Work Text:
Virgil let out a soft groan as he slowly became conscious. There was beeping and a bright light that practically forced the man to keep his eyes. He tried in vain to move a hand to block the light that seeped through his closed eyelids. He presumed that he had wound up in the hospital, the worst of this unexpected admission was a mystery to him. He remembered his name, his childhood, adolescence and then nothing. A blank canvas of what he could be. It didn’t make sense but that seemed on brand from what he had remembered about his life. He shifted slightly and groaned in pain at the movement.
“Sir? Are you awake yet?” A soft female voice yanked Virgil from his thoughts. He grunted softly. “Oh good! Let me turn down the light so you can open your eyes. I’m also going to go get your doctor and a cup of water to help soothe your throat.”
He could hear the smile shine through her talking. He sighed in relief as the light dimmed somewhat and he slowly tried to open his eyes. As his eyes opened, the room was the average looking hospital room. Virgil blinked his eyes to help clear his vision and slowly looked over to the right side of his hospital bed. The nightstand was cluttered with cards and flowers. He slowly reached over and grabbed for a card, whining softly in pain as his eyes closed while hearing the card drop to the ground.
“Virgil?” A familiar voice called to him softly. He then heard rapid footsteps approaching his bed side along with a choked sob. “Virgil! You scared the shit out of me!”
Virgil grunted in pain and shook his head. His head was pounding and whoever was shouting at him was most definitely not helping in soothing the pain. He felt a hand grab onto his own hand. Virgil opened his eyes and was met with a tear soaked face right in front of his own. He had green eyes and long black wolf cut that was up in a man bun. “Virgil? Virgil, please say something.”
“Who…who are you?” Virgil said painfully through his scratchy voice. The man looked at him surprised.
“What do you mean? I’m Remus. Your…your fiancé? Do you not remember me?” The man, Remus, said. He looked confused and a bit relieved as Virgil slowly shook his head.
“No…m sorry…I-“ Virgil started coughing and gasped for air. Remus frowned and rubbed his knuckles with his thumb in a calming motion.
“Its okay…we’ll figure this out…You need to rest. I’ll talk to the doctor when he gets in here. I’m here for you. Always and forever.” Remus mumbled the last part of his sentence. Virgil didn’t have the strength to question him, he slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
~
Remus watched over the man on the bed. He frowned and picked up the fallen card and gingerly placed it back onto the nightstand. How could he be so selfish? Not to mention, Virgil didn’t remember anything. Not that it mattered much anyway. His plan was still in motion and Virgil would be more likely to marry him now. Virgil was fragile. Remus could mold him however he saw fit. It didn’t matter how many times, or how many years of Virgil being hesitant. Remus always managed a way to make Virgil his again.
Remus couldn’t contain the smirk that grew across his face as the nurse entered. “Sir? What are your orders?” She asked. Remus hummed in thought and glanced in her direction.
“We need to transfer him to his room. Now. I’ll see to it that he is cared for.” Remus picked a rose out of the vase and turned towards the door. “I expect that if anything is wrong, you see to it that he is sedated.”
The nurse nodded as Remus walked out of the room and into a hallway of his mansion. Virgil would always be his. No matter how many times he tried to run. How many times he managed to escape, Virgil could never get far. Remus chuckled and dropped the rose onto the ground and continued walking to his control room to give orders to fortify his home. Virgil would not be escaping this time.
~
When Virgil woke up he was greeted by the smell of lavender. He slowly felt around and basked in how soft the fabric was. He hummed and slowly pushed himself up into an upright position. He opened his eyes and was met by… A punk? Emo? Grunge? He couldn’t quite place the esthetic but he knew that it matched him. Band posters plastered the walls and spider web curtains. There was a large tv that hung on the wall and Virgil looked around for the remote. He saw it and weakly reached for it.
“Virgil?” He heard from the door. Virgil looked over and saw Remus standing there with a tray. He looked relieved and quickly made his way into the room. “I brought some oatmeal. The doctor said "light food until you can stomach it.” Virgil blinked in confusion.
“What do you mean…? I was just in the hospital.” He looked around carefully and then back to Remus. Remus nodded and set the tray down on the bed next to Virgil.
