#But I feel the strong need for romantic Prinxiety.

[i-can-get-extra-with-my-ships]

A Slice Of My Love. Chapter 6. Wait, You Don't Think I'm Insane?

Sup children!! (No clementine my brother did not hack onto my Tumblr and write me a whole fucken chapter.) We be existing on the bean bag again. 

The farthest you will most likely see me venture is to my bed. Or a hotel. It depends how long this book goes for. I mean, we’re almost at 10 chapters. I said like 20-30 most likely. Holy shit. I’m almost ½ to ⅓ done with this book. Moving on before I go on more of a tangent than I already have!!

Pairings: Mentions of the glasses gays (it's toned down for this chapter and in chapter 7 it will be turned up to 11), Prinxiety but it’s best friend mode™ that has been preset to 11

Tw: Cursing, Fourth wall breaks (they be back, but not as bad this time), Virgil being insane, Virgil and Roman being both shippers and BFFs, the lack of sleep finally catching up to Virge, Vee thinking he has just proved a major point.

Virgil’s POV

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Assuming that you’ve read this whole book, you already know that Pat has been overtaken by the powers of the boop™ and has gone upstairs with Logan. Logan never came back downstairs.

Roman was thinking about something. Well, I knew what that something was. You only have to be best friends with Princy for a year and a half to know what he wants to ask you.

“You wanna ask me about Alonso, don’t you?” Roman looked up at me. Then he went back to thinking.

“You know that as long as you don’t accuse me of being insane, you can ask me whatever the fuck you want.”

He looked at me again and then sat down at the table with a bowl of cereal. “Taking advantage of the fact that dad’s upstairs huh?”

The fuck? Dude, we’ve been best fucking friends for over a year now!! If you’re trying to ask me something just ask me!!

“No shit Sherlock.”

He gasped in fake surprise. “How DARE you!! I hate to inform you, but I am the prince, hence I am royalty. You do not speak to royalty in such a crude manner!!”

So the Roman stans are taking mild offense right now. I’m gonna tell you this once and once only. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BEST FRIEND MODE™ HAS BEEN TURNED UP TO ITS PRESET NUMBER OF 11!!

Anyways, Roman stans aside, I laughed hysterically at Roman’s mocked offense. He does a really good impression of what I’d like to imagine offended Roman stans to sound like.

Ok, we’re gonna chuck the Roman stans out a window so I can actually move on from them. I decided that I was going to help Princey away from the conversation that He was trying to move away from. (I was really tempted to say spared.) The extra bitch hasn’t left yet, has it Em? (We are NOT doing this now.) Fine.

“Seeing as you’re trying to change the subject, Pat and Lo earlier.”

His face lit up at the mention of the glasses gays, as we’ve dubbed them.

“Looks like someone needs to get more sleep.” Ro did a crappy impersonation of Lo. I laughed some more.

“And don’t forget the boop™”

Roman started snickering “How did I forget the boop™? Uhh… Well, I only have 2 weaknesses: self-deprecation and affection.”

Roman was crappily imitating Pat now. I knew where Roman was going. I jumped up from my chair and ran over. Then I slowly walked by him and booped his nose.

Roman snickers turned into a bit of giggling, then he continued with our inside joke. “Never mind. I have 3 weaknesses: self-deprecation, affection and whatever Logan just did.”

I laughed even more at Roman’s shitty impression job. “Ok, you’re purposely sucking. I have accepted this challenge of sucking at doing impersonations for this joke.” I cleared my throat for the shittiest Logan Sanders impression in the history of the universe. I heard Roman mumble “Oh god” underneath his breath.

Good. You better be bracing yourself for this shitshow Princey.

“Patton, I believe that Roman and Virgil would call that a” I searched through imaginary vocab cards “boop™.”

We looked at each other and then laughed hysterically. I somehow ended up falling over in our laughter. We stopped for a moment and looked at each other again. Then laughed again, only harder this time.

Through my laughter, I managed “Stop laughing and help me you, stupid bitch!!”

He looked at me in disbelief. “You’re sitting there, on the floor, laughing, but I can’t laugh with you?” He lectured me while still giggling.

“I’m laughing at my own stupidity. Only I can laugh at myself.”

“Whatever. I thought I was supposed to be the dramatic one!”

The laughter had died down quite quickly after that. Roman helped me up off the floor. We walked to the couch and sat down.

Well… more he sat down, I lay down, and he was my footrest. It’s an us thing.

“Do you always have to put your feet on me, Virge?”

I scoffed and looked at him in disbelief. “Do I have anywhere else to put my feet? No. Do I want you to sit on my feet? No. Do I want to sit up? No. Do I want to move to the other couch? No. Are you my prisoner now? Yes.”

He laughed a little more. I could tell that he was thinking that I stole his job of being the dramatic one.

We sat there in comfortable silence. The only thing keeping it from being awkward was the light and playful atmosphere. I have no clue about you guys, but with a best friend that you’re almost always loud with, silence is just weird and awkward. (This is a thing with me and my best friend. Normally we just randomly quote Charlie the Unicorn at that point.) 

I decided that I needed to bring up the inevitable.

“You gonna ask me about Alonso any time today? I already told you. You can ask me. I trust you.”

He thought for a moment. “Umm…. Well…. What does he look like?”

I snickered a little bit. “Wow. You’re THAT scared that you’re going to offend me?”

He didn’t share my laughter.

“Oh, umm…. Kinda like Remy, but without the stupid sign that says sleep. But like Remy mixed with someone else. I can’t put my finger on who though.” Roman hummed in response. Then he got a mischievous grin on his face.

OH SHIT!! ROMAN DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE.

He dared though.

“So is he hot?”

I looked at him with my most serious “Bitch what the fuck?” face and asked him a simple question: “Roman, you’re my best friend and I love you (platonically), but why are you like this?”

He looked back at me with a “Bitch what the fuck?” face as well. “Because I’m the literal embodiment of Thomas’ romance. And as your best friend, I want you to find love.”

“That wasn’t cheesy at all Ramen.” I snickered a little bit at the Ramen part. Roman absolutely HATES the nickname Ramen. But he’s still Ramen.

“Don’t think Ramen’s going to get a reaction out of me. It’s not. I’m totally fine with that nickname now.”

My mind went to Someone Gets Hurt Reprise from Mean Girls as soon as Ro Ramen said fine. “REALLY FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!! GO BE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEN!!!”

Roman picked up on the reference and finished the song. “And I want my pink shirt.”

I joined him for the extra part that we add every time we sing/listen to that song.

“HE BROUGHT UP THE PINK SHIRT!! AND YOU KNOW THAT SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN ONCE YOU BRING UP THE PINK SHIRT!!!” We laughed hysterically once more.

Once our laughter had died down again, Roman got serious again. Ish.

“Are you gonna tell me if Alonso is cute or not?”

I couldn’t escape this conversation now. “I don’t know. I guess? You know that this isn’t really my department. It’s like 110% yours.”

He snickered a little bit. “So like, when did you notice him?”

I told him the story. “So Pat was lecturing me about how I should be sleeping and all that bs. I wasn’t really listening because of the hypocrite card. I was staring at the counter and he was just sort of chilling there. Existing.”

I looked at Ro to see his “Vee you’re insane” face but it never came, so I continued.

“Then after Pat went upstairs to get Logan. Alonso, at this point in time I didn’t know his name so I was just referring to him as ‘the counter guy’ in my head, started talking to me by quoting Heathers. I was quoting the scene that he started when Pat and Lo came downstairs. They told me that I was being crazy and that there was only a piece of bread. That’s why I thought that you’d think I’m crazy too.”

Roman looked at me. No discernible emotion could be seen on his face. It was kinda scary. He just told me “I don’t think you’re crazy.”

It took me a moment to comprehend that. “You don’t?”

“At least I think that.”

I didn’t fully think out what I was about to do before I did it. That’s very unusual for me. Might I remind you that I was running on two cups short of a full pot of coffee (Pat and Lo drank them) and like 2 hours of sleep?

I lept off the couch, grabbed Roman’s hand and dragged him up the stairs. Once I got to Pat’s room I kicked the door down. We were greeted with the sight of the glasses gays cuddling on Patton’s bed watching a movie.

After I kicked the door down they looked up at me in shock. Still cuddling though, so that’s a bonus.

Pat spoke first. “Virgil, please tell me why you just kicked down my door.”

I could hardly contain my excitement. I moved to the side a little bit and pulled Roman forward. “RoMaN sAyS i’M nOt CrAzY!!!”

Logan looked at Roman “Roman, please explain.”

Roman looked down at his feet. “Well, do I have a story for you guys.”

----

This chapter is the longest by far. The actual chapter part went over 3 pages. That’s a first.

Anywho. I really liked this chapter. It was quite fun to write. However, the next one will be even more fun to write. The glasses gays turned up to 11. God am I gonna have a ball with the next one.

Chapter 7 will most likely be next week. We’re going to Chicago and it’s a 3-hour drive there and back. I write on my laptop which will be left at home, and I don’t have a phone to write on soooo….. I get to listen to Heathers and Mean Girls mass amounts of times though.

                                            The existing internet writing human,

                                                              Em

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Taglist (if you’d like to be added/removed please inform me): @winterswishing-reblogs @thetomorrowshow @just-some-gt-trash @iixclementine

[thecatprince]

How to say I love you without ever saying it at all

Read on AO3

Summary:  I love you. Virgil has always struggled with saying those words. Roman has been hurt by them one too many times. However some things don't need to expressed through words.

Pairings: Prinxiety

Warnings: Slight Janus and Patton negativity (Janus moreso than Patton), roman is very angsty, i think that is about it!

Authors Notes: Another Post-POF/FWSA Prinxiety fic? You’d better believe it! (This is the only thing I know how to write now aalhdjhakfjadhf) This is a little different from my usual style of writing, so I hpe you enjoy! If you like this fic then please leave a comment or reblog as that makes my day! 

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I love you.

Virgil had always struggled with saying those words. Something about the weight of them and what they meant and implied, felt too much and tended to cause him anxiety. He opted to show his feelings instead, showing his love and care through actions, doing and saying other things that help to convey his emotions towards others.

I love you, he said as he hung out with Patton, talking about feelings and eating cookies. I love you, he said as he listened to Logan talk about the latest book he had read. I love you, he said as he sat with Roman, allowing the creative side to do his makeup and paint his nails, talking about Disney and swapping nicknames as they did so. He never said any of those things out loud, but he always felt it, and he knew they knew.

--

I love you. Roman hated those words. He had once loved them, the way they sounded, the way it provided a sense of warmth, the weight of them and how they could easily express want, comfort, support, friendship and, well, love. That was, until those words had been weaponised.

“Oh Roman, you know I love you.”

Those words were cold, slippery, smooth and hurtful. Roman knew love, one of his functions was literally romantic love, and this wasn’t it. No one who loved someone would hurt them this way, poke at their insecurities, build them up just to knock them down, use them and then leave them in the dust. To Roman, those words coming from his mouth sounding meaningless. Cold. Fake. Sharp. Those words hurt.

Roman desperately wanted to believe Patton when he said he loved him. He wanted to run into Patton’s arms, have Patton hold him while he cried, comfort him with cookies and a smile. But Patton had stood by. He had let this happen. He had moved forward, understood everything quicker than Roman, had hurt Roman and then left him behind. He wanted to believe Patton loved him, but he didn’t even say anything while Janus stood there and tore him down.

“We love you kiddo.”

“You know I love you.”

Those words, used again and again, with no real proof of any actual meaning. Roman wanted to believe them, believe that they loved him and that he was loveable, but when he heard those words all he could think about was how much they had hurt him.

Roman had sunk out and had barely made it to his room before he broke down, shaking as sobs wracked his body, feeling weak, fragile and broken. He had felt useless, worthless, wrong and hurt. He had felt more alone than ever, used, broken and left behind by everyone who had said they had loved him.

Except for Virgil.

Virgil and Roman had never really gotten along in the past, often at each other’s throats, there desires conflicting in almost every scenario. But, slowly and gradually, they grew closer. It started small, talking about neutral topics like Disney or favourite foods, teasing each other in a friendly manner, and then slowly talking about bigger issues, what they wanted, their goals in life. They started to hang out, spend hours doing each other’s makeup and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas so much they could recite it by heart. And in the midst of the chaos, the pain and the insecurity Roman was feeling, Virgil came and helped him.

Virgil had seen the signs. The way Roman put up a wall of dramatics and theatrics to hide his insecurities, the way he insulted people to drive them away, the way he made fun of things he loved to lessen the pain when others did it, the way he continuously and repeatedly got pushed down, brushed off, manipulated and made mistakes. Virgil had seen the hurt in his eyes when someone rejected an idea of his. He had seen Roman flinch whenever Janus spoke. He had seen the raw pain and heartbreak in his face when he found Roman after Janus’ acceptance, seen the broken shell of a side who was formerly strong and proud and brave.

And Virgil knew. He knew that he had to save Roman. Because he had been down that path. He had thought no one had loved him, that they didn’t care or hated him, that they didn’t need him, or were better off without him. He could see Roman going down the same path and knew it was only a matter of time before Roman was gone.

So when Virgil found Roman alone in his room, body shaking as he cried, looking broken and weak, Virgil knew he needed to try and save him. He loved Roman, and he couldn’t stand to lose him, not after they had come so far. Virgil felt a need to protect him, to hold him and save him from the pain.

I love you, he told Roman as he held him close as he cried. I love you, he said as he rubbed circles on Roman’s back, gently wiping the tears from his cheeks. I love you, he thought, as he listened to Roman talk about everything he was feeling and thinking, knowing that he was only scratching the surface and that there was so much Roman was hiding. I love you, he said as he whispered words of comfort to the broken figure in his arms, holding him as close to his chest as he could, afraid that if he let go Roman would just break apart and disappear. “I’m here for you.” I love you. “It’s okay.” I love you. “You matter to me.” I love you. “I’m not leaving you.” I love you. “You’re my hero.” I love you. “You are amazing.” I love you. “You deserve so much love and happiness.” I love you. “You matter.” I love you. “I care about you.” I love you.

Roman had eventually fallen asleep, and Virgil had stayed the night, as if needing to protect him from every invisible force that could hurt him as he slept. And he never left. Day after day he stuck by Roman’s side, helping him pick up all the broken pieces of his life, sharing all of their scariest and darkest thoughts and all of times they felt worthless, useless, unwanted, unloved. Day by day they grew closer and closer, and slowly, gradually, naturally, Virgil found himself falling in love with Roman. He had always loved Roman, ever since they had all saved him from ducking out, but this was different. Being in love with Roman was warm, gentle, sweet, welcoming and natural.

And every day he showed it. He showed it by listening to Roman bare his soul to him late at night, when things were said that couldn’t be said during daylight. He showed it through staying with Roman for every step of the way, both of them leaning on each other for support and building each other up, piece by piece. He showed it by being there for Roman through the good and the bad, listening to Roman rant about whatever Disney movie, gay cartoon show or musical he was obsessed with at that moment, and comforting him when everything was too much and he broke down crying.

But Virgil could tell that Roman never really understood how much he cared, never really let himself believe that Virgil could care for him. He could see it in the way that Roman’s expression faltered whenever Virgil smiled at him, the way he cautiously smiled back, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards slightly before returning it with a sad grin. He noticed the emotions swimming in Roman’s eyes when he looked at him, the almost raw desperateness and dimming hope, as if almost wanting to believe something but not quite letting himself do so. And every time he noticed it, it broke his heart, but he didn’t give up. He would wait as long as it took for Roman to understand how much he loved him.

And then entered Nico. And Nico, well, he was simultaneously the best and worst thing that had ever happened to Thomas. The best because Nico brought Thomas such a sheer amount of excitement and happiness into his life that he had so desperately needed after the complete clusterfuck that was the wedding/callback situation. The worst because Nico brought change and change was scary. After this point there was no turning back. They were moving forward, into uncharted territory and it scared Virgil, more than anything. Not to mention the pain that they had felt at the last heartbreak, something Virgil wanted to avoid at all costs.

But Roman had looked so heartbroken, and he had gone through so much pain and hardship already, and he was just standing there, looking devastated and resigned. Virgil knew how much Roman wanted this, how much he craved this and how much he deserved it. Because Roman did deserve it. He deserved to be heard, to have happiness, to have his desires and wants and dreams be fulfilled, without being called selfish, bad, wrong, evil. What Roman wanted mattered, and Virgil could hardly stand the way he looked in that moment.

And so Virgil did the only thing he could do. And finally – finally - Roman understood. Roman looked at Virgil, the expression of brokenness and despair he had felt seconds ago morphing into one of disbelief and shock and eventually elation. Roman smiled, truly smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as he let out a huff of laughter, evidently over the moon. All Virgil could do was stare as Roman transformed from the broken man he had known to the dashing, lively, passionate prince he had always been. And Virgil knew that Roman understood.

The push, for Roman. A silent I love you.

A hand on his shoulder. That look on his face. The highest of compliments.

I love you too.

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 Thanks for reading!! Feel free to leave comments, reblogs or thoughts as that is greatly appreciated!!

[thisaccisdead]

montreal - roman hurt/comfort

pairing: this was written to all be platonic prinxiety, but can definitely be interpreted romantically !

warnings: unconventional self harm, non-graphic descriptions of wounds/injury

summary: a post-POF roman hurt/comfort fic in january 2021? yes <3

word count: 3.2k

notes: large portions of this were salvaged from one (1) night last summer at 4am when i was having a . time. the rest has been mainly recently written before i go to bed, with some extra bits added during my history classes B)) also shout out to [REDACTED]. u may not read this but if u do, i hope u know who u are & ilu

Virgil had been trying to calm himself down for the better part of an hour, as soon as they got back from the wedding fiasco; and he was doing a relatively okay job. Considering the circumstances, at least. Or so he thought, when he registered a spike in Thomas’s anxiety. This only served to make Virgil more anxious, because he had thought he had been doing well—until, he realized it wasn’t anxiety, not exactly, not fully—and it wasn’t coming from him.

Once he'd figured that out, it wasn't hard to trace the feeling to the imagination. He paused at the door. If this was where the strongest negative emotions were coming from, he already knew which side this was about. And could he really be surprised? Roman had wanted that callback for so long. Even at the court case, even when Roman gave Thomas his sentence, Virgil knew it killed him. And Virgil didn't do anything. Because he was so fucking scared of Thomas being bad, or of Janus winning, or something, and now whatever was going on was his fault, and--

And now was not the time for these thoughts. He breathed in. He opened the door.

Immediately, he was coughing out soot, heat burned his cheeks, his eyes blurred with protective tears forming against the smoke. It was hard to see, let alone process, what was happening. Then, he caught sight of the Dragon Witch. And he caught sight of—

“Roman!” Virgil choked on the yell, coughing again.

Obviously Roman couldn’t hear him from the distance, especially considering the brutal roar of the creature. Adrenaline kicked in, and as Virgil began to sprint towards the prince, he took in the entirety of the scene with alarm. Roman was...fighting, sure, except that Virgil had seen him fight before, and this... wasn’t right. Roman bested manticore-chimeras like it was a breeze, he HAD bested the Dragon Witch herself in every form she took, “just for training.” He always moved like he was in a ballet, not a battle, like it was more for show than challenge, and now...

Virgil watched Roman fall to a hard swish of the creature’s tail, and stay there. He almost expected the Dragon Witch to take mercy, or at least, to accept an early victory. But he watched her rear back, raise a taloned hand, the magma-red in her throat glowing brighter and brighter—just as Virgil got close enough to let fight win over flight.

Virgil crashed into Roman; they rolled just far enough that the swipe of claws only ripped the edge of Virgil’s jacket.

Immediate danger out of the way, Virgil clenched his eyes tight, trying to do it how Logan taught him. He found something that didn’t make sense--the grass. The grass was dry, therefore it should have been burning, but it wasn’t. He took that foothold to dispel all the fantastical elements of the scene, Dragon Witch and all her carnage blinking from existence. The new calm of the scene was jarring.

That just left a great big field, Virgil, and one absolute dumbass.

"What the fuck, Princey?!"

Virgil’s voice was distorted with stress, and Roman stared up at him wide-eyed, unsure—even terrified in a way that hurt. Virgil quickly pushed himself up so he wasn't pinning the other. Roman tried to copy this movement, only to groan, start coughing, and fall back again.

“Shit, I—“ Virgil looked at his hands and found red on them, looked at Roman and saw the color painting his chest. “I thought I dispelled all the imaginary stuff, why—?“

“Left brain sides can only dispel so much of what right brain sides feel,” Roman said, voice rough and thin and upsettingly casual, “Since they feel so real to me, you can’t get rid of them.”

“They feel…? Christ, ok, you need a medical kit, uhm—“ Virgil closed his eyes again; he was notoriously shitty at summoning things, and he had to concentrate for this—

“That’s ok; I’ve got it,” Roman said, letting out a quiet hiss as he propped himself up on one arm, and summoned the medical kit with the other, “You can go now.”

Virgil gaped at him in disbelief. When Roman attempted to stand up, and Virgil could no longer deny he wasn’t joking, he exclaimed, “Like Hell am I going, idiot!”

Roman just stared at him, and Virgil cursed under his breath. “Ok ok, let’s just... we should do this in the bathroom, uhm—“

Virgil awkwardly clambered over to Roman again, taking his hand, so he could blink them over together. He knew it would probably be more comfortable for Roman to sink in and out, but considering Virgil wasn’t practiced at that, he wasn’t going to risk screwing it up.

They apparated into the bathtub, and Virgil scrambled up, taking the med kit from Roman's hands.

Ok, ok, now Virgil just had to remember that one time Logan lectured them all on “Side Safety.” He took a shaky breath and washed his hands quickly, before turning back to Roman. He allowed himself to fully assess the prince this time and… Jesus. He was slumped against the back of the tub, having given up his attempts at composure while he thought Virgil wasn’t looking. His litany of scrapes, cuts, bruising, his shallow breathing, and--most of all--the wet, red patch slowly growing on his shirt, sparked renewed panic in Virgil.

“Ok, fuck, ok--let’s do this,” Virgil said, mostly to himself, as he knelt down by Roman to undo his already tattered shirt and take a wet towel to his chest. He had to suck in a breath at the sight of the jagged wound, a nauseous feeling catching up to him.

“You’ve already done a lot, you know,” Roman insisted. “You can--”

“If you tell me to go, Princey, I swear I’ll make these wounds worse myself,” he said, not meaning it in the slightest, which he would assume Roman knew--but the way Roman flinched and shut his mouth told a different story. “Shit, I didn’t mean that. Of course I didn’t mean that!”

Roman glanced away, and Virgil reached to cup his cheek, an instinct he didn’t know he had. Luckily, he caught himself in time to retract his hand. They both avoided eye contact for a second; Virgil cleared his throat; and he reached for the bottle of hydrogen peroxide before pausing. He vaguely recalled Logan mentioning how strong alcohols would only cause more harm, and they should just stick to mild soap instead. He gave the cut a longer look-over—it was certainly not a pretty sight, but probably not as bad as it looked. It was large, but not too deep. Plus, as sides, it would heal itself without needing anything like stitches or professional medical work. The past scars littering Roman’s body were proof of that. Actually--had he always had this many scars? Virgil squinted. How often did he do this?

Virgil finished cleansing and bandaging the wound to the best of his ability, with little talk beyond the occasional, soft “sorry” at Roman’s winces. When he had finished, he gave Roman his hoodie (an action the Prince was too tired to take much notice of), since summoning a new shirt seemed like a waste of whatever energy he had left.

“Ok, Princey, all done. Uhm, are you—how, how are you?” Virgil mentally kicked himself.

A small, bitter smile tugged at Roman’s lips for just a moment. He opened his mouth and then closed it, and finally shrugged. “Thank you for your help.”

It hurt, Virgil realized. Roman’s quiet voice, where near-shouting was his usual speech. His unkempt hair sticking to his forehead, where it was usually styled to be very lightly and intentionally ruffled. The bags beneath his eyes where there was usually concealer. All of it hurt.

Virgil sucked in a breath. “Look, I’m sorry if I’m being annoying, but I hope you know there’s absolutely no way I’m leaving yet.”

“Virgil,” Roman almost said it as a whine, which was closer to his usual style, so Virgil considered it progress.

“Roman,” Virgil deadpanned back.

Roman huffed. “Maybe I need space to really explore my feelings, and you’re actually being a terrible friend right now,” he argued.

“Uh-huh, well being a terrible friend is always my favorite, so,” Virgil leaned down, fumbling slightly as he picked Roman up bridal style, “We’re gonna get you to bed, and you can explore your feelings by sleeping.”

“Great, now you’re damsel-in-distressing me,” Roman said sarcastically, but he leaned his head into Virgil’s chest as he did so, which kind of ruined his point.

“Yeah, yeah. Act more like Megara next time, and maybe it’ll be different.”

•••

Roman groaned upon waking up. His whole body ached, but mainly it was focused around a sharper pain in his chest. He let his eyes flutter open, only to find Virgil staring at him from his desk.

“Ah,” Roman uttered, a jumble of memories from the past few hours returning. They felt foggy and mildly icky, but mainly the pain in them was the numb kind of pain, the tired kind. Really, it was indistinguishable from the dull ache of his bruises and cuts.

“Yeah,” Virgil said, as though he understood, even though he couldn’t possibly. “Uh, wanna talk about it?”

It was clear Virgil felt awkward asking the question. It was unclear whether that was due to his tendency to be embarrassed by everything he said, or—far more likely—that he wanted to stop babying a stupid prince, and just go about his business.

Roman sat up, suppressing a wince as best he could. “Do you want to hear about it?”

“Of course I do.” Virgil said it without an ounce of hesitation. Roman’s breath caught.

“Oh.” Roman shifted slightly over, and Virgil took a seat by him on the bed. “Okay. Uhm. I don’t know, I just—I messed up.” What else was new?

“...What did you mess up?” Virgil asked, with an inkling of suspicion, like he knew what this was about. But it wasn’t that; it wasn’t the callback—that was over and done and dead. Roman had created so many fantasies, so many crazy scenarios where they could somehow still make it in that stupid movie, and it had always filled him with hope or crushing pain or something, but as of this afternoon? He didn’t even care. It didn’t matter.

