Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The glass that separated them was too thick to be broken by just sheer force. The jar itself would have to be pushed off of the table to get the other borrower free.

However, a fall from such a height and then the smashed glass would create a hazardous environment to get him out of.

Then, there was also the sound of the glass smashing that would alert the humans in the apartment of the escape attempt, which would then in turn lead to them both being captured instead of just the one.

So, there weren’t many options.

This fact was proven with how Virgil was helplessly watching Roman pace back and forth on the table, an inch from the glass he was trapped behind. He had been like this — in his own little mind palace — for a while now and nothing had come of it. Not a single solution to the problem. They had gotten lucky that the humans that had caught Virgil had both been miraculously busy today.

Logan had university to attend and Patton had work.

Which would give Roman and Virgil at least half of the day to try and get the latter out of there.

“I- I have a plan,” Roman finally broke the tense silence and he turned quickly on his heel, causing the bag on his side to whip dangerously behind him.

Virgil quirked a brow, sitting cross-legged on the bottom of the jar, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he tilted his head to look up just slightly. He was tired of all of this trying. They had already had a few different ideas and none of them had worked, or were just flat out irrational. “Is it a good one?”

Roman shifted on his feet, looking uncomfortable. He smiled weakly, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s a plan.”

“Great,” the trapped borrower grumbled, “I’m going to die in here.”

“Well you try thinking of something!” He snapped back, frustrated and stressed and terrified for his friend’s life. If he couldn’t get Virgil out of this mess, what kind of a friend was he? “You’ve done nothing but sit in that jar and sulk since I’ve gotten here! This—” He motioned vaguely to the mess they found themselves in “—is only going to get worse. If we manage to push the jar over the edge of the table …”

“We already ruled that out, Roman,” Virgil replied, pushing himself into a stand and knocking his knuckles against it, before placing a flat hand against it as if he were proving a point. “A fall from this height won’t necessarily be lethal, but the sharp glass might as well be.” Watching the hopelessness finally fill the other’s eyes cut deeply. “It’s better if you just get out of here. I don’t want us both to end up like this.”

“Stop it,” the prince hissed, shaking his head. Desperately trying to grasp onto something to use. An idea that could get them out of this. “I’m not leaving you here. You have no idea what they’re going to do to you! We’ve been watching them long enough to know that Logan’s a man of science. So, you and I both know how well science bodes with borrowers. Patton—well, he might be the better choice of the two, but come on. Do you really want to have to face either of them?”

“You know my answer to that—”

“And that’s why I can’t leave you here,” he continued and Virgil watched as Roman’s pacing started up again. “If I ditch out and you’re face-to-face with those humans I know for a fact that it will only be a matter of time before you succumb to a panic attack.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“If you have an attack, you’ll have to ride it out yourself.”

“So what? I’ve done it before.”

“I know, but it’s not healthy!” Roman rubbed his hands through his hair, before pushing his locks out of his eyes and letting his hands rest on the nape of his neck. He stopped abruptly finally and looked out over the kitchen blankly for a moment.

The silence held heavy between them. It seemed that it was finally understood that Virgil wasn’t getting out of this. If he did, it certainly wouldn’t be unharmed or unchanged.

God, what if he got experimented on and was mentally unstable afterwards? Or if he was so messed up that he wouldn’t be able to function? What if something snapped and he would be emotionless or emotionally unstable?

Who knew what Logan would do in the intentions of understanding their kind.

Or Patton? Sure, he looked harmless, but that harmlessness could really just be something to be used against them. It could just all be a facade.

The thought of losing one of the few people he had really considered a friend—or even the voice of reason—was heartbreaking. They had shared so much time together. Roman had helped coax Virgil out of panic attacks, or sitting with him through the nights where he woke with a nightmare. Or when Virgil would sit and listen in on his ramblings and even, sometimes, encourage him. Or the nights they spent with whispered stories in the darkness, laughter and silent snickers as they tried to contain themselves. He didn’t want to lose those moments. He didn’t want them to just become memories because he was unable to get him out of the jar.

“I can’t lose you,” Roman finally told him, shaking his head as if trying to dismiss the idea of losing his best friend. He turned, before approaching the glass again and placing his hand against the side of it. “I’m begging you, let me find a way out of this mess. Don’t fight me on this. You can fight me on everything else if you want. But not this, Virgil, please. Not this.”

When Virgil met Roman’s eyes, he had seen such a deep terror fluttering behind them. Emotions that he, himself, knew all too well and it pained him to see the same ones in the other. Someone who was always so passionate and ready for an adventure or a challenge.

He wanted to say something against it, but that look in his eyes made him nod finally. “Okay,” he agreed finally. “Fine. Let’s find me a way out of here, alright? I’m still ruling out pushing the jar off of the table unless that’s our absolute last resort.”

“Deal,” Roman agreed hastily.

He knew that Virgil didn’t have his hook with him. Lack for his bag entirely, actually, which had been discarded on the kitchen counter on the opposite side of the room. Right now, getting him out was the main priority. Getting his things later would be the better option.

Roman snapped his fingers when it hit him. “We can knock the jar over. We don’t have to roll it, but if I can get access to the lid maybe I can use my knife and cut the air holes big enough for you to get out of.”

Of course, Virgil had wanted to say how stupid of an idea that was, when he really went over it in his head. Was it actually that stupid? Honestly, not really.

He nodded. “Let’s try it.”

If he were being honest, Roman was a bit surprised how readily Virgil had agreed, but he wasn’t going to bring that up now in fear of having him change his mind.

The two silently figured out the way they would be pushing it over and had readied themselves at the positions that were believed to be the best.

“On three!” Roman called, watching as Virgil rolled his shoulders back and laid his hands against the glass. “One.” He readied himself, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. “Two.” A moment of peace needed to sweep over him, though he had a tingling feeling that they didn’t have much time to try and attempt this. They had spent too much of that time arguing. “Three!”

Virgil had thrown his shoulder against the side of the glass just as Roman had nearly mirrored the same movement. The young men were both sorely disappointed when they got nothing but the jar to rock back and forth.

“Again,” Virgil demanded, “before it settles.”

They repeated the motion when it had rocked backwards and after a couple more times, the two had managed to bowl the jar over onto it’s side.

The moment of relief was short-lived.

Virgil had caught on sooner than Roman had, it seemed. As he was pushing himself into a stand and bringing out his knife to start digging into the air holes to try and cut them a bit bigger, the sound of the front door being unlocked seemed to echo around them.

“Roman,” his voice came as a sharp whisper and the both of them froze. “Run. Get out of here. Now.”

“I already told you—”

“I know what you told me but this isn’t the time to play the hero,” Virgil hissed, “if you get caught we’ll have no chance! Get out of here!”

He really looked as if he wanted to refute that, but without any solid evidence, he couldn’t. Tucking his weapon away just as the door began to creak open, he grabbed his hook and made his way towards the opposite side of the table.

Roman paused for half a second. “I’ll be back tonight. I promise.”

A spark of hope ignited within Virgil’s chest even as Roman disappeared over the edge of the table and dropped out of sight.

So, the borrower in question wrapped himself further into his hoodie and sunk down against the bottom of the jar. They had gotten so close to actually getting him out and their plans had been foiled within seconds. If only they had done that at least half an hour earlier, he might have been home free.

The door shutting almost seemed to shake the apartment in question, but he just remained seated, arms crossed and hood pulled up.

When the human actually came into view, he remained tucked down into himself. It was obvious what was going to be happening next and there wasn’t much he could do deny the fact that it was going to happen. Though, if given the right amount of time, maybe he could stall it for at least a little bit.

The silence was heavy as the human continued to move in the kitchen without saying anything to him, or even acknowledging his current presence in the jar.

It was also possible that Roman’s idea to roll the jar over the edge of the table wouldn’t be that preposterous either. The more nervous he grew, the better he thought that option was becoming.

Leaning to the side, Virgil was able to move the jar a bit, causing him to nearly lose his balance in response to the movement. He paused instantly when he felt the weight of two large eyes on his back. The heaviness moved again and he let out a small breath in relief.

Before he could actually continue on his mission, the repeated footsteps hitting the ground were getting closer. He had no choice when the shadow of a hand overcame the jar and was instead lifted directly off of the table and two large eyes were peering through the lenses of his glasses at him. The jar was righted and he slipped into the bottom of the jar.

“Seems I underestimated your cognitive ability,” Logan mused. “You also seem to be stronger than you look. Fascinating. I’ll make a note to weigh the jar down next time.”

Virgil didn’t respond verbally, but he did send a heated look up through his bangs as he pulled himself into a sit. One hand pressed against the side of the jar to keep himself steady. Seems that was the wrong idea as Logan had instead tilted the jar itself to get a better look at him.

“Five fingers, extraordinary. You seem to be matched entirely to a human, yet the size difference should make it impossible for something like you to survive. Yet the evidence is right in front of me.”

Do you speak English, by any chance?

“Incredible,” Virgil spoke. It took him a moment to actually realize he had said it aloud instead and the wide eyed look from Logan only solidified that he had heard him too.

Seemed he had momentarily forgotten that he wasn’t talking with Roman.

“You speak,” he stated the obvious. “Though I should have assumed so. If you have the ability to think for yourself, then one should believe you’d be able to speak too. So, all this time you have been able to understand me and have just been refusing to answer anything I was saying.”

Yeah, that’s pretty much it.

“This leads to so many more questions. Now, with the knowledge that you understand me, and can speak, I’m sure it will make this less painful for the both of us. Though, one question I must ask right now, is if you’re alone or not. That information would be helpful.”

“Nice try,” Virgil shot back, tucking in on himself and shoving his hands into his pockets. “I get my stuff taken from me and you just assume I want to answer questions?”

The un-amused look that crossed Logan’s features seemed cold almost — though, if Virgil was being honest with himself, he couldn’t tell if the human was trying to look intimidating, or if that was just his normal face.

“I can understand that losing your personal belongings may be disheartening, but I couldn’t risk you running off and losing my only chance of getting to understand such an extraordinary creature.”

“First of all, stop calling me a creature.” He sniffed at that, the term just sounded derogatory and unnecessarily rude.

“So, your species has a name?”

Virgil blanched. Well, technically speaking, yes they did, but then again, on the other hand, they also didn’t. Humans would certainly call them something different then what they, themselves, might. “W-well, not necessarily—”

“I won’t pry on that,” at least, for now. “Then, would you prefer to be referred to by your name, assuming you have one?”

At that, he just fell silent.

The quiet held. It was deafening. Who knew that silence could be so loud?

—————

When Virgil had finally refused to give up any more answers, as he had already given up too much information, the night had crawled by at an agonizing pace.

Roman and him had spent more than enough times watching the two humans getting down their natural rhythm, he knew that Logan was someone that would stay up way into the waking morning if it meant he got his work done. Patton on the other hand, tried to keep a more consistent sleeping pattern. For this reason, Virgil wasn’t exactly sure when he would be left alone.

Though, the longer him and Logan seemed to be watching each other in silence, the more he could see the weariness growing in the human’s features. The longer that he could stall, was probably his only chance.

He doubted that the man would be able to pull three all-nighters in a row, so it was only a matter of waiting to see who caved first, and it certainly wasn’t going to be Virgil.

So, when Patton finally came back into the living from cleaning the kitchen, he had managed to convince Logan that getting some sleep would help him focus for the next day. He had also offered Virgil something warmer to sleep in than just the jar itself, but the borrower hadn’t said anything in return.

Logan had kept true to his word and had this time weighed down the jar by setting two of his textbooks on top of it, and keeping it sturdily in place. His reasoning was “to keep the tiny creature from pushing the jar over again and possibly causing itself harm.”

Like he actually cared about him hurting himself. It was more so the fact that he didn’t want to risk losing such a ‘precious and extraordinary chance’ at learning about something completely new.

The textbooks themselves had been shifted just so that three air holes in the top remained uncovered. It had been a fear of his, having his only chance at fresh air—or any air at all—being cut off completely.

The lights had flickered out and both humans had retreated to their respective rooms, retiring for the night. The absolute relief that he had just because his jar had been left in the living room was immeasurable.

He sat in the silence for another twenty minutes, listening to the clock ticking consistently. The sound was almost comforting. He let his head rest against the cold touch of the jar and his eyes slid closed for the first time that day. At this point, Virgil was almost positive that he had been up for almost—if not—twenty-four hours and it was slowly beginning to show. The way his energy was fading fast.

If Roman didn’t get here soon, it was only a matter of time before he was out for the night.

As much as he hated to admit it, sleeping didn’t sound so bad. Sure, the place was less than ideal, as well as the circumstances, but he could make it work. At least for tonight.

That was the exact moment he heard the small clinking of something being tossed upwards and catching on a dip in the wood. Instantly, he perked up, leaning forwards on his knees as he peered into the darkness of the living room and soon enough, on the figure of the other borrower heaving himself up and onto the solid surface.

“I promised you I’d be back tonight,” Roman spoke up, offering a smile in the darkness.

“I was starting to doubt,” Virgil pushed himself into a stand, a small smirk crossing his features. Though, it quickly fell at the reminder of the books currently weighing the jar down. Before Roman could say anything about it, he beat him to it. “Logan had the brilliant idea of weighing it down so I couldn’t push it over again.”

“Hmm,” was the only thing he got in response.

“Any great ideas? I’ve got nothing. Spent most of my time in here trying to figure a way out.”

Roman’s eyes turned away from the jar for a moment, scanning the area and the tabletop in turn. Looking for something that could possibly help them knock the books off. Either way, it was going to create a loud noise that would alert the humans in the household. It would give them mere seconds to get Virgil out of the jar and then make an escape that would actually get them somewhere.

Though, there was nothing that would allow either of them the chance of actually tipping the thing over.

No, Roman wasn’t going to be bested by astronomy textbooks. They just had to get enough force to get them off of the lid itself. “God, Logan’s such a nerd,” he mused, scrunching his nose as he took in the thickness of the two books. He tried to figure how much the two would weigh, especially in comparison to their relatively tiny sizes.

“Big surprise,” Virgil mused, “tell me something I don’t know.”

“Alright, look. Have you already tried pushing?” The look Roman got in return was flat, clearly not amused and one that said ‘of course I have, you really think I sat here and haven’t done anything?’ Which was fair enough, he guessed. “Okay. So you’ve already tried pushing, but that was by yourself. Maybe we can actually move them together.”

Virgil scoffed. “I doubt it.”

“Okay Debbie Downer, how about we give it a shot and then decide if it works or not afterwards, huh?”

A heartbeat of silence passed and the latter relented. “Fine,” he nodded his head, “let’s give it a shot.”

Roman moved to the same side he had taken the last time they had tried, and placed his hands against the cool glass. “On three again,” he instructed, and he watched as his partner mimicked his position, facing the opposing way, his back to him. “One.” Roman closed his eyes, taking another steadying breath before nodding his head. “Two.” He watched as Virgil rolled his shoulders back, backing up a couple spaces—or as much as he could in the limited space. “Three!”

On his mark, Roman had pushed himself against the glass as hard as he could while Virgil had thrown his shoulder against the offending glass, only to bounce backwards on the impact and stumble back against the glass wall right where Roman was standing.

“Sonofa—” he hissed, moving a hand to grasp his shoulder.

“Virgil?” The prince spoke up, eyes concerned. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he groused, shaking his shoulder out, “let’s do it again. I think I felt it budge.”

In fact, Roman hadn’t felt anything and he was pretty sure that Virgil hadn’t either, but that sinking despair in not being able to get him free was cold and biting. He wasn’t going to let the humans win this round. Not when they were so close.

So, they tried again. And again. And again.

Nothing changed. Every time the jar stayed put. There was no give, there was no leeway.

Roman finally slumped against the outside wall of the glass, watching helplessly as Virgil’s attempts to push the thing over got more and more desperate. His panting breaths echoed inside the glass confinement and his heart broke deeper into his chest.

Then he stopped, Virgil’s shoulders bunched and he was suddenly sliding down the glass and onto his knees.

“This really is it,” he broke the silence after a moment, “it’s over.”

“No it’s not,” Roman hissed, ignoring the dejected tone and pulling himself up, he then made a point of moving around the glass and dropping to his knees in front of the other borrower. “This is not over. I don’t care how long it takes. I don’t care what I have to do. You’re getting out.”

“How?” Was the only thing Roman was going to get in response and the question left him staggered.

How?

It should have been such a simple answer.

He should have been able to say something right off the top of his head, but seeing that resigned look on the features of his partner, he felt something in his chest snap. Emotions were flooding forwards and he shook his head, suddenly overwhelmed with the reality he had been trying so hard to avoid. “I-I don’t know,” he broke, smiling hopelessly through his pain, as it etched itself across his face. “I don’t know. I don’t—”

“Hey,” Virgil spoke up, gaining his friend’s attention almost instantly, and Roman looked as if he were on the verge of having a breakdown. “It’s okay.”

“No,” he barked back. He hadn’t meant to snap. “No. This is not okay. This is anything but okay. Don’t you dare tell me that you’re giving up. Not now.”

“Roman—”

The sound of a door opening cut him off almost instantly and Roman shot up from his spot on the tabletop, eyes shooting back behind him as the sound of soft footsteps echoed throughout the household.

Reacting before thinking rationally, he had pulled at the pin that he used as a weapon, and he shoved it in the direction he knew the human was coming from. It was impossible to tell which one it was, but it was dangerous either way.

“Don’t just stand there,” Virgil hissed, placing both of his hands against the side of the jar. “Don’t be an idiot. Get out of here.”

Roman didn’t answer and he instead held his ground, taking a step backwards and putting himself closer to the jar and he kept the pin up.

As soon as the human appeared in the doorway, his heart skipped a beat and he raised his weapon higher, trying to make it seem more like a threat than it probably was. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out if it was Patton or Logan. They both had glasses and they did look rather similar from a distance, the darkness also wasn’t helping with the distinction.

“Roman,” Virgil’s voice dropped to a sharper hiss, but he was ignored yet again.

His heart skipped another beat when the human started to get closer and before he knew it, Roman had his back pressed against the glass, but his pin was still raised in self-defense. “St-stay back, human!” He demanded, trying to keep his voice from wavering. He needed to at least assert some dominance.

The human paused for a moment, taking a few steps closer before kneeling down to get more eye-level with the two borrowers.

“I’m sorry.”

Thank God. It was Patton.

Roman didn’t say anything as he kept his pin up and threatening, and Virgil stayed behind him, eyes wide, watching and waiting.

“I really am sorry about all of this,” he continued, which only seemed to confuse the both of them more. “Logan tends to get a bit … overexcited when he finds stuff he doesn’t understand. I couldn’t sleep knowing you were stuck in there. Though, I didn’t know you had a friend.” Roman flinched backwards when Patton lifted a hand, but only ended up rubbing his eyes tiredly. “It’s obvious you’re both sentient and keeping you trapped is wrong.”

What was this all leading up to? Was he trying to play into their emotions? Honestly, Roman was sort of surprised he hadn’t been grabbed for yet.

“What are you getting at?” He jabbed the pin in Patton’s direction, prompting the other male to speak again.

“I want to let your friend out of there,” he admitted. “Logan isn’t going to be too happy about that, but we were keeping your friend from you. Whether we knew it at the time or not. I didn’t even know the little guy had a friend until, well, now. I really am sorry for all of this. Is it — can I open the jar? I think the books were a little overkill …”

He didn’t trust that. He didn’t trust that at all. “Why would you let us go if you know it’s going to upset the nerd?”

“Because it’s going to weigh on me. I already feel bad enough now, I need to right this wrong.”

“You’re not playing at anything?”

Patton smiled tiredly, sadly, before crossing a finger over his heart. “I promise I won’t do anything but let your friend out.”

Virgil seemed to relax a hair. Only the tiniest bit, but Roman was still coiled tight as a spring.

He then nodded his head, allowing him access. “Alright,” he relented, stepping to the side of the jar, sending his friend a short look promising that he’d be alright. He then lifted his pin again, in a warning this time. “But don’t even think about trying anything.”

Patton had never thought he’d feel intimidated by someone that stood under four inches tall, but that pin he was currently clutching onto would hurt if cut with.

So, slowly, he reached over top of the young man and grasped the textbooks on top of the jar, ignoring the way he got a pang when he watched the second one still trapped cower away from him. He settled the two books to the side and then unscrewed the lid of the jar and set that to the side as well. Now came the difficult part. “I’m going to tilt the jar slowly, okay? It’ll allow you to keep your balance.” He knew that the little guy wouldn’t want to be touched right now.

“Patton?”

A second voice entering the conversation made all three of them tense this time.

When Patton turned, he saw an exhausted looking Logan adjusting his glasses before crossing his arms.

“Can I ask what’s going on?”

“This isn’t right,” he answered back, releasing his hand from around the jar, keeping Virgil trapped in the bottom of it and Roman moved closer to the jar itself. Whether for his own comfort, or to keep somewhat proximity between him and the other, he wasn’t sure. “He’s clearly sentient and we’ve been keeping him from going home to his friend. Doesn’t that bother you?”

The other human took a moment of evaluating the situation, before sighing. “This isn’t the time to let your emotions get the better of you. We can’t lose this chance of getting to learn something entirely new about a species completely unheard of. It would be—”

“It would be fine,” Patton stepped in, brows set in concentration. “What does it matter? Keeping a person captive just because you want to learn something about him? That’s technically kidnapping.”

“We weren’t aware of the accomplice until just now,” Logan reasoned, “we weren’t keeping him from much, either, it seemed.”

Roman let out an offended noise at that, only before Virgil hushed him.

“Letting them both go would be a great loss in this extraordinary discovery.”

“Logan—”

“I can’t lose this chance of getting to understand such incredible creatures. Scientifically they shouldn’t be able to exist. There’s so much that we don’t know, think of it that way.”

“Think about how that would make them feel,” Patton put his say in, “how about that? How would you feel if someone kept you against your will?” He was answered with an unhappy silence. “I wouldn’t feel too great, either. His uncooperative behavior earlier is fair and reasonable. Please, Logan, this isn’t right.”

For a moment, it almost looked like Logan was considering this. “Your emotions are getting the better of you, Patton.”

“I’ve heard enough, giant!” Roman declared, raising his pin again, but this time jamming it in Logan’s direction. Patton startled, but he clasped his hands together, keeping them away from the two tiny beings. Roman had drawn all the attention onto himself and he fought down the urge to shy away. “I demand you listen to your associate and release me and my friend this instant.”

“R-right,” Virgil echoed, lifting his gaze finally, but feeling butterflies fill his stomach uncomfortably.

Logan didn’t move for the moment. He narrowed his eyes, looking cold and analytical.

“See?” Patton broke the uneasy silence, sitting back on his haunches and looking pleadingly to his roommate. “They don’t want to be here, Lo. It’s doing more harm than it is good. Is your research really worth all of the suffering that it could potentially cause? His friend has clearly been worried sick.”

More silence. Virgil’s breath caught and Roman’s heartbeat accelerated as Logan stepped forwards. Patton had moved slightly to the side, almost trying to block the direct way to the borrowers.

“Relax,” Logan reassured them, though his tone held nothing that said they should be reassured, “I don’t wish to harm either of you. Though, I will propose a truce. This way we can both get what we want. You get your freedom and I get my chance to understand what the both of you are. This undocumented discovery is incredible. Losing a chance over feelings would be ridiculous.”

Roman kept his pin raised, poised to strike in case there was any sudden grabbing. “What’re you proposing, human?”

“You and your partner are both free to go as long as you come back at least once a day.”

“No way,” Virgil spoke up, only to be instantly silenced by the calculating look he got in response.

“He has a point,” Roman continued on. “That’s certainly no freedom at all. You, of all people, should know that we wouldn’t come back if you let us go. Why are you bringing this up?”

“I just assumed that it would be better for you to freely roam if I knew you would come back.”

“Logan, how is that fair?” Patton furrowed his brows. “If they don’t want to come back, you shouldn’t force them.”

“He knows what he’s talking about,” Roman cut in. A quick tapping from the jar behind him told him to ‘shut up and stop talking back to a human’, to which, he left Virgil ignored again. “I don’t really understand why seeing us is so ‘incredible’—” he put the words into air quotations, “—but keeping us a-against our will isn’t going to make us talk.”

Roman stepped backwards a bit more, his free hand now pressing against the cool glass and he could feel just the slightest of warmth, from where Virgil was pressing his hand in the exact same place.

A show of a bond deeper than just companionship. It was also an act of reassurance.

“We don’t want any trouble,” he turned his attention to pleading instead, as much as he didn’t want to let go of the dominance he had gained. “But I can also speak for both of us when I say we’re never coming back.”

Logan nodded in understanding, but he wasn’t surprised. “See, there lies our problem,” he noted. “All of this resistance is based on how you feel, when touching on such trivial things should be unnecessary. It’s unwise, as well.”

Patton bristled slightly, before his frown deepened. “How they feel is not irrelevant, you’re not looking at all the factors of this. This isn’t right. They’re just people, like you and me, just … smaller.”

“Which is exactly why it would be imperative to keep such creatures around. There wouldn’t be anything harmful happening,” which seemed to be directed at Patton and Roman and Virgil. “It would be wholly within the restraints of observation.” Logan’s gaze flickered over the two, seeing the proximity between them—or what would be if there wasn’t a glass wall separating the two. “If I release your companion, you’re most likely going to run.”

Virgil wanted to say that, yes, that was exactly what they were going to do, but then there was the fact of putting Logan’s size in relative to their own and it was obvious they wouldn’t get very far.

“Even if it wouldn’t end in your favour.” Though, he continued to speak, it was just making the borrowers more nervous. “We can allow this to go one of two ways. We can make an agreement, which would certainly be more cooperation from your end. Or, you both stay while giving up the chance for you to get back into the walls, assuming that it’s the most obvious place.”

“What kind of choices are those?” Roman spoke up, scrunching his nose at the very idea of coming back. There was no chance of that happening.

“He’s right, Lo,” Patton piped in again, “it’s not fair to give choices that don’t really feel like choices.”

Logan didn’t heed either of them and instead his attention locked down on Virgil, who was stood by the edge of the jar. He watched silently as the creature then seemed to feel uncomfortable under his gaze and folded in on himself as best as he could.

The movements were incredibly human. He had made other people his own size feel uncomfortable just by watching them, though this seemed to be much more for self-preservation. Even the way the second being was wielding the pin showed that he was ready to put up a fight, but the small shivering of the blade itself showed that it was a strong voice covering up real fear. Logan didn’t know how to feel about being the cause of that.

A part of him knew that this was for the best, that having them hesitant would create a much more cooperative pair of subjects. The other half of him knew that if someone was frightened, they would react on instinct or shut down completely and neither of those choices were going to help move this case along.

So, he had a choice to make here. Whether it went against ethics or if it went against what he wanted to do. He was sure that everyone knew what he wanted but that would only be met with more resistance and it was much too late to deal with this.

One way was ideal to him, the other way would be ideal to the other three. Great.

When he realized he had been zoned out on the smaller form, Logan shook his head briefly.

“Well, Gigantor?” Roman’s voice piped up from the coffee table and his attention shifted down onto the pin-wielding one. “Come up with anything in that head of yours?”

“Stop it,” Virgil hissed, knocking his knuckles against the glass wall again.

“I will not be phased by your name-calling,” was the first thing Roman got in response, before the brown eyes were locked on him. “Though, I have come to the conclusion that keeping you here against your will would be unsatisfactory for all of us, it seems.” The tension in the pin-wielder’s shoulders seemed to loosen at that, but his stance stayed the same. Logan knelt, feeling as if getting down onto their level would allow for a more ideal conversation. “So, I am willing to let you leave.”

He ignored, for the moment, the way Patton seemed to light up at that.

Virgil saw through that, and he shuffled on his feet. “What’s the catch?”

There had to be something. Someone like Logan wouldn’t just let them leave freely and not expect something in return.

“I suppose you wouldn’t believe me if I said there was no catch.”

“Of course not,” Roman agreed. “So?”

“I would like to see the both of you again,” Patton was seconds away from stepping in and saying something, when Logan continued his thought, “but it doesn’t have to be immediate. Give yourself days, weeks. Whatever you deem fit.”

“I’m guessing years would be stretching it a bit, wouldn’t it?” There was a nervous laugh offered with it.

“Years would be stretching it, but I do suppose if you needed that sort of time to recollect yourselves, it would be alright.”

Logan could tell that the silence he was getting in response to this was a nervous one. Hesitant to accept it, he understood that much, but the deal seemed as good as anything he knew that they would want to hear. If he got to have it his way, they would still have free reign, but that would stay within the apartment itself and would leave the walls off-limits unless a trip to their home, he guessed, was absolutely necessary.

He doubted they would ever truly be okay with coming back out, but if given time, then perhaps something more could come of their interactions if they followed through on their side of the deal.

He also knew that he was risking losing their chance entirely because he wanted to be able to comply with their wishes — and maybe for the reason that he would only be able to handle Patton looking at him helplessly for so long.

They seemed to be discussing between themselves, or at least, the most they could do without being too loud. As if they were trying to hide the conversation before coming to a conclusion.

“Well?” Logan finally prompted.

It seemed that when Roman turned around, it was still rather undecided. Which, he couldn’t really fault them for.

“Okay,” Roman scuffed his boot against the table before looking up and meeting Logan’s eyes. “Fine. We’ll do it this way. Can we go now?”

Logan went to speak again, but this time he was cut off by his roommate moving beside him.

“Of course,” Patton’s voice was quick, knowing exactly how fast he needed to speak to keep Logan from talking. “Let’s get your friend out of there and you can be on your way.”

—————

“You fell?”

“My ankle got caught in the string when I was repelling,” Virgil limped into the house him and Roman had built together. Various little trinkets strewn around the place to make it feel more like a home. He was trying to play this off, when it really shouldn’t be played off. “I’m fine.”

“A twisted ankle is not fine.” At which point Roman got a shrug in response, watching as the other hobbled his way over to the small couch in their living room and sat down, before bringing his ankle up to really inspect it. Sighing, he pursed his lips. “Do we have any bandages?”

“Probably.” Pressing against a tender spot, Virgil hissed before massaging at the swollen skin.

Moving on, Roman knew that they had some stored away, it was just a matter of finding it. He was also fairly sure that they had some tape around here as well, but that he was less confident about.

Everyone had slip ups, he guessed.

Pushing into the washroom, he began to rummage through a bin of medical supplies to try and find something that would at least help ease the damage that had been done. When he came up empty handed, save for a few pieces of ripped tape, he slumped back onto his heels. So, they were out of bandages and tape. Great. That meant he needed to take a trip out into the apartment and see if he could scrounge something up.

It wasn’t a problem, but he also really didn’t want to see Logan or Patton. While, that deal had been made those few weeks ago, they hadn’t revealed themselves since. He was silently hoping that the humans’ thought he and Virgil had up and left the apartment building altogether.

It was a long shot, but he could hope.

That said, he and his partner had thought about leaving the first couple of days after they had been let go. Virgil had told him that packing and leaving would be their best bet and it would have certainly kept them from being caught again. Roman, on the other hand, had said otherwise. Moving as a borrower could take honest weeks, especially if they wanted to go somewhere far away from here. That also didn’t include the fact that they would have to carry everything that they wanted to bring along. To shorten the story, moving isn’t impossible for someone of their size, but it is difficult.

“Great,” he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. He let his head tilt to the side, just staring at the wall blankly for a moment. The last thing he wanted was to go out in the apartment while both humans were still around, but there was no choice.

If they didn’t put pressure on the swollen parts of Virgil’s ankle, it could permanently stay swelled. Or so he had heard from his anxious roommate.

Pushing himself into a stand, he dipped into his bedroom before grabbing his bag and slipping it over his shoulders and securing it there. One hand around the strap, Roman re-entered the living room and went straight for the front door.

“We’re out of bandages and tape,” he called over his shoulder as an explanation to the curious look shot his way. “I’m going to make a trip out into the apartment and get some. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Alright,” came the response back, “but—”

“I’ll be quick, Panic at the Everywhere, don’t fret,” Roman opened the door, and was halfway out before speaking again. “Keep pressure on your ankle and you’ll be fine.”

Then the door shut before he could hear a response.

The passageway itself was a bit dark and musty for his taste, but when you lived just over three inches tall, you didn’t really have the best choices for where you got to live. The house they had made themselves was buried deep into the walls of the apartment building. It was a cozy spot. They didn’t really have to worry about freezing in the winter, or overheating in the summer. While scarce food and bugs and rats and everything else that outmatched them was a danger, there was nothing wrong with being okay with their lives.

Sure, being caught had been traumatizing, but it was nothing they couldn’t get past. It would take a bit, but it wouldn’t take forever, that much they both knew.

Continuing on in silence, Roman hopped up onto a ledge that led to the back of the power outlet in the washroom. If he could get into the bathroom cupboard, he was sure there would be bandages in there. Who didn’t keep that stuff behind the mirror?

Pushing open said outlet, he checked to make sure the coast was clear before dropping the last inch down onto the ceramic sink.

He grasped for the hook around his waist and unfolded all of the wires and mess of string, before grabbing the fishhook right at the base. The cool metal touched his fingertips as he glanced up. Way up. Winding it up for a moment, he let it go and it had nearly caught on the handle of the mirror.

The hook clinked back down in front of him.

After a couple more minutes of trial and error, the borrower had finally managed to land a hold and he was dragging himself upwards.

Getting the cupboard open itself also took a couple more minutes of trial and error, but before long, he was standing among the rows and rows of bottles and neatened capsules and such. Most of the containers stood over him, a startling reminder of just how small he was compared to the rest of the world. It certainly wasn’t a place made for his kind.

Shaking it off, Roman tallied off the things that were in here.

Medicine. Tablets. Tape. Pins. Safety pins. Bandages. Pills.

Oh. Wait.

He let his attention shift onto the box of bandages and he looked it up and down, furrowing his brows. God, everyday tasks were too much work.

Roman knew that he’d need to push the box over, there was no way he would be able to get anything out without doing that. Placing his hands against the box, he tested the weight for a moment before deeming he would probably have to take a running start at it. It was like the whole jar incident again, however this time, someone’s life wasn’t on the line.

After a moment of preparing, he took some steps backwards and crouched down. One breath in and one breath out, and it took nothing before he had managed to knock the box over. It was a bit lighter than he had originally anticipated, but with the box now on its side, he had much more of a chance of actually being able to get something out of the box itself.

Just as he had gotten into the top, the sound of the washroom door opening and closing caught his attention.

Roman’s first reaction was to try and duck behind something, and the first thing that he saw was a bottle of some sort of pills. Medication, he guessed. Scrambling to hide himself, as the last thing he really wanted was to be seen again, he tucked his knees into his chest and listened quietly.

There was a gentle humming, so he could only assume it was Patton, as Logan really didn’t seem very musical. Then there was rustling and the box of bandages was being pulled out.

He was pretty much stuck in here until Patton left, so he might as well—

“Long time no see,” the cheery voice prodded him, and Roman’s heart rate spiked. Had he been spotted already? He thought his hiding place had been at least somewhat adequate! When there was a pause, he decided that pretending he wasn’t there would prove fruitless.

Though, when he did peer out, Patton wasn’t looking at him, he was instead preoccupied with the cut on his finger.

“I didn’t mean to spook you,” he grinned, eyes flickering up for just a moment, a spark of happiness caught Roman by surprise. Just like that, his attention was elsewhere. “And I certainly didn’t expect to find you in here of all places.”

Roman swallowed down his nerves and pulled himself into a stand. “How did you know?”

“Well, the cabinet door was open, for one,” Patton told him, tearing open the band-aid before concentrating just enough to get it on right. “And then you left your little hook and rope dangling on the outside of it. I had a feeling it was either you or your friend again.” After finishing with his task, his brown eyes were once again focused on Roman, though this time, the borrower didn’t feel nearly as intimidated. “Anyways, I guess you guys have been pretty busy. A part of me thought you had left since we hadn’t seen you in a while. I’m glad you’re still here though! You’re … doing okay, right?”

Okay, that sort of concern coming from a source so big was a bit off putting, but not terrible. “Uh, yeah. We’re doing okay. I just came for some bandages, if that’s alright?”

Roman didn’t miss the flash of concern in those deep brown pools. In fact, it was impossible to miss any sort of emotion on his features.

Though, Patton’s smile returned quickly. “Of course it is, I’m sure Lo and I wouldn’t miss a few things missing. Especially if it’s helping you both.” He settled the box on its side with the lid open this time. There was a heartbeat of silence. “Can I ask what happened?”

As the borrower busied himself with getting a bandage, he also managed to spot a roll of gauze in the corner of the cabinet, which, admittedly, would have been a much easier and faster choice to go for. At least that way he wouldn’t have had to face Patton down in another conversation when he was least prepared. “Virgil said he fell and twisted his ankle,” he spoke up, getting down onto his knees and pulling out two band-aids, before rolling them and stuffing them both into his bag as best as he could. “Told me it won’t keep him down for long, but he and I both know he’s not going to be moving much.”

It took Roman half a moment to realize that he had used Virgil’s name in open conversation without really thinking about it. His startled gaze went right back to Patton, but said human didn’t seem to be too worked up with the name revelation.

“Is he alright?” He asked instead, trying to ignore the terrified look on Roman’s face, “how did it happen?”

“Told me he got his ankle caught in the wire when he slipped,” Roman shrugged, trying to play off the situation at hand. “He’ll be fine in a couple of days or so if given the proper rest and treatment, y’know?”

“Yeah,” came the softer reply.

Roman shuffled awkwardly on his feet before nodding his head finally. “Well, I, uh, I should probably get this stuff back home. It was … nice talking to you again.”

“Before you go, do you maybe, want some help out of the cabinet? I mean, I’m right here and it would be no trouble at all, really.” The offer was generous, but it made him nervous. He had already had too many troubles with humans and their hands. “I mean, it’s totally okay if you don’t want to. I understand completely, I just thought that, you know, I’m right here, it would save you some time too.”

God, it was hard to say ‘no’ to him, and that was awful. Even admitting it to himself. It seemed that Patton really did just want to help. Why? Roman wasn’t entirely sure, but the help was appreciated, he guessed.

He let his hand move to grasp the strap of his bag before he rocked back and forth on his feet. “Sure,” he finally relented, and seeing that beaming smile cross the human’s face almost made all of his worries melt away completely.

How could one person make him feel so at home? It was bizarre.

Sure, he felt that way when he was around Virgil, but that was because they had almost grown up together. Because they were the same thing. To feel nearly the same thing while around a human? That had to take some sort of talent.

He was nearly startled from his thoughts when he remembered exactly what he had just agreed to, and when Roman saw the hand raised in front of him, he felt the urge to back away.

Though, he did take a step back on instinct, he paused, recollected himself and instead stepped forwards after a brief moment of hesitance.

“As long as this isn’t hindering you from anything important,” he spoke up, which made the other male’s grin widen a bit.

“Not at all! I came in here to get a band-aid, didn’t really have anything else in mind.”

When Roman had finally mustered up enough courage, noticing just how much patience Patton was giving him, he stepped forwards and climbed onto the hand being offered out to him.

It was certainly odd, and if Virgil were to see him now, he’d probably throttle him. Not that he could blame the other borrower, he was always so careful, it did make him wonder how he had gotten hurt in the first place. The fact that he had twisted his ankle made sense, but Virgil always triple checked everything before following through with a plan.

Roman’s stomach dropped as the hand moved underneath him, though it was relatively slowly, he still hadn’t of been expecting it at that time. He dropped to a crouch to keep his balance. “What did you do?” He asked over his shoulder.

“Cut myself on some broken glass,” he said nonchalantly. “It wasn’t that bad, but the bleeding didn’t want to stop.”

“Broken glass?”

“Yep. That jar that Logan had your friend trapped in smashed this morning and I only just had the time to clean it up. You didn’t hear the commotion?”

Then it clicked together in his head. That was probably how Virgil had slipped up. Either he had knocked the jar off of its perch and it shattered and surprised him, or it had happened out of no where and while the latter was out borrowing, the smashing glass had startled him so badly, he slipped up.

Well, at least the injury made a bit more sense now. Not that he ever doubted his friend’s ability to be out on his own, but he did sometimes worry more than necessary.

“Uh no, but it’s that’s good that it wasn’t all that bad,” Roman spoke up, watching as the sink got closer. “It’s always a pity when you get a cut, right?” Though, it was certainly easier for a human to patch themselves up, than it was a borrower. Humans always had their resources in the palm of their hand, while his kind needed to scrounge and use things wisely.

After the movement had stopped, Roman allowed himself the chance to get off of the hand and stand a bit more openly on the sink itself.

“Thanks,” he called up finally, unable to handle the silence any longer. “I appreciate the help.” Though, a quick reminder and he remembered he still needed to get his climbing rope down. “Just— just one more thing? I promise that’s it.”

“I don’t mind helping,” Patton told him, seeming genuine in the remark. “What do you need?”

Roman pointed upwards towards where the hook was lodged. “If you could just untangle it, that would be greatly appreciated.”

Yes, he was fully capable of getting it down himself, but a part of him still wanted to see if the human was trustworthy.

After being told what was needed, Patton did as directed and was able to unhook the little line without a hitch in the plan. He then settled it down in front of the borrower. “Glad I could help you out a bit,” he told him, before stepping away from the washroom sink, as if to give him space as well. “It was nice seeing you again, too. I’m glad to hear you and your friend are doing alright.” As Roman wound up his line and tucked it into his bag as well, he heard a small intake of breath as well. “I don’t think we’ve actually ever been properly introduced.”

“I suppose not,” Roman agreed, tucking his hands into his pockets and straightening out his shoulders. He would be lying if he said he didn’t know both the humans’ names, but it would be rude to say that right out. “Though, having my friend trapped in a jar and then bargaining wasn’t really the best grounds for a name exchange.”

At that reminder, Patton seemed to wince a little. “Yeah.” He took a moment. “I have a feeling you already know this, but I’m Patton. My roommate’s Logan.”

The male smiled gently, nodding his head. Yeah, he knew that already. Though, it seemed as if it were his turn to speak. “I’m, uh, I’m Roman,” he dipped his head into a respectful nod. “I’ve already slipped up with my partner’s name, and hopefully he doesn’t kill me for telling you, but he’s Virgil.”

Seeing such a blinding grin on Patton’s face was heartwarming. “Well, it’s a pleasure, Roman. I’ll let you get back to doing what you were doing. I hope you and Virgil keep doing okay.” The human turned to leave, before he seemed to think better of it. He turned to face Roman once more. “And I just want you to know, that if you ever need anything, anything at all, you can always come to me, okay?”

Okay, Roman really couldn’t help but smile genuinely at that. “Thanks.”

Without another word, Patton left the washroom, closing the door behind him and leaving Roman alone with his thoughts once more.

Oh my God. That happened.

Without wasting another second, he moved to the outlet before pulling it open and slipping through. As it clicked shut silently behind him, there was no evidence that he had even been there.

Virgil was going to freak when he told him what happened.

——————

Breathe. Breathe. Oh my God, just breathe.

He couldn’t believe it. He had managed to get himself stuck again, though this time was more irreversible when he was by himself. He needed help and there was no one around that he could get to help.

This can’t be happening. This cannot be happening right now.

Virgil had already hurt himself once getting out of a mess like this. This was certainly the last situation he wanted to find himself in. Especially since his current position was right in plain sight if one of the humans were to come in.

From what he knew, Logan was busy in his room doing homework, or whatever it was that he did, and Patton was still at work.

He had slipped up again. Roman was never going to let him live this down if he even felt like sharing the news, but right now, he was too overwhelmed with the terror of being found so vulnerable. The way that the rope was caught around his torso had caught up his left arm and if he moved too much in one direction, it pulled painfully. He needed assistance getting out.

This was one of the few times he had wished he’d asked Roman to come along with him. At least that way he wouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place.

With his heart pounding loudly in his chest, Virgil had to fight to keep his breathing still. It was starting to get erratic and there was nothing comforting enough to keep him grounded in the fact that he was relatively unharmed by this point.

He just needed a gentle nudge out of the stupid rope and he would be fine. Yeah. Yeah, he’d be fine.

There’s no way to get out of this if you don’t have help. You’ll be found and then you’re going to be stuck in that jar again. You’re trapped.

“C’mon,” he grunted, trying to pull his left arm free again, this time managing to pull it harder and feeling the tug in his shoulder. He winced. Okay, so that didn’t work.

Shouting was no use. Squirming was no use. Reaching for his bag was no use.

He was a sitting duck. Or something close to it.

This is fine. This is totally fine. This all okay.

Those were the thoughts that really didn’t help in a time like this. Sure, they were trying to be reassuring, but Virgil could only hear them in a sarcastic tone. There was no getting out of the situation he was in, which sent panic deeper into his chest and nearly constricted his breathing instantly.

The sound of a door opening somewhere in the apartment echoed and his heart rate spiked instantly.

Great, his luck was getting even worse.

Holding still and holding his breath, a part of Virgil was hoping that Logan was bringing a textbook out with him, which would hold the human’s entire attention. He had a feeling that was unlikely, but he could always hope, right?

As if fate thought that this was some cruel joke, the first thing that had happened when Logan entered the living room was the sound of a startled gasp. It made Virgil’s stomach turn with unease.

It was easier not holding the man’s attention, but it was also driving his fear crazy when he couldn’t pinpoint where in the room Logan exactly was, so, Virgil turned his head to look over his shoulder and he could see the startled reaction behind those black glasses.

His heart leaped into his throat and his eyes widened almost to match that of the human’s.

Even after a couple weeks of staying out of sight—and hopefully out of mind by that point—here he was, facing the very person down that he wanted to see the least right now. If he had gotten lucky, it would have been Patton coming home, but, fate was cruel like that.

“Uh, greetings,” Logan finally broke the silence and it startled Virgil out of their unintentional staring contest.

He opened his mouth to say something, before thinking better of it and staying silent. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he could swear that the world was getting darker. As if he had forgotten to breathe at this point, now he was breathing too fast. His mind was running rampant with things that could happen to him. He was face to face with Logan again. The same person that had stuck him into a jar out of pure curiosity. The man that wouldn’t have let him go if it weren’t for Patton stepping in.

He couldn’t do this right now. He really could not do this.

Virgil gasped for air, before squeezing his eyes shut. Think. Think, c’mon, this isn’t how you want to go out. If you’re going to be caught again, please God, let him be gentle with it.

It took a moment of just watching, but it didn’t take long for Logan to realize that the tiny being was succumbing to an anxiety attack. He wasn’t entirely sure how to approach the subject, but he needed to do something.

This … wasn’t really the reaction he had anticipated when it came to seeing the creatures again. Though, he wasn’t necessarily surprised by the fact either.

Though, he did know that going through a panic attack by one’s self may cause more harm than good. His eyes scanned the living room, as if he was searching for a better way to help the tiny male, but there seemed to be only one way. It wouldn’t be ideal, but he had to do what he had to do.

Running over the ways to comfort someone currently going through an attack, he needed to make his approach slow. How was he going to address this without causing more panic? Yet another thing he wasn’t really sure how to do. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but if being in the same room as the creature elicited this response, then how was speaking to him in the middle of a frenzy going to help?

Logan could understand the fear, but he was never good at being reassuring to someone of his own size, nevertheless someone that would be able to sit in the palm of his hands. Patton was much better at reading someone’s emotions and then matching that emotion, or assisting them through it. He also realized that the being seemed to be trapped.

The rope around his chest could possibly be constricting and keeping air from getting fully into his lungs, allowing for the panic attack to be prolonged. He saw the makeshift cast on the one leg as well, showing that he was still injured, and yet his arm was in a position that if he wasn’t released carefully, could be twisted enough to break or sprain.

This was going to have to be a careful operation then, it seemed.

Virgil could hear the footsteps approaching him just over the sound of blood rushing in his ears. No. No, he couldn’t let himself go right now. He couldn’t. He had to get through this.

But from here, it seemed that it wouldn’t end.

“—you can try and steady your breathing—”

No. No. Leave me alone. I don’t want to be trapped again. Please. Not again.

“—sten to my voice. I’m not going to touch you—”

Dear God, you better not touch me. I can’t. I can’t do this. It hurts. Breathing hurts.

When Logan wasn’t getting much of a reaction, except for watching him curl further in on himself, he needed to try something else. But what? What could he possibly do?

Touching someone in the middle of an anxiety attack could cause a very bad reaction and then putting that in the fact that the male probably didn’t like him very much would make it worse. On the other hand, if you do touch someone during their attack, the grounding feeling of having someone else there can allow for the person to calm themselves when given the time to do so.

Adding that on top of the three facts that the tiny being didn’t like him, was terrified out of his mind, currently tangled up and completely stuck, well, it made Logan’s job harder than it need be.

Oh God. Am I dead? Is it over yet?

The sudden feeling of warmth surrounding him made Virgil jolt in surprise, his eyes shooting wide open as he swung the rope back and forth on accident, trying to escape the uncomfortable feeling. Instead, he heard a brief apology and then it hit him like a train what was happening.

He was being manhandled without his permission. He wasn’t sure what fact made his anxiety worsen; the fact that the warmth was somewhat soothing or that he was going to be held completely at Logan’s mercy within the next few seconds.

“It’s alright,” he was trying to be as reassuring as he could be, but the way those tiny brown eyes were looking up at him—or more so the fact that they were trying to avoid looking at him—set something hard and uncomfortable in his chest. “You’re safe.”

Were reassurances even doing anything to ease him? Though, he lifted one hand completely under the being, he used his free hand to unhook the small hook from it’s position and let it dangle over the side of his hand instead. He wasn’t going to bother trying to untie him, knowing that would be a bad idea. The creature was small enough as it was and he really didn’t want to risk hurting it more than it already seemed to be.

So, he would stay level about this. “Can you breathe?”

Obviously his voice had startled him, so he lowered his tone a bit more, but waited for at least something that resembled an answer. It took a moment, but he saw the tiniest shake of the head.

“That’s fine,” Logan told him, eyes moving from the tiny heaving form currently cupped in his palms, to the rest of the room. Was there anything he could possibly use, or was this all on him? When he came up with nothing, he knew what he had to do. He had never had to personally sit through a panic attack with someone before, but he knew how to treat it. Logic could usually keep someone grounded in reality. However, he also knew that could be considered overwhelming to someone that wasn’t in the middle of an attack either. “I want you to take a breath in for seven seconds. Hold for seven seconds and then release for seven seconds. Can you do that?”

Virgil didn’t know what Logan was doing, but it wasn’t making his attack worse.

I don’t understand. Why are you helping me? What are you doing? Why won’t you just leave me alone? Is this some cruel trick? This isn’t funny. I don’t understand!

Though, the advice seemed sound enough, so, after a few minutes of struggling to right his breathing, Virgil managed to take a breath in, before holding it and releasing it silently.

“Good,” the praise was sudden, but not unwelcome, and now it seemed they were actually getting somewhere. “Can you do that again?” The motion was repeated and Logan was satisfied to see that he was getting better. When he no longer seemed to be breathing nearly as hard, he spoke up. “How do you feel?”

It took Virgil a moment to reorganize his thoughts. To reconnect where exactly he was. Even though he was no longer having a breakdown, the fact that he was still somewhat tied up and being held by a human, wasn’t making him feel any better. Though, when he looked upwards, the large brown eyes were focused down on him. He almost felt intimidated into answering.

How did he feel? Exhausted, honestly. Emotionally drained, but was coming clean about that really a good idea? “Tired,” was the only word that he allowed himself to answer with.

“I expected that much,” though it was said aloud, Logan was almost talking to himself with it. His tone was considerably gentler though. “Are you alright?”

“I-I think so?” It was almost a question. A part of him said he was totally fine and unharmed, save for the twisted ankle that was almost completely healed by this time. As he unraveled himself from the string, the tension from his wrist and shoulder was released and he was able to find some comfort in the fact that nothing was broken or sprained.

The fact that he was sitting so openly on a human’s palm was bewildering, and a part of him acknowledged the fact that Logan had stayed true to his word. He really hadn’t been hurt. Even if it was a terrifying position to find himself in.

Logan seemed to take that information well. “Good,” was what was said. There seemed to be more hidden behind the word, but all Virgil could think about was the amount of heat that he could feel radiating from the skin beneath him.

It was … uncomfortable.

——————

A couple months had passed from there. The interactions had become a bit more usual, especially between Roman and Patton.

More often than not, Virgil would catch Roman leaving the house and heading off to spend time with the human whenever he was around, or wasn’t busy.

It bothered him a little bit, but, a part of him really couldn’t say too much either. There had been times where he escaped from Roman’s boisterous personality and went to sit with Logan while he did his studies. He was quieter, easier to handle, and the conversations they held were paced. They also didn’t seem very forced.

Sure, he still had his fears about the differences in sizes between them, but other than that, it almost felt normal.

The initial encounter between them all had been less than ideal, sure, but Virgil had realized, admittedly later than Roman, that Logan and Patton really weren’t out to get them. That point had been driven home when Logan had found him in the midst of a panic attack and instead of using that advantage against him, had instead helped him through it.

“It’s movie night, tonight,” Roman chirped, plopping down onto the makeshift couch they had in their home, seated almost right against Virgil as he stitched up a tear in his hoodie.

“I don’t see how that has anything to do with me,” he remarked instead, pulling the thread through and finally bringing the tear to a close. His handiwork wasn’t exactly pretty, but it was functional and that was all that really mattered.

Roman rolled his eyes, before adjusting himself on the couch and tossing his legs up onto the edge of it, before laying his head in Virgil’s lap and looking up to him, big brown eyes looking pleading. “Come on. You’re always invited too, you just never come. Every time I tell Patton you’re not coming because you have other things to do, he always looks so sad.”

Virgil felt a pang at that, but shook it off without letting it show.

When he wasn’t answered, the prince shifted his head a little bit and took the thread and needle from the other borrower’s hands and resting them to the side, before folding his hands over his stomach. “Don’t be like this, Virge. I know you like Disney movies too, there’s no shame in wanting to watch one with everyone.”

He knew there was no shame in it, but he always knew that there was something negative about Disney movies. Not that he didn’t enjoy them, but it was easy to pick out the flaws in the characters or the plots. It was hard to sit back and let them enjoy the magic of it when all he did was bring the mood down.

He smiled stiffly. “You go have fun, Princey,” he remarked, moving to get up, when Roman held him in place.

“Not so fast.” The tone was surprisingly stern for someone that was almost never serious. “What’s this all really about? This can’t be because you don’t like movies. You and I both know that’s not true.”

He was being pinned with a look and he hated the guilt it made him feel. Every time he skipped out on these movie nights, he always made up some excuse not to go. “You guys always have more fun without me anyways,” he said with a shrug, as if it wasn’t self-deprecating.

Roman heard that loud and clear. Even as he was pushed off and instead sat up on the couch, turning to look over his shoulder as Virgil gathered up his hoodie, thread and needle before disappearing down the hallway.

The sound of a door shutting told him that he was going to keep himself locked in his room for the rest of the night. Not that he was going to let his friend do that, but he blanched for the moment on how to convince him to come out.

Sure, Roman knew that Virgil would think lowly of himself, but he didn’t think he would ever think that lowly of himself.

Righting himself on the couch, he thought for a moment. What would be the best way to get Virgil to come and join them for at least one night? He knew it wasn’t a fear of Patton or Logan anymore, they’d come pretty far from those days — even if there was that underlying wariness of humans, as that had been driven into them since they were kids. Maybe it was something more personal than that? He also knew that Virgil had a tendency to bottle things up inside of him until it all came out in one big breakdown.

A tapping on the wall caught his attention and Roman hesitated. For one, he wanted to explain to the humans what was going on, but another part of him knew that if he explained afterwards, that would work as well.

Getting up from the couch, he straightened out his shirt before moving down the hallway and knocking on Virgil’s door. “Why don’t you just come tonight, okay?” He called through the card separating them. “Then I won’t bother you about coming again.”

Looking up from the final stitch on his hoodie, Virgil’s eyes locked onto the bedroom door. He did feel bad about constantly having to let Patton down. The dull ache in his chest was telling him that he owed them at least one night that he attended, and then he didn’t have to go again if he chose not to.

“Please?” Roman’s voice was muffled slightly. “If it gets too overwhelming, no one is going to make you stay. If you want to leave right after you get there too, I won’t say anything. I promise.”

Now that was tempting. He could show up, come up with an excuse as to why he can’t hang around and then come back to the solitary safety of his bedroom.

He was being offered a way out by someone that knew how his anxiety could get the better of him. Especially during social situations where he doesn’t want to be in involved. Having the chance to escape back to some place that he knew like the back of his hand, as well as place where he would be able to control himself and calm himself down if something did happen, was comforting in itself.

If he was being honest, Virgil didn’t really have a reason not to go. Save for his crippling social anxiety.

He had finished patching his jacket up, so he couldn’t use that as an excuse at the moment, but the sigh that finally escaped him was telling. “Alright,” Virgil finally relented, before using his teeth to snap the thread. “I’ll come.”

Slipping the jacket on over his shoulders, he fixed the cuffs over his hands and opened the door.

The beaming look that he was getting from Roman was almost too overwhelming in itself. “Great. We’ve already been beckoned, let’s go.”

Oh what am I getting myself into?

In all reality, as soon as they had left the small home, his heart had already started to pound in his chest. It was easy to forget how to breathe when the only thing your brain was focused on how terrifying this whole thing could end up being. What was the movie? Would it be loud? Horror? Were they actually watching a Disney movie or was that just a lure to get him to come out and watch?

Of course, these thoughts were irrational, but he couldn’t help the fact that he was still nervous. The jacket he was wearing was suddenly getting a bit too warm.

The hand on his upper arm was firm in the reassuring sort of way, but not in the way that said Roman would drag him behind if Virgil started to fight this.

Though, his movements seemed to be more noticeable than he had thought at first. Roman had stopped abruptly and Virgil had been too lost in thought that he ran smack into the back of his friend. He took a step back to reorient himself, but his brows furrowed in confusion.

“If you’re really that nervous, you don’t have to come,” Roman told him, a gentleness showing through his words. “Really. They’ll understand if I tell them you got nervous.”

“I don’t want pity,” Virgil responded, feeling heat rising to his cheeks. “I can do this. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine if the only thing you can focus on is everything that could go wrong.”

That stopped him cold. It was the only thing Virgil was good at. Laying out the cons of the situation, while Roman would always focus on the pros. His attention was startled as he looked up back to the taller borrower, and seeing that—that pity smile.

When he had tried to pull his arm away, Roman’s hand tightened and he raised another hand to rest on Virgil’s shoulder. “No one is going to blame you. It’s okay if this is too much.”

“Why does that matter all of a sudden?” He shot back, but the feeling of despair was clawing at him. The cold talons trying to find a sharp hold to sink in. “A moment ago you were all gung-ho about me finally coming along. I thought that—”

“You’re thinking about this too much,” Roman cut him off, allowing his hold to soften, but he kept his hands there for a grounding touch, “when you overthink, you doubt yourself and you think of yourself as someone that doesn’t deserve to have people care about you. I hate to burst that bubble of self-pity, well not really, but you’re a lot better a person than you tell yourself.” Roman watched as the emotion was building behind his eyes. “You deserve a heck of a lot more than what I can do for you. So.” There was a brief pause, waiting to see if the latter would speak and he was instead answered with silence. “If you feel okay coming tonight, I’ll stay right by your side if that’s what you need. If you decide that you’re not okay with this, no one’s going to be mad.”

Virgil’s eyes dropped to the floor, unable to hold that caring look anymore and his shoulders slumped. “You know I hate this sappy stuff …” Roman chuckled lightly at that, but he didn’t have the chance to speak. “I can do it, I can. It’s just … what if something does go wrong?”

“If something does go wrong, you won’t be alone to figure a way out of it,” he was assured. “I’m not going to leave you.” His friend’s head tilted back upwards and Roman offered an understanding grin. “C’mon. They’re waiting on us.”

Virgil took a moment to steady his breathing, before nodding his head. “Okay.”

Though he tucked his hands into his pockets and kept his head down, there was something other than fear in his chest. There was a feeling of lightheartedness. Was he still nervous? Of course, but everything could be a little nerve-wracking. He had to reason with himself that a movie night really wasn’t that big of a deal. Not when he had gone to sit with Logan one-on-one. That should have been a bigger deal than this.

Maybe it was the fact that when he was with Logan, it was more condensed. More of a controlled interaction. Everything was sort of predictable. With Patton and Roman around, especially around each other, things could get loud and out of hand. While when it was just him and the other, it was quiet and relaxed.

Maybe that’s what was worrying him the most.

Following Roman around a dip in the passage, the latter lead the way and pushed open a hidden door that was just beside the lamp that stood beside the couch.

For a moment, Virgil thought they would get off easy, without being noticed right away, but it seemed that he had spoken too soon.

“There you guys are,” Patton greeted with a grin. “Thought you decided to skip out tonight.” It was well-meaning. “It’s good to see you Virgil. I’m glad you could join us tonight too.”

He shrunk a bit back into the safety of his hoodie, before craning his neck backwards and offering a hesitant grin. “Thought I’d come and join in on the fun.”

“Well it’s good to have you. We were just setting up and I’ve been trying to convince Logan to come too, but he says he’s too busy with this project that’s due next Thursday. It’s Monday today. He’s a workaholic, that one. Anyways, maybe either of you could get him to listen.”

Roman nodded in turn, before patting Virgil on the back. “Virge, here, would love to help with that.” He was met with a seething glare from behind his bangs, but nothing was said.

Patton lit up at that and crouched down, offering an open hand to the both of them.“Great! I’m sure you’ll be able to talk some sense into him. He hardly listens to me when he’s so enveloped into his work. He’s going to work himself to death one day.”

While Roman was much less hesitant to take the human up when it came to climbing into his hand, Virgil stayed back for a moment, looking uneasy and unsure. It was a large trust thing, but it was also the fact that the last time he had been held, well, it wasn’t by choice. Whenever he dropped into Logan’s room, the two refrained from touching each other. It was more of a mutual respect level and an understanding that physical touch wasn’t exactly necessary for a friendship.

The last time he had been held was unwillingly, when Logan had gotten him untangled from the mess he had found himself in those weeks ago. It was still kind of hard to believe it had been that long since those incidents.

It was also kind of difficult to remember that he had created—what someone else would call—a ‘friendship’ with a human, which had certainly been the last thing he had ever expected, especially from himself.

The hesitant moment seemed to grow, and he heard Roman clear his throat, gaining his attention and Virgil looked up. “Any day now, Marilyn Morose,” he waved his hand towards himself, almost beckoning.

“It’s okay if you’re nervous, kiddo,” Patton spoke up instead, drawing Virgil’s attention even a bit higher. “I understand and I don’t mind. I know that being around Logan or I can be frightening.”

“But you don’t have anything to worry about,” Roman piped up after that, holding his hand out. “C’mon. I’ll be right here with you.”

“I’m not a child, Roman, I don’t need to hold your hand,” he grumbled. He stepped forwards, after another second of hesitance, and reached out, grabbing a hold of Roman’s hand and hefting himself up onto the waiting palm. As much as he grouched about these things, it did mean a lot to know that he wouldn’t be left to face things by himself. “But thanks.”

He dropped down to a sit and crossed his legs, staying tucked down into his sweater. It was the safest place he knew, even when he wasn’t in a particularly safe environment. Though, with the sort of trust that Roman was so easily giving to Patton, he had to assume that he wasn’t exactly in danger.

Though, there wasn’t really anything he could say to himself to actually convince him that.

Seemed those borrower instincts would be engraved into him forever. Though, he didn’t really know how much of that self-preservation was what he had been taught and what was his own imagination working unhelpful wonders.

The silence that held wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it was maybe uneasy just from his side of things. So, when Roman and Patton finally did start engaging in conversation, he zoned out and allowed them to talk, just the two of them. If he didn’t know any better, it seemed that they were starting to become a lot closer.

“Hey.” Virgil startled from his thoughts when he felt Roman nudge him in the side. He turned to look at him. “You doing okay?”

The feeling of two pairs of eyes on him, the larger ones and his friend’s, was unnerving. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” The smile he offered was tight and somewhat forced. “Just got lost in thought is all.”

“Alright,” Roman nodded, “as long as you’re sure.”

His smile turned a bit more genuine. “I’m sure.”

The quiet was held from there, before it was broken for a third time. “Are you okay with talking to Logan? If you’re not—”

“It’s fine,” Virgil cut Patton off, lifting a hand for a moment, before tucking it back into his pocket. “I really don’t mind.”

Patton dipped his head into a nod, offering a kind smile, before knocking on the bedroom door that was currently closed.

“I’ve already said, Patton, I’ve got too much work to get done,” Logan’s voice came from inside, and Virgil blinked. He had forgotten how quickly a human can clear the distance between rooms. “I can’t take a break tonight.”

“I know,” the voice rumbled through his chest and he watched as the door creaked open for a moment. “I just wanted to check on you, see if you were overworking yourself.”

As the door opened, they noticed that Logan hadn’t even turned to look their direction.

His heart rate spiked, but instead, Virgil sat up a bit straighter. “I hope you don’t mind if I come and join you for a bit, then.” He was really hoping that his voice had been loud enough to carry.

The sudden tense in his shoulders did say that he had heard him. It took a moment, but black rimmed glasses were turning to look at him, surprise etched across his features. “If you’d like to,” he nodded his head. “I can’t say how interesting sitting with me will be, however.”

“I don’t mind,” he spoke up again, watching the other nod his head just enough.

Logan was honestly rather surprised, as he watched Patton approach, that Virgil had even allowed himself to be held so willingly. He hadn’t expected Virgil to even come to movie night tonight anyways. He always tried to avoid it, and honestly, so did Logan. Only because he could be using his focus on something more important than a movie.

It was time that he would never get back.

The hand lowered to his desk and Virgil hopped off after a moment. He adjusted his hoodie and kept his hands tucked into his pockets, though, his shoulders weren’t as hunched as before. “Thanks Pat,” he called up over his shoulder.

The nickname had come out of nowhere, but the grin that he got in return said that he hadn’t done anything wrong. Which was a relief.

Swallowing down his nerves, the two of them slipped back out of the room and the door shut again.

Logan’s attention once again shifted back to his laptop and Virgil’s eyes followed as well. The words on the screen made sense, but he didn’t understand the importance.

“What’re you working on?” He was curious, honestly, and as he cautiously stepped a bit closer to the laptop itself, and he tilted his head just enough to see the underside of Logan’s jaw.

“An essay due in class next week,” he answered without looking away from the page.

Virgil could understand that getting it done early was good, but there was always the question of how long had he been working on this. “So, why are you working on it so early?”

His eyes flickered down for a moment, before adjusting his glasses subconsciously and getting back to work. “The earlier I have it done, the more prepared I’ll be for editing later.”

Virgil nodded his head. “It’s due next Thursday, right?” He was answered with a silent nod. “And it’s only Monday today.” Logan’s typing paused and his brown eyes focused downwards again. Virgil felt heat creeping back up into his cheeks again. “Why don’t you take a break?”

“That time could be used getting work done,” Logan wasn’t getting defensive, just stating facts.

“I get it,” the borrower said, a small grin being offered up and showing that he really did understand. “Getting stuff done as soon as possible is ideal. I do it all the time back home. Sometimes I think I’m a bit over-prepared.” He chuckled lightly. “I know I’m not usually one for movie nights, but, I think it would be nice. You know?”

Logan’s eyes flickered between the laptop he had set up and the borrower standing on his desk. It did make sense and overworking himself wouldn’t allow him to function at his best. He could also take the time not doing work to get some outlining for the essay itself done.

A heartbeat of silence followed before he let out a small breath. “Alright,” he relented. “I can see your reasoning. Though, I must ask. Did they set you up to try and convince me to come out?”

Virgil snorted, before shrugging his shoulders. “At first, yeah. But I also knew that having you out there would make it a tad more bearable for me as well. I can only handle Roman belting out Disney songs by myself for so long.”

He honestly felt sort of accomplished when he saw the small grin cross Logan’s features.

A while ago, the quiet between them might have been uncomfortable, but now. Now it felt alright. The laughter from the living room did make it feel a bit more lively.

“Do you know what we’re watching tonight?” Virgil had been given no clues about what the plan was.

Shutting the laptop, Logan lent back in the chair. “I was told that it was going to be Beauty and the Beast.”

“Great,” the borrower rolled his eyes, finally allowing himself to relax and take a seat on the desk, crossing his legs and leaning back on his hands. “Isn’t that movie about Stockholm syndrome?”

To say that Logan was impressed with that knowledge would be an understatement. “So I’ve heard.”

“It’s literally about a girl that trades her life for her father’s and then falls in love with her captor. That doesn’t sound odd?”

“I agree. It’s a rather odd topic to base a movie on, but I’m sure either Patton or Roman would have something positive to say about it, trying to refute the obvious, glaring plot-holes and such.”

This was why he enjoyed talking with Logan. They could both delve into something deeper than just surface conversation. He had done this stuff with Roman countless times, especially staying up way into the night talking about nothing or even the existential crisis of existence, but the moments like this were nice as well. Being able to laugh and agree on points of story-plot that may would be difficult to get away with nowadays.

“Thank you,” Virgil said, “finally someone else that agrees. Roman and I have spent hours debating Disney movies. It’s difficult finding common ground with someone that lives and breathes those movies.”

They spent a bit longer in idle chatter. Talking about nothing and everything all the same.

It, however, had been cut short when the sound of knocking on the bedroom door caught their attention.

“Are you guys coming to join us tonight?” Patton’s voice called through the door.

Virgil’s attention shifted up to Logan, just as the latter’s turned down to him. He offered the human a small grin, pushing himself into a stand and pushing his hands back into the confines of the pockets on his hoodie.

“Care to join me?” He watched as Logan’s eyes flickered towards his laptop again, debating what was really more important. He could see that he was weighing the pros and cons of this encounter, so, the borrower moved and placed a foot on the top of the laptop, making sure he wouldn’t be able to open it without him moving. “Work can wait. If given enough time, I bet you’d have that essay done in an hour or two.”

Finally, the other male raised his hands in defeat. “Alright. As you wish. The essay can wait for now,” though, he made a mental note to get back to it as soon as he could.

From their raised position, Logan almost hesitated. Did Virgil want help getting to the living room, or would he prefer to get there by himself? He knew Patton had carried him here, but he wasn’t sure if he’d want the same treatment to the living room.

“Do you … want some assistance to the living room, or would you prefer to go by your own means?” He was offering help, without really stating it blatantly.

Of course, he watched as the question caused Virgil to tense. He understood that being putting your life, literally, into the palm of someone else’s hands could be difficult, but he could assure both himself and Virgil that nothing was going to happen either way. Whether he chose the offered help, or went by himself.

Virgil’s inner battle was back at it again.

On one hand, you would get the to living room much faster. Everyone wouldn’t have to wait for you for nearly as long, and you know that Logan is careful, it’s just in his nature to be observant and aware of his surroundings.

Of course, his negativity always had something else to say. Pointing out options that were more unlikely than anything.

On the other hand, if something went wrong, there was no way you would be able to save yourself. What if he trips? Or you lose your balance? Anything could happen and a fall from that height would be devastating.

Yeah, tripping was very much an unlikely problem bound to happen. Just, the thought of someone else being in control of what happens to you was off-putting and frightening.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Logan, he did, a lot more than he ever thought he would, but it was hard handing over something as precious as your life. Though, even that wasn’t particularly correct either. It wasn’t that he was entrusting the entirety of his life to him, just most of it, or what he had left of it.

Though, he really only had one choice he needed to make here, and if he was being honest, it wasn’t really as difficult as he was making it out to be.

Breaking his vow of silence, he looked up. “Uh, yeah, help would be great, thanks.” He then quickly added on. “If it’s not a problem. I mean, if it is, I can always just— get there myself, y’know? I don’t want to be a bother or-”

“If I wasn’t alright with helping, I wouldn’t have offered,” Logan cut his rant short, before finally offering a hand out to him.

Honestly, he had found himself in the same position. Not for the fact of facing down someone so much larger than oneself, but instead when Patton had offered him help a couple of times before, Logan had refused. One reason being that he didn’t want to distract him from the task that may have been at hand. Another reason being that it was, admittedly, difficult to accept help from anyone else.

Chapter Text

|CHAPTER ONE|

“I’ll be back in a couple hours, you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“I, actually, have a lot to worry about.”

“Well,” he had laughed at the time, an arm resting against Virgil’s shoulder, a grin in his eyes, “You don’t have to worry about me. Not this time. I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”

The hesitation he had gotten in response had spoke louder than any words could have. “Okay.”

It had seemed so easy at the time to say those things. It wasn’t as if Patton had never borrowed before, he had done it countless times throughout his lifetime, but this was really the first time he had gotten so distracted from the task at hand, that the sugar cube in his palm was forgotten.

The sound of misery coming from the living room was really the only thing he could focus on at this point.

Of the four years that he and Virgil had lived here, they had gotten to know both of the humans that lived in the house. He knew that Roman was an actor, and had had many roles where he would sound like he was upset and would instead be rehearsing for a show he was in.

But this … this sounded genuine.

Virgil had told him that he was an empathetic person and Patton knew that it was true. He had a big heart. Though, he had been told, that sometimes his big heart wasn’t exactly something that would be incredibly helpful.

Though, it did make him feel for the human that sounded so distressed currently.

There were a few things going on in his head at this point. Patton knew that he needed to finish his trip and get what he needed from the kitchen. He had time, he knew, because Logan had late classes on Tuesdays, and Roman seemed to be too preoccupied with himself in the living room to feel the need to come into the kitchen. However, another part of him was itching to do something. To at least give a little bit of moral support. He could already hear Virgil chastising him for even thinking about doing something like that.

It wasn’t like he didn’t understand the danger of that, but if the human didn’t see him, didn’t that mean everything would still be fine?

Shaking himself out of it, Patton opened his satchel and stuffed the sugar into it as best as he could. He allowed his eyes to scan the rest of the counter, but coming up with nothing, his attention turned upwards towards the cabinets.

He looked over his shoulder instead, turning to face the open door that lead directly into the living room.

It wouldn’t hurt too much if he tried to help, right? Even if he could do the littlest thing to make him feel better.

No. No. You know that’s bad idea. You’d give Virgil a heart attack if he found out. Get what you need and get out.

Well, he couldn’t really argue with that logic, now could he?

Then again, his head was saying one thing and his heart was saying another. Which was doing nothing but being confusing. Which, now was not really the time for, admittedly.

Gosh, why did choices have to be so difficult.

Patton knew that he was already taking long enough as it was, but if there was even just the slightest chance of making someone feel better—and it didn’t matter if said ‘someone’ was human—he would be able to sleep better tonight. Explaining what had gone down wouldn’t exactly be something he could touch on, but it was better than having this weigh on his conscious.

Deeming that he would be able to get some supplies a little later, he moved to the edge of the counter and stuck his hook into the crevice of the wood, before letting the wire down and scaling down himself.

It took about a minute to get from the top to the bottom and that was without rushing. It took little to no effort, and a flick of the wrist, to get the hook unattached from way up high and he caught it without trouble. Winding the wire up around his hand and tucking it into his bag as well, Patton began his traverse across the kitchen floor, sticking close enough to the cupboards that he would be out of eyesight and certainly clear from being underfoot if one of the humans did decide to enter the kitchen.

His hand stayed pressed against the wall, the divots pressing into his fingertips as he moved. The small cracks and thin lines that a human wouldn’t even think twice about was much more prominent to him.

Though, the closer he did get, the more his stomach began to twist in uneasiness. This really wasn’t a good idea, but he couldn’t just stand to the side and ignore this anymore.

This wasn’t the first time Patton had witnessed Roman in one of these episodes. It was heartbreaking, really, and he almost had a mental list of what could have made the human feel this way.

Possibly something he read, maybe a show he watched or a movie, or maybe it was a rehearsal gone bad? No, he was almost pretty sure Roman had just finished with a production and had been talking about a new one to Logan. Someone who probably hadn’t heard a word Roman had said about this new show, but nodded his head and looked as if he were listening anyways. Oh, maybe it was that audition that he said had been coming up. Had that been today?

Maybe that’s why he wasn’t feeling like himself, something had happened and had obviously brought his entire mood down.

“It was five lines,” the voice caught Patton off guard as he entered the living room, tiptoeing around the bend in the wall and sticking just underneath the couch. “You had five lines to convince them. Couldn’t even do that. Some actor you are.”

The self-deprecation was almost worse than Virgil. That was saying a lot, and because of those thoughts, it set something hard within Patton’s chest.

He deemed that he was safe enough underneath the couch, and he could keep an eye on Roman’s socked feet this way as well, so he would be able to tell if the human was moving or not. He had found himself in a good place, at least for now.

“Th-there’s no need to be so hard on yourself!” He found himself calling up, and the sudden squeaking of the couch springs above him made Patton jump, before hunching a bit further into himself.

His rapidly beating heartbeat was telling him to turn around and forget this whole thing. His eyes darted to the right of him, and a couple of paces away was an outlet that he would be able to use as an escape route if something were to happen. He was okay. This was fine.

The pause from above the couch was a bit unsettling though.

“What?” Roman’s voice was startlingly loud, but Patton refused to back down for a second time. “Who said that?”

“I— I don’t think that really matters,” he offered up again, trying to dissuade how bad an idea this was. He needed to not only distract Roman, but himself, it seemed, as well. “But I really don’t think you need to be so hard on yourself.”

Sure, he knew that he probably sounded like a disembodied voice to the human, but he just needed to keep a level head. Do those breathing exercises that he helped Virgil through when he needed to keep his cool. This wasn’t really any different than that, just, more dangerous. And pretty reckless.

Okay, so as the couch squeaked again, he realized this hadn’t been his best idea. Not in a long shot.

The human sounded skeptical. “I mean, I guess not,” he said. Though, Roman’s eyes were scanning the living room at this point. There had to be someone else in here with him. It wouldn’t be Logan, there was no chance. His roommate didn’t care for jokes, even less if he were the one to pull them himself. Was the house haunted? That was ridiculous. “But I had those lines memorized. I shouldn’t have stumbled over the words.”

He just needed to keep talking, if he were able to pinpoint where exactly this voice was coming from, he would be able to catch a glimpse of whatever was talking to him. He wasn’t exactly superstitious, it was kind of hard to be when Logan debunked everything, but this was something completely new.

“Th-that’s okay!” The voice spoke up again, and Roman turned to look over his shoulder, but there was nothing but wall there. “Everyone has slip ups now and again, I’m sure, you can’t be the first one!”

“Well, no,” he continued humoring the voice, unsure of where this conversation was going, if it was even going somewhere. “I’ve watched others forget their lines, but I shouldn’t have. I’m better than them.”

Patton shuffled nervously on his feet, watching as the socks in front of him moved as well, slightly to the side too. Though, he steeled his nerves. “I’m sure you’re great!” He chirped, fidgeting with his hands. “But I’m sure you did much better than you think you did.” He had had this conversation with Virgil many times. The other borrower would feel insignificant about how he did on his outing and Patton was always right there to tell him otherwise. That he really had done well.

Roman hesitated, falling quiet for another moment, seeing if the voice was going to speak again, this time unprompted. When he got nothing, he knew that if he wanted to find the source, he would need to keep talking.

“I have to thank you,” he said to the room at hand. He knew that if Logan came home right at this moment, he would find this an incredibly odd scene. It was odd, he could admit. “Though I don’t really understand why you’re being so nice to me.” Or trying to make me feel better if I don’t know you. He couldn’t even say that this was a friend from school pulling an elaborate and somewhat impressive prank, because he didn’t know anyone that sounded like that.

And how on earth did they make themselves sound so close, yet so far away? Their voice was incredibly soft.

“I’ve just been hearing all of these awful verbal thoughts,” Patton continued, realizing that the human was moving more now, so he had to be careful. He really had to watch himself, now. “I couldn’t stand to hear you talk so down about yourself anymore. I just had to say something.”

“Well, again, thank you.”

Roman felt as if he was so close in pinpointing wherever this voice was coming from when it hit him. Behind the couch. The voice was too quiet to be in the kitchen, but much too loud to be coming from anywhere in front of him.

So, if he didn’t want to alert whatever it was that was talking to him—and he would find it rather amusing if he were to look behind the couch and see an animal talking back to him, like in a Disney movie—he reached up onto the back of the couch and peered over.

What he did see struck him silent for a moment. His mind absolutely blanched.

What looked to be something human, though so incredibly small, was standing right in his sight-line, but almost looking as if it was trying to remain hidden underneath the couch itself.

A heartbeat of pause passed between them both, and it was dead silent. Though, it didn’t seem that the tiny humanoid creature had even realized it had been spotted yet. Luck seemed to be on Roman’s side then.

“I hope that this had been helpful,” the small voice said and Roman’s eyes widened. The creature really was the source the voice. “B-but I really must be going.”

He ducked his head back a moment, attempting to not make it seem like he had already spotting him. The last thing he really wanted was for the being to run, then he wouldn’t even get the chance to see him up close. “You’re leaving so soon?”

“I can’t really stay forever,” Patton chuckled nervously. He wasn’t about to give away the fact that he wasn’t living alone, but there was little he could do until he got back into the walls. “It was nice talking to you though!”

Mission accomplished, Patton could say he did feel a bit better knowing that Roman wasn’t as miserable as he had been before now, but he really couldn’t stick around for much longer.

The longer he was underneath the couch, the more of a chance he had when it came to getting caught.

As his eyes honed in on the socket that he knew he would able to get through.

That was before the creaking on couch intensified and before Patton even had the chance to stumble back a few paces, there was an incoming shadow and he was surrounded by warmth on all sides. The gasp that stuck in his throat was panicked and loud. His panic skyrocketed when he felt vertigo hit hard and suddenly the world was spinning and he found his stomach doing flips with the movement that he couldn’t control.

His bag had been shoved into his side uncomfortably by fingers that were much too long for his liking and his glasses were thrown askew in the haste and Patton was trying to blink the dizziness away.

It took a moment for everything to register, but the moment it did, his breathing stilled and he was looking directly into two large brown eyes that seemed just as surprised—if not more—than himself.

“Woah,” was the first word to break the silence between them. Roman was incredible astonished. How could something this small even be real? If this was a movie, sure, he could believe it, but this was real life. “You’re so small.”

The words had been stolen right from his mouth, and he could hardly fathom what had just happened. Within seconds, his only chance at escape had been taken away and there was nothing he could do to get that back. Well, there were a few options, but they weren’t exactly … friendly. So, he was struck silent.

The silence was almost too much, but he’d already messed this up, there was no reason to worsen his chances. Panic flared in his chest, but Patton wouldn’t allow that to consume him, he didn’t have that option.

“What even are you?” The voice rumbled through the hand that held him, and Patton winced. It wasn’t so much the volume—if anything, Roman sounded like an excited kid. Though, when he was answered with silence, it seemed he wouldn’t be satisfied with that. “Hey, there’s no reason to stay quiet. I know you can talk. What happened to the want for conversation?”

