Oh, who would ever want to be king? - Sanders Sides Fic

Chapter 2

Basically the events leading up to last chapter.
Logan's never held a cat before and it is a t r a v e s t y.
Warnings: Referenced minor character death, angst, Roman gets drunk, mainly fluff though, minor character deaths (hanging).
The palace was filled with the rich aroma of roses, and when the light summer breeze stirred amidst the trees the heavy scent of pink dahlias, or the more delicate fragrance of the purple and yellow hyacinths came through the doors as well. Roman thought they were beautiful - just as beautiful as the man who'd had them planted. Janus.
The sun was high, beating down on everyone who had gone outside for fresh air that day. The chatter and laughter was infectious, and it rippled through the grounds. Roman's cousin, Logan could be seen attempting to shoo Patton and another taller man Roman didn't recognise a little further away, keeping an eye on Roman so the plan went successfully.
The aviary was always the place the king and Janus chose to spend their days. Roman was well aware that he tanned spectacularly anywhere, but he insisted that laying in Janus's lap, listening the birds singing from their homes in the trees and to Janus's voice as he muttered sweet nothings to Roman improved the ultimate result.
Janus lavished the long hot months, and spent as much time as he could outside. Sure, sitting in the dark, shadows dancing across him did wonders for his aesthetic, but it did not do wonders for his snake-like scars. Roman knew how much Janus hated them - they held memories of the disease that had infected his home country. Janus had survived by pure spite, and was on the first boat out when his people abandoned the land.
But somehow, the heat soothed the constant aching he felt on the left side of his face. Roman adored the sound Janus made when Roman pressed his hand up against the scars, warming them with his touch.
"You look absolutely ravishing in that suit, my prince ." Janus purred, twirling Roman's curly hair around his finger and smiling fondly down at the man in his lap.
"Please, you act like that dress doesn't do you wonders~" Roman grinned, hooking a hand around the back of the taller man's neck to help pull himself up so they were facing each other. Janus's hand was still in Roman's hair and he ran it through the auburn waves, his gaze fixed on Roman's small plump lips.
Roman barely registered this, his own eyes tracing the shadows that played across Janus's lips - before letting out a laugh and pressing their lips together.
Janus's lips brushed his, gingerly, tenderly, like butterfly wings, just long enough that Roman could inhale his soft breathe, feel that familiar warmth of his skin, and the taste of his signature golden lipstick lingered long after Janus had pulled away, smiling.
Roman tucked a loose bit of hair behind Janus's ear, laughing in glee as he pressed another small kiss to the snake-like side of the man's face and was rewarded with a small blep.
"I love you so much, you know?"
"No." Janus laughed, his eyes softening, "Of course I do, Princey. You can't seem to go three seconds without telling me. I love you so much."
Roman got up off the bench, his heart swelling up. Him and Janus had this thing, ever since they'd got together. Janus said the opposite of how he really felt. It confused Roman at first, but, as one of Logan's professor friends said, "Thank god for friends who learn to speak to you in your own language, instead of forcing you to learn theirs."
So Roman had learnt Janus's language, because he knew how Janus struggled to be understood by so many when he was studying as a mage in the kingdom - it was the least Roman could do for the person he loved.
Roman adjusted his sash before reaching a hand out to help lift Janus up from the bench, twirling him around before sinking into a dip position and kissing Janus.
Janus smiled as they rose up again, cupping Roman's cheek with his hand before saying, "I'll head inside - It'll be fun watching the court try to survive in the heat."
"Thank you- I'll only be a second-"
Janus was already slinking back inside, weaving through the flower patches and letting Kaa, his familiar - a long and beautiful python - slither off a branch of one of the trees Roman's grandmother had planted and onto Janus's shoulders.
Roman turned back to the bench they'd been sitting on. It was painted white, and had a small message engraved into it. Roman recognised the swirly handwriting as his own,
                                                                              King Thomas
                                                          A loving father and servant to all.
Roman was only 18 when it had happened. His father had succumbed to the disease that had infected Janus when he visited the island with Logan, hoping to use their skills in the sciences to help the people work on a cure. Being a historically magical land, they had desperately needed people like Thomas and Logan who were trained in the science after all their attempts to magically cure the disease failed. Roman hadn't travelled with them, Thomas believing Roman would be better equipped to keep the country in order if need be.
Roman had just finished a show, taking his final bows with a bouquet of fresh red roses in his arms when 3 women from the court ran onstage to tell him. King Thomas had died, using the last of his energy to help Logan engineer a cure. Roman was king. Roman had lost the only parent who'd ever cared about him.
Roman was crushed. He entered one of the darkest parts of his life, realising he wasn't a hero. Logan and the King were the people who'd saved the island from the disease, not him. And his dad was gone. Roman hadn't saved him. He was a useless excuse for an heir, not just a heroic knight.
Roman wasn't of royal blood, not truly. He was adopted, but when King Thomas had gone through the land looking for an heir, apparently Roman - an abandoned 4 year old who ran around 'saving' people in the market using a stick as a sword - was the one he believed could take the helm of the country.