#but i just feel like they’d have roman noses and dark curly hair and those french eyebrows

[euphorial-docx]

the black family is so pretty because they have aquiline noses, curly hair, and a whole lot of eyebrows. any other interpretation is wrong.

[crackerjackawrites]

Journey to the Giggling Glade, or, Adventures of a Cottagecore NB Who Works in a Cafe (6k Words)

 Roman heads to a magical forest to gather some plants for their boss, Clara. But things don’t go as planned when Roman stumbles upon a mysterious figure outside the forest. (originally written August 2021)

“Roman!”

Roman darted past a server, nearly sending the plate of roast beef and vegetables crashing to the floor. They scurried past a chef leaning over a saucepan, disrupting his chanting and making him drop a half conjured tomato into the pan, it immediately began to sizzle. They ran through a large cloud of steam, taking in the rich smell of the sauce that was boiling just next to them. Finally, they got to the other side of the kitchen. Clara was standing there, her arms folded. Despite her mean demeanor, she was beaming, as always.

“Yes, Miss Clara?” panted Roman.

“I need you for an errand, dearie. I’ve just run out of spitebark root. Could you go out and get some for me, please?”

“Of course, Miss Clara,” said Roman, “Which store is that from again?”

Clara chuckled heartily, “Oh, dearie. It’s not from any store. You need to go out to the Giggling Glade.”

Roman’s face dropped, they couldn’t go out to the Glade! 

“I can’t go out to the Glade!” they said.

“Why of course you can, dearie. Come with me!”

Clara shuffled out of the bustling kitchen and into her private office. Roman had only been in there once before, when they first applied to work at Clara’s. Clara walked over to the side of the room, where a small table with two built-in hobs lay. The stove clicked as Clara set the temperature, before it finally ignited with flames. She grabbed a frying pan and placed it over the fire, then she began to cast into the pan. 

She placed her hand calmly in the centre of the pan, the roaring fire beneath not seeming to bother her at all. Granny hands, figured Roman, they were fireproof. She closed her eyes and exhaled, oil began to pool at her fingertips. The oil spread out until a thin layer covered the whole pan. As the oil began to boil, Clara clapped her hands together and separated them, between her palms appeared a rolled up piece of thin, edible wrapper with what looked to be chocolate inside. She placed the creation into the pan.

“These are ji-ai,” she said while summoning another into her hands and laying it beside the first, “a recipe from Western Piasohn. That’s not the important thing, though.” she waggled a third ji-ai at Roman, “I’m enchanting these. If you get injured, eat one and it will help. I’ll make you three, that should be plenty.” 

Clara turned from the three ji-ais in the pan. The smell of melting chocolate danced its way over to Roman and up their nose. The rich sweetness reminded them of a recipe their father used to make. Clara took a small bowl, placed her hand into it and concentrated again. Instead of filling with oil, the bowl began to fill with a golden sugar. 

“Now, spitebark is a funny little plant. They’re named spitebarks because they hate growing near each other. In fact, they hate each other so much that the flowers face in the complete opposite direction to the nearest other plant. That means you can always find them in pairs! I only need two as well, so you shouldn’t need to look for long - one will be for planting and the other will be for experimenting as soon as you get back.”

Clara turned back to the pan, the ji-ais were nicely browning. She flipped them over in the oil and walked over to a bookshelf. She grabbed a book and flicked through it before finding the right page.

“These are spitebarks,” she said, pointing to a drawing of a long, thin, brown plant. It looked like a twig from a tree had been planted in the ground. Clara moved her finger down the illustration, stopping at the large root at the bottom, “This is what I need, you can cut the rest of the plant off when you find it.” 

Clara reached into the pan and took out the first ji-ai, she rolled it around in the sugar until it was lightly coated, then she placed it onto a white napkin. She did this with the other two before wrapping them up. She then placed the napkin into a small pouch and handed it to Roman, who tied it to their belt. 

“Here you go, dearie! Now, you know how to get to the Glade, don’t you?”

Of course they knew how to get to the Glade, they’d been told their whole life to stay as far away from it as possible. And they had. 

Now, Roman stood before the Forest of Fables (which the Glade lay within). Clara had walked with them out of New Elmus but they had been on their own since leaving the city limits. Now all they had to do was find the Glade. It shouldn’t be hard, right? They just had to start walking and they’d stumble upon it eventually. That was the magic of the Glade - all it took was one step. But Roman had never been to the Glade before, they had no idea what lay within it. Their mother had told them time and time again to never go in but she never said why. Roman had no idea what to expect once they were inside. 

The wind whistling through the trees pulled Roman out of their thoughts and back into the real world. They had been standing at the edge of the forest for some ten minutes now, debating whether to enter or not. Clara would be furious if they came back empty handed. Roman had never seen Clara mad before, even the thought of it was breaking their heart. They had to get the spitebark. They just had to take that first step…

“Oi!” 

It was a voice from behind, Roman spun. Before them stood a tall, lean man with curly, blonde hair. He had his arms crossed and Roman imagined that if he were nearer the forest he would’ve been casually leaning against a tree. His smirk was that of a man who had many secrets, some his own and some belonging to others. He began to approach Roman, walking with a swagger that they were completely expecting, yet was still impressed by. As he got closer, Roman noticed his stark, emerald eyes.

He spoke again, “What’s someone like you doing out here? Didn’t your parents tell you that you shouldn’t go near the Forest of Fables?”

“I’m not a kid.” said Roman, bluntly, “Who are you, anyways?”

The man scoffed, “Haven’t you heard of me?” Roman genuinely hadn’t. The man paused for a second, expecting an answer, but continued once he realised he wouldn’t get one, “The name’s Bailey. Bailey Giload: mercenary for hire.”

“So, what, you’re out here to kill something?”

“Not today, my friend.” Bailey placed an arm over Roman. They flinched, but settled quickly, “Work’s been slow this week so I’ve had to expand my reach. I’m going shopping.”

Roman muttered, “Wait...” under their breath.

Bailey continued, “I’ve been sent out here by Fergus Ford of the Magnificent Beast Bakery. He told me to get him some spitebark root.” So many thoughts were flying through Roman’s head that they couldn’t get anything out before Bailey started speaking again, “But enough about me. You never answered my question; what are you doing in the Forest of Fables?”

In? thought Roman. Then they looked around. Since when had they started walking? Something about Bailey’s confidence had seeped into Roman, singel handedly slaying any intimidation they felt. From the forest, at least.

“I was… just… coming here to see what it’s like. Yeah. I thought maybe I could face my fears and finally try and go to the Glade.”

“You’re going to the Glade?” asked Bailey. 

“Yup.”

“Maybe I could help you out? I feel like I’m a tad more prepared than you are.” Bailey looked Roman up and down, then smirked.

Roman looked down at themselves, they were still mostly wearing the uniform from Clara’s. Then they looked at Bailey, he sported light armour that allowed for significantly more flexibility than the shirt and trousers that Roman wore. There was also a cutlass sheathed at his waist, which Roman imagined Bailey would whip out at any sign of danger, ready to protect them from whatever lay ahead. Then, after the monster was defeated, Bailey would look over to Roman and-

“Stop.” whispered Bailey. 

Roman froze in place and turned to Bailey. They whispered back, “What is it?” 

Bailey pointed deeper into the woods. Roman looked past the thick, mossy trees nearby, but they couldn’t spot what he was pointing at. Then, suddenly, something darted between two trees. Roman didn’t catch what it was. 

“Just stay calm.”

It jumped again, this time Roman saw it. The creature was lanky and covered in dark fur. Something shone from it as it moved. A weapon, maybe. It was hard to see any details from that distance. The creature continued to leap between the trees, slowly making its way over Roman and Bailey’s heads. 

Once it had left their sight, Roman asked, “What was that thing?”

“You’ve never seen an eavener before?”

“That’s an eavener?”

“Please don’t tell me you’ve only ever seen them in those Jaz Carpenter books?”

Roman paused, then looked down at their feet. Bailey struggled to stifle a laugh. 

Bailey continued, smirking and shaking his head, “You’re really not fit for being out here. Maybe you should turn back.”

“No,” said Roman. Bailey looked up, taken aback by their bluntness. “I have to get to the Glade.”

“Alright, fine. But don’t go hurting yourself.”

The two continued walking, only stopping for Bailey to take a drink from a pouch he had strapped to the side of his backpack. Roman sat on a tree stump opposite him. The smells of the forest were pungent now: wet dirt, wet bark and flowers that Roman couldn’t identify.

Bailey looked over, “I haven’t seen you drink anything this whole journey, why?”

“I didn’t bring water.”

Bailey’s eyes widened this time. They lowered the bottle from their mouth, “Oh my God, Roman,” suddenly Bailey’s whole demeanor changed, the once cocky persona melted away to reveal caring eyes and genuine worry. Bailey handed his pouch to Roman, “Here, take it. Finish it for all I care. Once we get back out of here I’m gonna teach you everything. I can tell you want to be out here adventuring but you’re clearly not prepared for it. Would that be alright?”

Roman put the pouch to their mouth. They didn’t drink enough to finish it, but it was still a significant swig. “Thank you,” they said.

“Cool,” said Bailey, “It’s a date.”

Roman nearly spat the water from their mouth, then they swallowed, “A date?”

“I mean,” Bailey perched on the stump next to Roman, “If you want to call it that.” 

He reached out for Roman’s hand. A heat rose within Roman, like coal being furiously shoveled into a furnace.

“I’d love to,” the hearth of their heart was erupting now. No one had ever seen them in this way before, and Roman had never seen anyone the way they were seeing Bailey right now.

Bailey closed his eyes and lent forward, Roman quickly caught on and followed suit. When their lips locked it was like nothing Roman had ever felt before. 

Then there was a thud and the sound of leaves rustling. Bailey let out a cry, nearly biting Roman’s lip. Roman’s eyes snapped open, they were still face-to-face with Bailey, but behind him stood the eavener. It loomed over Bailey, its long body taking it to nearly six foot when it stood on its hind legs. Its head was like that of a weasel. Roman bolted up from the stump and began to back away from the beast. 

“Please, stay back,” they said.

The eavener jumped from the stump, tearing its arms out of Bailey’s back. Roman saw that it had a piece of sharp flint in each hand. They were covered in blood now. Bailey’s blood.

It began to speak in a low whisper, “Get out of here while you can. And do not associate yourself with this human.” Then it leaped high into a nearby tree and scampered up it. 

“Bailey!” called Roman, running over to him. Bailey had fallen back after the eavener had jumped off of him and now he lay slumped over the stump he sat on.

His voice was frail, “Get out, Roman.... Save yourself.”

“No!” said Roman, “I can save you.” Roman untied the pouch from their waist and pulled out a ji-ai, “Here, take this.”

They fed Bailey the healing pastry, desperately hoping it would cure him like Clara said it should. But what if the wound was too large? Or what if the eavener had some sort of magical poison that gourmantic food couldn’t heal?

“Thank you,” said Bailey, “But why?” Then, his eyes widened and his face beamed with realisation.

“See?” said Roman, “Maybe I’m not all that useless after all.”

“No,” he said, colour already beginning to flood back into his face, “Saving me once doesn’t excuse forgetting to bring water.”

“Okay, fair,” said Roman, smirking.

The two sat there for a moment, Bailey still lying down on the stump and Roman sitting up next to him. They stared into each other’s eyes, living the moment. 

Bailey broke the silence, “So… are you going to tell me where you got those from? You don’t seem like you’d be prepared or experienced enough to bring something like that.”

Busted, thought Roman. They sighed, “Fine. I’m here to get spitebark root too. I’m here for Clara.”

Bailey sat up, “What?”

“Look-”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

“It just never c-”

Bailey jumped up from the log, “We kissed! You should’ve said before that!”

“It never came up!”

“It shouldn’t need to come up!”

Roman looked away, “Look, okay,” they said, “You’re not perfect either!”

“What do you mean?”

“The eavener told me. It said, ‘do not associate with this man.’ There’s something up with you, too.”

“Wait, when did it say that?”

“Right after it stabbed you! You were probably too busy wailing to hear.”

“Oh c’mon! Now you’re picking on me for screaming in pain after I got stabbed!”

Roman paused, “No. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” Bailey smiled weakly.

Roman couldn’t help but beam back at him, “God damn it. You’re too cute for your own good!”

“No more secrets?”

“No more secrets.”

“Great!” Bailey spun around, before pointing in the direction they had been heading before, “Then let us continue.”

“Alright,” said Roman, following Bailey, “But you said it yourself, ‘No more secrets.’ So you’ve got to tell me, what did the eavener mean?”

Bailey huffed, “Fine.” He looked thoughtful for a second, probably thinking through what he was going to say. “The eavener’s don’t like me because of an old job I had. I can’t tell you who it was for - client confidentiality and all that - but suffice it to say they were powerful and rich. This was back when I had a party, there were four of us. I don’t really want to talk about them though. Anyway, we were asked by this client to go to the Forest of Fables and find the eaveners’ hideout, so that the client could bring in their army to eradicate them.”

“An army?” asked Roman, “Who was this guy, the king?”

Bailey glanced at Roman, his face blank, innocent.

“Oh.” said Roman, they looked down at their feet “Right.”

“Yeah,” continued Bailey, “After we arrived in the Glade it didn’t take long to find the eavener huts. You know how this place works. You’ll find what you’re looking for. They build their houses in the treetops, y’know? Put leaves underneath them to camouflage with the canopy. We only noticed them after a bird flew overhead and made…” Bailey mumbled a name, “-look up.” He took a long breath, Roman wrapped their arm over his shoulder. “We joked that we might have already walked past them and that the Forest was desperately trying to get us to find what we were looking for.” Bailey chuckled, and tears welled up in his eyes. He sniffed, “It didn’t go well, Roman. We were ambushed. I was the only one who made it out. And now the King thinks we’re all dead and if he knew I was alive he’d sure as hell try to stop me! And so now I’m stuck in mercenary limbo. I change my name for every job so that no one can track me.”

“Does that mean-?” 

