Chapter Text
Roman, aged 23, studied theatre in university. His flatmate, Virgil, aged 20, studied art and design. They’d lived together in the student accommodation flat for 6 months now, though when they first moved in and met one another, they hadn’t gotten along at all. Nonetheless, in the past month, thanks to their neighbours Patton and Logan, they’d started to get closer.
Their neighbours, Patton, aged 22, and Logan, aged 24, were also in university; Patton studying cooking and Logan studying phycology and sociology.
They had all met when they had invited Roman and Virgil around for their house party a few months ago, Roman had gone but Virgil ducked out.
However, after meeting, Roman invited Patton and Logan to his and Virgil’s apartment all the time, to the point that it became a regular hangout spot.
Last month Patton had even gotten Virgil to come out of his shell a bit and join them for game and booze nights, the alcohol loosening Virgil up a bit more and helping Roman’s relationship with him become more bearable.
Now they were all sat around in their living room talking about their work and how their studies were going, however, Virgil wasn’t present and hadn’t been the past week.
“Logan, you need to relax a bit… all this late night research will burn you out…” Patton pouted, nudging Logan’s arm with his elbow. Logan and Patton sat on the sofa while Roman was sat on the recliner.
“Patton… I have a lot of work to get done in a certain time limit, you could not understand as all of your studies are practical and/or coursework based” Logan spoke articulately well. Patton puffed out his cheek and sat back against the cushions, crossing his arms over his chest with a childish huff “I was just trying to help…” he mumbled under his breath.
Logan rolled his eyes, he’d gotten used to Patton’s childish behaviour months ago and actually started finding it rather endearing. He then looked at Roman who seemed to be in deep thought with furrowed brows.
“Roman? If you keep frowning like that you will get lines” Logan said, housing a small smirk and earning a giggle from Patton.
However the smiles faded when Roman didn’t seem to hear or acknowledge Logan’s words.
“Ro? Hey…” Patton sat up and leaned over, shaking Romans wrist lightly, snapping him out of whatever deep thought was troubling him.
“Huh? What?” Roman looked at the two on the couch, taking note of their concerned expressions “Sorry, I was just… Thinking”
Logan was the first to speak up after a moment of silence “Thinking?”
“Yeah” Roman sighed and sat back in his recliner “It’s Virgil… He has only left his room for either lectures or food… it’s like he’s reverted back to how he was when he moved in… I can’t help but worry… I know we didn’t start off on the best of terms but I though we were getting closer… I thought he trusted me to talk if he was down like he had once before…” Roman sighed a second time, the two on the couch could see that this was really getting to the student actor.
“Maybe he had a project coming up? You know how he can get anxious about these kind of things” Patton tried to reason but Logan countered.
“No… He doesn’t have a project due until next month, I remember him showing me his module timetable for this year… but if it isn’t anxiety then what could it be?” Logan asked rhetorically “Roman, you didn’t say something to upset him did you?”
Roman gasped dramatically “No! I … I don’t think so at least… Last time I saw him he was fine… we even watched a Disney movie together… so I don’t get it…” Roman continued to frown.
“Is he in his room? Maybe we can talk to him?” Patton asked, ready to get up and talk to his dark, strange friend, but Roman shook his head “No… he’s in a lecture for the next couple hours…”
Everyone in the room sighed before remaining silent as they tried to deduce what could be wrong.
Patton gasped as an idea came to him “What if we go wait outside his class and surprise him! We could treat him to a meal or something to cheer him up?” Logan hummed at this idea before agreeing, Roman seconded that, and before they knew it they were on their way to the art department.
Virgil, for the past week, had had enough; a particular group of guys in his class had been bullying him since day one. He was a good artist, better than most, but was also the quietest and easiest to pick on. At first it was just rude nicknames and nothing physical, he could deal with that, but lately the bullies, or rather, one bully in particular, had upped their game. They’d begun messing with his work and pulling physical pranks, which were not funny; the last one made Virgil bleed and get bruised up, hence he hid in his room whenever he didn’t have class. Virgil didn’t want to bother his flatmate or friends with this… He was strong enough to handle it alone… Well… That is what he thought…
That day Virgil was not hungry, so he just packed an apple in his bag, like he had the past couple of days. While he had gone to the supply room to retrieve more paint, he hadn’t realised that his apple had been switched with another; however, this new apple was laced with Tetrodotoxin and Bufotoxin.