In what seemed like the first time, Patton blinked before shaking his head. He wanted to say something, but nothing was coming to mind. What could he say? There wasn’t many options that didn’t give away what he was, or if he lived alone or not. The last thing he wanted to do was give up the information that Virgil existed too. And not even just that, the fact that there was a whole race.

Well, if the tiny creature didn’t want to speak, that was fine, Roman could and would do most of the talking anyways. “I didn’t think anything like you could even exist,” he noted, turning his hand just enough to examine the humanoid being. Everything seemed to be the same as any other person, just the fact that he was so small. The details on the clothing, the facial expressions, even the detail that the person had made glasses for himself. How, he had no idea, but it was incredible. “Are you some sort of fairy or something?” That may be stretching it, as far as Roman could tell, there wasn’t any wings.

Patton laughed nervously, shaking his head, but not so much in answer. More so in the fact that he couldn’t believe that this was even happening. “We-well no—”

“So, you’re just as human as me, then?” The information seemed to spark something behind those great brown eyes.

“U-um, I guess you could say that.” Nailing his kind wasn’t exactly something that had really been done before. They were called ‘borrowers’, but humans probably had a different names for them.

“Well you have to be called something,” Roman concluded.

Yes, they were called something, but there was no way he was letting that information go. He had already caused too much damage and he really needed to find a way to get out of this mess before something bad happened. He should have known better, he really should have. Even this late at night, of course Roman still would have been vigilant enough. This had been such a stupid idea.

“I wou-wouldn’t go that far,” he stammered, swallowing thickly. “Not everything really h-has to have a name.” Which was true enough. Though, Patton wasn’t entirely sure if Roman had meant borrowers as a collective, or if he was asking if Patton had a name, which, of course he did.

There wasn’t exactly much he could do to help his situation though. Not while Roman still had him. Maybe conversation was the only way to do this. If he could convince him to let him go, then perhaps he could put this all behind him and head home. He wouldn’t have to tell Virgil anything unless he asked specifically.

He just had to bide his time and soon, he would be put down and he could make his escape. He did have his bag with him, it wouldn’t be an impossible feat. Hard, yes, but not impossible.

“I guess that makes sense,” Roman relented, but there was still that interested pique in his eyes. He had never seen something so small, not when things like this would only really exist in imaginations or children stories. “Do you have a name, then?”

“Ye-yeah,” his stammering caught him off-guard. He was trying his best to shake it, but when that didn’t happen, his pounding heart would just have to calm down on its own.

Then it came to the point in time when he had to decide if he wanted to be open about his name, or just not say anything at all. He wasn’t sure which would be the worst route to take, but the expectant look that he was getting in return made him feel … small.

Smaller than usual, at least.

————————

|CHAPTER ???|

The house was oddly quiet.

It was almost too quiet.

Virgil was used to having noise coming from either the small kitchenette he and Patton had built, or rustling from the living room. The silence that he could hear was somewhat unnerving.

Though the warmth of the bed was comforting, there was just something that wasn’t sitting right with him. The fact that the house seemed to be too quiet in the first place was setting him on edge.

While a part of him wanted to say that everything was fine, the other half of him, the louder half, was telling him that he needed to get out of bed and make sure that everything was fine. That way, if he could see something reassuring, he would be able to convince himself.

Virgil pushed the blanket away from him, before getting up off of the bed and grabbing his hoodie. Slipping that over his head, he quickly changed into some day clothes.

Shuffling a hand through his hair, he pushed open the door to his bedroom before peeking his head down and out into the hallway. The silence just seemed louder when the door was open. Which made him nervous.

“Pat?” He called out, testing for a response.

Virgil waited for a moment, before moving out further into the hallway, leaving his room behind and tucking his hands into his pockets.

He gave it another moment, before he tried again. “Patton?” The silence filled the air for the moment. “You here?”

There was a building nervousness in his stomach. He really didn’t like this. Not at all. The silence was ringing like bells at this point and he couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of his own heart. The blood rushing in his ears was drowning everything else out.

No. No, no. This can’t be happening. Patton can’t just not be here.

There were a few reasons why he wouldn’t be here, and none of them were exactly something he wanted to think about. One, the other borrower could still be out getting some things, but he had promised to be back within a couple hours, not all night. So, another reason may be that he got stuck and he hasn’t had the chance to get unstuck just yet and was still attempting to. Or, the third option—which Virgil was praying wasn’t the case—was that Patton had been caught by one of the humans in the apartment and wasn’t able to escape.

He wasn’t here, Virgil knew that much, but he wasn’t sure that if he went out looking, if that would do much good. What if he left and Patton came back?

But, what if he didn’t go out looking and all he ended up getting Patton hurt by association?

If he was trapped, how long had it been? Was he okay? Was he hurt? God, he had to be terrified if he had been captured. Just the thought of being caught by a human made Virgil’s heart pound in his throat.

This was all wrong. He couldn’t just stay here and hope for the best, but he couldn’t just run out there into the house and hope for the best. It was an early morning, yes, but there was always the chance that someone would be up. Speaking of, the someone that was most certainly going to be awake would be Logan. With morning classes, he was almost always up before 6 in the morning.

This entire thing was just a risky situation, but he knew that if he were in Patton’s position, the latter would do anything in his power to help and Virgil wasn’t going to wimp out of this.

He took the few extra seconds to poke around the house, making sure that he wasn’t overreacting. Maybe Patton was still asleep and he didn’t hear him. With that hopeful idea in mind, Virgil turned on his heel and went directly down the hall to the latter’s bedroom.

Raising a hesitant hand, he knocked after a moment. He then knocked again and again. There was nothing. No shuffling from inside, no movement. That sent the wedge further into his chest and it felt cold and heavy.

Please. Please don’t be caught. Please be here.

The young man gave it another moment, waiting for something to happen. Anything. A noise. A laugh, a cough, a something.

All he got was silence from the other side of the door. There was no chance that he hadn’t been heard this time, but there was still that hope. That pulling in his chest that just wanted him to be here. He couldn’t wish for anything other than that.

Throwing open the door, after struggling with the fact that this wasn’t his room and he really had no reason to go in there, he pressed on and took a glance inside. From what he could tell, the bed was undisturbed and nothing seemed out of place or strewn there to prove that Patton had come back sometime during the night.

His heart sunk like a rock in his chest.

There was really only one thing he had to do now. As difficult as it would be to convince himself to do something like this, there was no choice. His best friend was out there somewhere in that apartment being held captive by a human and Virgil needed to do something about that.

Okay, okay. This is crazy.

Turning on his heel, he shut the door behind him and he went back into his room. Grabbing his bag off of the chair next to his bed, he slipped that over his shoulder and then made a bee-line towards the front door. Grabbing his boots and pulling them on quick, he needed to keep his head steady or he was going to try and psyche himself out of this, which wouldn’t help anything.

This really was crazy.

But that didn’t really matter right now. All he truly wanted was to have Patton back and if that meant risking his all, then he was going to do the best he could.

Before he left the house, he retraced his steps and went back, grabbing a piece of lead and a scrap piece of paper tucked away under the counter and pulled it out.

Quickly, he scribbled down a note in case Patton did come back and he wasn’t here. Satisfied with that, he tightened his hand on the strap of his bag and turned around.

Virgil dipped through the front door before shutting it behind him and picking up the pace. He didn’t have much time, even as he weaved through the dark passageways through the walls with a careful precision. The first place he was going to check was the kitchen as that’s where he had been heading in the first place. It was where they got most of their supplies, so it seemed to most logical. He could only hope that Logan would be having a late start to his morning and wouldn’t be there just yet.

It was unlikely, but he could hope.

As he got closer, he could hear the sounds of the clinking of a mug and then the whirring of the coffee machine starting up. So, it seemed luck wasn’t really on his side.

That was … fine. It was fine. This was all fine.

Who was he kidding, this was ridiculous. He was going to get himself killed doing this.

The pounding in his chest was a signal that he was starting to get nervous. Of course, the rushing of blood in his ears was also a telling tale of that as well. As he slowed his pace, Virgil leaned against the outlet that led onto the counter, the entrance hidden just behind the microwave. Dropping down the inch to the counter, he ducked a bit further down.

Shutting it silently, he peered around the corner of the microwave and was more than satisfied to see that Logan had his back turned to him, more concerned with his morning coffee.

He was out of his mind. The human was right there and he was just sitting on the counter. Free game if he couldn’t get back to the outlet on time.

God, this was only going to end badly. Why did he think this was a good idea?

Because Pat would do the same thing for you. Don’t let your fear get the better of you. After this, it’s time to pack and move.

Pushing on, he had to steel his nerves, his hands were trembling. He could feel the thundering of his heart and he was pretty sure if the blood in his ears wasn’t so loud, he would be able to hear it too. Steadying himself as best as he could, he took his first step out, before moving quickly and making his silent trek towards the toaster.

A heartbeat passed and the mug moving caught his attention again. He managed to get behind it just before Logan turned around, though the human didn’t seem to look like he was leaving the kitchen. However, that exhausted look on his features spoke to a tired Logan, so maybe Virgil could use that to his advantage.

Pressing his hand against the cool metal, the touch was a bit startling at first, he relaxed just a hair. The more frenzied he became, the worse his chances would be when it came to finding his friend. He needed to be as rational as possible. Which was incredibly difficult.

Clenching his hands, he managed to steady them for just a moment, peering out the opposite side of the toaster and before long, he moved again. The breadbox was just ahead of him and if he could reach that, well, it would be an accomplishment.

With that in mind, he pressed on, keeping his steps light with a practiced precision. He kept his eyes locked on the human, making sure that he wasn’t looking in his direction, and dipped behind the breadbox. So far, there had been literally no sign of his partner, so that meant he was somewhere else. If he had been found, there was no way that the jar or whatever Patton had been put into would be left out in the open. Not if he knew these two humans like he did.

If Logan had found him, it would be likely that Patton wouldn’t be getting any say in what was happening to him — not that being found by Roman would be any better, not when his own curiosity got the better of him more often than not.

Keeping his back pressed against the box as he inched closer to the opposite side, Virgil took a breath to steady himself. Peering around the corner, Logan still seemed more preoccupied with his coffee than anything else.

When his focus was on one thing, it was unlikely for him to divert his attention, so that gave Virgil a bit more of a chance. Though, he was more than tempted to stay where he was until Logan left the kitchen entirely. Actually, that sounded like a much more reasonable idea, so, he stayed where he was.

He had a few options. He could stay here the entire time and wait. He could press on a bit further and risk hiding behind the coffee machine even if the human was right there, or he could backtrack to the outlet he came out of and continue through the walls and check out the living room and then scouting out the bedrooms.

While his head was telling him one thing, his anxiety was telling him another thing and he could say that it was the pounding in his chest that was going to win this battle, hands down. Just the prospect of getting close enough to the human to be seen was uncomfortable and it set a hard stone into his stomach. Using that, he turned his attention back to the way he had come. Before he could do anything, shuffling caught his attention and he held his breath. He was well aware that he wasn’t breathing incredibly loudly, but there was just something that told him to do it.

The sound of movement was the only thing he could focus on, he was praying that this movement wasn’t leading the human to his hiding spot. If he was seen, then everything he would have done would be in vain.

A few seconds of silence and it seemed that it had gone back to normal, if just for the few moments that he would need to make his escape back into the outlet and back into the walls. He knew he shouldn’t have taken such a risk, especially not with Logan in the very same room.

The problem with living in an apartment with Logan was that the human was observant and vigilant. He was calculating and eerily silent when he wanted to be. It was unnerving to watch from a distance, nevertheless if he ever had to face it down in person.

Releasing the breath he had been holding, Virgil allowed himself the first move that he had made in a while. The minutes that had passed had been full of anxiously waiting in painstaking silence, he couldn’t do that anymore. Getting out of the kitchen was the first option. If the only option.

Another quick check around the corner and Logan’s back was turned. He had to make his move now or his chance would be gone before he knew it.

Trying to ignore the beating of his heart, he moved out from behind his hiding spot and silently tiptoed across the counter. His eyes were locked on his destination, but he was listening. For anything that could set his nerves off even more.

The pregnant silence filled the air. It was heavy and thick, and it only took Virgil half a second to realize what had just gone wrong. A heaviness on his back that hadn’t been there before was now even more prominent.

When he turned to look over his shoulder, already dreading what he would see, Logan was staring directly at him. Steely, calculating brown eyes hidden behind glass lenses watched him from just above a white coffee mug. Only one word flitted through the borrower’s head before his instincts kicked in.

Shit.

With panic overtaking his entire system, Virgil broke the staring contest before falling into a dead sprint across the counter.

A low swear was heard behind him before the clattering of glass against tile and he knew he had just lost a valuable few seconds.

Terror seized his wrists almost as soon as he saw the shadow fall over top of him. Reacting on instinct at this point, he grasped for the tack that Patton had gotten for him.

“Just in case,” he had said, that serious look on his features, “you never really know.”

“I’m not going to need it,” Virgil had tried to argue at the time, but had been silenced by that fatherly look Patton knew he could use on him. The tack had then been pressed into his hands firmly. He had sighed, but agreed. He had been so confident in his skills to not get caught. “Alright.”

He reacted before his mind could catch up to him and he was swiping the tack across the finger nearest him.

A sharp in take of breath was heard from behind him and the hand retreated almost instantly. Maybe that hadn’t of been the best idea, but hey, he still had his attempt to get back to the outlet.

That was all before the sound of a cabinet being thrown open and a loud, resonating thud surrounded him on all sides. He tripped up a moment, and unable to stop himself in time he used his shoulder and knocked it against the glass itself in a desperate final attempt to move it before being bounced backwards and landing uncomfortably on his rear.

He really couldn’t do this right now. His stomach dropped as soon as everything registered.

A glass had been slammed over top of him and the hand keeping it still was right above him, as intimidating and gigantic as ever. His attention then shifted from the hand and followed the wrist and the arm, in turn, right back to the human who still had analytical eyes trained right down on him. There was traces of blood on his opposite pointer finger and Virgil felt something, whether it was guilt or the fact that he wanted to vomit, he wasn’t entirely sure.

He couldn’t tell if Logan was irritated or not, but the fact that he couldn’t tell frightened him almost more. What was the human thinking? What was his next course of action? Dear God, what was he going to do to him?

Instead of keeping his back turned, Virgil moved and pressed his back against the opposing side of the glass, leaving his tack discarded just in front of him, it still held a few droplets of blood on the tip and he didn’t know whether to feel satisfied or sick. His knees curled up into his chest, wide eyes stayed locked on the much larger ones.

The silence was held and stony. Would the silence even break? Was he going to be talked to? Inspected? Killed? While he didn’t think Logan was into that sort of thing, there was never a way to be sure what would happen when he was faced with something he didn’t understand. There was really no way to tell what he had gotten himself into. His attempt to save his friend was now completely in vain. Now that they were both caught, there was no chance of escape whatsoever for either of them.

“Hmm,” the hum was low, and the sudden sound startled Virgil out of his thoughts—relatively a safe place most of the time—and he was brought right back into the crushing weight of reality. Logan’s eyes flickered down from the trapped creature down to his hand, the trickle of blood didn’t phase him, but it stung.

Some would joke that pain would be the only thing he could feel. Not to say they were far off, anyhow.

While they held their respective silences, the clock ticked later into the morning. When Logan had finally paid attention to it, he realized that if he didn’t leave now, he would be late to class. He tried not to be that person, as almost always whoever came in late disrupted what the professor had to say and ruined the moment.

Though, he couldn’t just leave the creature here either. If Roman got his hands on his find, it was hard to say what would happen after that, and Logan certainly wasn’t going to risk his chance of understanding whatever it is that he had trapped under a glass.

The very fact that his finger stung proved that this wasn’t an early morning hallucination.

“Well, we’ve come to a bit of an impasse, haven’t we?” In all honesty, Logan wasn’t even sure if the being could understand him, nevertheless speak for itself. He did want to find out if it had any cognitive ability at all. It was possible that when it lashed out, it had been a thoughtless act in it’s defense. However, there was also the fact that maybe there was a deeper level of thought too. “Any objections to coming to class with me?”

Virgil’s anxiety spiked almost instantly at the prospect of being taken to a school with a human.

He nodded his head, heart pounding in his throat. He knew that if he spoke, so many more rules would be broken, but then again, if he didn’t say anything, Logan would probably take his silence for a go-ahead anyways and do what he pleased.

Then again, the bespectacled human could very easily ignore his voiced requests and do what he wanted anyways.

They really were at an impasse.

What would happen if he didn’t answer? Would he just be taken along in the glass? Presented to the class as a spectacular new find? No, he couldn’t be the reason that the entire race was found out about. He couldn’t ruin everything for innocent families.

Hell, he didn’t want to give up the fact that Patton existed if Logan didn’t have him.

The glass then started to move, and Virgil was slid along by association and with no choice whatsoever. His panic flared hot in his chest when he realized what was going to happen. Logan was pushing the glass to the edge of the counter, so that Virgil would have no choice but to be handheld. He needed to say something. He had to.

“W-wait!”

The sudden, rather echoed, exclamation made the glass stop moving altogether. Though, surprise was evident on the human’s features, Logan was swift to hide it with intrigue.

“You can speak,” he mused, more to himself than his tiny capture. “A discovery like you is certainly unheard of. Knowing you can speak does makes this a little less tedious for the both of us, as long as you continue to cooperate. Though, assuming you acted out of self-defense when you attacked me,” which he enunciated with a pointed look, “I should have known better.”

Okay, so he had underestimated him, so what? Virgil wasn’t concerned with that, he was more worried about the fact that Logan was more than ready to take him to class. What was happening with that anyways? The pounding in his chest never died down, in fact, he could swear that it worsened.

Another look to the clock and Logan shifted. “Perhaps this isn’t the time. Though, you never did answer my question earlier. Judging by your body language, you do have some problems with coming with me. I’m sure I can guess why.”

Had he scared him silent? Well, if that was the case, than the creature was coming with him anyways. Judging by how terrified the little guy had been, it was easy to realize that he was acting this way because he wanted to stay away from people. Or, maybe it was just Logan and Roman had been keeping this secret rather well for a very long time.

The idea was almost as ridiculous as seeing such a tiny male in the first place.

So, he started to shift the glass again.

Virgil had no way to stay quiet when Logan was this relentless. “S-stop! Please, God, just wait!” Once again, the glass’s progress was halted. “I-I can’t go— go to your class with you.”

“And why not?”

He almost didn’t know how to respond to something like that. Being asked why he—someone who is literally probably three inches tall at most—can’t go with a human to a school that greatly outmatches him.

Instead, he struggled for a moment, wanting to gesture, but not knowing if Logan would actually understand what he was trying to demonstrate. He knew that the human almost always took everything literally. So, instead of fighting with it, he fell quiet.

The clock that kept ticking on the wall was making Logan a tad nervous, he really didn’t want to be the one that disrupted the class, but skipping wasn’t a very attractive option either.

He did understand, somewhat, why the creature was being so obstinate, even as quiet as he was being in the long run. “Finding you must have been a fluke then,” he spoke up, dragging the smaller brown eyes to his own, “I’m not supposed to know that you’re even here, am I?”

Virgil shrugged noncommittally, before nodding his head in answer. He tucked further into his hoodie, trying to hide away from the world and those prying eyes.

“Well, that settles it then.”

That snapped him out of his pity. What had been settled? There had been no discussion, Logan hadn’t even said what was going to happen next!

The startled look must have said something more than he meant it to because the human cleared his throat. “Well, you’ll be coming with me to class. I can’t risk letting you escape, but worrying you with being seen by other people wouldn’t be helpful either.” It wouldn’t be kind, really, either he noted. That and when people were put into stressful situations—suggesting that this creature was as human-like as he was, just smaller and still reacted like any other normal person—would cause them to go into a relapse and either react out of self-preservation (such as the tack that had been used against him earlier) or they would shut down. The fight or flight mechanism that was built into pretty much every living thing that could think and react. “But you won’t have to worry about being seen.”

What?!

Telling an anxious person not to worry was probably one of the worst things you could do.

Virgil laughed nervously before sitting up a little straighter, wondering if Logan would take him more seriously that way. “Y-you can’t—” he stammered, trying to shake the nerves off, “It’s not safe and— and something could go wrong and what if-”

The sound of a sigh being released caught his attention. “I don’t have time for this,” was what punctuated the air again. Then the glass started to move once again and Virgil had no purchase on the slippery surface as the edge of the counter neared. Heart now pounding in his throat, the young man struggled to at least stay somewhat away from the edge.

Yes, he knew that Logan’s hand was right there and falling wasn’t an issue, but it was the fact that he really didn’t want to be handled at all that was driving his fear through the roof. His breathing heightened. Never had he wanted Roman, with some random whimsical worry, to come bursting in and distract Logan more than right now.

————————

It was stress inducing, watching as Roman paced around, chattering about things that hardly made sense. Patton was seated on the bedside table, watching the human move, even with the dull ache in his chest that said he needed to do something. To say something.

It was frustrating, he needed to admit, that he wasn’t being listened to. Most of the time he would speak, Roman would just nod and then move on as if he hadn’t said anything at all.

That sort of disregard was unsettling.

This kind of thing never happened when he was back home with Virgil. He knew that his partner was quick to listen to him if he was expressing worries and Patton was more than happy to sit with the latter in silence if that’s what he needed in the long run. There had been many moments where he went back and regretted trying to sympathize. If he had just listened to his head and not his heart, then this never would have happened.

The constant pacing was beginning to make him nervous though, the fact that he didn’t get a say in anything was what upset him.

Back home, he made his own decisions, and yes, Virgil could say it was a bad idea or he could try and reason with him, but Virgil never forced him to do something, even if he didn’t want to do it.

Roman would sit and wait until he was obeyed and it was disheartening.

Everything that was happening now was just driving the point home that the human didn’t think he was an important as himself, and it made Patton’s heart ache.

He was just as sentient as anyone else! He could think for himself, speak for himself, take care of himself and another person when the opportunity arose. He was a fully grown adult, for goodness sake. He knew how to do every day tasks and then being treated less than that hurt for many reasons.

“Roman please—” He tried again, brushing his hands nervously against his pants.

He had tried so many times to get away and every time he had been caught in the moment. He was always a hair too late to get to safety. He just wanted to go home, was that really too much to ask?

“Oh, I know what we could do,” the human snapped his fingers, turning on his heel and stopping his pacing almost instantly. “We could go and see a movie or something, I’ve heard that there’s a good show down in the theater lately.”

At the thought of leaving the house again drove panic hard through his chest. He had already been dragged along to Roman’s classes, there was no way he could even think it was remotely okay to do something like that again after what had almost happened.

Patton had to say something. He needed to try and express his discomfort for the hundredth time.

He really couldn’t be going to a place where there would be more humans. He knew that movie theaters could be loud and uncomfortable and hot and with so many dangerous outcomes to one situation. For once, the overthinking was helping a bit more than he thought it would.

“I can’t do that, it’s too dangerous—”

“Oh nonsense, Patton,” Roman grinned down at him, that beaming look on his features that he got when he came up with, what he thought, were the best ideas, “everything would be completely safe. It would be just like when you came to class with me on Thursday. Except this time you won’t have to worry about being seen in broad daylight. The theater is dark and quiet, usually.”

He wasn’t listening. He wasn’t— he wasn’t listening to him.

So, he tried again. “Kiddo, I don’t think that the trip to the university is exactly a good comparison …”

“You can’t tell me that you don’t want to watch a movie.”

Well, that was true, it would be fun to go see something like that. He had always dreamed of being able to see a movie in an actual movie theater and didn’t have to wait until it came out on DVD and someone would watch it here in the home, but even when he had dreamed of seeing it, he had never been accompanied by a human.

When Roman didn’t get an answer, obviously he took the silence differently than how Patton meant it. “Splendid. We can get going real quick, I think we could make it to the matinee if we tried.”

A sharp sense of hopelessness finally caught up to him and Patton sucked in a sharp breath, trying to steady his heart. Was this how Virgil felt before he had a panic attack? He could usually read the signs of an oncoming anxiety attack, but it was harder to recognize in himself. The heavy breathing was there though.

He pushed himself into a stand, taking a step forwards before he could rethink it. Patton needed to get Roman’s attention and even then, he wasn’t sure how that was going to turn out.

But he couldn’t take this anymore and the heat building behind his eyes was hot and bubbling and—

“You’re not listening to me!”

His words cut like a knife and the silence was startled. When Roman turned back to face him, surprise was written across his face. “What-”

“I can’t do this anymore, Roman,” Patton finally broke, looking up to meet his eyes as tears welled, his hands were balled into fists and his nails were digging into the palms of his hands. He was trembling, but not from fear. From all the pent up emotions he had been keeping inside. “I can’t. You keep talking about going places and taking me along and you’re not listening to how I feel about it. Does that not matter to you?”

He watched as the human tried to stammer out a response.

“Do my feelings not matter to you just because I’m not like you?” He raised a hand to pull his glasses off and he rubbed at the wetness underneath his eyes, trying to scrub them away. “I’m just as sentient as you are. Being around people bigger than me makes me nervous, Roman. It’s dangerous for me. I’ve tried to be nice, I’ve tried to tell you how I feel. I’ve tried and nothing ever changes for me. You act like you’re listening but nothing changes.” His chest jumped in a hiccup and he shook his head, almost looking defeated and exhausted. “I just want to go home and I can’t even do that.”

“But you are–”

“No!” It was the first time Patton had said that to Roman, and it would be wrong to say that it didn’t feel good.

For once this entire time, he finally had at least a little bit of control and it had been because he snapped.

“No. This isn’t my home, and I know you’ve been trying so hard to make it seem more hospitable, I can see your efforts and I appreciate it, I really do.” He replaced his glasses, pushing them back up onto his nose and crossing his arms, hugging himself. “But you have to understand that I’m— I’m an adult, Roman. No, my size doesn’t make me look like one, but I am. I can take care of myself, I have been since I was a little kid.”

Roman looked starstruck, but there was a flicker of something else on those features as well.

Patton sucked in a another breath, attempting to calm himself down a bit more, but the fear of all of this wasn’t helping. “I just … I just want to go home. My emotions are important too, how I feel isn’t irrelevant. I’m just as human as you are. I have needs and wants and yearns and—” A sob cut off his rant and he covered his mouth as if to stifle the sounds.

All because he had been too sympathetic, he had gotten stuck in this entire situation and he hadn’t seen Virgil once throughout the time he had been stuck here. It had nearly been a week and this was the first time he was expressing his worries and his anxieties.

A part of him felt better, but another part of him felt even more vulnerable than before.

Would his feelings even be taken seriously? Would all of that just be brushed off and labeled as a meltdown and then everything would go back to the way it was?

The silence was heavy and uncomfortable and Patton sunk to his knees, just holding himself.

He was so used to having a comforting hand on his back, gentle words and soothing motions or an arm around his shoulder as if to remind him that he was okay when this happened. As rare as it was, it did happen. This, however, was the first time he was alone in this endeavor and it hurt. It was frightening and he didn’t know how to feel.

If anything, he felt too much.

“I-I didn’t,” the words came out startled and confused, but it was an attempt and Patton could admire Roman for trying. “I’m sorry I didn’t think-”

A small voice cut the human off almost instantly.

“C-could I have some alone time?”

The request was feeble and quiet, hurt and yearning all at once. Roman felt a whole lot of guilt all at once. Unsure of how to handle it, he let out a small breath and nodded his head. “Ye-yeah, of course you can,” he took a few steps closer to the door frame before pausing and looking over his shoulder.

As much as he didn’t want to let Patton go, he didn’t want to lose him so soon anyway, he knew that what had been expressed was true. Patton was an adult who could care for himself and he had taken all of that free will away from him, without really meaning to admittedly.

He let a hand rest against the door itself, before dropping his gaze. “I’m sorry, I really am,” the earnest part of his voice showed through and it made the smaller male look up, confused. “I, um, I screwed this up pretty badly, but, uh. You’re welcome to leave.” That teary, surprised gaze only widened. Before Patton could say anything, Roman smiled sadly. “Yeah, like, actually go. I don’t want to hold you back anymore.”

And then the human left the room altogether.

When he didn’t come back a few moments later, Patton let out a small noise of relief. Surprise and that overwhelming feeling of wanting to get out of there. He could leave. He could finally go home. After the week of straining and terrifying experiences he could finally get out of there.

His bag had been discarded on the dresser on the other side of the room and his eyes locked onto it. Drying what water he could, he pushed himself up onto his feet and made a move to the bed. Leaping over the gap between the bed and beside table, with little to no hesitance about the height of the drop, he rolled onto the soft comforter and scrambled to his feet.

If he could get to his bag, he could get out of here much easier.

After a few minutes of sliding down the comforter, trekking across the floor and climbing up the dresser, he finally had his satchel secured around his torso again and he felt a huge wave of relief to have all of his things back.

To make sure nothing had been removed or lost, he quickly filed through it.

Climbing hook. Tape. Bandages. Pins. Tack. Paper. Safety pin.

Everything seemed to be in order and he grabbed out the hook, fastening the button again and latching it into the wood, easily repelling backwards after testing its weight and hold. Instead of taking minutes to get down, it took seconds and before long he was winding up the string and tucking it away again.

Patton hesitated, waiting a tense moment to see if Roman was coming back yet, to see if this was some sort of sick ploy. When the door frame remained empty of the human, he took this chance and took his leave through the loose panel underneath the dresser and he slid back into the walls.

Shoving the panel back into place, he slumped against the opposite side of the wall and it took a moment to register that he was out of harms way now.

He felt a lot right now, and the tightness in his chest spoke to that easily, but that’s not where his focus was right now.

He broke into a sprint rather quickly, dodging around the dips and curves in the walls that he knew like the back of his hand, pulling himself up onto smaller floors and using the nails like a ladder and before long, he was pushing open the door to the small home that he and Virgil had built in between the first and second floor of the house.

Everything seemed to be relatively unchanged and a grin finally came across his features. Shutting the door behind him, he leaned against it for a moment before slipping the bag over his head and hanging it on a nail bent into shape as a hanger.

“Virgil?” He called into the house, wanting nothing more than to embrace his friend, undoing the laces to his boots and toeing them off by the door and stepping further into the home. “I’m back! And let me just tell you, I’ve probably just had the worst week of my life!”

The small laugh was met with more silence. Huh.

Slipping his jacket over his shoulder and resting it on the back of the kitchen chair, he tilted his head and leaned forwards a bit, peering down the hallway where their bedrooms were.

It was sort of weird that he had been met with no answer, but then again, it was possible that his roommate had gone out borrowing. Though, another part of him said that his absence for the week must have terrified Virgil and would eventually push him to do something about it.

The thought made him uncomfortable.

Patton turned to look over his shoulder towards the door where the coat rack was and he looked below it, only seeing his shoes there. That was a big hint into saying that Virgil wasn’t here.

Or, the more hopeful part of him said, the kid didn’t take his shoes off before heading to his room to sleep. Maybe he had just been so exhausted and he was just napping in his room.

Taking a moment, he decided to move around the table and walked down the hall before knocking gingerly on the bedroom door. There was nothing but quiet in there and he furrowed his brows, his stomach sinking.

Pushing open the door, he stepped into the bedroom and saw that the bed was unmade. Virgil’s hoodie was missing, of course he never went anywhere without it, along with his bag that was almost always slung off into the corner of the bedroom. It looked like the room hadn’t been occupied since, maybe at the latest, this morning.

Stepping back, he peered down the rest of the hallway, curious as to where he could have gone off to. Was he borrowing?

He probably got worried when you didn’t come back for a week, his logical side kicked in a bit more and the true weight of the situation crashed down, if his bag is missing, then he’s not here. He most likely went looking for you.

Patton had never doubted Virgil, but sometimes he did wish that his anxiety would get the better of him. Especially if it meant stopping him from going to look for him. If he had been missing a week, then it was most likely that Virgil had had enough of the sitting and waiting around and went to do something on his own.

That thought wasn’t comforting to him at all.

Yes, it was nice to think that his friend cared for him so much he would come looking, but really, Patton hadn’t wanted that. If staying trapped had meant that Virgil stayed safe, well, it was an easy choice to make.

Moving back down the hallway after shutting the bedroom door, he peeked back into the kitchen, wondering if he had missed something important.

His eyes scanned the kitchen again and then he saw it, a piece of stray graphite and a piece of paper strewn against the table. He quickly advanced on it and picked the paper up, reading over the scribbled words. It was sloppy, so it was obvious Virgil had been in a rush to write it.

‘If you come back and I’m not here, I just got worried about you and decided to go looking. I’ll see you soon, Pat.

- V.’

His eyes scanned over it for a second time, almost thinking nothing of it, until he noticed something at the very bottom, almost as if it were written like an afterthought.

‘If something goes wrong, the date is Wed, Oct 15th.’

The paper fell from Patton’s hands and it fluttered to the floor without a sound.

The date today was October 22nd.

October 22nd.

Virgil hasn’t been home for a week.

“No,” the word came quickly and he stepped back from the table, terror seizing his chest, shaking his head in disbelief. “No. No, no, no. No!”

He had gone out looking for him and he hadn’t come back. If he did, that note wouldn’t have been there. It wouldn’t be there.

Hands shaking, he felt the tears welling up again but he couldn’t— he couldn’t let his emotions get to him. A choked noise escaped him without permission and it was that sound that broke him completely.

Virgil had nearly been missing for almost the entire time he had been. What if he was hurt? What if he had gotten hurt and just couldn’t make it back here? Or worse?

The worse situation that he could think of was what he had just gotten out of. But if Roman didn’t have him, and he knew that for a fact, then that left—

Logan.

Roman’s roommate who was devoted to science and understanding things. He was a logic driven man and if something didn’t make sense, he would try and learn anything and everything he could about that one thing.

The thought was a terrifying one to be caught by him. There was no telling what he would do.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no, nononono.

They tried to stay away from Logan just because of the human’s curiosity. It was never solidified what would happen if they had ever been caught by him. He was a student that was currently studying science and because of that anything could happen. That sort of stuff never boded well with borrowers. Science, in fact, was a big reason why they stayed away from humans, just because some people were cruel in their intrigue and would end up killing something to study it.

Now, there was no need to just assume that Logan would leap at the chance to do something so awful, but you could never be too sure.

All in all, he felt as if this whole thing was his fault.

If he hadn’t of felt the need to try and reassure Roman that he would be fine in time and then got caught, Virgil wouldn’t have gotten worried and gone looking for him which then led to him getting caught himself. The two of them probably would have had supper together and chatted, before heading to bed. The days would have resumed and their kind would have remained unknown to the humans in the apartment.

They wouldn’t even have to consider moving, but now since Roman knew about their existence, and probably Logan too now as well, they had no other choice.

Patton could safely say that Roman only knew about him, and he was almost positive that Virgil would refuse to give up any information about him or his personal life either. The only way that would happen, would be if Logan pressed just enough to break the stubborn exterior of his companion.

That welling despair was the only thing he could focus on, but there was something else that was telling him he needed to do something. That little voice in the back of his head.

He tried to save you. It’s only fair if you try and do the same thing for him.

He couldn’t just leave Virgil alone in this, not when he had suffered enough by himself. If anything, Virgil may already be worse off than he had been after his own capture.

While Patton had initially been terrified for his life, Roman had eventually managed to convince him that he wasn’t going to be hurt. The human had lived up to that promise, and the very few bruises on his body spoke to that honesty. Patton also didn’t have the same level of crippling anxiety that Virgil had, so he would most likely be able to hold himself together a bit better than the latter.

It was probably only a matter of time before Virgil succumbed to a panic attack and no one would be there to help him ride through it.

He knew that he would be able to do it, but it wasn’t healthy and Patton had seen the aftermath of a panic attack without his support and it broke his heart. Virgil had been exhausted and drained, he had looked so tired and helpless.

The thought made his heart ache more and he reacted quickly. Grabbing his jacket off of the chair he had set it on, he moved to the front door and slipped his bag back over his head and put his boots back on.

He needs you now more than ever, don’t let him down.

And by God, Patton wasn’t about to.

————————

|CHAPTER ???|

The very idea that he was about to head back to a human that he promised himself he had left behind for the rest of his life, he knew he couldn’t do this by himself. Not when he didn’t even know where Virgil was, and who better to help him get his friend away from a human, than by getting a human to help.

Creeping through the walls quickly, his thoughts spurred on his movements. The light jog he had had going was broken quickly when he reached the living room.

It didn’t take much to figure out that Roman was watching another Disney movie, whatever those were. Logan wasn’t much of a movie watcher, more of a documentary sort of guy.

That was the kind of detail that he had noticed very earlier on when he and Virgil had first lived here. It was actually one of the ways they differentiated between the two human’s personalities when they had seen them for the first time. Him and Virgil had discussed who was the more dangerous of the pair.

Of course, both of the humans were but they always agreed on Logan, just because he was so much more driven by understanding and intuition, while Roman was much more into the fantastical, imaginative side of things.

Getting caught would never be ideal, but if they were to be, Roman may be the better choice.

Well, maybe not.

He pushed open the outlet underneath the couch again and he let himself out, back under to where it all started in the first place. Though now, he couldn’t let himself or Virgil down. He needed to this or else he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that his partner was out there, most likely scared out of his wits.

Shutting the outlet, Patton grabbed his hook out of his bag and swung it a few times to test the weight in his hands again. It had been a week since he had gotten to use it.

Calming himself and focusing on the task at hand, he tossed it up and managed to catch it right into the back of the couch. Tugging on it and making sure it would hold, he began to climb up. As a borrower, climbing was a necessity, and you had to know how to do it quickly and safely. If you couldn’t climb, life for you was automatically harder.

Pulling through the pains in his forearms, Patton grasped a hold of the couch’s fabric and heaved himself up onto the back of it, panting heavily as he caught his breath.

It really had been awhile since he had to do that.

It seemed that the movie was a bit louder than he thought it was, as his sounds had gone completely unnoticed by Roman. He looked to the TV for a moment, the dancing and moving colours were transfixing, but he had to focus. He wasn’t here to be awed by the magic of animation.

Though, looking to the human, he felt his stomach twist in uneasy ways. Every single reminder of what had happened that week flashing back into his head. He shook it off, as if trying to shake the memories away completely.

He steeled his nerves.

“Roman,” Patton called up, gasping as the human jolted in surprise.

The human in question had nearly flinched right off of the couch when he had heard the tiny voice, and his eyes turned to face the smaller man currently standing openly on the back of his couch. “Patton, I-”

“I don’t have time for pleasantries, Roman,” he cut the human off, the surprised look deepened in the large expression. He could hardly believe that he was going to reveal the existence of his best friend to someone that wasn’t supposed to even know they were there.

Roman caught onto the twitchy behaviour almost instantly, so he adjusted himself accordingly.

He was still rather confused why the borrower had come back in the first place, but he wasn’t going to question it. Even if he was rather happy that he came back.

“What-”

“I need your help,” he cut the human off and he watched Roman stammer for a moment, eyes widening even further.

“You need my help?”

Patton nodded his head. “Yes. I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t— If I didn’t think you could help me. Can you?”

That took a moment to register. Even after everything that had gone so horribly wrong, the same person that he thought he had scared off for good was standing right in front of him. Asking for his help.

Roman nodded, trying not to look too enthusiastic. “Of course I can help.”

What did he need assistance with? Had he forgotten something and needed to get it back? Did he need something to eat? Something to drink? Of course, Roman would be happy to provide if it meant he got to earn Patton’s trust.

After Roman knows, you need to get Virgil back and then you two have to move. It’s the safest option.

“I–” Patton took a breath, before meeting the human’s eyes. “I have a friend. He means a lot to me and he was a big part of why I wanted to go home so badly.” Before Roman could say anything—even though Patton saw that sad guilty look in his face—he spoke up. “After you let me go, I went home and he wasn’t there. He left me a note that said he came looking for me.” A small nod prompted him onward, showing that he was listening for real this time. “He wrote that note a week ago and I don’t know where he is.”

Okay, that was not what Roman was expecting. He didn’t think Patton would be comfortable sharing this information, but looking at his body language, it was clear that he wasn’t comfortable sharing it. Obviously his friend was supposed to remain a mystery to him, another reason why he had never been mentioned before. Of course, he had to respect that the reason Patton had said anything, was because he feared for his friend’s life.

“Humans are a danger to my kind, Roman,” he remembered Patton telling him a few nights ago, “if they were to figure out we were here not many people would be as … kind as you have been.”

If humans were a danger, no wonder Patton had refused to out his friend to him. It made perfect sense.

“What do you want me to do?” He asked softly. He could feel for the little guy, knowing that a missing friend would be terrifying.

The more Roman thought about it, the more he realized he had been holding Patton back from not only going home, but going home to his friend. He felt so awfully guilty for it. Best friend? Boyfriend? He wasn’t sure, but he sure as hell was in no place to ask.

“I think that your roommate has him,” the offer was shy and quiet, almost ashamed to admit it. “I-I think Logan might have caught him and I can’t free him by myself.”

Well, he could try, but with how observant Logan could be and then doubling that by the fact that he would now most likely know what to look for, well, his chances weren’t looking good.

“You’d,” Roman took a moment to let everything set in. Patton was trusting him with the knowledge that his friend was captured, and then in turn trusting him to get that friend away from his roommate. Well, it did make sense. “You’d trust me like this?”

Any other time and if his chances were better, Patton most likely wouldn’t have even considered asking Roman for help. Not after everything that had happened, but everyone deserved forgiveness at some point, didn’t they?

He sighed softly, nodding his head. He then looked up, determination written across his features. “You’re the only chance I have. I can’t let him down.”

If Roman knew anything about chivalry, that had to be the definition of it. It was actually rather inspiring.

“Let’s go get your friend back,” he agreed.

Although hesitantly, he offered a hand out to the small borrower.

It felt weird, he would admit, knowing that he had just been grabbing Patton all that time, without letting him give consent to whether he wanted to be grabbed for or not. It was an uncomfortable thought, so it was only fair that he gave him the choice this time around. Whether he turned him down or not, it was alright. It would hurt, inexplicably, but he would respect the decision.

Although startled by the offer, Patton didn’t have much room to say no. Not if he wanted to get Virgil back as soon as possible. He leaned down and grabbed his hook out of the couch and coiled it back up, tucking it into his bag again.

He stepped forwards, steeling himself and accepting the hand being offered to him. As terrified as he was on the inside, he had to show that he could do this.

He accepted the lift and dropped to a crouch on the palm of his hand, keeping himself steadier that way, before offering a thumbs up to show that he was really okay.

————————

“Virgil!” The happy cry came from somewhere in front of him.

It was a scene that he never thought he would get the chance to see ever again.

Virgil had been so wrapped up in his own worries about where Logan was taking him, why he wasn’t explaining what was going on, that he had barely heard the other borrower’s voice.

He had been so lost in his own head, that the fact that he was staring his best friend down almost seemed like a dream. Something that his mind had conjured up to play on him like some cruel fever dream.

The fact that Patton was merely a few feet away barely registered until he felt two arms wrap around his frame and pull him into a tight hug.

He stood there for a moment, awestruck and hands hovering just above his partner’s back and he had yet to make any contact.

Patton’s hands tightened in the back of Virgil’s hoodie and he squeezed his eyes shut, just so relieved to have him back in his arms. “You’re okay,” he whispered, almost as if the words were the only thing tying him down.

“You’re okay.”

Those two words almost made no sense in Virgil’s head.

Then it hit him.

He was fine. He was okay. He had a few bruises from wear and tear, sure, but other than that, Logan had been relatively gentle, mostly belying his annoyed exterior when Virgil had refused to answer questions or speak altogether. He hadn’t been physically harmed or damaged and he could hardly believe that he got to hug his partner again, after being separated for so long.

The overwhelming sense that he was truly fine made the waterworks hit nearly full force and he couldn’t stop it.

Finally, after just standing there, he held back onto Patton, burying his face into the other’s jacket and just sobbing into it. He had never held onto anyone tighter than right now, as he just let it out. The stress, the anxiety, the fear and terror that he had gone through during the past week. Everything that he couldn’t express in words was coming out as small whimpers and cries that he couldn’t suppress.

A hand moved and rested in his hair, another started to stroke up and down his back in a reassuring, calculated pattern that he could follow. There were no surprises.

“I’ve gotcha kiddo,” Patton told him, his voice reassuring and soft and caring and everything that he needed to hear right now. “I’ve gotcha. I promise, you’re alright.”

While Patton’s eyes flickered up to Logan, he watched quietly as the human shifted nervously, almost as if he were uncomfortable with this entire situation. He always knew it, but Logan wasn’t emotionless, no matter how hard he tried to convince other people he was. His body language almost always gave him away, while his facial expressions were usually harder. He had more practice hiding his true feelings behind a mask on nonchalance.

Roman felt everything from guilt to a buzzing happiness at being able to watch the reunion, even if it did hurt a bit. To see one of them just so emotionally wrecked was painful.

Seemed Patton wasn’t the only one that had been through a rough patch. While it was obvious both him and Logan had screwed up, even if they both refused to admit it aloud, he could see that Patton was just as relieved to see his friend as Virgil was.

After a few more moments of just reassurances and sobs, the quiet was replaced again and Virgil finally pulled away from his partner, the redness in his cheeks showed the bags under his eyes a bit more prominently, but Patton didn’t mention it.

He instead kept a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” He asked gently, and his partner nodded wordlessly.

Using the sleeves of his hoodie to rub at the wetness under his eyes, he laughed softly, almost sadly. “Man, it’s so good to see you again.”

“I know the feeling,” Patton agreed warmly. His attention then shifted to Roman. “I want to thank you, you know.” He watched as Roman started, blinking.

“I, uh, I didn’t really do anything.”

“Nonsense, you did a lot. A lot more than what I could have accomplished.” The look was almost pointed towards the other human, but he felt as if that may be overkill. “And that means a lot.”

Patton then turned on his heel and was instead facing Logan. It seemed that the startled look on said human’s face was enough to prove to him that he was ready for a lecture.

On basic human decency, Logan nearly grunted to himself.

Wasn’t it enough to say that he already knew what ways he had messed up?

“I— don’t really understand the whole need to understand everything, or science for that matter,” he fiddled with his hands a bit nervously, “and that sort of stuff usually doesn’t bode well with our kind, but I can thank you, too.”

Both Virgil and Logan startled at that. Their facial expressions nearly mirrored each other.

“Y-you can?”

“I don’t understand.”

Patton grinned a little bit at that, before shrugging. “Yeah, I can. After everything, and I’m sure that not everything was extremely pleasant,” which was a pointed look towards Logan, “you didn’t hurt him. At least, not from what I can see and maybe Virgil can prove me different. If anything, that’s a pretty big reason to be thanked. You could have done anything. You still can do anything, to either of us. But you won’t.” He held up a hand to keep him from talking and was actually thrilled to be listened to. “I know this because you’re not a bad person, Logan. Sure, things are a bit rough here and there, but you mean well in the long run.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly what he had been expecting. Even after spending so much time with Virgil, this tiny race still kept surprising him.

He wasn’t really expecting to get a thank you after all of this, but he couldn’t really say anything against it. That and he should have known that Virgil and his friend would be absolutely different. He didn’t think so different personality wise.

“Well, I–”

“Oh just accept the compliment, you nerd,” Roman spoke up, catching the three attention. Patton laughed lightly, he couldn’t help it, while Virgil looked shocked and Logan rolled his eyes. “He’s trying to make you feel better.”

Now he was just uncomfortable. He didn’t think he should get the chance to feel better about this.

“I suppose I should apologize,” was what came out instead, shocking the other three this time, “to you, specifically Virgil, and your partner in turn.” This caused the hoodie-clad borrower to look to him, surprise etched across his face. “I wasn’t exactly … accommodating.” I had done so much wrong and yet, you’re still standing here as if none of that happened. Perhaps it’s just because you feel safe with your company. “I apologize for the stress I must have caused you.”

There was so much Virgil had wanted to say to that. Not that he could forgive for that, not very easily, but there was something else, a bit deeper in his chest saying that Logan was really trying here and that did mean something to him.

No, he didn’t forgive someone just because he got a heartfelt apology in return, but it was a kind gesture.

It was odd, what he noticed between Patton and Roman. He didn’t trust either human, not really, but he saw that faith that Patton had put into the other. It showed that if Roman was redeemable, and that was saying a lot, then if he gave his roommate a chance, than Logan could be as well.

He nodded his head, tucking his hands back into the pockets of his hoodie and dropped his head. “Uh, thanks,” he said instead. “That, ah, that means a lot.”

At least he was acknowledging the fact that he had been wrong in the first place. There had been a couple times where he wondered if Logan would ever realize it.

The suddenness of an arm being slung around his shoulders gave him a start and he jumped a little bit, before relaxing into the touch when Patton pulled him a bit closer. “Well, as fun as all of this has been, I’m exhausted!”

Roman’s smile dropped a little bit with those words. “Are we gonna see you guys again?”

That was a good question. Virgil almost instantly said ‘hell no, I’m moving and you can’t stop me’, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the way Patton’s shoulders fell slightly at the reminder of what they had to do now.

Now that the two humans in the house knew that they were there, well, it didn’t leave very many options.

He took one of his hands out of his pocket and laid it over top of his partner’s, the one that was still resting over his shoulder idly. “Maybe— maybe we could come up with a compromise,” he spoke up. He felt Patton still next to him and his fingers interlaced with his own. He tried to ignore all of the attention and the sudden want to shy away. “Normally, if we get seen we have to leave the house altogether and, y’know, never look back, the whole shebang.”

“It would most likely be ideal if you stayed,” Logan agreed, but he was quick to explain himself, “not for us, of course, but for yourselves. I would have to assume that you’d be able to have a more balanced diet.”

“And,” Roman piped up, “you don’t always have to be so worried about being seen all the time. You wouldn’t have to worry about anything happening.”

“That … does sound pretty good,” Patton looked to Virgil as if wanted his permission to stay as well. Of course, he thought it was better, well, no one’s opinion was going to be ignored.

Except, the only thing that was keeping Virgil from outright saying something was the fact that it wasn’t just the weight of Patton’s gaze. It was Roman looking somewhat hopeful and then there was Logan who was, calculating as always, but his gaze was softer, more understanding. They all knew that staying would benefit them more, as it would be easier to get supplies and not having to move everything out of their house and trying to find another one was tempting.

He bit his lower lip, his gaze wandering back to Patton’s. The decision wasn’t for himself either, he knew. It was for his partner, and they both admittedly really liked this place. It was comfortable and the house was warm. Trying to find another place like this would be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

“Of course, you’re welcome to make your own decisions,” Logan countered again, adjusting his glasses before crossing his arms again. “If you would rather leave, we’re not going to stop you from doing that.”

‘We’ve done that far too much already,’ was what was implied.

Patton’s hand tightened on his own and he already knew which side of him had won. If he could make Patton happy, then that was all that really mattered. Virgil could move himself if he really felt uncomfortable in this situation, and the idea would never come naturally and even though they knew both humans meant no harm now, well …

“Alright,” he finally said after a moment and a smaller grin overcame him when Patton laughed and wrapped him into another hug.

“Wonderful,” Roman offered the two of them a grin of his own, but it was clear that there was relief in his features.

Logan seemed satisfied with the choice, and yes, Virgil could see the relief there too. This was still a chance for him to understand such a smaller race, just on a more familiar basis. Well, he could understand that and if he could respect their privacy, than Virgil could respect his curiosity in turn.

“With that settled, I’m gonna— get going, it’s been a long week.” Patton finally released him and Virgil went to feel for his bag around himself when he remembered that it wasn’t there. He had had it confiscated at the beginning of the week.

His eyes flickered back up to Logan, who seemed a bit unsure of what he was silently asking before it clicked.

“Oh yes, of course,” he exited the room, disappearing back down the hallway for a minute or so, before he returned with the small satchel. It was obvious that Logan didn’t want to get close enough to frighten what little trust they had built away, but there wasn’t much else he could really do to avoid it either. So, he knelt and offered the bag out. He expected Virgil to be hesitant and when the borrower was, it wasn’t surprising, though it did hurt for inexplicable reasons. As he reached for the bag, Logan cleared his throat. “I would—”

“Stop.” When Virgil spoke up, Logan shut up real quick. He grabbed the bag and slid it over his shoulders and he tucked his hands into his pockets again, before shrugging a bit further back into his hoodie, finding it more of a safe space. “I don’t need to hear another apology. I get it, you feel bad and, you know what, I appreciate that.” He watched as Logan wanted to speak again, probably to talk against it — as he had found that the human liked to debate with him — and Virgil spoke first. He was really going to have to say it, wasn’t he? “It was a rough start, fine. I forgive you, alright?”

Emotions flickered over Logan’s features, almost so many as if the man himself didn’t know what to do about it. He then cleared his throat, before nodding. “I, uh, thank you.” He drew his hand back to himself.

What had gone unnoticed between the two of them, Patton sent a knowing look back to Roman, who looked nearly as smug. “C’mon kiddo,” he finally reached forwards, a hand laid against Virgil’s shoulder and gave a light tug leading backwards. “Let’s get back home.”

With a quick farewell, it didn’t take long before the two borrowers were making their ways across the floor and under the couch, already knowing that it was the closest exit. With little to no effort, Virgil maneuvered the outlet out of it’s place and let his partner in first, before sending a single glance backwards and climbing in afterwards, resetting it and making it look like it had never moved.

Chapter Text

They had promised that they’d be back soon. His mother had planted a kiss on his forehead, whispered the gentle words and then disappeared with his father back into the walls.

She had told him to stay out of the walls—contradictory to his parents advice only days prior, when they had urged him to stay away from the attic altogether unless with one of them—and stay where it was warmer. At least, she had told him it would be warmer.

Virgil sunk a bit deeper into his hoodie, pulling it up around his chin as he pulled his knees up to his chest. His back was leaning against a large box that stood much higher than he could ever dream of. A piece of large cloth was hanging out from the top of it and he had wrapped himself into just enough to keep his own body heat and the heat that the cloth seemed to save for him as well.

It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t exactly warm either. He couldn’t help but think how much warmer it would be to go home and huddle under the covers back in his bed.

But he had been told to stay in one place and to wait for them to come back. It had been nearly two days since his parents disappearance and there had been no sign of them returning. At least, not from what he could see yet.

A part of him wanted to get up and go home, to get something to eat and stay in the warmth of his home in the walls, but the other part of him—the louder part—said to stay where his parents told him in case they came back in the time that he was absent. It was those anxious thoughts that kept the seven-year-old from moving.

He let his eyes roam the room for what had to be the hundredth time since he had been left here.

The panels on the walls were ever the same, the floorboards were cracked and old. The smell of dust was absolutely everywhere and he could see the particles floating down in what little light the tiny window from the opposite side of the room allowed. It was a bit drafty too, but it wasn’t anything he was unused to.

The sound of movement from where the trapdoor was sounded and his heart thrummed in his chest. The panic that flared was nothing compared to the worry that blossomed hotly in his chest.

His parents had never prepared him to face a human on his own. The fact that they had left him alone for this long was a bit upsetting, but he knew that they would be coming back. Eventually.

Jolting into action, Virgil picked himself up and kept his hand pressed against the box, getting up on his tip-toes to peer just high enough to see the light flood into the room and drench everything in a warm golden glow.

He backed up quickly, making sure to retreat behind the box and getting down onto his hands and knees. The black hoodie he wore would most likely keep him hidden from plain view if it came down to it. Though, he was hoping that whatever the human came into the attic for wouldn’t be anywhere near his hiding place. He wouldn’t be able to deal with that sort of scare, not at such a young age.

“Can you see anything?” He heard one of the voices call from further away, sounding muffled.

“Not yet,” the second voice replied and this one sounded much closer. Like he was in the same room as the kid. “The light’s got to be in here somewhere. Ah—” the light flickered to life and Virgil sunk deeper into his hiding place. “Got it.”

More shuffling sounded and he had to wonder what was going on. He didn’t have the courage to peek out. He didn’t want to risk it either. The only thing he knew was that he didn’t want to be seen. Mom and dad had told him that relentlessly.

“Never be seen by a human, sweetheart. They may seem kind at first, but it won’t be long before they reveal their true nature. It never ends well for people our size.”

“It sure has been a while since I’ve been up here,” the second voice said again, although it was significantly quieter. He must have been talking to himself. That wasn’t too odd. Though, his voice raised a bit louder after that. “What was it that we needed again?”

There was a sigh from further away. “Extra blankets, Patton. The others were stained with wine. They won’t be washed and dried in time.”

“Right.”

With a startling realization, Virgil finally understood what was in the box he was currently hiding behind. The blankets that the human was probably looking for. Which then meant that the human would be coming over this way to get them. Which then meant that he might be seen if he didn’t do something right now.

Sucking in a sharp noise as the shuffling sounds got louder, he knew he needed to move. He needed to move and get somewhere else. He would have to disobey his parents just this once and get back into the walls, at least until Patton took the blankets and left again.

He had thought that attics were there for stuff that no one wanted. No one usually came up here!

Scrambling farther back, he needed to map out his options here, but his panic was starting to get the better of him. Quickly, he began to scan the area he was in, the box was on one side of him and there was another box behind him and to the left of him. His stomach dropped when he realized how he had cornered himself. He could try and push the box behind him, but not only would that grab the human’s attention if he ever managed to get it to move, but he was probably too small to even get it to budge a millimeter.

If he was lucky, then his black clothing would keep him hidden in the shadows and he would be completely overlooked. When the box was removed, he would be able to make his run for it.

He had to wait.

“Ah-ha!” The ecstatic voice came from much too close for comfort and then the scraping sounds of movement happened again. “There. I knew we had some up here, just had to find them. Brush the dust off, they should be fine!”

His stomach churned uneasily the louder the sounds got and it took only seconds before he could hear the blankets being moved around in the box. He watched as the small piece he had been using for warmth and comfort was lifted and tucked into the box was well, before the large flaps above him were folded inwards.

The box began to move, a noise of surprise coming from the human trying to lift it in response. “Heavier than you look,” the joke was followed by a quiet laugh and Virgil flinched as he watched a hand come from around the side of the box and dip under the bottom of it. Then, with an incredible amount of strength, the human seemed to be able to lift box the box off of the ground. He briefly remembered that because of this, his hiding spot would be revealed in a matter of seconds.

He could only hope that the human would be too preoccupied with the box he had, that he wouldn’t even think to check the same place twice. There was only so much a dark hoodie would be able to do for you when the spot was flooded with light.

Terrified for his safety at this point, he needed to try and figure a way out of this mess before anything else happened. It was bad enough already that he was almost completely exposed, there had to be an exit now. Somewhere where he could crawl away inconspicuously.

It seemed that the moment he decided to move, was the same moment that the box of blankets and quilts slipped from the human’s hands and it fell with a loud, startling thud a few paces away from him. A quiet swear—if one could even call “good bloody gracious” a swear—came from above.

The cry that he had released had not been a quiet one and, from the scare, Virgil had ended up on his back, propped up by his elbows as he watched with wide eyes as a pair of black rimmed glasses with shinning brown eyes hidden behind them turned in his direction, only to pause when the both of them locked eyes.

The only thing Virgil could hear was his heartbeat. The loud and quick thrumming of it as it pounded against his rib cage, his breaths coming in and out, in and out, in and out without really taking in any oxygen.

He was on the verge of a panic attack.

Though, where his parents had told him he would see disgust on a human’s features, he instead watched as Patton’s seemed to soften. Almost looking like he was concerned.

Yeah right. He’s trying to lure you into a false sense of security. You can’t get out of this mess, you’re trapped. He choked on a noise closely resembling a sob.

“Hey, hey,” Patton finally broke the silence quietly, watching as the boy’s terrified expression turned back up to him. The features were small, but it was easy to tell just how scared the little guy was. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurtcha.”

Though, the words of reassurance didn’t really seem to be doing anything, he continued with it anyways.

While he was at a lack for words for the most part, there was the underlying worry about how long the kid had been there. Did he live here too? How old was he and where were his parents? He looked much too young to be living on his own, but then again, looks could be deceiving. Patton had met a few people that looked rather young, but their ages had been much farther off than he would have guessed. He had met a young woman that looked like she was in her late teens and was actually in her mid-to-late twenties.

When the kid didn’t seem to move, nor did he react in a positive manner, he bit into his lip nervously. Perhaps the little one couldn’t talk, maybe that’s why.

Or maybe he had scared him silent. The thought hurt his heart, but he would understand.

“Are you alright?” He tried again, trying to at least get something from the boy. When he dropped the box, it must have startled him. He had a feeling that the kid was trying to hide from him, and even though that did hurt for inexplicable reasons, he understood that too.

Virgil knew this was crazy. It was insane. Why hadn’t the human grabbed him yet? Why was he just talking to him? Why wasn’t he doing anything?! The wave of fear washed over him again, flooding cold through his veins as the human shifted. He tensed and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting to be snatched up, or in the worst case scenario— No. Now was not the time.

Tears brimmed as he waited for the inevitable. When it never came. Instead, there was silence yet again.

Hesitantly, Virgil cracked his eyes open again. He gasped when he found that the human was still watching him so intently. The water that had risen finally spilled over and he choked on a sob. Almost as soon as he had broken, he lifted his hand to his mouth and tried to stifle the noise. What if showing this sort of weakness only made the human mad? He wouldn’t be able to handle something like that! He could hardly handle someone looking at him!

A small noise came from above and he watched as Patton’s eyes softened further. “Awe, kiddo, hey.”

Movement in his peripheral vision caught Virgil by surprise and he cried out when his brain registered what exactly was moving. It was one of the human’s hands and it was coming right for him.

Cringing away from it, he sobbed again. “W-wait!” He pleaded, his voice cracking and breaking as he choked on his breath. “Ple-please don’t! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t— I d-didn’t mean— just p-please don’t!”

Startled by the outburst, Patton’s hand moved quickly back towards himself. While he was relieved to hear the boy speak, pleading wasn’t exactly the way he had hoped it would happen. He then blinked, watching as the tiny being seemed to curl himself into an even tighter little ball, his hands over his head as if he was trying to defend himself from something.

Before he could say anything though, there was another voice entering the mix. “Patton, for goodness sake, they’re in a box labelled blankets, what on earth are you doing up there?”

Looking over his shoulder, he knew that Logan was starting to get irritated. He had been up for a while now and the other was standing at the bottom of the rickety ladder waiting for the box of blankets to be passed down to him. He couldn’t just not give those to him.

On the other hand, Patton knew that the moment he got up to give said box away, the creature currently cowering away from him would make a break for it, and while he wanted the little guy to have as much freedom as possible, he wasn’t planning on keeping the boy—Heaven’s no! He seemed to be able to fully function on his own—but he also seemed too young to be on his own like this and from how thin he looked and how baggy that sweater seemed to be on his frame, he wasn’t eating well.

That and there seemed to be no sign of his parents. which led him to believe that the boy either had no parents or, if worst came to worst, he had been abandoned by his parents.

“Patton, did you hear me?”

“Uh, yeah,” he called over his shoulder, keeping his gaze down on the shivering figure in front of him, “I have them right here. Give me a minute.”

“It’s already been ten minutes, how much more time do you need?”

The sarcasm was there, so Patton didn’t answer. Instead, he planted his hands down in front of himself as he adjusted his position. He moved so he was instead sitting on his knees and kept his hands where they were for balance. He watched as his shadow, unintentionally, completely enveloped the tiny form.

“I just want to know if you’re okay,” he promised quietly, wanting nothing more than to assure him that he would be alright. It was so painfully obvious that the kid was terrified that he was going to hurt him, even though Patton had told him before that that wasn’t the case. He had no intentions of doing something of the like. “You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to. I know you’re scared kiddo, but I’m really not going to hurt you.”

Virgil hiccuped, using his sleeves to rub the wetness from his eyes, but the frightened tears just wouldn’t stop coming. He couldn’t get his breathing under control either, there was just so much going on that he didn’t understand. So much happening that he had no control over, it was pushing his anxiety over the edge.

Swallowing thickly, he sniffled again, keeping his knees curled up to his chest and tucking his hands there as well, slid into the sleeves and keeping them there.

He knew that the human had asked a question and if he refused to answer, he may be pushing his luck. Yes, he had been told he wasn’t going to be hurt. Did that mean he trusted it? Not at all. His father had driven home the fact that humans would lie to gain their trust only to have it used against them.

He shivered, his nails biting into the skin on his palms as he laid there, just looking upwards. Honestly, he had never thought he’d ever actually have to face either of the people that lived in this house down, yet here he was, contrary to everything he had hoped.

An answer rose to his lips, but a hiccup kept him from saying anything and he instead used his sleeve to rub at his face again, trying desperately to clean himself up at least a little bit. “I-I …”

The gentleness never seemed to leave the human’s features and Virgil flinched as Patton’s hand moved, only to be relieved when he was pushing his glasses back up. “It’s alright, you don’t have to talk to me. You can just nod or shake your head, okay?”

What? The kid only blinked at that, still trying to stifle his sniffles. This entire situation shouldn’t even be happening and yet Virgil had made no attempt to even try and escape.

None of this made sense. None of it.

His parents had always sworn up and down that a human would do anything to get their hands on you, and here Patton was, completely throwing that stigma out the window, and it literally made no sense at all.

The quiet held between them and Virgil watched as the human seemed to get a bit more hesitant. “Look, I just— do you feel okay?”

Well, it had been said that he didn’t need to speak, so mustering up just enough courage, Virgil nodded his head. He hadn’t been hurt, if that’s what was worrying him so badly, to be honest, there was nothing that had happened that could cause injury to him. Perhaps the box being dropped, but he was still sat far enough away from it that it hadn’t even been a concern. If anything, when the box had slipped, the only thing he had been worried about was the noise and then the revelation of his hiding space.

Well, Patton seemed satisfied enough with that answer. His hands twitched on the floor for a moment, before his eyes danced back over his shoulder. “Good, that’s good,” he spoke up, voice quiet. Almost as if he was at a loss of what to say. Something else was bothering him though. “Where are your parents?”

A part of him thought that maybe the little one didn’t have any parents. He hated to think that he really had been abandoned up here in the attic like this, but there seemed to be no sign of other tiny people around.

That seemed to be the wrong question to ask at this point, as he watched the tears begin to overflow the boy’s eyes again. He winced in sympathy. Well, guess that meant he may have been left here.

How could someone just leave their kid behind? So out in the open and so vulnerable? It was sickening.

Patton bit his lower lip in uncertainty, wanting to reach out and comfort him, but knowing that doing so would only cause a negative reaction. He was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. There was a deep feeling, niggling in his chest. Something that was telling him he couldn’t just leave the boy to fend for himself, it wouldn’t be fair. And frankly, he’d feel awful about it later on.

The tiny cries were trying to be stifled again and he felt his heart ache. The little one didn’t want him to hear it and his heart broke.

He had to make a choice.

“I— I know you have no reason to trust me,” he broke the silence, startling the tiny brown eyes to look back up into his own, the tears shinning within them. He had to do this. “But, if you want, and you can absolutely say no to this and I’ll understand, you can come with me for a little bit and I can warm you up, get you something to eat if you’d like.” There was still that look of terror upon the tiny features, but there was also something else there. A flourish of different feeling.

Virgil didn’t know if he was being serious or not. Was this for real? Was this a test or something? He had a feeling that putting his trust into a human could only backfire, but, if it meant getting warm and getting something to eat, could the promise really be that bad?

Of course it can be! The other part of his mind argued, the louder part. You can’t trust a human, it doesn’t matter what they offer you!

His eyes only watered more. Stubbornly, he raised a hand and rubbed them away, letting his eyes drop down to the hardwood floor beneath them both. There was so much that he wanted to do. He wanted to turn and run and never look back, he wanted to take Patton up on the offer. He wanted to get back home and pretend that this never happened.

He just wanted his parents to come back and rescue him from this situation entirely, telling him that it was all a test while his mother swept him into her arms.

They’re never coming back. Your parents left you. You know that. The human knows that. What good are you?

Instead, his shoulders bunched, his hands clenched, fighting a war within himself. The instincts that had been instilled into him since the day he could walk and talk, to the want to listen to what was being promised to him. It sounded so nice.

Then he relaxed. He slumped forwards and nodded his head. His exhausted cries were loud and heartbroken and he didn’t want to contain it inside anymore.

If he was caught and kept, so what? Nothing mattered anymore. Not when his parents had given him an airy promise and then fled.

He couldn’t do it anymore. Keeping too much emotion inside had led to a break in his somewhat calm facade and had prompted an almost instant parental urge from the adult not a few inches away from him. Now, more than ever, Patton wanted so badly to just scoop the kid up and shield him from all danger. Like this, the boy was barely two inches tall at most and everything in the world was a threat to such a vulnerable life.

He was even more surprised when he watched as two tiny hands reached up in his direction, a motion that he was familiar with from human children. The universal sign of ‘pick me up’.

Well, if he didn’t do anything, it was possible the little one would take that the wrong way. So, as carefully as he possibly could, he reached forwards, a slow enough pace that he would let the boy know he was moving and not to be afraid. When nothing short of a small flinch was what he got, Patton had a bit more confidence when it came to picking him up. So, with steady movements, he brought the child into his palms and, with a steady pace, moved to bring his cupped hands to rest against his chest for stability. He sat back on his haunches again as he looked down at the shivering child in his hands.

Who could have thought that leaving their kid was even remotely okay?

“Shh, shh, you’re safe,” he soothed quietly, just as Virgil grabbed a hold of the shirt he was wearing. Holding onto it as if it were the only thing keeping him grounded. As if it were a lifeline. Such impossibly tiny hands, so fragile. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve gotcha, kiddo. I’ve gotcha.”

Virgil knew that he shouldn’t have felt as safe as he did, especially when being held completely at the mercy of this strange human, but there was also something telling him, far in the back of his mind, that there was nothing to be scared of, not anymore.

He felt surrounded and the heat was calming. So, as he cried himself hoarse, he was met with nothing more than soothing words and a comforting presence.

“You’re okay.”

And for the first time in a long time, he felt that way too.

—————————

The box of blankets was pushed to the edge of the opening in the trapdoor, where a rather irritated Logan stood at the bottom. His arms were crossed and the way he looked unimpressed, well, Patton couldn’t blame him.

Then again, Patton hadn’t really planned on finding a tiny, abandoned child in the attic either.

Nudging the box just a bit further, Logan was able to reach up and accept it into his arms. A bit surprised at the weight, but he held his balance, before setting them down on the ground in front of him. Though, he did have a few choice words to say to his accomplice when he got down the ladder.

Still, cupped in his hands, the little boy had seemed to have tired himself out, and well, Patton couldn’t say that was a bad thing. Perhaps it was better that he had anyways. He seemed to have had so much pent up inside that a little bit of rest wouldn’t hurt anything, especially not in the long run.

Carefully, he maneuvered him into one hand, which was tucked steadily against his chest and he descended the ladder as slowly as possible. As soon as he had reached solid ground again, there were more pressing matters.

“What in God’s good name took you so long to get the—”

Logan’s soon-to-be-rant was cut off almost instantly as Patton turned to face him, a look saying that he didn’t need to hear it right now.

“I’m sorry it took so long,” was the only thing the other male got in response, before Patton was brushing past him and disappearing down the hallway and around the corner, the closing of a door promptly followed.

To say that Logan’s curiosity wasn’t peaked would be a lie.

Chapter Text

“They’re just going to give you back, you know that.”

“Even your human parents didn’t want you. What makes you think they do?”

“Everyone knows that they’re picking you out of pity.”

These were the voices that kept Virgil up at night. The ones that kept him awake and wondering. He knew that he shouldn’t let the other kids words get to him, but when he was laying awake at awful times of the night replaying the situations, it was hard to ignore them.

“Who in the world would actually want a human child? It’s a pity really. There are so many better choices.”

“Size difference is just going to make their job harder.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. They’ll realize you’re worthless soon enough and you’ll be here with us again.”

The kids at the orphanage had been unnecessarily cruel. He had done nothing to provoke them so it was hard to understand why they were picking on him out of all of the other kids that were so much worse off than he was.

True, he wouldn’t wish this misfortune on someone else, but there were days where he had wished he wasn’t the only target.

Virgil guessed it was because he had been the only human in that orphanage. All of the other kids had been so much bigger than he had been. He was the easy target while the other kids seemed to be protected, he was there to suffer alone.

There had been one nice woman there, Lillian. She had taken care of him, gotten him out of rough situations, but she wasn’t always there when he had needed a softer touch for once.

Even now, after being adopted into a home with two parents that claimed to love him as their own child, he still had his doubts.

Patton and Logan had been nothing but kind. Nothing but understanding and patient with him, but Virgil was honestly terrified that the kids were right. That they would finally realize that he wasn’t worth the effort and he would instead be brought back and they’d choose a kid that was better suited to them.

The movie that they had been watching was long since forgotten for him, and by the time he actually looked back up, there was the ending of Mulan rolling in front of him.

Virgil had honestly insisted that for the movie night — since it had been a tradition before he had been adopted into the house—they could choose what movie they wanted to watch.

Patton had assured him that it was okay if they watched something Virgil wanted to. Logan had agreed and that had put the twelve-year-old into an uncomfortable position.

He had asked for a Disney movie and he hadn’t even watched most of it. He felt guilt sink into his stomach like a rock and he dropped his head to rest on his knees, his arms folding over the top of them so he could hide his face.

He had made them watch a kid’s movie and he hadn’t paid attention to it.

“You’re really pathetic, you know that? You’re tiny, frail and more than annoying.”

The familiar feeling of heat rising behind his eyes caused him to hide his face. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin another perfectly good moment of silence with his worries.

Virgil knew he was testing their patience. It really was only a matter of time before everything crumbled around him. The small safety net that had been created for him would soon fall and he would have no choice but to go back to the orphanage and face those smug faces again. The ones that would say ‘I told you so’ the moment he was back in the playroom.

He was anxious almost all of the time. He was wary and jumped at almost everything. He had made Patton feel bad on multiple occasions when he had done something completely normal and Virgil had felt frightened by accident.

All of these negative qualities and he could hardly feel like a kid his own age should.

Before he knew it, he could feel the couch shifting as the end credits of the movie started to roll and though there was silence, he was almost sure that they were talking silently above him. That silent communication that the kids at the orphanage had always been able to use. He knew for a fact that when Patton and Logan did it, there was no ill intent.

When he felt the wetness on his face, Virgil knew that he had to keep his head down. He really didn’t want to be found upset again. He would only feel worse at this point.

The couch shifted again and then there was the sounds of something being cleaned up and the telltale sounds of one of them leaving the room altogether.

“Hey, something the matter?”

That was the only question he really didn’t want to answer right now. He didn’t think he would be able to face down that overwhelming care in those large brown eyes. He wouldn’t be able to take it and he knew that the sadness he felt now would be nothing compared to what would happen if he lifted his head.

A warmth appeared behind his back and he nearly flinched, just refraining. It wasn’t that he was unused to contact, he had plenty of it back with the other kids, but this gentle contact was still new.

Before he could stop it, Virgil hiccuped and he nodded his head.

“You’re just going to be a burden on them. You really don’t have any redeeming qualities. I feel bad for the people adopting you. You’re more trouble than you’re worth.”

“Aw, hey, you’re okay,” he heard Patton’s voice fall into something softer, comforting. It only coaxed out more of a sob from the kid and Virgil lifted his head finally, looking up to meet his eyes.

It took Patton half a second to really see how upset the boy was.

“You okay, kiddo?”

Virgil shook his head. He really wasn’t okay and he couldn’t lie to himself and he really couldn’t lie to someone that seemed to care so genuinely about him.

He felt the hand from behind him move and he raised his own to rub at the tears slowly trailing down his cheeks, watching as Patton shifted himself to sit a bit more comfortably on the couch and turn to face him. Then, two hands lifted up in front of him, cupped together and caring.

He was offering comfort and Virgil would have to be crazy to not accept it.

He slid from his spot on the back of the couch and he instead allowed himself to be swaddled and cupped. He pressed his hands on the one that was nearly four times his size and he sniffled again.

“What’s the matter, buddy?” Patton was slow and careful with his movements. He leaned back on the couch a bit and sunk a bit lower into the cushions, holding his cupped hands closer to him, but far enough that he could keep an eye on the boy in his palms.

Virgil almost couldn’t find the words to say anything. Sitting in silence wouldn’t help him, so, he tried his best. “I-I’m …”

“Hey, hey,” Patton soothed, “it’s okay. You can take a moment.”

He shook his head, sitting back and stretching his legs out. Using both hands to rub at the wetness that wouldn’t stop. “I’m just- I’m just a burden t-to you and Logan …”

“What?”

“I-I know that you guys’ll be taking m-me back soon. And that- that’s okay-”

The way he had said it, showed that there was no way he was okay with that. Neither was Patton. Where in the world had Virgil gotten that idea?

“I understand if you guys don’t want me anymore … I’ve been nothing but trouble.”

“Hold your horses,” Patton finally cut him off, catching the kid off guard and causing him to look up at him, blinking those terribly sad eyes as well. He felt a tug in his chest, but he couldn’t allow his own emotions to get to him right now. “Who said Logan and I are taking you back?”

Virgil’s shoulders dropped at that. A dejected slump in his curved back. “The kids back at the orphanage. They said that you guys only chose me out of pity. That it was … was only a matter of time before you realized that I’m a burden.”

“A burden?” Patton repeated, as if he couldn’t believe it. “Virgil, you’re anything but a burden.” He watched as the kid opened his mouth to say something more, but he hushed him gently. “I know what I said. You can’t change my mind, and secondly, we’re not going to take you back.”

“I- I don’t understand,” his voice broke and he was cooed to almost instantly.

“We chose you for a reason, we’re not going to back on it.” The explanation made sense, but Virgil knew this because legal papers take forever to actually go through for affirmation. “It’d be cruel to go back on that.”

See? It’s not because they want you. It’s because they already went through the trouble of legally adopting you. Who would want to go through that twice?

The thought made another sob escape and he hid his face again. He was already seen as small and weak and this was probably reinforcing that ideology, but he didn’t care right now. There was just so much pent up inside. There was just so much that he needed to let out.

These were the emotions that he didn’t want anyone to see. He hadn’t wanted them to even see the light of day, much less break down in front of his legal guardian.

“How long has this been bothering you, kiddo?”

He didn’t answer, and that was answer enough.

Patton took a moment, trying to find the right way to phrase what he wanted to say. “You know that Lo and I love you, right?” When he didn’t get an answer again, he knew this went deeper than what the kids had told him. This went to his own personal feelings about this whole situation. “You don’t feel like you deserve a home, do you?”

When Virgil’s sobs got louder—which broke his heart, the poor little one had been suffering for so long and he hadn’t even known—he knew he had guessed right.

Virgil didn’t see himself worthy of getting to have a loving home. Whether that was because of his size, or if that was because of something that had happened in his past. The lady at the orphanage had said that he had been treated less-than-kindly by his birth parents, so that possibly had a large impact on the boy and his self-confidence. Which then translated to whenever something good was happening, he would assume it was only for a short while.

“Aw, kiddo,” he brought his hands closer to himself, almost as if he were shielding the tiny kid from the rest of the world. “You deserve so much more than what Logan and I can offer you.” And the kid really did.

If he had been dealing with kids that had constantly been after him, saying such awful things, then Virgil really did deserve so much more than what he or Logan could give him.

“N-no.” Patton was shocked to hear Virgil say anything at first, and he turned his attention down to him, watching silently as he tried to catch his breath. “You- you’ve already done so much-” he choked on his words a moment, before taking a breath and speaking again. “I j-just don’t know how I’m supposed to make it- make it up to you …”

Patton smiled softly at that, before shaking his head, letting his thumb stroke gently up the kid’s back in a fashion of comfort. It was the most he could offer. “You don’t have to do that,” he told him, feeling a bit more content when Virgil started to relax finally, allowing the comforting touch to actually comfort him. “You don’t have to make anything up to us. We already love you, what more can we ask for?”

A moment of quiet passed and Virgil had finally managed to catch enough of his breath, before rubbing his eyes and clearing the water from them. “Thank you,” his voice was shaky, but he was trying.

“Of course.” After a quick glance to the clock, it was shown to be just after 11:30 and it was starting to edge on the later side of the night. “Come on, why don’t we get you to bed, huh?”

Chapter Text

Virgil’s hands tightened in the blanket he had draped around his shoulders. It wasn’t necessarily cold, but it was more for a comfort reason than to keep himself warm.

It was a nerve wracking thing that he was about to do. It was the first time he had disturbed Patton and Logan in the middle of the night. All because of a petty nightmare.

That’s right. It was just a nightmare. Turn around and leave them alone. You’re just going to be a bother.

Maybe this really was a bad idea. He couldn’t do this.

But … the monster that was stood at the window earlier tonight flashed back into his head and Virgil swallowed nervously. The twelve-year-old let out a small, choked noise before steeling his nerves the best he could. Even as he looked up towards the side of the bed, he was terrified. Not of his parents, but of the idea of what could happen if he didn’t say something.

He had been having the same reoccurring nightmare for the past few nights and this was the first time he had done anything other than suffer alone with it.

Taking in a gentle breath, he bit into his lower lip. “D-Dad?”

He knew he was quiet, and he was really hoping that Patton had heard him. He felt his heart stammer when there was movement on the bed. The creaking of the springs, and then there was quiet again.

Maybe he hadn’t been heard. That was okay.

Leave now. Pretend this didn’t happen and then just go back to sleep.

If only it was that easy.

“Dad?” He tried again, this time raising his voice a bit more, hoping for something better than a shift in the bed. He needed a bigger reaction.

You’re being needy. You don’t need this much attention from them. You’re probably just a burden. Go back to bed and ignore this.

He startled back a moment, hearing the bed creaking again but this time, he watched as two tired eyes peered over the edge of the bed, searching for his form in the darkness.

“Virgil?”

So, turns out, he didn’t wake Patton like he had thought and had instead grabbed Logan’s attention.

More movement above him sounded and he watched as Logan grabbed his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and then his eyes were back on the small human form on the ground.

He froze. He really hadn’t meant to wake him up. “S-sorry Logan,” Virgil spoke up, pulling the blanket up to his chin and trying to hide away in that instead, since he was lacking his hoodie. “I— I didn’t mean to wake you.”

No, Logan wasn’t the best when it came to reading people, even less so when he was trying to read Virgil. The boy was tiny, young and shy. He had caught onto the fact that the boy tended to shy away from attention even when he wanted it.

Admittedly, he was a bit annoyed, but there was no reason to show it. Not with how fragile the trust they had built with Virgil was. The kid was still jumpy, even after how long they had been together. It was actually sort of disheartening how much Virgil would react negatively to normal, every day actions. Though, there was always that apologetic look that he gave Logan and Patton almost every time.

The one that said he didn’t mean it. The one that begged them to be gentle if punishment was coming.

It was sad. He had been so abused by his birth parents, that he was worried they would do the same thing to him. Each and every time that scared-broken look appeared, it was met with a gentle smile and calming reassurance.

