Archive of Our Own

Virgil's life was.... different now. That was the best word he could come up with. After the news spread of his heroic acts, things were.... different. Virgil could easily come up with a bunch of examples off the top of his head.

He would flick on the news to see Roman having another press conference. This, was normal. What wasn't normal was the lack of questions about him. Like when Roman would bring him down, or where he thought he would strike next. Instead, they were about the other thieves or crimes in the area. He had to admit, they were much less exciting to watch now.

Another example was when he googled his own name. (Which was something he did more often then he would ever admit) instead of seeing articles calling him a monster or wondering where he will strike next, he saw different posts. There were still a few that he would have expected: "What unfortunate place will fall victim to nightmares next attack?". This, again, was normal. What wasn't normal was the other articles: "Nightmare: soft villain or misunderstood hero". For what it was worth, Virgil didn't like either of those titles.

It wasn't that Virgil was opposed to these changes per se- but they were different from what he was used to and thus were unknown. And the unknown was scary and unpredictable.

The biggest difference of all was how people reacted to seeing him on the street. Instead of screaming, and running at full speed, now they warily shuffled away. Instead of looking at Virgil like a predator, and they were the prey, a look of pure instinctual fear. As if they were looking at the physical embodiment of all their darkest fears. Now, however, they still looked at him with fear, but it wasn't the life or death kind. It was a fear of distrust like Virgil was an unstable walking bomb, but as long as you didn't get in his way and set him off, you'd be fine. Which was the most truthful and accurate thing Virgil had ever heard. People didn't run as far away, or scream as loud. Fewer people pulled out their phones. (silver linings am I right?) But as far as Virgil was concerned, this was by far the scariest difference in his life.

This was the first time Virgil was out after the incident, and after he noticed most of these things, he became tenser than ever before. The last time he was this on edge was when he robbed the bank, his first time as a thief. Everything had grown into such an easy routine. Go out, people run screaming, Prince shows up, run away, then go home and eat pizza. This was no longer the case though, he could no longer predict what was going to happen, or what people would do, which for some reason was almost scarier than any nightmare he'd had before.

When he first walked into the park, there was a group of teenagers on the fountain, a group he had run into before. Again, another normal thing. Instead of screaming, dropping all their things and taking off as fast as they could, like usual, however, they did something different.

The first one to see him gasped and quickly hit his friend on the shoulder to get her attention. "Guys," he said in a panic. Immediately all their heads shot up and followed his eyes. Virgil had braced himself for the screams, but none came. Instead, they all rapidly packed their things and  jogged  off. Virgil had stood there for a couple of minutes, staring at where the teens had been in complete shock.

Sure, they had still run off, but Virgil was used to them running away like they just saw the lion that escaped from the local zoo. Instead, they ran like they just realized it was an hour past curfew and their parents were gonna be pissed.

Which brought us to where we are now, Virgil, in his full nightmare costume, walking down the streets toward the inner city; very confused.

Virgil decided to put this to the test. He didn't put on his normal show of evil laughing and roaming mysteriously. He simply walked, like a normal citizen, just to see what would happen.

A full half an hour had gone by of the same thing. People would shuffle and scurry away, but nobody screamed and ran for their lives like normal. And nobody had contacted the heroes by the looks of it, because there was still no sign of the prince anywhere.

Virgil's stomach turned. He didn't like this. Not that he enjoyed the screaming and running, but he was used to it. This made him feel.... so uneasy.

Virgil shook his head, he had enough for one day. He'd have to have a banter session with the prince next time, despite how much he craved a sense of normalcy right now. He walked into an alley to change. He didn't want to be cooped up at home again so soon though. Maybe he could chance walking around with his head down in his normal clothes? He could run at the first sight of-

There was a loud explosion sound a block or two away.

-danger...

Virgil took a deep breath and sighed. He could change later. 

Why did he have such little care for self-preservation? He immediately began to run toward the noise.

Soon enough, he rounded a corner, only to immediately jump back to hide behind it. Had he just seen world war 3? He peeked around again to see nothing but chaos.

It was a large 4 lane intersection with a flaming exploded car in the center. Cars were flipped and astray everywhere as people screamed and ran. Virgil couldn't see exactly, but there was ALOT of people firing guns, but it seemed the police hadn't arrived yet? They were all wearing the same white or black shirt with a logo on it. Great. A gang. Suddenly a blur of white and red shot through the sky. Princey.

He was already looking worn out and tired, and by the looks of it had a bleeding arm injury, but was continuing to fight none the less. A bright flash of light drew his attention and he saw Cam was there with him, which was a relief. He didn't think Roman stood a chance alone.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem Flamethrower was making that much of a difference. As much as he hated to say it: the heroes were loosing.

Virgil had to do something.

Wait what!?! Virgil was taken back by his own thoughts. Why did he have to do something? He should be on the side of the gang, not the heroes!

Right...?

He let out a sigh of exasperation. If princey was dead, he'd have no one to banter with, and his life would be so much more boring. That justified him saving the prince. Saving Cam was only a bonus. He just didn't want his life to be boring.

Yeah, that was the reason.

He glanced around, there were so many people. Roman wasn't even able to stop flying for a second to think, unless he wanted to get shot. It was like watching a sick game of target practice. Gang members were hidden behind cars and other things, leaning out to shoot and then duck back in. Virgil was going to need to see all of them if this was going to work. He looked at the building he was hiding behind. A 3 story building with a fire escape. perfect

Virgil took off back into the alley, swinging himself up onto the fire escape and running up the stairs. He heard the sound of police sirens getting closer.

