#losleep

[ethan-torchios-bitch]

logan: request for you not to be a bitch

janus virgil remy and roman: request denied

[cksirface]

My personal rendition of them

[monkeythefander]

I was thinking about Remy x Logan, so here’s a drawing.

[emoprincey]

Hypocrisy (Analosleep)

Author’s note: I've been thinking about these three recently so have a fun little drabble :)

Writing taglist: @iclaimedtobethebetterbard

Logan Sanders didn't like to think of himself as a hypocrite. He was Logic, after all, and giving advice that he didn’t intend to follow himself was highly illogical.

So, he always aimed to practice what he preached, so to speak. When he told Virgil to drink water instead of solely living off coffee, he would always get a glass for himself. When he reminded Roman to take breaks from his work, he would endeavour to do the same.

He tried, he really did. But things didn't always work out the way he planned.

One evening, Logan was working alone in his room. Both of his boyfriends, Remy and Virgil, had planned a movie night of cheap horror movies. Logan wasn't a fan of horror- and besides, the only films they could watch in the Mindscape were films Thomas had already seen, and Logan didn't see the point in rewatching something that was already ingrained in his memory - so he decided to spend the evening working instead. Remy and Virgil had only recently started dating each other, while Logan had been with Virgil for over two years and Remy for seven months, so it was a good idea to let them have a date night themselves and figure out their own relationship.

It was 10pm when he went to check on his boyfriends, reminding them that it was about time they started to wind down their marathon of horror movies if either of them wanted a restful night's sleep. Logically, Remy should know this already, since his entire purpose was Sleep, but he was inexplicably more determined to counteract his very function more than anyone Logan knew. Perhaps it was something to do with not being a Side, but Logan was inclined to believe Remy was just being stubborn. Not that Logan didn't love that about him.

Remy and Virgil had both promised to finish their marathon after the film they were watching, and although Logan didn't need Janus' assistance to figure out that lie, he had left them to it.

At midnight, Logan went to check on them again, and reminded them that they really should get some sleep. This time, they had acquiesced, and both curled up in Virgil’s bed.

Logan took a moment to watch the two of them, smiling at how adorable they looked, before he carefully slipped out of the room. He only had a little bit of work to do before he could go to bed himself.

"You'd better get some sleep too," Remy had called out as Logan closed the door.

When Logan got back to his own room, the first thing he did was go to close his computer down. All he needed to do was add a couple more bullet points to Thomas's to-do list, and maybe re-format the schedule.

Adding 20 minutes of exercise per day was easy enough, although he did have to spend some time rearranging things, and putting a reminder to take the bins out didn't take too long. After a last check of the week's meal plan, he decided to switch pizza night to Friday, as part of Patton's new scheme to help Thomas feel rewarded for getting through the week.

But that reminded him of the Sides' own meal plan. Although they didn't need to eat, Patton insisted on the six of them having 'family dinners' every evening, and Logan needed to check the schedule for those. He also needed to work Sunday movie nights into his own schedule...

Logan was sure he hadn't been working for very long when he heard a timid knock on his door.

By now, Virgil’s mannerisms were familiar to him, and he waved his hand to open the door for his boyfriend.

"Hey," Virgil said quietly, slinking into the room. He didn't look distressed, which meant he thankfully hadn't had a nightmare. But Virgil had gone to sleep with Remy earlier, so Logan couldn't imagine why he'd gotten up to visit him.

He was confused further when Remy followed Virgil into the room.

"Is something the matter?" Logan asked.

Remy snickered, his chin resting on Virgil’s shoulder. "Told you he wouldn't have noticed."

"Shut up," Virgil muttered affectionately, then he turned to Logan. "Lo, do you know what time it is?"

Logan shrugged. "Just after midnight, I suppose. I was just finishing this up before heading to bed," he said, gesturing to the video script he'd begun editing.

Remy raised an eyebrow at Virgil, who shrugged. "Babe, it's nearly 3am."

"No it's- oh." Logan glanced at the clock in the corner of his computer screen. "I don't suppose it's daylight savings time today and I didn't notice?"

Virgil shook his head affectionately.

"I thought you two went to sleep," Logan said, trying to turn the conversation back into his favour.

"We stayed up for a bit talking," Virgil said.

