Romangst || A Sanders Sides One-Shot Compilation

By Any Other Name

 Hey guys! So first off... it's been a while. Sorry about that. Life's just getting rocky and I haven't had a lot of motivation or inspiration for any of my projects, but I've felt great today and managed to get this one-shot done! I'm actually really happy with it even though it's pretty short.

That being said - this is a pretty short one. :/

Request from Justafan4269 - I hope I fulfilled your expectations!

Warnings: self-deprecation, self-hatred, Sympathetic Deceit, and that's it! (wow am I losing my touch? lol)

Enjoy!

Roman sighed as he appeared in his room, disguise slipping off. He pulled off his shirt, letting his aching wings stretch after a long day of being hidden. Oh, that felt nice. A glance at the mirror made Roman wince, and he turned away - covering it with a snap of his fingers. Only to find himself face to face with his boyfriend, who had a sorrowful look on his face.

"Roman, how long?" he asked gently, shedding his gloves to massage the joints in Roman's wings. Roman sighed, slumping into the others embrace.

"Thomas needed me," he mumbled. "I couldn't leave, Dee. You know that."

"How much longer are you going to keep this a secret?" Deceit wondered gently, pulling Roman over to the bed.

"Forever." Roman sighed, averting his gaze. Deceit sighed softly. "I... I know. I'm sorry, I... I just... thank you for helping me."

"Of course." Deceit pressed a kiss to Roman's scaled forehead. "I will help you for as long as you need - but I don't agree with your opinion on this. And you know I'm fond of secrets and lies - but this is hurting you. Not helping."

"I can't just tell them." Roman groaned, pressing his face into a pillow. "After all this time, Dee, what would I say? 'Guess what, I'm actually a dragon witch?' I'll give you three guesses to how that'll go."

Deceit sighed, running his hands through Roman's hair around the horns that had reappeared, but didn't respond.

"First they'd assume it was Remus, playing some joke. Or worse, that he'd cursed me. And when they realized I was telling the truth, they'd hate me! Dragon witches are evil, Deceit. I... I can't stand this. Why am I like this? Why can't I just be-"

"Evil is such a strong word." Deceit hummed gently. "And really, it could mean anything. You've heard Logan, going on about how good and bad could be applied to any characteristics."

"Yes, well bad is applied to these characteristics!" Roman sat up, gesturing at his wings and scales.

"You are still yourself, Roman." Deceit said, exasperated. "The others will surely understand that your features do not define you. Who are you worried about? Virgil? Thomas?"

"All fo them." Roman buried his face in his hands, blinking back tears. "They'll all hate me. And I deserve it. It's my fault, you know. If I wasn't so... quick to judge others, this wouldn't be a problem."

Deceit hummed, rubbing Roman's shoulders gently. Roman rubbed his eyes.

"All this time, the dragon witch has been a villain." he murmured. "And I'm the one who said it first. I tell them about how... awful it is..." he swallowed thickly, face burning in shame. "I'm the reason they think badly of dragon witches, Deceit. If I tell them about this now... what will they think? What will they say? What will... what will they do?"

"Nothing, if they know what's good for them."

"You don't need to give them another reason to hate you." Roman scoffed, elbowing him slightly. Deceit shrugged.

"I don't care one way or another how anyone sees me." he murmured. "As long as everyone I care about - Thomas, You, Remus - is taken care of and happy, I'm happy." Roman bit his lip. "That's why I'm worried for you, Roman. You can't keep doing this to yourself."

"Why not?" Roman asked bitterly.

"You'll hurt yourself. You are hurting yourself." Deceit sighed, shaking his head. "You're repressing part of yourself just to... what? What do you gain from this?"

"I... respect? Love? Friends?" Roman sighed helplessly. "What are you getting at, Deceit?"

"Love." Deceit echoed, face falling. "Roman, love should not be conditional. My love is not conditional. I love you, Roman. Wings, horns, and all."

"That's true." Roman stared at the floor. "But you've always known. You know everyone's secrets."

"Yes." Deceit sighed.

"...guess that's pretty rough. You can't tell anyone, either." Roman picked absently at the scales on his arm. Deceit gently pulled the hand away, wrapping their fingers together. "I'm sorry, I don't... I don't want to hurt you, Deceit."

"It does not hurt me to keep the secret." Deceit said. "Only to see you in pain, Roman. Why do you hate this part of yourself? Why do you insist that it's evil?"

"I'm a prince!" Roman threw his hands in the air, accidentally flapping his wings and hitting Deceit in the face. His eyes widened. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry! Dee-"

"It's alright." Deceit chuckled, hugging Roman gently. "You didn't hurt me."

"Okay..." Roman sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into his boyfriend's arms. "Hmm, you're cold."

"You're warm." Deceit replied.

"I love you."

"You're trying to change the subject."

"Dee!" Roman sighed, pouting. "Why do you want to talk about it? Can't we just... not? Can't we just rest, and cuddle, or something?"

"Please answer my question first." Deceit pulled Roman down into the mountain of pillows, holding him closer. "Why don't you like it?"

"I already told you," Roman said, opening his eyes to meet Deceit's gaze. "I'm a prince. A hero. I can't be both. I can't be a dragon witch and a prince. I want to be a prince. I have to be a prince. What will... what will everyone think if I wasn't a prince?"

"Why can't you be both?" Deceit asked, running his fingers through Roman's hair again. "A dragon prince, perhaps? My dragon prince."

"That does have a ring to it..." Roman bit his lip, then sighed. "But still... what will everyone think of me?"

"A rose," Deceit hummed softly, lips brushing Roman's forehead again. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Roman smiled sadly at the sentiment, cuddling into Deceit's chest. Deceit didn't pursue the conversation any further, but Roman was sure this wasn't the last of it.

He couldn't help but imagine that Deceit could be onto something, despite the complicated feelings he held for the dragon parts of his body.

It really was becoming a hassle to try and hide it every day, after all.

And that's it! Sorry, it's so short and sorry again about taking so long to post! I should get another one-shot out in a few days (don't quote me on that).

Feel free to leave a request (and keep in mind I may not write it - I'm really sorry if I don't) on the chapter titled "About Requests"!!

Love you all,

-Coby