Tumgik
#and i know a lot of the virgil lore only lives inside of my head
gravedigg · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media
I bit God's hand and now he wont even feed me
This ones inspired by a picture of Mary holding Jesus but, since Virgil grew up in foster care and never knew his mother, there's no one there. Just the hollow space where someone should be.
It speaks to his relationship (and subsequent disconnection) with his heritage and culture as the orphaned child of immigrants and his difficult relationship with religion, having grown up religious but feeling betrayed and abandoned by god after his injury.
I wanted it to look like an old post card, it says return to sender but unfortunately they didn't leave a return address. It's probably just gonna sit at the post office until they throw it away. :-(
178 notes · View notes
hiddendreamer67 · 5 years
Text
Roman the Tooth Fairy
Summary: Roman, a dedicated servant to tooth fairy kind, has no idea what awaits him when he is caught one night by a curious young boy by the name of Logan.
Word Count: 3,840
Check out more of my work at @hiddendreamerwriting
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being a Tooth Fairy was a noble profession, in Roman’s opinion. It was his job to travel all around the world, flying into children’s bedrooms and exchanging their baby teeth beneath a pillow for some sort of reward. Often this was some form of currency, but it could be other things as well. Sometimes children would leave him notes, and Roman was one of the few fae who would take the time to respond. He knew that childhood imagination was a wondrous thing and Roman did everything he could to keep it alive.
Roman was such a dedicated and loyal public servant to fairy kind, that as he was painstakingly writing out the answers to a very long list of questions in his signature golden ink, Roman did not see the figure creeping up with a jar until it was too late.
“Gotcha!” The child declared, causing Roman to jump as he suddenly found himself surrounded by glass. Roman turned, pressing himself against the wall. No matter- he had close calls before. As soon as the child turned the jar over Roman would dash out the window, out into the night. But, it seemed the boy had thought of this. Rather than turn the jar the kid immediately dashed to Roman’s exit, shutting the glass panes.
…well, that would make things a bit more difficult.
Roman let out a grunt, tossed to the side as now the boy returned, turning over the jar so that he could peer inside with amazement.
“Are you really the thooth fairy?” He asked, a slight lisp present due to the obvious hole in his smile thanks to the tooth tucked into Roman’s bag.
“Well I’m certainly not the easter bunny.” Roman huffed. Despite his sarcastic answer, the child’s eyes lit up.
“Why do you collect the theeth?” The kid immediately began prattling off questions. “Why do you leave money? How do you fly? Where do you live? Are there other fairies?”
“Okay, okay!” Roman put up his hands, urging the young boy to stop. “I get it, you’ve got a lot of questions. But I already answered the ones on your paper, and I really have to get going. I need to visit the other children of the world too, you know. You wouldn’t want your friends to wake up upset, now would you?”
“I don’t talk to other kids.” The child wrinkled his nose. “I refuse to a-knowledge them.”
“...of course you don’t.” The fairy sighed. Well, so much for guilt tripping. 
Roman yelped, finding himself tumbling head over heels as without warning the boy turned the jar upside-down again, depositing Roman in his little hand. Before Roman could reorient himself the fingers wrapped around his form, surprisingly gentle but efficient in their mission to keep him contained. Roman squirmed, fluttering his wings desperately to try to pull himself out as they were the only appendages still free.
“Woah.” The boy let out a noise of awe, reaching out with his other hand to grab the tip of Roman’s right wing.
“C-careful!” Roman warned, freezing instantly at the touch lest his struggles cause the wing to rip. “Those are very delicate, young man.”
“I know.” The child said, but Roman felt the touch on his wings get softer. “Like butterflies. I read about them.”
“Then you should know not to touch.” Roman shuddered, feeling the fingertips trace down his wing and onto his back. “Or else you’ll rub off all the dust and I won’t be able to fly.” This was a bit of an exaggeration, but it had the right effect. 
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Tooth Fairy.” The boy winced, pulling his fingers back with a hiss as though he had burned them. “Are they alright? I...I didn’t know.” 
“Well, I don’t know…” Roman feigned injury, giving them a weak flap. “I’ll have to give them a test flight.”
The child, though intelligent, was still young enough to be gullible. He opened his hand, and the moment he did Roman shot up into the air. 
“Hey! Wait!” The child tried to make a grab at him, but Roman was too quick as he made a dash for the window, throwing his arms wide to dust the panes ajar and let in the night air.
“Please, come back!” The kid pleaded, following him to the windowsill and reaching out desperately. Behind him, the bedroom door opened, allowing the hallway light to flood in.
“Logan?” A tired voice said. “Who are you talking to?”
Roman didn’t stick around to find out, knowing he had wasted enough time tonight already. He flew off into the darkness, feeling thankful when the distant nursery was soon out of sight and out of mind.
Roman, if he were a fairy of sounder mind, might have requested to switch sections with someone. However, Roman was unafraid, knowing to be prepared when sure enough another tooth was lost at the Sander’s household. This time, it was Logan’s older brother, and because it wasn’t the culprit himself Roman was foolish enough to let his guard down.
 As Roman was reaching underneath the pillow to collect the tooth, the pillow was suddenly flipped over, smothering Roman and pinning him to the bed. Roman tried to scream, but his yells were muffled by the fluffy contraption. A moment later he was mercifully yanked out by his leg, dangling upside down in front of the teen who was supposed to be asleep.
“Huh.” The teen looked surprised, staring down at Roman’s struggles through unkempt violet bangs. “What do ya know, Logan was telling the truth.” 
“Unhand me!” Roman commanded, much more ill at ease with an older child. He looked far too old to still be losing teeth.
“Nah.” The boy gave a smirk. “It’s much more fun to watch you dangle. Besides, you’re the one who’s trespassing and stealing human remains.”
“Alright, you don’t have to be so macabre, macbeth.” Roman huffed. Humans never seemed to understand the delicate art of tooth collection.
“So what’s your deal, anyways?” The teen asked, sitting up. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Roman.” Roman explained. “And I have important business to attend to, young man, so I must insist you release me at once.”
“Yeah, whatever.” The boy rolled his eyes, standing up. He flipped the fairy, still upside down but now holding both his legs in a secure grip just as Logan had done a month ago. “You’re not going anywhere until you apologize for making Logan cry.”
Roman paused, not expecting that statement. “I...I did not intend to upset him.” Roman frowned. Even if the child had caught him, Roman couldn’t fault the young boy for being curious, and considering it was Roman’s job to bring joy to children it felt disheartening to know he had disappointed the boy.
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to.” The teen lowered his voice, speaking softly as he looked out into the hall to check that the coast was clear. “Look, I get you’ve got your whole magic rules and whatever, but would it really have killed you to talk to him? That’s all he wants, you know.”
“Yes, I noticed, he’s quite the chatterbox.” Roman observed with what was almost an amused chuckle, swaying back and forth as his captor was on the move. “It seems to keep up a conversation that boy will just talk your ear off for you.”
“Only at home.” The teen corrected, sneaking down the hall with a grim expression. “He’s not good at opening up, so at school he’s really quiet. The kid doesn’t have any friends.”
