Warnings: descriptions of murder (such as slitting someones throat), stabbing, injuries, blood, assassins, assassinations, knives/daggers, rope burn lol, inappropriate language, remus, sexual innuendos, mentions needle, stitches, mentions burns (background character), maybe more idk

so... assassin Logan and king Roman

Soulmate au, u feel the physical pain ur soulmate feels, some kind of medieval au

this is a LONG one yall

--

Guards carrying lanterns and with their hands resting on the hilt of their swords patrolled the area and stood quietly in every entry to the castle. Same thing with the sturdy wall surrounding the castle grounds, but those were no longer a part of Logan's problems as he had already scaled the wall and slipped across it without anyone seeing him.

It hadn't been much of a challenge, really, this was not the first time Logan had business in the castle, which meant he already knew how to get inside, he had only had to study the guards for a few days to make sure he knew when their shifts changed and at what times certain areas laid unguarded for a moment or two.

Not much seemed to have changed since the last time Logan ventured into the castle, only that this time his target was the soon-to-be king, prince Roman.

He expected the royal to have many guards outside of his rooms, especially as he was soon to be crowned and since the king and the queen had died the prince was very precious to the nobility who currently held power in the wait of prince Roman's crowning.

Which was why Logan wasn't taking his chances going through the corridors. Fighting his way past guards and castle workers seemed futile when he could sneak his way across the gardens and quietly make his way up the very wall of the castle.

The castle was many centuries old and despite being well entertained and long from collapse the walls had many cracks and crevices between the heavy blocks of stone it was built from. Logan had no trouble climbing it, especially with the tools he had made specifically to jab into cracks too narrow for his fingers. All he had to do was make sure that no guard noticed as much as his shadow.

The walls were not lit up at all a few meters high from the ground (Logan did see the trouble with lighting torches or lanterns at such high places, but they were making it very easy for people like him to slip past unnoticed), with his dark clothes and the cloudy night keeping the moon from lighting the world up there would be no troubles for Logan to make his way up to the window he knew to be the prince's.

Logan sat disguised in the crown of a tree, waiting and studying the guards until the right moment presented itself.

Since no one would have expected anyone to make it past the wall surrounding the grounds and since it was many years since anyone had tried to break into the castle the security was quite lax, in Logan's opinion.

Which of course only served to make Logan's job easier, but he held heavy contempt for the foolish and conceited captain of the guards who seemed to spend all his money on his favorite tavern in town.

Logan would do a much better job, mostly because he could spot the weak points in their protection, and he wouldn't be drunkenly blabbing out things which were likely meant to stay secrets only to impress the young ladies frequenting the same taverns as him.

At least the captain of the guards was likely to be fired or even executed to have let an assassin slip through his poor protection to murder the future king.

Logan couldn't say he had any opinion on the prince, he had yet to show what kind of king he would be, but for the right price Logan could be persuaded to go after anyone. This was just a job, after all. He could of course have said no to the request, but the large amount of money and the challenge he had been presented with tempted him.

As the bells in town chimed to tell that it was midnight Logan's opportunity presented itself. Instead of the replacement guard showing up on time the guard who's shift ended left, likely to look for them, which meant no one was patrolling the grounds beneath the prince's rooms.

Logan jumped down to the ground, landing softly in the dewy grass, and then he ran across the grounds, avoiding the well lit places and diving into the safety of a huge bush growing closely to the castle wall. There was no time to be wasted and Logan quickly scaled the wall, keeping far from the windows until he reached the one on the third floor which his (unknowing) informant had said to be the prince's.

The foolish prince had left the window ajar to let the cool evening air into the room, something that he was going to come to regret very shortly as Logan pushed it open and with ease climbed through.

Standing on the floor of prince Roman's room Logan took a moment to observe his surroundings. His information had been correct, this was definitely the prince's room judging by the expensive furniture, the many plush velvet pillows and the gigantic bed in which the prince was resting in.

A candle was stood on a small table by the bed, on top of a pile of books Logan deeply wished he could steal with him (but if anyone saw him with books belonging to the murdered prince then he would be in trouble). The candle was nearly burnt out but still lit the area closest to the bed fairly well.

Logan could see the face of the young prince, younger than Logan himself by a year. He was fast asleep, his messy hair almost covering half his face. Logan doubted the prince would wake up even if Logan tripped on his own feet.

Since no guards were posted inside of the prince's room Logan took his time to tie a rope to a sturdy piece of furniture, then leaving the rope easily accessible by the window, giving himself a quick escape if needed. It was never wise to linger when he had finished his job.

Pulling his dagger from where it was strapped to his side he crossed the floor. He had no thought out plan of how to kill the prince, the man paying him for the deed had not had any requests, but he supposed driving the dagger through the prince's heart or slitting his throat open would do the job.

A gust of wind made the window creak and the pieces of glass rattle slightly as it blew shut, and apparently Logan's assumption that the prince was a heavy sleeper had been faulty because suddenly, just as Logan had decided on a stab to the chest, prince Roman's eyes flew open.

A mere tenth of a second their eyes met and they stared at each other and then Logan moved, driving the dagger towards the prince's chest, but an arm blocked his and then Logan felt a kick to his stomach that made him fall backwards. He quickly got to his feet, dagger still in a tight grip, ready to strike.

The prince had untangled himself from his soft sheets and had gotten up from the bed, standing there shirtless and seeming surprisingly unafraid. He made no move to call for help, instead standing ready as if he thought of attacking Logan himself.

The assassin scoffed at the ridiculous sight and lunged forward, only the prince blocked his way, the dagger cutting open his arm instead of his chest, and then a strong hand gripped Logan's wrist and twisted, the sharp pain making him drop the weapon.

The dagger clattered onto the stone floor and the prince faltered for a moment, eyes widening, but Logan did not immediately break free from the prince's hold to reach for his weapon, instead he froze in place as a burning pain made itself known in his arm.

He felt as if someone had just sliced his arm open with a knife, but he knew that was not the case since the prince was entirely unarmed, which meant that his soulmate bond was still functioning perfectly, as always, but did his stupid soulmate really need to go and get injured right now as he was trying to assassinate the prince who-

Who Logan had just stabbed in the arm, from the looks of it bleeding from the exact place where Logan was hurting.

Eyes widening in surprise he kicked at prince Roman's chest, making him let go and stumble back, Logan himself feeling just how hard he had kicked from the throbbing in his own chest (the prince would definitely have bruises), which confirmed the absolutely ridiculous thought of the future king being Logan's-

No, he couldn't even think it.

Both of them stared at the other and this was so far from Logan's original plan and he didn't know what to do, he always knew what to do, was prepared for anything, anything that did not have to do with Logan's own soulmate.

Before the prince had the time to act Logan made a quick decision and then dived towards the window, grasping to the rope and throwing himself out, sliding down the wall as quickly as he could, his hands around the rope slowing him down so the landing wouldn't break his legs.

The universe was kind tonight, Logan decided as he saw that no guard was yet waiting by the ground, and as Logan heavily landed on the grass he had no time to examine his poor hands which were covered in rope burn from the quick descent (if only the prince had not woken up, then he would be dead now and Logan would have had the time to put his gloves on).

Mourning the loss of his favorite dagger he sprinted across the grounds, taking cover behind bushes and statues and trees until he got to the least guarded part of the wall surrounding the gardens. Any moment now he was sure that every guard on and off duty would come chasing after him with swords drawn.

He clenched his jaw and steeled himself in preparation of the pain, then began to climb up the wall, forcing his poor abused fingers to cling to where they could until he was at the top, giving himself a second to scout for guards before hurrying across and beginning the just as painful descent down.

With the dark clothes and his long practiced ability to stay hidden he melted into the shadows of the city, ducking into the darkest streets and eventually climbing up onto the rooftops where there was an even smaller risk of being seen by anyone else not also escaping justice.

Up here Logan could finally realize that no army of soldiers and guards were coming after him, and after traveling over a couple of rooftops his rapid heartbeats began to slow. But as every time the excitement and fear died down it left room for his ability to fully feel pain. His hands stung and burned, his arm hurt, his chest and stomach were aching from the fight.

This night had gone absolutely awful despite Logan's careful planning and weeks of spying on the guards and learning their schedules. The first time he left his target alive and it was the prince? Why of all times was tonight the night he failed? The universe may not want him to assassinate the man who was his ...soulmate, but how was this any better?

Now any soldier in the entire kingdom would be on the lookout for him, if the prince had gotten a good look on his face despite the hood he had pulled over his face then a sketch could be made and soon everyone would know who he was, and then he would be captured and executed.

Reaching the roof of his own apartment he quickly found the handle to his hatch. He pulled it open and then quickly climbed down the ladder into his bedroom. He'd made the entry years ago after realizing it was no good returning home through his front door after assassinations, chances were he was covered in blood. And it was always good to have an easy escape way, in case anyone came after him.

Logan sank down on his bed and rested his head in his hands only to wince in pain. He dropped his hands to his lap, staring at them for a few moments before pulling the sleeve of his shirt up, double checking that he really did not have a long cut in his skin. But no, his arm was intact and the pain he felt was, unfortunately, not his own.

His thoughts came to a halt as the situation finally fully dawned on him. He could feel the pain the prince felt, and by the looks of prince Roman's reaction as he had twisted Logan's arm the other suffered the same fate. Which meant that the two of them really were soulmates, unless this was some incredibly well timed coincidence.

Logan stood back up, shaking those thoughts from his head, because thinking about prince Roman being his soulmate would do absolutely no good at all, and judging by the increased stinging in Logan's arm the prince had someone looking over his wound, which was exactly what Logan should be doing too.

In his kitchen he searched through his medicine drawer for the right herbs, then brought a bucket of fresh water from the well inside to mush it together. He poured some of the water into a bowl and let his hands rest in it, the cold soothing.

If only it was winter, then he could use snow and ice which was much better than cool water. But he did the best he could with what he had, mixing together a blend that was supposed to help. His knowledge of medicine was not as extensive as that of an educated healer, but he had done all the research he could by reading books on medicine and helping the healers out the times he could.

He applied the mixture to his poor hands, a sigh escaping him as the pain dulled. The sky outside was slowly brightening, going from black to a cloudy dark grey. A storm was likely on its way, which was likely for the best, it would hinder the kingdom's soldiers from searching for him and it would hinder customers from hiring him to do other jobs, giving his hands time to heal.

The aching pain in his and his soulmates bodies coupled with the many, many thoughts whirling in Logan's head kept him from sleeping that night.

--

Logan pulled himself in through the window he'd managed to get open, experiencing that second of relief from feeling no pain that always stuck with him after an injury had been bothering him for a long while. His mind got so used to certain movements hurting that it was a surprise that it no longer didn't.

He did make sure to keep his gloves on for the foreseeable future when he went outside to do jobs to keep his still sensitive hands from any new injury.

The room he was now in was empty. He pulled the window shut, not wanting to leave any clues that would alarm the noble when he entered the room. Inside there was a big table full of piles of parchment and pens that seemed far too fancy. (Why would anyone need fancy pens?)

A big chair was on one side of the table and on the other stood two smaller ones which likely made the people sitting there feel very tiny compared to the man they worked for.

A big book shelf was full of books and more parchment and papers and small shiny and golden ornaments, but Logan decided against investigating what he could find, even if many things on those shelves would sell at a good price. He was not a thief after all, he didn't always entirely consider himself a criminal either since he didn't kill for fun.

It was just a job, and not a worse one than nobles working their people to their deaths and paying them wages that wouldn't feed one person, let alone an entire family. No, while his job may not be incredibly moral it should not be any less legal than it was for the nobility to demand their workers sacrifice their health and lives for the sake of making themselves richer.

And a man like that was exactly who Logan was after today. Several men working for him had come together and reached out to him, offering a sum of money they'd managed to scrape together for his services. His target was a wealthy man who owned a successful business, successful because the work days were long and the pay was bad.

Logan had heard them out and asked his questions and then demanded half the money they were offering before accepting the job.

He didn't want to take the little money they had, but he also needed to eat and since the assassination of the future king had failed Logan had missed out on a large sum of money that made him regret not returning to finish the job.

Logan walked through the room, positioning himself next to where the door would open. Once the owner of this business came in after his meal break then the door would hide him until it was too late. Then he would be dead, Logan would be long gone, and the daughter of the owner would inherit the workshop. She was known to be a much more gentle person than her father.

Logan heard voices and laughter outside the room, he could not hear the words they were saying, but after a long while the voices quieted and Logan could hear steps disappearing. Logan's fingers curled around the shaft of his new dagger, readying himself as the door swung open.

The man that Logan recognized from the days he'd spent spying on the building to learn when and where to strike stepped into the room. He was taller up close and he looked strong, likely stronger than Logan who was not exactly incredibly muscular, something that had been a hindrance in his attempt towards taking the prince's life.

As the door shut heavily behind him Logan lunged forward from his hiding place, the man barely having time to notice that he was not alone before Logan's dagger had carved his throat open. A disgusting gurgling noise escaped him as he choked on his own blood, and Logan caught him as he toppled over, carefully lowering him to the floor.

Logan stared down at the man as his eyes glazed over, becoming unseeing. If only he had heeded his workers warnings and listened to their demands, then this would not have happened. Logan hoped that this at least would serve as a warning towards other people who let themselves be ruled by greed.

He wiped his dagger on the thick carpet covering the floor, which was already becoming stained by all the blood flowing from the noble's throat, and then climbed up to the window, pushing it up. Just that moment the door behind him was opened again and within a second loud screaming filled the room. Logan jumped down from the window ledge and onto the street before the person who'd found the body likely had time to see anything but the color of his cape.

Logan ran down a street, turning a corner onto another street as he heard rushing footsteps from the house. Sometimes people were quick to act, and this seemed to be one of those times. After assuring the street was empty Logan took his cape off, turning it inside out to make it into a black cape and then putting it on again. He hurried onto another street, glancing back to see if anyone was following him, not noticing that there was something blocking his way before he ran right into it.

Or, rather, right into him, Logan realized as he looked up. He nearly gaped at the realization that he had just ran right into the prince of all people (what he was even doing out of the castle, walking the streets without as much as one guard with him, was beyond Logan).

The prince himself was dressed in a ruby red cape made out of a soft and shimmery looking fabric that Logan was sure cost more than he would ever think of spending on mere fabric. Beneath that he wore an impossibly white pair of shirt and pants that seemed to have been tailored to fit the prince precisely. A sash as red as his cape rested across his chest.

How there was not even a speck of dirt on his clothes was beyond Logan. If he wanted to wear constantly clean clothes he would have to wash them each day and stay still in one place. His home was cleaner than most since he was the only one residing there and rarely had guests, but still.

Quick footsteps followed and soon they were no longer alone, before Logan even had the chance to escape this situation or even think. He looked back, seeing three men who were surely close to the man who he had just murdered. Logan took a step back from the prince, very unsure who it would be the worst to face at this moment. Of course none of those men knew he was the killer, while prince Roman definitely knew Logan was the one who had tried to assassinate him, that much Logan could guess from his expression.

"Excuse me! You two, stop- Oh, my prince, I apologize, I did not recognize you." The man that had begun yelling for them paled, growing quite a lot quieter at being faced with the soon-to-be king.

"It's alright, what can I help you with?" Roman said and Logan turned to face the men, giving them a curious look and hoping that it would fool them to think he had no idea whatsoever who they were after. He did his best to breathe calmly and not like someone who had just ran for his life.

"Well, prince Roman, the nobleman we work for has just been brutally murdered and we were under the impression that the man who did it disappeared this way. The man's wife said all she could see was a pale green cape before the murderer escaped through the window." The man did a short and tense bow after speaking.

"Hm, I'm sorry, me and my advisor," the prince placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, "have not seen anyone come this way. But I'm saddened to hear of your loss."

Logan froze at the words, trying to figure out what the prince was doing. Logan was certainly not his advisor and prince Roman had nothing to gain from protecting him. If Logan did his job so badly he got caught he would rather get himself out of the situation without any help.

