#or at least until Logan’s third home race

[sunrizef1]

Not that I whole-heartedly believe this, but if it is true, we narrowly avoided a much worse timeline where James had kicked Logan this week and stuck Esteban in his place

[minkyungseokie]

When Nothing Goes Right | LS2

synopsis; Y/n, Logan's long-distance gf, surprises him at the AusGP, but things aren't as happy as they should be

warnings; none

note; requested

note 2; Y/n has no mentioned race but doesn't know English. Jackson is an Oc and the reader’s older brother

Let me know whether you prefer first person or third person pov Please be nice. I haven't written in years and this is my first time writing for F1

Autosports Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Logan Masterlist

I do not give anyone permission to change, copy, or put my work on any other platform. It will only be on top, so if you see it, please report it. Or let me know.

It had been a few years since Y/n and Logan had begun dating. The two met as children after Y/n had started karting herself. They immediately hit off and stuck to each other like glue. Wherever Y/n was, you'd find Logan not far behind with a big smile on his face.

Their families could already tell that the two would be something more in the future. Your older siblings even started a bet on how long it would take for the two to fully understand their feelings and confess. Neither of them won because it only took them until the sixth grade to realize that what they felt wasn't platonic. They didn't understand their feelings fully, but they knew that they were no one just friends.

Everything has been perfect until Logan's career in karting began popping off and he soon entered F4. To make matters worse, Y/n's parents had split and decided that Y/n would go with her mother back to their home country. Dalton and Jackson thought it'd ruin the relationship the two youngest siblings had built and they'd break up, which would break the two since they were madly in love even if they fully couldn't understand what love was, but that wasn't the case.

Despite the distance between them, Y/n and Logan had decided to stay together and find long distance a try even though their parents, siblings, friends, cousins, and neighbours warned them that long distance was hard. Even people online said that long distance wasn't the best idea because it tended to end with one or both partners cheating on each other, however; Y/n and Logan trusted each other with their lives, so they decided to give it a chance.

                     •⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•

Now, Logan was a driver in Formula One and Y/n was studying at Uni. During their time apart, they'd only seen each other at least twice. Even though they haven't seen each other properly in years, they have only grown fonder of each other.

As the saying goes, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder"

Y/n plopped down on her bed in nothing but a towel, answering a FaceTime call that came in on her computer, "Hey, you." Y/n greeted happily, "Hey, babe. I'm sorry to call you so late. I know you're probably busy and tired from work..." Logan sighed. "No! You're fine, love. I just got out of the shower. Anyway, what's up?" Y/n asked, removing the towel off her head and running a hand through her hair, "Nothing much. I just wanted to see you." Logan flirted, giving Y/n a smile.

Y/n stood up from the bed and began towelling herself off, "That's cute. If I'm not wrong, the Australian GP is coming up. How do you feel?" Y/n questioned. "I'm excited. To be honest, I want doing well last year. But it's a new year and you know how I worked hard during the break, so I'm ready. Speaking of the Australian GP, do you think that you can come watch?" Logan hesitantly asked, looking down before looking back at Y/n, who was now sitting on her bed in pyjamas.

"I...Logie, you know I'd love to..." Y/n hesitantly started, "I know. You have work and school, but you have never come to a GP before. I want you to come to support me at least once. But I understand. I don't want to force or coerce you to do anything you can't or don't want to do. You'll eventually come to one, right?" Logan asked. "Of course. I plan on coming as soon as I have the time to." Y/n promised.

She kept thinking about the fact that she had never attended one of Logan's races and began feeling like a shit girlfriend, so she ended up DMing Logan's childhood friend whom she had only heard about from Logan, Oscar Piastri and he somehow got her in contact with Alex Albon, Logan's teammate. Together the three made plans to sneak Y/n into the GP without Logan noticing.

It wasn't hard.

She had notified her job and her school of her trip and packed for Australia. She got on a plane as soon as she could, which ended up being the afternoon of FP2,dropped her things off at the hotel, leaving it behind the desk so she could share a room with Logan, and made her way to the track with a VIP pass in her hand.

The girl was practically vibrating as she walked through the paddock by herself. She was supposed to be looking for Oscar or Alex, but she was way too excited to see her boyfriend again. Luckily, Alex spotted her while she was roaming the paddock, "Hey! You're Y/n, right? Logan's girlfriend?" The man asked, approaching her, "Oh, yes. You must be Alex. The teammate." Y/n said, holding out a hand for Alex to shake.

The British Thai driver looked down at her hand before taking it and giving it a firm shake, "It's lovely to meet you. Logan's been talking about you. A lot." Alex said, jokingly rolling his eyes as if he was annoyed, but he truthfully enjoyed seeing his teammate talk about someone who made him happy and kept him sane while he was having a shit year. "Hey, mate. Is this her?" Another voice asked, but this time it was with a strong Australian accent.

Y/n turned to see a brunette in an orange and black shirt approaching them, "You must be the Oscar Piastri that I heard so much about." Y/n said, reaching out fit his hand. Oscar smiled and shook her hand, "I am. You must be Y/n. Logan talks about you a lot." Oscar commented. "So I've been told. It's lovely seeing something other than the pictures Logan sent to me when you guys were younger." Y/n chuckled.

"Come on. FP2 is starting soon and we want you to reunite as quickly as possible." Alex said, leading you towards the garage with Oscar following behind, "So how long have you two been together?" Oscar questioned. "We've been dating for eleven years, I believe. Since we were twelve." Y/n answered, "Eleven years! That's a long time." Alex awed

Once they were close by, Y/n’s heart began to race. She hid behind Alex and Oscar so she was hidden while Oscar pulled out his phone to film the interaction, “Logan, mate! Come here.” Alex called, “What? Do you need something?” Logan asked, voice getting closer as he walked up to them. “We noticed you were feeling a bit nervous, so we brought you something to cheer you up.” Oscar spoke, “What is it?” Logan asked, narrowing his eyes. “Why don’t you guess?” Alex suggested, “Just tell me.” Logan said, “Come on, have a bit of fun with it. Guess.” Alex insisted.

“Just give me whatever it is, mate.” Logan groaned, Y/n chuckled and tapped the boys on their arms, signaling for them to step aside. Logan watched as Alex and Oscar shared a look before stepping aside to reveal his girlfriend. Logan’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened, “Surprise!” Y/n cheered, giving the American jazz hands. Logan ran towards Y/n and scooped her up into his arms.

“You’re here! You told me—“ “That I wouldn’t be able to come. I lied.” Y/n said, burying her face into his shoulder. Logan put her on the ground and bent down, kissing Y/n softly, “I’ve missed you so much.” He muttered, “And I’ve missed you, my love.” Y/n responded, kissing all over Logan’s face. “Logan, Alex, it’s time for free practice.” A engineer called out, “Go out there and do your thing. I’ll be rooting for you.” Y/n said, cupping Logan’s face and connecting their lips.

•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•

Y/n stood in the garage with headphones covering her ears. She couldn’t understand why she never came to a race weekend before, it was exhilarating. She could tell that her boyfriend wasn’t the best on the grid, but she knew he want the worse. It was just amazing to see him in his element, “Go, Logan!” Y/n muttered, clenching the chord between her fingers.

Y/n frowned as an odd feeling settled in her stomach. Y/n put a hand on her stomach and focused on the screen, attempting to ignore the feeling. Something was going to go wrong and she didn’t know what or when. Unfortunately, she didn’t have to wait too long to find out because Alex crashed his car, “Oh shit.” Y/n hissed, biting down in her knuckle.

“Hey, Alex. Are you alright?” Y/n asked, looking at the British Thai driver with concern. “I’m fine.” Alex answered walking away, obviously upset by the accident.

Y/n couldn’t help but feel bad for him, knowing that it absolutely sucks to crash even if she never watched or read up on the sport before.

Y/n made took off her headphones as Logan came back to the garage and jogged up to the American man, “That was so cool! I feel sorry for Alex, but that was so cool! I can’t wait to see you actually racing.” Y/n rambled, grabbing Logan’s hands on hers. While she rambled, Logan just smiled down at her with the softest gaze, “Do you want to go out after this? Or we can go to my hotel room? Have you gotten yourself one?” Logan asked, cupping your cheek.

“We should stay in. Catch up everything we missed and couldn’t talk about on the phone and no, I don’t have my own hotel room. Although, if I did, it probably won’t be getting used.” Y/n tittered. “Let me go get changed and we can go back to the hotel.” Logan said, kissing Y/n’s forehead before rising off to his driver’s room.

Y/n waited and waited, but it seemed like Logan was not coming out, which worried her. Did he get hurt or something? What was teasing so long? Y/n was leaning against the side of the garage, waiting for any sign of her boyfriend, but there was nothing. Until Alex came out, looking conflicted, “Hey, Alex. Where’s Logan?” Y/n questioned, pushing off the wall, “Um, he’s on his drivers room. He’s, uh, not happy right now, so maybe it’s better if you go see him.” Alex suggested.

He pointed out which room was his and continue on with his day, which didn’t really seem out of the ordinary to Y/n. She approached his door and knocked gently, “Logan? Is it alright if I come in?” Y/n called in a gentle voice. It was quiet for a moment before she heard a croaky, “Yeah.” Come from inside.

Y/n opened the door to see Logan sitting on the bench looking distressed, “Oh, what happened? Are you okay? Alex told me you were upset.” Y/n rushed over to her boyfriend, bombarding him with questions out of worry. Logan shook his head, “Alex wrecked his car,” Logan started, “Yeah, I saw that, but what does that have to do with you?” Y/n questioned, kneeling down in front of Logan and grabbing his hands.

“We don’t have a spare chassis, so they’re taking mine and giving it to Alex.” Logan sighed, “What?!” Y/n practically screeched, her confusion and weird turning into anger. “They said that since Alex is the better and more experienced driver, he most likely get the team points.” Logan explained further, “That’s stupid.” Y/n said bluntly, “Y/n…”

“No, don’t “Y/n…” me. I get that Alex it’s better and has more experience, but that’s that dumbest fucking decision I’ve ever heard. That’s like rewarding someone for fucking shit up! He crashed his chassis to the point where it had to be retired, so you have to give up yours? That’s bullshit, Logan!” Y/n argued. “I’m aware. I’ve given my all to this team. I worked myself to the bone during winter break when I could’ve been with you because I wanted it to be beneficial to this team. They are all aware of it.

James said he believed in me. James said he knew that I could go far if I just had a little more time in the car. But it doesn’t seem that way. Maybe I’m just not good enough.” Logan sniffed. Y/n wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck, placing his head on her chest and rubbing his back, “Shut up, Logan. Don’t you dare continue saying those things about yourself. You are good enough. If you weren’t, you would have been chosen for this team in the first place.”

“But—“

“No buts. The previous Williams owner saw something in you that no one else saw and picked you from Formulas Two to drive in Formula One. If you weren’t good enough, he most definitely wouldn’t have chosen you so early. James know he’s dead wrong for this. James know that this is going to be a blow to you, but he thinks getting points is more valuable than your growth. I’m sorry to say this, my love, but you honestly deserve so much better. It’s not your fault that Alex crashed the car. It’s not your fault that this team is so broke that it can’t afford another chassis.” Y/n angrily said, raising her voice before taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry. You’re upset and I’m over here ranting.” Y/n quieted down, pressing a kiss too the crown of Logan’s head, “It’s okay, babe. It’s what has to be done for the team to gain some points. It’s whatever.” Logan shrugged, “ no, it’s not whatever, but I’m not gonna continue talking about this. Instead, let’s go to the hotel and order food. We can watch our favorite movies together and cuddle until you feel better.” Y/n said, lifting Logan’s head so his eyes met her and giving him a calming smile.

Logan smiled, albeit it was a sad one, but a smile nonetheless, “I’d like that.” He said, “Good. And since you’re not racing tomorrow, maybe we can do a bit more than cuddling. But that’s only if you’re comfortable and willing.” Y/n teased, pulling Logan up from his seated position, “I’d really like that. Thank you for being here for me and I’m sorry you came all this way only to not see me race.” Logan apologized, “Bah, I do anything for you. It doesn’t matter whether you are racing or not, I’m still here for you and I’d still come. Y/n waved off his apology

“I love you.”

“Love you too. Now let’s go.”

[fxrmuladaydreams]

Can you do 11 from the smut list with Logan? (but the reader is the sub)

!! logan weekend requests are now closed !!

warnings: !! CONTAINS SMUT, MINORS DNI !! bondage, oral (f receiving), fingering, unprotected p in v

11 : tying them down as a punishment

The tears fall from your eyes freely, your legs tremble as Logan smirks at you from between them. He rolls his tongue over your clit, sending into yet another orgasm. You’ve lost count of how many you’ve had so far, you couldn’t really think all that straight after number four.

You cry out and squeeze your legs around his head as your wrists burn from pulling on them. Their tied up to the bedposts above your head with a scarf, something that you wouldn’t think would irritate them all that much, but apparently after being pulled on for the better part of an hour, still starts to hurt.

“Logan, I- I can’t-” You gasp as he softly presses his pointer finger to your clit.

“You can’t?” He scoffs. “I thought you wanted this?” He taunts you as he runs his fingers over your folds.

He’s telling the truth, after being gone for a triple header you wanted nothing more than for him to make you cum over and over again. You had wanted it so bad that you had broken his one rule. “Don’t touch yourself while I’m gone.” It was easy enough to follow, at least during the first week. The second was harder, and by the third you thought you were going crazy.

It happened while on a phone call with him. Your hand wandered under your sleep shorts while listening to him talk about his day. You were amazed at the fact that even just his voice could get you worked up.

You tried your best to keep quiet, huffing out quick, short breaths as you fell apart on your fingers.

Logan wasn’t stupid, he could tell what you were doing as soon as you started, but he let you have your fun.

“It’s good to know that my voice can get you off baby.” You hear him say through the phone. You’re too stunned to respond. “You know I’ll have to punish you when I get home, right.”

“Yes Lo.” You tell him, shame washing over you as you look down at your sticky fingers.

He seemed surprisingly normal when he came home. He swept you up in his arms, kissing you, telling you how much he missed you. You help him unpack, then cook some dinner together while he tells you about the races.

You almost think he’s forgotten about your punishment, until he pulls the black scarf from one of his drawers.

“You were a bad girl while I was gone. But I understand. You just wanted to cum, so now I’m going to make you cum over and over and over again.” He says as he ties you to the bed.

Now you feel almost numb, like everything is too much and not enough all at once. His finger curl deep inside you coaxing another orgasm out of you while you cry out his name.

Logan licks his fingers clean as he stands up from the bed. You let out a sigh of relief, thinking he’s finished, but feel your heartbeat pick up as he reaches down to unbuckle his belt.

“I’m not done with you yet baby.” He says as he frees his cock and climbs back on top of you.

[fruitcoops]

Can you write a thing about the first time remus looks into the stands during a game, and he realizes that people are holding up a sign for him, or wearing his jersey? i just need him to be so loved by the lions fans

Yes, yes, YES. He deserves all the fans, every single one. SW credit goes to @lumosinlove, but Annie is mine!

Remus still couldn’t believe it. He had already played three games with the team—as a player, a real-life, on-the-ice, paid-to-skate player—but it still felt like a dream every time he stepped into the rink. His parents had flown back home the previous day after a million and a half promises not to get hurt and to wear his mouthguard, and while Remus was used to them being gone, it felt different playing without them in the stands.

He fist-bumped Sirius on the way out of the locker room and knocked the fronts of their helmets together; his ‘captain mode’ had already taken over, but Remus still saw a smile as he passed. “Let’s go!” James whooped as the roar of the fans ahead deafened them.

Remus grinned, wild and broad, as his pulse picked up and adrenaline burned hot in his throat. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. The ice was smooth beneath his skates, made perfect just for them—he did one loop around the goal, two, and a third before snagging a puck and lining up across from James for a quick passing game. The rhythm soothed him; his wrists relaxed. Let’s go.

Talker whacked the backs of his legs as he passed and Remus checked him lightly, earning himself a bark of laughter. “Watch it, Loops!”

“Square up, Talkie!”

“Careful, you’ve gotta set a good example for your admirers,” he teased.

Remus paused, bewildered. “What?”

Talker tilted his chin toward the row of seats to the right and Remus turned, only to stop cold as red and gold filled his vision. There were jerseys for James, Sirius, Kasey, Finn, Kuny—

And him.

Dead center in a group of kids was a young girl with two missing front teeth, jumping up and down in excitement. The bright 6 on her jersey shone like new and she waved to him with both hands. To him, as if he was some sort of hero.

Her eyes widened when she saw him watching, and though her shriek was lost in the noise of the crowd, her joy reverberated through the plexiglass. He was moving before his brain caught up to his skates; in his gloves, his hands had begun to shake. “Hi!” he called, crouching down to her level with a tentative wave.

She whipped around and grabbed a woman—her mother, perhaps—by the hand, pulling with all the strength in her body.

“Hi,” Remus said again. He was too stunned to think of anything witty.

She beamed at him and pressed both palms to the glass, speaking too fast for him to hear. He glanced up to the woman next to her. You’re her favorite, she mouthed.

“Me?” He looked back to the little girl and pointed to himself, and she nodded frantically. “I like your jersey!”

She bounced on her toes and held the front of it out for him to see; he grabbed a stray puck off the ice, nearly fumbling it in his hurry.

“One second!” He held up one finger to make sure she understood before skating as fast as he could to the bench and snagging a silver pen from the collection, yanking his glove off with his teeth and signing his name. He didn’t have an official signature or anything—sloppy cursive would have to do. He tossed the pen toward his seat, not sparing any of his racing thoughts to wonder whether it landed.

The girl lit up when he returned, and her dark eyes grew huge when she saw the puck.

“For you!” he said as loud as he could, pointing to her. He gave her a clear count of three before tossing it over the boards; she caught it, almost dropped it, then hugged it close to her chest. Her whole face folded and tears began pouring down her cheeks. Remus’ heart plummeted.

His horror must have shown on his face, because the kid’s mother waved to get his attention and shook her head with a smile. She’s happy, she said. At least, Remus hoped he was reading her lips right. The little girl stepped back to the glass and shouted ‘thank you’ loud enough that he heard her through the glass.

“You’re welcome!” Remus yelled back, giving her a thumbs-up. He gestured toward the tunnel. “Come over after the game, okay?”

The kid looked to her mother, who smiled, then turned back to Remus and nodded enthusiastically. He high-fived her through the glass and headed back to the team, still grinning like an idiot.

“Head in the game, Loops!” Logan laughed.

“She’s got my jersey,” he said, running through his drills on muscle memory, lighter than air. “Tremzy, she had my jersey.”

“Who?”

He pointed to the gang of children; his fan was still near the front, clutching her puck. “Aw, Loops,” Logan cooed. “You’ve got a secret admirer.”

“She’s got my jersey,” he repeated.

Logan’s smile turned soft and he nudged him. “You’re part of the team, remember? Always have been, always will be.”

“Part of the team,” Remus muttered absentmindedly.

“Now come on, Lightning McQueen, we need you!” Logan smacked him on the helmet and took off, cackling. Remus rolled his eyes, though he didn’t lose the floaty feeling for the rest of warmups.

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

They won the game. Remus broke the land-speed record showering and all but sprinted to the mouth of the tunnel, sending a silent prayer up that the kid’s mom knew where to go. Come on, come on—

There.

She was still bouncing on her toes, though it looked more like she was searching for someone. The mother saw him first, and gently turned her around; Remus tried to stay calm and collected when she gasped loud enough that he heard it ten feet away.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said, crouching down to her level.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

“What’s your name?”

