#and i forgot how much i loved Quinn and Logan | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

stars-and-rose · 6 years ago

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On the Outside Looking In (Sander Sides Spiderverse! au)

so i started this before i got my notes for cursed kingdom and heart point back, got inspired by a random post, and i love emika and felt the need to finish this so here we are-

also i really just love @sugarglider9603 and @ask-spiderverse-virgil | @galaxy-lilies-main ‘s spiderverse au so that's that-

Fandom: Thomas Sanders/Sanders Sides

Pairings: Pre-established Prinxeity and Logicality, some oc action going on too

Summary: Student Council President kinda abuses her power for the sake of local superheroes, but she does it with sass

Word Count: 6,640

Trigger Warnings: Cursing, Mentions of transphobia, descriptions of wounds, blood, there's a gun but no one gets shot (this is actually really fluffy i swear-)

Emika Waters didn't exactly know when she had figured it out. Maybe it was when Logan Quinn shouted "FALSEHOOD" in the middle of class a week or so back, and it sounded exactly like Arachne. Maybe it was when she had gotten lost coming home from her boyfriend's apartment, and Love Bite had helped her find her way and complimented her dress in the same exact words Patton Foster had earlier that day. Maybe it was after hearing another playful argument between Roman Marigold and Virgil Storm, and noting that it held the same energy as when Royal Slinger and Spidergale bantered. Maybe it was when she noticed the four of them coming to school, weary and stiff, on the days she watched a reporter describe a battle between the spidermen and a supervillain. Maybe it was a subtly noting the matching color schemes and attitudes. But the pieces of the puzzle had finally put themselves together, and Emika found herself staring at the complete puzzle in shock.

It was surreal- Emika was busy playing instrumentals on her violin and dragging her poor boyfriend to take pictures of the New York City skyline, while other kids her age were risking their lives to take out adults with villainous intent. How did they do it? Sure, she knew superpowers were involved- wait a second, how did the boys gain superpowers? No, she was not going to think about that, her brain was already fried- but how did they have the time? All four boys were actively involved in clubs, Logan was the class's valedictorian, and the others were in her AP and Honors classes as well. Where did that leave time to patrol the streets of the city and keep those streets safe?

Emika rubbed her temples, a headache starting to form. She hated not having the answers, and this whole scenario left her with absolute zero. She didn't even know what to do with the information!

Thinking about it, that was actually a good place to start. She pulled out her phone, looking up superhero comics. She wanted to see what fictional characters would do in her scenario. She opened one comic, then another and another, her stomach turning and her nose scrunched up in disgust after every comic showed the same results.

It seemed that in every comic, anyone who wasn't the superhero's best friends/partners/family who found out the hero's civilian identity was hell-bent to expose the hero.

That… didn't seem right to Emika.

Why would she try to expose the boys? They were saving lives- and as she knew them as civilians, they were generally nice people. They didn't deserve media crawling down their necks and people harassing and criticizing them. The thought of slipping into a newspaper's office and outing the boys as the spidermen, it just screamed "WRONG!"

Emika's headache was starting to get worse. The comics had only led her to become more confused, and now she was questioning the morals of various comic book characters along with her previous dilemma. Emika threw her head up, staring at the starless sky above. She honestly didn't know what to do. Any form of action seemed to have a negative consequence somewhere down the line!

So what if she did nothing? If she kept the information to herself, kept her mouth shut, there would be no consequences! The boy's secret would be safe, and her own morality and sanity would stay in one piece.

Emika was startled from her thoughts as her brother's voice cut through the night "Hey, Oiseau! You coming?" As she walked to her brother's slightly-beat up, gray car, Emika made her decision. She would keep the boy's secret to herself, and let nothing change.

At least, that was her original plan.

The first time she had helped one of the SpiderBoys (as she has dubbed them in her mind) had been an impulse.

It had been a week since she had made her decision. School had started later that day due to minor villain uprising in the early hours of the morning. Emika was sitting her English class, looking over the notes she had taken for Hamlet. The teacher had surprised the class the day before by announcing that the test on the book would be the next day. Emika had used the time in the morning to study since she had been up late planning the school's next pep rally (being student council president was a challenge, but she stopped complaining about her responsibilities after her discovery). Emika traced over a swirl in silver ink drawn in the margin of her notes, hoping she had absorbed the information she needed

She was suddenly startled by the classroom door flying open. All eyes in the room fixated on Patton Foster, cheek's flushed and gray skirt swishing around his knees. "Sorry about that," He mumbled with a soft laugh, before retreating to his seat beside Emika.

Emika tried to subtly study the boy. To anyone not looking, there seemed to be nothing wrong with their positive classmate. But Emika was looking. She noticed the eyebags covered with a faint layer of concealer, she noticed the way Patton's smile seemed slightly strained, and she noticed how he kept rubbing his arm. She guessed the actions were symptoms of his morning battle as Love Bite. Emika wondered if she asked him if he was okay if he would be suspicious of her.

Before she could ask, their teacher entered the room, with a large stack of papers in his arms. "Morning class! Are you ready for your exam? With the late start we had, I hope you found the time to study!"

Emika practically felt Patton tense up next to her. She heard the whispers escape from his mouth. "Oh no... I forgot... I can't fail this!"

In the ten seconds, it took their teacher to reach his desk, Emika made a decision. "Mr. Brooks!" She called out, standing up and drawing the room's attention to her.

"Yes, Miss Waters?"

"I just remembered I have an order of supplies coming in for the rally next week, and I need to go pick them up!" She wrinkled her nose. "It's a big load, I don't think I can do it by myself unless I want to take all day." Emika pretended to look around the room, her eyes landing on Patton. "Patton, do you think you could help me out?"

Her superhero classmate stared up at her; his confusion was written on his face, but he nodded. "Of course I'll help!"

"Oh thank goodness!" She flashed a smile at Mr. Brooks. "You wouldn't mind if I took Patton with me, right? I can ask Mx Right to confirm that we're working, I'm sure they won't mind."

Mr. Brooks nodded, as Emika suspected he would. "As long as Mx Right calls me, I wouldn't see an issue. Please hurry though, since I'll still expect you to take the test."

"Of course!" Emika subtly grabbed her notebook and gestured for Patton to follow her. As soon as the door shut behind them, Emika handed Patton her notebook. "You looked like you needed some extra study time."

Patton gave her a startled look. "Um, yeah- How did you know?"

"I'm Student Council President! I feel like it's part of my job to notice any issues a student may be having."

Patton nodded, looking down at her notebook. "Wait, did you lie to Mr. Brooks? I appreciate the help but if you lied, I'm going to have to walk back in the room. I don't lie."

Emika threw up her hand in a surrendering gesture. "No, no I didn't lie! I overexaggerated a bit- there is a load I need to pick up but I can handle it myself- you can help me by keeping company while you study and I unpack."

Patton let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank gosh, I really didn't want to go back in there and fail the test. Thank you so much, Mika."

"Again, it's my pleasure." The two of them began to walk down the hallway, reaching the front office. Emika went in and grabbed the boxes- Patton offering to carry some for her, and Emika finally relenting when she realized the stacked boxes were taller than herself. They made their way through freshman hall to Mx Right's room, Emika struggling slightly with her load, and Patton carrying his with ease.

Patton opened the door while still carrying his boxes. (It had to be the superpowers, Emika was sure of it) Emika set down her boxes and flicked on the light. Patton sat on top of a desk, swinging his legs as he read over the notes. Emika sat on the floor, opening the boxes and labeling the contents to make her life easier later on.

Emika was on her second-to-last box when her's phone went off from the desk she'd set it on. She scrambled up, then proceeded to trip over one of the boxes. Patton giggled at the blonde and picked up her phone. "It's Jay." He let out another giggle. "I guess you've really fallen for him, huh?"

After laughing at the pun, Emika accepted her phone from Patton and answered the call. She was greeted with her favorite voice in the world. "Hey, Meeks, I have study hall and ran across the street to get coffee. What do you want?"

If you asked Patton, he would have sworn up and down that the student council president's eyes had become hearts. "This is why I love you." She breathed.

"Oh? It's just because I bring you coffee?"

"Oh, shh, you know that's not it, Jay. I'll have mocha frappe, large." She looked over at her companion."Patton, do you want anything? You look tired, some coffee could help you wake up?"

"Patton? Did you kidnap Patton?" Emika's boyfriend asked.

"Yes I did, I kidnapped him and I'm forcing him to help me unload my supplies because I'm so evil." Emika deadpanned, putting her phone on speaker.

Patton laughed. "She's so horrible! She's making me study while she goes through boxes!"

"Horrific!" Jay exclaimed. "But seriously, do you want something?"

"I can pay you back, but could you get me a hot chocolate? The sugar wakes me up more than caffeine." Patton mumbled something else to himself, but Emika should only catch the words, 'Taste', 'Kiss', and 'Logan'

It was safe to say she had a pretty good idea of what the last statement was about.

"Don't worry about paying me back. Meeks said something about you being tired? I getcha, so it's on me." Jay replied.

"You two are literally the best people on the planet," Patton exclaimed.

Emika smiled to herself. "It's the least I can do."

When the two re-entered the English room, Emika with her coffee and Patton with his hot chocolate, Patton handed her notebook back. "Seriously, you are the best," he whispered.

Emika only smiled.

The second time, it hadn't occurred to Emika until the situation was over.

She was in history, working with her group for their government project. Emika had her head against her boyfriend's chest, fiddling with the striped blue, white and pink pride button her boyfriend had finally felt confident putting on his bag (Emika had a matching pin on her bag, but hers was pink, yellow and blue). She was writing her script, as she would be presenting the project. Jay was sketching his idea for the poster board on a piece of graph paper. Two twin girls- Emika was positive one was named Rose and the other Lily, and Lily was the one with the tattoo on her wrist- were searching in the textbook and on their phones for the information they needed. The last member for their group, Virgil Storm, was typing away at a laptop, headphones covering his ears, working on the powerpoint.

It was peaceful- mostly. Even since the day when she had pulled Patton out to help him study, Emika had become hyperaware of the SpiderBoys physical and mental states. She kept glancing at Virgil, checking for obvious signs that something was wrong. She couldn't tell if Virgil had eyebags, due to the boy's dark eye-shadow covering where any eyebags would be. (That was probably the point. Huh. ) Virgil's collection of oversized hoodies (Emika was convinced she had seen the dark red hoodie Virgil was currently wearing on Roman before) prevented her from seeing any bruises or bumps. Therefore, Virgil was making her job very hard for her.

Emika sighed, tugging on the sleeve of her yellow sweater when she first heard the noise. It was a low rumbling sound that Emika usually associated with her brother- the sound of someone's stomach grumbling.

Rose looked up from her book. "Was that's someone's stomach?" She asked, confirming what Emika had thought she heard.

"Is someone hungry? I have a few extra bucks on me, we can run to the library and get some snacks that the yearbook committee is selling." Emika suggested.

"We just had lunch," Lily replied, gesturing to herself and her twin.

"I've got my mum's brownies in my bag if I get hungry," Jay said.

Virgil didn't even hear- or maybe he did, and he was just ignoring the conversation. Emika let it go, going back to her notes. She had dropped her pen to stretch her fingers when the grumbling started again. She looked back up, meeting eyes with the twins. Rose glanced at Virgil, mouthing a question to Emika "Is it coming from Virgil?"

Emika tilted her head, mouthing back. "Not sure, I'll keep my ear open." She went back to her notes, but this time, when she heard the noise, she stood. She walked over to Virgil and tapped her hand to get his attention. The darker haired boy looked up at her, pulling off his headphones.

"Is something up, Emika?"

"Have you eaten something today? Because your stomach keeps rumbling." Emika asked, hoping her concern carried through her voice.

Virgil shrugged. "I'm not hungry."

"That wasn't the question." Emika crossed her arms.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Then, fine, no I haven't eaten yet. We good now?" Virgil lifted his hand to put his headphones back on, but Emika grabbed his hand and tried to pull him to his feet. "Hey, what the hell, what are you doing?"

"We're going to the library and you're eating something. That's an order as your president." Emika decided.

"You're student council president, I don't think it works that way."

"I say so, so it does. Let's go, come on, up, up let's go."

"You're causing a scene," Virgil complained. It was true; people were starting to glance at them.

Looking back at it later, Emika noted how comical the situation was. Emika was a tiny blond wearing a pastel sweater. Virgil had at least five inches on Emika, and his darker clothes made him look much more threatening than her. Plus he was Spidergale (which had slipped her mind at the time), which definitely gave him an unfair advantage. But Emika had determination and a questionable amount of caffeine on her side.

"You're dating Roman. He's much better at causing scenes than me! Oooooh, what if I go get him? I could text the theater chat- they finally added the pit kids into it!"

Virgil sighed. "If I come with you will you stop?"

"Yup."

Virgil let out a sigh, slipped off his headphones, and stood. Emika grinned at him, and started for the doorway, hoping that when she turned around, that Virgil would still be behind her. He was, to her satisfaction. They walked in silence, Virgil fidgeting with the strings of his boyfriend's hoodie.

"Why do you care so much?"

Emika turned to Virgil. "Hmmm?"

"Why did you cause a scene and force me to come with you and such?" Virgil asked, fingers still entwined with the hoodie strings.

Emika shrugged. "I feel like I gotta be helpful. There's gotta be something I can do. Even something as small as this."

The two of them fell back into silence, reaching the library. Emika walked over the desk, where a few baskets held candy and chips. She pulled out a few dollar bills and grabbed a dark chocolate bar and a box of Lemonheads. After paying, she threw the chocolate bar at the emo boy, who caught it with ease. "Huh?"

"Dark chocolate is light on your stomach, but it still gives you some energy. I live on dark chocolate during audition weeks. Jay is convinced that someone draws my blood, they'll discover that my blood has bits of dark chocolate in it. Plus, it makes you feel good and tastes great."

Virgil snorted. "Have you ever considered becoming a spokesperson for dark chocolate?"

"Oh my god! That would be the best job on the planet!" Emika popped a lemon candy in her mouth. Virgil unwrapped the chocolate bar and proceeded to stare at it as if it came from an alien planet. "You do realize you can't eat it by staring at it? You need to put it in your mouth?"

"No. I never would have guessed. Thank you so much." Virgil deadpanned, causing Emika to snort. They walked back to the classroom, and Emika reclaimed her spot next to Jay.

Later, the couple was laying on the couch of the Waters apartment when she remembered that Virgil was Spidergale and she'd managed help out another superhero. She couldn't help but let out an airy laugh at the thought.

"Is everything good?" Jay asked.

"Yup! Just thinking about something," Emika replied, laying her head in his lap.

The third time it happened, it was completely and utterly on purpose.

Emika sat in one of the music department's practice rooms, violin case at her feet, looking over the notes she'd jotted into her notebook. Yesterday, she had overheard her study hall teacher complaining to another teacher about how she was going to have to write Logan Berry up if he showed up to study hall late one more time.

That had piqued Emika's interest- and her concern. Logan Berry? The Valedictorian, obsessed with learning, Logan Berry skipping a class? That was wrong in every aspect. So Emika looked into it.

After searching through YouTube and various fan blogs, Emika learned that due to a few criminals escaping jail, the SpiderBoys and Rainbow Weaver were taking extra patrols until the crooks were caught. It seemed at Arachne (cough, cough Logan) was taking patrol at the time of their study hall.

Emika wasn't about to let Logan get in trouble for protecting the city. Nope. Nada. Not on her watch.

Emika scribbled something furiously with her pen, memorizing the bulleted list she had created. Her plan, if executed correctly, would be able to clear Logan's name and still fall in line with his boyfriend's morals.

If she messed up-

Nope. She was not going to mess up.

Someone knocked on the door. Emika looked up and saw one of the band's flutists- Alex- looking in at her. She pushed the notebook into her bag and opened the door, glancing at the blue bracelet around Ian's wrist. "Hey, Mika." He greeted. "The period is over."

"Oh, thank you for getting me. I wouldn't have noticed." Emika stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and grabbed her violin case.

"You looked really focused. Working on something important?"Alex asked as Emika put her violin in her locker.

"You could say that." Emika agreed, waving goodbye as they parted ways. Emika headed for the cafeteria, heartbeat thumping in her ears. She could give speeches in front of her entire class without any fear. She could play violin solos without batting an eye. But this? Her nerves were shot. Because now, it wasn't just her on the line. If she messed up, Logan would get in trouble.

She made to the cafeteria and set down her bag at an empty table. Taking a deep breath, Emika walked towards the table where Mrs. Nixon sat, playing with her wedding band. The student council president cleared her throat, getting the teacher's attention. "Oh, hello Miss Waters. Is there something I can help you out with?"

"There is. May I sit?" Emika asked.

"Of course." She sat down, cracking her knuckles, as the teacher looked at her. "What's wrong? Do you need anything?"

"I need to talk to you about how Logan Berry has been late to this class. I'm afraid it's kind of my fault."

The teacher tilted her head. "Pardon me? You're going to have to explain, Emika."

"You see, I've been swamped with a lot of the paperwork for student council. Our treasurer is terribly sick right now, and I don't want to put any pressure on them while they're under the weather. I tried to do it myself, but it happens to be that when you have a thousand things to do, putting together treasuer reports is much more difficult than it looks. So, since Logan is the smartest person I know, I asked him if he could complete them for me. He has lunch before this, I think, and he told me he would go to the library to work on the reports. So, it seems that because I gave him extra work, he's coming to this study hall late."

Emika was mentally screaming at herself, because goodness, her story sounded so fake, it could shatter with the simplest prod.

Mrs. Nixon bit her lip. "It's very refreshing to see teenagers holding themselves accountable for their mistakes. And I don't want to be the teacher that puts on a stain on Mr. Berry's record. As long as this doesn't continue, I think I can let it slide."

Emika almost jumped over the table to hug the teacher, but she managed to contain herself. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Nixon."

"Anytime." Emika walked back to her seat, slumping in it with relief. She pulled out her German notes- honestly, she should have taken French, she already was fluent, it would have been an easy hundred- and began to study when someone sat across from her. Emika looked up, and sure enough, Logan was sitting across from her.

