Slightly shorter chapter that is pretty light-hearted, I think there is one mention of trauma somewhere in the dialog but other than that I'm pretty sure there are no trigger warnings. As always take care of yourself and thank you for reading!
"So what exactly is it you were so excited to gather us for?" Logan asked, a small smile on his face as he watched Roman practically dragging Patton down into the living room where Logan and Virgil were already waiting.
Roman had randomly burst into Logan's room earlier while he and Virgil were hanging out and had forced them downstairs. He hadn't actually told anyone why yet, but they all were certain it had something to do with the creative side wanting to go on a date.
"Well, I may have done a thing. In the imagination. So we can all do some normal boyfriend shiz," Roman said, smiling sheepishly.
"What do you mean? Is it not normal to be awkward around your boyfriends for nearly two weeks and then have to have a serious conversation about trauma and coping with them?" Virgil asked teasingly as he leaned against the wall.
"Well more so that we all had a pretty tense day yesterday but now we are all talking again so I thought it might be a good way to celebrate," Roman replied, pouting slightly.
"That's so sweet of you Roman, I'm sure that whatever you have planned will be a perfect way to relax and have fun," Patton chirped cheerfully.
"But I must ask, what exactly is this 'thing' you did?" Logan added with a raised brow.
Roman pulled the downstairs portal door open glancing around the wood towards the others.
"Wanna see?" He asked, his lips curling into a giddy smile.
"Alright, let's see how you tried to top yourself today," Virgil chuckled, stepping through the glowing portal, the other three following close behind.
Virgil blinked in the bright sunlight, immediately bringing his hand up to shield his eyes. He could never understand why Roman enjoyed keeping his realm so bright. Not that it wasn't pleasant after the initial shock of it. Virgil allowed himself to look out from under his hand and find himself and the others standing just outside of the village surrounding Roman's castle, bright colored pennants hung from the houses over top of the roads. The sound of lively music could be heard in the near distance being carried on the warm breeze.
"What's all of this abou- what the hell are you wearing? Wait what am I wearing? Roman!" Virgil gaped in surprise.
Instead of the normal outfits they had been wearing before stepping through the portal they had all changed clothing, presumably because of Roman's imagination magic. Virgil found himself wearing a thick cotton, dark purple shirt that would have been boxy in shape if it were not for the thin strap of leather tied around his waist. The top of his shirt had a black angular collar that led up into a hood. The shirt fell about halfway down his thighs and beneath that he wore simple black leggings and boots. Patton's outfit was a baggy white shirt that's sleeves and tightened around the wrists. The collar had a frill which poofed out over the top of the pale blue gray colored vest, which was pinned closed by a series of silver buttons. Like Virgil he wore leggings and boots that were but were more muted and gray in color. Despite Patton and Virgil's clothing being made of fine material and having a noticeable regal look, it seemed Roman had gone a bit overboard with Logan's outfit. Logan wore a dark blue almost black button up overshirt with three-quarter sleeves and silver accents. Beneath the over shirt was a white shirt, identical to Patton's beyond the fact the sleeves were cinched around the wrists by a black band. Over his shoulders was a short royal blue cape that fell down to lower back, the edges lined with intricate silver embroidery. His slate pants were less form fitting than the other two's and were poofed up around the thigh high boots he wore. Roman himself had also gone for a more intricate look, abandoning his usual princy look for something as equally regal. He wore a long burgundy tailcoat with a tall collar and golden accents over a fancy button down black top. Peeking out through his wavy brown hair was a golden circlet proudly displaying his royal title.
"Thought it fit the occasion. Is it too much?" Roman asked, a bent finger pressing lightly against his lower lip as he inspected how his designs looked on the others.
"I think it's amazing, Ro-Ro! Thank you! They look great," Patton replied, bouncing up onto his toes to give Roman a kiss on the cheek.
"I agree that they are quite visually pleasing, although I must presume that the reason we are not overheating is due to you overriding the natural laws in your imagination again, correct?" Logan assumed, combing back his hair.
Virgil couldn't help but stare at the way Logan's hair stayed in the messy slicked back style, adding to the aesthetic Roman had already created making Logan appear even more attractive.
"Yeah, the look comes with a few realistic drawbacks I didn't think any of us would actually want to deal with," Roman replied, gesturing his hand rather flamboyantly.
Virgil let out a chuckle and the corner of his lip pulled into a smirk.
"You are so over the top Princy and that's without exploring whatever is going on with the town over there," Virgil teased.
"Does that displease you my Dark Knight?" Roman asked, stepping forward to look down at him.
"Nah, never would have dated you if in the first place if it did," Virgil shrugged before glancing back at the village entrance. "But I do want to know what all of this is about."
"Well, I never got a chance to show you around town properly and I know it's been a while since I've brought Logan and Patton around here so I figured what better way to get the full experience than a festival!" Roman replied with a cheery smile. "There will be merchant stalls, music, jesters, jousting, archery, food, dancing, and so more!"
"You sound like an infomercial," Virgil pointed out jokingly.
Roman gave a fake frown, his eyes still soft and cheerful. He quickly bent down and picked up Virgil, cradling under his knees and his mid back.
"My aren't we sassy today? Looks like I'll have to carry you around like this until you learn your lesson," Roman said, beginning to walk away into the village.
"An excuse to not have to walk around on my own? I'm not entirely sure that is a punishment Princy," Virgil hummed relaxing in his arms.
