#ill draw them properly at some point but for now. scribbles will have to suffice

[bee-calm]

[puts on a shirt that says ‘predictable’ in really big letters]

[callboxkat]

Infinitesimal (epilogue)

Author’s note: Happy two year anniversary of when I first began posting this fic! Let’s celebrate with its conclusion. I hope you have all enjoyed reading this story. I know I’ve enjoyed writing it. <3

Warnings: food mention, injury mention, illness mention, captivity mention, nightmare mention

Word count: 3058

Infinitesimal Masterpost!

Writing Masterpost!

...

“We’re almost home!” Patton announced as they rounded the final corner. It was a straight shot now, barely any distance at all to the home that Emile and Virgil had built and made their own, and that they had eagerly welcomed Patton to join. A home that they hadn’t seen in weeks, since Emile had first gone missing, not counting Patton’s brief return for Virgil’s birthday gifts. Suffice to say, however friendly they had grown with Roman and Logan, all three of them were happy to be back.

“Home,” Emile hummed. He was clearly exhausted, leaning heavily on Virgil and Patton as they slowly made their way home; but he had insisted after their last break that he could make it the rest of the way in one shot. And now that they were so close, he seemed to gain a new energy. Patton couldn’t blame him—he felt the same way.

Minutes later, Virgil was opening the door and flicking on the lights, and they stepped over the threshold.

Home.

Patton and Virgil had meant to immediately take Emile to the bed in the second room, so that he could recover from the journey; but Emile stopped as soon as he was inside, staring up at the walls.

Oh, right, Patton thought. He’d nearly forgotten.

The drawings that Patton and Virgil had created while Emile was on his ill-fated supply run still hung on the once bare walls, cheerful, colorful banners that coated nearly every bit of available space. Some were detailed—the earliest of these drawings—while others were little more than bright scribbles meant to fill up space like a gigantic patchwork design, adding to the ridiculous cacophony of it all. One in particular, a very goofy looking smiley face, hung at eye level directly across from the door.

A second passed, and then Emile began to laugh.

…

Two weeks had gone by since the littles had departed. Logan had seen no sign of them since, and could only assume—and hope—that this meant that everything had gone as planned, and that they were fine.

He wished he knew this for sure, but it wasn’t as if he could call them and ask.

Logan sighed, tapping the pencil he held in one hand against the book in his lap. It wouldn’t do to be so distracted, he told himself. He was meant to be doing homework.

Deciding that perhaps biology would be easier to focus on than Calculus, Logan stood and went to get his other books.

Soon after, he returned, the textbook, notebook, and calculator held in his arms. He made for the sofa.

“Hello?”

Logan jumped, very nearly dropping the books in his arms. He whirled around towards the voice, and his gaze locked onto the shelf on the wall opposite the window.

Virgil.

“I—” Logan shook his head, composing himself as best he could. “Virgil! Is something wrong? Did something happen? Is everyone okay?”

Virgil held up both arms in a “calm down” gesture, his crutches hanging from his elbows, briefly balancing on one leg.

“They’re fine,” the little said, putting his arms back down. “Is, um. Is Roman around?”

Logan, who had been staring at Virgil with wide eyes as he spoke, deflated slightly. “Ah—yes. My apologies, I shouldn’t assume you are here to speak with me. I’ll fetch him instead.”

Virgil groaned, rolling his eyes so hard that it was a full-body gesture. “No, you moron, you come back too.”

In another circumstance, Logan might have been miffed about being called a moron, but now he just blinked in pleased surprise. “Oh.”

Virgil leaned on one crutch, tilting his head to the side. “So? Are you going to get him?”

“Ah—yes, of course. One moment.” Logan placed his school materials on the coffee table, then strode purposefully from the room.

When he returned, a very excited and curious Roman in tow, Virgil was still on the shelf, shifting awkwardly where he stood.

“Doctor Gloom!” Roman greeted cheerily, his still-exuberant voice softened out of consideration. “What brings you to our homely abode?”

