#virgil having patton's card is harder to see but you can make out the F A M really faintly on the paper on his nightstand if you look close

[iclaimedtobethebetterbard]

patton and virgil have the cards they gave each other still :)

[im-a-space-gay]

Making My Way to Florida! (Gay Gamers Fic)

... read the title, I guess??

~~~~~~

Virgil felt absolute chaos consume his being as he finished packing everything, knowing he was ahead of schedule. At least, the schedule his friends knew about.

He sighed, about to sit down before his phone buzzed, and he looked down to see a text in the group chat.

Prince_Of_Creativity: Anx, start setting up! We playing the CC server!

CoolLogic101: The grammar in that text fills me with anger and fear.

Virgil smiled and was about to do what he was told before he remembered that in order to throw them off his tracks, he couldn’t participate in recording day. Bummer.

Anxie_Tea&Biscuits: Actually, I can’t record with you guys today, sry :(

Mor-Pal-Ity: What?! Why?! ;^;

That’s when Virgil paused, realizing he didn’t think of an excuse beforehand. F*ck.

Okay, he couldn’t use a sick card. He’d always somewhat record for the group channel even when sick, so it’d be suspicious if he did that. He also couldn’t use a bad day excuse, because he’d still record believing people would find his expense funny. Come on, think... oh!

Anxie_Tea&Biscuits: Something came up with my family who live a town over, so I can’t game for a while. Sry...

Prince_Of_Creativity: Np dude!! Take as much time as you need!! I hope your fams ok!

Anxie_Tea&Biscuits: Thanks. Have fun recording, okay??

He read their confirmations with a smile before checking again that he had everything in order. Suit case, check, house key, check, maps, check, plane ticket, check.

Virgil smiled even wider as he clapped, deciding it was a good time to eat as he waited for his friends to finish recording and editing, wanting to see how they’d do without him. It was official.

He was going to Florida tomorrow.

——

It was official the sequel.

Virgil f*cking hated planes.

It was cramped, quiet, and honestly having to get on the plane at four in the morning was a major let down because of the nine hour flight and five hour time difference, landing in Florida at eight AM.

Nonetheless, he was there, recording, and running by a Walmart in order to buy a huge cardboard box and neon pink packing peanuts wondering how he was going to walk the two miles between the address he was given and the Walmart without being seen by his friends.

Eventually, he got to his friends house -more like mansion, Jesus- unlocking the door and stepping inside, tempted heavily to just collapse onto the couch and lay there until his friends got back from their weekly shopping trip. But alas, he was too stubborn for that as he dragged his suitcase into what appeared to be a hall closet after grabbing another camera and setting it up in a flower pot.

“Alright,” he huffed, facing the camera he’d been carrying all day. “It is now eleven in the morning in Florida, and after carrying a huge-*ss box, dragging my suit case, and recording for two cursed miles, I am at Dork Manor with all residents on a shopping trip. So far, all according to plan. Now, to execute by far the easiest but somewhat boring phase of my plan: scaring the daylights out of my American friends. Let’s do this!”

Virgil clipped the camera onto his jacket again as he opened the bags for the packing peanuts, making commentary the entire time as he poured them all into the giant box.

He stood before the filled box within ten minutes, and he disposed of all garbage before looking at the camera that was fairly hidden in the pot.

“Okay, the others should finish their trip soon, meaning into the box I go! I wonder how long I’ll have to wait before they actually get here. Time to find out!”

He jumped in the box without spilling anything, thankfully -curse his height!- and sank down into the peanuts, closing the lid behind him.

Virgil waited for what he later found out was twenty minutes when he heard the door being unlocked, and he held a hand into his mouth to ensure he wouldn’t make any noise.

“Roman, please, I’m sure he- why is there a box in our living room?” A voice- Logan said, and Virgil heard somebody walk to his box.

“What does that- wow there’s actually a box, I thought that was a metaphor,” Roman muffled voice made it’s way to Virgil, and he heard the crinkling of shopping bags as another person walked over.

