#or how logan allowed himself to faint in front of the strange man and be kidnapped

[mischievous-thunder]

Who's the prettiest princess of them all?

[cotncandyboifics]

A Lovely Night: Chapter 3

AO3 Link

Masterpost

Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 4 ~ Chapter 5 ~ Chapter 6

Pairing(s): pre-established roceit & prinxiety, anaroceit, eventual anaroloceit, eventual intruality

Word count: ~2k

Story summary: Roman's boyfriends had had a rivalry since before either of them had actually met Roman. Running a bit late to a date night, Roman accidentally gets them to start dating too.

General CW: non-detailed description of an anxiety attack, non-detailed description of physical pain, food, kissing, potentially triggering descriptions of physical bodies, swearing, caps lock, school settings, s-xual innuendos, slight description of gore(imagery), vague descriptions of anxiety, Implications of an eating disorder, fatigue, dissociation, suppression of stimming, implied heavy restriction (ED), inner monologue-style anxiety description, eating,(will be added to as I write more)

Chapter CW: food mention, kissing, vague descriptions of potentially triggering physical characteristics (Logan is very skinny and Roman notices), (let me know if i missed anything please!)

Author notes: <<none>>

...

A few years had passed. Things weren't perfect, or easy, but they had each other. The three of them had found a one bedroom apartment together, and rent was easy to make with three contributors. They all went to college, Virgil and Roman to an arts school and Janus to a pregrad Law program.

Roman had rehearsals late that evening, and so Janus and Virgil had spent their free afternoon together, preparing dinner for Roman.

A stew (Virgil's family recipe) simmered on the stove, and Janus held Virgil close in his lap on the couch, carding his fingers through his hair. Virgil nuzzled into his boyfriend's collarbone, sighing with a small smile.

"Darling," Janus near-whispered, his voice rumbling in his chest as he pressed his face into Virgil's hair. Virgil hummed.

"Do you know the moment I started loving you?"

Virgil's head shot up, and he looked at Janus with pleading eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't force any words out. Janus smiled at him meekly, running fingers down Virgil's cheek.

"Do you recall," Janus continued, cupping the corner of Virgil's jaw in his hand, "In eighth grade, when I... when I found you between classes..." Virgil nodded, breathing shallowly. Janus pursed his lips. "It may be a bit... irrational for me to say, but... you allowing me to hold you in my arms when you were in such a vulnerable state..." A single tear ran down Virgil's cheek. Janus' brow furrowed, and he swiped the tear away with his thumb. "Oh, my darling, are you okay?"

Virgil made an odd noise, something between a scoff, a sob and a laugh, and suddenly surged forward, intertwining his fingers on the nape of Janus' neck as he connected their lips.

"That's when I knew, too." Virgil said as he pulled away, voice very very low. Janus raised his eyebrows in surprise, a smile teasing at the corners of his mouth. "I knew you'd... keep me safe. I knew I could... trust you with my heart." Virgil swallowed. "Even if it took me another few years to actually... do that."

"We were very young, and... we both made that mistake." Janus admitted readily, bringing his other hand to Virgil's face in symmetry.

"Do you..." Virgil gripped Janus' shirt in his fists, "do you think we would have ever... let it happen, if... if we hadn't met Roman?" Virgil looked back into Janus' eyes. Janus sighed, tracing the bridge of Virgil's nose with his eyes.

"I'm not sure." He conceded eventually.

Virgil adjusted himself, shifting one leg so that he straddled Janus' lap. "It doesn't matter. I don't want to think about not knowing Roman. Or..." or not being able to love you two. Virgil shook his head slowly.

"Then let's not," Janus wrapped his arms around Virgil's waist, and Virgil wrapped his arms around Janus' neck in kind. He made to kiss him with an open mouth, but kept their lips just millimeters apart. Virgil rolled his hips once, and Janus chuckled at him, letting his eyes flutter closed. "Ever a tease, aren't you darling?"

Virgil simply responded by locking his lips with Janus'.

Roman chose that exact moment to open the front door to their apartment with a loud, exasperated groan.

"I give up!" He threw his hands in the air, stomping over to the couch to sit beside Janus, crossing his legs and pouting. "How am I to live?"

Virgil smirked, turning to grab his prince's jaw and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "What happened, princey?" Janus wrapped one arm around Roman's shoulder, pulling him slightly closer, and Roman began relaying his tale.

An hour ago almost to that exact moment, Roman shook his auburn red hair out, allowing it to roll in its curls in any direction it would like. He stretched down, touching his toes and beginning to walk his hands out, settling into a solid plank before beginning a few pushups.

He stood again with a small jump, readjusting his stage garments. They were simply a pair of black tights and a white undershirt, but the top had rolled up his navel slightly when he'd been stretching.

Rehearsal had all but ended, and he bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for his turn to get unmic'd. He was one of the leads this semester, and so got his mic off last... for some odd reason. Most every production he'd been involved in prior had done things in a reverse fashion to what was happening now, but he didn't mind so much. He loved the feeling of standing on stage with the theatre enclosure all revolving around him. It created a strange comforting and confidence-boosting sensation that he could never get enough of.

Soon enough, his name was called. He hopped quickly offstage, tromping over to the sound booth.

A man with a jarring appearance approached him with tact. Roman had to keep his jaw from dropping, and opted instead to stare until the man was behind him. He payed Roman no mind, never meeting his eyes.

Roman hadn't had time to look closely at the man, but caught a few key details. His hair was glossy and black, plainly slicked back with some sort of product that Roman could smell faintly (vanilla?), save for one or two strands straying across his forehead and resting on the upper rim of his square glasses. He was almost concerningly pale, and his cheeks sunk in slightly. His eyes were a deeply piercing blue. His jawline was subtle and yet extremely sharp; everything about him appeared angular and calculated. He wore a white dress shirt that was a bit ruffled, top two buttons undone to reveal his collarbones - Roman assumed that was intentional, but in full honesty he had no idea.

Suddenly the man's slender hands were up the back of Roman's shirt, and Roman quite nearly squealed before remembering that this was completely standard protocol for unmicing someone. He tried to focus on literally anything else besides the fact that this painfully attractive man had his hands working clinically beneath Roman's shirt, against the heat of his bare skin. His hands were very cold against Roman's back, and Roman very nearly outright shivered at the feeling.

Suddenly the hands were no longer up Roman's shirt, and the man walked around to Roman's front, beginning to carefully untangle the mic cord from Roman's hair.

The boy was almost a head taller than Roman, roughly the same height as his Janus, Roman guessed. There was a very faint dusting of tiny dark freckles splayed across his cheeks and nose, and there were little flecks of gray and white in his eyes, almost like a cloudy sky. His jaw was set, but his hands moved gently. Roman tried not to gasp when he finally looked down at him, eyebrows knit.

"You're all set, Roman," the man said, eyeing Roman strangely before receding back to the sound booth to begin sorting through and putting away the mic packs.

"Thank you," Roman breathed, and kicked himself internally for how small and weak his voice came out. He shook his hair out again, trying to clear his head of the onset of gay panic he'd just experienced.

It's now or never; you might not get another chance at an actual conversation with this guy until the production is over. Roman steeled himself and took a few hesitant steps towards the sound booth.

"I didn't catch your name," Roman leaned a little too casually on the door frame, almost stumbling. the boy smirked, apparently not needing to turn and look at Roman to know that he was making a fool of himself.

"I did not figuratively 'throw' it," he replied coolly, continuing to work with the stacks of mic packs that had accumulated on the desk before him.

"Well, I would greatly appreciate if you did. It seems unfair for you to know my name and I not know yours." Roman thought for a moment when he was met with silence. "And you don't need to say figuratively; I know you didn't literally throw your name."

The boy turned then, adjusting his glasses as he sized Roman up. "A little clarity has never hurt anybody."

They looked at each other for a long moment, Roman still leaning haphazardly on the doorframe. The taller boy sighed a laugh quietly through his nose.

"Logan." He said, shaking his head with a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. "My name is Logan."

Roman smiled, standing up properly and clapping his hands together. "Wonderful! Logan, my dear, my sweet," Roman began verbally serenading him, and Logan only scoffed at his antics, long used to the ridiculously over-the-top confidence that actors had, "would you do me the honor of allowing me to take you out for coffee some time?" He bowed dramatically low, holding one hand out to Logan.

Logan stared for a moment, and Roman looked up when Logan didn't react to his proposal. Logan only laughed through his nose again, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm afraid I must decline."

Roman snapped up into a standing position, scoffing loudly. "Truly?" he stared at Logan, who just looked at him once more, nodding slightly. Roman scoffed again, even louder. "I- I don't know what to say! Not once have my highly sought out charms been resisted so strongly!" He gripped his shirt over his heart in a dramatic gesture, getting on one knee and reaching out to Logan, who was putting away the last few mic packs. "And that may not seem like much to say, since I have only ever used them on two others... however I-" Logan cut him off with a very very intense stare. And Roman all but swooned.

"I appreciate the... offer, Roman," Logan slung his backpack over his shoulder, which jutted out against the thin fabric of his shirt in a quite boney fashion, "but I have no interest in..." Logan looked Roman up and down slowly, but disgust was nowhere to be seen on his face. Something more similar to heartbreak, however, was palpable as Roman watched Logan's eyes.

Logan never found the words, opting to sigh and begin pacing out of the theatre.

"Wait," Roman whispered mostly to himself, reaching out vaguely in the direction Logan had left in.

...

"And that's why I have officially given up on love," Roman, his storytelling concluded, buried his face in Virgil's shirt, mimicking a sob as his boyfriends laughed at him endearingly.

"Roman, my dear," Janus took Roman's hand in his own, kissing his knuckles gently, "I expect that you'll see this Logan again soon. I'm positively baffled that he managed to evade your charms this time," Janus gripped Roman's jaw with an uncharacteristic tenderness, "but i sincerely doubt he'll last long." Janus pressed a kiss onto Roman's lips, and then removed Virgil from his lap, standing and righting himself. "For now, however," He reached a hand out to his boyfriends to help them stand, "We have a stew to attend to."

[turtletimewriting]

TickleTober Day 11: Death Spot

Summary: There’s a new villain on the streets, and despite his friendly manner, he has found the most effective weapons! 

Note: This is inspired by fluffymary piece about a supervillain Patton! Just in case, this is shockingly a tickle fic! Not written as platonic or romantic so read either way! Ler Patton and Lee Roman, Logan and Virgil. 

_._._

Night fell upon Sanders City. The lights peering from the few windows did little but exaggerate how cold and dark the streets truly were. Streetlights had just flicked off. Families were now all settled into bed, waiting to fall asleep. The roar of an occasional car was the only sound that rumbled through the city. Yet, there was one man walking confidently through the streets. Clearly he had been doing this for years. 

This was Roman Prince, or simply just the Prince. The stark white of his hero costume looked a dark blue in the night, but his reflective red sash made him clear. He’d been protecting this city for going on two years now. His summoning abilities proving effective against any foe that dared set his sights against the city. 

But little did he know, there was another man walking around as well. 

The Prince paused once he circled round back into the town centre. He had only been circling around for fifteen minutes but somehow, someone had vandalised the entire main square. 

Toilet roll was flung pretty effectively to cover every inch on the place, there was chalk messages scrawled across many surfaces and there was one figure standing in the direct middle of the carnage. 

He was dressed... very casually. In a grey cat jumper with the hood drawn over his head, which perfectly showed off the jumper’s floppy grey cat ears. He was wearing a cat mask and seemed to be shivering in the cold a little. His hands sat in his hips. Everything about his pose screamed confidence but everything else screamed tired dad who wanted to go back to bed. 

