Virgil had made the requested outfit change that Roman asked him to and switched to slacks. He also buttoned up his shirt most of the way instead of wearing it loose over his tank top. Virgil sat idly cleaning his nails behind the curtain at his desk while Roman changed. This seemed a little ridiculous. Roman's heart rate was going wild and he was rushing around the bedroom. Roman already knew Virgil was into him.
"I can just take us to a 5-star restaurant," Virgil offered and punched the curtain lightly to get Roman's attention. "Something fancy and romantic with candles and shit,"
"I've already picked the locations and you can deal with it," Roman said haughtily and headed into the bathroom. It sounded like it was at least somewhat premeditated from the demands to change clothes, but it sounded like Roman had a very set idea of what he wanted and not something vague. How long had he been thinking about this?
"I was just offering to make you less stressed," Virgil supplied blithely and let him go back to his fancifying routine.
"I was planning on asking you out later today and I'm just bitter that mega-dork beat me to it," Roman groaned through the bathroom door. "I don't suppose you have dress shoes?" Roman asked, making a clicking noise with his tongue.
"At Deceit's place. I didn't think I'd need them for class, to be honest," Virgil told him with a brief chuckle. Despite his long-ass life, Virgil couldn't have anticipated any of this, and even less think he'd need dress shoes to go to lectures. Roman exited the bathroom again.
"Then we'll polish your boots and hope nobody cares," Roman said. Some digging noises were followed by shoe polish flying through Virgil's curtain. Virgil rolled his eyes as his boots came flying through the curtain next. This was very extra. Where were they going that needs fancy shoes, anyway? He shined his shoes diligently while Roman went back into the bathroom. His boots were new and pretty easy to shine up to a bright polish.
Roman had reemerged from the bathroom with what felt like some newfound confidence and pulled Virgil's curtain open. Roman had changed into a red button-down with golden buttons and a classy white embroidered swirling pattern around the left shoulder with a pair of dark slacks. He had smoothed his hair down more professionally than usual and applied a little red and gold eyeshadow along with his 'natural glow' type of makeup routine.
"Wow," Virgil said in awe. "I didn't know you had a real prince under all that annoying," Virgil smirked and motioned at Roman with a twisting motion, raising his eyebrow.
"Come on, you freaking asshat," Roman said and rolled his eyes, and grabbed Virgil's hand to head downstairs. Virgil chuckled and kissed Roman's hand as he yanked them down the hall, and Roman's ears turned pink, but he didn't turn around.
"What? You know I think you look great," Virgil squeezed his hands. Roman just huffed. "You look splendidly handsome and I'm a dick who should tell you instead of trust you feel it," Virgil apologized when Roman was still feeling pouty.
"Thank you," Roman said, and his mood lifted pretty quickly.
"So, do I get to know where we're going, Princey?" Virgil asked as they walked downstairs.
"Nope! Give me your phone and credit card," Roman said with a smirk and held out his free hand. Virgil huffed in frustration, but a little laugh came through as he handed over his credit card and his phone unlocked. Roman let go of his hand and went to the rideshare app and then blocked the screen from Virgil's view with a quick glace to Virgil. Oh, the extra has only just begun, it seems. Virgil put on his gloves, glasses, and mask again with a sigh. He crossed his arms and tapped his biceps while Roman assumedly summoned a ride.
In the back seat of the car Roman spent a bit of time entering the credit card into something on his phone in the car over to, well, wherever he was taking him. Virgil held his forearm in frustration and leaned out of the light. Roman eventually pocketed Virgil's card and his phone and reached next to him to hold Virgil's hand. Virgil sighed and let go of himself to take Roman's hand again, looking over to him warily.
"So, I can't know your plans, but can you promise it's nowhere we'll be in danger of… things I can't stop?" Virgil asked quietly, dancing around the subject in case the driver was listening. Roman chuckled slightly and leaned against Virgil in the back seat.
"No, you're not at any risks. I picked this first place with that very thing in mind," Roman consoled him with a little smile.
"Oh, so there're multiple destinations?" Virgil asked, examining Roman carefully for any other information. Virgil wasn't a big fan of surprises.
"Yes," Roman said with a mischievous smile but didn't say anything else. Virgil huffed. "We'll have a wonderful time, you goober, lighten up," Roman said and shoved Virgil with his elbow lightly before sitting back up. Roman squeezed his hand reassuringly, and Virgil sighed. He'd just have to trust Roman and hope there weren't any of Virgil's fears on the agenda. And try to keep it calm enough he Roman can't feel too much of his nervousness over the shield.
