#also do you guys like what virgil is wearing?? i made it a while ago and i'm debating using it as my simblreen gift!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

emy-loves-you · 5 years ago

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Accessories and Crushes

This is Day 1 of the TSUS Challenge: Dukexiety!

Summary: Remus buys some jewelry to make himself look good and impress his crush, Virgil. But why does he look so upset by that?

Pairings: Dukexiety, background Roceit

Word Count: 3769

Warnings: Bullying, stealing, miscommunication, implied violence, blood

"C'mon boys! You need to leave now or you'll be late!"

"Coming Mom!" Both boys called out, Roman from the bathroom and Remus from his bedroom. The green-clad twin had finished putting on his makeup and was now frowning at his reflection. Something was missing. There was some part of his style that was incomplete. It had been missing for a while now, and because of it Remus looked incomplete. Bland. Boring. And he couldn't tell what was missing. He'd tried switching out his makeup palette (Roman had so many leftover, since he liked to do his own makeup in theater. He wouldn't miss this one), he tried different outfit styles, he even tried things that he never imagined wearing like skirts and high heels, but nothing felt right. Maybe I need new accessories?

There was a knock on his door and Roman poked his head in, a lopsided grin on his face. "C'mon, we gotta go before mom kills us."

Remus scoffed, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Psh, I've been ready. I was waiting for you, prettyboy. How many hours did you spend in the bathroom this time?"

Roman made a sound that their mutual friend (and Roman's crush) Janus dubbed an 'offended Princey noise' as they walked out of their house. "First of all, low blow. You can't just use that nickname-"

Remus snorted. "Of course I can. Just not in front of Janny.” Janus had made up the nickname years ago, and Remus constantly teased Roman with it. (Honestly, Remus was halfway tempted to lock the two of them in a closet and leave them there until they either made out or beat each other up)

Roman continued as they approached the school. “Secondly, I’ll have you know that every moment I spend in that bathroom is absolutely vital to my daily routine.”

Remus smirked. “Yeah? Even the 20 minutes you spend just belting out romantic Disney songs to your reflection?”

Roman blushed but didn’t back down. “Yes.”

“Hmm, a blushing Roman. The perfect way to start my morning.” Janus suddenly slinked up behind them, throwing his arm up over Roman’s shoulder.

Roman groaned, blushing harder. “I can never tell when you’re being sarcastic and when you’re being genuine.”

Janus chuckled softly. “If you knew, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun to do.”

The bell rang and Remus groaned. “Gotta go. Catch ya later.” He quickly made his way to his first class, silently glad to be rid of the two hopeless lovebirds. He got to his class with 5 minutes to spare and was going to play on his phone and ignore everyone like he usually did when he saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eye.

On one of the student’s desk was an ornate wooden box, filled to the brim with hand-crafted jewelry. The student in question, Jacob Smith, was currently counting a large stack of cash as he waited for the bell to ring. Remus got up to look at the jewelry and he smirked. “Hey, Prince. I’m selling my sister’s hand-made jewelry. Like anything you see?”

Remus glanced down at the jewelry. There were dozens of accessories in a ton of different colors, but there were a few that caught Remus’ eye. There was a matching set of 2 bracelets, a ring, a chain necklace, a choker, and a pair of earrings. They were all a metallic dark green with black and dark purple accents. Remus looked at the prices Jacob had given the jewelry and winced. They were all super expensive, but they were also high quality and hand-crafted, so Remus wasn’t going to complain.

Jacob smirked as Remus paid for the jewelry, about to say something when the bell ringed. Remus sighed and put the jewelry away, grabbing his notebook to take notes. Even though Remus was the school’s resident ‘bad boy,’ he still liked to keep his grades up. Remus hated that he was always stereotyped as lazy and dumb. Yes, he regularly punched homophobes and transphobes. Yes, he tended to struggle in English because metaphors were bullshit. But that wasn’t his fault! There were only a handful of people that Remus wouldn’t immediately punch their teeth in for calling him dumb, and only three of them went to this school. Of course, there was Roman and Janus, but there was another person who was allowed to insult Remus, even if he never did.

Eventually, lunchtime rolled around, and Remus ignored his usual routine of vandalizing homophobic lockers to instead go put on his jewelry in the bathroom. He spent the whole 15 minutes making sure that the jewelry looked perfect and his make up was flawless. He had someone to impress, after all.

A few more hours passed and Remus was finally in his last class of the day, impatiently waiting to see his crush walk through the door. Virgil Storm, resident emo and snarky introvert. He and Remus were forced to work on an English paper together last year, and now he liked to sit next to Remus during class. Remus knew this was only so they could work together on creative writing assignments, but a part of Remus dreamed that Virgil sat next to Remus because liked Remus, not just tolerated him.

When Virgil finally walked through the door, seconds before the bell was supposed to ring, Remus barely resisted the urge to grin and wave frantically like an overexcited puppy. Instead, he gave his meat flirtatious smirk, angling his body to show off as much of his new jewelry as possible. Instead of smiling (or blushing like Remus fantasized), Virgil froze in place. He gave Remus a look that made his heart sink. He looked… betrayed? That didn’t make sense. But before Remus could get up and ask what was wrong, the bell rang and Virgil took a seat in the front of the classroom, away from Remus.

Now, most people would be able to see that Virgil was upset before he even walked into the room. They would realize that Virgil isn’t having a good day, and would give him some space until he was ready to talk to them.

Remus is not most people.

He spent the entire class staring at Virgil, several pencils snapping as he pretended to take notes. Virgil slouched forward, ignoring Remus’s gaze burning holes in his hoodie. When the class ended, Virgil practically ran out the door. Remus growled and stuffed his things into his bag, shooting a quick text to Roman.

Re- (2:21 PM) Staying after, go on without me

He turned off his phone, not waiting for a response as he stalked out the door. He knew that Virgil didn’t take the bus, and Remus had a feeling that the emo hadn’t left the school yet. He probably didn’t go to his locker, and he hated all of the teachers, which left-

Remus slammed the bathroom door open, Virgil jumping from the sudden sound. He was hovering over the sink, his face red and puffy from crying. His shock quickly morphed into anger as he glared at Remus. “What do you want? Here to rub it all in my face?”

Remus growled, ready to rip his own hair out. Or Virgil’s. He hadn’t decided yet. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Virgil barked out a laugh, and Remus ignored how beautiful Virgil looked, even when angry. “Wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?! I thought you were my friend!”

A part of Remus’ heart broke at his crush calling him just a ‘friend,’ but the rest of his heart shattered as he processed what the emo said. “Of fucking course I’m your friend!”

Virgil glared at Remus, pointing at him accusingly. “Then why the hell are you wearing those?!”

Remus looked down at his jewelry, which he had bought and put on just to impress Virgil. They had to be what he was talking about, since it was the only significant change to Remus’s normal outfit. He actually liked this jewelry a whole lot. And now his asshole crush was getting pissy about it. “What’s wrong with me wearing jewelry, huh? You got a fucking problem with it?”

Virgil growled, slamming his fist onto the countertop. “That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it, dumbass! I’m not stupid, I know where you got those!”

Remus huffed. “You got something against Jacob? I know the guy’s an asshole, but are you seriously gonna hate me for buying his little sister’s jewelry?”

Virgil froze, his hands gripping the bathroom counter like a death grip. “Little sister? So you didn’t know?”

Remus was confused, but he was still more irritated than anything. “Didn’t know what? What the fuck are you talking about?!”

Virgil stayed quiet for a moment before he started screaming. “THAT SON OF A BITCH!” He slammed his fists back on the counter, fresh tears rolling down his face.

Remus rushed forward, pinning Virgil’s wrists down so he couldn’t hurt himself. No matter how pissed he was, Remus couldn’t see his crush get hurt. “What the fuck is going on, Virgil?”

Virgil froze again, looking away. “It’s none of your business. Just leave me alone.”

Remus growled, adding pressure to Virgil’s wrists, ignoring the way he winced. “Not this time, emo. You can’t just accuse me and say we aren’t friends, then tell me to fuck off when I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” He stepped closer, not giving him any room to squirm away. “So we’re not going anywhere until you’ve told me what’s going on.” Virgil looked away, and Remus growled. “You said that we’re friends, right? Then fucking treat me like one.”

There were a few moments of silence between them before Virgil sighed looking away, mumbling. “My name’s on ‘em.”

Remus’s grip loosened, confused. “Huh?”

Virgil groaned, pulling himself out of Remus’ hold and grabbing him by the wrist, removing his bracelet with practiced ease. He showed Remus the inside of the bracelet, where V.S. was stitched into the fabric. “Jacob’s little sister’s name is Sally. That’s my name. I sewed and etched it into every product.”

Remus stared for a minute until it hit him. “Did you make these?”

Virgil blushed and nodded. “Yeah, I sell them online. They take forever to make but it’s fun and I make a good amount of money off of it.” He huffed. “I shouldn’t of brought them to school. Yesterday Jacob had found me and was be-” he coughed “was talking to me, and he found them in my backpack. Said he would sell them for me, and in exchange I wouldn’t leave with a broken nose. All of the popular kids knew that I made them, because they bought a ton and flashed it off in front of me in the hallways.” He sniffled and wiped his tears away with his hoodie sleeve. “I… I thought you knew too. I thought you were like them.”

Remus stared for a few minutes before getting out his wallet. “How much do you normally charge for these?”

Virgil sputtered. “W-what? You don’t-”

Remus growled. “I know I don’t have to. Now. How. Much. Do. You. Charge?”

Virgil rambled off the price and Remus frowned. That wasn’t even half of what Jacob had charged for them. Still, he paid the price that Virgil listed before opening a backpack and grabbing a notebook and pen. “Do you know everything that he took? And how much you usually charge for them?” Virgil nodded softly, still a little mystified. “Can you write them down? Or if you have a picture it would be helpful.”

Virgil carefully wrote them all down, giving descriptions of each piece of jewelry and their worth. Remus nearly growled when he read the list. Virgil was missing almost $200 worth of jewelry, and based on Jacob’s prices, the asshole was going to make at least a $500 profit from all of this.

Remus took back his notebook and put it away, giving his crush one last look. “I promise I didn’t know about any of this, but now I’m going to fix it. Here,” he grabbed Virgil’s wrist and scribbled something on the back of his hand “here’s my number. If those assholes try something like this again, give me a call and I’ll go punch their teeth in.”

Virgil looked away. “You don’t have to…”

Remus chuckled. “Punch their teeth in? It’s kind of my signature move by this point. It would be a shame if I didn’t.”

The emo blushed, finding his shoelaces to be more interesting than looking Remus in the eye. “You don’t have to be so nice to me.”

Remus shook his head. “You earned my niceness, fair and square. You’re my friend, Emo. Do you know how many people get to call me that and mean it?” He snorted. “Do you know how many people get to call me a dumbass without immediately getting their bones broken? It’s a very short list.” He sauntered out of the bathroom, stopping as he reached the door. “You mean a lot to me V. And I’m gonna make these assholes pay.” He didn’t look to see Virgil’s reaction as he walked away, one goal in mind: make Jacob Smith’s life a living hell.

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Virgil went to class the next day, still in a slight state of shock. He felt numb all over, like he’d been drenched in ice water and was still dealing with the aftershocks. A lot had happened in the past 2 days, and he wanted nothing more than to lay down for a nap and not wake up until it all blew over.

Yesterday was awful. Usually Jacob just beat him up and went along his merry way, but instead he decided to ruin one of the few things that made Virgil happy. Jewelry making had been his passion for years, and seeing dozens of bullies showing him their new jewelry with a vindictive smirk, and knowing they were his but he wasn’t making a single penny, hurt him more than any punch or kick ever could.

But what hurt was seeing his only friend (and crush) sitting in the back of the room, showing off the jewelry that Virgil had specifically made with him in mind. Remus had been smirking, just like the bullies had as they flaunted off their jewelry, and Virgil had felt his heart break into a million pieces.

But that was yesterday. Today was a new day, and Virgil was wanting to crawl into a whole and never come out. Everyone would still be buying and showing off Virgil’s jewelry, some knowing where it came from, others having no idea. Jacob would probably come to beat Virgil up when he ran out of jewelry to sell, demanding more products that Virgil refused to make. He wasn’t going to spend all of his time on these products just to put money in Jacob’s pockets. And to top it all off, his friendship with Remus was probably ruined. Judging by how he acted yesterday, Remus would probably get upset if Virgil tried to distance himself again. But he was dreading the day where Remus would realize that Virgil wasn’t worth a decent English grade and tell him to fuck off.

Virgil was late to school today, so he didn’t actually realize that something was amiss until around lunch. No one had come up to Virgil to show off their jewelry, and a lot of students were staring at the emo as he walked by. When he took a closer look, he realized that the kids who had shown off their jewelry to him yesterday weren’t wearing them anymore, and some of them were sporting some nasty bruises. The ones who were wearing them were constantly staring at Virgil and… smiling? That was weird. But as Virgil sat down to eat his food another, more important question arose.

Where’s Jacob? And Remus?

His questions were answered in English class, where he overheard two students chatting as Virgil stepped in. Apparently Jacob and Remus had gotten into a fight and were now suspended. Virgil sat back in his normal spot, ignoring how the room went quiet as the ice water feeling returned with a vengeance. Remus got into a fight? Over him? That didn’t make any sense. Just the fact that Remus apologized and paid Virgil his debt for the jewelry was more than Virgil deserved. But the fact that Remus got into a fight with Jacob, because Jacob stole from Virgil, made something in his chest stutter. It made his heart race and his breath stop for a minute. Keep it cool Virgil, it��s not like someone as cool as Remus would ACTUALLY like you. His fight probably had nothing to do with me.

“Um, Virgil?” Virgil looked up at the random student next to him. Bethany, his brain half-heartedly supplied, still in a half state of shock. She was fiddling with the bracelets on her wrist, and it took Virgil a moment to realize they were his bracelets. “I-uh… I wanted to say sorry for what happened. Jacob told us he had brought those bracelets from home. We had no idea they were yours.” She pulled out her wallet. “Can I repay you for it? Or maybe buy more to make up for it?”

Virgil shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. You already had to pay a stupidly high amount to Jacob, you shouldn’t have to waste more on me. I’ll be behind for a while on money, but I’ll get back up there eventually.” He blushed. “But if you want to buy more…” He scribbled down a url on his notebook paper and handed it to Bethany. “I have a website where you can customize your jewelry. It’ll take around a month or two depending on what it is, but I’ll have it done and shipped to your address as soon as it’s done.”

She took the paper and smiled gratefully. “Thank you so much! See you later Virgil!” She went back to her gaggle of friends, showing them the website url as they took pictures and typed it into their phones. Virgil smiled softly, glad to have at least a few potential customers after this.

When class was over, Virgil quickly grabbed his stuff from his locker and walked out the door. He was making his usual journey across the football field and towards the neighborhood when a familiar figure waved in the distance. Remus was underneath one of the bleachers, a familiar box in one hand and his backpack on the ground. Virgil ran over and hissed. “What are you doing here? You’re suspended right now! If they catch you on school grounds you’ll be expelled!”

Remus chuckled. “As if that would stop me from visiting my favorite emo.” Virgil flushed and looked at the wooden box. Remus suddenly perked up as he held out the box. “I got you your stuff back!” He sounded like an overexcited puppy and Virgil bit back a giggle, instead taking the box. He frowned when his hand came back wet.

“Uh, Remus?” He looked at his hand and cringed.

Remus tilted his head to the side, still resembling a puppy as he excitedly spoke. “Yeah?”

Virgil showed Remus the box. “This box is wet.”

“Yeah?”

“...With blood.”

“Yeah?”

“...Is it your blood?”

“I don’t think so!”

Virgil nodded, wiping his hand on his black skinny jeans. “Okay… thank you. It-” he looked away, blushing. “It means a lot to me.” He opened the box, looking at the contents. Around a third of the original jewelry was in the box, most of it he vaguely remembered the bullies wearing yesterday.

Remus smiled brightly, bouncing slightly as he grabbed his backpack. “That’s not even the best part! Look what I found while beating that asshole up!” Virgil hesitated before opening the bag, the not-so-nice part of him imagining Jacob himself shoved into the bag. Instead, the bag was filled to the brim with cash. Virgil stared at the money in shock while Remus explained. “That’s everything that he earned for selling your jewelry. He charged for a lot more than you did, but now you’ve made all of your money back and then some!”

Virgil tried to count the money at a glance, but his head started to spin after a minute. “Remus. How much money is in here?”

He giggled. “Almost $600. Jacob got a lot of money selling your stuff. He also had an extra 50 bucks that I added to the pot as compensation.”

Virgil nearly dropped the backpack in shock. He’d never had that much money before. This is it. I can actually start a business with this money. I can throw it into my bank account and actually have a chance at making jewelry after high school. At least as a side-job. He looked up at his crush, who was still bouncing slightly as he waited for praise. He did this for me. Remus gave me this chance. He did this because he cares. No one’s ever cared about me this much before.

Virgil didn’t realize what he was going to say until it was already out of his mouth. “Do you like coffee? With me?” He realized how jumbled his words were and he blushed. “I mean, would you like to go get some coffee with me? I know a good caffe a few blocks away. I know we aren’t too close, but maybe we could get to know each other better?”

Remus froze for a few seconds before he chuckled. “I don’t actually like coffee.” Virgil almost felt his heart drop, but his crush smirked at him. “But I know I’ll enjoy anything with you.” Virgil squeaked with a blush, and Remus chuckled. “Let’s go! We’ll get you some coffee, and we can talk about the inspiration behind your jewelry. Especially these.” He held out his wrist, showing off the dark green bracelet, a small purple heart sewn on the inside. Virgil blushed again. They both knew what inspired it. They both knew that Remus had inspired it. Or rather, Virgil’s feelings towards Remus. And Remus seemed okay with it, judging by his flirtatious chuckle and teasing grin.

Virgil eventually grabbed the resident bad boy’s hand, dragging him out from under the bleachers and towards the nearest cafe. He never thought he’d have a chance, but Remus gave it to him. And there was no way in hell that Virgil wasn’t going to take it.

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Taglist: @bisexualdisaster106 @self-taught-mess @arodynamic-enby @sanderssides-angst @whatishappeningrightnow @idont-freaking-know @cute-and-angsty-princess @artsy-enby09 @girl-who-reads @drarrymalecsolangelo @count-woe-laf

#tsus challenge #sanders sides fic #dukexiety #remus sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders

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killing-all-joy · 5 years ago

Note

“Can we stay like this forever?” but angst (analogical, Virgil says this while they're cuddling but when he falls asleep Logan leaves to go do something that might kill him)

virgil is bi in this, fyi. sorry if i wrote this in a way you Did Not Want Me To

cw: homophobia, death threats, guns, violence, injury, graphic murder (no major character death don’t worry), swearing

Logan felt Virgil’s head fall onto his chest. They had been watching a movie together, but it had finished long ago and now they were just cuddling on the sofa.

Logan put an arm around his boyfriend. Virgil made a noise of contentment. His eyes were closed but he still managed to direct a blissful smile up at Logan. Logan looked at him with admiration and love, hand moving to caress Virgil’s cheek and brush his hair out of his eyes. Virgil hummed happily at this, nuzzling into Logan’s touch. He took Logan’s free hand in his.

“Can we stay like this forever?” asked Virgil, running his thumb over Logan’s knuckles.

“I hope so.”

“Me too,” Virgil replied, moving his head a bit so he could kiss Logan’s hand. “I love you so much, and you’re so comfy.”

Logan chuckled, leaning down to place a kiss on Virgil’s forehead. “I love you too.”

Virgil hummed. “I love you more.”

“Falsehood.”

Virgil giggled. Logan thought it was the most adorable and beautiful sound; he only wished he got to hear it more. Usually Virgil was much more composed and displayed a negative attitude. Right now, though, he was tired and with his boyfriend—two things that lessened his need to have a filter on his words.

“You gonna stay with me, L?” asked Virgil.

Logan hummed.

He didn’t want to verbally confirm and end up lying to his boyfriend, but he also wanted to keep Virgil happy. A noise like a monotonous hum could make Virgil think Logan meant ‘yes’ when he actually didn’t mean that at all.

Logan continued to run his fingers through Virgil’s purple hair. It was soft and beautiful and Logan’s favorite hair in the world since Virgil was his favorite everything. Favorite person, favorite boy, his eyes were Logan’s favorite pair of eyes, he sometimes wore Logan’s favorite smile, etc. Logan constantly thought about how lucky he was to have Virgil.

After ten minutes of silence, Virgil fell asleep. This didn’t surprise Logan; Virgil hadn’t gotten more than three hours of sleep the night before. Him napping was good.

Logan stayed still for about thirty minutes after Virgil had fallen asleep, wanting to make sure he had entered a deeper sleep before Logan moved. When that had happened, Logan slowly untangled himself from Virgil and moved off the sofa, trying to be as undisturbing as possible. Logan stacked a couple pillows to replace himself so Virgil wouldn’t notice he was gone. He then tiptoed to his room, took a gun from the dresser, and then tiptoed to the door where he took the keys off the keyring and exited the apartment.

He quickly made his way to his car. He drove off and into the downtown area of the city. Parking in the parking lot of a small park, he rechecked his pockets to make sure he had the gun before exiting his car. He locked it, and then started walking to a nearby alley.

Logan wasn’t here for no reason, and that reason was correlated with why Virgil hadn’t slept well the previous night.

At around 4 a.m., Virgil had been awaken by a threatening text from an ex-girlfriend. She didn’t know Virgil was bisexual when they dated. She had learned yesterday, was very disgusted, and threatened to kill Virgil (perhaps worse) for not telling her that she was dating someone who was also into guys. She demonstrated that she had the means to and would strike when least expected. Logan had come over to Virgil’s house at eleven in the morning when Virgil didn’t show for their breakfast date, and Virgil, sleep-deprived and terrified, told Logan everything.

Logan was scared. This ex-girlfriend could clearly kill Virgil—and would, if she got her way. So, Logan had texted her, pretending to be someone with money to give her. They were to meet in this alleyway at 10 p.m.

It was precisely that time now (this was a rare instance where Logan didn’t want to be early), so Logan quickened his pace. He kept the hand on the pocket containing the gun.

He entered the alleyway. It was dimly lit by a streetlight, so he could faintly see the back of a person ahead. He figured it was Virgil’s ex. She had long, fairly straight blonde hair which was clearly dyed, and was wearing a brown leather jacket and light blue jeans. Her boots were dark brown and worn.

When Logan had reached the distance he wanted to be from the woman, he drew his gun. It was clear she heard him, because she started to pivot on her heels to face Logan.

“I don’t see a briefcase,” she called, taking a couple of stalking steps towards him.

“I do not have one with me presently.”

“Where is my money?”