"Oh, hi, Logan! What's up?" Emika said, attempting to keep her cool. She subtly looked for any injuries, but it seemed Logan was able to keep himself from getting hurt.

"It came to my attention that you covered for me in accordance with my constant tardiness to this class, and I was curious why," Logan asked, the question burning in his eyes.

Emika shrugged. "I knew you'd have a good reason. I've known you since, like seventh grade, even if we never really talked. You don't strike me as the type to be tardy without a good reason."

Logan nodded. "Yes, I had a reason, but it's a private one."

"Oh, I wasn't prying! I totally get it."

The two sat in silence for a moment, and Emika was considering going back to her German review when Logan spoke up again. "However, Patton will be rather upset if he learns lying was involved me getting out of trouble."

"Oh I know, I almost received a lying-is-bad lecture from your boyfriend." Emika laughed, brushing the hair out of her face.

"He informed me of that incident. I do have to thank you for helping him."

Emika smiled. "Student Council President is quite determined to do her job. As for the lying thing-" Emika dug into her backpack, pulling on a few pieces of paper. "-I told Mrs. Nixon you were helping me with these."

"Are these Treasurer Reports?"

"Haha, yeah. Millie is out sick and I didn't want to make her do it while she's out, I wasn't lying about that- so to null out the other lie, if you could add up the numbers for me? Then there's less lying involved."

"You thought this through, didn't you?"

Emika grinned. "I live to defy the dumb blond stereotype"

Logan managed to get the reports added up in minutes flat (A feat Emika never would have been capable of), and by the time the period was over, Emika had a smile on her face.

The fourth time had been a total accident.

The Spring Musical was just around the corner, meaning the pit orchestra would practice alongside the performers. Emika's arms were killing her, and if she had to play the same section one more time, she was going to lose her mind.

Finally, a break was called. Emika, her prayers answered, gratefully placed her violin back in its case. She was desperate for water, but it seemed she had emptied her bottle already. Emika grabbed the empty bottle, determined to fill it before the fountain was swamped. She started to power-walk from the auditorium, cursing her tiny legs when she collided with someone.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Emika scrambled to her feet, offering her hand to whoever she had run into. It just happened to be Roman, who accepted her hand and pulled himself to his feet.

"It's okay," he answered, but there was pain tainting his voice.

"Are you okay?" Oh god, what if she hurt Roman? In turn, that would have meant she'd hurt Royal Slinger, which meant New York would be down a SpiderBoy-

"Oh no, you just hit me where I have a nasty cut, I'm perfectly fine!" Roman replied, and Emika heard him mutter something that contained the phrase "stitches getting loose'.

Oh. Oh no.

"Um, I have a first aid kit in the band room- I kept it on me because sometimes I slit my fingertips on my violin strings, and I would make me feel better if I could look over it so-"

"Hey, Mika, calm down!" Roman said, putting his hands up in a calming gesture. "It truly isn't your fault for my pain, but if I will make you feel better, you can look the wound over."

Emika let out a shaky breath. "Okay, okay yeah, follow me." Emika led Roman through the maze of chairs, stands, and cases that were scattered through the pit. A few turns and a tiny set of stairs later, the two were in the abandoned band room. Emika pointed at a chair. "Sit down, I'm going to get my kit."

Emika left the actor in the band room, headed for the storage area, where, in her locker, she found the first aid kit. Jay had bought it for her after he'd noticed her fingertips bleeding from the little cuts she often found on them. She exited the storage room and found Roman sitting, with his red jacket off, and his sleeves rolled up.

Then she saw the cut.

It was stitched up, which Emika guessed meant it was deep. The wound was a bright red around the stitching, which was definitely coming undone. She could see red under the falling-apart stitches, which Emika assumed wasn't good. The wound also seemed to be oozing with what she feared was pus. She was no medical professional, but something told her that the wound would have given the school nurse a heart attack.

Emika sat down and opened her kit. She didn't bother asking how Roman had gotten the wound. She knew that it was from his escapades as Royal Slinger, and seeing the dramatic boy injured made something churn in her stomach. It wasn't fair, the boys didn't deserve to be hurt like this.

There was nothing she could do except doing the little things to help, like making sure Roman's injury didn't get worse.

Emika pulled out a rubbing wipe. "This is going to sting."

"Don't worry, I can handle a minor sting," Roman replied, but he still winced as Emika attempted to clean the cut, moving carefully around the stitches. Just as Emika finished the cleaning, Roman's phone went off from his jacket pocket. Roman moved to get it, but Emika reached over and grabbed it for him instead.

"It's Virgil," Emika announced, and she smiled at the way Roman's eyes lit up at the mention of his boyfriend. He made grabby hands for the phone, and Emika, laughing slightly, handed it over.

"Hello, my darling emo!" Roman smiled at the image of Virgil that appeared on his screen.

"Hey, Ro. What's up?"

"Local Mother Hen is looking at that cut I got on my shoulder," Roman responded. Emika flashed a peace sign at Virgil.

"You need a leash for this one, Virgil," Emika replied, rummaging through her kit, and pulling out butterfly stitching. "Hey Roman, I'm going to put butterfly stitching over the stitches, you'll have to have someone with actual medical skills fix that, okay?"

"Aye aye, captain," Roman responded, before starting a conversation with his boyfriend about Virgil's dance practice. Emika unwrapped the stitching and began to carefully apply the bandaging to the wound. She had done this before- once, Andre had split his knee open, and Emika had fixed him up enough so her dad could take him to the ER. She made sure to keep the touches gentle, not wanting to make Roman hurt more, but said the boy was caught up talking to Virgil, she doubted he would have noticed either way. As a precaution, Emika stuck a couple large band-aids over the butterfly stitching.

"Alright! Try not to aggravate the wound or pull out the stitches more than you already have. Cut back on the dramatics for the last half of practice, perhaps."

Roman gasped as if she'd suggested kicking a puppy. "Cut back on the dramatics?" He repeated. "Virgil, do you hear this insanity?"

As Virgil snickered from the other line, Emika rolled her eyes playfully. "Maybe just try not to move that arm around so much?"

"You can handle that, Princey." Virgil agreed. "If you manage not to rip the stitches- more than you already have, I might be more inclined to watch Disney and cuddle later."

Roman vigorously nodded his head. "I shall not rip the stitches or dramatically move my arm in the name of Disney cuddles." He announced.

Emika laughed, putting away her kit. Just as she was about to slip away to let the two finish talking before the rehearsal started up again, Virgil called out, "Hey, um, Mika- people call you that, right?"

"Yeah, they do! What's up? "

"Thanks for taking care of my dork."

Emika smiled. "Of course- I'm always here to help."

And help she did.

It seemed that the SpiderBoys had discovered that she really would help with anything. Patton continued to help her during unloading days, giving him more time to study. Logan asked her for the page numbers of homework assignments he'd missed. Virgil accepted the dark chocolate she threw at him. Roman had even allowed her to help with another wound he'd gotten.

But all good things come to an end eventually.

To be fair, the night Emika accidentally opened her mouth was a night meant for disaster. The usually calm student council president was enraged. Jay ran track, and sometimes he managed to convince his girlfriend (aka Emika) to go on runs with him. She didn't mind the runs; she often brought her camera along. But Jay couldn't wear his binder while they were running, which usually wasn't a problem.

But today there was a problem. Some guy had misgendered Jay and then proceeded to go off on some transphobic tangent. Jay ignored that guy, but Emika could see how upset her boyfriend was becoming, and she'd almost beat the shit out of the guy. But, she knew that would make her boyfriend upset, so she'd instead taken him home and made him rose tea and cuddled with him. But as soon as his mom came home and Emika left the apartment, the rage entered her eyes.

Everyone on the street shifted to avoid her. It was comical- the tiny girl causing grown men to step out of her way. If she lived in a cartoon, steam would have been pouring out her ears.

Suddenly, her phone began to ring. She pulled out her phone and answered the call. "Salut, Papa."

"Salut, ��tes-vous sur le chemin du retour?"

"Oui, Je prends le métro." Emika responed.

"Rester en sécurité, Emika." Her dad fretted.

"Ne t'inquiète pas, ça va aller. À bientôt."

"Je t'aime."

" Je t'aime, Papa." Emika hung up and continued her way to the subway. Speaking her father's native tongue always calmed her down- the word's always sounded so pretty, and focusing on the beauty of it was a welcome distraction.

Emika managed to get into her subway without any trouble. She was sitting against the wall, earbuds canceling the noise of the crowded car and distracting her from the anger still bubbling in her chest. Everything was fine.

Until the subway stopped.

That was strange, Emika remembered thinking. The ride was usually about fifteen minutes, she had only been riding for seven. She slipped her earbuds out, listening to the confused murmurs of the other passengers. Then the sound of cracking glass filled her eardrums, and something sharp cut across Emika's face, causing the rage in her stomach to twist into pain and fear.

Someone started screaming. Emika glanced at the window dividing the subway cars- the glass was shattered, the cracks spirling from a small hole in the center. A bullet hole. Had someone gotten shot?

No, the bullet was wedged into one of the handheld poles. Emika peered into the car before them, and saw a figure with a gun, pointing it frantically from passenger to passenger.

Something dripped down Emika's face. She raised her hand and felt something wet and sticky covering her cheek. Lowering her hand, vile raised in her throat- her hand was covered in crimson, metallic-smelling blood. Her own blood.

No one paid attention to her, the blood dripping down her cheek, the pain sharp and fierce. She heard the sounds of conflict in the other car (but no more gunshots), then the sound of the door being forced open. "Is anyone hurt?"

"There's a girl by the window, I think she got cut by the glass!" Huh, someone had noticed her. Someone knelt next to Emika; it was a figure in a pink super-suit, it was Love Bite, it was Patton.

"Hey, hey you with me?" He asked.

"Mmhmm," Emika mumbled. "It hurts like fucking hell"

"You got cut on the glass, you'll be okay, but you need to stay calm okay?" Her superhero classmate muttered, looking up into the evacuating crowd. "I need someone to clot her bleeding!"

A woman handed over a scarf- Patton thanking her, before ripping it and pressing it down over Emika's cut. She winced in pain. "Sorry." He muttered and continued to press down. Soon, he lifted the bloodstained cloth. "I think you've stopped bleeding."

"Thank you, Patton, "Emika mumbled. She felt the superhero stiffen and take it a harsh breath beside her. Why-

Oh.

Emika tensed too, her thoughts racing. She had called him Patton, while he was in costume. No one was close enough to hear her, but still, she'd let it slip.

"Emika-" Patton began, his voice slightly panicked, the eyes of his suit open so wide, it would be been comical in any other situation.

Really, Emika should have stayed and simply explained her discovery to Patton. But, instead, Emika shot to her feet, ignoring the superhero's protests, and ran from the subway, losing herself in the fleeing crowd.

Emika couldn't avoid it forever. That didn't mean she wasn't going to try.

She practically ran between classes, made sure she sat with as many people as possible at lunch and drove home with her brother every day.

But one day, she was waiting after school, leaning against the same wall she had all those weeks ago when she meant her discovery, waiting for Andre to get out of work. Her finger traced over the cut on her cheek. The doctor she'd visited told her it would probably scar. She lowered her hand, and then she felt someone lean against the wall next to her. "Hey, Mika."

Emika tensed, looking over at Patton. She was just about to move from the wall when Patton placed an arm on her shoulder. "Can we just talk about this?"

Emika's shoulders sagged. "Okay." She conceited, leaning her head against the back of the wall again, watching the traffic go by.

"How did you figure it out?"

"That you're Love Bite, your boyfriend is Arachne, your best friend is Royal Slinger and his boyfriend is Spindergale?" Emika's words were quiet, her voice barely audible over the breeze. "It was a bunch of little things."

"Was it obvious?" Patton looked over at the student council president, who's night sky eyes were still trained on the passing cars.

"No, not really. It might sound like I'm full of myself, but I consider myself pretty preceptive."

"Part of your president powers?"

Emika cracked a grin. "Hey, let me have my fake superpower."

That little joke managed to dissolve the solve the tension. Both of them started laughing, and Emika finally looked at Patton.

"You guys are crazy brave," Emika muttered, meeting the superhero's eyes. "It's insane how much you four are already have done for the world and damn. I wish I could do more, you know."

Emika's eyes gazed back out the cars, the last world even quieter than when she had whispered the secret. "You know, the little things matter too. Logan has been suspicious of you after the second week of you making sure Virgil ate. After he pointed it out, I realized how right he was. Thanks for getting me more study time, and tell Jay I ow- wait, does he know?"

"I haven't told a soul," Emika replied.

"Oh thank goodness." Patton let out a sigh of relief. "That would have made things more complicated."

"Agreed, people honestly would have thought I was crazy. I thought I was crazy for a bit." Emika laughed. Suddenly, Andre's same old gray car pulled up. Emika flashed a peace sign at Patton and started to walk away.

"Hey, Mika?"

The blonde turned around, the streetlights reflecting against her short locks. Patton's eyes looked brighter in the same light. "Thanks for taking care of us- what did Roman dub you- 'Local mother hen?'" Patton grinned. "It fits."

Emika laughed, and then suddenly, a flash of dark blue on the school roof caught her attention. "Hey, Patton?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm pretty sure your boyfriend has been watching over you this whole time. You know, in case the petite French girl was actually a supervillain."

Patton looked upwards, seeing the dark blue as well, a small, slightly lovesick grin on his face. "God I love him." He mumbled, and she couldn't help but laugh as she finally entered her brother's car.

"What was that about?" Andre asked, starting the car again.

Emika leaned against the seat, glancing out her window to see Patton vanishing into the night, probably to join his boyfriend. "Mm, just seeing things from the outside, you know?"

French Translations!

Salut, Papa- Hi, Dad

Salut, êtes-vous sur le chemin du retour?- Hi, are you on your way home?

Oui, Je prends le métro- Yes. I’m taking the subway

Rester en sécurité, Emika- Stay safe, Emika

Ne t'inquiète pas, ça va aller. À bientôt- Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. See you soon.

Je t'aime- I love you

283 notes · View notes

tobashiarg-blog-archive · 6 years ago

Text

Turns Out Being a Super Hero Is Actually Really Gay! - Chapter 6

Boom bitches! Guess who’s fucking back! Thank you all for your endless support and patients because that is truly the thing that motivates me to write this. The fact that you all are having fun and enjoying my story brings me so much joy! Once again, thank you to the brilliant @sugarglider9603 and @ask-spiderverse-virgil for creating this au, go show give them all the love in the world! Now please, ENJOY!!!

(TRIGGER WARNING: minor assault/harassment ((don’t worry it’s stopped before it happens)), homophobic slurs ((the f word)), and mild homophobia)

Master Post

Beginning

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

It was bound to be awkward for a while but this was just getting ridiculous. Ever since Virgil had stepped into Roman’s apartment, they hadn’t said a single word to each other, merely keeping to themselves and doing their half of the work. It wasn’t like Roman didn’t WANT to talk to Virgil it was just…him and Virgil had this really tense…relationship? No, not like that! Like in that way where you have no idea if you’re friends or not. Roman didn’t want to say something that might sound rude or be interpreted the wrong way and set Virgil off. It wasn’t like her was TRYING to be rude it’s just he kind of liked pushing Virgil’s buttons and he knew for a fact Virgil liked pushing his, they just had no idea where a line should be drawn. Unlike with him and Logan where it was a clash of ego vs ego, with Virgil it was like this sort of game.

“So…” Virgil said suddenly, causing Roman to jump a bit in surprise “…where are you in your part of the essay?”

Roman looked down at his notes before looking to scan his laptop at the Word document he had open, “Just about finished, about two or three more paragraphs. Then I’ll go over and edit out all the grammatical and spelling mistakes.”

“Cool,” Virgil nodded awkwardly “I’m about the same.”

“Cool.” Roman echoed.

Silence filled the room, even more awkward then before.

“Are you a witch?” Jenni asked. The boy turned to find the twins still hiding behind the couch, though it was less hiding and more hanging off the back of it.

“Excuse me?” Virgil asked, confused.

Roman wanted to scream but he didn’t, so instead he let the twins continue to embarrass him. For some reason lately Jenni has been really obsessed with witches, maybe it had to do with that girl, Scarlet Witch, that keeps showing up with the Avengers. She wasn’t as “scary” as the Black Widow so it was only natural for Jenni to gravitate towards her as an idol. Jenni repeated her question, “Are you a witch?”

“Of course, he’s not, dummy!” Marco snorted “He’s a boy! Only girls can be witches!”

“Harry Potter was a witch!” Jenni countered, getting up in Marco’s face.

“Nah-uh, he was a wizard, stupid!” Marco replied, just as stubborn.

“Roman, Marco called me a bad word!” Jenni screeched, pointing an accusing finger at her twin.

“Marco, that’s not very nice, apologize now,” Roman said firmly and just before his little brother could protest, he added “Or else I’m gunna tell mom.”

Marco grumbled a halfhearted apology before quickly returning to their current conversation topic, “So, are you a wizard?”

“Witch!” Jenni corrected.

Virgil chuckled behind his palm, seemingly amused by the commotion of everything. That was good, at least Roman thought so, Virgil was at least laughing and not running for the door. “Uh, I don’t know about wizard, the term is mainly used in European fairy tales mostly. Witches or witchcraft has been around for a much longer time and has many branches and history behind it while wizard is mostly in works of fiction.”

“So, you are a witch?” Jenni said excitedly with a smug side eye look towards her twin.

“Um, I don’t think witch is the politically correct term,” Virgil chuckled and Roman couldn’t help but join him “more then likely I’d be a Shaman or a Wu, a Chinese shaman, but I have absolutely no clue about either of those practices, so…no, sorry.”

Jenni pouted and Roman gasped in mock scandal, “Virgil! How could you crush my little sister’s dreams like that!”

“Hey, what did you want me to say?” Virgil snapped, though he was still smiling “I wasn’t going to lie to her!”

“Wait, there are other types of witches?” Marco pipped up curiously.

“Uh, yeah, kind of,” Virgil shrugged “it’s really more of a craft then a term; witchcraft, magick, shamanism, voodoo, hoodoo, and a lot of others. It varies from country to country but sometimes share certain elements with each other, be it religion or method of practice.”

