Work Text:
Time was not a thing Virgil paid much attention to anymore.
With his head clouded more often than not, being able to keep track of time wasn’t something he could do. Hours of the day floated by on gentle breezes, only interrupted by the occasional command or, more often, a bout of teasing.
He stopped keeping track of the days. With the haze around his head and his struggling memory, keeping track of anything was too challenging. He was only aware of the passage of time by what Master told him.
And so, when Master said Virgil had been very good this past week, Virgil believed him. Because Master had said so, and so it must be true. He was much smarter than Virgil was, and had no issues keeping track of time or anything like that. He was there to think for Virgil, and so Virgil let him.
Maybe he couldn’t remember what had happened this past week, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Master said he had been good, and so he must have been.
Master said he’d been so perfect this past week, so sweet, so empty, so adorable. He said Virgil had been such a good boy that he would get to go with him to a meeting in a little while.
Virgil always loved going to Master’s meetings.
Meetings meant Virgil was touched and praised and loved. They meant Virgil was doing his job being a good pet and Master loved him back. Virgil loved when Master loved him back, so Virgil loved meetings.
They were the best reward for good boys, and Virgil tried so hard to be good.
He was glad he had been, even if he didn’t remember.
But he did remember there was a meeting. He did because Master had made sure of it when he gave Virgil his new clothes. He’d made sure Virgil wouldn’t forget, and Virgil liked that. He didn’t like forgetting. Master always wanted him to remember, and he was glad he could at least remember this.
“Spiderling, pay attention when I’m speaking to you.” Master snapped and Virgil blinked back into reality. He’d been having a harder time concentrating, finding it all too easy to drift away into the empty expanse of thoughtlessness.
“Sorry, Master.” Virgil dipped his head, shame colouring his cheeks. He wasn’t trying to space off, he just kinda did. But good boys didn’t space off, good boys paid attention, paid so much attention, and if Virgil couldn’t do that then—
“I know, darling.” Master soothed with a click of his tongue, hooking his hand beneath Virgil’s chin and raising his head. “I’ll just have to fix you up, is all. Don’t worry, it’ll be a quick little session and then you’ll be perfect again.”
“Wanna be perfect.” Virgil muttered, looking forward to being perfect again. He didn’t like being not-good. He wanted to be so good, so perfect for Master.
Master smiled, thumb running over his cheek. “I know, Spiderling. I want you to be perfect, too. And you will be. But for now we need to get you dressed up for the meeting.”
“Meeting?” Virgil asked, head tipping to the side. He didn’t remember a meeting.
He was going to a meeting? Had he been that good? An involuntary smile curved along his face.
“Yes, Spiderling. I told you if you were good this week I’d give you an extra reward, don’t you remember?” Master brushed a piece of hair behind his ear.
He frowned. He didn’t remember. He wasn’t good with remembering things. Memories were like time: all blurred and foggy and muddled. It all just meshed together in one big pile, too hard to focus on so Virgil didn’t even bother trying. Not unless Master asked him to, but he never could remember things, even if Master wanted it.
He bit his lip. He couldn’t remember. But Master wanted him to remember so Virgil had to. He whimpered, fists curling in the fabric of his pants. He couldn’t remember, and if he couldn’t remember then he wasn’t good and he wasn’t perfect and—
“Master I’m sorry.”
“You don’t remember?” Master’s voice didn’t sound mad. He sounded patient, like he always did.
He was always so patient as Virgil tried to be perfect. He was so patient, so kind to help Virgil fix his mind, to help him become perfect. He was so good to Virgil and Virgil tried to be good back but sometimes he couldn’t and that meant he was bad but Virgil didn’t want to be bad he wanted to be good, he wanted to be a good boy, a perfect pet, Master’s best, perfect Spiderling—
He didn’t realize he was crying until Master was wiping away his tears.
“’M sorry, Master, I don’t remember, ’m really sorry, I’m trying so hard—”
“Hush, hush, Spiderling. It’s okay. It’s good you don’t remember. It’s good because I can think for you. You want me to think for you, right?”
Virgil nodded, sniffling.
“That’s right. So if you don’t remember it means I can remember for you, and that’s good, isn’t it?”
