Learning the Proper Way
Roman doesn't know how to dance, and he doesn't want to learn. Too bad he has to.
after a teensy hiatus, I'm back! I will get all the logince week fics written at some point lmao
quick warning, there is a mention of character death here, and the grief process. if you would like to skip past that, I left a little warning where that section starts and ends. safe reading, my friends! <3
thanks for being here, and enjoy my silly thing for day 5: dancing
In just under a month, the King had plans to host a celebration, crowning both of his sons as the heirs, ruling together as a team whenever their father eventually abdicated the throne.
Of course, Roman was thrilled about this development. While under a technicality he was the eldest male and eligible for the throne, the idea of ruling an entire kingdom by himself was ridiculously daunting. Having Remus as a guaranteed presence, and getting to make decisions with his input, sounded much more manageable.
However, he had to get through the party first.
And parties, for the traditional royal, meant ballroom dancing.
The twins’ father, Thomas, was usually all about breaking the harmful traditions and stereotypes of leaders past, but he truly enjoyed the dancing, the live music, and the intense amount of people to talk to.
Roman typically enjoyed these, too. As children, there hadn’t been any pressure to participate in anything that made them uncomfortable, so they mostly spent time talking to aunts and uncles and cousins or copying the dancing of the adults around them, and ultimately failing at it and settling for spinning around the room at speeds that probably could have taken a group of dancers out if they weren’t careful.
This time, however, as the future kings, there would be an expectation for at least a bit of traditional dancing.
This meant Roman needed to learn how.
Both of the boys did, but they would be receiving individual lessons, considering the trouble they could get up to if they were working together.
That was probably the best idea, to separate them, but it also meant that Roman was completely alone, doing something he really did not want to do.
Well, perhaps not completely alone.
“I’m going to step on your feet the whole time. This is going to be miserable,” he warned Logan, his best friend who had nobly volunteered to assist him in learning for the next few weeks.
Logan rolled his eyes, beckoning for Roman’s hands. “The whole point of these sessions is to teach you. I do not expect you to be prodigious, but you have to at least appear to be able to dance by the last of the month, yes?”
Roman grumbled, taking Logan’s hands reluctantly. “This is so stupid. Can’t I just- hover on the edge of the ballroom like Virgil so loves to do?”
“Virgil is Captain of the Guard,” Logan replied in exasperation, “and is typically under strict orders to be surveillance, not a dance partner. Besides, you are one of the Crown Princes. If you would like to explain to your father why one of his heirs is going to be hiding away from people all night just to avoid the fact that he doesn’t know how to dance, you are welcome to.”
“Alright, alright, I get it,” Roman groaned. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to be happy about it, though.” He let out a put-upon sigh, beginning to sway along to the music with Logan.
“Somehow, I was not expecting you to enjoy it,” Logan gently teased, fighting laughter at the sight of Roman’s pout. “You’ll be alright. We’ll take it slow, if nothing else, to avoid you stepping on my feet as much as we can.”
Well, Logan may have jinxed himself with that, considering Roman then went on to accidentally step on his feet.
Four times, in fact.
Roman sighed again, breaking away from Logan’s grip to fold his arms over his chest. “I hate this. I’m not any good at it, and that’s obviously not going to be changing anytime soon!”
Logan waved a hand, pausing the music. “Roman, dear, we’ve been practicing for ten minutes. I was not expecting you to be passable on your very first try. Dance is an art, a skill, and it required practice, proper practice, to excel at it. You still have over three weeks to learn, and you will get there by then, I am certain of it. But you will never get there if you choose to give up at the start.”
Roman rolled his eyes, unfolding his arms and holding them out for Logan to take. “Stop being so smart and right and whatever and just start the damn music.”
“If you say so, my prince.”
The rest of the lesson would continue similarly. They continued to work at half speed, and they had some pretty good moments where everything was going smoothly and there seemed hope for Roman yet.
And then, he would make a mistake, step on Logan’s foot again, get caught up in the moves and miss something, and they’d be back to square one.
Logan, despite the calm front he was putting up, was beginning to get frustrated. He understood that Roman was having a hard time, but it wasn’t like him to give up so easily, and so frequently. Yet, once Logan began to talk, it was easy to coerce him back into trying again.
By the fifteenth time the two had separated in the first hour, Logan desperately needed a break from this behavior (and perhaps some headache medication).
“Is there a particular reason you are being so difficult about this?” Logan waved the music away once more and pulled up a chair to sit for a moment. “I do not mean that in a judgemental way, and I am not… too upset about it. I am merely curious why you seem so- disinclined to learn properly.”
“I just- I really hate dancing, okay?” Roman grumbled, his pout slightly hidden from the way his head tipped downward. “I’m not interested in learning properly because I am not interested in learning, that’s all.”