So, Roman ignored the question, and instead commented, “Janus got accepted.”

“What the fuck.”

Roman observed Virgil’s stricken expression like an unsettling kind of mirror of himself when—

My name is Janus.

“Yeah,” Roman sighed, “I didn’t take it so well either.”

Virgil looked at him for a long moment, seeming to go through several series of emotions, before he was able to ask, “...What happened?”

Roman inhaled sharply. “I was wrong about being wrong about the wedding. Patton was also wrong; Janus was right, and then Patton was right because he wasn’t a total asshole to Janus, and I’m evil; Thomas hates me; whatever, you get it.”

He thought he would break down, saying it, but he felt oddly… fine. He sat, staring at the same spot as he was before, absentmindedly annoyed at the way his bandages itched. The normalcy of the situation almost made it worse. This sucked. This wasn’t even bad.This was the worst he had ever felt.

“Oook,” Virgil said, clearly not knowing where to start, “I—you—what do you mean: Thomas hates you?”

“Thought that one was self-explanatory.”

“He can’t hate you,” Virgil said with a laughable amount of conviction. “You’re still his… y’know.. goals. Desires. Hopes. Whatever. Just because this one didn’t go… perfectly, doesn’t mean you won’t keep—“ he struggled to find the phrasing for a moment— “...fighting, uh, valiantly for Thomas’s dreams!” he attempted at the encouragement with a weak smile.

Roman just shook his head. “No. I don’t know what he wants.”

Virgil’s smile dropped into confusion. “But… you are his wants.”

“That’s kind of the problem.”

Virgil seemed at a loss, and Roman felt like an asshole. Here he was trying to help him, and Roman couldn’t even be bothered to put on a smile to dismiss him from the duty.

“Please go,” Roman attempted weakly when he couldn’t find a more convincing argument in himself. He was meant to be an actor, but he knew he couldn’t hide the fact that he wanted him to stay, of course he did, so badly. He hoped Virgil would just quit with the chivalry and go despite that.

Virgil sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit, I'm going about this all wrong.”

Roman knew it probably wasn’t really him Virgil was mad at, but it was hard not to shrink away anyway.

“Look, Roman—“ Virgil turned to him, looked at him seriously, took his hands in his— “To be honest? I don’t care what happened. I don’t care who was right or wrong—I mean, we all know I’ve been in the wrong more than my fair share. It doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

Roman didn’t miss the ambiguity of the end statement. “But… look, you don’t get it. When you mess up, you’re still you. You’re still...,” Roman gestured vaguely, which upset his bandages, and when he looked down at himself, he took note of the black/purple hoodie he was wearing. He melted slightly. This was exactly the point he was trying to make, “You’re still... y’know. Important.”

“Wh—? Of course you’re important, Ro. You’re creativity—“

“Thomas has two of those.”

Virgil looked at him like he was stupid. “Right, as if you’re anything like Remus.”

Roman’s lip quivered at that, and he had to look away, which was so stupid. And suddenly he felt all of the embarrassment at once—of this situation, of everything that had happened before, of the way he was about to cry, in front of Virgil, after he said that, which must look so—

“Roman?”

A hand was on his cheek, softly turning his face towards Virgil’s, though Roman still refused to meet his eyes.

Virgil cursed to himself under his breath. “Shit, this is exactly what I was trying not to say.” He sighed, and Roman hesitantly looked up at him. “Look. Even if you weren’t creativity, if you weren’t hopes or dreams or any of it—if you were a completely pointless side, which you aren’t, but if you were—I wouldn’t care. What I care about is that you’re... Roman. That you bother me until I sing Disney with you, that when you put your heart into something, you do it to a stupid amount, that you make Thomas take trashy buzzfeed soulmate quizzes when he’s stressed, and that you fucking try so hard for everything, even when I’m being a little bitch about it,” he paused. With the hand on Roman’s cheek, he traced the line of a scar down his jaw. It was one of the ones Roman usually made sure to put an illusion over, he noted offhandedly. “I care, because you’re my best friend.”

“Don’t say that,” Roman choked out. He couldn’t handle it if it was a lie, and part of him couldn’t manage hearing it as anything but exactly that. “Just—just—“

“Oh, Princey..”

Virgil held him as he broke. Roman didn’t know how long they sat like that as he let everything wash over him for a final time, let it all truly sink in at long last. He took heaving, messy sobs, no doubt ruining Virgil’s shirt in the process—he was quiet, though. He shook silently, save a couple choked breaths, in the other’s arms--that was a habit he had taught himself long ago.

When Roman had tired himself out, when all that was left was the pain in chest, (which was also suddenly duller—he was healing fast, even for a side—) he pulled back from the embrace. Virgil didn’t move by much, kept them so their fingers were laced together, as they sat staring at each other.

“Uhm. Thanks,” Roman gave a shaky smile, “You really—uh... I... I said some stupid stuff, huh?”

Virgil hesitated before he spoke, as if he knew he shouldn’t ask this right now, but needed to anyway. “...Roman, why’d you go to the Imagination?”

Roman felt ice stab at his chest upon the question. He didn’t want to do this. They had already talked about so much that he shouldn’t have gotten into; this was meant to be the part where they either parted or watched a stupid movie. And this, out of everything, was the conversation he most needed to avoid.

“Uh—I mean, to let off steam?” Roman gave a laugh as best he could. “Obviously, it didn’t go to plan—“

“Didn’t it?”

Roman’s face fell immediately. He struggled to come up with an answer, and even if he had had one, he didn’t think the sound would come out. This was enough of an answer in itself

“Shit,” Virgil breathed. Roman couldn’t help but be mildly annoyed by his surprise—clearly he had already known, he didn’t have to make it a big deal now.

“I… Princey—Roman…” Virgil looked him up and down, and Roman wanted to curl up and hide. “...how many times?”

“Not many,” Roman mumbled. Virgil must have known he was pushing the subject too far, because he just frowned and said,

“OK. I mean...it’s not OK, obviously, but you already know that, I just—“ he sighed. “Just… can you talk to me? Instead? Please? When you feel like… that.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Roman responded hastily, wanting an out from this topic.

Virgil gave him a look. “I’m serious. I mean—look, you don’t even have to talk about it if you don’t want. Just, come to me first, yeah?”

Roman’s face burned; he was embarrassed; he wanted to shrug this whole thing off, or roll his eyes, or maybe scream in annoyance. But the rational part of him knew Virgil was right. “OK,” he agreed softly, “...Thanks. For everything.”

Virgil looked surprised, and then flustered, and then waved off the earnest reply. “I mean, it wasn’t--I didn’t--it’s not like I did anything really--”

“You did.”

Virgil’s face softened. “Yeah, well... you’d’ve done the same for me. You... have done the same for me.”

Roman smiled gently at him. “By the way, Virge--” He hesitated. He was about to sound like a real dumbass if Virgil had only been saying this stuff for comfort’s sake. But making a fool of himself was becoming a theme for him anyway, so he continued, “You’re my best friend too.”

I love you.

In the same beats Roman thought it, Virgil squeezed his hand lightly 3 times. A breath passed between them. An understanding. That Roman couldn’t say it out loud, and Virgil wouldn’t.

Instead, Virgil fell back across the bed, bringing Roman with him in the motion. Roman let out a startled gasp and elbowed him lightly. “Hey! I’m injured, that could have been a fatal impact for me!” he whined.

Virgil snorted. “Yeah, yeah, OK. So, do you wanna watch a stupid movie, or what?”

[cats-pyjamas]

Virgil and Roman (platonic or romantic, you choose) with Love Me When I Don't by Pentatonix?

❥ ask / anonymous

send me a song and i’ll write a drabble based on it !

HELLO ANON THIS HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY ASK BOX FOR SO LONG I AM SO SORRY-

i hope this is okay for you! i’m so sorry for the wait and for how short it is as well 😭

title: you bring me home

words: 411

character(s): virgil, roman, patton (mentioned)

pairing: prinxiety ( roman / virgil )

inspired by: love me when i don’t - pentatonix

content warnings: minor injury mention, self-hatred, description of a panic attack

-

He hadn’t meant to break it.

Really, Virgil knew Patton wouldn’t be angry. It simply wasn’t in his nature to be. Not at him. Not because of an accident. Not over a mug. If anything he would fuss and flounder around him, bombard him with a laundry list of overly-concerned questions- is he okay? Did he cut himself? Why didn’t he call for someone to come help?

Because people shouldn’t have to help me. It’s my own fault I’m incapable of doing even the most basic of things. Why should I expect others to fix my screw ups?

The fractured bold #1 Dad! text leered up at Virgil as he held the largest shard of ceramic in place, willing it to hurry up and stick. After what felt like an eternity, he dared to pull his hand back, eyes roving over the cracks and ensuring everything would stay intact. Virgil’s index finger- freshly wrapped in a plaster as a result of his unfortunate encounter with a particularly sharp piece of broken ceramic- shakily traced the faint outline of the spider web now branching across the mug, feeling its uneven ridges poorly remedied by cheap glue. He inhaled sharply and abruptly set it back down on the table, scorning his pitiful attempt at a repair, and braced himself against the counter top, jaw clenched. He tucked his chin against his chest, shoulders hunching as he struggled to push the ugly thoughts back under the surface. Emotions crashed over him in waves, threatening to capsize his every thought- frustration, worry, self-hatred-

His own breathing was too loud in his ears, and he stood upright once more, stumbling slightly at the spell of dizziness that arrested him. Strong hands suddenly seized his forearms, steadying him, before he was slowly eased back against a firm chest, and Virgil fought for breath as he impulsively pulled away, which only tightened the snare now wrapped around his waist, and he froze.

Yes, the touch was familiar.

Virgil’s lungs heaved as he mimicked the rhythmic rise and fall of the chest currently pressed against his shoulder blades, and the tension gradually began to seep from his body. Finally he turned his head, seeking the warmth of an embrace, the lullaby of a heartbeat- anything to ground him, remind him that Roman was right there and holding him. Princey himself didn’t say anything, and Virgil wasn’t sure he wanted him to. He didn’t need to.

He was home now.

[starlightinhumanform]

Friday Night Lights: Chapter Two

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Ship: Romantic Prinxiety, Platonic Sleepxiety 

Summary: Roman and Virgil play opposite positions on their rival high school football teams. It’s the Homecoming game and tensions are high. Neither are willing to lose but one must rise above the other...

Warnings: Descriptions of pain/injury, Moderate language, One mention of drinking (Please tell me if anything needs to be added)

Genre: High School AU, Rivals to Lovers, Fluff 

A/N: Well... nearly a year since the first chapter came out I’m finally writing again!!! I really love this AU (even though I know very little about football lmao) and I have a lot of ideas about how I would like to include more Sanders Sides characters into this world. If I can get some more of my unfinished fics done, I really want to expand this series. Until then, I hope you enjoy! Love you all 🖤✨

Chapter One   Ao3   Fic Masterpost   Fic Request Info

The first play passed by in a blink. Most of the guys at the front went down quickly, even the largest crumpling under Prince and his brigade. Somehow in the chaos, the ball had been passed to Remy instead of Virgil and the fullback was tackled to the ground.

Virgil rolled his eyes at Remy as the team fell back into formation, only a few feet forward from where they had begun, “Dude, why’d the fuck did it get passed to you? It’s not like a knucklehead like you would know what to do with it.”

Remy huffed a laugh in response, “I have no clue. I’ll make sure it gets to you this time… hopefully.”

He glanced over in the direction that Remy was grimacing. It was Prince, of course, lumbering toward his position with what seemed to Virgil to be nothing but brutish arrogance. Roman acted like the entire game was about him; he acted like it was West Shore Vs Roman instead of West Shore Vs Knights. He probably didn’t even care about the game— it was all about showing off.

Crouched in the back of the formation, it was hard to see anyone at the front but he could picture Roman, somehow managing to smirk behind his mouthguard. Virgil hoped that Remy would rub his face in the turf.

—————————————-

Roman prepared for the second down, glad to see that the jock in front of him wasn’t looking nearly as confident as he had at the first down. Knocking someone to the ground always seemed to do the trick.

The ball was hurled straight back to Tempeste and the bitch who had growled at him earlier didn’t even try to block Roman. Good. All that was left between him and the weird little halfback was Remy Ristretto.

Roman tried to steady himself before the expected slam, but Ristretto’s tackle hit him low in the stomach, managing to knock him off balance. From the ground, he could just barely see the purple form of Tempeste weaving down the field and avoiding every single one of the Monarch Knight’s defense.

Roman tried to throw off the weight of the boy on his back but found himself thoroughly pinned down. His mouth was filled with the taste of plastic turf and dusty rubber and almost the entirety of his vision was blocked by the grape juice flavoured uniform on top of him. It was humiliating. And Tempeste was still running, reaching the end zone without being touched by a single Knight. It was like his feet didn’t even touch the ground, flying across the field.

The West Shore team were given the chance to make a field goal, and made it, but Roman hardly noticed. He was too busy grumbling about how he was going to get back at Tempeste the second he got the chance.

—————————————-

By halftime, Virgil felt like he had been driven over by a steamroller. Multiple times. A steamroller covered in baseball bats.

As the marching band paraded past where Virgil was sitting, he wondered vaguely about the operability of a steamroller that had baseball bats attached to it. Maybe the hit he had taken to the head earlier in the game had been harder than he thought.

Remy sat down besides him, “What’s going on in that big old head of yours?”

“Uhhhhh, a lot of cartoon gong sound effects. Now that I think about it, that might just be the band.”

Virgil looked out across the field as the marching band made their final pass around the turf. The sky was completely dark by now but the stadium glowed bright as day under the huge lights. It was always wonderfully surreal to Virgil, the time of night when the field became its own little world still holding onto the glory of day. He hoped glory was still how he felt about this field by the end of the game. The alternative would be shame; the alternative would be defeat.

And defeat was not an option for a game right before homecoming. It’s not that Virgil particularly cared about the school dances, quite the opposite in fact, he hated them. They were crowded, noisy, and you had to wear uncomfortable clothes and stand around with a bunch of people you don’t like instead of being at home watching scary movies and eating pizza in your pajamas. But there’s only one thing worse than going to a school dance— going to the a school dance after losing the biggest game of the season.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Remy’s voice broke through Virgil’s thoughts, “Well stop it. We’re ahead of the Knights—“

“Barely.”

“—you’ve made some great runs so far—“

“I’ve gotten blocked plenty of times too.”

“—and you’re always at your best in the second half of the game. Now stop putting all your energy towards making the little hamster wheel in your brain turn faster and go use it on the field. C’mon man, the third quarter is about to start.”

Virgil shook his head as if to dislodge the distracting thoughts, letting his purple bangs fall in front of his face for a moment before brushing them back and putting his helmet on. Remy was right. Virgil had started football as a way to channel his anxiety, not to cause himself more. He just needed to get on that field and start running.

He jumped up and started bouncing on his feet, letting the adrenaline flow through his body until it felt like he was buzzing. Virgil was ready to win.

—————————————-

Roman was ready to win.

He could feel it boiling in stomach, the drive, the push to alway be the best. The teams had been neck-and-neck the entire game but West Shore’s grape-coloured menace had managed to scrape by with a slight lead by the end of the second quarter. Roman had no idea how Tempeste could even run that fast; he had short little legs and was about as delicate as a twig. Maybe West Shore just hooked him up to a car battery and gave him 20 energy drinks before every game.

However they made it happen, the kid could run. He didn’t look like he belonged on a football team, more like a trackstar or even a dancer. Roman knew he looked like a football player— tall, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, his extra weight part of what made him such a good defense. But Tempeste... he was like no player Roman had ever seen. Maybe that’s why Roman couldn’t beat him like any other player.

As the teams fell into formation, Roman looked across the row of helmets and accidentally made eye contact with Virgil. His stare burned with intensity. Roman hated to admit it, but he liked that about the rival school’s halfback, the feverish energy that seemed to storm around him. In fact, if Roman was being really honest, he loved playing against the West Shore because he loved playing against Tempeste. The energy was infectious. Playing against him made Roman want to run faster, hit harder, be better.

Roman smiled behind the mouthguard that rested on his bottom teeth. Maybe he did know how to beat Virgil; maybe he had to be just as crazy and vicious as his opponent.

—————————————-

Virgil knew what it felt like to get tackled. In his high school career he had gotten jumped on top and thrown to the ground by various sweaty, muscly dudes more times than he could ever dream of counting or would ever care to. He had been dragged to the ground, sat on, and pushed over from every angle and in every way.

But he had never, never felt a tackle like Roman’s in the beginning of the third quarter of that game.

He saw it coming, practically in slow motion, before Prince actually hit him. The boy’s shoulders were nearly twice as big as Virgil’s even with all his gear. He came charging towards Virgil head-down like a bull, his bright red helmet set with a direct trajectory to Virgil’s solar plexus.

Virgil tried to sidestep, skirting just past the moving wall of Roman Prince, but somehow Roman was moving simply too fast. The impact struck just at his core and a deep kind of pain, like a bruise that goes all the way to the bone, resonated outwards through his entire body. A vibration ran all the way to his fingertips.

Virgil could see the crowd going wild, booing and cheering and maybe just screaming with no inflection, making noise for the hell of it. He couldn’t hear any of it. Maybe the entire world had been put on mute or maybe the ringing in his ears was drowning it out.

He fell backwards and Roman flew over him, momentum carrying him forward. When he landed— and boy, did he land— he fell on directly onto Virgil’s chest. Virgil thought Roman had knocked the wind out of him by hitting him in the sternum. By landing flat on his chest with the entire bulk of his body, Roman found another ounce of breath left in Virgil’s body to shock out of him.

His vision and hearing tunneled out, focusing on the one thing capturing his entire attention: Roman. The boy on top of him was heavy, crushing Virgil through his thick shoulder pads. The heat of Prince’s body spread through his gear as well, although, based on the sweat damping his hairline, Virgil really wasn’t one to talk.

Roman was strong, stronger than him. Virgil tried to squirm away but he could feel Prince throwing his weight downwards and his arms straining to keep Virgil caged to the ground.

Just as intense as his physical strength, Prince’s eyes seemed to burn. Before, they always seemed to be depthless, simply dark and brutish like a bear. Now, breathlessly close, there seemed to be a light behind them, a thousand times brighter than the stadium lights. Gold tones shining through the dark brown of his eyes. It was the most beautiful thing Virgil had ever seen. It was also easily one of the most terrifying things he’d ever seen.

Virgil kept the ball close to his chest. As long as he could keep it, the West Shore team would still have possession and could continue to move forward across the field. They could still win.

—————————————-

Roman had Tempeste pinned to the ground and somehow it was the most exhilarating thing he had ever done. Which isn’t to say he had never tackled the halfback before— they had been playing against each other for several years now— but this was different somehow, more personal.

Tempeste growled beneath him, wriggling to escape the tackle like water slipping between his fingers. Roman push down harder, refusing to let him go.

Footsteps pounded behind them, turf crunching under the stampede of Knights quickly charging forward. Roman braced himself for the pile-up he knew was coming, over a thousand pounds worth of his team jumping to join the tackle.

One guy slammed into Roman’s back then another, then another. The pressure of the game must have been getting to them as well because they threw themselves at Roman and Tempeste like a pack of wild animals.

It felt like every single Knight, including the offense players, were joining the tackle. And feel was the correct term. He could hardly see anything besides Tempeste’s face within his purple helmet. But he could feel everything, every hit of his teammates as their full weight fell against his back. Beneath him, Tempeste’s breath began quickening, like he was sprinting again. But of course he wasn’t, he was pinned down just like Roman was.

Roman glanced down into the depths of Virgil’s helmet, searching past the grill. Shining in the dark, his eyes caught a small reflection of the stadium lights. They were large, startled, and obviously panicked. He looked like a trapped animal and his breathing only continued to become more rapid.

Their eyes met as Roman looked down and he realized this was the first time he had ever seen Virgil look really, truly afraid. He had seen Tempeste in the fourth quarter, 20 points behind and looking as determined and fierce as ever. He had seen Tempeste sprint across the field, followed by the entire Monarchs team, with a huge grin on his face like there was nothing he would rather do than be hunted after. He had seen Tempeste stand toe-toe-to, small chest puffed out and jaw set confidently, with some guy over a foot taller than him because he tried to mouth off about Virgil’s ability. He had never seen him like this.

“Hey, it’s going to be ok,” Roman set his helmet grill against Virgil’s. He knew Virgil couldn’t hear him and probably didn’t even know why he was putting his face so close. Hell, Roman didn’t even know why he was doing it. There was something about Virgil’s genuine fear that he felt the need to comfort him, tell him that it was just a game, that he would be alright.

The weight of another player hit him and Roman was slammed against Virgil’s chest. The sudden shift forced Roman onto his wrist, the small joint carrying him and the entirety of his team. Something cracked. He gasped sharply as pain struck every molecule in his body. Roman’s vision went black.

—————————————-

Virgil sat in the locker room, staring vaguely across at the rows of blue shelves in front of him as he held a pack of ice against his shoulder. The nurse said that it might have been dislocated in the pileup.

He wished he could blame it on Roman, that oaf was the one who had tackled him to begin with. He couldn’t though. It was Roman’s job to tackle him and that’s exactly what Roman had done and as much as it confused and somewhat infuriated Virgil, he also knew the other boy had protected him from the blunt force of his teammates. Why? Why would he do that?

Dull pain throbbed through the entirety of his body, clouding his mind. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t quite wrap his head around what had happened.

Virgil was pretty sure Roman got hurt too. As he had walked off the field, gritting his teeth, he caught a glimpse of Prince cradling his hand as he walked in the opposite direction.

It was one hell of a pileup; four years of football and he had only been in a tangle that bad the first time he had played against the Monarchs. Maybe he and Roman were just destined to create disasters.

Virgil grimaced as his mind kept wandering back to Roman. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help but worry if Prince was alright. Virgil had no idea what was going on in his mind, or on the field, or in the locker room on the other side.

—————————————-

Roman was bored. He sat on the bleachers, watching the game drag on ahead of him as he held a pack of ice to his wrist. The nurse had told him it was probably just strained but Roman wasn’t convinced. He could feel the ache throbbing up his arm with every beat of his heart. Between the pain and the pressure spreading out from grinding his teeth, Roman’s head was trapped in a haze that he could barely see through.

From what he could tell, the Monarch Knights were winning. With Virgil out, Westshore’s offense had been greatly weakened. Roman hardly cared; he wasn’t out there, Virgil wasn’t out there, none of the spark was left in the game. What was the point of winning if there was no one to win against?

The crowd roared as the final quarter came to a close. The Knights won, but Roman didn’t. He felt disappointed, dejected, and like he didn’t quite understand where he was. This wasn’t his game.

The night came to an end and Roman opted to go straight to the locker room instead of shaking hands with the other team, blaming it on his wrist.  Usually, he loved facing the other team after a win— admittedly because it gave him a chance to gloat over them— but he just couldn’t find that same feeling tonight.

—————————————-

Virgil leaned against a cold concrete wall of the bleachers, staring up at the stadium light’s false sun above him. If he looked far enough, he could find the dark sky and the twinkling lights of the city below him and beyond the intense glow of the school.

A cool breeze was picking up as the world shifted into night. It was beautiful but Virgil couldn’t appreciate it. He just wished there had been some sort of ending, a closure of some kind. He and Prince’s last hurrah against each other. But they hadn’t gotten a hurrah, all they got was a game that petered out and came to sputtering stop as they both sat on the sidelines. Virgil didn’t even care that West Shore lost; it was never about West Shore and the Monarchs. It was about him and Roman.

Someone cleared their throat behind him, “You mind if I join your sulking or would you rather be left alone to mope?”

Virgil spun around, his body tensing at Roman’s voice and sending a twinge of pain down from his shoulder, “What do you want?”

Roman stepped closer, “I told you, I came to sulk with you because that’s obviously what we’re both doing.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right well... fuck off.”

“Man, I thought you might bite before but now I’m sure of it.”

Prince took another casual step forward as Virgil’s mind began racing. What is he doing? Virgil’s eyes swept over Roman. He had never really seen him out of his football uniform and damn. In denim jeans and a red tee shirt, Virgil was actually able to see him for the first time. Most guys were greatly exaggerated by the uniform, making them look bigger and stronger, but nope, Roman was really just built like that. His gaze reached Prince’s face. Like the rest of his body, his features looked like they had been sculpted and chiseled like some type of statue. He was reminded of how beautiful Roman’s eyes were when he actually took the time to look at them, the warm shades of brown filtering through each other.

“Uh, what are you looking at?” Roman laughed, a hint of nervousness creeping into the edge of his voice.

Virgil felt blood rushing to his face as a deep blush rose to his cheeks. He had been staring, hadn’t he? “Sorry.”

Roman stepped even closer, clearing his throat again, “I actually came over here because... I wanted just wanted to tell you I’ve really enjoyed playing against you. And it can’t just be summed up by saying ‘good game;’ it’s been a hell of a good four years... you’re a phenomenal player.”

Virgil stared down at his feet. This was not what he had been expecting, not that he had been expecting any of this, “You know... it hasn’t been easy to be the smallest person on the team— shit, I’m the smallest player in any of the district teams. I don’t think I would have kept playing, or would have tried as hard to stay on the team if I wasn’t absolutely set on kicking your ass.”

Roman laughed— a deep, genuine sound flooding from somewhere in his broad chest— and Virgil couldn’t help but grin.

“So yeah... thanks for that. And good game,” Virgil smiled up at the other boy.

“Well, we can’t exactly shake hands like usual,” Roman glanced down at his swollen wrist and Virgil’s shoulder that he was still nursing.

“Can we do something else then?” Virgil moved so he was standing face to face with Roman, his heart pounding in his ears.

Virgil could feel Roman’s breathing quicken as he reached up with his good arm, sliding his hand to the base of Roman’s neck. Put he didn’t startle, he didn’t try to move away. If anything, he seemed to be leaning into the touch.

Virgil moved forward, standing on the tips of his toes to press his lips against Roman’s. For a horrific second, he thought Roman wouldn’t return it but after a moment of apparent shock, Roman bowed his head to deepen the kiss. He tipped them forward, supporting the entirety of Virgil’s weight with his uninjured hand.

When they finally broke away, Virgil was completely breathless. He definitely hadn’t seen that coming at the beginning of the evening.

