#i had to pause the episode ro not cry

[di-daynamic]

The first time Harry Potter broke Ginny’s heart, she was six-years-old.

It had been during his first visit to their manor house, fondly christened The Burrow due to its quaint architecture and its inhabitants.

Ron – her most irritating brother, but sadly the one closest to her age – had suggested that he and his new best friend go off to the woods to look for dragons to fight. Ginny the older would have scoffed and let them go, but Ginny at that age begged wildly to be included.

“Don’t make eye contact,” she’d heard Ron warn Harry. “Acknowledgement just encourages her.”

Undaunted, she’d followed them across the yard, watching them purposefully walking with their heads together. “Ron!” She yelled. “Ron! Ron! Ron! Ronald!” It went from yelling to full on shrieking.

She’d seen her brother’s shoulders tighten at the call of his full name, and had smiled, knowing she was close.

Unfortunately, it seemed that having met him, he could focus more on Harry than on her whining. Unacceptable. “Ro--!” She paused, changing tracks. “Harry!” She’d called, making her voice as pathetic as possible.

He'd turned, because he was a decent person. Also probably because he wasn’t used to being called but no matter. “No!” Ron had moaned.

“Harry!” She’d said happily, skipping forward. “Can’t you let me be a knight too? I like playing!”

“So do I,” Ron had snapped. “Without you.”

She let her face screw up, sniffing loudly. “Don’t cry,” Harry had said hurriedly. He hated hurting or disappointing people, Ginny had learned quickly enough.

“She’s faking.” Ron had been unimpressed.

“Whatever – just don’t cry.”

“I won’t if you let me go with you,” Ginny had pounced on that quickly.

“No way!” Ron screamed indignantly. But Harry hadn’t said anything, looking uncertain, and Ginny doubled down on that.

“Please?” She whispered.

“Alright, just this once,” Harry had capitulated.

Ginny had screamed, ignoring Ron’s groan of “I told you not to look her in the eye” in favour of dancing around in joy. “Thank you! Thank you! You’re the best! Unlike you,” she’d sniffed at her brother.

“I take pride in being the worst,” Ron had said, then sighed. “Come on.”

That had also been her first experience with the fact that Ron and Harry would do basically anything for each other.

By the time she’d tripped for the third time and hadn’t stopped going on about how it was sunnier elsewhere and how their games were all unoriginal and Mum would like this flower and they should bring dolls out next time and did they think fish would be served for dinner, both boys had been absolutely fed up with her.

“I told you,” Ron had hissed at Harry. “We’re never letting her play with us again.”

Harry had nodded. Ginny had huffed, putting her hands on her hips the way she’d seen Mum do. “Let’s go and play by ourselves, Harry,” she’d said brightly. “I have dolls and tea cups and trains.” Of course, she hadn’t known then no boy alive would like to play with dolls and tea cups.

Harry’s eyes had gone wide. “Er—” He’d looked panicked at the idea of refusing her, but clearly dreaded the idea of playing with her even more. “I can’t.”

“Why?!”

“I’m busy,” he’d said lamely. “Sorry.”

Ginny had turned on her brother, outraged. “You made him say that!”

“No I didn’t,” Ron had said, very satisfied with himself. “You’re just a pest.”

“I hate you,” she’d said, trembling. “I hate you both! Especially you, Harry!”

Then she’d turned and run back up to the house, crying for real this time to her mother about how Ron’s new friend had been just as bad as him and she’d thought he would be nice.

Years later, she would be told that Ron had turned to his friend then and said to him, “She said she hates you! You’re really part of the family now.”

And Harry, whose sorry excuse for a family had made it clear the only part of him they cared for was his estate, had blinked and smiled widely, feeling home for the first time in his life.

This would soften Ginny towards that episode. After all, he’d been a young boy – no one could blame him for not wanting to play with a girl.

The heartbreaks after that, though? They were all absolutely his fault.

-- Part of the prologue of one of my three Hinny regency AUs (five if you count the royalty ones!) Anyone know which book's premise and prologue it's taken from. Because I think the dynamic and premise, if not the entirety of the characters or the book, is very Hinny coded. Hint: it's not Bridgerton.

[zackcollins]

Goodbye Kiss || X-Files || S5 E14

[link4eva]

Kiro’s Mind’s Quest: Infatuation Play Translation Part 2 [CN]

Hey! Here’s Part 2 of Infatuation Play. Here is Part 1 if you haven’t read it yet.

Enjoy~ 💛

*Spoilers for future content below!*

[Chapter 4]

MC: It seems I’ve put too much salt in the seasoning….

MC: If it’s salty…. add more water!

Kiro: Haha. 

Kiro was amused by what I said, and he shook off a piece of beef and tasted it.

Kiro: Good to eat!

Kiro also gave me a piece, the evening light leaked in from the window, reflecting a small layer of fluff on his face.

In the steam, the spicy and delicious smell seemed to dispel the previously unremarkable smell in the house.

I took a sip of soda and brought up the topic from before. *Changed some wording*

MC: By the way, in addition to encountering the big challenge of an actor’s career, filming NG….

MC: Is there anything else that left an impression on you?

Kiro looked down and thought about it seriously.

Kiro: Does scaring a crying kid count? 

MC: Of course!

Kiro smiled when he saw the eagerness on my face to hear the story.

Kiro: This scene is also related to entering the character state.

Kiro: In order to maintain this state, I kept myself bored in the hotel room for a long time….

Kiro: Probably because of my routine, no one reminded me.

Kiro: Later, I didn’t know the exact time anymore. When I came out, I felt that I had been in the dark for a long time.

Kiro: I realized that I was a bit too immersed, so I went to buy a bottle of soda to take a break.

Kiro: Then I met a kid in the crew…. I didn’t do anything, he just saw me and then cried. 

Kiro’s voice was very low, and the hot pot gurgled.

I think of Kiro’s immersive performance on the screen, and then I dig a little deeper into what he said just now-- *Changed some wording*

It was as if he had a bitter fruit in his heart, and he desperately wanted to hide it from me. The more bitter it was, the stronger the taste.

In the end, the fruit still found its way into my heart.

I sniffed and couldn’t help joking.

MC: From another perspective, that kid got to watch a scene for free.

Kiro raised his eyes, and I continued with a smile.

MC: I want to watch the exclusive performance of the big star Kiro too!

MC: Thinking about it this way, I feel a little jealous.

I took his hand and his fingertips quivered slightly.

Kiro: Don’t you think I’m not doing well enough? As a professional actor, I shouldn’t be in this situation. 

I shook my head.

MC: Remember, you asked me before if there was anything interesting about this business trip.

MC: In fact, in the city where I was on business, there would be lively gatherings at night on the street next to the hotel.

MC: Looking down from the balcony, there are clusters of lights, and everyone sits on the steps and chats casually.

MC: When I saw it, I was thinking, “I must bring Kiro here next time. He will love the sparkling cider here.”

I looked at Kiro brightly. He seemed to be imagining the scene I described with slight waves in his eyes.

MC: I want to share with you all the good and bad, brilliant and lonely times.

MC: You can be imperfect, you can have lonely and dark moments because I will be with you. 

MC: We share each other’s lives. No matter what life it is, as long as we experience it together, it is enough.

Those blue eyes staring at me seemed to be lit by some kind of warm light for a moment, filled with soft emotions.

I paused and asked him softly.

MC: I remember that every time you acted in a play, you would bid farewell to them at the end.

MC: You said that you were lucky to participate in a period of their lives and experienced their emotions.

MC: So in the end, you have to bid farewell to the partners you have been working with….

MC: Looking forward to another time and space, they will continue their lives.

MC: Did you say goodbye this time?

Kiro looked at me and suddenly reached out and wiped the oil stains on my lips.

The boiling of the hot pot sounded and there seemed to be some fragments of emotions in his eyes that had melted silently.

He paused, turned his head and raised the bear cup on the table. He raised it in the air, the emotions in his eyes were clear and calm.

Kiro: Americano is still too bitter, I prefer to drink soda. 

Kiro: The hot pot made by Miss Chips is delicious. As long as you are with her, even the little things like walking your dog to the supermarket are worth remembering.

His gaze flickered over the neatly coded script on the sofa, and there was a sense of relief in his voice.

Kiro: What you didn’t find, I did.

Kiro: In the time and space I don’t know, you will definitely find what you want, and come back to shine on the stage again.

Kiro: Now, it’s time to say goodbye to you.

The starry sky is gentle, and the steam from the hot pot rises, almost like a response. The wind blows the curtains and the room is full of starlight. *Changed some wording*

We are both covered.

(Cut to the living room)

MC: What’s going on with Cello lately? She seems to be more irritable.

MC: Not only did she knock over the sunflower vase in the living room, but also bit her tail….

I pet Cello who was being held in Kiro’s arms and spoke tentatively.

It is said that the mood of pets will be influenced by the owner. Is Cello….? 

Kiro looked away with a guilty conscience. 

Kiro: Maybe it’s because the season makes everyone more irritable.

Kiro: [coughs] Just leave her be, save the sunflower first.

He found a new vase in the cabinet and handed it to me. I trimmed the sunflower’s branched and leaves that had been bitten by Cello.

Kiro sat cross-legged across from me and stared at me without blinking. I was a little embarrassed to be stared at.

MC: What are you looking at?

Kiro tilted his head at me and his blond hair swayed slightly. It was obviously a naughty action, but the smile in his eyes was very gentle.

Kiro: Of course I was looking at Miss Chips. 

Kiro: Looking at your actions, expressions, the flower in your hand, and…. 

Kiro’s tone was stretched out and I followed his gaze to see the light-coloured hairband on the side of my head.

The soft end of the hairband slid down my neck and onto my skin.

MC: KI-RO! 

I blushed for a moment and when I was hurriedly trying to retie my hairband, my hand was suddenly grabbed.

I looked up and under the frivolity of the sun, I didn’t know when Kiro got so close to me that I could see the creases on his lips.

His gaze fell on the end of my hair. He tucked the hairband lightly and winked at me.

Kiro: Miss Chips, let me help you.

Without waiting for my answer, he took a strand of my hair and maneuvered his hands dexterously, rubbing my earlobes with his fingertips which caused a burst of scorching heat.

The hairband is like a streamer that can be held in his hand, and he is the creator of beauty.

The mood is changing silently at this moment as we stay so close. *Changed some wording*

No matter how difficult the moments we encounter are, they will definitely be healed in the accompanying time.

After a while, Kiro held my face and looked at it with satisfaction.

Kiro: That’s it.

I reached up to touch the hairband and couldn’t help but smile. *Changed some wording*

MC: You even tied a small bow! 

Kiro: Of course, this is the exclusive mark of Kiro.

Kiro picked up the end of the hairband and looked down at me tenderly. His blue eyes were like a vast and boundless sea and I willingly indulged in it.

(Cut to morning)

The morning light was in the room and the sound of the phone vibrating awakened me from my sleep. I picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.

MC: Kiki? What’s wrong?

Kiki: Boss, the project you flew abroad to talk about has passed!

Kiki: Anna received the letter of intent last night, and the person in charge there said that he hoped the date of the contract signing could be confirmed today.

Kiki: Where are you now? Come and visit the company!

MC: Okay, I’ll be there.

I hung up and turned my head, Kiro’s sleeping face came into view.

He seems to be having a good sleep and his lips are slightly upturned, he looks particularly meek. *Changed some wording*

MC: ….

It looks like he is still a little sick. *Changed some wording*

The lack of sleep made my brain work a little slow, so I shook my head in an attempt to wake myself up a bit.

Just as I was hesitating whether to go, Kiro woke up with a hint of sleepiness in his eyes. He was startled when he saw my neatly dressed look.

Kiro: [cute sleepy voice] Is something happening at the company? 

(If you pick “No”)

Seeing Kiro’s still pale cheeks, I shook my head and smiled at him.

MC: Nothing, I was just talking to Kiki.

But Kiro looked at me and suddenly smiled.

Kiro: Miss Chips, you should go do more important things first.

Kiro: I will wait here for you to come back.

Seeing him look at me quietly, I nodded gently.

(If you pick “yes”)

I was conflicted for a moment and then nodded honestly.

MC: There is a little situation that needs to be dealt with, but….

Before I finished speaking, I saw Kiro stretch out lazily with a slight smile in his tone.

Kiro: I will wait for your return.

He looked no different from what I was familiar with. I hesitated for a moment and finally nodded gently.

[Memory Silhouette]

MC: Hahahahahaha! This episode is so funny!

I laughed so much that my cheeks hurt and I had to lean against Kiro’s arms. He opened his arms and caged me in them.

Kiro: Is the way I eat mustard so funny? 

I lifted my head and looked at him as he asked me. 

The sun was shining on us warmly through the French windows, Kiro’s milk fragrance also wrapped around the tip of my nose. I couldn’t help but squeeze his cheek with my hand.

MC: No, but I like it.

MC: Didn’t someone say that if there is a person who can keep you smiling, then he must be an important presence in your life.

MC: You make me laugh without even thinking about it, your existence turns cloudy days into sunny ones. *Changed some wording*

As if he had accepted my theory, Kiro no longer struggled with his expression about the variety show, so he clicked the button to continue playing. 

Kiro: Okay, I agree with Miss Chips. 

This variety show has Kiro as a guest appearance. When he participated in the show, he had not yet joined the cast to make a movie. The show was as bright as a little sun.

In the space between the advertisements, I quickly glanced sideways at the person next to me.

Over the past few days, I can feel his gradual relaxation.

It’s not that I’m always vigilant, telling myself that I have to be happy in front of him, but because when I’m with him, I can relax and smile.

I liked this relaxed and soft Kiro.

MC: But speaking of it, in this variety show, I see you in a way that I don’t usually see.

MC: Planting seedlings, bargaining with the owner of a small shop, and making mosquitos nests by yourself.

MC: So Kiro turned out to be a secret master of life?

MC: So when I was making homemade cranberry cupcakes, a certain superstar asked me to teach him how to beat the egg yolks?

After being questioned, Kiro gave a cheeky “um”.

Kiro: That’s because, in the cast, I need to play the image of SuperHero. This is my job. 

Kiro: But in front of Miss Chips, I can be willful and not so perfect, can’t I? *Changed some wording*

He looked at me with a smile in his eyes, like an afternoon orange soda full of refreshing taste.

MC: You said that…. I can’t refute it. 

Although I said that, I couldn’t help but laugh.

MC: But two people mixing the egg yolk batter together is always more interesting than doing it alone.

There was constant laughter on screen. I looked at Kiro who was always smiling on the screen and couldn’t help but lean into his arms.

His chin rested on my shoulder from behind and his warm breath brushed my neck.

It’s always a good time to need each other and be together. *Changed some wording*

MC: Next time, teach me how to make a mosquito net.

MC: Maybe in the future when we go on a trip, it will be useful.

Kiro: Okay, let’s make a big and beautiful mosquito net. 

MC: Huh? Why does it have to be so big?

Kiro: It can be used as an open-air tent. If you watch the stars at night, you don’t have to worry about being bitten by bugs.

I couldn’t help being amused by Kiro’s serious tone.

MC: Okay, let’s do it together.

Time is moving slowly and quietly, walking forward with a lazy pace. The lazy rest is close to the not-so-perfect Kiro.

Put together a cupcake with a honey-flavoured centre. *Changed some wording*

[Chapter 5]

When I had walked halfway towards the company, I decided to pull out my phone and call Kiki.

MC: Kiki, there are some things on my end that I can’t get away from. You can help me with the people from the other company and change the meeting to a virtual one.

MC: The contract has been sorted out, I will send it to them later. You are responsible for monitoring the online meeting.

Kiki: Mhhm, okay. Sounds good, boss. 

After temporarily solving the company’s problems, I returned to Kiro’s house.

In order to avoid disturbing Kiro, who might still be asleep, I opened the door very quietly.

But when I entered through the door, I saw Kiro sitting cross-legged on the floor with his back facing me.

Kiro: Cello, don’t move. 

A cat’s tail came out from his side, swinging back and forth uncomfortably, but was caught by Kiro in the next second.

Kiro: A few days ago, I didn’t play with you, which made you unhappy with me.

He was talking to himself, then sighed slightly.

Kiro: From now on I will play with you every day, but you are not allowed to bite your tail.

Kiro: If you bite your tail bald again, I will confiscate your dried fish!

Hearing what he said, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Kiro turned around when he heard the sound and when I saw Cello resting in his arms, I opened my eyes wide.

MC: You made a small flower for her bald spot.

A small flower made of pink wool is tied around Cello’s tail, which was probably taken from Kiro’s clothes. It covered most of the bald spot.

Kiro: Miss Chips, why are you back so soon?

Kiro was a little taken back, but because of my presence, there was an unconcealed smile in his eyes.

As I walked to Kiro’s side, I creased my eyes and opened my mouth.

MC: Because the witty Miss Chips changed the meeting to an online one, if it is synchronized with the time abroad, it will not start until the evening.

Kiro touched his chin thoughtfully.

Kiro: In other words, before the meeting, you still have a lot of time alone with me. 

MC: You can think of it like that.

Suddenly I saw the familiar sly smile in his eyes. I was stunned for a second as I realized something and then took a step back cautiously.

Kiro smiled innocently and brilliantly.

Kiro: Miss Chips can’t run away, you came back to me by “getting caught” by my net. *Changed some wording*

In the next second, he hugged my waist and his presence hit me overwhelmingly.

Cello jumped to the ground, licked her paws, and curiously tilted her head to look at everything in front of her.

Kiro led me to the sofa where I sat in his arms, my heartbeat still a little fast.

Kiro chuckled.

Kiro: Why does Miss Chips look like as if I’m going to do something bad?

His palm touched my bare back, arousing a shudder.

He looked down at me, but there was nothing else in his eyes other than like. 

I think of his unusual moments these past few days and my heart can’t help but feel moved.

The next second, I reached out and hooked my arms around Kiro’s neck. Kiro looked at me in a daze.

MC: Kiro, all the things that happen to you, I want to be the first person to share them with you.

I paused.

MC: Just as happiness and sadness are all the flavours of life we must experience;

MC: I want to be together in those bleak moments that must be experienced.

MC: Because--friction generates heat.

MC: So next time if you feel empty, let me stay with you.

MC: Let me fill your time.

Kiro’s eyes seemed to have a small sparkle of light in them after hearing my words.

After a while, I was pulled by Kiro and fell back into his arms.

Following his movements, my bag fell to the ground and a clear sound rang out. Kiro turned his head and glanced, leaning over and picking up a lipstick.

I reached out to take the lipstick, but Kiro grabbed my wrist.

He looked at me and suddenly put some on his lips slowly.

In the small and charming space, all his movements seemed to be slow and carefully planned, which made me suddenly think of the fragments I saw in the lens. 