“Bailey’s not my real name, no. But I don’t really have a real name. My birth name belonged to someone who abandons their team when anything goes wrong. I’m different now. And I’ve never settled on one name since. Maybe Bailey can become my real name. Since it’s what I was using when I finally found someone worth having an identity for.”

Roman stopped, “That’s…” The flood gates opened, Roman wasn’t expecting it to be theirs. They flung their arms around Bailey. Bawling, Roman said, “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me!”

Bailey patted Roman’s head then returned the hug, “Y’know,” he said, “We’re never going to get to the Glade if you keep stopping to be this cute!”

“Alright, alright,” said Roman, collecting themself, “Let’s go!”

Bailey squinted, “Is that-? Oh my God it is! Roman, we’re finally here!”

Roman gasped, and the pair ran towards the glade.

Bailey burst into the Glade, and Roman stumbled out not too long after. It was filled with bright light which highlighted the tall, radiant grass and sparkled off of a stream that travelled through. There were rocks neatly placed around, it almost looked too perfect to be real, but magic did that sometimes. A gust of wind blew towards the pair, when it moved through the trees behind them it sounded like laughter. That was how the Giggling Glade got its name. 

By the time Roman had struggled past the bushes and branches at the Glade’s borders and gotten used to the sudden change in brightness due to the lack of canopy, Bailey had already clambered up a rock and was scouting the area, his hand placed firmly at his brow to block out the sun. 

Roman called up to him, “Any specific place to look for spitebark?”

“I don’t know. This is my first time too.”

“You have first times? I figured you’d have already done everything there is to do.”

Bailey laughed, “Hey, there’s a difference between being better than you and being the best, a big one. Anyway I don’t think scouting up here is doing any good for finding the spitebark. From my understanding, they’re pretty small.”

“Why were you up here then?”

“Force of habit. Either that or some desperate hope that they’d be here.”

“Oh,” muttered Roman, but Bailey paid them no mind as he began to climb down.

Once he reached the bottom, Bailey looked full of energy again, “So,” he said, “What’s the plan?”

“So we’re looking for those thin, brown plants. They look like sticks,” said Roman.

“Yep.”

“And they don’t grow close together, that's why they’re called spitebark.”

“Really?” said Bailey, “Ford could’ve said something about that.”

Roman smirked, “Are you saying I actually knew something out here that you didn’t?”

“I guess I concede,” Bailey knelt on the floor and bowed at Roman, “Teach me your ways, O Monarch of Agriculture!”

“Okay I get it!” Roman chuckled, “Just let me have this one win!”

Bailey began to get back up. “Fine,” he smirked. 

“We should split up, cover more ground.”

“But-” started Bailey.

“But what? Aren’t we safe here in the Glade?”

“I mean, probably. But I don’t want to risk it.”

“What if we stay within sight?” said Roman, “That way we can cover more ground while also keeping an eye on each other.”

“Fine,” said Bailey, “Honestly I just want to be near you.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet! Seriously, though, I want to find these roots and get back quick.”

Roman called from behind Bailey, “I think I’ve found some!” Bailey turned, noticing Roman pointing at a rock. They stepped behind it and knelt, vanishing out of Bailey’s sight.

“Hey!” called Bailey, running over.

Roman popped back up, “What?”

“No leaving each other’s sight, remember!”

Roman scoffed, “Fine. Get over here then!”

As Bailey rounded the rock, Roman pointed at a plant. It was taller than Bailey expected, nearly coming up to his chest - or Roman’s chin. 

“Alright so this is one,” said Roman, kneeling down to grab at the base, “We need the roots so I’ve got to dig it up. At least I was given a spade.”

Bailey smiled, “Is there anything I can do?” he asked. 

“Only start trying to find another one.”

“Y’know what?” said Bailey, “I think I’m fine watching you dig actually. I’ll do the next one, though.”

Roman finished digging the dirt around the spitebark and lifted it up. At the bottom of the stem was a large, muddy bulb.

“Here it is!” they said, “Our first spitebark root!”

“We did it!” 

“Just one more to go for me! How many do you need?”

“Ford wants fifty.”

Roman flinched, “Fifty? That’s insane! How much is he even paying you for that?”

“Twenty five garsons, he said they were worth a half each.”

“I don’t even think there’s fifty in the whole Glade! These things are so rare they go for at least twelve garsons each.”

“What! You’re kidding, right?”

“No! He must’ve figured that he could rip you off because you don’t know about them.”

Bailey was boiling inside. How dare he? How dare Ford undercut him like that? Bailey spoke, “When we get back, I am gonna get that b-”

“Hey, hey, hey! I know what you’re thinking.” Roman looked down to Bailey’s hand, Bailey followed their gaze. Since when had he gotten his cutlass out? “We can speak to Clara when you get back. He’ll respect her. Everyone respects her. And he sure doesn’t deserve your blade.”

“You’re right.” said Bailey, resheathing his sword. He turned to Roman, “Hey, maybe I’ll start working for Clara when we get back. We would see each other more.”

“I’d like that,” said Roman, smiling, “Alright! Back to the search.”

“At least now we know there won’t be any around here,” said Bailey, gesturing vaguely in a circle around where they both stood. 

“Now that we’ve found one, another shouldn’t be hard. They point away from the nearest other plant.” There was a small flower bud at the top of the bark, it pointed out slightly. Bailey had thought nothing special of it until just then, 

“If I remember correctly,” continued Roman, “it was pointing that way before I dug it up,” they pointed right, “So we need to go that way,” Roman pointed left, then turned to Bailey, ”Sorry if I’m boring you by the way, I’m sure you knew all this.”

“Actually I didn’t. It seems like Ford wasn’t as useful as he seemed.”

Roman laughed, “It’s so weird. It’s like he just wanted you to get lost out here.” before turning to walk to the next spitebark.

That phrase echoed in Bailey’s mind. He just wanted you to get lost out here.

Roman turned back, realising that Bailey hadn’t moved yet. Then they realised, “You don’t think...?”

“Actually, Roman,” said Bailey, “I do think. I think he set me up! He sent me here knowing how dangerous it can be and would have had me sit here for hours hunting for something I’ll never find. Until what? Until I get found by eaveners? Until I’m overcome with the emotions of returning and just off myself right in the middle of the Glade? Until I go crazy and start seeing the ghosts of my dead friends?-”

There was a rustling from behind Roman, Bailey looked past them. Something was in the bushes.

Roman saw Bailey’s face drop.

“What is it?” they asked.

Bailey raised a shuddering hand, and pointed over Roman’s shoulder, they turned. 

Before Roman stood three humanoid figures, their skin was an ashen grey and their eyes were orbs of pale green light. The first was a tall, muscular figure who wore heavy armour and wielded a long spear. Beside him stood a shorter woman with a flowing robe, her hands were held out and magical fire was sputtering in them. Behind the two figures loomed a huge, bare chested man, his battleaxe’s head looked bigger than Roman’s entire torso. Each of the figures' clothing matched the grey of their skin. Roman also noticed green tentacles of energy wavered from the backs of their necks and into the bushes behind.

Bailey spoke first, “It’s them.”

The largest of the three let out a roaring battle cry as he and the other man ran towards Roman, the woman dodged to the side, the flames in her hands growing in intensity.

“Run!” called Bailey, but Roman couldn’t. They stood petrified as this colossus of a man stomped towards them, shuddering the ground with each step.

Bailey called again, “Roman!” But it was useless. The colossus brought his axe up, preparing to swing and-

Roman was tackled to the ground. The axe cleaved through the air, missing Roman’s head by inches. Roman looked around, Bailey lay next to them, his arms wrapped around Roman’s torso. His eyes were wide with terror, which slowly lowered to relief as they locked with Roman’s. 

Bailey sighed, but before he could say anything the other fighter charged towards them. He raised his spear and prepared to strike, but Bailey whipped out his cutlass and knocked the spear aside, spiking it into the dirt.

Roman scampered to their feet, noticing the colossus had lodged his axe into the ground and was struggling to pull it out. Bailey dueled with the spearman, deftly dodging his lunges and parrying those he couldn’t duck out of the way of. The woman’s fire had grown to an immense size, she was now holding a single flame between both her hands and was preparing to throw it towards Bailey.

It was Roman who called to Bailey this time, “Bailey! Over there!” Bailey looked up to Roman and then followed their pointing arm. He saw the huge fireball just as it was leaving the caster’s hands. He jumped away from the spearman and behind a nearby rock. The spearman stood still and emotionless as the fireball engulfed him. Roman covered their face with their hands as the heavy heat stampeded over them. They cried out as it lightly burnt their forearms.

Once the blast cleared, Roman lowered their arms. The grey figure still stood within the rubble. Roman looked over to Bailey, he was peeking over the stone and staring at the spearman in awe.

There must be something with that green magic, thought Roman. Looking once again at the tendril that went from the spearman’s neck. It still led towards those bushes. Roman ran to the rock that Bailey was still crouched behind, it seemed like the fireball had disoriented the spearman, he didn’t know where either of them had gone. 

Roman whispered, “Bailey!”

He turned, “What are you still doing here?” he said, exacerbatedly, “You need to get out! Run!”

“I can’t leave you here alone,” said Roman, “Anyway, I think I know what we need to do. We need to follow the magic that’s coming from them, maybe we can find a way to… I don’t know, turn it off?”

“Do you know how to turn magic off?”

“Not with magic, no. But we could kill it.”

Bailey shrugged, “Well it’s better than trying to kill them, did you see what that fireball did to Fabian?”

Fabian, that must be the spearman. 

“Alright, let’s g-”

A deafening roar sounded from behind them. Roman turned. The colossus stood before them, holding his axe high over his head. He brought it down. Roman and Bailey jumped in opposite directions, the axe cleaving right where Bailey was just standing. 

Bailey looked at Roman, they pointed towards the bush that the tendrils were wavering to. The two ran toward it, leaving the colossus to heave it’s axe from the ground once more. 

As they reached the bush, another fireball cracked overhead. It collided with the trees, sending them careening away. The stumps that remained began to burn, before the flames tapered themselves out magically. 

“Now what?” asked Bailey.

“I don’t know.” said Roman, “Just stab into it?”

Cutlass drawn, Bailey tiptoed up to the bush. He raised his arm to strike when something big and dark brown burst from the bush and tackled him to the ground. It was an eavener! It sat on top of Bailey, the three green tendrils leading straight into its head. The eavener raised one of its flint daggers to strike.

“No!” called Roman, running at the eavener. They tackled it off of Bailey. The eavener squirmed in Roman’s grip, slashing at their forearms with the stone blades. Roman screamed as the blades tore up their arm, like a pack of wolves tearing up fresh prey.

Then, all of a sudden, the flailing stopped. 

Roman looked up at the eavener, a sword was lodged into its chest, Bailey’s sword! Roman followed the curve of the blade and saw Bailey at the other end. He looked deeply troubled. Roman leapt up and spread his arms towards Bailey, then flinched as the movement caused a searing pain to travel up his forearms. Roman looked innocently up at him, he had already dipped back into that caring focus he had shown at Roman’s lack of water.

“Where are those roll-things you had before?” he said, quickly.

Roman slowly moved their arm to point at the pouch, careful not to bring back the stinging pain. Bailey deftly untied it from Roman’s side and opened it, pulling out one of the ji-ais. Roman opened their mouth as Bailey gently placed it onto their tongue. They bit down on it, easily piercing the wrapping to reach the chocolate inside. It sent a warm tingling through their whole body, which slowly focused and grew in their forearms. Roman looked down at their arms, watching as the flesh around the hundreds of cuts regrew and merged with what had survived the attack. The swelling, bloodied meat looked significantly more disgusting than it felt, the magic of the ji-ais actually making the feeling quite euphoric for Roman. Once the healing had completed and the warmth died down, Roman shook their arms out, returning some of the feeling they had lost in them.  

Roman suddenly realised “What about the others?”

Bailey took a sharp breath, “Oh no.”

Roman was fully expecting the colossus to burst through at that moment. But nothing happened. Now that they thought about it, they couldn’t hear the charging of magic fire either, or any noise that might have been coming from their adversaries for that matter. All they could hear was the faint tweeting of birds some distance away.

Roman turned around, looking back out over the Glade. The three figures all stood wavering across the field, standing in place like figures on a warmap. They looked to be in some sort of trance. Bailey ran over to the spellcaster, who was the nearest. 

“Merida!” he said, holding her face in his hands, “Please! Wake up! Please!”

Merida’s grey skin became flaky in Bailey’s hand. He pulled away, but the ash stuck to him. He looked at it in disbelief.

“No! This isn't- It can’t- Merida!”

Bailey tried to embrace the caster, but his hands wafted through her, scattering the ashes into the wind. Once again he looked in shock. Roman turned to watch the others. The colossus was the most intact, likely due to his size. Then a strong breeze caught his head, dispersing it just like Merida. The wind snickered as it passed through the trees.

Some horrid joke, thought Roman. 

Roman walked up beside Bailey and stood with him, the two just watched as the spearman Fabian’s legs gave out. He collapsed onto the floor, the ashes spurting out in a circle around where he fell. The unnamed colossus also fell, knocked over by the wind. His final flourish was significantly larger than Fabian’s. 

Roman wrapped an arm around Bailey, “I’m sorry.”

Bailey just stood, his eyes wide and unfocused. Roman thought they heard him mutter something. “Thank you,” perhaps. 

“We need to get out of here.” continued Roman, pulling Bailey out of his trance slightly, “There might be more eaveners on the way.”

“Yeah,” Bailey muttered, but he wasn’t walking out of the Glade. Instead he stumbled over to the pile of ash that had been Fabian. “Let me just-” with a grunt, Bailey bent over and grabbed the spear. “I need to keep these. Preserve them.” He walked over to the colossus next and heaved the axe over his shoulder. The thing dwarfed him. Roman wasn’t sure how Bailey could even carry it.

Now that Roman understood what was happening, they walked over to Merida’s ash pile. A book lay buried in it (or in her, Roman thought, grimly), Roman hadn’t seen it during the fight. They dusted the ash from its cover, revealing an old leather-bound tome. It must be her spellbook, they thought.  

Roman turned as Bailey reached them, they showed him the book. Bailey nodded weakly. 

