Brothers In More Than Name - Part 3 of 5

   Before we start, I do not own this fic. This is a fic a friend of mine gave me permission to post here, and I think it's pretty darn amazing. Enjoy!

Roman-centric fic (brotherly Remus, sympathetic Janus, post-POF, minor swearing)

After rummaging through Remus’ closet to find a decent shirt (a surprisingly difficult task to do, because in the end the best one he could find was a slated grey long sleeve with a monstrous squid in black on the front) Roman’s brother brought them to the edge of the dark part of the Imagination, neighboring his side. He didn’t comment on the way Remus’ dark sky of swirling colors gave way to the beautiful blue of Roman’s side, nor the haunting trees with grasping, thorny branches slowly dispersing until it became a sunny field full of flowers. He was just thankful that he didn’t have to traverse through all of it. Who knows what kind of monsters were hidden in the depths.

Roman took a step forward, letting out a sigh of relief as the warm feeling of his own kingdom washed over him, a soft breeze brushing strands of hair out of his face. He looked around, taking it all in. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pride, afterall he spent nearly every day building this place, working on every single detail, trying to make it a place full of dreams and hope. Beautiful mountains of hazy purples and blues could be seen from a distance, covered in lush forests and hundreds of rivers. Shifting his gaze, he could spy the spires of his palace, glinting a gorgeous gold in the sunlight.

The castle was one of the first things he had created. He spent days creating the towers, working on every stitch in the tapestries, delicately deciding the colors for the stained glass artworks. And beyond the castle, lay cobble sidewalks with small shops and cute houses on every corner, lights strung up on every street, the smell of fresh bread and bustling warmth. And the people, oh he had so much fun creating the people. He wanted to give them personality, life. They weren’t just fake creations, they could grow and be their own people. And best of all, he was the protector of them all. He kept them safe from any creature that posed threat to his great kingdom.

Roman was shaken out of his reminiscing by the sound of Remus’ whistle behind him. He turned his head to look at his brother, feeling surprisingly nervous. He didn’t know why he wanted his brother to like it, they never really got along, and even if they did, they both had widely varying taste in what looked ‘good’.

“Got to say bro,” Roman flinched as Remus slung an arm around his uninjured shoulder, “Not too shabby,” Roman abruptly straightened at that, eyes widening with pleasant surprise. His brother seemed to notice, elbowing him in the side with a scoff, “It could use a little bit more...taste. Everything seems too perfect.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Roman asked, frowning slightly. That was his goal afterall, and it was still far from perfect in his eyes. He could pick out a hundred things to change right now.

“Well if life was this perfect all the time, then there isn’t much life at all,” Remus shrugged, unlooping his arm from Roman and taking a step forward. “Don’t you ever get bored? Of this picture perfect fairytale?”

“If real life was anything like this, then I don’t think I’d ever want to change it,” Roman sighed sadly, mind drifting to Thomas and the others. They must be so disappointed. He shook his head, refocusing his eyes only to find Remus staring at him with a strange expression. “What?” He grumbled, suddenly feeling restless. Remus shrugged, so Roman just huffed, “Well let’s get going then. It’ll take a while to get to the Dragon Witch’s lair.”




<<<<<>>>>>

The two brothers found themselves traveling through the woods, the sun sending dappled light through the thick canopy of leaves. It appeared to be nearing the end of spring, a comforting warmth in the air accompanied by a cool breeze that shook the branches above. Stems of vibrant flowers peaked from the ground, adding a feeling of life and energy to the woods. In the distance Roman could hear a small creak babbling through the trees. He had seen some deer earlier, but Remus has startled them off with his careless footsteps.

It was surprisingly calming. It distracted Roman from the pain in his shoulder, but it didn’t help the small ache in his foot from when he had stumbled to the ground during the fight. He hoped that Remus would suggest resting soon, because there was no way that he would let his brother beat him (he reminded himself that this wasn’t a competition, and it was a very serious matter, but siblings have to be siblings).

“Ughhh, we’ve been walking for hours,” Remus suddenly whined, smacking a branch from out of his face.

“Remus, it’s probably only been 40 minutes,” Roman sighed, despite feeling exhausted himself.

“Yeah but it’s just so boring here,” Roman made an indignant noise from behind him, “Like, where are the monsters? I would love to wack a manticore chimera in the head right now.”

“I didn’t create a ton of monsters near the kingdom, or else the farms beyond it would get destroyed,” Roman defended himself, rolling his eyes. “Not that you would know much about taking care of your people.”

“Ex-squeeze me?” Remus gasped, whirling around to face Roman, “For your information, my kingdom is just fine. Just because I don’t give them pats on the heads doesn’t mean I don’t care about my people. They are tough, they’ve faced monsters and came out alive. Your’s probably don’t know the first thing about fighting! It’s so damn PG that I bet your people don’t even have the ability to fuck!”