Roman looked equally surprised but he began grinning like an idiot as the realization of what had just happened settled over him, “Can we do that again??”

Virgil laughed at Roman’s eager, puppy-dog-eyes expression, “At least buy me a drink first.”

“Well, I can’t exactly do that seeing as we’re both like 17–���

“Excuse you, I’m 18,” Virgil stuck his tongue out in mock indignation.

“Yeah, well, uh, would you maybe want to go to homecoming with me?” Roman began rushing his words out, “I mean, I totally get if not. There’s absolutely no pressure. And I’m sure you already have plans so—“

“That’d be cool,” Virgil broke in, “I’d really, really like that.”

Roman’s face once again broke into a beaming smile, “Really??”

“Yeah you big idiot, that’s why I said it. Besides, it’s awful going to a dance after losing a game so I might as well bring a trophy,” Virgil slipped his hand into Roman’s and began leading them out of the stadium and into the parking lot. Nothing could have prepared him for what happened tonight. He had started the evening determined to win, but even though West Shore lost, he didn’t feel disappointed.

Virgil looked at the silhouette of Roman against the fading campus lights as he walked alongside him. Maybe he had won something even more important than the game.

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[today-only-happens-once]

and miles to go before I sleep

Title: and miles to go before I sleep

Word Count: 6,650

Chapter 1

Summary: Virgil came here to stop a curse and save his kingdom. But another Prince has the same goal in mind... and only one kingdom is supposed to come out on top. Slowburn Romantic Prinxiety. A Two Princes Podcast AU. 

Chapter Warnings: stealing; lying; Patton is kind of working in a gray area but he means well and is only trying his best; Janus does some light treason I guess?; violence; giant hornet; plant monster; killing monsters/violence; blood mention/description; threats; if you are a die-hard fan of the podcast please be warned that I do take a few creative liberties with stuff from the podcast at times. 

A/N: this idea has been knocking around my head for a while, and I finally started to write it. I thought I’d write it all before posting, but I’ve found that I’m starting to lose steam. So here’s the first part! If you like The Two Princes, I hope you’ll enjoy this Prinxiety twist to it! If you’ve never listened to it, I hope you’ll consider giving this a shot and then maybe going to check it out! <3 Editing done by yours truly. All mistakes are mine. 

...

“Stop! Thief!” 

Virgil takes a hard left turn down the Western Corridor of the castle, nearly tripping over his own feet in his rush. He sprints down the stone hallway, racing past the familiar stained-glass windows. The book in his hand is heavy and leather-bound, and Virgil tucks it tighter under his arm as he runs. The hood of his dark cloak nearly slips off his head in the process, and he uses his free hand to keep it from falling. 

“Halt!”

Ahead of him, three members of the Royal Guard appear from around the corner. Virgil skids to a stop, whirling around only to find two more guards running up behind him. He’s surrounded and cornered. Nowhere to go. Virgil huffs a breath, holding his hands up and kneeling on the floor in surrender. He lets the book thud to the ground. He’s grateful that the hood of his cloak swallows his head, and he keeps his head downcast to let it shadow his face from view even though he knows his anonymity is really only a matter of seconds.

There’s the scuff of boots against the stone floor approaching him, the clanking of armor as the guards move aside, and Virgil grimaces to himself. He has the sinking feeling it’s his older brother. 

“Your Majesty,” one of the guards from behind him greets the newcomer, confirming Virgil’s suspicions. “We caught this person attempting to steal the Forbidden Book.” 

Virgil keeps his face hidden in the hood of his cloak, but he sees his brother’s boots step into his vision. “What’s your name?” his brother asks with that familiar soft friendliness. 

Virgil knows that he can’t hide much longer--someone is going to pull the hood off his head at any moment--but he really doesn’t want to deal with the look of disappointment in his older brother’s eyes that he knows awaits him. He’ll push it off as long as he can manage. So Virgil stays resolutely silent. 

He feels a slight tug on the hood of his cloak and the silky material causes it to fall to his shoulder blades effortlessly. 

“Virgil?” 

Virgil looks up sheepishly. “Hey, Patton.”

His brother was twelve years older than him but only a couple of inches taller. His hair wasn’t much lighter than Virgil’s, and their eyes were the same shade of brown that their mother’s had been. But Patton had seemed every bit older than him. Virgil couldn’t explain why--if maybe it was the weight in his eyes that would show only when he thought nobody was looking or if maybe it was the way he’d mastered the ‘I’m not angry I’m just disappointed’ stare years ago--but there were times when Patton seemed even older than twenty-nine. 

“What the heck were you doing?” Patton swoops down and snatches the book from where Virgil had placed it on the floor in front of him. Virgil tries not to grimace. His brother hands it off to one of the guards who immediately rushes to take it back to the vault. 

Virgil sighs and accepts the hand that Patton extends to him to pull him up to his feet. Patton waves a hand and the guards only hesitate for a moment before they turn abruptly to head back to their post. Virgil waits until they’re alone in the corridor before he answers.

“Patton, come on. You know exactly what I was doing.” 

Patton frowns, his brow pinching together. “Virgil,” he starts, and Virgil has to stop himself from rolling his eyes because he knows that tone, “I already told you that book is no good for anybody.” 

“No, I know you keep saying that. But our kingdom is under siege, and--”

“Siege?” Patton repeats. “I think that’s a bit of an overstatement there, kiddo. I should start calling you just ‘Anxiety’ with as much as you worry.”

“How else would you describe the forest that is overrunning our kingdom and has been for years? It’s nearly at our palace walls.” Virgil gestures out the stained glass window. “You can’t go anywhere in town without having to step over and around roots and vines. It’s been choking our food supply, it’s overrun our farming villages… That’s not normal. And nobody in this godforsaken castle will talk to me about it.”

Virgil sees that flicker of something he can’t identify pass through Patton’s eyes. It was the same look he got any time Virgil tried to mention the Forest or the Curse. But it was always too fast for Virgil to be able to identify it. 

“Have you ever thought that’s because there’s nothing to talk about?” Patton tries. 

“When was the last time you looked outside, Patton? That Forest is going to destroy our kingdom,” Virgil snaps. “I know it’s the Curse and I know that book has answers. I just don’t know why you don’t want me to know them!” 

Patton presses a hand to his temple. “Virgil, will you just drop it? Please?”

“All I’ve done is drop it. From what I’ve been able to piece together from books that you will let me read, two kings from rival kingdoms held a grudge against each other a thousand years ago, and that grudge started some kind of curse. But I need more if I’m going to do anything to fix this.”

“Nobody is asking you to fix it--”

“Somebody has to!” 

“Virgil…” Patton looks at him then. He looks tired, Virgil thinks. And… afraid. “Please. I… you’re my baby brother. I’m just trying to look out for you, okay?”

Virgil wants to argue. He’s seventeen. He doesn’t need his older brother protecting him like he did when they were little kids. He sometimes wonders if Patton still sees him as that six-year-old kid that would run to his room when he had a bad dream. He wasn’t. But he doesn’t know how to get Patton to understand that. Besides, a part of him falters at the tinge of desperation that colors Patton’s words. 

“Okay,” Virgil agrees with a sigh, holding his hands up in surrender. “Okay. Fine.”

There’s a grateful twitch to the corner of Patton’s mouth. Then, his expression brightens with a sudden idea and Virgil has the feeling he’s not going to like it.

“Hey,” Patton says. “Your birthday is almost here. What do you say we throw an early birthday party for tomorrow?”

Virgil arcs an eyebrow. “My birthday isn’t for another four days.”

“I know, but I think we all could use a little something to boost the kingdom spirit, y’know?” 

Virgil hesitates. “Patton, you can’t just use parties to distract yourself from problems.” It’s a conversation they’d had before, so he knows what Patton is going to say even before the words leave his brother’s mouth. 

“I’m not, Virgil,” Patton replies, right on cue. “But I think focusing on something good and happy is better than wallowing in the negative. Right?”

“Right,” Virgil says hollowly. 

…

Virgil hates parties. They’re crowded and loud and the repetition of forced, awkward small talk reminds Virgil of everything he doesn’t like about being a prince. Nobles and dignitaries mill around the ballroom, talking to one another without talking about anything that Virgil thinks ought to be discussed. He nods his appreciation and mutters a quick “thank you” as people wish him a happy birthday, and he tries to ignore the increasing desire to crawl into a hole and never come out.

Virgil snags a piece of bread off the snack table and clings to the edge of the growing crowd in the ballroom. 

“You look like you’re having a positively terrific time, Your Highness,” a familiar voice says to Virgil’s left. When he looks, Virgil feels a twinge of relief at the familiar face of Lord Janus: his brother’s closest political adviser. 

Virgil snorts. “Yeah, well. This was hardly my idea. You know how my brother is.” 

“Hm,” Janus hums, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Indeed.” Virgil stifles a yawn. Janus arcs an eyebrow at him. “Tired, Your Highness?”

“Sorry,” Virgil replies. “Just… didn’t sleep well.”

He thinks about the dream he’d had last night. He’d been cold, in the dark, surrounded by looming shadows that looked almost like trees. There’d been a deep, echoing, vaguely familiar voice calling his name. Virgil. Then a tugging sensation around his waist so strong it yanked his feet out from under him, and the falling sensation had jolted him from his sleep. He’d woken up in his room, trying to catch his breath, the echo of his name still reverberating in his head. 

“I see,” Janus replies, his gaze narrowing slightly.

Virgil avoids his eyes, instead letting his gaze flit over the crowd of people. Some of them he recognizes from various meetings and prior parties that Patton had thrown over the years. He watches as a tall man he recognizes as Sloane--a long time family friend--lean over to whisper something into the ear of Corbin, one of the royal scribes. Corbin suppresses a smile. 

“Are they… together?” Virgil wonders aloud. He couldn’t describe it, but there was something about the way they seemed to gravitate near each other, even while Sloane turns to talk to someone else, that makes him wonder.

Janus follows his gaze. “Yes,” he confirms. “To my knowledge, there’s an expected engagement to occur soon.”

There’s a part of Virgil that’s surprised. He wouldn’t describe himself as particularly close with either one of them, but they seemed like near opposites. His gaze lingers a bit longer on the two of them, catching the way Corbin deftly slips his hand into Sloane’s and squeezes. Virgil tears his gaze away, feeling oddly like he’s intruding on something intimate even though they’re in the middle of the ballroom. 

He finds Remy weaving through the crowd, seemingly at ease in the sea of people. Remy is another of his brother’s advisers, though he doesn’t work as closely with Patton as Janus does. Virgil knows that Remy’s area of expertise is primarily in trade and commerce. Most of that had stopped around a year ago, as the growing Forest cut off most trade routes into and out of the kingdom.

“How does he still have a job?” Virgil wonders aloud, watching as Remy laughs politely at a joke a dignitary that Virgil doesn’t recognize makes. 

Janus hums. “Your brother ensured that Remy’s original conception as an economic adviser would not be limited to inter-kingdom trade. Exchanges occurring within the kingdom and city walls fall under his domain of expertise as well.” 

“Won’t be long before he’s out of a job anyway,” Virgil mutters.

“There are few things that the king cares about more than the well-being of his kingdom.”

“And I’m one of those things.” Virgil looks at Janus, challenging him to disagree. Janus merely returns Virgil’s stare with a steady, silent one of his own. Virgil has known the adviser long enough to recognize it as silent agreement. 

Virgil releases a frustrated breath. “I’m not a child anymore, Janus. He doesn’t need to protect me.”

“I assure you that Your Majesty doesn’t view it that way.”

“I don’t even know what he’s trying to protect me from,” Virgil continues. Realization dawns suddenly, and Virgil narrows a glare on Janus. “But you do, don’t you?”

It makes sense to Virgil. There is little that Janus doesn’t know--he’s often said it’s his business to know things as the chief political adviser--and though Virgil may not understand how Janus gathers his information, he has no doubt that Janus knows exactly whatever it is that Patton has been hiding from him. The suspicion is only confirmed when he sees Janus’s lips press into a thin line. 

Virgil shakes his head. “Unbelievable. I don’t understand.”

Janus arcs an eyebrow. “I think Your Highness does.”

“No, no I don’t,” Virgil hisses back in a low, frustrated voice. “What is my brother hiding from me?”

Janus grimaces, his gaze flitting over to Patton across the ballroom. Patton doesn’t seem to notice, too engaged with a conversation with the Lady Valerie to pay them much mind. Janus sighs, then turns back to the prince.

“Your Highness--”

Janus cuts off as the floor beneath them rumbles. The dining ware on the table clatters loudly from the tremor, and the ballroom falls silent with uncertainty. Virgil braces a hand against the nearby wall to keep balance. 

“Uh, what is that?” he asks, too late.

With the sound of shattering stone, sections of the marble floor splinter open. Virgil watches, horrified, as green vines rise from the fissures almost like tendrils of an awakening monster. Cracking wood snaps sharply in the hall as what Virgil can only describe as tree roots thicker than his own body push their way up through the cracks in the floor. 

Screams and shouts of alarm fill the ballroom, ricocheting off the stone pillars. Virgil watches as a vine curls around the ankle of a dignitary, yanking her off her feet. One of the guards, sword already drawn, rushes forward. They slash at it, slicing through the vine and helping the young woman back to her feet.

“The Forest is invading!” the guard shouts. “Everyone take cover! Guards, attack!” 

The clamor of battle swells, and Virgil presses flatter against the wall. His gaze sweeps over the crowd, trying to locate his brother. Virgil sees a tree root snake around Corbin’s torso with a speed that isn’t natural for a plant. Sloane shouts for him, but a vine snaps around his wrist and he yanks a knife out of his boot to cut himself free. 

Virgil goes to move to help--he may not be athletic exactly, but he can’t just stand around and do nothing when people are in danger--but something yanks him back to the wall like he’s attached to it. He glances over his shoulder and sees the vine twisting in the jacket of his suit. Virgil desperately wrestles out of the garment, but another has already begun wrapping around his chest. 

“Hey!” Virgil yelps, trying to wrestle it off him. He sees a sudden flash of metal in the corner of his eye and the vine around his chest goes suddenly slack. Virgil shoves it off, looking over and realizing it was Janus, wielding the sword that had been at his hip, who cut him free.  

“Janus,” Virgil says. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Here, take this.” Janus pulls out a piece of paper from his breast pocket and shoves it into Virgil’s chest. 

Virgil stumbles back a step from the force, his brow furrowing in confusion. “What’s this?”

“A map,” Janus answers, quick and urgent. “It will take you straight to the Hollow. You have to leave immediately.”

“What? What Hollow?”

“Here.” Janus shoves the hilt of his sword into Virgil’s hand. “Take my sword.”

“Wh--No! I can’t leave you all in the middle of a battle!”

“You have to!” Janus snaps, and Virgil falters under the intensity in the adviser’s eyes. “The real battle--the one that will decide the fate of everyone in this kingdom--can only be fought in the Hollow, and only by you.” 

“What are you talking about?”

Janus grabs both of Virgil’s shoulders. “There’s a prophecy your brother has been hiding from you. You have to go to the Hollow. Once you get there--”

“Look out!” a voice barks.

Janus’s head snaps to the side before he gives Virgil a hard shove, sending the prince staggering back. A tree root slams into the wall, precisely where Virgil had just been standing.

“Janus!”

“Go!” Janus shouts sharply over the clamor of the raging battle around them. “Get to the Hollow!”

Virgil runs, not noticing the vegetation shrinking back into the cracks in the floor as he races towards the Forest. 

…

Hours later, Virgil is beginning to think that the Forest must hate him personally. If it’s true, the feeling is very much mutual. The Forest is dense with trees that leave long, lurking shadows on the damp floor. Virgil climbs over a particularly large tree root, hissing in pain as a thorn catches his shoulder.

“Great,” he snaps sarcastically. “You know, you go through all this trouble of getting me to come to you what with the weird dreams and then attacking during my birthday party--which, between you and me, I didn’t really mind the interruption, though I could have done without the violence--so you’d think maybe you could extend a little hospitality.” Virgil waits as if the Forest might actually respond to him. The chirp of insects and distant song of birds is the only answer the Forest offers. 

“Of course not,” Virgil mutters. “I don’t know what I expected. You’re a monster-infested forest.”

Or in the very least, that’s what the rumors had always said. Virgil wonders if that might have been an old wives’ tale, passed on through the thousand or so years since the Curse first started to convince children to steer clear. Just because Virgil had heard his whole life that monsters lurked in the Forest’s shadows didn’t mean it was actually true, right?

Right.

Virgil sighs and yanks the map Janus had shoved at him out of his pocket. If the skull on the map was referencing the tree ahead of him whose branches vaguely resembled a skull, then--

A twig snaps behind him. 

Virgil freezes, his head snapping up. “Hello?” he calls, shoving the map back into his pocket and yanking his sword out of the scabbard. 

Nothing answers him. Wind rustles the leaves in the canopy above him. Virgil studies the trees and shadows around him. He can’t shake the vague feeling that he is being watched…

A distant buzzing interrupts his thoughts, and Virgil sees a dark blur rush towards him. He yelps, ducking his head and slashing blindly with the sword. When he looks, Virgil chokes. In front of him, buzzing loudly as it hovers a couple of feet in the air, is a giant hornet--nearly Virgil’s size. 

“Look,” Virgil says to it. “My brother always says to avoid violence, but the last few hours has been the culminating impact of years of frustrations, so my patience really isn’t up for--”

The hornet dives for him, and Virgil slashes at it, clipping its side. He narrowly dodges its stinger, slashing again. Virgil’s arms are suddenly coated in a dark, viscous spray of black blood. The giant hornet falls to the ground at Virgil’s feet.

He releases a breath, grimacing against the acrid smell of monster blood that stings his nostrils. His heartbeat is still thudding in his ears, adrenaline pulsing through his veins. He just slayed his first monster. A relieved smile tugs at the corner of Virgil’s mouth. He wonders briefly if Patton would be proud of him or horrified. He tries not to think too long about it.

“Not too bad for a--whoa!” Virgil steps back and immediately finds himself falling through the forest floor. 

He lands hard and takes a moment to blink stars from his spinning vision. With a grunt of effort, Virgil pushes himself up into a sitting position. The air around him smells… sweet and oddly familiar. On the ground beneath him is loose dirt and a carpet of white and pink mushrooms. A few bright green vines helped to cushion Virgil’s fall. A quick glance around also tells Virgil that he didn’t just fall into a hole--he fell into some sort of underground tunnel that continued on to his left.

He takes in another breath and feels the tension bleed out of his shoulders. It smells like… like Patton’s fresh-baked cookies on a rainy day and… was that his mother’s perfume? Virgil had never really been able to remember his mother’s face, but he remembers the scent the instant he inhales. He suddenly has the near overwhelming desire to curl up and sleep as the syrupy feeling of warm comfort spreads through his chest.

Maybe Virgil could just live here instead of… of… how did he get here again?

“Oh darling!” calls a soft, honey voice and for the briefest moment, Virgil wonders if it’s his mother. He dismisses the idea almost immediately. That isn’t possible.

“Wh--” Virgil’s tongue feels slow, his thoughts shifting through a molasses-sweet haze. “Who said that?”

“I did,” the voice echoes back, melodic and sweet. “Are you my darling?”

“I mean, maybe,” Virgil slurs, blinking owlishly at his surroundings. “I could be someone’s darling.”

“Where are you, darling?”

Virgil squints up at the hole he’d fallen through. “I’m at the bottom of a pit. Where are you?”

“I’m here too, just a bit further in. Come find me, darling.”

Virgil glances over to his left and sees a prick of light down the dark tunnel. Something in his chest tugs, urging, towards it. Virgil pushes himself to his feet, sliding his sword into the scabbard at his hip (why did he have it out to begin with?) and rushes down the tunnel, tripping over stray roots and the increasingly thick network of green vines. As he grows closer to the light, the smell of cookies and his mother’s perfume grows thicker and heavier. He can feel the way it clings to his thoughts in his mind, sticky like melted candy.

The tunnel opens up into a small cavern overrun with moss and flowers. Vines wrap up dirt walls, sprouting flowers of different sizes and colors so bright Virgil squints against the sudden onslaught on his vision. At the center of the clearing is a feminine figure--green skin and green hair that look almost like vines themselves. She turns towards Virgil as he steps into the clearing, her face brightening so much that Virgil almost doesn’t notice that her eyes are bright red like the flowers that dot her arms. 

“There you are, my darling. I’ve been waiting so long for you.”

Virgil frowns, his brow creasing. “I’m sorry.”

She giggles, light and delighted. “Oh, that’s all right. What’s important is that you are here now. What’s your name?”

He… can’t remember. It starts with a V, doesn’t it? “V-V...Virgil. Yeah, that’s it. My name is Virgil. What’s your name?”

The woman floats closer. “My name is Flora. I’m the goddess of love.”

Her voice sounds like a music box, soft and lilting. Virgil wants to curl up and use her voice as a blanket. “Where… where am I?”

“This? Why this is the Garden of Delight. You needn’t worry about anything ever again.”

A soft, warm feeling squeezes around Virgil’s chest and it reminds him, distantly, of Patton’s hugs. “That… that sounds nice…” 

The woman hums, stepping closer. The dress she wears seems to shimmer, like it had been spun from spider silk and dripped with dew. It did feel rather humid in here, now that Virgil thinks about it. Virgil feels an unusual draw to her, but as he goes to take another step, he finds his feet don’t move. Confused, he glances down. Green vines have snaked around his ankles, locking him in place.

“What--”

“My darling,” the woman purrs, moving closer. “Virgil is a beautiful name. You’ll stay here with me, won’t you? Forever?”

Something about that sounds extremely tempting, and Virgil had the vague sense that it had something to do with the lingering sweetness in the air that reminded Virgil of when he was a child. When things felt easier. Simpler. But he… couldn’t stay, right? He… he was supposed to be going somewhere…

“I… I can’t,” Virgil says, beginning to wonder why it’s so hard to just think right now… “I’m supposed to… um… there’s something I’m… I gotta get to the, uh… I can’t remember. Why can’t I remember?” He can feel the vines snaking up his legs, wrapping around his waist and anchoring his wrists to his hips.

He feels like his brain is fighting through gelatin. 

“If you could uh, let me go?” he asks.

The woman smiles again, but Virgil swears it’s a row of sharp, pointed fangs that he hadn’t seemed to notice a moment ago. “But you only just got here.”

Virgil tries to wrestle his arms out of the net of vines but they only constrict tighter. He wheezes a cough as the vice-like grip forces some air from his lungs. “Yeah, I know, but--”

“Nobody leaves the Garden of Delight, darling.”

“I just really--”

“They stay here forever.”

“I really gotta--”

“You’re not going anywhere,” the woman growls, with something that definitely isn’t human edged sharply within the words. 

Virgil jerks away. “You’re not a goddess.”

“No,” she agrees, grinning wickedly. “And it’s been ages since I’ve had a meal as large and scrumptious as you.”

Virgil thrashes, but he’s held fast by the vines that are only getting tighter. “Let me go!” This is how he’s going to die, isn’t it? He’s such an idiot. “Don’t!” he shouts, though he knows it’s fruitless. There’s nobody around to hear him. Not for miles. How could he have been so stupid--

“That’s enough, fiend!” A new voice, a rich baritone, shouts from the cavern entrance. Virgil tries to crane his neck to look behind him but he only gets a flash of red, white, and gold before the monster in front of him hisses with a flash of pointed teeth.

Through his haze of muddied thoughts, it’s hard for Virgil to follow exactly what happens next. But there’s a glint of silver out of the corner of his eye and the creature before him shrieks in pain and anger. The constricting grip around him slackens suddenly and Virgil shrugs out of the plant cocoon that had been ensnaring him. 

He whirls around and sees a boy in a dirtied white prince suit jacket and a red sash across his chest. His dark brown hair falls across his forehead, and his dark eyes are intense with urgency. 

“Who are you?” Virgil asks.

“Go back the way you came,” he says instead of answering the question. “You’ll find a rope that you can climb to the surface. I’m going to take care of this overgrown fly-trap.” 

“Wait--”

The monster shrieks, her enraged scream echoing in the room. “I’m going to destroy you, you filthy, egotistical human!”

“Funny,” the boy shoots back, “because I was about to say the same thing about you.”

The monster lunges, and Virgil instinctively throws up an arm in front of his face to protect himself. The other boy snarls and slashes with the sword in his hands with expert precision. Virgil can’t help but be impressed. He’s certain that he never has looked that comfortable with a sword in his hands in his entire life. 

The scream from the monster cuts out abruptly as the other boy lodges the blade inside of her. She falls, disintegrating into a pile of dirt and vines. The boy wipes the back of his hand across his brow and arcs an eyebrow at Virgil. 

He motions to the cavern entrance. “After you.”

….

Virgil sighs as he pulls himself up over the ledge and back onto the forest floor. He never thought he’d be happy to see the Forest again, but he can’t deny the odd rush of relief. Anything was better than sharp fangs flashing in front of his face. 

“That… was intense,” he says as he hears the boy behind him pull himself up and start untying the rope from around the nearby tree he’d used as an anchor. “What was that thing?”

The boy pauses thoughtfully. Sunlight filters in through the leaves of the canopy above them and they make the boy’s dark eyes sparkle a bit. “I don’t know what they’re called, but the Forest is full of them.”

“Huh. Well, it’s a good thing you came along, I guess.” Virgil rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “Thank you for rescuing me, and for being so beautiful.” Virgil freezes.

So does the other boy, his gaze flashing over and his brow furrowing. “What?”

“Brave!” Virgil blurts and has to stop himself from cringing at his own lack of a filter. He wasn’t usually this clumsy. “Thank you for being so brave. Not beautiful. Wow.” He laughs awkwardly. “I don’t know why I said that. I think some of the toxins must still be messing with my head, y’know? Making me say crazy things. It’s not like I think you’re beautiful.”

The boy’s frown deepens and Virgil holds up his hands. “Not that I think you’re ugly! I mean, obviously you’re not ugly. Like, if you put a sword to my head and said are you attractive or ugly, obviously I’d have to go with attractive because objectively that’s just a fact--” Oh my God, Virgil, stop talking--“but it’s not like you’re so attractive I can’t stop looking at you or anything. Am I talking a lot? I feel like I’m talking a lot.”

