Warnings: drinking alcohol on two occasions at least, kinda get a bit drunk once, only one bed👀

Prompt 11: fake dating (no word limit)

Human au

Oh it's a long one

Hi guys this is one of the oneshots from my latest fluff event book!! Go read them lol

--

"You did what?" Logan said, giving his roommate an utterly doubtful look. Surely not even Roman would-

Actually, scratch that, it seemed entirely in character for Roman. Sadly.

"I invented a fake boyfriend." Roman told him somberly from where he had dramatically slung himself across the couch as soon as he got home. His friend sighed, looking up at Logan with a stressed expression that was quite fitting for the situation.

"What were you thinking?" Logan wondered, slightly unsure if Roman actually thought before speaking. There was a lot of evidence against it, so far.

"Well, I needed an excuse to get out of a meeting once. So, I told them my boyfriend was sick and needed me." Roman said, as if that had been his only choice.

"Your boyfriend, who has a certain issue with existing in this reality." Logan pointed out and Roman groaned, reaching a hand out and swatting in the general direction of where Logan was sitting.

"Shut up. I could have a boyfriend." Roman pouted, giving him a half hearted glare. Logan gave him an unimpressed stare, Roman hadn't been on a date in months.

"But you don't. And now your continuous claim of having a partner for the past year has, figuratively, come to bite you in the ass, yes?" Logan wondered. Roman crossed his arms over his chest, likening a toddler pouting about not getting ice cream before dinner.

"...Yeah, you could put it that way, I guess. But how was I supposed to know they were going to come up with the brilliant idea of a work trip where people bring their significant others? And if I try to say my boyfriend can't come they might ask too many questions and I really don't want them to find out I've been lying. They might fire me and, yeah, this is not exactly my dream job, but I need money, Logan!" Roman rambled and, to be fair, made a valid point.

Roman did need money. If he did not have money he would end up needing to move out, and that would sadden Logan as he had come to enjoy the dramatic man's company, even if he had disliked him at first when they met in college.

"I'm sure there is some solution that won't mean you get fired, Roman. You could explain that your boyfriend has extreme social anxiety and doesn't want to come, you could tell your coworkers that the two of you broke up, you could say that your boyfriend is away in another state taking care of his sick elderly parents?" Logan suggested, already having several ideas that surely were better than whatever it was that made Roman look like he was thinking so hard.

"No... I need someone to bring, they expect me to bring a boyfriend. If I lie again it will just be too suspicious, I can't use my boyfriend to get out of everything and also I didn't pay much attention to the meeting and accidentally said yes when they asked if I would be bringing my partner and, ugh, I just need someone to, like, pretend to be my boyfriend, it doesn't need to be real." He mumbled, mostly to himself but Logan felt slightly worried anyway, and even more so when Roman gasped and tilted his head back to stare at Logan.

"Hey, Logan, I had an idea!" He exclaimed, smiling an upside down smile at Logan from where he was lying. Logan was already uncomfortable.

"I do not like that tone. Whatever idea you have, just keep it to yourself and don't involve me." Logan said, shaking his head. Roman ungracefully slipped down from the couch and onto the floor, landing uncomfortably on his back before standing up on his knees, pouting at Logan and clasping his hands together.

"Oh, Logan, please, pretty please, I will owe you for forever, I won't ever leave dirty dishes in the sink again, I won't play Disney music at three in the morning, please, please be my fake boyfriend!" He begged, and Logan stared down at him, almost laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Here Roman was, begging him on his knees to fake date him for a few days, just to keep a lie up. Logan could almost not believe they were friends.

"Roman-" He started.

"It's only three days! I won't do anything that makes you uncomfortable, please I am desperate-"

"I can tell."

"-and would it really be that bad to be my fake boyfriend? I'm a gentleman." Roman said, ignoring his comment in favour of doing his best impression of puppy-dog eyes, something that one of their common friends was a master of. Roman did not do as well.

"...It will involve socializing, won't it?" Logan asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, the first evening there's this kind of party that we're all supposed to go to. Then the next two days I have to go to about a billion meetings and lectures, though knowing my coworkers they will go out drinking in the evening and they might want us to come. So, yeah, there will be some socializing, but mostly you can explore the city, or hole up in the hotel room, or take a walk by the beach." Roman rambled, giving him a tentative and hopeful smile.

"And you expect me to play the role of your boyfriend well? Would it not be wiser to ask Patton? He is far better at acting out emotions than I am. He probably would not have to act any different than normal to make people think he is dating you." Logan pointed out. Patton was... very loving. No one would doubt Patton is dating any one of his friends, with how cuddly and affectionate he always was.