"Thank you, my prince. Excuse us but we have to continue our search." The man said and they all bowed before sprinting away. Logan would have been relieved that no one recognized him if the prince's hand didn't still tightly hold onto his shoulder.

Logan tried to take a step away but the prince wouldn't let go of him. He was given a long stare and Logan felt tempted to pinch himself just to see if the prince would feel it.

"Did you just murder someone?" Prince Roman asked.

"No, my prince." Logan said monotonously, which was really the only logical way to answer when someone who could order him executed asked him if he had committed a serious crime. The prince looked him up and down.

"Then why are you holding a knife, and why are people chasing you, and is that blood on the inside of your cape?" He asked, nose scrunching in disgust. The assassin decided not to dignify that question with a response.

He pulled the cape tighter around himself, fumbling to stick the dagger back into its sheath that was strapped to his hip. This time he had two daggers on himself. At least he learnt something from his mistakes.

He looked at the prince then, the tips of his fingers still resting on the shaft of his dagger, having a moment's internal debate with himself. He had just gotten presented with a chance to finish the job he had failed half a month ago. He was alone with the prince in an alley and he was armed.

Slightly disappointed and slightly relieved he realized that three men could point him out as the last one to see the prince alive and that killing him in the middle of the day on a street where anyone could see was just too risky. Not to mention that Logan did not want to find out how much it would hurt him if he pierced the prince's heart with his dagger, what with their soulmate bond and all.

Logan pinched himself, he couldn't help but to have to test it. To his dismay the prince flinched and rubbed his arm.

"Did you just pinch yourself?" He asked, voice laced with offense.

"No, my prince." Logan responded yet again.

"Hm. My soulmate is a liar and a murderer." The prince said with a rather disappointed expression. Logan internally winced at the soulmate mention. He'd spent the last half a month deciding that he was going to pretend that he never met his soulmate and that he didn't have a soulmate, and now here he was, making that impossible for the moment.

But really, what was he supposed to do? His soulmate was the future king. He was an assassin killing people for money, who had attempted to assassinate the very future king that was standing before him. Just that evening could get him thrown into a jail cell until the day he rotted away, or have his head rolling across the town square in only a few hours.

"May I leave, my prince?" Logan said, with the same casual tone as before. The prince narrowed his eyes and let go of his shoulder only to hook his arm with Logan's.

"No. Why would I do that? You're my soulmate and I don't even know your name. And I've been looking for you and now that I've found you I'm not just going to let you slip away again." The prince said with a scoff.

Logan tensed. This was it, he supposed. The prince knew his face well enough to recognize him, which meant that within hours the entire kingdom's army would know who to look for.

"If you want me executed then why not just send soldiers after me, why would the prince wander the streets of the city just to find the assassin that tried to take his life? Seems rather illogical to me, any common criminal holding a lasting grudge towards your father could take his chance. You're quite easy to spot in a crowd, and walk into one wrong alley and you won't live to be crowned king." He pointed out, wondering if that thought had even crossed the prince's mind.

"I don't want you executed, I wanted to speak to you." The prince said, simply, and Logan stared at him.

"You... you wanted to speak to me?" He repeated, no longer bothering with the titles. If the prince wanted respect he would have to show that he held more common sense than this.

"Is that so strange? We are soulmates, I think that's worth to at least talk about." The prince shrugged, as if there was nothing strange about any of this.

"I- I tried to assassinate you." Logan hissed out quietly as a group of children came running down the street. Not even they should hear what Logan and the prince were currently speaking about, the only thing that could make his current situation worse was if rumor got out that he was an assassin. That would surely put a stop to him helping the healers out in-between jobs.

"Yes... that does complicate things. But we can't just ignore that the universe decided we were perfect for each other, don't you want to find out what kind of bond we have? I've always wondered who my soulmate would be."

"Congratulations, your soulmate is a criminal and you will soon be the king, therefore making any kind of future relationship... difficult." Logan clarified, just in case the prince had somehow failed to realize their situation.

"You have a point, but I'll have you know that no one but me and my most trusted friends know that the assassination attempt ever happened. Yet." He said and Logan wondered briefly if that was a threat.

"We should not just stand here, we might attract unwanted attention, if we have not already." Logan said to change the topic of conversation, wondering in the back of his head how it looked that he was talking to the most powerful man in the kingdom.

If anyone knew who Logan really was then that would seriously harm his business.

"You could have probably escaped again by now, why haven't you tried to run?" The prince instead asked, making no attempt to move. Logan thought that was a question which was not needed to ask, the answer was obvious.

"You know my face, if I ran for it you might just inform your army and then before I know it you will be overseeing the execution of one of the most infamous assassins in the city." Running would do him no good, not if he wanted to live a life that was more than hiding away until he died.

"Hm, you're the most dangerous assassin in the city?" The prince asked, taking a step back to give him a perusing stare. He seemed doubtful and Logan had to admit he felt slightly insulted.

"Based on the amount of successful kills, yes, I am one of them. Does that surprise you?" Up until the prince himself Logan had had yet to fail a single assassination.

"Well, I would've thought it would be someone stronger, maybe someone taller. Someone who wouldn't fail to kill me." The prince thought out loud. Logan refrained from audibly huffing.

"Brute strength won't be of much help if you don't possess the ability to get in and out of places unseen. I could have barreled through the castle and alerted every guard in the area if I'd wanted to, but I do not have a death wish." He only said, once again pulling the cape tighter around himself as a couple walked by, a wagon pulled by a brown horse following behind them. The man holding the reins held an annoyed expression.

"No, I do not have a death wish, unlike you, my prince, who came looking for the person who tried to kill you." Logan dared say, starting to slowly walk down the street, no destination in mind but he was certain it was better to have this conversation somewhere where every door wouldn't possibly hide a listening pair of ears.

"Do you plan on trying to murder me again?" He asked, willingly following Logan, their arms still linked. Logan wondered if he looked believable as an advisor. He found it unlikely, as an advisor of the prince would surely be better dressed.

"No. I told the person who hired me that he would have to find someone else to do the job if he wanted you dead." Logan answered truthfully.

"Then why should I worry?" The prince said, sending him a blinding smile. Logan began wondering if his soulmate was actually stupid. Had he not heard him correctly? Just because Logan was no longer hired to kill him didn't mean no assassin was after him. Someone willing to hire an assassin to get a job done was unlikely to give up that easily.

"I will have to return to the castle soon. But how about you meet me tonight as the sun begins to descend behind the mountains. In the castle garden maybe? I'd like to talk to you again." The prince then suggested and Logan stopped and stared at him for a long moment.

"I cannot meet you on the castle grounds, my prince." He said.

"Why not? Obviously you know how to get in there without being seen." Was all the prince said. Ignoring the dangers of entering the castle grounds uninvited (well, he supposed this should count as having the prince's permission) it was still a chance that this was some elaborate plan to get Logan captured.

"You could be tricking me. I know the punishments for my crimes and I'd rather not willingly walk to the gallows."

"I don't see how you've got a choice but to trust me. Otherwise I might let it slip that a certain someone tried to stab me." The prince said. Obviously Logan had no choice, not when the prince held control of whether he lived or not.

Logan did not respond, and he did his very best to control his features and not let his dismay show.

"See you in the castle garden this evening, then." The prince said with a rather satisfied and self-assured expression.

"Fine." Logan said, slipping out of the prince's reach, already having spotted an alley in which he could get easy access to the rooftops.

"Wait! You still have to tell me your name." The prince shouted after him as Logan quickly disappeared into the alley, already reaching for a ledge by a window that was shut with a sturdy wooden hatch.

Logan ignored the prince's demand and instead only glanced back once he'd hoisted himself up on the roof. The prince's gaping face made his lips curl into something resembling a smile as he quickly made way for his home.

He needed to clean his cape and change into his cloak before he joined the healers. He had no other job to get done for a few days now.

--

Logan was sat comfortably perched in the same treetop as he had the evening of the attempted assassination of the prince. He wondered silently, as he sat there, if he really had any common sense to speak of.

He had always prided himself in not being a fool, but it simply couldn't be sane of him to actually be waiting to meet the prince. Maybe he could have just taken his chances and never shown up, maybe the prince's words had just been empty threats.

He did not think the prince liked him especially much, he was just curious (admittedly... part of Logan was too) but he had heard that a soulmate dying was one of the worst pains you could experience and because of that the prince might be hesitant to let Logan be executed.

Logan couldn't say he was very interested in seeing the prince die either, he was in no hurry to find out how painful it was to feel his soulmate be murdered. But other than not actively wanting him to die Logan had yet to form an opinion about the man, that would have to wait until the prince showed what kind of king he was, but hopefully prince Roman was better than his father had been.

The sun was still high enough in the sky to bathe everything in bright light. Soon it would begin to disappear behind the distant mountains.

It had been strangely easy to break into the castle grounds this evening, even fewer guards out than usually. Logan was not going to complain, it was preferable to have some things be easy now and then, especially as he had gotten little sleep during the past few days, having spent both days and nights planning the assassination of the factory owner.

After what felt like a long while Logan saw someone walking across the grounds, which was rather on time as the sun was just beginning to dip behind the mountains in the west. As the person, who of course was the prince, got closer Logan jumped down from the tree, landing quietly a mere few feet away from the prince who stumbled back in surprise.

"Oh- Hello... you." The prince said. He was wearing the same clothes as before. Logan was wearing the same clothes he usually worse for an assassination, the gray of the fabric made it easy to hide away when it was dark, which wasn't needed now as it was quite bright outside still. But he was also wearing a deep blue cape, the most expensive one he owned.

The soft dark blue fabric was what made it expensive, but he had actually gotten it for free, as a thanks from a friend after he had done him a favour. (A favour that had nothing to do with murder, his friend would never ask something like that from him.)

"Good evening, my prince." Logan said, which made the other frown.

"You can just call me Roman, since we're... you know, soulmates." He said, yet another thing that did not make any sense to Logan. The man in front of him had no reason to show him trust, other than the fact that they were soulmates. If that was the prince's reasoning then he had more faith in the universe than Logan had.

"Alright, my prince." Logan said, causing the price to roll his eyes.

"You still haven't told me your name." The prince continued instead of telling Logan the same thing again.

"I'm not planning on doing so either. I see no reason to tell you my name yet. It would only make it easier for you to track me down, find out where I live or who I spend time with. I'd rather keep my life to myself." He said, not caring terribly much that it must be rude to refuse such a thing.

"How am I going to get to know you if you won't tell me anything about yourself?" The prince asked, voice bordering on exasperation. Logan was not sure he wanted the prince to get to know him at all. They lived in completely different worlds, and Logan was not sure if the prince realized it.

Prince Roman reached out for him and Logan, on reflex, tightly gripped to his arm to keep him from touching him.

He was quickly brought back to reality by the aching pain in his arm that alerted him that he'd just grabbed onto where he had stabbed the prince many days prior. To his credit the prince did not show any discomfort.

"Apologies." He said, letting go of the prince who apparently had learnt nothing and hooked his arm with Logan's. They began to stroll through the garden, Logan very stiff by his side and continuously glancing around to see if anyone could see them. He was not sure how the guards would react to the two of them walking together. Maybe they would not care as he was walking with the prince, but he was still someone unknown that, honestly, shouldn't be trusted.

After a long bout of silence Logan internally cursed himself but decided on speaking anyway, unsure if it was a good idea or not.

"I enjoy learning about medicine and healing. And I enjoy reading, but I don't own half as many books as I'd like. That's all you need to know about me." He said quietly, staring at a guard that was patrolling the top of the wall. Any guard would probably be delighted to slice his head off, so of course their presence made Logan a bit wary.

"Maybe I can introduce you to my friend, Virgil, he works in the castle and is our best healer." The prince suggested and Logan gave him a short nod while feeling absolutely thrilled at that possibility. He couldn't imagine how much he could learn from the healers in the castle.

They had access to anything they might need and Logan didn't doubt that every book written about medicine could be found in the castle. He would pay to meet this 'Virgil' that the prince spoke of. Maybe he would even be allowed to assist the healers in the castle too.

Although, the prince had said that Virgil was a friend, and he had earlier mentioned that only his closest friends knew of the attempted assassination. If Virgil was one of those people then he might not have the highest of thoughts about Logan.

Assassins were after all generally frowned upon.

"Would you show me around the city? I have not been allowed to venture there alone very often and I wish to know more about the kingdom I will soon rule over." The prince asked him.

Logan decided to take that as a good thing. If the prince learned about the lives of his people then perhaps he would be kinder and more understanding than the previous king who had given too much power to the nobility, which is why they so often were the cause of the suffering of the people.

"I suppose I can." He said, giving the wall a tired glance, looking it over to see the closest and easiest part to climb up. The prince seemed to follow his gaze.

"...Do you climb the wall to get in and out of here?" The prince stated, as if how Logan got onto the castle grounds was not something that he had thought a lot about until this moment. Logan observed him in the corner of his eye for a mere moment before answering.

"It's the easiest way since they would hardly let me in through the gate. How else am I supposed to get into places such as the castle?" He told him, ignoring the prince's stare and instead paying attention to his surroundings. Everything in him yearned to hide away from anyone's sight, he was far from comfortable within the walls surrounding the castle.

"You climbed up to my window, too, did you not?" He then asked and Logan gave him a quick nod. He

was unsure of the prince's interest in his movements.

"Well, this time you can walk with me through the gate. They won't ask too many questions from me. They will assume you are someone let in by another guard." Roman said and started pulling him along towards the gate.

This time of the day it was still wide open, guards stationed on either side both inside and outside. Logan had always quickly judged this point of entry to be far too dangerous. And now they were walking through it, Logan trying to not look unnecessarily awkward or nervous as he passed the guards.

The prince exchanged quick words with them but Logan did not listen. Without any issues they were let through. Logan imagined briefly what it would be like to be let through anywhere without questions. It would certainly make his job as an assassin easier.

Perhaps a hundred steps from the gate the city began, streets with stores selling fabric and yarn, meat and vegetables, jewelry and clothes, bookshops and shops full of anything medicine.

Logan did not visit these stores often, despite his pay as an assassin he couldn't afford many things. He did frequently visit the bookshop, updating himself of what they had for sale. If Logan was as rich as the nobility that owned these stores then he would be buying every book he could get his hands on.

The prince seemed to pay the shops no mind and Logan was relieved he wasn't planning on flaunting his excessive wealth. Logan had never thought too much about what he was looking for in a soulmate (the universe was supposed to know it better than him anyway), but someone who wanted riches for the sake of being wealthy was not it.

The little money Logan had that was not spent on books, medicine, and food, he usually gave to his friend who owned a bakery. The shop was his friend's entire life's work and Logan would hate to see him lose it.

"What would you like me to show you?" Logan asked, the prince seeming to have an answer already in mind.

"Your favorite place?" He said, almost hopefully.

"No. My favorite place is my home and I will not bring anyone there." Logan explained. His second favorite place would be with his friend, who was practically the only family he had, and he did not want to mix that part of his life with this part either.

"Well, alright. Then just show me around. Tell me about the people, how do they live, how do they work? Things like that. I'd say I'm well educated, my parents made sure of that, but I know very little about the lives of the people." The prince explained.

"Very well, my prince." He said, and they continued on their way, Logan feeling very uncomfortable as people smiled and greeted and bowed as they passed. Logan would never want to be royalty, being at the center of attention and being responsible for the well being of so many people seemed terrible.

Many would think he was insane for such a view, but he'd rather be an assassin than a king.

And it dawned on Logan right then, as they were walking past building upon building of homes and stores, that if he and the prince were soulmates of the romantic sort then, maybe, one day Logan would be a king by Roman's side.

The mere thought made him want to rip his arm from the prince's hold and run as far as he could possibly escape. Whatever his future held Logan did not want it to be that. He did not want to live in a castle with rooms so big they always felt empty, he liked his own home, cramped as it was.

"You look pale."

Logan looked up at the prince to see him observing him. He swallowed down the rising panic, collecting himself (it was almost funny how the prospect of a future by the prince's side scared him more than committing any gruesome murder ever had).

