Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Are you excited?” Ms. Carrie asked with a smile, squeezing the small hand she was holding.

It’s owner, Virgil, glanced up at her, his expression sorrowful. Ms. Carrie was one of the many people that worked with the kids at the Cahill Home for Children, where seven year old Virgil had been living for almost three years.

She was also full of crap if she thought Virgil was excited to be meeting new people.

Virgil slowly shook his head.

“What’s the matter, Virgil?” Ms. Carrie’s smile left and was replaced with a look of caring sadness. Virgil shook his head again, his eyes watering, and she knelt down next to him. “It’s okay to be nervous. Meeting new people can be scary sometimes, but you have nothing to be afraid of. These are nice people you are meeting, and I’ll be with you the whole time, okay?”

Virgil sniffed back his tears and gave a tiny nod.

“Good.” Ms. Carrie smiled again and gently brushed Virgil’s hair from his face. “How about we go in, huh?”

Even if Virgil was scared, he couldn’t ignore the small bit of hope that lived in his heart. It was that hope that made him nod again. Today could be the day. He could be meeting his new family for the first time today.

Ms. Carrie led him into the meeting room, the same one Virgil had been in several times before. He’d had his hopes raised only to be crushed in this very room on several occasions. He knew that today was likely to be no different, but he still had a small bit of hope.

He walked with Ms. Carrie to the center of the room where two men were seated in chairs. They stood when they saw the newcomers.

“Hello! You must be Carrie.” One of the men said, giving Ms. Carrie and bright smile and shaking her free hand. “I’m Patton, happy to meet you! Thank you for sitting in with us!”

“Logan.” The other man said simply. He also shook her hand. “Pleasure.”

“Welcome!” Ms. Carrie returned their greetings. Virgil hid behind her leg and tried to avoid the strange men’s gaze. “I’m so glad you could make it! I trust Laura reviewed first meeting rules with you?”

At Patton’s nod, she continued on. “In that case, I would like to introduce you to Virgil. Virgil, this is Patton and his husband Logan. They wanted to spend some time with you today!”

Virgil peeked out at the adults. Patton, in a blue polo with a grey cardigan around his shoulders and big rounded glasses on his face, was smiling kindly at him.

“Nice to finally meet you, Virgil!” He said.

Virgil didn’t say anything, but turned his attention to the other man. Logan, who had rectangular glasses, was wearing a black button-up shirt with a blue striped tie and dress slacks. He had a sterner look about him, Virgil thought, but not in a mean way. 

“How do you do, Virgil?” He said with a tight, but not unkind, smile.

Virgil nodded at both of them, squeezing Ms. Carrie’s hand. That was his secret signal. He was going to be alright to continue with the meeting, but he didn’t want to say anything just yet.

“As I’m sure you know, Virgil doesn’t talk much.” Ms. Carrie said. “But when he is relaxed enough, he does enjoy talking to people.” She then turned to the child beside her. “The time is yours Virgil. What would you like to do?”

Virgil pointed to the table where several blank pages and coloring supplies sat. Ms. Carrie nodded, removing her hand from his to place it on his shoulder. That was her secret single. That one meant she wanted him to talk.

But Virgil didn’t want to. Not yet. These people had to earn his words.

He made a small humming noise. No.

Ms. Carrie patted his shoulder before removing her hand and smiling at the adults. Virgil walked over to the table and climbed onto one of the chairs, pulling a piece of paper and a box of crayons toward himself. He busied himself with his coloring, tuning out Ms. Carrie’s voice as she began to explain about his severe anxiety. It was the same speech he’d heard hundreds of times before and what was usually the cause of him not getting adopted.

No one wanted a kid who was scared. No one wanted a child as quiet as him either.

“Do you mind if I color with you?” Patton’s voice asked, causing Virgil to look up suddenly. Patton had slipped into the chair across from him. Virgil turned his head to see Ms. Carrie still talking to Logan. Logan seemed interested and was asking questions. Virgil turned back to Patton and shrugged.

“Thank you.” Patton pulled a piece of paper and a few colored pencils toward himself. He seemed to have a permanent smile about him. Virgil supposed the man was just naturally bright and cheerful.

The two colored silently to the sound of Logan and Ms. Carrie’s voices for a few moments before Patton broke the silence.

“So, Virgil, what’s your favorite color?”

Virgil’s blue crayon hesitated on the page and Patton looked up. Virgil frowned, then he pointed to the purple colored pencil in Patton’s hand.

“Purple, huh?” Virgil nodded and resumed his work. “Purple is a nice color. I like orange myself.”

Virgil said nothing. After another minute, Logan came and joined the two at the table. He didn’t color, but just sat and watched the others. Ms. Carrie sat in her chair in the corner to observe.

“We were talking about our favorite colors, Lo.” Patton said. “Virgil’s is purple, and you know mine is orange. Why don’t you tell him yours?”

“Oh.” Logan looked surprised that he was being included. “I would have to say that I rather like green. I think a light green would be favorite.”

“Oh! Green is a nice pick.” Patton said thoughtfully. “What else do you like to do, Virgil?”

Virgil hummed again. No. No words. He looked at Patton, hoping the kind man had understood. Probably not.

Patton looked at Virgil blankly, failing to understand Virgil’s nonverbal message and then tried again. “Can you tell us some of the things-”

Logan cut him off by placing his hand on his arm. “Ms. Carrie tells me that you like to read and that Magic Tree House is your favorite. Is that correct?”

Virgil looked up and gave an excited nod before returning to his picture. Next to coloring, reading was one of his favorite things!

“I thought so.” Logan smiled. “I also like to read. I teach English and reading for high schoolers. Speaking of school, you are going to start second grade soon, yes?”

Virgil nodded, abandoning his coloring in favor of looking Logan in the eye. This teacher was smart. He knew exactly how to talk to Virgil. Virgil decided then that he liked Logan. 

After watching his husband, Patton had caught on to how Virgil liked to communicate and decided to rejoin the conversation. “Second grade! Wow! Are you excited?”

Virgil immediately began to shake his head, but paused. He frowned, then shrugged.

“Mixed feelings, huh? That’s how I used to feel about school.” Patton said. “Do you have a favorite subject?”

Humming happily in the affirmative, Virgil pushed himself up on his knees so he could reach a new sheet of paper. He took a colored pencil from the pile beside Patton’s paper and began to write. When he was finished he handed it to Patton and motioned for him to show it to Logan. The two adults looked at the page and smiled.

“I’m very pleased to hear that reading is your favorite subject.” Logan said honestly. “It was also my favorite while I was in school.”

“I liked science the best, but I also enjoyed reading.” Said Patton. “And to answer your second question, I work at an assistance dog training center. It’s a place where they train the seeing eye dogs. I help oversee some of the training, as well as help with assigning each dog to whoever they will help. I love dogs!”

Virgil smiled and pointed to himself. Me too!

The rest of their time together was spent like that, Virgil silently telling the adults about himself and receiving information about them in return. Logan and Patton enjoyed themselves, and so did little Virgil. The two adults had caught on quickly to how Virgil communicated and were not bothered by his nonverbal responses, an encouraging thing for Virgil. The boy had experienced many not so good meetings with interested adults because they did not like his silence. No one wanted a child who didn’t speak.

Unfortunately, the  happy time had to come to an end.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but meeting time is up.” Ms. Carrie said, walking over to the table and looking at the drawings Patton and Virgil had made. “Look at this! This is beautiful art!”

 Logan nodded, sad to hear the time was up already. He started to clean up. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Virgil.”

“Oh yes!” Patton agreed, helping his husband.“I loved getting to spend time with you today.”

Patton tried to hand the boy the pictures he had made, but Virgil shook his head and pushed them towards Patton. Keep them.

Patton smiled, then looked at Logan, who nodded. Patton spoke again. “Would you let us come visit with you again?”

Virgil’s head shot up. “Yes please!” He surprised even himself with the sound of his voice, but he didn’t regret his words when he saw the startled smiles on Logan and Patton’s faces.

Logan and Patton looked at Virgil, who blushed, then up at Ms. Carrie, who smiled.

“Thank you for using your words, Virgil.” Ms. Carrie praised. “And I would be happy to arrange another meeting for you!”

“Thank you.” Logan said, returning her smile. “And thank you, Virgil, for agreeing to meet us and let us come again.” And for speaking, his eyes said silently.

Virgil smiled, dropping his head down shyly.

Patton got over his shock at hearing Virgil speak and looked at the child. “You have a beautiful voice, Virgil.”

“Thank you.” The boy whispered as he slid out of his chair.

He walked with Ms. Carrie to the door, where he turned and gave a small wave.

“Bye, Virgil!” Patton called. He and Logan waved back. “We’ll see you soon, kiddo!”

Virgil smiled, nodded his head before exiting the room.

“So you like them, huh?” Ms. Carrie asked as they walked.

“Yes.” Virgil answered. And that was all he needed to say. He did like them. He really did. His heart felt light and he was happy. They made him feel relaxed and loved. It was such a nice thing for them to do for him that he decided he would do something for them. But what?

Ms. Carrie left him at the hallway where all the bedrooms where, and Virgil silently waved before going into the room he shared with three other boys. He continued to think. What could he do for Logan and Patton? He replayed the whole meeting in his mind, when something stood out.

“You have a beautiful voice, Virgil.”

That was it. Talking. He had been thinking way too hard. Patton said he had a beautiful voice and Logan had looked so happy at the few words Virgil had spoken. So he would talk for them. Next time, he decided, he would not be silent. He would be verbal during the second meeting. Maybe not the whole time, but for most of it.

Virgil smiled to himself, and then began his mental countdown until the next meeting.

Chapter Text

The day of the second meeting had finally arrived.

 Virgil stood anxiously in the hallway by one set of stairs, waiting for Ms. Carrie to come and get him. He had been excited for this next meeting all week, but now that the moment was finally here, he was terrified.

What if they didn’t actually want to meet you again and they were just doing so to be nice?

That wasn’t a realistic possibility, and Virgil knew it, but it was still a thought. His fingers found their way into his mouth and he began to chew nervously on his nails.

What if this time they decided they don’t like you anymore?

This thought was more likely. He had a habit of making people lose interest on the second meeting.

What if he did something wrong and made them mad?

Very possible. He was always doing things wrong and making others upset with him.

What ifー

“There you are!” Ms. Carrie’s happy voice penetrated his thoughts as she walked down the hall towards him. “Patton and Logan are in the playroom downstairs, just like we talked about. Are you ready to go down?”

Virgil nodded, removing his figures from his mouth, and began to descend the stairs with Ms. Carrie right behind him. He went all the way down to the first floor, turned left, and stopped  in front of the door to the playroom. This was it. He was going in and he was going to speak to them.

Virgil took a deep breath, then pushed open the door and walked in.

As soon as he was in, Virgil immediately froze and all of his confidence flew out the window. He wanted to turn around and run back up the stairs.

There were other people in the room besides Patton and Logan.

“Virgil, is everything okay?” Ms. Carrie asked, entering behind him.

 He shook his head, a panicked hum coming through his closed lips. People! Bad! Too many!

“Oh, Virgil, it’s just Cody. He’s having his second meeting with Scott and Carol today.” Ms. Carrie said, recognizing his noise of alarm. “I reminded you yesterday, remember? It’s fine, they aren’t going to bother you. Deep breaths, okay?”

Virgil took a shaky breath. Then two more, before gaining control of his breathing once again. 

Excellent start to today. Great job.

Virgil walked slowly forward to where Patton and Logan were seated together on one of the couches, looking at something on Patton’s phone.

“Hey, Virgil!” Patton smiled brightly, putting his phone away. Logan also gave him a small smile.

Virgil waved shyly, his desire to speak now much smaller. He glanced anxiously to the other side of the room where Cody, one of the nicer boys his age, sat playing a game with a man and a woman.

Logan followed his gaze, and he instantly understood. He looked up at Ms. Carrie. “Excuse me, Carrie right? Is there somewhere else we could go for our meeting? I don’t want to make Virgil uncomfortable.”

Logan you are very good, Virgil thought. 

“Well,” Ms. Carrie looked across the room, then down at Virgil. “I can try to find someplace else. Let me see.”

It’s now or never if you want to show them.

Virgil took a deep breath, calming himself before speaking. “It’s okay.”

Patton glanced at him, trying not to look too pleased at hearing his voice. “You sure? We don’t mind to move, kiddo. Whatever is more comfortable for you.”

Somewhere else would be nice, but I have a plan. Work past the fear. You’ve got this.

“It’s alright.” Virgil said softly. “We can stay.”

“If you’re sure…” Ms. Carrie shrugged when Virgil nodded. “Alright then. I’ll be over in the corner with Mr. David.”

“Thank you.” Patton said kindly as she walked away. “It’s nice to hear you talking again, Virgil. I’m glad you’ve decided to speak to us.”

“As am I.” Logan agreed. “But don’t feel like you have to. If you’re not comfortable speaking, you don’t have to. We don’t mind.”

Virgil smiled brightly. Talking had been the right choice after all. “Thank you, but I want to talk today.”

“Really?” Patton asked. “Why is that?”

“I like you. Both of you.” Virgil explained, looking at his shoes. “You deserve words.” And you make me comfortable enough to talk.

“That’s sweet of you, kiddo!” Patton said, grabbing Logan’s hand in excitement. 

Logan squeezed his partner’s hand, giving him a loving look, before turning to Virgil. “So what do you want to do today?”

Step one down. Time for step two. Show them you can do more than color pictures.

Virgil ran to the side of the room where several games and toys were kept. He came back with a plastic box and set it on the floor. He sat down beside it and took the lid off. Logan and Patton looked in to see that it was full of colorful Lego bricks. 

“I know how to build a dragon!” Virgil exclaimed, reaching into the box and pulling out a handful of bricks. “I can show you, if you want?”

“Sure!” Patton slid off the couch and onto the floor. He reached in the plastic box, digging around for a minute to find the colors he wanted before pulling out a handful for himself. “Come on, Logan! Help me build a dragon!”

“I’m coming.” Logan joined Patton on the floor, adjusting his glasses before studying the pile of bricks before them. He raised an eyebrow. “Pink and blue? Really?”

“Oh hush.” Patton shoved him playfully, causing Logan to laugh.

Virgil walked the adults through the steps of how to construct a Lego dragon, occasionally pointing out errors or providing hints for how to put it together. He finished his(it was black and purple with silver accents) and set it on the ground, posing it so it looked threatening. 

“Ta da!” Patton exclaimed. He set his pink and blue dragon next to Virgil’s. “Aww I love it! Do you like it, Logan?”

Logan frowned. “I don’t think that’s right…”

Virgil and Patton looked at the dragon curiously. Virgil nodded. Something seemed off, but he wasn’t sure what.

“What do you mean?” Patton didn’t see anything that was wrong.

Virgil then laughed, Logan quickly joining him as they discovered what the problem was.

“What?” Patton asked helplessly. “What is it?”

“Patton, honey, look at the wings.” Logan said, fighting off his laughter. “Do you see what’s wrong?”

“No?” Patton was confused. He looked at the wings of his dragon once again, then looked at Virgil’s. “I don’tーoh.”

Patton’s face flushed in embarrassment and Logan laughed again before reaching for the dragon.

“The wings are backwards!” Virgil laughed as Logan took the wings apart to fix them.

“There! Now it’s done.” Logan posed Patton’s dragon beside Virgil’s.

“Much better.” Virgil said, giving the dragon an approving nod.

Patton, still a little red, said nothing, but took out his phone and took a picture of the two dragons before sliding it back into his pocket.

“That was fun, Virgil.” Logan said, leaning against Patton. “Where did you learn how to build that?”

“I didn’t.” Virgil smiled proudly. “I figured it out myself a few days ago! I used the pictures in Gabe’s book for reference, though.”

“That’s very good.” Logan nodded. “Very clever of you. Do you often build things from your imagination like that, or do you use the instructions?

“Depends.” Virgil shrugged. “If I like what the instructions say to build, I use them. If not, I build what I want.”

“Hey, Virgil, that’s a cool dragon!” A voice called.

Virgil tensed up and looked to the source of the voice. Cody was standing not too far away.

Virgil smiled weakly in Cody’s direction, nodding his head in thanks.

Please go away, his mind begged. Please. 

“Would you like to play with the Legos?” Patton asked him. “I think we are done with them for now.”

“No thanks.” Cody shook his head. “I came to ask if you all wanted to play a game with us?” He indicated himself and Scott and Carol.

Patton looked at Logan and Virgil. Logan seemed to communicate something to Patton without speaking.

“No thank you.” Patton said kindly. “Thank you for asking us though, kiddo! Maybe next time.”

Cody shrugged, not bothered by their answer, and skipped back to the other side of the room.

Bless you Logan and Patton! Smart people! Nice people!

“Nice kid.” Patton commented. “What’s his name?”

“Cody.” Virgil muttered. 

Logan sensed his discomfort and decided to change the subject. “So drawing and free building. You seem like a very creative person, Virgil. And you said you like reading. Have you tried writing your own stories?”

Virgil shook his head and gave Logan a questioning look.

“I think you would enjoy that.” Logan said. “You can write about whatever you want. Come up with your own adventures for Jack and Annie if you’d like.”

Virgil smiled at the mention of the characters from his favorite books.

Suddenly, Logan sat up. “I have an idea! Virgil, you like this even more than writing!” He stood up and walked to the cubbies on the side of the room where all the toys were and began to search through the bins.

“Lo? What are you looking for?” 

Logan didn’t respond to his husband’s question and continued his search. He returned a moment later with a few sheets of paper and a pair of scissors.

“Logan? What are you doing?” Patton asked. 

“You’ll see!” Logan sat down, working with the scissors and paper.

Virgil and Patton shared a look of confusion.

When Logan had cut each paper into a square, he handed two to Patton, and two to Virgil. He saved two for himself.

Virgil held his squares up, looking at Logan questioningly.

“I’m going to show you how to do origami!” Logan said excitedly. He began to fold one of his squares, instructing Patton and Virgil to do the same.

Eventually, Patton and Virgil were able to fold half-decent swans and penguins. 

“It’s crooked.” Virgil said sadly, holding up his swan.

“That’s okay! Mine is too.” Patton held up his own swan. “It takes practice to get it to look just right. Logan’s had years of practice.”

Virgil looked at Logan’s swan with a frown. It had perfect folds and looked just perfect. He wished his looked like that.

“Did you at least enjoy making it?” Logan asked. He hoped he hadn’t just made the boy frustrated with himself.

“I guess so.” Virgil said. “I wish it looked better though.”

“It takes practice.” Logan repeated Patton’s words. “I bet by the next time I see you, you’ll be a master. You’ll probably figure out how to do others too.”

“Next time? You’re gonna come back?!” Virgil’s disappointment with his origami was instantly gone. It had been two years since he’d had a third meeting with any interested parties. Maybe his luck was changing for the better!

“If you want us too.” Logan said. “Patton and I talked with Ms. Carrie and we would like to try to spend time with you every week. Would you like that?”

“Yes! Yes I would!” Virgil exclaimed happily. “Does this mean your gonna adopt me?”

Virgil, you dummy! Now you’ve spoiled it! There not gonna want someone who begs!

Logan looked at Patton.

“Actually, kiddo,” Patton said softly. “We were going to talk to you about that next week.”

“I understand if you don’t. I’m really sorry I said that. I really am grateful that your spending time with me, I’m sorry if I made you mad.” Virgil dropped his head, his voice quieter now.

“Virgil, you misunderstood me.” Patton smiled. “Kiddo, Logan and I have been talking about adopting you ever since we were told about you.”

Virgil’s jaw dropped.

What? Not possible.

“Our adoption counselor purposely sent us to meet with you.” Logan explained. “He thought you would be a good fit for us, and Patton and I agreed. So we’ve been spending time with you to see if we were a right fit for you.”

“Are you?” Virgil asked anxiously.

Patton laughed. “That’s a question you have to answer yourself, Virgil. Do you see yourself as being a part of our family?”

Oh.

Are they? Do I?

They’re nice and they understand me. Logan thinks I’m smart and Patton thinks I’m nice.

Could I see myself with them?

Virgil looked at Patton’s bright grin and Logan’s soft smile. They sure were an odd couple, but they were happy together.

If anyone could be happy with a weird child like me, it would be them.

“I…” Virgil hesitated. “I… I think I could. If you’d have me.”

Logan’s smile grew and Patton squealed happily.

“Does that make you my parents now?” Virgil asked when Patton had let him go.

“Not quite yet.” Logan said. “It’ll take a bit to finalize all the paperwork and make it official.”

“Oh.” Virgil’s happiness deflated a bit.

“But we will be.” Logan promised. “And we will still come see you as often as we can.”

Virgil nodded. He could work with that. Logan did not seem to be one who broke his promise.

I’m going to have parents. I’m going to have a family! I don’t care how long it takes, they’re mine!

Virgil’s dislike of physical contact was forgotten and threw himself into Patton and Logan’s arms, tears spilling down his cheeks. They held him tightly.

“Thank you.” Virgil whispered. “Thank you!”

I have parents! I have a family!

Chapter Text

The weeks no longer seemed to stretch on forever, now that Virgil had something to look forward to. He met with his future parents once every week, just like they said. Each visit with Patton and Logan was more wonderful than the last. On some occasions, they even went somewhere other than the many rooms of Cahill’s Home for Children. Virgil had been to the park several times, the movie theater, and the library, but his favorite outing was when they went to go get ice cream. Virgil loved spending time with Patton and Logan.

Of course, Ms. Carrie, Ms. Laura or one of the other caretakers had to come on these outings, but Virgil didn’t mind. He forgot they were there half the time anyway.

But on days like today, days where they stayed at the Home, Virgil was able to be with his future parents without supervision. And he loved it. He could just be himself.

Today they weren’t really doing much other than enjoying one another's company and talking softly. Patton was looking through a veterinarian magazine and Logan was sitting with Virgil on the floor, building with Legos. Legos was another favorite hobby of Virgil's, the adults, especially Logan, were happy to discover. 

Logan had a secret love of the plastic building bricks. There was just something satisfying about clicking them together and creating things. If Virgil had picked up on this love of his, he hadn’t said anything. Patton didn’t say anything about it either, despite knowing for a fact that Logan kept a bin of the bricks in his study.

“What are you making?” Virgil finally asked, looking at Logan’s half finished creation.

Logan frowned at it. “You know, at this point I’m not entirely sure. It was supposed to be a helicopter, but at this point it just looks like a mess.”

Virgil studied it, then shrugged. “I think it looks like a spaceship.”

“Hmm.” Logan looked at it once again. He could see how it would look like a fictional spaceship. “Maybe it is.”

“What are you making, kiddo?” Patton had put down his magazine and was watching the two.

“Hang on,” Virgil snapped a few more pieces in place, then attached two larger constructions together to form a larger one. “It’s a battle robot.”

Patton blinked. What had seemed like nothing a few minutes ago was now a robotic machine designed for combat. The kid had a talent. “That’s pretty neat, kiddo.”

Virgil smiled, then silently made the robot attack invisible enemies. Patton went back to his magazine and Logan continued to work on his own construction.

Other children would have found this a boring way to spend the day, but not Virgil. He liked the quiet and he liked having people he trusted nearby. He didn’t feel pressured to speak or even interact with others. He was content to do his own thing, knowing that if he wanted attention or to talk to someone, all he had to do was say something.

I guess being a loner has some upsides, Virgil thought to himself. You’re great at entertaining yourself.

Virgil was sad to see Logan and Patton leave when it was time to go, but he knew it wouldn’t be much longer before he was going with them.

“We’ll let you know as soon as we know.” Patton had promised before they had left. 

Virgil wished that they knew now. It was hard to believe that any of this was real without having the exact date of when he could leave the Home.

Luckily, Virgil didn’t have long to wait.

Three days later, he was sitting on his bed in his shared room, reading a book, when Mr. David knocked.

“You can come in!” Toby called, not looking up from where he sat on the floor with a book of his own. Toby was a little older than Virgil and one of his roommates.

Mr. David walked in. “Thanks, Toby.” He moved towards Virgil’s bed. “Hey, Virgil?”

Virgil hummed, looking up from his book. Yes?

“I need you to come downstairs with me for a minute.”

Virgil looked frightened.

What? Why?

What did I do?

Mr. David smiled. “You’re not in trouble, you’re just needed downstairs really quick.”

Okay, not in trouble.

But could you be any more vague? That's totally not terrifying at all.

Virgil shut the book and slid off his bed, silently following Mr. David out of the room and down the stairs to the first floor. They walked towards the very front of the home, were the kids hardly ever went. That was where visitors came in. Where children were dropped off.

It was also the last place any child who was adopted would see of the home.

Are Patton and Logan here? Am I going home with them today?

Virgil’s fear was slowly replaced with excitement. Maybe today was the day!

“Ah! There you are!” Mrs. Nesbit, the kind old receptionist said, leaning out of her office. Mr. David directed Virgil inside.

“He’s here now, hang on.” Mrs. Nesbit said into the phone. She then held the phone against her shoulder. “Virgil, you’ve got a call, dear.”

What?

Who would be calling me?

Mrs. Nesbit held out the phone to him and Mr. David gave him an encouraging smile. Virgil slowly took the phone.

Here goes nothing.

“H-hello?” He said nervously. 

“Kiddo! It’s me!” Patton’s happy voice exclaimed. “How’re you doing?”

Virgil breathed a sigh of relief. Someone he knew. “Hi... Uh... I’m okay. How are you?”

“Great! I’m great and Logan’s great! We’re amazing actually!” He was practically screaming he sounded so excited. “Kiddo, guess what?!”

“Umー”

He didn’t get a chance to say anything before Patton continued. “It’s all done, kiddo! As of today, you’re officially ours!!”

What?!

“Really?!” Virgil’s excitement and volume rose to match Patton’s. “You’re serious?!”

“Really!” Patton insisted. 

“Oh! Wow! I...I…” Virgil didn’t know what to say. Was this really happening?

“I just can’t believe it!!” Virgil and Patton cried together.

“I’ve got a family!” Virgil was going to cry. He was sure of it. Happy tears started to fall as he turned to yell at the adults. “I’m adopted! I’ve got parents!”

Mr. David and Mrs. Nesbit cheered, equally excited for him.

“Isn’t it great?!” Patton was also crying. “Kiddo, I can’t wait to bring you home! Here, you can talk to Logan!”