Roman noticed that Bailey was struggling with the massive axe, “I can take the spear if you want me to,” they said.

Bailey handed them the spear, “Be careful with it,” he warned. 

“Don’t worry, I will. I can tell what these mean to you.”

“Thank you,” Bailey turned slowly towards the forest again, “We should get going. If you want to get out of the Forest of Fables fast, you need to will it to happen. Think of New Elmus, think of people there who you want to get back to. Think of happy memories, that’s what the forest likes.”

As the two began to walk arm in arm, Roman pictured their sister, her shining, blonde hair and deep brown eyes, the smile that she gave them every time they came to visit her and their parents. They hoped she would never have to see something like what happened today. 

Then they thought of Clara. They’d only gotten the one spitebark for her, but after hearing what they’d gone through, they were sure Clara would be relieved that they had made it back at all. The experimentation will have to wait.

Lastly, they thought of Bailey. Not of present Bailey - he was right beside them - but of Bailey in the future. Maybe they could find a big house in the city and live together. Maybe Roman could continue their learning under Clara and eventually be able to cook for him every day.

Roman’s visions were cut short by a clap on the back, Bailey spoke, still solemnly, but with a cockiness that reminded Roman of their initial meeting, “Nice dreaming, champ.”

Roman opened their eyes. They were already at the edge of the Forest. “Wow,” they said, “That was fast.”

Bailey smirked, “Yeah,” he said, “Yeah it was.” He looked down at Roman, “Now, let’s get me to Clara’s.”

Knock knock. Knock knock. 

The door swung open, letting the familiar scents of the cafe float up into Roman’s nose. Before Roman and Bailey stood Clara. The small woman looked up at them, smiling.

“Ah, dearie! You’re back! And I see you’ve brought a friend,” she looked quizzically up at Bailey.

“Yes ma’am,” said Roman, “This is Bailey, he helped me out while I was in the Glade.” 

The two shared a glance and smiled, their arms were still wrapped tightly around each other.

Bailey turned to Clara and spoke, “I was wondering if you could help me out with something in return.”

---

ty @daydreamoceans for being my test audience <3

check out my other stuff tagged #gourmancy here

[vindicatedvirgil]

only fools rush in / part one: two parties and a lot of crushes

this first part is kind of all over the place. basically i just wanted to establish the dynamics going on here and i figured the best way to do so would be through group hang outs and stuff like that. it feels like i cover a lot here, but future installments will be more focused on one couple or group! sorry for the kind of wackiness and yeah.

i don’t think that there’s anything that i need to tag for this, but this part includes: QPP loceit, Remus making jokes, Roman crushing hard, Emile and Remy very briefly.

[masterlist]

if you want to be tagged when i update, please send me an ask/reply/reblog and i’ll be sure to add you for the next part! 

read to the end for the title and a small teaser for part two!

next update will be on: Sunday, July 19.

---

“Wait, you have a twin?” Patton looked at Roman in deep disbelief. “Why didn’t you get an apartment with him?” Roman just shrugged, unloading one of his boxes, hanging up his shirts. “Lo, did you know about this?”

“Yes. He’s one of Janus’ new roommates,” the man in the tie said, leaning against the wall, eyes focused on the phone in his hand as he typed quickly. Patton’s jaw dropped, and he crossed his arms, frowning. 

“Yeah, he’s moving in with Virgil Cloud, too,” Roman said, eyes focused forward, but he couldn’t hide the light dusting of pink that appeared on his cheeks. Virgil was the techie for the last school production, and Roman couldn’t help but fall for the embodiment of a dark and stormy night, with his black nail polish and purple fringe and–

“Earth to Roman,” Patton was waving a hand in front of his face. Roman blinked, then smiled awkwardly at his pastel-clad roommate. “You should invite them all to a party tonight! Logan, will you tell Jan to bring his roommates?”

“I- we were gonna…” Logan sighed, then nodded, head hanging in front of him, “I guess so.” He didn’t have the heart to tell his roommates that he and his partner had other plans for the evening, so he texted Janus quickly about the change.

Roman and Patton want you to bring your roommates over for a party tonight. We can leave early, though. -Logan

A party could be fun, Lo. Besides, I think that Virgil has a crush on Roman. ~Janus

I believe that it’s mutual. I don’t really want to stick my nose into their business, though. -Logan

-

Logan opened the door to the apartment to see Janus, Remus, and Virgil standing there. Remus was holding a twelve-pack of beer, Janus had a bottle of wine, and Virgil kept his eyes down on the floor, not acknowledging anything as the three stepped into the apartment. Logan kept the door open since it was already warm in the apartment with the three of them; the end of summer was always unbearably hot in their town. Roman immediately gravitated towards Virgil as the others went over to the kitchen counter to open their drinks.

“Hi Virgil,” Roman said, smiling brightly. “I don’t know if you remember me–”

“Of course I do,” Virgil muttered, leaning against a wall awkwardly. “You were the lead in the play last term.” Roman stammered over his words, his cheeks once again dusted with pink.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, that…” he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “You uh, did a really great job as one of the tech guys. It was… awesome.”

“Thanks.” Virgil stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, and he still hadn’t looked up at Roman.

“Can I uh… get you a drink or something? Or…” Roman’s words trailed off, he wished that Virgil would just look up at him and meet his eyes and then maybe they’d fall in love–

“Hey there!” Emile stepped in through the open front door, carrying a plate full of baked goods. “I just wanted to welcome you… oh, looks like somebody’s having a party!” Roman grumbled then went up to the man in the sweater, wondering how he could cope in the heat. “Hi there! I’m Emile Picani, I live downstairs!” “Nice to meet you. I’m Roman, and my roommates Patton and Logan are… somewhere,” he said, sticking his hand out. Emile giggled and brought the tall man in for a hug. “Oh, uh…”

“Sorry, I’m a bit of a hugger!” Emile laughed, setting the cookies down on a table. “You all go to the university? I’m working on my psychology doctorate there.” At this, Virgil perked up and came over, and Emile held his arms out for a hug.

“Please don’t,” Virgil muttered, and Emile backed up a little, giving a toothy smile. “Uh… you study psychology? I’m majoring in that…” He said shyly, and Emile pulled him by his wrist to sit down on one of the couches.

“Okay, I’m your mentor now! Let’s chat,” The two went to go sit down on the couch, and Roman frowned. Of course Virgil would be interested in chatting with someone in his field of study, but… he really wanted to talk to Virgil, maybe ask him on a date. He stuffed one of the cookies that Emile made into his mouth and groaned at how delicious they were. Of course he could bake. He’d probably be able to steal Virgil away, too.

Remus was watching this from his spot against one of the walls, and noticed his twin’s distraught demeanor. He thought about saying something, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Patton smiling brightly at something that Janus said, his sweater sleeves pushed up to his elbows, exposing colorful floral tattoos on his forearms, and that was it: Remus was smitten. He didn’t hesitate to approach the trio talking at the kitchen counter, Janus and Logan sharing a bar stool, Patton resting his chin on his hands as he listened to the pair recall how they decided to become partners over the summer break. Remus settled into a chair next to Patton, and silence fell over the table.

“I don’t believe we’ve met, cutie pie,” Remus said, raising an eyebrow at the small man. Janus and Logan exchanged a look and got up to go chat with Roman, and Patton turned his attention to focus directly on Remus.

“You must be Remus!” Patton exclaimed suddenly, eyes bright as his smile beamed at the curly-haired man, and Remus suddenly wished that he was wearing sunglasses. “I can’t believe I didn’t know that Ro had a twin!”

“Ah, you must be Patton,” Remus said, realizing that this was the roommate he didn’t know. Patton nodded excitedly. Remus stretched his hand out and grazed his fingers against the floral tattoos, and Patton shivered. “These are beautiful, though not as gorgeous as you, flower.”

“T-thank you,” Patton said, his face bright red at the fact that he was complimented and given a nickname. “Do you have tattoos?” Remus nodded and rolled up one of his jacket sleeves, revealing a morning star.

“I minor in medieval history. Weaponry is so fascinating,” he mused, and Patton nodded, brushing his short fingers over the tattoo. “I have a few more, but they’re in… unique places… Maybe I can show you someday, flower.”

“O-oh, uhm…” Patton stammered over his words, the blush spreading down to his neck and to his ears. “M-maybe…” Remus smirked, leaning closer to the small man.

“If I’m making you uncomfortable, please tell me,” He whispered, and Patton shook his head quickly, which made Remus smile. Patton wasn’t exactly Remus’ usual type; soft boys never paid much attention to those with piercings and a menacing glare, but Remus quickly realized that Patton wasn’t like the others.

“Y-You’re not…” Patton’s face was so red and warm that he felt like he could explode. No one like Remus had ever paid him this much attention. He was always taunted by jocks and punks because of his softness, but Remus? The dark makeup, the piercings, the tattoos, and the leather jacket, it all made him feel… dangerous. And Patton secretly loved danger.

Roman was leaning against the wall, watching as everyone else had someone to talk to. His twin was hitting it off with Patton, Janus and Logan were sitting on one of the couches, looking at something on Logan’s phone, and Emile and Virgil were on another couch, talking about psychology. He had never felt left out from any situation in his life before, but here he was, alone in a room full of people.

He couldn’t help but focus on Virgil, who had lit up as he talked about things that Roman knew nothing about. Roman was, of course, happy that Virgil was smiling, but he wished he was the one making the very tall man smile. Emile seemed nice enough, but… something about him irked Roman to no end.

“Oh, hang on,” Emile’s phone was ringing, the tune to a cartoon that Roman vaguely remembered blasting out loudly. He answered the phone, and Roman listened carefully. “Oh, sorry baby! I’m upstairs welcoming our new neighbors. I’ll be right there. Okay, bye.” He hung up and glanced around. “Sorry, that was my boyfriend Remy, I have to go!” He gave a hug to Virgil who waved goodbye awkwardly, then went around hugging everyone, and then left the apartment, closing the front door behind him. Virgil looked like he was going to melt into the couch, and Roman took this as his moment. He sat down next to the tall man and gave him a warm smile.

“So, uh, what do you think the production will be for this term?” Roman asked, and Virgil shrugged. “I’m hoping for a musical, but I’m not much of a dancer…”

“I kind of want something that allows me to experiment with fog on the stage, you know?” Virgil said, glancing down. “I’m not brave enough to audition for any roles on the stage, but I really like working behind the scenes…” Roman frowned, watching Virgil carefully.

“Well, when they announce the production and if there’s a role that interests you, I could help you… practice, maybe? To build up your confidence,” he suggested, but Virgil just shook his head. “I used to get stage fright really bad. But… if it’s something you love doing… then it’s worth all of that anxiety, right?”

“Is it?” Virgil’s voice was shaky. “In one of my school plays as a kid I fell on my face in front of everybody during my solo. Afterwards, I found out that someone purposely spilled water where they knew I’d be walking.” He twisted his fingers together, and Roman frowned. “Ever since, I haven’t wanted to be on stage in front of others.”

“No one would do that here,” Roman said reassuringly. “If they did, I’d beat them up until they fell on the ground, too,” his face was firm, resolved, and it made Virgil laugh a little. “I think… you should try. I’d love to perform with you.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Virgil looked down at him finally, and Roman thought he would melt into a puddle on the floor. “Thanks, Roman.”

-

“Remus is so cool, you know? And he’s so sweet,” Patton was blabbering. It was a few weeks after the party, and the three roommates were playing Mario Kart in the living room. In the time since that first party, the semester had started and they were all buried in school work, and had only seen the other three in passing or going out to dinner as a group. “N-not that you’re not cool, Roman, it’s just… he’s on a different level!”

“Yeah, a dangerous level,” Roman muttered so that Patton couldn’t hear, but Logan did, and he sighed. Roman didn’t want to reveal his fraught relationship with his brother to Patton, but he also wanted to protect the soft, small man. But… Patton was so enthralled, and Roman had never seen him that way. He seemed happier since meeting Remus, and had a confidence that didn’t exist in him before. But Roman definitely had a surge of concern for the other man.

“Do you think we should invite them all over today?” Patton suggested as he finally rolled over the finish line, in second to last place. Logan had gotten first, of course, and Roman a close second. This was the usual for their games. 

“I actually have plans with Janus–” Logan started, but then his phone rang. He answered it. “Hello? Oh, hi Janus… what? But we were…” he sighed, then covered the receiver while he looked at the two others. “Remus wants to invite us all to their place for a movie night or something.”

“Yes!!” Patton exclaimed happily. “Oh, I should figure out what to wear. What time, Lo?” He asked, his excitement bubbling over. It was contagious. Roman could practically see the cogs in Patton’s mind moving as he thought about what to wear and how to do his makeup.

“Eight, apparently,” Logan responded, his lips pulled into a taut line. He brought the receiver back towards his mouth. “I guess we will be there. Yeah, see you later. Bye.” He hung up, a frown on his face. Roman wondered if he should dress nice, too, since he’d be seeing Virgil.

“Dibs on the first shower!” Roman exclaimed, dropping his controller and running off to the bathroom. Three guys and one bathroom wasn’t ideal, but it was what they had to deal with.

By the time all three of them had gotten ready, it was almost 7:30. Roman went with his usual attire, as opposed to Patton, who went a little overboard (probably to try and impress Remus): he was wearing a pale green sweater and some shorts, knee-high socks, and his converse, his makeup bright and colorful, the emphasis on his lips and eyes. Logan was wearing his usual attire as well, but had slipped into a coat since they’d be walking to the other building. It was only a few blocks away, but things always got sidetracked when Roman and Patton were involved.

Once Patton slung his messenger bag over his shoulder, the three set out to the others’ apartment. On their way down, they passed Emile, who was walking into the building with another man, their fingers intertwined.

“Hey kiddos!” Emile said cheerfully, waving his free hand at them. “Remy, these are the new neighbors I told you about!” The man called Remy raised his eyebrows then nodded in greeting.

“Hey babes,” he said. 

“Where are you all going together?” Emile asked, and Roman thought it was a bit nosy to ask of them, but he said nothing.