“This is Annie,” her mother informed him after a moment of silence.

“Nice to meet you, Annie. Nice jersey.” Her round cheeks flushed bright pink. “Did you know you’re the very first person I’ve seen wearing my number?”

She finally blinked. “Really?”

“Yep. It made my day.”

“You’re my favorite,” she blurted.

“Thanks,” he laughed. “Not a lot of people cheer for the rookies, so that means a lot.”

“You’re the fastest one on the team, and—and my mama says you’re really smart ‘cause you were on the bench an’ I know people were mean about you on the team but I don’t think that’s fair because you and Pots and Cap are the best line ever and yeah.” The flood of words left her a little breathless. “Yeah. Oh, and six is my lucky number.”

“Mine, too. Do you play hockey?”

“I want to. I think I’m too short.”

Remus felt his heart twist a little. “Annie, I was the shortest, scrawniest kid on my team until I was seventeen. You can do whatever you want to do. Don’t let anyone tell you different, okay?”

She stared at him for a long moment, then launched herself forward and threw her arms around his neck. “Annalise!” her mother gasped.

“It’s okay,” Remus assured her, holding down a laugh as he balanced himself to gently return her hug. “My little brother does this all the time.”

“You’ve gotta win the Cup this year,” Annie said—demanded, really—as she stepped back.

“I’ll do my best,” he promised. A mob of reporters hurried down the hallway toward the locker room, and he caught several staring at them as they passed. “Alright, I think that’s my cue to go.”

“What do you say?” Annie’s mother prompted quietly.

Annie smiled at him, brighter than sunshine. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for coming to the game, and drive safe.”

“We will.”

People liked him. They liked him, he was someone’s favorite. It was an astounding thought, and he only paid half-attention to the few interview questions that went his way. Some of the hashtags he had seen were awful—many people were calling favoritism, and the number of rude DMs seemed to increase every day—but the look of pure happiness on Annie’s face when he passed her a simple puck made them insignificant.

Who cared what assholes thought when he could make someone smile like that?

“What’s on your mind?” Sirius asked as they headed home, exhausted.

Remus shook his head, unable to keep his grin off his face. “She had my jersey.”

[wish-that-i-was-buckys-girl]

For dayton can you write being childhood best friends with him and you've always been there at his races and one day your running late so you don't get to see him before for his pep talk. And his race goes horribly and eventually when he sees you he gets angry and you get in to a argument. But eventually he makes it up to you.

A/N: Alright, here’s my first go at writing for Dayton White! I watched Logan Lucky and absolutely adored it. Dayton does not get the love he deserves! I decided Im going to make this at least a two parter, potentially spanning into one or two more. I really want to dive into the past with these two! This will focus more on their relationship growing up, while the second (and potentially third) part will contain more of the angst. Once again if I don’t write for a Seb character you like, just ask and I’ll try and gain access to it! I hope you guys enjoy. I also really hate to do this, but I recently quit my job due to a toxic work environment. Here is my ko-fi, if you can donate that would be cool, but if you can’t no pressure!!! Love you all ❤️

https://ko-fi.com/kyleey01

Pairings: Dayton White x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, no proofreading (I’ll get to it)

Word Count: 2.5k

You’re Always There Part 1

Your earliest memory of Dayton was meeting him at Memorial Park in your hometown. You were both 5 years old, new to the world outside of your home. It was the day before Kindergarten, and both of your parents wanted you to make new friends before the first day of school. Hopefully meeting someone in your class, they felt you wouldn’t be as scared being truly away from them for the first time. You only had a single mom, and she did everything for you that she could, even taking you to the park after her long day at work. Dayton had both parents, making it easier for him to let go and meet new people. His home was “complete” by societal standards.

“Mommy I don’t wanna go play on the slide. I wanna go home and play dinosaurs with you” you said looking up at your mother.

She kneeled down to look you in the eye, holding her shining gaze with yours looking both serious and concerned, “Honey, you know you go to school tomorrow. This is your chance to go meet someone new, maybe even have a friend when you go into school tomorrow.”

You were extremely hesitant. You loved your momma, and she loved you more than anything. You had friends on your street that you liked to play with, but your mom was never far away, only a quick yell and she would be there. This was different. She had told you she wasn’t going to be there if you needed her, and that you would have to wait until school was over to see her again. You cried for two days straight after you had the “school” talk. What were you going to do without your mom? She was your superhero, your friend, and the best mother in the whole wide world. You didn’t need anyone else. That’s what you thought, at least. Until you met Dayton.

“Go on chickadee, go make some friends. You’re a big girl now who can build pyramids with blocks and cut out dinosaurs with scissors, you can do anything” your mother said with a smile.

This was all you needed to muster up the courage to conquer the slide. You nodded at your mom and ran off towards the wooden playground. They really should’ve made these things plastic, with splinters and bee stings being common afflictions of being on the playground, but it didn’t matter to you. It was fun all the same.

You began to climb the steps of the huge castle, making your way through drawbridges and holes through the wood to get to the slide. There were two other little girls there, a little older than you, maybe seven. You mustered up a quiet “hi” but they didn’t hear you, already screaming and running off in a different direction. Just when your hopes of making a friend had been dashed, you heard another voice from behind you.

“Hi. What’s your name?”

A boy of brunette hair and ocean blue eyes was staring at you expectantly. You weren’t expecting anyone to respond except those girls, so you were timid at first. You opened your mouth to speak several times but nothing came out. You started to become overwhelmed, tears welling up in your eyes.

The boy noticed, looking at you confused. He had only asked you your name. However, his momma always said if someone was crying, you fix it.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me your name. Do you need a hug?”

All you could do was nod, strangely opening up to this welcoming boy. He smiled and brought you in for a tiny hug. He wants gentle, kind of rough actually as he swayed you back and forth with energy. He pulled away, hoping you had felt better. You did.

“I’m Dayton” he said, smiling at you.

You smiled back, with tear stains still on your cheek.

“I’m Y/N”

“Y/N, it looks like you need another hug” Dayton gave you another hug, holding you until he stopped hearing the faint sniffle that escaped your body every so often.

You pulled away, nodding to indicate you were alright now.

“You wanna go down the slide? My mommy is probably wondering where I am” Dayton asked innocently.

You nodded, relief washing over you that someone wanted to be your friend

“That sounds awesome.”

_______________________________________________

From that day forward, you and Dayton were attached at the hip. Elementary school had been a breeze. Thankfully, Dayton was in your class your first year. Although it didn’t stay that way, you would always find time to meet and play during recess. Recess time turned into meeting after school, and meeting after school extended into high school.

Dayton began racing during freshman year. Your school offered a racing club which allowed students to meet after school and go to various tracks in the state to see what it was like to race. You and Dayton had always gone Go-Kart driving on the weekends, but you never thought it would turn into anything serious. Dayton, however, has found his passion. He started building his own race car after school sophomore year, and even asked if you would come over to help. You knew absolutely nothing about building a race car, but Dayton wanted you to be there and that’s all that mattered.

“Y’know I know nothing about building a damn car right? Do YOU even know anything about building a car?” you posed to Dayton in an almost accusatory tone.

“As a matter of fact, Y/N, I have been studying how to build this ‘damn car’ for over a year now, so why don’t you put a little respect on Francine’s name?”

“Well, Dayton, I suggest you begin studying geometry before you fail the quarter. And you named the thing already? Is it your lover or you car?”

“It’s both” he gave you a weird wink, one on the left, and then another on the right in secession.

“You are absolutely gross, White. I can’t believe I ever agreed to go down that slide with you when we were five. It was probably all apart of your evil plan to keep me from being someone else’s best friend just so I could build this car with you” you rolled your eyes as you sat on the hood of his family car.

“God you’re so right. You caught me. Our entire friendship has been a sham, and it all led up to this moment. And now that I finally have you where I want you...” he said with a low growl, planting both of his hands on either side of you as you sat on the hood of his car.

“I’m gonna get ya!” He said tickling your sides

You shrieked, absolutely taken aback that his hands were all over you.

God, his hands were all over you.

Alright, maybe he is cute, but there was no way you two would ever date. You came to that conclusion a long time ago. Your crush developed in the 6th grade, which is absolutely astounding considering middle schoolers are anything but normal. Even in the most awkward stage of life Dayton still managed to be charming and cute as ever. You were determined to tell him, but he would never shut up about Stacey Waterson. You hated her with every fiber of your being. What was wrong with you after all? You had it all, at least that’s what your mom said. You were decently pretty, immensely funny, and his best friend. You shared everything together. What more could he want? Well, the answer to that question would be Stacey Waterson. He wanted her, and not you.

You came back to from the tickling after laughing for what seemed like minutes. Your sides were hurting from contracting your ab muscles for too long. You pushed Dayton off of you playfully, but he pounced back on you, pinning your arms above your head.

“Say the password and I’ll let you go” he stared you down, being absolutely serious.

However, you wanted to double check.

“You can’t be serious” you retorted back, completely flustered due to the situation you were currently in on top of the incessant tickling that occurred just moments before.

“Oh, I’m serious. Say the password and I’ll let you go!” He said with a huge smile on his face.

“Jesus Christ, let me go you dick” you said while struggling to get up.

Dayton made a loud buzzing sound in your face.

“Try again!”

“Dayton come on let me up!”

Dayton made another loud buzzing sound in your face.

“Come on Y/N, just one little word and this can all go away. All you gotta do is say..”

“Goddamnit Dayton, chicken! Chicken for fuck’s sake” you said waiting for his response.

Dayton made another loud buzzing sound in your face.

“I’m sorry, that’s the old password. There’s a new password” he smiled at you, knowing this was ridiculous.

You finally mustered up the strength to push him off of you.

“What do you mean the password has changed!”

The password “chicken” has been used in every single scenario since you first let. For whatever reason, You and Dayton found that word hilarious when you were at a birthday party in the third grade. It was Danny Henry’s 8th birthday, and of course it was chicken themed. Every child gets infatuated with a new thing every year. Danny happened to live on a farm, and all year he wouldn’t stop talking about getting a pet chicken. You all wore chicken hats, there were chicken plates, a chicken cake. There was even a “Pin the Beak on the Chicken” game which, if you do say so yourself, was way more entertaining than “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” You and Dayton lost it by the time your mom picked you up from the party, absolutely hysterical in the backseat. Ever since then, it was your secret password for everything.

“I was thinking we should change stuff up. Make up a new password, it has been seven years since we thought of one.”

“Oh yeah? And what is this new life changing password that is soooo good that our childhood memory is being brushed under the rug?” you question.

Dayton had an almost hurt look on his face, but he proposed the new password to you anyways. 

“I thought the new password could be Francine. Y’know, I just think this is another great milestone in our friendship, working on this car and all. This day is really important to me and I’m glad you’re here” he said with sincerity.

You didn’t know what to say. This day did mean a lot to him, and your friendship overall. 

You nodded in agreement. 

“Alright, the new password is Francine. However, I will still be accepting chicken as a password in the future.”

Dayton smiled one of the biggest smiles you had ever seen.

“Deal. Now, let’s get this car on the road. We have a lot of work to do if I’m gonna be ready for my first ever official race next Saturday.”

______________________________________________

Race day was here. You woke up early next Saturday morning and drove over to Dayton’s house to pick him up to go to the race track. Dayton’s dad was taking his race car down in their trailer, but you and Dayton wanted to head to your special place before the race. It was eight o’clock in the morning and Dayton had until noon to get to the race track. 

Ever since the 6th grade, you and Dayton would walk to this rock in the woods after school to talk about your day. Your mom got home at seven every night, so you only had four hours to do something before she got home and realized you were “missing.” You talked about everything on that rock, and that rock was also where you realized you had the biggest crush on someone since your infatuation with Paul Rudd in “Clueless.”

You pulled up in your beat up Dodge Intrepid, newly sporting your license. You grabbed some granola bars and bottles of orange juice to enjoy while sitting on the rock.

You both sat down on ground, leaning up against the thing. You both sighed and enjoyed the crisp cool morning air. Finally, you broke the silence.

“You nervous for today?”

Dayton looked down between his legs while chewing on his granola bar.

“I am absolutely terrified. I mean, what if I mess up?”

You laughed a little.

He looked at you with confusion.

“What’s so funny?” 

You shook your head.

“it’s your first are Dayton. It’s okay to be nervous and even mess up. At the end of the day, everyone is going to be proud of you. We’ll all tell you how great you did because we know how much you care about this. You’ll do amazing.”

He smiled, almost not expecting such kind words to come from your mouth.

“You’re something else Y/N, ya know that?”

“Oh yeah? Stacey Waterson is something else too I bet” you said half jokingly, half serious.

He rolled his eyes. 

“Who gives a fuck about Stacey Waterson when I have a girl like you to cheer me on and surprisingly gives the best pep talks.”

“Well the way I see it she was the one who got the invitation to prom, not little old me who will be spending that Saturday night in my basement playing my PlayStation.” 

He shook his head again.

“I never asked Stacey to prom.”

You suddenly shifted to look at him square in the face.

“What?”

“I said, I didn't ask Stacey to prom.”

You were dumbfounded. He told you he was absolutely determined to take her. What had changed?

“W-Why? Why didn’t you ask her?”

He kept smiling and shaking his head.

“God Y/N, for being one of the smartest girls I have ever met you really can be dumb sometimes.”

“Excuse you, Dayton White, I happen to be taking AP U.S History, Honors Biology, and-”

That’s when you thought heaven had fell down from the skies and landed right on that rock.

Dayton had leaned in and kissed you. God, why did he have to be so charming?

He slowly took your lip into his mouth and gently sucked on it. You reciprocated by taking his top lip into your mouth and began moving your mouth with his. Time had stopped. It felt like you had molded into one person, enjoying the sensation of each other’s lips. 

He finally pulled away, looking you dead in the eyes.

“Do you understand now?”

You nodded, still stunned by his actions.

“I think we better go. I wanna see this handsome boy I kissed win his first race.”

[earnestly-endlessly]

hi friend!! can you rec me all fics which involve cherik and cats? apologies if you've done this before :)

Hi anon, thank you for the ask. No, I don't think I have done a list involving cherik and cats before. Once again I've divided the list into different categories because the ask wasn't clear on whether you wanted fics where they are cats or just ones that involve cats, so I did both. I hope you find some good ones on this list :)

Cherik Cat AU

-They are cats or get turned into a cat-

Humane Society – smilebackwards

Summary: Once Erik finally allows himself to decide that Charles is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread, he spends the next week being incredibly bitter that he's Charles' cat and not his boyfriend.

the pawsitively unfurtunate tail of his royal majesty king charles the third – ikeracity

Summary: A vicious curse transforms Charles Xavier, High King of Westchester, into a cat. This is very unfortunate for a number of reasons.

Having Kittens – so_shyy

Summary: 'My boyfriend is a pregnant female telepathic cat,' Erik said. 'I think this time I'm entitled to panic.'

Cafuné – nanashi_tomo

Summary: So of course, the rest of the afternoon was spent in a rousing game of ‘What Can We Do To Make The Professor’s Tail Puff Up Like A Bottle Brush?’

The Cat’s Meow – ferretbaby

Summary: Based off a prompt on kink meme: When Erik offends a potential recruit to the Brotherhood, the mutant gets back at him by turning his beloved cat into a human being. Cue Charles pouncing on Erik, waking up all over him, trying to sleep over Hank's computer cause it's warm, chasing birds, caressing himself over other people and overall bothering Erik until he gets petted and purrs happily. There is sexy time eventually.

Notes/Warnings: Slight Beastiality (Charles is half cat here), sex, crack, romance.

Sex Kitten – Cesare, helens78

Summary: On a recruitment trip, Charles and Erik encounter a mutant whose power leaves Charles a little... changed.

Kitty Cats and Sacred Pacts – Ember

Summary: Erik is an every day citizen whose line of work just happens to force him to rub elbows with the wealthy. And so when a very important costumer asks him to look after his pet, Erik has really little choice but to say yes. Even if that pet happens to not be all that every day...

In a society where Felixes, a race of cat like people, are pets for the rich, Erik finds himself with a luxury item he may be falling in love with when he acquires Chance. Not only that, Erik is soon plagued with odd dreams of a past life... and a great tragedy which became of it.

But the Cat Came Back – twelve_pastels

Summary: “Oh, look! It’s Charles, and he’s been transformed into a cat by a malevolent government program! I wonder how I can change him back and thereby secure his love forever and ever, amen?”

Strays – Teacandles

Summary: Raven's handicapped corgi Charles has a bad habit of finding stray kittens and bringing them home with him. One day, instead of finding an adorable kitten, Charles befriends a rough-and-tumble alley cat. Hank is not amused.

Hairy Conniption Fits (and other hazards of fatherhood) – Quietbang

Summary:The one where they're all kittens.

-Involving Cherik and cats-

Feline Persuasion – unforgotten

Summary: When Charles looks down at his wristwatch and realizes he’s been going on about catnip brands for at least ten minutes, he realizes several other things too: he is officially a crazy cat person now. And he is never going to get laid again.

The kitten! Verse – Ren

Summary: Modern AU in which Charles and Erik are flatmates. Charles studies psychology and likes tea and chess and keeps bringing home stray kittens, and Erik lets him because he's maybe perhaps a little bit sort of in love with him.

Series

On the nuisance that are cats and their owners – sirona

Summary: Fucking cats. Fucking Charles with his soft heart and his blue, blue eyes and his fond smirk that turns filthy at the drop of a hat. Fucking Erik for not being able to refuse him anything when Charles looks at him like that.

A Shark Amongst the Kittens – orphan_account

Summary: Charles has a lot of cats. He sort of collects them without meaning to, really, and it isn't his fault.

Enter The Purrminator / More Tea, Purrfessor? – Anonysquirrel (chibirisuchan)

Summary: "I think Mendel would be a perfectly lovely name for a cat -- especially one displaying such a pretty instance of Ss bicolor genes and a non-tabby agouti mutation! The tuxedo pattern's genetics are fairly well established, but no one's quite isolated the allele for those mittens--"

"I could get behind Tux. Or Tuxie, if he's a she."

"I can't," Charles said, rubbing his temples. "Honestly, love, it's a miracle we've ever managed to name our children."

In which Alex brings home more strays, and Charles doesn't mind.

A Cat Named Erik (The Very Next Day Remix) – JackyJango

Summary: One day, Logan breezes into their house like he bloody belongs there, with a cigar stubbed between his lips, a cat in hand and an expression so smug that Erik wants to do nothing more in that moment than burn Logan’s eyes with the said cigar.

'I found this cat while rescuing a building, Charles. He was homeless. I thought you'd like to keep him,’ Logan says. Erik begins to protest but Charles holds the cat and awws and coos, and Erik's protests die a strangled death. Logan smirks looking directly into Erik's eyes, and says, 'Oh, and the locals say that his name is Erik.'

Series

Whiskers in a Twist – endingthemes 

Summary: Charles brings home a cat. Erik is not pleased.

[spirallingintotheabyss]

Virgil and Roman, college au (virgil is the shy nerd and roman is the rude jock) enemies to lovers and (I'll be nice 20-30 mins)

I'm not Copying high school musical, I'm simply Taking Inspiration /hj

---

It was a new school. Virgil's first day. As expected, his heart was racing for the Olympics. To say nervous was an understatement. Terrified was a better word. His brother Logan assured him that he would be fine, and had sprouted a lot of statistics of people joining new schools.

He'd already had an induction, so today was his first day on his own. Well, with a partner to help ease him in.

--

"Virgil, this is Roman. He will show you around, until you're used to the way things work."

