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Virgil stared blankly up at the ceiling, suddenly thankful for the lack of light in his room. His head was pounding, and every time he so much as moved, a wave of nausea would crash over him.
Migraines were decidedly the worst.
He groaned, pulling his comforter over his head. The last time he'd felt this miserable was when he'd decided to duck out. The pain that day had been almost blinding, and it had caused him to realize just how badly his anxiety affected him.
He didn't want to think about how much it must've affected Thomas.
The migraines always came when his anxiety was at an unusually high level.
So, maybe he should've seen it coming, considering the anxiety attack he'd had after telling Thomas that he'd been a dark side.
Maybe then he could've prepared a little better.
Virgil furrowed his eyebrows in an attempt to soothe the sharp pain that had just hit him, silently wishing he knew where he'd put his migraine medicine.
stupid stupid stupid stupidstupidstupid
He groaned, throwing the comforter off before slowly pulling himself into a sitting position. It would suck to get up and walk around, but if he could find the pills, it would all be worth it.
As he stood up, there was a knock at the door. Virgil flinched at the sudden noise.
"Hey, kiddo," Patton's voice drifted through the door. "Just wanted to make sure you're doin' okay." There was a beat of silence where Virgil thought maybe Patton had left. "Um, I brought you some breakfast since I know you haven't eaten. I'll just, uh, leave it outside the door."
It was faint, but there was the sound of something—a plate, Virgil assumed—being placed on the floor followed by footsteps that got quieter the further Patton got. He sighed, rubbing his temples, before slowly creeping over to the door, trying his best not to move too quickly. He cracked the door open, peeking down to see a plate of chocolate chip pancakes on the ground.
Virgil smiled softly at the moral side's gesture before the smell of the pancakes hit him. Another wave of nausea crashed over him as he bent over to pick them up, causing him to rub his head.
Yeah, migraines definitely sucked.
Begrudgingly, he abandoned the stack of pancakes on his nightstand and crawled back into bed, already too worn out to go about finding the medicine.
Maybe if he just fell asleep the pain would go away?
Almost as if he was being taunted, another sharp pain shot through his head. Virgil squeezed his eyes shut, hands rushing to grasp at his hair despite the fact it would do nothing to get rid of the pain.
He was faintly aware of the tears that had slipped out when he'd shut his eyes, not even caring about the fact that it was probably streaking the eyeshadow he'd put on this morning before the pain had gotten too bad. It's not like it mattered how he looked; with how terrible he felt right now, he definitely wouldn't be venturing out of his room today.
Virgil laid there for what felt like hours but was probably only thirty minutes at most. Every time he would drift a little closer to sleep, pain would pulse through his head and wake him right back up again.
Lightly put, it was torture.
god, how could you have been so stupid, he thought bitterly to himself as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying once more to shut his brain off.
you know what happens when you panic that bad, idiot.
Patton's gaze flicked worriedly up towards Virgil's door. It wasn't the first time the anxious side had ever holed himself away for a whole day or more, but it was the first time in a long time, and after seeing how upset Virgil had been when he'd appeared back in the mindscape after filming yesterday…
Well, Patton couldn't help but stress.
"Patton," Logan's voice, ever calm and steady, snapped him out of his reverie. "You need to calm down. Worrying will solve nothing."
"I know, Lo, but… I can't help it! He seemed really off yesterday when he got back, and I just—"
"It's not as if it's without reason, though. I believe everybody was a bit… put off by Remus' sudden appearance yesterday."
"I know, I just—"
"I'm sure Virgil is fine," Logan interrupted, closing the book he'd been reading with a sigh. "This isn't the first time he's done something like this, surely you know that."
Patton didn't respond, only pouted and made his way back towards the kitchen, where he'd just pulled out everything he needed for dinner. He busied himself with making the pasta, allowing his thoughts to wander.
Virgil had been the last to make it back to the mindscape after the video, and he'd disappeared into his room pretty quickly after that. On top of that, Thomas' emotions—disbelief, confusion, fear—had settled like a thick fog, and Patton knew that it had nothing to do with Remus and everything to do with whatever had upset Virgil so much.