“He mentioned that.” Roman said in realization, the memory coming back to him. “It sounded like he just thought his classmates were beneath him.”
“Well hey, I’d put up that shield too if I kept being pushed to the side.” Pushing open one of the bedroom doors, Roman was brought into the familiar nursery room from before. Or at least, that’s what he assumed. It was hard to tell when he was upside-down, and frankly Roman was beginning to find the sensation of all the blood rushing to his head quite unpleasant. 
The older brother walked over to the bed, where Logan was fast asleep. His glasses were placed lovingly on the nightstand, where Roman remembered painstakingly writing his response to Logan’s note. In sleep, the boy looked far more peaceful.
Well, not for long. In true brotherly fashion the teen grabbed a spare pillow and whacked it across Logan’s face. The younger sibling gasped, eyes bursting open as he scrambled to grab his glasses.
“Hey nerd, your imaginary friend’s back.” Roman found himself now dangled directly above the bed, looking down at a shocked Logan. 
“Virgil!” Logan immediately protested, concern filling those little brown eyes. “You can’t hold him like that, put him down!”
“Sure thing.” Virgil gave a smirk, and suddenly Roman found himself tumbling through the air. He didn’t even have time to attempt a take off before he was once again snatched up, this time by much smaller fingers.
“Are you alright?” Logan asked, having caught the fairy.
“I-yes, Logan, I'm fine.” Roman took careful note of the way the fingers stayed securely wrapped around his middle like a seatbelt, as well as the way Virgil was now casually moving to lean against the window. What little brats.
No, Roman took that thought back immediately. They were making his job difficult, of course, but he could sense their hearts were in the right place. 
“Okay, um, well…” Logan seemed almost nervous, reaching into his bedside drawer with his non-fairy hand. He set down a large notebook on the bed, flipping it open to reveal a crude set of notes that seemed to be all about fairy lore. 
“That’s quite a bit of research you’ve got there.” Roman gave an impressive sound, causing Logan to look quite pleased with himself. It was almost as though Logan had thought of nothing else since his last visit. The boy continued to flip through, back to a section labelled ‘QUESTIONS’. Roman let out a low whistle. That was… a lot of questions. 
“Alright, look.” Roman cut Logan off before he even began. “I can see you’ve got a lot of questions here. But you have to understand, I can’t stay here all night.”
Logan’s face fell. “But…” He looked to his brother pleadingly, who in turn scowled at Roman.
“How about, I make you a deal.” Roman raised his hands in surrender, knowing when he was caught. “I’ll be back here for every tooth that’s lost. I can answer one question for each tooth.”
Logan opened his mouth, mentally trying to count the teeth with his tongue as he looked at the number of questions on the page.
“That doesn’t seem very fair.” Virgil argued. “Especially when we could just force you to stay here forever.”
“Virgil, I thought you said I had ‘ta let him go?” Logan frowned, clearly experiencing mixed signals. Roman was surprised at this knowledge, as he had taken Virgil to be the more manipulative of the two.
“Logan, we don’t tell him that.” Virgil groaned, putting his hand on his forehead.
“Oh. Apologies.” Logan looked embarrassed.
“It’s one question, or no questions.” Roman’s tone was firm. “And since tonight was Virgil’s tooth, it’s your question tonight, sunken scowl.”
“How do we know you’ll come back and keep your promise?” Virgil narrowed his gaze. Roman raised his pinky finger, but this only seemed to confuse Virgil. “What is that, what are you doing?”
“The most powerful promise in the entire realm.” Roman said seriously. 
Logan, being seven, recognized the gesture at once, and carefully wrapped his much larger pinky around the fairy’s for an interlocking pinky promise.
“Oh good lord.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “I’m too old for this stuff.”
“Yes, I’d imagine.” Roman concurred, taking back his hand so he could glance into the bag. “I do believe this is your last baby tooth.”
“So Virgil won’t see you again?” Logan tilted his head.
“Well I certainly won’t be making any house calls.” Roman snorted. “Now come on then, you both got a question in. No more freebies.”
“Alright, let him go.” Virgil conceded, stepping to the side and pushing the window open. With reluctance Logan opened his fingers, and Roman shot him a grateful smile. 
“Take care.” Roman paused in front of the teen, giving him a nod before flying out the window. 
 True to his word, Roman returned a few months later to retrieve Logan’s next tooth. The boy was sitting on the floor waiting for him, rubbing his eyes sleepily and trying desperately to keep awake.
“Logan, shouldn’t you be in bed?” Roman raised an eyebrow, walking across the blanketed surface and reaching beneath the pillow. 
“I was waiting for you.” Logan yawned. “Virgil said you wouldn’t answer my questions if I wasn’t awake.”
Well, now Roman felt bad for leaving this until later in the evening. He had wanted to complete his other runs first, knowing now that the Sander’s home might take a while. 
“Did you pull this out?” Roman asked, examining the tooth. It was a bit bloodied still, as though it hadn’t been ready to fall out on its own.
“...no.” Logan shifted, not meeting Roman’s eye when the fairy gave him a stern look. “Virgil pulled it out.”
“No more yanking out your teeth.” Roman sighed, wiping it off with one of his rags before placing it gently in the bag. “Goodness gracious, doesn’t that hurt?”
“Not really.” Logan shrugged, his tongue dancing over the new hole in his mouth. “I wanted to see you again. It’s been ages, and you only come for teeth.”
“Well you’re just going to have to learn to be more patient.” Roman huffed. “Fairies don’t like bloody teeth, you know.”
Logan seemed to take this information to heart, as the next time Roman visited the tooth was already washed and polished.
“Do you like it?” Logan rubbed at his eyes, seeming to have bags beneath them.
“Yes, it’s very nice.” Roman assured him, taking it and putting it away.
“I still don’t see why you like them so much.” Logan admitted. “It’s just a tooth.”
“It’s not just a tooth, it’s a sign you’re growing up.” Roman raised an eyebrow, teasing. “Is that your question?”
“No cheating, that wasn’t a question.” Logan frowned. “I didn’t say it with a questioning tone.”
“I don’t know, it sounded pretty questioning to me…” Roman laughed, hearing Logan give a small cry when he pretended to go towards the window. Sleep deprivation seemed to make the child even more fun to mess with. “Alright, alright, I yield. Ask your question.” 
As time went on, Roman found himself almost looking forward to these visits as much as Logan himself. Roman would rearrange his schedule so that he could spend more and more time with the child, curious to know more as Roman found himself growing attached.
Eventually, Logan felt secure enough in his visits to actually go to sleep before the fairy arrived, knowing Roman would wake him. Roman didn’t dare try to skip out on a question and face Virgil’s wrath again. He didn’t want to skip out on a question, anyways. There were only so many baby teeth in a human’s mouth, and Roman was quickly collecting them all. Soon there would be none left for Logan to put under his pillow.
“What happens when somebody loses all their baby teeth?” Logan asked one night, trying to look up at the fairy sat atop his head. “Do tooth fairies still visit them?”