Roman felt his stomach tighten. He couldn’t deal with fans at the moment. There had been rumours of another villain planning to run amok and he had to keep his eyes peeled. He was about to greet the man when the words died in his throat. What if this was a distraction! He stepped closer but now with his hands cupped in front of him, already summoning a perfect orb of water to protect himself. 

“Hello there! It’s a bit late to be out isn't it?” 

“It’s never to late for villainy, Prince!” The figure shouted back but didn't take any steps closer. Waiting for the prince to come to him.

“Easy there, that could be seen as uh a bit incriminating?” Roman was completely off guard. He didn't want to arrest the guy! He wanted to offer him his jacket and escort him home. But clearly he had done this... vandalism? But... real villains would use spray paint and break things.... cause actual damage. “I’m guessing you did all this then?”

“This city has had it easy for too long! It’s time Sanders got a better... Moral Compass!” The man now jumped forward. Roman could finally get a better look at him and every single first impression he had proved right. He had bouncy beautiful blond curls, partnered with a freckled face and him being a good few inches smaller than him all added up to the idea of this ‘villain’ being adorable. 

“I dunno… I feel like even on a good day that Fear Eater guy can give me the run around. I think Sanders has enough villains for the mean time.”

“Oh, you poor fool, Prince! You haven’t even asked what my grand plan is,” Moral Compass chuckled before slowly pulling out a weapon. It clearly wasn’t a normal gun. It glowed that same light blue as the chalk and he could hear it whirring away from where he was standing. “Meet my friend here, the death spot ray!” 

Roman frowned, he really didn’t want to fight this guy. He looked so unprepared for this. All Roman would have to do is throw that orb of water he still held and the man would be pushed back and soaked and even colder. Frozen cold water plus the October night would be quick to end to the fight. 

But even the title of death spot ray clearly screamed danger... he couldn’t afford to risk anything.

“I don’t want to fight! What are your demands?” Roman concentrated and prayed that Moral Compass wouldn’t see his new summon. It was more rushed than he’d like to admit but the last thing he’d want is his first impression to genuinely put people in danger. His summoned owl quickly appeared from his hands and he threw it behind him. Smiling when he finally heard it flap away into the night, he didn’t dare lift his eyes away from Moral Compass. 

“Demands? Oh um... Wait!” Moral Compass suddenly straightened before fumbling through the hoodie’s pockets, withdrawing a crumpled cluster of paper. “Oh yeah, Sanders City surrenders to me!” Roman waited a few moments to see if this was a list but no other response came. 

“Well. I can’t allow that Moral.”

“Then I demand you laugh!” 

Moral Compass thrusted the weapon upwards as he pulled the trigger. A sound went off and a cylinder of cyan blue quickly emptied but nothing was released. Roman had summoned a shield but frowned when nothing hit it. He waited a few more moments before peeking his head out the shield. 

Moral Compass stood there proudly with a wide smile. 

“Uh... hate to spoil the fun, but did it hit me?” Roman asked as he brushed down his costume. He wasn’t too panicked, he could hear the police sirens from the other side of the town. Good timing! 

“Oh you’ll see! You’ll become a laughing stock of the city Prince!” 

Well that wasn’t helpful but Roman brushed down his costume again, feeling a strange sensation run through him. Now, he wasn’t that much of an idiot, he knew what he was feeling was surely a result of the weapon. But for such a scarily named weapon, he expected more. He just kinda felt itchy. But he was also aware that the sensation was increasing slowly. 

From a faint sensation to a definite presence poking around his stomach. 

He huffed a sigh of relief once Logan finally got his act together and ran over. The summoned owl following after him. It wasn’t often that Roman wanted to drag police officers into his messes but he also knew better than to deal out his own punishments. And maybe also he liked the idea of someone having his back in case things went south.

“Prince! Any injuries?” Logan called before sliding to sit under Roman’s shield where he was also kneeling until he could gain a sense of what’s happening. 

“Uh, don’t thihink so...” He trailed off when he felt a stab of ticklishness shoot through him. Oh no... Death spot ray... Uh oh. “Um okay I know what he dhihihi heh did!”

“Prince?” Logan asked, now lifting his arms so he could at least double check the Prince’s abdomen since that’s what he was clutching. 

“No!” Roman cried out before feeling the laughter being punched from him. He was never good at hiding his laugh when people got his death spot. “HahahaHAAHAAHA!” 

Moral Compass smiled upon hearing that laughter. The laughter born from chaos and helplessness. He placed the weapon back in its holster and casually skipped over to the shield. 

“Okay? Right. Well, we need to get you out of here. There’s been reports of-” Logan started, pulling the Prince’s flailing arms around his neck but now this new bad guy was standing behind them. An excited, almost evil, grin started back at him. 

“Oh hello there officer! I just want to make a point here. Leave him be!” 

“Not a chance,” Logan snarled back and reached to grab his radio. Admittedly a tickle gun wasn’t dangerous but it was more if he had a tickle gun then what else could he have. But he didn't think about what that would look like from the villain’s perspective. 

He was shot with the bizarre weapon before he could even blink. 

Logan trusted his instinct and simply grabbed a hysterical Prince and ran for the car. But what started as confident running soon turned into dragging his feet like he had an itch. Before long, Logan was forced to a stop just right beside the police vehicle. “Heh! Uh, c’mon hah um Princeheheee!” 

“LOHOHAHAHAHAAA! MAHAKE IT STOHOHIAHAHA STOP!” Roman squealed, unable to focus on literally anything but the tickles digging into his ticklish tummy. Now that Logan was now hunching over, he slipped from his grip and fell on to the floor. Kicking his feet wildly like that would stop the frantic scribbling on his stomach. His face was a tomato at this point. 

“I cahahaaaaaaaa aAHAHAHAAHAAAHAHA! I CAN’T! HAHAHAA!” Logan finally gave in, there felt like they’re were fluffy brushes, light but firm tickles, swamping his feet. He leaned against the police car, hoping that he would at least stay on his feet. 

They were both laughing too hard to see the silhouette standing on a building overlooking the wrecked town square. A very familiar and dangerous silhouette...

“Now what’s going on h-”

“AH!” Moral Compass shrieked before firing blindly at the voice. 

Fear Eater stood there with an incredulous look on his face. “What was that for?”

“Oh! Fear Eater! Sorry! I uh just panicked?” Moral Compass now lowered the weapon. Finally sounding like how he looked. 

“You dare challenge me? You think you’re cut out for all this villainy stuff huh?” Fear Eater was clearly fuming but his hands were shaking and he was nervously looking away, “You wanna have an honest go at making a meaningful change to this city then you’re going to have to actually just try and steel your nerves. What a... what ar- What do you thihink you’re heh doing waving thahat thiihihihih hehahahahaahaaa!” 

Now, if Prince was under the influence of the all powerful death spot ray himself then this day would be the best day of his entire existence!

The all powerful Fear Eater, with his stupid edgy name and emo style, was curled up on the floor giggling away like a maniac! 

Now, if Fear Eater wasn’t currently laughing his ass off, he would have treasured this day for the rest of his life. 

The all powerful Prince, with his fake title and pompous style, was collapsed on the floor snorting away. 

But at the end of the day, all of them were being tickle tortured on their absolute death spots and it was only Moral Compass left standing. It was with way more people than he first intended, and his vandalism had kinda been forgotten, but he had achieved what he wanted. 

The heroes and villains of Sanders City now looked as ridiculous as they all acted.  

[alteridolriley]

Finding My Place [Part 1]

Heya there everyone! Today is a super special day! Today is @availe‘s birthday! Maxi is one of my very best friends, one of the most important people to me in the world so I told her to pick two pairings and I would write a fic about them. I wasn’t sure what the topic would be so I just kinda let the words flow!

This is a bullet fic because writing a whole fic is hard right now with my current state in life so I apologize.

This fic includes (in its entirety not just this part): human AU, Anxceitmus (QPR Remus/Virgil and QPR Deceit/Virgil, Demus is romantic in the ship), Logince, swearing, violence mention, angst, depression, suicidal mentions, fainting, general not taking care of yourself moods, drugs, alcohol, and.... all sides are shown in a positive light, if that matters. It’s an AU anyway.

Devyn = Deceit (That’s also important LOL)

With all that said, please enjoy!

---

Devyn knows a lot of things. He considers himself an expert in some fields but still a jack of all trades in certain situations. However, there is one thing he feels he lacks. No matter how much he thinks about it, researches it, and records the process and its results, the outcome is always the same.

"Remus, you can't just hang up those creepy curtains on the front window!" Virgil calls up the stairs. The man in question cackles and Virgil growls back. "Don't expect your villain laugh to get you out of everything. I already got an earful from the lady next door about it disturbing her kids."

"Ahhh they'll get used to it." Remus says as he walks down the stairs to meet Virgil at the bottom. He stays on the second to the last step, making himself nearly a head taller than Virgil. Without warning, Remus wraps his arms around Virgil's neck and squeezes as a big smile appears on his face. "Oh golly gee, I just love you Virgil."

The black haired boy couldn't prevent the smirk that appears on his face as he leans back and kisses Remus on the cheek. "Mhmhm… love to be a pain in my neck is more accurate."

Both of them laugh before turning to see Devyn standing in the doorway to the kitchen across from the stairs, staring at them intently. 

"Do we have something on our face?" Virgil questions before Remus jumps down and runs to Devyn, almost slapping him with his arms instead of wrapping him in a hug.

"No…" Devyn assures. He leans his head against Remus. The smallest boy fits perfectly under Devyn's arm and Virgil walks over slowly, Devyn reaching and grabbing Virgil's right hand. He brings it to his lips, kissing it gently. 

"I want a kiss!" Remus pouts.Devyn obliges, kissing him on his forehead. Remus feels his cheeks burning red as he hides his face in his partner's chest.

"Is something the matter?" Virgil questions.

"No." Devyn says quickly as a blink of panic passes Virgil's eyes. "I just still have yet to fully understand what I've done in this world to deserve this with both of you." His voice trails off at the end as his gaze fell along the house surrounding them. 

Boxes scattered everywhere, some half empty as they unpacked to live in this new beautiful home. One picture was on the mantle above the fireplace: a shot of all three of them in suits: Devyn in yellow, Virgil in a deep purple, and Remus in a forest green, framed in a brown oak frame. Their wedding day only a month prior. 

"Dee…" Remus says softly as he hugs Devyn tightly. 

Devyn feels himself remembering. He tells the two he wants to take a break while they unpack upstairs. The two agree after giving him more hugs. Devyn sits on the couch in the living room.

xxx

Devyn had just been released from prison two years prior. 

He had been wrongfully charged with murder and had his life turned upside down for over ten years.

Upon release, he met Remus at a local gay bar. He hadn't intended on falling in love with the strange man but it just sort of happened. 

Devyn quickly learned Remus was already in a relationship.

Devastated by this, Devyn cut off all contact with Remus and stopped going to that specific bar all together. 

Drinking his sorrows away at a bar closer to his home, Devyn accepts that his life as a 32 year old gay man meant that he was probably doomed to be alone forever. 

Music started playing and he realizes it was live, playing in the next room over.

He peeked in to see a huge crowd surrounding a stage. Neon purple lights lit up the band. A lead singer with a guitar, a bass player, a drummer, and a… violinist? Wait, what?

The music was beautiful and the singing amazing, but Devyn couldn't tear his eyes away from the violinist. 

Such perfect strokes and form, the melody tore right at Devyn's heart. 

The song finished with a dramatic solo from the violinist and Devyn applauded along with the crowd. 

He listened to the voices around him closely, trying to figure out who they were.

"My gosh they're all so amazing! Virgil knocked it out tonight! How does he play the violin so well??"

