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Virgil took in another deep breath from under his covers, struggling to keep up with his breathing exercises.
“Why couldn’t it have just been rain? Damnit Florida. Screw you and your bipolar weather.” Virgil cursed in his mind. Some people found thunderstorms soothing and relaxing, but with each loud clap of thunder, Virgil grew more and more terrified of being by himself.
“What if it’s actually a hurricane and I don’t know it because I’m not watching the news?”
“What if the winds are strong enough to knock a tree over and it crashes onto my side of the house and crushes me in my sleep?”
That last one was unlikely considering Virgil couldn’t even get to sleep with all the chaos that was ensuing outside.
Another sound of thunder had Virgil jumping out of bed. It had been louder than the last one, and he was not going to go through this alone. He raced down the hall and had to make a choice. He glanced over at the plain dark blue door to his left.
“I could try to ask Logan if I could sleep with him, but he’d probably just tell me that my fears are ridiculous and send me back to my room.”
Another clap of thunder had Virgil clutching his chest as he quickly looked over to the light blue door that was decorated with stickers of flowers, puppies, and kittens on the right.
“I can’t just wake up Patton. What if he’s having a good dream? What if the thunder scares him too? If it does, then I’ll have to fight it and that could end badly.”
Virgil was desperate by the time another clap of thunder was heard. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Virgil dashed across the hall and threw open one of the golden double doors that had been decorated in jewels and ‘fairy dust’ (what was the point in throwing them both open? He just wanted a place to sleep, not to make a grand entrance).
The faint glow of fairy lights filled the room, easing Virgil’s worries a bit since he was no longer in the dark and was three or four feet away from the sleeping prince character. Roman really was over the top with everything. The double doors, the bed looked larger than a king-sized one if that was even possible, and-was that a firefly that just zipped past his head?
Virgil jumped forward when the thunder made its presence heard once again and he rushed over to Roman.
“Roman...Roman..Ro! Roman!” Virgil whisper shouted as he poked the prince’s arm. A loud snore was what startled Virgil this time as he jumped back from the sleeping bother. Daring himself to move closer, Virgil grabbed the creative side’s arm gently and shook him slightly.
“Roman! Roman, can I sleep here? Princey! Please wake up, it’s thundering and-AH!”
The sound of thunder filled the room again.
“Spaghetti for everyone...Put it on..my tab.” Roman spoke in his sleep.
“Roman! Ro, I really need you to wake up!” Virgil spoke at full volume now, his panic starting to rise. What was the point of all this if the royal sleep talker was just going to sleep like a rock?!
Virgil snatched the pillow from under the prince’s head.
“Roman! Psst-! Roman!” The only response Virgil received was a snort before Roman was back to snoring. Virgil groaned.
“Roman-! Roman-! Princey-! Ro-!” Virgil shouted, smacking him with the pillow in his hands each time he called his name.
“That’s not my pizza but...I’ll be happy to take it...off your hands…” Roman giggled slightly in his sleep before resuming his snoring again. Was this guy ever going to wake up?!
Virgil made a makeshift megaphone by cupping his hands around his mouth and leaned in close to Roman’s ear.
“ROMAN. CAN. I. SLEEP. HERE?” He shouted in frustration, his own anxiety rising, but the prince didn’t even move at the sound which made Virgil groan again. Was this guy for real?!
“What kind of prince sleeps like a rock?! Isn’t he supposed to be ready defend some damsels or something?” Virgil whispered aloud to himself since it was obvious his methods of communicating with the sleeping prince had failed.
The storm must have been right over their heads too since the sounds of thunder were more and more frequent.
“Breathe, Virge. It could be worse.” Virgil tried calming himself. Oh boy, he had no idea how right he was. Suddenly, the loudest clap of thunder he’d heard all night came about and knocked the power out. The fairy lights no longer glowing and giving Virgil comfort as he dropped to the floor, his breathing uneven. Virgil found it hard to breathe or to even remember his breathing exercises for when he has panic attacks. The steps were all jumbled in his head. Was he supposed to inhale for 7 seconds, hold for 8, and exhale for 4? No, that didn’t sound right.
Virgil curled in on himself when he heard the sound of things going bump in the night. What if Roman had monsters under his bed? What if he ended up having a bad dream of a serial killer and accidentally conjured it up in his sleep? What if the Dragon Witch-...That’s it!
“ROMAN! THE DRAGON WITCH HAS GOT ME!” Virgil cried out with whatever little air he managed to collect before going back to hyperventilating. Virgil jumped back when he saw the shadow of the prince launch out of bed.
“Dragon Witch?! Where?! I’ll teach them a lesson they shan’t soon forget! I’ll-”
“Princey!” Virgil exclaimed, struggling to get his breathing under control.
“Virgil?” Roman said, looking over towards the direction of where the heavy breathing was coming from.
Wait, heavy breathing?
Roman rushed over towards Virgil’s shadowy figure in the dark and knelt beside him.
