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Roman leaves rehearsal with a spring in his step, humming a mindless tune. Everything’s coming together for their Into the Woods production. At this rate they’ll be more than ready by opening night, but that’s something to wonder over later. He has something much more exciting to look forward to.
The thought brings a smile to his face, and he practically bounces down the stairs to the sidewalk; spring evolving into a skip. He makes his way down the street undeterred, until he bumps shoulders with a passerby and turns to say a quick apology, only to be shoved towards the planter attached to the side of the school.
Tripping over the low brick wall is unavoidable considering his precarious balance, and he drops his books in favor of catching himself with his arms. “What the he-” Roman’s outcry is cut off by something hitting his face. Is it a fist? It feels like a fist, but everything’s a little disoriented now. Laughter echoes a cacophony in his ears, and he hopes his brain is distorting how bad it actually is.
When he finally manages to look at his attacker there’s three of them, not one, and they’re getting closer . He scrambles up, moving the strap of his messenger bag over his head. Remus always talks about using his backpack as a weapon, and there should be enough weight for it even if his heavier books are scattered on the ground.
"What do you want?" He glares at the trio. There's something familiar about the one in the middle, but he can’t quite place them.
The one to the left grins as they step forward. “Nothing much.” They reach out with their hand, and Roman swings. His bag connects with their side, eliciting a hiss of pain and a glare. He catches movement from the corner of his eye so he swings again. Hands catch his bag before it can hit a face. Shit .
“Feisty.” They taunt before pulling him forward. Roman stumbles, but catches himself and glares. Oh. Aren't they one of the people that regularly bullies Janus. They roughly shove him to the ground before he can explore the thought further; hand trailing down his arm as another grabs his other shoulder.
“Let me go!” He tries to pull away, but they tighten their grip on his arms and bring them together behind his back. Another set of hands grabs his ankles as a chuckle escapes someone’s lips, and he whips his head around to see who it is. It’s the one they recognize.
Ah. Asher, that’s it. "I don't think so darling," He says and Roman remembers exactly why he elbowed this guy in the face. "To answer your previous question…" Asher stalks forward, brandishing a pocketknife .
"You and your freak of a boyfriend don't really match do you?" He continues. Roman scowls and he fucking smirks . "We thought," He kneels so they're face to face, inching the pocketknife closer. "We'd help you out a bit."
Roman waits until the tip of the knife touches his cheek before striking. Asher yelps, dropping the knife as Roman's teeth sink into his thumb. Growing up with Remus teaches you a thing or two. He lets go after a moment, already sick the taste of sweat and skin latheringing itself on his tongue.
Asher cradles his hand, looking dumbstruck. "Little bitch just bit me." He mutters and Roman can't help but smirk.
"Wow, I didn't realize you were so clumsy you'd accidentally bite yourself." Pain blooms across his cheek as his head snaps to the side. Ringing fills his ears, and he tries to blink the blurriness out of his vision, but something sharply turning his head nulls any progress. When he finally manages to do so, the first thing he thinks is how funny Asher looks when he's pissed off. Is there something cold sliding under his chin? Roman isn't sure. It doesn't matter. The sight is too hilarious to not release a peal of laughter that he feels more than hears.
A gasp cuts off the laugh as harsh fingers capture his throat, eyes squeezing shut reflexively. The fingers tighten around his airways and- No. No . He needs to breathe . His arms don’t move past a certain point, but he keeps trying to free them anyway. Breathe. There’s new pain somewhere on his cheek. Breathe. Cracking his eyes open does nothing. Breathe. Everything’s blurry and constricting. Breathe. Breathe. You have to breathebreatheBREATHE-
Air fills Roman’s lungs so suddenly he coughs. Something moves, and he tips forward into warmth. The warmth adjusts, replacing the coarse surface with softness as he takes a few gasping breaths. There’s noise now, but it’s fuzzy, incoherent. He blinks open his eyes, though he doesn’t remember when they closed.