[A/N: Tetrodotoxin is puffer fish poison and Bufotoxin is tree frog poison, put together they create a “zombie” drug. If consumed the person falls suddenly ill and “dies” or is presumed dead, but the toxins (in a small dose) don’t last long and that person later wakes up. They may feel like crap but that’s where it got the name “Zombie” drug~ haha Yay research! XD]
When Virgil returned he saw that his canvas had been ruined with cuts and rips, causing him to drop the paint that he was holding. His body began to shake with frustration and anger as he could hear snickers coming from the bullies, he couldn’t take much more of this… And that’s when he snapped!
“FUCK YOU! YOU THINK YOU CAN TREAT ME LIKE THIS! I’LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED! IF YOU DON’T TAKE ART SERIOUSLY OR WITH PRIDE THEN YOU SHOULDN’T EVEN BE HERE!” Virgil screamed, causing the bullies to seize their laughter; mostly shocked that Virgil’s outburst had been his concern for mostly art and not his wellbeing.
Virgil grabbed his bag and left class early before anyone could see him cry. He took the long way back to the flat, his hood up and fringe covering his tearful face. He quickly wiped his cheeks before entering his apartment in fear that Roman would see his tears and judge, but to his relief there was no one around.
He plopped himself on the sofa, taking off his backpack and placing it beside him as he took a moment to calm himself.
Once he felt the sadness and anger had dispersed he had a sudden feeling of accomplishment, this was the first time he’d ever stood up for himself, and he felt pleased!
A small smile crept on to his lips as he stood, he felt proud of himself and wanted to celebrate but first, his stomach growled, he needed to eat something. He unzipped his bag and took out the apple he’d saved, rubbing it a bit with his sleeve before taking a large bite from it.
Virgil was just about to walk away from the sofa when his expression grimaced, there was a weird taste about this apple “What the hell?” he spoke after swallowing. He looked at the apple confused, thinking maybe it was off or something, but his thoughts were blocked by a sudden wave of dizziness, the world around him began spinning. He staggered forward a bit, apple still in hand as the other hand grabbed the living room wall for some sort of stability. He could feel his stomach hurting, causing him to cough aggressively, his vision became blurry and he felt like the floor was made of jelly.
“H-Help… M-M-…” he tried to call out with a raspy voice, taking another step forward, and his free hand going to his throat before completely collapsing to the floor. He lay on his side on the carpet, one arm stretched out above him where the apple rolled away a few feet. His body suddenly became limp as his breathing slowed to a stop, his heart pulsating weakly, so weakly in fast , it was non-detectable. Virgil had now completely lost consciousness, his eyes still open but dimmed as the life drained out of them, his lips slightly parted.
He lay on the living room carpet, appearing to be dead to anyone would see him…
Meanwhile, the trio had made it to Virgil’s class and peaked their heads in, however they were confused when they could not spot their friend “Huh? Where is he?” Patton asked. Roman frowned a bit seeing a canvas that had been ripped to shreds. “I’ll ask”, Roman pushed past the other two gently before clearing his throat to get the classes attention “Hi, sorry to interrupt, but we are looking for Virgil, is he here?” he asked, eyeing the guys at the back that were snickering to themselves after Roman questioned.
A sheepish girl was surprisingly the one to speak up “H-He left… about… 15 minutes ago… Dunno where we went though” Roman smiled at her and bowed his head “Thank you my lady~ Beautiful as your works of art” she blushed a little but thanked him all the same.
Roman then took his leave and told Patton and Logan that Virgil had left. “Oh… but why… he has another hour of class…” Patton pouted.
Logan looked at Roman before nodding his head, both starting to understand the situation from observation “It would seem Virgil is being bullied… I assume that canvas inside of the classroom was Virgil’s painting” Logan spoke, causing Patton to gasp loudly and Roman to nod his head with an expression of disgust.
"I want to go back in there and rip those guys heads off… No one messes with Virgil but me!” he growled, causing Patton to take his hand and squeeze it.
“Hey… Calm down, this wont help Virgil… Let’s go try and find him, he must be around the campus somewhere…” Roman sighed and nodded at Patton’s suggestion.
The trio then went off in search of their missing friend.
After 3 hours there was only one place, off campus, left to look “Do you think he really just went home? If that’s the case we should have bumped into him on the way to visit his class” Logan spoke in deep thought as they headed home.
