Completely random, purely Rohan/Angus ship rambling, 'cause Moose mentioned the other week on Reddit that she's on board with seeing those two in more than 'just' a friendship (AH-HA, ANOTHER RECRUITED 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳), and that got me talking again about how I think Angus knows but purposely tries to keep that quiet (from Rohan mostly), and how Rohan doesn't know and just thinks that's how Best Friends™ are.

 

They grew up as starving orphans together - if you're already sharing scraps of food, drafty shelter, and basic body heat, and everything else is an open book between them, I can't be surprised if Angus was like, "I'm drunk and/or bored 😑" one day, or if Rohan was going, "🤔 what does xyz mean" and the two of them just professionally figured it out. Handshake and everything afterwards. Totally average interaction.

But as much as I'm still a little annoyed with Rohan's existence in isolation (I still can't write something for just Rohan's sake), I feel bad making him be too dumb. He is dumb, but so is Angus, and I don't make Angus completely oblivious to everything. So at the risk of not infantilizing the guy in my head ("why do you care about this" we are well past that point), I thought I'd come up with a less naïve answer for why Rohan wouldn't put two and two together. Actually, 'two and two' is underselling it. I have to assume that anytime the others are off-screen, they're all consolidating their notes on just what the hell is up with those two sometimes.

 

Rohan, being in this, and (I think?) being something of a romantic (I guess? idk what the show is going for with him and Deirdre - is he supposed to be a romantic? He's so mean to Aideen), should be able to recognize basic degrees of a relationship. Even if I assume he himself has never made out with anybody (who isn't Angus), he's lived in a village that has families and he's best friends with Angus. He has to have heard stories. Telling Angus he likes Deirdre would've invited suggestions on what to 'do' with a girl. He would've also noticed that in most situations, the people making out with each other tend to go on and couple up. They don't really just 'stay best friends'.

Now - in his defence, which is the whole thing I'm trying to figure out, I could see him rationalizing any gestures or behaviours or methods of passing time (👀) as being a thing you do with your friends as practice before you go on to your actual love interest. Rohan's a warrior; this is just like sparring, which is also what those two have done together since they were kids. And he could rationalize not telling anyone else about this as, "We aren't supposed to admit we've been practising. We're supposed to appear naturally gifted. That's why we're practising in the first place." The fact no one else mentions having a similar arrangement with their friends just fuels his belief. In fact, maybe it's shameful - in a, "You had to practice? You couldn't just figure it out? Wow. Pathetic" sorta way. So, very rationally, he understands he can't ever ask anyone except Angus about this stuff. And that makes Angus really, really important to him, because what a kind and patient friend Angus is, spending his time teaching Rohan things that should've been instinctive in the first place.

I'm not saying that's what's going on. I'm saying that's what Rohan would be telling himself whenever he wonders why it's only them who have such a special relationship: it's not special, everyone does it, they just don't talk about it, and if they don't do have the same arrangement, that means it's something Rohan should be keeping private. He doesn't want to be embarrassed by finding out it's not actually unique between the two of them, or by admitting he's so useless that his best friend has to compensate for him (probably the same as with Rohan's apprentice work 😝).

It's also specific to why Rohan's never brought it up. It's not how he feels about it. For that, he's happy. Outright. He's got a great situation, and before he can get too angsty about being soooo pathetic that he needs his best friend to spar with him on 'some stuff', he's happy he has a friend who's willing to be there. 'Cause I think he'd notice that. Far be it from Rohan to ever thank Angus for anything (🙄), but on the inside, I think he'd have moments where he's filled with what he assumes is appreciation and relief for Angus being such a bro, and would even get stupid little grins when he remembers it, much like he does when he thinks fondly on the trouble Angus gets into. Eventually, he knows they're going to have their own lives and this'll all stop. They can't be children forever. They're literally men already. But he'll always have those memories to cherish, and if he's not in a rush to have that separate life, and if Angus isn't actively fleeing from the hut right now, what's the harm in continuing to enjoy it? Everything's fine. Totally normal. This is just how life goes, and bringing it up would feel like wondering how they'll die someday: needlessly existential, so far off in the future, best not to talk about it now.

And - bonus, maybe there's one or two huts in a different village where two best friends have been living with each other well into their old age. Sure, it's a bit sad they never found their own families, but is it really the worst thing in the world to keep living that way? No one seems to think it's anything terrible. Nobody talks about it, obviously, because it would point remind them all of how sad it is to have failed to find wives. It's also why Rohan never asks anyone about those best friends - or if he does, he gets an annoyingly cryptic, "Oh, they're best friends all right" - so he's never been able to pry into the details. Or ask Angus, because selfishly, that might push Angus to get a move on with having what a proper adult life is supposed to be.

 

So that's the first part. "Why hasn't Rohan noticed this?" And my answer is he has, and drew his own conclusions that just so happen to preempt him ever never needing to question it.

 

But then we get to the second part: why hasn't he questioned it? If he's noticed there's a unique part their friendship that no one else ever mentions having, why doesn't he ask if this fits a 'properly platonic relationship'?

:)

On one side, I have more rationalization. Again, they've grown up together. Some ideas you have as children go unchallenged forever until something about it slaps you awake (or - which is what Angus is trying to avoid - someone points it out to you). To me, Rohan would've simply told himself that he and Angus are better friends than any other friends they've come across. Maybe as good as the friends who still live in a hut together in their old age, but definitely better than the other kids - especially if they've ever teased him or Angus about it. That's proof. Rohan and Angus are such masters of friendship that the others don't even understand how powerful it is. That's maybe why he emphasized to Cathbad that he and Angus aren't just best friends, but are friends for life. See? That's the best kind of friends you can be. That's them. So there's no need to question it or explain it or justify it or even mention it, because everyone who disagrees is jealous, and Rohan's gotten tired of their jealousy. He might even - for the other children's sake - tone it down a bit when they're in public, because he doesn't want a villager's jealousy rearing its head and spoiling their day.

Which means they grew up with Rohan having a cause-and-effect understanding that some things he and Angus do will just cause an avoidable kerfuffle if it's seen, because he can't waste his breath trying to explain to everyone how a real friendship works. He doesn't appreciate the jokes about it either, that seem to imply others know how deep his and Angus' friendship goes. They wouldn't get it, so Rohan tells them they're mistaken or laughs it off. Whatever shuts the conversation down.

 

And on the other side.

:)

There's Angus.

 

Angus knows what's up. It's not a normal friendship, but he likes what they have, and clearly so does Rohan, since he's always defending it when it matters. There might be some worry that he's making a fool out of Rohan right under his nose, which he doesn't want to do, but Angus also doesn't want to have to explain all of this. And anyway, he's asked Rohan if he's fine with this stuff, to which Rohan's happily said yes. Nobody's getting hurt.

