This is gonna be a weird af chapter. I dont give any fucks anymore. Hope y'all enjoy lmfao
All that Roman wanted was to get home and get some rest. That's all! Prince didn't want anything fancy, not a long bath, not watch tv, not dinner- just rest and relax in the most mundane way possible. They'd probably just microwave a pizza and eat it in bed, hopefully falling asleep little after.
Acting and masking found itself more challenging lately, especially since Logan was no longer there, no longer keeping em in check and making sure crown didn't do anything stupid. Which was something cloud did fairly often when unsupervised. But now that Logan wouldn't even look at em...
The actor sighed and unlocked the door of their apartment. Cloud took off princes red scarf, coat, and boots, leaving their purse in the hanger before walking towards the kitchen to prepare dinner. As crown passed down the hallway tho, through the corner of eir eye, Roman saw something in the window. They shook it off, but checked just in case, expecting it to have been some weird-shaped shadow. But now. There was a man sitting in princes window.
Roman screamed in fear and rushed to the kitchen, grabbing a weapon to defend emself with before entering back in the living room. Frying pan in hand and ready to strike, Roman approached the window. The person sitting in it simply looked back at Roman, a strange expression on their face.
This person had a masculine build, kind of short for a man, with very long, straight black hair that fell down their shoulders, a hat over their head. Their skin was pale, a big contrast with both the dark hair and the black cape that covered their shoulders. Even if the shadows of the hat hid their face slightly, Roman could see one bright blue eye, the other being milky white, a scar crossing through it, starting before the eyebrow and ending little bellow the eye. They had other two scars, each one on a different cheek. Bellow the cape, Roman distinguished some yellow, but it was hard to see anything other than gloves with said cape.
Just then was when Roman realized that there was no logical explanation on how this guy had managed to get to princes window. This window in particular. At least the one in eir bedroom had a small balcony where this stranger could rest on, but this one didn't. Besides, crown lived on the third highest floor, so it was impossible- or at least, insanely hard -for anyone to get there.
"Finally," The stranger exclaimed with an eye roll, "I've been waiting in here for forever! I must say, even if the view you got here is outstanding, this has been quite boring. Could you be a dear and let me in?"
"What the fuck!?" Roman yelled, "Who are you, you- you rapscallion!"
"Hmm, it's been a long time since anyone called me that," The man smiled, "My name is Janus, it's a pleasure to-"
"OH, SO YOU'RE HIM!?" Roman pointed the pan towards Janus, "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TURNED LOGAN INTO A VAMPIRE!?"
"I'd appreciate if you wouldn't scream, I'm sure some of your neighbors are trying to sleep right now. And, darling, if you're planning on attacking me, you should seriously work on your stance. I could easily make you fall and loose the fight in less than two moves if I was allowed inside your appartement," Roman fixed princes stance slightly before Janus continued to talk, "Also, a frying pan? Who on earth attacks people with pans? I get that it's heavy, but next time you should grab a knife- that's something you could do some real damage with"
"Why... are you giving me tips?" Roman asked, "I could go back into the kitchen right now and grab a knife and stab you with it"
"But you won't. Besides- a friend of Logan's is automatically my friend, so I would hate seeing you hurt"
"We're not friends! I don't know you, you vile creature! You're breaking into my apartment! That's far from friendship!"
"Technically, I haven't broken in yet, considering that I'm hanging from your window. Could you please let me in so I could sit somewhere more comfortable?"
"No," Roman simply answered. Janus groaned
"Mon dieu- By the way Logan talks about you, I was expecting you to greet me with a cheery smile and invite me in for tea or something. So far, you've been nothing but rude."
"I have my reasons! You- you're some random guy who has appeared in my window! And wants to get in my appartement! And you're a stranger! A potentially very dangerous one!"
"Technicalities," Janus waved his hand around dismissively. Unfortunately for him, he had been using that hand to hold onto something and keep balance. By doing this, he stumbled a bit and it seemed like he was going to fall. Roman was already stepping towards him to help when Janus regained balance, "Putain-"
"Are you ok?" Roman asked
"Yes, don't worry. Even if I had fallen, I would not have gotten hurt."
"Alright... Uh- Let's just get to the point, I'm too tired to deal with this nonsense. Why are you here?"
"I'll tell you if you let me in"
"I'll let you in if you tell me."
"Oh la la- you humans are so stubborn!" Janus shook his head, "I'm here to talk about Logan"
"Logan? What's wrong with him?"
