#oops sorry jan- i forgot to put him in this fic aha-

[whyiask]

Once Upon a December

relationships: platonic creativitwins, platonic LAMP WC: 1476 Summary: Roman has been singing a song to himself, but something is always missing. The same song has popped into Remus’s mind and he can’t stop humming it. Maybe all they’re missing is each other. tw: a bit of gross stuff having to do with intestines during Remus’s bit in the middle genre: light angst --> fluff

-

Roman and Remus had almost nothing in common. Roman was a prince, Remus was a duke. They had separate sides to the imagination. It was difficult for them to hold a civil conversation without some big disagreement. They had been separate for so long, neither could remember the brotherly relationship they once had, except in wistful daydreams and faint memories.

“Dancing bears, painted wings,” Roman sang under his breath. “Things I almost remember.” He raised his arms and self-orchestrated, waltzing with an imaginary partner around the room. Something felt off. Missing. It always had.

“And a song someone sings.” He performed a perfect pirouette, stepping out into a lunge. Roman could almost hear someone singing along with him, a whispered memory in the back of his brain.

“Once upon a December,” he murmured. He had trailed off from singing, coming to a stand-still. The music halted as he stopped his solo dance. It was wrong, something was wrong. It shouldn’t be a solo. But… a duet wasn’t right either. It felt like a part of him was missing, the power and emotion in the song was excellent, the passion was clear and the dramatics were all in place. Roman couldn’t place a finger on what was missing, but he knew that he couldn’t fill the void.

In the back of his mind, he could remember performing the song, although he never had before. In his mind, it was magical, a rich, full sound and it was complete. But as hard as he tried, he could not produce the sound. It didn’t frustrate him like it should have. Instead, all he felt was that whisper, the broken sound trailing off, the wisp of memory slipping through his fingers.

Roman was almost afraid to start his song again- afraid of breaking the spell, losing the moment. Sighing, he wiped away his makeshift ballroom and left the imagination. Maybe someday he would finish the number. Maybe someday it would feel whole.

He doubted that day would ever come.

-

Remus wasn’t particularly fond of music, not unless it was nails on chalkboard or screams of agony. That’s why he was surprised at himself when he found himself humming Once Upon a December. As far as he could recall, he had never seen the musical, leaving all the Broadway and Disney to Roman.

“Someone holds me safe and warm,” he hummed under his breath. The lyrics sprang to his mind and he was drawn to them, unable to stop himself from singing lightly. It felt weird, wrong for him to be singing such a soft song, but he couldn’t stop- he didn’t want to stop.

“Horses prance through a silver storm.” Remus conjured a small, silver horse. He held it up, examining it closer. He pulled open a hatch on it’s stomach and held back a chuckle as the horse’s intestines fell into his palm. 

“Figures dancing gracefully across my memory,” he sang, slightly louder. He weaved the long, meaty strings into red ribbons, dancing in front of his eyes. After a moment, he snapped and they fell back into his palm. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes.

The melody had been echoing in his mind for some time now, but it had always been dissonant, notes striking minor and empty. Singing it out loud had been the closest he had been to feeling complete in a long time. Even as he finished a few lines of the song, he could almost hear another voice, echoing it back to him.

Remus shook his head and snapped away the items in his hand. It wasn’t worth dwelling on. He was cold and lonely, it had never bothered him before, and a silly song- that wasn’t even part of his side of creativity- wouldn’t come along and fix anything just like that.

-

“Someone holds me safe and warm,” Roman sang out, spinning into the living room of the mind palace. Logan rolled his eyes fondly from behind his book but didn’t look up. Virgil was lounging across an armchair, scrolling through his phone, and he didn’t acknowledge Roman’s presence at all.

“Horses prance through a silver storm,” he continued, riffing his way through the line. Patton stuck his head out from the kitchen and his face lit up when he saw Roman. Roman gave Patton a small flutter of his fingers as way of greeting.

