#i was possessed by the thought of 'roceit surprise double proposal'

[liemonyellow]

it will be forever

read on ao3

Summary: Janus has been waiting for months to get down on one knee and propose to the love of his life. He’s timed it perfectly: the opening night of Roman’s best and biggest role to date in the same theater where they first met. Things don’t happen how he expects them to, however.

Warnings: None

“You good, Janus? Remember to actually bring the ring?” Virgil asked for the umpteenth time.

Janus rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, his breath misting in the wintry air as he hugged himself tightly. “No, Virgil, I lost it in the five minutes since the last time you asked.” He patted his pocket, admittedly relieved to feel it was still, in fact, there. “It’s still right here.”

“First of all, you forgot your gloves, which I have never seen happen, especially in the middle of winter. Second, who was it that panic-called me just five hours ago, terrified that he lost his engagement ring?” Virgil put a finger to his chin in mock contemplation. “You’ve been planning this proposal for what, four months now? If it doesn’t go exactly according to plan you’re gonna be insufferable.”

Janus sniffed haughtily. “I found it, didn’t I?”

“I still can’t believe you actually hid it inside the snake tank and forgot.”

Virgil’s snickering was cut short by Janus’s sharp shove against his shoulder. He was about to shove Janus back when he saw something in the distance and threw up an arm and waved.

“It’s them! Over here!”

The two they were waiting for jogged up to them, joined by two others they didn’t immediately recognize.

“Vee! JD! Sorry for keeping you,” Remus grinned as he threw an arm over each of their shoulders, then added, “Someone was too busy getting mobbed by his adoring fans.”

“Oh, really?” Janus broke into a smile as he slipped out from under his best friend’s arm and into those of his boyfriend’s.

“Just a couple of old friends. I was surprised, too! You remember Patton and Logan, right?”

“Virgil, Janus,” Logan greeted with a nod, “I hope you two are doing well.”

“It’s been too long!” Patton exclaimed, smiling brightly.

“Oh, shit! Is that you, pop star?” Virgil said, grinning. “You both look so different!”

The other four chattered away as they caught up, but Janus only had eyes for Roman. He looked up at him, arms draped over his shoulders and around his neck, taking in the sight of this gorgeous, beautiful man lit by the warm, yellow glow of the marquee. Only now that he was here did Janus truly feel the weight of the little box in his pocket. Perhaps he should wait? After all, Roman had just wrapped up a busy opening night, he was probably looking forward to a nice dinner with their friends and a relaxing ride home and-

“So,” Roman said, his voice cutting through Janus’s thoughts like a beam of light on a moonless night, “what did you think?”

Janus let his eyes drift down from Roman’s warm hazel ones to the lopsided smirk he wore when he wanted to hide his nervousness, raising a hand to run his fingers through Roman’s gelled hair. The texture was stiff and still a little greasy from Roman’s onstage exertions and not the soft silkiness he was accustomed to, but Janus loved it all the same. Very much worth forgetting his gloves at home. He gave Roman a soft smile as his prince leaned into the gesture, gently grasping the hand and bringing it down to place a kiss into Janus’s palm, then held it against his cheek. The warmth burned against Janus’s frozen fingers.

“I think,” Janus teased, “I’ve seen better.”

Roman huffed at that, though his eyes remained bright and amused. “It couldn’t have been worse than my performance that first night we met.”

Janus raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what you mean,” he said airily.

“You don’t remember walking right into me while ranting about all my flaws as an actor to my twin brother, in this exact spot in front of this exact theater?”

“Not at all,” Janus lied, smirking. Roman chuckled and took a step back, sliding his hands down Janus’s arms to his hands, holding them gently with his own.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did forget. We didn’t exactly start off on great terms. Which, ah, reminds me,” Roman glanced at their friends, who were still talking amongst themselves, and had apparently pulled out their phones to take and share photos at some point. Virgil winked conspiratorially at Janus. He was probably already filming them. Roman cleared his throat, catching their attention, and turned back to Janus.

“Janus,” he said, his eyes big and warm and soft, “you have made me so, so happy these last few years. You were there when I got my first major role, you helped me through the rough times where I didn’t think I would ever act again, and yeah, we’ve had our disagreements every so often, but, we’re still here. Together.”

Janus, still smiling, tilted his head and narrowed his eyes in confusion, unsure where Roman was going with this. He couldn’t be… could he?

Roman took a breath and another step back and lowered himself on one knee, keeping hold of Janus with one hand and reaching into his inside coat pocket with the other. Janus’s free hand came up to cover his mouth. Oh.

“Janus, when I fell in love with you, I knew it would be forever. Will you marry me?”

Nestled in the box in his hand was a ring, a marquise-cut yellow sapphire set into a white-gold band that curved along each side toward the points, flanked by a row of round white diamonds that tapered down in size as they swept out from the central stone and along the band. It sparkled in the glow of the streetlamps, stars dancing in each facet.

Overwhelmed with emotion and unable to help himself, Janus’s eyes filled with tears and his lips pulled into a wide grin behind his hand. He pulled away and turned around, his breath coming in short, staccato hiccups of laughter. Wiping his tears, he reached into his pocket and brought out the box, turning around to face magnificent, wonderful Roman, who was patiently awaiting his answer.

“You have the worst timing,” Janus said, opening his box and revealing the ring inside, a princess-cut pink diamond set diagonally in rose gold, two white oval diamonds at its top and bottom corners, with a row of smaller, round diamonds along the top edges and in the band along either side of the bottom gem, curls of metal shaping the ring into a crown. Roman blinked at the offering, saying nothing. Then, a huge grin spread across his face, and he rose to his feet.

“Is- Is that a yes?” he asked, starting to laugh himself. Janus nodded, his own grin preventing him from responding.

Roman slammed into Janus, kissing him greedily. He wrapped his arms around Janus’s waist and spun them in circles, lifting Janus into the air with his enthusiasm, breaking the kiss and filling the nighttime air with the combined shrieks of their euphoria.

“Finally!” Remus’s high-pitched whoop pierced the air as the observing bystanders applauded.

Roman set Janus down and they quickly placed the rings on each other’s fingers. Janus could hardly see through his tears no matter how quickly he wiped them away, yet he could not tear his eyes from the ring now adorning his finger. He let Roman guide them back to their gaggle of friends, who were all shouting happy congratulations.

“Ohmigosh, it was so hard not giving it away! A double proposal!” Patton squealed.

“You knew?” Roman asked, incredulous.

“Remus informed us of both your plans to propose when he invited us to tonight’s show last week,” Logan clarified, giving them a small smile and a nod.

“Yeah, and it was a bitch getting D.W. to let you go so early, so, y’know, you’re welcome. I only have so much say against the PSM as a lowly wardrobe tech, no matter how awesome I am.”

“And Remus and I knew four months ago, because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut,” Virgil concluded.

“JanJan and RoBro never figured it out, so I say I kept it pretty well shut,” Remus countered.

“Four months ago?” Janus gaped.

“Yep,” Virgil said, popping the ‘p’. “You two made the exact same plans at the exact same time because of course you did, you dorks.”

Janus turned to meet Roman’s eyes. They shone like copper, rich and warm and bright, lingering in his vision as he drew closer for another kiss.