Obviously, in Angus' opinion, Rohan understands that their friendship supercedes any... additional elements. After years together, it's no secret that if Rohan wanted something, he'd whine and complain until he got it. But - to that point - Rohan's never whined or complained about Angus running after the fair maidens (and sometimes less-than-fair) of many villages. Rohan's encouraged it, shyly asking for details now and then, and celebrated with Angus after Angus returned in the morning, successful. So it's not a problem. Rohan's had plenty of chances to make any problems known, and it's never happened. It's a one-in-a-million relationship, and Angus used all the luck in his life to wind up with someone who understood this like Angus did. They didn't even need to talk about it! They inherently understood what this was.

Even more in fact, Angus has gone right up to Deirdre and flirted with her in front of Rohan. It's a game they play, like sticking a hand in a loyal dog's mouth to prove it won't bite: Angus flirts with Deirdre, putting his hand right on Rohan's teeth, and Rohan cheerily laughs it off. It's so refreshing, since - uh... other villagers weren't so understanding. 🥴

 

Now. The part of the picture I've purposely withheld is about the flirting.

Angus is a flirt.

He is always flirting.

Every pretty thing he sees, he's flirting.

This is well-known to Rohan, and very normal, so there's nothing to question about it.

 

... But.

:)

 

The way Angus flirts with women is not how he flirts with men.

With women, he's over-the-top chivalrous. He's complimenting them. He's maybe even giving them gifts, and generally showing off.

That?

Rohan's not interested in that.

But that's all Rohan normally sees: his funny friend playing his funny game with girls, and sometimes it works, but mostly it doesn't, because Angus is just messing around anyway.

👀 I also think how Angus flirts is not the same as how he seduces.

I think he locks in when he's actually after someone. And I don't think he brings Rohan around for that. This is when he's off in a tavern, or otherwise not distracted while being in his element, and he feels a completely mutual chemistry from across the room. He's not chasing it so much as prowling towards it. Does it work? Less often than he'd admit, but more than the others would dare to guess. And he gets a different, more focused, more intense vibe about himself while he does.

This isn't something Rohan can 'play along' with. He'd be interrupting. So he knows - if he happens to be there - to roll his eyes and walk off, and let Angus make a fool of himself and - it worked? Oh. There's some disappointment now, because... well, he thought the lady would be smarter than to fall for that. It comes off like Angus is debasing himself or something, putting on that weird performance. Rohan might actually mention this to the others, and because "It's annoying watching Angus 'seriously' court women" is something they all agree with, everyone's going to agree.

Nothing to question there. :)

 

And then.

Rohan happens to see Angus seducing - or being seduced by; it doesn't matter - a guy.

Nothing major. Maybe Angus was late to sparring so Rohan went off to look for him, turned a corner, and found Angus and someone else chatting. But I have to think it would stun Rohan for a moment, as he tries to figure out exactly what he's seeing.

Again, it's nothing major. They're just talking. But maybe Angus' posture is different. It's more relaxed. Maybe there's a lot more eye contact - more intense than a shifty pickpocket would be comfortable with. Maybe he's leaned against a wall, listening aptly, in such a state of unfocused concentration - like he's paying attention to something but not what's being said - and he's smiling without any malice or aggression or even paranoia. He looks perfectly at ease. And Angus is very jumpy and tightly wound person most of the time, so to see him so loose is strange. It's painted him in a different light, one that looks suddenly foreign to the image Rohan's kept of him since childhood.

That image is going to stick in Rohan's mind. Even after Angus notices Rohan's arrived, and shifts out of all of that to straighten up - proving Angus was different a moment ago. Even after Angus bids his new acquaintance farewell, with a lingering tone that Rohan catches but doesn't quite recognize - or appreciate, obviously because they're late for the day's sparring practice. Even after they're done for the day and go to the hut to have supper. Rohan's still thinking about it.

👀

Because Rohan, rather unfortunately, is interested in that.

 

He's not gonna know he's interested. This is going to be confusing, and then annoying, and then frustrating, and then feel like some personal attack against him all in the course of an evening.

Angus thinks everything's fine, because he's flirted with men in front of Rohan plenty of times. He'll say as much when Rohan carefully ventures out to ask what was happening back there before practice.

Rohan will challenge this, saying he's never seen Angus flirting with men before. That leads to Angus listing off a couple of names that Rohan recognizes.

Rohan challenges it again. He's never seen Angus flirt with them.

So Angus explains it: the bump of their elbows, the slaps on the shoulder, the taunting, the playful punches to the hip...

Rohan said he thought Angus was robbing them. Or just being friendly.

To which Angus will say the one thing that torpedos the precious, fragile, plausible deniability holding the floodwaters back:

"Oh, we were being friendly all right."

 

They'd end the evening agreeing that everything was fine. Angus... flirting with men - that's fine. Sure. Angus flirts with everything. It's - just... surprising Rohan didn't know.

But over the next few days, Angus can feel Rohan looming over him during every interaction Angus has with someone. He's being assessed. Is X flirting, is Y being friendly, tell me what it is, tell me why you're doing that. The questions are innocent and curious at first, but they start building into some kind of accusation. Of what, neither of them are saying. Angus assumed Rohan was fine with everything, and Rohan still hasn't figured it out yet. But there's a growing current of hostility as Rohan 'allows' this to continue, and suddenly...

... Rohan starts whining and complaining about how much attention Angus is giving everyone else.

 

I can't decide what's more dramatic: Angus figuring it out, or Rohan figuring it out first. I think the second one would be, though. 👀 I must, 'cause all the sourness that be coming from Rohan after that was basically my Nine to Go fic.

 

God, I need to write something soon.

Part 2

@canadamoose86 (Link to post)

I have thoughts...so many thoughts.

So as I said, I am officially on board with angus and Rohan having something going on that's more than friendship. And some of this I see similarly to you, but other bits are super different.

My thoughts are, Rohan...he has no idea. He is doing what "guys" do. All of Rohan's knowledge of the world and socialization came from Angus, so it is largely skewed. It is what Angus wanted Rohan to know, and in a way, what Angus idealized and decided would be best for Rohan. It probably started fairly innocently, with Rohan asking what it's like to kiss a girl and Angus laughing that "if you don't know already, it's gonna be very unfortunate when the time comes." And since Rohan is insecure about stuff like that, Angus would be like "it's fine, I'll show you." No big deal, they're friends, they're both straight, no harm no foul. So they'd "practice" and eventually it would just become a thing they did.

And that's where Angus "dumb" comes in. Because he would convince himself that even though he knows this is not a thing that other "friends " are doing, it's fun and it's not hurting anyone, least of all Rohan, who seems to initiate more often than not. And he would convince himself that it doesn't mean anything, they're just friends. Besides, Rohan is eternally in love with Deirdre, and Angus is for sure into girls...this is just meaningless fun. Rohan has questions and is curious, and who is Angus to stop Rohan having any kind of knowledge or experience?