He reached the roof and ran over to the edge. The heroes were not looking good. Not that it was their fault. From this view, Virgil could see at least 25 gang members. 25 vs two didn't seem very fair.

He took a deep breath. He needed to even those numbers and as much as he hated it, there was nothing he could do against that many people with guns without using his propensity. He could do this, he had to do this.

He searched inside himself, but to his horror, he couldn't find it. he panicked, searching, digging desperately but came back with nothing. How.... how......

Suddenly a loud bang caught his attention and Virgil watched in horror as Cam got launched across the roads, slamming into the side of a truck and dropping to the pavement. She was clutching her stomach, which was bleeding profusely. She had been shot.

Ah, there was his propensity

And when he found that string inside himself, he pulled. hard.

Multiple screams could be heard through the huge bang sound as a massive bolt of lightning struck down and the sky above opened up and poured, drenching the entire scene and thankfully putting out all the fires.

Virgil wasn't sure when he had closed his eyes, but when he opened them, he was pretty damn speechless. The sky cleared just as quickly as it had darkened.

There, below him, he saw Roman crouched at Cam's side. And all around them, all the men where not just under his influence, they were all unconscious. He had literally put them to sleep to endure their nightmares. He had done that?!?

The prince's eyes were darting around frantically.

"Jesus christ Princey," Virgil said loudly as he stood on the edge of the roof, arms crossed wearing a very self-satisfied smirk. "What fucking mafia boss did you somehow manage to piss off? I'm also a little hurt, aren't I supposed to be your enemy? You're not cheating on me are you?"

As soon as Roman's eyes found him, the prince's face melted. Virgil was stunned at the sheer amount of relief that washed over the other man's face at the sight of him.

"Virgil," The prince said, seemingly slightly dazed, his tone was also too relieved sounding for Virgil's liking. Suddenly Roman seemed to register his questions "The leader of the emerald dragons, but no, I'd never, your still my main guy, promise" Roman laughed.

Virgil blinked, then blinked again. He ignored all the different things he felt at Roman's response. "Jesus Roman! You weren't supposed to have an actual answer to the first part!"

Roman just laughed softly as he continued helping Cam. FINALLY, the police pulled up at the scene along with ambulances.

Virgil began to feel slightly dizzy, realizing he was still holding at least 25 people under his propensities influence. He sat down on the edge of the roof. He wouldn't be able to hold them all under for much longer. He needed an- WAIT! Could... could that be possible?

He narrowed his eyes, thinking for a minute. People reacted in different ways to fear, but these people were asleep, experiencing nightmares. Could he manipulate the nightmares? He didn't have to keep them asleep, just keep them hallucinating. Could he control them through fear...

Was that possible?...

He felt a sharp pain in his head and winced. Here goes nothing, he didn't have time to think of anything else.

"Princey!" Virgil called. Cam was being taken into the ambulance as police slowly handcuffed the gang members. That wasn't fast enough.

The prince spun to look at him, but Virgil didn't give him time to respond. "Tell the police to open the backs of their prisoner vans! Hurry!" He cried, holding a hand to the side of his head again.

To his shock, the prince didn't need to say anything. The police..... the police listened to him!?! Immediately some ran over, swung the doors to the few vans open and stepped back.

Whelp, here goes nothing.

He closed his eyes, and imagined a huge dark monster made of nothing but swirling black shadows. A simple representation of the source of the fear. He imagined the backs of the vans, disguising them in his mind as the entrances to houses. He then imaged the giant monster begin to run towards him. For some reason, Virgil actually felt his own fear spike, but he ignored it and tried to keep focused. He was being chased and the only safety was in those houses.

He swore he blacked out for a second, before he gasped and jolted awake, a hand flying to grab the side of his head at the intense pain that flared. What was he thinking, there was no way that could have..... worked.......?

He looked down to see the doors of the vans being slammed and locked. The police and Roman and everyone else were staring at him, jaws on the floor. He... he had done that!!!

Suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him and his world went back, feeling himself leaning forward.

Suddenly though, two hands on his shoulders caught him and pushed him back to keep him for going over the edge.

"Whoa, there take it easy ultraviolet" came the Prince's voice as Virgil's world came back into focus. He could hear the smile in Roman's voice.

Virgil winced and held his head again, reclining back onto the roof. "Princey do me a favour, stay away from gangs in the future got it?"

Roman just laughed. His voice now coming from beside him, seeming the prince was sat next to him. Suddenly there was a small bang and Virgil shot up into the sitting position, immediately causing his vision to go black and his head to feel like it was imploding.

"Whoa whoa it's okay the members and waking up now in the vans and are banging against the inside is all. Your good" Roman replied, rubbing a hand on Virgils back gently before guiding him back to laying down.

Virgil still had to clarify one thing.

"I swear to god if you try to apprehend me after that I'm never going to forgive you"

Roman gasped. "You're kidding me, right? You don't actually think I'd even consider apprehending you right now."

"Good to know" Virgil muttered, finally letting himself relax fully.

"Okay, gotta admit that hurts a bit but, considering what just happened I'll let it slide."

Virgil just hummed in agreement and closed his eyes, putting a forearm over his eyes to block out the sun more, listening to the sounds of the scene down below before his breath hitched. He felt something brush through his hair gently, before twirling it and twisting is aimlessly.

