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areweevercameraready · 10 months

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more than beliefs (10: lost in the woods)

A/N: the way in which i didn't expect to be updating this ., before thomas' next sanders sides video.,., anyway like i keep saying, life is crazy. i now have a masters degree.

also ! im going to post., another snippet of the human au .,., a little later today,.,.., i am getting Bolder lol

i'm going to try to be more proactive with responding to comments, especially on ao3! if you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask, and enjoy the read <3 !

WARNINGS: death threats, a kidnapping, and a very, very long fall — i don't know if there's much to tag on this one but if you think i've missed anything, please let me know!

Words: 5,248

here it is on AO3!

here are the MtB masterpost and the full Chivalry series masterpost!

enjoy! <3

Tonight’s only stroke of luck was that none of Remus’ beasts had made it to their side of the Imagination. The Thief was still out, combing through the woods.

It had been hours. The sun had yet to rise, and searching rarely went well in the dead of night.

Virgil was following him around, from the ground. Sometimes, the Thief scaled a tree, which didn’t feel like something he should be able to do. It must be the upper body strength. Why didn’t Logan work that extra gym time into Thomas’ schedule, damnit.

Janus stayed outside. He didn’t want to be inside, and it was good to keep the door open. It helped him think.

Plus, being inside meant waiting around with Logan and Patton, and as much as they were all fighting on the same side, it wasn’t as though they weren’t fighting each other as well. And he couldn’t put up with Patton’s faux fatherly friendship. He knew it was fake. It had to be.

It was early morning when Janus saw someone approaching the Tree. He stood, squinting into the distance. The person was much too tall to be the Child. They were moving slowly, too, and had an amorphously red shape. Janus could barely make them out in the moonlight.

“Who’s there?” he called out.

“It’s me,” the Damsel’s voice echoed back.

Oh.

Maybe he was just getting paranoid. Janus sat back down on the doorway, holding the tree bark door open with a leg.

“Good morning, Phillip,” he called.

He didn’t receive a response until the Damsel, much closer, sighed. He leaned on his cane and looked around up at the Tree, the surrounding forests, before returning his gaze to Janus. He seemed out of breath. It must have been a long walk, or he must not be used to walking the distance.

“Could you spare some room,” the Damsel asked.

Oh, huh. Janus scooted to the side, opening space for the Damsel to sit, and he did. He rested his cane against the side of the Tree and grunted as he sank down, leaning on the doorframe’s side. One of his legs extended forward, straightened out, while the other pulled beneath it.

“Sorry,” he hummed, voice muffled slightly by his scarf. “I’m not the best with distances. Usually the Playwright or the Dragon help me travel, but….but they’re not accessible.”

Right. The Damsel’s leg. “There’s no need to apologize. I’m sorry you had to come out here,” Janus waved at the forest while leaning his chin onto his other hand. “Did the Thief call you?”

“Virgil did, off of Eric’s-the Thief’s phone.”

He let out a sigh as he cracked his back in both directions, then he leaned back onto his hands. Virgil had called in a panic; the Thief had unlocked his phone and dropped it to Virgil. The Child was missing. They were coming back to the Tree but they hadn’t found the Child. The Thief had combed every part of the woods faster than the Child could have traveled, so it was likely he’d been kidnapped. Did he get kidnapped out of the Tree? No, he ran after he and the Thief had an argument. Inopportune, but tensions were high, even between them, if the Artist’s anger was anything to go off of.

First the Playwright, now the Child? Something must be picking them off. Could it be one by one? Luckily, the other trio was together, and the Damsel and Thief were with the other Sides. They would have to stay together. But what could be trying to capture them like this?

And for what purpose? The Damsel’s…darker tones had never left. Never been removed. So a part of him wondered…perhaps Roman was trying to finish the deed. But no. That would be foolish, after everything they’d been through.

The Damsel shook his head, clearing the thoughts, before sighing again. He didn’t want to look at Janus but who else was there for conversation — mirthlessly, the Damsel chuckled. Maybe that was why Roman would try to finish things.

Janus didn’t know what to make of him. Ever since their first escapade and then some, even when they started actually getting to know the guy, he just couldn’t understand. What were the implications of a part of Roman being almost as cut throat, as ruthless, as ends justify the means, as himself. What did that mean for Roman, for something like the Damsel to exist inside him.

There were few and far between opportunities for him to be alone with the former Prince, and he’d been the one to unravel Janus in the very beginning. This might be untradeable time. He should take the chance.

But for what? He wanted to understand more about Roman’s psyche, what could be causing all of this, but…for what? What part did he want to know? He’d thought he had a strong profile of the prince on lock, until Roman went against that, went against everything he’d known about him, just to prove him wrong. Out of pure spite. What did that say about him, and what didn’t it say that Janus needed to understand?

“When did the Chil-the Child run away?” the Damsel asked.

“Quite late at night. Maybe eleven. It’s been hours,” Janus responded. “Virgil and Thief must have been walking for miles and they hadn’t found him.”

The Damsel nodded slowly. “Two out of seven’s more than just a coincidence.”

Hypothesizing, and reserved.

“I’m surprised you followed them in here,” the Damsel continued. “I wouldn’t have-I didn’t expect you to care as much.”

Janus flinched, shooting the Damsel a glare. In response, though, the Damsel just cocked an eyebrow back to him, challenging him to argue.

“We…I’m on good terms with Roman,” Janus said. “We’ve had our disagreements, but—”

The Damsel laughed. He laughed so hard he leaned forward, holding his hand over his mouth like Janus had done to the other Sides so many times, as if he could stifle the sound. It grated on Janus’ ears. It sounded too much like Roman to be comforting and it was harsher in the way it was different.

“The only terms you think you-you think you have Roman are on the terms and conditions, because of how often you use him. A ‘funny, wholesome prank’ you enjoyed,” the Damsel turned so fast his scarf brushed Janus’ arm and he jumped at the sudden tonal change as the Damsel hissed angrily at him. “Playing into his love of theater, being right, AND desire to be a good person? That’s sinking low. Even for the leg-less snake.”

“I wouldn’t have to—the *leg-less snake?!” Janus couldn’t wrap his head around the Damsel’s report of his being.

“It’s a metaphor. You know, as you so enjoy. Speaking in tongues rather than-rather than play your cards openly, and I thought we-I thought-I thought you would have learned,” the Damsel growled in response. “You are the reason we-we didn’t go to the callback. You are the reason Roman’s self-love has been eradicated. And you are the reason Roman is missing. And I have no qualms with saying it, even if others-others do..”

Janus stared at him with wide, undilated eyes. He hadn’t noticed, but he’d pressed himself against the wall, one hand gripping the step into the Tree while the other scratched at the Tree’s wall, trying to find purchase. One more bout and he might run.

Good. The Damsel reveled in it, Janus’ fear. He knew he had to stay level headed — someone had to — but it felt good to finally unveil the source of everyone’s hostility. As much or as little as everyone knew. He’d spoken with the Child about it a few times, who was disappointed. He’d hoped that he could trust Janus, only to be proven wrong. It broke the kid’s heart. The Damsel hoped that that was all it had broken.

Slowly, he pushed himself up again, grabbing his cane with another sigh. Rougher this time. In the distance were more figures. Two, to be precise.

“Get inside before Thief sees you. He’s-He’s not as good at holding back his sword when anxious, and he won’t make your death as painless,” the Damsel warned, the growl never leaving, and Janus wasn’t willing to argue that point.

He hurried back up the stairs, trying to wrap his mind around what the Damsel had accused him of. That basically meant Roman felt that way. Or was it a third party perspective. Or was it both. Could it be both?

Did it even matter?

Logan was in the kitchen, a mug in his hands as he leaned on the counter and checked his phone. He was typing something. Patton, too, was in the living room, also typing on his phone. Something else. Janus didn’t even want to ask what it could be or what was happening; he just wanted to get on with it. Who knew if either of them had similar feelings.

“They’re back,” he said. “And Damsel’s here, too.”

Logan looked up first, pocketing his phone in an instant. “Oh, good,” he nodded toward the stairs.

They hurried down in time to see the Damsel catch the Thief in his arms with a grunt, cane still propped up against the Tree’s side. Patton strayed near the back, but even he could see the Thief tuck himself into the Damsel’s chest, arms curled around his head and fingers raking through his own hair. Virgil, behind them both, waved a hand to the others, signaling that they stay put. The Thief’s anxiety had only gone up, skyrocketing in a way that worried him. Sure, everything worried him, and even that much worrying was a bit worrisome, but this was another level kind of worry.

The Thief…worried Virgil. Every time he looked at Roman, knowing that he literally had an Anxiety was somewhere at the top of mind. That they’d torn him down so far that he had multiples of that, he had parts of himself that were willing to kill and fight and live in fear of every day. Had Thomas done that? Or had they? Did the things that he and the others say contribute to that? Last time he was here, everyone was able to quote back things at them, as if those quotes were what had built them. And the Thief was built on wanting to leave Thomas.

Virgil carefully approached them both, but the Damsel shook his head at him. One of his hands reached up, rubbing the Thief’s back in patterned circles.

“Eric. We need to-We need to get going. Reunite with the others,” the Damsel suggested.

“I’m so fucking stupid,” the Thief’s voice cracked on the swear, and his arms closed on himself tighter. “I don’t-I don’t know if he ran or if-Phillip, we were arguing, he-If he got taken, I wouldn’t know, I didn’t-I shouldn’t have let him out of-out of my sight.”

“We can find him again, we just need to re-reunite with the people who can travel easiest,” the Damsel murmured, a sharp and gentle contrast to how he’d threatened Janus. “I reached out to Remus, he should be here soon.”

The Thief nodded but made no moves to relocate himself. It felt a little awkward.

If Remus was coming, though, that must mean that they’re going somewhere else. Janus stepped back into the alcove at the front of the Tree and pulled out his shoes. Logan did the same, after a second. Better get going soon.

Behind them both, Patton stepped out, feet already crammed into his loafers. “Hey, Eric,” he whispered, right behind the Damsel.

The Thief flinched at the sound, but still lifted his head. His eyes were red, bright and tired. He hadn’t slept a wink, while at least Virgil got an hour or two earlier. His head hurt from the shouting and crying. And he stared at Patton with as much of a glare as he could muster. It wasn’t much.

“What,” he asked.

Patton glanced at the Damsel, who was also watching him curiously, before opening his arms. “I’ve heard I give Patton-tedly good hugs,” he offered with a soft voice, warm as the hearth.

That was Patton. Always full of love, at the end of the day and the worst of times. It was a very high-stress situation, and he didn’t want to not help. He wanted to comfort.

The Damsel let go ever so slightly and let the Thief lean to the other side. He pressed himself into Patton’s arms and curled up tight again, and Patton rested his arms on the top of his back, pulling him in just as close. After a beat, the Thief began shivering again, and Patton hummed softly. He could tell that the Thief was crying again.

“Being a dad is so FUCKING hard,” the Thief grumbled into his shirt.

“Hey, take it from me, it sure isn’t easy,” Patton said with a chuckle.

“You know, you’re not actually a father,” Logan interrupted, fixing his tie as he approached.

“Oh, no, no, I’ve only got a father figure,” Patton joked right back, giving the Thief a squeeze. “Amirite?”

The Thief snorted quietly, and even Virgil shook his head with a grin behind him. A bit of comedy to lighten the mood did wonders, in Patton’s eyes, especially when the Thief began to uncurl from his hug.

“Thanks, Patton,” he muttered.

“No problem, kiddo. I’m always here to help cheer you up,” Patton looped his arm around the Thief’s for a quick side-hug, which the Thief returned with a lean.

It was good timing, too, as a horn sounded behind them. Everyone turned, facing up as another horn went off. It was difficult to see without sunlight, but the moon and thick coat of stars cast just enough light for them to see the floating barge.

It was an old-timey sailboat, painted black, with green trims and a face of horror at the bow. The ship’s sails had been let down, displaying lime green splatters across their formerly-white surfaces. It was a wieldy vessel indeed.

Only one person could be driving it.

“Welcome aboard!” Remus shouted, and everyone stumbled as they were unceremoniously teleported onto the ship’s deck, above the treeline.

The Damsel was first to regain his footing, reaching out with an arm toward their new captain. Remus, wearing a black tricorn hat, greeted him by yanking him into a tight hug. And squeaking. Like a squeaky toy. The Damsel laughed at the gesture, hugging him back quickly.

Their camaraderie was noted. Once again, everyone was surprised about the relationship they had. Didn’t Roman hate Remus, and didn’t Remus terrorize him?

On the other end, the Thief pulled back, helping up the other Sides. He made sure Janus was stably standing last and shot him another angry look before turning away.

Janus brushed himself down. He didn’t understand.

He was warranted anger toward Roman all the same, so what the fuck was all of this animosity?

“Good to see you all in one piece again, and glad we’re gonna be playing One Piece again,” Remus shouted at them all.

The Damsel meandered toward the side of the boat, looking around. The dusty wall of fog that separated their sides was so close, here. This was closer to the the Imagination’s natural form, with the kingdom world’s edges all being clouded in fog that you could only really see at this height. Beyond the fog was more worlds that they’d invented, like the city seen previously. Even other kingdoms technically existed, with different rules and plotlines, but this one was home. It was the oldest setting, based on Thomas’ slew of Disney knowledge as he grew up. Others were more mature. One was based on the Game of Thrones’ settings, though it was more a daydream than a fleshed out world. There were alternate paths for their lives, even, with duplicates of Thomas’ home abound in every universe. They were all daydreams.

So nice, to see the world again, especially from such height. They were higher up than even the Tree. The setting was designed to not show any of the too obvious spaces between the worlds, so even the highest point wouldn’t show off the bounds. Only the Dragon, Dragon Witch, or something like this, a flying boat, could give a good vantage over the whole of the kingdom. It wasn’t a sight the Damsel got to see often.

Oh, he remembered sometimes, like this, what it was like to rule it all. To be Roman.

The self-loathing often mellowed out into melancholy, grieving a power he was technically never granted and was absolutely never promised. And the knowledge that he had to cultivate the rest of his Round Table. Especially his heir.

The Damsel, once the Prince, gripped his cane tighter. Oh, Child.

After he’d mellowed out, as the others put it, he tried to manage the actual town around the castle. And it became clear that the responsibility he was overburdened by was almost also visible in the Child. No one else seemed to handily understand how their perspectives impacted Roman — from the Thief’s judgements to the Artist’s drive and motivation, only the Child seemed to care about how his input impacted Roman and Thomas. And that responsibility was something the Damsel had been hoping to cultivate.

Of course, the Thief and the Bard were reluctant to like. Co-parent with a known murderer and the Dragon. But the Damsel appreciated the Child’s input, when he was allowed to receive it, and he did his best to respect the Child’s opinion.

“Which of you wants to walk the plank first!” Remus exclaimed, gesturing around with a rapier.

He poked it against Logan’s chest a few times, enough for Logan to see the tiny morning star affixed at its end, and the gesture was returned by a withering glance over. Janus snorted, at least, and Patton coo’ed at how tiny Remus’ weapon now was.

“Awh, it’s so cute!” Patton praised.

Virgil, on the other hand, waved his hand at the weapon. “Get that off his chest. We’ve gotta get to the Dragon Witch, with the others. You’re taking us there, right?”

Remus’s lips upturned, pouting as he leaned over closer. “Awh, boo! All work and no play makes Virgil a dull, dull boy,” he flicked his finger against Virgil’s nose and, before Virgil could retaliate any more than a growl, turned around quickly. “Yes, we’re on route for that. Shouldn’t be too long before we get there and drop trou.”

“I believe we’d be dropping anchor, when we arrive,” Logan corrected, following Remus first up the deck.

The whole troupe moved after him. Around them, the sails were being managed, ropes pulled, and steering wheel turned by invisible forces. It was like the ship were being manned by invisible people, but it was likely only run by Remus, who was hopping up the stairs.

“Oh, sure, whatever you want, Nerdy Nummy,” Remus said with a grin, gesturing over the side of the boat. “I’ll sure be dropping trou, at least.”

“How are the others?” the Thief asked quickly, trying to ignore Logan’s quizzical look.

Once again, Remus waved his hand. “Oh, you know!” he barked out a laugh.

Well. What did the Thief expect, with that one. He scowled at Remus’ back, a few ideas on how to get him to talk dancing through his mind before he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Behind him, Janus shook his head.

And before the Thief could grapple with the snake and throw him overboard, as if sensing the imminent danger, Virgil yanked Janus back in a quick, sharp motion.

Behind both of them, Patton stumbled into the Damsel, who held onto the railing and caught Patton around the midsection. Virgil held Janus steady off by the side, watching as the Thief slowly brushed his cloak down. The air was tense around the whole party, even though Remus was skipping his way up at the top of the stairwell.

“Eric,” the Damsel murmured, trying to break the tension. “Eric, come-come on.”

The Thief’s eyes moved from Janus to the Damsel, squinting a little harder at him.

The Damsel let go of Patton to gesture forward, as if tired. Condescending.

Janus took it in quietly, eyes flitting between both, before Virgil shoved him up toward — past — the Thief. “C’mon, guys,” he grunted.

That shattered the tension. The Thief hopped off the steps in one vertical leap, landing on the railing and hurrying up the rest of the rail as if it were a balance beam.

At least they weren’t fighting. That’s what Patton was most afraid of, any more big fighting. They’d done that earlier today and they had to stop, really. It was going to start hurting Thomas at some point.

There was so much hurting. Who hurt you, who hurt me, hurting, revenge, and Patton didn’t agree with any of it! They just needed to sit down. Take a breather. Talk things out. But everyone was so tense and no one was willing to just breathe.

“Don’t worry, kiddos, we’re doin’ great,” he mumbled to himself. “I’m all good.”

The Damsel snorted behind him — Patton completely forgot he was there, too. He helped Patton upright, which he thanked him for, and they both began up again. The Damsel had a slower gait, holding the cane with one hand while he gripped the railing with the other, so Patton let his stride slow to keep pace.

“How’re you doing, Philly boy,” Patton bobbed his head as he spoke.

It was a silly nickname, sure, but the Damsel stopped fully again, squinting his eye at Patton with so much vitriol that he almost flinched. Almost.

“Philly boy,” he repeated.

“Mmmmmhm,” Patton glanced up the stairs with his eyes before stopping himself.

“I’m doing alright, Patty boy,” the Damsel responded with a small smile, shaking his head as he continued to climb. “How are you?”

Oh. Thank heavens. Patton laughed, clapping. “Wow, I’m glad you liked that one. I was about to start crying.”

As they got toward the top, the Damsel patted Patton’s shoulder gently. They were closer to the stern, going toward the wheel, which Remus approached himself. He waved his hands away at whatever was controlling it and gripped it tight himself.

“ONWARDS!” he screeched.

Somewhere, seagulls screeched, and the Thief jumped at the sound.

The ship turned quickly, careening to the side, though it didn’t throw off anyone’s balance too much. Remus was nice enough to think about that, at least. They faced the wall of mist that Virgil had crossed prior, the one that cut the Imagination in half, and began drifting toward it. The wind caught the sails in ways that defied logic and gravity, given that there was next to no wind blowing against them on the deck. Logan looked around at the world, approaching the railed edge slowly.

It was beautiful. He didn’t think he told Roman that enough, when they were together. It was hard to call something beautiful objectively, since it was, by definition, subjective. But the beauty of these creations, even at night, as the moon’s faint glow trawled over the edges of each tree. It faintly glittered on the river that cut through the forest and the town, dull light emanating off the terracotta roofs in town…

He missed Roman. Logan didn’t know what to feel about everyone else here, the arguing they’d been going through, but at the very least. Well. Roman did listen to part of what he’d said.

They should be able to discuss this like people.

God, fucking, and also damnit.

He ran his hand through his hair and took off his glasses slowly. It was giving him a headache and not because of his aid of the Imagination’s creating.

“It sure is pretty out here,” Patton sighed.

“It’s about to get even better, Daddy-o. Hold onto your pants!” Remus shouted.

Before any of them could ask what the fuck that meant, the fog of the split approached and engulfed the ship. It was impossible to see the hands in front of their faces, let alone the world around them. A whole shift.

And in almost an instant, it was gone. The fog swiped past them, drifting off the ship in slow rolls. Logan watched it drift back into a wall behind them, smoothing back down, before glancing over the world before them.

It was less dark than he’d expected. It was day, in a way, the other half of the sun glowing red more than the gold of Roman’s side, bathing the world in a bloody glow. The lighting poked holes between the pitch dark trees and between the tangles of brambles that surrounded the grounds of Remus’ world. In the distance was another castle. It was much taller. Much less clear how physics worked here, if Remus kept it in mind or if he pointedly discarded it. Logan had a hunch it was the later, building things that he knew wouldn’t work, because the largest tower of the castle had a full 90º bend in the middle. There was a bend, then another bend, then it continued upward, like someone had pushed it over a chunk.

To Virgil, it was a little familiar. He’d traversed both sides, though Remus’ far less. Back when he had to make nightmares more often, he’d have to go in through Remus’ mirror rather than Roman’s door. He also leaned over the railing besides Logan with a sigh.

“Hello everyone, this is your captain speaking.” Everyone jumped, Virgil nearly a foot off the ground. They whipped around to see Remus in a captain’s outfit — all green, of course — holding a radio speaker whose chord seemed to disappear into thin air above him.

He waved his fingers at the group and only the Damsel waved back, as per usual. “We are hovering above our destination now, and I hope you’ve enjoyed your flight. Beginning our descent into the Dragon Witch’s lair in t-minus five. Four. Three.”

“Oh, fuck,” the Thief groaned, holding onto the Damsel’s arm.

“Two.”

“What?” Virgil asked.

“One.”

The boat disappeared, as did Remus. For everyone else?

They began their descent.

For a moment, just a brief moment, it reminded Janus of the last time they visited. What, with trap door falls and all that.

Below them was the Subconscious, just besides the ground of Remus’ side. Virgil screamed — words can barely explain the stress he was under — as did Patton. The Thief had curled around the Damsel’s waist, cloak shielding them both and actually breaking some of their descent. It gave them a wider surface area, especially as the Damsel’s scarf undid itself. He kicked one of his legs out as well to increase surface area. Logan, at the furthest to the bottom, had his back to the fall as he watched everyone else.

It really felt like they were going to die here.

Until the shadow passed above, blocking out the little light they had. Logan could see it, it was a dragon. The Dragon? No, it looked larger. He couldn’t remember the Dragon’s actual dragon form’s size and length. Maybe he should take measurements.

“WHAT THE FUCK,” Janus managed to choke out through the air that was surging past them.

The dragon passed by again, closer this time. It dove and, with one claw, grabbed the two Roman figments. The Damsel wrapped his arms around its claw as it dove beneath them again. In this movement, it swiped Patton straight out of the air.

Somehow, Virgil screamed louder.

Then even he was silenced by the dragon’s tail coiling around them.