Roman smirked, bouncing Virgil ever so slightly in his arms. Virgil let out a surprised and fearful squeak, gripping tightly on Roman's shirt.
"Nope, nope, nope, I want down!" Virgil squeaked out.
Roman let out a hearty laugh as he put Virgil down, who then quickly ducked behind Patton hissing at him.
"Now, now, kiddos, let's not bully each other when we are supposed to be enjoying Roman's date," Patton said, shifting himself so he could put an arm over Virgil's shoulder and gently lead him up to walk beside him as they drew closer to the more likely streets of the festival.
"So what would all of you like to do here?" Roman asked.
"Ooh, if they are open we should go to that nice bakery!" Patton suggested.
"I'd like to observe some of the medieval competitions," Logan added.
"What about you Kitten?" Patton asked, rubbing Virgil's shoulder.
"Is it selfish to want to see everything if we have time?" He requested ducking his head down sheepishly.
Roman practically lit up at the suggestion, turning to walk backwards so he could look at the others.
"Of course not, I will endeavor to make sure you get a chance to see everything," Roman promised, giving him a shallow bow.
True to his words the group did run around doing as much as they could in a few hours. The music played around them the whole time, festive and likely giving Virgil a dancing spring in his step as they explored. There were a lot of people that would typically make Virgil anxious but they all seemed so kind and happy, just enjoying themselves at the festival just like he was. Each of the others took turns leading the group to whatever they found particularly fascinating. Patton grabbed Virgil's arm at one point and excitedly pulled him over to a stall that was handing out wicker crowns with small white, purple, and blue flowers twisted in them. Roman had been more than willing to buy one for Patton and Virgil to wear, he also offered one to Logan who respectfully declined. Logan was the next to guide them to an archery tournament where he wanted to observe and take notes on their techniques. It turned out that Logan actually knew a decent bit about archery and when Roman went behind his back and signed him up as a last minute participant to the competition, Logan was actually good at handling a boy himself, although he'd need more practice before he would be placing first in any competitions. Roman led them aimlessly down the streets, checking out different stalls of merchandise, the group stopping occasionally whenever they spotted anything that interested any of them. In the middle of the town square where the band was playing there were a few performers doing tricks. A knife juggler and a small, young looking man doing tricks on a horse's back were what captivated most of Virgil's attention. Midway through watching the performance Roman and Patton vanished, only to return a few minutes later with large fluffy rolls for all of them to enjoy. They tasted great even without putting any butter or jelly on them, Virgil could understand why Patton wanted to get them.
It wasn't long after they finished eating them that Roman and Patton vanished back into the crowd, heading towards the large circle of dancers that had gathered after the performers left. Virgil and Logan remained standing off on a less crowded side road, watching the festivities from the shadows of a building. Virgil quietly tapped his foot and nodded along to the music, as he tried to keep an eye out for where the other two were.
"You seem to be enjoying the music," Logan pointed out.
"Hm? Oh yeah, it's got a good beat. It makes you just want to jump around, doesn't it? Music is pretty dang powerful stuff," Virgil chuckled.
"Is it something you find yourself wanting to dance to?" Logan inquired.
Virgil smirked knowingly up at Logan.
"Is this your way of asking me to dance with you?" Virgil hummed, rocking on the heels of his boots.
Logan's cheeks darkened slightly as he cleared his throat.
"That would be the most satisfactory result of this conversation, although I would not be upset if you chose to not partake in such activities," Logan replied.
Virgil's smile grew at Logan's hidden embarrassment as he held out his hand to Logan, allowing himself to be led out into the sea of dancers, all following generally the same lively dance. He let Logan lead, just like the last time they danced, letting himself be the one to be twirled around and lifted up into the air as the dance called for it. Both of them were laughing and smiling, moving along to the fast beat as the song went on. By the time the song ended, they had both put their all into dancing and were exhausted. While the band was taking a break to grab some water, Virgil let himself collapse against Logan's chest, breathing heavily. His messy bangs were plastered against his forehead and some of his hair clinging messily to his flower crown. Logan let out a loving hum as he tried to help Virgil fix his hair a little. Virgil looked up at him and Logan's hand found its way down to cup his cheek. Logan's eyes locked on Virgil's seemingly asking for permission. Virgil knew what he wanted and he hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to let Logan down and Logan looked incredibly attractive in this outfit Roman had chosen, but the idea of actually kissing him for real right now still gave him an unpleasant feeling in his core. He looked away from Logan, guilt weighing heavily on him as he shook his head. Logan let out a soft chuckle through his nose, not yet removing his hand and he leaned down to kiss the crown of Virgil's head instead.
"I love you darling, thank you for dancing with me," Logan murmured quietly, his thumb rubbing lovingly against Virgil's cheek bone.
Virgil looked up again at Logan's soft and loving expression, the warm light reigniting inside of him as he bounced up to wrap his arms around Logan's neck to hug him, his face nuzzling into the logical side's chest.
"I love you too," Virgil replied in a muffled whisper only Logan could hear.
Logan wrapped his arms around Virgil for a moment, keeping him in his warm, safe embrace. Eventually Virgil had to pull away, his expression a little shy as he glanced around at the crowd that had likely seen their display of affection.
"We should go find Roman and Patton and get some actual dinner. All of that dancing kinda made me hungry," Virgil chuckled.
Virgil twisted his fingers into Logan's as they held hands, walking out of the crowd to go locate the other too, neither of them quite able to remove the smiles from their faces.