“Geez, are you sure you’re not a witch?” Roman teased, reaching over to poke Virgil’s cheek.

Virgil rolled his eyes and swatted his hand away, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure?”

“Then how come you know all this stuff?” Roman chuckled.

“Cause it’s interesting,” Virgil replied somewhat defensively “not everyone is obsessed with Disney and musicals.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” Roman said, putting his hands up in mock surrender “just that it’s not something people usual find interest in and that’s fine too.”

Virgil huffed, fiddling with the edge of his ever-present beanie, “Yeah, whatever.”

“I think it’s cool!” Jenni pipped up, cheerily.

“Me too!” Marco added just as enthusiastically “Roman’s just lame!”

“Hey.” Roman pouted and received the annoying sound of raspberries as payment from his younger brother. Virgil was laughing again, tension gone from his shoulders once more as he ran a hand under his beanie and through his hair. The flimsy hat slipped off the emo’s head and reviled something truly horrifying. The twins stopped their antics to openly stare and Roman’s eyes got wide in shock.

“What?” Virgil asked, obviously starting to freak out over everyone’s sudden silence and staring.

“Uh,” Roman cleared his throat nervously, carefully choosing his words “I want to preface this by saying I’m NOT trying to be rude or a jerk but…what happened to your hair?”

Finally realizing he was no longer wearing his beanie Virgil freaked, cheeks turning pink as he quickly flipped his hoodie over his head and pulled the strings tight. “N-nothing…”

“Well, it don’t seem like nothing,” Roman responded, waving his arm dramatically before pausing to think “…Is this like a medical thing? Because if it is I’m really-”

“No, n-no, no,” Virgil cut in “it’s just…I-I, um…m-my hand got, uh…stuck.”

Roman nodded slowly before realizing Virgil probably couldn’t see him at the moment, “Okay, and when was this?”

“When we found out, uh…” Virgil paused a moment, most likely thinking up a way to explain what happened without exposing themselves to Jenni and Marco who were still in the room, “…when we formed the club, in the morning, I had an…accident.”

“I see,” Roman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration “your telling me you had that monstrosity hidden under that tasteless beanie for three whole days? And you didn’t think to, I don’t know, ask your parents to help you fix it or have them take you to a barber?”

“Honestly,” Virgil sighed, sliding down under the coffee table enough so that he could rest his chin on it “I kind of forgot, to busy still freaking out over…the club, then I remembered, then I got embarrassed, then I just decided not to say anything so…yeah.”

How this boy was still alive and functioning in this world Roman will probably never know but that wasn’t important at the moment. What was important was that he let that hideous abomination atop of Virgil’s head enter his house (er, apartment) and Roman would not stand for it. Taking a breath Roman turned to the twins, “Jenni get the clipper bag, Marco get my brushes.”

“Okay.” They replied before scampering off to do as they were told.

“What’s happening?” Virgil asked, eyes wide with worry.

Roman stood up and stretched, “I’m going to fix that absolute sin you call hair. Come and sit in the kitchen, easier to clean the floor.”

Virgil scooted somewhat back, glaring at Roman pointedly, “Uh, thanks but no thanks. I rather not make it worse then what it is.”

Roman scoffed, rolling his eyes, “You’ll be fine Sweeny Toad, my mother used to be a hair dresser so I picked up a few things. Now come on,” He moved a seat from the dining table to the center of the kitchen “sit.”

Jenni and Marco soon returned with the clipper bag and brushes and sat back on the stools behind the counter as if waiting for a show to start. Virgil was still curled up like a feral cat and all that was left was for him to start hissing. Roman rolled his eyes once more, having dealt with bratty children (Read: the twins) before who didn’t want to sit still for their hair cut.

“Trust me,” Roman said “I cut and manage the twins’ hair all the time, you’ll be fine. If there is one thing I know NOT to mess with it’s hair.”

Virgil continued to glare at him and Roman sighed in response, “Come on, it can’t get any worse then what it is now. And if it does,” He raised the scissors in his hands and snipped the air “I’ll let you take a stab at me a payback. What do you say?”

Slowly Virgil uncurls from himself, sliding out from under the coffee table and standing to face them. Roman raised a perfectly arched eyebrow and Virgil raised one back in response, “If you f…mess up my hair I will shave your head off.”

“Fine,” Roman shrugged, not at all startled by the threat “but you’re gunna have to sit in the chair so I can start.”

Virgil glared at him for a few more moments before his shoulders sagged in defeat and he dragged his feet towards the kitchen. Crossing his arms, the emo plopped down in the chair where Roman quickly pulled down his hoodie and grimaced. “Oh, you poor thing, why do you hate your hair so much?”

“Just get it over with.” Virgil grumbled and that was all the consent Roman needed to start trimming.

---

The planetarium was huge, a large dome like ceiling with rows of seats spiraling inwards. The Quinn and Foster brothers took a seat near the center row with Patton and Logan sitting next to each other between everyone. Morgan gave Logan a sly smile and Logan was half tempted to elbow him again if he wasn’t worried about causing his brother possible internal damage from being hit twice at half force by a super human spider. He instead opted to punch his brother’s shoulder as lightly as he could possibly manage though it seemed not to be light enough for Morgan.

“Why must you hurt me?” Morgan whined, rubbing his sore shoulder.

“So, have you ever been to a planetarium show before?” Patton whispered, leaning in close to Logan.

“Uh, yes,” Logan replied, all to grateful for the dim room that covered his burning cheeks “but I have not seen this particular showing. I’ve been to others, much smaller but still just as captivating. Though when it comes to the vast wonders of space even the smallest shows can be an enjoyable experience.”

Patton smiled at him, still just as bright in the dim lighting, “I didn’t know you loved space so much.”

“I, uh,” Logan cleared his throat “I enjoy the subject of it, yes, it’s quite a fascinating topic.”

“If you like it so much then why don’t you join the astronomy club?” Patton asked curiously “One of my friends from culinary club, Valerie, is president of it, I’m sure they’d love a new member. They don’t get a lot of funding from the school because obviously,” Patton scoffed bitterly before perking up again “so they have to do a lot of fundraisers and I sometimes help out. But other than that, I heard it’s a lot of fun, currently they’re raising money to go to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.”

Logan felt giddy with excitement but he was quick to compose himself, “Uh, that sounds lovely Patton, but I fear that I am far too busy with my studies and other after school activities as it is to even consider joining.”

Patton pouted, much too adorable for his own good and Logan had half a mind to take back everything he said. “Oh, that’s too bad. But hey, if you ever just want to pop in and say hello, I’m sure they’d be delighted to talk to you. I’ll let Valerie know.”

“Thank you, Patton, I appreciate it,” Logan smiled shyly, the lights began to dim even more and a voice from the speakers announce that the program would begin momentarily. He felt Patton tense slightly beside him and instinctively placed his hand over Patton’s closed fist which rested on the arm rest between them. “Don’t worry, the shows about to begin.”

“Mmh.” Patton hummed and he relaxed as they laid back in their seats and watched as the projection of space illuminate the darkness, never once letting go of each other’s hands.

“Way out here, ten million light years from planet Earth, every point of light is a galaxy containing billions of stars…”

Logan gulped thickly as he felt Patton’s hand shift just a bit, splaying out his fingers so that they could gently intertwine with Logan’s. He continued to look up at the ceiling where the universe twinkled and shined before him, a kaleidoscope of technicolor and wonder. The deep charming voice of Neil deGrasse Tyson took them into a journey through the cosmos, exploring the vast reaches of space that now felt so close. But even with the mesmerizing display of stars in front of him Logan could do nothing but revile in the warmth of Patton’s hold. The warm and smooth caress of his delicate finger tips and the pumping pulse beneath his skin that let Logan know that he was alive and full of warmth and sweetness.

“We’re flying through a three-dimensional atlas of millions of galaxies. The gaps are regions we have yet to map. Beyond every galaxy we could ever observe, farthest away in space and furthest back in time, the cosmic background radiation marks the visible edge of our observable universe…”

He chanced a quick peek towards him, just something to settle his nerves and let him know that this was all real. Just as expected Patton was mesmerized by the vast array of stars swirling around and recreating their galaxy. Balls of gas and matter burned together to create planets within and out of their solar system, flashing burst of white and purple and blue and red and yellow. They filled the room with endless color and highlighted the tiny freckles across Patton’s skin which seemed to stand out like the all to familiar stars in the sky.

“The motions of galaxies within each cluster confirm the presence of dark matter. The galaxies orbit too fast to be held together by the gravity of normal matter alone. Remove the dark matter… its lensing stops … and the cluster flies apart.”

“Have you ever been so terrified yet so amazed by something all at the same time?” Patton wondered aloud, voice soft and in awe, still gazing up at their exploding universe.

Logan’s eyes never looked away from him, “Yes, I have.”

“As this time-lapse view of the Milky Way shows, stars explode fairly often—at a rate of about two per century in a galaxy like ours. So, if you observe enough galaxies, you can spot a new supernova every few nights…”

Logan was absolutely in awe with everything about Patton, from his terrible puns to the certain tenderness he kept in his heart. He always saw the best in the world but he was realistic about it all too, but even then, he showed kindness to even the most god-awful people. He was smart and brave in ways people often over looked as being a naïve boy with dumb luck. Patton was far from perfect but he was still incredibly amazing as well as terrifying. He made Logan feel things, many things, he didn’t ever think possible. Sometimes it was too much, sometimes it was not enough, other times it was airy and light but it could also be heavy and make him want to throw up. Logan had been sure he’d get over this infatuation with Patton quickly then return to his life as if it were normal again. But of course, that didn’t happen.

“Clearly there’s more to the universe than meets the eye. The Big Bang happened long ago but not far away. It happened here, there, and everywhere. Peering into the dark, we stand on the threshold of great discoveries—and we always will, as long as we keep exploring.”

The roar of applause and florescent lights softly piercing the darkness quickly snapped Logan out of his daze. The warmth of Patton’s hand slipped out from under him as he too joined the audience in their up roar and all Logan could do was copy numbly. This was all very draining and headache inducing, way too many emotions for one day. All Logan wanted to do was go home and sleep.

“That was so cool!” Patton squealed, excitedly jumping up and down “I always thought this kind of stuff would be boring or too hard for me to understand but it was really fascinating. No wonder you like space so much!”

“Yes, well,” Logan said, adjusting his glasses “the wonders of space are vast and endless so there is much to learn.”

“And yet, we’ve only explored 5% of the ocean,” Alex pipped up as he scanned over a pamphlet “I mean not that this isn’t amazing and all but isn’t it a bit concerning that we barely know anything about what covers most of our planet yet know so much about what’s outside it?”

“If it’s oceanic life you’re looking for they have an environmental exhibit here on display,” Morgan said, checking over their own map “right across from us after the American mammals.”

“Oh, you can read this map?” Alex said, turning over his pamphlet every which way “Thank god because I have no idea what I’m doing. I honestly got lost earlier and met that cute front desk lady by mistake.”

“I want to see the birds,” Georgie announced lowly.

“Ah, that’s on the second floor next to the African culture hall,” Morgan said helpfully “anything else?”

Logan sighed tiredly as Alex jumped at the opportunity, “Yeah, yeah, we should go see that, uh, dinosaur exhibit, I wanted to see that t-rex mother fucker.”

“That’s on the third floor,” Morgan said as he flipped through the map “right next to-”

“Guys,” Patton gently interrupted “they probably have their own plans for the evening. We don’t need to force them to be tour guides for us, we can find our own way around.”

“Aw, come on Pat,” Alex whined “we already got them here, might as well take advantage of those big brains of theirs. Could use a bit of relaxing from solving all the worlds problems by taking us shmucks on a tour. They already know how to use a map!”

Another quick smack across the head from Georgie had him shutting up, “Patton’s right, we should leave them alone.”

“Well, I don’t really mind,” Morgan admitted and Logan was now fully considering throwing caution to the wind and elbowing him again “what about you Lo?”

Just when Logan was about to shut down the idea and demand to go home Patton spoke up, big brown eyes on full display. Oh no. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Lo. I’m sure we can find our way around no problem.”

“He lies!” Alex stage whispered, receiving another smack from Georgie.

Honestly, how was Logan going to ever say no to those eyes? Swallowing thickly Logan quietly murmured, “Is…there a particular exhibit you’re interested in, Patton?”

Patton’s smile was shy yet still beautiful and radiant, “Are you sure?”

Logan could only nod, much to afraid of his own voice.

“I…I would actually like to look at some of the environmental exhibits,” Patton admitted bashfully “anything with plants and flowers really.”

“That be right next to the oceanic exhibit,” Morgan announced “we can look through everything here on the first floor if you want before heading on up?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Alex exclaimed as he marched forward “Onwards troops!”

Georgie and Morgan trailed close behind with Logan in the back with Patton who rolled his eyes before shrugging and smiling tiredly, “I’m sorry in advance for whatever he does.”

“As am I with my own brother.” Logan chuckled as they made their way out of the planetarium, side by side and close enough that their swinging hands casually brushed against each other every once and a while.

---

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Thomas asked worriedly. As promised MJ had given Thomas a drink with the works on the house before leading him towards a table near the back where MJ then proceeded to sit down with him. MJ untied his apron and threw it behind his seat before untucking his shirt and ruffling his already messy red hair. They danced like flames of ember and framed his freckled face perfectly.

“Uh, I don’t think there’s much work to do,” MJ chuckled, gesturing to the nearly empty coffee shop “unless you have somewhere important to me and want me to get out of your hair.”

“N-no, no,” Thomas stuttered “not for a while at least but I just don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I’ll be fine,” MJ smirked, chin in hand as he leaned forward “I want to get to know my unconventional savior a bit more.”

Thomas was sure he’d permanently gone red, was flirting just how this guy spoke all the time? Thomas’s heart was not prepared for such onslaught of complements, “I’m not much to know.”

“There’s always much to know,” MJ laughed “especially with two strangers. But that’s usually easy because we’re both blank canvasses to each other so we just got to start painting.”

Thomas hesitated for a moment, “Do you work here often?”

Nice going loser…

MJ laughed again, beautiful and bell like, “Just temporary for the moment, I’m studying to be a nurse actually.”

“Oh, really,” Thomas said, actually kind of surprised that a guy who constantly puts himself in harms way would become someone that stiches up those kind of people “do you enjoy it?”

“Yeah,” MJ shrugged “it’s hard work but I like helping people. Plus, I don’t need to worry about going to the hospital every time I get into a scrap, I’ll be able to mend myself.”

Thomas huffed out an airy laugh, “I think you should be avoiding fight, you know?”

“Oh, I do,” MJ assured with a smirk “it’s just they can’t seem to avoid me. But lady luck must be on my side because she practically granted me a guardian angel. Well, guardian…spider? I don’t really know honestly.”

Thomas willed his cheeks to not flush more crimson as he asked, “Why do you think that?”

“You’re not gunna believe this but,” MJ rubbed the back of his neck nervously “I’ve kind of been saved by Rainbow Weaver a bit too many times. Poor guy, I must make his job a living hell if he has to keep dealing with me twice a week.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind,” Thomas said, casually sipping his drink “I mean, he is a hero so it’s his job to look out for people. I’m sure you’re fine and not a bother at all.”

MJ raised a suspicious eyebrow before smiling wide, “And how would you know that? Have you met him or something?”

“Maybe once or…twice,” Thomas fibbed “he’s a pretty chill dude so I assume he wouldn’t mind much.”

“Really?” MJ chuckled then took a deep sigh “Still, I really do tend to get into a lot of trouble.”

Yeah, no shit! Thomas added in his brain but smiled sympathetically on the outside, “I kind of get what you mean, I…admittingly, have a tendency to run into danger myself sometimes.”

“I can see that,” MJ teased “Mr. I-can-disarm-a-gun-single-handedly!”

He smiled sheepishly, hiding behind the rim of his coffee cup, “To be honest, a friend of mine showed me that move so I really can’t take all the credit.”

MJ pouted, cute and dramatic, “Are you denying my praise and admiration? How dare you, sir! I gave you free coffee and I only ever do that to big shot heroes!” A sly wink followed soon after “And good looking guys, both help, really.”

Thomas choked on his coffee, pounding his chest to bring back air into his lungs. Meanwhile, MJ giggled in delight at the sight of Thomas is misery and embarrassment, although he did lean forward to pat Thomas’s back. Once semi functioning MJ giggled again, leaning down to meet Thomas at eye level and the greying man had to control himself so that he wouldn’t go into another coughing fit. Steel blue eyes sparkled in amusement, “A bit too much?”

Thomas cleared his throat, “Maybe a little…sorry, I’ve, uh, never been…well, I haven’t been…”

“Flirted with?” MJ finished with a giggle “I find that very hard to believe.”

Thomas shrugged, “I-I mean, at least not with a really cute guy that apparently need to get saved twice a week.”

Now it was MJ’s turn to blush, freckles on full display like little constellations in the night sky. A goofy smile spreading across the red head’s face as he bit his bottom lip, “Maybe I need somebody to watch my back. Rainbow Weaver can’t be there all the time.”

“What makes you think I’m even qualified for the job?” Thomas asked with a shy shrug.

“Because you’re sweet,” MJ smiled “and you were willing to risk your life for a stranger.”

“I mean, I did get free coffee out of it,” Thomas smirked causing MJ to snort “plus, we’re hardly strangers, I know your name now and you know mine. And I also know that you’re studying to be a nurse! I’m pretty sure a stranger wouldn’t know that.”

“No, he wouldn’t, you’re right we’re practically lifelong friends,” MJ laughed, turning back to his apron at the back of his seat and digging through the pockets. He pulled out a black sharpie and took Thomas’s coffee cup to scribble over. “So, with that being established I think it is appropriate now for you…to have my number? And maybe…I could have yours?”

Thomas could only squeak out a wheezing, “Sure.”

---

“There, all done.” Roman put down the scissors on the counter and unwrapped the plastic wrap from around Virgil’s body. He dusted it off and proceeded to fold it as he circled around Virgil with a critical eye.

