The Aberrations of S.I.D.E.

No. 30: Memories and Mishaps

"It's... it's exactly the same," Roman murmured. "Nothing's changed."

Roman's room was a little bit cluttered—notebooks scattered across a dresser, Disney posters starting to peel off from the walls, and the big, fancy double bed only half made. It felt a little like Roman, but not quite.

"Looks comfy," Virgil commented.

Roman trailed his fingers along the gold-and-white wallpaper. "He didn't change a thing. It looked just like this before I left."

"Maybe your mom convinced him to leave it alone."

"Well, Remus's room is probably changed," Roman decided, turning around and walking across the hall. "I'm gonna—" He stopped. "Nope. Wait. I hear squeaking. I'll check after they're done."

"Are you sure about what they're doing?"

"What else could they—"

Virgil strode across the hall and opened the door, revealing Remus jumping on the bed while Janus was reclining in an armchair, checking his phone.

"All right, I assumed, that's on me," Roman muttered.

Remus flopped down onto the bed. "Ro, look! Everything's just as messy as ever! Guess Dad was too scared of what he might find to have it cleaned!"

"I'm guessing that your room is the one that's unrecognizable?" Janus said, looking up from his phone. "Because no, you can't room with us."

"No, my room's the same."

"Huh." Janus furrowed his brow. "That's rather odd."

Virgil cleared his throat. "So, uh, does anybody know where the guest rooms are?"

"I'll show you," Roman said. "And wipe that smirk off of your face, Remus, the only thing we're going to do is unpack."

"Yeah, I'm sure you two have some packages that need to get opened," Remus said, winking.

"Oh, really, darling, don't be so crude," Janus chided. "They haven't even gone to second base yet, let alone third. They're too good for that."

Virgil threw a hoodie lying on the floor at him. "Shush."

Roman led Virgil down the hall and to one of the other rooms, pushing open the door. "This is the nicest one we have," he told him. "I hope it works for you."

The room was fairly big, with a queen bed that had a fuschia bedspread and walls painted in a soft green, plus a TV on one wall. The heavy curtains were the same color as the bedspread, and there was a wooden dresser and a few navy armchairs—which matched the lamps. The windows had a big view of the city, plus a garden area and a pool that was probably part of the house.

"It's good," Virgil said truthfully, setting his suitcase against the wall. "Nice view."

"It's okay if you don't like it," Roman said, like he hadn't heard him. "You can pick any one of the other rooms, and I can even ask Mavis if she can dig out some of my old Nightmare Before Christmas posters to make it more homey—"

"Roman. It's fine. I like it."

"Oh." He paused, twisting his lips. "Sorry."

Virgil kissed him on the cheek. "You're okay. You're just a little nervous, that's all."

"I guess I am." Roman gave him a smile. "And thank you."

"For what?"

"For... everything involving this, I guess. You're an awesome boyfriend."

"Hey, I try my best." Virgil squeezed Roman's hand. "And for what it's worth, you're not half bad, either."

"Oh, I'm not awesome?"

"Eh, I could do without the belting of Disney songs in the morning, but that's the only pet peeve I can think of at the moment," he said with a shrug.

Roman let out a little laugh. "All right, I promise I'll sing quietly."

Virgil smirked. "Any pet peeves about me?"

"Um..." Roman looked up, thinking. "You have zero table manners. Can't take you anywhere."

"Then I will do my best to improve that."

There was a short silence.

"You're still going to sing at top volume in the mornings, right?" Virgil said.

"Well, you're still going to eat like a starving animal, so..."

"Fair enough." Virgil rested his head on Roman's shoulder. "Wouldn't change a thing about you, anyway. No matter how annoying you can be."

Roman gave Virgil a kiss on the temple. "I wouldn't change anything about you, either. You're imperfectly perfect just the way you are."

Virgil shoved him lightly. "Hey, that's Janus's sentiment for Remus! Don't steal that!"

"Just because he wrote a song with that title for him—"

"Still, come up with your own."

Roman sighed. "You're weird and wonderful just the way you are. Does that work?"

"I'll take it."

A/N: Couple of stuff to talk about.

First off, I'm vacationing NYC and am subsequently writing on my iPad and phone, which is a bit of a hassle when I need to post. Second off, Tas is going to be offline for a couple weeks, so the next couple chapters won't be proofread. There may be the odd grammar or spelling mistake.

Third off, from now on, any hard-hitting chapter will have a lovely picture of my cat Calvin at the end, just to make you guys feel better. They're called "Calvin Candids," and I will be sure to make them as cute as possible.

And finally, I have watched the newest episode of The Owl House.

And I've decided that it should be illegal to make villains hot. Because WOW.