Logan glanced at Roman, a bit surprised at the vocabulary choice, and wondering if perhaps he’d confused the definition of “homely”, before looking back to Virgil for an answer.

Virgil managed to look even more uncomfortable. Logan shifted his gaze slightly away, hoping that that would help. It seemed to do the trick.

Virgil took a deep breath. “So… I wanted to, uh… I wanted to say thanks,” he said. “I know I wasn’t… I wasn’t the nicest, when I came to ask you guys for help, with Em. But you helped me anyway, and you helped him. You saved him. And Patton. So… thanks for that.” He paused. “Um. That’s all.”

He opened his mouth again, shook his head, and turned away, clearly about to dart back into the wall.

“Wait,” Roman begged. “Don’t go yet.”

Virgil paused.

“You came quite a long way just to say that,” Logan observed. “I do appreciate it, as I’m sure Roman does, but….”

Virgil scoffed.

“Would it hurt to have a conversation before you leave?” Logan gently pressed. He hadn’t seen any of the littles in two weeks, which, while not overly long, was certainly more time than he would have preferred.

“Are Pat and Emile okay?” Roman asked. “How are you? What’s been going on the past two weeks?”

“You ask a lot of questions,” Virgil muttered.

Logan and Roman waited.

Virgil sighed. “I waited because I wanted to make sure Em was good, okay? And he’s—he’s fine.” Virgil turned away from the wall to look more properly towards them again, but his voice was quieter as he continued, “I just wanted to thank you guys, and he’s better, so I came.”

Logan nodded slightly. “We appreciate it,” he said.

Virgil shifted. “I’m fine,” he continued. “I’m great. Pat and Em, too. We’ve just been, um. Helping Emile. And fixing things up at home.”

Virgil nodded to himself, and started to turn away again.

“Is that all you wanted?” Logan asked. “Do you need food, or supplies? Perhaps you could pass along well-wishes to Patton and Emile.”

“I don’t need charity,” Virgil said, shaking his head.

“It’s not charity,” Roman chimed in. “We want to help. Because we’re friends, right?”

Virgil sighed.

“Is there really nothing you need?”

Virgil tapped one of his crutches on the shelf, thinking. A few seconds later, his shoulders drooped.

“Can I have one of your Christmas lights? A clear one? And some wire, maybe?”

Logan remembered the broken glass in Emile’s bag, the remnants of a light he had attempted to bring home. They must not have been able to replace it yet. Of course, they hadn’t. He should have realized.

Virgil seemed to want to justify his request. “It’s just—we’re not going back to where we used to get them, so. We haven’t found a new spot yet.”

“You won’t have to,” Logan said. “Whenever you need a new light, just ask us. We’d be happy to provide them”

Virgil nodded, still not looking at him. “That’s all, though,” he seemed to need to say. “We can get our own food and everything.”

Logan nodded, allowing a small smile to come to his lips. “Of course.”

“And—and, maybe,” he continued, “Maybe I’ll bring Patton next time. If he wants to come.”

Logan was just happy to hear there would be a next time.

Virgil was persuaded to have a snack while he waited, for hospitality’s sake rather than need; and he and Roman sat down to share a bag of cheese crackers while Logan got the light.

…

Roman sat down on the arm of the chair, watching as Virgil inspected one of the cheese crackers before finally taking a bite.

“So… what’s it like living in the walls?” Roman asked.

Virgil glanced at him warily, then swallowed. “Who says I live in the walls?”

Roman blinked. “Well… where else would you live?” Virgil, Patton, and Emile had all travelled up through the walls towards their home, even if they hadn’t said exactly where that was “…Do you live under someone’s floor? Or in the ceiling?” He paused, reaching for another handful of crackers. “Those are all kind of the same thing, though, right?” He shoved the snacks in his mouth.

Virgil sighed, apparently conceding the point.

“So, what’s it like?”

“What’s it like not living in the walls?”

