Virgil tried to ignore the lightheadedness that had overcome him, putting up a fake passive expression though his head pounded. He could feel something energized in the air, making him nervous. He couldn't be nervous; when he got nervous, his magic would freak out. The dark prince couldn't let that happen in front of all his father's friends and the people of their kingdoms. Most importantly to him, Roman was across the room. He wanted more than anything to sneak out of the room full of people, feeling his panic slowly growing throughout the day.

Fortunately, since Prince Roman had been pulled aside by his father for a the moment, Luis had strategically made his way over to stand next to his brother.

"Holding up alright?" he murmured, offering an encouraging smile. When Virgil shook his head and hid his face, Luis frowned sadly. He looked around to see if anyone would notice if they left for a little while. "Come with me."

He took his hand and pulled him through the room inconspicuously and outside into the gardens. Virgil gasped as he took deep breaths of the cool, fresh air. "Thank you," he murmured, giving his brother a grateful look as he gripped something out of reflex. Luis noticed he was holding the chain of his necklace, right at his neck so that he didn't have to take it out of his shirt.

"Wait here, alright?" the younger prince told him, hurrying into the room. He spotted Roman across the room discussing something with some of the other kings. Luis hurried over, trying interrupt as politely as he could. "Prince Roman-"

"Ah, Prince Luis, it's good to see you again, you've grown since last year!" one of the kings said. They all greeted him as he tried to not be disrespectful despite being in a hurry.

"Yes, yes, it's nice to see you too, your Majesties," he said with a smile before turning to Roman. "Prince Roman, may I have a word?"

The prince nodded, saying of course as he followed him. Despite being confused when Luis led him outside, he soon saw why. Virgil was sitting alone outside with his knees drawn up to his chest and he appeared to be shaking.

"You probably already know, but my big brother isn't great when having to deal with crowds," Luis explained with a sad sigh. "He needed some fresh air, but I think he really just wants you."

Roman's eyes widened. "How can you tell?" he asked. The young prince point to his brother's hand.

"He's clutching the necklace you gave him," he explained. "He normally keeps it hidden under his shirt, but occasionally he'll start playing with the chain or fidgeting with the pendant when he's nervous and wants to see you. He does it a lot actually."

Luis winked a little at the subtext of that statement, making the Prince of Cliste blush as he smiled a little. "Thank you for letting me know, Luis."

He nodded and headed back inside to the party. Roman looked back at the dark prince, who hadn't noticed him or Luis. He frowned sadly at his demeanor, used to him being nervous, but never seeing him like this. The prince walked over and sat down next to him on the bench. "Hey..." he greeted, keeping his voice soft. Virgil's eyes flicked in his direction before quickly looking away. "Please talk to me, Virge... tell me what's wrong."

"I-It's nothing," the dark prince replied as he took deep breaths. He was breathing as though he'd just been suffocating. "I don't really want to talk about it..."

Roman frowned, reaching out to gently place his hand over Virgil's. His whole body stiffened and then relaxed at the contact, no longer shaking. "That's alright," he said, offering a smile as he looked his way. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Why don't we talk about something else?"

"Like what?" Virgil questioned, looking at him in confusion.

Roman thought about it for a moment before smiling at him. "We could talk about your eyes," he suggested, earning a flustered laugh from the dark prince.

"I'll pass on that one," he replied, chest loosening a little more with every moment he spent with him.

"Aw come on! They're gorgeous!" Roman exclaimed with a grin.

Virgil blushed deep red as he shook his head. "That's so not true, they're just boring old brown," he said. To his surprise, the prince seemed to be expecting that response.

"Aha! That's where you're wrong my dark prince," he said, reaching out to hold Virgil's bangs out of his eyes. He was blushing and his eyes were wide, allowing for the prince to see them more clearly. "Your eyes are the darkest brown I've ever seen, almost black; like dark chocolate. However, it doesn't stop there! You, my Virgil, have purple in your eyes!"

At this, the dark prince laughed a little, pulling away to allow his bangs to fall back into place. "That's impossible, Roman," he replied, cheeks pink as he smiled.

He smiled, reaching out touch Virgil's cheek. "And yet, you have them," he said, expression so gentle it made him want to cry. In fact, he did. The dark prince had tears start quietly rolling down his cheeks. It made Roman worried at first until he realized he was smiling and leaning into his touch. It made the prince's heart throb with affection to see his smile again after so long. "There's that smile... it's alright, Virgil, I'm here."

Roman pulled him closer into a hug as the dark prince let tears fall. They were of sadness and joy all at once, but fortunately, mostly the latter. The prince rubbed the back of his head, petting his hair, which made Virgil sigh happily.

"Thank you, Roman," he breathed, not letting go of him.

The prince had no complaints as he continued to hold him. "Anytime," he replied with a smile. The two of them suddenly felt water, making them pull away to realize it had grown cloudy and started to rain. Virgil stood up with a smile as he lifted his face to it, tears mixing with raindrops. He gasped a little was Roman hugged him around the waist from behind. "We should probably head back inside. We've been gone for a while, and they'll be suspicious of where we've gone. The wet clothes won't help our case."

Roman laughed a little as the dark prince nodded with a smile. They walked hand in hand back into the palace, only reluctantly letting go when they reached the room for of guests once again.