So, he spoke up, but kept his voice quiet enough to not wake Patton. “No, that’s alright, there’s no need to apologize,” he told him, “is something the matter?”

There was something in his chest, tugging at him. He had an idea of what had brought Virgil in here. Especially at this time of night.

There was an inner struggle. Virgil didn’t know whether he wanted to be honest about why he was here, or if he should just brush it off and pretend nothing was wrong.

Before he knew it, he was nodding his head. “Y-yeah.”

Logan was almost positive that he wasn’t going to get more than that, so, he inquired himself. “Did you have a nightmare?”

A heartbeat of silence. “…yeah.”

He wasn’t surprised. Not in the least.

There were a couple ways to distract someone from a nightmare. When Patton woke with one, he usually needed a comforting touch, before distracting him with a movie or a TV show. It would allow for his mind to be led elsewhere. Perhaps that’s what Virgil needed as well. Even though they had had him for a year and a half by now, this seemed to be the first time the kid was comfortable enough coming to them with his problems and admitting that he was scared.

Though, Logan hated to think about it, he had a feeling that Virgil had most likely suffered through other nightmares because of the want to not wake Patton or himself in the middle of the night, probably fearing the worst reactions.

“That’s alright,” he told him, watching as the kid’s eyes raised to his own. So, to distract him, he would take him out to the living room and they could put something on. “Why don’t we go to the living room and watch something?”

Virgil blinked. “I-I don’t want to keep you up. I know you have work tomorrow and—”

He was cut off when a hand lowered down in front of him, a metal wedding ring glinting in the moonlight that snuck in between the drapes. The kid stepped back a moment, a bit startled by the action, before looking back up more hopefully. His blanket loosened around his shoulders.

“Nonsense,” he was told, a small reassuring smile alighted Logan’s features and he nodded his head towards his hand, “I’ve stayed up much later than one in the morning. Come on.”

It took a moment, but soon the human was moving and he was climbing into the offered palm, knelt down and covering himself with the blanket for warmth and for comfort.

His stomach dropped as the other male moved, but it certainly wasn’t as fast as he had assumed it would have been. Logan was being careful and calculating his movements just enough not to topple him, which, well, he was thankful for.

Chapter Text

“Today’s the day!”

“I know they’re going to want me!”

“I hope not, we’d all miss you too much!”

“If someone get’s adopted, it’s gonna be me, of course!”

The excited cheers of the other children were really all he could focus on, even as the words of the book he was currently reading had once enveloped his entire attention. Now, they just felt hollow.

It was like this every week. They had something called a ‘viewing day’ where adults and couples got to come in and explore around, getting to meet the orphans. Getting to know them and getting to know who they had an attachment to and which kid got to go home with them.

At least someone every week got adopted, but there were always the few weeks where the parents came in and didn’t mesh with any of the kids. They would go to the Headmaster, apologize before leaving.

Then, there was the fact that every adult that had come in to this orphanage had taken one good look at him and turned around almost instantly afterwards.

It was probably for the fact that he was the only human in the entirety of this place and who wanted to take care of a kid that was so small?

“I heard the Headmaster saying that they’re a gay couple.”

“You’d have to be really lucky to be taken in by two dads.”

“Right? Imagine if you ever had a nightmare. Double dad protection!”

“Maybe they’ll want two kids and two of us will get lucky!”

“Yeah! Who do you think is going to get adopted today?”

“Well, I think we all know for sure who’s not going to get adopted today,” a voice said from the side, causing Virgil to look up in surprise. In all honesty, he shouldn’t have been as surprised to see Julian standing a few feet away, his shadow nearly engulfing the kid. He had said it behind his hand, as though it was meant to be a secret who they were talking about.

The girl on his right giggled before nodding her head. “Even his human parents didn’t want him.”

“Hear that, Virgil?” Julian took a few steps closer to the human, leaning over just enough so that this time, he was looming. It was an intimidation factor and it had been used on him multiple times, he wasn’t really affected anymore.

“Thank you for your input, Julian,” Virgil shrugged his shoulders, adjusting himself to sit a bit more comfortably on his knees, “but I recommend you go and take your attitude somewhere else.”

“Now you watch it you little pest,” he shot back, his eyes growing stony and he leaned forwards further, this time towering over the small human. “If Lillian didn’t like you so much, me and the other kids would have gotten rid of you already.”

While the sinking feeling in his stomach told Virgil that Julian was probably telling the truth, he sneered. “Go back and cry to the Headmaster, you’re good at that.”

A snort from the girl standing beside Julian caught both of the boy’s attentions, before she laughed louder. It was obvious she thought that Julian being stood up to by a human was hilarious. To be honest, the prospect was almost comical in a way.

Looking agitated and ashamed, he wanted to say something, but it seemed like he couldn’t think of any stinging remarks. Not like it would be hard, to hurt the human’s feelings, it was more just getting him to show that he was hurt. That was the hard part when it came to insulting him. The words that were said could do serious damage, but he would never let it show for fear of having that used against him as well.

Julian clenched his hands into fists before pointing towards the human sitting on the open book. “This isn’t over, you little mistake.”

Virgil only shrugged his shoulders, letting his eyes scan down the page he was reading. “I’m glad we could continue our talk later.”

The girl next to him giggled again and Julian seemed to get redder in the face, so instead, he stomped away, shoulders tensed and bunched and angry as ever.

As soon as Julian left and his groupies followed suit, Virgil could relax and he let out a small breath. His shoulders slumped forwards and he just took a few moments to breathe. It was bad enough that he was the only human in the orphanage, but did the other kids really have to keep rubbing in the fact that he would most likely age out of the system before he was adopted?

It was just unnecessary and cruel.

Though, he supposed that was their reasoning. The more they could solidify his fears of never finding a loving home was a good way to hurt him. It was certainly effective when it came to his own deprecating thoughts.

“They’re here!” An excited squeal came from the front of the playroom and he looked up, hearing the chatter starting up almost instantly again.

The playroom got much louder than it usually was on normal days and it made his stomach sink like a rock.

Like the other kids, he should have been excited about the chance of adoption today. Though, it had been proven time and time again that no one wanted such a small kid.

He also knew what was about to happen. It happened every time.

The other kids would be dressed in their best clothes—he was as well, he had to admit, but he didn’t really have much to wear in the first place—and they would gather their toys and such, magic cards or beanie bags and would start to practice even more so than usual. It was like a warm up. The other orphans showcased their skills to draw the attention of the couple or of the single mother or father that came looking for a child, hoping that skill would be enough to draw their attention.

There were kids like Julian that loved that attention, wanting to hog all of it and keep it centered on themselves. Then, there were kids like Virgil, that kept to themselves and waited for the adults to approach them for a conversation.

The one thing that made him so much different from the other quiet kids was that he usually tried to actively avoid being noticed by any of the people that entered the orphanage in hopes of finding a child. He liked to stay tucked away in the reading nook, surrounded by the books he enjoyed reading the most and staying away from the limelight and wanting nothing more than to be ignored.

Though, there was a deep feeling within his chest that said that he only wanted a loving home, like any other nine-year-old. Like any other kid, he wanted to be held, to feel cherished by someone. To maybe feel like he belonged somewhere for once.

He shook it off. Not many adults spent enough time getting to know him anyway.

The most conversation he had had with someone who had come in, they had just made a short comment and decided that he wasn’t worth the time. It was almost worse when someone did that instead of just taking one look at him and pretending he wasn’t there. It was almost as if they were giving him false hope, only to see someone better and acting as if they had never even talked to him.

It hurt for many different reasons, but letting that show was never something that he could do. If an adult saw that sad, hopeless, helpless part of him, he knew that it would drive them away even faster than his size did.

Whatever. Whoever came in that door wouldn’t pay attention to him anyways, so why should be pay any attention to them?

He moved his attention back down onto the sentence he had been reading before being so rudely interrupted by Julian and his gaggle of jerks. Shifting so he was sitting back on his knees, his hands were pressed down against the words that were almost bigger than his hands stretched out to the entirety of their extent.

He tried to get back into the rhythm that he had been in, but it seemed to be gone. Just what he needed. To lose his motivation to read, this was not the time he wanted to be social.

When the doors did open though, the chatter heightened and the kids started to bustle around more. It was much quieter by the book nook, as not many kids escaped over here. Certainly not when Virgil was either. He had overheard many kids whispering to each other that his size made him weird. If he was back in his normal part of the city, no, his size would be deemed normal, if a bit short for his age. Compared to the rest of the kids here, he was very much short for his age.

He scanned the two at the entrance he noticed how bubbly and excited one looked, while his partner looked almost uncomfortable and overwhelmed.

The children were almost swarming, it was simple to tell who was just so eager to be noticed while other kids stayed sitting on their bunks playing card games or attempting magic tricks that they had heard about online or on TV.

Other kids pretended to race each other around the room, using toys as the finish line before giggling. Some even told jokes, snickering to each other as if to draw enough attention. Julian was standing proudly near a soccer ball on the other side of the room. The twelve-year-old wanted all of the attention and he knew how to get it normally.

Virgil rolled his eyes, before pushing back on his knees and standing up, brushing himself up and reaching under the page he had just been sitting on and doing his best to flip it over. It took a few tries, before he managed to do it successfully.

He pulled himself back up onto the book and stepped over onto the left page and sat down about five sentences from the top. Far enough that he could still read it without having to move positions too much, but close enough that he could read everything perfectly fine.

When he had lost himself once again in the fictional world of Harry Potter and his friends, he had barely registered the thudding footsteps heading in his direction.

His shoulders tensed when he felt a shadow fall over him, only to drop a bit more as the person lowered to a sit.

Oh, please don’t be Julian. Please, don’t be Julian.

“Trying to escape from the madness as well?”

That … that wasn’t Julian.

Virgil’s eyes almost moved instantly from the part he had been reading before turning to look over his shoulder and instead seeing the second man from the pair sitting on the love-seat bench tucked comfortably into the nook of the bookshelf.

The brown eyes were focused down on him, peering through the black lenses and the kid almost didn’t know how to respond.

This adult had willingly started a conversation with him. Had the Headmaster said something to him? Had Lillian urged him to do it? His heart sunk in his chest at the thought.

“Uh, yeah,” he said softly. More like trying to avoid your attention and look at how well that turned out for me. “You could say that.”

It seemed reasonable enough, but it would only take a few moments before he realized just how useless Virgil was and decided to go and talk to another kid. It was only matter of time before the adult would be making some excuse to pardon himself and then go off and get to know someone else. Someone more interesting.

So, with that negative thought in mind, Virgil turned back to his sentence and continued to read, though, he did feel a bit uncomfortable at the prospect that he was technically ignoring someone that seemed to have an almost genuine interest in him.

The sound of leather shifting caught his attention, but he made no move to look over his shoulder again. Not yet, at least.

“Can I ask what you’re reading?”

That wasn’t something he had been expecting. Maybe he was just asking out of courtesy. “Harry Potter,” he answered after a moment of hesitation. “The Goblet of Fire. I’ve read the other books too.” A little bit of confidence boosted into his system when he started to talk about something he enjoyed. “Though, this is the first time I’ve ever had to read it in a book so much bigger than me. It’s a bit difficult.”

A warm chuckle rumbled from above him, and Virgil felt some of that warmth as well. “I can assume so,” replied the stranger, pushing his glasses up a bit farther up on the bridge of his nose. “Have you seen the movies?”

Virgil shook his head. “I’ve never had the chance to,” the words were accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders. “My mom and dad were never big movie watchers.” They spent most of their time yelling at each other. “And since I’ve been here, there’s hasn’t really been much of a chance. Lillian said she would try and get the movies for me and her to watch but that hasn’t happened yet.”

“I see,” was the reply.

He was still a bit in awe, honestly, at the fact that this adult was still talking with him. He didn’t have any special talents.

He wasn’t good at drawing attention to himself unless it was the unwanted kind. He never tried jumping up and down and jumping through hoops to try and attract the gaze of someone who entered the orphanage.

So, why was he still talking to him?

The quiet was held for a moment. The boy shifted a bit uncomfortably under the constant watch, but he said nothing. Instead, the silence was broken by the stranger yet again. “What’s your name?”

His breathing halted in his chest, a sharp pang rang through his body at the question. He had been asked for his name. No one ever asked for his name. He coughed a bit, trying to cover up the choked noise he had almost let out and his attention turned back to the man sitting only a bit away from him. He hesitated a moment, wondering if this was some sort of trick, before ruling that out almost instantly. “Virgil.”

“It’s a pleasure, Virgil,” he was answered with again, a gentle quirk of the lips showing a gentler grin, trying to come off as less intimidating almost. “My name is Logan.” He then nodded his head towards the other man who was happily chattering to one of the kids, before seemingly laughing at one of their jokes. Callie had always been good at telling jokes. “That’s my husband, Patton.”

Virgil almost didn’t know how to respond to that sort of information, instead, he just smiled slightly, dipping his head into a nod to show that he understood.

In fact, he was still rather floored by the fact that the man—Logan—cared enough to ask for his name. To even just stay seated here with him, asking about things that he liked. Belatedly, Virgil realized that he was trying to get to know him. Like the other adults did with the other kids, asking them questions about things they liked to do, favourites, and so on.

It was nearly a completely foreign concept to him.

Someone wanting to get to know him.

He didn’t have any special hidden talents, he wasn’t able to play sports like other kids. He could barely read a normal book without struggling and needing assistance, so he wasn’t entirely sure where Logan’s interest in him laid.

Though, Virgil’s attention shifted again, back out to the playroom as Patton seemed to be excusing himself from some of the children’s over-the-top antics at trying to steal his entire attention.

His footsteps got a bit more prominent and Virgil felt his anxiety creeping back into his chest. He had barely had more than one adult’s attention on him at a time. He was used to the people in the orphanage and Julian certainly didn’t hold any fear over him anymore, but two strangers were an absolutely different case.

He dropped his gaze, back down to the forgotten words before shifting himself to sit cross-legged on the expanse of paper beneath him.

It took only a moment it seemed before Logan’s partner was in the reading area as well and his heart started to pound in his chest.

Though, when he looked back up, he saw the somewhat startled look from nearly matching glasses and brown eyes peering down at him from behind those glass lenses. Though, the smile he got afterwards was warm and gentle. Patton was kneeling down in front of him after a second, to get a bit more level with the kid.

“Hey kiddo.” His voice was kind and soft. Something that Virgil almost hadn’t heard in a very long time. His birth father had always been shouting, whether it was in a shouting match against his mother, or when he was facing the kid down and ordering him to do something.

The kindness and understanding attention he was receiving from these two strangers was almost too much for him to bear. He almost felt a little bit choked up at the fact that they both wanted to talk to him.

How else was he supposed to react?

So, to not leave the other without saying something back, Virgil swallowed back his nerves before smiling shakily. “Hi.” He was quiet, he knew that, but at least he was trying.

This was the most he had done for two strangers in a long time, but he actually felt valued. He actually felt as though they were genuinely interested in him for once. That they weren’t just cornering him out of pity.

There was a bit of heat bubbling behind his eyes, but he couldn’t let that show, so he tried to steady himself. Getting teary would only bring out the pity and that was the last thing he wanted.

But then, just as he looked past Patton, he could see Julian staring him down. Anger etched onto his features, aggression was very much obvious, and it was the first time Virgil actually felt worried about Julian doing something bad in a very long time. The look he was being given was dark and hateful, almost saying:

‘Stop distracting them from the rest of us, you little mistake, let them talk to someone else for God’s sake.’

What he didn’t know was that he wasn’t the only one that saw such a look, Logan had also been watching the other kid silently. It didn’t seem to sink in to Julian that he was being watched. Quite closely as well.

So, when Virgil had dropped his head away from the both of them, Logan took his chance to reach forwards and gently nudge Patton in the shoulder. When he got a confused look in response, he said nothing had nodded his head subtly behind him, to where Julian was still keeping a hard watch on the kid they were currently talking to.

Patton, after a moment, took the hint and made it seem more natural and just scanned over the rest of the kids as they played and caused chaos. He caught just the tail end of Julian’s harsh glare, and it was instead replaced by a large grin and the boy’s attitude switched almost instantly after he had turned around.

If that wasn’t a big warning bell, he wasn’t sure what was.

So, he decided to change the subject. He could see the dejected slump in the boy’s shoulders in front of him and he felt his heart ache. He offered a gentler smile. “What do you like to do?”

Virgil blinked, the question had come out of nowhere and he startled. He opened his mouth to say something before stopping himself.

What did he like to do?

“Um, I like to read, I guess,” he offered after a moment of slight hesitation. He wasn’t exactly sure what else to say. There were a few things he liked. The outdoors, walks, stars. He really did like looking up at the sky at night when all of the lights were out. It didn’t make him feel so alone.

Patton’s smile warmed further. “Logan likes to read too.”

Which was answered with a hum of approval from said man.

Though, Julian was staring him down again and Virgil knew what he needed to do. He needed to push these two strangers — these two lovely, incredibly kind strangers away.

Before Logan or Patton could say something more, they were being cut off, much to their surprise. “If you’re looking for a girl, Lana can tap dance while blowing bubbles,” he started off, the water in his eyes slowly becoming more prominent as he smiled shakily, “and Tasha’s really good at reading French. But if you’re looking for a boy, Lucas is really good when it comes to magic tricks and Julian is—” a bully who wants nothing more than to pretend to be good. He wants to hog all the attention on himself, please don’t believe anything he says to you, it’s all an act, “—really good at sports.”

Kids had actually even used Virgil himself in their schemes to get people to like them. They had always chattered at him, making him uneasy, but being incredibly nice to him. It was all for show, none of it was real nor did it carry over after those people had left.

The startled look on Patton’s face said it all and Virgil felt so horribly guilty at it. He instead turned his watery gaze elsewhere and used the edge of his sleeve to wipe just under his eyes, before turning that sad smile right back to the both of them.

“You— certainly know a lot about everyone here,” Logan spoke up, a heartbeat of silence between them.

Virgil shrugged his shoulders. “That’s what happens when you’ve been here as long as I have. Not many people want to adopt someone like— like me.”

And there it was. He had brought out that pity look. Had he managed to finally make them uncomfortable enough to leave him alone?

He knew that Julian was watching again, this aggression, yet the look of satisfaction was something that didn’t go unnoticed by Virgil or Logan, yet again. Which led Virgil seeming to close further in on himself and getting the adult, in turn, to stiffen.

The fact that the kid could be so blatantly aggressive right in front of the people that were here to adopt someone made no logical sense. If he was trying to impress them, he was doing an awful job at it.

Actually, as he met Patton’s eyes, their conversation was silent and right above the boy’s head, but there was a mutual understanding. It seemed they already knew who they wanted.

Though, there was more wild cheering and when the three turned to see what was happening, Julian was suddenly in the centre of the circle, trying to arm-wrestle whoever was willing enough to face him down. It was once again the tactic to draw the adults’ attention away from him and onto them, to hopefully draw them away. Instead, it almost backfired.

Patton instead readjusted his kneeling position as his knees were starting to cramp, before looking back towards Virgil. “What are they doing?” He already had a sneaking suspicion, but he did want to make sure.

“They’re trying to take your attention away from me,” he mumbled, using his sleeve to wipe at the dampness under his eyes again, “it’s okay though, if you’d rather talk to them. I’m not really that interesting.”

“Falsehood,” Logan stated almost instantly after that, just as Patton’s eyes softened. “You’re no less important than the rest of them.”

What would lead him to believe this, Logan had a few ideas. Perhaps it was the fact that the one child that kept eyeing Virgil was putting him down. Most likely even worse so when outsiders weren’t there. It was probably the fact that since Virgil was human, it would make him an easier target for the other kids and with how non-confrontational he seemed to be, it would be easy to accomplish such tasks without getting caught by the adults in charge.

The startled, heartbroken look flickered in the boy’s eyes and instantly, he knew what kid they would be taking home. Logan also had a feeling that Patton was already pretty attached. Just by the way he could see his husband watching the little one was almost proof enough.

It seemed that the both of them wanted to get him out of this place, not when he seemed to be treated so roughly. Virgil was a good kid, it was easy to tell. He was quiet, and certainly respectful. How they could treat him any differently failed to make any sense.

Just because the boy was smaller? Ridiculous. He deserved a loving household just like any other kid.

Virgil sniffled for a moment, before shaking his head, trying to shake off the kind words. It seemed as if he didn’t personally think he deserved it, which had to have been driven into him by the kids here, if not his birth parents in the first place.

“Hey,” Patton’s voice drew the kid’s attention, and when the teary eyes looked over to him, he smiled softly. “I would much rather talk to you.”

“Why?” His voice cracked on the question. But it held so much more weight.

‘Why do you want to talk to me? Why am I so important? What makes me different from the other children?’

A pregnant pause permeated the air around them, save for the chattering of the other children still trying to steal Patton and Logan’s attention. It was easy to tell that Julian was nearly minutes away from actually asking for attention and showing off, it was an easy thing for him to do. He had been getting whatever he wanted since he was new here.

For a moment, neither of them really knew how to respond to such a question, as simple as it could have been.

Then, the quiet broke. “Because you’ve been through so much,” Patton started, watching as Virgil’s eyes moved back to his own, watching him through his bangs as if he was trying to hide in plain sight. “So much more than what a child your age should have to go through.”

He wanted to say something, but nothing was coming to mind. Absolutely nothing. His shoulders trembled for a moment before he raised his hands to hide his face.

This was the last thing he had wanted the both of them to see. It was the last thing Virgil wanted anyone to see him do. He’d never met these people before and here he was in tears in front of them because for once in a long time, he felt valid. He felt that he could be wanted. It was pathetic that he was crying over something so small, but there had just been so much pent up inside him.

“Awe, kid,” Patton had the urge to reach forwards and comfort him, but he wasn’t sure if that would really be alright with the boy and the last thing he wanted to do was make him even more uncomfortable. His eyes turned to Logan instead, a silent look saying ‘please go talk to Lillian, I want to stay here for comfort reasons.’

Getting a nod in response, Logan was quick to stand and make his way through the crowd of kids. He had been stopped briefly, just by a young little boy who was curious if he was married to Patton, as apparently it had been a rumour floating around before they had arrived. He had said yes, of course, before continuing on and leaving the playroom altogether.

——————————

It was so unfair.

He couldn’t believe it. The two people that had spent so much time talking to him really didn’t seem to care enough about him in the long run.

It wasn’t fair.

Virgil had thought … he had been led to believe that maybe, just maybe something good could have happened.

But no. No. He knew that they were going to choose another kid. A better kid. Someone that was more talkative. Of course not. Why would anyone want a kid like him? The only human in an orphanage that outmatched him? The only human in a world that would continue to outmatch him.

It had been a couple days since Patton and Logan had left, and he felt alone again. There had been a fleeting moment in time where he had believed that for once he would be needed, that he would be wanted. What a stupid thought. He had been naive.

Julian and his stupid gaggle of groupies were right. Out of all the hope that Virgil had had, that he had almost had a true chance at a loving home.

Who was he kidding? Out of everything that had happened to him, with his birth parents and in the orphanage as well, it was easy to say that he didn’t deserve the kind of happiness.

So, the boy pulled his knees up to his chest as he sat on the window sill in the room he was given. He was allowed to stay in a room by himself as the Headmaster and Lillian had said that it would be safer for him to be away from the other children at night. He couldn’t have agreed more, but this solitude also gave him the chance to stay completely in his own company unless being actively sought out.

His hood was pulled up over his head and his arms rested on the tops of his knees, resting his cheek against it and just staring blankly out the window.

The sky was a shining blue, white clouds dotted here and there, but inside, he just felt this swirling grey.

Julian really was right. You’re useless. Even the kindest, most understanding people didn’t have the patience for you, he laughed bitterly to himself, sounds about right.

He tried to shake the thoughts, but was instead welcomed with heat bubbling behind his eyes. The tightness in his throat was telling him how close he was to letting out a sob, but he fought it down, trying to remain as unattached as he could.

They were two strangers. They didn’t even mean anything to him. So why was he taking this rejection so hard?

There had been so many other people. So many that had come and gone. Given him nothing but a side glance and he felt nothing for them. There had even been people that did stop to talk to him, if very briefly, and he felt nothing for them either. So why was this any different?

It didn’t make any sense and it was frustrating and upsetting.

The sound of the door opening behind him made him flinch the tiniest bit, but he played it off when the footsteps approached him quietly. The soft clicking of heels on the wooden flooring proved that he already knew who it was.

Lillian had been checking on him for the past week as he had barely come out to the playroom. He hadn’t even touched his book on the bookshelf. She had even taken the liberty to bring it up here for him if he wanted to read in peace.

He had been despondent with her a lot of the time, but she still cared enough to make sure he was eating his fill and staying hydrated. Even if he didn’t say it aloud to her, he hoped she knew that it meant a lot to him.

She was a caring woman and she certainly didn’t see him as any less than the other kids, if anything, he thought she would sometimes prioritize him. Maybe that’s why Julian didn’t like him: because he almost always had the upper hand when it came to being favoured, whether he tried to be or not.

Virgil also wasn’t rude to the other adults like some of the kids were. He rarely talked back, unless absolutely necessary. Such a thing hasn’t really happened with the Headmaster or with Lillian or any of the other officials yet.

The only people he had really snapped at were the other kids that thought it was fun to pick on him.

And even then, threats couldn’t scare the other kids if you were under three inches compared to them. All they did was giggle and taunt.

‘How are you gonna do that, Short Stack?’

‘Gonna bite me? Oh no, I’m so terrified.’

‘Oof, that’s a lot of bark for someone that has no bite.’

‘Big attitude for a little guy.’

He hated it. Every single living second of being here was a nightmare come true. Though, there were worse places out there, he had to admit, such as living with his parents back home. That, compared to this orphanage, wasn’t horrible.

So, he stayed unhappily curled up on the sill, just watching. Waiting.

“Virgil, Sweetheart—”

He tipped his head away from the woman after she spoke. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbled into his arms, slightly muffling his voice.

She sighed. “That’s not why I’m here, Hon.”

He was waiting for her to say something more, when he realized that she was waiting for him to prompt her on, to prove that he was truly interested in what she was going to say.

So, he humoured her and turned his head just enough to see her out of the corner of his eye. “Why’re you here then?”

“It’s about Patton and Logan.”

He shut down almost instantly and he tensed his shoulders. “They didn’t want me. It’s why they left.” I was successfully able to push them away.

Lillian frowned gently, moving to sit on the seat just beneath the windowsill and she leaned forwards a bit, trying to catch the boy’s attention. “Now, that’s not true.”

She heard the smallest sniffle, before watching Virgil use the edge of his sleeve to rub just under his eyes, trying to scrub away the wetness that was trying to escape. “How would you know?”

Well, she knew because she had proof that they wanted him. The papers that had been signed.

But it wasn’t only the official signing of the papers that proved it to her. She had seen that look in their eyes. Patton had such compassion and Logan had looked so determined. She swore she could already see those parental protective instincts kicking into gear. They had just talked to the boy and she knew they were perfect for him.

Virgil was a good kid, if a bit quiet, but he knew how to be heard when he wanted to be. Of course, there were times where he shied away from that attention, even if he did want it in the first place, but when given the chance, he can really knock it out of the ball park.

Lillian was a people watcher, and what she had seen from Patton and Logan said more than words ever could.

After meeting Julian, they probably went after him. He’s always been the favourite of so many other adults. Everyone just gives one look at you before finding a different kid.

Another part of him though, the more reasonable part, was saying something much different.

Yeah, but not many others can read people like Patton can, or be as observant and vigilant as Logan was. It would be insane to believe that neither of them had caught onto Julian’s actions when he was doing it literally behind their backs.

Being positive was hard when all he knew was pessimism.

When all he had been shown was cruelty by the very people that were supposed to love him like no one else. They were supposed to protect him and care for him, and all that had happened was he had been taken out of their custody.

What a great life. Couldn’t have wished for something better.

“Sweetheart, just listen to me, okay?” Lillian tried again, only watching as he tried to shut her out further.

“Stop, Lillian, please,” his voice started to get a bit more unsteady. “I just— I know, okay.” He raised a hand to rub at the tears that had managed to escape down his flushed cheeks. He hiccuped slightly. “No one wants someone like me.”

If Lillian had been legally allowed to adopt anyone in this orphanage, she knew that it would be the tiny kid currently talking down about himself right in front of her.

But that would have taken away the chance at him getting a home with his own gender, and he had a better opportunity now.

So, she refused to let him continue like this. “That’s not true,” she said softly, knowing that physical touch wouldn’t help this situation, but that didn’t keep her from wanting to try. She refrained however. So, she explained what was happening and why it had happened. “The papers took a few days to sign and then go through for approval, but, Hon, you’ve been adopted.”

Those were the words that made him freeze. Everything in him went tense as a bowstring and he tried to sort out what she had just said to him.

Adopted. He had been adopted. “W-what?”

Lillian’s own eyes were brimming with tears as she looked down to him, this sweet little boy was finally getting the chance to live life like a kid should be able to do. “That’s right,” she nodded her head. “You should pack your things, they’re waiting downstairs for you.”

“They didn’t—,” he stifled a sob behind his hand, as the news overwhelmed him, “they didn’t abandon me.”

Of course, it was absurd to think that two people he had never met before were ‘abandoning’ him, but when he had met Patton and Logan, things had just felt different, even from the first time Logan had spoken with him. It had felt genuine for once. Conversation hadn’t been stilted and forced.

“No, Sweetheart, they didn’t,” she then nudged the boy ever so gently in the side. “Go back your things, hon. I’ll wait right here for you.”

There was excitement that flourished in him, just the idea that he was finally getting out of this place at long last. The only people he would miss would be Lillian and the Headmaster. He could care less about the other kids and he knew that as soon as word got out that he was the one chosen, there would be meltdowns.

A part of him wanted to stay just long enough to watch Julian throw down.

Getting up quickly, he pushed himself away from the window sill and to the edge of it, where a small staircase had been built in just for him. It was easily removable because someone knew that at least one day, he would get out of here and those stairs wouldn’t be needed again. There was a bit of a trek over a catwalk that had been also been installed, allowing him easier access to the rest of the room, but mainly everything for him was on one surface.

The furniture that he had was actually human made so it was all perfectly made to scale. Nothing was too big and nothing was too small. Of course, it was odd why he hadn’t been taken to a different orphanage, but now, now he couldn’t complain about any of that. He was getting his chance.

Packing took little to no time at all and before long, he had everything shoved in the same bag he had arrived here with. Just a black backpack and nothing but the clothes on his back.

He stood at the edge of the wooden surface and he looked as if he were almost beaming.

“Aw Sweetheart,” Lillian cooed softly, getting up from her seated position and moving to kneel in front of him. She swiped at her tears. She was trying not to get too emotional. “I’m really going to miss having you around here.”

Virgil knew that he was going to miss Lillian too. She was the kindest one here and really, she deserved everything. She had been nurturing and caring and had stayed up with him when he had had nightmares about his parents coming back for him.

That was another thing he would never have to worry about again. His birth parents coming back and adopting him into their custody again. Of course, he was positive that’s not how it worked, but he could rest easy.

Being brought into another household gave him the chance to leave his past behind, even if it still haunted his waking dreams, and start anew.

Chapter Text

“Do you really have something negative to say about every Disney movie?” The annoyed tone was playful, but it did hold a small ounce of truth in it, even as the brown eyes moved and focused downwards on the smaller form sitting on the back of the couch. “You’ve hardly seen a handful of them and you manage to always find something in them worth mentioning.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, pulling his legs up and crossing them comfortably, before leaning back on his hands. “Well yeah,” he motioned to the screen as Beauty and the Beast rolled in front of them. “Belle fell in love with her captor. That’s Stockholm syndrome. That’s not romantic.”

“But that’s not the point of the story, you Emo Nightmare,” Roman sounded exasperated. Their debate had been going on for quite awhile now. They were almost completely through the entirety of the movie itself. “The point of the story is that she falls for his personality, not his looks.”

“After being captured? Come on,” the borrower snarked back. There was very little fear when he was interacting with Roman, though, there were moments where his instincts would kick in. “He locked her in a cell, for one. And he wasn’t exactly kind any time after that.”

It was almost astonishingly easy to compare Belle’s situation to one that he had been in weeks prior. Being captured and certainly been talked down to, ignored and pushed around. Sure, the outcomes of both of their stories were completely different, as Virgil was fairly sure there was no Stockholm syndrome involved in his life, but he guessed he had somehow befriended the human that had caught him in the first place.

Though, that still didn’t really prove anything.

The sound of Mrs. Potts’ voice singing as Belle and the Beast danced across the screen, in colours of yellow and blue and white, drew his attention back to the screen.

Yes, Virgil always had something negative to say, but he did enjoy watching the movies anyways. They were entertaining and, as he had been told, they were classics. The Black Cauldron was admittedly his favourite, but they didn’t watch it too often as it wasn’t exactly a light and fluffy tale.

The couch shifted and his attention shifted back to the human as said male adjusted himself to sit a bit more comfortably. “Do you … actually like watching these movies?”

The question was actually sort of surprising. “Uh, yeah?” It almost came out more of a question. “They’re good movies. Just, the plot-holes and problems can be … kind of distracting.”

With the short silence that followed, his anxiety skyrocketed.

His throat tightened. Had he said something wrong? Had he screwed this up? Great. Just great. Out of the few people that he did know well enough, he had already managed to screw up this chance. The last thing he had ever expected was to befriend a human being, even with his fear and the accelerated heart rate almost every time he came out, but—

“I can understand that,” Roman’s voice broke his negative train of thought, and he startled, eyes shooting up to look at him. Said human’s eyes were already turning to look at him. “I mean, if you say the plot aloud, it doesn’t exactly sound great. A fair maiden being captured by a hairy beast, who is certainly less than kind to her, and then she falls for him? I can see your reasoning.” He offered Virgil a small grin, noticing how nervous he was, and Roman could only guess that his mind had been less than helpful. “You don’t have to worry. As much as I adore the works of Disney, there are problems.”

Without realizing that his hands had been shaking, he moved from leaning back on them and he tucked them into his pockets. “I, uh, yeah,” he laughed nervously for a moment, feeling the want to hide away in his hoodie. “Yeah.”

Before the conversation could be prolonged, or even start up again, the sound of footsteps entering the living room caught them both by surprise.

“Virgil?” Patton’s voice sounded worried and that was somewhat alarming. What could possibly make him feel so upset? “I know you and Roman are watching a movie, but I— are you busy?”

Virgil looked up to Roman, who in turn just nodded his head towards Patton, a gentle, understanding look. “Don’t worry, Thumbelina, we can finish the movie later.”

The borrower was thankful for that, at least. So, with that decided, he then turned his entire body and let his legs dangle over the back of the couch.

“Sure, Pat, what’s going on?”

The way Patton was fidgeting with his hands, spoke to a nervous human. There was something that had really upset him, and he couldn’t even think of what it could possibly be. What had gone wrong?

“It’s Logan,” he broke the silence and suddenly Virgil felt the blood leave his face.

Those were the only two words needed to make Virgil’s anxiety intensify.

What had happened to him? Was he sick? Hurt? Dying?

Oh God, he knew he shouldn’t have taken the day to watch a couple movies with Roman. He knew he should have made sure Logan was doing okay.

When he had knocked on his friend’s door, there had been no answer and Virgil had just assumed he was either out or still sleeping. He should have known better than to just believe that the silence he had gotten meant that he was fine.

He should have known better.

The look of terror and regret must have been obvious, because he watched as Patton scrambled to find something else to say. “He’s fine, I promise! But, um, I don’t think he’s feeling okay. He won’t talk to me about it and I’ve been trying to. I think it’s just making him more distant. Maybe … maybe if you tried talking to him?”

Virgil wasn’t exactly the best when it came to dealing with others emotions. He could hardly deal with his own, as he kept it inside of himself until it all came out in one big breakdown. Helping Logan, who even refused to acknowledge his feelings, would be difficult.

He then nodded his head. “Okay,” he spoke up, pulling his hands from his pockets and pushing himself into a stand. “I’ll see what I can do. Where is he?”

Patton seemed to light up a little bit at the fact that Virgil was willing to help. Not that he really doubted him. “He’s been reading on my laptop in my room almost all day,” he stepped over to the back of the couch and offered his hands out.

Virgil was positive he would never be able to really be used to Roman or Patton offering to carry him. It was odd and the phobia of human hands wasn’t an easy one to shake. Not that he thought the humans meant him any harm, but there was always that constant, lingering ‘what if something goes wrong’ or ‘what if they change their mind and they decide to use this trust against you’.

Usually, he would be more than content to turn down the offer and make his way on his own, but if Logan wasn’t feeling right, well, he didn’t really have the time to waste.

So, he tried to relax his pounding heart and pushed off the edge of the couch and landed on the offered palms. He crouched down on his knees and leaned down to keep his balance.

However, that balance only lasted a moment before he toppled over by the quick movements from the human. There was a quiet apology murmured down to him, but there was much more urgency in his actions.

Pushing up onto his hands, he crossed his legs. There were so many things that he was worried could be going wrong. Was Logan upset and just not sure how to express it? Virgil would have been almost positive that Patton would get more of a reaction from him. Though, trying to connect to someone who always wore his emotions on his sleeves, to someone that pretends he doesn’t have them, would make it difficult for the two of them to relate.

Virgil was kind of in between when it came to the both of those things. He could wear his emotions out completely in the open, or he could tuck them away and keep them hidden from the light of day. He was probably the better option, honestly.

He also knew Logan a lot better than Patton did, so that would probably help as well.

When the door to the bedroom creaked open, there was no visual response from Logan, save the fact that his shoulders might have tensed, only to release again when hearing no further noise.

The fact that speaking also wasn’t really an option either was something that said silence may be the better option until Patton left the room. If he had been trying and failing to get something from the stubborn male, then perhaps Virgil, when he was alone with him, would be able to get something different.

The human crossed the distance between the door and the bed, to where the laptop was set up on the waves of covers.

The hands were lowered and Virgil brought himself into a stand, before hopping off and tucking his hands into his pockets, shrugging a bit farther into his jacket before turning his attention upwards. The way Logan was on the laptop itself, well, it was certainly a much sturdier surface than the bed itself was.

“Thanks for the ride, Pat,” he called up, offering a small grin, before getting one in return. Though, after that, no other words were shared before Patton left the room and shut the door behind him.

Virgil then turned his attention to his accomplice, who was obviously pretending not to notice that he was currently there as well. His eyes were glued to the screen, but he could tell that Logan’s heart wasn’t in whatever he was currently reading. His mind was elsewhere.

Standing in silence, however, wasn’t going to get either of them anywhere, and Virgil knew what he needed to do, but doing that was going to be the problem.

So, he managed to wobble over to the edge of the laptop, sitting on the opposite side of the touch-pad from where Logan was and crossed his legs. His eyes moved to the screen as the page scrolled for a moment, before stopping once more.

From what Virgil could tell, the essay Logan was currently reading was something that had to do with physics. He wasn’t sure why, or what was so interesting about it, but then again, that wasn’t his thing. With how much of a nerd Logan could be, this made sense.

“So,” Virgil finally broke his vow of silence and he watched as Logan tensed.

“If Patton set you up to try and get something from me, you are going to be sorely disappointed.”

The remark was a bit cold, but it was his self-defense mechanism. Virgil knew that when Logan got hurt or stressed or worried, he got indifferent, short and pushed people away. It was what Virgil had done countless times, as well.

It was to keep himself from getting hurt further.

He adjusted his position. “He said you weren’t feeling quite like yourself.”

“I feel fine.”

Okay, so that’s how this was going to be. He should have expected it, honestly. He disliked it when someone else came asking about he felt, so he really should have known that Logan would be the exact same way, if not worse.

“I never said you weren’t,” Virgil countered back, watching as Logan refused to even look in his direction, “but I’m here because Patton got worried about you. He got even more so when you wouldn’t talk to him.”

The other borrower rolled his eyes and finally turned just enough to see him out of the corner of his eye. “You’re free to go back to watching movies with Roman, I can assure you that everything is fine.”

Virgil took a moment to realize that he probably wasn’t going about this the right way. There had to be a different way to address feelings without outright saying ‘I want to talk to you about the feelings you say you don’t have’.

But what was the right thing to say?

Did he try and relate to him on a more personal level? Or would that just make Logan colder? Patton had said that he tried to be understanding and was instead pushed away, but maybe that was because he was a human.

“Logan, I get it,” he started off, trying to grab his attention. “I get that maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed or upset. I’m … not sure about what, but I’ve felt that way lots of times.” He leaned forwards, trying to gauge the reaction he was getting from him. He was greeted with an emotionless expression, which he wasn’t surprised. “I’ve felt hurt before, too. The want to push others away and keep this— unhappiness from being overwhelming on someone else.”

“Virgil, I have already told you. I feel fine.”

Well, it was a bit of progress.

“Look, I’m no good at this- this sappy stuff, but I’m trying to help you. I know for a fact that keeping things inside is only going to do more harm than good. You should know that too.”

Logan sighed, put his posture was tense. Either Virgil was about to engage in an argument, or Logan was preparing to leave this whole thing behind and avoid it by literally leaving. “I don’t want to talk about this—”

“I know you don’t,” he cut the other off, moving just close enough to be an inch or two away from the touch-pad, the thing itself still separating him and his roommate. “I never want to be faced with my problems either. Especially not by someone else. Yet, here we are.”

He watched as Logan stood up, and Virgil was quick to follow.

“No,” he warned. This time his voice was stern. “You don’t get to pretend that this didn’t happen. You don’t get to pretend that you don’t feel. We all feel, so stop ignoring it for once.”

“And who are you to bring this up?” There was the snap back, it was sharp and defensive.

Virgil held his ground, even as sharp brown eyes turned back around on him, finally meeting his gaze for once. He was unmoved. “Because I’ve been in the same position you’re in right now.” That probably didn’t convince him, but it was honest. “It sucks, Logan. It does.”

He could tell that he was going to get a fight. There was that look building behind the other man’s eyes and he could see a defense coming from a mile away.

Yet, the silence was held between them.

It was sharp and angry, biting and cold, but there was also another undertone to it. Something that was almost resigned. Not for the fact that they were about to give up the battle between them, but it seemed as if something had snapped into place behind those black-rimmed glasses.

“You’re not going to give up on this are you?”

“Nope,” Virgil replied, shuffling on his feet, before offering a small grin. “You can walk away and try and leave the conversation, but we live together. You’re not getting away from this. Not this time.”

Logan just looked weary. Tired. “What if I told you that I really do feel fine?”

“I wouldn’t believe you.”

He opened his mouth to say something more, and instead, he stopped himself. He dropped his eyes and Virgil stepped around the touch-pad to get a bit closer to him.

“I’m not going to judge you, you know,” the shorter male said quietly, watching as Logan ducked under his hand and went to sit on the very edge of the laptop instead, facing the head of the bed. He let out a small breath and went to sit beside him. “We’re in this together.”

Logan hesitated. “I know.”

The quiet held for a moment. “If you don’t want to tell me, I won’t be offended, Hell, I know that it sometimes feels better to keep it inside. But, I’m here to listen if you do want to.”

“It is not that I don’t trust you, Virgil, I know I can.” That made the young man feel a burst of warmth in his chest, but only for a moment and he watched as Logan almost deflated. “I just—” There was that frustrated look again, looking like he wanted to pull back and ignore the problem. But there was also a resilience that said he wasn’t going to allow himself to do so. “I’m not the one that’s supposed to feel. I feel as though I may be broken.”

The admittance made Virgil freeze. A feeling of guilt filled his chest. Was it because Logan was around someone like him all the time, that his tendencies were starting to rub off? No. It couldn’t be like that. Could it?

“Am— am I broken?”

Then, those sad brown eyes were focused on him and he didn’t know what to do with the sudden attention. He swallowed thickly before shaking his head.

“No,” he finally said, clasping his hands in his lap and avoiding his attention completely from Logan’s. “No, you’re not broken. These emotions …” He paused, trying to find the right words. Virgil wasn’t like Patton. He couldn’t just explain or try to explain why he was feeling this way. “They’re–”

“I just … I don’t understand them.” There was more emotion building in Logan’s voice, and it sounded like he was almost starting to get choked up by the fact that he didn’t understand. “I have nothing to be upset about and the fact that I feel this way is ridiculous and unreasonable.”

“You feel sad for no reason?”

“I suppose that is one way of putting it,” he agreed, moving his gaze to land on the pillow so far away from them, yet so close. “A little less gently than I would believe, but yes.”

“That’s not unreasonable,” Virgil told him with a shrug. “It’s normal. You’re not broken because you don’t understand how you feel.” He rubbed a hand up his arm, and he sighed. “A lot of times, I don’t know why I feel bad, I just feel bad and that’s not wrong. You know?”

The quiet held. Then, there was a small intake of breath and when Virgil looked to his right, he noticed that Logan had hid his face in the crooks of his arms, his shoulders trembling.

Now he was in a dilemma. Was he supposed to reach over and comfort him?

For one, Virgil was kind of in shock. He had never seen Logan so emotionally vulnerable and it was disheartening. Another part of him knew that this was good for him, getting these emotions out. Crying usually helped someone feel better, but he didn’t know whether physical touch would be the best way to comfort him like this. He knew that Logan wasn’t a very physically affectionate person either. Not exactly affectionate, period.

So, he went with his gut and moved a bit closer to him, before placing an arm around his shoulder. He rested his head on Logan’s shoulder before just sitting in silence.

It was heartbreaking, in all honesty. He sounded so broken. There was just so much hurt that seemed to be locked away, and it had only been a matter of time before this would have happened. Though, Virgil assumed that having Logan upset now was better than if he were by himself. He also knew that seeing him like this would be something kept completely confidential.

“What am I even doing?” Logan mumbled, his voice was muffled. “This is pathetic. I shouldn’t be feeling like this— this isn’t. I don’t …”

“Hey,” Virgil kept his arm where it was, making sure to offer as much comfort as he could. “Don’t blame yourself for feeling like this. It’s not … This is okay. You’re allowed to feel overwhelmed.”

“But if I can’t keep— I’m …”

“You’re alright,” he assured the logical male. “You’re okay. I know, emotions aren’t your thing, you’ve told me many a’time. Emotions aren’t really my thing either, but from what I do know, it’s okay to feel a bit down. It doesn’t really take away from who you are as a person. I’m not going to feel any different about you and I can promise you that Patton and Roman won’t either.”

Virgil, for a hair-raising second, wasn’t sure if he had said the right thing or not. He had actually thought he had messed it up pretty badly but then he felt Logan’s hands in tighten in the back of his jacket. If anything, it seemed that his shivering had gotten a bit harder.

Still, he wasn’t really sure what he could do to calm Logan down. Whenever he went through his panic attacks, it was always the other way around. So to be in reversed positions, well, it was strange.

In the opposite situation, Logan would always recite something to him. Whether it was poetry, or a part from a book he had memorized, or how he had even assured him that he was going through would pass in time and that it was not a permanent state of mind.

The man himself was always so grounded in reality, not letting anything sway him when he knew how to debunk it. However, as Virgil held that same man in his arms, watching as he sobbed into his shoulder, well, it gave him a different perspective on this whole situation. It also allowed him to realize that Logan—even though he always denied having feelings in the first place—would eventually be prone to a breakdown and would need a comforting touch, just like any other person. That he would need someone to be understanding and patient and ride this out with him.

“You know, you always talk of astronomy,” Virgil told him, a hesitant moment before he allowed himself to run his fingers soothingly through Logan’s brown hair. “Talking about constellations and the incredible vastness of the universe.”

Usually talking about such things would make Virgil more anxious. Just the thought that space was so big was terrifying and compared to their size anyhow, it made him feel insignificant. However, he had to push his own feelings to the side for a little bit and he needed to talk about what interested Logan. Would could possibly calm him down in the long run.

“Though, for someone that constantly likes to talk about the stars and the night sky, you don’t really spend a lot of time watching the stars themselves. It’s almost as if you’d rather read about them.”

He was answered with a quivering silence and it sent a sharp pang through him. It was hard seeing Logan like this, so he decided to do something more than just talk at him. He needed Logan to talk to him.

Virgil shifted a little bit, wincing as Logan’s glasses dug into his shoulder, but said nothing about it. “Tell me about Orion’s Belt.”

“W-what?”

Finally, he was getting a reaction.

“Tell me about Orion’s Belt.”

Logan lifted his head, brows furrowed, but his eyes were red and hurt, but confused. “I fail to understand what meaning this holds to the situation at hand.” His voice was unsteady and, if anything, he sounded as if he was still ready to fall into another breakdown.

There was silence for a moment, but Virgil smiled softly. “C’mon, Logan, humour me.”

The other borrower sniffled a moment before adjusting his glasses. He still seemed confused by the notion, as it hadn’t exactly clicked behind those brown eyes just yet, but he complied. “Orion’s Belt, also commonly known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellations. The three stars that make up the belt are Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka.”

In all honesty, no matter how many times he listened to Logan ramble about the stars and space, Virgil would never really understand what he was talking about, but that wasn’t what mattered.

What did matter was the way that Logan would light up when he talked about things that he enjoyed. The way that he would get so into it and go off onto tangents about something he was passionate about. That was what mattered the most. It was easy to get him to go off onto topics that may be considered boring by anyone else who was willing to listen to him talk — that or he would talk anyways, whether someone was listening or not — long enough to see how excited he could get over the littlest things.

Though, it seemed that Logan wasn’t done there, and the more he spoke, the steadier he seemed to get. “The stars are more or less evenly spaced in a straight line, and so can be visualized as the belt of the hunter's clothing. They are best visible in the early night sky during the Northern Winter and Southern Summer, in particular the month of January at around 9:00 pm.“

There was quiet again.

Logan’s brows furrowed finally as he pulled away from Virgil’s hold and instead turned his attention towards the head of the bed. “I don’t understand why you had me talk about—,” It took a moment, before it clicked, “—Oh. It was a calming tactic.”

“See? Your advice isn’t lost on me,” Virgil told him. “Even in the middle of a panic attack, I hear you. I thought it would be helpful in this situation.”

He watched as Logan turned to face him, brown eyes slightly startled, but not enough to speak to a worried Logan. In fact, as the other adjusted his glasses, he seemed to clear his throat nervously before obviously directing his gaze elsewhere. Logan was never known for his subtlety. “Well, uh, thank you.”

“You’ve done plenty for me, I just got to return the favour.” Neither of them said anything for a moment. The silence was broken by a soft sigh. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes.” The answer was short, but the look that Virgil received when Logan turned to face him said so much more. Things that he was almost positive Logan wouldn’t be able to say to him anyways. As people said, actions could speak louder than words and this was driving that point home. “Thank you, truly.”

The latter shrugged his shoulders, but the smile remained soft and understanding. “Anything for my favourite nerd.” That roused a small laugh from the bespectacled male. “Why don’t you come and join me for a couple more movies, huh? I promise it won’t be as bad as you think it’s going to be.”

“I’d really rather not,” Logan tilted his head back towards the screen behind him, causing Virgil to look in turn before returning his attention to the other borrower. “I haven’t quite finished this essay yet and it is rather riveting.”

What a nerd. Would rather read about physics that take an hour or two to himself.

“I won’t force you to do anything you don’t wanna do,” Virgil then planted his hands on his thighs and pushed himself into a stand, reaching his arms above his head and stretching. “I think I’ll head back then, finish off a couple more movies.” He turned to look at the door. “You’re welcome to join at any time, you know.”

“I am aware.”

“Good,” he nodded his head, “then I’ll leave you to finish your essay.”

The moment of silence passed between them and Virgil slid off of the laptop itself and began to wobble across the uneven bedspread. He wasn’t exactly used to walking on such soft surfaces as this entire thing was still relatively new. Their entire friendship with the two humans of the household, he meant.

As Logan looked over his shoulder and let his gaze wander up the wall of text, he frowned.

There was no actual urge to finish reading, perhaps he had only said such a thing so that he would be able to be on his own again. Though, he knew that maybe it wasn’t the healthiest idea, nor did he actually have the foggiest idea of what he actually wanted to do, but he figured that spending a couple hours away from reading wouldn’t do too much harm.

So, he pushed himself into a stand instead and moved across the keyboard, taking extra care not to step on any of the keys that may send the screen into an unbalance, he stepped on the power button and watched as the screen went dark.

Walking on the edge of the computer, as there was no way he was going to be able to shut it, Logan hopped off onto the comforter and followed in his accomplice’s footsteps.

“Virgil wait,” he called, watching as the latter paused just as he reached the edge of the bed. “On second thought, I think I’ll join you.”

Chapter Text

Horror movies were not a good idea. He knew it had been a bad idea from the start.

Though, even as he sat up in bed, eyes scanning the shadows for something that seemed to be moving, Roman knew he was just psyching himself out at this point. There was nothing there, he knew that for a fact.

But what if there was?

There could be something lurking in the darkness that he couldn’t see and it made his heart rate spike. He had already taken some precautions, such as tossing a pillow onto the empty chair in his room and locking his bedroom door.

You could never be too well-prepared.

Oh, pull yourself together. Leave the overthinking to Virgil, he’s good at it.

Even so, he reached over to grab his phone off the bedside table and sunk a bit farther down into the comforters on his bed, flickering the screen on. He winced for a moment, squinting just enough to see through the blinding light until he managed turned the brightness down and activating the night shift. It was still a bit bright for his taste, but it was better than how it had been.

2:47 am.

That was certainly a lot later than he usually preferred to stay up. Being in bed by 11 pm was usually a must and then getting to sleep about an hour after was how his schedule usually hung around.

However, tonight was different as his mind hadn’t given him the chance to relax from the adrenaline high and had been rather helpful with creating scenarios and monsters in his mind’s eye, instead.

Logan had said this would happen, and Roman knew it would happen anyways, but he hadn’t listened to his common sense or the voice of logic.

Patton had tried to find different ways to make him feel better as well, such as tea with honey or warm milk. Nothing had worked, but he had appreciated the attempts.

As the darkness began to become overwhelming again, he tugged the blankets further up and stayed half hidden beneath them. He didn’t really care that it was starting to get a bit toasty. Not when there was something else in the room with him.

He had tried to tune out the silence from the room and had managed to do so rather impressively, if he could admit, which he could.

He had finally managed to find a tentative peace and if he allowed himself to stay like this, there would be nothing to worry about. He’d be asleep in no time.

But what if that’s what the monster is waiting for?

Oh for fuck’s sake.

Roman was well aware, that according to all reason, there would literally be nothing like that lurking in his bedroom, especially not if he was still awake to see it. But it would also have to defy all logic as well. Though, the more fantastical side of him supplied that it could be possible. While he usually adored imagination, right now, it wasn’t doing anything than making him more nervous.

So, he tried to settle his nerves while scrolling through his phone. There had to be something distracting enough, right?

“Why are you still awake?”

A sudden voice from just above him made Roman jolt and knock back against the headboard which caused the bed to shake and his phone to nearly fly entirely from his grasp, landing just a few inches in front of him.

A small, startled gasp was the next thing he registered—that and a rather loud curse that followed quickly afterwards—before the nearly unnoticeable weight that had plopped onto pillow just next to his shoulder followed suit.

With his heart now in his throat, Roman fumbled blindly for his phone in the pitch darkness, finding that it had fallen into the waves of comforter in front of him. He shakily managed switched on the flashlight, bathing the room in a bright white light.

As soon as he could see, after blinking the spots from his eyes, he turned just enough to see a familiar black hoodie slumped into a small divot that his landing had caused.

“Virgil?” He muttered breathlessly, eyes wide and surprised. Now that had sent his adrenaline through the roof.

Was he okay? Jesus Christ.

Sure, the pillow was admittedly soft, if it wasn’t, Roman wouldn’t be using it. However, the softness of the pillow wasn’t what really mattered when you fell from a height that could be otherwise damaging if you landed wrong.

Roman almost feared to move, not wanting to upset the borrower’s position more. “Are you alright?”

It took a moment, but the smaller form moved a bit, pushing himself up and onto his elbows from the near face-plant he had taken. He took a moment to just breathe, because holy shit I don’t want to fall from that goddamn height again, fuck me and then he was rolling over onto his back and looking up at the very worried human looming over him.

That sort of thing was still unnerving to him, even though the more rational side of him knew that he was perfectly safe in this situation. Though, it was still hard to convince the terror flooding through his veins that that’s what this was.

In literally any other setting, if a human were looking down at you, you needed to get out as soon as possible. Even though his instincts would keep going off whenever someone was looking at him, he knew it wasn’t because he was in danger. It was just because he had those instincts driven into him so hard as a kid that he couldn’t shake them even as an adult.

In any case, these were the instincts that kept him alive, so he couldn’t complain too much.

Though, he needed to get him to stop looking at him like. The helpless, kicked puppy look.

Virgil opened his mouth to say something, before thinking better of it and flipping Roman the bird.

It seemed to express exactly what he needed it to because he watched as the worried expression crumpled almost instantly and was replaced with an mock-irritated one.

“What do you think you’re doing, sneaking in here and scaring the hell out of me at 2 in the morning?”

“'Cause I though it was funny?” The borrower shrugged his shoulders, an amused grin sneaking across his face. He got a flat look in response so he changed his story. “I was just curious as to why Your Royal Pout-yness was still awake at this hour. It’s not like you to be a night dweller.”

Roman made an undignified noise. “Well, maybe I should be asking you the same question.”

Virgil quirked a brow. “Because borrowers are naturally nocturnal? Because I just happen to be an insomniac? We’ve been over this before, so it shouldn’t be a surprise. I just saw your phone on and I guess I wanted to know why you’ve been holding off going to bed. Is it a sin to be curious?”

Roman rolled his eyes, before shifting a bit more to the side and sinking back against the headboard, leaving the borrower laying on the one pillow and using another to support his back. “No, not necessarily.”

Virgil adjusted himself, struggling for just a moment before pulling himself up and sitting cross-legged on the too-soft surface. “You know, I think I can guess why you’re avoiding sleep.”

“I’m not avoiding it—”

“Oh please, it’s because you watched that horror movie, isn’t it?”

The human pursed his lips. He broke the quiet after a moment. “You heard that, huh?”

“Hard not to when you live in the walls,” he said nonchalantly. “That and you were screeching, so.”

Roman winced. “Right.”

The silence held for a minute. It wasn’t awkward, but they both felt as if they needed to fill it, but both for very different reasons. Roman didn’t enjoy sitting in the silence for too long, as it allowed his mind to wander again and Virgil just didn’t like sitting in silence because it could get awkward eventually.

“You know, you’re an idiot for watching it in the first place. You’d think you’d know you and horror movies don’t bode well by now, and didn't Logan warn you too? Sure, he talks a lot, but the guy has some good advice,” Virgil spoke up again, drawing the weight of the brown eyes back to him. There was that unimpressed look again. He tugged at his hoodie a bit, almost nervously with the consistent attention. “Don’t look at me like that when you know I’m right.”

There was a sigh in response, which caused Virgil to turn his attention back to said male. The bed shook a bit violently as Roman moved to bring his knees up to his chest.

Goddamn, were they supposed to be having a heart-to-heart moment? God knows he wasn’t good at those.

But, sitting in the silence wasn’t going to do either of them any good, so, it seemed it was up to him to do something about this. That unhappy look on the other’s face just wasn’t sitting well for him either.

Pushing himself up into a stand, throwing his arms out at the lack of a steady surface and needing to keep balance, he managed to wobble across the pillow before hopping off of it and onto the comforter instead. He made his trek across the blanket as smooth as it could be. Though, the closer he got to Roman, the more he realized just how much he didn’t think about how big he was anymore.

Letting his anxiety about that get in the way wasn’t exactly how he wanted to deal with this, so he pushed it down and continued with his plan.

He knew that Roman wasn’t watching him as the weight of his gaze was somewhere else, though, as soon as he had grabbed onto the pant leg of the pajamas he was wearing, his attention shifted instantly. He suppressed a small grin at the fact that he could literally feel the tense muscles underneath the soft fabric.

Virgil could give it to him for trying not to shake him off with his natural movements.

“What on earth are you doing?”

He didn’t answer, but with his new found confidence, he hauled himself upwards until he sitting cross-legged on the top of Roman’s knee instead, panting slightly, but meeting his eyes at the same.

There was a self-deprecating look hidden behind those brown eyes. The only reason Virgil could see it so clearly, was because he knew how that sort of pain felt. So, before the human could even say anything, he was breaking the silence again. “Insomnia sucks.”

Roman scoffed. “You’re telling me.”

Virgil snapped his fingers, causing a slight jolt from the human and his attention was back on him, if a bit surprised. “I wasn’t done,” he explained his intentions. “Are you going to shut up and listen to me now or do I have to climb higher?” The startled look Roman was giving him said enough, so, he rubbed his hands down his thighs before tucking his hands into the sleeves of his hoodie. “Insomnia sucks, but you can’t let it control you. Especially if this is all caused by a scary movie, because one sleepless night turns into two, and then three until you realize you haven’t slept in a couple days.”

He could see the snarky response coming from a mile away before it was even said. It was that smug look that sold him out. ‘Has this happened to you, Tom Thumb, or are you humouring me?’

A hand was held up and it stopped him from saying it. “Is it the creativity in you that’s leading you to think there’s something here with you?”

“Other than you?” Virgil gave him a deadpan and Roman only grinned, but it was gone after a second. “… I guess.”

“Distracting yourself won’t really help,” he admitted finally, leaning forwards on his own knees, keeping his head at an angle where it was still comfortable enough to look up. “I’ve tried. How long have you been trying?”

“Three hours.”

“Exactly. If distracting yourself hasn’t helped yet, I don’t think it’s going to any time soon.” He then rubbed the back of his neck, focusing his attention elsewhere for a moment. “Would you feel better if I stayed for a bit?”

He got a reaction almost instantly. “You don’t have to do that. Really, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Virgil shrugged his shoulders before wrapping his arms around himself. “I know what it’s like to think about the worst possible situations alone at ungodly hours.” He felt the pity stare, but made it a point to look anywhere that wasn’t Roman. “I offered, anyway so, whatever, I guess.”

It took a moment before it clicked and understanding flooded forwards.

“You don’t want to be alone tonight, either, do you?”

He watched as Virgil flinched before his shoulders tensed. The body language wasn’t hard to read, even if he was smaller than the average person. The lighting in the room also wasn’t great, but it wasn’t poor enough to hide the grimace on the smaller features either. Then his shoulders were released and the boy was shaking his head slightly, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

After what seemed like forever, Virgil was actually turning to look at him. “Are you going to say something stupid if I say yes?”

Of course, his friend looked offended by that, before seeing the insecurity lurking behind those eyes. “’Course not,” he offered instead, “when have I ever done something like that?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Yeah, no, okay. I see your point.” Though, the quiet was held again, he had to ask, honestly. “Nightmare?”

“Ah, no, not exactly,” he answered, tucking a bit further into his hoodie, almost as if he were trying to hide in it. To hide away from the world. “I’d call it more of a … resurfacing memory.”

Roman bit his lip. Must have been pretty bad if he came out here searching for comfort instead of seeking Patton out. Which, did confuse him. If he wanted comfort, why did he come here? Maybe it was the fact that he knew he would be awake at this point or maybe it was because Virgil knew Roman wouldn’t smother him the same way Patton would.

Bless Patton’s heart, really, but when those dad instincts kicked in, they kicked in hard.

It didn’t matter who he was focused on, whether it was him, Logan or Virgil, they have all felt it at some time or another. That overwhelming want to make sure they were okay.

They had all been smothered by the well-meaning ball of constant energy.

When Virgil had twisted his wrist a couple weeks back—rendering him incapable of climbing around anywhere—the boy could barely take a few minutes to himself without that doting compassion constantly focused on him.

Instead of saying something, knowing for a fact that he wasn’t incredibly good at being fuzzy and cutesy with words, he offered his cupped hands out in front of himself.

“You know me,” he shrugged his shoulders when he got a confused look in response to his invitation. “I’m not great at this whole fuzzy, warm stuff. That’s Padre’s specialty.” Virgil quirked a brow in question, prompting him to keep talking. “I’ll take you up on that offer earlier. It would be nice to have another presence that I know and trust in the room. So, what do you say, Short Stack, wanna have a sleepover?”

“First of all, never call it a sleepover again.” He adjusted his hoodie. Belaying his words, Virgil pushed himself off of the knee and into the hands of his friend. Almost instantly he was surrounded by warmth and a comfort, but it wasn’t smothering. “Secondly, this entire thing is for you. I don’t need the reassurance.”

“Yeah, sure,” Roman agreed, bringing his hands closer to himself, before shifting so that he back in his normal spot on the bed. “Whatever you say.”

He let his partner back off onto the pillow he had tumbled into earlier, this time though, the pillow itself was pushed a bit more to the side to give him a little bit more space on the bed.

It didn’t take long before the two were getting comfortable and Roman had grabbed his phone before settling back down and shutting the flashlight off. He reached over the borrower to plug his phone back into the charger and laid against the softness of his pillow, tucked comfortably underneath the comforter.

When Roman turned his head, he saw that Virgil was curled into his hoodie, looking all the world like he was content that way. So, he allowed himself to stare at the ceiling for a moment.

He was about to break the silence when the latter did instead.

“Did you know that 3 am is supposed to be the Devil’s hour? Said a lot of haunting stuff happens around this time.”

“Oh for fucks sake, Virgil.”

The human got nothing more than a snort from beside him, before the sound of it being stifled.

Obviously he was trying not to laugh too loudly, but coming from such a small pair of lungs, his breath support would never really be enough to be truly loud.

The thought that it was now the Devil’s hour wasn’t really making sleep come any easier at this point.

“I’m sorry,” Virgil laughed, a hand covering his mouth, “I couldn’t help it.”

“Yeah whatever,” Roman mumbled right back at him, turning his head just enough to see the smaller form in his peripheral vision.

Another moment of silence passed as Virgil tried to calm himself down, and after his laughter did eventually stop, Roman thought they would be done for the night.

Oh, how very wrong he was.

“Do you need a strong man like me to protect you?”

Roman sighed loudly. Making it a point to show just how exasperated he was with this.

Though, when he heard Virgil’s laughter resume again, almost as if this time it was louder, he couldn’t help but feel a grin cross his own features. It was rare when he heard the latter laugh like nothing else in the world mattered. He wasn’t honestly sure if he had ever heard such unabashed laughter from the borrower before now.

He chuckled a bit himself, before shaking his head. The two calmed down a little bit after that and the quite was held, but this time it was warmer. The tone was lighter, brighter.

In all honesty, he was feeling much better now, the pictures from the movie laying nearly completely forgotten in the back of his head. It was also nice to know that he had someone he knew and trusted directly to his right just in case those feelings did change.

Having another person in the room was also relieving as well.

“Thank you,” Roman spoke up, but this time his voice was quieter, it held more meaning.

He heard the movement from right beside him and he adjusted his attention just enough to see the smaller companion, laying on his stomach now to face him.

“For what?”

“For staying here with me,” he offered back, letting his hands rest over his stomach and letting his eyes trail back to the ceiling. “And for feeling comfortable enough to let me know that you were here seeking solidarity as well.”

Virgil rolled over onto his back, pulling his hood up over his head and shoving his hands into his pockets. He shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever, Princey,” he mumbled, “shut up and go to sleep.”

If the words had been said in an argument, Roman knew that they would have held more of a punch, but at this time of night, he knew it was a bit more well-meaning. So, he only grinned and finally shut his eyes to get some sleep.

Just as he was about to drift off, after what felt like five or six minutes later, he heard the small voice speak up again.

It was almost so quiet that he could have sworn that he had imagined it: “You’re welcome.”

It did make him feel better that Virgil knew he was appreciated.

So, with that in mind, he was able to push all of the other thoughts from mind. He wasn’t alone and this time those words didn’t send uneasiness into him.

Chapter Text

“Oh for heaven’s sake, we’ve been arguing about this for ages,” an exasperated voice sounded from the living room, although the tone was hushed, as if trying to keep someone from hearing the conversation. “We can’t help him unless he tells us what’s wrong.”

“The kid’s just a bit shy is all—”

“It’s been two weeks Patton and he’s said nothing to us. Two weeks,” Roman countered back, taking Logan’s side on this, “if anything, it’s just pure stubbornness driving him now.”

He was being ganged up on; all of this was because of how the little human they had rescued from the shelter still refused to say anything.

Patton could swear that there was a deeper meaning behind his resolute silence, but it was obvious that Roman and Logan were frustrated by it. Each to their own, he knew. Each had tried, to no avail, to get the little one to speak. Hadn’t even gotten a name out of him. The shelter had been rough, the people had been somewhat hostile and the name they had given him hadn’t suited the kid.

So … they didn’t exactly call him anything.

But there had to be a reason. Everyone had a motive for something, especially if it came to withholding information.

He shuffled back and forth on his feet uncomfortably. “Let me try again,” that earnest look fluttered across his features, “just don’t decide anything too hastily, okay? Maybe—maybe time was all he needed, right? Maybe now he’d be more willing to speak up.”

Silence held between the two other men, before Roman sighed. “Alright. It is safer to say that Pat may have a better chance.”

Logan adjusted his glasses. “That said though, you have tried to speak with him more than the rest of us, Patton, and he still refuses to say anything at all. Not a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’ If anything, the silence just gets heavier.”

“I know, I know,” Patton’s eyes flickered between the both of them, but he was staying stern on this. “Just let me try again, alright? Persistence will usually help.”

“Have at it.”

The dismissive tone that he got was a bit disheartening, but it wouldn’t stop his attempt from making at least some ground with the human.

He watched quietly as Logan took his leave, the sound of his bedroom door closing resounded through the halls. It was only a few minutes later before Roman retired to his room, only to reappear minutes later with a bag slung over his shoulder and his car keys in hand. Patton was quickly reminded that the roommate had rehearsal that night.

Which, with Logan in his room and Roman out of the house, would be optimal time to try and make some leverage with the boy.

When the quiet of the living room held and it didn’t seem to be lessening either, save for the consistent ticking of the clock. He knew that he would have to initiate the conversation as the little one wouldn’t even look in his direction half the time.

It took no time to reach his bedroom. When they had first planned this entire thing out, agreeing that getting a human out of the awful living conditions they were in, the box would stay in his bedroom.

And when he opened the door, that’s where he was.

The blankets and pillows and such to help make it feel a bit more comfortable. The sound of a movie playing quietly caught his attention and he saw the iPod—that had been given to the boy as means of entertainment when they weren’t around, or when he wanted alone time (which was all of the time mostly)—pushed up against the side of the box and the boy laying on his stomach in front of it, his arms propped up to support his head.

The sight made his heart ache. The kid was a gentle soul, if a bit too shy for his own good.

There had been some improvement, however, from the first day they had brought him back—where he hadn’t even left the box, no matter how much they assured him he was safe—to now, where he seemed to feel safe enough to watch a movie or a video or whatever it was in full view.

Though, when he stepped fully into the bedroom, the shoulders tensed almost instantly and he watched as the kid reached forwards and paused it without even looking in his direction.

Wide, frightened brown eyes turned to face his own and instantly Patton felt the need to say something.

He stayed where he was though after shutting the door and leaning comfortably against it. “No, no, it’s okay, kiddo,” he promised quietly, offering a small smile in encouragement. “I’m not here to bother you. I just wanted to talk for a little bit.” There was then a grimace that followed that and he felt his heart sink.

So, it would be one-way then.

That was okay. It wasn’t like he was unused to it.

He was also in no position to really force the kid to say something if he didn’t want to. It wouldn’t be fair and, in all honesty, would most likely do more harm than good.

So, he came a bit further into the room and took a seat a few paces away from the box. He tried not to let the fact that he flinched away from him affect him too much, as it only seemed to hurt more. The constant reassurances didn’t seem to really help the boy’s trust, which was understandable, but it was saddening.

The lady at the shelter, Lillian, had sort of given them the lowdown of what had happened in the previous home. Why the boy was so quick to snap, or to instantly shy away from the attention. Why he would flinch when they made normal movements or even turn away when they paid him too much attention.

She had explained that the last person who had him was a bit “rough.” The woman had refused to go any deeper than that—said that the person they had taken the kid from refused to give answers and the human himself had sworn himself into silence—and if he wanted those answers, he had to ask the kid himself.

After he actually got him talking.

There were a few things that he wanted to know before anything else. The kid’s name, his preferences, things that freaked him out and that they could work on together. Things to make this home feel a bit more comfortable for him.

Patton was used to sitting in the silence with the little one, knowing that his presence probably intimidated him to not speak, but he wanted to understand why that was. He wanted to know what had happened to him, what terrified him into silence, so that they could avoid the same things. The last thing he wanted to do was unintentionally intimidate him further.

“Watching something interesting?” He decided to break the silence that way, watching as the boy shifted a bit more, sitting cross-legged, but hiding in that dark hoodie, as if trying to hide in plain sight.

The boy shrugged in response, looking uneasy. From where Patton was sitting, he couldn’t tell if it was a show he had found on the internet that was made by the kid’s kind, or the movies that had come with the rest of the race from the previous place.

It did make him uncomfortable, knowing that humans were just as brilliant as they were, but had been forced down to believe they were nothing more than entertainment.

It was absolutely sick.

He hummed in response, showing that he was listening. He bit his lower lip, a slight pause in the question he wanted to ask. After a brief debate with himself, Patton realized that if he really wanted answers, he needed to actually hear the voice of the boy. Shaking his head and nods could only do so much for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions. Conversations were difficult when it was just one-sided all the time.

“Look,” he started off gently, a reassuring look in his eyes to give a silent promise that everything was fine, “I know you don’t want to talk to me and I respect that. I’m not going to force you to, but this is getting harder by the day, kiddo.” The boy’s shoulders dropped from their tense position, a sad look flitted across his face. “And I really, really want to respect your boundaries because I know how important boundaries are, but we really need to know how you feel. How we can help you feel more at home.”

He took a breath, just watching the emotions seemingly flutter across the smaller features, the warring expressions were showing much more of an inner battle than maybe he felt comfortable showing, or speaking for that matter.

There was a reason why the kid wouldn’t talk to them. There had to be. No one just stayed silent on their own freewill. Everyone had to speak at one point or another, unless they physically couldn’t. So, it left Patton wondering about the backstory that Lillian had left out when she explained everything at the shelter.

Another moment of quiet passed. “I know talking is hard,” he needed to show that he really did understand. “And I know that being with three strangers can be frightening and that’s okay, but we really just want to help. I know Logan and Roman can be a bit much sometimes, but you don’t even have to talk to them if you don’t want to.” And that was true. “It’s perfectly okay to be scared, but, at the very least, can I have your name?”

Patton knew that names could be a very personal topic to talk about, especially for humans. A lot of the time, they would be wiped of their usual name and given a new one that suited them ‘better.’ If anything, it just made him uncomfortable. They had personalities and names and to have that taken away seemed…impersonal.

There was nothing wrong with being quiet, there were also plenty of times where peace and quiet was the best thing for the household. Sometimes it could be so alive and full of movement, that a little silence never hurt anyone. That taking time to be with just yourself could be helpful, especially if one was overwhelmed by the world.

At most times, Patton would be happy to leave the little human to his own devices—he did want him to have as much independence as possible without getting hurt—but right now, he needed a little bit of proof that he could speak at all.

If the kid was mute, that would open a whole new set of doors that none of them had thought would be the reason to why the constant silence.

Though, when he met the smaller brown eyes again, he noticed something deeper behind them. Something that showed a true flourish of understanding, almost as if this was the first time that it was sinking in that he was in a safe place. That his opinions would be valued and respected.

The human bit into his lower lip, looking hesitant, when Patton nodded lightly, trying to be as encouraging as possible without looking too excited by the fact he might actually get to hear some real words.

A frown was set on the smaller features, before he dipped his head down, looking away from him. “I-I thought—”

Patton’s heart stammered in his chest. He could speak and he was speaking. To him.

His voice softened a bit more. “You thought what?”

The smaller hands seemed to be digging into his hoodie, trying to find a way to form the words without retreating and staying silent. There was that inner battle, showing how much he wanted to do one thing, but the other half of him saying that it wasn’t the best idea.

The human took a breath, trying to steady himself. “I just thought you wanted me to stay quiet…”

That sentence stunned him, honestly. Why on earth would they want him to stay silent? Almost as if the little one could hear the unasked question, he continued, if a bit more hesitantly.

At first, he opened his mouth, looking as if he was ready to open up about the story, before he shut his mouth again. He hesitated again, looking nervous and scared for a moment.

It drove a sharp wedge into Patton’s chest, such delicate features so painted with terror over opening up.

“The, uh, the last person I was with. He, um, wasn’t really all that, you know, forgiving,” his nails seemed to be digging further into his arm, looking reluctant to share this information. “He didn’t really like it when I spoke my mind. I-I just stopped talking altogether and that’s when the hurt stopped.” That’s when the abuse wasn’t as bad. The ‘hurt’ never truly stopped. “I just … I thought you would want that too …”

Patton was almost at a loss of what to say to that. The last person he had been with hadn’t been forgiving?

He had been aware that the little one had been abused, but not to the point where he had been afraid to talk for fear of being hurt. No one should have to deal with that sort of trauma. At least not alone.

Lillian had said that his past ‘owner’ had been rough and cruel, but she hadn’t elaborated into the physical side of it. She had said that the human was shy of touch and would lash out if one tried to do so. She had said that consent was a big thing with this one and that was fair.

The short glances he was being given was slowly allowing him to piece the puzzle of the kid’s past together.

Humans had minds of their own and, while a lot of people nowadays didn’t think they did, were allowed to speak their opinions. It was certainly like that in this house. There were times where they spoke over him, not intending to really cut off any of his silent looks. It would happen from time to time, where the human sometimes went unnoticed when Logan and Roman got into an argument and Patton tried to distract the two of them to settle them down.

There was a deep sympathy that filled his chest, almost weighing him down. The silence he was getting now, it was obvious that the kid was waiting for something.

Something painful.

Patton clasped his hands in front of him, savvy to how the boy flinched slightly from the innocent motion. “Of course not,” he breathed after a moment, the tiny shoulders were tensed and frightened. “We wouldn’t … ah, geez. I had no idea.”

The kid shrugged in response, making it his mission to keep his eyes down. Looking anywhere but Patton. It was heartbreaking.

The little details like that didn’t go unnoticed and Patton had been picking up, slowly but surely, on the boy’s behaviours. Whether how he was when the others raised their voices, or if he was asked too many questions, or when there was too much attention on him and he would rather shy away and hide in his jacket—which was admittedly maybe a bit big for him—than face them down.

There had been a few nights where he was still laying awake in his bed, at awful hours of the night—it was a big thing for him, making sure the others had gone to bed and then doing the same himself—and he had heard the smallest of sounds coming from the box pushed into the corner of the room.

There had been one night in particular when he had heard, what he had thought was, the smallest shout possible. Panting had then followed after it and then the sound of muffled sobs. It was so obvious that the little one had woken with a nightmare. The new surroundings had probably frightened him more as well, even though he was anything but trapped.

One of the other workers at the shelter had explained that keeping the human in the box without a way out would be the best way to prevent him from hurting himself or attempting to escape. Patton had ignored those instructions almost as soon as they had gotten home and had cut a small doorway, or something of the like, into the side of the box and allowing an in and out for when he wanted to leave the box without needing assistance. Plus, feelings of claustrophobia would be heightened in a place where one couldn’t escape. The last thing he would want was to have the human experience a panic attack because he felt unsafe in his own bed.

With a gentle sigh, Patton lowered himself down a bit further so he was laying on his stomach, his head propped up in his hands. The human had flinched again, but he didn’t acknowledge it.

“I just want you to know that, even if things get a bit … loud around here, no one means you any harm,” Patton told him quietly, an earnest look shining through dark brown eyes. “I know the house can be a bit crazy sometimes and that’s probably frightening—” A small, nervous half-laugh, half-breathing out uncomfortably from the human was heard, “—and I understand that. It’s a normal response to being around strangers.”

When he felt he had been watching him for a bit too long, Patton let his eyes roam over the interior of the box. It didn’t really look incredibly homey, even after offering the boy one of his older shirts to sleep in. He made a mental note to possibly get rid of the box altogether and find a more suitable place for the little one.

Though, when he looked back onto the small form, the brown eyes were wide and focused on his own. The surprised look on the human’s features made him feel so horribly guilty.

“We’re— we’re not going to punish you for speaking your mind,” he continued after a moment and those tiny brown eyes almost seemed to get wider, more emotional. “Your opinion means just as much as mine does, or Logan’s does, or Roman’s. I want to know what you like and don’t like. I want to know about what makes you uncomfortable or scared, so we can work around that. I want to know about you, kiddo.”

A moment passed and it took a moment before the human hiccuped, a small intake of a quick breath and he choked on what sounded like a sob.

The sound instantly made Patton’s fatherly instincts kick in and the first thing he wanted to do was reach out and try and comfort him, except in this situation, that wouldn’t really work out in his favour. “Awe, bud, that’s not what—”

“T-thank you,” the human breathed instead. His voice was a bit muffled from how he was hiding his face behind his sleeves, but Patton could hear it nonetheless. “I don’t—this isn’t … I’ve never-”

A softer look fluttered over his features and he shuffled a bit closer, not enough to loom, but enough to be as close as he dared. “You don’t have to thank me,” he promised him quietly, offering a gentle grin in response to the teary look he got. “Your words have just as much meaning as mine do. You’ve got a good head on those shoulders, I know you do. You’ve made it this far, haven’t you?” The sad expression turned almost confused, so Patton elaborated. “You’re talking to me. I think it’s absolutely incredible that you’re saying anything at all to me. That’s strength right there.”

It was quiet for a little while after that and the boy seemed to try and clean himself up, using the sleeves of his jacket to dab at the wetness under his eyes, or just scrubbing completely to clear his face of any sadness at all.

Letting out emotions in this sort of way was healthy though, so saying otherwise would be wrong. It might seem like it hurts more, having a fit or being so openly vulnerable, but in the end, having someone actually willing to listen to you and sticking around was the best way to deal with untapped emotions. Or the ones that people liked to tuck away and keep them hidden under lock and key, never to see the light of day until they reach their breaking point.

It’s a painful process, Patton had felt it himself. In fact, he was still in healing from coming clean about how he actually felt and was still working through some problems of his own.

While he hadn’t exactly come in here expecting the human to talk to him, nevertheless open up about his past, there was still something crucial that he was missing. Without a name, it just made everything that much more difficult. They wouldn’t know what to address him by, or what he found uncomfortable or offensive.

The name at the shelter had been rubbish, in all honesty. It hadn’t suited him at all. Almost as if it were a throwaway at that point, but the fact that they still remained unknown to his true name was a bit startling.

While Patton had no trouble using nicknames, it didn’t always feel right to be addressing him like that when talking about a more serious topic. It was almost like it would take away from the topic or the seriousness of it.

A faint noise, almost sounding like someone was taking a breath, drew Patton from his thoughts. He could see the inner battle on the features again, almost clear as day.