Kiro: While eating hot pot, Miss Chips said that she regretted not being able to see my exclusive performance. 

He paused for a moment and gave a grin.

Kiro: Well now you can.

He raised his hand and the hot red in his palm brushed my hair and then letting it fall onto my back, bringing the smell of spices.

It’s like a light kiss.

I stiffened for a moment, only to feel that the spot touched by him was burning like fire, making me want to get closer.

MC: Kiro….

I muttered Kiro’s name softly. As if receiving some kind of response, he suddenly took my hand.

Then he lowered his head slightly and pressed his warm lips to my wrist.

Kiro: I’m here.

There was a warm touch from his skin and Kiro’s lips were still pressed against my wrist, but he lifted his eyes to look at me.

I blushed suddenly and wanted to lower my head and look away. The next second, I was firmly grasped with his other hand.

He held my hand and guided my fingertips past his lips.

His look was seductive, like a fairy falling into the world, unknowingly attracting me.

But perhaps, he knew it.

Kiro: Now I am sure that you have filled the most precious time in my world.

His blue eyes are as gentle as the sea and there is only a small me inside of them.

He looked at me and got closer, hot breath fell on the side of my neck accompanied by a soft voice.

Kiro: In fact, there have always been many temptations and difficulties on the way to becoming an actor.

Kiro: It’s a small boat called “Kiro”, sailing on the waves of the world. He often encounters danger, gets injured, and breaks.

The soft touch lingers from the side of my neck to my earlobe, and the breathy whispers fall on my ears very affectionately.

Kiro: But this one person, she found the boat on the boundless sea and repaired his damages.

Kiro: She then stayed on the boat and sailed the world with him to see glaciers and lakes.

Kiro: This person is called Miss Chips, and she is-- the beacon that guides me through the world. 

His voice is like falling petals; quiet and soft with the ultimate sincerity. *Changed some wording*

Kiro: In the play, Kiro’s emotions belong to the stage.

Kiro: But Kiro outside the play, his world, everything about him belongs to you.

The scorching temperature left my neck and he looked at me earnestly with undisguised emotions in his eyes, like the surging ocean tides.

I couldn’t help but hug his neck back.

MC: Kiro, you made me the best Miss Chips in the world.

MC: Let’s go to farther places together, see glacial lakes, and sail the world together….

MC: Nothing can make me leave your side.

The sunflower grows enthusiastically and his golden hair is soft and brilliant. The world is flourishing and beautiful, just like himself.

If I were Kiro’s beacon for sailing the world, then let me be that tower that illuminates him.

Because-- he is also the most indispensable part of my world.

End

[easymarkforevilredheads]

I'm finally watching the new Grey's episode (The Great Return of One Addison Montgomery) so. Reaction time (under the cut):

- Amelia baby you look GORGEOUS please marry me.

- Bestie as an insult YES agreed

- She's already so giddy about the videocall with Kai???? No heterosexuality on sight and I for one am loving it

- The whole "is it gonna be weird" thing, I love it because she's literally all the viewers and I'm glad it's semi-addressed, indirectly lmao

- Oh l*nk showed up... please just go

- He's starting to get on my nerves as much as meredith did in s15-16

- Teddy Altman. I love you. You're a sweetheart and you deserve so much better.

- mer x hayes I SHIP YOU DAMN IT (she still gets on my nerves tho)

- HELLO ADDISON MA'AM STEP ON ME OH MY GOD

- LOVE the s1 easter egg line YES BABEEE

- Bailey looks so happy to have Addie around BESTIES I'M TELLING YOU

- Starstruck interns ((or residents, whatever, I'm lost)... mood. Intern taking pictures w their phone... MOOD.

- I love the new plastics doctor would gladly let her destroy me

- Yes Richard brag about Addie she DESERVES IT

- Helm honey i like u but stfu i will not tolerate Addison slander

- BADASS GROUNDBREAKING SURGERY BY ADDISON FORBES MONTGOMERY WE LOVE THIS FOR HER WE LOVE THIS

- yay for schmidt i do love him!!

- "get me some coffee" THE MARK SLOAN S2 VIBES IM SCREAMING I LOVE ADDIE

- we LOVE ADDISON IN THE OR and THE SCRUB CAP my heart can't take it

- I missed bailey so much actually like top 5 grey's characters ever

- ooh trouble in or paradise... "get me meredith grey" fair enough babe

- that's an interesting friendly greeting! and grey told helm to chill with the defensiveness thank GOD I was rolling my eyes ngl

- AMELIA ON THAT CALL WITH KAI I AM LOVING THIS. LOVING THIS. ALL THE LITTLE THINGS AND THE SUBTEXT I DAMN WELL HOPE THEY'RE BUILDING UP THE TENSION ON PURPOSE

- also Kai please top me

- Amelia is such a dork I love her to death

- the guided meditation....... I am looking. that's queer flirting. I will not be debating it.

- competitive Meredith/Addison banter and it is NOT about a man everyone make a wish we never thought this would happen

- ok fully honestly: I don't think i can ship current day meradd bc i have way too many issues with meredith but. That blood clot scene could make me consider it.

- why does Teddy always end up having to fix the men around her she deserves better

- "there was tension" ok maybe these interns/residents/whatever are gonna be shipping them and that will be FUN

- sidenote Addie you still give me bi vibes no matter how many years go by

- THE ELEVATOR SCENE I WILL C R Y i am so moved and so grateful for Kate Walsh's RANGE. I missed it. The depth she gives to her character was so necessary for the show and I will write more about this later but these kind of scenes are precisely why I tell you Meredith needs her as her counterpoint

- "Richard will understand" FUCK THAT'S A DIRECT PARALLEL TO WHEN ADDISON LEFT STOP IM GOING TO CRY

- Helm I officially don't like you

- Addison wearing a ponytail brain going brrrrr

- ADDISON HAS EAR PIERCINGS?????? I'M COMBUSTING

- love her speech about work conditions yes Addie revolutionary edition

- Teddy please give me a snowcone you're so ADORABLE

- saw Amelia and Addison in the same frame and had to pause for a minute.

- ok here we go.

- HAPPY LITTLE SCREAMS AND RUNNING TO EACH OTHER THEY ARE EVERYTHING I LOVE THEY MEAN THE WORLD RO ME OMG

- SHUT UP THAT 360 OF THE LONGEST HUG IN GA HISTORY WAS FOR US PRIVATE PRACTICE FANS I CANT I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I LITERALLY SCREA%MED

- FACE HOLDING PARALLEL I AM TEARS I AM PAIN I AM ADDIMELIA TRASH FIRST AND FOREMOST

- Amelia feeling awkward i love you baby

- (they're both so hot also like wtf)

- It feels SO GOOD to see Addison meet Derek's kids it's NECESSARY for the very foundation of the show's plot

- RAINBOWS,,,,,,, THINKING THOUGHTS OK

- guys addison/amelia/meredith is THE power trio they should be leading the show

[tumblebee-the-smol-bean]

Oh! What about a classification universe where everyone takes a test and gets their classification (little,neutral, caregiver). Everyone gets what was expected (Virge and Ro little and Pat, Lo, and Janus are caregivers). Everyone expects Remus to get neutral but he gets little. He tries to hide it for a bit until Logan walks in and finds out! (Maybe Pat could be Virgil's cg and Janus could be Roman's? What ever works for you!) Thank you!

Warning: there be a few cuss words here babies.

Remus fiddled with the corners of the envelope he held between his fingers. The friend group had all taken the tests together so they could find out their classifications at the same time. And now here they were, all sitting around in Patton's living room.

He wasn't nervous of course. He knew what everyone including himself would get. Patton was literally the dad friend so of course he would be a caregiver, and if Patton was the dad friend, Logan was the stricter, more cautious mom friend. Then there was Janus who was also a mom friend, but a little more relaxed. He would bet money that Virgil and his brother were littles. Vee already exemplified basically all of the traits and he and Patton pretty much already had a caregiver, regressor relationship going as it was. Then of course Roman was just childish and creative. But Remus? Remus was all crude jokes, chaotic energy and innuendo. He would not be a good caretaker and definitely not a regressor. So he was okay with being the only neutral in the group and told them all as much.

"Now kiddo, we havent even opened our envelopes yet! We dont know what any of us are going to be. Don't make assumptions."

Patton wagged a finger at him playfully.

Logan straightened his glasses. "Actually the true answer lies between both of your responses. While we technically dont know what our results are yet we can make an educated guess based on the traits we exemplify and how likely it is for us to be sorted into each category baised off our traits."

"Ugh! Let's just do it already! I'm tired of waiting!" Roman said exasperated before practically ripping into his. He beamed at the results. "We were right! 'Regressor: 4 to 7 headspace!" He cheered. Janus rolled his eyes with a smile. "Now that one was obvious." There are cheers and congratulations from around the circle and they move on to the next person. Janus is of course a caregiver, as are Logan and Patton. When the circle reaches Virgil he shrinks in on himself and fidgets with his envelope, looking at it like it might come to life and bite him.

"Here kiddo," Patton offered, holding out his hand "would you like me to read it?" Verge nodded and handed it to Patton, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down.

Patton carefully opens the envelope and scans the contents before breaking out in a smile. "Regressor: 1 to 4 headspace!"

He immediately pulls Virgil in for a hug, likely to comfort him and quell any panic that might be arising as everyone else congratulates him. Virgil of course latches on like a sea monkey and rests his head on Pattons shoulder with a small smile, giggling as the dad friend whispers some joke in his ear, almost assuredly a pun.

Finally only Remus is left. With all eyes on him he smirks and tears open his envelope, ripping out the paper only to stop dead at what he sees in print. He only has a few seconds to think quickly, keep his poker face and turn it into a smile as he tucks his paper back in the envelope.

"Well no fucking surprise here! Nuetral!" Patton reprimands his language but they all smile and clap for him, although Janus looks at him a tad suspiciously.

"Well we should all probably get home. It is getting rather late." Janus commented.

Roman gets a ride with him and Virgil decides to sleep over at Patton's place. That left Logan and Remus.

"Do you require a ride home Remus?" Logan asked.

"Nope! Just gonna shove a broomstick up my butt and fly home on it like a witch!"

Logan looked unimpressed.

"...yeah I could use a ride."

"Well alright then." Logan smiled and grabed his keys. The two waved to Patton and Virgil before heading out the door. They got in the car and Logan double checked to make sure Remus had his seatbelt buckled. He hadn't forgotten the time he almost flew through the windshield and got glass in his forehead because 'seatbelts just take all the excitement out of driving'

Remus rolled his eyes but complied and satisfied Logan began the drive to Remus's house, playing some nerdy music on the car audio.

Remus didnt look at Logan the whole drive. He just stared out the window and felt his stomach turn as he recalled the actual contents of his results.

A regressor. But he couldn't be! It had to be wrong! Roman was the childish one with his disney and cartoons. Remus was...punk, feral, deranged some might even say...he was the furthest thing from a kid.

A few minutes later his thoughts were interrupted by his phone buzzing and he sighed. It was Roman telling him that Janus had agreed to try out being his caregiver and he was going to spend a few days at his house instead. He was going to have a few very lonely days ahead of him. But that might be for the best as he has to process everything.

Before he even realized it Logan was pulling up to his house. He thanked him devoid of his usual energy and walked inside. Missing the concerned look Logan threw his way.

The first thing he did was hide his letter under his mattress and then he stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out how this could have happened.

He came to the conclusion that he wasnt a regressor. The tests were wrong. Or at least he wasnt going to be. He was Remus for satans sake and he intended to stay that way. And if he ever started to feel SMALL. Well then he would just ignore it until it went away. That shouldn't be too hard right?

Wrong. It had been three weeks since they all got their classification and Remus felt like absolute shit.

Both Roman and Virgil had regressed a few times and were settling in with their caregivers. They seemed...happy. but Remus? He was just tired. Every once in a while (especially when things seemed to get ovewhelming) he would feel his head start to go fuzzy and he would begin to feel an odd sense of calm and a sinking feeling. However he was always able to push it down and shake it off before continuing on with his day like it hadn't happened. The only problem was it seemed to be increasing in frequency. It had gone from happening a few times a week to a few times a day and truth be told he was starting to get overwhelmed.

Then it happened. The worst episode hit him while they were all hanging out at his house. The others were having some sort of conversation but he couldn't focus on what they were saying. Too busy trying to get rid of it. It wasnt working though. He subconsciously leaned into the nearest person to him for comfort, which happened to be Logan. He raised an eyebrow at this as Remus was generally not one for physical affection. He wraps an arm around his waist anyways. If Remus needed him he would oblige. "Are you quite alright Remus?" He asked causing Remus to jump and realize what he had been doing. He had to get out of there. Now.

"Mhm! Yuppers, fit as a fiddle...I'm gonna go lay down. Bye!"

And with that he scampered off to his room. Curling up in his blankets he took his envelope out from under his mattress and glared at it as if that would somehow magically change the results. But of course it didn't. All of a sudden his emotions were alot harder to suppress and he was just so confused and upset and angry all at once. He felt something warm on his face and realized he was crying which made him cry harder, he stuffed a blanket covered fist in his mouth to try and muffle the sounds and hugged a pillow close to his chest.

There was a knocking at the door then. "Remus? Are you quite alright? You left rather suddenly and I thought it best to check on you." Logans voice drifted in from outside his door and part of Remus wanted to open it and launch himself into his arms and just stay there, cuddled up while Logan comforted him. But he didn't. He wasnt a baby, he could deal with this on his own.

When no answer came Logan tried to knob and the door creaked open. Remus cursed himself silently for not locking it.

Upon seeing remus curled on the bed, teartracks down his face and obviously upset, logan rushed over and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Remus? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

That's when his eyes caught on the envelope on his bed and he picked it up. Remus emmiting a high pitched whine when he did.

Logan looked confused for all of a second before he put the pieces together.

"...you arent actually a neutral, are you?"

He shook his head sadly and Logan sighed, sitting on the bed with him.

"Remus, you didnt have to hide this. We're all here to support you." He rested a hand on his shoulder again and Remus leaned into the touch, giving Logan an idea.

"Remus, may I hold you?"

He practically jumped at the offer and noded vigorously. That's all he wanted right now.

Logan smiled softly and crawls on the bed, leaning up on the headboard and pulling Remus against his chest, where he instantly relaxed. He hummed softly to him and rested a hand on his back.

"May I see your results?" He asked and Remus nodded slowly. He trusted Logan.

Logan nodded and pressed a kiss to the top of Remus's head as he opened up the envelope and took a look at the contents inside.

Regressor: 3 to 7 headspace.

Logan nodded to himself and slipped it back in the envelope.

"Thank you for letting me see that Remus, can you tell me how old you are right now?"

"M seventeen." He mumbled and Logan sighed, changing tactics.

"How many times have you regressed in the last three weeks?"

There's a long pause and Remus shifts awkwardly against him.

"Remus?"

"....none." he whispered. He knew it wasn't good to suppress regression but he had done it anyways.

Logan pursed his lips, but honestly he had expected this.

"Come on love," he coaxedRemus out of the bed. "We're going to get you out of the house so you can regress without being around everyone. Is that alright with you?"

He noded and followed Logan. They left with some excuse about running an errand and get in Logan's car. He made sure Remus was buckled and started the engine.

"Where we goin?" Remus asked curiously.

"The store." Logan responded. "I assume you dont have any supplies?"

Remus blushed and nodded his head. No use buying little gear if you told yourself you weren't going to regress.

They pulled into the parking lot of a store for that purpose a few minutes later and Logan took his hand as they walked through the parking lot which only served to make him feel smaller and push him further into regression.

When they entered the store Logan took him down a few aisles, stopping when they reached the toys.

"Okay, you may pick out two toys, I'm going to go and get you a few more things. Stay there alright?"

Remus nodded, in awe of all the options the toy isle held. While Logan was off shopping he picked out a nerf gun and an octopus plushie, running up to the cart excitedly to drop them in when Logan returned.

He smiled. "Did you find something you liked little cephalopod?" This caused Remus to nod and giggle happily and Logan chuckled back in response. He had filled the cart with other supplies. Sippy cups, pacifiers, a couple of snacks and small foods as well as some assorted juice boxes.

Remus looked at them all in excitment. And Logan led him through the checkout. Buckling him back up in the car with his octopus, the rest of the bags in the back.

Remus swung his legs happily in the passenger seat while he clutched his new stuffie. Gaining a small smile from Logan.

"Are you alright if we go back to my apartment cephy?"

Remus nodded happily and they made their way to where Logan lived. He was the oldest and so he lived on his own in an apartment just off his college campus.

He quickly unloaded all the groceries and picked Remus up, carrying him inside much to his delight.

The two spent the rest of the day together. Remus ate dinosaurs nuggets and ketchup for dinner which he used to create a whole mess that Logan rolled his eyes fondly at but cleaned up. Then they watched cartoons and snuggled together and Logan watched as he used a new coloring book. Praising every drawing even if they were slightly... unorthodox. Eventually Logan announced that it was bedtime for little boys and while Remus pouted when he was set down on the soft bed he couldn't help but look at Logan like he put all the stars in the sky and he gathered up the courage to ask him his question.

"Lolo?"

"Yes Chephy?"

"Will you be my caregiver?"

"I would be delighted to."

The day ended perfectly for both of them, cuddling on the bed until they fell asleep.

[gilmores-glorious-blog]

I held you close as we both shook

(Disclaimer this is the first fic I’ve ever written and I wrote it in a rush of emotions after the new episode)

-

-

Roman manages to hold himself together until after he sinks out. But the moment he rises up into the mind palace, he breaks down. 

Virgil has been sitting on the couch for a few hours. He’s vaguely aware that the others are off talking to Thomas, but he’s too engrossed in Tumblr to care about missing out. Remus has walked by occasionally, making crude comments, but if there’s one thing Virgil’s good at, it’s blocking Remus out. All in all, Virgil’s doing pretty well. A little alone time can do wonders for anxiety. 

There’s the signature noise of a side returning to the mind palace, and Virgil’s head pops up from his phone. So much for his alone time. Upon seeing the top of Roman’s head begin to appear, Virgil bites back a smile. He would never admit it out loud, but Roman makes him inexplicably happy. Remus once told him- back when they talked to each other- that that is called “a crush! your feelings are horny! you want my brother to-” (this is where Virgil cut him off). So naturally, Virgil is a bit excited to see Roman return. 

Before the purple side can even open his mouth to say hello, however, Roman starts crying. Startled, Virgil stays quiet. He watches as Roman, usually cheerful and confident, crumples to the floor in front of the tv and let out silent sobs. Roman mutters to himself, but Virgil is unable to hear him fully. He does catch snippets of useless, pathetic, and despicable, though. Virgil is so shocked at the scene that he forgets to say anything. After a few minutes, he finds his voice again and manages a weak “...Ro?” 