The rideshare car pulled up outside of what looked like an abandoned mall. Virgil looked at it suspiciously through the window as they pulled up to a stop before tipping the driver in cash and stepping out of the car.
"Princey, this looks like somewhere people get murdered," Virgil muttered as Roman walked up next to him and took his hand again.
"Well, I'll certainly be putting you on ice," Roman smiled with a mischievous laugh. Virgil raised his eyebrow at Roman but followed as Roman tugged his hand to lead him in. "Let's put my new endurance and reflexes to the test," Roman said coquettishly as they pushed through the glass doors into a creepy empty hallway.
"Hecate, Princey, this isn't some kind of fuckin' fight club is it?" Virgil froze in the hall and Roman couldn't pull him forward this time.
"No, stormcloud, it's not a fight club. What kind of date would that be? No need to be scared of that. Anyway, we'd probably win. Come on, there's no fighting or crime inside. It's just the only thing left in the mall," Roman reassured him with another tug and Virgil reluctantly moved forward. He wasn't positive he wasn't walking into some kind of trap. "Virgil, seriously, it's safe, what kind of man do you take me for?" Roman huffed, rolling his eyes and stopped at some lockers in the hallway. He pulled Virgil in for a hug and rubbed his back briefly. "Let's get our shoes in the lockers,"
"I'm so confused," Virgil moaned and was pulled down by Roman onto a bench next to him. He sighed and undid his laces to remove them.
"You went through all that effort to polish them, so we should keep them nice," Roman said placatingly and took Virgil's shoes along with his to the lockers, feeding it some quarters and locking them away. Virgil rolled his eyes since scuffing his shoes wasn't exactly on the top of his list of worries right now. He sat there until Roman yanked him back up and they walked a few more feet until they entered another pair of double glass doors… to an ice skating rink. Virgil felt like a giant freaking idiot for worrying so much and felt his face grow hot, dropping his head.
"I'm not positive exactly what that feeling is, but let's get our skates and not dwell on it," Roman said airily and kissed Virgil's cheek and they headed over to the counter. Virgil let out a sigh of relief as they walked over to the benches with their pairs of skates.
"I haven't been ice skating in a few years, so I'll have to hold on to you," Roman said flirtatiously with a cute wink. Virgil laughed at the ridiculousness of it all and shook his head while he laced his skates.
"I don't think I've been in a little longer," Virgil smarmed with a chuckle and tightened his last lace, standing up and offering his arm to Roman to pull himself up with. Virgil stiffened suddenly with a realization, now leaving Roman confused for a moment. "It was a pun. You told another pun," Virgil accused, remembering the 'putting him on ice' comment.
"Patton has changed my opinion on them," Roman said, looking slightly flustered. Virgil laughed breezily and Roman smiled and rolled his eyes affectionately. "Come on," He said and they stepped out onto the ice.
Virgil's legs only took a half-second to readjust, but Roman had been partially stumbling if he accidentally skated even a little farther away from Virgil than he probably intended.
"Careful, Princey, this is the least fun way to get a sore ass tomorrow," Virgil chided as Roman skid again.
"Oh, like there are fun ways," Roman said with a huff and he straightened and went back to skating gently alongside of Virgil again. Virgil just raised his eyebrow at him and smirked.
"I think that's subjective," Virgil said dismissively, but Roman didn't miss his meaning and flushed a little.
"Don't distract me!" Roman whined.
"You're doing fine, it's only been a few minutes. Give your ankles some time to get the picture. Maybe you laced up funny, do you want to pull off and check?" Virgil placated him and gave him a warm smile.
"Yes, I feel like my stupid feet are slipping without me!" Roman groaned as Virgil pulled them to the next exit.
"It is ice, Princey," Virgil said with a laugh and helped Roman to a bench. Roman fiddled with his laces with a frustrated grunt. Once they were satisfactorily re-laced, they stepped back out into the rink, and Roman stayed perfectly upright with much less struggle this time.
"Oh my god, that's so much better! I was starting to worry I'd regressed somehow!" Roman cheered with relief. Virgil smiled at him and shook his head affectionately.
"Yeah, Hecate forbid you actually be bad at something," Virgil said sarcastically.
"I am good at everything, damnit," Roman grunted when he slipped briefly, but not enough that Virgil had to help him at all. "Let's speed up," Roman said and lengthened his glide successfully. "Yes!" He cheered again after a few paces.