"He's busy that weekend, he and Virgil are having a weekend away together, right? They said so yesterday in the groupchat." Roman reminded, crushing Logan's hope of Roman begging someone else for help.

"Oh, right." Logan did recall that now, and internally cursed the couple's timing.

Despite a nagging feeling that this would somehow go incredibly wrong one way or another Logan could feel himself giving in. He couldn't just refuse to even try to help him, could he? Roman was one of his best friends, he cared for him.

"Fine. I suppose I will ...be your fake boyfriend for a few days." Logan said, partly not believing the words he was uttering. Roman gaped at him in surprise, likely having guessed he would have to spend the entire week begging Logan for help.

"Really? Oh god, thank you, thank you!" His friend exclaimed. Logan sighed, not nearly as excited as Roman was.

"I better not end up regretting this." He warned, Roman immediately waving his worry off. It would not surprise Logan in the least if Roman saw no way this would go wrong.

"You won't! I promise!" Roman hopped up from his kneeling position, swooping in to give Logan a tight hug. "You're the best, Lo!"

"Right." Logan awkwardly patted Roman's back, unsure how to react and worrying even more how he would be believable as Roman's boyfriend. He would be required to perform some kind of intimacy, would he not? Which was a thought that made Logan mildly uncomfortable, a knot of worry in his stomach. He wasn't good at emotions, generally.

"Now, please tell me all you know so far about this trip." Logan said as Roman let go of him and allowed Logan to breathe.

--

The two weeks until Roman's work related trip passed unbelievably quick and before Logan knew it they had packed their things (Logan fitting all his things in a backpack and Roman somehow stuffing a gigantic suitcase full) and now they were finding their seats on the airplane.

Roman did not seem stressed in the least as he lifted his suitcase into the luggage space over their heads and chatted with some of his coworkers about how they all dreaded the meetings and couldn't wait to relax on the beach with their partners.

Logan definitely did not share Roman's calm. Despite all their talking about how this would go and Roman promising that he wouldn't blame Logan if they did get found out, Logan was still certain that it would all go wrong somehow. He was not good at acting, like Roman was, and he did not think he would be good at being emotional and loving like Patton. He did however feel a close relation with Virgil at the moment, given how much he was worrying.

At least the introductions they had gone through at the airport had gone smoothly. No one seemed to suspect them yet, which was not surprising when Roman had put an arm around his shoulders and done most of the talking.

Roman found their seats, sitting down by the window. Logan sat next to him, relieved to notice that the person in the seat next to them was not one of Roman's coworkers. He took a deep breath to try and ready himself as he clicked his seatbelt into place.

Glancing over at Roman he saw him already looking through the magazine with commercials and airplane food and drinks that could be ordered. Logan dug his book up from his backpack that he had decided to just keep by his feet, placing it on the little shelf that he flipped down in front of himself.

People sat down in their seats and after a while of waiting a flight attendant came and instructed them all to put their seatbelts on and where to find everything in case of an emergency. Logan pulled the magazine from Roman to get him to remember to put his seatbelt on, thumbing on the pages as the flight attendant left.

The plane started, a rumbling being heard. Logan exhaled slowly, handing Roman the magazine and then grabbing onto the armrest between him and Roman.

"You alright Logan?" Roman asked, having glanced over at him and apparently noticed how stiff he seemed.

"I'm fine." Logan said, eyes fixed on his book. The plane started moving, being driven towards the runway.

"...Are you sure?" Roman asked after a few seconds of eyeing Logan. He debated internally for a moment before sighing.

"Perhaps- perhaps I am not a huge fan of travelling by airplane." Logan admitted, only to be met with Roman staring, which made him regret having spoken immediately.

"Wait, you're scared of flying?" He said, as if it was incredibly unbelievable.

"Oh, shut up, you're scared of worms." Logan bit back, not exactly amused by Roman at the moment.

"They're freaky! Like really tiny snakes, and, ew, after it rains they cover the sidewalks and it's gross and you can't step anywhere and it just feels like they're going to, I dunno, crawl into my shoes or something!" Roman said, shuddering at the thought despite Logan many times having explained that there is practically no way for Roman to find himself with worms between his toes unless he would walk outside barefoot after it has rained.

"Okay, look," Roman pried Logan's hand away from the armrest, grabbing his hand, "sorry, not gonna make fun of you. It's only a few hours and then we'll land and, I dunno, you can squeeze my hand if you need to and we can find a movie to watch, yeah? We'll just share the earbuds."

