9:48pm

Trigger warning: toxic relationship

AU
—

"Morning, baby"

Roman's eyes fluttered upon hearing the groggy, morning-deep voice of his boyfriend. He felt secure wrapped up in his strong arms, his face nuzzled into the side of his neck. He loved waking up on mornings like this, completely pressed flush against his boyfriend, his arms holding him like he was never going to let go. He felt safe, protected even, but it always made him frown because Kaiden hated staying in bed after he had woken up.

He liked to keep himself clean, and had a shower very early each morning.

"Morning.." Roman drifted, pulling himself closer as Kaiden's arm moved from the dip of his back to rest on his ass, squeezing the flesh slightly, making Roman shudder and shake his head. Not now, not in the morning.

"M'no..." Roman sent him an apologetic smile, Kaiden rolling his eyes in response. Sitting up, he yawned and stretched his body, Roman's eyes admiring the toned muscles defined on his torso. He liked to work out a lot, so a lot of his free time was spent at the gym. Roman didn't mind entirely, but it hurts sometimes when he would put his body before Roman's planned dates - but again, Roman didn't mind, he loved Kaiden - so stuff like that wouldn't put him off.

Watching as he walked into the conjoined bathroom, Roman rolled over into the plush quilt, snuggling his body into the sheets and feather pillows. He wanted to stay like that for hours, maybe later Kaiden would come back and snuggle against his back, efficiently making him the small spoon, which he loved.

He looked like he would be the dominant in a relationship, but it was the complete opposite. And he was happy with that.

Five minutes passed of Roman listening to the shower, eyes half shut, body barely moving with the comfort of the position he was in. But, his attention was quickly caught after his phone lit up with a message.

Picking it up, his squinted eyes read the message he received from his friend.

Virgil - Still going to the party today?

You - Of course, dear emo nightmare!

"Who's that?" Kaiden inquired, walking out the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, another drying most of the water from his dripping hair. Roman rolled onto his back, unplugging the phone from the charger to show Kaiden the screen. He leaned over to read the message, nodding his head slightly afterwards. Roman always did this as Kaiden was never happy with Roman telling him, he needed visual proof. Roman never second questioned it.

"I don't like that guy" Kaiden commented, changing into his gym clothes.

"Who? Virgil?" Roman replied back, setting his phone back onto the table, stretching his arms above his head, letting out a gentle groan. Kaiden hummed in response, throwing open the curtains when he reached that side of the room, Roman's amber eyes instantly looking out to see the bird in the nest with her babies. It always brought a bright smile to his face.

"Where are you going again?" Kaiden asked, pulling away the quilt to pick Roman up bridal style, carrying him down the stairs as Roman replied, eye lovingly staring at the side of his face. Kaiden always did affectionate things like this, which made Roman love him even more. He was more physical with his affection than verbal, but Roman didn't mind at all. It still made him feel warm inside. Every single time.

"He invited me to the pool party, remember? Patton was throwing it" Roman replied midst a yawn, giggling when Kaiden places him down and hugged him tightly, kissing up the side of his neck.

"I don't like the sound of it" Kaiden commented, leaving Roman to stand against the counter while he flicked on the kettle, grabbing milk and two mugs. Roman shrugged, hoping onto the counter. "You could come if you want!" Roman noticed the grimace on Kaiden's face after he suggested the offer, which in turn made Roman frown and look down. He didn't like to admit to himself some of the things Kaiden did/said hurt.

He noticed, and sighed, leaving the kettle to stand in between his legs, tilting his head so he could stare into his eyes.

"It's not you, it's your friends - I don't like them" Roman nodded in understanding, Kaiden staring a little longer in silence before pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips.

"Your eyes are beautiful" he whispered, turning around to tend to his and Roman's morning tea. The compliment brought a bashful grin to his face, his heart fluttering. Kaiden always complimented him after he made him frown, although Roman didn't notice, too caught up in the nice treatment he received.