"I'm quite alright." He lied, taking a deep breath and steering the both of them towards the part of the city where the workers lived. It seemed futile to show him the lives of the nobility, they lived wealthy and considerably easier lives than the rest of them. If Logan was forced to spend time with the prince then he might as well do his best to influence him to become a king that wanted to help his people to his best ability.

So far the prince seemed kind enough, but Logan in no way understood his line of thinking, especially when it came to himself. If he was a prince who almost got murdered he would not later go looking for that assassin, soulmates or not, Logan would have simply accepted his fate as someone living their life without a soulmate.

Perhaps the prince was incredibly bored in the castle, but even being bored was better than being dead. Granted, Logan had no plans on killing the prince since the attempt had failed and he had decided against finishing his job, but that was not knowledge the prince had had access to as he had headed into the city to look for Logan.

He wondered if the prince had grown up fed by every happy-ever-after fairy tale that had ever been told about soulmates, it seemed likely, and would explain why he was willing to give this a chance. Logan held more realistic views.

He had also heard all those stories, he'd read about them and heard his parents talk about them and sat with kids re-telling stories they had heard from their families. Soulmate stories were everywhere and of course many of them made the soulmate bond seem like one of the most important things ever.

But being an assassin and having the future king as your soulmate...

He showed the prince workplaces of the people, telling him about the work they did and the dangers and the pay they could expect, he then showed him the stores, who's prices were low compared to the shops closer to the castle, but not enough so. He hoped the prince was doing some math in his head, and hoped that the prince realized that there were many lives he could improve once he became king.

Logan was unsure if it was possible for someone living in wealth all their life to realize what life was like for the poorest of the people. He hoped so.

In the middle of Logan attempting to explain why a lot of children had no opportunity to go to school the prince dragged him to the side. Logan stumbled but remained upright, looking at the prince to see what it was that had gotten his attention.

His heart sank as prince Roman pressed his face to the window of a bakery that Logan knew very well. Apparently, if Logan did not pay attention to his surroundings he would end up here. Something he should have expected, it was away here he went when he was troubled, and lately he was more so than ever.

"Let's buy something, I've grown hungry from all the walking." The prince said and ignored Logan's protests, opening the door and stepping inside, dragging Logan with him. He breathed in the familiar sweet smell of cookies and candies and pastries.

In any other situation his shoulder would be dropping and he would feel himself relax for the first time in days. However...

"Logan! Oh, it's been days since I saw you last, what have you-" The man owning the shop began rambling as soon as he saw Logan, then he squeaked as his eyes fell on the prince.

"Prince Roman, it's an honor." He said, bowing before him, something that the prince paid no attention to, he had instead turned to Logan who was giving his friend a pained glance.

"Logan?" He said curiously, testing the name out. Logan refrained from frowning. His fight for anonymity and privacy was not going well and he would have to inform his friend of the fact that the prince really did not have any need for too many details of Logan's life.

"The two of you know each other?" He asked, turning back to Logan's friend.

"He's family in everything but blood, my prince." Logan's friend, Patton, replied. Logan gave him a faint smile and Patton gave him a look of utter confusion. He knew why, of course.

"I have... news, I suppose." Logan said tensely, wondering how he was even supposed to share such a thing. Logan still found it all so ridiculously wrong. Instead of using his words to explain himself he pinched himself again, certain that would get the message across.

"Ow! May I request you stop doing that?" The prince whined (Logan could not help it, he had to make sure now and then that he was not delusional). Patton's eyes widened and Logan completely understood his chock, was still dealing with it now and then himself.

"Oh my goodness! You-" He began and Logan leaned on the counter, bracing himself with his elbows.

"Patton, could you not be so excited, please." Logan asked, paying no mind to the prince who was becoming distracted by the sweets and who hopefully ignored their conversation.

Patton was one of all those people who was excitedly awaiting the day he would meet his soulmate, who cherished the bond he had with that person. All the years he had known Patton he had been thrilled at the prospect of meeting his soulmate, it figured that he would be excited for Logan.

"Wait a moment... how did you ever find this out, Logan?" Patton then wondered and Logan avoided his friend's gaze, knowing exactly what reaction he would receive. It was after all not every day someone like Logan got to meet the future king during normal circumstances.

"He tried to assassinate me. It didn't go as planned." Prince Roman said as he was examining the sweets to choose between, apparently not at all ignoring their conversation. Patton stared at the both of them before narrowing his eyes at Logan who let a sigh slip from his lips.

He nodded to confirm what the prince had said. Patton hit him on the head with the recipe book he was still holding.

"Logan, one of the princes? You said you wouldn't accept that job, why would you- oh, what will I do with you?" He whisper-yelled to keep the conversation somewhat private as Logan rubbed the top of his head that had just been lightly assaulted.

"It paid well." He defended himself, earning another glare from his friend. They both knew they'd needed the money, but Patton had morals that often came in the way of his understanding for Logan's profession.

"My prince, I'd like to apologize on behalf of my friend, his morals are lacking." Patton said, bowing once again and sending Logan a disappointed glance. His friend had never really liked what he did.

"Oh, thank you. Um, I'd like to buy some pastries, please." The prince said, pulling a pouch the same red as his sash from under his cape.

"Oh, of course, although please don't expect the same qualities as what you are used to in the castle." Patton said, Logan could see the worry in his eyes. No one would want to disappoint the prince, after all, and people like him and Patton couldn't even guess what kind of luxury the royal was used to.

Logan watched as the prince chose what treats he wanted and as he then dug up a handful of golden coins from the pouch, offering them to Patton who stuttered as he tried to explain that that was far too much money. The prince did not seem bothered by that and left the money on the counter before turning his attention back to Logan.

"Shall we take our leave?" Logan wondered, wanting to get them both out of there before the prince started asking his friend questions about Logan and his life.

"If you'd like." Prince Roman said, putting his pouch back in under the cape. Patton grasped for Logan, hands cupping his face. He shook his head at Logan.

"Do not get yourself killed, please." Patton begged and Logan reached up to give his hand a calming pat.

"It's alright, I will be doing my very best to stay alive. And I'm fairly certain the prince has no plans to execute me. Not yet at least." Logan reassured his friend who gave him a tired smile.

"That's right. Since he's my soulmate I cannot just execute him, right? That'd be painful. Not to mention wasteful, he's my only soulmate as far as I'm aware and I would rather not throw that away before I've even gotten to know him. The soulmate bond is rarely wrong, after all." The prince said, sending Patton a reassuring smile.

Logan had no idea how the king could be so optimistic, neither could he understand what the king hoped to achieve out of their acquaintance with the roles that they had in their lives.

"I suppose I'm not complaining." Logan said, rather alive and in a tricky soulmate situation than dead.

"Yes you do, you seem very unwilling to meet with me, you'd rather pretend that you do not have a soulmate at all and continue on with your life as usual, am I right?" The prince accused, being entirely correct in his assumptions.

Logan did not bother to answer, only gestured towards the door. As they exited, the prince's sweets wrapped in paper, Logan gave his friend a wave and a discreet smile. He would see his friend soon, within a day if not sooner. (Chances were Patton would be waiting for him as Logan got home, already making tea that they could drink as they discussed the recent ...events in their lives.)

For now Logan chose not to think about how Patton would surely be incredibly exalted and worried for him, and make him feel bad for the assassination attempt, instead he led the prince down a dark street, the sun now completely set behind the mountains and the sky painted a deep indigo. Stars were appearing, twinkling so very far away, forming the constellations which Logan knew by heart.

They did not talk, Logan busy making sure that the few people out at this time did not pose any danger to either of them and busy watching the sky. He observed the prince too, saw him smile to himself as he bit into one of the pastries.

As he noticed Logan's attention he pulled another one out and handed it to him. Logan accepted the offer, uttering a quiet thanks.

"Why did you kill that man today?" The prince later asked and Logan tensed slightly, quickly debating how truthful he should be.

"His workers contacted me and paid me to do it. Their reason was that he treated them poorly. They worked more hours than anyone should have to and their work was dangerous. He barely paid them and many of them have big families to take care of. Their words reasoned with me so I accepted the job." Logan said.

The prince went quiet, stayed silent for many streets. Logan did not feel confident to ask what was on his mind, he only stayed by the prince's side and relished in the quiet and the stars. The moon was rising, a thin shard moving so very slowly over the heavens, so far only visible above the treetops.

"I need to return to the castle soon, before guards get sent to look for me." The prince said regretfully, casting a glance towards the castle, its impressive build rising above all other houses.

"I can follow you back to the castle, my prince, make sure nothing happens." Logan offered, far from forgetting the possibility of another assassin being after him.

"Nonsense, I will be just fine." The prince said, confidently waving away his concern.

"See you soon, Logan." He said, seeming quite satisfied with himself, and walked away towards the castle. Logan gave him a few moments head start before he followed him from the rooftops all the way to the gates, making sure no one attacked the prince.

If that dense man got killed it would bring Logan a lot of pain, after all.

--

The walks through the city became an almost normal thing onward, every other day Patton would be sent a message from the prince that he forwarded to Logan, who continued to refuse to show the prince his home, despite how Patton rolled his eyes about it.

At the very least he had convinced his friend to not let the prince make him spill any important details about Logan, such as the location of his home and where he helped the healers.

But, yes, every now and then the two would meet and they would walk through the city and Logan would explain as much as he could of the lives of the citizens, and the prince would in return give detailed retellings of the theater performances he had seen. It was clear to see that the prince had a passion for theater.

Logan had started to realize that the prince was nothing like

the previous king who had demanded respect and always made sure to get what he wanted. Prince Roman was definitely... a handful, though.

He was easily distracted and also easily bored when Logan's explanations were a little too long. He took risks, not scared away by dark streets where any murderer or thief could be hiding, and he wanted to enter almost every shop they passed by, always paying the flustered shopkeepers more than needed to.

That last fact was something that warmed Logan's heart, although he would never admit it. It was probable that the prince did not know how that money might have saved the lives of those shopkeepers and their families, but Logan did, still easily remembering many years ago when he was a child that had nothing.

After his parents had lost their lives he had had to fend for himself, which was not always an easy task even for the ones with roofs over their heads. He'd accepted any small job he was offered, but those had never led anywhere and he had always found himself jobless.

It was not until after some poor man had cornered Logan in an alley one night that he had realized that murder was something he was capable off, having grasped the dagger he always kept hidden under his clothes and jammed it into the mans eye.

He hadn't wanted to do it, but the long knife with jagged edges that the man had been wielding had been motivating enough. He had heard of assassins, people who were paid to end someone's life, and later on as he heard two men in a pub talk about someone they wanted 'out of the way', Logan had pulled his hood down to hide his identity and then offered his services.

He was sure the men had found him amusing, he had been fifteen years of age by the time and had always been a bit short and skinny, but the men had given him the benefit of the doubt and as he a few days later he tracked them down and delivered them one of the man's fingers, still with his rings on it.

He got paid for the deed, paid more than any other service he had tried, and from then on he had, to Patton's horror, accepted his fate as a killer. It was now seven years later and being an assassin was still his way of getting by. Patton had, mostly, stopped complaining.

Yes, he was still an assassin, and today he was sitting on a rooftop by the town square, watching his soulmate be crowned king.

The marketplace was crowded, Logan could barely see the cobblestone covered ground. All stands were closed or moved out of the way today. He was not the only person who had decided not to venture into the crowd, people were hanging out the windows and sitting on all the rooftops surrounding the place.

People lined the streets leading up to the marketplace, everyone wanted to see this spectacular day. Logan had a full view of the middle of the marketplace where guards were lined up in a circle, protecting the soon-to-be king and the people who assisted in the ceremony, a mix of royals and nobles on the standby.

"Isn't this exciting?" Patton said, perched on the roof right next to Logan, clinging to his arm as he grinned at the spectacle on the ground.

"I suppose it is." Logan said, smiling faintly, mostly at Patton's excitement. His friend had always been a lot better than him at finding joy in things. Logan couldn't help thinking about how his soulmate was about to become the king, it was difficult to comprehend and it also stressed Logan who was thinking ahead sometimes, asking himself how their future as soulmates would look.

An assassin and a king.

It didn't fit, did it? As much as a friendship between the two was inappropriate, and Logan had yet to find out what kind of soulmates they were. Still all Logan knew was that he did not want to find himself ruling the kingdom by Roman's side.

Logan wondered what kind of king Roman would be, but from the information he had so far gathered about the other he had hopes. He seemed interested in improving the state of the kingdom and perhaps if they grew to trust each other then he might even take Logan's advice.

"Logan, look!" Patton said, pointing at someone by the prince's side who was holding a plush pillow that the crown was resting on. Another person, with a beard of impressive length, was delivering a speech that they could only hear snippets from, as far away as they were.

The person taking the crown from the pillow was Roman's twin brother, Remus. From what the prince had told Logan, Remus had no desire to be king. He had never met the other prince, but from what he was told they were quite similar, only prince Remus had a moustache and an inappropriate personality.

The bearded nobleman continued on for a long while, until prince Remus said something that made part of the crowd laugh and the old man stutter. Soon enough after that the prince set the crown down on his brother's head, effectively turning the prince into a king.

The crowd roared and cheered, the yells continuing down the streets as people who couldn't see what was going on realized what had happened. Beside him Patton joined in on the cheering. King Roman bowed to the people, somehow without the crown falling from his head.

Logan stayed quiet, but he allowed his lips to curl into a small smile.

--

It took many days until the king had time to see Logan again. He had no idea what new responsibilities the king might be facing, but there were surely a lot. But then his friend informed him that the king wished to see him.

He'd been told to wait outside the castle wall and sure enough, right as the bells chimed to tell that it was midday the king appeared before him, as always clothed in that red cape and those impossibly white clothes.

Despite the summer coming to an end it was a warm day and the sun was shining brightly, making Logan sweat under his cloak. He was wearing his dark blue one since it was made with the thinnest fabric, but it was still warm and the weak wind was not enough to cool him down.

Instead of the two walking through the town the king showed Logan through the gates and the gardens, soon pulling him inside the castle itself. It was years ago Logan was inside the castle, not counting his short visit to king Roman's bedroom. Just as he remembered it was full of long hallways and big rooms, wide stairs making ways to the higher and lower floors.

He followed the king through many hallways, unsure where he was and slightly put off by the many interested stares from the castle staff. He pulled the cape tighter around himself and wished he could pull his hood up to shield himself from everyone's eyes. Even better if he was wearing his clothes for assassinations which had extra fabric that he could pull up over his face.

"I cannot let you visit the castle healers today, Virgil said they were all very busy after part of the kitchen staff got food poisoning, but I figured it was worth showing you this, since you said you enjoyed reading books." The king said before pulling open a heavy door and showing Logan into a gigantic hall full of tables and many, many high shelves full of scrolls and books.

A gasp slipped from his lips as he realized what he was looking at.

The castle library, a place that he had considered breaking into for years. The king grinned at him, which Logan ignored in favor of walking up to the nearest shelf to read the titles of the books.

His fingers itched to pull one of them out and flip through the pages, smell the old ink and the paper. He looked back at the king who was still looking at him.

"Go ahead, you may look at any you would like." He said and Logan did not hesitate to grasp a heavy book bound in leather stained blue.

He carried the book to the nearest desk, gingerly opening it to the first page which showed a carefully painted illustration of the night sky, stars accurately dotted to the page to form constellations. A small text below the portrayal named all the constellations and dated the sketch, all from many years before Logan had been born.

Logan turned the pages slowly, each which seemed to hold an illustration of the sky, only days apart. The person creating the drawings had done so with care, and Logan marveled at the fact that the art showed the stars movements on the sky depending on the seasons.

"This is absolutely incredible." He said, looking up at the king who had moved to stand next to him, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm glad you think so." He said.

A man in a corner, surrounded by piles of books and parchment rolls, shushed them then immediately paled as he saw the king, apologizing profusely.

Logan flipped through the rest of the pages before closing the book and placing it back on the shelf. He let his fingers run along the backs of the books, finding another one that piqued his interests. He pulled it out and opened it, realizing after reading the first page that it was a fictional story about two soulmates.