“W-well that’s not a necessity--” Roman sputtered, face flushing red at the thought of it. Remus broke out into a series of cackles.

“You can’t be serious, I was joking!” Remus cried out between laughs, “Oh wow, this is pure gold. You never cease to amaze me.”

“Well maybe that’s a good thing. They shouldn’t need to know that,” Roman huffed, pushing past Remus to continue walking. “They shouldn’t need to know fighting, or...other activities, they are just people! Living in a peaceful kingdom, safely protected!”

“Huh, maybe Jan-Jan was right,” Roman froze, not turning around, “This whole place is just a big disguise for you to go play hero, because you can’t bear a single thought of being the bad guy.”

“Shut up,” Roman scowled, shoulders hunching up. “You don’t know a thing about me!”

“Of course I know you, Roman, Mr. I-Can-Never-Do-Anything-Wrong! Or did you forget all those times you made me the villain-”

“That’s because you are!” Roman shouted, finally turning around with a fire in his eyes. Remus flinched at that, face souring, and Roman felt the flame suddenly wilt. He rubbed his face tiredly, letting out a sigh, “Remus, I-I didn’t mean that.”

“You did though,” Remus retorted, mouth tilted downwards. Roman opened his mouth to respond, but Remus cut him off with a disbelieving chuckle, “You can’t try to defend yourself here, Roman. You and I both know that you’ve called me the villain on multiple occasions, and that’s all you’ll ever see me as,” Roman shifted uncomfortably, glancing away with shame. “I don’t know why I went on this stupid quest anyways. I just thought-” Remus huffed, and Roman finally got the courage to look him in the eyes. They were now glaring at him, full of fury and frustration, and hurt. “Let’s just get this stupid thing over with so you can go back to your family.”

“Remus,” Roman tried as his brother pushed ahead, continuing the trek through the woods. Roman caught his wrist desperately, “Please, I-I’m sorry,” that only seemed to make Remus angrier, so Roman quickly continued, trying to get everything out as fast as possible, “No, I mean it. I get mad and I lash out at people, and push them down because I think it’ll make me feel better. A-and, I’m trying to be better,” Roman let go of his wrist, but Remus stayed where he was, “Everything is just so different now, and confusing. I don’t know anything anymore. Please just let me say I’m sorry.”

“You say you're sorry, but what about next time when it’s not so convenient anymore? When you don’t want the others to see you siding with the villain? You’re not saying sorry because you feel bad, Roman. It’s because you’ve built such a towering hero complex around you, that you’d do anything necessary to seem like the fucking good guy,” Remus spat, “An apology is just a couple of words. If you really want to be the hero, actually act like it. Stop pushing others down, stop acting above everyone else, and try listening to others for once.”

At that, Remus turned with an air of finality, leaving Roman standing there in shock. He felt his heart in his throat, thundering through his mind, choking him. He scrubbed his face, adamantly pushing back tears, and instead choosing to follow Remus through the woods. He ignored the aching of his wounds, and the onslaught of thoughts because his brother was right. He needed to act better. He would be better.

<<<<<>>>>>

Roman’s feet were aching by the time they had made it to the first actual trail. They stumbled upon a dirt path, worn down by footsteps and horseshoe prints, and a sign nailed to a tree which read, Melberry Ridge in rich calligraphy, with an arrow pointing to the right. Roman recalled creating this town. It was simple, some bakeries and inns, but it was mostly for trading and for passing travelers. He hadn’t spent a ton of time on it, but the people there were sweet.

Roman silently followed Remus down the trail, who surprisingly hadn’t said a word since their argument. For someone who could be so loud, he could definitely win at the silent treatment game. He was so used to the silence at this point, that when he heard the faint sounds of shouting he immediately perked up. He caught Remus’ eyes, realizing his brother had heard it too, and they both nodded, moving at a much quicker pace than before.

They both slowly sped up into a jog, until they came upon an upturned cart in the middle of the trail. Three hooded men stood around it, and Roman squinted his eyes to see a cowering person in the middle of it all. He immediately felt anger flare up inside of him.

“Step away from them!” Roman warned, stepping forward with narrowed eyes. The three thugs whirled around, seemingly surprised at their challenger. One stepped forward, Roman guessed they were the leader.

“No weapons, outnumbered, looks like ya got a little cash ya too,” the crook chuckled, eyeing Remus’ fancy silk outfit, as well as Roman’s expensive boots. “Yeah, once we finish with this guy,” they pointed their dagger at the helpless person cowering on the ground, “it’s you two next.”

“I warned you,” Roman grunted before rushing forward, hand reached out at his side to summon his katana. His eyes widened with a sudden realization, and he jolted to a stop. He looked down at his empty hands, “shit.”