"And other things- hey!" Remy yelped as Virgil elbowed him in the side.

"Anyway," Virgil continued with a playful glare at Remy, "we started talking about you and we realised there was no way you actually went to bed when you said you would."

Logan spluttered. "What- you make it sound as if I have some kind of reputation-"

"For telling people to take care of themselves and doing the exact opposite for yourself?" Remy said. "Hate to break it to you, babe, but you kinda do."

"We just both know that you can get a little... caught up, in what you're doing," Virgil said, a little softer. "And that can be great, but you need to give yourself a break sometimes."

"I can assure you, I am perfectly fine to finish this script," Logan said, blinking to stop his vision from swaying as he turned back to his computer.

He heard Remy sigh behind him, and gentle hands were placed on his shoulders. "You need some sleep, sweetheart," Remy said in a low, calming voice, gently massaging Logan's shoulders.

Logan let his eyes slip closed, relaxing into Remy's touch, before he shook himself awake. "I told you, I am fine-"

"Yeah, no. You're going to bed," Virgil said, and he bent down to put one arm under Logan's legs and support his back with the other as he picked him up off the chair.

"You're- how are you so strong?" Logan asked breathlessly as Virgil carried him bridal style across the room.

"Fight or flight, baby," Virgil said. "Rem, could you save Logan's work and turn his computer off? Then get over here."

He dumped Logan rather unceremoniously onto the bed, but made up for it by crawling in next to him and arranging the covers snugly around the two of them.

"Is this your solution?" Logan deadpanned. "Cuddle me into submission and keep me from my work?"

"Yep," Virgil grinned against Logan's hair.

The mattress depressed on Logan's other side as Remy climbed in next to him, wrapping his arms around Logan's waist.

"I hate you both," Logan mumbled half-heartedly.

"You can't tell me this isn't working," Remy countered as Logan finally closed his eyes, and Virgil giggled.

Logan sleepily muttered something about not being able to finish his work, but relaxing in his boyfriends' arms, he couldn’t say he cared all that much.

[rosesradio]

i may not be in the sanders sides fandom At All anymore but the virgil/roman/remy throuple & losleep were severely underrated ships just fyi

[edupunkn00b]

It is really funny coming across this as I am in the middle of a romantic Logicality story.

At least some things never change.

For the ask game: Logan, maybe?

💙🤓 Thank you, thank you, thank you for the ask!! 🤓💙

NOTP: I don’t think I actually have a NOTP for Logan BROTP: Logicality (sorry, everyone, but I get a brotherly energy from them ... ) OTP: I am an Intrulogical stan (when I’m not a Loceit or ... see below)

Second choice pairing: Loceit Fluffy pairing: Analogical Angsty pairing: Logince Favorite poly ship: Intruloceit Weirdest pairing: Losleep or Lomile ... I don’t know why

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

On Death's Doorstep (pt 44/52)

[<<First],,,,[<Prev],[Next>] [ODD Masterlist]

Word Count: 1,231

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Karrot Kings, minor Anxceit, familial Losleep

