Chapter Text
A lot of the time when Janus and Roman weren’t fighting each other, they were working on a performance. Roman’s theatrical talents combined with Janus’s ability to create impromptu debate scenarios made them a real powerhouse in the dramatics. Their newest project was seemingly something to do with dance.
That Wednesday, Logan had peered over two pairs of shoulders, one wearing a letterman, the other, a gold-trimmed vest, and saw them hunched over a phone, watching tutorials.
They were sharing a pair of earphones, neither saying a word. Logan had expected that they, of all people, would not care to follow the rules of a library. But that wasn’t what he found most strange. It was the video.
“Since when have you two been interested in Latin-American dancing styles?” Logan blurted out. “I suppose such expressive movement comes naturally to you, Roman. And your significant other does share a touch of your flourish…”
Janus’s mouth twisted. “Why did you call Roman by his name, and all I get is ‘significant other’?”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, Mr Black, but my name has always been quite a bit more known than yours. Being known as the ‘significant other’ has a lot of prestige attached to it, considering it’s me you’re also attached to.” Roman grinned.
They had settled into their normal banter, and neither had even begun to answer his initial question. Fiddling with the hem of his shirt, Logan started stepping back out of their spaces. He was quickly caught by both of them.
“Don’t think we don’t see what you’re doing, Lo. You can’t slip away from us that easily.” said Roman. “If you really really wanna know what we’re doing, come hang out with us.”
“I—”
“Princey owes you anyways. He should’ve noticed you sooner, which was a horrible mistake. I’m all for encouraging this one to make up for past mistakes, so, what do you say?” Janus’s voice was teasing, but the look on Roman’s face was bright and genuine. Logan was still internally wondering whether they meant what they said when they called him pretty, and this invite was equally puzzling.
Still, he couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“That sounds… fun?” he offered. It was close enough to what he thought. Saying ‘wary but hopeful’ was too vulnerable, Logan thought.
“Alright then! Let’s get in my car!” Roman shouted, singing the vowel of car . That got him a glare and a warning from the librarian.
Roman’s car was something for sure. It was old, and you could tell from first glance. The seats were worn and torn, the red paint of the outside looked dull, and the keyhole in the door was beyond rusted. In fact, so were the keys.
Seeing Roman take those mangled things out of his pocket made Logan frown in concern. When was the last time he’d gotten a tetanus shot?
The way Roman drove was lively, yet nowhere near unsafe. Janus rolled down the windows as his boyfriend put on the Beetlejuice soundtrack. The voices that crackled out of the busted speakers were only a little irritating if he focused on the sounds of the two boys in front of him, laughing at each other at the red lights.
When they pulled into the driveway of the Prince family, they were immediately greeted by a fluffy Border Collie wearing a lavender collar. The engraved name on it read ‘Dragon Witch’.
Roman leaped out of the door to kiss it. “Hello, my adorable little foe! How’s the kingdom been while I was gone, huh? I hope you were a good girl!”
The Dragon Witch caught a glance of Logan, and her ears perked up. Her tail was already wagging before, but as she walked over and sniffed at him, it wagged even faster.
“Err, yes, hello,” he said. “Hello, Dragon Witch.”
She ran around his legs, barking excitedly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Janus roll his eyes and grumble, “When will I ever be noticed first.”
Logan bit his lip. He wanted to tell Janus that he was very noticeable. In a good way, of course.
Then they were being led into the house. On their way to Roman’s room, they passed the bathroom, which smelled strongly of different kinds of deodorant. There were no overwhelming smells when they got to their destination, thankfully. Only a couple plush bean bags and yellow sparkling fairy lights that really didn’t need to be on, considering the sunlight streaming through the window.
“Okay Logan, we’re here to learn how to dance!” Roman exclaimed. “Janus and I were trying to challenge one another to another challenge but, alas, our skills of salsa are—”
“Practically nonexistent,” Janus finished.
“For now! With your analytical genius,” — Logan couldn’t help but blush — “my talent, and Janus as my partner, we will surely become masters in mere days!”
“This lovely but frankly dumb, dumbass thinks he’ll be able to salsa in heels by the end of today.” Janus said. “Which would be a sight for sore eyes, but mostly a night of sore feet for him.”
“That’s it, you’re not my dancing partner anymore! C’mon Logan, get up! I know that bean bag is terribly comfortable but we’re going to salsa, which is infinitely more important,”
“Ah, um, okay,” he said, taking Roman’s outstretched arm and being lifted into a standing position, hands suddenly on his waist.
“In an unexpected turn of events, I actually lost my heels, so we’ll just be boring for this session.”
“... You aren’t planning on making me wear anything like that, I hope. I am quite comfortable without any shoes.”
Before Roman could say anything, Janus butted in. “Remember what we’re working on, sweetie,”
“Right,” Roman sighed. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, even though both dancing partners wearing heels would be heaps more impressive than me alone wearing them—”
His boyfriend coughed.
“ Yes , Logan, keep your socks,”
He nodded, and straightened up, getting a steadier hold on Roman’s shoulders. Salsa music started to play from somewhere, most likely a phone, and there was a look in his dance partner’s eyes that made his throat go dry.
They started with a simple back and forth, Roman stepping forward, rocking on his back foot, and then stepping back. Logan stepped back, rocking on his front foot, and then stepping back.
The slide of the wooden floors made for smooth movements, much smoother than what Logan was used to. They got into a routine for a few minutes, going up and down the room to the music.
“Now a side step,” Roman instructed, supporting Logan when he almost tripped over his feet.
He got laughed at for the mistake, which was rather cruel, but could be ignored.
“Would it help if I counted it out for you? We do it all the time in musicals, and with salsa there are only slight differences.”
“That sounds good. Keeping track of the beats out loud is reasonable,”
“Coolio! All you’ve gotta do is step your foot out when I count one or five. Let me lead you in a circle?”
“Alright.”
“One, two, three… five, six, seven... One, two, three… five, six, seven...”
“Why are you skipping four?”
“Oh, you’re meant to pause on four and eight to signify that you’re switching your feet. So when I don’t say anything, you take a pause and—” Roman beamed as he saw Logan trying to get his feet to move correctly.
“You’ve got it!”
“Hm, well, I suppose I’m a fast learner,” he said.
From the carpeted floor, Janus paused the salsa music. “This is so unfair. Can I have my cute and romantic dance lesson now?”
“Honestly I think my teaching skills have been worn out for the day. Do you mind if we simply sit and put on a playlist?” asked Roman.
Janus took a moment to consider this. He then wordlessly scooted a couple inches, as if to make room on the carpet, and patted down the space next to him. Roman merrily hopped over, taking a cord out of his pocket and plugging it into a small speaker. He opened up an app, and Janus began to discuss the latest album by some artist they both knew.
Logan didn’t know anything about this person, much less about a late night show they’d attended. It was all gibberish to his ears.
He fiddled with the buttons of his shirt, his collar feeling too tight all of a sudden. The dancing had been a temporary event, and he thought he knew this. Afterwards, they’d all go back to school and pretend they didn’t know Logan had… feelings. He predicted they might ask him to come practice again, but that would be an unauthentic invitation. One only made to be nice.
Just like the offer they had made to him while choosing music.
“Why don’t you come sit down here? You could pull up the bean bag again. Do you think we should start with the new version of Red or Fearless ? I really haven’t had time to listen through both,”
Logan had stopped listening after the first question. He mumbled out a lame excuse about needing to go, and he left without saying goodbye to the Dragon Witch.