"Gotta give props to Roman too! He goes through those low notes to high so easily. Is he even human with that range?"

"Nah nah did you listen to that drum solo? My boy Logan is the most talented by far. The technical details in his playing is just… so damn good."

"But Patton's bass solo was good too! He's come a long way in the short time he's been playing."

"Flight of the Hearts is just an amazing band. They're gonna take the world by storm, I just know it!"

Devyn stared at the band and they signed and took photos with fans at the foot of the stage. He wanted to hear more. 

He noticed a merch table just next to them and wondered over. Two self published CDs were on the table “Dreamer” and “Cyclone” and one of just Virgil's violin creations called "Calming Yourself". 

Devyn never purchased anything faster in his life. 

A bell went off above his head once he purchased it all. 

"Major sale! All CDs plus a shirt!" A voice shouted.

Devyn felt himself wish he wasn't where he was.

Until---

The whole band came over behind the table.

"Hey thanks for your support!"

Devyn recognizes him as the lead singer (Roman?) He was built like a jock, a football player to be specific, but had very soft eyes and a gentle smile.

"Dearheart, there's no reason to yell at him. He looks utterly confused. I told you that bell wasn't the best idea…"

The drummer… Logan right? He was smaller than Roman by over a foot at least. Glasses sat on the bridge of his nose (was he wearing those on stage?) and he pushed them up. He had an air of a person who would win on Jeopardy by a mile. Logan had his arm around Roman's waist, pulling him gently back. 

"Thanks for purchasing all of our work! We really appreciate it!"

Another glasses wearer? Oh it's Patton, the bassist. Right, right. He seemed the most genuine and down to earth, at least in this instance. He gestured to take the CDs back.

"Come on everyone let's sign them!" Patton called out to his bandmates.

Roman and Logan returned, holding hands and Roman kissing their entangled fingers.

Devyn wanted what they had, desperately. He felt an emptiness in his heart.

Without realizing it, Devyn had Virgil standing in front of him closer than he would've liked. 

"Can I help you?" Devyn demanded. 

Virgil squinted his eyes and frowned. "What's your name?"

Accusatory voice, mean look… the glare peeking through his long bangs and was that heavy eyeshadow?

"We just wanna sign your stuff! Right… Virgil?"

Patton clearly fell the same unease emanating off of Virgil as Devyn did. The more he stared back at Virgil, the more angry Devyn became. 

"My name is Devyn. What about it?" Harsh tone, spat in anger.

"I knew it. I recognized that scar on your face. How fucking dare you?!" Virgil leaped over the table. "How dare you break my Remus's heart, you bastard?!"

The crowd began chanting. "Fight, fight, fight!" and before he realized it, Devyn was about to punch Virgil before both of them were pulled back. Patton had pulled back Virgil and Devyn realized Roman had grabbed him under his arms with his own.

Security had quickly corralled everyone out of the tiny room, leaving only Devyn with the band. 

Logan stood between the two warring ones. 

"What are you talking about?" Devyn demanded, shaking off Roman, nodding to agree he wouldn't fight. 

"Remus has been so upset since you cut him off. He loved you, you dickhead!" Virgil was basically foaming at the mouth. His eyes were red and filled with tears. "Why? What possessed you to do that to him?" 

Devyn's memory flashed to the last image of Remus he remembered. Smiling brightly at him as he left the bar that night over a month before. Devyn had blocked and deleted his number. Basically ghosted him. 

But…

Remus had been in a relationship, right? Devyn didn't want to force his way in and hurt someone else. 

Devyn looked up to see Patton comforting Virgil in his arms, shhhing him like a small child.

A hand landed on his shoulder. He glanced over.

Roman. 

He had a sad look in his eyes. 

"Allow me to explain, Devyn. I'll start from the beginning. I am Roman, lead singer of "Flight of the Hearts". This is my partner, Logan, our drummer. The one holding our dearest violinist, Virgil, is the wonderful Patton. He is also Virgil's older brother. Virgil's partner is Remus… the man who works at The Half Side of the Full on Center Street. He's also my twin."

Devyn blinked and realized in that moment that Roman was the spitting image of Remus, only taller and a bit more buff. He was also missing Remus's adorable mustache but that was beside the point. 

"I left Remus because he told me about you." Devyn started, glancing at Virgil. "Never mention you by name of course. Just that he had the most amazing boyfriend in the world and I decided I didn't want to break my own heart. So I left him and his perfect life alone. Because who needs a fucked up person like me in his life?!"

Devyn realized he was shouting but he didn't care. He also ignored the tears rolling down his face. His scar around his left eye burning from the salt in his tears. Devyn knew in that moment he'd always be a fuck up somehow. 

"Remus was so important to me. I love him more than anything. Because… he allowed me to forget and move on. I was no longer trapped in my lying, deceitful past. I was able to actually be me."

Devyn turned and shoved past Roman only to stop short of the exit, blocked by a familiar face. 

"Remus…" it barely left Devyn's mouth. 

"I never got to tell you." Remus said. "I was going to tell you I loved you the next day. And I wanted you to meet my boyfriend because we're both poly and you had mentioned in passing you were too. I didn't press it because well… I wasn't sure how much you enjoyed how I am."

Devyn had never seen Remus so calm. It was weird and he didn't like it. He liked his Remus bouncing off the walls, talking about his latest findings on the side of the road; alive or dead. He liked Remus when he tried to make fake blood to put on the windows for Halloween and it ended up being actual animal blood because that's how obsessed Remus was with what he did.

This calm demeanor didn't suit the wacky man at all.

"Like them…? Remus… I adore you. You were so true to yourself in ways I couldn't predict. I love that even though you were pushed away by society for who you are… you didn't let that change you. You refused to live a lie. Something I had done all my life."

Remus crossed the gap between them and in one full motion, pulled Devyn down like a princess, holding him gently in his arms.

"Let me do what I've been holding back for so long." Remus begged.

Devyn nodded and they kissed. It was soft at first, tickling Devyn's upper lip with Remus's rough mustache, before Devyn felt it deepen even further. He didn't want it to stop…

"Geez, brother! Get a room!" Roman blurted which caused the two to pull away.

Devyn licked his lips and Remus did as well, promising more later.

Remus allowed Devyn to stand as they walked back over to the rest of the group. Virgil reintroduced himself and apologized as did Devyn. Remus explained that Virgil is his QPP as Virgil is asexual and quoiromantic. Both were fine having other partners. Devyn joked about the fact that maybe he would fall for Virgil too if Virgil played him the violin more. The group laughed even though Devyn was dead serious.

As it turned out, the band, including Remus, lived together in a rented house just down the street. It wasn't glamorous or anything but enough to keep all of them out of the rain and comfortable.

As they walked in, Virgil asked Devyn about his living conditions and he dodged the question by bringing up food. 

Remus grabbed Devyn's hand and squeezed, asking again.

Devyn admitted to living in a Motel 6. It was all he could afford after being released from jail. His factory job was paying him well now but he had to consider uber fees to get to and from work. The off three days working four was nice too but he had to be careful. He had no savings to fall back on. 

Remus jumped up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"My past is not something I am proud of." Devyn admitted. "But… it is something I should explain before we get too far into things."

To Be Continued….

[aquamarineicecream]

Rewind: A Sanders Sides Superhero AU -  Chapter 5

Ao3

<Chapter 1

<<Chapter 4

>>>Chapter 6

“Logan, don’t!”

The shout ripped from Patton’s throat a second too late yet he barely remembered saying it. He watched in horror as Logan’s limp body fell to the floor at the same moment that Patton’s world came crashing down around him.

“Patton? What happened?!” Roman demanded as he and the other two heroes rushed into the kitchen to the sound of the Baymax mug smashing on the tile next to Logan.

“I….he…” Tears were already flooding down Patton’s cheeks as he sunk to Logan’s side, bare hands getting cut on the shards of what had brought the man in front of him much needed happiness mere seconds before.

“Move. Maybe I can help him,” Deceit said while crouching next to Logan and quickly checking his pulse.

“He- he touched my hand. I should have put my gloves on. What was I thinking?” Patton mumbled numbly. He wrapped his arms around his own trembling frame as he rocked back and forth, tears continuing to blur his vision. The blood smearing on his light blue cardigan was the furthest thing from his mind. Instead, he mentally asked anyone who might be listening to keep Logan alive and not to let the other man pay the price for touching Patton’s own treacherous skin.

“Shhh, don’t worry. Logan will be okay. We’ll find a way to fix this.” Roman placed a reassuring hand on Patton’s shoulder as he spoke what they both knew to be a lie. Still, they sought to find at least some semblance of comfort in it nonetheless.

“I don’t understand, what’s your power? What happened?”

“I killed Logan.”

The answer to Virgil’s second question seemed to create a vacuum in the small room, sucking out all hope and replacing it instead with despair.

“Hold on, he’s not dead yet. It’s faint, but there’s a pulse. Everyone stand back.” Deceit ordered, taking charge while simultaneously trying to ignore the tears forming in his eyes. He made sure to keep his head tilted down far enough so that the others wouldn’t notice said tears and become more worried.

Patton slowly stumbled to his feet and backed away as Roman grabbed Virgil’s hand, pulling him back so they were next to Patton. The three watched in confusion as Deceit closed his eyes and began moving his hands in circular motions over Logan’s chest, trying his best to reverse the damage before it was too late. Patton’s head was spinning as a sickening sense of deja vu overwhelmed him.

‘Not again. Please not again.’ Patton silently begged. The tension was palpable as even the room itself seemed to hold its breath, waiting for Deceit to finish whatever he was trying to do. Roman gave Patton’s shoulder a gentle squeeze with the hand that wasn’t still tightly clutching Virgil’s. Patton knew he was trying again to be reassuring but the action did little to calm his overwhelming nerves.

Logan's eyes flew open as he gasped desperately for air.

“Logan!” Patton quickly moved forward, as Deceit’s eyes opened.

“Oh god, Lo,” Deceit’s tone sounded strangely foreign to the others as he rushed to help Logan sit up. The man in his arms was still struggling to catch his breath.

“It’s okay, Logan. Take your time. Just breathe,” Patton said, words full of relief while he grabbed his gloves and hastened to put them on.

“Logan, you absolute idiot! What were you thinking?” Deceit was quick to start scolding the younger man despite still holding him protectively against his chest.

“I- I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry. Thank you so much for saving my life.” Logan was still a bit breathless as he spoke. “Wait, Dee, are you- ?”

“Don’t say it,” he half-heartedly threatened while moving one arm from around Logan in order to wipe away the unwanted tears staining his cheeks. Logan decided not to respond. Instead, he had a tiny smile as he laid his head on Deceit’s shoulder, an action that seemed oddly familiar in comparison with his usual icy exterior. Patton felt a small pang of an emotion he’d rather not name as he watched the two men interact so casually, but he pushed it down in order to focus on what was really important at the moment.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he crouched next to Deceit.

“Tired, honestly. But I’ll be alright.”

“You better. Because there’s no way we’re letting you die on our watch, Calculator Watch,” Roman said while walking over and extending a hand to help Logan up, relief evident in his expression. Deceit released Logan and he took it. He was a little shaky as he got to his feet, but Roman was quick to wrap his friend in a tight embrace. “You’re not allowed to die on us ever again, got it?”

“Deal.” Logan let out a soft laugh as Roman let go of him in favor of putting an arm around him to help support him while Logan regained his bearings.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Logan,” Virgil added, giving him a half smile. Patton stood as Logan thanked Virgil, but he was a bit surprised when Deceit didn’t stand alongside him the way he’d expected.

“Hold on, Patton. Do you want the cup too?”

“What?”

“Do you want me to fix your mug?” Deceit looked up at Patton expectantly, catching him off guard.