“Unless he took a different route?” Patton shrugged, Roman was walking just ahead of the other two, as time had gone on he’d become more and more agitated and concerned for his younger flatmate.
It wasn’t long before they got back to the student accommodation, Logan and Patton were gunna call it a night and let Roman handle Virgil so not to overwhelm the youngest with a crowd. Well… That was until they heard a scream come from Roman after opening the front door. “Roman!? What’s wrong?!” Patton ran to their neighbour’s door, Logan close behind.
Roman had opened his door and just stepped in when his peripheral vision caught sight of something red, he glanced over and saw a red apple laying on the floor, however, before he could question it his eyes drifted towards the living room and fell on an unconscious and extremely pale Virgil. “OH MY GOD!!” he screamed, dropping his bag and keys, covering his mouth with his hands.
He could hear the two others running towards him but his wide eyes couldn’t tear away from the very still body on the carpet. “V-Virgil?” he muffled through his hands, taking a step closer, in complete and utter shock. At first he thought Virgil had just fainted… but… if that was the case… then why was he so still… why was he so pale… why were his eyes open… he looked… he looked… dead…
Patton and Logan saw Roman stood just inside his apartment in shock and followed his line of sight to the still form on the ground “Oh my god!! Virgil!!” Patton screamed and ran over, Logan gasped and followed suit.
The three were soon surrounding Virgil, Logan having gently rolled him on his back and pressed two fingers against Virgil’s neck “C-Come on Virgil” he mumbled under his breath, desperately trying to find a pulse.
When he couldn’t, tear’s welled up in his eyes, and that was rare for Logan. Patton saw the tears in the others eyes and shook his head “N-No… He’s… He’s not-…” he covered his mouth with his hands a warm tears flowed down his freckled cheeks.
Roman fell to his knees next to Logan and shook his head, his eyes still unable to tear away from Virgil “No… It can’t be… Logan tell me you’re wrong… Tell me V-Virgil’s alive!” Roman was begging at this point, but when Logan leaned over and closed Virgil’s eyes, reality set in.
Half an hour passed, Logan was sat on the sofa holding a still sniffling Patton in his arms. The moment had been so overwhelming they hadn’t had a chance to discuss why or how.
Roman, at this point, had pulled Virgil’s limp and cold body into his arms as he sat against the wall, silent tears still falling as his thumb brushed over Virgil’s cheek tirelessly “W-Why Virge… Why did you have to-…” he sniffled. He then remembered the apple he’d seen and flashed his gaze towards the red apple still on the floor “THE APPLE!!”
Romans outburst made the other two jump out of their skin “Geez! Roman! Could you at least give us a warning before one of your little out-of-context epiphanies?!” Logan lectured, though Roman didn’t pay heed to it and just looked at Logan “The apple! On the floor there! It has a bite taken out of it! Maybe… Maybe Virgil w-was…” Roman bit his lip, he didn’t want it to be true, but a reasonably healthy 20 year old wouldn’t just die for no reason.
Logan let go of Patton momentarily and walked over to the apple, being cautious he grabbed a paper towel from the small kitchen before picking the apple up. Observing it carefully before taking a whiff, the grotesque smell caused Logan to flinch back and grimace “I-It was… the apple is… is poisoned… but who would do that… and what is it poisoned with-“ Logan couldn’t finished his sentence as Patton’s outcry interrupted him.
“WHO CARES!! Virgil is Dead! He dead Logan! T-There… There’s nothing… w-we… we can d-do…” he then began to sob once more into his hands. Logan felt a bit of guilt before going back to comfort Patton.
Roman knew it… His flatmate and friend had been poisoned… He looked at Virgil who remained still in his arms and brushed his fringe from his face “I-I’m so sorry… I should have… I should have done something…” he choked out a sob. Then something really stupid came to his mind, seeing the poison apple and his ‘dead’ friend, made him think of the Disney film Snow White, which they’d watched together only a couple weeks ago.
“M-Maybe if I-…” he spoke, causing the two on the couch to look at him.
“Maybe if you do what?” Logan asked confused, however the confusion on Patton and Logan’s faces suddenly turned to that of pure shock at the scene the played out before them.