After running around and finding a book or a scroll here and there that he wanted to look closer at he finally gathered a few up and placed them on an empty table far from any other person. The king excused himself several times as he was called away, but Logan was thrilled as he was told to stay in the library and he sat down to begin to read, starting with an impressively big book about medicine.

He was not sure if it was allowed, but on the table there was already a quill and several empty papers and Logan copied down important information and medicine recipes that he did not yet know, thinking that it was not only for his own sake, this information would be vital to any healer.

He was unsure of how long he sat there reading and taking notes, but eventually the king returned to his side, Logan only noticing as a chair was set down next to his own. The king took a seat, leaning his elbows on the table.

"You're not bored, I see." He said, glancing onto the page who's text was describing how to make a medicine to dull a patient's pain, one that seemed more effective than the one Logan currently knew of.

"How could I be? The amount of new information I have learned in such a short time is astounding! I could sit here for many days and never grow bored." Logan said, writing down instructions for how to make the medicine blend. If anyone tried to keep him from spreading this information he could always break into the castle and steal the entire book, but the king did not comment on the text he was copying down.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. If you'd like I could arrange for you to be allowed to visit whenever you want, I'm sure no one would mind if you came and made use of the library." The king leaned his head in his hand, sending Logan a dashing smile.

Being allowed to visit the library any time he wanted seemed like the best thing that could ever happen to Logan and he nodded to let the king know that it would be entirely alright if he would do so.

"You could also borrow a few books if you'd like, as long as nothing happens to them and you return them after you're done with them." The king suggested.

"I would love that, my king." Logan said, already having made his mind up about which books he would be bringing home. The one he was currently reading was at the top of the list.

Logan was unsure how long they spent in the library, but the king patiently sat by his side and let Logan read pages after pages from the books for him, without complaining. Only once more he had to leave, an older lady entering the library and bringing king Roman with her once she left.

Once the king came back he was carrying a basket that must have been sent directly from the kitchen, full of still warm foods. The books, scrolls, and papers were pushed to the side for the time being, them both feasting on soft and fluffy bread with salted butter, fresh fruits, several kinds of meats and cheeses. It was a quite simple meal but still a rare one for Logan, especially some of the fruits and the cheeses, those were luxuries that Logan could rarely afford.

Once the sun was setting, the sky glowing orange and the clouds colored pink, Logan was on his way towards his own home, carrying three books in his arms. The king had insisted and Logan certainly had not been able to decline.

Logan stayed up all night, reading and trying out medicine recipes until the sun began to rise, then he collapsed into bed for a few hours of sleep before he shared his findings with the healers.

--

Logan assisted two other healers with holding a patient down as two fingers were being amputated by a third healer. He pitied the woman's soulmate who was likely not having a very good time either, despite the pain subduing medicine that the patient had been given.

As the two fingers, that had been damaged beyond repair in a work related accident, were amputated he assisted with stopping the blood flow, but as he noticed that the patient was still crying from the pain he decided that he might as well leave that to one of the other healers while pulling one of the ones currently jobless with him to another room.

He'd brought the recipe for that stronger pain subduing medicine that he had read about and he knew that all he needed was available there. He figured that they might as well try the medicine on the patients in the most pain and see if it helped and what the effects were, and his healer friend agreed, just as excited as Logan at the prospect of better helping the people who came to them.

Logan had avoided telling any of them where he had found it, it might be difficult to explain why he had been in the castle library as that was definitely not open to the public and so far no one in Logan's life except for Patton had been made aware of his and the king's... friendship (or whatever it might be called), and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Revealing such things may lead to complicated questions such as 'how did you meet the king' and 'why would the king be interested in you'. The only ones who knew that the two of them were soulmates were still Patton and whoever the king's closest friends were, and Logan wanted it to stay that way.

He failed to see why it would benefit any of them if it became common knowledge that the king had finally found his soulmate. Because that was definitely news that would spread like a wildfire, everyone would be interested to know all about it and find out who the soulmate was.

Logan, as always, did not want the attention. He still preferred to keep to himself. Not to mention, if the entire city suddenly got interested in him then somehow people might figure out that he was an assassin and that was definitely the last thing Logan wanted.

(What would happen though, if people knew he was an assassin but also knew he was the soulmate of the king? It was very conflicting, because murder and assassinations and trying to end the king's life were all crimes warranting execution, but no one would want to be the person killing the kings soulmate, and it became especially complicated if the king did not want that person to die. Could they decide for the king if Logan should live or die?)

Those thoughts filled Logan's mind as the two of them began to make the medicine, working quietly but effectively. Once the concoction was finished and had begun to cool down enough not to burn anyone ingesting it they brought the bowl of it out to the patients, asking them who would be willing to be the test subjects for an experimental medicine.

Pain was, as often before, a strong motivator and the woman with the amputated fingers, a man with a few broken ribs, and a child suffering from pains of unknown origins all asked for it.

Logan gave them all a different amount and sat down with a quill and paper, taking notes of how the medicine worked, how much was needed and what happened. His most important realizations were that two spoonfuls seemed enough for an adult for the desired result while one was enough for the child, it did work and it was more effective than the one they had used before, and it had a somewhat weird effect on the patients.

They became more relaxed, tired, and the medicine seemed to have a similar effect as alcohol had, making them talkative and uncaring of what they said, and generally placid. When asking the child about their pain they had instead happily shared that they had once stolen the coins of a nobleman passed out in a bar to help their parents pay for food for them and their siblings.

It didn't remove the pain completely from what Logan gathered, but Logan made sure to note that after a while the patients found their pains manageable, no longer crying or gasping. The result was beyond any of their expectations and every healer seemed elated.

This would help a lot of people, that Logan was sure off, still sitting next to the child who seemed very content to hold Logan's hand and count his fingers over and over again. It was not bothersome to Logan and therefore he stayed seated, not needed anywhere at the moment.

He read his writing over, making sure he had not forgotten anything. Then he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, raising his eyes from the paper only for his breath to catch in his throat as his eyes fell on the king standing in the doorway, observing him.

He had no idea how long he had been there, but hopefully not long as the rest of the healers only seemed to notice him now too, all bowing before him as they did. Logan bowed his head, realizing that that was a first.

He pulled his hand from the child's grasp, carefully folding his paper and getting up from the chair, walking past the king without acknowledging him any further, entering the other room and leaving his notes on top of the paper with the recipe.

The bowl with the medicine had already been left in there by the other healer and Logan took it, pouring the remaining concoct into an empty bottle, then writing onto a small bit of parchment what medicine it was, tying the tag around the narrow top of the bottle. He pretended he did not know the king was behind him, having followed him.

"No greeting?" The king asked and Logan heavily put the bottle down next to the other liquid medicines. He turned to face him, making no effort to look happy to be in his presence.

"Greetings, my king." He said monotonously and he could see the small smile on the king's face drop just a little at his cold demeanor.

This was one of the very few places where Logan could go to be someone else than the assassin, the king's soulmate, and the king had no right to just waltz in there and take that from him. No, Logan was not going to make an effort to seem pleased at the king's arrival.

"What are you doing here? Did Patton tell you I was here?" He wondered, really hoping that that was not the case because he had explicitly told him not to say anything about where his home was located and where he spent his free time helping the healers out.

"He didn't, he has refused to tell me anything the few times I have asked. It seems his loyalty to you is greater than his loyalty to me." The king said and Logan believed him, to his own relief. Patton was definitely the kind of friend to refuse the king's will to protect a friend's privacy.

"I didn't know I would find you here, I swear on my crown, I was simply nearby on a walk and I got intrigued to see how the healers outside the castle worked. You have told me of the workers for the noblemen and the farmers and the schools and shops, but never of the healers." The king said, which seemed believable.

That didn't mean Logan was any happier to have him there, though. But the sooner he satisfied the king's wishes, the sooner he would be leaving. And, hopefully, the king would respect his wishes and not be back.

"Alright, I can tell you about the healers and their work, if you'd like, since you are already here." Logan said and the king smiled. He showed him back out to the room with the patients and the healers.

"The king wishes to learn how the healers work, I will take this task upon myself, then the rest of you will not be kept from the patients." He told one of the others who were changing the bloody wrappings of the woman's hand.

"Alright, you do that. Oh, before I forget, the child has been asking for you, if you have the time, go check on them." The healer said, the entire time staring at the king who was looking over the shoulder of another healer.

Logan wondered if king Roman knew how much his presence distracted the healers.

"Come with me, my king." He said, pulling him away from the other healer who was struggling to feed a patient with stomach flu a few spoonfuls of porridge with dried blueberries. Sick patients who did not eat would die, which made illnesses that kept someone from keeping food down more dangerous than losing a limb.

First thing first he informed the king about the patients they had right now, describing their symptoms and what they did to alleviate their pains and their struggles. The king winced slightly at the sight of the woman with the amputated fingers who was currently examining her own hand as the healer had gone for more bandages.

"Hopefully she will make it without infections, if her hand gets infected we might have to amputate the entirety of it, or she will die." Logan explained before once again finding himself by the side of the child.

"You had been asking for me?" He said. The child was hugging the pillow from the bed they were curled up on and looked incredibly bored and a bit afraid. But it seemed that there would be no time for a chat at the moment.

Three people stumbled into the room, two carrying a third between them, a shirtless woman with terrible burns on her upper body. All the other healers rushed to her side to take her from the two others. Logan forgot about the king, leaving him by the side of the child and hurrying for the bottle of medicine, knowing that it would be very needed. Even small burns were incredibly painful, this woman must be in extreme agony.

He poured some of the medicine into a glass, hurrying to the patient that was now being carefully laid onto her back on a bed. A healer was carrying a steel bucket full of fresh water inside.

Logan helped her drink the medicine, knowing that there would be a while until it kicked in, but the other healers were placing soft fabrics that had been dipped in the cold water onto the burns, which would have to do until they had the honey based remedy they usually used.

They'd run out of the honey though, and they needed to run to the shop to get new. Thankfully one of the healers was already on their way, and the shop was close by.

Logan filled the glass with another two spoonfuls of the pain medicine, leaving it on the small table next to the woman's bed. Whenever the medicine had worn off she would be grateful for it. The two who had come in with the woman turned out to be her soulmates and he informed them about the medicine and assured them that they were doing all they could to alleviate the pain, which must be a relief as the two of them were suffering too.

There was nothing else Logan could assist with and he returned to where the king was standing and observing their work, looking quite pale.

"The medicine book you borrowed, is it helpful?" The king asked.

"Oh, very much so, I have many new medicines to try on the willing people who come here. This knowledge might save lives or at the very least help a lot of people." He said, watching the king who looked over to the patient with the burns for a brief moment, then averting his eyes.

He wondered if it was the wounds or the naked chest that was making him uncomfortable. Likely it was both, but he couldn't help himself from asking, still annoyed that the king had found him.

"Are you uncomfortable with nudity?" Logan asked, a smile pulling at his lips. He had heard that the wealthy rarely saw naked bodies except perhaps the one of their lover, which was a strange concept to all others. During the warm months people would flock to the rivers and lakes nearby to wash themselves and privacy was impossible and not something anyone even thought to request.

"Maybe a little. We like to keep our bodies private in the castle, you don't see people without their clothes on." He said, seeming a bit embarrassed just by the subject. Logan couldn't help a small snort.

"You live a strange life, my king." Logan said then, adding some respect to the conversation.

"I'd say it's no stranger than yours. You're a healer too?" He quirked a brow, gesturing at the white-ish shirt that Logan was currently dressed in. It was the same kind as all the healers in the town wore, he borrowed one each time he came here. (White was a lousy choice of color, though. Blood, vomit, pus, anything would leave very visible stains.)

"No, not really, I just help out whenever I can. I like learning about medicine and they always need the help. Now, if you excuse me, I have work to do. You may stay if you wish, but I do not have much else to show you." Logan said.

"I'll return to the castle, but I hope to see you soon, Logan." The king said, a slight smile showing. Logan bowed his head goodbye, watching as all the other healers bowed as he exited the room.

Logan went and sat with the child again, who turned out to want some company, feeling lonely and a bit scared without their parents near.

--

"You have such a sweet-tooth." Logan scoffed, the king munching on a cookie. Each time they passed Patton's shop the king would always buy something. It would be a lie to say that Logan did not make sure to end up near his friend's bakery just for that reason, but Patton always needed the money and the king seemed happy to spend money.

"It's tasty, who wouldn't buy sweets as often as they can?" The king exclaimed, putting an entire cookie in his mouth and smiling as he chewed. Logan almost rolled his eyes at the other's antics. Sometimes when it was just the two of them the king did not act very king-like.

"Most cannot afford to, I suppose." Logan said, shrugging a little. The king's smile fell.

"Oh, right. Though I think you will be pleased to know I have passed a law requiring all workers under someone else's command to be paid at least twice as much as my father demanded of them. It should be common knowledge within a few days." He said, taking a bite from another cookie, offering Logan one.

"That was very kind of you, I'm sure it will improve many lives." Logan said, declining the cookie.

"I'm not sure that 'kind' is the word. Decent, seems more fitting. I'm the king, it is my responsibility to make sure the people of the kingdom can live proper lives without having to worry about things such as starvation." The king said.

"All royals do not think the same way." Logan said. He had been young when the previous king had died from illness, at most ten years of age, but despite that he could remember hearing his parents discuss the king's laws with worry in their voices.

After he died the two twin princes had been too young to rule, being around the same age as Logan, which meant a group of people who had worked closely with the previous king were set to rule until one of the princes could take over.

Then there had been a debate over which prince it was that should be king, and despite (as far as rumour goes) Remus declining the position it took two years for them to settle the discussion.

"My father did not, right? I have not been told a lot about how he reigned, but from what I have heard he was not always fair, was he? I hope to do better than he did." The king said, wrapping his cookies back up in the paper, putting them in a pocket under his cape. He seemed to have lost his appetite.

"I'd say you are doing well so far." Logan told him. It was the truth, definitely. And it was such a relief to have a king that seemed so willing to make things right. Logan supposed it had to be that way, or them being soulmates would definitely not work out.

Although he still wasn't sure it would now either. So far it seemed to work fairly well, but the people did not know the two were soulmates yet, at most they might think the two were friends. Were they? Logan was beginning to hope so, he was not sure when it had happened, but he had started to actually enjoy the other's company.

"I'm glad. You're an important part of helping me be a good king, without your insight in the peoples lives I might not be made aware of what it is I need to improve in the kingdom." King Roman reached out to link their arms and Logan gave him a look but let him.

"Maybe you could see to it so anyone could write you a letter to recommend ways to improve the kingdom, I'm sure there are many that have ideas." He suggested. He was sure the king had people working for him that could be tasked with helping the process of choosing which ideas were good or possible.

"That's smart, maybe you should actually be my advisor." The king said, likely both now thinking back to his lie about who Logan was. He shook his head, not sure that was the kind of work that would fit him. So far the things he did best seemed to be to either kill or heal people.

Loud voices could be heard as they passed by an inn, the people inside surely drinking enough to bring themselves and their soulmates pains in the morning. A dog was barking from several streets away and the nearby sound of footsteps made Logan quickly turn to look, but he did not see anyone entering the same street as they were walking down.

"You're so tense all the time." The king said, shaking his head at him. Logan sent him a glare that he did not notice. It was not only his own life Logan was looking out for when the two of them were together.

"If you had the ability to properly assess danger then you would too. You've got no idea who you might stumble upon at night. You've already made acquaintances with one assassin, is that not enough? Not to mention that there are thieves and murderers who would love to lay hands on you." Logan pointed out and the king scrunched his nose in offense.

"I can too assess danger!" He said, crossing his arms over his chest. The glint in his eyes told Logan that the king was merely playing offended.

They slowed to a stop halfway down an empty street. It was late and despite not minding the king's company they should both be heading home to get some rest.

"I guess I'll be off then, don't forget to come and visit soon, my healer friend has said he would not mind showing you around. Perhaps the castle healers have some information not in that medicine book." Roman said, giving him a smile and a wave before turning to walk back down the street.