What was—

“—Virgil.”

The sudden admittance actually startled him so badly he blinked, confused for a moment. “W-what?”

The human turned away from him, head bowed and eyes squeezed shut. He was waiting in preparation again. “It’s my name … I just, um, thought-” The boy cut himself off almost instantly before biting into his lower lip. “I-I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have … I just assumed. It’s stupid, I know, I–”

“Wait, wait,” this time Patton cut him off, but his tone remained soft, but the way that Virgil seemed to be so self-deprecating was upsetting. “What are you apologizing for?” After he had voiced the question, the smaller shoulders bunched again and it hit him. He was worried his name would be changed to something else and that admitting his real name would only lead to more hurt. Understanding flooded forwards almost instantly. “Awe, bud, there’s nothing to be sorry about, I promise. I asked for your name.”

He kept his head tilted downwards, but there seemed to be a small realization that followed. “You’re— you’re not going to change it?”

“Heavens no,” was the answer. “That’s your name. It wouldn’t be fair to change it. Heck, I think your name suits you really well, too.”

It took a moment, but Virgil’s attention shifted once more and he allowed himself to meet his eyes. There was emotion swimming behind them, he knew that. They were sitting in the quiet again before, but this time it was far from uncomfortable.

The thought that the boy—Virgil—was so ready to give up his name, to relent and give up the fight, it didn’t sit well with him. There had been so much damage done to him that he carried that over with him into his new home. The idea that someone could be so cruel to creatures that were relatively helpless when it came to caring for themselves in this world was sickening.

Surely, before everything had happened, humans had taken care of themselves. Created societies, laws, built what they believed to be sky-scrapers. He had heard that they had even sent someone to the moon. They were certainly brilliant.

After everything had changed for them, well, his own kind had forced them down and they didn’t put up a fight. There had been, for a little while, but of course, they hadn’t won it and humans were downgraded. Not that everyone thought it was the right thing, but it had been a couple years by now and they were seen more as pets and companions then anything else. Sometimes pests by other people. It was truly disheartening.

Then there was this little one, sitting in the box looking more than ready to give up everything, including his personal name, just to keep from being hurt further.

How people could do it, Patton would never know.

Well, he had pretty much gotten the answers he had come in here for, so really, he didn’t need to be here any longer than need be. With that in mind, he pushed himself up onto his knees.

After a heartbeat of hesitance, Virgil finally spoke up to him. “Do you— wanna watch with me?”

The request was quiet and feeble, but it surprised him nonetheless.

“You want me too?”

Virgil shrugged in answer, looking like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it in the long run.

Grinning, Patton adjusted his glasses. “If you’ll have me.”

The smile he got in return to that made warmth fill his chest. It was the first time he had actually seen Virgil smile since he got here, and it was heartwarming.

It took no time at all, but Patton had grabbed a couple pillows from his bed and brought them over to the box, a blanket was tugged from the bed as well. With a quiet request from the human—and the explanation that it would be easier for the both of them to watch—the iPod had been moved to sit outside the box, laid up against the side to keep it propped up.

The two got a bit more comfortable like that. It took Virgil a moment to remember he was safe, even with having Patton right at his back and he had sunk slightly into the pillow, creating a small crease. He tucked himself into his own blanket and his hoodie in turn.

He looked back to Patton, almost as if asking for permission to start the video again, when he got a gentle nod in reassurance. He had reached forwards and pressed the play button, nearly the size of his hand he noted, before sitting back and curling into the warmth the blanket and jacket offered him.

Maybe, just maybe, not everyone in this Godforsaken world was all that bad.

Chapter Text

The window was open, allowing a cool breeze to flutter into the bedroom and the house in turn.

The night sky was beautiful, the stars were smattered across the sky like crushed diamonds littering a black canvas. The shimmering, the shinning and the way that it was one of the few things that truly scared him.

The idea of how big the universe truly was made him uncomfortable and it was no secret.

Even though it made him uncomfortable, there was really no way to turn away from such a dazzling sight. Watching the starry sky was much more interesting than laying back in bed and staring up at a beige ceiling.

The quiet from the bed behind him spoke to a sleeping human, which allowed the borrower to have some time to himself.

If you compare yourself to a human, you’re almost pathetically small, yet compared to the universe, you’re absolutely insignificant.

The thoughts made him pull his knees closer up to his chest, allowing his chin to rest on the tops of his knees as his arms wrapped around his legs protectively. The stars were gorgeous, but the feelings inside of him were less so.

It wasn’t that Virgil could even say that they were wrong. They weren’t.

If he were to compare himself to a human, to Logan for instance, there was so much that he couldn’t do. Or wouldn’t even dream of being able to do if it weren’t for the other’s assistance in some tasks. Then taking that and comparing that to the rest of the universe?

A weight sunk into his chest and dug deeply, a wedge that wouldn’t be easily removed, he knew.

He let out a small breath, trying to let the cool air refresh himself. At least clear his thoughts a little bit. Life wasn’t really fair, he knew that too, but there wasn’t much he could do to change that fact. There was nothing he could actually do, if he were being honest.

Honesty, the one thing that sometimes ruined his life more than anything.

Facing hard truths when he didn’t want to, being real with himself when it was difficult. Wanting nothing more than to believe a fantastical whim, yet being unable to convince himself of the outlandish dreams.

The sound of blankets shuffling behind him would have gone almost completely unnoticed if it weren’t for the attempted light footsteps following afterwards.

Virgil tilted his head to the side just enough to catch Logan approaching out of the corner of his eye. His attention shifted back to staring outside.

It was easy to tell when the human was nearly behind him. The feeling of having someone directly behind you and looming nearly completely over top of you wasn’t an easy one to miss, or ignore for that matter. So, he didn’t say anything right away. The bit of tension in his shoulders had probably been enough to let Logan know that he knew he was there.

The quiet held for a little while longer, but the more they held it, the more awkward it seemed to be getting. Or, maybe it was just him.

A breath from above him was taken in, filling lungs that were probably bigger than he was, before being let out. It ruffled his hair forwards lightly and he tucked a bit further into his hoodie in answer. Because of the gust of warm air, Virgil could tell almost perfectly that Logan was fairly close to him. Not that it was incredibly uncomfortable, but proximity had always been a touchy subject for him; especially so when the person in his personal space was human.

Another moment passed and he tilted his head in the opposite direction, finally allowing himself the peace of tearing his eyes away from the night sky.

“You can see Orion exceptionally well tonight,” Logan’s voice was fairly quiet—partially because of how late it was and partially because of how small the conversationee was—but loud enough to show that he wasn’t talking to himself.

Though, Virgil had made that mistake before.

Exhaustion wasn’t the only thing in the air tonight, but he was truly hoping that Logan wouldn’t pick up on how he was feeling. Neither of them were good with the whole “emotional support” thing, so it was possible that Virgil would get out this without having to admit his problems.

The last thing he wanted right now, was to voice how pathetic he felt. It would only make him feel more so.

“I guess,” the borrower replied after a second of hesitance, a noncommittal shrug following suit.

In all honesty, he didn’t know much about the constellations, or space for that matter. Not that he really cared about it either. The thought that something so vast existed, possibly rendering his own kind completely useless in all reality, made him uneasy. Though, when the human you lived with had a fascination for it, you didn’t really have a choice in whether or not you picked a few things up.

Maybe if he just stayed quiet, Logan would take the silent hint to start talking about it and would eventually get so lost in the explanation that he would distract himself.

It had happened before. He’d seen it on multiple occasions.

“Virgil?” Logan tried gaining his attention. He didn’t get much in response but a slight tilt of the head in his direction. He took that as enough initiative as he needed. “While emotions are not my field of expertise, it isn’t difficult to notice that something is wrong. Are you alright?”

There was another non-committal shrug in response.

Admittedly, it was a bit frustrating to not get vocal answers but there wasn’t really much he could do about it.

Though, behind the resolute silence, there was something else. It wasn’t very usual that Virgil was still awake at these hours of the night just because he wanted to be. There was something else happening. It didn’t take someone that could read a person’s expressions to know that.

So, adjusting from the position from where he had been leaning, Logan was crouching instead, allowing himself to be a little more at eye-level with the borrower if he decided to actually look at him.

“Will you tell me?”

The question nearly startled Virgil. It wasn’t very often that the two of them got vulnerable with each other, if ever. He didn’t necessarily want to talk about it either, but he knew just how stubborn Logan could be if he wanted answers.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to,” Logan continued, letting his eyes move to watch out the window, gazing towards the stars that littered the heavens, “it is up to you, entirely, but I assure you that your feelings aren’t unimportant.”

While neither of them had been exactly great at coming clean with such baggage, there had been moments when they had shared such things with each other. Reassuring words weren’t exactly easy to express, nor was the comfort that seemed to be so natural for Patton. It was thoughts like these that made Virgil feel even more useless than staring up at the vast expanse of sky.

The fact that he could barely make someone feel better if they were dragging their feet. Or how he needed assistance in every day tasks that wouldn’t get accomplished if it weren’t for a helping human hand.

“It’s stupid,” Virgil muttered into the sleeves of his hoodie.

Logan sighed. “It’s not stupid if it’s affecting your sleeping habits.”

“Its not affecting my sleeping habits.”

“Mhmm,” the bespectacled male hummed in response. “How much have you slept the past week, if I may?”

The silence he got to the question was more telling than words would be.

Though, just when he thought he was going to have to pry a bit more to get something other than silence, the small voice cut him off.

“It’s just—” Virgil shook his head, as if trying to dismiss it altogether. “It’s all just so big. The sky, space, the world. Hell, even humans.”

He had dealt with these existential crises before, it was nothing that he couldn’t handle, but this was one of the very few times he allowed anyone else in on his ramblings. A lot the fact that he separated himself from the others when this happened was because he didn’t want them to see him in such a weakened state. At a place where it was obvious how he felt as that would derive the feelings of pity, where it wasn’t wanted or where it wasn’t needed.

“It just makes me feel …” Look, here he was, explaining how he felt to Logan. When had it come to this? “I dunno, insignificant, I guess. Compared to everything else, what can I do?”

So, that’s what this was all about. While being a comforting presence wasn’t something he was good at doing, Logan did know that there was some logical reasoning behind these negative feelings, which certainly made more sense.

Though, the weight that was suddenly in his chest said something almost completely different.

“You do know you’re not insignificant, yes?”

Whether or not Virgil wanted to have this conversation, it was an important topic to touch on anyways. If this was how he always felt, then Logan was certainly less observant than he thought he was.

There was quiet again, not that he was surprised, but when the borrower did turn to face him for the first time had gotten up, Logan could see that insecurity almost clear as day. The darkness hindered his sight a bit, but the lights from the outside did wash in with some warm yellow light.

A sharp wedge was lodged into his chest at the sad look, a part of him wanted to do something to make it go away but the other part of him didn’t know how. Comforting someone wasn’t really something Logan knew how to do. He wasn’t good with reassurances or quiet promises. He liked cold hard facts and results, but stating something so brashly might only upset Virgil further and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Speaking of said male, Virgil was tilting his head away again, instead looking as if he was staring at the window sill beneath him. “I told you it was stupid, it’s not even that big of a deal. It’s whatever, I guess. You’ve been so generous letting me live here with you, out in the open and I can do jack all to repay you for it.”

“Stop doing that,” Logan said. “You keep underestimating your self worth. Degrading yourself is only going to wind up hurting you more in the long run.” He then paused, taking in the rest of what Virgil had said. “I also fail to understand why you keep comparing yourself to me. We’re both completely different. Maybe not in biology or appearances, but in the fact that you have been so self sufficient for the majority of your life because you’ve been forced to adapt to an ever changing lifestyle, which might I add, is highly impressive.”

“You’re just saying that,” was the short answer he got in response.

So, this was how it was going to be. It wasn’t hard for Logan to see himself in the slumped shoulders of his—technically speaking—roommate. However, perhaps evidence would help ease this feeling a little bit better.

Virgil tucked his chin into the crooks of his arms, pulling his knees tighter to his chest as he watched out the window. “Just- I can’t do anything to help you around the house … I feel like I’m slacking, you know, just freeloading.”

“Falsehood.” The sudden statement caused him to look back to Logan, only to find that said human wasn’t looking at him. “You have done a lot more to help me than you seem to think. You have a keen eye for incredibly small details, which certainly assists me.”

“Uh-huh,” Virgil sounded unconvinced. “How so?”

Ah, so supporting evidence would be necessary. “Do you recall the time when I couldn’t find that important flash-drive?”

“The one that had your big end of semester project on it?”

Logan nodded in affirmation. “While I thought for sure that I had lost it for good, and admittedly was not handling it in the most professional fashion, you had managed to keep a level head given the circumstances and instead offered different ways of trying to find it. Retracing my steps, searching the house from top to bottom without tearing it completely apart. Even offered your assistance to look in places that I wouldn’t be able to reach. Because of your persistence, it was found within the hour.”

Virgil was giving him that silent ‘so what?’ sort of look, so he elaborated a bit more.

“I wasn’t the one who found it, as you know. Without your help, Lord knows what would have come of my project. It was nearly a pass or fail grade, it was worth 60%. If you hadn’t of found it, all that progress would have been lost.”

“I know you’re trying to help me, but this is almost making me feel worse.”

“And why would that be the case?” Logan pressed a bit further, however he fully intended on leaving Virgil alone if that’s what the situation called for. Until then, though, he wasn’t really going anywhere no matter the time of night.

He was given a third shrug in answer.

Although, that was really the only answer he needed. It was almost at that moment that Logan realized a lot of this self-deprecating was just coming from the negative outlook Virgil had on life. Which was fair, even if pessimism was not the best way to handle every situation. Though, he couldn’t really say anything of the such without sounding a bit hypocritical. Logan had had his fair share of negative outlooks and pessimistic statements.

While Logan had managed to get out of it, Virgil just seemed to be … stuck there.

“That’s just … one thing,” Virgil admitted finally, almost as if it was more to himself, than to Logan. “You’ve known about me for nearly a year now and I still haven’t really done anything to help you.”

Did he not feel that finding the flash-drive was important? Perhaps it wasn’t as big a deal to Virgil as it was to him, possibly because without the borrower’s assistance Logan wouldn’t have found his end of the semester project and all of those all–nighters would have been for absolutely nothing. The significance seemed to be lost on him, so maybe Logan would have to find something a bit more relevant to ease his worries.

After a moment of deliberation, he knew what he needed to say. Even though touchy-feely moments like this were rare, they did happen.

Logan could recall one evening where he was feeling overwhelmed and upset by everything and nothing at the same time. It had been frustrating and confusing and frightening all at once. While he tried not to let it get to him, or show for that matter, there were times where he had locked himself into his room and stayed there. Emotions were difficult. It was more often than not that feelings would block out any rational thought.

When he had been going through this, he remembered quite clearly sitting with his back pressed against the door, his head between his knees as he tried to block out the world.

His glasses had been tossed to the side carelessly while his frustrations took hold. Logan had just had so much going through his head that there was no chance at all to calm himself down. Not when he didn’t know why he was feeling like he was.

The smallest voice had spoken up, sounding worried and conflicted.

Logan’s attention had turned at that time, blurred over by tears and his imperfect eyesight; colours had meshed together in a mash of light and shapes.

He had just been able to make out the form of the borrower, seemingly shuffling nervously on his feet as if he didn’t really know what to do, but trying his damned best. Logan had only been aware of Virgil’s presence in his apartment for maybe a month or two when he had finally had his emotional overload.

While they sat in silence for a majority of the time, he had been reassured that feeling upset didn’t make him any less of who he was. Virgil had promised that just because he felt like this, it didn’t mean that it would hurt forever. While Logan’s logic should have been telling him the same thing, it seemed as if it was easier to hear from a secondary source instead of himself.

Logan shook himself back from his thoughts, realizing that he had been staring at one specific spot for far too long. His attention turned downwards, seeing the smaller shoulders hunched. Seems Virgil’s position hadn’t changed much.

He knew what he needed to do, he wasn’t going to let his roommate stay like this. Not when Logan actually knew how to help for once.

“Someone once told me that feeling is natural,” he broke the silence, obviously startling Virgil into looking back at him. This time, Logan met the confused, smaller eyes with a gentler look before continuing. “I remember he found me on the floor of my bedroom, distraught. Instead of commenting on that weakness like he could have, he told me that it was okay, that everything was alright even though I didn’t feel like it was. He said that these feelings would pass, no matter how long it felt like it would last. He even sat with me in the silence, even if it was a little bit awkward at first.” Logan got a smaller chuckle from that sentence from the smaller male, but before Virgil could speak, he finished his thought. “That certain someone has been a bigger influence on my life than a lot of people my own size have been. He’s pushed me and helped me understand the importance of allowing myself to feel every once in a while.”

Logan broke eye-contact with Virgil for a moment, feeling unwanted emotions rushing forwards at the admittance, but doing his best to keep them from coming out when he didn’t want them to.

There was movement in the corner of his eyes and he watched quietly as Virgil used the sleeves of his hoodie to wipe just under his eyes. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you feel as if you can’t do anything, no matter how incorrect that statement might be.” Adjusting his glasses, Logan moved from a crouch, to kneeling as it was a bit more comfortable. “While I find emotions unbearable, everyone has them, whether he like to admit it or not. I want you to know that you have made me a better person. And before you say I’m wrong, which never happens mind you—,” he got another laugh, but this one was more unsteady, almost hurting, “—it is the truth. You’re not afraid to call me out when I’m being difficult and even though our first meeting was … unpleasant, to put it lightly, you still stick around.”

“Stop getting sentimental,” Virgil’s request was feeble, but Logan could tell that it wasn’t serious. The shaky grin that was on the smaller features almost said something more than words could. “You’re making this whole self-deprecation thing harder.”

“Than I suppose I’ve done my job,” Logan replied.

The two quietly shared a moment of a true heartfelt connection. The reassurances Logan had reaffirmed had made Virgil feel quite a bit better, even if there was still the small niggling of self-doubt in his chest, but for right now, he elected to ignore it.

After the minute had passed, there was a sudden reminder of how late it was into the night.

Logan stood up after a moment of silent deliberation, wanting to stretch his legs before easing himself back down into a crouch. “While I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, I will advise that getting to bed would be an ideal course of action for you.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, but the ghost of a smirk remained. Leave it to Logan to ruin a perfectly good moment of silence with facts.

He then nodded his head. “Alright,” he agreed after a moment.

“Satisfactory,” the other replied, pushing himself into a stand once more, intending to turn right back to his own bed when he noticed how Virgil hadn’t moved from his position on the windowsill.

While all Logan really wanted to do was go back to bed, he knew that asking once more wouldn’t really hurt anyone.

So, he leaned his arms against the sill, slightly unintentionally looming over Virgil, but intentionally being in his personal space. “I am inclined to ask, however. Are you feeling any better?”

While having Logan so close to him was a big unnerving, Virgil knew he wasn’t really in any danger. He took in a deep breathe of the cool air seeping in through the window and held it for a moment. His eyes had fluttered shut as he just took in the fresh air in front of him and the comforting warmth from behind him. Two complete opposites and yet he felt fine.

He let out the breath with a sigh and he released the tension from his shoulders and relaxed almost completely.

With the stars glittering high in the sky, the whispered promise that Logan needed him was much better than the crushing weight of just how small he was compared to the rest of the world. That he was needed by someone bigger than himself.

That he was needed by someone.

Virgil leaned back on his hands, stretching out into a more comfortable position before bumping lightly against Logan’s forearm.

The borrower tilted his head upwards, finding chocolate brown eyes looking back down to him through glass lenses. A gentler grin crossed Virgil’s features and he nodded.

“Yeah,” he finally said, after a heartbeat of heartfelt silence. “Thank you.”

Chapter Text

“Sing!”

Everything in him wanted to say “no.”

Everything in him wanted to demand he be released for what would be the hundredth time. To demand that this charade would only last for so long. That someone would come for him, to take him back home after making sure that these petty thieves got what they deserved.

He could feel the attention of the rest of the camp watching him intently. The sharp, hot, eager gazes that knew they would eventually get what they wanted from him.

It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. It made the blood in his veins feel like ice, yet burn through him at the same time. To know that they could get what they wanted from him so easily.

At one point, he would have said “no.”

At one point, he would have demanded his freedom.

At one point, he would have defied everything they were telling him to do.

“Sing, little Nightingale, sing!”

The nickname, at any other time, would have been anything but derogatory. If it were coming from someone that he admired—a face that very vividly came to mind, a face that he yearned to see at least one more time—the nickname would have been soft and caring. Sweet. Something to be treasured and cherished.

But having it come from the mouth of a drunken man that decided he was worth kidnapping for his voice, to be used for their entertainment, it sounded as if the name was a slur.

A name that made him wince.

While everything in him was telling him to bark something back, to tell them to stuff their wants and their demands where the sun didn’t shine, Roman held his tongue.

He knew better.

He had tried to backtalk and it hadn’t ended in his favour. The reminder made him feel sick.

————

“This is absolutely barbaric,” he had spat at the men standing in front of him, standing over two hunched over forms. Two others held them in place and kept them from fighting. One was in tears and the other sat in resigned silence. “You wouldn’t make me choose.”

“Don’t be so cocky, boy,” the man just behind him hissed into his ear, causing Roman to tense up, tilting his head away to try and put some space between them no matter how futile the attempt. “You don’t understand what we’re capable of doing.”

“Capable of being a pack of half-witted delinquents. If that’s what you’re going for, you’re doing splendidly.”

“Watch your tongue!”

T he feeling of a sharp weapon suddenly digging into his lower back gave him pause. Even with the threat there, he sent a heated glare towards the one man right in front of him.

“Foolish of you to assume I listen to orders from a witless mongrel,” he barked, staying silent only proved to hurt more.

Though, when a sharp yelp of pain was derived from the young man knelt closest to him, ice was shoved into his chest. Almost immediately he had shut his mouth. A terror that was cold and biting stopped him from spitting another insult.

“Decide,” the thief spat at him, “one of them lives, the other dies. It’s a simple choice.”

Deciding over who got to live and who had to die was not a simple choice by any means.

While his bonds cut further into his wrists, he could feel the tip of the blade digging slightly into his back; a looming threat that if he didn’t say anything, there would be a world of hurt coming.

There was howling laughter from the others, as if this was some cruel sport that they were making him play for their entertainment.

Roman hated it.

He hated everything about this.

“Come on now, Songbird, decide.”

He had already made his choice. Deep down in him, he knew he had already made his choice.

The tired chocolate brown eyes of a close friend looked to him from his knelt position, even as blood trickled from his nose. A silent look was hidden behind those emotions; exhaustion, resilience, yet there was also something that said he was ready to give up his own life for the life of an innocent.

‘It’s okay,’ Virgil had mouthed to him before nodding slightly to the sobbing stranger beside him. ‘It’s okay if you don’t choose me.’

Nothing about this was okay.

It was almost too sickeningly easy.

Roman didn’t know the stranger, while he had spent far too many nights with Virgil to be able to let it go. To be able to let them do something far too gruesome to him just for the sport of it.

He had gotten the other into this mess and he was going to do his damned best to get him out of it, too.

“Have you made your decision?” The man closest to him spat, causing Roman recoil from the proximity.

He could only muster a single nod.

“Good,” the man crooned, removing the tip of his weapon from his back, before moving stand just over Virgil, the same weapon held under his throat threateningly. His friend didn’t move, but an almost unnoticeable wince showed just how terrified he was. “This one?”

When Roman met Virgil’s eyes again he saw the flash of terror, the panic that was rising in his chest. Then there was a look of resignation, as if he had accepted it.

He felt like he was going to throw up.

Roman shook his head, unable to speak.

He couldn’t bear the look of surprise on Virgil’s features, even the realization that flickered.

The blade was removed from his throat and was instead moved to the other’s. Their sobs got louder in response to feeling the cold metal. “This one?”

There was a single nod offered and instantly he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to tune it out.

The sound of something soft being sliced through would haunt him. The silence that followed the resounding thud was the only thing he could hear ringing in his ears. His entire body was tense with fear, anger, every emotion that he couldn’t express with his hands bound. There was so much he wanted to do to them. So much that he wished would happen to them.

After a second, he reopened his eyes and he met that of his companion’s. They were wide, terrified. There was blood staining Virgil’s clothes, but it wasn’t his own and Roman felt a heave rise in his throat.

“Let him go,” he spoke up, a weak plead, “please. You have no use for him.”

“I’m sure we could find another use for him,” one said, getting a bit too close to Virgil for Roman’s comfort, using the tip of a knife to tilt the other’s chin up.

It took only a moment before the latter spat in his face. “Don’t touch me.”

The thief flinched back instantly, leaving a small nick on the underside of Virgil’s chin, but he said nothing about it.

“If anything, he needs to learn his place.”

That was a shock. A stab of instant worry was the only thing Roman could feel at that moment.

“Let him go and I won’t say another word!”

The words were out before Roman even knew he had said them. The startled gazes of their captors turned to face him, their leader looked down his nose at him. Seemingly considering the offer.

Virgil’s eyes were wide, surprised at the fact that Roman would give up his freewill just to get him to safety.

“Really?” The leader stated.

Roman’s pleads got more desperate. “I’ll do whatever you want, just- please, let him go.”

“A deal like that is hard to refuse,” he said instead. The man turned on his heel and grabbed the knife from the other’s hands, using the same weapon to threaten Virgil’s life again. “If we let this one go, you’ll do anything we say?”

“Roman don’t—” Virgil was cut off when the knife dug deeper into him and he winced.

“Anything,” Roman agreed. “I’m begging you. Let him go and let him live.”

After a moment of silence, the knife was removed from his partner’s throat and his bonds were sliced. Two men from either side of Virgil grasped him by the shoulders and dragged him to his feet.

While the helpless look never left Roman’s face, the anxious one that fluttered over his own would forever be ingrained into his memory.

While Virgil’s angry shouts and swears faded from the night, swallowed up by the forest that surrounded them, the painful pounding of Roman’s heart never ceased.

“Now,” the leader grinned sharp as a dagger, sheathing the knife in it’s rightful spot before turning on his heel and looking their capture up and down. “Stay true to your deal boy, or there will be Hell to pay.”

————

The tune started slow, a low resounding noise in his chest. A hum that reverberated through him, a song that he had had memorized ever since he was a little boy.

It was a song that he had taught to his beloved, even though his beloved felt as if he wasn’t worthy.

The song itself gave him comfort almost.

A sound that he could lose himself in, find a place to hide away and stay there for all of a few minutes. For however long he decided he would draw the music out. Sometimes it was slow, sometimes it was fast.

Sometimes his emotions would get to him and his voice would break.

He wasn’t proud of it. He wasn’t proud of any of his work.

Roman used to be able to take pride in his music, in himself. Ever since his capture, everything had changed. Without a choice in how he was able to share his talent, a gift as he had once been told, there was no heart in it anymore.

He had once been able to attract a crowd of willing listeners, grins of children that would push him onward, before bringing them into the song as well, allowing for them to experience and try and play around. To have fun when doing something so meaningful. To discover and laugh.

The sounds of the thieves relaxing to the song was all he could focus on, even as he shut his eyes. He ignored the chafing of his wrists. He ignored the cuts that lined his arms and sides, the stinging that never ceased. He ignored the aching pain in his chest. The longing he felt.

Instead, he focused on a evocative picture of sparkling brown eyes, a smile that would astound him every time it was flashed his way, brown bangs that would hang in front of such lively eyes.

As his voice grew in strength, he could hear his partner’s voice joining him in his head, bringing him back to a simpler time.

The sounds of hands drumming along in a timed rhythm with the song and suddenly he was no longer stuck behind bars with a travelling group of outlaws but was back home in the town square during one of the Midsummer festivals, a hand in his own as they danced. Bangles of gold and silver, hues of royal reds, purples and blues flashed through his memory. Laughter and warmth. Noises of the bangles jingling together and the excited chatter of the children in the village.

The faint sound of feet pounding against the ground in an exhilarated dance, hands clapping in time with the beat, bringing the colourful town to life. The sounds of instruments being strummed and pounded.

The rising moon in the back of his mind as he held onto his partner, moving in sync as they held onto each other. Twisting and twirling in practiced motions, memorized patterns.

The melodic laughter from his sweetheart was one of the few things that kept Roman going. On the vague hope that he would see him at least one more time.

As he spun the imaginary form into his arms, it was as if he could almost feel the actual warmth of someone in real time. The colours of his clothing twirled as the form did. The feeling of their hands intertwined, with one resting on his shoulder to keep his darling upright.

The scent of rose and lavender filled his senses, the smell of which his partner nearly always smelt of. Working with herbs gave him an earthy scent, something that could calm Roman within minutes. Holding his significant other in his arms only made it easier.

It was almost as if he could feel the cool touch of grass beneath his toes.

It was easy for Roman to lose himself in the song when he focused on surroundings that were no longer his every day reality. To sing and sit behind bars would not derive the feeling he needed to present.

He had tried performing halfheartedly. He had tried to keep his voice low and unheard. It had only resulted in pain and suffering. The young man had instead resorted to trying to picture that he was anywhere else than where he actually was.

As the song faded, so did the vivid image of the countryside and the festival’s coloured lights. The feeling of Virgil’s hand in his own seemed non-existent and the warmth disappeared as soon as his passion did.

When he had finally finished, he reopened his eyes, welcomed back with the unnerving sight of the others watching him intently.

He dropped his gaze to his hand, letting the thumb of his opposite run over the palm, as if trying to bring back the feeling of warmth and safety he had felt.

“Another,” someone demanded of him, someone far too close to the outside of his bars for comfort and he winced away from them. His wrists burning from the rope digging into them.

This was just torture. They were torturing him without really touching him.

He knew that if he didn’t do what they said, he would be putting his partner in danger again and that was the last thing he was ready to do. He’d stay in the firing line if that meant Virgil got out of this. If he got the chance to live his life like it was supposed to be lived.

“Come now, little Songbird. With a voice like that, there must always be an encore!”

Like there’s a choice, he sneered inwardly.

Just as Roman was about to snark something back at him, the flash of wide, terrified eyes and the sound of a body slumping to the ground resounded in his head and he shut his mouth.

It was a promise that he couldn’t risk breaking.

Instead, he began to tap against the bottom of the cage. The wood gave the sound he wanted, but not the atmosphere he dreamed of. Tapping in a rhythm that would be easy even for these imbeciles to follow.

It took a minute, but they were soon following his lead and the pounding was being repeated into the night air, creating a beautifully, haunting, echoing sound against the woods.

Another tune started again, but it wasn’t nearly as low in his chest as the first had been. The words, though he knew them by heart, started almost a count too late for his taste. A part of him took pleasure being able to sing in another language, as Gaelic was far from something this band of misfits knew.

Perhaps it was better that way, when they didn’t understand the lyrics.

While Gaelic was not his mother tongue, after countless nights practicing and learning from the others, he was able to repeat the song back to them without a hitch.

It was a tradition for at least one of the songs at their Midsummer’s festivals to be in the foreign tongue as it was said to honour the original settlers of the town itself.

Roman allowed himself to close his eyes again, drifting off to a place where he could find comfort. Though, the more he allowed himself to drift into the memories, the more unsteady the song became.

————

There it was again, that soft hymn of something on the wind.

It was something that Logan had come to recognize. Something that he had almost started to expect to hear every night at this point.

A voice, quiet as it was, carried on the peace of the night. While a sound that never ceased would usually cause discomfort or frustration, this sound was softer. It allowed him to relax in his study late into the night when his work kept him up.

It hadn’t always been there, he knew. From the very time he had settled in this area, there had only been the sounds of the birds or the babbling brook a couple of paces away from his doorstep.

The new addition of such a small sound only proved that there must have been some sort of travelling band in the area. They had been there for a few nights by this time, even as he sat by the window, a wicker candle sat on the windowsill with a flame that flickered back and forth and a book in that sat open in his lap.

There was always the sounds of voices following after the song had ended and while it did make him feel uneasy, the songs themselves were melodic, whomever was singing them had a talent for the art of performance.

As intoxicating as the music would be, Logan had also begun to notice fluctuations in the notes. The voice cracking or breaking, turning into nothing but a noiseless whisper against the woodlands. Shouts would follow the fail and then there would be a tune again, but far less confident.

Some nights the songs would clear as the night sky, some nights the voice would break between notes. Almost as if the songs sometimes became a desperate latch on to a reality that was longer theirs. Of course, searching too far into something like this could prove fruitless as it may never be understood why the voice would crack.

A part of him knew that impeding in someone else’s business could only end in more trouble, but the sound of those shaky notes said something that perhaps real words may not be able to express accurately.

While a part of him believed that something horrible could be happening, another part of him said that perhaps he was just imagining the bad scenario. There were cheers and claps that would follow the performance, begging for another song to follow. The night would stay quiet for a little while, before another song would begin.

Though, he did notice that no one would thank them for the praise, which did say something about the situation.

Logan briefly wondered how long the traveling band planned to stay in the area. While it was a bit inconvenient having a group of humans constantly chattering, he supposed if that was all they did, there was no harm in having them around.

It did make the woods feel a tad less lonely.

While Logan did enjoy his solitude—the tranquility of the forest gave him peace of mind—there was always a somewhat lonesome aspect to living away from his own civilization. He was more likely to happen along human camps than he was to find someone like him wandering his close to the border. This wasn’t to say that he didn’t have the occasional visitor.

While he did find it a touch odd that there were humans this close to the border itself, it wasn’t truly any of his business. Even if the strained notes caused a slight discomfort in his chest that he didn’t necessarily appreciate.

Pushing his glasses back up so they sat more comfortably on his nose, he turned his attention back down to his book.

What did catch him off guard was the sudden breaking of the voice and the silence that followed. However, the quiet didn’t last and was instead filled with noise from that camp. Though, the voices didn’t sound all that pleasant.

While Logan couldn’t make out any distinctive words, it was rather obvious that said voices were unhappy that the song had ended early.

While it was a bit disappointing, he could admit, Logan felt as if there was no true reason to be upset over such a thing.

As much as he didn’t want to involve himself in some necessary confrontation, there was something telling him that leaving this situation unattended could end in someone getting hurt. The idea didn’t sit well with him in the least, so, with a resigned sigh, he placed a bookmark into the centre of it before shutting his book and setting it to the side.

Grabbing his coat from just beside the door, he stepped out into the cool autumn night. Winter was on the rise slowly, just as the moon was reaching its highest peak.

The crisp air was refreshing.

Logan tucked his jacket a bit closer to himself, shielding out the cold air. It was about time he got out anyways. He’d kept himself cooped up in his house nearly all day reading, getting work done. It was good to get out for a little bit, even if it was to soothe his curiosity.

Turning his attention towards the source of the noise, he carefully followed along a path that he had made for himself a couple of weeks back.

While creeping up on the camp wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, keeping as low a profile as possible may be the better option if they had weapons. Not that it would do much damage, but a right shot in just the right place could prove painful.

“… finish the tune, Songbird, come now,” a voice demanded, sharp as a knife. Harsh and cold. “Don’t leave us in silence.”

“… I-I can’t—” A softer voice replied, it was shakier, more timid than the other, as if it was worried about something. Possibly his safety. “I-it’s- I …”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, did I, boy?” The first voice replied, a rhetorical question, then there was the sound of metal on metal and it rang against the forest, a yelp of surprise followed after it. “I ordered you to finish the song. For talkin’ back, I s’pose it wouldn’t hurt to have you start it over.”

Logan furrowed his brows, lowering himself into more of a crouch when the camp finally came into view and he was peering just over the edge of the trees. While his presence was largely unknown, as he had taken measured care to manage his footsteps, it allowed him the perfect place to sit back and observe the situation in front of him before intervening. Perhaps he wouldn’t need to at all and he had the situation entirely wrong.

Though, when he took in the scene in front of him, Logan was disturbed to find that there was a young man sitting bound in what seemed to be a cage. It was odd, as he seemed to be just as human as the others that surrounded him.

Searching over, he found that each of the members currently surrounding him had red arm bands on the right biceps; an easy mark to show others that they were apart of a certain band.

The young male sitting trapped didn’t, which told Logan that he was a captive. As if the cage didn’t do that for him.

“It wasn’t a request, Songbird,” the first voice said again and Logan was quick to identify him as the leader of this operation. “It was a demand. You wouldn’t appose us, would you? You haven’t forgotten what happened the last time you spoke up without permission?”

The young man shifted uncomfortably, turning his head away. “… no.”

“Ah,” the leader crooned, leaning a bit further forwards, looking as if he were about to reach through the spaces between the bars. When his hand was inches away from the boy, he shifted away, pressing his back against the bars furthest from the man. Unhappy, but not lashing out, he said, “then sing.”

A moment of tense hesitance, Logan was just about to break his cover when the sound of a rhythmic tapping caught his attention instead. His gaze was drawn right back down to the kid in the cage—maybe not a kid, per say, but a young man—dressed in a dirty white tunic and torn brown pants. A royal red silk belt was tied around his waist halfheartedly. He began to tap out a rhythm against the bottom of his confinement.

It took all of a few seconds before the rest of the camp began to join in on it and he was followed.

A moment later and a soft tune arose from the enclosure and Logan was welcomed with that same melodic voice from earlier. Seemed that the nightingale was not a nightingale at all, it was a human boy that seemed to be used for his talents against his will.

The Gaelic that soon followed was something Logan recognized vaguely. There were a few words he picked up on such as “lost love” and “forgotten times,” it was obvious it was heartfelt lament that no one in the camp seemed to understand.

They obviously mistook the upbeat tune for something other than what it was.

While Logan was not fluent in the language, he knew enough to tell that this song was not for the thieves that kept him captive, but for the captive himself, possibly as a comfort.

Then, there was the shaky tone again. The notes were being missed and the voice was straining. He was trying to do his best without giving away how emotional the he really was.

The leader seemed to take badly to this revelation and he used the hilt of his weapon to knock against the bars of the cage again, making the song halt immediately in response. “When I said restart the song, I didn’t mean for you to restart with your bellyaching.”

“I-I know, but I—” The boy was cut off and he flinched back as the cage was knocked on again.

“Stop with your words, and start with the music again, boy.”

When the others began to chime in on how they felt the lad wasn’t trying, he could see the fear building on the kid’s features. It wasn’t hard to miss such terror.

Everything in Roman wanted him to snark back.

He was fighting against every one of his instincts by staying silent, but breaking his promise would only lead to more harm than good. Though, when being faced by a group of belittling thieves, there wasn’t much he could do to stop the fear that flickered or to stop the panic that was growing in his chest.

“I do believe the lad has every right to feel emotional,” Logan spoke up, finally revealing himself and causing the camp to silence almost instantly. “I would say that being stuck behind bars and then forced to sing for your pleasure, which is clearly against his will, would be a tad upsetting.”

As soon as a voice as deep as the night itself rumbled around them, Roman’s attention had shifted instantly from the leader to the newcomer.

He was startled to find a form that towered over the trees that surrounded the group, which only meant trouble for himself. There was nothing any of the men in the camp could do and he certainly couldn’t fight back if the giant deemed that he was worth taking.

From what he could see through the darkness, there were sharp, cold, analytical brown eyes watching each and everyone of them in the camp. The glasses that he wore just magnetized it. He could feel his heartbeat and he could hear the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

The first man took a step forwards, but his sword was drawn and raised. Almost as if a weapon like that would do any damage at all. “A-and what say you about this?”

While Logan was impressed by the fact that he was being stood up to, instead of having panic reign throughout the camp, it was very obvious that this human didn’t want to lose his “prize” because they had rightfully kidnapped the boy in the first place. Who was Logan to take that trophy away from them?

He watched quietly as they seemed to surround the confinement of their hostage, whom of which looked mortified in his own way. Each of them had their weapons drawn, looking as if they were ready to put up a futile fight.

It was almost comical, in a pathetic way.

There really wasn’t much they could do to keep him at bay. Though, the way that the determination seemed to settle within the group said that he may need to go into more drastic measures.

So be it.

“Ah, I see what’s going on here,” Logan mused, planting a hand in the centre of the camp, partially for intimidation purposes and partially because he needed to balance himself. The others seemed to push away from the limb, and the unsteadiness of the group grew. “You think I’ve come for your little Nightingale.”

Hearing the term from a completely new source made Roman’s stomach sink. Whomever this person was, only thought of him the same way the other’s did.

“What else would you be here for!” The man shouted up, his hand tightening on the weapon he wielded. “We’ve done nothing to you!”

“That is true, but it would be impossible not to hear the sounds of someone’s voice carry,” he scanned over the group, looking unimpressed, almost bored. “You have found yourself a prize worth being proud of.” He ignored the way the quiet noise of protest from the hostage dug into his chest deeper than he thought it would. “It would be a shameful of me if I were to take such a lovely voice away from you.”

The man stiffened at that, shoulders growing tense. “We shall fight you for the boy!”

“And you shall lose,” Logan shrugged his shoulders idly, “I fail to understand how you’ve not noticed the power I hold over each and every one of you. You may outnumber me, but you do not intimidate me. I advise you, do not be so foolish as to risk the safety of your men over something so trivial.”

While stooping to childish measures, such as knocking stuff over to cause a distraction, was not what he wanted to do, Logan wasn’t necessarily above it at this point. If he needed to get the kid out of there, then he would do what was needed.

This entire situation was just unnerving.

How humans could capture and keep one of their own as if they were nothing more than a treasure to either be hidden away or put out on display. He didn’t understand it and he might never understand the workings on their minds. Not that it was exactly the top priority, but it was endlessly fascinating, he would admit.

Now it was just getting tedious.

Humans were not a threat to him. He had slightly hoped that they would have gotten the hint and given up, but alas, the stubbornness of such people seemed to rage stronger than their short tempers.

“Well, you can make this easy on yourselves or you can be morons and make it difficult. Which option would you prefer?”

“We don’t take demands from the likes of you!” Another shouted and Logan’s cold gaze was drawn to the one that had said it.

“The likes of me?” He repeated, a brow quirked in question.

The same man seemed to seem less confident when Logan was looking right at him, holding his stare without once wavering.

“Do you wish to repeat that?”

When he was answered with nothing more than silence, Logan was satisfied that he had done nearly all he needed to. A lot of the intimidating just came from the fact that he was able to keep a cold exterior. It did make it easier that he really didn’t care much for this particular band of humans, save for the one that was currently there against his will.

Speaking of which, he leaned forwards a bit more, slightly unintentionally—but getting the exact reactions he wanted—blocking out the moonlight and casting the group in shadow. The kid in the cage seemed to shrink away from him as best as he could, eyes wide and terrified and, well, Logan couldn’t fault him for that.

“If you give up your little Songbird willingly,” the name sounded weird and unfamiliar, especially so since he wasn’t talking about a bird at all, “I may take pity on your pathetic attempt.”

“I will never give up! I said we shall fight you for it!” The first man declared again, stabbing the weapon in Logan’s direction and said male rolled his eyes.

“How many times must I repeat myself before you brutes understand?” He quipped.

Roman had almost seen it coming from a mile away and he ducked a bit lower down. While he was grateful to be getting away from the very people that had caused him so much suffering, he felt as if being taken away with the giant wasn’t exactly a better option.

Not if he felt as though Roman was a prize.

Logan leaned a bit further forwards, reaching over each and every one of the thieves and lifted the cage from the ground with ease.

Even though Roman had tried to prepare himself, he wasn’t able to stop the yelp of surprise that escaped him. His stomach dropped as the cage was lifted so effortlessly off of the ground. Every other time his cage had had to be moved, there had been four or more men on it at all times to make sure it didn’t tip or break open if dropped.

Logan drew the confinement back over towards himself and settled it down right in front of his crouched position. “If you attempt to best me, you should understand the fight will all be for naught.”

“I have never—”

“Never what? Been bested by someone bigger than you? Seems that way,” he mused, “with an attitude like yours, I would understand if you’ve never been told the word ‘no.’ I would also recommend that you pack your things and leave this area by morning.”

“And why should we comply?”

“Perhaps it would make you feel safer to know that your camp is practically on my doorstep.”

The hush of uneasiness that fell over the group said more than words ever could. Of course that knowledge wouldn’t make them feel better, he knew that very well.

Even though the leader still seemed to be seething in his anger, there was nothing he could truly do to stop what was happening. They all knew that weapons would only get them so far and if those were to be taken, there would be no chance at all.

In a huff, the leader raised his hand and snapped his fingers, though his stony gaze never left Logan’s. He would admit, the bravery was mildly impressive, more barely amusing.

“As pleasant as this has been, the night does grow late.” Logan tipped his head in a nod, showing some sort of acknowledgement, it was only respectful, before picking up the cage with a gentleness that belayed the rough words. “If I return tomorrow, there better be no sign that you were even here. Best of luck.”

With that, he pushed himself back into a stand and brought the cage a bit closer to himself, almost as if he were trying to steady the boy inside of it. His weight was hardly noticeable, but as he fell back into a comfortable walking pace, he could feel the slight swaying from inside a bit more prominently.

While it was getting late, he had important things to deal with now and getting sleep was on that list, just not yet.

The trek back to his home almost seemed longer now that he had an unwilling passenger.

He entered his house moments later and shut the door, he slid his jacket off of his shoulders as an afterthought after transferring the confinement to one hand.

He was privy to the little noises coming from the human inside of the metal trap and it wasn’t that the terrified little sounds surprised Logan at all. Truly, any human with common sense would be frightened of something that could do whatever they pleased.

While that was not the case here, Logan hadn’t exactly explained himself or his actions to the captive.

The cage was settled down onto the counter of his kitchen not long after. The form inside of it cowered away from him, tucked into himself against the furthest bars possible.

“While telling you there is no reason to be afraid is illogical at this point, I would like to assure you that I don’t have the same plans for you as those thieves did,” Logan broke the tense silence.

Roman flinched back at the rough voice, before finding the words somewhat confusing. So, he wasn’t just some stolen prize? “I-I beg your pardon?”

While the giant seemed to be busy rummaging for something, it was obvious he had been heard. “As soon as I get that lock off of your confinement, you will be free to go. I certainly do not plan to keep you here against your will.”

When he came up with nothing, Logan shut one drawer before moving to the next one. After a second of rustling around, he was able to find the smallest knife he could. While it would terrify the captive anyhow, it was the least he could do.

He reached over and pulled the cage a bit closer to himself, the lock was impossibly small. It wouldn’t hinder him much, but it would make it a tad more difficult.

Getting the tip of the knife under the bridge of the lock took some maneuvering, especially to get it into the right position. It had slipped a couple times and the human and flinched with a gasp. Though, after he sucessfully managed to do it, it took one simple slight motion of the wrist and the lock was no more.

The door to the cage swung open after he pulled away and settled the knife a few paces away from the cage.

“I would recommend using the knife to cut yourself free,” Logan instructed, turning his back for a moment to shut the drawer he had left open.

There was no sound of movement for a minute, which was understandable, yet the constant fear was a bit frustrating. He had explained to the human he was safe, but yet he still showed the same terror—if not more—to him than he did with his human captors.

Roman hesitated, watching as the giant turned his back to him, seemingly distracted with another task.

But he did feel an onrush of emotions flood forwards at seeing the cage door open. The lock laying in pieces to the right of it. Seeing the knife come so close to him had been admittedly terrifying, but the promise had held up.

So, he eventually pushed himself into a shaky stand, using the bars behind him to pull himself up and keep him steady enough.

Freedom was right there and yet, in a way, he was still trapped.

Ignoring those thoughts, Roman moved to the edge of the cage before ducking through the low overhang and dropping the foot down onto the counter. The sight of the large kitchen was almost enough to stagger him completely. The fact that everything in here was not scaled to his size was incredible.

Incredibly horrifying, his mind supplied to him helpfully, if the giant changes his mind, you’re screwed.

He shook his head, as if shaking the awful truth away for the moment. While the knife itself was more than twice his size in length, Roman moved towards it, the only thing that would actually cut the ropes for good. He had tried biting them, countless times had he tried tearing through the ropes with his teeth only to be given a sore mouth and loss of hope.

Grabbing the flat of the blade as best as he could, he tried to pull it upright enough to actually get at the sharp edge. When that failed and it slipped from his hands, he jolted back.

The small curse split the air and Logan resisted the urge to turn to see what had happened. Had he cut himself? Injured himself further than what he already was? A brief glance over his shoulder proved that the human was struggling to keep the knife in a position that he could use to actually cut his bonds free.

As helpless as ever, he noted.

Turning back to face the kid, he reached over to grab the hilt of the knife, watching briefly as the human scooted a bit further away from him, even as he tilted it upright and held it loosely.

“This should make your task a bit easier,” Logan assured him when the confused brown eyes tilted up towards his own. “I only assumed that a little assistance would be necessary.”

“… thank you,” came the soft reply.

When the blade was tilted up for him like this, Roman could certainly get at the sharper edge easier. Though, the nervousness stuck in his stomach. The fact that anything could happen at this point was terrifying. So, he tried to shove the fear back and masked it with an air of, what he thought was, confidence.

He pulled himself forwards on his knees before placing the rope of the sharp of the blade and beginning to saw through it, aiming to carefully cut between his wrists and to try his best to keep from nicking himself in the meantime.

Though, his eyes did flutter up for a brief second and when he focused on the fingers thicker than he was, holding the knife up like it was nothing, an icy stab of fear fell into his gut. He was reminded at just how helpless he was.

So, he instead focused on doubling his efforts and getting the ropes cut quicker. The heaviness of the giant’s eyes on his back never lessened.

As soon as his wrists were free, another onslaught of emotions hit him from nowhere and Roman pushed himself away from the knife, his hands rubbing at the redness that circled his wrists. It had been so long since he had had full range of his wrists and the water that blurred his vision was almost a surprise to himself.

A shaky breath was taken in, even as he trembled with his reality. If the giant really meant what he said—how he would get to go home—than there was nothing to be afraid of. He could return to his life back in the village, he could embrace his darling again.

He actually stood a chance now.

This release must have been emotional and because of this, Logan didn’t really know what to do. So, he instead took the knife away and tucked it back into it’s proper place. Which then, if the little human was reacting like this, how long had he been an unwilling hostage?

“Judging by your stature, I would assume that they didn’t feed you very well, did they?”

At the suddenness of the voice, Roman’s gaze was drawn upwards, even as he rubbed the water from his eyes. “Ah, no, not really,” he admitted.

In all honesty, there were days that he went without eating. It wasn’t healthy, but it had been his only choice.

Logan made a low humming noise, letting his eyes flicker over the smaller form. “Perhaps you would want something to eat and drink before you head out on your way?”

While the question sounded more like a statement, almost as if he would be turned down if he said “no,” Roman could admit that having something to eat before finding his way home would be ideal. “If it isn’t any trouble,” he adjusted his torn shirt, uncomfortable under the inquisitive gaze.

“I offered,” he stated with a shrug, adjusting his glasses before turning to focus on the next task.

Roman’s attention instead flickered back down to his wrist, the blood that had dried around the open cuts where the ropes at dug into him.

What he didn’t understand, out of this entire situation, was why he had been helped in the first place. It didn’t really make any sense to him. It would have been easy enough to have left him there, to pretend that he hadn’t seen a thing and moved on as if nothing had happened. Or to even just ignore the travelling band altogether. Or even, taken him and kept him in the cage, kept him bound and stuck at the mercy of another stranger. It wasn’t as if he really expected to be let go.

“I don’t understand,” his voice came out soft at first, conflicted and confused as his thumb ran over the tender skin on the inside of his wrist. He then turned his attention back to the other male. “I don’t understand why you helped me. Wouldn’t it have, I don’t know, been easier for you to have ignored it?”

Logan’s shoulders straightened after a moment, setting the cup he had filled with water off to the side, before looking briefly over his shoulder. Roman was peering at him, confused yet wanting to know the answer.

Why did humans have to be so frustratingly touchy?

“While, yes, it would have been far more logical to not have intervened in your situation, unfortunately emotions are not solely a human feature.” While digging around for something that Roman would actually be able to drink out of, he spoke up again. “Morals are also something that are not only a human feature and my curiosity had put me into a precarious position. Seemed I was blissfully ignorant to the true nature of humanity.”

It took a bit of work, but he was able to find something that would work a bit better for a drinking tool, before flickering over his pantry. Bread would most likely be the easiest option on someone’s digestive system if they hadn’t eaten in days. Something heavy may make them throw up.

Logan dipped the small container into the water carefully, before nudging it over towards the human without spilling any of the liquid. “I did not expect to be harboring a human tonight, so do excuse my lack of resources,” he then leaned against the opposing counter for a moment, eyes staying locked on the smaller form. “So, yes, I suppose it would have been easier if I had ignored the position you had found yourself in, but it would not have been fair. Certainly less so since I was able to do something about it.”

Roman seemed hesitant to reach for the water at first, but his thirst was greater a need than his pride was at the moment. After taking a greedy drink of the cool refreshment, he sat back a bit more comfortably. “So, you’re really not going to … keep me?”

“Of course not,” Logan waved the worry away, “what good would that serve me?”

The human only shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, it didn’t really serve the others any good … it was more for their entertainment, I guess.”

“Well, you have no need to fret about me doing the same thing,” he responded, pushing off of the counter and moving towards his pantry. “Unlike what others may tell you, I do have morals and they are, unfortunately, very loud.” Logan paused in the doorway of the pantry, looking over his shoulders. “You don’t have any allergies, do you?”

Logan would feel rather bad if he gave the boy something he couldn’t have and ended up doing more harm than good.

After Roman set the drink back down, he shook his head in answer.

He was honestly slightly surprised that he had been asked about that in the first place.

With a satisfied nod, Logan disappeared into the pantry to search through what would be suitable for the human. While he knew humans could eat everything they could, it was still difficult to find something that would be able to crumble into good portions without making too much of a mess.

While Logan seemed to be preoccupied, Roman let his eyes wander the rest of the kitchen. The house was astoundingly big and he was slightly shaken by the fact that when the caravan had picked their place of settlement for the couple weeks they planned to be there, that they hadn’t seen the mountainous cottage that had been nearly a mile or two away from the spot.

While it did make him uneasy, he was in no place to really voice that opinion. Not when he was being shown such hospitality instead of being stuck into another cage and being used for his voice.

That experience was certainly going to be something that was going to follow him into his dreams for nights to come. At least this time, he wouldn’t have to face his night-terrors alone anymore. As soon as he got home, everything would be back to the way it was.

At least, that was the hope.

It was the only hope that Roman could hold onto.

From what he could see of the home, it was nice. Orderly, everything had a place and everything stayed in that place. There were a few pictures on the walls, as well as some paintings. Pictures of ravines and mountains. He leaned a bit further to the side to peer into another room through the doorway, what seemed to be a living room and a study.

His attention shifted once more when Logan reappeared through the pantry’s doorway with the biggest loaf of bread Roman had ever seen in his life. Admittedly, he didn’t spend much time around giants, but he had met the odd few that would pass near the town he lived in.

The two races usually stayed away from each other, or as separated as possible. He had heard of cities that had integrated both into one society, but he failed to really understand how well that worked. While it would be an adventure every day to live in such a place, Roman was happy to live in a countryside human village with Virgil. It was peaceful, quiet and the town was almost always alive with music in the evenings.

It was a bit unsettling, seeing a bigger knife making an appearance. Even focusing on how large Logan’s hands were compared to himself, or how easily he used the utensil.

So, he instead turned his attention away from that, sticking his thumb into his mouth before focusing on scrubbing the blood off of his wrists. He didn’t know when it had happened or how long it had been there, but he now had the chance to clean himself up to the best of his ability.

It stung, but that meant nothing to him. Not from everything else he had suffered through.

It took nearly a minute before there was a piece of bread being slid over to him.

“I do apologize, I’m sure it has become quite apparent that I don’t usually cater for people of your stature,” Logan said, leaning back against the counter once more.

Roman shook his head. “No, no, this is all— thank you.”

“It is the least I can do to assist you,” though there was something that was bothering him. However, he held off until Roman had at least had taken a few bites to settle his hunger. A moment of quiet passed before he found himself speaking again. “Though, I am curious. How long has that travelling band had you?”

It seemed he had asked the wrong question, as the human seemed to flinch slightly at that.

Roman dropped his eyes, just focusing on the bread that had been cut for him, even if it still had been a bit more cumbersome that what he was used to. “Four months, give or take.”

That nearly made Logan choke. Four months and no one had thought to step in to help before now? The thought was upsetting. The only one who had managed to actually make a difference was himself and that was because he wasn’t necessarily human.

Watching the downtrodden look sneak across the human’s features—he really needed to ask his name—it was obvious that this was not the topic to be chatting so lightly about, so he decided to change the topic. “The song you had begun in Gaelic, that was a lament about a lover, was it not?”

A more surprised look flickered over his face and the surprised brown eyes turned up to meet his own. “Yeah, it was. You’re the first person to figure that out. Do you speak Gaelic?”

“Rather brokenly, if you must know,” Logan admitted, “but I was able to pick up on a few words. I am left to assume then, that you have a significant other waiting for you?”

Roman nodded his head, a gentle grin crossed his features, as if he was lost in memory. “Yeah,” he agreed again, “at least. I’m hoping so. I haven’t seen him in months. I can only hope he’s doing alright.”

Him, Logan filed that information away.

Roman knew that Virgil was fully capable of taking care of himself, but he didn’t want Virgil to worry himself sick over his absence—even if it was bound to happen anyways. Though, he ached to hold him again.

Hoping that all was well, was fair. Logan’s eyes flickered outside after a moment. It was possibly much later into the night than what would be healthy. He had stayed up far later than what was considered healthy, but sometimes it just needed to be that way if he were to finish some work.

Then again, it may not be perfectly safe letting the little human leave at this time of night.

Not if those thieves were scouring the forest in search of him, or if they were smart, packing and leaving. Not to mention the amount of nocturnal animals that would wander the forest looking for easy prey. The boy was weaponless, hell, he had been stripped of his shoes as it seemed, if he needed to defend himself, he’d need to be crafty with weapons.

“I’m sure you have got nothing to fret about,” Logan said instead. Emotions were far from something he understood, but a fondness that ran that deep meant something to the human.

They fell into silence again and Roman finished off the piece of bread he had been given, which had been more than filling and finished off the water he had been offered as well. Which meant that leaving was his next priority.

“I, um, I want to thank you for all of this, really,” Roman pushed himself into a stand, letting his eyes wander the counter-top before turning his attention to Logan. “Without you, well, I’d still be a hostage. But I think that it’d be best if get on my way home.”

“Perhaps it would be best if you stayed.” Logan was quick to realize almost instantly after he saw the fear flicker on the human’s features that he had phrased that horribly wrong. “I meant the night, I didn’t—,” he cleared his throat a bit awkwardly, “that came out wrong. I was just speculating that if you stayed the night you would have a better chance of getting home in the daylight than you would in the pitch dark of the forest. Not to mention, you must be absolutely exhausted.”

After the explanation, Roman’s tense shoulders released and he relaxed slightly.

God, hadn’t that been quite the scare?

As bad as he wanted to get home, he knew that trying to so while emotionally and physically spent would only hurt more in the end. “I suppose one more night away from home wouldn’t hurt too much,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “if you’ll have me.”

Logan quirked a brow as if to say, once again, ‘I offered.’ The smirk on his face said more than words needed to. So, he pushed off of the counter again, only to pause for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night. “I am afraid I never got your name.”

It almost hadn’t occurred to Roman that they hadn’t swapped names, but there hadn’t really been the grounds for it. “Oh. It’s Roman.”

“While the circumstances could certainly have been better, it is a pleasure, Roman,” Logan acknowledged, as if it was more of an afterthought than a topic to dwell on. “Logan.”

While the moment was admittedly soft, it was almost stifling.

He then exited the room altogether, leaving the human standing on the counter.

After a moment, Roman took a seat on the counter again, focusing down on his wrists, but with a smaller grin. A warmth bloomed in his chest as he let his eyes flutter closed, almost as if he could feel the heat of someone’s hands in his own.

After all of these months away, Roman was going home.

Chapter Text

Had the walls always been this cold?

In all honesty, Patton wasn’t really sure anymore. It had become a natural habit to come out and spend time in the actual house now, being able to spend time with the human that lived there, rather than staying hidden away in the cold darkness.

It was … wrong, technically. It was going against everything he had ever been taught. It went against everything that he was still learning.

The rules about being a borrower were simple: Never be seen by a human. If seen by a human, never engage in conversation with the human. If one does engage in conversation with the human, do not reveal anything about one’s self or one’s kind.

It was all pretty straightforward. Easy to follow.

Patton had nearly broken every single rule that there was to follow. However, it wasn’t as if he had done it just because. It had been for the sake of his safety to get out of the mousetrap he had found himself in, but all in all the kid that had helped him had been understanding about it, if a bit nervous himself. Which was kind of funny, in it’s own way—a human being scared of a borrower.

What silly imagery.

Patton held himself a bit tighter, the shivers were non-stop at this point. He knew there were some blankets back home that he could probably wrap himself up in, but getting there would be even colder than his trek to the kitchen.

Autumn was coming faster than he had anticipated and admittedly prepared for.

And at this point, he was closer to Virgil’s room that he was his own home.

Patton also knew for a fact—much to his underlying dismay—was that even though it was nearing 2 in the morning, that Virgil would still be awake. Most likely doing something on his phone, whether it was productive or just scrolling through the internet—it had been explained to him that there were different forums that he used but to be honest, Patton still didn’t really understand the draw of technology, even though it was fascinating. While phones could do a lot for you, sleeping should be more important than whatever was happening at 2 in the morning, if anything was happening in the world at that time.

It was either he couldn’t sleep or just chose to actively avoid it.

Not that he could really blame the kid, but Patton worried about his health and his sleeping habits. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure how much Virgil actually got and that only worried him more.

So, with that in mind as more of an excuse, Patton turned on his heel and maneuvered through the dark hallways of the walls. He knew his way around like the back of his hand, so the darkness was nothing new. He pretty much lived in the darkness before he had slipped up and managed to get himself caught in the mousetrap.

It took a couple minutes and the air only seemed to get colder, to the point where he was practically vibrating.

He dropped down about an inch onto the bottom floor before ducking underneath the wires that were still connected to the outlet and pushing the thing out of place. He slipped between the small opening he had created and the the outlet where the plugins went in.

He struggled for a moment, getting it back into the correct place without creating too much noise. As soon as it clicked back into place, Patton was scaling up the wires on the backside of the bedside table.

The small illumination coming from his right proved that his theory had been correct. Virgil was still awake, which right now, was what Patton needed. Even if he wanted the kid to hit the hay much earlier than this.

It took a little bit, but before long, he was heaving himself up onto the top of the bedside table. It seemed that his entire climb had gone unnoticed as there was no sound of movement from beside him. When he turned his attention to see why that was—as Virgil was usually incredibly observant. Almost to the point where he didn’t need to be—he noticed the boy had his headphones on, which would explain why he hadn’t heard anything.

Patton wasn’t sure if they were noise-cancelling, or if he really was just so quiet that he wouldn’t be heard over whatever Virgil was watching or listening to.

Well, it was all or nothing at this point.

Even though he had had to use energy to get up here, his body heat was quickly depleting. The cold was sinking back into his skin and he needed to find someway to keep himself as warm as possible. At least just for the night.

He walked across the top of the bedside table before easily hopping over the distance between it and the bed itself. It was nothing more than just a small gap, but the fall would be somewhat devastating. So, he didn’t think about it. Instead, he turned his attention to the fact that Virgil still hadn’t clued in that he was there.

Unsurprising, he would admit to that. When Virgil focused, it was possible that he would hyper-focus on something and that would be that.

Hobbling over the unsteady surface and grasped a tight hold on the sleeve of the hoodie the human wore. It was actually a fair good stabilizer and even from this proximity, he could feel the heat radiating from the larger body.

It was at that moment when he finally got a reaction from the other. Patton could feel the tense muscles beneath his hands.

“Patton?” He heard Virgil’s voice rumble and his attention was drawn upwards instead. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you, kiddo! Why else would I be here?” He chirped back, before beginning his climb upwards.

The sudden tension that he was getting underneath his hands was showing how anxious this sort of contact made Virgil. While the proximity, as they had discussed, was not the leading problem, he had been told that it was more the fact that he really did not want Patton—or to not be the reason he got hurt—to get injured in case something went wrong, or if he moved too suddenly. Patton had been quick to assure him that that would never happen.

He kept climbing, the thick soft fabric was a bit odd to climb on, but before long he was pulling himself up onto the kid’s chest, sitting right in front of where the phone was. Turning to look over his shoulders, and Virgil’s eyes were only slightly illuminated by the dim light on the phone, he gave him a grin in response. Whatever he had been watching had been paused and his headphones were pulled down around his shoulders, obviously giving the borrower his complete attention.

“I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright,” he spoke up, shifting himself around so he was sitting faced him, without having to turn his head and tilt it up. “Because I thought we talked about putting your phone away and starting a normal sleep schedule.”

Virgil hummed deep in his chest, the sound resonated through him. “Well, yeah, but I just got—”

“No excuses, Virgil,” Patton cut him off, that ‘worried parent’ look crossing his features. “Sleeping is really, really important. I’m sure that nothing on your phone is nearly as important as getting healthy amounts of rest is.”

At first, he was sure he was going to get some resistance and then the chest expanded underneath him before releasing in a sigh. “You’re right and I know you’re right, but it’s a hard habit to kick,” he motioned briefly to the paused video on his phone, “and I mean, cryptid and conspiracy theories—”

“You’re doing it again,” he cut the human off for a second time. “You agree and then you make another excuse. You know how beneficial a normal sleep schedule is. You’ll feel better in the morning. So, how about we put the phone away for the night and you get some sleep, okay?”

Virgil held Patton’s eyes for a moment, seeing the stern “dad-look”—as he had dubbed it—stay on the features.

He almost knew that he had already lost the battle before it had really begun.

After another moment of silence, he nodded his head finally. “Alright, fine,” he reached around himself, carefully aware of Patton’s position on him and trying not to upset it too much and set it off to the side. He pulled his phone up and exited out of his video, before almost getting distracted again. If it weren’t for the small tapping on his chest, he probably would have ended up just scrolling endlessly again.

He set that aside as well and plugged it in. He was kind of surprise and sort of impressed that he had managed to do it with one hand. Turning to actually plug it in with both hands would have forced him to move Patton and, with how content the little one looked, Virgil didn’t want to do that.

Though, this did put him into a bit of dilemma. Before he said anything though, he felt the slight shivering of the smaller body.

After a second, he realized that it probably wasn’t only his bad night habits that drew Patton in here, it could also be the fact that he was cold. Which also meant that the borrower probably didn’t want to leave and was waiting for the right time to ask.

Virgil drew in a small breath, before the smirk crossed his features and he was turning his attention back down to said borrower. “Feeling okay, Pat?”

The shoulders tensed for half a second, but there was then a sheepish grin aimed up towards him. “A bit cold, honestly.”

“Why don’t you stay here tonight, huh?” He offered. He could already see how comfortable Patton was, snuggled into the extra fabric of his hoodie. It would be kind of rude to make him leave at this point. While he was a bit nervous about moving in his sleep—even though he knew he didn’t—it wouldn’t be the end of the world letting him stay one night.

Patton seemed to light up at the idea. “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, why not?” Virgil lifted a hand to press against Patton’s back as he got a bit more comfortable on the bed. After he found a better spot, he let it rest idly over his abdomen instead. “I doubt that the walls are all that warm, especially with fall coming in as fast as it is.” He then nudged him playfully in the back. “And you’re shaking like a leaf.”

The comparison was almost startling, especially with how Patton was probably the size of one. Though, he refrained from mentioning it. He was already painfully aware of how small the borrower was in the first place.

“You don’t have to do that,” was what he said, but the way he looked so comfy said something completely different. Seemed he had already planned to come and ask to stay the night and Virgil couldn’t blame him for that. It also wasn’t the first time Patton had actively sought him out for warmth.

There had been a handful—no pun intended—of times where the borrower had found him on the couch doing his own thing and asking if he would be able to take a nap in his hoodie pocket or to just relax in the hood of his jacket. It was a common occurrence in the daytime. This would be the first time that he had intended to actually sleep on him.

While it did make Virgil a bit nervous, he knew he couldn’t really tell Patton “no.” Though, if he did feel extremely uncomfortable about the set up, he knew that the other would be understanding of his worries.

When silence seemed to prevail over everything else, he looked down as best as he could, noticing the smaller form curled up in the centre of his chest, looking as lazy and content as ever. “Warm?” He grinned slightly.

Patton only stirred a little bit, the sound of his voice probably shook him a bit more awake. “Mm,” came the quiet response.

“Alright.”

While Virgil knew that he could attempt to reach over and get his phone again, the small weight on his chest said otherwise. Instead, he huddled down a bit further into his hoodie and his comforter, moving his hands to cup the smaller form comfortably, before releasing as much tension as he possibly could.

His eyes met the ceiling after a moment, just scanning the pale beige roof, almost as if he were searching for an answer of some kind, before really letting himself relax.

Taking in a final breath to steady himself and his racing mind, Virgil let his eyes slip closed. Sleep never came easy, but tonight, he was out like a light.

Chapter Text

It was just one of those days.

One of those days where it felt like the weight of the world was constantly crushing down on your shoulders even though it wasn’t.

Like you weren’t doing anything right. Like there was nothing you could do to make yourself feel productive or useful in the slightest. When there was just so much that you could be doing, but couldn’t decide on what task to focus on, so you chose something that wasn’t productive in the least. Like how everything had a due date and everything was just focused around that one due date. When emotions were high strung and exhausting and confusing.

One of those days where you just felt sad.

There were different ways to deal with this routine sadness. You could do something active, distract your mind from the fact that you felt this way. You could watch something, yet another way to distract yourself from the negative thoughts invading your mind. One could sit and tell someone else about their feelings, asking silently for support without outright asking for it—or if you had the confidence, outright asking for someone to help support you.

That was not the kind of person Virgil was.

He couldn’t just outright ask for comfort, especially not when he didn’t want to bother someone else with his personal problems. Besides, it’s not like he can’t figure it out on his own anyways.

So, he just sat quietly on the back of the couch. The TV was playing idly in front of him, but it was more just a voiceless noise at this point, something that he wasn’t paying attention to.

He had been watching a movie with Roman before said man had to leave for rehearsal. The screen had been left on and Virgil hadn’t moved from that position yet. It had been nearly two hours at that point. It was just on the end credits of the movie now and, if he were being honest, he didn’t really remember which movie they had originally been watching.

There was a lot going through his mind. More just the fact that there was so much that he should be doing that he wasn’t doing. It was the anxiety talking to him. Such as “if you don’t get this done immediately you are, without a doubt, going to die” but then the other part of it was “but if you work on it when you’re in this state, it will be half-assed and then you’ll have to go back and reedit it.”

He tried to remain as cool and collected as he could on the outside, trying not to let the rest of the household in on the way he was truly feeling.

Because of these intrusive thoughts, he mood only soured more. In all honesty, Virgil just wanted to nap. At least to temporarily ease the pains of the waking world and just rest.

He was tired, exhausted.

Sleep hadn’t been coming easy to him for the past few nights and he was instead staying up late into the dead of night, looking on his phone and scrolling through posts and things that had no meaning. It wasn’t that he was avoiding sleep, that wasn’t the case, it was more so the fact that he couldn’t. It was like his body was trying to fight him every step of the way. And so, he would still be awake into the wee hours of the morning.

There was one time where when he had finally wrapped up whatever he was doing on his phone, he heard footsteps from outside of his room signifying that Logan was up. Which meant that it was around 5:30 in the morning. He had been startled for one, and for two, he had realized that getting to sleep at the point wouldn’t happen.

Virgil had pulled his second all-nighter in a row by then.

Tucking his knees closer to his chest, he let his arms fold over the tops of them and he rested his chin on his forearms. His eyelids were heavy with weariness, but with all of the stuff that he knew he should be doing, a nap should be the farthest thing from his mind.

But the way his shoulders were starting to sag and how heavy his head was … sleep was so much easier than worrying about his daily tasks.

It wouldn’t hurt if he took just a couple minutes to himself.

Just a few minutes of shutting his eyes. He could get the work done after. He would feel more refreshed and ready to actually get it done in the first place.

So, with that in mind, he allowed himself to close his eyes, but let his mind shut off for just a bit, enough time to catch up on some missed time. He would work better at full capacity and that way the work he did get done wouldn’t be half-finished.

With the music from the end credits playing, it was quiet and peaceful and he could finally just—

“Hey kiddo,” Patton’s sudden entrance from behind him startled Virgil into snapping awake, whipping around to face him.

Heart pounding, he took in a soft breath to try and steady himself, taking in the confused and somewhat surprised look on the Patton’s features. Of course, as soon as he was so close to relaxing, that chance would be taken from him too.

While he was a bit bitter about it, he wasn’t about to show it.

“Is something the matter?”

Virgil shrugged his shoulders in response, using a hand to rub down his face, trying to rub the exhaustion away. “Not really,” he admitted, turning to look over his shoulder again. “I’m pretty tired, though.”

Patton’s expression softened a bit more at that, understanding flickered for a moment before a bit of guilt. “Were you just trying to nap?” The little human answered with a hesitant nod and he bit his lip. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, I didn’t know, I—”

“That’s okay, Pat,” he shrugged his shoulders, rubbing his eyes after stifling a yawn behind his hand, “no harm done.”

The silence prevailed behind him for a moment before the sound of clothing shifting followed and then light footsteps. It took a minute before Patton was sitting on the couch, his body turned just enough to see Virgil in full—which wasn’t really hard feat, especially now with how the little one seemed to be curled into himself.

“Have you not been sleeping well?” There was that concerned look, which seemed to only be magnetized by the large glasses sitting in front of big caring brown eyes.

Virgil only shrugged again.

It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable when they didn’t say anything, but there seemed to be a question that was hanging unsaid in the air: Can I do anything to help you?

He really appreciated Patton and his kindness, he really did. That constant worrying over if he was eating enough, drinking enough water, if he was taking care of himself properly. That mother-hen attitude was really endearing, but there was nothing he could really do to help him right now. Especially because he was just sleepless and tired. The most that could probably knock him out would be sleeping pills or something, which, isn’t exactly ideal either. Virgil just wanted to nap, at least for an hour—that’s really all he was begging for—and pills might knock him out for the rest of the day only to wake up at an ungodly time of night and then hit the ‘not-sleeping’ cycle again.

Which wouldn’t do him any good.

And then, he had an idea.

A stupid idea. An idea that was actually something he didn’t know he had even wanted until the thought had come from nowhere. An idea that was so embarrassing to even attempt to bring up in conversation without sounding needy or childish about it.

He turned his attention away from the larger presence, feeling heat creeping up the back of his neck. He could feel the pink tinting his cheeks, even as the warmth crept in. Suddenly, his hoodie felt a bit too warm for his liking and he rolled his hands into his sleeves, holding it tightly.

“Hey, uh,” breaking the silence wasn’t hard, it was what he was about to ask that was. Virgil cleared his throat after he knew he had Patton’s entire attention, even without needing to look at him—he could feel it. “This is such a stupid request—”

“I can guarantee that whatever you’re about to ask me is going to be anything but stupid,” Patton cut him off gently, causing Virgil to turn and look at him. That encouraging smile on his features.

That’s what you think now, he grumbled inwardly.

Quickly, he took in a softer breath, steadying the sudden flush of anxiety that spiked in his chest. “I was just, ah, wondering if I could, y’know, maybe sleep in your pocket?”

Oh God, it sounded even worse when he said it aloud.

He felt his face get hotter and instantly, upon seeing the somewhat surprised look cross Patton’s face, he turned away, wanting nothing more than to be able to pull his hood up and ignore this entire situation. To pretend that he had never said anything at all and just sit in silence like they had been before.

“Kiddo—”

“I know it was stupid,” Virgil cut him off with a nervous laugh, trying—in vain—to hide just how embarrassed he was for even considering something like that. “I get it, it was a dumb request and- and it’s awkward and I get that, like why would I even ask, right? It was needy and clingy and made his really weird … so, if we could just forget that I even asked that in the first place, that’d be, um, that’d be great and I’ll just—”

“Wait a second, Virgil, that’s not what I—”

“—I’ll just find another place to, you know, I dunno, sleep or something. I was just … talking without thinking and here I am probably making the situation worse. So, if it’s okay with you, I’m just going to, uh, head to my room and stay there. Hopefully get some sleep.” Now with this terrible encounter under my belt, I can think about it for the next 20 or so years. “So, I’ll just go …”

“Virgil wait.” It wasn’t a demand, more of a plead, but the tone of voice it was said in was serious. It left no room for argument and Virgil’s eyes met Patton’s, almost terrified to see what he would find there. “What on earth was all of that about? You don’t have to be … ashamed to ask for something like that.”

The human swallowed nervously, the heat returning to his face and he knew that he was getting pinker by the second.

“You know me, I’m happy to help,” Patton continued his thought, leaning down a bit to get more on Virgil’s level. The sincerity was almost too much for him to face all at once. “If you want to nap in my pocket because it makes you feel better or safer, then that’s okay. If that’s what you need to actually get some sleep, then of course I’ll help you.”

The tension that had made Virgil’s shoulders tighten loosened almost instantly when he heard those words of affirmation. Every bad outcome to the situation—that had been helpfully supplied by his unhelpful anxiety—was thrown out and replaced by the fact that he wasn’t being turned away. That he wouldn’t have to live in the absolute embarrassment of asking in the first place.

At least, not for long.

Two cupped palms were raised in front of him and he slid off of the back of the couch with no hesitation. He stayed knelt comfortably on his hands and knees, though his stomach dropped when the hands did move on their own. It was still startling, even after staying around the three of them.

Usually, Virgil went places on his own. He would turn down help that was offered to him, mostly because he wanted to prove himself. (At least, that’s what he told himself.)

Instead of needing assistance into the pocket when the hand was close enough, to reach forwards and pulled the lip of the piece of sewn on fabric and peered inside. It wasn’t a far drop, so there was no use in wasting more time than necessary. He swung his legs over the edge of the palm and into the pocket itself, before pushing off and slipping into it with a controlled slide. The descent in had pushed his hood up and it laid half over his head and half over his shoulders.

It took him a minute of squirming to actually fit into the crevice of the pocket like he wanted to, laying it like a hammock. Except, in this hammock he was surrounded on all sides by safety and comfort and warmth.

There was the steady rise and fall of Patton’s chest to his left, the steady, thrumming heartbeat. It was a lulling sound, predictable and consistent. It was a sound that Virgil had found comfort listening to countless times before now.

Mixing the heat of the moment in with the comforting sounds and the exhaustion that he was feeling, the young male found himself pulling his hood up higher and tucking himself further into the crevice of the pocket and his hoodie in turn. This was the kind of feeling he had been yearning for. A gentle, understanding touch and a safe-place to relax. He was safe, he was comfortable and if he did wake a nightmare, he knew he could just raise his voice and he would be able to receive comfort within seconds.

He could feel the voice resonating to the left of him, but Virgil didn’t know what Patton was saying, possibly something along the lines of making sure he was comfortable. He wasn’t focused on the words, he was focused on the sound. The vibration that rumbled through him.

This was the intimate proximity that was relaxing. It wasn’t overbearing or overpowering. It was welcomed and special.

Virgil let his eyes slip shut and he crossed his arms over his chest, letting the exhaustion take over finally. In the peace and quiet of the pocket, he could succumb to his enervation.

Chapter Text

Desperation.

Noun: a state of despair, typically one which results in rash or extreme behavior.

The fact that he was currently sitting in a cage, the bars towering high over his head with a large silver lock keeping him sealed from the outside world, was what proved that his actions had been in desperation.

He could see the key to his cage hanging on the wall across the shop and out of reach. It was taunting him, a sharp reminder that his size made him insignificant to save himself.

However, if this was the fate he was to suffer in return for his family remaining safe then there was nothing he would change.

The pet store itself was humming with life. The birds to his right would chirp at each other and the mice to his left would chitter quietly as if they were in a deep and meaningful conversation. They had partners to talk to, to engage with, find comfort in.

Logan had no one.

Perhaps it was better that way.

If most of the others remained untouched and unknown. Though, there had been countless instances where his own kind had been found, stolen away and sold on the black market as if they were some prize to be owned. There had been cases of malpractices with younger children of the smaller race, or adults that were abused and bruised, skittish and treated as if they were worth nothing. The world had fallen from grace, that much was obvious, and he was sick of it.

Sick of all of it.

The way humans would come in the store and coo at him. They would giggle and flaunt, tease sometimes. It was petty. There would be men that mocked him, made stupid faces or rude gestures. There would be women that would tug at their boyfriend’s arms, pointing and snickering. Some would talk to him—which he was prompt to ignore their ridiculous attempts at conversation—and some would croon and click their tongues as if they didn’t know he could speak English.

It was obvious that a lot of humans overlooked the fact that borrowers were pretty much exactly like their own kind just smaller.

Over the course of the five months Logan had been there, he had had a few different “roommates”—as the store owner had said—and they had each been wildly different.

One had been a cheerful young woman, happily chatting his ear off about how she hoped to be adopted into a forever home. One had been a young man that had been so abused by his previous owners he had refused to share anything about himself or his past. Another, Logan had gotten to know was just a young kid, a boy that wanted to go back to his parents.

They had all been adopted and Logan was left by himself time and time again.

He wasn’t unused to this. He had tried to force himself to remain unattached from the others that were placed in with him because he knew it was only a matter of time before they would be found by a family and he would be left alone.

No one wanted him.

It was true that he was extremely vocal when it came to expressing his displeasure, which turned people away almost instantly. He would snap and snark.

He had been locked away for far too long for him to remain complacent.

He had been away from his family for far too long to remain silent and unheard.

Logan had thrown things, pushed the water dish out of the cage, tossed stuff through the spaces of the bars.

To the other borrowers that were ready to be submissive, he looked insane.

Desperate.

The young woman he had been with a couple weeks ago had gasped when Logan had all but thrown himself against the bars of the containment. She had hopped up and taken a hold of his arm to stop him from doing it again, a surprised look on her features as she met his eyes.

“Goodness, young man!” She had said to him, checking the arm that had been rammed against the bar for bruises. “By God, what do you think you’re doing? No one is going to want you if you keep acting like that!”

“That’s the point,” Logan had pulled away from her gentle touch, looking irritated but not with her.

The woman had been startled with his reply. “You don’t want to find a forever home?”

He had paused at her innocent question.

She had been brainwashed by so many years of living in captivity. The girl had told him that she had been born into custody and had never had the taste of freedom.

Logan had lived his entire life in that freedom. How he had been able to live his life the way he wanted it to be lived.

He had had the chance to share in such meaningful moments with his husband. Quiet times where they sat together, talking about nothing and everything at the same time. Or the first time he had gotten to hold his son in his arms. To cradle such a delicate life and feel like the luckiest man in the world.

Hell, he had had the chance to marry the man that he loved.

To see the way such a smile could brighten up his significant other’s face and send a burning warmth through his core.

