TW: Remus being... well, Remus.

Roman was thirteen when he met the love of his life. The moment he had seen him, he had decided that one was his. Unluckily for him, though, his lover had been sent away to a boarding school and had been there for the past five years, after the two turned fifteen. Luckily for him, he could spend a lot of time with his future husband because he would be coming back today and would probably run into Roman again, being the prince's' stable boy, and all.

Yes, Roman Milton was just a lowly stable boy, completely head-over-heels for the dark, brooding, sarcastic, incredibly hot Prince Virgil.

They had first met on a hot, shining day in summer. Roman liked daydreaming about it from time to time, especially when he was taking care of the prince's' stallion, who probably wanted to murder him or something.

Roman was gently sponging down the horse as his mind wandered back to that day...

"Father," a young Roman huffed. "There's really no point in me dressing up if I'm gonna go right back inside the stables again."

His father, Thomas, sighed loudly. "Yes, yes, I know. But today is special."

"Why? Oh, don't tell me we're gonna have to deal with some entitled squire boy, I swear, I'll die if I have someone tell me the saddle's too uncomfy again," Roman crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Like, I'm trying, okay?"

Thomas shook his head, trying stubbornly to brush a strand of Roman's' hair back in place. "No, Roman, this is more important than your average squire and it's a complete honour-"

"Who is it?"

A grin that Thomas had been struggling to hold in for the past hour burst across his face. "Prince Virgil. His fathers have decided it's time for him to have his own steed and he must learn how to ride it."

Roman blinked slowly as the news registered. "Woah, woah, woah, wait! The prince?! Like, here?! Holy theatre, why didn't you say so? Oh my god, I need to fix my hair! Well, don't just stand there, Father, hurry up and fix your clothes, you look like a mess!"

Thomas laughed shortly as his son shoved him inside the stables. Then, after two hours of Roman freaking out, they were finally finished, just in time for the prince's' arrival. Prince Virgil was thirteen, the same age as Roman, actually, and the stable boy had only ever caught glimpses of him. And by glimpses, he means glimpses.

Sometimes, he'd see a silhouette or a shadow, other times it would be a hand, or dark hair. The prince was just so elusive and  it encouraged Roman even more to get a proper look at him. So, that's why Roman instantly looked  Prince Virgil up and down when the other was in sight.

He was slim and looked quite light, his skin was incredibly pale, compared to Roman's' heavy tan. The prince's' hair was black than the sky between the stars and his eyes were a passionate shade of brown that were just utterly captivating. Small freckles graced his high cheekbones, and he looked a little like a sleep-deprived ghost.

Yep, Roman thought to himself. I'm in love.

Prince Virgil shot him an uninterested glance and the stable boy wanted to whimper at the fact he had been noticed, if even for a moment, by this devilish angel.

King Emile wrapped an arm around his son's' shoulders, looking at Roman's' father. "I'm sure you were told about our arrival, Mr Sanders?"

"I was, sir. My son, Roman, has prepared a selection of horses to demonstrate before the Prince, if they'd like to see them," Thomas replied politely. Roman's' stomach flipped at the idea.

The King smiled and nodded, before turning to his son. "Alright, Virgil, you run along. I'll find you when it's time to return to the palace."

Prince Virgil quickly turned to look at his father. "You're not coming?"

"I'm afraid not," Sighed King Emile. "Your dad has managed to throw his saddle in, and I quote, 'a medium-sized lake in the lake district,' and I need to get him a new one."

"Oh," the prince said quietly.

Roman cleared his throat, getting the other teen's' attention. "Do you want to see the horses?" He asked, keeping his embarrassed stammer under control but unable to hide his face growing slowly red under the prince's' chocolate stare. The prince  shrugged and pulled away from his father, walking up to Roman who began to lead the way.

As the pair walked away from the adults, Roman took in all of Prince Virgil. And, boy, did Roman find a lot to take in. Despite obviously being well-fed, his cheekbones were highlighted, making his face and body sharp and angular, yet soft and touchable. The prince's' lips were plump but chapped and cracked dry. He seemed to chew at them a lot, judging by the amount of times he nibbled at his bottom lip during the short walk there. His nails were quite long and his hands looked soft, in complete contrast to Roman, who's' hands were hard and rough from working and his nails were broken and uneven.

The two reached the training room a little too quickly in Roman's'  opinion but the stable boy graciously let the prince enter first, even if he only did it because it gave him an extra second to observe Prince Virgil.

