage, completely forgetting what he was supposed to have learned from their earlier shows. The earlier shows where he would be dragged down to the stage floor or completely off the stage and into the mess of fans by the people in the front row who simply couldn't seem to get close enough.
Many of those shows ended early, with a shaking Roman, a panicking Virgil, a pacing Logan, a slightly shivering Patton and a Joan who was simply trying to keep everyone calm and on their feet while Talyn tried their best to calm the crowd and thank them all for coming.
So, as can be expected, Virgil starts to freak out slightly.
This concert had been going so smoothly, with Roman really getting into his element on the stage, some real chemistry showing between him and Virgil, and everything had gone to plan, but now Roman is pretty much risking his physical wellbeing again by being so fucking close to the edge of the stage and the hungry grips of teenagers and young adults who simply couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Virgil bites his lip even as Roman kneels down on one knee near the edge of the stage. He reaches out with his right hand while his left grips the mincrophone tightly as he pours his very heart and soul into the music, his voice propelling powerfully out through the speakers and echoing loudly around the area. A short break in the singing prompts one young person in the front row to push themself up slightly, getting right into Roman's face in an obvious attempt to kiss him. Roman, thankfully, reacts within a split second, standing up to his full height and pushing the person down with his hand as he rises. Virgil can feel a wild rage starting to bubble up inside his chest.
Someone had tried to kiss Roman.
Right in front of him.
Virgil bites his lip as he steps closer to the lead singer, his footfalls almost silent, though the collective noise from the guitars, drums and Roman's beautiful voice probably just hid them under a thick, musical blanket.
Roman doesn't turn around.
He brings his right hand into his own hair, running through it and bending his spine backwards slightly. Just then, the song comes to a halt, and Roman takes a few steps back from the edge of the stage. Virgil practically runs back from the lead singer, barely remembering to keep playing the guitar in his hands.
Roman drops to the floor as the music stops, his voice becoming little more than a strained whisper. Even so, Virgil's ears relish the sound.
The final song starts up, and Virgil's rage and anger are still far from gone. They continue to build up in him.
How dare that person try to kiss his Roman at a show?
Especially without Roman's consent!
Virgil's eyes narrow as he waits for another pause in this song, another pause where he can make his own move against that person in the front row, albeit in his own unique way.
Tired of waiting, Virgil approaches Roman from behind during the second chorus. Making sure that Roman isn't aware of his presence, he leans forward and stands on his tiptoes to whisper in Roman's ear. Well, not whisper, per se, since it would have to be a shout to hear someone proplerly in the noise from the concert, but it sure would have sounded like a whisper to Roman.
"May I?" Virgil mutters into Roman' left ear. The lead singer jumps a near mile out of his skin as he nods, confused, fixing the lead guitarist with a strange look, his golden brown eyes glittering and gleaming in the shine from the artificial lights around the stage. Virgil smirks and whispers his thanks before retreating a step or two and rubbing his head against the back of Roman's left shoulder like a cat might.
Roman's eyes widen slightly, though he tries his best to simply keep his head still and gaze focused ahead of him. His voice shakes and wavers slightly, however, and Virgil's grin only grows in size. He then lifts his head and slowly lets his gaze pass over Roman's clear neck. Hopefully, one day, he'll be able to change that...
Roman shudders slightly at the feeling of Virgil's hot breath on his neck, though he tries to suppress his shivers. Roman fights his better nature to simply stand mostly still and stare over the crowd, as he had been just as Virgil had whispered in his ear. Roman isn't sure if Virgil had meant for his voice to sound so seductive, but Roman now doubts he would ever get the chance to find out for definite.
Virgil only smiles more as he presses his lips to Roman's cheek, and the lead singer seems to choke on his voice for a split second. Virgil can barely think properly.
Roman, the fabulous Roman, was actually enjoying the attention he was getting from Virgil?! His eyes widen as he kisses Roman's cheek again. This time, the kiss actually slightly affects Roman' ability to sing, his voice coming out a little bit weaker for a couple reasons - for one, his left cheek is being practically flattened between his own teeth and the lips of the most stunning boy that Roman has ever met, and second, his shock simply isn't letting him do what he needs to do. It all feels like a dream.
A really good dream that he hopes never ends.
Virgil slowly pulls back from Roman's cheek, though neither of the boys are aware of the cheers and screams from the crowd. Their eyes settle on each other, though Roman still point-blank refuses to turn his head away from one specific fixed point in the distance. Virgil can't read the emotion in Roman's eyes, but he bites his lip as he retreats slightly, a smirk tugging at the left corners of his lips. Roman's cheeks glow light pink in the lights from around the stage, and Virgil feels a strange sense of pride glow deep in his chest. His lips part in a teasing grin even as he pulls back from Roman and walks away. Roman throws his gaze over his left shoulder, turning his head slightly, another quite alien emotion in his eyes. Pain or sadness, almost. As if he misses the contact.
Virgil sings the bridge and ending with Roman, his emotions hidden under a blanket of forced numbness. He and Roman walk around each other in an even circle, never getting closer to or further from the other, eyes focused on each other. If Virgil blushes, he doesn't feel it, though he watches with delight as Roman's cheeks burn bright. Roman then seems to snap out of a trance and sharply turn away to finish the song.