Impact must be coming soon. They were getting close to the tree tops at least, and while the Subconscious was an impossibly further drop below, even Logan was getting worried. He couldn’t see how far they were falling but it’d been about eleven seconds. That felt like quite a bit.

Claws wrapped around Janus in front of him then, quickly, himself as well. The dragon wasted no time in reaching up with its front arms and depositing them both onto its back, which was much wider than Logan remembered Draco’s being. And much more purple.

This must be the Dragon Witch, then. He patted her back with a sigh.

Virgil was still hyperventilating, holding one of the Witch’s protruding spikes with both of his arms. Also his legs. Patton was too stunned to make sounds, jaw hung open, and Janus, as soon as he was deposited, scrambled over to hold a spike himself. That was probably wise. Logan grabbed one.

They were safe.

“That was fun,” the Damsel said, coughing a few times. “Wow.”

“Shut the fuck up,” the Thief croaked.

He was just as pale as Virgil, almost moreso, as he held onto the Damsel and as the Damsel held one of the spikes. The Damsel laughed a little at the Thief’s anger.

“That was AWFUL,” Patton cried.

Logan blinked a few times, only to find his vision clouding. Oh. He took off his glasses, making sure to grip them tight as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Wetness. Ah.

“No, it was fucking great,” Janus snapped, jaw closing so quickly it made a biting sound, only for him to let out another small scream as the Witch ducked into the side of the cliff, into a dark opening.

They held on for the bumpy landing, wincing as they rolled a little on her scales. Slowly, though, she leaned to the side and stilled.

An opportunity to get off. No one was unhappy to oblige, and the Damsel, remembering how, slid off first. One by one, they disembarked, looking around the cave.

It was large. Red clay and brown limestone walls were illuminated by hanging fire lanterns and columns of fire within, ones that seemed to spin flame into itself but not anywhere outside. It was as big as an airplane hangar, expansive and echoey. At the very least, it had to be large enough for her to fit, didn’t it.

Once Patton descended, the last person off, the dragon began to shift. Her expansive golden wings coiled in on herself, pressing into her body, compacting her. They managed to cover the entirety of her magenta and forest green form, tail wrapping in all the same as she kept shrinking.

“Draco?” Virgil asked, and Logan shook his head.

It seemed everyone else had made the incorrect assumption. “No, no, she was much too big to be the Dragon,” Logan explained.

“She?” Janus asked.

“She indeed,” the Witch hummed, voice booming from her giant form.

The gold wings peeled off then drifted back into two long, billowing ends of a shawl. It was wrapped around her shoulders and trailed behind her, punctuated by the thick, swirling gold cape over her shoulders. She was still an imposing presence in her human form, standing taller than even the Dragon, shoulders squared further by her thick coat. A horned headless, somewhat accurate to medieval style, saw on her head like a crown.

She opened her arms in one dramatic bow.

“Welcome in, everyone, it’s so good to finally meet you. My boys’ve told me so much,” she held out a hand, first to Janus, and her glowing eyes were striking.

Slitted and golden. Like him. “My name is Guinevere, but you can call me Vi.”

#more than beliefs #sanders sides #sanders sides au #sanders sides fic #tss roman #sanders sides roman #roman sanders #woop woop is this fandom still alive LMAO #i assume we're all kind of moving on at this point but frankly i love my characters in this #much more than i care about the actual sanders sides series #writing these is kinda hard because i don't want to rewatch the series because it makes me sad #but i feel like i dont have as good a grip on the canon sides as i used to #mm its a little sad to have watched things die like this

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cotncandyboifics · 3 years

Text

A Lovely Night: Chapter 5

AO3 Link

Masterpost

Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 6

Pairing(s): pre-established roceit & prinxiety, anaroceit, eventual anaroloceit, eventual intruality

Word count: ~2.5k

Story summary: Roman's boyfriends had had a rivalry since before either of them had actually met Roman. Running a bit late to a date night, Roman accidentally gets them to start dating too.

General CW: non-detailed description of an anxiety attack, non-detailed description of physical pain, food, kissing, potentially triggering descriptions of physical bodies, swearing, caps lock, school settings, s-xual innuendos, slight description of gore(imagery), vague descriptions of anxiety, Implications of an eating disorder, fatigue, dissociation, suppression of stimming, implied heavy restriction (ED), inner monologue-style anxiety description, eating,(will be added to as I write more)

Chapter CW: Swearing, slight description of gore(imagery), vague descriptions of anxiety, food, (let me know if i missed anything please!)

Author notes: i like this chapter a lot :) the stage has been set.

...

The next morning, Virgil had an opening shift at the knitting and sewing supply store he worked for. He'd found it the first week the three of them had moved to this town for college, and immediately took a liking to it, likely thanks to his long-lasting hobby of clothing alteration. He'd made some good money to save up in high school from making and selling custom hoodies and other clothing, even having taken a few commissions over the years.

It wasn't rare occurrence, that he was opening the store, and on this particular morning it wasn't so dreadful (once he'd pried himself away from his half-asleep boyfriends, who both vaguely grumbled protests at the incomplete cuddle pile as Virgil was getting ready). Virgil had gotten to his favorite coffee shop, where Janus' brother Patton worked, in time that it would be open and he also wouldn't be late for his shift, which was rare. It only worked out that way if Virgil's bus commute was perfectly timed.

Now caffeinated, and somewhat less-pessimistic-than-usual about the day ahead of him, Virgil retrieved the keys to the shop from his pocket, fumbling for a bit before finding the right one. He let out a breath as he found it, unlocking the door as he'd done a thousand times before and stepping in, shutting the door behind him and leaning his back against it. Virgil noted the clock on the wall, reading 5:02 am. The shop opened at 6, and he had more than enough sorting and stocking to do before then.

The next hour passed rather quickly. His co-worker Emile showed up shortly after him, and they both spent the rest of the time before the shop opened restocking and organizing the horrendous amounts of yarn and string and such supplies throughout the store and in the back room.

Shortly 6 am arrived, and it was time for the two of them to draw straws to decide who would man the register and help customers while the other continued stocking. Typically Virgil enjoyed the latter while Emile enjoyed the former, but their manager had insisted that they make the odds more random in order to get them both more comfortable in their unpreferred positions.

True to their manager's sentiment, Virgil drew the register stick. They both sighed at each other, and Emile returned to sorting through some cerulean yarn balls. Virgil made his way to the front of the store, unlocking the doors and flipping the sign to open, before making himself at home behind the register.

Generally, customers were rare at this time of morning, save for a few early-riser regulars. The bell at the top of the door chimed. Virgil didn't look up, expecting to see Margaret in her usual morning power-walk getup, coming in to check up on whether they'd gotten a shipment of lavender yarn yet.

"Morning, Marge. We still haven't gotten any lavender in, if-" Virgil halted his speaking upon looking up, feeling his throat constrict as he realized who had entered. At any rate, this person was certainly not Margaret.

The first thing that caught Virgil's attention about this new customer was their eyes. They were a burning blue, with small subtle mushes of gray here and there. Through their vaguely foggy colors, those eyes cut sharp like ice shards. The customer seemed entirely calm and stoic, however that did not extend to the ferocious - however not hostile - intensity with which they were staring Virgil down. Of course this intensity did not extend past their eyes, as the very slight twinge of a polite smile was seated at the corners of their mouth. Virgil briefly noted some seemingly familiar physical characteristics (although he was extremely wary to assume anything - what would be the chances of him and his boyfriends all meeting the same man individually, completely perchance?); shining black hair, square-framed glasses, the freckles, the pale and sunken nature of their face. Or, as Virgil certainly noticed, the subtle pronunciation of his cheekbones and jawline. They wore a black coat and a navy patterned scarf that appeared to be hand-knitted.

Virgil stumbled his way over to the closest register to the door - he wasn't sure why they even had two, they never needed to use them both simultaneously - and leaned haphazardly on the counter, propping his chin up on his palm.

"Sorry, hello, I thought you'd be someone else. Marge is usually the first in. What can I do for you?" His face felt really hot, and he was pretty sure that much was obvious to the newcomer, but he tried his best not to think about it.

The stranger didn't speak for a moment, merely leaning forward slightly with a furrowed brow. Virgil panicked for a moment, but followed their line of sight to the name tag on his hoodie. It was quite scuffed up, and the name "Virgil" was scarcely discernible through various smears of odd substances. Virgil quickly unpinned the name tag, beginning to rub away at the gunk with a sweater-covered thumb.

"It's Virgil, sorry about that," He spoke, hiding his hot cheeks behind his bangs as he scratched at his name tag feverishly. He quickly decided on just setting it down, wanting to give the newcomer his full attention.

"Good morning, Virgil," they spoke, and wow, was Virgil gay. The strangers' voice was deep and smooth, and reminded him a bit of Janus'. But this had a tactful, almost clinical and calculated sincerity, whereas Janus' was far more lilted and drawly. Regardless, Virgil felt his throat constricting a bit. He tried subtly coughing the feeling away. "I am in search of some high quality yarn, as a gift for a dear friend of mine. It is my understanding that this establishment is highly regarded for its products' quality?" Virgil tried not to stare. The stranger was running their fingers down and up the inside of one of the lapels of their coat very slowly, and that reminded Virgil terribly of Janus. He felt like he was in high school all over again, ogling over a tall pretty boy.

Regardless of his gay panic, Virgil cleared his throat. "Yeah, we try," His voice cracked slightly, and he tried clearing his throat again. "I mean, we have some pretty awesome suppliers, and we have a really, uh... Big selection of stuff. Do you, do you know what it is you want to get for your friend, exactly?" Virgil thanked any gods that existed had allowed him to formulate a coherent sentence, and he was glad to have the expectation of speaking temporarily off himself.

The customer tapped his chin with the side of his index finger, - which again, reminded Virgil painfully of Janus - humming as he continued surveying his surroundings. "I think he'd appreciate a selection of soft or pastel colors, and he adores the color blue. I think white would be a suitable addition as well. Do you sort your yarns by color?" he inquired, returning his heavy gaze to Virgil and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Virgil tried not to audibly gulp.

"Yeah, we do. here, let me show you to the right aisle," Virgil stepped away from the register, and tried to get out from behind the counter, only to completely trip over a cardboard box and fall directly onto his face.

"Goodness, are you alright?" the stranger paced quickly over to where Virgil was groaning on the floor, attempting to pull himself up onto his elbows. They reached a pale-white and very bony hand down to Virgil, who stared at it for a little too long before taking it gingerly.

The customer pulled firmly, and Virgil did too, and they both slightly miscalculated how much strength they needed to apply in order for Virgil to stand. Virgil stumbled forward just a bit as he rose. He looked up slightly and found himself nose to nose with the now wide-eyed man. Virgil yelped slightly, jumping away like a startled cat.

"Sh-shoot, sorry about that," Virgil took to fidgeting a bit aggressively with his hoodie strings, curling them around and between his fingers. "Uh, this way," he pushed a bit awkwardly past the man, looking at his shoes as he walked and willing away the burning heat he felt in his cheeks. Of course the first cute guy he encounters besides his boyfriends is right there when he falls on his face.

He paced over to the aisle with hues of blue and purple yarn, spotting Emile still working with a large box of cerulean. After a momentary panic and trying to wave Emile's attention without making any noise, the stranger turned the corner into the aisle Virgil had led him to. Virgil sighed to himself, annoyed at an in-no-way-at-fault Emile who still hadn't noticed their presence.

Virgil cleared his throat. "Hey, Emile, could you take register while I help this... customer?" Virgil had to take a moment to recall a phrase to describe him besides 'very beautiful man'.

"Uh-" Emile went to say he could help the customer for Virgil, since they were meant to stay in the vicinity of their assigned roles, but Virgil was looking at him with an intensity that blatantly said 'I am begging you to let me help this very gorgeous man to find his yarn and if you don't so help me god I will impale your severed and rotting skull on a rusty metal pole'. Emile chuckled a little shrilly. "Yeah, sure Virge," Emile slid past the two of them, making his way to the register as the chime of the door sounded again. "Welcome in, Margaret! Do-you-how-do?"

Virgil turned his attention back to the man looming slightly over him, leading him down the aisle to the softer and lighter shades. The customer was already scanning the shelves with a tactful intensity that made Virgil almost as anxious as it did further attracted to him.

"This variety is more than adequate," he spoke, almost under his breath, and Virgil tried not to shudder at the rumble in his voice.

"Um, great," Virgil piped up after a moment, and the icy gaze of the tall boy was on him once again. His cheeks felt real hot. "I can, get you a bag for... what you pick out? Er, a gift bag, if you'd like?" Virgil tapped the side of his fist into his hip a few times, trying to expel some of his nervousness. The stranger smiled softly.

"That would be excellent. Thank you, Virgil." He turned back to examining his options, and Virgil scurried off to find a gift bag.

The bags were all by the front register, and he grumbled a bit to himself on the way, preparing for some relentless teasing from his coworker for the next century at minimum. Emile was just waving Margaret off when Virgil rounded the corner, stepping behind the counter to rummage through some boxes for a gift bag.

"Sooo, Virgil," Emile started, tone entirely teasing as he leaned a little too far on the counter, tapping his orange pen on his lips.

"Don't. Say. Anything." Virgil hissed through clenched teeth, glancing up to give Emile another pointed glare for good measure. Emile chuckled lightly, leaning back on the counter a bit.

"Whaat? I won't! I'm totally innocent, see?" Emile puffed out his bottom lip and made his eyes look big. Virgil scoffed.

"Is that a cartoon reference?"

Emile grinned, shrugging. "Probably."

Virgil found the gift bags - finally - and began scampering off and away from the prying gaze of his overly curious co-worker.

Virgil helped the customer to find and collect the proper amount and variety of yarns that he wanted. As it turned out, it was a relatively easy task; aside from being impossibly and unintentionally charming, the stranger was mindful and courteous, and working with him was proving to be relatively easy. They bantered a bit, falling into a casual conversation as they searched for yarn, as well as while they walked back to the register for Virgil to ring his items up.

Emile gave Virgil a pointed look as he approached, trading him places as he walked with a skip in his step back to his yet unstocked shelves. Virgil rolled his eyes at him, stepping extra carefully behind the counter so as not to trip on any stray cardboard boxes. He leaned against the counter in front of the register, beginning to type numbers into it as though he knew the yarn prices like the back of his hand.

the customer stood at the counter before Virgil, vaguely examining his purchase as he watched Virgil slightly through his peripheral. He noticed the way Virgil bit at the inside corner of his mouth, worrying the flesh between his canines as he focused on adding the prices.

"Alright... your total is 82.53," Virgil said slowly, looking up at the stranger, who had - oddly enough - already been looking at him. The stranger glanced away momentarily, clearing his throat and reaching into an inside pocket of his coat for his wallet.

He produced a pristine black leather wallet, pulling a shiny navy blue debit card from between its folds and setting the wallet on the counter as he handed off the card. Virgil took the card and charged it, the customer punching in his PIN through the keypad.

A faint buzzing sounded from within the man's coat, and he reached in once more with knitted eyebrows. He pulled out what seemed to be his phone, eyes widening as he saw whatever was on the screen. Virgil couldn't see, but he figured someone must be calling him.

"My apologies, I must depart," The man spoke quietly, grabbing his gift bag of yarn and bringing his phone to his face as he made hastily for the door. Virgil didn't hear what he said when he answered the phone, but his brow was still furrowed when Virgil caught a glimpse of his face walking down the sidewalk out the store window.

"Bye..." Virgil said to the empty store front.

He looked down, seeing the customer's debit card still in his hand. "Shit." He saw the wallet set on the counter before him as well. He grabbed it, opening it to return the debit card to its proper place and see if there was a way of contacting the man within the wallet.

As he opened it, a white card similar in shape and size to the debit card fell to the floor. Virgil retrieved it, flipping it over to see what it was.

"No way..." Virgil was holding a driver's license. The name it was registered under was too familiar for it to be a coincidence.

He'd need to be giving one Logan Lattimer a call on his break.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #logan sanders #ts logan #ts virgil #emile picani #analogical #anaroceit #anaroloceit #theyre so gay oml

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sunshineandteddybears · 3 years

Text

A Magical Time

This is my gift for @zheonlybeean for the @sanderssidesgiftxchange. I filled out all 3 of the ideas given which were Christmas Eve, Platonic Soulmates, and Red String of Fate Summery: Christmas Season has come again as we look upon 3 different sets of soulmates enjoying the festivities in their own ways. Roman and Virgil sharing a tender moment; Remus and Patton enjoying the night to their silly hearts’ content; and Logan fighting a tired old battle as he brings his boyfriend Nate over to Janus’ family Christmas party.

The Christmas season was a magical time in Roman’s humble opinion. The lights that decorated homes and shops made the night sky glow, the air seemed to carry the scent of peppermint and gingerbread wherever he went, and snow painted everything in an ethereal white. And to top it all off, it was Christmas Eve. Truly, the essence of whimsy. It was no wonder this was his favorite time of year. “Come on!” he urged, tugging the gloved covered hand in his as he made his way through the Winter Carnival. His pseudo reluctant companion Virgil grumbled but quickened his pace.

“Why couldn’t we have come when the sun was still out?” The epitome of The Nightmare Before Christmas complained, burying his face into his purple scarf.

“Because everything is prettier at night!” Roman answered, gesturing to the obvious atmosphere. “Now, let’s get in line for the ferris wheel!” It was his favorite thing to do at the carnival. It was always first on his list.

“You’re such a cliché.” Virgil drawled out, but there was a soft smile on his lips. Roman huffed all the same, rolling his eyes at the other.

“Like you’re one to talk.” he said, using his free hand to poke his companion in the chest. “You’re worse than I am with Halloween.” Virgil merely shrugged in response, offering no rebuttal. Not that Roman would have heard, as his attention was soon taken away by the ride once they made it to the line. Chestnut brown eyes sparkled in the lights that decorated it, creating a magical atmosphere. He couldn’t help but sigh wistfully.

“What’s up?”

“It’s silly.”

“Doesn’t matter, just tell me.” Roman chuckled quietly at that before rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s just… like you said. The whole ferris wheel at night is a cliché right out of a romcom,” he explained, a bittersweet smile on his face. “And I love that stuff, and I always fantasized about having these kinds of experiences when I was younger…”

“But?” “I guess I just feel like I’m some kind of fraud? Or maybe that I don’t deserve it?” When Virgil didn’t respond, Roman pushed on. “Or um, maybe it’s unfair to you? Cause this is stuff couples do and-” A pressure on his hand stopped him. Swallowing, he turned and finally looked at the other.

“We might not be a couple,” the other began, his voice soft, “but we’re still partners. Maybe not like how it is for other people, but I think it counts. And if doing this stuff makes you happy, then you don’t need to find a way to justify it.” Snow began to fall, flakes gently landing in Virgil’s black curls as he looked away shyly. “Besides, I love you and you love me in the way that you can. That’s more than enough.” Roman blinked before smiling bashfully, leaning into the other’s space to bury his face in the available shoulder. “I really lucked out with you as a Soulmate,” he murmured, peeking up in time to watch brown cheeks grow even darker in a flush. The line moved, as it had been doing during their quiet conversation, and before he knew it the two were guided into their little compartment.

“I’m the lucky one.” Virgil muttered as they got in, making Roman smile all the more. The two sat close together and looked out the window as they rose up, watching as snow fell gently over the carnival.

Their matching marks glowed softly beneath their gloves.

-------

“We have a winner!”

Remus cackled with glee as he was given his prize, a large sized frog in a santa hat. He had no idea what frogs had to do with Christmas, and the thing wasn’t very good quality, but he thought it was the funniest thing. “Happy Not Jesus’ Actual Birthday!” he declared, turning to his left to present it to his companion.

“Awww!” Patton gushed, taking the weird santa frog and hugging it to his chest. “I love it! Thank you Squishy!” Remus grinned proudly, while quietly snickering at the pet name for what had to be the three-hundredth time. He couldn’t help it though, it was funny! A fact Patton knew cause he always giggled when he used it. The two wandered away from the game booth, close enough for their arms to brush as they walked side by side. They took in the sights, the different games available to play and the people gathered around them all.

Dark chestnut eyes grew wide when Remus spotted a photobooth, latching onto Patton’s arm in his excitement. “PHOTOBOOTH!!!” he shouted, ignoring the stares that brought as he hopped in place. His reaction was contagious, for the other began to hop as well with a wide grin.

“Oh my gosh we gotta do it!!!” The two young men giggled as they raced through the crowd to the booth. They arrived just as a group walked away with their pictures, leaving it empty just for them. The two rushed inside, still giggling in excitement as Remus dug out a five dollar bill and put it in the machine. “Oh, it's one we can choose the background for!”

“Ooooh! What options are there?” Eager, the two scrolled through different backgrounds. All were Christmas or winter themed. “Can we do a different one for each picture?” Remus asked, spotting a few he really liked.

“I think so?”

“Okay, then let’s do Naughty and Nice one and uh… oh! The Nutcracker one!” He didn’t really care about the story or ballet or whatever, he just liked the name really. Maybe it meant he was still emotionally ten, but that was just funny to him. Patton hummed thoughtfully as he selected the choices before scrolling through the other options. Remus bounced lightly in the seat, eager to see what the other chose. First was a Deck the Halls type one, that had the words Fa-la-la-la-la-la written across the bottom in glittery green. Very sparkly. The last one was a holly frame, green and red berries everywhere. Save for the top where there was a sprig of mistletoe meant to hang over their heads.

Remus’ heart stuttered a little at the sight of it before he frowned and shook his head. Patton probably hadn’t seen that part. Though it did have the words 'Merry Kissmas’ on it. But that meant he picked it for the pun. Patton loved puns. Not- not him. Not like that anyway. And that was okay. Patton didn’t love anyone like that. He was like Remus’ twin, he just loved differently. Remus was thankful that the sweet bubbly guy wanted any kind of relationship with him, soulmates or not. He could have wanted nothing to do with him, like so many others. But instead, he chose to spend time with him, to have a friendship, and then that friendship evolved into a Queer Platonic Relationship.

From what Remus knew from his brother’s QPR with his soulmate, kissing wasn’t involved. Well okay, sometimes Virgil would, like, kiss Roman’s hand or the top of his head, but that was because Roman liked stuff like that cause it was in fairy tales and shit like that. Patton liked all that too but not for the same reasons. He was affectionate, but not the kisses kind. So the mistletoe wasn’t any sort of signal or something.

“Ready?” Patton’s words snapped him out of his own head, and Remus nodded his head quickly. Both to answer the other and to rattle his brain clear. His action received a grin and a press of a button. The screen showed a countdown and all thoughts about kissing and signals left his mind. The two scrambled to make their first silly pose, with Patton holding his hands up like antlers and Remus using his fingers to pull at his mouth while his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The flash lit off and then the next countdown began. The two went on making their silly poses, laughing after each one. And then the final picture came and Remus remembered the mistletoe frame all over again. His eyes flickered between the screen and Patton’s face, pulse racing the closer the clock reached zero. Two seconds remaining, he let impulse win and crashed his body into his soulmate’s. Mustache and lips pressed into a soft cheek, it’s supple flesh warming the chapped skin. The second he made contact, he felt both elation and panic and in the next second made another impulsive decision.