Normally, Virgil would have nearly slapped Roman. He would have pushed him off the roof, (knowing he could fly back up). Or he would have at least slapped his hand away.

Right now though, he couldn't bring himself to, ego and reputation be damned, it was actually helping his headache go away.

"I get headaches a lot from all the loud press conferences... this usually helps me but I can stop if you w-"

"S'fine" Virgil grumbled,

After a few more minutes his head finally stopped feeling like it was about to explode, he slowly sat up, finally opening his eyes. The police vans were just driving off, as crews began to clean up the mess and destruction.

That's when he noticed the camera crews that had been there for god knows how long.

He officially decided right then and there that the media and paparazzi were way worse than any villain.

Virgil glanced at Roman to see blood still running down his arm. He had somehow seemingly forgotten Roman was injured.

"Jesus princey! You need to go see one of the EMTs right now!" Virgil said slightly panicked.

Roman seemed to suddenly remember his injury too. "Don't worry frightmare, tis-" he began in his dramatic tone but Virgil cut him off.

"I swear to fuck if you say 'but a flesh wound' I will kick your ass off this roof so fast-"

Roman laughed, until he finally managed to compose himself enough to say "tis but a scratch~" he teased, giving the villain a smirk.

"Your so lucky your injured right now or I'd make you wish your injury was 'but a scratch"

Roman just laughed.

"Seriously princey go get that looked at, I didn't just save your asses for you to bleed out right after. It would make a dumb obituary"

"It would. Glad to know you care about what my obituary says" Roman replied with a smirk.

"Oh please, unless you want me to rob another bank, I don't have the money for flowers" roman made an offended princey noise, but Virgil ignored it. "I'm serious, go"

"No I'm not leaving you up here alone what if you get faint again?" Roman said in a tone that meant he had already made up his mind.

"What if I go with you?" Virgil said before thinking. And before he could retract the statement, The prince agreed.

"Want a fly down to avoid all those stairs?" Roman asked, extending a hand. Virgil looked at him like he had just grown another pair of eyes.

"Princey you must've hit your head during that fight cuz your out of your mind" Virgil replied with a smirk. A smirk that Roman knew meant mischief. Before Roman could ask though, Virgil reached into his backpack and grabbed something. It kinda looked like one of those automatic retractable dog leashes but with a hook on the end. Virgil quickly hooked it onto the edge of the roof. After testing it, he simply held the other end and jumped, letting the device lower him to the ground. Once he landed, he clicked a button and the hook retracted, pulling itself back and into the device once again.

Virgil had to admit, having an overprotective genius millionaire inventor like logan as a close friend sure had its perks. He had to promise to only use this to "get out of places instead of in" however.

Virgil put the item away into his backpack, before looking up to see Roman just staring at him.

"Uh, are you coming sir sings-a lot or do you expect the EMT to meet you up there?"

Roman just shook his head and flew down to land next to him. He began to walk toward the ambulances who were treating some bystanders, but he stopped and turned when Virgil didn't follow.

"Arent you coming?" The prince asked. Virgil gave him a disbelieving look.

"Uh, Ro I don't know if you noticed but there are police, like, everywhere and you expect me to just waltz right over to them? I'm already too close for my comfort-"

"Virgil, I won't let anybody arrest you right now, I promise, okay?"

Virgil was about to argue, when another wave of dizziness hit him and he stumbled, clutching his head.

"And by the look of it, you need an EMT to check you too."

"That's not happening. But...." Virgil pulled out his phone

"What are you doing?"

"Telling Patton that I'm willingly going into a place swarming with cops with you and you promised to protect me so if I get arrested it's your fault," he said with a smirk before hitting send. NOBODY wanted to disappoint Patton.

Roman just rolled his eyes and walked towards the ambulances while Virgil hesitantly followed. He could not believe he was doing this.

To Virgil's surprise though, nobody really seemed to bat an eye at him as they continued whatever they were doing. Virgil would sum it up to the shock of everything.

After the EMT looked over the prince and said they needed to go to the hospital to remove some of the debris that was still in the wound the EMT turned to Virgil.

"Would you ride with us to the hospital? The prince said your feeling faint, and after what I just witnessed I'm not surprised. I believe you drained yourself pretty good, you'd benefit from some fluids and pain meds"

And for some ludicrous reason, the word "yes" came out of Virgil's mouth.

Virgil had never felt so on edge in his life. How had he even gotten here? In the back of an ambulance with the prince getting his vitals checked on the way to the hospital.

Patton was continuously messaging him encouraging messages and making sure he was okay, which was helping keep him calm.

"Yeah, your blood pressure is low, which explains your dizziness. We'll get you fixed up in no time though" The EMT smiled, patting Virgil on the shoulder, which caused him to flinch a little too violently at the sudden contact.

"Oh I'm sorry," The EMT apologized, but kept the gentle smile on her face.

"S'fine" he muttered, curling in on himself and wishing this was a nightmare.

When they arrived, he and Roman were quickly escorted through the back into a private room to avoid the press. Virgil was left with a glass of water with electrolytes and some pain killers. The prince got the same, but was hooked up to an Iv with his arm wrapped until the doctor could come to remove whatever debris was left in the cut.

Once the nurse left, Virgil let out a huge shaky breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Are you really that nervous to be here?" Roman asked, though his tone wasn't mocking, it was genuine and concerned.