Logan watched him turn a corner, then beginning to walk the other direction to where he knew he could easily climb up atop the roofs to follow the king until he was safe in the castle.

But after barely a minute he paled and doubled over, his arms coming to hug his midsection as he gasped at the pain. Through the burning haze of pain he realized somewhat that the pain was not his own, and before he had fully grasped the implication of that he was running down the street, his panic dulling the pain as he ran towards where the king had gone.

Luckily he could not have gotten far, and even if he had Logan had followed him from afar often enough to know which roads he chose, which were admittedly not always the safest ones, but Logan had refrained from telling him so as that meant revealing that he would always keep an eye out for him as he walked to the castle by himself. The king might take offense, see it as Logan not believing he could take care of himself.

As Logan stumbled upon the next street, which was poorly lit, the moon the only source of light, he saw the king, leaning against the dirty wall of a house, a figure dressed in dark clothes in front of him.

Logan was not very quiet, seeing no use in stealth, already barreling towards the person who looked up at the sound of footsteps, loudly swore, and ran for their life. Logan had already pulled two of his daggers, fully ready to hunt the other assassin down, but the king's movements in the corner of his eye made some of his sense return.

He sheathed his daggers and stumbled to the king's side, catching him as he slid down the wall, lowering him more gently to sit on the ground. His hands were on the wound, the shaft of a dagger sticking up between his fingers. Logan pried his hands away as gently as he could, fearful to assess the damage.

"Hi Logan..." The king's hands reached for him, resting on his arms, smearing blood on his shirt, which was the least of Logan's current problems.

It was a slight relief that the dagger had been left embedded in the king's abdomen, it would keep him from bleeding out, but only if Logan could get the king somewhere safe where he could tend to the wound. He helplessly looked around, but the street was empty save for the two of them.

It was too far to the healers, trying to make it all the way there would be to gamble with the king's life. The closest and the safest place was Logan's home, where he had the means to make medicine to dull the pain and to help prevent an infection and bandages to bind the injury and stop the bleeding.

"Is this you assessing danger? Did I not tell you-" Logan cut himself off, swearing under his breath, words that would have made Patton kick him out of his own home. (It had happened before.)

"Can you stand and walk?" He wondered, guiding the king's hands back to where he had had them before, he would need to make sure the dagger did not fall out, no matter how painful it was for them both to keep it there, Logan had nothing to put pressure on the wound with.

"I think so?" The king said and Logan helped him to his feet, trying not to grimace at the pain he knew very well that the king was feeling. They took it slow, agonizingly so, but the king did walk and he did not seem to be too close to passing out right on the street. Logan supported him as much as he could, letting the other lean on him.

They passed by a few people, but anyone seeing them would likely think the two were drunkenly making their way home from an inn. Logan was unsure if the help of a stranger would be useful anyway, he did not know their possible intentions.

By the time they finally, finally, reached Logan's home the king was pale and sweaty and Logan knew exactly what pains he was dealing with, ignoring how his own eyes teared as he opened the door for Roman and helped him up the hallway stairs to the second floor. There he unlocked the door to his home, making sure to lock it again as they were both inside.

He got the king into his bedroom, unclasping his cape for him, making it fall from his shoulders and onto the floor, before he helped the king lie down on his bed.

The fact that he was in as much pain as the king made everything a lot more difficult, but he gritted his teeth and unbuttoned the king's shirt, then got up to gather up all his supplies such as bandages and clean fabric which he could soak up the blood with.

"Can you- can you please remove the knife?" The king requested, breathing shallow and hands shaking slightly as he lifted them up and stared at the blood covering them.

"Am I allowed to pass out?" He then wondered, a question that normally would have made Logan snort, but at the moment he was far too stressed about the very real possibility of the king bleeding out in his bed.

"No. You stay awake. And if you stay still I can remove the dagger. Afterwards I will be putting pressure on the wound, which will hurt but will keep you from bleeding out." He informed and the king lowered his hands and stayed absolutely still. Logan, very slowly, pulled the blade out of the king's abdomen while begging the very universe that there was no internal damage to his organs because that might be beyond his healing abilities.

As soon as the dagger was removed he pressed cotton fabric to the wound which, as he had known it would, made the pain a lot worse. He took Roman's hands, one at the time, and replaced his own with them, looking up at the king and giving him a stern look.

"I'm going to make you medicine that will take the pain away, okay? I will be in the other room, you can see me through the doorway. You will be speaking the entire time so I know that you're staying awake, got it?" He said, not standing up until the king nodded.

"Keep pressure on the wound." He reminded him before leaving the room. He poured water in a clean pot, setting it on the stove before beginning to start a fire. The momentarily heightened pain in his own abdomen alerted him that the king was doing as he was told.

"I don't know what to talk about." The king admitted as Logan rummaged through his medicines to find the things he needed.

"Anything will do, whatever is on your mind." Logan glanced into the room to see how he was doing, to make sure everything was as alright as it could be.

"I have nothing to say except for ouch and that my brother would love to be here, he loves to see gross things and this is definitely gross, I don't like to see this much blood, especially not my own. How can you stand to be an assassin and work with the healers? There's just blood everywhere you go." He rambled, hint of panic in his voice, which was understandable but incredibly unhelpful as panicking was the last thing he needed the king to do.

"Tell me about your brother." Logan said to spur the king on and distract him as he waited for the water to boil.

"Remus? He's chaotic, and, um, inappropriate. Our father wanted him to be king, maybe he saw potential in him, or maybe he saw himself in him. Then he was wrong because as annoying as my brother may be he is also kind." The king said, now instead something very fond in his voice.

"I think Remus refused to be the king because he knew our father thought he would be the one likely to be like him. And because Remus refuses to be anything that others want him to be. He keeps saying he will become an escort instead of being a prince, and I'm not always sure he's joking." He let out a pained laugh. Logan put crushed up herbs into the pot which still showed no signs of boiling.

"You remember the healer I've told you about? Virgil? They're soulmates, but they have at least one more, that they're sure of. However many soulmates Remus have, I pity them all, my brother is reckless and rarely thinks before acting. He gets hurt all the time." The king continued as Logan prepared the rest of the ingredients for the medicine.

If Logan hadn't been incredibly distracted by other things at the moment he definitely would have informed the king that the latest description of the prince sounded a lot like someone Logan knew.

"Once when we were little, a year or two after our father died, he took the sheet from his bed and held it above himself as he jumped out the window. He claimed it would make him fall as slow as the paper he let float to the ground from the same window, he wanted to fly."

"He made a lot of sense when he explained it, I was going to jump right after he did, because it sounded fun."

"It didn't go well, he broke his leg. But it's how he met Virgil, as a child he was already helping his mom out with the healing in the castle and while they had seen each other around before that was the first time they spoke and the first time they realized they shared a soulmate bond. I was always so jealous that he had found a soulmate." Roman said.

"It must have been a disappointment once you finally found your own, then?" Logan left the medicine on the stove, rejoining the king in the bedroom and kneeling by his side, removing the blood stained fabric to check if it was still bleeding. The remark might have been poorly delivered, but Logan couldn't imagine it being too thrilling to finally find your soulmate and realize he was an assassin.

"Hm, no. I'm not sure about that." The king said, eyes following Logan's movements as he pressed a clean piece of fabric to the wound, watching the light fabric turn red. He wasn't sure what to make out of the king's words, eventually deciding not to reply at all.

Logan stayed kneeling by the bed, forcing himself to breathe through the pain while listening to king Roman talk about his and Remus' mother who had died many years before their father, until he could hear the water on the stove finally boiling.

Then he rushed back into the kitchen, preparing the last of the medicine and pouring the correct amount into a cup, blowing carefully on the hot liquid as he brought it back to the king. Once it was no longer burning hot he helped him drink it, then he stayed by his side until the medicine finally did its job and dulled the pain. A relieved sigh escaped him.

"Sometimes I very much dislike the soulmate bonds, as a healer. It seems cruel to force two or more to suffer the same pains, does it not? My time with the healers have shown me that the bond between soulmates often leads to unnecessary suffering. Just like right now, this would have been a lot easier if I had not been in as much pain as you were." Logan said, rubbing at his forehead, feeling exhaustion creep at him now that he was not kept alert by the pain.

"I'm sorry." The king reached out, hand resting on Logan's arm. Logan allowed his own hand to rest on top of the king's, warming his cold fingers with his own.

"It's alright, you hardly got yourself stabbed on purpose." Logan said, checking the wound and changing the cotton cloth again.

"Your hands are shaking, are you worried for me?" King Roman said faintly and Logan gave him a stare.

"Why would I not be? You have just been stabbed." Logan said, wondering if the king was daft. Why would he not be worried? He would be even if this had been a normal patient.

"You care for me." The king said with a slowly widening smile as Logan did not dispute the claim. Logan avoided meeting his eyes, instead moving the bloody fabrics to the side.

"I'll be right back." He said, and went back into his kitchen. There he bottled up the rest of the medicine, finding another clean pot to boil new water in. He found more cotton fabric that he, with the help of one of his daggers, cut into smaller pieces. He found a small needle and some thread.

Logan cleaned his hands from blood and possible dirt as the water started boiling. The healers he worked with had a while ago formed a theory that clean hands, clean wounds, and clean equipment made the healing process easier. He dropped the needle into the pot of boiling water and then fished it out with a fork.

He brought everything, including the warm water, back with him into the bedroom, setting it all on the small table on his bed where he usually put books and his glasses. He sat on the edge of the bed, picking the still hot needle up and threading the thread through its eye.

"I'm going to sew the wound shut now. You shouldn't feel any pain, but it might feel weird." Logan explained to the king who was eyeing the needle with distaste. Logan had done this many times before, the king had nothing to worry about.

The king did not seem eager, but he did not complain and let Logan wipe the area of the wound clean from as much blood as possible before he set to work on sewing him up. Logan was aware that it didn't bring the king any pain, but it must be a strange feeling and the king was looking very uncomfortable the entire time.

"There, done." He said once it was done, then getting up once again and rummaging through his medicines to find the one to prevent infections. He made the king swallow a spoonful and he made a face of disgust that Logan ignored. He set the medicine aside.

"My king, please don't move too much." He said once the other shifted, but the king did not seem to listen or care, making a move as to sit up. Logan really did not have the energy for the king's stubbornness at the moment.

He wanted to make sure the king was not dying, and then he wanted to sleep. He just needed him to listen for a moment.

"Roman, I need you to stay still. Just because you are not in excruciating pain doesn't mean sitting up is a wise idea." He reprimanded, a hand pressed to his chest to keep him down. The king looked at him with what seemed to be surprise but then quickly morphed into a smile.

"You said my name. I like hearing you say my name." The king said, one of his hands coming to grasp Logan's, pulling it from its place on the king's chest. He brought Logan's hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it. "You should use my name more often."

"The- the medicine is definitely working, that much is for sure." He said to no one in particular. He blamed his own exhaustion and the king's abnormal behavior on how the gesture had made his face burn and his heart beat about twice as fast.

Except for Patton, who was a very affectionate person, no one ever really treated Logan in such a way. Which must be the reason why it made him so nervous.

"I'm tired." The king blinked up at him a few times.

"You get some sleep, then, Roman." Logan said and the other smiled once again at hearing his name, and then promptly fell asleep, hand still firmly clasped with Logan's. He decided it was best to let the king rest and regain his strength, there seemed to be a low chance of him actually passing away from his injury, which made sleeping low-risk.

Logan stayed kneeling by the side of the bed, staring at their entwined fingers for several long moments before shaking his head to get himself back to the presence. He dipped a piece of fabric in the still warm water, carefully wiping as much blood as he could from the king's skin, wondering if he should try to get his hands clean too but deciding against it, it felt like a difficult task when he only had one hand to use.

Logan reached for his blanket, pulling it over the king to keep him from getting cold, since he wasn't wearing all that much clothes. He then yawned and decided to just rest his head on the bed for a moment. He could pull himself from the king's grasp and get up from the floor to clean up later.

Then he woke up to voices. He didn't really react to it at first, still stuck somewhere between consciousness and his dreams. Then, as his hand was slightly tugged at, he realized someone was holding it, and that was definitely not something he usually (or ever) woke up to.

He sat up quickly, pulling his hand away from the other person as he took in his surroundings, remembering the events of yesterday and why he was sitting on the floor and holding hands with the king. (Or was it still today? It was still dark outside and he could not determine how long he had slept.)

"Oh, hi Logan, sleep well?" That was Patton's voice and Logan turned his head to find his friend sitting on a chair that he must have dragged into the bedroom from the kitchen.

"What're you doing here?" He wondered, words coming out slightly slurred as his tongue seemed to not have properly woken up yet.

"When you didn't come to see me last night I got a bit worried and thought it was best to check up on you. I cleaned up a bit while you slept, I'm sure you don't want those bloody rags lying around on the floor, and I started a fire since it was a bit cold. Then the king woke up and we got to talking." Patton explained and Logan realized that Patton had indeed cleaned up, and that he had the king's cape wrapped around him, likely also Patton's doing.

"Right," Logan turned to the man in his bed who thankfully did not look like he had moved much at all while he had been asleep, "apologies, my king, how are you feeling?"

"Good, I think. The medicine is still keeping the pain away but I'm feeling less of the, uh, effects from it." He said, glancing at Logan's hand quickly. It was slightly relieving to at least know that the king was no longer influenced by the medicine's ability to make people do things before thinking. Even if a loopy patient was preferred over one in extreme pain.

"Pat, do you happen to know how late, or early, it is?" He wondered.

"It's after midnight by a few hours at least, but it's too cloudy out for the moon to make anything show on the sundial." Patton said, likely meaning the one Logan had up on his roof by the hatch opening.

"Alright, thank you. My king, I recommend you get some more sleep. I will make sure to call for the castle healers once the sun rises." He said and rolled his head to the side, wincing slightly at the neck pain from having slept in such a weird position. The king gave him a long look but Logan refrained from asking what was on his mind, likely he was just inconvenienced by feeling Logan's pain.

"I could do that, I can show them the way too. You two get some rest." Patton offered.

"That's very kind of you, please ask for Virgil, I only need him, there's no need to drag everyone here." The king said and Patton nodded before declaring that he was going to return home and get a few hours rest before sunrise. He ruffled Logan's hair affectionately and bowed his head towards the king before leaving them.

Logan didn't bother to go and lock the door after him, he knew Patton would do so himself, having his own key to Logan's home.

"Go back to sleep, my king." He said, returning his attention to his soulmate.

"What happened to using my name? Or is that only for when I'm being difficult while bleeding out?" He asked, giving Logan a pout that made him wonder if the effects of the medicine were really all gone.

"...Go back to sleep, Roman. Is that better?" Logan rephrased his sentence, not bothering to tell the king he was being silly. Logan had had worse patients than this, he would manage.

"A little. But what about you, though? I don't want to steal your bed and you can't sleep sitting on the floor the entire night, your pain is my pain, remember?" He said.

"I do not have many other places to sleep." Logan said, refraining from mentioning that he had slept in many worse places in his youth, and the king was quiet for a very short moment.

"We can both stay in your bed, see?" The king carefully moved himself to the side, giving Logan plenty of space. It only took a short moment's consideration, he really was tired.

"Alright then, if that will make you happy, my king." Logan said, pretending like he did not notice his frown at the return of the title. He finally stood up from the floor, the cape falling from his shoulders, stretching slightly before pulling his shirt off.

The king immediately looked away, reminding Logan of how silly he was about nudity. For the sake of saving the king the embarrassment he kept his pants on as he got into bed. He offered Logan part of the blanket and Logan inched closer, curling up with his back towards the king and not giving himself the chance to think about the fact that he was sharing a bed with the king.

Going back a few months he would have thought it more likely that the sun would turn green than that he would ever find himself in the same bed as the king. The king.

His life sure was strange.

"Wake me up if you need anything." He said, then fell back asleep shortly, letting his lack of sleep get to him.

--

Once Logan woke up for a second time there was sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window, landing right where Logan was lying. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, eyes immediately drawn to the sleeping figure next to him.