Virgil was been tense the entire time Roman was cutting his hair, he didn’t want to move even a centimeter for the fear Roman may actually fuck up. Jenni and Marco kept up casual conversation to keep him distracted, continuing to ask him about witches and what he knew about them. The were nice kids, definitely had Roman’s big personality, but still very sweet plus, they knew how to get under Roman’s skin and Virgil respected that. Then it was over and all of Virgil’s previous worries came flooding back all at once.

“How bad did you mess it up?” Virgil asked worriedly.

Roman scoffed, handing him a hand mirror before going off to sweep the kitchen, “Honestly, have a little more confidence in me.”

Virgil tentatively peered into the mirror to see what irreversible horrors awaited him. To his surprise it was actually a really nice cut, the left side was cut short in a smooth gradient sort of way while the right side was left longer and framed itself around his eye. It was a bit messy but Virgil guessed it was supposed to be that way, keeping to his aesthetic and all, but overall, he actually really liked it.

Virgil looked back up to give Roman his thanks and apologize for ripping on him earlier but froze to find that Roman was staring at him and frowning. Jesus, was he really that upset about Virgil not believing he could cut hair? “Uh, I actually kind of dig it so don’t worry about-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know that you like it,” Roman waved him off, leaning up against the counter as he continued to glare at him “I am amazing after all. It’s just now that I look at you I’m kind of pissed.”

“I’m sorry.” Virgil apologized, though for what he didn’t know.

“I like his hair cut!” Marco announced.

“Me too!” Jenni added “He looks cute!”

Virgil flushed red and Roman finally burst, “That’s the problem! I was honestly vouching for him to look at least semi-decent but he actually pulls off this look!”

“W-what?” Virgil squeaked.

What was happening? What was going on? Roman was complementing him but was also pissed at him. That is a very weird combination of emotions to be had as well as to receive.

“You look cute,” Roman stated plainly and narrowed his eyes “and I hate you because of it.”

“Why?” Virgil was starting to get a bit frustrated because he’s pretty sure all the blood in his body has redirected itself to his face. Also, what the hell was Roman’s deal?

“Because you’re an emo nightmare and you’re not supposed to be cute!” Roman replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well, excuse me!” Virgil snapped.

“No, you shall not be excused because how dare you!” Roman exclaimed dramatically “How dare you have the audacity to be cute so flawlessly while the rest of us have to work for it every day!”

Virgil groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration, “What is wrong with you?”

“A lot of things really.” The twins said at the same time and if Virgil weren’t so thoroughly frustrated at the moment, he might have thought it was creepy.

“Zip it, Fred and George!” Roman snarked and was responded with two sets of loud raspberries.

Virgil ran a hand through his newly cut hair and sighed deeply, “Look, thank for the haircut, sorry you hate it, I’m gunna leave now.”

He began to make his way towards the living room but Roman was quick to catch his arm, “Wait, we aren’t finished with our essay.”

“It’s good enough,” Virgil snapped, taking his arm back “plus, I don’t very much want to sit here and be insulted for my hair, which by the way you cut.”

“I don’t hate your hair Virgil,” Roman replied with a laugh “I’m saying that you’re cute and that I’m frustrated about it because you put zero effort into it. Meanwhile, yours truly has to moisturize every night, put product in my hair, and still do my make-up to at least look decent for the day!”

Virgil glared at Roman, he had no idea what to make of this boy. One minute he’s insulting him then he’s complementing him, he’s nice then he’s a jerk and the cycle continues. Virgil doesn’t get him or how he functions! Roman was so frustrating and flipped flopped emotions so quick Virgil’s head was dizzy. Contrary to popular beliefs Virgil was just as bad at social cues as Logan was so he had no clue how to tell when Roman was joking or not!

Finally, Virgil said, “That’s stupid!”

“Ooo, you said a bad word!” The twins cried.

“Silence demons!” Virgil snarked and the little monsters straight up hissed at him “Like I was saying, that’s stupid! Why the hell are you even worried about that? I’m not even…I’m not…”

Virgil couldn’t even finish the statement it was so ridiculous. He wasn’t cute damn it! Roman was just being weird and dramatic like always! He just wanted to see Virgil flustered and embarrassed, well, that’s not going to happen! Virgil refused to be made a fool of again!

“You’re cute! Admit it!” Roman smirked, because he’s a stubborn jerk who won’t admit he’s wrong.

“I am not!” Virgil groaned, arms crossed and no, he was not pouting! “You’re just an idiot!”

“You’re basically a tiny kitten,” Roman snickered “at first glance people might mistake you for this great big jungle cat-”

“Because it’s true!” Virgil stomped.

“But really you’re just an adorable little kitty cat.” Roman laughed, easily dodging Virgil’s attempt to punch him. Virgil then proceeded to chase Roman around the apartment while the theatrical teen laughed and continued to dodge his attacks. All the while the twins chanted, “Virgil is a kitty! Virgil is a kitty!”

“I am not!”

---

Overall, Patton was glad Logan and his brother was able to say with them a bit longer, they were pretty great tour guides, Logan especially though maybe Patton was a bit biased. Morgan mainly hung around Georgie and Alex, answering all their questions and helping defuse Alex’s plans on climbing up on one of the dinosaur’s displays. Meanwhile, Logan and Patton were practically left to their own devices, which Patton was perfectly fine with, Logan knew a lot of neat stuff and provided insightful in formation on every exhibit. It would have been perfect if Alex didn’t keep giving him suggestive winks plus and enthusiastic thumbs up though Patton is about 85% sure he saw Morgan do the same thing earlier.

He flushed red at the thought of it, was his crush on Logan really that obvious? Did they see him and Logan holding hands during the planetarium show? Patton was going to let go, he swears, it’s just Logan’s hand felt so nice and warm immensely calming Patton’s nerves when everything suddenly got dark. So, he just kind of left it there, Logan didn’t seem to notice or at least Patton thinks he didn’t. Patton was focusing too hard on watching the show and acting as casual as possible.

It was dark in there so Patton didn’t worry about anyone seeing his flushed face but that was now not the case for the rest of the museum. Thankfully, Logan was too enraptured by all the museum’s exhibits to fully pay attention to Patton’s constantly blushing face. Patton had to repress a dreamy sigh threatening to escape him as he watched Logan ramble on and on about animals from the Cretaceous period, he really did look best when talking about the things he was passionate about.

Okay, so like maybe, this all kind of, sort of looked like a date? If you could count a date involving your two older brothers and your crush is brother babbling in front of them as he and Logan trail behind. It was like a very chaperoned date…in Patton’s head at least. It was silly to think off it like that, he knew, but the whole atmosphere of the evening left Patton feeling all fluttery and excited. Even if it wasn’t just the two of them Patton still felt this sort of intimacy between them and, maybe, the sense that Logan might like him back.

Patton didn’t know how much control he had over these empathetic powers of his, Joan and Talyn had turned them off after that whole experiment thing, saying how they were supposed to grow and come in naturally. But aside from that when he and Logan were holding hands during the planetarium show Patton swore he felt tiny slivers of something warm and familiar. Little sparks of pleasure he knew he felt before every time their hands brush. But he really couldn’t be sure so Patton continued to smile and accidently bump against Logan’s shoulder as they walked through the entire museum and into the gift shop.

As usually the elder brothers left the youngers to their own devices more then likely to stop Alex from flirting with the cashier lady. There were many interesting educational toys and items such as candy rock making kits, puzzles, fossil digging cubes, layered mineral rocks, arrow heads and an assortment of other items. Of course, Patton went straight towards the large bins filled with plushies, with Logan not far behind.

“Why is there a monkey in a space suit?” Patton asked, picking up the soft plush toy from one of the large square bins.

“Before sending human up into space they sent animals,” Logan explained “mainly monkeys and apes since they closely resemble our genealogy.”

There were lots of other plushies in the bin such as dinosaurs, birds, and other animals as well as plants, rocks, ships, and planets with cute little faces on them. Patton grabbed a tiny smiling blue ball with specks of white and brought it up to eye level. “I’m guessing this little guy is Pluto, I’m surprise that he’s even here.”

“Well, some people still consider it a planet,” Logan said in a sort of adorably huffy manner before bashfully shrugging “or maybe it’s left over from previous stock long ago.”

Patton giggled, “And where do you stand on the Pluto debate?”

Logan adjusted his glasses critically, “Calling it a dwarf planet is just saying it’s a planet but smaller then average. It has its own moon as well as the other necessities to be a planet but just because of its size it is diminished to dwarf planet.”

“Wow, you have a lot to say on the matter,” Patton smirked delighted by the endearing flush that painted Logan’s cheeks. He reached to pick up another plushie, this one a robot of sorts, “What’s this?”

“That’s the Opportunity rover,” Logan pipped up quickly “Oppy, as some people have nicked named her, she was sent to scan and observe the surface of Mars. She was accompanied by her twin Sprit but he unfortunately got stuck in a sand trap and has cease function. She was only supposed to function for 90 days but excided that by 14 years and 46 days.” Logan frowned a bit, a glimmer of sadness in his eye before he quickly shook it off, “Soon, after in 2012 they sent the Curiosity rover and as of now it is the only one still active out of the three of them.”

“Aw, does that mean he’s up there all by himself now?” Patton said mournfully, holding the little robotic plushie close to his chest.

“Unfortunately, so,” Logan responded blankly “but even so, we will surely have Curiosity functioning for a number of years more. So, we’ll still have plenty of more time to explore the surface of Mars before we inevitably launch there ourselves.”

“But he’ll still be all alone for years and years,” Patton pouted “that can’t be a pleasant experience even for a robot. Just being all on your own on a seemingly lifeless planet with nobody there to talk to you or comfort you when your sad.”

Logan gave a half smirk, amusement glittering in his eyes, “I’m sure he’ll be fine, he can still communicate back and forth with mission control here on Earth. So, it’s kind of like always having someone on call with a one-way video face time.”

“That is a little better,” Patton hummed thoughtfully “but still, the thought of being completely alone in the vastness of space…kind of freaks me out.”

“Well, thankfully you’re not alone,” Logan said warmly, his smirk now stretching into a shy yet honest smile “you’re here on Earth with very many people who care about you.”

Patton flushed pink but smiled back none the less, “Yeah, I guess so.”

They all finished making their purchases before making their way towards the exit. The crowed had thinned out immensely as evening dwindled into night and what people remained were slowly but surely making their way out. Once again the elders tailed up front talking away while Logan and Patton lingered behind discussing the concept of human awareness and if one day robots will be able to gain this awareness.

“Like, I’m not saying a robot uprising in the sense that they’ll enslave and kill us,” Patton explained, hands gesturing wildly “but something similar to protests and political campaigns that fought for equal rights. If they’re beings of intellect then they’ll know that violence will get them nowhere and hurt their cause more then help it.”

“Wow, you have a lot to say on the matter.” Logan teased.

Patton shrugged shyly, rubbing the back of his neck, “I just…think sci-fi has demonized the why humans will react to other species coming into contact with us. I mean, we aren’t complete monsters and usually the species we’ll ‘supposedly’ interact with aren’t either.”

“Hmm, you do have a point,” Logan nodded “though honestly if they do end up attacking us, I’m pretty sure we deserved it one way or another.”

Patton snorted, “Probably.”

It happened quickly, a buzzing at the back of his head and a burst of color flashing over his eyes. A voice in his head told him to hold down the back of his skirt and side step forward quickly, so that’s just what he did. When Patton turned around to look, he saw a man on his knees with his arm twisted around behind him by a very furious looking Logan.

“Fuck, let go!” The man wheezed out, another man nearby jogged towards them “Jesus, man lay off!”

Logan payed no mind to what they said, only looked to the man on his knees as he seemed to put more pressure on his arm and lowly asked, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I didn’t do nothing!” The man whined, trying and failing to get out of Logan’s solid hold “Get off me you freak!”

“Fuck off dude!” The man’s friend replied, taking half a step forward before freezing under Logan’s glare. “Clearly, he is lying. Because from what I gathered by the precarious position I caught him in was that he was about to pull up my friend’s skirt.”

“I said I didn’t do anything!” The man cried.

“No, but you were going to.” Logan growled, seeming to increase the pressure on the man’s arm.

Patton heard a commotion behind him and turned to find his brothers and Morgan racing back towards them with a security guard hot on their tale. They seemed to be trying to out run the security man and were quick to circle around them as if to block out anymore preying eyes.

“Logan, let him go!” Morgan whispered harshly and, almost reluctantly, Logan complied, the man dropping to the floor clutching his arm. The man’s friend rushed to help him to his feet while Logan still stood by, arms crossed and glaring daggers.

“What the hell is going on?” Georgie demanded.

“That’s what I would like to know.” The security guard pipped up from behind them. Immediately, the man points an accusing finger at Logan, “Officer, this man physically assaulted me!”

“Falsehood!” Logan snapped.

“You were going to pull up my skirt!” Patton shrieked, finally able to find his voice again. He was not going to get Logan in trouble again on his behalf.

“I didn’t fucking do anything, you stupid fag!” The man snapped.

“The fuck did you say!” Alex growled, surging forward to grab the man by the front of his shirt. Had he not Patton was sure Logan and Georgie were close to do so as well.

Patton felt a pit in his stomach, everything was turning into chaos all because of him, again. Why couldn’t he say anything? Why couldn’t he do anything? Why did he have to be such a big baby and cause trouble? How ironic for someone training to be a hero to always get put into situations like this yet isn’t able to save himself. How pathetic.

“Hey, hey, settle!” The security guard commanded, quickly getting in between both men “Now, what I see here is we got two options. One: someone can fess up and give me the real story or two: we can check the security camera, it wouldn’t take too long.”

At the mention of cameras, the two men paled and Logan smirked, the security guard looked tired and seemed to want to be anywhere but here. “If what the young man said was true then you two were the ones committing assault and this other young man here was merely acting in self-defense for his companion.”

“He almost broke my arm!” The main fiend complained.

“I didn’t even do anything!” The other barked, pointing a few feet away “I was standing over there!”

“You were more than likely an accomplice and bared witness to the crime without bothering to interfere,” Morgan quipped, speaking up after his long time silent observation, a calculated look in his eyes “I’ll bet if we look at the camera footage we’ll be able to see you two conspiring together to humiliate my friend like some god damn children before playing rock, paper, scissors or double dog daring one another to go do it. Am I hitting the ball park here? And while I’m at it I’ve been looking through your guys is records and this isn’t your first offence.”

Stepping forward like some sort of professional high security secretary, Morgan pulled up his phone for all to see. There, side by side, were photos of the two men along with their names, contacts, and crimes they’ve been charged for. Patton was pretty sure the two men were nearing the process of passing out their faces were so pale, while Morgan seemed to mimic Logan’s smirk.

“Drunken violence, public indecency, property damage on multiple charges, as well as, surprise, surprise, physical and sexual assault,” Morgan listed off as he continued to scroll through his phone “My, my, you boys have been busy. Now with all of these charges in mind please, pray tell, what were you two thinking when you decided to pull up an under-age boy’s skirt in a high security museum? Or are you that stupid?”

They spat and sputtered but to no avail, not only was one of them caught red handed they had the odds stacked against them. Morgan provided no form of mercy, “Yeah, that’s what I thought, not to worry the police should be here any-” The front entrance was open and four officers came running in “Oh, there they are.”

The men tried in vain to run but the police were able to easily tackle them down while the security guard ushered them all to the side, more then likely waiting to be questioned. Patton felt a bit numb, not really sure if what happened was real or not, there was a lot of energy and emotions in the air and it all gave him a headache. Warm fingers tangled between his and Patton was suddenly brought back to the ground and looking into Logan’s dark eyes.

“Are you okay?” Logan asked, brow frowned in worry.

Patton nodded slowly, “Yeah, thanks.”

“Dude, how were you able to do that? With like the phone and the records and the police and stuff?” Alex exclaimed gesturing to the men being led away in cuffs. Morgan winked mischievously, “Ah, a true computer genius hacker never gives away his secrets…er, phone computer genius hacker? Uh, basically a long story short I did a thing that I will explain to you later because it is, ahem, semi-illegal.”

They all side eyed the security guard who merely shook his head and shrugged. Another officer came by a few minutes later relieving the poor security guard of his duties so as to ask questions. They were all pretty standard: what happened? Why did it happen? Do you want to press charges? Everybody jumped to say yes but honestly Patton didn’t want to deal with anything anymore, he just wanted to go home. Morgan, ever the mystery man genius, said he would willingly handle all the legal stuff so that Patton didn’t have to do anything but sign a few papers, saying how he had a friend who he graduated with who works in the criminal justice system. Usually, Patton didn’t like to bother people and he was trying this whole new thing about fighting for himself but he really, really did not want to deal with complex legal stuff. He also did not want to stress out his family more then they probably already were going to be then he needed too. So, he and his brothers graciously accepted his help.

“You know young man,” The officer said in that adult tone of voice used to scold children “maybe you shouldn’t be wearing a skirt out in public? Would give you an easier time and call much less attention to yourself.”

Okay, so Patton has moved on from tired and pitiful to kind of pissed off, “Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying,” The officer said gently, as if it would make this situation any better “if you were to wear more proper clothes, you’d have less trouble and this situation probably would not have happened.”

He felt Logan’s fingers curl tightly against his, body tensed and ready to jump to Patton’s defense and rescue one more. But Patton was getting really tired of having to be rescued all the time, not that he didn’t appreciated it especially from Logan, but her was getting quite fed up with everything right about now.

“Well, it shouldn’t have happened at all!” Patton said firmly, not really shouting but voice still loud and clear “Regardless of how I dress or how anyone dresses nobody should ever be treated like this! Instead of telling me how I should dress ‘properly’ maybe you should start doing your job and telling people it’s not okay to harass someone just because they’re different or dress a certain way or act a certain way or whatever?”

The officer frowned disapprovingly, like a teacher towards a failing student, but he was no teacher he was an idiot. “Sir, I’m merely suggesting a-”

“I don’t want your suggestions!” Patton snapped “I want to live my life just like everybody else in the world without being bullied or harassed or called names or being shamed just because I’m alive!”