Warnings: past character death, mentioned kidnapping

~~~START~~~

“I have already told you, you are not coming.”

“That’s bullshit!” Remy cried dramatically, her voice echoing off the concrete walls of the building’s parking garage. “L– dad, please!”

Logan’s jaw twitched. The plan was set and, as Logan had explained in the debrief he had given the previous day which Remy had been in attendance for, Remy would not be a part of it. She had objected at the time as well, But Logan had been under the impression that they’d resolved her issues yesterday; Remy would stay safe with his mother and Virgil’s family while Logan, Janus, and the twins infiltrated a government agency, and no amount of emotional manipulation would change Logan’s mind. “No.”

“But I can help!” Remy insisted, just as stubborn as Logan was. 

“You are helping,” Logan explained once more. “If the plan were to go astray, we need you here to look after Patton.” He needed her to look after Thomas and Nico as well, but as a small child, Patton would be a suitably convincing argument by himself. His mother would not need anyone to look out for her, her precognition was enough to help her evade detection — possibly it would be enough to help the Flores-Sanderses as well, but Logan was not about to put his teenage daughter in a situation that could result in her death — again!

Remy huffed and stormed off towards the door to the stairwell. Perhaps bringing Patton up was a low blow, but Logan was a supervillain for a reason; he had a reputation for ruthlessness.

“She’ll be fine,” Barbara assured him as he sagged a little. He liked the progress he had been making in his relationship with Remy, but this particular point felt like a rather large setback. “Everyone’s just a little tense right now.”

Logan rolled his eyes at her nonchalance of her phrasing — no doubt an attempt to ease his not-well-enough concealed nerves —and turned his attention instead to the other occupants of the parking garage. 

“If something happens to me,” Janus was explaining to Nico, who had come to see them off while Thomas stayed upstairs with a still sleeping Patton, a few feet away. “This van has enough supplies for five people for a week, as well as some forged documents and limited chameleon abilities.”

“What do you mean if something happens to you?” Nico asked, concerned. 

“I highly doubt the illusion I maintain over this building to keep it unassuming would stay in place in the event of my death,” Janus said bluntly, trying to play it off as though they were unaffected by the — unlikely — possibility of their death. “It’s best if you have an exit strategy.”

Nico’s frown deepened. Logan was impressed by Janus’s ability to endear themself to Virgil’s parents in a relatively short amount of time in the absence of said partner.

“We believe Janus will be in the least amount of physical danger,” Logan found himself jumping in to say. “But all the same, you should know what steps to take in case of an emergency.”

Logan had, in a small way, designed this plan in a way that put himself in the most amount of danger. It was the most logical arrangement of their assets, not the least due to Logan’s possession of the most level-headed judgment of all of them. 

“I’ll know the steps,” his mother assured him, as though he had any doubt she’d know what she needed to do when she needed to do it. 

How do our prospects look? Logan wondered in his mind, hiding his uncertainty from everyone but the one person he would never be able to hide it from. 

“It’s hard to tell,” Barbra answered quietly. “There’s too many variables; the picture is constantly shifting, nothing’s set in stone.”

Logan nodded. He had figured that would be the case, but he could not help hoping that perhaps this would be simple. 

Of course it would not be, but he still found himself harboring hope. 

“Well, nothing to it but to do it!” Remus declared, suddenly appearing at Logan’s side and throwing an arm over his shoulder. 

“Quite,” Logan agreed, somewhat unsteadily. Look after her.

“Of course,” Barbra whispered. 

Logan nodded and strode over to his chosen vehicle, his lab coat already stocked with everything he could possibly need for this mission. One Roman and one Remus duplicate came with him. Janus got into their own car accompanied by their own set of duplicates; they would need to stop by Sophie Laufferty’s apartment for Janus to change cars, but the duplicates would continue on in Janus's car as backup. 

The plan was relatively simple, though perhaps far from easy. Logan would drive to the research and development facility Janus had identified as the place the Metahuman Affairs Agency was holding Virgil to perform an extraction. He would have one Roman and one Remus as backup, as well as to keep him apprised of the progress of the other parties. Janus, posing as Sophie Laufferty, would enter the Metahuman Affairs Agency building downtown and attempt to dismantle the Agency’s systems from the inside. Gemini would be making a spectacle of themselves all over the city so as to divert attention away from Logan and Janus. 

The goal, of course, was both to physically free Virgil and also ensure that the Agency would not be able to come after him again. 

Usually, Logan chose to commute in an unassuming white work van, but while that vehicle would be completely unremarkable in the middle of the city, he would need a stealthier choice to reach the secret facility in the woods. A slick black sedan was parked in the corner of the garage; it was rarely used for criminal activity, more often than not being used as Logan’s personal civilian car, but its flight capabilities would make it the perfect vehicle for the job. 

Roman and Remus were almost jarringly serious as they loaded into the car without even a small tussle for shotgun, but they cared about Virgil a lot and Logan knew they did not want to ruin the mission. 

“Do not press any buttons on the dash,” Logan warned Remus as she slid into the front seat beside him. “I’ve experimented on this car quite a bit, very few of the buttons do what you think they will.”

“How come we never knew about the flying car?” Roman demanded from the back seat. 

“What would you have done if you had known?” Logan asked pointedly. Roman pouted rather than answer. 

“Are there lasers?” Remus asked, eyeing the buttons eagerly, but sitting on her hands to alleviate temptation. 

“No,” Logan lied firmly. 

Janus’s car pulled out of the garage. After waiting two full minutes, Logan began to pull out as well. The originals of the twins were sitting on the hood of their usual crime van — Janus would need to get into position before their campaign of chaos could commence. Barbra and Nico were standing near the stairwell, watching them all go. 

This would work, Logan was sure of it. They had planned it out to the letter, and they were each skilled enough to deal with setbacks as they came. 

By the end of the day, Patton would have his father back, and Remy could continue to hate Logan to his face for not letting her come along. 

