Trigger Warning: mentions of abuse

Roman stood in the shower, letting the warm water hit his face as he shook. He pressed his hands against the walls to the side of him for support. The prince's legs felt weak, and his head was spinning.

What happened? Why had Virgil been so quick to pull me close to him? Could he have known it was going to happen? he thought with wide eyes. No, no, he'd have told me... but we didn't see each other before the ball... maybe he- no! No... stop thinking about it Roman.

He sighed, turning off the water and stepping into the cold bathroom. The prince started drying himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist. As he did so, he paused to look at the mirror. Roman just stared at his face, feeling his head spin with thoughts and feelings he'd never experienced. He didn't even realize someone had opened the bathroom door by mistake, causing him to jump when he finally did notice Virgil standing in the doorway with wide eyes.

"Uh- Sorry, sorry, I um- I just- sorry," the artist fumbled over his words as red flushed to his cheeks.

The prince looked down at himself, blushing a little as he remembered he was only in a towel. "O-Oh, it's alright, uh- do you have night clothes I could change into?" he asked with an embarrassed smile. Virgil nodded, fumbling around his room to find some. He pulled out a set of purple night clothes, the only ones he had that weren't black. He handed them to Roman, looking away and refusing to meet his eyes. The prince noticed how nervous he was, chuckling. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Virgil's cheek, earning a gasp. When he pulled away with the clothes in his arms, he smiled at the artist's red face. "Thank you, love."

Without giving him a chance to respond, Roman turned and went back into the bathroom with the clothes. Virgil let out a shaky breath as he raised his hand to his cheek.

"O-Oh my god..." he breathed, smiling a little to himself as he stumbled back a little.

At the same time, Prince Roman had closed the door and quickly leaned back against it. His cheeks were on fire as he ran a hand through his still damp hair. "Oh my god..." he mumbled, resting his head against the door.

Roman couldn't help but smile to himself as he put on Virgil's night clothes. He couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with their situation. It's like I've seen this story before, he thought, frowning curiously. It's like-his eyes widened in realization-it's like we're the people from that painting in the tunnels... I wonder how that story ended...

He came out of the bathroom, finding Virgil sitting on his bed. The artist jumped as he sat down next to him, smiling gently. "S-Sorry, I was just lost in thought and didn't notice you come out," he said bashfully.

The prince let out a small chuckle, reaching up to hold his cheek gently, causing tingles through his skin. "Still so nervous around me," Roman commented with a smile, leaning forward to press his lips to Virgil's softly. When they pulled away, they shared a small smile before Roman started coughing. "My apologies, just a lingering scratchiness from the smoke."

"God, I'm so sorry..." Virgil muttered, pulling further away from him. "This is all my fault."

Roman looked at him in dismay, taking his hand. "Virgil, what-"

"You shouldn't be around me," he said pulling his hand away and standing up to move to across the room. There was an overwhelming sense of fear, dread, and despair that had crashed down on the prince from the simple action of pulling his hand away.

"Virgil... please, tell me what you're talking about," Roman said, getting up from his place on the bed and moving over to stand behind him. His arms were reaching hesitantly to hold him, but he refrained from doing so.

The artist let out a heavy sigh, cursing himself internally as tears brimmed his eyes. "There are things you don't know about me, Roman..." he murmured.

The prince's heart jumped and started to race. That was the first time he'd used his name, and he wasn't sure if he should be delighted upon hearing him finally say it, or terrified of what he was about to tell him. He felt his thoughts flashing back to one of the days at the market place. A voice that belonged to someone he'd only spoken to once.

"There are things that you don't know about him, your Highness," Barry muttered with a small smirk.

Roman's breathing was quick and shallow as he kept himself composed, waiting for the artist to continue. Virgil sucked in a tiny breath before scrunching his eyes closed. "When I was about eleven, I met a boy who very sick and poor. He had nowhere to go, no family, nothing... I decided to help him..." he explained softly, his own heart racing as he thought about what he was doing. "His name was Barry, and... I thought he loved me..."

The prince's eyes widened, and his throat closed up for a moment. Virgil continued, wrapping his arms around himself. "I helped him get back onto his feet; I gave him a place to stay, food, and possibly made one of the worst mistakes of my life when I gave him my heart... He started disappearing at night, but he didn't think I noticed. He stayed out later and later, and it wasn't until I followed him one night that I found out what he was doing. You see, Barry had a black heart, but hid it well at the time. All he really wanted was power, to be feared, and wealth... I wish I hadn't been so foolish. He'd built up a guild, people that wanted to follow him and gain power. They were cruel, stealing and occasionally killing to become feared. When I found out, he..."

The artist had to stop himself, biting his lip as a tear dropped down his cheek. "H-He didn't do anything at first, but s-soon enough the hits came..." he said, voice a whisper. Roman was horrified, gently placing a hand on his arm.

"Virgil..." he murmured, tears springing to his eyes. The artist flinched, looking down at the hand.

"There's... there's more to the story, Roman..."