“You are,” the boy replies absently, his gaze narrowing at something off in the distance. Virgil is oddly relieved to get the sense that he stopped listening a while ago. 

“Right. So uh, I’m trying to say thank you.” Virgil takes a deep breath, trying to slow his still-racing thoughts and pounding heart. “Thank you for saving my life.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’ve been following you.” It’s only then that Virgil realizes the boy hadn’t been untying the rope from the tree--he’d been securing it more firmly. 

“What? You’ve been following me?” He watches as the other boy loops the rope over the tree branch, then makes a lasso with the loose end in his hands. “Um, what’s the lasso for?”

“I have some questions,” he answers, his gaze narrowing. “And since I don’t know you nor do I trust you, I thought you might be more inclined to answer them if you’re dangling from a tree.” 

“Oh,” Virgil says before it sinks in. “Wait, what--Hey!” Before he can stop it, the boy lasso’s Virgil’s waist and pulls, and Virgil sees the world spin violently before he’s staring dizzily at the boy upside down. “Let me down!”

The boy crosses his arms over his chest. “Now then. Who are you and what are you doing in this Forest?”

Virgil’s fingers twitch for his sword, but he figures he’d be about as likely to poke his own eye out than cut himself down. And even then, what would happen? He’d seen the boy face off with the forest monster and he’d sliced her like it was nothing with barely a flick of his wrist. Virgil couldn’t very well fight this boy. And besides, he doesn’t really want to. 

“Me? Just--I’m nobody. I’m just walking through.”

The boy scoffs and shakes his head. He waves a hand at him. “Your clothes are filthy but clearly Western from the design and fabric choices. And your sword carries the insignia of the royal family.” His gaze darkens then, and he takes a step closer. Virgil watches the way his grip on the sword flexes in preparation. “Do you work for them?”

“No!” he says immediately. “No, I--I don’t. No royal family for me.” 

“You’re alone then? You aren’t traveling with any member of the royal family?”

“No, definitely not.”

The boy studies him for a moment before he seems satisfied with the answer. “My apologies. You can never be too careful. Especially in this Forest.”

Virgil finds himself nodding despite the wave of confusion the comment brings. He just wants to get out of this in one piece. “No, of course.” 

The boy slides his sword into the scabbard at his hip. “My name is Roman. Prince of the East. I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

“Uh, not really?”

“The younger brother of King Thomas? Heir to the Polished Throne. Defender of the Perished Realm.”

Virgil sucks in a breath through his teeth. “Sorry.”

“Vanquisher of the Dragon Witch. Protector of the Sacred Flame. Champion of the Hero’s Forge.”

This is ridiculous, Virgil thinks. He arcs an eyebrow. “What was that last one?”

Something sparks in Roman’s eyes, and he places his hands on his hips as if posing for a portrait. “Champion of the Hero’s Forge?”

Virgil does take a second to wrack his memory, wondering if maybe he had read something about any of the ridiculous titles Roman had just rattled off, but nothing rings a bell. “Champion of the--no, sorry.”

Roman seems to deflate, his hands falling from his hips. “Really?”

He knows he shouldn’t--the boy is dangling him from a tree for crying out loud--but Virgil does feel a little bad for him. His ridiculous batch of titles notwithstanding. “We just don’t hear much about you guys in the West. Honestly, we weren’t even sure there was anyone left in the East. We’d sort of assumed the Forest had finished you all off.”

Which, now that Virgil thought about it, he honestly wasn’t sure if that was simply a misguided belief or another intentional deception to further obscure the truth about this Forest and the Curse from Virgil. Then again, Virgil thinks, Patton may have made a lot of mistakes, but he didn’t think willful deception like that was really Patton’s preferred method. He tended to just avoid things.

The most Virgil had heard about the East Kingdom had been in history books, scribbled in the margins of notebooks. From what Virgil’s been able to gather, the two kingdoms had gone to war ages ago. Virgil couldn’t figure out why, exactly, or even a direct timeline. He assumed it must have been thousands of years ago; so long that the true reason for the feud had been lost to history.

“Hm,” Roman says, his brows pinching together.

“But,” Virgil adds, “it’s nice to meet you, I guess. I’ve never met anyone from the East before. Honestly, I don’t even really know why we were at war with you. So like, maybe you could cut me down now?”

Roman’s careful, scrutinizing gaze sweeps over Virgil. His hand rests on the hilt of his sword. “You still haven’t told me who you are or what you’re doing in this Forest.”

Virgil’s thoughts trip over each other. He can’t very well give his real name--not when the boy had looked almost murderous when he asked about the royal family. He wracks his head for some kind of alternative. “My name is, um, Anxiety.” 

Roman blinks at him. “Anxiety?”

Virgil could kick himself. Of course that was a stupid answer. “Uh, yeah. That’s--that’s what everyone calls me, anyway. Not that I know a lot of people. I, um, live here. In the Forest. Alone.”

“You live in the Forbidden Forest?” Roman arcs a skeptical eyebrow. 

Virgil silently curses to himself. He’s really not that well-practiced in lying. He didn’t like it, generally. In his experience, it tended to just make things worse. But he could almost hear Janus’s voice in his head, telling him that lying to preserve his safety was preferred to getting hurt. 

“Yeah. I’m uh, on the run. From the royal family in the West.” That was… at least somewhat true?

“Why?”

The memories from yesterday morning flash through his mind. “I’m a thief.” Also kind of true.

“A thief.”

“Yes,” Virgil confirms. “How else do you think I got this sword with the royal insignia on it?” Virgil hopes silently and fervently that Roman’s unexplained contempt for the royal family would work in his favor here.

Roman scoffs. “Great,” he mutters, mostly to himself though loud enough for Virgil to hear, “Just what I need. A vagabond with no sense of honor. Fine. The Forest can deal with you.” He turns his back and starts walking away.

“Wait!” Virgil calls out. “Where are you going? You can’t just leave me here.”

Roman turns back to him, crossing back the short distance. “What I can’t do is have a confessed criminal traipsing around the Forest.” He waves a hand to gesture around them. 

So apparently his contempt did not outweigh his morals. Virgil has the vague thought that Patton would approve of that, if nothing else. “You misunderstood,” Virgil stammers hurriedly. “When I said thief, I meant like a… a…” What was that story Patton used to read to him when they were kids? “Robin Hood kind of deal. You know, steal from the rich, feed the poor. That’s why the royal family hates me. I’m like a, um, hero.”

Roman’s brows shoot up in surprise. “A hero?”

“In a looser sense of the word--”

“How long have you been hiding in this forest?”

“Wh--oh. Years. Like… forever.” Virgil is starting to get a headache from the blood still rushing to his head. 

Roman looks unimpressed. “Yet you nearly got killed by a talking plant moments ago because you stumbled blindly into her lair.”

“Yes,” Virgil says, unable to disagree with that point when they both had been there and Roman had been following him, apparently. “But that’s the first time that’s ever happened.” True. “Which, if you think about it, is sort of a point in my favor, right?”

“Hm.” Roman purses his lips before yanking the sword out of his scabbard. Virgil flinches as it flashes in the sunlight, but there’s the sound of snapping rope and Virgil lands clumsily on the forest floor. The sudden headrush makes spots dance across his vision and Virgil blinks to clear them away.

“Warn a dude, next time?” Virgil grumbles.

“I’ll make you a deal, Robin Brood,” Roman announces, ignoring the comment. 

“You can call me Anxiety.”

“My first night in the Forest,” Roman presses on, “my horse got spooked and ran off with my map. Since then, I’ve been--”

“Completely lost?”

“In need of direction.” He points his sword towards Virgil with ease, like it’s an extension of his arm. “If you can take me where I need to go, I promise to spare your life and let you go at the end of our journey.”

That… seems fair to Virgil. He’d take this prince guy on a little side quest, and then he’d be able to rush to the Hollow shortly thereafter. A little detour should be fine, right? “Uh, sure. Yeah. I guess. Where do you need to go?”

“The Hollow of the Kings,” Roman answers as Virgil pushes himself to his feet. 

Virgil freezes, his brow furrowing. “Uh, sure. Yeah. But why do you need to go there?”

“That is none of your business. Do we have a deal or should I get my rope?”

Virgil holds his hands up in surrender. “No, sure. Yeah. I’ll take you to the Hollow.”

Roman crosses over to a heavy-looking bag and picks it up. “Now that you work for me, you’ll carry my things.” He shoves the bag into Virgil’s arms. Virgil staggers under the sudden weight, cursing under his breath.

“Yeah, no problem, buddy,” he quips sarcastically, adjusting his hold on the bag to more easily manage the weight. 

“Don’t call me buddy.”

“You got it, boss.” Virgil tries to hide a smirk. He couldn’t explain why, but there was something a little fun about teasing the other prince. 

“Your Royal Highness is fine,” Roman replies without a shred of irony.

Virgil snorts. “All right, Princey.”

Roman scowls. “Also, please only speak when spoken to. You talk a lot, and it’s beginning to give me a headache.”

Virgil arcs an eyebrow. His ears are still ringing from the headrush. “I’m giving you a headache?”

“Yes. Also--”

“Oh my God, how many rules do you have?”

Roman whirls around and Virgil finds the tip of his sword poised just below his chin. Roman’s expression darkens. “If I find out you’ve been lying to me about anything, I will feed you to the nearest plant. Got it?”

Virgil swallows. “Got it.”

“Great!” he says brightly, sheathing his sword once more. “Then onward we travel. Lead me to the Hollow, Robin Mood.”

“Same joke.”

“It was a variation.”

...

Tags: @creativenostalgiastuff, @helloisthisusernametaken, @ren-allen, @quoth-the-sparrow, @princelogical, @random-pianist, @ravenclawicecream, @erlenmeyertrash, @milomeepit, @at-least-seven-pretty-potatoes, @rileyfirstname, @sassy-in-glasses, @vigilantvirgil, @generalfandomfabulousness, @lacrimosathedark, @thepoolofthedead, @monikastec, @heir-of-the-founders, @yourworstnightmare999, @artistictaurean, @kanejandkruge, @cdragontogacotar, @unikornavenger, @bopthesnoz, @spiralofsilencetheory, @finger-gunsss, @crownswriter123, @narniasfinestavengingsociopath, @swlotakulady34, @gaylotusthatexists, @analogical-mess, @dolphidragon, @flix-net, @friedlieb-ferdinand-runge, @procrastinations-my-middle-name, @theburntesttoast, @monroig, @secretlyawyvern, @puddinglec4t, @give-me-a-minute-to-think, @whispers-stuff-in-your-ear

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

I just got done watching a video that pointed out how a couple in a book series I read is bad for each other. Thus, after that trip and long conversations with my fellow fanders IRL I’m going to be picking apart couples in this web series and why some would work and others wouldn’t. 

This will be Part 1

Now keep in mind this is just my personal opinions from what I’ve read and what I’ve seen. Some of it is delving into Fandom area but others will be what we see in Cannon as well.  Sometimes couples I like will be ones I pick on because objectively they just aren’t good for each other. 

With that in mind let’s get started with the most well known couples.

Prinxiety (Roman/Virgil) - Everyone's favorite couple to either put through so much angst that I think these people either are really moody or have went through alot of shit. Like seriously, the amount of angst you find just is astonishing... And sometimes very unrealistic, but I digress.  But, though I like this couple in some instances, I find their relationship to be toxic and unreliable. 

Take into account their personalities in the series. Roman often shows his love by belittling or insulting a person. A thing we as fanders know to be because of his own insecurities. Now in comparison to self loathing and hating Virgil, who just takes it and even contributes to it. Regardless of if it’s just Virgil’s sense of humor, that still doesn’t make it right. How many friends do you know that insult you or don’t help you see the good in you. I can’t think of many instances where Roman, like Patton, would pick up Virgil after he tries to self-hate. Patton actively, though in a babying way, at least tries to tell Virgil he’s wrong about his hate. Which as we see takes our anxiety friend by surprise. 

Also there is the fact that Roman, as we saw in SvS Redux, really needs someone to be there for him. Virgil however also needs this. And this implies that if they were to be together it’s just be a struggle to get anywhere.  Not to say it couldn’t work, but it’d take alot of time. Roman would need to be more confident in himself and not take it out on others. And Virgil would be to be confident also and stop taking harsh words and such lying down. ‘

Though it is clear from the newest asides they do care about each other. 

All around a couple that has some issues that would make a romantic relationship hard. Platonic sure, I can see it because it works, but not romantic as neither I feel would suit the others needs. 

Logicality (Logan/Patton) - I do actually love this pairing, it’s cute and fluffy at times when the fandom puts them together. Not alot of angst I’ve found despite being popular couple number 2. However, with how the cannon portrays them to each other, they won’t work as a romantic couple in real life. 

To explain, Patton is very controlling, we see this through out the series. We know he doesn’t mean to be sometimes, but clearly being the side Thomas listens to the most, means he clearly has alot of power in the mindscape. Logan, by contrast, is very cold at times and very distant when it comes to his feelings or expressing them. Something he needs to work on. 

Several times we see Patton trying to force Logan to do things he doesn’t want to. The episode I feel this is highlighted in the most is Learning New Things About Ourselves. Logan isn’t one to just open up about things like how Patton, Roman, even Virgil are. Being these sides deal the most in feelings of many times.  Logan himself is a logical side, he things critically and prefers facts to solve problems. Patton however is very open and very feeling. And tries through out the episode to get Logan to express. Logan clearly is reluctant to do so, because it’s not his area and it’s not his thing. 

With people like this you can’t force them to open up, you can’t force them to express to you. It’ll just end terribly when you do and can even push them farther away. Which is what I think if happening with Logan.  Throughout this episode Logan expresses faintly that he doesn’t want to be see as a ‘Joke’ to them, because after all he’s logic. But the other keep disregarding him. Something it feels they are even guilt tripping him into it. Though we do see that Thomas tells them not to force Logan. 

To sum it up, Patton and Logan as a couple would be a rocky one at best because Logan can’t emote well and Patton can’t back off well. Both need to learn this because they could be a couple. 

Dukceit (Remus/Janus) - We don’t know alot about their relationship to really go into how they function. But if what Thomas said about the fandom being pretty spot on about their time together, then we can assume that as a couple they are pretty stable at times compared to most.  Janus clearly cares about Remus enough to listen to him and take in what he has to say where others won’t. And Remus, by extension, shows his appreciation by ‘gifting’ Janus with things. Possibly Remus seems to just love the attention and loves that someone doesn’t find him gross or immature. 

Janus clearly, if we are to go by fandom and Thomas’s words, wants Remus happy and they do seem to share a connection and lots of laughs.  I don’t ship these guys though, but if we are to go off of these things they would work rather well as a couple. Unless we find out more, this seems to be the outcome. 

Royality (Roman/Patton) - Now I’m not here to argue about how characters in a relationship would treat others around them. Just how they were treat each other. While I am of the opinion this couple would be a bit of a powerhouse to others they do work well together in some sense. Both are peppy and upbeat, Roman easily picks up Patton when he’s in a funk and vice versa. The amount of serotonin between these two dorks is something to marvel at. 

Granted in the new episode we see that there is some tension with Patton having really forced his own morals on Roman and this leads to tension when accepting new sides. But, as a couple they would work. I can’t see points that they lead each other one nor points were one tries to control the other, and in terms of words it’s mostly of encouragement. Patton clearly does care about Roman and Roman to Patton. This pairing really works well, has some rocky moments that can easily work through as no couple truly is 100% perfect, as I pointed out with the others. 

But out of all of the ones mentioned this one has the least amount of rough patches. They work together and don’t actively put the other down or force them 24/7. This does happen, but not often.  And I don’t pair them often, just from time to time. 

Analogical (Logan/Virgil) - These two are actually really adorable together and through out the series I can confidently say they would be great for each other. And this isn’t just me saying it, from all the evidence we see Logan and Virgil together just works. 

Logan has a calm disposition and is firm when he has to be, never once have I really seen them lash out at each other with harsh words. Only instance that comes to mind is when Virgil calls Logan a ‘Clueless idiot’. But that’s about it, any other time, even during the debate, afterwards they aren’t at each others throats and both seem to be rather comfortable around each other. Logan could easily be the rock Virgil needs to stand on his own but in his own time.

Virgil however is a good push for Logan, as he himself knows the value of taking your time. I can’t seem Virgil in the cannon ever forcing Logan, even in LNTAO Virgil was the only side that didn’t belittle Logan that much. Virgil was even reluctant, even if he was pressured into it in the end, and I can only think of once in which he did say something harsh to Logan... which was after Logan lashed out at Roman. (With semi good reason). Virgil easily could be that silent partner that Logan needs to feel something but within his own time. 

Granted it’d be a long courtship and time for them to learn each others cues as Logan is hard to give out love. But once he does open up he’s a mess that needs to be loved back. Same goes for Virgil, but where they work and Prinxiety doesn’t is that they are both used to giving gestures and reading the air. Where we have established Roman isn’t really good at.  Virgil could pick up easily when Logan is having problems and when to approached. And Logan is good at understanding when people need space and isn’t afraid to just talk about it rather than let things linger. 

They’d still have their problems, what couple doesn’t. But it wouldn’t be near as bad as some of the others. 

Moxiety (Patton/Virgil) - Where to start with this... I mean, it’s not a bad pairing but it’s also not a great pairing. Not for reasons some think. Honestly I could care less about the argument of ‘Son/Father’ shit that is peddled. It’s been established that Patton thinks of all the sides as ‘Kiddos’ even Thomas, even if none of it is true and Virgil and Patton are technically the same fucking age as Thomas is. Patton just is the group ‘dad’ and truly believes this. 

I digress, as for how they work as a couple it could be good or bad. This is one that it really does depend on how you look at the series as a while. Me, I’m on the fence.  On the one hand Patton is a good self esteem booster for Virgil when the other needs it. And Virgil is calm and understanding of how much feelings can be.  On the other hand Patton can be very forceful with Virgil and sometimes even baby him as we saw in the halloween episode. And Virgil does resent this, stating he is strong enough and doesn’t need to be coddled. 

Clearly there is a imbalance of power there also as Patton is possibly and ‘older’ side as in he’s been around with Thomas much longer. Thus is why he’s the one most listened to. While Virgil doesn’t have as much power as the other sides in terms of the amount he’s listened to.  It’s getting better though, Patton is trying to baby him less and let him really be heard. He’s listening to Virgil rather than assuming things. It’s slow, but it’s working.

In the end, it’s really on how you see it. This could either be a really good couple or really bad couple depending on how one writes them. Cannonly, it could work with time, but we’ll have to see as the series goes. 

Logince (Roman/Logan) - Not sure where to start with this one. Maybe at the fact Roman picks on Logan just as much as he does Patton. Or maybe with how Logan doesn’t take it laying down, most of the time, and does have a sharp tongue to lash back. 

These two are at tensions with each other, even after Why We Get Out Of Bed In The Mornings. Heck that was a whole episode about the tensions! And there is still tension as we go. Roman really needs to get a handle on his self esteem issues before pursuing any relationship I feel. Something I think is going to come up as Thomas enters one.

Logan has been seen lashing out verbally and once even psychically at Roman. He felt bad afterwards, but we can’t say it wasn’t justified with how Roman treated him. Having problems with feeling like he’s not listened to, interrupted, and something even insulted.  And again Roman’s problems with insulting others to boost his confidence comes back into play. Why it doesn’t affect him with Patton is because with the moral side Roman feels wanted and needed, with the others he lashes out because they make him feel that way. 

Logan even did insult some of Roman’s passions, which we know to be a sore spot for the creative side. Roman already has many problems as he’s limited by what is morally right and wrong. He puts time and effort into his things, and it hurts when someone comes along and insults you’re hard work.

Now whether they meant to do this too each other or not is up or debate. You could argue that Roman’s problem is internal and not directed at anyone. You could argue the same for Logan, or argue that the others need to learn that what they are doing is harsh even if they don’t mean it.  Regardless this couple would really need to work on these problems before ever getting together. It’s not something small like communication or feeling problems and can be fixed with the right person. This is them both putting the other know, internationally or not. And that’s not a healthy relationship at all. 

I’d say after they work through that Roman could be with just about any side. And some goes for Logan with Patton or Roman. With Virgil it’s not a huge problem as Logan never once has taken out his frustration on him, might be due to Virgil’s calmer nature, who knows. 

So yeah, that’s the end of part one. I’m not saying none of this would work, I’m saying with how they are NOW they wouldn’t work. We’ll have to see have the series progress how it goes. 

[lovelivingmydreams]

Paper flowers: The little things

In life it’s often the little things that make the difference between a good day and a bad one. Your best friend and the person you just cant stand to be around.

This chapter Patton especially is confronted with how the smallest actions can cause big changes.

In the imagination, it’s noticing the little things that gives the nemessis an advantage.

Virgil was looking up at the clouds passing by in the purple sky of the field. In the edges of his vision he could see flowers in several hues of red and purple.

Suddenly a shadow fell over him and a face entered his vision.

It was Roman, his head cocked to the side, a smirk on his face. “S’up Princey?” Virgil smiled as he sat up. Roman sat down next to him and with a wave of his hand, a new species of purple flowers was added to the field. Forget-me-nots to be specific.

“I do appreciate the flowers Virgil, but may I ask what I did to deserve them this time?” Roman wondered curiously. He’d gotten in the habit of adding Virgil’s flowers to the field. Or well copies of them. The original flowers were held in a vase in his room. Was there a slight chance of someone walking in and seeing them? Yes. But he could play it off. Purple was a royal color and Roman only associated it with Virgil because he’d mentioned it was his favorite color in one of their early conversations, when the friendship was still new.

“Just… Felt like it…” Virgil couldn’t pinpoint it. He’d been feeling pretty down the past week and found himself grateful for Roman’s presence in his life.

The whole point of the flowers was to let Roman know Virgil valued him as a friend and a side without having to get into details.

“Well, thank you. I really appreciate your thoughtful gifts,” Roman offered looking at their doors, now each framed by rose bushes in the other’s color. Roman had considered giving Virgil the purple roses but that felt like regifting him the one he’d made him and that just wasn’t right.

He chanced a glance at his friend, gaging his mood.

"Soooo... you want to talk about what had you storming of this morning?" Roman asked casually.

Virgil sighed he should have known.

Virgil had joined breakfast more often since the first time a few weeks ago. And this morning as Roman was teasing him he called him Kevin again. Virgil had rolled his eyes and reminded Roman that that was not his name. Roman had beamed when he said he knew. He was way to proud of that. The moment of secret camaraderie was broken however by Patton suggesting they could call him Marcus if he preferred. That had set Virgil off. He'd said something about how they couldn’t force him into opening up to them and stormed off. That was less than an hour ago.

Knowing Roman, Virgil was rather impressed that he’d waited this long. He appreciated it though. It’d given him the time to calm down and sort through his thoughts.

“I just… Marcus… it’s the name of a villain. And I know that that’s what I’m going for. But… It makes me feel like I’m still stuck down there.” It was stupid, irrational, he knew. But it had triggered him none the less. “I’m fine with the character being called that. But Marcus… It’s not me.”

Roman nodded thoughtfully and let the subject go.

"Patton wasn't too upset with me right?" Virgil worries.

Roman shrugged. "He seemed mainly worried about you. I said I'd talk to you about it."

Virgil nodded. "Sorry. You shouldn't have to clean up my messes," he mutters as he plucks at the grass.

"Nonsence. Cleaning up each other's messes is half our dynamic. Sometimes you cover for me, and sometimes the other way around. You have the harder job. I get to play my overzealous Prince card. You have to play the bad guy."

Virgil took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah you're right, I know you are... thanks."

Roman waved him of. "My pleasure. Oh about the next vine!"

 While Roman and Virgil discussed whether they should make another video about the rivalry or another Dark lord's least hated things episode (those were very well received), Patton was pacing in the living room.

He hadn't even noticed Logan standing in the doorway, contemplating wether he should offer assistance. This was most likely an emotional driven issue and that was not his area of expertise. Then again the one having the issue was the one he'd usually alert jn such situations. Who knows a voice of reason may be the solution.

"Patton. What is troubling you?"

Patton jumped a little at the unexpected voice.

"Oh, Logan. Didn't see you there bud," he smiled tensely,  trying to hide his turmoil.

Logan, wasn't fooled though. "Understandable. You were clearly preoccupied. Is there any way I could assist you?"

For a second Patton considered playing it off, he didn't want to put his worries on Logan. But if Logan noticed and found it necessary to comment on his mood, then it was probably best to come clean. And who knows? Logan was very smart. Maybe he'd help him figure this mess out.

He let out a long sigh and leg himself pretty much fall into one of the chairs. "I messed up Logan. Like in a bad way."

Logan took a seat. "If this is about Anxiety's outburst this morning, mag I remind you he's had similar if not worse fits in the past?"

Patton nodded. It was true but there were so many layers to this time. He decided to start with the one that stung the least, though it was also the one he most dreaded to admit.

"Why was he fine when Roman did it though?” he asked.

Logan frowned and thought about it. “Roman calls Anxiety nicknames all the time. You don’t. He might have taken your comment more seriously because of that.”

Patton’s eyes widened.  He had been trying to explain how things worked on their side of the mind to Anxiety ever since he decided to try tough love. And thinking back, maybe his phrasing  had made Anxiety think that Patton was pushing him to pick a name for them to call him.

“We could call you Marcus if you prefer.”

Patton groaned, how was he going to fix that? No wonder Anxiety preferred his fights with Roman over Patton’s attempts at friendship.

“I am sorry. Did I make it worse?” Logan wondered uncomfortably.

“No, I mean. I don’t feel better, but I’m less confused. So you are doing great actually,” Patton smiled tensely. There was another much more complicated issue he needed to talk about.

“Is there something else I can help with then?” Logan offered, hoping to make Patton actually feel better. It was the least he could do after all the effort Patton regularly put in trying to make everyone comfortable, even if he wasn’t always successful.

Patton let out a long breath. “You remember when Anxiety told us he could sometimes hear us in our rooms?”

Logan nodded, he had attempted to approach the subject again, but Anxiety had made it clear that he would not answer his questions under any circumstances. A source of mild frustration, but Logan assumed that Anxiety had his reasons to deny him this research. Anxiety was usually rather open to learning how things worked if it might affect them or Thomas.