But if anyone ever asked Angus if he was into dudes, the answer would be a resounding NO. As much as Angus puts an air of not giving a shit what anybody thinks of him, he DEEPLY GIVES A SHIT. He gives all the shits. So if he did have an inkling that he was into dudes, he would repress the hell out of it so far down and put all that extra pent up energy into chasing girls. And secretly Rohan, which he could argue was not a physical attraction and purely a "well I was here and he was here and he had a question and I had an answer."

So does that mean he is into Rohan? Again, NO. Rohan's his brother and that's just weird. Besides, sex is just sex, it doesn't have to mean anything. And when it does mean things, it complicates things, and that is the opposite of any goal Angus has ever had. Uncomplicated is easy. Easy is good. Easy is fun.

Now, would Angus voice any of this to Rohan? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Because Rohan gets attached. He is essentially already a barnacle, and that's hard enough to deal with as is. The platonic barnacle is already a pain in the arse. And Rohan, despite being dumb, is an over-thinker. If the notion of being "more than friends" was ever presented as an option, Rohan would cling to it and never let go. He would need answers. He would need to know exactly what every little interaction meant. He would need to know that everything he gave to this "more than friends" arrangement was everything that Angus wanted and needed. And Angus does not want Rohan to be everything he wants and needs. No way in hell. That's confining and constricting and Rohan would want commitment and monogamy and that is the last thing Angus wants to consider, especially with Rohan the barnacle.

So Angus has carefully crafted the scenario (possibly even subconsciously) that he and Rohan are just practicing and having fun. And he'd have told Rohan that's what best friends do, but we don't mention it to other people because it's private. If Rohan wouldn't want everyone to hear about his private thoughts of Deirdre, they wouldn't want to hear about him practicing with Angus either, would they?

And Rohan...poor dumb Rohan, would believe this. Because Angus has never steered him wrong before, at least not socially. And practice has made things better. Way better. To the point that when he finally gets the balls to kiss Deirdre, it's gonna be great,, and he has Angus to thank for that. Good thing he has such a good friend who was willing to help him and not be useless.

Would Rohan have any inkling that he is very much into Angus? No, I don't think he would. Rohan is oblivious to most things that don't directly involve him. He is sweet and naive and endearing. As far as he knows, boys and girls go together. Boys and boys are friends. So does he love Angus? Sure, but that's not how the world works, so it's friend love, obviously. But if someone (*cough*Ivar*cough*) actually told him that, uh yeah Rohan, sometimes guys are into guys...then that's it. The bubble bursts. Angus can no longer have Rohan as a casual-passing-the-time-definitely-not-a-boyfriend-but-we-just-make-out-sometimes arrangement. Because the second Rohan sees Angus as a viable option romantically, he is ALL IN.

And that's when we get to your Nine to Go fic. The cling happens. The inability to breathe happens. The "I love you forever, don't ever leave me" happens. The panic happens. And it all blows up in everyone's faces.

Part 3

Tartra

I love this 💖

 

Just at a sheer conceptual level, it's great because - like I said - it feels like I make Rohan too inexplicably dumb compared to Angus, when they're both dumb. So as much as I love the idea that Angus freely flirts with anything that moves, I dearly enjoy the thought of him having to struggle with the idea that he might be into guys at all, let alone someone he's grown up with, let alone that guy being Rohan.

It's a perfect balance: he's smart enough to notice something's happening, but his first instinct is to go, "NO NO NO NO NO NO" and shut that all down and get suuuuper invested in girls. It's to prove to himself that he's got nothing special or complicated to think about (👀), and as a bonus, it keeps Rohan in line, because Angus isn't advertising that 'boys can like boys uwu' and putting ideas in his head. Win/win, as far as he's concerned. Which is zero, because he has nothing to be concerned about, everything is totally as simple and easy as everyone else, and that's why it's fine that he and Rohan have something they can do with each other for educational purposes. And boredom purposes. And if Rohan's gonna initiate anyway, who is Angus to turn that down? But all of that is within the context that everything is very simple and easy.

 

Which brings me to Ivar. 👀

 

I had a fic that never got off the ground (obviously) where Ivar and Rohan were on a walk, and Ivar was explaining to Rohan that - in his kingdom - he had two uncles that had a very welcomed relationship with each other. And he's hinting at it, and Rohan's going, "?? that's nice," until Ivar gets fed up and outright asks if that's anything like what Rohan and Angus are up to.

To me, I think Ivar would be the one to mention it to Rohan. As an outsider from a land that probably has different customs, and enough dictated by tradition that so long as you 'meet the minimum' of producing an heir, no one really worries about the "frivolities" around the central marriage, he's trying to gauge how much of a culture clash is happening.

I figure he'd talk about it in general terms to Deirdre, who might not have any examples to share. I'm torn about whether she'd be confused by the idea; maybe, only because I think 'save yourself for marriage' was happening around that time too, so sex for anything except babies wasn't a general part of her education. And in such an unstable environment, the focus would be on having an heir just to maintain the status quo. So sex isn't going to be sold as something fun for a princess of Kells. Ivar, who once got told his kingdom was being attacked and was surprised wasn't being quickly repelled, likely has a more relaxed environment for their nobility to hang around in and learn about themselves.

Okay - so, noted, Deirdre isn't helpful. With how observant Ivar is, he's not going to need to take long enough for Garrett to show up to get his thoughts (I haven't decided what Garrett would think 🤔). So he's going to have to ask someone else he can trust, and there's only two other people on the list.

👀 I know he'd go to Rohan eventually. But I don't know if he'd go to Angus first.

 

In my version, yeah, Ivar could do that and Angus would 😑 at him and explain it away.

 

But in your version...! 👀💖

Angus would deny it. But he's not as clueless as Rohan, so he wouldn't just be confused. He'd insist. He'd get defensive. I don't know if he'd panic by firing back with something or try to laugh it off like he did when Ivar tried stealing the wish, but Angus would be wriggling out of the conversation as fast as he could. Since Ivar left the "wish for my chalice" conversation thinking Angus would do it, I think Angus could throw him off the trail again. But now Angus knows that Ivar's running around, asking about this. Not only does he not want to have to examine the situation any more than he has to, Angus can outright expect Ivar to go to Rohan with this, too.

So I wonder if Angus would try getting to Rohan before Ivar does. 🤔 However it's spun - that Ivar's being funny or nosy or rude - is still going to put a question in Rohan's head: "... Isn't that what we do? Why would Ivar be asking about that?" Unless Angus tries to make Ivar sound ridiculous, and tells Rohan that Ivar's asking if they're madly in love, since they live together and are just so close. I could see Rohan joining in to laugh about that.