"Let me in and I'll tell you!"
"Fine! Come in!" Roman groaned. Just as they did, an invisible wall that seemed to have formed in princes window disappeared, making Janus fall face first inside the room. He stood up and dusted his cape
"That's better- You need to find a better apartment with more comfortable windows. I must admit that the decoration of this place is very nice, altho I-
"Now, don't get all comfortable because I don't trust you just yet, and I wont hesitate to attack you if you do anything suspicious"
"As if you could hurt me-" Janus rolled his eyes, "Darling, I'm more than 200 years old and I survived the French revolution, the American civil war and the mafia. Do not test me"
"You said that a friends of Logan's is your friend and that you would hate to see me hurt, so I don't feel that threatened. That statement doesn't work the other way around. Besides, I survived through high school as a queer neurodivergent kid, fencing classes and dancing a whole choreography every single night while singing, so you shouldn't underestimate me either"
A smirk appeared on Janus's lips
"Courageous... I can see why Logan likes you so much. Look, I believe you and I can become very good friends with time, but we should have a talk first to ensure that our beloved common friend doesn't do something he'll regret"
"What's... that supposed to mean?" Roman asked, finally lowering his pan
"Deep down, Logan is an emotional person. He doesn't let that show often, as he's very confused by said emotions, so he simply represses a lot. I went to visit Logan earlier today after not knowing anything of him for 5 days, and all I got was yelling and being kicked out of his apartment. I was able to make a few connections with the little information I knew, and it directed me towards you. You found out about us being vampires, you and Logan fought, and now he's terrible once more and repressing. I'm not here to blame you for his mental state. Quite the opposite, really."
"I- Um-" Roman let the pan in the table, suddenly feeling it was heavier than before. Janus continued talking
"Look- I'm not sure why you two argued, but I know it has to do with him being a vampire. Whatever it happened, don't blame him, alright? If you're going to be angry at anyone, be it at me, but spare his feelings. These past months have been very stressing for him because of me, and I would hate to be the reason he looses the person he cares for the most. You can yell at me, be mad at me, curse at me, I don't care as long as you spare Logan. He has improved a lot and I don't want to lose him"
"I don't understand-"
"What do you not understand, Roman?"
"Why you're here? Why am I important in this? I thought a bit of space would help, what's all of this about?"
"I already told you- Logan believes he hurt you and now I'm afraid the guilt will destroy him. You mean a lot to him, and having you ignore him isn't helping."
"I'm not ignoring him!" Roman exclaimed, "He's the one who won't approach me! He gets off the room as soon as I come in!"
"That's because he's scared of hurting you even more," Janus insisted, "Look, just- I need you to talk to him. Please. He doesn't want anything to do with me, and I respect that, but I can't just stand and watch. I'm convinced that you are the first step to stop him from self-isolating."
"I... I'm very confused. How do I know this isn't some... some weird trick to earn my trust or something?"
Janus muttered something in another language which sounded like a curse as he rubbed his nose. It seemed like French, which Roman couldn't speak. The vampire took one of his gloves
"I, Baron Janus Archambeau, last heir of my family, promise you, Roman whatever-your-last-name-is, that this isn't any weird trick and that I'm here because I genuinely care for my friend and I believe you will be able to help him better than me. I assume all and any fault regarding your argument with him and allow you to hit me with the frying pan if that'll help you release your anger."
"You're letting me hit you with my pan?" Roman frowned
"Whatever it takes to get this to work," Janus shrugged.
"Cool," Roman picked princes pan once more, but instead of hitting Janus, crown walked towards the kitchen, "Now, tell me- why did you turn Logan into a vampire in the first place? He said it had been your idea"
"Wait- aren't you going to hit me with the frying pan?"
"Nah," Roman shrugged, "I'm going to make myself dinner and get as many answers from you as possible, considering I have you here now. I might still use it, but not right now."
A/N
I believe this chapter is, as the kids say it *checks vocab cards* "On crack"...?
Y'all have no idea how much ive been wanting to write this interaction
I've also realized taht this makes so much sense inside my head but normal ppl may not understand it so:
Janus attempts to break into Roman's appartement to try and get crown to talk to Logan because he knows something happened between the two and Logan's mental health is misserable, so J is worried
Does this count as Janus's redemption arc? I dont fucking know and idc. thats up to interpretation lmao
Peace, Love and Granola!