A jock. Roman was the star of the football team, and Virgil could feel the judgment already. But there was something about him-

"hi nerd. This is our college, cafeterias here, sports hall is down the corridor to the right, arts here, science here-" His voice was deep, and soothing. Like waves lapping on a shore.

"...and I think that's everything. Do you mine me going there? I needed to speak to my friends-"

"yeah sure, go ahead" Virgil was partly relieved to see him go, partly scared as his map was now at a table. Laughing with friends. Probably at him.

--

After lunch (which he spent alone) Virgil had gone to his next class. drama.

It should have been a quiet, uneventful class if not for 2 things. Romans presence and the teacher, miss Smith, discovering his "hidden potential".

"you're auditioning for our show, it's in December, and I believe you have what it takes to be a star" she was way too excited for a Monday.

"no thanks i-" but before he could speak against acting, the bell rang. At least he was good at science. It should be ok.

He was wrong. Roman and his friends were there, talking about him.

"nice makeup" one of the tall ones. This was the third time he had heard him say this. And the third time Roman had surprisingly punched him lightly, signalling him to stop.

"I don't need your protection" of course Roman would be condescending. But Virgil didn't need a knight in shining armour. He needed to go home and drink more coffee.

"fine, but I'm only looking it for you! No need to get so defensive!" Romans eyes twinkled, reflecting the bright lights in the lab.

Virgil didn't make it 3 steps out the door.

"Where are you going? We have drama." Roman grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the classroom.

"I have homework- let me go!" No matter how much he struggled, Virgil couldn't break free. Resigned to his fare, he walked beside Roman in silence, till they made it to the class.

--

"fantastic! You're both here! Now sit down, auditions are tomorrow. You will each present a 2 minute performance that you feel best suits the character you want. Remember in this play, anyone can audition for any part. Virgil, have you chosen the part you would like to audition for?"

Seeing the shake of his head she let him know that he'd been assigned to audition for one of the leads. Be knew he shouldn't have shared his acting history at his old school.

---

The next day went by in a blur, Roman had offered to let him sit with his friends at lunch, but it was obviously sarcastic so Virgil had sat alone. Again. The only difference today was Romans sparkly red nail polish.

Nobody commented on Virgil's makeup today.

Then it was time for drama. They gave their auditions in private, though everyone could hear Roman singing. Despite his opinion of him, it sounded good and Virgil knew that Roman would get any part he wanted. Virgil have his, a part of a scene from snow white, where she eats the apple. He hoped that would be enough to drive Miss Smith's attention away from him.

---

The next day was loud. The cast lists had been revealed. And the ones who had gotten the leads, the lovestruck protagonists, were...

Virgil and Roman? He'd gotten the part. He was a lead. But so was Roman. And by the look on the other boys face, he was just as surprised.

--

The next few weeks had gone by in a blur. Rehearsing most scenes.

Then miss Smith had pulled him and Roman aside.

"boys, the show is coming soon, and we are behind. If it's not too much, would you both be ok rehearsing after school? We need to be ready for December"

In the end they had no choice. Roman grabbed Virgil by the shoulder as he went to leave.

"my house, 8pm? Here's my number, I'll text you the address." And he was gone. Virgil felt sick, his stomach was turning and he wiped his palms on his jeans. This will be alright, right?

---

"is this too much? Do I need a suit? Or is that too formal? What do I wear? Do I go in costume?"

"you are properly dressed Virgil. Now go, his house is only a 3 minute walk" Logan had basically dragged him out the house. The walk went too quickly. He faced Romans doorbell.

---

They were alone in the house. Just practicing some scenes, when they got to That one. The kiss.

"if you're uncomfortable we can cut it-" Roman was kinder here. Without his friends he was almost...nice to be around.

"it's ok. Is the idea of kissing me that bad princey?" He smirked as Romans cheeks flushed red.

"no! Of course not i-"

"relax. That was a joke." Virgil picked up the script. "Ready?"

It was going smoothly. Then Roman got closer, and closer. His lips were inches away. They were softer than feathers. Virgil's cheats exploded with butterflies and his thoughts were quiet for once.

"was that ok? Are you still ok to do this?-" Virgil cut him off with another kiss. His heart was light and his face was on fire.

"that wasn't in the script nerd." It was Virgil's turn to be flustered.

"I'm sorry i-"

"hey, I enjoyed it." He did? He felt the same? Whatever that was.

"you know, to make the acting more realistic, maybe we should do this again? It doesn't have to be here." Roman was bright pink.

"but where else can we rehearse-"

"I'm asking you on a date!" Roman? Handsome, smart, talented Roman was asking him on a date??

"oh- are you free next Saturday?" Was this happening? Was he asking Roman on a date? Is this a good idea?

"as a matter of fact, I am. I'll pick you up at 7?"

"it's a date, princey"

[achliegh]

Hi! I'd love to see the twins birthdays from the Olive and Otto prompt list. I love both characters!

Hello my Garbage Clan!

number  4. The twins birthdays (4-7 For right now)

Here it is, I hope you enjoy it! 

I really enjoyed writing this one, it was fun!

TW/CW: Complete Chaos, Food, Just a mess, Mild breakdown, I feel like there is just always chaos with this family.

Characters belong to @lumosinlove

July 31st 2020

Leo was excited, probably more excited than his spawns. He was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, making all of the kids favorite foods. He was making an ice cream cake made of ice cream bars, whipped cream, chocolate chips and malt mix. It was his favorite thing for him when he was a small child and he knows the twins foam at the mouth for ice cream. Putting the cake back into the freezer he can’t stop smiling. He never thought anything of having kids until he and Ink started at the positive pregnancy test for a solid twenty minutes. 

Now he couldn’t imagine his life without them, the kids were napping with his boyfriends and he took so many pictures it was probably what was causing his phone to tell him he’s out of storage. It was Olive and Logan on the bed the twins were occupying while staying with them, all starfished out and Logan was drooling with Olive was making the cutest little snoring noises. Ott and Finn had fallen asleep on the couch while Finn was reading to the little knucklehead. Book resting on their laps with Otto snuggled into Finn’s chest gripping his shirt. 

How did he get so lucky?

Humming to the music in his one earphone so he didn't wake the chaos just yet, he heard the front door open. He looks up from where he was checking the sausages he was cooking. Waving silently and putting a finger to his lips signaled for Ink, June, Noelle and Thomas to be quiet. They were in charge of decorating, bright colors were the kids favorites. Olive has a heart for sports, literally any sport, while Otto is a sucker for drawing right now. That included on their white sweatshirts and walls. 

So a coloring section was set up and all they could come up with for sports besides just going to the rink, which was closed due to updates to the frame, was WII games. Lame but so fun. She wanted to go rollerblading but the cat that is wandering around the apartment tells Leo she would try to bring home another animal. 

After everything was set up and the apartment was full of hockey players in little party hats and anxious kids. They woke the chaos, and chaos was it. Olive was so shocked with all the people in the apartment she just turned around and closed the door behind her. After a few seconds she came back out and acted surprised causing a laugh from all the adults.

Otto was awoken by Finn laughing as twenty other kids climbed on top of him to wake them up. Otto smiled and flushed at all the attention. He got up and ran to Leo. Who picked him up and kissed his cheek.

“Happy Birthday Buddy” Otto buries his face into his neck still blushing hard. Especially when Celeste comes up and kisses both his cheeks. He has had a fascination with her since they first met at family skate.

“Kuny!” Olive sees her favorite person with his mouth full of pickles wrapped in prosciutto and basically tackles him to the ground while Nado and Ink laugh. They were discussing the new tattoo that Nado and Kuny want. Same but different. 

Kuny hugs her and swallows the pickles before standing up and swinging her upside down like everyone knows she loves. 

When it came to opening presents there were so many that Leo didn't know where they were all going to fit, besides in the third bedroom that isn’t ever used. When it came to Leo and Ink’s presents for the twins they were the very last ones. 

Ink gave Otto her old sketchbook to draw in, all her old sketches were taken out, she also gave him a bunch of markers and told him they would be taken away if they found any marks on the walls. To Olive she gave her a brand new pair of roller skates. Bright green with black accents because Olive hasn’t stopped talking about Shego from Kim Possible.

Leo gave Otto a build-a-bear that was a lion and had the team saying they loved him, so he could take it to doctors appointments and anywhere else he wanted and he would always be loved. What they didn’t expect was for Otto to start crying, he was always a quiet little thing that kept to himself unless his social batter was on full. He also was really bad at controlling his emotions, but he is a small child so what do you expect. Otto sobbed into the lion and then looked at the team like they were the most amazing people in the world. Dumo held him while Ink talked to him softly and Leo gave Olive her give. Gymnastic lessons starting next week, they were in NOLA as the twins would be going back with Ink in two days. She squealed and hugged him while jumping up and down.

The rest of the night went smoothly… Until Marc and Otto started a food fight with the ice cream cake.

July 31st 2021

5 years old. They were past the terrible twos and the terrible threes. The kids were in school and their mother and her wife had moved into a cottage outside of Gryff. Finn was out with the kids trying to distract them in a candy shop while the cottage was being filled with people and food. 

Everyone was frantically trying to set up for the surprise, everything from the blow up obstacle course and the ball pit, to the video games in the basement. The music was playing from the bluetooth speakers all over the house, they were going through a country music faze much to the dismay of most of the team. 

Otto also hasn’t stopped wearing Leo’s old cowboy hat for at least a month.

It was time, they heard Finn’s car rolling up the driveway and everyone froze, scrambling to their horrible hiding spots, everyone waited for the double troubles to walk in. The minutes ticked by getting more and more uncomfortable. The front door swung open and Finn fell down face first into the ground with two back pack sized bags of candy on his back. He groans, the twins rush in and scream that they are home at the top of their lungs. When no one answers they narrow their eyes. Looking at each other for a moment using their twin talk through their brains, they immediately start searching the house. 

Once they find the first person, Remus who sneezed from behind the couch everyone jumps out and surprises them. They scream and cling to Remus who can’t stop laughing. When he stands up the kids are still clinging to him, he isn’t even holding them, they are just gripping him that tightly. 

Finn eventually gets help standing up and looks exhausted, Leo showers him in kisses and Logan hugs him tight enough to pop his back. 

As per usual Ink And Leo are the last to give gifts.

Ink hands them both piercing vouchers at her shop, ever since Logan and Sirius got their ears pierced they wanted to do the same. Otto just wanted one while Olive wanted both. They were hopping around so excited already planning to get them done tomorrow. Ink smiles and leans back into June, as the kids run around them.

Leo straight up just gave them new skates since they have outgrown their others. Olive is the most excited because she has been watching Kuny and Logan like a hawk on the ice, she is learning how to fight and skate aggressively which is slightly worrying for a five year old. But she can hold her own against stupid people who like to tell her she is a girl and can’t do boy things. 

They have had to pull her away from a couple people. She started therapy a week later.

The rest of the night went smoothly and to make this a great night, Ink let the kids pick where they wanted to stay. Otto chose Sirius and Remus while Olive , of course, chose Kuny and Nado. 

July 31st 2022

They were at the rink this year for their sixth birthday, and boy were they tearing up the ice. They had mini pick up games with the kids (minus Otto). They had races and even limbo. It was nice and cool inside compared to the more warm but not hot compared to NOLA outside. 

This was also the birthday when Otto told Leo he wanted to try figure skating. Leo smiled so big at him and nodded.

“I think that's a great idea.”

Otto was all smiles the rest of the day talking about the cool moves he saw on tv at the last winter olympics. He said he wanted to skate to fast music instead of the slow pretty music. He wanted to dance to hard rock and controversial music because he's a rebel. 

Olive was still trying to decide if she wanted to be a winger or a defense player for hockey, but she loved hockey so much. She would watch any hockey game and would beg her dad to let her come to practice with him.

Finn and Logan found it amusing until she would get frustrated and start crying.  

The twins were a little sad when they found out they couldn’t invite their school friends to 

Their party because no one knew who their parents were yet. It put a damper on things a bit but the kids loved the team so they didn’t mind too much. Especially when Regulus showed up.

Since Reg and Leo were such good friends he would babysit the twins every once in a while and they all got on so well, almost like siblings. Olive would talk about anything and everything with him while Otto just cuddled up to him. Reg almost replaced Kun in Olive's eyes but she would never give him up. She would remind him every time she saw Kuny.

The rink was their presents from Leo this year.

Ink gave them plane tickets to come and visit her new shop opening up in New York with her. They always felt at home in the tattoo shop. There are literally pictures of one of the twins in a sling around Ink as she would tattoo when they were much younger. 

July 31st 2023

The twins didn’t want a birthday party this year, yes they still loved the team, but they just wanted dinner with their family. Very mature for small children. They picked the food and helped make it while Logan and June set the table and Finn and Ink playfully argue about which tv show they should put on. Olive was mixing something in a bowl with Otto when the arguing stopped, they had landed on a really old episode of spongebob and agreed this is what they would watch. Logan and June just watched them lovingly.

“What’s on your mind, Sugarbug?” Leo noticed her staring at Finn and Ink with her think face on. She looks up at him and leaves Otto to finish mixing the mashed potatoes. She looks up at her dad.

“Why don’t we have a normal family? I went to my friend Sam’s house and they only had one mom and one dad.” Leo was obviously stunned for a moment, seeing Otto nod in agreement with Olive he leans against the counter. He knew he would have to have this conversation someday but he didn’t expect it when they were seven. 

“We aren’t a normal family. We are interesting and fun, I mean how many kids do you think have five people to take care of them.” He smiles at them but only gets a slight shrug from Olive, Otto nods a little but not very committed. “We can talk about it more at bedtime, okay?” He pushed her hair behind her ear, she looks up at him with those giant blue eyes and he wonders if she get bullied because she can’t talk about her parents. “Let’s have a good time eating with just family. If I remember correctly there is an ice cream cake in the freezer.” 

That perks them up. Once everything is made and settled they start to eat. Leo keeps an eye on the kids throughout the meal and sees them relax halfway through the meal. He needs to talk to Ink about how to explain their situation properly.

All the twins wanted for gifts there year was a night with just Ink and Leo… and a new monster truck toy that you control with a remote so they could run over all their Barbie's.

[chroniclackofselfpreservation]

Creatures of the Night

Chapter 1 - for it is important that awake people be awake

Next chapter >    

AO3  (go to AO3 for complete list of tags for this fic)

Masterlist

(TW: violence/graphic imagery, guns, snakes, fear)

(The title for this chapter comes from “A Ritual to Read to Each Other” by William E. Stafford.)

Roman's gut twisted painfully and his eyes snapped open. He sat up. His room was still dark, the heavy curtains blocking out whatever moonlight would have fallen across his bed, but he didn’t need it. He’d lain his clothes and equipment out before going to sleep a few hours earlier. The routine was so ingrained into his mind at this point, light became arbitrary.

Roman’s movements were almost mechanical as he folded back the covers and slipped into his shirt, pants, and armor with long-earned efficiency. The armor was a gift from Logan, who stood as the only person Roman had ever told about his nightly endeavors. It was made of a tough but flexible leather that wasn’t as protective as metal, but far quieter—which Roman found worked to his advantage most nights. Logan, being the obsessive problem-solver he so often was, hated the fact that there was nothing he could do to alleviate the curse. It had been sealed in Roman’s own blood—against his will, of course, but it made no difference. According to the dragon witch, whose brilliant plan it was to have Roman fight a demon for the rest of his life, had told him that he was the only one capable of keeping it at bay.

Yeah, right, he thought sourly as he wrapped a ruby amulet around his bicep. Another “gift” from that blasted dragon witch. Roman had given up pestering her for a remedy for the curse several months ago, finding the long haul up into the mountains far too much work just to be rejected. He couldn’t even kill the stupid thing. It was immortal. He could weaken it, sure, and make things easier for himself for a few weeks, but it always came back.

Sometimes stronger.

What did the dragon witch expect to happen? Eventually, he would die. Whether it was the demon’s doing was yet to be seen, but he definitely wouldn’t outlive it. What then? Would she simply pass the curse on to another? Continue the viscous cycle of torment? Stop complaining, he scolded himself, pressing his lips into a thin line and cinching the leather guard tight about his forearm. It’s been a year. You should be over this by now. 

Picking up the pace, Roman holstered his two pistols on either side of his belt, slipped a dagger into a sheath secured around his stomach beneath his shirt, and picked up his sword. He was best with the blade, though he wasn’t foolish enough to go in without back up weaponry. He despised the guns most of all. They were loud and clunky and gave him a headache to use, but more often than not they got him out of perilous situations, so he kept them. The sword was heavy, though Roman was so used to it now, it felt comfortably weighted.

Doing a quick double-check to make sure he had everything he needed, he opened his door and stepped out into the hallway. He closed the door behind him with a soft click. Roman had grown accustomed to traversing their house in silence, dreading the possibility of Patton or Virgil discovering him sneaking out loaded with weapons. He turned a corner, about to head down the stairs, when he noticed a warm amber glow trailing up the wall. Someone was still up—or they’d left the light on, at least. Was Virgil having trouble sleeping again? Or was Patton indulging in some late-night baking? Both options were likely. Could Roman manage to sneak by without being noticed? Thoughts raced through his head a mile a minute. Something inside him pulled, like someone plucking a bow string drawn dangerously taut. The curse compelled him forward, and he nearly stumbled down the steps as he pulled back. He had no choice; he had to leave. Could he sneak out his room window? It was a long way to the ground and the only tree was by Patton’s bedroom window. He’d risk injuring himself by jumping, which could put his life in jeopardy later. He’d have to try and sneak past whoever was out there. It wasn’t worth having to face the demon with a twisted ankle. Perhaps he could knock them out and convince them it was all a dream? He shook his head. He couldn’t attack any of them. It would eat him up inside.

Slowly, he peeked out over the banister. A short reading lamp sat on an end table beside the couch, barely light enough to keep the shadows in the corners of the room at bay. Bathed in gold light, the figure in the chair turned out to be Logan, hands clasped in his lap and eyes staring vaguely at the wall, deep in thought. Relaxing somewhat, Roman straightened and continued down the stairs as quietly as possible. The third one down was always squeaky. Logan hadn’t noticed him yet, and even as Roman approached, he stared at the wall, chewing on his bottom lip and mouthing silent thoughts to himself. Roman couldn’t help but smile.

“Logan,” he said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Logan jumped, startled. “Wha—oh, it’s you. I was wondering when you’d leave.”

“What are you doing up? It’s the middle of the night.”

Logan cocked his head to the side, considering. “The sun sets at nine p.m. and rises at seven-fifteen a.m.. By all accounts, we are less than halfway into the night,” he said, gesturing to the otherwise dark and empty house. He cleared his throat. “I, er, wanted to see you off before you... left.”

“I’ll be back before the sun rises, Lo,” Roman said, waving a dismissive hand and trying to hide the strain in his voice. “I appreciate the sentiment, but you can’t stay up like this every night.”

“I think you’ll find there are many things I can do,” Logan said, his normal sternness hardening into something akin to anger. “One being making sure you arrive back home in one piece. Are you positive I cannot accompany you? I’m sure there are options we haven’t explored yet.”

“Logan, you—“ Roman tripped forward into Logan as the curse tugged at him once again, endlessly insistent. Logan caught him, but Roman quickly righted himself again, struggling to keep the pain from showing on his face. He cleared his throat. “You know I can’t do that. You being there would only distract me and put me in more danger. I’d be too worried about you getting hurt.”

Logan studied his face for a moment before sighing and letting him go. “Very well, but you better come back.”

Roman put on a smile, chuckling. “Of course I will. Have a little faith, Lo.”

“I shall try,” he muttered as Roman opened the front door. He glanced back one last time only to see Logan lower himself back into the arm chair and lose himself in pained thought.