Logan stared at their entwined fingers and then looked up at Roman, who looked very sincere, for once. Logan decided to humor him, there was no reason to be difficult when Roman was obviously trying his best to be helpful.

"Fine." He said, thinking to himself that squeezing Roman's hand would probably not be needed, but it was actually quite nice to be holding Roman's hand. Comforting somehow.

Logan let Roman choose the movie, and of course they ended up watching the Disney movie Soul. It was slightly distracting, luckily, though Logan still did end up holding Roman's hand rather tightly as the plane took off, but his friend didn't complain.

Eventually the plane was beginning its descent, which made Logan tightly hold onto Roman again (it had been hours and Roman hadn't let go of him) as he tried to concentrate on his book that he had been reading for the past two hours.

In entirely too long according to Logan's opinion they were safely on the ground and getting off the plane. They got a cab to the hotel, luckily not sharing with anyone else. There was no trouble to get the room Roman had booked and Logan was very excited to take a shower and relax and not have to socialize for a while.

He did, however, get a slight surprise when Roman opened the door to show that their room only has one bed. It was not a catastrophe, but he did give Roman a look demanding an explanation.

"Well, if any of my coworkers would go to my room and see we have a bed each they would have questions, right? Dunno, just didn't think it was a big deal." Roman said with a shrug, opening his suitcase and beginning to unpack his things.

"I suppose you are right. And no, it's not a big deal, though you know I dislike surprises." Logan pointed out and Roman gave him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Lo, it just slipped my mind. But I don't think there is anything else." He said. Logan set his backpack on the side of the bed closest to the bathroom, claiming that side as his.

"Good, now, I'm going to take a shower." He said, ignoring Roman's complaints as he had apparently planned to do the same.

--

Holing up in their hotel room and not interacting with anyone else than Roman was the perfect way to spend the hours until the party. Roman was lying sprawled across the entire bed and watching tv and playing on his phone. Logan took the time to do some work (he had taken Friday and Monday off work for this) on his laptop and then he kept reading his book, having settled on the balcony with his book and a soda.

There was a nice view of the beach and the ocean from the hotel and their room was on a floor high up enough that it didn't feel like people at the beach could be staring at him, which also meant there wasn't too much noise. All in all it was pretty good for a hotel room, even if Roman had been complaining over the lack of chocolate on their pillows.

As Roman headed out to find a store to, most likely, buy an excessive amount of snacks Logan unpacked his backpack, folding his clothes in one of the drawers left empty and leaving his laptop on the small table by two armchairs. Then he took a nap to recharge until Roman got back, the door shutting waking Logan up.

"Oh, sorry. Want some chips?" Roman said, placing two shopping bags on the floor. He rummaged through one of them, then threw a bag of Logan's favorite chips at him. He failed to catch it, being hit in the chest.

"Are we not going to a dinner party in an hour?" He questioned, setting the bag of chips on the nightstand.

"Yeah, but snacks..." Roman said, taking a bite out of a candy bar.

"Do you really need this much though?" Logan said, eyeing the bags again. Roman had the worst sweet tooth, any snacks not hidden away would be eaten, which is why Logan stored his crofters in his room. (At least Roman did replace what he ate later.)

"Yeah? I have two days of meetings to look forward to. This is for survival." He grinned, chocolate on his teeth and Logan rolled his eyes. He got up from the bed and found the clothes he would be wearing for the party as Roman stocked the room's mini fridge.

An hour later they were dressed and waiting outside the place that had been booked for the company party.

Roman had, while complaining, put on a pair of white slacks and a bright red button up. Then, as Logan was wearing black slacks and a dark blue button-up, Roman had insisted that he wore a navy blue tie and Logan a red one. 'To match', he had claimed.

Now Roman had his arm linked with Logan's and currently he was having a discussion with a coworker that Logan was trying hard not to be involved in. Luckily as they walked inside the coworker and his girlfriend went to find their seats at the dinner tables and they were not sitting at the same table as him and Roman.

Of course it was great if Roman's coworkers were nice and liked him, but as the introvert Logan was he would be happy if he avoided as many social interactions as possible. They found their table and sat down.

"I know you're not like Virgil when it comes to anxiety about parties and stuff but since you don't like socializing that much... Anyway, just let me know if you want to leave or take a break." Roman mumbled, leaning close so no one else would hear. Logan was almost surprised by his thoughtfulness. He sent his friend a small smile.

"Thank you." He said, then turning his attention back to his surroundings as more people were sitting down. The couple in front of them introduced themselves and Logan forced a casual smile and did the same, introducing himself as Roman's boyfriend.