Virgil nodded, but paused. “But sometimes you ask—”
“I’m never serious, darling. I’m only teasing. It’s okay. It’s good not to remember, it means I can take care of you. It means I can think for you and remember for you and you can be perfect for me.” He gently pet Virgil’s hair, his voice calm and soothing. “You want to be perfect for me, don’t you?”
“Mhm.” Virgil nodded again, then, “It’s good not to remember…?” He asked, still a little confused.
“Yes, it’s so good that you don’t remember. Forgetting is good, Spiderling.”
“’M still a good boy?” He asked, looking up at Master hopefully.
Master sighed, a smile stretching perfectly across his face. “You’re perfect, little Spiderling.”
He was so kind to Virgil. So patient, so understanding. He was so smart and kind, Virgil loved him so much. He was so glad he was still good. Because good boys were loved and Virgil loved when Master loved him back.
“Thank you, Master.” He smiled, leaning heavily into the touch.
“Of course, Spiderling. Now come on, let’s get you dressed.”
And so Virgil had put on his new shirt which was just like his old one but yellow. And he had slipped into his new pants, not batting an eye at the way the hugged his slim thighs, or how the left leg cut off just below his pelvis. All because he was still a good boy and Master still loved him.
And to prove it, he got a shiny new collar; a pretty yellow one that matched Master’s gloves. This one still had the J on it and Virgil loved it. It meant he belonged to Master, that Master wanted to keep him and that was the best thing.
When he put on the collar Master said he looked beautiful.
Virgil loved it when Master called him beautiful.
And then Master had stepped up close to him, hands gentle and delicate as he clipped on a leash in that matching yellow to his collar. He’d told Virgil how gorgeous he was, what a good boy he was putting his life in his Master’s hands. Virgil’s heart bloomed at all the praise, and he’d soared even higher when Master had tilted up his chin and pressed gentle kisses along his jaw.
Virgil never wanted to take the leash off.
And he hadn’t. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, he knew the meeting wasn’t for a little while, but he hadn’t done anything to remove the leash.
Unfortunately, Master didn’t feel the same way, and had dropped the length of leather cord when he had to go elsewhere. So Virgil had bundled it up in his arms and carried it around with him. It was a sign, a true, concrete sign, that Master loved him. And he didn’t ever want to let that go.
It wasn’t until Master returned that he noticed Virgil still had the leash in his hands.
“You really love this, don’t you?” He asked, placing his hands atop Virgil’s and taking the length of cord from his grip.
“Yes, Master. You said I looked so pretty, that I’m such a good boy. The leash makes me a good boy, so I want to keep it.”
Master laughed and Virgil smiled.
“You always seem to out-do yourself, Spiderling. Yes, you’re such a good boy with the leash and I never want you to take it off.”
“Yes Master.” Virgil said with a smile, warmth blossoming in his chest.
“Now come.” Master instructed, tugging gently on the leash. “Let’s not be late to your reward.”
He followed dutifully behind him, adoring the weight and tension at his neck. Master held so much of Virgil in his hands, and it was wonderful. They were tied to each other, Virgil the ever-loyal pet and Master his caring owner. Seeing their connection like this, though, it made Virgil so, so happy.
The meeting room was bustling with people chatting amongst themselves, the long table nearly filled with them. Words sifted in and out of Virgil’s mind, unimportant and distant. Only Master’s words mattered, everything else was just background noise.
The talking died down as Master took his seat, and Virgil kneeled next to the chair, looking up at him. “Where would you like me today, Master?”
Master leaned down, cupping Virgil’s jaw with delicate fingers. “I forget how considerate you are, Spiderling. You have been very good this week, so you may sit on my lap.”
Virgil smiled, standing and settling on Master’s lap. He didn’t show it much, but excitement and pride buzzed inside. He must have been really good this past week for Master to let him sit in his lap. Virgil was never allowed to do that. He was only allowed against Master’s side, or at his feet. Sitting on his master’s lap was a luxury Virgil never thought he would achieve.
His head was guided against Master’s chest with a gentle hand, and his legs were shifted so that they hung over the chair’s arm. Virgil hummed, nosing at Master’s collarbone. The way his hands stuttered on Virgil’s head and legs made him smile.
He was just beginning to drift again when Master snapped his fingers. Virgil’s attention was rapt, ready to receive and process any command Master gave him.
“Until this meeting ends, you will only listen when I say your name before speaking. If you do not hear your name, you will not register anything I say.”
“Only listen if you say my name.” He responded after a moment.
