Work Text:
Roman tugged his oversized suitcase behind him as he made his way over to his car and prepared to shove it inside. The insides of the vehicle was already crowded with the other bits of luggage and it wasn’t hard to see that it was all on the verge of tumbling out. He heaved the heavy item up and began to push it into the mass where it somehow, miraculously, slid in without too much trouble. Roman clapped his hands at a job well done and slammed the trunk closed. As he turned back to the house he was met by the sight of two pairs of curious eyes watching him carefully.
Such was Roman’s lot in life now. He was forever under scrutiny, as if the universe was determined to remind him that he was a constant role model now and was cursed to always be on his best behavior. Not that he minded. He smiled at his nephews who had evidently just witnessed his display of great strength and impressive skill. Roman held out his arms in a wide gesture as he addressed them,
“Well?! Who’s ready for the greatest adventure ever?!” His question was met with bright smiles and Logan’s enthusiastic,
“I am! I am!”
Roman smiled as the youngest of his family gripped Virgil’s arm and jumped up and down happily. Virgil grinned down at him, gently pulling his arm free. Patton emerged from inside, looking somewhat flustered,
“Alright, I think everything is in order. The house should be nice and clean and ready for us when we come back.”
“You know I hire people to take care of that stuff, Patton-cakes, you don’t have to do it.” The fatherly figure shook his head,
“Nothing can replace the sense of accomplishment that you get from taking care of your own space, Roman. That’s something I hope you boys will remember.”
“Is that why you make us clean our rooms?” Logan asked,
“One of the reasons.” Patton sang as Mr. D came out of the house, dragging Remus behind him grumbling,
“I turn around for one moment! You can’t ship yourself in a suitcase. Where did you even find a suitcase that big?” Remus didn’t reply, instead opting to blow raspberries to vocalize his displeasure. The not so little family was getting together to go on a family vacation to have what Roman called “an adventure”. The group of them were all feeling various forms of excitement. Even Janus was looking forward to a week off work. Patton had been persuaded to come and Virgil was especially pleased at this. Logan wasn’t sure what to expect but he was eager to find out. They had heard so much about amusement parks from Remy who had been to many. The scientist in Logan’s mind was eager to experience the thrill of the rides, especially those that imitated the closest the human being could get to flight. This would be his first time on an airplane too, Virgil’s as well. The teen was a little nervous, to put it lightly. They headed out, everyone crammed in Patton’s minivan and speeding along to the airport.
Upon arriving at the airport, Virgil immediately felt his anxiety worsen. It was huge, there were people everywhere and his mind was racing about twenty steps too fast for him to keep up. Roman was busy getting their boarding passes and it struck Virgil how incredibly easy it would be for him to lose the all-important piece of paper and fuck everything up. He took the paper and must’ve looked scared for his life because Mr. D offered to hold onto it for him. They headed off, all clustered together and dragging their suitcases up to the desk. Roman insisted on checking nearly everything but Virgil wouldn’t part with his backpack and Patton insisted on keeping his own personal item which held things for Logan and Virgil in case they needed anything. With luggage sorted, the next step was security and boy was Virgil unprepared for the level of stress that would cause him.
The waiting in line wasn’t so bad but the scary looking machinery was daunting and the serious security guards were all shouting instructions in monotone voices that made Virgil want to run the other way. Roman didn’t seem to find anything daunting in this situation. He’d traveled so much for work that he had no problems slipping off his shoes and getting everything ready for the security check. Patton was a tad more flustered, busily focused on his own bin and backpack so Virgil felt he couldn’t turn to him for help. Janus was helping Logan and had his hands full with that. Logan also looked freaked out by everything and stuck close to Janus, whispering to him. Virgil felt his chest squeezed uncomfortably but he chastised himself; he was old enough to do this on his own! He didn’t need anyone to…
“I am a fish inside a bird cage, my brother always sings me songs. With his beak he tries to soothe me. He makes me feel that I belong.” Virgil jumped at the quiet singing that happened next to his ear. He turned slightly to see Remus hovering close to him, singing softly as he slipped off his shoes and took Virgil’s backpack to the shiny metal counter, “He has a wild imagination, and tells me things that must be true. Like there’s a world where I can take flight where I can freely move.”