"How long have you been together?" A woman asked, which luckily meant that Roman had not been telling all his coworkers every little detail of his and his fake boyfriend's relationship (Logan would not have put it past him). He turned to look at Roman, who quickly realized he should be the one responding. It would be easier for Roman to lie about these things as he knew what might contradict his previous lies better than Logan did.

"A year and a half, but we've known each other since college, lived together for four years." Roman looked at him and smiled, which Logan returned. It was much easier to smile at Roman, it came more naturally.

"How are you liking the party? So far it is not as dull as the office parties usually are." She said. "God, Roman, remember the Christmas party? That was just awkward."

"Don't remind me." Roman groaned, laughing a little. Logan had heard Roman complain about that party last Christmas, but seeing as Roman complained and whined about a lot of things he could not remember what it was that had been so bad about that particular one.

"I'm liking the party, and the trip, just fine so far." Logan said. He would admit that even though he found it a bit stressful to socialize with Roman's coworkers and act as his boyfriend it was still quite nice to sort of be on vacation. He just needed to survive this party and then he could mostly relax, maybe take a walk by the beach, steal Roman's snacks and read his book.

"So, Logan, what do you do that keeps you from all our office events? Roman hasn't told us about what you do yet." The lady continued as Logan wished that this small talk would soon be over.

"I teach, which means I'm often busy working. When I'm not at work I still have to grade tests and assignments and plan my next lessons." Logan said.

"Oh, I could never teach! I barely have the patience for my own kids, ha. Are you planning on having children?" The woman asked, which Logan felt was a rather inappropriate question. It was not any of her business if Logan and his fake boyfriend were planning on having children in the future or not. Roman answered for him again, and they then had to endure several similar questions as they waited for the dinner buffet to open.

Logan made it through the dinner, and even the rest of the socializing, though the champagne they were drinking helped. After some speech someone, perhaps their boss, held, about how lovely it was to see everyone there and talking about how great the food was and then rambling on about the new deal their company made that made this possible and how important tomorrow's meetings were.

Eventually people began to rise from their seats, standing in groups and conversing or dancing with their partners or getting themselves more to drink or eat.

Roman, in a noble attempt to escape an approaching group of coworkers and their partners, put his arm around Logan's waist and led him to a corner of the dancefloor where they attempted some swaying dance that seemed to fit to the music. Logan had not danced much, ever, but he felt like he did fairly well mirroring Roman's movements. At least he did not step on his toes more than once.

"We have an audience." Roman mumbled, rolling his eyes, which was the first time Logan had seen Roman frustrated at attention. He glanced around discreetly and realized that, yes, some people were watching them. He sighed.

"Do we need to up our performance, or what?" He said jokingly, slightly frustrated at the fact that they seemed to be much more interesting than the other couples just because they were gay.

Roman kissed him then, a small peck that Logan did not have the time to return. (Roman had asked permission and warned beforehand that he might do something like that, though). Logan's head spun slightly and he entirely lost focus on what their conversation was about. He thought that he perhaps should not have had that last glass of champagne.

"Hey, that actually got some of them to look away. Neat." Roman said, Logan staying quiet and spending the rest of the dance collecting his thoughts.

They walked away from the center of attention and Roman grabbed a bottle of water from a table before they slipped through a pair of doors that led out to a porch. A distance away they could see the ocean.

Roman chugged half the bottle of water before offering it to Logan.

"I've been seeing others sneaking out here and not returning all evening, so I think it's okay to leave." Roman said, in an obvious attempt at asking Logan if he wanted to leave.

"Maybe taking a walk along the beach would be nice. I'm very warm." Logan said. The dancing must have taken a lot out of him.

"Sounds like a lovely plan." Roman said and offered Logan his arm. He let Roman link their arms and then they made their way down from the porch and towards the beach. The sun had set and there weren't many other people outside. There was a slight breeze, warm and summery.

Their hotel wasn't very far so they decided to walk back to it along the water, Roman ranting about how boring the next two days of meetings were going to be while Logan glanced up at the sky and tried to see as many stars as possible between the clouds.

"The water looks so nice, I wanna take a swim." Roman said after a moment of rare quiet. Logan gave him a doubtful look.

"You've got nothing to swim in." He pointed out since he felt certain that even Roman would not want to walk through the hotel with soaking clothes.

"Hmm, I guess." He said, but then he stopped and took his shoes and socks off, rolling his pant legs up as far as he could before stepping out in the shallow water, holding his things. He jumped slightly to make the water splash, looking up at Logan with a grin.

"The water's great." He said, just to prove how his current actions were not weird at all.

"You're weird and I'm fairly sure this won't end as well as you think it will." Logan commented and Roman gasped in offence.