“Oh, we’re going to Roman’s twin brother’s apartment–”

“Yes, and we really should get going now. Goodbye Emile, nice to meet you Remy,” Roman began to nudge Patton along the sidewalk, and Logan shot the couple an apologetic glance. 

-

“Ugh, this movie is booooooring!” Remus yelled, startling the others. He had thrown his arms up in frustration. Logan and Janus were on the couch, trying to wait for the right moment to leave since they had their own plans. Remus, Roman, and Patton were on the floor or on cushions, eating the pizza they’d ordered, and Virgil was on the lounge chair, just observing.

“You’re the one who suggested a movie, idiot,” Virgil muttered, crossing his arms. Remus frowned, then finished off his bottle of beer. He made a soft hmmm noise, then began speaking again.

“This empty bottle gives me an idea. Spin the bottle, anyone? Or perhaps… truth or dare with spin the bottle?” He suggested, eyebrows wiggling. Patton’s face turned bright red, and some of the others all mumbled their disagreement.

“Isn’t that game for high schoolers, Re?” Roman asked, rolling his eyes. He glanced at Virgil, though, and wondered what it would be like to kiss him tonight. Not that he’d ever do that, Virgil hadn’t shown any interest in him, but…

“Sounds like fun,” Janus said, smirking from his spot next to Logan, who pouted. Janus noticed this and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Oh, come now, Lolo, just a round or two and then we can go, okay? You know how much I love truth or dare.” Logan sighed, then nodded.

“Fine, a few rounds.”

The group moved the coffee table out of the way and sat in a circle, the empty beer bottle laying in the middle of all of them. “Alright, rule time,” Remus started. “The spinner asks the person it lands on for truth or dare, and then must ask them. The person who last did the thing spins it next. Capiche?” Roman shrugged and then pat Remus on the shoulder.

“You spin first, bro,” he said, settling in as he sat cross-legged on the floor. Remus shrugged and leaned forward, spinning the bottle. It pointed towards Logan, who sighed. Remus smirked, crossing his arms, deep in thought.

“Truth or dare?” Remus asked finally, meeting Logan’s eyes. It was silent for a few moments as Logan pondered his options. Janus leaned over and whispered something in Logan’s ear, and his partner nodded.

“Truth,” Logan said confidently, and Remus raised an eyebrow. 

“Would you wear your best friend’s used underwear if you went camping and ran out?” Remus asked, and Patton giggled, covering his mouth to prevent spit from flying everywhere.

“Uh…” Logan glanced at Janus, who was trying to hide his laughter at the audacity of the question. “Yeah, I would? I’ve worn Janus’ underwear before–”

“Whoah, whoah, too much info, stop,” Virgil waved his hands, groaning. Patton pouted a little, frowning at Logan and Janus.

“I thought I was your best friend, Lo?” He asked, and Logan hit his forehead with his hand. 

“You- Pat, ugh,” Logan was exasperated, and he glanced at Patton carefully. “You’re both my best friends, okay?” Patton seemed pleased with this answer, a smile crossing his features again. Logan leaned forward to spin the bottle, and it landed on Remus. “Uh…”

“I mean, if it’s just you two who get to play, that’s fine,” Virgil commented, leaning his back on the lounge chair behind him.

“Maybe if it lands on Logan again, though, you respin?” Patton suggested, and everyone else nodded in agreement. Remus shrugged, and then nodded to Logan.

“Dare me, Lodaddy,” he cackled, and Janus rolled his eyes, but still slid his hand over to rest on Logan’s thigh, a protective glare directed at Remus.

“I dare you to get an A in one of your courses this semester,” Logan smirked, adjusting his glasses. A few of the others grumbled about how that wasn’t fair, but Remus nodded in acceptance and held out his hand to shake Logan’s.

“Dealio!” He spun the bottle again and it landed on Roman. “Alright, twinny twin, truth or dare?” He waggled his eyebrows at his twin.

“I know better than for you to ask me a truth. So, dare,” Roman said, confident with his decision. An evil look crossed Remus’ eyes only briefly as he glanced between Roman and Virgil.

“Kiss the back of Virgil’s knee,” he said simply, and Roman nearly choked on his own saliva. Virgil buried his face in his hands, grumbling a little. Patton started to defend the two.

“Now, Virgil, you don’t have to–”

“Yes I do, it’s a fucking dare,” Virgil mumbled, standing up. He rolled one of his pant legs up and turned around so the back of his leg was facing Roman, whose face was bright red and who felt like his breath was being stolen from him. “Just make it quick, Princey.” Roman turned more red at the nickname, which probably stemmed from his role in the production from the previous semester. He scooted over to Virgil and pressed his lips to the bend between Virgil’s thigh and calf, and then scooted back, saying nothing. The tall man rolled his pant leg back down and sat down, explicitly not looking at Roman. His pale face was lightly pink.

After a few awkward beats, Roman leaned forward and spun the battle. It landed on Patton, who looked to be in deep thought. “Truth or dare, Pat?”

“Hmmm. I think truth is safer,” Patton admitted, and Roman thought a little. He hoped that his plan would work, but was concerned over what could come from a question like this. He really did want happiness for Patton, even if his brother was involved.

“What are three things you first noticed when you met your crush, if you have one?” Roman asked, and Patton glanced down at his fingers, twisting them together, his face dusted with a pale blush. Remus perked up a little, listening carefully to the answer the small man gave.

“U-um… well… I noticed that he has gray in his hair, that he has a lot of piercings, and that he has a cute smile,” Patton said this so quietly that everyone had to lean in to hear it. Patton’s face was bright red by the time he finished listing off the attributes, and everyone’s eyes trailed over to Remus, who was smirking. Patton quietly excused himself and practically ran to the restroom, grabbing his bag along the way, leaving the rest of the group in an awkward silence.

“Fuck, that’s on me,” Roman said, standing up. “I’ll go… check on him,” he said, and he followed Patton to the bathroom, knocking on the door once. “Pat, it’s me Roman, are you okay?”

“Why did you ask me that?” Patton asked from the other side of the door. It sounded like he was crying, since he was sniffling a little bit. “You know I like him, but I wasn’t ready to say anything, Ro.”

“I’m sorry, Patton, I just… I saw that you liked him and figured a little nudge could help…” Roman explained, then sighed. Maybe he had overstepped a little. “Do you wanna go home?”

“Roman,” a voice came from behind him. It was Remus. “Is he okay?” Concern was etched on his face, and he had crossed his arms. Roman was surprised to see this much care coming from his twin.

“Is that Remus? Oh god, hang on,” Patton sounded like he was panicking. “Where are my makeup remover wipes–” A clattering of things falling out of his messenger bag could be heard. “Shoot!” Remus and Roman exchanged a look as the noises of Patton being flustered echoed into the hallway. “I can’t believe… such a fool… dang it… stop crying, idiot…”

“Patton,” Remus stepped past Roman to knock on the door. “Patton, it’s okay… I uh…” He cleared his throat, “my first impressions of my crush were that he has really awesome floral tattoos, his pink hair is awesome, and he dresses in a really cute way.” He admitted. Roman started to back up, but saw Patton open the door and peek out.

“R-really…?” He asked. It was obvious he had been crying, his eyes were red and his eyeliner had smudged, but he had wiped the majority of it off. “Um…”

“Patton, do you wanna go on a date with me next weekend?”

Roman scooted out of earshot, and stepped back into the living room, but not before he heard Patton squeak out an affirmation. Janus and Logan had disappeared, maybe off to go and do whatever their plans were, and Virgil was scrolling on his phone.

“Sorry about Remus’ dare. If I’d have known about what he’d ask me to do, I would’ve gone with a truth instead,” Roman admitted. Virgil’s face hardened, but the theater major didn’t notice this. “I’d hate to make you uncomfortable.”

“Uh, it’s okay…” Virgil didn’t meet Roman’s eyes, though, as he sat down beside him on the couch. “Actually, um. I was looking at the roles for this next production? Have you looked yet?” Of course Roman had looked. They were going to be doing a production of Wicked, and Roman was absolutely stoked for it.

“Yeah, I’m planning on auditioning for Fiyero…” Roman mused, then remembered the conversation he had with Virgil a few weeks ago. “Is there a role you’re interested in, Virgil?”

“Um, actually, I’ve always loved Boq, but… I don’t know if I’m talented enough for that,” he admitted, twisting his fingers together. “Plus I’m a little tall to play a Munchkin.” Roman sighed, then smiled encouragingly at the taller man.

“Well, I can help you practice for the audition, if you’d like!” Roman said, and Virgil nodded. “I don’t think your height will affect anything, it’s all about talent!”

“Oh. Yeah… I’d uh… really appreciate that, actually.” Virgil responded, still looking down at his hands. “I just… auditioning is really scary, you know?” Roman shrugged, then set his hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Maybe they’ll let us audition together, so that way you’ve got a familiar face on stage,” he suggested. Virgil nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. “Hey, don’t worry, Virge. I think you’re gonna do great.”

---

teaser for part two: a botanical garden and some deep conversations

“I’ve never seen you so panicked over a first date, so I think that means that this is… real for you. You’re going to take this one seriously.”

~

“I want someone who understands how special I can be… but also someone who I can pamper and love with all of my heart.”

---

part two | part three | part four | part five | part six | part seven | part eight | part nine | part ten

---

taglist (send an ask, reblog, or reply if you want to be added)

@winterrose42

@are-you-even--real 

[masterlist]

[inactiive-shit]

Friends In Scary Places

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Prompt: Haunted house

Warnings: Deceit, Remus, haunted house stuff, gore (for the actors’ costumes), gettin scared

Pairing: romantic Moxiety, Intrulogical, Roceit

Words: 3,427

@sanderssidescelebrations and so here we are:

Patton loved haunted houses. It wasn’t something most people expected, wasn’t something most people looked at him and assumed. People liked to look at Patton and see pretty and delicate and soft and gentle and sweet. And Patton was those things, he enjoyed being those things.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t fun to let go sometimes.

So when he asked his boyfriend if they could go to a haunted house, well, it was a pretty big shock. They’d been dating for six months and he was still realizing just how many facets Patton had.

“You want to go to a haunted house?” Virgil asked, disbelief coating his words. Patton smiled, nodded. “Seriously?” The incredulous look on his face was melting away into a genuine, excited smile.

“Of course seriously, Virge. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”

“Awesome,” Virgil said, practically vibrating. “I love haunted houses but I wasn’t sure you’d want to go and I didn’t want to bring it up because I didn’t want you to feel pressured into it.”

“Well, honey, you have to ask,” Patton said. “Asking isn’t going to pressure me into saying yes if I mean no.” He kissed Virgil’s cheek. “But I do love haunted houses, and I would love to go to one with you even more.” A blush spread over Virgil’s face, and Patton could not have been happier.

That’s how eleven o’clock p.m. finds them standing at the front of the line for Patton’s favorite haunted house. It was cold, and Virgil was shivering, but Patton wrapped his arms around his boyfriend to keep him warm.

“Just so you know,” Virgil added just before they walked in the door, “I have a disclaimer: I am a jumpy person. I will scream a lot. You may be deaf by the time this is over.”

“It’s okay, honey,” Patton said. “I’ll protect you.” They drew closer together and stepped through the door into a small, dark room.

They were in a group of six with four strangers. One man had curly red hair and a bright red sash on, dressed as a prince. He was holding hands with a man who was wearing one snake-eye contact and had scales drawn artfully down the side of his face. The other two weren’t dressed up: one had glasses and a tie and an afro, holding onto his companion too tightly for it just to be casual. The last man looked just like the first, but with darker hair, a mustache, and a crop top on.

“Same glasses!” Patton exclaimed to the most put-together looking one of the bunch. He scrunched up his face in confusion, but didn’t comment.

“I like your make-up,” Virgil said to the smallest one with scales.

“What make-up? Darling, I assure you, this is all real.” The man motioned to his face with a flourish. Virgil stared for a moment before turning to Patton deadpan and saying, “I didn’t know they were sending us through with clowns.” The person Scaley was holding hands with choked on a laugh.

“Please,” he said, “ignore my boyfriend. He deals with fear by lying.”

“I do not,” Scaley hissed. Sash chuckled and kept going like a steamroller with no breaks.

“Also, if I punch you, I am so sorry. My fear response is to hit things.”

“I wonder why that would be?” said Glasses with a pointed look at the final member of their group. He almost seemed to preen under the judgemental gaze.

“I take no responsibility for that,” Clone said with a smile that told Patton he really was at fault. “If he gets scared of worms, he simply should not lay in a bed of them. Rip to Roman, but I’m different.” Glasses pinched his nose with his free hand and closed his eyes, looking like he was fighting off a migraine or an aneurysm.

“Patton,” Virgil said faintly, “I think we’re going to die.” Patton squeezed the arm around Virgil’s waist, reassuring him silently. This was a rather eclectic group, but they seemed friendly enough! There were new friends around every corner, and this haunted house would be no different.

“This way, please,” an eerie old man said in easily the most disturbing voice Patton had ever heard. Their group shuffled toward the second door. “Once you go through this door, there is no turning back. Does anyone want to run while you still have the chance?” None of them said anything. “Wonderful. Willing sacrifices. Makes my job much easier. I don’t want to have to run you down.” Patton laughed softly. “Now, the rules are simple: do not touch the monsters as they will not touch you. Do not go off the path. It leads through the house and out the other side. We are not responsible for you if you leave the path and are lost for the rest of eternity. Do not go backwards on the path; there will be another group behind yours. If the scaring becomes too intense and you would like to leave, flag one of us down. You will be taken out of the house; there are no refunds. Any questions?” They all stayed quiet. “Good.” He pushed the door open to reveal a long, narrow hallway. “Have fun. Try not to stay too long. They like to keep you if they get fond.” The man laughed in a distinctly creepy way. Virgil shivered against Patton’s side.

“Front or back?” Patton whispered to Virgil.

“Getting stabbed first?” Virgil asked. “No thank you. I’ll take the back.”

“So they can sneak up behind you? Interesting priorities,” Scaley said.