~~~END~~~

So I was stuck trying to write what my outline said the next chapter was, and after a lot of struggling, a lot of thinking, and running it past my friend, I decided to cut out what my outline said were the next two chapters and add one more later on, that's why there's not 52 chapters instead of 53 (I also wrote a much more detailed outline, so hopefully I won't get so stuck again)

There was supposed to be another chapter furthering the relationship between Logan and Remy, but I wasn’t clear what would happen in that chapter, and I actually felt like where their relationship was was fine for the endgame. There was also supposed to be another chapter of Thomas and Nico just to see them again, but I also didn’t have a clear idea of what would happen there. Easier this way

ODD taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @aeternum-ablaze @misunderstood-shadowling @lost-in-thought-20 @jackalopunny @jinxcrafter @apinkline2715 @gothfoxx @donutsarepartybagels @xoaningout @awful-at-naming-things @lunatatic

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

The Hazards of Living with Remy Holmes

Ao3

Summary: In general, Logan found living with Remy to be manageable, if occasionally annoying and/or nonsensical. Logan would appreciate, however, if their sibling could stop breaking into their apartment while Logan was there. Content: Sherlock Holmes AU; bickering, deductions, listen this is mostly logan and virgil verbally sparring while everyone flexes their low-level deduction muscles Pairings: Logan & Remy (future QPR), Remy & Virgil (siblings), Logan & Virgil (forced to put up with each other because of Remy) Notes: Hello TS fandom of 2024. How's it been

~

“Remy? Remy, have you seen my jacket?” Logan called out in his still fairly new apartment, halfway down the hall between his room and the apartment’s main sitting area as he spoke. His still fairly new roommate had been out the past few hours, but Logan had heard the door open while he had been shuffling through his closet for the fourth time that day. Normally, Logan would simply assume he had left his jacket at work- a not terribly uncommon occurrence, especially when he worked later shifts- but living with Remy came with a unique set of risk factors Logan had to keep a constant eye on. Case in point: “I swear, if you’ve got it wrapped around another ham-”

Reaching the end of the hallway, Logan cut himself off as he realized who was actually in the sitting area, frowning. “Ah. Virgil. I apologize, I didn’t realize we had been broken into.”

Virgil, sitting in one of the apartment’s armchairs like he belonged there, just smirked at Logan’s dry tone. “Not breaking in if I have a key, doc.”

“It is if we didn’t give you that key.” Logan countered, wrinkling his nose at the nickname. “And please, call me Dr. Watson. I’d hate for us to get friendly.”

Virgil chuckled. “Still holding a grudge, are we?”

“You kidnapped me, threatened me, and accused me of having homicidal intentions. I believe I have the right to a grudge.”

“Shouldn’t that be water under the bridge by now? I said sorry, didn’t I?”

“It’s been two months.” Logan reminded, crossing his arms. “And no, you haven’t.”

“Well, I’m sorry.” Virgil said, sounding about as apologetic as Logan had when he had greeted the intruder. “Better now?”

“Apology not accepted.” Logan answered flatly. “Might I ask why you have decided to darken my apartment?”

“Is visiting my sibling not a good enough reason for me to want to stop by?”

“Not dressed like that it isn’t.” Logan nodded at Virgil’s outfit, a well-fitted suit that would put the MIB’s to shame. Virgil did, occasionally, drop by just for the sake of a visit, but he arrived informally in those instances, imitating the mundane lives of civilians by doing things such as ‘wearing hoodies’ and ‘knocking on the door.’

Virgil glanced down at himself, as if he might have forgotten what he arrived. He tugged on his dark purple tie, the only hint of colour he allowed his formal wear, straightening it incrementally before looking back up at Logan. “You caught me. I have a case for Remy of… some governmental importance. Nothing dire, but important enough we want to ensure it’s handled properly.”