Roman made a thoughtful noise. “Fair.” Virgil probably didn’t have a great sense of how to compare that aspect of his life to any other. While he had experienced a taste of what living in an apartment was like, but it wasn’t exactly… a normal situation.

They continued snacking in silence for a few moments, until Roman sighed and set his cracker bag to the side.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sounds like you’re going to.”

That wasn’t a refusal, Roman noticed. He decided to go ahead and ask. “Well, it’s just… I’ve been nothing but nice to you, or at least, I know I’ve tried to be, but… sometimes it still seems like you hate me. Why?”

Virgil glanced over. “…I don’t hate you.”

“You don’t like me,” Roman insisted. “Or don’t trust me, anyway, even after everything. Why?”

Virgil shifted, uncomfortable.

Roman waited.

“…It’s because you’re a human,” he admitted. “Yeah, you helped Patton, and yeah, you helped Emile. And I’m very thankful for that—you know I am. But that doesn’t change what you are.” He glanced away. “It’s not your fault, and I’m trying my best to ignore it—I swear I am—and I do… ugh, I do like you, I guess, but… you and Logan are human. And humans hurt people like us. They capture us, they either kill us or keep us as specimens or make us into pets—” he grimaced— “or they make us into playthings. Patton isn’t an outlier. I’ve heard the stories.” He shook his head. “I know you two are nice, but… I can’t just ignore that, even if I want to. So… so I’m probably not ever going to stop being… kind of afraid of you.”

Roman looked down, his heart sinking at Virgil’s words. He felt rather speechless at the sheer certainty in the little’s eyes. The urge to be defensive was still there—if all he and Logan had done wasn’t enough to fully earn his trust, then what was? But he stopped himself. Instead, he took a second, and he thought back, back to when he and Logan had first found Patton, hiding in that conch shell on that fateful day at the beach.

They’d brought Patton home with them in order to help him; but as much as he hated to think about it, Roman had to admit that Virgil had a point. In those first few seconds after Logan and Roman had found Patton, their first instinct hadn’t been to let him go. It hadn’t been to help. Logan had simply shouted at Roman to catch him, and Roman had jumped in front of the little, cutting off his escape. It was only afterwards that Patton had collapsed, when they had realized the true severity of his condition, that they had changed their approach. Roman remembered clearly the moment the surprise, the wonder, the confusion, the excitement, had drained out of him and been replaced with nothing but fear and concern for the little guy.

Had Patton not been so sick, had he not been hurt, had he not already been so clearly emotionally scarred, Roman honestly couldn’t say what he would have done. Would he and Logan still have brought him home with them? Even against his will?

…Probably, he thought, thinking of Logan’s notebook. Of his own burning curiosity about the small, strange creature. Of the fact that Logan had, despite his good intentions, literally put him in a cage. And of the fact that Roman hadn’t stopped him.

Roman was glad that things had not gone any further down that path. But under different circumstances, while he as much as any other person would want to think they could never do something like that… he could see how things might have gone very differently.

Roman turned his head to look back at the little, who avoided his gaze.

“I get it,” was all Roman said. And he did—as much as any human like him could. Maybe Virgil would always be a little afraid of him, and maybe he’d never be comfortable enough to do something like ride in his palm, like Patton had, but that was okay. Roman would respect his boundaries.

Virgil’s gaze darted back in his direction, and he nodded, looking relieved. “Good. Cool.”

…

By the time Logan returned with the light and the wire, Virgil had finished nearly two of the crackers. Logan sensed a slight change in atmosphere had occurred while he was gone, despite the cheerfulness of the way Roman was asking about the littles’ home—which, it sounded like, was apparently made up of two cozy, narrow rooms within a wall somewhere—but it didn’t seem that anything cataclysmic had gone wrong, so he decided to say nothing about it.

He cleared his throat to announce his presence, and held up the supplies he had put together.

“Do you want to take some of these back with you?” Roman asked once Logan had carefully put the items up on the shelf, holding up the bag of cheese crackers. “I don’t think I can finish them all.”

Virgil squinted, disbelieving. Which was fair, given how few were left.