"Be careful or I'm fake breaking up with you." He said, crossing his arms over his chest and stomping forward, a bit of water splashing all the way to Logan. Of course it was only a matter of moments until Roman managed to drop his shoe, making Roman swear loudly.

"Not a word." He said, pointing at Logan before bending down to pick the shoe up, then somehow dropping his other shoe, and no one could really blame Logan for laughing.

"At this point I might as well just lie down right here." Roman said and at this point Logan did not doubt that Roman would do so if he got a bit of encouragement.

"Please don't." Logan said, even though it would be a funny sight.

"Fine, let's go to bed." Roman said with a pout, putting his wet shoes back on. Logan offered him his hand despite there being no people around, and Roman smiled slightly as he took it.

"We can go swimming when you're done with your meetings." Logan promised.

--

Logan woke up early. He had no idea what time it was, but Roman was not up yet and he had an alarm set for seven to be up in time for breakfast before all his meetings.

And Roman was still in bed, which he knew for certain as he had woken up hugged to Roman's chest, one of Roman's arms around him and one of his own arms around Roman. He couldn't see his own face in any mirrors as Roman's body was in the way, but he knew for a fact that his face was bright red.

He didn't quite know how they got into this situation, it was not something Logan had expected as they went to bed last night, Roman having immediately rolled over with his back to Logan and started snoring.

Logan did not have time to try to untangle himself from his friend or think over the situation any more than that before Roman's alarm rang, startling the other awake. Roman was probably about to reach for his phone, but he quickly noticed their situation and blinked dumbly at Logan a few times before his brain caught up.

"Oh, good morning." He said, and they quickly detangled from each other, Roman silencing his alarm. At least Logan was not the only one who was flustered.

"Sorry, I'm a cuddly sleeper. Didn't know you were too, though. Who would have thought!" Roman said with a laugh, sitting up. Logan fought the urge to roll up in the duvet and go to sleep as a way of ignoring Roman.

"I- um, shut up." Logan said, likely not making himself look any more stoic.

"Relax, I won't tell anyone that you're soft." Roman said with a grin, getting up from the bed. Logan narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not soft." Logan scoffed.

"Sure, try to deny being a cutie. Anyway, I'm gonna shower first." Roman said, disappearing into the bathroom and leaving Logan trying to understand the conversation they had just had or why Roman would call him a 'cutie'.

This was a little too much for seven in the morning, and as Roman would likely take really long in the shower, so Logan decided not to deal with anything that might have to do with feelings and went back to sleep.

When he was woken up again, by Roman poking him in the side, he took a shower and got dressed. He was going to go with Roman to eat breakfast, but then Roman was going to leave and Logan would have until dinner to entertain himself. (Which meant he was going to grade some tests and read his book, pretty much.)

He brushed his teeth and tried to fix his hair so it wouldn't look like he had stumbled out of bed twenty minutes ago. Then he and Roman walked to the hotel cafeteria, finding a free table. They did sit by some of Roman's coworkers, but they all seemed very tired and not as talkative as they had been the day before, so Logan did not have to engage in any conversation longer than a few good morning's.

Roman did hold his hand through the entire breakfast, but Logan didn't find himself minding even if it was a bit inconvenient at times. He was really going to do his best to be Roman's fake boyfriend, and luckily it was not as difficult to do that as he had feared it might be.

He didn't mind Roman holding his hand or introducing him as his boyfriend, it hadn't even made him uncomfortable when Roman had kissed him the evening before. He'd never had a problem with sharing a bed with a friend (except the time Virgil had kicked him).

It was just surprisingly easy to play the part as Roman's boyfriend.

--

Logan had finished his book and finished grading all his students' tests by the time Roman came back. The first thing his friend did was to grab more snacks (he had surely been eating a lot of snacks already) and then flop onto the bed.

"Meetings suck and lectures are the worst. It's like I'm back in college." He said, ripping open the paper to a candy bar.

"Well, did you at least learn something?" Logan wondered, leaving his place in one of the armchairs to sit on the bed. He took one of the other candy bars that Roman had grabbed.

"I've learnt that... I don't know. There were a lot of computer things, the company is starting to use another system or something. I don't know." Roman said with a shrug. To Logan that sounded like quite important things to retain.

"Good luck with that."

"Uh huh. Wanna watch tv? Bet we can find a Disney movie." Roman said, reaching for the remote that had been left on the bed, flipping through some channels before realizing the tv had a streaming service.

"Ooh, Moana!" Roman exclaimed as soon as he saw it, and as Logan did not object he pressed play.