There was a shuffling noise as Patton passed the phone to Logan. “I take it you’ve heard the good news, then?”

Virgil laughed at the change in the normally serious man’s voice. He sounded excited, too.

That was Logan’s voice. His Logan. 

“Yes!” Virgil answered. “Thank you!”

“You don’t need to thank us, Virgil.” Logan said. “You’re our son now, and we care about you.”

Our son.

Virgil didn’t have a response to that. He hummed to let Logan know he understood.

“We’re going to come pick you up tomorrow morning, as soon as we can.” Logan continued. “We’d come tonight if we could, but it would be midnight by the time we got there.”

“I don’t care! Come tonight anyway!” Virgil exclaimed. He was this close to being with his parents, he didn’t want to wait anymore.

Logan laughed a little. “I figured you’d say that. Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed to get you that late.”

“That’s stupid.” Virgil mumbled, his loud excitedness melting away.

“I agree. However, we must obey the rules.” Logan sighed happily. “We can’t wait to see you, buddy. This is your last night there, I promise.”

Virgil hummed again.

“I’m going to need you to hang up soon, dear.” Mrs. Nesbit whispered. “You need to eat dinner and I have work to do.”

Virgil looked at the clock on the wall. It was indeed meal time.

“I have to go.” Virgil said sadly. “They said it’s dinner time and Mrs. Nesbit needs the phone.”

“Alright.” Logan sounded a bit disappointed too. “Eat your dinner and start packing your things. And make sure you eat a good breakfast tomorrow too, you hear? It’s a long drive.”

“I will.” Virgil couldn’t hide the smile that found its way onto his face. He was leaving tomorrow!

“Good. We’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay!”

“And Virgil?”

“Yeah?”

“Love you, buddy.” 

Virgil stood still, shocked, as Logan hung up. He wordlessly handed the phone back to Mrs. Nesbit.

Logan said he loved me!

I have parents that love me!

Virgil’s smile grew as he considered that thought. It was quite a change from what he was used to.

“I’m going home tomorrow.” He calmly told the two adults in the room.

“That’s great news!” Mr. David said, and Mrs. Nesbit agreed. “We’re happy for you, Virgil.”

Virgil hummed happily, too full of emotion to speak. He waved to Mrs. Nesbit and led the way out of the office towards the giant dining room. He didn’t even mind the fact that it was full of loud children.

Today had just become too special to be bothered by other people.

I have parents! Patton and Logan. Logan and Patton. All mine! Virgil’s thoughts chanted over and over as he rushed to finished his dinner. 

By the time he’d finished his meal, all the adults working that night had congratulated him, as did a few other children who knew.

Virgil, feeling more confident than he had in a long time, had thanked all of them and offered encouragement to the other children.

If a freak like me can find a family, then surely they can too.

Virgil packed his things after dinner, managing to do most of it himself with only a little help from Ms. Carrie.

He had to admit that he would miss her and the other adults. He would probably even miss some of the other children. But even if he knew he would miss them, that didn’t spoil the rest of the night for Virgil. He told the people he wouldn’t see in the morning goodbye, and crawled into his bed for the last time. 

Tomorrow he’d sleep in a different bed. A different bed, in a different room, in a different house. 

Hell, he’d even be in a different city tomorrow night.

His excitement kept him up, but eventually able to fall asleep. He slept peacefully, having a night free of bad dreams, and free of haunting memories from his past. It was refreshing to go to sleep knowing that everything was okay for once. He didn’t have to worry about living in the Home for the rest of his life, and he didn’t have to worry about not being wanted.

He was wanted and he was loved by two of the best people he’d ever known.

The best part was that he loved and wanted them too. Wanted them more than anything. 

Patton and Logan. Logan and Patton. All mine! 

And I’m all theirs. 

Chapter Text

Virgil woke up early the next morning, his nervousness pulling him from his sleep and making his stomach churn. His limited sleep didn’t bother him for long, however. His excitement was intermingled with his anxiety, and was quickly pushing his fear aside.

Today was the day! He was going away for good! He was getting picked up! He-

He was going to throw up.

Virgil made it to the bathroom in time and promptly threw up.

As soon as he finished, he wiped his mouth and sat on the floor. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall against the wall with a thump.

Great! Just great. Fabulous! Naturally, on the day you’re supposed to leave is when you get sick! Well done, Virgil.

He drew his knees up to his chest, hugging them close as he rocked back and forth.

You can’t leave if your sick! You ruin everything, you stupid freak!

“Sorry,” Virgil whispered to himself, not caring that he was talking to himself. “Didn’t mean to.”

Of course you didn’t! You never mean to do it! Just like you never meant to tell Dad what Mama was planー

Virgil rocked faster, placing his hands over his ears and humming. If he kept it up long enough, he could drown out his own thoughts.

“Virgil?” 

Gentle hands were removing his hands from his ears. He opened his eyes to see Mr. David crouched down in front of him.

“You need to get ready to leave.” He said softly. “It’s okay, you don’t need to be scared.”

Virgil shook his head, eyes watering and humming anxiously. No! Can’t!

“No, what?” Mr. David asked. “What’s wrong, Virge?”

“Can’t leave.” He whispered sadly, tears spilling.

Mr. David shook his head. “Of course you can! Patton and Logan are going to be here in a little bit to take you home.”

Virgil cried harder at the mention of their names.

They’re gonna hate you! You’re gonna make them drive all the way out here for nothing!

“Hey, hey! It’s alright.” Mr. David sat beside him on the floor, putting a comforting arm around him. “Why can’t you leave?”

“S-sick.” Virgil sobbed. “Rules!”

Mr. David nodded, understanding dawning. “I see. Do you believe you’re sick?”

The boy nodded. He pointed to the toilet to say he had thrown up. Mr. David isn’t usually this slow!

“Virgil, are you nervous about leaving?”

What? What did that have to do with anything? Who cares? He can’t go home, doesn’t Mr. David understand?

Virgil didn’t say anything, but nodded.

Mr. David smiled a little. “Virge, you aren’t sick. Trust me, I know.”

Virgil frowned. That couldn’t be right.

“Sometimes, “ Mr. David began, wiping the tears of the boy’s face. “When you get really nervous or really excited about something, you can feel sick. You may throw up, but it’s alright. You’re not really sick, your body is just confused because it doesn’t know whether to feel nervous or excited.”

Is that true? I’ve never heard that before.

Virgil gave him a questioning look, not quite believing him.

“You haven’t gotten sick since I’ve been sitting with you,” Mr. David explained. He put his hand on Virgil’s forehead. “And you don’t have a fever. But you are anxious. It’s just nerves. Trust me, okay?”

Well…

You haven’t given me reason to not trust you before… 

Sniffing back the last of his tears, Virgil nodded. Alright.

“Good.” Mr. David stood up, pulling Virgil up with him. “Can you get dressed for me?”

Virgil hummed in the affirmative and followed Mr. David back to his room. Toby and Gabe were just starting to get up and ready for the morning.

“You boys go down to breakfast when you’re all dressed, okay?” Mr. David looked over at the other boys.

“Got it!” Gabe answered with a smile.

“Okay.” Said Tony, with a much lower energy level.

Mr. David nodded, then walked towards the door. He stopped, turning around with a sad sigh. He didn’t want to do this, but he knew he wouldn’t get another chance to say it.

“Goodbye, Virgil.” He said. “Good luck with your new family. We’ll miss you.”

Virgil felt his eyes watering once more, and he rushed forward to give Mr. David a hug. 

“Thank you.” Virgil whispered. “For everything. I’ll miss you too.”

Mr. David, returning the hug, smiled. “You’re welcome, Virge. You deserve all the good things that are coming your way. You’re a good kid.”

“Goodbye, Mr. David.” Virgil’s voice broke as tears rolled down his cheeks once again.

Mr. David gave the boy one last squeeze, before standing up.

“You better get a move on.” He said. “You don’t want to miss breakfast.”

Virgil nodded, not able to form a response. Mr. David stood up, the hardest part.

David Goldstein, a long time worker of Cahill’s Home for Children and very used to saying goodbye, then turned and left the room. He walked quickly down the halls, trying not to think too much about it. 

One of his kids was getting a better home. He wouldn’t cry about it. Not him. 

But, like he always did after saying goodbye to one of his kids, David wept.

It didn’t matter that they were going to a better place, they were still his kids and he hated to say goodbye. He would still miss them and it would still hurt.

And so he allowed himself a few minutes for tears, then he brushed them aside.

There were still other kids that needed his attention.

Virgil ate a good breakfast, just like he promised Logan he would, and said his goodbyes to the children he’d come to love as siblings. They were happy for him, they really were. He just wished that he knew the right thing to say as encouragement for them.

He wished that they were all leaving.

After double checking that he had everything, Virgil sat in the front room of the Home with Ms. Carrie, waiting for his parents to arrive.

Parents. His brand new parents.

The idea of a family still brought a smile to Virgil’s face. He was leaving. He’d never see this place again.

Unless they change their minds and send you back, his subconscious added helpfully.

Right. Unless they change their minds.

He sighed, looking out the window just in time to see a familiar car pulling up. Logan and Patton exited the vehicle and made their way up the front steps together.

Time to go.

Virgil turned towards Ms. Carrie and hummed softly. They’re here.

Ms. Carrie stood up and went to the window. “They’re here! Come on!”

He gave a quiet hum and climbed to his feet as Ms. Carrie opened the door.

Here we go.

“Hey, kiddo!” Patton’s happy voice filled the room the moment he walked in. “Are you ready?”

Am I?

No. Well, yes and no.

I mean, I’m ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.

Virgil gave Patton a smile and nodded, trying to fill himself back up with the excitement he had yesterday.

“Great!”

“Well if you could just sign the final papers, we can send you on your way!” Ms. Carrie said, she directed them towards the office. “Mrs. Nesbit would be happy to help you out!”

“Thank you!” Patton smiled and led Logan into the office where they were handed a few pages. The couple read through them together, then signed at the bottom.

All to soon, they were handing the papers back and thanking Mrs. Nesbit for her assistance. Logan and Patton walked out of the office and stopped in the front room.

“Well,” Patton sighed. “This is it, kiddo.”

Yeah.

Virgil didn’t say anything. He didn’t make any noise to even acknowledge that he’d heard.

“We’ll put your stuff in the car and let you say goodbye.” Logan said, directing Patton to grab one of the boxes of Virgil’s few belongings. “Thank you, Carrie, for all your help.”

“Your welcome.” Ms. Carrie’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she shook Logan’s hand one last time. “And congratulations. You’ve got yourself a good kid.”

“Yes, I believe we do.” Logan said slowly. He picked up the rest of Virgil’s things and turned to face him. “We’ll be just outside, Virgil. Take as long as you need.”

And with that, he followed his husband out of the building.

Virgil looked up at Ms. Carrie. She had been the closest one to him. The very first adult at the home to take notice of him and help him.

The very first adult to ever tell him that she loved him.

And I’m never going to see her again.

“Virgil, I…” Ms. Carrie’s smile slipped and her eyes filled with tears as she knelt down next to him. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

Virgil shook his head, his own eyes watering. I don’t know, either.

She opened her arms and he ran into her embrace, holding her as tightly as she held him. They cried together, clinging to one another, not knowing what to say.

Goodbyes are the worst thing. 

Life would be so much better if we never had to say goodbye to the people we care about.

After a moment, Ms. Carrie took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

“You are a good kid, Virgil.” She said, putting her hands on his shoulders. “No matter what you or anyone else thinks. You are kind, you are brave, and you are smart.”

Virgil nodded, tears still flowing.

“You will be safe and happy.” She continued, trying to control her own tears. “Logan and Patton are going to take good care of you. You will have the best dads ever and live the life you’ve always deserved.”

“O-okay.” Virgil hiccuped. It sounded like she was trying to reassure herself more than him.

“Promise me you’ll work with them.” Ms. Carrie sniffed. “Promise me you’ll continue to work with them like you’ve worked with me.”

Virgil nodded. I promise.

She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Her secret signal.

“I… I pr-promise.”

“Good.” She nodded, and forced a smile. “Now let’s get you on your way, yeah?”

He nodded, forcing a smile of his own. If she could do it, he could do it.

She stood up, taking his hand in hers, and began to walk. They walked together in heavy silence, through the door and stood on the front steps. Neither wanted to be the first to let go.

“There you are!” Patton called. He and Logan walked towards the steps, but stopped in front of them, offering the two their space.

“Goodbye, sweetheart.” Ms. Carrie said quietly. “I’ll miss you.”

I’ll miss you, too. More than you could ever know.

Virgil nodded. He wished he could express how much he cared about her and how much he would miss her.

You can. 

Do it.

You know how.

Virgil tugged on her hand, pulling her down to his height. He wrapped his arms around her again, and pressed the softest of kisses to her cheek.

“I love you.” He whispered. “Always will.”

Ms. Carrie’s tears began once more as she hugged him close.

“I love you, too.” She whispered back. “Always will.”

“Am I still going to be your favorite?”

“No one could ever replace you, Virgil. No one.”

With that promise, Ms. Carrie was able to pull herself away. She kissed the top of Virgil’s head before giving him a gentle push towards his parents, towards his future.

Virgil took a step forward and accepted Patton’s hand when it was offered. He slipped his other hand into Logan’s as they walked away from the place that had been his home for nearly three years. He was headed somewhere new, beginning a new life. He was ready.

Virgil looked back only once.

 After he had buckled himself in the backseat of the car, Virgil waved to the woman who had cared for him better than any other. Better than his own mother.

He continued to wave until she was out of sight.

“You okay, buddy?” Logan asked after they had driven for a few minutes.

No.

Not yet.

“Yeah.” Virgil lied, glancing out the window. His voice grew quieter. “You don’t need to worry about me, Daddy.” 

Logan’s heart leapt. He suddenly felt full, like he was feeling the most a human physically could. It was that feeling that made his decide not to call out Virgil’s lack of honesty.  

“We’re here if you need us.” Patton said softly.

“I know, Papa.”

Patton and Logan exchanged glances. Logan smiled and Patton barely contained his squeal of joy.

Here we go. 

Towards my new life.

A life with Logan and Patt一no!

A life with Daddy and Papa.

Virgil felt a smile creep onto his face at the thought. His sadness remained, but he knew it would fade away with time.

To the future, Virgil thought as he watched the world fly by. Whatever it may bring.

Chapter Text

“Kiddo, you awake? We’re almost there.”

Virgil opened his eyes slowly, fighting the urge to yawn. “M’awake.”

 He didn’t remember falling asleep. He remembered Patton telling him a funny story about one of the dogs he was working with and watching the endless road fly by, then nothing.

Ah well. Daddy said it was a long drive. Must have just been tired.

He looked out the window now, noting that the sun was much higher in the sky and that they were driving through a small suburban neighborhood. It was very pleasant looking with warm, inviting houses and rich green lawns.

“How was your nap?” Logan asked as he turned the car down another street.

Virgil nodded, then hummed when he remembered Logan couldn’t see him. Not bad.

“I bet. You were out.” Logan smiled at him in the rearview mirror. “Did you not sleep well last night?”

“Not really.” Virgil answered shyly.

Patton looked at Logan and shrugged. “That’s okay, kiddo. Nervous?”

“A little.” He said. “But also excited.”

It was true. His sadness had faded in the hour they drove while he was awake, and it was replaced with his earlier feelings of excitement and nervousness. Sleeping in the car for the last few hours had also eased his anxiousness, letting his excitement take over.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Patton cheered. “I am too.”

Logan then slowed down, pulling into the driveway of a nice little two-story red-brick house.

“This is it, Virgil.” He said once he’d parked the car. “Welcome home.”

Virgil didn’t know what to say. It was a beautiful house with a well kept garden and a huge oak tree in the front yard. Everything about it seemed warm and welcoming.

And it’s mine now.

Patton laughed a little at Virgil’s wide eyed gaze and speechlessness. “Ready to go in?”

Yes.

A million times yes.

“Yeah,” Virgil said as he climbed out of the car. His look of amazement never fading.

Patton and Logan silently followed him up the walkway and the two front steps to the door. There was a beautifully carved wooden ‘S’ hanging on the door.

For Sanders.

My new name.

Virgil Sanders.

Logan placed a hand on his shoulder and handed him the key. “Go on. Open it.”

Virgil examined the key. It was a simple silver house key. He turned it over in his hand, simply admiring it, before he put it in the lock.

The lock clicked and Virgil turned the handle, pushing the door open slowly and stepping inside. It was even more amazing on the inside. Pictures and the arrangement of furniture screamed loving and cozy.

“Come on, I’ll show you around!” Patton said, and led Virgil through the house. 

The ground floor had the living room, just to the left of the door with wide windows; the kitchen, where Virgil recognized several drawings on the fridge as ones he had made; a small dining room; a bathroom; and the family room with a beautiful view of the spacious backyard.

The second floor held the bedrooms. Logan and Patton’s room was to the left of the staircase, as was Logan’s study. To the right was another bathroom, the guest room, and the room that was to become Virgil’s.

“This is your room, kiddo.” Patton smiled, pushing the door open to let Virgil go in.

My own room, Virgil mused, stepping inside. It’s been a long time since I’ve had my own room.

The room was not as empty as Virgil had expected it to be. As a matter of fact, it was nearly complete.

It had been tastefully painted with a darker color scheme to resemble the night sky, something that Virgil found he really liked. The bed was made up, the blankets matching the  color scheme. The bed sat beneath the window, with a desk to the left side of it. Against one wall was a bookshelf that had several books already on it, as well as a small dresser. The closet was on the opposite wall.

All mine.

“What do you think?” Patton asked. “There’s still room to add some things and decorate more if you’d like.”

Virgil walked around the room once before turning and pulling Patton into a hug. “I love it, Papa! Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome, kiddo.” Patton ruffled the boy’s hair, smiling fondly. “What do you say to some lunch, then we’ll get you all settled in?”

Virgil nodded before racing downstairs to find Logan. 

Logan had brought the boxes of Virgil’s things into the house and was currently standing in the kitchen, staring at the refrigerator. He looked up when Virgil came in.

“What do you think?” He asked.

Virgil smiled, giving Logan a hug, before responding. “I love it.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Logan said, then he looked back at the refrigerator. “You know, I don’t think we have the right stuff at the house to have a proper celebratory lunch. What do you say to ordering a pizza?”

“Really?!” Virgil asked. This day just kept getting better. 

Logan smiled. “Really.”

“Thank you, Daddy!”

After the three had eaten, they moved upstairs to help Virgil unpack. Patton was currently hanging clothes in the closet, and Logan was putting books and other things on the bookshelf. 

Virgil had gotten distracted and was currently playing with a model race car and a Lego minifigure on the floor beside the dresser.

“How’s it going, boys?” Patton asked, looking over to the other side of the room where Logan was still busy at work. He then saw Virgil laying on the floor and fought to keep a smile off his face. “Kiddo, weren’t you supposed to be putting things in the dresser?”

Virgil suddenly looked up, horror written on his face.

Oh man, I totally forgot! 

I hope I didn’t make him made, I don’t want to get in trouble on my first day!

“Sorry!” Virgil cried, sitting up and rushing to return to his assigned task. “Sorry, I forgot!”

“It’s okay, Virgil,” Patton was quick to assure him, seeing the scared look on his face. “You don’t have to finish this second, it just needs to get done eventually. Do you need help?”

“I got it.”

“Alrighty then!” Patton turned back to his own task.

Logan placed the last item on the shelf, then took a step back to admire his work. “Is that what you were wanting, buddy?”

Virgil turned to examine the shelf, then smiled. “Yes! It looks very good.”

“Very good, Lo.” Patton said, closing the closet door as he finished his job.

Logan nodded in agreement, then began to break down the empty boxes. 

Virgil finished his task soon after and took up his spot on the floor with his toys once more.

“Well, I think the room looks great, Virgil.” Patton said. “Do you like it?”

Virgil hummed happily without looking up. Yes! I love it!

“Well now that this is done, I have a few things to do.” Said Logan as he gathered the empty boxes. “I’ll be in my study if anyone needs me.”

“Alright.” Patton responded as Logan walked out. “Do you need anything, Virgil?”

The boy looked up and shook his head. “No thanks.”

“Okay then. Well, I believe I’ll go downstairs. I have a few things to tidy up.”

“Do you need help, Papa?”

Patton smiled. “Nope! You can sit up here and play for a bit. I’ll come get you if you’re not down when it's time to eat. Come find me or Logan if you want anything, okay?”

“Okay.”

With that, Patton left him alone in the room.

He said come find them if I wanted anything, Virgil thought to himself in wonder. If I wanted anything, not if I needed anything.

Wow. This, I like this. 

Living like a normal kid is great.

Virgil was content to occupy himself for most of the afternoon. He came downstairs after a while to ask for a snack(which he was immediately granted by his papa) and to try out his new backyard.

The backyard was miraculous.

Within a few seconds of being outside he had been able to find a stick with enough of a curve that he could pretend it was a bow. He had a small collection of smaller, straighter sticks that he was using as arrows too.

There were three large trees in the backyard that immediately became the castle, the tavern, and the forest hideaway for his game of Robin Hood. 

He’d only heard the story a few times, and he wasn’t quite sure of some parts, but that was part of the joy of imagination. He made up several things as he went along. 

Eventually, Robin Hood no longer just stole from the rich to give to the poor, but also traveled in time to collect national treasures from history.

If only Robin Hood had a companion, Virgil thought sadly when he had come inside for a drink(Logan had peeked his head outside to insist that he be hydrating if he was going to be playing out in the heat). Logan was sitting across the table, drinking his water and reading a stack of papers in front of him.

Unfortunately, Robin Hood needs friends before he can have a companion to join him on his adventures.

It was with that thought that Virgil found himself missing the other children at the Home.

Sure they weren’t the closest, but they were the only playmates he’d had for a very long time.

He wished that there was someone else to play with. He knew he could ask Patton or Logan and they would be glad to play with him, but it just wasn’t the same.

He wanted someone his own age to play with.

Maybe there will be someone who lives nearby!

Virgil sighed at that thought. Maybe there was someone. But he’d never have to courage to go exploring on his own, nor would he dare ask his parents.

“Something wrong, Virgil?” Logan asked, having heard the sigh, and looking up.

Virgil shook himself from his thoughts and took a drink of his water. “No. I was just thinking.”

“May inquire as to what you were thinking about?”

“It’s nothing really.” Virgil said. “But… um… is there a park nearby?”

Nice one!

Virgil thought his sudden idea was brilliant. What better way to know if there were other kids nearby than to visit a local park?

“There’s one not too far from here.” Logan said, taking a drink of his water. “Within walking distance, actually.”

Virgil hummed, nodding his head.

Good. Now if we go, I can scout out any others and see if there is someone willing to put up with me.

“Maybe we can go tomorrow afternoon.” 

Virgil shrugged, trying to look indifferent about the prospect. “Okay.”

Perfect.

He finished his water and took the cup to the kitchen, placing it in the sink before heading to the back door.

“I’m going back outside.” He said to Logan.

Logan looked up and nodded. “Alright.” 

Virgil was halfway out the door when Logan called after him. “Tie your shoe before you trip!”

Virgil looked down. He hadn’t even noticed his laces were undone on his left shoe.

I guess I’m not as observant as Daddy.

He bent down and quickly tied it, then stood and continued on his way back to his game.

Tomorrow is the day I see if I can be normal enough to find someone to spend time with me.

A friend would make life complete.

Chapter Text

Virgil woke up when he heard his parents awake downstairs. He’d slept well and had no problem falling asleep the night before.

It was nice to have people to tuck him in at night and tell him they loved him.

He rolled out of bed, yawning as he left his room and headed down into the kitchen where Patton was making breakfast.

“Morning, Virgil!” Patton greeted cheerfully.

Virgil hummed softly, then tiredly took a seat at the table across from Logan.

Logan was dead to the world, staring blankly at the table.

“Morning, Daddy.” Virgil said, rubbing his eyes.

Logan grunted in response, not breaking his stare with the table.

“Here you are Lo,” Patton placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of his husband then looked at Virgil. “It takes him a cup of coffee and a few minutes before he can really get going.”

Virgil nodded. He understood. Mornings weren’t his favorite time of day, either.

“Did you sleep okay?” Patton asked, turning back to the kitchen counter.

“Uh huh.” Virgil yawned again. 

Patton’s ever present smile grew just a little bit. “I’m glad to hear it. Now eat! Both of you!”

He set down a plate in front of each of his boys, then took his own and sat beside Logan.

“Thank you, Papa.” Virgil said and he began to eat his breakfast.

The three ate in silence, which Virgil appreciated. He watched as Logan slowly became more alert as time passed and he drank his coffee. It was quite a fascinating change. 

Interesting. Daddy doesn’t do mornings. Somehow, I figured he’d be as alert and ready as Papa is in the morning.

You learn something new.

When Logan was fully awake, he turned to his husband. “Any plans for the day, Patt?”

Patton shrugged. “I’ll probably go to the grocery store this morning. Could you start some laundry while I’m gone?”

“I can do that.” Logan looked at Virgil before continuing. “Virgil was interested in going to the park. I thought we could walk down later this afternoon.”

“Oh, that would be fun! It’s supposed to be pretty nice out today.” 

Virgil looked down to hide his smile.

Good! This will work out just fine.

When they had finished their meal, Logan and Virgil went upstairs to get dressed for the day, leaving Patton(being an early riser he was already ready for the day) to himself for a few minutes.

Patton loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, then headed into the family room. He flipped on the tv and settled on the couch to relax for a bit before he would need to move on to the next task of the day.

Virgil was the first one back downstairs. He’d quickly gotten dressed and made his bed before returning to the ground floor. He walked around, admiring the rooms once more before climbing up on the couch beside Patton.

Patton had to hide his laugh when the boy sat down beside him.

Virgil had let his dark hair stay as it was, still tousled from the night before.

Patton couldn’t deny that it was an adorable look, one that suited the child well, but it was still amusing.

“That’s quite a look, kiddo.” Patton said, gently combing out some of the larger tangles with his fingers.

Virgil shrugged, not seeming to mind. “I just let it do it’s thing.”

Patton shrugged back.

Logan came downstairs a few minutes later, finding the two watching cartoons. He smiled at the sight before heading into the kitchen to pour himself another cup of coffee.

Virgil wandered around the house, looking for something to do, eventually coming to a stop in front of the basement door. He wasn’t bored exactly, he had plenty of things he could do, he just wanted something a little more exciting.