Logan didn’t answer that question. He took a few steps forward of his own. “I did not bring money to this rendezvous.”

Her hand started to drift towards her pocket.

“You will leave Virgil Storm alone forevermore.”

She laughed. “You’re what? His boyfriend? Come to protect him? I bet you’ve never held a gun in your life.”

Logan rolled his eyes. He didn’t answer, though, as any information could give her the upper-hand. He pointed the gun at her head.

“You will not kill Virgil Storm,” he growled, knuckles going white on the gun.

She laughed again. “No.”

“I do not want to use force.”

She took another step towards him, feigning curiosity while still keeping the conceited confidence that gave her the dominating air in the conversation.

“If you don’t want to use force,” she said, running her tongue across her upper lip, “then why do you have a gun?”

“I will use force if necessary.”

She pouted. “But it’s not necessary. You could leave without any harm done to you, and-”

“You will kill Virgil.”

She nodded in consideration. “Yes, I will. But, still. You don’t have to use force. You could just as well let nature run its course.”

“I will not allow you to kill him.”

“You, someone clearly well-read and with a profitable career ahead of him, probably in science, are going to throw away everything you have for your boyfriend? When you have obviously never even come close to committing murder ever before?”

Logan didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, he cocked his gun.

“If you promise you will not kill Virgil, I will spare you,” Logan threatened, gritting his teeth.

“Alright, you want to play dirty,” she conceded with a sigh.

Within the second, the gun in her hands was cocked, aimed, and had her hand on the trigger.

Logan fired.

Her eyes widened and her movements stopped, her firing arm slackening. She obviously didn’t think Logan was capable of murder. The bullet soared through the air and landed in her forehead.

Logan watched as her body fell backward. Her head hit the asphalt with a crack of what was likely the breaking of bones in the skull. Logan switched on the safety to his gun and slowly put it down, satisfied.

“LOGAN!” he heard a voice shriek, followed by dashing footsteps.

The voice was loud, terrified, and definitely spoken by someone who was currently crying.

“LOGAN!” There it was again, accompanied by the running footsteps that were getting progressively louder.

Logan frowned. Who could that be? He hadn’t told anyone what he would be doing.

Logan watched the figure round the corner and enter the alleyway. Logan’s eyes widened as he realized that it was Virgil.

Nevermind that Virgil was supposed to be asleep, how did he know he was here?

“LOGAN! Oh god, Logan!” Virgil shouted, running over to him. He stopped three feet in front of Logan.

“Why are you awake?” asked Logan curiously. “And how did you know I was here?”

“The neighbors were loud and you got a text that worried me so I checked it out,” said Virgil dismissively. “What happened?”

His last sentence was frantic, worried.

“Are you bleeding? Do I need to call 911? I heard a gunshot and I got terrified,” Virgil rambled. “Obviously someone fired a gun here and I was so scared they killed you, L, so goddamn scared...what the hell is wrong with you, going to a dark alleyway at night? I thought you said you’d stay.”

“I did not say I would stay, I merely made a noise acknowledging that I had heard your request,” Logan corrected.

Virgil glared at him. “Those were the less important of my questions.”

Logan sighed. “I am unharmed, Virgil. You do not need to call 911.” Logan glanced behind him. “In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

Virgil looked confused. “Then what happened? Did they miss you? Why aren’t you in shock? Where are they?”

Logan took a step to the side and gestured behind him. “No one missed a shot.”

Virgil’s bewilderment did not cease. “I see a dead woman. Who killed her? Were you tending to her?”

“Take a closer look, my love.”

Virgil would have blushed at the pet name if it wasn’t such a dire situation. Virgil took a few cautious steps towards the corpse. His eyes widened in recognition.

“Oh...oh my god, it’s her,” said Virgil, no longer confused. “Who killed her?”

Virgil turned around to face Logan in time for him to hold up the gun. Virgil’s eyes widened. Logan was scared that it was in fear.

“You...you killed her,” whispered Virgil.

“I did not want to,” said Logan matter-of-factly. “Truly, I didn’t. However, she was aiming to kill me and I had no choice.”

“For me.” Virgil still seemed to be in shock by the news.

Logan blinked. He looked down at the gun thoughtfully. “Yes. She demonstrated the means and the desire to kill you. I confronted her. She tried to kill me and stated that she would kill you in the future. I killed her instead. Simple.”

Virgil shook his head. “You killed someone, risked so much...for me?”

Logan bit his lip, but nodded. There was a moment of silence.

“You idiot!” Virgil suddenly shouted. “You absolute moron! Why would you do that? I told you not to do anything about it, that I would be okay. We could have called the police! But no, you went out here and almost got yourself killed!”

“We fucking hate the police, Virgil!” Logan replied, not matching his boyfriend’s volume but still raising his voice. “Besides, she could have struck at any time! I was unwilling to take any chances! Not when your safety is concerned!”

“I am not worth you risking your life for!”

“Like hell you aren’t!” Logan shot back. He took a deep breath, calming himself. “I’m sorry for yelling. But what’s done is done. She is dead by my hand. You are no longer in danger.”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed. “You are much less bothered by that than you should be.”

“About murder?” asked Logan coolly. “You mistake my impressive education for having prosperity in my youth. I grew up in the most dangerous and criminal neighborhood in the city. I have certainly fired a gun before, and I have witnessed murder more times than that.”

“Have you killed before?”

Logan shrugged. He didn’t answer. “Let’s go home.”

“You haven’t.”

“There is always a worthy situation. Protecting your life will forever be one of them.”

Virgil was silent, looking as though he didn’t know how to respond.

“Thank you,” he muttered, looking down to his shoes. “Can we go home?”

“Of course, my darling,” replied Logan, putting his arm around Virgil. Virgil blushed at the term of endearment, leaning into his boyfriend’s side. “Now we can stay in each other’s arms without any external interruptions.”

Virgil smiled. “Logan?”

“Yes, V?”

“The authorities have wanted her dead for a couple of years now for a variety of murders. I don’t figure they will investigate someone who finally took her down.”

Logan grinned. “Thank you, Virgil. I was worried about that.”

They walked back to Logan’s car.

“I can’t wait till we get home and I can cuddle the shit out of you,” Virgil said excitedly as he put on his seatbelt.

“Nor can I.”

Taglist (I forgot it for my last one, sorry!): @somehow-i-got-an-account @justanotherhumanstuff @neo-neo-neo @fander-fic-recs

I know I kind of strayed from the prompt (did I?) so I’m sorry for that. It’s not as angsty as you probably wanted it to be, Lila, but at least there was a happy ending (right?). I hope you liked it!

#analogical #ts fanfic #virgil sanders #logan sanders #romantic analogical #sanders sides fanfiction #dark fic #swearing tw #murder tw #guns tw #graphic depictions of violence #homophobia tw #death threats #injury tw #prompt #fic #somehow-i-got-an-account #sanders sides #kill writes

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not-so-innocent-bi-sander · 5 years ago

Text

You Can Picani Family You Like - Ch 12

I can’t believe we had to get to chapter 12 of a fic that was only supposed to be 4 chapters long.. to even introduce one of the boys. I’m.. i dont know. I guess i just have been having a lot of fun :D

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

—

Virgil got home from his date feeling relaxed and happy, and he didn’t give his dad or brother any overly specific details... Just that it went better than he ever thought it could have. They were willing to let that be enough of an explanation, knowing that Virgil wasn’t one to overshare about anything, really. Of course Roman continued to be smug, still more than proud of himself that he thought to bring these two together. He took full credit, and was obviously very justified in doing so. If you asked him.

His older brother didn’t have that difficult a time ignoring that, especially since he had a boy to focus on, more dates to go on.. And it wasn’t long before he officially had himself a boyfriend. Logan continued to tutor Roman, and thanks to his quick wit - was much better at stopping the younger student, and his commentary, right in his tracks.

So with the exception of the fact that now they often had another member joining them for dinner or movie nights, and with the way they spoke to one another both Roman and Logan often felt as though they had gained a brother, things moved on as normally as possible. There wasn’t much time left of the current school year, and before they knew it it was summer.

Logan and Virgil had both graduated high school, while Roman would be going into his second to last year. A Monday a few weeks into summer found Roman splayed back on the couch, taking up the entire thing with his large form, mindlessly throwing a ball up and down into the air above him. The other two teens made their way into the living room, glancing at each other before turning their gaze to the nearly 17 year old.

“Roman, the nearby university is having an open tour today for recent high school graduates and upperclassmen, if you’d like to join us.” Logan offered, drawing the tall teen’s attention.

He caught the ball and raised an eyebrow, looking over the both of them. “I’m not even an upperclassman.”

“It’s the summer before you enter the second half of high school, that effectively makes you a junior, and therefore - an upperclassman.” He explained simply.

“Oh. ...But still, like.. No, though.” Roman answered eloquently, going back to looking at the ceiling and tossing the ball.

Blue eyes rolled behind their smart pair of spectacles, while Virgil let out a little huff as he crossed his arms over his chest and addressed Roman. “Well what’re you gonna do instead?”

“This.”

“It certainly isn’t a very lu-” Logan began, but Virgil rested a hand on his shoulder for a moment before sliding it down his arm and slipping his hand into Logan’s.

“Eh, just leave him, L. Let’s just get going.”

“Very well. Have fun doing nothing, Roman.” He laced his fingers with Virgil’s before leading him toward the front door.

Roman called after them. “I will! Have fun doing school shit, nerds!”

The door shut behind them and they got into Logan’s car, heading off to the university. Both of them were planning on going to community college before entering university, but it still couldn’t hurt to go check out a nearby school to see if it was a contender for where they’d eventually transfer. It didn’t take long before they arrived, making their way to get a schedule and map of what would be happening and where.

The main part of the morning was a fairly simple tour, seeing where certain buildings were and which classes were held in each. There were going to be specific presentations about the different departments and programs that would be held before a lunch break. They each wanted to attend different ones, and the presentation for the science program was across the school from the one for the humanities department, so they’d just meet up afterward to eat. Virgil was having a little nervousness about being in a huge room with so many people, but Logan had quickly become the absolute best at helping calm him down. ...Well, maybe second best. It was debatable.

Logan walked his boyfriend to the room where the humanities talk would be held, giving him a reassuring little pep talk and a kiss before he had to make his way to the other side of the school. Virgil took a bit of a steadying breath before slipping inside, doing his best to keep calm as he tried to find a seat that was hopefully by itself... Or at least not too surrounded... Or at least not next to someone who looked too intimidating..

He quietly found a seat and slipped into it, pulling out a notebook and pen so he could jot down some notes.

“Ooo, did you do all those drawings?” Came a voice to the side of him after a moment, Virgil slowly turning to actually see who it was he was sitting next to. He hadn’t paid too much attention when he picked the seat, he just saw someone wearing pastels and decided it was probably a safe enough bet. Glancing up a bit he found warm brown eyes behind round rose gold glasses, sitting atop round cheeks absolutely covered in freckles. He was smiling warmly and sincerely. ...Sincerely enough that Virgil felt willing to respond.

“Uhh.. Yeah. I.. Doodle on my notebook when I have free time.” He explained, lamely gesturing to the cover of his notebook that was covered in pen doodles.

“They’re so good! You’re really talented.” The other teen responded, looking down at the notebook a bit more closely.

Virgil blushed a tiny bit, what was receiving compliments? He could hear Roman in his head telling him not to shoot it down, that he deserved nice things being said to him. “...Thank you, that’s... Very kind of you.” He managed, giving the other student a small smile.

“Of course! Oh, I’m Patton by the way! Are you thinking about doing the humanities program?” He asked, still somehow seeming completely genuine.

“Uh, Virgil. And yeah.. Psychology, I think. ...You?” He asked, doing his best to make pleasant conversation. It had never been a strong suit of his, but this guy seemed like a marshmallow that came to life, so that helped.

“Yeah! I’m having trouble deciding between Anthropology and Sociology... I might double major, I guess. But I had been thinking about minoring in Global Studies...” He trailed off, bringing a hand to his chin as he thought.

Virgil couldn’t hold in a little breath of laughter. “...You sound just like Logan.”

Patton tilted his head to the side, a bit like a curious puppy. “Who’s Logan?”

“Oh, sorry. He’s my boyfriend. He’s just really smart.. Double majors and minors and all that.. That’s something he’s been thinking about too.” He explained.

“Oh! That’s really cool! I hope he figures out what he wants to do. I still have a year left of high school, so I have a bit longer to decide.”

“Ah, that’s good. We both graduated this year.”

Patton smiled that big contagious smile of his again. “Well I’m sure you two will figure it out! And maybe if we are all going to the same school we’ll run into each other! Hopefully we could all be friends.”

He smiled back softly. “Yeah, that would be really cool.”

Virgil swore the teenager next to him actually let out a happy little squeal, he was like some kind of tiny adorable kitten.

The presentation started up shortly after, the two teens having to quiet down so they could pay attention and jot down some notes. Virgil got distracted a couple times by the pen that Patton was using, it was pastel blue with some sort of poof of feathers and fluff attached to the top. He’d had to look over a few times to understand what it was in the corner of his eye as it moved with Patton’s writing. It honestly suited him extremely well, seeing as everything else about him seemed to be equally as pastel and nearly as soft.

Once it ended, both students pretty happy with what they’d learned, they each apparently had had the idea to give the room a minute or two to let others file out first so they didn’t get caught up in the crowd.

Virgil glanced at his neighbor, watching him slide his notebook into his backpack - yet another adorably pastel item, that was covered in all sorts of pins. They were mostly adorable animals, but there were stylized food items, sayings, and different rainbow themed ones sprinkled amongst them as well. There was something about Patton that Virgil honestly found very admirable. He was a teenage boy, still in high school, who clearly had a much less than conventional aesthetic - and seeing as that was something they actually had in common, Virgil knew that that wasn’t always an easy thing to be. But here he was, unabashedly and happily being himself.

That may have been part of why he spoke up after a few moments. “...Hey, Patton? Uh, it’s time for the lunch break now. If you wanted to, you could eat with me and Logan? If you wanted. No pressure or anything.”

Patton immediately lit up, actually excitedly clasping his hands together just to the side of his face as he nodded. “Oh I’d love to! Thank you for inviting me!”

He smiled in response, nodding as well. “Of course. ...Do you think its time for us to head out?”

The other teen looked around before nodding and slinging his bag onto his shoulder. “I think we’re good. Let’s go.”

Virgil also put his bag on his back, going to stand alongside his potential new friend. As he pushed his seat in and turned to him so they could leave together, he paused as he took him in.

If you’d asked him to describe the other teen approximately 30 seconds ago, he’d have said that he was very small. Or that he, at the very least, had “tiny energy.” The kind of person who seemed like he belonged tucked under someone’s chin with their arms around him, or sitting in someone’s lap and curled up against their chest. But now that he was standing up beside him, it was a completely different story.

Virgil had to look up to make eye contact with him, him taking an instinctive slight backstep to avoid having to lift his chin too far. He saw Patton’s expression change somewhat, a bit like he was concerned at Virgil’s reaction to him. But the older teen just gave him another soft smile and nodded toward the exit. “Let’s go.”

Patton’s smile returned immediately, him nodding as they walked off together. Thankfully Virgil was used to Logan’s quick walking pace as well as Roman’s long strides, as he had to walk somewhat quickly to keep up with the tall teen beside him. Virgil looked up at him with a subtle side glance as they went, thinking. Logan was about the same size as his Dad, which meant only barely taller than him. Patton definitely had all three of them by a noticeable margin, though he wasn’t the biggest person they knew, seeing they all were all so used to dealing with R- .....

Oh. OH. ...Oh, this was going to be perfect.

—

YCPFYL

@cardigancomics @icecoldparadise @that2000skid @im-actually-ok @idle-inky @croftersjam15 @yalltookmyurlideas @daring-elm @voidvirgil @itawalrus @the-sunshine-dims @just-a-hufflepuff @morgan-leaf @llamaly @coloursintheblur @judyismydog @aliceingarbageisland @tranquil-space-ninja @contemplativespectrum @mothman-juicy-ass @misterteaz @pixelated-pineapple

Everything taglist

@authordreaming13 @tinysidestrashcaptain @nekoabi @sanders-sides-thuri @notalwaysthevillian @loverofpizzaandallthingssweet @cefinitely-rolo @justanotherpurplebutterfly @emphoenixcat @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @thepusheenqueen @luna-lovegood-wrakspurt-invasion @michealawithana @tree4life25 @kaymischief25 @anastasialestina @logicalpasta @punch-you-with-friendship @coffeestudylive @swlotakulady34 @adfandertime @pinkeasteregg @bangthekobrakid @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @mirror2thespirit @the-anti-virgil @onyourmark-iplier @darkle-elkrad @zoeyheys @xxfangirlanonymousxx @fangirl00193 @totally-not-using-a-fake-name @msu82 @thegnatnat @arandomkoalainaustralia @alana-of-the-cartwrights @riderofblackdragons @louisthewarlock @storytellerofuntoldlegends @damienswifeolicitydallysgirl @hamster-corn @nightmarejasmine @hope-thy-nope @grey-lysander @nammies @satanblessi @what-in-gaeas-realm @that-one-transguy @youre-lazy-and-youre-gay0-0 @karmels-stuff @adorably-angsty @musikasworld @inanoceanofpeople @lowkeyvirgilobsessed @0beansprout0 @pumpkinminette @corkeecoderyt @entitydark @hedgiehoggles @muliphandomer @ao-koshka @midnightsdarkangel @lovebug5151 @max-is-tired @asymmetricalgarbage8888 @imtooaromanticforthis @ymmm-someone @prismartist @lostchoirchild @nebulastarss @vara-albion @angels-and-dreams @abby5577 @imabad-b-youcantkillme @princessbelix @gattonero17 @melodiread @ollyollyoxinfree @baby-duck-boy @rabbitsartcorner @fandomsofrandom @cas-is-a-hunter @starlaite @mrbubbajones @itsfrenchfornothankyou @thefivecalls @arrestjellyfish @deceits-left-glove

#sanders sides #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #emile picani #analogical #brotherly prinxiety #brotherly logince

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callboxkat · 4 years ago

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Second Chances: Slumber Party

Author’s note: It’s been a while, but guess who finally has some free time to write? I hope you enjoy! :)

Summary: Roman goes on a quest for a glass of water in the middle of the night, and finds Patton sleeping on the sofa.

Warnings: Insecurity, nightmares/intrusive thoughts, past homelessness, food mentions, white lies

Word count: 2588

Second Chances Masterpost!

Writing Masterpost!

...

Roman stretched and let out a big yawn as he walked down the hall to his room.

Today at the café had been difficult, to say the least, and he was tired, even though he’d gotten home hours ago. He hadn’t even been meant to go in today, but there had been a bit of an incident. The fridge had gone out while it was just Virgil and Thomas working, and Roman had been called in as back up. Since it couldn’t be fixed right away, they’d decided to sell everything refrigerated at a sharp discount, and once word got out, the crowd in the shop quickly became alarming. Thomas had eventually needed to tap out and go home, apparently worn out by all the chaos. So then Roman and Virgil had been left to try to sell as much of their stuff as possible before it could no longer be sold. The throng of customers was eager for cheap goodies, although some of them didn’t seem to understand why the unrefrigerated menu items that they weren’t racing against the clock to sell were still full price. Which, yeah, Roman could understand that it was strange for a cappuccino to be cheaper than an americano. But the coffee and water would have still been usable at the end of the day

He passed the other two bedrooms as he shuffled along, remembering the events of the day. From Val’s, he could hear quiet music—he’d noticed she liked to put on classic rock before she went to sleep—while from Logan’s and Patton’s, he could hear the sound of dresser drawers opening and shutting. They were probably still getting ready for bed.

Roman opened the door to his room and stepped inside, not bothering to turn on the light. He put away his toothbrush and toothpaste, toed off his socks, and crawled into bed. He reached to set an alarm, only to be struck with the happy realization that he didn’t need to, since the café would be closed the next day due to the refrigerator incident.

Smiling at the thought of getting to sleep in, Roman snuggled down into the bed and closed his eyes.

…

Roman rolled over and stretched, opening his eyes.

2:24, read the alarm clock.

He still had plenty of time to sleep and still get up at a socially acceptable time, but… Roman licked his lips and frowned. His mouth was a little dry.

Reluctant to leave the soft bed, but also unable to ignore his parched mouth now that he’d foolishly let himself become aware of it, Roman let out a quiet moan of complaint and sat up, pushing the blanket to the side. He got up, grabbed his socks, and padded to the door, hopping a little to pull them on as he went.

He opened the door quietly and left it slightly ajar for when he returned. The fewer noises he made, the better, in his opinion. Roman tended to be a heavy sleeper, but he knew not everyone in the house was, and he didn’t want to disturb them.

He crept down the hall and then the stairs, heading into the kitchen without turning the lights on, since there was still enough light to see. He opened a cabinet for a glass and then filled it at the sink, wincing at how loud the water seemed in the quiet of night, and doing his best to minimize the noise. He took a couple of sips of the water, then refilled what he’d drunk of the glass, and turned to go back to bed.

As he walked through the living room, he heard a quiet “mmph?” and then a shape on the couch sat up.

Roman jumped slightly in surprise, then slowed to a halt, squinting in bewilderment. “Pat?”

Patton turned around and looked at him, blinking drowsily, his hair rumpled in a bed head. “Oh… hi, Roman,” he said, sounding tired. “What’re you doing down here?”

Was he sleeping on the sofa? Roman frowned, seeing the pillows and blankets that Patton must have brought down from his and Logan’s room.

Roman held up the glass so Patton could see. “I got thirsty,” he explained.

“Oh,” said Patton. “I guess that was the sink, I heard, then.”

They looked at each other for a moment.

“Did something happen?” Roman asked hesitantly. “I mean, it’s none of my business, but… did you and Logan have a fight?”

“Huh?” Patton shook his head. “No, no, me and Lo are fine. I just….” He didn’t seem to know what to say.

Roman shifted. “Late movie night?” he offered, to give Patton an out.

Patton didn’t take it. The poor guy hated to lie. “No,” he said. He sat up a little straighter. “Uh, Logan and I just decided this would be better for tonight. We didn’t fight, it’s just… it’s complicated.”

Roman couldn’t think of many reasons why Patton would be sleeping on the sofa, if they hadn’t fought. Patton had definitely gone to bed in his and Logan’s room, so it wasn’t as if he’d just decided not to go upstairs. Roman was also pretty sure neither of them snored, so that didn’t explain it either.

Patton was looking a little flustered. “Please don’t—Logan didn’t do anything. It’s nobody’s fault, he just….”

He thought Roman would be mad at Logan, he realized.

Roman held up a hand. “Hey, like I said, it’s none of my business,” he said, carefully choosing a light tone. “I won’t pry. But, Pat… you don’t have to be on the couch. There’s the bed upstairs.”