“Where’s it from?!” Patton now asked excitedly, being the only one putting stuff away from the sound of it, and Virgil had to hold in a squeal at the settling weight that his friends were there in person.

“It doesn’t say,” Logan said, probably inspecting the box. “Should we open it?”

“Yes!” Roman said. “Patt, hurry up I wanna open the box!”

“Coming, coming!”

Virgil, shaking with excitement, heard the last pair of feet bound over and then Roman counting down.

“Three... two... one!”

Virgil felt the box be opened, and didn’t move.

“... well that was anti-climatic.”

Then, Virgil decided to make his move as he stuck his head out of the box quickly.

“GUYS!”

They all shrieked and jumped back, being startled before they realized who he was. He didn’t give them the chance to say anything as he continued.

“I found so many packing peanuts at the store! Isn't this amazing?!” He asked in an excited voice, playing with the packing peanuts while they stared at him in shock.

Then, Roman started laughing, quickly followed by the other two, and Virgil couldn’t help but notice how they sounded hysterical. Virgil just huffed, sinking below the packing peanuts again as they continued.

“You guys are bloody weird. I’m taking a nap.”

He smiled as he heard them laugh harder with murmurs of “I can’t breathe” or “my LUNGS”.

When they were done, he suddenly felt two sets of hands grab both his arms and drag him into a standing position. He shook his head to get the peanuts out of his hair before looking at them with a wide smile.

They were all staring at him, looking like they were still processing he was he there with shaky smiles and misty eyes.

“Soo...” Virgil said, and they all snapped back into reality as he looked at them with a more sheepish smile than before. “Can you guys, uh, help me out of here? I’m very smol, in case you didn’t notice.”

They all started laughing again, and Virgil pouted.

“Guuuuys,” he whined, which made them laugh even more somehow. “This isn’t funny! I’m genuinely stuck, please help!”

When they continued to laugh with no signs of stopping, Virgil decided he hated them all and regretted coming to America, sinking back into the box and closing the lid behind him.

“Fine. No hugs for you guys, I guess,” he said loudly, and they all immediately stopped, and he felt the box open again.

“Wait wait wait, no please I want hugs,” Patton whined this time, and Virgil moved into a sitting position so they couldn’t reach him.

“Nope. Feel free to send me back to the UK.”

“Virgil please can we get hugs?” Roman cut in, and Virgil could already tell he was sticking his arms in the box in hopes of grabbing him.

“Nope!”

Then, Virgil felt the world give way beneath him as Logan lifted the box, and he and all the packing peanuts fell out the bottom. Virgil gasped loudly, pretending to be upset.

“Look what you’ve done! All my packing peanuts!” He cried out, grabbing handfuls of the peanuts and fake glaring at Logan. “How dare thee? This sin shall not be forgiven nor forgotten!”

He planned on continuing, but then he felt arms wrap around him from behind and he immediately melted and started purring, leaning back into the warmth.

“Are you purring?” Patton gasped happily, apparently being the one to grab him.

“I haven’t had a hug since I was eighteen, can you blame me?” Virgil said in response, purring increasing as Roman and Logan joined the hug.

“Are you recording this?” Roman asked after a bit, being the first to notice the camera on his jacket. Virgil nodded.

“Been recording since four in the AM.”

“You’ve been recording for eight hours?” Roman asked in shock, and Virgil shook his head.

“Ah, let me rephrase. I’ve been recording since four AM UK time. Here, I’ve been recording since eleven PM or something.”

“WHAT?!”

[angsty-anxxiety]

Secrets

Ta-da! Here’s my fic for the fic exchange, written for @sanderssidesships

Prompt: “Anything I can do to help?” “Just hold me”

Warnings: panic attack

A/N: Ok so this...got out of hand very quickly. It got so excessively long that I decided to make this into two chapters. I’m going to post the second part tomorrow to space them out a little bit. I’m not too sure how I feel about this but I hope you guys enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated <3

Virgil was good at keeping secrets.