“The doctor cleared you. I brought you home.” Remus turned on the tv and quickly changed it from the news channel to some cartoon. “Eat up. I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.” Virgil watched as Remus left the room with the remote. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t right. He looked at the oatmeal and slowly started to eat it.
Virgil watched the tv as his vision started to blur. He dropped the spoon into the bowl and his body slumped forward. He started to panic as a woman walked into the room with a needle. She laid him down and faced his right arm upwards. Virgil tried to scream for Remus but only a whimper escaped his lips. The world then went dark.
~
Remus looked over at the door as it was knocked on. He looked over to his security cameras and saw that it was a detective who had come snooping around again. He did his best to make himself look weak and unkempt as he made his was over to the door. He slammed himself against the door before fumbling to unlock the door. The door swung inward and Remus used it as support. The officer there had his eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Mr. Duke? Are you doing alright?”
“I’m alright…Do come in Officer…I hope you have good news.” Remus grabbed a cane that he had placed by the door and hobbled into the kitchen. The man followed and was ready to catch Remus if he were to fall.
“Just the opposite…We haven’t been able to trace anymore leads…I fear for the worst….” The man said as he sat Remus down in a chair that was still in the foyer. Remus trembled and started to cry.
“No…please…You can't give up looking for him! He’s my fiancé! The love of my life! I can’t live without him!” Remus grabbed onto his sleeves with shaky hands. The man carefully pulled his hands away.
“I am aware…As much as I want to continue my investigation, the department is running out of funding ....if anything we would be lucky to find his remains.”
“It's been five months! I will fund the search myself if it means Virgil is returned to me! I know he’s alive! I know it!” Remus pleaded and the female nurse ran over.
“Remus…Remus please calm down.” She soothed the man and glared at the officer. “Look what you have done… get out of here immediately! He is fragile and in poor health thanks to you!” The man sighed softly and nodded. He turned towards the door and listened to Remus wail for Virgil.
“I apologize…but we are terminating the search. Good day Mr. Duke.” He shut the door behind him and got into his car. Remus looked at the cameras to make sure the officer had left before fixing himself and wiping his tears.
“Good riddance. How is my Virgil doing?” Remus stood and fixed his hair. The female smiled and explained that she had given him a dose of medicine to make sure he wouldn’t be able to do anything without aid. Remus nodded in satisfaction. “Good. See to it that the gate remains locked. We can’t have him running off now can we?”
“Of course not sir. I’ll see to it right away.” She left Remus alone. Everything was going perfectly. Now all Virgil had to do was marry him.
~
Virgil grunted softly in pain. His head was feeling as if it was stuffed with cotton and his mouth was dry. He heard the TV on and looked up at it. The oatmeal was on the tray and probably cold by now. Had he imagined that woman coming in? Virgil couldn’t even tell if he was capable of trusting himself. There was a knock on the bedroom door.
“Virgil? It's me, my love.” A sing-song voice said as the door opened slowly to reveal Remus.
“Hey… I had a…I had a really weird dream…” Virgil fidgeted with the blanket between his fingers. The man walked over from the doorway and sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Remus gently took Virgil's hand into his own. Virgil looked at Remus carefully and shook his head. “Are you sure? I’m here for you. Always and forever.”
Virgil looked down at the purple patch worked blanket. He sighed softly. “A woman came in here…she…she had a syringe…she injected something into my arm.” He shuddered at the thought. Remus frowned.
“I’m sorry my dear. I know that you have always suffered from night terrors. I can get you medication to help ease them if you would like?” Remus gently moved Virgil's chin so they were face to face. Virgil teared up and nodded.
“Yeah…I’m sorry…Love.” Virgil said hesitantly and carefully touched Remus’s hand. He wasn’t sure why his brain was screaming that this situation was dangerous. Remus cared for him… right? Of course he did. This was his fiancé after all. He should feel safe.
“Don't be sorry. I’ll call for our personal doctor so you are able to sleep easily in our home.” Remus started to pepper kisses all over Virgil's face. This caused him to start giggling. “I love your giggles.” Remus mused and pulled Virgil to lay down on the bed with him.
“I don’t understand…how did I end up so lucky?” Virgil asked Remus softly. Remus hummed softly.
“I love you too much to let you go.”