Roman’s head shoots up. He immediately starts wiping tears from his eyes, plastering on the fakest smile Virgil has ever seen.

“Oh, hey there Jack Smellington, I didn’t see you there.”

Virgil tentatively moves off the couch towards where Roman sits. “Roman, what on earth happened?”

“What are you talking about? I’m fine. You’re just anxious. Well of course you’re anxious, you’re anxiety! My point being, Hot Topic, nothing is wrong-”

“Ro, I saw you crying.” 

Roman’s face falls. “Ah. You did. Well, please don’t feel the need to help me. Or pity me. Or anything of the such. I promise I’m fine, I just…” He trails off, and Virgil sees tears glistening in his eyes, watches him bite his shaking lower lip. “I just… he just…”

“He?” Virgil still has no idea what’s happening.

Apparently this nameless ‘he’ holds a lot of emotion for the creative side right now, because Roman starts crying again.

“I-I’m sorry, this is so embarrassing.” Roman sniffles. “Feel free to hate me. Everyone else does.”

With those two sentences, Virgil can feel his heart break. 

“Ro… no one hates you.”

“Really?! Janus didn’t seem to be a big fan of me.”

Virgil’s blood runs cold. He hasn’t heard that name for years, since he stopped hanging out with the dark sides. “Janus? Deceit told you his name?”

“Yep. And everyone loves him now. He’s Thomas’ new best pal. His new hero. He doesn’t need me anymore.”

Virgil clenches his fist. “Roman, I need you to tell me what happened as well as you can. Last I checked, we all hated De-Janus. What changed?”

Roman takes a deep, shuddering breath. “Well, Patton and I were debating how much Thomas needs to be selfless, and what the right reasons are for being selfless, and if there are right reasons, and so on. Patton got super confused and just… flipped out. Went full on frog mode. And by that I mean he literally turned into a giant frog. With abs. It was quite the sight. So then Janus shows up and is… he’s helping Thomas. And he’s going on and on about how self care is important and your mental health is a priority. And everyone believes him! Even though he is literally Deceit! So I’m trying to make a point about how he’s evil, we’ve determined he’s evil, and he’s telling us to go back on everything we’ve learned, but they all sided with him. And since I’m saying we can’t trust him, he decides now is the perfect time to make a big show of revealing his name. And yeah, maybe I laughed at it. But I was angry! And it’s a stupid name, anyways.”

Virgil takes this moment to interject. “It is. He sounds like a middle-school librarian.” Roman stares at him, an emotion in his eyes that Virgil can’t decipher. He decides that he doesn’t like the intensity in Roman’s gaze so he urges him to continue speaking.

“Upon me making a lighthearted joke, Janus com… he…” Roman breaks down crying again.

“What? What did he do?” Virgil realizes he probably shouldn’t be forcing Roman to talk about things he doesn’t want to, but he’s too blinded by his rage at Janus to think clearly. Roman doesn’t answer, and Virgil gently puts a hand on his shoulder. 

“Roman? What did he do?”

The prince mutters something that Virgil can’t hear. “What was that?” 

Roman jerks his head up from his lap. “HE COMPARED ME TO HIM!” He yells, startling Virgil. “He… he compared me to my brother. He said, and I quote, ‘Oh Roman, thank god you don’t have a mustache, otherwise between you and Remus I wouldn’t know who the evil twin is’.” Roman stares at the wall straight ahead, blinking back tears.

“...oh.” Virgil breathes.

Roman lets out a sad chuckle. “Oh.”

“Ro, I’m so sorry, I-”

“Don’t.” Roman says. “I’m done pretending I’m the hero. You and Logan, my brother and Janus, even Patton and Thomas have made it abundantly clear I’m far from it. Thomas let me be in control for far too long and it’s clear I shouldn’t be. When Deceit, the literal embodiment of lies, is trusted over me, that shows just how useless I really am. And… he’s right. Remus and I… we are similar. And I hate it. God, Virgil, I hate it so much. He’s everything I don’t want to be, and yet the only difference between us is a stupid mustache. I shouldn’t be here. I don’t deserve to be here. I’ve done nothing but hurt Thomas. And hell, even if he can’t live without Creativity… he’s got another one right there waiting for him.” 

Virgil doesn’t know when he started, but now he’s crying too. It hurts so much to see Roman like this. Roman, the brave side. Roman, the side who’s always there to lighten the situation. Roman, the side who’s clever nicknames make Virgil’s heart flutter. Roman, who Virgil has never seen sad, let alone like this. Roman, who Virgil loves.

He doesn’t know what to say. But he knows from his own experience with panic attacks that maybe Roman doesn’t want him to say anything. So he wordlessly puts his arm around the other side. Roman, still sobbing, lowers his head into Virgil’s lap. If someone had told Virgil an hour ago that Roman would be sitting with his head in his lap, Virgil (well he wouldn’t have believed them) but if he did, he would have been excited. But now he wishes more than anything that this wasn’t the situation.

Roman’s cries continue, still silent, but wracking his whole body with shuddering sobs. Virgil tries and fails to hold back his own tears while he gently runs his hand through Roman’s hair. 

After a good ten minutes of them sitting like that, Roman has fallen still. He’s still crying, but he’s sort of just numb now. 

“Ro?” Virgil asks hesitantly. “Can I say something?”

“Sure.” Roman’s reply is quiet, whispered into Virgil’s lap. 

Virgil gulps, unsure where to start. “You… you are incredible. You’re passionate, you’re smart, you’re insanely talented, you’re brave, and you are so kind. And I am so sorry for anything I have ever said or done to make you think differently. I know our relationship started off bad, to say the least, but we’ve grown so much since them, and I really truly care about you. And I know everyone else does too. Patton loves you more than anything, Logan likes you the same amount Logan likes everyone, which… it’s uncertain at times what that amount is, but I promise he loves you. Thomas couldn’t live without you. I mean, just imagine what Thomas would be like if his only creative thoughts came from Remus. It would be a nightmare! And speaking of your brother… you are nothing like him. I promise. I spent twenty-something years with him and you are so vastly different. And even if you were like him, he’s not all that bad. And he cares about you too, more than he cares about any of the rest of us. He never shuts up about you. He wants to be as good as you. Because you are a hero. ” That’s about all Virgil can muster before he breaks down too.

Roman is sitting up now, staring into Virgil’s eyes. “Do you mean all that?”

“Roman, I would never lie to you.” Virgil puts his hands on Roman’s shoulders. “So believe me when I say that I wouldn’t be able to live without you.” 

Roman laughs sadly. “That’s not true.”

Virgil speaks in a voice more serious than he’s ever spoken in before. “No. It is. You keep me in check, you help me feel like I have a purpose for Thomas, and you’re…” Virgil finds himself getting lost in Roman’s green eyes. “You’re… god, Roman, you’re fucking amazing. I love you. So much.” Virgil isn’t sure if Roman is going to interpret this in a romantic way or not, but either way, he knows it’s what the other side needs to hear right now.

Roman pauses, tears still silently streaming down his cheeks. 

And then he kisses Virgil.

It’s a soft kiss, barely touching, but it’s there. As much as he wants to, Virgil doesn’t kiss back. That’s not what either of them need right now. But either way, Virgil’s heart races. 

Roman pulls back almost as quickly as he leaned in. 

“Thank you Virgil.” He smiles at him. 

Virgil has seen Roman smile before. Many times. Often they are wide smiles. Huge smiles laced with laughter, usually in response to some stupid thing someone else said. But in this moment, Virgil feels like he’s never seen Roman smile. Because none of those countless smiles he’s seen before were anything like this. This small smile, lighting up his tearstained face, barely even noticeable as a smile, is the most genuine thing Virgil has ever seen in his life. 

Roman glances down, then back up at Virgil. 

“I think I’ll stick around.”

Virgil smiles now too, tears shimmering in his purple eyes. 

“Glad to hear it.”

[the-friendly-struggling-writer]

Please listen to me

Sanders Sides (Web Series)          

                                 Relationship:                                           

Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit Sanders          

                                 Characters:                                             

Deceit | Janus Sanders

Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders

Morality | Patton Sanders

Anxiety | Virgil Sanders         

                                 Additional Tags:                                             

Spoilers for Episode: Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux | Sanders Sides

Panic Attacks

Cuddling & Snuggling

Fluff and Angst

Hurt/Comfort

Angst with a Happy Ending

Disney References

Confused Anxiety | Virgil Sanders

Getting to Know Each Other

this is for my muilshipper heart

I need some roceit in my life

I Will Go Down With This Ship

How Do I Tag

Pre-Relationship

Not Beta Read

           Read on ao3

Written using the prompt "would you just listen to me for two seconds". the aftermath of putting others first. Janus goes to apologize for what he said.

“Would you just listen to me for two seconds Roman, please”, Janus begged. After he snapped back at Roman he hasn’t stopped feeling guilty about it. He had never meant to cause any harm to anyone, least of all Roman.

Roman paused walking away from Janus, waiting t hear what he was going to say next. “Roman, I’m so sorry for what I did,” Janis said while holding back tears that were collecting in his eyes, “I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt Patton. It all just spiraled out of control. And I had to get my point across.” Janus stopped his speaking to try and slow down his breathing to a somewhat steady pace. As this was happening Roman had turned around to look directly at Janus. It didn’t take Roman at all to notice that Janus was crying. Not even Janus could fake being that upset. Especially with the red puffy eyes or with that expression that he was wearing. Roman could only describe it as a broken window with a 100 different shards of glass. The image was reinforced in Roman’s head by the way that the tears have made the scales on Janus’ face stand out more.

Janus was about to continue his explanation of his actions, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t speak. His throat had suddenly run day and scratchy as he tried to swallow. Which, considering what happened next wasn’t very much like self-preservation.

“Oh, oh dear”, was the last normal thought that had run its way thought Janus’ head. His breathing sped up, his eyes flicked about the corridor to find something. Janus’ eyes locked onto Roman’s.

Roman could tell that something was wrong. He had spent to much time with the anxious side to know when something was not right. slowly Roman walked back to the way that he came and towards Janus giving him time to react to Roman’s approach.

Roman locked eyes with Janus’, and a small broken, strangled cry managed to brake its way free from the confines of Janus’ throat. That was all it took for Roman to put together the puzzle pieces of what was wrong with Janus. Roman had spent too many evenings helping Patton calm down Virgil from a panic attack. And Janus was deftly having one of them at the moment.

“It’s ok Janus,” Roman said trying to comfort him. There was a reason that it was mainly Patton that helped Virgil with these. Roman could barely stop himself from getting stressed never mind someone else.

At this time Janus was struggling to stay standing upright, his vision was blurred by the wet tears that still clung to his face. His hearing wasn’t much better but somehow a faint sound broke its way though so that Janus here it. “Let’s sit down. It will be ok.” Who was Janus to try and argue with the sound, he would just lose anyway. Slowly with his back agents the wall, Janus managed to get down without falling over. Sitting back agent the wall as to steady himself. Janus’ eyes just stared forward not focusing on anything that was happening. Roman quietly joined him on the floor, thinking about what he needs to do next. There was no way that he could leave him. Not even a minute to find someone who could help. It didn’t feel right if he did. They only way that someone could help way if they stumbled upon them in the hall. Unfortunately this way not going to happen. ‘Think, Roman, think. There’s got to be something that you can remember. There has to be. Oh that’s right Patton does that breathing exercise to help Virgil.’

Roman didn’t if it would be ok to tap out the counts on Janus’ arm or not, so it would better safe and not sorry by making him worse. “De-um, Janus try and focus on the sound of my voice. We are going to slow down your breathing. Try and take in a breath for 4.”

Janus could just about heard what Roman had said but didn’t know where the sound had come from, what could he lose if he did listen to it. It might even mean that Remus had found him and was helping him once again though one of them. Remus always found Janus whenever he had one of these. Sucking in a deep breath to the sound of Roman counting. “That’s great, now try and hold for 8, ok.” This time Janus only got to the count of 4 before he violently started coaching. “It’s ok. It’s ok. Let’s keep trying.”

Taking in another breath to the count of 4, Janus’ thoughts and panic was barley started to slow down but slow down nonetheless. “Hold for 8 if you can,” Roman said trying to help. ‘I hope this is working’ thought Roman.

“That’s it Janus, you’re doing great. Keep going.” Janus slowly took in another breath to the count of 4 and repeated the sequence. After a few minutes of this Jauns managed to realize that he was in fact not in his room, never mind being by himself. Looking up he stared directly into the chocolate brown eyes that belonged to a certain red creative side. ‘Why do his eyes look so pretty’, thought Janus as he diverted his gaze to the cream coloured floor. Both in an effort to hide his embarrassment and the blush that was rapidly spreading across his face. ‘How could I be so dumb. Now he will never let me forget about this from happening.’

“Are you ok Janus?”,Roman asked sitting on the floor next to Janus, staring at the wall on the other side of the hallway. ‘I forgot how soft the carpet was’ thought Roman as he waited for Janus’ response.

Janus bared his face into his yellow gloved hands. “I will take that as a no then,” Roman responded. Not knowing what to say next.

Taking a few breaths to steady his voice, Janus replied “Yes Roman. I’m perfectly fine.” before trying to stand up to leave but unfortunately for Janus, well unfortunately was what he thought. In the long run it was going to help their relationship that he didn’t have the strength or the energy to stand up by himself.

“You do know that this time I can tell that you are lying Janus. I’ve just seen you have a panic attack, and don’t you dare try to deny it. I’ve hung around with Virgil for long enough to tell what a panic attack is and what overly anxious is.” Roman snapped at Janus. Instantly regretting the words that he just spoke. ‘Janus just had a panic attack, and then you just had to go and snap at him. Great job there Roman, you messed it all up again.’ Roman let out a sigh as he finished that thought.

Janus looked at the floor not wanting to meet Roman’s eyes as he spoke. “Well at least I don’t issue about becoming like Remus,” Roman looked directly at Janus, his eyes widening in surprise. “I’m sorry I..I shouldn’t have said those things I said that about you. I shouldn’t have said those things I said before to you. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry Roman.” At this point Janus was starting to tear buck up again. He stopped speaking as not to sound more pathetic as he thought he looked.

“Hey Janus, It’s ok. It’s going to be.” Roman tried to reassure him as he placed a hand into Janus’ shoulder.

“But it’s not,” Janus said as a tear fell down his face as he pulled away from Roman. “It’s not ok. How can it be? Not after I said all those awful things to you. Or when I was going a bit overboard with the flirting at the trial. I’m s-” before going cut off by Roman.

“If you say one more word and I’m quoting Patton ‘I will physically fight you’.” Janus froze unsure of what to do. “I,” Roman sighed as he collected his thought of what to say to the crying side. “Janus, no matter what I say you are not going to fight me on this or argue about it, ok.”

Janus was very confused by the direction that Roman was going in but agreed to it anyway. “Janus I forgive you.” Hearing this Janus was just about to argue back but Roman stopped him first. “Remember what you agreed to Janus. No arguing.”

“Ok fine but why? Why would you do that? I’ve not given you a reason to trust me never mind forgive me.” Janus questioned.

“Janus the thing is that I still don’t trust you or that you have given me a reason too but that doesn’t mean that I can’t forgive you,” as Roman explained he stared at the wall across from where they are sitting in the corridor but Janus was looking directly at the roman in curiosity at what he was going to say next. “I know that you are wanting a full explanation but I just can’t explain it. It just feels right to forgive you. Sorry that I can’t explain it better than that. I’m also sorry that I laughed at you and you’re name. I was wrong and I still did it. I hope that you can also forgive me for all that I did.” Roman finished speaking all looked directly into Janus’ brown eyes that were swimming with different kinds of emotions. “Of course I forgive you, Ro I wish we didn’t need to have all of this to happen for us to get to this point,” Janus replied.

“Yeah, you are right there,” Roman laughed.

This caused Janus to let out a sigh of relief from part of the worry that he was feeling. Which in turn caused him to suddenly realize the tiredness that was feeling and that he needed to yawn. “Someone must be tried then,” Roman joked.

“Haha very funny Roman. You would be too if you just had a panic attack, wouldn’t you?” Janus rebutted at Roman. After thinking for a minute, a small sound escaped from Janus’ lips.

“What is it?” asked Roman wondering what was on Janus’ mind.

“For some reason my body doesn’t want to move from this position on the floor,” Janus answered.

“Do you want me to help you get back to your room?” Roman said unsure of what Janus’ answer would be because on one hand it was to stay sat in the corridor or on the other was Janus having to expert help from another side that wasn’t Remus. From the light coating of pink that was scattered across Janus’ face Roman could tell that it was going to have to be option two.

“Please,” Janus replied looking away in the opposite direction from Roman trying to hide his face.

Standing up slowing as not to lose his balance, Roman walked in front of Janus and held out a hand for Janus to grab on to. Which he gladly expected. Unfortunately Roman pulled Janus up a bit too fast which sent Janus flying straight into Roman’s chest. Roman managed to grab him before they could both fall over. This ended which Roman’s arms wrapped around Janus’ back and waist. If someone was to stumble upon them in this current pose they would think that they were randomly dancing in the middle of the corridor. Which caused a light blush to cross there faces for a few seconds.

“We should, em,” Roman said awkwardly, parting but with Roman still helping to hold Janus up.

“Yeah,” replied Janus to Roman while staring to the side of Roman’s head.

Slowly but surely, Roman and Janus made there way back down the corridor that Janus had chased Roman down an hour or two ago. As they continued, Janus realized that they were going to have to go past the living room. He just had to hope that there was no one in there. It was embarrassing enough for Roman to have to help him. Never mind someone else seeing him. Seeing him like that. The only one that could see him and have him not be as embarrassed would be Remus. They have helped each other more times than Janus could count of all of his hands. especially after Virgil stopped talking to them for a while.

Entering through the doorway that was the living room, Janus saw, unfortunately, it wasn’t empty. Virgil and Patton were cuddled up on the couch watching one for Patton’s many cartoons. This time it was avatar: the last air bender. From looking at the TV Roman could tell that they were about three fourths through book one.

Janus had his head down as they walked across the room to avoid looking at the pair on the couch.

Roman looked over to Patton and Virgil to see what their reactions would be to him scaly getting along with Janus.

If the situation wasn’t as serious as it was Roman would have laughed at Virgil's reaction. With wide eyes and a slacked jaw, Virgil looked back and forth from Roman and Janus to Patton next to him to confirm what he was seeing was real. Patton the other hand looked over to Roman as if to say ‘are you guys ok’ and that ‘do you need any help. Roman gently shook his head to say that they were fine, or that they were going to be anyway.