Patton furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

“You could have woken me up,” Roman clarified. “I don’t mind.”

“What? No, Roman, that’s your room. I’m not going to steal it from you.”

Right, Roman thought. “It was your room first,” he shrugged, anyway.

It was dark, but he was pretty sure that was a fondly exasperated expression on Patton’s face. “It’s your room,” he repeated firmly.

Roman shifted again. “Okay, well… I still don’t want to make you stay on the couch.”

“You’re not making me,” Patton said, shaking his head. “I’m fine here. You should just go back to bed, okay? Don’t worry about me.”

Roman took a hesitant step towards the stairs, but continued to hover. “…I really don’t feel comfortable taking a bed while you’re on the couch,” he admitted. He honestly didn’t think he’d be able to sleep, knowing that.

Patton, who had started to lie back down, paused, and looked over at Roman, who rubbed one of his arms.

“Please take the bed?”

Patton took him in for a long moment, sat up again, and said, “Well, I don’t really feel comfortable taking the bed while you’re on the couch, either, kiddo.”

Roman sighed, looking down at his water glass. A few seconds ticked by. He took an awkward sip of water.

“…It’s a decent-sized bed in there,” Patton said finally. “I guess we could share, if you’re okay with that.”

“Wouldn’t Logan be upset?”

Patton shook his head. “No, he won’t care. It’s just a bed. And he knows I love him.”

Roman nodded slowly. “Okay, then.”

He and Patton scooped up the pillows and blankets and headed up to Roman’s room, both doing their best to be quiet on the stairs and in the hall. While Val was actually the lighter sleeper, Roman couldn’t help but notice that Patton tried even harder to be quiet when they passed Logan’s room.

“Any preference on which side I take?” Patton asked, once Roman had closed the bedroom door.

“Um… right side, maybe?” Roman suggested, since he’d been sleeping on the left side before going on his quest. He set down his glass of water on the nightstand. “But either’s fine.”

Patton nodded and put down his pillows and blankets there, arranging them before he got into the bed. Roman hesitated before also lying down.

“I’m sorry about this,” Patton said softly once they were both situated, turning so he was facing Roman.

“It’s okay,” Roman replied. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“Logan tried to take the couch, too,” Patton admitted with a little smile, his eyes already closed. He yawned. “He felt really bad. But I fought him off.”

“I knew you could take that little nerd.”

Patton’s lips twitched as he tried not to laugh. “He’s not a nerd.”

“I mean it in a good way. But also… have you met him?”

“I sure hope so, he’s my boyfriend.”

Roman laughed quietly. “Fair enough.” A beat passed. “Thanks again for giving me a ride to the café today, by the way. I think Virgil would have lost it if they’d had to wait for me to walk there. And thanks for the ride back, too. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. It was no bother. And Virgil seems nice.”

Roman smirked. “They can be, when they want to be.”

Patton cracked open an eyelid, smiling a little at him.

“So… want me to braid your hair?” Roman whispered. “Since we’re having a slumber party.”

Patton giggled quietly. “I would let you if it was long enough.”

“Guess you’ll have to grow it out, then. You can join the man bun trend.”

Patton sounded amused, even as sleepiness bled into his voice. “Oh, gosh, can you imagine?”

“Or Viking braids,” Roman suggested. “You could put beads in them and everything. Really go all out.”

“I don’t know if that’s really my style.”

“Maybe not.”

Patton yawned. “We could paint each other’s nails. That’s a slumber party thing.”

“I used to paint my nails in high school,” Roman shared. His nails looked rather rough, now, though. It had been a while since he even held a nail file.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Gold, usually.”

Patton’s eyes were closed again. “I think Val has some that color. She’d probably let you use it. I don’t think she wears it much.”

“Hm.” Roman would think about it.

They lay there for a few moments. Roman adjusted himself so he was lying more on his stomach than his side, and let out a small sigh.

“G’night,” Patton mumbled sleepily.

“Good night.”

When Roman woke in the morning, Patton was already gone, along with his pillows and blankets. Roman suspected his own blanket had been pulled up a little higher. There was a note on the bedside table that just read, Thanks for the slumber party -P.

Roman glanced at the clock, and then climbed out of bed himself. He got showered and dressed, and then went downstairs.

He’d expected to have the house to himself for most of the day, since Val and Logan had work and Patton had plans, so he was surprised to see Logan at the kitchen table, a half full mug of tea in front of him.

Logan looked up as Roman approached, and for a second he froze, like a deer in headlights.

Roman smiled easily at the other man. “Hey, Logan,” he said.

Logan blinked, and there was a soft, nearly inaudible whir. Roman glanced down to see that Logan was quietly spinning a black ring on his right hand. He’d seen the other man wearing the ring, occasionally, but usually he left it alone.

“Good morning,” Logan said, looking less panicked, but still unsure.

Roman walked over to fridge and grabbed an orange. He returned to the table and started peeling it. “Got plans for today?” he asked. “I thought you had work.”

“I did,” Logan said. He stopped spinning his ring and took a drink of his tea. “I decided to stay home, today. I’m afraid I didn’t sleep well.”

“Oh. That sucks.”

Logan nodded vaguely.

Roman popped one of the orange slices in his mouth. He liked to eat fruit slowly, to make it last longer, so he could really appreciate it. It was a habit he’d started when he was homeless, but he kept it now, seeing no reason to change it.

Logan cleared his throat, sitting up a little straighter. He didn’t quite look at Roman as he said, “Patton told me you allowed him to stay in your room last night.”

Roman paused, halfway through separating another orange slice. “I just thought it’d be more comfortable than the sofa.”

“Thank you for that.”

Roman shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not a big deal,” he said. “I’ve stayed in shelters that were way more crowded, and Patton doesn’t snore or try to steal my things. We just made some jokes about having a slumber party.”

“…I’m not sure what explanation he offered you,” Logan said hesitantly.

Roman shrugged. “He didn’t really say. I thought maybe he fell asleep watching The Office or something, and didn’t want to wake you to go to bed. I used to do stuff like that. My mamá would get so annoyed if she found me. She’d tell me I was gonna get scoliosis and make me go to bed.” Roman did not actually believe that; but he was also pretty sure that whatever the real reason Patton had been sleeping on the sofa was not his business, if Logan didn’t want to share it.

Logan spun his ring twice, then stopped.

“I appreciate your help,” he said. “It is reassuring, to know Patton wasn’t too inconvenienced.”

“It’s no problem. I’m always down for a slumber party.”

It was clear that Logan didn’t want to say more on the subject, and Roman certainly wasn’t going to push him, but Logan cleared his throat anyway. “I suppose I owe you some explanation.”

“Not if you don’t want to. I don’t think you owe me anything,” Roman said. He popped another orange slice in his mouth.

Logan glanced at him. He raised the mug of tea to his lips, then set it down without taking a drink. “Regardless….” He considered his next words, his face reddened lightly. “I am… occasionally prone to certain intrusive thoughts. They are unwanted, and do not reflect my own desires. They are unpleasant every time they occur, but last night’s was… especially unsettling. It… involved Patton becoming injured.”

Roman could read between the lines. “Okay.”

“My apologies if I disturbed you. I became rather upset, and unfortunately did not think to lower my volume. Val came in to check on us. I assume you decided to stay in your room, which… I appreciate.”

“I didn’t hear you, actually,” Roman said. “Guess I was pretty tired, after the coffee shop thing. And I probably stayed up too late.”

Logan looked briefly skeptical, then rather relieved to hear it. “I requested that we sleep separately, for my own anxiety. I had intended to be the one to leave, but Patton can be rather insistent.”

Roman nodded.

“I hope you do not think less of me because of this,” Logan said. “I try not to be swayed so easily by my emotions, but—”

Roman waived a hand, dismissing Logan’s justifications. “It’s fine. It’s okay to be human sometimes, you know.”

Logan tapped his fingers on his mug. A few moments passed.

“So, do you want to hear about the Great Refrigerator Disaster of the Sanders Café?” Roman asked. He’d told a condensed version of the story the night before, at dinner, and Patton had seen the chaos first hand, but Roman hadn’t told Logan all the juicy details yet, which was frankly shameful on his part.

Logan smiled despite himself, and latched onto the change in subject. “That does sound like a story I would enjoy.”

#sanders sides #thomas sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #ts sides #ts roman #ts logan #ts patton #ts virgil #ts #tss #ts fanfic #ts fic #sanders sides fan fiction #fanfiction #second chances fic #slumber party fic

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threecrowsinatrenchcoat · 4 years ago

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Paint My Spirit Gold

Dukeceit Week Day 2: Green/Yellow

Fans of the YouTubers "Deceit" and Remus "The Duke" Sanders start to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the two of them are more than simple internet pals.

AO3 Link: [here]

Word Count: 2187

Warnings: n/a

@dukeceitweek <3

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a watercolor-style painting of a snake. The snake appears to be made of melting chocolate, and there is a large bite taken out of its tail. Cherries and jam are leaking out of the snake at the bite wound. The snake's expression of horror is overly-exaggerated to the point of comedy. The caption reads: "liked your snake boi, @SerpenThyme. thanks for the inspo." /end ID]

A notification ding cut Janus off mid-sentence.

“Wow, someone left their cell phone on, so professional,” he said, giving the camera a dramatic eye roll. That someone was him, of course, because he was the only one in the apartment- just him and the running livestream- but that was no excuse not to be a drama queen about it. He finished wiping flour off his hands and grabbed his phone to silence it; but the notification made him pause. He flicked his eyes up toward the camera and gave a slight smirk.

“My goodness, I’m famous,” he drawled. “The Duke himself has graced little old me with some fan art.”

Most of the comments in the chat wanted him to show it, so Janus opened up Twitter to see the full post he’d been tagged in. It was a watercolor painting of the coiled-snake chocolate sculpture- lovingly named Jake by his viewers- he’d made for his YouTube video last week; it was wearing an expression of such comedic horror that Janus had to stifle a laugh. He flicked his phone screen toward the close-up camera on his counter so his viewers could see.

“How kind of you, Remus,” he said. “All of you should go scold him for what he’s done to poor Jake here.”

Most of his viewers would know he was joking- after all, they were the ones to nickname him Deceit when he provided neither a real or fake name for his online persona. They knew full well what he was like by now.

The oven timer dinged. Janus silenced his phone and set it aside.

“And our first batch of cookies is done. You know, why don’t we show the Duke some appreciation?”

[ID: An Instagram post by user @SerpenThyme. The photo is an artistically-framed shot of a stack of sugar cookies with green, yellow, and pink icing. Propped up against the stack is another cookie, with an intricate icing-drawing of an octopus. The photo appears to have been color corrected to have high contrast, low saturation, and a dark vignette at the edges. The Instagram user @OctoDukie is tagged. No caption. /end ID]

“You know, I have often been accused of actually being a little old lady, what with my fondness for knitted jumpers, rocking chairs, and incredibly fucked up murder mystery books. Today I am doing nothing to dispel this accusation, by making soup.”

The studio was dark and empty aside from Remus' workspace. Everyone else had left long ago, even his own brother, which meant that it was officially ass-o'clock in the morning (or, as most people called it, somewhere between 1 and 2 a.m.) But Remus was stuck in hyperfocus, honed in on putting the last touches on a commission that he'd been putting off for weeks. It's not that it was a tough painting- once he'd gotten started, it was actually a very creatively satisfying piece- but man, executive dysfunction could go suck a dick

“French onion soup, specifically. Because while I do like to pretend I am a classy bitch, I am also, regrettably, a lazy bitch with a distaste for anything that takes longer than one bottle of wine to make.”

Remus hated working in silence. It was stifling, almost suffocating. His brain needed noise like his lungs needed air. So when the studio had grown still and silent, Remus had flipped open his laptop and queued up some YouTube videos.

“So we have here three pounds of onions that we need to slice up, pole to pole. You’re going to cry no matter what, so if you have any memories you’ve been repressing since middle school, now is an excellent time to dredge those up.”

And if it happened to be 90% SerpenThyme videos, well. Sue him.

“Now the first rule of caramelizing onions: fast and sloppy is always better than slow and thorough… at least, that’s what every man I’ve ever slept with tells me.”

Remus choked and glanced over to his laptop screen just in time to catch Deceit's trademark smirk directed at the audience just for a moment. It was the deadpan delivery that always got him. Remus could barely hold onto a joke long enough to get through it without cackling mid-punchline, but this fucker could say the funniest shit like an off-hand comment.

He wiped his hands off on his jeans (what use were clothes if you couldn't use them as paint rags?) and pulled his laptop across the table. He typed out a quick comment, citing the timestamp of the joke, and after it was posted, he shut his laptop.

'Cause ass-o'clock was short for "get-your-ass-home-or-I’ll-kick-it" o'clock.

[ID: A screenshot of a YouTube comments section. The first comment is by user TheDuke, and reads: "10:42 wow, rude." The second comment is a reply by user SerpenThyme, and simply reads ";)" /end ID]

Janus plopped down on the couch with a slight groan. He didn’t need to stream today, but he really hated missing days. Besides… he was fine. Really.

He adjusted the camera until he was happy with the framing, and then checked the settings on his streaming software. Satisfied, he started the stream, and watched as his usual viewers rolled in.

“What do you mean I’m not in my kitchen?” Janus drawled, addressing the chat. He glanced around with an expression of faux-shock on his face. “My goodness, when did that happen?”

He chuckled, and then gestured to his surroundings. “Yes, we are in my living room today. If you must know, my closest and most trusted friend tried to murder me today- yes, Virgil, it was attempted murder and nothing less- and I survived with nary a scratch… and a broken foot, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I’m not allowed to stand for long periods of time, and I may or may not be somewhat inebriated by pain pills and couldn’t stand even if I wanted to. So we are cooking from my couch today.”

Janus paused for a few moments to read the chat messages as they popped up. A few get well soon’s, a few theories about the “attempted murder,” Virgil- who moderated his chat for him- vehemently denying the “attempted murder” but otherwise refusing to clarify the event, and a large volume of wtf why are you streaming today, take care of yourself comments, which made him smile. But one particular comment caught his eye, almost lost amid the torrent of an active chat: wait this kinda looks like the Duke’s living room?

“Oh, VampSuga,” he said, addressing that commenter in particular with a slight smirk. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, since I can’t reach my oven from here, I thought some no-bake cookies were in order. For these you will need-”

[ID: A screenshot of a Discord conversation. The text reads:

“VampSuga: Ok ok hear me out. Dukeceit.

Starstruck96: who?

IneffableSnek: lmao

FeralBeauYasha: lol

VampSuga: Deceit and Remus Sanders! They’re totally dating. I will die on this hill.

FeralBeauYasha: Isn’t the duke w/ PatPat?

IneffableSnek: no thats his brothers bf

FeralBeauYasha: ohh

VampSuga: Did anyone see Deceit’s stream today? I swear that’s the Duke’s livingroom.

StarStruck96: idk that seems like a stretch

IneffableSnek: no wait i kno what u mean

IneffableSnek: im watching the duke’s old videos and that one where he shows off all his old weapons he’s in a living room kinda like deceit’s

FeralBeauYasha: They were acting all cute on twitter too

VampSuga: DUKECEIT” /end ID]

"Hey guys, been a while since you've seen my face and not just whatever my hands are busy with, when it's within YouTube's terms and conditions I mean. They used to be way more lenient…" Remus trailed off for a moment, then shook his head sharply and plastered on a grin.

"Anyway! In June me and a few other creators did a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and y'all smashed the goal, so I let you decide what video I'd make this month." He paused, and gestured to the mountain of clothes piled behind him on the bed. "And you had so many juicy ideas to choose from, but you decided to dress me up like a Barbie instead."

Remus paused to scroll through his phone for a few moments. "Ah, ok, here we go. Twitter user YoonIsMyCat- oh, BTS, nice- sent in this first outfit. Uh… future Remus, put up the post here somewhere." He gestured vaguely to his right. "Y'all went with either a fuckton more clothes or a fuckton less clothes, which I respect. Apparently this outfit is called…” He squinted at his phone. “Amish chic? I take it back, no respect at all.”

Remus cycled through the outfits his viewers sent in, which ranged from the aforementioned “Amish chic” to “2008 rave attire” to “ok now you guys are just fucking with me” (which consisted of one of those big puffy snow coats, lime green in color; booty shorts with the shrug text emoji across the ass; fuzzy pink boots; and a yellow cowboy hat to top off the whole thing. It was awful. Remus loved it.) The mountain of clothes on the bed gradually became a mess of clothes spread across the floor instead, until there was just one outfit left.

“Ok so Twitter user VampSuga sent me this outfit that I’m gonna call ‘sexy librarian.’ I couldn’t find this exact sweater online, but-” he paused for dramatic effect, before brandishing a sweater toward the camera like a bullfighter. “My boyfriend had something that was close enough.”

Remus hopped up from the bed and switched off the camera so he could change.

“They’re going to lose their minds,” a voice drawled from the doorway. Remus threw his shirt at him.

“Shoo, I’m getting naked.”

[ID: A Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a selfie of YouTuber Remus “The Duke” Sanders, a Hispanic man with his hair dyed green and styled into a spiked mohawk. He is wearing a yellow knitted cardigan over a black button-up shirt. He is grinning widely at the camera. The caption reads: “my viewers pick my outfits! now live on youtube. go see what i look like as a sexy librarian!” /end ID]

DukeceitStan

first and only dukeceit shipper ig

DukeceitStan

wow there’s so many of you now! Hi!!

DukeceitStan

i want this to be canon so bad omg

DukeceitStan

i mean just look

[image]

how

[image]

cute

[image]

[ID: A series of three gifs featuring Youtubers SerpenThyme, aka Deceit, and TheDuke, aka Remus Sanders. Deceit is a black man with long, dreadlocked hair, and vitiligo patches along the left side of his face. Remus is a Hispanic man with green-dyed hair styled into a mohawk, many ear and facial piercings, and tattoos covering both arms. Each gif is edited so that the highlights are tinged yellow when Deceit is seen, and tinged green when Remus is seen.

The first gif depicts a close-up shot of Deceit’s hands as he carefully decorates a cookie with green and yellow icing. The cookie art he is working on appears to be a half-finished octopus. The gif then fades into a mid-shot of Remus, with his back to the camera, facing a canvas. The canvas is blank, and Remus appears to be laying out paints on a table to his left.

The second gif depicts Deceit seated at his couch, facing the camera. He has many ingredients spread across his coffee table (including oats, cocoa powder, and butter) and appears to be in the process of laying out several more. The gif fades to show Remus seated at a similar couch with a similar coffee table in front of him. The camera is angled slightly downward to better show the myriad of knives spread out across the table. Remus is gesturing wildly with a morning star held in his hand.

The third gif depicts Deceit in his kitchen. He is pulling on a bright, yellow knitted cardigan, and smirking toward the camera. The gif fades to show Remus in his bedroom, seated on his bed. He is holding up a similar-looking cardigan toward the camera and grinning. /end ID]

“Remus, it’s almost two in the morning. Come to bed.”

“I’m coming, sorry. Twitter distracted me.”

“Mm. I can’t believe the bird app is more distracting than I am.”

“You should try harder.”

“Come to bed and maybe I will.”

“Ok, ok, I’m coming. Hang on though, is it cool if I post this?”

“Sure. They figured it out anyway.”

“Sweet. Ok, Jannie, I’m coming.”

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It reads: “Dukeceit is canon.” /end ID]

#dukeceit #dukeceitweek #remus sanders #janus sanders #sanders sides fic #kye writes

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xlehukax · 5 years ago

Text

Still Beating Heart

Foreword: Hello! I’ve been working on this thing for a little while now, and it’s finally done! This fanfiction is set in the Pediatric Doctors AU that I made, that you can learn more about here. It’s done in conjunction to writings by @eeveeeclair246, to who has the first installment of this series, titled Inefficent Iron, which you can find here. And, if you don’t want to read on Tumblr, I get it! This will also be on Archives in a hot minute, so check my Masterpost for the link. Now, on with the show!

Ships: Roman x Virgil, Implied Remus x Logan

Word Count: 10215

Warnings: LANGUAGE, Alcoholism, Bars, Panic Attacks, Medical Issues (ie. weak hearts), Cheating, Implied Sexual Content, Implied Rape, that creeping feeling of regret.