                                                  * * * * * * * * * *

The forest was only two blocks away from their house, so Roman didn’t have to walk very far. He’d devised a route through the neighborhood that led him behind houses and between backyard fences to lessen the probability of someone spotting him waltzing around dressed like a walking armory. Most nights, however, were largely uneventful save the occasional barking dog. The sudden noise used to scare Roman.

Now, he had bigger things to be scared of.

The forest dampened every noise as soon as Roman stepped through the tree line. Though he could still see civilization through the trees, he felt a thousand miles from any sort of help were something to happen. The curse wouldn't allow him to leave until the first signs of dawn—he would know, he'd tested it. Many times. The beginning was always the most dangerous part. The demon knew exactly where he was, and at what time he'd be there. The trick would be escaping into the darkness of the woods and losing him along the way. He shook off the nerves breeding in the pit of his stomach, and trudged deeper into the darkness, sword at the ready.

Ah, the darkness. He’d brought a flashlight only once before, and had barely escaped the night with his life. Turns out, a bright beam of light does more to give oneself away than to help locate a possible predator. He never made the mistake again. Since then, he’d become quite familiar with the dark. However, it was less of an old friend and more an impartial entity desiring entertainment regardless of who ended up on the wrong end of it. He took no solace in it, but rather treated it with deference and wary reverence.

Something shifted in the trees above him. Roman froze. Dense fog clung to the ground, curling around his legs like ghosts desperate for living touch. The moon was nothing more than a sliver, denying Roman what little light he usually counted on. The heavy slithering bounced around him, as if it couldn’t decide which direction it came from. Roman pressed his back up against a tree and held his sword in front of him.

“So brave,” a chilling voice hissed. Roman’s stomach dropped. “Have you not bored of this constant battle, yet, little prince?” Roman kept his eyes on the canopies and his mouth shut. He’d never figured out why both the dragon witch and the demon called him a prince, but he’d rather that than his own name. Roman refused to give it that power.

“I tire of this endless game. You drag out the inevitable,” the demon sighed. It sounded vaguely human, though if that human had swallowed shards of glass and gargled with shrapnel. The sound of the beast dragging its enormous body through the branches still eluded Roman, jumping around his head like he wore headphones that kept shorting out.

“Why?” it breathed so close to Roman’s ear, he could feel it. He tensed, swinging his sword around. It sunk into something solid. It took Roman a split second to realize that it wasn't a giant serpentine head, but the tree trunk. He tugged. It didn't budge. Terror swept through him in the same second as a grating laugh echoed around the trees. He abandoned the sword and hadn't so much as taken a step away when a wall of cold, hard scales slammed him back into the tree. He could feel the creature's muscles undulating and constricting beneath the smooth plating, slowly crushing him into the wood. It was dark, yes, but Roman had seen it before on nights with a full moon: a gold scaled beast with a body several times thicker than the trees and a head the size of a small car. Eyes like pools of molten lead the size of Roman's whole face and fangs longer than his arm. He'd only been caught by it a few times in the last year. Each time he'd nearly died. Though, he was ashamed to admit, they didn't usually happen quite this fast.

He'd definitely set a new personal record.  

Luckily, he'd managed to pin his arms in front of his chest, so he could somewhat resist the creature's constricting. He took short shallow breaths and pushed outward with all of his strength, but it was a futile effort. The constricting halted, and the monster lowered it's head to meet Roman's eyes.

"Tell me why."

"You think I want to be here?" he spat. "A dragon witch cursed me."

"Dragon witch?"

"Yes, the dragon witch named Ursula. You know, after a whole year of barely five words to me, you're suddenly really chatty," Roman said derisively, hoping to distract the beast from the fact that he was slowly reaching for one of his pistols. Not exactly easy when your arms are being crushed by a gigantic reptile, but progress was being made nonetheless.

"All this time and she still holds onto that ridiculous nickname. You'd think she'd have learned to imprison me with more than a sniveling child," it hissed, baring its enormous fangs. Roman paled, wriggling his arm toward the holster a little faster now. It reared up its head and tightened its hold. Roman cried out, the air slowly forced out of his lungs. He saw stars.

"I am no troublesome pixie that can be held over by a simple curse. She will pay for this insul—"

BANG!

Roman drew and fired the pistol faster than he'd ever before. It hit just below the demon's eye, ricocheting off its scales and off into the night. The snake hissed angrily and released him, retreating in a spiral up the tree and into the canopies once more. It knew better than to stay in close range while the guns were out, regardless of it's tough armor. Roman may not like guns, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to use one. So far, the mouth and the eyes were the only weak spots he'd located.

He dropped to the ground, heaving and retching. Roman scrambled to his feet. There was no time for recovery. He tore his sword from the tree and sprinted deeper into the forest. He needed to find shelter or somewhere to hide. While he couldn't see the serpent as well when it was in the trees, it couldn't move nearly as fast. If he managed to lose it, he may just have a chance.

Calm down, Roman. You've been doing this for three hundred and sixty-five nights, and you haven't lost a single one. Don't make tonight any different.

The battle was nowhere near over, and the night had only just begun.

                                                 * * * * * * * * * *

Roman fumbled for the key beneath the place mat. It was almost five-thirty in the morning, and though the sun hadn't technically risen yet, his curse had seen fit to release him as soon as the first hints of light played at the horizon. It was still relatively dark, the skyline glowing a pale blue-green against the starry indigo above it. His ribs ached, his knees and elbows were scraped, his clothes and face were streaked with mud, and he was covered in blood up to his elbows. Not his own. Last he checked, his blood was red, not black. It was the demon's, from when he'd driven his sword through the underside of its mouth. He hadn't seen his reflection yet, but he could imagine the horror show that was his appearance. The stuff never really dried, either. It remained sticky like tar and was an absolute nightmare to try and get out of the leather armor Logan made him—not to mention his own hair.

Eventually, his sloppy fingers found the spare key and managed to stick it into the lock. He turned it, replaced it beneath the mat, and pushed the door open. The house smelled of cinnamon and happiness, due in great part to Patton's baking yesterday. The lamp still sat on in the living room, illuminating Logan's sleeping features. His glasses hung askew across his nose and some fancy-pants scientific book lay open on his lap. Roman closed the front door behind him as softly as he could manage, then froze with his foot inches above the floor. Virgil had just mopped last night. If Roman took one step off the front rug, he'd track mud, dirt, and demon blood through the entire house. Cursing under his breath, he leaned forward, reaching for the coat closet. He nearly fell on his face and woke the entire house, but in the end he'd acquired what he'd been looking for: his old jacket. It was worn, fraying, and impossibly comfortable, and would do exactly what Roman needed it to. He could always wash it later, right? Laying it open on the floor, Roman stepped onto it and proceeded to shuffle his way down the hall toward the stairs. True, he could have simply taken off his boots, but they were laced up tight and sticky with blood he didn't have the patience to deal with in the middle of the house. He'd see to it once he got to the bathroom and didn't have to worry about anyone seeing him. He passed by Logan, who had fallen asleep in the arm chair, snoring softly.

It was a long, tenuous journey, but he eventually made it to the base of the stairs. There, he was met with a new problem. How was he supposed to make it upstairs on his jacket?

"Roman?" Logan muttered groggily, squinting at him.

"Nothing, go back to sleep," Roman whispered, waving a hand at him.

"What's all over your—is that blood?"

"Yes, but be quiet!" Roman hissed. "You're going to wake up everyone else!"

Logan stood. "What do you mean yes? Are you hurt?" He reached a curious hand out toward the black goo covering his arms.

"Don't touch it," Roman snapped. His temper was worn thin after the night he'd had, and the last thing he needed right now was a scientific analysis of demon blood. He sighed, "Sorry, Lo. I just... need to get to the bathroom. Could you get some towels or something to lay on the stairs so I can—" he started, but Logan apparently had other ideas. In one swift motion, he hooked an arm under Roman's knees and scooped him up into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Roman demanded, "You're going to get it all over you."

"Irrelevant," Logan said, though his nose crinkled slightly at the stench of death covering his friend. "I shall simply carry you upstairs. It will be faster and more efficient. Don't worry about the jacket, I'll take care of it. Now," he shifted his grip, "are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Yeah," Roman said, though it came out as a strangled gasp. The way Logan was holding him put pressure on a bruise he'd gotten while the overgrown worm had tried smothering him in a swath of mud. Logan cocked an eyebrow and didn't move. Sighing dejectedly, Roman instructed him where he could place his hands to cause him the least amount of pain. After a few moments of readjusting, Logan set off up the stairs. Roman was impressed at how steady Logan was despite carrying his entire weight up the stairs.

"Watch the wall," he grunted, and Roman tucked his feet in to keep from leaving streaks of mud down the hallway. They passed Patton's room, then Virgil's, then arrived at the bathroom. Logan set him down on the tile flooring, promising to fetch him a clean pair of clothes and a bag to place all of the blood spattered articles in. After one last concerned look, he closed the door and left Roman alone in the bathroom.

He grimaced as he glanced at his reflection. Roman looked like he'd been run over by a garbage truck. Blood, dark and glossy as pitch, speckled his face and neck and clumped in his hair. It covered both forearms up to his elbows, as if he'd dipped his arms in black paint. Contrastingly, his own crimson blood had dried across his upper lip and chin from the bloody nose he'd received when flung into a tree. Sickly gray mud clung to the rest of him like plaster. Carefully, he peeled his clothes off and tossed them into a pile near the door. He'd had hopes of the washing machine saving them, but looking at them in a pathetic heap on the floor, he doubted anything could be done. He'd have to burn them later.

Returning his attention to the mirror, his throat constricted. His torso was mottled with a myriad of purple and green bruises, or maybe that was just more mud. They certainly felt like bruises. His eyes trailed down his shoulders, then came to rest on the grimy amulet still tied to his upper arm. He turned it over in his hand, wiping the dirt from its surface.

Think of it as insurance, the dragon witch had written in a nice, instructional letter on how to handle his curse. Insurance that you don't go dying on me too soon. Any injuries you sustain while wearing the amulet will heal as soon as you take it off. You won't even need to sleep, my prince. Easy as that.

Scowling, he undid the clasp and pulled the necklace from his arm. Immediately, burning cold energy coursed through his body. He bowed forward and rested his elbows on the counter, biting his fist to keep from making a sound. It took a considerable amount of self control not to collapse to the floor and itch his gradually healing skin bloody. It felt like a million spiders with needles for legs crawling around inside him.

Some healing magic, Roman thought venomously, breathing hard through his nose. Feels worse than healing normally.

But it was faster. And Roman couldn't risk Patton or Virgil finding out simply because they touched a tender spot. There was a knock at the door.

"Roman? I've got some new clothes and a trash bag, can I come in?"

"Hold on," he choked through gritted teeth. The sound was more like a whimper than Roman would have wished, but there were far more pressing matters for him to deal with than a measly voice crack. An entire year of this, and he still wasn't used to the feeling. How pathetic. He stumbled into the shower and pulled the curtain.

"All right," he said, leaning heavily against the tiled wall. He wasn't going to pass out. He been in worse shape on previous nights. This was nothing. Roman heard Logan open the door slowly, then silence. He heard the faint scrape of him picking up the amulet. Roman had explained its purpose to him the night he'd found out. Mainly because Logan had demanded to know how he wasn't a pile of mush every single night. No one could take a beating like that every twelve hours and still be walking, let alone acting like nothing was going on.

"Are you going to be okay, Roman? Do you require any assistance?" He came closer to the curtain.

"I'm fine. Thank you, Logan." Please don't look, you'll only worry. Don't look.

A pause. "Very well. I will await you downstairs when you are done cleaning up." Another long silence as Roman clenched and unclenched his fist as the healing magic completed its circuit around his body. The feeling eventually faded into a dull prickling. Logan sighed, set the amulet back down on the counter, and left.

Roman let out a breath and cranked the faucet as far to the hot side as it would go. The water was scalding, but he didn't care. The demon blood slowly dissolved from his skin and hair, swirling down the drain in a disgusting black soup of mud and dirt. He wished he could wash it all away, scrub the demon from his pores and the pain from behind his ears.

Clean water streamed down Roman's face in the place of the tears he did not shed.

Thanks for reading!! You can find the rest of this fic on AO3, here.

[pixelatedrose]

Soulbound part Four

First | Previous | Part 4 | Next

Ao3 link

Masterpost

Word Count: 3,212

Pairings: Platonic LAMP, Prinxiety, Logicality, background Remile

Warnings: Implied self harm (Skip the part starting with “Virgil drug himself over...” until the break) Uncensored swearing, divorced parents, controlling parents/parents not respecting kids’ privacy (Skip the entire last part), absent siblings,  if there’s anything I missed please please tell me, and if there’s anything you would like me to tag, don’t hesitate to ask!

Summary:

Roman Prince and Logan Rose are soulmates. They’re platonic soulmates though. They both have the same Soul mark to prove it. But they both have one other soul mark, binding them to one other person. And when they find Patton Miles, it just so happens that they’re both his soulmate. Logan being his Soulbound Soulmate, and Roman being a platonic soulmate. But something feels missing. And it feels filled, shockingly so, when they meet a certain someone a year and a half after they found each other.

Chapter 4

  Virgil ran home as fast as his legs would carry him. His mind raced as quickly as shoes hit the ground, faster still.

  Why is he here? Why is he a teacher? Why did he come back? Why did he act like he cared? Why come back now? Why was he never here before? Why? Why why why?!

  Virgil tripped and the gods of luck put on blindfolds as he was flung to the sidewalk. He knelt on the ground and thought it had started raining. He looked around and when he saw clear skies he realized he'd been crying.

  Virgil looked at his shallowly bleeding scrapes on his palms and knees before picking himself up and walking home, storming inside the unusual yellow door, slamming it closed and stomping up to his mother, ignoring her girlfriend sitting nearby.

  "Virgey, you're home! How was school-" his mother started.

  "Did you know about this?!" He spat bitterly.

  "What?! What do you mean, Honey? What happened? Oh my god, your hands!! Virgey, are you okay?!"

  Virgil hid his hands further into his sleeves. "That doesn't matter right now!! I want to know why Thomas is my fucking theater teacher!!" Virgil seethed.

  His mother blanched. "Oh no…" she turned to her girlfriend. "Rachel, maybe you should go?"

  Virgil watched as his mother's girlfriend got up and gathered her things as she slowly left the house.

  "Now, Virgey, I didn't think that you-"

  "You didn't think at all, Mom!!" Virgil snapped. "Did you know?! Did you know and think not to tell me?! Did you think that it would be too hard for me?! Did you think I'd burst into tears like a little kid?! Didn't want to deal with me finding out so you just didn't tell me at all!!"

  "No!! That's- that's not!! No!! I didn't mean for-" Virgil's mother was floundering for words to comfort her son.

  "It doesn't even matter anymore, I don't care!!" Virgil yelled, he ran upstairs and into his room. He slammed the door shut and pulled out a crude hand-made door stop and wedged it under the door. Years ago the lock had broken. Years ago the lock had been removed.

  Virgil couldn't stand anymore. He fell to the ground and held his stomach. He felt sick.

  His mother had lied to him.

  His brother- who had everything, who had the world, the one that had never made a show to ever reach out and contact Virgil, the one who would never want to contact him because he had it all- was his theater teacher in his new highschool.

  He had no friends.

  He had no family.

  He had no one.

  Virgil drug himself over to the edge of his bed and pulled out a small box with an assortment of blades, lighters, and a small square of sandpaper. He fished out the edge of a pencil sharpener and-

  "Virgey please let me talk to you!!"

  Virgil didn't answer.

  "Please I need you to understand!!"

  Virgil didn't need to understand anything else.

  "Please, honey, open the door!!"

  Virgil removed his hoodie. He couldn't stand the heat his room gave off. That's a good excuse.

  "Please at least tell me you're safe this time!!" His mother pleaded with him.

  But nothing could be done.

  Nothing could stop the manic anxiety that took him over. Words played over and over in his head and he felt like he was going insane so he focused on the pain digging into his shoulder instead of his own numbingly intoxicating insanity.

  Nothing would make this okay for Virgil.

~~•~~

  Roman was walking home and mulling over what had happened that day.

  Rose was a good friend of Roman's, but she was a little oblivious at times. She'd pulled him away from the pretty emo boy when Roman had seen him in theater.

  Theater… Roman smiled. He would have never pegged the shorter boy as a theater kid. His head started spinning up daydreams of Roman and Virgil performing scenes together, painting props together, singing duets together for the musical…

  Roman shook his head to clear it. It seemed like Virgil wasn't interested though. He probably has his own soulmate, you idiot! Roman thought bitterly.

  He walked in through his family's door and tossed his currently half empty backpack on the ground before flopping down on the couch with a dramatic sigh.

  Remus always stayed after school to hang out with his weirdo friends, so he wouldn't be home for a while.

  Roman tried thinking of other things.

  So he thought back to lunch.

~~•~~

  "Did you hear that Remy and Emile are a couple?" Patton excitedly told his friends as he sat down at the table.

  "They've been together for almost three years, Patton dear." Logan corrected his boyfriend.

  Patton smiled. "Oh I know! But they're still so cute together!!"

  "Patton, they're Soulbound Soulmates, of course they're cute." Logan continued.

  "You're missing the point!! They're a-dor-a-ble, Logan!! ADORABLE!!"

  "I'm not seeing what it is I missed. Is this some sort of complex joke that I'm not 'Gucci' enough to get?"

  "That is not in any way how you use that word, honey child."

  "Ah well. I'm still learning."

  Patton looked suddenly over to Roman who was thoughtfully chewing on a sandwich. "Hey there, buddy! You're pretty quiet, you feeling alright there, Ro?"

  Roman snapped his attention away from daydreaming. "Huh?? Oh yeah! I'm gucci as always, padre!" He said strikingly.

  "Ah so that's how you use it…" Logan muttered as he seemed to study Roman from behind his glasses.

  "Are you sure? You looked a little lost in la-la land there!" Patton ignored his robotic boyfriend, save for an instinctual hair ruffle that made Logan's face light up.

  Roman looked out the window like the mellow-dramatic princeling he was. "Oh its nothing really…" he sighed. "See, I just met this really cute guy in-"

  "OH MY GOOD GRACIOUS SNAP CRACKLERS YOU MET A CUTE GUY!!!" Patton nearly flung himself across the table and grappled his friend in a hug.

  Roman nearly fell out of his chair on impact and had to pry the overly excited puppy-dog of a man off him. "Gah!! Yeah! But!" Roman started.

  Patton immediately pulled himself off Roman. "Wait there's a but?!"

  "Yes…tragically I believe he is not…" Roman threw the back of his hand to his forehead and dramatically tilted his head. "Attracted to me!!"

  Logan snorted and Patton gasped somberly.

  "Oh no that's just plain awful Roman!!" Patton lamented.

  Roman smiled all the same. "Awh, Pat! He's probably one of those soulmate obsessed…" Roman drifted off as he remembered Virgil's immediate and harsh reply to his question. "...People." He let himself finish the sentence anyway. For some odd reason he wanted to keep his suspicions to himself.

  "Awh, well next time then!! Right Ro!"

  Roman's mind drifted to the purple haired boy he'd met.

  "Ro?"

  There was something about talking to him that felt so very right in Roman's mind. It felt similar to how he felt around Patton and Logan. But yet different still…

  "Roman??"

  Why does he wish soulmarks didn't exist? Roman thought, recalling the striking blue of the purple haired boy's eyes.

  "Roman!"