"Did you used to ice skate often?" Virgil asked as he watched Roman glide next to him.
"Kind of, mom just took me and Remus in the summers to cool down sometimes. She always complained that we got too riled up in the heat," Roman explained.
"You seem to be pretty good, though," Virgil said as they glided around the corners.
"I had to out-skate Remus, or he'd pull me down, even as teenagers," Roman said bitterly. Virgil laughed and squeezed Roman's arm affectionately.
"Sink or swim applies to frozen water, too, who knew," Virgil said sardonically. Roman tried to punch Virgil but just ended up skidding slightly and causing Virgil to catch him. "Hey, save that for a time when you don't have knives strapped to your feet," Virgil chided.
"I'll just have to keep a mental tally, then," Roman said humorously. They skated quietly for a lap until Roman seemed to get more confident, and instead of latching arms, they separated far enough that they held hands and sped up to smooth pace.
"Sorry for thinking you were taking me to some kind of murder cult," Virgil apologized. "You were right, I'm enjoying myself. Though, it helps that I'm here with a cute boy," Virgil said with a smirk. Roman flushed briefly.
"I knew what I was getting into trying to surprise you. Maybe you can remember this instead of freaking out when we go to the next destination," Roman said airily, looking smug.
"Or you could just tell me and we could skip me freaking out altogether," Virgil offered a little sourly.
"That ruins the fun of it," Roman said with a mischievous laugh, waving his free hand.
"I can believe you were a little bastard kid with your brother, now," Virgil said tonelessly.
"Hey! That's another tally," Roman said with a laugh. "Did you skate much or is this just another one of those things?" Roman asked, skirting the immortal vampirism thing pretty well.
"I used to. It was more common, then. I can get around just fine," Virgil replied with a small shrug.
"Show me something, then," Roman said and released Virgil's hand. Much to Virgil's relief, he kept on skating relatively smoothly next to him with only a half-stumble.
"What kind of something? There's a lot of gray area there," Virgil said, skating alongside Roman.
"An Axel jump, maybe?" Roman supplied, making a little spinning motion with his fingers.
"I don't know what that means," Virgil said and furrowed his eyebrows. "How about in a language I speak?"
"How dare you be gay and not have watched Yuri On Ice," Roman chastised him, pointing.
"I get it, I haven't watched a lot of the TV you have," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. "Just tell me what it is," Virgil scowled in frustration.
"Or even the Olympics, really?" Roman criticized him. "It's like a half spin and you land backward," Roman explained with a hand motion to mimic what he was saying.
"I'm not a sports, guy, okay?" Virgil groaned. Human sports were boring. "Half-spin and land to skate backward?" Virgil repeated him, considering it. His first try was accidentally closer to full spin and a skid which Roman laughed at, but he managed to land nearly backward and skated facing Roman on the second try.
"Wow, I was sort of expecting a fail, not you actually pulling it off," Roman said, half impressed and half bitterly.
"I've skated backward, I just don't normally jump on ice," Virgil offered. He steered carefully in front of Roman and slowed down to grab his hands and pull Roman along the ice. Roman smirked and rolled his eyes.
"Show off," He beamed.
"That's not showing off," Virgil snarked at Roman. "You know I can do better,"
"I know no such thing," Roman huffed and looked away playfully. Virgil took that opportunity to stop and let Roman run into him, where he grabbed him by the waist and lifted him over his head while he skated backward. Roman screeched in surprise, but it quickly morphed into a laugh and he straightened out in a pose.
"You're holding me backwards!" Roman called out humorously. Virgil turned and skidded momentarily to skate forwards again. "That's not what I mean, you dork!" Virgil laughed and slowed down to carefully lower Roman back onto the ice. Roman slipped, and Virgil ended up skating right into him and holding him off the ice.
"Whoops," Virgil said and skidded to a halt towards the edge.
"That could have been extremely painful," Roman said with a sigh of relief as Virgil place him down.
"Sorry," Virgil apologized softly.
"It's fine, Virge, no harm, no foul. I'm getting pretty cold, but you think you can maybe lift me again so I can face forwards? It always looked so fun on TV," Roman asked.
"You just did that," Virgil said in confusion.
"Looking at your butt and feeling the wind on my face are different joys in life, Virge," Roman flirted slightly. "Please?" Virgil sighed. He didn't hurt him after all. It probably wasn't a big deal. Virgil shrugged off his leather jacket and dropped it over Roman's shoulders, who slid it on.