Summary: Virgil’s always been the quiet nurse, the prickly one, the don’t talk to me unless there’s an issue one. Roman’s fresh out of a relationship, and looking to go out on the town, and needs a friend to go along with. And Virgil can’t say no to his crush, even if they work in the same place.

~~~~

It’s just another day at the office: by that, Virgil means, Patton��s handing out cookies, Logan’s being a work-aholic and refuses to let any of the patients go to Janus, in which is being very meticulous and annoyingly good at his job and refusing to let Virgil do his, Remus is going through the latest urine samples, and Roman is doing what Roman does best. Ranting about his latest breakup while painting his nails in the receptionist booth.

And Virgil just happens to be the only one around, after Patton leads the last patient of the day to Logan and the waiting room finally empties. Virgil simply sighs in defeat, and tries to shrink into his nurse uniform. Let it be known, he did not choose to be there. Or ever.

“Emo, are you even listening?”

“Yup, yes, I am, absolutely,”

“Alright, just had to make sure, you know, you tend to ignore me, which you’d think is impossible but you never cease to surprise me in that regard. Anyway, so this guy, Ethan- total dreamboat, eyes bluer than you’d ever believe. So I met him on this app, and we went for drinks a few weeks ago: and thirty minutes in, I’m in love. He’s a painter. Sweetest guy- we end up at his apartment, and you know- but I was in it for the long haul. Virgil, I was really ready for a long-term with this guy. He seemed like he was down for it too… and then, just yesterday, you know what I found in his apartment?”

“Another person,” Virgil sighs.

“Some floozy, blond and covered in hickeys, and Ethan painting her. Like, I didn’t know what to be more offended about: the fact that he cheated on me or that he doesn’t have a sexy painting of me!”

“Mhmm…” Virgil’s almost fallen asleep, and doesn’t even notice Roman hovering utop him until he’s right in his face.

“Virgil-” Roman shouts, and Virgil startles right into Roman’s arms. Which he now is realizing quite quickly are not just incredibly strong because they hold his weight easily, but landing their faces inches apart. Virgil sucks in a gasp- Roman smirks. “Hey there… you know, you’re not too bad looking yourself. Under all that makeup, you’re quite the princess, aren’t you?” It takes Virgil a moment to craft a response, he’s so scatterbrained and blushing.

“Fuck off Princey, I’m not your latest conquest,” Virgil hisses, still a large flush on his features. Roman flicks his nose.

“Yeah, but you’re still cute. Maybe I should date you~”

“In your fucking dreams- you cycle through boyfriends so fast, I’ll be dust in the wind,”

“Hmm,” Roman still hasn’t let Virgil go, and it is not helping the warmth in his face whatsoever, “Can’t argue with that.” And then Virgil is unceremoniously dumped onto the chair he was sitting in, with Roman towering above him. Did he always have those pretty eyes? He’s got these fantastically plump lips, it really shows when he’s smirking like that. And that hair is quite… quite royal- now that he’s looking at it-

Bloody hell, stop, now’s not the time to fawn, Virgil curses at himself. Virgil has always been introverted, and this- this interaction, Roman’s boldness with him… it’s completely unfamiliar. A bold move, reaching into his space, completely ignoring all of the protective glares and hisses that Virgil had in place. Disregarded his shields completely. Virgil has been harboring a bit of an infatuation with this confident musical wonder as of late, and this is not helping matters. Roman chuckles, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, J.Delightful, now I simply must make use of this situation,”

“What are you getting at-” Virgil snarls, to which Roman simply grins widely.

“You’re going to be my new wingman. There’s a open mic at a gay bar I frequent, and if I’m going to find somebody, then I need someone else to be my safety buddy. You know, watch for creepy old men who hit on me and all that jazz,” Roman pushes, eyes alight with excitement, “Patton won’t go with me anymore because he doesn’t like the loud noises, Logan doesn’t drink, I’m not asking Janus to come he’ll scare them all away or steal the attention, and Remus- well, you can probably guess why not Remus, and it’s not because people approach us because we’re twins. I can’t believe I’ve never asked you to come with me! It’ll give us some good outside of work bonding time too. Isn’t it great?”

“I don’t want to,” Virgil grumbles. Roman tuts.

“Oh come on now- am I so hard to be around?” No, Virgil thinks, and that’s the problem. “Pfft, if it’s really so hard, I’ll just cave and bring around someone else.”

“No…” Virgil whispers, so quiet that he’s sure it’s nearly silent, and Roman’s eyebrow perks up.

“Hmm? Was that a no I just heard?”

“I just- I’m not good in social situations, do you even really want me there? I’ll probably just screw your chances, scare people off,”

“Perfect! I’ll need someone to scare someone off,”

“But- I’ll damper on your fun,”

“Never! You will never cease to be fun to poke fun at,”

“I don’t know, Princey. You really want me there?” Virgil says, looking away and speaking in hushed tones still. Roman grabs his pale hands, squeezing them tightly.

“I need you, Virge,” Roman purrs. Virgil blushes harder, somehow, and tucks his head into his shoulder and murmurs his agreement. Damn it. “Wonderful! I’ll pick you up at 9, how does that sound?”

“Wait, tonight?” Virgil squawks. Roman drops his hands, blessedly, and steps back from him shrewdly. Smart, as Virgil’s immediate response is to throw a punch. Roman easily sidesteps.

“Oh, yes- did I not mention that? Tonight. It’s Friday,” Roman nods, smiling wickedly. Oh my god, I need to bathe, I need to find something nice-ish to wear, unearth my good eyeshadow, fuck it all I need new skin-

“Hey, hey, don’t freak. You don’t have to get all fancy for me: wear what makes you comfortable, and I’ll stop by your apartment at 9,”

“Wait a second- how do you know where I live?” Virgil says, suddenly horrified. Roman snickers.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Uh, yes I would,” Virgil growls.

“Pfft, I need to know everyone’s addresses, I’m the receptionist, Virge. It’s my job,” Roman scoffs. Virgil blushes: well, now he feels foolish. But it reminds him: Roman and himself work together. It doesn’t matter if something comes out of this, as it is- Remus and Logan are constantly being sickeningly cute around the office. The real problem is if he screws this up, and still has to go to work with him the next day. This is a really bad idea. But… When will he have another golden opportunity like this one?

“Okay, okay- 9, right?”

“Yes! Thank you, My Chemically Imbalanced Romance- you’re going to have so much fun. I’ll sing a song just for you, as thanks,” Roman grins cheekily, Virgil blows the hair out of his eyes, attempting nonchalant despite the whirlwind of anxiety confined within.

“Alright, fine, whatever. Should I- should I dress a certain way? Wait, is there a dress code? How much money should I bring? Is it credit or cash? Do they have food there? Will I have to dance?” Virgil shudders at the thought of dancing, even with Roman, who is currently blinking rapidly under the onslaught of questions.

“Okay erm, just dress how you normally do? Scratch that, a peg hotter than a hoodie, thank you. No dress code, have you ever been to a bar? Just bring your wallet, think about how many drinks you want, and I’m dancing whether you’re going to or not, so-”

Virgil takes notes internally, already too worried about this whole ordeal. He should really just cancel, say he just remembered something, but he knows he’ll regret that later. Either way, the only other thing he’s doing tonight is hanging with his spider, Missy, and watching Unsolved Mysteries. So…

“I’ll- I’ll see you later then, Princey,” Virgil murmurs, before gathering the few things he has around him and breezing past whilst trying to make it appear like he’s not running away.

“See you!! At least pretend to be excited- It’s going to be one hell of a night, Virge- you won’t regret this!”

As Virgil silently clocks out (Patton will take over the end of the day nurse activities, it’s fine) he thinks to himself, I certainly hope not.

~~~~~

And then, it’s already 8:50, too soon. Virgil showered, twice, because the first time he used his usual unscented body wash for work and not the one that smells like lavender and violets and by jove Roman inviting him out after work deserves more than unscented. Then the clothes resulted in a mini fashion show in front of the mirror for an hour, where upon he finally settled on a black button down over a grey undershirt with some black ripped jeans (it took him another 25 minutes to decide on mostly untucked in a ‘I just threw this on’ careless feel), and his favorite purple and black hoodie just in case it got cold… of which he ended up shivering right away anyhow and put it on anyway.

And then a whole other hour on makeup: a very tasteful black eyeliner and purple and black smokey eye with just a hint of dark glitter. Some lipstick, and a little dust on his cheekbones, and Virgil finally felt confident, an emotion that lasted all of ten minutes when he realized that he hadn’t chosen a pair of shoes yet.

The shoes took another thirty minutes alone. And then the idea of changing his hair up a little occurred to him, and that was another hour wasted that ended with keeping his regular low-hanging hair anyway.

And now he’s trying not to look like he’s waiting, because he doesn’t want to be waiting on Roman, but he needs to see if his car comes up, but he doesn’t want to be desperate, so he’s panicking slightly in his apartment with all the lights off because he was going to leave and now he’s freaking out instead, because he doesn’t know if it’s more appropriate to wait for Roman to text him that he’s outside and head downstairs after that or to just head downstairs now like a normal person or maybe he just shouldn’t go. His head slowly stops pounding, and his breath evens out, the oncoming anxiety attack fading away with the thought. Yeah, maybe Virgil can stay home instead- there’s too many variables anyway.

When Virgil was young, he was always making decisions like this. He was sick, not like crazy-sick, but sick. Anemia, coupled with coronary heart disease, topped off with bronchitis. He had weak lungs, weak heart, weak blood- his whole body was frail, and sometimes his blood didn’t move around fast enough to make him work right. There was no running around, no nothing: he was constantly worried about every little thing, because his parents were. Did you take your pills today? How was your bloodwork? Are you feeling woozy? Until Virgil just stopped leaving the house whatsoever. It was just easier. There was no chance of passing out while crossing a street and getting run over, never going to embarrass himself at school by having a heart attack…

And wouldn’t you know, staying at home made him only sicker. No muscle mass whatsoever, pale as a ghost, always so cold, so frail from not getting enough nutrients. His parents made the best decision of their lives and set him down the path that led him here by… by hiring a nurse. A kind nurse, with funny jokes and encouragement, who helped him go outside for the first time in months. Who taught him little things to make him stronger, like light weights. Virgil grew out of his heart disease, and though he still had bronchitis and anemia, he regularly took medications which made them easy to handle. And just like that, Virgil was no longer sickly (at least externally, he still had anxiety, but he’s managing it). Then he was a normal teenager, who wanted to be strong enough to help someone in the same way that nurse had.

Here Virgil is now- and he’s not going to fall into that same loop he was in as a kid. He’s better now, medicating only when needed. Virgil is all lean-muscle, and he’s better than his anxiety. He can totally go on a date-not-a-date with his crush to a gay karaoke bar. Totally. Taking a deep breath, Virgil checks his phone (which is fully charged with two mini backup batteries on his keys tucked into his back pocket) and realizes with horror that Roman texted a whole six minutes ago while Virgil was panicking that he was waiting downstairs.

“Shit!” Virgil slams his door, and just runs down the stairs instead of taking the elevator (he only lives on the fourth floor anyway, because anything higher than like 10 fire ladders can’t get to and there’s a 50% possibility of surviving a fall from four stories), and hopes his meticulous makeup job isn’t ruined. By Roman’s expression, he doesn’t think it did-

He had been grinning teasingly, mouth open to say some quip, but his jaw goes slack when he sees Virgil. Roman’s eyes are wide, leaning up against his red car, as he watches Virgil stop by the curb only a few feet in front of him. Roman whistles.

“Damn, Virgil… you look- damn. Wowza, do you clean up nice,” Roman falls over his words, making Virgil flush. Roman thinks I look good- I did good, it’s all good.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, Princey,” Virgil whispers. Because really, he doesn’t: Roman’s white dress shirt has the top two buttons undone, showing off his pectorals and just a hint of his abs, and some nice pants. His hair is done over to the side, and one crown earring hangs from an ear. It’s really a delightful look, but makes Virgil feel out of place with his dark clothes and his heavy makeup. Roman only has a light bit. “Did I go overboard? I can- I can wash it off,” Virgil asks, hating that he’s offering to change this intensive and difficult look for a stupid guy.

“No, no- you look gorgeous. Seriously Virge, you should do my makeup. Like, I feel outdone, and I never feel that way! Come on, get on in, let’s go,” Roman shoos Virgil into the car, where he feels just as much if not more awkward. Still, he’s excited, out of this world excited: Roman likes how he looks. Roman finds him attractive, and they’re going to the club, together.

Not together, Virgil- you’re just his buddy. Virgil has to remind him that this is not a date, that he’s gotten all worried and dressed up for sitting at a bar and watching Roman flirt with other men. It makes his heart ache, but at least they’re together now .

“We’re almost there, Emo. You ready to have a good time?”

“I uh- erm, I mean. Yeah. Yeah sure, I’ll have fun sitting in the corner doing fucking nothing, that’s what I’m ready for,” Virgil’s suddenly defensive and feels horrible about the crude outburst.

“Oh my- Virge, do you not want to go? I don’t want to force you into anything!” No, I do, I do!

“Eh, it’s whatever. I got all dressed up, be a shame to not go out. I just- I don’t like to- I’m-”

“I know you don’t like being left alone! Don’t worry, I’ll be close by the whole time. I’ll watch you if you watch me, yeah?”

“Why are you so worried about being watched? You’ve clearly been to a lot of these things…” Virgil changes the subject to hide his flush at Roman’s empathy for him.

“Ah, well- I have been to a lot of these things, and I’ve had some… unfavorable experiences. A few times now, guys have put stuff in my drinks, or waited for me to get drunk and then take me home. It’s… it’s not what I want. I go to meet new people, not to get a one-night stand that I didn’t want. They don’t make me feel good. I hate it,” Roman growls at the road, and Virgil makes what might be a rash decision and places his long pale hands on Roman’s tanned worn ones by the gearshift. Roman looks over at him, and Virgil ducks his head. Roman smiles.

“I’ll watch out for you, I promise. I don’t really drink either, ‘cuz of my blood issues, so I can drive home too,” Virgil murmurs, still looking away. Roman moves his hand around, grips his tightly. Virgil doesn’t look at it, but knows they’re intertwined, and it makes his head hurt.

“Thank you, Virge. Aaand, we’re here,” the bar is bright in the dark evening, a neon sign advertising it, and Roman pulls into a parking space behind the building. He takes his key, and reaches out to put it in Virgil's pocket. “Don’t trust myself to hand em over, this thing’s my baby. I’m trusting you, though, and you gotta be good about that, alright?”

Virgil nods, and allows Roman to exit the car and help him out the other side. Roman throws his arm over Virgil’s shoulders, and saunters into the bar. As expected, it is loud. Someone’s already singing, a song by Chicago, and is doing pretty okay. There are bright lights here and there, some spots illuminated completely and others in darkness. There’s a whole load of people here too: some make eyes at him as he walks in. Virgil sticks to Roman, who chuckles, as they both head to the bar. The bartender seems to recognize Roman.

“Here for the open mic, are you, King?”

“You know it! Sign me right on up,” Roman laughs. Roman’s arm drops from Virgil’s shoulders. The bartender rolls his eyes, swipes some green dyed locks from his vision and writes Roman’s name on a pad.

“What song are you singing?”

“It’s a surprise, like usual, Vincent, I don’t know why you even bother asking,”

“Uh huh. And I see you brought a friend… you wanna sing too, baby-cheeks?” Vincent asks, leaning forwards.

Virgil hisses at him, then clears his throat.

“I don’t fucking sing,” he snarls, adding in his mind, in public. Vincent smiles knowingly.

“Aha, a feisty one. You really know how to pick em’, eh? Can I get you a drink then?” Virgil feels like he’s about to explode: this is not what he signed up for. He is here to be with Roman and watch out for him, not take this guy’s shit. Roman notices, and slings his arm once more over him.

“Nah, just a work colleague. He’s a nurse~ and doesn’t drink. It’s a shame, I know, but it’ll work better in my favor anyway. I’ll save money on the taxi. Incredible Sulk, how does a black coffee sound?”

“I guess that’s okay,” Virgil grumbles, glaring at this man even as he shrugs and complies. They both take a seat at the bar, Roman ordering some complicated fancy thing to match his personality and Virgil immediately hunching over his hot coffee. It’s surprisingly good for a bar, bitter yet flavourful, and Virgil finds himself smiling down at it.

“Eh, I think that smile says it’s more than just okay!” Roman purrs, shimmying closer to Virgil and bumping their shoulders. It seems as though the alcohol is already having an effect, his disposition somehow brighter. Virgil shies away slightly. Someone else saddles up to the bar and introduces himself. This man has long swoopy raven hair, and is even more lanky than Logan. He leans by Roman, eyes colder than Virgil would like. The dark haired fellow decides to listen in on the conversation… just in case.

“Hey, do I know you from somewhere?” the stranger says. Roman puts his hand on the bar, slurps the rest of his drink down in one go.

“I’m not sure- I do tend to get around. Where do you think you know me from, blue eyes?” Oh no. The guy’s got blue eyes, he didn’t even notice that. Virgil mourns his only chance at getting with Roman- this guy’s stealing it.

“Oh, I know! The theatre, right? You were Jason Dean in the Heathers production! Scary shit, man. You’re a fantastic singer. Hey, can we get another drink?” the stranger waves over Vincent, who fixes Roman another bright cocktail. Roman immediately starts fiddling with the straw, and looks up at the stanger.

“The name’s Roman. What’s yours?”

“I’m Lucian. It’s nice to meet you. Man, it’s so loud here: I wish we could go~,” Lucian says. Virgil narrows his eyes at the stranger, takes another sip of coffee. Roman smirks, and turns and winks at Virgil as if to say Look at this catch. Virgil tries to smile, but is pretty sure it’s just a grimace. It may just be Virgil’s luck (despite how it affects Roman) but Virgil notices Lucian dropping something in Roman’s drink. Virgil slams the table, slaps Lucian, and pushes the drink away. He fists his hand in Lucian’s shirt, able to lift the man a foot or two in the air. Patrons gawk at the events unfolding, Roman seems shocked.

“Don’t fucking touch Roman’s drink, what the fuck did you put in there you bastard?”

“Dude- that’s my drink. It was a little additive, I can consume alcohol without risk without it! He seemed to be enjoying it so much, I asked for one too, can you please- let me down, you’re hurting me-” Virgil snarls, but drops him anyway. Roman touches Virgil’s shoulder gently.

“He’s right, it’s his drink, Virgil. Thank you for defending me, but really it’s okay-” Roman reassures him, smiling placatingly, and all Virgil can feel is embarrassed. Embarrassed out of his mind and his anxiety is shooting through the roof.

“I-I… I- uh… I-” to make matters worse, another man comes stomping up to him, throws his drink on Virgil. His hoodie is now soaked, his shirt too. Virgil’s lower lip trembles. He grits his jaw against them, holding it in. Despite the fact that he’s made a total fool of himself in front of Roman. Virgil wants to bite his nails, to go home, to run away and never return. This new man points his finger right in Virgil’s face.

“Who the hell do you think you are, grabbing my husband’s shirt like that?” he growls. Virgil wants to hide in his sopping wet hoodie. Hide and never come back.

“I- erm, uh- umm-”

“My friend here is very sorry, there’s been a misunderstanding. Hey, can I buy the both of you a drink? Tell me how you met,” Roman leads them both away, looking pityingly at Virgil, “How bout you go to the bathroom and clean yourself up a little, huh? I’ll take care of this.”

Virgil ducks his head and runs with his tail between his legs. He throws himself into the surprisingly clean stall and locks it tight before falling down on the seat fully clothed. I can’t believe you did that you fucking idiot you’ll never shape up what were you thinking doing some stupid stunt like that? You’ve ruined it. Ruined everything. There’s no way Roman will ever want you now. Virgil’s panic attack is coming on quickly, like a train hurtling down a track with no end in sight. He doesn’t want it to happen, but he starts to cry.

Usually, Virgil looks to his familiar hoodie for comfort. But his hoodie is soaked, and Virgil is shivering in it. He should take it off. But he doesn’t want to, he just wants to wallow in it and wither away.

You’ll never amount to anything. You should have just stayed inside: no one would have missed you. Roman had to clean up after your mess, you were supposed to be helping and now you’re just rotting in the bathroom like an idiot. Why did you even come, if you’re just going to be a let down?

Virgil’s breath is coming out in uneven gasps, his heart is palpitating dangerously. He really shouldn’t be alone, he should go out and- no, no, no. His skin is too tight, his head is too small, and his hands are pressing bruises into his arms, he is holding them so tight. What is he supposed to do again? When his thoughts get too big for his mind and he feels like fainting, feels like how he was when he was younger and like his heart could just give out any minute and the next time he blinked open his eyes he’d be on a hospital bed.

His hazy, anxiety-filled mind vaguely recalls a conversation he had with Logan once, after he had pulled him back from an attack in the workplace (he mixed up two patients and fell apart in an empty room) that he should… he should ask for help. Call me, he had said, no matter the time. Just call me for help, and I’ll talk it out with you.

Logan is on speedial, Logan, Logan can help- with shaking fingers, Virgil can just make out the emergency phone button on his cell to call Logan.

The ringing of the phone helps station Virgil, stations him better than the pain in his hands. It picks up on the fifth ring.

“Hello, Doctor Logan Berry speaking.”

“Logan,” Virgil’s voice sounds so fucking raspy and teary, sounds so horrendously uncertain, “You- you said to call, and- if you’re busy just hang up, it’s fine you don’t have to worry, actually this was a bad idea, I’m going to hang up-”

“You will do no such thing, Virgil. Stay on the line with me. Scale of one to ten, how bad?”

“I- uh, I dunno, probably like- like a seven? I messed everything up, Lo, I- fuck, I can’t do anything right-”

“Well, that is one foul-tempered lie. Let’s calm down first, yes, and then you’ll tell me all about what happened. I’m sure it’s better than it seems,” Janus’s voice, even hindered through the phone, forces Virgil to relax. He had no idea that Janus could hear, but apparently they’re together. His mind recalls lamely that tonight is when they get together to go over payments and make sure everything is in order. A part of him is glad that Janus can hear; He’s like a hypnotist with his voice, a snake. Virgil nods, then another wave of idiocy flows through him because it’s over the phone.

“Okay, Virgil, now exhale through your mouth. I want to hear it through the telephone,” Logan instructs, no nonsense.

Virgil shakily breathes out.

“Good. Now close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose. I’m going to count to four, alright?”

“O-okay,” Virgil complies, breathing it in. Janus counts him off rhythmically over the phone: Logan’s on the right and Janus on the left, and the result is relaxing.

“Hold your breath now for seven seconds. I’ll count for you once more.” Janus-

“Exhale again, for a total of eight seconds. Here we go-” Logan-

“Exceptional work, darling. You’re doing so well. Let’s repeat the process a few more times, how does that sound?” Janus-

Holy hell, do they make a good team.

And just like that, Virgil feels better. His chest eases, his mind soothes, and he’s no longer shaking.

“Thank you, both of you. That was- it was really fucking helpful. I don’t know what would happen if I was here alone,”

“If you don’t mind me asking… where is here?” Logan asks, dry and with no sense of privacy whatsoever.

“I’m at a bar with Roman. He- he invited me, because he wanted backup, and I made a total fool of myself. I got all aggressive on this guy who did nothing wrong,”

“Aha, jealous?” There’s a sound of Janus wrestling the phone from Logan, much to his displeasure, “Just finish this weeks, Berry-” is heard through the phone.

“Maybe… hey, wait a second! Who told you-”

“I’m not blind, Virgil. Nor stupid. Don’t even try that on me. It might work on the nerd, and even Remus and Patton, but unlike them, I’m not clueless,”

Virgil pouts, grunting softly. Is he really that obvious?

“Whatever! And now… I’ve got no chance with him. I don’t know why I even came here, anyone could see that it was a stupid idea.”

“No- well, yes, this was very stupid and most likely going to end in strife, but you still certainly have a chance! Remember, this is Roman we’re talking about: he’s a carousel when it comes to men, always changing.”

“That’s part of the issue, Jan- where am I? I’ll be left behind, and have to watch as he finds a another and another and another-”

“You’re starting to panic again, Virgil. Calm yourself. And I know that won’t happen.”

“How?”

“You’re more perceptive, attentive, and caring than any of those guys will ever be. Roman would be even more of an idiot than either of us could possibly imagine if he were to let you go. Again, I am not blind: I see how good you are with the patients. You are careful and thoughtful. Despite how you might see yourself, Virgil, you are a good person. A wonderful person, who makes mistakes, but always fixes them. You do not leave them behind you. You feel empathy, and guilt, two very humane things, and you remedy your problems. That’s what happened with me, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah… I guess, I guess you’re right,” Virgil’s blushing again. It’s true, that he doesn't like to leave things unsaid or unfinished: it makes him terribly worried, and the only solution he’s found is confronting them head on. Janus and Virgil had met long ago, when they were both younger: Janus had just started medical practices, and done work for Virgil. It ultimately failed and hurt Virgil more, which sparked deep hatred on Virgil’s side and a continued regret on Janus’s. They eventually reconciled, reuniting later when Virgil started out as a nurse, and everything had become much better.

“Now, get back out there, darling. You’ll do great.”