"So," Roman began chirpily. "Let's start first with who catches your eye. Any you like the look of?"

The prince bit his bottom lip as he dragged his gaze over the lined up horses. He pointed at a black stallion, who was a little smaller than the rest. "That one."

Roman nodded. "Alrighty, lemme just get the others out on the field and we can start."

And, while trying to look as dignified and attractive as he could while doing so, Roman swung open two large doors at the back of the room and started to take horses by the reigns, pulling them outside to a gaping field. He finished quicker than usual, luckily, and shut the doors to leave the horses roaming as he turned back to the prince.

Prince Virgil was currently pacing around his new stallion. The horse was black and bony, with a slim, skeletal frame. It's neck was almost fluffy and it's' hooves were basically murder weapons.

"His name's Storm," Roman said as he walked over and placed a hand on the stallion's' hindquarter. "He can get a bit feisty sometimes but is really a sweetheart and is probably the most intelligent horse we've ever had."

Virgil lifted his own hand up carefully, moving to touch Storm's' muzzle but pulling back quickly in fear when the stallion sniffed.

Roman walked over, taking the prince's' hand gently. He was right about them being soft. He felt as though he could tear the skin just by brushing his thumb against it. Slowly, he raised up the prince's' hand to rest on the horse's' muzzle. "He doesn't want to hurt you, trust me," Roman mumbled softly, moving closer behind Prince Virgil, a small blush on his cheeks. "Storm is actually a really, really chill guy. And he's probably the fastest horse we've got."

"Okay," Prince Virgil replied, equally as quiet. Roman left his hand on Virgil's' , inching closer a little. Then the prince shot him a suddenly confident, questioning glance, quirking an eyebrow at the stable boy who backed up almost instantly, face flushing harder. "You blush a lot," He said with a bored, indifferent sigh.

For a split-second, Roman didn't know how to respond. But, then he wittily retorted, "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to being in the presence of a demon."

"A demon?" Replied Prince Virgil, narrowing his eyes.

Roman nodded. "I mean, you're definitely too hot to be from this world." And that made the prince blush, as well as making sure Roman would never let go of this crush.

Roman sighed in memory and suddenly was jumped awake by Storm whinnying loudly. He screeched at the sudden noise, stepping back, only to end up shoving his foot in the bucket of soapy water. Roman tripped, arms flapping wildly, and he landed heavily on his backside.

"Wow, Storm, really?" He growled up at the stallion, who snorted in amusement. "Even for a horse, you're immature..."

But, he stood up and quickly got back to work, one foot squelching constantly as he paced around Storm, cleaning his hair.

The stallion flicked an ear, obviously very amused and he whipped his tail gleefully. Roman narrowed his eyes. "You can shut up. Jesus, you're too clever for your own good."

"Now, Roman, that's no way to treat the prince's' horse," His father's' voice called out with a chuckle.

Roman pouted and he made a face as he glanced over to his father. "Did you see what he did to me, though? My foot's all soggy and Virgil's coming back today! I wanted to make a good impression..." He trailed off with a sad sigh.

Thomas made a sympathetic face and he walked over to his son. "Ro, I know you've been looking forward to seeing the Prince again but you've got to ask yourself: Do you really think the first thing he'll want to do is visit the stables where there'll be a young man never leaving him alone?"

The stable boy sagged slightly. "Yeah, he wouldn't. You're right..."

"I know something that'll take your mind off it," Thomas offered. "Going out to see your brother. I'll finish washing Storm if you want."

Roman hesitated but nodded in defeat. "Okay, Dad. I'll go find Remus. Thanks, I guess..."

"Anytime, son," Assured Thomas as he let the stable boy walk away.

.:*:.

Remus and Roman were twins. But, they had been separated at the age of ten when their parents had gotten a divorce, over the fact Thomas was finally admitting he was gay. Remus worked as a gardener and it hadn't taken long for Roman to find him.

Most of the gardeners had been sent up to the palace to prepare for the prince. Remus, however, had been sent to work in the white-rose garden alone, seeming as absolutely no one wanted to work with him. So that was where Roman had found him.

"Remus!" Roman called out. "Greetings, brother!"

"Greetings, brother!" Remus shouted back, standing up with a maniac grin. "I didn't expect to see you today. I thought you'd still be hiding in the stables, treating your dick to some sexy fantasies of Prince Virgil."

Roman flushed and glared. "I'm not you, y'know."