"I can't clean the blood off the sheets in my bed!" He nearly screams into the microphone, fitting in almost perfectly with Virgil's usual music theme.
With a start, Virgil realises just how much this entire album fits into his usual genres. The album is dark, with a constant underlying story, with defined characters and motives for their actions. Roman and the others have never really cared much for bands that told stories with their music, not to Virgil's knowledge anyway. Sure, they all listened to Gorillaz from time to time, but that's all. Yet here they are, performing one of their most popular albums live, perfectly showing the correct emotions conveyed by the lyrics, really letting the story influence them. It's a shock to the guitarist, and his chest only seems to swell.
Roman's voice drops again, returning to its normal tone and softness, a rather drastic change after the previous, screamed line. Virgil sings with him, his voice soft and gentle.
"Well never again, no never again, they gave us two shots to the back of the head and we're all... dead... now." They sing in unison, their voices dropping in volume in sync, though their owners remain blissfully unaware of the diminishing space between them. Roman slowly lets his left arm, the hand holding his microphone, drop to his side, and Virgil turns away from his own microphone stand. The two stand in line, facing each other, not moving their eyes, letting their hands hang mindlessly. Virgil takes a final step forward before Roman goes to turn away to face the crowd, most likely to thank them again for coming to the show.
Oh no, you don't...
Virgil grabs the front of Roman's shirt and tugs hard. Roman barely has time to turn his head back to face Virgil until their lips slam together roughly. Roman recoils slightly from the shock, and Virgil is about to pull back before feeling a hand grip the back of his neck and hold him in place. Roman steps closer, his lips dancing with Virgil's.
The guitarist melts immediately, trying to hold Roman closer and never let him go. The crowd erupt into cheers and shouts even as Patton and Logan exchange quick glances before stepping to the front of the stage. Patton takes the opportunity to try to calm the audience down, but no one takes any notice of the drummer's attempt to silence them. Logan sighs and shrugs, making no effort to silence the gathered people. Even the person from the front row who had tried to kiss Roman in the first place is cheering with the rest.
The other two band members leave the stage, laughing, while the deep red curtain on the stage slowly comes down, hiding Roman and Virgil from the world once more. They eventually break apart once everyone else is out of sight. The shouts and cheers of the crowd have finally quietened down, and Roman laughs to himself as his blush grows. Virgil barely holds back a squeal as he joins Roman in laughing. They pull each other close for one last quick kiss before letting each other go and heading towards the stage wing.
"Wait," Virgil grabs Roman's arm, his fingers wrapping around it tightly. Roman's golden eyes settle in Virgil's dark brown ones. "What are we now? If we're anything, that is." He asks, slightly breathless. Roman lets a small smile tease his lips before pulling Virgil closer again. He presses a gentle kiss to the guitarist's forehead before leaning down slightly to mumble in his ear.
"We can be whatever you want us to be." He pulls back, grinning while his eyes glow. Virgil smiles in response.
"I guess we're boyfriends then."
"Boyfriends it is."
Two hours later, near the end of the VIP signings, two fans approach Roman and Virgil. They both have short brown hair and are obviously siblings, if their near-identical faces have anything to say.
"Hi." The slightly taller one says, their eyes bright. "I'm Rio and this is my brother Tyler." Tyler waves nervously before quickly dropping his hand to his side again.
"We're huge fans, and we just wanted to say that we think you guys are awesome!" Tyler speaks up, his anxiety eveident in his voice. Roman and Virgil give him comforting smiles and he seems to calm down slightly. The two kids then seem to snap out of something and ask if they can get photos or signatures, and the two boys in the band nod and smile again.
Rio and Tyler leave with selfies with each band member and clutch sheets of signed paper. They wave over their shoulders as they exit the backstage room.
"Okay, so..." Patton sidles up next to Roman and Virgil, a sly, teasing grin on his face before Joan chimes in.
"What the hell happened up there?!" They explode at Roman and Virgil, who simply duck their heads in shame before catching each other's eyes and bursting into laughter. Joan simply sighs and rolls their eyes as they turn to leave. Patton and Logan soon follow suit, leaving Virgil and Roman alone again. Virgil, still smiling and giggling slightly, shuffles closer to Roman and huddles into his shoulder. Roman beams with pride and joy as he wraps his arm around the guitarist and holds him tight to his body.
The two pass out together, in each other's arms, comfortable in the back room of the stage.
Upon reentering the room, Patton squeals and Logan sighs as he picks up a blanket from the other side of the room. Joan simply pinches the bridge of their nose. Patton starts quietly cheering, and Logan and Joan join in half-heartedly.
Maybe the album name is accurate after all...
Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.
I hope you all enjoyed this oneshot. I would say 'little oneshot' but it's a bit too long for that...
Anyway, as usual, if you have any story requests, questions, constructive criticism or just generally want a chat, just leave a review or drop me a DM. I always love to hear from you all!
On a side note, I hope all of you are staying happy, healthy and safe during these miserable days of Coronavirus. We can all get through this :)
See you all soon!
-Panic!AtTheEverywhere