“I bet Patton would like them,” Roman continued thoughtfully. “He does love cheese.”

Virgil grumbled, but he was already moving to put some of the crackers in his bag. Roman grinned and put a couple more on the shelf.

“So… I know you already said they’re fine, but how are Emile and Patton?” Logan asked, feeling rather left out of their earlier conversation. He’d certainly be asking Roman to share what they had talked about with him, later. “Is Emile getting around okay? Is Pat still having nightmares?”

Virgil finished packing up the crackers. He chewed on his lip, then seemed to take pity on them. “Em’s good. He’s been resting a lot, still, but he’s okay. And Patton’s fine. I think being home helps. He hasn’t really had any nightmares, at least that I know of.”

Logan smiled. “That’s very good news, Virgil.”

“Yeah.” Virgil nodded. “Anyway, um, I’ll bring Patton in…  probably another couple weeks?”

Logan felt his smile widen, and he nodded. “That sounds perfect.” He would have liked to see Patton sooner, of course; but he assumed the wait was likely because of the length of the trip (he wasn’t sure exactly how long that was, but he knew it wasn’t short) and because Virgil probably didn’t want to leave Emile home alone yet. It would be a while, he assumed, before Emile was well enough for a visit.

Virgil got to his feet, grabbing his crutches. “So… I guess  I should be going.”

Logan’s smile faltered slightly, but he only inclined his head. “Of course. Please give our best to Patton and Emile.”

“Tell them I said hi,” Roman added. “And tell them I quit my job, so no more grocery cart duty! No more asthma attacks!”

“Oh… sure,” Virgil said, looking mystified, most likely about what a grocery cart was. “I’ll tell them.” He put his backpack around his shoulders. “Well… thank you again, for everything.”

“Thank you for coming back,” Logan replied sincerely.

Virgil nodded, offered them a half-smile, and ducked back into the wall.

…

Three more weeks went by before the littles returned to see the humans again; but Virgil and Patton did return, as promised. Patton had wanted to go back sooner, and he knew that Roman and Logan would want them to as well, but he and Virgil had decided to wait one more week.

The reason why they had waited currently stood between Virgil and Patton, his arm still in a sling, and part of his tail still in a splint, but now walking without aid from either of them: Emile.

Patton stepped out from the wall first, bolstered by the sound of quiet voices from the kitchen, confirming that his humans were home.

“Hello!” the little called out cheerfully, as Virgil and Emile carefully followed him out onto the shelf. “Roman! Logan!”

The voices stopped immediately, and there was the sound of two chairs being pushed back before Roman and Logan hurried into the room. Their faces lit up, and Patton beamed at them.

“Hey, guys!”

“Greetings.”

“Sorry we’re late,” Virgil said, walking closer to the edge of the shelf and stopping just shy of Patton. “Em wanted to come.”

Roman looked like he was barely containing his excitement, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s okay!” he said. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”

Logan’s features settled into a calmer smile. “What brings you here tonight?”

Patton shrugged. “We wanted to see you. It’s been a while.”

Logan bit his lip. Patton had a feeling he was trying not to get emotional. His heart went out to the human.

“Well… I’m glad.”

“I want to hear about Roman’s job thing!” Patton added, referring to what Virgil had told them after his previous visit. Hopefully, the story would include what exactly a job was, in the sense that humans talked about them; but Patton was sure he’d enjoy hearing it regardless. “And I bet other stuff has happened. And we can tell you about the new fish in 4B, and about how Virgil drove the rat out of the building!”

Roman glanced at Logan. “Drove the what out of the building?”

“Besides,” Patton continued, still smiling, “we never did get to finish Avatar.”

And so, Roman and Logan moved their dinner into the living room. The littles came down to the very same table where they had once stayed, sitting atop one of the pillows from Roman’s apparently extensive collection. They watched cartoons, and spent the evening talking, laughing, sharing food, and simply enjoying each other’s company.

...

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, as the title sequence of that first episode played, a young blonde girl with pigtails stubbed her toe.