Patton had left a while ago to go to the grocery and Logan was down in the basement doing laundry.

Virgil was curious to see what the basement was like, but he didn’t dare go down the stairs. He was too scared.

He had many bad memories of a basement in a house he could barely remember, and going down the steps could bring them back to the forefront of his mind. That was something he did not want to happen.

Virgil turned and walked away from the basement door, stopping in the family room where he picked up the book he had brought down earlier. He sat down on the couch and opened the book to where he had left off.

In a matter of minutes he was lost in the world the words created.

“Virgil, may I ask what you are doing?”

Logan’s voice broke Virgil’s concentration, pulling him out of his book as he looked up.

“I’m just reading.” He answered.

“I see.” Logan nodded calmly. “Must you sit on the table to read?”

Sit on the what now?

Virgil looked down at the surface he was sitting on. It was indeed the coffee table.

How did I get here?

I don’t rememberーdarn it, Virgil! You did it again!

“Sorry.” Virgil whispered. He climbed off the table. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to.”

An accident?! What does that even mean?! How do you accidentally get on a table without meaning too?!

Logan gave him a questioning look and Virgil wondered if the man read his thoughts. 

He’s gonna get mad, you stupid screw up!

Stop getting lost in your own head!

Virgil was sure Logan was going to tell him off, for both climbing on furniture and trying to come up with an excuse, but he didn’t.

“Oh.” Logan said simply, his calm expression not once changing. “I see.”

Virgil was thoroughly confused, and his expression must have said as much.

“I understand the feeling of getting lost in your reading.” Logan explained. “I too, forget how I got to be in a certain place while I’m reading. Just try to sit on surfaces meant for sitting, okay?”

“Okay.” Virgil agreed uncertainly. He found it hard to believe that Logan could ever get lost in his head like Virgil did. 

Pay attention next time!

Logan smiled. “Don’t stress about it, buddy. We’ll help you out. Patton has to tell me to sit down and stop pacing around the house all the time when I read.”

“I’ll try.”

When it came time to go to the park, Virgil was ready.

He anxiously followed as Patton and Logan led him down the sidewalk and through the neighborhood, occasionally pointing out where nice neighbors lived or where the not so nice ones lived. Patton made sure to tell Virgil which houses had the cutest dogs.

Virgil wasn’t surprised to find out that Patton knew most of the dogs by name.

Virgil took the time to mentally prepare himself for people as they walked.

Be normal. Don’t do anything weird, and for heaven’s sake TALK!

“Almost there!” Patton said, cheerfully turning a corner.

Virgil turned the corner and there it was. He thought it was magnificent.

There was a swing set and a playground by a wide tree, with a picnic shelter not too far away. Behind the shelter he could see basketball and tennis courts. There were open fields to the right of the shelter, and to the left was a cluster of trees standing on a hill.

“There is a creek down behind that hill.” Logan pointed it out to Virgil. “Another time, perhaps, we could go exploring down there.”

“Yeah.” Virgil looked around. “That might be fun.”

Focus on the task here.

There were some teenagers playing basketball and there was a mother with two toddlers down on the playground.

Nobody else?

Virgil was somewhat surprised. It was a nice day, surely there would be other kids here, right?

Maybe there aren’t any kids my age anywhere near here.

Virgil pushed that thought aside as he headed towards the swing set. Logan and Patton walked to the picnic shelter. 

I’ll just wait for a bit, Virgil told himself as he began to swing slowly. And if no one else shows up, I can at least swing for a bit.

And so Virgil swung, content to lose himself in his thoughts and watch the sky for a while, hanging onto the hope that someone would show up soon.

No one is coming. You’re gonna be all alone.

Virgil sighed, snapping a twig in two as he walked around the shelter. That was probably true. While the park had been fun, Virgil was disappointed at not finding anyone and was ready to call it quits and go home.

He turned to tell his parents.

Great.

Logan and Patton were in the middle of a conversation with the mother of the two toddlers. Virgil wanted to leave, but he didn’t want to interrupt them. Adults hated being interrupted.

Just my luck.

“Guess I’ll just find something to do,” Virgil mumbled to himself. “All by myself. Again.”

“Who says you have to be by yourself?”

Virgil jumped, spinning around and brandishing the two pieces of twig before him like knives, a startled cry of alarm escaping his lips.

“Easy there, viajero !” 

A boy with tan skin and dark hair stood before him, holding his hands up in surrender. He looked to be about Virgil’s age, but was a little taller.

 What surprised Virgil the most about this boy who’d appeared out of nowhere wasn’t the prince costume he was wearing(it looked nice, he even had a sword! But why?) but his rather startling green eyes. They were breathtaking. Something about them just drew Virgil in.

Okay then…?

Weird train of thought, moving on.

Prince costume, alright. Not the weirdest thing. Appearing out of nowhere? Creepy. 

Who is this kid?

Virgil opened his mouth to ask who the stranger was but nothing came out.

“Fear not! I come in peace!” The boy said and he indicated the sticks. “You do not need to threaten me so!”

Right. Let’s see where this goes. Use your words.

Virgil slowly lowered the sticks. “W-who are you?”

“ El héroe ! Prince Roman, at your service!” The boy swept a dramatic bow. “And who are you, mi buen viajero ?”

Virgil wasn’t sure what to be more confused about, the fact that this boy just declared he was royalty, or that he had spoken several words that Virgil did not understand.

“Um… ” Virgil gave the boy, Roman, a blank look. “What?”

Roman rolled his eyes, sighing dramatically before looking at Virgil. “I’m Roman. What’s your name?”

Oh. Was that what he was trying to say? Sure didn’t sound like it.

“V-Virgil.”

“Well, Virgil, would you like to join me on my búsqueda to rescue the princess from the agarre ardiente of the wicked Dragon Witch?” Roman smiled, offering Virgil his hand.

Does he know that nothing he says makes any sense?

Virgil gave Roman a blank stare. He had no idea what a ‘ búsqueda ’ was, or what it had to do with a princess. He’d never heard the words ‘ agarre ardiente ’ before in his life, and if he was being completely honest, he’d never heard of a Dragon Witch either.

Virgil was pretty sure this Roman kid was a lunatic.

So I finally find someone; correction, someone finds me, who’s my age and they happen to be crazy. Just my luck.

Roman heaved a sigh once more as Virgil continued to stare.

Must he be so dramatic?

I’m sorry kid, I just don’t know what’s going on.

Roman put his hands on his hips, looking slightly annoyed. “Come on, Virgil! Do you want to play with me or not?”

You were asking me to play this whole time?

Why didn’t you just say so!

“Uh…” Virgil looked as his parents, still deep in conversation, then back at Roman.

It can’t hurt to play for a little while. I should at least give him a chance. Maybe he isn’t as crazy as he sounds.

 “... I guess?”

“Great!” Roman grabbed his hand and raced towards the playground. “You can be the knight!”

Virgil nodded. Alright. He could manage a knight. He could only assume that Roman was going to be a prince in this game of his.

“Our goal is to rescue the princess, she’s being held captive in that tower by the evil Dragon Witch!” Roman drew his sword, pointing it at the highest point of the playground.

Rescue the princess. Easy enough. He’d played that game at the Home several times with the other children. 

There was just one problem with Roman’s version of the game.

“What’s a Dragon Witch?” Virgil asked. Whenever he’d played this game before, it was always a dragon they were rescuing the princess from. Or an evil sorcerer! 

“It’s a witch who can turn into a dragon and use magic and stuff.” Roman said, looking at Virgil as though this was supposed to be common knowledge.

“Oh. Right.” 

Roman then began a monologue about why he needed to rescue the princess, only about half of which used words Virgil could understand, but he got the point.

He was glad that he’d played this game before. 

They worked together, adventuring across dangerous terrain as they headed towards the tower. They began their assault on the Dragon Witch, Virgil following Roman’s lead.

Virgil found that as he relaxed and got more into character, the more he enjoyed the game. Roman was adding twists to the game that Virgil had never heard before, but he found them to be quite fun.

Maybe Roman isn’t so bad…

“ ¡Tómate esa malvada bruja! ”

No, okay, he’s still definitely crazy.

Virgil and Roman were climbing the tower to reach the princess when an angry shout interrupted them.

“Roman! ¿Dónde has estado? ¡He estado muy preocupado! ”

Virgil looked over to where the voice had come from. A small woman with dark hair and skin that matched Roman’s was rushing over to the playground.

Who’s that?

Roman groaned. “Come on! We were almost done!”

“Roman, you get over here!” The woman yelled from the base of the playset. “ ¡Ahora! ”

“That’s my mom.” Roman said to Virgil. He then turned towards her to yell back. “ ¡Ya voy! ¡Dame un segundo! ”

“Do you have to leave?” Virgil asked. “You’re not in trouble are you?”

“Yeah.” Roman sighed. “I have to go and I’m probably in trouble. Mamá wouldn’t be so upset if I wasn’t.”

“I’m sorry.” Virgil said. He really was. He felt bad for this Prince, and he hoped he wouldn’t get in too much trouble.

“It’s okay.” Roman shrugged. His mother began to call after him again, but he ignored her. “You live around here?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Roman smiled as he began to climb down. “Be in your front yard tomorrow afternoon!”

“What? Why?” Virgil climbed down after him.

Roman looked at him. “So we can play of course!”

“Oh. Right.”

Roman bowed before running towards his mother. “So long, mi buen Caballero ! It was nice to meet you!”

Virgil ignored his confusion at the strange words and waved. “Nice to meet you too! See you tomorrow!”

Roman gave him two thumbs up before turning away. His mother was yelling strange words at him again as she took his hand and began to lead him away. 

Hang on! He doesn’t know where I live!

“Wait, Princey! How will you know which yard is mine?” Virgil called.

Roman turned back. “That’s why you’re gonna be outside! I’ll find you! Fear not, mi amigo !”

Virgil watched as the strange boy and his mother walked off into the distance. From what Virgil could tell, his mother was scolding him, but Roman looked like he couldn’t care less.

He’s brave, real Prince or not, that’s for sure.

Virgil knew he’d never have the courage to look that bored while being told off.

Virgil walked back to the shelter, where his parents were sitting together. The conversation had ended a while ago, it seemed.

“Hey, kiddo.” Patton grinned when he saw Virgil. “Ready to go?”

Virgil nodded.

Patton and Logan stood up, and the family of three began the walk home.

I guess it was a more successful trip than I thought.

He was nice. Definitely weird, but nice.

Virgil smiled as he thought of the strange boy prince. Weird was an understatement, but the prince seemed to have liked Virgil.

He said lots of strange things, though. Like when he called me ‘ mi amigo ’. 

Wait… 

Virgil’s smile grew as he realized that of all the strange words he’d heard the boy say, those were two he knew. They used those words at the Home.

They meant ‘my friend’.

Roman called me his friend!

“Papa, guess what?!” Virgil cried suddenly, grabbing Patton’s hand to get his attention.

“What’s up, kiddo?”

“I made a friend today! His name’s Roman and he’s a prince!”

Chapter Text

The next day, Virgil helped Patton do chores around the house. He liked being helpful, but it was also a good way to pass the time until he would get to go out and see Roman again.

If he decides to come back and can find me.

Virgil had been anxious all morning, worrying about whether or not the strange prince would come back. He was sure that he would, Roman had said he would at least, but there was always the chance that he wouldn’t.

He did say he was probably in trouble, Virgil thought as he chewed on his nails. I hope he’s not in trouble because of me!

“Kiddo, that’s probably not the best thing to do.” Patton said softly, interrupting his train of thought. “Fingers out of your mouth, please?”

Virgil slowly dropped his hands to his sides.

“Thank you. Pass me the next one?” Patton indicated the pictures that Virgil had dusted and were currently laid out on the coffee table.

Virgil nodded and handed one to him, watching as he returned it to its rightful spot on the shelf. They continued like this, Patton whistling to himself and Virgil falling back to his thoughts, until the task was complete.

“Thanks for your help, kiddo.” Patton ruffled Virgil’s already wild hair. “I think we can be done for now.”

“Happy to help, Papa.” Virgil smiled. He found himself doing that a lot recently, especially around Patton. The man’s positive energy was contagious it seemed.

He’d really like Roman.

Virgil had of course told Patton and Logan everything about Roman on their way home from the park last night.

Well not everything .

Virgil had left out the parts about Roman’s strange way of speaking with words that Virgil didn’t understand, and how his mom came to get him because he was probably in trouble.

He also didn’t mention that Roman was going to come over later.

What, scared they’ll say no, Virge? Not going to start lying to them are you?

Virgil tried to ignore his inner voice.

I’m not lying, nor do I plan to. I just haven’t told them.

Tsk tsk… lie of omission, Virgil, his subconscious countered. You’re still hiding things from them! You’re gonna get in trouble! You’re gonna make them mad! They’re going toー

Virgil clapped his hands over his ears, humming the tune Patton was whistling to drown out the taunting voice of his thoughts. He felt a little guilty about not telling them Roman might show up, but decided that it would be wiser to wait.

Virgil walked towards his bedroom, hands still over his ears. He passed Logan on the stairs.

“Everything okay, Virgil?” Logan asked, looking concerned.

Virgil nodded, pausing his humming to smile at Logan as he continued to his room. Logan didn’t look too sure, but he continued down the stairs anyway.

As soon as Virgil entered his room, he shut the door with his foot and dropped his hands from his ears. He continued to hum as he pulled a box of Legos(a gift from Patton and Logan when he’d arrived) out into the center of the room. Sitting on the floor, Virgil began to build, letting his imagination take over, blocking out any thoughts concerning that afternoon.

The afternoon didn’t arrive soon enough. 

Virgil raced down the stairs when Logan came to get him for lunch and had eaten as fast as he could.

“Can I get up now? Please?” Virgil asked for what felt like the hundredth time in the past eight minutes. He was done, but Logan had made him stay at the table. (“You need time to digest. You ate so fast you’ll make yourself sick running around!”).

“What’s the big rush?” Logan finally answered. He hadn’t answered after the first six times Virgil had asked and been told no.

“I want to go outside.” Virgil responded. He couldn’t meet Logan’s eyes. He was starting to get frustrated. Didn’t Logan know that Roman could be here at any minute? 

Don’t push it, Virgil. You’re making him mad, and he’s going to get tired of you real soon. You’ll regret it if you don’t knock it off.

Logan sighed, he was also growing frustrated. “Virgil, I don’t want to have toー”

“Yes, you may go.” Patton interrupted. Virgil looked up.

Logan looked hurt at being overruled. “Patton! Heー”

“If he gets sick, then he learns for next time.” Patton said calmly. “Let him go enjoy the outdoors while it’s still nice outside!”

“Iー” Logan shook his head in defeat, not knowing what to say.

“Go on, kiddo.” Patton smiled at Virgil, who immediately jumped up, taking his dishes to the sink before heading out the front door.

“Why did you do that?” Logan asked after he heard the door shut. He sounded mad.

“He was getting upset, and so were you.” Patton explained. “It’s too early for that. The second you two face off is when we’ve lost him. You don’t have to be that strict.”

Logan grumbled in annoyance. “I told him no.”

“And I told him yes. He’s got two parents, Logan. You need to be reasonable.” Patton countered. His voice softened. “Remember, he’s seven. And you’ve got a temper, Lo. Part of this parent thing is learning to control it. Especially when he’s upset too.”

“He just doesn’t like being told no.” Logan responded childishly. 

“Neither do you. Most people don’t, for that matter. You need to take a deep breath and calm down.”

Logan wisely said nothing, taking a deep breath as requested.

“Good.” Patton’s smile returned. “He’s just testing you. All kids do it.”

Logan exhaled loudly. “You’re… you’re right. This is just… it’s harder than I thought. And it’s only day three.”

“He’s been ours a lot longer than three days, Lolo.” Patton put a hand on Logan’s arm. “You’re doing great, don’t worry. You’re not going to be perfect, and that’s okay.”

“I don’t deserve you.” Logan said, taking Patton’s hand and kissing it softly.

Patton grinned. “No. You don’t. Yet here I am.”

Logan laughed lightly, foul mood gone, and pulled Patton closer.

Virgil anxiously kicked a rock around the driveway, thinking over what had just happened. He was honestly shocked.

Papa stopped Daddy from getting even more angry. He could have just let him go at me, but he didn’t.

Part of him whispered that Patton’s actions wouldn’t have been necessary if he hadn’t been badgering Logan, but he ignored it. His child reasoning told him that Logan was wrong and that meant Virgil was still upset with him. 

He sat down at the end of the driveway.

But why did he stop him? 

In Virgil’s experience, whenever an adult was upset with him, they had free rein. No one would tell the adult they were wrong. Adults ruled the world. And from what he’d seen, it usually wasn’t adults like Patton that were in charge.

Unfortunately, he thought bitterly. Most adults are mean. And wrong.

The longer he sat outside, however, the more Virgil began to understand how faulty his reasoning was. After all, adults like Patton, Ms. Carrie and Mr. David existed, and they were the nicest people Virgil knew.

Daddy is nice too, a small voice inside him whispered. He was upset. No one is nice all the time, especially when they’re upset.

Virgil had to admit that the thought was a fair point.

He had every reason to be upset. After all, I was being bad.

Maybe I deserve whatever Papa stopped Daddy from doing.

With that idea set in his mind, Virgil decided that he would just have to tell Logan that, accept the punishment, and hopefully the three of them could move on.

He sighed. He really didn’t want to do that.

“It’s easier for all of us if you realize you’re wrong, take the punishment, and move on. It’ll save you a whole lot of hurt in the end.”

Virgil blinked at the sudden memory. His mother had said that. It felt like a lifetime ago when he’d heard those words. 

Lot of good it did us, though. Dad didn’t care if we admitted we were wrong. Especially whenー

Virgil flinched suddenly, remembering the pain and horror that was attached to that memory. He quickly shut down that train of thought, placing his hands over his ears and humming Patton’s happy tune from that morning. He found himself struggling to breath.

Daddy is not like Dad.

Virgil wished he could convince himself of that, but the fear still remained.

He hummed louder, rocking as though it would ease the tension in his chest.

“Hey! Virgil!”

Virgil looked up at the voice. It was the prince from yesterday. The boy’s warm smile as he pedaled a bright ride bike up the street helped ease his fear. He found he could breathe normally again.

“You okay, mi amigo ?” Roman asked, depositing his bike rather ungracefully on the sidewalk and running over to Virgil.

“I’m fine.” Virgil stood up, a shy smile forming on his face. “So you found me.”

“Did you doubt I would?” Roman made a face of mock offense. “ Debes tener fe en mi! A prince would never lie! I told you I would find you, and I did!”

“I guess you did.” Virgil shrugged. “Did you get in trouble?”

“Yeah.” The boy prince said. “It happens all the time, no es la gran cosa .”

“Are you okay?”

Roman shook his head. “No. It’s awful!”

Oh no! Nononono not Roman too… 

“Can I help?” Virgil asked quickly. “Where does it hurt?!”

“My heart!” Roman cried. “ Mamá took all my Disney dvds! I’m not allowed to watch tv for a whole week!”

… what…

Virgil didn’t know how to respond to that.

So he’s not being beaten?

“ ¡Es una tragedia! ” Wailed Roman, throwing his arms up in the air.

He was just being dramatic.

“So you’re not hurt?” Virgil asked cautiously, ignoring the nonsense words.

“Not physically.” The prince responded. He put his hands on his hips. “Why would you think that?”

“No reason.” Virgil answered. He didn’t want to have to explain to his new friend.

The prince shrugged. “ Ah bueno. No importa ahora .”

“Right.” Virgil didn’t know what the words meant, but he figured agreeing with whatever his friend said was a safe option.

“Ready to resume our adventure?” Roman asked, smiling broadly. 

“Yeah.” Virgil returned the smile. “I have just the tree we can use as a tower!”

“ ¡Perfecto! Show me!”

Virgil lead Roman around the house to the backyard, pausing to pick up a stick that he could use as his sword. 

Roman, of course, had brought his own.

Patton and Logan looked up when the doorbell rang.

“Are we expecting anyone?” Logan asked, standing and walking towards the door.

“No,” Patton followed him. “Virgil didn’t lock himself out, did he?”

Logan shrugged. “I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”

He opened the door.

“Ah… um hello.” A teenager stood at the door, smiling nervously. “I’m Johnathan. I’m here for Roman?”

“Roman?” Logan frowned. “I’m not sure we know a Roman.”

“Oh…” The teen looked embarrassed. “Well, his bike is in the front yard so I thought…” 

“Bike?” Logan looked passed the teenager into his front yard where there was indeed a bright red bicycle laying half on the sidewalk and half on the lawn. “Oh. Um…” He looked at Patton.

“Roman… Not Prince Roman?” Patton asked. “Little boy? Perhaps seven?”

“Eight, actually, but Roman Prince, yeah. I'm sorry, he thinks he’s a real prince.” The teen breathed a sigh of relief. “Is he here?”

Patton smiled at the other two. “I think he might be. Come on, let’s go check the backyard.”

The three entered the back yard, finding the missing boy climbing in one of the trees with another boy standing at the base.

“Roman!” 

“Virgil!”

Both boys whipped their heads around. The boy in the tree looked a little surprised, while the boy on the ground looked like he had just seen death.

“What are you doing?!”

Chapter Text

“What are you doing?!”

Virgil and Roman’s attention snapped to the back porch. There was a teenager who looked like Roman standing there with his hands on his hips, looking vaguely annoyed. 

And Patton and Logan were beside him.

Virgil’s heart sped up in fear.

Logan stood with his arms crossed against his chest, his face showing no emotion. Patton was standing beside him, frowning slightly.

You’re dead now. They are most definitely mad.

“Johnathan, what are you doing here?” Roman called from his spot in the tree. He didn’t look frightened at all.

“Looking for you!” Johnathan responded as he walked towards the tree. “You can’t keep running off like this, Roman! ¡Es peligroso! ”

“I didn’t run off!” Roman exclaimed. “I told Maddie where I was going!”

“You’ve been gone for hours, Roman!” Johnathan was now at the base of the tree. He reached up and effortlessly pried Roman off the branch he was clinging to and set him on the ground. “And this is not riding your bike. Vamos vamos a casa! ”

“I don’t want to!” Roman cried, but Johnathan took his hand and pulled him along. “ ¡Te odio! ”

Johnathan ignored him, turning to Patton and Logan. “I’m very sorry on behalf of my brother, he should not have been here without your permission. It won’t happen again.”

“There’s no harm done.” Patton answered. “I can assure that we don’t blame, Roman. I can tell that my son had something to do with this too.”

“Thank you.” Johnathan responded. “Would you like to contact out parents? I can give you their information?”

“That’s alright.” Patton gave the brothers a smile. “There’s no need.”

“Thank you, again.” Johnathan said. “We live a few streets over if you change your mind. Elena and Joseph Prince are my parents names.”

“We will keep it in mind.” Logan finally spoke. “We apologize for any trouble we may have caused your family for encouraging Roman to run off.”

“There’s no need for that, but I appreciate it.” Johnathan sighed. “Roman’s been wandering off since he could walk.”

“Más como escapar.” Roman grumbled under his breath.

“We should be headed home now.” 

“Of course. Take care you two!” Patton waved as the Prince brothers walked away, they stopped only for Roman to pick up his bike.

Virgil could hear them arguing as they disappeared, using the nonsense words that Virgil had grown accustomed to hearing from Roman.

His parents turned to him then.

Good luck getting out of this one, Virge. Might as well start digging because you are so dead.

“Virgil, come over here please.” Patton called.

Oh boy. Here we go.

Virgil instantly obeyed, dropping the stick he was holding and coming to stand in front of the two adults. He looked down at the ground, finding it too hard to meet their eyes.

“So that was the Roman you told us about yesterday?” Patton asked calmly.

Virgil nodded.

“I see.” Patton looked at Logan. “Why don’t we take this in the house?”

Logan said nothing, but turned and entered the house. The other two silently followed him in and to the family room.

Patton took a seat in one of the chairs, but Logan stayed standing beside it.

“Was this why you were in such a hurry earlier today?” Logan asked.

Virgil remained silent, opting to nod again.

“Look at me, please.”

I can’t, please don’t make me. I can’t stand to see you mad.

He didn’t move.

“Virgil.”

The underlying tone is what did it. Virgil forced himself to look at Logan, eyes watering.

He hated that tone. He hadn’t heard it in a while, but whenever adults spoke like that, it meant he was in for a rough night.

“Can you tell me why you thought it was necessary to lie to us?”

“Lie?” Patton spoke up. “He didn’t lie, he just didn’t tell us.”

“Lie of omission.” Logan deadpanned in time with Virgil’s inner voice. “Withholding important information is just as bad as telling a complete falsehood.” 

“Well that’s hardlyー”

Logan interrupted him. “Dishonesty of any kind is wrong Virgil, and I believe you know that.”

Yeah.

Virgil fought the urge to break eye contact with Logan and nodded.

“So, if you know it’s wrong, what made you do it?” Logan asked.

What am I supposed to say?

I was scared? Didn’t want to? Forgot?

All of those sounded too weak to Virgil, so he said nothing.

Either way, I’m still going to be punished. Might as well not say anything to make them angrier.

Logan stared at him expectantly.

“We’d like an answer, kiddo.” Patton said quietly.

Virgil shook his head. He didn’t have an answer that would satisfy them. He couldn’t say anything even if he had one.

Logan sighed and strode from the room.

Where’s he going?!

Is he getting something else?! What does he need?!

Virgil could feel his heart pounding in fear and was surprised Patton couldn’t hear it.

Within a matter of seconds, Logan was back. He walked straight to Virgil and held out a notepad and a pen.

“An answer, please.” He said. “And we’d like the truth.”

Oh. He’s not going to force me to talk?

Virgil silently took the pad and pen, some of his fear sliding away.

Safe for now I guess.

Virgil wrote quickly, answering honestly, then handed the pad back to Logan.

“Scared?” Logan questioned. “Of what?”

Virgil accepted the notepad as it was handed back to him. He scrawled only one word and handed it back.

“I…” Logan looked at Virgil, who nodded sadly.

Virgil let his held back tears fall as Logan’s expression changed to one of hurt. He felt bad, but he was being honest.

Logan forced himself to look at the pad once more where Virgil had shakily written one word.

You.

“I...Virgil, why were you scared of me?” Logan asked softly.