He blew a raspberry.

Patton squealed from the vibrations, just in time for the flash to go off. Laughter filled the booth while he squirmed in Remus’ hold. It filled the raspberry fiend with happiness and a new nefarious plan, moving his lips to blow more along Pattons’ skin. “R-r-reemuusss!” The bubbly man cried out, hardly able to talk from his laughing frenzy. “Th-that tickles!!” Finally he relented, pulling his mouth away while his hands released the cozy body. He snickered as Patton caught his breath, looking with glee at the sickly neon green that now painted the other’s skin thanks to his touch.

“Goober.” Remus snickered more as Patton playfully shoved him. “Come on! Let’s go see our pictures!” At Patton’s urging, which contained more little shoves, he moved out of the booth and held the curtain back for the other.

“Don’t forget your froggy,” he reminded him, making Patton gasp as he indeed almost forgot his carnival prize. Frog retrieved, the two stood by where the pictures were meant to be printed. Both excited to see the results. The moment the first copy printed off, Patton snatched it up in a frenzy, a wide smile stretched on his face. Remus grabbed the second and took a moment to admire the photos. They were all silly, which was what they wanted to achieve. Though when he got to the last one, he felt his heart thud in his chest once more. One couldn’t tell by looking that Remus was blowing a raspberry, it looked like he simply kissed the other on the cheek. And Patton looked so happy, face frozen in squealed laughter. It was so nice. But it also looked couplely and that wasn’t what they were about-

“This one’s my favorite.” Patton’s voice drew Remus out of his head once more, blinking his eyes as he noticed that the bubbly man was pointing at the last picture. “Don’t we look cute?” Wordlessly, he nodded. He looked to Patton nervously, biting his bottom lip as he waited for… something. Anything to show if what he did was okay or if he screwed up. Every lecture he ever gotten in his life about respecting people’s boundaries unhelpfully returned to his mind. Where was that before he acted on his impulse?

When it was clear Patton wasn’t going to say anything, Remus frowned and bounced on his feet. He could leave it, not bring it up at all. But no response made him restless. He wasn’t one to just let things go unsaid, for better or worse. “So what do you wanna do ne-”

“Did I mess up?” He hadn’t meant to interrupt Patton. The words sorta just spilled out of him. But they were out there now, couldn’t be brought back in. When Patton casted confused eyes his way, he simply continued on. “With the cheek thing.” Remus frowned as he swung his hands around. “I didn’t ask if it was okay, and I just went with it even though I know we’re not a couple and that you’re not that kind of affectionate and I don’t even know why I did it, I just saw the mistletoe and then it was all I could think about and it’s stupid-”

Patton was suddenly much closer and something pressed against his mouth. It took Remus five whole seconds after Patton pulled away to realize that he’d been kissed. It took five more for the realization to sink in. “What the fu-” “I like kisses.” Patton said as explanation, grinning brightly. “They’re nice.” With that, he wrapped an arm around Remus’ and began to tug them away from the booth.

“So it’s okay to do that sometimes?” he asked, just to double check.

“Mmhmm.” Well that was a relief. “Just no tongue.”

“Fiiiiiiine.”

-------

“You sure it’s okay for me to come along?”

“Yes. Janus invited you personally.” Logan calmly stated, for what had to be the fifth time that day. He and Nate, his boyfriend of seventh months, were approaching his best friend’s house for a Christmas party. As they approached the house, the little red string tied around his pinky shortened.

“Yeah but like, is his family okay with it?” Nate asked, his own hands stuffed into the pockets of his leather jacket. The bespectacled man sighed before reaching out to touch his boyfriend’s arm.

“His parents are happy to have you.” he began, giving an encouraging pat. “The rest of his family… merely have a hard time processing our dynamic.” That was an understatement, but it was the most polite way he could think of saying they were stuck in old beliefs. “The point remains, you were invited.” “Yeah okay.” The two reached the door and Logan lifted his left hand to knock. Laughter and chatter could be heard inside, some of it in English and some of it in Korean. The sound grew louder as the door opened, revealing a young man with dark splotches on his left half of his face.

“Oh thank god you’re finally here.” Janus sighed out, opening the door more to let the two of them in. “Now I don’t have to deal with my grandparents alone.” Logan snorted as they crossed the threshold, rolling his eyes at his friend’s dramatics. “Glad you could come Nate. Logan, Auntie is going to ambush you the second she spots you.” Now, it was his turn to sigh, nodding to show he heard while he took off his coat.

“Very well. Thank you for the warning.” Janus’ Aunt was fond of him, to put it mildly. She was one of the louder voices of his friend’s family to try and push the two of them together romantically. Ignoring the fact that neither had ever held such feelings for the other. All because of a silly little red string that bonded them as soulmates.

Of course, Logan wasn’t ignorant or dismissive of the cultural significance it held, but Janus and he were not the only platonic soulmates in existence. To still insist the contrary simply because their soul bond was a red string tied to their pinkies however, was regressive. There was no reason for it beyond tradition and old beliefs, and society had evolved long past forcing soulmates to marry out of obligation.

“Is there anything I should be warned about?” Nate asked, bringing Logan’s attention back to him as he too took off his jacket. Wordlessly, he reached out and took his boyfriend’s hand. Intertwining their fingers together as he moved in closer. Janus hung both of their jackets up while clicking his tongue in thought.

“My grandparents on my mother’s side don’t speak English, and they’ll probably call you some dirty words that you won’t understand. Just smile and be polite like you don’t have a clue, and they’ll behave themselves.” He instructed, “Auntie will talk about how great Logan and I are together, ignore her. My younger cousins just know what the adults tell them, so they’ll be distant at first. But talk about your motorcycle or about video games and they’ll warm up to you fast.” With that, Janus patted Nate on the back. “Everyone else will be chill, so don’t worry about them.” Logan could feel his boyfriend finally start to relax. “Oh except for Uncle Bob. He just got out of prison and he’s itching for a fight.”

“He’s lying.” Logan quickly interjected, glaring at Janus who merely snickered and shrugged. “None of his relatives have ever been arrested and his uncle is a pacifist.”

“Promise?”

“I Promise.”

“Spoil sport.” Janus teased, sticking his tongue out at them. Logan rolled his eyes in return. “Okay, ready to plunge into a snake pit?”

“Shouldn’t that be ‘the lions’ den’?” Nate asked, squeezing Logan’s hand as they began to walk down the hall and towards all the voices.

“Not in this family it’s not.” Was all Janus said before pushing them into the living room. “Logan and Nate are here!” he called out, bringing forth everyone’s attention. Janus' parents greeted the two warmly, as did his father’s side of the family, while select members of the mother’s side gave polite greetings while appraising Nate. There was no mistaking the looks down at their intertwined hands. “Good luck.” Janus whispered before taking off for the kitchen. Traitor.

“Let’s get this over with.” Logan muttered quietly before giving a smile to everyone.

“We got this.” was Nate’s quiet response. Sounding more sure than he did just a few minutes prior. It made his smile turn just a bit more fond, heart filled with warmth to know that meeting his soulmate’s family wasn’t going to scare off the man he loved.

It made the Christmas season just a little more magical.

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snaketherapy · 3 years

Text

A Pull

Soulmate au where you have a curse of some sorts until you've made eye contact with your soulmate.

Roceit, sleepxiety/criqxiety/anxination, background lomile.

~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~°~

Roman had grown quite fond of the small coffee shop. It was quiet, which Roman wasnt usually fond of but this was different. It was calming, healing almost. He had stumbled upon it when he felt some sort of pull towards it. He thought it might've been the cute exterior or the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods but Roman soon figured out it was a lot more.

Of course, he couldnt talk to the people working there but luckily a few of them knew sign language. It was also LGBTQ friendly so that was a plus.

Roman was sitting at a table when he got a text, it was from his best friend. Roman had known Virgil since he was around 11 and they had been inseparable ever since. They had different personalitys but similar interests. Guys, Disney, baking and surprisingly makeup and fashion.

He opened the message and waved to the staff before grabbing his coffee and bag and leaving. He walked over to Virgil's apartment and knocked on the door. It was quickly opened and Roman was basically thrown onto the couch. Roman raised an eyebrow at Virgil, who looked to be either having an existential crisis or a gay panic attack. 'Are you okay?' Roman signed and Virgil shook his head. "Ro, I can see colours! Well half of them but still!" Roman immedietly got up off the couch and smiled at Virgil excitedly. 'You met your soulmate! What are they like?' He signed and Virgil gulped and nervously chuckled. "I didnt exactly meet them... I must have ran into them when I was at dad's library. I wasn't paying attention but I must have seen them cause I can see some colours..." Roman gave Virgil a deadpan look. He then sighed and grabbed Virgil's wrist, he's not letting his bestfriend lose his soulmate.

Roman dragged Virgil back to the library. They said hi to Virgil's dads first before looking around the place but they couldnt find Virgil's soulmate, he could've told it was them in an instant. Virgil slumped over in one of the chairs that was in the corner of the nonfiction section and sighed, he really messed up this time. Roman frowned, he has to help Virgil somehow. He shook his head, trying to think of a way to find the person. Maybe Logan had an idea?

Roman grabbed Virgil's hand and led him over to the front desk, where Logan was chatting with Emile. "Oh do you how do Roman?" Emile asked cheerfully and Roman shrugged. The two parents looked at their son and his best friend confused. "You see, I may have seen my soulmate but not made eye contact so now I can only see some colours but and they're pretty faint... I don't know who they are. I think I saw them when I came in a while ago." Emile and Logan frowned, seeing their sons distress. "Do you have any clue of what they look like? If not we could probably find a book about soulmates and find a way to find them." Virgil took a deep breath and tried to remember who he had saw. He remembered brown hair, a pair of sunglasses and a leather jacket. "I don't remember much but I think they were male and were wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket."

Logan and Emile looked at each other, both of them smiling. "I think we have a few ideas of who your looking for." Logan said as he stood up. Virgil looked at his dad confused. "Do you remember Patton Moralis? He has three sons. Their names are Remy, Dice and Nate. They all dress similar and came in today so I don't know which one it could be, it could be two or all of them actually."

Virgil looked at his dad's with widened eyes. "I could have multiple soulmates?" He asked and Emile nodded. "Yep! It's actually not as rare as you'd think it is." Virgil nodded and took a deep breath. "Virgil, how many and which colours can you see?" Logan asked and Virgil looked around.

"3, I think." Logan nodded and smiled. "Well you might have more than one soulmate. You can never properly tell but usually for people with colour curses or similar curses see around half when they dont fully meet their soulmate. But if you did see 5 or 6 colours there is still a chance of you having multiple soulmates." Virgil sighed internally. "Great, more people to disappoint..." Roman glared at him, he didnt like it when his best friend talked bad about himself.

The two talked with Virgil's parents for a while before Virgil grabbed a soulmate book and started to read. They skipped the boring parts and went to contacting soulmates, which Virgil read out loud. "There are several ways to contact soulmates. Sharing thoughts, hearing what they, sensing what they feel and sometimes even seeing what they see. But sometimes it just happens by itself, sometimes you can feel a pull or a flutter in your chest when your near your soulmate. Something in your mind can tell you to go a certain way, or even a certain place." Virgil continued on reading but Roman wasnt listening.

A pull? Perhaps finding the coffee shop wasnt just luck, maybe it was fate! Virgil stopped reading when he saw Roman's bright expression. 'Remember the coffee shop I told you about?' Virgil nodded, his eyebrow raised as he waited for Roman to continue. 'Well when I first saw it I felt a pull, my soulmate might've been there!' He signed happily. Virgil smiled, maybe he would feel better if they found Roman's soulmate first. "Then let's go! Maybe they're still there." Virgil said as they got up.

They waved to Logan and Emile before walking out of the book shop and ran down to the coffee shop, which took around 15 minutes. By the time they got there Virgil looked like he was about to collapse. Roman smiled amusingly as Virgil doubled over and held his stomach. "I forgot that you were in track and feild a year ago." Virgil said as soon as he got his breath back. Roman just continued smiling and walked into the coffee shop, Virgil following behind.

Virgil smiled when he entered the shop, he wasn't a fan about coffee but it was surprisingly calming. Roman gestured for him to sit down at a table and he did so as his best friend sat across from him. The two talked for a bit until Roman felt a pull to his left. He looked over to the seats near the windows and his heart basically stopped as he saw who was sitting there. The stranger looked Roman's way and they locked eyes and Roman felt like a weight was lifted off his chest.

Roman felt his cheeks heat up, they were cute! They had gorgeous blonde locks that was semi covered by a black beanie. They were wearing a pair of ripped blue Jean's and a cream white turtleneck under a long black jacket with gold buttons. "In the name of Poseidon..." Virgil looked at his best friend shocked, did he just talk? Roman turned to Virgil with a bright smile. "Virgil, I'll be right back!" Roman said as he got up and walked off towards the other table.

Virgil smiled, he was happy for his best friend. He heard someone clear their throat and he looked away from his friend to the person infront of him. Well, there was actually three.

"Oh hi, sorry-" He was cut off when he locked eyes with one of them, the colours becoming brighter. He then turned to the other two and meeting their eyes and suddenly all the colours came to Virgil.

The three looked very similar but had small differences. They were all wearing black leather jackets and sunglasses but one had a black scarf, one's shirt had sleep written on it and the others jacket was done up unlike the others. Virgil couldn't form words, why was he cursed with not one but three handsome soulmates?

The one with sleep written on their shirt laughed. "Hey there babes, you must be my soulmate. I'm Remy, I'm glad I can finally see you properly." The other two looked at Remy shocked. "I guess we're also your soulmates. I'm Nate and this is Dice." The one with the zipped up jacket says, glancing anxiously at his feet as if he was about to fall over.

Virgil introduced himself and the three started to talk. Dice's curse was not being able to lie so he had hurt a lot of people's feelings, Remy's was having very sensitive eyes and had bad migraines a lot and Nate's was being insanely clumsy and having a bad case of procrastination.

Roman smiled as he walked over to the table. He accidentally didn't say anything and signed to say hello and introduce himself. He was a bit surprised when the cute stranger signed back, smiling as they did so. The two signed to talk, feeling more comfortable that way. Roman learned that their name was Janus and they used they/them pronouns. They eventually got to the topic of curses and Roman felt bad for Janus when they told him. 'I could only speak in lies and I had a hard time hearing. I can hear perfectly now though.' They signed and Roman nodded.

'I used to not be able to speak, but I think I can now though.' The two continued signing to eachother, talking some times but not being used to it so mostly signing.

Roman was glad he had decided to walk into the coffeeshop that day, and Virgil was glad too. The two had found their soulmates and couldn't be happier.

#sleepxiety #sander sides #roceit #roman sanders #virgil sanders #dice sanders #nate sanders #remy sanders

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frogsandcookies · 3 years

Text

Hellfire

Who ordered a Hunchback of Notre Dame au for Sanders Sides?

Anyways, this is a song fic Hellfire from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Logan is Frollo in this, Patton is Esmeralda, Virgil is Quasimodo, and Roman is Phoebus (the latter two are barely mentioned)

Warning: Minor NSFW themes(nothing explicit so don’t worry but Logan does talk about lust), Violence, Mention of death, A lot of religious stuff (Talking about hell and such)

***Edited on 3-28-21 to remove a offensive word from the writing, I apologize for using it in the original, I wasn’t aware that it was a slur.

___

Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti Beatae Mariae semper Virgini Beato Michaeli archangelo Sanctis apostolis omnibus sanctis

The sound of the congregation’s singing bounced off of the towering stone halls, echoing throughout the magnificent cathedral and the surrounding city area. It was haunting, both beautiful and terrifying though the townsfolk paid no attention to it, used to the sound by now. The usually bustling city was quiet and dark, except for one house. Logan Frollo’s manor.

The stone faced man was standing on his balcony that looked over the whole city, his hands clamped tightly on the marble railing. His knuckles were a ghostly white and his teeth clenched together tightly. The deafening cathedral bells began to ring and his eyes snapped to the Notre Dame.

“Damned bells.” He muttered before releasing the thoroughly strangled railing and turning quickly on his heel. His robe swept elegantly behind him following his spin, the wind blowing it back as he strided into his home. Just as the bells ceased their ringing, Logan slammed the mahogany doors to his balcony, his face bearing an wrathful expression.

He was restless, clenching and unclenching his hands as he thought about the events that had occurred the past couple of days.

Logan suddenly stopped and his eyes flicked up to the tall portrait of the Virgin Mary which hung above the grand stone fireplace where a crackling fire was lit. Its eyes seemed to watch his every movement and looked into his soul, reading what he was thinking.

Beata Maria

You know I am a righteous man

Of my virtue I am justly proud

“Beata Maria, Saint Mary, why must you look at me so? You have seen from my actions that I am indeed a righteous man who strives for perfection in the citizens of Paris.” Logan said, looking up to the painting who’s leering seemed to increase as he continued to speak.

“Although my arrogance may seem unjust, I think that all of the contributions I have made to this growing city speak for themselves; of which my virtue I am justly proud. Not many can say they helped exterminate the infestation of travelers that roam about our glorious city, corrupting the weak willed citizens.” Logan added, his tone sounding a bit desperate as he pleaded to the painting.

Beata Maria

You know I'm so much purer than

The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd

“The citizens who make up our City of Light are vulgar and common yet I strive to help them reach salvation. Those fools in the Notre Dame do the devil’s work, protecting those wanderers and that freak of a child who I graciously raised.” Logan spat, his anger flaring.

“When I reach Heaven’s pearly gates those weak fools will claw at my feet.” He murmured.

Then tell me, Maria

Why I see him dancing there

Why his smoldering eyes still scorch my soul

There was a jingle of bells and Logan spun around, his glasses nearly falling off of his face as he looked for the source of the all too familiar sound.

“Who’s there?” He called, his hand flitting to his pocket where a silken blue scarf was housed. No one answered his call and Logan yelled once again,”Come out you vile boy!”

Only the crackling of the fire answered him and Logan turned back around. He ignored the painting’s judging stare as he pulled out the delicate scarf, his hands shaking slightly as he caressed it.

“Why can’t I stop thinking about that witch?!” He muttered angrily. The fire crepitated in response and Logan looked into the red orange flames.

I feel him, I see him

The sun caught in his glowing hair

Is blazing in me out of all control

The dancing of the flames brought his thoughts back to the festival. Where he had met him. The man who had somehow wormed his way into Logan’s cold heart.

The boy had shoulder length caramel locks that seemed to float while he danced on the stage, a tambourine in one hand and a scarf in another. The image of him dancing and wrapping the scarf around Logan’s neck had forever been burned into his mind, no matter how hard he attempted to rid it from his brain.

He still felt disgust towards the younger male but accompanying it was a new feeling as well.

Like fire

Hellfire

This fire in my skin

This burning

Desire

Is turning me to sin

It was lust. One of the seven deadly sins that the Lord had preached not to commit unless he wanted to be damned to the fiery pits of hell.

And yet, there it was. His skin burned and a pit of fire replaced his soul. This feeling was new. Logan had dedicated himself to the church, working to eliminate the sin and the sinners accompanying it from the world. While his methods were questionable to most, he saw them as the best course of action and so he went forward, destroying homes and imprisoning countless travelers to the city.

Destroying the nomads had always been his mission; it was as though he had been birthed to do it. He never had time to take his turn with romance, always caught up in his work and never meeting anyone who caught his eye.

Until the festival. The event that had spurred an emotion in him that he had never felt before.

It's not my fault

I'm not to blame

It is the g**** boy

The witch who sent this flame

Logan snapped out of his thoughts and looked back up to the painting who’s stare was cold, much like his own.

“It’s not my fault!” He snapped before saying,”It’s that beastly dancing boy’s fault! He cursed me, got me trapped in his ungodly spell! He was the one to light this fire inside me, I am innocent!”

The fire seemed to roar at this and Logan stopped back, still gripping the scarf tightly in his hands.

It's not my fault

If in God's plan

He made the devil so much

Stronger than a man

“Maria why must I be at fault?! God created me with the intention of tempting me with this sin! But also made the devil to overpower me and damn me to hell!” Logan yelled.

“I am not to blame for this sin, the devil has come and planted this seed in my soul, one that I cannot begin to understand nor control! I am a man of God and yet he still tries to damn me! If in his plan to make the Devil stronger, why must I be included! Oh mother Maria!” Logan shrieked, hitting his fist against the cold stone wall as an emphasis for his words.

Protect me, Maria

“Mary, queen of Heaven, protect me from this sin and allow me to continue following the path to salvation!” Logan said, breathing heavily.

Don't let this siren cast his spell

Don't let his fire sear my flesh and bone

The flames continued to dance, showing him more images of the curly haired youth and Logan screamed in rage.

“Don’t let this witch, this siren continue to tempt me! Wipe him from this Earthly plain and let him dance in hell with the devil! His fire, this fire, burns; it scorches my soul and this temptation is ungodly!” He shrieked.

Destroy Patton Fairhope

And let him taste the fires of hell

Or else let him be mine and mine alone

Logan knew that while this might be a sin, he could try and reform the young male, try and redeem his soul. Without his guidance though, there was no hope and the fire within him would not be quenched until the male--Patton-- had met his own kind of fire. The ever burning fires of the underworld.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Logan spun around, shoving the sky blue scarf back into his robe pocket as the door swung open. In the doorway stood an armor clad soldier, his face cast in shadow due to the light being emitted from behind him.

“Minister Frollo. The g**** has escaped.” The soldier said.

Logan froze, rage bubbling up inside of his as he said,”What?”

“He’s nowhere in the cathedral. He’s gone.” The soldier elaborated.

Logan ran a hand through his thinning hair as a wrathful expression wormed its way onto his face and the soldier stepped back nervously.

“But how did…” He paused, collecting himself and dawning a neutral expression which was just as unnerving at the angry one. “Nevermind. Get out you idiot.” He snarled, waving the soldier back as he turned back to the fireplace, the flames reflecting his swirling emotions.

As the guard closed the door, he faced the fire, adding,”I’ll find him if I have to burn down all of Paris.”

Hellfire

Dark fire

“Hellfire. Darkfire. That idiot can run but nothing can match the troops of Paris. If he wants hell, then I shall bring it to him.” Logan snarled, wringing the scarf as he continued to talk.

Now g****, it's your turn

Choose me or

Your pyre

Be mine or you will burn

“If that witch wants to live then he will wisely choose to accept my offer of forgiveness. If he refuses then may he be burned at the stake like all of those other sinners.” Logan said, smirking as he remembered the many others who he had damned to the stake.

“Not everyone is as fortunate to have won my favor. Choose wisely.” He murmured to the scarf before casting it into the flames. The delicate fabric immediately caught flame and the garment was ash within a span of several seconds. Logan looked up the Virgin Mary painting once more, looking smug before turning away.