“Afterwards,” Patton continued pulling Logan back to the present. “We talked… And he gave me a chance to open up to him. To prove that I was genuine in trying to be his friend. And I hesitated. I second guessed and he… He looked so hurt, and I didn’t know what to do and I let him leave!”

Patton confessed. Just saying it out loud helped him feel a little better already.

It had taken him by surprise, the brief look of rejection and hurt on Anxiety’s face before he went back to his usual detached sarcastic self. For a second he had proof that there was more to Anxiety than met the eye, sadly that was right after he messed up a chance of bringing it out.

Logan processed that for a minute. “Patton, Anxiety is hard to predict. But, just because you’ve had a small setback doesn’t mean there won’t be any opportunities in the future. Something made him try and reach out that time. So it could happen again,” he offered. It was the most he could do. Providing a rose colored outlook would be more up Roman or Patton’s alley. All he could give was facts.

“Do you really think so?” Patton wondered hesitantly.

Logan nodded. “Undoubtedly.” And that was the truth.

Paton smiled, his eyes still slightly watery but there was once more a spark to him that made Logan relax. He hadn’t even realized he was tense until now.

“Thanks Lo. I actually feel better now,” he told the intellectual side.

Logan smiled. “A pleasure Patton.”

Both sides promised themselves to keep an eye out for opportunities in the future. Though both had slightly different motivations.

One thing was sure. Next time Anxiety decided to invite either of them in, they’d be ready. They considered including Roman but decided against him. Patient was not his strong suit.

He’d probably scare Anxiety off with well-meant enthusiasm.

 The dark lord laughed maniacally. He had Prince tied up and at his mercy!

“Behold!” He exclaimed as he uncovered his surprise for the noble heir.

Prince gasped and then squealed. “Oh my goodness!!! How did you know my greatest weakness!?”

Dark lord flushed. “You said something about it in our first fight,”

Prince gasped, clearly moved. “I can’t believe you remembered,” he squeaks through an almost sob.

Important Question!!! 

“I did!” Dark lord announced. Raising a hand. “And now perish!!!” he pressed a button and as he let out a scream of victory his opponent screamed in horror.

Next: Assumptions

Do you guys want Prinxiety to be romantic in this story? Let me know, through a comment an ask a dm. Any way you want. Just let me know. I can understand that some are here because of the platonic prinxiety and i don’t want to take that away unless you guys are all waiting for these to to fall in love already. So...

Prinxiety! Romantic or platonic?

Also any other ships you guys are hoping for? 

[just-call-me-the-intrusive-thot]

An Unlikely Suspect

A Sanders Sides Among Us AU (Semi Janus Centric)

Pairings: Hinted Romantic Prinxiety, Romantic Logicality (might get clarified if I write a follow up), Platonic Virmile, Platonic Moceit, Familial Creativitwins, Platonic Moxiety Trigger Warnings: Character Death (Some semi descriptive), Gore, Light Body Horror descriptions , Remus being Remus, swearing Word Count: ~ 3600 

When an Imposter is found aboard the Skeld, life for the crew is turned upside down. Accusations, betrayals, and too many lies to count, can the crew survive the parasite’s attempt to take over?

[All characters belong to @thatsthat24 , I hope I did them justice ]

--

Life aboard the Skeld had never been easy. 

Even Janus couldn’t lie about that. The work days were long and never ending aboard the flying crapshack (seriously, was health and safety a joke to their superiors back on Earth?!) but no one was prepared for the Imposters.

The crew had treated them as a distant worry when the warning came through communications. The kind of warning that they regarded with a snort, perhaps a retort of “that sort of thing would never happen to us, it only happens to other people”. The same kind of blissful dismissiveness you’d expect when talking about the chances of dying on a rollercoaster, or being caught in the middle of a mass car pile up. 

Complacency, unearned comfort. No one spared more than a passing thought for the Imposters for months..

Then Dr. Emile Picani was found dead at his desk and suddenly the threat was all too real, all too quick. 

With a check of the medical records, once the crew found out one of the scans had come back as an Imposter, accusations had flown all too hastily in the beginning.

“Patton, you were in charge of manning the airlock! Didn’t you check the cargo properly?!”, Roman had accused him, alongside a couple of other crewmates. 

“B-But I did!! I swear!!”, the cyan-clad crewmate had protested, “I checked every single crate-!”

“Sounds sus, I say we make sure he never forgets to check the airlock ever again!”, Remus had all too cheerfully suggested. Thankfully their first in command, Logan, had stepped in to diffuse the argument, “Nonsense. We have very little evidence of any wrongdoing on Patton’s part. There’s only seven of us now, all crewmates will be crucial to our survival. Thus, no one will be taking action against him, or any other crewmate, without my strict approval. Is that clear?”

Aside from disgruntled remarks and some small accusations of favouritism, Logan was in charge, and the only crewmate able to prove his humanity since his medical scan was the only one left with the name undisturbed in haste, and thus was able to keep the crew in order, saving Patton from a horrific execution. 

For three days.

The implementation of a buddy system of sorts had been a flawless plan, allowing Logan to remain the only solo crewmate, checking in on each duo; Patton and Remy manning storage and the medbay, the twins handling waste disposal and electrical matters, and Virgil and Janus managing weapons and navigation systems. A smooth journey, only to be shattered by a blackout. 

Pandemonium had ensued almost immediately; halves of duos unwisely tried to head towards electrical, armed only with their tiny standard issue flashlights, leaving their other halves to try and find them or remain calm in the pitch blackness. Ten minutes felt like an eternity as Remus, with the aid of Janus, finally got the electrical wires properly repaired. The rest of the crew were quick to head towards electrical, hoping to account for everyone. However, a headcount carried the awful realisation that they were one short.

Logan.

Patton was the first to head for security, followed right after by the crew, only to find a gruesome scene. Logan Croft - what was left of him - lay motionless on the floor at the end of a blood trail that led towards the vent across the room. A distraught Patton stayed behind to guard the body alongside Virgil and Remy, while Janus and the twins tried to figure out where the imposter had come in from. Knowing that the vent system capped off certain sections, they only needed to check two other locations; electrical and medbay.

The former came up empty, so Janus led the group to the latter, kneeling down to check the vent and noticing a blood stain at the edge of the vent. A closer inspection revealed the print to be a hand, but the blood was too thick to leave identifiable fingerprints.

“So, the Imposter used the vent to travel here. And the only people who wouldn’t be out of place...”, Roman uttered under his breath. Janus could already hear him and his twin jumping to conclusions.

“Ah yes, jumping to conclusions is always the right answer, without exception.”

Janus hoped his sarcasm got through to them how bad of an idea it was.

“But Jan, look at this shit!”, Remus gestured between the vent and the area next door where Logan’s body was still lying, “There’s blood in the vent and the two fuckers who were in here are stuck with Virgil and the body!! For all we know, we could go back and two of ‘em could be dead-!”

“Alright, alright!”, Janus massaged his temples, thinking it over. 

“... Fine, Remus, call the emergency meeting.”

Without hesitation, Remus made a beeline for the cafeteria’s emergency button. As Janus waited for the teleporter to pick them up, he noticed Roman anxiously running a hand through his hair. “Nervous?”, Janus questioned with a sincerity reserved for tense situations like these.

The red-clad crewmate hummed worriedly, “Just… the thought of Virgil being left with them...”

Janus gave a fond but tired huff, about to reassure Roman when the teleporters built into their suits shifted them to the cafeteria. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anyone missing bar Logan, and the previously deceased Dr. Picani. Letting his mismatched eyes roam over towards the trio from security, Dee noticed that each was in a state of shock. Remy seemed to be keeping a stoic mask up but Janus knew those tremors in his palms that came from his reliance on caffeine, one he had been unable to indulge in as desired due to the rationing of supplies. Virgil gnawed his thumbnail while his arm jittered anxiously, probably aching for his anxiety medication more than ever. And Patton….

Patton looked devastated, emotionally and physically so. It was clear he’d been yanking on his hair in distress, and while it wasn’t immediately noticeable, his olivine cheeks bore tear tracks still. 

Janus found himself hoping, praying almost, that Patton could save his skin somehow.

“We found blood in the medbay vent,”, Roman began, snapping Janus out of his thoughts and back to reality. “Which means the Imposter must be Remy or Patton.”

Once kind green eyes tainted with distrust and distress fell on the poor cyan crewmate, “And considering everything up til now…. Patton, I hate to say it…. But you’re-”

“You’re looking pretty fucking sus, Padre!”, Remus finished for his twin. 

Janus could see Patton jolt, the hurt in his features at a once friendly nickname being used so callously felt far too cruel. The yellow crewmate prided himself on being able to see through a rouse, and Patton didn’t show any such signs of deceit, but…

“I-!! I’d never-!!”, Pat gasped, the pain clear, “I could never hurt Logan!! Or Emile, or ANY of you!! Please, I-!”

“Give it up, Pat, you alien bitch.”

Remy’s voice laden with venom and a notable shakiness cut through the words trying to scramble out of Patton’s mouth. “Like, it has to be you. You were in charge of the airlock. You were close enough to them to get at L and Emile. Worst of all, you were the only other person in medbay with me.”, Remy wrung his hands into his black jumpsuit frustratedly, “And when the lights came back on…. You weren’t in the room anymore!”

Patton shook his head, “No, Remy, I-!! I was in the hallway, I couldn’t see you-!”

“Popstar, come on...”, Virgil’s shaky voice came from across the table, “I… I don’t wanna believe it, but we… we have to face the facts here. Logan’s body didn’t show signs of a struggle, so he was probably comfortable with whoever did this. You fit that bill…. You even ran straight to Logan’s body, Pat!! Do you have any idea how suspicious that looks?!”

It all made sense, so much sense, but Janus’ brain still told him it was wrong. That something wasn’t right. 

“But!! But Logan liked being in security!! We all knew that-!!”

“But that still doesn’t explain any of the other evidence!!”, Remus chipped in, looking ready to condemn the poor man. Frantically, Patton looked to Janus. God, he’d never forget that look, the primal fear of death lingering behind terrified light blue. “Janus, please, you know I’m not lying, right?!”

What could Janus do but nod? He believed Patton. It wouldn’t do anything in the long run, but at least the poor man would know someone was on his side.

“I do believe you, Patton. This feels far too ludicrous to-” 

“Jan, you’re a fucking idiot if you believe that bullshit!”, Remus interrupted, “He’s just trying to manipulate you!!”

The conversation abruptly halted as Remus rounded the table, grabbing Patton’s arm, beginning to haul him towards the airlock. The cyan crewmate tried to protest, wriggling to free himself, but Roman and Remy both secured him, sealing his fate,

“PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS-!!”

“Just stop, Pat, don’t make this-!”

“NO, LET ME GO, PLEASE, IT’S NOT ME, I SWEAR-!!”

“Shut up, you parasite bastard!!”

Patton struggled for his life against the twins’ strong hold while Remy readied the airlock’s inner door. Janus couldn’t bear to watch, “This is a mistake, you’re going to kill an innocent man, Roman-!”

“Stop, Janus!”, Roman snapped, “We… We can’t afford to turn a blind eye or more of us will die! It’s-! It’s the right thing to do-!”

“You know that’s a lie, do I even need to spell that one out for you-”

“Babes, with all do respect?”, Remy spoke up, opening the inner door and letting the twins toss Patton inside before shutting the door, “Shut the fuck up. Like, this is our chance to stop all this!”

The countdown as Remus set the airlock to open was harrowing, even for the demented twin. The group watched through the reinforced glass window as Patton slammed his fists into the door, his voice silenced by the sound proofing, but his desperation was so palpable no words were needed. For God’s sakes, a man was begging for his life! How could they let this happen? Janus felt Virgil turn away next to him, clearly unable to watch one of their closest friends die.

A surge of righteous justice threw Janus into action. Despite the alarmed voices of the others, he tried desperately to somehow undo the countdown. To somehow get the stupid control panel to cease the damned timer ticking away til Patton would meet his end in the vast nothingness of space. His efforts were for naught. Between the safety programming and the others prying him away, Janus was hauled back just in time to see the outer door open. The force tore Patton into the terrifying cosmic wasteland. 

Just like that, the crew lost Patton Hart. 

Janus felt his ears ring in the sudden silence, feeling like his head had been submerged in ice water. He could hear Virgil sobbing, muffled by what he assumed would be Roman’s shoulder or chest. In his peripheral view, he noted Remus’ green gloved hand clench and release in an effort to calm his nerves, surely. Remy sunk to his knees, not uttering a word edgeways. Human nature would kick in eventually, tell them in the end that they did what they could. That they’d eliminated a threat that took the form of their dear crewmate. But Janus knew. He knew this wasn’t the end, he’d just failed to save Patton’s life. 

Days passed; just two but to Janus and the others, it felt more like two centuries. They’d given Logan’s remains a decent cremation, using the ashes to mix with the plant food in O2. Logan had always wanted to help the planet, and now at least, in a way, he would do just that.

The schedules he’d set the others slowly crumbled. Remy avoided the med bay, “too many awful memories”, he’d said. The twins stuck together more so out of a shared lingering guilt, Janus theorised, still going about their manual tasks, though neither could bring themselves to sing a cheery tune or R-rated space sea shanty about banging an Eldritch Deity. Life aboard the Skeld felt as dead as their former crewmates these days.

Virgil caught up with Janus leaving Navigation; the anxious man had felt far more at ease sticking with his assigned duo partner than being alone. Janus couldn’t fault him. 

“... It’s fucked.”, the lankier man in purple had mumbled, “This whole situation is so, so fucked...”

Janus sighed exhaustedly, “That’s one way to put it, yes.”

The silence was uncomfortable. Neither man usually minded such a thing, but it felt unbearable now. So much so, Janus was thankful as Virgil spoke, “Why’d Dr. Picani have to die?...”.

Both of them were aware of why, but Janus assumed it was rhetorical, a theory confirmed as Virgil continued to mumble, “He was so nice, man. Never pressured me with my medical anxiety or anything, never made me sit through tests that’d freak me out. Helped make me feel secure but... Now nothing feels safe anymore...”

“Indeed, we lost a good man. Several good men.”, Janus felt Virgil cringe beside him, looking away.

“...... I didn’t….”, Virgil huffed, his eyes trained anywhere else but Janus’ face, “I never wanted to… to see Pat like that. He was my friend, Jan! Shit, he was like a father to me! He made me feel welcome when I transferred here but-!!”

A reassuring yellow gloved hand rested on Virgil’s shoulder, “I’m sure he knew, Virgil.”, Janus reassured him, “What’s done is, regrettably, done. Irreversible. We cannot get back those we’ve lost, but we can survive in their name. Let’s just hope that you were all right to stop me-”

Crunch.

The wet crisp crunch of something organic tore Janus from his thoughts. 

“... Did you hear that, Virgil?”

Frozen rigid, Virgil gave a shaky inhale, “I… I don’t think so-”

CRUNCH.

Janus didn’t bother to ask if Virgil heard it that time. He took off down the hallway, headed for the nearest room; Electrical. Virgil’s footsteps began to gain on his own, giving him the reassurance of backup when they reached the doorway. Damn. It was locked. The disgusting wet tearing sounds from inside made his stomach churn, “Virgil… on three.”

Virgil looked mortified at the idea, but he nodded, readying himself as he and Janus got ready to break in the doors. Thankfully for their shoulder joints, the doors opened. Not so thankfully, both men were treated to a horrendous sight. 

The twins had always playfully argued over which of them would come out on top.

It seemed now they had their answer.

Hunched over the remains of his brother was Roman Prince, his red suit absorbing the bloody remains splattered across it, leaving almost no trace. In his hands, Roman held various chunks of flesh torn from his own kin whose lifeless eyes were open wide in a twisted expression of surprise and betrayal. Roman himself had gone rigid, caught like a deer in the headlights, pitch black eyes darting between Janus and Virgil as they sunk back to their familiar emerald green.

“I-! This isn’t-!”

With Virgil unmoving beside him, Janus sprung to action, using their reporting device to activate the teleporter again. He cursed every extra second it took compared to the emergency button, watching as Roman managed to morph and clean himself up before they found themselves once again around the table. Remy’s eyes darted to the empty space Remus had once occupied, 

“.... No. Don’t you fucking tell me...” 

Virgil went to speak but Janus got there first, pointing a deadly determined finger towards Roman, “Roman’s the Imposter!”

Roman stiffened, “Wha-!?”

Janus wasn’t about to let him go free; he had a witness now, and a good chunk of evidence to condemn him with; “Virgil and I walked in on you eating your own goddamn twin! Everything else begins to make sense if it’s you too; the blackout especially, since you were working in electrical. You were also rather vocal with your accusations too, which would make sense considering it took the attention off of you!”

The defeated look in Roman’s dull eyes was the most delicious dessert in existence, seeing the monster look ready to confess, Janus gestured to Virgil, 

“Virgil can back me up, right?!”

Silence.

“.....Virgil? Back me up here-”

“Janus,”, Virgil’s voice was ghostly fearful, his eyes hidden behind the long purple dyed bangs he sported, “Stop lying.”

“.... What?..”, the shiver of fear, bone chilling fear, that rattled through Janus’ marrow and constricted his lungs was a harsh turn from his formerly confident demeanor.

“Roman and I saw you eat Remus, Jan...”

This wasn’t happening.

“We walked in on you tear… tearing him to shreds in electrical…!”

This wasn’t happening…

“Just like you did with poor Logan! And Emile!”

This couldn’t be happening…

“Playing like you were the one who wanted to save Patton when…!! When you were the one who-!!”

Janus’ head swam with nausea. His mismatched eyes finally locked on to Virgil’s, barely visible to Remy, but all too familiar to Janus…

“Disgusting, lying Imposters like you-!!”

Those pitch black eyes that betrayed his glee even as his broken tone relayed the false narrative. 

“Should rot in space!!”

Remy cast his gaze between Roman and Janus, landing on Roman, “Ro, babes, is that true?!”

Roman nodded, dumbfounded, “I-It’s true, he-”

“He tried to get us too,”, Virgil continued, faux shaky voice ringing in Janus’ ears.

Everything made terrifying sense now. 

Virgil, a new transfer from a sister ship, who had his own (likely fabricated) medbay scan on hand and who was too anxious to have Dr. Picani perform a second, making the crew think there was just one Imposter.

Virgil, who would think to tell Roman remove the names on the medical files, even if the red crewmate didn’t do a perfect job.

Virgil, who was close with Patton, and had begun to befriend Logan, earning his trust, leaving him one of the few people who Logan wouldn’t suspect approaching him in the dark.

Virgil, who was smart enough to drag Logan’s top half into the vents and leave a handprint in medbay to frame Patton further. All too willing to throw the poor man under the bus.

Virgil, who stuck close to the only person left smart enough to suspect their scheme, waiting for the right moment to strike when Janus sealed his own fate.

“..... You son of a bitch.”, Janus breathed in disbelief. His anger bubbled to the surface before he could stop it, “YOU SON OF A BITCH-!!!”

Roman and Remy’s arms wrapped themselves around Janus’ arms and body, holding him still while all he could do was writhe, “What do we do now, babes?”

Virgil answered Remy’s question with a firm, faux anxious reply, “The airlock..”

Janus’ heart stopped in his chest.

“We… We had to lose Patton that way so…. So it’s only fair the REAL Imposter goes that way too!!”

He didn’t go without a fight. Janus made damn sure of that. The alien bastards wouldn’t get the satisfaction of him going quietly. He clawed at Roman’s face, ignoring the parasite’s tightening grip on his arm to the point he thought perhaps it would break. He spat hellfire and vitriol at Virgil who watched from a distance, content to let the smirk he’d been hiding show now that Remy couldn’t see. 

Oh god, Remy. Janus tried desperately to appeal to the last true human left, 

“Remy, you HAVE to listen to me, they’re not human, both of them are-!”

But Remy didn’t listen, following Roman’s lead of tossing Janus once more into the airlock. Fortunately, Janus had been able to hold onto his helmet as the door closed, sealing his - and by extension, Remy’s - fates. Trapped and waiting for death, he locked eyes with Remy who looked as sincere and guilt ridden as expected. Is this how Patton felt? So helpless and scared to die? Janus felt almost guilty knowing his suit still had a full canister of oxygen left to last him…. Hours? Maybe a day? Then he’d be at the mercy of space the way Patton was without his helmet to protect him. 

As the countdown reached 15 seconds, Janus watched helplessly as Virgil gestured to give Remy a hug. The way Remy accepted the arms of death only for Virgil’s stomach to split and devour the poor man tore the last of Janus’ resolve to shreds. 

With the countdown reaching zero, Janus Dolion faced the two Imposters watching him with a smug sense of glee, flipping them both the double bird as the outer door opened... 

--

The Imposter couple watched Janus be sucked into the vacuum of space with a sick sense of victory. They’d done it; the Skeld was theirs and theirs alone. Of course, that was until a rescue ship could come for them and the cycle would start over again. The thought alone was intoxicating.

“... I’m sorry.”, Roman murmured from beside Virgil who’d already taken to fabricating injuries they could use to trick the rescue party. The purple suited alien snorted, wiping the last of Remy’s blood from his mouth, “What for, Prince Parasite?”

The crimson clad Imposter scoffed affectionately. 

“I nearly got us caught.”, Roman’s suit growled, “I was just… so hungry…!”

Virgil softly wrapped his arm around Roman, gently caressing his beautiful jawline with a softness no hostile alien parasite should be able to use. 

“It’s fine, you drama queen. We still did it,”, he grinned, shark toothed and infectious going by Roman’s own razor smile, “Now you just have to put those impressive acting skills to use once I call in a rescue ship.”

“Aww, you think my acting is impressive?”, Roman’s chest puffed up in pride.

Were they not standing right next to a pile of gore that has once been a fellow crewmate, Virgil figured the starry look in Roman’s blackened eyes would have been endearing. Adorable even. Instead, the Imposter rolled his eyes, they still had work to do after all. There’d be plenty of time to properly celebrate later..

“Shut up, Roman... ” --

Man that got dark fast...

I hope you guys still enjoyed it and that the reveal was nice and shocking~!

If you like this, I’ll write some supplimentary stuff, perhaps some fluff prequel snippets, and perhaps a little sequel? 

Idk yet, but I hope this was a good read.

Taglist: @somehow-i-got-an-account   @cateye-glasses   @fandomsofrandom @patton-cake @does-this-look-logicality-to-you @justalittlecorrupted @irritating-lady-knight @katlikethesword @ali_is_lazy 

[nerdicorntheshipper]

For the prompt thing, I don't know how specific you want it, but maybe some third person limited from Roman's perspective while talking with Virgil about the events of what just happened? If you could throw as much fluffy pining in there as you'd like, that would be great. Hope to see what you write, and hope you enjoy writing it, if you choose to do so.

this is... a bit more specific than I expected but that’s ok! This was really fun to write! I added some Disney movies in the mix because is it really prinxiety fluff without Disney movies. Spoiler warning for Flirting with Social Anxiety.

It was nice to see Thomas in love, Roman thought. Perhaps love was a strong word, but it was certainly nice to see him happy. And it was all thanks to Virgil, Roman’s own love, although the other man did not yet know of his affections. Virgil had been so brave, giving Thomas that push. Roman could feel himself falling all over again. 

The two of them, Roman and Virgil that is, were sitting on the mind palace couch, Virgil’s head on Roman’s shoulder. They had touched like this before, but it still made Roman’s heart flutter. They had decided to do a Disney marathon and were now watching sleeping beauty. 

“I still can’t believe I did that,” Virgil said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Roman gave a half giggle “You were amazing!”

“You really did most of the work.” 

“Stop being so humble! You did great!”

“Alright fine,” Virgil laughed, “you win.”

They sat watching the movie for a few more minutes before Roman spoke. “Hey,” he said, “We make a good team don’t we?” 

“Yeah Princey, I think we do.” 

“God, I love you,” Roman murmured. Virgil looked up at him, surprised. “I mean- I didn’t mean to say that out loud, I’m sorry, I-”

“I love you too.” 

Oh. Oh! 

“You do?” Roman said, his eyes full of hope.

“Yeah.” Virgil ran a hand through his hair. “Is that ok?”

“Okay? That’s wonderful!” Roman was exhilarated. Virgil loved him too! He looked over at his friend, and possibly more, and Roman just wanted to hold him and kiss him. He knew their first kiss would be as magical as in any Disney movie they watched. What the hell, if Virgil was going to be brave today then so was he! “Can I kiss you?”

“yes,” Virgil said. “Unless you need me to be unconscious like Prince Phillip here,” He added, pointing at the screen.

Roman cracked up laughing. “Can you leave Disney alone for like five minutes? I’m trying to be romantic.”

“You know I can’t, that’s why you love me.” 

Roman tried to protest, but Virgil just interrupted him. 

“Don’t try to deny it, you just admitted it.”

“Ah but you see,” Roman said in an overly exaggerated tone, “You love me too.”

“Just kiss me already you sap.”

And they kissed.

And it was magical.  

[anxious-logic]

Getting to Know You

@tsshipmonth2020 (I hope it’s okay that I tag you even though September is over!!)

Day 23 - At a certain age you switch bodies with your soulmate for 24 hours.

Ship: Romantic Analogicality (platonic Prinxiety hijacked it)

Warnings: Don’t think there are any.

Word count: 1919 (better than 2020 amirite)

Summary: When Virgil woke up on the day of his eighteenth birthday, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t to find another person in bed with him. 

(He’s very glad to realize that it’s just a dog.)

When Virgil woke up on the day of his eighteenth birthday, he (they? No, he right now) wasn’t sure what to expect.

He’d written out a detailed schedule of what his day was like – no meetups with friends, a very small birthday celebration with immediate family (that his possible soulmate could opt out of, if they wanted). If he didn’t switch with a soulmate, he’d probably text some of his friends and spend some time with them, but he didn’t want to overwhelm his soulmate by having too many social events in a body and possibly town that they weren’t familiar with.

So when he woke up on his birthday, the first thing he registered was that he wasn’t alone in bed.

He stiffened – who was in bed with him? Why? Did he switch with his soulmate? Would Virgil have to have a very uncomfortable conversation with the person next to him?

Suddenly, he felt something cold and wet bump his face. He opened his eyes to come very close to a dog’s nose. He relaxed as the weight in his bed shifted as the large brown dog excitedly licked his face, putting its front paws on top of his chest.