"All right," Virgil said and took Roman's hand once he was done putting on Virgil's coat and led him back out into the center of the ice.
"It's going to look so cool," Roman muttered and beamed at him. Virgil chuckled slightly and shook his head. Once they got back the momentum, Virgil pulled Roman's hand to send him ahead and lift him as he curved around. It was a hard angle to pull off, honestly. Roman squealed with excitement and held out his arms as they skated around the rink. Virgil gained more speed and jumped into a spin and skidded back to skating forward. Roman shrieked joyously when he jumped. Virgil slowed to a full stop this time and dropped Roman to his shoulder and leaned back so he could place him down on the ice without flipping him.
"Satisfied?" Virgil asked with a smirk. He loved showing off to Roman, it made him feel very capable instead of his normal low-level fear.
"Very," Roman smiled and kissed Virgil on the cheek. They took another lap around the edge of the rink hand-in-hand, Roman skating pretty confidently now, even if he slipped sometimes. They let go so they could speed up, and Virgil ran into a wall watching Roman make a turn that Virgil worried would be too fast. That amused Roman extremely, and he nearly fell over laughing at Virgil. Virgil was okay with it as long as he didn't have to see Roman get hurt. Roman checked the fancy watch he was wearing.
"Come on, let's go to the next destination," Roman said and started towards the front desk after he stopped laughing. There was that normal fear level again. Ugh. Virgil skated after him to return the skates.
Virgil had unlocked his phone for Roman again so he could get another ride as they left the rink.
"Hey, why do you use rideshares over cabs?" Roman asked as he shrugged back off Virgil's jacket in the hallway so Virgil could protect himself from the sun.
"Rideshares usually have poor people trying to make ends meet. Then I can give big tips where people need them most," Virgil explained and slid his sunglasses out of his pocket and pulled up his hood. They locked arms again as they walked out to the entrance. The sun was setting now, which was a relief since he didn't have any more sunscreen with him.
"Guerrilla charity, then?" Roman asked with amusement.
"It's more guerrilla if they don't know it's me and I'm there and gone. Like social media donations," Virgil said and stopped before where the last of the setting sun beaming through the window ended. "Any hints for me at all?"
"Nope," Roman said and popped the 'p' at him, reaching into Virgil's pocket and squeezing his hand. "Driver's pulling up," He said and lead him back outside. Virgil tapped his foot nervously in the rideshare but settled slightly when Roman leaned against him again. "It's not that far, you big baby," Roman nearly scolded Virgil.
"I don't get much say in where my mind goes, Princey," Virgil said sourly.
"I keep telling you to make an appointment with Emile," Roman said. Virgil just rolled his eyes and watched the skyline darken out the window. Roman seemed confident, so Virgil tried his best to trust him. The rideshare pulled up to a hotel, of all places. Virgil shot Roman a quick look, but Roman just shrugged.
"Uhm," Virgil wasn't sure what to say or even think.
"Get your head out of the gutter," Roman said with a brief laugh and they stepped out of the car and headed inside. Roman lead him past the front desk and through the lobby to the stairwell, huffing as he pulled open the door. "You're lucky I like you because we're going up 12 stories," Roman grunted and took Virgil's hand as he started towards the stairs.
"You can take the elevator without me," Virgil mumbled, feeling embarrassed.
"It's rude to abandon your date," Roman said firmly and gave his hand a squeeze and they ascended. Roman was annoyed, but his mood didn't really seem to drop much as they climbed. He certainly moaned and groaned plenty, though. Virgil chuckled inwardly at his stubbornness. Roman stopped to catch his breath when they had a few floors left, and checked his hair in his phone's front camera during the break. Roman cheered as the climbed the final flight of stairs. "Finally!" He sighed with relief and held the door open for Virgil with a bow.
They stepped out onto a rooftop cafe with giant windows that let you overlook the surrounding area and plenty of plants and flowers. There was a pianist playing across the room and the place was generally very fancy. Roman and Virgil stepped up to the greeter's podium and Roman produced Virgil's credit card from his wallet.
"Reservation for Tempest, please," Roman said cordially and showed the credit card. The server nodded after glancing at it and Roman pocketed it again.
"Right this way, gentleman," He said, gathering two menus and leading them to their table. Roman and Virgil were seated at a candlelit table under a tree right at the window. Virgil could see for miles and took it all in. He looked around a little in awe as they sat down and the greeter backed away.