God have mercy on him

God have mercy on me

“May God be with him as he decides on his fate. And may God be with me and let this boy join me so we can walk the path of salvation together.” Logan said.

But he will be mine

Or he will burn!

“But let there be no doubt. He will be mine or he will burn. And may that foolish captain and that freak burn with him should he choose this path.” Logan said, staring at the Notre Dame through the stained glass windows where the monster he had raised resided.

#sanders sides #unsympathetic logan #u!logan #hellfire #the hunchback of notre dame au #logan sanders #patton sanders #patton angst #kinda of Logan does threaten to burn him at the stake #ts patton #ts logan #frogs' writing #ts virgil #ts roman #the last two are briefly mentioned so don't get too excited #tw: religious themes #logicality #toxic logicality #unrequited logicality

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notveryglittery · 4 years

Text

hope sweet hope (like a star burning bright)

summary: logan and virgil are stuck in a forest of pine trees. roman's gonna fix that. (patton's going to be proud of the pun i made in this summary.) ships: analogical (pining/romantic), royality (established/romantic) wc: 2.4k / warnings: overstimulation/panic attack (brief) notes: happiest of birthdays to @lovevirgil <3 (title from “hope” by remedy) (written in present tense!!)

read on ao3 | @fandersfic-analogical

—————————

Usually, overstimulation is the least of Virgil’s problems. During the day, it’s paranoia and anxiety; at night, it’s nightmares and thinking too much. Sometimes, he feels too little and he needs heavy reminders that he’s still solid and real. Feeling too much might happen in the middle of a panic attack but at that point, he’s already got so much going on, he barely notices.

He isn’t even doing anything particularly overwhelming when it hits. He’s just opening a jar of Crofter’s when something crashes above him. The noise is startlingly loud, he’s not sure what it is or where it comes from, and the sound of glass shattering on the floor at his feet doesn’t help. He grabs onto the counter, breaths coming suddenly in short gasps.

Before Virgil can even think of what to do next, Logan is standing in front of him. He’s taken one of Virgil’s hands in his own and the other is holding his elbow as he guides them towards the small dining table. He's talking, voice low and soothing, but Virgil can’t make any of the words out. Something heavy drops onto his shoulders and despite jolting in surprise at first, the sensation quickly chases away most of his nerves.

He isn't sure how much time passes before his hands are wrapped around something warm. By now, his surroundings have gone mercifully quiet. Even still, the sound of the faucet turning off makes him flinch; he hadn’t realized the white noise was the water running. Mechanically, he drinks from the mug he’s holding. By the time he’s fully settled back into himself, Logan is sitting at the table with him, going over his agenda.

“Sorry,” Virgil says automatically.

“Nothing to apologize for,” Logan reassures him.

Virgil looks to see that the jam and glass has been cleaned up, as if it never happened at all. He drinks again from his mug but the tea has gone cold. He glances up to the ceiling, trying to figure out what had set him off earlier.

“It’s the tenants above us,” Logan says, closing his planner.

Virgil realizes suddenly that Logan is sans scarf. No matter the season, Logan without fail wears his scarf in the dorms. He must be squinting, as if looking for the missing garment, because Logan just smiles.

“Rock paper scissors to see who has to go talk to them for being too loud?”

They tie on every match and it’s just more proof to Virgil that they’re meant to be, as stupid as that sounds. Yeah, might as well call Virgil a tree because boy is pining. They head out of their room, down the hall, and up the stairs. It’s not hard to find the culprits they’re looking for given that they’re still making quite a lot of noise.

Before Virgil can prepare himself for confrontation, Logan is knocking on the door.

The racket stops immediately. A few seconds later, they can hear voices going back and forth. If the students are trying to whisper, they’re failing miserably.

“What if it’s the RA?” one asks.

“Well then we’re in big trouble unless we can hide her somehow!” responds the other in far too hopeful a tone.

“Last time we did that, she knocked over my trophies shelf!”

“Yes, honey, I remember, it was barely an hour ago.”

Logan and Virgil share a look.

“We’re not the resident assistant,” Logan says loudly.

The voices quiet again.

“That sounds exactly like something a resident assistant would say!” the first one calls back.

There's the sound of footsteps approaching and Virgil can only assume they’re using the peephole to see who is at the door.

“Oh!”

Several things happen at once.

The door opens, revealing probably the softest looking individual Virgil has ever seen. Next, a blur of black darts out of the room, at Virgil’s legs, up his torso, and into the fabric wrapped around his shoulders. Finally, someone asks “isn’t that the scarf you wear all the time?”

“Aw,” coos the one who’d answered the knock. “Pixie likes you!”

“It is,” Logan replies, clearing his throat. “That is besides the point. Earlier, you made quite a commotion. We’re here to ask if you could refrain from doing so again.”

“That was not our fault!” exclaims the one wearing a thick maroon sweater that reminds Virgil of the Weasley’s.

As it is, he’s distracted plenty by the purring kitten curled up in Logan's scarf. That's a question for later, especially because if he starts thinking about how he’s wearing Logan's clothes, he’ll combust. The cat (Pixie?) is warm and soft. Virgil carefully scratches between her ears.

“Oh, I'm Patton!” says the pastel one. “They/them, please. We’re so sorry if we scared you!”

“Roman,” grumbles the redhead, “he/him. As I said already, it’s not our fault! Pixie is just… well—” He pauses to gesture at Virgil, who can hardly focus with the way it feels having the kitten rumbling against his chest like a mini-engine. “... Wily.”

“Gosh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cozy up to someone so fast.” Patton says. It looks like there are stars in their eyes.

If Virgil were paying any attention, he’d notice Logan's expression looking much the same. He's still pretty out of it, though, and he’s kind of confused right now with the mischievous grin on Roman’s face.

“Come in!” Roman suggests suddenly, wrapping an arm around Patton’s waist and pulling them close to his side. “The least we could do is offer some cocoa!”

“Roman makes the best hot chocolate,” Patton says, nodding. “Besides, I don't know how easy it’ll be trying to take Pixie from you…”

“Ah, where are my manners,” Logan mutters. “Logan and Virgil, he/him for the both of us. We live just below you.”

Patton grimaces. “Oh, that must have been so loud… please let us make it up to you?”

Virgil is stepping into the room before anyone else can speak. He's still pretty transfixed by Pixie, who has started to knead the scarf with her little paws.

“I suppose we accept, then,” Logan said, sighing in a way that is exasperated and fond all at once.

Virgil sinks into the love seat in the living area, careful not to jostle Pixie. Logan hesitates, not finding anywhere else to sit.

“Apologies,” Roman says, not sounding apologetic at all. He nudges Logan closer to the only available spot. “Patton and I aren't shy about personal space.”

Logan scowls at Roman, who is grinning cheekily as he joins Patton in the kitchen. Still, he sits down next to Virgil. “She seems quite fond of you.”

“I love her,” Virgil says, hushed. He's definitely starstruck.

Logan has no warning, no time to retreat to higher ground, and so the tsunami of affection washes over him without remorse. For a moment, he drowns in his unspoken feelings; the weight of it nearly pushes him under until he has no choice but to let it all spill out, regardless of the consequences.

“Do you like marshmallows?!” Patton’s voice asks from over his shoulder.

“Loves ‘em,” Virgil answers for him. “The big ones, if you have those.”

Logan hopes the blush doesn’t look as obvious as it feels.

“Do you wanna hold her?” Virgil asks suddenly, turning finally to look at Logan. He reels back, apparently not having realized how close they were sitting.

“Sure,” Logan says, awkwardly holding his hands out.

Virgil huffs in that quiet-laugh sort of way Logan likes so much. He takes Logan's wrists and rearranges his position so that his arms are cradled against his chest. Slowly, Virgil removes Pixie from the scarf-nest and into Logan's hold. She snuffles a little before settling in the crook of his elbow.

“Oh,” Logan whispers.

“Seriously?!” They hear Roman exclaim from the archway into the kitchen. When he notices that they’ve noticed him, he jumps, and disappears from view.

Still, just because they can’t see him doesn’t mean they can’t hear him. Roman doesn’t really understand what it means to be discreet, unfortunately.

“They’re just making heart eyes at each other!” Roman hisses, sounding agonized. “I’ve known them for five minutes and even I can tell that they’re in love!”

Virgil has never felt so hot in his entire life.

“Roman, shh,” Patton hushes him.

Logan is pretty much frozen.

Three terribly long minutes pass before Patton comes out of the kitchen, carrying a tray with four mugs on it. “I hope y’all aren’t lactose intolerant! We use milk and creamer so it’s extra smooth.”

“Hey, how come you recognized Logan's scarf?” Virgil blurts as Roman joins them.

“Well, he wears it everywhere, doesn’t he?” Roman asks, taking his mug. “At least, I’ve never seen him in the dorm building without it on.”

“Hence why everywhere isn’t entirely accurate,” Logan corrects, accepting a mug from Patton.

“Still, must mean a lot if you have it on so often. Can’t imagine you’d share it with just anybody.” Roman sips loudly from his mug, holding eye contact with Logan.

Virgil begrudgingly takes one of the drinks, knowing he can’t possibly enjoy it now that he feels like he’s dying of heatstroke.

“Well, Virgil isn’t just anybody,” Logan says simply, as if it’s obvious.

It’s a miracle Virgil doesn’t spill all over the scarf, the stupid comfortable soft thing that means a lot to Logan, which, well, what does it mean that Logan's letting him wear it now? Sure, right after the noise-induced panic attack is all fine and good, but why hasn’t he asked for it back yet?

“Kiddo, your ‘mallows are melting,” Patton stage-whispers.

Virgil takes such a big, sudden gulp of hot cocoa that he burns the roof of his mouth. “So how long have you two been roomies?” He rasps.

“Oh!” Patton exclaims, wiggling a little from where they’ve sat criss cross applesauce on the floor. “Well, for forever, really!”

“We shared a room at an orphanage,” Roman explains. “We were lucky to be adopted by neighbors, who were very kind and let us have sleepovers frequently.”

“He’s my best friend,” Patton says soppily, blowing a kiss at Roman.

“And they’re my soulmate,” Roman continues, catching the kiss and pressing it to his heart.

“Gross,” Virgil responds, sticking his tongue out.

“That is… something.” Logan says slowly, thoughts very far away as he imagines what it would have been like if he’d been lucky enough to meet Virgil earlier on in life.

“How about you two?” Patton prompts.

“Met junior year,” Virgil replies, “hit it off pretty quick.”

“When it turned out we had applied for the same colleges, it was clear some things are meant to be.”

“Did you just use a love song to describe your relationship with Virgil?” Roman asks, delighted.

“What?”

“What?” Virgil echoes.

“Ro!” Patton scolds, as if this isn’t the first time he’s had to be reprimanded for meddling.

Roman is grinning like the damn cheshire cat. Virgil is sure he’s as bright as the roses painted red and he’d very much like out of this mad cocoa party, thank you kindly.

“Well, this was fun,” he says loudly, setting his mug down on the end table. “I'm exhausted, though, good night!” And with that, he gets up (after a moment of struggling, as if the tiny couch is determined to hold him hostage) and heads for the door.

He can hear Patton scrambling up, as if to follow, but someone else is at his back first.

“It was a pleasure meeting you both. Please do keep it down in the future.”

It figures Logan would be the one to follow him out, not because they came here together or because they’re roommates or anything, but because Logan always, without fail, is there to look out for him. Oh god, Virgil is going to die.

He doesn’t realize he’s running his hands over the scarf until he’s halfway down the staircase where he misses a step and doesn’t catch the railing in time and oh good, he’s really just having the best night, isn’t he—

A hand catches the back of his sweater and pulls.

He lands hard, probably bruising his tailbone, but his elbows are caught, and instead of falling back and possibly hitting his head, he lands against something sturdy and warm. He tilts back, looking up, and, oh good, his night is getting better and better—

“Are you okay?” Logan asks breathlessly.

“What do you… am I... are you serious?”

“I’m sorry if i’ve made you uncomfortable,” Logan says sincerely, letting go now that Virgil isn’t in danger of getting hurt. Logan even scoots up a step so that Virgil can have his space. Virgil realizes he's no longer carrying Pixie, which should be obvious, but he already kinda misses her.

“L, what are you going on about?”

“Back there, some of the things I said, they were… I didn’t think them through.” He looks away, reaching towards his neck as if to fidget with something, before he remembers it isn’t there. “It’s important, though, that you… you know that I mean every word, right?”

Virgil pivots so he’s better facing Logan. They’ve been through a lot but Virgil’s not sure he’s ever seen Logan like… this. Kind of guilty and hesitant… but genuine and determined, too. Virgil just wants to kiss all the uncertainties away and he’s pretty sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing to do given how the last half hour had gone.

“We have a lot to talk about, huh?” He says with a quiet chuckle.

Logan looks relieved and then, confused—

“You don’t have to—”

Virgil leans in close as he puts Logan's scarf back on for him. “I think you could use it more right now than me.”

He stands up, wincing a little, before holding his hands out for Logan to take. He does so and Virgil tries not to blush too hard. “Are we gonna have to thank the noisy drama nerd for pushing us in the right direction?”

Logan pulls himself up with Virgil’s help. “I believe doing so would inflate his ego quite dangerously. It’s probably best we don’t encourage him.”

Virgil does a poor job of trying to conceal his laughter. It just makes Logan's stomach flip. He supposes there’s no hope of getting used to that sensation now. Virgil only lets go of one of his hands as he begins to lead the rest of the way downstairs and back to their dorm. Logan can’t seem to keep the smile off of his face, wondering if hand holding will become a new pastime of theirs… he certainly can’t wait to find out.

#sanders sides fan fiction #analogical #royality #sanders sides #dani writes #human au #college au #romantic analogical #romantic royality #analogical fan fiction #royality fan fiction #pixie

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giant-sketches · 4 years

Text

Origami Rabbits

Huge props to @chatladybugaboo for the super awesome and cute idea that inspired this one-shot story of mine. Now this is simply based on the idea they posted about as I really wanted to make it my own so it just has similar elements and the Sander Sides characters.

I worked really hard on this one too. It has a total of 4 sketches and one gif animation so please enjoy!

@just-some-gt-trash Is also going to write their own version as well so be on the look out for their’s as well!

Word Count: 3864

Disclaimer: Slight depiction of bullying/ cursing/ swearing/ mean words/ shouting

I plan on doing more one-shot stories like this called Short Sides. Let me know if you want to get tagged on them from now on or just look for the tag Short Sides.

For a long time now, each time Virgil experienced a rough day of Remus and Deceit teasing him, he’d find a tiny origami animal placed below his bed. Sometimes it was the usual swan, but from time-to-time he’d receive butterflies, frogs, and his personal favorite, rabbits. At first he thought it might be one of the other sides, but both Remus and Deceit only shot him puzzled looks when he’d ask them about it. Remus suggested Virgil may be doing it in his sleep, while Deceit believed he was just lying to garner attention. However, Virgil knew something was up and he planned to find out what.

The next day Virgil steady he’s nerves as he purposely antagonized Remus and Deceit. He was successful in his taunting and by midday he was exhausted from his antics. He dragged himself to bed for an early rest, but in reality he only pretended to sleep. He had his back turned facing the wall and he listened patiently for any kind of unusual sounds. Right before he was about to give up, Virgil's ears picked up on the sound of footsteps creeping up on him, but they sounded soft. Were they tip-toeing? He also noticed that he hadn’t heard the door open so how did someone get in? Was it a ghost?!

A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. Sure it would be pretty cool to meet a ghost who did origami, but the idea was still pretty creepy. Then, the footsteps stopped and Virgil hesitated a bit before gingerly turning over to peer behind. There was nothing! What in the world was going on? He obviously heard the sound of footsteps so where was the person making them? As his mind began to fall into madness another sound caught his attention. Was that humming? The sweet sound was coming from below his current eye level. Slowly, Virgil turned his head downwards and was astounded by what he saw.

It was a person, a very, very tiny person who was cheerfully setting down an origami rabbit at the foot of his bed.

Virgil couldn’t believe his eyes. This person looked to only be about the size of his pointer finger, if not smaller. The origami rabbit he was holding was at least half his size. He had soft brown hair that curled slightly upwards. He wore glasses, a light blue polo shirt, and what appeared to be a cat sweater tied around his neck. His face was also similar to Virgil’s, could that mean he was also a side? Then why was he so small? It wasn’t just his size either though, there was something about his presence that felt completely different from Deceit and Remus. Virgil wanted so badly to talk with this little side, but he was too afraid. He knew just because he received gifts from them, that didn’t mean they wanted to be seen. Otherwise they would have just delivered them in person.

With that he rolled back over and fell asleep this time. In the morning he gently picked up his tiny gift and stared at it. He really wanted to thank them, but how should he go about it without scaring them off? Perhaps a return gift was the best idea as he began thinking over his options.

“I could try making my own origami animals in response, but then again they may end up too big for them to carry. Also what would they do with them afterwards? For me I can just keep it in my nightstand drawer.”

Virgil needed to think of something the tiny side could use that wouldn’t take up a lot of space or be difficult to carry. What about food? It might be tough to make something small enough, but it was worth a try. A couple days later Virgil gathered up some ingredients to make simple sugar cookies. He knew he could make tiny portions by rolling out the dough and using the metal part of a pencil with the eraser taken out to cut out perfectly sized circles. Figuring out which temperature to set the oven to and for how long the cookies needed to bake was the tricky part. It took a total of three attempts to get it right, but sadly not all the cookies survived. He was left with six in total to package up with a cut up plastic bag and a trimmed twist tie.

He turned in early for the night once more with his return gift placed at the foot of his bed. He turned to face the wall as usual and listened patiently. As time went on Virgil began to worry if the tiny side was going to show up. True his day wasn’t as bad as others, but he still made it a point to look distraught. Then again he had no idea when or from where the tiny was watching him so it was plausible that they never saw him upset. As his mind raced with uncertainties those all familiar footprints appeared. Virgil quickly quieted his mind and focused on the steps as they came straight to his bed and stopped.

“What is this?” A whisper came from below.

It was the tiny who had noticed the gift. Virgil prayed they liked it as he waited to hear more, yet the next noise that reached his ear was the sound of running. He twitched slightly as he stopped himself from making any sudden movements. He waited, counting down the seconds in his head before he would take a look behind him.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1….now!

Virgil quickly turned around and caught a glimpse of the tiny sliding into the space between his bookshelf and the wall. So that’s where he had come from. Virgil instantly remembered his main goal and glanced downwards. There, at the foot of the bed, was an origami swan and no cookies. The tiny, even though they ran, had taken his gift nonetheless. He smiled slightly at the notion of that tiny enjoying his handmade sweets. However, a pain ran through his heart as the sound of those hurried footsteps kept repeating in his mind. Despite his best efforts he had scared them off and he may never get to see them again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

*Huff* *huff*

How did this happen? He had been so careful this whole time not to be seen, but now he had gotten caught. Well not physically caught, but seen, he was seen!

“This isn’t good! I promised the others that I’d be careful if they let me keep doing this. What do I do now?”

As Patton ducked back into the hole in the wall right behind the bookshelf, he was lucky enough not to wake the others as he slid into his room. He took multiple deep breaths to calm himself as he slumped onto his bed.

“Woah boy...what am I going to do about this?” He thought as he stared at the lovely bundle of cookies resting in his hands.

“I wonder what kind they are. I really want to eat them, but what if he put something weird inside? No, no, the kiddo wouldn’t do that...right? I guess I feel like I know him, but do I really? He is still one of them after-all.”

Patton sat quietly in contemplation as he couldn’t decide on whether to eat or not to eat. Suddenly, his growling stomach made the decision for him.

“Looks like all that running made me hungry and he did make these himself just for me. The least I can do is eat them.”

Cautiously Patton reached into the bag and pulled out a cookie. Even though they were small, just one of them was close to the size of his palm. They appeared to be normal sugar cookies as he gingerly took a bite. Spontaneously, Patton’s nervous demeanor melted away as he scarfed the rest of it down in blissful enjoyment.

“Oh my goodness, he made these for me? They’re so good! How-how could I have suspected they might be poisoned...I’m terrible.”

Patton felt a lump form in the back of his throat. He just kept thinking to himself that he ran away and he was almost positive that the giant was awake when he did. It only made sense that at some point the giant pretended to fall asleep and instead noticed him as he delivered another origami animal. He couldn’t be sure as to when or for how long, but it didn’t change the fact that the giant knew. He knew and instead of hunting him down the giant had left Patton a gift to thank him. It was a delicious gift too. Patton now felt so ashamed of himself and hadn’t noticed that his bedroom door was now open.

Logan and Roman: “Patton? What is that?”

Surprised, Patton jumped to his feet in response.

Patton: “I-I can explain.” he whimpered.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning came way too early as Virgil groaned. He really didn’t want to get up and instead buried himself further into his sheets. Last night was a huge mistake! What in the world had made himself think it was a good idea to leave a gift when that would obviously mean he knew they existed! Fuck!

“I’m such an idiot. I try to do something nice and I mess it up like crazy! Now I may never see him again...the only person who’s ever given a damn about me.”

Virgil wanted to cry, but he had to hold them in or else Remus and Deceit would call him out on his red eyes. That would just make his mood even worse. Not to attract any unwanted attention Virgil dragged himself out of bed. For the remainder of his day he constantly zoned in and out of thought. Would the tiny show up tonight? He could really use the pick-me-up right about now. Sadly, the day seemed to drag on with Remus bugging him about his robotic behavior and Deceit sneering at him for being dramatic. God this sucks!

“Enough, I’m turning in early for tonight.”

“What, but you did that yesterday. I’m beginning to feel you don’t like hanging out with us V.”

“That’s cause I don’t Remus and stop calling me that.”

“Oh I’m so hurt, I-I’m wounded by your sharp words. Agahahah!”

Jokingly Remus pulled a can of tomato juice from his sleeve and shook it violently. Next thing Virgil knew he and Remus were now covered in the red contents.

“Shit! Why did you do that? Now I have to take a shower and clean my clothes before I go to bed.”

“You just looked so pale I thought you could use some color! Want to bathe together to make up?”

Remus had already begun undressing while still in the living room. Flustered, Virgil didn’t even take the time to answer such an outrageous question and hastened himself to the bathroom. He kept checking over his shoulder to make sure Remus wasn’t taking a peek, but after a while he believed he had gotten away. Virgil sighed in relief, but at the same time he was almost thankful he hadn’t gone to bed yet. He was anxious, anxious that the tiny side really may not show up. He had to be brave though; he needed to know if the tiny truly was gone forever.

-------------------------------------------------------------

“Now Patton, I hope you understand where we’re coming from with keeping you under house arrest.”

“I do, it’s just...he didn’t do anything to me after he found out. Isn’t that a good sign?”

“Patton, please that thing is just trying to trick you. Once it’s gained your trust he’ll trap you in a cage and keep you as some kind of pet.”

“Roman’s words may sound dramatic, but that’s all a plausible outcome for you if you continued.”