It didn’t seem like Roman was even convincing himself of that.
“I hope you’ll forgive me for not believing that. You do not have to talk about it if this is making you uncomfortable, but I would like to know the cause of your distress. It will likely make these lessons easier, and… it is not pleasant, seeing you upset.”
“Aww, he does care after all!” Roman teased, his grin not quite meeting his eyes. “But uh, I guess I should talk about it, yeah? Might make things easier than if I just avoid it forever.”
“Possibly,” Logan responded, frowning out of concern for his friend, “but again, you do not have to talk about it if you are not ready. There is no pressure here for you to share anything too personal.”
“You are making quite a big deal of me being pissy about dancing lessons,” Roman continued to tease.” Seriously, though, I am going to talk about it. I just… I could use some time to figure out how to explain it. Perhaps at the next lesson?”
“Sounds good. I suppose this would be a good spot to wrap things up, anyway. I should have some more tips for you then, but if you have any questions before then, please do not hesitate to come and find me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, I’ll see you later. I want to see how Remus is doing.” Logan nodded, waving to Roman as he closed the door behind him.
He hoped that, perhaps, Remus would be able to lift Roman’s spirits a bit. The two could get up to all kinds of things if left to their own devices, and that may be a good distraction from whatever was bothering him.
Oh shit, wait.
"Roman! Get back here! The two of you had better be supervised!"
…
By the time their second lesson rolled around, it seemed Roman wasn’t actually ready to talk.
Logan was far from upset. He was still a bit concerned about his friend, but if he had something going on and felt a need to talk about it, Logan continued to remind him that he would be available to listen whenever Roman needed it.
At least their next practice went a lot more smoothly. Roman was still ridiculously upset whenever he made a mistake, but he was still receptive to Logan’s reassurance, and their breaks between working out the moves became smaller and smaller.
This time, they were able to make it to about two hours of dance before they called it for the day.
Logan was beginning to feel a lot more optimistic about their end result.
Until Roman showed up to their third session, being dragged along by the ear by his brother.
“Ro, you have to get this over with. It’s not gonna be any easier if you hide.” Roman whined, swatting at his brother’s hands. “Let go of me! I’m going, I’m going, dammit!”
Remus rolled his eyes. “You’re just behaving now cuz Logan’s here. Go on, show me what you’ve learned so far?”
“You’re going to be disappointed,” Roman grumbled, but he met Logan’s hands on the ballroom floor without any further complaint.
Logan blinked, searching Remus’ face for any sort of explanation for their behavior, and ultimately receiving none. “If… if now is a bad time for you, we… we can always postpone for-”
“No. Now that I am already here, I would like to get this done as quickly as possible, please.” Roman’s voice was clipped, slipping slightly into the more formal speech he adopted for council meetings and talking to other rulers. It certainly didn’t provide Logan any reassurance, but he didn’t get another chance to question it, as Remus had already started the music.
He had planned to introduce Roman to full-speed dancing today, but he had a feeling that wouldn’t be a very well-met suggestion. Instead, they stuck with what they’d been doing, dancing at a slower pace, with Logan offering tips and reminders as they went.
All things considered, Roman did a very good job. He only made one small mistake, and instead of getting upset and throwing himself out of Logan’s arms with a huff, he simply sighed and kept going.
Logan wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be concerning or not.
About twenty minutes into their practice, Remus stood, gently tapping his brother on the shoulder.
“May I have this dance?”
Roman nodded, smiling slightly as Remus took his hands, swinging him around way faster than his previously established speed. Roman yelped, giggling as he tried to keep up with his brother.
Logan watched with a smile on his face, discreetly increasing the pace of the music and watching the twins laugh as they tried to keep up. Inevitably, it got too fast, and one tripped over the other and they fell to the floor, bright, genuine smiles on their faces.
“See? Told you we’d have fun.” Roman smiled, a bit sadly, and the two shared a conversation in their expressions that Logan couldn’t interpret. Not that he needed to, it seemed the two had something important and private to work out.
“Alright, I’ll quit takin’ up poor Lo-Lo’s time. Good luck with the rest of it, I’ll be with Dad when you’re done if you wanna join us.” Roman nodded, allowing Remus to hoist him off the floor before he left.
“Shall we continue, then?” Roman nodded, meeting Logan a bit more reluctantly than he had his brother, but Logan would have been a bit surprised if he hadn’t.
He just wished he knew the source of Roman’s hesitance. Whatever it was, it was a great deal to him, and Logan wanted more than anything to find a way to help make things easier for him.
However, he couldn’t do anything if Roman didn’t tell him how to help. So instead, he continued working with him, teaching him ways to make complicated moves look easy, ways to conserve his energy so he could dance for hours if needed without getting too out of breath, and so much more.