Stunned silence filled the room and Patton just knew that all eyes were on him, surprised and in awe that sweet little Patton would snap at an authority figure. It all would have been quite overwhelming for him if he didn’t have Logan’s fingers intertwined with his and his steady stream of fire and calmness filling his senses. A weird mix of feelings but useful in helping ground Patton and not have him blow up completely. He chanced a quick peek at Logan from the side of his eye and saw a wide and seemingly proud smile stretched across his face.

“I think we’re done here,” Georgie announced, leaving no room for argument “there seems to not be anymore questions you guys need so we’ll just leave.”

“We’ll be in contact, I assure you?” Morgan added as he ushered everyone towards the front exit.

“Our people will call your people.” Alex winked, throwing finger guns at the officer.

They quickly made it to the parking area where they exchanged pleasantries and goodnights before having to part. Georgie and Alex thanked Morgan and Logan immensely for their help, Morgan for handling all the legal stuff and calling the police and Logan for being there to stop the creep. Both Quinn brothers seemed to flush red at the complements and praise, assuring it wasn’t that big of a deal and that they were happy to help. But just before they could part ways Logan thrusted his gift bag towards Patton.

“I, um, thought you might like it,” Logan murmured, avoiding eye contact “I was going to give it to you earlier but, uh, that…happened.”

Patton smiled, happily accepting it before handing over his own gift bag to Logan, “I got you something too.”

“Oh, y-you didn’t – I mean, thank you.” Logan reached for the bag and Patton, once again, did something very bold. He firmly took Logan’s hand, pulled him forward, and gently kissed his cheek.

Patton was quick to pull back, face flushed pink but still smiling, “Thanks for saving me again, you seem to be having to do that a lot.”

Logan was silent for a moment, eyes wide and a careful hand placed over the cheek Patton just kissed. He quickly shook out of his daze, “I-it’s no problem…I’ll always be there if you need me. That is what friends do, correct?”

“Yeah,” Patton giggled “and I’ll be there if you ever need me too, okay?”

Logan nodded vigorously, “Affirmative.”

There was a car honk behind them and Alex is annoying voice yelling across the parking lot, “Come on lover boy, Ma want’s us home soon!”

There was an audible smack and a whiny “ow!” soon thereafter. Patton sighed and smiled apologetically towards Logan before dropping his hand and slowly walking backwards. “I gotta go, see you at school?”

“Uh, yeah, see you.” Logan replied, awkwardly waving his hand.

Patton couldn’t help but giggle and wave back before turning to rush towards the car. Alex booked it out of the parking lot, all the while teasing Patton about his little moment with Logan. But Patton wasn’t really paying attention, instead he was curiously looking inside the bag Logan gave him and found a robotic plushie. At first Patton had assumed it to be Oppy but the design was different so he looked at the tag attached to it and saw that it said Curiosity with a bit of scribbled handwriting at the bottom.

Surely, he will not feel as lonely now that he’s with you. -L.Q.

Patton bit down on his lip to hold back a squeal threatening to burst out of him as he hugged the little robot close to his heart.

---

Virgil left an hour before his mother and sister were due home and the twins whined the whole while not wanting him to leave. They had both latched on to Virgil’s legs and it took Roman an embarrassingly long time to pry them off, with Virgil teasing him the whole time. He left soon after and Roman sat the twins down and scolded them for their behavior, such actions might have been fine with Patton but Virgil was different, especially when it came to physical touch. Although, it didn’t seem like he had minded Roman told the twins if ever he came back that they should ask before engaging in any physical contact.

They seemed to understand well enough and that was all Roman needed before he was ushering them to take a shower and change for bed. Obviously, it didn’t go that easy without a bit of fighting so by the time his mother and sister got back home the twins were freshly bathed, wrestled into their pajamas, and Roman was currently combing his Jenni’s hair while Marco played with his cars.

“Como te fue? ¿Se comportaron los niños?” His mother asked, peeking into the room with Leslie right behind her. They looked tired, hair a mess and dark circles around their eyes.

“It went fine,” Roman replied, finishing Jenni’s hair and tying it off in a simple braid “the twins were fine and we were able to finish everything.”

“Aye, que bien.” She replied.

“Roman’s got a boyfriend!” Jenni announced loudly “And he’s totally a secret witch even though he says he isn’t! But I know!”

Roman squeaked as he pulled his little sister to his chest and clapped a hand over her mouth, “You shush! Time for bed!”

“¡Romano tiene novio! ¡Romano tiene novio!” Marco chanted as he began to jump up and down on his bed.

“Shut it, you little demon!” Roman growled, face aflame.

“Marco no jumping on the bed,” Leslie scolded before a sly smirk crossed her face “and Roman, why didn’t you tell us it was your boyfriend coming over? We could of sent the twins off to their friends how so you two could have some alone time.”

“It’s not like that at all!” Roman shrieked “W-we’re just friend who made a club together, that’s all!”

“Ay, pero Romano, ¿por qué no lo invitaste a cenar para que podemos conocerlo adecuadamente? Quiero asegurarme de que va a ser bueno para mi pequeño príncipe.” His mother giggled along with the rest of his family and Roman really wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

---

Thomas on a roof of a shop near a familiar alley way in full Rainbow Weaver gear. He had just finished making a full sweep around the city an hour ago and decided to take a quick brake before doing another one. He quietly observed the familiar little café across the street and the familiar red head wiping down the tables one last time.

Thomas had stayed to talk to MJ a while more before an influx of customers suddenly made there way in for a late after work coffee run. MJ now suddenly had plenty of work to do and Thomas suddenly remembered that he had a city to be patrolling. They reluctantly parted ways, Thomas sputtering like a fool while MJ was as charming and as cool as ever. He was lucky that he packed a bag with him and stuck his Rainbow Weaver gear onto a nearby building or else he’d have to be fumbling back home and explain to Joan and Talyn why he hadn’t been patrolling the city for two whole hours. He wasn’t ready for the teasing sure to come when they eventually find out that he had been distracted by a cute boy who worked in a coffee shop and that he saves twice a week.

Speaking of, said cute boy was walking out of the coffee shop now, smiling down at his phone as he typed away at something or another. Thomas suddenly felt his own phone vibrate in his pocket and he was quick to pull it out and see a new texts message.

MJ<3: i think i’ll take a different route home today ;-)

Thomas looked back up to watch and sure enough instead of crossing the street MJ turned right towards a much safer part of town. Thomas couldn’t help feel a bit bummed out that he wouldn’t be able to have another possible interaction with MJ again tonight but he was much more happy that MJ took his advice to a safer path home.

Thomas: Good choice! Get home safely :)

MJ<3: Sure thing tiger! <3

---

Virgil had stomped all the way home grumbling to himself. Stupid Roman and his demon siblings kept teasing him the whole time he was there, though admittingly it was kind of fun. Especially since the twins were always willing to turn head on their older brother real fast. They eventually finished the essay and just kind of spent the whole evening bickering and answering Jenni’s curious questions about witches until Virgil had to go back home. He was surprised when they both latched on to his legs and begged him not to leave but soon became amused as he watched Roman struggle to pull them off.

Despite Roman’s entire personality in general he was a good brother and a good person at heart. He just tends to rub people the wrong way (mainly Virgil) sometimes, he was loud and brash, and spoke before he thought. But he wasn’t out right awful, nor was he terrible to be around just very, very annoying. Virgil still didn’t know what to make of Roman and their weird teasing back and forth but he could for sure say that it was…good. For now, at least.

His parents questioned him about the hair cut as soon as he got home and he truthfully told them what happened, not wanting to lie to them if he didn’t have to. They really didn’t mind and actually liked the hair but told him that he really should call them next time and ask for permission before letting his friend cut his hair.

He quickly promised and tiredly slipped in to his room where he was greeted by an excited JD, as always. After feeding and placing fresh water in his tank Virgil kicked off his shoes and proceeded to flop into bed, fully prepared to just sleep. Then his phone pinged!

Idiot: u will now be happy to know that I have now changed ur contact name to Nyan Cat!

Nyan Cat: fuck you!

Idiot: mmh not now maybe later ;-P

Virgil cheeks flushed red, growling as he began to furiously type back a reply. He took back every nice thing he said about the moron, he was the worst!

---

Morgan and Logan of course had to inform their parents about the situation that happened on their evening out. They weren’t freaking out as much as the late time Logan got in trouble but they were still worried none the less. They scolded Logan for his rush into violence but also commended him for protecting his friend from danger. For some reason Morgan did not mention to them about his part in the whole fiasco but instead gave them a vague summery of what went down. He was kind of glad for that, not that Morgan didn’t deserve credit, because he really did work wonders today, but Logan did not want to go another round of compare and contrast between him and his brother.

Logan sluggishly made his way into his room, completely drained from the whole outing. From the walking to the socializing and large crowed of the museum Logan was both physically and mentally drained. But as he looked down at the gift bag still in his hand and the warmth that blossomed in his chest, he couldn’t help but think it wasn’t too bad. A few minor complications but overall the part before the incident and after were pretty great. His cheeks were warm as he ran a finger over the spot where Patton had kissed him and he couldn’t help but let out a dreamy sigh.

Curiosity finally got the better of him and Logan quickly reached into the bag and pulled out a familiar soft round ball, pale blue with white specks and a cute smiling face. He smiled to himself before noticing the neat loopy hand writing on the end of the tag.

Viva la Pluto! <3

Logan was sure that he had a big goofy smile spread across his face by now and was so glad that he was alone in his room. Though he was soon snapped out of his warm and fuzzy day dream by the ping and vibration of his phone. He quickly fished it out of his pocket honestly expecting it to Virgil ready to complain about the god-awful time he had over at Roman’s place but was pleasantly surprised to find that it was Patton.

Patton: the moon is smiling tonight! :)

Logan peeked out his window and sure enough was in its waxing crescent formation which edged near the bottom, looking like a giant smile in the night sky. Logan chuckled softly to himself as he quickly typed out a reply.

Lolo: So, it is.

Tags: (sorry if it doesn’t work, Tumblr is stupid)

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#thomas sanders #sanders sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logicality #prinxiety #spiderverse au #spiderverse #tw assualt #tw harassment #tw homophobic slur #tw homophobia #tobashiarg!

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icequeenoriginal · 6 years ago

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Intimacy and All Its Forms

Note: I was planning on writing the next chapter for Tale as Old as Time, but I also wanted to write something for @sugarglider9603 and @ask-spiderverse-virgil / @galaxy-lilies-main Spiderverse AU so I picked the one-shot first. This is based on this post (And a couple others) along with “Turns out Being a Superhero IS Actually Really Gay!” by @hi-i-love-u-bitch

Also, there’s a section in Spanish, you’ll want to translate it. Enjoy!

Warnings: injuries, mentions of death, unconscious, self-deprecation, crying, a small bit of cursing, arguing

Pairings: Prinxiety and Logicality

Roman Marigold could handle a lot. He could handle his father’s passing. He could handle being a surrogate parent to his younger siblings. He could handle being the lead in any play. And he definitely could handle being a superhero.

So why was this one particular thing affecting him so much?

Roman knew that his boyfriend wasn’t the affectionate type. When they first started dating, you couldn’t tell by looking at them that they were dating. They would walk side by side but there would be a small gap between them. Slowly, it morphed into holding pinkies as they walked, linking their ankles together when they sat next to each other and just being in each other’s presence at every waking moment. Roman adored it. It was special, it was theirs and theirs alone.

Or so he thought.

The more he hung out with Virgil, the more he started…noticing things. Specifically, the way his boyfriend would interact with others. Well, two other people. Two other people who were not him.

The first time he noticed was at a movie night at Thomas’ place. Patton had decided to bless the apartment with his world-famous cookies and perfectly buttered popcorn. Logan, Virgil, and Roman waited impatiently for Thomas to return with soda. Four young superpowered boys can eat and what is a proper movie night without drinks?

Patton stuck his head into the living room with a smile “Who would like to volunteer to be my taste-tester for tonight?” Roman bolted to the kitchen so quickly that Logan rolled his eyes and Patton laugh.

Roman took a few bites of a cookie before declares “These are the best cookies that have ever been made!”

Patton giggled “Why thank you, Ro! I hope everyone else feels the same way.”

“Well, Virgil’s eating whether he likes it or not.” A grunt could be heard from the distance. “As for Logan, you can just dump him if he doesn’t like it.” Patton playfully punched Roman and the two best friends exited the kitchen.

It had been a great day for Roman. He aced a test he swore he was going to fail, he hit the high note at play rehearsal without destroying anything and Virgil bought him a hot chocolate. Now he was going to have a great evening with his friends and cuddling all night with his boyfriend.

As he took a step into the living room, he suddenly felt like someone just sucker-punched him in the gut. In front of him was his boyfriend sitting in another man’s lap. Not just any man, but Logan Quinn. They were in the middle of the couch and there was plenty of places Virgil could be sitting but no, he was in Logan’s lap.

Curiously, Roman made his way over and sat next to them. He turned his body so that he was facing them sideways. He smiled, ever the actor, and extended his arms. Both Virgil and Logan looked at him then at each other.

Virgil spoke first “What are you doing, Princey?”

Roman raised an eyebrow but his smile didn’t waver. “I’m motioning for you to come into my lap.” Both Logan and Virgil continued to stare at him “Oh as I supposed to ask first? Sorry. Virg? Care to cuddle with the most handsome man in this living room.”

Virgil chuckled “Thanks but I’m comfortable.”

Roman’s arms and smile dropped “Oh…”

Patton finished setting up the snacks and joined them on the couch. He leaned into Logan and Logan shifted over to him. Virgil scooted off of Logan and Roman’s smiled returned. He was sure now Virgil would cuddle with him now, especially since Logan and Patton were trying to see close their bodies could get without fusing together.

Virgil’s feet stopped an inch away from Roman’s leg. He had his knees bent. His head was still on Logan’s leg, causing Roman to let out a whine. Virgil didn’t notice, he had his headphones on.

Logan did “It’s nothing personal Roman, Virgil is just like a cat. He must choose you and that takes years.”

“Oh” was all Roman could say.

Why did he always had to get bad news in the living room?

Thomas suddenly burst through the door, arms filled with different soda. Roman immediately got up to help him, in an effort to distract himself. He even volunteers to get the cups even when Thomas insisted he didn’t have to.

When he returned, Virgil had moved again. His head was in Thomas’s lap with his feet on Logan and Patton, who was now fully in Logan’s lap.

With a sigh, Roman shifted his chair so that his back was to the couch. He picked up one of the abandoned pillows and cuddled with that. It a horrible substitute. It wasn’t soft like Virgil’s hoodie, it didn’t have his warmth and it definitely did not smell like him.

By the time the credits of the first movie began to roll, the horrible feeling in Roman’s chest became too much for him. He sheepishly got up and headed for the door

“Where are you going kiddo?” Patton called after him

“Home.”

Patton began to pout “Why? It’s movie night.”

Roman averted his gaze. He knew that if Patton got as little as a glimpse into his eyes, he would go full dad mode. Worse, now that Patton had the ability to know exactly what a person is thinking by touching them, the whole group would know what was on Roman’s mind. As much as Roman loved attention, he didn’t feel he deserved any for this reason. He would be mocked. Logan would probably call him being illogical and immature, Virgil would laugh and Patton wouldn’t understand. Neither would Thomas.

“I forgot I promised my mom I’d clean the house, plus I have a ton of homework.” That was enough to get Patton to go back to snuggling with Logan. Roman was right, none of them would have gotten it.

Roman stuffed his hand in his pockets as he walked through the cold night. He could see his breath but his drama club sweatshirt was enough for the young superhero. As he walked, he suddenly hated where Thomas’ apartment was located. Just a block from the spiderlings hangout was a street lined with nothing but restaurants.

Roman kept his head down as he passed the doting couples who were hugging, kissing, holding hands. All the things he wanted to do with Virgil.

His mind was so clouded that he nearly missed his spidey-sense telling him that he was about to bump into a man walking towards him. Roman jumped back and began to rattle of an apology when he locked eyes with someone else.

In the man’s arms was a young boy. He had big black eyes that stared at Roman curiously, to Roman he looked about 10 years old. He had tan skin like Roman and he clutched onto the man’s shirt. The man held the boy protectively and practically knocked Roman over when he walked past.

Roman turned and stared at them. He watched the way the boy leaned his head against the man’s and now the man kissed his head. Once they were out of view, Roman bolted to his home.

~ Patton hadn’t realized his leg was shaking until Logan put his hand on it. He looked up and saw that Logan’s eyes were filled with love and concern that for a moment, he forgot about everything but Logan. “Is everything alright dear?” Logan’s voice snapped Patton out of his daydream.

“Huh? Oh no, just…” Patton knitted his eyebrows together, his brain was still rebooting from the staring contest with Logan.

Logan leaned closer to him and whispered “Just what love? Tell me”

Patton smiled and leaned into Logan to hide his blush “I’m just worried about Roman”

Logan gently rubbed Patton’s arm “I’m sure he made it home alright and he knows better than to not text you when he gets there.” Right on cue, Patton’s phone vibrated. “See? Nothing to worry about.”

Patton bit his lip as he read the text. All it said was Made it home, see ya tomorrow. “That’s not what I meant Lo, I think something might be bothering him.”

Logan pushed his glasses up “Well if there was something amiss in his life, he would tell us. His track record shows a pattern of him being the complaining type.”

Patton chuckled and gently nudged Logan “Whatever you say Lo-Lo.”

Roman never realized how quiet his house was. His younger brother and sister, Jenni and Marco, were fast asleep in their rooms, not going to run up to Roman and tackle him with hugs. His mother and older sister Leslie were fast asleep but on the couch. Their textbooks and papers were scattered all over the floor, he made a note to clean it up in the morning. Roman carried them effortlessly to their rooms, no one stirred to acknowledge him. He made sure all four of them were tucked in before flopping onto his head, no one would come to tuck him in.

Roman lied before.

He craved more than what Virgil gave him. He wanted to put his arm around Virgil’s waist as they walked. He wanted to Virgil to sit in his lap and his alone. He wanted to carry Virgil.

He wanted it. No, he needed it. Because no one was going tuck him in anymore. Because no one was going to carry him on their shoulder. No one was going to sing “A La Nanita Nana” to him and his siblings anymore when they begged for it. No one was going to tell him stories about the buildings they helped build.