The king was fast asleep, chest rising and falling slowly and calmly with each breath, showing that he was still alive. The king seemed unbothered by the sun shining in his face, snoring quietly, light brown hair splayed on the pillow, a few shades brighter in the sun.

Logan got out of bed, glad he'd woken up before Patton had returned with company. He found himself a clean shirt, feeling slightly more self conscious about himself now when he had the king in his home. He wondered what the king thought of his home.

It was rather small but Logan had never felt that he would need anything bigger. He lived alone and did not need more than a bedroom fitting his bed and shelves for all his books, and a kitchen big enough for cooking and his healing supplies and a place to sit and eat.

He knew of many families that had five or more children and lived I'm smaller places, this was not uncommon. But the king? He was used to the castle and his own big rooms with his plush pillows and silk curtains. But Logan shook his head and reminded himself that he should not let the king's wealth make him feel embarrassed over such things.

He glanced at the sleeping man. Logan had tried to keep him from his home for weeks, only for a life and death situation to ruin that. Curse all assassins for getting him into this situation, himself included.

He nudged the king who grunted and stopped snoring but seemed to remain asleep. Logan nudged him again, thinking that it would be good if he was awake and ready once Patton got there with the healer.

"What'd you want?" He mumbled, turning his head away.

"I advise you to wake up before Patton and Virgil get here." Logan said, the king blinking his eyes open and squinting at the sun. The king moved to sit up, wincing slightly as slight pain reminded him of his wound. He pushed the blanket off of himself, looking down at the carefully stitched up wound. Then he looked up at Logan again.

"Good morning." He said, reaching a hand up to rub at his eyes. "Can I move around yet?"

"Yes, it should be safe for you to sit and walk as long as you don't do any quick movements that will cause the stitches to tear. Just be careful and if a movement hurts more than feels reasonable then try not to do so again." Logan directed him, the king nodding to show that he understood before slowly getting out of the bed.

Once the king was standing he looked down at his unbuttoned shirt that he was still wearing, the fabric blood stained and torn where the dagger had punctured.

"You don't happen to have a shirt I could borrow?" He wondered, shrugging the bloody shirt off. Logan went and looked through his clothing drawer, struggling slightly to find something fitting as the king was both taller and more muscular than he was.

He eventually found one, even if it was a little tight on him. The king then took his cape from where it was lying on the floor, wrapping it around himself, wincing as he had moved a little too quick. The king painstakingly raised an arm up to comb his fingers through his hair in an attempt to make it less of a mess.

"Would you like something to eat?" Logan wondered and the king shook his head.

"I'm not very hungry in the early mornings." He said, sitting down in one of the chairs by the table, watching Logan make himself some breakfast.

"A glass of water or a cup of tea then? It'd be good if you drank something." Logan said as he boiled water for his own tea. The king ended up accepting tea and Logan made them both a cup each. His breakfast consisted of two hard boiled eggs that he sliced up and put on a slice of bread he had baked two days prior.

The king sat and took small sips of his tea as Logan ate, eyes seeming to wander around the room, looking at the small potted plants in the window (Patton had insisted that every home needed plants), the shelves with his books and bottles of medicine.

Logan finished his breakfast, getting up from his chair to quickly wash off his plate. Then the two of them sat and finished their tea, Logan not speaking until he realized that the king was looking at him instead of the surroundings.

"What is it?" He asked, making the king look slightly caught.

"Oh, well. In two weeks time there will be a masquerade at the castle. There will mainly be people from the castle and nobles there but I was thinking... Maybe you could come? I'd like your company." The king said and Logan blinked, wondering if he had heard him correctly.

He had almost died the night before and now he was sitting there wondering if Logan wanted to join him on some sort of festivities? That was what was on his mind?

"...A masquerade? As in people wearing expensive clothing and masks and dancing together?" He asked, almost fearful for the reply.

"Yes. Would you like to come? Please? Otherwise my only company will be dull nobles trying to talk me into making them richer and royals urging me to look for, well, my soulmate. It'd be refreshing to have you there, you're better company than any of them." The king continued, and while Logan was flattered by the king's words he did not know how to accept such an invite.

"I don't think I can, Roman. I don't own clothes fitting for such an event and neither do I have a mask." Logan explained, not bothering mentioning that he had absolutely no experience with masquerades or dancing or anything as such. It was... not his thing.

"That won't be a problem. Maybe you can come to the castle in the morning before the masquerade, you can meet the healers and spend some time with Virgil. Then before the masquerade I will get you some clothes, I've got tailors that will do a fantastic job." The king enthused and Logan was not sure how or if he could say no.

"Alright then, I suppose I will be there." Logan said somewhat reluctantly. He just hoped he wouldn't have to dance, his abilities would impress no one.

"Wonderful." The king smiled widely, still messy hair falling in his face. Hopefully it would not be a wasted evening.

They both fell quiet again but within moments Logan could hear the door being unlocked by Patton to let a tall man with dark hair enter the room. He was wearing white healer clothes paired with a purple cloak and his hair looked as black as the midnight sky in the winter when the sun was not shining at it.

That must be Virgil.

Patton closed the door and sat down on a chair next to Logan. The healer immediately walked over to the king's side.

"I hear you went and got yourself stabbed." He said, shaking his head at him with a look of disbelief. It was clear to see that the two of them had known each other for very long. "Dumbass. Let me take a look."

Virgil kneeled by the king's chair, a hand on his chest pushing him back and his other pulling the shirt up. Patton must have given Virgil all the details he knew of what had happened. He inspected the cut and the stitches for a few moments.

"Well, you seem to have been well taken care of." Virgil said, looking up at Logan and giving him a somewhat approving glance. He let go of the shirt, standing up.

"Seeing as you're alive and doing fairly well we should get you back to the castle soon so Remus can laugh at you for letting a stranger get close enough to you to stab you." The healer said, sounding annoyed. Logan had only just met him but he seemed to be the kind of person to show his worry through annoyance.

"In my defense it was really dark out and they just jumped out at me from around the corner of a house." The king said, crossing his arms defensively across his chest.

"Did you even have a weapon on you to defend yourself with?" The healer asked and the king's silence was telling enough.

"You never listen to me. And see where that gets you, stabbed. You're irresponsible." Virgil scolded, extending a hand to the king and helping him up from the chair.

"I did inform him that it was not wise to walk through dark streets while looking like a wealthy and easy target, but he does not listen to me." Logan pointed out and the king gave him a look of betrayal.

"Was it another assassin?" Virgil wondered, giving Logan another glance. That at least confirmed that Virgil was one of those close friends of the king that knew the truth of how he and Logan met. Which must also mean he knew he was the king's soulmate.

"I am fairly certain it was, yes." Logan said and Virgil shook his head.

"You know someone is willing to pay an assassin to get rid of you and yet you walk alone in the dark..." He mumbled to the king, and he was wise enough not to answer that.

"The king's common sense is lacking, at times." Logan dared to suggest meeting his soulmate's eyes as he spoke, and Virgil gave a dour nod, a smile then tugging at his lips.

"You should meet his brother though." The healer said, a hint of something fond in his voice.

"I think you're both bullies." The king piped up, being ignored.

"In all seriousness, thank you for looking out for the king while I could not. We really should go now, but I assume I'll see you at the castle soon." Virgil said to Logan, reminding him of the fact that he was invited to meet with the healers, and also that he was invited to the masquerade.

Virgil gave the king a look and disappeared out the door, the king lingering behind. Patton followed the healer outside, no doubt taking the chance to make another friend. Patton would befriend anyone and Logan was sure the two of them had already talked all the way here from the castle.

It was quiet for a moment but then the king took a step closer to stand in front of Logan, who was still sitting down on his chair, now looking up at the other. Roman reached out and placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, then leaned in close to press a kiss to Logan's cheek, his heart almost stopping in his chest at the sensation.

"Thank you for saving me." He murmured quietly between the two of them before taking a step back and bidding him goodbye. Logan's face felt burning hot as he gave the king a wave goodbye.

What was with his soulmate and making him feel so flustered lately? There was absolutely no reason for the royal to have this effect on him.

Patton came back inside, giving Logan an excited smile. "Did you notice how pretty the king's healer is?"

Logan did not return the smile, and Virgil's looks were definitely not what he had been thinking about.

"Patton, I don't know how to dance!"

--

He'd spent hours by the sides of the healers in the castle, watching them work and learning new tips and tricks, he had even been taught a new medicine and been told by Virgil that he was welcome back. He would definitely be back.

After that he had gone to the library, by now finding his way through the castle fairly well, the king having shown him around the entire place before. He'd hidden in the library with books about mathematics, avoiding the general rush in the rest of the castle where the staff was preparing for the masquerade.

Everywhere there were people running around with decorations and extra candles, or looking for someone or something. Logan was not particularly interested in getting in the way, especially as there weren't many people who knew who he was and why he was there.

He didn't want too many people to pay attention to him, that meant more people might recognize him later during the masquerade when he was by the king's side. If people recognized him and realized he was a friend of the king then maybe they would become interested in finding out who he was.

"Reading something fun?" A voice he by now recognized well said and he quickly looked up, the king giving him an amused look. Logan held the book up and allowed the king to read the title.

"That's a no then." He said, pulling a face of disgust. The king was apparently not a fan of mathematics.

"I find it interesting." Logan said. He would never understand people who did not take any chance they could get to learn new things. The world was a very interesting place, after all. There were so many mysteries.

"Should we go and make sure you've got clothes for the masquerade?" The king asked, seemingly eager not to talk about books for much longer.

"I suppose so." Logan said, unwillingly standing up and collecting the books in his arms, returning them to the right places on the shelves. In the past two weeks he had failed to be anything but nervous about this, more often than not wishing he had declined the invitation.

Despite Patton's best efforts Logan was no closer to learning how to dance. Neither he nor Patton actually knew what kind of dancing was expected during a masquerade in the castle, which made it difficult for Logan to practice.

And Logan was not someone who desired to attend festivities even if he knew what was expected of him, which is also why he had worried about today the entire time. Logan would always prefer books, stargazing, working with the healers, or assassinating some stuck up noble, to spending an evening somewhere crowded where you wore strange clothes and had to dance.

He followed the king through the castle, into a room he had never been before where a very old pair of people were sewing on something. They barely acknowledged the king entering, simply continuing what they were doing, one holding a magnifying glass for the other as it embroidered something with the kingdom's emblem of a shield, the same that was embroidered on the back of the king's cape.

"This is Martha and Emyr, the best tailors in the entire kingdom. They will find you something perfect to wear." Roman promised, finally getting the two tailors attention. The two of them walked up to Logan, peering at him and the king from behind their glasses.

"This is the man you were telling us about?" One of them said, more of a statement than a question. The king nodded and Logan sent him a quick glance, wondering what the king could possibly be saying about him.

"You did not tell us you were soulmates." The other, Emyr, said, a tad of disappointment in their voice.

"Wh- how did you-" Roman spluttered, cheeks growing red and Logan was not much better off. He had not counted on anyone being able to tell that they were soulmates and he had no idea what might have given it away. The last thing they wanted was for people to figure out that they were soulmates.

"Don't worry about it, dear, no one else has found out or it would be the only thing anyone in the castle were talking about." Emyr said, avoiding to mention what had possibly made them realize that.

"Now, let's see what we can do for you." They said and the king sat down on a chair by the wall as they spent the next hour measuring him, making him try clothes on and stand still as they did their work.

The king was making silly faces at him when the two tailors had their back to him and Logan was putting a lot of effort into keeping himself under control, not entirely sure if he wanted to smile at the other's antics or if he wanted to give him a glare for being so childish. He got the feeling Patton and Roman would be really great friends if they got the chance to spend some time together.

They ended up dressing him in a pair of black trousers and a black shirt with a silvery tie, and they hung a midnight blue cape, embroidered with silver stars, around his shoulders. It was made out of some incredibly soft material that Logan did not know the name of.

"You look gorgeous, don't you agree, Roman?" Martha said, gesturing at Logan as she turned to the king to get his opinion. Roman blinked at her before glancing at Logan, looking him up and down and Logan swore his face was flustered the slightest bit pink.

"Yes, definitely." He said truthfully, a strangely giddy feeling in Logan's chest making its presence known. Did that mean the king liked the outfit or that he found Logan attractive? And what answer did Logan want to that question?

...Those were questions that were best left until later.

"Come with me and I'll show you my clothes." Roman said, hooking his arm with Logan's, thanking and bidding the two tailors goodbye before pulling Logan along with him back to his own rooms.

"You seem to know the two of them very well." Logan said as they walked, watching as his soulmate smiled.

"I do. Our mother died when Remus and I were really young, as you know, and our father was not very, well, fatherly. When he got mad at us, which was all the time, we'd run and hide in a bunch of places, one of those being with Martha and Emyr." Roman said, surely reminiscing about all the stupid things he and Remus had done in their youths.

From the little he had heard about the king's brother he didn't doubt the two of them had both been wild and mischievous children.

"They were always nice to us, not because we were the princes and they had to, but because they thought we deserved kindness. And they never got mad when we broke something or got hurt or played somewhere we weren't supposed to, and they would let us hide with them whenever our father was in a particularly bad mood." The king sighed and Logan was unsure if it was from the happier or the worse memories.

"They seem like kind people." He said.

"They definitely are. The two of them acted more like parents than our father ever did, and they were the only ones who dared let Remus and me know that our father was not a very kind king. No one else ever wanted to talk about it, even after he died." The king shrugged, then held the door to his room open for Logan.

He stood in there and waited for a while as the king disappeared into another room to change his clothes. Logan looked out the window, thinking that it felt like such a long time ago that he scaled the castle wall to assassinate the prince. He could have never guessed how his life would change after that.

Actually, it was still difficult to believe at times.

"What do you think?" The king asked, stepping back into the room in his new clothes and Logan had to pretend his breath wasn't momentarily caught in his throat at the sight.

The king was wearing a long velvet skirt that was ruby red and had small embroidered suns with golden thread. He was wearing a white shirt beneath a red vest with the kingdom's emblem over his heart. There was a golden belt around his middle and the deep red cape he was wearing was fastened around his shoulders with a golden clasp. Logan might have stared for just a moment too long.

"You look very good." He said, nodding, forcing his thoughts to stay somewhat coherent. He was not sure what kind of response the king had been looking for, but that was the most Logan felt comfortable saying. Of course he thought Roman looked absolutely captivating, but he just couldn't let himself say that.

That would make it sound like he thought the king was attractive, and while that was absolutely what he thought (the king was a handsome man, objectively), he did not need the king to know that. He seemed awfully confident already.

And Logan was not the kind of person that wanted his attraction to show much at all, it would get in the way of things, make him nervous and awkward. And the thought of any possible relationship with the king definitely made him nervous.

He didn't want to think about it, and the king was definitely making that more difficult recently.

"Oh, one last thing." The king left the room for a second, then came back wearing his crown and tying a golden mask over his eyes. He handed a silvery one to Logan.

"There we go." He said and then did a twirl, seeming absolutely delighted about the skirt.

"Let's go and bless everyone with our presence." The king said, linking his arm with Logan's.

--

The mask rubbed uncomfortably against his glasses, which he ignored. Logan glanced at the king who was standing a bit away and talking and laughing with a group of people. Logan had no plans on joining in on the conversation, instead choosing to stand by the wall and observe the people.

Dancing seemed popular, people all around the room holding onto each other and swaying and spinning together to the music. The king had been asked to dance by several people, always accepting. Watching him had not made it any clearer to Logan how the dancing was supposed to be done.

Logan did not recognize a single other person he knew other than the king. He saw some nobles he had seen before, but none that he had ever shared a conversation with as they traveled in far different social circles.

The prince was not attending the masquerade, it seemed. He had asked Roman about it and only been told that he was happy as long as whatever havoc Remus was surely wreaking was not near him.

"May I have this dance?" The king asked, having appeared next to him, hand extended towards Logan and a hopeful glint in his eyes. Logan did not take his hand, instead taking a step back, heart beating that little faster in his chest at the prospect of dancing in front of all these people.