"Roman, I'm surrounded by authorities. My propensity cant get me out of handcuffs. One wrong move and my entire life is gone. I'm still a wanted criminal. Of course I'm on edge."

"Damn I... I never realized.... just how much bigger the stakes for you were...."

"Yep," Virgil replied plainly, pulling his knees up to his chest. He wanted to be home so bad right now.

Before he could think any more the door burst open.

"Kiddos!" Pattom exclaimed happily, running in and wrapping his arms around Virgil tightly.

"P-Patton? Logan? What are you guys doing here!?"

"A little birdy told us you weren't doing too well and thought having some friendly faces around might help you relax a bit. "

Virgil's head immediately snapped to look at Roman who was trying his hardest to look innocent and aloof but was failing miserably.

Virgil felt his heart flutter at the fact roman had called them here simply to make him feel better. Before Virgil could say anything though Logan spoke up. "So what exactly happened?"

"You should turn on the news" Roman replied, tossing logan the remote to the small tv in their room. Perks of being super her- villains? perks of knowing Roman Spectacular. That's it.

Patton sat down on Virgil's bed next to him, leaving an arm wrapped around his shoulders for silent comfort. Virgil really needed it right now.

They all watched as the news replayed what happened. Virgil knew most of it, but the room grew deathly silent as soon as he heard himself tell Roman to have the police open their van doors. He subconsciously leaned forward. What had this actually looked like?

His eyes had been closed during what happened, or at least that's what he thought. But as soon as he closed his eyes on the tv, they shot open again, staring into nothing and glowing slightly, his entire iris a dark stormy gray. He watched as the Camera zoomed out from him as soon as the gang members started twitching. Then suddenly they began jumping up, seemingly unaware of the world around them. The police pulled out their guns and aimed them, but held them still and watched.

The previous silence was filled with cries and screams of horror as all the men seemed to come back to life, but lost in their own minds. They tripped and stumbled over things as they ran, as if they couldn't see them, stumbling and crawling as fast as the could towards the vans. The pure desperation on their faces was unsettling. As if they were running from death its self. The fear in their faces was so real, so pure and animalistic and almost feral.

When you took a step back from that though, it was pretty comical to watch. Grown hardened gang members tripping over each other to get into the backs of the police vans desperate to get away from something nobody else could see. There was something admittedly a little funny about the sight.

Virgil struggled to take his eyes off himself though. It was so unsettling, looking at his appearance during the chaos. He was deathly still, unaffected by anything around him, eyes basically lifeless as they started into nothing. It gave him chills.

Nobody said a word while they watched. Virgil had subconsciously leaned in closer to Patton and the fatherly man was having a very hard time not squealing.

As soon as the news cut to commercial, Virgil suddenly became acutely aware that he hadn't been the only one watching. All 4 of them had just watched him do that, watched what he could do. He immediately went red and shrunk in on himself slightly.

"That was..." Logan stared and immediately trailed off.

"Absolutely insane and the coolest thing you've ever witnessed!?" The Prince cheered. Virgil blushed.

"Well it is certainly up there" Logan replied, thinking for a moment.

"I can only imagine how many questions you wanna ask me but can we wait until we're home cuz my head is still killing me" Virgil groaned. He buried his head into Patton's shoulder subconsciously. Patton looked at his husband, and Logan swore he could almost see the stars in Patton's eyes at Virgil's actions, and the fact he called their house 'home'.

"Of course Virgil" Logan replied with a slight chuckle.

Virgil suddenly stood up and walked over to the window. He noticed the sun was starting to get low in the sky. Patton got up to get closer to the prince and check he was ok. Just then a doctor and nurse came in. Virgil spun around at the window and immediately went stiff. The doctor went over to check on the prince and begin to deal with his arm. The nurse, however, turned to Virgil.

"Ah Nightmare I see you're up, are you feeling better?"

"Uhm.. yeah, I guess... thank you" he replied shyly.

The nurse nodded, seemingly debating something which made Virgil's stomach turn nervously.

"What?" Virgil blurted out the question before he could stop himself, surprising not only himself but the nurse as well.

"Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking, I was hoping to ask a favour of you" She replied with a timid smile.

"a... favour...?" Virgil replied in a confused, admittedly suspicious tone.

"You know the young boy you saved last week? The same one who made you a bracelet and gave it to the Prince?"

"Uh, yeah..." Virgil replied timidly.

"The poor boy came in with a broken arm not too long ago, and on his birthday non the less. He just finished getting his cast put on. I thought seeing you might cheer him up, as he seems to like you quite a bit."

Virgil would deny it till the day he died, but he couldn't stop the way his face lit up and he smiled.

"Yeah sure, I'd love to"

"Wonderful!" The nurse replied with a smile. "Please follow me"

Virgil followed the nurse through a few hallways in silence. As if being here wasn't weird enough, he was still dressed head to toe in his villain costume, cape trailing behind him. He was hoping he could see the kid without an audience but of course, life was never fair. The nurse led him into a waiting area with a couple of different people. That wouldn't have been too bad if it weren't for the camera crew, who were there interviewing a witness to the fight earlier. Of course, they immediately noticed him.

However, as soon as Virgil laid eyes on the little boy in a purple t-shirt and a cast on one arm, he forgot about anyone else in the room altogether.