  Roman drifted, thinking of everything and nothing about the boy he had met in his third period. Virgil Sanders… he thought his name felt good to think… "Virgil Sanders…" he breathed out. He thought it felt good to say…

  "ROMAN-!!"

~~•~~

  Roman shot up on the couch, and grabbed at his shoulder which felt as if he had sliced it open.

  He cursed and gripped it tightly, running to the bathroom to see what could possibly be wrong. Roman threw off his red varsity jacket and pulled up his short sleeves to examine his left shoulder.

  There was nothing there.

  It wasn't even red.

  The pain faded down to a dull ache and Roman sat back down on the couch bewildered.

  What the fuck just happened??

~~•~~

  Patton skipped alongside his boyfriend, their hands clasped tightly together.

  Logan smiled softly to himself, hearing the short, golden haired boy hum to himself.

  "Hey, Lo?" Patton questioned suddenly.

  "Yes, Patton?"

  "Do you think Roman's okay?"

  "Why do you say that? I do not think he would injure himself on his walk home, nor do I believe he would have fallen ill in that time either."

  "No no, silly!! I mean emotionally."

  "Ah. My bad. I am not very good with...emotions."

  "I know you struggle sometimes, but even you saw the way he was acting today, right? He was totally distracted and had his head ten billion trillion gazillion miles away!! I hope he's okay…"

  "I see. Yes, Roman did seem very distracted today. Though I suppose that may be because he was a little wonderstruck with the boy he mentioned."

  "What?! Really? I thought Roman said that kid didn't like him though?"

  "Well perhaps, but you know how easily he can become so infatuated with pretty boys the moment they open their mouth to even breath. And this boy held a conversation with Roman, so that concludes that Roman must be 'Head over heels' for this boy."

  "Psh, nah!! Maybe a little flirty, but Roman doesn't have it that bad!! But do you know who does?"

  "And who would that be, Patton?"

  "Me!"

  "Oh."

  "And you!!"

  "Oh come now!! I care very deeply about you and-"

  "Oh just kiss me already, you dork!"

  Logan sighed and laughed, his face lighting up at his boyfriend. "Only as you wish, my dearest."

~~•~~

  Thomas Sanders had a good life as a kid.

  He got decent grades, he made good friends, he was a little confused why he never liked girls like every other boy in his grade did. And even more confused when he thought his friend Michael looked just so cute when he was singing.

  Thomas Sanders had a good life as a kid.

  Up until his parents split up when he was 13 years old.

  His father won custody and took Thomas across states to go live in Georgia where he lived for the rest of his childhood years until he moved back to Florida with new friends.

  He started playing around with an app called Vine, and whether it was luck or skill, made it big. He made a Youtube channel and made videos online. He wrote songs and sung disney songs and reacted to other people. And he loved his fans. He loved them with all his heart.

  It was when he was 25 that he got a message from someone in his old childhood town telling him he had a brother.

  He had a brother?

  Thomas Sanders had a little brother!

  And he was ten years old and his name was Virgil Sanders!

  Thomas sat down and decided to write a letter to his little brother. He wanted to know him! He wanted to meet him! He wanted to be part of his life!

  Dear, Virgil Sanders.

  This is a letter I'm writing to you because I want you to know that you have a big older brother who loves you and just found out that you exist! My name is Thomas Sanders and I want to know more about you! I want to know you! Did you know that I always wanted a little brother? I guess it's not a wish anymore, huh? Write me back, little bro! Tell me about yourself! Tell me about life! Tell me about mom and how school is going!!

  Sincerely and dearly from, Thomas Sanders, your older brother.

  That was perfect! Thomas couldn't wait to hear back from his little brother!

  He couldn't wait to find out whether he liked sour foods or minty ones!

  He couldn't wait to talk about boys (or girls) with him!

  Thomas never heard back from Virgil.

  So he sent another letter, this time on what he discovered was Virgil's birthday.

  He never heard back.

  Thomas would send a letter to Virgil every year on his birthday, one for christmas, one for Halloween, one for the beginning of the school year and one for the end, and one every valentines day with a purple rose.

  And he never once heard back.

  Now Thomas was 30 years old and had decided to become a teacher.

  A total of 36 letters, soon to be 37, sent to Virgil.

  Even if Virgil didn't want to talk to Thomas, he still wanted to try.

  And then.

  He found out that Virgil Sanders was his own student.

  And he found out that his brother hated him.

  So here Thomas was.

  Standing awkwardly with his hand raised to knock on the yellow door of his old childhood home.

  And he let he fist fall to the wood.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  "I'm coming! I'm coming!" A hurried voice called from inside.

  The door opened.

  "What is it, what do you-"

  The voice cut off.

  Thomas waved awkwardly.

  "Hey, mom. How's it going?"

~~•~~

  Virgil heard the door open and someone come inside. He quietly creaked his door open.

  "-want to talk to him. Please?"

  Virgil's breath hitched. It was Thomas.

  "No...No...No I don't think that he'd be ready to see you right now, Tommy."

  Virgil sat and listened to the conversation.

~~•~~

  Thomas glanced over at the counters and the ashtray on the coffee table. Beer cans and cigarettes littered everything.

  "I see you haven't changed much." He meant it as a question, but it fell flat and turned into an observation.

  "And what's wrong with how I am?" His mother asked accusingly.

  Thomas looked at his mother and shook his head. "Nevermind…" he looked down at a discarded and trashy school backpack. "I take it he didn't take kindly to the letters? Didn't want to see me? You know I told you I was applying for Eastwood. You could have told me not to you know."

  "Well I mean I didn't want to reach out to you and have Virgey find out!" Thomas cringed at the childish nickname. It didn't sound like something Virgil would want to be called. "And I never gave him the letters." His mother finished.

  Thomas froze as thoughts raced through his head. "What." He breathed out.

  "You really think he'd be ready to confront his older brother? You really think he'd want to see you?"

  "That wasn't your decision to make though!"

  "Of course it was, I'm his mother!"

  "That doesn't give you a right to withhold information from him like that!"

  "Yes! It does! He can decide what information he wants when he turns 18! For now, I'm his mother, I decide what's best for him!"

  Thomas ran a hand through his hair, distressed. "You know I wasn't trying to be entirely serious when I said you hadn't changed, but you really have not changed one bit, have you?!"

  "There was nothing wrong with what I was doing before!"

  "Oh yeah? Then how come I didn't even know I had a little brother till he was 10?!"

  "Because he wasn't ready for that! And neither were you! I didn't want you to think I'd moved on from you!"

  "I was 25, mom!! Twenty!! Five!! I was old enough to make my own decisions and Virgil was old enough that he could decide if he wanted an older brother and back then it wasn't too late for me to be a part of his life!!"

  "He was 10 and he didn't know what was best for him!! And he still doesn't!! I'm his mother!"

  "You keep saying that but do you even know what that means?! It means that you're always there for them!! It means that you let them make mistakes!! It means that you give them privacy and a choice!!"

  "He can have Privacy when he's moved out! Till then what he has I know about! I'm his mother and I get to decide!"

  "That's not how that works!!"

  "It most certainly is!! He just doesn't know what's good for him! And you are definitely not good for him!!"

  "Is that why you kept the letters from him?! Cause that's what was best for him?!"

  "What?! No!! He just-"

  "You were afraid then?! Why didn't even give me a chance?!"

  "Because you are not good for him!! Right now or ever!! I know best I'm the adult here and I make the decisions and I decide that you will go and-"

  "MOM JUST SHUT UP!!" Virgil shouted. No one had noticed when he had walked downstairs. His eyes were red and his jacket was wrinkled. "What letters?" He asked calmly.

  No one answered.

  "Mom, what letters are you hiding from me?!" He voice cracked and choked.

  "Virgey, honey, it was for your own good-"

  "TO HELL WITH THAT!!" Virgil shouted, tears spilling over down his face.

  Thomas spoke now. "I wrote you letters." He said. When no one tried to stop him, he continued. "When I found out I had a brother, I immediately sat down and wrote a letter to you. I wanted to know more about you, I wanted to be part of your life." Thomas took a breath. "That was about five years ago. And i never heard back. I assumed you didn't want to know me. But I didn't stop writing letters. I found out when your birthday was and sent you a letter yearly, and I always sent one for christmas, Halloween, and Valentines day. I sent one at the beginning and one at the end of every school year too." He pulled a wrinkled envelope out of his pocket and held it in his hands. "This one was going to be for this year, but I got caught up in moving and beginning my teaching that I didn't get it in on time." Thomas took a step and held out the envelope to Virgil.

  He took it and read the handwriting that looked so real. It wasn't perfect cursive or some fancy calligraphy, it was normal and real handwriting. It read:

  To Virgil Sanders. From Thomas Sanders.

  Virgil wiped at his face, smearing his makeup. He looked up at his mom.

  "You hid this from me…?"

  "Oh, honey it was all for your own good! You know how-"

  "How what?!" Virgil spat venom. "You knew how much I wanted to know my brother!! You knew how I thought he had left with his dad and just didn't care enough about us to come and talk!!" More tears. "You knew and you didn't once tell me that I had a brother who was kind and cared about me!!!"

  Virgil was shaking. He ran upstairs and his mother would hear the door to her room slam shut as Virgil rummaged around until he found the box under her bed full of 36 letters that his brother had sent him.

  No one moved.

  No one breathed.

  No one spoke for a long time.

  "I think I'll see him tomorrow." He turned to the front door. "Goodbye, Deva." He said.

  And the odd yellow door clicked shut.

  And all that was left in the old eerie house was a wronged child looking for five lost years, a mother who had tried to drown the inevitable with broken locks and promises, and a silence that bit like the way a cat silently does with prey already caught.

Tag list:

@anxietea-and-insanitea

@ghostboi-bambi

@scrunchiescrunchie

@badluckkaren

@ambrechandra

[delimeful]

a place we could escape sometime (1)

Day 1: Fear

My first fill for @hiddendreamer67 ‘s prompt list! Took me a bit but I managed :)

warnings: fear, injury, animals

-

Virgil took a deep breath, peering out of the little doorway beneath the couch.

No footsteps, which meant no humans. He knew already that both of the humans that resided here were out at school and work respectively, but it never hurt to check and double check. Never knew when one would call in sick or sleep in late.

He exhaled lowly, near-silent, and exited the walls, beginning the trek over to the kitchen. They needed more food, especially since he'd heard talk of a 'spring break' which meant that soon at least one of the humans would be around more often. He had to stock up while he still could. The only problem was Kitty.

Realizing he had reached the counter, he crossed his fingers and then tossed his climbing hook up, hoping that it would catch on the first try. No such luck. The hook scraped across the counter before falling back down. He caught it easily, but the damage was already done, and he broke out into a cold sweat as the click of claws began from down the hall.

Trying not to panic, he tossed the hook up again, and then a third time. It finally caught on the fourth attempt, and he barely tugged on it to make sure it was secure before he was scrambling up it. Hand over hand over hand, satchel thumping against his side, and he blocked out the ever-closer tap-tap-tap until-

There! He pulled himself onto the counter, and heard the scrabble of paws on tile only a moment later. He rolled to his feet, looking down at the border collie on the floor. "No Borrower snack for you. Better luck next time, Kitty."

The dog whined softly, rising onto her hind legs to claw at the cupboard doors under the counter. Virgil made a face at her as payback for the adrenaline rush, and then turned to the cereal boxes lined up against the back of the counter. After a close shave like that, he needed to get as much as he could.

He slit open the back flap, pulling piece after piece of cereal out and shoving them into his satchel until it was crammed full. He sat back on his heels, searching for anything else that had been left out. Unfortunately, one of the roommates was a clean freak, meaning that a lot of the food was securely stored away in cabinets. Him and Roman had been working at opening up a doorway into one of them, but it was slow going.

The cereal would do for now. He buttoned his satchel and walked back over to the edge of the counter. Kitty was laying on the floor, lifting her head up when he came into sight. Her eyes were incredibly intent on him, and he sighed. Looked like he was taking the long way back.

Before he could turn, though, a colorful wrapper across the room caught his eye. He squinted, barely believing it. Was that... beef jerky? It was sitting out on the dining room table, indicating that it was probably left out by Patton before he hurried off to work. Virgil bit his lip.

Beef jerky was a rare find. Meat in general was incredibly rarely left out, but the jerky would stay good for longer, letting them ration it and have a protein source for at least a week. He drooled a little just thinking about it.

If Roman had been with him, he would have deemed it too risky. But... there wasn't too much harm in trying, was there? He could see the route in his mind, a clear way to climb up the side of the fridge and then up on top of the cabinets, which would provide him a path over to the shelf decorated with knick-knacks and photo frames. He could do it.

He was in motion before he could talk himself out of it, thinking about the way Roman tried to sneak him more food because he went out more often, as though it was Roman's fault that Virgil had a high metabolism and went scavenging more because of how much he ate. The more food they had on hand the better, and cereal wasn't enough to keep them running at full strength. It was worth the risk.

He didn't realize that Kitty had followed his progress until he was finally on the shelf, hook on the top of it so he could slowly lower himself row by row down. Until she rose onto her hind legs again and thumped her paws against the side of the shelf, and he abruptly realized it wasn't as heavy as he'd thought. Ice shot through his veins, and he clung onto his rope as the shelf wobbled, staring up at the hook and desperately hoping it wouldn't slip off.

As soon as the shelf settled, he started lowering himself as fast as he dared, and then froze again as another thump vibrated through the frame of the shelf. "No! Bad dog!" He yelled, and Kitty wagged her tail at him and went back to standing on four legs. He blinked. That had been easy.

Too easy, he realized as she backed up, an anticipatory gleam in her eye. "No, no no no NO!"

Kitty hit the shelf with all the force in her medium-sized body, and it began to topple towards the couch. Virgil had time to look up and watch as a snow globe slid sideways, right into his hook. He screamed as he dropped into terrifying free fall, and a heartbeat later, landed on a soft surface with an impact that forced all the air from his lungs. The couch?

He heard the sound of paws, but before he could worry about that, something heavy and metal struck him, he heard an agonizing crack, and everything went black.

-

Logan returned home from classes to a mess.

He stood stock-still in the doorway, taking it all in.

The shelf had been tipped so that it was resting heavily on the arm of the couch, which was covered in a veritable pile of the small ornaments that had previously lined the shelves. Kitty, the clear culprit, was whining and pawing at the leather cushions of the couch, barely even sparing him a glance. That was unusual. In the few previous occasions where she had destroyed something, she would hide in a corner, refusing to look at them.

Well, no matter. He sighed, sending Patton a text before setting his bag down and picking his way through the mess. Luckily, their floor was carpeted, meaning that most of the more breakable objects that hadn't made it onto the couch had still survived the impact. He carefully righted the shelf, pushing the leftover items back to their place before crouching to gather the ones on the floor, taking pictures of the few that were broken for Patton to gauge the fixability of.

Next, the couch. The shelves were beginning to resemble their previous layout, Logan reassembling the lineup from memory. He moved Kitty out of the way again and searched the cushions for anything he'd missed- there. The metal bar of his Newton's Cradle was sticking up.

He grabbed it, pulling up carefully as to not break the thin string that held up the metal balls, and was surprised when something else came up with it, tangled in the moving part of the knick-knack. A doll? Kitty whined, high and nervous, and he noted that one of its limbs was bent at an odd angle. He untangled it from the strings, marveling at the realism of it, and attempted to set the arm back in place.

A hoarse, agonized scream made him freeze, and he stared in disbelief at the 'doll', which was writhing in his hand as though on fire. He released the arm as though it had burned him, and pressed a hand to his mouth in shock. Tiny eyelids, ones that he had assumed were painted on, were now open and staring at him with raw, unadulterated fear.

The impossibly tiny creature scrambled back on three limbs, bumping against Logan's fingertips, which he curled up to prevent falling. The arm Logan had been touching still hung at that painful angle, and he felt a jolt of nausea go through him at the clear break he had been manhandling badly enough to force the being back into consciousness.

I'm sorry, he wanted to say, but all that came out of his mouth was, "What are you?"  

The fear only intensified, and before he could rectify his mistake, its eyes rolled back in its head and it slumped. Logan searched for a pulse quickly, breathing a sigh of relief when it turned up. Passed out, not dead. Logan swallowed, heart racing.

He had so many questions.

[romansleftshoulderpad]

Chapter Four - Origins

How am I Going to be an Optimist About This?

Words: 2,277

Ship: None

Warnings: Remus and Deceit as characters, body mutation, caps, verbal arguments, swearing

Tags: @fandermom @patchworkofstars @poisonedapples @hogwarts-my-love @opaque-puppet @omni-hamiltrash @darling-elm @jynxlovesluck@madly-handsome@strickenwithclairvoyance@limitededitionsanderssidesblog@ab-artist@sometimeswritingsometimesdying @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @because-were-fam-ily @gattonero17​ @analogical-mess​ @joaniejustwokeup​ @whycantihavemorethan32characters​

---

As time went on, Patton was increasingly aware of how late it was. On the bright side, at least Roman was willing to video chat with him at 2 in the morning. “We’re never listening to one of Remus’s ideas EVER again!”

“Okay, okay, that’s on us,” Roman said. Patton shot him a glare. “Okay, me, that’s on me. Do you think Logan is going to get powers?”

“You are the worst,” Patton said. “Literally the worst.”

“Then why are you calling me?”

“Because Virgil didn’t give me the jar.”

“I have a feeling that you’re mad at me.”

“Do you now?” Patton asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Okay, okay, the skin around your eye is a little, uh, you know,” Roman said. “Just keep your eye shut, tell your parents you have pink eye, and then stay home.”

“Okay.”

“Okay, Virgil and I will be over tomorrow after school. Just text me your address and we can sort this all out tomorrow- test your powers and all that.”

“What about my eye?” Patton asked.

“Well Virgil’s arm went back to normal after a few days,” Roman said. “But then again, he turned purple before he got possessed. I’m not so sure in your case.”

“This isn’t fair. How come Virgil and I get all mutated but you look fine?”

“Excuse you! I have grey roots coming in!”

Patton took a deep breath, knowing that if he screamed he’d get in trouble for being up so late. “My eye is yellow, Roman! YELLOW!”

“Okay, okay,” Roman said, failing to hide his laugh. “Get some rest, you snake-eyed infant. Virgil and I will be around tomorrow afternoon.”

“What about Logan?”

Roman sat back for a moment, stretching out his face in his hands with a sigh. “Logan is... we’ll see. Expect me and Virgil, we’ll see if Specs is up to the challenge.”

“Okay,” Patton whispered. “Okay.”

“Goodnight, kiddo,” Roman laughed.

“Kiddo?” Patton asked but Roman had ended the call before giving a straight answer. He sighed and picked up an old teddy bear. He hugged the stuffed animal to his chest and sighed. “Well, Jack, we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

Despite Patton’s mind racing with questions, it was late and his body was quick to shut down as soon as his head hit the pillow. His mind felt so active as he slept, as if his brain were made of snakes, untangling themselves and moving in any and all directions. His mind was plagued by a thousand philosophers all speaking in unison with conflicting words and values. It was all so much. So much noise. So much light. So many contradictions!

Patton had slept for six hours, but it had hardly felt like more than fifteen minutes. His head was pounding and he wished he could forget about all of the previous night’s events. He wished he could wake up and this would all be a bad dream. They would have never gone to the cave and Patton would be fine still just hanging out with Emile. No caves, no smoke, nor Roman or Virgil or Logan.

“Moooooooom!” he yelled, not even having the energy to get out of bed. “I don’t feeeeel goooood!” He kept his right eye shut tightly.

“Patton, you can’t just skip school every time you- oh dear lord,” his mother said, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Your eye looks terrible.”