They sat together on the couch in the living room, Roman sitting on his lap, legs kicked up onto the sofa while Kaiden rested them on the corner of the coffee table, both men drinking their warm drinks while they watched the news, yet nothing really interesting was on. Just boring politics and things alike.

"I should go before I'm late" Kaiden sighed, grabbing Roman's mug before lifting the man up, dropping him playfully onto the arm chair. Roman laughed, smiling at Kaiden who shot him a smile back, striding into the kitchen to place the mugs in the sink.

"Wash them before you leave, yeah?" Roman nodded, hugging his arms around his neck as Kaiden brought him into a long, loving kiss, hand resting on the dip of his back.

"Be back before four, alright? Then we could go out to the movies, I know you wanted to see Incredibles two" Roman gasped, lighting up instantly. It was rare for Kaiden to do things like this, so whenever he did Roman felt elated, so happy he even jumped up to wrap Kaiden in a tight hug, grinning as Kaiden laughed quietly, twirling Roman around.

"I would love to! Thank you, Kaiden" Roman giggled, staring at the taller man affectionately.

"Anything for you, but no later than four, got it?" Roman nodded, walking him to the door to wave him off as he drove away, leaning on the wood with a faint smile. He loved Kaiden so much.

Walking back inside, he washed the mugs and dishes from last night while singing along to the Disney music he placed in the background, grabbing some white jeans and a red shirt after he finished. He didn't plan to wear anything too formal, as this party was just between him and his friends, and for most of it he would be wearing swimming trunks anyway.

Packing what he needed in a bag, he swung it over his shoulder and picked up his phone before leaving, getting a text as soon as he sat in his car.

Kaiden❤️🧡💛 - safe driving x

Roman felt butterflies stir in his stomach from the short, simple text.

You - I love you, too! X

Setting his phone aside, he took the short car journey over to his friends, stopping at a toys store quickly to buy a small gift for Patton - it was his birthday a few weeks ago, and he was invited but Kaiden didn't want him to go, so he stayed home, unable to buy Patton a gift. Now he could, though, and knew Patton would love this adorable teddy.

Parking in his driveway, Roman scooped up his bag and held the gift behind his back, knocking on the front door with a happy grin. Recently he's not been able to see his friends as much as he was used to, Kaiden said it would be better for him to make his meet ups less frequent, as he would definitely start to annoy them. Roman always had a problem with being called annoying, and although they have reassured him he is anything but, he still had that slight anxiety eating at him - so this was the first time he has seen them all in a few months.

"Roman!" Patton yelled out in excitement once he opened the door which nearly slammed against the wall if Logan wasn't there to catch it, an unimpressed look on his face as he stared at his husband who was too caught up in hugging Roman tightly, asking him question after question about how he's been and why haven't they seen him as often.

"I know!" He frowned, chuckling, "I've been busy - but! I got you this in hopes of making up for that" revealing the toy, he grinned as Patton let out a high pitches squeal, taking the toy gently from his hands to stare at it closely, hugging it to his chest afterwards. "Thank you, Roman! That's so sweet! It's adorable!"

"I knew you would like it, it's also a late happy birthday gift! I'm sorry I couldn't go" Roman added, he had already apologised plenty of times, and each time Patton said it was alright, like he did again for this one.

After they shared another hug, Roman finally noticed Virgil standing in the background, wearing a faint smile as he did a two finger salute in Roman's direction.

"C'mon! We can start the party now!" Patton giggled, grabbing Logan's hand before dragging him through the house, letting Roman close the door behind him after he entered. Virgil had watched the whole scene, leaning on the banister as he did. He and Roman's boyfriend had never had a civil friendship, they hated each other from the start, but Virgil didn't judge Roman for dating him, until he realised what kind of a "boyfriend" he really was.

He tried talking to Roman about it, but it gets him nowhere, the boys just too in love. So, he tries to not make the situation worse, but it irks him Roman doesn't realise what Kaiden really is.