"The view isn't the best thing going on tonight, either," Roman said smugly. Virgil looked to Roman in confusion. "You'll see in a little bit," He offered as a server came with fresh bread for the table and took their drink orders from Roman. Virgil looked around again and listened to the piano player as he watched the cars flying past below them.
"So, you wanted the fancy restaurant, after all," Virgil mused after a minute or so.
"Well, maybe, but I found this place while looking for somewhere you would like," Roman said, slightly kicking Virgil's foot under the table.
"Did you forget something very important?" Virgil asked with an eyebrow raised.
"No, I looked at reviews and took a gamble. The fact that I get a fancy dinner is simply a bonus," Roman said with a smirk. A server came back with their drink orders, Roman getting water and a virgin mai tai, and Virgil getting his regular black coffee. The coffee smelled absolutely amazing. He took a sip and was in awe at the richness and complexity of flavour. "The coffee here is some special bean with some fancy brewing process for my least favourite coffee hipster," Roman said smugly.
"You're a damn genius," Virgil muttered as he took another drink.
"You know it, baby," Roman laughed lightly and sipped his own drink. Virgil held the cup and sighed contentedly. Roman placed his hand on the table for Virgil to take, but Virgil looked around in concern instead. "It's not the 1800s, Virgil, you can hold a man's hand in a restaurant," Roman whispered. Virgil sighed and nodded, reaching out to take his hand. It wasn't that much different from ice skating, but it was casual there. This couldn't be interpreted as anything but affection. He wasn't exactly used to this kind of thing. Virgil closed his eyes and listened to the piano player, focusing on the melody instead of letting his mind pull up all the bullshit he'd had to hide from in the past. When Virgil opened his eyes back up, Roman was smiling softly at him and enjoying some bread.
"It must be a little weird for you, huh?" Roman asked gently.
"It is. I can't say I'm fully over it yet. Isn't it weird for you?" Virgil asked in response. Roman had only recently come out of the closet, himself.
"I thought it would be weirder, but it's much more natural than any girl's hand I've ever held," Roman replied sincerely. Virgil hummed in agreement and enjoyed some more coffee. A server came to take Roman's order of beef wellington and Virgil ordered a carafe of the amazing coffee so he wouldn't have to stop drinking.
Another cup of coffee and part of a beef wellington in, Virgil watched with interest as people with instruments filed onto a small stage with seats against the wall near the piano player. Roman looked over to see where he was looking and smiled, then went back to his dinner. It looked like a small orchestra. Virgil sipped his coffee and listened to the first peal of violins as they warmed up.
"You found me a live chamber orchestra to listen to?" Virgil asked curiously, feeling very flattered that Roman would go through all this effort for him.
"It's a little better than that, Virgil," Roman said. "Though this is the gamble part of the evening," Roman said, a little less confidently.
"I thought the gamble was the coffee?" Virgil asked curiously.
"No, the reviews were pretty clear there. Plus it's like a thirty dollar cup, it's got to be good. The gamble was that this particular place hosts waltzes," Roman explained a little nervously. "You waltzed with me back at the club, before… you know... I only learned how to waltz for a play, so I'm not the best, but I thought you might enjoy dancing to classical music instead of extra loud pop," Roman explained, sounding hopeful.
"I… Princey, I don't think I've waltzed in years," Virgil whispered. "Thank you," Virgil said softly and shrunk a little. Virgil loved waltzing, as out of date as it was now. He and Deceit would crash parties to waltz, it was basically the only social thing he liked doing at the time. He also was employed to play for waltzes, so they made up a few decades of this time. He had really fond memories of waltzes in general. Virgil looked up to Roman who was blushing pretty hard. Virgil reached out and squeezed Roman hand affectionately. "I'll tell you the full story sometime. Don't eat too much or I'll twirl you sick," Virgil said with a little chuckle and squeezed Roman's hand. Roman smiled back, looking very pleased.
Virgil and Roman walked out onto the dance floor hand in hand along with a selection of the other patrons as the chamber orchestra started up Skater's Waltz. Roman's nervousness completely cleared up as they started to glide together across the floor. Roman beamed up at him as Virgil spun him on the floor. Virgil grinned back at him as he twirled back into his chest. They followed the vague pattern with the other patrons and Virgil enjoyed every second of the song together. At the end of the song when they bowed together, Roman looked up to Virgil a with a glint in his eyes.
"So, Virgil, will you be my boyfriend?" He panted and held Virgil's hand, bowing his head to kiss Virgil's knuckles.
"Of course, I will, you fucking extra idiot," Virgil laughed quietly and pulled him in for a kiss proper kiss.