Virgil pointed to the pad, and Logan handed it back. He pulled off the sheet he’d already written on and began to write on the next one. 

Patton stood up, walking with Logan to where they could both see what Virgil was writing.

“ I didn’t think you’d let Roman come over ,” Virgil wrote. “ And because I made you mad earlier when I was bad. ”

“You weren’t bad, so forget about that.” Logan said quickly. “Why on earth would you think I wouldn’t want Roman to come over?”

Virgil’s pen hesitated.

Why do you think that, Virgil?

He knew exactly why, but he wasn’t sure it would make much sense. 

“ Dad said kids are bad and having me was bad enough. ” Virgil continued to write. “ Any kids that want to spend time with me are even worse. I thought you wouldn't want anymore bad kids around. ”

Logan wasn’t sure he understood. It didn’t make any sense to him, but he wanted to understand.

“You're not bad." Patton said, and Logan nodded in agreement.

Do I remind you of your birth father?” Logan asked after a moment of silence. He hoped Virgil would say no. He felt bad enough for letting his temper get the best of him already. “Is that why you’re afraid of me?”

“ Sometimes you sound like him and it’s scary. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. ”

Logan thought his heart would break in two. He didn’t want to remind Virgil of his past, and he didn’t want to be anything like the boy’s birth parents. And he definitely didn’t want Virgil to be apologizing for something he didn’t do.

“You have no reason to be sorry for something that I did.” Logan said quietly. “I’m sorry, Virgil. This was clearly my fault. I was out of line earlier, and that’s not your fault.”

“ I still lied to you. ”

Patton decided to add to the conversation. “Kiddo, you were scared. We all do things we’re not proud of when we’re scared. Yes, it was wrong to keep that information from us, but we didn’t make you feel safe enough to approach us and that’s our fault.”

“I’m sorry for making you scared, Virgil, that was not at all my intention.” Logan said. “I will do better, starting now.” He paused to take a breath. “I want you to know that I love you.”

After all this? I just compared you to the worst adult in the history of adults! I made you mad twice in one day!

How can you just say you love me?

“We both do.” Patton added. “You can come to us no matter what, okay? If we do something that scares you, you can tell us.”

“ Okay. I’ll try, I promise. ” Virgil wrote on the notepad. “ What’s the punishment for lying? ”

“You’re not in trouble, Virgil, so don’t worry about that.” Logan explained. “Just ask us beforehand next time, okay? It’s not safe for you and Roman to be out by yourselves without us knowing. We need to know where you both are in case one of you gets hurt.”

Virgil nodded. That made sense.

“Are you still scared?” Patton asked. 

Well… 

No one hit me, and they still love me so… 

“No.” Virgil whispered. “Not anymore.”

“Good.” Patton breathed a sigh of relief. “I think we all just need some time to chill out after today. I’m calling tonight a movie night!”

“That is a good idea.” Logan gave Virgil a tired smile, visibly relaxing. “Sound good to you, buddy?”

Virgil smiled. Things were returning to normal. 

Everything is going to be okay.

“Yeah.” He said. “Daddy?”

“Yes, Virgil?”

“We’re not gonna have another day like today, are we?”

“No.” Logan answered, taking a seat on the couch. “I don’t believe we are. I’d say we cleared up the issues that made today so horrible.”

“Good.” Virgil sat down next to Logan, leaning against him. “Is Roman allowed to come over again?”

Logan laughed. “Not tonight, but yes. If his parents say he’s allowed, I would love to meet Roman properly.”

“As would I.” Patton added, dropping onto the couch on Virgil’s other side. “You looked like you were having fun together.”

“We were.” Virgil answered. “He’s good at playing pretend, even though some of the things he says don’t make any sense. His brother understood though. So did his mom.”

“Well, yes I’m not surprised. I would assume Roman’s family is of Latin American descent.” Logan said. “It sounds as though they mostly speak Spanish at home. Have you told Roman you don’t understand some of the things he says?”

He speaks another language?

Is that what all that nonsense was? That actually makes a lot more sense.

“Um… no.” Virgil admitted. “Should I?”

“If you want to understand what he says you have to tell him you don’t speak his language, kiddo.” Patton explained with a smile. “That or learn Spanish.”

“I’ll tell him.” Virgil said. “That’s cool that he speaks two languages. He must be really smart like you, Daddy. Can you speak Spanish?”

“No, unfortunately I cannot.” Logan said. “Though I have tried to learn. I’m just not good with any language other than English I suppose.”

“That’s okay, Daddy. I still love you anyway.”

Patton laughed at Logan’s expression. Logan looked slightly miffed, but was fighting a smile.

“Thanks, Virgil.”

“Anytime, Daddy.”

Chapter Text

Three days had passed, and Virgil had yet to see Roman again, despite how badly he’d tried to.

On the first day, Virgil had waited outside in hopes of seeing the young prince coming down the street. No luck.

Thunderstorms filled the second day, keeping Virgil inside.

On the third day, Virgil convinced his parents to take him back to the park. Roman didn’t show up, but they family of three at least got to explore the creek behind the hill.

Now, on day four, Virgil was beginning to think he might not ever see the boy prince again.

I’ve gotten him in so much trouble that he doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.

Not that I blame him.

Virgil sighed and looked out the window. It was a nice day, but he didn’t feel like going outside. Not without Roman.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?” Patton asked, looking up from his book.

“I miss Roman.” Virgil said sadly. “Do you think he doesn’t like me anymore?”

Patton frowned. “Of course not. Roman still likes you, I’m sure of it.”

“Why hasn’t he come back, then? It’s been days!”

“Well, the past few days might not have been ideal for being outside. He also might not be allowed to.” Patton said slowly. “If he left without telling anyone last time, he could have been told to stay inside.”

“You mean he’s grounded?” Virgil sighed once more. “I guess that makes sense.”

“See? There’s a reason for everything!” Patton smiled. “Cheer up, kiddo! You’ll see him again soon.”

I hope so.

Virgil went back to staring moodily out the window. Just because there could be a reason for his friend’s absence, didn’t mean Virgil was going to stop being upset about it.

Patton glanced over at Virgil, instantly feeling bad for him. He could remember what it was like to be alone on a nice day. Nobody wanted to feel like that.

He closed his book. “Let’s play a game, Virgil!”

Virgil looked over at him. 

“Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Virgil shrugged. “What game?”

Logan came downstairs a little while later, going straight to the family room after hearing excited shouting and laughter.

“Get it, Papa! Get it!” Virgil shouted between giggles.

Patton, also laughing, was chasing after a small ball that was bouncing all around the room. He caught it after another two bounces and Virgil cheered.

“Hi, Logan!” Patton grinned when he finally saw the tall man standing there. “Wanna play?”

“What are you playing?” Logan asked curiously. It clearly wasn’t any game he knew.

“Um…” Patton and Virgil looked at each other. “You know, I’m not really sure. But it’s fun!”

“We’ll show you!” Virgil said before turning back to Patton. “I’ve got seven, you have eight for the next round!”

“Right. Ready?” Patton asked, cocking his arm back to throw the ball.

“Ready!” Virgil closed his eyes. “Just watch, Daddy, you’ll catch on!”

“Go!” Patton shouted, and Virgil began to spin around in circles quickly, Patton counting each rotation. After the seventh one, Patton threw the ball at the opposite wall and Virgil opened his eyes.

Logan joined the laughter of the other two as Virgil stumbled in his dizziness after the ball. It bounced off the wall and shot around the room, Virgil chasing after it and catching it after a few more bounces.

“Ha!” Virgil cried. “Five bounces! New record!”

Logan smiled. While he could see many hazards of playing this game, he could also see the joy in the faces of his husband and son.

“Alright, I guess I’ll have a go.” Logan said, walking towards the center of the room. He was thankful that they had thought to push the coffee table out of the way, because he was quite certain he would have run into it if they hadn’t.

Virgil cheered. “We’ll start you with 10 spins! Close your eyes!”

Logan did as asked. “Alright. Now what?”

“When I say go, you spin around ten times! After the tenth, open your eyes and try to catch the ball. However many bounces it takes before you catch it is how many times you spin the next time!” Virgil prepared to throw the ball. “Ready?”

“I guess so.” Logan answered. He hoped he wouldn’t regret this.

“Go!”

Logan spun around, listening as Virgil counted to ten, then opened his eyes as Virgil hurled the ball at the wall. He stumbled forward, trying to stay on his feet and follow the ball at the same time.

It was a lot harder than it looked.

“Other way, Daddy!” Virgil cried before breaking off into laughter again as Logan attempted to change direction. This had been a good idea. He was having fun.

I’ll have to teach Roman next time I see him. He’ll love it!

After several more rounds of the game, Logan had to sit down. He was dizzy, and quite honestly, he was tired. Who knew that playing a simple game could be so exhausting?

 He looked at Patton and Virgil, both of which appeared to have the energy to keep going, but had sat down with him anyway.

“What did you think?” Patton asked him.

“That was something.” Logan gave him a tired smile. “Very entertaining, good job.”

Patton and Virgil grinned at each other.

“I think we shouldー” Virgil’s voice was interrupted by the doorbell.

“Who could that be?” Patton wondered aloud. 

Logan shook his head. “No idea. I’ll go find out.”

“No, Lo, let me.” Patton stood up. “You look like you could use another minute to sit.”

“Alright.” Logan couldn’t deny that another minute or so to rest would be appreciated.

Patton walked to the front door and opened it. There was a car in the driveway and a small boy in a prince costume on the front steps.

“Hi!” Roman exclaimed. He looked a little out of breath. “Is Virgil able to play today?”

“Roman! I said wait for me!” A woman Patton could only assume was Roman’s mother called as she exited the car. She came to stand beside her son, who had clearly run ahead. “Hello! You must be Virgil’s father. Sorry, I’m Elena Prince. Roman’s been begging me to come over and meet you.”

“Hello, yes! I’m Patton! Please come in!” Patton smiled and shook her hand before stepping back to allow the two inside. “Logan! Virgil! Roman and Mrs. Prince are here!”

“Oh, just Elena, please!” Mrs. Prince insisted as Logan and Virgil approached.

“It’s a pleasure.” Logan said, shaking Elena’s hand. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

“This is my husband, Logan. And I’m sure you’ve heard about my son, Virgil.” Patton said. Virgil stayed quiet, looking at the ground, but gave a tiny wave.

“Oh yes! I’ve heard all about Virgil.” Elena smiled. “I figured I should meet you all in person, especially after Roman’s invasion a few days ago. I am sorry about that.”

“ Yo no invadi! ” Roman cried, looking offended. “I just forgot to ask if it was okay.”

The prince looked up at Patton and Logan. “ Mis más sinceras disculpas . Eso no volverá a pasar .”

“Try again in English, dear.” His mother said quietly.

“Oops.” Roman blushed. “I’m very sorry, I won’t do it again! Thank you for allowing me to return!”

“That’s okay, Roman! We’re glad to have you here!” Patton answered. Virgil nodded in agreement.

“I’m glad to hear you say that. We’d be happy to have Virgil over anytime.” Elena said. “We’ve only just moved in, we’re on Oakwood Court, and Roman was very excited to find someone his age.”

“As was Virgil.” Logan added. “And welcome to the neighborhood.”

As the adults continued their conversation, Roman had slipped over next to Virgil.

“Hi.” Virgil whispered. “I’m glad you came back.”

“Me too.” Roman sighed. “ Mamá said I had to wait to come back until she could come with me to meet your parents. Which of course took forever! Los adultos son tan frustrantes a veces. Ellos soloー ”

“Roman, I… I don’t speak Spanish.” Virgil interrupted.

“What?” Roman looked at him, confusion written on his face. “Oh! Right! Sorry! Basically, adults are stupid sometimes.”

Fair point.

Virgil shrugged. “I mean I guess they can be.”

“Right.” Roman continued on. “I would have come a lot sooner if I could have. I like you.”

“I like you too, Princey.” Virgil said. “Now that you’re here, what should we do?”

“Whatever is good for me!” Roman smiled. “We could play a game, or ride bikes, orー ¡Espere! What if you came over to my house?! We could have a sleepover!”

What?!

“What?!” Virgil wasn’t sure he’d heard the boy right.

“A sleepover! I said that in English right?”

“Yeah.” Virgil answered. “But.. you want me to come over?”

I’ve never been asked that before.

Roman nodded. “Yeah! You could meet my dad, and my siblingsーI mean you’ve already met Johnathanーbut,” He slipped back into Spanish in his excitement. “ Podríamos jugar juegos, y quedarnos despiertos hasta la medianoche! ”

“Can I?” Virgil felt himself growing excited too, despite the fact that he’d never had a sleepover before. “That would be awesome!”

“ Mamá! ” Roman suddenly yelled, turning to the adults. “ Mamá!¿Puedo Virgil pasar la noche? Por favor! ¡Prometo comportarme! ”

The had adults paused, looking at the two excited children.

“Roman, there is no need to shout.” Elena said calmly. “Does Virgil want to?”

“Yes, please!” Virgil answered.

“I…I don’t mind.” Elena sighed. “However, that’s a question for Virgil’s parents.”

“ Señor , puedeー ” Roman stopped to correct himself. “May Virgil come spend the night? Please?”

Logan and Patton looked at each other, then at Virgil.

“Can I please?” Virgil asked.

“Well…” Patton paused for a moment, seeming to have a silent conversation with Logan. “I suppose that’s alright if you want to, kiddo.”

Roman and Virgil cheered.

“When can we go?” Roman asked his mother excitedly.

Elena looked at Logan and Patton.

“Whatever is fine with you.” Logan answered.

“Whenever Virgil is ready, we can go.” Elena said.

This is really happening! I can’t believe it! First sleepover!

“Let’s get your stuff!” Roman grabbed Virgil’s hand and sprinted up the stairs. “Which room is yours?”

“Last door on the right.” Virgil said, following his friend into the room.

“Right! So you’re going to need your comfiest pjs andー” Roman rattled off a list of things that Virgil immediately fetched and placed on the bed for Roman to stuff into a bag.

Roman’s clearly done this before! He’s an expert at this stuff!

“We’re going to have so much fun!” Roman exclaimed, zipping the bag shut and handing it to Virgil. “I haven’t had a sleepover at the new house yet, so this is extra special ‘cause its the first! Of course, Katie and Maria have both had sleepovers, so it’s not the actual first, but it’s my first!”

Katie, Maria, Johnathan, and Maddie. Plus Roman. That’s five kids.

That’s a lot of people.

“So you have four siblings?” Virgil asked as they walked down the hall to the stairs.

“What? No, I have six.” Roman said, skipping down the stairs. “Anyway, do you prefer to be in my room orー”

“Six?!” Virgil tripped, narrowly avoiding tumbling down the rest of the way.

Lord have mercy that’s a lot of kids.

What have I gotten myself into?

“Yeah. I’m the youngest.” Roman answered, then moved right along. “We can probably get ice cream! Do youー”

“Six.” Virgil whispered to himself, no longer paying attention to Roman’s rambling. “That’s seven kids.”

This… this will be interesting.

Chapter Text

Virgil looked at Roman, who was happily singing along to the radio as they drove back to the Prince house. He looked so happy and excited.

I’m happy too. And excited. This is fun, remember?

Virgil forced himself to smile at his friend.

Just because you’re terrified doesn’t mean you can’t still be excited, right?

He found himself thinking back to when he’d said goodbye to his parents.

“It’s okay to be a little nervous,” Patton had said. “You’re going somewhere new! And while it’s exciting, it can also be a little overwhelming. You’ll be fine with Roman, but if you need us for any reason, you just call okay?”

“Okay.” Virgil had answered.

“Don’t think about being scared.” Logan had told him. “Focus on Roman, on why you are there. You’ll have fun, you’ll see.”

Virgil had nodded then, choosing to trust his parents. They hadn’t steered him wrong so far.

He’d then said goodbye, hugged them both, and followed Roman and his mom outside.

Virgil decided that he would be excited and have fun, and not worry about anything else. He forced the thought of fear from his mind and focused on watching Roman, who’s dramatic facial expressions poked fun at the rather sad song that was currently playing. 

After another series of comedic faces, Virgil had to laugh and was glad to hear Roman joining in.

“Finally!” Roman exclaimed. “I’ve been trying to get you to laugh since the song started!”

“Sorry,” Virgil’s smile was real this time. “I wasn’t paying attention in the beginning.”

Roman pretended to look hurt, but the look quickly fell as they pulled into the driveway.

“We’re here!” He cried, and threw open the car door. “Come on!”

Virgil climbed carefully out of the car behind his friend and looked at the house. It was larger than the Sanders’ house, but Virgil figured that was because there were more people in the Prince’s family. Still, it was quite grand.

“Let’s go!” Roman grabbed Virgil by the arm and pulled him up the walkway and into the house.

Here we go. First step into a friend’s house.

From the little bit of the house he could see from the entryway, Virgil could tell it was magnificent. Sure it looked like some things were still being moved around, but they had just moved in after all.

Roman let go of Virgil once they were inside, but left the front door hanging open.

“I can’t wait for you to meet everyone!” He said excitedly.

Virgil didn’t say anything, but kept a smile on his face.

If they’re anything like Roman, then his family will be nice. Hopefully.

“YO!!” Roman suddenly bellowed, louder than Virgil had ever heard him. “ Virgil está aqui, baja! ”

Roman Prince has two volume settings: loud and louder.

There was a series of thumps heard from upstairs as several voices began to yell over one another.

“ ¡Estoy ocupado! ”

“Do I have to?”

“ Quien? ”

“Roman! You don’t need to shoutー”

“ー que demonios? ”

A dark haired girl appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Where’s everyone else?” Roman asked.

She shrugged as she walked down the stairs. “ ¿Cómo debería saberlo? ”

“Because you were just up there, estúpida !” Yelled Roman.

“Roman, don’t call your sister names.” Elena Prince said, entering the house and closing the door. “Valarie, stop being rude to Roman and please go get your brother and sisters. Roman’s friend is here and he would like you to meet him.”

“Fine.” The girl, Valarie, turned and stomped back up the stairs. 

“Thank you.” Elena smiled at the boys. “Roman, why don’t you take Virgil to the family room, so he can meet everyone without studying in the doorway?”

“ Mamá dijo ¡baja y conoce al amigo de Roman! ” Valarie yelled from the top of the staircase.

“I could have done that.” Elena sighed.

Roman giggled, then lead Virgil through the house to the family room. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them.”

I suppose I’ll have too, Virgil thought. They are quite the family. Very loud.

Virgil was beginning to see why Roman was the way he was. He was loud and eccentric because his family was too. Virgil would be surprised if Roman knew any other way to be except loud.

“Ah, Roman!” A man greeted from a chair when the boys entered the family room. “Is this your friend you were talking about?”

“ ¡Si, Papá! This is Virgil! Virgil, this is my dad.”

“Welcome to my home, Virgil.” Mr. Prince said. “We are glad to have you here.”

“Thank you, sir.” Virgil said quietly.

The rest of the Prince family filed in then, the five girls and Roman’s brother Johnathan. All of them had the same tan skin, with varying shades of dark hair. However, Roman was the only Prince with green eyes.

“Roman, would you like to do introductions?” Elena asked.

“Yes!” Roman grinned at Virgil, then moved to point to each sibling. “Valarie, Johnathan, Madilynnー”

“Maddie.” One of the girls, Madilynn apparently, said looking very annoyed.

Roman rolled his eyes but continued. “That’s Maria over there. Katlynnー” Katlynn shot him a glare. “Katie, mir error , and Katrina is her twin.”

Twins? Oh boy, it’s hard enough memorizing six names, but two that look alike?

Virgil looked at the twins, currently the only difference between the two that he could tell was that Katie had her hair in two braids while Katrina’s was in a ponytail.

“And you of course know my mom and dad.” Roman said. “Everybody, this is Virgil.”

Virgil was greeted with a chorus of ‘ hola' from the whole family.

“Hello.” Virgil said quietly, giving them all a small wave. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

The Prince children answered with varying replies of ‘you too’ and ‘yeahs’.

“Can we go now?” Katie asked and Katrina rolled her eyes.

Elena sighed. “I suppose.”

All the children except Katrina and Johnathan exited the room, scattering off to return to whatever they were doing before hand.

“Are you staying the night?” Katrina asked.

“Yes he is!” Roman exclaimed, saving Virgil the trouble of answering. “Isn’t it great?!”

Katrina shrugged. “ Supongo que si. What are you guys gonna do?”

“Well first we’re gonna put his stuff upstairs, but after that I don’t know.” Roman spun around and took Virgil’s bag. “Come on, Virgil, I’ll show you my room!”

He raced back through the house towards the stairs, leaving Virgil no choice other than to follow. They climbed the stairs and turned left. Roman pointed out a few bedrooms of his siblings and the bathroom before stopping in front of the last door. 

“I have to share a room, I hope you don’t mind.” Explained Roman as he pushed open the door. 

“Why would I mind?” Virgil asked, stepping into the room behind his friend. However, the question was forgotten when he entered the room.

Wow… 

 Posters were everywhere. On every wall. Mostly Disney, but some were of bands that Virgil had never heard of. 

Several hand drawn pictures were on the walls as well. Virgil could easily tell the ones that Roman had drawn, but there were several others draw by someone with quite amazing skill.

There were two beds in the room, each pushed into a different corner. The one closest to the window had stuffed animals all over it and Roman’s name above it surrounded by several glittery stars.

The other bed was unmade, but had an open sketchbook lying on it. Clearly, it’s owner was whoever had drawn the pictures on the walls.

Clothes, toys, papers, and a few boxes littered the floor and an equally messy bookshelf.

“Sorry, it’s kind of a mess.” Johnathan said, walking into the room. “Roman and I were more concerned about decorating than putting things away. I would have cleaned up if I’d known you were coming.”

“It’s fine.” Virgil insisted. He thought the room was amazing. “I like it.”

Johnathan is a really good artist.

“Thanks.” Johnathan smiled, sitting down on the unmade bed. “Ro, are you guys staying up here tonight? I can go downstairs.”

“Um…” Roman looked at Virgil. “Virgil?”

Virgil looked over at him. “Yeah?”

“Do you want to sleep up here tonight, or we can stay in the basement?”

No! Please not in the basement.

“Can we stay up here?” Virgil asked quickly. “You don’t have to kick your brother out, if that’s the problem. I don’t mind.”

“Works for me.” Roman shrugged. “Hey! Let’s build fort!”

He kicked some of the mess on the floor to the side and began to pull the blankets of his bed.

Well alright then.

Virgil began to help, assisting Roman in relocating stuffed animals and sliding things on the floor out of the way to make space.

“You’re going to need more building materials than that if you want to make this fort cool enough, Ro.” Johnathan said with a smirk. “I’ll be back.”

“Where’s he going?” Virgil asked.

Roman smiled. “He’s gonna get more fort materials from downstairs! Come on!”

Going downstairs again? Okay then.

Roman abandoned the current job, pulling Virgil with him to go downstairs. Johnathan was gathering more blankets and pillows, throwing them in a pile.

“ ¡Gracias! You’re the best, Johnathan!” Roman said, running to join him.

“Am I? I thought you didn’t like me anymore?” Johnathan paused, pretending to look confused.

“ No seas tonto, of course I like you!” 

“Are you sure?” Johnathan asked, putting his hands on his hips.

That must be where Roman got that from .

“ ¡Sí, por supuesto! ” Roman was trying not to laugh. Johnathan grabbed him and Roman screamed as he was lifted off the ground.

“Put me down!”

Virgil smiled, watching the two brothers interact and enjoy each others company.

“Swear to it, my noble Prince!” Johnathan insisted, swinging Roman in a circle. “Swear to it and I will release you!

“ ¡Lo juro! ¡Lo juro! ” Roman cried between peals of laughter. “You’re the bestest brother in existence!”

“Good.” Johnathan deposited the laughing Roman onto the pile of blankets and pillows. “And don’t you forget it!”

Roman was laughing too hard to answer. Johnathan shook his head, his own grin widening.

They must do stuff like this a lot. It kinda looks like fun, too.

Virgil could remember watching the few pairs of siblings at the Home interact in a similar fashion.

It would be nice to have a brother一

Virgil shrieked as he was lifted off the ground, being quite literally pulled from his thoughts. Johnathan spun him around quickly before dropping him on the blanket pile beside Roman.

What... what was that?

“Do me again!” Roman yelled, standing up. 

Johnathan did as ordered, spinning his younger brother around before once again dropping him on the pile.

“Do you want to go again, Virgil?” Johnathan asked.

Virgil had gotten over his surprise at this point, and found that he did find the experience quite thrilling. However surprising that was.

“Can I?” He asked.

“Certainly.” And with that Virgil found himself swinging through the air once again. 

He decided then to add Johnathan to the list of people he liked a whole lot.

If only I’d had a brother like Roman’s.

Roman and Virgil took turns being swung around at increasing speeds until Johnathan had declared that he was too tired to continue.

However, to the joy of the two small boys, he was not too tired to assist them in building a miraculous blanket fort.

Chapter Text

After playing several games inside the completed fort, Roman had left to go to the bathroom, leaving Virgil alone with Johnathan in the bedroom.

Am I supposed to say something? Do something? Do I stay here?

Virgil wasn’t quite sure what to do. He picked up one of Roman’s stuffed animals(a dragon that had been used in their last game) and pretended to be occupied with straightening it’s wings.

“So you met Roman at the park, right?” Johnathan broke the silence.

Virgil looked up. “Um… yeah.” He wasn’t sure what else to say, so he left it at that.

“Do you go there often?”

“No. I...I’ve only been twice.” Virgil answered.

Is this normal conversation? What do you and the older brother of your best friend talk about?

“Huh.” Johnathan seemed determined to keep the conversation going. “I’ve been only once myself, when Roman wandered off the first time.”

I guess running off is a habit of his then.

“If… if you don’t mind me asking,” Virgil said hesitantly. “Why does Roman run off all the time?”

“Oh. Um…” Johnathan frowned. “Roman is…well, he doesn’t really mean too. I mean sometimes he’s tired of being around us all day and leaves on purpose without telling anyone, but it’s usually an accident. He just gets lost in his imagination and wanders off sometimes.”

Roman gets lost in his head too. That’s nice to know I’m not the only one.

“Oh.” Virgil didn’t really have anything to say to that.

“It’s not his fault.” Johnathan added. “He’s been like that ever since he was little. It’s why he gets so excited, yelling and running around all the time.”

