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#and virgil!!!!! he’s so pleased with himself like yeah i got it. i made him that happy
stimmingandstruggling · 5 months
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moceit and analogical winning as always. janus knowing how much fun unwrapping everything would be for patton and how much something small and sweet and heartfelt would be. virgil taking the time to put together a whole puzzle chain disguised in a newspaper. i love them and they love each other
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gumnut-logic · 3 months
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Five pick up and one drop off (Pick up 5)
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Pick up 1 | Pick up 2 | Pick up 3 | Pick up 4 | Pick up 5
This one took a bit of wrangling, but here it is.
Monique first appeared when Scott needed a little roadside assistance.
I hope you enjoy her second appearance :D
-o-o-o-
Monique was his pickup truck and he loved her.
She had been red a long time ago, but nowadays she was more brown and just old. He did keep her maintained and she was definitely road worthy. But she was old. And when you’re old, things sometimes broke down.
Which is why Virgil Tracy, billionaire, International Rescue operative, engineer, artist, musician and coffee fan was currently lying in the weeds on the roadside under the old girl.
There was grease in his hair.
It was his fault really. He had been so busy of late; he hadn’t had time to get out to the farm and service her. And since she was no longer driven regularly, well, he had hoped, but this was inevitable.
Sorry, Grandpa.
He sighed. He wasn’t going to be able to fix this out here in the middle of nowhere country Kansas, and consequently he was stranded.
Looking at the state of the bearings involved he was lucky he had made it out here without seizing something up and coming to a very sudden stop.
“Sorry, Monique baby, but you’re not going anywhere for a while.” He sighed and reached for the rag he knew he would be needing.
“Virgil?”
He jumped.
Unfortunately, being under the car with little or no clearance, he whacked his head on the gearbox.
“Ow! John, what the-?”
“Virgil, you okay?”
His brother’s voice came from his collar comms, of course. Johnny was not standing next to the car. Though, come to think of it, Johnny would be preferable to the brother he knew he was going to have to call.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
“Jus’hit my head. What do you need?” Please not a rescue. He was on leave and leaving Monique on the side of the road was just wrong.
And he was working out logistics on how to get Monique into Thunderbird Two fast enough not to slow them down. But then she would be in the way and could compromise a mission, and damnit, he really didn’t want to leave her on the side of the road!
“Just checking in. You’ve been stationary in the middle of nowhere for some time now and its not like Monique has a computer I can interface with for a tech report.”
“You mean hack. My Lamborghini has not felt right since you played in her processor.”
“I needed information! You looked like you were being attacked!”
“I was being kissed, John. Clean your lenses.”
“Over the hood of your car.”
“I enjoyed it.”
“TMI, Virgil.”
Virgil couldn’t help grinning. It wasn’t often he won a verbal spar with his space brother. “I am fine, John. No kissing happening here.”
The frustrated groan from orbit only made him grin more.
“So you don’t want me to notify Gordon that you need rescuing?”
The grin vanished and it was Virgil’s turn to groan. Okay, needling John was never a successful ploy. One day he would remember that his brother was a genius and had all the answers.
A sudden banging on the side of his truck startled him enough to hit his head again. What the-?
“You okay down there, mate?”
Uh? Virgil pushed himself out from under his truck and found himself squinting up at a guy about his Dad’s age.
“Broken down?”
“Uh, yeah.” He got his feet under himself and leaning on Monique, stood up.
There was a giant black pickup truck on the other side of the road, three times the size of Monique. A sticker with flickering flame towards the rear declared ‘Burning dinos’.
“Need a hand?” The guy had a grey beard and hair, bit of a belly, and tattoo down one tanned arm.
Virgil grabbed that rag and wiped his hands best he could. “No, she’s not going anywhere, I’m afraid. Thanks for stopping, though.”
“Not a prob. Just doing the neighbourly thing.” The man frowned. “Say, are you from around here?”
“Not quite-”
“You look familiar.” The man’s frown deepened.
Uh, oh.
“You been on the HoloV?”
“Uh-“
The man peered at his face, enough for Virgil to have to take a step back and collide with Monique.
“You look a lot like one of those rescue guys. You know, the ones who fly those planes that make all that noise.”
“Well, yeah I-“
But then the guy was laughing. “Sorry, you must get that a lot.”
“Sometimes.”
“It’s not like one of those billionaires would drive something like that, is it?”
And he was gesturing at Monique.
Virgil frowned. “Well-“
“After all, I earn enough and look at my girl. She’s got everything I can afford and still she needs more.”
A glance at the black monstrosity and there was definitely no need for more. He seriously doubted the vehicle had ever done a lick of work, or in some cases, could.
He could hear his father saying it now - ‘she ain’t pretty, but she’s practical’. Dad always was function over form. Monique may be old and worn, but she’d earnt every scratch and scrape, and she wore them proudly.
“So, you doin’ her up?”
“What?”
“Your truck. She a work in progress?”
“No, she just needs some repairs. My brother will pick me up soon.” He really should call Gordon, despite the ribbing involved.
“Sure you don’t want a lift?”
“Yeah, thanks anyway.” Was it rude to hope the man would leave?
Probably.
Unfortunately, either way, he didn’t.
“So, what is it? The money?
“Excuse me?”
“The reason why you drive a broken truck.”
“Uh-“
“Just imagine if we had the money. You could fix up it up, give it a new paint job.” He arched an eyebrow at Monique. “Or buy a new one.”
“I like my truck as she is.” Bar a busted bearing or two.
The guy eyed Virgil like he had a disease. “Why?”
“She’s an heirloom.”
“I can see that.” He took a step back as if to really look at Virgil’s truck. “Is that a backyard eco-conversion?” A look of pure horror crossed the guy’s face.
“Yeah.” Dad and Grandpa had done it together back in the 2030s. Grandpa didn’t want to take the truck off the road, so the gas engine got the boot and Dad had helped him install the eco-conversion.
“You do realise an eco can’t compare to a traditional gasoline engine? My girl has six hundred horsepower under her hood. She works hard and plays hard. She can pull 15,000 pounds and not break a sweat.”
Virgil folded his arms. “Impressive.” Except for the whole burning hydrocarbons issue, deal breaker that it was. He wasn’t going to mention Monique’s specs, she was after all, more than she looked.
Besides, he could hear the sound of his girl in the distance. She could pull a lot of things.
Thunderbird Two shot into a low hover above Monique, tossing hair and grass alike, her roar all encompassing. “Hey, Virg, Johnny said you needed a lift?” Gordon’s voice bounced around as big truck guy’s jaw dropped.
“Thanks, Gordon.” Virgil turned to his companion and held out a hand. “Thanks again for stopping.”
The man’s hand was offered absently as he stared up at Virgil’s girl.
“You might want to stand back.”
He vaguely nodded and backed his way across the road to his truck.
“Gordon, grapples will do the job. It’s not far.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Virgil rolled his eyes and, pulling open Monique’s driver side door, climbed in and put on his seat belt.
The clunk of four magnetic grapples, a gentle tug, and Monique left the ground.
Virgil couldn’t help but look down at the man staring up at Virgil’s girl.
Was it wrong to enjoy the shock on the man’s face?
Probably.
-o-o-o-
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Emotional Distance
Ngl I feel like a lot of people sleep on the angst potential of Remus being the one to distance from Roman. Roman's discomfort from Janus saying "You know I love you"? His initial distrust of Virgil and trying to keep distance plus the jabs? His desire to not be like his brother? His people pleasing? All of it could be fed into based on that concept alone. It can be taken in so many hard angst or hurt/comfort directions. – ax3-e0ns
Read on Ao3
Warnings: roman has pretty severe abandonment issues
Pairings: none
Word Count: 3783
Once upon a time, in an Imagination far away, there lived Creativity. Creativity spent his days making anything he wanted. He made skies of sapphires and great stone castles. He made forests of magical trees and filled them with wonderful creatures. He filled the sky with diamonds and made stories that anyone could get lost in, because the happy endings would find them and everything would be right again. But stories do not stay the same, we do not always get our happy endings. And when Creativity rips itself apart, it seems as though there might never be a happy ending ever again. But Remus is back. And now Roman has to deal with seeing his brother after they've been Split.
 
Virgil didn’t think too much of it. Princey was going to be a jerk to him because he presented obstacles to Princey having everything he ever dreamed of—or what Thomas ever dreamed of. But that was his job, so he didn’t care. If pressed, he might actually admit he enjoyed the verbal sparring. Princey was fun to mess with and remind that he wasn’t actually the perfect prince he claimed to be. C’mon, the flaws in perfection are fun to mess with. And if Roman blew himself up and got all blustery and rude, well, that was just incentive to keep going.
Yeah, sure, some of Princey’s insults hurt more than others, but that was a risk that came with the job. They were making a habit of it, throwing sharp words back and forth, some of them were bound to hit eventually. Besides, Virgil always gave as good as he got and it wasn’t like the others would let Roman get away with it. He may or may not have been keeping a tally of how many times they made Roman apologize for something he said. And it wasn’t like Roman only aimed for the soft spots. He knew better.
So yeah, it wasn’t surprising to Virgil that Roman tried to keep him at a distance. That’s what they were supposed to do, wasn’t it?
2.
Patton gets it. He’s a lot! He can be overwhelming and enthusiastic and sometimes that’s not what people want. He’s all about making sure people are happy and if that means they need to take a break sometimes, that’s what they should do!
He’s just happy that Roman lets him know.
The two of them get along really well most of the time: they have their own inside jokes and they go on adventures in the Imagination together and they watch funny cat videos and they talk about the stories they want to read, it’s the best. They have great fun just messing around doing absolutely ridiculous arts and crafts projects that normally end up with both of them covered in glitter and their new things proudly displayed on the wall in Patton’s room. He always asks Roman if he wants them in his room instead, but Roman always says no.
“All my walls are covered with my stuff, I want you to have the stuff we made,” he says, “unless you really don’t want it…?”
But Patton always does, so he puts it up and Roman grins when he comes over and sees it.
But sometimes they need slow days. So they bake or just watch something and sometimes even that’s a bit too much. So Patton doesn’t mind when Roman says he’s too worn out to do something that afternoon after they went into the Imagination the day before and made cookies all afternoon the day before that. It’s the right thing to do, really, to help support Roman. After all, Roman’s always so good with making sure he feels better and gets him all cheered up, it’s the lease he can do to leave Roman be when he asks for it, right?
So no, Patton doesn’t think about it too much. Roman likes to be left alone sometimes, and that’s okay.
3.
Janus understands, he does, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.
Roman was easy to manipulate. Roman always has been easy to manipulate. When Roman discovered just how much he’d been manipulated, it made sense that he would react…strongly. Insults, yes, pushing him to the outskirts of the conversations, yes, banishing himself away when Janus came around, yes, yes, all of that. And Janus would weather it with minimal complaint because it was fair. Completely justified? No, not really, but understandable.
He would be happier about it if it weren’t so obviously hurting Roman too.
Creativity is not something to be neglected. It needs an outlet, somewhere to express itself, somewhere it can be appreciated, even if it’s only internally. And Roman has more than his fair share of personal projects, things he never lets Thomas see, but he doesn’t let them see it either. And it seems like he goes out of his way to keep it like that.
Every time Patton asks him what he’s been up to: vague answer. Any time Logan asks him for a brain storm: only Thomas’s ideas. Even when Virgil lobs a painful softball about him being lazy or unproductive: volley back about Virgil being an expert or he just shoulders it without a response. And Janus can hear the lie of omission buzzing around Roman’s head but he can’t do a damn thing about it.
It’s not like Roman would ever open up to him. Not when it’s like pulling teeth to even get him to acknowledge that he’s upset about something more than just…surface level things.
So yes, Janus understands. He just hates that he does.
4.
Logan does not understand what is going on and he intends to get to the bottom of it.
Roman is isolating himself and intentionally keeping them all at a distance. There have been no long-lasting arguments that would result in such behavior, and any smaller disagreements have been settled to the best of everyone’s respective ability. He would not be amiss to ascribe a level of immaturity to Roman, but that seems an unlikely cause given Roman’s levelheadedness—and he did not ever think he would be attributing that characteristic to Roman—in other circumstances. So that means either it is something that Roman is not telling the rest of them about, or it is something else entirely.
He goes to Roman’s door after he opts out of movie night and knocks politely on the door. Roman comes to answer it in a plain T-shirt and shorts.
“Yes?”
“May I come in, please?”
Roman shifts but does not allow Logan entrance. “What did you need, Logan?”
Logan frowns. “You’ve been isolating yourself from us, why?”
Roman blinks, momentary surprise flickering over his features before it settles on a familiar half-smile. “Thought you’d be happy to not have to deal with me for a while, Specs. You miss me that much?”
“It’s not about whether I miss you, this pattern of behavior is alarming.”
“Are the others worried?”
“I would imagine they would be if they knew the extent to which you were—“
“So you didn’t ask them?”
“What?”
Roman sighs, running his hand through his hair. “Look, Logan, I’m not…’self-isolating,’ or whatever you want to call it. I’m just tired tonight and I don’t feel up to watching a movie with the rest of you. I’ll try and make it next week, okay?”
“That’s not—“ he catches the door when Roman tries to close it— “it’s more than just movie nights. You don’t talk to us about things that are bothering you, really bothering you, and you keep trying to brush us off when we ask about you or your projects.”
”Never thought you’d be the one anxious to hear about my work, especially when it falls outside of that 0.5%.”
“See? Like that.”
Roman shakes his head. “You should go back downstairs, Logan, they’re probably going to start the movie without you at this rate.”
“Now you’re not even trying to be subtle about it. You should—“
“Logan.”
The firmness of Roman’s voice startles him into silence. Roman gives him a look and gently yet firmly moves Logan’s hand off the door.
“I’d like to be left alone now,” he continues, jerking his head toward the stairs, “enjoy the movie.”
The door closes with a decisive click. Logan stares at it for a long moment before hanging his head and walking back downstairs.
”No luck?”
“No. He shut the door on me when I tried to push.”
Patton toys with the ears on his cat onesie. Virgil sinks a little more into his hoodie. Janus sighs.
“I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Me neither.”
”I don’t know what else to do,” Logan says quietly as he takes a seat, “I don’t understand.”
“None of us do.”
5.
Then Remus appears.
He sends Thomas on a horror show roller coaster with a sinister music number and knocks Roman unconscious for nearly half an hour. For Janus and Virgil, it’s something they’d seen coming for a long time, for Patton and Logan, less so. Remus cackles and throws them all off guard every chance he gets, delighting in the mayhem he causes and everyone is left scrambling to pick up the pieces.
Everyone that is, except Roman.
The first time Roman sees Remus, he stops. Fully stops, staring at him, as Remus grins and keeps doing…whatever he’s doing with the inflatable dolphin. Eventually, he looks up and spots Roman and his grin widens.
“Ro-bro! Wanna help me out? I could really use a hand with the extra bamboo skewers.”
Patton quickly ducks behind Logan. Janus just sighs and Virgil mutters here we go.
Roman looks at him for a long pause.
“Remus,” he says eventually in a completely even voice, “you’re back.”
“Back and bloodier than ever!” A squib explodes on his chest as he spreads his arms. “Did you miss me?”
Something moves across Roman’s face too quick to name. He looks at the dolphin and then back at Remus. “Welcome back, I guess. Good luck with the skewers.”
And he turns and walks up the stairs.
They’ve never really described Roman as…cold before. And yet that’s exactly what it is. It’s not like with Logan, where he takes Remus’s creations apart with cold logic, or even that he ignores Remus altogether. No, it’s just…the briefest of acknowledgements, the weakest of yes-ands, the polite yet insistent removal of himself from whatever context Remus might be in.
It’s not what they expect from Roman. It’s exactly what they expect from Roman.
”He’s getting worse,” Patton mumbles when yet again Roman declines their invitation to dinner, “I don’t know what to do.”
“Is he still eating?” Virgil pushes his food around his plate. “I don’t see him eat anymore.”
”He’s eating, his box of snacks is still being emptied.”
“You check?”
“Of course I check, what do you take me for,” Janus scoffs, “an amateur?”
“We’re missing something.” Logan adjusts his glasses. “There’s something we haven’t taken into consideration.”
“Me.”
They all turn and look at Remus, eating his food on top of the fridge. Despite his comically contorted position, he looks oddly serious.
“I’m sure it’s not that,” Patton tries, “Roman missed you, he said so.”
“Yeah, he might’ve missed me, but it’s not like that makes up for anything.”
Logan frowns. “What do you mean, Remus?”
Remus sighs, setting his plate aside and getting down from the fridge, still strangely stoic. “I mean what happened when we were younger.”
“…what happened?”
+1.
Once upon a time, in an Imagination far away, there lived Creativity. Creativity spent his days making anything he wanted. He made skies of sapphires and great stone castles. He made forests of magical trees and filled them with wonderful creatures. He filled the sky with diamonds and made stories that anyone could get lost in, because the happy endings would find them and everything would be right again.
But as time went on, and the people got older, some of his ideas started to…change. Now he thought of deep caves filled with monsters, monsters that would kidnap people. The heroes would still rescue them, because they had to, but now they left with scars that didn’t heal quite right and memories that hurt to think about.