~
A few weeks had passed and Virgil was still bedridden most of that time. Remus would bring Virgil food and spend time with him in his room. Other than that, Virgil felt uneasy. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but somehow, he knew that he needed to escape. The only problem with his mind warning him and screaming at him to run, his body wouldn’t allow him. He didn’t even have enough energy to take himself to the restroom. How was he supposed to run? It didn’t matter. Remus loved him and took great care of him. Remus always made sure that he was well fed, had entertainment, and cuddled him every night. There wasn’t much more that he could ask for… Except every time he brought up leaving his room, Remus would strongly discourage the idea.
Virgil sighed softly and looked at the door longingly. He listened for footsteps before slowly moving his body to the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath and moved his feet onto the cold hardwood floor and felt his heart start pounding in his chest. If Remus saw what he was doing, he would be severely worried but more importantly, severely pissed off. He pushed himself up to his shaky feet and immediately felt his knees buckle at the weight.
He gasped in pain and fell onto the floor with a crash. He heard pounding footsteps approaching his room and his body started to move of its own accord. Crawling under the bed and covering his mouth as he waited for whoever it was to barge into his room.
“Virgil?!” The door flung inward and Virgil could see Remus’s shoes. “Virgil, I heard a crash? Are you alright?” The shoes made their way over to where his bathroom was in the room. Virgil crawled out from under the bed and towards the open door quietly. He panted softly from exhaustion and crawled as quickly as he could before he heard a disappointed sigh.
“Virgil… I thought we agreed that you were to stay in your room.” Remus sounded sweet…too sweet. It was like his words were dripping with poison and that made Virgil freeze. Remus hummed as he carefully picked Virgil up and placed him back on the bed. Virgil stared at his hands as Remus tucked him back into bed. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Remus. “Get some rest. Remember. If you need anything, just call me.” With that, Remus then left the room and Virgil heard a click of the knob after the door was shut.
~
Remus hummed softly as he tucked the key into his pocket. He wasn’t too worried that Virgil had somehow managed to get off the bed. After all, he hadn’t made it out the door, but out of precaution he locked it and put the key away for safe keeping. Virgil had always managed to get out of his room one way or another and he didn’t want to leave it up to chance. It was fair to say that the small doses of apple seeds were doing its job. Weakening Virgil but not enough for it to be deadly. Remus had made sure of that. It wasn’t his fault that poor little helpless creatures wound up at his door, begging for attention, but he never wanted them. Remus only loved Virgil.
Remus walked to his own room and opened the door. The smell of rot greeted him and he smiled. He closed the door and went towards his last experiment after he had caused Virgil to go into coma. A man by the name of Logan had fallen so desperately in love with Remus that he was practically begging for Remus to acknowledge him. Remus had invited him over one afternoon and poisoned him. Little by little he would slip cyanide into Logan's tea or coffee.
By the time the intellectual had caught on, it was too late. Logan was far too weak to move but Remus was merciful. Remus had explained to Logan that he had helped him with keeping his love all to himself. He had locked Logan away for safekeeping in his room in case the cops came snooping around. He opened up a small door and smirked at the sight of flies and maggots.
“Hello Logan. I think I can let you go now! I found someone better! He is shy, so timid, oh and those almond eyes when he is about to start crying… I love him. I will never let him go… You on the other hand are of no use to me anymore!” Remus yanked the corpse out of the cramped space revealing a pale man with his mouth hanging open. His face was prettified and flesh started to sink into the floorboards. His glasses were askew and Remus fixed them before calling for his maid to dispose of him. “Take good care of him. He’s who I have to thank for helping me keep my Virgil.” Remus mused as she quickly moved his body out of the room after opening up the windows to let the fresh air in and the flies out.
~
Three weeks later, Virgil was woken up by the sound of someone walking up to his room. Virgil had started to catch on. He would be fed oatmeal and was drugged and injected with something afterwards. Remus would then appear about 45 minutes later after Virgil had woken up and sooth him of his “night terrors”. Virgil needed to act weak. Needed to not let them know that he had caught on. He kept his eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.