"My king, I... do not know how to dance." Logan admitted, embarrassed to do so and wishing the mask was covering the rest of his face too because then his red cheeks wouldn't show.

"Oh." The king said, momentarily disappointed before his lips formed into a smile and he reached out for Logan. The king's hands settled on Logan's hips.

"I will just have to show you, then. May I?" The king said, one of his hands coming to grasp one of Logan's. He instructed Logan to follow his lead and Logan, feeling quite uncertain, entwined their fingers and tried to mirror his careful steps. Their moves seemed to be a lot slower than the people around them who all seemed very well versed in masquerade dancing and Logan was grateful for the king's patience.

Hopefully his soulmate's more graceful moves would keep anyone from noticing when Logan took a wrong step, but chances were it did the opposite, instead making Logan seem even more clumsy and like he did not belong at such fancy festivities. He was really liking whoever had had the idea about the masks.

They danced for quite a while, Logan having to admit to himself that after he stopped feeling so self conscious about his abilities he actually had quite fun, even if it felt strange to have Roman holding onto him.

Eventually Logan tired of the dancing, returning to where he had been standing before, heart still beating harder than normal in his chest as he observed Roman dancing with some woman who had seemed incredibly eager to dance with the king. It was with some odd satisfaction that he realized that Roman had been smiling a lot more when he'd been dancing with Logan.

He leaned against the wall, relieved that no one was paying him any attention anymore. Now people's eyes were on the new person dancing with the king. It seemed that a lot of people were jealous of whoever the king was paying attention to.

Logan would probably have to get used to seeing that jealousy and being a common interest since he and the king were soulmates, chances were they would be spending a lot of time together for the rest of their lives.

Logan stood lost in thoughts for a while, as so often before finding himself worrying about his soulmate bond with the king and what it would mean for his current life, running his fingers over the soft material of the cape as he listened along to the music that a band was playing on various string and wind instruments. He barely noticed when the king returned to his side.

"You seem bored." Roman said and Logan opened his mouth to assure that of course he was not, but then decided against it. "Would you like it if we left?"

"You don't have to do that for me. Can you even leave? You are the king, all these people are here to meet you." Logan said, not entirely comfortable pulling Roman away from something that might be important for him to attend.

"Don't you worry about that. I'm the king, what will they do? I'm fairly sure I'm allowed to leave." He said, already having hooked his arm with Logan's and now walking him through the room towards one of the doors.

People were moving out of their way and giving them interested glances and stares, Logan ducking his head slightly to make sure that no one got a good look at him, trusting his mask to hide enough of his face. Soon they were out of the room and away from people's eyes, walking down an empty corridor that Logan knew ended by the castle kitchen.

"Would you like to get something to eat? I never actually got to the table with the food, people kept wanting to dance with me." Roman said, making Logan snort.

"You seemed to quite enjoy the dancing, though." He said as they continued down the corridor, following the wonderful smell of the food that was being cooked in the kitchen.

"Masquerades are fun, but I think I would rather spend time with you." The king admitted, a statement that made Logan feel as if something fluttered in his chest, which was a very odd sensation that only Roman had ever caused.

Right outside of the kitchen Virgil was standing with his soulmate, Roman's twin Remus. Whatever Virgil had been saying the prince seemed to find incredibly funny. Virgil's eyes fell on Logan and he removed himself from Remus' side, walking up to him. He gave Roman a look and he was letting go of Logan's arm, instead coming to join his brother a bit away from them.

"Hi, Logan. I've been meaning to ask... your friend, Patton, could I have his address?" Virgil asked, giving Logan a quite nervous smile, much different from when he was interacting with the king.

"May I ask why?" Logan said. He was fairly sure he could trust Virgil, but he didn't want to just tell people where to find his friend for no reason.

"Um, this might sound strange, but I think he might be mine and Remus' other soulmate?" He said, lowering his voice as he spoke to keep the two royals from hearing. Logan stared at him for a few moments but eventually decided against asking him all the questions he now had.

"Oh, um, well, alright." He said, which was apparently the most coherent sentence he could come up with. The healer handed Logan a slip of parchment and a pencil and Logan wrote the address to Patton's store down on it, feeling better about giving that address away than Patton's actual home.

"Do not hurt him." Logan said as he handed the pencil and the parchment back to Virgil, hoping that, in case the three of them were soulmates, they would think twice and remember what Logan's job was before doing anything that would harm his friend physically or emotionally.

"Thank you. We won't, I just want to talk to him." Virgil promised, pocketing his things right before his soulmate crashed into his side, wrapping his arms around Virgil as he wobbled slightly in his place.

"Who are we talking to?" He asked, pressing an excited kiss to the healers jaw.

"This is Logan." Roman said, coming up to Logan's side again, hooking their arms again. The prince looked incredibly excited at hearing that.

"This is him? The assassin? Your soulmate?" The prince said, grinning widely at Logan who flushed slightly under the other's eyes. Remus could maybe have been a little more quiet.

"He is good looking, I'll give you that. And an assassin, that makes him so much more interesting than you, Roman." He said, ignoring the king's flustered and annoyed expression and leaning in to whisper something surely obscene in Roman's ear judging by the mischievous look on the prince's face and the way Roman's eyes widened.

"Remus! Do you kiss Virgil with that mouth?" He exclaimed.

"Oh, I do a lot more than-" The prince began, Roman immediately going to interrupt him.

"Goodbye!" Roman said, already pulling Logan away with him as the king's brother cackled loudly behind them. Logan glanced back to see Virgil rolling his eyes at the entire conversation, but still holding Remus' hand.

"Remus is a bit... special, ignore him. Please." The king said.

"What did he say?" Logan couldn't help but ask. He had the feeling it had involved him.

"Nothing worth repeating, trust me." Roman glanced back to glare at his twin as he held another door open for Logan.

They entered the kitchen, Roman holding pleasant conversations with the stressed cooks that insisted on making a basket of food for them. Logan stood a bit to the side, trying to come to terms with the fact that the two that they just left out in the hallway might be Patton's soulmates. It was a very strange thought, but no stranger of a combination than an assassin and the king he supposed.

Patton would be so excited and happy though, if it turned out Virgil was right. His friend had been dreaming of soulmates for as long as Logan had known him.

"Come with me." Roman said, carrying a basket with the food in one hand, his other hand coming to grasp Logan's. He ignored the fact that the kitchen workers were surely looking and let Roman lead him out through another door which brought them to another corridor and stairs that would bring them up two floors to where the king's rooms lay.

Unsurprisingly that was where Roman was taking him, but Logan did not mind, it was far from the masquerade and therefore it was unlikely that anyone would be bothering them. Hopefully no one would be needing the king.

Once in the king's rooms Roman pulled a fluffy blanket from his bed and spread it out over the carpet and the floor to make their seats warmer. They sat down together, Roman taking his mask off and setting the crown down next to it on the floor behind him.

"Let's eat something, yes?" He said and looked through the contents of the basket as Logan took his own mask off and loosened his tie, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt to make it easier to breathe properly.

Roman pulled out various foods that were probably the same as the food being served at the masquerade, delicious sandwiches and meat and vegetable skewers, some pastries and cookies and a few bottles with cider.

He handed Logan an opened bottle before unclasping his cape and letting it fall off his shoulders. It was fairly warm in his room, someone had been in there not too long ago to start a fire in the king's fireplace. As he had entered Roman's room he had also noted that many candles were already lit to light the room up. It would not surprise Logan if there was someone in charge of keeping the king's room warm and well lit.

He took a sip of the drink that thankfully did not seem to contain as much alcohol as the ones served at the bars in town. Logan had never been much for drinking.

Outside the window the sun was already set, the sky a deep blue and slightly more purple at the horizon. He delighted at the stars that were already dotting the sky.

They began to eat, finally somewhere quiet and secluded enough that they could have a proper conversation, the king telling him about how he and a few of his advisors were attempting to improve how criminals were handled (which, as someone legally considered a criminal worthy of being executed, Logan decided he liked the sound of).

"I just don't think this many, or maybe any, crimes should be punishable by death, you know?" Roman said. The previous kings seemed to have quite liked making crimes punishable by death. Logan had to say he agreed more with Roman. In his experience people wouldn't be committing as many crimes if they had a home and food and all other things they might need to survive without having to do bad things.

"You being an assassin, don't you feel bad about it?" The king wondered and Logan thought the question over before shaking his head. Patton had asked him similar questions before and always seemed a bit unsatisfied with his answer.

"If I was sad about the people that I assassinated then I could not do it. To end someone's life you've got to be able to turn your feelings and sympathies off. Do not give yourself time to think too much about the fact that they are people with lives and families, then you won't be able to go through with it." He explained. Maybe he was coldhearted to say such things, many would definitely think so and Logan could understand why. He had a job to do, though.

"I don't think I can do that. My father brought me and Remus to executions of criminals sometimes and I always hated it, even if I was not even the person ending their life." The king said and grimaced at the unpleasant memories. Logan didn't think he would have enjoyed seeing that as a young child either.

"I'm not saying my job is fair or 'good', but at the time when I first became an assassin it was because I did not really have much choice." Logan said, finishing his bottle of cider and grasping a cookie.

"You've never actually told me why you do what you do. Actually, I don't really know anything about your past." The king said, looking at him with an expression that was probably not supposed to make him seem so interested. It did not work and Logan rolled his eyes but decided that he might as well tell him. He had no secrets to keep from Roman.

"Hm, well, my parents died when I was fourteen, they both worked in the same place and there was an accident resulting in a lot of deaths. I had no other family than them, which meant I was left to fend for myself. I had nowhere to live and no way to make money other than the few times I was hired to work somewhere, although that never lasted long." Logan explained, worrying slightly that all he would get from the king was pity. Logan had made his peace with how his life had turned out so far.

"One evening someone tried robbing me of the few possessions I had, threatening me with a big knife and I ended up stabbing him in self defense since it seemed like he would end up killing me anyway. He died and it made me realize what I was capable of, and soon after that I decided that I could offer such services for people and it ended up paying well. And that's pretty much all there is to say." Logan said, shrugging.

He could probably spend a long time giving a much more detailed telling of his earlier life, but he saw no point in it, and he disliked dwelling on the past.

"You do what you have to when you've been almost starving to death for a year, I suppose. And I never saw a reason to find another job, I'm good at what I do." Logan added.

"I suppose that's true. I'm sorry about your parents though, I know what it's like to lose parents." The king said, giving him a saddened smile.

"I'm quite alright with how my life turned out. I met Patton shortly after I became an assassin and he is practically my family. I don't consider myself unfortunate." Logan said. Patton had been by his side any time he had needed a friend, he had always supported Logan, even when finding out he was an assassin.

"You've got me now, too. I'm your soulmate and I hope I'll be considered your family." Roman said and Logan could not help smiling, boldly reaching out and taking Roman's hand, not entirely sure why he thought it wise to do so.

"I'm willing to consider you a part of my family." He said and the king smiled brightly, bringing Logan's hand up to press a kiss to the back of it.

It was entirely illogical that it would make Logan blush, but sometimes his soulmate's words or actions made him feel weirdly fuzzy and warm. Logan continuously avoided thinking too much about that, instead always deciding on just enjoying the time spent with Roman.

"I am glad we met, even if it was when I tried to kill you." Logan confessed.

"I'd say a scar on the arm was worth it." Roman said, fumbling slightly to pull his sleeve up without letting go of Logan's hand, showing off the faint scar on his arm from Logan's dagger. It would probably never fade completely, and while Logan regretted few things in his life he felt slight shame when seeing the hurt he had caused his soulmate, even if said soulmate didn't seem to mind it.

Then the king grinned and turned slightly to reach for the drawer in the small table by his bed, pulling it open to grab the very dagger that Logan had dropped on the king's floor so many months ago.

"I've been meaning to give this back to you." He said after shutting the drawer again, handing it to Logan who eagerly accepted it and turned it over a few times in his hand to inspect it for damage.

"Thank you, Roman." Logan said, his words not being enough to communicate his gratitude. He had thought he would never get to see this dagger again and despite knowing that growing attached to possessions was silly he couldn't help it. It had emotional value.

They fell into a calm discussion of what Logan had been reading about lately, Roman as always surprising him with his interest in what Logan had to say. But his soulmate listened attentively as Logan, not for the first time, talked about stars and how fascinating they were.

Then Roman got to his feet, helping Logan up and still holding onto his hand as they walked to the window, giving them both a better view of the sky that was still darkening and showing more and more stars. It was always so calming, seeing the night sky.

They stood together in silence, enjoying the view and enjoying the other's quiet company. Logan was sure there was a small smile on his face but he didn't bother to care, and when he looked over at Roman he could see that he was smiling too, small and fond and already looking at Logan.

"What is it?" Logan wondered, feeling like there was something the king wanted to say.

"Nothing, I just..." Roman shook his head, averting his eyes for just a moment and seeming uncharacteristically shy, then once again meeting Logan's eyes, seeming to have gathered some courage, "I'd like to kiss you, if that would be alright."

His words were not entirely unexpected and yet Logan almost let a small gasp escape, and it felt as if his face became several degrees warmer. Suddenly not thinking about what he might want from whatever his and Roman's relationship was became impossible.

"Yes, that would be alright." He said before giving himself too much time to think, because if he thought it through he would likely end up saying no and he did not want to have to do that.

Roman's mouth pressed to his and effectively eradicated all of Logan's previous attempts to convince himself that this was not what they had both wanted for a while now. And right this moment, with their lips slowly moving together, Logan could not bring himself to care awfully much about all his worries of where something like this might eventually lead.

Roman pulled back enough for them to part and Logan willed his eyes open, heart making a little skip at the sight of Roman's pink cheeks and pretty smile. Right now Logan seemed to have no control over his feelings and it was slightly overwhelming and a bit confusing to have to face all this but he decided not to care too much about that just yet.

Logan closed the still small distance between them, brushing their lips together softly as he loosely wrapped his arms around his neck, feeling how his soulmate lightly shivered. Roman's hands rested on his sides under his cape, one brushing against the dagger strapped to his side under his shirt.

"Is that a knife?" Roman asked after pulling back slightly, fingers still on Logan's dagger. The king had been incredibly careful not to look anywhere close to him before as he had undressed to try all these clothes on, therefore missing that Logan was (of course) equipped with several daggers.

Unlike the king, Logan came prepared for any situation.

"Yes." Logan said, kissing Roman again and effectively distracting him, somewhere in the back of his mind wondering if kissing someone had ever felt this way before, as if he'd found someone he hadn't even known he had been missing. The soulmate bond was an interesting thing.

Logan let a content sigh slip as Roman's hands brushed through Logan's hair, him melting into every kiss they shared, letting himself get lost in his soulmate's soft lips on his and his fingers tangling in Logan's hair.

Eventually they parted, still standing in each other arms as they caught their breaths, Roman's hand slipping down to rest on Logan's lower back. They rested their foreheads together, noses brushing, Logan's eyes still shut as they stood there and caught up with the reality of what had just happened.

"Is that another knife?" Roman asked, having brushed his hand against a dagger that Logan had strapped to the side of his thigh. Logan chuckled quietly, pressing another kiss to his soulmate's lips.

--

As Logan woke up and realized he was in the king's room, in the king's bed, he burrowed his flushed face in the soft pillow he had just been resting on.

He had kissed Roman. They had kissed and then they had kissed some more and he would be lying if he tried saying he hadn't enjoyed it and, oh, he had kissed the king.

"Good morning." Roman said, voice thick with sleep and Logan quickly looked up, noticing that Roman was, obviously, already awake. The king was lying on his side, hair a mess just like after he had stayed the night at Logan's home. He looked half asleep but he was smiling as their eyes met.

"Good morning." Logan echoed, his face feeling warm despite the chill in the room. Autumn was going towards winter, Logan guessed that within a month they might get the first snow.

"Did you sleep well?" Roman wondered, covers pulled up to his chin to fight the coldness of the room. Soon Logan would have to make sure to keep a fire going as often as possible at home, or it would be terribly cold. He would need more fire wood.