Like, really good.

Like, hiding-your-panic-attacks-from-the-people-you’ve-lived-with-for-years good.

He never saw any point in telling the others. They didn’t know that whenever Thomas got panic attacks, Virgil did too. And when that happened they were almost always too angry with Virgil for causing their host pain to confront him. Yes, it sucked, and yes, it hurt like hell, but he figured that it was easier for everyone to see him as the bad guy. There wasn’t much he could do to change their minds, anyway.

That is, until he cut himself off and they decided to come snooping around in his room looking for him.

Since that day, things had been...weird. Better, but weird. Virgil felt more calm, and the other sides were actively making an effort to spend more time with him. Eventually, he somehow found himself romantically falling for each of the other sides. He, of course, shoved these thoughts and feelings into the darkest recesses of his mind and kept them there under lock and key. There was no way he was going to say anything. The four of them had such good chemistry now, he’d be damned if he ruined it with his own selfishness-

Until the day Patton kissed him out of nowhere during a movie marathon. What had followed was a blur of proclamations of love and confessions and tears-mostly from Virgil-as they realized they were all in love with each other.

So yeah. Things had been weird. But Virgil felt so incredibly good and warm and loved. He had his moments, sure, but he was feeling the best he ever had in his entire existence. He felt on top of the world. Shared kisses and endless cuddling and whispered assurances of love at 3 in the morning when he couldn’t sleep. It was all so...amazing.

But he had been riding this high for months. It only made sense that he would eventually crash and burn.

____________________

Thomas was grocery shopping when it happened.

Everything had been going fine. Virgil had stayed up late the previous night so he was lazily lounging on the couch, listening to Logan and Roman as they argued over what Thomas should buy (“Look at that colorful baking mix! Imagine the possibilities, Lo!” “He doesn’t even know how to bake”) while Patton tried to mediate between the two.

Virgil let his eyes slip shut, a small smile dancing on his lips. He couldn’t believe how content he felt. In this moment, listening to his partners bicker over nothing, he was totally zen. It was unfamiliar, and he was soaking up every second of it. He let his mind wander, when all of a sudden-

SLAM!

Virgil was on his feet in an instant, heart racing. He saw Thomas on his hands and knees in the middle of the store, groceries scattered around him. He quickly turned around and distantly Virgil could hear frantic apologies from a mother who had a death grip on 2 kids, who had slammed into Thomas.

The woman reached a hand out to Thomas, and Virgil’s brain sparked to life. He started shaking as Thomas weakly pushed the hand away, shaking his head. “It-it’s ok-k-kay, i’m f-fine,” he stuttered out.

Logan saw what was happening and snapped into action. “Thomas, go to the bathroom. Now,” he ordered. The host obeyed immediately, walking through the store on shaky legs, groceries long forgotten. He somehow found his way to the family bathroom and quickly ducked inside, bolting the door.

But Virgil couldn't comprehend any of this. All he knew was that his heart was pounding way harder than it should and his vision was quickly tunneling and he couldn’t breathe, fuck, why can’t he breathe.

“..gil? Virgil!”

Virgil shook his head nonsensically. Thomas slammed his back against the door and slid down to the floor. Virgil mirrored him in the mindscape, pulling his knees up to his chest and desperately trying to get air into his lungs.

“-il? Verge, hon, I need you to look at me. Can you hear me?”

Distantly, Virgil nodded. He didn't know who the voice belonged to but his subconscious clung to it.

“May we touch you?”

Virgil forced himself to nod again. He felt hands slip into his own, and another pair rest on his shoulders.

“Can you open your eyes for me?”

Virgil didn’t remember closing his eyes, but he mustered up all his will and slowly opened them. He was vaguely aware that the hands in his belonged to Roman’s, which meant that the hands on his shoulders and the eyes Virgil was staring into belonged to-

“That’s good, Virgil,” Logan said softly, “Just keep looking into my eyes. We’re going to breathe together, okay? In for 4, hold for 7, out for 8. Just follow Roman and I, alright?”