"Well, not at the moment, but you could be."

"You're so gross," Groaned Roman, rolling his eyes. "I regret ever telling you about that dream now."

Remus's' grin only widened madly. "I thought it was hilarious that, one, my brother could be so like me and, two, my brother thought I could be trusted enough to confess."

Roman scowled. "You are such a bitch."

"And you are such a desperate asshole," Remus sniffed. "Just ask him out. Ask him out now."

"Uh huh," Roman rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Because I can totally ask him out now because, oh my god, he's right behind me, isn't he?" He drawled sarcastically.

Remus blinked. "Wow, how'd ya know?"

Roman frowned. "I can't tell if you're suddenly too good at sarcasm or you're hallucinating something. Or you're being a jerk again."

His brother hesitated and slowly pointed behind Roman. The stable boy turned around and suddenly wanted to vomit. Standing in the entrance-gate of the white-rose garden was an older version of Prince Virgil. He seemed just as slim as he had done five years ago, but he was a little taller and far more lithe. His face was very red and he just gaped slightly at Roman. He wore the boarding school uniform, standing next to another in the same uniform.

Roman stared, pale and wide-eyed, at the prince and Remus instantly knew that this was not good. "Roman-" His brother started, but the stable boy quickly pushed past the prince and his friend, running away. Tears pricked in his eyes as he hurtled across the grounds, vaulting over bushes but stumbling over flat ground as he ran towards the stables, ignoring Remus running after him, shouting out apologies.

Sitting next to the stables was a small cabin. No one ever noticed it, mainly because it was attached to the stables, but it was actually where the stable-workers lived. So, Roman barged open the front door and then slammed it shut, sinking down against it, sobbing. He could hear Remus pounding on the door, begging for Roman to open it. His brother ignored him.

.:*:.

"Hey, Roman," Thomas began carefully at breakfast a week later. "I know that you've been a little sad recently, so I've got some news that might cheer you up." Roman didn't respond, he just kept quietly eating. Thomas had decided to interpret it as a 'I'm listening' response. He swallowed nervously. "Prince Virgil might stop by today. I heard that he's wanted to visit the stables for a while."

No response. Roman only lowered his head even more. Thomas hesitated. "Well?" He asked.

"Cool," Was all Roman said,

"Don't you want to see him again?"

"No."

Thomas blinked, stunned. "Really?"

"I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone today."

His father winced apologetically. "I'll let you play with the foals then, today, if you want."

"K."

Thomas sighed and stood up, beginning to cleat the table. Well, he tried...

.:*:.

Roman sat in the outside field, gently petting the head of a young foal. The sun was setting but Roman didn't care. He just wanted to avid his father for as long as possible, just like he had managed to avoid Prince Virgil the whole time the prince was in the stables.

Then, a sharp whistle in the bushes near him scared Roman and made the foal run back inside.

"Remus!" He hissed sharply. "What the hell?!"

Remus stood from the bush, holding a sheet of paper in his hands. "Sorry, brother, but it's about time I saw you again. How you handling it?"

"How do you think?" Roman growled back, making Remus wince.

"Badly?"

"Exactly."

Remus sat down next to his brother and the silence was awkward until he said. "I got something to give you."

"What is it?"

He slapped the sheet of paper in Roman's' hands with a shrug. "Prince Virgil's' very, very sexy friend gave it to me. His name's Janus, he's gorgeus."

Roman opened it up, as it had been folded into quarters. "What the hell is this?" He asked, frowning.

Remus grinned looking at the drawing on the paper. "That, my dear brother, is directions of how to get to Prince Virgil's' bedroom window, which one his window is, and a detailed description of where a pile of perfectly sized pebbles are to throw at it until you get his attention, as well as a few suggestions of where to hide if it isn't Virgil who goes to the window."

Roman blinked slowly at it. "Oh..."

"Yeah, Janus said he's tired of Virgil moping around guiltily and he's also tired of having no gossip to feed off," Remus shrugged. "He said you're gonna wanna go tonight at ten, because dinner would be finished by then and he'd be alone, getting ready for bed."

"Oh," Roman's' cheeks grew in colour as he tried to hide his immediate excitement. "But- what if I get caught?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well, you're a damn fast runner, ain't ya? Janus said he'd get you out of trouble if you could just get Prince Virgil to stop moping. So, what are you gonna do?"

A tiny smile graced Roman's' lips. "I'm gonna prepare for ten o'clock..."