"I've slept very well, thank you." He said and a pretty comfortable silence fell, Logan considering letting himself fall back asleep. It was still quite early and worrying would simply have to wait until later.

There was a knock on the door and Roman groaned, pouting for a second before pulling his covers off and slipping out of bed. He shivered as his feet touched the stone floor by the door and before he opened it Logan pulled his covers up over his head to hide away for a moment just in case the person outside planned on poking his head through the doorway and scan the room.

A deep voice exchanged some quick words with the king before leaving them and soon the door was shut, Logan emerging from the covers again, and Roman hurried back into bed, pulling the covers up high as he laid down to read a note the person at the door had left him.

The king held a bored expression as he read it, then dropping it onto the pillow, letting a sigh slip past his lips.

"Boo, I have to go and do responsible things and make important decisions." He bemoaned, hiding his face in his pillow for a long while before eventually deciding that he actually had to attend his duties. Logan watched with slight amusement as the king forced himself out of bed again and slowly got dressed.

"I'm so sorry that I have to leave you so early." The king apologized, putting his shoes on and opening a big closet and choosing a warm cloak. He put it on, walking back to the side of the bed. Logan had pushed himself up in a sitting position.

"It's quite alright, I should get going too, I have a, uh, job to prepare myself for." Logan said, deciding against outright describing what he was hoping to do in a few days. The king frowned but said nothing about it.

"I will see you soon then, I hope." He only said, leaning in over the bed and placing a hand on Logan's arm as he pressed a kiss to his forehead, a gesture that made Logan's breath catch in his throat. Logan prided himself in being levelheaded and logical, and the way his face burned from such a small thing was none of those things.

"And if you're going to slip out the window again, please be careful with your hands." He added and Logan chuckled quietly.

"I'll do my best not to get injured." He promised and Roman sent him a smile before disappearing out through his door, shutting it behind himself and leaving Logan alone.

Seeing as there was no need to hurry away Logan laid back down, deciding to give himself a few minutes before he needed to get going. Much like the king did not seem to enjoy early mornings Logan preferred to sleep a few hours more than what life often allowed.

His eyes fell on the note still left on Logan's pillow and as curiosity got the best of him he grasped it to see what it was the king had to do; he sincerely doubted there was anything on it that the king would mind him seeing.

But as he read the words he quickly sat up, eyes widening. Not because of the contents of the letter, it just said that the king had a meeting with a bunch of nobles and that he was hearing out a few people from the town and their ideas for how to make their kingdom better.

But the writing on the paper was very similar to one Logan had seen before. He folded the paper up, getting out of bed and dressing himself quickly. There was something he had to double check.

--

A few days later, after having double and triple checked and done some investigating about the whole thing, Logan was once again climbing up the wall to the king's window. It was about an hour after midnight, he would have come earlier but he did have another job to do too.

Logan dug his tool in between two blocks of stone, pulling himself upwards and grabbing a hold of the window ledge. It was a quite mild night, but Logan could not understand why the king would still keep his window open. It of course made things easier for him. The room was slightly lit up by a candle still burning on his nightstand, just like last time, and he could see Roman in bed.

Soon he silently landed on the stone floor of the room, making sure to close the window this time despite there not being the slightest bit windy outside. He walked over to the bed, reaching out and shaking the king's shoulder slightly.

It woke his soulmate effectively, his eyes blinking open and then he flinched and sat up as he saw someone standing over him. Logan couldn't blame him, last time he woke up to someone in his room in the middle of the night he had nearly been assassinated.

"Logan!" He whispered, not seeming entirely happy about being woken up in such a way. "Stop doing that, and how did you get in here?"

"I think I've figured out who hired me, and that other assassin, to kill you." Logan said, ignoring his question since the answer should be obvious by now and because clearly they had more important things to discuss. The king blinked slowly, starting up at him.

"What?" He said in confusion, yawning into his hand.

"You heard me. And can I just say that the castle security is still incredibly lax. It really should be harder to break into the king's rooms. Please talk to the captain of the guards." Logan said, knowing that said person was right now in town, drunkenly singing in a tavern. He'd seen him through a window while on his way towards the castle.

"You're saying a lot of big things, can't we do this in the morning?" The king said and Logan scoffed at how he still seemed half asleep. His soulmate should really care more for his life than for his sleep.

"No." Logan said, then let out an embarrassing squeak in surprise as Roman reached for him and pulled him onto the bed, an arm around his middle.

"You can at least sit down, you know. And please start over. You know who wants me dead?" He said, letting go of Logan.

"Yes, I think so. As I've said before I never meet my clients, because it would endanger me if they knew who I was." Logan said, remembering a conversation they had many weeks ago during one of their first walks around town when the king had asked if Logan could tell him who had hired him.

No, it would be unsafe for both him and the person hiring him if they knew who the other were, it was very rare that Logan would meet anyone but the victim in person. Instead the people who wanted his services could send letters to a place where Logan would then come and collect them.

"Anyway, I normally do not keep the letters I receive, but I did keep the one ordering your assassination because, well, at first I was not sure if I would be giving it a second try, and then I got to know you and just never got around to get rid of it. Luckily." Logan ignored the king's frowning at the mention of the possible second attempt (which Logan had only considered for a day or so), reaching into his pocket to pull two pieces of parchments out.

One being the letter about the assassination on the, then, prince and the other being the note Roman had been sent by one of his advisors. He unfolded them and handed them to the king who read through them both before looking up at Logan again.

"What am I meant to be seeing?" He asked. Logan pulled his shoes off and lifted his legs up on the bed, sitting more comfortably next to Roman.

"The handwriting. It's the same. I noticed it almost immediately, his handwriting is quite unique, is it not?" He said, watching as the king's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh." Roman frowned, looking down at the letters again and sitting silently for a long while. Logan had no idea if this advisor of his was someone important or someone he had trusted, but it seemed that the betrayal hurt. Logan reached out and only slightly hesitantly rested his hand on Roman's arm.

"I really did not expect this." He said, folding the letters up and handing them back to Logan, his hand then somehow ending up in Logan's. His soulmate sent him a faint smile.

"Thank you, though. If he's guilty then you've just saved my life again." The king said, leaning against Logan. Suddenly he found himself with an armful of his soulmate and he carefully wrapped his arms around the other.

"Would you perhaps prefer if we dealt with your advisor in the morning?" Logan wondered, patting Roman's back slightly in hopes of seeming at least a little comforting. He had never really been the best at that.

"That sounds good. There's no use in waking everyone up now anyway." He said, sitting back up properly. "There must be hours left until the morning."

"Are you planning on leaving?" Roman asked, glancing at his window. Logan had not actually thought much about that at all, he'd been too focused on getting there to warn Roman as soon as he had time.

"Do you want me to stay?" He asked, already fairly sure what the response would be. The king was predictable sometimes.

"I'd never say no to your company." He said, moving back to make more room for Logan, laying back down and holding the covers up to invite Logan.

"I suppose I can stay then." He said, taking his cape and his pants off and removing all his daggers before laying down with Roman under the covers, keeping his shirt and his underwear on. Somehow Roman's hand soon found his and their fingers loosely entwined, Roman's lips tugging into a content and sleepy smile.

It seemed to come so natural to the other, this kind of closeness. It astounded Logan, who had always been rather awkward about it, despite his best friend's affinity to physical touch.

Ever since they had kissed, or even before that perhaps, their relationship had started to transform more rapidly into the romantic sort, which was not unwelcome but still daunting. There was a lot to think about, for Logan at least, and he hoped he was not the only one worrying.

"Don't you ever worry about the fact that I'm an assassin? Because I definitely do every time I remember that you, my soulmate, actually is the king." Logan said, hoping his words would not be taken the wrong way. The king looked up at him with a confused but thoughtful expression.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Logan bit his lip, thinking his words over for a moment to try to make sense of his thoughts, at least enough so to make himself understood.

"I hope you have taken the time to think of how us being soulmates might affect us both at least once. Don't misunderstand me, I like you as my friend and, as recently proven, as more than that too. But you are the king and I am far from royal, but what I am is a criminal who, if word got out about, you might have to execute. There are a lot of things to worry about and consider." Logan said, easily finding plenty of issues to make him doubt where things were rapidly going.

"Well, of course I have thought about that. Many times. I don't know about you but for me falling for you was easy and I have wanted this for a while. Of course I've been worrying about if me being the king would put you in danger or make your life more difficult. I don't want that." Roman said, a hand coming to cup Logan's face ever so gently, holding him like he was something very precious.

"I worry about more things than that... We are very different, Roman. You are the king and it's clear to see that you enjoy who you are." He sighed, placing a hand atop of Roman's that was still cupping his jaw.

"I, well, I have no desire to be someone so important. I'm doubtful of this- us, because I would not want to rule by your side." Logan tried explaining, hoping that his words did not sound rude and like it was Roman he did not want, because he did, he was definitely interested in seeing where their soulmate bond would lead.

"I want to be with you and let us take the time to explore our soulmate relationship, but I would not want to be a king and it worries me that if it became common knowledge that we were soulmates then maybe we will be pressured to marry since a king should have someone to rule with by their side." Logan pointed out.

"We wouldn't have to, um, marry. We can just be soulmates, or partners, friends. I'm not going to let anyone pressure us into something that isn't what both of us want. And they don't need to know we're soulmates, do they? Not yet at least." Roman assured.

"And if we tell them we can say we found out when I got stabbed and you saved me, no one needs to know more than that. And it isn't that unusual to not announce your soulmate or soulmates immediately, as you know." Roman said, and he was having a weirdly calming effect on Logan.

His words were true, no one (except for themselves, Patton, Virgil, and Remus) knew under which circumstances they had found out about their soulmate bond. And it was not uncommon at all that soulmates took time to explore what kind of relationship they wanted together before announcing that they had found each other.

"It'll be fine, we can take the time to figure out what we want before anyone has to know." His soulmate said, hand leaving Logan's jaw to grasp his hand again. His thumb rubbed small circles onto the back of Logan's hand, slow and calming.

"Alright then, I will do my best not to think too much about it." He said and the king sent him an encouraging smile before falling silent while thinking for a while. Logan did not see a point in disturbing him.

"What do you want for your life?" Roman then wondered, leaning his head on his arm. Logan wasn't sure what it was that had made Roman think of such complicated questions, but he gave himself a moment to ponder it. There was not much to change.

"Hm. I'm quite happy with my life. But ...maybe I could be doing more healing and less assassinating. And maybe I could get a cat, I've seen many strays and I've always considered taking one, or several, in when I know I will always afford to feed it. I think that's all I would like to change." He said after a moment of silence.

He did really want a pet, but besides not always affording to feed it, his friend was a problem too, spending time with cats made his nose run and his throat itch. Logan did not want the two of them spending time together to be a problem for Patton.

"Why don't you become a healer instead of an assassin then? If that's what you would rather do." Roman asked, giving him a few slow blinks before yawning, the king clearly not far from falling back asleep. That was not strange, Logan supposed, considering the late hour.

"Well, the town healers get a certain amount of money from the royals, which is meant to be enough for the patients' medicines and for the healers to afford living. I work with them for learning opportunities, I don't get paid because they can't afford it, even if they many times would need more people working with them." Logan explained, a simple but yet more in depth explanation than the one he had given last time Roman was asking about the healers.

"...I could fix that. I'm the king." Roman mumbled, giving Logan's hand a soft squeeze as his eyelids began to drop. The king was continuously proving to be quite adorable when sleepy, but that was a thought that Logan would most certainly be keeping to himself.

"I'm sure you can. But now you should get some more sleep, my king." Logan said. Roman scrunched his nose slightly in distaste, at the title Logan thought. But he seemed to have no problem with the request, already looking half asleep.

"You too, my assassin." He said, proving with ease that he was too tired to think properly. Logan rolled his eyes, a small smile present on his face. It didn't take long before they were both fast asleep.

When Logan woke up he at first did not know where he was, but within moments he recognized the king's room and remembered the events from last night. It took him a moment before he realized there was an arm wrapped over him, Roman's (of course), he realized slowly.

And Roman's chest was pressed to his back, they were lying completely cuddled up together, a fact that would have made Logan's face flush a bright pink if he had not been barely conscious.

It was comfortable and warm and Logan did not have the heart to move even an inch. Sunlight was pouring in from the windows, the candle by the bedside table had long since burned down. Logan had no clue what time it was, but it seemed to still be too early for him to have any reason to be up. His eyes slipped shut again and he laid there basking in warmth and physical touch for a long while until he eventually fell back asleep.

Next time he woke up it was from the sound of a door shutting. Reflexively he sat up, grasping for the daggers he was used to having strapped to his arms (those he would usually keep on even while he slept), but then he remembered he had taken those off before getting into bed.

Logan realized that the source of the sound was from the king himself, who seemed to have just entered the room. Logan had no memory of Roman leaving his side, but apparently he had left at some point. He was already fully dressed and looked like he had been awake for a while.

"Oh, good morning Logan." Roman said after seeing him sit up, sending him a pleased smile, "I'm sorry for waking you, I thought you would have left already."

"I'm surprised I did not wake up when you did." He said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was rare that he would sleep through someone leaving a bed they were sharing.

Roman walked up to his bed, sitting down by Logan and reaching out to card his fingers through his hair, something that Logan quickly discovered to be one of the most comforting things he had experienced in his life.

"I was showing Virgil and Remus the letters and they agree that mine and Remus' advisor seem guilty. We sent for guards to bring him in, so later we can question him and maybe he will confess." Roman said as Logan allowed his eyes to slip shut as Roman continued to play with his hair.

"I'm pleased to hear that." Logan said, because that was of course great news. This meant there was one less person out there that was a danger to Roman. Logan did not want anyone to hurt him, and that thought was influenced surprisingly little by their soulmate bond. He simply liked who the king was as a person.

"Patton was with Remus and Virgil in their rooms." Roman added, clearly wondering if Logan knew something he didn't. Logan hummed quietly, avoiding frowning as Roman's fingers untangled from his hair. He willed his eyes open, sitting up a bit straighter.

"Yes, that does not surprise me too much, it is apparently possible they are all soulmates." Logan said. A few days ago Virgil and Remus had gone to talk to Patton. Logan had not had the time to see Patton afterwards so he had yet to be updated on if they were soulmates or not, or how and why it was that Virgil had begun to suspect Patton was the person they had been missing.

"Ah, alright, that does explain why Patton was being held captive in Remus' lap. Although my brother will be unnecessarily clingy towards anyone he likes, but that's mostly just Virgil anyways." Roman said, shrugging.

"I'm excited to find out if they are soulmates. I hope they are, Patton has always been so excited about the soulmate bond." Logan said. He knew Patton would be so happy if the three of them really were soulmates, and his friend deserved that, he deserved to have two more people (other than Logan) loving him unconditionally.

It would not surprise Logan much if Patton did have two or more soulmates, he always complained his soulmate was constantly getting hurt, which would be explained by if it was not one very clumsy soulmate and instead several soulmates.

"Unlike you?" Roman rose a brow and smiled, likely about how opposed Logan had been towards their soulmate situation in the very beginning.

"I'm starting to see his point of view." Logan said and let his fingers skim over the material of his sash, the king smiling in delight as Logan pulled him in for a gentle kiss that Roman eagerly returned. When they parted Logan got himself out of bed, strapping his knives back on as he got dressed.

Roman helped him with his cape (which was entirely unnecessary but very sweet) and then he hooked their arms together.

"Would you like to go and get some breakfast?" Roman asked, then pulling him along before Logan really had the time to say anything, mentioning that Remus, Virgil, and Patton had been on their way to do the same thing when he had left them and that they might run into them, and then switching to rather excitedly talking about a theater performance he wanted to bring Logan to.

Logan smiled to himself as they walked together through mostly empty corridors, for now not worried at all for what their future as soulmates might entail.

--

Written: 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th & 28th February & 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th March 2021
Published: 14th December 2021
Words: 30851

Roman, undressing logan and finding, like, seven daggers in the process: what the fuck

anyway still laughing about how the word assassin got ass in it twice because im a mature adult