“Yes. I am fully aware that Virgil has run away before. I plan on keeping him here with me. Always and forever. He’s mine. No one else can even look at him. Roman, will you send me the money or not? I need it. HE’S MINE!” Remus screamed, making Virgil jump slightly as the door opened to his room. Remus slowly made his way over to the side of the bed and sat down. He hummed softly as he played with Virgil's long hair. “I’m sorry Roro… but you need to realize that he is the love of my life. I don’t care if he doesn’t love me back. I need him to stay here.”
Virgil felt his stomach roll in disgust. Who was Remus talking to? Why has he tried to run away before? Why couldn’t he remember anything? Until that moment, Virgil hadn’t considered the fact that Remus could be a complete stranger to him. That the reason his body was so determined to leave was because Remus had kidnapped him. He had to figure out what had happened to himself and fast. He didn’t know how much longer he could pretend to love this man. Remus continued to be on the phone, speaking in a hushed voice while Virgil's head was racing. Virgil whined softly and pretended to start to wake up. Remus said goodbye right as Virgil opened his eyes.
Remus’s eyes lit up at the sight. “Good morning, Virgil. How are you feeling today?” Virgil focused his vision on Remus and weakly reached for Remus.
“Don’t feel good… I’m resting… but my body still feels weak…” Virgil said softly and closed his eyes to emphasize his point. When he opened them to look at Remus, he swore that he had seen a small smirk before being replaced with concern.
“I’m sorry my love…. I’ll go see if the nurse has anything to help.” Remus stood and Virgil sat up weakly.
“Wait…Come here…please…” Virgil said and coughed lightly. Remus moved over and Virgil carefully kissed Remus. Remus hummed and moved closer. Virgil pushed down the disgusted feeling and grabbed Remus’s phone from his pocket discreetly. Remus carefully pulled away after a few seconds.
“Alright…I’ll go fetch the nurse for you. I’ll be right back.” Remus walked out the door and made sure it was locked behind him. Virgil wasted no time and quickly opened the phone. It didn’t have a lock which Virgil found strange but he wasn’t going to question it. He had to find answers. He quickly pulled up the search bar and saw some of the previous search history. He paled and took shaky breaths at the top search results. “Poisonous plants” and “how much cyanide can be ingested before it's deadly”. Virgil gulped and went into incognito mode and searched up “missing people in my area” since he still didn’t remember his last name.
To his absolute horror, the top search result was “Artist Virgil Sanders, deemed dead by police ”. He clicked on the article and sped through the entire case of his missing status and theory of his death. He started to hyperventilate when he read an interview that Remus Duke had participated in. He scrolled through it and dropped the phone when he saw a pic of himself. He had an undercut and dark purple hair standing next to Remus. Both happily posing for the picture and Virgil showing off a silver band on his finger. Virgil pulled at his now shoulder length hair and panicked more at the thought of what had happened in order for him to have forgotten everything.
Footsteps broke Virgil from his trance and he closed the internet browsing app and shut the phone off. Holding it in one hand while his mind raced to find an excuse on why he had Remus’s phone. The key jiggled in the knobe before the door opened. “I’m sorry love. The nurse has to call our doc-“ Remus froze and rushed over. “Virgil, why do you have my phone?” His voice was cold. It made Virgil tremble in fear.
“I-it had dropped out of your pocket…” Virgil teared up in fear and looked at Remus. “I was just holding onto it…” Remus tried to hold back a grin at the sight of tears but it still managed to slip through.
“Alright my love. Thank you.” Remus took the phone and took Virgil's hand into his own. “Do you want your own phone?” Virgil shook his head. “Okay. I love you.” Virgil gulped thickly and managed to give a small smile.
“I love you too.”
~
Remus left Virgil's room after he made sure Virgil had fallen asleep. He held his phone close to his chest before opening it to check if Virgil had gone through his phone. He scrolls through his apps, photos, and then looks into the internet browser. He glared down at his phone when he saw an article on Virgil. He started to laugh and looked at the door. “You forgot to close the tab, my sweet.” He said sickeningly sweet as he closed the tab and switched the browser back to his search history.
Remus hummed and walked to the basement. He needed time to think. Virgil now knew that he was “dead” as far as the police were concerned. The real question was why didn’t Virgil call the cops while he still had the phone? Not that Remus was going to complain about how lucky he was to have found the phone before anything happened. Virgil was his. Why did Virgil always make such a fuss about Remus needing him? It was all laid out in the contract Virgil had signed before Remus had proposed.