“I have eyes in the back of my head,” Virgil said. “Much better than my forward facing ones.” Patton giggled at the totally serious look on his boyfriend’s face; it was so cute that he could say bullshit so convincingly.

“Do you also have-”

“Don’t,” chimed Scaley, Sash, and Glasses all in unison, speaking right over whatever Clone was saying. Clone just smiled gleefully.

“We’ll take the lead,” Sash said, pulling Scaley with him to the front. “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you guys from any murderers. A prince does nothing less for his subjects.” Clone grumbled something, but all of his friends ignored it. Patton smiled sympathetically at him, and they proceeded through the door.

“Thank you, sir,” Patton said to the employee still holding the door open as they passed. The man just smiled, too wide and slightly deranged, and Patton smiled right back.

“Smile too much and your face’ll stick like that,” Virgil mumbled into Patton’s neck as their group inched down the hall. Patton shrugged, jostling Virgil slightly toward the wall.

“I don’t think that would be so bad.”

“No,” Virgil agreed. “I like your face like that. But I like your face a lot of other ways too.”

Their group came up on the first room, and Sash groaned when he saw it. “Of course this would be first.” He buried his face in Scaley’s hair.

“At least it can’t get any worse for you,” Scaley muttered, smirking as he pulled them into the room.

“Are you sure about that?” Virgil and Clone said at the same time. They both paused, and Clone turned around to make eye contact with Virgil.

“A new friend?” Clone asked.

“Hell yeah,” Virgil said. They fist bumped. Glasses rolled his eyes.

“Good god, there’s two of them now,” he said. Patton laughed and patted the man’s shoulder.

“The more the merrier?” he suggested as they finally went into the room. Glasses grumbled and shook his head at the toys littering the walls and bed of the room.

“Oh, Roman, you must be in hell,” said Clone. “I sure hope none of these dolls talk. Or move. Or follow you home.” Glasses placed a hand over Clone’s mouth.

“Aw, c’mon,” Patton lied. “I think they’re kind of cute.” He giggled at the look of horror on his companion’s faces, at the look of adoration on Virgil’s, and examined the room. Exceptionally creepy dolls were lining shelves that spanned every wall, as well as being thrown haphazardly on the floor and bed. The bed itself was dirty - who would let a child’s bed get so nasty? - and had a checkered sheet on. It reminded Patton of the one he used at home. He shivered.

“We are going to die here,” Sash sang.

“The scariest thing about this is how unclean it is,” Glasses said, shaking. They began walking more quickly, but froze in place when a tinny laugh sounded from across the room. Virgil shivered and took a step farther away from the doll lined wall. Patton laughed nervously. Dolls were awful.

The bed near the far wall began rumbling and shaking, and a humanoid figure rose under the sheets. They all scrambled to face it, packed in close, and Patton realized too late that their backs were exposed.

He turned just in time to see the horrifyingly made-up doll-girl just a few inches away. He let out a shout and backpedaled, and Virgil followed him without a word of objection. The others all scrambled away, trying to find sanctuary.

“Don’t you want to play with me?” the girl asked. “Mommy says you have to play with me.” She giggled, dropped her head sideways so it looked like her neck had been broken. She stopped giggling. “Aren’t you going to play with me?” Suddenly, dozens of other voices began sounding around the room, demanding play and mommy said. The girl staggered closer to them, arms outstretched, and her voice dropped to sound nearly demonic. “Come and play!” she shrieked.

“Sorry, we can’t play! So busy right now! Maybe later!” Virgil grabbed Patton’s hand and took off, and Patton did not hesitate to follow. They were the last ones to clear the plastic strips separating the doll room from the next short hall.

“Why did you stay in there so long? Are you two insane?” exclaimed Sash. Patton smiled at him, shrugged.

“I thought her dress was cute,” he said, heart hammering in his chest.

“I should have asked where she got it,” Virgil added. “I might get one.” Patton giggled and squeezed Virgil’s hand. One thing Patton had been very happy to discover when he and Virgil had marathoned horror movies together was that they dealt with fear in the same way: talking about the normal aspects and never acknowledging how terrifying it was. It bothered some people, but it worked well enough.

“I liked the dolls,” Clone said. “Might have to come back through and take one home with me.”

“You are absolutely not,” said Glasses. When Clone didn’t say anything, Glasses said, “Remus Prince, if I find one of those dolls in our apartment, I will personally kill you.”

“Kinky,” said Clone. Glasses glared at him as they started down the hall. “Fine. Anything for you, Lolo! Though I do so wish you’d ask for something a little...exciting. Like a-”

“Don’t,” said the other three in unison. They reached the next door as Clone pouted.

“I think a doll would be a very thoughtful gift,” Patton whispered. Virgil elbowed his ribs.

“I side with neck tie,” Virgil muttered. “If there is a doll anywhere in my general vicinity in the next two months and it is your doing, I will end you.”

“Well,” Patton said, and was cut off by Virgil’s scream. People in inmate outfits and chains and mutilated animal masks were banging on the walls and sticking their arms through the bars, begging for help. All six of them rushed down the hallway, but Scaley and Sash pulled farther ahead. And it was Virgil who saw the next scare first.

“Oh, fuck, there’s a corner,” Virgil whispered. “People always hide around corners. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.” He giggled half-hysterically. “This is why we choose the back. Shit.” Sash, heedless of the corner and scarer behind it, did not slow down. The man rounded the corner, flailed backward screaming, and then forged onward, breezing past the scarer as though they were nothing more than a statue. Before Clone and Glasses, in front of Patton and Virgil, even got to the corner, Virgil screamed and dived forward, losing his grip on Patton’s hand. Patton turned to see the girl from the doll room smiling crookedly.

“Don’t you want to come back and play?”

“I love your dress and I would love to play, but you are very scary, goodbye!” Patton said. He jumped forward and Virgil snatchd his hand. They ran to catch the other pair. Even though they all knew where the person around the corner was, they still screamed and careened into Clone and Glasses and then took off running.

Patton pulled Virgil through the plastic strips leading to the second room and stopped short. There was a man with a chainsaw standing over a screaming woman with her intestines spilling out. Nurses milled around the room looking like zombies with pallid green skin and broken limbs.

“What a wonderful heart!” Chainsaw-Doctor’s-Coat-Man said, as the woman screamed and he began pulling out organs. “But this liver,” he tutted. “What a shame, what a shame.” His eyes flitted up to lock with Virgil’s. “But you…” he came closer, chainsaw in one hand and pointing at Virgil with the other. “You look like you have a lively liver.”

“No, sir,” Virgil said, slowly inching closer to the other four, “no such liver here. I drink. All the time. My liver really has gone down the shitter.” Clone laughed.

“Help me! Please!” the woman screamed raggedly. Patton tapped a pattern on Virgil’s hand. Virgil was tensed to run, but he still gave Patton’s hand a quick squeeze.

“What about you, my boy?” the doctor said, moving on. “What’s your liver worth to you? Your life?” Before Clone could respond, the doctor stepped back and revved his chainsaw. “Nurses, get him!” As one, every nurse in the room turned to face them, and then staggered forward. “Run, little pretties! Run, run!”

And run they did. They ran straight through the rest of the room, and spilled out into the hallway. There were strobe lights on the ceiling and it was much tighter than the last, barely larger than one person wide. Sash had managed to cram in next to Scaley and they held each other.

“That’s it,” he announced. “I am no longer leading this expedition. I quit.”

“Are you alright, kiddo?” Patton asked, concerned. “Do you need to leave?” It shouldn’t be too hard to track down a cast member and get him out if he needed it. Sash paused to deliberate, but shook his head.

“No. I just do not want to be in the front anymore. We’re moving to the middle.”

“We can take front if you don’t want it,” Virgil said. With everyone in agreement, Virgil and Patton crushed to the wall and squished through. Virgil took the lead. Patton had ahold of Virgil’s hoodie as they went. Sash was directly behind him, muttering in spanish.

“You doing good, kiddo?” he asked quietly. Sash jumped, but smiled shakily and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. To be honest, I’m only here because everyone else likes it. Haunts are...not my typical hang out.” Sash shrugged. “I don’t mind coming, but I am not built for this. I’m meant for the lap of luxury.” He sighed theatrically. “But a Prince must do what Prince must do.”

“Well, if it gets to be too much, there’s no shame in leaving,” Patton said. “But to not even like it and come in anyway? You’re braver than all of us, kiddo.” They turned a corner in relative silence.

“Oh, cool,” Virgil groaned. “Creepy paintings on the walls. I wonder what those do.” Patton giggled and then got a despicable idea.

“Watch this,” he muttered to Sash. Slowly, he pulled Virgil’s hoodie back slightly and then grabbed his side with no warning. Virgil shrieked and took off. Sash jumped in surprise and hit Patton’s back, but Patton was laughing so hard he barely even noticed.

“You fucking asshole,” Virigl said, collapsed at the other end of the hall. “Betrayed by my very own fucking boyfriend like this? How could you?” Patton felt a little bad, but Virgil was fighting not to smile so he didn’t feel too bad.

“You are absolutely ruthless,” Roman said. “I am-” Two of the paintings dropped out of their frames and monsters screamed and reached out for them. The others started screaming but Patton just stumbled, almost fell, and then raced to Virgil. When he turned around, Glasses and Clone had evidently retreated and Scaley was rushing Sash toward the correct end of the hall.

The paintings slid back into place. Virgil started laughing, and Patton looked at him fondly.

“What’s so funny?” Sash asked, voice shaking.

“Nothing,” Virgil said, still giggling. “There’s noth-ing funny at all.”

“He does this when he gets scared sometimes,” Patton confided in Sash. He pulled Virgil up from the floor. “You good to keep going?”

“I’m fine, Pat.” Virgil was starting to calm down, so Patton took his hand and pulled them toward the final room. Creepy music box music was floating out, and Patton parted the barrier to see what the inside was: a mirror maze. That was certainly a new addition.

“Fuck,” Patton said.

“Double fuck,” agreed Virgil. “Are any of you good with directions?” Every person in their group shook their head. Virgil sighed. “This is not how I thought I was going to die tonight, but here we are. Let’s get this over with.” He went left. Patton had a feeling they should have gone straight.

Patton thought, going in, that a mirror maze would be hard but not that scary; he was wrong. There were trick mirrors and actors creeping around the maze. The source of the music was constantly changing locations, and whenever it got louder, somebody was bound to jump out. Until they didn’t, and they were all coiled tense as springs for no reason. Once the music even stopped, and Patton is unashamed to admit he almost wet himself terror when it started back up directly next to his head. Sometimes the lights flickered, others they strobed, and occasionally went out completely. There was a thick layer of fog covering the ground, and at one point they managed to lose both Clone and Virgil. They found them again through sheer luck and the pair’s terrified screams when they got snuck up on.

It took them twenty minutes to find their way out of the maze, and they only did it that quickly because the actors had to start herding them toward the exit.

“I see you lived,” said the same old man who had showed them in. “How unfortunate. Toodle-oo.” He shooed them away and pulled the door shut behind them.

The six of them, bonded by fear, just stood there.

“It feels weird to leave now that we’ve all been talking to each other, doesn’t it?” asked Virgil. “It’s almost like we should be friends or something.”

“We are friends, emo,” said Clone. “We already agreed.”

“Good point.” Virgil shrugged. “Still, though.”

“Maybe we should, I don’t know,” said Scaley sarcastically, “exchange numbers and meet up again or something.”

“There’s a nice little Halloween festival happening tomorrow night that we’re going to,” Patton offered. At Roman’s shudder, he added, “No scares or anything. There’s a little petting zoo with goats and alpacas and they have a corn maze and games and hot apple cider and hot chocolate. It goes from five pm to three am.”

“That is an acceptable outcome for me,” Glasses said. He passed his phone to Patton. “Input your contact information, and I will send it to everyone else, if that is alright?” Patton nodded and entered both his and Virgil’s stuff.

“It was nice meeting you,” Patton said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” Patton waved and they all went their separate ways.

That night, as they lay in Virgil’s bed to sleep, Virgil mumbled quietly, “Whoever heard of making friends in a haunted house?” Patton hummed in response and stroked Virgil’s hair. “I don’t know anybody but you that could do something like that, Pat.”

“You did it just as much as I did, Virge,” Patton said. He paused as Virgil snuggled closer, then picked up playing with his hair again. “Love you, V.”

“Love you too, Patton. See you in the morning.” Virgil went out like a light and Patton, exhausted from their night of scares, was not long to follow.

[toads-treasures]

About the Character

I was tagged (forever ago alskjdljoij) by the lovely @slothssassin!!!!

I’m tagging @metalforhands @mars-colony @tarberrymentats and @lookbluesoup for any lil OC your heart desires!!! 

I’m going to do this with my Arcana Apprentice Elise Kellis featuring some old art because I am in an art slump right now >.<

― your muse’s name: Elise Kellis. She’s not really sure if that’s her last name but she’s going with it for now.

  ― one favourite picture / faceclaim of your muse:

This is one of my favorite digital pieces I’ve done and honestly I haven’t been able to do anything since. So maybe I peaked D:

For Elise I got a lot of inspiration from Gal Gadot and Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I still feel like she shifts a lot drawing to drawing but I knew I wanted her to have an awesome nose (kind of a greek/roman nose) a more square jaw and crazy curly hair. Those are her defining features I guess lol.

― two headcanons you have for your muse:

1. Elise is actually really bothered by her missing memories. She wishes she could just live in the present and focus on the now and she tries, but whenever she sees Julian and Portia interact, or Asra with his parents, she gets this sinking feeling in her chest that won’t go away. She doesn’t like the idea that she might have family out there that she just can’t remember. People that she might have abandoned without even meaning to. 

2. Because she’s so scared of forgetting things all over again (she doesn’t want to lose the memories she has now because they’re so precious) she is a little obsessive about keeping a journal. She’s got a fat leather bound one that is full to bursting where she records everything about her day, even the most mundane things. She writes about how things look and feel and smell, she’ll do sketches of things and keep scraps of ribbon and pressed flowers and all kinds of stuff in there. Pretty much wherever she goes the journal goes too.