Not after that day.

Roman didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until his alarm was waking him up. He groaned as he rolled over and wince as his jointed cracked when he moved. He sat up and stared at himself in the mirror, flinching at his reflection. His hair was a mess, he had bags under his eyes and he probably should have showered before he went to bed.

Using his super speed, he was able to get into the bathroom just before Leslie. He used the sound of the water rushing over him to drown out her yelling outside the door. The water felt nice against his skin and for a moment, he was at peace.

Once he stepped out, the cold wind of reality hit him, literally and figuratively. He vaguely wonders if that’s a sign for something.

He walks to his room and opened his dresser. For the first time in his life, he didn’t know what to wear. He pondered wearing just a hoodie and sweatpants. That way no one would bother him, only looks of pity.

It must be that time of year again. Poor guy. He was so young when it happened too.

"Date prisa o vas a llegar tarde a la escuela". Roman’s mother stood with her hands on her hips in Roman’s doorway.

“Si, si.” Roman waved her off, hoping she would go and worry about his other siblings, like always.

Roman’s mother frowned “¿Que pasa, mi bebé?”

Roman shook his head. “Nada Mamá.” He paused, an idea coming to mind. He turned to his mother. Mamá, ¿cómo era papá cuando estabas saliendo?”

Roman’s mother walked over to him and rested her hands on his shoulders, a large frown present. “¿Estás pensando en tu padre otra vez?” Roman could tell she was worried about him. Roman should be grateful for that. He became the rock of the family after the accident, he didn’t seem to need comfort or care.

Roman needed to be a performer.

“No mamá, solo quiero impresionar a Virgil.” It wasn’t a total lie. He wanted to find a way for Virgil to be willing to snuggle with him.

Roman’s mother smiled and her eyes began to glow with nostalgia. “Me besó, retenida mi mano y juega con mi pelo.” The woman began to blush as the memories flooded her mind. Roman smiled at how after all these years, his mother was still in love with his father.

His mother took his hand “Pasión, esa es la clave del corazón de alguien. Debes mostrar cuánto lo amas. Eso no debería ser problema para ti, hijo mío.”

Roman smiled and kissed her cheek. “Gracias mamá”

Playfully, she slapped his shoulder “Ahora vístete, vas a llegar tarde.” She walked out of the room with a smile, which let Roman smile.

“Protégelos, hijo. Tú eres el hombre de la casa cuando yo no estoy allí.”

Roman walked over to his closet and smiled. He had to look his best today.

Virgil yawned as Logan open his locker. He completely forgot about the homework he needed to do for Monday and had to pull an all-nighter. It wasn’t his fault, he was having a really good time at the movie night. And wasn’t mental health a good enough excuse? Logan rolled his eyes as he watched Virgil down a third cup of coffee. “I told you to start your homework on Friday so you would have plenty of time before movie night.”

Virgil waved him away “Hush, Pocket Protector. I’m still waking up…”

Logan was about to make another snarky remark when an arm snaked its way around Virgil’s waist. Before he had any time to process it or suppress the yelp forming, a pair of lips gently pressed a kiss onto a rather sensitive part of his neck

The culprit whispered “Hola Mi Amor.” into Virgil’s ear, making his shutter.

Virgil slowly turned to see his boyfriend with his gorgeous locks brushed out his face, wearing a freshly pressed red button up red shirt, which was open to reveal a plain white shirt, and clean black slakes. He was wearing a bit of eyeliner that somehow made his gorgeous eyes look bigger.

Virgil was definitely awake now.

Patton giggled as he made his way from behind Roman to Logan’s side. He hugged him. Logan tore his eyes away from the couple who were breaking all forms of the rules about PDA in the school to give Patton a quick kiss on the head so they themselves would not get into trouble.

Roman pulled Virgil closer. “How are you today mi corazón?” Roman gently kissed his cheek “You look tired, still beautiful though.” Roman gently nipped the sensitive spot, making Virgil shove him away. Roman whined but kept the distance between them.

Virgil flipped his hoodie over his head and pulled the string as tightly as he could. He was not equipped to handle this. Roman strolls in front of him and squats down. “Aww, can Virgie come out and play.” Virgil is tempted to smack the smirk off Roman’s handsome face.

Virgil let out a sigh of relief once the bell rang. He pulled down his hood and intended to power walk to class. He froze when warm and slender finger wrapped around his own. He looked up to Roman smiled at him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “May I walk you to class, Querido?”

Virgil felt his throat close up, this was way too much for him. But Roman’s hand felt so nice in his…Wordlessly, he nodded. They walked together anyway.

Roman smiled and kissed Virgil’s hand, turning the poor boy’s face scarlet. “Let us head off then, Stormcloud.” He turned to Patton and Logan “I bid you good day.”

Patton giggled and waved “Have fun you two.”

Logan nodded “Goodbye.” Roman turned to walk to his and Virgil’s shared class when he was stopped by: “And good luck to you Roman.”

Horrified, he turned to Logan. Did he know what Roman was up to? Did he know about what was bothering Roman? Was he going to make fun of him?

Roman gulped before turning to Logan “G-Good luck? For what?”

Logan pushed up his glasses before speaking.“Your audition.”

“Audition? I don’t have an audition today.”

Logan frowned “Oh? I apologize. Virgil informed me that when you have an audition, you tend to wear fancier clothes. Or as he put it ‘Get stupidly hotter.’”

Virgil glared daggers at Logan. He was apparently going to kill two people today.

Roman let go of the breath he was holding onto and chuckled “Ah, I see. No, nothing like that. I just want to dress up today for me.”

Virgil was about to scream. What did he do to deserve this?!

Roman gave Virgil a gentle tug before walking off to their next class. Roman leaned close to Virgil as he walks and faintly hummed. Virgil felt like he was going to pass out.

Today was going to be a long day.

~ The entire day was too much for Virgil. In every class they had together, Roman would link their ankles together. He would walk Virgil to every class, hand in hand, even when Roman’s class was nowhere near his! What was going on?!

At lunch, Roman sat with his arm around Virgil and his hand on Virgil’s hip. Virgil refused to eat because he felt he was going throw up. Unfortunately, Roman took that as an opportunity to try and feed Virgil. If he wasn’t so shocked, Virgil would have stabbed him.

The worst was the stares. People swooning over how cute and romantic they were, people taking notes so they could “properly” romance their partners. And then there were the glares of jealousy or disgust. The only comment they heard was from Dolion but Virgil knew better. He could hear the whispers, the curse words, even if Roman couldn’t seem to.

Everyone has a breaking point.

As the group was waiting for Patton to come out of his last class, Roman draped himself over Virgil’s back and kissed him repeatedly. Virgil when saw Dolion laughing out of the corner of his eyes, he had enough.

Patton turned the corner when Virgil roughly shoved Roman off of him. Roman froze and his stomach dropped when he saw how angry Virgil was.

“Mi Amor?” “Stop it! Stop it right now!”

“S-Stop…?” Virgil made his way over to Patton and Logan, hugging himself. His back was to Roman, making the poor boy looked down in shame.

Virgil gently put his head on Logan’s shoulder as he began to shake. Logan glared as Roman as he rubbed circles into Virgil’s back. “Virgil does not like to be touched, as his boyfriend you should know that.”

Roman’s head snapped up and he grits his teeth. “I know that Logan, I was trying to help him get more comfortable with me.”

Logan rolled his eyes “Oh well wonderful job doing that.”

Roman clenched his fists “Well some of us don’t have years of friendship to back us up!” Roman slap his hand over his mouth as everyone, including Virgil, turned to look at him.

Virgil raised an eyebrow “Wait a second, are you jealous Princey?”

Roman did his signature offended prince noise. “What? NO! I don’t get jealous.” All three of his closest friends gave him the exact same look “I’m not jealous, I just…noticed that you seem to give Logan a lot more affection than you give me…”

Virgil felt his lip tug into a smirk. “So you were jealous.”

Roman sighed “I have to go to play practice…” Roman walked off.

“Kiddo wait!” Patton called after him desperately. They always walked to their individual clubs together. Roman ignored Patton’s pleas, making the smaller boy lean into his boyfriend and plays his bracelet.

“He didn’t turn around…”

Logan rubbed Patton’s arm as sympathetically as he could. He could care less about Roman but he couldn’t stand the thought of Patton being upset.

“Do not fret Patton, Roman will get over this illogical behavior by tomorrow.”

Virgil crossed his arms and pouted “I’m not letting him get away with this so easily, I’m going to be so distracted at dance class thinking about his stupid face.” Virgil felt his face getting hot, thoughts of Roman’s lips brushing against his neck rushed through his mind.

Logan, in an attempt to help Virgil back to reality, offered “If you would like, I can help you with your plans of punishment.”

Patton smacked Logan’s arm “You will not.” Patton turned and point accusingly at Virgil “And you will not either! He clearly feels bad, he doesn’t need to feel worse.” Patton wagged his finger at them, making the bracelets on his wrist shake.

Both Virgil and Logan nodded and spoke in unison “Yes Patton.”

Patton’s expression softens into a smile. “Great, now excuse me while I go to the culinary club, we’re making cupcakes today!” Logan watched his boyfriend run off with a smile before turning to Virgil and exchange their favorite look.

We are totally going to mess with Roman tomorrow.

Roman sat in his dressing room with his head in his hands. He lucked out that today was a dress rehearsal so he could pretend he was taking forever getting dressed. He truly felt ashamed of his actions.

Remy walked in and placed a coffee cup in front of the young hero. “You looked like you need this girl.”

Roman looked up at it and drank in wordlessly. Remy watched him in horror, silently praying to the coffee gods to forgive Roman’s cardinal sin.

Roman stood up as he slammed the now emptied up onto the table, almost crushing the cup completely. He took a second to control his breathing and powers before turning to Remy. “Thanks, Rem, I needed that.”

Remy tilted his glasses down “What’s gotten into you?” Roman shook his head “Nothing…just a fight with Virgil.”

Remy chuckled “What? You bite him too hard while you guys were practicing fucking in the hallway.”

Roman chucked the empty cup at Remy who dodged it with such ease that Roman vaguely wondered if Remy had superpowers.

“Hey! Don’t get mad at me just because you can’t handle the truth.” Roman flopped back into the chair and groaned. “I was just trying to be more affectionate. Sue me!”

Remy rolled his eyes “Girl, seriously? This is the man I lost the lead role to? Tsk.”

Roman turned to him, scowling “Just help me.”

Remy smiled “You know I will.” Remy sat dramatically on the table in front of Roman “Get ready because I’m about to spill the true tea.”

“Remy, I swear, I will throw something else at you.”

“Okay, okay, okay, calm down. Look, if he’s mad at you, just buy him a coffee tomorrow and apologize.”

Roman rolls his eyes “I should have known you would have said something coffee-related.”

“Well duh, if he rejects it, you can just give it to me.”

Roman stood up and said sarcastically “Thank you so much Rem, I wonder why I never came to you for advice before.”

Remy smirked, “It’s because you and the rest of the world cannot handle how great I am.”

“We have to get to practice…”

~ Roman wanted to smack himself. He decided to take Remy’s advice which involved waking up earlier, attempting to make coffee while sleep-deprived and almost waking everyone up when he was looking for the coffee canteen the school gave out on the first day.

He would admit that he was proud that he got all that and got his younger siblings ready for school. His next challenge was in the form of a peppy but curious neighbor. Roman put on his best fake smile and walked up to Patton. He moved slowly to come up small talk in the event Patton asked him about Virgil’s outburst yesterday. He was not ready to talk about it.

Roman noticed Patton was wearing the unicorn hair clips that Logan have bought him for his birthday. Score, if I get Patton talking about Logan, he won’t even think about me. Roman felt a small tug at his heart at that thought but he didn’t stress on it.

Once he heard footsteps, Patton whirled around to see Roman, almost knocking the taller man back. He didn’t even give Roman chance to say hello “Are you okay?” “Huh? Of course, I am Pat!” Roman struck one of his signature poses for added effect. The fatherly friend crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “You know how I feel about liars Roman.”

Roman soften his smile “I know Padre, and I’m being honest.”

Patton scanned Roman’s face before responding “I was just making sure after yesterday with what happened with Virgil.”

Roman shook his head “Don’t worry about that, it ‘twas just a lovers spat.” Roman cringed internally when he realized he said ‘twas.

Patton giggled at Roman’s statement “Okay then Ro, don’t be afraid to talk to me when you’re upset.” “I know Pat.” And he meant it, but Roman still wasn’t sure if he should act upon it. He decided to go with his original plan. “Nice hair clips, Pat.”

Patton blushed slightly “Thanks. Lolo bought them for me. He’s so sweet. He said he saw them and knew he had to buy them for me.” Patton held his hands together, against his cheek, as he gushed over Logan. They started on their path to the school and Roman sighed of relief. He could do this.

They were halfway to school when Patton noticed the coffee canteen. “Since when do you drink coffee?”

Panic rushed throughout Roman. He took a deep breath to steady himself before putting on his confident persona “Never, this is for Virgil. To make up for yesterday.”

Patton smiled “Oh kiddo…”

Roman chuckled “Yeah, I know what you’re going to say. It is a pretty great--”

“The best you could come up with is coffee?”

Roman took step back, placing a hand on his chest in distress. “Who are you and what have you done with Patton?!”

Patton tilted his head “It’s me, Ro.” Just to be sure, Patton touched his own face.

Roman took a step forward “Oh really? Then if you’re Patton, explain why you shut down my idea so badly.”

Patton shook his head while smiling “If you want to make it up to him, giving him a reminder that he can’t sleep might not be the best idea.” Roman pondered this advice. “What would you suggested?”

Patton’s eyes glistened with creativity “A homemade blanket that he can snuggle with. Or! Or! Or! You could take him to a concert for a band he likes.”

Roman couldn't help but grin “Excellent idea Patton, you have me convinced.” Patton beamed with pride. “Now all you have to do is convince my wallet.” Patton began to pout, more playful than truly upset. Patton passed the time by biting the inside of his cheek, he needed to think of a counterargument.

Roman pat his shoulder sympathetically “I think I’ll stick with the coffee Pat.”

Patton gave him a thumbs up and they headed to the corner where they usually meet Logan and Virgil. Roman fiddled with the hem of his sleeve, a nervous wave rushing over his body. It slightly terrified him, he was unsure why he was afraid.

Virgil seemed to always bring out new emotions in Roman. It was terrifying as it was exciting. He wasn’t just Roman Marigold the actor or Roman Marigold the gayest of gays. Or Roman Marigold…dadless. He was just Roman.

Virgil brought joy to Roman, but he could also bring him pain. Something they both would realize too late.

Patton could tell that something was eating at Roman. His shoulders were slumped, his face was decorated with a frown and his forehead had creases. All things that were very un-Roman-like, Patton found it unsettling. So when a purple beanie came into view, Patton felt a sudden a wave of relief.

Perhaps, too sudden.

Virgil and Logan walked up to the preppier friends, hand in hand. They were both talking happily, Virgil had a big fat smile on his face. Roman felt the mental of the coffee canteen bend inward as he squeezed it. He hides it behind his back, attempting to make it ground him somehow.

Patton didn’t seem to be as affected as Roman for he hugged the two newcomers, making Roman cursed himself. Why do you have to be overly-sensitive?! It’s not bothering Patton, so why is it bothering you?! What is wrong with you?! Roman’s mind was so loud, he couldn’t even hear what the conversation that was making Virgil smile so much.

Roman forced himself to focus as they walked towards the entrance of the high school, noting that Virgil did not let go of Logan’s hand. He closed his eyes, to block out the world, and said “Virgil, I have something to tell you. Well, first…”

As Roman moved to present the coffee cup to Virgil, Logan moved for his backpack. Using his super speed, he placed a purple coffee canteen into Virgil’s hand. The canteen in broke under Roman’s strength. The coffee burned in his hand but Roman honestly couldn’t care less.

Virgil leaned against Logan’s side as he drank his coffee “What is it Princey?”

Roman looked down “I wanted to say I’m sorry for yesterday. I really am.”

Virgil’s eyes flickered to Roman and study his body language. On their way over, Logan and Virgil planned on holding hands or linking arms when they saw Roman the entire day. It was to show him how ridiculous he was being. That didn’t mean he wanted to hurt him. See that Roman was seemingly embarrassed made Virgil smirk “It’s alright sir Sing-A-Lot.”

Roman walked backward and threw the destroyed canteen. He wore a fake smile, not that anyone was looking at him. He stared at the canteen in Virgil’s hand. It was his favorite color, and it even had his name on it. It was personal, probably even a gift. How could he not have thought of that? He was supposed to be Virgil’s boyfriend. He was supposed to make Virgil comfortable. He was supposed to make Virgil happy. He was supposed to be good enough.

But he wasn’t.

The warning bell unintentionally snapped Roman back to reality. Logan wrapped his fingers around Patton’s and for a moment, Roman prayed it was over. His dreams were dashed when Virgil wrapped his arm around…Logan’s waist?! He had never once done that to Roman. The sight was his downfall.

As the trio walked forward, Roman stood in place, eyes looked onto the ground. Patton looked back at him and Roman turned to face the other direction. Patton tilted his head concerned “Aren’t you coming with us, Ro?”

“Nah, I think I’ll just take my old shortcut. Big test” Roman ran off, his tail between his legs. Or that’s what Virgil perceived it as, ever so slightly missing the tears forming in the corners of his boyfriend’s eyes.

Virgil laughed hysterically as his arm dropped to his side. “Oh, that was amazing. Did you see the look on his face?”

Logan smirked, “I did, it was quite enjoyable.”

If the hallway was not flooded with high schoolers, they might have heard the tapping on Patton’s sneaker against the tile floor. The young pastel boy was fuming and going unnoticed.

Virgil wiped the tear in his eyes away. “Oh, I so needed that. See ya guys later.” Virgil waved as he walked into his class. Logan was laughing to himself until Patton roughly pulled him into an empty classroom.

Logan felt a small blush form as Patton stared at him menacingly “Pat…?”

“You promised you were going to leave Roman alone! “ Patton aggressively poked Logan in the chest as he spoke. Logan looked away as Patton gasped in horror “I even gave you a brownie!”