After Remus had brought it up, Virgil tried to run to which Remus chased. Virgil wasn’t athletic after all… For the first month, Remus brought him back time after time until Remus got mad. In a fit of rage, Remus had slammed Virgil's head into a wall. Over and over again. It was a surprise when Patton, Remus’s personal doctor, had announced that Virgil was alive, just in a coma. Remus was ecstatic that he would still have Virgil. All to himself. For months without the fear of him running.
After two months, Remus grew worried that Virgil might not wake up. He had to find a way to get his Virgil back. By any means necessary. He had paid off Patton and the chief of police and spent most of his money trying to help Virgil wake up faster. It didn’t matter what he had tried because Virgil still didn’t even stir. That didn’t matter. Remus had time to prep Virgil's now room with cameras and he had unlimited access to the man he loved. Remus sat down at his desk and watched Virgil from the many screens and camera angles.
There was no way Virgil could run without Remus knowing. Remus watched as Virgil wiped tears from his eyes and looked around the room. Virgil looked absolutely terrified. Maybe…Remus gave him a chance. After all, he was bored and he always loved the look on Virgil's face when he was brought back to the mansion. Remus called his nurse in and instructed her not to give Virgil anything so that way Virgil and himself can play a game. He stood and walked back to Virgil's room.
After unlocking the door and stepping inside he walked over to Virgil happily. Virgil looked at him and sniffled slightly. Remus carefully rubbed his thumb on Virgil’s tear soaked cheek. Virgil flinched at the touch and Remus grinned. “Virgil~ you forgot to close the tab. I know you know.” Virgil went wide eyed and looked at Remus in fear. “Now before you say anything that will make me upset, I want to propose a game.”
Virgil tried to look down but Remus squeezed his cheeks and forced Virgil to look at him. Virgil made a pained sound and looked at the man in front of him with fear. “W-what kind of g-g-game?” Virgil whispered. Remus let go of his face and walked to a corner of the room that had a bookshelf.
“Hide and seek. You can either hide for three days, or try to get off the property during those three days. If you manage to evade me all three of those days…I’ll let you go.” Remus said as he picked up a book off of it. Virgil felt his heart pounding in his chest.
“What…what if I don’t escape…?” Virgil said in a shaky voice. Remus smirked and turned to face Virgil.
“I get to keep you. You never leave. You are mine. You know, I missed our little game of cat and mouse. I can't wait to see what you will do.” Remus walked over to the bedside and much to his pleasure, Virgil was trembling. “I think you have an unfair advantage. Therefore, if you require any help from my staff, they will provide you with food and water but no hints on how to get out. Do we have a deal?” Remus hummed softly. Virgil looked around the room and tried not to panic. Remus seemed pretty sure that he would be able to catch him and Virgil had no idea what he was up against.
“I… I don’t even know you.” Virgil said with what courage he could muster up. “I’m at a severe disadvantage! I know that I am being weakened after I am fed oatmeal! I demand that I am given a week to rest and regain my strength before we play your game!” Virgil snapped and glared at Remus. Remus was caught off guard by this but then he started to laugh. The sound echoed off the walls and Virgil covered his ears. Remus caught his breath and stared at Virgil with a deadpan expression. Virgil slowly moved his hands from his ears and stared up at Remus.
“Fine. Don't say I didn’t warn you. A week to recover…and then a week to play our game.” Remus stared at Virgil who had opened his mouth to protest. “I say that is more than fair seeing as you yelled at me and you have demands. Three days was nice and the staff members could have helped you move around but no. You had to open your pretty little mouth and let rot spill from it! I was being nice! I was being merciful! Since you will be recovering for the week, my staff will not help you with anything. You will be by yourself not knowing how or where anything is! Your week of recovery starts now!” Remus slammed the book into a wall which caused a dent and the book to get lodged into the wall. Virgil covered his face as Remus left the room and slammed the door shut. Virgil knew he had messed up, just to not what extent.