― three things that your muse likes doing in their free time:

1. She really likes being outside and exploring. The forest or different districts of Vesuvia, she wants to see it all. She’s got a bad case of wanderlust because there’s so little about the world that she knows. Before she met Julian she’d never even been to the South End and that was in her own city.

2. She looooves plants. The shop and the quarters above it are full of potted plants of all kinds. She’s started to make her own pots and is slowly learning how a potting wheel works (there is clay everywhere, in her hair all around the shop, in Julian’s hair, it’s a mess.) She also likes painting the flowerpots.

3. Elise loves a good night out of dancing. She loves dancing with Julian and with Portia and Asra and Nadia. She’s not very picky when it comes to dance partners. She’s slowly working on Muriel. She just likes to be on the move really. She and Julian will run around Vesuvia after dark and poke around in abandoned buildings and go into weird little dives and stir up trouble. But her favorite kind of dancing is just the two of them alone in the shop or Julian’s clinic after it’s closed up. They’re both tired, they’re isn’t any music but it doesn’t matter. They’ll just sway across the floorboards, Julian might hum some old sea shanty, or maybe he’ll stay quiet. But they’d dance the night away just like that if they could.

― seven people your muse loves/likes:

Julian, Asra, Nadia, Portia, Muriel, Selasi, Mazelinka

― a phobia your muse has: Enclosed spaces. She’s very claustrophobic. Also not a big fan of fire. I wonder why

[snake-noodles]

Flowers of Flesh and Blood

Characters - Deceit, Virgil, Roman, Logan, Patton Pairings - Loceit, but it’s kinda not really healthy

Word count - 8880 Warnings - Unhealthy relationships, stalker-like behaviors, yandere logan, Deceit i guess but hes chill, non consensual touching/kissing, cursing, violence, descriptions of wounds, gore, touch starvation, touch deprivation, kidnapping, minor nsfw- but nothing really sexual happens, major character death, lacerations. Please ask to tag if I forgot anything.

AU - Inventor Au, made by @whos-she-never-heard-of-her !

Notes - Deceit’s name will be Ethan.

I absolutely loved the AU idea- and I got so many writing ideas for this. It turned out kind of long, but I do hope its ok! I just.... love the concept so much?? 10/10 onto the story

This took MONTHS to complete and I know it got kind of long but i jsut?? My motivation was turning on and off like a lightswitch so im sorry it's so delayed and out of nowhere kfbdnfndnf

---

A STEM assistant, huh? The vitiligo boy stood there, staring at the ad printed. He had just gotten out of college, and he considered himself to be somewhat skilled. He was also in need of a job for the summer. He blinks. This would be a gold mine, huh? He looks though the other jobs- just in case there could be anything else to look over. Maid service, janitor needed, dog keeper. Low pay for all of them, too.

It seems this would be his best bet, though he wasn’t sure how well he could keep up. If this job fails, he could always be a maid, he snickers at his own joke, shaking his head. He’d rather die.

But, in actuality, he was quite excited for this job opening, though he wasn’t sure if he’d be accepted for some… specific reasons. Most people we him as a discolored freak, but this is an inside job, right? He huffs, finally deciding and dialing the number set on the ad.

He wasn’t sure when he was supposed to get a call back, or if he’d ever even get one- but he almost forgot about it until he heard his phone ringing. He quirks an eyebrow, taking a swig from the tea he had just made and swipes up his phone to see who had called.

He blinks, suddenly remembering, and he nearly spits out his tea. Why is he nervous? Oh jeez, this could go in so many different ways.

But, he steadies his breathing, and answers the call.

"Hello?" He answers in the most formal way he can muster. The other line is quiet for a moment, and he nearly hangs up, thinking he had gotten the wrong number, before he hears the voice speak.

"Yes, hello, sir." He states, his voice crisp and clear, even though the slight static of the phone. It sent a chill down the boy’s spine, but he stays silent, waiting for what the other has to say.

"Let's see… Ethan Greene, yes?"

"That’s me." He resists the urge to lie, that might make this a million times worse.

"I’m calling to let you know that you will be my assistant starting tomorrow at 7 am If you do not make it on time, you will be fired. Good day, and I suppose I look forward to working with you." And then the phone clicked, signaling that the inventor had hung up.

His brain was still trying to process what the hell was just said to him. Well, he got the job but holy Shit with a capital ‘s', this dude was hella strict. 7 am? And he’ll get fired without question if he’s late? Holy fuck.

He stood in his kitchen for an awkwardly long amount of time. He should set an alarm. Maybe.... 6 am.

How the hell did he sleep past his alarm. It was already 6:30, and he was awoken by his neighbor mowing. At first, he was annoyed for being woken up so early. Then he remembered.

"How the hell did I sleep past my alarm?!" He shouts, jumping out of his bed and already getting dressed.

He’s usually a perfectionist, but he doesn’t really have the time to straighten every single strand of his hair or take a shower.

In the end, he just ended up wearing a button up shirt and some worn jeans cause he had no idea what the dress code was for this fucking job.

He nearly cringed at himself looking in the mirror. Jesus, he looks like a curly haired mess. What if he just… Adds a necktie. Then he’ll be 20% more serious looking.

Looking over at the clock, he yelps, and rushes out the door after he makes sure he has everything. He’s only got 15 minutes. But thank whatever god is out there for speeding.

But, he arrives at the address given to him, and he pauses, checking to make sure it’s the right place. Once he confirms with himself, he walks up and knocks on the hard oak door.

He felt somewhat nervous standing here, but he tried not to let it show as he waits at the door.

Logan was already awake at 5 am, busy with upgrading his AIs, and making sure it was all perfect.

To be honest, he wasn’t too excited to have a partner, but he did need the extra hands now that he’s working on Virgil. Oh well, hopefully they won’t get in the way. Not that he really even cares- he could just fire them. In fact, working with another person in these conditions could be dreadful. He doesn’t usually depend on others, and now that he’s meeting someone for the first time in ages, he isn’t exactly sure what to expect.

But, he hears a firm knock on his door, and he glances over at the wall clock, humming in amusement. 2 minutes early, hm? He was almost positive they wouldn’t make it. He hums, standing up from his desk and making his way to the front door. He waits for a second, thinking of what he should say before opening the door slowly.

“Ethan, yes?” He greets, staring down at the shorter male.

On the other hand, Ethan was trying not to panic over how tall this guy was. Holy shit. He knows that he’s already kind of short, but damn this guy is a giraffe.

He was tall, and slim with an extremely pale complexion. He must not go outside too often. His eyes are dark, and slightly sunken in, and glasses rest on the bridge of his nose. He wore a lab coat too, that gave away that he’s Serious about this job. Ethan gulps nervously.

“Yeah, that’s me, I’m here for the job.” He explains, and Logan stares adjusting his glasses. It was a bit uncomfortable, and he didn’t know how he should feel, but after a few seconds, he stands aside, letting the vitiligo boy through.

Walking in he blinks. This place is… dark. And dusty. He looks around, before looking over at the scientist.

“So what is it that you need me to do, mister… uh…” He pauses, realizing that he doesn’t know this guys name. A+ socializing skills. “Logan. Logan Sanders. All I need you to do is clean up my workspace and make sure my creations are in proper working condition. If not, perform the required maintenance on them.” He hums. “There’s other things that I will require your help with, but we can wait for those. As of now, please perform your duties I have written out for you while I work on my latest project. And, do not interrupt my work.” He states, handing the other some papers. Ethan blinks, nodding slowly. When he signed up for this job, he didn’t think he’d have to be doing chores for this guy.

But, it was a good pay, and it wasn’t the most difficult of work, so he couldn’t really complain. Before he could ask any questions, Logan disappeared into his work space. Letting out a sigh, he gets to work.

Sort things out, keep things clean, blah blah blah. He didn’t really care all that much, but, he was intrigued in whatever these “creations” were.

The paper said they’d be in his work space, he just has to make sure he doesn’t bother Logan. He lets out a sigh, rolling up his sleeves. He had a feeling that it’d be a long day.

Logan sat in his office, adjusting his glasses as he took notes on Virgil’s current behavior. He was still a work in progress, so he was nothing but an endoskeleton. His programming was a bit messy, so that’d have to be fixed. He taps his pen to his lip, thinking as he watches the robot. It didn’t have any free will yet, so it just moved in patterns that he had programmed. This one might take longer than the others.

He picks up his tools, but is quickly interrupted when the door opens, and Ethan walks in. Well, he half stepped in, and then started staring at his creations, a look of shock and awe on his face.

Logan stares at the boy, saying nothing. It’s been a long while since he’s been with another human. It was quite strange. Seeing the rising and falling of the chest, the natural hair, the emotion in the eyes. It was hard to capture such a thing in his creations. They may look realistic, but they’re still metal. Perhaps one day he could create a perfect copy of a human. Though, it would take a very long time.

But, he couldn’t help but stare at the other as he checked up on the creations. He was quite different from most people he’s seen. His skin was quite beautiful, he wonders what caused such a discoloration. Logan hums, tilting his head slightly. Intriguing. Perhaps he could write some notes.

He turns back to Virgil, scribbling down some quick notes on a stray piece of paper while Ethan was still trying to figure out how the hell he was supposed to open up this thing.

He huffs, blowing some hair out of his face as he pokes and prods at the human-like robot. The robot was… tall, though a tad bit shorter than Logan. It also looked like a suburban white christian dad, but who was he to judge. He just hoped these things weren’t sex bots. That’d be kinda gross.

But after 10 minutes of attempting to figure this robot out, he looks over at Logan. He thinks a bit, before tapping his shoulder from behind.

"I totally understand what I’m doing right now. And I totally don't need help." He huffs, before quirking an eyebrow, noticing how Logan had gone stiff.

Logan blinks as he feels something tap his shoulder. His robots should be off, how come-. Then he heard Ethan’s voice, remembering that he’s there. He didn’t really know how to feel- being touched by another human… It made him feel strange, and conflicted. The only other contact he’s had is from artificial skin. It takes him a moment to process, but he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and turns his head to Ethan.

"If you do not need my help, why bother me?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. The other stares, confused for a second.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you." He laughs a bit. "I’m a bit of a compulsive liar. It just kinda… slips out, y'know? But, anyway, I dunno what you want me to do. You want me to check the robot’s insides, right? I’m a bit confused on how to open him… her… it.”

Logan sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really had to hire someone like this? A liar, of all people? Well, at least he wasn’t lying about his degree, so he knows what he’s doing. No one else accepted the offer, either.

But, he stands slowly, walking over to Patton, and opening up his stomach effortlessly, Ethan watching close behind.

"See this box here? Be careful with it, you could get shocked if you touch it the wrong way. All I need you to do is to make sure everything is in the right place." He says this, and without another word, goes back to his desk.

He hums, looking at his paper before pushing his hair out of his face and checking over the robot. It was.. Extremely detailed, and he was honestly super impressed. It was so realistic, and extremely advanced from what he can see. He wonders what it’d be like if it were on. Hopefully it wouldn’t kill him, that’d be a little disappointing.

But, he leans in carefully, checking between the paper and the insides of the robot. He wasn’t used to working with something so advanced. Of course, he could handle it, but it might take him longer than it usually does. He hopes Logan doesn’t mind that, he seems kind of… strange, to put it in the nicest way possible.

Thought he can’t help but wonder if this guy is even trustworthy. He’s some creepy giant who stays in this dark house with hyper realistic robots. It was a little weird the more he thought about it. I mean, he seemed… Okay? He hasn’t really hurt him, and did help him, but he couldn’t be certain just yet.

But, on another note, he finishes up with the two robots he was told to check up on. In all honesty, he was a bit exhausted. He never really got up early, and he wasn’t the most active person in the world. Hopefully that wouldn’t bother Logan- despite all of the red flags, he does need the money to, y’know, actually survive for the summer.

But since he was finished, he comes up behind Logan, watching him work.

“What’re you working on, Logan?” He asks, looking the endoskeleton up and down. Logan pauses, leaning forward to avoid the physical contact that would inevitably happen. He wasn’t used to it, but he knows he’ll have to. He sighs quietly, pausing his writing.

“What does it look like I’m doing? You should get back to work.” He huffs, narrowing his eyes at Ethan.

“Oh, I’m totally not done, Doc.” He says in a sarcastic tone, rolling his eyes. “So, like, is there anything else you need me to do or can I leave?”

Logan pauses, thinking if there’s anything else the boy could do for him.

"Not that I can think of… But don’t think your job will always be this easy, you’ll have more tasks tomorrow." He states this, closing his eyes.

"Oh joy, I absolutely cannot wait to work for you." He mutters, rolling his eyes.

"You could always quit if you don’t want to work for me." Logan looks over, the slightest hint of a smirk on his face. Ethan couldn’t tell if he liked this slick bastard or not.

"Ugh, you’re annoying." He growls. "Fine, I’ll keep working. I need the money anyway… Speaking of, when do I get paid?"

"End of the week. Hopefully you’ll last long enough to get your pay." He hums, clicking his pen.

Ethan stares. That statement could mean so many different things and all of them sound bad. He liked this guy. Hopefully he doesn’t die on the job, though. That’d be inconvenient.

Logan, on the other hand, can’t help but stare as the other leaves. He doesn’t exactly know how he should feel, but his hand goes to his shoulder, and he tries to imitate the small amount of warmth he felt when Ethan had touched him, but it didn’t work. It didn’t have the same… spark to it.

Maybe tomorrow he’d get another chance. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to feel that warmth again. Oh well, those urges would probably leave after he got whatever it was he desired.

But of course, that didn’t happen.

★☆★

The next morning, Ethan found himself waking up early. Maybe too early. At least he has time to look somewhat decent, last time he was in a hurry. But it was 5 am, and he sat in his kitchen, drinking warm coffee. He didn’t usually drink this stuff, but he wanted to not act like a corpse today.

He just hoped today wouldn’t be as long. That probably wouldn’t be the case, but god he wishes it was.

"Ugh." He lets out a groan, eyeing the clock with an annoyed gaze. He’s just gotten out of college and adult life is already so god damn tiring.

He slaps his cheeks, trying to wake himself up, and he goes to his room to get dressed.