“That’s a good boy. Such a good Spiderling, so obedient, so good at following my directions.” He gently chucked his knuckle beneath Virgil’s chin and he smiled lazily. There was a pride and warmth that seeped into the fog when Master praised him, and more and more Virgil found he liked that warm fog over the usual, lukewarm one.
Master started to speak, but Virgil didn’t listen. He couldn’t, the words nonsense and white noise to him. Instead he rested his head against Master’s chest, enjoying the rumbling he felt with each sentence.
Virgil felt himself drift, soaking in the love and affection he’d earned over the past week. Master’s fingers tangled gently in his hair, his other hand running up and down his bare thigh. He felt himself sinking into the sensations, awareness floating away as he got lost in the feeling of Master’s voice in his chest and Master’s hands along his skin and in his hair.
It wasn’t long before his eyes were fluttering shut and he was slipping into unconsciousness.
“Spiderling.” Master coaxed him awake, hand tilting his head up to meet his eyes.
“Hm?” Virgil blinked up at him, the dregs of sleep clinging to the fog like ship barnacles.
“The meetings over, it time for your interview now.” He said, helping Virgil stumble to his feet before standing up next to him.
There were always interviews after meetings. The other people were interested in Virgil, and Virgil happily answered their questions and performed demonstrations because Master loved showing him off, and he always got extra affection during interviews. It was like a bonus reward.
“Go on, Spiderling.” Master prompted.
Shyly, he looked out into the small crowd of people. “I’m Master’s pet. He’s made me perfect.”
“Good boy.” Janus praised, patting his head.
Someone asked a question, and though Virgil couldn’t tell what they said, it didn’t matter. Master always helped him out with answering the questions, so he didn’t have to understand them to still answer them.
“It took some training, but he’s so suggestible that it was easy to make him this obdient. It’s so adorable to watch him try to do the impossible. Spiderling?”
Virgil looked up at him.
“Tell me what you did this morning.”
This morning. This morning. Virgil couldn’t keep time. He couldn’t remember. What was morning? What happened in the morning? His brows pulled together as he thought, grasping at the whisps of his mind, desperate for an answer.
“Master—”
“You need help, don’t you darling?”
Virgil nodded. “Yes please, Master.”
“Very well, but this is all I’ll do for you. The rest you’ll have to do on your own.” Master told him with a smile.
Virgil nodded. “Yes, Master, thank you.”
Master tapped his temple twice and the room began to spin. Virgil blinked, brow furrowing once more as he tried to fight past the dizziness and the emptiness to find—
To find…
Master wanted him to do something. Master wanted him to do something and Virgil couldn’t remember because the room was spinning and his mind was empty, but he didn’t want to disappoint—
“Go on, Spiderling, I’m sure you’ll get there.”
Get there? Get where? Was Virgil supposed to go somewhere? He took a stumbling step forward, unaware of the tittering audience in front of him or the shining eyes of his Master behind him. He took another step forward, whining slightly when the spinning increased.
“Come back, Spiderling, don’t walk away.” Master commanded, tugging on his leash.
Virgil stumbled back, confused and dizzy and lost. So very, very lost. He looked up at Master pleadingly, hoping he’d be able to get more help. Master only smiled at him before he tapped Virgil’s temple again.
Slowly the room stopped spinning.
“It’s alright, Spiderling, I’m only teasing. Good boys forget, don’t they?”
“Good boys forget.” Virgil repeated, nodding.
“Yes; yes they do.”
The questions continued, and though Virgil dutifully answered Master’s clarifications and demonstrated what he wished, he found himself tired by the end of it. The praise kept him going, but it wasn’t enough to keep him energized, not around all these people anyway. A little spark of relief swirled in his chest when Master announced the end of the event and the guests began filing out of the room.
Master stayed behind with Virgil, stepping up beside him and cupping his cheek with one hand, the other rubbing small circles into his shoulder.
“You did so well, Spiderling. Good job not drifting off during your interview. I think you deserve an extra reward after we fix you up.”
“Now?” He asked, leaning into Master’s warm hands. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stay awake for a whole session, his limbs and mind tired from the long day.
Master chuckled, shaking his head. “Not now, darling. We’ll fix you up right when you wake. But for now, sleep.”
Virgil let out a small, shocked sound before he was collapsing into Master’s arms and sinking into comforting oblivion.