“Hi,” he said, an unfamiliar smile spreading across his face. “What’s your name, huh? How are you?” He was a little startled by the voice coming out of his mouth, forgetting that he wasn’t in his normal body.

He was startled by an alarm going off on his phone. It was some peppy music – something pop, maybe? Virgil wasn’t really sure. He picked up the phone to turn off the alarm, interested in learning more about his soulmate. He felt vaguely guilty about going through another person’s things without their permission, but it was a commonly known thing that once you turned eighteen you had to be ready to switch at any time; you had to accept that someone else would see into your life and essentially be you for a day. It was probably okay that he was looking at his soulmate’s lock screen.

His soulmate’s lock screen was a picture of kittens and puppies piled on top of each other, sleeping. Virgil couldn’t help the tiny smile that spread across his face when he saw the picture. It was cute – a little bit cliché, maybe, but cute.

He was startled out of his thoughts by someone knocking on the door. “Pat?” a voice asked as Virgil sat up ramrod straight, startled. “You okay? Normally you’ve fed Rosie by now.”

Virgil opened his mouth to respond and paused. He wasn’t sure exactly how much this person knew about Patton, or how close they were; maybe they were a total stranger or something.

Then Virgil thought about what the other person had said. If Pat and this other person were complete strangers, the other person probably wouldn’t be commenting on Pat’s daily routine.

“Uh- this isn’t Pat,” Virgil called, hoping the sound would be heard through the door.

“What?”

There was a pause, then a high-pitched squeal.

“Oh my god, you’re his soulmate!!”

Virgil got up and self-consciously opened the door, the phone in his hand. “Yeah. Um- do you know the passcode to his phone? I want to text myself and get to know him.”

The other person was wearing a white t-shirt and red pajama shorts. They were beaming, rocking back and forth on their toes. “Give it here,” they demanded, grabbing the phone out of Virgil’s hand. They quickly tapped the screen, unlocking the phone and opening the messaging app. “Here you go,” they said, handing the phone back. Virgil took it, absently putting a hand on the door to close it. “My name’s Roman,” they said, interrupting Virgil in the middle of thinking about what his first text to his soulmate would be. “He/him pronouns. I’m Patton’s brother, and roommate.”

“Virgil, he right now, I guess his soulmate,” Virgil murmured back distractedly, chewing the inside of his cheek.

“I see that your attention is divided at the moment. I can take care of Rosie for now, and we can talk more later.”

“Yeah,” Virgil said, looking up as he closed the door slightly. “Thanks.” It wasn’t that he didn’t like Roman; he was just very energetic and too happy for how early in the morning it was.

Virgil toyed with the phone case as he debated what to send. It was a light blue rubbery material, with little ears and paws to make it look like an owl. It matched the rest of Patton’s room – in varying shades of blue, with lots of light, fluffy pillows on the floor around the bed. There were lots of pictures around the room, and a few happy quotes taped to the walls.

He looked down to the app, tapping his phone number into the “New Message” box.

Hi Patton, this is Virgil, your soulmate.

He sent it off, then put the phone down, being careful that the screen didn’t turn off. Was that okay? What if it came off too strong? What if his soulmate hated him and didn’t want a soulmate at all and was angry that he had to be in another person’s body for a day and now Virgil was saying that he needed a soulmate and-

His panicked thoughts were cut off by the phone buzzing as a new message came in.

This is interesting, as I am not Patton and this is not my phone number. I am, however, messaging with another person named Patton, who is currently in my body.

Virgil’s breath caught as he read the message. If he was in Patton’s body… and Patton was in another person’s body… and this other person was in his body…

It must be a three-way soulbond. That was the only explanation.

Okay.

We must be in a three-way bond. Can you put us all in a group chat so we can all get to know each other maybe? No pressure or anything but I think it might be nice?

Hopefully that wasn’t too overbearing or demanding. He absentmindedly bit his thumb, noting on some level that Patton was wearing nail polish. He tried his hardest not to mess up the lilac color while still getting out some of his nervousness.

Of course. One moment.

Virgil took a deep breath, relaxing back into the wall as he pulled his legs up onto the bed with him. He waited for the group text to come through.

Patton, this is a group chat with Virgil, who is currently in your body.

The phone next to him dinged as the person in Virgil’s body sent a message to the chat.

Hi Virgil!! This is Patton, I use he/him pronouns!!

Virgil smiled slightly. I use he or they. He right now but that might change.

There was a brief pause, then another message came through.

My name is Logan. I am currently exploring different pronouns, but he/him is sufficient for the moment.

Virgil bit his lip, fingers quickly tapping at the keyboard. Let me know if you ever want to talk or want help with that, I’ve been there and it’s not too fun.

Thank you. I appreciate the offer.

Virgil smiled slightly as he read the next text – from Patton, this time. I’ve never been through that but I’m so proud of both of you for being yourselves and opening up!! <3

There was a short pause, then the phone vibrated again. I hope that’s okay that I sent a heart, I send them platonically to my friends all the time, but I know it’s a little different since we’re soulmates, so I can totally stop if you want!!

You’re fine, Virgil sent. It almost overlapped with Logan sending a message of affirmation as well.

<3 <3 Yay!!! <3 <3 <3 Patton sent. It made Virgil smile – Patton seemed so happy, so upbeat, a contrast to Virgil, whose emo aesthetic didn’t mesh too well with happiness, and Logan, who he didn’t know much about yet but seemed relatively no-nonsense and formal.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Roman knocking on the door. “Virgil? How are you doing?”

Virgil looked up to meet Roman’s eyes and noted the wickedly sharp eyeliner on his face. “Good. Turns out it’s a three-way bond, so another person’s in my body and Patton’s in theirs.”

Roman nodded slowly. “That sounds fun to navigate.” He hesitated. “I… actually haven’t had a soulmate switch yet. I’m almost twenty-five, so… I’m not sure if I will have a switch? Ever?”

Virgil shifted slightly awkwardly. “I’m… sorry? To hear that?” He offered. He wasn’t sure what the proper response should be in this situation – someone who was basically a stranger was telling him something intensely personal.

Roman gave him a small smile. “I’m just saying, I might not understand it, but I know Patton’s been looking forward to this since he turned eighteen. It’s been a bit since then, but he… I don’t know. He’s excited.”

Virgil ducked his head. “I… thanks. I guess. Yeah.”

Roman clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Tell you what. How about you get dressed, then we can go out and spend the day getting you caught up on Patton.”

Virgil nodded slowly. “I- I do want to keep texting them though?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t make you stop doing that.”

“Okay.”

There was a brief silence, then Virgil spoke up.

“Do you know where he keeps his things? I don’t want to see any stuff he wouldn’t want me to see- I guess?”

Roman made a silent “oh” face. “Of course,” he said. He entered the room, pulling open some of the drawers from the dresser. “Underwear in here, pants here, shirts here, socks next to the underwear, sweaters up here, and any accessories down here. If you feel like makeup or doing anything with your hair, let me know and I’ll show you where that is.” He paused for a moment. “If I may ask… what is your usual aesthetic in your own body?”

Virgil gave him a little smirk. “Emo,” he said.

Roman’s eyes went wide with amusement. “Oh, that is hilarious,” he said, laughing a little bit. “Patton is the softest, fluffiest person you will ever meet, I cannot believe he’s bonded to an emo of all things.”

Virgil couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah,” he said. “I kinda guessed by the room.”

“Anyway,” Roman continued, “What I was saying is that you are welcome to… get as close as you can to your… typical aesthetic, I suppose. It may be difficult, I’m not sure if Patton even owns any colors darker than red, but… it’s worth a try.”

Virgil stopped his hand from reaching out to squeeze Roman’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

“I’ll leave you alone now,” Roman said.

“Thank you,” Virgil repeated, giving into his instinct to touch Patton’s brother as he grabbed his hand to pull him back. “For everything. I… really appreciate it.”

Roman grinned, squeezing his hand before releasing it. “Of course. It’s what Patton would want. And, of course, my naturally chivalrous nature also dictated that I should-“

“Oh hush,” Virgil laughed, pushing him out of the room. As he gently closed the door to Patton’s bedroom, he couldn’t help but keep smiling, a relatively new experience for him.

Roman seemed incredibly nice and supportive, especially for someone who appeared to be struggling with his soulmate status.

And his actual soulmates?

Well, they were already his whole world.

[shapa-likes-art]

So, like, since I feel bad that you feel bad, here's two characters:

Julie from jatp(there's gotta be someone named julie or else I'm giving up on logic /j ajdhksks)

And Virgil or Roman perhaps?

Julie

First impression

"oh? Was she some music prodigy before her mom died?" Is the gist of it

Impression now

She is a very strong and fearless character and I love her and also her singing is freaking amazing.

Favorite moment

Hmmm that's hard... Um, I would say whenever she's awkward and makes that face. Also when she accidentally calls Nick Luke-

Unpopular opinion

None jdbdhd

Idea for a story

Aha, I'm not really that involved with the fandom and I haven't had much ideas for a jatp only story because, well, my Sanders sides jatp au-

Favorite relationship

Romantically? With Luke! Juke all the way, haha.

But platonically? Hmm.... It's so hard because I really love her friendship with Flynn but I also love the concept that Alex and her are like best friends in the band-

Favorite headcanon

Well, I haven't really seen much actually! As I've said, I'm not that involved with the fandom. I'm a newcomer to it!

Roman

First impression

He' a bit childish and kind of obnoxious

Impression now

He needs validation and reassurance because oh my God you guys he's been manipulated and doesn't know who to trust. Look at what they did to him! He was a perfectly good representation of creativity now he has trust issues!

(This is all a joke but yeah give him some love)

Favorite moment

"Oh my God I will kill both of you with me bare hands!.... And this sword-"

Unpopular opinion

Hm... Well... He doesn't have to represented as a jerk, he can be cocky and extravagant and in turn unintentionally hurt people because of that but the thing is; it's unintentional. He has changed and grown as a character but some people seem to magnetize on first season him and only that.

It's not really unpopular but it's something

Idea for a story

💞✨Jatp au✨💞

Favorite relationship

Oh heck prinxiety all that way in romantic terms.

But platonically? I really love best friends logince.

Favorite headcanon

He has scars! But personally, I also love Pinoy Roman or when he has hazel eyes.

Send me a character and I'll answer the questions!

[kys0g0i]

Wonderful

Pairing(s): Romantic Prinxiety

Started: April 23rd, 2020, 1:21 PM

Finished: April 29th, 2020, 9:19 PM

Word Count: 1913 words

Warnings: None!

Summary: Very cliché, but a sweet scene nevertheless

— — —

Virgil didn’t exactly know when he had fallen for Roman. Of all sides, he had been the last one he would have ever thought he would grow so fond of. But, here he is, so heads over heels for the prince that he almost felt foolish at times. Maybe that's why he knew he could never tell him. He was an irrational, anxious idiot, while Roman… well, Roman was the closest you could possibly get to perfection. He was... wonderful.

The anxious trait sighed at the thought, running his hand through his dark brown hair as he looked down at his desk. Even if he knew he was never going to give it to the creative side… he had been trying to make an at least decent love letter to him. There hadn’t been much luck with it though, even after he had been working on it for more than an hour now. The one he was writing at the moment was… okay, but it could be so much better. He just didn’t know how to spill the strong and overwhelming emotions he felt for him. It’s not like it mattered though, he supposed. If he was never going to confess to him, what would be the point of trying to get it right so quickly? Sure, he was unbelievable, well, anxious, to get it all out, but… he had a while. He could write as much as it took until he got it just right. (It only seemed to help his nerves a little bit.)

Virgil continued on writing, having put his huge black headphones on to try and drown out his worries when he just barely managed to hear a knock on his door. Which was admittedly strange, since no one ever came to his room, and when they did, they usually just rose up. He didn’t mind the knocking, he preferred it actually because he got to quickly hide the love letter and stuff the other ones he had given up on in the trash can under his desk. Quickly getting up from his desk, he hopped on top of his darkly colored bed and acted as if he were just scrolling through his phone while listening to music the entire time. “Come in.” He called to whoever was behind the door, if a bit dryly.

And who walked inside almost made Virgil want to die then and there. It was Roman. Of course, it was, just when he had been thinking of him. “Emo Nightmare! There you are!” He said in his usual grand and happy voice, smiling. The sight made his heart leap, and he was suddenly he didn’t blush too easily. The prince, closing the door behind him, headed towards the darker side and plopped down on the opposite side of the bed as him, the foot of the bed. He looked to Virgil with bright green eyes that seemed to lock onto his own purple and green set. “It’s almost five in the evening and no one has ever seen you leave your room. Why are you still locked up in here?”

“You know I always wake up at around two, Princy,” Virgil replied, unable to help but smile back at him. It was true, he usually did wake up at around two pm, since he always fell asleep in the early hours of the morning due to usually being too anxious to sleep when everyone else did, but he hadn’t today. He had woken up at around ten this morning. In truth, it wasn’t much better, but it was considered way too early for his standards. He had gotten up anyways, though, knowing he wouldn’t be able to drift off again until the next morning. Honestly, he had spent most of his time that day thinking about his feelings for Roman, trying to let it all out then so when he did have to talk to him, whether that be in passing or for a video, he wouldn’t give any hints. Or, at least, any obvious hints. “I woke up not too long ago and I just wanted to hang out for a while. Why? Does Patton need something? Is something wrong with Thomas?”

Roman quickly shook his head, turning to completely face Virgil on his bed with his legs crossed. “No no, nothing like that, promise.” He said, pausing for a few moments before going on a bit more hesitantly. “I was just… I mean… I… I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the Imagination with me?”

Virgil simply stared at him in surprise at the offer, not saying anything for a few seconds. Roman never took anyone to the Imagination. Not unless it was important or something special. Apparently, he hadn’t said anything for too long, because the soft smile on Roman’s lips fell, though it was obvious he was trying to keep it up. “I-It’s okay if you don’t want to go! I-!”

“No!” Virgil quickly interrupted, accidentally letting his tempest tongue take over his voice for a moment because of the sudden panic. He cleared his voice, embarrassed. “I mean… I wouldn’t mind going with you there, for a little bit.”

It didn’t take long for Roman’s smile to reappear back on his face. He went forward, grabbing Virgil’s hand. “Great! Let’s go!” He beamed.

“Wait, right n-?” But he didn’t have time to finish his words before the prince sunk the both of them down and into the Imagination.

When the two of them rose up again, they were both standing, which showed how he was just about two inches taller than the creative side, and his headphones had been removed from sitting on top of his head. Virgil had to blink a few times, eyes hurting from having to so suddenly adjust to the brightness of the landscape from the darkness of his room. Eventually, when he was able to open his eyes and look, he was left in awe at what he saw.

Roman had raised them up at the base of a small hill. At the top, there was a huge weeping cherry tree, fairy lights strung throughout it that gave off a soft glow due to the night sky that was littered with stars and a few clouds. And as he would find when he and Roman went up the hill, there would be a soft, dark red blanket waiting for them to lay on with pink-tinted flowers around them from the tree above. To put it simply, it was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen.

He saw Roman’s bright smile out of the corner of his eye and felt him take his arm by wrapping his own around it. “Come on, it’s even better from under the tree!” He said with the same excitement a child would have in a candy store. The side then led the two of them up the tree, Roman eager and Virgil still awestruck. When they reached the top, he took them to the middle of the blanket, before they sat down next to each other.

“So... are you gonna tell me what this is all about?” Virgil asked, face slightly flushed pink as he let a small smile appear on his lips.

Roman matched his pinkness at the question, though his was a bit redder. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“You never take anyone into the Imagination,” Virgil said back, tilting his head a bit to the right. “It’s half yours and half Remus’, and that’s how it is. So why did you take me here of all sides? And so randomly?”

Roman, though he hid it well, seemed to almost grow nervous at the question. It… almost gave Virgil hope, in some weird way. With all this decor and it just being them, maybe…

“W-Well, I just, I…” He paused for a moment. “...Why don’t we watch the stars together, Virge?”

And so, they did. They laid next to each other, Virgil letting Roman make constellations and tell him stories he came up with on the spot for them. He didn’t question him again about why he had brought him and only him here. He knew he probably wouldn’t get an answer, though he very much would like one. Not because he wasn’t enjoying himself or believed that he was selected for a punishment of some sort because he had to spend time with Roman. He very much was happy with what was happening between them right now. It was calm, relaxing, and honestly, it was just nice to not feel so much pressure to speak normally around his crush for once.

After about forty minutes of the two stargazing, Roman turned to look at Virgil, not saying a word until he went to look at him too. When he did look back at him, they didn’t say anything at first, just looking at one another before the taller of the two sides spoke up. “Why the stare, Princy?” He said, amusement in his voice and eyes.

“Just… enjoying the view.” Roman said with a smile, throwing Virgil off guard from not expecting him to say anything like that.

He was quick to recover though, rolling his mismatched eyes at his words. “Oh flirting now, are we?” He teased. “And why’s that, my prince?”

Roman, seeming to like the game that he could tell they were going to play, beamed at him. “It’s hard not to flirt with someone like you.” He said softly to him, hesitantly reaching out and cupping the side of his face that was facing towards the starry night sky. “You’re just so… wonderful.”

Virgil felt his cheeks flush pink, and the two simply stared at one another for a few moments before Roman finally spoke up again. “That’s why I wanted to bring you here. Just the two of us.” He murmured. “I… I wanted to ask you something really… really important.”

Virgil sat up, feeling his heart racing in his chest. “...Yeah?” He asked, quickly followed by Roman sitting up as well and inching closer to him.

“Yeah, I…” The prince paused, swallowing hard before going on. “I… I’m just gonna be blunt. I've liked you for a long time, Virgil. I know we absolutely hated each other in the past, and we still don’t get along sometimes, but I really… really like you. And I understand if you don’t feel the same, but I needed to tell you that so I could get it off my chest, and-“

“Roman.” Virgil interrupted, looking at him with a softened expression and tiny smile. “I like you too. A lot.”

Virgil couldn’t help but feel his heart twist at the way Roman’s own smile brightened until he practically beaming. The prince moved closer to him, slowly reaching out to intertwine their hands, just in case Virgil didn’t want him to hold in hand. The two were silent for a bit, hand in hand as they stared up at the stars once more. The anxious trait himself wasn’t usually the type to enjoy or run towards change, but with Roman… He snuck a glance over at him, adoring the way his beautiful green eyes sparkled in the starlight.

He felt like he could make an exception.

A wonderful exception.

[starlightinhumanform]

Strong As The Sun

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Ship: Romantic Prinxiety, Platonic Analogicality 

Summary: It’s Roman���s last summer before going off to college; he should be spending it hanging out at the beach and having fun. Instead, he is wasting his time away beneath the eye of his cruel manager and behind the counter of the local fair’s Help Center. His day gets a little more interesting when Virgil Sanders collapses into his arms.

Warnings (in order of strength): Moderate language throughout, Description of physical illness throughout, Not panic but Virgil does get pretty upset a couple times. Please tell me if anything needs to be added.  Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Human AU 

A/N: -The Dragon Witch is Ms. Drakon -Because of his anxiety, Virgil clings to ‘comfort items’ (in this case, his hoodie) And lastly: I am not a medical professional!! This is all based on my own experiences with heat exhaustion and may not be entirely accurate. If you are ever in a situation like this, don’t be like Roman! Get some help!  Hope you enjoy! Love you all 🖤✨

Ao3 Link   Fic Masterpost   Fic Request Info

Roman couldn’t put his finger on the reason he loved his job so much. Maybe it was the suffocating heat that made him sweat so much his hair was consistently ruined by the end of every shift. Or maybe it was the entitled older folks who would yell at him for doing what his manager told him to do. It could have been the way his manager yelled at him for... doing exactly what she had told him to do. The best part was definitely the smell- a magical combination of cheap grease, sunscreen, animal waste, and a good amount of human waste.

Yeah, ok, his job sucked. Standing at the help desk of a local fair for 12 hours everyday was not exactly Roman’s ideal summer plan. It was his last summer before college; he should be getting toned from surfing at the beach all day where he would inevitably find his dream man and they would live happily ever after.

“Roman?! Did you hear a word I just said?”

Roman jerked his head up from where it had been resting in his hand (the perfect position for daydreaming himself away from this hell) and tried to look alert, “Yeah, sure! Of course!”

His manager scowled at him from across the counter. She looked like what would have happened if Snow White had made some sort of pact with the evil witch- sickly pale skin, blood red lips, and smooth black hair that never had a strand out of place. She tapped her nails against the desk and raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow, “Well, in that case, could you repeat it to me?”

“No, Ms. Drakon,” Roman hung his head, hoping his pathetic act would earn him some crumb of pity.

His manager just rolled her eyes, turning around and glaring at him over her shoulder, “I was saying you need to do a better job of looking enthusiastic- more ready to help. If you don’t, well just remember: there are plenty of other desperate teenagers who will easily take your place.”

The witch stalked away, stopping occasionally to bare her teeth at patrons in substitute of an actual smile. Roman barely resisted the urge to flip her off but decided it wasn’t worth the risk. He was positive at this point that she had eyes in the back of her head.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes and standing up straighter in an attempt to look more “enthusiastic”- or at least awake. Drakon might have been the epitome of evil, but she was right. It would be as easy as snapping her fingers to have Roman fired and replaced. And that was not something he could afford- literally.

Roman shoved the thoughts aside as a family walked up. He saw so many of the same groups over and over again that they all started to blend together. This one was no different- a loud, angry straight couple surrounded by a horde of unruly children.

The man slammed his fist down on the counter as he approached and Roman plastered on a smile, “Hi sir! How can I help you?”

Yep. Today was going to be fun. It was only noon and he had already a) gotten puked on by a little kid, b) had nearly been fired, and now c) yelled at because apparently the carnival games were arranged incorrectly and it was somehow his fault.

Roman spent the next two hours trying not to space out but it was so hard when he wanted to be anywhere else. He decided he was never going to a fair ever again. Ever. Unless it was with a boyfriend. Who he would win a bunch of prizes for. And take selfies with while they ate matching cotton candy. And they would ride the Ferris wheel together and kiss at the top. Hmmmm, so maybe he would never go to a fair ever again unless certain requirements were met.

If only his Prince Charming could come along now, jump over the desk partition, reach for Roman’s hand, and whisk him away to some place that had air conditioning. He would be tall, muscular, with a strong jawline, and-

“Excuse me?”

Roman glanced down, trying to find the kid who was trying to get his attention.

“Up here?”

He moved his gaze upwards to find a guy about his age wearing a dark hoodie with his hands shoved in his pockets. Not surprisingly, he looked like he was dying from the heat.

“Oh sorry. I thought you were,” Roman waved his hand at his knee, “small.”

The stranger grimaced, “Gonna try not to be insulted by that.”

“Anyways... how can I help you?” Even though the statement was built into Roman’s subconscious script, he really did mean it. The boy kept swaying and Roman wasn’t sure if it was some kind of nervous fidget or because he was actually about to pass out.

“Yeah. Right. Sorry. I’m just kinda- my head-“ He ran his hands through his hair, “Basically I lost my group and my phone is dead and I have no idea where they are and-“

He tried to take a step forward but stumbled, gripping the desk for support. Roman’s protective instincts kicked in immediately. He swung open the little shack’s gate and began leading the boy back to the shade of the awning, one arm swung around his chest to support him.

“I’m fine, really,” He tried to protest but used Roman as crutch as if this was A Christmas Carole and he was Tiny Tim.

Roman snorted as he latched the gate shut behind them, “You’re not ‘fine’- you can barely walk.”

Roman set the boy down on the rough floors, concerned by how hard he was breathing. He grabbed a water bottle from beneath the counter and offered it as he squatted down. This close, Roman was able to get a better evaluation his guest.

The good news: the heavy darkness beneath his eyes was eyeshadow- not some sort of bruise or dark circles that were so bad they could be seen from three feet away. The bad news: basically everything else. His breathing was labored. His face was deathly pale- nearly gray- and beaded with sweat. His black skinny jeans, heavy boots, and oversized purple hoodie were ideal for perhaps a light rain in mid October; at a fair during the sadistic month of July, the outfit looked nearly deadly.

Roman chewed the bottom of his lip. He really wasn’t trained for this sort of thing. His job was to look cute at the entrance and tell people where they could find the petting zoo. But he couldn’t just turn this guy away, “Look, you can stay here as long as you need but if my boss sees you, I’m dead so just try to stay low or something.”

The boy had been gulping down the water bottle but froze suddenly. His eyes widened and he started scrambling to get up. His feet scrabbled beneath him like a puppy who wasn’t used to their legs yet.

“Hey, hey, stop!” Roman hissed under his breath, trying to avoid making a scene, “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble. It’s better if I just go,” The boy stopped struggling and stared at Roman with eyes the size of a small planet. They were blue, so deep and dark they almost looked purple. Beneath them, the messy eyeshadow was smudged by what Roman realized were tear streaks.

“Shut up, Emo. I’m not going to let you leave until I know it’s safe,” Roman reached out, brushing his thumb across the boy’s cheekbones to wipe away the dark trails the makeup had made.

The boy looked confused but didn’t try to duck away from Roman’s touch, “What are you doing?”

Roman drew his hand back and stared down at it. He felt just as confused as the boy looked. What was he doing? He huffed out a laugh, “I- I’m not sure. I don’t think either of us are thinking very clearly right now.”

Across from him, the boy bowed his head down so Roman couldn’t see his face and started drinking from the bottle again- less desperately this time. Roman got the feeling the conversation was over.

He stood up and shifted so he was more centered at the desk, “I have to look like I’m actually doing my job, but tell me if you need anything. Try to, uh, cool off or something. I’ve got plenty of water bottles over here.”

“Virgil.”

“I’m sorry?” Roman turned to face the shadow of a human in the corner of his shack. The boy was trying to take up less space, but his  lanky legs made it hard to curl up.

“My name is Virgil.”

Roman smiled, “Nice to meet you, Virgil. I’m Roman.”

Virgil nodded as if Roman had given the correct answer and was allowed to go back to his job.