“You have a case for us, then.” Logan corrected, the statement petty, entirely for the sake of drawing a reaction. Logan was dragged alongside Remy to every case the unofficial detective worked, whether he liked it or not, and Virgil knew that perfectly well. It made no meaningful difference to Logan whether or not Virgil acknowledged that, but, as established, he was still holding a grudge over their first meeting. “That’s what you meant to say, correct?”

The annoyance that entered Virgil’s expression was slight, but Logan considered it a major success on his part.

Before Virgil could choose his response, the doorknob of the front door began to jiggle slightly, shaken by the motion of someone inserting their key. Both him and Logan turned to watch as the door was unlocked and pushed open as Remy entered, taking a moment to fully remove their key before closing the door behind them.

“I’m back, babes!” Remy greeted the apartment automatically as they dropped their keychain onto the shelf mounted above the sitting room’s lightswitch, flashing Logan a smile when they realized he was right in front of them. Their motions remained fairly routine up until they spotted Virgil, looking surprised by his presence but not as upset as Logan had been (and was). “Well this is unexpected.”

“I know I didn’t mention I’d be dropping in-”

Remy waved Virgil off before he could finish his sentence. “No, not that. I’d be more surprised if you gave me a heads up before swinging by, to be honest. I just can’t believe you and Lo managed to occupy the same room, alone, without killing each other.”

“As if your doctor could kill me.”

“The restraint I have showcased so far is not insubstantial.”

Logan and Virgil shot twin glares at each other as their replies overlapped, Remy laughing at the show. “Alright, girls, you’re both pretty. No need to start a fight now.”

“I would hardly-” Logan trailed off as he looked back towards Remy, paying more attention to the details of his appearance at the second glance than he had the first (more occupied then with the relief Remy’s company would provide). Specifically, he was paying more attention to the dark blue leather that was draped over them. “...Is that my jacket?”

Between their sunglasses and generally relaxed attitude, it wasn’t always the easiest thing to follow Remy’s thoughts, but Logan was still able to catch the quick twitch of their face. “Ah… is it? Could’ve sworn it was one of mine.”

In the peripheral of his vision, Logan watched Virgil raise an eyebrow. “It’s a size too big for you, Rem.”

Remy raised the hand holding their coffee cup in mock surrender. “Ok, you caught me. I was in a rush this morning, I wasn’t thinking and grabbed the first jacket I saw. Not my fault you left yours in the kitchen, hun.”

Logan sighed, though the sound wasn’t as annoyed as it probably should have been. Really, in the grand scheme of living-with-Remy things, his jacket getting accidentally commandeered was relatively harmless. “How far your brilliant deductive reasoning skills get you.”

Remy grinned at the (admittedly) heatless jab. From where he was still relegated to the corner of Logan’s vision, Virgil frowned, expression twisting into a more severe version of the one Remy wore when they were working out a particularly complicated puzzle.

Thankfully, he chose not to comment on whatever observation he had pulled out of thin air, instead clearing his throat to call back the room’s attention. “Yeah, speaking up your skills-”

“Let me guess: you’ve got a case for us.” Remy finished for him, missing the smug look Logan shot Virgil as they took a sip of their coffee. “Alright then, lay it on me. Since I know you won’t leave me alone ‘til it’s handled.”

“And this is the part where I step out.” Logan said before Virgil could begin, not in the mood to go through their usual song and dance of Virgil telling Remy the bare minimum of case-related information while making it very clear that Logan was the one with the lowest level of ‘need-to-know’ clearance. He moved across the sitting area, passing Remy to slip on the shoes he kept by the door. “You didn’t get the mail from Patton as you came up, did you?”

“I didn’t, no.”

“Then I shall use that as my excuse. I’m sure he’ll be happy to entertain me for at least five minutes.” Logan grabbed his keys from the shelf, aware he didn’t truly need them but wanting to have them nonetheless, and pulled open the door. “Remy, I trust you’ll fill me in on what I miss.”

“Yeah, of course, babes- but, wait a sec.” Logan paused in the doorway, turning his body around to face Remy once more. “You sure Pat’s going to be there? Today’s when he usually has his baking class.”