Logan pulled on his collar, sweat was forming on his forehead. Logan had only seen Patton get this mad at bad people, never him. The look that was embedded on Patton’s face was not for the faint of heart. Logan used one of Virgil’s breathing exercises to regain his composer before responding “I apologize, Patton, I did not intend to upset you with my actions.”

Patton huffed “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to! Poor Roman must be so sad right now! And in his favorite class too!”

Logan shook his head “Falsehood, we did not intend any malicious towards him. Virgil wanted to figuratively ‘teach him a lesson’, to quote his statement from last night.”

Patton scowl seemed to get worse “Oh and how are you two playing on ‘teaching him a lesson’ exactly?!”

Logan had no idea air quotes could be threatening. “We were only going to hold one another and speak mostly in inside jokes.”

Patton huffed “Well what a wonderful time of year for you two decide on this! Or did you plan to kick him while he’s down?!” It only took Logan a moment for the realization to hit him like a truth. “Oh…well…if it does make you angry at me…” Patton sent a sharp glare at Logan. “And if it truly upsets Roman…I will stop and work to regain your trust and faith in me.”

Patton placed his hand over his light pink pants. “Do you mean it this time?” Logan nodded “ I swear on my life.”

Patton’s angry demeanor dropped and squealed happily as he threw his arms around Logan’s neck. “Yay! Thank you so much Lo-Lo!”

Logan finally was able to relax and gently kissed Patton’s head “You’re welcome dear, now we must hurry if we are to make it to our next class.”

Patton looked at the time and gasped “We’ll never make it in time.”

Logan smirked and gently lifted Patton bridal style. “Don’t worry love, I’ll get us there.”

Patton’s face turned dark red. “T-Thanks hon.”

Using his superspeed, Logan easily got them to their class. They were even able to steal a quick kiss.

~ Roman’s day was a blur. His insecurities kept picking on him the entire day. Strangely, at least to him, none of his teachers seemed to bother him about him about it. Virgil spoke to him kindly in their shared class but it was the small talk they both despised. Guess it’s my lucky day today, he thought bitterly.

Once the fourth period of the day rolled around, he felt his face get hot from anger and he became blinded by tears. He raced to the bathroom, surpassing his top speed so no one could see him like this. He grips the sink, his head weighting itself down so he won’t look in the mirror. If he saw his red puffy eyes or the snot running out of his nose, he would feel even more worthless.

A tissue appears in his field of vision and Roman looked up to see Emile Picani’s toothy grin. Roman jump a few feet panicked that he was caught in this state.

Emile expression was not one of pity, but empathy. He extended the arm holding the tissue out to him like Hiccup held out his hand Toothless.

Roman tentatively took the tissue and rubbed his face clean.

Emile places a hand on Roman’s back “Let it out Roman, you don’t have to talk to me about it but do not keep it and let your feelings hold you back. Losing someone like you—“

Roman’s head shot up with a smile “Thank you very much for this tissue friendo, I am much better now. You always have the best advice, you should become a therapist one day.” Roman spoke as fast as he walked out of the bathroom. Emile shook his head before heading to his next class.

Roman accidentally back into the Sewing Club room where his eyes caught a discarded teddy bear. It was torn, missing an eye and looked like it had never been washed in its whole existence.

It was perfect.

Tossing it into the sink, he began to collect supplies for this masterpiece.

Virgil was having a good day so far. Not his best but nowhere near his worse. The good was he got a B+ on a test he didn’t study for and he wasn’t put on the spot by any teacher today, but the not so good was that he didn’t see Roman much throughout the day. He was grateful Roman wasn’t on top of him but he barely saw him in the early day and Roman was pretty quiet in the class they shared together. Roman responded when Virgil spoke to him but it was mainly one-word sentences.

Had he made Roman actually mad at him? He hoped not, it was just supposed to be a harmless joke. Oh god, did Roman hate him? Was Roman going to dump him?

Deep breathes Virgil. You’re overthinking. You can talk to him right now while you guys eat lunch and everything will be fine.

That thought put a smile on Virgil’s face, only for it to immediately drop when he saw a terrified Logan and the scariest version of Patton he had ever seen.

Patton was scowling, tapping his foot, and had his arms crossed. Three things Virgil would never expect Patton to be able to do.

Virgil gulped and made his way over “Am I in trouble?”

Patton’s foot tapping ceased, making the silence of the empty classroom they walked into deafening “I would say so.”

Virgil wanted to ask why, to make a sarcastic comment, to do anything but the dark aura that Patton was giving off made it impossible to even remember to breathe.

Logan knew that if Virgil didn’t say anything, Patton was just going to get angrier. So he cleared his throat and said: “Patton has informed me that our display this morning was a bit repugnant.”

“More than a bit I would say!”

Logan smiled softly. He couldn’t help it, Patton understanding the big words he used was his kink. Patton caught Logan’s eye and smiled back. All the anger left Patton as he found himself getting lost in Logan’s eyes

Virgil knew he was going to regret it but he cleared his throat. As he suspected, Patton snapped his head back and the nightmare fuel glare returned.

Virgil managed the stutter out “W-We didn’t m-mean any h-harm P-Pat.”

Patton sighed and spoke honestly “I know you didn’t kiddo but this week…it’s not the week to pick on Roman.”

Virgil tilted his head “This week?” Logan pulled off his glasses “February 17, 2011, a freak construction accident occurred at 11:54 am. Not much more information was released except that it was on 51th Street and 10th Avenue so the roads leading there were closed, causing huge amounts of traffic, and it killed three workers and injured 13 people. One of the people killed--”

Virgil went pale “--was Roman’s dad.” Virgil walked to the far wall, saying nothing. Once there was no more room between him and the wall, he began to bang his head against it. He only managed to do it completely once before both Logan and Patton pulled his away.

“What has gotten into you kiddo?!” The fear dripped with every word

Virgil sighed “I’m punishing myself for what I did.”

Logan shook his head “This is a highly irrational response.”

Virgil shook his head rapidly “No, this is an accurate response. I completely forgot about the literal worst day of my boyfriend's life and added insult to injury by getting back at him for something he was probably doing because of what happened and now I’m a jackass who is speaking in a loop.”

Patton began to shake him desperately “Come on kiddo, snap out of it.”

Virgil grabbed Patton’s hands with this own “Pat, cut it out. You’re giving me a headache.”

Patton pulled his hands back and held them by his face “Sorry kiddo!”

Virgil sighed “It’s alright” stopping to bury his face in his hands “What am I going to do…?”

Patton became stern again “You’re going to apologize to him the second he comes here.”

Virgil nodded “You’re right.”

Patton smiled “Great, now we can go back being all happy and friends.”

Logan cleared his throat “Just one last thing to make sure no figurative stone goes unturned.” Logan turned to Patton and grabbed his hands. “I want to make sure that our display this morning did not upset you either, please be as honest as possible.”

Patton smiled and gave Logan a little shrug “I was more worried about Roman than to be jealous.” He squeezed Logan “But if we’re being completely honest, I was a tiny bit jealous.”

Logan smiled “Well I apologized and I shall make it up to you.” Logan placed his hand behind Patton’s head and pulled him into a long passionate kiss. A kiss so passionate that a small moan escaped out of Patton.

Virgil nearly burst out laughing as he could tell they forgot he was still in the room. “Wow, you’re a really good kisser, Lo.”

Logan responded by swatting the air behind him and kissing Patton more which in turn produced another moan from the shorter man.

Suddenly, the three froze, their spidey sense blaring in their ears. There was no screams or alerts that followed, but they still all mechanically pulled out their masks out.

Virgil looked between Logan and Patton “Do you think Roman’s…?” He didn’t want to finish his sentence. He knew how reckless Roman could be, especially if Roman thought he could handle something on his own

Logan ran to the window and opened it “Only one way to find out.” Logan pressed his bracelet to make his suit appear over his entire body and he jumped out the window.

As Virgil struggled to put on his struggled to put on part of his suit, he said to Patton “Remind me to yell at him to make the rest of us one of those.”

Roman smiled at the teddy bear in his hand. He not only was able to get the teddy bear completely clean but he made it an outfit. It was a simple red shirt and purple pants but he didn’t have enough time to finish it and make it to lunch on time.

Turning the teddy bear over in his hand, he practiced what he would say as he walked down the hallways. Hey sweetie, I made you something. Why? No special reason, I just think you deserve a gift every once in a while.

He looked around the corner were Patton’s locker is, surprised to see that no one was there. Roman leaned against the locker, thinking nothing of it.

Then his spidey sense went off.

Roman immediately got into a defensive position, wondering what danger was nearby.

Then he heard it. A small moan from behind the door he was standing next to. Roman had to shove the teddy bear in his mouth to stop his laughter. All moans, except the ones that left the lips of his lovely Stormcloud, sounded the same to him an invoked laughter. It was all his older sister’s fault. A young Roman and his father caught her with a boy in her room and watching the guy running away from his enrage father is not a memory that can simply be forgotten. He felt bad for the poor souls that were about to get busted by him

“Wow, you’re a really great kisser, Lo.”

Roman’s world shattered right before his eyes.

He took a step towards the classroom when he heard the second moan. That’s when he started crying. Suddenly one of Thomas’ first lessons entered his mind: When your Spidey-sense goes off, get out there as soon as possible.

So he did.

He ran to the theater, the only safe place he knew. He knew it would be empty too, as he has to go there more than once on a bad day.

He panted even though he wasn’t out of breath. He walked to the center of the stage and put down the teddy bear he didn’t even realize he was still holding. The teddy bear seemed to weight a ton as Roman himself was pulled down by it.

He had a staring contest with the teddy bear, as much as he could with the tears blocking his eyes. The teddy bear turned into Virgil who watch him with utter indifference.

It angered Roman “Why him?! I’m your boyfriend! I’m the one who loves you! I would give up everything for you, I would do anything for you! So why him?! What does he have that I don’t have! I don’t get it! WHY HIM?! WHAT MAKES HIM SO SPECIAL! WHY WASN’T IT ME?!”

The Virgil in front of him didn’t respond, as it was a figment of Roman’s imagination.

That didn’t stop Roman “Why him?!...why...I’m going to scream…I’m going to scream!…I’m going to…AHHHHHHH!” The room shook, his sonic scream knocking over the set pieces of the next musical.

“Fuck.” Roman went to use his webbing to pick them up but his spidey sense told him to turn around. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Mr. Bell was casually sitting in the auditorium chair reading over the script of the musical. He looked up as Roman turned around fully.

Roman spoke first “M-Mr. Bell…I’m sorry, I know I’m supposed to be at lunch…”

Mr. Bell smiled softly “Roman, the stage is your home, you know you’re always welcome to be on it whenever you need. And this seems to have improved your vocal range. But next time, don’t knock over my set.”

Roman began to blush from embarrassment “S-Sorry.” Roman ran and picked up the set piece, placing upright and in their correct spots.

“If that was your audition for the Spring Play, you got the lead role already.”

Roman chuckled weakly “Uh thanks but that was no audition…I just needed to..”

“Scream?”

“...get something off my chest.”

Mr. Bell frowned “How are you, Roman?”

Roman rubbed the back of his head with one hand and stuck the other in his pocket “Fine.”

Mr. Bell “Are you sure? I know the loss of a parent can be too much.”

There it was, the one statement he was attempting to avoid all day. The fact that it was close to the anniversary of his father’s death. Nothing else.

“I’m fine, I swear. It was years ago…”

“Yes, but the pain never leaves us, so you don’t have to pretend you’re okay when you’re not.”

Roman wiped his tears away “I guess I’m not as great of an actor as I thought I was…”

Mr. Bell shook his head “A good actor does not become a good by hiding their emotions, but by accepting them. It makes your acting more raw and genuine.”

Roman nodded absently, hoping that the conversation was over.

“So, do you want to talk about it?” Roman shook his head “Thanks but no thanks.”

“Hm, alright but I can’t just let one of my best actors go while they are still upset. Let’s make a deal you sing how you’re feeling, just one song and then you can go.”

One of the things Roman liked about Mr. Bell was how fair the man was. Roman got a good role in his first play as a Freshman due to Mr. Bell looking at entirely at the actors’ and actresses’ skills. Roman owned the man this at least. He sat down as he tried to think of a song that would fully capture what was bother him. There was plenty of songs to choose from that were about fathers. Disney had a bunch alone.

But that wasn’t what came out.

“‘Cause every time I see you, it’s like all I am is see through. We were everything I know it, don’t want to miss it, record it. I adore you, I adore you, I adore you, I adore you…”

Because this problem had nothing to do with his father, it never did.

Roman didn’t continue singing. He felt embarrassed to be this vulnerable. He was supposed to be this rock, this strong man and yet he did not feel good enough to be with Virgil. He felt like he was too much for Virgil, that he was making Virgil want to stay away from him. He knew Logan didn’t think Roman was good enough for his best friends. Today just solidified it. Virgil didn’t think Roman was good enough, he probably waiting until he can get Roman alone to break up with him.

“I never heard that song before, what show is that from?”

Roman almost forgot Mr. Bell was still there. His face got hot from embarrassment “O-Oh it’s a…song by a drag queen…”

Mr. Bell smiled “Ah drag, a beautiful art form. Those lyrics were very alluring. Now, who is the one you adore?”

Roman look toward the auditorium door, he didn’t want to make eye contact. “My boyfriend…”

“Is this a relationship issue then?”

Roman nodded without really meaning to, he figured if he told anyone, it would be a teacher who didn’t know who Virgil was. “Yeah…I just don’t feel good enough for him…” Still, he didn’t have to tell any one person everything.

“A very common insecurity in relationships. The one thing you can do is understand that you are good enough. I’m sure your boyfriend will gladly tell you that.”

Roman turned to look at him and smiled “Thanks Mr. B”

He was too good at faking a smile.

Roman scooped up the teddy bear and walked past Mr. Bell and out the door. He was now dreading play practice.

Looking down at the bear, Roman figured he could just put it in Virgil’s locker, that way he could avoid talking about the kiss.

“ROMAN!” Nevermind.

He turned to see Virgil, Logan, and Patton running towards him. They all stopped in front of him to pant and wipe the sweat away.

“You’re okay!” exclaimed Patton.

That caught Roman’s attention. “Of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?” There were several reasons why but he wasn’t to know what they had to say.

Virgil answered “We were waiting for you to go to lunch and our spidey-senses went off. We didn’t see you so we thought something bad had happened to you.”

Roman blinked, his face unreadable “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Virgil tilted his head “Interrupt? What?”

“It’s not important, let’s just get to our next classes.” Roman turned around and walked off. Virgil looked down at the ground, sad that Roman was mad at him.

Patton decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally.

He grabbed Roman’s hand and gasps “He’s heartbroken, he’s confused and hurt. He thinks…you cheated on him?”

Virgil’s jaw fell to the ground “WHAT?! I DID NOT!” Roman narrowed his eyes “I heard you earlier: ‘Oh Logan!’ You’re such a great kisser!”

This time all three of them stared at Roman shocked. It shocked Patton so much that he dropped Roman’s hand.

Virgil shook his head profusely “No! NO! NO! That was extremely out of context.”

Logan chimed in “Virgil is correct. He was mocking Patton and me.”

Patton’s cheek turns a bit pink “I may or may not have moaned.”

Roman begins to shake “Oh god, I’m so sorry…V, I’m so sorry. H-Here.” He puts the teddy bear in Virgil’s hands “This is for you, it was to apologize for my behavior yesterday but…oh god, I’m really sorry…”

Good job Roman, now you’ve made him hate you more, I hope you like being single.

Virgil looked down at the teddy bear, rubbing his thumb over the shirt. He threw his arms around Roman’s neck and hugged him. “God, you’re an idiot. But I love you so I’ll forgive you.” Virgil was mostly joking to lighten the mood. He even kissed Roman’s cheek to show how much he wanted Roman to smile.

See? You’re not good enough, he’s with you out of pity.

Roman hugged back, deciding he wanted to be selfish and soak up this moment.

Virgil continued “I’m sorry for this morning.”

Don’t be, you do deserve better than me.

“I forgive you V.”

I’ll prove I can be good enough for you.

Patton clapped his hands in joy “Yay! A happy ending!”

“But of course Padre!” Roman let go of Virgil when he felt his boyfriend make the slightest movement, he didn’t want to frustrate Virgil more.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The quartet sighed, none of them ate. Logan and Patton held hands as they walked to class, Roman walked behind Virgil.

Roman was really too good at faking a smile.

Virgil expected Roman to ignore him for the rest of the week. He knew what losing someone that close to you was like and space was what he needed.

But then it turned from days to weeks.

Roman suddenly stopped being around everyone, including Virgil. He didn’t walk with Patton to school, he didn’t talk to Logan in class, he didn’t sit at lunch with them if he was even at lunch.

Roman has a mission, he was going to become good enough to be Virgil’s boyfriend. His first step was to stay away, he knew Virgil needed space.

Thomas tried talking to Roman, but he didn’t get any farther than Roman missed his father. After that, Roman stopped coming to training practices.

Roman’s next step was to become stronger. If he could show Virgil that he could get rid of his worries and problems easily, Virgil would want to come to him when he was afraid.

In class, Roman only spoke when he was spoken to. He skipped superhero practice entirely. The only time they would truly see him was on patrol. They would see him swinging around, not stopping to acknowledge them.

Roman didn’t take breaks unless you counted the small naps he used to avoid becoming exhausted. He knew the others would be mad at him so he kept himself hidden. He didn’t want them to worry. They wouldn’t have to, it would be worth it in the end.

The others were extremely worried about him, Virgil the most. Roman didn’t answer calls, his communicator was never on and he answered text with one or two words. They feared the had lost Roman forever.

The three of them sat on a rooftop before patrol, all missing their dear friend. It was just the three of them today as Thomas had a date with MJ but they both demanded updates if Roman had been found.

A loud crash could be heard as their spidey senses went off.

Virgil rolled his eyes “Very helpful, you useless car alarm.”

Logan rolled his eyes and pulled Virgil along “Let’s go!”

The three arrived to find Roman fighting a giant robot. The watch in horror as every time Roman went to hit it, the robot would just swat him away.