He had gotten to feel the true freedom of making your own choices.

She hadn’t. So the girl didn’t understand how traumatizing this situation was for him.

He had sighed, showing his true exhaustion. “I already have a forever home.”

Which included only his husband and his son. Not some human that thought they could provide for him. Not some human that thought he was nothing more than a glorified toy to be put out on display for their friends and then natter to him as if he didn’t know better.

Not some human that thought they were bettering his life by spoiling him with treats and luxuries.

The only luxury he wanted was to go home.

Logan had never been proud to stoop to such childish measures, but sometimes that’s what it took.

The young man had been lectured, told off and scorned for his behaviour but he never changed his way because of it. It wasn’t something they were going to shame him for. They had even threatened to take him off display—which he had laughed at, as if that was even a threat.

To get off of the shelf and be “taken off of display” would be the exact thing he needed.

Logan knew what he wanted, he just had to find a way to get it.

He let his head rest back against the metal bars, the cool touch sinking into his skin and causing a light shudder to shoot up his spine. His hands moved up and down his legs, almost a nervous habit but mostly to keep his hands busy doing something. Sitting idly for too long made him antsy. There was always something to do, whether he was trying to think of a way out or trying to annoy the shopkeeper enough to let him go.

The fact that he had done pretty much everything he could today already was a bit upsetting. Waiting until dinner time would be another three hours and there had been a small cap put onto the water dish from his last stunt.

Logan removed his glasses and settled them off to the side, curling his knees up to this chest and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

There was just so much that he was missing out on. He had missed his wedding anniversary—that had been a rough night, knowing that Patton was alone in bed on one of the most important nights of their lives—and he was missing the chance to watch Virgil grow up.

The fact that he had been away from his family for nearly six months now was beginning to weigh in and it set a hard stone in his stomach. Six months and he hadn’t the foggiest idea of how his family was doing.

He didn’t even know if they were okay or not.

Frustration nipped at him and tears prickled the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He refused to let the humans see his weakness and find a way to use it against him.

His body was coiled tight as a spring, ready to snap.

Then, his shoulders relaxed and the tension melted away. His hands uncurled from their fists and he sighed. A deep breath of fresh air rushing into his lungs and allowing himself the chance to relax. To think rationally about the situation. There was nothing he could physically do to get out of this mess. It was all fairly startling, to be honest. The fact that reality can be such a punch in the stomach when it wasn’t wanted, but the reality check was helpful in some ways.

His blurred vision looked up from the slate grey metal of the cage floor and up to the rest of the pet shop. A lot of it was meshed into random colours and shapes, but he could make out certain things. Such as the shopkeeper’s desk and their bright firetruck-red hair. The extremely colourful clothes they always seemed to wear.

He could see the vague shapes of other cages and animals moving inside them. Fluttering, walking, crawling or prowling.

Sighing again, Logan replaced his glasses and pushed them further up the bridge of his nose so they sat more comfortably. The world was brought back into focus but there was nothing there worth seeing.

The sound of the bell above the door jingling caught the attention of a lot of animals and he turned his head. Just enough to see the patron entering. A young man. It was hard to get a good look at him, to see what Logan would be dealing with yet again.

It was only a matter of time before he was going to be treated like a toy instead of a person again, so he instead focused his attention on cleaning the lenses of his glasses on the edges of his shirt. It was far from what he wanted to be cleaning the delicate pieces of glass with but it was the softest fabric he had on him.

The conversation that the patron was having with the shopkeeper was muted and somewhat muffled from where he was, but he could hear the gist of it.

They were talking about the most valuable thing in the shop.

The most exotic sort of pet that there was to date. Which, to the surprise of no one, was himself. There were other animals in here that—if Logan was not around—would certainly be the most prestigious things in the shop, but with the borrower being the pride and joy of this place, it was hard to get past that stigma. Humans wanted to own the most expensive things so they could show it off to their friends and family, to flaunt their wealth by showing it off in stupid ways.

His circular cleaning motions got a bit rougher and it took him a moment to realize that he really didn’t want to break his glasses with careless hand movements.

In a place like this, there wasn’t much he could do to express his anger. At least, not in healthy ways.

After he had substantially cleaned his glasses, he slid them back on for a second time in the past ten minutes.

“… I can show you the pride and joy of our collection,” the shopkeeper said, though their voice sounded tense and almost hesitant. “He’s truly a dear. You’ve just got to … get to know him a bit better.”

“… I’m sure he’s not that bad,” the patron’s voice sounded.

Not that bad, huh?

Taking that as almost a challenge, Logan pushed himself into a stand and took a quick look to where their positions were. The two humans were just in eyesight of the cage. Zoning in on the water basin again, he knew what he was going to do.

Cap or not, he could still do some damage.

He cleared the distance between the metal container and himself in seconds and was pushing against the edge of it again, causing the water to splash back and forth as he tried. He pushed harder, his feet sliding against the slick metal inside before he got a budge out of the dish. The water sloshed back against the side, successfully splashing him in the face. Irritated and wet, his pushing didn’t stop, even when he heard the shopkeeper gasp and then groan.

A second longer and Logan finally managed to dislodge the water dish from the place it was in and gave it one last forceful shove, pushing it completely out and having it clatter loudly against the ground.

Water spilt everywhere and the shopkeeper groaned louder.

Somewhat proud of his actions, Logan looked back between the shopkeeper—who he really should know the name of by now, but never cared to remember—and the patron who looked effectively shocked.

“This is exactly what I meant,” the young shopkeeper said, stooping down and grabbing the water dish off of the ground before knocking it against the metal bars as if to reprimand the borrower. “Logan, we’ve talked about this. Bad behaviour doesn’t get rewarded.”

Logan sneered. “I’ve displayed to you countless different accounts of my displeasure and yet everything remains unchanged.”

The shopkeeper rolled their eyes, setting the dish to the side. “Why don’t you play nice for once? This young man here might actually want to adopt you if you’re good.”

“Play nice?” Logan echoed, as if the request baffled him. “Is that some sort of rhetorical question?”

“You sure do know some big words, little guy,” the patron bent down a bit more to get on Logan’s level. Brown eyes that rivaled his son’s peered back in towards him and the borrower almost felt winded.

And then he felt insulted.

While another borrower would have taken that as a compliment, Logan knew better. He knew what was implied by that sentence and he did not like it.

“When one lives in a University, you would assume that one would not only learn how to read and contemplate and think beyond the words on the page, but to also understand the context of words that would be too big for otherwise uneducated people,” his eyes sharpened at that and he remained standing by the bars of the cage, “to assume that I do not understand the implications of your words is irrational and, how should I put this lightly? Foolish.”

While the patron looked surprised, confused and offended in his own way, the shopkeeper only shook their head.

“I apologize for him,” they said, rubbing a hand up and down their forehead, “but he’s the only one we still have. The others go quickly because—” the shopkeeper looked directly onto Logan while enunciating their next words, “—they do not talk back to the customer.”

Seething at that, Logan chuckled mirthlessly. To mock, he then enunciated his own sentence. “Get. Fucked.”

The shopkeeper’s mouth dropped open, then stammered for a response to his words when the patron snorted.

When neither of them could find the correct words to respond to him with, Logan felt vindicated.

That was right. He was just as smart as anyone else, if not more brilliant.

With that out of the way, he turned on his heel and went back to sink against the opposing wall of the cage. He tucked his knees back up into his chest and settled his arms against the tops of them, his head placed on his forearms as he watched the two humans smugly, but silently.

“Well, I never!” The shopkeeper finally blabbered, that flabbergasted look never ceasing on their features. “I have had enough of your backtalk. I’m going to—”

“Do what? Take me off of display?” Logan quirked a brow looking unimpressed, the threat that had once meant something, meant absolutely nothing now.

The shopkeeper just seemed defeated after that. “If I knew he was going to be having one of these days, I would have thrown a blanket over the cage,” they said quietly.

“If I knew a borrower would be this entertaining, I would have come down sooner,” the patron said, then startling both the shopkeeper and Logan out of their unintentional staring match.

“Excuse me?”

“What?”

The two of them spoke in almost perfect unison, causing Logan to harden his glare and the shopkeeper to seem even more surprised.

“I’ve already made my decision,” the patron continued on with his train of thought, brown eyes focusing back down onto the borrower sitting in the cage and looking him over. Suddenly, Logan felt incredibly self-conscious. “I’ll take him.”

The nausea that had hit him was unexpected and he felt lightheaded. The fact that he was going to be taken away from the only place he had known for these past six months was stomach churning.

If he were to be taken even further away from the University where his family lived, then there was no way for him to even think about getting back to them.

The fact that his awful behaviour hadn’t been enough to turn this guy away was upsetting and harsh, cold and biting.

It always worked.

It had always worked. He would talk back and people would shut down and turn away from him, almost as if he wasn’t there.

This patron—he found it amusing.

And that was infuriating.

“What?” Logan finally voiced his thoughts. “You can’t just … just decide like that! I’m a person too, I can’t just be sold like property! This is absolutely absurd.” Almost as if, for once, he couldn’t find the right words to express his distress, he became far more gesticulate. “I have thoughts and— and feelings and the fact that I’m just as human as you are only to be bought and sold is incredibly dehumanizing and—”

“Oh relax your pretty little head about it, Four-Eyes,” the patron spoke up, easily and effectively shutting Logan up—something that was rather difficult for anyone else to do, might he add—and stayed knelt down on the borrower’s level. “You’ll be fine. I’m not that bad a person, you’ll see.”

What in the holy hell did that mean?

“Well,” the man clapped his hands against his thighs before standing up to his full height. For the first time in a very long time, Logan actually felt nervous with the human at his entire stature, towering over the cage and sealing his unspoken fate. “Where do I sign for this adoption?”

“O-oh right!” The shopkeeper startled out of their transfix and turned on their heel. “Come right this way and I’ll get the papers ready.”

While the shopkeeper took the patron away, Logan felt physically sick to his stomach. The way the human had looked so set in his ways, like he knew that he wanted this without a doubt. He felt horribly ill. He couldn’t prevent this fate from being sealed and he needed to find a way out.

Now.

His eyes flickered over towards the hole where the water basin was on both sides, between the bars. It was a bit smaller than he was but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying in his desperation.

Logan’s eyes moved up to see the patron and the shopkeeper at the front of the store, sighing the papers and finishing up.

He needed to act as quick as possible.

Immediately Logan was up on his feet, going over the mess of blankets he had created as a somewhat resemblance of his bed back home and dug through until he found a small golden chain and slipped it over his head. It had been a gift from his husband and he only took it off—if ever—to protect it from the prying eyes of a human passerby in case they got a bit too curious.

Ignoring the fact that it may be chilly outside, he left his jacket behind and went to the hole in the bars dressed in his worn jeans and black long-sleeve shirt, which he had pushed up to his elbows to allow full use of his arms.

Peering out through the hole, he needed to wriggle his shoulders through first. The drop down to the floor was dizzying, but that meant nothing if he could actually get himself free.

This was not how it was going to end.

He was not going to be some simple pet.

He was losing time and the chatter from both of the humans near the front were getting closer. Heart now hammering in his throat, he twisted just enough so that his hands were grasping the bars that were above him and was trying to pull his waist through the slot. If he could get out, he could find a way out of his place and he could find his way back to the University.

Logan just wanted to go home.

What was so wrong with that?

He had never yearned more than now to hear the onslaught of puns from Patton, to repeat himself when Virgil asked questions about the most obvious things. While those moments had been draining in the moment, that was all he wanted to hear now.

To feel Virgil tug at his shirt. To hear Patton’s laugh ring through the home like bells.

It was all he wanted.

Those tears of frustration were back, prickling the corners of his eyes as he tugged harder on the bars, trying to pull himself free. The strain in his forearms was burning, the tugging was pulling at muscles in his shoulders that he hadn’t used in what seemed like ages.

Borrowers were naturally stronger than the average human because they used their upper body and arms a lot more than people did. Climbing and swinging from things allowed them to use a strength that most humans didn’t know they had themselves because they never worked the muscles necessary. All for the fact that they didn’t need to, not to survive.

But Logan wasn’t moving, caught by the waist of his jeans, hooked on a rouge piece of bar that was sticking just a bit too far out, and no amount of pulling from himself was going to get him free of it.

His strength was failing him and he could feel it.

“Logan!” The shopkeeper’s voice came from behind him, sounding worried and surprised.

The borrower’s trials were all for naught. As soon as the shopkeeper had grabbed his torso between two fingers, the young man was tugged free with nothing at all all was held uncomfortably in a secure fist to ensure that he didn’t hurt himself further.

“Dear God,” they said, breathless. “Whatever possessed you to pull a stunt like that? You could have gotten hurt!”

“Let me go!” He demanded, shoving at the finger that was pressing against his chest keeping him from getting to his freedom. “Just let me go back to my family, damn you!”

There was no point trying to hide the fact that they existed if humans already knew that borrowers as a whole existed completely. He didn’t care anymore. He just wanted his husband. He wanted the comforting touches they shared during the early morning or late into the evening, the way that if he was having a rough night, Patton would know what to do without so much as saying a word. He wanted his son’s cold hands pressing against his face in the morning, trying to wake him up.

He wanted so much that he would never get to have again.

The saying was true: you never knew what you had until it was gone.

“God, you just keep going on and on about your family,” the shopkeeper rolled their eyes before brushing past the concerned patron and grabbing a small carrying compartment. They pried it open before letting the borrower drop into it. Quickly folding it back up, they held the box out to the patron. “There. I do warn you, though. He’s got a bit of a temper.”

“So I’ve noticed,” the patron chuckled, though it almost seemed uncomfortable.

Feeling helpless, Logan tried to gain his balance as best as he could as the box shifted and moved from person to person and he threw his shoulder against the side of it. He bounced backwards and stumbled to his knees, but he would not be bested by this cardboard.

The box began to move in a swaying gait and there were farewells being passed overhead. The sound of a bell jingling high above his head made his stomach sick.

So, he did whatever he could.

He tried pushing and shoving, kicking, shouting profanities and hurling insults. As much as he hated it, Logan had even been reduced to begging—pleading for a release that he would never get.

His only answers had been a car door opening and closing before the engine started with a roaring purr.

Feeling powerless and overwhelmed with his reality, Logan sunk to his knees finally, hands dragging down against the inside of the box and stayed in a slumped position. His shoulders rose and fell with his panting breaths, listening to the world as it continued on without so much as a qualm about his well-being.

Desperation.

Desperation clawed itself into his chest. It was difficult to focus, but he knew he couldn’t do anything.

It was over.

It really was over.

The resolute silence from outside of the carrying box, save for the music that seemed to be put to a lower volume, was irritating and frightening and worrying all at the same time. All of his advances had been met with nothing, no words, no snarking back. Nothing. And he didn’t know how to feel about that. If he should be feeling ignored or discarded.

This sharp feeling was settling deep into his chest and he could hardly focus on anything else.

—————

“Gotcha.”

No word had ever packed as much of a punch as that did.

Terror flushed straight through his body, icy cold and startling. Adrenaline seized his wrists like electricity, shooting hot through his veins like blood and his breath shortened. He didn’t have much time, not enough to get them all out of here, but just enough to save the lives of those who meant the most to him.

There was a little distance between the human’s shining green eyes and the small borrower family, but the space would have to be enough.

Patton’s nails tightened on his arm with his nerves and Logan’s mind was racing with different options.

This had all gone far too wrong far too quickly.

The janitor was usually the last to leave the building, so when they had gone out to find things to aid in their survival, the last thing he had assumed was that the janitor was still there finishing up his rounds.

He could have sworn that the janitor had left by that time. They had even taken extra precaution because it was one of the few times him and Patton had allowed Virgil to come with them even though it was dangerous—especially at such a young age.

The other thing Logan hadn’t brought into the equation was how the human seemed to be so dead set on getting his hands on them.

There had been so many traps that should have been obvious. They were obvious enough for Logan to label them as dangerous but never had he once thought that it would have led to a power-hungry human searching for them.

There had been no clues that his family had even been there.

Unless the janitor was uncanny at picking out the tiniest details or there was another family that wasn’t as good at staying unnoticed or taking the things that they only needed and not what they wanted.

Logan should have known better.

He should have seen the signs and had yet been so desperate to find a way to feed his family that he had ignored rational thought and taken a risk far too great.

It should have been so painstakingly obvious and he had ignored it all.

This was all his fault.

And now they all had to pay the price.

“Papa?” The young voice brought his attention downwards, the wide brown eyes of his son looking back up to him, tearful and frightened.

The sight winded him.

“Logan, what do we do?”

There was something they could do. There had to be.

Logan didn’t know what yet, but he was going to figure something out.

The bookshelf shuddered in its entirety as the janitor dropped to his knees and began to shove at it. He winced as Patton’s hands tightened nearly to the point of being able to draw blood and Virgil’s hold shifted to grasp onto Logan’s shirt as if it was going to be their saving grace.

While panic was beginning to set in, he couldn’t let himself go. Not when there was so much depending on him.

His hand went to sit firmly on Virgil’s shoulder, reassuring the kid that as long as Logan was there, he was going to be fine. Maybe it wasn’t exactly how the situation would end up, but that’s how it was for the moment at hand.

His eyes scoured the underside of the bookshelf. Then they went to the floor, looking for something that they could pull up.

Honing in on a loose tile; Logan’s mind was made up.

Quickly, he wrapped his arms around Virgil’s waist causing the kid to squawk in surprise only to be hefted up and settled on Logan’s waist. Virgil’s hands moved to twist into the back of Logan’s shirt. He then grabbed Patton by the hand with his free one before tugging the other male behind him.

While the janitor was busy pushing at the bookshelf—seemingly trying his damnedest to get at them—he was unknowingly giving them time to get away.

He released his husband’s hand before pushing Virgil into the other’s arms. Logan dropped to his knees and began to tug at one of the loosest tiles in the floor with a desperation he’d never used before.

With a desperation he had never had a reason to use before.

Now, he was doing something that was going to save the two people that mattered the most to him. He would be doing something good.

“Logan, what—”

“Shh!” He hissed back, sharp eyes turning back up to look at them both, two pairs of startled chocolate brown eyes looking back at him.

He pushed the tile out of the way and peered into a hole that was about six inches deep. If one were to get down on their knees, it would be revealed that there was a tunnel that led underneath the school grounds and eventually out into the field closest to the road.

“This is the only way down,” his voice was sharp, but there was a deeper meaning behind it. A quiet longing. “This path should take you out of the school and close to the parking lot.”

It took half a second before Patton knew exactly what Logan was doing. “Don’t tell me you’re not coming.”

Virgil clicked in at that, wide eyes focusing on his two fathers, the tension was easy to feel between the two adults.

The look Patton got in response was enough of an answer. “Logan—”

“I need you both to get to safety,” he promised, meeting his significant other’s watering eyes. “If I lose either of you, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

“I can’t lose you,” Patton shot back, adjusting the child on his waist.

Logan shook his head, the smile that crossed his features was not warm. It was sad and hurting. “This is the only way. I’ll lead the janitor away from here and it should give you and Virgil enough of a chance to escape.”

“I can’t leave you here,” Patton’s voice got more determined, his hold on Logan’s arm tightened. “I can’t—”

“It’s going to be okay.” The promise was airy. It was quiet, a whisper of a future that may never come to pass. “It’s all going to be okay.”

The bookshelf shuddered again and its four legs squealed over the tiles, a harsh sound that made reality set back in instantly. Logan twisted to look over his shoulder, the green eyes of the human janitor sharpened and he felt ill all over again.

“Go,” Logan quickly urged them, “go, go! There’s not much time left.”

“Papa?”

Such a soft voice. The wide brown eyes were brimming with tears and Logan stepped forwards, cupping the young boy’s face in between his hands. A lingering touch that would say more than words ever could.

“I’ll find you both again, I promise.”

“Logan, please, this isn’t how it has to be,” Patton tried to urge again, bringing Logan’s eyes back to his own, even as Virgil held onto his father’s hand in a last ditch attempt to keep him from leaving. “You don’t have to do this.”

He did.

This was the only way he could protect his family undoubtedly.

“Yes,” he nodded his head gently, leaning in so close that the other’s breath mingled with his own. “Yes. I do.”

An influx of emotions flooded forwards but he refused to let it show, not when he needed to distract the human. Seeing such emotional weakness would only make it worse and that wasn’t what he needed right now.

As soon as Logan had pulled Patton in for a final goodbye kiss—longing and broken, full of so much agony and pain—the light broke their cover and he pulled away immediately.

Logan was quick to usher the two down into the small hidden pathway, their only attempt at getting out of this unhurt.

If he could protect them, he would have done something right in his life for once.

“Go!” He urged, nodding towards the tunnel in the flooring. “The further you get in the least likely he’s going to be able to grab you.”

Patton set Virgil down onto the ground, the hole was too deep for the kid to be able to get himself out of, but that didn’t stop him from pulling at his shirt and trying to reach Logan.

As much as he hated this, Patton knew it was for the best.

But good Christ, he didn’t want to let Logan go.

“I love you, Lo,” he grabbed his husband by the hands, making sure he was looking at him as he said those words, “please, by God, be safe.”

The words had formed on his mouth, but Logan had no time to say them back. He tugged his hands free, his heart feeling torn and he shoved the tile back over the hole and sealed them inside—away from danger.

Before he even had a chance to move, there was a shadow of a hand looming over him and a tight warmth encased the borrower completely. With a sickeningly quick motion, and vertigo right on the heels, he was yanked out into the light of the University and held in front of piercing, gleeful green eyes.

A smirk twisted onto the human’s lips.

“Boy,” the janitor grinned, causing Logan to flinch at the volume of the voice, “what a pretty price a lot of people would pay to get their hands on something like you.”

—————

Logan had been so lost in thought that he had missed when the car had shut off or even when the box had been back on the move. He was knocked over to the side with the suddenness of the movements, but there was nothing to be done about it, he guessed. He could bellyache as much as he wanted to but nothing would change about his situation.

He had been sold like a piece of property and he couldn’t say that he hadn’t.

Reality was the one thing he couldn’t ignore.

Logan could ignore a lot of things; including, but not limited to, his feelings, the way others treated him or the way he treated others, meaningless words and interactions and so forth.

But the crushing weight of knowing that he may never see Patton or Virgil again was something that was ever present, a knowledge that he couldn’t push away no matter how hard he tried or how unpleasant it made him feel.

Keys jangled against each other and a door was opened and closed. Soon, the swaying gait was replaced with the steadiness of something more solid.

A table, his mind loftily supplied to him. You’re going to be examined more thoroughly.

“Did it work?” A voice he hadn’t heard before spoke up and Logan was left to assume that it was another person that was going to gawk at him. To agree that this was the best procedure, to keep someone captive against their very will.

One thing that Logan failed to register was how much smaller this one voice sounded, how it would be easily masked if the human he had taken were to speak up.

“Were you able to do it?”

“Yeah,” the human agreed, a chair scraping against the flooring made Logan wince a little bit. “I still believe that it was better for you to stay here. The shopkeeper wasn’t exactly charming.”

“Now, now, Roman,” the second voice piped up, “I’m sure they were fine. You never know what they could be going through.”

“Alright, alright,” the human—Roman—replied.

The smaller voice paused for a moment. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine,” the human promised the second voice, a quiet reassurance. His voice then softened a tad more. “But you’re going to have to be gentler with this one. He seems to be … easily provoked.”

Easily provoked, Logan sneered inwardly, what did he know about being easily provoked.

The second voice laughed a bit, gentler. “It’ll be fine. This isn’t this first time, you know.”

“Yes, I know.”

The box suddenly began to tilt and the second voice hissed quickly.

“Easy!” He said, “warn him, Roman, you know how important it is for him to feel safe and listened to.”

Roman sucked in a sharp breath. “Right. Sorry. Sort of slipped my mind,” he mused quietly, then raised his tone a bit more to show Logan that he was indeed talking to him. “Hey, I’m gonna tilt the box to make this interaction easier, alright?”

Logan only gave an annoyed huff in response, as he slid on the still, slightly tilled angles of the box.

It seemed his movements had been enough of a go-ahead and the box finished turning, before finally settling and staying situated where it was.

The two flaps on the top of the container—the front of it now as it was sitting sideways—began to crack open and light flooded into the darkness, causing the borrower to wince and lift a hand to block his eyes. As soon as he was used to it, he removed his hand and let it sit down on the cardboard.

When he looked up, Logan felt his stomach drop.

He was not looking back into a pair of large brown eyes like he thought he would, but was instead focused on the form of another borrower. He almost didn’t know what to do or what to say, his mind was racing a mile a minute and when the other took a step forwards, Logan matched it with a step backwards.

The other paused, seeing the flight taking over Logan’s features. The fight had been washed behind for a moment.

“Hey, it’s okay,” the other borrower promised, lowering himself into a crouch to stay on the same level as him. “I know this probably seems really weird, huh?”

Nodding wordlessly, Logan’s eyes searched over the newcomer’s form. “You could say that.”

Weird seems like an understatement.

This wasn’t exactly how he thought this entire thing would be going. Logan had been so confident that this was the end of the line, but here he was, facing another of his kind who seemed to be relatively unhurt. At least, from what he could see. The silhouette of the other could be hiding bruises that would remain unseen until he got closer.

“What’s the meaning of this?” He finally spoke up, unable to handle the silence any longer. “What on earth are you waiting for?”

“For you to be a little less defensive, first of all,” he heard Roman’s voice rumble from above, but the human remained out of his sight-line.

The other borrower raised a hand and quickly managed to silence the larger being and Logan was floored yet again. The human was listening to someone his size? What sort of hell was this? What had he been brought into?

“This probably seems really untrustworthy,” the other said again, getting a nod in response from the bespectacled male. “A borrower and a human? Hard to believe, I get that. But you’re going to have to trust me for a little bit, at least long enough to help you get home.”

Logan almost stammered for words at that. “You’re— you’re not being kept here against your will?”

“Heaven’s no,” the other replied, a grin crossing over his features. He adjusted himself so he was sitting comfortably and allowing Logan to relax as well. Creating a more inviting environment would make it easier for conversation to ensue. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of humans in all of their terrifying glory, so he knew how to handle the other’s frightened behaviour. “I’ve been allowed to come and go as I please, but Roman has been a rather gracious host.”

“I’d say so,” the human countered, but in more a playful tone than anything else. “I get why you’re so defensive though.”

“Oh you do?” Logan raised his voice a bit more, prompting the other to speak again.

“You’ve been stuck in a cage for God knows how long, no wonder you’re sick of human interaction,” Roman continued. “Look, you can believe me or not, but the both of us really do want to help you get home.”

“So, maybe we can start this by you coming out,” the other borrower pushed himself into a stand, catching Logan’s attention once more. “No one is going to touch you or grab you without your permission, I promise.”

He watched as the other even backed up a couple paces, looking earnest but genuine and as much as Logan hated this situation, he hated the box more.

With a huff, he drew himself into a stand as well and slowly made his way towards the opening the box. It wasn’t comfortable, not really, knowing that there was someone constantly watching him, but there wasn’t much he could do to change that. So, he pressed on.

While it did take an extra moment to steel his nerves, it wasn’t long before Logan ducked under the open flap of the confinement and onto the smooth texture of the kitchen table.

It had been a while since he hadn’t been surrounded by something. Taking in another breath, it almost felt better in a way. It was like a fresh moment of finally being in the most freedom he had had since he was caught. While the freedom was emotional, he wasn’t going to allow himself to revel in it. Not until he was with the people that mattered the most.

The other borrower grinned a bit more, a softer light in his eyes and Logan felt oddly reassured. “See? It’s not so bad out here, is it?”

“I suppose not,” he adjusted his glasses before crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes flickered between both the human and the other before shifting anxiously back and forth between his feet. “I must admit, while I had my suspicions, you seem fairly … genuine.” Roman seemed to nearly preen at the information. “But that does not excuse the fact that I was still bought.”

“It wasn’t as if I was doing it to keep you,” the explanation came hastily afterwards, “all of it was just an act to get you out of there.”

“And while I appreciate that, a little forewarning would have been appreciated so I didn’t need to be fearing for my life on the drive here.”

Roman frowned lightly. “You were fearing for your life?”

Once he heard it coming from another source, Logan dropped his gaze, nearly feeling unsure at this point. It sounded fairly pathetic now that it had been said aloud.

“Well, what did you really expect of me? I’ve been treated like nothing more than a toy by countless other humans and I have come to lose my faith in humanity altogether.” He took a breath to steady himself. “I have been away from my family for nearly six months at this point and I have no inkling whatsoever to how they may be currently faring.”

The surprised expressions on the others features did nothing to phase him. Nor was he going to console them.

“Though, it seems I may have overestimated and been wrong by the accusation—only because you and your … friend,” he motioned to the borrower that stood a few paces away from him—although, saying ‘friend’ when referring to another borrower and a human was odd and somewhat grounding in a way—and he kept his hands tucked into a folded position, “have been pleasant enough to offer your assistance. Not many people would do that and that— does mean a lot.”

“Thank you,” the human said after a moment, “I think.”

“Yes, it was a compliment,” Logan agreed after a hesitant moment, because complimenting one of the members of the human race just felt wrong to him. It felt as if there should be no congratulating of the kind. He had only gone through Hell and back and here he was, standing in the presence of a human and his borrower companion.

It was an odd scenario, he could say that, but to know that this was possibly his chance to get home was what was giving him peace.

Logan cleared his throat after a moment, gaining both Roman’s and the other borrower’s attention again. “I must ask, how long will I be in your company? Even if you do plan to assist me in getting home.”

The two others shared a look, almost unsure of how to proceed from here. Looks like the plan hadn’t really been thought all the way out and Logan’s safety may have been the main priority.

He was … mildly flattered, to say the least.

“We were sort of leaving that up to you,” the borrower said, clasping his hands together, almost wringing them. “We’d be more than willing to host you. Help you replenish your strength and offer some rest and time to recuperate.”

They were offering to give him a safe—so far—place to stay the night? It was almost unheard of. The fact that they were being so kind as to allow him to stay without really knowing anything about.

For all they knew, Logan could be lying about having a family waiting for him.

While that wouldn’t really do him any good except get him unwanted pity, he hadn’t exactly given them a reason to doubt him.

Nor a reason to trust him, either.

If he were truly being honest with himself, he was exhausted. So much had been happening in these past months and Logan had hardly had a moment of peace to himself. There was always something happening, something to think about, someone to snark back at. Something to push or throw. Logan had spent a lot of his downtime during the night planning. He slept, yes, but there was always something greater to be doing.

Always something more.

Always trying to find a way to escape without creating too much of a stir.

He was exhausted from the long nights staying up, sleepless while trying to find another way to annoy the shopkeeper into letting him go. Into finally getting so fed up with his childish shenanigans that they would have opened the cage and let him find his way back home.

Logan had never been so lucky.

Not until now.

To find now that he could have peace of mind and possibly get some sleep that would replenish what little strength he had left. It was necessary. The longer he went without sleep, the worse off he would be, Logan had learned this from many all-nighters. Which never stopped him from pulling them. Never once did he stop. Not when he needed to do something.

While the other borrowers that had been in the cage with him had always been so willing to go to sleep at decent times of the night, Logan stayed up.

The young woman that had been with him a couple weeks prior had tried to sooth him. To get him to go and lay down with her, if not for the coupling, then for her own comfort. She had been uncomfortably touchy, especially when she was trying to get something from him.

He would be sitting by himself late into the night and suddenly her hands would appear on his shoulders—which had successfully startled him a few times—and she would let her hands rub into them, trying to ease the tension that he had built up over the months.

Logan had come to learn that women preferred when a male was around, as that stronger presence would make them feel safer.

While he had understood initially that having another person near you could comfort you in times of need, there were only two people that were able to comfort him. The young woman, as kind and naive as she had been, was not one of them.

“A night here would be appreciated,” Logan finally spoke his mind, shaking the unwanted thoughts away, his eyes glanced between Roman and the other borrower again, his weariness finally showing through the colder facade. The action was trusting and such an action truly revealed what Logan was underneath the indifferent mask; a young man that was tired of the world’s constant demeaning. A man that wanted nothing more than to get back home. “If it really isn’t too much trouble.”

“Nonsense,” Roman’s voice was softer than it had been, “it would be no trouble at all. I can get some soft cloths together for you.” As the human moved to stand, he seemed to pause for a moment and reconsidered, offering a small—almost reassuring—grin over his shoulder. “I know this isn’t really ideal, for anyone really, but thank you for at least a little bit of your trust.”

And just like that, Roman left without giving Logan a chance to even register what he had said.

So, the bespectacled borrower stood there a moment looking like he wanted to formulate a coherent sentence. When that failed, he instead turned his attention to the other borrower, who had his hands tucked into his pockets comfortably.

“I know he can be a bit … much but he means well,” the other spoke up, a soft look on his features. Understanding and trusting. “His heart really is in the right place.”

“How did you know I was in that pet shop?”

While the question may have seemed a bit brash and out of the blue, Logan couldn’t say that he wasn’t interested.

“I wasn’t there,” he said, offering a small shrug of his shoulders, taking the sudden question in stride. “I remember Roman coming back from classes one afternoon ranting about someone like me. He had been talking so fast that I hardly had time to really understand what he was talking about. For a bit there, I thought he had found someone.” He grinned, laughing a bit as if lost in a memory unseen to Logan. “Went on like that for a good ten minutes before I was able to manage to say anything to him. It didn’t take long before he said that there was another like me, except one that had been caught. Roman said he had overheard some other students talking about you in the hallways.”

The thought made Logan shudder, in all honesty.

The other continued after a brief pause. “So, he went to the pet shop after to see if the rumours were true and lo and behold, there you were with another.”

“Arthur,” Logan stated after a moment. “His name was Arthur. He was bought a week ago.”

“I’m sorry,” the other stated, a genuine look crossed his features. “That you had to go through all of that at all.”

Logan shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. “It really wasn’t that bad.” Except it was. Sometimes worse than one could imagine. To be mocked daily for being caught or for how small he was. All those rude remarks came flooding back and he winced as if he had been physically hit.

He tried so hard not to let it impact him, but sometimes, in the dead of the night, the harsh words were all he could hear.

“Can’t believe they actually caught one. Look at it. Little pest.”

“They should just put the poor thing out of its misery. Not like it has a life to live anyways.”

“Borrowers don’t have families. It’s just an excuse to make people pity them.”

“Vermin like you should be exterminated.”

“I bet there’s a cat out there that’s already gotten to your family. You’re better off here anyways, normal people are probably much better company.”

Logan knew not to take any of those words seriously, but it was sickening to know that there were humans out in the world that would kill a borrower if they were to get the opportunity.

When he felt a hand on his shoulder suddenly, Logan gasped and jolted away from him. Blinded by the fear of his memories.

His gaze drifted downwards to his forearms and he could see bruises littering them. The pain in his left shoulder when he had been handled so carelessly by children and adults alike. The tight grasp of a child who didn’t understand how fragile his body was compared to the strength in just their hands. Or the knowledge of the power that the adults had over him, that had used that over him.

“I finally gotcha, ya little runt,” the janitor’s voice echoed loudly in his head like bells, a laugh that could have shattered his eardrums followed. “Took me long enough, huh? You were a tough catch. Shame I wasn’t able to get the other two, but I s’pose you’ll have to do.”

Logan could hear the voice, shaking him to his core. The way it rumbled through his bones.

“Though, I s’pose just one of you will still be a steep price for any buyer.”

When he looked up, Logan wasn’t in a new place anymore. He was back in that damned cage, green eyes staring back at him looking smug and gleeful. He felt his heart sink.

His hands were shaking, he realized belatedly.

No, he was shaking all over, it wasn’t just his hands.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re alright,” the gentle voice of the other borrower broke through into Logan’s conscious and he looked up to him, but he wasn’t really looking to see him. “You’re not there anymore. You’re with me. You’re safe.”

It took a moment of fighting with his consciousness to really register that he was safe. He was safe for the first time in a very long time.

It still didn’t feel real.

When the other borrower reached out this time, Logan didn’t flinch away and was instead slightly more relaxed when he felt the warm touch of another person his size. After being around humans for so long, being with one of his own kind was refreshing.

When he looked back down to his arms, the bruises were non-existent. His skin was clean, save for the scars that lined his forearms from his first failed escape attempt.

His hand brushed down the length of his forearm, feeling the scarred skin. It was almost a reassurance. There was no pain when he touched it, so the bruises must have been some sort of hallucination. Maybe he was overtired. He was probably overtired.

Logan then shook himself, before clearing his throat. “I—I apologize for that, I seemed to have had a relapse.”

“That’s okay,” came the gentle response, “you’re allowed to feel, you know.”

No, he didn’t know.

He hadn’t known that freedom in the past six months. If Logan had shown any emotion whatsoever to a human captor, he would have been punished for it. He had only ever safe comfortable showing emotion around Patton and Virgil because no matter what, they were always there. Patton with a caring touch and Virgil, while so young, trying to assist in anyway he could.

The other sighed quietly. “I think you staying the night is a good idea,” he said after a moment, taking a step back from Logan, not wanting to overwhelm him with too much attention at once. “It would probably help you really understand that you’re going home.”

Home.

Home.

Logan finally got to go home.

It was then that everything he refused to feel flooded forwards and water immediately brimmed his eyes. He laughed hoarsely—a helpless noise between joy and overwhelming emotion—after a moment, pulling his glasses off to rub at the wetness. He refused to let any tears fall, but the true relief was there. It was no longer a dream to see them again, Logan had that chance. The chance that he had been waiting six months for.

Almost as if the other could feel it, he stepped closer again but this time was a bit more startled to find Logan reaching out and grabbing onto him. Physical displays of gratitude were not something he was used to, but he needed it. He needed that sort of reassuring touch.

“You’re alright,” he soothed him, just as Logan’s hands tightened in the back of his shirt, his shaking began to increase as everything really did register with him. It was hard to believe, in all honesty.

Six months of suffering were over because of a human that actually seemed to genuinely care. A human that had his heart in the right place, even if his motives were a bit odd.

“Breathe with me, okay?” He started off, sinking to his knees as Logan slowly began to drag him down. “In for four seconds, hold for seven and out for eight. I can count with you, if you’d like.”

It took a moment, but Logan was nodding. His mind was in a frenzy and counting himself was not going to help.

“Stop throwing things, Logan, for God’s sake. You’re only going to drive more people away like that.”

“You tell me that as if I don’t know it,” he had snarled back, a sharp glare over his shoulder. “I want to go home.”

The shopkeeper sighed, shaking their head. “This is your home. At least, until someone comes along and actually wants you.”

“No. This hellhole is not my home.” He had paused at that, sharing a look with the shopkeeper standing above him, watching him between the bars of the metal cage, looking weary. “I want out of this cage. I want out of this pet shop. I want to be treated like a fucking person. Do you understand me?”

“You’re not a person, Logan,” they had said back. The sentence had winded him as if he hadn’t expected those words to come out. It had been a sharp and cold reminder of his future if he didn’t find a way out of this mess. “You’re a borrower and everyone knows that a borrower is not a person.”

“You’re safe,” the other’s voice shattered the memory had that demanded all of his attention.

He was far too tired for this.

Logan kept listening to the steady counting, the reassuring words. It almost made him feel better, hearing such a steady rhythm. Something he could predict and follow, without a surprise in the mix. The exhaustion began to settle in like a heavy blanket. It weighed over his shoulders, dragging him further down and he allowed himself to be held. At the moment, he could have cared less that he was with a stranger, he just needed to sleep.

After a few more rounds of slow and soft counting, Logan was drifting off—without meaning to, of course—and the young man slumped fully into the other borrower’s arms, who was then shifting his weight to hold Logan a bit more steadily, without the worry of him slipping and waking up again.

He didn’t deserve that. If this was the most sleep he had gotten in a while, there was no reason to wake him up. Certainly not by accident. It wouldn’t be fair to him.

It was a sight that hurt his heart, he admitted. Seeing the male so emotionally and physically exhausted. Roman had made the right call—of course he had—to get Logan out of that place, especially if this was the aftermath. How long had he been separated from his family? It probably would have been a question to ask before he had passed out, but stuff like that could wait until the morning.

As soon as he was sure Logan was out like a light, Thomas was able to stop his counting. But now he found himself in a bit more of a position.

This wasn’t the first time he had had someone fall asleep on him, but the other times he had been somewhat alright with disturbing them, even if for a little bit. Logan was a different case altogether. It didn’t exactly seem as though he slept, at least, not a lot.

Possibly not enough.

It was easy to believe that being stuck in a pet shop for God knows how long would leave someone sleep deprived and mentally scarred.

A couple minute later and there were the telltale sounds of a human returning to the room. Though, before Thomas could even say a warning, Roman was already speaking.

“Alright, so I found some—”

“Shh!” The hush was certainly a bit sharper than he meant it to be, but it was enough to gain Roman’s attention. Without saying anything, he was then motioning to Logan, who was now fast asleep against him.

It took a moment before he realized what was wrong before it hit him. ‘Oh,’ he quietly mouthed back to the borrower who had apparently been dubbed a safe enough person to fall asleep on, stranger or not.

It wasn’t hard to get to the table without making a noise, but there was the worry of accidentally nudging it and causing the table to shake.

‘Tired?’

Thomas nodded. This was probably the most exhausted he had seen someone his own size before. The way Logan had just seemed so ready to slump over and let his exhaustion take control. It was discouraging.

Whatever he had been through had taken more of a toll on him than they had been led to believe at first. Especially with how distant Logan seemed to be—for the most part, at least.

It also proved to him how much better a person Roman was compared to a lot of other people.

The others he had manage to help since the two of them had started working in tandem had been weary all the same, but not to the point where they gave up on consciousness. Like this, there was only so much they could do to help him, not that this was changing any of that, of course not.

But the question still stood; how much time did Logan need to recover from this?

—————

“Is there a certain place you want to be put down?” Roman’s voice shook Logan to his core, even though the rumbling was substantially quieter than normal.

Perhaps it was because of the fact that he was currently tucked into a pocket on the human’s chest. Which was still fairly close to large vocal cords and a powerful set of lungs that were possibly bigger than Logan was tall. To speak at full voice with the borrower in such a close proximity could damage his hearing.

For the care, Logan was grateful.

It seemed that Roman had had plenty of practice with Thomas, especially if the two of them had been working together for as long as they said they had been.

Speaking of said other borrower, Logan’s eyes drifted to him. He was sitting comfortable in the crook of the pocket, using it almost like a hammock. He had been rather quiet for the trip, only making small conversation.

Ever since they had entered the University, Logan had been up, crouched slightly as he clung onto the thick fabric of the pocket to keep him upright. A nervous energy that seemed to fill the small space. While admitting to getting anxious wasn’t something that he did, or rarely ever felt, this was inducing such worry.

What if Patton had taken Virgil had moved? Logan wouldn’t blame him for the choice, after all, it would have been the most logical response to almost being caught. Though, it would be unfortunate as then he would have to try and figure out the second most logical response to moving and where the possibilities would lay.

At this point, Logan was banking on the hope that they were still within the building’s walls.

“Inside the History classroom,” he called up. “There will be a bookshelf inside there that I can use to get home.”

Of course, there were many different passages in the school that would allow him to get home, but the one in the classroom was the closest to his home and it would take far less time to get there. He wouldn’t have to navigate through useless passages and get turned around.

“Are you alright?”

Logan nearly startled when Thomas finally spoke up, brown eyes searching his form for an answer that he wouldn’t find.

It took a moment to collect this thoughts, but Logan was nodding before he knew what he was going to say. “I feel fine, if anything, I feel rather reassured.”

Thomas frowned. “Your body language is telling me otherwise.”

Tense shoulders released almost as soon as they had been pointed out. Okay, so maybe he was a bit more worried than he was letting on. It was better to keep that sort of stuff out of the limelight, though—Patton would say otherwise, but he wasn’t here so Logan could do what he wanted with his emotions.

Whether it was sweeping them under the rug or, regretfully, feeling them at full capacity.

“I may be a bit … nervous,” he could admit to that at least.

“How come?”

A few different reasons, if you must know. The fact that I don’t even know if they’re still here, never mind the fact of where they would be if they’re not here. Or maybe the fact that I haven’t ever spent this much time away from my son and husband and it has been driving my feelings insane for the past six months I’ve been away from them. Or perhaps I’m just feeling this way because I don’t know how Patton or Virgil will react to seeing me again after everything that happened.

“I don’t know.”

While he knew Thomas could see right through that statement, he wasn’t being pressured into answering anything further.

Though, while Logan’s attention shifted to the sound of a door opening and closing, he heard Thomas move behind him. “You know, I bet they’ve missed you just as much as you’ve missed them.” The sentence made him pause for a moment, turning to peer over his shoulder, but not looking completely. “You don’t have any reason to be worried, but it’s okay to feel that way.”

Before Logan could even say anything back to that, his voice was cut off as the deeper one spoke instead. “The History classroom with the bookshelf,” Roman said above them, humour in is tone, “guess this is your stop then.”

That nervous energy returned almost instantly, but with a renewed excitement Logan reached up to the lip of the pocket and heaved himself up, enough so that he could see the bookshelf in question.

There were marks on the floor from where the paint had been scraped up due to the janitor’s desperate attempts to get them.

Instead of letting the bitter memory eat away at him, he shook it off and nodded his head. “Some assistance down would be appreciated it.”

The young man could feel his heart in his throat, he could hear the blood in his ears, but there was something deeper. A primal urge to get out of there and to find the ones he loved. To find them and embrace them and never let them go. He had never been the sappy one of the three, showing emotion was difficult, but now. Now, Logan was going to do anything he could to show his husband and his son just how much they meant to him.

The hand that raised in front of him hardly meant anything at this point and he pulled himself up without a problem. While being held so willingly by a human still caught him off guard, he had more pressing matters.

He had something that meant more to him than life itself waiting for him.

The vertigo of being moved came and went and just as soon as the ground was in sight, Logan dropped the inch down. He couldn’t handle it anymore, he needed to find them.

It had been so long.

It had been too long.

Though, as soon as he had let himself onto the ground—not before earning a surprised noise from Roman, who hadn’t expected Logan to jump off when he did—his eyes searched the underside of the shelf. Even further back into the hole in the wall, where he could have sworn he had seen a flash of movement.

Roman cleared his throat softly behind him. “Would you prefer we stayed or left?”

In any other case, Logan would have demanded that they leave. Roman the most since he was human, but when he saw more movement inside the hole, he leaned a bit more forwards, curious and slightly hopeful that it was who he thought it was.

Logan raised a hand for a moment. “You’re free to do what you wish.” It was the most honest response that he could utter at that point.

If he were to have turned around, he would have seen how Roman’s nose had scrunched as in silently asking ‘how about an actual answer, you pocket nerd.’

The quiet of the empty classroom held. It was so quiet one could hear a pin drop from the other side of the room, but after a moment, a noise jumped in Logan’s chest when he saw two curious brown eyes peering back out from behind the crack in the wall.

Shimmering brown eyes that he would never be able to wipe from his memory, no matter what had happened.

He felt the emotions growing heavy in his chest, unshed tears beginning to fill his eyes as the boy peered out a bit further. Something in that unsure gaze solidified behind the eyes.

“… Papa?” The word was like a whisper on the air, a thoughtful noise that may have been carried by the wind if one hadn’t been listening close enough.

“Yeah,” Logan’s voice broke on the word.

Realization finally flickered in the brown eyes and before either of them knew, the little boy had pushed himself away from the strong arms of his father keeping him in place and was bolting out into the open. He had stumbled a little bit after dropping the two inches down onto the ground, but after that he had regained control and broke into a sprint.

Logan couldn’t stand in one spot anymore and instead met Virgil halfway, sweeping the boy into his arms as he held onto him. Hands digging into the slightly over-sized sweater their son wore and just held onto him.

A sob hitched in his shoulder and Logan’s free hand went to cradle the back of Virgil’s head, keeping it gently pressed into the space between his shoulder and neck. But he held onto the boy like a lifeline, as if he had never had anything else to hold him down. It took only a moment before was sinking to his knees as Virgil’s fingers dug into the back of his shirt, clenched into the fabric.

It was the desperate embrace of a parent and child that had been separated for far too long.

“Papa,” the tearful voice whimpered into his shoulder, muffled by fabric. “I—I …”

“Shh, shh,” he breathed back, his throat right with emotion and his eyes squeezed shut as he just felt he warmth in his arms. “It’s okay, I’m here. I’m here. Papa’s here.”

Logan was shaking. Everything in him was trembling.

The sounds of someone else approaching went unnoticed until a voice broke through his conscious. A voice that was honey-sweet, but quivering.

“Logan?”

Immediately his eyes opened. Wet and blurred and meshing the world of colour and lights, but he could make out the form of his husband. He could see him, the brown curls and the soft features that he had fallen so deeply in love with.

Logan couldn’t stand, not with Virgil clinging to him like he was and not with how weak his legs were. So, he reached a hand up and grabbed Patton by the wrist, pulling him down with a surprised gasp and holding onto him, his hand shaking as it twisted into the back of Patton’s shirt.

He held his boys.

There was nothing else he could do. He held onto them and he swore to himself that he never letting them go again.

“I-I thought you were—”

“I know, I know,” Logan’s voice was anything but steady and he was struggling to speak, but he needed to. Patton’s hands tightened in the back of his shirt as well and Logan had nearly forgotten how it felt to be held. “I’m here, I’m here. I promise you, fucking hell, I promise you I’m here.”

In any other moment, Patton would have chastised him for using such strong language in front of Virgil, but right now, he didn’t have the heart.

Life sucked and humans were worse, but in this moment it was just him and his boys. Nothing else in the world mattered. Nothing. He didn’t care that Roman was still there, he didn’t care about the hell that he had gone through the past six months. He didn’t care.

None of it mattered.

Not when he had his son and his husband in his arms.

He held onto them, desperation held it’s talons close. But he held them closer, as close as he physically could.

“I’m here,” Logan mumbled, his voice falling to something just above a whisper, but he knew both Virgil and Patton could hear him. “Everything is going to be okay now. Everything is going to be okay.”

Chapter Text

The ever insistent tapping on the metal bars rattled through this core. The snide looks he would get from the other side of the cage; large eyes that held a malice for him and his kind, smiles that did not reach the patrons’ eyes.

Smiles that were dangerous and sharp.

But the child that stood in front of him, while she didn’t look dangerous to the average human adult, was a threat to Logan’s safety.

Kids did not take lightly to borrowers, especially not when their parents didn’t seem to care much about teaching them manners and decency. Children saw borrowers as toys and things to be physically manipulated—like a doll or an action figure. Something inanimate and therefore, not sentient.

The girl had entered the store about ten minutes ago and she had immediately searched for something in particular. It wasn’t until she was standing in front of Logan’s cage had he realized she was there for him. Or, if not him personally, than for Arthur who was quietly rocking himself back and forth on the other side of the enclosure.

She raised a hand and tapped at the bars again, trying to gain his attention. Logan stayed resolute with his back turned to her, but he could still feel her eyes digging into his back. The heat of the look she was giving him.

When the borrower stayed sitting, his knees curled up to his chest and his head ducked down, she relented for a moment. The thundering footsteps falling away behind him.

At this, he turned his head, watching as she went to tug at her father’s suit jacket. The man in question seemed to have his head bent forwards and his eyes glued directly to his phone as if it were the most important thing in the world. However, with a look like that, Logan could tell that this was the kind of man was that was ready to buy his way out of a problem if something went awry.

He wasn’t going to be bothered with her or her father until he saw that she was pointing in his direction.

He couldn’t hear their conversation, but he had an itching feeling that he knew what exactly she wanted.

The father had then turned to the shopkeeper after that, asking about something or other. The conversation was too distant for Logan to be able to make out what exactly they were saying, but with the devilish grin the girl sent back over her shoulder, he knew it wasn’t going to be good.

“This is it,” Arthur mumbled to himself, his head in his hands as he kept rocking himself back and forth, as if he was trying to calm himself down.

Any conversation that he tried to have with the other male usually ended up with Arthur in some sort of anxiety-induced fit. One would have thought that he would be better with that sort of reaction as his own son had been suffered through the same thing, just different circumstances.

Seemed that being away from them for four months had already taken a toll on his emotional well-being.

“We’re going to die here,” Arthur continued to bellyache and moan.

No, Logan wasn’t going to die here.

He wasn’t about to just kneel and keel over. Not when he had so much riding on getting out of this damned place.

It wasn’t long before the shopkeeper was coming over, the little girl and her father trailing behind. The keys jangled in their hand and the lock on the cage was undone before he could even think to say something.

“C’mere Logan,” the shopkeeper said in a condescending tone as they pulled the door open, before lowering themselves down to kneel with their hand palm up in front of the opening. “Little Eliza here would like to hold you.”

“Get lost,” he shot back, brown eyes sharp and distrusting.

The shopkeeper sighed, rubbing their free hand down their face. “I don’t want to play these games today, just be good for once and come here.”

Logan sneered at that, rolling his shoulders and deliberately turning his back to the three humans.

“Is he always like this?” The father asked, but he sounded more distracted and uninterested than he actually was.

“Unfortunately,” the shopkeeper replied, “Eliza, would you like to hold Arthur instead? He is better behaved.”

“No,” the girl said suddenly, with such vigor that it started Logan. “I want him, not the other one. The other one looks like a nervous wreck.”

A quick glance over to the other borrower did solidify that truth. He really did look like a nervous wreck, shaking and shivering and muttering to himself.

“Logan,” the shopkeeper raised their voice again, trying to sound more authoritative, like that had ever worked in the past. “Come here. Don’t make me reach in there and grab you.”

That wasn’t even a threat anymore.

“Allow me, sir,” Eliza said in that mock innocent voice.

Logan turned to look over his shoulder when the shopkeeper gave a surprised noise and the young man was instead welcomed with the sight of a hand coming directly for him. A startled yelp escaped him without his permission as the childish hand got far too close to him for comfort and he raised an arm as if that would defend him.

Of course, he was disappointed when the girl’s hand wrapped around his form anyways, beginning to lift him off of the cage floor without a problem, as if he wasn’t a full grown man.

Vertigo hit far too soon and he was pulled out from inside of what had, sadly, become a safety net. While many people had stared in and pointed and laughed, no one had been able to touch and grab him before.

He was pulled up in a fist that was far too tight, that shoved his arms painfully into his sides, so much so that he knew he would have bruises by this evening.

“Gentle with him, kid,” the shopkeeper said, noticing the grimace on the smaller features, “he’s not as strong as you.”

“I’m being gentle,” Eliza lied through her teeth, that shark-like grin never leaving her features as she examined the borrower in her hands. “He’s just doesn’t know what it’s like to be held.”

“I shouldn’t have to know what that’s like,” Logan hissed up at her and she squeezed a bit tighter, shoving the wind from his lungs.

“Pets shouldn’t talk back, that’s what my always daddy says.”

“Very good, darling,” her father mused, scrolling through something on his phone before beginning to tap away at the screen.

While the shopkeeper did look initially worried about Logan’s well-being, they weren’t doing much to change the situation either. There was a lot that they could do to the kid, such as making her put him down. Making sure that she didn’t squeeze the life from him without meaning to—or completely meaning too, whatever her intentions with him were.

“Let me go,” Logan’s voice was hoarse from lack of a proper supply of air being taken in, but it wouldn’t stop him from making demands. Not when his safety was on the line.

Eliza giggled again, shaking her head and using her thumb to stroke up and down his back in a rough and careless motion, obviously trying to cause him discomfort. “Pets also aren’t allowed to make demands, my daddy says that too.”

Logan grit his teeth, frustration nipping at him. “Let. Me. Go,” he enunciated this time, as if he thought she didn’t understand him the first time.

He was trying to stay as calm as possible, as losing his temper was something that wasn’t going to help him at all in this situation, but he was so close. So fucking close to doing something he knew he would regret afterwards—not in terms of feeling bad, he couldn’t care less about the human child and her ridiculous feelings, but for the punishment that would be sure to follow instantly afterwards.

Eliza only shook her head, making her stroking motions a bit more painful and prominent. “Borrowers like you shouldn’t be taking back to their owners,” her eyes sharpened. “Daddy? Can I have it?”

‘It.’

‘Can I have it.’

That was fucking it.

“Whatever you want darling,” the father said.

Logan’s eyes scanned the three humans and he was pleasantly surprised when he noticed how none of them were focused on him, far too busy with each other. Which gave him more of a chance. With those words shoving an icy knife into his stomach, he needed to make a split second decision. After a moment deliberation and of desperation and his survival instincts taking over, he—albeit hesitantly—bit down into the girl’s hand and held.

His nose wrinkled when he felt the hot rush of blood flood into his mouth and suddenly all he could taste was metallic and thick.

“Ouch!” Came the cry from the female and before long, her hand snapped open from it’s locked position around his form and, without anything keeping him upright, Logan was dropped back onto the tabletop where his cage was. “It bit me!”

“Disgraceful,” the father snorted, “keep that thing away from my daughter. You should put it down for biting an innocent child.”

“Innocent my ass,” Logan snarled, pushing himself up onto his elbows while his torso groaned at him in agony, before raising a hand to wipe the remnant of blood from the edges of his mouth. “Your hellish child could have killed me.”

“It would have been no loss,” the man spat back, picking his daughter up as she wailed and held her hand close to herself. “I demand something to make up for this tragedy.”

The shopkeeper, who had been frozen in their surprised, quickly gathered Logan up into their hands. “O-of course, sir, I’m so sorry! He’s never done something like that before, I didn’t think he would—”

“I don’t care what you thought and what you didn’t think, I want something to compensate for the pain that it put my daughter through. You can start by getting her a band-aid.”

“O-of course, sir.”

The shopkeeper’s attention fluttered down to the borrower in their hand and Logan just glared right back up at them, brown eyes so full of hatred and fury that shone through chocolate brown bangs. Almost as if he was challenging them to do something to him.

“You are in so much trouble for this,” the shopkeeper said then, as Eliza and her father decided to browse the rest of the pet shop for something of better interest that wouldn’t end up biting her. “It’s going to be a world of hurt for you.”

“I fucking dare you,” was what they got back in response.

It was a challenge. Logan was challenging them to do something to him and they hadn’t thought that far ahead. They hadn’t expected Logan to say anything at all—in fact, they had sort been hoping that the borrower would be sulking like he usually did in his cage. Not this time, it seemed. This time he was ready to fight them every step of the way.

Though, when the shopkeeper’s eyes hardened on him, Logan finally felt something stir within him. The dangerous, cold look he was getting in return. A calculating stare he was used to giving, but not used to receiving.

“Maybe I will get you put down for this. That way, you’ll never get to see your family again. They’d never know what happened to you. And it would teach you not to mess with those that have such power over you. Your last mistake.”

The words hit him like nothing else had before. They sat like a heavy rock in his chest and anything about defying the shopkeeper that had wormed its way into him was gone.

————

Logan woke up in a cold sweat.

The taste of something metallic was overwhelming.

He blinked, panicked, trying to figure out where he was. The pitch black, save for the tiny bit of light seeping in from just above him, was making it hard to correspond that he was safe. It was hard to recognize what was surrounding him when he couldn’t see.

The blankets under his hands felt weighted and cold, thick and scratchy.

There was also a warmth beside him, a tired voice mumbling something, but Logan needed to get out. He needed out. He needed to get out.

He couldn’t do this.

He could not do this.

Unable to calm himself down quick enough, he threw off the blankets and sat up, using a hand to push his hair out of his face before reaching blindly for his glasses. It took a couple tries, but he managed to find them. The sound of someone shifting behind him made the young man stand up, twisting to face someone that he hadn’t wanted to ever see again.

Bright, sharp, sadistic green eyes looked right back at him and Logan’s heart dropped into his stomach.

“Maybe I should get you put down for this.”

Cold.

He was so cold. The look that he was getting from the other made him step back, eyes wide and terrified.

“Your last mistake.”

Hot.

The room was so hot. When had it gotten so warm? The thundering of his heart in his chest was the only thing Logan could focus on. Not the panting breaths, not the blood he could hear rushing in his ears.

Not the taste of blood in his mouth.

“Your family? Please. They’d never know what happened to you.”

He couldn’t breathe, his chest was tight and his mind was blank. Everything was blurring around him, the terror that seized his wrists was real and electric. Hot and cold all at the same time.

“Logan?” The voice didn’t match the features he was seeing, but his mind in far too much of a frenzy to actually register who was saying it. The panic that just seemed so instinctual was far outweighing his rational thought. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

Eliza was right there. Standing outside the bars of his enclosure and he had no hope of getting out of this mess alive. Not when she had been so upset the first time. He didn’t remember getting caught again. Or, no, maybe he hadn’t been caught again. He had never truly gotten back home in the first place. Everything had been far too good for that.

A human that cared? A borrower that trusted said human? Getting to actually hold Patton and Virgil again? It must have been some sick trick. His mind was playing games on him in his grief.

Tactile hallucinations.

“Don’t come any closer,” he warned, his voice breaking.

He tried to sound demanding, but it came out as more of a withered, desperate plead.

“Pets don’t make demands.”

But they weren’t listening to him. The movements, while sluggish and tired, obviously weighed down the late night, had slowed down considerably. Almost as if she didn’t know what to do.

Though, they came closer to him, Logan matched it instantly with a step backwards. Every time the person in front of him came closer, he tried to put more space between them. Before long, Logan had his back pressed against a wall, he was cornered.

The hands then raised and were held up in a position that he recognized as a sign of surrender, which made no sense. Eliza had been far too persistent to leave him alone. She had had that sadistic grin on her features as her fingers had wrapped around his form, threatening to squeeze the life from him. To bruise and to tease and to taunt like he wasn’t a person with emotions or morals or sentience.

There was the ghost of her tight hold, compressing and forcing shorter breaths in and out. His panic was not helping the situation in the least.

He felt himself go weak in the knees and he slumped against the wall, staring up at the person in front of him with terror. The only emotion he was coherent enough to summon forwards.

“Logan, you need to breathe,” the voice said again and the vision flickered between two vastly contrasting scenes.

There was the pet store in all it’s glory, the loud chirping from the other animals and the tinkling from that stupid bell above the door, Eliza, her father and the shopkeeper standing on the other side of him, all looking smug and victorious.

But then, the other scene was relaxing. It was dark, he was back home, Patton was kneeling in front of him, dark curls falling in front of tired features, but soft gentle eyes pleading for him to relax. For a different reaction that what he was getting.

“Look at me,” the tone pleaded again and Logan shook his head.

“Don’t ignore me, Logan. You’re in no place to be making demands.”

“Can’t,” he breathed out finally, his eyes squeezing shut as tears flooded forwards, the echoing of the past six months were loud. Bells ringing and chiming. Sharp reminders of what he had gone through.

There was too much going on. Eliza was taunting him, the shopkeeper was using this weakness against him. The moment he looked up would be the moment he let those damned humans win. He couldn’t let them win. He couldn’t let them break him.

The moment he broke would be the moment he lost his only chance to go back home.

A gentle breath was released in front of him. “Yes you can,” the voice was quiet, reassuring. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

His shoulders were bunched, hands shaking as they stayed pressed against the floor, trying to keep himself as far from the person in front of him as he could.

In what seemed like forever—possibly only ten seconds or so—Logan felt the presence get closer to him. He could feel their warmth, but in all honestly, he was too scared to open his eyes for a few different reasons.

If he were to look, it would leave no barrier between his unshed tears and the person in front of him, thus causing him to lose any progress he had made with them by proving he was emotionless. Humans could use that information to manipulate you. He couldn’t show that weakness. He didn’t have an Achilles heel.

The other reason was that he was terrified to see Eliza again. He wouldn’t be able to handle it, not anymore.

Before he could say anything, he felt the person grab him by the hand. A loving touch. A tender grasp that said more than words could. Logan had initially flinched at the sudden, somewhat unwelcome, contact.

This was a touch that he knew. A touch that he could trust.

A sob jumped in his chest as soon as reality set back in and almost immediately, the presence grew far closer.

When he finally managed to open his eyes, after convincing himself that he was fine—he was totally okay and nothing was going to happen to him—he saw Patton’s sad eyes, but it wasn’t just that. It was more than that. It was concern, grief and unsaid words. Whispers that neither of them had the heart to say to each other.

All within a second, Logan was being tugged into the sweet embrace of his husband, a hand pressed against the back of his head and keeping him safe. He was safe.

It wasn’t long before the one sob turned into two, then three, then four. And then they didn’t stop.

Logan reacted before his mind had caught up to him, but his hands dug into the back of Patton’s shirt, hiding his face in the crook between his neck and shoulder and just sobbing. Heaving, in and out without time or pace.

“Shh, shh,” Patton soothed him quietly, letting his free hand stroke up and down Logan’s back, or shifting and rubbing circles instead. It went between both motions a couple times, but never was it unpredictable. “You’re okay, I’m right here. Everything is okay.”

It was painful, seeing him like this. So broken and scared. Nightmares had never really happened before Logan had been captured. They had been there, sure, but not to this extreme. Not to the extreme that one hallucinated someone else in the room with them.

Or to physically see the threat.

Or to physically feel the threat.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped quietly, sniffling as the tears finally began to slow down. “I— I shouldn’t have …”

“Don’t apologize, Lo,” Patton didn’t pull back from the embrace until he felt Logan shifting. He didn’t want to take the comfort away too soon if Logan wasn’t ready to lose it. “It was a nightmare and you can’t really stop those. Don’t apologize for reacting the way you did. It’s okay.”

Once he felt him shifting, Patton allowed himself to pull back, but not releasing his partner. He reached up, removing Logan’s glasses and setting them to the side, before using the sleeve of his night shirt to wipe the water away to the best of his ability.

They sat in silence for a couple minutes, Logan allowing Patton to clean him up without fighting back, or at least complaining—whether teasingly or seriously—at the mother hen-like tactics.

“Do you … want to talk about it?”

The request was innocent, Logan knew that, but he shook his head. He really did not want to relive the past ten minutes so early in the morning.

Patton sighed quietly, before nodding. “Alright. Think you can get back to sleep?”

That was something he wasn’t sure about, but it seemed there was no true harm in trying. He was exhausted, that much was obvious. Emotionally and physically spent.

“Yeah.”

There was an understanding shared between them and Patton handed Logan his glasses. There was that lingering heaviness in the air, but it was going to be like that for a while anyways.

Without saying anything else, just as Patton was beginning to stand up, the lightest knock from their bedroom door caught their attention. Virgil stood in the doorway, his over sized hoodie draped over his shoulders and the hood pulled up as he held tightly onto a blanket like it was a tether, though the little one also had his sleeve stuck in his mouth, a nervous habit.

Logan belatedly realized that it was the blanket he had made the boy for his fourth birthday.

The two adults watched as the little boy’s eyes moved between them, obviously reading the situation. They seemed to grow even sadder when what was happening registered.

“Hey kid,” Logan croaked, his voice was nearly gone by this point in the night. He raised a hand and waved as an invitation for Virgil to come in.

As soon as he had been given permission, Virgil immediately went to his fathers and sunk down to his knees, crawling into Logan’s arms and letting himself be held.

While it was reassuring and comforting for Virgil, Logan also felt better. Being able to hold his son so close, to cradle him in his arms. To feel the rise and fall of his breaths and the light patter of his heartbeat. It was solidifying the idea that he was truly back home, that this wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him.

His hold tightened unconsciously on the kid and Virgil responded by holding tighter to his father.

It was almost as if Logan was trying to shield Virgil from the horrors that he had seen, the horrors of the human world and their disgusting wants and needs. His son would never have to see that side of humanity, not if he had anything to say about. The most, hopefully, that Virgil would be the students that attended the University and that was it.

The third hand that suddenly appeared on Logan’s back surprised him slightly, but he leaned into the touch as well.

He was safe and the images he had seen were just that; images.

He did feel a twinge in his chest when he realized what had brought Virgil in here in the first place. It meant that Logan’s panic had been loud enough to wake him, even with his room down the hall. But the genuine concern that the boy had to come and see if he was doing okay was kind. Certainly something that Virgil had picked up from Patton, undoubtedly.

Patton stroked his fingers through Virgil’s hair a couple times, watching as he just seemed to melt into Logan’s embrace, the tired features were hidden in his shoulder.

“Let’s get you two back to bed, hmm?”

Logan’s eyes turned to Patton as his husband smiled lightly, sadly but genuine. He could agree that getting to bed would be the most logical course of action, as it certainly was not the time to be awake.

Patton pushed himself off of his knees and Logan was soon to follow, however a bit slower as he tried not to shift Virgil too much. He wasn’t sure if the kid was asleep or not, but he didn’t want to disturb him either way. Then there was the task of getting him back to bed.

As the blanket slid from Virgil’s hand, Logan was quick to attempt to get it before Patton picked it up for him.

“Mm,” the voice from his shoulder mumbled quietly, “papa?”

Logan hummed in response, showing that he was listening. “Yes, Virgil?”

Virgil shifted his head a little bit, enough so that he could see the underside of his father’s jaw. “Can I stay here with you and dad tonight?”

Logan didn’t even have to look at Patton to know the answer to that. “Of course you can,” he adjusted him a little bit more, so he could hold onto him a bit more comfortably and securely.

The bed that they had was big enough for three people, especially when one of those three was a six-year-old boy.

After a bit of readjusting the bed—since Logan had nearly torn it apart in his panic to get away—he set Virgil down beside Patton and immediately, Virgil clung onto him.

The sight was what gave him pause. It was what made him stop for a minute and really see just how lucky he was to be there in that moment.

To see his boys curled up together, safe and comfortable.

The grin that twitched the edges of his lips was genuine. Pulling his glasses off and setting them off to the side, Logan pulled at the comforter before slipping underneath as well. He wrapped his arms around both Virgil and Patton and tugged them both closer to him.

Logan was insanely lucky to be back home. He had watched countless others get adopted from the same cage he had been in, shared brief farewells with other borrowers who were never seen again. The thought was heavy and uncomfortable, but being able to say he was alive.

To be able to say that he was home.

That was what mattered the most.

Chapter Text

Roman liked kids. He really did.

They were energetic, fun-loving and outgoing. They were loud and bubbly and creative, sharing inside jokes that would make them snort with laughter, or try and a hide a giggle behind their hands as if the adult couldn’t hear them.

They were confident and proud to show off their work if they had created something, happily chattering about their picture or the story.

They liked to talk. A lot.

If you showed even the slightest interest into what they were talking about, they would never let you hear the end of it. If you made them feel bad for liking something, then you were an unforgivable monster. Roman had seen other adults brush a kid off. He had seen the excited light die in their eyes and their features fall and he had vowed to himself at that very moment that he would never be like those people.

Not with his own kids and not with younger cousins, or Hell, anyone that was happily talking to him about something they passionately enjoyed.

So, when Patton had finally revealed the fact that he had a son, Roman had been ecstatic.

Patton had been unsure about the reaction he was going to get. He had been on first dates where the topic of children had come up—somehow—and that information had been forced out of him. Almost every time, his date’s eyes would become surprised and then their expression became uncomfortable. Every guy had always made up some excuse of what he had to leave a little bit earlier than usual.

Seemed that if you had a kid and were back in the dating game, people weren’t so willing to give you a chance.

He had been rejected so many times for the fact that he had a kid—or that Virgil had been standoffish and unapproachable to anyone that wasn’t his dad—Patton had become hesitant to even drop hints.

“I’ve just resorted to not talking about it on the first date.” Roman could recall Patton telling him, watching as his partner’s eyes dropped from his own and looked anywhere but him. “Or really talking about it at all. I guess they just don’t want to have the commitment of dating me and having to get to know my son, too.”

“Well, then they don’t deserve you,” Roman had told him, grabbing him by the hands and causing Patton to look at him, wide brown eyes searching his own, as if he was looking for a lie. “Because if they aren’t ready to put in that time and have a family, then they certainly aren’t ready for a serious relationship.”

On another date a few weeks later, Patton had admitted that his son was human.

It had certainly been a surprise, of course, but then again, Roman had never asked. That and Roman had never thought to ask.

Roman had just assumed that the boy was from a past relationship; a fling of some sort. It didn’t sound like Patton to be like that, but who was he to judge? It was obvious he cared about his kid anyway.

In all honesty, Roman had been kind of nervous to ask about it. Fearing that he may say the wrong thing and offend him or upset him.

Patton had been welcoming of the questions. Even the uncomfortable ones. ‘If we’re going to be serious about this relationship, you have the right to know the truth’ was the reasoning.

“I guess I’m just curious,” he had said, watching Patton’s expression over the table at the cafe.

Patton had smiled at him—that caring, sweet, warm smile. The one that he used when he was nervous about saying something. Like he was hesitant, just in case what he said pushed Roman away like it had all those other suitors. Roman had watched as Patton’s hands twitched on the table slightly. “I’ve wanted to adopt for years,” he explained, softly. “I knew that being in a same-sex relationship wouldn’t allow me to have any biological children. I didn’t find Virgil in an orphanage, Roman, he lived on the street. It took a lot of work to earn his trust, I knew that was the case too. He was distant and cold, not that I blame the kiddo at all. It’s a big, scary world compared to him.”

Roman had been so enthralled by Patton’s compassion. The fact that the human kid was willing to live with him. That Patton had been willing to build that relationship and stay persistent and positive.

From what he had been told, he and Virgil had a healthy loving household.

Roman almost felt as if he had been intruding on something sacred the first time he had actually been introduced to the boy.

Even now, as he and Virgil sat in each other’s company in silence as the TV in the living room became more of an buzzing hum, Roman almost didn’t know what to say.

Patton had disappeared back into the kitchen when the oven had started beeping, leaving the two of them alone together on the couch.

It wasn’t very often that Roman actually saw Virgil when he was over. The fourteen-year-old often hid away in his bedroom when he came over and it did hurt a little. More than Roman wanted to admit. It was almost as if Virgil made a conscious effort to avoid him.

It was a quirk of Virgil’s that had also pushed other possible suitors away. Roman wouldn’t be swayed so easily.

He and Patton had been dating for little over half a year at this point and Roman still knew little to nothing about the human tween.

“So,” Roman finally broke the silence. He watched as Virgil curled a bit further into his over-sized hoodie and kept his eyes trained on the screen, pulling his knees up tighter to his chest. “We don’t talk much, kid.”

Virgil tilted his head away, sneering. “Good.”

Okay, ouch.

“You know, I think the two of us should get to know each other a little better,” he said, adjusting himself so he was sitting a little more comfortably on the couch. His body turned to face the human form sitting on the back of the couch. Virgil had been tucked against Patton’s neck earlier, but after his father had been pulled away, he’d moved to sit there instead. “Since your dad and I are getting pretty serious.”

It was almost as if that had been the wrong thing to say. The silence felt heavier than before, more weighted down with the realization that if he said something wrong, he could drive Virgil away for good. Or keep him hidden away behind this stone cold wall.

When the angsty tween turned to face him, Roman could see the fire in those brown eyes. The spite that burned and smoldered. “I don’t have to get to know you,” Virgil spat back, his nails digging into his sweater with a white-knuckled force. “You’re just like the others. You play nice and sweet and kid-loving and then you change.”

Before Roman could say anything, he was being cut off.

“You’re going to take my dad away from me and you’re not going to care. This is all just some stupid act to make Dad like you more.” Virgil took in a shuddering breath and Roman couldn’t tell if he was on the verge of a meltdown or a tantrum. Or a mixture of both. “Your stupid jokes and your stupid face and how you think you’re all stupidly charming and suave and then you get so disgustingly lovely with Dad. It’s all a tactic. I know exactly what kind of person you are.”

“Virge—”

“Don’t Virge me,” Virgil snarled, “you’re just playing nice to get on Dad’s good side and as soon as you’re there you’re going to pretend I don’t even exist!” The kid’s breathing turned ragged and Virgil lifted a hand to swipe at the wetness trying to escape. “You’re not my dad and you’re never going to be!”

Within a second, Virgil had pushed himself into a stand, yanked his hood up and ducked his head down. He then made his way quickly to the edge of the couch, grabbed a hold of the extra fabric and slid down—much to Roman’s chagrin because that was really, really dangerous—without so much as a second thought and disappeared down into the hallway where his bedroom was.

A second later Patton appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. His attention turned to Roman, eyes conveying everything that his voice refused to say.

Roman could see the quiet plead that he didn’t have the heart to say outright. It was a hopeful expression begging him not to leave because of this. ‘Virgil’s just a nervous kid, I promise he’s a sweetheart once you get to know him.’

Roman really did like kids, but trying to get Virgil to like him was so painstakingly frustrating.

— — —

“And he’s still here,” Virgil finished off, his hands moving to try and express his emotions correctly. Everything he was feeling was so complicated.

Logan hummed off to the side, flipping the page of his book. His expression was neutral, as it always was, but the slight quirk of his friend’s brows proved to Virgil that he was indeed listening.

The two young boys were sitting at a picnic table in the schoolyard as the other kids hooted and hollered as they ran around waiting for their parents to pick them up, or their bus to arrive. Almost everyday he and Logan were the close to the last few kids to be picked up. Not that Virgil minded, it wasn’t that big a deal. He usually got a ride with his best friend anyway as Dad was at work.

“It certainly is a dilemma,” Logan mused instead, eyes flickering over the words in the book before pushing his glasses up.

“It’s not a dilemma, L, it’s a catastrophe!” Virgil was far more emotional about this then he would have expected, but Logan allowed him to continue with his dramatics. Especially if this helped get it out of his system. “He thinks he’s apart of the family. He’s not.” He scrubbed his eyes, exhausted from staring at a whiteboard all day. “He’s not my dad and he’s never going to be my dad. He just keeps trying too hard.”

Logan had met Roman only a handful of times. The first being when Logan had been over for a sleepover and Roman had happened to stop by as well. It was easy to see that the two of them were a bit tense around each other. Logan liked cold, hard facts—even at fourteen-years-old—and Roman liked fantasies and quests and pride.

They were complete opposites. So, it justified how the two boys stayed cooped up in Virgil’s room the entire night.

“He is a bit much,” Logan agreed. Virgil’s personality was close to his own, he supposed that’s why they got along so well. That and the two of them could actually debate with each other and get solid arguments in response. “Roman is a bit too hopeful, I’ve found. And you do put it well. He is trying too hard. If he wants to win your affections, I do believe he would have to ease off of the whole ‘bonding with his boyfriend’s kid’ motive.”

“But that’s the problem, Logan, he proposed yesterday and Dad said yes!”

That new information nearly made Logan choke. He shut his book and turned to face his friend head-on, eyes startled. “He- he did?”

“Yes! Now I have no choice if Roman is my dad or not. At least before I could try and push him away, but now…” Virgil nibbled his lower lip.

While emotions were not Logan’s strong suit, it didn’t take a person who could read expression to know that something else was the matter. “What is it?”

Virgil sighed, pushing his brown hair out of his eyes. “He makes Patton so happy, Lo. I’ve seen Dad happy a lot but when he’s around Roman he just seems to glow, you know? That- that lovesick look.” His tone fell, breaking off into something softer, a near mumble. “What if Dad loves Roman more than me? What if he forgets about me? What if- what if he doesn’t want me anymore?”

“Now that’s just preposterous,” Logan rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning forwards on the table. “I am positive that your dad wouldn’t abandon you just because he’s getting married to someone he loves.”

“But he can’t love the both of us,” he said back, suddenly finding the grains in the table far more interesting than the concerned looks of his friend. “That’s what my real parents told me.”

Logan’s face fell at the mention of Virgil’s biological parents. Those people had been drunkards that had chosen alcohol over their own son. It was why Virgil had been on the streets in the first place. While Logan knew about a lot of the stuff those awful people had told him, there were the few details that he seemed to leave out about most stuff as well.

Some things that almost seemed too hard to talk about openly, or to admit to.

Before Logan even had the wits to try and comfort that sad look off of Virgil’s features, the quiet rumbling in the ground caught his attention and held it. The timed pace that got heavier and heavier the closer it got. He lifted his book off of the table to keep it from rattling obnoxiously.

It seemed Virgil had caught on as well as he heard the latter groan into his hands.

A few of the other kids that still had yet to be picked up chittered to each other, talking either excitedly or anxiously. It wasn’t very often that a giant came anywhere near the elementary school in the Human District of the city. But there was only one boy that had parents of the larger race and everyone knew who it was.

Virgil pulled his hood up, pulling it down to hide his face before tugging at the hoodie strings and pulling it closed tighter. As the shadow of a massive figure overtook them, Logan turned to look over his shoulder, craning his neck upwards.

Roman was crouched over the two boys, carefully aware of the other children looking up at him. Some looks of curiosity and some who were unsure.

“I do believe your ride’s here,” Logan mused to Virgil as the other boy groaned louder this time.

“Hey Logan,” Roman greeted him lightly, offering a smile to the quiet boy. Logan only acknowledged him with a slight nod. Not that he was offended, that’s just how the Price boy was. No wonder he and Virgil got along so well, the two were hardly different. “Come on, Virge, your dad asked me to pick you up.”

Virgil snorted humourlessly. “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“Not until you pointed it out.” One of his hands shifted from its position on his knee and laid down right next to the picnic table. “I can also give you a lift home as well, Logan.”

“My mother is on her way,” Logan deflected the question with a practiced ease, “I would not want to trouble her with turning around.” He settled his book back down onto the table and flipped it open once more.

“I’d rather get a ride home with Logan and his mom,” Virgil said from his hoodie cocoon, peering up through dyed bangs.

“Sorry bud,” Roman told him, nodding his head towards his hand. “I’m right here and there’s no need to trouble Logan’s mother with making an unnecessary stop at our house.”

Virgil looked to Logan as if he would help, but Logan only gave him a helpless shrug in response. ‘He makes a good point,’ Logan had mouthed to him.

As much as he wanted to disagree with that, he couldn’t. Giving a louder sigh, Virgil grabbed his backpack off of the bench seat beside him and slung it over his shoulder. He hated this entire thing. It wasn’t that Roman was trying to cause a scene but he was making one just by being there. Everyone already knew that Virgil’s adopted parent as a giant, but now it just solidified the fact that he now had two dads. Not that that was the problem, of course not. Just the fact that he was already alienated enough as it was because of who his family was.

Not that he would ever tell Patton that. Virgil would rather suffer through being avoided because of that than tell him the real reason.

“See ya tomorrow, Lo,” Virgil said as an afterthought, giving his friend a side-long glance that Logan could read easily. He nodded slightly, showing that they could talk more about this tomorrow.

Virgil tossed his backpack off and onto Roman’s waiting palm before following suit with himself. The skin was soft beneath his fingertips as he crawled over the to the centre. He crossed his legs so he sat comfortably and Roman’s other hand came up around the open side to make sure the kid wouldn’t tumble off accidentally.

Virgil’s brown eyes went to glare at the golden ring on his wedding finger, the band almost the width of Virgil’s waist.

The trip back home was relatively in silence. Mostly because Roman would talk at him and Virgil would ignore everything he said.

Virgil actually didn’t starting listening to what Roman was saying until they were stepping into the house and the door was shut behind him.