“Yes, please. But only if you can. I don’t want you to overexert yourself.”

“I’m fine. But you all have to move back again,” Deceit replied, waiting until after the others followed his instructions before closing his eyes and moving his hands counterclockwise over the shards. Patton, along with the rest of the team, watched in awe instead of worry this time as the ceramic pieces started flying back together until the mug was complete, albeit having risen a few feet in the air. Deceit stopped moving his hands and opened his eyes just in time to catch the mug seconds before it shattered once more.

“Woah.”

Deceit looked up to the sound of Virgil’s shocked statement but he didn’t address it. He simply stood and handed Logan his mug before leaning back on the counter.

“Thank you, Deceit.” Logan set down the now-repaired mug on the section of the counter nearest to him, taking care to keep it far away from the edge, just in case.

“Wow, Deceit I knew you could mess with time, but I’ve never actually seen you do your thing before. That was pretty flippin’ cool,” Roman said, looking at his teammate with a newfound fascination. The other man only replied with a simple shrug.

Patton, unlike the others, watched silently as he realized something his coworkers had yet to piece together. As he studied Deceit, he saw that it wasn’t just relief in his expression but instead, there was exhaustion weighing on his sharp features. If he hadn’t witnessed it himself, he would have found it easy to believe that Deceit had been the one with the near death experience, not Logan. This was especially evident in the way Deceit’s shoulders were hunched as he slouched, relying almost entirely on the counter to keep himself on his feet. Add in the way the man hadn’t even had the energy to answer the others in little more than small motions and it was quite clear to Patton that bringing Logan back from the brink of death along with fixing the Baymax mug had taken a much bigger toll on him than Deceit would ever admit. However, Patton knew better than to bring it up now given the way Deceit was trying his best for the others to view him as a strong unshakeable force who was casually leaning against the counter and staying silent by choice.

“As much as I hate to bring this up right now, the representative guy should be here any second and there’s still food and stuff on the table out there.” Virgil had just finished speaking when, as if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

“I can answer the door,” Logan offered, but Patton was quick to stop him before Logan even had the chance to move from Roman’s supportive hold.

“No, I got it. You need to rest.” Patton made his way over to the front door, the others following nervously in his wake. They watched from a slight distance as Patton opened the door to not one, but two men. Everyone except for Virgil let out a sigh of relief as they recognized the smaller of the two.

“Hi guys, it’s so great to see you again! This is Thomas, he’s a new recruit so our Superiors sent me to help him out.”

“Emile!” Patton exclaimed, already beaming. “We haven’t seen you in ages.”

“I know, it’s been too long. Work has kept me super busy.”

“Well either way, it’s really great to see you.” Patton opened the door more so Emile and Thomas could walk inside before closing it after them. “I love your new hair color,” he added, noting the man’s dyed light electric blue hair.

“Thanks. I really liked the pastel pink, but I felt like a change, y’know?” Emile explained as he made his way over to Virgil and held his hand out for the other man to shake. “Hey there, I’m Emile Picani. You must be Virgil.”

Virgil tensed as he hesitantly shook Emile’s hand, staying silent in what Patton assumed was an attempt to keep a sarcastic quip from slipping out.

“Okay, so where do you wanna do the demonstration of your powers?” Thomas asked his question in an upbeat tone, trying in vain to get all their minds off what would happen with Virgil if this ‘demonstration’ didn’t go the way the team hoped. However, judging by the way this day had been going so far, their chances were slim at best.

“Let’s go to the roof, that’s where we’ve been training,” Deceit suggested, motioning to the door leading to the stairs as he spoke.

“I agree.”

It took Logan a moment after speaking before being able to move from his position leaning against the wall, but after waving off Roman’s offer of help, he soon made his way to the door and began to lead the way up the stairs with the others at his heels. Patton had begun to follow only to be stopped short by a hand grabbing his arm and pulling him into the kitchen.

“Wha- ?”

“Shhh.”

“Deceit what are you doing?” Patton whispered, glancing over his shoulder and watching the doorway as the door closed behind Thomas leaving the downstairs area empty aside from them.

“Hold on. We need to wait until we’re sure they’re upstairs.”

“Alrighty.” Deceit’s hand was like a vice on his arm, tight enough that he could feel how cold it was through the thin material of his long sleeved shirt. “Umm.. Dee?” He glanced down at the same moment that Deceit seemed to realize he was still holding Patton and he was quick to release his coworker.

“Sorry about that, but I needed to talk to you alone. I’ve tried not doing it, though I don't know why but this day only works if we do have this talk." Deceit's words rushed as he spoke in the same hushed tone as before. As he leaned back on the counter once more to keep himself stable, Patton observed that he was still significantly more pale than before he had used his powers earlier that morning.

"Deceit, kiddo, are you doing okay?"

"You do know I'm two years older than you, right?" He replied with a feeble attempt at a comforting smile.

"I know that. But you didn't answer my question."

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound too sure about that," Patton said gently before continuing, "You can always come talk to me if something's bothering you."

"Really, I can assure you, I'm fine. But my well-being doesn't matter right now and besides, that's not what I have to talk to you about. Today has to go well."

"Yeah, I really hope things go well too," Patton agreed with a nod.

"Patton you don't understand. It needs to go well. If something goes wrong and Thomas decides to take Virgil with him, you have to promise me you won't let that happen and you'll use your powers to stop them."

"What? No. I'm not hurting anyone the way I almost hurt Logan this morning." Patton took a small step back from Deceit, scared by the very notion of that happening ever again, much less on the same day Logan nearly died.

"That's not what I meant. But if Virgil gets taken, that’s it. Either he’ll get killed the second Thomas turns him in or, even worse, the next time we see him, he’ll be our enemy and that never turns out well.”

“Dee, I know we’re all worried and stressed out because of what might happen, but I’m sure it can’t be as bad as you’re imagining. Our Superiors wouldn’t hurt him unless he’s a major threat, the way they thought he was in the first place. I’m sure if they meet him, they’ll see Virgil for the sweetheart he is and none of what you said will happen. But I’m sorry, I’m not agreeing to killing Thomas or whatever it is you want me to do.”

“Killing?” Deceit asked, sounding a bit surprised. “No, of course I don’t want you to do that. Thomas could be a potential ally. But I do need you to swear to using your powers in the persuasion way we practiced. Just put all your focus into keeping him alive and when you touch him, he’ll pretty much fall in love with you.”

“I don’t want to make Thomas into some kind of obsessed minion, we just met! Plus, he seems nice like Emile,” Patton reasoned.

“The way people seem can be different from the way they actually are, but don’t worry this is only a worst-case-scenario sort of promise. Besides, as long as it’s only a quick touch and you stay focused on him not dying, you won’t drain his life force like what happened with Logan. And as soon as you tell him to tell the Superiors to leave Virgil with us, you can just think about it and mentally give up your control on him so the obsession won’t last too long. The only other ways his life force could be drained is if you touch him for a long time or mentally and consciously keep your control over him. As long as we ensure neither happens, everything will go smoothly.”

“Like before when I used it so we could get the key to Virgil’s room to arrive there before him?” Patton asked hesitantly. “That wasn’t so bad and I gave up control before anything happened to the desk clerk.”

“Exactly. Everyone wins and no harm comes to anyone. So please, just make me that promise.” Deceit’s imploring gaze made Patton reconsider his instinct to tell the other man ‘no’. Deceit looked borderline frantic at this point, his dark brown eye seeming to hold a thousand secrets the man desperately wanted to spill, yet knew he never could.

“Okay, I promise,” Patton finally conceded. “I’ll use my powers as a last resort.”

“Thank you,” Deceit said, letting out a sigh of relief Patton hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Deceit’s body visibly relaxed. “This means a lot. Now, let’s get going. We should go to the roof already. Hopefully the others haven’t felt our absence too much.”

Deceit pushed himself off of the counter to stand on his own. He was a bit unsteady and though Patton already knew Deceit wouldn’t accept any help Patton could give, he offered nonetheless.

“Want to take my arm? Just until we get up the stairs. Then you can go to the nearest seat if you’d like that instead.”

“No thank you.” Deceit took one wobbly step forward before hesitating and surprising them both and saying something else, “On second thought, yes please. But only up the stairs.”

“You got it, kiddo.” Patton beamed at the other man as Deceit took his arm and, with Patton’s help, they soon reached the roof in no time.

However, unbeknownst to them as they walked into the open area, Logan, Roman, and Virgil had been doing their best efforts to stall the inevitable. They’d tried making casual conversation with Emile, asking Emile a thousand questions about how the press has viewed the heroes lately, and even gotten Thomas to tell them the story of how he’d gotten a job working under the Superiors. The last one was unfortunately not as interesting as the former two, considering all Thomas had done was send in his resume to apply for a position in government, go to an interview, and sign a non-disclosure agreement once he was hired.

“Oh, great! Deceit and Morality are here so we can get started,” Thomas said as he saw Patton and Deceit make their way over to the group.

“Yeah,” Deceit agreed, giving Patton a knowing glance as he sat down.

“Okay, Virgil. Go ahead whenever you’re ready.” Emile gave Virgil an encouraging smile after speaking, but it did nothing to stop the small tremors beleaguering his frail frame nor to slow the feeling that his heart was about to beat out of his chest. Nevertheless, he grabbed one of the small beanbags they’d been using to practice and gingerly turned it over in his hands.

Virgil could feel their eyes on him and much like at all the practices for the past month, there was no escaping the pressure. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore as they watched with bated breath but, like so many times before, the beanbag didn’t explode.

“Uh, Virgil, nothing’s happening.” Thomas’s words were practically a whisper, breaking the tense silence. A few minutes had passed since Virgil had picked up the beanbag. Virgil’s eyes flew open and he didn’t pause to think before snapping back at Thomas.

“You don’t think I know that? We failed. Go ahead and celebrate because you can take me away and kill me now.” Virgil spat venomously at Thomas. He slammed the beanbag on the table which was piled with others on the off chance that Virgil had actually succeeded and they needed more backup beanbags. Virgil was trembling more than before as he turned on his heel and walked away from the table, pacing back and forth as he quickly began spiraling thanks to the dark thoughts flooding his mind.

“Hey, Hot Topic-” Roman started tentatively.

“I should have known this wouldn’t work.” Virgil spoke vehemently, unaware that Roman had even said a word.

“Yo, Charlie Frown, turn around.”

“I knew better than to get my hopes up,” Virgil mumbled miserably, leaving Roman without a response yet again.

“Virgil!” Roman shouted, grabbing the other man’s shoulders in a final effort to get his attention once and for all.

“What is it, Roman?” Virgil acknowledged him at last but Roman merely spun him around to look at the table as it finished corroding fully and exploded in a brilliant red, orange, and purple blast.

“You did it!” Roman hollered over the noise, pulling Virgil into a tight hug.

“No, we did it. If you guys hadn’t shown me to let myself feel emotions more deeply like that without pushing them down to keep myself in check, there’s no way I could’ve pulled that off.”

Virgil grinned up at Roman as the taller man pulled back so his arms were now only loosely wrapped around Virgil. They were only inches apart now. In a matter of moments, Virgil was already completely lost in Roman’s dazzling brown eyes. And, for a fraction of a second, Virgil had the urge to grab the front of Roman’s stupidly well fitting t-shirt and pull him into what felt like the natural reaction to being this close. Virgil’s breath caught in his throat as Roman eyes searched his own and he knew Roman was thinking the same thing he was.