“No, tooth fairies are just for children.” Roman explained. “Adults don’t need us.”
“But what if adults want tooth fairies?” Logan pressed on. “Or what if an adult loses a tooth. I’ve read about it happening.” (Logan had read a lot about teeth by this point). “What if an adult puts that tooth under their pillow?”
Roman gave Logan a look, knowing what the adolescent was trying to plan. “Logan, don’t go knocking out your own teeth. It doesn’t work like that; we only collect baby teeth.”
“It was worth a question.” Logan shrugged. “I wish it did work like that, then you could stay forever.”
“No, you’d still run out of teeth.” Roman reminded him. “And then you’d just be a toothless blob, like a goldfish. A goldfish who can’t even talk. Are you going to flop into the sea as well?”
Logan stuck his tongue out in disgust at the idea of no teeth. “Goldfish don’t live in the ocean...do they?”
“How should I know?” Roman shrugged, laying down in Logan’s hair. “I only know teeth.”
The next visit Logan brought along a book of oceanography he had borrowed from the school library.
“Goldfish have teeth.” Logan informed Roman, only moments after the fairy flew in on the nightly breeze. He pointed down at the diagram in the pages. “And they don’t live in the ocean.”
“I suppose you’ll just have to be a toothless goldfish then.” Roman sighed dramatically.
“No, I’d be a toothless person.” Logan corrected.
“Nope, only a goldfish, there’s no other way.” Roman flopped onto the book, laying his hand across his forehead as if pretending to faint. “Logan, the poor saltwater, tooth-lacking goldfish, I knew him well.” 
Logan rolled his eyes, bending the book closed just enough to force Roman to sit up before Logan laid back, tilting the book vertically so Roman gently slid down onto his chest.
“You’re very dramatic.” Logan observed.
“I’d be offended if you hadn’t realized that.” Roman quirked an eyebrow. “I’m not trying to be subtle.” Logan chuckled, and it bounced Roman slightly in a pleasant manner.
Logan learned a lot of things about Roman through his stream of questions. But likewise, Roman learned a lot about the boy he saw on and off for almost six years. He learned that Logan was one of the smartest twelve-year-olds around, but had trouble articulating himself when it came to emotions. He learned that Logan loved to read, and would show off this skill whenever Roman allowed him the chance. 
Roman also learned something very important about himself: he had grown to love Logan.
Roman glanced out the window, noticing the moon was already high in the sky. It shone down into the nursery and coated the room in a soft glow.
The pillow beneath Roman shifted as the human child moaned in his sleep, rolling over so he was now facing Roman. His warm breath rustled Roman’s wings, which idly flickered. Roman took another look at Logan’s face, so peaceful in rest. Roman wanted to stay and watch him longer, but he knew it was time to go. The fairy had stayed long enough tonight, wanting to comfort the upset child. 
“Can you stay a bit longer?” Logan had pleaded timidly, and Roman knew he would have moved planets for this boy.
“Of course.” Roman had wiped his tears away, giving Logan a small kiss on the nose.
It had been quite a rough visit, neither one acknowledging the elephant in the room. Roman wasn’t sure if Logan had understood what was going on entirely or if this was just residual sadness from the fact that Virgil had recently left for college. Roman knew Virgil was a good kid as well, and was often Logan’s only human friend. To lose both of them might break Logan.
Roman sighed, looking down at the tooth in his hand. It was a molar, clearly well taken care of when it was still attached. It seemed Logan had finally listened to him about the importance of brushing. Roman held it tenderly, not unlike a baby bird.
It was Logan’s last baby tooth.
There was some more rustling next to him, and Roman could tell Logan was in an uneasy bout of sleep. Roman got up, brushing each hair tenderly from Logan’s forehead as he massaged the youngest Sander’s head, hoping to rub away all the aching in that overactive imagination. 
“Shh.” Roman murmured, giving Logan a hug as best a fairy could. How he longed to give Logan a proper embrace. “Goodnight, sweet prince.” 
When Logan settled back down Roman allowed himself one more look at the boy’s face, memorizing the details so that he would never forget. Slowly Roman turned, floating up towards the window.
“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”
Roman winced, turning to see Logan staring back at him blearily. He was a fool to think he could escape so easily.
“Yes.” Roman gave a small nod, watching as Logan rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Still tired, it was clear that Logan was not fully awake. 
“When will you be back?” Logan yawned, and it broke Roman’s heart.
“As- as soon as I can.” Roman assured him, hoping the child didn’t notice how his voice cracked. He knew this would be the last time he ever visited Logan Sanders. 
“You were going to leave without saying goodbye.” Logan realized.
“I thought you were asleep.” Roman gently returned, pressing against the human’s shoulder. “Go back to bed, it’s late.”
Logan allowed himself to be pushed back to a lying position, his eyes drifting shut. Roman pulled the blanket up, tucking Logan in.
“...goodbye.” Roman said finally, giving Logan one last kiss on his forehead.
“M’bye.” Logan mumbled, a small smile forming on his features at Roman’s touch. 
Roman flew out, stopping to pause at the windowsill and look at his boy one last time. Roman smiled fondly. Logan was a good kid; if he could survive childhood, Roman knew he would be a good adult as well. Roman wished he could be there to see it, but there comes a time when all children must outgrow their teeth and their tooth fairies. It was just the way of the world.
The tooth fairy looked around, taking in the site of the nursery. It had evolved over time, slowly shaping to Logan’s interests. Bookshelves lined the walls and various nerdy posters decorated the space. Roman snorted, noting the diagram on gum decay. Logan’s parents had never understood their child’s growing fascination with teeth, but Roman suspected he had played a large part in that. Logan could certainly make a decent dentist one day.
The thought of Logan all grown up made Roman pause. Would Logan remember him? Roman had never stopped to consider it. Most adults outgrew their childhood fantasies, but this was more than a fantasy. Roman knew he certainly would never forget Logan.
“So long, Logan.” Roman said softly, giving the wall a gentle pat. He finally took the plunge, flying off into the night. He wondered idly if that was the last time he would ever see the Sander’s nursery- the notion was certainly a strange one, especially after spending so many glorious nights there. Roman would be sad to see it go.
Then again, there was always the possibility of Logan having children of his own.
507 notes · View notes
adrianainthesnow · 5 years
Text
Meeting the Brother(s???)
This is based on the Sanders Sides AU Love and Other Fairytales by @tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors. It’s a lovely extensive world with a lot of great lore and interesting characters. I would recommend it if you haven’t already read it.
Summary: After being cagey about talking about his hometown and family life, Thomas finally decides to start introducing Harley to his family, starting, of course, with his brother Logan. Just his brother Logan. At least, that was the intention.
(Harley meets the husband squad. Logan is very awkward at the beginning, Patton and Roman are little shits, and Virgil has very purposefully turned his scary-to-humans meter up to 150%. So basically, Thomas is having a rough day.)
Trigger Warnings: Homophobia mentioned
Harley wasn’t a habitually nervous person. He liked to think of himself as a calm person, actually: someone who was ready to roll with life’s punches with a smile on his face.