... But the problem there is that Rohan would then - thinking it's a funny misunderstanding - mention it to Ivar. Maybe even ask how in the world Ivar came up with that suggestion. That gives Ivar the unfortunately perfect opportunity to lay out his entire case to Rohan, who's clueless enough to be open-minded to hearing Ivar's take, and dumb enough to not panic and shut everything down once he realizes Ivar's making some... oddly convincing arguments...

 

I'm picturing Rohan, pondering this in complete concentration (over-thinking it 💖), goes back to the hut to talk about it with Angus again. Angus tries to laugh it off, but Rohan - thinking he just doesn't understand what Ivar was saying - defends it and very patiently guides Angus to the more and more plausible-sounding answer. I don't know how far that's going to get before Angus storms out, sick of hearing Rohan 'taking this seriously' and 'needing to leave before Rohan makes out with him for real', but all that'll do is give an extremely quiet hut to continue over-thinking in. And Rohan will. By dawn, he's got a bunch of questions he wants to bounce off of Ivar, and he's full-steam ahead on 'figuring this out'.

Omg, that suuuuuck for Angus 🤩 Having the guy be into men already makes it feel like easy-mode now. Having him try to repress everything, just for the half of the equation to be actively on-board with what Ivar was saying? How's Angus supposed to control the situation from spiralling when he can't even talk about it? 🤩💖💖💖💖💖

 

AHHHH - I love it!! That's so much more difficult! It's flipped the whole thing into a lose/lose, because either Angus refuses to hear it and purposely pulls back so 'no one has any reason to think anything like that anymore' (breaking Rohan's heart as a friend and as a what-is-your-deal-guys), or he allows Rohan to explain it to him... and gets barnacled by Rohan that way. 🫠

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 THERE'S NO ESCAPING IT 💖💖💖💖💖💖 When Rohan thinks something's a good idea, it's just a matter of time until everyone agrees or he makes it everyone's problem, and that's a noose around Angus' neck if there's ever been one

 

And all of that is before we even get into Rohan's guaranteed crisis over Angus resisting and shutting down. That would be all the proof he needs that he hasn't been doing this right, he's screwed it all up, he's never been good for Angus, he couldn't even care for his best friend as a friend, and how could he do this to someone who's taken care of him his whole life?

The king's going to look at everyone a week later and be like, "What the hell did you all do now 😭"

 

Btw, this?

he'd have told Rohan that's what best friends do, but we don't mention it to other people because it's private. If Rohan wouldn't want everyone to hear about his private thoughts of Deirdre, they wouldn't want to hear about him practicing with Angus either, would they?

I love this. 😍

Part 4

@canadamoose86 (Link to post)

See how much more angst we can cause, just by forcing one guy into a closet? XD

This is why I was never particularly on board with Angus openly flirting with other guys. Because if he's gonna be with a guy, it's gotta be Rohan. But that's so not the image that Angus has painstakingly curated for himself...he is supposed to be the clever, suave, funny best friend who winks at pretty girls that Rohan fails to notice and rides the coattails of the competent.

I think the thing that really does it for me is that if someone told Rohan that guys could like guys, Rohan would be all over it. He'd go through his usual over-thinking/brooding phase that would last a few days, and then he'd have his Eureka! moment and be like "well obviously I'm destined to be with Angus forever and ever, we were never brothers, we are friends for LIFE, it is meant to be!" That would be the end of Rohan's questioning. His sexuality would no longer be up for debate beyond "well, I find Deirdre hot, and also I find Angus hot, so I guess I am into those two people."

Whereas if Angus allowed himself to recognize that he finds Rohan hot, he would then be forced to confront the fact that ACTUALLY, in addition to all of the girls he's been flirting with, he is probably interested in a whole host of other people, which is not as socially acceptable (certainly in medieval Ireland), and then there is the whole WHO AM I REALLY AS A PERSON IF NOT THE CLEVER, SUAVE, FUNNY BEST FRIEND WHO WINKS AT PRETTY GIRLS THAT ROHAN FAILS TO NOTICE AND RIDES THE COATTAILS OF THE COMPETENT?!

But the line that you focused on in Nine to Go ("not exactly my type") is perfect. Because they are exactly each others' type, which is why they've lived together and been with each other for so damn long. But being together would mean Angus accepting the whole barnacle thing (which I imagine he has been trying to shake off for over a decade) and Rohan would have to accept that his barnacle ways inherently piss off Angus. Plus Angus would feel horrible for not committing to anything monogamous with Rohan because Angus' whole thing is "do whatever it takes to make Rohan happy, including making myself miserable," which is something he could never manage longterm, and Rohan would never realize just how much Angus would struggle to actually attempt the kind of relationship Rohan wants.

I am with you that Ivar would be the one to bring it up. And Angus would absolutely try and find Rohan first and then overcompensate by making a joke of it. But Rohan would eventually figure it out in one of his brooding sessions. I'd imagine Angus would go find Ivar and effectively blow up at him, being all "Wtf did you do?! It was exactly as it should be. We were both happy. It didn't need to change. Now look what you did, they only way I could get Rohan to stop ugly crying was to let him barnacle himself to me and now I'm in a fucking committed relationship with a dude and istg if someone finds out I like dudes I'm gonna kick your ass :("

Part 5

Tartra

This has opened up a whole new world for me

I've gotta think about this - so many new scenarios are there now

Part 6

Tartra

👁️👄👁️ Oh my God, Angus is gonna lose his shit when Rohan finally kisses Deirdre, and it's exactly like how they practiced. Full-on "I'm leaving Ireland, fuck this place, I mean obviously Rohan's still my friend but he's clearly got what he was after now that he's with his precious princess - who is also my friend, but I don't have to explain myself, I'm just gonna go."

 

Meanwhile Rohan - two minutes into making out with Deirdre - is thinking, "🤔 When we get married, I'll have two castles. Deirdre and me will live in Kells, so I suppose Angus'll have to get used to living with me in Temra. Oh, he's gonna hate that. 😞 But he'll adjust. Guhh princess smell gud"

 

... and deirdre's like, "there's a lot of biting happening rn 🤔"

Part 7

Tartra

@canadamoose86-blog Ideas 👀💖

 

I'm thinking of that moment in the relatively immediate aftermath of the bubble bursting. Angus stormed off already, but he's come back. Rohan was in a frenzy of excitement, but he's reined in it. That's the agreement: Angus will stay and even let Rohan quietly consider the idea, but it has to be quiet and he has to leave Angus out of it.