“Virgil, are you okay? What has gotten you into such a panic at the disco?” Roman was about to laugh at his own joke when he heard the thunder sound and resonate around the room and Virgil took in a shaky gasp of breath. The storm.
“Virge. Virge-hey, I need you to listen to me, okay? Can you take my hand into yours?” Virgil nodded even though the prince probably couldn’t see that he had since it was so dark. Either way, Virgil jumped at the feeling of Roman placing a hand on his shoulder before he slid it down his arm to take Virgil’s hand into his.
“Good. Now, I need you to inhale for 4 seconds. Hold for 7 seconds. Now exhale for 8 seconds. Here, I’ll do it with you, okay? I’m going to place your hand on my chest so you can follow along, is that alright?” Roman asked which gained a barely there whispered ‘yes’ from Virgil before he struggled to catch his breath again.
Roman had placed Virgil’s hand on his chest and held it there gently in case the frightened side wanted to pull away. Virgil followed the breathing exercise as he felt the prince’s chest rise, halt, and fall before repeating the cycle all over again. He had managed to calm down significantly with Roman’s help, but was still very shaken. With Virgil finally having his breathing under control again, Roman decided to speak.
“Aside from the thunder, what seems to have you so shaken? Did something happen?”
“It-It was storming, and I came here to ask if I could stay with you for-for the night, but you wouldn’t wake up and-and the power went out, and it was just so dark and the-the thunder was so loud…” Virgil said shakily after taking a deep breath in and letting it out one more time for good measure. Roman furrowed his brows together. That would explain why his fairy lights weren’t on. A smile tugged on Roman’s lips when he came up with an idea that could possibly ease his shaken friend more.
“If you’d like, I know how to make the room lighter? I have, what one may call-and by one I mean me-some back up lights?” Roman suggested as he gently passed his thumb over the hand he still carefully held against his chest. Virgil responded with a mumbled ‘Yes please’.
“Okay, I’m going to make a whistle sound for a second, so please do not be alarmed, my dear Finding Emo.”
“Wait, whistle-?” Virgil’s question was cut off as Roman gave a gentle whistle. He was utterly confused until he could slowly but surely see the creative side’s smug face in the dim, warm glow that gradually enveloped the room. Virgil looked around the room in amazement (not that he would admit it though) as fireflies flew about. The sight was a magical one which certainly suited the princely character. So Virgil hadn’t been mistaken earlier when he had seen the little bug as he entered.
“God…” Virgil whispered quietly, but just loud enough for Roman to hear.
“Impressive, yes?” Roman asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
“I was going to say ‘extra’, but sure. Just to be nice.” Virgil held back his snicker as Roman made his usual offended noises.
“Well geez louise, Captain Freeze, I was just trying to be helpful. No need to be so cold.” The prince huffed out with a pout. Virgil couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped him at the sight of the creative side’s dramatics. Roman wasn’t sure if he was more surprised to hear the chuckle or to see with his own two eyes that the anxious side’s small smile that he would normally hurry to hide was still on his face as he looked at him. The sight warmed his heart and he returned the small smile. A clap of thunder sounded again, however, and made Virgil jump, pulling his hand away from the prince’s chest. Roman frowned slightly when he saw the peace Virgil had on his face just a second ago disappear, leaving a look that read ‘fight or flight’. For a moment they sat in silence, waiting for another sound of thunder to go off. It was a while before it did, but it still came nonetheless.
“It seems as though the storm has almost passed. The time between the thunder is longer.” The prince said, offering a small smile as he saw Virgil relax slightly.
“Yeah…” Virgil began to reply while curling into himself a little more and hugging his knees. “Just wish it wasn’t so loud.”
Another idea crossed Roman’s mind (of course that would happen! He was the embodiment of creativity!). Roman waved his hand slowly as to not startle Virgil anymore than he already was and conjured up a pair of headphones.
“Here. You can use these if you’d like? They should be noise canceling, and-and they even have purple on them since you seem to favor the color so much.” Roman said, holding them out to Virgil almost shyly which was certainly odd for his character. Virgil looked at the pair of headphones carefully and then looked at Roman.
“Are you sure?” Virgil asked since it wasn’t like Princey to be giving him gifts.
“Of course, Virgil. I did conjure it for you after all, my dark and gloomy night.” Virgil would have rolled his eyes and sneered at the nickname had he not been so touched by Roman’s gift.
He carefully took the pair of headphones out of Roman’s hands, giving him enough time in case he decided to change his mind and take the headphones back if he wanted to. However, Roman didn’t even move. He watched Virgil take the headphones with a warm smile on his face. He was really giving him this.
Virgil placed the headphones over his ears just in time before another crash of thunder sounded. He could hardly hear the sound. Virgil must have been lost in thought because he suddenly noticed Roman making gestures to his own ears as if he was taking one side of a pair of headphones off. He quickly slid one side off so he could hear what Roman wanted to tell him.
“So, how do they feel? Did they work?” He asked curiously. Virgil nodded, a small smile tugging his lips.
“Yeah, they work great...And they’re actually pretty comfortable.” This made the prince grin from ear to ear.