Virgil nodded. 

“Hey, Virgil?” 

“Yes?”

“Can you do something for me?” Johnathan asked, his face serious. “When you guys are together, I need to you look after Roman. He needs someone like you to help him stay in reality.”

Strange request. But why me? I’m nothing.

“Oh..okay.” Virgil wasn’t sure why Johnathan would ask him something like but agreed anyway.

“Thanks.” Johnathan smiled, and Roman ran back into the room.

“What did I miss?” The boy in the prince costume asked, skidding to a stop and plopping down on the floor beside Virgil.

“Nothing, Ro.” Johnathan shook his head. “I’m gonna sketch for a bit, principito . You two have fun.”

“Okay! We’ll leave you alone!” Roman jumped to his feet again and was halfway out the door before Virgil was even on his feet. “Wanna watch a movie?”

Doesn’t he get tired of running everywhere?

“Uh...sure.” Virgil followed him out of the bedroom.

“Great! Race you downstairs!”

As Roman took off, Virgil had no choice other than to sprint after him. There was no way he’d let the prince win without him even trying.

Virgil actually managed to pass him and was nearly down the stairs when Roman hit the ground floor before him with a loud thump.

Did he just jump off the freaking stairs?! Is he crazy?! 

“I win!” Roman laughed, bent over, attempting to catch his breath through his laughter. “Oh my gosh, Virgil! Your face!”

“What was that?!” Virgil exclaimed, horrified. “You could have broken something!”

“But I didn’t.” Roman grinned.

“Still! Please be careful, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“You have my word, on my honor as a prince.” Roman swept a bow before turning to yell for his mom. “Hey, Mamá ! ¿Dónde estás? ”

Virgil winced. His friend had quite the vocal capacity.

Again with the yelling. Either I need to invest in ear plugs or just get better with loud noises.

“Kitchen, mi amour .” His mother called.

Roman lead Virgil to the kitchen, thankfully walking this time. His mother was preparing something that Virgil could only assume was to be their dinner. He didn’t know what it was, but it smelled nice.

“ Mamaá, la mejor madre, amante de todos los niñosー ”

“Enough with the flattery, Roman.” His mother said sternly, fighting to hide a smile. “What do you want?”

“Can we please watch a movie?” Roman asked, smiling innocently.

“Roman, mi querido , you’re not allowed to watch tv, remember?” Elena Prince reminded him gently. 

“But Virgil’s here!”

“And you still went to the park a few days ago after I had told you no.” She turned to place something in the sink. “ Twice .”

“ Mamá !” Roman whined. “Please?”

Elena shot him a look, one that surprisingly reminded Virgil of Logan.

“Please?” Roman gave her his best puppy eyes. “ ¿Por favor? ”

“Alright.” Elena sighed. “But, Roman, one movie.”

“ ¡Sí! ¡Gracias, Mamá! ” Roman cheered and Virgil had to smile. If Roman’s puppy eyes worked on his mom, maybe Virgil could learn how to do it too, and use it on Logan…

I mean, let’s face it, Daddy is such a mom anyway.

“Make sure to let Virgil have a say in what you watch.” Elene added, then made a shooing motion. “Now get out of my kitchen you two. We’ll be eating in a bit so you’ll probably have to pause the movie.”

Virgil had been happy to agree to Roman’s suggestion to watch Mulan and they enjoyed themselves watching it, Roman singing along with every song. Maria and the twins had ventured downstairs to watch with them, too.

“Roman, why are you watching this in English?” Maria had asked when she joined them.

“Because the songs sound better in English.” Roman said. “And Virgil’s here. He doesn’t speak Spanish.”

Maria shrugged, accepting that as an answer and didn’t ask anything further. They had to pause the movie shortly after to eat, but Virgil didn’t mind. He had no idea what they had for dinner(Roman had told him in the middle of a half translated ramble, but Virgil had forgotten soon after and was too afraid to ask again), but it was spicy and he really liked it. 

“Thank you.” Virgil said to Elena as she cleared their plates away. “That was very good!”

“I’m glad you liked it.” Elena smiled at him. “It’s been one of Roman’s favorites since he was very small. Katie’s too.”

Roman(who’d eaten two plates and half of Valarie’s) nodded in confirmation.

They finished the movie after being excused, and Roman begged his mother to let them watch another. She had reluctantly agreed after making Roman promise to do extra chores tomorrow after Virgil had left, so they ended up watching Lilo and Stitch as well.

They didn’t see much of Roman’s siblings for the majority of the night. After the second movie’s completion, Roman’s dad had built a fire in the backyard and the whole family(plus Virgil) had made s'mores. Afterwards, the rest of the Prince children had disappeared, leaving the youngest kids in the house on their own. Roman and Virgil had sat in their fort talking about anything and everything, from their thoughts on the movies they’d watched to the prospect of starting school in another few weeks.

Virgil was glad to hear that Roman(who disliked school as much as Virgil did) would be going to the same school as him. Unfortunately, Roman was beginning third grade while Virgil was beginning second grade.

“I’m sure we’ll still see each other!” Roman said. “We can probably eat lunch together and play together at recess!”

“Yeah.” Virgil had allowed Roman’s excited words to assist in cheering him up. “That would be nice.”

The two had eventually changed into their pyjamas, but hadn’t gone to sleep yet. They were laying in their fort, whispering by the light of Roman’s flashlight. Johnathan had turned out the light and climbed in his bed a while ago, asking only that the boys keep their talking at a whisper.

“Hey, Princey?” Virgil continued when Roman looked at him. “Do you truly like me? Am I really your friend?”

“Of course!” Exclaimed Roman as loud as he could in a whisper. “Why would you think otherwise?”

“No reason.”

Roman frowned. “I don’t believe you. What is it? You can tell me anything.”

Can I?

Virgil bit his lip. “Well…”

It’s not like its a secret, Virgil. Just tell him.

“I’ve never really had a friend before.” Virgil whispered. “Not one like you anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

Virgil shrugged. “Well, I guess I sort of had friends at the Home, but people are always coming and going and they never last. Most people don’t like me, so I’ve never had a friend to have sleepovers with and stuff.”

“Oh. Well I like you a lot, Virgil.” Roman insisted. “And what’s the Home?”

“The orphanage where I lived before moving here.” Virgil explained.

“You’re an orphan? Or were I guess. Jeez, Virgil, I’m sorry.” Roman said, snuggling into his blanket.

“Um..er...no actually. I’m not.” Virgil looked down at the blanket he was wrapped in. “My birth parents are still alive.”

“Oh.” The prince looked confused. “Well where are they then? Why do you live with your dads?”

Here it is. Moment of truth. Are you gonna tell him?

“I don’t know where they are exactly. I have seen them in three years. Myーwell nevermind.” Virgil shook his head. He couldn’t do it. Not yet anyway. “I’m just not allowed to live with them anymore. It’s why I was in the orphanage, until Logan and Patton adopted me and became my new dads.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Virgil forced himself to smile at Roman. “It’s okay. Why don’t we go to sleep now?”

“I guess we should. It’s past midnight anyway.”

The two boys shared a devious grin before saying goodnight and turning off the light.

Staying up past midnight was something to be proud of when you’re that small.

Roman cuddled his stuffed animals, and was asleep in a matter of minutes.

Virgil took much longer to fall asleep, laying in the dark listening to his thoughts.

Maybe I shouldn’t have told Roman anything. He won’t like me now, no one likes a freak like me.

Papa and Daddy like you , a quiet part of his mind whispered. And Roman is just as weird as you. He doesn’t care about your past and he doesn’t care about your stupid fears! He cares about you.

It was that tiny voice of hope, the one that kept him going in the home, that eventually reassured Virgil enough to fall asleep.

Chapter Text

“Virgil! Johnathan! Wake up! Wake up, Mamá ’s making pancakes!”

Jonathan rolled over, his little brother’s voice pulling him from his sleep. “ ¿Tienes que ser tan ruidoso? ”

Roman only grinned at his brother before dropping to the floor where his friend was waking up. “Virgil get up!”

Virgil groaned and opened his eyes, sitting up slowly. Roman was kneeling about four inches from Virgil’s face, eyes wide and fully awake.

Well hello there Roman, must you be so close?

“Good morning!” Roman exclaimed. “Sleep okay?”

“Roman, espacio personal .” Johnathan called, rubbing his eyes and climbing out of bed. “He just woke up, dude.”

Roman reluctantly backed up, giving Virgil some more space.

Virgil yawned, stretching his arms out. He really wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

“Come on! Get up, dormilón !” Roman was growing impatient. He wanted to eat and play some more before they had to take Virgil home.

“Coming.” Virgil reluctantly climbed to his feet and followed the Prince brothers downstairs.

The rest of the Prince family was awake, though on varying levels of alertness. Johnathan and Maria looked half-asleep, while the twins were as bright as Roman. Maddie looked the same as she had last night: neutral to everything. Valarie looked like death.

Virgil figured he probably looked about the same.

At least there’s less noise.

With only a few of the children awake enough to be talking above a normal volume, the house was a little less loud.

“Morning, Mamá !” Roman called, claiming a chair at the table. Virgil took the one next to him.

“Morning, boys.” Elena addressed them both, placing plates of pancakes in front of them.

“How come they get food first? We were here longer!” Katie cried.

Elena sighed as though she’d had this conversation before. “Virgil is Roman’s guest, they can have first pick.”

Katie looked like she wanted to argue but her twin elbowed her into silence.

Eventually, everyone had food and was happily eating, Elena included.

Virgil noticed at the same time Roman did that the head of the Prince family was missing.

“Where’s Papá ?” Asked Roman between mouthfuls.

“Left already.” Katrina said. “You slept in late and just missed him.”

This is late? This is way too early if you ask me.

Roman swallowed his food, looking momentarily crestfallen. “Oh, okay.” 

He quickly put a smile back on his face as the conversation around the table continued.

Johnathan seemed to be the only one besides Virgil who noticed the change in the little prince’s expression.

“We can call him later, if you want.” Johnathan said quietly, leaning closer to Roman.

“No that’s okay.” Roman kept his bright smile, but Virgil had a feeling it was fake. “I’ll see him when he gets home.”

Johnathan shrugged and went back to his own meal. Virgil did the same.

After finishing breakfast, Virgil and Roman had gotten dressed( How many different prince outfits does he have? ) and packed up Virgil’s things before deciding on a game to play.

They had once again decided to play a form of “Rescue the Princess” which Virgil had quickly discovered was Roman’s favorite game. Virgil was getting quite good at being at knight. 

However, it was different every time they played. Roman somehow managed to come up with a new storyline every time they played the game, which is why Virgil didn’t mind playing the same thing over and over. His friend was able to make each version interesting and enjoyable, and Virgil wished he had the ability to be that creative.

I am learning, though. Not being afraid to use something for more than its intended purpose is a useful skill.

All too soon the time had to come to an end, forcing Virgil and Roman to put away the plastic swords and put the couch cushions back in place. Roman had tried to get his mother to let Virgil stay a little longer, but was denied.

Bummer. I like it here.

Roman and Virgil climbed into the car and Elena took them back to the Sanders house. Logan had come out to meet them, thanking Elena for letting Virgil stay and taking his son’s bag before the two had said goodbye to the Princes.

Virgil was honestly sad to have to say goodbye, but he knew he’d see Roman again very soon.

“Did you have fun?” Logan asked, leading the way into the house.

“Yeah!” Virgil gave his father a brief recap on all the things he did at Roman’s as he put away his things.

“It sounds like it was a good time.” Logan smiled from Virgil’s doorway. “I’m glad you and Roman had fun. We’ll have to invite him over sometime.”

Now that would be fun!

“Can we?!” Virgil asked excitedly. “That would be awesome!”

“Eventually.” Said Logan. “Maybe next weekend. We’ll see.”

Virgil grinned. That basically meant yes.

Plenty of time to prepare too! We’ll have lots of fun!

Virgil began to make a mental list of all the things he would need to do to prepare when he noticed something missing.

“Daddy, where’s Papa?”

Logan, who was heading out into the hall, turned back. “Today was his first day back at work. He took off for a bit while you were getting settled, but he had to go back today. He left before you got back.”

“Oh.” Virgil immediately understood why Roman was sad at not getting to see his own father. He’d wanted to see Patton, had missed him when it was time to go to bed the night before, and now he would have to wait.

“He’ll be home later, around 4:30.” Logan said and he checked his watch. It was only eleven.

Virgil nodded and turned his back to Logan, walking towards his desk.

Logan wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. Eventually he settled on saying nothing and left the room.

After a quiet and simple lunch, Virgil found himself sitting in the family room with a book. Logan was sitting in his favorite armchair reading from his own book.

Unfortunately, Virgil was not reading, though not for lack of trying. He would try to read, but he found he just couldn’t focus on the words. Everything would blur together. His thoughts were too loud, and the house too quiet. He usually liked the quiet, especially after being in a loud environment like the Prince’s house, but today it was just too quiet.

He missed Patton’s humming and found himself wishing that his Papa could give him a hug.

“Virgil, I want to show you something.” Logan’s voice broke through Virgil’s haze. “Come here.”

Virgil mentally shook himself, placing his book on the couch and coming to stand beside Logan’s chair.

He was a little surprised when Logan motioned for him to climb up with him, but he did so anyway, sitting partially on the chair and partially on Logan’s lap.

This actually isn’t too bad.

“Look here.” Logan pointed to a colorful picture in the book he was reading, and Virgil looked. “Isn’t that beautiful?”

“Yeah.” Virgil breathed. And it was. There were stars and swirls of color like a fanciful painting. “What is it?”

“It’s a nebula.” Logan said. “It’s a big cloud of gas and dust, they form stars.”

“That’s cool.” Virgil flipped the page, finding more pictures of nebulae and a chunk of text. 

I wish I could read that , Virgil thought as he looked at the text. He still couldn’t focus on the words, and even if he could, the words looked too long for him to be able to read them anyway.

Logan began to read aloud then, and Virgil found himself wondering once again if the man could read minds. Logan had a good reading voice, which Virgil supposed came from being a teacher. He pointed out parts of the pictures as he read, giving Virgil a simpler explanation of what certain things meant so he could understand it. Virgil found himself leaning in closer to Logan as he continued to read.

This is nice.

Virgil tried to follow the best he could, finding the information rather interesting, but he found that the miraculous pictures were too captivating to really hear what Logan was reading.

He looked at pictures of nebulae and stars, planets and galaxies, while half listening to Logan’s soothing voice explaining how each formed.

They’re beautiful. Hard to believe something so beautiful is actually real.

Patton closed the front door behind him as he stepped into the house. He slipped off his shoes and hug his keys on the appropriate hook before heading off in search of his family.

He knew Logan would be in his study, but he was honestly surprised that Virgil hadn’t met him at the door. Perhaps he was out back and simply hadn’t heard him pull in.

Patton headed through the house to go investigate, pausing as he passed through the family room. Patton smiled and pulled out his phone to silently take a picture.

Logan and Virgil were passed out in Logan’s chair with an astronomy book laying open on the arm of the chair.

The footrest of the chair was up, putting Logan in a more reclined position with one arm lying near the book and the other wrapped gently around Virgil. His glasses were crooked and sliding off his face, but Patton loved the look. Virgil was curled up against Logan’s side and sleeping soundly, looking as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

They were adorable and Patton was very glad to have come home to this sight. 

Logan must have sensed his presence then, because he opened up his eyes. “Patt?”

“Hey, Lolo.” Patton whispered, standing in front of the chair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“‘S okay.” Logan yawned. “How was work?”

“Fine. Same as always.” Patton answered, he leaned in a gave Logan a kiss. “I guess things are okay here?”

“Mmm.” Logan murmured. “All good.”

Patton nodded. “Good. Want to trade?” He indicated Virgil, who was still sound asleep.

Logan nodded, slowly putting the footrest of the chair down to allow Patton to get closer, then assisting as they carefully transferred him into Patton’s arms.

He stirred as he was moved, lifting his head and blinking his eyes. “Papa?”

“It’s me, kiddo.” Patton whispered. “You don’t have to be awake yet.”

“M’kay.” Virgil eyes drifted shut again as he dropped his head back onto Patton’s shoulder. He was asleep again in a matter of seconds.

“I’m glad I can do this.” Patton quietly told Logan as he approached the couch, holding Virgil close.

“Me too.” Logan agreed. “Physical affection is important for the well being of both the child and the parents.”

“That’s my Lo, always doing research.” Patton gave his husband a playful smile and sat down on the couch.

“I like to be knowledgeable about things I’ve never done.” Logan said. “And it helps to be prepared.”

“I know. That’s why I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Patton didn’t respond, but lifted his legs onto the couch, stretching out a bit. It was good to relax after a long day of work, and he could think of no better way to do so than resting his eyes for a bit with his son cradled close to his chest.

“Love you.” He whispered to Virgil as he closed his eyes. “Please don’t ever grow up.”

Instead of pointing out how Patton’s request was not only ridiculous, but impossible, Logan found himself silently repeating Patton’s request. 

Logan was not raised in a house that longed for touch and he hadn’t understood what all the fuss about cuddling and physical affection was until he’d met Patton. And Logan discovered that he had grown to crave it. He wanted more moments like the one he had today, getting to hold his son close, letting him know just how much he was loved.

Yes, he wanted Virgil to stay young and so free with his affection so that he and Patton both could continue to have beautiful moments like this.

Chapter Text

“Virgil! Get your shoes, it’s time to go!” Patton called. When he got no answer, he ventured into the kitchen to look for the child.

He found him seated on the counter with a book, lost in the world of words.

“Kiddo, off the counter please.” Patton said, standing in front of the boy. “Come on, we need to go.”

The dark head finally looked up. “What did you say, Papa?”

Patton pointed at the ground, causing the boy to blush and slide off the counter.

“Sorry.” He whispered. “I forgot.”

“It’s alright, you’ll figure it out. Now get your shoes, it’s time to go.” Patton walked back into the front room, standing at the base of the stairs as Virgil scampered up. “Logan! Are you ready to go?”

There was a thump and muffled cursing.

Patton sighed, climbing the stairs. “Logan Sanders, I swear to God…” He trailed off and pushed open the door to his husband’s study.

Logan was holding his nose with one hand and picking a book up off the floor with the other.

Patton crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

“Ran into the wall,” Logan grumbled, standing up.

“Between your wandering and Virgil’s climbing, you two cause me more worry than most people would ever deal with.” Patton sighed once more and stepped closer to Logan. “Let me see.”

Logan removed his hand. “I’m fine. Where was he this time?”

“The counter. Again.” Patton explained, examining Logan’s face. “How does he even get up there? You’re fine, by the way.”

“I told you I was.” Logan placed his book on his desk. “I have no idea how he does it, he just does.”

Patton shrugged. “You ready to go?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Logan snatched a piece of paper off his desk and motioned for Patton to go out into the hall. “After you.”

Virgil was waiting for them in the hall, hands stuffed into the pockets of his shorts. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Patton lead the way down the stairs.

“Papa?”

Patton looked over at Virgil, who held up a small Lego figure that he’d taken from his pocket, his unspoken question rather obvious: Can I take it with me?

“Just the one.” Patton said, and Virgil grinned. 

“Thank you, Papa!”

The small family climbed into the car, with Logan at the wheel. 

Patton was going over the list Logan had grabbed off of his desk; the list of things they had to get while they were out. Some of it was basic household items, the rest was things that Logan and Virgil were going to need for the upcoming school year.

Virgil was not at all excited about how soon school would be starting.

He stared out the window as they drove, wishing it was dark so he could pretend that his Lego astronaut was exploring deep space.

Pretend he’s exploring the sun , Roman’s voice suddenly spoke in his mind, causing Virgil to smile. The more time Virgil was spending with Roman, the more he often could imagine Roman’s voice providing a creative and fun solution to Virgil’s current predicament.

Fine, Virgil told himself. He’s exploring the sun. Even though that’s impossible because the sun is so bright and hot that he would die before getting near it, my astronaut is exploring the sun.

He could almost see Roman’s dramatic eye roll.

All too soon they were pulling into a parking spot at the shopping center, and Virgil felt a small weight build in his chest. There was going to be lots of people here, and he did not like that thought.

It’ll be just fine, he told himself as he got out of the car. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.

Patton gave him a smile, then said something to Logan that Virgil didn’t catch.

Logan nodded, glancing at the shopping center with what Virgil thought was fear. But the look was gone in a matter of seconds as Logan shook himself of whatever dark thoughts he was having.

You’re safe, Virgil told himself again. Stay with Daddy and Papa and you’ll be just fine. They’d never let anything bad happen to you.

He jogged two steps to catch up to his parents, who were walking hand in hand, and slid his hand into Logan’s.

“Ready?” Logan asked in a whisper as they approached the doors.

Don’t really have a choice, so I guess so.

Virgil squeezed his hand in response. As I’ll ever be.

The family walked through the doors.

Virgil was tired, bored, and ready to go home. 

His ears hurt from being around so much constant noise and the pressure he felt in his chest earlier was beginning to increase. His brain hurt too, trying to stay on top of all his thoughts.

 He had to keep track of Logan and Patton, watch for any unusual behavior from the strangers around them, fight off the constant stream of potential(although unlikely) scenarios that were invading his mind, and he had to make decisions about what things he wanted.

It was quite a lot for a seven year, whose feet were sore from the endless walking, to do.

He’d lost his confidence to speak before ten minutes had passed and he’d lost the energy to even attempt to speak not much longer after.

If he was being honest, Virgil was just drained. 

“We’re almost done, kiddo, I promise.” Patton said reassuringly as he examined some item or another on the shelf. “We’ll leave very soon. You’ve done so well.”

Virgil nodded to tell him he had heard before turning his attention back to watching Logan. Logan was further away, looking at a selection of books on another display.

He’s fine, so calm down. Breathe.

Virgil took a deep breath. His Daddy was fine. Just further away than Virgil wanted him to be, but it was going to be okay.

You can still see him, so you can watch out for him.  

Virgil was keeping a running list of all the people who were nearby, watching a recording their actions to be sure that they wouldn’t go near him or his parents. Most people were too occupied with their own shopping to pay the family any attention.

Good. Everything is good. It’s fine. You’re fine. Everything is fineー

A hand on Virgil’s shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts. “Excuse me, sweetie, did you drop this?” A woman with blonde hair was holding something out with one hand, her other was resting on his shoulder.

She’stouchingmeshe’stouchingmestopstopstopstopstopSTOP!!

The woman seemed to register Virgil’s panic and removed her hand, but still held out the other.

“I’m sorry. Is this yours?”

Virgil forced himself to look at her open hand. She was holding a small Lego figure. An astronaut.

Virgil’s panic increased as he felt his pockets, finding them bare.

That’s my astronaut! That’s the one Daddy bought for me!

The woman smiled and handed it to him. “I figured it was. Here you go, sweetie. Where’s your mom?”

Stranger. Run now. Go away. Papa is behind you, MOVE!

Virgil turned and ran towards Patton, who’d moved a little further away, leaving the woman behind. He latched onto Patton’s leg, clutching his astronaut in his fist.

“Kiddo? What’s wrong?” Patton looked down, one hand coming off the cart to rest on his back.

Virgil hummed into Patton’s jeans.

Patton looked around, knowing that specific hum meant panic, his eyes falling on the woman.

“You must be his dad, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare him.” The woman said, giving Patton a smile. “He dropped his Lego person and I gave it back. He’s a quiet one, huh?”

“Oh. Thank you.” Patton gave her soft smile. “Yeah I guess you could say that.”

The woman nodded. “My little boy was like that when he was that age. Now he won’t shut up.”

She laughed a little, and Patton, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, forced himself to do the same.

Virgil was slowly easing out of panic mode as the woman and Patton continued to make small talk.

You’re safe. Your with Papa. Everything is fine. YourーDaddy!!

In his panic to get away from the strange woman, Virgil had taken his eyes off Logan. He pulled his face away from Patton’s leg and looked around, but didn’t see him.

Panic mode returned, harder than before.

He pulled on Patton’s hand, humming his noise of panic.

“What is it, kiddo?” Patton asked.

Virgil repeated his panicked hum, adding two unique notes on the end. Help! Daddy!

Patton didn’t know what the second hum meant. “I don’t understand, kiddo. Is it Karen your worried about?” He pointed at the woman.

No! Don’t you understand?! Daddy is in danger!!

Virgil shook his head aggressively, repeating his humming phrase as though the repetition would force Patton to understand. 

When Patton still didn’t understand, Virgil let go of him and ran back to where he’d last seen Logan.

“Virgil wait!”

Whereishewhereiswhereishewhereishe

Virgil looked all over, running one way than the next trying to find his father. The tension in his chest had become unbearable, and Virgil found himself gasping for air.

Daddy’s in danger! Findhimfindhimfindhim

He turned down another aisle and let out a panic whimper as he saw Logan, and sprinted to him.

“Virgil, what?” Logan dropped to his knees and caught Virgil as he ran to him. Quickly noticing the boy’s hampered breathing, Logan took his hands. “Breathe. In and out. Like this.”

Follow. Follow him, he’s okay.

Virgil tried, but he just couldn’t do it. The fear that he’d lost Logan was too great and tears started to pour as his brain aggressively reminded him off what could have happened.

He shook his head. Can’tdoitcan’tdoit. Can’tbreathecan’tbreathe.

“Virgil! There you are!” Patton turned the corner and came down the aisle towards them. He saw Virgil and felt his own panic rising. “What’s wrong? Logan, what’s happening? Is he okay?”

“Panic attack. He’s fine.” Logan said, not taking his eyes off the child. “You’re fine, Virgil. It’ll pass. You’re fine, you’re safe. I’m safe and Papa’s safe. You’re fine. Breathe. Do as I do.”

Can’tbreathecan’tbreathecan’tbreathe

Virgil tried to take in what Logan was saying, struggling to make out his voice over the chaos in his head.

“Breathe with me, Virgil.” Logan coached several breaths, encouraging Virgil as he went. “That’s good. You’re doing so well, Virgil, keep going.”

Patton dropped to his knees beside the other two, putting one hand on Logan’s shoulder, and taking one of Virgil’s hands in the other. “That’s it, kiddo, you’re doing great! Just keep breathing, okay? It’ll be over soon.”

Slowly, Virgil was able to ride it out and get his breath back. Even slower still, the tightness in his chest loosened. 