“We hope you can trust us on this Patton.”

Roman placed his hands on top Patton’s shoulders and gave him a hug of reassurance. All they wanted to do was keep him and themselves safe from the giants. Patton hugged back in response.

“We’re going to bed now. Try to get some sleep Pat.”

“Okay, thanks guys.”

“Goodnight Patton.”

With that Roman and Logan left, leaving Patton to sulk in his room. He reached underneath his bed and pulled out the rest of the sugar cookies he had gotten from the giant. They were so sweet. There was no way someone who took the time to make these just right for him could be bad, thought Patton. It’s not like he didn’t trust Roman and Logan, it’s just that he wanted to trust the giant too.

“I have to see him again. This time actually see him.”

With new resolve Patton slid open his closet to reveal the origami rabbit he had hidden inside and smiled with confidence. --------------------------------------------------------

Virgil was struggling to stay awake as he nodded in and out of sleep. Sure it would make sense to just admit defeat that the tiny side wasn’t going to show up, but he couldn’t help thinking that if he stayed up a little longer there may still be a chance. As his mind began to waver the familiar sound of soft footsteps snapped him awake. The tiny had actually shown up to Virgil’s bewilderment. He was so happy he hadn’t scared him away after-all.

He had to stay quiet though until the footsteps stopped. Then he’d turn around slowly to look. This time he wanted to try talking. As the footsteps came to a halt, Virgil prepared himself, but was stopped by the sudden shouting coming from an unknown voice.

“PATTON!”

“Ah! Ro-Roman?!”

“Patton what do you think you’re doing out here? You’re supposed to be under house arrest and sleeping in your room.”

“I-I know, but I don’t think we need to be so afraid of this one. He’s not like the others.”

“Patton please. Look at him, he’s huge! He could do anything he wanted to with you if you're caught and we, we may not be able to get you back.”

“Bu-but…”

*sigh* “Listen Pat, you may think you know that giant, but you don’t. He’s a giant and all giants do is hurt people. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Roman I-”

Before Patton could finish he saw the blood drain from Roman’s face as his eyes moved upwards. Instantly, Patton knew what Roman was looking at and whipped his head around to notice the giant staring down at him from the bedside. Patton was paralyzed by fear and didn’t even hear Roman screaming at him to flee.

“RUN!”

In a flash Roman ran for his life. He didn’t even look behind him, fully believing Patton had followed suit, but he hadn’t. Patton was still at the foot of the bed staring up at the giant in terror. His breathing became shallow and it took everything he had just to keep standing as his knees buckled. What was going to happen to him?

Virgil had heard everything and in a fit of anger had turned around to defend himself, but stopped after realizing what he had done. He was a complete idiot! Now one tiny had run away from him screaming and the other was just staring at him terrified. He really wanted to reach down and touch the tiny to let them know he didn’t mean them any harm, but after the conversation he just eavesdropped on he was unsure that wouldn’t help the situation. With that in mind, all he could think to do was smile meekly down at the tiny and hope that would do something to show he was nice.

Virgil’s smile caught Patton off-guard. Why is he smiling like that, he looks so sad. Smiling should make people look happy. Why isn’t he doing anything else? Wait, did he hear what Roman said? Oh my gosh if he did no wonder he looks like that! Is he trying to show me he won’t hurt me? What do I do? Should I try talking to him? I’m scared, but he also looks scared too. No, I have to be brave! I came out here all on my own just to see him and I’m looking at him right now.

“H-Hi....”

Virgil was stunned. Did he just say hi to me? That wasn’t my imagination was it? Should I say hi back, no wait, what if my voice is really loud? Then should I wave, no no, sudden movements might scare him off. What am I supposed to do then? I need to answer quickly or it will freak him out. Here goes!

“Hi…”

So awkward, but he didn’t run. That’s a good sign.

“Um...my name’s Virgil, wh-what’s yours?”

God, I hate small talk! Will he even answer? My mouth doesn’t look scary does it? What if he thinks I want to eat him or something? Ugh, gross, only Remus would find it funny to try and eat someone.

“My name’s Patton. It’s ni-nice to meet you Virgil.”

He’s talking to me, like we’re having an actual conversation. He’s even smiling at me now. Man he looks so cute!

“Hey Virgil? Yo-you’re not going to hurt me are you?”

“What no, of course not! I-I could never hurt you...you’re so nice and sweet. I’d hate myself even more if I ever hurt you. Please believe me!”

“Woah hey it’s okay I believe you!”

“Really?! I’m so relieved. After what you both talked about I was so worried you’d be too afraid to even talk to me.”

“So you did hear us after-all...”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I mean I must look like some kind of giant monster to you guys, but I was happy to hear you thought I was at least different compared to the others.”

“That’s because you are different, but still tha-”

Patton flinched as he locked his gaze onto Virgil’s hand now lowering down towards him. He braced himself expecting to be grabbed, but was surprised to feel soft fingertips caressing his face and hair instead. Surprised, he looked up to a beautiful smile painted on Virgil’s face.

Patton blushed deeply as he titled his head into Virgil’s gentle strokes. Virgil was pleased to see Patton had stopped shaking and looked like he enjoyed being touched.

“Sorry if I scared you. I just really wanted to touch you and make it clear that you’re safe here with me.”

“It’s okay. I’m not scared anymore and I do feel safe.”

“I’m glad to hear that...do you think I could pick you up?”

“Sure, I’d like that a lot.”

“Alright, just stay still while I bend down to grab you. I promise to be careful.”

“I trust you Virgil.”

Virgil was elated to hear those words as he carefully lifted Patton up in his hand and closer to his face to get a better look. As Virgil inched Patton closer, Patton took the initiative and landed a kiss onto Virgil’s cheek.

Virgil yelped in surprise, but remained still as to not jostle Patton around in his hand. His face had gone completely red in amazement at suddenly being kissed.

“What was that for?”

“That’s for the yummy cookies you made me. Did you not like it?”

“What, no I-I liked it! I just wasn’t expecting it, is all.”

“Oh well that’s good to hear. I can give you more if you want!”

“Let’s not for now. I don’t think my heart could take that a second time.”

Patton giggled a bit at Virgil’s bright red face. He felt so silly now for ever being afraid of such a person.

“Still, the cookies you made me were delicious. Thank you again for them.”

“I-I’m glad you liked them. Although, there’s no need to thank me really. I made them as a thank you for all the origami animals you’ve been making me. They’ve always made me feel special.”

“That’s because you are special.”

“Geez, are you always this sweet?”

Patton only smiled widely in response. Then he yawned and rubbed his eyes. It had gotten pretty late and Patton was finally slowing down.

“I think it might be best for you to head on back now Patton and get some rest.” “But I don’t want to leave yet! How about we have a sleepover and I stay here with you for the night?”

“What about your other friend who ran away? I’m sure he’s worried about you.”

“You mean Roman? Oh he’s been glaring at us for awhile now from behind the bookshelf.”

“WHAT?!”

Virgil frantically focused on the spot at the bottom of the bookshelf he had placed at the other side of his room. There, tucked away in shadow, was instead Roman staring daggers at him. It would appear he came back after noticing Patton wasn’t behind him, but he was still too scared to come back over.

“HEY ROMAN! I’M GOING TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH VIRGIL, OKAY?”

“WHAT!? NO NOT O-”

Before Roman could finish, another person’s hand wrapped itself around his mouth and skillfully dragged his entire frame out of sight. Then a similar hand shot out from the darkness in the form of a thumbs up.

“What in the world was that?”

“That was probably Logan. It seems like he’s given the okie-dokie on me staying here with you for the night.”

“Oh….okay. Are you still sure about this though? What if I roll over in my sleep and squish you, or maybe you fall off the bed?” “Don’t worry so much kiddo. It’ll be okay! If you’re worried about hurting me or me finding my way off the bed then I’ll just sleep on top of you.”

“On top of me?”

“Yeah, I’ll sleep on your chest. You think that will work?”

“O-on my chest?! I am a pretty solid sleeper so it sounds like the safest option, but will you be comfortable there?”

“I personally think I’ll be super comfortable there.”

Virgil had reached his limit for compliments and overheated at those words. All he could do now was give a simple nod in agreement and start to move into position to allow Patton to climb on top of him. The sensation of Patton’s tiny hands gripping onto Virgil’s shirt was strange and tickled like Hell. Luckily, the feeling faded quickly as Patton crawled over to the center of Virgil’s chest and laid down. Virgil used one hand to bring the sheets up to his torso and the other to hold Patton in place.

“You comfortable?”

“Very much so.”

“Cool. Hey Patton, before you go to sleep I just wanted to say that I’m glad I met you.”

“I’m glad I met you too Virgil.”

Patton yawned as he nuzzled his face into Virgil’s chest. Virgil blushed and pressed one of his fingers to Patton’s back and stroked it soothingly.

“Goodnight Patton.”

“Goodnight Virgil.”

As they drifted into a deep slumber it was unsure of how things would go from now on. However, they both knew that no matter what came their way they would never want to be apart.

The End

169 notes · View notes

collapsingintojupiter · 4 years

Text

Sunshine and Stormclouds: Chapter 15

Catch up: Chapter 1 Chapter 1.5 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Summary:

It’s Roman’s birthday. Though his biological parents may not be there for him, his friends are.

Characters: Roman Sanders, Emile Picani, Scout (oc), Virgil Sanders, Logan Sanders, (baby) Patton.

TW: This is little more than tooth-rotting fluff. You’re good (though of course, message me if you’d like me to put something here).

---

It had been a long day; following an even longer night. Virgil slumped against the couch, eyes closed, his hoodie drawn up over his shoulders. Patton busied himself on the floor nearby, dressing up his bunny in a little blue doll’s dress. Several other stuffed animals that Remy had bought (though the pink bunny by far remained his favorite) lay scattered around him, and a few more assortments of doll’s clothing.

Remy said that Patton had a good fashion taste. Even Logan couldn’t disagree.

Virgil’s eyes were shut, but he was awake - unfortunate as that was - listening to Patton as he finished arranging the dress on his bunny. Once he was happy with it, he moved on to a puppy dog plush. This one he wrapped - awkwardly, with his chubby fingers - in a sparkly bit of pink cloth. Patton fiddled with that until he was content, talking to “Acha” as he arranged the scarf around the dog’s neck and body.

Then, a knock sounded at the door.

“Hrggyph,” Virgil muttered to nothing in particular, and slowly opened an eye. The bit of pale pink material he saw through part of the visible window was definitely not Roman’s, and Logan wouldn’t be caught dead in such a vibrant color.

So who...

Wonder if they’ll go away, Virgil thought tiredly. A few seconds later, however, whoever it was knocked again. Dammit.

He sighed. Slowly, he picked himself up from the couch, and Patton jumped up to grab his arm as he started for the door.

“Is Daddy home?” he asked, grabbing Virgil’s hand in one of his little ones. His dog plush dangled precariously from the other, the pink tip dragging on the floor.

“I don’t think so, buddy,” Virgil said. Patton turned and held up his arms; his father smiled to himself as he picked the boy up. He opened the door.

“Oh, you’re home!” The excited voice belonged to somebody Virgil had seen before, but he wasn’t quite sure who. It was a younger boy, about Roman’s age, with crooked glasses, curly hair the color of rust, and soft brown eyes. He wore a pale pink sweater, black jeans, and a bright smile. Behind him stood another kid, though the last time Virgil saw them, he was pretty sure they’d been a pirate. Now however, they wore wearing a button-up covered in stars, ripped jeans, and converse that had been painted in a familiar style. Over all that, a too-big camo jacket that clashed with everything rested on their shoulder.

“Emile?” Virgil asked at last. “And...Scout?”

“That’s us,” Scout answered with a nod. They nudged Emile, who started and blinked before nodding.

“Right! Uh, Mr. Virgil, I think you remember us from that time we were at your house back on Halloween?” Virgil nodded, and his smile somehow got wider. “Awesome! Um, so...this might be a bit weird, but Roman’s birthday is tomorrow, and we’re...uh, we’re trying to plan something special for him. And he talks about you guys all the time, um...do you think you could help us?”

...forget sleep. Sleep could wait.

“Come on in,” Virgil said. He turned, gently setting Patton down so he could pull out his phone. Scout and Emile quickly knelt down, keeping his son busy as he placed a call to Remy.

“Hey, I need you over here stat,” he said as soon as the barista answered.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing bad, Rem,” Virgil assured. “Um, Emile and Scout are here; they told me Roman’s birthday is tomorrow. We’re gonna need your help.”

Remy’s response was instant.

“Say no more, I’m on my way,” he said. Before Virgil could say anything else, he hung up.

“Who was that?” Scout asked as he put his phone back in his pocket. Virgil chuckled.

“You remember the Dragon Witch on Halloween?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s on his way now. Much better at this stuff than I am.” Virgil checked his watch, hid a yawn, then glanced at the two kids again. “My husband should be back in about an hour from school. He’ll also be more than willing to help. Don’t worry, we’ll get this figured out.”

“Yes!” Emile grinned widely, wiggling in excitement. “We’re gonna make Roman so happy!”

Virgil felt his heart warm as he sat down with the kids to wait, whereupon Patton came over and crawled into his lap. “Where is Roman now?” he asked, helping his son sit up.

“He said he had to help his mom with something,” Scout said. Their voice sounded tense; like they knew what he did - what he knew only because of the horrible nights he’d faced alone, with drunken laughter downstairs and his stomach cringing with hunger. Virgil shook his head violently, and a shiver twirled down his spine. He focused instead on staring at Scout’s shoes. They were black, spots of paint that looked like stars and planets. He bet it was Roman’s work.

Soon enough, someone knocked at the door again.

“The Dragon Witch!” Emile exclaimed, and jumped from his seat. The knock came again, before Remy flung the door open and strode inside with a grin and a wink.

“Well well well,” he said. “I hear there’s a birthday party we need to plan.”

“Hell yeah,” Scout said, and Emile grinned.

“It’s Roman’s birthday tomorrow, and we wanna do something special for him,” he explained. Remy nodded.

“Good. He needs good friends like you,” he said. He looked at Virgil. “I think it’s time to go shopping. We’ll get the supplies…” he glanced at Scout and Emile, “...when you two get out of school tomorrow, I’ll pick you up. We’ll set everything up then for Roman.”

“How will we get him over here?” Virgil asked.

“He’s your babysitter, you tell me.”

“That could work.” Virgil nodded, taking Patton in his arms as he stood up. “Alright, so…”

“We need to divide and conquer,” Remy said. “Decorations and preparation, and gifts.”

“Logan’s very good at that,” Virgil said. “-Decoration, I mean, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to do it for Roman.”

“I’ll text him. Scout, Emile - what do you two want to help with?”

“I’m good at decorations,” Emile said. Scout nodded.

“That he is. And I know what he likes.”

Alright - so Emile, you’ll be with me, then, and Scout will go with Virgil. Sound good to you?”

The two kids nodded.

“Excellent! Let’s get this boy of ours a birthday party!”

---

What the hell was so special about a birthday, anyway? Roman sighed, burying his head in his arms. At the front of the classroom, a history teacher droned on about something he didn’t remember; wouldn’t remember. Recently his mother had gotten a job, somehow, and was now even nastier than usual when she wasn’t drunk. Roman didn’t want to go home; he was tired; and everything ached.

At least...at least, he got to babysit Patton again today. Roman stared at his fingernails; at the chipped edges, and ignored his classmates. The teacher continued to drone. The clock was getting closer to three, but it wasn’t there yet.

Finally, the bell rang.

Roman let out another sigh; he got his backpack and slung it around his shoulder, and started tiredly for the door.

Outside it was frigid, and though his jacket was warm it wasn’t warm enough. He’d forgotten his warmer one. Roman wondered how the puppy was; how Emile was. Briefly, the thought allowed him to smile. Maybe Remy would be at Virgil and Logan’s house, and let him see Prince. That would be nice. He reached up, tracing the embroidered letters with his finger. Prince.

He didn’t feel like a prince.

He couldn’t feel much of his hands or face by the time he came to the street where the Sanders lived, kicking at stones as he passed Mr. D’s house. He saw the older man in the window, staring at him. There was something unsettling about it, that he couldn’t put words to. Roman shivered and continued.

He stopped at the familiar blue door, adjusted his backpack straps, and knocked.

“SURPRISE!” The enthusiastic shout ripped him out of his thoughts with a force that nearly knocked him sideways; as it was Roman jumped, letting out a startled yelp.

“Happy birthday!” Emile and Scout shrieked in unison, sharing excited smiles as they rushed forward to greet him. Roman’s eyes widened, and he found himself laughing as they hugged him - Emile’s gentle touch, and Scout’s bone crushing grip.

“You-you guys knew?” he asked at last, overwhelmed by the streamers and people, and Logan and Virgil smiling at him...and was Remy holding a cake?

“Of course we did!” Scout laughed and punched his shoulder, then grabbed his hand and tugged him inside. “C’mon, you gotta try the cake we made. Well, Emile made it. Either way it’s good.”

Something small and furry ran up to him, barking and wagging its tail.

“PRINCE!” Roman yelped. He dropped to his knees by the puppy’s side, and it leapt into his lap to enthusiastically lick his face. He cradled the pup in his arms, gently running his hands along its soft black and brown fur. Prince was already bigger than it had been when he’d found it, with floppy ears and a goofy smile.

“We think he’s a mutt,” Remy had said. Roman didn’t care - he loved the pup regardless.

“Happy birthday to you…” his eyes widened as the others started singing to him, and he scrambled to his feet with Prince still in his arms--holy shit, he thought. How did they all have such beautiful voices? Logan, the stiff teacher and Virgil...their voices swelled in a perfectly complimenting harmony, leading the group in the song. Remy’s voice followed, a pure tenor; and Emile - though his voice was softer than the others, he sounded just like an angel to Roman.

He tried not to cry but he did, and as the others stopped singing Scout grabbed him in a hug, letting him bury his face in their sweatshirt. There they held him until he was breathing steadily again, and they let go; the others had gathered in the kitchen and smiled at him.

“Hope you’re hungry Roman!” Remy announced, and gestured to the dining room table where several boxes of pizza and tubs of ice cream had been lined up in a neat row. Roman’s jaw dropped, and the others grinned.

“Everybody get your fill; then we’ll meet in the living room. We got a movie ready to play and presents ready to open.”

“Presents!?” Roman blurted, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Virgil chuckled good-naturedly, and even Logan smiled.

“That’s right!” Remy said. “Just for you, my boy!”

“Let’s get pizza!” Emile took Roman’s hand, and he felt himself melting into the other boy’s embrace as he pulled him towards the table. “Look, see? We ordered your favorite!”

“Olive pizza!” Roman’s face broke into an open-mouthed look of amazement, and after gently setting Prince down he reached out and piled several slices onto his plate. Scout and Emile joined him; Remy followed with a wide smile, and Virgil and Logan took up the line in the back. Balloons crowded against each other on the ceiling; their strings dangled down in front of him. Roman looked up, and shades of gold and white and red looked back. He smiled.

“Guess what movie we’re gonna watch?” Emile asked as they sat down. Roman raised an eyebrow at him, unable to contain the happy expression on his face.

“What movie?” he asked. Scout sat down on his other side, yawning and leaning against his shoulder. Emile leaned against his other side, and gave him a look to melt his heart all over again.

“Beauty and the Beast!” he giggled. “Your favorite!”

“How did you-”

“I told him,” Scout said, grinning at the look of dumbfoundment on his face. They took a bite out of their mushroom pizza (ew) as Virgil and Logan entered. They took the other sofa, seating Patton between them with his little slice of cheese pizza. Remy was the last to come in, pepperoni his choice of the evening. He sat down, and Virgil got the remote and started the movie.

It was better than Roman remembered. The colors seemed brighter, and better, and warmer. Maybe that was Scout and Emile, leaning against him as if to chase away the cold that had settled into his bones, or Emile’s laughter that was soft and sweet like bells; like sugar pastries and autumn mornings where the sun’s warmth is gentle on your back. Scout’s, on the other hand, was sharp, like dogs barking in the dead of night and icicles shattering on the sidewalk.

He loved them both.

Roman knew what Scout knew though, that he was hopelessly in love with the Picani boy. He loved everything about him - his soft curls, and big eyes, and round glasses that always sat crookedly on his nose no matter how many times he fiddled with the frames. He loved his smile, and his laugh, and his voice.

And when the other boy leaned against him, and gently reached out to hold his hand...Roman felt like he knew what Heaven was.

Scout glanced at him, chuckled to themself at his happy expression, and turned back towards the TV. Together they watched the story play out, laughing and joking and sharing goofy smiles with each other as they discussed the scenes. They all booed at Gaston, and agreed that the candlestick and clock were very much gay.

And then, all too soon, it was over. The credits rolled and Roman let out a soft sigh, feeling Emile’s chest rise and fall as he breathed - fast asleep against his shoulder. Their paper plates were stacked on the coffee table - the pizza long gone - and Virgil held Patton. The little boy had also fallen asleep, and slept contentedly in his father’s arms.

“I’ll go put him in his room,” Virgil said at last, his voice soft. “Then you can open your presents, Roman.”

The presents! Roman realized, suddenly, that he’d forgotten all about those. Remy noticed the look on his face and laughed, which startled Emile awake. He muttered something under his breath, yawned, and looked up into Roman’s eyes.

God he’s so cute.

Roman smiled at him, and Emile smiled back. Then he reached up, and lightly tapped his nose.

“Boop!” he giggled. Roman felt his face turn an embarrassing shade of red, and he ducked to try and hide it - which would’ve been fine, had Emile’s hand not gotten tangled up in his hair. The next thing he knew they were both doubled over with laughter, and Emile was attempting to squeak out an apology in between gasps for air. When they finally recovered Roman saw Scout, leaning back and shaking their head; they were laughing too, and Remy and Logan shared a look that was both amused and affectionate. Virgil came back into the room, saw the spectacle, and let out a sigh. He too, however, failed to hide a smile as he sat down.

Emile struggled to compose himself with the others, one hand clasping Roman’s shoulder. His glasses looked more crooked than ever; his messy curls tangled and dangling over the rims. Eventually, he pulled himself upright.

“Present time!” he yelped, and burst out laughing again. Roman and Scout joined in, as the adults brought out a small collection of somethings and set it on the floor and coffee table in front of him.

Once he’d finally calmed himself, Roman slid off the couch to kneel in front of his presents. Remy set Prince down and the puppy ran over to join him - his heart felt so warm and full he thought it might burst, looking over the shiny wrapping paper and the kind expressions in Virgil and Logan’s eyes. Gingerly, he reached out and took the first gift.

From Remy, it said. He gently pulled away the red and gold wrapping, and his eyes widened at the colors upon colors upon colors of nail polish he found packed neatly into a black and red nail kit bag. On the top of the bag, his name was embroidered: Roman, in swirling gold type.

“I love it!” he cried, and gently picked up one of the colors - a shimmering beetle green - before putting it back. He couldn’t wait to try it out.