Roman leaned down slightly, closing his eyes as his heart was beating extremely hard. He pressed his lips against Virgil’s, the softness of the latters lips made Roman’s heart skip a beat, but the coldness of his lips send a shiver down his spine. The kiss only last a few seconds but it felt much longer, Roman then pulled back and looked at Virgil’s face in pure hope, though doubt was winning. That is until Virgil’s eyes slowly fluttered open and his brows furrowed a bit, looking up at Roman’s stunned expression. “W-What… Was… Was someone… Kissing me?” Virgil’s voice was raspy and he groaned as his stomach was killing him.
The three in the room sat perfectly still, unsure of what to make of what just happened “V-Virgil?” Patton was the first to speak.
Virgil still felt weak, and though he was a little embarrassed to be laying in Roman’s arms, he didn’t have much choice so he just accepted it “Patton?” Virgil replied looking over to the couch “Logan too? W-What happened? Why am I… on the floor… and in Roman’s… uhhh….” He blushed a little when he suddenly pulled into a tight embrace. Roman’s strong arms wrapped around Virgil’s frail body securely, though it was new and shocking, Virgil couldn’t help but feel safe and warm.
“Y-You’re alive… Oh my god… I… I thought… I though you were… no… you were… you were dead… so how… how are you alive right now…? Y-You… You were poisoned… t-that kiss shouldn’t have worked… I mean…” he paused when he realised what he’d just said and felt Virgil tense up a bit, as Roman admitted that he’d kissed him.
Pulling back Virgil began to get a bit of strength back, he moved out of Roman’s hold and sat against the wall so he could see everyone “W-What happened to me?” is all Virgil could say in that moment, not wanting to address the kiss right now.
Logan cleared his throat after wiping away a stray tear “O-Oh… Well… It would seem that the apple you ate was poisoned, we have an idea of who may have done this but… you died… or at least, you weren’t breathing, nor did you have a pulse… Believe me… I checked… a lot…”
Virgil’s eyes widened a bit, he then remember the apple tasting weird but nothing after that…
He then pushed the news of his death aside for a moment before turning to face Roman “U-Umm… Ro…? Did you… did you really… kiss me…?” Virgil asked but all he got in response was a small nod and Roman’s blushing cheeks “O-Ok… but… Why…? I-I mean… If you thought I was dead then-“
“It was a stupid idea that just came to mind… you were dead… poisoned by and apple… the film we watched a couple weeks ago came to mind and I just figured… Sure! Why not give that a try!” he explained before looking away slightly embarrassed “I-I… I didn’t know it would actually work…”
Logan took this chance to pitch in “on the contrary… It didn’t work, it was just coincidental” this got everyone’s attention.
“What do you mean Lo?” Patton asked before Logan continued, “Well… We didn’t know what the poison was, but I know for a fact that a kiss is not the cure, so from my observation, Virgil had consumed a toxin that leaves a person in a comatosed state, slowing their heart so much so that they appear dead” he looked at Roman and Virgil “The kiss was merely planted at the exact time the toxins wore off and Virgin woke up”
At this information Roman face heated up, turning a deeper red. Virgil blinked before looking at Roman “O-Ok… I think I get it… but… before I go to the doctors and have those pieces of shit expelled… there is something that is still getting to me”
Roman took a chance and looked at Virgil “W-What’s that?”
“W-Well… I mean… In Snow White… It’s… It’s not just a kiss… It’s true loves kiss that breaks the spell… so… umm… did you… I mean… do you…?” Virgil stuttered, he was having trouble expressing his emotions as he usually did, but Roman knew exactly what Virgil was getting at, even though he was still red in the face, he couldn’t deny his feeling any longer. Virgil’s death had proved to him that he could live without his little Emo…
“V-Virge… When I thought you’d died… I… I couldn’t take it… It broke my heart… and I was obviously willing to go through any means necessary… even a stupid kiss… to wake you up and have you back in my life again…” he confessed, the two on the sofa watching in awe, while Virgil sat there with wide eyes, his blush slowly matching Romans. “I-I… I really like you Virgil… And I get it if you don’t like me that way… I know I’m loud and obnoxious and call you names and tease you and am an all over-“ He was cut off when Virgil reached out and cupped Roman’s jaw before leaning forward and silencing him with a deep and passionate kiss. Throughout, Roman’s eyes were wide, while Virgil’s were closed, after Virgil pulled back he blushed a crimson red and looked away “I-I… I love you too… Idiot” he confessed, taking Roman’s hand in his.
The moment was beautiful, Patton and Logan sat watching the scene unfold before looking at each other, something about the way they looked at each other made them blush and quickly look away.