Creativity didn’t understand. He wanted to have fun with his work again, just make things that people would like—but what about what he thought of? Weren’t the dark ideas fun in their own way too?
No, because they hurt people—
—but those people aren’t real, so what does it matter?
Why did he want to hurt people?
Why did he hate the part of himself that kept coming up with these ideas?
He didn’t hate himself, he just wanted to be better—
—well, if he wanted to be better so badly, maybe it’d be better if he didn’t have these kinds of thoughts anymore.
Yes, that was it, he just wouldn’t have though thoughts—wait—wait, no, no, no!
Creativity Split and the Imagination howled in pain, a deep chasm forming between two sides: on one side stood the castle, the castle he had loved for years and years, and on the other rose a massive thing of oily black stone, a tower that stuck out like a sword hilt impaled in the earth. The forest grew black and twisted, monstrosities lurking around rickety hanging bridges. Creativity was no longer unified, no longer was control over the Imagination absolute.
The people of the Imagination found half of Creativity weeping on the floor of the castle, a bright sash of red the closest thing to blood it could manage. His tears ran gold over the white of his shirt, a new costume forming before their very eyes. He looked younger, stronger, more like the Prince they all expected him to be, except for his eyes.
A drawbridge shut that day for half of Creativity, and they never again saw it open.
Roman sighs as he opens his door and heads down the hall. Janus had been pestering him about a rematch for weeks and he’d just managed to get him to agree to a time. He picks up the well-worn deck of cards and starts down the stairs.
“I hope you’re ready,” he calls as he goes, “because I won’t be going easy on you this…time.”
He stops halfway down.
Janus is not the one sitting waiting in the living room. Instead, Remus looks up at him. His hands are folded in between his legs and he actually looks somber.
”Huh.” Roman glances at the cards and put them in his pocket. “So that’s what this was?”
“Yeah.”
“Janus doesn’t actually want that rematch, does he?”
“No, he does. I had to bribe him with a heat lamp with an extra long battery life to get him to help.”
“Mm. Is he in his room?”
“Yeah, I think so—wait,” he says quickly, standing up when Roman turns to go, “can we…talk?”
“You want to talk?”
“Yes, Ro, I want to talk.” Roman stops and just waits. “Can you—just come all the way down, for Beezlebub’s sake.”
Roman walks down the stairs and stands at the end, leaning against the banister with his arms crossed. Remus looks for a minute like he wants to protest before he sighs and walks over.
”I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Did you?” Remus scoffs. “Because it seems like you want nothing to do with me.”
“I do miss you. I’m glad you’re back. It’s been hard without you.” Remus frowns. Roman inclines his head in the direction of the Imagination. “You know some of them still ask what happened?”
“You didn’t tell them?”
“I told them you wanted to follow your own path without me getting in the way.”
Remus suppresses a growl. “What else did you tell them?”
“To be careful going over the bridges if they went to go see you. I didn’t make you out to be the bad guy, Remus, I didn’t forbid any of them from seeing you. I never put up walls or a big sign that says don’t come back, or anything.”
“I know you didn’t.” Roman just nods and doesn’t say anything. Remus growls again and lightly shoves his shoulders. “Where are you? What’re you doing, aren’t you mad at me? Say something!”
“I mean, I’m not thrilled that you left without helping me fix that outer wall—“
“Then let’s go do it!”
Before Roman can say anything, Remus grabs his shoulder and sinks them into the Imagination. He shakes his head to get his bearings—it’s so much harder to sink right in as opposed to going through one of their doors—and sees Remus already hefting a giant block of stone.
“Well? Come on, we can do it together.”
Roman goes over and helps Remus lift the stone block into place. One by one, they repair the wall. Remus keeps trying to get him to talk. He doesn’t. They put the last one in and Remus stands back, panting with a beaming smile.
“There, how’s that?”
“Looks good. Thank you.”
Remus’s smile drops. “That’s it?”
“I mean, it’s not like we can extra fix the wall—“ he’s cut off when Remus shoves his shoulder. Hard.
“Stop it,” he snarls, stalking forward and shoving him again, “whatever you’re doing, whatever punishment this is supposed to be for me, it’s working, alright? You’ve made your point, you’ve punished me, I’m sorry, now stop it!”
“Stop what?”
”This!” Remus shoves him again. “This thing where you’re being all cold and stoic and emotionless and letting me shove you around!”
He does it with two hands this time, enough to make Roman stumble. Roman dodges out of the way of the next one and it just makes Remus angrier.
��I didn’t come back for this—this version of you, I want my brother back!”
“This is your brother!”
Roman grabs him and pins him against a different part of the crumbling wall. He’s panting now, not quite glaring at Remus, who must’ve gotten the wind knocked out of him. He takes a deep breath and lets it out as calmly as he can.
”You left,” he says, deliberately slowly, “you tore us apart because that’s what you wanted. You wanted out, you wanted to be away from me. Do you have any idea what that did to the rest of Creativity?”
Remus’s lower lip wobbles as he shakes his head.
“Creativity got sorted into you and what wasn’t you. It hurt, Remus. You have no idea how much it hurt.” He tightens his grip until his nails dig into Remus’s arms. “Because you ripped free but you were going somewhere. You…you left me there.”
“I didn’t know,” Remus manages, “I…I didn’t know.”
Roman scoffs before he can stop himself. “Of course you didn’t. How could you? You weren’t here.”
He lets go and pushes himself away, turning and walking a few paces. Behind him, he can hear Remus pulling himself together.
“But I’m back now,” he hears, and his fists clench, “I’m back, Ro. We can—ah!”
He reels back, covering his bloody nose with a hand. He looks up, panting.
“Okay, I deserve that.”
Roman punches him again.
“That too.”
He draws his leg back and aims right between—
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, not that, not that, maybe not that.”
Roman stops, breathing slightly heavier. Remus looks up at him, blood gushing from his nose. He turns his back again, taking a deep breath. The crumbling tower looms over them, its fractured shadow etching black lines into the ground. The grass rustles as Remus takes another step closer. Roman raises his chin.
“You left and it hurt me,” he says, trying to keep his voice even, “it still hurts. I won’t go through something like that again, Remus.”
“Is that why you won’t get close to the others?”
“I know better now.”
For a brief second, something wells up in his chest, strong enough to take his breath away and threaten tears at the corners of his eyes. He chokes it back and shoves it under his tongue.
“I think you should go now,” he says, choking a little, “thank you for fixing the wall.”
He only has the briefest of moments before he hears two quick steps and something throws itself at his back.
Warm warm warm solid real Remus safe brother hug hold keep stay Remus no don’t warm cold so cold so cold it hurts it hurts please stop oh god don’t let go—
“Go,” he chokes out, the force of the hug and the emotions running through him breaking his voice, “Remus, go, go, just leave, you need to leave, I can’t do this again, just go, just go—“
Remus doesn’t let go. He digs his heels in and locks his arms around Roman’s waist. He tucks his head against the space between Roman’s shoulder blades and holds on, even as Roman starts to pull and push at his arms.
“No, no, no, Remus, no,” he manages, sobs beginning to steal his voice too, “let go, let me go, you have to go, you have to leave, you have to…you have to, I can’t do this again, you can’t do this to me again, I can’t, I can’t—“
His knees buckle, sending him to the ground. Remus is on him the second he lands, wrapping his legs around him too like a koala, just clinging onto him for dear life. Roman tries to get away, tries to pry him off, tries to crawl, but the warmth and solid arms around him keep making his limbs turn to jelly. HE can’t catch his breath, not with the way Remus’s mustache keeps scratching against his ear because that’s his brother, his brother is back, his brother is hugging him, his brother won’t let him go, he won’t leave, he won’t leave again—
“I’m here,” Remus whispers as Roman starts to sob desperately, “I’m right here, Roro, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m here now, I’m not leaving, I won’t leave, I promise.”
Roman thrashes, wiggling in Remus’s hold. “Let me—wanna hold you—let me—le’ me turn ‘round—“
Remus lets up just enough for Roman to turn and get his arms round his neck, clinging to him life a raft in a storm and sobbing to his shoulder. He hunches protectively over his brother and presses his cheek hard to the crown of Roman’s head.
“I’m here now,” he murmurs over and over, “I’m here, I’m not leaving, I’m here, I’m here.”
Gold tears mix with silver tears. Blood drips onto red and green sashes. White meets black in a fierce embrace as the setting sun turns the green grass red, red, red. The brothers stay there, wrapped around each other, as the Imagination shudders once more.
The tower stands, crumbling it may be, but it stands.
Happy endings will find them and everything will be alright again.
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a-valourous-choice · 2 months
Text
To Rebuild A Home - Chapter One
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Warnings: death mention, food mention, anxiety and negative thoughts. Edited by: @winterwynd
Also available on Ao3 here.
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“Okay, let me get one more for your grandparents. Big smile!”
Patton was awarded another cheesy grin as he took another photo of Thomas. “Darn.” He cursed under his breath when a pop up announced that the memory card was full and would not allow any more pictures unless he deleted a couple.
Patton had even broken out the proper camera for the occasion, much better than the blurry phone. 
He really had to upload the images to a computer or get them printed. It was something he had been putting off for quite some time though, as he knew the camera contained some of the last ever snapshots of his wife.
“Oh well,” Patton said, returning the lens cap. “We got a lot of great photos!” 
He was just sad that he hadn’t been able to get any of Virgil and Thomas together before Virgil had bolted out the front door.
“I wanna see, please and thank you!” Thomas insisted, making a grab for the camera but Patton held it just out of reach.
“Later kiddo,” he chuckled. “It’s time to go into class now.” 
Even though Patton was the one who said it, the words still cut through him like a knife. His youngest child, his smallest baby, was about to start kindergarten.
He could feel the tears coming on. 
“Actually.. Thomas, are you sure you want to go to school this year?” Patton said. He had no issues holding Thomas back if it meant he got to have more time with him.
Miss López, Thomas’s teacher, wandered over at that moment, seeming to be no stranger to the nervous parent. “Don’t worry Mr. Sanders,” she said. ‘Thomas and I are sure to have a great time, aren’t we?” she smiled at Thomas who nodded. 
“Yeah!” Thomas said.
“It is time for him to head inside and join the other children now though,” Miss López told Patton gently. 
“Okay.” Patton took a deep breath, the other tearful parents walking past were not helping. “Have a wonderful day, Thomas.” He bent down to hug his son. “I’ll be back to-”
“Bye, Daddy!” Thomas said and ran into his classroom.
Oh. Well, okay then. 
Miss López giggled behind her hand. “Don’t take offense, Mr. Sanders,” she said. “I think adults have a much harder time adjusting than the children do.” 
“It sure seems that way,” Patton said, straightening up. “I guess I’ll see you this afternoon Miss López.”
“Please call me Vanessa.” 
“Okay, Vanessa,” Patton said. “Have a nice day.”
With my son…while I wallow in my sadness… 
“You, too.”
Patton thought about those two words as he trudged back to his car. How was he supposed to have a pleasant day when his youngest son didn’t seem to care for his absence, and his eldest barely acknowledged his existence?
Truthfully though, it wasn’t Thomas he was concerned about. Patton knew that Thomas had just been excited to start school and he was sure that he still loved his dad, but Virgil on the other hand…
Patton could remember Virgil’s first day of kindergarten - how unlike Thomas he had been; a tiny ball of nerves clinging to his dad’s legs that had needed to be coaxed into the fray by his teacher. 
Virgil had once relied so heavily on his dad for protection and comfort, but nowadays it felt as though they barely spoke to one another. It wasn’t for lack of effort on Patton’s part though, it was just that every attempt he made was met with contempt and resistance. 
Patton slid into his car, wondering what he could do to repair the damage between himself and Virgil.
He sat idly for a while before coming to the conclusion that he should go visit his parents. With both kids in school, Patton had no desire to be alone today; besides, his folks were clever people, maybe they’d have a solution to his problem. 
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“You have no idea how wonderful it is to have you home.” Patton’s father Ethan said as he handed over a cup of coffee. Patton definitely had some notion; one of the best things about moving back into his hometown was getting to reconnect with his family again. 
“I missed you guys, too.” Patton said, and Ethan lightly patted his son’s cheek. 
Harmony, Patton’s mother, was flipping through the photos on Patton’s camera with a wide smile on her face. “Thomas is so adorable,” she said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to print these for you?” “No,” Patton said. “I’ll get around to it, eventually.” 
“Alright, dear.” Harmony sighed. “Such a shame you couldn’t get Virgil in any of them, but I suppose he’s going through his teenage rebellion stage, isn’t he?” Patton took a small sip of his coffee. “If you want to call it that,” he said. “I think it was because of me that he didn’t want his picture taken though.” If Thomas had asked then it would have been a different story; Virgil did just about anything Thomas requested of him. 
“What do you mean?” Ethan asked. 
“He’s just so angry at me,” Patton said. “I know he didn’t want us to move but I didn’t think he’d hate me for it. I thought he’d at least be excited to live closer to you both.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you,” Harmony said soothingly. “You know what teens can be like.” 
“This is different.” Patton was no stranger to Virgil’s teenage mood swings, but this animosity Virgil currently had towards his dad was something new entirely. 
“Well,” Ethan began carefully. “He has been through something traumatic, more so than any of us could even begin to understand. Perhaps he is just struggling with those emotions and is unfairly lashing out at you.” 
“Maybe.” Patton said, unconvinced. 
“Have you thought about a therapist?” Harmony suggested. 
Patton would be lying if he said that he hadn’t considered it, but he just couldn’t see Virgil bonding with a total stranger. “I don’t know,” he said. “He doesn’t really trust anyone these days, I don’t know if a therapist could get through to him.”
“It’s worth a shot.” Ethan said. “Tell you what, your mother and I will look around, see if we can find anybody we think is suitable and we’ll let you know, okay?”
“You don’t have to-”
“Patton, let us help.” Harmony said firmly. “You’re dealing with a lot too - navigating your own grief while getting the boys through theirs, you have to remember that you’re not alone in this.”
“In any case a therapist would be good for all three of you,” Ethan added. 
Patton felt his shoulders sag - whether with relief or defeat, he wasn’t sure. “Okay,” he said. “Thank you.”  As a parent himself, Patton was well aware that it was Harmony and Ethan’s duty to assist whenever they could, but he still sincerely appreciated it. 
“No need for that,” Harmony said. “It’s what we’re here for.”
“There was something else I wanted to discuss with you,” Ethan said after a short pause. “Have you figured out what you’re planning to do for work?”
Patton exhaled slowly. That was a tough question. 
Patton and his wife had previously owned a store together but after…. everything that had happened, he had sold it; the money he had received for it had been enough to buy his new house, but it also meant that he was without an ongoing source of income. 
“I was thinking of going back to school.” Patton admitted. “Even though I know it isn’t possible, with the boys and needing some money in between.” 
“School?” Harmony echoed. “As in veterinary school?”
Patton shrugged shyly. It was a pipe dream, of course, but ever since he was a child he had dreamed of being a veterinarian; unfortunately, becoming a father at a young age had forced him to drop out - and now that he was a single father those plans were to be put on hold perhaps indefinitely.
He’d never blame Virgil or Thomas, he loved his sons more than anything in the entire world, but sometimes he wished that he could be both; a great dad and a successful veterinarian.
However, he wasn’t sure he could be either these days. 
Forcing himself out of his tangled web of a brain, Patton noticed his mother and father staring at each other with unreadable expressions on their faces. “Are you okay?” Patton said. 
Harmony gave a small nod and Ethan shuffled forward, placing his hand over Patton’s. “Is that what you truly want?” 
“I’d love it.” 
“It would take a long time,” Ethan said, “and many sacrifices and effort on your part.”
Patton was unsure of what was happening, hadn’t he just said that he couldn’t afford to do it? “I know.”
“As long as you’re aware of that,” Ethan squeezed Patton’s hand comfortingly before letting go. “Then your mother and I will help you.”
It took some time for the words to fully sink in. Patton stared wordlessly at his father before he managed to blurt out, “what are you saying?”
“Look, I need some extra hands at the cafe,” Ethan said. “If you and Virgil work for me then Harmony and I will pay for you to go back to school and finish your degree - this way you can take time off whenever you need to and still pay the bills.” 
“I’d also be happy to babysit Thomas whenever you need someone.” Harmony chimed in. 
Patton felt tears stinging the corner of his eyes. Gosh, he loved them. 
Patton had been Ethan and Harmony’s miracle; the only child they’d been able to conceive after years of trying, and due to that, he had always had an extremely close bond with his parents… but he was quite sure that he had never felt as grateful for them as he did in this moment.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” he said.
“You’re not asking,” Harmony replied. “We’re telling you.” 
“But I-”
“Patton,” Ethan interjected kindly. “I know what it feels like to be passionate about something, almost like an itch you can’t scratch until you go after it.”
Patton knew that Ethan was telling the truth; his father’s biggest love had always been cooking. Ethan had worked as a chef for a long time - even opening a cafe in his later years - so it was possible that he knew better than anyone what Patton was feeling.
“You would be doing us a favor.” Harmony insisted. “Ethan would be able to be with me more often.”
“That’s a good point.” Ethan said, stroking his chin. “I have seen the way Herbert looks at you during bingo, if I’m at work too much then he might make his move and steal you away.”