Rohan agrees, because he wants his friend back, but also because he's glued himself to thinking this is a wonderful development and doesn't want Angus missing out on it. This probably feels like some other, low-stakes time when they were kids, where Angus kept turning his nose up at something that Rohan kept promising would be fun, until Angus finally gave it a try and loved it too. In Rohan's mind, it's simply more of that. And since he looks back on those moments so fondly, he's already treating this moment fondly, taking all of Angus' bristled discomfort and focus on ignoring Rohan's giddy mood and treating it as another memory they'll cherish. It's inevitable.

 

Angus is not happy. He is not enjoying this. He's like a rabbit that'd just been hunted through a forest by a dog for hours, and now he's had to go home to his little rabbit hutch and share it with that dog like nothing had happened and had no chance of happening again, or it'd piss the dog off.

He's trying to make supper. It's not even his turn to do it, but he wants to distract himself. He's at the table, chopping something up, and looking purposely at his hands. But he can feel Rohan on the other side, staring with that stupid, blissful, giddy grin Angus' told him four times already to stop doing, and the panic is boiling into rage.

 

Rohan's cheerier than he'd ever been. He's supposed to be helping, but he's got his cheek on his hand, and he's watching Angus do that 'I'm ignoring you because you're annoying me' routine. It's the one where they eventually look at each other and grin at how long this is going on for, before returning to their little act because Rohan is annoying Angus, but it's nothing serious.

Within that playfulness, there's a growing note of serious reflection. Angus sitting still gives Rohan a chance to study him under this new glow. Everything - from how Angus holds knives in a way that's braced to flip them from a tool to a weapon, to how he picks up the chopped chunks to set them aside instead of struggling to slide them with too small of a blade, to how precise and uniform the cubes from the middle are but how the bits at the end are left in whatever shape they get - has new a meaning, waiting to be unearthed. Things that used to be ordinary are suddenly important and uniquely Angus, and Rohan lets himself get lost in trying to memorize it all again.

 

Angus decides "he can't do this" three separate times, but it's definitely on the third time where he actually bolts to leave again. That snaps Rohan out of it enough to jump up too, and he plants himself in front of Angus, swearing he'll stop staring. He won't even sit at the table. He'll just be on his bed and quiet.

It's slow, but Angus agrees.

All while he's chopping something else, he feels two eyes stabbing into his head and all over his hands.

So he goes to bolt again. This time, Rohan promises to just sit outside. The humour in it has gone, because it's clicked that Angus is not handling this well - and is getting more aggressive about it, in the way he always gets when he's been cornered, and while Rohan can't help the nearly reflexive warmth of fondness over that as well, he wants to keep the peace for more than one meal. Which they haven't even finished making yet.

Except the moment Rohan sits outside, Angus feels sick with guilt. It's his fault this happened, 'cause if he'd been more careful about what they were doing, Ivar wouldn't've noticed. Now his best friend is punishing himself by self-exiling, and Angus knows how sad Rohan's going to be after, so that's two new problems he's made for them both 'cause he couldn't guess that sticking their tongues down each others' throats - as friends, having practice -was going to have a consequence. This was how all the trouble around him always started, and here he was, letting Rohan suffer.

 

Angus stops trying to make any food. He just goes to bed.

He'll wake up a few hours later to the smell of something cooked, and roll over to look at Rohan having put an entirely different meal together, as if Angus had kicked him so hard that Rohan wasn't even allowed to finish making what was still chopped up on the table. And Rohan's doing that obnoxious thing where he keeps taking glances at Angus' direction, trying to silently catch a sign that "Angus has forgiven him" and he's allowed to bound over and be friends again. Usually, Angus gives Rohan that sign right away, especially if it means they can eat. But now, it's not about being friends again, is it? Yet if Angus ignores this and goes back to sleep, Rohan's going to go from 'kicked' to 'shattered', and the longer it takes and more Rohan's waiting for Angus to even react to there being food, the more fragile the mighty Draganta is getting.

So to keep the peace, even for just one meal, Angus swallows the bile he's got in his mouth, sits up, and goes to the table to eat. Rohan's clearly exhausted with relief enough to let it happen in silence, meaning Angus avoided the worst of how this could go for now.

After that, he goes back to sleep. He made a feeble attempt at putting the food away, enough for Rohan to notice the effort and let Angus leave without finishing it. Good. See? He can control a situation, which is further proof that this was Angus' failure at leading Rohan through the thoughts in his head.

 

And that's day one. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Part 8

@canadamoose86 (Link to post)

There is just so much to work with. Because once Angus recognizes that maybe he has a thing for Rohan, it opens up the fact that he might have unwittingly had a thing for Rohan for YEARS. So how many decisions has he made purely because he has a thing for Rohan? Maybe he has hidden potential. Maybe he could've been really great at something, but he always made himself stay small so that he could stay in Rohan's shadow because then Rohan would need him there. Maybe he shouldn't even be in Kells at all because what if there is something better out there that he never sought out because there was always the tiniest chance that Rohan wanted him back?

But then does Angus even want Rohan? Or does he just have a thing for him? Because he's been accepting the baby-duck clinging for over a decade now, so maybe it's actually what he wants. But it's not because he gets bored and irritable when he doesn't find new people and new things. But maybe he only wants new people and new things because he won't fully accept Rohan. But if he tries it and it turns out that actually, he doesn't want Rohan to be a cling and he wants more than that, he can't tell Rohan that because that would break Rohan's sweet endearing little heart. And that's just not going to happen.

So maybe Angus isn't just into Rohan. Maybe he's into dudes. Oh shit. Is he into Garrett? Is he into Ivar? IS HE INTO CATHBAD? No. He is not, Cathbad is very old. But maybe Ivar and Garrett. But maybe that's why he's always enjoyed a butt/boob pat from fellow men. He always thought it was camaraderie, but maybe it's not. Maybe his whole understanding of life is a lie.

Oh god, Rohan's still staring at him. Look away. Look away. He's not looking way. Leaving the room with some form of excuse. Walking to the river. Wink at lady. Wave at man.

Huh. Why did I wink at the lady and wave at the man? Was the man less attractive than the lady? No. He was alright. But not his type. But he has similar hair to Rohan and a similar shape to Rohan and blue eyes like Rohan. But he wasn't Rohan. AHA! It's not men, it's Rohan. Still, lady was hot. But so's Rohan. STOP THINKING ABOUT ROHAN.

Holy shit, is this what it's like to be Aideen? No, she doesn't have other attractions. Is this what it's like to be Deirdre? She totally has other attractions. She touched my arse the other day, so pretty sure she's got other attractions...not that I can do anything about it because of FREAKING ROHAN. Hang on, if Rohan wants to fuck me, that means he's not exclusive with Deirdre. Which means...can I be not exclusive with Deirdre? See this opens up a whole new thing here. Except she probably doesn't want that. Except she's the one that put her hand on my arse, so...I could bring it up. But talking about it seems weird. Better to just...do it and grovel later. Right? That's gotta be the best option here.