“What exactly is it about me that you don’t like?” Roman’s question had caught Virgil off guard. The voice rumbled through the palm he was sitting on, reverberating through him.

The kid almost stammered for an answer. “W-what?”

“You heard me,” the adult said again, but his eyes were directed on the interior of the house. “What exactly don’t you like? I just—I want to understand, Virgil. That’s all. I’m not mad, I just want to know.”

Virgil supposed that honesty could only hurt so much. But it was the burning in the back of his throat that kept him from wanting to speak his mind.

“You make Dad really happy,” he started off, feeling the heat behind his eyes almost instantly. He stubbornly shut his eyes to keep them from falling. Not so early into the conversation. That’s what this was, right? An open conversation. He didn’t need to look at Roman to know that he was confused. “…you make him so happy and- and that scares me.”

It almost took Roman a moment to realize that he was finally getting somewhere with the tween.

Virgil had always been so hellbent on keeping up this mysterious and snarky outside, that he had almost never thought he’d see a softer side him. To actually hear something and hear him mean it. Of course, Virgil talked to Patton. All the time, but he barely ever said two words to Roman.

To hear this kind of honesty from someone that kept his emotions under lock and key? For one, he was honoured. For two, he was even more confused by what Virgil meant.

So, he prompted him gently. “Why does that scare you, bud?”

Virgil used his sleeves to rub at his eyes. God, he was such a crybaby. “Because Dad can’t love the both of us and I don’t want to lose him. I-I can’t.”

Patton had been the only good thing that had ever happened to him and to lose his father would be devastating. He had cared about Virgil. Genuinely concerned and patient and kind and loving and just everything that he had needed in his life. Having that taken away because of some flirty, suave, thoughtful jerk that thought he could marry his dad? It was unfathomable.

The admittance made Roman pause and suddenly, it all made sense.

The snarky attitude. The rough exterior, the want to push everyone away. Virgil had been left behind—had seen Patton get left behind—so many times that he didn’t think anyone would ever want to stay.

That anyone would actually be able to put up with him and still really love his dad for his quirky, kindly nature.

It all just made so much sense, now.

Wanting to be able to comfort the kid to the best of his ability, Roman toed off his shoes at the door finally—after belatedly realizing he had been standing in the same place for a little too long—and went to the living room. He kept the boy close as he settled down onto the leather couch, cradling Virgil in what he hoped was an understanding, but not overbearing or overwhelming, warmth

“Oh, Virgil, no,” Roman’s tone was almost a quiet coo at that point, but it wasn’t patronizing. It was genuine. He lifted the hand holding the boy up enough to actually be able to look Virgil in the eyes. He could see the wet tracks on his cheeks, where he had failed to wipe the tears away. “Your dad still loves you.”

“Wh-what do you know?” Virgil hiccuped, shaking his head in disagreement. “M-my mama said you can only love one person at a time.”

She’d never been wrong before.

All of this went back to the trauma Virgil’s birth parents had put him through? Oh. Oh, the poor kid. He must be carrying so much more baggage than Roman had thought. At first, he believed the kid had just been shy, but now, understanding what was truly going on…

It was easy to see that stating explicitly that Patton still cared was not going to be taken seriously. Roman had to get a bit more creative with this.

“Do you want to know how I know he loves you still?” Roman waited until glassy brown eyes turned up to meet his own. It took a second, but Virgil was nodding slightly, swiping at the tears that just kept flooding over. “Because he still reads you bedtime stories or talks to you about how your day went. When you’re feeling sad or scared, he makes you feel better, doesn’t he? Makes your favourite hot chocolate and then you two curl up on the couch together and watch your favourite movie. And when you fall asleep before him, he lets you stay with him in his room, to make sure that if you woke with a nightmare, he would be right there to help you.” Roman brushed a comforting thumb up Virgil’s side as the boy quivered, sniffling. “None of that has changed since I arrived, has it?” He was answered with a shake of his head. The adult smiled softly, his eyes were warm. “Then of course he still loves you. Every day actions. Your dad is so proud of you, Virgil.”

The stifled cries almost instantly got louder after he had said that and for a second, Roman swore he had done the wrong thing. Said something that had been taken out of context, but then Virgil was reaching forwards, hands grabbing onto the shirt he was wearing and just holding himself there as he sobbed.

Roman leaned back into the couch, sinking further into it and holding the boy as he cried himself hoarse. He began to hum a gentle tune, soft and quiet. A sound that rumbled through his chest and hopefully began to sooth the little one.

It wasn’t long after that had Virgil nodded off. Seemed he had been far more exhausted than he had let on. Feeling as though he was now stuck in place, Roman leaned over a bit, trying his best not to disturb the sleep Virgil had found himself in and grabbed the remote control.

Flicking on the TV, he put the sound on low and leaned back once more. Letting his thumb run up and down the fragile back in a soothing motion. Minutes later, Roman had found himself nodding off.

— — —

Not an hour later the door handle to the front door began to jiggle and Patton was stepping inside the home. It was quieter than usual, he noticed quickly. He set his bag down onto the bench in the entrance and shrugged his jacket off of his shoulders.

Hanging it up and untying the laces to his shoes, Patton found himself venturing further into the home.

He found Roman curled up on the couch and he almost didn’t think anything of it—only that his fiance looked relaxed and at peace—until he noticed a smaller figure curled up with him. There, nestled into Roman’s shirt with his hands laid protectively over him, was Virgil sound asleep. Looking content and comfortable.

The smile that alighted Patton’s features was huge.

It seemed as though the two of them finally managed to find some sort of stable ground with each other. After two years of constant bickering and avoidance, his boys were finally untroubled.

Quietly tiptoeing over and trying not to disturb either of them, he knelt down next to his soon-to-be-husband and son. He gingerly brushed the hair in front of Roman’s eyes to the side and he leaned forwards, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.

“Welcome to fatherhood.” Patton’s voice was affectionate and nearly silent, a whisper barely heard.

Yes, Roman liked kids.

But Roman loved his son more than anything.

Chapter Text

Life is a cruel mistress, some would say.

She taunts and giggles and gifts more misfortune to the already unfortunate.

To those that had been born into a life with little to no chance of success or survival, she can be loving and kind and extend assistance and a caring hand. Or, she would sit by, watch and grin at the suffering she caused.

Virgil didn’t want to be ungrateful but as he stumbled through the overgrown underbrush of the forest in a panicked escape from the king’s knights close behind him—with swords and shields and bows and arrows ready—he felt as though he had every right to be sour about his life.

“Halt in the name of the King, witch!” One knight shouted, causing the witch himself to reel and press on forward faster. “You will cease your useless attempt and repent in the Halls of the King before the Royal Court!”

If he had wanted to repent and be dragged back to the court to either by hung or drowned, he would have already turned himself in.

The sounds of his own breathing got loud enough that it was the only thing he could focus on. The blood rushing in his ears, the adrenaline pounding through his veins.

His coven had already been ravaged by fire and death and destruction, his familiar was nowhere to be seen—which worried him greatly—and now he was running blindly through a forest he didn’t know his way out of.

He was in an area of the forest that he had never had the chance to see. A place he had never been taken to, or shown around. He was completely on his own when it came to navigating his way out.

To put it lightly, Virgil was terrified.

The sound of an arrow whizzing by his head, nearly nicking his cheek, made him recoil and duck to the other side, catapulting himself over a fallen log and continuing his sprint.

There was just so much that had gone wrong in such little time. This morning had been like any other morning, quiet, relatively peaceful. He was going to try and spend most of his day perfecting his potions, only for that to have changed within the hour.

How had the knights figured out his coven existed? A false accusation by one of the paranoid townspeople, claiming they had seen another of Virgil’s coven commit a heinous act of witchcraft.

It hadn’t been hard to figure out that the townsfolk were bluffing. It also wasn’t hard to understand that the townspeople didn’t like him or his coven in the first place. They were isolated and kept to themselves a lot, only entering the town square when absolutely necessary. To an outsider, they almost did look a tad too much like witches, but they had never been accused of it before.

There had been rumors, Virgil remembered, when he was little. He remembered staying close to Darien, a hand latched onto the other older witch’s jacket as they navigated the town. People would whisper to each other, point and stare, but nothing had ever come of it. It remained only as if it were a whisper on the air.

There had always been paranoia within the town about the forest and what lurked inside of it, which was fair.

There were terrible creatures that lurked in the night, searching and stalking for an easy meal. If you didn’t know how to fight back, it would be far too easy to lose. Sometimes, even if you did know how to defend yourself, you just weren’t strong enough.

Some of the animals that did haunt the night were wolves and bats and coyotes and such, but then there were mystical creatures as well; the fae, werewolves,and vampires, which were rare, but there. They mostly lived among the people and not so much in the heart of the woods. It was easier to feed that way.

There were even creatures that were so big they’d be able to swallow a human whole if they so desired.

Now those were the encounters that would strike fear into anyone’s being. Anyone that had a rational head on their shoulders would avoid a giant at all costs.

Then there were the so called “giant hunters” who decided it would be a good idea to go after these massive beings and try to claim fame and fortune.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t likely anyone would return from such a quest.

Not that Virgil felt a shred of pity for them. They had made their choice—no matter how stupid—and it had cost them their lives. So, the only way to go about that was to learn from their mistakes and never make the same choice himself.

The twang of another arrow being loosed caught his attention, but the searing hot agonizing pain that rose from his left shoulder was the thing that shattered every coherent thought in his head. The yelp of pain that came sharply from his mouth made the knights behind him cheer in glee; they had hit their mark! It was only a matter of time now before the witch dropped.

While his vision was hazy, Virgil wasn’t letting the arrow get the better of him. He needed to get out of here. He needed to find– find what exactly? What was left for him? His coven was nothing but ashes, his familiar was possibly dead and he was being hunted. It really was only a matter of time before he stumbled to his knees and let the knights have their way with him.

But there was also the sharp resilience that said this isn’t what his family would want for him. The fact that giving up meant losing immediately. The moment one gave up was the moment one lost.

Chancing a glance down at the wound, Virgil saw a steady stream of crimson blood oozing down his left arm, dripping off of his fingertips before it had the chance to dry. He needed to dislodge the arrow, find some way to heal the wound before he bled out...but without a safe place to stop and rest, it was pointless.

Without his eyes on the escape route, he had failed to notice the steep drop down the bank in front of him. Just as his foot caught on a stray root, a sharp cry was ripped from his throat and he stumbled and slid to his knees. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed to the ground and rolled onto his uninjured side just enough to see the knights approaching him quickly.

The sounds of the armour and weapons clattering got closer and closer, until Virgil could see the three knights standing over him. Looking red in the face and furious, but almost mixed with a horrible look of glee. They got to take what they wanted of him. Torture him, kill him. Anything they so desired.

His chest rose in panting breaths, unsteady but in an almost recognizable pattern. Hazily, his eyes slid over each and every knight, taking in what they looked like. burning their images into his brain as the last thing he would probably see before they ran him through. He memorized every little detail, including their unbearable grins, sneers and sharp looks that said so much more than words could.

“Absolutely pitiful,” the one to his right said, voice dangerously low. He crouched down, prodding Virgil roughly in the injured shoulder and grinning was the witch hissed at the unwanted and painful touch. “A single arrow takes down the last witch of that disgusting coven. You’d think it’d have more fight. At least a will to live.”

Of course Virgil had a will to live, but surrounded like this, too weak to even try and utter a simple spell? His odds weren’t looking great. But that knight could go and take what little knowledge his fat head carried and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.

“I almost feel bad,” a second voice piped up, cruel and unrelenting. “Get it up boys. Bring it back to the King.”

The first knight got down lower, so low that Virgil could feel his breath against his neck. It was a vulnerable section of skin for someone’s mouth to be hovering over and he was half afraid that the knight would take the advantage to sink his teeth into his jugular. Of course it wasn’t a human move, but it didn’t stop Virgil from worrying about it. He even tried to writhe away to the best of his ability but was stuck in place by the third’s heavy grasp. “The King ain’t gonna be happy with you,” he snarled, “I like to think that your coven got off easy.”

The thought that being burned alive in your own home was getting off easy, made Virgil feel so unbelievably sick that he felt bile rising.

There was no way that Darien and Remus had gotten off easy. Buried under rubble with heat from all sides, heat that you couldn’t escape, that you choked on and eventually made your suffering so unbearable—

Virgil coughed, blood painting his lips. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling heat prickling the back of his eyes. The water threatened to spill, but he fought back the urge. The knights already had enough reason to mock him; he didn’t want crying in front of them to be another.

The first knight grinned wider. He pushed himself away from the curled up form on the ground and circled around to the other side of him. He grabbed Virgil under the shoulder where the arrow was still implanted into it, before seemingly like he had a better idea. “Hold the witch down,” he said to the other two. “Roll it over onto its back.”

As he was pushed onto his back, Virgil’s eyes snapped back open, blurred as they were, and his eyes locked on the first knight. They widened as he noticed the knight’s hand wrapping around the shaft of the arrow.

He’s going to pull it out. It’s going to get yanked out without care or precision.

Doing that, could ruin his shoulder for life. There was only so much healing magic could do when you weren’t skilled enough in the practice. The fact that the arrow itself was going to be ripped out the opposite way it had been shot in, made his stomach churn.

“N-no!” Virgil had finally found his voice, but the demand came out weaker than he wanted it to. The three men above him didn’t seem to care about his protest as the arrow was grabbed half a moment later. “W-wait, please! Don’t— don’t do this! I’ll go back willingly…ju-just leave the arrow alone!”

“So, it talks,” The second knight snarked, his hands tightening on his good shoulder. Virgil’s eyes frantically searched the features above him, the world beginning to darken in his terror. “It’ll only hurt for a few days.”

“Don’t worry though,” the knight said, giving an experimental tug on the arrow shaft, watching Virgil’s pained expressions carefully. “I’m sure you won’t live that long anyhow. So, perhaps, it’ll only hurt for the rest of your miserable life.”

Virgil tried to prepare himself for the feeling of something being ripped out of it, but nothing could have prepared him for the excruciating feeling that rippled through his body.

The arrow head had been so far embedded into his shoulder that it had nearly been poking out the other side. It had torn through layers of skin and actually caused the wound to enlarge. More blood spilled from the wound and Virgil almost felt numb. So much agony was flushing through his body that he could hardly put two and two together.

He choked on his breathing, blood made another reappearance as he coughed, gagging at the unbelievable amount of torment.

It only made the knights howl with laughter, looking down at the witch. He wasn’t a big kid, in fact Virgil was actually remarkably small for someone his age. His short stature only made it easier for the knights to keep him trapped.

Virgil gasped, trying to find a way to steady himself enough to process just what exactly was happening to him.

Die.

The word was so sudden and startling that he almost couldn’t fathom the meaning of it.

You are going to die.

Everything that had happened in his life was going to be rendered meaningless. As if he had never done anything at all. There was no one left to remember him.

They’re going to kill you right here, right now so the King will reward them as heroes.

He squeezed his eyes shut, tears finally spilling over. He choked on a sob and shook his head, trying to get them off. Trying to get them to let him go. Trying to do something that could possibly save his life. Anything.

You’re going to die and there is nothing you can do about it.

His mind was alive and buzzing, but numb and everything was confusing and he couldn’t see straight, he could hardly breathe. There was so much assault happening to him that his senses couldn’t comprehend everything. From the sharp, stinging pain in his shoulder that was going to kill him if he didn’t get it treated or patched up to the electric buzzing going on inside his mind from the constant movement and chatter, even when it came to noticing the quaking in the ground that hadn’t been there before.

Wait. What the holy hell was that?

“I didn’t think witches understood human emotions,” the first knight said, snapping the arrow between his two hands and tossing it to the side idly.

He seemed to be the only knight that hadn’t honed in on the difference in the air around them. The way the ground kept shaking in a steady and oddly familiar pattern. It was timed and paced, but shook with a passion. It felt like…like…

Oh no.

No, no no no!

Virgil was too scared to open his eyes, knowing that his consciousness was just barely holding on. It was only a matter of time before it was over for all of them. Seeing through the blood loss and tears wouldn’t help either, but he knew what was coming. He knew that it was way worse than what the knights had in store for him.

“L-let me go!” He grit out, trying almost harder but with his strength failing him, he sounded pitiful.

“Now, why would we do something like that?” The knight crooned. “We caught you and now we’re going to fulfill our duty to the King.”

“No!” Virgil’s voice verged on shrill. “You— you don’t get it!”

The footsteps were getting closer, more prominent. The earth shook with every footfall and the forced rattled through him as he was laying flat on the ground.

It was then that the knight seemed to realize what was happening, the first knight was turning to see something he did not want to see.

“What?” The knight barked in surprise, immediately on his feet with his sword drawn. The other two followed suit leaving Virgil on his back, heaving with gasps and anguish.

Just as the knight had gotten the word out, the darkness slid over them, casting the four humans into its shadow.

Virgil knew that it wasn’t a cloud blocking the sun; it was something far worse. Far more dangerous. Something that made him want to be dragged away by the knights and thrown in front of the king. He’d rather that then suffer a death at the hands of a giant.

“Now isn’t this quite the sight,” the rumbling voice from overhead made Virgil flinch further into himself, keeping his eyes screwed shut. He had already memorized the faces of his other tormentors, he didn’t need to see this one too. “The King’s men, supposedly meant to protect the citizens of the Kingdom, attacking one of their own.”

---

“A witch!” The knight barked, his hold on his sword wavering, terror eating away at his insides. It was obvious how frightened he was, but the stubbornness within him refused to let it show. “It is no member of our society!”

Roman scoffed, his eyes locked on the quivering little form on the ground. “I don’t want to assume anything, but I would believe the witch would like to be addressed as a he not an it.”

The knight threatened to take a step towards the witch again, but the Roman moved forward more. A protective loom over the group of three knights.

“Witch or not, he is still a person,” The giant said, a growl just under the tone of his voice. “Or is that too hard for your bitty human brains to understand?”

The second knight reeled back from that, looking white in the face. His terror was clear to read. The third knight was harder, but the quivering of the blade showed real fear. The knight that was still talking back just seemed to be an idiot.

The first knight met the giant’s eyes, fearless and stupid. “I suppose that means monsters stick together.”

A sharper look filled Roman’s eyes, almost immediately the aura darkened, and he leaned down so much so that they were nearly at eye-level. He hovered just over them to assert his dominance in the situation. To further assert himself, he planted his hands on both sides of the group of knights—even though he was carefully aware of where the little witch was cowering, sobbing, bleeding out and shit I have to deal with these fools quick.

So, he focused all of that irritation and frustration into staring, unwavering, at the knights in front of him. Their swords were nothing compared to him. Humans were absolutely nothing compared to him. “Keep using language like that and I will scrape you across the forest floor like old gum.”

Finally, that got the reaction he had been wanting. He wanted fear, and he wanted them to regret stepping into his part of the woods and torturing an innocent person—witch or not—as if they could get away with it. As unbelievably angry as he was, he knew that he would have to treat the little human and his injuries.

“I’m going to give you a single chance to leave without getting hurt,” he said, voice dangerously low. A menacing snarl that reverberated through his chest and rumbled around them like a thunderstorm waiting to happen. “Get out of here. Now.”

The two other knights had no problem sticking their swords into their sheathes and bolting in the same way they came, their armour clanging together as they escaped. The first knight held his ground, but when chocolate brown eyes stayed locked on him, unrelenting and cold and unsympathetic, the knight felt his heart jump into his throat for the first time. He took an unsteady breath and his resolve shattered when he watched Roman bare his teeth in a sneer at him.

It took nothing for him to scamper off in the same direction as his colleagues.

Now, with the threats gone, he could pay some attention to the witch that was still bleeding out on the ground.

His hands moved from their defensive position, that he had been using to keep himself upright, to one that was encompassing the little human. Curled around the tiny shivering form as if to ward off any further predators that wished to harm him.

“Hey,” his voice was softer, as quiet as he could get it to be causing more alarm. Perhaps after everything though, Roman would still be considered a threat because of what the witch had just witnessed. He watched the tiny form flinch away from the sound, one hand moving to cover the gaping wound on his shoulder. “This might not sound all that...reassuring, but you don’t have to be afraid of me.”

The witch gave the tiniest shake of his head in a clear and obvious distrusting “no,” but his eyes remained screwed shut. The human’s hands were smeared in his own blood, the ripped white shirt he was wearing had been stained crimson with the thick liquid.

Biting into his lower lip, Roman let his gaze flicker. The creature was obviously in a great amount of pain and he seemed to be losing consciousness. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but would it help if you knew my name?” Without an answer he was sure the human was starting to doze, but he needed him awake. So, talking to him was the only rational thing that came to mind. “My name’s Roman. I know this is an odd way to meet someone, but it makes for an interesting origin story, don’t you think?”

The witch groaned up at him and for a moment, he thought they were actually communicating, only to be let down—unsurprisingly—when the human didn’t react anymore than that.

While he wanted to get him patched up as soon as possible without moving him, as that could agitate the wound further (or so Logan said), Roman needed to get the human back to his home. There, he had medicines and remedies that would help begin the healing process. And, if the knights were right and the human was a witch, he should know some healing spells himself, too.

Quickly making up his mind, knowing that he can’t leave the half-conscious human here by himself to go and retrieve medical supplies, he began to close his hands around the tiny form before pausing. The human hadn’t even looked at him once and Roman didn’t want to startle him by just suddenly grabbing him and hefting him high into the air.

“I’m gonna have to move you, alright? That way I can take you back to my place and my friend and I can get you all fixed up,” Roman chattered at him quietly, explaining his plan while also asking for permission. “That way you’ll be right as rain in a couple days. Will you let me do that?”

The witch made a small noise and Roman was ready to roll with that, when instead it opened its mouth. He held his breath, wanting to make sure he didn’t miss anything important.

“…nuh.”

It sounded like a no but even knowing that the creature didn’t want to be moved, Roman couldn’t just leave it here to die. At least, not in good conscience.

His shoulders drooped but he couldn’t do it. “Sorry little buddy,” he said quietly, the apology doubling as a warning.

It seemed the witch understood that much as the eyes fluttered open lazily. The brown eyes were glazed over, that much was obvious to tell. The little one was watching but Roman didn’t think he was actually seeing. Or if he was even able to connect what was happening right now to reality. The little thing had to be inches away from death and, if worse came to worse and Roman couldn’t save him, at least the human would be in safe company when he passed.

Refusing to let that thought rule his movements, he carefully scooped his palms underneath the tiny being, incredibly savvy to how he cried out with such a heartbreaking noise. The little one was absolutely petrified.

Heart crawling up into his throat, Roman cupped the human between his two hands and finally lifted the little one off of the ground and out of its puddle of blood, into the cupped bowl of his palms.

The human groaned in agony and Roman was quick to coo to him, making small comforting noises in the back of his throat. Trying to make the awful situation better as he rose to his feet. “Shh, shh. I know, little one, I know,” he soothed, “I know it hurts but I’m going to get you back home and I’m going to get you all fixed up.”

He felt so horribly guilty that he hadn’t heard the commotion earlier. He knew it wasn’t right to blame himself for this, but he couldn’t help it. Not with how the witch was trying to focus on him, only to let his eyes slip closed.

It looked as though he was ready to accept his fate.

Roman couldn’t let him do that—not without at least trying first.

“You’re okay,” he hushed the tiny human, “no one’s gonna hurt you again. You’re safe with me, I swear it.”

Roman looked up briefly to make sure he was heading in the direction that would lead him home, before focusing back down on the form in his hands.

“I’ll take real good care of you.” His voice was nearly a whisper, a silent vow as the human began to drift off into full unconsciousness. “I promise.”

Chapter Text

The silence was deafening.

Virgil could hear his heart pounding in his chest, the blood rushing through his veins as adrenaline flowed through him. His hands clenched tightly into the duvet covering his bed.

His breathing was rapid and hard. An untimely pace that wouldn’t slow down. Couldn’t slow down. He was trying. God, how he was trying.

The images in his head had felt so real. So lifelike. He could see his mother’s ice blue eyes staring down at him, the half empty bottle of wine in her hand. He could smell the stench of alcohol that haunted him into his everyday. It was pungent and surrounding him and he needed to get out. He needed to get out now.

Throwing the blanket off of himself, Virgil searched blindly through the darkness for his hoodie. His hands landed on the soft fabric and he tugged the comforting weight over his head and shoved his hands into the pockets of it. The feeling of warmth covering his shoulder made him feel safer.

At least until he felt the sharp hold of his mother’s nails digging into his bicep, holding him in place as he held his breath. The image flickering vividly in front of his very eyes as he stared into the darkness filling the bedroom.

“You deserve this and nothing less.”

He could still hear the twisted smile in those sick words. He could feel the heat of her being so close to him, threatening him. The sickly sweet voice that she used to use to croon to him, telling him that she loved him and that nothing would ever change that

“You mean everything to me, my dear, never forget that,” she would say as she poured herself another glass of brandy or wine or whatever she fancied that night, “your father and I love you so much.”

But she never saw him. She only looked at him through her boozy delusional fog.

Virgil tugged his hoodie closer and finally broke the staring contest he had been having with the bedroom wall and he quickly made his decision to go and find Dad.

Dad would know what to do, what to say.

He pushed open the bedroom door and shut it behind him, hugging close to the wall. He knew that he was safe, but old habits died hard it seemed.

Virgil could remember hugging the wall back home. A hand pressed against the cool paint to reassure himself that it was real and he was okay. He remembered hearing the ticking of the clock from the living room and the chattering of the TV from some stupid Rom-com his mother watched to pass the time.

Here, he knew he didn’t need to be nearly as careful but that didn’t stop him.

Eventually, he found himself rounding the corner into the living room. Watching as the TV cast shadows that danced with constantly changing colours in the darkness of the room. Flickering over the ground as he hugged himself tighter. Virgil had almost never felt smaller than when facing a room that vastly outmatched him.

“D-Dad?”

Virgil watched as the form on the couch twitched after a second, the volume was turned down significantly and he almost felt the need to shy away again. To quickly turn around and high-tail it back into his bedroom.

But when he was alone, that’s when his mother could get him…

He steeled his nerves just as he saw brown eyes peering over the top of the couch, blinking blearily.

You woke Dad up, great going.

“Virgil?”

The boy’s blood froze, hearing that voice so lilted with exhaustion.

That wasn’t Dad.

That was Roman.

Virgil bit into his lower lip, fiddling with the hem of his hoodie, not wanting to meet the curious brown eyes that were now focused on his person. Even in the flickering of the TV, he could tell that Roman was tired. His hair was disheveled and he didn’t really look like himself. Maybe it was just the awful lighting in the room.

Virgil swallowed down his guilt. “S-sorry Roman,” he mumbled, trying to hide the quaking in his voice, “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Apparently he hadn’t succeeded in hiding his sadness as well as he thought he had, as in the next moment Roman was sitting up on the couch a bit straighter, looking tired but concerned.

“No, no, that’s okay,” Roman’s expression grew softer, “what’s the matter, bud? You doing okay?”

In this moment, Virgil had two choices. He could lie to him, saying he was just fine and was curious to see who was home—which would not be believable in the least since it was nearing 1 am—or he could come right out and admit what had happened, which would be taken at face value.

More water raised to his eyes and he used his sleeve to wipe at the wetness. Going with option 2 seemed to be the better choice, so he sniffled and shook his head in answer.

“Absolutely useless. You’ve been nothing but a waste of space and time. Get out of my sight.”

Sucking in a sharp gasp, which made him choke on a quiet sob, and shook his head more visibly. As much as Virgil wanted his Dad, Roman was the next best person to go to and he had to face that.

He and Roman may not get along on the best of days, but he was still his step-father, which meant that he could help in place of Patton.

He shoved his hands over his eyes, trying to fight back the tears as best as he could. He really didn’t want to break down right where he was, but he was so tired.

“…I-I need you,” Virgil whimpered, a hiccup escaping.

Virgil heard the quiet noise from in front of him before the familiar tremors shook the floor beneath him.

It wasn’t long before Roman had crouched down in front of him, the warmth encircling him proved that Roman had cupped his hands around him. Trying to offer comfort without touching him without his explicit permission.

“I’m right here, Virgil, it’s okay,” Roman’s voice was a soft coo, but there was that sturdy reassurance behind the words. The kind of safety Virgil had never felt back home with his real mom and dad. “Can I touch you?”

At first, Virgil wanted to shake his head. He really wanted to say “no, I just want to know you’re there,” but decided after a second more of deliberation that it would be better if he could feel something real. Something solid and caring and close. He nodded his head quickly.

Not a second later, he was scooped up into two palms cupped together before being held against a chest that was unfathomably big. The steady rise and fall of Roman’s breathing was comforting. The steady heartbeat, quiet and constant.

“It’s going to be alright,” Roman’s voice rumbled through his chest, reverberating and close. His tone was warm and comforting and everything that Virgil needed at that moment. “I’ve got you, I promise.”

Chapter Text

“The abode of the giants is highly guarded. It will be difficult to get in without alerting someone of our presence,” the tiny prince declared, wielding the pin like a sword.

“Shut up. You’re the one that’s going to alert them with all your drama,” his partner hissed to him, keeping his voice significantly quieter.

“Oh come on, it’s not as if our voices carry that much,” the first voice grunted back, “besides, it’s a simple mission. Get in, grab some sugar, get out. Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Panic at the Everywhere. We’ve done this before, we can do it again.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, moving his hand to grasp the strap of his bag a bit tighter, before peering over the edge of the fridge. It was a long way down, but it was nothing they had never done before. “You’d be surprised how far voices carry,” he mumbled instead.

Roman puffed out his chest. “You’re just being a sulk again. Borrowing isn’t that difficult.”

“You’re going to be sorely disappointed when I tell you how wrong you are.”

“Look, if you really don’t want to be here, why did you insist on coming with me? I am fully capable of doing this myself.” Not to mention he had done it without Virgil knowing countless times before, but that was not a matter to bring up right now.

“I’m supposed to trust that you’re not going to pull a stunt and end up getting caught?”

Pursing his lips, looking as if he wanted to say something to combat that and failing, Roman scowled instead. “Fine, be like that. Keep an eye out for me and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Whatever.”

———————

The panic that was flaring in his chest was easily mimicked in his partner’s eyes, but there was also something else there, something that said he was on the verge of ‘I fucking told you so.’

“Not gonna get caught, huh?” Virgil shot, his eyes scanning the trap Roman had landed himself in. The glue was thick and he would need to pull the other out. It was about time he said goodbye to those shoes anyways—though he was well aware that Roman was going to bitch and whine about it. “I’m so close to saying it.”

“Don’t,” Roman groaned back at him, tugging at his right leg, trying to see if it would move. When nothing budged, frustration nipped at him. “I get it, I was over-confident, okay? Back off.”

While he wanted to find this situation at least a little comical, he knew they didn’t have that sort of time. It was only a few minutes before Patton would get back from work and then they would be discovered. So, the first priority was getting Roman unstuck from the sticky rat-trap and then getting back in the walls all within ten minutes.

So, Virgil kept pacing, back and forth, around and side to side, trying to see if there had been a weak spot created at least anywhere since his accomplice had tripped up.

At least he was still on his feet, if he had fallen over, getting him out would have been a whole different challenge.

Roman tried tugging at his other foot but again, nothing moved and he was left with that biting feeling of failure. What were they supposed to do? He was stuck and if they couldn’t get him out, it was all over. Everything that they had worked so hard for. They had created a home in the walls, a place where they could go for comfort. Though, the two also had each other for that.

Home was really wherever his boyfriend was, but moving from this house, the home they had put so much time and effort into making would be devastating. This wasn’t exactly how he had wanted their day to go.

Virgil was out of ideas and that wasn’t going to help them. He bit his lower lip, before clenching his fists. “Grab my hands,” he instructed, as he moved closer to the trap itself and reached his hands out.

“What?”

“Grab my hands,” he repeated.

“I know what you said, Virgil,” Roman rolled his eyes, “but pulling isn’t going to do anything. You nearly fell in the first time we tried it.”

“Well then you think of something better, ‘cause I’m out of ideas and I’m sick of just standing here and doing nothing. So, grab my fucking hands and I’m going to pull.”

He was leaving no room for argument and Roman felt his stomach sink. There was desperation in Virgil’s features now and it was like reading an open book. Plenty of emotions were flickering over them within the span of a few seconds and he finally nodded his head.

His partner pushed the sleeves to his tattered hoodie up and determination was in his eyes, blazing hot and fierce.

Sighing, Roman reached out and grasped Virgil’s hands, cool to the touch as they were, and held on.

Then he was pulling. It strained his shoulders to have such force being tugged on, but he could only assume that this short-lived pain would be nothing compared to what the humans would have in store for them if they were to be found. So, he sucked it up.

He felt Virgil’s nails digging into his exposed skin, but he knew that was only a backlash from how hard they were holding onto each other.

That single, last attempt to get him out of the mess he had gotten himself into.

When the sound of a lock clicking caught their attentions, Virgil’s attempts doubled in strength and effort.

“Get— get out of here,” Roman tried not to wince as the nails dug further into his forearms.

“No,” was the simple response, but it was growled out through gritted teeth. His brows set in concentration. “I’m not leaving you here.”

That stubbornness was going to get the both of them killed. “Yes, you are.”

Without a warning, Roman let go of Virgil’s hands and the other gasped, tripping backwards when he lost his grip on him. He landed on the ground, looking dazed and surprised for a moment, before shock and confusion crossed his features.

“What the hell are you doing?” He hissed, pushing himself up off the ground, before brushing himself off.

The front door opening rattled through their bones and caused both borrowers to look in the same direction.

“Saving your ass,” Roman hissed right back, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “If you don’t get out of here, we’re both dead because of my mistake. I’m not letting you go down with me because I was over-confident.”

“Roman I—”

“Shut up for a minute and listen to me.” He watched as Virgil wanted to say something, but he grabbed onto his hand, gentler this time, a thumb ran over the tender skin on the back of his hand. “Get out of here. Please. If not for yourself, then for me.”

“I’m not—”

“I’m not asking you anymore, Virgil,” he cut him off for a second time. “I’m not giving you a choice in this.”

That’s when the despair fluttered in his eyes, a thing that crushed Roman’s heart to see. He hated the fact more that he was the cause of that despair, but if this was for the better of both of them, then he was going to reinforce the idea. Just because he was caught didn’t mean that Virgil had to get swept up into this mess too, in fact, it would be better if he wasn’t.

Roman was a bit stronger when it came to his emotions. He wasn’t necessarily prone to panic attacks, at least not in most circumstances. He knew that if too much stress was put onto Virgil, there was a higher chance he would either black out or freak out.

The thudding footsteps were getting closer and Roman’s nerves were starting to bite at him because Virgil was still here, holding onto him like he was his lifeline.

However, instead of having the human go down the hallway into the bedrooms like they thought he would, he entered the kitchen. It would only be mere moments before they were spotted and captured and it was terrifying to behold a human from this terrifying angle.

Virgil’s hands tightened instantly on his own when he realized his window of escape had passed. Now they were both in this together whether they wanted it or not.

A sudden gasp and the sound of a bag hitting the floor made Virgil’s hair stand on end and Roman didn’t let him go. Except, when the shaking in the floor got more prominent and closer, he had flinched away from the oncoming human, only to trip over the edge of the glue trap and falling backwards into ending up stuck. Not before he had dragged Roman down with him with a grunt.

“Fuck,” he hissed.

When he hadn’t let go of Roman’s hands, Virgil had tugged him down on top of him. While he was stuck on his rear, Roman was currently laying half on top of him. His feet had been pulled free of the glue, but he was now stuck by his knees and elbows. Certainly not the best position to be stuck in.

A louder gasp was released from the human at seeing the two smaller people stuck in such a compromising position.

“Oh gosh,” the voice rumbled and Virgil startled back from it, and Roman ducked his head, trying to protect himself in case this was the end.

Who was he kidding, of course this was the end. Patton was going to get them out of this mess and then, upon Logan’s request to study them, would probably hand them over. And then with Logan, well, anything could happen, but the most likely option is that they were going to be studied, which would include observation most likely and then it would follow through into experimentation. Or maybe they would be exposed to the world and then they would be killed for ‘research.’

The options were endless and that was horrifying.

The sound of clothing shifting and then two knees hitting the ground in front of them caused another wave of terror to flush over him. It was hot and heady and cold all at the same time.

He could feel the rise and fall of Virgil’s chest just underneath his own and he could feel the quickening pace, the terror that was radiating from his partner was putting him more on edge, though that meant he had to at least do something, because God knows that Virgil won’t.

He couldn’t do anything to help calm him down, he couldn’t even really use touch to comfort him. It was an unhelpful position they had found themselves in.

When he saw something approaching from the corner of his eyes, Roman’s attention shifted instantly to see the oncoming human hand and he panicked.

“W-wait!”

The cry was startling and instantly he caused the room to fall silent. The only thing he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears and the pounding of his heartbeat.

“You— you can talk,” Patton sounded astounded, though he seemed to shake that off remarkably quickly, then that worried tone was quickly followed, “are you alright? Are either of you hurt?”

The onslaught of questions about their well-being had not been expected in the least.

Well, pretending that he couldn’t speak wouldn’t do anything now, so. “U-uh no,” he answered, sufficiently for both of them as well. They weren’t hurt, surprisingly, just stuck. “Just in a bit of a— sticky situation..”

The nervous laugh didn’t go unnoticed by the human and he leaned forward a bit more carefully this time, keeping his hands to himself just trying not to startle them again.

“Right,” he breathed after a moment, before letting his eyes scan the kitchen. What would help get something unstuck from a trap like this? They certainly weren’t mice, therefore it was unfair and possibly unsafe to leave them there to struggle on their own.

When he had walked in on the two of them, before the second had panicked and tripped, it seemed as if he were trying to pull his friend out of the mess.

Patton hesitated, but he knew there was no way around it. “I’m really sorry, but I have to pick the trap up. Can you— will you let me do that?”

He was giving them a choice?

Roman felt Virgil shake his head rapidly next to him and his attention turned to his partner, that wide-eyed terror that was just fluctuating. While he didn’t want to go against his friend’s wishes, he knew that if they wanted to get out of this mess they would have to trust Patton at least a little bit. They had already tried, and failed, to get him free. The human was really their only shot at this point.

Even though he hated it just as much, he leaned down to him, lowering his voice just enough so that only Virgil could hear him. “We don’t really have much of a choice here.”

“I’m going– I can’t, Roman, I-I can’t,” the stammering answer did catch him a bit off guard.

Of course it was a panic attack, what else would it be? The heightened heartbeat, the wide eyes, the quick rise and fall of his chest as he tried to breathe. There was almost nothing he could do to stop the oncoming mishap.

Roman’s eyes flickered between his partner and the overwhelming concern in the human’s features. Why did this choice have to fall onto him?

“Trust me.” He watched as realization fluttered across Virgil’s face, before he tore his gaze away. He instead turned to Patton. “All I can ask is for you to be careful.”

The human nodded vigorously. “O-of course.”

So, with that, Roman’s shoulders tensed and he leaned down closer to his partner, almost as if he was trying his best to protect him without really being able to. It was more of a comfort reason, he realized belatedly, because being closer to Virgil made him feel relatively better. Though, the panting breaths he could hear from his left side was proving that this wasn’t helping the other.

It took seconds before the trap itself was moving and his stomach dropped. Nausea was close to hitting hard, but he ducked his head instead, his eyes squeezed shut.

This really wasn’t how he had planned this day to go. So, it was true, that once they got out of this mess, Virgil had every right to tell him off. Throttle him if he wanted to. At this point though, he was pretty sure that if they did get away, his partner would take time to himself. He looked pretty shaken and the fact that he was trying to tone down his panic was making it worse.

The movement stopped and the vertigo passed, but the knowledge of what was coming next hit harder than he expected it to.

It took a bit more work than what Roman had honestly expected, but the feelings of fingers on his back didn’t help him either. Just knowing that he was barely smaller than those digits made him uncomfortable. Though, soon enough, with enough gentle tugging and the pulling on his clothes and hands, the borrower was unstuck and settled gently to the side, standing openly on the counter.

Though, with how sticky his shoes were, he toed them off, not wanting to leave marks everywhere and he quickly moved right back to the side of the trap, a hand raised to stop Patton from reaching towards Virgil for a moment.

Confused, the human did what was silently asked of him.

“Virgil,” Roman’s voice was gentle, but it seemed to cut through the fog that was currently centered in the other’s mind, the terrified brown eyes tearing from the human’s and landing on his friend’s instead. “Do you trust me?” He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing but a strained noise came out instead, before he nodded his head. “Okay. Then you’re going to have to trust that the human can get you out.” Virgil’s eyes widened further, shaking his head as his voice wasn’t working for him at the moment. “I know— I know you’re scared, but once you’re out, we can get out of here. I promise you. We can go back and move if you want, but you have to trust him, just this once.”

“Roman, I-I can’t, I—”

“I’m not hurt,” he promised him, holding his arms out as if to emphasize his point. “He didn’t hurt me, I swear to you. You’ll be fine.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

This wasn’t happening.

This was not happening.

There was absolutely no way that what he thought was happening, was happening.

Roman had one job. One.

Keep Virgil safe.

It was all his fault.

Every horrible thing that could be happening to his baby brother right now—because that science-obsessed human got his big grabby hands on him—was all Roman’s fault.

He had to do something. He had to. But what? What could he do? He was too young. Too small. Even compared to an adult borrower, Roman wasn’t tall. Maybe he was just short for his age, but putting his own size in comparison to that of a human? A being that could encase a full grown person in one hand and you wouldn’t even know it?

Never mind what they could do to a little boy barely two inches tall.

His stomach clenched and heat burned at the back of his eyes as bile rose. His fingers dug into the black and purple patchwork jacket, void of its owner—the most valuable part—and shook.

The jacket itself was hand-stitched with love. The threading was a bit haphazard, showing that the one who had made it was not practiced in the craft but was trying his best.

Virgil had gotten frustrated a lot when he had first started working on it.

Unable to make the needle work the way he wanted it to, unable to get the thread right or make the strokes as neat as Roman was able to. (Even though Roman had told him that good sewing comes with practice.)

There had been a lot of times where he had almost given up on it.

“Can’t.”

Roman looked up from the clothes he was folding, turning to look over his shoulder to see the six-year-old standing in the doorway, holding the masses of black and purple fabric, tears standing in his eyes. “What?”

“Can’t,”‌ Virgil had responded sharply as if Roman hadn’t heard him the first time. He held up the work-in-progress jacket. “Can’t do it.”

The eleven-year-old shifted on the floor, crossing his legs and pushing the folded clothes away from him to make room. Roman reached a hand out, quietly waving him over. Virgil just stood in the doorway staring at him for a moment before moving toward him and sitting right beside him. As soon as he could, Virgil shoved the mess of fabric into Roman’s lap and crossed his arms, his lower lip jutting out in a frustrated pout.

The wetness surrounding his eyes, however, proved to Roman that he was just upset that he couldn’t do it. He could see where the water had been scrubbed away as it left some red marks against the boy’s pale cheeks.

Virgil sniffled quietly and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them as he looked at the fabric with disdain.

Mom and Dad would have been better when it came to teaching Virgil the necessary skills to survive in this world, but they weren’t here anymore and that responsibility landed on him now.

“Hey,”‌ he said after pulling up the jacket—that looked more like a poncho than a jacket if he were being honest—and holding it out in front of him. “I think you’re onto something here. A poncho would be pretty cool, don’t you think?”

Virgil shook his head. “No.”

Roman deflated a little bit but took it in stride. “Okay, so a poncho isn’t your thing. Got it.”

The little one squeezed his eyes shut, as water began to cloud over the hazel orbs again. It was as if he was trying to keep himself from crying. Roman’s heart broke at the sight of it. “M’sorry m’no good at sewing,”

“Oh, Virgil, no. You don’t have to apologize,”‌ he said quickly, setting the jacket aside and moving to embrace the kid as best as he could from their seated positions. “It’s something that’s going to take a little bit of time. Do you really think I‌ was just able to pick up a needle and sew like I do now?”

After a moment, he felt a brief nod against his chest as Virgil snuggled closer to him. Roman pulled Virgil completely into his lap and let his fingers stroke through the soft brown locks that nearly matched in colour with his own.

He chuckled lightly, leaning back on the couch their parents had made from scratch and kept Virgil cuddled up close to him. “Of course not, Silly. I’ve been practicing since I‌ was your age and I’m still not very good at it.”

Virgil sniffled. “…you’re just saying that.”

“Nah, of course not,” Roman assured him, pulling back just enough to be able to wipe the tears away from his brother’s eyes, smiling gently down at him. “Think I’d tell you something like that if it wasn’t true?”

“…no.”

“Well, you’re right.” Roman adjusted Virgil just enough on his lap so that the kid was still sitting on him but Roman could use his hands to show what he was talking about.

He reached forward to the best of his ability and grabbed the black and purple fabric again, before picking up the needle and thread that was to the side of him. He then stuck the needle through the black fabric and pulled it taut, before repeating the action with the purple.

“Here, I’m going to show you how to do this, okay?‌ I’ll show you and then I’ll let you try.”

Virgil looked back to him, his eyes still shining with tears but also with uncertainty. “You’ll help?”

Roman’s heart ached at that sad little look and he leaned forward, embracing his little brother from behind. “Of course I‌ will.”

Roman could still see those same chocolate brown eyes staring up at him, but this time with fear instilled into them—wide, terrified and alone. The image was burned into the back of his mind.

The thought struck a negative cord in his chest.

God, what was Virgil thinking about now? Was he worried that Roman wouldn’t come for him? Was he overwhelmed with anxiety?‌ Was he even still alive?

No. No. He couldn’t think like that.

Of course Virgil was alive. The human wouldn’t kill him…would he?

It was the fear of bursting out into the open, pin at the ready and demanding that his brother be let go, only to be be too late. Only to be see something so devastating that he would never be the same afterwards. That he would be next.

Roman took a breath, his chest was tight. There were too many options. Too many different ways that this could go. But he knew what he had to do. Virgil was too little to get away from Roman himself when they were playing, so his escape from a human who was being serious about his capture would be impossible.

They had lived with the human long enough that he should be able to tell what he would do in the means of understanding a borrower. But Roman had never seen the human with anything alive and as small as they were. Certainly nothing as human-like, either. It was hard to say what would happen if Roman remained unheard.

He released his death-grip on Virgil’s hoodie and just looked down to it instead. The boy was smaller than he should be at this age, the size of the jacket proved it. It only made Roman worry more.

Mom and Dad were gone. He had no one to go to for advice or for help. He had to do this by himself.

He didn’t want to do it by himself.

Roman wanted his dad, a strong hand on his shoulder and a powerful voice that matched his tall strong frame, telling him that everything would be okay. That they’d get Virgil back and then they could move out and never look back at this place ever again and rule this out as a bad memory. Roman wanted his mom, too. To see her lovely brown eyes again, gleaming with pride like they did when he had come back from his first borrowing with a packet of sugar and a new fishing line hook.

But most of all, Roman wanted Virgil back. The only constant in his upside down life. The only one that Roman could talk to about obscure things. The one that would giggle—or just stare at him with an unimpressed look—and then tell him he was being dumb, before talking about something else totally random. The comforting weight under his arm because Roman was affectionate and didn’t like Virgil being too far from him just in case something happened and he needed to react fast. The comforting feeling of a hand holding his, even if they had both woken with nightmares of reliving the night they lost their parents.

He wanted the moments where they giggled about stupid things, things that wouldn’t make sense to an adult, or where Virgil would come and just sit with him in the quiet with his head resting on Roman’s shoulder. A silent reminder that he was there and he was safe. Or when he would come and ask questions that Roman didn’t know the answer to. Or even when he asked for bedtime stories and Roman got to create these elaborate worlds and tell them to a willing listener—who usually feel asleep about halfway through the story itself.

He wanted the moments where he was laying in bed and the quietest knock possible sounded from his door and he would see a hooded figure standing there, his sweater paws stuck in his mouth. The way Virgil would feel comfortable enough to crawl into bed with him. The way Virgil would feel safe enough to fall asleep on him as Roman hummed the same gentle songs their mother would sing to him, playing with his hair in a soothing manner for both parties.

He just wanted his baby brother back. That wasn’t too much to ask for, was it?

Mom and Dad were right. Humans were horrible. They would take and grab and never let go.

Adults were the worst, Mom said, they would crush a borrower without a second thought. Maybe the human he and Virgil lived with was more merciful because Roman could still hear the human’s voice rumbling through the walls but couldn’t make out the words. Or if Virgil was even saying anything back.

Even as his eyes brimmed with tears, the twelve-year-old forced back a sob and choked it down instead. Now was not the time to cry. It wasn’t the time to break down and whine for his parents. Roman was the only one who could make a difference and he had to at least try.

He had to save Virgil. He had to.

Life without his little brother would be…easier, he would admit, but not necessarily better. He would only have to take care of himself and would only have to borrow enough to feed himself, but in that process he would let his parents down and in turn he would be completely alone.

While Virgil could be a nuisance—just as Roman himself could be, he assumed—he was still family and he was still only seven. Virgil couldn’t defend himself. The only weapon the boy had been allowed to have was a thumb tack that had been left at home.

It was sitting idly next to Roman’s side, as he sat on the floor of their home, and he briefly wondered that if he had urged Virgil to take it, would the outcome have been different?

Probably not, a part of him sneered. He’s still too little to do any real damage to a human that’s determined on catching him. Hurting the giant would probably just make it mad.

He had to shake the idea off. Wiping at the tears that had managed to slide down his cheeks unnoticed with his sleeve, he pushed himself into a stand.

Roman grabbed his satchel off of the floor where he had thrown it in frustration and stuffed Virgil’s hoodie into it. He then grabbed his pin—which he had proudly dubbed his sword, which Virgil had snorted at—and tucked it against his side. Sucking in a soft, shuddering breath, he turned to the door and stepped out into the coolness of the passageway. The walls always were cold. And kind of frightening when he was on his own.

When he was with Virgil, the latter would cling onto his arm musing about the rats and bugs that could come and get them. Roman was the one that would reassure him that he wouldn’t let anything hurt him. But when he was alone, it was much harder to convince himself of the same thing.

He spared a single glance back into the house, almost as if he was bidding it a goodbye in case he never saw it again, and started on his way back towards the human’s living room. Back to where he got Virgil caught.

His hand moved and clenched tightly to the strap around his shoulder. Almost as if it was giving him something to hold onto. Something that could tie him down when he felt as though nothing made sense anymore. He was tired, he was scared and he felt sick with guilt and unease.

The closer he got to the living room, the more uncomfortable and wary he grew. The human’s voice got louder and so did the softest sounds of someone…crying.

Roman’s stomach jumped with anxiety.

Of course Virgil was in tears. Who wouldn’t be if they were in his position? If anything, the human just sounded exasperated at this point.

Pushing open the loose panel, Roman peered through. The human’s hands were cupped together and the brown eyes were locked on the tiny form in his palms. He looked agitated and annoyed and Roman couldn’t let those feelings override anything else in that human gaze.

He had always been told that humans were run by instincts. If they felt something, they acted on it and it didn’t matter what consequences those actions had. All that mattered was that they felt satisfied with that they had accomplished.

No matter the cost.

“…this encounter would be far easier if you would cease your tears.”

The human even sounded frustrated. Roman wasn’t going to give him time to act on it.

Grabbing the hilt of his sword, Roman hopped out of the walls and onto the bookshelf where the opening led him.

“I insist that this is in your best interest,”‌ the human—Roman was in too much of a tizzy to remember his name—said again. “Letting you go would be inconsiderate and would most likely end with you in a far worse position than you are with me.”

There was no way in hell he was letting his little brother become some sort of pet to a human.

Brandishing his sword, Roman raised it and stood openly on the shelf. Feeling vulnerable and naked. “Let him go, you Towering Terror!” He jabbed the pin in the human’s direction, watching its movements carefully, acutely aware of anything and everything at the same time as fear boiled and festered in his chest.

Startled, the human’s attention turned to face the second voice. He was surprised to see a second tiny figure standing on the shelf right in front of him. It wasn’t hidden or seemingly trying to be. The little pin it was wielding seemed to be its only defense and—while futile for the most part—seemed to be where its courage was coming from.

“I‌ beg your pardon?”‌ Logan repeated, his gaze unwavering. The child was crying itself hoarse in his hands by now and over the half an hour he had had it, they had made no progress. Perhaps with this newcomer, they’d get a bit further.

Even as surprised as Logan was to see a second creature appear, he had an itching feeling that he knew the reason behind why it had shown itself.

That exact reason was curled up in the palms of his hands, shuddering with sobs.

“Y-you heard me!” Roman shouted, that nervousness creeping back into his chest. “I—I said let him go!”

“Ah, I believe I‌ understand.”‌ Roman watched in terror as one of the human’s hands closed around Virgil’s form completely. Almost stifling his cries entirely.

He felt his hold on the sword wavering

Logan shifted entirely so he was facing the second creature, watching it carefully through his glass lenses. Studying its movements and mannerisms. This one was strikingly different from the first one he had found. “You’ve come to try and help.”

“I’m not gonna t-try, you giant fiend!”‌ His declaration came out far sadder and terrified than he meant it to.

Roman had wanted it to sound powerful and strong—like Dad!—but the human only looked amused, if the small quirk of his lips said anything. It made his hands shake slightly more, and the blade wavered.

He didn’t want to beg, not really, but if that’s what this was going to come down to…

He could still hear Virgil’s sobs, even if they were muffled and nearly silenced thanks to the human’s constricting grasp.

And Roman couldn’t do anything to help him. He couldn’t comfort him and tell him everything was going to be okay. To smooth his hands through the soft brown hair and hum soft lullabies that Mom had sang to him.

He’d never felt so useless in his entire life.

“Please,”‌ Roman whimpered, allowing his voice to break as emotion flooded forward. “Let him go and— and take me instead.”

He watched silently as Logan’s expression turned from mildly amused to surprised within seconds. The features looked honestly perplexed at that offer.

Roman sucked in another unsteady breath and he choked on a gasp, letting his sword fall to his side. He dropped it entirely and clenched his hands, ducking his head down. He squeezed his eyes shut as he forced himself into submission. “I’ll— I’ll be more entertaining,” he said, his voice catching. “I won’t cry and I‌…I won’t disobey, I’ll be go-good! But please, please, don’t hurt him, he’s just scared!”

Logan’s brows rose higher, his surprise returning tenfold as the second one began to break down into tears right in front of him as well.

Great. The exact thing he knew the least about and now he was faced with two children—Logan could at least make the educated guess that these were children, if they were truly as human-like as they looked—who couldn’t hold it together for five minutes.

There was a slight pang in his chest as he realized just how terrified these children were of him, but he had to push that aside for now. He was clearly going to help them. It was obvious that the two didn’t eat well, judging by how thin they both were. It would be inconsiderate and dangerous to let them go and return to their normal lives of an unhealthy lifestyle.

Were his intentions really not that obvious?

Logan’s frown deepened as the creature on the bookshelf sunk to his knees, heaves wracking the tiny frame. It was obviously in distress and Logan’s presence was causing that distress. He didn’t know how to feel about that.

His eyes flickered down to the hand that was wrapped carefully around the impossibly small body.

Perhaps it wasn’t Logan’s presence at all and was instead the fact that he was in possession of the creature’s friend.

It made sense, of course. Getting protective over a friend but to the point of tears and begging to take their place?‌‌ This kind of selflessness was what got someone hurt. Whether it be oneself, or the other person one was trying to sacrifice themselves for.

“He’s seven,”‌ Roman whined, sad brown eyes turning up to look at the human in question, swallowing nervously as he tried to keep his cries quiet. “He doesn’t– doesn’t deserve whatever horrible ex-experiments you’ve got planned for him. If you’re gonna keep one of us, keep me.”

“That would be detrimental,” Logan said as an afterthought, adjusting his closed fist before flattening his other hand and cupping them together, holding the other creature between both palms. “To both your health and his own. Letting either of you go back to your previous way of life will hurt you. I’m afraid I refuse to let that happen.”

Roman’s watery eyes widened, blood draining from his face as he registered what exactly those words meant. “…n-no,” he breathed. A whisper that only he could hear. He could feel panic bubbling in his abdomen.

The warning bells only got louder when the human stepped closer. And closer. And closer.

“N-no!” He barked, as if that would stop what was happening. Roman had never been face-to-face with a human in all of their terrifying glory before and he felt more hot tears bubbling behind his eyes. He fumbled blindly for his rapier, it had to be within arms reach!‌ “Leave me alone!”

When that failed, the young borrower tried to crawl backwards toward the loose panel in the wall as best as he could. If he was caught, then it was over for both him and Virgil and that would be that.

Of course, his efforts were proved fruitless. He cried out as he was gathered up into a hand that was far too big and far too unsafe and no no please I’m not ready I’m not I’m not! The darkness was warm and uncomfortable and close. And it all just needed to stop for a little bit. The movement, the anxiety, the terror, the nausea; it was all just too much! He couldn’t think, couldn’t focus.

Struggling was useless. Squirming was useless. Crying was useless. Begging was useless. He was useless.

Roman’s bag was pressed uncomfortably into his side as he tried to writhe, at least a little bit. It was all in vain, but he could have hoped.

After the vertigo came and went, Roman was sent sprawling into a place that was a bit more spacious, but still uncomfortably warm. He was still contained within the humans hands, but they were cupped together this time. As if he was trying to contain water without the chance of it leaking.

Roman’s attention flickered when he registered the crying coming from somewhere in front of him in the darkness. Feeling a jolt and realizing that Virgil was literally within arms reach, he felt forward and quickly came in contact with a trembling body.

Virgil flinched away from him, a sharp cry of surprise sounded. Roman nearly recoiled completely before regaining himself and cooing out soft noises to the seven-year-old. Soft sounds that he knew Virgil would find at least a little comfort in. Maybe the knowledge that his big brother was there too would make him feel better.

“R-R…”

“Shh, shh, it’s—”‌ it’s not okay. None of this is okay.‌ I’m so sorry, Virgil, this is all my fault, you can hate me if you want to but at least let me hold you one last time, “—it’s okay. I’m here now.”

It seemed as if Roman’s thoughts were wrong. Instead of Virgil pulling away from him and staying that way, he was flinging himself at him, curling into his arms and trying to hide away from the world in his brother’s embrace. After a second of surprise—and more emotions flooding forward—he hugged Virgil back tightly, clinging to him just as desperately as Virgil was clinging to him.

Roman’s hand moved to stroke through the soft brown locks and fiddling idly with the short hairs on the nape of his neck. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to soothe at this point, if it were himself or Virgil. But either way, he knew it wasn’t working.

He buried his face into the crook of Virgil’s neck as the little boy sobbed openly into his shoulder.

This was what he got for failing at his one and only task.

—————

Roman’s eyes were sharp and wary as he watched the human move around the room, as if he hadn’t just nabbed him and Virgil. As if he wasn’t holding the two of them captive.

He was calculating every move the gigantic being made. What position his hands were in, what his features were like—if they were relaxed or analyzing and just as watchful as Roman was—if he looked as if he was getting ready to trap them under a glass.

The idea of being stuck under glass made a shudder run down Roman’s spine and he took another defensive step back.

He had Virgil behind him, an arm raised protectively to make sure he was ready to duck and drag the smaller borrower down to the desktop if the need to dodge came. The younger boy’s hands were knotted into the back of Roman’s shirt, he could feel them shivering as the little boy peered around his brother’s shoulder.

The both of them were just watching. Waiting.

Waiting for something to happen.

The human obviously had something planned for them, but what it was was still left largely unknown to the children.

The two of them were trapped out in the open on the desk, as there was no way down from here. Well, they did have the cord of the lamp that was a few paces away from them but they would never make it in time without the human catching on and cutting off their escape within seconds.

“There’s truly no need for you to be watching me so hatefully,” Logan said after a moment, but his attention seemed to be directed at something else. Roman couldn’t see what was so interesting, but he felt as if he didn’t really want to know either.

Roman felt Virgil flinch and tuck his face into the back of his shirt. Roman’s free hand went to clench around the strap of the bag he still had around his shoulders and his glare hardened. “A-and why not?” He spat back, swallowing nervously but trying to come off as the bigger—though not literally—person.

“I‌ don’t intend on harming you or your friend,” the human continued, pulling something that looked soft out of the drawer.

It looked as if it was a cloth, but Roman wasn’t sure. And he probably wouldn’t be sure until it was too late.

“My brother,”‌ the borrower corrected, though saying that they were friends was technically true too.

“My apologies.”‌ Logan shut the drawer once more and suddenly his dark brown eyes were back on the two kids standing openly on the desk. He stared for a moment, taking in their size. It was more like doing the calculations in his head on how much space they would need for sleep.

Would the drawer on his bedside table be too cramped? Of course that would only be a temporary solution, until he found a safer place for them to sleep. Or perhaps until they grew to understand that Logan was offering them a good thing.

So when he approached the desk itself, he watched—with an unwarranted pang in his chest—as the older kid pushed his brother further behind him while taking a few defensive steps back himself.

They really were terrified of him.

“Is there anywhere you’d prefer to spend the night, tonight?”

“Back home,” Roman said, “I‌ want to take him home and stay there.”

“‌I‌ understand that completely,”‌ Logan busied himself with folding the cloth a couple times over before it was more like a comforter than it was a washcloth. “But you must also understand that what I’m offering to you is a far better lifestyle than trying to fend for yourselves by yourselves.”

Roman’s features hardened. “Being kidnapped by a human isn’t better.”‌

Kidnapping was a word that set something uncomfortable in Logan’s chest. This wasn’t…that. This was truly for the better and soon enough these kids would come to their senses and realize that.‌‌‌ Right?

Though that did leave the question of if these little ones had parents or not.

So, without hesitating, he needed to get his answer. “Where’re your parents?”

It seemed as though that had been the wrong question to ask, as the older boy’s lip began to tremble and his eyes grew wide and wet.

Logan almost instantly knew the answer to that.

The University student, while relieved he wasn’t holding them back from going back to people that could take care of them on their own scale, felt bad. These two had been on their own for God knows how long and it was beginning to show; physically, mentally and emotionally.

Logan was equipped to handle only one of those attributes.

“Oh.”‌ It was said quieter, apologetic as his gaze flickered between the both of them. “I apologize.”

Roman sniffled, using his sleeve to wipe at his eyes before shrugging his shoulders noncommittally.

There wasn’t much to be said about what happened to Mom and Dad anymore and he didn’t want someone to feel bad for him. He just wanted to be able to pick Virgil up and carry him back home.

Take him away from the mess that he had gotten them both into at this point. All of this was entirely his fault.

All he knew was that this was too much waiting.

Roman was ready to bolt in any direction necessary, but there was also the underlying worry of something else happening. The fear that the human was finally going to get tired of this game and get right down to the point, as he had been dragging out such mundane tasks in front of them.

Dad had always told him horror stories of borrowers being killed beneath a human’s hand; squished as if they were nothing more than a pest to be exterminated. (Mom had scolded him for using such strong language, but Dad had insisted it was for the best. The more frightening he could make the story, the least likely Roman would have been to go wandering through the walls by himself.)

But now, all those horror stories were the only thing Roman could focus on.

All the different ways this could go horribly wrong. Would Roman get pushed aside and the human would go after Virgil because he couldn’t fight back?‌ Because he couldn’t defend himself?‌‌‌ Would they be starved to death?‌ Shown off to the world like animals? Or tested on: one sibling was kept taken care of, coddled and pampered and the other was left to suffer, all to see if they could feel each other’s pain? Would their physical boundaries be tested?‌ How far could a human push before a bone broke or a lung collapsed or—

“If you’re gonna do something, just do it!” Roman’s voice was sharp as a knife, but it shook and trembled with the un-shed tears still fighting for dominance. He had shouted so suddenly that Virgil had flinched away from him, terrified eyes staring up at him as Roman’s control wavered.

Surprised at the outburst, Logan set the cloth down. He could tell there was something further below the surface, but what on Earth did the boy think he was going to do? “I‌ beg your pardon?”

“I-I‌ can’t take it anymore! Please, whatever you’re going to do, just do it.” His shoulders bunched and his chin was tucked down again, that position that said he was almost ready to give up. “But whatever you do, leave Virgil out of it, please. He’s just a little kid. I’m— I’m older, I can take it.”

Only then, after really seeing the absolute horror on both of the teeny features and really hearing their shared terror, did Logan physically feel nauseous.

They really thought he was going to do something to them. They honest to God thought that he would use his size against them and hurt them just because he could. Logan knew he could probably reassure the two of them over and over again but until they actually believed him, they would live in constant fear of their lives.

Completely ignoring the fact that the littlest one’s name had been revealed thoughtlessly, he knelt down in front of the desk hoping to get a bit more on their level and to appear as non-threatening as possible. “I swear I’m not going to harm you or your brother. I truly only want what’s best for you, though I‌ suppose my actions haven’t been incredibly helpful in reinforcing that ideology.”

He supposed he could have handled this way better than he had.

“Mom said that humans lie,”‌ Roman shot back, taking another few steps backwards keeping Virgil directly behind him. He was the last line of defense between the human and the little borrower and he wouldn’t let any more damage come to pass. “You—you’re just saying that so we’ll trust you, but I‌ know better than that.. I‌ know better!”

It was true, he did know better. Trusting anyone was difficult enough as it was. Roman would barely trust another borrower around him or his brother, never mind the human that hadn’t thought twice about snatching them up.

—————

“It’s dark and quiet, you’re all by yourself. You’re sure the human is asleep by now as there hasn’t been any movement for a couple minutes.”

The two borrowers were sitting on the open bedspread as Roman told his story, watching as Virgil’s eyes widened and his head bobbed up and down, drinking in every word. He liked horror until it actually got frightening, so Roman knew how to keep it PG.

“You’re out in the open on the kitchen counter, getting ready to take some sugar and bring it home.”

Roman pushed up onto his knees, so he was slightly looming over the eight-year-old, but not enough to actually raise any alarm within him or for Virgil to register Roman as a threat.

“And then, before you can even fathom it, bam!”‌ Roman sprang forward causing Virgil to gasp in surprise and rear back with laughter. He grabbed the smaller borrower and tucked him against his chest, holding him tightly enough that he couldn’t get away. “A human’s got you and there’s absolutely no hope of escape!”

He pulled Virgil as close as he could to him just as his arms stayed locked around Virgil’s waist; even as the little boy squeaked and wriggled and tried to push out of his brother’s grasp.

“No!”‌ Virgil tried to squirm out of Roman’s hold, even as the older borrower held tighter to him.

“No amount of squirming or begging or pleading would ever convince the giant to release you,”‌ Roman continued with his dramatics, before ducking his head down near Virgil’s neck. “The iron grasp is unmovable, you’re trapped! Absolutely no hope of escape! No other borrowers around to hear your plight. Whatever shall the little borrower do now that he has been captured?”

Virgil’s giggles were loud and unabashed, trying to find some sort of place to grab onto Roman and push him off, but his hands kept slipping off as he scrabbled for some sort of purchase.

It was something they had done many times before.

It was a game that their parents had played with Roman, and then Roman had continued it when Virgil was old enough to actually participate.

It had taken the kid a while to warm up to the idea, as he had been told so many horror stories that even pretending was something that terrified him. He would get invested and his adrenaline would kick in and he wouldn’t be able to convince himself that it wasn’t real. But after Roman assuring him time and time again that it was just him—just his big brother and that he would never ever let anything happen to him—Virgil was a bit more open to the idea.

Which had then allowed them to explore and play different variations of the game. From chase, to hide-and-seek, to wrestling with each other on the floor to see who would come out on top. Of course, it was almost always in the older boy’s favour, but he sometimes let Virgil win.

Virgil knew a way out of this hold, though, and he had done it previously. Roman’s forearm was a bit closer to his mouth and in an act of playful desperation, he nipped the bare arm and it made the older boy reel back in surprise.

It didn’t hurt—it was more just a shock than actual pain—and Roman laughed in disbelief as Virgil managed to finally crawl away from him, beaming proudly.

How had he not seen that one coming? It was an attack that Virgil used every time!

“But alas!”‌ Roman said, pushing himself into a stand on the unsteady surface of the comforter. “The human is no match for the witty little borrower and has thus been defeated by his quick thinking! Oh, woe is me!‌”

Then, in an overly dramatic fashion, Roman toppled backwards into the waves of comforter as if he had truly been defeated. The landing was soft and had embraced his move, even if Virgil had gasped quietly, obviously worried that he had hurt himself. From there, though, to quell those worries, Roman draped an arm over his eyes and lamented once more for himself.

“Dear friends, do not forget me!”‌ He declared, making Virgil giggle again. Roman peeked out for a moment, seeing the other boy getting closer to him again, a broad grin on his young features. “I‌ have been bested by a being that shouldn’t have even bested my pinky finger!”

“Stop being stupid,”‌ Virgil said, giving the older boy a shove in the shoulder.

“My lamenting is not stupid,”‌ he said through a stifled laugh, “I’m despairing for my life. Little borrower, you must understand.”

The kid snorted, shoving him harder—even if it wasn’t really that hard. “You’re not dying, you’re just being dumb.”

“I‌ most certainly am not.”

“You most certainly are to.”

“Am not.”

“Are to!”

The two boys had been so invested in their own banter, that neither of them had heard the front door to the apartment open and close announcing the Logan’s arrival from his evening classes. They weren’t really in any danger of being seen at this point, so it was nothing to fret about anyhow.

It took a couple minutes before the human himself was actually entering the bedroom. The commotion had drawn his attention and piqued his interest. It wasn’t as if finding Virgil and Roman bickering was unusual, he was just curious as to what had set them off.

“What on Earth are you two bickering about this time?”‌ Logan made his presence known as he stood in the doorway. He couldn’t have honestly missed that much in the few hours he was gone. The two boys, while they did get into trouble sometimes, were usually pretty good at doing their own things and keeping themselves occupied.

Though, Logan had walked in on Roman wrapped up in his climbing wire and Virgil freaking out because he didn’t know how to help him get down.

That had been an interesting encounter. Especially with Roman constantly telling him he was fine and could get down without Logan’s help, even if he had made literally no progress whatsoever. Logan had eventually ended up untangling the kid anyway because there was no way he could actually get out of it himself.

Instantly, the two borrowers had quieted and turned their attentions toward him. Logan got two very mixed reactions upon his return. One was bright eyed and somewhat excited while the other was slightly colder and unsure.

“Nothing that involves you, Specs,”‌ Roman rolled his eyes.

While they had come to be on understanding terms, Roman still wasn’t entirely happy with the idea of living outside the walls. Logan had said they could go exploring again, but only when they were old enough to look after themselves. Which Roman was. It was Virgil the two older boys were worried about. The walls, truthfully, were an unsafe place, especially more so when the two had been given the opportunity to live outside the walls in safety.

The eight-year-old was just that. Eight. (And three quarters if you asked Virgil.) So having him going off into the walls by himself was a big no-go.

It wasn’t as if Roman didn’t think Virgil couldn’t handle himself, it was just a protective instinct to not let him stray too far away. It was something that Mom and Dad had instilled to him since the day his little brother had been born.

But then, even before all of this had happened, Roman hadn’t let the kid wander further than just out of arms reach of him when they were making a borrowing trip. Or even going for a walk to get some air. Sometimes the house had gotten too cluttered and close and claustrophobic and the two had both needed to get out and do something. When the loss of their parents grew too strong and they needed to leave for a bit, they always did so together.

Told each other where they were going if they stepped out.

It had been a habit for Roman anyhow. Mom had never let him even step out the door without her knowing what his intentions were. So, he didn’t let Virgil do it either.

Of course, until the night you screwed everything up like you always do. Roman shook the thoughts off as they came, knowing that it was best not to focus on something that couldn’t be changed.

“We were playing,”‌ Virgil spoke up, even though he could sense the tension between Roman and Logan. It wasn’t hard to miss. Even so, he felt a bit better when Logan was looking at him, that soft look on his features. An encouraging look, prompting him on.

“What where you two playing?”

“Just a game Mom and Dad taught me,” Roman quickly cut the conversation short, wanting to assert himself. “That I‌ taught Virgil. It’s nothing important. Just a way to make sure we stay active, ready and prepared.”

There was that animosity again. Tight, sharp and unrelenting. Of course, the unspoken words were ringing louder than anything else. It was something that Logan knew they needed to talk about, but not when Virgil was around. Subjecting the kid to more arguing between the only two people he really socialized with could be detrimental to the relationships themselves.

“Well, it sounded as if you two were having fun,”‌ Logan decided to take the easier route out of the conversation, knowing that Roman might take anything else wrong and end up even more defensive than ever.

The young tween didn’t like being exposed, that much was obvious and he had made his feelings very clear after they had started to “get used” to each other.

Virgil nodded, trying to dissuade the atmosphere. He didn’t like the tension that constantly hovered and tried to ease it, but not always successful in his attempts.

Sometimes it ended with Roman storming off to cool down and Logan taking his own chance to steady himself. It almost always ended up with Virgil by himself, alone with his thoughts and worries.

“It was fun until you got back,”‌ Roman muttered under his breath, turning his attention away from the human lingering in the doorway and towards the bedside table where the drawer was propped open.

They had made their bed in there, almost more of a nesting place than anything else. While it was enclosed and made them feel relatively secure, it also wasn’t shut completely ever. Logan had promised to leave it open, if that’s what they had wanted. The blankets and clothes and walls almost made it feel safer than the walls did, ignoring the fact that the human slept right next to them.

Virgil bit his lower lip, gaze flickering between both Logan and Roman. “How was school?”‌‌ He asked instead.

Logan’s features softened a bit more at the innocent question. He tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned his shoulder against the door frame. “Adequate,‌” he said after a moment of thought. Class hadn’t been incredibly interesting today unfortunately, but that didn’t mean it was horribly boring either.

“Adequate?”

“Satisfactory or acceptable in quality or quantity,”‌ Logan clarified absently, before pausing. “It was just a long day, but not much of a bother. What did you two get up to while I was gone?”

“Ro was teaching me more borrowing techniques,”‌ Virgil said, oblivious to the slight wince Roman gave after that information was released.

“Roman, we talked about that,”‌ Logan sounded as if he was being put upon—taking the role of the big, big brother too seriously, almost. “You don’t need to borrow anymore.”

“I‌ know, but I‌ can’t help it.”‌ Roman’s voice was sharp, defensive—the exact thing Logan was trying to avoid. But this was obviously a sensitive subject. “We’re borrowers, Logan, not humans. We don’t have it easy like you do. We never have and we probably never will. You also don’t get to decide what I‌ can and can’t teach my little brother, when our parents left that up to me.”

“That is not what I‌ meant and you know it.”

Roman sneered, shaking his head and pulling his legs up to his chest. “Yeah?‌‌ Well whatever. Since you’re obviously the better big brother, you take care of him. Since you know so much more about borrower culture and safety than me. That you know better than me because you go to school and had parents to teach you and take care of you.” He felt heat building behind his eyes as they were getting into touchy, untapped emotional territory. “To help you understand the world around you and how it works. To help when you had nightmares and got too scared to go back to sleep. To be there when you needed them the most!”

Since Roman was so focused on glaring at him, Logan was the one that noticed the tiny shift in Virgil’s face. “Roman—”

“No. You don’t get to say anything because you don’t get it. You’re parents didn’t get taken by humans. You had parents that cared and that were there through the entirety of your childhood.”

“…so did you,”‌ Virgil’s soft voice spoke up finally.

Roman jolted, he had temporarily forgotten that Virgil was still sitting there. When he turned, he saw the tears gathering in the corners of the kid’s eyes and he felt his heart stammer.

Oh no.

He sucked in a sharp breath when Virgil broke into a soft sob, the tears overflowing after a moment.

When Mom and Dad had been alive, Virgil hadn’t been much older than maybe two or three-years-old, so of course he didn’t remember them. The only caretaker he would remember would have been Roman himself. He didn’t remember the way Mom would cradle him, smiling brightly down at him. Or how Dad would play little games with him, hiding behind his hands before suddenly and magically reappearing. Or how if he cried during the night, Mom would come in looking tired but determined to sooth the worries of her youngest son, even if his cries were pointless to her. How she would whisper sweet nothings to him, humming soft songs that eased him back into sleep.

The only person Virgil would remember cooing to him when he woke with a nightmare was Roman. Not Mom, not Dad.

Not the same people that Roman had when he had needed them. When Roman had needed an adult, he had had an adult to go to. Virgil hadn’t.

No wonder talking like this made him so upset.

It was obvious Roman had pushed too far when it came to trying to antagonize Logan, as the little boy pulled his knees up to his chest and ducked away from him when he tried to reach out and comfort him.

The small motion stabbed something sharp into the twelve-year-old’s chest. Virgil never ducked away from him.

“Virge, c’mon, you know I‌ didn’t mean it, right?” He tried, after a moment while ignoring how Logan was now knelt beside the bed.

“If y’didn’t mean it, why d’you say it?”

As much as he hated to admit it, Virgil was right. It had been…uncalled for to dig that deep. He really wanted to say something, to try and make up for it, when he was being cut off instead.

“How about we get you to bed, Virgil,” Logan’s voice was quieter, softer than what either kid was used to hearing. It was just after 8 and Logan did like to make sure the both of them went to bed at decent times, so it wasn’t a surprise for him to be telling them what to do.

What was surprising, was how quickly Virgil agreed to go.

Usually, he fought it. Fighting his bedtime wasn’t something new, Roman had had to deal with Virgil ignoring him and continuing with his own thing countless times before. The kid pretending he hadn’t said anything, that he wasn’t even there. Having to wrestle him into bed, which usually ended up with the two boys in a fit of giggles. Frustrating as it may have been in the moment, Roman had always been the only person Virgil had listened to. Now, with Logan in the picture, he felt as though he was being demeaned. As if he was being downgraded to the middle kid, when he had very obviously been born the oldest.

That thought aside though, usually Virgil said he didn’t need to go to bed so early and could stay up as late as Roman and Logan did—even if the few times they had allowed that, he had fallen asleep almost instantly—but as he sniffled and used the sleeves of his hoodie to wipe at the water dripping down his cheeks, Roman knew it wasn’t because he was tired.

The bed dipped a bit lower as Logan leaned over him, two cupped hands in front of the eight-year-old. With what seemed like no hesitation, Virgil had pushed up from his spot near Roman and went right to the human, crawling up into his palms and staying curled up as well. As soon as the little borrower was secure, Logan was moving over towards the bedside drawer and letting him off into it.

Once that was done, the bespectacled student was looking back at Roman, who already could feel hot shame bubbling up from the pit of his stomach. He knew what was coming, he just didn’t want to deal with it.

That disappointed look on Logan’s face, the one that said he was ready to lecture and explain what exactly had been incorrect to say—as if Roman didn’t already know.

“I really don’t need to hear it,”‌ the young tween said, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. His lower lip quivered, so he pulled it in between his teeth and bit down lightly. “I‌ know what I said was wrong. So you can take your lecture and—”

“This isn’t a conversation we should be having near him,” Logan’s eyes softened a bit as he watched Roman wince in response. “Why don’t we head to the kitchen instead?”

“Why can’t we just talk here?” Of course the reason was obvious enough, but still. He didn’t want to be taken to a second location, especially since he knew exactly how Logan felt about what had just happened and he really didn’t have the emotional capacity right now to deal with it. “Virgil should be asleep in, like, literally three minutes.”

Logan sighed, moving away from the dresser and going to kneel in front of the bed instead, watching Roman curl further in on himself. As if he was preparing himself for something. For something that was never going to come. As frustrating as it was that the tween could and would speak without thinking, Logan wasn’t going to make him hurt. Not when he was already hurting enough as it was.

No, he wasn’t great when it came to handling peoples emotions, but Logan had come to care about Roman and Virgil and their mental health, how they were feeling, how they were faring—he was the one looking after them and to have either of them get sick under his watch would be unfortunate and reflect badly on himself. However, Logan had also come to pick up on the fact that Roman liked being the one that decided what happened to himself and his brother, which was a normal reaction for an older sibling that was told by their parents that they had to look out for the littler one.

To do anything that needed to be done if it meant they stayed safe.

It was the entire reason Roman had revealed himself in the first place when Logan had managed to catch Virgil.

The older borrower liked to make it quite clear that he was the biological sibling, so that meant that he had the last say about what happened.

Logan didn’t consider himself an older brother to these two, (though, he was an older brother to his own sibling), but there had been times where it was obvious enough that Virgil looked up to him in that fashion—wide brown eyes sparkling with curiosity as Logan told him about his astrology classes, even if he didn’t understand a word that was being said to him.

Which then meant that Roman felt threatened.

He lashed out more, pushed back more, initiated more arguments than necessary with him—even over the littlest and most insignificant things—and fought him every step of the way when it came the time to make a decision that involved them.

While Logan understood it to a point, there was also the relentless pushing that remained a constant, no matter what he said or did.

“Whatever you’re waiting for, whatever you’re gonna do, I—I can take it,” the boy mumbled into his arms, keeping his eyes locked down on the comforter in front of him. “Just…try not to shout. We don’t want Virge waking up.”

“Roman, I’m not mad,”‌ the student said first while keeping his voice quiet, watching as the kid flinched, coiled tight as a spring. “Frustrated, yes. But not mad.” But before he could even continue with his next thought, he watched as the tween just curled further in on himself. He was certainly trying his best to hide in plain sight at this point and it was disheartening. It looked as if he was waiting for something. Of course he was. Logan sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose without removing his glasses. “What do you think I’m going to do to you?”

“I‌— I dunno,”‌ Roman offered up hesitantly after a minute, “you say you’re not mad but how do I know that you’re really not?”

“You have to trust me,”‌ Logan replied, staying at eye-level. His frustration flickered out almost as soon as it had come and concern was instead filtering into his gaze.

Roman turned his head away, obviously looking everywhere that wasn’t him. “It’s not that easy,” he said quietly. “Mom and Dad always said that when a human was upset, they would do whatever it took to make them not upset. It didn’t matter what that was, as long as it helped.” He sniffled and rubbed stubbornly at his eyes. “I know where I went wrong…I really don’t need the lecture. I‌ pushed too far.” As I always do, is anyone really surprised?

Chapter Text

As it was, there were two different outlooks on Logan’s current predicament and, thankfully, he had already been able to gather sufficient data.

Even if his original plan had backfired horribly.

Truthfully, he could focus on the negative side effects of this mess. However, on the other hand, there were quite a few positive outlooks to this as well. Not to mention the fascinating discoveries he had already made and the incredible advancement of technology in a shrink ray that actually worked.

So with that in mind, Logan had already good news; his machine worked.

Bad news, perhaps, was that it seemed to work a little too well and Logan had accidentally managed to use it on himself.‌‌ (Not that he hadn’t thought about it. Just not instantly. He had wanted to test it before using it on something alive and sentient—just in case it had side effects.)