Beauty is the first word that comes to mind when a face comes into view. Scales cover their left side with a complementing golden eye, while a brown eye rests on their right. Love is his first feeling, because he loves this face. A smile rises on his own just by gazing at them. His second feeling is pain. Their face twists in fear and sadness that he’s the cause of, and that hurts more than any of his wounds.
It’s alright . Roman hopes he conveys as he leans closer to them. He’s so tired . The mere thought of speaking sends a wave of exhaustion through his body. But there’s another message to send as he rests his head against their shoulders. I’m safe now . His vision blurs again, and he knows he’s slipping. However, nothing could be more true as he finally lets his eyes shut.
Red and blue flash. Something in the back of his mind tells him that's a bad thing, but he's warm. Warm is good.
Noise buzzes around him, and the warmth hums in response. He nuzzles closer to it. The vibrations feel nice.
He’s moving. Or the warmth is moving and taking him with it. Maybe that should be alarming. He doesn't care.
Then there’s a shift and he does .
Something firm begins cradling his body, and the warmth pulls away. No. No . Warm is good. Warm is safe . Safety is important right now, even if he doesn’t know why.
The warmth returns, and he clings to it. It still doesn’t fully envelop him, but it stays and that’s what matters.
Everything hums to life around them.
Gentle...
Soft...
Soothing...
And with the warmth back, he lets himself slip away.
It’s bright. It’s never this bright when he wakes up. His throat hurts too. That’s not entirely unusual given how strenuous rehearsal can be, but normally it’s just a slight irritation at the base of his throat. This is a dull ache wrapping around like...
Oh.
Roman shoots upright, looking around wildly as last night's memories flood his mind. He’s in his room. A small comfort as someone moves closer.
They’re Asher for a moment with his twisted grin and shining knife; then hands grip his shoulders, grounding him and it’s Remus with a soft expression that doesn’t suit him.
“Ro. Ro-bro, it’s okay.” Remus says, rubbing his shoulders a little. “ What’s that breathing thing Virgil does?” He mutters the last bit, and Roman feels like he wasn’t supposed to hear it. But it’s enough to make him notice his breaths are short and stuttering. “Okay, okay. Uh… Four! In for four, follow my breathing.” Remus takes an exaggerated breath that Roman tries to copy. It chokes off, so he tries again with more success, holding for seven as Remus flounders for the next step; Roman uses the same technique before auditions and performances, and it’s actually quite useful.
Out for eight seconds leaves him a little calmer. He does the exercise again as Remus quiets. Everything feels somewhat stable now, but...
“What happened?” Roman asks, wincing at both the scratchiness of his voice and the pain from speaking. Remus mutters something incoherent before handing him a glass of water he assumes was on his bedside table. There isn’t much, but Roman gulps it down greedily.
“To answer your question,” Remus’ face twists into a scowl. “ Asher ,” he hisses with more venom than Roman’s ever heard.
“I remember that part,” And he really doesn’t need a reminder. “What happened after?” There’s still a disconnect on how he got here, when Janus... That’s right. Janus was there. “Where is Janus?”
Remus is about to answer, but gets cut off by the door opening. Logan walks in, carrying a plate of food. He looks up as he closes the door, pausing when he sees Roman.
"Oh, you're up." Logan says nonchalantly, and Roman's mind snaps back into gear. Normally, he wouldn't question why his brother's boyfriend is here, but there's nothing normal about this situation. He checks the clock on the bedside table. 9:50 a.m. Two hours after school starts.
“What the hell?” He mutters. Logan never misses school. “What the actual hell ?”
"Your cognitive functions seem to be in working order." Logan says, walking further into the room and handing Remus the plate of food. "But you're going to have to be more specific."
Roman has so many things he can say to that, but he just blurts, “It’s Wednesday!” Or it should be, because last he remembers it was Tuesday.
“Ah, yes.” Is Logan blushing? “I should be in psychology class, but Mr. Z made it very clear that none of us should come to school today."