At least, he’d thought he had figured out what Roman was thinking, but instead the other man pulled back, quickly releasing Virgil with a puzzled expression gracing his handsome features. It was for the best, Virgil knew. He wouldn’t have wanted to kiss Roman anyways, he told himself. They’d only known each other for a month, after all. The rest of the team plus two visitors was on the roof too and would have seen what would have been nothing more than a foolish mistake. Virgil turned back to face the remnants of the explosion as he reminded himself that these feelings probably only existed because they’d gotten so caught up in the moment.

Yet if that were the case, how come being so close to Roman felt so right? Virgil sighed, deciding that he would never understand the stranger that felt nothing like a stranger. Instead, he glanced at Roman once more before looking away from the man’s plastered on smile. He looked back at the people who had come to decide his fate.

“Good job, Virgil. That was pretty impressive.” Thomas smiled as he spoke, appearing glad that he wouldn’t have to take Virgil after all.

“You guys did a great job,” Emile praised. “In fact, we could even start work today on Virgil’s name and press release as well as his place on the team.”

Emile had just finished speaking when they heard a crash from behind several large potted plants the team had set up next to the small garden they had started in an effort to make the roof more homey while Virgil trained.

“Who’s there? Reveal yourself,” Logan demanded.

“Ow, damn. Calm down, gurl. I’m not a threat or any of that B.S.,” said the disembodied voice. “Oh shi-”

“Come out here now,” Logan ordered as they heard another clatter come from behind the plants.

“Fiiine.”

Virgil watched the leaves rustle before a man he’d never seen before climbed out from behind them. He was dressed simply in a black jacket, white t-shirt, and jeans, but Virgil could already tell this guy was anything but simple. From his dyed purple hair to his sunglasses to the professional-looking camera hanging around his neck, Virgil had a bad feeling that all this stranger would bring was trouble.

“Well I hope you’re happy,” the man turned to Logan with a bored expression before continuing, “You made me spill my white chocolate mocha frappuccino.”

“Oh no, not you again.” Emile spoke with such exasperation it was evident he and the man had history.

“Great to see you too,” the stranger responded dryly, taking a sip of what was left of his drink from his Starbucks cup.

“What are you doing here?”

“Listen, sweets, don’t get mad or whatevs. I’m just here to get the scoop.” With that, the man set down his drink on a nearby chair before lifting his camera and taking a picture of what was left of the table and beanbags.

“Hey! Delete that!” Emile said, quickly making his way over to the other man.

“Yeah, imma pass on that one babe,” the man replied with a laugh, picking up his drink and taking another sip with a smirk.

“Remy, I swear to god. I know we didn’t leave things on the best of terms when we last saw each other, but you still need to delete that photo.” Emile kept walking towards Remy who, in turn, made no move to try and avoid Emile.

“Ohhh you’re real funny babe, but like, nah. This is a money pic so, like, there’s no way I’m getting rid of it now,” Remy retorted coolly. “And as for how we left stuff last time, I know I’m hot shit and I don’t need your B.S. bringing me down. So, like, if you don’t see that then too bad, but I ain’t about to ditch the photo of a lifetime the way you ditched me. And ya know what, Em?” Remy lifted his camera again and took a photo of the group of heroes.

“Wait, hold on. You can’t do that!” Patton exclaimed.

“Boom! I’ve got the cover of my new book right there. Thanks, boys!” Remy let go of his camera so it could hang around his neck again. He pushed back his brown satchel, which had swung forward since it was so full it was practically spilling papers, before turning and starting back the way he’d come.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Deceit snapped, grabbing the collar of Remy’s jacket to pull him back before he could make his escape.

“Woah, sis, chill the F out. I’m not gonna actually include your faces in the covers, obvi. If that’s what y’all are stressin’ over, then, like, chillax because imma just crop ‘em out or cover them up with your logos. I haven’t decided yet.” Remy spoke casually, as if being a prospective superhero who doesn't want a strange photographer to leak a photo showing your identity and the identity of your new friends who also happened to be famous superheroes was something that happened everyday.

“We don’t have any guarantee you’ll do what you say,” Deceit argued, letting go of the back of Remy's jacket so Remy could turn around to face him.

“Relax, hon. I’m not an a-hole who’s gonna leak your secret identities and all that shiz. ‘Sides, if I do that, then everyone will know how to find you and I won’t be the only one getting all the hot and juicy deets first. But fine, if you legit wanna crush my dreams, I’ll just put that huge explosion I got a pic of as the cover.”

“It’s not that simple, Remy. No one can know about the explosion or about the corroded table,” Emile explained.

“Oh, you did not just say that. Are you for real tryin’ to tell me that I can’t be the one to break the news first about the new super in town?” Remy asked, crossing his arms expectantly.

“He’s not a new superhero, he just got control of his powers. And we haven’t even come up with a name or costume for him yet so he can be added officially,” Emile said.

“Hold up, seriously?”

“Yup. So I need you to wait before releasing anything to the press.” Emile looked pleadingly at the Remy who studied him silently. “Please, Remy. As a favor for an old friend.”

“....okay, fine.”

“Thanks, Rem.”

“But I wanna know more about this dude. That way when I spill the tea, I got all the right info,” Remy added.

“Deal. You’ll be the first we tell once everything is in place for the public to know,” Emile agreed, much to Virgil’s surprise.

“Wait, you’re really gonna let this guy who probably climbed the side of the building to get up here know about my superhero persona first?” Virgil asked, looking between Emile and Remy questioningly.

“Oh, for sure. He’s pretty neat once you get to know him.”

“You literally said ‘oh no’ when you saw him,” Virgil deadpanned.

“Ehh, it’s a pretty common reaction to seeing me,” Remy said before Emile could respond. He turned back to Emile to add, “I am totally not bothered, sweetie. So, like, no worries. Though now that my mind’s on the topic, what if I help your little gangsey come up with the emo man’s signature look™?"

“Did you just say the letters ‘��’, as in trademark, aloud?” Logan failed to keep the judgement out of his tone as he arched an eyebrow at Remy.

“Yes I did.”

“Alright then. What credentials do you possess which you believe would suffice in making you qualified as a candidate to aid our effort to assist Virgil in the creation of his costume which will serve to conceal his identity?”

“Okay, listen up, biatch. I studied costume design in college, so I know what the F imma be talkin’ about. Plus I know like, everything there is to know about you supers. I mean, I legit was the one who first told the world about Creativity. Hence the reason I’m writing a whole frickin’ book about you guys.”

“To be fair, that does sound like some pretty solid credentials,” Roman admitted. Logan sighed and Virgil could tell Logan knew when he was beat.

“I suppose you may be in possession of certain skills that may prove to be a useful contribution to the process,” he conceded.

“Okay, it’s settled. Let’s get to work.” Emile faced Thomas before continuing, “Tell our Superiors I’ll be staying to resume work as the team’s public relations manager. And also tell them not to worry about sending a designer since we’ve got things under control here.”

“You got it. I’ll see you when you get back to headquarters,” Thomas replied. Virgil watched as Thomas made his way back downstairs before turning back to the others as Remy took a final sip of his drink and started to speak.

“Alright, gang. Sounds like we have a costume to make.”

Tag list:

@milomeepit , @captainhadeslover , @yep-another-fander , @pattson , @lala-the-rebel , @artistictaurean , @ironwoman359 , @ab-artist , @wicked-rosie , @starsinger , @superarrowholockian , @shapoodle , @virgil-the-virgin , @fun-with-colors , @theloveliestsweetspongy , @anastasialestina , @inferablossom , @confused-pat , @midnighteclipse98 , @silversmith-91 , @pattons-second-cookie , @harboring-hatred , @creativenostalgiastuff , @sadb0tt , @today-only-happens-once , @thelogicalloganipus , @the-shark-boi , @mantha-has-fallen , @averaillisa , @emochechirecat , @camillenicole , @thedukeofdeodorant-main , @time-out-for-thee , @sandersstuffsblog , @letsmoonkid , @iampengwing , @5150brotherbear , @approximately12lbs-of-ducks , @bexxbeauty , @elvis-has-been-dug , @ollyollyoxinfree , @magsnine , @littlewolf432 , @logical-princey

[ilovemygaydad]

title: until we meet again

pairing: demus (deceit/remus)

summary: a zombie apocalypse isn’t the place to be catching feels. unfortunately, dc is doing exactly that with a mysterious man that he met in an alley.

word count: 4.1k

warnings: remus, deceit, sympathetic deceit, zombie apocalypse, mentions of cuts and bruises, swearing, heated making out sessions, implied nudity, weapons, threats, almost attempted murder, mentions of broken glass, mentions of casual sex, mentions of hickeys, innuendos, fainting (once), mentions of STDs, death mentions, crying, sadness, anxiety, sort of breakups? it really isn’t one but idk, sexual attraction, possibly something else

***this fic obviously has a lot of triggers in it, so if you have any questions or concerns, or if you need a summary of parts with specific triggers, please send me an ask! your safety is my number one priority here, and i would hate for anybody to be engaging in unsafe reading practices!***

a/n: so this is... new��for me. i’ve never written this ship or this kind of au, nor have i had deceit be the main character (in a serious manner, at least), and i’ve never attempted remus seriously, either. i hope i didn’t fuck up the descriptions of sexual attraction and making out because idk what i’m doing as a sex repulsed asexual! rip me i guess lol. also shoutout to @adultmorelikeadolt for listening to me ramble about this and proof reading it <3 they’re the real mvp here, so check their stuff out, too!!! also, this got way longer than i thought... whoops?

a/n 2: this is heavily based off of death valley by fall out boy! you can listen to it here

Commission Info

consider buying me a coffee

---

DC breathed a heavy sigh of relief as soon as the beat-up VW bus screeched to a stop inside of the checkpoint station. It had been far too long since the last one, and each mile that ticked off on the odometer made him increasingly anxious. The dense forests of Maine were the perfect hiding spots for zombies or bandits, which Virgil so fantastically liked to point out every time that it got dark. Yet they trudged deeper and deeper into the state, driving towards the safety of Canada.

But finally, they had made it.

Roman threw the bus into park and hopped out of the driver’s seat, and the others piled out of the back right after. The checkpoint station was huge--easily one of the largest in the country--but its size made sense given that it was one of two in the entirety of New England. DC gazed around the part of the checkpoint that he could see, and he was in awe at how normal it looked. Other than the giant fences and sentries, it looked like an average New England town. If he hadn’t known any better, he would have believed that there had never been a zombie outbreak in the first place.

Neat, uniform streets of houses stretched before him with shops-turned-supply-stations interspersed between them. Children were outside playing, and adults were going about their days with only a slightly heightened level of concern. Unlike all of the other stations they’d passed through on their way from Miami, it was clean and calm, and a person didn’t have to worry about being pickpocketed or stabbed on their way back from getting their rations.

The guards advanced on them, and Patton talked to the officers as they searched the bus for illegal contraband. Once the bus was clear, they were ushered into the nearest building--a small, gray brick cube that looked more like a sad excuse for a shed than anything--and were tested for the virus. With the exception of Logan fainting, the group was completely cleared to continue into the checkpoint without issue. A guide was designated to them for their month-long stay both to help them become familiar with the checkpoint and to dissuade any of the residents from becoming hostile towards the newcomers.

They drove fifteen minutes into the checkpoint to the visitor park, which was where they were allowed to park the bus. Although their guide, whose name was Remy, offered them a tour, they politely declined. They had been on the road for nearly six days, only stopping to rest or refuel, which might have been circumnavigated had it not been for the Pittsburgh checkpoint being on lockdown.

Long story short, they were tired and really just needed to sleep.

Well, everyone else needed to sleep. DC was too keyed up from the trip to feel anything other than restless, so as soon as he was sure the others were asleep and that the sun had set, he snuck out of the bus and took to the darkest alleys of the checkpoint. He moved with expert silence through the night. His feet took him far from the bus to a more desolate area. Similarly to a normal city, the checkpoint had a dilapidated section of buildings that the more unfortunate people lived, which seemed proportional to the size of the area. 