Harmony snorted.
Patton watched them through watery eyes. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything.” Ethan smiled. “We just want to see you and our grandchildren happy again, that’s our biggest concern.”
Patton agreed with that. 
Fixing his family was of the utmost importance to Patton and he had always thought that it had to start with Virgil…but maybe he had gotten it all wrong. 
Maybe the best way Patton could repair their little trio was to start with mending himself.
----- Taglist: (please message me if you wish to be taken off/added on) @violets-gay-thoughts @warcats-cat @firefox2215 @shapa-likes-art @oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat
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lefaystrent · 2 months
Text
Primal Urges
Fandom: Thomas Sanders, Sanders Sides
Pairings: hints of Prinxiety
Warnings: prospective cannabilism, temporary character death
Summary: Virgil specifically remembers dying, and yet he still lives. Now with a hankering for people meat.
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Virgil didnt crave human flesh before he died.
He craved lots of things in life: pasta, oreos, midnight reruns of Friends, mental stability. Ya know, healthy normal things.
Then again, taste buds do change every seven years. And people, canonically, do taste like beef. So what's more irrisitible than the American Dream?
Burgers. The American dream is burgers.
Big juicy burgers just begging to be ripped into with teeth. Burgers that would splatter bloody goodness. Rare burgers that would slide down his throat in a warm heady rush. Something raw to fill the emptiness within his gut that growled its demands to be sated.
Yes, normal healthy cravings.
That's why Virgil found himself sitting there downing a bottle of bourbon. He tried in vain to push away memories of his recent death experience while waiting for the intense urge of NOM NOM to subside.
"How long does this usually take?" Virgil asked, looking inside the empty bottle as if he might find more.
The bartender looked askance at the other two empty bottles sitting beside Virgil. "The alcohol poisoning you mean? Just how long have you been here?"
Virgil blinked at the handsome man before him decked out from head to toe in black. That was his kind of man. "Oh, maybe it did work. I don't remember seeing you back there."
"My shift just started," said the man, and 'Roman' said the name tag on his pristine black polo shirt. He had that face on his face like he was trying to smile, just how the relentless years of customer service taught you, but was failing completely. The farthest he got was moderately bewildered mixed with borderline awe.
"Hm, nice," Virgil said, because really there was nothing else to say. Especially when all Virgil's brain could scream at him for the moment was, Look at that arm! Bite it, rawr!
Virgil shook his head. Damn primal needs.
"Maybe I should switch to tequila," he grumbled.
"Maybe you wanna slow down," Roman advised. "You've had enough to down an elephant. Look, you've even spilt some on yourself."
Virgil looked down obligingly and couldn't help but laugh at the stain on his own shirt. "Oh that. Yeah that's not my drink, it's blood."
Roman's stance didnt change but his eyes were definitely more focused. Virgil wondered if he imagined the sound of a heartbeat speeding up.
Primal brain said, Fresh meat fears us. Fresh meat shall be tasty. *insert evil laugh here*
To clarify, Virgil raised a hand to stop the bartender from calling for help. "Don't worry, it's my blood."
Virgil did not think the clarification helped much. He should try again.
"Listen," Virgil lowered his voice a little, as much as you can in a bar and still be heard. He leaned forward a bit but the bartender most certainly did not. "I died this morning. It's been a really weird day."
"Ah," Roman nodded slowly, and at least his heartbeat slowed marginally. He even chanced a curve of the lips. "Far be it from me to question coping mechanisms. Normally I might ask if you're sure you don't need medical assistance, but you appear abnormally...fine, all things considered."
"You look pretty tasty yourself," Virgil purred and promptly slapped a hand over his mouth.
Did all of his self control die as well? Sheesh. Someone end him properly, please.
It's not like you weren't thinking it, Primal Brain supplied helpfully.
Luckily for all of Virgil's sanity, Roman took the compliment in stride. He laughed, "Well, clean clothes do go a long way."
"I meant to get changed before, I swear, I just..."
"Weird day," Roman finished for him. He nodded politely and smiled in a way that made Virgil want to eat his face off. Literally.
"You should probably go help other customers," Virgil word-vomited. "Or get me more bourbon. Or tequila. Or hell, wine if it'll do anything for me. Maybe everclear."
Roman chuckled again, "I'll make my rounds, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut you off dear. Even if you seem sober enough, the evidence suggests otherwise."
Adding insult to injury, Roman slipped him a glass of water before he left. Virgil watched the liquid settle to stillness in the clear cup and felt absolutely no desire to drink it.
We want blood. Blood! Primal Brain roared inside him.
Virgil put his head in his hands and wondered how he got into this mess.
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thedarkestgreys · 6 months
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"you know me better than anyone. you always have." for fexi 🥰
apologies for the wait!
Fezco’s always kept people at an arm's length - it made things easier that way. Even Rue, who he considered his family, didn’t really know him know him, if you get what he’s saying. Rue knew Fez the drug dealer, the guy who doesn’t quiet revolve around the sun in the same direction as everyone else, the one who keeps a glock shoved in his waistband at all times and has to deal with all types of low lifes thanks to his career. But the girl wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone that the guy she claims as a brother had hopes and dreams outside of his life of crime. Fuck, not even Ashtray knew he had plans outside of dealin’. No one knew ‘bout that side of him, not really. No one but Lexi that is. The younger Howard sister came into his life like a motherfuckin’ hurricane, breechin’ his walls with her galeforce personality an’ knockin’ out his defense with that electric smile of hers. Knocked him the fuck out if he’s honest. Lexi had stormed into his life nearly a year ago - a year in which Fez is pretty fuckin’ sure he’s talked more than he’s ever talked before - and maybe it’s some corny ass shit to say, but it feels like he’s known Lexi a whole lifetime instead of nine fuckin’ months. “Where’d you go?” her hears her askin’, pullin’ him outta his spiraling train of thought. “You were telling me a story about you and your grandma and you just sorta… disappeared for a second there?” Lexi’s sittin’ pretty on the Dairy counter, her ankles crossed daintily from where they hang against the white wooden frame. She’s got a soft, concerned sorta look on her face - still open and curious but her eyes are clouded with worry. Fez shakes off his thoughts, literally. “Nah girl. Sorry ‘bout that. Just got lost in thought I guess.” Lexi leans forward on her hands, a teasing smile playing across her red lips. “What about?” Honesty slips from his mouth before he even has a chance to think about it. “You.” That pretty fuckin’ pink blush he’s always seeking out paints across Lexi’s face. Yeah, they’ve made out with growing frequency over the last few months (and he finally got his mouth on her tits in the back of the Caddy last weekend) but they’ve never defined what was going on between them. He’s down to move at whatever pace Lexi’s cool with, no pressure on her whatsoever. But him being affectionate with her still throws her off her game sometimes. “Oh um,” Lexi squeaks, clearly nervous. “What about me?” He doesn’t know why he’s feeling so anxious about havin’ to answer this all the sudden. “You know you my best friend right?” Fez starts, eyes darting to literally anywhere but Lexi’s face. “I uh, I just go to thinkin’ that you know me better than anyone.” The sound of Lexi’s little gasp causes him to look up. His girl is absolutely beaming. “Really?” Fezco takes the opportunity to move himself in front of her, insanely pleased when Lexi opens her knees in order for him to get closer. “Hell the fuck yeah ma,” he responds, leaning in to press the lightest of kisses against Lexi’s full lips. “You always have.” “That’s not true.” He hushes her with a finger pressed firmly to her mouth. “Nah nah, listen to me. You seen the real me since you planted yo’ ass on that couch at Virgil’s. Started askin’ me the deep shit from the jump, ain’t no one done that before.” “Well that’s just becau–” Lexi starts before he shuts her up by kissing her harder, doing his best to calm her ass down and pour in every emotion he can muster right now. A brief, kinda insane thought flashes across his mind as Lexi presses their bodies closer, and Fez knows he’s gon’ have to come back to it sooner rather than later. But that stray thought can linger for the time being, cause Fez has more important things to worry about - like makin’ Lexi his actual girlfriend. It’s about time they got around to that shit anyway. But first? He’s gonna enjoy kissing the absolute fuck outta her.
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Text
To Make a Heaven of Hell (2/?)
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Virgil might have been given a paradise, but that doesn't mean he's ready for it.
Lucky for him, he doesn't have to be.
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Chapter warnings : Self-depreciation
Notes:
This was meant to be posted yesterday but I was binge-watching BBC Ghosts for five hours and forgot, I do apologise.
Also I'm so wary about the characterisation of the Hell's Belles characters, I'm hoping I did good hehe
Please enjoy regardless!
----
Virgil barely got a look at the room he appeared in before he opened the door - gate? - behind him and stepped out, slamming it shut behind him. Taking short, sharp breaths as he stared at the dark, polished wood with a gothic-style handle and small but intricate carvings. Taking itall in made him feel sick, but for some reason he couldn’t make himself look away. 
The universe had given him a paradise, his own space that reflected his very soul, and… it made him feel sick. 
He didn’t deserve this, not after everything that happened in his life, he’d been nothing but a burden, a problem for everyone he came across - his parents, his teachers, his partners, everyone had said the same thing. He was hard to talk to, to get along with, to work with. His anxiety made him impossible to handle, all the time. His parents had kicked him out, he’d leeched off of his last boyfriend for a home, food and limited safety when he couldn’t even get a job to pay for it, and he’d died in a way that could definitely have hurt other people, he was awful - all he seemed to do was ruin lives, how on earth had the universe thought him worthy of a paradise?
“You’ve been staring at that there door an awful long time, darlin’, is something wrong?” Someone said from behind him. Virgil whipped around, only to come face to face with an older woman with a kind smile, glasses and a soft-looking sweater.
“No, I- uh- I’m-” Virgil started before sighing. He was about to tell her that he was fine, but a glance back at the door that led to his own personal paradise left an uncomfortable, icky feeling pooling in his gut. 
“You wanna talk about it?” She asked gently.
“I…” Virgil took a deep breath, brushing a hand through his hair, she seemed nice enough and if this was supposed to be paradise then… maybe he should give it a try? “Yeah, okay, if you don’t… mind?”
“Of course not, sugar,” She said, “Would you rather go somewhere more private?”
“I don’t know anywhere but here,” Virgil said, shaking his head immediately, “I’m… new.”
She nodded, “I see, so, what is it about this door here that’s giving you so much trouble?”
Virgil took another deep breath. Opening up to a stranger felt a little like he was ripping out his heart and offering it on a platter. He definitely hadn’t been expecting to have to do it today, but then again, they hadn’t expected to die, either, so… 
He supposed talking wasn’t the worst way this could go.
“This is… my… paradise…” Virgil said, even just the word left a sour taste in his mouth, “But I just… looking at the door- thinking about it? Makes me feel sick- I, I didn’t even get to look at it, I nearly vomited and left as quick as I could when I appeared there, I just… I dunno, I feel gross.”
“Sometimes,” The lady said, “You don’t feel ready, and that’s okay, but maybe all that means is that your soul’ll have to do a little healing before you can go through that door.”
“That’s… okay?”
“Of course, darlin’, it’s perfectly okay to not be ready,” She said, “But, if you’d be wanting some help - and maybe something to do with your time - whilst you work towards it, I know a couple of lovely people who would be more than happy to help you out, if you wanted to tag along?”
“Oh, no,” Virgil said, waving his hands, “I don’t want to be a bother-”
“You won’t be a bother, sweetpea,” She reassured, waving him off, “I was heading down anyway, I’ve got a pie to deliver, see?”
Sure enough, where Virgil hadn’t noticed before, she held a decorated cake box under one arm.
“...Okay then, if you’re sure?” Virgil said, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he watched her for confirmation. 
“Sure as sugar, I’m Judy, I darn forgot to introduce myself, you must think I’m awful rude,” She said as she started walking, Virgil quickly hurried to follow, not wanting to get lost in this maze of doors and paths. He couldn’t help but be glad to leave his own behind, for now. Like Judy said, he just had to wait until he was ready. 
“It’s fine,” Virgil waved his hand, “I’m Virgil.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Virgil,” said Judy, turning back to smile at them, “And rest assured no-one’s gonna judge you for taking as long as you need to accept your paradise, okay?”
“Okay,” Virgil said, nodding as he repeated those words in his head, he can do this, he just had to wait. It would be alright. 
Virgil was overwhelmed by it all as soon as they stepped through the archway into a giant hallway. People looked so different here - he could see not only every ethnicity and age he thought existed in the world but people… who didn’t look like any people they’d ever seen, with a rainbow of skin colours and a range of features they’d only ever seen in fantasy stories - horns, tails, wings, fangs, claws, animal like ears and hair in a plethora of styles and colours too. He couldn’t help the way he stuck close to Judy - the only familiar person in this bustle - as they made their way through.
They could hear hundreds of cut off conversations as they passed, he saw groups of people together who he’d never have seen interact back on earth - he saw a woman in medieval peasant’s clothes having a lively conversation with a butch goth. He saw gates and archways labelled with different places he’d only ever heard about or seen discussed online, gates that said they would take you to different places of afterlife from different religions - he saw the Greek underworld on the way, on top of another hallway that seemed to lead to places that weren’t such afterlife realms, he saw a coffee shop, a bakery, a gate that seemed to lead to a universal shopping mall…? He hurried to catch up to Judy, maybe he could explore all of this later, for now, he didn’t want to lose his guide. 
Eventually, he came to two gates with names he was much more familiar with, Heaven, and opposite that, Hell.
“I live up there in heaven,” Judy told him, snapping him out of the daze the crowd had put him in, as she pointed to the archway that shed light across the hallway, “So if you need to find me at any time, just ask around up there, okay?”
“I’m- allowed?” Virgil asked, “In- in heaven?”
“O’course you are,” She said, frowning, “You’re more than welcome in all of the paradise realms, even if you’re not ready to accept your own paradise just yet, but you don’t need to worry about that right now, ‘kay? You ready?”
“For what?” Virgil asked, glancing between the two gates.
“Meetin’ my work family, darlin’,” Judy said with a smile, waving for him to follow her towards Hell’s gate. He paused, wavering. He’d always been told to ‘go to hell’, but he never expected to actually be standing before it, even if he was apparently just visiting. It was intimidating, to say the least, the lobby looked huge, from what he could see from here, and he could hear the distant screaming from inside. He could see souls filing in, most looking disappointed or upset, some angry or arrogant. What if he got stuck after he went in - finding out he was really meant to be here all along, and the paradise was just a cruel joke? What if Judy’s family hated him, or judged him like she said they wouldn’t? What if all of this was a massive trick?
“You’ll be alright,” Judy said, turning back to him as though she could read their mind, “Trust me, no-one will even think to bother you if you’re with me.”
Virgil took a deep breath, before forcing his feet to move. They didn’t know how true that statement was - he definitely didn’t yet know how terrifying Judy could be - but some part of him seemed to know he could trust her. 
Judy led him swiftly through the lobby of Hell, avoiding the main lines of souls and the demons milling about the space. As they went, demons and souls alike turned to look at him, though the demons seemed to see Judy with him and immediately go back to what they were busy with - most of them directing souls to where they should be, some were having their own conversations - whilst the souls continued to stare until they had passed. 
He pulled his hood up, hunching their shoulders. Virgil really wasn't a fan of all the eyes on their back. 
"You'll be okay darlin'," Judy reassured once again, obviously noticing the way they were hiding, "I know its overwhelming at first, but you'll get comfortable in no time at all, here we are,"
Virgil looked at the desk in front of him, and as he took in the desk itself along with everyone sat and stood behind it, he felt his eyes widen in what felt a little like wonder. 
The front of the desk read "Hellp Desk" and underneath that: "fuck around and find out," Virgil couldn't help cracking a small smile at that, at least these people had a sense of humour. 
A whole host of people were sitting behind the desk, most of whom were engaging in their own conversations. Only one was actually talking to a soul over the desk, and the other who was sat down immediately turned upon seeing them approach. 
"Hi, Judy!" She said - a tall woman with red hair wearing a hoodie featuring a logo he was almost certain he'd seen before, but couldn’t place no matter how much he thought about it, "Who's this?" 
"Hi," Virgil said, awkwardly waveing although his hand was tucked into his hoodie sleeve. 
"Hey kid," She said, smiling as she cocked her hip and tapped her nails on the coffee cup she was holding, "You… don’t look like you’re meant to be down here? What's up?" 
"Um," Virgil started, "No, I uh- I'm supposed to have a paradise, but…" 
He trailed off, feeling his face redden as he retreated further into his hoodie.
"Want me to tell her, sugar?" Said Judy, Virgil breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sure," Virgil said, scuffing his foot on the ground.
"Alright," Judy said, "Well, I was just on my way back down from visiting Penny up in paradise and I found this dear standing outside his door, he told me he's struggling with accepting his paradise, so I thought I’d bring him down here to see you all." 
"Ah," Lily nodded, before smiling at Virgil and offering her hand to shake, "I get it, we've had a few situations like that down here, I’m Lily, you?" 
"Virgil," Virgil said, before taking a breath and shaking her hand, "He/they pronouns, please." 
"Got it," Lily nodded, "So, how about I introduce you to everyone?"