“Very good.” Patton said, running his fingers through Virgil’s hair. “You did so well, I’m proud of you, kiddo.”

“You’re okay now.” Logan added, squeezing Virgil’s hand. “The scary part is done. Are you ready to move now?”

Virgil nodded, silent tears still falling. 

“Good.” Logan stood up, not letting go of Virgil’s hand. 

Virgil stepped closer to Logan, hugging his legs as tight as he could.

“You’re fine now.” Logan said reassuringly. “Everybody’s okay.”

Patton offered them both a smile, taking Virgil’s other hand as they began to walk back to where they’d left the cart. “We’re going to go home now.”

Virgil didn’t say anything as they walked back.

“Oh you found him!” The woman, Karen, looked relieved. “Thank goodness!”

“Yes, thankfully. And thank you for watching our stuff,” Patton said, leaving the small group to approach the cart.

“Of course. Is he okay?” She asked, looking over at Logan and Virgil.

“Fine, he just was concerned for my partner.” Patton explained with a small laugh. “He gets anxious when he doesn’t know where both of us are.”

“Partner?” Karen’s face immediately darkened. She glared at Logan. “You share the kid, with him ?”

Patton’s happy mood deflated a bit, but he was determined to be polite. “Yes I do. That’s my husband. We are very happy together.”

“Oh I see.” Karen immediately backed away. “Well I don’t want anything to do with that .”

Patton’s smile faltered. He didn’t even have to look behind him to know that Logan was fuming.

“ That ?” Logan asked angrily. “Are you referring to us sharing a child, or the fact that we are homosexual?”

“Both.” Karen said. “It’s disgusting and wrong is what it is. Unnatural. I feel bad for that poor child you’ve taken in too, he’s going to grow up to be an emotional wreck with no sense of morality. Does he know that you are not his real parents or that what your doing is wrong?”

What kind of crap is that? She doesn’t know what she is talking about.

Logan smiled. It was a terrifying sight and Virgil hoped he’d never see it again. “Ma’am, I’d appreciate it if you left now. You are bothering my family and, quite frankly, are being rather rude.”

“Me? Rude? And what family?! ” Karen sputtered. “You are not a family. I’m sorry, you are just a damned and rather confused group of ignorant whiners, just like every other group of queers!”

“That’s enough, I believe.” Patton interjected coldly, forcing a smile. “We’ll be leaving now. Come on.”

He pushed the cart away from Karen and her homophobia, leading the way for his husband and son.

“Have a nice day.” Logan said calmly as he followed Patton, gripping Virgil’s hand tightly.

“Yeah you better run.” Karen muttered under her breath, just loud enough to be heard. “Faggot.”

Logan let go of Virgil’s hand and turned around, storming back to give Karen a piece of his mind.

“Logan, don’tー”

Before Logan could reach Karen or Patton could even finish his sentence, Virgil let out a high-pitched screech.

“Virgil!” Patton tried to shush the child, but he began crying once again in earnest. “What is it, kiddo?”

Virgil reached out for Logan.

Logan forced himself to breathe and assess the situation. Virgil was crying again, Patton was trying(unsuccessfully) to calm him and convince Karen to leave at the same time, and Karen was still bitching on with her homophobic crap about how Virgil was tramatized because he’d been forced to be a part of a homosexual couple’s family.

Prioritize. What’s most important?

The answer came in an instant.

Virgil. He could be panicking again, so get him out and away. 

Karen is next, make her stop before I do something illegal or Patton gets anymore upset.

But how...

Logan glanced around, happily spotting a store manager walking over to investigate all the chaos. Logan mentally pieced together his course of action.

Good. You have a plan, now take action.

Logan, ignoring everything that Karen was currently saying, lifted Virgil into his arms. The boy instantly calmed, though the tears did not stop.

“Sir, if you would please help us,” Logan waved the approaching manager closer. “This woman has been verbally assaulting my partner and I, and as you can see it is upsetting my son.”

Karen looked offended, trying to mount some sort of defense that no one was buying. The manager was able to forcefully lead her away, much to Logan and Patton’s delight.

“We’re not doing so good.” Logan said, rubbing soothing circles on Virgil’s back. He looked to Patton as Virgil quieted down a bit more.“Are you alright?”

Patton sighed, still looking a little upset. “I’ll be alright. You and Virgil go to the car while I finish here, alright?”

“Are you sure?”

“Go on. You look nearly as stressed and tired as Virgil.” Patton shook his head. “I knew it was a mistake for all three of us to go. Too much stressful stimuli for you and Virgil and too many judgmental people.”

“This is how Virgil and I learn to cope, by being exposed to stressful stimuli.” Logan said firmly. “It’s not a mistake for a family to go out and do normal things. I’m not ashamed of us, and I know you aren’t either. There will always be awful people in the world, Patton. It’s something we just have to live with.”

“Unfortunately.” Patton’s shoulders slumped. “I’m just so tired of us being judged because we are different.”

“Me too.” Logan agreed He removed his hand from Virgil’s back and pulled Patton into a side hug, kissing his temple. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” Patton smiled. “Now go on. You look like you need a break.”

Logan didn’t need to be told twice. He adjusted his hold on Virgil before walking out as calmly as he could.

He sat in the car with Virgil on his lap as they waited for Patton to come out.

Virgil was absentmindedly playing with the Lego astronaut, occasionally scrubbing a stray tear or so off his face, leaving Logan to his thoughts.

I don’t want anymore Karens to ever come near my family again. They will do nothing but hurt the two people I love most and I’m not going to allow that.

Logan took a deep breath, banishing the angry thoughts he had against all the Karens of the world.

“I don’t want you to believe anything people like that woman say.” Logan said firmly. “Just because we are different doesn’t mean we are wrong. You are allowed to be different, do you understand?”

Virgil nodded.

“Good. And no matter what, you will always be our son. We are not your birth parents, but we are still your real parents and we love you. Okay?”

Virgil hummed this time, walking the Lego astronaut over one of Logan’s hands.

Logan smiled, giving Virgil a quick hug. “I’m very proud of you, Virgil. You did very well today.”

Virgil hummed again and held up his Lego figure.

“What’s this? An astronaut, hmm? Is that the one I got you?” Logan abandoned all thoughts of trying to continue his serious talk. He couldn't blame the kid, he was only seven after all and he was clearly done with stressful topics for the day.

Virgil smiled and nodded. Ever since he and Logan had read that astronomy book, their shared love of space had become something they bonded over. Logan had given him the figure a few days ago and Virgil had almost always had it in his pocket.

“Did you give him a name?” 

Virgil shook his head and passed the figure to Logan. He pointed at him. You do it.

“Well…” Logan examined the figure, trying to come up with a good name. “Have you ever heard of Neil Armstrong?”

Virgil shook his head.

“He was the first man on the moon,” Logan said, handing the figure back to his son.

Virgil leaned against him, studying the Lego astronaut as Logan began to recite several facts about Neil Armstrong and the moon landing.

Logan found himself relaxing as he shared his knowledge, a feeling of contentment rising in his heart as he felt Virgil relaxing as well. It was comforting to know that his voice was soothing to the boy, and that their love of the beauty of the universe could bring them back to a stable state of mind.

That and their shared love of the human miracle that was Patton.

Chapter Text

In the aftermath of the Sanders' family outing, it was quickly decided that a night of relaxation spent together was needed. 

Patton was feeling rather run down after the whole experience, and needed the comfort of his family to restore his faith in humanity and return his cheery demeanor. He desperately wanted to just snuggle with them both and enjoy a bit of peace from the world.

Logan was more frazzled; dealing with people like Karen always made him exhausted, but having to deal with her on top of dealing with the stress of a public place was almost too much. Usually having Patton there helped him enough to be more at ease, but after Virgil’s attack he was just done. He wanted his family close by and to relax in the comforting silence of his own home.

Virgil wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling, not uncommon after having an attack. Trying to work out his feelings just made his head hurt more, so he decided to just let them be as they were. He knew exactly what he wanted though. He wanted his Papa and his Daddy and he wanted to be held. Being in their arms made him feel safe.

As a result of everyone’s current feelings, the family crashed together on the couch as soon as they got home. Logan and Patton sat cuddled together, taking comfort in each other, and Virgil was switching between sitting with each of them or between them. He was rather clingy after the events of the day, but neither parent minded. Everyone was too exhausted to bother even turning on the tv, preferring to sit in silence.

Virgil was the one, surprisingly, who broke the silence.

“Daddy?”

Logan looked at Virgil, who was currently sitting in Patton’s lap. “Yes?”

“Can you read the space book?”

Patton and Logan shared a smile.

“Sure, buddy.” Logan stood up and grabbed the book before settling down beside Patton once again. “Do you remember where we left off?”

“Pluto.” Virgil said softly and he smiled. “Which is a planet.”

Logan huffed a small laugh. He had gone on quite a tangent last time they read the astronomy book, detailing how Pluto was, and always will be, one of the nine planets of the solar system.

“Right. Pluto.” Logan flipped open the book to the section about Pluto and began to read.

Patton and Virgil relaxed as they listen to Logan’s strong voice. Pausing only to further explain something or because Virgil wanted to see the pictures, Logan felt the feeling of fullness return to his heart as he read. He wasn’t the best with feelings, but he had begun to associate that particular feeling as the closest he would ever be to bliss.

It always came in the moments he spent with his two favorite people.

“Virgil, I know you can hear me. It’s time for bed.” Patton said firmly, beginning to feel like a broken record. The child was clearly not listening. “Let’s go. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

Virgil, who was perfectly meeting Patton’s eyes, didn’t say anything or move from his spot at the table. He stared at Patton, as if inviting a challenge.

“Virgil.”

The boy defiantly resumed his drawing, pretending he hadn’t heard the warning tone in Patton’s voice.

Virgil, who was rarely ever purposely disobedient, was blatantly ignoring him. It was then that Patton knew what was coming.

Patton walked over to his son. He took the colored pencils from his hand and set them on the table before lifting him off the chair.

Virgil screeched in protest, kicking and squirming.

“Stop it, there is no need for that.” Patton had to put the child on the ground when he refused to stop, but kept a hold on him. “Virgil, enough.”

“No!” Virgil shrieked, firmly planting his feet on the floor and attempting to pull himself free. “Not gonna!”

“Virgil, we aren’t doing anything new. This is the exact same thing we do every night.” Patton explained, though he knew it was pointless. “Why are you so upset?”

Virgil didn’t provide any answer other than repeated screaming and fighting Patton’s grip.

Patton eventually let go, leaving Virgil to scream by himself in the kitchen, knowing he’d stop without anyone to watch. He went to find his husband, wondering what had upset Virgil so much.

The next few days that had followed the disaster at the shopping center had passed without incident. 

The family even had a successful meeting with Virgil’s principal and teacher at his new school. It was there that Virgil was introduced to Ms. Gracie, who he was to meet with at least once a week during his time at school to continue working on dealing with his anxiety and becoming more verbal. The same sorts of things that Ms. Carrie used to do with him.

Virgil had liked Ms. Gracie. She reminded him of Patton and Ms. Carrie at the same time, which was comforting. However, the meeting reminded him that he missed Ms. Carrie.

It also reminded him that school was starting soon. Very soon.

It was school starting the next day that had brought the Sanders into their current situation.

In hindsight, Patton knew they should have expected it, but for some reason they had assumed that everything would just be alright.

Unfortunately, they had assumed wrong.

“What’s with all the yelling?” Logan asked when Patton had found him in the living room.

“That’s your son having a meltdown.” Patton said, sighing in frustration. “I tried to get him to get ready for bed and he threw a fit. Correction, he’s currently throwing a fit.”

“Why?” Logan couldn’t see why going to bed would be the source of an emotional meltdown. Virgil had never minded going to bed before.

“I assume because he didn’t want to, but I’m not sure exactly.”

Logan considered that. “Is he anxious about something?”

“Maybe.” Patton sighed once again. “I don’t know what. Whatever it is, he needs to calm down soon because he’s got the first day of schoolーoh.”

It had clicked as he was saying it. Virgil didn’t want to go to bed because he didn’t want to go to school. That made perfect sense.

“Would you like some assistance?” Logan asked.

Patton nodded. “That would be nice.”

They waited for another minute or so until the screaming stopped before heading back into the kitchen.

Virgil, who looked rather annoyed at having his tantrum ignored, crossed his arms and pouted. “Not going to bed.”

“I see.” Logan kept his expression neutral as he approached Virgil. “Can you tell me why?”

“Don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to go to bed?” Logan asked and Virgil nodded in confirmation. “Oh. Would you please tell me why?”

Virgil’s expression darkened. He saw what Logan was doing. He was going to try to logic Virgil into agreeing to go to bed and go to that awful place in the morning.

Well, Virgil decided he wasn’t going to have any of that.

“No, no, no!” Virgil shrieked and shoved him away. “I don’t want to and you can’t make me!”

He promptly turned away from Logan, and glared at Patton as if to dare him to say something.

Patton did say something. “I understand you’re scared to go to school tomorrow. Is that right?”

Virgil was not expecting that. That’s not how tantrums worked. He got mad, Patton and Logan got mad, they would scream and fight and Virgil wouldn’t have to go to school when they realized that was the only way to get him to calm down.

Patton wasn’t supposed to skip the mad and yelling part. 

“Is that why you’re upset?” Logan asked. “Because you don’t want to go to school?”

Virgil’s angry expression had turned to one of surprise. They were good. They weren’t going to play his game.

Virgil gave in then, nodding sadly as hot tears fell. “I don’t want to go!”

“I know you don’t.” Patton knelt down and came a little closer, Logan right behind. “It can be scary to be in a new place full of people.”

“Yeah.” Virgil sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his wrist. 

Patton opened his arms and Virgil came to him, accepting the embrace. He sobbed into Patton’s shoulder, and Patton just held him comfortingly.

“I know you don’t want to, but you still have to go.” Logan said gently. “What can we do to make it better for you?”

“Dunno.” Virgil mumbled through his tears. “Don’t go?”

“That’s not an option, kiddo. I’m sorry.” Patton answered softly. “Would it help if I walked you to your class?”

Virgil nodded. That would help a lot.

“You can bring Neil Armstrong, too.” Logan added, knowing that having something in his pocket to fiddle with would help. “You don’t have to like going to school, buddy, but you do need to go.”

“Do I have to talk to anybody?” Virgil asked, the tears slowly stopping. That was his biggest concern for tomorrow.

“Not unless you want to. You’re teacher knows you don’t like to talk and she won’t force you.” Logan said. He thought for a minute that added more. “Let’s set a goal for tomorrow, okay? Your goal will be to make it through the day. All I ask is that you try. Can you do it?”

Virgil considered that. It wasn’t necessarily a hard goal. He hadn’t been asked to enjoy the day, or to talk, or even to not cry. Just to try and make it through the day. 

“Well…okay.” The boy said at last. “I can try.”

“Good.” Logan smiled. “You look exhausted.”

As if on cue, Virgil yawned. He was tired, now that he thought about it.

“Yes, and it is high time you got to bed.” Patton stood up. “Go brush your teeth and put your pjs on, Daddy and I will be up to say goodnight in a few minutes.”

Virgil obeyed this time, going up the stairs to do as asked. He still didn’t want to go to school, but for the sake of his parents he would try.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Virgil was not any more open to the idea of going to school than he was the night before. He’d tried throwing another fit about it to convince Logan and Patton to let him stay home, but it didn’t work.

He’d hoped that it would at least stall for time and make them late, but his parents had anticipated that and made extra time.

Virgil was stuck with going to school.

But I don’t have to be happy about it.

He’d angrily eaten his breakfast and gotten dressed before saying a grumpy goodbye to Logan and climbing into Patton’s car.

Virgil had sat sulking in the back of the car during the ride.

“It won’t be as bad as you think it will be, kiddo.” Patton said as they pulled up to the building. “It’ll be okay.”

Uh-huh. Sure.

Virgil didn’t respond as he got out of the vehicle, throwing his bag over his shoulder. Patton had smiled encouragingly before leading the way into the building.

The part of Virgil that wasn’t too busy being upset was relieved to see that he was not the only person being escorted into the building by a parent. Several children about his age were looking just as nervous as Virgil felt as they approached the building that would hold them captive for hours a day during the next few months.

They entered the building with the wave of other people, following the route they’d taken a few days earlier to the room that Virgil’s teacher occupied.

“This is it, kiddo.” Patton finally stopped a short distance from the door.

Virgil looked around, watching a few of the children that would be his peers as they said goodbye to their parents and entered one of the second grade classrooms. A few were crying, others smiling proudly, but most just looked unsure of themselves.

All at once, Virgil felt his anger at being forced to go to school disappear. Nervousness replaced it, making his stomach clench painfully.

He hummed anxiously, moving a step closer to Patton. Please no. I don’t want to be here.

Patton pulled him into a hug. “It’ll be okay, kiddo. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, your safe.”

You never know… 

Virgil shook his head, eyes watering.

Patton squeezed him tight, pressing a kiss to his forehead before letting him go. “You’ll do great. Remember, just make it through the day, okay?”

Virgil nodded. He promised himself that he would try for his parents.

Just make it through the day. Right.

“Daddy will pick you up after school. Everything will be okay, you’ll see.”

Virgil wasn’t sure about that, but hummed in affirmation anyway.

“You should go in now.” Patton said gently, indicating the kids who were entering the classroom that was to be Virgil’s. “Go on, I’ll see you at home, okay? Love you!”

Virgil tried to say it back, but no sound left his mouth.

Patton understood anyway, his ever present smile widening. He then made a shooing motion, silently telling Virgil to be on his way.

I guess it’s go time then. 

Virgil took a small step forward, then another, before he stopped and turned back to Patton.

Patton gave him a thumbs up before waving.

Goodbye, Papa.

Virgil gave a small wave, then turned and forced himself to walk the rest of the way to the door. He aggressively wiped his eyes.

I will not cry before school has even started.

He walked through the door, hoping he looked more confident and brave than he felt.

“Good morning, Virgil!” Mrs. Bell, his teacher, greeted happily. “Welcome to class!”

Virgil’s thoughts raced around too fast for him to comprehend one, leaving him standing in the doorway with terror written all over his face.

Mrs. Bell gave a little laugh. “I’m sorry, Virgil! You don’t have to say anything, I know you don’t enjoy talking to people! Why don’t you grab a paper off the table and sit down? You can put your bag in your cubby. You remember the one I showed you last week, don’t you?”

Backpack in cubby. Paper on table. Sit down. Right.

I can do that, right?

Virgil forced himself to move towards the cubbys that were on the back wall where his classmates were stowing their bags. He found the one on the end that Mrs. Bell had showed him(it had his name on it) and put his backpack away.

Paper on table, then sit down.

Right.

Virgil turned, watching a group of three girls grab papers from the stack on the little table by the door. He walked up and grabbed one for himself before turning back to face the classroom.

Several tables with four chairs around them were placed throughout the room. Several of the seats were already occupied with children who were talking loudly amongst themselves.

Where am I supposed to sit? Are there assigned seats or do I just pick one?

“Do you know where we’re supposed to sit?”

Virgil whipped his head to the left, where a small girl with two fiery red braids and messy bangs was standing. She was holding her own paper and looked as nervous as Virgil felt.

Is she talking to me?

The girl looked at Virgil expectantly, answering his unspoken question.

I have no idea. Why would I know? Why are you asking me?!

When Virgil continued to stare in silence, the girl gave him a weak smile. “You don’t know either, do you?”

Clearly not. Sorry.

Virgil broke his stare, looking at the ground as he shook his head.

“Hmm.” The girl frowned, then went to the closest table and tapped a blonde boy on the shoulder. “Excuse me, do you know where we are supposed to sit?”

The boy turned away from his conversation. “Find your name on the chart. It’ll show you where.”

He pointed to a paper that was tapped to the white board.

That’s not so hard I guess.

“Thank you.” The girl smiled at him before approaching the white board.

Virgil stayed back, giving her time to puzzle out where her seat was before he would do the same.

Maybe I’ll be at a table by myself, he thought as he watched her silently move away. Unlikely, but you never know.

He moved closer so he could see the diagram that showed the location of each table in the room. A name was written where a seat was at each table. He quickly scanned the names before finding his and working out where his seat was.

He wasn’t at a table by himself, but he was at a table of three.

Better than four, I guess.

Virgil walked to the table in the back corner of the room, keeping his eyes low. He found the seat that his name had been by on the chart and quickly sat down, placing the paper on the table in front of him.

“I guess we’re table mates.” The red haired girl sat down in the seat on Virgil’s left. “Isn’t that neat?”

Well at least she’s been nice so far. She won’t be so bad.

Virgil gave a curt nod in her direction and focused his attention on the paper in front of him. It was titled “Getting to Know Me” and had a list of several questions.

Great. This will be fun. Getting to Know Me is easy: don’t.

Still , Virgil thought, reaching for a pencil from the bucket in the center of the table. Might as well get it over with.

“My name’s Zoey.” The girl said, clearly trying to get Virgil to talk to her. “What’s yours?”

Virgil hesitated. 

She’s been nice to me so far… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell her.

He held up a finger to tell her to wait a minute, then wrote his name in the designated space at the top of the paper. He pushed the paper towards her and pointed at his name.

“Virgil? That’s a cool name.” The red head, Zoey, pushed the paper back to him. “I’m kinda scared to be here. This building is so much bigger than the kindergarten and first grade building, you know? It’s kinda overwhelming.”

Believe me, I am much more overwhelmed than you think.

Virgil nodded and went back to his paper. He tried his best to answer the questions, but found himself leaving several blank.

I guess I don’t even know me.

Virgil eventually took to just staring blankly at the paper, wishing he could will it to set itself on fire. He didn’t even look up when the last table mate sat down.

It was a girl who said her name was Abby. She and Zoey quickly started a loud conversation about dogs. 

Virgil wanted to cover his ears, but the idea of standing out made him resist the urge. The noise of the classroom was only increasing, and Virgil knew it would get worse before it ever got better.

This is going to be a very long day.

He sighed, dropping his pencil and sticking his hand into his pocket to grab Neil Armstrong. The Lego astronaut brought him a small amount of comfort and reminded him of why he was there in the first place.

Just make it through the day. You can do this.

Chapter Text

The day seemed to drag on forever. 

Mrs. Bell spoke of the rules of the class and went over what they were going to learn over the course of the school year. She had the students play games or do activities to get to know one another, as well as handed out several more papers for them to take home.

His head hurt and he desperately wanted to go home, but he struggled through anyway. Virgil avoided participation as much as he could, doing only the bare minimum of what was required as the pain in his head built up. 

By the time lunch rolled around, Virgil was considering hiding in the bathroom until the end of the day. He knew he’d be caught and forced to go back to class, but part of him wanted to try anyway.

Make it through the day. Just make it through the day.

Virgil sighed as he grabbed his lunch and joined the line of his classmates. 

He’d make it. He had too.

This sucks.

When Virgil’s class entered the cafeteria, his classmates all scattered to fill the seats at the tables that were already half full of third graders and the rest of the second graders. 

The noise was overwhelming. 

Virgil finally caved in and placed his hands over his ears as he walked along the wall to the back corner where he hoped he’d be able to eat his lunch in peace.

He had only been seated for about thirty seconds when a very loud voice yelled out his name.

“VIRGIL!!!”

Oh for goodnessー

Virgil instantly brightened when he saw who had yelled for him. “Roman!”

The dark haired boy ran towards the table. He was wearing normal clothes(minus the plastic crown on his head) but there was no denying that he was the boy prince who’d become Virgil’s best friend.

Roman grinned dropping his lunch tray on the table and practically leaping into the seat across from Virgil. “I’ve been waiting all day to see you! You’ve no idea how boring my teacher is! Todo lo que he escuchado han sido reglas yー ”

Virgil winced and held up a hand in a silent plea for Roman to cease talking.

Roman immediately shut his mouth, looking at Virgil in confusion.

“It’s great to see you, Princey, I’ve also been waiting to see you, but could you not be so loud? I”ve got a massive headache.”

“Sorry,” Roman said, much quieter than he’d been previously. “So how’s your first day been so far?”

Virgil shrugged. “It’s loud and there’s a million people.”

Roman nodded, beginning to eat. 

I guess it isn’t the worst, Virgil found himself thinking as he began to pick at his own food. I haven’t had to talk to anyone and I haven’t done anything weird or wrong yet.

Key word is yet.

Despite his headache, Virgil found his mood turning more positive as he and Roman continued their quiet conversation as they ate.

By the time they were released outside for recess, Virgil had almost completely forgotten about his headache and the loudness of his peers. He and Roman had found a quiet area on the side of the play yard where they quickly began an imaginative game.

Virgil was having fun. 

He could suffer through classwork and loud kids if it meant he’d get to play with Roman every day.

When it was announced that recess was over, Virgil and Roman disappointingly said goodbye and went to join the line of their class. Each class filed back into the school and the students returned to their classrooms to finish out the day.

Virgil still didn’t like sitting in a classroom full of loud kids, but it was a little more bearable after spending time with Roman. The girl Zoey even continued being nice to him. She kept trying to get Virgil to join in a conversation, but he’d politely refused. He eventually ended up writing her a little note explaining that he wasn’t trying to be rude and it wasn’t anything she’d done, but that he simply didn’t like to talk.

She’d accepted his answer, saying that she understood, which left Virgil wondering when kids at public schools had gotten so nice.

Maybe everybody isn’t awful after all.

Virgil was the first one out the door when the class was dismissed. He ran to the front office and quickly claimed a corner as his own, where he sat with Neil Armstrong as he waited for Logan to arrive. There was a handful of other kids in the office waiting for their rides as well, but they weren’t very loud.

Thank goodness for that at least.

Logan had arrived not long after, coming in to fetch Virgil before leading them back to his car. Virgil was very glad to see him, and had expressed that he missed him while he was in school.

“I missed you too.” Logan smiled as he and Virgil got into the car. “So how was the first day?”

It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be… I guess you and Papa were right.

Even if they were right, Virgil refused to admit it.

It was still bad.

“It sucked.” He said.

Logan looked at Virgil through the mirror, raising an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Virgil looked out the window as they began the drive home.

“I see. Would you like to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Alright.” Logan seemed content to let it go for now. “But hey, you met our goal and made it through the day. That’s something to be happy about, right?”

“I guess.” Virgil mumbled. “More happy to be going home.”

Logan laughed. “I understand. As much as I love my job, nothing will ever be better than going home to be with my two favorite people.”