~
Virgil had been left alone. Remus hadn’t been coming into his room at night and the only other human interaction he had was between himself and one of the maids. She didn’t help or do much of anything except for bringing Virgil food and water. Remus probably said something about helping him regain his strength before their game. Virgil had spent his six days training for his now…. Fiancé? Crazy man? Crazy ex fiancé from finding him and keeping Virgil there.
Virgil couldn’t stand the thought of willingly turning himself into Remus after his display of rage. He had at least a fighting chance now. Granted Remus probably knew Virgil better than he knew himself due to his memory loss. Maybe that also gave Virgil an advantage? If Remus “knew” everything about him, Virgil could use reverse psychology and break free. Virgil had to be patient with himself due to his body still needing to recover. He had started to do sit ups, pushups, and some running in place to try to regain some strength.
Virgil was extremely exhausted but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try. Virgil looked over at the door as it slowly opened revealing Remus. Virgil immediately put the bed in between the two of them which got an amused chuckle from Remus. Virgil trembled at the thought of Remus getting his hands on him but Remus only stood in the doorway with admiring eyes. “Oh Virgil. I only wanted to wish you luck for tomorrow. You are and forever will be mine.” He dropped a file onto the floor. “Here. You might as well know who you are before we play. It's not like it matters much anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Virgil snarled at Remus. “I don’t care who I was before! I will beat you at this stupid game and I’ll be better than who I was!”
Remus only chuckled. “Oh please. We all know that you don’t have it in you. I make sure you always come back and this time, you will stay. If not, I still own you.”
“What do you mean “own me”? I am not property.” Virgil stalked over to Remus. His hands balled into fists. Remus grinned and pointed down at the floor.
“That file holds all the answers. Now, when will you give up? You sold your soul to me. Sickness and health. For rich or for poor. I own you. If I wanted you dead, the police would gladly kill you. If I want you here to myself, I have the means to keep you here.” Remus stood toe to toe with Virgil and watched the anger melt from the shorter man's face. The sight made him giggle.
“You…you paid off the police…” Virgil whispered. Remus cupped Virgil's face in his hands and moved his eyes up to his own.
“I did. I could make your life a living hell if I wanted to~ but… I love seeing you all frightened. I love your eyes~ I love your soft voice.” Remus dug his nails into Virgil's cheek. Virgil yelped in pain and tried to push away but Remus held him there. “You are my favorite little toy and that's why I haven’t killed you yet.” He threw Virgil down. Virgil backed away and started to hyperventilate. “Now. I’m giving you a chance to reconsider your options here. Stay here of your own accord or continue with our game.”
“I…why are you doing this?! Are you insane?!” Virgil stood and stumbled backwards. Remus folded his hands behind his back.
“Yes. I love you Virgil. I only hope that you grow to love me back.” Remus tilted his head to the side as his eyes scanned Virgil.
“You are psycho!” Virgil charged Remus and grabbed him around the waist. Remus lost his balance and the two went crashing to the floor. Virgil stood and tried to run but Remus gripped his ankle tightly. A huge smile across his face. Virgil kicked Remus in the face until he let go of his foot and ran down the hallway. Remus grunted and gave chase. Clutching his now bloody nose.
Virgil scrambled down the stairs but tripped and fell. He screamed in pain as he heard a sickening crack. He looked at his leg and saw bone sticking out. He paled and gagged as he dragged himself towards the front door.
“Oh Virgil~ how sad. You broke a leg!” Virgil felt someone stomp down on his other leg. Virgil screamed and curled himself into a ball as the beating continued. Remus was merciless and bea Virgil to a point where he couldn’t breathe. The strange gurgling sound that came from Virgil made Remus stop. Remus softened and gently picked Virgil up. Virgil whined and whimpered in pain as Remus counted the many broken bones he had caused.
“Shhh…shh. I’ve got you my love. I'll help you if you agree to stay with me. Always and forever.” Remus whispered into Virgil's ear. Virgil trembled and cried.
“A-always a-a-and f-forever…” Virgil whispered as his world went dark.
Virgil let out a soft groan as he slowly became conscious. There was beeping and a bright light that practically forced the man to keep his eyes. He tried in vain to move a hand to block the light that seeped through his closed eyelids. The memories flooded him like a tsunami rushing back to shore. Remus was holding Virgil close to his chest as he brushed his hair. Virgil was not his own. He was Remus’s.