Patton came out into the middle of the room to join Roman. “Figures dancing gracefully across my memory,” they sang together. Roman took the melody and Patton sang a light, upper harmony over the top. Roman paused and his eyes lit up.

It had… sounded almost right. Something was still missing, but singing with Morality had been closer than singing by himself.

“That’s it!” he gasped. Patton beamed.

“What’s it, kiddo?”

Roman pointed directly at Patton dramatically. “You, my dear padre! That harmony is everything I’ve been looking for.”

Patton’s eyebrows scrunched, signaling to Roman that he was slightly confused. “I’m glad I could help…?”

Roman thought for a moment. “Logan, Virgil? Would you mind-”

Logan sighed and put down his book. “Is it important?”

Roman nodded vigorously and Virgil stood up as well, slouching over to Roman’s side. “One time, Princey,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes. “But only because I’m in a good mood. Don’t expect this to be a regular occurrence.”

Logan stood up as well. “I’m not sure I can be of much assistance, but as Virgil said, I’ll try one time.”

Roman’s smile was bright enough to light up the whole palace. “Brilliant!” he cried, grabbing Virgil’s hand(ignoring the yelp of protest) and Patton’s, who then linked with Logan. They sunk out together, rising up in the imagination, where Roman quickly pulled up his ballroom from before.

Logan, Patton, and Virgil backed up to the corner of the room, waiting for Roman to begin. He looked down and took a moment to breathe, to get in character, before lifting his gaze with passion alight in his eyes.

A wave of his hands later and music had started playing. Roman hit his first note, launching once more into his intricate solo waltz. In the musical interlude after the first verse, Roman looked over to the other sides with a carefree laugh.

“Feel free to join in anytime, guys.”

Patton joined in immediately, providing a light, twinkling upper harmony. Logan took a second longer, but added to the song with a low, steady one-note harmony that added richness and texture to the song.

It took Virgil another few lines, before slowing adding his voice with a mid-range, twisty, discordant harmony that nearly made Roman gasp at the sheer brilliance. It added an eerie twinge to the song, but it was bittersweet and sounded much better than before. He shot Anxiety a blinding grin before continuing to belt out his lyrics.

Singing with the other sides was magical, it was a beautiful moment, and Roman felt bad for feeling incomplete still. They had a rich sound. They had a magical moment. What was wrong? What could possibly be missing still?

“Far away,” Roman sang, growing softer on the bridge.

“Long ago,” another voice joined him, singing the melody line, only altered slightly to be dissonant. Roman spluttered and spun around to see Remus standing behind him.

“Re?” Roman asked hesitantly, almost unsure if he was hallucinating his brother’s appearance.

Remus scrunched his nose up and gave an awkward wave. Remus being awkward? What was happening?

Roman didn’t know what to do, so he did the only thing he could think of: the show must go on.

“Glowing dim as an ember,” he sang softly, approaching Remus slowly.

“Things my heart,” his twin responded. Roman held out a hesitant hand to his brother.

“Used to know,” they sang together, harmonizing effortlessly. It wasn’t perfect by any means, and their voices sounded weirdly rough together, but for the first time in his entire life, Roman felt whole.

“Things it yearns to remember.”

The whisper- the memory- was it from before the split? When Remus and Roman had been one and the same?

“And a song someone sings,” both voices were light and disbelieving. Remus took Roman’s outstretched hand.

“Once upon a December.”

The last note lingered in the air. The other sides had frozen in place, unsure what was happening but not daring to interrupt. Roman made eye contact with Remus and a silent message was conveyed.

This is how it feels to be one with your other half, even if just for a moment.

Roman and Remus had almost nothing in common. Roman was a prince, Remus was a duke. They were as opposite as can be, but once upon a time, they had been one. Together. King Creativity. Although they fought and clashed, they made each other complete. And maybe they weren’t as different as they liked to believe.