Roman felt nervous for once. He'd always felt something when around the dark persona they all called Anxiety, but he never felt nervous. The princely Side was terrified; not of him, but of himself screwing up in front of him. The feeling left Roman confused. Nervousness around someone was something he typically developed when he had romantic feelings for them. That couldn't possibly be the case... could it?

He'd never liked Anxiety. His whole presence irritated him at the start: holding Thomas back, making him paranoid about things that didn't matter. That's all he did; or so Roman had thought.

As he began to learn more about the emo nightmare, the prince began to see things about him that he'd overlooked before. It became clearer when he visited his room with Thomas and the others. He'd surprised himself at what he'd said to him, having not thought of him as anything but a burden.

Now, as he recorded videos with Virgil, previously Anxiety, Roman felt nervous. He wanted to keep up his confident and playful facade, but not to an extent that Virgil still believed he disliked him. He felt his heart beat just a little fast whenever he was talking to him.

Today, Roman was taking deep breaths, preparing himself to sink down into Virgil's room. Last time he'd been in there, the stormy night resembling Side had rescued him and the others. The prince felt his heart flutter at the memory. Closing his eyes, he now sunk down to enter the dismal kingdom of Anxiety's room once again.

Virgil was on his bed, sketching as he listened to music when Roman popped up in his room. He panicked briefly, hiding his sketchbook behind him before the prince opened his eyes. He was about to speak, but the creative Side spoke first.

"Apologies for the scare, I wish there was a way to knock before entering but no one knows how to get to your door," he explained bashfully, feeling his heart rate increase; a side affect of the room. "I wanted to speak with you about something, but if you're busy I can always come back."

Virgil looked surprise at the princely Side's approach to the situation, but nodded. He knew the room was already taking affect by his immediate reassurance that he could leave. The room made others anxious, and caused them to ramble. "It's alright, I'm not busy."

"Well then, um," Roman stammered, heart hammering in his chest as his nerves that had already existed were amplified by the room. "Uh, n-no one is more surprised than me, but then again I haven't told anyone, so maybe

I'm wrong, but I'd like to confess that I- uh, I have developed romantic feelings for you."

There was silence, and a pair of wide eyes staring at him. "I totally get it if that freaks you out and you want me to leave, like I can totally do that and we can pretend that this never happened and-"

"Roman-"

"Like you probably don't have those feelings and I should just leave cause I'm terrible with words despite being confident-"

Virgil wasn't listening anymore. He was getting up and walking over to the stammering Prince. He took his hand as he continued to ramble, teleporting them to the Imagination. Roman blinked, gasping as breathing became much easier. Virgil was staring at him with concern. "You alright, Princey?"

Roman nodded slowly, taking deep breaths. The anxious Side looked confused. "Why on earth would you try and confess something like that in my room?" he asked, still looking worried. "You know it corrupts you guys and makes you guys freak out."

"I know, that was stupid," the prince sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration at himself.

This had been a disaster, and Virgil had yet to say if he returned his feelings, which more than likely meant he didn't. "Roman, I'm shocked, and I... I kinda feel the same?" the anxious Side said, avoiding eye contact as Prince looked at him. "I dunno! I'm not good with romance! That's your thing!"

"Virgil, it's alright," he said, trying to comfort him. "How bout we try this out, and I'll take you on a date?"

The anxious Side fidgeted, wanting to say yes, but terrified something would go wrong and they'd get themselves hurt. Roman gave him a reassuring look. "We can go slow, I promise. Neither of us know what the other is comfortable with. Does that sound okay?"

Virgil nodded, still nervous as he looked up at Roman, who smiled at him. The prince's heart soared as he shakily smiled back.

Their first date happened to be outside the mind. It was always interesting when the Sides went out on their own; when they did, they looked like real people to the outside world. It was like a spell, because two people looking exactly alike cuddling like a couple would be weird.

Roman wanted to buy Virgil ice cream, and take a walk in the park to get to know him a little better. As they waited in line, he turned to his date somewhat nervously.

"So, what kind of ice cream would you like?" he asked with a smile.

Virgil fidgeted a little, clearly anxious. However, the princely Side has noticed he looked really good today. Had he made an effort in his appearance to impress him? Roman was guilty of the same thing, having spent an extra ten minutes trying to make sure he looked perfect for their little date.