The movie entertained them until dinnertime. They left their snacks in the hotel room and ventured out into the city to find the next pizza place. It didn't take them long and they ordered their pizzas, deciding on eating at the restaurant instead of bringing them back to their hotel room.

Roman paid and then reached out to take Logan's hand as they found a table, Logan's face warming as he glanced around the restaurant to see if he recognized anyone as Roman's coworker. There was one couple, at the other end of the room, who seemed very busy with their food and each other.

They sat down and Roman did not let go of his hand, despite no one seeming to care about them or what they were doing. Logan could not entirely understand why he felt so strange at the moment, he'd been fine holding Roman's hand yesterday and it hadn't made him flustered at all.

Was he just feeling more awkward because they had been cuddling? That did not make enough sense to be the real reason, Logan might not be someone who actively sought out physical touch, but he certainly didn't mind it, and his friends already knew that he was not as stoic and serious as he pretended to be, there was no image to uphold.

Their pizzas were carried to their table and Roman let go of his hand so they could both eat. Roman started talking about another job that he had found out were hiring, but apparently did not pay as well as the one he currently had. (Of course the entire reason Roman worked for this company was the money, if he was doing what he wanted to, Logan knew he would be acting.)

"Like, I'm just kind of tired of this, you know? It's boring. I just want to do theatre." Roman pouted, then looked at Logan and smiled.

"Hang on," he said, reaching out to brush his thumb over Logan's cheek, something that made Logan's breath catch in his throat, "there, you had pizza sauce on your cheek."

"Oh, th- thanks." Logan said, trying to play unbothered and not as if he had just, for a mere second, been confronted by a surprisingly strong sensation (feeling?) that he did not know how to identify. Discomfort? No. Fondness? Possibly.

Logan finished his pizza and then excused himself outside, walking into the park that was right next to the pizza restaurant. He found a place far away from other people and fished his phone out of his pocket, finding the number of his friend.

"Hey, L, what's up?" Came the familiar voice of Virgil, and Logan smiled. He had known Virgil almost his entire life. No one knew him better than Virgil.

"Hello, Virgil. I, well, to be perfectly honest I am not sure 'what's up'. Roman is making me feel, um, strange." He said, grimacing to himself. He didn't know how to describe it in a way that would make sense, and he didn't know how to not feel awkward about having feelings.

"Strange? How so? You could just tell him to stop doing stuff that makes you feel that way." Virgil advised and Logan began to pace in circles.

"I'm not sure what it is he does. It is not anything that he has not done before this weekend and I do not understand why I would feel differently about it now. It just... feels weird?" He said, perhaps making it sound more like a question than anything else.

"Weird in a bad way, or..?" Virgil wondered, trailing off.

"I don't think so, it is not an unpleasant feeling. It's just a bit frustrating, Roman usually doesn't make me feel weird, at least not enough so that I have noticed it." Logan said, trying to think back to remember if these were feelings Roman had made him feel before.

Before this conversation he would have said no, but now Logan was not as sure. Roman did have a talent for making Logan feel things that just did not always make sense.

"Alright, alright, so what is it he's doing?" Virgil said curiously.

"Just fake boyfriend things, holding my hand, smiling at me all the time." Logan said, feeling slightly awkward.

"God, I still can't believe you actually agreed to be his fake boyfriend. Roman's such an idiot." Virgil said lovingly and Logan huffed out a laugh, definitely agreeing.

"I cannot really believe it either, but you should have seen him, he was literally on his knees begging. Plus, ignoring that I have to socialize with his coworkers now and then, this is a really nice vacation that I don't have to pay for." Logan pointed out. His vacations were usually spent in the apartment and it was nice with some change.

"True, true." Virgil said, and was then quiet for a second before snorting.

"Hey, imagine if you two realize you're actually in love with each other while pretending to be boyfriends, like in a fanfiction. That would be hilarious." Virgil said and Logan could practically hear his friend smirking.

"Yes, very funny, but I don't think- ...the feelings aren't-" Logan said, then going quiet as he actually thought about how Roman's touch was making him so much more nervous now than what it usually did (as far as he had previously noticed).

"It's not... No." Logan said, trying to think of an argument against it being any kind of romantic feelings that were making Logan feel this way. Quite the opposite, as his traitor of a brain asked itself how he would feel about being Roman's real boyfriend and he found that he actually did not mind the idea, probably hadn't for longer than he would ever know.

"I hope you know that I actually hate you." Logan said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Wait- oh my go-" Virgil laughed loudly and Logan could hear Patton in the background wondering what was going on. Logan gave a nearby tree a very unimpressed glare as he waited for Virgil to stop laughing.