Roman shot up abruptly, shrieking with surprise as an arrow flew right past his head. One of the thugs brought a hand back, hooking another arrow into their bow and letting it fly, this time aiming towards Remus. Another crook shot forward--the leader--swinging his dagger out towards Roman’s face. He quickly ducked down, pushing off the ground and tackling them in the midsection.

They both stumbled to the ground roughly, and Roman grunted as his chest stung. The hood fell off the other’s head, revealing a man with thick brown hair, irises so dark that they just looked like one large pupil. A scowl was painted on his wrinkled face, revealing one gold tooth.

The man swiftly grabbed Roman’s arms and flipped them around, slamming his head into the ground. A sharp pain pounded through his skull, and he had to blink back stars with a groan. He hazily saw the man lift his dagger, blinking confusedly when it seemed to transform into the shadowy figure, standing over him as he pushing the sword deeper and deeper and-

The weight on top of him suddenly vanished, and all he could do was stare at the sky, finding that he couldn’t quite get any oxygen in. Roman registered that his body was shaking, but all he could feel was the same cold dread and terror that the creature had evoked.

The fight. The fight. Remus needs help.

Roman groaned, feeling fake in the world as he really pushed himself to his feet. Everything swirled around, too muted and too bright all at once. Just breathe. Why was that so hard to do right now?

His eyes spotted Remus, fending off the man who was previously attacking Roman. He felt his stomach cave as he noticed the final member of the thugs coming up behind his brother, carrying a set of dual swords. He rushed forward as quickly as he could in his disorienting state.

“Remus!” He cried, causing everyone to jolt in surprise. He slammed into the one behind Remus, gripping their wrists in a painful way that sent the dual swords clattering to the ground. They struggled in his grip, but Roman kneed them in the tailbone, sending them crashing down next to their weapons.

He panted heavily, feeling more light headed by the second. He distantly heard Remus whoop, and he smiled knowing that they must’ve won. Roman slowly slumped to the ground, heart fluttering in his chest like a bird trapped in a cage.

Roman flinched as he felt a hand land on his shoulder, then relaxed when he realized it was just Remus. His brother stared at him with concern, and he saw his mouth move before he even registered that he was speaking.

“-you okay?” Remus asked, scanning him up and down.

“C-can’t breathe,” Roman choked out, hand raising to graze his neck. He didn’t know why his lungs felt so tight, or why there was a swirling pit in his stomach that just kept sinking further and further.

“Shit, okay, just uh...follow my breathing, yeah?” Remus looked just as panicked as Roman felt, clearly not knowing what to do either. Nevertheless, he nodded, letting his brother pull him closer to his chest. His steady heartbeat reverberated throughout his head, until it was the only thing he could latch onto.

Roman focused on the exaggerated rise and fall of Remus’ chest, opting to take a deep breath through his nose rather than mouth, which seemed to help his throat open. He felt himself slowly relax as he practically melted into Remus’ embrace. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a genuine hug. Certainly not since the callback.

“You okay?” Remus asked after Roman finally seemed to calm his breathing. He nodded slowly, not knowing how else to respond. He suddenly felt awkward in the hug. Should he...let go? He and Remus have never hugged, not once. “Well...thanks for saving me back there,” he felt his thoughts peter out as Remus continued, “not that I needed the help. You’re the one that can’t heal, and I’m the better fighter. Just pointing that out,” Roman was surprised as he found himself chuckling. This was different from the sharp jabs the two usually shared. It was light, teasing.

“Pick a time and place, and I’ll fight you whenever,” Roman retorted, grinning lightly. “Then we’ll see who’s the best.”

“C’mon,” Remus scoffed playfully, “I’ve saved you twice now!”

“I was indisposed!” Roman cried out in defense, feeling his cheeks flush.

“Uh-huh, whatever you say, Bro,” Remus grinned cheekily, pulled away from the hug and standing up. Roman put his arms up, making grabby hands until Remus rolled his eyes and helped pull him to his feet.

Roman looked around, eyeing the three fallen thugs that had all collapsed on the ground, either unconscious or groaning with pain. He realized that the person they were trying to save was now gone. He scanned the area, knowing that he couldn’t rest until he knew that they were unharmed. He began backtracking to where he and Remus had found the tipped over cart, wondering if they had gone back to get their supplies.

Roman peered over the turner cart, hearing a faint whimper and a shuffle. He huffed, raising a fist and knocking lightly on the wood. “It is quite alright, citizen. The villains have been brought down!” He spoke reassuringly.

The civilian peeked their head out from under the cart, eyes wide with fear and apprehension. Their shoulders immediately seemed to sag once they realized that they had actually been saved.

“T-thank you,” they stuttered out in a shaky voice, scrambling out from the cart and straightening themself up. As they patted themself down, Roman scanned for injuries. A small bruise was forming on their pale cheek, and one of their eyes seemed to be glued shut and red. They looked a little roughed up, some splinters and tears in their clothes, but they would be fine.