"Greetings, Virgil! I've missed you!" Roman smiled, hugging the man who was head-level with his height. Virgil chuckled lowly, hugging back for the short embrace they shared. "Missed ya too, buddy" he replied back, watching as Roman dashed off towards the back of the house where the party was being held.

Roman didn't know, but this was for the birthday party he missed. Patton hated the fact that Roman couldn't come, so he kept inviting Roman to other things alike, this being the first he was actually "allowed" to go to. Virgil rolled his eyes at the thought, he was being treated like a kid who was grounded. He's an adult, Kaiden shouldn't tell him what he can and can't do.

Wandering across the house towards the kitchen that opened into the back garden, he took a seat beside Logan who watched Roman and Patton circle the pool, grabbing as many inflatables as they could. "I suppose he has not gotten any better" Logan spoke up quietly, he referring to the man Roman called his boyfriend.

Virgil shrugged, leaning back. "People like that don't get better, Roman's just..." he sighed, flicking a few strands of hair away that poked at his eyeballs.

"He is naïve, and blinded by love" Logan finished for him, finally setting aside the book he was invested in for the morning before Roman had arrived.

"Yeah..." Virgil sighed, both men watching as Patton tugged off his shirt and trousers, already wearing his swimming trunks underneath. Logan couldn't help but gaze at his naked torso for a few seconds, smirking a little as he did. He was married to Patton for a few years, on his twenty second birthday Patton had proposed after a seven year long relationship - growing up, he never imagined himself ever getting married, let alone proposed to, but when he was staring at Patton who knelt before him, at that moment he didn't want anything more.

So, after saying yes, both men held each other and - embarrassingly - cried happy tears together, having the marriage ceremony only a month afterwards.

Whenever he thought back to that day a faint smile would rest on Logan's lips, his lips that were usually in a straight line. His smiles were rare and adorable, Patton savouring it each time he saw it.

The loud splash of water caught Logan's attention from his vivid day dream, spotting Patton's head break the surface of the water as he popped up, hand pushing back his hair, glasses still resting on his nose.

"Patton, I told you to take your glasses off" Logan called out with a sigh, standing up to go over to him. As the two bickered with no real hate behind the words, Roman changed into his swimming trunks, pulling his shirt over his head afterwards. Virgil was standing behind him at the time, a gasp involuntarily passing by his lips as he stared at his skin.

Logan and Patton went silent too when they saw him, eyes widening in shock.

Roman looked at each of them, an embarrassed blush rising on his cheeks. On his body littered everywhere were dark red marks - hickeys, to be exact - but they didn't look loving, they looked like they hurt, some even had purple brushing around the edge. He's been in a few relationships before, and Virgil knew that was not what hickeys looked like. They weren't just on his chest, they were also on his back and stomach, as of Kaiden had just attacked every inch of his body he could.

"Stop staring" Roman demanded after a little while of silence, pulling back on his shirt afterwards. What was the problem? They were just hickeys, he didn't even think they would care enough to stare for a full two minutes!

"When did he...do that?" Patton asked gently, pulling himself out of the pool as he did, water dripping onto the marble circling the pool. Roman scratched his neck, avoiding the gaze of each of them. He contemplated telling them the truth, because their hate towards his boyfriend was obvious whenever he was there or mentioned, and he would never put Kaiden before his friends, but it did annoy him when they couldn't just get along.

"Last night" he finally answered, sighing out afterwards. Crossing his arms over his chest, he took a small step back, again still not daring to lift his eyes from the floor. "He was annoyed with work and..."

"Let out his anger on you" Virgil finished for him, anger flaring in his dark, almost black brown eyes. Roman quickly whipped up his head, shaking it afterwards. "No, no! That's...he...he didn't mean to" he tried to defend, chewing his lip harshly once he went quiet. It was hard to make up excuses for Kaiden's actions, as last night Roman didn't want what Kaiden was doing, but whenever he said no, he would get more mad and the biting would get worse and-!

Roman clenched his eyes shut, gasping in deeply to cut off his thoughts. Kaiden was just angry, it was work, he needed his boyfriend and Roman shouldn't complain over that. Kaiden was there for him, so he would do the same back.