It was eerily silent amidst the ruined structures. Aside from the occasional rat skittering across an alley, it was completely, utterly quiet.

Footsteps echoed just behind DC. Those footsteps were not his own.

Lightning fast, DC had his stalker pinned against the crumbling brick wall. He expected a fight back, but the man was merely grinning at him in glee. Electric green eyes stared at him with an unnerving amount of energy.

“The last time someone pinned me against a wall, both parties ended up without clothes on,” the man giggled, leaning his head as far forward as DC’s hold would allow. His mustache twisted along with each movement of his mouth. “I wouldn’t mind if this interaction ended the same way.”

DC decided to ignore that comment. “Why were you following me?”

“‘Cause you’re new! We never get visitors.”

That seemed fair. People tended to stay at their original checkpoints.

“And I think you’re hot.”

“Oh, and that makes stalking me so much better. I’m not disgusted by you right now.”

The man’s odd smile grew. “People usually are, so I’m not surprised.”

DC didn’t even know how to reply. He opened and closed his mouth, scouring his brain for a comeback, when a rogue hand tugged on his belt loop. Before he could even process what was happening, their positions had been reversed. 

Oh, shit.

“You’re so pretty when you’re pretending to be tough!” The man was surprisingly strong, and his hands held DC firmly in place regardless of how much he struggled. “I wonder what it would be like when you’re angry. Just fully animalistic.”

“Fuck you,” DC spat.

“Promise?”

Logan probably would have been worried about how aggressively DC rolled his eyes. “In your dreams.”

“Who says we can’t make dreams a reality?” the man whispered in a voice that sent a chill running through DC’s blood. Was this man seriously flirting with him? Was he seriously flirting back?

“I don’t give myself up so easy to dirty street dwellers.”

The man smirked, and a dark glitter flashed in his eyes. “I put the ‘d’ in dirt, baby. I can show you if you’d like.”

DC was suddenly glad that the scars covering the left half of his face were gnarly enough to distract from any blushing.

“Come on,” the man crooned. “Come with me, and I can show you a good time.”

“No. No, I can’t.” DC rushed, and to his surprise, he was immediately let go.

“Okay.” The man took a step back, allowing DC an escape route.

“Okay?”

The man gestured down the alley, still smiling. “You are free to go. I can’t keep you here.”

“Oh,” DC said. “Okay.”

As DC walked away, the man called, “Good bye!” He pretended that he didn’t hear.

---

For some godforsaken reason, DC found himself sitting on a dumpster in the alley the next day. Being out at night didn’t affect him much as he tended to prefer sleeping during the day, and he had yet to be caught by either guards or the rest of his group. Still, he hadn’t exactly been expecting to want to return to the place where he had met the strange man.

But he had, so there he was, sitting on a dumpster lid and staring up at the sky.

“BOO!” a voice suddenly shouted behind DC, and he barely managed to catch  himself before he could be sent tumbling to the pavement. The same giggling from the night before echoed through the alley as the man skipped around the dumpster, stopping right in front of DC. “Hiya!”

“Hello.”

“I can’t believe you came back! People don’t usually want to be in this area of the checkpoint.”

“Well,” DC said, shrugging. “I’ve been told that I’m very usual.”

The man laughed, setting his elbow on the edge of the dumpster to place his chin in his palm. “You’re so funny!”

“Thanks.” DC tried to imagine what the man had found so funny, but his train of thought was cut short when the man moved again. He crossed his arms on the dumpster edge and rested his chin on DC’s crossed legs, looking up through his thick lashes. It took every ounce of restraint not to make a strangled noise at the very, very intimate position.

“So... Why did you come back?”

There was a second that DC considered lying, but he knew deep down that this man would be able to tell. “You.”

“Oh,” the man said breathily as if all of the air had been knocked out of his lungs.

“Kiss me?”

The tone of the man’s voice (the man--DC didn’t even know his name) turned dark, and he said, “God, yes.”

They moved quickly, and the second that DC’s boots hit the pavement, he was pressed back against the dumpster with a searing kiss. He hadn’t felt such an intense fire under his skin since before the apocalypse--since before he’d sworn off feelings altogether. A sharp flash of teeth ran across his lip before biting down so hard that DC was surprised his skin didn’t break. In retaliation, he thread his fingers in the other man’s hair and tugged, which elicited a surprised moan out of his companion. 

If DC’s skin had been on fire before, he was burning now, and he took advantage of the distraction to deepen the kiss further. Too soon, the other man pulled away, grinning dangerously with shining green eyes. His cheeks held a heavy flush that matched the red swell of his lips. 

“Do you want to take this somewhere more appropriate?” he asked in a husky voice that nearly made DC’s knees give out.

“Please.”

---

DC continued to sneak out to meet up with the strange man. It was fun and extremely enjoyable, so why wouldn’t he go back? He had to spend the month in the checkpoint anyway; it made sense to find something to do (literally) in his free time. Once his time was up, he would leave, and everything would go back to normal.

He could forget any of these meetings ever happened.

He would.

Because they were merely for sex. Nothing else.

They didn’t mean anything.

DC turned his head to look at the man next to him. They still didn’t know each others’ names. They were two strangers who happened to cross paths in a dingy alley. Nothing more than the product of long lines of choices. A high that they just couldn’t get enough of.

The man’s eyes were closed, and his breathing was even and deep. In the moonlight that shined through the broken window, the gray streak in his hair glimmered like a silver lake. The soft part of his lips was starkly juxtaposed with the harsh bruises and scrapes on his skin. If it were any other time, DC would have described him as stunning.

Wait.

...

No.

No. No, He wasn’t thinking like that. Sure, the man was attractive, but that was it. He was a good fuck--a good time during the god damn zombie apocalypse. DC wasn’t some fucking teenage YA protagonist yearning for the pretty bad boy. It wasn’t like he’d fallen in love with this crass, borderline violent stranger.

Holy shit, DC had fallen in love, and he had no idea what to do with himself.

The man’s eyes fluttered open and met his gaze. He yawned and propped himself onto his elbow, grinning his usual Cheshire smile. DC’s heart pounded heavily in his chest.

“Ready for another round?” the man teased as he traced the hickeys on DC’s neck.

“I-I’ve gotta go!” DC scrambled off of the stained mattress, throwing on his clothes with urgency.

“What?”

“I just--I have to go.”

The man couldn’t even get another word in before the door to his room slammed closed.

---

The following three days were spent moping, napping, and pointedly not leaving the bus. Mostly napping. Definitely not moping.

He didn’t want to think about the pretty man from the alley. No part of his mind wanted to be reminded of soft lips and green eyes and burning passion. It was so damn tiring to confront the horrible reality of DC being in love. 

Because this was the apocalypse.

And he was going to leave in a couple of weeks.

The apocalypse was neither the time nor place to grow attached to a man who skulked around in alleys like the rat bastard that he was.

But god, he had fallen hard. DC would close his eyes and see a silver streak and tan, calloused hands and shiny scars. Memories of sharp teeth on sensitive skin mingled with the sensation of hot flashes in his blood, quickening his heart rate as he wished to go back and be held and loved. What deity had he angered in a past life to deserve the burden of emotions? Why couldn’t he have just stayed in the bus on the second day instead of going to the alley? How was he supposed to move on?

A sad, strangled noise escaped his throat as he contemplated his existence.

The back door of the bus swung open, and DC stilled, pretending to be asleep. He was luckily turned away from the door, so his tear-streaked face wasn’t visible to whomever opened the door. They clambered in and shut the door with a heavy thunk. They sat, of course, right behind DC’s back.

“Dee, I know you’re awake,” Virgil said. “I could hear you sobbing from outside.”

“I know what you’re talking about, Virgil. I was crying.”

Virgil huffed out a short laugh. “Wow, double lies. That’s pretty impressive.”

“Don’t go away.”

“Alright. I won’t.”

DC turned to glare at Virgil. There was no reason to hide his obvious crying when Virgil had already called him out on it. “I hate you.”

Virgil smiled sympathetically. “I know, Dee, but you’ve been in this slump for days now. Even Logan is starting to notice that you’re upset. What’s wrong?”

“I just...” he trailed off, trying to think of what he wanted to say. “I met someone.”

“We all have met people in the checkpoint, dude. We don’t know anybody here--oh. Oh, you met someone.” Virgil’s eyes went wide as the realization hit him like a truck. “You fell for them.”

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I ran away.”

“You what?!” Virgil screeched.

“Please, continue acting so incredibly melodramatic. It suits you,” DC grumbled. He rolled his eyes and turned away. 

Virgil scoffed. “I can’t believe how fucking stupid you are! I might as well have a god damn rock for a friend.”

“Your words are so kind.”

“I’m sorry that you threw away your own fucking happiness because you’re afraid of love! You had it, DC. You found someone, and you want to just throw it away!”

DC pulled himself up, throwing a harsh look at Virgil. “We have less than two weeks left in this checkpoint. When that time is up, we will leave, and I will never see him again. Continuing to see him will only bring me more distress, not to mention that I have no idea if he even feels anything for me aside from sexual attraction.”

“Dude, can you shut the fuck up for a second? Seriously, for the past few weeks, you were happier than I’d seen you since well before the apocalypse.” Virgil let out a heavy sigh. “At least apologize. I know you like to keep up your morally-gray schtick, but he deserves to hear why you ran away.”

There were a few seconds of angry silence before DC spat, “I love when you’re right!”

Virgil merely smiled and pat his shoulder, climbing out of the van.

The sun wouldn’t be setting for a few hours, so DC had plenty of time to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to say.

---

It felt like major déjà-vu for DC to be sitting on the same dumpster, hoping that the man would show up. Sure, he could have just traveled to the man’s odd little apartment, but it was far more difficult to make a quick escape from a building than it was an alley. Thus, DC had settled to take his chances of sitting on the dumpster should his partner (fuck buddy? significant other???) be furious. 

Anger was a pretty valid response given the circumstances.

It had been a couple of hours since he’d arrived, and it was a bit chilly. He shivered, pulling his old leather jacket closer around him. His eyes squeezed shut as if he could will away the cold air. Canada’s weather was going to be an absolute bitch if Maine was bordering on unbearable for DC.

“Oh,” a familiar voice exclaimed from in front of the dumpster, and DC’s eyes snapped open. The man had his hands on his hips in a childlike pose, but the glimmer in his eyes bordered on murderous. “Y’know, I was starting to think I’d have to hunt you down myself, but you just waltzed back in like the idiot you are!” He shifted slightly, and the moonlight caught the metal of the knife in his hand.

“Don’t wait!” DC cried when the man lifted his arm in preparation to strike. “I didn’t want to apologize. Please, you don’t have to hear me out!”

“I do? I didn’t realize that I was under the jurisdiction of lying bastards!” The man laughed, but it was dark and lacking any humor.

“I love you,” DC blurted before he could stop himself. He clamped his hands over his mouth in horror.

I love you. The words hung in the air like a child’s mobile. They couldn’t be retracted; they couldn’t be taken back. Each syllable stuck in reality. I love you.

“Oh,” the man said, staring at DC in shock. “You aren’t lying.”

“Yes,” he lied. “I am. I wasn’t scared of my feelings. My friends and I won’t leave in a week and a half, and after that...”

The man let the knife drop to the pavement with a heavy clatter, moving to take DC’s hands. “We’re going to die. It’s just a matter of time before it happens, but what we do with that time is up to us.” He paused, and a wicked smirk twisted his lips. “Who you do is also a choice to make.”