"Hey! It's cool kid!" Virgil called with a smile, crouching down to be on the same level as the boy. Immediately the boy whipped around and his eyes lit up, a huge smile spreading across his face.

Virgil felt his heart break a bit when he noticed the redness around the boy's eyes, a couple of dry tear marks gracing his cheeks. Virgil decided he was going to do whatever it took to cheer up the coolest kid he knew.

"Purple!" The boy cheered happily, throwing his good arm into the air in celebration before running toward Virgil as fast as his wobbly little feet could carry him. Virgil was surprised when the boy jumped at him slightly, wrapping his arm around his neck in a tight hug and almost knocking the villain right over, who barely managing to catch himself.

"Hey, little man" Virgil replied fondly with a slight laugh, hugging the boy back gently, being careful of his arm, before ruffling his hair with his hand.

When the hug broke, the little boy's eyes immediately found Virgil's wrist, and his hands were soon to follow.

"My bracelet! You got it! Does this mean your my friewnd now?!" He asked with a huge smile, little fingers playing with the bracelet on Virgil's wrist.

"Of course" Virgil replied as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "Who wouldn't want to be friends with someone as cool as you?"

The toddler giggled.

"How did you manage to do this?" Virgil asked, pointing to the cast.

"I got bike for my birfday, but I fall off it" The boy replied, looking down at the ground in defeat. Gently Virgil tilted the child's chin up.

"Hey, don't let it discourage you, everyone fails a couple of times before they succeed, that's how you learn" Virgil replied.

"Reawlly?" The toddler replied, eyes wide. "Even you?"

"Even me" Virgil confirmed with a nod. "I broke my wrist more than once learning to skateboard, but I got it eventually. I'm sure you'll be a master biker in no time."

"Yoo really think so?" The boy replied, still starry-eyed.

"I know so" Virgil nodded again "if there's anyone who could do it, its someone as cool as you" he smiled, booping the kid's nose and revelling in the giggle it produced.

"Did you get any other gifts for your birthday?" Virgil asked with a smile.

The boy grinned "I got a purple stuffed dinosaur! And a whole 10 dollars!"

"Whoa" Virgil replied, feigning being impressed. "10 dollars huh? Do you know what your gonna get with it?"

"Mhm!" The kid nodded excitedly. "I'm going to get myself my very own cape! Just like yours! So I can be super cool!" He threw his good arm up into the air excitedly.

Whelp, Virgil could always get another cape...

"A cape like mine huh?" Virgil smiled, immediately reaching up to his neck and undoing his cape, pulling it off his shoulders. He adjusted it in his hands, before laying it over the boys back, gently tying the cape around his neck.

"Happy birthday," Virgil said with a smile. The poor toddler looked like he might cry again he was so happy. He caught Virgil off guard again when he jumped and hugged him once more. When the boy finally let go, he looked up at Virgil.

"R-really!? I can have!?"

"Its all yours little man" Virgil smiled again, laughing when he saw the pure joy in the boy's eyes, his face could not have looked happier as he spun around.

"Mom! Look! Look how cool I am!"

His mother simply chuckled, before looking up at meeting eyes with nightmare. Silently, she mouthed the words "thank you" to him. Virgil simply nodded, albeit a tad awkwardly.

After a moment of watching the kid waddle/run around the room, watching his cape blowing behind him, Virgil saw the nurse from before step back into the room behind him. He glanced at her, and she nodded to the door, signifying it was time to go. Virgil nodded and stood up, turning to see why he had to leave. Another 2 camera crews had pushed into the room. Damn vultures.

"Alright bud, I gotta head out now okay?"

To Virgil's surprise, the kid stopped running and immediately turned toward him, face almost panicked.

"Wait!" The toddler cried, before waddling over to his mom to get something from her purse. She seemed to know what he wanted, and handed him a purple marker.

The boy took it and waddle/ran toward Virgil, extending the marker toward him in his hand.

"Will you sign my cast my purple?"

"For sure" Virgil replied, taking the marker and kneeling next to the boy. "Also, please, you can call me Virgil," he said with a smirk, bumping the toddler's good shoulder gently. 

The boy gave him another huge smile, extending his arm.

Virgil wrote, "Stay Cool ~Virgil" before handing the marker back to the boy.

"There ya go" "Thank you Virwgil!" The Kid replied happily. "Bye!!" He waved with his hood arm.

"See you later little man" Virgil replied, giving a two-finger salute and stepping backwards out of the room before turning to follow the nurse.

"That was very sweet nightmare, I know there isn't much I can do other than say thank you, but I think you really made his birthday extra special"

Virgil just hummed and nodded in response. Fidgeting with the bracelet on his wrist when the ring on his finger caught his eye. He stopped walking.

"Uhm, actually..." Virgil began, still looking down. He saw the nurse had stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"The day I... s-saved the boy..." He still struggled to say that word when referring to himself. "There was also an older lady... uhm" Virgil trailed off, fidgeting with the ring as he tried to figure out how to ask this. Luckily though, it seemed he didn't have to.

The nurse chuckled lightly, causing Virgil to look up at her. "Would you like to go see her?" The nurse asked with a smile. Virgil just nodded.

They soon approached another door that the nurse knocked on.

"Miss Oakley?" She asked through the door. "You have a visitor"

"Come in!" Came a cheery old ladies' voice.

The nurse opened the door and stepped back to let Virgil enter.