"Love you too, L" Virgil said between wheezes, sounding like he was about to choke from laughter.

Logan hung up.

(And then sent a text saying that he, of course, loved him too, because even if they both knew he had been joking Logan was not comfortable leaving the conversation with that.)

Logan sat down on a nearby bench to think, the evening air feeling cool against his burning face. This was a terrible time to realize that he was, either, beginning to get feelings for his friend or now realizing feelings that he had previously been very good at repressing.

Both were bad but sadly the second option sounded the most right. The more he thought about it the more he realized that there were several signs pointing towards him having been developing these feelings for a while.

One being that he had always found Roman attractive, and another being that he had been entirely uninterested in dating anyone for the past two years because even if he had met attractive people and even been asked out a few times none of them had really appealed to him. And now Logan was realizing that the person that did appeal to him was one of his best friends, his roommate, the man he was currently fake dating.

Logan sure knew how to make things difficult for himself.

--

Roman ended up finding him on the bench (he had texted wondering where he was) while Logan was rethinking the past few years of his life, trying to figure out the extent of his newly realized feelings.

"You doing okay, Logan?" He asked, giving him a mildly concerned look. Logan made his face as neutral as possible, not daring to let any feeling slip through. Roman was very good at reading other people, and he really did not want Roman to realize how he was feeling before Logan himself properly figured it out.

"I'm doing well. I spoke with Virgil." He said, giving an explanation as to why he had been gone for so long.

"Oh, how's he and Patton doing?" Roman asked, making Logan grateful that he and Virgil had been texting a bit since they hung up, because Logan actually knew how they were doing.

"They're good, the cabin is nice and Patton is apparently making a lot of cookies and hot chocolate, and Virgil mentioned they'd gone for a few walks in the forest and even found some edible mushrooms." He said. The cabin they were in belonged to a relative to Patton, but they had been allowed to borrow it.

"Oh, I miss Patton's cookies." Roman remarked with a sigh, sitting down on the bench too.

"I'm sure you do." Logan said, knowing very well how much Roman loved Patton's baking. (And who didn't? Patton's cookies really were the best.)

"Anyway. A coworker texted me about going out drinking. Do you want to come?" Roman asked, clearly hoping for a yes. Neither of them were that interested in drinking, so Logan could see why Roman would find it boring to go alone.

"Why not, I've finished grading and I've read my book, I do not have much else to do." Logan said, standing up. Roman jumped up from the bench.

"Great! I promise we will barely have to socialize tomorrow." Roman said, reaching out and patting Logan's shoulder.

Within ten minutes they had reached the bar that Roman's coworker had mentioned and the two of them did their best to avoid Roman's boss who was stood drinking with a few of his coworkers. As in most bars there was loud music blasting from speakers and lots of people talking, drinking and dancing.

One of Roman's coworkers bought them and a small group of others drinks. This group was calmer and further from the speakers than the rest of Roman's coworkers, so that was where they ended up. It was slightly comforting to note that he was not the only one out of the partners who seemed a bit awkward and not very ready to socialize.

Logan sipped on his drink and let the others do the talking, staying behind when some of them, Roman included, went out to the dance floor to dance. He didn't pay much attention to the conversations around him, mostly because the music was loud enough to drown most of them out, but he did accept another drink, which he finished before Roman returned to his side.

"You want another drink? I want to try one of those fruity ones that are a fun color because, you know, I'm kinda fruity." Roman said, flustered from dancing. Logan rolled his eyes at the pun but ultimately decided to accept.

Soon he was holding a glass with a very pink drink that mostly tasted like juice, sipping it through a straw. Roman was excited over the little glittery umbrella in his, taking a picture to send the groupchat.

"This is fun, why anyone would drink beer or wine is beyond me." Roman said, taking a big sip and smiling.

"You don't want to dance?" Roman asked and Logan shook his head. He'd already danced once this weekend and that was enough for the rest of the year, and at this point his 'social battery' was running out. He would rather not be in the center of attention.

"Hm, they're staring. Kiss?" Roman said, discreetly frowning about their behaviour. Logan ignored the weird feeling in his chest (because this really was not about him or his feelings) and he gave Roman a quick nod.

He leaned in to let his lips brush over Logan's in a kiss that was likely meant to be just as brief as the last one, but this time Logan had time to react (but maybe no time to actually think before doing so) and he kissed back, one hand coming up to cup Roman's face.

They parted ever so slightly, both of them catching up with the sincerity of the kiss they had just shared, and Logan pulled Roman closer, kissing him again. Maybe he had had a little too much to drink, because there was no part of him protesting against what they were doing as Roman's arms wrapped around him and he gently but eagerly returned the kiss.