As the red and yellow pair left the living room all that could be heard from there was “What was all that about” in the sound of Virgil’s voice.

Lucky there wasn’t far left to get to Janus’ room. As they approached, for the first time Roman actually had a close look at what was Janus’ door. A black down with yellow snakes going up and down the door, with a name tag that said “Deceit” on it. “I haven’t had a chance to change it yet,” Janus as he saw where Roman was looking at the door. “Umm, thanks for helping me get back here Roman.”

“Oh, you’re welcome Janus,” Roman replied as he opened the door to help Janus on but upon seeing what was inside Roman froze in surprise. ‘This is definitely not what I had expected’ though Roman. The walls of the room had been painted a light grey. The floor, a bright yellow carpet with a black rug on top as not to overwhelm the room with too much colour. Janus’ bed was pushed back against the top left corner of the room and was piled high with blankets and a few plushes of different animals. The ones that stood out the most to Roman was the red loin and the yellow snake that were right up at the top of the bed next to the pillows. On the other side of the room are several bookshelves filled with books and other things that Janus had collected over the years that he felt important enough to have on display. Next to the door was at first what Roman though to be a fish tank, but there was no water in it. Poking out from a rock was the face of a small corn snake that was staring up at Roman with curiosity written on its face. There was also a TV across from the bed with a collection of different films ranging from documentaries to Disney classics that Roman loved. “Well this is different than what I had thought It would be,” Roman said to no one in particular.

“What did you expect it to be like. One of the evil layers that super villains have?” Janus snapped.

“Kinda, yeah but a bit warmer than what they seem to look like,” Roman replied with fondness escaping into his voice.

“Janus just rolled his eyes at Roman’s idea as if to say ‘of course that’s what you thought’, “I’m sorry I snapped at you, you didn’t deserve it.”

“It’s ok. You thought I was going to be horrible about your room. I actually like your room a lot. It definitely suits you now that I know you a little bit better now,” Roman reassured.

“Thanks,” Janus said simply as Roman helped him to his bed. The last of Janus’ energy wasn’t going to last long.

“Are you going to be ok for the night?” Roman asked standing awkwardly unsure of what to now do with his hands now that he has set Janus down on his bed.

“I, um,” Janus paused to think of a way to put it into words of what he was feeling. Looking down Janus mumbled something under his breath, too embarrassed to meet Roman’s eyes as he spoke.

“What was that Janus? I couldn’t hear you when you talk like that,” Roman said trying to pull the word out from Janus.

It was only slightly louder voice that Janus next spoke in, “could you please stay?”

This was just loud enough for Roman to understand what he was saying. “Janus don’t worry about it. Do you want to know something?” Roman questioned.

“What is it?” Janus answered trying to suppress a yawn. It didn’t work. This to Roman was very cute.

“I kinda don’t want to be as well,” Roman said. As he waited for Janus’ reaction Roman also yawned. ‘I guess the right thing that says that yawns are contagious from people that you like are true’.

“Thanks. I’m sorry. I get clingy after having one of those.” Janus said supposed that Roman would feel the same way.

“It’s fine Janus. More than fine really. If it’s ok, can I go put on a film?” Roman asked looking back at Janus.

“Sure. You can pick which one you want to. I like all of the ones that are there,” Ater Janus finished speaking he shuffled over to the other side of the bed to make room for Roman to get in. Janus was secretly hoping that Roman would be ok if he tried to cuddle him.

With a smile on Roman’s lip, he walked over to the TV and DVD player to pick which one that he was going to choose. Scanning his eyes across the boxes of the films, one almost immediately stood out to him. “I didn’t know that you liked frozen?” Roman asked smiling back at the half-snake side who had in the time that Roman had been picking, had wrapped himself in many of the blankets that had been on the bed.

“There is a lot of things that you don’t know about me,” Janus answered trying to act all ominous but Roman just let out a small giggle at Janus’ behavior.

After putting on the film and pressing play, Roman walked back over to the bed and climbed in. this caused Janus to wrap his arms around Roman and placed his head on the creative side’s chest. “Umm, is this ok,” Janus asked unsure if it was alright to do so.

“This is perfect, Janus. It’s so much better than perfect.” Roman to said to reassure him. With that the pair of sides settled down to watch the film.

Janus was the first to fall asleep. Roman could tell by Janus’ breathing evening out. “I hope that we don’t have to fight for us to end up cuddling. I wish that we could do this anytime we wanted to.” Roman said as he ran his fingers through Janus’ soft hair. And soon Roman was lulled to sleep by the gentle snores that came from the snake side.

[collapsingintojupiter]

"You'll Always Be My Hero."

This fandom needs some Royality fluff after the last episode, so I present you this. It is a little angsty, but it's mostly just sweet bois I promise.

Characters: just Roman and Patton

Warnings: none, but let me know if I should add one.

---

It had been a miserable past few days. Roman had come down sick and was stuck at home--no friends, no family to visit; his parents had gone to stay with his grandparents when he started showing symptoms so they could still work. His boyfriend, Patton, though he texted faithfully, couldn't cuddle him like he always did when he felt down.

He was painfully alone.

Worst of all, Roman couldn't even seem to make things to cheer himself up. Writing was just too hard, drawing felt impossible...all he could do was binge old shows, text Patton, and cry himself to sleep sometimes. Not that he ever told Patton.

However, Patton had always been an intuitive sort.

One morning while Roman was trying to convince himself to get dressed, he got a text from his boyfriend.

Check your back door, it said. So Roman did. He went to the back door, blinking in surprise when he saw a paper plate full of cookies sitting on the welcome mat. He picked them up, finding a small note on top.

Go to the front door, it read, followed by a small heart. Roman smiled a little in spite of himself, and went to the door.

His family's front door had a glass pane on the right side that went all the way to the floor...and on the other side of it sat Patton. The curly-haired boy beamed at Roman as he came over, wearing a tank top and shorts and crazy hair that he hadn't done anything with in days.

He was a mess.

Patton didn't seem to care, he just smiled at Roman and patted the ground next to him. Roman obliged and and sat down on the other side of the glass, leaning tiredly against the wall. Patton glanced at him, then picked up his phone and pointed at it. Roman watched as he dialed his number.

His phone rang. He picked it up and answered it, a small grin appearing on his face as Patton's voice came through.

"Hey Ro-Ro," he said softly. Roman smiled at his voice.

"Hey, Pat. Thanks for the cookies." At that, the other boy grinned.

"My mom helped me make them just for you. I hope you like them." Roman glanced down at the plate he'd brought with him, then picked up one of the cookies and bit into it.

Oh, the taste was heavenly.

Roman ate that one, then grabbed another. Patton giggled as he finished it off too.

"These are amazing," Roman said. "As always." He put his hand against the glass, and Patton copied the motion on the other side.

"I love you," Roman said.

"I love you too," Patton answered. He paused. "How...how are you doing? You holding up okay?"

Roman forced a smile to his face. "I'm doing good!" He said brightly; fakely.

Patton's smile faltered. He knew. "Ro-Ro...you know you don't have to keep carrying the world on your shoulders...right?" At that, Roman's smile also faltered. He looked away.

"I miss getting to hug you," he said quietly.

"So do I," Patton replied. He pressed his forehead to the glass, and Roman leaned against the other side.

"I'll give you a great big bearhug as soon as I get better," Roman said.

"I'd like that." Patton smiled; said nothing more. Roman realized he loved that about him--Patton never pressed you to talk when you didn't want to, he just waited quietly until you did.

Oh, to hell with his pride.

Roman sighed. "I... I've felt terrible," he admitted at last.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I... I'm just tired of not being able to do anything. I see people in this stupid quarantine who write and draw and...I just can't. I'm too tired, and I feel all wrong all the time. I just can't do it." He sighed, letting his put-together facade fall away. Patton would understand...somehow he always did.

"I feel so useless, Pat. I haven't lost anyone, and my family still has their jobs...but I still feel awful. I miss my friends. I miss hanging out with Virgil, and going to Logan for help with my Chem homework, and the fun dates we went on... It's so stupid, but I miss how things used to be. I miss you..." Dammit, he was crying. Roman looked over at Patton, surprised to see tears slipping down his cheeks too.

"Oh Roman," the other boy said with a sad smile. "I miss all those things too. A lot of us do. It's okay to be sad..." He pressed his hand to the glass where Roman's cheek was on the other side. "I still love you. You don't have to prove yourself for me to love you, or your moms to love you, or for Logan and Virgil to love you. All of us love you, no matter what. When you're happy, when you're sad, when you're creating everything in the world or nothing at all... it's okay, Roman. You are not a burden."

The two teary-eyed boys looked at each other, and Patton smiled gently.

"No matter what, you'll always be my hero, Ro."

There was silence on the line as the two cried and leaned against each other; for a while Roman almost forgot the glass was between them, until he tried to hug Patton and realized he couldn't. He sighed, and Patton gave him a sympathetic look.

"I know," he said. "I promise...a big hug when you're better."

"Yeah..."

Maybe things would be okay after all. Patton had a way of convincing you they would just by being there.

And, well, if he had to wait to hug Patton again...it was worth it.

[zerefserigala]

We Hold it in The Most When We’re Wearing Thin

Relationship: Rogue Cheney/Freed Justine

Characters: Rogue Cheney, Freed Justine

Other: TW: Misgendering, TW: Aftermath of Misgendering

Link to AO3: Here

For: @ft-wwtdp​

Rogue hadn’t been able to breathe since they stepped into the guild hall.

It wasn’t just the stench of the sickly-sweet pastries, or the sound of the mages who were all just a bit too loud, though. Everything was loud and too warm and the room smelt like a sickly form of cheese. They knew that Freed could see their struggle, but he was the only reason they hadn’t immediately turned around and walked back out.

That excitement in their partner’s face was endearing and so sweet and Rogue didn’t want to ruin that. So they sucked it up, and up, and up… until they couldn’t feel their trembling fingers anymore. They could only smile and wave, trying to speak around the ball of anxiety lodged in their throat that only ever grew, never shrank.

‘He’ was floating all around them, fuelling the anxiety and making the trembling that much more prominent.

“I’m not a boy.”

They tried to say feebly, but their voice was lost to the music, and the other kept going on and on and on.

It stung. The ache only grew and Rogue couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, could only watch as the anxiety took hold.

And still, none of it hurt half as bad as when Freed reappeared at their side and led them out of the hall.

They had failed.

The streets all blurred into one and the journey home was only punctuated by the grounding feeling of Freed’s arm around their back and the streetlights that were too bright and too warm.

Their apartment was dark and Rogue sighed, letting their element surround them. They were home, and as they relaxed, fatigue began to set in. Still, they couldn’t bring themself to let it go before-

“I’m sorry.” Rogue muttered, letting Freed settle them down on the sofa and press a glass of water into their hands.

“No… I’m sorry.” Freed sighed, deflating. Rogue couldn’t help the grimace that swam through their body, and their lips instinctively moved around the words ‘it’s not your fault, it’s mine’, but Freed didn’t let him get there. “Can I touch you?” It was a request, gentle and accepting.

His answer came when Rogue slumped against him, their face nuzzled into the crook of his neck, yearning for Freed to take away the pain and replace it with love.

“I’m so sorry, Rogue, I shouldn’t have dragged you along… I knew you weren’t feeling well, but-”

“You were so happy.” Rogue muttered, swallowing back the tears as they pictured the glittering eyes, the excited smile, the way his hands clenched so adorably at the chance to see his old team again. Freed was so perfect, Rogue wished with all their being, that they could match that encompassing warmth and beauty, but their head ached with the effort to just make it through an evening.

“But-”

“I know you miss Fairy Tail, I would never keep you from seeing them.” They pressed on, reaching out behind Freed to put the glass of water on the table, they captured their lover in their embrace, with a kiss to the side of his neck.

“I do… but you mean just as much to me, as them, and your mental health is more important than a party.” Freed sighed, melting a little.

Rogue silently cursed themself, not sure that they’d ever be able to believe that. His mental health over Freed’s family? No… that didn’t sound right.

Their panic came and went, never leaving completely, until half an hour later, they were halfheartedly watching an episode of some show Rogue didn’t particularly care for.

“Are you okay?”

It took a moment for Rogue to realise that Freed had said something. They looked over, opened their mouth and closed it again. Were they okay?

“I don’t know…” They admitted, their eyes flicked away from Freed’s gaze, locking on the ornamental tea set that Levy had bought as a house-warming gift, to the cork-board filled with messages from Freed’s old team, to the tearing curtains that Rogue had been meaning to fix for months now. They looked anywhere but at Freed.

“That’s okay, do you want to talk about it?” Freed asked, reaching over, he nudged his fingers between Rogue’s.

“It’s just-...” Rogue cut themselves off, wincing as they realised that their anxiety had never actually settled. “... It’s just a lot.”

A piece of hair was tucked behind Rogue’s ear, brushing over their cheek, and it was all they could do to keep themselves from crying.

“Maybe… maybe it isn’t worth it…” They muttered finally, tension radiated throughout their body, leaving them frozen, unable to pull away or press in closer, whilst the aches and pains began to crash down.

“What are you-” Freed began.

“I mean the pronouns.” Rogue whispered. It hurt, it always hurt to watch that flicker of annoyance pass over people’s faces when they corrected them again, and again. Every sneer, roll of the eyes, every pause at Rogue’s request drove daggers into their heart that they didn’t know how to remove yet.

“Ro-”

“It’s not really a big deal, it’s not worth-”

“Sweetheart…” Flinching back, Rogue hid their face in their arms. They were losing grip on their emotions and Freed knew it and there was nothing they could do to stop this crash. “You’re always worth it.”

“They kept saying he, they wouldn’t- I-... I’m not a boy!” Any other time, Rogue would shudder at the raw desperation in their voice, but not tonight. Somewhere beyond the mist, they knew that Freed was here, he always was, and the week had just been so long, that they didn’t have the energy to hold it in anymore.

“You’re right, you’re not, they all should’ve respected that,” Freed whispered, and when his arms wrapped around Rogue, there was nothing they could do except collapse against his chest. Everything was just so loud, but Freed was safe.

“I’m not a boy, I’m not a ‘he’, I’m…”

“Don’t say broken.” He sounded so sad, and it cut through Rogue, deep enough to almost reach the tight ball of sadness. Almost. “You’re not broken.”

“Then what am I?”

“You’re Rogue, you’re the person I love most in the world.” Freed said it so simply, like it was so obvious, and Rogue expected it to make the ball inside constrict. Then it loosens instead and they finally pulled in the deep breath they’ve been searching for all night.

“But they-”

“They were wrong.” He keeps going. “Who you are inside is the one that matters, and no one can take away how brave and kind and thoughtful you are. You’re a gift, Darling. And who you are is so important. You don’t have to be simple or binary for others, all you need to be is yourself, and I love the person you are.”

There were so many words trapped behind their lips, apologies and thank you’s and I love you’s, but none of them made it out before the tears began to fall and rip sobs out.

“Everything about you is worth loving and protecting and understanding, and there are so many people who would go to the end of the world for you, and none of us think you’re a boy or a he or anything other than Rogue Cheney, the Shadow Dragon Slayer who loves cats and marshmallows.”

The puff of laughter felt ugly in contrast with the tears, but they couldn’t bring themselves to care.

“You bring so much joy to every day of my life, Rogue, and whilst I can’t promise everyone will be what you deserve, I can promise that I will always give you all of me.”

They just lay there and let Freed tug their darkness into the light and love it all the same.

[caffeinerem]

Royality fic/drabble

AN: first Sanders Sides fic! This has some spoilers for the latest episode. Also sorry if they’re out of character it was late when I wrote this.

Summary: hurt and comfort after SVS redux

————————————————————

‘I’m gonna go check on Roman’

Patton was very true to his word with that statement. Soon after he appeared back in the mind palace, the moral aspect made his way through the hallways. He eventually stopped at a door, specifically the door leading to Roman’s room. There was a pause before Patton knocked on the door.

“Go away!”

Patton flinched in surprise at the yell but he persisted.

“Roman, please just talk to me.” Patton pleaded with worry.

“I don’t wish to speak to anyone!”

Neither of them spoke for a few moments after that.

“Roman, I know you’re upset about Janus and-“

“OH THAT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT! HE COMPARED ME TO REMUS!”

“He did but you also made fun of his name when that must’ve been hard for him to even tell us that. Both of you were being mean to each other.” Patton spoke, trying to not to take either side of the dispute.

“...I know..”

There was another pause before the door to Roman’s room opened. Roman stood there with his eyes red from crying.

Patton quickly pulled the creative aspect into a tight hug. Roman immediately hugged back, letting out a sob.

“Hey Ro, it’ll be ok. You’re still Thomas’ hero and things can always get better between you and Janus.” Patton assured Roman while still hugging him.

“I-It’s hard to believe that. Since all I did was mess things up today.” Roman mumbled, slowly pulling away.

“We all make mistakes, sweetie, but it’s ok. We can learn from them and become better.” Patton remarked softly and letting go.

Roman eventually nodded “Thank you, dear. I appreciate you talking to me. Though I need some time to think, I’ll try to improve on this and consider options with Janus.”

Patton smiled brightly and hugged him again. “Thanks Ro.”

Roman hugged Patton back. “Of course, dear.”

The moral aspect eventually let go of Roman. “Well I’ll suppose I’ll let you think now.”

Roman paused “Well yes but maybe you could come back later? We could cuddle?” He asked with a small blush.

Patton gave him a fond smile and nodded. “Of course I will!”

Roman smiled a little as well. “I’m looking forward to it.”

As Patton walked away, Roman couldn’t help but smile more. Morality really had cheered him up and given him hope in these times. He couldn’t be more happy to have Patton in his life.

[victorious-rewrite]

Episode 1: Make it Shine SCRIPT

Synopsis: The Vega family returns to their home after a long summer vacation. Trina, Tori’s older sister, schedule a re-audition for Hollywood Arts, a prestigious performance art school, while Tori finishes up her missing assignments. Unfortunately, Trina’s audition is scheduled on the day her parents are returning to work, so she has to bring Tori with her. Excited with the chance to visit a prestigious art school, she eventually meets new friends and meets a new adventure. 

Trigger warning: Blood, Catcalling

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCENE 1

[The VEGA family is unpacking from their 3 month family reunion across the country. The house is filled with unpacked luggage all sprawled about. DAVID VEGA and HOLLY VEGA are unpacking the luggage and are chatting about the trip, while TRINA is talking on the phone about her re-audition. TORI is sitting on the family couch while she’s on the laptop, working on missing assignments due to her missing a few weeks of school.] TRINA: [Excited] So, I can get a re-audition this Friday after school? [Pause] You have no idea how tal- [Realization that the principle hung up on her] Wh- oh well. [TRINA dashed towards HOLLY and DAVID, excited]

TRINA: [Yelling] Mom! Dad! Guess who got a re-audition? HOLLY: [Holding a laundry basket full of laundry] [Interested] Oh? You got him to agree?