He pretended not to notice how Roman became more and more closed off the closer they got to the date of the dance.
Maybe everything would work itself out.
…
Logan was much less confident of those things working themselves out when, just a week from the fateful day, Roman didn’t shop up to the ballroom at his assigned time.
Well, it wasn’t too abnormal for him to be a minute or two late, especially lately. Logan gave him the benefit of the doubt and stayed, wandering around aimlessly while he waited.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, he eventually gave in and went looking for the missing prince.
He wasn’t in his room, nor Remus’ (who had thankfully agreed to help Logan search for his brother) nor the number of guest rooms scattered around the palace. Remus checked the kitchens, the courtyard, and the garden, and came up Roman-less.
Well, that left them with just one option left.
The two hesitantly made their way to King Thomas’ chambers. They knew once he found out, there would be a whole battalion of guards searching the palace and surrounding area for the prince. They had tried to avoid that outcome as long as possible, for Roman’s sake, but they did need to actually find him.
In the end, it was Logan that pushed the door open, Remus clinging to his heels and peering over his shoulder.
They were surprised, but mostly overwhelmingly relieved, to see Roman with King Thomas, the King smiling gently at the two boys in the doorway.
“Roman, I believe you have some visitors if you are up for it.”
Roman sniffed (sniffed?) and turned to face where his father was looking. “O-oh, hi.” Logan wasn’t quite sure he felt a twinge in his chest at the sight of looking so- small, but he pushed that aside for now.
“Hey, Ro. Not doing so great, huh?" Roman nodded, and Logan swore the twinge was growing stronger. "S-sorry for makin' you worry. I probably- s-scared you by not showing up to lessons."
Logan shook his head instantly. "That's not your fault, Roman. Yes, I was a bit worried, but only because I feared something had happened to you. I'm not upset that you made me worry, and you shouldn't be either."
"And look at that," Remus joked, "you proved the nerd does actually care about us, congrats!" When Remus' attempt to lighten the mood barely moved the corners of Roman's lips, they knew they were dealing with something big.
"Alright, Ro, no more jokes for now. Do you need to talk about it? Lo and I are great listeners."
Roman hesitated, and Logan didn’t miss how his eyes briefly flickered toward him, before his gaze settled firmly in his lap, the question still unanswered.
“I can leave if you would like to speak in private, Roman. I will not be offended if you need space.” Roman quickly shook his head, letting out a frustrated huff.
“Having a hard time with words?” Remus asked, and he seemed completely unsurprised when Roman nodded in return. “That’s fine, take your time Ro, I won’t let him go anywhere.”
Logan let out a small huff of laughter as Remus pulled him to sit on Thomas’ bed next to Roman, and then planted himself firmly in Logan’s lap, mirroring their father and Roman’s position.
The four waited in comfortable silence, and Logan listened as Roman’s breathing slowly relaxed, the sniffling from earlier vanishing.
“I… well, I’m having a hard time explaining because this is something I’ve only talked about with my family. I’ve never told Logan… and I want to! But it’s… it’s anxiety-inducing, very much so.”
Logan nodded in understanding, reaching out a hand to hold one of Roman’s. “I know you already specified you did not want me to leave, if at any point it gets too overwhelming, I can give you space. Regardless, you are safe here, and you may take as much time as you need to figure out how to express your feelings.”
“Are you out for my job, Logan?” If Thomas were any other type of ruler, that kind of statement likely would have terrified Logan. But he had been used to Thomas’ light-hearted teasing for a long time. After all, he was the one the twins had picked it up from.
Roman nodded, taking a deep breath to collect himself. “It’s… this is related to the dancing stuff before. I may be making a bit too big of a deal about it, but as soon as we first talked about the obligation I have, it’s been… I guess, hanging over my head.
<character death + grief mention starts here>
“When me and Re were really little, when… when Papa was still around, we spent a lot of time learning all kinds of stuff from him. He had a… more difficult time expressing in words how much he loved us, so we’d do things with him, instead.
“He used to take us on trips outside the palace, he taught Rem how to hold a sword, but I was too scared to, and…
“He used to dance with us.
“It wasn’t really… I never properly learned how, and I probably would have sooner if he didn’t… yeah. But, whenever I’d really get into learning how, it just… I couldn’t think of anything else but him, and…”
Remus had gently moved out of Logan’s lap so he could wrap Roman in a tight hug, and Logan would have joined him if there were any space.
“Oh, Ro-bro. I wouldn’t have made ya do all that practicing if I’d-”
“No,” Roman cut him off gently, wiping his tears on his sleeve, “I’m glad you did. I wanna learn, I think it’s a good thing that I’m processing all this now, too. If you hadn’t pushed me, I probably just would have ignored it for an even longer and even unhealthier amount of time. I think this is what Papa would have wanted. So, thanks."