“Fantastic! Now you shall be able to rest and I can proudly say that I somewhat vanquished the storm for you-kind of sort of.” Roman said with a proud smile. Virgil couldn’t help but let his own small smile fade at a sudden thought. Oh.
“Now you can go back to your own room and not bother him for the rest of the night. Of course. Well, he did do a lot to help, so can’t really blame the guy.”
“Virgil?...” Roman asked quietly, breaking him from his thoughts. Virgil looked at him and saw concern in the prince’s eyes. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh-yeah-uh-everything is great-really. Thanks so much for these, Princey...You’re a real hero…” Virgil truly meant what he said, and he showed it by offering a kind smile which had Roman beaming happily.
“Of course I am! I am a prince and a knight after all! You are most welcome, my dear sleepless in-...” The prince cut himself off as he watched Virgil stand up and start walking towards the doors. He quickly scrambled up. “Wait, Virge! Where are you going?” He asked, confusion lining his voice. The anxious side turned to face him, confused as to why the side had stopped him from leaving.
“Oh, I was just heading back to my room so you can go back to sleep...I kinda bugged you enough for the night anyway.” He replied with a shrug while looking down at his feet as he toyed with the edge of his hoodie’s sleeves.
“Nonsense! You haven’t ‘bugged’ me at all! Besides, you had mentioned that you wanted to stay here for the night, correct? You’re more than welcome to.”
“I dunno, I mean, I kinda toss and turn at night, and don’t you need your beauty sleep or whatever?”
“Pfft-Beauty sleep? Clearly I don’t need that-I mean, look at me! I look like I was crafted by the gods themselves! And if your struggle to awaken me earlier says anything, it’s very clear that any restlessness you should encounter will go unnoticed by me.” Roman seemed a little bashful at how sound asleep he had been during Virgil’s time of need.
“I really don’t want to bother you though, Ro-”
“Virgil, listen to me for a second please?” This caught Virgil’s attention.
“I know I don’t show it or let you know this very often, but I’m here for you should you ever need my help. Regardless of what it is or what hour it is, I’d be happy to help you, and I’m sure Logan and Patton feel the same way as I do, and just as strongly too. I’m actually surprised that you came to me to help ease your fears in your moment of panic considering I certainly haven’t been the kindest to you in the past, but it truly makes me happy that you trust me enough to come to me in your moment of need. Thank you for that. For your trust.”
Virgil’s worry slipped away instantly after hearing Roman’s words. A comforting warmth filled his heart.
“You are such a sap, Princey.” He said with a light-hearted chuckle. The prince scoffed at the response.
“Really? I pour my heart out to you and that’s all the response I get?!” The offense in Roman’s voice was only playful. This only made Virgil laugh more, which in turn caused Roman to laugh as well.
“So, what says you? Will you spend the night?” The prince asked him after their laughter died down a little. As if to make the offer more welcoming, he also held out his hand towards the anxious side for good measure. Virgil looked down and smiled to himself before looking back up and taking Roman’s hand.
“Sure. I’m exhausted, so let’s go to sleep already.” And with that the two made their way towards the bed and settled under the covers. Just as Virgil was about to cover his ear with the headphone again, he remembered something.
“Oh yeah, hey, Princey. These headphones you gave me actually serve for two purposes.” He said, turning onto his side to face the prince.
“Oh, really?” He replied, genuinely intrigued.
“Yeah, it blocks out the thunder sound pretty well, so it should block out your loud snoring and sleep talking too.” Virgil said with a wicked grin. Roman’s eyes widened and an offended look washed over his expression.
“I’ll have you know that I do not -nor have I ever -snored or spoken in my sleep! I sleep like a baby!” The prince huffed.
“Yeah, sure. How much was your tab after ordering spaghetti for everyone, your majesty? And who’s pizza was that anyway?” the anxious side teased. He could barely make out the red that was rushing its way onto Roman’s face, but it was very much there.
“You fiend! Next time you decide to sleep here I’ll make you leave the headphones in your room so you will be forced to endure whatever it is that you claim I do or say in my slumber!” Roman threatened.
“Please no, I would have no idea how to wake you up to make you stop.” Virgil groaned. Suddenly Roman let out a chuckle as a smirk laid playfully on his lips.
“Silly Virge, it’s very easy to wake me up!”
“Yeah, right.” Virgil scoffed in response.
“It’s true! I mean, it’s right there in the storybooks.”
“What are you saying, Princey?” He asked, confused by where Roman was going with this.
“What I’m saying is, Virgil, twas a kiss that had awoken Sleeping Beauty from her deep slumber.” Roman replied with a mischievous grin as he teased Virgil. Virgil’s face grew red and he was quick to grab the pillow from under his head and smack the prince harder than he had done earlier while trying to wake him up and shouting ‘Oh go to bed already you sleeping pain in my ass!’. Soon enough, the two stopped trying to retaliate for teasing the other by making a truce (and after a good pillow fight), and sleep quickly washed over them. The sound of thunder had long since been forgotten.