To the outside onlooker, Remy’s comment would have been perceived as nothing more than an innocent, and reasonable, observation. Patton’s baking classes were held twice weekly, Patton went to them consistently, and Logan had no direct reason to believe Patton would have skipped that day’s class for no reason.

Logan, however, was not the outside onlooker, and over the tops of Remy’s sunglasses, he could see the way their eyes glinted with a completely different question, one Logan was happy to answer.

“I’m certain he will be. His class was cancelled.”

“Oh yeah?” Remy prompted, grinning as he set Logan up. To the side, Virgil shifted in his seat, likely having picked up on the fact that Remy was building the conversation up to something. “How’d you know that?”

The corner of his mouth tipping up into a self-satisfied smile, Logan turned towards Virgil. “Because Virgil styled his hair.” He answered simply, taking a moment to appreciate as Virgil’s expression morphed from suspicion into outrage before he breezed out the door, shutting it behind him. The last thing he heard was Remy, laughing like the two of them had just told the funniest joke in the world.

Yes, living with Remy came with a unique set of challenges. But Logan found that, for Remy, he could be adaptable.

[somnum-siblings-ask]

Any crushes?

Remy's brown skin turned darker, clearly using obvious things to try and hide their blush. Using their coffee cup while drinking from it, using angles, etc.

"Oh, a crush?" Logan asked, not very red himself. "Yes, I do have a few crushes. Though I wish not to say at the moment."

[tsfander]

i unironically ship rosleep and losleep so hard it takes every atom in my body not to draw them and write full on fics about them becau-

look at him. do yall really expect me, megamultishipper9000, to NOT pair him with literally anybody. he is my roman empire.

[starlit-thighss]

I don’t have anything officially at least on my ao3, but I’ve plotted many an AU with one of my partners regarding him ! One specifically being a 1920s type mob AU and it’s losleep based ! Logan’s a singer in a night club (not by choice) and Remy works for some.. shady people. Shenanigans ensue lol we like to do a lot of worldbuilding together

@starlit-thighss

You dont have asks on so hi! Lol

I love the remy pfp! He your fave?

[emoprincey]

Remy: Bruh this coffee I bought is so good I'm so fuckin alert rn I could probably do a math problem

Logan: Correctly?

Remy: I don't know

(Dialogue from this post)

[edupunkn00b]

B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom

K -Say something nice about someone in any of your fandoms

Have fun! 🥰🥰🥰

Thank you so much for the Ask, Nici! :D

B - A Pairing I Didn't Consider At First

I had a very different answer for this before this morning. Originally, I might have said Intruality or Moxiety (honestly, any Patton ship, but especially those two) were difficult for me to really imagine. Then tiny stories and snippets won me over. But then…

After a little Discord chat with a wonderful friend and writer (Hi, Raven!) they completely sold me on Losleep. They helped me finally see the beauty and balance of them and… Oh, dear. Is this a fresh rarepair journey I'm on now?

F - Longest I've Been in a Fandom

Has to be Star Trek. It was my first convention, my first actual fanfiction was a Star Trek OC fan fic about Vulcans. And I'm still obsessed (even if I'm a little behind on the latest series.

I could argue Star Wars is my first, but Star Wars is more my mythology. My third word was Artoo, fourth was Threepio (theepio) so…

K - Say Something Nice

I'm going to fawn over you, Nici. Your stories are full of so much heart and I re-read them more often than you could ever know. And you were one of the very first Fanders who talked with me about the stories I was writing and you made me feel welcome and encouraged me to keep writing also far, far more than you could ever know.

Here's just one of Nici's amazing stories:

Here's the Ask these letters are from:

[lefaystrent]

Welcome to the Neighborhood part 8

Fandom: Thomas Sanders, Sanders Sides

Pairings: Prinxiety, hints of Remy/Logan?

Summary: Virgil’s really bad at peopling, or so his new neighbors find out.

Chapter Navigation: part 1, previous part

AO3 Link

________________________________________________________________

Staying at Patton’s house really made a dude consider the important things in life.

 Or rather, Patton was trying to force Virgil to consider the important things in life.

 “I just don’t think cooking is that important,” Virgil said.

 Patton had asked what kind of food he liked. ‘Microwavable’ apparently was not an acceptable answer.