The next hour passed sluggishly. Roman told six separate women asked where the bathrooms were but he could swear they were all the exact same person. He saw the girl who ran the lemonade stand spit into a drink at least twice. At some point, Virgil fell asleep, the back of his head pressed against the gate and his neck bent at an angle that would probably hurt when he woke up. His breathing was still a worrying rasp and Roman couldn’t help but glance over towards Virgil’s corner whenever he got the chance.

Three o’clock rolled in like it didn’t want to come. Roman slammed down his sign that read “I’m On Break Right Now!! I’ll Be Back In A Few Minutes :)” and dared the Karen who was marching toward his stand to take another step forward.

When he was sure the coast was clear, he ducked onto the floor and grabbed another water bottle as he scooted next to Virgil. This close, Roman could feel tremors that were running through Virgil’s body.

“Hey buddy, wake up,” Roman shook Virgil’s shoulders gently, wincing at the heat that radiated through the thick sweatshirt.

Virgil’s eyes blinked open slowly, glassy and unfocused. He searched around the small space before his gaze settled on Roman, “Where am- oh that’s right. I’m still here?”

Roman couldn’t explain it but something about the venomous disappointment in Virgil’s voice hit him in the chest. He shook the feeling away quickly when he remembered what was going on, “You’re burning up. I want you to drink some more water. And I think you’re going to need to take off that sweatshirt.”

Virgil collapsed in on himself, wrapping his arms around his chest and pressing himself against the side of the shack, “I don’t want to take it off.”

Roman could feel his eyebrows scrunching together by their own accord, “Why not?”

Virgil just shrugged and looked away which perfectly conveyed the message of I know exactly why and I’m not going to tell you.

“Ok, ok, whatever. It’s not like that stupid hoodie is seriously damaging your health or anything.”

Virgil flopped his head to the side to glare with two ice-cold flames. Roman got the feeling that if Virgil had more strength, he would’ve gotten slapped.  

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose, searching for options. It’s not like he could force Virgil to take the sweatshirt off- that would be weird for anyone. Besides, he still hardly knew this kid. Maybe he refused to take the hoodie off because he had some giant tattoo from a gang. Did gangs get tattoos? Like the dark mark from Harry Potter? Roman was getting sidetracked and Virgil looked like the type of person who rarely left his house. Ok so definitely not the type to join a gang.

But the fact that they hardly knew each other still stood. If he pushed it too far, he would be crossing about twenty boundaries. On the other hand, Virgil was looking worse and worse by the second. In the space of a few blinks, his expression had faded from a glare to half-lidded stupor.

Roman grimaced as he pressed the back of his hand against Virgil’s forehead. His bangs were damp and his skin felt like a hot pan just off the stove. Roman brushed his hand upwards, combing his fingers through Virgil’s hair.

Virgil’s gaze flicked over to meet Roman’s eyes, unfocused and filmy. But within those eyes, swimming in the purple beneath, Roman could see so much emotion, it almost hurt to look at.  Those eyes pleaded with him, so full of fear.

Roman sighed. He simply couldn’t say no that stare, “Yeah ok. You can keep the damn thing on. But we need to figure out a way to get your fever down.”

Virgil slumped sideways into Roman, pressing into him instead of the wall. The chills running through his body were so strong that Roman almost wondered if they were contagious somehow. He snuggled further against Roman, his head pressing into Roman’s shoulder.

Roman didn’t know what to do. What he wanted to do was wrap his arms around this strange little shadow and never let go. In reality, though, even this much contact was probably worsening Virgil’s temperature.

“Hey,” Roman shook Virgil’s far shoulder slightly to get his attention, “I had an idea. Would you be ok with just unzipping your hoodie? You wouldn’t have to take it off!”

Virgil responded by wrapping himself around Roman’s arm like some baby marsupial, “Too tired. Just wanna sleep.”

Roman could hardly hear Virgil’s muttering through the material of his own shirt. He sighed, “Yeah. Well too bad. Will you please just keep yourself from dying?”

“Ti-r-ed,” Virgil drew out the vowels like a whiny little kid.

“What- do you want me to do it?” Roman huffed out an exasperated laugh.

Against him, he felt Virgil shrug, “Sure.”

“Oh,” Roman hadn’t been expecting that answer. He had asked as a joke after all. Virgil had made such a big deal about keeping the sweatshirt on that Roman felt that he was crossing a line by even touching it.

Roman untangled Virgil’s arms for his and propped him against the wall. The boy moved as if he were a rag doll in Roman’s hands and it was nearly enough make Roman queasy. He scooted over so he was facing Virgil.

He watched him with those big eyes. Big, soft eyes. They carried so much uncertainty, always tracking Roman’s movement without ever shifting their gaze. But they held the weight of trust as well- feeling safe despite not knowing what Roman was going to do. Roman glowed under the trust, feeling like he had been awarded a treasure few could even find. At the same time, he was positive he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t know if he was doing the right things. How could Virgil seem so certain that Roman would help him if even Roman didn’t know that?

Roman reached forward, hands freezing as they hovered over the zipper that hung just below the dip of Virgil’s collarbone. This was weird. He knew these were “special circumstances” but still... it was weird. Roman cleared his throat, “Uh, sorry, this is just kind of awkward.”

Virgil mustered another glare, less deadly this time but still managing to clearly convey the message of Stop being such a useless gay.

Roman cleared his throat again. He probably sounded like he was developing a case of pneumonia, “Right. Sorry.”

Said useless gay took a deep breath and pulled the zipper down. Underneath, Virgil was wearing a plain black muscle tank to match the rest of his dark outfit. Roman had to give him credit for committing so strongly to the aesthetic. A part of him was still surprised that Virgil’s hoodie wasn’t hiding some kind of green alien body.

“Surprised I’m not some kind of green alien?”

Roman realized he had been staring and immediately tried to find something else to look at. His brain apparently decided that the best solution was to reread the safety rules posted on the back wall. He could feel a blush rising to his face and he was pretty sure it had something to do with the way the tank top dipped lowly across Virgil’s chest and hung across his delicate collarbones.

Roman nearly started laughing at himself out loud. He sounded like a repressed Victorian maiden. What he going to do next? Maybe he would stomp his feet and start chanting Show me your ankle! Show me your ankle!

“Hey, help me with this?” Virgil’s strained voice brought Roman’s attention swinging back to the real world. He was trying to shrug the sweatshirt off his shoulders while still trying to move as little as possible.

Roman reached out again, probably too quickly. He was acting so strange. He wished his hands would stop shaking so much.

“Oh, Roman?” A sugar-sweet, poisoned voice floated into the shack just as Roman managed to get the last sleeve past Virgil’s elbow.

“Shit,” Roman hissed under his breath, “That’s my manager.”

Virgil’s eyes went wide but Roman didn’t have the time to reassure him. He threw the nearest thing over Virgil which happened to be a beach towel from the lost and found. It probably wouldn’t help his temperature at all, but at least Ms. Drakon wouldn’t see him.

Roman pulled out his winning grin as he stood up, “Why, hello, Ms. Drakon!”

She responded with an equally bright mouthful, but Roman wouldn’t dare to call it a smile, “Roman, it seems you have quite a crowd beginning to build up!”

He glanced over and suppressed a groan as he saw the trail of unhappy looking people that glared at him from an ever-growing line. He turned his attention back to Drakon, pointing down to the sign propped on the counter, “Yes, ma’am, I see that. I will make sure that they are all satisfied as soon as my break is over.”

Her eyes wrinkled as her mouth widened, but there was nothing friendly about them, “I think you’ve been on break long enough.”

“Yes, of course!” In Roman’s head, a large anvil had just landed on Drakon’s head.

Drakon disappeared into the crowd and Roman turned to the daunting line in front of him. The snake was headed by a group of 12 year old girls. They were easiest type to deal with. Bless their boyband obsessed hearts- they were probably the only reason the counter hadn’t been broken down by a mob of angry middle aged women with expired passes. He gave them a wink, “I’ll be with you ladies in a minute.”

Judging by the giggles that erupted as he sank down behind the counter, he had bought himself a minute or two.

“Hey there,” Roman was trying to be quiet but he was surprised at how soft his voice came out.

He pulled the towel away to find Virgil fast asleep. His breath was definitely starting to even out. The stupid hoodie pooled around him, still attached at the wrists. A tiny hint of a smile tugged at one side of his lips.

Roman ruffled his hands through Virgil’s hair, “Hang in there, buddy.”

He twirled around as he stood up, adding a little more dramatic flair than needed. He flicked the sign down with one finger. The smile he beamed at the crowd was genuine; this time he had something to smile about- even if he wasn’t quite sure what it was.

Another hour passed by with all of the ease of a root canal. A person told him they wanted a discount because their child had found a dead rat in a trash can. Roman tried to explain that it was a good thing it was in a trash can instead of anywhere else. The lemonade girl flipped someone off. She was Roman’s hero.

Virgil only began stirring by the end of it, blinking his eyes open like a owl in daylight. He looked around the shack like he was seeing it for the first time. His eyes were sharper than Roman had seen them before, glittering like obsidian now that they could focus.

Roman tried his best to concentrate on the customer in front of him, but he kept glancing back and grinning at Virgil. It was nice to see him looking more like a human and less like a very unhealthy zombie.

For what seemed like an eternity and a half, the customer refused to leave. Finally Roman made an under-the-table deal consisting of extra arcade tickets and a free voucher for lemonade just to get rid of them. He hoped the lemonade got spat in.

“Coast clear?” Virgil’s small voice came from what Roman had officially began calling Virgil’s Corner. He sounded different- probably because he wasn’t fighting for his life. His voice was still low, but the gravel in his tone sounded far more intentional and less like Holy shit I can’t breathe.

Roman turned around and leaned against the counter, “Ah! Sleeping Beauty awakes! How are you feeling?”

“Would I sound ungrateful if I said I feel like shit?”

Roman made an exaggerated act of thinking about it, “Just a little bit. But also honest.”

Virgil nodded and then looked down at the ground, letting a beat of silence fall between them. Roman got the feeling that Virgil had something to say, but they both had to wait for it to arrive.

Virgil began pulling the hoodie back up around his hunched shoulders, eyes still burning holes through the floor of the stall.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Roman sunk down to the floor, “Don’t put that thing back on. I just got you breathing right again- don’t make us start over from square one.”

He placed his hand against Virgil’s forehead again, “You still feel kinda overheated to me so-“

Roman stopped speaking as Virgil flinched away from the touch. His eyes darted around as if they couldn’t find a single safe place to land. He pulled his arms and legs in, tense and ready to- to do what, though? He looked like he wanted to hide, and run, and fight all at the same time. Virgil had quickly transformed into a cornered wild animal.

“Virgil, what’s wrong?” Roman spoke as softly and slowly as he could but tension was mounting within him as well. Had he done something wrong? Was Virgil hurt?

“They didn’t ask about me, did they?” Virgil spoke as if he didn’t want is voice to be heard.

“I’m sorry, who didn’t ask about you?”

“My group. The ones I came with. They both wear glasses and have brown hair and one’s shorter than the other and the taller one has freckles and was wearing a black button down and the other was wearing a blue shirt and- and,” Virgil’s voice broke and Roman’s heart along with it, “-and they’re my best friends.”

Suddenly Roman remembered the reason Virgil had shown up at his desk in the first place. It wasn’t the heat exhaustion- he had gotten lost.

Virgil succeeded in wrapped himself up in his sweatshirt. He curled into a tight ball, knees pulled against his chest and eyes just barely peeking above top of them.

“Hey, well, they’re probably looking around the fair for you. A lot of people don’t even know about my dumb little shack here! They’ll turn up eventually.”

Virgil shook his head, “They wouldn’t even look for me. They’ve probably left by now.”

“I really don’t think-“

Roman was cut off by Virgil launching himself onto him, wrapping his arms like a vice around Roman’s chest and digging his face into Roman’s shoulder. Shuddering sobs wracked Virgil’s body, all the panic and pain of today running onto Roman’s shoulder and staining his shirt with dark eyeshadow.

But Roman wasn’t thinking about that. He was hardly thinking at all. Roman was angry. Maybe angrier than he had ever been at that Drakon bitch or any of the customers that screamed at him or the kids who threw things at him or the teenagers who would snicker just loud enough so that he could hear them. That was trivial.

He was so mad. Mad at the pigs who stranded Virgil on his own, who apparently didn’t give a shit about his wellbeing, who made him feel so worthless that his immediate assumption was that they had left him behind.

Roman hoped they showed up. He would rip them to pieces.

He wrapped one arm around Virgil as tightly as he could and cradled the back of his head with his other hand. He didn’t want to let go; he wouldn’t let go. Roman could feel Virgil’s nails digging into his back as he gripped Roman’s shirt in fists.

Roman began rocking gently back and forth, moving his fingers through Virgil’s hair and letting his nails scratch softly against his scalp. Soon, Virgil’s sobs subsided into smaller hiccups. Roman could still feel hot tears soaking through his shirt.

They stayed huddled on the floor for a good minute before Virgil slowly raised his head, “I’m sorry, sometimes I get-“

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” Roman ran his thumb across Virgil’s cheek, brushing away the tears that ran down it. Like this, Virgil’s eyes looked ethereal, two pools of pure enchantment. Roman was sure he could spend the rest of his life memorizing the way the sunlight play against them.

“Excuse me?”

“Shit, shit, shit, damn it,” Roman knew he should have put his do not disturb sign up.

Virgil jerked his head up, “Patton?!”

Roman looked up to see another teenager about his age leaning over the counter. He was wearing glasses and a blue T-shirt with the Humane Society logo.

His face melted into a relieved smile as Virgil stood up, “Thank goodness we found you- we’ve been looking everywhere.”

He wrapped Virgil in a hug as yet another teenager appeared. He was taller, with eyes nearly as dark as Virgil’s, and he looked like he might sit down and begin discussing taxes with you at any moment.

This one nodded, “I created a systematic search pattern to use. Unfortunately, we were not even made aware of this place until a rather rude young lady at the lemonade stand directed us over here.”

The one called Patton let go of Virgil just long enough for the other to give him a quick hug before grabbing him into another embrace, “Oh we were so worried.”

Roman felt a pang in his chest. This was good, right? Virgil was safe now. And obviously his friends weren’t  the monsters Roman had assumed them to be. So it was all good. Yep. Definitely. Totally. Then why did he feel so damn sad?

“Yeah, yeah, I’m ok,” Roman looked up to see Virgil wiping off his face as the other two fussed over him, “I wouldn’t be though if it weren’t for Roman.”

The more serious one raised an eyebrow, “Who?”

Roman rose up from the ground, feeling sheepish for a reason he couldn’t explain, “Uh, that would be me.”

“Logan, Patton, this is Roman,” Virgil glanced over and gave him a warm smile, “He helped me out in more ways than one.”

Patton pulled Roman into a squeeze, wrapping his arms around his neck in a way that made Roman bend down, “Thank you so, so much.”

Logan took a moment from talking to Virgil in a tone to stare at Roman, “You got him to take off his hoodie?”

Roman escaped from Patton’s reach, “Uh, well, I think he kind of had heat exhaustion-“

Logan turned his attention back to Virgil, “But you don’t take that thing off unless you’re very comfortable with someone or-“

“Or really like them. Yeah, I know,” Virgil stared at the floor, a bright red rising to his face.

“Oh,” Roman wasn’t sure what else to say. He could feel a blush as deep as Virgil’s tinting his complexion.

Logan looked down at a watch wrapped around his wrist, “Thank you for helping our friend, but we really must be going now.”

“Right. Yes. Of course,” Roman nodded, trying to clear his head. The implications of what Logan had said were quickly replaced by gloom.

Roman hoped the sadness sitting in he’s chest like a lead weight didn’t carry into his voice. He swung open the gate and tried for a smile as Virgil stepped past him.

Roman watched as Virgil stepped down into the dirt, probably the last time he was ever going to see him. Roman almost let him get away. Almost.

“Hey, wait!” Roman leaned out and grabbed Virgil’s hand. He reached for his pocket and waved his phone, “Could I get your number?”

Virgil’s jaw dropped, “You had a phone this entire time?!”

Roman blinked dumbly at Virgil as realization hit him, “Oh my god, I did.”

Virgil looked off into the distance as if he  couldn’t process Roman’s lack of brain cells. At long last he began laughing. It started off as a snicker, developing into a full on cackle and finally dissolving into a wheeze. It was one of the ugliest laughs Roman had ever heard and some of the sweetest music he’d ever listened to. Virgil straightened up from where he had collapsed with his hands on his knees, “Oh my god; you’re so stupid.”

Roman felt his heart drop, “So that’s a no?”

“I didn’t say that either,” Virgil took a step forward and snatched the phone from Roman’s still out-stretched hand.

He gave it back after a few seconds of quick typing and seemed to be about to walk away, but froze, staring intensely at something on Roman’s shirt.

“What is it?” Roman craned his neck to find what Virgil was looking at.

“Well you’ve got something,” Virgil leaned forward, poking his hand against Roman’s chest for a moment before brushing it upwards and flicking Roman in the nose, “Right there.”

Before Roman hand a chance to react, Virgil had turned on his heel and was jogging to catch up with his two companions who were chatting at the gate. He watched as the group headed away, focusing on the purple hoodie in the middle until they turned a corner and Roman couldn’t stare anymore.

Heat still beat down from the summer sky, but Roman was sure that the warmth radiating from his chest could rival any sun.

If you want to join my Sanders Sides fic taglist just send me an ask or reply to this post :p

~ @phan-fander ~

[fieryfantasybooklover]

My Heart Incarnate - A Sanders Sides fic

Ships: Prinxiety, Demus, Logicality

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

Thomas was in love. Deeply, happily, in love. And the best part of it? It was reciprocated. Thomas had been gushing for months about the dark-haired boy he had met on a plane. They had exchanged numbers after sitting next to each other on said plane, and that’s all it took. Thomas was smitten after one date, and here they were still going strong. The man’s name was Chris, and he was smart, witty, kind, and best of all, in love with Thomas. Chris was even supposed to be moving in soon. This complete, utter love had massively positive benefits for all the sides, though it sent the right brain sides into a total tailspin.

This, of course, led each right brain to shower their boyfriends in utter affection, whether or not they were ready for it. Logan could barely get work done, because Patton was cuddling him 24/7 and Logan didn’t have the heart to push Patton away. Especially when the moral side was showering him in compliments and things like “Oh Lo-Lo you’re so amazing!”, “You’re so smart and capable and everythingggg.”, and “I love you so muchhh.” Oblivious or uncaring to Logan’s scarlet face and shifting into the human form of a microsoft error sound, Patton continued to shovel love at Logan.

Roman was, if possible, was even worse. He serenaded Virgil whenever he entered the room, covered the anxious side’s room in roses, and was constantly giving Virgil gifts of chocolates, fancy clothes, and yet more flowers. Virgil had taken to living in his hoodie and a permanent state of being flustered. Though he would deny it, Virgil was a sucker for shows of affection, so he didn’t once tell Roman to stop, even though Logan and Janus teased him mercilessly about it. But when Roman was declaring his undying love for Virgil with gifts and statements like “I will love my dark god and my prince forever! He deserves everything the world has to offer!”, Virgil chose blushing in silence over yelling at his friends.

Finally, there was Remus. Already eccentric, Thomas’s love-filled state of mind didn’t help anything. Remus pulled Janus into dancing whenever he saw him, Janus having neither the willpower nor want to stop him. Remus was restrictive with his real, true affection, so Janus didn’t mind. What he did mind however were pranks that Remus thought were romantic but were truly annoying. Overall, Thomas was smitten in love, the left-brain sides were flustered messes on the receiving end of love, and the right-brain sides were feeling the effects of Thomas’s love and were slowly losing their minds to love, orbiting their boyfriend’s like the planets orbit the sun.

The closer Chris got to moving in, the more crazy and lovestruck Roman, Patton, and Remus got and the more acts of affection they showed. It was the most intense the week before Thomas’s boyfriend moved in, reaching near unattainable heights the night before moving day. Logan, Virgil, and Janus were definitely not ready or prepared for what was about to happen.

“Here you go!” Logan said while handing Virgil and Janus plates heaped with breakfast food. Today was the day that Chris was moving in. “Eat it up and enjoy it. I get the feeling us three are going to need our energy today. As if on cue, massive noise began rattling through the mindscape, showing no signs of stopping. “Ah yes. That would be it.” Janus said in response to the signs. “Oh hell no. Can I please go and hide in my room?”

“Prepare yourself Virgil. I don’t think retreating to your room is going to stop Roman.” Janus replied, casting a glance toward the side currently to hide his entire body in his hoodie. “Don’t think you’re safe Logan! I’m willing to bet that Patton is going to be the worst of them all!” Virgil hissed. Logan didn’t reply or turn around from preparing more coffee, but both Virgil and Janus could see that he was brilliantly red. It didn’t take long for the other three sides to burst into the room, laden with gifts, chocolates, and a myriad of other things.

Patton wasted no time tackling Logan to the ground, covering him in kisses and spewing happiness and love. Logan, brilliantly red with his hair messed all over his face, managed a muttered “Yeah, I love you too Pat.” Patton, squealing incredibly loudly, pulled Logan up and onto the couch. Logan struggled futily to escape, but Patton was having none of it. “Uh uh Lo. You’re going to stay right here where I can love you forever.” Logan, close to the point of steam whistling out of his ears, surrendered and let Patton cuddle him. Logan did try to escape a few times, but Patton quickly turned to tickling, claiming “I don’t hear your adorable laugh enough!” Logan quickly stopped trying to escape, and the reward of Patton’s beautifully cute smile was enough. Finally, for the first time in ages, Logan allowed himself to smile and be in the arms of the one he loved and relax.

Meanwhile, Roman was very busy making Virgil very aware of how much he loved him. Virgil was now the recipient of every single possible gift Roman had thought to gather. The poor anxious side was stammering and stuttering, running his hands through his hair and doing his best to not melt. Finally, Virgil just snapped, leaped forward, grasped Roman’s face gently and kissed him full on the mouth, whispering “Just kiss me. That’s all you ever need to do. My heart and soul are already yours.” The pair stood there, the gifts forgotten on the floor, as they kissed so deeply they forgot what being without love and euphoria felt like in the first place, and as thoughts ran through both Virgil’s and Roman’s head, most along the lines of “I love you so much you don’t even know. You deserve this many shows of love every single day. So I can chase away all your demons and replace them with affection and love.”

And finally, Remus and Janus. Remus hadn’t brought gifts and didn’t like to cuddle. Janus knew this and loved him all the more for it. Because Janus knew that those were the layers he put up to block himself from pain and betrayal. Janus knew, because he had the same barriers, barriers that were only just now starting to fall. “It’s ok, my love. I know who you are, and I still love you. The world would crumble to ashes and dust, and I would still be in love with you.” Janus said softly, weak in the knees from the relief in Remus’s eyes. Crossing the room, Janus brought his love close in a hug and allowed himself to be pulled into a slow dance. Gazing into the opposite’s eyes, Janus and Remus felt themselves, for the first time in far too long, relax. They felt, for the first time in perhaps ever, their hearts beginning to truly warm.

A single mainstream thought filled all of the side’s minds at that moment. A thought that would dominate every side’s mind well into the future. “You are what fills my mind at every waking moment and you are what haunts my dreams when I’m asleep. You are my soul and my spirit. I have so much love for you that I think sometimes I might burst. I have so much love for you and I always will. You are my heart incarnate.”

And that’s how the day ended. Each pair wrapped up in the other’s arms, content to stay there until the end of time. Because no matter what the future might hold, the sides would be there for their loves. No matter if Thomas stayed with this boy, or if he met somebody else. The love the sides had for the others would never cease or fade. It would last into and beyond the great unknown.

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 56: Return to the Cave of Doom - Part 4: Facing the Paladin

At long last, this is the conclusion of the finale of this season of the main storyline in this blog. With this one, it's been 56 episodes between both seasons and I want to thank everyone who took a moment to read any of the episodes.

I'm making it sound like this is a definite ending to the story. It is not, although I'm gonna take a break from it, because in the past few episodes, I felt a little loss of motivation, and like I was running out of ideas for the story. It's better to stop and think about what I want to do with the story rather than continuing without a clear perspective of where I want to go with it.

This doesn't mean I'm leaving this account. Not at all, I'll still be posting stuff like short stories, my usual musical tales, the newfound photo-comics which have been very liked by so many people... So, I'll still be here for a long time. And enough talking. It's time to leave you with the ending of the season, and I hope it fits your expectations. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: The gang have finally arrived to the castle. There, they'll have to face the Paladin before his possession of Dillon becomes irreversible. Will the attack they learned in the Core be enough to defeat him? And will Patton resist the devastating secondary effects of such strong attack?

WARNINGS: Romantic prinxiety, logicality, dukeceit and karrot kings. Mentions to stabbing.

EPISODE INDEX

[the gang stare at the castle from a distance]

PATTON: Do you really think that it works for anything staying here watching from afar, kiddo? They probably know that we’re here already.

THOMAS: Most probably, but still we need to examine the situation, at least in the outside of the castle. There doesn’t seem to be a high number of ghouls guarding the doors. Could it be that we’ve set free most of them already?

HEIGHT: No, Thomas. We’ve set many free, but there are still hundreds of ghouls under Paranoia’s spell.

ROMAN: We truly could use the help of those we set free. If we’re gonna have to face an army, we’re gonna need reinforcements.

VERTIGO: I’m sure they’ll be ready when the battle starts. You don’t know the power of recovery of ghouls. And besides, apart from the one who attacked me, most of them really were unharmed. I’m sure they’re already on their way here.

JANUS: In the meantime, we’ll have to play the sneaky card and try to slip into the castle unnoticed, if possible.

LOGAN: If only we knew the castle’s configuration… There has to be a backdoor somewhere, even if only to secure the Paladin an easy retreat if things turn out against him.

HEIGHT: We’d wish to help you, but we have no idea. This building was made by Paranoia, it is a foreign construction for us.

REMUS: If they already know we’re here, I say we should attack upfront with everything we’ve got. Let’s surprise them in their own league.

THOMAS: The point is that at least some of us make it into the castle alive, Remus.

LOGAN: No, wait… Remus may be up to something…

THOMAS: He is?

REMUS: I am? I am!

LOGAN: I don’t mean a suicidal attack like the one you proposed, Remus, but perhaps, some of us could serve as a decoys and lure some of the guards away from their posts, and in the meantime the rest of us could sneak into the castle.