This accident had rendered him helpless in his own home as he gazed from his new vantage point up toward the table where his creation laid. Unassuming and harmless unless there was someone behind it. Thankfully he had thought ahead, and when he’s actually capable of getting back up there, he had added a switch that would reverse the ray’s affects just in case something like this happened.

(That and he had an overly curious friend that liked to touch his things—even if they were clearly labelled.)

It was a good thing said friend was busy today, so Logan had little worry about his accomplice making his presence known in the meantime.

And then, there was the news that Logan had yet to classify.

At the moment, there was a tiny humanoid creature standing worriedly over him—perhaps saying “tiny” at the moment would be false, as how it seemed, the both of them were currently of the same stature. The only time this creature would be considered tiny was when Logan was at his normal height, which was all the time save for now.

Worried brown eyes blinked at him, watching him through spectacles that seemed as if they had been meticulously handmade. Perfected frames made from wire that had been bent and forced into a shape resembling Logan’s own glasses.

It was rather fascinating.

To see such a level of craftsmanship when dealing with supplies that you only had on hand.

The humanoid being had a bag slung around his shoulder and a fishing line that had a hook connected to the end of it wrapped around his torso. More things that seemed to aid in survival, at least from what Logan could guess and gather.

“Gosh, you must have taken quite the fall!” The other said, dropping down to his knees and sliding his bag over his shoulder. He leaned a bit further into Logan’s personal space, eagerly wanting to help but being far too close for Logan’s comfort. “Did you fall from the counter?”

Well, not technically. However, it seemed as though he would need to come up with a story that would be believable. If he was able to get some help from a creature that presumably lived at this height, then he would do what was necessary. It would be painfully obvious in little time just how unprepared Logan was to be this size, so any help would be appreciated.

Unfortunately he hadn’t had enough time to really think about a story that would be believable. He’d hardly been this size for less than twenty minutes and Logan hadn’t known that a being this small existed in the first place.

The creature’s hands were fluttering to and fro, as if he didn’t know what to do with them. It seemed as though he wanted to make sure Logan was physically unharmed since he was hypothesizing that Logan had slipped from the counter and landed on his back on the floor.

The care seemed to be genuine, however.

Logan floundered for something to say back. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, his eyes flickering between the height of the counter and the being knelt beside him—who was still uncomfortably close. “Yes,”‌ he agreed finally, meeting the other’s eyes and watching as they widened slightly.

“You must be sore then,” he said, letting his hands rest on his knees, even though his fingers still twitched slightly. “Where does it hurt?”

It doesn’t. Logan wanted to say it outright but thought better of it. If he were to say it didn’t hurt, then the creature would probably be led to suspicions. And, to be fair, his right shoulder did sting a little.

The injury itself was from a fall he had taken a couple years back and he had ended up spraining his shoulder. It hadn’t ever really healed correctly, so Logan would feel the pain flare up every once in a while. It didn’t happen all that often anymore and he had come to learn to live with it anyhow.

It also wasn’t Earth shattering pain as one would expect, especially not if one had just fallen from such a treacherous height.

“My shoulder’s just a bit stiff, but it really is not a problem,”‌ Logan assured him, rolling it back to test it. He winced, but schooled the pained expression professionally after a minute. “Nothing I‌ can’t handle on my own.”

“Oh.” The other relented, a bit of a somber expression wiping the concerned one away. If Logan didn’t know better, he would say that he looked a bit let-down. Of course, Logan did know better… didn’t he? “Well. If you’re sure, who am I‌ to argue! I‌ should get back on my way then, anyhow. Gotta finish my borrowings for the day before the human comes back, you know?”

He said ‘human’ as if he wasn’t one. Which only brought more questions forward, such as what was he? Why was here? How long had he been here without Logan knowing? And, because of this, Logan belatedly realized he had made an incredible discovery right here.

A creature that he had never heard of before. Clearly a sentient bipedal mammal that looked, acted and talked exactly like a human. He was just a fair bit smaller. A species that remained inconspicuous to mankind and he was swiftly losing his chance to learn more.

Logan quickly sat up a bit further as the other slid his bag back over his shoulder, sat back on his haunches—almost looking like he wanted to say something before thinking better of it—and then pushed himself into a stand. His hands fidgeted in front of him for a second, before he took a step back.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, really!”‌ He said, offering a smile, before turning and calling over his shoulder. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around then.”

He needed to gather more data. He couldn’t let this chance slip through his fingers. He had to do something. Logan knew he could play up the pain in his shoulder, though, granted he was no actor.

Quickly making up his mind, Logan went with his latter plan.

Leaning back again on his right arm, he winced once more but instead let the emotion play out. “On second thought,”‌ he said, stopping the humanoid being in his tracks, wired spectacles turning and meeting his own eyes once more, “a little help would be appreciated. If it is not too much of a bother.”

He watched the other’s features light up almost instantly at the request.

Immediately Logan was being overwhelmed once more as the creature was suddenly excitedly talking a mile a minute. “Oh!‌ I would be more than happy to help!” He said, clasping his hands and practically bouncing back over to where Logan still sat. “It’s not a bother at all!‌ And I haven’t seen another borrower in what seems like absolute ages, so it’d actually be really nice to have some company again. And really, between you and me, I’d never leave one of my own in need.”

Borrower, Logan filed that information away, already beginning to take mental notes.

“Oh my goodness, look at me fussing over you and I‌ haven’t even introduced myself. Heck, we’re still practically strangers!”‌ His smile stayed bright and shining, practically exuding with warmth. He then stuck a hand out and Logan reeled back slightly from the surprise of it, not to mention how enthusiastic he seemed to be. “I’m Patton!‌ You are?”

Collecting himself enough, and shaking the surprise off with a practiced ease, he shook the borrower’s hand. “Logan.”

Patton took his hand back after a moment, his excitement never seemed to flicker. “It’s a pleasure, Logan. See?‌ Now we’re not strangers!‌ Now, let’s get you off the ground before the human gets back, wouldn’t want to be caught now would we?”

Based on how Patton was talking about humans, there seemed to be an amount of fear associated with Logan’s own kind. “I‌ suppose not.” He lifted himself off the ground, and stood just a little taller than Patton did. “Though, I‌ am curious. What is all the fuss about being seen by a— a human?”

It was odd referring to his kind in the third person, as if he was talking about something other worldly, but whatever was believable he guessed.

“Hmm?” The other hummed, quirking a brow while turning on his heels and heading towards the kitchen counter. Logan was quick to fall into pace with the borrower. “Oh, well, humans are gigantic. They grab and they never let go and really, once you’re taken captive you’re never seen or heard from again. Every borrower knows that.”

“Of course, forgive my…forgetful nature.”

Patton didn’t seem to believe it at first. The quizzical look in his eyes as he side glanced Logan said it loud as bells. For a moment, Logan was half afraid that Patton knew. However, he shrugged and turned his attention upward. “You must be Wild then,”‌ he said an afterthought. “Right?”

Stunned at the revelation that there more of the same creature, he nodded in agreement. Perhaps if he feigned ignorance when it came to the dangers of mankind, he could gather more information on how the race of “borrowers” saw mankind.

Obviously so far, it was not a positive perception.

“Exactly,”‌ he agreed, watching as Patton came to stand still and staring upward toward the counter-top. “So, I‌ am rather rusty when it comes to, well, anythingreally.”

“Well, good thing I‌ bumped into you then!”‌ Patton’s bright demeanor returned swiftly. “I‌ can help you get your bearings and help you with that pesky shoulder of yours, before you get on your way!”

Before Logan could even say another thing, Patton had slipped the hook and rope from around his torso, swung it a wide circle a couple times and threw it up toward the top of the counter. A small clicking sound caught his attention before the hook came tumbling back down. Logan flinched away, worried slightly for his safety but Patton remained unfazed and instead smoothly caught the hook by the hilt and quickly tried again.

After the third attempt, it finally stuck and he watched as Patton tugged on the line to test it’s weight.

“Third times the charm,”‌ he chirped with a toothy grin, before wrapping his hand into the fishing wire and heaving himself upward with what seemed like no effort at all. There had been absolutely no hesitation. It was obvious this was something Patton did on the daily as it took him little to no time to reach the top.

Logan blinked when Patton was peering down at him from so far above.

“Whatcha waiting for?” He called down.

“I am afraid I’m not as swift as you are when it comes to climbing anything of such scale,”‌ Logan admitted.

His eyes locked on the fishing line in front of him, the thin rope was deceptively strong.

The last time Logan had done something even remotely like this was when his friend had insistently begged—and then inevitably dragged—him to come to the rock wall at his University. However, they had been harnessed and spotted. This, this was nothing like what he was used to. A free handed climb was not Logan’s specialty, nor was he remotely interested in trying something of the like.

“Isn’t there an— easier way up?”‌

One that didn’t completely rely on Logan not slipping and actually break something? That and his shoulder was already messed up enough, surely Patton would understand him not being able to make the climb anyhow. When he only got a confused look in response, he decided to prod at the fact his shoulder was screwed up.

“My shoulder hasn’t exactly healed in the past two minutes,”‌ Logan reminded.

“Oh shoot, of course it hasn’t!” Patton disappeared over the edge of the counter. There was some shuffling and before long he was peering back over, just as the fishing line was being drawn up and out of sight. “There’s an outlet just a couple paces away from you. It should be a bit loose around the two left screws. When you get in the passageway there, wait for me and I can meet you down there in a few seconds! We can still get to my place from there.”

A passageway inside the walls?‌ What an odd place to call home.

Logan nodded, his eyes drifting over to the outlet on the wall. “Alright,”‌ he called back up in a final affirmation.

Turning to the side and heading over, it took far longer than it would have if he were of normal height. As he laid his hands over the smooth grooves of the outlet cover, Logan was surprised to find that the thing was loose enough as it was. All he had to do was shimmy it a little to the right and he had created a space wide enough for him to squeeze through.

For a second, Logan turned to glance over his shoulder. The shrunken human looked up to the counter where the machine sat, unassuming and out of harm’s way. He’d get back to it in a day or two. There was nothing wrong with spending a little time getting to understand the quirky borrower that was so willingly taking him into his home.

Logan would have to do something for him as a thank you gift.

It was only logical, of course, to want to repay someone for their hospitality and generosity.

Shaking the thought from his head, especially with how absurd this entire situation was, he pulled himself inside. Stepping over the thick electrical wires, he fit the cover back into place and was welcomed with a dusty darkness. He scanned the inside of the walls, intrigued at the absolute detail of everything that would go entirely unnoticed to the average eye. Being at such a small scale gave you a keen eye for detail.

His attention shifted when he heard footsteps from just to the left of him. Before long, a shape emerged from the total darkness and came into the slightly less dark darkness.

“Great to see you could make it,” Patton said, meeting his eyes as best to his ability. “Sorry about that whole climbing thing. Totally forgot about your shoulder for a hot minute.”‌

Logan offered a shrug. “No harm done.”

“Well, with that out of the way, let’s get home! That way I can actually help you. That’s where all my supplies are, you know,” Patton chattered at him, brushing by the taller man and heading down the opposite way he had come from. Logan was prompt to follow, not wanting to lose his only guide in the darkness and twisting passages. “That and I‌ actually have light there as well. Not that the kitchen didn’t have light, but we can’t risk helping you right out in the open.”

Easily keeping up with Patton’s pace, Logan was able to ask a few more of his questions. “Are humans really as bad as you’re making them out to be?”

“Well, of course they are.”‌

“You are not…overreacting on the entire thing? How are you so sure that a human would not be willing to help aid in your survival?”

“Logan, you seem like a nice guy but you’re also Wild,”‌ Patton said, taking a sharp left. “Out there you don’t survive off of humans. You can live off of nature and all you really have to worry about are animals. I‌ wouldn’t think some animals would be all that interested in something as small as we are, but cats—” He shuddered involuntarily, “—just stay away from cats.”

“I’m not entirely sure what my status as a Wild, as you put it, has anything to do with this.”

“Well, if you don’t come in contact with humans,”‌ Patton continued as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “you don’t have to worry about them. You don’t rely on them for anything.”

Logan hummed in response. “If you’re so terrified of humans, why not move out and live in the wild?”

Patton laughed. A gentle sound, but one that said more than just mirth. “I wish it were that easy, I really do.”

What did that mean?

Patton then put a hand out, stopping Logan in his tracks and just in time. Not another footstep in front of them was a steep drop downward.

“I hope you’re not afraid of heights,” Patton teased, sending a smile in Logan’s direction before taking his first step into the dark.

Logan could just make out the shadow of a nail protruding from the left hand wall. As his eyes got used to the constant darkness, he could see an entire pathway leading up. There had to be about fifteen steps in the staircase like creation and if one were to misstep, it would be a deadly fall.

Heights had never been an issue before now and while Logan wasn’t afraid of them, this almost reminded him from the incident before. It was like free handing another thing. His heart stammered as he watched Patton do it with a memorized and practiced ease.

Once again, Logan found himself falling behind. He moved to the wall and placed a hand firmly against it, feeling nerves welling without his permission.

“Nervous?” Patton’s voice came from somewhere in front and a little above him.

“That statement wouldn’t be…incorrect,”‌ Logan mused.

“Don’t worry, it’s probably just as easy as human stairs. You just have to get into the rhythm of it,”‌ the borrower explained, trying to ease his worry. “And, hey, I’m right here and I won’t let you fall.”

Slightly reassured, Logan stepped onto the first nail and his hand pressed firmer to the wall as if looking for a handhold on the smooth wood.

Okay. One step after the next.

“I presume there’s no way around this?”‌

Patton laughed. The sound was warmer this time. It sounded like an actual laugh and not a halfhearted chuckle. “Not this time, I’m afraid.”

“That is what I‌ was afraid of.”

Okay. One breath after the next.

It took a while, and with some unsteady steps and two almost slips, but Logan was at the top in little under ten minutes. It wasn’t one of his proudest moments, but he had come out of it alive so it couldn’t have been that bad at all.

“See?‌ That wasn’t too hard!”

And just like that, Patton was off once more. It took a few more minutes of walking through winding corridors and hopping up onto one slightly more elevated platform (that was far easier than climbing over a stairway made of nails) and they were headed down a skinnier passage.

Not lower, but just thin enough that nothing but a borrower would be able to sneak through. It was almost as if Patton had chosen this place to make his home for that very reason. It hadn’t really occurred to Logan, but there were probably a lot more things out there that could injure a borrower—other than humans, as they were thought to be the primary threat. It seemed as if it wasn’t just cats that were worrisome when you were this small. It was everything.

And that was a startling realization.

“You’ll have to excuse the state of my home,”‌ Patton told him sheepishly, a shy grin on his features as he nudged the door open. A door that was made by an old credit card. Not one that Logan recognized.

The house itself was dark as Logan stepped inside, his eyes scanning around as if trying to make out what he was looking at. He couldn’t really see a mess, so he didn’t understand why Patton was apologizing.

Before he could even voice his thoughts, a small clicking sound of a door closing followed by another softer click caught him by surprise and all of a sudden a warm yellow light filtered into the room. He blinked spots from his eyes and suddenly Logan was looking at the interior of a home lovingly made from hand. The light itself being shone via a single Christmas light hanging just above the kitchen table like a chandelier.

“Oh.”

“Hmm?” Patton turned at the quiet sound, slipping his bag over his head and hanging it on a nail protruding from the wall, bent into the shape of a coat hook. “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing,” Logan hadn’t even realized he had made the sound of astonishment until Patton had said something. “Just that— this is all fascinating. Did you wire this all by hand?”

The interior was astounding to look at, truly. The small home closely resembled that of his own, or perhaps anyone’s house for that matter. It was becoming clearer by the minute that Patton was just as human as he was, just smaller.

He could talk, think, react…It was all just rather startling.

How had a race like this remain unheard of for so long?

Were humans really so oblivious that borrowers could live off of them and not even notice they were sustaining a complete society of creatures?

Looking around the room, it seemed to be filled with little things that Logan wouldn’t have noticed had gone missing in the first place. That being said as well, Patton probably didn’t only take things from his own apartment and instead would scour the entire building.

Logan was left to assuming that taking things from a single person could be dangerous, especially if they started to notice things disappearing periodically.

“Oh, uh, yeah!”‌ Patton said, toeing off his shoes at the door before slipping his jacket over his shoulders and hanging that up next to his bag. “I‌ can’t really call an electrician. Did it all by hand. I did have some help though, but it mostly just runs on this pack of batteries.” Patton patted the slightly transparent battery container, which had two different wires stuck out from the top of it and were hidden somewhere within the walls of the home to hide them from sight. “It’s nothing too groundbreaking though.”

“Falsehood,” Logan said before he had realized it. It was the second thing he had said without thinking about it, but he was getting to see a completely independent world that laid right under humanity’s nose. And yet, even with all of this intricacy of maintaining life, there was no inkling that borrowers even existed. “Whether you did this by yourself or not is irrelevant.‌ The fact that you were able to mimic a human-styled electrical design is an incredible feat.”

Patton blinked. Almost unsure of how to respond to such a kind compliment. It…was a compliment, right?

But he broke out into a wider smile nonetheless. “Thank you.” He then shifted the conversation, not sure how else to keep it going from there. “Well come now, get comfortable. Make yourself at home, I have plenty of room! I’ll get some supplies and help you fix up that shoulder of yours.”

Logan knew there wouldn’t be much Patton could actually do for his shoulder since it was an old injury anyway, but he was getting the chance to talk to a creature that shouldn’t be able to physically exists and, yet, here he was being proven very wrong.

So, he could let Patton bandage his shoulder and do what he believed was necessary as long as he got the answers he hoped for.

When the borrower returned from a room further down the hall with an armful of what looked like bandages and tape, Logan was beckoned forward and motioned to take a seat on the chair at the table. His eyes drifted around the home further and it was cozy. The warm yellow light made it feel comfier than it probably was, and he couldn’t help but feel astonished. Everything here had to have been handmade or stumbled upon by pure chance.

After a moment though, Logan’s attention drifted back to Patton as the borrower’s hands had suddenly appeared on his right shoulder, feeling around the tendons carefully. He pressed down, but not enough to cause too much discomfort. He then paused. “Shoot,” he murmured.

“Whatever is the matter?”

“I didn’t ask permission to touch you.”‌ Logan blinked, surprised that Patton had even brought that up. Logan had thought it had been sort of unmentioned at this point. Sort of like a silent agreement. That and he wasn’t uncomfortable. He did have a friend that liked to hug him out of nowhere, so two hands on his shoulder wasn’t something Logan was particularly worried about. “Can I?”

“I‌ thought that was already previously agreed upon.”‌ Logan voiced himself and Patton relented, his hands pressing back into his shoulder blade.

“It’s more of a comfort thing for myself too,”‌ he explained. “It’s…nice to hear vocal permission, instead of just banking on the hope that it’s okay. I know that permission is really important for some people, while others can be really lenient with it.”‌

Logan carefully phrased his next question. “Do you know people that prefer to be asked?”

“Mhmm,” Patton hummed, moving to stand in front of Logan. “This is going to sound…weird, but you’re going to need to take your shirt off. It’s easier to feel the damage from there.” He seemed to consider something before quickly adding on, “though if you’re not comfortable with that, I‌ can work around it!”

“That’s alright,” Logan assured him, though it was a bit odd. He complied by pulling his shirt over his head and settling it over his lap.

With no hesitation this time around, Patton’s hands smoothed over his shoulder once more and the borrower hummed again. “I‌ knew a whole family of borrowers. They moved in about five years ago and moved out about a year later.”

“How come?” Logan winced as the other pressed a bit too harshly into his pained area by accident.

Patton mumbled a soft apology before pulling back and reaching for the bandages. “The family had twins, Roman and Remus, that liked to get into a lot of mischief. Bless their hearts, but the kiddos managed to continuously cause mayhem everywhere they went. There was one night the two had managed to tip over an entire thing of flour and tracked it absolutely everywhere. Virgil said they’d nearly given him and Dorian a heart attack when they came back covered head to toe in all this white powder.”

So, that’s what had really happened when Logan had come back from work, only to find flour spilled in every crack and crevice. He had seen the little footprints, but they had looked more like paw prints than footprints. It now also made far more sense on why those tiny footprints had led directly to one of the loose tiles on his counter-top.

It was strange to find the truth of the accident had been tiny children messing around and accidentally spilling it, but this whole situation was still so surreal that Logan was just about ready to believe anything he was being told.

To a point, of course. He wasn’t naive.

But had the family really been so terrified for their safety that they had fled? The idea almost made him feel queasy.

Were humans really as terrible as borrowers were taught?‌ Certainly, there had to be some exceptions right? Logan, himself, didn’t believe he’d be all that awful if he were to stumble across a creature of such an incredible size. Especially not if one of those creatures were a child.

Logan leaned back a bit more, lifting his arm slightly in response to Patton gently tugging on his elbow. “That was the only reason they left? That single accident?”

“You have to understand that an accident like that could have gotten the entire family caught,” Patton reminded him softly, beginning to wrap the gauze around the affected area. “With two kids that like to run around and play pretend, all the while shouting and giggling, not to mention how much the twins fought; let’s just say that Dorian realized very quickly that living in an apartment building so close to humans was not the right place for their little family.”

“I see.”

“Yup. Moved all five of them out as soon as possible.” Patton wrapped the bandage around Logan’s shoulder a couple more times before using his teeth and ripping it off. He set the roll aside and grabbed the tape, tearing a piece off and then tearing that single piece in half. Logan belatedly noticed that that one piece of tape possibly could have covered his entire chest.

“All five of them?”

“Mhmm. Dorian was the oldest, he’s actually just a couple years younger than I‌ am. Then there was Virgil, then Thomas and the twins were the littlest brothers of the bunch, but goodness, they’d have to be, what, 13 now?”

Logan was almost curious enough to ask Patton how old he actually was, since he didn’t look much older than Logan himself, but refrained. Asking someone their age was considered a rude question anyhow, but there was the lingering question in the back of his mind that wondered if borrowers were some sort of mythical creature that had either a longer—or even a shorter—lifespan than humans.

He decided to direct the conversation in a different direction for now, assured that he would still get the chance to ask his questions.

“Since they moved out,” Logan moved his arm to test the hold of the bandages and tape before moving his eyes back to Patton, “are you the only one in the entire building?”

“It seems that way,”‌ he agreed, before holding Logan’s arm still. “Stop moving it, I’m not done just yet.” He relaxed his hold once Logan quit squirming. “Besides, it’s not like I‌ haven’t been alone before, so it isn’t that big of a deal.”

The borrower then moved to stand behind him once more and pressed his hands down firm enough to feel comfortable, but not enough to hurt. Then, he began to massage at the slightly swollen muscle.

“I‌ do suppose it’s better that way, though,‌”‌ he said after a heartbeat of quiet. “If any of the Steelgates had been caught, they would have had someone to miss them, you know. Me?‌‌ Well. I‌ guess no one would really notice.”

It was such a sad thought, but Patton had said it so casually that Logan had nearly startled.

“It’s alright though,” he continued before Logan had gathered the wits to say something back to him. To refute it. “At least if I were to be found and caught, none of the humans in this building would be able to find any more borrowers—assuming you’re not sticking around after I‌ getcha all patched up.”

Logan shook his head. “I wasn’t exactly planning on it, no. Living so close to humans is not my area of expertise.”

“I‌ can’t blame you for wanting to get back to the wild,”‌ Patton said, his voice lowering slightly. Logan wasn’t good at reading emotions, but this didn’t take a professional to read those signals. This mood change was obvious and immediate. “It must be so much nicer out there. Not having to be constantly worried about mouse traps and cats. Heck, even humans probably.”

The more Logan heard, the more it sounded like humans were a borrower’s natural predator if they were to get their hands on them.‌ It made sense, logically, that a creature of this stature wouldn’t be able to escape from a human being that was so obviously superior to it. Maybe not intelligence wise, but in strength, size and dexterity.

Logan cleared his throat as the silence seemed to rage on longer than he was comfortable with. He was curious though, since Patton didn’t seem to recognize him. “Do you…know the human in the apartment here?”

“No.”‌ The response was cutthroat, concise and to-the-point. “I avoid him mostly, if we’re being honest. A human with all that science-y stuff in their apartment can only mean bad news for borrowers. I try not to go into his apartment too often. Only if it’s really absolutely necessary.”

“Oh.” Logan almost felt…hurt by that statement. Which was stupid and irrational. He had barely known Patton for two hours and yet here he was, feeling somewhat awful. Did he really exude such a cold exterior? For most people he was fine with that, but he guessed from a borrower’s perspective it would only make him seem heartless, cold and analytical. “I see.”

He had to take a moment to recollect his thoughts, fiddling with his glasses for half a second before righting them.

“Do you think he’s really all that bad?”

“Well— no,”‌ the other softened, his hands lessening their pressure on his back before removing themselves from his skin entirely. Logan felt something in his chest warm at that, but only for a moment. “I‌ like to try and see the good in everyone, you know? But sometimes, he makes it a bit…difficult. I don’t think he’s inherently bad, but I‌ don’t know if I’d be able to trust him.‌ Especially not with all those beakers and scalpels and such.‌ Who knows what would happen if he got his hands on someone like you and me.” Patton fiddled with his hands, before pulling up the other chair and sitting. He pushed his glasses further up his nose idly. “But…no, to answer your question. I don’t think he’s bad. Just– morbidly curious.”

“Hmm.”‌ Logan nodded to himself, taking the fact that Patton was now sitting in front of him as a sign that he could put his shirt back on. As he did that, he was careful not to upset any of the carefully placed bandages and was actually surprised to not find any tightness in his shoulder. None.

Deciding that now was as good a time as ever to change the subject—especially with how downtrodden Patton looked—he rolled his shoulder as a test. Nothing. “Can I ask what you did to my shoulder?”

Patton instantly looked distressed at that. “Oh no, did I‌ make it worse?”

“No, no,”‌ Logan was quick to reassure him, “if anything, I think you may have made it better.”

“Really?”‌ He looked genuinely surprised.

“Really.” Logan rolled his shoulder once more, but felt the slightest twinge. “It was an old injury I‌ managed to acquire a couple years back but I‌ can hardly feel it now. Where did you learn to do that?”

“Oh! Um, just from the Steelgates.” Patton raised a hand to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. “Dorian and Virgil learned it somehow and they taught it to me. I’ve taken quite a few falls myself, so I learned how to ease that pain. Makes borrowing easier if you’re not constantly hunched over in agony.”

“Understandable,”‌ Logan relented. “Nevertheless, it is very impressive.”

“Awe, it was nothing,”‌ Patton shrugged it off, directing his gaze elsewhere though the gentle grin on his features said that Logan’s compliment had been taken to heart. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Logan’s heart stammered for a moment.

Truth be told—and a surprise to probably literally no one—Logan didn’t have many friends. He had acquaintances, coworkers that he got along with, but no one that he was close enough to really consider a friend.

It was…nice.

“Yes,”‌ he agreed, a small grin twitching at the corners of his own mouth, “I suppose that is what friends are for.”

An odd friendship, no doubt. But a friendship.

“I really cannot thank you enough for all of your assistance,”‌ Logan said as the two  made their way down the corridor back toward his apartment.

He had said he had left a few things in the apartment that he would need to collect before they parted ways, however, Logan had a bit of a…different plan in mind.

Patton shrugged it off, giving Logan a humble grin as he looked over his shoulder briefly. “It’s not a problem!‌ And hey, if you ever find yourself back in the complex, my house is open to you.”

In reality, he did feel a bit bad that he hadn’t exactly told Patton the truth just yet. But it wasn’t like he was holding out on it for too much longer. He just had to make sure Patton didn’t react too badly once he learned the truth. Especially when it came down to how the borrower viewed him.

Well, not him specifically of course, but his kind.

The thought was a bit sour and it didn’t sit well with him, but he wasn’t going to let that rule his thoughts.

However, instead of following the same path, Patton had taken a few different twists and turns and, much to Logan’s relief, they hadn’t had to cross any more nail bridges or climb anything that needed a hook and a rope.

He had mentioned that since he had supposedly taken a tumble off of the table, that’s where all of his belongings were. Which wasn’t entirely untrue.

Logan’s things did reside on the counter.

Before long, Patton was stepping over a cacophony of electrical wires and Logan was following suit. The borrower held up a hand for a moment, biting into his lower lip as he peered around through the small holes in the socket. After a few seconds of deliberate silence the coast was deemed clear—of course, since the owner of the apartment was currently stood behind him—and soon the other managed to jostle the outlet from it’s socket and slipped through the small opening it had created.

As soon as Logan had stepped out and righted himself, his gaze was directed onto the interior of his own kitchen. He straightened out his shirt, adjusting his glasses before really taking in the sight before him. A look of astonishment crossed his features as he reveled in the fact that his shrink ray had worked in the first place. Not to mention because it had worked, Logan had been introduced to a whole new secret society of tiny humanoid bipedal creatures that survived wholly on their dependence of humankind and taking things that humans wouldn’t miss.

“It’s pretty scary, isn’t it?”‌ Patton said to the side of him, crossing his hands in front of him. He had obviously mistaken the look on Logan’s face. “You’ve…never actually seen a human before, have you?”

“No,”‌ Logan said, inching a bit closer to the edge of the counter, before turning around and looking upward. Seeing the scale of his cupboards and such. He was still entirely taken by the sights. He would have to try out his machine more often now.

“You’re pretty lucky then,”‌ Patton hummed, following him slightly before his attention shifted to the ray sitting harmlessly to the side of them. He seemed to consider it uneasily, not liking the look of it, but turned his attention back to the other supposed borrower. “And I really hope you never have to.”

Logan understood that Patton was wary and that was good of him, especially in a world where everything seemed to outmatch him. However, everything was coming down to this point and he had to make a decision. He could tell Patton the truth and risk the borrower fleeing, or he could wait until Patton showed himself out and then turn himself back to normal.

However, while the second option was admittedly more attractive, Logan could only keep the whole charade up for so long.

And maybe, just maybe, he could prove to Patton that not all of humanity were mindless monsters that would just grab with the intention to keep. If everything worked out according to plan, there would be no worry of Patton packing his things and leaving the complex altogether.

“They must be terrifying from your stature,”‌ Logan mused then, his eyes scanning over the ray that sat harmlessly next to them. The thing itself towered over him, just as everything else in his kitchen did, and he paused. Considering his next words carefully, he turned to face Patton head on. “Do you trust me?”

The sentence was obviously startling as the other blinked at him, brown eyes surprised and suddenly cautious. “Well, yeah,”‌ he relented after a moment. It was true because there was trust in the relationship but a lot of it came from how neither had done anything to prove that trust to be faulty. “Why?”

Logan flexed his hands, unsure of how to phrase it without it coming off as alarming. “Then I‌ need you to stand there,” he said finally, watching Patton’s confused expression morph into a slightly more concerned one. Even more so when his hands tightened on the straps of his bag. “I am asking a lot of you and I‌ will not take offense if any of this is startling and you feel the need to leave.”

The more Logan spoke, the more nervous he seemed to be making his accomplice. “What are you talking about?”

Logan took a moment, gauging his expression and considering whether or not he should say what he was about to. After a moment, he decided that he might as well get it over with. “Patton, I’m not what you think I am.”‌

Patton laughed nervously, taking a slight step backward. “What?”

Knowing that just saying it wouldn’t be taken seriously, Logan turned to look over his shoulder eyeing the ray that sat behind him. He turned on his heel and went right over to it. The thing itself was taller than he had ever thought possible and pushed the button he knew would reverse the entire mess he had gotten himself into.

He could feel Patton’s gaze watching his every move, carefully aware and astute. Logan had noticed that the other was incredibly vigilant. Even if he didn’t always let it on. Patton could notice small shifts in one’s features or dips in the atmosphere of a room.

He was incredibly intelligent and knew a lot more than he seemed to let on.

After adjusting some more of the settings on the machine itself, Logan stepped back and stood in front of it. The silence was tense, but filled with the low humming of the ray coming back online and beginning to work just as it had before.

After a second more, there was a flash of bright white light and Logan prepared himself as best as he could for it, but the change was still weird and odd and rather staggering. Going from one size to a completely different one was not a feeling he would ever get used to, but perhaps he could find a way to make it a little less uncomfortable.

However, as he blinked his eyes open and adjusted his glasses that had gone askew, Logan was looking up at the kitchen counter once again, but from a normal size while sitting slightly disoriented on the floor.

He shook off the wave of nausea as he pushed himself up onto his knees and made it so that he was eye-level with the counter and the borrower in turn, whom of which—to put it kindly—looked shaken.

Logan could read the expression on Patton’s face easily. ‌It was a mix of terror and betrayal. As this was not a secret that would be easy to swallow or wrap one’s mind around. As the whole act of shrinking and growing oneself should be scientifically impossible. And yet, here they were with yet another captivating anomaly.

Patton shook his head, unbelieving of what he was seeing right in front of him. “I, um…”

“Take a breath Patton,”‌ Logan instructed, but not unkindly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Instead, he was greeted with another shake of the head. It seemed as though his words had gone right over the borrower’s head. He was obviously in shock.

“Y-you’re a—”

“A human, yes,”‌ Logan stated, his tone remaining calm, soft and collected.

“I…I said all those things,” he stammered out, almost looking horrified at the information he had revealed without truly realizing it. His hands tightened on the strap of his bag. “And you…you know—and I…”

“Easy.” Logan would remain the calm one in this situation if that is what the other needed, which it obviously was. “Do you really think I‌ would use any of that against you?”

The borrower’s hands were shaking.‌ Actually, if Logan looked closer, his entire body was trembling.

Patton was petrified.

It set an uneasy feeling in his chest, knowing that his very presence was causing this amount of distress. So, trying to alleviate some of it, Logan lowered himself down further so he was below Patton’s eye-level. Perhaps it would have been better to have admitted to his human nature before now, but it was too late for that and now he had to deal with the backlash of such a thoughtless decision.

“You can trust me,” Logan said, his voice was firm but calm. A reassurance that he hoped was working. With the panic overriding probably everything in Patton’s being, he supposed it may be difficult to get a positive reaction. “I‌ will not touch you without your permission, I promise.”

Patton eyed him warily, his hands still snapped shut on the strap of his bag. Logan did notice that the borrower’s eyes kept darting around as well, trying to figure out a safe escape route without alerting him to the silent idea. Not that he faulted Patton for wanting to find a way out of this situation, but he supposed it was better handled now and explain himself, rather than to have Patton run off believing the worst.

Even if it hurt, inexplicably, to have Patton staring up at himself the way he was.

“I–I’m sorry,”‌ Patton stammered out, ducking his head as if waiting for something.

“I‌ assure you there is no reason to apologize.”‌ Though, Logan was a bit baffled by what Patton meant. When the borrower kept his head down, Logan understood. The talk they had about the human that lived in this apartment, the one with all the science-y stuff, as Patton had put it. “I‌ am very much not upset by that at all.”

“But I— I‌ said…”

Logan raised a hand to stop him, only acutely aware that that was the wrong movement a few seconds too late. He quickly put it back in his lap, trying to remedy his thoughtless action. “I‌ know what you said Patton, and I‌ harbour no ill will towards it. In fact, your statement earlier was rather accurate and one cannot argue with the facts.”

The borrower shuffled nervously on his feet, eyes still flicking around to make sure that he did have some sort of way to get away if things did go south. Logan could guarantee that if Patton decided to make a break for it, he wouldn’t grab for him—as that would shatter any and all chance of getting Patton to trust him.

Patton bit his lower lip, trying to weigh the pros and cons of this situation. An easy con, the human knew about him. The pro to that, however, it was Logan. Someone he had talked to and gotten to know fairly well. While everything in him was screaming that he should duck and run, it almost didn’t feel right. He tried to still his shaking hands as he dug further into the strap, looking up and meeting Logan’s eyes finally. “R-really?”

Logan offered a single nod in affirmation. “Really.”

Well, while he was still very scared—and with good reason!—Patton found himself wanting to understand, more than anything. “Then why did you…?”

“Use the shrink ray on myself?” Logan chuckled slightly when he got a nod, finding the situation almost comical as he recalled the event. “I‌ can assure you that it was not deliberate. My finger slipped on the trigger, if you must know. And while it was not an intentional usage, I‌ cannot say that I‌ am disappointed with the results it yielded.”

Such terminology seemed to make Patton almost more nervous and Logan belatedly realized that his vocabulary could make him seem intimidating, even to other humans.

“That said, I mean such in the way that I got to meet you.”‌

Logan was not one for sentiment, that much was very apparent, but for the short time that Logan had known Patton, the other seemed to be incredibly sentimental. Kind, understanding, if a bit melancholy at times. Patton was an absolutely fascinating bipedal mammal that should not be able to exist, but that was not the only fascinating thing about him. What Logan also found intriguing was just how delightful and considerate he had been with a complete stranger. Patton was sensitive, so much so to the point that it almost baffled the human. How someone could be so giving and genuine with a person they had never met before, it was almost unheard of.

Such a gentle statement had seemed to have startled Patton, but it didn’t take long before a tentative grin broke across his features. Logan was surprised to see the borrower take a few steps toward him. “You really mean that?”

The statement was so hopeful and warm, Logan couldn’t help but a let a small grin alight his own features. “If I did not mean it, I‌ wouldn’t have said it.”

Patton had been alone for a long time, at least that’s what Logan had gathered from his chat with him. Like this, he supposed one could remain in the building and live in safety and he could continue to learn more about borrowers as a whole. Only, of course, if Patton was willing to share such information with him.

“I‌ am curious, however, does me being human taint our friendship?” Logan completely understood if it did, but Patton almost looked hurt at the statement.

Logan was simply stating the facts, not trying to be inconsiderate to one’s feelings.

“Of course not!” The vehemence behind Patton’s voice was surprising, to put it lightly. “I— I‌ admit that this surprise scared me. And I’m still kinda scared, I’m not gonna lie, but you said you wouldn’t do anything to me and you haven’t yet even though you’ve had plenty of time.” He was almost rambling to himself at this point, before shaking it off and meeting Logan’s eyes again. “So, no. To answer your question, you being human does not taint our friendship.”

Logan felt warmth bloom in his chest at the reassurance and he found his smile becoming more genuine.

It was hard to say if one had been able to befriend a borrower before (which did have it’s possibilities) and just didn’t document it, but knowing this secret felt sacred. And looking down at Patton, who was no longer anxiously clinging to the strap of his bag but instead looked more comfortable, said far more than Logan would be able to fathom.

If someone as inviting and warm as Patton could like him, then maybe Logan was doing something right after all.

Chapter Text

“This,” Roman tapped the lid of the glass jar sitting harmlessly on the desk for emphasis, “is the idiot jar. Idiots go in the jar.”

Remus barely looked up, too enamored with the creation currently under his palms. The Side in question was currently smothered in paint from head to toe, the picture under his him was grotesque and in depth, but considerably well done. A keen eye for detail—gory detail, but detail nonetheless.

However, after a moment he flicked the hair from his eyes and turned to look at the jar in question. The thing itself stood almost twice over him in height as his brother looked smugly down at him. Remus narrowed his eyes, before pursing his lips.

Looking as if he was lost in thought, he broke into a grin. “That jar isn’t big enough for you to fit inside, stupid.”

Roman stammered for a moment, looking taken aback. Of course, the jar itself wasn’t meant for him! It was meant for Remus and his Dark Side friends if they decided to make themselves more of a nuisance than they already were. Not to mention their constant want to make Thomas absolutely miserable was unbearable and completely unwarranted. Deceit and Anxiety were enough trouble as they were, they didn’t need Remus making it worse.

The jar was almost like a time-out place if he got frustrated enough. Then again, if Roman really knew his brother, he had a feeling that a jar wouldn’t really do much to hinder him. It didn’t exactly render him utterly helpless. Only helpless enough that he wouldn’t be able to get out on his own.

Noticing Remus had already turned his attention back down onto the creation he had been working on, Roman huffed. “That’s because it’s not meant for me, idiot, it’s meant for you.”

“Well that’s dumb,” he said.

Though, his body language said that he wasn’t bothered much by the idea of it.

Which was infuriating! Being stuck in a jar was supposed to be a punishment for being chaotic or creating mayhem where it wasn’t necessary.

“You’re not worried about being stuck in a jar?”

The tiny Side shrugged his shoulders, looking less concerned with his twin hovering over him. “I’ve been stuck in worse predicaments,” he said casually, as if it was an everyday occurrence. Roman assumed that it probably was. “I mean, there was this one time where I got stuck in a place where I had to bite my own arm off! And then there was the time where I was almost crushed by a book that fell off of the bookshelf. Ooh, ooh! And then there was the other time I was almost crushed underfoot! That was wild, I thought for sure that my eyes would have popped clean out of my head!”

“Okay, okay! I get it. You’re not worried.” Roman drummed his fingers along the desk idly, simultaneously trying to get the images out of his head while also trying to get some sort of reaction out of Remus other than just plain nonchalance. Especially when it came to talking about things that could have really hurt him.

Well, “hurt” him. He already knew his brother did weird shit anyway, but still. There had to be something that would freak him out a little bit!

“What’s the idiot jar even for if you can’t fit in it?”

“Very funny,” Roman mused, ignoring the victorious grin Remus was giving back to him. However, as his eyes flickered over the jar in question and then back to the tiny Side currently in reach, he quickly realized that he didn’t reallyneed a reason to put him in the jar. He could just do it. Just because. He could literally just do it because he wanted to and then make an excuse up about it afterward. “You’re a real comedian.”

“I’d call it a charm!” The little Side let his eyes rove over the masterpiece he had created before stepping back and admiring it in its full.

“I wouldn’t.”

“Well that’s because your opinion is wrong and you’re stupid.”

“Mm-hmm.” Roman continued drumming his fingers along the tabletop, as if it were more of an afterthought than it actually was. “That’s big talk for such a little guy.”

That seemed to strike a cord and Remus turned to look over his shoulder. “That’s a low blow and you know it.”

“A low blow?” Roman snickered, “well then, by all means. Correct me if I’m wrong.” It was kind of fun seeing him worked up like this. Especially since there was really no fear of Remus actually being able to do anything. Not at such a small stature, at least.

True, Remus had his morning-star, but it wouldn’t do much against him.

Roman was big, Remus was not.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that these odds were not in the little Creativity’s favour.

In one swift motion of Roman’s hand, the Dark Side had been scooped up—squalling and snarling and all—and had been deposited into the bottom of the jar.

Roman’s smug grin returned full force and beaming as Remus got his bearings. Dark eyes scanned his new prison before locking on the bigger nuisance he now had to deal with. The glare Roman was getting in response was almost adorable, if a bit pathetic.

Remus pressed his hands against the smooth glass, leaning forward to test its weight and see how much give it would take to actually get this thing to move. “What’s the big idea, jerk?” He spat, hitting the glass wall with the palm of his hand.

“I told you,” Roman leaned back in his chair, hands folded over his middle as he cocked his head to the side innocently. “It’s the idiot jar. Idiots go in the jar.”

Remus sneered, dissatisfied with that reasoning. “Bullshit,” his eyes scanned all the way up to the top. He couldn’t physically get out, but he could try and physically manipulate the jar. “I wasn’t even doing anything to warrant this!”

“I have to disagree with that. You see, you were being annoying just by being here,” Roman had said it so casually, he had missed the flash of something on his littler twin’s face. “So, you got put in the jar. Easy as that.”

“Fine.” Remus took a couple steps around his enclosure, looking it up and down again before seemingly considering something. “Guess I might as well try and do…this!”

Before Roman could say anything to stop him, the smaller Side had launched himself against the side of the jar and caused it to rock back and forth.

With a jolt, he realized that Remus was attempting to throw the jar over the edge of the desk. Roman reacted quickly enough to keep that from happening. He swiftly grabbed the sides of the jar and settled it back down before anything else could happen. He had knocked Remus back to the bottom of the confinement by the force of his panicked instinct. As he let go of the glass, Roman made sure to hover his hands closer to the jar, prepared in case something like that happened again.

After he was able to calm his beating heart from the scare, he firmed his jaw in irritation. “Um, hello? What was that all about?”

“You take the fun out of everything!” Remus snarked back at him, looking almost distraught by the fact that he wasn’t allowed to shatter the glass he was currently sitting inside of. He crossed his arms, looking as if he was pouting about this.

“You could have gotten yourself hurt!”

However, that choice of sentence was what got Roman caught. The smug look had switched from his own features to the Dark Side’s sitting helplessly in the jar. “Oh? Awe Ro-Ro, you do care!”

Roman spluttered, taking his hands back to himself. “Well, I, uh—no! I certainly do not care.”

“Then let me knock the jar over the edge and shatter the glass,” Remus said, “let me go splat on the floor.”

“That’s disgusting, no.”

“Oh come on! You really do suck the fun out of literally everything,” his twin groaned at him, “its just like all of your stupid stories with the princes getting rescued and shit. Why can’t they just get eaten by the dragon for once? Or fall into the lava moat or– or die by something grotesque, like a…like a, uh— Oh, like a werewolf or something! They could be mauled to death and have their bones ground to make bread and their limbs torn from their body like a—”

“That is not what we were talking about,” Roman quickly cut off the gross imagery, not wanting to encourage him further. “We were talking about how I wasn’t letting you throw yourself off the edge.”

“And why not?” Remus whined, “it would be fun! The glass would shatter and it would go everywhere! You’d probably cut yourself, and I would be able to wield a full piece of glass like a weapon! You’d never be able to get your big, dumb, grabby hands on me again!”

Roman raised his brows, looking bored. His eyes flickered over towards the bookshelf on the other side of the room before back down to the jar currently in front of him. “Okay, I’m done listening to you.”

“What do you mean you’re done listening to me?” Oddly enough, there was no comfort in that statement and while Remus hated to admit it, he felt nervous. “I’m a whole lotta fun, but you’re just too stupid to understand how great my ideas are.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

The jar swayed as Roman lifted it up with an ease that was utterly astounding, and Remus, of course, was brought with it by association. The vertigo came and went and left him feeling uneasy. He watched as the table fell away beneath his hands and his attention turned to see where exactly Roman was taking him. He was welcomed with the sight of a bookshelf that towered over him.

It wasn’t like Remus was unused to that. If he were back with Deceit and Anxiety, the world wouldn’t be freakishly big around him. It would be normal and he wouldn’t be able to actually fit inside a jar and be carted around with whatever whim Roman was feeling at that moment.

He tried to scramble for some purchase on the slippery surface, but as the jar was moved and finally settled in a spot on the shelf, Remus twisted himself around to look at his twin head on. His nervousness kicked back in and he felt uncharacteristically worried.

What exactly did Roman have planned for him? Was he just going to leave him here on the shelf to waste away? Was this some sort of punishment? A dumb-ass game of chicken? ‘Whoever broke first won and then had bragging rights over the other’ type deal?

“See, with you like this, you’re out of the way.” Roman crouched down a bit, to get more level with the contained Side. “Can’t do any damage and you have the whole jar to entertain yourself without causing mayhem and misery, isn’t that great?”

“It isn’t—!”

The smaller voice was cut off by a louder one.

“Roman, I require your assistance on something.” Logan’s voice was so powerful and he didn’t even know he’d cut Remus’s sentence off. Hell, drowning him out completely.

“Sure thing, Pocket Protector.” Before long, Roman’s attention was back on the Dark Side staring up at him, eyeing him with mistrust.

Roman nearly got up, before deciding that leaving Remus in the jar without anything to keep the jar in place was not a good idea. By the way his brother had been talking earlier about pushing the jar over, one couldn’t be too safe. So, he found a few book weights and surrounded the base of the jar with them, keeping it securely in place with no fear of the little Side actually hurting himself.

After nodding to himself, proud of what he had accomplished, Roman pushed himself into a stand. “Consider this a timeout. I’ll be back for you once I’m done with Logan.”

“Hey, no!” Remus smacked his hands against the glass, creating an echoing sound that made his head ache. He winced, but repeated the motion a bit more desperately when Roman showed no signs of being phased. “This isn’t cool! Come back here you giant pain-in-the-ass! Let me go! You can’t keep me in here, you can’t!”

However, as Roman disappeared around the corner, Remus realized he wouldn’t be moving for a while and he groaned. The weights around the bottom of the jar really would keep him in place and keep him from pushing anything off the shelf.

He sent a final angry smack against the glass, as if that would do something to make him feel better, and retreated to the back of the jar and slid down the wall. He leaned his head against the cool glass and crossed his arms.

This was fine. 

Besides, it was only a matter of time before Roman came back, or Deceit and Anxiety realized he was missing and came looking.

Whichever one came first, he supposed.

So until then, everything was fucking fine.

Chapter Text

It started with little things.

Just little gifts that Patton thought Logan would like. Things that made the borrower think of his human companion when he was out on borrowing trips.

He would leave them on the desk in plain sight. There were even times where he had ventured into the outside, picked little flowers and then left them right where they would be discovered.

It was a romantic advancement Patton had seen people do in TV shows and movies; the man gives his woman a flower (or a whole bouquet of them) and she swoons, looking adoringly at her lover. 

It was something that made him want that same feeling. The feeling of someone adoring him, grinning that fond grin toward him. Holding him close and safe and cared for.

But it had been proven time and time again that Logan was so frustratingly oblivious to literally anything feelings related.

Pick-up lines‌?‌ Went right over his head. Jokes about relationships? Don’t even get him started on how many times he had dropped a hint and the human had either ignored it completely and moved on or didn’t acknowledge it. Puns about romance? Patton would usually just get a groan in response to the fact that he made a joke.

Even now, as he sat on the desktop shelf watching Logan work in silence on his laptop, he yearned to be viewed as more than just a friend.

Sure, being in a relationship with a human when one’s a borrower would be difficult and they would really have to find a way to make it work but he was sure that they could make it work! If Logan would just realize that he was trying so hard to make it obvious.

Patton wasn’t being subtle anymore. He had started subtle. Flowers, little notes (that may have been a bit too small for the human to actually read admittedly), little candies and chocolates and such.

Once he realized just how dense Logan was when it came to emotions, he knew he would have to change his tactics and be more outright about it. Difficult at first, yes, but once Patton also realized just how dense Logan was with obvious expression of emotion, he was a bit more confident and didn’t feel as worried about dropping hints.

It was just as frustrating. 

Patton wasn’t immune to reading people. He could read people’s facial features at the drop of a hat. Take Logan’s friend Virgil for instance!‌ The boy rarely let anyone know how he truly felt unless asked the right questions, and yet Patton was able to understand instantly—and without it being said, no less—that the kid was just nervous and one had to be gentle when talking with him.

Unlike some people.

Drumming his fingers on his thigh as he swung his legs back and forth on the low shelf he was sitting on, Patton decided that if he really wanted to get anywhere, he had to be completely upfront about it. No more dropping hints. He just had to do it.

“Hey Logan?”‌ The borrower finally broke the peaceful silence.

After a moment as he finished typing something, Logan’s eyes turned over to him. “Yes Patton?‌‌ Is something the matter?”

“Not really,” he offered back. He had a lot to say and a lot on his mind, he just had to find the right way to say it. “I was just curious to know if you’d ever date someone?”

Logan tilted his head at the question. Obviously it was something he didn’t think about often. His eyes flickered off of the borrower for a moment, looking as if he was thinking of a correct answer. There really was no correct answer, per say, but there was one Patton was hoping for. “I suppose,” Logan said after a second of deliberation, “if the right person were to happen into my life, then yes, I‌ do not see why‌ I‌ would not give it a chance. Though, romantic relationships are not a concern of mine as I‌ have more important things to divert my attention to.”

“Fair,”‌ Patton allowed, nibbling his lower lip. He could feel heat beginning to creep up the back of his neck. “Does said person have to be…human necessarily? Hypothetically speaking, of course!”

Logan’s brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed slightly, and it seemed as if he was almost looking completely through the borrower, looking exactly at what Patton meant without stating it outright. Logan was incredibly smart, Patton wouldn’t doubt that he did know what he really meant.

Patton felt his heart stammer. The dark hazel eyes gazing back at him, he could see speckles of gold dotted around his iris and he quickly found his cheeks getting warmer. He really didn’t need to pay that much attention to someone’s eyes. He soon found himself diverting his own, trying to look anywhere other than human sitting in front of him.

“Hmm.” The rumbling sound was deep.

However, it finally seemed that Logan had picked up on this hint. Finally. After months of trying, maybe Patton was really getting somewhere.

“I suppose not,” Logan relented, leaning back in his desk chair after a moment, his hands folded comfortably in front of him as his eyes scanned over Patton’s form. The constant looking nearly made the borrower feel smaller than he already was. “Patton, are you trying to tell me something?”

Oh God, Logan was absolutely an idiot when it came to anything. He was so smart but Heaven’s sake, he was so, so dumb.

“Yes!”‌ He finally broke, looking flustered at the suddenness of his words, but not regretting it. Logan blinked, but Patton continued, determined to make himself heard. “I‌ have been trying to tell you for months Logan, months. I‌ tried to be subtle, I tried to be obvious and yet still nothing. I‌ like you—I‌ like you a lot and I‌ have for a long time but you’ve always brushed me and my attempts off as being…childish or just not taking me or my advances seriously when I was really trying to tell you how I‌ felt.” Patton tucked his hands against himself, figuring he was deep enough into this now. “And I— I get it, if you don’t want to date me because I’m so small but the least you can do is take me seriously. For goodness sake, I didn’t think anything could be so frustrating, but good Lord almighty you’re a frustratingly oblivious human being. There. I said it.”

When Patton finally looked up to meet Logan’s gaze, said human looked awestruck. As if he didn’t know what to say at all. Logan shook his head and his eyes shifted down to the desktop, trying to work through everything his accomplice had just admitted to him.

“Patton I—”

“No, Logan, I‌ get it. Why would a human want to be with a borrower?‌ It’s silly and emotional and ugh.” Patton pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding his face as he prepared himself for the inevitable rejection. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way.”

“Now I‌ never said that.” The firmness in Logan’s tone was surprising enough that it made Patton look up, brown eyes meeting larger ones. “You didn’t give me nearly enough of a chance to answer you.”

The human loosened his tie and Patton’s eyes instantly followed the hands that did it, watching quietly as Logan’s Adam’s apple bobbed and feeling helpless and overwhelmed and flustered as all hell. A few buttons of Logan’s shirt were undone and he could see skin and holy shit. Immediately Patton swallowed nervously and moved his gaze away, trying to lessen the embarrassment he felt.

The human leaned a bit closer on his forearms, wanting to be somewhat more on Patton’s level, even as the borrower remained on the shelf and refused to look at him. “I‌ apologize if I’ve been a bit…dense when it comes to your romantic advances, but that does not mean I‌ appreciate them any less. If I‌ have managed to hurt your feelings because of it, I apologize for that as well as that was not my intention in the least.” When Patton didn’t look up at him, Logan dipped into a bit to the side and into Patton’s sight line. In that position, he couldn’t avoid his gaze. “If you’re willing to give me a chance, I‌ would like to treat you out to dinner?”

“You feel the same way?” Patton’s voice was small, almost as if he was trying to convince himself that Logan wasn’t just playing along to toy with him.

Which first of all, that would be cruel. And secondly, Logan did feel the same way now that there had been a word to place what he was feeling. The hot tightness in his chest whenever Patton looked up at him, beaming with a grin, big brown eyes flashing with excitement when Logan told him about something he had learned in one of his classes, the way they would sometimes talk long into the night even if Logan knew better than to do exactly that.

He had always chastised Virgil and Roman for doing the same thing, but Logan had always been more of a ‘do as I‌ say, not as I do’ kind of person. So maybe he was a bit of hypocrite. Sue him.

“I‌ do,”‌ Logan told him, giving Patton a small reassuring grin.

Logan’s chest felt warmer when that blinding smile returned, beaming, bright and handsome.

“You know,” Patton said after a minute, “I‌ don’t think you can really treat me out to dinner.”

“And why is that?”

Logan almost regretted asking as soon as he recognized that mischievous look behind Patton’s gaze.

“Oh, don’t—”

“Because we’d be on borrowed time!”‌ The borrower giggled, finding himself amusing. Logan groaned, of course, as the current onslaught of puns was something he was easily annoyed with. Not that wordplay was awful, just the fact that Patton used puns absolutely non-stop. “That and I’m a borrower. I‌ can’t be seen by other humans.”

“That I‌ am well aware of,” Logan said back, rolling his chair a bit more forward and beginning to type on his computer again. “We could order in and watch a movie? It certainly isn’t anything fancy but…”

“It’d be perfect.” Patton let his legs dangle over the edge of the shelf, leaning more forward, his heart pounding away in his chest at the thought of getting to really date the man he had been enamored with for months sunk in.

They could totally make this work.

Chapter Text

Dorian shifted the littlest Steelgate in his arms, adjusting Virgil to sit more comfortably on his waist. However, his attention was on the person standing in front of him as he stood in front of his family.

He needed to make sure that he was the last line of defense just in case the other decided to make a show of aggression. Dorian doubted it, but he knew all too well that people would lie to cover up their mistakes or their ulterior motive. He had done it enough times himself to know how to pick it up in other people. Especially strangers that just happened to stumble into their path.

Dorian could feel Virgil’s hands tightening in the back of his shirt, showing the oldest brother just how nervous he already was. If he were to look briefly behind him, it would be revealed that both Patton and Logan had firm holds on the twins, but it was already simple enough to see that Roman and Remus didn’t see this as a game. Thank God.

“Why are you doing this?” He finally asked, startling the stranger into looking at him. Surprised brown eyes meeting his own.

“Why am I doing…what?”

“Saying you want to help us,” Dorian continued, “no one helps a bunch of orphans just out of the goodness of their heart. We barely know you. What good does any of this do you? Is this some sick twisted version of help to you? Is this some sort of game that you’ll get satisfaction out of?”

It seemed that had registered stirred something.

“Oh. Oh no. No, no, no! I can promise you that this isn’t an act of pity or anything, I swear. I just— I wanted to help, really.”

“I totally believe you.” Dorian didn’t trust that, not at all.

There was no way that this person—whoever he was, was going to be staying any longer than necessary.

“If this isn’t because you pity us, then why are you here?”

The other borrower seemed to shift nervously on the balls of his feet. “I need a place to stay,” he admitted finally, “and you were the first people I saw and I was just…hopeful that I’d be able to stay a couple nights at least.”

Before Dorian could refute that, because there was absolutely no way in hell he was letting this person stay in his home near his brothers, he had been beaten to it by a second voice popping up.

“We’d be more than willing to house you for a few nights,” Patton said from behind him and Dorian whipped to face him, eyes wide, shocked and betrayed. The second oldest brother squeezed Roman’s shoulders reassuringly before stepping forward and ignoring Dorian’s incredulous look as he stood in front of him. “You’ve given us no reason to distrust you and we have enough room and enough rations to share.”

“Patton—” Dorian hissed, a snarl curling his lips.

Patton rose a hand instead, effectively shocking and offending Dorian into a resolute and seething silence. “We can set a bed up for you in the living room and you can stay there for as long as you need to get back on your feet.”

“Oh, no, I just need a couple days tops..” The other said, looking uncomfortable between both the compassionate look and the look that told him the oldest brother would gut him if he said something wrong.

“I insist,” Patton said, a bit firmer but not unkindly all the while shooting Dorian a pointed look over his shoulder.

“I think someone’s looking out for us,” Patton tried to lighten the mood, watching quietly as Dorian shifted at the kitchen table, his head in his hands as he rubbed his temples. It looked as if he was in true agony. “Maybe Mum and Papa saw that we needed help and they sent someone our way that just happens to know how to help.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Dorian muttered, looking up from under his hands, his expression flat and displeased.

“Maybe,” the other replied, shrugging his shoulders and turning away and picking up a borrowing satchel that had slipped to the floor and hanging it up, “but it helps the kiddos sleep better, too.”

Dorian scoffed, but he seemed to be listening at this point. His head was turned a little more, seemingly more open to the idea even if he found it stupid and unbelievable.

After a moment, Patton sat at the table with him, the dim lighting soft and warm. He continued quietly. “If believing that Mum and Papa are still around even though we know they’re gone helps them, then sure. While you, Logan and I understand what death is, Roman and Remus still struggle with the idea and Virgil doesn’t understand it at all—he just knows he won’t be able to see them for a while. If thinking that something…otherworldly and good is looking out for us helps them sleep, then who am I to tell them otherwise?”

Dorian’s eyes drifted over to where he could see Logan reading to Virgil, he felt something in his chest stir. He could see the little wondrous look on Virgil’s face, as he eagerly listened to Logan recite the same story to him in a slightly more lively voice than usual. Dorian sighed. He could also hear Roman and Remus giggling down the hallway about something ridiculous. His family was important to him. And a secret part of him wanted to believe that, yes, Mum and Pa were looking down on them from wherever they were. But he knew those fantasies were idiotic. Mum and Pa were gone. They were never coming back and the responsibility to make sure his little family stayed safe fell onto himself.

The oldest brother shook his head finally. Wanting to address the issue, he lowered his voice slightly. “You can’t tell me you honestly trust him.”

Patton let a small grin cross his features. “Well, I think Thomas is genuine. The kid seems to really care, Dorian.”

“Please.”

“I’m serious,” Patton continued more firmly. “What has he done to disprove our trust?” When he got no answer, that was answer enough. “Exactly. He’s done nothing but manage to charm Roman and entertain Remus—after getting used to his…odd stories. Logan seems to like him too and Virgil—”

“Knows not to trust someone he just met,” Dorian snipped, “he’s the only one in this family that seems to have any basic common sense. Stranger danger and all that.”

“Because you haven’t even given Virgil a chance to spend time with Thomas,” Patton quickly refuted, “you’ve kept such a leash on the kiddo that he can barely walk five steps without you picking him up or hovering just behind him.”

“I want him to stay safe and I want what’s best for him.” Dorian looked up with such fervor that Patton had blinked back at him. “I want what’s best for all of you, but look how well that turned out. Thomas stumbles into our lives and all of a sudden he’s the most important thing.”

“There’s no reason to be bitter.”

“I’m not being bitter. I’m being the older brother that’s looking out for the best for his family, and yet I’m the one constantly being demonized and questioned, not the stranger that you literally just met two days ago.” Dorian chuckled dryly. “Serves me right, doesn’t it?”

“Dorian, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He pushed himself up from the table without sparing Patton another glance as he headed over towards Logan and Virgil currently seated in the living room. “Come on, Virge. It’s bedtime for you and the twins.”

“Dori,” he whined, two heterochromia eyes turning to look up at him. “Five minutes please? Lo was just getting to the bestest part!”

“The best part, Virgil, bestest isn’t a real word,” Logan corrected gently, setting the worn papers to the side.

Handwritten by their parents, childhood stories that Dorian could remember Mum and Pa reading to him. Mum’s hand stroking through his hair as Pa read the words dramatically and loudly. Stories that Virgil had heard time and time again, almost every single time by a different brother. Stories that the kid didn’t seem to get enough of.

“It’s too late for you to be up any longer,” Dorian said, kneeling down to get on the kid’s level, even as he pouted. “I’m sure Logan wouldn’t mind holding off the best part for tomorrow night, right?”

“In fact, that might be advisable,” Logan said, noticing Virgil trying to stifle a yawn behind his sweater paws. “I don’t think you’d be able to stay awake long enough to actually hear the best part.”

Virgil’s pout deepened, but he relented easily enough. Instead, he lifted his hands to show Dorian that he wanted up. It was something that he was going to have to ease out of him eventually. That kind of habit wouldn’t be able to stick around long. He had already tried to ease out of it, but Patton had scorned him rather harshly for it. Saying that once Virgil was six they could start breaking that habit, until then Dorian, let the kid be a kid.

He supposed it made sense.

Pushing himself back into a stand, he reached down, hooked his hands under Virgil’s arms and hefted him up. Settling the kid on his waist, he quickly turned on his heel and went directly for the hallway that led down to their bedrooms. What he failed to notice, was how Logan and Patton shared an equally unsure gaze—both holding an entirely silent conversation without having to say a single word to be understood completely.

As he passed the twins bedroom, he could still hear their bickering, yet snickering about something obscure probably. Dorian nudged open the door to see the two drawing together, however Remus was happily trying to take over the page while Roman, frustrated with his twins antics, tried to pull the paper back.

“You’re crossing over onto my side of the page!”

“Well it sucks to be you then,” Remus stuck his tongue out, trying to reach the other end of the paper that was already scribbled with red crayon. “Because green is obviously a better colour for the sky.”

“No it isn’t,” Roman shoved the other in the shoulder, trying to displace him, but failing. “The sky isn’t ever green, are you dumb?”

“Hey!”

“Alright you two,” Dorian announced his presence and both of the twins nearly straightened up at his entrance. “That’s enough bickering. I want you both in your pajamas when I come back from putting Virgil to bed.”

Remus stuck his tongue out at him just as Roman shoved him again, before getting up and doing what was asked of him.

Giving Remus a look easily conveying that he wasn’t messing around, Dorian stepped back into the hallway before entering his own room a few footsteps further down the hall. The room itself was dark save for a little light sneaking in through the cracks in the wall allowing some of the moonlight inside. It gave him a little bit more of an advantage to actually see where he was stepping. Without wanting to trip on something, he went over to the smattering of blankets sitting in the corner of the room and set Virgil down into it.

As predicted, Virgil grabbed onto his hand, big eyes blinking tiredly in the darkness to find his own.

“You comin’ back soon?” He mumbled before breaking into another yawn.

Dorian leaned forward and brushed the brown curls away from Virgil’s forehead, offering a small smile to the boy, before nodding. “I’ll be back before you know it. You’ll be long asleep once I get back.”

“P’mise?”

“Promise.”

Virgil reluctantly let go of his hand and Dorian pulled away. Sparing a single glance back toward the bed where the little one was curled into the blankets.

He was still so little.

If it weren’t for the rest of them, he was sure that Virgil wouldn’t have survived. Not after Mum died and not after Pa went missing and just…never came back. If it weren’t for the rest of the family looking out for the kid, he wouldn’t have been likely to live nearly as long.

Five years wasn’t a long time, but it was the only time Virgil had ever known. For how much he was concerned, life was okay.

Dorian wished it was.

Shaking the thought away, he stepped through the door and shut it quietly. He could still hear Remus and Roman bickering down the hallway and he rolled his eyes.

Making his way over to the bedroom, he leaned his shoulder against the door frame as the twins fought.

It only took one verbal slander before Roman had taken his twin to the floor.

Dorian let them roll around squalling for little more than a few seconds, before stepping in fully and grabbing both boys by the back of their shirts and pulling them apart easily enough. “Alright you two,” his tone was firm and authoritative, causing both boys to look up at him—both gazes flaming with passion and want, but for very different reasons. “Are you two going to be able to get some sleep or do I have to sit here until you can control yourselves?”

“I’m in perfect control!” Roman protested, struggling to pull himself away from the teenager. “He’s the one that’s being a stupid-head!”

“You’re a stupid-head!” Remus hissed back, trying to pull away as well but failing all the same.

“I’m taking that as I will have to sit here until the both of you are sound asleep.” He wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but he would do it if it made it easier on him in the long run. “Remus, I’m going to let you go and you’re going to go to bed. If you don’t, we’re going to have a problem.”

“Ugh,” said twin groaned, but he crossed his arms and stopped struggling against the teen’s hold. “I still think Roman’s ideas are stupid though.”

“You’re stupid!”

“No, you!”

“What did I just say?” Dorian cut into their argument quickly and silenced the both of them.

“I’m going to go to bed right now if I don’t want to have a problem,” Remus’s green eyes sharpened as he looked up at the older brother. Dorian’s eyes were sharper, making sure the kid knew who was in charge at this moment. “Okay! Fine. I’ll go to bed.”

“Roman?”

Roman pouted, not wanting to admit defeat but also not liking the way Dorian was looking at him. “I’ll go to bed too because that’s what a good prince would do.”

Remus muttered something under his breath, but Dorian elected to ignore it. “Great, I’m going to let you both go and you’re going to go to your beds right now and you’re going to stay there when I blow the candle out. Right?”

“Right.” The boys echoed.

“Good.”

Dorian slowly let go of the back of their shirts and neither boy moved for a moment, too busy eyeing each other as if they were waiting for the other to launch at them. After a moment of nothing happening, Roman seemed to deem that he was safe enough and got up, retiring to his bed on his side of the room and crawling into it.

Remus had watched him like a hawk and Dorian kept his eyes on Remus.

“Well?” He asked expectantly.

“Ugh, fine!” Remus finally got up, sending a final glare at both Dorian and Roman, just as Roman stuck his tongue out at him.

The look he was getting from the oldest Steelgate kept him from doing anything and he instead sulked over to his own bed and climbing into it as well.

“Very good,” Dorian brushed his hands down his pants as he went over and blew the candle in the corner of the room out, plunging the room into darkness as the twins finally settled down for sleep. “Goodnight you two.”

“Night Dori,” Roman called, pulling his blankets up and tucking down into them.

“You’re dumb,” Remus muttered.

“What was that?”

“I said goodnight, Dori.”

“That’s what I thought.” Dorian went to the door before looking over his shoulder. “If I hear any more fighting, there will be absolutely no exploring outside for the rest of the week.”

The matching gasps and groans he got in response meant that there shouldn’t be any more bickering coming from this room for the rest of the night.

Shutting their door, he sighed heavily. His attention turned back down toward the living room, where their guest was staying and where Logan and Patton probably still resided since he hadn’t heard either of them turn in for the night yet.

Dorian knew there was either going to be a conversation or a fight. Or a conversation that turned into a fight.

He was hoping for the former.

Almost as soon as he stepped into the room, Patton was standing from the kitchen table, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Dorian, we need to talk.”

“No we don’t,” he said back, voice void of any emotion. If either of them really knew how thin he was wearing himself down, they would never let him live it down and he would never forgive himself for letting them witness a moment of weakness.

He was the oldest brother, he didn’t have weaknesses.

“Yes we do,” Logan said firmly, coming to stand in front of him, but not directly in his way.

“Logan, you’re fourteen, this isn’t a conversation we need you involved in.”

“It seems as though you need me involved in it,” he stated, unfazed by the unfeeling statement. “If either of you get into it, you’ll need someone to mediate.”

“We’re not going to need you to mediate,” Patton assured him softly, then his eyes turned to Dorian. “We just need to talk about everything that’s happening right now. With Thomas, specifically.”

“He’s a stranger in our house,” Dorian said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “do you expect me to trust him around the twins? Virgil? Hell, even you two?”

“We’re old enough to take care of ourselves.” Patton folded his hands in front of himself. “Please, Dorian, just give the kid a chance. He’s not bad.”

“While I understand your hesitance,” Logan pushed his glasses up, giving his older brother a sincere look that said he meant it, “it is also unreasonable and unwise to hold such a proposition about someone without any solid evidence to back up your claims. Sometimes you need to reevaluate the situation.”

“I don’t need to reevaluate anything,” Dorian snapped, “but if he’s the Godsend, then by God get to know him and leave me out of it. Since you both seem to know better than I do, by all means let him stay around until something inevitably goes horribly wrong.”

“Dorian, that’s not what we’re talking about.”

“Whatever,” he shrugged away from Patton’s extended hand, leaving the second oldest to look hurt. “I’m totally going to trust the stranger overnight like the rest of my family.” He took a breath, shaking his head with a short mirthless chuckle. “I’m going to bed.”

Patton looked as if he wanted to say something more, to try and make the situation better when he relented and let his hand drop to his side. “Goodnight Dorian.”

Dorian snorted in his direction before stalking down to his room. He showed himself in before shutting the door and leaning against it. The soft slow breathing from the corner of the room caught his attention after another moment and he sighed.

If he couldn’t convince the rest of his family to protect themselves, then Virgil would have to be the only one that really understood what was going on.

Five-years-old or not the boy needed to know.

…but that could wait.

Pulling off the sweater he had been wearing over his plain t-shirt, he slipped into something more comfortable and quietly made his way over to the bed. As gently as he could, trying not to disturb the littler one already there, he pulled up the covers and laid back against his pillow. Staring up at the ceiling, Dorian quickly realized he wasn’t tired. His head was too full of thoughts to really think about anything other than the predicament they were all currently facing and the frustrating kindness that Patton had.

No one had to be that kind and understanding. Especially not in a world where everything was out to get you.

He sighed louder this time and let his hands rove over his face. After a second, a smaller sound came from his left and he turned his head just enough to see Virgil stirring, blinking at him with tired eyes.

“…Dori?” He yawned widely, wanting to sit up but too exhausted and disoriented to do so.

“Yeah, it’s me kid. Told ya I wouldn’t be too long after you.”

Virgil didn’t answer and instead shuffled closer in the blankets, right up until he was pressed directly against Dorian’s side. He let out a small contented sound as he snuggled closer, letting his eyes flutter shut again. Dorian put his arm around the little one, holding him closer and letting the boy tuck into him.

If the only one that was willing enough to be protected was Virgil—who had no idea what was really going on—then fine. Dorian would eventually be able to rub it in their faces when everything came crumbling down and he was proven right.

Then they’d all be sorry.

Yes, Dorian loved his brothers deeply. But if they needed to learn their lessons the hard way, then fine. That’s how they would learn.

That’s how he had to learn.

Life wasn’t fair. People were cruel. You had to look out for yourself because no one else would, and if some one did, they had some sort of ulterior motive behind them. People that said they “cared” didn’t and only did it to look good or nice or wonderful or something stupid like that.

He felt anger beginning to fester again. What was he angry with? He wasn’t entirely sure he could narrow it down to one thing. There was a lot he was furious about.

However as Dorian remembered the innocent and vulnerable life currently curled up against him that didn’t deserve to see the brunt of that anger, he relaxed. He let out a soft breath and the tension melted from his shoulders as he let his hand card through Virgil’s soft curls. Staring up at the ceiling, he realized that while life wasn’t fair most of the time, there were moments where it wasn’t so bad.

It sucked for the most part and his brothers were morons most of the time, but life wasn’t always terrible.

And he loathed admitting that.

“I don’t want another sibling,” the fourteen-year-old stated firmly. His eyes flickering between both of his parents. His Mum looked slightly uncomfortable and his Pa had tried to find a way to soften the news that they would be getting a sixth little brother or sister. “I already have four, I don’t need another one.”

Pa sighed, running a hand down his face as Mum bit into her lip. “Dorian, we can’t exactly stop it now.”

“Sweetheart,” Mum tried but Dorian ducked away from her.

The other kids had taken the news far better. Patton was thrilled with the idea of having another sibling—whatever they were. Logan was a bit unmoved by the news, but he didn’t reject it and Roman and Remus loudly demanded that they wanted a boy not a girl, which the parents had smiled at.

Dorian was struggling with the idea of having yet another kid to look after. It wasn’t that they tried to put the babysitting duties on him, but he was the oldest. Mum and Pa didn’t want him to grow up too quickly, but sometimes that’s just how it worked in the life of a borrower. She wanted him to have a childhood, but without being able to give it.

“You’re just gonna have less time for me with another baby.” The kid wrapped his arms around himself, looking defensive but hesitant. “It’s not like I’m not used to it.”

“Love—”

“I’ll be in my room if you need me Mum.”

Before either of them could stop him, Dorian had ducked out of the room and went to his own,the door shutting loudly down the hall to signify that he was more than just upset about having to take care of a kid.

The last thing he had been expecting was for Pa to come bursting into his room in the middle of the night and setting Patton onto his bundle of blankets as well, ordering him to make sure the younger brother stayed with him.

Dorian had blinked blearily, but not wanting to disappoint Pa he had managed to snag Patton by the waist before he could get up and kept him pinned down.

Even as the kid struggled, telling him he wanted to help with something. Dorian wasn’t entirely sure what he meant until he had heard his Mum’s pained cry echo down the hallway. It was something he had lived through time and time again. He could remember when he had wanted to be in the room to help, but Pa had made sure he wasn’t. It had become Dorian’s job to herd his brother’s away from the bedroom and allow Mum and Pa do deal with this in privacy.

Even if her cries made his heart ache.

“Stop struggling Patton, I’m not letting you go,” Dorian told the kid, even as he continued to fight him.

“I just want to make sure she’s okay, Dori, let go.”

“Pa brought you in here for a reason,” the older brother continued, yawning before laying back and dragging Patton down with him. The blankets were soft and the longer he tried to keep him from getting away, the more tired he seemed to get with all of his struggling. Especially since it was futile in the long run. “See? There you go.”

Patton laid his head on the pillows, relaxed a bit more against him. However, Dorian knew better than to relax his hold too much. He knew that Patton could catch onto that and use it to his own advantage and manage to get away.

“Do you think Mama’s okay?”

“She’s fine,” Dorian replied automatically. It was a reflex answer. He didn’t actually know if Mum was okay, but that was everything Pa had always told him to say.

After a few more minutes of silence between the both of them, there was a noise from in front of them. As Dorian leaned up just enough to see his doorway, there stood Logan. His glasses askew as he placed a hand on the doorway and peered inside. The nine-year-old looked tired but was also woken up by the sound coming from there parent’s bedroom.

Pa had probably told him to come here and Logan, not wanting to be disobedient, had come.

“Papa told me I had to come here,” he said after the silence stretched on a bit too long for their liking.

Dorian sighed. “I thought so. Come in, Logan.”

After being granted permission, the kid came in after pushing his glasses up and sitting in the mess of blankets too. Dorian finally allowed Patton up trusting now that he wouldn’t make a break for it. He was right (thank God) and Patton instead scooted a bit closer to the other bespectacled kid.

“What do you think it’s gonna be?”

“Hmm?” Logan yawned, clearing the water from his eyes. “Oh. I dunno. I don’t really care. I’d be kinda surprised if it was a girl though. Mama and Papa have only had boys. Do you think it’s gonna be a girl?”

Patton shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just excited to have another little sibling, whatever they are. Just like a big happy family!”

Happy was a relative term, Dorian snorted to himself, sitting up and pushing his hair out of his eyes as the two littler ones chatted quietly. Their family wasn’t happy. They had a miserable life, hiding away from humans and making sure to provide enough food for everyone in the family.

The baby was just another mouth to feed.

—

It was about two hours later when Mum’s cries had finally stopped and they could instead hear a smaller voice wailing into the house.

Patton perked up instantly when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Once Papa appeared in the doorway, Patton popped right up and brushed by him excitedly to head down the hall toward Mama and Papa’s room.

Logan had fallen asleep on his bed, so Dorian nudged him gently, ignoring Pa’s concerned looks in his direction. He just wanted to get back to sleep. He didn’t want to meet the baby tonight. The thing could wait.

Logan stirred after a third nudge and he blinked. After seeing Papa standing in the doorway, he scrambled to get up off the bed and went to his father’s side. Getting a nod in approval, Logan disappeared around the corner and Dorian could hear his footsteps retreating as well.

“Dorian,” Pa began.

“I’ll meet the kid in the morning,” he grumbled, laying back down now that he had his bed to himself. He turned so his back was facing the door. “Goodnight Pa.”

However, Pa didn’t take his leave. Instead, he stepped into the bedroom and knelt beside Dorian’s nest of blankets. “Your Mum really wants you to meet him tonight.”

Him.

“It’s another boy,” he said smartly. “He can wait.”

Pa sighed, reaching a hand out and laying it gently on the kid’s lower back causing Dorian to tense slightly under the gentle touch. “He’s just like you, bud.”

That caught Dorian’s attention and he turned to look over his shoulder slightly. “What?”

“The little guy’s got one brown eye and one green.”

“What?”

Before Pa needed to say another word, Dorian was pushing the blankets off of himself and hurrying down the hallway. His pajama pants had nearly tripped him up and he pushed into Mum and Pa’s room. The candle flickering in the corner of the room gave it a soft glow, illuminating the room in warmth and comfort. Mum was laying in bed, she looked tired but she was beaming at her children. Even at the one she was cradling in her arms.

Roman and Remus were practically on top of each other as they got their chance to see the newest addition to the Steelgate family, while Patton and Logan stood to the side of the bed, both watching over Mum’s shoulders as the baby sleepily yawned, wrinkling his nose and making the softest little sound.

When Mum looked up at him, Dorian felt his heart clench. He had been expecting fury in her gaze. But she wasn’t mad at him, there was no anger in her eyes. Only softness, love and adoration. A part of him wanted to cry in his relief, but the other part of him knew he shouldn’t.

“Come in, Dorian,” she said softly, and suddenly five pairs of eyes were on him. He felt a little embarrassed. “Come meet Virgil.”

Swallowing down his nerves, he stepped closer and closer and closer. Until he was practically hovering over the bed and staring down at the tiny little life swaddled in blankets. After a moment of just watching, he knelt down by the bedside just as two multi-coloured eyes fluttered open and met his own.

One brown eye and one green, just as Pa had said.

Dorian felt his throat tightening and his eyes brimmed with tears.

The little one really was like him.

Patton had chocolate brown eyes—like Pa. Logan inherited a lighter brown, a mix of freckled green but more brown. Roman had the lightest brown eyes of them all and Remus had shining green eyes just like Mum.

Dorian had been born with one of each; dark brown, rivaling’s Pa’s and emerald green, matching Mum’s almost perfectly.

His and Virgil’s were just opposite.

But they were the same.

“Can I hold him?” The words were out before Dorian had even thought them through and he felt himself tensing. “I—I mean..”

“Of course you can, Sweetheart,” Mum gently cut him off.

She adjusted the baby very carefully before she sat up a bit more. Dorian quickly pushed up onto his knees as he prepared himself to hold the littlest one. It took a moment, but before long Virgil was being transferred into his arms and Dorian couldn’t help but just gaze down at him in wonder.

His eyes were bright as they gazed up toward him.

Dorian quickly realized that this almost felt different than when he had held his other brothers. Virgil was already smaller than the rest of them, but with those eyes peering back up at him, he felt himself choking up further before the tears began to overflow.

He choked on a sob as he gazed down at this little life in his arms. That was under his protection no matter what.

This little baby that didn’t know him, but trusted him with his everything to keep him safe.

Dorian felt a strong hand on his shoulder and he broke his trance to look up at Pa, smiling down at him before he dropped to a kneel beside him. Pa used the sleeve of his shirt to dab at the wetness creeping down the teen’s cheeks. “So, do you want your baby brother?”

Dorian was nodding before he knew what he was going to say. There was just something deep in him that said he wanted him. He wanted him to stay safe and continue to look up at him like he held the stars.

“Yes,” he whispered, sniffling softly as he heard a small laugh from in front of him. He looked up and Mum was giggling, her eyes full of tears and warmth. “Yes I do.”

Mum laughed again, wetly, warmly. Before anyone could stop it, the other littler brothers rushed over, crowding around Dorian and baby Virgil. It had been a long time since Dorian had ever felt this amount of love in one room, but this felt right.

It felt real.

He had struggled with the idea of another baby, just another mouth to feed. But looking down at the little one snuggling up in his arms, Dorian realized that this was another life that would bloom. He would have a personality and lively eyes and an exciting new view of the world. He would probably be naive at this young age and need guidance, but that’s what his big brothers were there for. To make sure he stayed safe.