Arachne waved his hand to get LoveBite and Spidergale’s attention “LoveBite, get Royal Slinger. Sidergale, follow me!”

When Roman went to go attack the robot once again, Patton scooped him up and held him.

“LET GO!”

“AS YOUR BEST FRIEND I SAY HECK NO!”

Both Logan and Virgil attempted to put a dent in the robot but, like with Roman before, it just swatted them away. Roman jumped out of Patton’s arm and went for the robot’s head. Another arm came out the back of it and smacked Roman into Logan.

Roman ran forward again but this time, Logan grabbed him while shouting “RETREAT!”

They all swung a few blocks away from the robot, Logan pulling Roman the whole way. The jumped into an abandoned building where Logan threw Roman to the ground as revenge for abandoning the group.

Roman growled and hopped up, ready to throw down with Logan. But he caught Virgil staring at him.

“Roman…” Virgil whispered

“Virgil…” Roman whispered back

The gaze was loving but they shut down. On one hand, Roman wanted to do nothing but scoop Virgil up and kiss him but on the other, he wanted to stick to his plan. Virgil was having a similar dilemma as he wasn’t sure to straddle or strangle Roman.

Logan cleared his throat, making everyone look at him “The robot seems to have a very quick reaction time, our regular attacks won’t work.” Logan knew Patton was scared. “I have a plan though. Spidergale will rush it head on while invisible. As it looks for what is attacking it, I will signal Royal Slinger and LoveBit to rush it from the sides. Make it fall on its back. When it’s down, I will use my super speed to run and put my mini robots in it. That way, more people will be attacking it until he breaks. Just keep it on the ground.”

The team all vocally agreed to Logan’s plan. All except Roman, he only nodded. His eyes were locked on Virgil and his mind was elsewhere. The split off in their respective directions and waited for the robot to turn the corner.

“Everyone’s in position. Spidergale, go!”

Unbeknownst to them, the robot had a heat sensor. When invisible Virgil ran up to it, it knew exactly where he was. It almost hit Virgil and made him turn visible again.

Roman bolted to Virgil.

“ROYAL SLINGER, DON’T! STICK TO THE PLAN!”

Roman ignored Logan and jumped in front of Virgil. As the robot swung at them, Roman let out a sonic shriek. It was so loud that everyone in the area had to cover their ears, glass shattered and the robot went flying backward.

The building began to crack from the impact of the giant robot. Roman swung over to check over the robot. He began kicking it relentlessly. It was revenge for the robot attempting to attack Virgil but also because he had unknowingly had pent-up anger he wanted to get out. He dented the robot over and over again. He was so distracted by rage that he didn’t realize the robot had one last trick up its sleeve.

Roman’s spidey sense went off but he couldn’t react fast enough before the robot exploded. “NO!” was the last thing he heard before everything went black

Roman’s first thought when he woke up was that Logan was definitely going to yell at him for not following his plan. Roman still thought it was a stupid plan and he would let Logan know it.

He pushed up expecting rubble. Once he felt the soft sheets on the bed in Thomas’ guest room, panic set in. He was cornered. Patton was more than likely leaning against the door, waiting for the sound of movement so he could jump him. Thomas was definitely next to him. Logan was probably the only thing holding Patton back right now. And Virgil…

Virgil suddenly materialized upside down on the ceiling above Roman. He was tapping one of his crossed arms with a finger and glaring at Roman.

Roman knew he had to play this right. “Hey, V…what’s up?”

“What’s up? What’s up?! WHAT’S UP?!” Virgil removed one foot from the ceiling and placed it on Roman’s throat while leaning forward. “YOU BEING AN IDIOT IS WHAT’S UP! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! WE HAD A PLAN!” Roman frowned “I stopped the bad guy, didn’t I?”

Virgil flipped off the ceiling and landed right next to the bed, scowling at Roman “Oh yes, good job! You could have died Roman! If Logan hadn’t shot you with web and pulled you back, who knows what would have happened! You were so lucky that only the flying pieces of metal that hit you only knocked you out!”

“Logan’s plan didn’t work! I had to do something! It was going to hurt you!”

“Oh, that makes it so much better! Would you like a kiss for that?! Or is the concussion you have giving you enough attention?!” Roman felt the words sting as it stabbed him and drained all the fight in Roman, not that there was much left. “Yeah…” Roman rolled over “It is…”

Virgil’s gut told him that he needed to press Roman more. “Roman, what’s going on? You’re never around anymore…”

Roman didn’t turn around “I…”

“Don’t make me get Patton.”

“I’m trying to become good enough for you!” Roman spat out as he spun around

“You’re…you’re kidding, right? Why would you think you’re good enough?”

“You don’t want to sit in my lap, you don’t want to hold my hand, you hate it when I lift you.” Roman felt it was time to let it all out, not that he could stop his word vomit. “But you do that with Logan…”

Virgil sat on the bed and grasped Roman’s hand “Ro, he’s just my best friend. Nothing more. Yes, I’m more comfortable with him but it doesn’t mean anything.” “Apparently since you seem to do it with everyone else but me!”

“That just proves that how I show you how much I love you is different, special.”

“Yeah, right.” Roman looked away from Virgil, slightly wincing when he heard his boyfriend whimper when Roman pulled his hand away. He wanted to believe Virgil but he couldn’t. How could he? No examples can to mind. Plus, he really hated fighting.

Virgil sighed before playing with the “Hey Ro?”

Roman blinked away his tears before turning back to his boyfriend.

“Do you remember that time you came to the dance studio?”

It was November 23th, a nice chilly Friday. Virgil had asked Ms. Green if he could stay in the studio for a little longer to go over the newest routine. He thought the studio was at its best when no one else was there.

Except he wasn’t alone.

Roman watched from the doorway as Virgil turned on his toes, something Roman could only dream of doing. Roman decided to surprise Virgil with a walk home. Play practice had ended early so he thought why not. When Virgil stopped to pose, Roman clapped. That made Virgil jump out of his skin

“Asshole! You scared the shit out of me!”

Roman chuckled “Sorry babe, I couldn’t help it. You are amazing and a wonderful dancer!”

Virgil blushed madly “Thanks…”

“Though I don’t think you can salsa as well as me?”

Virgil smirked, “Is that a challenge Princey?”

Roman walked over and stuck out his hand “Maybe.”

Virgil took it “Challenge accepted.”

They danced with no music and no tempo. They kept switching who was leading, they were fighting over dominance the entire time. And they had so much fun doing it.

They broke out into a fit of giggles as they held each other once they got tired. Roman gently kissed Virgil’s head before grabbing his dance bag. Like a gentleman, as Roman insisted he be, carried the bag all the way back to Virgil’s house. They chatted about different dance styles they enjoyed and when they should pull off their next prank on Thomas.

Roman smiled slightly at the memory, he remembered running home like a blushing school girl once he was sure Virgil was inside his apartment. “Of course I remember V, but I don’t understand--”

Virgil cupped Roman’s face to make sure he was looking into his eyes “Do you know how intimate dancing is?”

For the first time in Roman’s life, he could say he was truly stunned “H-Huh?”

“Ms. Green told me the next day, she apparently saw us dancing, that the reason dance partner end up dating each other is that how they feel about one another is seen through their dancing. You move with one another, you become one being. Dancing is romantic, it is sexual, it is an expression of love.” Virgil smiled, he was truly fascinated by what he was saying. “You’re the only one I have ever willing danced with.”

Roman was stunned silent. His mind flashback to watching his parents dancing together in the living room during holidays and any private time they had together. He looked over to his boyfriend, his boyfriend the dancer. The professional amazing dancer. Roman didn’t feel worthy of that dance. Still, he nodded in understanding so that Virgil wouldn’t worry.

Virgil looked deep into his eyes, to see if Roman really meant it. His once lively eyes were clouded, unsure, and full of doubt. He spoke the words “I understand” but there was nothing to them. Roman didn’t believe him.

Roman recovered quickly, and with the approval of everyone, was allowed to go out a patrol again in just a week.

Virgil spent the whole time trying to make Roman happy again. He took care of Roman the whole week. He gave Roman kisses on the cheek and held his hand to ground him. It slowly helped Roman return back to his preppy, happy self.

Slowly. Very slowly. Virgil could see the hesitance anytime Roman went to kiss him, the doubt when he hugged Virgil, the surprise when Virgil would grasp his hands. It was painful to watch Roman suffer this way and frankly, Virgil was craving needy Roman.

Virgil sighed, he needed to come up with a new tactic or they would be graduating college before Roman was okay.

“Okay, so Logan and Virgil will take the East and South sides today while Patton, Roman and I will do the North and West,” Thomas wanted to keep an eye on Roman, maybe even have a good talk with him.

Logan and Patton untangle from one another and kissed goodbye. Patton watched Logan walk to the window so that he could make sure Roman didn’t try to run ahead.

Roman could feel the eyes on it, already putting him in a bad mood. Virgil tapped his arms, pulling his attention to him.

Virgil gave him a soft smile “I’ll see you in three hours, okay?”

Roman smiled back “Of course.” Roman leaned down instinctively to give Virgil a kiss, making Virgil’s heart soar. This would be the first time since the “Roman was all over Virgil” day that Roman would have made the first move.

But then Roman pulled away.

He turned towards the window, ignoring the shock faces on everyone. He intended to go on ahead since he almost messed up again.

Virgil grabbed the arms that were going to put the mask on Roman’s face and forced Roman around. He slammed his lips against Roman’s.

Roman’s eyes fluttered shut as he kissed back. The kiss was desperate and much needed.

Virgil pulled back and turned to the others “Can we have some alone time?” The others nodded simultaneously and jumped out the window.

Virgil turned to Roman, concern dripping all over his face “What was that? Why did you pull away?”

Roman’s eyes were unfocused “I didn’t want to make the same mistake I made before.”

Virgil frowned “Roman…is that why you’ve been so shy lately?”

Roman nodded, afraid to speak.

Virgil placed his hands on Roman’s shoulder “You know how we avoid that? By making rules. You can hold my hand and you can kiss me on the cheek whenever you want. Anytime we say goodbye, I want you to kiss me on the lips. Anything else you can just ask me first.”

Roman smiled slightly “I like those rules.”

Virgil smiled back “I love it when you give me affection. You made one mistake Roman, but the fact that you want to fix it speaks volumes about you. I love you more than anything. Never doubt that.”

Roman nodded absently. He didn’t doubt that Virgil loved him but he couldn’t help but think he was going to mess up again. He couldn’t help it. He needed something to know everything would be okay.

Virgil sucked in his breath. “You still don’t believe me!” Virgil exclaimed, which made Roman take a step back. Virgil shook his head as an idea came to mind. “Fine, don’t believe my words. Grandma always said actions speak louder than words.”

Before Roman could question what he was talking about, Virgil placed Roman’s hands on his own waist and wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck. The held each other for a moment before Virgil began to sing.

“You know I want you. It's not a secret I try to hide.” Roman couldn’t help but smile, he adored this song and the man who was singing it.

Virgil gently took Roman’s hands in his “I know you want me. So don't keep saying our hands are tied.”

Roman relaxed when Virgil willingly put his callous hand over his small and fragile waist. They slowly began to waltz, Virgil taking the lead as he was the better dance out of the two.

“You claim it's not in the cards. Fate is pulling you miles away and out of reach from me.” Virgil spun Roman out, the latter find a smile creep onto his face.

“But you're here in my heart so who can stop me if I decide that you're my destiny?” Pulling Roman back in, Virgil grasps Roman’s right hand and let Roman’s other arm drape over his shoulder. The living room transformed into their ballroom, they could not care who was watching. Their movements were fluid as if they rehearsed this dance day-in and day-out.

Virgil lifted Roman and placed him on the coffee table. Virgil ran around it as Roman twirled. “What if we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine.”

Roman leaned back and Virgil caught him bridal style “Nothing could keep us apart. You'd be the one I was meant to find.”

Virgil spun him once more before placing him on the group. He took Roman’s hands in his and looked him directly in the eye as he sang. “It's up to you, and it's up to me. No one can say what we get to be. So why don't we rewrite the stars?”

They both turned to the open window. “Maybe the world could be ours…” Putting their masks back on, they jumped out as Virgil sang. “Tonight.”

They both shot out a webbing to swing on but held one another’s waist. They continue their waltz in the air, using the webbing to keep an even level.

Logan, Patton, and Thomas watched as they continued their sky dance with long pinning looks that were only blocked by their masks.

Logan adjusted the setting on his mask “Are they…dancing?”

Thomas chuckled “And singing too.”

Logan raised an eyebrow “But why? They are only wasting their webbing, even if they can make their own, and alerting attention to themselves--”

Patton turned to Logan, a dagger-like glare in his eyes “Logi-bear, I love you but shut you ever-flapping gobtalker. They are having a moment and I must see all of it.” Thomas and Logan took a step back to give Patton optimal space.

Patton was excited, he didn’t have to touch either of them to know they were happy now. He was waiting for a moment like this.

He wasn’t the only one.

Emile was setting up his camera at this moment. He had deciphered each of the Spidermen’s patrol routes, today he was planning on getting pictures of Royal Slinger. He was anticipating action shots, maybe even some poses from the fanciful Spiderman. Instead, he was greeted with Spidergale and Royal Slinger dancing while singing one of his favorite songs.

This would look great on his Royalgale fan page.

He finished setting up the camera just as Roman landed on one building and Virgil landed on one across from him. They shot webbing at the crane that happened to be in a construction zone between the two building. They locked eyes and nodded.

Swinging off the buildings, they belted “All I want is to fly with you! All I want is to fall with you! So just give me all of you!”

Their webbing crossed, pulling them both closer and closer together as they spun.

“It feels impossible!” They tighten their grips on the webbing and reached for one another “It's not impossible!” The grasped the other’s arm.

“Is it impossible?” They pulled the other closer so that their foreheads were touching.

“Say that it's possible!” Virgil let go of his webbing. Roman tossed him in the air.

“How do we rewrite the stars? Say you were made to be mine?” Roman caught him and they swung on Roman’s webbing.

Virgil shot another webbing and Roman let go of his “Nothing can keep us apart! 'Cause you are the one I was meant to find!”

“It's up to you. And it's up to me.” They continued to switch back and forth, perfectly waltzing. Roman dipped Virgil. Virgil then wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck and Roman held his waist with his free arm. They spun once more, Virgil having complete trust and faith that Roman wouldn’t drop him.

They landed on an empty rooftop. “No one can say what we get to be. And why don't we rewrite the stars?” They morphed back into the tradition, slow waltz as the adrenaline wore off.

They pressed their foreheads together as they came to a halt “Changing the world to be ours.”

Virgil gently lifted up his mask so that Roman could see his smile “So, do you feel better now?”

Roman didn’t reply, he only placed a finger on Virgil’s lips to silence him. Roman lifted up his mask and sang “You know I want you. It's not a secret I try to hide.”

Virgil frowned, he knew what the next line entailed. Was Roman still upset? Did he still not believe him?

Roman whispered softly “And now that I have you, I promise to never leave your side.”

Virgil smirked “Changing the lyrics? So unlike you Princey.”

Roman lifted up his mask to show that he was smirking back “I happened to be a bit creative, thank you very much.”

Virgil shook his head “Not a bit, you’re the most creative, handsome, amazing man I have ever met.”

They leaned in for the kiss again, but this time, Roman didn’t pull away. The kiss was as passionate as their first. It was powerful, energetic, on fire, with people screaming.

Oh, wait.

The looked up as their spidey sense alerted them of a nearby building fire.

Roman turned to Virgil “Duty calls.”

Virgil may have pulled his mask back down but the smirk behind it was so obvious. “Try to keep up Princey.”

Roman had a love-hate relationship with fire. One the one hand, it could make an evening alone so much more romantic. It is a source of life in comfort. On the other hand, fire is the reason he couldn’t see his father again, why his siblings kept asking why the “big black box” was closed with Papa inside.

Right now, he was on the hate side. A gas fire broke out and all he and friends could do was go inside and make sure no one was trapped inside. Roman never realized how flammable things can be until he got in that building. Worse, his cape caught on fire so he had an unnecessary timer to get all the people on the side of his building out.

Luckily, they were able to get everyone on out alive. Roman’s costume didn’t seem to get the same treatment.

They all swung as fast as they could to get back to Thomas’ place, Roman in the lead. Once he was two steps into the apartment, Roman ripped off his mask and gasped for air. The air-conditioned air stung against his hot skin. He ripped off the top of his costume and was glad that he had no put a shirt on underneath it. He flopped onto the couch, arms spread across the back as he panted. A web rag was placed across his forehead but he had no strength to thank the person responsible for doing so.

He had no idea how much time had passed before the world and his stomach stopped spinning but it was pure torture. He vaguely heard voices, most likely Thomas worrying about his health.

He slowly picked up his head to look around for Virgil. He wondered aloud where he was.

A hand waved in front of him “Right here, you okay Princey?”

Found him.

Roman puts his head back down and sighed “As okay as I can be. What about you?”

Although his vision was still very blurry, Roman could tell Virgil shrugged “I’d say the same.”

Roman sighed, though he had nothing to add. Once he felt his strength returning for good, roman picked up his head again “Do you want me to move so you can lay down?”

“No.”

Roman nodded, he wasn’t going to force Virgil to relax if he didn’t want to, that was Thomas’ Patton’s job. At least, that’s what he thought he Virgil meant until he felt someone placing themselves.

Roman turned his head and locked eyes with Virgil who was sitting in his lap. Virgil smiled and wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck and cuddled into him.

Roman instantly wrapped his arms around Virgil and held him close. He felt happy tears welling up in his eyes. He had been chosen, Virgil trusted him.

This was paradise.

Tag list:

@corkeecoderyt @Per-seph-o-nee @Ohshrekmyheck @3milystuff @Asymmetricalgarbage8888 @fairytailtwists @sanders-sides-rebloger @sanderssidesfluffyangst @unikornavenger @0callmevirge0 @gloomingwitch @roxiefox24 @ijustreallylovesanderssides @unisaurioamorfo

#spideyverse AU #prinxiety #logicality #sanders sides #thomas sanders #princxiety #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #remy sanders #emile picani #thomassanders

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