AU: X
Ship: Platonic!Roceit
Prompt: X
Requested by: X
Warnings:  Crying and a bit of shouting, but this isn't that angsty, Sympathetic Deceit, spoilers for Selfishness Vs. Selflessness. 
Summary:  After the events in the courtroom, Roman just needs some time alone, unfortunately, another side interrupts without meaning to.
F/A/H-C: Hurt comfort? 
POV: 3rd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Side Note: I'm probably going to be posting a few things I forgot to post on here and instead just posted to Tumblr at like, three am. Edit up there is mine, if you use it give me credit!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman sighed, that entire scene had blown a hole straight through his pride and confidence. He needed to retreat, but with bombardments of bittersweet compliments from Patton and Virgil, and the occasional stink-eye from Logan had made him unable to completely leave unnoticed.

He normally never told the other sides when he was going to the imagination, that was his escape one that he did not need to be interrupted every so often for reminders for lunch/dinner/movie nights, etc. He normally wasn't so anti-social, but he just needed time for himself.

Was that selfish of him?

He quickly shook that thought away. No, of course not, he was just taking care of himself... Right?

He slowly pushed open the red and gold doors, meant to resemble ones you would find at the front of a castle. Normally this would lead to a bright white room that seemed to travel in all directions infinitely. A blank canvas of course for Roman to paint the scene he wanted to act out.

But that's not what the doors opened to this time.

They opened up to reveal a scene he was familiar with, bright green grass covering every inch of the ground, beautiful trees lined a pathway that led to a castle built with stones that looked new and smooth. Something straight out of a fairytale. He had designed this so long ago, around the time he revealed his name, the first time he truly needed an escape. He had made revisions to it, making it look even more perfect.

The constructs of citizens seemed to be perfect law abiding ones that addressed him as their prince. The colors remained ever vibrant, even at night, the full moon would reflect against the waters of a nearby lake, casting a beautiful glow...

At night there the stars would light up the area to where Roman was never in the dark. He never felt scared or anything here. This was one of the few scenes he made that had a lack of any villains, monsters to fight. This was just his kingdom of peace and tranquility.

Roman was almost lost in the trance of the stunning scene before he snapped himself out of it. He had not made this scene appear, and the only other side to have any control over the imagination was... Once he realized it, he rolled his eyes. Of course. Of course, that violent villain was ruining this too. He always ruined everything.

Roman waved his hand, making the scene disappear, leaving the cold-blooded side sitting on the floor of the white room. His eyes had been closed but were now opened into a glare.

"Wonderful to see you, Roman. Please intrude all you'd like." Deceit remarked as he stood up, dusting himself off. Roman's bad mood turned worse at that remark, so he snapped, "Are you saying I'm intruding on you? This is my part of the mindscape! Oh- wait. Were you just destroying that scene I had worked on tirelessly, filling it with other villains and monsters just to see it all crumble?"

Deceit was a little more than taken back at that, that was not at all what he thought would happen, but that's what happened. "Roman... Dear... You know when I'm lying and when I'm not, correct?" he asked. Roman was about to be even more offended by the use of the pet name, though it's not like he minded it. Deceit's tone had shifted. It was no longer annoyed, it was almost calming in a way.

Roman decided to be quiet for a moment, actually considering Deceit's question and trying not to focus on his tone so much. He nodded. "Then," Deceit continued, "let me tell you right now that I have done nothing to your kingdom. Nothing to that scene. The only thing I do when I go there is relax. Away from any of the constructs, away from the kingdom at all." He paused, "You can pull the scene back up to prove if I'm lying or not."

Silence as the two just looked at one another, Roman was trying to decide what to do, was Deceit lying? If he were to pull up the scene right now, would he be attacked by another version of the dragon-witch that Deceit had made? Or was he telling the truth? If he was, what exactly is he doing when he comes here? He sighed, "I do believe you, Deceit... For some reason." He knew he probably should have just left it there, asked kindly for Deceit to leave so he could have time to himself, but he didn't, instead, he asked "Would you mind staying? This scene may be fun to share."

Deceit, again, looked surprised, genuinely so. Roman wanted him to stay? For what reason? He wasn't going to question it at this moment. Though they had their small disagreement last time they spoke, they still got along fairly well, and he'd hate to lose someone else. So he nodded, "Okay..."

The scene was brought back up again, and the two found themselves sitting beside the lake. Deceit hummed as the sun hit his face again, being part snake meant he got cold quite often, and the sun felt nice on his scales. Roman noticed how at ease Deceit seemed to be and gave a small chuckle. "Enjoy the sun, do you?" he asked, prompting an eye roll from the other. "Absolutely dessssspise it" he hissed, the laugh afterward showing the sarcasm used.

There was silence once again. Not tense as it was last time however, this was more calm, peaceful. Though, Roman had to break it at one point, "I'm sorry, Deceit." Deceit's eyes, which had been closed as he basked in the sun snapped open and glanced over to him. "What for, exactly?"

"For snapping at you, I was incredibly stressed and upset at the whole situation. I should not have taken it out on you when you've done nothing." Roman was not looking at Deceit, he was looking down at the bright blades of grass beneath him. Deceit took a moment to answer, making Roman feel uneasy. "It's okay, Roman. I probably should not have been as pushy as I was in the courtroom, I just, wanted Thomas to admit what he wanted more. What you both wanted, obviously."

Roman felt tears begin to prick at his eyes, "Everything we did... Everything, all of the auditions, the shows, the countless hours put into all of this work, and perfecting the skills we had," A small sob escaped him, "and, then our chance finally comes, and... We miss it. It was all for nothing. Because we aren't going to get another chance like this, ever again." His voice cracked as he fully broke down.

Arms were being wrapped around him, and he was being gently shushed. "It's alright, Roman, we'll get there someday." Deceit murmured to him as he held the creative side.

And at that point,

Roman didn't care if he was lying or not.

Either way, it gave him something to hold on to.