TRINA: [Excited] Yeah! It’s this Friday!

DAVID: [Grunts as he puts down the heavy luggage] Wait, this Friday? Your mom and I will be busy at work to watch over TORI- TORI: [Annoyed] Speaking of that, don’t you guys think I’m too old to be babysat? I’m 15, I’m old enough to have my own job. TRINA: [Places her hands on her hips and nods] Ya! Why can’t she just invite a couple of her friends over, so she won’t be home alone? HOLLY: You know how I feel about that..

[TORI huffs in annoyance as she goes back into working on her missing assignments. TRINA sighs in disappointment as HOLLY goes back into loading the laundry basket with dirty clothes. DAVID gets done with carrying heavy luggage, he walks into another room to rest.  HOLLY thinks of an idea. She stops what she’s doing.] HOLLY: You and TORI are going to the re-auditions on Friday, together. TRINA: Bu- HOLLY: No buts. You both are going and that’s final. TRINA: [Groans loudly] Fiiinneee… [Bossily, to TORI] But you better not mess this up for me! I don't want another fifth birthday fiasco! [TRINA loudly and sassily stomps into her room, upstairs. HOLLY finishes putting the last bits of dirty clothing onto the laundry basket and walks out of the main living room and into the laundry room. TORI looks around and sees that everybody left.]

TORI: [Squeals in excitement] I’m going to Hollywood Arts! Oh my god!! [Squeals even more]

SCENE 2

[TORI and TRINA are waiting backstage. The backstage looks a bit chaotic with students running around, making sure they have everything set for the re-auditions. TRINA sits there patiently as TORI looks around the room, looking very bored.]

TORI: [Groaning in boredom] Ughh, this is so boriiing

TRINA: [Calmly] Now now, Tori, remember that virtue.

TORI: [Matter-of-factly] You mean patience?

TRINA: [Annoyed] Yeah yeah, that.

TORI: And it's “Patience is a virtue”, Trina.

TRINA: Whatever! Potato, poe-tah-tow

[A black boy is sitting next to them, holding a book with some pieces of paper stuck out of it. He weighs his opinion in.] 

ANDRE: Actually, she's right. It’s “patience is a virtue” and nobody says poe-tah-tow.

TORI: Riiiight? Now just imagine living with her!

ANDRE: Yeah, I definitely don't know what it's like.

TRINA: [Angrily] I can hear you two, you know?!

TORI: [Smugly] That was the point.

[ANDRE gets a video call from ANDRE’S GRANDMA]

ANDRE: [Holds finger up] Hold up, I gotta take this.

[ANDRE answers the video call]

ANDRE’S GRANDMA: [On the phone, loudly and paranoid] ANDRE! WHY IS THERE A TINY MAN STUCK ON THAT BOY’S HAND?!

ANDRE: That's just a ventriloquist, grandma!

ANDRE’S GRANDMA: [Screaming] WHEN YOU GONNA DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE RAIN IN MY BATHROOM?!

ANDRE: [Annoyance] Grandma, I told you that’s just your shower! I gotta go, bye.

ANDRE’S GRANDMA: [Cautioning] Boy don’t you hang your phone up on me-

[ANDRE hangs up the video call] 

ANNOUNCER: ANDRE HARRIS! YOU’RE UP NEXT!

 ANDRE: [Gets up] I’d better get going. See you ladies around. 

[ANDRE does a two finger salute as he leaves to the main stage. TORI is bored again. TRINA seems to be too busy reviewing her re-audition script to notice.]

TORI: You know what? [Looks at TRINA with determination in her eyes] I’m gonna help those people there. [points at a literal redhead girl and a Jewish boy with an afro and a puppet.] 

[TORI walks up to them]

TORI: [Confident] Do y’all need help?

[They both turned towards TORI while holding some heavy equipment. ROBBIE seems to be struggling with his heavy load while CAT seems fine with her lighter load. The puppet is on top of the heavy load ROBBIE is holding]

ROBBIE: [Relieved] Oh god, yes! 

[ROBBIE hurriedly gave TORI the heavy load he was carrying. Startled, she stumbles back as the weight sets in on her. ROBBIE grabs a nearby load that seems to be lighter and the three of them starts walking to their destination.]

TORI: [Strained] I forgot to tell y’all my name, I’m Tori. I don’t go to this school, I go to Sherwood High-

CAT: [Excited] Oh Sherwood High? The public school? My brother used to go to that school [downcast] till he got expelled.. 

TORI: [Curious] Why did he get expelled? [shifts the weight of the heavy equipment]

[They reached their destination. TORI and ROBBIE puts down their equipment.]

CAT: Oh, [puts the equipment down] he dumped a bucket full of blood on a teacher.. [sits down on top of the equipment, lost in space]

TORI: [Disturbed] Wait, real- real blood or- 

ROBBIE: [Panics and changes the topic] Anyways.. [CAT snaps out of it] My name’s ROBBIE, [Points at CAT] her name is CAT-

TORI: Oh! Like the animal!

CAT: [Offended] What’s that supposed to mean?! 

TORI: [Confused but scared] Uh.. Nothing.. I love cats..

ROBBIE: Anyways.. We’re freshman in this school

[ROBBIE puts the puppet on his hands]

REX: [Irritated] You forgot about me!

[TORI looks shocked as the puppet reveals that he can talk but then remembered that ROBBIE is a ventriloquist]

ROBBIE: [Hurt] I was gonna introduce you..

REX: [Irritated] You didn’t cause you wanna keep this hot piece of woman all to yourself!

TORI: [Repulsed] Excuse me?

REX: [Proudly] Ya, I said it. You’re one fine-

ROBBIE: [Panicking and yelling] REX!

[ROBBIE covers REX’s mouth. REX struggles to talk, his head is shaking erratically until he realizes he can’t do anything so he gives up. TORI looks shocked, disgusted, and confused.]

CAT: [Pitiful] Don’t worry, Rex does this to every girl he sees..

[REX bites ROBBIE’S hand.]

ROBBIE: [Lets go of REX while yelping] OW!

REX: [Forthright and smugly] I’ve never done it to you..

[CAT gasps in shock and is hurt]

ROBBIE: [Furious] Ok mister, that’s a time out for you

[CAT opens a box and swiftly places the large equipment out of the box.] 

REX: [Begging] GAH WAIT NO PLEASE I TAKE IT BACK!

[ROBBIE shoves REX inside the box and flips it upside down. TORI stands there uncomfortably in the midst of it all. A few moments later, they start unpacking the boxes, TORI moves a bit close to CAT.]

TORI: [Hesitantly] [Whispers to CAT] Did ROBBIE just hit on me secretly?

CAT: [Whispers back to TORI] [Giggling] No! He has decency.. [Adjusts the knobs and wires of the sound equipment] Him and Rex are different people. Rex is an alter, Robbie had to learn how to speak without moving his mouth so Rex can speak without complicating things..

TORI: [Confused] [Still whispering] Alter? 

CAT: [Confused] [Whispering]  Um.. ya? People can have multiple people living inside one body.

TORI: [Half realization] Oh..

[They finish setting up the equipment, cleaning up the stray wires]

ANNOUNCER: [Calling] TRINA VEGA!

[TRINA runs towards the main stage in a rush] 

TRINA: Coming- 

TORI: [Struggling to untangle herself from the mess of wires.] TRINA, wait!

[TRINA trips on a stray wire and harshly falls down, face planting in front of the teachers. She groans in agony. TORI, ROBBIE, CAT, and the teachers/judges rushes towards TRINA in a panic. They drag her back to the back stage. They sat her on a chair. TRINA feels around her mouth and spits out two front teeth and some blood. She begins to cry as TORI panics. The teachers try to comfort her.]  

TORI: [Nervously] TRINA, it’ll be ok.. 

[TORI rubs TRINA’s back as she attempts to comfort her distressed sister] 

TRINA: [Sobbing even more] [with a lisp] No, ith’sth the nasth nay! I can’th new ith like thisth! 

[TORI comes up with an idea. Thrilled, she grabs a teacher’s attention.]

TORI: [Confidently] Can I talk to you in a quieter place?  

[The teacher nods and they walk to a calmer area.]

TORI: [Confidently] Can I audition in place of my sister? 

TEACHER: [Thinking] Ah.. You can.. But.. 

TORI: [Curious] But?? 

TEACHER: You have to make a song on the spot, including a full performance with choreography.

TORI: [Stage-fright] O-Oh.. [Makes up her mind] I’ll take it! 

SCENE 3

[TORI walked onto the main stage wearing a leather jacket, black pants, and a bright red crop top sweater. She held the microphone nervously and kept her eyes on the floor. The teachers on the judge table looked at her, expectantly.] 

TORI: [Slight confidence] I’m singing “Make it Shine”

[The teachers nodded and wrote on their clipboards. TORI hesitantly cue the sound technicians. They start playing the instrumentals. TORI stood there and sang. It started out a bit off key but she got more confident the more she sang. TORI started dancing along to the music, doing full on improvised choreography. The performance ends with the teachers applauding and cheering. TORI was sweaty, but she felt accomplished. The applause died down]

TORI: [Rests her posture] [Worn out] So.. How was that?

TEACHER: [Awe-struck] Amazing! You and your sister are going to Hollywood Arts!

TORI: [Shocked] I’m going too?! TEACHER: [Confused by TORI’S bewilderment] Yes? You are clearly very talented. So talented that you can easily fit in Hollywood Arts. [TRINA, DAVID, and HOLLY ran from stage left from the backstage to hug TORI as they heard the news.] DAVID and HOLLY: [Jumping up and down while holding TORI] OUR BABY GIRL IS GOING TO HOLLYWOOD ARTS! [Scene ends with the family in celebration. Hugging TORI tightly and jumping about, but TORI looks more nervous than excited.]

EPISODE END  

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

JULY PICKS

What emotions I experienced this month! Does the CW understand that they can’t have TWO series finales happen on back to back days? It’s hard enough to say goodbye to one show. From binge-watching to theater going there’s a lot to talk about; so let’s get started!

Are you really shocked that there’s a SPOILER warning? 

STRANGER THINGS

We’ll start with one of the first watches of the month: the third season of Stranger Things. I teased at the end of last months wrap up that I might do an entire post just on this last season, but time got away from me. Nonetheless, I’ll try to keep it short. (Or try) ;)

THIS IS ANOTHER SPOILER WARNING!! DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE THIRD SEASON OF STRANGER THINGS!! But I’m sure you have already. 

Don’t watch the finale at 12:30 in the morning or later, unless you want to cry. That was just me...okay. But seriously, why Hopper? Now I know since it was released everyone has theories that Hopper’s not gone for good. We didn’t see him turn to ash like those Russians. There was a look but not enough to warrant this is the end. And of course the notorious, “The American” line during the after the credits scene. I just hope this isn’t TOO overly obvious making it not true because that will really upset me...A LOT.  I love the fact that El is staying with Joyce. (It makes complete sense that she would.) Don’t love that she doesn’t have her powers. I thought it was interesting in the end how Mike and El are like ‘See ya later,’ because they’re moving, but Jonathan and Nancy feel like they’ll never see each other again. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be because El and Mike are kids and their love isn’t as deep? Either way I really hope this isn’t the end of Jonathan and Nancy. Big fan of Steve (as usual) and Robin and honestly just the whole Scoops crew (”It’s not America without Erica!”). They were definitely one of my favorite story lines of this season (and there were many). I feel bad that Steve is without love again this season, but I love his relationship with Robin and I think they did a great job introducing her character. I’m excited to see what happens next season with her. Overall, just really like all the relationships this season. Of course Dustin’s girlfriend is real and yes I haven’t been able to get that song out of my head since. Big fan of El and Max getting some girl time. El exploring the mall was one of my favorite scenes. It was also great to see so many old stores (shout out to Sam Goody!). While this season was definitely the darkest so far, I really liked the energy it brought and am excited to see what’s next. My only big suggestion is to give Will more actions than just touching his neck when something bad happens. We know he’s capable of so much more after season 2 and I’m upset he didn’t do more this season. Oh and always make sure to give us a cool team up scene where they circle around each other ready to attack. (See below--it’s the best one I could find, but you know what I’m talking about.)

Jane the Virgin

One of the two series finales I’ve watched this month. It’s so bittersweet when a show is over. You hope they do it right and don’t want any loose ends, and at the same time you’re so sad it’s over. (Or you have that weird feeling where you’re in denial and expect another new episode next week.) Jane the Virgin was a show that I started bingeing this year and I knew would be upsetting when it ended. (I mean I was upset when I had no new episodes to watch.) But I am really happy (and satisfied) with how they ended it. The hour long special prior to the finale was a nice touch looking back on the show and talking about how revolutionary it was for the time period (especially when it started). There still is nothing else like it on TV and I’m not sure anything ever will be like it again. I loved all the magical realism they included in it and how despite all the crazy moments (”speaking of telenovelas..”), it was so relate-able. As someone who was Team Michael from the beginning, I grew to really love Jane and Rafael. So the start of this season when Michael came back with his amnesia and then when he got his memories back was extremely frustrating and I wasn’t always excited to watch it. But once that plot was resolved it became more entertaining for me. I love Matteo and the girls. Petra’s character development was HUGE and she has become one of my favorites-especially her sisterhood with Jane. Xo and Ro, Alba and Jorge. It’s really sad to say good-bye to all of these characters. I might have to re-watch some old episodes...     

iZombie

Wednesday was Jane the Virgin’s series finale and Thursday was iZombie. Like I said earlier: really CW? After a “minor” hiccup of the episode not taping (Okay, I was really upset about the fact I had to wait to watch it on demand), I watched it the next day. This season there was SO MUCH going on from the Dead enders, to Fillmore Graves, and then Liv’s dad. As we were quickly approaching the end, I wasn’t sure how they were going to address everything and then I was really hoping that they weren’t going to drop the ball on anything. But the finale really delivered (as all seasons did). All of these story-lines came to a head and Seattle saw its war on zombism that was bound to happen. There were casualties and people becoming zombies that I didn’t see coming, but in the end the cure was FINALLY created. Lots of twists and turns to get there and then we jumped ten years. I liked looking into the future and hearing from Clive, Ravi and Peyton. Deep down I knew Liv couldn’t be dead, but they did have me worried for a little bit. Or for the fact that they didn’t know she was alive. So it was a really nice touch in the last few minutes where Liv and Major spoke with them. (Btw super happy that they were endgame. I desperately wanted it this season and they didn’t have too many scenes until the last few episodes, so I didn’t believe, but PHEW!) One question I still have is what is Seattle like now? Do only zombies live there now or is Liv’s family the only remaining zombies? It was a little confusing to me. Let me know if you better understood it.  

The 100

Disclaimer: I have not watched the finale..yet. I’m sorry. But this is relating to all the episodes leading up to it. 

Something I’m noticing with a lot of the shows this summer season is that the second half is more intriguing. I tend to save up a lot of episodes and then when a certain plot line starts to pick up I feel more invested. This season of the 100 has been like that for me. But since the group (or should I say Bellamy) discovered that Clarke was alive and then she fought with Josephine, I have found it really entertaining. I like the transformation that Octavia has gone through, Echo has really grown on me (believe it or not) especially since watching her backstory, and as usual Murphy is one of my favorites. In the last episode I watched when Clarke goes back and pretends to be Josephine I love how we got to see who Murphy was truly loyal to. And then when Clarke talks with them and he says Josephine called him John. So good. The only part I’m really not a fan of his Maddie’s story-line. i just feel like we’ve got so much other stuff going on that it feels forced. But then again it will probably play a big part in the finale. 

As a huge Bellarke fan since day one I have been taking in all of these moments between them these past couple of episodes and seriously feel like if they don’t get together next season (which is their last) it will be a mistake. Bellamy’s face when Clarke was dying...He needs her and her him. Come on Jason! (Okay rant over. If you want more Bellarke see my page: Lydia-yougowith-Stiles.)    

KRYPTON

I know this SYFY original started its second season back in June, but I truly didn’t start to catch up until July. (Like A LOT were saved on my DVR and I did seriously think about cutting it loose.) I enjoyed the first season and the story of Superman’s grandfather and was interested to see what would happen in season two. The beginning of this season felt slow for me though. I just wanted most of the characters reunited and to know that Seg was alive. I had a feeling Brainiac would somehow be in him because it would be too easy if the villain was gone. Once people started interacting with each other it held more of my attention and then once SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER.......  Lyta “died.” (It’s really only on a scifi show that you can put “died” in quotes.) That really through me off. I didn’t think she’d die. So was I completely shocked when it was revealed that she didn’t die and her clone did instead- a little? I was more upset. I felt like for her character to die would work because characters would transform and react in a way that would stir up the show. Like I said this was one of the reasons why I stayed tuned in. I mean there’s still a chance (haven’t watched the last episode of this either) that she will die, but I have a feeling she won’t. I like seeing Val alive and present on the show rather than just a hologram in the fortress. Seeing Dev and Jayna team up has been really great. I always enjoy Nyssa and Seg’s relationship and just about jumped up and down when JOR-EL GOT HIS NAME!!! You knew it had to be him all along, but at the same time I was like when is it going to happen? It was so epic with the dramatic pause and the Superman theme playing in the background. One of the best parts of this season (in my opinion). Now they just have to get him back. 

PANDORA

I feel like I’m watching a lot in the Sci-Fi genre this summer. This CW show was one that I hadn’t heard of before the first episode aired. It grabbed me because there were so many familiar faces in the cast. (If you’ve watched shows like The Librarians, Ride or Free Rein you’ll know what I mean.) It follows Jax who lived on one of Earth’s colonies called New Portland, which was recently bombed. She was the only survivor. As she makes her way to Earth, to live with her Uncle and attend the academy, she is on a mission to solve her parents’ death and discover what truly happened. This is VERY Sci-Fi (which shouldn’t come as a shock I know). It’s cast of characters include humans, telepaths, aliens, clones, and part cyborgs. In the first episode you’re introduced to A LOT of characters, so it’s a little information overload. I also find that when I start a new episode it often feels like you’ve missed a previous one or that you started midway. I think it’s because of the styling of the episodes. They often jump a lot of time without telling you, or think you understand a definition, but really don’t. (There’s something involving Jax’s past that I still don’t 100% get.) But there’s something about this show that has me actually caught up with episodes. Right now it feels very much like a first season because the episodes are (not to use the same word) episodic. Something happens and then is solved the same episode. There’s an overarching plot, but it’s just in the background (probably until the finale). With the large cast of characters there are also a lot of ships and almost everyone interactions lead you to believe they could be a couple, so i feel very conflicted. RIght now though I keep getting drawn back to Jax and Xander. 