----
General tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @reptilianrapscallion420 @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)
Hell's Belles AU tags: @awitchbravestheverge @twoalpacas @goldnskyart @anxious-mess19 @doteddestroyer
----
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gamequeenanya · 1 year
Text
Tickletober Day 22: Vampire - (ler Patton, ler Logan, lee Virgil)
Summary: Virgil has always been a little quirky - he’s named his dog after a vampire after all. Perhaps he even thinks he is one when he playfully attacks Logan! Is this the end or does Logan know how to handle a scary vampire...?
...
"Ugh..." Logan said, holding his head. "Forget it. I'll never figure out this lore."
He got up from his desk and put his laptop down, done with the FNAF lore. Not that it mattered anyways, as his favourite character was irrelevant to it.
Walking outside, he heard Thomas having a debate with the others. It was about dealing with his phobia of going into the bank and becoming an accomplice to a robbery. And discussing the morality of whether if someone holds a gun to your head and forces you to commit crimes, are you still guilty?
The other sides tried to encourage him that he'd be innocent. Thomas may have a guilt complex, but the criminal would be the true guilty party. He tried to convince himself it was true...
Logan popped up with a smile.
"I see I have taught you well."
"Logan!" Everyone said with a smile.
The only side who was currently missing was Virgil.
"Hey, where is-" Logan started, but was cut off by Patton.
"In his room, with his stress animal."
Nodding, Logan went to Virgil's room.
To his surprise, Virgil was playing with a little white Terrier. Seeing them look so happy, Logan smiled.
Looking up, Virgil jumped.
"Hey!"
Stepping back, Logan stuttered and gathered his words.
"Forgive me Virgil. I simply had to know what was "up."" He held up a vocab card for the expression. [Up; what's going on.]
Virgil nodded.
"Well... Here he is. My new dog."
The dog looked up at Logan, going up to him boldly and sniffing his pant leg. It then barked.
Logan kneeled down and let him sniff his hand.
"Patton got him for you?"
"Yeah. He remembered those stress dogs they had for us in college. Monday was dog day, and Thomas got to pet all the dogs! Patton thought one of those might help me."
The dog sniffed Logan's hand and licked it. Logan petted his head and scratched behind his ears. Then Logan sat on a chair, giving the dog time to get used to him. The dog paced all around him, sniffing, growling, pulling back, and looking up curiously. Logan petted him some more, hoping it would please him.
"His name's Drac."
"Like Dracula...?" Logan said in wonder. "I didn't know you enjoyed that book."
"Yep. Halloween's comin' up!"
Nodding, Logan petted the dog, who relaxed, absorbing the pets. Then he licked Logan's hand.
"Haha, hey!"
Virgil grinned.
"He loves doing that!"
Logan smiled and rubbed Drac's belly. The dog made little excited growls. Then he nipped at his hand. Logan let him go and Drac got up, clawing at the door. Virgil opened it and let him run through the mind palace.
Virgil grinned at Logan.
"As for being a vampire..."
Stepping back, Logan dodged Virgil's lunge. He grabbed him around the waist.
"Not this time, V!" And he started tickling, getting the spaces inbetween his ribs.
"AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHHHAAHAHAAA!"
Patton had come back, holding Drac in his arms. The dog was relatively calmer now, just panting and looking happy.
"What's all the commotion? Oh!" He chuckled. Setting the dog down, he came over to Virgil. "Can I help?"
"PLEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEEHEHEASE!"
"Okay!" And Patton joined in Logan tickling him, getting his armpits. "Hey, I never said WHO I was going to help!"
"AHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAA! TRAHAHAHAHAAHAHAITOR!!" Virgil cried, his eyeshadow running.
Finally, they pulled away and let Virgil breathe. Drac was hopping around, barking at the others and at Virgil, worried something was wrong. Taking long deep breaths, Virgil pushed himself up and petted him.
“It’s alright... I’m fine.” He courtesy smiled. The dog seemed to relax at this. “Anyways... It seems like I’ve got two humans to catch.” Dark smoke clouds erupted in the room followed by the sound of thunder. It was Logan and Patton’s cue to run.
Laughing evilly, Virgil’s eyes promised revenge would come sooner rather than later. For now, he let them run. It would be all the more sweet if his attack was a surprise!
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endy-the-anxious · 1 year
Text
Jesus, you look shitty
Summary: Virgil goes to visit Remus again after years of not seeing him. Things.. don't really go well.
Word count: 2293
Characters: Remus, Virgil, Patton, Janus (mentioned)
Notes: This is inspired by the episode 'The Telescope' from Bojack Horseman.
Tagging: @lost-in-thought-20 @chituri
----------
Virgil sighed as he stood in front of the door that led to the dark side of the mind scape. He hadn’t been back here in so long. Ever since he left the dark sides, and Janus had followed him soon after, they’d both worked to keep the parts separate. It needed to be like that, for Thomas’ sake. Janus had told him that he’d tried to convince Remus to be less disturbing so he could join the light sides too, and that Remus had asked him to stay instead, but because they couldn’t reach an agreement, Janus left too.
Since then, Remus hadn’t shown himself, and while part of Virgil was glad that Thomas was now safe from his intrusive thoughts, another part of him was plagued with guilt for having abandoned his childhood friend. That guilt kept building up over time, and now, years later, he figured it was time to apologize for everything that had happened between them. If he could just make amends, maybe things would get better, and he wouldn’t have to deal with guilt all the time.
He didn’t want to go alone, though. He hadn’t seen Remus in so long. It would at least be extremely awkward, and he’d rather not be alone in a room with him. So, he’d brought Patton, who silently stood beside him, also looking rather nervous.
Virgil looked at him, and made eye contact for a moment, “..this is good, right? That we’re going to apologize?” he asked.
His friend nodded, “I mean, I think so, yeah. I learned that apologizing always makes things better,” he said, smiling a bit.
“..Right. Okay,” Virgil said as he gathered up some courage. He then raised his hand, and knocked on the door, and the pair waited for a response.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and there was Remus. Virgil remembered him always looking messy, but dear god, it had gotten so much worse. His hair was long and greasy.. When was the last time he’d washed it? His clothes were in a bad state too, all wrinkly and full of stains.
“..hey, Remus..” Virgil said, trying to keep his tone a bit nonchalant to mask his nervousness.
Surprisingly enough, a grin spread across Remus’ face, “Virgil! Jesus, you look shitty! Has life with the light sides not been as good as you’d hoped?” he joked.
From the corner of his eyes, the anxious side noticed Patton purse his lips together after hearing the comment, and he chuckled a little, unfortunately already feeling awkward, “Heh.. no, it’s been nice. You don’t look so good either, Rem,” he said, attempting to joke back.
And within a second after saying that, Remus’ smile disappeared, and his unblinking eyes met Virgil’s with a look so cold that he almost shivered.
“I’m dying.”
Virgil’s breath got stuck in his throat for a moment. Out of all the words Remus could’ve said, that was the last thing he expected.
“..oh,” he managed to bring out.
Remus stared at him a bit longer, before putting on a wide smile again, “Well, anyways. How nice of you two to visit after all these years! Come in! I’ll make you both something nice,” he said as he clapped his hands together. He gestured at Virgil and Patton to follow him, and then turned around and walked into his living space.
Virgil took a few seconds to calm down from his shock of seeing Remus act so strange. Stranger than usual, that is. He glanced at Patton, “..please don’t leave me alone with him,” he said quietly, and felt a little bit reassured when his friend nodded. They walked in together.
The inside of the place was even worse. It reeked with the smell of something dead. Maybe it was the plants in the room that looked like they hadn’t been watered in years, or maybe Remus actually had some dead animals hidden around here. Virgil repressed the urge to cover his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his hoodie.
“I was just about to make myself some food, so you can join if you want!” Remus’ voice echoed from the kitchen, “Just sit down at the table and I'll be there in a sec!”
The two light sides exchanged silent glances, and despite the fact that they both wanted to leave, they knew they couldn’t do that yet. Virgil had come here to apologize, and Patton had come with him for extra support. They couldn’t just leave without doing that. Especially not since Remus seemed quite happy to see them here. So, they sat down at the table.
A few minutes later, Remus came back with some bread and meat on plates, which he put down in front of them, “Bone apple teeth!” he said with a grin.
Patton looked at the food. It.. didn’t look appetizing at all, and.. was that mold? He felt like throwing up, and quickly decided to think of something else to forget about it. “..what a coincidence. We ate something like this yesterday-..” he said with a small smile.
“Well duh,” Remus chuckled, “I get all the scraps of food you throw away! Don’t worry. You’ll get used to the mold after a while.” he said as he sat down at the table too, opposite to the light sides.
Virgil stared at the food Remus had served him, and just like Patton, he was appalled by even the idea of eating it. He looked up and saw the intrusive side had already started eating, using his hands to shove the food in his mouth as if he hadn’t eaten for days. It actually made him feel nauseous, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand, to hopefully keep himself from throwing up.
Noticing the movement, Remus looked up, and made eye contact with Virgil, “..what’s wrong, Virge?” he asked with his mouth full, “Do you need better cutlery?”
Confused by the question, the anxious side glanced at Patton for a second, “...uhh.. what..?” he asked.
“Because if you do-..” Remus continued, “I can always give you the knife you left in my back years ago!” he added, before laughing.
Virgil, not sure what else to do, awkwardly laughed along, “Heh.. r- right… walked right into that one. Who asks about cutlery..?” he mumbled.
It was silent for a moment, with the only sound being Remus’ eating. The tension was horrible, and neither light side knew what to do in this situation. They could’ve handled an angry Remus, perhaps. But this was very different from what they expected, and the last thing they wanted to do was make things worse.
Luckily, dinner was over rather quickly, and Remus stood up to collect the plates and bring them back to the kitchen, where he left them in the sink before joining the other sides again, who hadn’t moved from their seats at the table.
Breaking the tense silence, Remus clapped his hands, “Well! It was certainly nice to have you two over, but I'm sure you’d like to go back to your own place now. I won’t keep you here any longer.” he said, before turning around and walking to the door again, gesturing at Virgil and Patton to follow him.
Remus brought the light sides to the door and grinned as he opened it for them, “Again, nice seeing ya! I need to get some rest. Close the door behind you!” he said, before simply walking off and letting his visitors stand by the door, perplexed.
Virgil and Patton exchanged concerned looks, before the former spoke up, “..I don’t feel good just leaving him here..” he admitted.
The moral side nodded and agreed, “Me neither.. I had no idea it was this bad for him. The awful food, and.. he’s dying too..? I didn’t know we sides could even die-” he admitted.
Fidgeting with the zipper on the sleeve of his hoodie, Virgil thought about what to do, “..maybe I should go back in, alone.” he said. When Patton grabbed his hand and asked if he was sure, he nodded, “..I mean, I was the first one to leave him.. and I never came back or apologized. I need to do that. If he dies before I get the chance to-..” he cut himself off and looked down, “..I could never forgive myself..”
Patton squeezed his hand, “I understand.. but be safe, okay?” he said softly, though Virgil’s nod and reply didn’t exactly reassure him.
Putting on a brave face and walking back in alone was harder for Virgil than he thought it would be. But, he told himself, he was doing this for Remus. Inside, he made his way to Remus’ room, and knocked on the door before walking in, where he saw him sitting on his bed, leaning against the headrest with his eyes closed.
He seemed to not notice Virgil at first, which concerned him. You’d think one would hear the sound of someone entering their room, but apparently that wasn’t the case with Remus now.
Virgil stayed silent for a moment, looking at Remus. He coughed a little every once in a while, and.. some black smoke-like substance seemed to ooze right out of his skin with every cough, as if life was being sucked right out of him, slowly, and painfully.
The sight made Virgil’s blood run cold, as he realized that when Remus told him he was dying, he wasn’t exaggerating. He cleared his throat to get the other’s attention, and before he could even say anything, Remus’ eyes shot open, and he stared at Virgil with that same cold look he’d had before.
“Come to ruin my life some more, asshole?” he asked, any trace of niceness in his voice gone.
“I-.. no-” Virgil said, stumbling a little because he was once again caught off guard by Remus’ sudden change in demeanor. He fumbled with his hoodie strings for a second, trying to calm his nerves down before talking again. “Listen, I-... about what happened after I left-.. after Janus left-..” he started, “We.. we never meant for things to turn out this way..”
“So.. you’re apologizing?”
The anxious side nodded quickly, “Yes. I’m sorry, Remus..” he said, before smiling a little bit, Maybe, just maybe, they could be friends again, for a little while. Maybe.. he could save his old friend from death. But, Remus’ next words pulled him right out of his thoughts.
“Fuck off.”
Baffled, Virgil looked at him and stepped closer to try and reason with him, “Remus-.. I-.. I don’t think you understand me right now. I’m sorry.. you said you were dying and.. I can see it, and I’m so sorry. If you die, and I can’t at least make things better between us-.. I-”
Remus leaned forward a little and coughed again, “I said, Fuck. Off.” he repeated, keeping his voice low and threatening. “I’m not gonna forgive you just so you can feel better about your shitty self.” He reached out and grabbed Virgil by his collar, pulling him down to his eye level, “I want you to live. I want you to live knowing that there’s nothing you can do to make this better. I want you to live, knowing that you killed me.”
Virgil tried to pull away instinctively, but Remus was surprisingly strong for a dying person. “I-.. I-..” he said, terrified of what Remus might do to him now that they were alone. Was he going to take him down with him? After a few seconds, he registered what Remus had actually said, and he frowned, “M- me..? I- I’m not killing you!” he tried to defend himself “I- I just want to help!”
“Bullshit!” Remus shouted, which immediately resulted in him having a big of a coughing fit, causing him to let Virgil go. The intrusive side wheezed and gasped for air as his body secreted more black smoke. When he’d calmed down a bit, he looked up at Virgil and glared daggers at him. “I-.. I know it’s you. I can feel it. I helped you control your abilities, your room. Maybe you don’t realize it, but it’s you.” he said.
Having stepped back after Remus let him go, Virgil looked at Remus, “..so-.. if it’s me.. can’t I stop whatever i’m doing? Can’t I save you?” he asked quietly.
Remus leaned back and crossed his arms, “I don’t want to be saved. I don’t need you, or anyone else anymore, and I haven’t needed you for a long time.” he said coldly.
“You could���ve joined us, you know..?” Virgil said quietly, “When I left. When Janus left. He told me he offered you to join the light sides too, but you refused. Why?” he asked.
“..I never needed to be a light side. I was fine just being me,” Remus answered, looking away for a moment, “What I needed, was my friends. But you left me so you could become a light side. You both dropped me and forgot about me. Did you ever even consider you could’ve been a light side and my friend?” he asked before making eye contact again, “You care more about being a light side, than you ever cared about me, and I learned that a long time ago.”
Virgil let his arms drop to his sides as he listened to Remus, and while he didn’t want to admit it, he knew he was right. If he’d cared more, he would’ve visited sooner. Or.. he shouldn’t have left in the first place. It had been a mistake coming here, hadn’t it?
“I’m sorry..” he mumbled, turning around and hearing Remus reply to him one last time.
“No. You’re not. And now get out.”
..And Virgil did.
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wolfprincesszola · 6 months
Text
The Fate of the Marked Six Chapter 4
I need to start queueing these posts because I keep forgetting until it's late~. I hope you guys enjoy and if you do, please reblog this because it helps a lot more than a like would! <3 ——————– Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.
Trigger Warnings: None
Content Warnings: Slight swearing, intrusive thoughts
<Masterlist>
<Previous> <Next> ——————–
Chapter 04
The problem with Virgil moving to another city was that he had to be the new kid. He hated being the new kid. It meant having to reintroduce himself to every single person that came to talk to him, and having people stare at him in the hallways, the attention was going to be on him for a while, and more.
That was why he put off going to school for the first week, saying he needed more time to adjust to living in their new home and that he would go in afterwards.
It was the day before his supposed start day for school as he was looking through his closet. He heard a voice, “Knock knock knock.”
“Come in.” Virgil pulled his headphones down, turning around to see Roman phase through the wall. Unamused, he put his headphones back on, “You’re here to bug me earlier than usual.”
“Oh come on, Count Woe-laf, the least you could do is listen to me when I come up. I got bored of eavesdropping on your dad's conversations with the neighbor's dad.”
Virgil rolled his eyes as he took off his headphones that weren't playing anything. Having them hung around his neck, he focused his attention on talking to Roman. As much as he hated to admit, Roman was a really good conversationist and often played to his banter. He wasn't a bad person and wasn't a bad friend, but Virgil knew that even if he had promised to help Roman, it didn't mean that he wasn't fully annoyed at Roman bugging him every day.
“Really? That usually keeps you entertained for two more hours.” Virgil finally responded to Roman's comment about being bored.
“Yeah, well they were talking about cars, and you know how I feel about cars.”
Virgil’s lips turned up in a small smile as he remembered about Roman's unfortunate accident, “Do I really? Please…enlighten me.”
Roman scowled, “I didn’t come here to get bullied by you. I just heard that your neighbor goes to the high school you go to. Apparently, he’s the same age as you too.”
“Uh huh…and?”