“...Thanks, Janus,”

“Anytime,” and with that, Janus hangs up the phone to return to Logan. Virgil sighs to himself, and exits the stall: in the mirror, he sees his makeup all ruined. He washes it off, cleans his hoodie (which is relatively drier now) and ends up taking off the damp shirt as well. Thank goodness he’s wearing an undershirt: walking out topless seems hellish, and this only slightly better.

It’s been a while since Virgil has gone anywhere without his hoodie on or makeup. He barely recognizes himself, and he sees this face every morning. But… it’ll be what it’ll be. Checking his phone, Virgil realizes that he’s been in the bathroom for… nearly two hours?

Oh my god, I hope Roman hasn’t left yet- Virgil flies out of the bathroom, holding his damp dress shirt and beloved hoodie in one crooked arm. Scanning the room, he notices Roman sitting at one of the small square tables watching some guy sing “Mad World” somewhat decently. Virgil sighs in relief, and walks over and sits right in front of him.

“Princey, thank god you’re still here. I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” Virgil says, his voice softer than usual from all the crying. Roman looks at him, a smile curving on his features.

“Hello there, you’re- you’re pretty,” Roman slurs slightly mid sentence, and Virgil gapes. Roman is drunk. Very drunk. So drunk, that he doesn’t recognize Virgil without his makeup and hoodie. While Virgil stares openmouthed, Roman reaches over and squeezes his bicep. “Ooh, you’re so strong too! Pretty face, and a hot body-”

“Roman, you seriously don’t recognize me? Honest to god?” Virgil insists. Roman blinks slowly, but there’s no spark. Roman seriously has no idea, Virgil’s a stranger.

He should probably bring him home.

Or… he can start over. Roman won’t remember it anyway: this might be his only chance.

“I think I’d remember such a handsome prince” Roman huffs. Virgil, unsurprisingly, blushes.

“That’s very kind of you. You don’t look half bad yourself,” Virgil purrs.

“Oh- you’re a flirt too! I like you,” Roman smiles widely, “Do you want to get another drink?”

“I think you’ve had enough… do you want to go up and sing instead?” Virgil suggests, scooching closer to Roman. Touching his clothed shoulder, he feels how warm Roman is. Roman snuggles up to Virgil just a tad- he’s over affectionate, and with no filter, and no sense. It’s adorable, and Virgil is glad he got here when he did, because who knows who would take advantage of this cuddly child-like man?

Now he understands why Roman needs a drinking buddy.

“I love singing, I’m very good at it. I like Disney too. Do you like Disney?”

“Yes, I like Disney,” Virgil snorts. They’ve had this debate over and over: the both of them like the franchise, though Virgil sees the darker bits that Roman tends to ignore.

“You wanna- you wanna sing Love is an Open Door with me? I like that song, it’s a good song-” Roman rambles, looking excited. Virgil hates public speaking, let alone public speaking, but… he doesn’t know anyone here, what’s the issue?

“That sounds good. Let’s go sign up, shall we?” Virgil suggests, Roman excitedly clinging to Virgil’s arm.

“You’re so cold, it’s so nice,” Roman murmurs, rubbing his face on Virgil’s bare shoulder. Virgil can’t help but smile: his heart is beating fast, but in a fantastic way. Vincent doubletakes as they make it to the bar.

“Hey you two- heading home? Ro looks pretty slammed…”

“I’ll take him home in a bit. He wants to do one more song,” Virgil explains. Roman giggles, and Virgil’s heart does another flip. His smile widens.

“Ah, sorry folks- Roman can’t do another one. He’s already exhausted the limit of five: you should have heard him sing some of those. An undercover celebrity, he is,” Vincent reaches over and mussies Roman’s hair, to which Virgil slaps his hand away.

“Princey, did you hear? You can’t sing another one,” Virgil tells him, his voice still soft.

“Aww, really? I wanna- I wanna sing some ‘ore,” Roman pouts, his lower lips trembling. Virgil kisses his cheek, just a peck really, that’s all he can manage without exploding. Roman turns on a dime, sadness morphing to elation all at once. He leans in for another, to which Virgil declines, pushing him away with a palm.

“Hey, how about I sing a song for you, huh? How does that sound?” Virgil asks, nervous beyond anything at singing in front of all these people, but Roman seems so ecstatic at the thought that Virgil knows he’ll be going through with it.

“You sing? But you just-” gawks Vincent. Virgil glares at him.

“Don’t act so surprised. And yes, I do. Just didn’t feel like saying it. Totally. When do I go up?”

“After this guy,” Vincent points at the person going on stage, and Virgil steels himself for this experience. It’s okay, you’re the only one who’ll remember. It’ll be fine. Virgil starts walking closer to the stage, Roman hanging on him still. “Hey, dude, are you going to tell me what you’re singing? I’ll set it up for you,”

“I got it. We’re good, right Princey?”

“I’m so good, I’m the best, you’re so nice, gonna sing a song for me-” Roman rambles. Virgil shakes his head good-humoredly, adoring this side of him. Not suave or fanciful at all: only cute. They come to a table right by the stage, miraculously empty and clean.

“Okay, Ro, you wanna sit here and watch?” Roman smiles, nodding quickly, and plops down in one of the chairs. Virgil goes beside him, fanning his confidence by reaching for his large hand. Just like in the car, Roman takes it and squeezes.

“I’m so moved, you’re going to sing something for me! So romantic!” Roman gushes. Virgil blushes, rubbing his thumb on Roman’s sun-kissed hand.

“I’ll sing it just for you: you know, I really don’t like public speaking. Or any of this stuff… but you’re not going to remember me, so I don’t think it’ll matter. I really really like you, Roman. I’ve known you for a while, so it wasn’t all at once, but you tease me with all of your flirty winks and tell me about how much you get around and today, calling me pretty- you’re destroying me, and you don’t even notice. You never do, and- Janus said that I’d be good for you. Grounding. A good boyfriend. I don’t know what he sees in me, but clearly you don’t see that. You like- you like grand gestures, romance, and flirting… I can’t do any of that. Except for today, when I’m not nervous anymore, because you’re never going to remember this whole thing. It’ll just be for me. Just for me to remember, for you to enjoy now. You’ll never know how much I love you anyway, so it’s just for me. Just for poor heartsick Virgil,” Virgil tells him, under the lights and despite the singing in the background. Roman blinks a few times, not understanding.

“I- uhm… I don’t understand, whadda ya mean?” Roman squints at him. Virgil sighs, presses their foreheads together and gets up.

“Doesn’t matter. I only want to say… whatever, it doesn’t matter. It’s my turn to go,” and Virgil pulls away, waving slightly to the confused man, and hunches his shoulders to make him look small as he walks to the center of the stage. Scrolling through the music (it operates sort of like a karaoke machine), Virgil selects a song he knows.

Virgil doesn’t particularly like his singing voice: his mother loves it, would sing along with him during Nightmare Before Christmas, and told him it was very nice. It’s kind of low, gentle, and the words flow into the next.

“The dawn is breaking, a light shining through… you’re barely waking, and I’m tangled up in you,” Virgil sings quietly. It’s awkward, and he can’t look out into the audience at all, and he hears them ignore him. He takes a deep breath, and continues. “I’m open, you’re closed. Where I follow, you’ll go. I worry I won’t see your face light up again,”

People are starting to notice Virgil, as his voice rises, and it’s frightening but also exhilarating. He refuses to make eye-contact with them, unlike Roman who always does, and speaking of him- it’s very clear that Roman’s watching, enraptured. Virgil can practically feel it.

“Even the best fall down sometimes, even the wrong words seem to rhyme- Out of the doubt that fills my mind, I somehow find you and I, collide,” Someone in the crowd whistles, causing Virgil to struggle a bit, but he picks it up right after. He’s imagining that it’s only him and Missy and- Roman. Virgil glances up at Roman barely: he’s awestruck, and it fills Virgil’s heart with glee.

“I’m quiet you know.You make a first impression. But I’ve found I’m scared to know you’re always on my mind,” Virgil messes up the lyrics a bit, but no one notices at all. They’re cheering him on, listening attentively- it helps him go on, return his gaze to the floor.

“Even the best fall down sometimes, even the stars refuse to shine, out of the back you fall in time, somehow find, you and I- collide,” Virgil’s voice is still quiet: even as his confidence rises, he can’t seem to raise it at all.

“Don’t stop here. I’ve lost my place. I’m close behind,” Virgil used to sing this song with his parents, when he was young: his mother and father would sing and dance with him. It has sentimental value, it reminds him of childhood and pain and love and survival. They used to sing it to him, comforting him with the words. He knows every one.

“Even the best fall down sometimes. Even the wrong words seem to rhyme. Out of the doubt that fills your mind, you finally find that you and I collide. Finally find that you and I collide. You finally find you and I collide,” the music plays for a while longer, with Virgil humming along rhythmically. When it finally fades out, Virgil scurries off the stage to thunderous applause. It is way too much attention, all at once. On his way, he grabs Roman’s sleeve, dragging him out as people fawn. As they rapidly exit, Vincent calls out from the bar.

“Hey, grump- I don’t sing, my ass! You sing gorgeous! Come back anytime, with or without Roman!” Virgil glares at him, and then he’s out into the parking lot.

“Phew- that was- oh my god, that was exhilarating. Roman? What did… what did you mmfp-” Virgil was smiling until he was cut off by Roman’s lips on his. Virgil moans into it: it’s more decadent than he could have ever imagined. Roman’s lips are deceptively soft and taste like strawberries. He finally moves back for air, and Virgil leans against the car, holding his mouth. Did… did that just happen? It takes a second to register that a) Roman kissed him, and b) that it doesn’t matter because he’s not in his right mind. It’s worth nothing beyond right now… but it means so so much. Virgil will remember this for the rest of his godforsaken life.

“Ro-Roman, what was that for?” Virgil murmurs, touching his lips addictively.

“You’re the kindest guy I’ve ever met. God, I want to take you home. Handsome, and sweet, and caring and a voice of an angel. I wish I met you forever ago,” Roman says, approaching closer to Virgil until he’s pressed up against the car and can feel Roman’s warmth, “Fuck… I don’t even know your name, but you’re… you’re magic,”

“You’re making me seem better than I am, really,” Virgil flushes, feeling all sorts of fuzzy feelings. Roman chuckles, coming in closer to lean his head on Virgil’s shoulders.

“I don’t… I don’t think I am, beautiful… I just- I don’t want to go home alone tonight. I’m so freaking lonely, all the goddamn time. So lonely… it’s only me, and no one really cares, when it comes down to it,” Roman sighs, on the verge of tears. Virgil is dumbfounded: who would have thought? Roman, the Prince of Theatre, who sings songs to children and flirts easily, and never is by himself because he’s a magnet for conversation… is lonely.

“Maybe we can be lonely together,” Virgil whispers aloud, meaning it to be internal but slipping out anyway.

“Can… can we?” Roman pleads, “Please?” Virgil exhales: he’s so cute. Remember though- he’s not going to recall any of this. It hurts, all of a sudden, that Virgil is at once Roman’s world and at the same time an illusion.

“Alright, alright. We’ll see,” Virgil smiles at him. Roman leans down for another kiss, and now Virgil lets him. What’s the harm? I’m the only one who will hurt. I can take it. “I should take you home now, huh? You can’t drive, you’re drunk,”

“Pfft- I am not-”

“You are,” Virgil rolls his eyes, unlocking his car, “Now get in.” Roman shuffles his feet around. Virgil glares.

“In the car, Princey, you have to go home now,” he demands. Roman frowns, looks away stubbornly. And, just like a puppy, he’s adorable but persistent as all hell. Roman murmurs something under his breath, inaudible. Glancing at him kinder, Virgil asks him to speak up.

“I don’t wanna go home, I wanna stay with you,” Roman mumbles, slightly louder. And, Virgil is struck right in the heart. My god, is it even legal to be that cute? Virgil sighs: he should bring Roman to his house, that’s what he had asked before he was intoxicated, and he definitely can’t take advantage of him, but… those eyes are begging for him to stay with him. He can’t refuse.

“Okay, okay, you win. It’s going to be impossible to explain this to you in the morning, but whatever! I’ll drive you to my house,” Virgil agrees, and the look of pure elation on Roman’s face is more than reward enough. Though Virgil has to help Roman’s wobby body into the passenger seat and buckle him up, he can’t stop smiling.

Even as he starts the car to drive it home.

Even as Roman says he’s going to be sick.

Even as he has to rush Roman upstairs to his apartment before he pukes all over the place, Virgil is happy.

Roman hugs Virgil’s middle after he cleans him up. Missy and Roman get along swimmingly, Virgil offering to let him hold her, and Roman enraptured by her. He’s enthralled by Virgil lending him a toothbrush, seemingly blessed by the offering of a piece of toast to calm his stomach at the small kitchen bar. Roman stares at it, sitting on one of the stools.

“Why are you so nice to me?” he wonders. Virgil frowns. Are people usually unkind to you?

“This is normal, Princey. People are supposed to look out for one another,”

“Oh. Yeah,” Roman says to himself. Virgil can’t hold back from reaching over and kissing his forehead.

“Anytime you need, I’ll be nice to you. I don’t mean to be so prickly: it’s a defense mechanism. You only have to tell me you’d like some care, and I’ll give you everything,” Virgil tells him. This charming man, he hiccups and his eyes water as he blubbers. Virgil is good with a lot of things: crying crushes are not one of them. “Hey, no crying, don’t cry! Let’s go to bed, huh? Yeah, that sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

Roman makes a pitiful little nod, and Virgil leads him to the bedroom. There’s only one… so either they share, or Virgil’s going to the couch. So, he tucks Roman into the warm black duvet and brushes his forehead as a way of good night. As he goes to leave, Roman grabs onto his arm.

“Stay with me? Please?”

“Ro, I don’t- I don’t think this is a good idea, buddy. No, it’s really not a good idea,” his heartbeat is picking up again, and Virgil bites his lip nervously. Roman ignores it, pulls his hand to kiss it.

“Stay with me, princess,” he purrs. Are you trying to kill me? Roman’s too attractive, too flirtatious. And Virgil’s too head over heels to say no. And that’s how he finds himself sharing his bed with Roman King.

Who fell asleep almost immediately, and snuggled up right into Virgil’s side. So close, that there is a permanent blush on Virgil’s face and his breath on his neck. Okay, this is not going to work. I’m never going to get to sleep if this goes on. Fuck.

Virgil shuffles away, attempting to get out of bed and go sleep on the couch, but Roman slings and arm over him and growls “Stay”.

Well, can’t argue with that, now can I?

~~~~~~

When morning filters through the window, Roman blinks awake. Jiminy Cricket, does his head hurt. Ugh, what happened last night? This isn’t his bed: it’s not colourful at all, all blacks and purples. For goodness sakes, the curtains that are blocking most of the sun have spiders on it. Roman rubs his eyes: did he go home with someone? He must’ve. But who? Roman can’t really recall: he doesn’t remember talking to anyone. After Virgil ran out to the bathroom, Roman just wanted to drink and be alone. Anyone who approached him was turned away instantly by one of his cold stares.

He couldn’t help but feel as though it was sort of his fault: he said he’d be with him. That Roman would leave Virgil alone. And yet… he was in the bathroom for two hours, and not once did Roman gather the courage to go and check on him. And then what? Then he went to some strangers home and left Virgil?

What kind of asshole would do that to someone? Virgil, despite how he acts, is amazingly perceptive. He can tell when something is wrong, it’s why he’s so good as a nurse… he’s just genuinely a good person. And Roman left him?

He can’t imagine he’d do that to the emo, even drunk. He wouldn’t be able to forget Virgil, would he?

No, he really has no clue.

Think, Roman, think- he presses his hands to his pounding head, as if it would squeeze out a memory. All that happens is scraps of a song. Oh great, not only do I have no idea where I am but now there’s a song stuck in my head. Wonderful.

“Even the best fall down sometimes, even the wrong words seem to rhyme-” he murmurs under his breath. Then an image follows right after: a man, holding onto the microphone at the bar, singing the words so soft, so sweetly. It makes his heart pang, it’s so lovely. Is that the guy I went home with? Roman thinks to himself. He focuses harder on the memory. The man, he looks up shyly, nervously, and meets eyes with Roman.

God, he’s fucking beautiful. Love at first sight? Maybe not, but whatever this is, it’s as close to that as it could possibly be. It makes Roman feel all warm and bubbly inside. He bites his lip and looks at the ceiling of this stranger’s bed. Things come back in bits and pieces all out of order; kissing that man by a car, his car- that man laughing at him as he gawks at his, what is that, a spider?- the man sitting at a table in the bar right next to him, letting him nuzzle his shoulder (embarrassing, it makes Roman blush he was so mushy)- a kiss to his forehead to calm him, wiping away drunken tears ever so gently. His hands felt baby-soft, despite the obvious muscular frame he sported.

Who is he…?

“I’ll sing it just for you: you know, I really don’t like public speaking…” in his mind, this man’s voice follows: it’s soft, muted a touch. Focus now, Roman, you’ve almost got it-

“You’re not going to remember me, so I don’t think it’ll matter…” Of course it matters! I’m not a blackout drunk! Roman wants to scream.

“I really really like you, Roman,” his voice, saying such kind words, is like what he’d imagine an angel would sound like. Or some sweet interaction that only comes between A-List celebrities in a scripted movie.

“I’ve known you for a while…” Okay, finally, getting somewhere. He knows him? Does he do tech at the theatre or something? It’s a possibility.

“You’re destroying me, and you don’t even notice…” Well, that’s harsh. Kind makes him feel guilty: this gorgeous meal of a man was lusting over him, and he didn’t even notice? What kind of idiot-

“Janus said that I’d be good for you. Grounding. A good boyfriend…” So he knows the snakey doctor. That can either be very good or very bad: is this fellow a sleazeball? No, Roman assures himself blushing heavily, He’s too sweet to do that. Too kind and loving. Did you see him sing that song? Just for you too- and he looked so nervous! Precious!!

“I don’t know what he sees in me, but clearly you don’t see that…” Roman wants to pull his hair out. Did Roman say or do something wrong? Did he ruin his chances with this Adonis, because if he did, he’ll be furious.

“You like grand gestures, romance, and flirting… I can’t do any of that,” I don’t care! I don’t care about any of that! I just want someone to hold my hand and not treat me like shit! Just a sweet cute guy!

“I’m not nervous anymore, because you’re never going to remember this whole thing,” Ah, sorry to break it to you, but hey, I’m remembering! And I’m going to track you down!

“You’ll never know how much I love you anyway, so it’s just for me…” he sounds melancholy, so very sad, and Roman wants to hold him. Hold him and kiss the top of his head and make him feel better. This person, he doesn’t deserve to be ignored. Why was Roman ever-

“Just for poor heartsick Virgil,” Roman’s mouth runs dry. Virgil? Virgil. He- the man he went with- Virgil. Virgil was singing to him, with that angelic voice, Virgil drove him to his house because he didn’t want to leave him alone and every other little wonderful thing, the forehead kisses and the smiles and the hands- oh my stars, I am an imbecile.

How didn’t he notice? How Virgil would bite back at him whenever he flirted with him teasingly, how Virgil wilted whenever Roman talked about his relationships, how careful and thoughtful he was with every move, hell, he even agreed to go out to the bar with him to find some other guy because he was worried for Roman’s safety.

How was I so blind that I missed the perfect man right in front of my eyes?

And this… this must be Virgil’s house. It’s… very Virgil. Is that a Nightmare Before Christmas poster? Yes, it is- how wonderful. How him.

How didn’t Roman notice? It’s that classic blunder, unseeing of the person right in front of him. How did he not see how romantic Virgil is? Little gestures, smart moves, kindness. Thoughtful. He had said that he wasn’t a romantic, but by Jove- he’s sweet. His mind can’t stop repeating Virgil’s soft singing and his gentleness. God, it’s so beautiful it’s painful. He should tell him to go without makeup more often. And a shirt. Yes, without a shirt sounds good. Undercover buff, much?

His mind swirls with the knowledge of Virgil.

Oh shit- how is he going to face Virgil now? He’s in his house, he’s most likely in the living room: should he just pretend like he doesn’t remember?

Roman’s a good actor, he could pull it off: but Virgil would still be wanting and lonesome. And Roman would know, and that hurts. He won’t do that to him, not anymore.

He should just come out, say that he remembers and... ask him out on a date. A proper one. They both have the day off today, it could be now!

They’d do Virgil things, things that make the emo happy, maybe a zoo or watch movies or coffee shops or whatever. And... Roman will hold his hand, hold him, and hold him and hold him. Yes, yes, this is good.

Roman wishes he had more time to plan. Time to get flowers, or chocolates or anything, really. Wait, you don’t even know if he’ll say yes! Maybe he’s so embarrassed by the whole interaction that-

Wait.

Is that pancakes?

Roman sniffs at the air: yes, it is. Blueberry ones, at that. And coffee. His stomach rumbles, and hunger is enough to spur him out of bed. His legs are wobbly, and his head is swimming, but he makes it out of the room eventually.

“Oh hey, Princey, finally decide to wake from your endless slumber, huh?” Virgil teases. His makeup has returned, as usual. He’s wearing another hoodie, a black one, and it’s hanging off his shoulders as he flips pancakes. Roman’s mouth runs dry. “Also, umm, sorry about not taking you to your apartment. I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

“Oh... it’s fine,” Roman sounds odd, even to himself, and Virgil gives him a skeptical look. “Heh, anyone who makes me good morning pancakes is alright in my book!”

Virgil snorts, and pushes a plate over the kitchen bar for Roman to sit and eat.

“How’s your head? What do you- you know, never mind,” Virgil ducks his head into the fridge to receive some maple syrup, “You like it warmed?”

“Uh... if it isn’t an issue,” Virgil casts another weird look to Roman: is he being too nice? Roman can’t help it, how could he be rude? He puts his syrup in the microwave, with the long pale fingers.

“I uh- Virgil,” Roman starts, more nervous than anything, “Oh fuck, this is hard but- I uh-”

“You’re making me worried, Princey, spit it out or shut up and eat my food,” Virgil glares. Roman gulps. It’s like a bandaid, rip it off, come on, just spit it out-

“I REMEMBER! I remember everything, I always do after I’m drunk, it’s why I get a buddy, because I always remember in the morning and I hate what I’m like when I’m intoxicated, because I always remember, I think I’ve said that a few times- uh, Virgil, are you okay?” Roman finally looks up at Virgil- or rather down, as the man has crumpled to the floor in a heap. Has he fainted? Roman gets up and squats next to him.

“Virgil?” he whispers into his ear, poking at him. Virgil jolts up, narrowly missing a collision with Roman’s head as he sits up straight. He groans, and puts his head in his hands to try and hide his full-faced blush.

“Fuck, I’m such an idiot, oh my god, I’ve made a total fool of myself- oh god, please just leave me alone to die, Roman, just go,” he yells. Roman chuckles, and peels Virgil’s hands from his face. He seems about to cry, moisture glistening at his eyes. Roman’s heart can’t take it: he thinks he looks foolish? No, never.

Roman kisses the corners of his eyes.

“You’re not an idiot, you’re most certainly not a fool. I’m sorry I didn’t notice you before at the office. I’m the only idiot between the two of us, because I didn’t see how wonderful you were until you had to be blatant about it. I’m so very sorry, and in your debt. I feel silly to even try and ask, but would you… perchance, want a real date? One where I’m not flirting with other people- only with you, you Incredible Sulk,” Roman consoles Virgil pulling him into an embrace.

“Really?” Virgil asks.

“Honestly,”

“Then yeah, yeah, that sounds okay. I uh… I don’t do a whole lot so-” Roman cuts Virgil off by pressing his finger to his lips. Virgil raises his eyebrows.

“How’s right this second sound?”

“Yeah- uhm, that works for me-”

“Fantastic! And I believe your pancakes are burning,” Roman notes, laughing as Virgil shoots up cursing colourfully as he discards a very black pancake. Even as the man squawks and yells and forces Roman back into his seat, he can’t help but feel fulfilled. After the pancake fiasco is remedied, Virgil breathes a sigh of relief and smiles at Roman.

“Sorry about that, Princey,”

“Hey, it’s no problem for me! Kind of entertaining, actually,” Roman snickers, earning him a slap upside the head. And then, just to push Virgil’s buttons, he snakes his hand through his dark locks and kisses him deeply over the counter. It’s a knee-shaking kiss, a heart-stopper, a signature Roman smooch. One he should’ve given Virgil last night, but was too drunk to make happen. It seems like Virgil likes it too, if the noises are any indication. Virgil is the first to pull back for air, and presses his chest, gasping.

“Oh my goodness, was that too much? Are you okay, Virgil?” Roman frets. Virgil, he recalls, has some sort of horrible cocktail of medical issues. Most he’s grown out of, but the effects still linger.

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s cool. Hah, my heart’s still beating. It’s stopped once before, and I have a defibrillator in my room but- I’m okay. I guess that just means I’m fragile, right? Gotta be careful with my heart, both ways, alright?” A still beating heart. How romantic, how delightful.

“Now you must stay with me, so I can restart your heart whenever it’s required!” Roman announces. Virgil rolls his eyes and scoffs, despite his small smile, then returns to finishing off the end of his pancake batter. Roman pokes his bicep, his deceptively strong bicep, to pester him into an answer. Virgil catches it, squeezes.

“Hey! My heart’s still beating, you’re going to have to try harder,” he teases. It has to be the most lovely seductive challenge he’s ever been issued. And you said you weren’t a romantic.

His heart still beats, and it beats just as hard for Roman as the other way around.

How positively lovely.

