If It Means A Lot To You (TSS fic)

You wanna hear about the deal I'm making

Warnings for this chapter: mentions of kidnapping, let me know if I need to add more

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Roman usually hated having to return to his mansion. The building loomed over him, making him feel like an inmate walking into prison. It was too big for just him and Remy, and could easily house several guests, and with each year he felt less and less deserving of it.

But now, with a firm resolve settled solidly in his heart and mind, that trapped feeling didn't arise. Instead, he became more determined, knowing that here, he was free to prepare for his next trip. One that took him out of the public eye and back to a small town he never thought he'd ever return to. But it would be worth it, he just knew it.

He wasted no time in grabbing some of his luggage and going inside. First things first, he needed to tell Remy. As much as he would like to just disappear off the face of the Earth without a word, he didn’t want to cause trouble for one of his few real friends.

Janus had hired Remy to be Roman's bodyguard years ago, when he began planning for his first live concert. They got along well, and he didn't seem to care about whether Roman was famous or not. It was nice, especially when his celebrity status made it harder and harder to find people who liked him for anything other than money and notoriety. Even when other managers and performers asked to hire him, offering to pay even more for his services, he stayed with the young singer.

(One night, back when Roman had begun feeling the ache in his chest, he asked Remy why he'd stayed. Remy said it was for the same reason that Roman saw him as a friend: because he saw him as more than his job and public appearance. Roman trusted Remy with his life after that.)

Not only did he need Remy's help to prepare (going out and buying things so it was less likely to be traced back to him), but he also needed someone to tell Janus what was going on without word getting out about where he was going. He'd feel terrible if his mother figure didn't know, leaving her to think he had been kidnapped or worse. No, he'd have Remy tell her. That way, the two people he trusted most would know his whereabouts in case something went wrong.

He finally arrived in his room, his bodyguard following close behind to drop off the last of the suitcases they'd brought. Now was probably the best time to say something, he figured, otherwise he might chicken out later. He took a deep breath.

"Remy?"

"Yeah?"

"...I need your help with something important. It's personal and you are one of the only people I trust to help me with it."

He heard his friend shuffling around a bit behind him. "I'm assuming this has to do with how preoccupied you've been this week?"

Finally, Roman turned to face him, nodding. "I have some people I need to go see, and honestly, I think I need some time away from," he gestured around vaguely, "all this."

It was quiet for a minute as Remy seemed to think over the request, but just as Roman began to worry that he might say no, he finally responded. "Alright then. What's the plan?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Roman began telling Remy everything he had in mind.

—

By the end of the week, he was ready. He had given Remy the weekend off so that he wouldn't be immediately blamed for the singer's disappearance, and he had "accidentally" left his security cameras off. He gave the towering mansion one last middle finger before getting into an inconspicuous car and finally driving off.

He was finally going home.