The next present was...well, he knew Scout had tried, at least. Paper wrapping wasn’t exactly their specialty. Nonetheless Roman unwrapped it gently, and hugged the new sketchpad that revealed itself to his chest.

“There’s also some stickers inside for you,” they said - were they nervous? What a strange thought; but Roman couldn’t deny the slight tremble; the tingle of anxiety in their voice. He smiled at them.

“I can’t wait to draw in it,” he said. “This is the perfect size.”

From Logan, read the third gift, tagged neatly with a sharpie. The wrapping paper revealed something soft, and something not - new gloves, in his favorite shade of red, and a book. It claimed to be a fantasy book, and Roman felt tears stinging his eyes as he looked over the cover. He imagined Logan, standing in the fantasy section of a bookstore, with no idea of what any of the books contained.

“This one was rated very highly,” Logan explained matter-of-factly. “I do...hope that you enjoy it.”

“Thank you,” Roman said softly, trying to blink away the tears. The gloves and book he gently set aside - somehow, Logan must have realized that his old ones were worn.

Two presents remained. He picked up one of them; From Virgil, it said. The paper presented a box when he pulled it away; inside the box was a soft puppy plush that was black and brown just like Prince, with a red bandana around its neck. The word Prince was hastily stitched onto it in yellow, and as he looked up at Virgil the father glanced aside.

“I...I’m sorry you can’t keep the real one,” was all he said, in a terribly soft voice. There were tears in his eyes too, Roman realized. “I hope this helps.”

“It...it does,” he said. He hugged the plush dog close, and sniffled; with his other hand he gently petted the real dog. “Thank you, Virgil.”

“Of course.”

The last present was Emile’s. Roman hesitantly reached for it; he felt Emile tense as he pulled the paper away - it was a beanie. A soft one, with stripes of blue, yellow, and pink. Roman’s eyes widened, and he looked abruptly up at Emile.

“You...you made this?” he asked softly.

“Yeah. I hope it’s okay? I tried to make it as close to your flag as possible, and I-” he was cut off as Roman crashed into him, wrapping his arms around the other boy’s shoulders and hugging him tightly.

“I love it,” he whispered, and now he really was crying. “Thank you...thank you all so much.”

He felt the warmth of another body beside him, and Roman opened one eye to see that Scout had joined the hug. Then Remy came over, followed by Virgil, and soon even Logan joined the group. Though Roman sort of expected it to be awkward...it felt really nice, surrounded by everybody he loved and who loved him in return. He felt himself smile

Thank you guys, for the best birthday ever.

#analogical #logan sanders #virgil sanders #emile picani #roman sanders #remy sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fanfic #sunshine and storm clouds #sunshine and stormclouds

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foursideharmony · 4 years

Text

Collateral Damage (Part 3)

Summary: Roman gets into trouble while questing in the Imagination. Rescue arrives, but will the rescuer be all right?

Word Count: 2,108

Relationship(s): Platonic LAMP, with some extra Prinxiety focus

Warnings: It's a whump/hurt/comfort fic, sooooo... hospital/clinic setting, some really disturbing imagery including fire and darkness and other unpleasantness, medical sutures, poison, illness, description of inflamed wounds, Remus mention, nightmare mention

Logan taped down the last bandage and stood back, admiring their handiwork. “There. I think we can put him to bed now.”

“He looks better already,” said Patton. “A little like a mummy, but I think he'd be okay with that. Remember that one Halloween?”

“Patton, that was Christmas Eve.”

“Oh. Right.”

Roman had begun visibly improving shortly after drinking his antidote, which made sense. His scratches remained a bit swollen, but the other two Sides had disinfected them, daubed them with ointment and patched them with gauze, and the prince was now resting peacefully and well on the road to recovery. Logan estimated thirty-six hours before his rapid recuperative powers (something they all enjoyed, as non-physical beings) brought him back to full health.

He waved the examination room away, transforming it into a small but pleasantly appointed hotel room, with Roman tucked into a full bed and a smaller cot alongside. Putting the Creative Side back in his own room would have been ideal, but they couldn't enter it from the common space without him being conscious to allow it.

“One of us should stay with him until he awakens naturally,” Logan said, “and I volunteer.”

“All right,” said Patton. “I'll look in on Virge after he's had a chance to rest up. And I'll keep an ear out for Thomas and let him know what's up if tries to call on us.”

“Excellent plan,” said Logan, changing from his medical garb into a simple combo of tee-shirt and sweatpants. He maneuvered onto the cot as Patton sank out and was soon dozing.

Fire. Fire and hot darkness and and pain, a dull yet insistent pain that was everywhere with no way to locate its source. And the fire was black fire, doing nothing to light up the oppressive, suffocating darkness. And the darkness was made of voices, too whispery quiet to be heard clearly yet at the same time so loud that they were like physical blows to his ears, inflicting more pain and more fire.

He couldn't move and he could barely breathe (the fire was somehow also water) and everything was wrong and everything hurt and he didn't understand why. There was no such thing as time—no past to remember in order to understand, no future to anticipate so he could plan—there was only an eternal present of pain and darkness. And fire.

~~~~~

Roman woke slowly, feeling unusually refreshed for a mere nap. It took him a moment to realize that no, it hadn't been a mere nap. His back was dreadfully sore at first, but the pain receded into the background as his awareness brightened, and he remembered.

He opened his eyes and glanced around as much as he could without moving just yet. A modest bedroom, furnished in subdued colors. Morning sunlight filtering in through medium-weight drapes over either a large double window or a sliding glass door. A framed piece of art on the wall, its image invisible behind the reflection of light on the glass cover. A bureau and a small television. So, a hotel room—not luxurious, but far from the worst place to be. He tried to sit up a little to take in more, but found himself hissing in pain as something twinged in the small of his back.

Suddenly Logan was there, standing up from wherever he had been and fumbling for his glasses on the bureau. “Roman? Are you awake? Is it morning?” He paused to yawn and change back into his daywear. “Don't try to get up too quickly or you'll pull on your sutures.”

“Sutures...” Roman repeated, easing himself up more carefully and reaching around his own back to feel the knobbly knots under the bandage. “Was it that bad?”

“Just in one spot. I put in two sutures to close up a laceration. I doubt you'll need them long.” He paused again, and cleared his throat. “How do you feel?”

“Well enough,” said Roman, just before his stomach rumbled. “Strike that—I'm starving. I don't suppose...I might get breakfast in bed?”

“Not from me, you won't. It should be safe for you to get up and walk as long as you're careful. Come on—Patton and Virgil will be very pleased to see you on the mend.”

“I owe Virgil, for sure,” Roman said. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and gingerly got to his feet. “These are nice pajamas; did you put me in these? I just need to make one little addition for the occasion.” He reached into the hem of his sleeve, like a magician doing a scarf trick, and drew out a swatch of gold-tinted chiffon which whipped around the shoulder opposite and knotted itself, creating an impromptu arm sling.

“Roman, that is entirely unnecessary. Your arm suffered only superficial damage.”

“It's for the 'recuperating hero' aesthetic. Let's go eat!”

~~~~~

Patton dumped an extra spoonful of sugar into his peppermint tea...yeah, it was that kind of morning. He was trying not to be morose, but it was tough going when the last he'd seen of his fellow Sides was Roman unconscious and Logan settling in for a bedside vigil. He wondered whether it was worth making breakfast, and for how many.

There came a soft sound from the stairwell, and then Logan's unmistakable imperious tones. “Descend slowly. Don't disturb your dressings.”

“I know how to walk down stairs, Logan.”

And just like that, Patton's morning was 100% better.

“KIDDO!” he bubbled, his sock-clad feet slipping on the kitchen linoleum as he hastened to meet Roman. “Look at you, almost all better! Wait, what happened to your arm? I thought...”

“Aesthetics,” Logan said flatly.

“So it's safe to hug him?” Patton said, not even waiting before sweeping Roman into a joyful embrace. “Anyway, we should have a special breakfast to celebrate your recovery! We can make it together! You two do me a favor and get out the stuff, and I'll go wake Virgil!” He all but leapt up the stairs, buoyed by relief and delight.

Patton and Virgil had an understanding. Patton was allowed to enter Virgil's room without specific permission under the following circumstances: 1) He was reasonably certain that Virgil was in there, 2) He was entering for the purpose of either gently waking him up or rescuing him from a presumed panic spiral, 3) He knocked first anyway and announced his intention to enter, giving Virgil a chance to deny him if it was a bad time.

Patton knocked on Virgil's door. “Virge? Kiddo? Roman's up and he's doing great! We're gonna make breakfast together.”

There was no response, so he rapped again, said “I'm coming in,” and did so.

And just like that, Patton's morning was 100% worse.

“Logan!” he blurted before he had even processed the entirety of the scene. “LOGAN!”

There was a crash of dropped dishes from the kitchen, followed by the rapid rhythm of someone charging up the stairs. Logan appeared in the doorway, his jaw dropping.

Virgil sprawled fully clothed on his bed—pale, trembling, panting, whimpering. His eyes, open a crack, were rolled back until only the bloodshot sclera were visible. The sheets around him were damp with perspiration. Patton repeatedly reached a shaking hand toward his face to offer comfort, but pulled back every time, unsure whether he should make contact. “What do we do?” he pleaded. “What's wrong with him?”

“I can't say without more information,” Logan confessed. “But it looks like—”

“It's the poison,” Roman said, having just arrived. “That's what it does without the antidote. It's one of my brother's favorite dirty tricks, so I know all about it. But I don't understand; he wasn't wounded! Unless...”

He shrugged out of his bogus sling and gently lifted Virgil's left hand, undid the zipper on the sleeve cuff, and turned down the fabric. Two punctures, one larger and deeper than the other, were revealed in the soft, pale skin on the underside of the Anxious Side's wrist. The flesh around them was horribly swollen and red, with inflamed blood vessels visible through the skin, radiating out from the wounds.

“The thorns penetrated after all,” Roman said. “It must have been so slight that he didn't notice at the time. The poison takes time to fully kick in.”

“Oh, Virgil,” said Patton, finally overcoming his hesitancy and ruffling Virgil's sweat-drenched hair. Virgil flinched away from the touch, his head thrashing back and forth until he finally flopped over entirely, facing away from them, and curled up into the fetal position. “He's burning up,” Patton said, following Virgil to the other side of the bed. “Roman, do you have any more of that antidote? Please say yes.”

Roman rubbed a hand over his face. “It's too late for that. There's about a two-hour window. After that, the only thing to do is ride it out. It's not going to be a good time for any of us, Virgil least of all...but he will make a full recovery. Remus doesn't go in for lethal stuff, on the grounds that dead people can't pay him attention.”

“He's not wrong in that. Roman, you have suffered the full effects of the poison before?” said Logan.

Roman nodded.

“Please tell me whatever you can about it. It may help advise a course of action for treating Virgil's symptoms until his system purges the toxin.”

“Nightmares,” Roman said softly. “He'll be knocked out for a couple days, and the fever will give him fever-dreams...bad enough, right? Now try to picture fever-dreams designed by my brother. Better yet, don't.”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “Would reducing the fever alleviate the visions?”

Roman shrugged. “Maybe? It can't hurt.”

“I'll set up some cold compresses,” said Patton, rising from his kneeling position. “And we should move him. This is no place for a sickbed. You two are already showing some under-eye smudge.”

“I do find myself becoming increasingly unsettled,” said Logan. “Thank you for spotting that, Patton.”

“I volunteer my room,” said Roman. “The atmosphere of pleasant fantasies should help to combat the nightmares.”

“You two work on that, then,” said Logan. “I will inform Thomas so that it doesn't catch him off guard if Virgil's suffering spills over onto him. In fact, he may be able to counter it from his end.”

The three of them nodded to each other, and they got to it.

~~~~~

It was a day and a half before Virgil woke up.

Roman had been watching him, as usual—it was his room, after all, and by concentrating he could modulate the atmosphere to produce only the sweetest and most beautiful of ideas, though he could only hope they were filtering through to Virgil's lowered awareness. He was changing the cold compress, which was a bit trickier than just removing one wet washcloth and replacing it with another, cooler one, because the delirium had Virgil recoiling almost violently when anything touched his head or face. The way to calm him, they (actually Patton) had discovered by accident, was to pick up his hand and gently massage the pad of his thumb.

Roman was in the midst of this process when Virgil's hand abruptly tightened on his, and then the Anxious Side's eyes flew open and he let out a brief, barking yell.

“It's all right!” Roman said on reflex. “It's just me, Virgil, I'm right here and you're safe. You're safe. You're safe, Emo the Frownfish.”

“P-Princey...?” Virgil said, his voice barely a squeak.

“Yeah,” said Roman. “We're taking care of you. You'll be okay.”

“D...d...don...”

“Don't what?”

“Leave. Don't leave. Please.”

Roman had been planning to go inform the other two that Virgil was awake, but after a plea like that, it was completely off the table. They would find out sooner or later. “I won't,” he said softly, squeezing the hand he was still holding.

There was a long pause while Virgil sank back into the pillow, whimpering.

“I know,” Roman said. “It hurts. It'll stop hurting pretty soon now that you're awake.”

Another pause, and then Virgil said, “Have you really been here this whole time?”

“We took turns, actually. But I'm glad I'm here now, so I can thank you properly for rescuing me the other day. You were my hero, Virgil. The least I can do is be yours for a little while.”

“Sap,” Virgil muttered, proving that he was going to be all right.

The End

Taglist:

@today-only-happens-once

@hitmewiththatfanart33

@maryann-draws

@ghosttb0y

@raygelkitty

@theladyoffangorn

@justanothernerdyfandomblog

@imbadatnames8d

@soupspam

@4-s-shadowlink

@ifsomebodyhadsomegarlicbread

@lizluvscupcakes

@soupgromlin

@volde-post-mortem

#sanders sides #fanfiction #lamp/calm #prinxiety #collateral damage

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witchcraft-in-wonderland · 4 years

Text

Snakes and Scandals (Pt.3)

-------------------------

Two months of work and Virgil could finally wake up in soft sheets with floral scents. When he stepped out of bed he didnt have to be careful to avoid getting splinters from broken wooden floors, for his new home was carpeted with the softest material he'd ever felt. It extravagant, yes, but he liked it. He liked having a wall made purely of glass, liked being able to sit in the sun and practice yoga with Emile, it made him calmer. He finally had enough that he didnt have to feel guilty for buying a mug or two with a pun printed on it, or going out on spa days with Remy and his boyfriend, Patton.

He still felt bad sometimes, though, so at least three times a week he'd stop by shelters or convenience stores, he'd give away as much money as he could, use his new status to convince CEOs to give out better wages. His favorite thing about this new status was the look on his old managers face when he walked in, sunglasses on his head, wearing an outfit from one of Roman's newest collections, scarf draped over his arms, and placed the note on her desk that if she didnt start respecting her employees, both Roman and Janus would stop providing the store with any of their lines.

"You shouldve seen it Ro! She looked like she wanted to explode on the spot!" Said Virgil with a laugh.

"Serves her right, firing you for defending yourself," Roman replied, taking a long sip from his drink and leaning against Logan's chest.

"Well I'll be off then, Janus wanted me to meet him for something," said Virgil, getting up from his seat.

"See you later Vivi!" Roman said as he walked away.

If Virgil thought his new apartment was big, it was nothing compared to Janus' house.

The walls were covered in glass, with different snakes and other reptiles slithering and skittering through different tanks. There was a room that was made of nothing but heat lamps, and even a pool downstairs.

Virgil's favorite part was the spot he and Janus had settled into themselves, a small reading nook covered in blankets. Virgil was pressed up against Janus' chest, so close he could hear him breathing. Virgil could feel his face go red, he'd fallen in love with Janus a few days after meeting him, his eyes, his smile, the way he moved his hands as he spoke, as if he were trying to wave them off in all directions.

"So why did you call me here, Janus?" Said Virgil, looking up.

"I, have something to confess," Janus said, eyes boring into Virgil's soul.

"What?" Virgil's voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke.

"Theres a reason I chose this nook specifically, theres only one other person who's ever been in here, and that's Remus, and only when we were dating," it took Virgil some time to process this.

"You mean you want to, you want to date me? Of all people?" Virgil could hardly believe it, he was so elated he could feel his hands begin to shake.

"Of course I do! There's not a reason in the world I could think not to!" Said Janus. Virgil smiled, leaning his forehead on Janus'.

"Well, I'm glad, because I like you, a lot," Virgil said smiling. Janus tilted his chin up, a small smirk tracing his face. Then their lips were locked together, Virgil going limp in Janus' arms, tears of joy racing down his cheeks. He could feel Janus' lips forming a smile against his own. Virgil traced a hand across Janus' scales, the taller shivering at the touch.

Virgil had decided to spend the rest of the day with Janus, walking through the park, the gardens, and ending the day on the beach.

Virgil used to hate swimming, but now he had a distraction. He pressed himself against Janus' chest, the other spinning in circles in the water, small waves pulsing out around them.

"Water droplets is a good look for you, Vi," said Janus, running a hand through Virgil's hair. Virgil laughed and kissed Janus's forehead, blushing slightly.

"Oh come on, just a forehead kiss?" Janus said, smirking. He ran his fingers through Virgil's hair again, hugging him closer and closing the gap between their lips. Virgil melted into his arms, forgetting about everything around them. That is, until they were interrupted by a wave crashing over them. The two collapsed into the water, Janus pulling Virgil up onto the shore, laying back and letting him rest against his chest. Virgil laughed slightly, burying his head in the crook of Janus' neck again.

The next day was a rude awakening in more ways than one. Virgil had just gotten to work, only to find dozens upon dozens of media personnel lined up at the front, shoving microphones and cameras in his face before Roman pulled him inside and rushed him upstairs.

"Roman? What's going on? I thought you didnt like paparazzi crowding the building?" Virgil said, snatching a water bottle off the counter and chugging it as fast as possible.

"I tried kicking them out but they keep showing up! Oh I shouldve known the magazines would lie about keeping you out of this!" It was at that point Virgil noticed the magazine clutched in Roman's hands.

He snatched it away and scanned the front page. There it was, plane as day, Virgil and Janus, faces pressed together, eyes closed and unaware of anything around them. With the caption "Prince-Duke model and fiance fraternizing with the enemy, could this be the end of the newcomers career?" Virgil's eyes went wide. He laughed, a small chuckle building into something maniacal.

"So let me get this straight- they think IM cheating on YOU with Janus?" Virgil said. Roman smiled slightly.

"Yeah, Logie and I are secretive yes but I didnt think they'd take it this far!" Roman laughed.

"Janus and I usually feed into these to get more publicity but they've never quite been this easy!" Roman said. He and Virgil laughed.

Later that day when the camera flashes died down, Janus had arrived on the scene.

"And you'll be using the liquid eyeliner I sent you, yes?" Janus said. Roman nodded.

"I think I'll use the article from March to, the one where you and I were apparently a couple?" Roman said, Janus nodding in agreement.

"So its settled then, we'll meet up to discuss our joint line for Vi, and when the press shows up I'll storm out, then comes the waterworks," Roman smiled. Virgil looked between the two of them, eyes wide.

"How long have you guys been doing this?" He said, tilting his head slightly.

"Years really, basically since we started the business!" Said Roman with a grin.

"You guys scare me sometimes," Virgil said with a small laugh.

----------------------------------------------

Tag List:

@nerosdayinhell

@official-lucifers-child

@meowthefluffy

@spooky-scary-virgil

@misunderstoodshadowling

@youtuberswithalex

@casuallyimpossibledream

@five-falseh00ds-ph0nated

#cori writes #ts patton #ts logan #ts virgil #ts sides #ts remus #ts emile #ts remy #ts roman #snakes and scandals au

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prinssess61 · 4 years

Text

Snek Cuddles and Consequences

Ok, so I had an idea inspired by a post made by @dailysandersidesaudoodles (go check them out). So it just kind of developed into this... anyways, let's do this! There is am odd POV change just so you know. It changes from Roman's to Virgil's and goes back in time a little. I also may do a part two, depending on if anyone wants it.

Summary: Virgil and Deceit liked to cuddle before he left the Dark Sides and old habits die hard

Trigger warnings: Snake Deceit, sword, let me know if I should add anything

Pairings/Ships: platonic Anxceit (or romantic if you really want to)

Before Virgil had left the Dark Sides he and Deceit loved to cuddle. Although Deceit had often changed into his snake form when they did. Deceit was often too cold and Virgil was too hot because he refused to take off his hoodie, so it was a pretty good way to regulate their temperatures.

So, one day after Deceit had revealed himself to Thomas, he was sensing a lot of heat from something in the living room. He walked in expecting a heater on (that's how hot it was), but instead he found an overheating Virgil. He was sprawled out on the couch fanning himself and sweating too. His face was red as a tomato, but he still had his hoodie on. The Light Sides had all told him he needed to take off his hoodie, but every time he simply said he would never take it off.

"Virgil, you stubborn moron," Deceit muttered under his breath, walking to stand in front of him. He looked at Virgil as the anxious side noticed his presence.

"Oh, hey, Dee," Virgil said, in between his panting. Deceit didn't respond, but instead sat down beside Virgil and changed into his snake form. Now he was a 4 foot-long, yellow, black, and brown boa constrictor. Virgil looked at him confused for a moment, but then said as he lifted up his oversized jacket sleeve, "Come on."

Recognizing the invitation, the snake slithered onto Virgil's arm and continued until he was comfortably wrapped around Virgil's shirt and neck. Virgil sighed in relief as he felt the cold snake cooling him off. It wasn't as cold as he would've liked, but it was still better than before.

Virgil didn't realize how much he had missed this until he felt himself relax in the tight, but not uncomfortable, grip of Deceit. He also didn't realize how tired he was until he drifted to sleep, feeling safe enough to do so.

As he felt Virgil relax, Deceit stuck out his tongue in what Remus described as 'a blep'. There wasn't really a reason he did this, except when he was trying to figure out his surroundings. He subconsciously tightened his grip on Virgil, as Deceit felt he was protecting him like he had before.

Deceit felt Virgil relax more and figured he had fallen asleep in Deceit's embrace, which made Deceit feel proud since Virgil thought he was safe enough to go to sleep.

Eventually sleep also overcame Deceit, as Virgil's warmth crept into his cold body, and although his grip did not lessen, his head was hanging over Virgil's shoulder. They slept peacefully until the Light Sides came to check on him.

Roman was the first to walk into the room and seeing Virgil's head tipped back slightly, motioned to Patton and Logan, who were behind him, to be quiet. They continued in slowly and quietly, but when Roman got close enough to see a huge snake on him, he summoned his katana, with a shriek. Patton and Logan saw it as well. Patton joined Roman in his screaming, but Logan stood there in shock, his eyes wide.

Virgil heard their screams and shot off the couch with a jump and and stared at them with wide eyes. The snake moved too, although it seemed like Virgil didn't notice the snake on him. It was then that Roman realized it was a boa constrictor, and that it was wrapped around Virgil's chest and could easily wrap itself around his neck and choke him.

"What the HECK was that about?" Virgil shouted, still clearly startled. The snake moved again.

"Virgil, don't move," Roman said, trying to keep his voice calm, so Virgil wouldn't freak out.

"What? Wh- Wait. Why do you have your sword?" Virgil asked, pointing to his katana.

Patton and Logan were too scared and shocked to say anything, so Roman continued inching forward keeping his eyes locked with Virgil's but keeping the snake in his view, "Virgil, don't freak out. Just stay still. Don't move."

"Why would I freak out? The only reason I 'freaked out' was because you screamed."

Roman saw the snake's head move closer to Virgil's. He also saw the snake's tongue move out of its mouth and flick up and down, as if feeling Roman's nervousness. Roman was standing about 3 feet from Virgil when Virgil winced and muttered a small, "Ow."

Roman realized the snake had been tightening its grip with every step that Roman took so he stopped, fearing the snake would squeeze Virgil too tight.

Deceit was obviously uncomfortable being in this form around anyone else besides Remus and Virgil. Then Roman started to move forward with his sword in his hands. Dee started to tighten around Virgil defensively as if relying mostly on instincts. Eventually he got a little too tight so Virgil quietly said, "Ow." Roman stopped moving.

Deceit seemed to recognize this and loosened a bit, but not much.

Roman started moving again, but more slowly, and Deceit hissed in response. Roman jumped back and yelped. Logan and Patton shouted in surprise. Virgil understood why they all seemed so frightened. They had never seen Deceit in his snake form. They thought Deceit was going to hurt him.

"Guys, it's ok. I'm ok," Virgil said, although he didn't show that he realized that there was a boa constrictor around him.

Roman couldn't believe it. Virgil had a giant snake wrapped around his chest and he didn't even realize it. The snake had even hurt him. Roman was somewhat infuriated with him. How could he be so... so... oblivious!

Logan spoke up, finally finding his voice, "Virgil. Do you realize there is a... snake... on you? Please do not get upset at this information."

"Why would I- Oh! You guys haven't met... uh... Dolos! My... pet... snake..." Virgil trailed off, hoping Dee wouldn't be mad at Virgil for calling him a pet. If the others didn’t know about Deceit’s snake form, he was not going to tell them. Thankfully, he wasn't, since Virgil felt him loosen his grip a bit more, almost as if relieved.

The others stared at him in shock, disbelief, and surprise. Roman was the first to speak.

"Why the heck would you have a snake for a pet?! Do you know how dangerous that is?!"

Logan joined in, "Indeed, Virgil. This," he paused looking for the right word, "arrangement... is not safe." He emphasized the word 'arrangement' while motioning to the snake wrapped around his friend.

"Guys, it's fine. I've done this hundreds of times before."

Patton finally spoke up, "Uh... kiddo. I agree with Logan. This isn't safe. Maybe you should keep him in a cage or something, at all times."

Dee hissed at him for suggesting such an atrocious action. He looked up at Virgil as if pleading him to take his side, then back at Roman and the sword in his hands. Virgil seemed to understand as he said, "Roman, put the sword down. He won't hurt anybody. Look."

He lifted his chin a little and Deceit wrapped around his neck once like a scaly scarf, understanding the need to prove his harmlessness.

"Virgil! Don't do that!" Roman yelled, brandishing his sword. Dee hissed once more, at his movements. Roman instinctively took a step back. Logan was sharing concerned looks with Patton, who was biting his nails and almost crying.

"Fine! Fine! Chill out, guys." Instead he lifted his arm and looked at Dee. He responded by unwrapping his body from around Virge's neck and moved to his arm, although most of him was still around his chest. Virgil didn’t understand why they wouldn’t trust him. He told them the snake was harmless. Why couldn’t they believe him?

“What would it take to prove that he’s harmless?” Virgil asked.

“If he does whatever I tell him to do, I’ll believe he’s ‘harmless’,” Roman responded. Logan and Patton nodded.

“What do you have in mind? I won’t let you hurt him, in any way.”

“Virgil! It already hurt you! Just a couple of minutes ago!”

“Yeah! Because he thought you were threatening me!”

Roman sighed and Patton spoke up. “Maybe we should trust Virgil and... Dolos. I mean, if it was going to do anything, it would’ve done it already. Um... Virgil? How long have you been like... that?” Patton gestured to him.

“Oh. Um...” Virgil looked at the clock. He had been asleep for four hours. That was more sleep than he usually got at night. “About four and a half hours, give or take.”

Roman’s jaw dropped. Virgil could’ve died four hours ago? And he wasn’t there to protect him? How could he have been so stupid?! He had to protect Virgil from that ferocious fiend, no matter the cost.

“See? Virgil’s been fine for more than four hours,” Patton said, although a bit hesitantly. “And Virge said he’s done this a lot before.”

“As much as I hate to say this, I agree with Patton. We should trust Virgil and his decisions, even if they are not the smartest ones.”

“Fine,” Roman said, his sword vanishing into thin air. “But I’m keeping an eye on it.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Logan said. Virgil and Patton made noises of protests, but Logan continued, “I said I would trust Virgil, not his pet.”

Virgil looked down at Deceit and saw him take a more offensive stance. ‘Uh oh,’ Virgil thought. Now Deceit was angry. He didn’t mind Virgil calling him a pet, as long as it was for protection, but Logan... that was a big no.

“Guys, you might want to take a step back,” Virgil said, trying to put as much distance between them and the angry snake.

Logan took a step back as he asked, “Why?” They were all confused, but did what Virgil said. And just in time too. Deceit had been uncoiling from Virgil and was now lunging at Logan. Fortunately, Logan was out of reach. Unfortunately, Roman registered the attack and willed his sword into his hands and swung it at Deceit.

Deceit had just barely dodged the sword, when Virgil reached forward and grabbed him. He was heavy and it was hard but it he managed to lift him up completely and put him back on his shoulders.

“Dec- Dolos, no!” Virgil chastised him. “I’ll go take him to my room.”

Virgil ran upstairs before anyone could say anything else. He shut his bedroom door as Deceit slithered onto the floor. He shifted back to his human form, and sat on Virgil’s bed.

“Sorry, Virge. I just... I really do like people calling me a pet. It’s not fine with you. I don’t know you are just trying to protect me. Thanks, for that, by the way.”

“It’s fine... just, be more careful next time.”

“Sure thing, Virge. Does this mean that were somewhat friends?” Deceit said quietly.

“Yeah. Friends,” Virgil said giving him a soft smile.

#sanders sides #deceit sanders #virgil sanders #snake deceit #dark side cuddles #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #sympathetic deceit

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ceffythesquirrel · 4 years

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Birthday Blues

What? What?! I wrote a normal fic for once?! This is a completely normal fic for Logan’s birthday! I tried writing one last year but I failed. I wanted this to be the year I wrote a normal fic for my favorite side. Don’t ask why I keep repeating normal over and over again. It’s not worth reading into. So here! Take this fic I’ve been writing for three days straight (gay) pretty much! I’m happy with how it turned out! I hope you guys enjoy.

Happy Birthday, Logan!!!

Birthday Blues

Ships: Platonic Lamp/calm, some analogical if you squint.

Words: 1,991

Warnings: Logan is the scrooge of his own birthday. Twinges of angst. Let me know of anything else.