 “Ya gotta eat some real food too, Virge!” Patton tried to persuade him. He gestured towards the stove as if he were trying out for a role on The Price is Right and Virgil could eventually win a trip on an African safari. Unfortunately for Patton, Virgil had watched plenty of animal planet. Lions were a thing that existed and they could eat Virgil.

 “It’s not gonna bite ya,” Patton lied to him, like liars do. Virgil continued to give the kitchen appliance an intense glare.

 Well, when in the African plains, do as the predators do.

 Virgil stepped up to the stove and frowned. “You don’t own me,” he whispered scathingly at the contraption, asserting his dominance. He imagined the stove trembled slightly, successfully terrified into submission.

 “Do you know how to cook?” Patton asked with a smile, though that smile became a little worried at Virgil’s possible answer.

 “Sure I do. You pick up the phone, order from whichever pizza place you’re feeling for the day, then—”

 “Virgil.”

 Virgil shrugged. “What can I say? I’m better at eating. Remy does the cooking.”

 At the mention of his roommate, Virgil grew quiet. He stared at the stove, remembering how just the other night he had watched as Remy sashayed around the kitchen cooking fried rice while singing along to Cher at the top of his lungs.

 Patton must have sensed the forlorn aura that grew around Virgil because he blurted out, “Let’s worry about dinner later! Wanna check out my scrapbooks?”

 Virgil let himself be dragged over to the corner of Patton’s living room which the man had lovingly referred to as his ‘scrapbook shrine’.

 “Okay, Grandma,” Virgil snorted.

 “I’m not a grandma,” Patton told him sternly. Then he grinned. “I’m a dad, silly!”

 Alright, staying with Patton these past couple of days hadn’t been so bad, even if he was rather appalled by Virgil’s lack of adulting skills. To be fair, Virgil never thought he’d last this long to bother learning ‘adult’ skills or whatever. If it hadn’t been for Remy . . .

 Here he was again, mind straying to his roommate, no matter how much Patton attempted to distract him (and Patton was surprisingly good at distractions). He hadn’t seen Remy since that night at the library. Patton had driven him home the next day to pack a bag of clothes. Remy’s car had been gone and the house empty.

 Still, Virgil felt only the tiniest bit guilty for racing through packing his bag, fearful of the moment his not-so-human roommate would return.

 More than that, he worried over what Remy could be doing right now. Like if he had taken that attacker away somewhere, or if he was skulking around some alley searching for blood to feast on, or if he was okay after everything.

 Virgil knew at least that Remy was alive out there somewhere. He’d been texting Virgil constantly. The texts practically blew up his phone every hour.

 Did Virgil check what any of them said?

 He’d never been known for his bravery.

 A coward. He was such a coward.

 He asked Patton at some point if he was a bad person for not checking them. Patton had instantly comforted him.

 “You just need to give it some time is all! Time and space, and if you’re not answering, Remy should understand your needs instead of trying to force it. It’s your decision whether you want to talk with him or not.”

 He guessed that was true. Although, a part of him—a big part deep, deep down—had hoped Patton would say yes, he was overreacting and should just talk to Remy and sort this mess out. Remy and him had been together for years.

 …that had to still mean something, right?

 But Patton seemed like the type to understand relationships better than him. So Virgil silenced the notifications from Remy and carried on as if he wasn’t breaking inside.

 He let Patton distract him with important adult skill lessons.

 That somehow equated to needing to teach Virgil how to drive.

 It was a futile mission only the bravest and foolish of souls would ever attempt to endeavor. Virgil tried to tell Patton as much.

 “Remy banned me from the driver’s seat for a reason.”

 “You can’t be that bad. Why, when I first started out, I refused to ever put the car in reverse.”

 “Uhh, why though?”

 “Because I think we should only move forward in life,” Patton told him sagely, placing a hand on his shoulder.

 “…how’d you get out of parking lots?”

 “I’ve had a lot of fender benders in my day.”

 Huh, maybe Virgil’s driving attempts weren’t so bad in comparison.

 “Let’s go break some traffic laws!” Patton cheered excitedly and led the way to the garage.

 Virgil chuckled darkly. Oh, his friend was in for a ride.