“I think I should stay home,” he said. “Pink eye is awfully contagious.”

“Oh I suppose you’re right,” she said. “Just for today though, okay?”

Patton almost lost his façade. Convincing his mom to let him stay home had never been this easy before, and it always ended with him in some agreement to clean the house. Why was this time so different?

“Thanks, Mama,” he cooed with a bright smile.

“But if you’re staying home, you should at least give yourself a break from that binder. I know what those things can do to your ribs.”

“Fine,” he sighed.

“I love you, Cupcake.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

Patton had gotten dressed quickly, hiding his torso in a large grey hoodie, and grabbed his computer and notebook. He could remember the names of a few philosophers from his dream and he was determined to learn as much about them as possible. He started with the Greeks and, as he saw his reflection in his webcam, decided to write himself a reminder to read up on the gorgon sisters.

He read and reread articles as he wrote notes for the second, third, and fifth time. The names Kant, Plato, and Max Stirner popped up a lot. Patton decided that he certainly did not like Mr. Stirner.

When he heard the doorbell ring he got up in a panic. “Oh, fiddlesticks,” he swore as he looked at the time. He stumbled as he ran out of the room, his body weak from not eating all day.

“Friends of Patton? He didn’t tell me he was having friends over,” he heard his mom saying as he ran through the kitchen.

“It’s sort of last minute,” Roman explained. “We wanted to help him study!”

“Oh! Well, I’m Dot, it’s nice to meet you boys.”

“Roman Duke,” he said with a handshake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Cupcake, your friends are here,” his mom said with a smile.

“Cupcake?” Virgil asked with a laugh. Patton wanted to hit his head against a wall.

“OkaycoolthanksMombyenow!” Patton said, grabbing Virgil’s hand and running out towards his room. Only, he froze at the door. He hadn’t had time to clean or hide anything. What if they all thought he was childish?

“Patton, did you forget how to open a door?” Logan asked.

“Can we talk out here?”

“I, uh, don’t think that’s our best bet,” Virgil explained. “We need to keep this between us.”

“Okay,” Patton said with a sigh. He opened the door and drowned in the embarrassment of his pink walls and the stuffed animals and dolls that lined his shelves. “Watch your step,” he warned, pointing to the pile of broken glass on the ground. “I, uh, forgot to clean that earlier.”

“Are you okay?” Roman asked. “You’re, like, wobbling or something.”

“I, uh, I’ve been so busy with research,” he explained. “I haven’t had lunch yet. Or, you know, breakfast.”

Roman dropped his book bag in the hallway and pulled something out of it. It was the first time that Patton had noticed that only Roman brought anything in with him. He pulled out a foil rectangle and paused before asking, “You’re not vegan, are you?”

“No,” Patton said.

“Great.” Roman tossed him the foil. “Ham and cheese. Eat up, Kiddo.”

“Thanks, Ro.”

“Oh shit what happened to your eye?” Virgil asked, completely ruining the moment.

“Same thing that happened to your arm.”

“Curious,” Logan said, walking up to Patton and grabbing his face. He poked and prodded at the boy almost as if he forgot he was interacting with another human being. “Very curious.”

“Logan, he’s not a toy,” Virgil said.

“His eye isn’t human.”

“Logan.”

“Maybe this is irreversible.”

“What?!”

“LOGAN ZANDER HAMILTON!” Virgil shouted. “Let go of him.”

Logan released Patton, who quickly wiggled away with his sandwich in hand. Roman couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Your name is Logan Zander Hamilton?”

“Don’t.”

“Logan Zander Hamilton,” Roman sang. “Your name is Logan Zander Hamilton.”

“You’re dead to me.”

“You’re lame,” he retorted, sticking his tongue out like a child.

“Anyway,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes. “Patton, have you had any powers yet?”

“Powers?”

“Anything odd, no matter how small it might seem.”

“I guess?” Patton said. “We should probably step inside.”

All four boys awkwardly stepped around the glass with Virgil and Roman going to sit on Patton’s bed and Logan staying far away on the office chair. “My mom just... let me skip school today,” he said. “No negotiations or protests. I just said I shouldn’t go and she agreed. That never happens!”

“We can’t rule out the possibility of mind control,” Roman said.

“What’s this?” Logan asked, picking up Patton’s notes.

“It’s a notebook, dipshit.”

“Chingas a tu madre.”

“Love you too.”

“Cut it out, Roman,” Virgil scolded.

“I was taking some notes earlier,” Patton explained. “You can take a look if you’d like, but I don’t know if it’ll do us any good.”

“Researching famous philosophers?” Logan asked, his voice sounding genuine for once. “I’m impressed.”

“Has, uh, He told you anything?” Virgil asked. “Remus, he called me ‘Fear’s pet’ and I know that means something.”

“Remus talks to me, sometimes,” Roman admitted. “Giving me... instructions.”

“Like giving me the jar.”

“Like giving you the jar. Sorry about that.”

“Apology considered,” Patton said.

“He talks about Fear sometimes,” he said. He turned to face Patton. “Of Morality.”

“And Knowledge,” Virgil said quietly. “The enemy of fear.”

“So there’s still another one of you guys out there?” Logan asked, looking up from Patton’s notes. “You have incredible handwriting.”

“I try,” Patton said with a smile.

“Not exactly,” Virgil said, exchanging a glance with Roman.

“No,” Roman said. “No way.”

“Roman, if we just follow the plan-”

“No! No, we’re solving one problem at a time and right now that means Patton. Nothing else.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

“The Fourth Spir-“

“This doesn’t concern you, Logan!” Roman yelled.

“Or maybe you can let Virgil speak, asshole,” Logan said.

“Logan, seriously, I’m just trying to protect you.”

“No, you aren’t! None of you care about ‘protecting’ me, you just expect me to solve your problems until things get serious and then you act like I don’t matter!” he yelled. “I’m real fucking sorry that I’m not a complete fucking dumbass who purposefully gets himself involved in this shit-“ He glared at Patton- “but that doesn’t mean you can just exclude me!”

“Lo, I don’t want to exclude you which is why-“

“I don’t have time for your excuses, Virgil,” he snapped. “I’m leaving.”

“How? I’m your ride home,” Virgil said.

“I’ll walk!” And with that, Logan stormed out of the room, slamming the door and causing several toys to fall to the ground. Patton flinched as he ate the last of Roman’s sandwich.

“I’m sorry about that, Patton,” Virgil said. “Roman can be a bit of a drama queen.”

“Oh, you are not blaming this on me!”

“He said it himself that he wants to be included.”

“You know what we went through, Virgil. What Patton went though! I’m not dragging another person into this!”

“But Patton is okay?”

“Are you kidding me?! I feel like shit because of that!”

“Guys, please,” Patton whispered. “Stop fighting. It’s making my head hurt.”

“I’m sorry, Patton. It’s just that- okay, yeah, not helping your head. Sorry.”

“What are you debating?” he asked.

“Logan,” Virgil said.

“And... the fourth Spirit.”

“Well, that’s not ominous at all,” Patton said.

“There’s a way to summon Him- the Spirit of Knowledge. I- I just know it,” Virgil said. “And I think that power should go to Logan. He deserves it more than anyone else I know.”

“But does he deserve the pain?” Roman asked. “Does he deserve to suffocate while faced with the knowledge that his life will never be the same ever again.”

“After that first night? None of our lives will ever be.”

“Our high school lives. What happens when we get older? Go to college? Are you really going to force Logan to be reliant on all of us just because you have a cr-“

“Roman, that’s enough,” Virgil said, the lights in the room going in and out as sparkes jumped between his fingertips.

“Okay, before Virgil destroys my bedroom,” Patton said, grabbing a fresh notebook and taking a seat at the office chair. He scribbled something down quickly in chicken scratch that looked nothing like the handwriting that Logan has complimented. He spun the chair around to face Virgil and Roman. “Have either of you actually asked Logan what he thinks about this?”

“We, uh, well-“

“No.”

“That’s what I thought,” Patton said, shaking his head disapprovingly. “Virgil, you want to make Logan feel included but by keeping this discussion a secret you’re only excluding him even further.”

Virgil nodded, biting his lip as he looked away in shame.

“And Roman,” Patton continued, “not everyone wants to be saved. You can’t protect Logan without him needing to be protected. He’s been with us so far and isn’t it better that we’re a team instead of strangers with these powers?”

“Is one of your powers being captain of the debate team?” Roman asked.

“Nope!” Patton said with a proud smile. “But I am campaigning for that next year!”

“Smart kid,” Virgil said. “Hey, I think your eye is getting better.”

Patton pulled out his phone and examined himself in the camera. “The skin around it is,” he said. “Still yellow, though.”

“Maybe it’s an acceptance thing,” Roman said. He shrugged as the other two gave him questioning looks. “I’ve just noticed that the faster you come to terms with this bullshit, the faster you’re, uh, mutations go away.”

“Roman, you moron, you might be into something.”

“Okay, now you’re sounding like Logan.”

“I take that as a compliment,” Virgil said. “Oh, my cousin is having a Halloween party. Make sure you guys are there.”

“Weird plug, but go on.”

“Think about it, it’s the perfect chance to meet up and, if it’s what Logan chooses, summon the Spirit of Knowledge,” he explained. “And purple skin and a snake eye?” He gestured with his arms open as he leaned back. “No one will question it on Halloween.”

[parsnipsginger]

The Insane Undead Ch 1

The Insane Undead Ch 1

Summary: After an unknown event forced the sides out of the Mindscape and all over Gainesville, Florida, the sides must adapt to a number of changes. Two of the most prominent being the change into a human form and the zombie apocalypse, which was cause by the same unknown event that forced Thomas to split into all six of his sides. So, they now must figure out a way to survive on their own in a world that belongs only in stories and comic books.

TW: decapitation, fighting, violence in general, food mention (tell me if i missed anything!)

He reaches for his phone in a familiar movement as he tries, and fails to open his unwilling eyes. When he’s unable to find his phone, or the nightstand he always leaves it on, that’s when he snaps out from last night’s grogginess. He doesn’t have his phone anymore. He hasn’t had it for a couple of weeks now. Not since it lost its signal and died on him. He had to throw it away after that since there was no electricity to charge it with. He sits up, twisting his body into a sitting position in the make-shift bed he slept on the night before. Reaching for his bag, he takes out a small water bottle and takes the smallest of sips. No point in wasting the last of my water now, he thinks to himself. But, I DO know where I could get some more water. And it’s not even that far away! His thoughts immediately shut down that idea. NO! What if you get attacked on your way there? What if someone finds you and kidnaps or kills you for the few supplies you do have? What if… The “What if” thoughts kept racing through his mind. Finally accepting that there was no way his thoughts would let him go, he stood up and went to the broken window that faced the bed. He looks out, looking at the sun, wondering what the time was. Not that he cared, or he needed to know, he just...wondered. He stood there, looking out upon the decimated city he used to call home, thinking about anything and everything, for the next couple of hours. What he didn’t know was that there were others, survivors like him, out there, waiting for something, anything to happen.

Roman falls to the ground, grateful for his sword. He grabs it, stabbing the nearest two zombies in the gut. He then proceeds to decapitate the third and final one that was creeping up behind him. Yes, he had wanted some action and some danger today, but not this much all at once. He picks up his backpack, he must’ve dropped it in the struggle, and calls for his brother. His identical twin, Remus, comes bounding towards him as he signals for Remus to follow him. He obediently follows, almost resembling a little kid. At this action, Roman knows he did something, but he doesn’t know what.

So, he asks. “What did you do?” he asks, with a bit more edge in his voice than he meant there to be. Remus hears this and answers right away.

“Well….” He draws out the word, then rapidly speeds through his explanation, knowing he couldn’t get out of an explanation once his brother prompted for one. “I ate a zombie.”

Roman hears this and is barely spared a heart attack. “WHY WOULD YOU-” He’s cut off by Remus’ defense for himself.

“Don’t worry, it was already dead. And you can only get infected if you get bit. You can’t get infected if you eat ‘em. So, that’s exactly what I did. Ate what I could.” He ends his defense with the exact high-pitched cackle that he's known for. Roman just groans, knowing he’s right.

With a sigh, he replies, “Well, just don’t do anything stupid that could get you infected. I don’t need a zombie for a brother.”

After that, they continue walking, looking for a safe place to regroup and gather more supplies.

Crouching down, Logan surveys the parking lot of what used to be the Gainesville Mall. He looks out to see an entire horde of zombies walking aimlessly about the parking lot. Making an estimate, he’d say there had to be at least 50 or 60 zombies just waiting for a piece of fresh meat to wander by. Knowing he can’t take them by himself, he begins to calculate the best way in. He can see about two entrances, three if you count the roof. The front entrance he immediately rules out. Too many zombies, not enough ways to distract them. He then thinks about the second entrance, the fire exit. He could pick the lock and disable the alarm. It would take a while, but at least it would be subtle and stealthy. The third entrance, the roof, would be a lot safer than the fire exit, yes, but it would be really noticeable and dangerous. After considering all three choices, he decides to go for the fire exit. To use this path, he will need to find a way to disable the alarm first. He approaches the destroyed mall, crouch-walking to the fire exit on the left side of the building. Once he reaches the door, he straightens up, now standing at his full height of 5’ 11”. He begins to analyze the door, looking for any signs of wires or a signal that he could hack to disable to alarm. While looking, he gets the thought, What if the power to the building is off, causing the alarm to be turned off? The next thought he gets is especially action-provoking. What if the door’s not locked in the first place? At this thought, he tries the door. It opens, albeit slowly, the only noise it gives off is a small, creaking sound. Of course, it was unlocked and the alarm was off. There’s no electricity in the city. At least, not anymore. Not since the zombies had gotten to the power plant. No time to think about that now, Logan thought as he commanded his thoughts back onto the task at hand. He walks into the mall, refraining from making too much noise. He immediately goes to each of the stores and shopping outlets on the first floor, looking for anything that could be of use to him. He stays away from the food court, promising himself that he’ll gather food after he’s done scavenging for other necessities and supplies, like water, first aid supplies, weapons, etc.

After about an hour of looking on the second floor, Logan had come up with a surprisingly good list of supplies. When he did his second round of inventory so he could organize his backpack so could he fit everything in it, he realized how great of a supply run this had been. He had gotten:

-two 12-packs of water bottles

-four pocket knives

-one pair of scissors

-eight first aid kits that each contained the following: two boxes of bandaids, one ice pack, and plenty of ibuprofen.

It was now time to raid the food court. He packed up his supplies and went forward into the food court. When Logan got there, he was faced with the dilemma: Most of the food will be spoiled by now. But, Logan had the solution. He would only take non-perishable canned or packaged foods. But….with making that decision, he ruled out over 80% of the food in the food court. Oh, well. It looked like he’d have to work with what he had. So, for about the next hour and a half, Logan looked through the food court and gathered as much food as he possibly could carry. He then went to the abandoned apartment he used as a shelter for the night.

Patton, while finishing wrapping up and taking care of the injuries he’d gotten in the past week, was humming his favorite song under his breath. As he got up to go make himself something to eat, he began singing while he cooked. “...ever so slightly, daily and nightly....” He loved this song, not just because it was one of the only songs he could still remember (he had it committed to memory long before this zombie apocalypse stuff started), but also because the song always gave him a sense of hopefulness.

By the time his food was ready (a hearty meal of popcorn, fruit snacks, a peanut butter sandwich, and beef jerky) he had sung the song so many times he couldn’t even recall how many times he had sung it. He didn’t care though, because it's not like there’s anybody around to complain about the repetition or noise of his singing. There’s no one else around. Period, he thought as tears began to form on the corners of his eyes. He brushed them off immediately. No, he reprimanded himself, you can’t cry. There’s no use. It will do nothing except make you tired and give you a headache. Tears still persisted as a tiny voice in the back of his mind remarked, It’s not like there’s anybody around to hear you anyway. At that thought, the floodgates broke open and Patton found himself sobbing on his makeshift bed before he could process what was happening. He would continue until he fell asleep from, more emotional than physical for once, exhaustion.

While the others took the more direct path to their destinations, Janus always took the backstreets and alleys; it kept up his lying, secretive identity the others had known him all too well for having. And, well, if you took that thought literally, it was a really helpful habit to have when the zombie apocalypse started. It kept him safe and had saved his butt on numerous occasions.

While walking to his “home sweet home” (if you can call an underground bunker that, but it kept him safe and from ever needing to go outside so he couldn’t complain), Janus took note of how there wasn’t much change from the last time he checked up on the destroyed town. He didn’t mind; this was actually great for his situation. Now, he doesn’t need to worry about leaving the protection of his bunker any time soon.

He got to his bunker (an old 1960’s tornado shelter transformed), unlocked what seemed like a thousand locks, wrenched open the old, wooden doors, and entered. Walking past the shelves stocked with an assortment of different items needed for survival, Janus made a beeline for his makeshift bed (He was lucky to have found a mattress that wasn’t that badly stained or had any type of weird, unidentified substance on it. So, of course, he kept it). He was, for some strange reason, exhausted. He hadn’t done much that day, so he was more than a bit confused. He went to sleep anyway, brushing it off knowing that, if he refused to sleep any longer, it would only spell out trouble for the future. So, laying down on his bed, he closed his eyes and tried his best to fall asleep.

Months pass, dragging the heat of summer slowly into the chill of winter. The survivors go about their daily lives and habits without giving anything outside of their own survival a second thought until something unexpected happens.

Because of that zombie attack months back, Roman and Remus weren’t able to get as many supplies as they would’ve preferred. They still got enough to last them a couple months, but, on that particular supply run, they were planning on getting enough supplies to last them the rest of the year. Alas, that didn’t happen. Thus, the midwinter supply run they were on now.

After leaving the tent they now called home (it got pretty cold at night and there wasn’t much room to do anything, but it kept them safe, so c’est la vie) they set off to the same grouping of stores they had raided the time before. They had made sure to leave a decent amount of supplies there, so they’d at least be guaranteed a haul of supplies for their next supply run.

On their way to the store, (Oh, God, Roman noticed, it almost sounds normal when you put it that way,) the twins made sure to keep quiet the entire way there. They didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention or trouble.

When they got to the store, they immediately began to fill all four of their backpacks to their brims. (There were two backpacks per twin, so, if they got separated for any reason, they both would have enough supplies to last them for about half a month.) When they had sat down on the checkout counter after finishing, Remus remarked on something he had noticed.

“Hey Ro, did you notice the zombies today? Or, at least the lack of zombies?”

Roman concentrates and realizes that Remus is right. There was a lack of zombies on their way here. I mean, you have to go through one of the most infested places in town to get to these shops, Roman decides.

“Yea I did. I don’t know what’s up with that. But, just to be safe, we’re taking another route home. OK?” Roman said with a worried tone. Remus only nodded in agreement before he began to suggest they get going before it gets too dark to go home. They picked up their backpacks and headed home.

On their way back, they took the long way back as a safety precaution. That would mean over an hour of walking what would usually be an unnecessary mile and a half. They never take this path unless one of them feels taking their normal route would be unsafe, thus they began calling the “Alternate Path to Safety” or APTS.

While on APTS, they were walking through a small park and they saw something cross from the corner of their eyes. Roman gestures for Remus to get his weapon out (a handgun was his pick that day.) They turn to see what had caused them to feel threatened. What they saw at first didn’t surprise them in the slightest. Three or four zombies, no more than they can handle. What they noticed next was what was completely out of the ordinary. The zombies weren’t coming towards them, the zombies didn’t even notice the pair. They seemed to be focused on something - no, someone - else. The person, whoever they were, seemed to not be faring well with the zombies. So, thinking that nothing bad could come from it, decided to step in to help.