Dorian tilted his head to the side as Remus shoved himself against the older brother, practically leaning over him to get a better look at the new baby, just as the baby began to fall asleep.

The undeniable urge that Dorian had to protect this one, but as he looked at his other brothers he saw just how in awe they were. He could see the incredible fascination they all had. That childish wonder that alighted each and every face as they gazed down at him. He used his shoulder to wipe the rest of his tears away and he found himself smiling larger than before.

As Virgil snuggled closer to him, he could feel the others getting closer as well. Roman and Remus were nearly directly on top of him and Logan was leaning against Dorian’s knees, hands planted firmly as he looked down into the bundle, over-sized glasses sliding down his nose as he studied the baby. Patton had a hand on Dorian’s shoulder, as he was knelt down right beside him, that wondrous but kindly and excited look on his own face.

The two met eyes and there was a mutual understanding between them. They may not get along on the best of days, but there was something different about this.

The eleven-year-old gave a soft nod and Dorian matched it with one of his own. His eyes were then directed back down to the one in his arms, Virgil was making himself quite comfortable as he tucked into him, looking at peace. It made Dorian’s heart swell, knowing that the littlest Steelgate trusted him already.

He wanted to make sure that little Virgil would someday know just how much his big brothers loved him.

“Okay Virgil, we’re going to try this again.”

Dorian was knelt on the ground in front of both Patton and Virgil. Patton had a hold on the one-year-old making sure he didn’t topple over. Kids of Virgil’s age should, however, be able to (or learning to) walk—or so Pa said. They had already tried a couple times and none of them had ended with Virgil walking, but he had been attempting to, which was what counted.

Pa was busy with Mum in their bedroom and all of the kids had been told they needed to stay away from there. Dorian had an itching feeling something bad was happening, but with strict instructions from Pa, he remained where he was told to be.

He had tried asking directly about what was happening, but Pa had only shaken his head and laid his hands on Dorian’s shoulders, leaning down to get slightly more onto his level before smiling tiredly.

“Don’t you worry too much Dori,” Pa had said, ruffling the teen’s hair. “Mum will be just fine. She’s just a bit sick right now, but she’ll be right as rain in a week or so.”

That didn’t keep him from trying to eavesdrop on the conversation Pa would have with other borrowers that lived in the area.

One that came over frequently now was a “doctor” or someone that was more practiced in healing herbs and such. Pa said that Mr. Emile was there just to make sure Mum was doing okay after her birth, but Dorian knew better. Virgil had been born nearly a year and a bit ago and this had been going on for longer than any of them had anticipated.

Pa had said Mum would get better in a week or so and Dorian had only seen her health declining.

“Ready, Virge?” Patton said, trying to gauge the reaction he would get from the kid.

None of them were really sure if Virgil actually understood them yet or not, but he did react when they spoke to him, so there was a chance he was beginning to if he didn’t already.

The kid stretched his hands out toward Dorian and that little determined face returned quickly. His eyes moved from his big brother and focused down on the floor in front of him instead.

Wanting to be completely sure he would be fine once Patton let go, Dorian scooted a bit more forward making sure that Virgil was still in reach just in case.

The two older brothers shared a look over the kid’s fluffy head and Patton let go of the kid’s sides. He kept his hands hovering just around him, but not touching.

Dorian flexed his fingers, on edge as he watched the toddler take his first shaking steps forward. He wanted to lean closer, but he knew that Patton was still right there and he knew that the other wouldn’t let the kid fall flat on his face. While it might be comical, it wouldn’t be entirely nice and Pa wouldn’t be happy with that either.

“Come on, Vee, you can do it,” Dorian encouraged and Virgil’s eyes flicked up to meet his own. He nodded his head. “I’m right here. It’s not that far, promise.”

It all happened in quick succession.

Dorian had been coaxing him over, Patton had his hands outstretched as a safety net, but it wasn’t needed. It was clumsy and off-balance, but within four full steps, Virgil was within Dorian’s reach and the oldest brother scooped the kid up into his arms in pure exhilaration.

“You did it!” Patton leaped up to meet them and Virgil giggled in surprise as his brothers fawned over him, unaware that those first few steps were so important. “You did it all by yourself!”

The excitement had drawn the other three into the living room, and the oldest brothers shared the news only to get more excitement in response. Happy chattering as the toddler laughed, enjoying the extra attention as the beaming faces were the only thing he could see and understand.

The kiddo was babbling, trying to make intelligent conversation like the others were at him. It was endearing.

However, as Dorian settled the kid on his waist and the others continued to gush, he watched as Dr. Emile pulled Pa to the side and began to talk to him quietly. He could see the horror dawning on Pa’s face and the slight shake of his head, as if he was trying to deny a reality.

What was happening with Mum?

Dorian instantly felt sick and the success he had just felt with Virgil was washed away and almost meant nothing.

There was something seriously wrong.

He watched as Pa frantically tried to talk to the doctor, to beg him to tell him something different than what he was.

Dorian knew that Pa and Dr. Emile didn’t know they were in eyesight and watching the growing look of distress on Pa’s face, Dorian came to a horrible realization.

Mum was dying.

“Dorian,” Patton quickly pulled the fifteen-year-old from his revelation and he looked down to see four pairs of eyes staring up at him with wide eyes.

Unsure of what that look meant, he rose a brow. “What?”

“Virgil said his first word!” Remus broke the silence, eager to spill the news. “And he said fu—!”

“No he didn’t, dummy!” Roman broke his twin off before he could say the bad word itself. “He said ‘Dori’!”

“No he didn’t,” Dorian breathed, not knowing how to respond to that. Shouldn’t Virgil’s first word be mama or papa?

“Yes he did,” Patton said, earnestly searching his face.

“Dori!” Virgil chirped as if he was saying a full sentence.

He looked proudly toward the oldest brother and Dorian felt tears pooling in his eyes.

“See?”

Dorian didn’t deserve to be Virgil’s first word. He was just the older brother that made sure nothing happened to him. Mum and Pa deserved to be his first word. The people that had raised him, birthed him. Not the jackass older brother that only did what was asked of him, or defied Pa when he felt as though he wasn’t being fair.

He had conflicted feelings rising in his chest. On one hand, Virgil had just said his name! On the other hand, Pa looked as if he was going to have a mental breakdown and Dorian didn’t know what he was supposed to be reacting to.

He didn’t know what to process right now and what to wait on.

So he didn’t process any of it.

Dorian just stared at his brothers in silent contemplation as Virgil blinked big confused eyes at him.

“Dorian—” Patton tried, looking concerned with the lack of positive response. Or, heck, just a response at all.

“Patton, take him.”

Patton didn’t even have a choice as Dorian was shoving the toddler into the twelve-year-old’s arms, turning on his heel and making a dash for the door. Coincidentally brushing past both Pa and Mr. Emile.

“Dorian!”

He could hear the chorus of voices behind him and he couldn’t tell who was saying his name and who wasn’t. He just ran. Because running was the best thing he could do. Because running was the only thing he was coherent enough to do.

It was cold, it was dark, it was dangerous. But he kept going. He wasn’t going to leave the building, but there was only one place where he knew he could go without the risk of his brothers coming to find him. There was only one place where he could go and where he could be completely alone with his thoughts and that was it.

Within ten minutes, Dorian had reached the roof of the apartment building. After pushing open a hatch that led him out onto the shingles, he pulled himself up and crawled away from the opening itself.

He sat down near the edge of the roof itself as he peered down the five stories to the ground. To a borrower, it was a magnificent drop that would have terrified anyone else should they look from such a height. Dorian wasn’t afraid. He had a far more real threat to fear.

The fear of losing his mother.

With those thoughts raging in his mind, he hadn’t realized when the tears had begun to overflow and before long he was tucking his face into his arms as he broke down into sobs in his own company.

About an hour later Dorian could hear the footsteps of someone coming up behind him.

A figure came and sat beside him and he didn’t say anything. Dorian didn’t acknowledge he was there and instead just sat there in the silence together. He could tell that it was Pa, just by how he was sitting quietly. Sitting with his shoulders slightly slumped forward with his hands tucked comfortably into his lap. But if Dorian really looked, he could see that Pa’s eyes were turned upward, toward the night sky and the stars smattering it.

“It’s a beautiful night,” Pa said quietly. He wasn’t silently asking Dorian to say anything. He was just stating a fact. “The stars are bright and shining. You can see all the constellations nearly perfectly.”

“…Logan would like it,” Dorian finally said after a heartbeat of silence.

“You’re right,” Pa chuckled softly. “I suppose he would, wouldn’t he?”

“Mhmm.”

Pa took a soft breath and Dorian prepared himself for the worst—which had been in his best interest.

“I’m not sure how much you heard,” Pa admitted, turning just enough to see his son with his legs curled up into his chest, staring out over the city limits and the lights of the ever changing life. “But I do know that you know what’s going on with Mum.”

Dorian looked away, focusing his attention in the opposite direction of Pa.

Pa sighed softly, before taking in a gentler breath and turning his head up toward the stars again. “The doctor gave Mum about a week to live.”

“A week?” Dorian’s attention returned instantly at that and tears began to burn behind his eyes again. He couldn’t lose Mum. He couldn’t.

“I— I know kid, it’s not a lot of time to say goodbye to your mother,” Pa said, his own voice getting choked up by the advancement in their situation. “But Mum wouldn’t want you sitting out here freezing your tush off. Come on, Dorian, let’s get you back inside where it’s warm.”

“No,” the kid said, ducking his face into his arms as he turned away from his father. “I want to stay out here for a little longer.”

“Stop acting as if you really knew her,” Dorian spat, hate dripping from his tone as he stared the second oldest brother down. Patton remained unfazed, but there was something deeper building behind his brown eyes. “You’re still just a kid and— and even you don’t really understand what just happened and the fact that we won’t ever get to see Mum again!”

“Dorian you’re being unfair.”

He was too worked up for this. He didn’t care that Logan was holding Virgil in his arms, standing in front of the twins as they clutched onto his jacket and stayed hidden behind him. He didn’t care because they didn’t understand.

They never would. They were too young and naive.

“I’m being honest!”

“No, you’re being cruel!”

“I am not!” He finally raised his voice enough to cause the four younger ones to recoil. Logan’s hold tightened on Virgil—said kid having tears beginning to bubble and spill over—and Roman and Remus ducked completely behind Logan, almost as if they were afraid to look at their older brother.

Patton had flinched, but he wasn’t backing down. If anything, the shouting just made him dig his heels in further and he had more of a reason to stand his ground now.

“It’s called brutal honesty for a reason and just because you morons are too emotional to understand that, then fine! Be that way!”

With that, Dorian was ready to turn on his heel and leave to get some breathing space when—

“You’re not the only one that lost a mother!”

“What?”

He paused, surprised to hear such an outburst. As Dorian turned to look over his shoulder, he finally really looked at each and everyone of them.

Logan’s eyes were wide, a brief glimpse into how he was actually feeling as he held onto the one-year-old with his dear life. Virgil was hiccuping, eyes filled with glistening tears. Remus was peering out from behind Logan, but he was the only twin Dorian could see. And Patton…

Patton was furious. But when Dorian really looked at him, he could see the red lining his eyes, the water that hadn’t been wiped away for once and he could see that his hands were trembling, save it wasn’t with fear but unbridled anger. The thirteen-year-old was holding back a lot of mixed emotions and Dorian could see it clear as day in the dark hazel eyes, even as they seared with fire.

“You’re not the only one that lost a mom,” Patton grit out. Dorian wasn’t sure if he was going to burst into tears or tackle him to the ground—with his luck, it would be both. “All of us did. So stop acting all high and mighty for once in your life and realize that we’re in this situation together!”

A hiccuping gasp made Dorian’s eyes flicker from Patton back toward the other four, all huddled together. His eyes flickered over Virgil, who had his face hidden in Logan’s shoulder. Roman was still hidden behind him and Remus was in tears. It wasn’t very often Dorian saw the twin so emotional, he knew Remus tried to hide when he was upset, not wanting to get anyone else involved.

While Mum’s death had created a lot of misery within their little family, Dorian had only made it worse by shouting and blaming. Not that he would ever admit it, of course, but he was still just as angry as anyone else.

Before he could say another thing, Logan’s hand moved from Virgil’s back to land on Remus’s shoulder, just as he kept a sharp eye on Dorian himself.

Patton let out a breath, trying to sooth himself without getting just as worked up as Dorian had been. He rubbed a hand under his eyes and wiped at the tears that had escaped before turning his back to him. He went over to where the twins were hiding and Remus backed behind Logan further. Said brother stepped a bit further in front of him.

“Get a grip you two.” Logan’s eyes flickered between both Dorian and Patton, before he nudged Remus to head back inside. He quickly did the same with Roman and the twins ducked inside without another word. “We’re all sad that Mum’s gone, but why fight in front of them?”

Logan’s hand went back to rubbing circles along Virgil’s back as the kid began to sob more openly.

“This is ridiculous,” his voice was a harsh hush. His tone was sharp as a knife and more relentless. “If you’re going to fight, do it somewhere where the twins and Virgil can’t hear you. Especially if you’re arguing about Mum.” He turned his attention to the kid in his arms for a moment, stroking his hand through his hair before turning his eyes back to his older brothers. “Mum is gone and you two are bickering like jerks. Aren’t you the ones we’re supposed to look up to?”

“Logan—”

“Kid, wait—”

Ignoring both of them and leaving his words hanging heavily in the air, Logan turned on his heel and followed the twins inside, shutting the door behind him as he cooed quietly to the little boy in his arms, trying to get him to calm down.

The silence between them only held harsher.

“He’s right, Dorian,” Patton finally broke the silence, eyes filled with guilt. Dorian felt sick seeing him look so destroyed. “We’re supposed to be setting an example for them, Virgil especially. He’s getting perceptive and if he sees us fighting, who knows what’s going to happen.”

“He’s going to see that the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows,” Dorian snapped back, still angry and upset and not knowing what to do with it. “Virgil is going to be the only one in this family, next to me, with any common sense at all.”

Chapter Text

“Where’s Roman?”

“In the bowl.”

“What do you mean he’s in the bowl?”

“I‌ mean, Logan, he’s in the fucking bowl!”‌ Virgil hissed in a quiet whisper.

The fact that they were even talking about this was outrageous. The incident itself shouldn’t have happened in the first place and yet here they were. It was frustrating as all get out, but there was nothing they could do but try and find a way to get the youngest brother out of the mixing batter he was currently stuck inside.

The bowl in question was large enough that he wouldn’t be able to climb up the sides on his own—not covered in cake batter and not with how slick the inside of the walls were anyway.

“There’s no reason to cuss,”‌ Logan chastised him quietly, but the urgency was biting through the calm exterior. Remaining level headed was the best way to go about the situation but Logan was seething.

What an absolute moron for getting himself stuck in something like this. And with the human so close, too!

Just because said human was dealing with a customer out front didn’t mean they had a lot of time to get Roman out of the bowl and back into the walls in time without having him trail batter all over the counter top and leave an easy to follow trail, leading the human right to them and their hidden entrance.

“Your idiot little brother thought it would be a good idea to try and get a taste of the cake batter,”‌ Virgil muttered, leaning a bit further out of the hiding place, keen eyes watching the kitchen vigilantly, looking for a change or something that was out of the ordinary.

Logan snorted but he was far from amused. “Oh, so he’s only my little brother when he does something stupid?”

Virgil nodded. “Well duh. You’re the one that continued teaching him all these borrowing techniques after Mom and Dad dipped.”

“You can’t honestly be blaming me for his mistakes.”

Virgil bit out something along the lines of ‘if the shoe fits’ but Logan elected to ignore the petty remark.

Logan pushed a bit further out, brushing by the younger borrower before honing in on the fishing line still dangling over the side of the bowl. “Keep watch. I’m going to see if I‌ can get him out of there.” If the only thing he could do was make contact with Roman before Patton returned, then that’s what he would do.

Logan already had a few back-up plans if this did not go accordingly.

Breaking into a quick sprint across the counter from behind the flour jar, he wrapped his hand into the fishing line and heaved himself up to the rim of the bowl. Leaning his arms over the edge of it and peering inside, Logan’s eyes searched for the form of his youngest family member. Upon spotting it, he felt a whole bunch of emotions welling up. Ranging from fear to outrage to concern if he was hurt or struggling to breathe.

“Roman,”‌ he hissed and the other looked up to meet his eyes.

Roman’s entire body was covered head to toe in a thick mixture of brownish batter. The only parts of him that weren’t were his eyes as he had seemingly smeared the stuff off of himself. It seemed as though he was able to stand on the bottom of the bowl and keep his head above the level of batter, which was a huge relief. It meant there was no threat of the boy drowning (or would it be considered suffocating?) in the stuff. Yes, Logan was furious with this outcome but his main priorities at the moment were to get Roman out and get Roman to safety.

“Logan, thank God,” Roman called back up to him. “I— I‌ know this doesn’t look good but–”

“We’ll have plenty of time to talk about this later,” Logan snipped, as he unraveled his own hook and fishing line from around his torso. He did it with less grace than anticipated but it was off and that’s what mattered. They didn’t have enough time to dilly dally and the longer they talked, the less time they had. “I’m going to toss my hook and line in, grab onto it and I’ll pull you up to the rim of the bowl. You should be able to get out on your own from there.”

As Logan explained his plan, he tossed the hook into the batter and a few inches from where Roman was. Logan turned to look over his shoulder, spotting Virgil still tucked behind the flour jar. While it was safer for him there and had less of a risk being spotted if the human returned, he couldn’t do this by himself.

Him and the middle brother made eye-contact and Logan jerked his head toward himself, showing that he would need assistance. Four hands was better than two, after all.

Virgil double checked the coast—and then triple checked it—before sprinting across the counter to the bowl. “What do you need me to do?”

“Hold onto this,” Logan quickly let the other end of the rope go and Virgil caught it easily, winding his hands into it. “Roman.” He waited until the other borrower was looking up to him, eyes wide and worried but ready. “Hold the rope tight, we’re getting you out of there.‌‌ Do not let it go.”

Roman gave a single nod back in affirmation. Satisfied that his plan was about to commence, Logan wrapped his own hands into the top of the rope. After Roman had managed to wade through the waist high batter and grabbed a hold of the rope, Logan leaned back on it, already feeling the pull on the other end of it.

The cake batter was thick enough that Roman was practically stuck in place, which also spoke to how long he had been in one spot. Logan leaned further back, putting more of his body weight into the tug and he could feel the beginning of it to work.

“Virgil, pull!” He hissed downward.

“I‌ am!” Virgil hissed back, leaned back himself, putting his body weight into the lean as he tugged. The counter didn’t have much grip and he was struggling to get any traction at all.

“Logan, I’m slipping!”‌

“I‌ said to hold tight to the rope!”‌

“I‌ am!” Roman easily matched Logan’s fervor. “But it’s slipping. I can’t do this!”

“You can and you will.”

Roman could feel the rope digging into his palms but it wasn’t getting him anywhere. It was just giving him sore hands and a heavy heart. He wasn’t getting out of here, was he? He was going to get seen by the human and that was going to be that. He was never going to get to see his brothers again, was he?

Logan wouldn’t mind, his mind said suddenly, the bitter thought hitting him out of nowhere. You only ever manage to get him and Virgil in trouble. Without you, their lives would be so much easier.

Roman could feel the strain in his shoulders but he couldn’t feel himself moving.

“Logan—”

“Shut it, we’re going to get you out of there.”

“It’s—!”

The rope slipped from his hands.

As soon as the rope slackened and came shooting up in front of him, Logan gave a loud yelp as he ended up losing his balance and tumbling to the counter top. Virgil swore as he tripped backward and landed roughly on his rear.

“Logan!”‌ Both Roman and Virgil cried in sync.

The hook came flying upward, smeared with batter and Virgil quickly rolled out of the way of the weapon not exactly wanting to be caught under the sharp end of it. The batter splattered across the counter from where the hook landed and slip, but he wasn’t concerned with that.

Shocked from the outcome, he was more concerned about Logan who had fallen from a further height. He pushed himself up quickly, hurrying over to the elder brother and hovered over him, worried browns searching him for any breaks or sprains.

“Jesus Christ,” Virgil muttered, wanting to reach out and touch and really make sure he was fine, but keeping his hands to himself, “are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Logan readjusted his glasses, sitting up and rolling his shoulders back to ease the pain from them. “We have to try again. We don’t have time for this.”

“Just go,” Roman’s voice echoed out from inside. “You’re not going to be able to get me out, so just go. It’s not— it’s not worth it.”

“Stop that!”‌ Virgil twisted to face the bowl back, effectively shutting the other up. He helped Logan up as he winced, before going to the rope still dangling over the side and pulling himself up. He peered into the bowl. Upon reaching the top, Virgil noticed that Roman had toppled backward, covering himself in even more batter. He was sluggish and tired, but this wasn’t going to end like this. “You’re getting out. We’re not leaving you here. We can’t.”

“…yeah, no, sorry about that little mishap sir, I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again…” The human’s voice was loud enough that they could hear it through the door, which meant he was getting closer, which meant they were out of time.

“Virgil, get down,”‌ Logan barked. “Now.”

“I’m not leaving him, I’m not.”

“I‌ said get down!”

Not wanting to face the wrath of his older brother but also torn with the thought of not wanting to leave Roman helpless and by himself, he sent a glance down toward him. Instead of getting pity back, Roman only offered a halfhearted smile back up at him. Upset with the situation, but knowing he couldn’t do anything, Virgil pressed his lips into a thin line before dropping down to the counter.

As soon as he made contact with the marble, Logan grabbed him by the shoulders, firmly holding him in place. “We’re not leaving him for good,” he said, sharply but reassuring, “we just have to make sure we don’t get seen or else there is no chance. Get back behind the flour, I’ll be right there. Do you understand me?”

“Logan—”

“Do you understand me?”‌

“…yes.”

“Then go.”

With a sharp push, Virgil was on his way back to the flour jar and Logan was left standing openly. His eyes glanced around before grabbing his own hook off the ground and winding it up as quickly as he could before grabbing the wire of the second one on the bowl and flicking it up and catching it in one smooth motion, he was tucking it under his arm and ducking back the same way he had come.

Just as he dipped around the corner, he heard the door to the kitchen get pushed open and he could feel the tremors in the floor a bit more prominently. It meant the human was now in the same room as them and they still had to figure a way to get out of here without getting seen.

One of their exits was near the sink, which the tile was still loose enough that if Patton looked close enough, he would be able to see the inside workings of the door itself. However, if they could get there when his back was turned, Logan could find a way up to one of the higher shelves with the sugar containers and knock it over, potentially.

It was one of the backup plans he had already concocted, he just had to make sure that Roman stayed unseen for as long as possible.

He pressed his back against the cool glass and before Virgil could make a noise of fright, Logan quickly covered his mouth and pulled him closer to himself.

The water running from the faucet was the next sound they could hear and Logan leaned down a bit further. “I need you to stay here,”‌ he whispered, trying to make as little sound as physically possible. “Stay behind this jar and you’ll be fine.” He felt Virgil nod against his hand, as the borrower didn’t trust his voice. “I’m going to go up and push one of the jars off of the shelf and create a distraction. When the human is distracted, get Roman and run. Do not wait for me. I‌ will meet the both of you back home as soon as I can. Understood?” He got another nod. “Good.”

He let go of Virgil and peered around the corner, noticing that Patton’s back was now toward the sink but still facing away from them, he sprinted across the counter toward the sink and the hidden entrance. Just as he slid into the hole, he shifted the tile back into place and made almost invisible to the human eye once more.

Quickly feeling his way through the walls, Logan found himself shimmying through another small entrance that led onto one of the shelves in the kitchen. There wasn’t much up here save for a few containers full to the brim with sprinkles, chocolate chips and such else. He took a breath and stepped out, ducked down low and kept his eyes peeled for anything remotely bad happening.

The whole situation was already bad, but right now, Logan couldn’t allow it to get worse.

However, as he took in the scene before him, things started to click together and a different plan started to form. If they couldn’t get Roman out of the batter with both him and Virgil, there was only one person that could.

— — —

Roman had never seen a human up close before, and truthfully, he had never really wanted to. When he was younger, he saw it more as a game then anything else. But now, as he sat completely helpless in a bowl that he couldn’t get out of.

He was terrified.

He couldn’t do anything.

Virgil and Logan had tried and they couldn’t do anything either.

He wiped at some of the batter on his face, smearing it further but getting it off so that his vision was clearer. When the rope had slipped, he had been sent further back into the thick cream and ended up almost more stuck than before. The force of the slip hadn’t hurt, but it hadn’t been comfortable.

All he knew now, was that he had had more than enough batter for life. He never wanted to even smell this stuff again.

It didn’t feel right when you had it all over you. A‌ little bit in a hand wasn’t bad, but anything more than that and he was sick of it.

After the faucet turned off and left the kitchen in an eerie quiet again, save for outside noises of cars and people talking and such, he was faced with his frightening reality.

He was going to be seen and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Would the human be mad that he had accidentally ruined his batter? Roman could only pray not. Maybe he would be understanding and let him go with a gentle warning. Not likely, but one could have some resemblance of hope.

Roman pulled his hands up out of the sticky mess just as the bowl began to shake more and more. He blinked, feeling heat quickly welling behind his eyes and he turned his attention upward. Humans had never been more terrifying than when you’re staring up at them from directly below.

He tried to sink a bit further into the batter, hoping he could blend in since he was covered head to toe in the stuff. However, his slight movement seemed to do the exact opposite of what he wanted.

Within the same minute Roman had moved, the human’s deep brown eyes were zeroed in directly on him.

The borrower gasped, but the human’s louder surprised noise easily drowned his own out. He ducked down further in response, the loud noise close to a deafening volume. He could feel his heart speeding up in his chest, the way that the human looked…disgusted almost.

In any other moment, Roman might have been offended. He certainly wasn’t something to be disgusted by!‌ If he weren’t smothered in dark brown batter, he would look just as normal and clean and presentable as any human.

But right now, that look of disgust hovering above him only terrified him more.

When humans thought something gross was sneaking around their home, they killed it without hesitation. Borrowers did the same thing with bugs and rats and mice if they could manage it, so he understood it in a way.

“Oh gosh, what do I do?”‌ The human’s voice rumbled above him and tears sprang to Roman’s eyes. He was too young to die like this. Would Virgil and Logan even miss him if Patton did take this opportunity to off him?

If he were in a bit more of a sound mind, Roman would have realized that Patton didn’t have the heart to kill little things—they had witnessed the human freak out about mice, but always resorted to a humane way to get rid of them and have them released elsewhere.

However, right now he was convinced this was it. He was going to die covered in a sticky, deceptively delicious batter.

“Don’t worry little…thing,” the human told him, his voice dropping to a softer hush, gentler. “I’ll getcha right out of there.”

It seemed as though he hesitated however, unsure of how he wanted to get Roman out of there. His hands—huge, gigantic hands that were going to crush the life out of him—fluttered back and forth, before twisting together in a nervousness that only made the butterflies in‌ Roman’s stomach grow worse.

After it seemed that Patton had made up his mind, still looking hesitant but determined, he reached into the bowl with one hand and the other kept the bowl steady.

Seeing the fingers descending upon him, Roman yelped, trying to back up further. He would much rather be stuck in a bowl for the rest of his very short life than die in the hands of human. He really didn’t want to be touched or grabbed or held. He just wanted to be out of the bowl and back home with Virgil and Logan grumping at each other, bickering about the best time to go borrowing.

He just wanted to be with his older brothers again.

Had they really left him here all alone?

Serves you right for being an idiot and getting stuck in here in the first place.

“Shh, shh,” Patton tried to sooth him, making soft little sounds as if he was trying to coo to a scared animal that didn’t understand him. “It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurtcha, I‌ just wanna getcha out of there. Promise.”

Roman shook his head, but the movement seemed to go unnoticed or ignored just as the human’s fingers made contact with his back before beginning to curl around him—crushing him…no, no just touching. They were so unbearably warm and he yelped again, not expecting the touch to be so gentle. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the terror unfold in front of him.

“It’s really okay, I promise,” he hushed the little thing again, trying to calm it down. As he scooped his fingers around the tiny frame, Patton lifted the creature out of the batter and cupping it in his palms. “See? You’re fine!”

He could feel the tiny little heartbeat thundering against his fingertips, as wide terrified brown eyes stared up at himself. Whatever this thing was, it was trembling. It was terrified. Of him.

The thought didn’t sit well.

Patton had never been seen as intimidating before, but now was really not the time to be focused on that. Whatever this was, it needed his help and he would do that.

First things first, he needed to get that batter off of it. That certainly couldn’t be comfortable in the least.

He grabbed the dishtowel from the waist of his apron before heading over to the sink and turning the water on. He made sure to feel it was a lukewarm before dipping the cloth underneath it and then squeezing the excess amount of water out of it to the best of his ability with one free hand. The creature his other palm had seemed to freeze up, almost as if it was waiting for something else to happen.

Patton shut the tap of before settling the little one back onto the counter, and offering the washcloth out to it as well, even as it trembled.

“This is just so you can clean yourself off,” he reassured it quietly, unsure if the little thing could understand him anyway. If it couldn’t, Patton at least hoped it found a little comfort in the soft tone.

Before either could make another move however, a loud sound from just behind them made the both of them jump in sync. Roman had shot up to his feet, heart now pounding in his throat as his eyes wildly searched the area for a way to escape.

Patton made a surprised noise as his eyes landed on a shattered glass jar on the ground, chocolate chips and sprinkles smattering the flooring in a colourful pattern.

“You clean yourself off, little buddy and I’ll clean this up,” he said idly over his shoulder, going to retrieve the broom from the next room.

Roman watched the human go.

But he didn’t move.

He couldn’t.

His legs weren’t responding to him and he stood there hyperventilating. He had been held. Fucking held in a human hand and—and he was still alive.

Roman yelped for a third time when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist and he whipped around to find Virgil as the culprit.

“You didn’t leave me,” Roman’s voice broke on the words, he almost hadn’t been able to get them out in the first place.

Virgil looked hurt by the words and the sheer relief in his voice. “Of course not.” He then hastily remembered himself and tugged the younger borrower behind him. The pull had been sharp unintentionally, but it was better than standing there with a death wish for the both of them getting found.

Virgil quickly pushed Roman in front of him, making sure that no matter what happened, he would get home. The two sprinted across the counter-top as though their very lives depended on it and before long, they were climbing into the socket in the wall and closing it up behind them.

Virgil leaned against the wall, panting as his eyes scanned over Roman’s form, trying to see if he could make out any injuries on him in the dark. It was difficult, since he didn’t have great eyesight in the pressing darkness, but he was convinced he would be able to see something if there was something horribly wrong, like a broken bone or something.

Which was unlikely but still, you could never be too careful.

“Roman I—” Virgil was cut off almost as soon as he had said the other’s name and then had an armful of said borrower. Roman was burying his face into his neck and his hands dug into the back of his hoodie.

Slightly taken aback as Roman wasn’t usually this affectionate, Virgil blinked. Quickly realizing that this was because Roman needed the comfort, he held him tightly, if not more so.

Virgil couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like to lose complete control over your life, and he was rather surprised by how well Roman was holding up. However, he wasn’t sure how long this stoic outside was going to last before everything eventually fell apart and they were left trying to pick up the pieces.

He felt a sob hitch against his chest as Roman only held him closer, and that protective urge reared its head high and sharp.

It was quite easy to realize just how many choice words Virgil had for Logan.

Especially if this was the aftermath of his great goddamn plan.

“It’s okay,”‌ he mused softly, his hand moving up and down the other’s back in a comforting and steady pattern. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. I‌ promise.”

Chapter Text

“Just- put one out at least,” Roman had insisted—rather earnestly—earlier that morning before he left for his Saturday rehearsal.

The thing in question being a trap. The kind that was designed to catch a pest and keep it stuck in place. Apparently it didn’t matter to his roommate what kind of trap it was as long as there was something. Preferably, as he had said, one that would snap closed and put the creature out of its misery.

One could hate a pest, but still have enough mercy to give it a quick end.

“You’re being paranoid,” had been the quick response. Logan hadn’t even looked up from his notebook as he nursed his morning coffee. “You know for a fact that your chance of encountering a human nowadays is slim-to-none.”

“I am not being paranoid!” Roman had squawked back indignantly. “Come on Logan, just humour me for once. One trap, that’s all I’m asking. One. Because you can never be too sure. Who’s to say they’re actually extinct?”

“Science,” Logan hummed, already easily recalling information on the topic. It was a debate he and Roman had been through plenty of times and a subject that Logan was particularly well versed in because of it. “Research. The proof being a study that has been conducted continuously over the past 20 years. Statistically speaking, it has been said that humans have been extinct for little over 15 years.”

“It has been said” Roman had cut the other male off, looking as if he had just won the argument with that single statement. Roman had slipped his jacket on and slung his bag over his shoulder. He was just twisting Logan’s words to use against him. “And before you can whine about it, I even already took the liberty to go out and buy a single trap. Just one. I could have gotten two or seven, but I didn’t. That’s how great a roommate I am.”

Truthfully, Logan didn’t quite understand what the whole fuss was about.

He’d grown up with the same information any other child had. Yes, humans could bite and hurt you, even possibly get you sick, but so could literally any other creature. So, what made a human any different from any other small animal?

He had always been told that humans were feral creatures. They would bite, scratch, tear and maim, but it was all in their own self-defense and not so much for the fun of it. If one was hurt by a human, it was because that person had done something to frighten it and make it fear for its life.

True, there were some animals that would injure an individual just to elicit a sense of pleasure, but every human that Logan had ever stumbled upon had been more afraid of him than he was of it.

Humans were animals that usually only lashed out when they felt threatened or out of control of their situation and needed to defend something of theirs or themselves.

When Logan was younger and humans were more commonly found, he had known kids in his grade that would catch the little things and torture them. Some of the kids he had grown up with had stolen utensils from the science lab to stab and wound and graze, while some went more natural and used their hands and fingernails to maim. Giggling as the human squirmed and cried for release. The other kids had found some sick satisfaction in watching the poor creatures beg and plead and sob, only to have their wails silenced under a shoe or the pressure of a book or—God forbid—someone putting the human in their mouth and disposing of them that way.

It was incredibly disturbing.

Not to say that Logan didn’t have his own morbid curiosity at the time, but it never exceeded trapping a human under a glass and then watching them huddle against the opposite side of the containment.

Even now, he wasn’t entirely convinced he would kill the little creature just as everyone else had done. As people would probably continue to do.

He had always been more interested in a kind of a catch-and-release thing.

It was far more useful to actually study the human alive, when it could talk back and answer questions.

He had wanted to keep one to study, to talk with and get the truth about rumours and prevalent misconceptions, and Logan almost had gotten away with it. Until his mom had found the jar in his backpack, immediately chided him for bringing the dangerous disgusting creature inside the house before tossing it outside without a second thought.

She had made it quite clear that she wanted nothing to do with humans. She had made his father put out traps that were well disguised, as a human would be able to see something that was just laid out for them to wander into. It was either because they had began to understand the cages and baits being left out and could recognize them for what they were, or humans had a higher level of intelligence then what they were given credit for.

Of course, some of the traps that his kind had made were incredibly obvious and humans would easily be able to discern them from the rest of the natural environment.

They certainly weren’t as dense as teachers and other adults posed them to be. His class had once done a project on it, focusing on the natural behaviours of humans and such.

It had been fascinating in the moment.

Learning about rumours, a common one being that humans had venom, which was what got people sick. Or if they just carried diseases and it was spread through their saliva and injected after a bite. It was a ridiculous notion, of course, but a ridiculous notion that had terrified countless people into believing.

However, as Logan grew up and human sightings became less and less frequent, he had felt his curiosity dwindling and had instead focused his energy into more important and pressing matters; such as graduation and finding a suitable University.

In all honesty, he had almost forgotten completely that the creatures had existed in his lifetime—that there had been widespread panic about it. Immunizations, countless public warnings, ways to disinfect your home flashing all over the TVs, ways to protect your children and pets, et cetera, et cetera—up until he had met Roman.

He acted as though the threat was still real and it was obvious that Roman’s parents had instilled the fear of God into their son. Logan had tried to reassure him countless times, with hard facts and research not to mention, that humans were no longer a threat to their kind. There was literally no reason to have such an irrational fear of them anymore.

And even if humans weren’t extinct, Logan was positive that they wouldn’t be foolish enough to walk into the home of someone who was so obviously superior in every single way. It would almost be as if they were setting themselves up for failure.

“Fine,” Logan had relented eventually, gaining a blindingly bright grin from Roman. “If only to appease your nonsensical worries.”

“Thanks Logan!” Roman had chirped back at him before slipping out the front door. “You’re the best!”

Of course, after he had found the trap still packaged in the grocery bag that had been left on the kitchen counter, he thought of it as being trivial and unnecessary. Even as he was setting the trap in the living room, Logan didn’t expect to actually catch anything. He was positive that the thing would sit there, collect dust and that would be that.

But if having it set eased some of Roman’s anxieties—and shut him up about it for a while—then fine, he would go through the motions.

Not to mention, a secret part of him was silently hoping one of the creatures would be caught in the trap. Of course, it was more for the scientific aspect of it. Certainly not because of that childish spark of wonder. That way, as well, he might actually have the chance to understand why everyone was so up in arms about them, without the fear of being caught harboring one.

His mother had always been too vigilant when it came to him, as he had tried to sneak multiple living creatures into his bedroom to study under close observations. She had always been on him within minutes. Now, as an adult, he would be able to make his own decisions without the risk of someone trying to make them for him.

It was unlikely and if the trap remained empty, then he would be able to finally prove to Roman that there was nothing to be worried about. Apparently facts didn’t mean anything when you couldn’t see the proof right in front of your face.

And if Logan was right—which he knew he was—the trap itself would remain void of anything even remotely interesting.

So, as evening rolled around and he was sitting down at the kitchen table studying for his final midterm, the sound of the trap snapping shut on something with a high pitched yelp following quickly afterward was something he hadn’t been expecting in the slightest.

At first, Logan had even thought he’d imagined it.

It was illogical to believe that, clearly the noise had been real and there was a creature stuck in the trap in the next room over, but a part of him was still reeling in shock.

Then there was the fact that it had happened so quickly after it had been set.

It had been a little under 6 hours since Logan had hidden the trap under the couch- a place where his father had always set traps. It had always seemed to work quite well. Even as a child, he could remember trying to pester his father to let the creature live, but it had always been for naught. The human would beg, trying to find ways to sway his dad, but it never worked. His father had been a strong willed man and ignored the panicked promises.

Logan hadn’t liked it, but there was nothing he could have done. Besides, that was the way of the world.

Humans that allowed themselves to get caught, even by accident or by chance, were susceptible to laws of nature.

And that meant losing out to the dominant creature.

However, he had to remind himself that just because the trap had caught something, it didn’t automatically mean it had caught what he thought it had. There was a good possibility that it had been another animal, something that was far less elusive and commonly found in households.

Even with that being said, it didn’t stop the hesitant excitement at the prospect of finding a human from flooding in.

A part of him realized a bit belatedly that if he sat in utter silence, even going as far as to hold his breath, there were soft sounds that he could barely make out over the natural sounds of the home. Whatever was caught in the trap was very much stuck and it didn’t seem to be as if it was going anywhere.

Not that Logan minded; if it truly was a human caught in the trap, it would hardly be a discovery if it managed to scamper off within a few minutes.

Feeling elation beginning to bubble, Logan eagerly pushed away from the kitchen table and headed toward the living room. The closer he got, the louder the little sounds were and the more he felt as if this situation was really happening. Now that he was older, and if there really was as human trying to escape, no one could tell him any differently. Roman could bitch and whine about it all he wanted but if Logan kept the creature away from him, he was sure it would be fine.

Perhaps it would be better to keep the creature a secret. For awhile, at least.

Rounding the corner into the room, his eyes went to lock onto the couch immediately. He couldn’t see what was there from this vantage point, but he was very much aware that something was there.

As the creature seemed to register the bigger presence in the room, the sounds softened and even disappeared entirely. It was a defense mechanism, a survival instinct to make oneself appear invisible, to go completely silent and as still as physically possible.

Almost as if one could hide in plain sight, even if they were completely visible.

Taking a breath to steady the anticipation, Logan took his first steps into the living room before approaching the couch with a calm demeanor and paced, calculated, quiet steps. There was no reason to terrify the tiny creature more than it probably already was.

Logan got down onto his hands and knees, ducking down low enough to peer underneath the couch itself.

“Oh.” Logan hadn’t even realized he’d made the noise of astonishment until he was lowering himself down to lay flat on his stomach.

There, under the couch by the back wall, was a minuscule humanoid figure who sat paralyzed in the darkness of the chesterfield’s underbelly. Wide eyes drifted to Logan’s features before they locked on each other with unwavering gazes. Before long, the human’s chest began to rise and fall in a rapidly unsteady and obviously terrified pattern. The two of them stayed like that for a what felt like ages—which was probably closer to a minute or so rather than forever—engaged in the oddest staring contest Logan had ever been involved in.

It was as if they were both waiting in anticipation for something. For the other one to do something.

The human was obviously waiting for Logan to lash out, injure or kill it, which was proven by how it was trying to lean away from him, shoulders bunched and body titled away from him as best as it could.

Body language was easy to read, even on such a small subject.

Of course, even leaning away from him wasn’t going to do anything since the trap, and the human in turn, were easily within his reach.

Wanting to get a closer look, Logan pulled himself forward a bit. In response to this innocent movement, the human had flinched further away from him, trying to draw further in on itself as best it could, but a sharp noise of pain drew the human’s attention right back down to its lower body. However, the creature’s eyes flickered between Logan and the trap snapped shut on its leg religiously, as if it wasn’t sure what was the bigger threat at this point.

Logan wasn’t afraid of it escaping.

Actually…he wasn’t afraid of it at all. Which brought back the earlier question of why and how so much panic had spread because of such tiny little things.

Had it all been started by some runaway rumour and people had taken it seriously enough to nearly wipe out an entire species?

Looking down at this little human, it was so simple to see just how terrified it was of him. The wide panicked look on its features, the crazed horrified expression in its eyes. Even with the way it was trying to discern how it was going to die. Whether it was by Logan or by the trap.

Truly, the human was more afraid of him than he was of it.

“Look at you,” Logan mused under his breath, watching the human flinch again at the sound of his voice. “Aren’t you just fascinating.”

Being tucked under the couch though was proving to be incredibly uncomfortable and it was hard enough to see the little human as it was, so Logan’s next course of action was to pull the creature out into the light where he could properly examine it.

After a second of readjusting himself, he reached his hand forward only to pause when another yelp from the human sounded. He furrowed his brows for a moment, looking rather perplexed. He was just simply going to move the creature out of such a confined space and into the open, what could it possibly be so upset about?

Then it dawned.

Considering the human’s perspective, he supposed it would be a rather frightening sight.

“Ah, I see.” Logan lowered his tone a bit more, watching as the little one’s eyes stayed locked on him. “I only want to get you out from under here. I mean you no harm.”

Even if the creature didn’t understand the words he was saying, he could at least hope it would find some comfort in the gentle tone. He was speaking to it in a quiet voice, trying to soothe the frightened animal without presenting himself as more of a threat.

The human shook its head, its expression only growing more distressed and Logan was left reeling for a second time that night.

The human could understand him. Which meant it could speak. Which meant he could get some of his questions answered.

That could wait, however. He quirked a brow, trying to prompt another response. “You’d rather stay under here?”

The human nodded quickly, turning its head away and ducking further down into itself. Logan noticed that it was trying to protect its shin from more harm. It was obviously in fear that Logan was going to take this advantage to kill it or hurt it further.

While that would be anyone else’s intention, it wasn’t his. Not right now, at least.

He hummed, more to himself than anything. However, this was not going to work for much longer. The human could whine and complain and carry on for as long as it wanted, but Logan really couldn’t stay in this position anymore. His shoulders were starting to cramp and it really wasn’t comfortable in the least. So, with that in mind, he began to reach forward again, this time completely intending to bring the little thing out into the light no matter how it reacted.

The human, predictably, cried out. The noise was sharp and terrified and Logan felt a slight pang at it, but easily schooled the expression and grabbed the trap around the edges of it. Far enough away from the animal itself if it decided to try and bite him.

With that settled, he shifted himself backward and dragged the trap along with him. In little under 15 seconds, Logan was sitting back upright in the living room.

This was a far better way to actually see the creature itself. And it would be far easier to study its mannerisms this way as well.

Which briefly reminded him he’d need to find a suitable living space for the human before he could get his hands on either a cage or a terrarium. He made a mental note to deal with that issue later. Right now, a box would most likely suffice, especially with how injured the little thing seemed to be.

Finally getting to actually see it however, was a whole different story. Not only were there two heterochromia eyes staring up at him with evident distrust, but there was blood staining the creature’s pant leg. The shin itself didn’t…look right, to put it lightly.

The little chest was rising and falling even faster than before and Logan realized that hovering over it like he was, was putting an undue amount of stress on the little thing’s nerves. The last thing he wanted was to have the human’s heart stop due to its distress and then lose his only chance in ages to actually learn anything about the species.

“Since I know you can understand me, I’m going to ask you to listen to these instructions very carefully.”

The human’s expression crumbled for just a moment, as it bared its teeth and hissed at him.

Logan couldn’t say he was surprised.

Obviously the human still thought it was in danger, so he lowered himself back down onto his stomach, head resting on his arms as his eyes flickered over the little thing. Certainly, from the human’s perspective, Logan was the one threatening it, so there was no wonder why it was acting the way it was.

When he was a child, he had seen other kids ignore the warning signs like these. The hissing was an obvious one, but there were other physical displays of displeasure such as stepping back, growling, baring one’s teeth, scowling. It was times like those where the kids had gotten hurt, all because they weren’t perceptive enough to understand that the little creature was literally warning them that if they didn’t back off, the human would defend itself with whatever means necessary.

In this situation, Logan was the dangerous and he wasn’t oblivious to that fact.

“I do not wish to repeat myself,” he spoke up, but his voice was significantly softer, trying to make himself seem less like a threat. “But I will if that is what makes you understand that you are not in danger.”

The human eyed him, its lip curled up into a sneer even if its eyes were telling a whole other story.

“You are safe,” Logan made sure to say it with enough force behind it to ring true. Even if the creature was seconds from its panic. “I will not harm you. Now, take a breath and try to relax to the best of your ability. I will not force you to do this, but it is in your own best interest to calm down and think rationally.”

At first, it didn’t seem as though the human was listening to him, or wanted to listen to him but after a few heartbeats passed, Logan noticed that the creature’s chest wasn’t expanding nearly as quickly as before.

Which meant he was being listened to and understood.

And his words were true. He wasn’t planning on hurting the human. Not if he could help it, at least. Injuring it would instill a new sense of terror into the creature, and it would fear his presence at all times. Which then meant Logan wouldn’t get honest or concise answers—if he would get any speaking at all. If his presence caused nothing but fear, it would take double the effort to get the human to trust him again.

Two mismatched eyes looked up to Logan’s hazels again and he could see more than just residue fright in them. There was an honest confusion behind them, which also spoke to why the human was still leaning away from him as best as it could.

Before he could even think to say anything, however, the little one beat him to it.

“…why are you doing this?”

Logan knew humans could speak, but he didn’t think he would get conversation from it so quickly. Especially not after nearly scaring the thing half to death and catching it in a trap that very obviously broke its shin.

However, he was genuinely confused by what it meant. “Why am I doing what?”

The human looked as if it wanted to move but jostled its shin. The creature bit out a hiss, its hands fluttering over the blood stained article of clothing, wanting to touch it but knowing that it wouldn’t benefit it in the least if it did.

“Talking to me,” it clarified as the wave of pain seemed to pass long enough to form a coherent sentence and grit it out. “This is some sort of sick game, isn’t it?” The look of horror almost returned as if the human seemed to have some sort of dawning realization. “You’re talking to me to lull me into a false sense of security and then that’s when you’ll do it. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“I can assure you that is not my plan.”Apparently the human still didn’t believe him, which was easy to tell since it was still glaring at him. Unrelenting and distrusting, but Logan really couldn’t fault it for feeling such a way. If the human understood how his kind had been raised, then he would have to be foolish to believe that the human would trust him at all.

The creature snorted in his direction. “Then explain why there’s a trap snapped shut on my leg right now,” it spat, “if killing me isn’t your goal, what’s the point of it?”

Logan supposed it had a point, actually. “Consider it a precaution for my roommate’s irrational phobias,” he said casually, his fingers drumming the ground in a rhythmic pattern idly, “though, I can’t say I’m dissatisfied with the outcome of setting it in the first place.” The human’s multi-coloured eyes widened at the implication of that, and Logan was quick to realize he hadn’t phrased it well. “I haven’t seen one of your kind since I was a child.”

The human tilted its head away, eyes scanning the ground as if it was looking for some sort of escape. The creature’s shoulders were tense, but they also seemed to be trembling a little. Of course, Logan didn’t think the human was over its fear of him, but he had at least thought they had reached an understanding; the understanding that he wasn’t a danger.

However, just before he could advance the conversation toward a topic that was better suited for what was to come, the human was speaking in a quiet voice, obviously scared of the answer he was going to give it yet morbidly curious enough to want to know its fate.

“…what are you going to do to me?”

Logan wasn’t one to soften the truth, so he didn’t. “I’m going to study your mannerisms and natural behaviours. I also would like to debunk some common spread myths and rumours about your kind, so having you coherent and conscious is beneficial to both you and myself.”

This, however, apparently was not reassuring. The little human’s eyes only seemed to grow wider—if that was possible—and all the terror came flooding back. It only took Logan half a second to realize that it was beginning to hyperventilate again.

“Y-you’re,” the little one heaved, “you’re not letting me go.”

Logan furrowed his brows, thoroughly confused at this point. Did the human really think it was going to be released? Not when its leg was as broken as it was and certainly not with how many questions Logan had for it. He had been waiting literal years to get this chance, and he’d be damned if he was losing it now. He pushed his glasses up to sit comfortably on the bridge of his nose.  “I thought that was evident?”

The human shook its head. Of course the information wasn’t meant to comfort it, Logan had at least thought that the creature would understand that this was for its own well-being as well. This whole situation wasn’t only to benefit himself (though, that was a rather large portion of the reason) but it would also help the human survive longer than it would have in the wild. At least here, the little thing would live a more fulfilled life.

It would have a more balanced diet, a reliable and consistent source of water and food, and not to mention a safe place to sleep without the risk of a larger predator finding it. This set up was not designed to be cruel.

Then again, Logan also knew that humans are very sociable creatures, which led him to believe that this little one did not live alone. Which could then in turn grant him the chance to study two humans. Of the same colony, no less. The cage he had would have to be a substitute homestead for the creature, but he was reassured that as time goes on he would be able to provide a more spacious living area.

Eventually.

That being said, Logan would need to discuss the fact that the creature was, in fact, staying and Roman wouldn’t be able to change his stance on that. He knew his roommate would practically beg him to get rid of the thing or “put the little creature out of its misery for Christ’s sake” because even if Roman wasn’t a fan of humans, he was ever the hero.

However, as Logan’s attention shifted back onto the human in front of him, he was surprised to find that it was unconscious. It must have hyperventilated so much it had shut itself down. It was a commonality with his own kind as well. So having something faint on him was not something Logan was unaccustomed to. He remembered when he was younger how some other kids would pull dumb pranks on each other, or show their friends how they could make themselves pass out by holding their breath.

In this case, though, Logan was positive that the little human hadn’t done it on purpose.

To knock oneself out in the presence of a being that could do literally whatever they wanted was not a tactic to keep oneself alive. If Logan had been anyone else, they would have taken this chance to kill the thing without the worry of it staring at them with big, pleading, scared eyes.

It was a reason why his mother had never been able to kill a human and always had his father dispose of it.

“Well,” he murmured to himself, reaching forward more confidentially, now without the threat of being bitten, “that’s unfortunate.”

Seems he’d have to wait to get his first few questions answered.

Then there was the fact that Logan didn’t exactly know what had caused the creature to faint in the first place. Had he come off too strong and overwhelmed it? Possibly.

Pulling the trap closer to himself, Logan quickly undid the latch that released the metal bar; the one snapped shut on the human’s limb. As soon as it was released, the little body seemed to relax a bit more. The human was completely limp and Logan could use that to his advantage. He set his hand down next to the trap and carefully nudged the motionless form into the bowl of his palms. He quickly cupped his hands together and left the trap forgotten on the floor.

It had been years since he had held a human in his hands, and Logan had easily forgotten just how light they were. They practically weighed nothing! He made another mental note to weigh the creature and jot down it’s height and other peculiar physical oddities.

His curiosity was piqued further as he held the creature. The human itself was incredibly small. The little one, curled up on his palms the way it was, was no longer than his littlest finger. When he had held humans in his youth, they had been big enough to hold with two hands, but now. Now, as a grown adult, the little thing—if it were to be completely spread out—probably wouldn’t even cover the entirety of a single hand.

There certainly was a lot more physical information that he could just gather from looking at it but the more in depth and interesting answers would hopefully come from the creature itself.

A part of him wondered idly if the human was full grown itself. It looked as if it was, but looks could be deceiving.

Logan carefully rose into a stand, not wanting to upset the precarious position the little one was in nor jostle it more than necessary. He didn’t want to cause it more pain than it was already in. That reminded him, he really needed to treat that shin. While it would be easier for Logan to have the human incapable of movement, which would keep the animal from running off on him (when it was conscious), he wasn’t cruel and the human would want to be able to move and stand and walk around on its own.

Logan could hardly imagine being bedridden for the rest of his own life, never mind the idea of never getting the chance to walk on one’s own again.

That and if they managed to actually establish a working relationship and even the smallest amount of trust, then Logan wouldn’t have to fear the human escaping. Besides, if they began to actually get along and the human realized he had a good thing going on here, then it would be simpler and less emotionally charged.

Logan was well aware that when the human awoke, it would be disorientated and terrified and angry and in pain– which could and would heighten more of these feelings, but for now he was going to treat the human’s injury and deal with the emotional turmoil that will come when the creature awoke.

Chapter Text

They hate you.

Why wouldn’t they?

You just ruin absolutely everything.

You’re worthless.

Pathetic.

Virgil’s fingers dug into the sleeves of his hoodie, clenched so hard that his knuckles began to turn a pure white.

The voices in his head were loud and sharp and ringing and the only thing he could hear. The only thing he could focus on and listen to, even as they chastised and hissed and snarled.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it all out to the best of his ability.

Can’t even let your host have one good day, can you? What a complete and utter fuck up you are.

He stifled a noise, a sob that hitched in his chest and came out as a helpless whimper.

You’re ruining their lives.

They know it. You know it.

What good are you at all?

He had a purpose, he was sure he did!

Virgil kept them safe.

Made sure they didn’t let their excitement for something get to their heads. Sometimes being the pessimist made them stop eagerly talking about doing something stupid—something that could obviously get them injured, or sick, or…or dead!

Roman especially, what, with all his talk about going off and fighting dragons and being a hero and a Prince that always swooped in to save the day at the last minute. Constantly talking up the Imagination and about how valiant and courageous he was and being an absolute fucking idiot.

It’s what anxiety was supposed to do. He was supposed to protect them.

You don’t protect them, you make them miserable.

So what was he doing so wrong?

He choked on another noise, one closely resembling a sob and buried his face deeper into his hoodie. He hadn’t even noticed the tears rolling down his cheeks before he felt the wetness sinking into his hoodie, dark eye shadow staining the dark fabric to an inky black.

The worst part about all of these echoing voices was that they were saying things he had heard before.

These weren’t things that his subconscious was creating just to torture him for the fun of it. These are things that had been said to his face. Things he had said to himself. Things he had said and no one had ever said differently, their silence only reassuring his thoughts and making him feel worse than before.

Though, the darkness of his bedroom was making it easier to suffer through by himself. No one was going to come looking for him.

If Anxiety was missing, who would care?

No one, a voice sneered, one that sounded as if it were too close to him for comfort. Virgil kept his head ducked down, hands quivering as he dug them further into his sleeves. They’re not going to miss you and you know that. What does it matter anymore?

He couldn’t go back to the others and it was obvious that Creativity, Logic and Thomas didn’t want him around.

Virgil was completely and utterly alone.

He raised a hand to his mouth, trying to stifle the broken noise that managed to escape. But one sob turned into two, then three. And then they didn’t stop. The darkness around him only seemed to grow dimmer, more sinister and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Not when he was this worked up. As his sobs grew louder, so did the voices. Everything was just a humming, buzzing, loud confusing mess of nothing and everything all at once.

It wasn’t until he heard a gentle knocking on his bedroom door did he remember that his actions still had consequences on the others. He couldn’t lose control of himself.

He couldn’t.

“Anxiety, kiddo, is everything alright in there?” It was Morality.

Gentle, understanding, caring, emotional, easily manipulated Morality.

But why did his voice sound so different?

Virgil had to gather himself enough to say something back. He couldn’t sit here in silence and he really didn’t want Patton coming in. If Patton saw him in this state, it would be too much all at once.

It wasn’t before he looked up did he see the real toll this entire thing was taking on him. His comforter was like an ocean of black. Ready to swallow him under and drown him if he wasn’t able to get out in time.

The bed’s headboard towered over him and it only made the air rush in and out of his lungs faster.

No. No, no, no!

This wasn’t happening, not right now, please God, not right now.

Now was possibly the worst time for this to happen.

Patton knocked again, it was almost a bit louder this time. As if he thought Virgil hadn’t heard him. Of course, that idea wasn’t too far off as Virgil almost always had his headphones on, ignoring the world unless he was causing a scene and trying to talk some sense into their host.

“Anxiety?” The other Side tried again, “can I come in?”

The pure, unbridled fear that phrase made Virgil feel was unrivaled.

Patton couldn’t come in here. Absolutely not. But the sound of the door handle jiggling and the door itself beginning to open when he hadn’t received a negative answer made him react before he had thought it through clearly.

“No!” The distortion of his voice made him flinch backward, hands snapping up to cover his mouth as if that would have taken it back. To take the desperation out of his voice.

He scrubbed at the wetness creeping down his cheeks, sniffling before removing one hand and latching it back into his hoodie sleeve, letting his blunt nails sink deeper into his skin. Almost hard enough to draw blood.

Virgil could not do this right now.

His head ached, his eyes stung, his throat was tight and he could hardly breathe. He didn’t need anyone literally hovering over him. He wouldn’t be able to handle all that well-meaning energy at such an unbearable size. Not to mention, he had never seen any of the others when something like this happened.

When he was reduced to an absolutely embarrassing size.

Not to mention he was completely helpless if any of them did see him. He wouldn’t be able to stop any one if they wanted to mess with him, to tease or taunt, or– or get payback for him just existing.

“Sorry bud, I- didn’t mean to overstep any…boundaries,” Patton said after a moment, and Virgil could hear the other shuffling outside the door as if he didn’t know what to do with himself. “I can come back and check on you in a couple hours if you’d prefer?”

In all reality, he didn’t want Patton to come back at all.

Why couldn’t he just leave him alone to sulk by himself? Was that really too much to ask?

You’re such a disappointment.

Patton tries so hard to include you and you let him down time and time again. You really are the villain, aren’t you?

“No,” he mumbled to himself, his throat choking him up as he buried his face back into his arms.

He wasn’t always bad… was he?

The thought made another feeling ripple through him again and heat flourished through him. In another second, Virgil was reduced a size down further.

His panic kicked into high gear at that.

How long would this go on? Would he just keep getting smaller and smaller? Until nothing remained? Until anxiety was no more?

…would that really be so bad?

He shook his head.

Of course it would be bad! He would be leaving Thomas defenseless. There had to be someone looking out for the others, keeping their host from forgetting to lock his car and then having someone steal it in the middle of the night, or someone to remind him to keep running lines and running lines and running lines until he hated reading the words on the page in the script.

The sound of footsteps growing closer outside his door made Virgil come to a startling realization. Patton hadn’t left yet and was still waiting for an answer.

He could almost see the fatherly trait standing with his hands linked in front of him, rocking back and forth on his feet probably worriedly nibbling at his bottom lip. Wanting to come inside, but not wanting to put undue stress on him.

He felt guilt stab him in the stomach. An icy knife that twisted and turned until he felt physically nauseous.

“What ever is the matter, Padre?”

Virgil’s chest seized.

Creativity.

His day just kept getting worse and worse, didn’t it?

“I’m worried,” Patton relented. While their voices were slightly muffled, Virgil could make out every word. He was torturing himself just listening to the conversation.

“Whatever for?” Roman asked again, his voice was loud and distinctly easy to make out. It was intimidating normally, but like this, Virgil wouldn’t be able to handle it at all. “Is Anxiety troubling you? I shall not let this continue if that is the case! Heed me villain—” Virgil flinched at his tone of voice, knowing very well that Roman was unhappy, “—I shall not let you torment our Dear Morality any longer th-”

“No, no! Roman, it’s okay!” Patton quickly intervened, effectively shutting the creative Side up instantly. “I’m worried about him. I want to check on him, but I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”

“Than allow me, Padre.”

“Oh, Roman, wait—”

Light suddenly flooded in from the hallway and Virgil ducked further down into the blankets. The one pro that this size gave him was that he could hide a hell of a lot easier than normal. At least like this, he could avoid detection. His hands shook worse as his only safe space was about to be invaded by two people he really didn’t want to be in here right now.

“I didn’t want—oh!” Patton sounded surprised and Virgil couldn’t risk actually looking right now, lest he get spotted. “It’s empty! I could have sworn I heard his voice in here.”

“It could all be a trick, Patton, don’t be fooled by the innocent look of the empty room,” Roman was quick to assume—as he always was, the idiot—and leaned in a bit further. “I bet he’s afraid.”

Patton hummed quietly, thoughtfully. “He did sound upset earlier. I hope he’s not too anxious.”

Ha. Fat chance with that one.

“Worry not, Dearheart,” the Prince spoke again, making Virgil’s heart stammer. “I shall search and see if the villain resides in his lair.”

And that nearly made Virgil’s heart stop.

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” the Heart was quick to try and oppose the idea, but he was brushed off it seemed as Virgil could hear the footsteps entering his bedroom and the energy shifted, making the heaviness in his chest tighten and his breathing come in wheezing heaves. “Um, if you find him, could you pass on the message that I want him to join us for dinner tonight?”

“But-”

“Please, I just want him to know that I want him there. It..would be nice to have everyone together for dinner, at least once.”

“I shall pass on your message if I find him, Patton, don’t you fret.”

Virgil heard a pair of footsteps head back down the hallway and he knew that Patton had finally taken his leave, however, it was only one pair. Which meant a certain someone was still standing in his room and he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Alright Anxiety,” Roman’s voice was powerful and thunderous and thoroughly fucking petrifying. “I know you’re in here, you felon. Show yourself!”

He couldn’t breathe. His blood was rushing in his ears, the water behind his eyes was hot and tingling. His stomach was churning with unease and he was seconds away from throwing up.

“If this is some well thought out plan to catch me off guard, I assure you I shall not be taken by surprise so easily,” Creativity continued, his footsteps getting louder and closer and no no no, stay the hell away from the bed! “I know you’re here Anxiety. You might as well come out and save yourself the trouble. It would make it far easier for the both of us. This game can only last for so long.”

Please, God, stop talking like that. You’re not making this any better!

“Ah ha! Thought you could pull a sly one on me, didn’t you. I know exactly where you are.”

The sound of Roman’s stupid, cheesy Prince costume getting closer only made Virgil want to crawl into a hole and disappear forever. Never to be seen again. Ever.

“The hiding under the covers tactic, pathetic and completely anticipated, and now I can vanquish—” Within seconds, the tight hold Virgil had on the comforter was torn away from him and suddenly he was looking up. And up. And up. Until he met a pair of startled and confused brown eyes that were locked down on his form. Almost just as unsure of what to do as Virgil was himself. “What?”

It wasn’t until Virgil was staring fear dead in the face did he realize just how fucked he was.

His lungs sucked in a breath before his mind had registered what was happening and body was screaming at him to do something. His body twitched, his breathing coming in short gasps, wheezing noises that didn’t fully register as breaths.

Warning bells were going off, loud and clear. Flashing and telling him to get out of the hell out of dodge.

Danger, danger, danger! Move. Run. Fucking move, you absolute moron!

Fight or flight kicking in, adrenaline seized Virgil’s wrists like electricity, shooting hot through his bloodstream and forcing him into motion.

Before he could think of the repercussions or rethink his actions, he was scrambling up onto his feet on the uneven bedspread and bolting in the opposite direction of Roman. Because nope, fuck that.

The bed, of course, was unsteady under him, but he couldn’t let that get the better of him. He needed to get away. Get out.

Get to safety.

Virgil tripped up a moment, hearing a surprised curse from behind him and then the mattress trembled as Roman threw himself forward, two hands slamming down in front of the tiny Side and causing him to trip, skidding into the sheets, sending him tumbling to his stomach and effectively trapping him between two gigantic hands and an even bigger chest.

“Gotcha, runt!”

No.

No, no.

No, no, no!

This wasn’t the end. This couldn’t be.

However, as he saw the shadow moving over him, completely engulfing his form, Virgil knew that this was it—Roman was leaning over him, probably with that stupid victorious grin he always wore, looking smug and self-assured.

This really was the end.

Barely even sparing a glance upward, Virgil curled himself into fetal position, his hands moving up to cover the nape of his neck as if that would protect him from what he was knew was bound to be coming. His knees were pulled directly up to his chest as he shook with sobs and anxiety and dread.

He was done for.

Roman wouldn’t take pity. He never did, why would he now?

The two of them always went after each other. Went right for the kill and neither would back down, their pride too strong to let the other see weakness.

But now, as he trembled, he’d already given up the fight. Virgil didn’t stand a chance like this and certainly not in the mindset he was already in. Nothing could make this better in the least.

With erratic breathing, a heart rate that wouldn’t calm down and fear that was primal and gut wrenching, there was nothing he could do.

He’s going to use this against you. Finally, he can get rid of you. Why wouldn’t he take this chance?

Virgil didn’t blame him. Not really.

No one will miss you.

The thought was bitter but true.

‘Good riddance,’ they’ll say.

And Virgil would agree.

‘Suits him right. No one needs Anxiety. There’s no use for him.’

He sucked in a gasp, feeling helpless and alone and scared.

He was so scared.

But why hadn’t Roman done anything? Why was he just sitting in silence? He was trying to feign innocence, trying to pretend he wasn’t going to do anything. He was trying to lull Virgil into a false sense of security and then he was going to strike and that would be that.

When Virgil was like this, it wouldn’t take much to get rid of him. A little too much “accidental” force under a hand. A squeeze and a pop and that would be it. Or something worse. What could be worse than being tormented? He wasn’t sure, but he knew there had to be something!

“D-do it!” Virgil bit out through gritted teeth, his eyes stayed squeezed shut as he tried to stifle his pathetic whimpers to the best of his ability. “Get it o-over with! Don’t make me sit here pretending nothing’s wrong!”

“What?” Roman was startled by the sudden outburst and he quickly realized that his voice was a touch too loud, as Anxiety only flinched further into himself. Protecting himself. “Anxiety, what—”

“This is the best time to get your revenge,” he sneered, but his quivering breath gave way to how he honestly felt. “So just do it!”

It took a second, but the bed was moving again, shuddering under a weight that clearly wasn’t his own. Virgil didn’t dare look.

“Anxiety, what do you think I’m going to do to you?”

Was he fucking kidding?

The guy had just come bounding into his room, demanding Virgil showed himself, so he could be vanquished.

“I don’t know!” He barked, feeling the pressure building behind his eyes. Heat prickled and stung and he felt a gag creeping up. “I–I don’t know.” He was so helpless and scared and alone. “I-I don’t-”

It didn’t take an emotional genius to understand what was happening. Anxiety was having an anxiety attack.

Roman had never really seen one of them before; though he knew the other Side had them, Anxiety was always quick to lock himself in his room when this sort of thing happened. He had seen the beginnings of them, sure, so he knew how to identify them, but he had never had to do something about it.

But hovering over the anxious trait and looking just as surprised and dumbstruck as he was obviously wasn’t going to help him.

For a villain…Anxiety looked terribly vulnerable.

Roman was so used to seeing him snapping back, hunched shoulders, hissing poison through clenched teeth, brown eyes sharp and unrelenting and spiteful.

Seeing this side of him was jarring.

The way Anxiety was curled into himself, hands up and protecting the back of his neck, eyes squeezed shut as his chest rose and fell with quivering breaths, trembling and terrified. Of him. Waiting for something he believed was inevitable.

It wasn’t sitting right.

He and Anxiety didn’t get along on most days—okay, that was a stretch. They never got along, nor did they ever see eye to eye—but that didn’t mean he was willing to physically hurt him because of it.

“D-do it,” Anxiety repeated, though this time the request was less out of fury and more out of waiting for the inevitable. “Please, stop just hovering over me and get it over with.”

“Shit.”

The curse was low and it came out faster than Roman had meant it to, but his own startled expression met Anxiety’s and they watched each other in tense silence for a second. He lifted himself up further and he realized belatedly that he had made the wrong choice. He watched tears—real honest to God tears—pool in Anxiety’s eyes, while the tiny Side sucked his lower lip into his mouth, biting into it. A nervous habit. His hands were tucked up into his chest, eyes wide and unwavering from Roman’s, but the eye makeup that he always wore was smudged and smeared over his cheeks.

Suddenly, Roman didn’t feel much like the hero of this tale.

Villains were supposed to fear the hero, of course, that’s how it worked! But right now…

“I’m not—” Roman winced when Anxiety did, but more in sympathy than anything else. “Anxiety I’m not going to hurt you.”

Apparently his words weren’t as comforting as he had thought they would have been, as Anxiety’s chest only seemed to rise and fall faster than before. The other’s eyes finally shifted from his own, but they were scanning the room, frantically looking around his room obviously looking for a way out.

However, it hadn’t even occurred to him that maybe Anxiety’s room was heightening the anxious feelings. If there had been a light on—other than the one flooding in from the hallway, which Roman’s own shadow was actually blocking—he would have seen that the eye shadow under Anxiety’s eyes only seemed to get darker and darker. It just kept coming back, more and more every time Anxiety’s sleeve swiped at his face.

“We have to get you out of here,” he said suddenly, and the terror that crossed Anxiety’s features was fresh and heady.

“No!” The warped voice, while usually would be disconcerting, was kind of sad. Especially coming from the Side who was as small as he was. “No, you can’t!”

“What other choice do we have?” If getting the Dark Side into neutral territory would make him feel better, than that was what Roman was going to do. It was his job as the Prince. Even if that meant putting their differences and quarrels aside…for now. “Your room is obviously making your panic worse.”

Anxiety only shook his head, his hands clasped against his mouth as he choked on broken gasps. He was trying to keep the sounds from being obnoxious and loud.

The more Roman thought about it, the more he realized just how small Anxiety made himself look usually.

Never anything like this, of course, but in the fact that he would always tuck into his hoodie, his chin down, hood up, hands stuffed into his pockets. Avoided Roman’s gaze more often than not and only rose to meet the challenge when Roman himself pushed him to. Anxiety was a suitable opponent but only when he was backed into a corner, hissing and spitting and meeting Roman’s fervor. He almost felt as if the way Anxiety looked at him on a day-to-day, was caused by himself.

Unless the other was trying to make himself a nuisance or make himself heard, it was actually fairly rare to see him around the Mindscape. There were some evenings Roman would be up late into the night—which is something he kept from Patton and Logan, not wanting to be (lovingly) chastised and then lectured—and he would hear movement from the hallway. A door opening and closing, shuffled steps down the hall, down the stairs, silence for a few minutes, before footsteps up the stairs, down the hall and the sound of a door closing as silently as possible.

It was almost as if Anxiety had worked out a complete schedule that allowed him to avoid the rest of the Sides when possible.

It was…kind of impressive.

In a wicked and evil way!

…obviously.

He also understood that Anxiety didn’t want to be taken out of his “safe place” but if he wasn’t safe here right now, then it wasn’t helping. And it wasn’t as if Roman was going to hold him captive and refuse him the right to go back to his room when he so desired, he just needed to hold onto him for now. At least until the panic subsided.

It was easy enough for Roman to make up his mind. Anxiety was going to fight him no matter what he did. So, with a little hesitation, he reached forward and grimaced when Anxiety tried to flinch away from him. Jerky movements that were fear driven with a primal urge to escape from the threat.

Roman was a threat. He didn’t like the feeling that stirred up in him at all.

He steeled himself, and was trying his damnedest not to let that helpless terrified look on Anxiety’s face get to him.

He had to do this.

The sooner he got them both into neutral territory, the living room particularly, the sooner everything would (hopefully) be reverted back to normal. Anxiety would be his usual snarky, broody, gloomy self and Roman would be able to toss his slights at the other Side without Anxiety looking at him like he was going to run him through. They would be able to banter without that look of wild distress painted across Anxiety’s face consistently.

His heart stammered a little when he finally actually made contact with him, Anxiety’s eyes blown even wider with absolute and utter horror. The tiny body had gone eerily still, muscles tense and thin limbs pinned against himself.

Roman had never seen him look more terrified in all of their time.

He could remember, when they were children, teasing the anxious trait about his fears. Telling him about things in the dark. Teasing about the monsters that went bump in the night and how they always got the kids that were the most scared of them. That the monsters could smell fear and would come and hunt them down in the dead of night, when no one was around to hear their cries. Even when he had witnessed Anxiety’s eyes widening, looking worried, he was never truly frightened. When they were younger, Roman had always believed it was because Anxiety was anxiety, that nothing could scare him more than rejection and social circumstances.

Roman had been wrong.

Anxiety had never looked more scared. Ever.

And all of this was caused because of himself. The thought made him feel slightly ill, but Roman couldn’t let it show. He just needed to do what he was supposed to and then they could put this all behind them.

“…no,” the whimper made the Prince pause his actions. His heart twisted at the sight before him, but he really couldn’t let that affect him. He was doing this for a good reason!

But was going completely against Anxiety’s pleads a good enough reason?

“Anxiety please,” Roman’s voice dropped to a hush, trying to get a different reaction than open fear for once. “I’m doing this for you. I need you to…” Trust me.

The words were left unsaid and they felt bitter and wrong. Trust. It should have been something simple to say, but asking that of Anxiety felt icky. It felt…wrong, as if Roman was asking something unfair.

Anxiety shouldn’t be afraid to trust him and he was only like this after…

After years of torment.

Relentless insulting nicknames.

Relentless accusations of Anxiety being the bad guy.

The one that was out to get them. The one that wouldn’t stop until Thomas was miserable. The one that spoke up without his opinion being wanted (or needed) and told them to think for once, it’s not that hard, is it?

“…I need you to take a breath,” Roman changed his tactics for now. Maybe if he could get Anxiety to calm down, it would be easier to transport him. He wouldn’t have the risk of the tiny Side trying to wriggle constantly out of his grasp and get himself hurt. Falling from such a height would be fatal! His mind was trying to come up with different ways of dealing with a panic attack. What could help someone through something like this? Logan would know! But Logan wasn’t here.

Roman had to do this himself.

Easy, convince the very person that hates you the most—not mention, believes you're going to kill him—to relax in your presence. Sure. Should be simple as anything.

“As deep as you can. It doesn’t have to be long.”

Anxiety shook his head, looking as if he distrusted the information. Who knew trying to help someone could be so frustrating.

Though, Roman didn’t blame him for not trusting the advice. Not really. If their positions were switched, Roman sure as hell wouldn’t trust a word that came out of Anxiety’s mouth. If their positions had literally been switched and everything that had just transpired had happened to him, Roman supposed he would be feeling the exact same way Anxiety was right now. And that was a startling realization.

“Anxiety, I promise you I’m not going to do anything.” His eyes searched the smaller features, looking for some sort of inkling that he’d at least been heard. It could be a scowl, a sneer, a bitter look— anything other than the terror that stayed resilient and unmoved.

He would prove it to Anxiety that he wasn’t going to use this advantage against him. A part of him…was tempted to admittedly, but he couldn’t stand the way Anxiety looked up at him so helplessly.

They both knew who held all of the cards.

It wasn’t hard to figure it out. Not in the least.

However, the longer they tried to delay this, the more prominent and visible Anxiety’s breathing was getting. His chest was rising and falling in untimely breaths. At this point Roman wasn’t even sure the air was going into his lungs, he was partially convinced that it was just going in and out. But the more Anxiety panicked, the worse his calm down was going to be and he really didn’t want the tiny Side to end up making himself sick either.

If Roman didn’t have to touch him, he wouldn’t. But it was their only option. There was nothing else in here that would allow for a stable place to keep the small Side, without the risk of Anxiety throwing himself off of it and putting himself in more danger.

After another breath to steady himself, Roman bit his lip before tipping his hands underneath Anxiety and pushing down slightly on the mattress. This caused a small divot to be created and brought Anxiety’s form into his palms naturally via slide, without the need of having to really grab him. The small sound of dread that tiny motion produced made Roman’s stomach sick further.

God, he hated himself for this. Going against anyone’s wishes was not respectful in the least. Especially when said someone didn’t trust you in the least to not harm them.

“It’s okay, it’s fine, you’re okay, I promise,” he tried using the softest tone of voice he could, not wanting to make Anxiety’s panic worse, but this was not an ideal situation in the least. Patton would have been such a better choice. He would have known how to help, how to calm down the anxious trait and make him feel safe and comfortable and loved. “See? Not hurting you!”

Anxiety let out a pitiful whine, his eyes squeezed shut as tears continued to drip down his cheeks. The shuddering sobs were the only things Roman could hear and he hated it.

He hated this so much.

Quickly cupping his hands together, Roman maneuvered himself so he was kneeling by the bedside before assisting himself up into a stand by using Anxiety’s bed. He was trying not to disturb Anxiety’s position too much, as he was already distressed enough as it was. He didn’t need to hive him more of a fear of being dropped on top of everything else he was feeling. Roman knew Anxiety had to be so overwhelmed at this point. And he felt horrible about being the cause of it.

It seemed as soon as Anxiety registered that they were actually moving, he kicked into high gear at that. His squirming restarted tenfold and was immediately trying to find a way out of Roman’s hands. Which was…fair enough, but not at this height! He could get seriously injured.

“Please, stop squirming,” he advised, cupping his hands closer together to try and minimize the chance Anxiety had of actually jumping successfully. “I don’t want to drop you! Look, I know you don’t want me. I can go get Patton for you instead, would he make you feel better? At all?”

At the sound of his voice, Anxiety went tense as a bowstring again. His shivering was increased and those water-glazed brown eyes were back to staring at him. For a moment, Roman’s wasn’t sure if Anxiety had even heard what he had said, but then he saw the tiniest shake of his head. It was a bit difficult to discern whether or not that was just because he twitched or because he genuinely didn’t want to be around Patton.

“You…don’t want him?”

Anxiety shook his head again, looking emotionally destroyed.

Roman had to assume it was because he looked exhausted. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want the fatherly trait hovering over—oh. No, Roman got it. Patton was a ball of well meaning energy but could be a little much even at normal size. He couldn’t even imagine how that would feel being Anxiety’s current size.

Bless Pat’s heart, really, but it could be a little much sometimes.

As soon as Roman was out the door of Anxiety’s room, it felt as though a weight had been taken off of his shoulders. It felt lighter out here, warmer in a way. As if there wasn’t something pressing in around them at all times.

Was that how Anxiety felt all the time? That must be miserable.

If his room was that awful, why did he spend so much time in there?

Anxiety’s shivering had slightly lessened as well but he wasn’t better, Roman knew that much.

As he made his way back to the common room, he kept his hands tucked closer to his chest for stability and an easy hiding place just in case he came across Patton or Logan in the mean time. Roman knew that as soon as Logan saw Anxiety like this, there would be a plethora of questions that Anxiety would not be able to emotionally handle at this point. He also knew that as soon as Patton caught sight of Anxiety like this, he would immediately jump into protective “dad-mode” and hyper-focus on the tiny Side until he was better.

Anxiety also wasn’t struggling anymore and Roman didn’t know how to take that.

Did that mean that Anxiety trusted him at least a little bit? Had he panicked so hard he was exhausted and didn’t have the energy to fight back anymore?

Peering down the stairs and making sure there was no one around, he made his way down trying to jostle Anxiety the least amount possible. He was already shaken enough as it was.

The coast was clear—thankfully—and Roman was able to make it to the couches without an incident. When he relaxed into the cushions, his eyes were instantly drawn down to the little form curled up in his palms. Anxiety was breathing heavily, but Roman couldn’t hear his breaths anymore. Which was kind of alarming.

“…Anxiety?” He tried carefully at first, not wanting to startle him.

Apparently, he hadn’t been quiet enough and Anxiety’s eyes snapped up to his own. Wide, frightened, looking like a cornered animal with no way out. Really, he was trapped but it wasn’t as if Roman was meaning to!

“Do— do you want to be put down?”

Roman was ready to be told very sternly to put him down. But he was instead welcomed with a shake of the head and his eyes blew wide. Anxiety didn’t want to be put down? What did that mean? Was this good progress? Were they actually getting somewhere?

“…small,” Anxiety rasped, his breathing was unsteady but better than it had been in his bedroom. “…lotta danger– no safety..”

Roman didn’t exactly know what he meant, but he could gather enough to understand why Anxiety didn’t want to be put down. The rest of the Mindscape currently out-sized him, he couldn’t do anything by himself out here and everything was a danger to him. And if Roman could recall anything he had just realized about Anxiety, was that he was always acutely aware of everything that could potentially go wrong or cause him physical or emotional harm. However, in this sense, it was certainly the physical harm side of it.

“Okay,” Roman said, leaning back a bit further into the couch, trying to relax himself enough to think this through. He had made the move to bring Anxiety out here rather brashly and now he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him. “I won’t put you down.”

Anxiety gave a small noise at that, one that said just how tired he was. Roman had never really known just how much a panic attack could take out of someone, but seeing it first hand made him wonder how Anxiety did it by himself. Did he always deal with this stuff by himself? Did he have someone to go to, to ask for help? To ask for comfort? The idea of Anxiety doing this by himself every time made Roman uncomfortable. If this was how it ended all the time, he knew that if he, himself, had these attacks, he would need someone to go to. He wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“I know you don’t trust me—” You have absolutely no reason to, and I completely understand that. God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. “—But I’ll keep you safe until you’re back to normal. I promise you. I’m not going to do anything, or try anything. You’re perfectly safe, I swear.”

Anxiety didn’t react much to that, almost as if he was already lulling off. And if that meant Anxiety trusted him, or if he was too tired to think anymore, Roman was going to make sure nothing happened to him.

Now, or ever again.

It was his duty as the Prince to protect those that needed it. And for as long as he could remember, he had been neglecting and ignoring the very Side that arguably needed his protection the most.

And as unforgivable as Roman felt that action to be, he had years to make up for.

He wouldn’t let Anxiety down. Not again.