“Yeah sure.”

Logan frowned. Something was off about his son, and he wanted to know what it was.

“Virgil, what’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.” He answered.

“Falsehood.”

Virgil looked towards the driver's seat. “What?”

“That’s a falsehood.” Logan said again. “I know it’s not nothing, so what’s bothering you?”

“Head hurts.” He grumbled. “Bad. Too many people.”

“Oh, Virgil, I’m sorry.” Logan, who’d experienced a fair share of headaches due to social interaction and noise, was sympathetic. “I’ll get something for you when we get home, okay?”

“Okay.”

Virgil let his head rest against the window, knowing they’d be home before too much longer and he could hide in the silence of his bedroom until Papa came home. Papa always knew how to make Virgil feel better.

When they got home, Logan had given Virgil some pain killing medicine and pulled him into a quick hug.

“I’m very sorry you’re hurting, Virge.” He said. “It will go away soon, I promise.”

Virge? Mr. David used to call me that… before I left.

Virgil felt his eyes water with unexpected tears at the thought of the Home and the kind adults who’d been there. Mr. David had always been the most fun. He’d make jokes and play games. He could even do silly impressions that would make all the kids laugh.

It feels like a lifetime ago when I last laughed with Mr.David and the others.

I bet they’ve forgotten me at this point.

Virgil hadn’t acknowledged Logan’s words and silently walked away, heading to his bedroom. He shut the door behind him when he entered, dropping his bag on the ground and kicking his shoes off.

Nobody there cares I’m gone, and nobody here cares that I exist.

Nobody cares.

Virgil climbed into his bed, pulling the blankets over his head.

Nobody cares because nobody wants someone like me.

Not Dad, not Mama, not Mr.David, not Ms. Carrie, not anyone.

Virgil’s tears silently fell as he burrowed deeper into his bed.

Papa and Daddy won’t care much longer. They’ll wake up one day and decide they don’t want me.

No one wants me.

I don’t even want me.

Chapter Text

Logan paced anxiously in the kitchen, going over all that had transpired since he’d picked Virgil up. Something had been bothering him and Logan had done all he could to try to help the child.

Right? I did all I could.

Logan frowned at the uncertainty, doing another lap around the kitchen.

I asked if he wanted to talk about, didn’t push when he said no, offered sympathy, and provided physical reassurance before giving him space. That’s all right?

Did I miss a step?

He sighed, his pacing growing more aggressive. It was times like this that he wanted Patton nearby. His husband was always so sure of what to do in situations concerning matters of feeling.

Sure, Logan knew what to do, but he was never quite confident in his ability to actually do it. Patton was very good at both confidence and doing things to help others.

Speaking of Patton… 

After hearing the front door open, Logan ceased pacing and heading towards the front of the house.

“Hi!” Patton greeted cheerfully as he hung his keys on the hook. “How was the first day? You’re in a new room right? You switched with Mrs. Howell?”

Logan smiled, coming closer to greet his husband properly before responding. “It was uneventful. And yes, I’m in a new room. I quite like it though.”

“I’m glad to hear it. What’s her first name again?”

“Sophia.” Logan answered. “How was your day?”

Patton shook his head and sighed. “Difficult. You remember I was telling you about that German Shepard who was starting the program last week?”

Logan nodded, walking with Patton up the stairs.

“Well, he’s a bit temperamental. He bit one of the trainers again today.” Patton sighed once again. “He just gets so stressed in certain situations and lashes out. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to keep him.”

“I’m very sorry, that must be very hard for you.” Logan put an arm around him. “When do you have to decide?”

“I meet with some of the board members on Thursday. We’ll evaluate his progress and see if it’ll be worth it to keep him in the program.”

“I know whatever you decide that it will be the right choice.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Patton’s smile returned. “Now, I thought I had a son who started second grade today?”

He looked at Logan expectantly.

Logan rolled his eyes. “ Our son is in his bedroom. He had a difficult day today, too.”

“Oh?”

“He didn’t want to talk about it. He came home with a headache, so I gave him something for it and then he went to his room.”

“Hmm.” Patton lead the way down the hall to Virgil’s room and knocked softly. “Kiddo?”

No response came from behind the door, so Patton opened it slowly.

Virgil had wrapped himself in a mound of blankets and was fast asleep.

“Do you think he’s sick?” Patton whispered, looking quite worried.

“I doubt it.” Logan whispered back, but he hadn’t considered the possibility until now. “Though I am not certain.”

Patton bit his lip, and ventured into the dark room only to trip over Virgil’s school bag.

Logan was immediately there to steady him. “Are you alright?”

“Fine.” Patton gained his balance back and slide the bag and Virgil’s shoes out of the way before making his way to the bed. 

He gently brushed Virgil’s dark bangs out of his face and placed his hand on his forehead.

Logan watched anxiously.

“He’s not warm.” Patton told his husband as he removed his hand and went about adjusting Virgil’s blankets.

“That’s a relief.” Logan said, watching them both and finding joy in the gentle way Patton cared for the child. “Maybe he just wanted to sleep off the stress of the day?”

“Probably.” Patton blushed a little. “I guess I was just worried for no reason. Sorry for making you anxious.”

“Nonsense.” Logan scoffed. “You showed a healthy amount of concern for our child and I cannot fault you for that.”

“Thanks.”

Patton and Logan retreated from the room, silently agreeing to let Virgil sleep for a while longer.

“I think I’m going to change out of these clothes.” Patton said, heading for their bedroom.

Logan had a thought that he didn’t regret, but that caused his face to flush anyway. “Would you like some assistance?”

Patton gave him a special grin, one that only Logan had seen, for reasons that don’t need to be stated. “If you could spare the time.”

“Anything for you, my love.”

Virgil found himself waking up slowly, a gentle hand on his back. He blinked his eyes open, fighting a yawn as he turned to see who’s hand it was.

“There you are.” Patton was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling at him. “Feeling okay, kiddo?”

Virgil nodded, yawning as he sat up. “Headache’s gone. Much better.”

“That’s good to hear. Daddy’s downstairs making dinner, so I thought I’d come get you before it was done. Give you a chance to wake up.”

Virgil nodded again.

“So how was school?” Patton asked, knowing it was a long shot.

Virgil groaned, dropping back down on the bed and pulling the blankets back over his head. “No.”

“No?” Patton repeated.

“No.” Virgil said as firmly as a seven year old could.

“Ah.” Patton nodded in understanding. “I see. I’m sorry it was that awful. Perhaps it will be better tomorrow.”

“It won’t be.”

“You don’t know that.” Patton countered gently. “Daddy suggested getting something to help block out noise. Would that help?”

“No because I’m not going.”

“No? I’m sorry to hear that. Roman will be very disappointed.”

“It’s not like I won’t see him. He comes over just about every other day.”

Patton felt bad for the next part, knowing it was very much a ‘parent trick’, but he also knew that it would work. “Well, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you but if you don’t go to school, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to play with Roman.”

“Why not?!” Virgil cried, offended, from beneath the blankets.

“Going to school is required to gain the privilege of going to play outside.”

Virgil shot upright, finally catching on to what Patton was doing. He dropped the blankets from his face, revealing his angry scowl. “That’s not fair!”

“Isn’t it?” Patton answered. “It’s not fair to Roman if you still get to do everything you want without going to school. Roman has to suffer through school in order to come play, I think it's only fair that you would have to do the same.”

Virgil growled, crossing his arms.

“I know it’s hard kiddo, but we’re here to help make it easier for you.” Patton said softly. “And it will get better, I promise. You just have to give it time, okay?”

Virgil’s thoughts went back to earlier in the day when he had decided that school would be worth it for the sake of seeing Roman everyday. He also thought of Zoey and how nice she was to him.

It’s not as bad as your making it out to be, he told himself. 

Those were words he’d often heard. He did it a lot, making things seem worse than they actually were. Maybe Patton was right.

Tomorrow could be better. You never know.

Virgil sighed, uncrossing his arms.

Unfortunately, there is only one way to find out.

“Fine. You win. I’ll go back.” Virgil told Patton, looking less than thrilled about his decision. “But Roman gets to sleepover this weekend.”

Patton grinned, his mission a success. “If you make it through the rest of the week, we’ll see about Roman coming over. Deal?”

He offered his hand.

Virgil frowned. The rest of the week was a big promise. But, he would have noise cancelling headphones(if his guess about what his Daddy had suggested was true) and that would make things much easier.

I guess that’s better than nothing.

Virgil took Patton’s hand. “Deal.”

They shook on it, then went downstairs to bother Logan until it was time to eat.

Chapter Text

Virgil walked into his class two days later with more confidence than the days previously. He knew the routine of the school day now, and he wasn’t worried about noise anymore. He had a pair of black noise cancelling headphones looped around his neck that he’d put on once he’d reached his noise tolerance level.

He’d been a little worried about wearing them to school for the first time(yesterday), but the fear quickly went away after his tablemate, Abby, had declared them cool.

 Abby was loud and demanding and very much the student in charge of the class. No one, not even the louder boys, wanted to cross her. 

Virgil had honestly thought Abby didn’t like him, but when Zoey had seen that he was worried about being teased she’d told Abby. Abby had jumped onto a chair and loudly told him that she thought his noise cancelling headphones were awesome and threatened to beat up anyone who said otherwise.

Mrs. Bell, looking slightly terrified, had kindly asked Abby to not stand on the chairs or threaten the other students. But Abby’s threat had worked and no one dared to tease Virgil about it.

Virgil had spoken in class for the first time on that day, quietly thanking Abby and Zoey for their help.

Both girls had looked shocked at hearing him speak.

“I thought you were mute or something!” Abby had exclaimed.

“No.” Virgil had looked down at the table. “I just don’t like talking.” 

“Why not?”

Instead of answering, Virgil had just shrugged. Abby didn’t seem to mind much and quickly started chatting with Zoey.

Virgil caught Zoey’s eye and she’d smiled at him. Virgil had gladly smiled back.

Tablemates are so bad I guess.

It was that day of bonding with his tablemates that had given Virgil his confidence as he walked into class. He had two people in his class who supported him.

What the heck, they may even like me.

Today, Wednesday, while the class was working on math worksheets, Virgil had his hopeful thought confirmed. 

Mrs. Bell had told the class that they could work with their tablemates if they needed help, and Virgil was surprised to find that he didn’t need help. He usually struggled with Math, but for some reason the story problems they were working on were easy to him.

“This is so dumb.” Abby sighed frustratingly. “Zoey, lemme see how you did the third one.”

Zoey handed over her worksheet. “I think we’re doing it the same way, I don’t see what’s wrong.”

“I don’t think it’s right, the answer doesn’t work for the next one.”

“It doesn’t?” Zoey looked to confirm. “Maybe we’re supposed to use the other numbers?”

“Virgil you seem to be doing okay, how did you do number three?” Abby suddenly asked, leaning across the table to peer at his paper. She pushed hers towards him.

“Um…” Virgil looked at his paper, then at Abby’s. 

Don’t screw this up. She’s asking for your help so help her and don’t be stupid.

He pointed at a few words in the problem, then her work. “You’re subtracting the wrong numbers. Those numbers don’t matter.”

“Wait, they don’t?” Zoey quickly leaned over to see Virgil’s paper as well. “Ugg! I knew it!”

She began to furiously erase the work she’d begun.

“Oh I see it now!” Abby said, pulling her paper back. “Those are the stupid ones put it to throw us off, right?”

Virgil nodded. “At least I think so. I could be wrong.”

“I doubt it, you’re really good at this.” Abby began to erase her own work. “Thanks for the help, you’re the best!”

“Yeah, thanks!” Zoey added. 

Virgil ducked his head down to hide his smile.

He was invited to join them at lunch that day, but he’d politely declined, explaining that he usually ate lunch with his best friend.

Zoey and Abby didn’t seem to mind much and told him that he was welcome to sit with them anytime.

Virgil had thanked them for the offer, his heart light.

I think I have gained two more friends.

He’d told Roman about them at lunch, asking if they were indeed his friends. Roman had smiled and told him yes, then proceeded to tell him about a boy in his class who he had befriended.

Both boys had made it a point to say that their new friends wouldn’t ever replace the other as their best friend.

When school on Friday came to an end, Virgil excitedly met Roman in the office to wait for Logan to come pick them up. He’d made it through the week, holding up his end of the deal, and Patton had contacted Roman’s parents to confirm he was able to spend the night, holding up his end as well.

“It’s going to be so much fun having you over again!” Virgil said, leading Roman to his usual corner to wait. “I helped Papa make your favorite cookies yesterday so we’d have snacks!”

“Aww thanks!” Roman sat on the ground beside Virgil and reached into his bag and pulled something out. “Johnathan said we could borrow this, too!”

He handed it to Virgil.

“Really?!” Virgil excitedly took it. “Johnathan’s the best!”

Johnathan was a proud owner of several board games and often played with Virgil and Roman whenever they were at the Prince house. He had kindly lent Roman and Virgil their current favorite.

“I thought we could add it to our list.” Roman said, taking the game back from Virgil and tucking it back into his overnight bag.

“Oh definitely.”

Roman and Virgil began discussing the plans they had made throughout the week for their sleepover as they waited for Logan.

When he arrived, they’d paused their discussion only to greet him, before quickly resuming as they got into the car.

Logan couldn’t help but smile. It had never ceased to amaze him how talkative and excited Virgil would get when he spent time with Roman. Seeing how happy the two of them made each other was part of the reason the Sanders and the Prince families had no objections to them invading their houses as often as they did.

The second they got home, Virgil and Roman had ran inside and disappeared upstairs to drop off their things before starting on their plans.

Logan had only asked that they let him know if they were going to be outside or if they needed anything before changing clothes and shutting himself in his study. 

“Roman!” Virgil paused to gain his breath back, a hard task when one was running and laughing at the same time. “Are you okay?”

Roman, wrapped in a tarp, a jump rope, and the blanket he was using as a cape, looked up from his position on the ground, trying to cease his own laughter. “Yeah, but I think I’m stuck.”

Virgil doubled over in laughter once again.

“Okay, okay! Come one, Virgil! Help me out.” Roman wiggled in his strange prison, proceeding to make himself even more stuck.

Virgil smirked, holding in his laughter. “Why?”

“What do you mean why?!” Roman squirmed again. “Come on, I’m stuck!”

“Because it would be funny if I left you to get out yourself.” Virgil said, coming closer to his friend.

“Virgil! Tú eres el peor .” Roman sighed dramatically. “Would you please help me?”

“Fine.” Virgil began to disentangle his friend. “But remember this was your idea.”

“Yeah I know.”

Virgil smiled to himself.

Roman you are so stupid sometimes.

But what would I do without you?

Chapter Text

Virgil and Roman spent the rest of their sleepover playing games and having fun. They watched several moves, feasted on endless amounts of snacks, and stayed awake until 3 am(their new record).

When morning came, they didn’t waste a single second of time, doing as much as they could before they had to take Roman home. Both children had begged for more time, and were pleased to have been granted another hour before they had to say goodbye.

With Virgil now in school, time seemed to pass by much faster. 

His time spent with Ms. Gracie was as fun and helpful as it had been with Ms. Carrie. She continued to teach him little tricks for calming down and steps he could take to make himself more comfortable in situations that made him anxious. However, he found the most useful skill she taught him to be several signs in ASL.

He quickly caught on and was overjoyed to find another way to speak without words. Patton and Logan, as well as Mrs. Bell and Virgil’s other teachers, were given some reference sheets and quick lessons from Ms. Gracie on basic signs so they’d be able to communicate with him when he didn’t or couldn’t speak.

What surprised him the most, however, was that Zoey learned to sign, too. She’d told him that her mother had helped her look up some things on the internet and had gotten her a book from the library so she could learn.

“I wanted to be able to talk in a way you’re more comfortable with.” She said when he asked her why.

Virgil hadn’t know what to say, silently thanking Ms. Gracie once again for giving him the ability to express himself without speaking.

He’d put his open hand to his mouth, then brought it down towards Zoey. Thank you.

She’d simply smiled in response.

The ability to sign opened up so many possibilities for Virgil. He was able to communicate with his teachers and even a few of his peers. When he went out with his parents, he could easily tell them what he wanted or needed. With open communication, the amount of attacks he experienced was going down and he found that he was getting more and more comfortable with being in public places.

Lots of people and noise still made him anxious, but now that he was armed with noise cancelling headphones and sign language, it was a lot more bearable.

Virgil was lost in his thoughts, pleasant ones for once, as he browsed through the bookstore. They were doing research projects in his class and they had gotten to choose their own topics, much to everyone’s delight. Logan had taken him to the store, he wanted to get a few books for himself, as well as help Virgil find a few for his project

Virgil had chosen Neil Armstrong for his project.

Mrs. Bell had looked quite impressed with his choice, and Logan was thrilled. Virgil was glad they were happy, but he’d honestly chosen Armstrong for the sake of wanting to learn more about the man brave enough to walk on the moon.

“Virgil.” Logan spoke, tapping on the boy’s shoulder at the same time to get his attention. “What do you think of something like this?”

Virgil turned and took the book from Logan’s hands and flipping through it. It looked a little more advanced than the books he usually read, but it did look to be a good choice. It looked as though it had all the proper information he’d need, and it even had pictures.

Virgil nodded at Logan, handing back the book so he could sign a response. “ I found one. Come see! ”

“Alright, let’s see it.” Logan added the book to the small stack he was carrying and followed Virgil a few steps down to where the other book was. Virgil pulled it off the shelf and handed it to him.

Logan flipped through it. It had more pictures than the one he’d selected and focused a lot more on Armstrong’s time in space, but he decided that, for a child’s school project at least, it would do.

“That’s a good one too.” Logan said. “Do you want to look around some more, or are you ready to be done?”

Virgil shook his head and pointed to another section of books he wanted to look at.

Logan nodded and they continue to look, occasionally showing something to one another. Their stack of books was growing, with several for each of them.

They went home after another little while, walking in to smell dinner cooking.

“Welcome back!” Patton called from the kitchen. “How’d it go?”

“Hi, Papa!” Virgil called back. He ran into the kitchen to give Patton a hug. “Went okay. We got lots of books!”

“Did you now?” Patton dropped a kiss onto Virgil’s forehead before turning back to the stove. “You’ll have to show me after dinner. Go wash your hands, food is nearly done.”

“Okay.” He scampered off, passing Logan as he came into the kitchen.

Logan came behind Patton, looping his arms around his waist and sighing into the back of his shoulder.

Patton laughed. “Missed you too.”

“Mhmm.”

“I heard that you got ‘lots of books’.” Patton said, turning off the stove. “Did you leave any at the store?”

Logan stepped back to allow Patton to place a few things on the table. “We got a reasonable number. We found two for his project, then we each got a few fun books.”

“Oh?”

“That fact that he enjoys reading is good, and I will assist with that good habit anyway I can.”

“I have no doubts about the fact.” Patton shook his head. “Food is done. I told Virgil he could show me what you got after dinner.”

“Sounds good to me.”

After dinner, the two had showcased their purchases. Patton had been very pleased to see that they had picked out a book for him as well.

With new reading material for all three of them, they all sat down and happily divided into their books.

Virgil had decided to start with the book Logan had found for him. It was more advanced than what he was used to, but he enjoyed the challenge. Several of the words he recognized from Logan’s reading of the astronomy book, but when he came across one that he couldn’t sound out or didn’t know the meaning of, he asked.

Logan and Patton were happy to answer all of his questions.

Feeling well loved, Virgil was able to lose himself in the words as he read about the famous astronaut.

Patton wasn’t sure how it happened. He’d looked up and suddenly there they were.

Virgil had somehow moved to the coffee table, and Patton could see Logan walking around the room in his peripheral vision.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat, trying to get their attention.

Nothing.

“Logan.”

No response.

“Virgil.”

The boy didn’t even blink.

“Logan.” He tried again, a little louder this time.

His husband made another lap around the room.

“Oh for heaven's sake…” Patton sighed then inhaled to try again. “MR. SANDERS!!”

Virgil threw himself off the coffee table at Patton’s exclamation and Logan stumbled into a chair.

“Yes, dear?” Logan asked after he’d recovered.

“Nothing just trying to get your attention.” Patton smiled innocently. “You were pacing again.”

“Oh.” Logan reached down and helped Virgil to his feet. “Did you have to shout?”

“You weren’t listening.”

“Sorry.” Logan then turned to Virgil, inspecting him for any injuries. “Are you alright?”

Virgil nodded, rubbing at his now sore shoulder. “I’m okay. Papa just scared me.”

“I’m sorry, kiddo.” Patton said. “I didn’t mean to. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” Virgil insisted, and he picked up his book.

Patton patted the spot on the couch next to him. “Why don’t you two come sit with me so you don’t wander off?” He looked at Logan, who rolled his eyes.

“Or sit on tables.” He looked away from Logan and at Virgil, who ducked his head down.

“Sorry.”

Logan and Virgil took a seat beside Patton, determined not to move this time, and resumed their reading.

“You two,” Patton shook his head once again, grinning. “I love you both, but you two will be the death of me.”

Chapter Text

When Virgil came into school he was disappointed to find that he was alone at his table. Yesterday it had just been him and Abby, but today Virgil was by himself.

Strange to miss people. 

But then again, Zoey and Abby aren’t just anyone, they’re my friends.

Virgil assumed they were out with whatever it was going around. Lots of people were getting sick it seemed.

Virgil, being ever anxious about such things, had taken precautions when the kids in his class had first started getting sick.

He had hand sanitizer in his pocket, washed his hands as often as he could, drank lots of water, and avoided any sort of contact or even being in proximity to those who were showing symptoms of being sick. He had a mask too, but Patton had drawn the line there, saying it wasn’t necessary.

Virgil absolutely despised being sick and avoided it at all costs.

It was for that reason, avoiding being sick, that Virgil had turned down all of Mrs. Bell’s offers to let him work with other table groups. Each table had someone who’d recently been out sick, and most of them had someone who was showing symptoms.

Virgil would rather struggle through his math problems by himself then risk his health like that.

When he and Roman ate together at lunch, Virgil made sure that Roman was taking precautions as well. The prince had assured his friend that he was, for he too hated being sick.

This fear of being sick went on for several days, but Virgil was confident he was in the clear. Most everyone was back at school and hardly anyone was showing symptoms anymore.

Another successful sickness evasion.

When Friday came, Logan had a pounding headache by the end of the day. He was quite glad that they weren’t having Roman over for that very reason. He wanted nothing more than to go home and rest, a feat that would be impossible if they had the Prince’s youngest child over.

He picked up Virgil after school like usual, and drove the two of them home.

If Virgil had noticed anything off about his father, he didn’t say anything.

When they reached the house, Virgil and Logan walked in silently, going their separate ways when they reached the top of the stairs. Logan going to change and hopefully collapse in bed for an hour or so, and Virgil going to drop of his bag in his room.

Changing clothes was a lot harder than Logan remembered it being the day before. He would walk himself through the steps, but he just felt too drained to actually carry them out.

You can do this. Do this, then rest. Come on.

He managed to muster up the strength to put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He was pretty sure the shirt was Patton’s but he didn’t actually care enough to be bothered by the fact.

“What is causing all this?” He asked himself, sitting on the edge of the bed. There had to be some logic behind this.

Tired. Worked hard this week, that must be it.

Logan decided that answer was suitable, pushing the idea that it could be something else far away as he laid down.

There was a knock on the bedroom door.

Who could that be?

“Daddy?”

Oh right. Virgil. You have a child that needs attending. 

Logan forced himself to sit up. “Yes, Virgil?”

“I’m gonna go outside, okay?”

You can’t sleep if he’s outside, what if something happens? What if he needs you? You’re the only adult here!

Logan fought the urge to groan. That much was true, but he didn’t want to deny his son just because he wasn’t feeling up to it. That wouldn’t be fair.

Guess sleep will just have to wait.

“That’s fine, thank you for telling me.” Logan answered, massaging his temple. “Be careful alright? And stay in our yard.”

“I will!” Virgil responded and Logan could hear his footsteps fade away as he left the door.

“Only a little while.” Logan mumbled as he climbed to his feet. All he had to do was last until Patton got home. Only until 4:30.

He took some painkillers, then sat down at the kitchen table, determined to stay awake and get some work done until Patton could come home and relieve him of duty.

Only until 4:30.

He glanced at the clock. He could last an hour and a half right?

Right?

Logan thought wrong. He lasted about twenty minutes, managing to grade only a few tests before he’d passed out.

Logan woke up to the sound of crying and a familiar voice calmly giving support and instructions. He blinked rapidly, trying to understand what was going on.

“It’s alright, you’re fine.” Patton was saying as he walked into the kitchen, Virgil in his arms.

Virgil attempted to say something, but the words were lost in his tears.

Patton set him on the kitchen counter. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. Take a deep breath.”

The boy did as asked, taking a shaking breath and calming down a bit.

“Very good.” Patton reached into one of the cabinets and got their first aid kit. “Keep doing that, okay?”

Virgil nodded, continuing to take some calming breaths.

Logan wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

“Patton? What’s happening?”

Patton looked up from where he was taking things out of the first aid kit to look at his husband. “I came home from a very hard day to find Virgil in the driveway, crying and bleeding, with you nowhere to be found!”

Logan felt his heart drop. 

What have you done?

That was your fault.

He didn’t know what to say, feeling guilt and shame rising within him.

Patton shook his head and dropped his gaze back down to Virgil as he began to clean the scrapes that adorned his son’s knees and forearms.

He must have had a serious fall.

I’m so stupid! I didn’t even hear him crying!  

Virgil was no longer crying now, only occasionally hiccuping as his breathing settled.

An uneasy silence settled over the family.

Patton broke it only to address Virgil. “This is going to sting a little bit.”

The boy nodded, bracing himself as Patton continued his work.

It did sting, a lot for someone as small as he was, and Logan thought his whimper of pain would break his heart in two. It was the fresh, silent tears Virgil shed that did it instead.

You monster, look at what you’ve done. 

You weren’t there when you were needed.

You had one job and you failed it.

“I’m very sorry, both of you.” Logan spoke finally, his voice scratchy with more than emotion. “Virgil, I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. There’s no excuse, and it won’t happen again, I promise.”

“No, it won’t.” Patton said, sounding uncharacteristically cold as finished and put the first aid kit away. He lifted Virgil into his arms, holding him close as he attempted to comfort him.