Remus’ voice was strangely sweet and had nice vibrato to it. Remus continued to sing softly, offering a quiet distraction from Virgil’s surroundings. They had to separate for the full body scan that the airport required but the tune continued to play in Virgil’s mind as he tried to remember to breathe. They patted down his arms and legs, ensuring that he wasn’t carrying anything dangerous and sent him on his way. He snatched his backpack and shoes and made his way over to a bench to sit down and return his footwear. Remus sat down next to him, squishing against him and looked at him carefully, assessing how his nephew was feeling. He hummed a few bars of the strange song, continuing to press close to Virgil and to offer him a grounding presence. Patton smiled at him,
“You okay, Kiddo?”
“I think so?” Virgil answered shakily, he felt somewhat dizzy from the stress but Remus was helping.
“That was scary.” Logan whispered, coming over and squishing next to Virgil on his other side. This prompted Virgil to push his own anxiety down in favor of comforting his little brother. Roman clapped his hands,
“Everyone ready, let’s find our gate.”
Virgil decided that he didn’t like airports at all. People crowded, rushing to and fro, looking determined to and somewhat lost. Groups of people stood around, talking loudly amongst themselves. They reached the gate and found somewhere to sit, all clustered together in a corner. Virgil squeezed himself close to Patton, leaning into the man who wrapped an arm around him and looked a little worried. Remus sat himself down on the other side, for once behaving himself. He didn’t sing again but he kept a hand on the nape of Virgil’s neck, rubbing it gently. Roman wandered off with Logan to get some snacks and Mr. D kept an eye on his little brood that stayed behind. He rewarded Remus’ good behavior with a pack of playing cards which the younger twin began to shuffle expertly. The spectacle served to calm Virgil down more. Now that the stress of getting through security and finding their gate was done and over with, Virgil felt a little more at ease and that ease grew as they stayed at the gate for the remaining hours that allotted before their plane was scheduled to take off. Time dragged by slowly but Virgil enjoyed the monotony and munched on the snacks that Roman and Logan brought back for them.
When it was time for boarding at last, he anxiously fiddled with his hoodie strings until it was time for them to board. Thanks to Roman’s massive income, they got relatively good seats and Patton sighed as they finally got settled into their respective places. People continued to file in past them and Virgil, who was next to the window with Logan next to him, looked out and marveled at how little everyone looked next to the aircraft. He gripped the armrest as the plane began to move. Smiling flight attendants came out to discuss the safety features of the aircraft. As they demonstrated the uses of the in-flight emergency equipment, Virgil and Logan shared a look that screamed they were both thinking of worst case scenarios. Patton seemed to pick up on this and reached across Logan to grip both their hands in a tight squeeze.
“We’ll be okay.” He promised quietly, “This is for worst case scenario stuff and it’s highly unlikely to happen to us.” He smiled reassuringly at them before turning his attention to the flight attendant once more.
When the plane was finally situated to take off, Logan leaned eagerly over Virgil to look out the window. Virgil himself felt excitement and fear battling for dominance in his chest. Then, they were off! The force of the plane rushing forward pushed Virgil’s head back and he closed his eyes, feeling his stomach churn uncomfortably. They rushed forward and then suddenly up and up and Logan let out an audible gasp. They were flying! The young boy couldn’t help but feel wonder at the predicament. He was flying. Like a bird or a butterfly or a bat, really and truly flying! He turned excited eyes on Virgil only to find his big brother looking somewhat pale and uncomfortable. He immediately sought to comfort and took one of Virgil’s sweating hands in his own. Virgil popped one eye open to look down at Logan and offer him a grimace-like smile. It was obvious that Virgil wasn’t having the best time and Patton continued to watch him carefully.
“Logan, how about you and Virgil swap seats?” He asked finally when Virgil didn’t seem to be getting much better.
The brothers switched happily, Logan eager to be close to the window and Virgil happy to be close to Patton. He leaned against the fatherly figure’s shoulder, breathing in that smell that was distinctly Patton. It made his nerves relax and, eventually, the hum of the plane and the quiet buzz of muffled conversation pulled Virgil into a doze. He was woken up for his complimentary drink and snack and he felt much better at that point. Logan was watching a documentary on airplanes, having grown tired of watching clouds pass by. Virgil resumed his dozing as he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, worrying about the flight. By the time they landed (which was a more pleasant experience than taking off in Virgil’s opinion) it was dusk outside. They all clambered off the flight, feeling stiff. Virgil stuck close to the rest of the adults as they made their way through the massive airport to the baggage claim, peering around him at all the wonders of this new place. As the all finally made their way to the rental car that Roman had set up, the eldest Prince turned to them with a smile,
“Now, onto the adventure.”