The sun was… Extremely bright this morning, and stung his already tired eyes. It just made him dread the day even more as he changed into his yellow dress shirt.

He thought of wearing his jacket too, and even though it’d look good, he’d be a puddle the second he walked out of the door. He instead wore a black vest. Still stylish, so suave. A real lady killer.

Haha.

He would never touch a lady in his life.

He walks out the door around 6:30, adjusting his hat to block the sun out of his eyes. It was a beautiful day, despite the boy’s annoyance. The birds were singing, and the flowers were vibrant, too.

He made a mental note to himself to get some flowers for his house later.

But, he arrives at the somewhat menacing house, only ten minutes early.

He gives the old door a knock, tapping his foot as he waited for an answer. But, the one who answered the door wasn’t Logan.

"Oh, good morning, sir!" The robot greets, a friendly smile on its face. The robot was the same one from yesterday- the one that kind of looked like a dad.

"Morning… Is Logan here?"

"Master Logan is currently buying more supplies. He should be home shortly. He has left me and Roman in charge!"

The voice was cheerful and warm, but had a robotic undertone. It was actually quite calming, though creepy knowing it’s coming from something that isn’t human.

They were so realistic… The man had serious talent, and he didn’t know if he should be amazed or concerned.

"So who’re you then?" He finally asks.

"Oh! I totally forgot! I’m Patton, it’s a pleasure meeting you, mister Ethan!" He holds his hand out for a shake, in which Ethan reluctantly takes.

"So he’s out? Is there anything I should do, or should I wait for him to return?"

“You should be fine to wait, sir! He will only take a few minutes, after all.” The robot smiles in a way that made Ethan feel somewhat nervous. Jesus, how life-like can these things get? It felt as if he was talking to another person. The thought sent a chill down his spine.

Patton moves out of the way, allowing the boy entry. He walks in, putting down his bag and sitting down on the surprisingly comfortable couch.

The whole place- despite being dusty and dark- was quite nice. It was quite comfortable compared to where he was staying. He wondered how rich this Logan guy was. The place was quite big, and he had access to equipment and parts that could create extremely realistic humanoids. Did he have a job? Did he work at home? Sell his creations? Is he a criminal?!

He rolls his eyes at his own thought. How stupid- he may be a bit weird, but he doesn't seem like he'd hurt anyone. He looked quite… frail, too. Though, his skinny structure sort of added to his creepiness. Tall, pale, dark haired… Like a guy you'd see in a Tim Burton movie.

His thoughts were cut off as the front door slowly opens with a long creak. Logan walks in, not even sparing a glance to Ethan as he immediately goes into his office, holding various different things. It was surprising he could even hold all of that due to how skinny he was.

He simply blinks, raising an eyebrow. Did he not even notice that he was here? He sighs, his shoulders slumping. He doesn't get this guy at all…

Standing up slowly, he stretches his arms out and walks over to the office, giving a knock on the door.

“Hey, Lo, I'm here.” He announces, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he crosses his arms and waits outside the office.

Logan's mind was a bit more active than it usually was today. He was having a bit of trouble due to this, and was trying to do too much at once. He blinks, hearing a knock at his door. Pausing, he racks his brain for what he was supposed to make his assistant do today.

Oh, yes, he should probably let him in first. He sighs, adjusting his glasses and opening the door slowly, allowing the other boy entrance.

“Took you long enough..” He hears the other boy mumble, but he says nothing, instead staring.

What was this sudden rush he was feeling? He was already feeling out of it, but now that Ethan was here, he felt… strange. Lightheaded, almost. He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. It felt as if he was a robot losing power… This was nothing new.

So instead of fighting it, he lets his legs give out and he falls to the floor with a thud, falling asleep rather quickly, leaving Ethan to quickly rush to his side.

★☆★

When he woke up again, he felt hands on him. That part was normal. But, something felt strange… His eyes flutter open slowly. He looks over, seeing a pair of hands. Roman? No, Roman is more tan than dark.

…

Oh, yeah.

“So you're finally awake, asshat?” A voice huffs. He blinks slowly, sitting up as he feels the comforting warmth quickly leave him.

“... My apologies. That was unprofessional of me.” He mumbles, adjusting his tie.

“Patton explained it to me. So this is a normal thing or whatever?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

The two sit in a silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't very nice either. Logan stands up slowly, his hand instinctively going to his arm- where he had been touched. He really didn't understand, but his heart… His heart was pounding like a drum. What is wrong with him? Perhaps he could ask Roman or Patton later- he has no time for an actual doctor or therapist.

“So…” Ethan speaks up, thinking of what he should say. “Do you need me to leave? If you're not feeling good, I wouldn't want to bother you.”

Despite being a bit worried for the man, he was also desperately wanting to go home.

“... It's fine, just get to work.”

He figured that he'd get that answer. He sighs, standing slowly.

“Alright, okay. What’s today's work?”

Logan goes quiet, thinking. Ah, yes, he prepared another paper. He turns to his desk.

“Here…” He mumbles, grabbing some papers and handing them to the smaller boy, which he takes quietly, reading over the instructions.

“Yeah I think I got it. But, uh, what's this mean?” He asks, raising an eyebrow and pointing to ‘If Virgil is left unattended, do not bother him’. Sounds kind of dangerous.

"Exactly what it says. Do not touch him, he's dangerous as he is still just an endoskeleton.” He explains, turning away and sitting at a desk.

Ethan stares at the paper, and then to the endoskeleton in the corner of the room, having only half of a face and wires sticking out of it's back. It was quite scary to look at without context. Well, even context it was scary. He still wonders what Logan is trying to achieve with these robots.

He tries to shake the thought from his head, and he goes to his tasks.

Work went normally, for the most part. There were small occurrences, but nothing that signaled any red flags. Just normal. Ethan originally thought he'd hate the guy, but to his surprise, Logan was very nice despite his cold appearance. It's been maybe a month and he enjoys being with the other. They don't talk much, but it's fine. He doesn't like wasting his breath on small talk anyway.

Logan, on the other hand, was conflicted about his feelings. It's been a month and 3 days. He was acutely aware of that. He still had the urge to feel that warmth. As much as he tried to hold those urges down, he couldn't exactly control them. Even if it was simply brushing against each other, it made him go mad. But, not in a bad way. Everything would feel… tingly, and his heart would pound against his chest. He's never felt such feelings before.

He often finds himself thinking about Ethan. But, he never stops it. People normally do this, right? There's no reason to be concerned. He just wants to feel his skin. His hair looks soft too… his eyes so wet… He just wants to look at him.

He puts his hand to his heart, trying to calm his emotions as he stands in his office, his breathing shaky and his face tinted red. He grabs onto his desk for support as he lets out airy laughs.

He stood there alone with himself as his head ran wild. These feelings make no sense, but he loves it. He wonders if he could always feel like this… He's not certain, but if there was a way, he'd stick to it all of the time.

Maybe Ethan is just what he needs.

They're friends, right? Maybe he could try and get closer without warrenting any suspicion. He bites his lip, staring down at the papers on his desk. He couldn't help but think of the other.

He had never really had any family or friends to talk to. Is this what it's like? This rush of blood? The pounding of the heart? Stumbling, he slowly lowers himself into his seat, picking up his pen.

But going by those means, that would mean that Ethan is his first friend. He laughs a little, biting at the inside of his mouth. Apparently if friends get close enough, they can have a courtship.

A courtship? Why is he thinking of such unnecessary things? Though, the thought of hand holding and… hugs do sound quite lovely. But does he really feel that way? They’ve only known each other for a month and three days, after all! It's as if his mind is working against him to confuse his emotions. He shakes his head, scribbling on a blank sheet of picture.

Surely not. He’s just confused. Caught up in emotions of friendship.

It will go away soon enough, he's sure of it.

★☆★

The sun rises and Ethan's alarm sounds, waking him up with a groan. His back was sore from yesterday’s work. He hoped today wouldn't be as draining. He stretches out, and after getting ready, leaves his place.

And he once again found himself in front of the menacing house. Despite considering Logan a friend, he really wishes he had more breaks. But, he couldn't exactly complain. The pay was good and the work wasn't killing him. He sighs, wondering if he should turn and leave. But, no, that'd be shitty.

He shakes his head, deciding to commit as he knocks on the door. Once again, the door wasn’t opened by Logan. Though, that was normal for him at this point.

“Ah, good day dear Greene! How may I help you on this fine morning?” The robot greets, a dazzling smile on it's face. Ethan laughs nervously.

“Nothing, Roman, I'm just here for the usual.” He shrugs. “Can I come in?”

“Why, of course!”

Saying that, he moves out of the way and Ethan lets himself in quietly.

“Ah, Ethan! Master Logan instructed me to tell you to get to work right away!” Patton calls as he pokes his head into the room.

“Right. Will do.” He mumbles, setting his things down and walking into the office.

In there, his eyes landed on Virgil, the endoskeleton. But instead he was on the desk instead of at his usual corner. That didn't exactly sit right with him. He was told not to touch Virgil, but… He was a professional too, damn it. He can handle a work in progress.

Sighing, he walks up to the endoskeleton, looking for a way to switch it off. But, as soon as he touched the creation, he felt a stinging pain on his cheek and his eyes widen. The robot had sliced him. Probably with a loose piece of metal. He puts a hand to his cheek, flinching when he feels his own blood. He looks to the robot who was now sitting still. He wondered what had triggered such a reaction. He sighs, only to wince in pain. He should find something to stop the bleeding.

But at that moment, the door opens, and Logan stands there with an unreadable expression. It doesn't take him long to turn Virgil off and grab a small white box off of his bookshelf.

"What the hell were you thinking?” Logan scolds, rummaging through the kit.

"Hey, I'm not a kid, I can handle a robot. He wasn't in his usual spot so I was trying to help.” He hisses, shifting his eyes away, hand still on his cheek.

Logan says nothing, reaching his arm out, hesitating for a second, before grabbing Ethan's arm. It wasn't intended, but he pulled him a little harder than he meant to, making the other flinch.

But he follows the other's movements and sits down. Logan stares at him, realizing how close he is to the other.

No, now's not the time. He shakes his head, wiping up the blood. But despite this, he still adored the warmth. His skin was so soft. He just… wanted to keep touching it.

Even his blood was mesmerizing. That beautiful red against his dark skin. How beautiful.

He notices the other flinch, and he holds down the urge to smile. Sensitive, is he?

He wonders what the boy would look like covered in bruises.

It took awhile, but Logan finishes up, placing the bandaid carefully over the thin cut. It still stung, and he couldn't really smile or talk without feeling a stinging pain from it.

“Thanksssss…” He slurs that out, hissing out in pain once again. He rubs his cheek carefully, eyeing Logan.

He sure did take his time on that injury. It was a little awkward for him. It shouldn't have been that bad of a cut, right? A bit of suspicion rises in him, but he doesn't question it. What else could he have been doing anyway? He has no reason to feel this way.

He shakes his head. Whatever.

The day continued as normal after that point, but thoughts ate away at the back of Logan's mind. How dare his own creation hurt Ethan?! He didn't create Virgil for him to attack others. And Ethan, of all people.

He'll have to teach him a lesson after the other leaves.

“I'm off.” Ethan states, stretching his arms out above his head. He pauses for a second, as if wanting to say something, but stays quiet. He has an off day tomorrow, he doesn’t need to concern himself.

“Ah, I didn't notice you were finished.” Logan stares at him, a few conflicting thoughts in his heads. “I hope your injury heals up. I do apologize.”

“Eh…” He shrugs, looking away. “Yeah the injury was so fatal, I think I'm gonna die, doc.”

He gives a crooked smirk, before turning. “Anyway, see ya, Lo.” He gives a wave and leaves the building.

The house goes into silence the minute the door closes. Roman and Patton look at each other before looking back at Logan, who was already making his way to the office.

He knew the others were following him, but he didn't care.

He enters his office, going over to the endoskeleton and grabbing it with a concerning amount of force.

“Master Logan, what on Earth are you doing?!” Patton exclaims.

“What does it look like? I'm resetting his system. For an intelligent AI, I'd assume you'd at least know what the hell I'm doing.” He glares, before turning back to Virgil.

“I know he hurt Ethan, but you have no right to be doing this. He isn't even finished-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Logan slams his fist onto the desk, a glass knocking over and shattering on the cold ground.

“You have no right to tell me what to do. Do you want me to reset you, too?!” He shouts, snapping towards the two bots.

“Sir-!”

“No, shut up!” He growls, “I'm the only one who's allowed to hurt Ethan, got it?! Only I can touch him like that!”

The room goes silent after he says this, his breathing heavy and his eyebrows knitted.

“Patton, clean the glass up.” He orders, seemingly going back to normal as he turns to the endoskeleton. Patton silently nods, gathering up the broken glass.

No words were spoken for the rest of the night- and Virgil was temporarily turned off.

Logan was in his room, pacing. His hands go to his pockets, where he feels something inside. He blinks, coming to a stop as he pulls the paper out. Paper? Ah, there's blood on it.

He then remembers what had happened and he gets a rush of different emotions. Anger was one of them, but there was another he couldn't quite name.

The blood was dry now of course. But it was still so pretty. He traces his finger over the spots and streaks. Such a strange, yet fascinating feeling. He felt his heart starting to race.

His blood was so pretty. His insides must be just as beautiful. His skin is also so pretty. He just wants to touch him.

A few strangled laughs escape him as he hugs himself tightly. Ah, he shouldn't be thinking such things. But he couldn’t help but gush over how perfect his friend was. It's called a crush right?

Such a silly thing to say. His feelings were so complex, yet they felt so right. So good. Is this how everyone else feels?

Do they just want to open up their crush?

That must be it.

Logan smiles, still tightly clutching onto the bloodstained paper. He needs to explore these feelings more. The next time he sees Ethan, perhaps he'll test them out.

Though, perhaps he should be discrete. He wouldn't want to show his feelings and surprise the other. That could scare him away! No, he'll take it slowly if he needs to.

There's only one thing that could possibly go wrong.

★☆★

Ethan was able to sleep in today, which he was happy with. Work was getting tiring, and after the event that had happened yesterday, he didn't really feel like working and destroying his arms and back. God, he sounds old.