~~~~~

It was that one fateful day of the year when Logan woke up in the morning groaning in dread at the date on his calendar. He continuously reminded his fellow aspects that they all shared the same birthday on April 24th because they were all Thomas, but the fandom celebrated them differently and Patton quickly caught on. Roman was on board soon after and both of them were able to drag Virgil in it, but Logan remained adamant that his birthday was absolutely NOT November 3rd.

Once he was up and dressed, he took a quick look at the calendar and narrowed his eyes at the small “Birthday” surrounded by question marks underneath today’s date. He sighed and continued his routine hoping that when he stepped out in the hallway, nothing would happen. When it came time, Logan armed himself with his pillow and carefully turned the doorknob of his room out into the mind palace’s hallway. Almost immediately, he saw confetti fly past the opening of the door and he quickly shut it before any other unidentified flying objects made their way into his room.

A couple of whines could be heard from the other side of the door. “Awwww, C’mon Logan! Aren’t ya gonna come out for your birthday?”

“Yeah! Get out here Logan! I even got Virgil here to cheer you on!”

“Whoop di doo…”

Logan saw the doorknob turn multiple ways and he pressed his body against it, refusing the other three entry inside. “No! And It’s not my birthday. I do not understand your incessant attempts to celebrate me on a day in which I wasn’t even born. Virgil, we’ve had this talk before. We do not have mothers!” He grew annoyed with the constant turning of the knob and quickly locked it before Roman tried to summon a battering ram...again.

“Look, dude, I’m just tired of fighting them. It’s only one day, Lo. You can deal with it.”

“Maybe I can’t-oof!” Logan felt the whole door shift as something ran into it from the other side.

“Roman!” Logan yelled out of fear for his room door.

“I will get you out of there if it’s the last thing I do!” Roman ran into it again and Logan let out a small yelp as the force was enough to push him off the door and onto the floor. He thanked his mental lock for holding out as chaotic of a force as Roman.

“Roman! Roman, stop!” Thankfully, Patton came to his rescue and his door was saved. “This isn’t going to get him to join us! We need to come up with a better plan.”

“Fine, fine. We’ll go to plan B. Just you wait Nerdicus! We may yet get you to join! Muahahahaha!”

“Don’t laugh like that, it doesn’t suit you.”

“Well fine then…” As their voices died off, Logan rose to his feet and gave a heavy sigh. He was not looking forward to whatever crazy plans they had in store for him.

He quietly stepped out into the hallway not 20 minutes later. Logan had unfortunately run out of his stash of Crofter’s in his room and needed to find something better for breakfast. When he rounded the corner into the kitchen, all three of them sat with breakfast already made.

“There he is! Let’s sing. 3! 2! 1! Happy Birth-” Logan flew back around the corner, attempting to hide the odd blush that had crept on his face when he saw all of them smiling at him. Even Virgil was wearing more than just his usual smirk. He heard the voices grow ever so slightly closer until Roman peeked around the corner and flashed him a devious smirk. The logical aspect let out an undignified squawk and ran back to his room just before Roman or Patton could catch him.

“I just want breakfast!!!” He whined behind his closed door and he pouted at their snickers.

“You can get breakfast,” Patton affirmed. “Just come out here and let us sing to you.”

“Absolutely not!” Logan felt the tiniest twinge of guilt at the disappointed sigh that Patton exhaled on the other side of the door.

“You really won’t let us celebrate you?” Logan’s lips pursed into a frown, but he stayed adamant about his decision.

“No.” He bit off behind the door.

There was a little bit of deafening silence and Logan could practically hear the mood switch in Patton. “Virgil? Can you get a plate for Logan to eat in his room?”

“Sure thing.” Once Virgil walked off, Roman scoffed in disbelief.

“Wait what?! You aren’t just letting him go like that...right?” Logan heard Virgil return with a plate of food and he passed it to Patton.

“Thank you, Virgil. Here you go, Logan. Just go ahead and take it. We won’t try to pull you into anything.”

“What?!” Ignoring Roman’s exclamation, the logical aspect cautiously grasped his doorknob from inside and cracked opened his door.

“Let him go Princey.” Logan opened the door all the way and saw Virgil comically restraining Roman as Patton held out a plate towards him with a sad expression on his face. Logan took the plate and silverware into his grasp and retreated back into his room. The pang of guilt quickly grew in size and sat in the bottom of his belly as he shut the door behind him.

He smiled sadly as he heard Roman’s complaining ring down the hall as Virgil dragged him by the ear back to the kitchen where Logan found them in the first place. It was kind of Patton to understand his need for space and understand where he was coming from, but he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty.

He sat with his back against the wall and scarfed down the food, hearing the soft voices coming from the kitchen. Once finished, he set the plate down on his desk and walked over to his bookshelf. He skimmed his fingers along the spines until he found a pale, rainbow notebook detailing all of the events of Thomas’s last 30 birthdays. He thumbs through a couple pages before flipping to the bigger section of the book that detailed all of the friends’ birthdays Thomas had been to in the past.

He knew the origin of birthdays and where they came from. He knew why they were celebrated, but why should his be? He wasn’t a full person and was of less importance than Thomas himself, let alone known by any of Thomas’s friends. After pondering his existence for a solid minute, he decided Thomas might have a better idea of why this was happening inside of his mind. He took a deep breath and sunk down, reappearing in the kitchen as he watched Thomas make some scrambled eggs for himself.

“Thomas?” He asked softly, hoping not to disturb him.

“Huh?” Thomas turned around and acknowledged the side in his vicinity. “Yeah Logan?”

Logan shifted from side to side, hoping to make sense of the question he was about to ask. “Uhm...what would happen...if your friend had a birthday, but they didn’t want their birthday to be celebrated?”

“Huh?” Thomas gave him a look of confusion. “What brought this question up?”

“Well...For whatever reason...everyone wants to celebrate November 3rd as my birthday, but I was not born on this day. I see no reason for anyone to think anything more of it. There’s nothing special about it.”

“Oh wow.” Thomas pulled out his phone and checked the date. “Yeah. Sure enough! It’s your birthday today.” He gave his side a half-smirk before glancing down at the spoon in his hands.

“Not you too…” Logan groaned. “Why?”

Thomas scratched his head, looking for a way to explain this to his logical aspect. “Well...what is January 15th?”

“That’s Patton’s birthday,” Logan explained.

Thomas smiled at him. “Would you celebrate it with him?”

“Of course. He would be sad if I didn’t.”

“Then, why wouldn’t he be sad if you didn’t let him return the favor? You know he enjoys giving things to the people he loves.”

Logan frowned. “I just don’t understand. What’s so important about me that everyone wants to celebrate?! I’m literally a part of your mind Thomas. There is nothing unique or interesting about me except...you!”

Thomas sighed sadly. “That’s where you're wrong Logan. I’m sorry you think that of yourself. I can tell you if my friend thought that about themselves, I would do everything in my power to make them feel loved. Maybe, that’s what they are trying to do. Patton, Virgil, and Roman I mean. They are trying to show you that you are valued and that’s why they want to celebrate your birthday.” Thomas stepped toward Logan. “If you don’t want today to be your birthday that’s fine. But, I want you to know that a lot of people love you, Logan. The people that see you on their screen, the other sides, and me. I know it’s not going to make sense. The only real reason people could see this as your birthday is that you starred in your first vine on this day five years ago.”

The logical aspect gave a small smile at this, and let Thomas continue talking. “They celebrate you because they love you. They want you to know that your existence is good and they like hanging around you! Why do you think we went all out for Virgil’s birthday when he was first accepted two years ago?”

Logan nodded and his facial expressions told Thomas he was beginning to understand. “Because...we wanted to show him that he belonged in this group.”

“Right. And you belong too, alright?” Thomas smiled at him. “I mean, I wouldn’t be me without any of you, but especially you. So, go back in there and let them shower you with love.” Thomas laughed at the blush that spread across his face.

Logan rubbed his biceps awkwardly. “I have to find a way to apologize first. I may have told them off.”

Thomas frowned a bit. “I hope you can make it up to them.”

Logan tapped his chin before raising his pointer finger in epiphany and sinking down. “I think I may have an idea.” He smiled as Thomas waved to the floor before he found himself popping up in Virgil’s room near the staircase. He knocked on one the rungs and the darker aspect appeared next to him.

“You called?”

Logan let out a deep sigh. “I...want to apologize to Patton.”

Virgil chuckled. “Did Thomas finally talk some sense into you?”

Logan mirrored the laugh. “I don’t know how he did, considering we have the same mental processing.”

“Nah. You just finally decided to listen to your gut feeling.”

“No, I...I felt bad. I didn’t realize how much I meant...to all three of you. And I want you all to know how much I appreciate you for attempting to celebrate this. I’m sorry for-”

“Being a stick in the mud?” Virgil raised an eyebrow and finished the sentence for him.

“If you must put it that way, then yes.”

Virgil smiled. “I’m sure they’ll forgive you, Lo. I had a feeling you’d come around. You’re too smart to let something like that go without first coming to a valid conclusion.”

The logical aspect cleared his throat and let a small blush spread across his face. “Yes well. I do what I need to.”

Virgil scoffed. “Don’t be too quick to thank me for the compliment.” He patted Logan on the shoulder before turning to walk out the door. “Now come on. We gotta go find Patton.”

“Thank you, Virgil.” Logan stated as they walked down the hallway towards Roman’s and Patton’s voices.

“Don’t mention it...and Logan?”

“Hmm..?” He shut Virgil’s room door behind him, turning to look at the darker aspect in front of him.

“Happy birthday.” Logan’s following grin grew uncharacteristically wide and Virgil couldn’t help but mirror it.

~~~~~

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sml8180 · 3 years

Text

Scarf

Day 3 fill for @huffletrax December list! I had fun with this one.

Scarf

Patton liked to crochet. It kept his hands busy and usually he had something useful at the end of each project. He’d made scarves for Logan, Roman, Remus, and Virgil in the past, each one made in that Side’s colors with their name on one end and their central function on the other. The scarves had been Christmas gifts last year, but he hadn’t been able to make one for Janus, since he didn’t know Janus’ name at the time.

Now, he was working to change that.

Patton put the final touches on Janus’ scarf, looping the final strands of edge work into place and making sure they were secure. The scarf was a longer one, much like the one Patton had made for Virgil, so he could loop it around his neck a couple times and just snuggle into it. As for the colors and pattern, Patton had used a yarn he’d been saving for Janus’ scarf; a soft, warm yarn dyed in a yellow and yellow-green pattern. He’d used a stitch that made the scarf look like it was made up of scales, and used black for the stitches that made up Janus’ name and function. The edge work had been done using both the yellow and black yarn, and Patton was ultimately very happy with the result.

Patton had thought of waiting until Christmas to give Janus his scarf, but decided against it when he saw the scaled Side curled up in a blanket under a heat lamp in the commons. An early gift wouldn’t do any harm.

The cardigan-wearing Side set the finished yellow scarf in a simple white gift box and set the lid on top. He didn’t wrap it or anything, he just put it into the box so that it would still be a surprise. Once the scarf was in the box, he picked it up and made his way out into the commons to find Janus.

Janus was right where Patton had expected him to be; sitting on the sofa in the spot under the heat lamp that was set up. He had on a black turtleneck with his logo embroidered on the left side of the chest -much like how Patton and Logan’s logos were stitched into their polo shirts- rather than his usual shirt and capelet, though he still wore his yellow gloves, slacks, and bowler hat. Janus was reading a book Patton had seen him with a couple of times, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a book Logan had stated was his favorite at one point, if Patton remembered correctly. It seemed Janus was borrowing it from Logan’s collection.

“Janus?” Patton softly asked, wanting to get the other Side’s attention without startling him too badly.

“Hm?” Janus hummed, looking up towards Patton. “Do you need something, Patton?” he asked. He was clearly relaxed, considering Patton could pick up a little hint of Janus’ old lisp when he spoke. Janus had long since gotten his lisp under control, but occasionally it could still be heard, especially when the Side was tired or just relaxed and comfortable.

“Oh, no,” Patton replied, shaking his head. “I just, wanted to give you something,” he said, offering the small gift box in his hands to Janus.

Janus marked his page with a snake bookmark and shut the book he was holding, setting it aside. He seemed cautious as he took the box from Patton, his movements lacking their usual confidence. Patton knew that Janus was doing his best to be honest with them and find his spot in their little family, and was well aware that he wasn’t one to trust easily, so the caution wasn’t surprising in the slightest. The fatherly Side simply watched with a subtle smile as Janus set the box in his lap and glanced up at him. He gave a small nod, silently encouraging him to go ahead and open it up.

Janus opened the box and seemed to pause for a moment. With the way Patton had folded the scarf, only part of the yellow body was visible. Patton watched as Janus lifted the scarf out of the box and unfolded it part of the way, enough that he could see one of the ends, the end reading Deceit.

“Patton, this is…,” he began, seeming uncharacteristically unsure of what to say.

“Before you say anything,” Patton stopped him, “turn it over. There’s something on the other end,” he said.

Janus seemed unsure, though he did as Patton instructed, turning over the folded scarf so he could see the other end, where his name was stitched in. “You…”

“I made scarves for everyone else last year, with their function and their name,” Patton said, fiddling with the sleeves of his cardigan. “You didn’t have one because, well, we didn’t know your name. Well, Roman, Logan, and I didn’t know. Virgil and Remus wouldn’t tell me what it was, so, I just waited. I had the yarn and pattern, so, I just set it aside, until you trusted us enough to tell us on your own,” he explained.

“You had… You had already planned on making me one?” Janus asked, seeming surprised at this new information.

“Well, of course! Everyone else already had one, and I didn’t want you to be left out,” Patton answered. “I wasn’t going to push you for your name. If even Remus wasn’t going to tell me, even though he knew what it was, then I was going to respect that it was something you needed to come out and say when you were ready.”

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything,” Patton assured. “You trusting us with your name is enough. I know Roman’s reaction was, less than acceptable, but I appreciate you finally letting us know, Janus,” he said. Patton gave Janus a friendly smile and simply left, going off to take care of whatever he needed to do.

If he had waited just a moment, he would have seen Janus crack a genuine smile and wrap the long scarf around his neck a couple of times, before he settled down and went back to his book, enjoying the soft warmth of the new scarf he now wore.

#Holidays2020 #Day03 #Sanders Sides Fanfic #Janus Sanders #Patton Sanders #Crochet #Scarves #Janus Gets Cold #Janus Has a Lisp #Fluff #Soft #I Don't Know This Just Came Out Really Cute

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ultrafangirlishness · 4 years

Text

Alone on Christmas (Part 3)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Synopsis: Deceit hates Christmas, especially now that it’s without Virgil— his first Christmas alone. Or so he thought.

Word count: 3,223

Pairings: None romantic, all platonic

Warnings: slight Deceit angst (some anxious and insecure thoughts), sympathetic Deceit, minor arguing/tension, Christmas themes, lots of fluff, fluff ending

A/N: Hey everyone, this is my FIRST FIC EVER, inspired by this post by @max-the-queer. I had a lot of fun with this and am excited to present this totally self-indulgent fic. Unfortunately I forgot about Tumblr’s textbox limit, so I had to split it up. Feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated! (Also note this is pre-Remus). Happy Holidays, everyone!

Other parts here: 1 | 2 | 3

Special thanks to @sparkleydoggy-main for editing.

——————————————————————

Deceit was outfitted in a thick black coat, his new yellow scarf, and his regular old gloves and hat. He had to admit it wasn’t a bad look, and it was much warmer than just his cape. The five of them finally exited the warmth and safety of Patton’s house, and Deceit was surprised to feel as though being outside in the winter wasn’t going to suck the life force out of him. Aside from the exposed skin and scales on his face, he actually felt quite warm. Logan had been right. Without having to focus on the blinding cold, snow really was beautiful.

The snow was still falling, but only in tiny specks now. The group was spread out around the lawn, bundled up in various winter attire. Logan and Patton were out on the empty snowy street, admiring all the shops and houses covered in fresh snow and Christmas lights. Roman was off to the side of the yard, making what looked like the start of a snowman. Virgil remained on the door-step in silence, taking everything in.

The sight of it all amazed Deceit. Everyone seemed so… at peace. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so content; not bitter and angry at the world. Not just surviving, but living.

He began wandering across the yard, simply enjoying the scene laid out before him. Just as he was about to reach the area where Roman was working, Deceit felt a cold chunk of snow shatter against the back of his collar. He turned around to see a mortified Virgil—his mouth hanging open and eyes wide in terror.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” he sputtered out, “that was meant for Princey!”

The irritation Deceit had initially felt quickly melted away into something he hadn’t felt in a long time: playfulness.

“A feeble attempt,” he said. “Really, Virgil, I thought you were better than that. Apology unaccepted. However, I do accept your declaration of war.”

“My de—?” Virgil’s confusion was cut off by a snowball to the shoulder. Deceit had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh when seeing Virgil’s dumbfounded expression. Shock quickly turned into competitiveness, and Deceit could see he was trying not to smile. There was a dangerous glint in his eye, like lighting a fire; a look Virgil only ever got when they used to rough house together. It felt like so long since Deceit had seen that look, and he was glad to have it back, even if it was just for this one moment. “So that’s how you wanna play.”

Virgil knelt down to load more ammunition when Deceit cupped his hands to his mouth and called, “Hey, Roman, sounds like that snowball was for you. Courtesy of Virgil.”

“Dee!”

Roman turned around from his snowman, looking at Virgil with his hand on his chest. “Excuse me?” He said in mock-offense, “Trying to attack me, the prince, while his guard is down? My own best friend? How dare you!”

“Oh, get over yourself, Princey,” he laughed, tossing a new snowball up in his hand.

“What do you say we take down this fowl beast together?” Roman asked Deceit.

“With pleasure.” Deceit and Roman began to advance.

“Hey, w-wait! No fair!” Virgil said, backing up, “You guys can’t team up on me like that!”

“Are you kiddos playing nice?” Patton jokingly called over from where he and Logan were standing.

He was answered with a snowball to the back. “No,” Roman said through a grin. Virgil snickered.

Logan turned. “Hey now, don’t get us involved in your silly little qua—”

It was Patton’s turn to cut him off with a snowball, accidentally hitting him in the side of the head. Everyone froze, afraid they’d gone too far. Patton’s hands shot up to cover his mouth.

“Alright,” he said, deadly calm. He took in a deep breath, cracking his neck and knuckles. “You asked for it.”

Everyone ran.

Logan quickly began scooping up bunches of snow in his fists, grinning from ear to ear, running after a screaming Patton. While Roman was distracted with steering clear of Logan, Virgil finally got his snowball to its original target. “Hey!”

Everyone forgot who was teaming up with who, and soon it was every man for themselves. Snowballs were flying in every which way, targeting whoever was closest.

Deceit had never really been in a full-fledged snowball fight before, and he was a little worried he was going to hurt someone, but no one seemed to really mind getting hit. The snowball to Virgil was a bold move, but it only seemed to break the ice between them. The entire time he’d been over, Virgil had barely even acknowledged his presence. Now they were indulging in the same kind of chaotic fun they always had. Deceit decided it couldn’t hurt to join in.

Who was the easiest target? Probably Patton, but he was already occupied with Logan. Patton had been backed to a wall and was giggling nervously as Logan approached.

“Wait, Lo, we can talk about this!” he squeaked, bracing himself for the kill.

“Hey!” Virgil called to distract Logan, “That’s my friend!”

“He’s my friend too!” Roman announced proudly.

“Oh,” Logan said, turning around and letting Patton slip from his trap. “I’m so glad you two have offered to take his place as sacrifice. How kind.”

“Oh, wait, never mind!” Roman called back when he realized what he’d just gotten himself into. He and Virgil ran for it, but Logan was like a machine. He hit both his targets with pinpoint accuracy, catching Virgil off-guard and knocking him to the ground with a muffled “Oof!”

Meanwhile Deceit had completely forgotten about Patton, who had snuck off while everyone was distracted by the Logan/Virgil/Roman show, and was shocked to feel a ball of snow hit his shoulder.

Deceit turned around to see Patton stick out his tongue playfully. He stuck his forked tongue out in return, causing Patton to bust up.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Patton,” Deceit said melodramatically, gathering more snow in his hands.

Patton was too busy clutching his stomach laughing to respond.

Though Virgil had fallen prey to Logan, Roman had escaped and was positioned behind Patton, holding his finger to his lips.

Roman silently launched his snowball. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the best shot. The snowball hit Patton directly behind the knees with full force and sent him straight to the ground.

It was Deceit’s turn to crack. There was something so shocking and sudden about it, Deceit doubled over, laughing so hard he was forced to the ground right along with Patton.

“Sorry, Pat!” Roman screeched and rushed over. The three of them were on the ground, barely catching their breaths. It almost hurt to be laughing so hard. Deceit wiped his eyes and slowly stood, helping Patton back up.

Patton’s glasses were slightly askew across his flushed cheeks, but he was grinning like he was having the time of his life. He helped Roman back up, who profusely apologized through his laughs and wrapped Patton in a hug. Deceit strolled over to watch the showdown between Virgil and Logan, though there was really no fight for Virgil. He was already pinned into the snow.

“Wa—Logan, no!” he heard Virgil scream with laughter as Logan began stuffing snow into Virgil’s coat. There was a hint of satisfaction in Logan’s eyes that both amazed and terrified Deceit.

“Hey, don’t put this on me, you’re the one who started this whole thing!”

“Did not!”

Deceit couldn’t help but laugh quietly into his glove at the sight of big, tough Virgil being taken down by the ever-stoic Logan, like some sort of petty sibling fight.

“Deceit’s the one who made it into a war,” Virgil said, shooting Deceit a look. Normally he would’ve been hurt by a look from Virgil, but Deceit saw that it was no longer filled with anger and resentment. The look he gave was one of grudging gratitude, like that little bit of a release was something he had desperately needed.

Virgil finally got his chance to fight back and pushed Logan off of him, breathing heavily through leftover giggles. He threw some powder back at Logan for good measure.

“I’ll do it again, you know,” Logan warned, brushing the snow off his pants.

“You’re crazy, you know that, Lo?” Virgil laughed.

Logan just smiled and straightened his glasses.

Everyone headed back inside to warm up and settle down for the afternoon. Coats, scarves, and other accessories were hung back up on the coat rack to dry. Patton put on a record for top Christmas hits and sat down with a cup of cocoa. “I hope you’re enjoying your stay, Deceit, it’s been wonderful having you here.”

Deceit felt a pleasant warmth rise up within him. “I quite am, Patton, thank you.”

He didn’t detect any sort of lie in Patton’s statement, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he really meant that. They enjoyed having him around?

“Are you loving Christmas yet?” Roman asked excitedly.

“Uh…” he wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Before he could give a proper answer, Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree began to play, making Patton spring to his feet.

“Ooh, this is one of my favorites!” He squealed. Then, turning serious, he whipped around to face Logan.

“Logan, will you have this dance?”

Patton bowed dramatically, holding out his hand to Logan who scoffed and rolled his eyes. He reluctantly took Patton’s hand, trying to hide his smile.

Patton led the two in a bouncy, improvised-swing type of dance, pulling poor Logan right along. Between Patton’s silly antics and a little bit of embarrassment, Logan’s composure was quickly breached. He was laughing almost uncontrollably, weakening as he was pulled along by a singing Patton, his face redder than ever. “Patton!” Logan laughed. “Slow down!”

The scene unfolding before them was too good, Virgil couldn’t help but feel a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. “Hey now, these two can’t be having all the fun.”

Virgil stood up from the wall where he, Roman, and Deceit were leaning against to view the show.

“C’mon, Princey,” he grabbed Roman’s arm, “You’re dancing with me.” Virgil dragged Roman out to where Logan and Patton were.

“Gladly, my dearest knight!” Roman beamed and let Virgil lead the way, dancing next to the other two in that free-swing kind of way.

Deceit watched in fascination and awe at the four friends, dancing and laughing themselves silly, not having a care in the world. He too couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It really was an honor to get to witness such a wholesome moment in time.

He was snapped out of his gaze when Roman began approaching, his hand extended. “Your turn!”

“Oh, uh,” Deceit tried to think of a way out. He really was enjoying himself just by getting to watch the others. “That’s okay, I—" But Roman didn’t seem to be giving him an option, as Deceit was yanked to the dance floor. “Come on, Snake, let’s rattle!”

“Only if you never say that again,” he tried his best to sound irritated, but he doubted it was very effective when it was obvious that he was trying not to smile.

Roman laughed. “Whatever you say, Jekyll and Lied.”

Roman and Deceit danced with surprising ease, Virgil returning to his spot to watch the others.

“What a fine dance partner you are!” Roman exclaimed as the song came to an end. Everyone began slowing down, breathing hard but smiling just the same.

“Thank you, dear Roman,” Deceit said with a theatrical bow, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Wonderful performances, everyone!” Roman announced cheerfully as the next song began. “Now, switch partners! I call the Nerd over there!”

“Hey!” Logan pouted as Roman strolled over to Logan cheekily.

Patton glanced at the remaining dance partners and quickly added, “And I’ll grab us all some drinks! Be right back!” Leaving Virgil and Deceit the only two left.

Suddenly dancing didn’t seem so fun.

Deceit steeled his nerves and cautiously approached Virgil, who eyed him warily. “Virgil, would you…?”

“Yeah, fine, let’s just get this over with,” he said with an eye roll, taking Deceit’s hand.

The Christmas Song was the next to play, bringing everyone down to a kind of casual slow dance, for which everyone was grateful. After about a minute of dancing and avoiding eye contact, Virgil was the first one to speak up.

“I guess... it is nice to see you again,” he admitted.

Deceit pretended not to notice the blush growing on Virgil’s face and said, “What’s that? You’re mumbling, Virgil.”

“You know what I said,” he spat, his face only continuing to redden. Deceit chuckled.

“I’m sorry,” Deceit said, softening his voice to a more serious tone. His dance partner finally met his eyes. “For everything.”

It took Virgil a moment to process those words, letting silence fall between them as they listened to the others apparently having their own fun.

“Quit stepping on my feet, Roman, I thought you were supposed to be a good dancer!”

“Hey, I am a good dancer!”

Virgil looked down at the floor and quietly said, “Me too.”

It was early evening when the group of friends decided to settle down with a movie: the original Grinch. Patton made popcorn for everyone while Roman broke out the blankets. Virgil went around the house, closing all the blinds and shutting off lights as Logan set up the movie. Deceit asked if there was anything he could do to help, but everyone just told him they had it taken care of and to make himself comfortable on the couch. He grabbed a blanket and did what he was told.

Once all preparations were made and the beginning credits started to show, everyone took their seats. Patton jumped to the space on Deceit’s left, yelling, “I call sitting next to Dee!” Virgil grinned and climbed over to the opposite side. Logan and Roman sat on the floor, Logan’s shoulder’s straddled between Virgil’s knees and Roman stretched out on his side, throwing his legs over Logan’s lap. Patton and Virgil cuddled up on either side of Deceit, causing a warmth to spread through his limbs and fluttering feeling in his stomach. The sudden and intimate contact was a bit surprising, but certainly not unwelcome.

“I’ve never done something like this before,” he said to no one in particular, an excited edge creeping into his voice. “But this is actually really unpleasant. In fact, this is the worst time I’ve had in a while!”

“Aww, that’s great to hear!” Patton praised and nuzzled into Deceit, wrapping himself and his blanket around his arm.

Roman chuckled and said, “I told you I’d make you like Christmas,” but yelped when Logan flicked the bottom of his foot.

“I still hate you, you know,” Virgil said in his usual irritated voice, but when Deceit looked over he was smiling.

Patton yawned. “Gee, for a cold-blooded creature, you sure are warm...”

The group was mostly silent during the rest of the movie, having exhausted all their energy earlier in the day. Deceit silently observed Virgil, who was absentmindedly playing with Logan’s hair as he watched the movie. When Virgil realized what he was doing had accidentally put his friend to sleep, he retracted his hand and curled up under his blanket. Everyone but Virgil and Deceit were out cold at this point, lulled by the sound of the movie playing in the background and the comfort of everyone cuddled up together. Roman was curled up to a pillow on the floor next to Logan, whose head had fallen back into Virgil’s lap. Patton was completely wrapped up in his blanket, snuggled up against Deceit’s side. And he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

He could’ve stayed there forever, perfectly content.

Virgil yawned, resting his head lightly against Deceit’s arm. Then, without taking his eyes off the screen, whispered, “I missed you”. It was so quiet, barely audible, Deceit wasn’t sure if it was meant to be heard, or even said at all. For all he knew he could’ve been talking to one of the characters on-screen. Deceit just smiled and leaned his cheek to the top of Virgil’s head, sighing contentedly and trying not to let the warm sleepy air get to him too.

•••

Deceit was surprised by how sad he felt to be leaving. The last twenty-four hours seemed to have gone by so fast. The five of them gathered together in the foyer again, this time to see Deceit off.

“I guess this is it, then,” he said.

“Thank you so much for coming, Deceit, it was a pleasure having you,” Patton said, wrapping him in a hug. “Feel free to visit, okay?”

Deceit returned the hug. “The pleasure was mine. Oh! I almost forgot…” He began taking off his Christmas sweater.

“Oh no, no,” Roman stopped him. “That’s yours, my friend.”

“But—”

“For next time,” Logan smiled.

“And this?” he asked, holding up Virgil’s spare coat he had borrowed.

“You can keep it,” Virgil shrugged. “Seemed to do you a lot more good than it did me.”

“Thank you.” Deceit pulled on the coat and wrapped his new scarf securely around his neck. He put his gloves and hat back on.

Deceit looked around at everyone, not sure what to say.

“Thank you again,” he said finally. “Really. This was by far the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Roman did a small fist pump.

“I… I hope to see you all again,” he said, opening the door. “In the near future.”

“We love you too, you stupid snake,” Virgil said teasingly.

There was one more round of hugs before Deceit stepped out onto the snowy porch.

When it was Virgil’s turn, there was a small moment of hesitation before he finally threw his arms tightly around Deceit, paralyzing him for a moment. Deceit relaxed into it and gratefully returned the hug. They stood there embraced for maybe a tad longer than was comfortable, but no one really minded. He heard a soft “aw” from Patton.

Just as he was about to step off into the street, he heard, “Hey.”

He turned. “Don’t be a stranger,” Logan said.

“Yeah! You might be the bad guy, but you’re our bad guy now!” Roman said.

“Sucks to be you,” Virgil agreed with a smirk, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.

Deceit just laughed and waved, turning back around.

The snow began to fall once again, but this time was different. For the first time, Deceit didn’t mind the cold. He smiled and hummed to himself as he made his way back to his apartment.

He had somewhat of a family now. A small, chaotic one, but a family nonetheless. People who had accepted him back into their lives, even when he hadn’t been the greatest to them in the past. They had given him a second chance, a fresh start— and that was more than Deceit could’ve ever asked for.

Roman had been right. Christmas really could be a wonderful time of year when you have the ones you care about there to keep you warm. Maybe the holiday season wasn’t so bad after all.

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obviouslyelementary · 4 years

Text

A High School Life - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Friends

Finally!

Roman pushed his way out of the door, leaving his twin alone with himself and rushing out of the house. He pet mister Royalty's head as he ran by him and opened the big porch, getting out of the garden and making his way to the garage where his driver was waiting. He hoped inside the car, smiling at the man and telling him to get him to the bus stop near Logan's house as quickly as possible. He grabbed his phone, sending Logan a message that he would be arriving soon, and looked out of the window, letting the air of the suburban neighborhood fill in his lungs.

It may sound very snob of him, but a few years ago he would never even wonder how it felt to go to school in the school bus. He had always been taken and brought home by their family driver, like the little prep boy he was, but ever since meeting Logan, he gave up on that privilege to go with his friend to school.

He had offered Logan a ride time and time again, but Logan was way too proud to accept it. So as a compromise, Roman began asking his driver to take him to the bus stop, and he would go from Logan's house to the school with him. He still remembered the first time he showed up, and how happy and surprised Logan looked. By now they were way too used with each other, but Roman still liked it better than going to school alone or worst, with his brother.

And sure, he had to wake up earlier so he could be taken to the bus stop and wait with Logan, but he didn't mind the sacrifice to be around his best friend.

"We are here, master Roman" the driver said, and Roman felt that uncomfy feeling in his guts as he reached for his bag.

"Come on Gabe don't... don't call me master it's so weird" he said, smiling and lifting his hand for a high five. The man smiled and responded by slapping his hand on Roman's.

"Of course. Forgive me Roman."

"That's good old Gabe" he said, getting out of the car and waving. Gabe waved back and drove away, just in time for Roman to see Logan walking down the street towards the stop. Roman waved at him excitedly, and Logan looked at him with a small smile. After he approached, Roman didn't stop himself from hugging him tight, even if Logan didn't quite respond it. "Logan!"

"Every time vacations end, you act as if we haven't seen each other in ages. We saw each other on Friday" Logan said as Roman pulled away, giving him a small smile. Roman noticed his cheeks were pink because of the cold weather, making his best friend even cuter than usual.

"Well I just love you a lot you little nerdy boy" he said, grinning wide and checking Logan out. "You are looking dashing with this sweater. Finally I'm starting to rub off on you."

"I am dressing the same as I always do. You are the one that insists I'm more stylish" Logan said, shaking his head and fixing his glasses. He did look adorable though. Fluffy blue sweater, his usual serious black pants, and that little beanie?! Roman was fawning over him.

"Oh honey, you are more stylish" Roman said, and then twirled next to Logan. "But who cares let's talk about me! What do you think? Am I dashingly handsome?"

Logan checked him out for a second. Roman was proud of his look: tight red jeans, his fluffy boots, a nice warm cardigan that went down to his butt and the fluffiest, glittery white scarf wrapped around his neck. He knew he looked stunning, but some compliments wouldn't hurt.

"You look... like your usual winter self."

Oh, he forgot who he was talking to.

"I come here in such a great mood and compliment your attire for you to trash me like a used snotty paper?" Roman asked, dramatically, and Logan rolled his eyes at him.

"You look good Ro. As usual" he said, tilting his head, and Roman sighed, pushing his scarf back dramatically.

"I think that is the best I will hear from you... Fine. Thank you."

Logan gave him a little amused smile and Roman grinned back at him, nudging against his shoulder and looking up when he heard the bus turning the street. When it stopped, they hopped inside and made their way to the end, sitting on their usual places, Logan by the window and Roman by the corridor, and talked.

Both of them were excited for this new semester, both for very different reasons, but still didn't take the grin off their faces. And honestly? Roman loved it.

He wouldn't change Logan's friendship for anything in the world.

-------------------

As Patton watched Logan leave towards the bus stop, he smiled sadly to himself, grabbing his car keys and heading to his garage. Sometimes he really missed his friend, but they had fallen apart and he guessed their friendship would never be the same again.

He got inside his car, turned the radio on and drove off towards the opposite side of the bus stop, so Roman wouldn't see his car. He knew Logan didn't want Roman to know they lived next to each other.

Roman was a good kid, and Patton admired him quite a lot, but it was hard to allow him to get closer when Logan was so keen in making sure no one knew they were friends. So he didn't risk becoming Roman's friend.

Patton sighed to himself and drove to school, shaking his head. He was being too dramatic about all of that situation. It was just a high school thing, and he only had sex months left... six months. Oh that hurt. He looked down at his bag for a second and sighed shakily, feeling his eyes beginning to water. God, he wasn't ready to leave high school... but he had to. It was how life worked.

He had to make those six months count.

------------------

"Master Remus?"

Remus looked up from his phone, frowning at his name, and pulled the earbuds out of his ears, sighing loudly.

"What?!"

"We have arrived."

Remus' annoyance flew off the window and he grinned, leaning in and kissing Gabe on the cheek before opening the door and running out. He made his way inside the school grounds, looking around almost desperately until he saw who he was looking for and laughed, running to the two boys sitting by the school entrance, taking.

"D! V!" he called, loudly, and they turned to him, Virgil's eyes widening as Dee's face remained expressionless. Remus giggled and jumped on them, wrapping his arms tightly around them both and kissing them both on the cheek, not caring about Dee's disgusted groan and Virgil's excessive rubbing. "Oh my hell I missed you two! Why do we never hang out during vacation?!"

"I can barely handle you during school, why would you think I would want to have you around during peace and quiet time?" Dee asked, raising an eyebrow, and Virgil sighed quietly.

"Good to see you too Remus."

"So, what are the plans for this year?" he asked, sitting in front of them, ignoring their comments with a malicious grin came to his face. "Blow up the main lab? Make a teacher be expelled? Destroy school property?!"

"Calm down Remus" Dee said, rolling his eyes. "It's just the first day and we have a lot to plan... for now just... keep being yourself."

"Oh! Some free time? Sounds like a dream aeh Virge?" he asked, nudging Virgil, but the younger boy just sighed and shook his head. His head turned when a bunch of noise was made, and Remus and Dee followed his glance to see Patton's car arriving at the parking look. Remus didn't see it, too busy making a disgusted face at it, but Virgil's eyes widened while Dee grew a malicious grin on his face. "Ugh... does he never graduate?"

"It is his last semester before he does" Dee said, tilting his head and turning back to his careless expression as the other two turned around again. "Finally we will see this school without... Patton's influence."

"Thank the hells bellow! I'm so fucking tired of seeing him around with that bright little smile of his!" Remus said, voice filled with disgust, and Virgil just sighed, hugging his own legs tighter. "Perfect little Patton here, wonderful little Patton there... ugh I can't wait for my brother to just shut up about him!"

"Roman still has that unhealthy obsession about Patton? Disgusting" Dee said, shaking his head as Remus agreed. "Clearly I have no idea how you and he are brothers... twins, first of all."

"Me neither. I feel like we are complete opposites" Remus said, crossing his arms and smirking when he saw the school bus stopping in front of the school. "Look... he's gonna come out... I can't believe he is leaving out driver for the dirty school bus just because of Logan..."

"Are you sure they don't like each other?" Virgil asked, softly, watching as the pair walked out of the bus in a heated conversation, and Remus chuckled.

"No idea. All I know is that they are both dumb."

"Well, it doesn't matter. Let's go" Dee said, standing up and being followed by the other two. "We have classes to attend to so... see you guys during lunch break."

"Yeah..." Virgil whispered, the three of them making their way inside as the first bell rang.

#my fanfic #a high school life #a high school life chapter 3 #a high school life chapter three #friends #logince #anxduceit #dark sides #dark sanders sides #logan sanders #roman sanders #creativitwins #remus sander #deceit sander #virgil sanders #patton sanders #for now all friendships

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