That makes sense. Mr. Z always looks out for his students.
Oh shit.
Mr. Z. The drama teacher. The musical .
A groan escapes Roman's throat, and he puts his head in his hands. The pain it elicits further drives his realization. What the fuck is he going to do about the musical? It already hurts to speak in a way that can't be solved with tea and water. Trying to sing ?
Torture. Singing will be torture, not that Mr. Z will let him rehearse until he recovers. How long will that take? Show dates are inflexible. Will he be able to perform at all?
Remus whispers something. He knows it’s Remus because of the harshness of the sound, and Roman tries focusing on that instead of the tears welling in his eyes. Logan’s reply is softer, and Remus immediately hisses a response. Footsteps sound, then the creak of the door-hinge. The door closes with a soft thud, and clothes rustle as Remus shifts.
“Ro-bro?” One hand finds Roman’s knee, the other grabs his elbow. Roman doesn't react. “You...” Remus sighs. “You don’t usually deal with this. But everything’s okay. Or… or it’s going to be. We’ll fucking make it okay. Got it? No matter how long it takes.”
Roman’s lips turn upward, not quite a smile, but almost. He nods, eliciting a sound of relief from Remus.
Another creak announces the door opening. “Hey.” The greeting is soft, but the voice makes Roman jerk his head up. Janus stands in the doorway; there’s a small smile on his face, but Roman can sense the sadness behind it, concern shining clearly in his eyes. It’s not the fear from last night, but it still hurts.
“Hey, Jan.” Remus says, retracting his hands and grabbing his food. “I’ll leave you to it.” Janus walks fully into the room as Remus stands, letting him pass before approaching the bed. The door closes as Janus kneels, eyes flicking over Roman.
I’m fine. He wants to say, but can’t bring himself to. Janus has a knack for spotting lies anyway. Warmth envelops him, and he hugs back immediately. It’s the same as last night, a comforting blanket of safety that he wants to get lost in. But…
Roman lets a few tears loose, and takes a shaky breath, "What happened?" He asks again, because he still needs an answer.
Janus stiffens for a moment, before sighing and holding him closer. "Mr. Z arrived shortly after you passed out. Apparently, another drama student witnessed the scene and went to grab him. He pulled Remus off Asher." It's Roman's turn to stiffen. "He's got a black eye now. Remus said it would've been two if he had ten more seconds."
That makes him snort, easing the tension a bit. Janus chuckles and continues, "Logan arrived next- Did you know he's certified in first-aid? Carries a kit in his backpack alongside his textbooks. It's a wonder he doesn't have back issues.- Mr. Z was skeptical at first, but he allowed Logan to tend to your injuries once he pulled out his certificate. Keeps it folded up in his wallet, the absolute madman ."
Roman's cheek stings at the mention of injuries. Phantom hands brush his throat, causing him to shiver. A slight tingling lingers across his arms and legs, but Janus tightens his grip on him and they go away. He continues explaining; about the police arriving, and giving statements. The principal showing up, and their parents getting called. Then finally being given permission to leave.
“You were very clingy, pretty boy.” His voice gains a teasing lilt. “I put you down in the car seat, and when I tried to pull back you grasped my arm and wouldn’t let go.” Roman fights the heat rising on his face. “I was concerned you’d force me to stay in bed with- Ow!”
The whack on Janus' shoulder is a small victory in Roman's battle with embarrassment. "Yeah, well…" He tries to think of an excuse, or something to tease back with, but as he sits here, enveloped by warmth, only the truth reaches his lips.
"You feel safe."
Janus freezes. He pulls back from the embrace, and Roman pointedly avoids eye contact. He finally gives in when Janus tilts his chin, only to drown in a kiss.
Later, there will be a trip downstairs to see everyone else, and visits from Virgil and Patton where they both lecture him about making them worry.
Later, there will be statements for the police, rumors at school, and rehearsal to adjust.
Right now, there's warmth on his lips, against his tongue, surrounding his body. And he can finally relax.