But today, yeah, he was nervous, because he was about to meet a member of Thomas’ family. They’d been dating for months now and at first when Thomas had brushed him off about meeting each other’s families, Harley had understood. It was a big step after all, but slowly over the next few months, it became abundantly clear that there was something else behind Thomas’ reluctance to introduce Harley to his parents or twin brother.
Anytime Harley brought it up, Thomas got nervous, his eyes darting around like he was looking for an escape, and he’d change the subject as soon as he could. He talked a bit about his family; Harley knew he and his brother were close and that he was very fond of his parents, but sometimes, when he was in the middle of telling a story about one of them, he’d abruptly cut himself off and rush to change topics. He almost refused to talk about his hometown other than it was small and near a forest. He hadn’t even told Harley where it was, as though he was afraid Harley would go try to track it down or something. He’d only accidentally dropped the name into conversation twice and seemed mildly horrified when he realized he did. Out of morbid curiosity, Harley had googled “Wickhills” the second time Thomas had accidentally said it. He hadn’t found anything particularly out of the ordinary, though when he tried to use the Google Maps feature, it wouldn’t load even though he’d tried it multiple times, so he still wasn’t quite sure where it was.
Harley had done the math. Gay man who moved to the city and was cagey when talking about his too small to be on the map hometown and his family. Yeah…
When Thomas had anxiously told him he was going to go visit his brother that weekend and asked if he wanted to join, Harley had accepted despite the way his stomach squirmed a bit.
So, here they were, in Thomas’ car, parking in a guest parking spot of an apartment complex. Thomas seemed strung out and it was not helping Harley’s nerves. Did Logan even know Harley was Thomas’ boyfriend? Did he even know Thomas was gay?
Thomas took a deep breath and Harley heard him mumbled, “it’s just Logan,” under his breath, sounding almost angry at himself before he resolutely pushed open the car door. Harley followed him up the stairs to one of the apartments.
Thomas dithered at the door, looked over at Harley, and leaned forward to press a quick, but slightly desperate kiss to his lips. Then he knocked.
The door opened almost immediately as though the person there had been standing by the door waiting for them to arrive. Harley had to blink. He’d known they were twins of course, but it was still startling. He looked almost like an exact copy of Thomas except his eyes were much lighter than the ones Harley was used to. Those eyes peered at him sharply and it made Harley want to squirm, but then he quirked an awkward half-smile and Harley forced himself to calm.
“Um, Harley, this is Logan. Logan this is Harley,” Thomas said. Harley noticed he didn’t introduce him as his boyfriend and decided to follow his lead and not mention it yet.
“Salutations,” Logan said, nodding at him.
“Hi,” Harley said back. The three of them stared at each other for a moment before Logan finally moved back from the door-frame and gestured inside.
“You two can come in.” It was a small studio apartment and Harley could see Logan’s carefully made bed in the corner next to a desk. On the wall to his left was a small kitchenette and a door to what he imagined was the bathroom.
“You have a nice apartment,” Harley said.
“Thank you.” Logan was as stiff as a board. Well that was just great.
Thomas was very clearly jittery and very clearly not going to be able to say anything to cut the tension.
“So, you’re studying Environmental Science, right?” Harley asked.
“I am, yes.”
Harley waited a moment, hoping he would continue. “What classes are you taking?” he asked.
Logan listed off a few classes and Harley commented and asked anther question and then another. They continued the conversation like that: Harley asking questions and Logan answering as concisely as possible and Thomas saying nothing. Eventually, Harley ran out of questions to ask and shot Thomas a okay-you-need-to-help-me-now look.
“So, anyway,” Thomas interjected. “We were going to go have lunch, right?”
“Right,” Logan said quickly, seemingly relieved that his brother was speaking. “Where would you like to go?”
“Um. I don’t know,” Thomas said. “You live here. You pick.”
“You’ve been here enough to know the restaurants around here, Thomas, and I can eat wherever I want, whenever. You pick.”
“I don’t care.”
“Perhaps Harley can pick,” Logan suggested, looking over at him.
And now they were both staring at him. “I don’t even know what’s around here to pick,” Harley protested.
Logan considered him. “What type of food do you like?”
“I don’t know,” Harley said, suddenly forgetting every type of food he’d ever eaten. “Pasta?”
Logan seemed to think for a moment. “I’m not sure of any places which serve pasta near us.”
“It, um, it doesn’t have to be pasta. I’m really fine with anything,” Harley insisted.
They continued to go around like that for a few minutes. Eventually, Thomas excused himself to go to the restroom.
They petered off into silence and then stared at each other for a few long moments. Harley suddenly wished to go back to the awkward, no-you-pick-the-restaurant conversation, but he couldn’t find it in himself to start it back up.
There was a knock on the door.
“Expecting visitors?” Harley asked.
Logan’s brows drew together. “No,” he stated. The knocking became louder and Logan sighed, turning to go open the door.
“Surprise visit!” a man yelled upon the door being opened. He launched himself at Logan, wrapping his arms around his waist.
“P-Patton?!” Logan sputtered.
Another man shoved his way into the room, dropping a bag by the door and pushing past them before walking past Harley to the bed in the corner. He paused to toe off his shoes before throwing himself on the bed. “Hey, Specs.”
A third man who wore a dark purple hoodie, the hood pulled up to obscure most of his head, followed him in and closed the door behind them. He didn’t speak, but just moved to hop on top of Logan’s desk in a motion that was just barely odd enough to set Harley’s teeth on edge. It may have been a trick of the light, but his eyes looked… wrong.
“I specifically told you I was meeting Thomas’ boyfriend today and to not come interrupt.” Harley blinked. Apparently, Logan did know the nature of his and Thomas’ relationship.
“Oh, was that today?” the one sprawled over Logan’s bed asked. “Oops, we must have forgotten Didn’t we forget, Patton?”
Patton giggled into Logan’s chest. “Uh huh, yeah,” he said unconvincingly.
“You allowed this,” Logan hissed at the man on the desk, his lips pursed. He simply shrugged in response.
“Well, while we’re here,” the man on the bed waved off Logan’s ire and turned to prop himself up on his elbow to study Harley. “Hello, you must be Harley, I’m Roman.”
Patton released Logan from the hug and turned to Harley with a cheery smile. He offered a hand to shake. “I’m Patton. It’s very nice to meet you! We’ve heard so much about you.”
Harley could not say the same. If Thomas had dropped the names Roman or Patton into a conversation, it had been fleeting enough that he didn’t notice.
“And Dark-and-Stormy-Night over there is named Virgil,” Roman offered, gesturing at him. Harley glanced at the man and had to swallow a lump in his throat at the intense way Virgil was staring at him, not moving.
“Um, nice to meet you all,” Harley said.
Patton beamed at him. “Oh!” he said suddenly. “Lo, your mom sent a pie!” He scrambled over to the bag Roman had dropped off near the door and unzipped it, pulling out a pie tin and moving to set it on the kitchen counter.
“I see my parents were complicit in this scheme,” Logan said dryly.