He sighed softly as he set the table, deciding he would at least see if Virgil wanted dinner. There was no harm in that, and maybe, just maybe, Virgil would be ready to come down and at least hang out with the rest of them. Patton nodded to himself before brushing past Roman as the creative side came down the stairs. He paused outside of the door that led to Virgil's room.
"Virgil?" he called out as he knocked softly on the door. The door, which had been left the tiniest bit cracked, creaked as it slowly swung open at the impact. Patton frowned as he steeled his resolve and slowly, quietly, entered the room. "Virge," he called out again, this time a little softer.
Virgil was there, but he was hidden under a thick cocoon of blankets. Patton carefully tip-toed his way towards the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, attempting to pull the comforter back – there was no way Virgil wasn't melting under there.
He gasped as he peeled the blankets back; the tear tracks from his eyeshadow were stark against his pale skin. Had his skin always been that pale? Patton frowned, carefully brushing the hair that was matted against Virgil's forehead back.
"Oh, Virge…"
Virgil's eyes shot open before he squinted and shut them again, and Patton instantly felt guilty – Virgil was a notoriously light sleeper, always had been, so of course he would wake up once his brain realized Patton was there. Virgil groaned as he rested the back of his arm against his forehead, allowing his eyes to open again. "Pat?"
"Hey, kiddo," he said softly, allowing a small smile to ghost across his lips. "You doin' okay?"
Virgil shook his head, and then immediately regretted it as the pain intensified right above his eyes.
"Migraine," he mumbled, shutting his eyes tightly again. Patton frowned, before remembering something Logan had told him a while back; something about overworking himself and migraines, and how he'd found something that made them better.
"I'll be right back, okay, kiddo? Just stay put," With that, Patton all but ran from the room, down to the living room, where Roman and Logan were eating dinner. He tapped Logan on the shoulder, asked where he kept the migraine medicine he'd told Patton about, and was running back up the stairs towards Logan's room within a minute. Patton fumbled with the pill bottle before making his way quickly back to Virgil, holding the bottle up like some sort of prize.
After Virgil had taken the pills, he relaxed slightly at the knowledge that the pain would be getting at least a little bit more manageable soon. He glanced over towards Patton, who had settled himself back on the edge of the bed, and sighed.
"I told him…" Virgil said quietly, his eyes staring straight ahead.
"Hm? What did you—"
"I told him I was a dark side!" he choked out, the tears that had been threatening to spill finally falling. "And he… he hates me, Patton. Oh my God, he hates me."
"Shh, Virge, honey, I'm sure that's not true." Patton brushed the hair out of Virgil's face, his heart breaking at how distraught the anxious side was. "Thomas doesn't hate you, I'm sure it just caught him off guard."
"You didn't see his face, Pat," Virgil rubbed his temples, his face scrunched up as he waited for the pain to dissipate. "He—"
"—was probably a little shocked, I mean, Virgil, kiddo, it's a lot to process without warning." Virgil frowned, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I'm sure everything will work itself out. Why don't you get some more rest, huh? I'm sure you didn't sleep too well last night." At Virgil's nod, Patton smiled, reaching over to wipe a stray tear from his face.
As Patton moved to get up from the bed, Virgil grabbed at his arm loosely, avidly avoiding actually looking at the moral side.
"Can you—"
"Sure, kiddo." Patton carefully moved closer to Virgil and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug before pulling him to lay down. Virgil let out a small yelp at the sudden contact but closed his eyes as his head hit the pillow, allowing himself to get comfortable in Patton's arms.
"Hey, Virge?" Patton asked quietly after a few minutes of blissful silence. Virgil only hummed in response, prompting Patton to continue. "You know you can always come to any one of us when you're feelin' down, right?"
There was a brief pause, a soft sigh, and a whispered "yeah," that left Patton beaming even as he drifted to sleep.