~~~~

And from that day on, the entire pediatric office would all go out once a month to a particular bar’s karaoke night, and Roman and Virgil would sing many songs but always one. They always sang one at the end, and it was so beautiful that people cry every time. It’s longing and love and acceptance.

They like to hold hands while they do it, perhaps to show off their relationship… or maybe just the matching rings that adorn their fingers.

~~~~~

The End! Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed, please reblog- it truly means the world.

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willowaudreykeyes · 5 years ago

Text

I’m Afraid, Your Cute And We’re Both Stuck; Let’s Cuddle

@surohsopsisofclouds asked for (red 11) Wings and (purple 12) Spirits from here and I took the ‘spirits’ prompt and just made it into a Haunted House/fears thing and I hope that’s alright

@sparrowofsong @5am-the-foxing-hour @ladyedwina

Pairings: Romantic Intrulogical, Background Romantic Roceit, Background QPR Patmile

Warnings: Swearing, wings, collapsing structure, claustrophobia (fear of tight spaces), mentions of thalassophobia (fear of the ocean), fluffiness, my fear that Remus isn’t in character by the end of this

-----------------------------------------

Remus

Two stories tall, with dull brick walls and the occasional broken window. A stereotypical haunted house; recommended by Patton of course. If Virgil recommended one, it’d have reviews about a real ghost that made the rooms go cold and maybe a fork being thrown across the room. This place reeks of machinery and fake, money-grabbing tourism.

I glance up at the sound of wings, not fully turning towards it as I’d know my brother and best friend's wings anywhere. Roman has those huge angel wings that everyone swoons over because of their power and fluffiness; while Jan-Jan has awesome looking yellow-green scaled ones that he’s still self-conscious over since they’re often stereotyped to be with ‘evil’ people.

So now I’m surrounded by winged-ones. Patton’s Puffin wings press tightly against his back as the sound of shattering glass, that’s been happening every five minutes on the dot, while Virgil’s huge Wedge-Tail Eagle wings fluff up despite knowing that it was going to happen again. At least Roman and Janus didn’t react as much, despite it being a shock to them

“You two are being fucking pussies.”

“Language, Em! And the shattering sound is scary… I can’t help it.” Patton should have brought his life-partner with him as it’d be more fun with more people. I guess after the last haunted house that we took Emile to, he wanted to be able to actually sleep this October.

“We’ll go inside soon, Pat. Is Logan here yet?” Oh yeah, that guy that I’m supposed to be meeting. Forgot about him. Virgil and Roman made him sound so boring, but they also made Remy sound boring before I met the guy while he was dealing with caffeine withdrawal.

My foot sends a small stone flying as Virgil checks his phone; tsk-ing quietly as he starts typing. “He’s inside already. In the upstairs piano room.”

“I thought we were gonna meet him out here?” Oh my god; I’m going to die from boredom and haunt this place for real if I stand out here any longer. So I grab my jacket from the ground, throw it on and quickly slip between the fence bars instead of grabbing a ticket. No one’s watching anyway.

“I don’t care! I’m going in- Bye!”

“Remus! Wait up!”

Happily ignoring Roman, I slip in through an unlocked side door and fight the distant sound of doors slamming by letting my stomping echo through the house as I head upstairs. This place sucks at scares if they’re resulting in slamming doors, but I can probably piss off some employees if I can find one of their hidey holes. And finding this ‘Logan’ and messing with him would be a nice bonus.

Taking a glance into each room -and ignoring the bad jump scares of fake ghosts played by underpaid, teenage actors- I finally find the piano room Virgil mentioned with someone standing at the far end, by the window. Despite the poor lighting, I can tell that he’s wearing a dark blue polo shirt and that his dark hair has been attempted to be slicked back. Perfect posture, hands held behind his back, shoulders tense; I may even be seeing a pair of those fancy black shoes that a lot of the richer kids in the area have.

I shake my head as I step into the room, followed by an eerie creak in the floorboards. The guy spins around and I manage to see dark eyes behind some glasses before my legs suddenly give way.

One second I see those dark eyes, then the next I’m on the floor with sore arms and a heaviness on my back. A muffled voice, sounding close but layered beneath some kind of fog, gives me the energy to push myself off my stomach and onto my knees before I’m suddenly feeling exhausted.

Those eyes are in front of me again, but this time are a whole lot closer and also no longer as difficult to see that they’re a dark blue; as if the lighting has changed. With a quick glance around, I realise that it has. Because now there’s a broken piano, some splintered wooden pillars, a floodlight that looks like it’s been forgotten about, the walls showing their insides, and a giant fucking hole in the ceiling.

“What the hell...” This guy better have some answers- there’s no way that I should have fallen through the floor. But he looks just as roughed up as me, with some sawdust and a black feather in his now unkempt hair and his tie -who wears a tie to a haunted house?- is hanging around his neck. His huge, ruffled, pitch-black wings of some corvid don’t look injured at least.

He… didn’t have wings a moment ago.

The guy must have noticed me staring at them, as he motions behind me wordlessly as he stands and brushes himself off. Something twinges in my gut as I turn slightly, only to find myself looking at the dusty wings of a hummingbird. They’re small and rather thin looking, but covered in blues and greens and a few hints of red. They flutter as I try out the new limbs, tearing another part of my shirt in the process. But who cares? I just grew two new limbs.

I’m pulled to my feet, my vision spinning slightly and a tightness in my chest makes it a little harder to breathe. My eyes drift back to the guy in front of me who seems like he’s not as stupefied as I am at what the hell just happened. “Uh… There’s a feather in your hair.”

His eyes widen as he reaches up and runs his fingers through his hair, catching the feather along the way and taking a second to pocket it before nodding slightly. “Thank you.” I hear him taking in a sharp inhale as his wings twitch as they try to stay off the dirty floor. There’s no point as they’re covered in dust and dirt already, but he seems stubborn enough to keep trying. “As unexpected and strange as this encounter was, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Logan Crow.”

“Oh! You’re that guy I’m supposed to be meeting- Wait, your last name is ‘Crow’?” I point at the black masses on his back. “And you have those wings?” His brows dip in slightly; just enough that he looks kind of cute. I wonder what all of his other expressions look like...

“Purely coincidental. And you must be Remus Aurelian-”

Something grinds together, echoing the sounds of wood against metal and of a highly taught string snapping from the pressure. Logan’s wings move so that the joint sits higher than his head, ready to fly him away from danger; if only he actually knew how to fly.

I swallow with a dry mouth as I finally realise how small of a room that we find ourselves in. Not that the small amount of space is an issue. Nor that the room seems to be also empty, besides the useless, broken piano. “We should probably leave.”

“Agreed.” The door to the room is just a maintenance one; small enough to not draw attention to it the other side, while large enough to push through wood or something to fix these pillars. They obviously haven’t done so in a while...

It’s rusted hinges squeak with resistance until one of the screws pops out of place as I manage to push it open. But as I attempt to crawl through, a stab of pain flows up my back and shoulders as my new limbs hit the top of the door frame. I try again, wincing this time as I attempt to squeeze through until I’m dragged back inside by the leg.

“I can’t fit through that! Are you fucking kidding me?”

“If you can’t, I surely can’t either.” Even with my tiny-ass wings that may or may not be able to carry me in the future -something to worry about another time- we’re stuck in here unless we suddenly figure out how to fly. In this small room, with not even a window in it. Just four walls that seem to have gotten closer than the last time I had paid attention to them. “I’ll text message the others, see if they can get the operators of the house to help us.”

Standing up doesn’t help the irregular waves of nausea that continue to hit me, but it’s better than how hard it is to breathe when I’m sitting. “But that’s going to take ages!” Except now it’s both hard to breathe, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. And I feel light headed. And my legs don’t want to hold me up anymore. A deep growl escapes my throat as I kick the stump of the closest broken pillar, making a few extra chunks fly off of it. “Why the hell did they make half of these rooms so damn tiny!?”

I kick it again until a hand sits firmly on my shoulder. It’s weird that I already feel so much for this guy, as anyone else would get an elbow to the ribs for touching me while this nausea keeps attacking me. I move away instead, huffing a bit while also taking in a few deeper breaths. “Are… Remus, do you happen to be claustrophobic?”

“What? Fuck no.” I can almost see Janus raising his eyebrow at me; always somehow knowing when I’m lying. It’s just some stupid fear that everyone thinks that I got over years ago. I can last until someone comes to grab us. Maybe sitting down will help...

“I know that we have only just met, but I will ask if you need comforting right now. And before you say that you don’t need it; you are shaking.” The nausea fades into chills and a heavy stone in my gut as I look at my hands as the ground gets a little closer. I close my eyes, hoping that I can just imagine that I’m outside or in a huge cathedral with furniture and lots of room to run around. My hands aren’t shaking; they can’t be shaking. If Roman or Patton or Virgil- anyone knew that I would turn into this wreck just because I’m in a tiny space, I’d never hear the end of it. Being afraid isn’t… It’s not me.

A comforting warmth makes me jump, sliding me off of my pins-and-needles-filled legs. Something slides in behind me, with one hand on my waist and the other helping my wings fold before I’m pulled into a chest. Logan’s chest. When the hell did he wrap his wings around me?

“I’m not great at this…”

“It’s cool.” I go to say ‘me either’, but instead decide to relax into him. My chest still hurts and it's still harder to breathe then what I’d like.

“You were crying.”

“I didn’t notice.” Well fuck. What a great first impression this has been. He doesn’t sound judgemental, and he has his wings around me, so he mustn’t think too badly of me. Probably...

“Are you alright?”

I shake my head, sighing as he adjusts the both of us for a few seconds before he finally seems comfortable. “Don’t tell anyone that this happened. They uh, don’t know.” All of my usual drivel and weird flirts are weirdly vacant from my head. It’s weird since that’s the usual, but it’s not bad. I don’t think I’ve felt this comfortable since I was a kid. “The claustrophobia thing, I mean.”

“Ah. Of course. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Logan seems shy; that’ll be fun to fuck with later. A distant scream from the haunted house brings his arm further around me, and I definitely get a smug smirk because I know that Roman didn’t get cuddles for weeks after meeting Janus. Logan may be a little awkward but holy shit, I already love this.

It's too quiet though; I can hear how bad my breathing is and it’s making me way too self conscious. “I’m gonna eat a full squid in front of Roman to cheer myself up after this.” He stifles his laugh too. Oh, he really is a shy one! And he doesn’t get grossed out easily from the sounds of it.

“They do have three hearts that could be used to help you scare him, but I’m unsure if they are also edible. It may depend on the species.” He hesitates for a moment, moving his head to look down at me, judging by how he’s moving. Roman did say that he was a nerd, but not about stuff that’s actually cool. “I do know that they use two for their gills while the third sends blood to the rest of the body.”

He stops again, this time tensing up the shoulder that I’m using as a pillow. With a huff, I reach up to pat his face before closing my eyes; getting comfortable enough to try and forget where we are. “Keep goin’, you’re nice to listen to. Got that sexy teacher voice thing going on.”

I’m exhausted, but manage a chuckle after his sputters for a moment. He starts talking once more as the hand that’s wrapped around me lightly tapping a rhythm against my side.

“Oh, uhm, alright. I myself am afraid of the ocean, as we have mapped far more of Mars then it and it confirms that over ninety percent of the world is in the dark, but it is rather fascinating to know that ninety-five percent of life on Earth comes from our Ocean’s-” I get to listen to Logan talk endlessly about cool facts, wrapped in his large wings, while being comforted about some silly fear as we sit inside of a partially collapsed room? I think I could get used to stuff like this.

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snaketherapy · 5 years ago

Text

A Pull

Soulmate au where you have a curse of some sorts until you've made eye contact with your soulmate.

Roceit, sleepxiety/criqxiety/anxination, background lomile.

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~

Roman had grown quite fond of the small coffee shop. It was quiet, which Roman wasnt usually fond of but this was different. It was calming, healing almost. He had stumbled upon it when he felt some sort of pull towards it. He thought it might've been the cute exterior or the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods but Roman soon figured out it was a lot more.

Of course, he couldnt talk to the people working there but luckily a few of them knew sign language. It was also LGBTQ friendly so that was a plus.

Roman was sitting at a table when he got a text, it was from his best friend. Roman had known Virgil since he was around 11 and they had been inseparable ever since. They had different personalitys but similar interests. Guys, Disney, baking and surprisingly makeup and fashion.

He opened the message and waved to the staff before grabbing his coffee and bag and leaving. He walked over to Virgil's apartment and knocked on the door. It was quickly opened and Roman was basically thrown onto the couch. Roman raised an eyebrow at Virgil, who looked to be either having an existential crisis or a gay panic attack. 'Are you okay?' Roman signed and Virgil shook his head. "Ro, I can see colours! Well half of them but still!" Roman immedietly got up off the couch and smiled at Virgil excitedly. 'You met your soulmate! What are they like?' He signed and Virgil gulped and nervously chuckled. "I didnt exactly meet them... I must have ran into them when I was at dad's library. I wasn't paying attention but I must have seen them cause I can see some colours..." Roman gave Virgil a deadpan look. He then sighed and grabbed Virgil's wrist, he's not letting his bestfriend lose his soulmate.

Roman dragged Virgil back to the library. They said hi to Virgil's dads first before looking around the place but they couldnt find Virgil's soulmate, he could've told it was them in an instant. Virgil slumped over in one of the chairs that was in the corner of the nonfiction section and sighed, he really messed up this time. Roman frowned, he has to help Virgil somehow. He shook his head, trying to think of a way to find the person. Maybe Logan had an idea?

Roman grabbed Virgil's hand and led him over to the front desk, where Logan was chatting with Emile. "Oh do you how do Roman?" Emile asked cheerfully and Roman shrugged. The two parents looked at their son and his best friend confused. "You see, I may have seen my soulmate but not made eye contact so now I can only see some colours but and they're pretty faint... I don't know who they are. I think I saw them when I came in a while ago." Emile and Logan frowned, seeing their sons distress. "Do you have any clue of what they look like? If not we could probably find a book about soulmates and find a way to find them." Virgil took a deep breath and tried to remember who he had saw. He remembered brown hair, a pair of sunglasses and a leather jacket. "I don't remember much but I think they were male and were wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket."

Logan and Emile looked at each other, both of them smiling. "I think we have a few ideas of who your looking for." Logan said as he stood up. Virgil looked at his dad confused. "Do you remember Patton Moralis? He has three sons. Their names are Remy, Dice and Nate. They all dress similar and came in today so I don't know which one it could be, it could be two or all of them actually."

Virgil looked at his dad's with widened eyes. "I could have multiple soulmates?" He asked and Emile nodded. "Yep! It's actually not as rare as you'd think it is." Virgil nodded and took a deep breath. "Virgil, how many and which colours can you see?" Logan asked and Virgil looked around.

"3, I think." Logan nodded and smiled. "Well you might have more than one soulmate. You can never properly tell but usually for people with colour curses or similar curses see around half when they dont fully meet their soulmate. But if you did see 5 or 6 colours there is still a chance of you having multiple soulmates." Virgil sighed internally. "Great, more people to disappoint..." Roman glared at him, he didnt like it when his best friend talked bad about himself.

The two talked with Virgil's parents for a while before Virgil grabbed a soulmate book and started to read. They skipped the boring parts and went to contacting soulmates, which Virgil read out loud. "There are several ways to contact soulmates. Sharing thoughts, hearing what they, sensing what they feel and sometimes even seeing what they see. But sometimes it just happens by itself, sometimes you can feel a pull or a flutter in your chest when your near your soulmate. Something in your mind can tell you to go a certain way, or even a certain place." Virgil continued on reading but Roman wasnt listening.

A pull? Perhaps finding the coffee shop wasnt just luck, maybe it was fate! Virgil stopped reading when he saw Roman's bright expression. 'Remember the coffee shop I told you about?' Virgil nodded, his eyebrow raised as he waited for Roman to continue. 'Well when I first saw it I felt a pull, my soulmate might've been there!' He signed happily. Virgil smiled, maybe he would feel better if they found Roman's soulmate first. "Then let's go! Maybe they're still there." Virgil said as they got up.

They waved to Logan and Emile before walking out of the book shop and ran down to the coffee shop, which took around 15 minutes. By the time they got there Virgil looked like he was about to collapse. Roman smiled amusingly as Virgil doubled over and held his stomach. "I forgot that you were in track and feild a year ago." Virgil said as soon as he got his breath back. Roman just continued smiling and walked into the coffee shop, Virgil following behind.

Virgil smiled when he entered the shop, he wasn't a fan about coffee but it was surprisingly calming. Roman gestured for him to sit down at a table and he did so as his best friend sat across from him. The two talked for a bit until Roman felt a pull to his left. He looked over to the seats near the windows and his heart basically stopped as he saw who was sitting there. The stranger looked Roman's way and they locked eyes and Roman felt like a weight was lifted off his chest.

Roman felt his cheeks heat up, they were cute! They had gorgeous blonde locks that was semi covered by a black beanie. They were wearing a pair of ripped blue Jean's and a cream white turtleneck under a long black jacket with gold buttons. "In the name of Poseidon..." Virgil looked at his best friend shocked, did he just talk? Roman turned to Virgil with a bright smile. "Virgil, I'll be right back!" Roman said as he got up and walked off towards the other table.

Virgil smiled, he was happy for his best friend. He heard someone clear their throat and he looked away from his friend to the person infront of him. Well, there was actually three.

"Oh hi, sorry-" He was cut off when he locked eyes with one of them, the colours becoming brighter. He then turned to the other two and meeting their eyes and suddenly all the colours came to Virgil.

The three looked very similar but had small differences. They were all wearing black leather jackets and sunglasses but one had a black scarf, one's shirt had sleep written on it and the others jacket was done up unlike the others. Virgil couldn't form words, why was he cursed with not one but three handsome soulmates?

The one with sleep written on their shirt laughed. "Hey there babes, you must be my soulmate. I'm Remy, I'm glad I can finally see you properly." The other two looked at Remy shocked. "I guess we're also your soulmates. I'm Nate and this is Dice." The one with the zipped up jacket says, glancing anxiously at his feet as if he was about to fall over.

Virgil introduced himself and the three started to talk. Dice's curse was not being able to lie so he had hurt a lot of people's feelings, Remy's was having very sensitive eyes and had bad migraines a lot and Nate's was being insanely clumsy and having a bad case of procrastination.

Roman smiled as he walked over to the table. He accidentally didn't say anything and signed to say hello and introduce himself. He was a bit surprised when the cute stranger signed back, smiling as they did so. The two signed to talk, feeling more comfortable that way. Roman learned that their name was Janus and they used they/them pronouns. They eventually got to the topic of curses and Roman felt bad for Janus when they told him. 'I could only speak in lies and I had a hard time hearing. I can hear perfectly now though.' They signed and Roman nodded.

'I used to not be able to speak, but I think I can now though.' The two continued signing to eachother, talking some times but not being used to it so mostly signing.

Roman was glad he had decided to walk into the coffeeshop that day, and Virgil was glad too. The two had found their soulmates and couldn't be happier.

#sleepxiety #sander sides #roceit #roman sanders #virgil sanders #dice sanders #nate sanders #remy sanders

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ladyanput · 6 years ago

Note

So Lila is having a party and hires Mari’s partners bakery to cater. The Batfam come over to surprise Mari with a visit. Mari has to work Lila’s party. The Batfam decide to help out. At the end of the party Lila decides to not pay for the pastries. And says “if Marinette was a friend she would give them to us for free.” The Batfam is pissed and put not only Lila but the entire class in their place. Sooooo much salt

This is also based off of a prompt @virgil-is-a-cutie sent me forever ago.

[[MORE]]

Marinette stared down at the name on the catering order, dread curdling in her gut like sour milk.

Lila Rossi

"We're catering a party tonight?" Marinette looked up at her parents, who were frantically putting together the order that had been sent in last minute. The sight made Marinette's heart ache.

"The poor girl told us that her caterer cancelled on her last minute and this is for her birthday, so we decided to take it." Sabine smiled brightly, though it was obviously strained along the edges as she whipped up some more buttercream icing for the towering birthday cake they were putting together.

"I just hope we can find someone to help us cater on such short notice." Tom muttered as he took another batch of chocolate filled croissants out of the oven, filling the air with the buttery sweet scent.

"I could help!" Marinette spoke out quickly, then winced. She knew exactly what this party was, it was the one that Lila had been going on and on about for months, a big party where tons of celebrities would be, as well as Lila's millionaire boyfriend. There were also her braggings about getting special caterers from Spain, but Marinette assumed this was just Lila backpedalling with a new story of the caterers canceling on her last minute.

It was also a party that Marinette had not been invited to and was basically banned from by her class.

But still, she couldn't just let her parents deal with this alone, they didn't deserve that!

Her parents beamed and Sabine hugged her daughter tightly, just as the front door's bell jingled. Marinette peeked out of the kitchen and blinked in surprise with she saw four men standing in the bakery entrance. Four familiar men.

"What are you guys doing here in Paris?" Marinette pushed her way through the swinging door, rushing over to the four Wayne sons and throwing herself into Damian's arms, warmly kissing him

as she was picked up and spun around.

