Archive of Our Own ^beta

Janus fell back onto Roman's bed. Pri had fancy red-and-gold bedding, and seven whole pillows with satin cases, but didn't make prins bed. Ever.

It was still incredibly comfortable.

"Ro?" Janus called, eyes closed.

Roman hummed in response, fiddling with the corner of prins blanket as pri contemplated picking up the several abandoned poems scattered here and there in prins room. Pri'd get to it eventually. Really.

Pri realized pri was zoning out, so pri blurted out quickly-

"Sorry, were you saying something?"

Janus sat up, her eyes fluttering open and down to Roman. She leaned against the bed's railing (the only thing keeping Roman from waking up on the floor each day) and smirked.

"No." Janus gave as his only reply.

"Dammit. I should have phrased that better. I can't tell if you're lying." Roman sat up and hung prins head in defeat.

"The world shall never know." Janus teased.

The two sat in silence for a few beats.

Janus was the first to speak up again.

"It's... strange how we both have known each other for so long, and yet it took so long for us to, make up, in a sense. You're a person I thought I would've realized the potential of sooner. Not even just in, like, a talented sense. I don't know how to phrase it. I think you're just.. my kind of person. And I thought I'd be smart enough to know that initially, but, you know..." Janus stumbled over his words, which was uncharacteristic for her, before trailing off.

"You're my kind of snake." Roman said like it was the easiest fact in the world.

A warmth kindled in Janus' chest.

Roman spoke before Janus could.

"You're something. You've always been something, even when I didn't quite like you. You stand out. And I appreciate that breath of fresh air."

Janus sharply inhaled, a bit baffled. Sure, some of his opinions differed a bit from the norm, as did certain parts of his identity. But he never considered himself to stand out within Roman's particular circle. In fact, he quite committed himself to blending in when it came to social niceties.

Her mouth opened before she thought through what she was saying.

"I would say that you would be the person that I'd be interested in as a partner-"

She slipped off one scale-patterned fingerless glove, then two, and held up her hand.

"- but I never thought that would go like this. I suppose I'm saying- I love you."

Roman's eyes went wide, and pri blinked up at her. Prins posture straightened.

Pri shook prins head, utterly shocked, as it was apparently now Janus' turn to confuse prin.

"What? Were you- were you like, lying, just now, or-"

"I was as honest as I knew how to be in that moment, sweetheart." Janus admitted, but with a newfound rush of confidence. He somehow found comfort in the fact that the sentence had already come out of his mouth, so he couldn't go back on it. It was like a Band-Aid, he just had to rip it off.

A light in Roman's eyes flared that Janus only got to saw when prin was truly lost in joy, as pri looked away and shook his hands out.

"Well." Roman started, and felt as if pri would have to talk forever to fully sum up prins thoughts. But the one word was certainly a start, and Janus knew exactly what it meant.