Virgil took a deep breath before stepping forward. He was very nervous. How would miss Oakley react to actually seeing him in person? Would she be afraid of him? He wouldn't blame her. At the very least he suspected she would be-

"Nightmare!" She exclaimed, her tone and face were nothing but...

-happy...?

"I'll return in 10 minutes to guide you back to your room alright Nightmare?"

Virgil simply nodded and watched as she closed the door behind her.

Virgil just stood frozen for a moment, staring at the floor.

"Well, don't just stand there like a stranger!" Miss Oakley laughed before patting the bed next to her. "Come, have a seat. I was hoping you'd come to visit!"

Virgil simply did as he was told, timidly walking forward and gently sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. His brain was struggling to process. She... was  hoping  he would come to visit her?

"H-how are you feeling?" Virgil managed to ask.

"Much better now." She nodded "My hip is almost entirely healed from surgery, and I should be able to go home tomorrow"

"That's great news" Virgil nodded. He absentmindedly rolled the ring back and forth on his finger.

They sat in silence for another moment as Virgil's mind raced. This was his chance. He HAD to ask. But how?

Before he got the chance, miss Oakley glanced down to his hand and her eyes lit up.

"You're wearing it" her voice was filled with so much relief and joy and an almost proud fondness that it made something in Virgil's stomach twist uncomfortably. Such a tone wasn't meant to be aimed at him.

"I never take it off" he replied instantly, before blushing a bit at the honesty of his statement. She just smiled though. "I'm glad it found such a good home"

Virgil wasn't sure how to respond to that, subconsciously looking down and shaking his head slightly in what was meant to be silent disagreement. Nothing much got past this lady though...

"What's the matter?"

"Honestly?" Virgil replied, glancing at the lady who nodded. "I'm still processing the fact you'd even want me to have it. I came to make sure you were doing okay but I'll admit there was a small part of me that expected you to take it back and correct your mistake, say you weren't thinking straight because of the pain killers or something" he let out a single forced laugh, before his voice got slightly quieter. "You... you had Roman deliver it to me.... you had the biggest hero in the city right in front of you, yet had him deliver to the city's most wanted supervillain. I'm... I'm not a good guy and.... and I just, don't understand why you would entrust something this important to someone like me...."

He trailed off, continuing to look at the floor while rolling the ring on his finger. The lady hummed in thought for a moment.

"When I was a little girl, I asked my mother how she knew my father was the one she wanted to marry. She replied she knew he was a good man. I asked her how. She told me that she and my dad had gone on a date at a fancy restaurant. While they were eating, a lady a table over was getting increasingly angry with the waiter. In a fit of rage, she grabbed a wine bottle and hurled it at him, but in her drunken state, she missed. It would have hit my mother if it weren't for my father immediately jumping up and taking the hit for her. He ended up having to go get two stitches in his forehead. She asked him why he did it and he simply replied it was the right thing to do. If I asked you why you helped me that day I have a feeling you would give me a similar response"

He would  Virgil thought and the realization made his stomach do flips. He had tried to reason with himself earlier about saving princey, but deep down he knew he didn't do it to avoid boredom. He did it because it was the right thing to do. He couldn't just watch them die.

"She said you can always tell a person based on their instinct reactions to things. Your reaction was to save me, which tells me under that villain costume, is someone who is far from a villain"

She paused for a moment, letting them both sit in silence for a moment before finishing. "That ring was hers once. I think she would want you to have it just as much as me"

Virgil wasn't sure at what point he had started crying, all he knew is he was now wiping tears from his cheeks with his sleeve. Her words were still echoing in his mind

under that villain costume is someone far from a villain

"Th-thank you" Virgil managed to reply, trying to get himself together. The lady nodded, before reaching for something on the bedside table. It was a notebook in which she scribbled something. She tore off the page and handed it to Virgil.

It was an address.

"You should swing by sometime, I could use the friends, or if you ever need a friend, also I make a mean apple pie," she said with a smirk and a slightly mischievous glint in her eye.

Virgil just smiled and nodded, before there was a knock at the door and the nurse entered to bring him back to his room.

"It was nice seeing you. I'm glad you're doing better" Virgil said quickly stuffing the paper into his pocket.

The lady nodded with a smile. "It was very nice to see you too Virgil" she replied.

Virgil. Virgil. She used his name. His real name.

Virgil could only nod and wave as he followed the nurse out. Luckily he managed to compose himself before he got back to his room. He walked in to see Roman's arm had finished being treated and the doctor was gone. When he entered they all immediately turned to him. They were all wearing smirks, including logan, which worried him.

"Hey" Roman piped up, before his smirk grew "where's your cape?"

Virgil glanced over the Prince's shoulder to see the news playing. He saw himself walking out of the room he had seen the kid in. Suddenly his face went bright red. He crossed his arms. "Shut up..." he muttered, Causing Roman to burst out laughing. Logan continued to smirk in amusement, and Patton just giggled.

"Awe kiddo! Don't be embarrassed you made a friend! That was like the cutest thing I think I've ever seen! You two are so adorable together!!" Patton squealed, causing Virgil to go even redder.

"Shut up I was only trying to cheer him up..." Virgil muttered. He turned so that he was facing Patton fully, he glanced up at the dad figure for a second, but it was enough for Patton to see his eyes clearly and gasp.

"Kiddo!! Why have you been crying!?" Patton cried, jumping up and stepping toward him.