"We wanted to visit you." Tim offered, blinking in surprise when Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"We wanted to see you, Angel." Damian smiled, then shot a glare to his brothers, Jason specifically. "Though one is us simply wanted to stuff his ugly mug full of pastries. I swear, he'll end up fat with diabetes and alone for the rest of his life."

"Whatever, Demon Spawn, you're just jealous because Marinette likes making goodies for me more than you." Jason rolled his eyes, but scooped up Mari into a tight hug. "Your boyfriend here has been antsy to see you."

"Because I couldn't stand the sight of your face anymore." Damian shot back, before turning his gaze to Marinette once again. He noticed the lines of stress around her mouth, her eyes. Something was obviously bothering her. "Marinette, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Marinette looked between the four guys nervously, fiddling with one of her pigtails. "Oh, nothing! It's just that we just got a last minute catering gig and we don't have enough catering staff. As in I'll be the only one serving alongside my parents."

Dick and Jason exchanged glances before the oldest Wayne boy reached out and set a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Let us help you tonight, Mari. We wanted to spend time with you anyways, so this can help with the issue." Dick offered, smiling brightly down at her.

"No, I couldn't ask that of you! Besides, you've probably never catered before, I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt!" Mari stuttered out as her parents exited the kitchen, covered in flour, sugar, and sweat.

"Well, Angel, I'm sorry to say." Damian smiled, crossing his arms as he watched her. "You don't really have much of a choice."

---

Looking back on it now, Marinette was more than happy the boys insisted. The entire school was at this party being hosted by Lila at Le Grand Paris. Marinette silently wondered how the hell Lila could afford this.

She served people the chocolate croissants, though kept clear of her classmates, not wanting to deal with any of that smack talk. From what she saw of the boys, they were doing superb, some of her classmates *cough* Sabrina *cough* Alya *cough* openly flirted with the beyond handsome guys.

As Marinette turned to serve a few kids from her art club, her stomach dropped at the sight of Lila walking over to her. Ever since Lila had turned seventeen, she had taken to wearing these tight clothes that hid nothing of her body. Marinette was pretty sure that tight orange evening dress Lila had on fit her like a second skin. And it obvious the girl was not wearing a bra, by the gods where was the bleach.

"Marinette! It was so kind of you and your parents to cater my party this evening! I really appreciate it, the food was lovely, there were even done croissants that weren't dried out." Lila grinned, her green eyes sparking with malice as their class surrounded them, shooting Marinette glares as they hadn't wanted the baker's daughter anywhere near this party to ruin it.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Lila." Marinette forced a smile, her hands gripping the edges of her platter tightly. She honestly wanted to chuck it at Lila and run. "My parents will be sending you the bill tomorrow."

Alya snorted, as well did the rest of miss Bustier's class. Lila joined in, her laughter drawing the attention of the nearby Damian.

"Very funny, Marinette. I know all about you not charging your friends. And you are such a good friend, right, to cater my birthday party for free? It's my eighteenth after all, you wouldn't want to make me cry on my birthday." Lila fluttered her lashes, but the threat was clear. If Marinette said no, Lila would put up a stink in front of the entire school and ruin the bakery's reputation.

"But... But this entire gig is worth about three hundred and forty euros." Marinette visibly paled, her eyes darting to her parents who were setting down the large birthday cake Lila had ordered, one with fifteen layers. They had worked so hard ever since two am that morning... It would be so much money down the drain.

"God, Marinette, don't be selfish! You catered to my birthday party last year, didn't you?" Alya snapped, crossing her arms as she cocked her hip.

"Yours was only a few trays of cupcakes, Alya.." Marinette began to tremble in anger as she noticed Lila tearing up. How dare they.. How dare they expect something this expensive for free?! Marinette was sure Lila was going to try and get this ballroom for free too, as well as the decorators!

"That is a bit ridiculous, don't you think?" Damian stepped up beside his girlfriend and shot Lila a withering glare. "This is a very expensive venue, a true friend wouldn't ask for that ridiculous amount of a discount. Even a best friend."

"I don't know who you are, but you will certainly be hearing from my boyfriend if you don't mind your own business!" Lila snapped, tossing her hair over her shoulder, which unfortunately caught Alya in the face, knocking her glasses onto the floor.

"Oh yeah, who's your boyfriend?" Tim strode up, eyebrow raised. He couldn't imagine anyone wanting to kiss that vile girl.

"Damian Wayne. His family is very rich and powerful, you know." Lila sneered, setting her hands on her hips, unaware of Alya being on her hands and knees, desperately searching for her glasses.

"That's funny. I don't ever remember having a girlfriend quite like you. Last time I checked, my girlfriend had the most beautiful blue eyes, and the most adorable freckles." Damian wrapped an arm around Marinette's waist, pulling her close as he planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I take it you're the lying girl that made my little Pixie Pop cry." Jason loomed over the group, a feral smile on his face as he crossed his arms, the entire room watching them now. "Throwing our father's name around isn't too smart, Lie-la."

"Neither is telling the hotel staff that our father is paying for this venue." Dick commented as he strode over, Mayor Bourgeois right behind him, sweating nervously.

"What do you mean? I don't know what stunt you're trying to pull, but Bruce Wayne will certainly send his lawyers after you lot for trying to pass yourselves off as Wayne's!" Lila snapped, fear flickering across her features, her skin paling a bit.

"Enough with the lies, Miss Rossi, I do not take kindly to those who bully my future daughter in law."

The voice cut sharply through the rising noise of the class beginning to shout at Marinette for setting this scenario up to ruin the party, and the rest of the school whispering to each other that Lila's other promises hadn't come true. Jagged Stone and Clara Nightengale never appeared to play at the party; Nino had been forced to DJ last minute with Lila convincing him to do it for free. Prince Ali never came to dance with Lila. Everything she said never seemed to add up.

But the sight of Bruce Wayne, a tall, handsome, imposing figure, shut everyone up. He made his way towards his sons and Marinette's class, a kind smile forming on his face as he reached Marinette.

"I was wondering where you all had gone. It seems you all neglected to mention to me that you had my sons helping you tonight. You know, I could have chipped in too, Marinette." He patted her head fondly, while Lila started to sweat bullets. Alya, once having found her glasses, though one of the lenses was cracked, put them on and looked over at Bruce Wayne, gasping rather loudly.

"Oh my god, Bruce Wayne! I'm so glad to finally meet you! Can I get an interview on your thoughts of your son Damian getting married to Lila next year? Are you really going to get her shoes made of gold? Will she really take off with him on a horse drawn carriage to their honeymoon in Fiji?" She babbled out, taking her phone out to record the conversation. Though one look from Bruce's icy eyes stopped her dead.

"I believe you need to re-check those sources of yours. I have no idea who this Miss Rossi is, except she has been having large expenses being put down under my name." He growled, while his sons snickered behind him. Lila gulped and began to tremble, never thinking Bruce Wayne would actually find out about those expenses. Most rich people didn't, they just spent money without a care in the world, right?

"Please, there's a misunderstanding..." Lila squeaked out, while Alya saw red, turning on Marinette.

"How dare you! You turned the Waynes on Lila too?! What, did you spread those ostrich legs of yours to corrupt them? God, Marinette, you're the most selfish, cruel, manipulative girl I know!" Alya got right in Marinette's face, reaching out for her. But Damian stepped in her way, a look of murder on his face.

"Touch her and you lose your hands, and I'll have my friend's mother ruin that God damn blog of yours. Lois already hates the sight of it, she's eager to tear it apart." He hissed through clench teeth.

The silence was thick as Bruce turned to Mayor Bourgeois, who was ringing his hands.

"I have no intention of paying for this venue. Everything that she out under my name tonight is to be charged to Miss Rossi, understand?" The cold tone had the mayor nodding and trembling under the Wayne's cold gaze.

"Tom, Sabine." Bruce turned to the couple, and his warm smile returned. "I daresay you both wasted enough time here. How about we all go out for dinner now, hm?"

"You can't do this to me!" Lila sobbed, tears flooding her eyes as she hugged herself, before frantically turning to a shellshocked Alya. "Alya, I can't afford this! You need to help me!"

"It's okay, Lila, Marinette won't get away with this. Adrien still likes you, right? Why not ask his father to cover it? You're his most prized model, remember?" Alya smiled, though her brows were drawn together in uncertainty.

Lila took a moment to smooth down her hair, to calm herself. She mustn't lose control, she could easily turn this on Marinette, on her parents, on the Waynes. She was Lila Rossi, the most adored girl in school. She wouldn't let anything like stupid Marinette the chink ruin this for her.

So with a stunning smile and some words to wave away any doubt, she strode over to her massive birthday cake as the Waynes and Marinette's parents left, announcing it was time for some delicious cake. She was about to cut a slice, when someone (definitely not Juleka) bumped into the table holding the cake. The massive cake wobbled, before it went teetering onto Lila and Alya, splattering them both in cake and buttercream frosting, as well as a ripping down as Alya stumbled and stepped on Lila's dress, causing the material to rip from hem to the top of her bodice.

Marinette could hear their screams of outrage as she entered the Wayne's limo to head out for a nice dinner with her boyfriend and his family

---

The fallout of the entire debacle was a mess, an extreme one. Lila's mother found herself suddenly with bills that almost lead deep into the thousands of euros, as well as some lawsuits from celebrities that caught wind of Lila using their names to get things and into places.

Alya was sent lawsuits after lawsuits by the same celebrities for her lies on her blog, and her parents as well as Nino's were furious when they found out that the two had been sneaking out of babysitting for secret dates, dumping their children onto either Marinette or Lila's lap, the latter being a complete stranger.

But Monday morning had to be the worst. The school was talking about the disaster of a party, of everyone being forced out of the venue since Lila couldn't pay, of Lila accidentally flashing people once her dress hand been ripped in two thanks to Alya. They even spoke of Miss Bustier's class as if they were the plague, and avoided the group in fear of facing any backlash.

When Marinette arrived that morning with Adrien at her side, both were laughing as Marinette carried a stack of papers. When Marinette saw the class, they all looked tired, ashamed. Many got up to beg for her forgiveness, but she merely waved them back to seating, then handed each and everyone one of them a piece of paper. They each read them, noticing that they looked like receipts.

"Hey, Marinette, what are these?" Kim held up his paper, frowning in confusion. Marinette rose a brow and set her hands on her hips.

"Your bills for every event, every cake, every dress or outfit I made any of you for free." She replied flatly, crossing her arms as soon as she sat. Adrien handed a red eyes Lila a piece of paper as well. "Bruce Wayne made me realize that since you all aren't really my friends, I shouldn't have to waste so much money on all of you."

"This is from my father. This is for your official termination." Adrien's smile was bright as Lila began to tremble in anger at the sight of it. "It was nice knowing you, Lila."

The class was on their feet in seconds, shouting in outrage as soon as they saw exactly how high their receipts were asking for. It was over a million for the class as a whole. Marinette raised her left hand to cover a yawn, and Alya caught sight of a rather impressive wedding ring. The reporter pointed at it and cried out in shock.

"You're engaged?!" She screamed, her hand crushing her receipt as she trembled. Hers was the highest out of everyone's. Her parents were going to kill her.

"Yes, just last night. We'll be getting married next year." Marinette shrugged, smiling at Adrien as she motioned to his left hand. "And Adrien and Tim will be getting married soon after graduation."

Everyone stared at the gold band on Adrien's left ring finger, many going pale. Alya worked up a shaky smile.

"W- we can't wait to go, you guys! Congratulations, they'll be the weddings of the century." Her mind already swirled around the possibilities of covering those weddings on her blog, it could save her entire career.

"Oh Alya." Adrien clicked his tongue in disdain, hooking arms with Marinette and the two of them smiled, like wolves about to slaughter the sheep. Then in unison they spoke.

"You all will be too far in debt to even buy a newspaper about our weddings."

And that night, the class suffered the worst grounding they had ever seen, with many bank accounts being drained to scramble and pay back the Dupain-Chengs. Lila and her mother had to file for bankruptcy, and were forced back to Italy thanks to the embassy catching wind of this scandal.

Meanwhile, Damian cuddled with Marinette as they laid under the stars on her roof, their left hands gripped tightly as their engagement rings twinkled softly in the moonlight.

Taglist: @vixen-uchiha @ravennightingaleandavatempus @2sunchild2 @crazylittlemunchkin @bee-wrecker @souleateralicestein @loysydark @kceedraws @realrandomposts @alienjoyful @sidessunnybumblebee @persephonebutkore @18-fandoms-unite-08 @suzen23smith @luciferge @theelventhgod @noirdots @space--butterflies @ghostglaceon @magicalfirebird @goggles-mcgee @chocolate1721 @minightrose @bookcrazybby @cupcakeandkisses @mewwitch

#lila salt #alya salt #miraculous salt #daminette #maribat #ml x dc

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exhaustedfander · 5 years ago

Text

Oh, Bi the Way [Analogical]

Here’s a fun little Analogical highschool au where Virgil comes out as Bi to Logan. Reblogs and feedback are really appreciated!

a03 link

word count: 2,351

Virgil paces tight circles in his bedroom, his hands woven in his hair as his mind runs rampant. He glances out the window, the daylight golden and fading outside. Logan will be here soon, he realizes with dread, his heart hammering even faster at the thought.

I shouldn’t be this fucking nervous, he thinks to himself as if most things in life don’t make him anxious. Virgil’s been plagued by horrible anxiety for most of his life, but this really isn’t something that should be putting the pit in his stomach that it is.

But he’s been hiding something – is still hiding something and it’s so goddamn stupid. It really isn’t a big deal. He should be able to go ahead and say it no problem. Except Virgil’s stupid brain has to make things so fucking complicated, doesn’t it?! It has to mess with him and make him think that maybe people are going to freak out and maybe it’s going to be a total disaster.

He’s bisexual.

Yeah, yeah. He knows it isn’t a big deal. Tons of people are queer, and he just happens to be one of them. For fuck’s sake, his best friend Logan is gay! It’s not his fault that no one had told him there was an in-between. He was anxious enough about crushes on girls so once he figured out boys too? Well, he didn’t have the balls to tell anyone.

Sometimes he blamed it on the fact that he grew up in the foster system. Getting shuffled around from home to home the way he did, he didn’t exactly have a chance to get a good set of parents to teach him the ins-and-outs of the LGBTQ+ community. He was a fourteen-year-old getting bounced around, not even trying to get close to any of the people whose care he was under because in a blink of an eye, they’d be gone.

And then he’d gotten adopted by the Knight-Hart’s. It was still what Virgil was probably the most grateful for in his life. He was fourteen-in-a-half, having lost hope of being adopted years ago and yet here he was, brought into the home of two of the sweetest people he’d ever met.

It’s so stupid – Virgil’s parents are gay! He’s got two dads and he can’t even tell them he’s bi? Why does his brain hate him so much?! His fathers’ have helped him so much in the few years he’s been in their care, bringing more happiness and joy into his life than he’d known in so long. His Pops is always making dad jokes that Virgil can pretend he despises all he wants, but really, they crack him up. He’s such a kind, good-hearted guy who’s been nothing but supportive of Virgil since day one. His dad is no different in that respect, loving just the same but with a bit more bravado and eccentricities. What can he say? His dad’s an actor and his flair for the dramatics fail to surprise Virgil any longer.

He loves them. He really loves them but it’s still so hard to think about coming out to them, let alone Logan. God, Logan’s going to be there anytime now!

Virgil continues his pacing, trying his best to steady his breathing. If he can muster up the courage, he’s going to tell him. Virgil’s going to come out to his best friend.

After everything the pair’s been through, Logan deserves to know. Virgil met John in the beginning of high school, a time where he found it almost impossible to make friends of any kind. Virgil’s anxiety and self-doubt made having a mere successful conversation feel like an accomplishment of some kind. He didn’t think he’d ever get the chance to have a true friend, let alone a best friend. But when he met Logan that all changed.

Despite Virgil’s hesitations, they got along famously right away. Although Logan was far stiffer and more out of touch with pop-culture than anyone Virgil had ever met (Seriously, he pronounced “fam” as fahm) he was also an incredibly smart and interesting person who Virgil was proud to know. Logan could tell him so many interesting facts about outer-space or the ocean and was always really good about handling Virgil’s anxiety. Virgil had never met someone who he clicked with so instantaneously before, they just got each other. Even if they were spending time together doing separate things, Virgil was thankful to merely be in Logan’s presence. He kept him grounded.

So, of course he fell hard for him. it’s not like Virgil doesn’t know that there’s a change that his feelings are reciprocated, it isn’t impossible. Just unlikely, and damn does it sure feel impossible. Virgil’s been spending the nearly four years he’s known Logan trying to convince himself that he’s straight as an arrow and doesn’t feel anything for Logan – neither of which things are true, of course.

The two friends are going to the same college, so it isn’t like Virgil’s gonna have any room to breathe and get other his feelings. He’s been dancing around things for so long, and frankly it’s getting kind of exhausting. Virgil isn’t expecting Logan to feel the same way – god, he’s never been that much of an optimist in all his life – but telling him is something Virgil’s decided he has to go through with.

If he can manage to muster up the courage, that is.

Logan arrives, punctual as always and beautiful as ever. Logan’s the only kid Virgil’s ever met who wears a tie almost daily, claiming such attire is an attribute of his “seriousness.” Hah, as if Virgil doesn’t know about his unicorn onesie, not that he’d tell anyone about it. He’ll let Logan keep up the “serious” act, if that’s what he wants. It suits him, anyhow.

Virgil’s going to give it a minute, he decides, and they start to do their homework in relative silence. This is no oddity for the pair, they often spend time over at each other’s homes after school to do work or catch up or both. But Virgil’s heart isn’t usually beating out of his chest when he’s doing his fucking APLit homework. He told himself he was just going to take a minute to collect his thoughts before breaking the silence, but god, it’s been like thirty minutes at least and he hasn’t said anything and he’s getting too fucking nervous and he doesn’t think he can do this and –

“Virgil?” Logan’s voice cuts through the haze of his mind, voice calm and collected.

“Uh – yeah?” Virgil replies dumbly, his eyes snapping up to meet Logan’s gaze. Logan shuts his book, moving from his spot at Virgil’s desk to sitting beside him on his bed, a look of concern etched into his face.

“Are you alright? You seem distressed, and you’ve been reading that same page for over five minutes now.”

Shit, Virgil hadn’t even noticed. Logan’s question has offered him the perfect Segway to what he wants to say, it couldn’t have been laid out better. Except…Virgil can’t do this. He’s too nervous, and his hands are trembling, and this is going to be an absolute train-wreck.

“I’m fine,” Virgil mutters, hoping Logan will just drop it. He just wants to burry himself in his own cowardice, thank you very much. “Just a little distracted, I guess.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” Logan’s voice is even and steady, so the opposite of how Virgil’s feeling, “but you appear to be very nervous. For several days now, your anxiety has appeared to be heightened. I didn’t want to voice my…” Logan swallows thickly, “…concerns, fearing it might only worsen things. But I must confess, I’m getting a bit worried.”

Well fuck, is all Virgil can think. Logan, in the absolute sweetest way possible, has backed him into a corner. Evidently, Logan’s been worried about him and the thought makes his stomach turn. He hadn’t even realized he was acting any more nervous than he usually does.

"I don’t suppose you won’t just drop this for a while?” Virgil asks with a fleeting hope that maybe he can escape this in one piece.

“I’m afraid not.” Virgil sighs. It figures.

“Okay. Okay, you’re going to think this is so fucking stupid.”

“I highly doubt that. When was the last time I reacted in such a way to you telling me something?” Logan makes a good point, as Virgil can’t remember a recent instance.

“I mean, sure, but this is really dumb, L. I’ve kinda been trying to tell you this for forever, but, big surprise, I’m really anxious about it.” Virgil flinches as he feels a hand settle onto his shoulder, seeing the sincere concern in Logan’s eyes.

“Whatever it is you want to tell me, I’m here, Virgil. I’m your friend and your fears are not baseless or dumb. It’s okay to be afraid.” Virgil’s pulse hammers in his ears as he nods, taking a shaky breath.

“Yeah alright…s-so uh, I’m bi.” Virgil nervously ducks his head, his eyes landing on the carpet. It’s not like it would make sense for Logan to react poorly, but like, what if he did?

“Well, thank you for telling me, Virgil. How long have you –.”

“I dunno, a while,” Virgil interrupts, still not looking at Logan, “See? I told you, stupid.” “I never said stupid. You aren’t stupid for not coming out until now, there is no time limit or restrictions when it comes to identity. I’m glad you told me, Virge. Thank you, I know that it can be very hard to do so.” Virgil finally feels confident enough to meet Logan’s eyes, a lopsided smile forming on his face.

“Thanks, man. That kinda makes me feel better. You’re, uh, the first person I’ve told. I wanted it to be you who I told first, that is. Cuz, you know, we’re…” Virgil hesitates, struggling through the words “such good friends.” The pressure on his shoulder reseeds and is replaced at his hand where Logan has laced their fingers together. Virgil feels a shiver run down his spine.

“Is that all you wanted to tell me, or was there something else as well?” Virgil can feel the heat radiating off of him, knowing his cheeks are going crimson. Fuck, fuck Logan knows. He knows and he’s pitying him.

“I – uhh –,” Virgil sputters, incredibly dignified.

“I only ask because you still seem to be rather nervous. I’m not trying to provoke you and I apologize if that’s what I’ve made you to believe. I’m –.”

“I’m also, uh, kinda really in love with you.” Virgil can’t help it, it just comes up like word vomit. He can’t believe he just said that! He’s sure any second now Logan’s going to let go of his hand and push him away. He’s sure Logan will leave and never come back, and he’ll have lost his best friend.

“You…you are?” Logan doesn’t sound outraged or disgusted. He sounds relieved.