I deserved that.

Logan looked down at the table. He’d felt awful before, but now he felt worse.

“Logan, you don’t look well at all. I’m sure you didn’t mean to fall asleep and I can’t blame you for something out of your control but…” He sighed, looking rather tired. “If you weren’t feeling well, why didn’t you call? I could have come home early.”

“That’s not fair to you.” Logan said. “But you’re right, maybe I was wrong to think I would be alright. I’m sorry.”

Patton shifted Virgil in his arms. “We can talk about it when you’re feeling better. Go to bed and rest, okay?”

Do as he says. He’s usually right.

Logan nodded and did as asked, somehow finding enough energy to rise out of the chair and climb the steps. He fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the bed.

Patton sighed, hugging Virgil close, as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

“Papa?”

“Yes, Virgil?”

“I’m all better now. You can change clothes and rest too.”

Patton smiled. “That’s very kind of you, kiddo. How about I change, then you can help me put together some stuff to help make Daddy feel better?”

Virgil nodded. “Okay. Daddy will be okay, right?”

“Of course he will, he’s just sick right now, but he’ll feel better real soon.”

“Because we’ll help him?”

Patton laughed. “That’s right, kiddo.”

He reluctantly set Virgil down so he could go upstairs.

“Papa, will I get sick if I help Daddy?”

“You’ll be alright.” Patton said reassuringly.

“Okay.” Virgil decided he could accept that. If Papa said it, then it must be true, right?

Virgil hoped so at least, and he sat down on the couch to wait for Patton to come back. He examined the bandaids on his knees and arms that covered his injures and had to smile.

There were little planets and rockets on them.

Virgil had a feeling that Patton had bought them just for him.

Chapter Text

Virgil could tell something was off about Patton and Logan, and it was making him uneasy. 

He’d assisted Patton with caring for Logan and had noticed the odd way they were behaving around one another. It was like they were walking on eggshells.

Logan wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes and Patton was more quiet than usual. Something was wrong, but they weren’t doing anything about it.

If he was being honest, it was giving him a massive headache.

When Patton and Virgil had sat down for a simple dinner, Patton had continued to look bothered and stayed silent, unusual for when it was just the two of them.

It was then that Virgil had decided he had had enough, and he threw down his fork, giving up on eating.

“What’s going on?!” He demanded loudly.

“There’s no need to shout, Virgil.” Patton said calmly, looking up from his plate. “And there’s nothing going on.”

“Falsehood!” Virgil shot back. “Something is wrong with you and Daddy! You’re not being right and it's making me…making me… ”

He trailed off, unsure of what he was feeling.

Patton looked a little startled. “I’m not sure what you mean, kiddo.”

“You’re not being you! Daddy’s not being Daddy! And I,” Virgil paused once again, still sorting out his feelings. 

What do you feel?

“It makes me sad.” He said quietly, looking down at the table. “You’re being all wrong and it’s sad.”

Patton wasn’t quite sure what to say.

Virgil took a breath, then voiced his real fear.  “Do you and Daddy not love each other anymore?”

“What?! Of course we still love each other!” Patton exclaimed. “Why would you think that?”

“You aren’t acting like you do.” Virgil began to chew the nails of his left hand.

Patton had to think about that, because he did have a point. “Virgil, Daddy and I still love each other, and we still love you. I’m just a little upset with Daddy.”

Virgil didn’t respond.

“But just because I’m upset, doesn’t mean I should be unkind.” Patton sighed. “Daddy and I will fix it, don’t worry about that. We just need some time to talk it through.”

Virgil nodded in response.

Patton offered him a smile. “Let’s finish eating, then I’ll go talk to Daddy.”

“I’m all done.” Virgil pushed his half eaten plate away with his free hand.

“Are you sure? You didn’t eat very much.”

“Not hungry.”

Patton frowned, but didn’t object as Virgil slid off his chair and disappeared into another room. Patton felt bad; he’d behaved poorly and upset more than just Virgil. He knew Logan would be berating himself for what had happened, but he also knew that it was partially his own fault.

Patton was upset and confused by the scene he'd come home to, on top of already feeling tired, and had just kind of lost it. Now that he’d had a chance to relax and bit, he was more understanding and knew he’d need to apologize.

He sighed and quickly finished his meal.

This was not how he wanted this weekend to go.

Patton and Logan were able to talk and make up, but Patton still felt bad. He was just ready for the day to be over and to start again in the morning. Things would be much better after they all got a good night’s sleep.

Patton was surprised when Virgil agreed to his idea of going to bed early, but had decided that he was just ready to begin again tomorrow morning as well.

When Logan woke up the next morning, the headache remained but it wasn’t nearly as bad. It just came with the rest of the symptoms he had been dreading. Sore throat, congestion, slight fever and the same tiredness from the day before.

He was most definitely sick.

Logan sighed, knowing that he’d spend the day in bed. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he just knew he needed to get some work done and make it up to Virgil for yesterday’s disaster.

Patton peeked his head into the room. “Morning, Lo. How are you feeling?”

“Good morning. If I’m being honest, quite horrible.” Logan sat up, leaning against the headboard. “I believe I have caught whatever it is the students have been passing around.”

“You’re not the only one it seems.” Patton said, smiling sadly. “Do you care if I bring in Patient Number Two? It’ll be easier if you’re both in one spot.”

“Virgil, too?” Logan felt bad if his son was going through the same things he was. “I don’t mind, he can come in here.”

Patton smiled and disappeared momentarily before he came back, bringing Virgil with him. Virgil looked as awful as Logan felt, so he could only assume he didn’t look much better.

As soon as Virgil was on the bed, he crawled under the blankets shivering. He coughed, then slide next to Logan.

Logan understood his silent plea for comfort, longing for it himself, and wrapped an arm around the boy, pulling him close.

Patton had left the room, but came back with a box of tissues, an extra blanket, and medication for both of them. He tucked the blanket around them, put the tissues in reach, then gave them both their medicine. Logan took his easily, but Virgil required more encouragement.

Logan couldn’t blame him, medicine was pretty icky.

However, once Virgil had taken his, Patton directed the two to get some rest. They didn’t object and were quickly able to fall asleep.

“He didn’t want to color?” Patton asked, looking to where Virgil’s coloring supplies sat untouched when he came to check on them much later. 

“Too tired.” Logan said, closing his book and blowing his nose before continuing. “He’s been asleep since you last came up.”

“Hmm.” Patton frowned, but didn’t question it further. “Did you sleep any at all?”

“A little. Then I decided to read.” Logan put the book aside, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. He sighed. “I hate being sick.”

“I know you do. I’m sorry you both have to deal with this.” Patton offered him a sympathetic smile. “You’ll be better in no time. It’s just the flu.”

“True.” Logan nodded, returning his glasses to his face. “Would you be able to bring up the pile of tests I left on the table last night?”

“Logan, you’re not grading tests while you’re sick.”

“I have to get them done at some point, might as well do it now.”

“Please, wait until you’re feeling better?” Patton begged. “You’ll never recover if you’re working.”

“Fine.”

Time passed slowly, but several hours later, Virgil was awake and looking more alert.

He quickly became bored.

Virgil sighed, abandoning his coloring. “I hate this.”

“I know, buddy. Me too.” Logan said softly. “But it can’t be helped.”

Virgil lay down in such a way that it would impress Roman with how dramatic it was.

Logan raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

Virgil had hoped his action would at least be a conversation starter, but all it did was cause a coughing fit, forcing him to sit up once again until it passed.

Logan handed him a water bottle. “Drink. You’ll feel better faster if you stay hydrated.”

Virgil took a sip, then handed it back.

Why does being sick have to be so boring?

“Daddy, I’m bored.” He complained, leaning against his father.

“Why don’t you color then?” Logan suggested, turning a page in his book.

“I don’t wanna color.”

“How about you read your book?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Well then try and get some sleep.” Logan turned another page. 

“I already slept!” Virgil whined, feeling his eyes water. 

Logan put the book down, studying his son carefully. “I’ve given you several suggestions, I’m not sure what else you want me to do.”

Virgil tugged on Logan’s arm. “Daaaaddyyyy....”

Logan thought fast, trying to come up with something. He could deal with complaining, they were both sick and couldn’t do much other than complain, but he didn’t want to have to deal with crying too.

“You know what? I have an idea.” Logan grabbed the tv remote from beside his bed. “Have you ever heard of Doctor Who?”

“What’s that?”

Logan silently congratulated himself on averting disaster as he put his favorite show on. “I’ll show you. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Chapter Text

Virgil sat up quickly, his movement sending him into a coughing fit.

As soon as it passed, Virgil glanced around quickly.

His parent’s bedroom was quiet and dark, the only light came from the window. He guessed it was nearing dinner time, but he wasn’t quite sure.

There’s nothing here, relax.

Virgil forced himself to breathe as normally as he could while being congested. 

When he was certain that everything was alright and that he’d only had a bad dream, he lay back down and snuggled next to Logan.

Only Logan wasn’t there.

Virgil shot upright once again, fear taking hold of him. 

He scrambled out of bed, not taking his eyes off the shadows and bolted for the door. He threw it open and scurried out into the hall, not watching where he was going and running straight into Patton.

Virgil screamed and threw himself away from Patton in fear, collapsing on the ground in tears.

“Virgil! Kiddo, what’s the matter?” Patton crouched down to where Virgil sat sobbing on the floor.

“They got Daddy!” Virgil cried.

“Who did what now?” Patton asked, gently putting his hands on Virgil’s shoulders. “Kiddo, breathe.”

Virgil struggled to breathe and provide an answer, pulling his knees up to his chest. “They… they got…”

“Whose ‘they’ kiddo?” Patton asked, coming closer as the boy hugged his knees.

“The Angels!” Virgil lamented. “They got Daddy and they’re gonna get us too!”

“... what?” Patton was hopelessly confused. “The Angels?”

Virgil didn’t respond, continuing to cry.

“Virgil, kiddo, I don’t know what you’re talking about but I can assure you that all of us, Daddy included, are just fine.” Patton pulled Virgil into a hug, holding him close. “It’s just the fever talking, sweetie, let’s go back to bed okay?”

“Nooooo!!” Virgil wailed, fighting as Patton tried to carry him back into the bedroom. “No, Papa, that’s where they live!!”

“Virgil, honey,” Patton sighed, stopping his movement towards the bedroom. “Nothing lives in that bedroom except me and Daddy.”

“Nooooo! The Angels live there!!” Virgil insisted.

Patton was silent for a moment as he tried to comprehend what his son was trying to say.

That’s when it clicked.

“Oh for goodness sake! It’s like I have two childrenー” Patton huffed an angry breath. “ Logan Adrien Sanders! ”

Virgil flinched at Patton’s suddenly raised voice, but all fear went away when Logan appeared, peeking sheepishly out of his study.

“Patton, dear, must you shout?” He asked, stepping into the hall.

“Daddy you’re okay!” Virgil exclaimed, tears coming to a stop.

“Yes?” Logan walked closer, looking extremely confused.

“Did you let him watch ‘Blink’ with you?! He’s two young for that! And with a fever? Logan you didn’t even think! He was having nightmares!!”

Logan looked at his husband. “Hang onー”

Patton practically shoved Virgil into his arms. “You did it! You can be the one to explain and put him back in bed!”

Logan quickly accepted Virgil, shifting so he wouldn’t drop him. “Patton, what… ?”

Patton crossed his arms. “Nuh-uh. I don’t do the alien monsters. That’s you’re department.”

“Hold on just a minute, whatーah.” Logan nodded, finally getting it. “The Weeping Angels.”

Virgil shuddered at the name. “I thought they had gotten you, Daddy. They were gonna get me and Papa.”

“Buddy, they’re fictional characters. They can’t hurt us.”

“But they could!” Virgil insisted. “We don’t have the Doctor here to save us!”

Logan sighed. “The Doctor, Rose, the Weeping Angels, they’re not real. They can’t hurt you, even if they do seem scary.”

Virgil pouted. “But you said that is very possible that time travel, and time energy eating monsters actually exist, we just haven’t mastered the science of it yet!”

“ Logan! ” Patton looked horrified. “Why would you say that?!”

“What? It’s true!” Logan was quick to defend himself. “The likelihood of time travel actually existing isー”

“I don’t need the whole speech, Lo.” Patton sighed. “Not again.”

Logan didn’t respond, but gave his husband a smug smirk.

“Would you both please go back to bed while I finish our dinner?” Patton asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And Logan? Please refrain from filling Virgil’s head with your nonsense about the likelihood of monsters being real.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Yes, dear.”

Patton nodded and went downstairs as Logan brought Virgil back into the bedroom.

By the time the family gathered to eat dinner, everyone was feeling a little better and Logan had managed to convince Virgil that the Weeping Angels were not going to come after any of them. They were able to have a simple meal together, which lifted everyone’s spirits.

After they ate, Logan and Virgil sat together to read while Patton cleaned up.

A few minutes passed before the phone rang.

“I got it!” Patton called, reaching over to lift the phone off the hook. “Sanders house!”

“Hi, Mr. Patton.” Roman Prince’s voice sounded from the other end. “Could I please speak to Virgil?”

“Hello, Roman! Of course! Let me get him.” Patton put the phone against his chest so he could call into the other room. “Hey kiddo, Roman’s on the phone!”

Virgil came in and took the phone from Patton, walking back towards the living room. “Hi, Roman.”

“Virgil, can you play for a bit before you have to go to bed?” Roman’s voice asked. Virgil thought the small prince sounded anxious.

“I can’t I’m sick.” Virgil said miserably. “I’m sorry. Papa told me maybe tomorrow, but I don’t want to get you sick.”

“Oh, okay.” Roman sounded disappointed and he sighed. “Call me tomorrow if you’re feeling up to it, okay?”

“Okay.” Virgil couldn’t help but think something was wrong. “Roman, are you okay?”

“Fine. See you tomorrow.” Roman said, then the line went dead.

Virgil frowned as he walked the phone back to Patton.

“Everything alright, kiddo?” Patton asked.

Virgil nodded. “Yeah.”

Patton didn’t look like he quite believed him, but he didn’t say anything.

Virgil walked back into the living room and sat down with Logan once again.

Something is up with Roman.

Virgil opened his book and tried to focus on the words in front of him, but his thoughts were full of concerns about Roman. Their conversation had been short, but the few words they said were not at all what he was used to with Roman.

I wonder why he didn’t tell me…

The book in front of him was soon forgotten in favour of Virgil contemplating what could possibly be wrong with his friend.

He remembered back to the first time Roman had been over at his house and he had thought the prince was being beaten. Roman had said no and laughed it off, but maybe he was lying?

Not that I blame him, it’s best to avoid bringing other people into your misery in order to avoid the worst of it. That’s what I did at least.

But surely Roman’s not being hurt is he? His parents are so nice, nothing like them! That can’t be it.

Virgil sighed. He was never quite sure with Roman. The boy was such a good actor and usually so over the top that it made it hard for Virgil to understand him.

“Is everything okay, Virge?” Logan asked, looking up from his book. “You look lost.”

Virgil felt the familiar twinge of sadness at the nickname, but he shook his head. “No, I’m just tired.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. It’s just hard to think when you’re tired.”

Logan nodded and closed his book. “I’d have to agree with you. Why don’t you go get Papa and pick a movie? We can do something mindless for a bit.”

That actually might help. Relax and sort through later.

“Okay.” Virgil scampered off to go fetch Patton, hoping that spending some time with his parents would help him to find the solution to his problem.

Chapter Text

The darkness was spreading across the kingdom, and spreading fast. The kingdom’s young ruler knew he had to do something, but he wasn’t quite sure what. He knew his advisors and people where growing nervous and he longed to do something to help them.

“Prince Roman!” Squire Snake exclaimed, coming into the throne room. “The Teddy Bear Woods have fallen into the darknessssss!”

“ ¡No otro!” The Prince cried. He stood from his throne and began to pace.

Squire Snake cowered in the corner of the room.

“What shall we do?” Prince Roman asked nervously. 

“You’ll have to fight it!” Squire Snake said. “Only you can do it, Prince Roman!”

“I cannot possible do it all by myself!” Prince Roman resumed his pacing. “I’m not nearly strong enough!”

Squire Snake was silent as he tried to think.

“I’ll have to find someone to help me.” Prince Roman spoke his thoughts aloud. “But who?”

Before Squire Snake could respond, a loud rumble was heard, drawing their attention to the window.

The two watched as the cloud of darkness stretched it’s hand further across the land, the ground rumbling in response to the destruction the shadows brought.

“It’sssss ssssspreading!” Squire Snake cried, quivering against his prince. 

Prince Roman bit his lip, thinking hard. “I must find someone to assist me in chasing the shadows away! But who?”

“Ssssomeone ssstrong?” Squire Snake suggested. “A Knight perhapssss?”

“Yes, of course!” Prince Roman nodded, an idea forming in his head. “I think I know just the knight.”

The prince turned from the window and headed towards a desk off on the side of the room. He picked up a map off the desk, tracing a path with his finger from the palace to a small hideaway in the wilderness.

He looked up to meet Squire Snake’s eyes.

“Are you sssure, my prince?” The snake asked hesitantly. “It’ssss quite a long way.”

Prince Roman nodded. “I’m sure. He’s the one.”

“Of coursssssse, Prince.” Squire Snake slithered back to allow Prince Roman to pass. “We mussst begin right away.”

“Si. We’ll leave as soon as my horse is ready.” The prince folded the map and tucked it into his pocket.

“Of courssse.” Squire Snake followed Prince Roman as the royal led the way out of the throne room. 

He paused only once: to give a servant the order to fetch his horse.

By the time Prince Roman made it to the stables, his horse was standing ready. He adjusted his sword belt, then climbed onto his fine mare’s back. Squire Snake slide up behind him.

“He will be able to help, won’t he, my Prince?”

“Of course.” Prince Roman said confidently. “If any one can help, it’s Sir Virgil.”

Squire Snake said nothing as the prince sent his horse into a trot, riding away from the palace, but he secretly hoped that the prince was right.

The pair rode the distance together, following the path on the map until they reached the small hideaway in the wilderness. 

Few people lived here, which is why Sir Virgil enjoyed it so much. The small, silent, collection of hidden homes was very appealing for the knight of few words.

“Isss thisss it?” Squire Snake asked.

“Si. Right over there.” The young prince pointed to the quiet cottage that was Sir Virgil’s home.

“What are we waiting for, then?”

Prince Roman carefully dismounted his horse. “Sir Virgil lives with two powerful warlocks. We must not be spotted if we are to succeed in our mission to be rid of the darkness.”

“Why not?” Squire Snake slithered off the horse to be beside his prince.

“Warlocks are members of darkness. It is their nature to communicate with the darkness.” Prince Roman explained as he led his mare to a concealed spot. “If they were to know of our presence, they would alert the darkness and give them time to prepare before Sir Virgil and I could even come up with a plan!”

“Of coursssse, my prince.” Squire Snake looked around. “Perhaps the back entrance?”

The prince followed his companion’s line of sight. “Sí, eso hará bien.”

“After you, Prince Roman.”

Prince Roman, after ensuring his mare would be alright, led the way around the cottage to the back entrance. He peeked in the windows, checking if the coast was clear.

“Any warlocksss?” Squire Snake whispered.

Prince Roman shook his head, then eased the door open. He waited a moment, then peered inside. 

It was clear, so he waved Squire Snake inside, then followed him in. He carefully closed the door behind them, waiting anxiously to hear if the warlocks where aware of their presence.

He was met with only silence.

The prince took a deep breath, scanning the space of the cottage for their next move.

He and Squire Snake were in the kitchen, but Sir Virgil would be in his quarters on the second floor, so they would need to get to the stairs.

The stairs were just past the small sitting room.

Unfortunately, one of the warlocks was in the sitting room, pacing back and forth as he  read an old manuscript.

The prince knew this was the hard part, but he was determined. He tapped Squire Snake, pointing at the staircase then making a few elaborate hand gestures to silently describe their plan for getting around the warlock.

Squire Snake nodded in understanding, then turned back to the warlock.

At Prince Roman’s signal, he lay flat on the ground and slithered silently to the first armchair, curling up behind it. After a moment, he poked his head around the chair, then slithered forward once more, out of the prince’s sight to the next chair.

Prince Roman looked at the warlock to see if he’d noticed his silent intruders.

The warlock was still pacing and still reading: they were safe.

Prince Roman then moved silently up behind the first chair, waiting for a moment as Squire Snake had done before poking his head around the corner.

Squire Snake was behind the second chair now, only two more moves and he’d be at the stairs.

Prince Roman looked back at the warlock, confirming that he still hadn’t noticed them, before giving Squire Snake to move forward to the next hiding spot.

Squire Snake was now hiding in the shadows of a bookcase and Prince Roman had sneaked up to the second chair.

They were nearly there.

Prince Roman confirmed the position of the warlock once again, then gave the signal to move forward. Now he was hidden in the shadow of the bookcase and Squire Snake was at the base of the stairs.

Squire Snake peered up the stairs, and after noting the presence of no one, slithered up to the top.

Prince Roman took a small step forward just as the second warlock came around the other corner.

The prince quickly flattened himself against the wall, praying he hadn’t been spotted.

The second warlock walked forward, stopping directly in front of Prince Roman’s hiding spot.

The young prince was certain his pounding heartbeat could be heard.

However, the warlock did not turn around. He stared at the first warlock with silent adoration before walking towards him and taking the manuscript from his hands.

“Stop working. You need to rest.” The warlock told the first.

The first looked like he’d been startled out of a trance, but the look quickly faded when his eyes met those of the second warlock.

Something inside the prince told him to move and move fast, so he did.

He silently slid out of his hiding spot and up the stairs as quickly as he could.

Squire Snake was waiting for him at the top, looking quite concerned.

Prince Roman shooks his head to tell his companion that he hadn’t been spotted.

Squire Snake looked relieved. He indicated the door to Sir Virgil’s room with the tip of his tail.

Prince Roman nodded, silently leading the way once more as they crossed the hall. They paused at the door, peeking in silently.

Sir Virgil was seated on top of his desk, carefully studying several pieces of parchment. He had not noticed the arrival of the young prince and snake.

Prince Roman had to smile. Sir Virgil was always so aware of everything, so it was amusing to see him so lost in thought and unaware of the prince’s presence. It was so unlike Sir Virgil to be so at ease.

The smile quickly faded, however, when Prince Roman remembered why he was there in the first place.

He looked at Squire Snake, who nodded to confirm that it was time. The two would have to be fast if they wanted to avoid Sir Virgil’s surprise giving them away. The prince took a deep breath, then Squire Snake gave the signal to move.

Prince Roman moved fast, racing on cat feet into the room and tackling Sir Virgil off the desk, clamping a hand tightly over the knight’s mouth to prevent him from crying out.

Prince Roman and Sir Virgil landed on the floor, parchments flying every which way.

“Relax, Sir Virgil. It’s me.” Prince Roman whispered from his position on top of the knight. “I will release you if you promise not to shout.”

Sir Virgil, who'd looked panicked at being tackled in surprise, nodded quickly. Prince Roman then removed his hand and climbed off of his friend, offering him a hand up.

“What are you doing here?!” Sir Virgil whispered as aggressively as he could.

“I need your help.” Prince Roman responded quietly. “My kingdom is in danger fromー”

Sir Virgil’s whispered cry cut him off. “Is that a f*cking snake?!!” 

Prince Roman looked shocked, unsure of what to say. He was quite certain Sir Virgil had just spoken a Forbidden Word, something he knew brought great consequences for those who dared speak them aloud.

Sir Virgil didn’t react to Prince Roman’s lack of words and backed away as Squire Snake returned from shutting the door.

“Get that thing away from me!” Sir Virgil looked terrified.

Prince Roman found his words. “Sir Virgil, this is Squire Snake. He’s here to help. Now if you would please listen, I was sayingー”

“It’s a snake Roman! They’re dangerous Why do you have aー” Sir Virgil was cut off by Squire Snake dashing forward.

Prince Roman was horrified, feeling as though he was living in a nightー

Roman wasn’t quite sure how it happened. He remembered playing a game to distract himself, but the details were fuzzy. The next thing he knew, he was standing in the Sanders’ house, in Virgil’s bedroom with a snake in his hands and his friend backing away.

Virgil was telling him something, he was sure of it, but he couldn’t quite place what he was saying. Something about danger.

It’s the darkness! You’re here for Sir Virgil’s help!

Roman became vaguely aware of the details of how he’d come to be in his current situation and opened his mouth to explain when the snake suddenly launched itself from his grasp.

The snake shot towards Virgil before Roman could even process what had happened, and Virgil let out a cry of pain.

“Virgil!” Roman exclaimed in fright.

Virgil and Roman's loud cries got the attention of the adults, and Roman could hear them moving about in a hurry downstairs.

Oh no, you’ve done it now, Roman.

Why must you be so stupid?! You keep getting people hurt!

The adults were running up the stairs, and Roman felt his panic rise as he rushed forward towards Virgil.

You are so dead. So, so, so very dead.

He tried to reach for his friend. “Are you alright?!”

“ It f*cking bit me!! ” Virgil shrieked, clutching his arm.

Virgil’s parents burst into the room.

“What is going on?!”

“Roman! When did you get here?!”

Roman wasn’t sure who to answer first.

Chapter Text

I wanted to let you all know that due to personal reasons, I am unable to complete this story and I am very sorry! As you know, I haven't updated in a long time and that is also due to personal reason. I will just say that after the last chapter, I had a massive set back in my mental health that has taken a long time to get over. This story has touched on lots of personal matters that really upset me sometimes and because of that, I am unable to continue it at this moment in time. Perhaps I will come back to it some day, but I seriously doubt it.
I will still continue to write, just write other things. I am very sorry! I know this comes as a disappointment to a lot of people, but I believe it is best for me. However, I have no problem with you guys 'continuing' the story or using my ideas! Please do so! I only ask that you would credit me somehow, that way I can check out what you guys write!!
You guys are the absolute best, and I want you to know that writing is really important to me and seeing how you all react to what I write has really been a confidence booster! I mean it. I've had self-esteem issues for years, but seeing how total strangers and my friends react to my writing has really helped me realize that I do have a talent(so people say) and that I can be comfortable with who I am.
Thank you all so much! Please continue to read and write and please, please, please, PLEASE take care of yourselves! Your mental health is one of the most important things!
Thanks again, and I am really sorry to disappoint you guys!