“You’re awfully quiet over there, brainiac. Wanna share what’s on your mind?” Logan nearly smiled at the old nickname. Thomas had been using it since he was a boy, and he found it didn’t get old, however juvenile it was.
“I… well, I too wish I would have known sooner, but I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to share that with me. I’m just… I’m very sorry, Roman. King Nico left us far too soon, and I... I wish there was more I could say or do to help.”
Roman rolled his eyes, nudging his brother out of the way. “Re, budge, I gotta knock some sense into our resident brain cell.” Roman scootched himself out of his dad’s lap to sit in Logan’s, pressing their foreheads together.
“You did help, dummy. You are helping, just by listening to me. I… probably wouldn’t be going through with this if the lessons had come from anyone else, even Dad or Remus. So, quit being all bummed, that's supposed to be my job right now.”
<character death + grief mention ends here>
Logan huffed, lightly flicking him on the arm. “I’m not ‘bummed,’ I’m upset for your sake, although that is reassuring. I am… glad you are feeling better, though, and if there is more I can do, please do not hesitate to ask.”
"Gee, do you like me or something, Lo?” Roman teased, pulling Logan in for a tight hug. “And I thought I was a dummy about feelings, geez. So silly.”
Logan scoffed, but he didn’t break away from the hug. “I am not silly. I do not know what you are trying to insinuate, Crown Prince.”
“I’m insinuating that you are silly, and I will die on this hill! The silliest ever! A positively goofy guy!”
Logan rolled his eyes, pulling back from Roman just enough to make eye contact with Remus and Thomas. “Please, back me up here. He is being entirely unreasonable.”
“Hm, I dunno, I think I agree with him. You can be kinda silly. What kinda goofball reads books for fun? Seems pretty silly to me.”
“Don’t forget all the research projects and presentations he’s made to prove a point. Those have to be included,” Thomas added, much to Logan’s embarrassment. Oh, gods, they were all going to gang up on him, weren’t they?
“Yeah! And there’s all the formal talking he does, even when he’s just with us. It’s like, that’s his normal way of speaking, so goofy!”
“And the telescope we installed in the balcony of the library just so he could tell us about the stars?”
“Y’know how he’ll distract pushy nobles from bugging me by talking about crazy stuff, like how he spent an hour talking to Lord Cassius about modern agricultural developments because he was pushing me to get remarried?”
“Oh my gods, yes! We can’t forget how many times he’s literally run into us because he’s thinking too hard or reading something.”
“And how many times have we caught him up working at 2 am because he got swept up in it?”
“Yeah, the jury’s out, Lo, guess you’re just the goofiest ever, no contest. Oh, oops, we broke him.” When the three of them finally finished picking on him, Logan was bright red, hiding his warm face firmly in his hands.
“Our bad, sorry Lo. You doing alright down there?” Logan let out an embarrassing squeak, the other’s laughter doing nothing to help him calm down.
“I… I am fine. You… you all are- incredibly mean. How do I ever put up with you?” The three nobles laughed, and Logan found that actually, he didn’t mind all the teasing. It was just how this crazy family showed they cared about him.
And he cared about them, too.
…
The party itself went well, the preparations going a lot smoother without the cloud of dread hovering over Roman’s head.
He even seemed excited about it now, which made a very happy feeling settle comfortably in the chests of his family and friends.
All in all, the party was a large success. The announcement went over well, and not a negative word was heard about the unconventional choice of the king, only hopeful and positive remarks about the twins’ future reign together.
The rest went off without a hitch as well. Thomas was an incredible host, it almost seemed as if he was talking to ten people at once with all the socializing he did. The twins followed suit, happily accepting all the prattle from excited royals and citizens alike about their future prospects.
And at last, closer to the end of the night, the band set up and the music began.
Many excited couples flocked to the ballroom floor, along with Thomas, as he was happily tugged along to dance with whoever asked politely.
Remus quickly followed his father, dancing surprisingly cleanly for someone with a reputation for much more chaotic and silly things than traditional ballroom dancing.
Unlike his brother, Roman was a bit more hesitant. He stayed behind for a while, keeping up the socializing instead of diving right into dancing. Logan wasn’t surprised, but he had an idea to ease his friend’s nerves.
He gently tapped the prince on the shoulder, politely interrupting Roman’s conversation with a noble Logan hadn’t been introduced to before.
“What’s up, Lo? Enjoying the party so far?” Logan nodded, gently squeezing Roman’s hand. “Of course, your father organized it after all. It wouldn’t be anything other than perfect. Although, I have a quick proposition for you if you aren’t busy.”
“Anything, Lo.”
“May I have this dance?”
Roman blinked, and his surprise quickly melted away into a small smile. “Yes, Logan, yes you may.”
ahh h/c my beloved
my ao3 :)
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