The brothers decided on a stealthy attack. They crept up on the zombies, and, almost in sync, decapitated all four zombies. After they finished up (the entire act took about a minute and a half), they approached the person they did that all for.

“Hey, sorry to barge in but it looked like you could’ve used some he-,” Roman abruptly stopped, realizing who exactly he was talking to.

“Logan?!?!”

[perspective-series]

Exposed Perspective (10)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Slight fear, and talk of erasing memories

THIS IS THE THIRD STORY IN A TRILOGY. READ “A Third Perspective” AND “Switched Perspectives” FOR THIS TO MAKE SENSE!

(Check the reblog for the links to the previous chapters and the TWO prequels!)

———————————————————————————————

 Virgil woke up the next morning, bright and early. He grabbed the bag he had packed the night before, a small bag that didn’t have much in it. He then climbed out of his room and sent one last look down at it. He sighed. He would miss his home but at least he didn’t have to leave his friends behind. 

 Speaking of, he heard a bit of shuffling in Logan’s room and waited patiently in the hall, near the wall, for Logan to come out.

“Good morning, Virgil.” Logan greeted, hiding a yawn behind one hand as he emerged, having not slept long. Logan knelt down, offering Virgil a hand. “Breakfast?”

 “Sounds great,” Virgil said, climbing onto the offered hand. 

Logan stood up, stepping carefully over the hole in the floorboards. His landlord wouldn’t thank him for that, but at this point, it felt as though trying to repair it himself would just be foolhardy. Logan made his way to the kitchen, setting Virgil down on the counter. 

“Coffee?” Logan offered, already starting up the pot.

 Virgil tilted his head, looking at the strange thing Logan was setting up. Of course, he had seen it many times before but never when it was on. He had no idea what it did or what coffee even was. “What’s coffee?”

“Oh, right.” Sometimes Logan forgot just how different Virgil was from himself. “Well, it’s a caffeinated beverage that can provide energy to the drinker. Quite addicting, but very useful for staying awake.”

 “Oh, then um, yeah, I guess I’ll try it,” Virgil said with a shrug. He could use the extra energy for the move.

Logan nodded, popping in some toast as well for a more filling breakfast. Once the pot beeped, Logan took it out and poured a mug for himself, setting it down next to Virgil so that the borrower could get some as well.

 Virgil took out his tinfoil cup and scooped a bit out. He blew on it before taking a taste. The bitterness was unlike anything he had ever tasted before and it was almost too much. But Virgil found that he almost sort of liked it? Kind of? “It’s...interesting.”

“It’s bitter, but it’s more for a specific function than necessary pleasure.” Logan lifted the mug to his lips, taking a sip of his own. The toaster dinged, and Logan put the two pieces of toast on a plate. He pulled a jar of crofter’s jam from the fridge, beginning to spread it on one slice. “Do you want jam on yours? Or another condiment?”

 “Jam’s fine,” Virgil said, taking another sip of the coffee. He was already starting to get used to is. And he could feel himself being more awake than before. Weird, but cool.

Logan put Jam on the second slice as well, taking his own piece in hand before sliding the whole plate closer to Virgil.

“I found a few possibilities for a new residency,” Logan explained, taking a bite. “I suggested to Roman via text the four of us go scope them out today.”

 Virgil nodded as he ripped a piece of toast off and took a bite. He hummed at the flavor of the jam. No wonder Logan liked it so much. 

 “...I wish we didn’t have to do this.” He said after a few moments of silence.

Logan glanced at his smaller companion, then at the apartment around them. “It certainly is not ideal.” Logan agreed quietly. “But, certainly preferable to any other outcomes.”

 “I can agree with you on that,” Virgil said, taking another bite of his food. He wanted to be as far away from Dee and any other humans that now knew about him.

“How are you feeling, by the way?” Logan asked, having never fully gotten a rundown of Virgil’s injuries. He certainly looked different, if only due to his new haircut.

 Feeling Logan’s eyes on it, he ran a hand through his hair. “I’m fine. I didn’t get much other than this haircut and a few bruises from his grip.” Virgil shivered as he remembered being wrapped in those fingers. “I think Patton got it worse. Dee...Dee seemed to take a lot of blood out of him.” Virgil couldn’t help but feel guilty about that since it should have been him that had blood drawn from.

“I see.” Logan frowned, noting this in the back of his brain. He would have to help keep an eye on Patton for any abnormal behavior and suggest methods to ease Patton’s recovery. 

As Logan pondered this, there was a knocking at the front door.

 Virgil snapped his head over to the door. “You think that’s Roman and Patton or…?” Virgil bit his lip, worried that it could be Dee or another human looking for them.

“I’m not sure.” Logan set his mug on the counter, approaching the door cautiously. He peeked through the peephole, eyes widening when he saw an unfamiliar figure. Turning back to the kitchen, Logan gave a motion for Virgil to hide.

 Virgil tensed and quickly hid behind the coffee pot, heart racing. He barely dared to breathe as he listened.

“Can I help you?” Logan asked, quite on edge and barely opening the door. With the door open, Logan could see there was actually three individuals on his doorstep. One was Thomas, who looked almost as confused as himself. The next was a suited individual with colorful hair, standing to Thomas’ right. The final individual was right in front of Logan, wearing a bright orange beanie and the same suit as the other.

“The name’s Joan, Special Victims Unit Officer.” The individual leaned closer, grinning and sticking out their hand. “Hi, how ya doin’?”

Logan slowly reached out his own hand. “Logan Sanders.”

“Oh, we know who you are.” Joan shook his hand eagerly. “You’re harboring a borrower, aren’t ‘cha?”

 Virgil tensed, shaking as the unfamiliar voice confirmed they knew he was there. And did he say something about an officer? Had Virgil been right? Had the government gotten involved and was looking for them? Virgil felt panic start to seize at his heart and mind.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Logan quickly pulled his hand back, ready to shut the door, but Thomas’ voice stopped him.

“They saw the tapes, Logan.” Thomas shifted on his feet. “I...I think they’re here to help.”

“What?” Logan frowned. 

“We’re a very special Special Victims Task unit,” Joan explained. “We deal with any crimes involving borrowers.”

“Including covering up whenever someone screws up and tries to expose them to the world.” The other suited member finally spoke up.

“Oh, that’s Talyn by the way,” Joan explained, pointing to their partner who gave a wave.

“I think we can trust them.” Thomas insisted.

“I like this guy, he gets it.” Joan nodded, jabbing a thumb at Thomas. 

“How do I know this isn’t some elaborate ruse?” Logan squinted at them.

“Well, if we really wanted to get in there, we could just wipe your memory and push right past.” Talyn got closer, standing on their tiptoes to look Logan in the eye. “But we’re trying to be civil here, so do the right thing and let us in.”

 Virgil shook as he fell to a seated position up against the pot. He didn’t care if they were here to ‘help’ or not, he didn’t want any other humans around him. But he had a feeling this encounter was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

“Wiping a memory is not actually possible,” Logan observed. Talyn frowned at him, pulling out some sort of rod and holding it in front of his face.

“Wanna bet?” They threatened.

“Okay, let’s not do that,” Joan advised, pushing the rod back down. “Not at least until we’ve found Virgil.” Joan now pushed back Logan, into the apartment. Talyn walked inside with a glare at Logan, and Thomas followed. 

“They came to my apartment first,” Thomas explained. “They asked where you guys were.”

“And why did you tell them?” Logan spoke out of the corner of his mouth, looking peeved.

“I couldn’t lie to a federal officer!” Thomas insisted. “Besides, I really think they can help us. They’re the ones that took down Remy’s video.”

“...what?” Logan looked at the agents in a new light.

“Yup, that was my doing.” Talyn looked proud of themselves. 

Joan cupped their hands around their mouth. “Virgil! Where are ya, buddy?”

 They knew his name?! Like hell Virgil was going to come out to their calling. He stayed where he was, hoping Logan or even Thomas would get to him first. Anyone but these other humans.

“...he’s in the kitchen,” Logan admitted, and immediately Talyn whirled on him.

“How dare you.” Talyn hissed. “What, you think you can help us just because you’re human?”

“I, ah, yes?” Logan took a step back, thoroughly confused. 

“It’s all part of borrowing etiquette 101,” Joan explained, pulling out a book. “It’s considered an act of disrespect to out a borrower. A borrower should be in control of when and to whom they are revealed.”

“Oh.” Logan glanced at the book, feeling both sheepish and intrigued. “May I see that?” 

“Sure thing!” Joan nodded, handing it over. Logan began to leaf through the pages.

“...I’ll go get Virgil.” Thomas offered, heading towards the kitchen. 

“No grabbing.” Talyn insisted.

“Yup, already knew that one.” Thomas nodded, giving them a brief look before leaving the room. He looked around the counter, not spotting the borrower.

“Virgil?” Thomas whispered, coming closer to it.

 “Thomas?” Virgil stood up on shaky legs, revealing himself as he walked out into the open. He had been listening the entire time and while he was slightly mad at Logan for revealing where he was, what the agents said only confused him. Were they actually here to help? It couldn’t be that though, right?

“It’s me.” Thomas smiled, laying down his palm for Virgil. “Uh, there’s some people here who want to see you but um, I think they might actually want to help?”

 Virgil bit his lip and after several moments of hesitation, he got onto the offered hand. “...Just don’t let them take me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Thomas promised, bringing Virgil close to his chest. He held the borrower there protectively, putting his extra hand up as well.

“Ah, there you are.” Joan’s volume decreased slightly but their tone did not, a sure sign they were trying to be easy but not condescending on Virgil’s ears. “Virgil, it is an honor to meet you. My name is agent Joan, and this is my partner agent Talyn. We are here to help you.”

 Virgil shifted more into Thomas, looking at the new humans warily. “...How?” He asked hesitantly.

“We help relocate borrowers whose identity has been compromised,” Talyn explained, coming over as well. “We wipe human’s memory of you and find a new suitable borrowing home far away from the incident for an extra layer of precaution. Of course, if you prefer there’s also a borrower base back home in Area 51 where some of our old borrower friends have built a community.”

 Virgil blinked. “There...is? H-How many times has this happened?” 

“Quite often.” Joan nodded sadly. “Modern surveillance systems aren’t exactly borrower-friendly.”

 “Oh.” Virgil looked down. The thought was sad but if these humans actually helped them… “And why do you help borrowers? Why haven’t you revealed our existence and made us pets or science experiments or whatnot...unless you do perform tests on my kind and this is some sort of ruse to get me to come back with you so you can do that to me!” Virgil’s breath became erratic as the thought sent him into a panic.

“Okay, y’know? Perfectly valid questions.” Joan put up their hands in surrender, taking a step back. “It may sound strange, but not all humans are actually evil. Talyn and I actually found borrowers ourselves when we were younger, but unlike what’s going on here we actually treat borrowers as people.”

“Wait a second.” Thomas frowned. “We treat Virgil like a person.” 

“Sure you do.” Talyn squinted suspiciously at him.

“Rule number 33.” Logan recited, still diligently reading. “Prolonged hand-holding is to be kept to a minimum, and only for as long as necessary. Lingering is considered an offense as you are limiting the borrower’s freedom through manipulation of an act of kindness.”

“...oh.” Thomas glanced down at his hands, realizing how long he had been holding Virgil. He moved over to the coffee table, setting Virgil down on it sheepishly. “I’m sorry Virgil, I didn’t mean to.”

 Virgil blinked. “No, Thomas, you’re fine.” He glanced at the book Logan was reading. It was a great rule, of course, but not at this moment. Virgil was perfectly comfortable with his human friends holding him for a while. As long as they put him down when he wanted to be put down, of course. Which they were usually good at doing. He turned towards the agents. 

 “I do know that not all humans are bad, just most of them,” Virgil explained. “Because Thomas is right. He, Logan and Roman all treat us like people.” Well, of course, not at first. But they were in a good place now. 

Talyn sat down next to the coffee table, leaning in and speaking in a hushed tone. “Are you just saying that?” They asked. “We know it can feel like you have no escape, but that’s why we’re here. You don’t have to stay captured by these humans any longer.”

“Hey, we wouldn’t do that!” Thomas exclaimed, before remembering the time Logan had indeed put them in a cage. He winced, looking at Logan. “Er, anymore that is.” 

Logan’s fingers tightened around the pages slightly, clearly overhearing their conversation.

“We can erase their memories as well,” Joan explained, coming over to sit next to Talyn. “If you think you will ever have any trouble with them, even just in the future, say the word and we zap ‘em.”

 Virgil’s eyes widened. “No!” He yelled, hating the thought. His friends had come so far, especially Logan! All that learning going down the drain would just be awful. “They’re my friends and I won’t let you erase their memories! Or take me away from them!” Virgil yelled, taking a step away from the two agents.

Talyn and Joan blinked, looking at each other briefly.

“Oh, so this is one of those cases.” Joan nodded in understanding.

“We’re not gonna take you away from your friends,” Talyn said earnestly. “We just wanted to make sure you were actually alright.”

“And, y’know, not being held against your will.” Joan shrugged. 

 “...Oh,” Virgil said, a little embarrassed by his outburst now. “Well, thank you for that.” He supposed these agents really were doing some good and helpful things for borrowers. They were even listening to him.

“Also thank you for not erasing our minds,” Thomas said feebly.

“Indeed.” Logan nodded in agreement, looking perturbed as he closed the book. The idea of losing any of his memories was quite troubling.

“Well, then, in that case, we’ll just get to work rehousing all of you,” Joan said, standing up.

“We were actually already planning on moving out to the next town over,” Logan explained.

“You were?” Thomas furrowed his eyebrows, having not been informed of this.

“...we meant to tell you.” Logan gave a half-hearted shrug.

“Where’s Patton?” Talyn asked, looking around.

 “He should be with Roman,” Virgil said, not feeling bad about revealing that information now that he knew they were here to help.

“Alright, let’s go get them then.” Talyn stood up. 

“Rule 72.” Logan recited. “All borrowers should be involved in discussions pertaining to life-changing events such as a move or a reveal, so as to give every borrower a voice.” 

“You catch on fast,” Joan noted. 

“Can I see the book?” Thomas asked, looking eager. 

“By all means.” Logan gave it to Thomas, then set his palm down for Virgil.

 Virgil got onto the hand without hesitation, once again looking up at the book Thomas now held. “Who made that?” He asked to Joan and Talyn.

“A couple of agents back in the 50’s made the original,” Joan explained as the group migrated upstairs. “But the newest copy was compiled by yours truly.”

“With yours truly helping.” Talyn piped up, looking proud.

 “Huh. Well...it seems like a really helpful book.” Virgil complimented.

“It comes in handy.” Talyn nodded.

Joan paused once they had reached the front door, knocking on it.

[anotherloganstan]

Do You Think Logan Is Gay? - Analogical

Summary: Virgil very much likes Logan, in fact they’ve made out before, but he wonders if Logan is gay. Roman is very much exasperated with his roommate so sets them up to talk. [College/University AU with romantic Analogical, platonic Prinxiety, and background romantic Royality]

Based off an incorrect quote from @more-incorect-quotes

Virgil: Do you think Logan is gay?? Roman: …. Roman: Didn’t you two make out last night? Virgil: BUT WHAT IF HE MEANT IT AS A FRIEND

Warnings: making out, minor anxiety, drinking alcohol

Word count: 2,350

Buy me a coffee!

Him and Roman are both on their respective beds in their dorm room, Virgil with his legs crossed and extra credit work on his knees while Roman lies on his front, one earbud in listening to the soundtrack of yet another musical. Roman’s walls adorned with movie posters of hot actors and his acting awards taking up more shelf space than his actual books for college – which is a lot considering he’s an English Literature major. Virgil’s side is more minimalist, the plain black sheets with purple cushions and his textbooks in a neat order on his shelves, the only knickknacks being his cute nerdy figurines – a lot of which came as presents from his friend Patton (and he only really got into some of the shows because of Logan).

Virgil sighs suddenly, putting his work aside before flopping onto his back, his eyes closing feeling exhausted, yet he can’t help his mind from racing, not the usual anxiety but something different, something more.

“Do you think Logan’s gay?” he asks suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between him and his roommate.

And there’s just silence from Roman for a moment, taking in exactly what Virgil’s just said for a moment too long where Virgil doesn’t think he’s actually heard him and opens his mouth to repeat himself. But Roman speaks up.

“Didn’t you two make out last night?” Roman asks, voice clearly laced with a little confusion but mostly exasperation. He’s used to Virgil being an anxious gay mess – as he can be sometimes too, okay, he just finds Patton so adorably cute that he forgets to function a lot of the time – but this, this is something else entirely.

He vividly remembers dragging Virgil to the cast party knowing fine well Logan, the tech guy, would be there as would Patton, costumes design, and well things escalated…

Virgil is not a party person regardless of the type of people at the party but Roman had insisted with a sly smile and the comment of ‘well, Logan will be there too, you know?’ So, of course he’d said yes and been dragged along by Roman – who was dressed to the highest heavens in tight white pants, a black tank top, and his red and white bomber jacket whilst Virgil’s in his usual skinny jeans, a band t-shirt, and a leather jacket. Even Roman had to admit that he looked good especially with his eyeliner all smudged and lips painted a pale pink.

Patton’s there in the hallway chatting as they enter but immediately drops everything when he catches them. He flings himself into Roman’s arms who easily picks him up and hugs him, Patton presses a big kiss to his cheek and it’s obvious from a mile away that they’re madly in love with each other just they haven’t really gotten there themselves yet. Roman puts him down and Patton gives Virgil a one-armed hug accompanied with the question, “how are my two favourite boys?”

And Roman makes a strangled sort of noise before laughing it off and replying, “I thought Logan was one of you favourite boys?”

Patton laughs too with a shrug and pulls them both to the drinks table, but Virgil can’t help being distracted by the mere mention of Logan’s name. He’s handed a plastic cup with vodka and lemonade in, he thanks Patton and takes a few sips when he knows it’s not too strong.

And he doesn’t know how long he’s been here yet, all he knows is that Roman and Patton are both missing, and some theatre girl may or may not be trying to chat him up or at the very least trying to get to know him which he does not want. So, he excuses him to get another drink, just his third (and probably last) of the night – he’s not drunk but he’s not sober either.

“Hello, Virgil,” a voice greets him, the low tone and the way his name is said like that lets him know it’s Logan, the man he’d maybe been hoping to avoid all night or maybe hoping to run into… Virgil’s not too sure what he wants. Virgil turns to look at him and his words are stuck in his throat at the simple look of him. The ever so smart Logan looking, well, casual in a navy t-shirt, jeans, and a black jacket, and Virgil might just need to lay down for a moment or seven.

“Hi, L,” he responds blatantly, “uh, how are you doing?”

The question is lame and he’s about to make a quick exit, but Logan responds, “I’m quite alright but, you know, parties aren’t really my thing, I felt as if I should make an appearance though. How are you? I’m aware this isn’t exactly your scene either.”

He’s right. And they have so much in common that it makes Virgil want to bang his head against the wall because Logan is so god damn perfect in his eyes with his stupid glasses and stupidly soft hair and stupid smart wit and stupid stupid-ness.

“Uh, I’m alright, I mean the alcohol isn’t so bad but I’ve no idea where Roman’s gone, probably with Patton somewhere kissing his face off,” he says, laughing lightly at the end, watching as Logan too laughs, his eyes shutting slightly and he needs to stop being so attractive or Virgil is really going to do something he regrets later on.

He does. He does something very, very stupid but very, very right. He kisses Logan, completely ignoring the other’s response, in fact cutting him off just to feel his lips on his own. Logan stiffens obviously but his hands grasp at Virgil’s leather jacket, holding him close and a silent indication to ‘keep going, please’. They only separate when someone coughs and reminds them that they’re blocking the drinks table.