DC choked out a laugh because it was so familiar to hear a stupid innuendo coming from this man’s lips. Love coursed through his veins for all of the stupidest reasons, but it felt so good. Virgil had been right--he was happy. He was purely, simply happy. For once, the apocalypse was on the back of his mind, and he was enjoying existence.

“I won’t have to leave,” he murmured despite himself. “It will last.”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it. Let’s make every second of this next week and a half count, okay?”

Maybe Virgil had been right about DC being an idiot, too, because he nodded and said, “Okay.”

---

There were only twelve hours remaining before DC had to leave the Maine checkpoint station.

There were only twelve hours remaining before DC had to leave the only person that he’d ever truly loved.

They were laying together on the man’s mildly disgusting mattress. The man--yes, he was still known as the man because they decided anonymous identities would be best--was lightly tracing his fingers down the bare skin of DC’s back, which would have been soothing if they hadn’t been acutely aware of the clock running out. 

“You should come with us,” DC whispered. He’d been mulling the idea around in his mind for a while, but he hadn’t known how to bring it up.

“What?”

“Come with us,” he repeated fervently, sitting up. “The rest of the group wouldn’t mind one more person, and we could easily take you across the border.”

“No.”

It was DC’s turn to say, “What?”

“No,” the man sighed as he sat up as well. “I can’t go with you.”

“Why not?!”

“Look around!” He gestured at the debris-filled room. Glass and rock littered most of the floor, and the rest was covered in clothes and containers of food. “I have no worth. I despise using the characteristics of ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ but it isn’t fair to such kind people to have to take on someone like me.”

“They’d be happy to let you tag along--”

“I know, but I have to make it on my own.” His green eyes sparked with determination. “I’ll make it on my own.”

“Will you promise? I don’t care if it’s meaningless, but... it’ll make it easier to leave if I have reassurance that you’ll find me.” DC let his fingers intertwine with the other man’s in an attempt to forget about the pit in his stomach.

“I promise.”

---

One Year Later

Things had finally started settling down for the group. Nearly all of them had been able to secure some sort of job, and they had a roof over their heads that wasn’t attached to a vintage bus. Things were good. DC was happy, healthy, and safe.

A bit lonely, but he still had his friends.

He knew deep down that the man he’d met in Maine wouldn’t make it to Canada. DC had left him with a map marked with where the group was going to end up, but without a mode of transportation, the whispered promises to find each other would stay in the crumbling ruins of an apartment complex. That was okay, even if his heart still held on to the green-eyed stranger like there was a chance of being together.

When he’d eventually told the others of his fling, they’d all been supportive in their own ways. Patton gave him a long hug and whispered gentle reassurances into his ears, and Roman had told him that anything was possible until proven impossible. Logan scolded him about being reckless, claiming that he would have been pissed that DC had survived the apocalypse for so long just to be taken down by potential STDs. Even though Virgil had already known, he still offered a shoulder to cry on. DC would never admit it, but he appreciated how loved he felt.

He shook his head to clear his mind. It was nearly two in the morning; he should’ve been trying to sleep instead of dwelling on the past. Logan always liked to preach about circadian rhythm and all that jazz.

Whatever. DC cut his losses and went to the tiny kitchen, throwing a pot of water on the stove to boil. He took out his mug and a packet of chamomile tea that Patton had stocked for his insomnia as he waited. At least he was trying to coax his body into sleep. Virgil usually just listened to news stations on the radio until the sun rose. Old, paranoid habits died hard, he supposed.

A knock at the door pulled DC out of his thoughts. They never received any visitors, and they definitely were never this late at night. Cautiously, he grabbed the heavy flashlight from its spot next to the hall closet. He prepared to swing at whoever was outside and peered out of the peephole.

Bright green eyes stared back at him, and the flashlight clattered to the ground, barely missing his foot. He flung the door open because there was no way that he was seeing things right, but standing less than a meter away was the man from Maine. DC couldn’t believe his eyes. It couldn’t be real.

“Hey,” the man said as though they had never been apart.

“Holy shit.”

The man giggled, playfully setting his fists on his hips. “I traveled nearly three hundred miles to see you, and this is the greeting I get?”

DC wasn’t able to respond as Roman’s tired voice appeared behind him. “Dee, wha’s goin’ on?”

“Dee? Oh, that’s a cute nickname!” The man turned to Roman and said, “Hi! I’m his boyfriend.”

That sobered DC up fast. “He’s the one from Maine.” My boyfriend.

“Oh! Holy shit!” Roman’s eyes went wide with realization. 

“Roman, this is...?”

“Remus,” the man supplied.

“Roman, this is Remus.” The name felt like gold on his tongue. “Remus, this is my friend, Roman.” 

Roman held out his hand, which Remus shook. “I can’t believe you made it. How’d you even find us?”

“I secretly embedded a tracker in Dee’s skin before he left!” Roman looked horrified, and Remus cackled at the response. “Just kidding! He told me that you were going to Moncton, and I just asked around about a VW bus for a while until I found you.”

“Right...” It seemed that Roman had become thoroughly uncomfortable by Remus’ sense of humor. “I’m gonna go back to bed.” He paused, making direct eye contact with his friend. “And DC? Don’t be loud or whatever.”

“We won’t,” he assured at the same time that Remus said, “No promises!”

As soon as the door to Roman’s room was shut, DC threw himself into Remus’ arms. “You actually did it.”

“I did,” he said. “I promised.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually make it!” DC cried, feeling hot tears brim in his eyes.

“I didn’t either, Dee. I really didn’t.”

“I love you.”

Remus’ fingers tangled in his hair. “I love you, too.”

And maybe DC cried, but that was okay. He had someone to wipe the tears away, now.

now with a part 2 minific

[snek-boii]

Dimensions of Amnesia | Prologue

Last chapter || Next Chapter

Summary: An experiment goes horribly wrong.

Ships: DLAMPR

Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit, let me know if I need to add anything else please!

Word Count: 1641

A/N: Hello, and welcome to my first Sanders Sides AU! In this, all of the sides are human, for now. And this is set far in the future; 2066, to be exact. I hope you all enjoy, and chapter one is coming out later today!

•|•

Damian was usually a calm sleeper.

Surrounded by the warming embraces of his four boyfriends, he was usually able to sleep soundly and without disturbance. But on this particular morning, he found that he couldn’t. His thoughts were churning like a raging sea that was unable to be tamed.

He glanced over at the clock on the bedside table and internally groaned. 3:25AM, it read. When did the time fly so fast? Oh, Logan would kill me if he knew I was still awake. That thought brought a small smile to Damian’s face, prompting him to glance down lovingly at where Logan was sleeping, Virgil squished between him and Damian. They were adorable.

Eventually, after a while of staring up at the ceiling and admiring how adorable his sleeping boyfriends were, he decided he would get up. Carefully, so that he didn’t wake anyone up, Damian untangled himself from the nest of limbs and slipped out of the bed. The cold of the room hit him, and he shivered as he changed into something warmer.

Now dressed up in black pants and a gold sweater, Damian took one last glance at the four. Patton, not liking the loss of heat, had snuggled up to Virgil, leading to Reman shifting closer to Patton and wrapping his arms around them. Logan’s arms were still wrapped securely around Virgil’s waist.

A smile toyed with his lips before he walked out of the room.

His footsteps were light, even though he felt like collapsing on the floor and taking a good 12-hour nap. Reman and Logan were light sleepers, so he didn’t want to accidentally wake them up.

Damian walked down the stairs, running a hand through his curly hair. He yawned as he walked into the kitchen, beginning to make some coffee. That would wake him up, Damian hoped. A few minutes later Damian leaned against the counter, a cup of fresh coffee in his hand. It was around 4AM now, he guessed. Now that he was more alert, he looked around the kitchen. The silence was strange, in a way; Patton wasn’t bustling in the kitchen cooking, Logan wasn’t spewing random (but very interesting) facts, Reman wasn’t belting out Disney songs like his life depended on it, and Virgil wasn’t sitting on the counter and watching their antics. It was just him.

Well, I’m not going back to sleep anytime soon... I might as well check up on our project.

Ah, the project.

Logan and Damian had been working on this project for months, almost a year, trying to perfect it. It was going to be a gift for their boyfriends, in a language they knew how to speak: science. The plan was to build a portal in the lab underneath their apartment, and bring the others to another dimension. Almost like a vacation. There would be necessary precautions, of course. They didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

Development had gone smoothly, and so had most of the testing phases. The last thing to test was if a human could travel safely between dimensions.

This was the hardest part of building a portal.

So many things could go wrong, whether it be with the transfer or something else. The human could get deposited in a different dimension than planned, the portal could explode... There were even reports of the humans returning mutated, or with animalistic features. It was risky, but he and Logan were determined. Everything was going to be fine. They had planned on doing the human testing today.

Tomorrow would be the day that they revealed the portal to the other three.

Damian, still holding his coffee, walked out of the kitchen. Now, he was facing a beige wall with a small portrait hanging from it; a selfie of the five of them. He smiled softly, before quietly knocking a pattern into the wall. Four, three, one, one, silence.

Patton had suggested that, although he didn’t know what he was suggesting it for. It was now their password for the secret elevator to the lab. The wall slid open much like a regular elevator door, revealing a large compartment inside. Damian walked inside, pressing a button on the inside of the door and leaning back against the wall. The doors slid shut, and the elevator hummed gently as it took him down to the basement.

Damian took a sip of his coffee. He would have woken Logan up, but he had noticed how many all-nighters Logan had pulled working on this thing. The poor man deserved to sleep. Besides, this was just a quick check; in and out, to make sure that nothing was broken.

Soon, the elevator slowed down and came to a complete stop. It dinged to announce the arrival, and the doors opened.

It revealed a giant room with a dome-shaped roof. A white platform circled around the curved edges, glass separating the platform area from the rest of the room. Small lights were embedded into the walls, that would blare in case of an emergency. A white chair sat in front of him, a curved panel with hundreds of buttons in front of it. Small screens hung above the panel, showing angled views of the real star of the room: the portal.

Currently, it was inactive. The ring of metal was silver, but black on the underside. That was where a metal called harinium was placed. Harinium, found back in 2043, had the best conductivity for a portal, and was pretty much the only metal that could withstand the amount of energy and heat a portal radiates. A thick platform was underneath the ring, holding it up. Stairs led up toward the base of the ring, so that whenever someone was ready, they could walk through the portal.

Damian walked up to the panel, gently moving the chair aside; he wouldn’t be sitting for this. He pressed a button on the panel, and the portal whirred to life.

Colors began to form and swirl in the metal circle. Damian watched closely as a mix of purples, blues, and greens appeared, swimming in a spiral as the circle inside the ring of metal grew larger. It never got old, watching the portal form.

Once the portal was at its full size, Damian took a sip of his coffee, set it to the side, and focused on the panel.

A screen popped up, showing the status of the object they had sent in yesterday and its coordinates. It was a quill that Logan owned. “Let’s bring you back, shall we?” Damian hummed to nobody in particular.

He typed in the coordinates to this dimension, applied it to the quill, and pressed the button. The quill would be back any moment now...

The colors in the portal morphed as the pathway for the quill was being created, colors enlarging and growing smaller. Damian’s foot tapped in anticipation as he grabbed a clipboard that had been discarded to the side, taking out a pen. His eyes fixed intently on the portal.

Smooth, midnight black feathers began to poke out of the portal, the substance touching it changing to the same color. Just a few seconds later, the quill floated down to the floor, intact just like it had been yesterday.

“Yes!” Damian grinned, writing down the results. He stepped around the panel, sliding open a glass door and walking down the steps. When he reached the bottom stair, there was a small container containing gloves, courtesy of Logan. You never knew what chemicals or strange bacteria could come from the other dimensions.