Patton blinked at him innocently. “Scheme?” he asked sweetly.
“It was an honest mistake,” Roman insisted, hands over his heart.
“Virgil, was this an honest mistake?” Logan asked.
“It could have been,” Virgil spoke for the first time and Harley felt his breath get caught in his throat.
Logan frowned at him. “That is not an answer.”
Patton laughed softly, coming back to Logan’s side. Then, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to the corner of Logan’s lips.
Harley froze. “Wait, are you…?”
Logan’s eyes flickered to Harley and he seemed to understand the question he’d been trying to ask. “They’re my husbands.”
“Husbands?” Harley asked, his mind suddenly reeling.
“Is that a problem?” Roman asked, suddenly sharp.
Harley blinked. “No!” he said quickly. “No. It’s just… I thought… You’re married?”
“Yes,” Logan said.
Harley’s mind desperately tried to do the math. “Do your…” he glanced at the pie on the counter. “Your parents are okay with that?”
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t they be?” he asked as though it was the simplest thing in the world. Okay, Harley needed to recalibrate a few assumptions in his mind. He opened his mouth to say something else when the bathroom door opened.
“Oh, no, what’s going on?” Thomas asked. He’d frozen in the bathroom doorway, eyes wide on Logan’s visitors.
“I did not invite them,” Logan defended himself immediately.
“Hi, Thomas!” Patton greeted. Thomas squeaked back.
“Thomas, I thought I wasn’t meeting your family because they were homophobes,” Harley stammered.
He heard a snort from Roman’s direction. Surprise seemed to shock Thomas enough to speak. “What? No!”
“Then why have you been so weird about talking about your family?” Harley asked.
“I… uh, I, well…”
“You see what you did,” Logan scolded his husbands. “Thomas wasn’t ready for this conversation with Harley yet and you three are basically forcing him into it.”
That gave Harley pause. He looked at the way his boyfriend had shrunk down into himself and refused to look directly at him and suddenly realized what was happening. Harley had though Thomas was worried about how his family would react to Harley, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe, Thomas was afraid of how Harley would react to his family. “It’s,” he said. “It’s okay, Thomas. You don’t have to tell me right now.”
There was a pause. “Really?” he asked and the cautious way he was looking at him made Harley’s heart lodge in his throat.
“Yeah, I mean, I’d like to know what it is eventually, but I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. You can tell me when you’re ready. It can wait.”
Thomas sagged in relief. “Thanks.” Harley offered him a hand and Thomas took it instantly, winding their fingers together.
“Aw!” Patton said.
Thomas flushed red and his head shot up, but, Harley noticed, he didn’t move to drop his hand. “Say nothing,” he demanded, but he wasn’t looking at the man who had spoken. His eyes were locked on his brother.
“That’s quite a hypocritical demand, Bug,” Logan said, a smirk on his lips and light dancing in his eyes.
“We were going to go get something to eat,” Harley said. “Would the three of you like to join us?”
“Tacos!” Roman said slapping his hands on the bed and sitting up.
Logan rolled his eyes fondly. “Every time.”
“Tacos are good!” Roman insisted. “Especially from Marco’s Kitchen. Right Pat?”
“Whatever you say, dear.”
“See, you’re already outvoted.”
“That is two votes,” Logan pointed out, but there was a teasing note to his tone. “There are six of us. You do not even have half”
“Virgil, help me out here.”
“No.”
Harley listened to them bicker, clearly more than comfortable with each other and felt himself get a little less nervous. He squeezed Thomas’ hand in his. Today might actually turn out to not be as bad as he thought.
 It was a few hours later that Patton, Roman, and Virgil left to head back home. They’d each given Logan a kiss and gave Thomas an affectionate hug, pat on the shoulder, and nod of the head respectively.
“It was nice to meet all of you,” Harley offered, and it had been in the end. Weird, but nice.
They had gotten tacos from a stand as requested and had gone to eat them in a park nearby. It had been tense at the start, and Thomas had seemed incredibly nervous, glancing at Harley every few seconds as though gauging his reaction to the admittedly odd bunch, but eventually, when Harley didn’t seem inclined to react poorly, he’d relaxed a bit. Harley had gotten to know the four husbands over the course of the picnic and found they were pretty good company for the most part despite their oddities.
Logan was a lot easier to talk to when he loosened up, smiling and laughing at the antics of Patton and Roman and poking fun at Thomas. Harley found himself smiling at the way Thomas and his brother interacted even when Logan was lightly teasing them both about their relationship. To be fair, it sounded like Thomas deserved it from what Harley had picked up about his past behavior in regards Logan’s husbands.
Patton was sweet and seemingly innocent. He was the easiest to talk to and spent most of the beginning of the afternoon smoothing over any rough spots in conversations. Once everyone seemed to settle, he’d allowed himself to relax, satisfied. Harley realized he wasn’t quite as naïve as he’d first perceived him to be when he’d winked and cracked a joke under his breath to Logan that made the other man blush all the way up to his hairline.
Roman was dramatic and a bit pushy and rough at the beginning. He’d been the source of most of the blips in conversation, but eventually he’d calmed into a more playful and teasing disposition. Looking back, Harley thought that maybe he’d been being overprotective of Thomas and testing Harley. It was rather sweet, actually.
Virgil was… slightly less intimidating when one of his husbands was laying across his lap, but not by much. He was fine though overall, and, if Harley was pretty sure he’d seen him pick up a spider and stuff it into his hood, it wasn’t like he hadn’t met weirder people. He’d worked in customer service after all.
Patton and Roman both were quick to tell him it was nice to meet him too and then Harley felt his attention drawn to Logan’s last husband. Virgil met his eyes for a moment and Harley did his best not to flinch. “You are adequate,” he said.
“Oh, god Virgil, please,” Thomas groaned, covering his face with his hands. Virgil’s eyes flickered over to him and his expression gentled, amusement pulling at the side of his lips. Something in Harley’s chest uncoiled and he finally could actually breath while looking at the man.
“Thanks,” Harley said softly.
Virgil turned to him and flashed him a quick smile. It’s like he’d flipped some switch and Harley’s instincts could finally relax around him now. A bit of mischievousness entered his eyes and he turned back to Thomas. “You should bring him home. I will make sure no one steals him away into the forest.” Well the lack of tension was nice while it lasted.
“Virgil!” Thomas spat, but Virgil had already turned away to join Patton and Roman. Roman rolled his eyes and Patton gave a little head shake. No one seemed confused by the alleged threat of something in their hometown kidnapping Harley. Harley was getting more and more worried about the big secret Thomas was keeping from him.
He glanced at Thomas who, despite the hole he seemed to be trying to burn into Virgil’s back with his glare, seemed a lot happier than he’d been this morning. It could wait, Harley decided, whatever it was. He already knew Thomas was worth it.
148 notes · View notes
Text
Sanders Sides RPG AU
Ok so hear me out
new au, Dungeons and Dragons / Savage Worlds / generalized RPG, work in progress, definitely gonna draw for it so dont worry about that
hoping to make it into an ask blog if there’s interest, or if there isnt, because I still like it lol
definitely a lot still mold-able here, if you have some ideas or additions or head cannons to add, please pile them on! :D
LOGAN - (moon elf) Half-elf, Lore Bard (wizard was too obvious) - inspires through teaching moments, inspirational speaking, encouragement, and maybe a rap or poem on a special day - despises the stereotype that all bards sing and dance - raised by the elven parent, this + longer lifespan = detachment from emotion - Wisdom and Intelligence high, Charisma and Strength mid, Dexterity and Constitution low - Lawful Neutral (doesn't bother himself much with arbitrary rules of morality but definitely isn't evil) - Weaknesses: bad at emotions, tends to over-speak, short fuse
PATTON - Stout Halfling, Open Hand Monk - loves good food and companionship - focus on the wellness of the body and purity of the heart and soul - calls himself a ‘way of the open arms’ monk (hugs!) - Dexterity and Wisdom high, Charisma and Constitution mid, Intelligence and Strength low - Lawful Good (lying bad, stealing bad, killing bad) - Weaknesses: a bit judge-y and strict(practically raised by a bunch of old monks and a therapist, he cant help it), quick to trust, fear of spiders
ROMAN - Protector Aasimar, Oath of the Crown Paladin (bard was too obvious) - son of Sune, goddess of beauty and passion and the color red, who really just lets him do his own thing cause she's about as close to 'drunk/cool mom but to the point of negligence' that you can get while still being loved by ur son - so, stick with me here, paladins get their powers from their belief in what they swore their oath to, right? - ideas are EITHER boy is a prince literally/emotionally and swore an oath to himself like a g OR he swore an oath to his king, thomas - either is wholesome and good - Charisma and Strength high, Dexterity and Wisdom mid, Constitution and Intelligence low - Chaotic Good (will break the rules to do what he knows is right, happens to do so frequently) - Weaknesses: super-inflated ego, insecurity issues, v strong but not actually very hardy
VIRGIL - Drow, Wild Magic Sorcerer - during an event he doesn't remember well, while travelling with his old party, they came across Some Shit® that sorta fucked them all up - he went into the experience without magic and came out of it with magic he couldn't control and some pretty bad nerves about some impending doom something something he doesnt remember - left his old party cause he didn't want to hurt them, found three new guys after a while - Strength and Constitution high, Intelligence and Dexterity mid, Wisdom and Charisma low - Lawful Neutral (follows his own code of rules, not necessarily the laws of the land) - Weaknesses: has some trust issues, Some Shit®-related/induced nightmares keeping him from sleeping good, can't control his powers and lost confidence in his previous skills (range-based fighter)
DECEIT - Yuan-ti Pureblood (I mean, clearly), Warlock (either great old one or demonic, still deciding on that) - one one of them who remembers the Some Shit®, came out of it with a deal, knowledge he can't safely share, and some new powers - seems to want the best for everyone, but harbors so many secrets... can he be trusted? - Charisma and Intelligence high, Dexterity and Wisdom mid, Strength and Constitution low - True Neutral (driven purely by self preservation and personal goals, not 'good' but def not evil) - Weaknesses: compulsive liar, short patience, the awareness of impending doom
REMUS - Fallen Aasimar, Wild Soul Barbarian - son of Sune, goddess of beauty and passion, brother of Roman. Mom hardly talks to either of them if at all, but they're pretty sure Roman is the favorite. Remus doesn't appreciate that her views of beauty are so restricted to traditionally attractive things, and started wearing green as part of a rebellious phase, but it really stuck when he started hanging around faries and they seemed to like it so much. (his mom is mega petty and condemmed him as fallen when he said red wasn't his favorite color. this is not a joke) - spent a lot of time planehopping to the nearby feywild, underdark, and shadowfell, met some strange people, and adpoted some strange tendencies and beliefs - Met virgil first, then they found deciet, becoming The Boys® - also saw the Some Shit®, doesnt remember it, but pretty sure that's because it just wasn't very interesting compared to a usual Saturday - Constitution and Strength high, Dexterity and Wisdom mid, Charisma and Intelligence low - Chaotic Chaotic (he cannot be defined with a moral tag and you know he can't) - Weaknesses: unpredictable to the extreme, some inadequacy issues, maybe crazy a little bit This is a fantasy world with several of Thomas and Friends and various skit characters inside, as follows: (I only have thomas joan and talyn rn, no idea for terrence and valerie and camden and the others yet... any ideas lol)(i hope i'm spelling everyone's names right)
REMY - Half-Elf, Inquisitive Rogue - Logan's older brother, formerly a spy for the kingdom they live in, actually very high level but prefers to sleep and otherwise do absolutely nothing - obscenely good at reading people, which Logan desperately envies - hangs around picani a lot, used to go to him for therapy (wouldnt tell logan what about) but now they're just good bros - Charisma and Dexterity high, Constitution Dexterity and Wisdom mid, Strength low (higher levels, less lows) - True Neutral - Weaknesses: debilitatingly lazy, blunt, Curious with a capital C
EMILE PICANI - Lightfoot Halfling, Circle of Dreams Druid - uses his abilities to read and sooth people really well and works as a therapist - sweet boy and housemate to patton, known each other since patton was a child - also pretty high level but doesnt really use it - Charisma and Wisdom high, Dexterity Constitution and Intellegence mid, Strength low - Lawful Good - Weaknesses: first language is refrences, refuses to display negative emotions (more of a 'i will philosophy and cartoon my way out of my sad asap' than an emotion-bottler, but don't put it past him) THOMAS
- Human, Glamour Bard (pretty 👏 boy 👏) - inspires through singing, dancing, performing, encouragement, speeches, literally breathing - Charisma and Intelligence high, Dexterity Strength and Wisdom mid, Constitution low - Lawful Good - Weaknesses: quick to trust and sympathize, puts others first (strengths AND weaknesses) - Lord of base town, with Joan and others as his Advisers
JOAN - Tiefling, Mastermind Rogue (sneaky spooky smart one, good with knowing about people without being necessarily good with people) - Thomas's primary adviser and master of secrets, Remy worked for them - looks scary, very pure. cuts cute little horn holes in their beanie for god's sake i mean come on - Wisdom and Dexterity high, Charisma Intelligence and Strength mid, Constitution low - Neutral Good - Weaknesses: You assume??? Joan can be bested??? Joan cannot be killed. Joan cannot be overcome
TALYN - Forest Gnome, Abjuration Wizard (protective spells) (cute small) - A prime adviser and Master of Knowledge (lore, history, scientific developments, etc) - favors defensive and ally-boosting spells - Logan's teacher; Logan respects and admires them very very much - Intelligence and Charisma high, Dexterity Constitution and Wisdom mid, Strength low - Neutral Good - Weaknesses: its Talyn, Talyn has no weaknesses. thoughts?? interest?? suggestions?? thank you for reading this long post lol
53 notes · View notes
10moonymhrivertam · 5 years
Text
Okay, um, this is a little darker than expected. I have a hurt/comfort chapter planned?
This is a sequel to @mediocrity-at-best ‘s post @roseof-alltrades3
Includes cursing. Message for other warnings (not including them here for suspense reasons)
<hr>
“Virgil, it’s 4 AM.” Patton’s voice was thick with sleep. Virgil peeked over the top of his laptop to see him rubbing his eyes.
“Sorry.”
“No, don’t gotta apologize...” Patton shuffled across the living room of the suite to the sink, grabbing a glass at random and filling it. “You okay, kiddo? Usually you’re in bed by two.”
Virgil smiled sheepishly as Patton chugged his water.. “I found a mythology blog for the school. Places people are convinced there are fairies or ghosts or demons.”
“Oh yeah?” Patton wandered over to the couch, laying down with his head just barely in Virgil’s personal space. Virgil allowed it, and Pat threw his arm over his eyes to shield them from the light of the computer, but turned his head so his ear was pointed up at Virgil.
“Yeah. Demon in the basement of the engineering building - that one’s probably fake; couple people absolutely convinced this guy in environmental science is a changeling - this list is hilarious, I guess they caught him eating acorns once; ghost in the theater: you know that one, she overdosed in the costume deck; stuff that might be the ghost of this guy that went missing with enough blood in his place to send him to the emergency room, but they never found him alive or dead; poltergeist down on Auburn Street in that one abandoned house. That one’s got some good stories.”
“Stories ‘bout Lisa are good,” Patton protest sleepily. Roman had already passed them a few stories of unexplained equipment movement in the theater. Virgil tried not to roll his eyes too badly.
“Yeah, but theater geeks are superstitious most of the time. There are some skeptics on here that have had encounters with the poltergeist.”
“What kind?”
“So there’s this one alum on here from, like, fifteen years ago,” Virgil began. “First story anyone can find. So twenty years ago someone did actually live in the house, and this sophomore always passed by the house between their apartment and the school, right? And one day in Spring semester, they realized the mail had been piling up, big time. So on their way back from school, they went and knocked - didn’t get an answer. But they didn’t know the guy well enough to be worried or anything, so they left. But they made a habit of knocking. And one day they told some friends about it, and they were like ‘well, if it’s empty, it’d be a great place for a party’, and he was like ‘but he looks like a get off my lawn type’ - on his post he said, “if Monster House had been out at the time I might even have thought of Nebbercracker, especially with what happened next”.”
“Well, what happened next?”
“His friends ignored him.”
“Of course.”
“So, they went to throw a party - made their way to the back door and broke in through there. All sorts of weird shit immediate started going down - basement door rattled, but none of them could get it open. Lights got wonky, TV turned itself on. Basically everything short of the house coming alive. They booked it out of there. But there are more stories, especially when it got clear the place was empty. People going there to smoke and getting mugs thrown across the room at them, people going to explore and not much happening to them unless they tried to find a way into the basement. People trying to throw parties - and the poltergeist really hates that one, it looks like. Hates it more the more people try it.”
Patton hummed a sleepy acknowledgement, and Virgil laughed and nudged him.
“Hey, if you fall asleep on me, I’ll just wake you up in half an hour when I get through these poltergeist stories. You go and sleep.”
“Mm...’kay. Please don’t stay up too late?”
“I won’t,” Virgil promised.
<hr>
Virgil burst from his room, leading with his camcorder. It was cheap, but better quality than a phone camera, and he had a tripod for it. Roman and Patton looked up from the breakfast table. They were still in their pajamas. Roman squawked and started to get up.
“And they’re going to help!”
“Help with what?” Roman half-snarled.
“My first investigative video for Parano-Virgil-ant.” Virgil kept the camera rolling, but mentally planned to cut it there, looking over the top of it instead of through the viewfinder.
“You’re going to investigate a cryptid instead of just compiling lore?” Roman crossed his arms.
“Mothman isn’t on the other side of campus.”
“Oh, are you still thinking about the poltergeist, Virge?”
“Yeah, Pat. I figure we stay quiet, we don’t touch too much...maybe we can communicate or something.”
“I thought poltergeists didn’t do communication.”
“Literally it differs between every ghost hunting show and horror movie. We’re gonna try it. And anyway, I’m just filming an intro. I won’t be able to do it ‘till Saturday night. You guys free then?”
“Yes.” Roman rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, stomping off to get dressed. Patton peered anxiously at him.
“What if it throws a mug at us or something?”
“Then we’ll leave, Pat, promise. I just wanna explore, really, see if it’s the kind of poltergeist that was a ghost or is just around to cause chaos.”
“...Alright. I’ll do it for you.” Patton smiled. Virgil smiled in return before disappearing back into his room.
<hr>
Virgil was leading with his camera again as they slipped carefully through an open section of chain-link fence. Once he’d wriggled through, he started the camera again, turning to watch Patton and Roman.
“Not yet.” The darkness of the night hid Roman’s blushing as he finished making his way through the fence.
“Relax, princey, I’m sure most of it’ll come out during editing.” Virgil swung the camera toward Patton. “How you feeling, Pops?”
“Bad,” Patton said, frowning over at the house.
“...You want to wait out here.”
“No. That’s worse. That’s how you die alone in horror movies. I’m coming.”
Virgil turned and led the way up to the back door. He reached inside for the hook he’d read about - the latch-proper had been busted during that first break-in fifteen years ago, and had been replaced with just a hook-and-eye type latch that could be reached through the broken window next to the door. After a moment of fumbling, Virgil had it, and the door creaked inward. Goosebumps erupted across Virgil’s arms, but he was grinning toothily. He stepped carefully inside the kitchen. He heard Patton and Roman follow, and he panned around the kitchen, wondering if he should narrate now, or voice over later. It’d probably make Patton and Roman more comfortable if he talked.
“The back door of 133 Auburn Street leads into a kitchen,” Virgil said lowly. “According to the forums, there’s some activity in here, but it’s fairly limited. Thrown mugs...flickering lights...” Virgil’s panning found a couple doors. One opened easily when he tested it. The pantry. The other...the other was stuck fast. “And the mysterious basement door.” Virgil backed up from it and looked to Patton and Roman again.
“We’ll attempt communication after we’ve done some wandering. You two wanna go ahead?”
“Lead the way, Ryan Bergara.”
“Like you’re such a Shane, ‘Lisa made the lights spin once’.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “Pat?”
“I’d feel better if you’re in front.”
“Alright.” Virgil turned around again and stepped into the living room. The place seemed cold, and his goosebumps got worse, but he reminded himself firmly that he was probably just scaring himself and it was February in an abandoned house. As much as he did hope the forums weren’t all just liars and dupes, there were a lot of explanations for stuff besides ‘a ghost’.
“This is the living room,” he said for the camera’s benefit. “Recorded activity here includes the TV turning itself on, but only in reaction to parties. And a lot of the thrown mugs from the kitchen get thrown at people doing stupid stuff out here.” Virgil panned the room. The TV was old and clunky and might’ve been expensive at the time, but it might not have been. Virgil wasn’t good with that stuff. The TV stand and VHSs had taken some damage over the years. He panned past the front door and the foot of a staircase. “Watch your step, based on the forums there might be abandoned syringes.” Virgil grimaced. He desperately hoped that sound was not Patton whimpering. Virgil carefully stepped across the room and over to the staircase, eyeing it carefully and hoping none of these stairs were unsafe after twenty years without an occupant. He began to climb the stairs and heard Roman and Patton following behind him. The cold, watched feeling didn’t go away. At the top of the stairs, Virgil hesitated.
“Well, most of the people in the forums don’t get this far, except the explorers - the ones who aren’t trying to party or anything. Very little recorded activity up on this second floor, but we’re just going to tour and see what there is real quick.” Virgil moved into rooms, panned around them, and then backed out to go into other rooms, Roman and Patton lingering at doorways. Roman was rubbing Patton’s shoulder, and Virgil felt a little bad, but he’d given Patton two chances to back out. Once he had the upstairs recorded, Virgil descended again. He stood in the living room with Roman and Patton, and he looked to them.
“Thoughts?”
“...This would be an awful place to be all alone,” Patton whispered.
“We’re not going to leave you by yourself,” Roman promised.
“Not me. The poltergeist. He’s well-known enough that people don’t really...come here unless they’re ghost-hunting, right? That...that sounds so sad.” Tears welled in Patton’s eyes. Virgil was already prepared to avert the camera lens when there was a creak, too loud amidst their whispering. All three of them turned at once to the stairs, and Virgil fumbled for the light on the camera. Nothing. Not even an animal. A thrilling fear zinged up Virgil’s spine, and he turned the camera light off again, licking his lips. None of them dared to move for a moment.
“Alright,” Virgil whispered eventually. He took a step toward the kitchen. When nothing happened, he took a few more steps, and eventually stood in the middle of the kitchen. “...Okay, so, um - I know you don’t like when people do this...but I’m just -” Virgil set his camera down on the kitchen island. “Curiosity killed the cat, y’know.”
“Virgil? Virgil!” Roman hissed as he crossed to the basement door. He wrapped his hand around the knob. The lights came on and flickered. Virgil froze. There was another small, scared noise from Patton. The lights went out again.
“Virgil, let go!” Roman hissed. Virgil stubbornly tested the knob. Locked. Well. Not a problem. Virgil slipped his lock picking kit from his pocket and knelt.
“Gimme a light.”
“No!” Roman hissed.
“I’m not ready to give up yet,” Virgil insisted. He didn’t want to upset a poltergeist, but they’d only really been given the barest warning, anyway. Silence filled the kitchen, and then Roman cursed in a whisper-yell.
“If we die, I’m blaming you,” he snarled. Nonetheless, he stalked over with his phone and held the flashlight up. Patton was just behind him, holding onto his shoulders with a tight grip. Virgil couldn’t give that much attention, though, fiddling with the lock picks. He was almost surprised not to get a second warning. Then again, maybe the lights had just been something weird with the power. The place had been abandoned for twenty years, after all. Virgil felt carefully with his picks, waiting for that moment of give when he could unlock it. He smirked when he got what he wanted. He pulled back, which sent Roman and Patton scrambling out of his space. Then he turned it. He’d done it right. Something broke behind them. They all jumped and whipped around. Everything was still and silent. Nothing happened to the lights.
“Sounded like a glass,” Roman muttered. Virgil waved a shushing hand.
“Was that...was that our second warning?” He asked, shivering at his voice at full volume. Nothing. Not lights, not shattered glasses or turned taps. Virgil shivered. He didn’t know whether that meant ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Something more fear than thrill curled at the pit of his stomach, but he wasn’t going to be cowed now. Virgil moved to look at the hinge-side, glaring. It should open inward. Virgil put his weight behind his next attempt at the door, but it didn’t do anything. Roman let out a huffy sigh mostly through his nose. Virgil looked to him with a glare, and Roman rolled his eyes.
“You’re tiny, let me do it.”
Virgil glared at him for the comment, but stepped away to let Roman take a turn. Roman frowned after a few times.
“That feels weird. It doesn’t feel jammed, exactly.” Roman leaned in close. “I think it was at first - the paint and the wood and all - but...it’s not flush now, look. But it won’t give any more than that.”
“Really?” Virgil scooped up his camera to zoom in on what Roman was talking about. He was pretty sure it wouldn’t come across on film, but he had to try. Virgil pulled out his phone to shine its light through the crack. It was kind of chilling to see spots where the light was stopped sooner than expected.
“Is that - boarded up from the inside?” Virgil asked. The lights suddenly surged on again, staying steady for a moment before beginning to flicker, worse than before. This time they did not stop at Patton’s choked-back gasp.
“Did you do that?” Virgil accused. “Huh?”
“Don’t make him mad!” Patton pleaded with a thin voice, hanging onto Virgil’s arm.
“Well, who the hell else is going to board up the inside of a basement without getting stuck there themselves?” Virgil hissed. The lights didn’t stop, but the poltergeist didn’t up the game with smashed or thrown things, either. A stalemate.
“...Were there basement windows out there?” Roman asked.
“What?” Virgil snapped back.
“Windows. Or another door, or something, I don’t know.”
The way the lights flickered changed. Virgil couldn’t slap an adjective on it, not with fear grating on his nerves.
“I’m going to check.”
“Horror movies!” Patton cried, letting go of Virgil to go after Roman. And...well, Patton kind of had a point. Especially with the probability that he’d made the poltergeist mad. And the back door didn’t latch, so the poltergeist couldn’t shut them out. Virgil followed them, pointing the camera in Roman’s direction. Roman looked around the outside of the house and found basement windows, which almost all had rocks or boards jammed into place in such a way that they wouldn’t have opened from the inside. Virgil began to get an entirely different bad feeling. Feeling distant and a bit light-headed, he shoved passed Roman and moved one of the rocks himself. He pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around his hand and then slammed a fist into the window, sending glass shattering inward. Virgil kept punching until the frame was clear.
“Virgil, what are you doing?” Roman asked as he unwrapped his jacket from his hand and shook it out.
“I’m tiny,” he said softly, passing his jacket to Roman. “And I have a bad feeling.”
It wasn’t precisely easy going, but Virgil managed to squeeze himself through, hanging onto the sill until his feet hit a flat surface. He carefully let go and looked around.
“Here’s your camera,” Patton said. Virgil took it automatically and turned around to get his bearings, his skin crawling. If he was just being paranoid, he didn’t want to lose this footage. If he was right...well, he just hoped he wasn’t right. Virgil’s discomfort drove him to his phone and its flashlight rather than adjusted eyes and a night vision camera. Slowly, he panned both the flashlight and the camera. His stomach jerked with a threatening nausea when he saw a brown, streaked stain by the stairs. He followed it with his panning to a corner. He stilled at the sight that waited for him. When his flashlight landed on the corner, every bulb in the room turned on, and they all got brighter and brighter until they blew out, which only took about a moment. But it had not affected his phone. There was a flash, and darkness again. It did not take the skeleton from the beam of his flashlight.
“Oh, shit,” he whispered.
7 notes · View notes