"W-what I..." Virgil replied, taken aback. How had Patton even managed to notice? Patton continued to stare at him as if waiting for an answer.

"I, Uhm, saw miss Oakley" Virgil began, absentmindedly rolling the ring on his finger again.

"Oh yeah?" Roman piped up "How is she?"

"She's good" Virgil replied with a nod. "Her uh, her hip is all healed up, she should be going home tomorrow"

"That's great news!"

"Yep" Virgil replied, popping the p sound, but Patton didn't move from in front of him, looking at him patiently and expectantly. He sighed.

"She just said some things I didn't know I needed to hear, its whatever I'm fine"

"Awe kiddo" Patton replied, giving him a tight hug before suddenly announcing "Okay, everyone is coming over to have a nice dinner and movie at our place to relax"

Everyone nodded. Virgil slipped into the bathroom to quickly change out of his nightmare costume, while roman said he had to quickly fly home to change. As soon as they arrived at the house, Virgil barely managed to get his shoes off before collapsing on the couch with a sigh, feeling his nerves seep out of him, finally at ease in a place he felt safe.

"You alright there kiddo?"

"Mhm... m'exhausted" Virgil mumbled.

"Well, then you stay there and close your eyes for a bit while Lo and I get supper okay?"

Virgil's eyes shot open as he sat up. "No no I can  *yawn*  help!" Virgil replied, but his voice was almost comically tired.

"Don't worry about it Virgil, we're only making some simple pasta for tonight, your welcome to close your eyes for a while," Logan said from the kitchen.

"Okay if you guys are  *yawn*  sure" he replied, then finally laid back down when he got a nod in response.

So much for just closing his eyes though, he was asleep in mere minutes.

It was about half an hour later when there was a knock on the door.

"Hello! Sorry, I'm-" Roman started in his usual boisterous voice when Patton opened the door, but the other man quickly cut him off.

"Shhhhhh" Patton replied, emphasizing with a finger to his lips.

"What why?" Roman asked quietly. Patton smiled and gestured for him to follow with a finger.

Patton led the prince into the living room and pointed to the sofa. Roman immediately put a hand over his mouth to avoid letting out a Patton-like squeal.

Virgil was curled up on the sofa, sleeping soundly under a blanket Patton had thrown over him.

"He looks so cute when he's asleep" Roman whispered, ignoring the hint of red in his face. Patton giggled quietly.

"Indeed, but I've just finished making supper. Should we wake him up or should we move him into our bedroom for a short time while we eat?" Logan asked quietly as he stepped into the room.

"Let my dark strange son sleep, he's had a long day. I'll move him into our bedroom." Patton replied, stepping forward before a slight frown crossed his face as he seemed to stop and contemplate something.

"What's up pat?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I'll be able to carry him all the way to the bedroom is all. Being dropped would be a very rude way to wake up" Patton replied with a frown.

"Oh, uh, well, I'm sure I'd be able to lift him?" Roman asked nervously, a hint of red appearing on his cheeks.

"Would you mind?" Patton asked. "Our bedroom is at the end of the hall."

"Okay" Roman replied with a nod, scooping the villain up in his arms gently.

Patton just watched as Roman walked away, a small smile on his face. Logan walked up beside him, an amused smirk gracing his features.

"I know you can carry him, I've watched you carry Virgil to our room with ease plenty of times" Logan accused quietly, his tone a mix of amused and suspicious.

"shhh" Patton replied, shooting his husband a smirk.

Logan raised an eyebrow at him.

"I had a long day today, my arms are tired" Parton whined, pouting and sticking out his lower lip dramatically.

Logan wanted to point out Patton wasn't working right now since Virgil's identity had been discovered and it was revealed he worked at his coffee shop. Instead, he just rolled his eyes fondly and went to get plates.

Roman walked slowly, making sure not to wake the sleeping emo in his arms. He couldn't help as his eyes drifted down to the other's face. Eyes closed, face relaxed in an expression Roman had never seen. He looked so vulnerable, which wasn't how Roman would ever describe the other normally. His hair was astray, yet it somehow looked perfect nonetheless.

Roman used his shoulder to push the bedroom door open when his breath suddenly hitched. Virgil had curled and snuggled into his chest slightly, gently gripping his shirt with one of his hands. His face was scrunched up slightly, his mouth was bent in a gentle frown.

Roman was acutely aware of just how hard and fast his heart was beating suddenly. He could feel the warmth in his face and for a moment he just stood frozen in the hallway.

With a deep breath, he continued into the bedroom, gently laying the sleeping emo down on the bed. He slowly pulled his shirt from the other's hand, before tucking the blanket around him snugly.

Roman took a step back and sighed as he looked over the villain in front of him. Though it was getting harder and harder to call Virgil a villain, even in his head. Nightmare had literally saved his life today. If he hadn't gotten there when he did, Roman didn't even want to think about how different the outcome could have been. He remembered how relieved he was to see Virgil when he appeared. Why though? Surely the sight of his arch-nemesis should have sent him into more of a panic, but, as if the evidence of all the unconscious gang members hadn't been enough, roman instinctively saw Virgil as an ally, or at the very least knew he wasn't a threat. That realization made his head spin.

He trusted nightmare, of course, he did. Virgil had no reason to save his life. If anything, a true villain would have been thrilled his enemy was going to be dealt with without him even lifting a finger. Instead, Virgil had lifted a finger, he saved them.