He sighs, taking a long sip of his tea, his leg idly bouncing and his eyes tired. He realizes that he needs to go out today, but it didn't really sound the most ideal to him.

Get food, and other necessities to survive this test called life. He throws his head back, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe he'd stop by the park. He still wanted to get some flowers, too.

A punk asshole liking flowers. How ironic. But he liked them. Maybe he could take care of some succulents. Easy and pretty.

“God that sounds so gay.” He mumbles to himself, taking a sip of tea.

Deciding on that, he hums, getting ready for the day.

He didn't exactly focus on looking good, he was only gonna be out for an hour or two, but hey he might as well try and look nice.

Adjusting his hat, he leaves his house, the sun shining down on him. It was a nice day, and the weather was warm, yet he couldn't get this strange feeling out of his chest the second he stepped out the door.

It's just anxiety, right? He's got nothing to be worried about. He takes in a deep breath, trying to push that feeling back as he walks.

It didn't take him long to get everything he needed. He still had money left over for those flowers, too. He hums to himself, checking to make sure he got everything he needed, nodding to himself.

“Should be good…” He mumbles, walking forward, only to bump into someone.

He hisses, grumbling slightly, and regains his balance. He was ready to just walk away before he sees who exactly he ran into.

“What a coincidence.” Logan hums, staring down at the liar. “I didn't expect to see you here.”

“I could say the same for you, Lo, I thought you've never seen the sun or something.” He gives a half smirk, though he was slightly annoyed. He didn't like small talk- he just wanted to get some plants without judgement.

“Where are you going?” The scientist questions, staring at the boy with an unreadable expression. He hesitates and shrugs.

“Oh, I was gonna go to that flower shop. No reason, really.”

“How funny, I was just about to go there myself. Though, I've been having trouble finding it.”

With Logan saying that, Ethan raised an eyebrow, questions bubbling inside of him, but he decided not to ask- even if this situation was a bit strange. Running into your boss and going to a flower shop- this was something straight out of a cheesy romance novel.

“I can show you the way if you want.” He shrugs, pushing back all of the questions and red flags.

“That'd be appreciated.”

After saying that, Ethan, without hesitation, grabs Logan's hand and starts walking. He didn't seem to think anything of it, but…

It wasn’t like he had to look good, though, he just felt a little special. He hums, adjusting his hat on his head and leaving the house.

It wasn’t the most eventful, but he did feel as if something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It’s just his anxiety, right? He has nothing he needs to worry about.

Logan's heart pounded in his chest as he held onto Ethan’s hand, his eyes lidded as he savours the warmth he was getting from this contact.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to make his heart go mad, and blood rush to his face. He could practically feel his ribcage shaking from the pounding of his heart. So, so warm… So soft…

A whisper escapes his lips as he follows the boy.

“I want to cut off your hand so that I can hold it forever…” He whispers, staring intently at their hands.

"Hm? You say something?” The boy questions.

“Nothing at all, just thinking aloud.” He excuses, his eyes trailing away from the other.  

It wasn't weird for him to think out loud- he had done it at work all the time after all. But concern made it's way onto Ethan's face. But, he shakes his head.

It's probably just his anxiety. Maybe he needs to get back on medicine. Who knows? But there's nothing he should have to be worried about.

They arrived at the flower shop fairly quickly, and Ethan lets go of the other's hand, walking in with a hum.

Logan didn't seem to be too impressed with it all. He had only come because Ethan was going, after all. He didn’t care for these glorified plants and succulents. But Ethan seemed to like it.

He was chatting with the shopkeeper about this and that, and Logan was left to stare and wonder what he even liked about these.

But, he did seem happy.

Soon enough, he walked back over.

“Hey what'd you come here for? We could look together.” He gives his usual crooked smile that makes Logan's heart melt.

“Oh, nothing in particular. I simply wanted to study them.”

Ethan raises an eyebrow. Always research with this guy, huh?

“Cool, I guess.” He shrugs, looking over at the succulents. He was more fond of them than regular flowers- and in his opinion, they were prettier.

He picked up a pot containing an echeveria. Logan stares at it, before rolling his eyes. How gross.

“Oh, hey, they have fly traps.” Ethan points out, pointing to a small pot containing a small garden of surprisingly tiny venus fly traps.

“Check this out, Lo.” He smirks, putting his finger in out of the mouths, causing Logan to flinch- but Ethan seemed fine, pulling his finger out with ease.

“They're not as violent as the media makes them out to be. Unless you leave your finger in there- then it could, like, digest your finger.” He laughs, looking over at Logan.

“I'd take em, but they would probably freak Dee out.”

“Dee? Who's that?” Logan asks, his curiosity spiking at the name.

“Oh, she's my snake. Despite being quote unquote ‘dangerous’, she gets spooked quite easily.” He laughs.

Logan nearly sighs in relief. Just a snake- nothing he needs to worry about.

…

Worry?

He already knows that Ethan would never leave him, right? There's no way he could. And even if he tried, he would never let him. Ethan is his, and his alone. And he'll make sure of that.

“Well she sounds… lovely.” He wondered why he even cared for the reptile. Animals are just that- animals. They can't love or communicate. What's the point of them?

“You not a snake fan?” Ethan raises an eyebrow.

“It's not that. I'm not very fond of animals in general.” He explains. “Though I can admire them from a distance.”

“Hah, aren't you the edgelord?” He jokes, nudging Logan slightly with his elbow.

He would have scoffed if it weren't for the small contact just made. He says nothing in response. Ethan puts the pot back gently, and turns to Logan, eyebrows knitting together in thought.

“I'll probably come back some other time…” He muses aloud, walking out, the scientist following behind shortly after.

“I'm headed home- what about you?” He asks, looking at the taller man.

He goes quiet. He would just follow Ethan, but that wouldn't be an appropriate thing to say.

“I'll probably go home myself.” He mumbles, never taking his eyes away from Ethan's.

“Alright, cool. Guess I'll see you tomorrow!” He gives a lopsided smile and leaves, Logan staring at his back as he does so.

Logan could feel the familiar warmth growing in his chest. It was something he had gotten used to by now. He never wanted to stop looking at him.

Thoughts swarmed his head, and he grabs the wall for support as he legs practically go weak, his breathing ragged and face unnaturally red. He gets strange looks from the few customers and the single worker there. He shakes his head, leaving the store slowly, his hand to his chest.

He wants to touch him. Hold him. Hear his voice, smell his hair, see his smile, taste his blood and insides. A strained giggle escapes his mouth.

He'd like to see the boy squirm. He wonders what his skin would look like, bruised and bloodied. The thought in itself, made him feel short of breath.

This boy will be his. His. And only his. No one else can have him.

★☆★

His collection has been going swimmingly well.

Hidden in his closet were photos and belongings. All of it was Ethan. He had completely memorized Ethan's schedule and routine. It's been a month and 3 days. Logan's given up on his own necessities just to sneak into the smaller boy's house. He knows every nook and cranny. Even a little room that Ethan never goes in.

He noticed that his little toy had been getting nervous lately, and had even confided in him, telling him that he felt he was being watched. Of course he had no idea he was confessing this to the exact person stalking him.

He giggles at the thought. How cute. Maybe one day Ethan will become entirely dependant on him… How nice.

He heard that Ethan would be moving come August. He giggles to himself. That would never happen.

Truth be told, he had tried countless times to make a robotic replica of Ethan. But, in the end, it was never good enough. Never.

He wasn't warm. He couldn't breathe. He didn't have emotion. He couldn't bleed.

But he had a plan. A plan so that his beloved would never leave his grasp.

★☆★

The moment he had entered, Ethan felt a chill down his spine. Something felt off. Like something bad was going to happen. It was almost unnaturally quiet. He felt his fears crawl up his back as he takes a few steps inside the dark home.

Logan wasn't here.

That part was normal.

What wasn’t normal was the fact that not a single robot had greeted him. No Patton, no Roman, and hell, not even a sign of Virgil.

He bites his lips, fear turning to worry as he walks into the office. But nothing.

His fear only increases before a rush of pain goes through his head. Before he can even register what had happened, the world goes black, and he hits the cold ground.

When he woke up, he expected he'd be dead, or in someone's basement, ready to get killed.

But it took him a moment to process the sight in front of him.

“... L… Logan?” He murmurs, still shaky from whatever had hit him earlier. His eyes adjust slowly to the darkness of the room, as he watches Logan, who in turn was watching him back.

“I see you've awoken. I hope I didn't hit you too hard- but I just couldn’t help myself.” His eyes go lidded as he says this, and he stands, walking to the small cage that contained Ethan.

“Y-You… What?”

Logan hums, seemingly unhappy with his answer.

“You never cease to amaze me, my beloved.” He gives a breathy laugh, leaning against the cage. Ethan could see just how red the scientist’s face is. “I had always doubted the path I chose. My dreams… They felt all on hold. But… Then you came.”

He reaches into the cage, caressing Ethan’s cheek with a cold hand, making his shiver.

“My beloved… You surprised me with just how perfect you are… When I doubt, you're my belief… Whenever you're not with me, I feel as though I could die. Again and again, you… You never fail to remind me how perfect you are.”

Ethan wanted to vomit.

“Logan… What the fuck is this..!?” He hisses out, his body shaking, and his eyes wide. Logan laughs at this reaction.

“That look in your eyes… Perfect. I wish I could stare forever.” He hums, leaning against the cage more. “My body… It's burning whenever I'm around you, Ethan.”

His eyes go wide, before laughter escapes him.

“Oh, my beloved… I just want to eat you whole.”

Ethan could vomit right now. He has to be dreaming, he has to be. Logan had been so nice to him up til now- why was this happening? What the fuck happened?!

“Don't look like that, love.” Logan purrs, and the cage door opens.

He can't even register what's going on before, once again, the world goes black.

★☆★

He doesn’t know how many days have passed. Has it been months? Weeks? He's not even sure. His little room is completely deprived of outside light.

Scars littered his body. Slits that the scientist used as lips for him to kiss.

He shuddered, remembering the feeling of the tongue inside of his body, invading his insides, wiggling like a worm.

“Don't cry, don't worry… It's supposed to bleed the first time.”

He'd vomit if he had a full stomach.

Is this his life now? Is he some sort of slave to this fucked up… demon? The demon that had taken his humanity from him. His daily life, his friends and family, the outside world, his rights as a human. All of that was in the hands of the demon he had once seen as a friend.

Hot tears burn in his eyes. He felt utterly exhausted. He just wanted to die already.

Just… Die.

Die.

Everything seems to pause as that thought came into his head. Is he really just going to let that happen?

He hears footsteps.

Is he going to let this demon take everything from him?

The sound of keys clatter.

Is he going to let himself die here?

The door starts to open.

Is he going to let this man treat him like a slave? Or is he going to take back his rights to being a human?

“Ethan, my beloved…” The man's voice lingers in the air. Ethan felt sick. “I'm glad to see you're awake..”

“Yes…”

Logan pauses for a second, before smiling. “I'm glad you're finally submitting to me. Has my training been working?”

Ethan catches glance of the familiar scalpel in the scientists hands.

“Don't worry… I'll be sure to return the love you give me.”

Logan seemed pleased with that answer, opening the cage. But, he didn't expect what happened next.

Ethan jumps, using every ounce of whatever strength he had remaining, and tackles the scientist to the ground.

“Give you back the love, my ass!”” He shouts, taking the scalpel, cutting his hand in the process. He didn't care. He didn't care at all.

“I am NOT your slave, you bastard!” He screams, stabbing down into the scientist before he could even respond. “I'm a human! And you will not take that from me, you hear?”

He growls, punching into the wound, the man sputtering and choking under him. He didn't care he didn't care he didn't care.

He punches again, his fist digging into his stomach, reaching his wriggling insides. He could puke, but he never stopped.

He sees the man. He's crying, and for a moment he remembers that he's human. But, instead, he leans in to Logan's ear.

“Hey… Don't cry. Don't worry.” He punches into the wound again, a squishing, bloody noise sounding once he does so. “It's supposed to bleed the first time, right?”

Blood covered him at this point, the man's stomach practically torn open and his intestines in a tangled, scratched up mess. He knew he was probably dead by now. He doesn’t know how long it's been.

He looks down at the body, and at himself.

He was covered in blood. His pants, his shirt, his arms. Hell, probably his face too. He doesn't care. He stands up, body shaking as he looks down once more at the freshly dead man. He can't even feel pity.

He spits on the body, turning and leaving the room.

It took him awhile, but he found the bathroom and washed off the blood to the best of his ability. He felt gross.

Leaving the house, he notices that it's night time. He so badly wants to burn the house down. Set it aflame, run, and never look back.

But instead, he simply locks the door and walks away. He knows that Logan has no other friends or family.

No one will find him for a while. No one will miss him.

His mind felt blank as he stumbled through the streets. He almost didn't recognize where he was. He was so dazed. It took him a few hours to make it back home, having to take breaks and dry heave or catch his breath.

He stares at his door, looking at his hands that were previously covered in blood. He winces slightly. He knows that this will stay with him for the rest of his life. He wanted to sleep, but time only stood still as he opened his door.

What is he going to say to his family? What would they think? He feels gross. But…

He collapses onto his bed. The familiar comfort swallowing him whole.

And he cried.

It had been a while since he's cried like this. But it felt good to finally let it all out.

There's so much he should worry about. So, so much.

So much he went through, so much he has to explain. So many thoughts, so many emotions.

He feels his eyes close.

It was at that moment he realized how ungodly tired he was. Tomorrow.

He can worry about it tomorrow.

All of his worries, doubts, fears, nausea, anxiety…

He can deal with it tomorrow. He can see his family. He can see his friends.

But that's for tomorrow.

For tonight, he'll forget everything. Leave it for himself when he wakes up. He'll forget his emotions, his fears, and the events that had happened.

He forgets it all.

And, even if it's just for that moment. Just for that night. Just for that sleep.

Things are calm.

And everything, even if it doesn't last, feels normal.

Safe.

Those are his final thoughts before the most comfortable sleep he's had in weeks swallows him whole.