Oh shit, Rohan's baby-ducking again. Fucking hell, less than thirty seconds and here he is. Yeah, this is definitely not what I want. I want privacy. I want time to myself. I want to sleep with other people. I want-OH HEY ROHAN yeah sure we can go hang out in the hut and do "best friend" stuff.

Fuck. Istg I had the brain cell today. Oh wait. The brain cell has just gone south. Gotcha.

Part 9

Tartra

👀 I'm back

And I've been flipping the whole scenario around in my head.

 

So at the start of this, I was saying how I pictured Rohan having no idea, enjoying his Best Friend™ perks with Angus as a sign that they were really good best friends, and that Angus was playing 'keep away' with how uhhhhhh hey rohan, this isn't technically how best friends are. Because my base assumption for the scene was that Angus always knew what was going on, acknowledged, was fine with it, and was keeping Rohan from going into crisis mode - or worse, proposing.

 

But now I'm thinking, "What if they're both stupid (and they are), neither of them noticed they had something more unique, but when Ivar lets it slip to Rohan, it's Rohan playing keep away with Angus?"

 

The main detail in this is that Angus has somehow grown up not putting any stock into how much closer he is to Rohan than any other kids seem to be. He's the one who actually has friends outside of the group, and he's been the one chasing after ladies, so he 'should know' what's going on.

I started working in my other headcanon about Rohan being bullied. Those kids were way too willing to pay to throw rocks at him, and Rohan's the 'weird kid' even among the Mystic Knights. So I could see those kids making fun of Rohan for this - and Angus, because, "Haha you're always jumping in for him, are you his mom or his girlfriend."

Rohan and Angus would take that as kids being cruel assholes. At that age, if Angus had a 'normal' girlfriend, they'd be making fun of him for that too. So it comes off as the latest of many random things those kids made up to be bullies, and Angus grew up treating it as like that: reassure Rohan, say they're still friends, tell Rohan to ignore all of it, and lead by that example.

Since they've been in Kells for at least ten years, and Rohan's been somewhat cordoned off tending to his apprentice duties, it's easier and easier to see it as just a long-running joke among the village. Angus goes to the tavern and it's the usual, "Harr harr, where's your wife, too busy with the druid to come" riffing, which comes off now as, "We can't believe you two are still best friends after so long. Rohan was so weird. Remember that? And he still takes up a lot of your time - you're always complaining about having to clean up after him or get him out of trouble."

I see Angus having learned to go from, "Fuck off or I'll stab you" as a kid to "He's not weird, he's just different" as he got to be a teen (and Rohan was still clinging), and then to "aw if i'm a married woman now, does it mean i can't cuddle your wife anymore? 🥺" as an adult. Y'know, just getting in on everything and shaking it off, fully aware he'll go back to the hut afterwards and cuddle with Rohan. As buddies, naturally. No, Angus doesn't cuddle with his other buddies (their wives, though 👀), but that's because Rohan is different, like he's been telling everyone since they were children. Of course Angus treats him differently, too. Rohan's a sensitive soul, and it's not killing anyone to make him happy by being that close.

... okay technically, as Rohan got bigger, it did start crushing Angus a bit. But Angus got strong enough to handle that, too. "As any good mother would," his asshole friends often said.

 

Then there's what you said about it: "Rohan had a question, Angus had an answer" - there's not much more to it. If they had ever second-guesed what was happening, they've long since stopped by now. Angus has, at least.

 

Skip ahead: Ivar talks to Rohan, Rohan broods for a few days in thought about it, then decides... yeah. Okay. :) That makes sense. This would absolutely explain why it always felt unique. And honestly? It's a relief. In his head, he'd always assumed love - since that's what this is, he decides - was supposed to be better than what he had for a regular friend. Even more than a best friend. He'd been so worried he would never find that. Deirdre, as wonderful and beautiful as she was, and as nervous and brave as she made him feel... never felt like... 'more', exactly, than what he already felt for Angus. If Deirdre wasn't enough, what hope did he have? He'd tried to say it was from Deirdre being royalty, but spending time with her as a Mystic Knight had surely bridged the gap as warriors.

But the answer was in front of him the whole time: it felt the same for them, because he felt the same for them. Well, in different ways. But in the same way. He's still wrapping his head around the best way of describing it.

That's exactly why he's not running off to tell either of them about it. Deirdre was the princess, and betrothed, so he'd better have his head on right before he mentioned this. That wasn't so hard, though. Deirdre was also a girl, and there were things they mutually understood boys - men - didn't tell to girls. He could have his secrets around her. She didn't usually pry, assuming Angus would handle anything on Rohan's mind and get back to rest of them with a report.

Angus was the problem. Angus expected Rohan to tell him everything, because Rohan always did. So being too quiet in the hut for too long would attract attention, and Angus would pry, incessantly, because for all the jokes he'd heard villagers make, there was some truth to Angus being a wife about things. :/ And with how panicky Angus got whenever there was something new...

Rohan didn't want to cause problems. He would figure it out, have an answer for what he wanted, and then he and Angus could discuss it. He had ideas already.

 

So Rohan thinks everything over. And because Angus has no idea what's going on, Angus isn't changing his behaviour. That means Rohan gets to see his best friend in his normal habits, but under a new light of appreciation. It's nice! Plus it's so completely comfortable. The nervousness he had around Deirdre wasn't in the air with Angus. They knew each other too well, filling in whatever the other meant to say, and that familiarity has bred such fondness in what had always been simple things.

He tries the idea a bit. Secretly. He wasn't ready to bring a bouquet, but he could do little favours. They were already sharpening a sword, so why fix up Angus' knife? He was already hunting, so why not stay out and forage for a while as well? He knew what nights were colder nights, since he had been a druid's apprentice (and had lived outside for a number of years before that), so he'd bring in more wood for a fire and light it earlier.

... But it wasn't as a favour. He wanted a reaction. Rohan needed to test things in this new way to see if he liked it, so he made a mention of these acts each time.

"Cleaned the hut for you."

"Fixed that spot on the floor for you."

"Did the laundry for you."

All right, he shouldn't've tried that one. But Angus - for each of them, including the laundry - was pleased by the thought. For the others, he was also pleased by the action.

Sure enough, the equally pleased "thanks" after every one gave Rohan the same feeling he got when Deirdre praised him as well. So those were more facts to consider. And more came as he tried different things, keeping Angus on his toes about it so his friend wouldn't see it coming and start to get bored. It was important that Angus noticed the effort, or there'd be no "thanks" to inhale.

 

Angus just thinks Rohan's being weird again.

¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

If the guy wants to do chores, do them. And if whatever's gotten into him is only making Rohan be nice, then what's Angus got to complain about?

Yes, he did want dinner waiting when he got back.

Yes, he was sick of snagging his sleeve on that shelf they swore at, but never got around to shaving down before they forgot.