Perhaps completely sober Logan would have objections, think more about the consequences, but for once Logan let himself simply be steered by temptation, and right now nothing was as tempting as continuing to feel Roman's lips against his.

They parted again for a mere second before Roman's mouth found his again, and it took several kisses before they parted long enough to remember where they were. One of Roman's arms stayed wrapped around him and they made their way out of the bar and away, Logan's mind almost having time to completely catch up as they were walking in silence, Roman moving his arm to take Logan's hand instead as they were walking.

There seemed to be a silent mutual agreement between them that they were to return to their hotel room, where they had the privacy to... Continue kissing? Talk? Logan was not entirely sure, though the thought made a knot of worry make itself known in his stomach.

He hadn't quite meant to let this happen, but he hadn't really been able to help himself, and when Roman then had kept kissing him? Why should he have to deprive himself of something he now knew he wanted? Though of course this had now made his and Roman's relationship a lot more complicated.

It only took them a short while to get back to the hotel and to their room, Logan trying his best not to let himself think the entire time, because thinking was something he did a lot of, and right now it was not helping.

Logan shut the door behind them, leaning against it and looking at Roman who chose that moment to turn and look at him. There was a pause. Logan was not sure if he should try to say something. Then Roman stepped closer and glanced down at his lips in question before leaning in for another kiss and effectively stifled Logan's worries and halted his thoughts.

Roman gently cupped Logan's jaw, his mouth lingering on Logan's and his tongue brushing over his lower lip. Logan didn't hesitate to part his lips, allowing Roman to deepen the kiss. Logan's fingers dug into the soft material of Roman's shirt as his back was pressed against the door.

Logan isn't sure how long they spent like that, making out as if they were teenagers, but when Roman eventually took a tiny step back it took Logan a second or two to open his eyes and remember how to think.

"Um." Roman started, cheeks flushed pink from their previous activity. Roman's hands, who were resting on Logan's hips now, moved to grasp his hands.

"As much as I enjoy this, maybe we should talk a little too." Roman said and Logan found himself nodding, letting Roman pull him towards their bed where they sat down, Roman not letting go of his hands.

"So, I've got feelings for you since a while back... A couple of months. But don't think I brought you here this weekend to, like, seduce you or anything, that would just be weird, I swear I asked you because I had no one else to ask and I haven't done anything because of my feelings." Roman said, making Logan have to bite his lip not to grin. He hadn't worried about that for a second, Roman's desperation when he had asked him had been sincere.

"I only realized I've got feelings for you this evening, though the feelings are nothing new. I am just slightly, uh, oblivious, as Virgil put it." Logan confessed, deciding that any embarrassment from talking about his feelings was worth it if it would make Roman smile as brightly as he did now.

(How had he not realized earlier, with how Roman's smile had always had a tendency to make Logan feel as if his heart skipped a beat in his chest?)

Logan leaned in to kiss Roman again, unable to get enough of the sensation, because kissing Roman seemed to be one of the things that had been previously missing from his life.

"I can't believe you like me." Roman said, grinning and making Logan fondly roll his eyes. He still could barely believe it himself. He'd come a long way over the years, his college self having immediately found Roman to be extremely irritating until he got to know him better.

"Well, I do. Though are you going to ask me to be your real boyfriend or do I have to?" Logan asked, which had Roman's face pink.

"Right, yes, Logan, my darling nerd, would you like to be my real boyfriend?" He asked shyly, squeezing Logan's hands softly. Despite already knowing the question was coming it still made Logan feel a multitude of feelings that were a little less confusing now than they had been a few hours ago.

"I would like that." He said, voice coming out more emotional than expected. Roman kissed his hands and, honestly, if Roman planned to be this affectionate during their entire relationship then Logan did not know how he would survive (in a good way).

He was then pulled into Roman's lap (which definitely did not make him squeak, and which also felt a bit weird as he was an entire adult).

"Do you want to watch a movie before bed? I'm kind of exhausted actually. Had wanted to go swimming, but I don't think I have the energy." He said, arms wrapping around Logan who had moved slightly to sit in between Roman's legs instead, which was more comfortable.

"A movie sounds wonderful." He said, not surprised in the least when a Disney movie was soon playing. To the surprise of neither of them, they were fast asleep before they had gotten through half the movie.

--

Written: 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th & 31st May & 1st, 2nd, & 3rd June 2021
Published: 6th June 2021
Words: 8045

Trying to write small talk has made me realize idk how tf to small talk

I only proofread parts of this cuz im lazy lol