Opening his eyes, he noticed they were all still concerned, but why wouldn't they be? The three of them were his best friends since kindergarten, and even if they had argued in the past, they still made up, and platonically loved each other once more. So, he stayed silent, not wanting to discourage his friends worries but also not wanting to say what Kaiden did was bad. It wasn't. He knew that. At least, that's what he wanted to believe.

Logan stepped forward, gently tugging Roman away from the edge of the water. The man didn't even notice he was that close.

"Do you wish for me to look at them? If you're not careful one might get infected" Logan explained to him, in the background Patton grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his body, moving to stand beside Virgil who was chewing his nail, trying to distract the raging anger that burned deep inside of him, bringing his imagination to life as he thought of hurting Kaiden in tortuous ways that would get hin arrested.

Roman glanced towards Virgil and Patton who both nodded.

"I-...okay"

Slowly kneeling down, Roman tugged off his shirt again, keeping his gaze focused on the grass beside him as he felt Logan's eyes scan over his body closely, sometimes feeling his fingered press against certain spots, creating slight hissing noises that escape from his mouth without him being able to stop them.

"Look" Logan motioned over the other two, pointing to a cut in the shape of teeth right between his shoulder blades. He actually cut Roman's skin, but at the time he didn't notice, already in enough pain from every other mark that covered him.

"Oh, Roman..." Patton drifted with a gentle voice, sitting in front of him to softly hug his shaking form.

They let him pull on his shirt, and all decided to sit inside and watch a movie that would help distract Roman who sat on the couch curled up, leaning slightly on Virgil who happily let him. Whatever would comfort him. He felt bad for ruining the party Patton had set up, but he had reassured Roman plenty times that it was completely okay, and it wasn't his fault at all.

As it was nearing four o'clock, Roman had went back outside to grab his bag, Virgil being the only one who followed him so he could speak to him in silence.

"Are you going back to him?" Virgil rose an eyebrow, sleeves covering his hands that were crossed over his chest. Virgil didn't want to comment on the fact that four pm was such an early time for him to be wanted back, but it was fucking ridiculous. Roman even agreed on some levels, but at least Kaiden has a reason.

"He's taking me to see Incredibles two..." Roman murmured gently, playing with the strap of his bag. Virgil snorted, looking away in anger, of course. Roman didn't even realise Incredibles wouldn't be in cinemas until next week. It was a silly excuse Kaiden made up so Roman wouldn't spend too much time with his friends. His jealousy was starting to affect Roman badly, and half of Virgil wanted to go through with the torturing ideas he had for Kaiden.

"Well, you better go before you're late" Virgil watched Roman nod, saying a quiet goodbye to them all before leaving the house and getting into his car. He was mostly upset for ruining the day he was sure was going to be perfect, getting to see his friends after so long, play around in the pool, and have...fun. Of course, it wasn't entirely his fault, but maybe next time he should listen to Kaiden and not go. He was right, Kaiden did tell him there was a chance he would mess up and ruin the day for all of them, but he didn't listen, and look what he did.

Focused on his own thoughts, he slammed on the breaks after hearing a loud car horn, waving his hand apologetically at the car who flipped him off.

Sighing, he clutched his steering wheel tightly, resting his forehead on the rim. At least he gets to see Kaiden.

Pulling up into his driveway, he wondered why Kaiden's car wasn't there, but his questions were answered after reading the most recent text from him.

Kaiden❤️🧡💛 - my mates invited me out, I'll be back late, don't wait up

Of course, Roman thought sadly. Trudging inside of his house, he shot Patton, Logan and Virgil an apology for making the day a mess, leaving his phone in the living room so he didn't have to see the replies. Letting dinner slide, he brushed his teeth and collapsed onto his cold bed, tugging the blankets up to his chin.

Maybe he could make it up to them somehow? Invite them out tomorrow and have a fun day?

That is, if Kaiden would let him go...

—

Shitty ending. Eh.

11:41pm