 ________________________________________________________________

 Virgil liked the methodical movement of sliding books into their proper places. He got an inexplicable jolt of satisfaction at seeing a sense of order return to a sliver of his chaotic world. Or maybe it was the excitement of tilting a book away from the shelf while no one was looking and pretending it opened a secret passageway somewhere. Even a public library had to have their share of secrets, right?

 “Greetings, my Donny Darkling! A most fabulously charming prince has arrived to bring excitement to your daily monotony.”

 Virgil looked around as if he couldn’t see Roman standing at the end of the bookshelf. “Where?”

 “Ack!” Roman made the best dramatic pinwheeling motion as Virgil’s slight hit his itty bitty baby fragile ego. “Excuse me! Do you not think that I am fabulous? Charming? Royalty?”

 “You’re something alright.” Virgil huffed, but the smirk he wore softened the blow.

 Roman pouted. A light red dusted over his cheeks (and good lord in gay heaven, did Virgil do that?). Virgil may or may not have wanted to press little kitten kisses over those cheeks just to see how red they could go. Maybe go so far as to soothe things over by assuring Roman with compliments that yes, he was certainly fabulous and charming. Virgil would take his hand, brush his thumb across his knuckles, and tell him he was only teasing, just to see if Roman would swoon or stutter or—

 Mentally, Virgil’s soul stepped out of his own body, turned to face himself in disapproval, and not so kindly shoved his head into the wood of the bookshelf in front of him.

 Roman huffed. “Is that any way to repay me after I graciously came to visit you at work?”

 “Pfft, more like distract me from my job,” Virgil said, turning back to his cart of books. They weren’t going to put themselves up, and Virgil desperately needed something else to focus on.

 Just as Virgil had his fingers wrapped around a hardcover, another hand rested over his. Surprised, he looked up into eyes with lashes so long and pretty they should be illegal.

 “Aww, you find me distracting?” Roman cooed, tone as flirty and playful as the way he batted those damn lashes at Virgil.

 Now, Virgil prided himself on being a smartass. His scathing remarks were a cornerstone of his personality even before he came to live with Remy, and Remy’s influence had done nothing but bolster his ability in sending weaker souls cowering in the corner with their tails between their legs. ‘Cuz Virgil was evil like that. Mwhahaha.

 In this particular scenario, Virgil could easily think of a hundred good or at least decent witty comebacks.

 ‘As distracting as an annoying kid brother,’ he could say.

 Or perhaps, ‘Obnoxiously distracting maybe.’

 But what came out of his mouth?

 “Yeah . . .” Virgil sighed like the love-sickened puppy he was, because—has he mentioned those eyes with the eyelashes? They were staring right at him! Looking all soft and brown and perfect. Like, who gave this man the right?

 Roman obviously wasn’t expecting an honest answer either, because he blinked and leaned back far enough for Virgil to catch his breath and consider burying himself under a pile of books. That same lovely color filled Roman’s cheeks, brighter than before, and he gave an airy giggle of delight.

 “In that case . . .” He raised Virgil’s hand, turning it palm up. He ran a nail along the lines of skin there, and Virgil swore he hadn’t always been this sensitive. A shiver danced a delightful trail up his spine. “How about I get out of your hair for now, but come back later to take you on that coffee date we agreed to go on?”

 Virgil was fairly certain that he would have gone anywhere this man asked him to go if he would only keep holding his hand like this. The miniscule pieces of his pride however reformed enough to get him to choke out a response, “I remember you asking, but I don’t remember me agreeing.”

 Roman smiled, saccharine sweet and tilted his head just right as he leaned back closer. “You agreed with your eyes.”

 Virgil shook his head and forced himself to snort at the cheesy line (to be honest though, his shriveled-raisin heart quivered under the attention). He shooed Roman away from him and resumed his book sorting. “Alright, alright. Pick me up when I get off of work.”

 “Gladly,” Roman beamed at him, walking away backwards with the utmost smug look on his face. “What time?”

 “Two, and you better not be late.”

 “Wouldn’t dream of it!”

 Virgil had resumed his work and had gotten all of two books on the shelf when Patton’s head poked around the end of the aisle.

 “You’re going on a date?” his coworker asked with sparkly goo-goo eyes.

 Virgil didn’t spare him a glance as he gently pushed his head back out of sight.