“Uh, y-yeah. Shit, did I just make things weird?” From the way Virgil finds Logan taking a fistful of Virgil’s hoodie and pulling him into a kiss, he’s inclined to believe that no, he didn’t just make things weird. The embrace is clumsy at first, their teeth knocking before Virgil’s hands are laced in Logan’s hair, melting into this kiss.

“I love you too, in case that wasn’t clear,” Logan says breathlessly as they part, their foreheads pressed together. Virgil laughs, relief washing over him in waves.

“Fuck, L, I thought I was about to lose you as a friend or something. I never entertained the thought that…”

“That I’ve been in love with you for years?” Virgil’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Years, huh?” He asks, as if he probably hasn’t loved Logan for just as long unknowingly.

“And here I’ve been, suffering in the belief that you were heterosexual. And you know my stance on feelings.” Virgil laughs, kissing Logan again and wondering how quickly you can become addicted to something because holy shit, this is amazing.

“Yeah, yeah, their “the bane of your existence” and all that.”

“Priestley.”

“Full disclosure, there’s no way I’m finishing my homework now,” Virgil says. Logan swats him.

“You horrid delinquent.” Virgil chuckles again, throwing his arms around Logan and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. For two boys who claim to be averse to most physical contact, they seem to be enjoying themselves a fair amount.

“Okay, this is probably a stupid question, but are we a thing now?”

“Are you asking to be my boyfriend?”

“Maaaaybe.”

“Well then I accept. I find your presence to be tolerable.” Virgil snorts, holding Logan closer than he ever has and never wanting to let him go before a thought comes to mind.

“Hey, L?”

“Mm?”

“You wanna stay for dinner and help me come out to my dads?” Virgil can’t believe it, but for once in his life he’s feeling brave. Logan’s made him feel brave.

“I would be more than happy to offer my assistance.” Virgil grins. “It’s gonna be great because they already love you, I mean, you’re so fuckin’ smart, and nice, and cute, and –.” “You’re rambling, Virge.” Virgil pulls away to see the flush on Logan’s cheeks.

“Aww, you’re embarrassed!”

“I absolutely am not.”

“Lo?” “Yes, Virgil?” The fondness in Logan’s tone was just about to kill him it was so sweet. Virgil kisses him again, long and slow, his hands planted firmly above Logan’s waist. His boyfriend – oh my god, he has a boyfriend! – continues to lean in, even as he pulls away. There’s no way Virgil’s ever going to recover from the cuteness.

“I love you.” Logan sighs contently.

“I love you too, Virge.”

“Virgil, honey, dinner’s ready!” Virgil’s Pops calls from downstairs. Virgil and Logan share a somewhat nervous, lovesick glance.

"Let’s go tell my dad’s I’m bi as fuck and have an insanely nerdy boyfriend,” Virgil says as he gets up from the bed, earning a chuckle from Logan. Logan grips onto his hand.

“Lead the way.”

=+=

#analogical #romantic analogical #background royality #roman and patton are Virgils dads #virgil sanders #logan sanders #human au #high school au #coming out as bi #bi Virgil #love confession #Virgil is the big nervous #bit is goes very very well #fluff #cute #my writing #sammy writes #exhaustedfander #exhaustedfander writes

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im-a-space-gay · 5 years ago

Text

Dude, We're Getting The Band FamILY Back Together!

(I have been awake for 15 hours. I've been working on this since 6 P.M.. It is 5 A.M.. I am developing a migraine. I do not regret it. If there's any mistakes, let me know, and I'll look over it and edit. Also, if somebody could tell me how to do the cut-drop-thingy that writers on Tumblr use, that would make my life a whole heck of a lot easier. Oh look, the Sun's rising. Also, debating whether or not if I should make this into an au or keep it as a oneshot, so some feedback on that would be nice. But for now? I'm gonna eat, hydrate, and sleep, because god knows I don't do any of that stuff enough. Good day)

(Inspired by Dude, We're Getting The Band Back Together from Phineas and Ferb)

(If something like this has been done before, I'm so so so sorry)

Thomas was brainstorming with Joan in his backyard about what to do today when they decided to take the discussion into the kitchen where it was cooler.

When they entered, they saw Thomas's dad sitting at the table, looking down at a slip of paper with tears in his eyes.

"Dad?" Thomas asked, moving closer to the man at the table. Joan stayed where they were because, even though they were close to Mr. Sanders, they felt it would be better for his real child to bring this up.

He looked up at Thomas in surprise.

"Kids," he smiled, quickly wiping the tears. "What's up? Need more blueprint paper?"

"Dad, what's wrong?" Thomas asked, pulling out a chair and sitting next to him, Joan deciding to sit at the table as well while Mr. Sanders answered.

He looked down at the paper and sighed.

"It... It would've been our anniversary today."

Thomas tilted his head. Anniversary? For what?

"What do you mean?" Thomas's dad looked up at him and bit his lip. He looked to be deciding something before taking a deep breath.

"Do... Do you wanna know about your dads?" Thomas's eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah, oookay," Joan said, and when Virgil looked over, he saw Joan in more shock than Thomas seemed to be in. "This really seems like a convo I shouldn't be apart of."

Virgil laughed before looking at Thomas again. Thomas just inhaled before nodding.

"Yeah. I do want to know about him."

"Them," Thomas's dad corrected, looking back at the photo fondly. "Dads plural."

"Wait, what?" Joan asked, looking really confused.

"Mhmm," Virgil hummed with a smile, tears coming back into his eyes. "I met them in college, because we all loved music so much. It was so long ago that I still had to wear my binder."

Virgil beckoned both of them closer and they swarmed around Virgil as he showed them the photo. They easily recognized the one holding the camera as a younger version of Thomas's dad with a black, plaid hoodie that was way too big on him. Then, there were three other guys. One looked like he deserved to be the center of attention, with swoopy hair, charming green eyes and a prince-like costume. Then, there was one who's smile outshined the sun, with curly hair and freckles and too big glasses, with a cyan polo, a gray cardigan wrapped around his shoulders, and khaki shorts. And finally, one who looked to be the embodiment of the calm after a storm with a small smile, he wore rectangular glasses, a black polo, a light blue tie, and blue jeans.

"This one," he said, pointing to the one in a prince costume. "Is Roman. He was as extravagant and dramatic as he looks."

Thomas laughed, tears in his eyes from getting to know about his dad. No, his dads.

"And this one," he pointed at the one with a cardigan. "Is Patton. I always called him Pattycake though. He was so, so friendly and warm, like you Thomas."

"Really?" Thomas said, looking at Patton.

"Yep. And last but certainly not least," Virgil pointed at the sophisticated looking man. "Logan. He was so smart and calm and amazing. All of them were. And you remind me so much of all of them in different ways."

"Wow," Thomas breathed, and even Joan looked in awe. "Why was Roman dressed like that?"

Virgil laughed, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Because of our love of music, we started a band that we called 'LAMP', for reasons I still do not know. We all had one outfit for the band to represent who we were, and Roman chose that, because 'he was so princely'," Virgil laughed, and the kids started chuckling. "I played piano, Logan played drums, Patton played guitar, and Roman played bass. And soon after, we... fell in love with each other."

Joan made gagging noises as a joke, and Virgil laughed harder.

"A couple years went, and everything was great, but then..." Virgil paused, his inhales becoming shaky. "Logan and Roman started to always fight, and Patton tried so, so hard to break it up and get things back to how they were. And I- I-"

Virgil sobbed slightly, and pulled his patchwork hoodie closer to himself.

"I did nothing. I was and always will be a coward. But, eventually, we all decided it would be better if we- if we never saw each other again. A month after, I found out I was pregnant with you. I didn't want them to know, so I didn't drag them down because I'd be a burden. I never even tried to figure out which one was your 'real' father. I didn't think I could handle it. Oh, what I wouldn't give to perform with them and see them happy one last time."

Thomas hugged his dad so tight. And slowly, a thought- a plan, formed in his head. He smiled, turning it over and confirming, yes, this is what he wanted to do today.

"Hey dad?" Thomas asked, letting go of him to see Virgil drying his tears and putting the picture on the table. "Do you have... Any more pictures of them? That I could see?"

Virgil nodded with a smile, standing up and going into the living room before going upstairs.

"Dude," when Joan looked at him, he smiled determinedly. "I know what we should do today."

"Thommy, no offence, but I was thinking something more exciting than looking through photos," Joan said, slinging an arm around Thomas. Thomas laughed.

"No! We should get the band back together! At least for today!" Joan looked ecstatic as they nodded, pulling Thomas up the stairs and past his dad, taking the photo album without breaking their stride. Virgil laughed and told them to have fun as they made their way to the study.

Thomas sat down at the computer in the study, clicking keys as Joan looked over his shoulder, flipping through the album. Eventually, Thomas found his way to a video, which he clicked on. He didn't really pay attention until the part he needed.

"Bass player Roman Royal now runs a trendy hair salon, drummer Logic now quietly works at the public library, only lead singer and guitarist Patton is working in the music industry, and nobody knows where the pianist, Anxiety, has gone."

"Wait, rewind to Patton's part," Joan said, stopping their browsing through photos. Thomas did as they said and paused when told to. "I know that sign! It's down on main street!"

"We'll get him first, and then dad will be happy!" Thomas said excitedly. He looked at Joan and held his hand out. "Ready team?"

"So ready that I'm dead... Y," Joan finished off awkwardly, joining their hand with Thomas's.

"First, we need to spread the news and keep dad oblivious," Thomas smirked. "And I know just the guy."

---

Soon enough, the doorbell rung and Thomas opened it to a sixteen year old typing rapidly on his phone.

"Hey babes," Remy said, stepping inside and sipping on his Starbucks.

"I need you to--"

"Spread word about LAMP's reunion and keep your dad as blind as a bat? On it."

"Thanks Rem," he said, hugging the teens legs before grabbing Joan and running out the front door.

---

"Patton's Music Shop. This looks like the place," Thomas chuckled nervously as he looked at the sign. "Joan. I don't think I'm 100% ready to meet my dads."

"You'll do fine buckaroo," Joan patted his shoulder and dragged him into the music shop, where a customer was yelling at a man that Thomas recognized as Patton. One of his dads. Dear lord he wasn't ready to do this.

"I want a country guitar!" The customer yelled, and Patton looked pleading.

"I'm sorry Mx., but all I have are rock'n'roll guitars!"

"Whatever," the stranger said stomping out of the store, almost running over the two kids.

"They'll be back," Patton mumbled to himself, straightening his baby blue polo.

"Uhh," Thomas said, and Patton looked over at the two kids, and it took everything in Thomas to not faint from nervousness. "You're- you're Patton from LAMP, right?"

Patton smiled brightly and oh my goodness Thomas was not gonna make it through the conversation.

"Yeppers! Always a pleasure to see fans in public! Though," Patton said, looking confused. "You do look a bit young to be a fan of LAMP."

"I am, but my- my dad isn't. He- uh- loves, you guys."

"Really?" Patton said excitedly before he tilted his head. "You do look strangely familiar. What's your dad's name? Maybe I know him."

"Uh- well- you see--"

"Thomas," Joan said next to him, and he looked at them. "Breath."

Thomas nodded and breathed for a bit before looking at Patton.

"My dad is Virgil. Virgil Sanders." Patton froze and his eyes widened before kneeling down next to Thomas in excitement.

"You're Virgil's kid?! You're as cute as he was when I last saw him!" Patton suddenly deflated, looking at the floor. "Does that mean he's moved on?"

"Er- no." Patton looked up with curiosity. "You see, I'm actually one of your guy's- we don't know who's. As far as I know, he hasn't dated anyone since I was born."

Patton looked overjoyed again in a moment.

"Why are you here little one?" He asked, standing up.

"Uh, me and Joan- I'm Thomas, by the way- are getting LAMP back together." Patton squealed excitedly, bouncing up and down.

"REALLY?! Did Logan and Roman agree to this? Did your father agree to this?" Patton immediately worried, biting his lip.

"You're the first one we've come to," Joan admitted, and Patton looked at them. "We're trying to surprise Mr. Sanders and figured you'd be the easiest to convince. We will convince Mr. Royal and Logic to do this. Watch. Us."

"That sounds reassuring! I'm in."

"Okay, we'll text you where to go and when if we may kindly have your number?" Thomas asked, holding out his phone.

---

Remy called Thomas and Joan when they were outside of Roman's Hair Emporium.

"Hey babes. How's it goin'?"

"We got Patton," Thomas said happily, but also nervously because dear goodness he was going to have to talk to two more dads. "We're outside of Roman's Hair Emporium to talk to Roman, and in case that doesn't work, Joan's got a back up plan."

Thomas looked at Joan as they wore a medieval helmet, carrying a morningstar over their shoulder and holding a net in the other hand.

"How's it going with you?"

"Nearly everyone in town knows and your dad is still clueless. Well, I better get back to things over here. Good luck babes!"

"Thanks Rem," Thomas hung up and stared at the relatively imposing doors before he and Joan pushed them open and entered.

"Do you have an appointment?" The lady behind the desk said bored.

"No," Thomas said, pulling up a printed out poster of LAMP that Patton gave them and pointed at Roman. "We're looking for Roman. You know, the bass player of LAMP?"

Out of nowhere a pink and very sharp comb sliced through the air and impaled the poster, pinning it to the wall. Everyone but the kids gasped and looked at a man at the back of the salon that was undoubtably Roman Royal in casual clothes, and he was glaring at the poster in disdain.

He walked over to the kids, before kneeling down to get a closer look at them.

"Valerie, who are these little people?"

"I don't know sir," the lady behind the desk replied, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"You're a mess," he said looking at Thomas, making his heart sting a little bit before he looked to Joan. "And you, Fuedal Europe is so last month."

"We're trying to get LAMP back together," Thomas said, taking his (very little) courage and straightening his back. Roman huffed and stood up.

"Oh for goodness sake, talk to the hand."

"You see," Thomas said, starting to glare a bit. "My dad would've never had me if it wasn't for your band, and he's having a really rough day--"

"B to the O-R-I-N-G," Roman said, inspecting his nails with a bored look. Thomas didn't need to look over to see Joan raising their weapon menacingly with a hateful look. Thomas raised a hand in Joan's direction.

"Not yet, Joan. I got this."

"Okay."

"Well excuuuuse me, Mr. Royal," Thomas said, cutting off whatever it was Roman was about to say. "But if Virgil Sanders is having a rough day, I will do everything in my darn power to make it better, and if it takes getting the band back together for a night, I will do it Mr. Royal."

"Virgil?" Roman said in shock, looking at him. "You're- you're Virgil's son?"

"Yes. And I am Patton's son, and I am Logan's son, and I am your son." Thomas glared, getting on his tippy toes in an attempt to look Roman in the face. "So, we will get this forsaken band back together for tonight, and you'll never have to be associated with it ever again. Just to make dad happy. Please."

Roman looked down at him for a moment before ruffling his hair with a smile.

"You have your dad's fire, that's for sure."

---

Now Thomas and Joan were standing outside of the public library, and Thomas had his phone pressed to his ear.

"Hello? Talyn?" He said into the phone.

"Hey Thomas! What's up?" Talyn's slightly squeaky voice came through the phone, and Thomas smiled proudly.

"Guess what band's getting back together?"

"LAMP?" Thomas jumped in surprise and his expression turned to one of confusion.

"Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

"It was the lead story on the five o'clock news," Talyn explained. "Let me guess, you guys need a stage, right?"

"Yeah! Can you help us out?"

"Already on it," Talyn said happily before moving away from the phone. "PRIDE SCOUTS, YOU BETTER HURRY YOUR PRETTY BUTTS! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

Thomas hung up and they entered the library.

"Who would've thought a drummer from a rock'n'roll band would end up in a place so quiet?" Joan whispered to him. He nodded in agreement as they made their way through. They both inhaled as they saw him at the librarians desk, stamping books before putting them on a cart. Logan.

The only thing that changed from the photo Virgil had shown them was the tie, which was replaced with a darker blue one with stripes.

They walked up to him, and he looked up at them while still doing his job.

"May I help you?"

Thomas pulled out the poster from before and showed it to Logan, pointing at his picture.

"You're Logic, ex-drummer of the band LAMP, right?" Logan lightly smiled, still stamping books.

"That, children, is a past life," Logan said, pointing to his nametag. "My name is Logan. Why do you ask?"

"Because they're reforming for one night only!" Logan's smile disappeared and he raised an eyebrow. "My dad is down in the dumps and I know the only way to make him happy is for him to see you guys again!"

"Well kids," he said looking back down at the books. "As charming as that sounds, I'm afraid the other members might not be too... Pleased, to see me."

"Are you kidding me?" Thomas asked, and he leaned on the desk, making Logan look at him. "Patton seemed pretty excited at seeing you all again, and Roman said he wished to make amends for his old ways!"

Logan looked up and stopped stamping books, looking at him in surprise.

"Really...?"

"Yeah!" Thomas said, smiling brightly. Logan smiled before he looked back down, resuming his work with a frown.

"How are you going to get Anxiety to agree to this? Not even the media knows where he is."

"About that," Thomas said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. Logan looked at him curious. "My dad- the one I'm doing all of this for? Uh- he's Virgil Sanders."

Logan stopped stamping books again in shock, and he tilted his head slightly.

"Your dad is Virgil?"

"Yep. Also I'm Patton's, Roman's, and your son," Thomas explained, and Logan inhaled sharply.

"Why didn't I know I have a son?" Thomas frowned and backed away from the desk, and Joan stepped in.

"Mr. Sanders has an awful habit of thinking himself as a burden. It even bums me out!"

Logan smiled softly, tears gathering in his eyes.

"He always did have self-esteem issues."

---

"Thank you Logan for driving us here," Thomas said, exiting the car and pulling him and Joan through the Pride Scout's construction.

"Your welcome," he said as he was pulled into the garage where they saw Patton and Roman hugging.

"Guess who I brought!" Thomas said, closing the door. Both Patton and Roman looked over and there was tears streaming down both of their faces. They immediately perked up and literally threw themselves onto Logan, making him yelp.

"LOGAN! I'M SO SO SO SORRY AND I'M TERRIBLE AND I DON'T EVER EXPECT YOU TO FORGIVE ME AND I'M SORRYYYYY," Roman sobbed, clinging onto Logan and Logan awkwardly patting him, tears falling down his own face.

"Roman, it's okay." Roman sniffled and looked up at him.

"R-Really?"

"Yes you dork," Logan snorted, holding both of them tight.

"Thommy, my man," Joan said, slinging their arm around Thomas, and unbeknownst to them, the grown men were now looking at them. "Your dads become any more sappy, and I might have to leave."

Thomas laughed and pulled his friend into a hug, twirling them around a bit.

"Oh, but Sappy Express hasn't arrived yet!"

"Sappy Express?" Patton asked, and when the kids looked at them, they were still hugging each other but were looking at them with fond expressions.

"Thomas?" A muffled voice called from the house and Thomas panicked, hearing the steps coming toward the garage. He (carefully) pushed Joan off and ran to the door, opening it enough to see his dad looking worried.

"HeY DAd!" He said in a panic, and Virgil looked even more concerned.

"Are you okay? I thought I heard someone yelling." Thomas silently cursed Roman before smiling widely at Virgil.

"Yelling? Here? In this house? What? That's crazy!" Virgil frowned, crossing his arms and giving Thomas the knowing look.

"I know when you're lying Thomas. So, care to tell me what you're lying about?" Virgil said, furrowing his brows as Thomas laughed nervously.

"Okay, I know you hate surprises, but hear me out on this one!" Virgil uncrossed his arms as Thomas suddenly opened the door all the way. Virgil froze at the sight of his former bandmates, them smiling softly at Virgil with more tears than before. "Surprise?"

Virgil stood there, blinking at them for a moment before turning away.

"I forgot to take my meds this morning. That makes sense. I'll take my meds and I'll be as close to sane as a Virgil Sanders can get," he said loudly, starting to walk away but someone grabbed his wrist before he could get too far. Virgil looked over to see Patton. Patton smiling. Holding him. And he could feel it. And oh god now he was crying.

"P-Patton?"

"Hey Starlight," Patton whispered, smiling so, so kindly at him. And Virgil just barreled into him and hugged him and soon he felt another two pairs of arms wrap around him and when he looked up he cried harder at seeing Logan and Roman. They were all there. All hugging. Oh god.

"Wait wait wait," Virgil said, backing away from them, which made them frown a bit. He looked at Thomas and Joan and did a sob-ish laugh. "Get in here kids. Even you Joan. You're getting on Sappy Express whether you like it or not."

"Ohhh, Sappy Express! I get it now!"

Thomas and Joan ran into Virgil's arms and Virgil beckoned his... His friends? Over as well. They all hugged as a famILY for who knows how long before something in the garage slammed open and they all looked as Talyn came tumbling into the room.

"Alright b*tches--"

"TALYN. What did I say about cussing?" Virgil frowned, and the other three adults looked between them confused, as Virgil used to cuss all the time. Talyn sighed.

"I can cuss all I want, as long as I don't do it on your property..."

"That's right. No cussing in me ma's house," Virgil said seriously, and the other three laughed and held on to Virgil tighter somehow.

"Anyways, ladies and Mr. Sanders, time to go on! There's a whole crowd waiting!"

"What?" Virgil asked before looking at Thomas, who was trying to sneak away with Joan. "Thomas Sanders, Joan Stokes."

They both turned around looking worried.

"Heeeeeeey dad," they both said simultaneously, Joan even calling Virgil dad (they did it a lot).

"What is Talyn talking about?"

"Your kid--"

"Our kid," Virgil corrected with a glare, and Roman continued with a smile.

"Our kid decided to get the band back together for one night for a concert. Marvelous idea if I do say so myself!"

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Virgil shouted in a panic, looking at Thomas. "Oh no. Oh no no no no, this can't be good."

"Virgil."

"Oh dear we haven't done this in so long! What if something goes wrong while we're up there?!"

"Virge."

"Anything could happen! ANYTHING!"

"Starlight."

"What if something catches on fire?! WHAT IF A METEOR COMES--"

"DAD!"

Virgil looked at Thomas, hyperventilating. Thomas smiled.

"You'll be fine dad."

Virgil calmed down his breathing and smiled shakily at his son.

"Okay. Okay," he said, turning to his bandmates-for-the-night and nodded. "Okay! Let's do this."

Someday, there would be dates. And they would move into one house, and there would be a wedding. There would be movie nights, laughter, and warmth on cold days. There would also be arguments, tears, panic attacks, and things that would tear them apart. But they always mended before things could get too out hand (partially out of fear of another child being born and Virgil being too scared to tell them (it actually almost happened once. They all love Emile with their hearts)). They always came back together.

But right now? Right now, they had a crowd waiting for them.

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