The Outpost

This CW Fantasy debuted its second season not too long ago. (I feel like I group it with Pandora because 1) they’re both summer shows and 2) not your typical CW style. I like the representation of Fantasy and Sci-Fi on the network.) I enjoyed the first season last summer, but it is REALLY hard for me to get into this season. I usually put this show off for a couple weeks and watch it when I have nothing else to watch. I think it’s because of the new black blood as well as Gwynn’s plot. Maybe it’s because last season there was already so much action and looking at this season we are trying to get more names and summon a demon army for Gwynn who awaits the Prime Order. And that’s been going on for about 3 out of 4 episodes? (Wow there’s only been 4 episodes?) Last episode with the return of Garret I found myself liking it more. I also like how Dred isn’t the head villain. We now know who he answers to. So that will be interesting to explore. I just hope the show picks up a little more. 

AT THE MOVIES

Yesterday

I was very excited for this movie to come to theaters. I thought the concept was great-strange but great. What if you knew all the Beatles songs, but no one else did? Jack Malik is a struggling musician who just can’t get his big break, so when he gets hits by a car and is the only one who remembers the band he does what anyone else would: play the songs as if they were his. I enjoyed most of the movie (and the inclusion of others who also remembered the Beatles), but did not like the ending. It brought down the movie for me. I’ll be good with this one and not give much away, but after you watch it let me know what you think. 

Spider man Far From Home

Another movie that I was very excited to see in theaters and it did not disappoint. I was a fan of Homecoming and was interested to see Tom Holland as the webslinger once more. Great dynamics with the cast. Loved Ned and Betty’s relationship. Zendaya’s MJ is one of my favorites and I liked her awkward interactions with Peter and how she was suspicious of him. All the echos back to Tony made me tear up. The scene in the plane when Peter is making his suit and the same song from Ironman plays and he’s basically doing the same moves. It hurts to just think about it now. I didn’t know about Mysterio before going into the movie, but it still wasn’t a shock what his true motives were. Especially because it seemed solved so early in the film. I think his reasonings make complete sense, which made him an entertaining villain. When first seeing the trailer I didn’t know how I felt about Jake Gyllenhaal, but I really liked him (and all the interviews he did promoting the movie, especially this one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3FcCz2y2mM. Watch it. You’ll like it!) That first after credits scene was CRAZY! First I was dying at the return of J.K. Simmons and then the reveal! Can’t wait for it to come out so I can watch it again and again. 

*************************************************************************************

That’s a wrap! Any of my picks yours? If not what did you watch this month? Let me know in the comments!         

[anxceit]

just as the milky way dreamed

Summary: Roman and Patton plan a holiday celebration to end all holiday celebrations. There’s just...one small hitch.

Pairings: Platonic DLAMP 

Word Count: 5373

Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit. Let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: Hi there, @minshinxx​, I’m your Secret Sanders gifter! You mentioned you liked the 12 Days of Christmas and Fitting In episodes, so I figured I’d do a sort of “include the new family member” type of episode with Deceit! I hope you like it, and let me know if you have trouble accessing the full thing! Title is from “Beautiful Fiction” by Pinnochio-P, which is generally a very good song for Deceit. (Also, thanks to @starlightparade for letting me bounce ideas and for reminding me that I almost forgot the entire last scene.)

-

Roman hums along to a Christmas station on Spotify as he plans out the tree he wants to conjure this year. He’s been forced to wear headphones after Virgil slammed into his room to inform him that Thanksgiving was YESTERDAY, Princey, calm down, but he’s not letting that Ebenezer Snooze stifle his creative whimsy! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, after all!

A spiral-bound notebook drops with a slam onto his desk. He blinks down at it, up at Patton (who was not there a few seconds ago), and back down at the notebook. “Sanders FamILY Xmas 2018” is written across the cover in loopy handwriting, surrounded by holographic stickers of snowflakes and Christmas trees.

“I had a few ideas for caroling this year,” Patton explains. “It’s not super important, but if you get a chance...”

He’s vibrating.

Roman chuckles and sets his plans aside. “I’d love to see what you came up with,” he assures him.

Patton claps his hands together loudly, rocking on the balls of his feet. “Ooh, goodie! Thanks, Ro!”

Roman flips through the notebook. Patton’s ideas are far more targeted to each side than Roman’s were, including plenty of time off-stage for Virgil and a “beat poetry(?)” section for Logan. Stapled to one of the pages is a recipe for shortbread cookies with jam in the center. Patton has definitely been working on this since long before the holiday season.

He flips to the next page and stops abruptly. “Patton.”

Patton has taken it upon himself to untangle the Christmas lights Roman dragged out of storage this morning. “Yes?” He looks so hopeful, Roman almost hates to ask.

Almost. His Christmas needs to be perfect, and he can’t let a detail like this ruin it. “There’s a whole section in here for...Deceit.”

“Mmhmm! Is it good?”

Roman stares at him. “Is it...Patton. We cannot have Deceit at our celebration.”

Patton’s brows knit together. “Why not? He’s been in videos before.”

“Because,” Roman snaps, frustrated. “He’s Deceit. He’ll ruin everything. This celebration is supposed to be for the family.”

Patton abruptly stands to approach Roman, but gets tangled in the Christmas lights and falls flat on his face. Roman cries out and jumps up to help him.

Patton takes his hand and sits up. He sniffles, rubbing at his eyes as Roman hands him his glasses. “I just don’t want to see anybody get excluded again.”

Roman will not cave. He won’t. Patton is cute, and Roman feels bad that he fell, but Christmas is important. He’s not going to just—

Patton is crying now.

Roman caves. “Alright, fine, Deceit can come to the Christmas celebration.”

Patton launches forward into Roman’s arms, and Roman rubs circles into his back as he calms himself down.

Eventually he sits up straight again, beaming even though his face is still red. “Thank you, Roman! This is going to be great, you’ll see!”

Roman sighs. “Of course it will,” he declares. “After all, you and I are planning it!”

Patton giggles. “We’re the best team, huh?”

“Of course.” Roman hops to his feet and grabs the notebook again. He leans against his desk to read. “You’re right, though,” he says to the page, “we don’t know much about Deceit.”

“He’s a very private person,” Patton agrees. “But we still need to do our best!”

“Of course, of course.” Roman waves him off, wheels starting to turn. “Why don’t you go...get cleaned up a bit, and I’ll do some brainstorming.”

Patton nods. He knows better than to get caught up in Roman’s brainstorming after that time Logan almost got clocked in the head with a book. He sinks out just as things start to rattle.

-

Three days later, Patton and Roman sit together on Roman’s floor, looking over the revised copy of the planning book. It’s somehow evolved from a simple carol set into a full play, complete with costume ideas and set design. The basic script is written out, too—a cutesy special in which a single nonbeliever is taught the meaning of Christmas by loving friends.

“Oh, you designed costumes and everything,” Patton whispers, turning the pages with admiration. “Roman, this is amazing!”

Roman winks at him. “Why, of course. You did come to the best, after all.”

“Oh, and it’ll let us bring Deceit into the celebration too,” Patton realizes. "This is the best idea ever!"

-

"This is the worst idea ever," Virgil says. He's staring up at Patton and Roman from the couch, brows knitted together in an incredulous frown. Patton wilts visibly. "I mean, like, no offense, it's cute, it'd be great with just the family..."

"Which we want Deceit to feel part of," Patton reminds him firmly.

There's a beat of silence. "...Anyway, there's no way Deceit will go for this." He scans their faces for understanding. Finding none, he sighs and sits up properly on the couch, dropping the notebook on the coffee table so he can rest his head on his hands. "Listen, Pat, you know how I had to ask you to stop with the cutesy nicknames?"

Patton nods. "I really am sorry, I didn't mean..."

"I know you didn't mean it," Virgil reassures him quickly, "but that's because I knew you for a while beforehand. I knew you weren't trying to be insulting."

Roman lifts up the notebook to scan the page it's flipped open to. "So...you think Jekyll and Lies will believe we're making fun of him?"

"First of all, he's used that pun for himself more times than I can count, so you're not allowed." Roman pouts. "But, uh, yeah, he'll flip his shiiii-lid if you try to talk him into this, and it'll be forever before he speaks to you again."

Patton hangs his head. "...I really wanted this to work out," he admits.

Roman looks from Patton to Virgil, who shifts uncomfortably on the couch. He raises his eyebrows. Virgil shrugs and shakes his head. Roman reaches over and gently pats Patton on the back.

Patton sniffles.

"Okay, alright, fine," Virgil bursts out, "I might be able to figure out a way to make it work, please don't cry."

Patton's head jerks up, bad mood completely cleared. "Let's get started then!"

-

Logan was only planning to fill his water glass when he came downstairs. Of course, things can never be that simple with a family like his.

The coffee table has completely vanished. In its place, the three members of Logan's family are sitting in a circle around a piece of poster paper, chattering in a low whisper and giggling. As Logan watches, Patton says something so uproariously funny that it causes Virgil to fall on his back with laughter.

Logan walks over to investigate (his first mistake), standing directly over Patton (the second error) in order to check on Virgil.

"Hey, Specs," Virgil greets, without bothering to sit up.

"Am I interrupting something?" Logan asks, tilting his head. "You all seem to be enjoying yourselves."

"Actually..." Roman draws out the last vowel in his typical dramatic manner, grinning. "I think you're just in time to join us."

Logan pauses and waits for further clarification (strike three). Patton takes advantage of his momentary hesitation to reach up and yank him down by his tie.

He refuses to admit to the undignified noise he made in response.

-

Virgil knocks on Deceit's door, Patton and Roman flanking him on either side. "Hey, Deceit," he calls. "Are you decent in there?"

"Morally?" comes the immediate response. "I'm insulted you even feel the need to ask."

Virgil rolls his eyes good-naturedly and pushes the door open. Patton and Roman follow him in.

Deceit glances up at them with mild interest from his desk. "Oh, Patton and Roman as well! To what do I owe the pleasure? I do hope I'm not in trouble again..."

"We...actually need a small favor," Roman responds. Deceit's eyebrows rise.

"So, uh, every year they do a little Christmas carol...musical...thing," Virgil explains, gesturing to the other two. "Patton and Roman write it, and Logan just gets sucked in. Well, this year they need someone to play a villain role. Roman refuses to do it, Patton won't let me do it—" Patton's back straightens as he nods – "but nobody can take Patton seriously, and Logan...I love him, but he can't act anything but annoyed."

Deceit snorts and leans back in his chair. "I fail to see what this has to do with me."

"We need a villain and you owe us for the stuff you pulled with Patton." Virgil drops a pile of papers on the desk. "That's your script. The performance is in a week."

"Thank you for the help," Patton adds, slowly dragging the other two out of the room as Deceit watches.

"Virgil," he calls, "if you would wait a moment."

Patton and Roman freeze, but Virgil waves them off and strolls back inside alone, shutting the door behind him. Deceit picks up the script and skims through it. He slowly rounds his desk and stalks up to Virgil, backing him up against the door.

He taps Virgil on the nose with the script. "Don't lie to me again," he drawls.

Virgil pushes Deceit's arm aside with a crooked smirk. "Just humor them, okay? They worked hard on this." He opens the door behind him and ducks out again.

"They'd better live up to the hype," Deceit tells him as he leaves.

"Hope you're good at improv!" Virgil calls back, disappearing.

-

“Isn’t this a bit ambitious?” Logan asks, looking around at the beginnings of the set Roman has been working on. “Last year it was a simple carol, not a musical.”

“And we couldn’t get through that without fighting the whole time,” Roman agrees, “even without Deceit present.”

“...Yes.” Logan stares at Roman where he hangs upside-down from an overarching beam. “So why are we doing something even bigger?”

“Because it’ll be fun!” Patton chirps. Roman gives him a thumbs-up and swings back onto the beam to keep working.

-

Virgil slams into Deceit’s room without a word. “Virgil?” Deceit asks, startled. “Do you need something?”

“Gotta borrow you for a sec,” is all Virgil offers as explanation before hooking his arms under Deceit’s and lifting him off the ground.

“Virg—what are you—I can—hey!” Virgil drapes Deceit over his shoulder and carries him out of the room. “Was this really necessary?” he mutters into Virgil’s shirt.

“Mmhmm.” Virgil pats him on the back. As he carries him down the stairs, he calls, “I got him!”

“Perfect,” Deceit hears Patton cheer. “Now we can get started!” Virgil drops Deceit on the ground and blithely ignores the vicious glare Deceit turns on him.

All three of the Light Sides are standing in the middle of the living room, staring at him and Virgil. “Get started with what...?”

Patton claps his hands together. “The Secret Santa assignments, of course! It’s so much fun when you don’t know who your gift will be from!”

“...Right,” Deceit says. “Forgive me for repeating myself, but what does this have to do with me?”

“You’re part of the cast!” Patton and Roman chorus. Logan offers Deceit a sympathetic glance.

Roman turns aside to where a small pile of folded scrap paper lies. “Let me just put these all in...”

Virgil cuts him off. “Here, use this.” He swipes Deceit’s hat off his head and hands it to Roman.

“Hey!” Deceit cries. “Give that b—I mean...do what you want.” He crosses his arms tightly over himself.

Patton pouts at Virgil. “Virgil, don’t be mean.” Virgil shrugs.

“Is it alright if we use this?” Roman asks, waving the hat towards Deceit.

“Whatever.”

“...Alright! Let’s get started then!” Roman sweeps the papers up and into the hat, making sure to mix them up well. He then extends it into the center of the circle with a flourish. They all reach in and take a scrap.

Deceit unfolds his paper. As soon as his eyes flash across the name written on it, his face twists into a grimace. Next to him, Logan hums contemplatively.

“Alright, everybody got one?” Roman asks.

Deceit glances up at Roman and nods. Virgil gives him a thumbs-up. Patton, who is nearly vibrating with excitement, sings, “Yup!”

“Nobody got themselves, right?” Silence. “Deceit?”

Deceit rolls his eyes and snips, “Your observational skills are unparalleled, Roman. Of course I got myself. Now, give me that.” He snatches his hat out of Roman’s hand. “If we’re all done here, I have nowhere better to be.” He stalks back upstairs.

They watch him go. Patton leans over to Roman. “That could have gone better,” he murmurs.

“Do you think he’ll actually make a gift?” Logan questions.

Virgil nods. “He will. He won’t be happy about it, but he’ll do it. He’s probably going to try and show Roman up just because he’s irritated.”

Roman chuckles. “I’d like to see him try.”

-

Roman paces backstage. “I gave him a very specific time to be here so we could all get ready!” he shouts. “Is that really too much to ask?”

Patton bites his lip, glancing at the other two. Logan looks vaguely concerned, at least. Virgil just seems bored. “Virge, should you go get him?”

“Nah, he’ll probably be...oh, there he is.” Virgil glances up just as Deceit breezes into the room, completely unconcerned about his own tardiness.

“Deceit!” Roman cries. “Where have you been? I needed to have you in costume twenty minutes ago so I could make adjustments!”

Deceit gives him a once-over, then glances at the other Sides. Patton and Roman are dressed in matching red-and-green outfits complete with copious amounts of glitter and shoes with bells on the tip. Virgil is in a similar but far less ostentatious outfit, far closer to a formal suit than the almost elvish inspirations of Patton and Roman’s designs. Logan is the only one who looks different. He’s in a deep navy blue outfit with a sheer cape and silver trim.

“What happened to your glitter?” Deceit teases Virgil, who shrugs.

“Didn’t want to be a main role,” he explains simply. “Too embarrassing.”

“I see.” He puts a gloved finger to his chin and turns back to Roman. “Well, as much as I’d love to see what you have prepared for me, I have my own outfit.” He winks at him and vanishes. “See you on stage!”

Roman glares at the spot where he was standing.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Logan whispers to Virgil. Virgil snorts.

-

Patton falls to his knees in front of a trashed toy shop. Roman runs up next to him, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder as he surveys the damage done to their shop.

Opposite them, Deceit stands on one of the only unbroken tables. He’s wearing a tailored black suit with a green dress shirt, looking the part of a businessman. He gives them a sly smile as he watches their reaction to the destruction he’s caused.

“Who are you?” Roman demands. “Why are you doing this?”

Deceit chuckles. “Oh, my name isn’t that important. I’m just part of a system, after all. And as for why I’m doing this, well...” He shakes his head. “You’ll just have to find out, won’t you?”

“You won’t get away with this,” Roman seethes.

“Oh, won’t I?” Deceit tilts his head. “Try and stop me then.” He steps backward and vanishes in a puff of smoke just as Roman reaches for him.

Patton sniffles behind Roman, who returns to wrap him in a hug. Patton returns the hug, crying into Roman’s shirt, “Our shop...how will we be ready by Christmas now?”

“Not to worry about that,” echoes a voice from behind them. A beam of light shines into the shop, and the wreckage begins to levitate, putting itself back in order as if guided by an invisible force. Patton and Roman whirl around just as Logan strides in, twirling a silver rod between his fingers.

“How did you...?” Patton starts, but Logan cuts him off.

“If you don’t mind, I actually have a request for you two.”

-

Patton looks down at his new uniform as he and Roman wander a forest path. “Still, isn’t saving Christmas a lot?” he asks doubtfully. “I mean, we’re just toymakers.”

Roman shrugs. “If it falls to us to defend the spirit of the holiday, then I’ll fight with all my power!” he declares. He draws his sword (newly obtained from Logan along with Patton’s) to punctuate the statement, and narrowly misses slashing Virgil in the face as he backs away with a yelp and falls to the ground. Patton gasps and puts a hand to his own sword, and Roman brandishes sword at the interloper. “Who are you?” he demands.

“H-hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” Virgil stutters, leaning away from the sword. “You guys met my boss earlier, right? Green shirt, stupid smirk?” Roman and Patton share a glance and nod. “Well, uh, I want to help you. I don’t like what he’s doing, and I want to try and save Christmas.”

-

Deceit turns as the trio enters, facing them with a confident smile. “Ah, it seems you’ve caught up to me,” he purrs, “and with one of my own associates, no less.”

Roman and Patton draw their swords. “We won’t let you threaten Christmas any longer!” Roman shouts.

“Really?” Deceit tilts his head and chuckles. “Well then—” he holds out a hand, and a slim silver rapier materializes— “let’s see you try.”

-

Deceit holds his hands up, allowing his sword to clatter to the ground. “Alright, alright, I concede,” he says. “I, alone, am not strong enough to defeat the three of you.” Roman grins and sheathes his own sword, while Patton drops his entirely in order to run up and hug Roman from behind. Caught up in their celebration, neither of them notice Deceit’s eyes catch on something behind them.