So, they flush and move to the side of the room, in the darkest corner possible. Virgil opens his mouth to respond but Logan is quicker in kissing him, harder and with more force than before, and his hands find Logan’s hips holding him steady much more than to keep Logan close. And his tongue is inching into Logan’s mouth, gladly allowed access and he just doesn’t stop. He kisses and kisses him until he feels nothing but Logan and the faint taste of gin on his tongue – because of course Logan drinks gin.

And that’s how Roman finds them, pressed up against the far wall practically devouring each other. Roman pulls him back by the collar of his jacket, his eyes fly open as does Logan’s who looks more than embarrassed to see Roman standing right there and averts his eyes.

“Enjoying yourselves there?” Roman asks, cocky and smartarsed as ever, and when he gets no response but various noises he says, “alright, come on, we’re being kicked out since it’s so late.”

He ushers Virgil away so they can walk home and faintly hears Logan telling him he’ll text him at some point. He doesn’t text him when he gets home or in the morning or at lunch time.

“But what if he meant it as a friend!?” Virgil shouts, panicked and clearly doubting himself as he sits up from his position and faces Roman, playing with his own fingers, and clearly this is something he needs to talk about but maybe not with Roman.

So, Roman sends a sneaky text to Logan:

Hey nerd, your not-quite-boyfriend is freaking out over your last nights make outs, come reassure him or I’ll have your head xoxox

Then one to Patton:

Yo, Pappy, mind if I come hang around yours for a bit, I have a feeling my room is going to be occupied with two nerds grossly making out for the rest of the night xoxoxoxoxox

And he sighs, looking back at Virgil, ready to fill in the time with some good old-fashioned romantic advice till Logan arrives.

“Look, dude,” he says, taking his ear bud out and sitting on the edge of his bed opposite Virgil’s very position, “he likes you, a lot, he’s just bad with feeling and shit. I don’t really know if he’s gay but he’s into you, he was full on making out with you for god knows how long last night and has been eying you up for weeks now trying to work up the courage to make a move, you know, just like you, you emo nightmare.”

Virgil still doesn’t look convinced, eyebrows furrowed, and lips pulled into a pout almost, “but…” he starts only to weakly trail off. Roman sighs.

“Virge, you’re a catch whether you like to believe it or not,” he starts, looking Virgil right in the eye, still staring at him when he blushes and looks to the ground, “you’re smart and witty and a little cynical but I’m sure Logan finds that endearing, plus you’re hot so… that’s a plus.”

Virgil laughs, half hearted and weak but it’s a start.

“But seriously, if you and him don’t get together soon I will scream, you’re meant to be, call it true love,” he finishes dramatically flopping onto his back with his hands in the air, “and I get to be your best man when you two get married!”

And Virgil opens his mouth to respond, something witty or cynical no doubt, but is cut off by three brisk knocks at the door. So, he gets up and opens it to reveal a somewhat messy Logan on the other side, wearing nothing but a grey low V-necked t-shirt and jogging pants as well as trainers, his hair mussed too (as if he’s been running his hand through it constantly which he has) and he doesn’t look as if he’s slept much last night. And Virgil hates how his heart jumps to his throat at the mere sight of the other man.

“That is my cue to leave,” Roman announces, slipping on his trainers and bomber jacket before squeezing past the soon to be couple, “and don’t wait up for me I’ll be at Patton’s.”

Just like that’s he’s gone down the corridor which Logan is still currently standing in.

Virgil steps to the side letting Logan in with a silent nod and letting the door shut behind him. Logan looks awkward as hell just standing there, not looking at Virgil but rather around their room. Virgil goes to tell him to sit down but Logan moves closer to him, looking at him weirdly before seeming to gather up the courage to reach out and hold both of his hands with his own. It’s sort of sweet in an awkward, stiff way that Logan doesn’t know how to be otherwise – unless he’s a little tipsy of course.

“Look, V,” Logan says with such seriousness in his voice that Virgil’s heart drops, he’s waiting for the ‘it was a drunken mistake’ or the ‘it’s me not you’ but that’s not what comes.

“I like you, Virgil, I really like you a lot but I’m not good at this,” he says, gesturing with his head to the intertwined fingers, “I’m not good with feelings or with physically showing them like, you know, like Roman does or even Patton, I’m not a physical person but, well, last night we kind of…” he trails off, cheeks flushing a pretty red and Virgil can’t help the warmth he feels in his chest, a smile creeping onto his face.

“We made out, L,” he offers, snarky but quiet, fond, as if anything louder would break what they have.

“We, um, yes, we did,” Logan stutters out, clearly trying to get his thoughts together into coherent words, “we did. And I don’t want you to think that’s all it was, that’s all I want because, well, because I really like you, and I realise I’m talking around in circles.” He gives a weak laugh, forced to try and prompt Virgil into talking to him, to reassure him that he hasn’t read this wrong and the Virgil may feel the same.

“I think I get it, L,” he says softly, brushing his fingers over the back of Logan’s hands, “you like me, you like like me, you have romantic feelings towards me.”

Logan laughs lightly at the serious words from Virgil, maybe a deflection to avoid using the L-word. And Virgil doesn’t want to use that word either, not just yet.

“But I like you too, Lo,” he says, all serious again, “I like you very much and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship by saying something so soon and last night well I didn’t know if you meant anything by it or not, I was just paranoid and scared because what if it ruined us forever, what if you never wanted to speak to me again, what if-” He pauses to take a harsh breath, focusing on the way Logan’s hands tighten around his own to ground him.

“Virgil,” Logan says, one hand leaving Virgil’s own to gently and hesitantly cup Virgil’s jaw, “I would never leave you, you could never do anything to make me hate you or stop being your friend, I care for you far too much, V.”

And, god, does that make Virgil feel a little bit sick. But in a good way.

“I- Lo, I…” he tries to get his words out, but he can’t, his words catch in his throat and he feels choked up.

“Hey, no, V, none of that,” Logan says, pausing for a moment and hesitating before pulling Virgil into a hug, it’s loose but warm and comforting. And Virgil sags into it, resting his head on Logan’s shoulder and taking some deep breaths, merely enjoying the closeness of the other.

They’ll talk about this all later, about officially becoming boyfriends, and Roman will ring them and ask if they’ve ‘sorted their shit out’ and Virgil will hang up on him only to be called by Patton and tell him everything as Logan lays against him, eyes closing and his head right over Virgil’s heart. And Virgil cannot wait.

[mycatshuman]

The Demonologists

Chapter 2

Previous chapters

Warnings: supernatural things, I think that's it, let me know if I missed any.

Pairings: Logicality, Prinxiety

Word count: 2, 683

Thanks again to @civilsounds17 for beta reading this for me! You're amazing!💚💚💚

-----

Inside the old farmhouse, everyone was asleep as the clocks chimed three. At the bottom of the stairs, the old grandfather clock ticked away ominously, as if something not quite right was coming. It continued to tick until it hit 3:07 and then it stopped. Not a sound coming from the old clock just an unnerving silence that seemed to hint at impending doom.

Upstairs, in the twins’ room, Jericho felt something pull his foot in his sleep, causing him to jerk awake. He yanked his foot underneath the covers as he groaned. “It's not funny, Apollo.”

“What?” Apollo asked sleepily as he shifted in his bed, the house still eerily cold.

“Stop grabbing my foot!”

Apollo frowned as he pulled the covers tighter against himself. “Shut up! I didn't touch your foot!”

“Yeah right,” Jericho mumbled as he turned over. “And stop farting, it stinks.”

Apollo rolled his eyes as he felt sleep pull at his consciousness. “Don't blame it on me,” he yawned. “It's probably you.”

Downstairs, the static of the t.v. bounced off the walls of the living room before a thudding woke Logan who had fallen asleep at his desk. He stood up and glanced around as he turned the t.v. off. Making his way into the hallway, he glanced down the hall and watched as the door at the end of the hall slowly creak open, the sound sending chills down his spine. He walked quickly to the doorway and saw nobody. Nothing out of the ordinary here. However, he did notice that the one window in the kitchen was open, blowing the curtains slightly. The logical man concluded that the wind was the reason as to why the door moved, his sleep-riddled brain not even thinking it weird that the door had opened against the wind.

The thudding sounded again, causing Logan's head to jerk up. The sound thudded throughout the house, the source seeming to come from upstairs. Logan quickly moved to the bottom of the stairs. When he whipped around the railing to go upstairs, he looked up to see Elliot on the stairs and stopped. “Dad?” They whispered groggily.

Logan frowned. “Elliot? What are doing out of bed? And do you know what that sound is?”

Elliot rubbed their eyes as they yawned. “It's Kai, they're in my room. They're sleeping walking again.”

Logan frowned. “Again?” As Elliot nodded, the two made their way up the stairs and into the younger's room to find Kai standing in front if the wardrobe and banging their head against the doors, creating the thumping noise from earlier.

“I've never seen them do this,” Elliot explained as Logan moved over to Kai and placed his hand in front of their forehead to stop them from continuing to bang it on the doors. “I remember you telling us not to wake them if they're like this.”

Logan nodded as he slowly guided the child away from the wardrobe. “Yeah. You just gotta put them back to bed.” Logan moved Kai out of the room as Elliot watched on. “They'll be okay. Good night, Elliot.”

“Night,” Elliot called before shutting their door and climbing back into bed, a little unnerved about the strange encounter.

----

Patton frowned as he filled the bathtub with warm water. “Kai's sleepwalking again? It's been a while.”

Logan nodded as he got ready to go to work. It was still early enough that the sun wasn't up yet, the two having a bit of time to themselves before Logan left and Patton had to get the kids up for school. “Yeah, they ended up in Elliot's room. It kinda freaked them out.”

Patton frowned as he turned off the faucet and felt the water to make sure it was warm enough. “That's not good. What do you think we are going to do?”

Logan went to answer as Patton pulled off his shirt, getting ready to soak in the tub for a little before starting breakfast. “I don't-” he stopped as he noticed a bruise on his husband's arm. “Oh no, hun, you've got another bruise.” He lightly placed his fingertips on the skin as he Patton moved his head to look at the arm with a frown. “Does it hurt?”  

Patton shook his head as he examined the discolored skin. “This is weird.”

Logan nodded as he adjusted his glasses. “Yeah. I suggest going to the doctor's and seeing if they have any more knowledge on it.”

Patton sighed but nodded. “Alright. Drive safe.”

Logan pressed a kiss to Patton's lips. “I will. I love you, more than there are stars in the sky.”

“I love you more than there are animals in the world.” And with that, Logan left and Patton got in the tub for a few minutes before he had to start breakfast.

----

“Love you! Bye!” Patton called as most of his children ran to get on the bus, leaving him with only the youngest, Dante. Patton smiled as he turned and walked back inside to go find the little one. He pulled on his cardigan, shivering slightly. He heard Dante's voice ring out from upstairs.

Patton smiled. He had the whole day to be able to spend with his youngest before his work vacation was over.

He climbed up the stairs, following the little voice to his room where he glanced in and saw Dante sitting as his little set of table and chairs. “Yeah, I miss my old friends a lot. But you're my friend, right?” Patton furrowed his eyebrows, watching as his son interacted what must have been an imaginary friend.

“Who are you talking to?” Patton asked as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“Rory,” Dante answered as he watched Patton walk into the room with a smile.

“Rory?”

“She's my new friend!” Dante explained as he smiled brightly.

“Oh really?” Patton asked as Dante nodded excitedly.

“Yeah! Do you wanna see her!”

“Sure, kiddo! How?” Patton asked, excited that his son wanted to introduce him to his imaginary friend. Dante patted one of his chairs and gestured for Patton to sit down. Patton sat down as his son handed him a small music box with a circular mirror in the lid.

“With this,” Dante explained. “When the music stops you see her standing behind you in the mirror. But you have to twist the key.”

“Okay,” Patton turned the key and the music began to play. It was a slow and slightly creepy tune. Patton watched as the mirror spun around slowly as he waited for the music to stop. It stopped and he inspected the mirror with a frown and not seeing anything. He turned to Dante. “Well, I guess Rory doesn't wanna see me,” he told his son. In all honesty, he's glad he didn't see anything. It would've frightened him. He was already a little unsettled that Dante seemed had found this music box that involved a ritual type thing to see his new friend. Almost like summoning. But the bubbly man pushed down his fears.

“Oh, well,” Dante shrugged before getting excited. “Can we play hide and clap?”

Patton watched as Dante jumped up and down beside him. He giggled. “Of course, honey.” Dante squeals excitedly before grabbing the blindfold and tying it around Patton's eyes after he takes his glasses off.

“Remember, you get to ask me for three claps.”

Patton giggled as Dante tied the blindfold and stepped back. He began spinning as he counted. “One. Two. Three.”

“I'm gonna go hide now!” Dante called as he raced out of the room to hide.

“Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.” Patton stopped spinning as he attempted to catch his bearings. “First clap!” A clap sounded from a distance and Patron carefully moved forward as he put his hands out in front of him. Once out in the hallway, he called out for the second clap. “Second clap.” Patton smiled as he heard one from the room next to him. He carefully made his way inside. “Dante…I know where you're hiding.” Behind Patton, the doors to the wardrobe opened. “Give me the third clap.” A pair of hands pushed out of the clothes and clapped. Patton whirled around with a wide grin. “I'm gonna get you now!” As he slowly made his way to the wardrobe, he caught on to the sound of breathing. “I can hear your breathing.” Patton shoved his hands into the wardrobe in an attempt to touch Dante only to find nothing but limp clothes and wood. He frowned. “Dante?” After searching the whole wardrobe, he ripped off his blindfold and put his glasses on and shoved clothes aside only to find the area empty. “Dante?”

“You took your blindfold off! I win! You weren't even close, Dad! I was in Apollo and Jer-Jericho's room!” Patton jumped and spun around to find Dante bouncing up and down in the doorway to the bedroom. A horrified expression passed across Patton's as he turned back to the wardrobe and searched through it only to find nothing but clothes and the back of the space. It was empty of any living being. Patton closed the doors and turned back to his child.

“...Dante, how would you like to come to the vet with daddy and see the kitty cats?”

Dante smiled as Patton closed the door to the room and turned, picking him up before going down the stairs to the kitchen. “Yeah! Let's go!”

Patton forced a smile on his face as he hurried to get the keys and their coats. He was scared, terrified. He could have sworn he had heard a clap coming from the wardrobe. He wasn't sure, but he was most definitely getting out of the house until Logan came home, or at least the other kids. As Patton and Dante got in the car, the thought came to him that he was overreacting and no one was in the house and it was just all part of his imagination. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Everything is okay. There is nothing in the house. It was just my imagination. I could be having hearing problems. Nothing was there. There was nothing in the closet. It was just my mind playing tricks on me. He opened his eyes and stared at the house intently. He turned to face Dante in the backseat. "Alright, let's go see those kitties."

"Kitties!" Dante cried out happily. Patton smiled fondly before turning the car on and backing out of the driveway. With one last look at the house he pulled out and onto the road on the way to his place of work to spend some times with the kitty cats. And if he saw a fleeting glimpse of something in the upstairs bedroom window, he said nothing of it.

-------

Patton peered into Logan's study as his husband spoke on the phone. "Of course, sir. I will be sure to do that. Thank you. Have a nice evening." Logan hung up with a weary with as he leaned back in his chair, Patton coming up behind him to wrap his arms loosely around his shoulders as he rested his head next to his.

"When do you have to leave?"

Logan sighed as he rubbed Patton's arms. "Tomorrow. It's a week trip."

Patton closed his eyes and hummed. A week without his husband. It wasn't like this hasn't happened before. But he was still uneasy about the scary event that happened a few weeks ago. And ever since then, he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that someone was watching him as he went about his business. The only reprieve he had of these feelings was when he went to work. And even then, the prospect of returning home to those invisible eyes was hanging over him like a dark cloud. This, he did not say out loud. Instead, "We'll get through it. We always do."

Logan let a small smile grace his lips and he took one of Patton's hands and pressed his lips to it. "We will. Thank you, honey."

Patton smiled softly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

-------

"Stop Apollo," Jericho groaned. "It's not funny anymore. I'm trying to sleep."

"I'm not doing anything." Apollo rolled his eyes as he shifted in bed.

"Stop grabbing my feet."

"I'm not!" Apollo groaned as he rolled over.

Jericho scoffed and pulled the blankets up around his shoulders. Seconds later, the fabric was yanked from his hands. He sat up, ready to tell at his brother when he heard something under his bed. Fear pierced at his heart as he leaned over, looking under the bed only to find it empty. The door creaked. Sitting up, he turned his head towards the open door, light streaming in through the doorway. His eyes fixated on the area behind the door. It was dark. Really dark. And it was black. Blacker than the darkest night sky. It terrified him. "Apollo," he whispered, his lips barely moving as he dared to call for his brother. "Apollo."

Apollo groaned and sat up, covers falling off his shoulder, a cold draft hitting the clothed skin. "What is it Jericho?" He looked at his brother only to find the other frozen in place, his face a mixture of fear and dread. "Jericho?" He followed his brothers line of sight to see him staring at the darkened space behind the door. Frowning, he climbed out of bed and made his way over to the door on bare feet.

"Apollo?" Jericho called. "What are you doing?"

Apollo searched the area as best as he could in the black shadows of the night. Finding nothing, he turned back to his brother. "Are you alright?"

"You don't see it?" He asked, horrified.

A worry line appeared on his forehead as he watched his brother. "See what?" What do you see?"

Jericho gulped. "There's someone behind the door."

Apollo's eyes widened hhysterically. "What?"

"There is someone, standing behind you."

Something cold pricked at Apollo's neck as he froze. Ever so slowly, he turned around. Cautiously shoving his hand forward, he hit nothing but cold, still air. He let out a sigh of relief, silently scolding himself for becoming so worked up. "There's nothing the-" BAM! The door slammed shut, plunging the room into darkness. The two teens screamed.

Footsteps thundered toward the room, the door flying open to find Apollo and Jericho holding onto each other in the corner of the room farthest from the door, their faces white as milk.

Patton rushed to their sides as Logan flipped the light on and glanced around the room. After making sure the children were okay he spoke. "What's going on in here?" Despite his stern voice, there was an underlying tone of worry in his voice.

Patton rubbed his son's backs as they sobbed. After a few minutes they had gotten a hold of themselves enough to talk.

"There was someone in here!" Apollo cried out.

"Behind the door!"

Logan checked behind the door as Patton felt his heart leap into his throat. Someone was in here? It reminded him of his first day in the house alone with Dante. When they were playing hide and go clap.

Logan frowned. "There's nothing in here."

Apollo and Jericho cried out together. "No no no. There was. There was somebody in here!"

"They grabbed my foot and yanked covers and woke me up! I thought it was Apollo but it wasn't!"

Apollo nodded vigorously as His brother talked, tears streaming down their faces.

Patton pressed a kiss to their foreheads. "I'm sure it was just a bad dream, kiddos."

Apollo and Jericho jerked upright. "No! It wasn't! We ran over here when the door slammed shut and it followed!"

"It talked to us!" They choked out. "It says it wants-"

"-our family dead!" They sobbed, finishing each other's sentences. Patton and Logan shared a horrified look as their other children watched from the hallway, a dark cloud of oppression hovered heavily over the family.

----

The Demonologists taglist: @bisexuallyinlove @under-the-blue-moonlight @jadeace115 @sweetsmalldog @thefancon10ent @mrtacothethird

Everything taglist: @spxced-oxt @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce