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Roman huffed, rapping on the bathroom door once again.
“Come on out, you emo nightmare! You’re using up all the hot water!”
“Not my problem, Princey.”
He groaned in response. It wasn’t fair! The Mind Palace was a wondrous place that was endlessly expanding as Thomas grew as a person. But for sanity’s sake, the layout was generally the same as his house. Luckily, the hallway was expanded to allow for four extra bedrooms. However, the same accommodations were not made for the bathroom. The four main Sides had to share one.
He stormed off to the living room, arms crossed. Logan was sitting at the table, furiously typing up Thomas’s schedule while Patton was curled up with an ‘adult’ coloring book.
“I don’t understand him! I don’t get it!”
Logan looked up from over the rim of his glasses, always quick to investigate a query. “What don’t you understand, Roman?”
“Virgil!” He waved his hands up towards the stairs. “He always takes such long showers!”
“Now Kiddo,” Began Patton. “I know it’s not fair, but our dark strange son sometimes needs more time to himself.”
The creative side pouted. “But I’ve heard water running for an hour!”
Logan hummed, hands flying to do some research. “According to my observations, Virgil has been taking a longer time in the shower. It’s equivalent to the amount of time he was taking before we accepted him.”
Patton’s face fell, heartbroken.
“Excuse me. When Roman, Thomas, and I accepted him, as Patton had already accepted-”
“Adopted.”
“-Him.”
Roman let those observations sink in. “While I feel as though I should be more concerned with the level of your attention to detail, Teach, why do you feel the need to bring that up?”
“I don’t ‘feel’ anything-”
“Outside your love for us and Crofters-”
“-But according to this study done by Yale, people who take longer, warmer showers tend to feel lonelier and more isolated. Upon review, I believe this provides insight into Virgil’s behavior.”
Patton looked ready to cry. “Our storm cloud doesn’t get enough cuddles so he takes long showers?”
“Of course, it is only a hypothesis at this point.”
Roman was appalled. “This will not stand! We need a plan. A scheme!”
Logan nodded. “I see. You could always turn the hot water off,” The other two glared at him. “But that wouldn’t cure Virgil of his touch starvation. I suggest we provide him with more physical contact.”
Patton let out a squeal. “Cuddle sessions!”
“Good job, Glasses!” Said Roman. “Now here’s my plan…”
~~~
“Family time!” Cried Patton. “Virgie, get down here!”
Virgil hovered by the staircase. “But I was just about to go take a bath.”
“Families may be forever, sport, but baths can wait. Now I expect you to come sit with us.”
He rolled his eyes and compiled, plopping down on the couch. Roman sat on the far-left side nearest the kitchen, his legs blocking the space next to Patton. Logan sat on Patton’s left. The creative side begrudgingly obliged to allow him to sit and Logan pressed the remote button to begin the movie. Tonight, it was Aladdin.
Gently, the moral side began linking their arms together, shifting Virgil’s weight so he was resting more on Patton. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“N-no.”
Which was true, he didn’t. in fact, he found himself rather enjoying the feeling. Patton was soft and smelled like Christmas morning and cookies. And speaking of which, he was warm like an oven. As the movie progressed, to Virgil’s confusion he found a dumb grin on his own face. Unable to fight it, he ducked his head inwards to hide the smile.
He glanced over to the left, wondering if the father figure would notice much if he rested his head on his shoulder. At the very least, he probably wouldn’t mind. Slowly, carefully, he let his head fall.
Patton bit his lip to stop from squealing at Virgil’s little sigh of relief. The younger side was just too cute!
As the movie progressed and he relaxed further, the anxious side felt a few gentle caresses to his head. He startled, peering over to Logan, who had his arm around Patton.
“U-m. Teach, that’s me, not Patton.” The hand stopped and Virgil felt himself stiffen with disappointment.
“I know. Do you wish me to stop?”
Virge’s brain stuttered. “N-no. It’s fine. Do what you want.”
The head petting intensified and he practically melted at Logan’s touch. Logan seemed to know just where to scratch along his scalp. His pace was methodical, his fingers firm but gentle. He was stirred from his thoughts when he felt Princey sit up.
“That’s no fair! I demand petting too!”
Virgil deflated a little, realizing he would have to give up his attention. This was not the case, however. This dawned on him when Roman plopped his head in Virgil’s lap, Logan’s hand reaching out to stroke the Prince’s hair as well. Unconsciously (seemingly), Roman began to rub circles in Virgil’s knee. With the grounding sensation and the solid, warm weight of Roman’s head in his lap, Virgil felt safe.
It was strange to say the least. But he found it hard to care as his eyelids started drifting closed. Patton offered good support, Roman made him feel sheltered. And Logan reminded him that it was all okay. His worries faded away, although he didn’t stop caring. That was his job, to care about Thomas and what he had. And he had so much to care about.
The dark room, the humming and familiar movie, Virgil found himself soon deeply asleep.
~~~
“Patton,” Whispered Logan. “If you wake him up…”
“I know!” He whined back, quiet as he could. “But he’s practically purring! He’s basically a cat! A really sleepy, cute cat!”
Roman took the opportunity for a quick selfie. It was, after all, a historic event for the anxious side. And if Roman wanted to save that smile of contentment on Virgil’s face forever, then that was just a bonus.
~~~
When the bills came that month, Thomas was pleasantly surprised. Why am I saving so much on my water bill?