Roman guided Virgil’s hands to rest on both his and Logan’s chests. Feeling their heartbeats under his palms grounded Virgil somewhat, and he could already feel himself being brought back to Earth.

He struggled to match the rising and falling of the chests under his hands. It took him a few minutes, but he eventually fell into their pattern. In for 4-3-2-1, hold for 7-6-5-4-3-2-1, out for 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Repeat. And again. Just follow Logan and Roman.

Sometime later, Virgil realized that both his heart-rate and vision had both returned to normal. He took in an experimental deep breath, nearly sobbing with relief as he felt his lungs fill with air. He took his time letting it out, relishing in the feeling.

“Verge?”

Virgil let his head sag as the guilt and embarrassment set in. “ ‘M sorry,” he mumbled, shutting his eyes.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Logan asked, not moving.

Virgil fought back tears. “Just hold me,” he whispered.

He was instantly enveloped in warmth as arms wrapped around him from either side. The positioning was slightly awkward but he didn’t care. He buried his head in Roman’s shoulder and gripped both of Logan’s hands in his own. He let silent tears fall, too tired and emotional to get mad at himself for breaking down like this. He was sure Roman could feel Virgil’s tears soak through the material of his shirt, but if he noticed he didn’t say anything.

Virgil didn’t know how long they stayed like that. He didn’t know how long it took for his tears to stop flowing, but when they did he let himself sag into the tight hold his partners had on him, exhaustion washing over him.

“Virgil?”

Virgil didn’t respond.

“Look at us, honey,” Roman said softly.

Reluctantly, Virgil lifted his head and looked into the concerned eyes of his partners. Roman gently took one of his hands from Logan’s, leaving him feeling vulnerable and open. He didn’t like it.

“Is Thomas okay?” he asked, hoping to divert the attention off himself.

Roman frowned as he answered. “Yes, Patton is taking care of him. But..are you okay, Verge?”

“I’m fine.”

Logan’s gaze turned stern. “Virgil-”

“Lo, I’m fine. Really.”

Virgil didn’t know if he was lying or not.

“Just...just tired, is all.”

Logan nodded, sighing. “Okay. We’ll let you rest. Let us worry about getting Thomas home.” He looked at Roman. “Ro, could you…?”

Arms wrapped around Virgil as Roman lifted him into his arms bridal-style. Virgil leaned into his chest, letting unconscoiusness slowly take over him. “Thanks, Ro, “ he murmured.

He was unconscious before he could hear Roman’s response.

____________________

When Virgil woke up, it was to gentle fingers carding through his hair. He subconsciously leaned into the touch, sighing contentedly.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” a soft vice said above him.

He opened his eyes and found himself staring up into Patton’s gaze. He realized that he was laying on the couch and wondered what he was doing there.  All of a sudden, the memories of what had happened rushed back to him and he felt his anxiety kick in, eyes widening..

Seeing this, Patton quickly shook his head. “It’s okay, sweetheart, it’s okay, don’t panic. No one is mad and no one is hurt. We’re okay, Thomas is okay, you're okay,” he said reassuringly. 

Virgil didn’t respond, instead pushing himself to a sitting position. He saw Roman sitting on the floor in front of the couch, a little ways away. Without a word, Virgil held a hand out, and the prince was instantly at his side, caressing the offered hand.

“How do you feel, love?” Roman asked softly.

Virgil shrugged. “ ‘M fine.”

Virgil felt his heart clench as Patton looked at him, sadness in his eyes. “We should talk about this, Verge,” he told him gently. “With everyone. Do you think you’re up for that?”

Virgil let his gaze drop and shrugged before nodding. “I guess,” he muttered. He really, really didn’t want to have this talk, but he figured it was better to get it over with.

Patton nodded. “Okay. Logan is with Thomas right now. Let’s go meet them, okay?”

Virgil sunk out of the mindscape alongside the others, dreading what was about to come.

[part 2]