“Oh come on, I know you’re feeling nervous about this whole new kid thing, but trust me. It’s not that bad. If I remember anything about high school, there’s going to be someone who will go up to you and become friends with you, even if you don’t want to become friends with them.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t even know the town’s view on magic users, or how many there are in this town.” Virgil wasn't even sure if he wanted Roman to be right. As much as it was nice to have someone to talk to as a friend, making friends by itself flagged his anxiety. It seemed like so much work, time, and socialization: three things that Virgil hated the most.
Roman pursed his lips, trying to remember about the town.
“Do you even know what town this is?” Virgil asked, watching Roman try to think of what to say.
“No.” Roman snorted, “Of course I don’t. Do you?”
“Gainsville. This has to be where you died, so why don’t you remember it?”
“What do you mean? I died in my hometown.” Roman snorted.
“What’s your hometown?”
There was a pause as Roman thought about it before his face melded in horror, “I don’t know.”
“How do you not know your hometown?” Virgil sputtered.
“I don’t know. All I know is that I lived in my hometown for my entire life, and I had a family-”
“Specifics about your family, like their names. Did you have any siblings? Grandparents that lived with you?” Chills ran down Virgil's spine. If Roman didn't remember anything about his past, that could mean something really bad happened during his life or that something more sinister was at play.
“...I don’t know.” Roman’s voice cracked as he started to realize that he didn’t know anything. “I know I had a mother and a father. I don’t know their names. I feel like I had a sibling, but I can’t remember who they were or what they looked like. Is that bad?”
Yes. It was very bad. Still, seeing Roman's distressed face put Virgil at unease. As much as he wanted to tell Roman the truth, he knew that the new ghost would probably be more terrified over something new he learned. From the looks of it, Roman still hadn't really gotten the whole 'being a ghost' thing down to a T, so Virgil decided he would tell Roman once the ghost was more comfortable.
“Well…I’ve certainly never run into a ghost that’s forgotten their past, and it’ll make things a little bit harder.” Virgil sighed, hoping that Roman couldn't hear the lie through his teeth.
Luckily, Roman didn't as he asked Virgil for more information. “Things as in…?”
“Finding what your unfinished business is.”
“Oh…” Roman seemed to slump down, clearly upset about it before he shook out of his mood, “Well, nevermind that. I came here to talk to you about going to school since you’re still a bit unsure about the whole socializing thing. I think you’re being a bit too hard on yourself. Just breathe and believe that someone will come up to be friends with you.”
“I don’t know…” Virgil murmured.
“Do you want me to join you? I can just float around and keep you company during your classes.” Roman offered.
That would be amusing, but Virgil knew that if Roman was beside him, it would probably make the principal lock Virgil away into the asylum. Virgil had a tendency to forget that ghosts were not something everyone could see, so it would be even worse in school. Again, he also wasn't sure about the amount of magic users and how they treated magic overall in the town.
“No, thank you.” Virgil exhaled a small laugh, “There could be mediums at the school and I don’t want them to judge me right away.”
Roman pouted, “But what am I going to do all day if you’re not here to keep my company?”
“My parents are home for half the day, and the other half, there are things such as the internet.” Virgil remarked, “It’s not your fault you haven’t learned how to interact with items yet.”
“I can interact with items?” Roman gaped, going to Virgil’s desk to try and pick up a pencil.
Virgil snorted as he watched Roman struggle to even make contact with the pen, the pen just phasing through his hand. “I wish I could help, but it looks like you’ve got the whole learning thing covered. See? You have something to do while I’m still at school.”
“Will you be okay there?” Roman asked, turning towards the boy and genuinely asking him.
“I will. Will you be okay here?”
“By the end of tomorrow, I will have figured out how to pick up a pen.” Roman gave a loopy smile to his friend.
“I doubt that, but I wish you luck.” Virgil saluted Roman.
-+=~=+-
When Virgil was dropped off at his school, he couldn’t help but agree with his mother about how fancy his new school was. Although it wasn’t private, the sheer size of the buildings and the way people presented themselves made it seem like they were.
Rushing into the school, it was clear the school had a system that Virgil wasn’t aware of because he almost got run over by a group of teenage boys racing through the halls. The only thing that stopped him was a pair of arms that pulled him out of the way.
Virgil turned around as he heard a boy's voice chirp in, "Woah! Careful there!"
The boy had a light-blue polo shirt with a grey cardigan that hung around his shoulders and a backpack hung from his right shoulder. He was smiling as he adjusted the black glasses on his face and stared at Virgil in front of him. "You okay there, kiddo?"
Virgil just nodded at the boy who was the same age as him. Instead of pointing out how the boy talked as if he was a middle-aged dad, Virgil just whispered out a "thank you".
“Don’t sweat it.” The boy shrugged, “You must be new here.”
“Yeah. That obvious?” Virgil pulled the sleeves from his jackets up, playing with the fringes as he desperately wanted the conversation to end. It wasn't the boy's fault. He seemed nice enough, but Virgil wasn't much of a conversationist. It was times like these where Virgil wondered about how Roman would fare in these scenarios and if he would hit it off better than Virgil was currently doing.
“Unfortunately.” He offered his hand out for a handshake, “The name’s Patton.”
“Virgil.” Virgil shook his hand before the two heard a bell sound off. The hallways seemed to almost be cleared, a few kids lingering. “Shouldn’t you be getting to class?”
“Two minute bell. I can spare those two minutes. Is there anywhere you need me to help you find?” Patton asked, kindness flowing through his words. He had nothing but the best intentions, Virgil could tell.
“If you really have time, the front office would be nice.” Virgil was relieved that someone had offered to help his because he was almost about to stumble through the hallways until he was able to find them. He would sacrifice some socialization if it meant that he didn't have to have a mental breakdown trying to find any of his classes or the front office.
“It’s right over there.” Patton pointed to the door right across from where they were looking.
Before Virgil could say anything, the two heard someone coming down the hall, and a teenage boy threatened Patton, “Morris, class?”
“Right, I’ve got to go. I hope you know where to go?” Patton smiled at Virgil. It looked almost as if his smile could be contagious from how happy he always seemed.
"Yeah, thanks." Virgil shrugged, watching Patton run to class before turning his attention to the boy who had threatened Patton.
The boy seemed to be even more formal than Patton with a black button-up, a tie, slicked hair, and black glasses that matched Patton's. He got to the point, staring at Virgil, "You must be Virgil Gray, the new kid. My name is Logan Sanders and I am the valedictorian of our class. I can show you the way around campus."
Logan's speech was all formal and apathetic too. Virgil wondered if the boy ever felt anything since the roboticism and formality seemed to take over Logan's entire personality.
“Don’t you have class?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. He doubted that Logan needed the classes anyways, being the valedictorian and all, but considering the boy had just scolded Patton for being late to class, it was making Virgil wonder.
"The principal asked me to show you around, so I was excused." Logan cleared his throat, "Let’s get you your schedule first and then I can give you the tour.”
Virgil nodded in agreement, following close behind Logan who had started to walk ahead towards where Patton had motioned for the front office. When they walked in, there was a desk where a lady sat, who Virgil could only assume was the secretary. Although she had no nametag, she was nice to him, helping Virgil with the classes right away.
“Alright, you’re all set. I’m guessing our lovely valedictorian is going to show you around.”
“You guessed correctly.” Logan replied, grabbing a binder on the side of the secretary’s desk, “I’ll return this on the tour.”
“Oh, you’re so sweet, honey. Thank you.” The secretary gave a small smile towards Logan.
"It's no problem, Ms. Inug." Logan nodded, forcing a smile on his face that looked almost unnatural. Virgil wanted to pour water onto Logan to see if he'd short-circuit, but wasn't brave enough to do so. They walked out soon after that, walking out back towards the hallway they first met.
Logan turned towards Virgil after stopping in the middle, “Most new kids don’t want the school tour. I’m asking you if you want it, or if you want to go to class right now.”
“What happens if I take the tour?”
“You skip your first period, I take you to your second, and you continue your day from then.”
“Do I need to know anything first?” Virgil asked, looking at his schedule. Math. In the start of the day. He hated math.
“You have Mr. Davidson. As much as I'd like to pride our school in having excellent teachers, Mr. Davidson doesn't seem to enjoy teaching and often relies on ineffective and outdated ways to teach a class."
So Virgil wasn't going to learn anything in math, if Virgil had interpreted Logan's words correctly. That was good, at least. He hated math.
“I’ll take the tour.”
"Then follow me." Logan replied as he walked around, giving short commentary on where they were, as well as a bit of background. The more into the school they got, the more clear it was that Logan knew the school like the back of his hand. He talked about rumors and legends that happened in the cafeteria, as well as the more prominent people in their grade.
Once their tour was done and Logan had made a quick stop to drop off the binder at the correct classroom, the two sat in the empty cafeteria, waiting for the bell to ring for Virgil to go to his second period. Virgil, noticing how quiet Logan liked to be, decided to break the ice.
“Who should I look out for?”
“In terms of what?”
“In terms of I shouldn’t piss them off or even bother talking to them.”
Logan looked up, thinking about it for a while, “Remus Porter is the king of the school. You piss him off, you have no more social life. Janus Wright is his best friend. You piss Janus off, you piss Remus off. Remus is really easy to be friends with, although most people don't stick around to listen to him talk. Just don’t piss off Janus.”
“Yikes. Is Janus a hard person to please?”
“No. If you’re quiet, he'll be okay with you. He doesn’t like loud people.”
“Okay.” Virgil took note of all that, “What about you? As a valedictorian, I’d assume you have a lot of influence.”
“I don’t let people get the better of me.” Logan murmured as he looked at the time on the watch. “The period is ending in a few minutes, so let’s start walking to avoid the crowd.”
Virgil stood up, following Logan, “Thanks for taking me around.”
“Of course.” Logan shrugged, as if it was known he would do anything anyone asked, “It’s just what I do.”
“What? Help people?”
“Yes.”
“Now, kiddo, you know lying's wrong.” A new voice remarked.
The two turned to see Patton walking behind them, raising an eyebrow at Logan.
“Shouldn’t you be in class, Morris?” Logan challenged, crossing his arms. Virgil noticed how quick Logan was to avoid the question.
“Bathroom pass.” Patton showed the pass wrapped around his arm, “Can’t bust me yet, Sanders. I just wanted to see how our new duckling was doing.”
Virgil became hypersensitive at the mention of Roman’s last name, unsure of why that was Logan’s nickname.
“Don’t call him that.” Logan scowled, “Go back to your class.”
“Oh you know you love me.” Patton grinned, “You can join us at lunch, Virgil, if you want.”
“I’m not included in this ‘us’.” Logan scoffed. “I’ll be seeing you in detention today. Don’t forget it.”
“Got it. See you two later.” Patton remarked as he walked away, going back to his class.
“You don’t seem too fond of him.” Virgil remarked.
“Patton Morris’s a class clown. To me, it means I have to clean up all of his messes. As long as I’ve known him, I don’t think there’s any way for the two of us to get along, especially when we’re such jarring opposites.”
“He seems nice though.”
“No comment.” Logan replied as he stopped at a classroom, “I’ll see you later in fourth. Are there any questions before I go?”
Virgil thought about it, the back of his head nagging to ask about if Logan’s surname was Sanders. However, he just shook his head, deciding against treading somewhere where he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to know.
-+=~=+-
Virgil walked into his English class, expecting his teacher to be chill when it was the exact opposite. Walking in, he was greeted by a chirpy “Hello”. Virgil gave a small awkward smile before his English teacher stared at his before gasping, “You must be Virgil, the new kid.”
Virgil winced at how loud his teacher was, “Yeah…”
“Oh gosh, I saw you on the roster, but I couldn’t believe it. It’s free seating everywhere, but I want you to-”
“Miss Loanes, leave the new kid alone.” A guy walking into the class snorted, “I love your enthusiasm, but half the class could not and would not care if they walked up and spent the entire class period talking about themselves.”
His English teacher paused before sighing, “You’re right, Remus.”
“New kid, sit with me.” Remus flashed a smile, offering the seat across from him. There was already a quiet guy sitting there with a face mask covering the bottom half of his face. From what Virgil could see, the guy had a scar on the left side of his face that he was trying to hide with spots of makeup and the face mask.
“What’s your name?” Remus grinned at Virgil expectantly.
“Virgil. You’re Remus, right?”
“I am him.” Remus confirmed, motioning to the boy he sat next to, ‘This is Janus, my best friend.”
Virgil remembered vaguely about what Logan said to not piss them off, “I’ve heard that you two are an undefeatable pair of best friends.”
“Untrue. He’s just a loud asshole who won’t stop talking to me.” Janus finally spoke, crossing his arms, “And he’s powerless too. I mean…pick a struggle, Remus.”
Remus rolled his eyes, “Okay, like you’re any different. You’re powerless too.”
Virgil watched Janus’s eyes flicker to Remus’s forehead as if he was staring at a mark, and Virgil looked there, expecting there to be a sharpie mark or something. There was nothing. It was clear Janus wasn't letting onto his powers. Whatever his power was, it was the most clear on Remus.
“Do you have powers?” Janus asked, “If I may ask.”
“Uh…” Virgil dragged out, wondering if he should lie or not. However, by the way that they seemed genuinely interested and not like they were going to capitalize on powers, he decided to be truthful. “I’m a medium. I can see ghosts.”
“Wait, really?” Remus’s face melded into interest, “How does that work? Can you hear them? Can you touch them? Can you-”
Janus cut Remus off before the boy could say anything more, "Let's not freak out the new kid just yet, Remus."
"You're no fun, Jan." Remus pouted, but still left the sentence unfinished.
Although confused, Virgil just moved on, hoping that Remus wasn't going to ask what Virgil thought Remus was going to ask. "Well, when ghosts die, there are some who have unfinished business. Those ghosts reside in between the spiritual world and the real world, and so they are in our world, but no one but mediums can see them. There are some mediums that can reach into the spirit world and talk to those ghosts, but I’m only the type of medium who can see ghosts with unfinished business. They can only move onto the next world once they finish their business.”
“How do they know their unfinished business?”
“They don’t. Most ghosts spend thousands of years trying to figure out what it is. Sometimes it’s getting their name in headlights, and sometimes it’s making things up with family members. I try to help as many ghosts as I run across to return to the spiritual world.”
"Ooh, has any of the ghosts' wishes ever been to watch someone shove a butt-"
"Remus Porter." Janus glared at his best friend, "What did I say about not freaking out your newfound friend?"
Although Janus had interrupted Remus before the boy could finish, Virgil could guess what Remus wanted to ask and he now understood why Logan said most people don't stick around long enough for Remus to talk.
"Hey, Jan, unlike you, I don't hide anything." Remus grinned.
"Clearly." Virgil grumbled as he desperately tried to erase any of the thoughts implanted into his head from Remus.
"You seem cool.” Janus remarked, “If you want to, there’s a place for you to sit with us at lunch.”
“Thanks." Virgil nodded. Although it seemed that the pair were weird, they seemed to be more together than most of the people at the school. They knew who they were and weren't ashamed of their place in high school. Virgil knew that they would probably be Virgil's go-to people to sit. "Patton also told me that. Apparently he likes to sit with Logan?”
Remus giggled. “No way. Valedictorian Logan Sanders?”
“Yeah, why? Is it that unbelievable?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. He had seen how much Logan was exasperated around Patton, but Patton didn't seem to have any ill intent or ill feelings towards Logan.
"Patton's been Logan's enemy since he first entered this building day 1. Logan was asked to show Patton around, since he was the principal’s son. He showed up to lunch doused in ketchup because Patton thought it would be funny to dump it on him after Logan mentioned loving tomatoes. It was meant to be a lighthearted prank and had it been anyone else in the school, it would've been fine. However, something snapped in Logan and he stopped telling people anything about himself after that. In fact, he stopped being friends with people after that." Janus remarked.
“Why?”
“Don’t know. All I know is that I don’t need to piss off the principal’s son anytime soon because he has power, both as a stepping stone to getting expelled, and a stepping stone towards getting hundreds of detention hours.”
“Got it, so don’t mess with Logan.”
“Don’t mess with the Sanders. I’ve heard his brother is pretty nasty too. Don’t know anything about him though because Logan never talks about his life.”
“Interesting.” Virgil noted the fact that Logan’s last name was also Sanders. However, once Virgil realized that Logan looked nothing like Roman, all of his logic was figuratively thrown out the window.
Before anyone could say anything more, the bell had rung and the three had to be quiet as they listened to the lecture.
-+=~=+-
The cafeteria was chaotic during lunch. Virgil had packed lunch, just in case he didn’t like the menu, as he was very stubborn in food. However, it was the direct opposite why he was glad he packed lunch. The options seemed so amazingly good, but they were all gone by the time he walked into the cafeteria.
Walking into the cafeteria, he glanced around aimlessly until he heard a voice.
“Virgil!”
He looked to where the voice was calling his to see Remus waving and smiling. Janus seemed to be staring, almost embarrassed and trying to get Remus to stop. They were both sitting at the table in the middle, with no one around them but everyone was still staring at them. Remus was currently eating his plate while Janus was playing a game on his phone.
Virgil just walked over, going over to sit with them.
“You bring lunch?” Remus asked, “What did you bring?”
“Pasta.” Virgil shrugged, “But the food options look amazing.”
“Here.” Janus pushed his plate towards Virgil, “I don’t like any of it. Remus always makes me get an extra plate because he’s hoping one day I’ll eat at school. He always eats my plate at the end of the day, but I’m afraid that he pretends like he’s not too full by the end of it. Spare the both of us.”
Virgil gave a small smile, grabbing it, “Thank you, Janus.”
Janus shrugged, going back to his game, “Let me know if you have any allergies next time. I can get lunch for you.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay. I’ll see if I can arrive early to grab it-”
“No, that’s not how this lunch thing works. It always gets sold out before the bell even rings. Trust me, we have a system to even get it. Let my little pogchamp get it for you.” Remus remarked, ruffling Janus' hair
“You call me that again and I’ll break your dick in half like a glowstick.” Janus threatened as he didn’t bother to even look up, continuing with playing the game on his phone.
“Alright, thanks, Janus.”
"Do you have room for another two?" A familiar voice came through.
The three looked up to see Patton grinning, holding Logan's collar behind him. Logan had his arms crossed as he was holding a clipboard and pencil.
“Sure.” Remus shrugged, making room for the two of them on the side Janus and him were on. Patton took the offer, but Logan went to sit next to Virgil, taking out a worksheet.
“Our one and only valedictorian. So studious.” Patton remarked with a genuine awe laced. It was clear to Virgil that Patton looked up to Logan a lot, even if it may not have been requited.
“He dragged me out of my club meeting.” Logan seemed annoyed, “Said they could run it without the president.”
“You have no trust in your board members.” Patton argued.
“I have all the trust in them! I have zero trust in you.” Logan glared as he worked on his math.
“Cookie?” Virgil offered the pissed off boy the chocolate chip cookie, which Logan gladly took.
“Thank you, Virgil.” He grumbled, going back to working on his homework.
“How's your first day been?” Patton asked, changing the subject.
“Good. Chaotic, but good. I made a couple new friends today.” Virgil nodded.
Patton flashed a smile, “I hope it’s the five of us here today.”
“Yeah.” Virgil cleared his throat, trying to hide his flush.
“Stop doing your homework for one second, Sanders, and pay attention to the conversation.” Patton swiped away Logan’s homework, leaving Logan to death-glare him. Patton's tone reminded Virgil of almost like a disappointed dad.
“I thought you said you don’t let people get the better of you.” Virgil remarked.
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t thinking of Patton Morris when I said it.” Logan rolled his eyes, pulling out a yellow slip of paper, writing Patton’s name on it and giving it to him. “Virgil, have you seen the rest of the city, or met anyone else around these parts?”
“No, why?”
“Well, it is a small city. You are bound to know people.” Logan shrugged, “I was just wondering because if not, you should check out the museum downtown. They finally added a few new sections.”
“What? Really? Why didn’t we hear about it?” Patton perked up, “I love the downtown museum. We should all go there and check it out one day.”
"I don't know, Patton." Janus raised an eyebrow, "We're all not that great of friends."
"This is a great way to make us friends! We would get to know each other.”
"Ooo, in that case, count me in." Remus grinned, wiggling his shoulders in interest, "We could list all the different ways you could kill someone in alphabetical order while we're there."
Patton's eyes widened at the thought of that and Janus sighed as he tried to de-escalate Patton's reaction, "To spare everyone's sanity, Remus and I will not be doing that."
“That sounds like anxiety and socialization I’m not prepared for. I’ll pass.” Virgil replied.
“Count me out.” Logan made a face, “I don’t get close to people.”
“Wow, what an ass-.” Patton snorted as he saw Logan standing up, clearly going to take care of responsibilities elsewhere. "-sset."
Virgil didn't know that Patton made jokes, let alone jokes like that. He had to hide a smile begging to break through. It was clear the rest of the group was doing the same.
“Like I can’t say the same about you.” Logan remarked back, fixing his glasses before walking away.
“I think it’d still be nice if we planned it.” Patton offered, “Besides, I don’t have many close friends. It’s kinda sad how Logan’s so close to me that he’s my best friend, but he won't even talk to me. Maybe if I get to know you guys, I’ll have better friends.”
“You keep pissing off Logan. It’s not our fault that he hates you.” Janus snorted, “If I had someone who did everything he could to stop me from doing stuff I wanted to do, I’d probably be pissed off too.”
“Hey, you do have that!” Patton motioned to Remus.
“Hey! You’re right! Why didn't you mention me?” Remus pouted.
"Sorry." Janus rolled his eyes, "The difference is that Remus and I have come to an understanding. You create messes for Logan that he has to clean up."
Patton slumped down, thinking about it, "Oh man...do I?"
“I don’t think the problem is that you keep annoying him, but I just think that you guys don’t work together because you guys are so different. He's quiet, you’re loud. Everyone loves you, everyone hates him. He's the valedictorian so he’s super serious all the time, and you’re the class clown who I've heard makes a lot of puns. Of course you guys are going to always go head in head.” Virgil offered.
“He's smart. I’m officially adopting his as mine.” Janus replied, putting his phone down to make eye contact with Virgil.
Seconds later, his eyes shifted to Virgil’s forehead, where Virgil touched, worried that something landed there.
“Ah, sorry, I thought I saw something. It was nothing.” Janus murmured as he looked away.
“I’m down to go!” Remus grinned, “Janus, I don’t care what you say, but you’re coming too.”
“Great.” Janus’s voice was deadpan.
“I’ll find a way to get Logan to come.” Patton grinned, “Leave it to me and the six remaining hours he has to spend with me in detention.”
“Why is he spending detention with you? I thought he was the valedictorian.” Virgil raised an eyebrow.
“Being the principal’s son means he gets a lot of responsibility that teachers aren’t willing to put in themselves. It saves on money, and Logan can write it off as responsibilities of being valedictorian.” Patton explained.
“That leads to a higher standard for the next valedictorian. The teachers will have to go back once Logan graduates.” Virgil frowned.
“Yeah, well, it’s rough for the Sanders. Apparently it was the same with his brother.” Janus murmured, “There’s always been a rumor that’s spread around that there’s a reason his brother isn’t seen around the city anymore, the reason being that he was sick of everything.”
“Is this just known information? Should we be talking about it?” Virgil didn't feel comfortable in this situation. He felt as if he shouldn't be talking about it.
“Logan knows about everything. There’s no doubt he also knows the rumors that surround his family.” Remus remarked.
“Does anyone know his brother’s name?” Virgil asked.
Everyone shrugged, “No one talks about him. Not even the Sanders family. It’s almost as if he disappeared from existence for them.”
“Really?”
“Actually, I used to be really good friends with Logan.” Janus shrugged, “He was really open all the time, and happy. he was loud and he felt like himself. He was still a nerd, but he was happy and proud about it. Then…around middle school, something happened and he stopped doing everything he used to do. He stopped being loud and himself, and instead became closed off. He stopped talking to people outside of schoolwork. He started working harder on stuff, and didn’t go anywhere if it wasn’t to study. He just became a recluse after middle school.”
“You think it has anything to do with his brother?” Patton asked.
A throat cleared caught everyone's attention. The four turned around to see Logan standing, unamused, "You should know…it’s not very nice to talk about rumors behind someone’s back.”
Speechless, the four could only stare at Logan as if he had caught them in an intricate web of lies. Guilt crawled up Virgil's spine, knowing that he should've stopped everyone from talking about it. However, Logan seemed to be the most embarrassed out of all of them as he walked up to Patton.
"Apologies. I had forgotten about my Calculus homework that Patton had grabbed out of my hand." Logan murmured as he held his hand out for Patton. Patton was quick to give Logan his things and he started to walk away.
No one said anything as they watched Logan walk away. At least until Logan broke the silence once more upon halting in his tracks and turning back to them. His cheeks were flushed and it was the first time Virgil ever saw any real emotion on Logan's face. He seemed upset almost.
"I don't care if you do speculate on my life, or about my family. Just...please, whatever you say, leave my brother out of it."
Logan turned on his heel and walked out of the classroom before he could even get confirmation from the others. Once he was gone though, Patton's expressions flooded with sadness and guilt. "Logan's never sounded so desperate. He always has a polite or authoritative tone."
"Right...well, you heard the boy. No more talking about his brother." Janus exhaled a sharp breath as he stood up, "Come on, Re. Let's get to our own math class before you start speaking about more gore."
“Coming!” Remus packed up as fast as possible, bounding towards the boy who had already started walking.
“Which way are you going?” Patton grinned, turning his full attention to Virgil. “I’ll walk you there.”
Virgil uncrumpled the paper he had shoved into his pocket to look at the last class of the schedule, "Art."
“We should go before the crowd picks up when the bell rings.”
The two walked in silence the entire way to the class, until Virgil broke the silence, “Hey Patton?”
“Hm?”
“Do you think Logan has a power that makes him scared of getting close to people? Maybe that’s why he stopped talking to Janus.”
“Hm, maybe.” Patton smiled, “I’ll ask today, but I doubt it. I think he has magic. I just…don’t think he uses his power ever.”
“Really?”
“Trust me. I can feel it when people have powers.”
“Do you really know?”
“Yes, I do, Mr. Boy With Powers.” Patton remarked as he walked away, right as Virgil stopped by his classroom. ————– Patton may not make as many puns in this fic since it's so hard for me to make puns, forgive meeeee T-T, but ooooo, I love characterization and learning about backstories. Also 5/6 of the gang are together now and we get more insight into the dynamics of everyone~
If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging! Reblogging helps me a lot and are very appreciated. Check out my masterlist for more, feel free to request any writings, and stick around if you want to see the rest of what I have in store for this! :)
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pattonsfam-ily · 1 year
Text
self destruct
ship(s): creativitwins & analogince (remrom/incest shippers/supporters dni)
description: Remus is having a rough time but his twin is there to patch him up (human au)
warnings: self harm, blood, alcoholism/relapse, eyelash picking, implied pica/disordered eating bc Remus, sexual innuendos/jokey flirting between brothers bc Remus, general grossness bc Remus, basically just Remus being Remus
note: so if you’re not following this blog and find this from tags this is a mini creativitwins focused fic for my sanders sides human!au/roleplay blog LRVerse/pattonsfam-ily where Logan Roman and Virgil are a throuple and live with Virgil’s older brother (my oc) and are best friends with the other canon sanders sides/shorts characters & more of my ocs
Remus was destructive. No matter how much help he got for his issues that was likely to never change. He enjoyed the thrill too much and he would never believe he didn’t deserve to cause pain to himself.
So, sometimes he got himself into some trouble. Like the trouble that had just transpired moments before he somehow made his way to his brother’s house alive.
“Hey, Ro! Your favorite intrusive thot has arrived! But, um, I did a little bit of an… oopsie…” Remus slurs, stumbling into the kitchen where Roman was.
“Ugh, what now? Remus, I swear if,” Roman starts to lecture his idiot brother, not even bothering to look up at him—he was used to his brother always just waltzing right into the house like he still lived there, he did still have a key to be fair—but he stops himself short.
His speech was slurred.
“Are you drunk?” Roman asks and finally looks at him.
He does not like what he finds. Remus’s hands are torn up and bleeding, and there’s a dried streak of blood down his chin. Remus grins at him, revealing blood stained teeth as well.
“Oh, Jesus Christ Superstar. What did you do?!” Roman yells, now making his way over to his brother.
“I… got drunk. Very, very drunk. And I wanted… a snack. So, like any sane person would do, I broke the bottles of the drinks I had and had a little munch. Big deal. No need to lose your shit, brother mine.”
Without another word, Roman gently grabs Remus’s wrist and brings him up to the bathroom.
“Sit.” Roman demands, pointing to the counter.
Remus hops up onto the counter, hissing at the sting in his hands. Roman cringes and grabs his brother’s wrist again so he can look at the hand with the most cuts. There was a small piece of glass embedded in his palm now.
“Sorry, I should have helped you.”
“Oh, please. I clearly enjoy pain.”
“Yeah, unfortunately. Okay, just give me a second.”
Roman turns to the cabinet behind them that held all of their first aid and rummages around a bit. Remus hums a little made up tune in the meantime which Roman would find rather pleasant if the situation was different.
“Okay, this should be good.” Roman mutters more to himself as he closes the cabinet, precariously balancing all of the supplies in his arms.
He then haphazardly dumps them onto the counter beside Remus once he turns back to him.
“Ooh, tweezers? What are they for?” Remus asks excitedly as he picks them up. “I use them to pluck my eyelashes.”
“You mean eyebrows?”
“Nope! I like to put them in jars so I can keep the mites as pets even though I can’t see them.”
“I… Okay, for the love of Artemis and Apollo, please just give them to me.” Roman begs, holding out his hand.
“Aw, Artemis and Apollo. Twins. Like us!”
“Yes, that’s why I say that, Remus. Please, the tweezers.”
Remus sighs dramatically but he does as he’s told, clumsily dropping the tweezers into Roman’s still open hand.
“Thank you, now come here,” Roman says, and turns Remus’s hand palm up. “I gotta get the stupid glass out of your hand.”
Roman thanks his lucky stars that he has steady hands and that Remus’s restless stim was just leg swinging. He’s able to get the glass out rather quickly and disposes of it properly before moving on. He does a quick assessment of the same hand and then the other to be sure there weren’t any other shards. He was clear so he picked up the gauze pads.
“What? I need to stop the bleeding.” Roman explained when Remus eyed him curiously.
“So, I can’t eat them?”
“No.”
“Lame.”
“Your mom is lame.”
“I’m telling.”
“Don’t you dare.”
Remus cackled and wiped a fake tear away. Roman just shook his head and placed one of the pads against his brother’s bleeding wounds. He then held his hand with his own free hand so he could apply enough pressure to stop it.
“Press harder.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Remus.”
Remus just giggled and ignored Roman. Roman sighed and pulled the gauze away to find that the bleeding had stopped. Thank goodness.
“Remus, listen to me. I need to use soap to clean the cuts. I don’t want them to get infected.”
“You’re lucky if I let you use water.”
Roman groaned in frustration but then an idea struck him. Saline wound wash was an acceptable alternative. Remus probably wouldn’t mind that.
“Okay, how about this?” Roman asks before grabbing the solution from the cabinet and showing it to him.
“Wound wash? Fuck yeah. Love that shit.”
“You’re not drinking it.”
“Aw. You’re no fun.”
Roman ignores him in favor of once again grabbing his hands so he could clean them. Once he was satisfied with that he grabbed the roll of gauze and started wrapping his hands. He tries to ignore the fact that his own hand was also bandaged due to self inflicted wounds. They were both idiots.
“Hey, if you’re gonna mummify me you should probably embalm me first.”
Roman decides to completely ignore Remus as well for the time being. He needed to focus. His stupid mouth was also all torn up. He didn’t know what to do about that. Logan would know. Once he’s finished wrapping his brother’s hands Roman pulls his phone out to text his boyfriend. He could easily just go get him but leaving Remus alone right now was not a good idea.
“Salt water,” Roman reads aloud. “Oh, yeah, that’s smart.”
“Huh?”
“Your stupid mouth. You need to swish some salt water to make sure the bleeding’s stopped and so it doesn’t get infected. Also you’ll be able to spit out any glass if you still have some stuck to you.”
“Mouth wounds heal fast. I’ll be fine. Plus I like having blood and glass in my mouth.”
“Clearly. But no. You’re doing it.”
“Yes, mother.”
“Really?”
“Hey, I almost said daddy. You’re welcome.”
“Okay, enough out of you.”
A moment later Logan appears at the door with a glass of salt water in his hands and a grumpy Virgil attached to his side.
“Babe, you shouldn’t have let them come with you…” Roman says, gratefully taking the glass from Logan.
“I tried to keep him away, but he wanted to see the two of you. He’s just concerned, love.”
Roman sighs, nodding understandably.
“Well, thanks, babe.”
Logan nods back so Roman turns to Remus and holds the glass up to him.
“Here. It’s probably gonna sting like a bitch.” Roman says, not as a warning but as encouragement.
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
Remus smiles and tries to takes the glass but it’s hard to bend his fingers with his hands completely wrapped so Roman grabs it before it falls.
“Never-mind, I’ll do it.” Roman grumbles and helps Remus take a sip.
Remus just holds the water in his mouth for a while and scrunches up his face in pain. Stupid bastard was enjoying it too much.
“Swish and spit. Do not swallow it.”
Remus glares at Roman and tries to speak which of course only makes water dribble out of his mouth.
“Remus.”
Remus rolls his eyes and quickly swishes the water that managed to stay in his mouth around before spitting it back into the glass.
“Sorry, I was trying to say that spitting is quitting and is no fun. Unless your target’s a certain someone.” Remus lilts rhythmically.
“What… was that.”
“The phrase ‘spitting is quitting’ is boring so I made it more fun! Do you like it?”
“Sure? I guess?”
“Anyway! Thanks for taking care of me. I’m gonna go see if I can fit my morning star into my mouth now.” Remus says and hops off the counter.
“Remus.”
Roman grabs Remus by the arm before he can go. Logan who was still there with Virgil blocks the doorway as well just to be sure he can’t leave.
“You relapsed and hurt yourself. We need to talk.”
“No, I’m not doing that to you,” Remus says in an uncharacteristically serious voice. “I’ll be fine.”
“Reem, I’ve been sober for years now. I can handle it.”
“Sobriety can be broken at any time. Not worth the risk. Let me go.”
“Remus, I would risk my own life to protect you. I can risk my sobriety for you too.”
Virgil whining slams Roman right back into his harsh reality. For a moment it was just him and his twin. Nothing existed outside of their bubble. Roman almost wishes he could have stayed that way for longer.
“Hey, love, I’m sorry,” Roman says to Virgil. “Why don’t you and Logan go wait for me in our room? I’ll be there soon.”
“No, I wanna make sure you guys are okay.”
“I promise you we’ll be fine, honey,” Roman says and gives Logan a look. “I will come get you both if I need to.”
Logan silently nods his understanding at Roman’s look before picking Virgil up and walking out of the bathroom.
“Put me down!”
Roman sighs and quickly closes the door before Virgil can try to escape Logan’s hold and make his way back. Once he’s sure they’re gone he turns around and leans against it.
“Remus. Please talk to me.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Well, that’s a first.”
The twins both laugh at this which is enough to ease some of the tension between them. Progress, Roman thinks.
“Okay, look, Ro, I… I’ll talk about this at some point… Just not now, okay? I can’t.” Remus says softly, staring down at the floor.
Roman frowns at his brother’s dejected demeanor. It was so unlike him. Even when he was at his absolute worst he was always grinning like a madman and cracking jokes about his problems. He would even talk about them excitedly, like they were fun to endure. This was completely different and Roman did not like it at all.
“Did something happen? Something new?”
Remus looks back up and Roman is horrified at the unshed tears in his eyes. He only ever cried when something seriously fucked happened.
“Reem…”
“I can’t talk about it.”
“Why? Are you in danger? Did someone threaten you? Because I swear to Zeus I will tear them apart with my bare hands.”
“Ro, you,”
“And my sword.”
“I get it. But, Ro, silly, you know threats don’t work on lil ol’ me. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then what. Come on you know you can tell me anything.”
Roman steps forward and takes his brother’s hands in his, giving him a pleading look. He was desperate. He needed to know what happened to his brother. He wasn’t supposed to be sad like this. Angry, frustrated, anxious, manic, and depressed, sure. But not sad. His depression was different. It didn’t make him like this. This was something truly terrible. It was killing Roman.
“Ro, you’re my literal other half. We may not be literally psychically connected the way people think we would be but your pain is still my pain. I don’t wanna put this on you.”
“Put it on me.” Roman begs. “I can take it.”
“Heyo, take me to dinner first.”
Okay, he walked right into that one.
“Reem, it’s not funny.” Roman says, despite his laughter.
“It’s a little funny.” Remus says, giggling as well.
“Fine, but I still really need to know what happened. If you’re not ready to tell me now then okay. But eventually you will? Right?”
Remus nods, his tears now falling freely. Roman hates to admit it but they bring tears to his own eyes. He opens his arms, silently inviting his brother in for a hug but letting him choose. He’d wait here forever for his decision if he needed to.
Luckily he didn’t have to wait that long though. Remus crashes into his arms. He definitely would have sent them flying back onto the floor if the door wasn’t closed behind them and he was definitely getting snot all over the spot his face was pressed against as he sobbed but Roman didn’t care. He was a prince and so it was his sworn duty to protect his fellow prince—or duke, rather—and he’d do whatever it took to accomplish that. He wouldn’t say that out loud though. Said fellow prince—duke—would just make a bunch of duty jokes and those were never funny. Instead, he says something else to break the tension just a bit more.
“Twin hugs,” Roman mumbles against Remus’s neck. “I will forever be calling it that. You cannot stop me.”
Remus giggles and Roman has never been more delighted to hear it.
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skymaiden32 · 2 years
Text
A Heroic Act
Thundertober/Inktober 2022 Day 23: Parent
No-one said being a parent to five sons was going to be easy, especially when Lucille is stuck in bed with the flu, but Jeff’s sure he can manage. Boy, are they all gonna prove him wrong… Wee!Tracy’s
Continuity: TOS
Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @thundergeek59 @janetm74 @katblu42 @liseylou (Please ask if you would like to be alerted when I update or write new stories)
Prompt list
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The mornings were usually bedlam, and today was no different. “Alan! Where the hell is your other shoe?!”
“Don’t want it…” His youngest grumbled, folding his arms and pouting. The five year old also kicked the floor for good measure.
Jeff sighed, running a hand over his face. “You’re going to want to once you’re at the daycare…” His attention was immediately on the faint rustling from the top of the stairs. “You’re not taking all of that, are you?...” He was absolutely certain John was carrying an entire library with him in his school bag.
“Of course?” John gave him a look. The middle brother was only seven, and was already way ahead of everyone else in his grade. The thought both made him proud and unsettled him…
“Where’s Virgil?” The father sighed again, looking around for the artistic youngster. John shrugged, seemingly nonchalant, but Jeff already knew that he cared a lot.
“He’s still in bed. Scott’s been trying to wake him up for the past half hour…” 
Jeff let out a long suffering groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. He somehow ignored the chaos that came from the direction of Alan and Gordon, and stole a glance at his watch. They had to leave in the next fifteen minutes if they wanted to get them all to school in time. “Go see if you can help, would you?”
“No need.” His eldest yelled from Virgil’s room. “He’s up.” Scott appeared at the top of the stairs, with a very grumpy Virgil in tow as they walked down.
Jeff shook his head as he smoothed Virgil’s bedhead down to be somewhat manageable. “Okay, you two. Go and grab something to eat. We’re off in five.”
“Got it, Dad.” Scott was already in the kitchen by the time Virgil grunted and trudged in the same direction.
Jeff turned his attention back to his younger kids. His eyes widened in shock. “Why do both of you hate your shoes so much?” John barely hid his sniggering.
------
When the patriarch finally made it back home after what seemed to be the most exhausting school run of his life, he flopped onto the bed he shared with the love of his life, who despite being bedridden, managed to give him an amused look. “Not as easy as it looks, is it?” She chuckled. Her voice was like the gentle breeze of a sunny day, and he found himself lost in it’s calmness.
“No…” Jeff sighed, giving his wife the soft look he reserved for her and her alone. “Is that what you deal with every morning?” Lucy nodded. Normally, Jeff was already at the tiny office of his new company by the time the boys were supposed to get up for school, with the hopes of someday making it big. But Lucille was already in bed with a fever last night, so Jeff was taking the day off as well to take care of her and the kids. “What else can I do to help, honey? I feel like I might lose them if I keep missing out on the mornings… Alan and Gordon barely listened this morning, and I don’t know them as much as I used to. We were only able to get out the door on time because Scott convinced them to keep their shoes on…”
Lucille stared impassively. “You know, if you already know the problem is that you’re out early in the mornings, then you know what you have to do to fix it.”
“Yeah, I do know…” He suddenly found the foot of the bed very interesting. 
“And do you know what I know?” Lucille just tutted, and guided his chin to look her in the eyes again. Jeff raised an eyebrow, before he was blindsided by her sudden embrace. “That the boys love you. And they’re so grateful for what you do everyday to provide for this family…” She smiled. “But yes, it wouldn’t hurt to spend a bit more time with them.”
“Thanks, babe…” Jeff stood up. “Now you lie down and let me grab you some of my mother’s chicken soup.”
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kingudon · 2 years
Text
Then Do It Yourself
I'm totally projecting onto Logan here. Written in the span of a day btw.
Hurt/comfort
Tw: yelling
<_____________________________________________>
Words bounced across his skull. He couldn't focus. He had to focus. They were counting on him. They always were though.
A knock followed by a gentle call of his name grabbed the man's attention.
"Logan?"
"Come in," he calls back.
Another slips into the room, "I was just wondering if-" the other cuts himself off "Oh, I see you're busy. I'll come back later."
Logan sighed, "You obviously came by for something, so please Patton just spit it out."
Patton was shocked. Logan hardly snapped at anyone unprovoked. Granted Logan hadn't meant to snap at Patton in the first place. It just happened,,,
A tension filled the air and Logan was getting more frustrated as the seconds passed.
"Patton," He pressed.
"Right," This brought him to, " Roman and I wanted to know if you'd be available to look over something we wrote?"
Logan simply nodded; not fully conscious of his actions. He really wanted Patton to leave and be left alone.
Patton beamed, "Thanks Lo, you're the best!"
You're the best.
The best..
Best...
Then how come he didn't feel like he was the best? How come anytime they proclaim such it feels like a lie? And how come he still CAN'T FOCUS?!
"Perhaps a break will do me good," Logan mumbled to himself.
He makes his way to the kitchen, leaving the sanctuary of his room. He could Virgil curled up in a corner of the couch, a book in hand. Patton and Roman excitedly talking about their project. Roman spots Logan.
"Oh look who left the lab!" The jab didn't make Logan feel better.
"Not now Roman," He mumbled.
"You ok, kiddo?" Patton's voice full of concern.
"I'm merely tired."
Virgil hadn't said anything, but he to looked to Logan with concern. He really did want to say something, but he also knew Logan. Pressing the matter won't making it any better.
All their eyes stayed on him. The feeling made Logan want hide. He could. He could sink back down to his room. If they stared a second longer, he just might. Unfortunately before Logan had the chance to escape he's being summoned elsewhere.
He reappears to find Thomas in front of him. Logan can feel the frustration building. All he wants is to be left alone. Is that too much to ask? Yes, because when you this bunch you're always needed. Logan puts up his best facade and greets Thomas.
"Salutations Thomas."
"Hey Logan, you got a minute?" Thomas asked.
Logan sighed, "I believe I didn't have a choice in the matter."
A nervous chuckle left Thomas, "Sorry that's the fastest way I know to get you here."
"What was it you needed?" Logan questioned.
"Oh yeah, I wanted to know how next week's filming schedule is going?"
This simple question irked Logan more than it should've. He works on the schedule all the time. This time shouldn't be any different, and yet it is. Logan looked anywhere but Thomas. A new feeling rising under all the frustration and sadness. Guilt.
"I still have yet to finish it," he mumbled.
"How come it's not done? Thomas asked, "You know I need it by Thursday night."
The dam broke.
Logan's attention snapped towards Thomas. His eyes burning with rage, glowing a brilliant amber. A scowl replaced the neutral expression.
"Then why don't you do it yourself?" Screamed Logan.
Thomas shrank, "Aren't I technically-"
Logan cut off the shakey reply.
"No, you are not. I may be a facet of your being, but you are not me. I'm my own person for fuck's sake. Not a robot either. I have feelings, damn it! Just because I say they're the bane of my existence doesn't mean they're there. Why can't any of you see that? I am sick and tired of not being listened to. I deserve respect all the same!"
He was screaming now. Unfortunately, Logan was too blinded by his emotions he didn't notice he was drawing in a crowd. Those who came up to check up on them were horrified. Never has he acted out. Never has Logan cried,,,?
"Are you crying?" Virgil finally spoke.
He stopped. Bringing a hand to his cheek, Logan could feel them. He shocked even himself. Logan doesn't cry, he's never cried. But things always change, don't they?
Zwoop
Orange eyes land on the forgotten project. Anger flares within Logan. A roar escaped him as he swiped desk clear. Locking on the half finished schedule again, Logan snatched it up. His hands worked feverishly to tear up the past work. With a huff, the shreds fall to the floor.
Anger subsidies and gives way to the sadness he felt. Tears streamed down his face like a waterfall. Logan sinks to his floor and sits with his back against the bed.
"FUCK!" He screamed.
Sobs racked through his body as more tears fell.
Knock knock knock
Please go away, Logan enternally begged. The intruder didn't get the hint. A figure entered the room, and surveyed the scene. He let a small hum, but payed no mind to the mess. The snake took a few steps and sat next to Logan. Logan kept his head down, and the other did nothing to force his gaze.
"Would you like me to finish the schedule for you?" He spoke.
"That'd be much appreciated," he sniffles, "Thank you, Janus."
Janus hums again. They both sat in comfortable silence. Logan felt the waves of exhaustion crash into him. Maybe a nap wouldn't hurt right? He leaned to his right, landing on Janus' shoulder. He glances down at Logan, but says nothing. He'll let him have this. Not even ten minutes later and soft snores can be heard from the jam loving man. Janus softly smiles, removing his glasses and tucking them in a breast pocket. He examines the mess around him.
Suppose I can get started on that schedule while I wait, Janus thought. He summoned the necessary tools and gets to work.
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vinbee631 · 9 months
Text
11 - I Feel Badly About You Feeling Badly About Me, Feeling Badly About You  
Prodigal Sons and Daughters Alike
Remus had been a little hesitant to reach out to the school’s counselor about something, he felt, should have been easily solvable all on his own. Or, with some help from his friends, at the most.
Chapter title from Therapy from tick, tick… BOOM! My heart goes out to those too intimidated by therapy to go, and Remus' heart goes out to you as well, despite being imaginary.
Remus had been a little hesitant to reach out to the school’s counselor about something, he felt, should have been easily solvable all on his own. Or, with some help from his friends, at the most.
It was also a little anxiety inducing to think that he had to talk about all that had happened with an adult, someone with much more developed emotional maturity than him. He’d definitely made some mistakes in this whole process, and he didn’t really want to be judged for them. He especially didn’t want to be judged in a meeting that he scheduled and very much needed.
A part of him knew that Dr. Picani definitely wouldn’t be judging him, that kinda went against the whole- counselor and teacher business, but it could still happen. The possibility was… probably more worrisome to him than it should be, but tell his stupid brain that.
He sighed, pocketing his phone after his eighth attempt to text the guy. He needed to psych himself up a bit more before he tried again, or he could try asking Roman to write the text for him when they met up for lunch. That usually helped. 
In what was perhaps a cruel and possibly a fortunate twist of fate, Remus ended up being a bit late for that. 
On his way from his last class of the morning, he stumbled across Virgil in the hall and waved brightly in his direction. Normally, Virgil would simply roll his eyes and brush past, but today he seemed particularly prickly. 
He gave Remus a harsh glare, slowing as they got closer. “What do you want?”
“Uh… to say hi? Like I usually do? Is there a problem with that?” Remus asked honestly.
“Yes, there is a problem with that. I’m so… I don’t get how you can just openly ignore the fact I asked you to leave me alone. You’re not accomplishing anything by pissing me off constantly.”
“Uh, technically, you only asked me to leave you alone once, and that wasn’t even out loud. I’ve talked to you several time after that and tried my best to make it clear that I literally just want to be your friend. If you don’t want that, that’s totally fine, but you’ve never made that clear. Don’t get mad at me for your own confusion, please.”
Virgil snarled, raising a finger and opening his mouth to berate him once more, but he stopped himself, mouth hanging open for a few seconds. Eventually, he closed it, and in a moment of desperation, hissed at him before stomping off.
Remus would have laughed, if he wasn’t so disappointed by the interaction.
“Is there a problem?” A teacher Remus didn’t recognize stuck their head out into the hall to investigate the noise, probably aiming to scold the two of them for yelling in the halls, but Virgil was already gone.
Remus slumped. “Not anymore, I guess.” The teacher looked confused, but with no evidence of a fight or argument they needed to break up, they slipped back into their classroom. 
“Everything alright, Remus?” The boy in question jumped at the voice behind him, turning to face a slightly sheepish Dr. Picani.
“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine! What brings you to this corner of the world?” He asked casually, smiling just a bit too wide to be considered normal. 
“Well, I, as most humans do, need to acquire sustenance to keep myself going! But, I happened to- er, overhear some of that colorful discussion, and I just wanted to check in and make sure everyone was alright. You could accompany me for a moment if you’d like to talk it out?”
Remus flushed at the question. “I… well, I wouldn’t wanna interrupt your lunch. Food is important… and all that.”
Dr. Picani smiled patiently. “That wasn’t really what I asked. The question was if you wanted to talk about it, but no is an acceptable answer.”
“Uh… yeah, I kinda do,” Remus admitted, picking at his nails as he spoke.
“Well, then, if you’re not busy, we can pop back into my office for a bit! I can’t imagine it will take a whole hour, and I dare say I won’t starve if I put off eating by a few minutes.”
Remus wasn’t quite sure how to responds, so he nodded silently and followed, falling in step with the counselor. 
He wouldn’t call the silence that followed awkward, but it certainly was not comfortable. For him, at least, Picani seemed to be relatively calm. He even smiled gently in Remus’ direction when they accidentally made eye contact.
Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have been so worried about this.
He sat across from the doctor, surprised at how comfortable the chairs were. Picani didn’t say anything as he sat, merely stared at Remus expectantly and patiently.
Remus took a breath, and thought back to where this all started from.
“I… it’s kind of a complicated story, but… I’ve been trying to get to know Virgil some more, or at least freaking talk to him for once, but- being his friend has been annoyingly complicated and he is annoyingly stubborn!”
Picani nodded for him to continue, gracefully ignoring the somewhat tamer but still quite colorful language Remus opted to use.
“He wouldn’t talk to me in person so I started leaving post-it notes with random conversation starters and stories about myself and junk. Then, I used one as an invitation to eat lunch together, and he completely freaked out. I guess he thought I was pestering him or bullying him or something, and he chewed me out for it so I stopped. 
Then, I thought maybe I should try giving him the notes in person so they would be more sincere, or something, but he just yelled at me about it again! I just- I guess I should probably listen to what he wants now, but he looks so lonely all the time, and it sucks! I don’t think it’s healthy for him to be isolating himself so much, either. I just… I dunno what to do.”
Emile frowned sympathetically. “That does sound quite frustrating. I admire that you’re willing to take the time and reach out to him, though. He seems pretty intent on maintaining his independence, but there is a large difference between independence and self-isolation.”
“Right? I just… I don’t wanna hurt him, or make him hate me, but how am I supposed to be friends with him if he won’t talk to me, or even listen to me at this point?”
The dean seemed to think for a moment. “Well, you’ll probably have to try a different method, if the other two resulted in genuine anger on Virgil’s part. Have you considered a more action-based approach?”
Remus tilted his head curiously. “What do you mean by that, Dr. P?”
“Instead of using notes to talk to him, or conversation starters, you could try to get to know him by doing something with him? Or, asking for his help with something? Inviting him to spend time with you or talk to you might not be the best, but asking for a second opinion on a school project could be a way to segway into a more casual conversation. Just a thought.” 
Remus’s confused frown quickly phased into an enthusiastic smile. “Oh, oh, that’s actually super smart! I… yeah, I have some ideas now, thank you so much!” He jumped up from his seat, planning to head straight to his room to brainstorm, but Emile interrupted him before he could run off.
“Remus? Before you go, just be careful. I can see you care a lot about him, but running yourself into the ground for one friend would be just as unhealthy of an outcome as Virgil isolating himself. So, be gentle, okay? With yourself and with Virgil.”
Remus nodded. “Of course, teach. I’ve got it all under control. Thank you!” And he raced off. 
He’d planned to hiad straight back to his room to brainstorm, but his stomach grumbling interfered with that plan. Then, he remembered Roman was likely waiting for him, and he ended up in the cafeteria, drumming his fingers on his lunch tray as he rushed over to where his friends were sitting.
“Alright, what’s the new idea, Re? Roman teased, ironically enough. Of course, he thought that Remus wouldn’t have come up with something new already, but he was always full of surprises. 
“Gonna ignore the teasing and interpret that as genuine! I just had a very inspiring conversation with Dr. Emmy, and he gave me- like, maybe the best idea any of us has come up with.” “He is, literally an adult, and also a teacher. I hope the fact he has more emotional intellingence is not surprising to you,” Janus noted, laughing as Remus whacked him lightly on the arm.
“Well, yeah, obviously. It’s still a good idea, but I can’t use it yet. I mean… I can, but I don’t think it’s gonna work out the way I want unless I have help. So, hear me out? Please?”
Roman raised an eyebrow. “I agree to nothing until you tell us what we’re getting into. Also, we are talking about getting to know a real person, so maybe don’t treat it like we’re brainstorming ideas for a particularly pesky school assignment?”
“Right, yeah, you’re right. So- yeah, I’ll explain anyway. Well… Vee kinda yelled at me earlier when I tried to hand-deliver another note, and Emmy ran into me right after that lovely little talk and let me vent about it.” 
As he explained, Roman’s eyebrows shot up into his bangs. “That explains where you went, I guess.”
“Yeah,” Remus chuckled ruefully. “Anyway, I wasn’t actually fishing for advice, but he is a counselor, so that makes sense. But, he was like- he suggested starting with something action-based instead of conversation-based. The notes were all conversation starters and invitations to spend time talking, but this is like, inviting him to help us with something or to work on a project together, y’know?” 
The others reacted fairly similarly to Remus: excitement at the new idea, bafflement they didn’t come up with that first, and perhaps a bit of annoyance for that same reason.
“Well, then, I suppose you were right to be so enthusiastic,” Logan conceded, leaning on his hands as he began to brainstorm. 
“Yes, that is a wonderful new perspective, but is there a specific reason you decided we all need to be involved for it to work?” Janus questioned, growing a bit concerned as Remus immediately slumped in his seat. 
“Well, yeah. Vee is royally pissed at me now, and as much as I want to be able to be his friend, I can’t just jump into talking to him again. Or, spending time around him, in this case. He needs space from me, I think, but you guys can get the ball rolling so that, hopefully, he’s more open to getting to know me- er, well, all of us, better.”
Patton placed a sympathetic hand on Remus’ shoulder. “That’s really considerate of you, Rem. Well, in the meantime, I bet you have already started brainstorming ways to try this out! Do you wanna share?”
Remus bounced back instantly, grinning wide as his thoughts from earlier came surging back. “Oh, Patty-cake, there are so many!” 
“Well then, fire away, Re. We’ll find a way to win Virgil over yet,” Roman proclaimed with a smile to match Remus’. While he was still sorting through the disappointment he initially felt on the situation, Remus was still fairly optimistic. He just hoped Virgil could see, through all the confusion and anger, that he and the others really did care about him.
Yes, the amount of ‘scheming’ involved could be considered a red flag, but Remus reserved only his best-brainstormed plans for people he cared about. In his mind, the two were already beginning to be friends. He hoped Virgil would come to agree with him.
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tanushakyrano · 1 year
Text
febuwhump day 7: made to watch
characters: John, Virgil, Scott
additional warnings: injury
___________________
John watched Scott’s blood pressure steadily tick downwards and cursed.
Whatever had happened, Scott clearly wasn’t being honest with them. He needed help - and fast.
“Virgil, you need to go now. Things are worse than he’s letting on.”
“FAB, John.”
These were the moments where he absolutely hated his job. There was absolutely nothing he could do but sit there, watching Virgil's green icon steadily make its way towards Scott's blue, flashing worryingly. The feedback from his suit wasn't good. BP low and getting lower, heartbeat verging on erratic as it struggled to compensate for what he was guessing was pretty bad blood loss. Scott's shallow breaths echoed over the comms.
"Scott, are you- shit."
Virgil had found him.
"Thought I told you to…go help those people…"
“You’re lucky I don’t always listen to you.”
The sharp intake of breath as Virgil checked Scott over was like a needle through his eardrums. “Jesus, Scott. Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”
It was bad. He’d known that already, but the confirmation sent ice and fire running through his veins all at once. Beside him, Eos’ camera flashed pale lilac with anxiety.
"Virgil, what's going on?" Tell me, please.
Virgil ignored him.
"Didn’t…want you to worry…”
“You idiot. Of course we’re gonna worry, it’s our job.”
“Sorry…”
“Hey, no, don’t." Virgil spoke tenderly, acres of emotion in every syllable. The threat of tears was audible. "It’s okay, Scott. You’re okay.”
Shaky, shallow breaths. A muffled sob.
“Virgil, tell me what’s happening,” John pleaded.
“He’s lost so much blood, John”. His brother inhaled sharply, voice unsteady. “I- I’ve gotta get him out of here…”
Virgil was panicking.
Of course he was; he had good reason to. Scott was bleeding out, and fast. It was terrifying. If the circumstances were any better, John would be freaking out himself. But Scott needed medical attention. They were in a race against the clock and in a competition against Fate, and they were going to have to fight like hell to win. They didn’t have time to panic.
“Virgil. Take a breath. You’ve got to get back to Two, quickly.,” John ordered him. He kept his voice carefully level, carefully firm. He needed to stay in control.
“Yeah, I know, I’m… I’m headed back.” Their icons began to move slowly on the holomap. John breathed a silent sigh of relief as he noted their location; Thunderbird Two was right outside their nearest exit. They could make it.
“You just need to head straight, okay? Two is right outside that door.”
“Yeah - yeah. Good. Thanks.”
Scott’s BP was still dropping.
The human body was so incredibly contradictory, John found himself thinking absently. The more blood you lost, the faster your heart beated. Logically, it made sense - the lower blood volume meant less oxygen was getting where it needed to be, and a faster heartrate increased blood circulation - but it also meant that the blood left the body faster. The function designed to save life would cause that same life to drain away faster with every passing second.
Scott’s heartrate was through the roof.
Halfway there. Virgil was halfway there. John’s fingers were itching with the impatient agony of having to sit and wait and do nothing. Time passed quickly and slowly in the same instant. Eos’ light interface dimmed nervously, the two of them simply watching with bated breath.
It was all up to Virgil now.
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vulgarvixxen · 1 year
Note
I kinda want Thomas to have his pussy lessons put to use, yknow?
Hey! I got the goods! This was a blast, I got to use an OC and it was a lot longer than I expected but hopefully worth it!
Callbacks 2.0
Tw: mature/no minors, some negative self talk at the beginning, spontaneous kiss, mention of body dysphoria, vaginal penetration, lmk if I missed any
There was a big call back tomorrow, a Professor What needed several new actors for the upcoming movie being filmed in America. Thomas had been lucky enough to get through the first two tryouts but now he was unbelievably nervous, Roman and Virgil were both running around screaming. And that’s what led him to knock on his neighbor’s door, pleading with sky daddy that they were awake this early in the day.
Sky daddy must have been listening because Riley-works nights-Honeycomb answered the door in just their boxers, a tank top, and hair wrestled into a bun. “Hey, Tommy, what’s up?” Their voice was deepened by sleep and their glasses perched on their nose, having skipped contacts to rush to the door. Thomas felt bad but it was an emergency.
“Hi, Rie, I know this is probably a bad time but I have a call back tomorrow and no one to help me read lines. Um, would you mind reading with me and giving some feedback?” Saying it out loud made him cringe, he seriously woke his neighbor just because he couldn’t stop second guessing himself. How embarrassing!
You could see the gears turning in Riley’s mind as they both stood there in the doorway, after a minute they nodded, “Yeah, let me grab some pants and a coffee then I’ll be right over.” Thomas nearly dropped from the relief, “Thank you so much, I owe you one!” He says quickly before he rushes back into his apartment to get stuff ready. Mostly grabbing clothes and throwing them into a basket and putting the trash in a bag so it wasn’t just laying around, Logan was reluctantly pleased to see this get done.
Riley rushed to chug a can of coffee, switch into some clean clothes, and tame their hair half heartedly. In about 15 minutes they decided they were good enough for a mock table reading and headed next door, knocking to announce their entry. “Sorry I took so long, long hair can be such a pain.” They laugh as they shut the door behind them and walk into the living room. Thomas looked up and laughed too, his short hair was annoying sometimes so he can’t imagine how Riley managed with hair past their shoulders.
“No problem, I was getting my place presentable. Want to do this at the table or the couch?” Somehow he is not outwardly panicking and actually acting like a normal person, awesome! “You’re all stiff, let’s go chill on your couch and ease into this.” Riley walks past him and sits down, patting the cushion beside them, with cheeks warm Thomas sits down grabbing the script from the coffee table.
He’s about to ask if Riley wants him to make a quick copy of the section he was planning on reciting when he felt a weight on his shoulder, Riley had scooted closer and their head on his shoulder. “Oh, that’s the new Profesor What. Cool, which scene are you doing?” They pull out their phone and searching through it for something, “I’m one of the last choices for the Glorpian crystal tinkerer, and there’s the weird bit where he and the Slythergast merchant are haggling and it feels like a mix of veiled threats and flirting. But we can pick a different one if that makes you uncomfortable!” He hadn’t thought about that before asking for their help, ugh he should have known that he would end up being awkward.
“Let me snap a pic of that and then we won’t have to keep handing back and forth.” He let’s them and all too suddenly their warmth is removed from his side as they settle back on the other cushion. Why did he miss the closeness? He didn’t even know them that well! Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Thomas took a deep breath and as confident as he could muster said, “Okay, let’s do this.”
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* *:・゚✧*:・゚✧ ✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
It was their fifth run through and this one was purposely bad, supposedly to help Thomas to get past the the jitters that had him slipping up at least once every go before, Riley was using a ridiculously high voice for the merchant and Thomas was using a lisp to butcher the fake alien language. They were laughing loudly by the end but Thomas hadn’t slipped up once! “Alright, we’ve done this flat, seriously, and silly. Let’s try it but lean into the flirty undertones!” Riley says as they wipe away tears from laughing. He takes a second to let out a few last giggles, “Yeah, that sounds like it could be fun. Should we try it without the scripts?” He thinks he has the lines down now that he’s less nervous. Riley smiles and nods, “Heck yes, we got this!”
They had only gotten a few lines in and Thomas could feel the atmosphere of the room change, Riley’s delivery of the first double entendre made his heart skip a beat and he almost missed his response. Through the back and forth they had gotten closer, their knees brushing, he kept getting fluttery feelings in his chest. So when Riley gave him a sultry look as they caressed his cheek on their last line instead of giving the cheesy line he was supposed to say, Thomas leans forward and kisses them. It’s slow and warm, they taste like the coffee they drank earlier, but it doesn’t last long because Thomas remembers all too suddenly that this is his neighbor and that they weren’t really flirting with each other.
“I-I am so so sorry, I think I just got caught up in the mome-“ Riley covers his mouth with their hand. “It’s alright, Thomas, just means you got really into the role. And that was a nice kiss, too many people start with tongue and it’s gross.” They laugh and wave it off like a simple mistake. For some reason that makes his heart skip another beat, taking their hand away and holding it in his, he takes a chance. “We could keep kissing, if you want.” As a result he and Riley both blushed but they didn’t pull their hand away, “Yeah, I’d like that.”
➽──────────────❥
They were laying on the couch, Thomas on top, sucking hickey onto each other and grinding like a pair of horny teenagers. Thomas had Riley’s shirt pushed up but he hadn’t taken it off yet, his own shirt was hanging over the back of the couch where a green trash man was likely to snatch it, “Rie, need you to straighten your arms” he stops to tug on the collar of their shirt, “so I can get this off.” They let go of his shoulders and help him get the fabric out of the way…only there’s more, it’s like an a-shirt and a fancy sports bra had a fashion baby. He has to pause a moment before he can place what it is, “You wear a binder?”
Which was kind of obvious but the question made Riley freeze, looking small and scared. Wh-oh, “No, it’s fine, I just want to take it off if you don’t want me to. My best friends are trans, dysphoria is awful.” They searched his face as he rambled and backtracked, “Dysphoria is a bitch, yeah. I want it on, please.” He hated how nervous they sounded, “Of course, but let me know if it starts getting tight or you need a break.” And boy did his heart melt when they relaxed again, he couldn’t help but want to kiss a smile back on their face so that’s what he did.
The kissing got more heated and soon enough their pants were thrown away so they could get even closer. Thomas had his hand on the waistband on Riley’s boxers, teasing them down off their hips and eventually down to their knees. With some gentle pushing he gets their knees up and the boxers land on the floor, that’s when he gets to see all of Riley and how worked they are for him. He wants to do everything he knows, oral, fingering, and penetration but he has no idea what they like. What would Logan do? Or Remus? What would they agree on?
“Riley, babe, how do you want me?” Communication was definitely what the two sides would agree on, Thomas just hoped it was right. “Tommy, wrap up and fuck me, please. Please, I need you!” They whine, how can he say no when they asked so politely! “Okay, babe, just wait a minute. Gotta grab a- ah! There it is” he had leaned over them and rummaged into a side table he knew one of the sides kept supplies in, he grabbed a condom and a packet of lube. It was just a matter of rolling it on and smearing the lube on before he was lining up. “Say red anytime and I’ll stop immediately, no question.” He assures before he pushes in the tip.
Fuck, Riley is so much warmer than Princess has ever been, slicker too. The squishing slap of their bodies connecting every thrust is a sound he could get used to, their mewing moans too. Riley’s grip on his shoulders had tightened a few times and he was sure that he was going to have bruises there, hot. Both their breaths had started to pick up and he could tell he was getting close so they probably were too, he decided to give them some extra stimulation and started circling his thumb over their clit. The effects were magical, Riley bucked into his hand and gave a strangled cry that sounded like a feral version of their mews. Thomas couldn’t hold back now, his thrusts got more frantic and his rubbing became erratic. They became a feedback loop of sound and motion until Thomas felt his balls draw up and one of the best orgasms he’d ever had rocketed from him, he could hear both of their screams mixing together but it was like white noise as all his tightened muscles snapped into jelly.
Not so gracefully he fell on them with a grunt, Riley caught him enough to avoid a painful bumping of faces. They laughed at him, “You good?” Instead of answering Thomas snuggled into the crook of their neck to hide his dark blush. That was okay because Riley took the opportunity to play with his hair and add some more hickies behind his ears and on his shoulders. “Take that kind of energy to the callback tomorrow and you’re sure to get the part.” They whisper after a final love bite. The two of them lay there for a bit longer before cleaning up, Thomas chuckled when Riley’s legs were too wobbly and he had to help them get their boxers back on. By the time they parted ways Thomas felt like they really had a connection.
‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹
A week later Thomas is celebrating his acceptance on the Professor What movie with a small party, his best friends and family are all congratulating him while they all wondered if this was his big break. There’s a knock on his door which was weird since everyone he had invited was already here, he’s surprised when he sees Riley standing there with a bottle of something fancy looking, “Hey! I’m glad you stopped by, I was planning on coming over tonight to tell you the big news. I got the role!” Riley smiles and hands him the bottle, “That’s great, I grabbed this sparkling juice hoping it would be for celebrating. I also got some ice cream if you needed comfort food.” Thomas laughs at that, and waves them farther into the apartment where the rest of the important people in his life were.
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