Yes, he was cold, and he wanted a second blanket, and if that prize came with an entire Mystic Knight of Fire, he'd happily take that. And Rohan squeezing up against him was Rohan being Rohan.

Yes, his shoulder did hurt, who knew that was the cost of swinging a mace around, and he'd be whining to have it tended to regardless. Not normally from Rohan, since his friend's grip was a coin flip between 'fragile' and 'oops that was your bone,' but Rohan was insisting Angus stay instead of finding the particular lady he liked to bother (she thought Angus was charming 😏 and she could huck a bear with one arm while tending to a lamb with the other). Rohan was determined to learn how to do it, in fact. Angus had to admit, all that swordsmanship meant better control of his strength, and this was practice Angus was perfectly willing to pay attention to.

And no, he didn't mind that Rohan was being oddly close to him. Or that whenever Angus sat down, Rohan would be leaning on him or laying his head in Angus' lap. Or that whenever Rohan sat down, he was insisting Angus do the same. It was nice - enthusiastic, as usual. Rohan always was. It didn't hurt to do it, even if it was a minor interruption. Rohan had always been clingy, and maybe there was something else going on.

 

... It did make Angus less inclined to joke back about Rohan being his wife. The little bits he'd shared at first, about Rohan cooking his meals and doing his laundry (🫠), got great laughs from the boys. And then they went into how Angus must've enjoyed trading who the wife was for once, and if that meant something 'new' was happening over in the mighty Draganta's hut.

First, Angus put the record straight on who'd be wife'ing who.

Second, nothing was different. Rohan was being more generous then usual, and probably trying to get some flowers out of it. And by 'flowers,' it'd be permission for hunting down a six-headed bear or something.

Third...

Rohan was doing a lot for him. But Angus saw the looks of interest going over to Deirdre when she didn't notice. This was practice. That's all it was. Which was exciting, really, because it gave some hope that Rohan was planning to man up and give it a shot.

🤔

Come to think of it, that would make Angus the practice-wife.

Well, he didn't say that part out loud. But the others did see him stop before he'd explained his third point, and howled at knowing Angus didn't have a defence. They joked, they slapped his shoulders, they drank, they had a good night (maybe one more slap on the butt to send him home).

 

Rohan asked him where he'd been that evening.

Angus slurred an answer before he landed in his cot.

Rohan moved Angus to Rohan's cot, like he'd been insisting on lately, and pressed for some details in what sounded like curiosity.

The morning after, while Angus was busy being sick, Rohan turned over every detail Angus naïvely offered, asking a thousand questions about what Angus would want in his wife. And - really, Angus was happy to give an answer. Rohan seemed to need to know. Probably to figure out how things would work with Deirdre. Only Deirdre was a princess, Rohan was spinning the question weird, and Angus had to slap him on the leg to get him to go find flowers or whatever got Rohan out of the hut so Angus could rot in peace.

Rohan came back with a bouquet.

Very cute. Angus said Deirdre would like it.

Rohan was quiet after this, which was the blessed state Angus had been asking for all day.

 

Angus had to roll himself out from under Rohan again so he could sleep in his own damn cot.

At least when he had to do it for the second time, taking Rohan's newly emptied one, Rohan took the message for what it was and stayed put.

 

Just before Angus lost the last of his patience, scrambling to tell his best friend off for being so fucking helpful every second, Rohan backed away. It all stopped. Not even in a sulking way. The spell had simply broken, and Angus could breathe again. It'd been weeks, and it came close, but it hadn't boiled over.

... Then a few days passed, and right as Angus let his guard down, Rohan started laying his hand on Angus' for no reason but to have it there. Some patience had returned, so Angus didn't snap, but he did sloooooowly start to pull his hand away and -

Sulking.

Instantly.

Angus even tried to put his hand back, but Rohan wasn't having it since the 'moment had gone'.

 

On this goes - and on Rohan's side, he's trying to find the new way through Angus' armour (Btw, the literal version is probably still going on just fine. Angus is always a-ok with being smothered in that sense 👍🏽). Favours could only go so far before Angus got bored of them. Only so many gifts would register as such in Angus' mind. Being close wasn't a problem most times, and Rohan had been the most hopeful for that. But the problem with Rohan wanting this was that Angus didn't understand why, and it was still too soon to discuss it. Rohan had to prove this could be safe and enjoyable, and that Angus would get something out of it, or he would never take this conversation seriously.

Rohan just needed to put the idea in Angus' head without Angus knowing it was happening. Then, once they were both convinced that this was all so obvious, they could talk.

This would all be normal for them.

 

Then from there, I'm thinking it hooks back up to what you said about Angus having his own crisis. Either Ivar's going to tell him, someone's joke is going to eventually connect the dots, or Rohan's going to be so pushy about getting close to Angus that it's impossible to miss the very, very, veeeeeery slow connection that, "fml were all those kids growing up - uh... right? about how - uh, different Rohan is?" Of course not, because those kids were assholes, but the innocence of their Best Friend sessions suddenly changed into having more an agenda. Once Angus notices, he can't stop himself from noticing everything else. He's not gonna tell Rohan that, though, because maybe the guy legitimately didn't realize. Angus doesn't want to be the one making it weird.

And it's not hurting anyone.

And now he's wondering why he's defending it.

And he's wondering if he's enjoying it more than he lets on - their main practice, not this other behaviour that's sprung up.

And then he's wondering if it's been that way for ages longer than he realized, and why he was so quick to go along with giving Rohan all those endless 'answers,' and why he was still willing to go along with giving those lessons even today.

Then he has his crisis.

 

Meanwhile Rohan's trying to double down on his approach so hard that he's actually asked Deirdre what she looks for in a husband, nervousness gone. Since it's about Angus now, you see, so there's no reason to be nervous. He's not asking how to be her husband specifically. But... well, now that the thought's in his head, he could ask that. Nervousness returned.

 

It's just a really, beautiful, sloppy mess, because not only does Angus have to panic over what this means for himself, the absolute nightmare it would be if anyone in the village caught even the faintest word of it (because only now does mouth-sparring with his bestie risk ego-death), what the hell it means for Rohan to act like that towards him, how long any of this has actually 'been happening,' and all of that's going to explode when he learns Rohan knew and was doing this on purpose.

The betrayal, the rage, the humiliation, the complete break-up - I love it 😍

 

The only thing that would make it better is if Rohan somehow managed to ask he what Deirdre liked in a man for Angus' sake, and for Deirdre to go, "👀 oh. well. i mean there's a lot to get past, but when you're at the core of who he is -" and then the two of them 😭 start agreeing 😭 on what they like about Angus 😭 as a potential husband 😭😭

They're agreeing about it AS FRIENDS, of course, HAHAHA don't take it seriously!!!! Deirdre's a princess anyway and obviously Rohan's only speaking on behalf of whatever bear-hurler Angus caught in his sneaky, snakey web.