“Don’t you think it’s time to come clean, boss?” he purrs.

There’s a half-second pause, and then the point of a sword presses into Patton’s back. He and Roman both whirl around to find Virgil smirking at them, weapon now aimed at Patton’s heart. His outfit shifts before their eyes to become a perfect mockup of Deceit’s, with a red shirt instead of green.

“Virge?” Patton gasps. “Wh...what are you doing?”

Virgil chuckles darkly, holding his head high to look down on Roman and Patton. “Did you really think I had defected to your side?” he asks mockingly.

Patton and Roman exchange glances. “Um...yes?” Roman says.

“Idiots!” Virgil stabs forward with the sword, and Roman sweeps Patton behind him to shield him. “This ‘Christmas’ you’re protecting is a sham! It’s nothing more than a corporate ploy to force people to spend more money!”

“We’re just trying to bring joy to the world!” Patton defends.

Virgil laughs again, shaking his head slowly. “Wake up! You’re not bringing joy to anyone! You’re just teaching greed!” He stands up straighter, swinging his sword out to the side to punctuate his next statement. “Now, stand down...unless you plan to die for that blind faith of yours.”

“Virgil, no,” Roman hisses.

“Yes, and...” Behind Roman and Patton, Deceit has recollected his weapon and aimed it at the two of them. He purrs, “Now, why don’t you show us that Christmas spirit of yours?”

Roman unsheathes his katana once more, while Patton scrambles for his, but just before they launch into battle Virgil holds up a hand. “One sec.” He turns his head to the side of the stage. “Hey, Lo, you wanna get in on this?”

Logan peeks out from the wings. “Must I?” He produces a copy of the script and leafs through it, frowning. “It seems somewhat contrary to my characterization thus far.”

“You can hit Roman with a sword,” Deceit offers.

There’s a brief pause while Logan considers this. He sighs and drones, “Oh, no, I seem to have fallen under the influence of those dastardly villains.”

“Logan,” Patton cries, “not you too!”

Deceit conjures a rapier and tosses it to Logan. “They were just too convincing,” Logan says, still deadpan even as it lands at his feet. He picks it up robotically.

“Alright,” Virgil says, turning to the other two with a sharp grin. “Now we can get started.”

-

Midway through the battle, Logan bumps Virgil out of the way to square off against Roman one-on-one. “Listen to me,” he hisses as Roman swings forward at him, “I need everyone to stop fighting. I think I have an idea.”

Roman pauses. “Do something dramatic,” he advises. “That works for me every time.” He rushes past Logan after Virgil once more.

Logan taps his chin, looking up at the ceiling for inspiration. Something dramatic... “Ah.”

The stage lights go out, bathing the room in darkness. A single spotlight cuts through the dark, illuminating Logan alone. “Everyone, please, stop this.” He tosses his own sword aside and spreads his hands outwards. “We’re all fighting for the same thing.”

A second spotlight shines down on Roman. “What are you talking about?” he demands. “They’re trying to destroy everything we’ve worked for!”

“Listen,” Logan says, serene. The light glitters on the silver trim of his jacket. “You’re working to keep Christmas joyful. They aim to rid it of the commercialism which has become so pervasive in its celebration.” He walks up next to Roman and spreads a hand towards him. He gestures with the other at Virgil, who is kneeling in a sudden third light. “Rather than this pointless infighting, would it not be more prudent to join hands and work together to save the season?” Roman and Virgil lock eyes, hesitant. Slowly, Virgil stands and offers a hand to Roman, who shakes it firmly. The stage lights come back on, and Patton dashes across the stage to lift Deceit into a hug.

Snow begins to fall over the five of them.

Patton looks up into it, still holding Deceit’s arm with both hands. “I think this is going to be a good Christmas,” he murmurs.

The curtains fall.

-

They all drop into the living room, in their normal clothes once more. Patton sidles up next to Roman. “So did everyone have fun?”

“I know I did!” Virgil says, grinning.

“Of course you did,” Roman grumbles, “you take joy in ruining my cre—” Patton elbows him in the side. “I mean...you were very cool on stage.” Virgil grins at him, obviously ignoring the slight.

“It was rather enjoyable,” Logan admits. “What did you think, Deceit?”

Deceit blushes and looks away. “It was...fine.”

“Just fine?” Virgil nudges him, and Deceit slaps his hand away.

“Are we doing this stupid Secret Santa thing or not?” Deceit demands, crossing his arms.

Roman’s face brightens immediately. “Oh! I’ll go first!” He extends his hand with a flourish, and a wooden box appears in his palm. “Patton, I drew your name.”

Patton gently takes the box into his hands, glancing only briefly at the small rod sticking out from the side. “Oh,” he coos, “it’s so pretty!”

Roman grins wider. “Go ahead and open it.”

Patton blinks at him, then undoes the small clasp on the front. When he opens the lid, staccato notes begin to play in a soft rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” as the rod spins.

“It winds itself so that the rhythm stays steady. I think that song is an excellent fit for you, wouldn’t you say...?” Roman trails off. “Patton? Are you crying?”

Patton sniffles and rubs at his eyes. “It’s just...really sweet. Thank you, Roman.” Deceit shoots Virgil an bewildered look. Virgil shrugs.

“Are you okay to keep going?” Logan asks. “Or should we come back to you?”

Patton shakes his head, inhaling sharply. “No, I’m good!” The music box vanishes, presumably to his room, and he puts his hands on his hips. “Let’s keep this party moving! Virge, I got you!”

“Oh!” says Virgil in a vaguely terrified tone. Roman winces in sympathy.

“...So I made you some cookies!” Patton hands a Tupperware container across the circle to Virgil, who pops it open. He pulls out a dark brown cookie and stares at it, puzzled. Patton leans in conspiratorially and whispers, “They’re dark chocolate.”

Virgil snorts suddenly at that. He immediately reels back and covers his mouth, dropping the cookie back into the container. Glancing around at the others to make sure none of them are judging him, he closes the lid and mutters, “Thanks, Pat.” Patton smiles widely at him, and he returns the favor with a crooked grin of his own. “So, I, uh...” He lets the cookies vanish. “I had Logan, and I was trying to think of something practical to give him...”

“Always appreciated,” Logan interjects, nodding.

Virgil hesitates. “Uh...so I ended up deciding on this, because I figured it’d have to come into use sometime. Like, statistically. And stuff. Here.” He hands a small object off to Logan, who flicks it open to reveal a Swiss Army knife.

Logan’s eyebrows rise. “Hm. Interesting.” He pockets it. “You are correct in seeing it as a pragmatic gift, although I hadn’t considered obtaining one myself. Thank you, Virgil.”

Virgil huffs, looking away. “Glad you like it.”

Logan inclines his head in Virgil’s direction, then turns to Deceit. “Well, I received Deceit’s slip.”

Deceit jumps, as though he’d forgotten he’d be receiving a gift in the exchange. “Great.” Logan ignores him.

“Well, I don’t know you particularly well, seeing as you do your best to avoid contact with the four of us, but...considering your reptilian nature, I hope this is satisfactory.”

Deceit catches the yellow stuffed snake Logan tosses him. He stares at it in disbelief. “Really creative, Logan. Nobody’s ever thought of a toy snake before,” he deadpans.

Logan raises an eyebrow and snaps, “Can I finish? I wasn’t finished. Is it okay if I finish?”

“Oh, please, go ahead,” Deceit says, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

“Are you sure?” They glare at each other for a moment. Logan sighs. “As I was about to say, the snake is filled with flaxseed. It can double as a bedwarmer if you microwave it.”

Deceit considers the snake for a moment. “...Alright then,” he concludes, “seems I was correct earlier.”

“Apology accepted,” Logan responds with a smile. “You’re welcome for the gift.” Deceit rolls his eyes at him without malice.

He sighs. “Well, obviously, I didn’t get Roman.” He produces a box wrapped in red paper, with a gold ribbon, and hands it to Roman carefully.

Roman immediately starts to tear into the wrapping, but Deceit hurriedly puts a hand on top of Roman’s. “Don’t...!” Roman gives him a confused look. He sighs. “...Open it when you get to your room.”

“Don’t open it here?” Roman confirms. He looks down at the box and back up at Deceit. “What is it, a bomb?”

Deceit throws his hands up in exasperation. “Yes, of course, I got you a bomb for Christmas.” He gathers the snake under one arm and turns sharply to leave. “If we’re all done here, I’d absolutely love to stay.”

“Aww, come back,” Patton cries. “We were about to have our holiday movie marathon!”

“Have fun with that,” Deceit shoots back. Patton deflates.

Virgil looks up and swings an arm loosely around Patton’s shoulder. “Yeah, I don’t blame you for leaving,” he calls to Deceit’s retreating back. “Patton gets really clingy on movie nights, especially when the weather’s this cold. Must be nice to get some time alone.”

Deceit pauses on the first step. Virgil leans forward and continues, “Sometimes I wake up completely trapped. I guess I’ll deal with it though, since you’re going off on your own.” Patton opens his mouth to say something (apologize for invading Virgil’s personal space?) but Virgil merely winks at him and gestures toward Deceit.

Deceit sighs. “Well, I suppose we all must make sacrifices.” He whirls around, cloak furling outwards. “I’ll stay down here, and see if we can’t lessen that burden on you.”

Virgil puts a hand to his heart. “My hero,” he croons. “Come help me make popcorn then.”

He drags Deceit into the kitchen, leaving the other three Sides to watch in varying states of relief and bewilderment.

“I cannot believe that worked,” Logan whispers to Roman.

Patton claps his hands together joyfully. “What movie should we watch first?”

“The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Virgil and Deceit chorus. Patton gives Roman one final, grateful hug and turns to the DVD stack.

-

Deceit was gone when they awoke the next morning, disappointing Patton (who had cheerfully cuddled Deceit for as long as he was allowed). He bounced back quickly, though, at the sight of Deceit’s gift to Roman, still lying unopened on the table. He had pressed it into the arms of a barely-awake Roman and shuffled him off to his room to open it alone “since he asked you to, and you should respect that!” Not that it really mattered either way, since Logan was in the kitchen making coffee and Virgil was still asleep upside-down on the couch.

Roman flops down on his bed, bouncing twice on the mattress, and sets to tearing open the wrapping paper. He doesn’t know why Patton’s so excited. Deceit’s so rude all the time! He probably wanted Roman to wait just so that the other Sides wouldn’t see how crappy his gift was.

He tosses the lid off the box and freezes as the contents shine in the light of his room. He lifts the accompanying placard with gentle hands. Written in gold calligraphy, it reads “This seemed the most befitting of your status. Every prince needs one, after all.”

Roman suddenly feels very, very underdressed.

He swaps his pajamas for his proper princely regalia and takes a few seconds to brush out his hair properly. With that settled, he reaches into the box and removes the crown Deceit gifted him, taking a moment to admire the way the inlaid rubies catch the light before setting it carefully on his head.

It’s a perfect fit, naturally.

Roman strides over to the full-length mirror he uses whenever he considers a costume change and spends a few moments trying out different dramatic poses. The weight on his head is strange, but he figures he’ll get used to it after wearing it every single day for the rest of his life. He hides his face in his hands briefly to contain his excitement, then stands up once more and straightens his clothing.

Roman rises up in the living room in his pose of choice (one hand over his head, the other on his hip) and looks out at his family with a smirk. “Hello, nerds.”

Patton lets out the loudest squeal any of them have ever heard in their life.

“Wow,” Logan agrees, pausing midway through a sip of coffee.

Virgil, still lying upside down, raises his eyebrows. “Damn, he really did show you up.”

Roman huffs, refusing to allow Virgil’s gloomy outlook to ruin one of the best gifts he’s ever received. “I prefer to call it creative competition. Anyway, guys, how cool is this?” he gushes. “Look, there’s rubies in it and everything!”

Patton claps his hands to his cheeks. “It’s perfect!” He bounces up to Roman. “Looks like he did the opposite of ruining Christmas, huh?”

“I suppose that’s to be expected,” Logan muses, “since opposites are his whole...thing, so to speak.”

Virgil finally sits up properly. “Well, you have two months ‘til his video anniversary thing you guys do. Better get working.”

“Right!” Roman snaps. “I’ll show him who’s the real creative boss then!”

Logan squints at him. “...It’s obviously you. That’s literally the name of your aspect, I don’t...” Virgil waves him off.

“Before all that,” Patton interjects, “let’s have breakfast! Little princes need a healthy diet, you know!”

Virgil hauls himself off the couch to follow Roman into the kitchen. He stops him just outside and mutters, looking away, “It really does suit you, y’know.”

Roman beams. “Why, thank you, Virgil! It’s rare to receive such a kind compliment from you.”

Virgil’s face goes red even as he scoffs, “Just get in the kitchen already,” and pushes Roman inside to join his family.

[ilovemygaydad]

Friends in Dark Places [ch 15]

pairing: moxiety, logince, background eventual remile, background eventual remy/emile/deceit

WARNINGS: mentioned panic attack, mentioned depressive episode, depression, anxiety, verbal arguments, insults, kissing, PDA, self hatred, internalized homophobia, mentioned PTSD, food mentions, eating, swearing,  anger, yelling, fighting, misunderstandings, crying, possibly something else

tag list: @hufflepuffgirl01 @cocobearthe4th @cas-is-a-hunter@band-be-boss-blog @theunoriginaldaisy

a/n: jsyk, it’s totally okay to ask for a modified chapter if you need it or if i need to add tags! i get it, and it’s no problem for me to quick edit a chapter or whatever :) also, feel free to send requests or questions that you have!

first - previous - next - companions

consider buying me a coffee (please)

-

Mrs. Shea called Patton down about an hour before dinner. Although he’d expected this conversation, the whole depressive-spiral only made things more stressful.

“So what happened last night, honey?” She took a sip of her tea.

“Virgil had a panic attack, obviously. I think that after the first slow song, the abrupt shift in volume overloaded his brain, and he just needed to get out. He fled pretty soon after, so I went to go calm him down. And then, um…” Patton paused. He was hesitant to share the next part.

“Go on, Pat. Everything you say is completely confidential.”

“Then Virgil kissed me.” Patton’s voice was barely a whisper. The embarrassed heat in his cheeks was nearly unbearable.

“Did you kiss him back? Oh my gosh, is he a good kisser?” Mrs. Shea pressed, a giddy smile on her face.

“Mom!”

“At least tell me tell me that you didn’t leave him hanging.” She wiggled her eyebrows jokingly.

“Mother!”

“Alright, alright,” her voice returned to being serious. “And what about this morning? It’s so unlike you to lock yourself up like that, honey.”

Patton bit his lip. “I overthought things. I got it in my head that I wasn’t good enough for Virgil, so I holed myself away because then I wouldn’t have to deal with it. But then Logan forced me to talk with Virgil, and we had a really good heart-to-heart and ended up making things official.”

There were a few beats of silence. “So did you kiss him?”

“Yes, mom! I kissed my boyfriend!” Patton exploded, running a hand through his hair.

“I’m glad that--unlike Roman and Logan--you two finally got your shit together so I won’t have to deal with your ridiculous heart eyes anymore.” Patton choked on his tea, and Mrs. Shea just shook her head in amused irritation. “Those two are just insufferable! Like, can you imagine crushing that hard on someone without realizing that it was requited? Clueless morons.”

“What?” Patton sharply coughed, trying hard to get a handle on his incident.

“Oh, don’t tell me you can’t see it, too! They never stop staring at each other; it’s disgusting.” She took a gentile sip of her tea, as if she hadn’t said a word.

“No, no! I have; trust me. I didn’t realize that you noticed. God, and you don’t even have to hang out with them! Roman constantly flirts with Logan, but Lo’s so clueless he doesn’t understand. But, of course, when Logan tries to compliment Roman, Roman takes it as Logan trying to learn slang terms. It’s literal torture!” Patton sighed, leaning forward on his hands. It had been a long time since he’d had a nice chat with his mom, and he had missed it.

“Please, Pat. I’m begging you. Play matchmaker for them. They’ll never get there themselves,” Mrs. Shea said with an air of actual worry in her voice. Roman and Logan were like her sons, and she couldn’t stand the thought of them ending up with someone else and, worse, unhappy.

“I will, mom.”

---

“Patton… I know that look, and I don’t like it. What are you planning?” Virgil’s voice was cautious as he caught up with his boyfriend after dinner. Patton had practically leapt from the table; his signature plotting face securely in place.

“Mom gave me an idea,” Patton said simply, rounding the corner and climbing the stairs.

“No shit. I gathered that much, but what is that idea?” He was beginning to get anxious. He didn’t like surprises in the slightest, and this was certainly a surprise.

“It’s about Logan and Roman. After mom and I talked, we realized we needed to do something about them.” Patton swung open his bedroom door and made a beeline for his desk. He grabbed out a notebook and a few pencils before swiveling his second chair around to face Virgil on the bed.

“What do we need to—Oh! Oh my god, no way! That makes so much sense.” The pieces clicked together neatly in Virgil’s mind. He’d seen the little glances and hidden blushing, but he had never taken any notice to them. It made so much sense.

“Exactly! They’re absolutely clueless, so we need to help them figure it out.” Patton titled the page. How to Get Two Idiots Together. Virgil thought that it fit quite well.

“Alright, what do you suppose?”

A sly smile grew on Patton’s face. “Well…”

---

By Monday afternoon, all of the blocks had perfectly fallen into place. The group would first go to the diner before heading to the park. It would be perfect.

Logan picked Virgil and Patton up at five o’clock sharp. Roman was only slightly done up; he had a neutral brown smokey eye and deep purple lipstick. He looked wonderful, and Virgil caught Logan glancing at Roman every so often under the cover of checking for traffic. It was odd seeing Logan actively checking someone out, but he couldn’t help but think that it was pretty adorable.

They stepped into the bustling diner about fifteen minutes later, sitting in their normal booth. Patton and Virgil obviously sat on one side, forcing the oblivious duo to the other. Phase one initiated.

For the entire five minutes before they had ordered, Virgil and Patton didn’t take their attention off of each other. They giggled at the other’s jokes, lightly kissed when applicable, and even leaned on each other as a gesture of protection. Roman and Logan were left to their own devices. It took a minute, but the two began a quiet discussion about the couple across from them, careful to make sure the others didn’t hear.

“They are truly disgusting,” Roman grimaced. He was the romantic one of the group, but even that PDA was a tad extra.

“Yes. But I am glad that Patton has found someone to be happy with. See the look in his eyes, Ro? He hasn’t looked like that since he started dating Jason,” Logan pointed out, watching as Virgil quickly pressed a kiss to Patton’s lips.

“Ugh, don’t remind me of that jerk!” Roman groaned. “I agree, though. It’s going to be good for him. Ah, it’s been too long since I’ve had someone like that.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Logan spoke again. “Me as well.”