VIRGIL: But what about the decoys? Are they going to sacrifice themselves just like that?

REMUS: I offer myself as tribute.

JANUS: What? Remus! That’s suicidal!

REMUS: We have no choice, Janus. Someone has to do it, and the one who can make such an idiotic attack believable is the only one idiotic enough to try it, me. You know that I’m right.

HEIGHT: I’m going with you.

REMUS: What?

HEIGHT: Someone among the ghouls has to do it, and I’m not having Vertigo risking his life again. It’s my turn now.

VERTIGO: But Height…

HEIGHT: Don’t worry, I won’t let them get me, and if we have the chance, I’ll rejoin you later.

VERTIGO: You better will.

[Vertigo kisses Height]

REMUS: What about me, Jan? Don’t I get a kiss too?

JANUS: No, you don’t, I’m mad at you.

REMUS: [wiggling his eyebrows] You mean mad for me, right?

JANUS: No, I don’t! You’re always putting yourself in stupid dangers like this and I can’t stand it! Don’t you see that I worry about you and that, even if you don’t have common sense, I do for both of us and I don’t want anything bad happening to you?

REMUS: So… you are mad for me, admit it.

JANUS: [exasperated] Ugh… You’re such an idiot… Why did I have to fall for an idiot like you, I’ll never understand.

[Janus kisses Remus]

JANUS: You’ll better come back in one piece.

REMUS: I will. I promise. Okay, let’s go, ghoul.

HEIGHT: I’ve got a name, Dark Side.

REMUS: I know, ghoul.

HEIGHT: Urgh…

[Height and Remus start advancing to the castle]

ROMAN: [sighs] If the guards don’t kill them, they’re gonna kill each other before the end of the day… I don’t know if it’s a good idea to send the two of them together for this.

THOMAS: Well, good or bad idea, there’s no turning back. The guards have already seen them. Oh, wow, Remus almost crushed that guard’s head with his Morningstar. His head is gonna be in pain for more than a week.

ROMAN: Look, more guards are getting out of the castle. And they’ve started running through that path…

VIRGIL: …but that path leads to the rock-slide. They’re gonna get trapped if they go that way!

VERTIGO: They still have a long way before they reach the rock slide, so we’d better move to free the ghouls before they reach that dead end.

ROMAN: Yes, and also, Dillon’s time won’t last much longer either. Follow me, guys.

[the gang walks as sneakily as they can, but they find no obstacles and reach the front door with no one greeting them]

JANUS: Wait a minute…

ROMAN: What? We can’t stop in the middle of the doorway, Janus, we’re an easy prey here.

JANUS: This is just too easy. I think this is a trap.

THOMAS: Do you think so?

JANUS: The Paladin controls all the ghouls. He probably knows everything that has happened in the defile and is playing cat-and-mouse with us. And I’m afraid we’re the mice.

THOMAS: Well, mice or not, we need to get into the castle. The Paladin thinks he’s got us, but we’ve got some hidden aces, as you know. Besides, we have to get into the castle anyway, with or without trap, Dillon’s life depends on it.

JANUS: [sighs] You’re right. But we must stay alert.

THOMAS: As usual, then.

[the gang enters the castle. They find no one inside and the throne room door is open]

PALADIN: [voice from the throne room, yelling] Come in, already, we don’t have all day! I know you’re there and you know that I know you’re there, so why prolonging the inevitable? Come here and face your destiny.

[the gang enters the throne room. The Paladin is there, inside Dillon’s body. He’s now wearing a dark royal outfit with a black crown. His eyes are two crimson flames and he shows an unsettling grin. Around him, there are dozens of ghouls ready to attack. Paranoia is sitting on a throne next to him. He shows the same evil grin]

VIRGIL: My God, look at his eyes… What have you down to my son, you bastard!?

PALADIN: Is that the way of greeting your son after so many weeks, dad?

VIRGIL: I’m not your dad and you’re not my son. But you’re usurping his body. Leave my child alone!

PALADIN: Blah, blah, blah… this is getting monotonous, isn’t it? You are outnumbered. You know you can’t do anything against me, and… [the door behind them slams as it closes] … you can’t escape from this room and no one can get in. You just walked into the lion’s dent, and the funniest thing is you already knew. You’re in my hands now.

THOMAS: Think twice, Paladin. You’re gonna regret letting us into this room so easily. We’re coming for you, in case you didn’t notice, and we’re gonna put an end to your reign of terror in this cave once and for all.

PALADIN: Ooh, I’m shaking… You and what army?

ROMAN: This army!

[Roman points at the closed door. Nothing happens. Crickets are heard in the silence]

VIRGIL: [whispering, anxiously] What are you doing, Roman?

ROMAN: Dang it, it always works on the movies. And I hoped our friends would be here by this time…

PALADIN: [beat, then clears his throat] Well… this is fun… but, like I said, it’s time for you to face destiny. [to the ghouls] Capture Thomas and Patton alive and unharmed, we don’t want cataclysms in my domains, do we? As about the others… kill them.

THOMAS: Not so fast. Nico, are you ready?

NICO: Ready if you are.

[Thomas and Nico hold hands and a bright aura surrounds them]

PALADIN: [smirks] Are you sure you guys want to do that? One more blow like the one in the defile could be Patton’s last, and if he dies, as Patton is a former Master, without him all of the Mind Palace would collapse and Thomas would die. Are you willing to take that risk?

[Thomas doubts and the aura disappears]

PALADIN: Didn’t think so… Get them, my pets.

PATTON: Kiddos, don’t worry about me! Do whatever you must!

THOMAS: But the Paladin, even if a son of a b… is right. We can’t take the risk. If we destroy you, we would all die.

NICO: Dios, no…

PATTON: Gosh… I’m so sorry I’m so weak and useless, kiddos. But still, you must try. I don’t think I would die, I feel strong enough to cope at least with one more attack.

THOMAS: Still, it scares me that…

PATTON: [determined] Please, kiddos, trust me. I can cope. For all of you, I will cope!

THOMAS: Okay… As you wish, Patton, I’ll trust you. Let’s do it, Nico.

NICO: Okay… Like I said, I’ll go to the end of the world with you. Let’s hope it’s not the end of this world…

[Thomas and Nico hold hands again and the aura reappears]

PALADIN: No! Have you lost your common sense!? If you destroy Patton, you’ll destroy all of us! Stop it!

PARANOIA: [running towards the Paladin] My lord, be careful!

[the aura gets brighter and brighter, until it explodes in a wave at light speed. All the ghouls surrounding the gang groan and fall down unconscious. Paranoia puts himself in front of the Paladin, acting as a shield and gets all the strength of the attack]

PARANOIA: For my lord and owner, always! Gaaaah!!!

[Paranoia explodes in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke disperses, there’s no sign of him. There’s a few seconds of silence. The ghouls in the castle start waking up]

GHOUL #1: What’s happened…

GHOUL #2: I remember everything… but it’s the first time I can move my arms on my own free will in months…

GHOUL #3: I’m free…

VIRGIL: Your reign of terror is over, Paladin. You have lost your army and the control of this Cave.

[the front doors open. The ghouls from the defile come in]

VIRGIL: All the Ghouls from this Cave are out of your control now, and they’re demanding justice. If you don’t surrender now and free my son, you’ll only be making things worse for you.

PALADIN: Do you really think this is all over? Look at Patton.

[everyone looks at Patton. His body is shaking and he’s showing signs of being under indescribable pain]

VIRGIL: [scared] Dad? Are you okay!?

[Patton doesn’t say a word. Suddenly his face relaxes and he collapses on the floor]

VIRGIL: [running towards Patton] Dad!

LOGAN: [also running to him] Patton!

[the Paladin tries to walk to the back door, but he’s quickly surrounded by ghouls. Virgil kneels down and puts Patton’s head on his legs. Logan puts his hand on Patton’s chest. An indigo aura surrounds both Patton and Logan]

VIRGIL: How is Patton, Logan?

[the indigo aura disappears]

LOGAN: He’s just passed out. He honored his promise of coping with Thomas’ attack and not dying… but he just couldn’t resist the pain. It made him faint. In a few minutes, he’ll wake up.

VIRGIL: Thank goodness…

LOGAN: But in the meantime…

THOMAS: [his voice sounds like an automaton] What? Why are you all so concerned? He’ll wake up when he has to. Now we gotta kill that Paladin.

NICO: Thomas?

THOMAS: Would you mind letting go of my hand? It’s sweaty and it’s disgusting.

NICO: What…?

LOGAN: Just as I feared. Patton is Thomas’ feelings and morality. With him out, Thomas simply lacks the capacity to feel love and compassion, not to mention to distinguish between right and wrong.

NICO: That means…?

LOGAN: That means that, in this state, Thomas has stopped loving you, Nico. I’m sorry. That also means that your attack against the Paladin is disabled for the time being. But don’t worry, as soon as Patton wakes up…

PALADIN: I won’t give you the time! Everyone freeze! If anyone moves, I’ll kill this son of a b…!

[the Paladin has grabbed one of the ghouls and is threatening him with a dagger]

VIRGIL: Don’t make things worse for you, Paladin! Leave that ghoul alone!

PALADIN: Do you think I’m stupid? I know how your plan goes next and what awaits me if I let you get me. And I swear I’ll kill him and anyone that threatens me. And remember I’m still inside Dillon’s body. If you hurt me, it’s him you’re hurting! Who knows? Maybe if you force me, I’ll stab myself just to see you in despair over losing your precious son!

ROMAN: You bastard! You f***ng, f****ng bastard!

PALADIN: Thank you, Roman, your compliments flatter me. Now let me go, or first the ghoul and then your son will perish!

NICO: Thomas, you gotta do something!

THOMAS: Let them kill each other, for all I care…

NICO: Thomas, I know this is not you. This is just that your love engine has stalled, that’s all. But I know, inside yourself, you still love us. You still love me. Please, remember your love for us, Thomas. Please!

[Thomas looks at Nico with disdain. Nico, not knowing what do to, hugs Thomas and then kisses him. At first, Thomas timidly tries to push Nico back, but Nico has Thomas well hugged and doesn’t move an inch. After a couple of seconds, he stops struggling. And a couple more seconds later, Thomashugs Nico and kisses him back, passionately. There’s a flash around him, a flash that also happens around Patton, who wakes up]

PATTON: Ooof… What happened?

VIRGIL: Dad, are you okay?

PATTON: I think so…

[Thomas and Nico stop kissing. Thomas smiles at Nico]

THOMAS: Thank you for helping me start my love engine again, Nico. I’m sorry for what I said.

NICO: [smiling happy] It’s okay, Thomas. I’m so happy to see you back.

THOMAS: Patton, are you okay?

PATTON: Yes, kiddo. Everything hurts, though, but I think I can stand up. But I don’t think I could stand one more blow, guys, I’m very sorry.

THOMAS: Don’t worry, I don’t think it will be necessary to use that attack again.

PATTON: What? And why is that?

THOMAS: You see, when Nico kissed me and ignited my feelings back, when I felt that flash… for a moment it was like I was one with you, Patton. In that state, suddenly I heard two voices in my head.

NICO: Two voices?

THOMAS: It was the Light Master… and the Dark Master, loud and clear as we heard them in the Core. They told me that, for the sake of not losing the Mind Palace to the Paladin, they had agreed to a temporal truce. They’re both gonna work as a team to help me defeat the Paladin, although I’m gonna need your help Patton.

PATTON: My help?

THOMAS: Stand behind me and put your hand on my back, and lend me any strength you have left.

PATTON: Like when we did the rainbow attack?

THOMAS: Sort of, but I just need you to balance and manifest the Light and Dark energies in me. Like when you touched me and made the Light Master speak through me, remember?

PATTON: Yes. Okay, kiddo, I’ll do my best.

[Patton, with the help of Logan, gets in place and puts his hand on Thomas’ shoulder]

PALADIN: Hey, I told you not to move! Do you really think I’m gonna let you…

THOMAS: [demonic voice, his eyes spark in green] Shut up!

[suddenly it’s as if an invisible fist punches the Paladin right on the face]

PALADIN: Aw! What the… Ow!

[the invisible fist punches the Paladin again, stunning him. He drops the dagger and the ghoul frees himself]

THOMAS: [now with a warm voice, his eyes spark in blue]Everyone make way. This won’t hurt any ghouls, but just in case.

[the ghouls open a free way between Thomas and the Paladin. The Paladin is still stunned. He shakes his head, regaining full consciousness and realizes what is going on]

PALADIN: Thomas! Don’t! You will regret it if you do this! You can’t get rid of me and you know it!

[Thomas points at the Paladin with his finger, like the Dark Master used to do, but this time his finger shines in gray instead of black]

THOMAS: Maybe you’ll always be a part of me until I die, Paladin. But at least you’ll never be a problem for my fam while the Core remains standing. Goodbye, Paladin.

PALADIN: [horrified] The Core? No! NO!

[Thomas shoots a gray beam through his finger. It hits the Paladin in the chest]

PALADIN: AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

[The Paladin opens his mouth wide. A crimson smoke starts coming out of it. As more smoke comes out, forming a cloud, the eyes in the body he was possessing, previously in bright flames, slowly fade away, until they’re normal brown. At that moment, the smoke stops surging and Dillon collapses on the ground. The crimson cloud turns then into a whirlwind, moving in all directions, knocking down any ghouls it bumps into. It starts moving in Roman’s direction]

VIRGIL: Watch out, Roman! I think that now that he’s lost his host, the Paladin wants to return into your body!

THOMAS: [with blue eyes and a warm but concerned voice]The first attack took a lot of energy from us, we need to recharge before attacking again!

ROMAN: [scared] Oh, no! Guys, don’t let him take me!

VIRGIL: Don’t you dare touch my husband, you b*tch!

[the whirlwind knocks Virgil down. Roman, scared, walks backwards until he bumps on the back wall]

ROMAN: [scared, on the verge of crying] I don’t want to feel that sickness again…

VIRGIL: [on the floor, scared] Roman!

[Suddenly, a red whip hits the whirlwind. A high pitch sound that looks like wind whistling through a window, and at the same time as a high pitch scream of pain, comes from the whirlwind, which turns back into a cloud. Everyone looks in the direction where the whip came from. Dillon has stood up and his looking at the cloud with a face of anger]

DILLON: You didn’t even let me say hello to my parents before you took control of me, you b*st*rd! Stay away from my father, you son of a b*tch!

THOMAS: Thank you, Dillon. Now we’re ready.

[Thomas points with his finger at the ground under the cloud. A new beam surges from his finger, but this time it hits the ground. When it’s gone, there’s what looks like a round crystal ball with a little hole on top]

THOMAS: As you yourself said, Paladin, it’s time for you to face your destiny!

[A gray light comes out of the crystal ball, touching the crimson cloud. The same high pitch whistling sound is heard while the cloud is absorbed into the crystal ball, which turns all crimson. When the light disappears, the hole disappears with it, making a solid, hermetically closed crystal ball, and all the sounds get silent]

THOMAS: Done… the crystal ball will hold him long enough to send him to the Core forever. He was right, though. Sending him into the Core will mean that my disorder will always be a part of me, but that was a given anyway, and as long as I keep my treatment, I’ll be fine.

ROMAN: Dillon? You… rescued me. [emotional] I came here to rescue you and in the end it was you who rescued me…

DILLON: It’s nice to meet you at last… father. And dad, are you okay?

[Virgil stands up, then looks at Dillon and his eyes fill with black tears]

VIRGIL: For the first time in months… I’m better than ever, and happier than I’ll ever be…

DILLON: [also emotional] Dad, father! I longed for this moment for so long!

[Dillon runs to them both, and the three join in a hug. As they do, Dillon’s body shines in brown. After a spark, his whole outfit has changed. He’s now wearing a brown tunic, resembling a monk, and there’s a wooden staff on the floor next to him. The whip he used as a weapon is tied to his waist as a belt. It is colored in red. He’s also wearing a purple medallion]

JANUS: What happened?

LOGAN: It seems that now that the Paladin is no longer inside him, Dillon is showing his true colors… literally. He’s the brown Side.

JANUS: But brown is not a color derivative from red and purple.

LOGAN: And he sports the red and purple in the whip and the medallion.

DILLON: Don’t overthink it, guys, it’s just that I dig the brown, and I don’t wanna have anything to do with crimson color ever again.

LOGAN: Oh, okay…

ROMAN: Tell me one thing, Dillon. Those nights when I would go to the door of the Cave until I fell asleep… I had memories of a very sweet lullaby coming from the other side of the door… Even though I always had the suspicion it was you, I thought I was dreaming until the Core told us. It was really you, right?

DILLON: When Thomas fell asleep at night… it was the only moments I was free from his influence, because the Paladin fell asleep too. I, like dad, can stay awake if I want to. The first night, I left the castle and went to the door. It was locked, of course, so I couldn’t get to the Mind Palace. And besides, everyone would be sleeping so it was useless and dangerous to try and unlock it, if it was possible. But I peeped through the hole, looking at the room at the other side. That was my distraction many nights, until one night I saw you there, next to the door, desperately fighting slumber. How I longed to make my presence known, but before I could say anything, you fell asleep completely. So, I decided to sing you lullabies every night. It was the only way I thought I could communicate to you that I was there, that I was still fighting, and that I loved you. I’m happy to know that you heard me, even if you thought it was a dream.

[Roman, all emotional, hugs Dillon and kisses him on the forehead]

ROMAN: I love you too, my son… and I swear that nothing will get between us ever again.

[Remus and Height enter the room, followed by the ghouls that had chased them]

REMUS: I’m back, did you miss me?

JANUS: It is you who’s missed all the fun here, look.

REMUS: Oh, dang-it… Is that… my nephew?

DILLON: It is, uncle. Nice to meet you too, and all of you too, fam.

REMUS: [emotional] Well…

HEIGHT: Aren’t you forgetting something, Dark Side?

REMUS: Oh, oh, yes, I did. You see, guys, we were running up the path… until we got lost in the caves.

VIRGIL: Oh, dang, I forgot, the illusions. You risked your lives going there on your own.

REMUS: The ghouls kept chasing us, while we kept running. When we realized we were lost, I said that we should face them upfront.

HEIGHT: As usual in him. Is he always that reckless in battle?

JANUS: Of course he isn’t.

HEIGHT: You’re lying, right?

JANUS: No, I’m saying the truth: Usually he’s even worse.

HEIGHT: Oh…

REMUS: As I was saying, we kept running, until… who do you think we bumped into in the middle of the caves? Ta-dah!

[some ghouls spread out and reveal Chris behind them]

VIRGIL: Chris! What are you doing here?

CHRIS: How could you, guys? How could you leave to face the Paladin without me? I wanted to participate in Dillon’s rescue as much as anyone!

VIRGIL: You were in Sandersia. How did you find out?

CHRIS: We still have the crystal ball that Roman gave to Roland to check where he was. I wanted to see how you guys were doing, and I saw all of you in the cave, right in the defile. Even though Roland tried to stop me, I got to the carriage and headed to the Cave as fast as my legs would let me. Then I got lost in the caves…

VIRGIL: Wait, wait, how did you open the door? I got the key chain.

CHRIS: I got the backup key chain. The copy that the Paladin made was still in your room. Knowing you, I knew I would find it under your pillow in your bed, and bingo, there it was.

VIRGIL: My gosh, it was such an act of recklessness, Chris, you knew there were illusions in the cave and you shouldn’t have…

CHRIS: And you shouldn’t have gone to the Cave without me! I could have been of help when everyone was shooting at you in the defile! You know I’m the best archer in the team!

ROMAN: We couldn’t wait anymore, Chris. Dillon’s time was almost over, and you were too far away in Sandersia. I hope you understand.

CHRIS: Okay, what’s done, is done, and I understand. Just warn a dude next time, okay?

DILLON: I appreciate the sentiment anyway, brother.

CHRIS: Dillon… You look… different. Brown really suits you, although you look just like you’ve escaped from the abbey in The Name of the Rose.

DILLON: I dunno, I like it. And I promise I won’t make you read a poisoned book or anything…

CHRIS: [chuckles] Oh, just shut up and hug me, brother!

[the two brothers hug tightly]

ROMAN: You left your story unfinished, Remus. What happened after you bumped into Chris?

REMUS: Bah, the rest is kinda boring. Suddenly the ghouls chasing us stopped and went back to their senses, and they helped us walk through the cave and back to the castle.

ROMAN: I see. That was probably when Paranoia blew away. What I don’t understand is why he was the only ghoul destroyed by the light wave, while all other ghouls just came back to their senses.

VIRGIL: Well, he wasn’t an ordinary ghoul. He was created by the Paladin, so he was pure evil. There was nothing to be saved from him, that’s why he hit the dust.

ROMAN: Ah, gotcha.

REMUS: Jeez, I missed all the fun. I wish I could have seen that son of a b… blow away.

JANUS: You’ll never change, Remus…

HEIGHT: I cannot thank you guys enough for what you’ve done for us. You’ve freed my people.

THOMAS: Glad that we could help.

VIRGIL: I’m sorry I let this place go to waste. As your king, I had a responsibility with you and I didn’t deliver, so I apologize.

HEIGHT: It’s forgotten, your majesty.

VIRGIL: I have to return now to the Mind Palace. I’m still a Side, and Thomas and the others need me. However, I won’t leave you all alone, not completely.

HEIGHT: Then how…?

VIRGIL: I’m leaving here a couple of regent governors who will be my eyes and ears about everything happening here. I’m gonna trust them with the administration of the Cave and I’m sure they’ll do everything in their hand so that something like this never happens again.

[Virgil invokes a couple of purple crystal balls]

VIRGIL: Height, Vertigo, are you willing to take this task in your hands? I couldn’t think of anyone better than you for it and I trust you with all my heart. What do you say?

HEIGHT: Oh, wow… this was unexpected, your majesty. What do you think, Vertigo?

VERTIGO: If it’s your desire, your majesty, I accept.

VIRGIL: Not because it’s my desire, I want you to make the choice on your own free will. Forget that I’m a king or anything and think of me as an emo friend. What do you say?

VERTIGO: I’m in.

HEIGHT: Me too. Thank you, your majesty, for the trust you put in us.

VIRGIL: Please, don’t call me your majesty. It’s much too formal and we’re friends. Just call me Virgil, or even better, just call me Virge.

HEIGHT: Okay… Virge.

THOMAS: Well, I think we should be going now. It’s gonna be a long way to return to Virgil’s room. Then we’ll go to the Mind Palace Center and throw this ball of sss… smoke where it belongs.

VIRGIL: You can use the crystal balls to contact me, should some emergency happen.

HEIGHT: Got it. I’d wish Rejection was here to see this moment of joy… I’ll miss him so much.

REMUS: Speaking about Rejection… I wanted to apologize over how I treated you earlier. I had no right to be so threatening when you were just moaning over your loss.

HEIGHT: It’s okay. We were all nervous and distressed over what had just happened. I apologize too, I was too harsh over you when in reality what happened would have happened anyway as it was luck what decided our destinies.

REMUS: I’m glad we could talk this out, even briefly, before we left. I would have hated to leave on bad terms with you, ghoul.

HEIGHT: [chortles] Yes, but all’s well that ends well, Dark Side.

CHRIS: What are they talking about?

ROMAN: We’ll tell you on the way. Okay, goodbye everyone. I wish you many years of peace in this cave.

VIRGIL: Until we meet again, everyone. Goodbye!

[The gang heads towards the galleries. They keep talking about all kinds of things while they take the way back to the Mind Palace]

[end card]

[days have passed. Nico is having lunch with Thomas in the living room]

NICO: Why do you keep saying you can’t cook, Thomas? I think you’re an excellent chef, if you ask for my opinion.

THOMAS: Thanks, Nico, it’s just that when I know you're coming over for lunch, I take the effort to do it the best that I can.

NICO: Well, it shows, certainly.

THOMAS: You flatter me.

NICO: Thomas…

THOMAS: Yes?

NICO: I’ve been thinking of something lately. An idea that hasn’t left my mind in the last few days.

THOMAS: What is it?

NICO: Remember what I told you when we got out of the Core? That since we got out, I felt like I was a part of you and you were a part of me too, and we were like one, destined to be together for all of our lives?

THOMAS: Yes, I do.

NICO: I still feel like that. To the point that every moment I spend away from you… it’s like a part of me is missing, you know? Wow, that sounds really clingy, I’m sorry…

THOMAS: Don’t apologize, I feel the same too. And it’s weird, because you’re not my first boyfriend. Like I told you, I had a very bad breakup a couple years ago with someone I really felt close to… but even so, that story pales in comparison with ours. I never ever felt this way for anyone. I never felt what I feel for you before in my life. It’s like I never really loved until I started loving you back at the mall.

NICO: Which leads to my question.

[Nico approaches Thomas and holds both of his hands]

NICO: I understand that this is sudden and I’ll understand if you don’t feel ready… But I think… that we are ready to live together in the same house, as an official couple.

THOMAS: You make it sound like a marriage proposal, Nico.

NICO: It’s too soon for that, but if it wasn’t that soon, it is exactly what it would be… Look, I even got the ring and everything.

[Nico pulls out a box from a pocket, opens it and shows a shining diamond ring]

THOMAS: Oh… my goodness…

NICO: So, what do you say? Do you accept me as your partner in life?

THOMAS: Only if you accept me too… Because, you see… [Thomas picks up another box from his pocket and opens it, with another diamond ring inside] You’re not the only one who was planning on proposing today, you know?

[Nico looks at Thomas with a face of surprise. Then they both start laughing lively and put each ring on each other’s finger]

NICO: We’re truly one mind split into two bodies, aren’t we?

THOMAS: Yep, we’re meant for each other and I can’t wait to start our life together.

[Nico and Thomas kiss. In Roman’s corner, Roman and Virgil watch the scene, Roman is crying like a baby and Virgil’s eyeshadow shines in glittery purple]

ROMAN: Aren’t they cute, Virge?

VIRGIL: Yes they are. And I have no doubt they’ll live happily ever after. And I’ll deny having said that sappy phrase, okay?

ROMAN: Okay, my love. Let’s go back home, okay?

VIRGIL: Yes…

[Roman and Virgil look at the camera]

ROMAN: Until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals.

VIRGIL: Peace out!