"I- um- I like chocolate..." he murmured, unsure of why he was asking. "Why are you asking though-"

"One chocolate cone and one vanilla-chocolate twirl cone please," Roman said as they reached the register, paying for their ice cream.

Virgil opened his mouth to protest. "Wha- Roman, you didn't have to pay for me!" he whined, already feeling anxious that he'd always be paying for him.

The prince chuckled as he received their ice cream, handing it to him as they started walking. "Relax, Virge, I'm being a gentleman. I asked you on a date, I'm paying. If it makes you feel better, I'll let you pay next time so it's even and you have less reason to be anxious, alright?" he said with a smile, earning a small nod from him.

As they strolled through the park, eating their ice cream, Roman glanced at the anxious emo's empty hand swinging by his side. He got his attention, offering his hand. "May I hold your hand? If you're comfortable with it?"

Virgil's heart skipped a beat as he nodded. Roman slipped his hand into his, hesitantly intertwining their fingers. "This still okay?" the prince checked.

"Y-Yeah, it's..." he trailed off, looking up to meet Roman's eyes. "It's nice."

The prince smiled wider, heart fluttering. "I'm glad," he said, taking a bite out of his ice cream as they continued. "So, tell me something about you I don't know."

Virgil bit his lip as he licked his ice cream and thought about it. "I- uh..." he started, looking at Roman. He wanted to try this, so this had to go both ways. Trust was vital in relationships. "I kinda draw..."

"You're an artist?" Roman clarified with an intrigued smile. Virgil nodded, shifting anxiously. "That's really cool! I'd love to see your drawings sometime whenever you feel like sharing."

Virgil nodded again, smiling a little. The prince's heart did flips at seeing it.

The two of them gradually got more comfortable with each other as they hung out. Roman would sometimes put his arm around Virgil, prompting him to sometimes subconsciously rest his head against his shoulder. They were in the common room, sitting just like that as they watched "Wreck It Ralph", when Virgil stood up suddenly. The prince looked at him curiously, slightly worried he'd crossed some sort of line.

"Could I- I want to take you on a date..." Virgil mumbled anxiously, making the creative Side sigh in relief.

He smiled, pausing the movie and giving him his full attention. "Alright, what did you have in mind?" he asked sweetly

Goddamnit, why is he so perfect? It just makes this harder. I'm so awkward, Virgil thought as he fidgeted. "I was hoping I could make it a surprise?"

Roman smiled wide, eyes lighting up. "I love surprises! Why don't we sink down and you can blindfold me in the car?" he suggested excitedly. The anxious Side was slightly eased to see him so enthusiastic, nodding in agreement.

They did so, sinking down and explaining to Thomas they were going out. In the car, Roman wore a blindfold so he couldn't see where his boyfriend was planning to take him. They reached their destination, and Virgil guided him inside. The prince immediate felt a rush of cool air, colder than just air conditioning. As Virgil paid the person at the front desk and lead Roman to an even colder area, he told him to stay put. He held up the things he'd paid for, standing in front of what they were about to do, ready to reveal his plan. "Okay Princey, you can take off the blindfold now."

Roman did so happily, gasping. Virgil stood in front of him holding two pairs of ice skates and behind him was an empty ice rink. The prince smiled so wide his cheeks hurt as he giggled, making Virgil's heart flutter.

"Do you like it?" he asked curiously.

Roman laughed at that. "Of course I like it!! I love it!!" he said, grabbing one of the pairs of ice skates. "Come on!"

Virgil smiled affectionately as the princely Side giggled like a child, trying to put the skates on as fast as possible. He did the same more slowly, leading to Roman pulling him to hurry up as he giddily headed for the rink, dragging him by the hand. They started skating side by side, sharing happy smiles. Neither of them really know how long they'd been skating when Roman leaned over and pecked Virgil on the cheek.

They stopped, Virgil's face flushing as he looked at the prince in shock. "Was that too far? I'm really sorry if it was, and I won't do it again," Roman said quickly, looking away apologetically.

The emo nightmare smirked a little, feeling his heart about to explode with affection as he looked back at him. "You missed, you stupid prince," he said, taking his shirt in his hand and pulling him into a kiss on the lips. Roman gasped but quickly melted into it, kissing him back as a smile slipped onto his lips. Virgil was smiling too as they pulled away. The prince recovered quickly sliding his hands around his boyfriend's waist as he leaned in to kiss him again.

"I guess I'll have to work on my aim then."