They sat in silence for half of a second before Emilia walked up to their table. “Oh my goodness! Has Patton found himself someone? He looks absolutely adorable, sweetheart!” A bright pink blush formed on both Patton and Virgil’s cheeks, but Virgil’s became even deeper as she said, “Aren’t you going to say something, honey?”

“I—Uh… I’m…” Virgil sputtered. 

Emilia roared with laughter, lightly ruffling the teen’s hair. “I’m kidding. What can I get you?”

They all ordered without incident, but Virgil’s flubbed words weren’t forgotten. “Flustered Virgil is so cute!” Patton squealed, covering his mouth with clenched fists. Virgil pulled his hood over his face and groaned.

“Shut up, Pat,” he muttered from his dismal cavern.

Roman nodded in affirmation.“He’s quite right. But do you know who’s even funnier when they’re caught off guard? Logan! He blushes like mad and ends up just spouting off random scientific factoids,.” He smirked, lightly knocking Logan with his shoulder. The latter blushed fiercely and groaned.

“Roman…” Logan chided gently.

“I’m… sorry!” Roman said between intense bouts of laughter.

“C’mon, kiddo. Let’s not torture Logan.” Patton’s voice was stern, but still loving.

“Fine, fine.” Roman wiped the tears from his eyes and sat back in the booth.

Patton returned his attention to Virgil, reaching his hand under his boyfriend’s hood to gently swipe the hair from his eyes. “You okay, sweetheart?”

Virgil flicked his hood down and nodded. He placed a light kiss on Pat’s cheek to reaffirm that he was, in fact, fine. It was made even better by the fact that Virgil teasingly hovered his face just centimeters from Patton’s with a devilish smirk before pulling away. Patton pouted and turned to look out the window in mock displeasure. Virgil worriedly put his hand on Pat’s shoulder, not quite sure if Patton was joking. Logan and Roman both caught the flash of a smile on Patton’s face before he spun around and kissed Virgil on the nose.

“Absolutely vile,” Roman muttered.

“As if you wouldn’t be doing the same thing if you were in their situation,” Logan retorted with a pointed eyebrow raise. Ro dramatically turned to face his booth partner; their faces ended up just barely apart. A flicker of realization flitted across Roman’s features as soon as he took in how close they were. It was microscopic, unnoticeable to the untrained eye, but Virgil and Patton saw it.

Their satisfaction, however, was cut short by the food arriving. The four friends munched quietly, barely talking at all. Well, except for when Virgil and Roman threw jabs—and often French fries—at each other. When that happened, it was all-out chaos.

Less than an hour later, Logan pulled into the gravel parking lot of their favorite park, parking all the way at the end of the nearly empty space. Most families were already back home to have dinner, so they’d pretty much have the place to themselves. Patton excitedly led the group, dragging a less than energetic Virgil to all of the prettiest spots of the park.

“This is the strangest feeling; it's as if I’m a parent who is proud of their child for finding someone they’re happy with,” Logan mused as he walked along the winding paths with Roman. It was near impossible to keep up with Excited Patton—a lesson that Virgil was learning very quickly—and the two decided it be best to save their energy for when they had to carry Tired Patton to the car.

“I feel the same way. Our boy is growing up so fast!” Roman paused for a few steps. “I wish I had something like that—a relationship, I mean.”

Logan flat out laughed at that. Was he fucking kidding? “Roman, you can have literally anyone you want, and all you’d have to do is say ‘go!’”

“It’s not that simple,” Roman mumbled. It really wasn’t. He couldn’t have the one person that he wanted. He wasn’t Logan’s type at all; he was infuriatingly dumb and all over the place, not neat and smart like who Logan wanted.

Not cis, either, and although Logan had been so accepting when he’d come out, it wasn’t like cis gay guys were suddenly going to jump at the chance to date DFAB dudes with PTSD.

“I’m not following. You have everyone drooling over you, yet you can’t have who you want?” Logan’s face grew puzzled, contemplating the evidence.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Roman’s voice sounded dismissive, but he didn’t mean it that way. He was frustrated in himself. He couldn’t own up to his own feelings and tell Logan. No. Of fucking course not.

“What do you mean I wouldn’t understand? I’m not some kindergartener to whom you’re trying to explain basic multiplication! I can figure things out, Roman, even if I’m not great with feelings,” Logan snapped, stopping dead in his tracks. Roman stopped, too, and spun to face his friend.

“Can you, Logan? Because sometimes you’re as perceptive as the dirt on the bottom of your shoe! It’s infuriating that I can’t get my thoughts through to you, of all people!” Roman roughly jabbed at Logan’s chest. He knew he shouldn’t be acting so rashly, but he was far too frustrated and angry to stop himself.

Thoughts swirled around Logan’s mind as he tried to formulate something intelligent to say. How in the world had he fallen for someone as rude as Roman fucking Patrick? He really was an idiot, wasn’t he? It was ridiculous to have thought that he’d be able to get past the prickly sarcasm to see Roman’s caring nature.

A sickening cackle escaped Logan. “That’s rich coming from you! I can’t believe you’d say something like that about your best friend of five years.” He shook his head in anger. “I’m done with this. You three can walk home for all I care.”

It took a few seconds for the fight to register in Roman’s brain, and by then, he had been left staring at Logan’s retreating figure. What the fuck had he done? He slowly turned and began walking down the trail towards Virgil and Patton’s voices. He’d ruined everything.

The moment that Virgil saw Roman’s expression, he started to feel anxious. He hadn’t known the guy for too long, but he could clearly tell that something was up. “Dude, are you okay? Where’s Logan?”

You can’t tell them the truth! They’ll hate you.

“Logan and I had a disagreement, and he got so pissed that he decided to bail.” 

Roman looked more upset than he let on, but Virgil didn’t push. He knew what it was like to want to keep some things to himself.

“Well, I suppose we should call someone to pick us up. Roman, do you want my mom to drop you off at home?” Patton asked, already pulling out his phone.

“No, I’m just going to walk home. See you guys tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Virgil agreed, nodding his goodbye.

---

Roman quietly closed his bedroom door, shutting himself off from the world. He slipped into his pajamas and sat lightly on the edge of his bed. The tears ran down his cheeks like tiny raindrops on a car window. He buried his face into his pillow and cried until sleep finally absorbed his consciousness.

next

(a/n: roman isn’t out as trans to virgil yet, jsyk!)

[intergalactic-zoo]

"Come with us now on a far journey, a journey that takes us millions of miles from the Earth, where many years ago the planet Krypton burned like a green star in the endless heavens." Today this series makes its first foray off of the comic page and into the vast multimedia landscape of Superman adaptations. "The Adventures of Superman" followed shows like "The Lone Ranger" and "Dragnet" in making the leap from the radio to the television, and I'd venture to say that nowhere is that more apparent than in this first episode. Creative Team: Tommy Carr, Robert Maxwell, Whitney Ellsworth, George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, Jack Larson, John Hamilton, Herbert Rawlinson, Stuart Randall, Aline Towne, Frances Morris, Danni Sue Nolan, Tom Fadden, Robert Rockwell, and Jeffrey Silver. All-Star Summary: Doomed planet. Desperate scientist. Last hope. Courageous couple. 

Key Elements: The distant planet Krypton was home to an advanced civilization of supermen, at the peak of human perfection. The scientist Jor-El has been brought before a council to explain destructive events that have been happening around the planet. He reveals that the planet is doomed to explode in the near future. The Council dismisses his conclusions and warnings as the ravings of a madman, and scoff at his plan to use rockets to evacuate the population to the planet Earth.

Jor-El returns to his lab, where he adds fuel to his model rocket. He plans to test it, and if it arrives on Earth safely, he'll build one large enough to take himself, his wife Lara, and his infant son Kal-El to safety. But when the tremors grow stronger, Jor-El realizes that the planet is in its last moments. The model ship is large enough for one passenger; Jor-El tells Lara to go, but she refuses, saying if any of them are to survive, it should be their child. They put the baby in the rocket and launch it toward Earth, just before Krypton finally explodes. On Earth, Eben and Sarah Kent see a rocket crash as they are driving down a country road. Eben hears a baby crying inside the flaming ship and rescues it. Neither the child nor his blanket were burned by the fire. The rocket is destroyed, leaving no trace behind. The Kents decide to keep the baby and raise him as their own son, Clark. As Clark grows, he discovers that he has amazing powers that set him apart from other people, like super-strength, super-speed, and X-ray vision. Ma Kent tells him the story of how they found and rescued him. When Clark is 25 years old, his father dies of a sudden heart attack. Ma encourages him to leave town for Metropolis, and to use his amazing powers to help people. She even made him an indestructible costume out of the blankets he was wrapped in as a baby. He resolves to keep his identity secret by acting timid and wearing glasses. He takes a job at the Daily Planet, a great metropolitan newspaper, so that he'll be able to learn about emergencies quickly. He meets Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane, who is immediately suspicious of Clark.

And when emergencies occur, he's there to save the day—as Superman!

Interesting Deviations: Here, it's not the Science Council that hears Jor-El's predictions, but the governing council, meeting in the Temple of Wisdom. The Council specifically commissioned Jor-El's research in this version, which may not be an explicit departure from other origins, but certainly feels like one in spirit. Krypton's fate is due to its sun drawing the planet closer, which honestly feels more realistic than the usual exploding core. It makes sense for the described disasters like volcanoes and earthquakes to result from changes in tidal forces as Krypton's orbit decays and the sun's gravitational pull exerts a greater influence. How much of that was known in 1952, and how much was just good sci-fi guesswork, I can't say. I also can't say that an explosion is likely to result from this process either, but certainly being torn apart might. Talking with Lara, Jor-El notes that despite the clouds, there's been a strange glow in the west, and Lara complains about the oppressive heat, asking if it's due to the planet getting closer to the sun. Maybe it's just because it's black-and-white television, but I was immediately reminded of the "Twilight Zone" episode "Midnight Sun," except that aired nine years after this. One really interesting, minor variation between the different retellings is who Jor-El intends to send in the rocket. Occasionally it's Kal-El from the start, sometimes both Lara and Kal-El. Here, Jor-El initially suggests that Lara go alone, then that the rocket might be large enough for both her and Kal-El, but she refuses both times. "I'd be lost on a new world without you, Jor-El." The Kents here, as in the radio show's (lost, to my knowledge) second version of the origin and the Kirk Alyn serials, are Eben and Sarah. To my knowledge, these names never made the jump to the comics.

There's a lovely exchange here, where Sarah says "Eben! You can't do nothin', you'll get burned!" and Eben replies "Gotta do somethin'," before throwing dirt at the hatch to put out the fire. If I may read too far into things, Superman's parents in this segment illustrate the two most important aspects of his character: hope even in the bleakest situations, and using whatever power you have to do whatever good you can. The Kents discuss bringing the child to an orphanage, but decide that nobody would believe their story. Interestingly, this bears a lot of resemblance to how the story would go in the post-Crisis age. The classic image of Clark demonstrating his powers is lifting a heavy object—often a tractor or a couch—to retrieve a ball. It's interesting, then, that these early versions often go for the X-ray vision instead. The radio program's second version of the origin story has a part titled "Eben Kent Dies in a Fire," so his heart attack is likely a departure from that story. We see the name Smallville for the first time in this story at the bus depot. The name's been in the comics since at least 1949, but I'd be interested to know if it had shown up in the serials or radio show before this. Notably, despite "Smallville" being the setting of Superboy's adventures for at least a few years in the comics, there's no indication that Superboy existed in this continuity.

Clark is unable to get an interview with Perry the traditional way, so he tries slipping into Perry's office through the window, using a ledge outside the building. It's a bold move, but maybe not one that suits that whole "mild-mannered" demeanor. An emergency interrupts his impromptu interview—a blimp was unable to land, and now a man is hanging from its cable—and Perry sends Lois and Jimmy to cover it. Notably, he tells them to have a couple of photographers dispatched, which suggests that Jimmy hasn't taken that job yet. Superman's first rescue is the man who'd been dangling from the rope. In his interview, he says it was a "super-guy," but Clark had already beaten him to the punch with the headline.

Additional Commentary: The opening narration is taken verbatim from the first episode of the radio show, "The Baby from Krypton," and much of what happens on Krypton follows pretty close to the original radio script, including the presence of Ro-Zan and Jor-El's "solar calculations." 

Jor-El, played by Robert Rockwell, looks eerily like Norm Macdonald.

And Lara, Aline Towne, looks pretty sultry.

I think this shot is extremely interesting, given how clear it is that Lara is holding a sack rather than a baby. The blanket fell away to expose the sack as she moved, and she tries to cover it back up in a way that looks natural, but it's interesting to see that this didn't merit another take.

Take a look at that superdrool. When they cut away from this close-up shot, it becomes clear that the baby was probably never even on the Krypton set.

Rockwell and Towne really sell the desperation of the moment. The baby is not on-hand for the rocket crash scene, as a stunt-sack clearly fills in again. I suppose this was the era before high-definition TVs and pause buttons; if I were watching this on a 12-inch screen via antenna, I probably wouldn't notice the difference. Eventually they do transition to having the baby in the scene. When twelve-year-old Clark asks why he's different from the other boys, Sarah expresses that she was concerned that he was coming down with the measles. I guess it's nice that that's a relevant concern again. George Reeves looks very Elvis Presley here.

Angry, shouty Perry White here is pretty clearly a major inspiration for J. Jonah Jameson, and a nice illustration of how, once JJJ exists as the apotheosis of that archetype, Perry is left a little rudderless as a character.

The Rocket: A classic sci-fi rocket, but not much distinctive about it. And it ultimately falls apart like it's made of cardboard. Two exploding Kryptons.

[notveryglittery]

24.“You okay? You seem a little off today” and 25.“I’m fine”. Could be Logince, Moxiety, Royality or any other pairing! As soon as I saw that you are taking prompts, I had to jump in! Your writing is supper awesome! ❤️

“You okay? You seem a little off today.”“I’m fine.”

patton was good at pretending. he was good at feeling one way but acting another. he was good at hiding behind bright smiles and silly jokes. most of the time, the others didn’t notice. virgil was alright at spotting it since he and patton were best friends but rarely did he push when patton insisted he was fine.

roman, though. patton had to be careful around roman. not only was he just as talented at pretending, he had the insistence that virgil often did not. roman was very good at seeing right through patton’s bright smiles and while he laughed at the silly jokes, he would always give patton a look afterwards, as if to say he knew. it shouldn’t have been a bad thing. it should have been good that someone was there to call patton out on his bottling up of emotions. 

but sometimes patton just wanted to wallow in misery. 

“you okay?” roman asked, collapsing on the sofa next to patton. “you seem a little off today.” 

parks and rec was rerunning on the television. it was patton’s go to show for when he wasn’t feeling well. it was a dead giveaway but patton tried nonetheless to dissuade roman from worrying about him. 

“i’m fine,” patton answered, not looking away from the screen. he cracked a smile at tom and donna’s antics.

he must’ve done something right because roman got up and left without saying anything else. patton watched seven more episodes, slipping further and further into that numb, emptiness he got the longer he ignored whatever it was making him sad, when the screen suddenly went black. 

patton blinked, ripped harshly from the go to show that was apparently supposed to be cheering him up. when various buttons on the remote did nothing to fix it, patton sighed and stood, wobbling a bit on legs that had long since fallen asleep. when he turned to head upstairs for what virgil would call a “depression nap,” he instead found himself distracted by the lights on in the kitchen. patton wasn’t sure when it’d gotten dark out – what time was it, actually? – but the scent of baked goods was wafting into the living room and it was fiercely tempting. 

he followed his nose, pausing in the doorway. 

one of the counters was covered entirely by trays of cupcakes. each was beautifully frosted with words that must have taken a painstaking amount of time to write in such pretty, swirling letters. patton stepped further in. he picked up the pastry that stated “start here” and began to nibble on it as he read. some of the cupcakes had up to three small words while others only had room for one. 

“dearest” said the first. 

“patton” came next. 

“i’ve noticed that you are not feeling your best. that is quite alright. i hope this helps. treat yo self.” 

patton didn’t notice he’d begun crying until his giggles came out as half-sobs. his fingers were sticky with icing. he washed them clean and then wet a cloth, using it to wipe the tears from his cheeks and cool himself down. grabbing the plate that boasted the especially extravagant “treat yo self” cupcakes, he headed carefully to the second floor. knocking delicately on roman’s door, he wasn’t surprised when the prince answered within seconds.

“darling,” roman greeted him softly.

“hi, ro,” patton said shyly. 

roman’s eyes glanced to the plate in patton’s hands. “come in, come in,” roman insisted, ushering patton into the room. “i bet these will taste all the better if we enjoy them snuggled in bed.”

“what about crumbs?” patton asked sensibly. 

roman waved a dismissive hand. he led patton to his king sized bed and patton couldn’t deny how comfortable it looked. beside the quilt, there were three more very soft blankets, at least seven pillows, and three stuffed animals. they looked suspiciously like what logan, patton, and virgil might look like if they were teddy bears. mrs. fluffybottom was there, too.

pulling all the sheets back, roman climbed in first. he took the plate from patton and gestured for the other to join him. patton hesitated. 

“aren’t you mad at me for earlier?” patton murmured, “i lied to you.”

roman set the plate down on the bedside table. “sit with me, dearheart,” he requested. patton did so though he kept some space between them.

“i know i push you sometimes to tell me how you’re feeling,” roman said slowly. “i know sometimes that that only makes it worse. i’m… trying to be better about recognizing those signs.” he sighed, twisting a blanket between his hands. “i care about you very much, patton. i want to help you in any way i can but i want to respect your boundaries…” 

patton sniffled and rubbed at his eyes, trying stubbornly to not start crying again. 

roman huffed, sounding exasperated with himself. he retrieved the cupcakes and when he held them out to patton, he took one without hesitating. “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” roman reassured. “i’m not mad at you for lying about being sad. that��d make me a hypocrite.” 

patton frowned, scooting closer to the prince. 

“i’d love a cuddle buddy,” roman offered carefully, taking a cupcake for himself. it was silent for a bit as they ate. eventually, patton gave into a very big yawn. what little energy he had left seemed to have finally melted away. with a snap of roman’s fingers, the crumbs were cleaned up, and the lights in the room had switched off. instead, they were left in the soft glow of moonlight flooding in through the floor to ceiling windows. 

patton slid down underneath the blankets, cushioning his head on two pillows. roman joined him, laid on his side and facing patton.

“are you comfortable?” he asked. 

patton nodded, eyelids already drooping. “thanks, ro,” he mumbled.

“sleep well,” roman whispered, pressing a kiss to patton’s forehead, “sweetest of dreams.”