“No need to thank me,” Roman grinned, trying not to freak them out more. “Do you mind me asking what your name is?” He began a small conversation to try and distract them from panicking further. Remus came up from behind and began to help turn the cart back over.

“Thao,” they mumbled, face flushing. Roman chuckled with endearment, giving them a soft smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Prince Roman, and this is my brother, Remus,” he introduced, pointing to himself then to his brother, who basically had the cart fixed up and everything stowed away by now.

“P-prince Roman, there must be some way I can pay you back for s-saving me,” they started, beginning to dig through their pockets with shaking hands. They pulled out some gold coins, swallowing thickly before presenting them.

“Oh no, I couldn’t-“ Roman immediately shook his head, but was rudely cut off by Remus shoving him to the side.

“That’ll do, thank you so much,” Remus snatched the coins out of their hand, bowing deeply before shooting up again. “Well have fun on this journey of yours. Don’t get into any more trouble, because I won’t be there to scramble some brains around,” Remus waved delightfully, “Toodaloo!”

Before Roman could process anything, they were gone, leaving him to only stare after their disappearing dirt cloud. He whirled to face Remus, “You can’t just steal someone’s money after literally saving them from people that we’re gonna do the same exact thing!”

“Whhaaatt, I was just getting money for a place to stay tonight,” Remus rolled his eyes, pouting. “You can’t summon any right now, and I don’t exactly know how your currency here works. You’re acting like we didn’t just save their life and deserve some reward!”

Roman stared at him, dumbfounded. He sighed and pinched his nose, “Y’know what? I don’t want to keep arguing about this. Let’s just go book an Inn so we can finally go to bed.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Remus giggled madly, shaking the coins around in his palm.

<<<<<>>>>>

It was nearly sundown by the time the two of them made it to their room, exhausted from their journey. The coins didn’t buy anything fancy, just a cramped, one bed room that smelled like moldy wood. Remus seemed to make himself right at home among the filth, collapsing on the bed with a sigh. Roman cringed slightly, trying to ignore the nest of dead spiders in the corner, and seated himself on the edge of the mattress.

His ankle immediately screamed in relief, and he couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his mouth. Roman moved to stretch out his arms, only to wince as he remembered his injuries. They had worsened from their dull ache into a throbbing sometime during the fight, but the adrenaline was only starting to wear out now.

“I take that as a sign to fix up those bandages,” Remus sang, jumping to his feet with a little twirl and summoning the medkit Janus had given them. “Alright daddy, tear that shirt off!”

“Please never say that ever again, or I might just strangle you to death,” Roman grumbled tiredly, but nevertheless carefully took off the octopus shirt. His nose scrunched up at the sour smell of the bandages, mixed with sweat, dirt, and definitely some blood.

Remus crouched in front of him and began to peel off the bandage on his shoulder wound. Once free, he threw the dirty gauze into the corner with the spiders. Looking down at the wound, it was obvious that it had opened back up in some spots. Dried blood was crusted around the stitches, and the area looked slightly inflamed.

“Great. Maybe we should’ve changed these a lot sooner,” Remus frowned, taking out a clean cloth and dabbing some alcohol on it. “Hold still,” was all the warning he gave before smothering the wound with the cloth.

Roman winced, biting the inside of his cheek. It definitely wasn’t as painful as before, but every time Remus swiped the rag over a stitch, it seemed to pull all the way down to his intestines. Sharp, and extremely uncomfortable.

Luckily, the shoulder was finished up quickly, and Remus carefully wrapped it up again with new gauze. He continued the process with the wound stretching across Roman’s chest, then taking his hands and doing the same.

“You were limping earlier,” Remus noted once Roman pulled his shirt back on. “During the walk, but also the fight.”

“Yeah, I must’ve bruised it or something,” Roman sighed, shifting to being his leg up. He cautiously tugged his boot off, whimpering as the pain flared dramatically. But he managed to get it off, revealing a thick and swollen lump where his ankle should be.

“Bruised, sure,” Remus raised a brow, but looked concerned nonetheless. “I think it’s sprained. Do you think you’ll be able to walk to the Dragon Witches Lair with that?”

“I have to,” Roman frowned, hands clenching into fists. Remus stared at him for a moment before sighing.

“Okay okay, I think I just need some ice and we’ll wrap it up. Hopefully it’ll be as good as new by tomorrow,” Remus looked oddly pensive, serious. It was a weird look on him. He quickly left the room, leaving Roman to sit on the bed.

<<<<<>>>>>

Remus came back shortly after, still in a sulking kind of mood. Roman stayed silent as his brother wrapped up his ankle and put some ice on it.

<<To be continued...