A soft grunt broke him out of his thoughts and he glanced over to Virgil. His face was even more scrunched up. He was curled in on himself more, and Roman noticed his hands were clenched into fists. He must be having a nightmare.

The prince debated his options. He could wake him, but then he'd have the awkward conversation of explaining why he was there in front of Virgil in the first place. Suddenly Roman's thoughts drifted to earlier in the day when he had been helping Virgil with his headache by playing with his hair. Virgil had said it was fine and let him keep going. It even seemed to help with his headache, so... maybe?

Roman took a step closer and hesitated, but ultimately let out a defeated sigh. He had to at least try to help. Ask for forgiveness instead of permission right? Not that he even could ask for permission right now anyway, because Virgil was asleep.

Slowly the prince sat down on the edge of the bed and began to gently comb through the emos hair with his fingers. Despite having touched it earlier in the day, he hadn't realized just how soft it was.

His breath hitched once again when Virgil seemed to lean into his touch slightly. The prince felt his face immediately heat up. That was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.

He watched the other's face slowly relax, until his lips curled into a soft smile.

Seems like it worked.

The prince slowly pulled his hand back, having to stop himself from giggling when he saw Virgils face fall into a slightly disappointed pout.

If it wasn't for the fact that talking about this later would be just as embarrassing for him, Roman would have for sure teased Virgil about this when he woke up. Roman absentmindedly tucked some stray hair behind Virgil's ear gently as he examined his face. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off it.

Roman shook his head, blushing from his own thoughts. He stood up, quietly walking out of the room and closing the door behind him slowly. He took a deep breath before walking back into the living room.

Patton and Logan were already sat in their usual spots, a plate of pasta in front of them.

"That took you longer then I would have expected Roman. Is everything alright?" Logan asked. Despite the worry in his tone, Roman would swear he could see one of the corners of Logan's mouth pulled up slightly.

Roman's face was immediately bright red. "Y-yeah of course! I was just going slowly to make sure I didn't wake him!" The prince sputtered.

Patton and Logan exchanged a knowing look, but before they could say anything else, roman fled to the kitchen to get his pasta.

It was almost 2 hours later when the movie they picked ended. They had long since finished supper, and were sitting in comfortable silence for a few moments before Logan spoke up.

"So while I obviously have many more questions for Virgil then you, I would like to learn more about what happened today"

Roman nodded and began the story. Describing in dramatic detail how Virgil appeared out of nowhere and suddenly had every gang member incapacitated just in the nick of time. He recounted how all he could do was stare once the criminals sprang back to life, watching in amazement as these hardened evildoers were running, screaming and tripping over each other to scramble into the backs of the police vans.

What they didn't know, was that Virgil had woken up shortly after the story began, and was currently hiding around the corner just out of sight, listening and blushing furiously as he listened to Roman recount the days' events. Roman was a fantastic storyteller, and he felt like he was listening to a theatre play, except this play seemed centred around him, and his actions today. Roman described him like he was superman, using words like 'incredible', 'amazing', 'unbelievable', and even "mindblowing". Which were adjectives Virgil wouldn't usually associate with himself. This left the poor emo a complete flustered mess as he listened, struggling to stay silent and resist the urge to correct roman after every compliment.

"Basically" Roman continued "He appeared just in time, saved me and Cam, incapacitated all the gang members and also captured them all, all on his own, like an emo superman" 

"Jeez Ro you make it sound like I rode in on a white horse" Virgil's voice came from behind them as he stepped out from around the corner. Virgil was blushing, trying his best to hide under his hoodie. As soon as Roman heard him, the prince's face lit up as well. How long exactly had Virgil been listening? 

"It was simply right place right time princey, I just did what anyone else would do, nothing spectacular" 

"You made a pun! Roman spectacular! haha!"

"That's preposterous!"

"I have to disagree with you, Virgil." 

All their voices came at once, causing the villain to take a step back.

After a moment of silence, Logan spoke up. "Virgil, I have to disagree with you, for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, I highly doubt it was a simple case of 'right place right time' as you said. Unless you were present prior to the start of the fight, then you must have heard the fighting and  chosen  to go investigate. Secondly, what you did was not something most people would do, not just because they lack your powers, but surely you saw all the people who were running away. Unlike them, you actively went to help. That took a bravery that the average person does not possess. And finally, the idea that what you did was anything less than 'spectacular' is preposterous. Granted; Roman has a theatrical way of recounting events, but what I witnessed simply via the television would be enough for me to come to the same conclusion. What you did today, to put it simply, I have never heard of anything like it. It was truly remarkable. "

Virgil, at this point, was convinced you could probably cook an egg on his face it was so hot. He was a complete and utter flustered mess. He was staring at the ground, unable to even look at the others. His brain wasn't even working anymore.

The others in question, were all sharing knowing smirks.

"I agree kiddo! I think you were incredible today!"

"I- but, well, it wasn't- it's not, that isn't-, I'm-" Virgil stuttered in response, he shook his head, struggling to register and form a coherent sentence. 

"I like him better when he's this flustered" Roman teased in a smug tone "He's much more pleasant and less belligerent when he's too red to talk back" 

Virgil, SOMEHOW, when even redder at this and glared at Roman, which caused all 3 of them to burst out laughing. Virgil groaned and buried his face in his hands. 

"I hate you all" He grumbled, before turning and heading into the kitchen, causing them to laugh even harder. 

As much as he would deny it, Virgil couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy and loved.