But so long as they agreeing, here's theoretically what they would agree on... 👀

 

Also:

R: 🥺👉👈 what would you want in a wife

A: 😵‍💫 idk. teeth?

A: wait

A: 🤔

A: 🤔

A: 🤔

A: no teeth

A: 🤔

A: 🤔

A: one tooth

A: a nice one

R: 🥺⚒️ which one would be your favourite?

 

Also also:

R: 🙂‍↕️ I would love to make an honest man of you.

A: I'm already honest.

A: I passed a test for it and everything.

A: That's where I got my mace.

R: 🥺 is that a yes

Part 10

@canadamoose86 (Link to post)

Oh no @tartrazeen you have made me think further on this. Another ramble.

Ooh, interesting! Weirdly it never occurred to me that Rohan could be the one who figured something out. This is probably entirely unfair to Rohan, as even a broken clock is right twice a day, but maybe I'm not giving him enough credit for the emotional maturity and self-awareness he does have.

Lol.

Rohan having emotional maturity and self-awareness. Still, there's got to be some there, otherwise the whole thing about Rohan's Doubt and the limited belief in his abilities wouldn't have been a sticking point that was actually worsened and resolved (to an extent).

Honestly, the happiest ending for the whole scenario of the two of them having a thing for each other (which they clearly do) would be that both of them remain completely ignorant forever and live the rest of their lives blissfully unaware that their relationship is neither familial nor platonic. It just stays as is with Rohan coming out of his shell because Angus makes him laugh and actually talk to people, Angus having actual respect because Rohan insists that Angus is worth respecting, Rohan continuing to thrive and survive as an adult human because Angus handles all of the necessary life skills that Rohan lacks, and Angus has a roof over his head that doesn't have bars on the door because Rohan wouldn't have it any other way.

Assuming the whole Deirdre and Rohan thing works out out, there is the whole issue of Deirdre needing to remain in Kells to run a kingdom once Conchobar inevitably gets assassinated (he is very hands-on with his swordplay and has zero ability to judge character adequately), and Rohan needing to live in Temra to run a kingdom because its evil Queen has been banished from the isles and Lugad certainly isn't human or, frankly, smart enough to be King. Poor Lugad, not even meeting Rohan levels of smart. But that's a whole other thing. So anyway, Deirdre and Rohan would not be able to live together probably 50 percent of the time. Sure, they could do 25 percent together in Kells and 25 percent together in Temra, but the remaining 50 percent they would need to actually be taking care of business and making sure the kingdoms don't collapse or die of famine or hostile takeover by dark fairies and shit...

Enter Angus. He's not gonna sit and do fuck all while his "best friend" (keeping in mind, he has no idea the quotation marks are there) goes to live in Temra with no friends or suitable advisors. And Rohan's only got a 20 percent share of the brain cell, so being King without those resources is a recipe for disaster. So Angus would go to Temra, probably without being asked, and would wind up living in the castle because Rohan would be all..."I live in the castle, so obviously Angus does too. How else could it possibly work?" And castles are drafty what with the stone and the open windows, so Rohan would need to find Angus for a cuddle at night. Except the times that Angus either isn't there because he's found some lady who is good at massaging rotator cuffs, or the times when Rohan walks in and some other maid is there or whatever and Rohan squeezes his eyes shut and blushes and exits so fast that he Kool-Aid Mans through the stone into his own room.

So they're both in Temra, and all's good. In fact, it's better because they don't actually have to share a room anymore, so Deirdre suspects nothing and Ivar suspects everything (but says nothing and just watches in vague amusement, wondering when one of them will actually figure out what's going on) and Garrett suspects that the mirrors are tarnished because they're making it look like some of his weirdly-styled hair is turning grey and that can't be right. Hooray for oblivious Rohan and Angus, who are together 50 percent of the time (less the evenings when Angus is otherwise occupied). All is well.

Now in the unlikely event that Deirdre and Rohan never admit their obvious feelings for each other and get married and live "happily ever after" as previously described (unlikely, but possible), Rohan and Angus would probably just eternally be roommates that grow old together and get talked about by villagers with a whole are they/aren't they gossip that never actually reaches Rohan's ears and never makes Angus think beyond laughing and calling someone an eejit. Or, the Temra castle scenario plays out without the 50 percent timeshare happening, and Rohan spends more time sneaking into Angus' room for cuddles (which likely has the exact same rate of success as the alternative scenario, just 100 percent of the time).

Ignorance is a complete success and the two of them can be obliviously in love and happy forever. Yay.

Now coming back to Rohan figuring it out first...that is...wow. He would absolutely be secretly trying to figure out how to be the best boyfriend ever. And he would never assume that Angus has the same feelings either, because Rohan has always been able to separate himself from Angus. Angus is in a box, and Rohan is in a box, and they are not the same, and Angus' feelings are the ones that he says he has and that's it and that's final. No nuance. As far as Rohan's concerned, Angus does not nuance. This is, of course, ridiculous because Angus is the most nuanced character in the damn show with layers upon layers of trauma, social expectation, self-consciousness, desperate desire to be wanted and liked, and an inherent desire to fulfil all vices right here, right now, while also having a surprising amount of impulse control and the ability to wait until the right moment. But I'm rambling, and tl;dr, Rohan is a fucking moron and thinks Angus has no nuance.

And Rohan would tell himself that he is just finding out how to be the ultimate best boyfriend ever so that he could use the methods on Deirdre. You're absolutely right that he would then take the focus off Deirdre in his head, and would therefore have some level of romantic success with her because he wasn't paying enough attention to be self-conscious, as Rohan has a one-track mind, and if he's thinking about Angus, he's not actively thinking about Deirdre.

My question is, how long could Rohan pull this off before Angus starts questioning it and saying "so you and Deirdre are clearly making out on the regular now, you sure seem to be barnacling to me an awful lot still." And Rohan can't keep a secret from Angus to save his life, so eventually he would get a little bit tipsy and cry and tell Angus exactly what has been going on...at which point Angus would say "that's ridiculous, this is just what best friends do. It's just like I told you." And then that night when Rohan's asleep dreaming happy stabby Rohan dreams, Angus is laying in bed being like "Fuck. No, no no, this can't be what is happening, I am into girls, fuck."

And the inevitable mental breakdown happens with all of the self-reflection and self-loathing that has been repressed and squashed down into the bottom of a barrel of ale or whiskey and then drowned in the remaining contents of that barrel. Plus there's the added bonus of Angus realizing that Rohan figured it out first, which would be hilarious to witness.

#mystic knights of tir na nog #poor dumb rohan #oblivious accidental polygamy is the only happy solution