He slipped on a pair of the yellow gloves, welcoming the feeling of the fabric on his hands. His footsteps echoed in the cavernous room, reverberating off of the domed ceiling. Up the portal’s stairs he went, leaning down and gently grabbing the quill in his hands.

The lights of the portal reflected on his face and on the silver of the quill, lighting them both up like the northern lights. It was mesmerizing to watch the colors dance on the quill. A few moments later Damian straightened, walking back down the stairs and up the ones that led to the platform.

The beta test was complete.

Now, it was time for the real test.

Normally Damian would have waited for Logan first, so he could double-check everything before he went in, but he was feeling confident. The quill had come back safely, and he believed that he would too.

Besides, it was only a short jump; the dimension he was aiming for wasn’t that far away, and hopefully it would just be a quick trip and back.

Damian took one last look at the quill, running a finger over the dark feathers. Then, he laid it at the top of the panel for Logan to find, if he ever came in. He then typed the coordinates into the panel, watching the screen as it did calculations. Once the screen flashed an affirmative green, he knew it was time.

He walked around the panel again, walking through the glass doors. Sliding it shut again, he made his way toward the portal. The colors warped in front of him much like last time, almost inviting him to step into the swirling depths.

Up the stairs Damian went, and now the colors were right in front of him. Luring him, drawing him closer...

Taking a deep breath, he allowed himself to walk into the liquid-like depths.

It was too late for him to notice the room flashing red, or hear the alarms blaring.

He should have waited for Logan, said a faint voice in the back of his head.

A blood curdling scream sounded, piercing the wall and reaching the apartment above.

So loud it was, that Logan and Reman jolted awake, dread filling their hearts as they recognized the voice.

[stars-and-rose]

|Rise and Ruin| Chapter Two

Fandom: Thomas Sanders/Sanders Sides

Pairings: Eventual Prinxeity and Logicality

Summary: Virgil is told the story behind the silent kingdom, and has to make a choice. Why did he decide to deliver again?

Word Count:  2585

Trigger Warnings: Cursing, Talking of manipulation 

<<Previous Next>>

Chapter Two: It’s Written in the Stars

   “Is he going to arise soon?”    “I think so, I can feel his heartbeat quickening.”    Virgil’s eyes fluttered open, peering out at the stormy sky above him. His back was cold against what he believed was stone, and God, his head hurt. It felt like someone had swung a hammer against his skull over and over and over again. A groan escaped his lips and he tried to sit up.    “Hey, hey, kiddo, I need you to lie back down for a second.” A soft voice muttered directly into his ear. “We managed to get you to drink one of the healing potions we found in your bag. Sorry, about that by the way,  I kinda freaked out when you fainted and because I really can’t do anything else like this I panicked and searched in your bag-”    “Patton. Breathe.” Another voice commanded. The first speaker, whom Virgil assumed was named Patton, took in a few shallow breaths. Virgil felt a tingling against the back of his head- the potion was starting to work. A few moments later, the pain became manageable, and Virgil sat up.    Then, he remembered why he had fainted. He turned his head, and sure enough, the falcon and the cat- which at a closer angle, Virgil could identify as a calico- were sitting next to him. And still, there were no other humans in sight, which meant-

   “You talked.” Virgil couldn’t help the words that escaped his lips.    “Indeed we did.” The falcon muttered, his voice deeper than the voice that Virgil identified as Patton- which meant Patton was the cat.    “Sorry if we freaked you out.” Patton apologized. “My name is Patton, this Logan.” The cat gestured with his paw to the falcon. Virgil's mind was spinning, but he managed to say, “My name is Virgil,” before his thoughts overwhelmed him. Though, this time his mind spun at a speed where he could still think. He was talking to animals, and Virgil’s magic didn’t include that natural talent. Nor did he have an enchantment that would have allowed him access to that magic. There was a third option, but it was both absurd and the only realistic idea he had. “You’re cursed.” Now that he had thought about it, he could sense the magic surrounding the two.  He could even see it if he tapped into his own magic- faint sigils surrounding the falcon and the cat, the markings glowing in a shade of yellow that reminded Virgil of the foxgloves in his mum’s garden- seemingly harmless, but surprisingly venomous. “Yes, yes we are! Logan, I told you! He’s a warlock, he knows about curses and maybe he can save Roman and the kingdom-” Virgil shifted in his cloak, something in his gut going hard. Patton, who seemed to notice this, stopped midway through his sentence. “Goodness, sorry kiddo, I got carried away there.”     “It’s fine,” Virgil mumbled, his hand reaching for his earring, the cold metal against his hand grounding. He couldn’t help but suspect he had opened a can of worms that could possibly explain the strange silence of the town. “What happened?”    “Are you referring to the state of the village, or how Patton and I became cursed?” Logan asked.    “Both, I guess? Something tells me they’re connected.”    The falcon seemed to nod- goodness, the insanity of this situation was starting to settle into Virgil’s brain. “That would be correct.”    Patton looked up at Virgil with eyes that clashed like the sky they’d stolen their color from. There was sadness and grief and loss and happiness and relief and an indescribable amount of raw hope in Patton’s eyes. Hope in Virgil? “Well, kiddo, do you want to hear the tail of the Curse of Craea?”    As Logan let out a groan and muttered about the pun, Virgil did a double-take. "The Curse of Craea- I didn’t even know Craea was cursed, no one’s ever mentioned it.”    “You haven't heard anything because he does not want outsiders intruding with his plans.” The way Logan said he, with such a strong amount of contempt, Virgil’s heart clenched.    “He? Who's He?”    “I think we should start at the beginning," Patton said.  "About six months ago, the Kingdom was celebrating the Queen's birthday with the usual celebrations- two days of festivities ending with a ball. Even though the ball was for the queen, everyone’s attention was on the Crown Prince. Within a year, Prince Roman would be ascending to the throne, and he still wasn’t married.”    “Because he is stubborn and believes in marriage for true love only,” Logan grumbled.    “You know why, Lo,” Patton said softly, meeting eyes with the falcon, before continuing the story. “With that knowledge, every noble in the kingdom was offering their children to court the prince. But he wasn’t interested- he knew that most of them only wanted the crown or the riches that came with the title. At the very best, they wanted the prince for his beauty.”    “Then about halfway through the night, the prince stepped onto the balcony, wanting some fresh air. He was greeted by another man already standing in the night. The two struck up a conversation, and the prince felt something in his chest grew warm. The flames grew even hotter when he realized the man didn’t realize he was the prince. Eventually, the prince invited the other man to dance, and they danced the night away. It was clear to see; the prince was in love.”    “It was less love and more of an infatuation. The man was the first person to seem interested in Roman and not Prince Roman.” Logan said, his voice a bit less hard.    The feeling in Virgil’s gut twisted even tighter. “Something tells me this story doesn’t have a happy ending.-”    “Your intuition serves you correct.”    Patton let out a sigh. “Roman’s two closest friends- the castle’s head scholar and the son of a lord who was serving as the medic’s assistant- they both knew something was off about the stranger. The head scholar had the high intelligence to see that something was wrong-”    “-And the lord’s son was an empath in all senses expect magical, and he could sense that the man had devious plans,” Logan stated. The words were the softest ones Virgil had heard come out of Logan’s mouth.    “The duo warned Roman of their fears, but he was starstruck. He pleaded with his friends to ‘Let him have this,’ and asked them to give the stranger a chance. He told them that their intuition could be wrong, even though the prince knew it had never been wrong before.” Patton sighed. “I think he knew even then it was wishful thinking.”    “They told the prince they would not interfere, but their concerns grew until they had no choice other to investigate.” Logan continued. “At first, the two found nothing wrong with the man's intentions. They thought that maybe the prince was right and that their intuition was wrong. Then, the Lord's son caught the man's eyes glowing yellow. The man had magic, but the color of the glow pointed towards sorcery.”   Virgil nodded. The eyes were the gateway to the soul, after all. People unconsciously revealed their true emotions and intentions through their eyes. Magic users could even be identified by their eye colors- vivid green, dramatic blues, and shades of violet showed that the user was aligned with light magic, and deep reds, dark oranges, and glimmering yellows disclosed darker magic. Glamors covering eyes were the hardest spells to cast.    Patton picked up where Logan left off. “They couldn’t be certain, though- it could have been a trick of the light or something. After a few days of careful investigation, they caught the man talking to a shadowy figure, boasting on how he had the prince wrapped around his finger, and how he’d soon have the kingdom of Craea under his control. The two were about to flee and tell this to the prince, but the Lord’s son tripped.”    “The two were caught by the man, who was revealed to be a sorcerer at this point. The sorcerer’s hands began to glow the same yellow as his eyes. Who knows what he would have done to the duo if he had been given the opportunity, but, as fate had it, Roman stumbled onto the scene. He instantly threw himself in front of his friends and stared down the sorcerer with his eyes filling with tears. The sorcerer tried to placate him, but the heartbroken prince knew his friends had been right all along. With a heavy heart, he ordered the sorcerer to leave the kingdom, and to never return, as he was no longer welcome.”    Patton took a shaky breath, and Virgil noticed how downtrodden the Cursed looked, his blue eyes looking towards the ground, and ears flattened. If he had still been human, Virgil guessed he would have been crying. Logan picked upon his companion's sadness and continued telling the warlock the story.    “As soon as the words left the prince’s mouth, the warlock’s demeanor shifted. He stopped pleading and a malevolent light entered his eyes. He bent down on one knee, and pulled out a gold band with a yellow stone trapped in the metal, and ordered the prince to marry him. The prince repeated his early statement, and the sorcerer threated that he would curse the kingdom. The prince wrapped up with his heartache and anger, let out hysterical laughter, and told the sorcerer, ‘You wouldn’t dare.’ ”    “ ‘You’d be surprised, what I’m willing to do.’ “ Patton mumbled. “That’s what the sorcerer said in reply. Roman denied him again. It wasn’t just about his broken heart. He knew that agreeing to the sorcerer would doom Craea. A wicked ruler leads to a wicked kingdom, and the prince knew accepting the proposal would give the sorcerer a direct route to power.”    “As soon as the prince denied him three times, the sorcerer stood, pocketing the ring. His eyes began to illuminate, and yellow smoke filled the room. The sorcerer's voice lilted through the fog. ‘The kingdom shall sleep on your decision-”    “-and you shall sleep with it until you agree to me.’ “ Logan interrupted. “Suddenly, the prince fell to the ground, eyes shut tight. His friends ran to his side, but the sorcerer had different plans. He directed his hands towards the duo and proclaimed that if the two hadn’t interfered, that the prince would be his, and the kingdom with him. They deserved a different punishment.”    “ ‘Until the prince accepts my ring on his finger; until he accepts my hand in his, you shall be cursed to forms in which you cannot interfere’. “ Patton quoted. “The two passed out, and awoke outside in the forms of a cat and a falcon.”    “So the two of you are the prince’s friends,” Virgil said, his suspicions confirmed. “I’ll guess Patton is the medic in training and the lord’s son, and Logan is the head scholar?”    “You are correct,” Logan confirmed. “After awakening in these unfortunate forms, we discovered the entire kingdom had fallen into a cursed sleep. For the last six months, we have been roaming through the sleeping kingdom. Animals are unaffected, and neither are monsters. We have not had any life-threating issues until the daemon.”    “Then you swooped in and saved us, kiddo! You defeated that daemon really easily. My mentor’s husband is the captain of the royal guard, and he’s told stori/es about how it’s taken multiple men and multiple warlocks to take one down! You did it single-handedly! You’re magic is really strong, probably even stronger than the sorcerer’s.” Patton exclaimed, some of the light returning to his eyes.    “They have reverse aura colors as well.” Logan mused. He was right again- they’d said the sorcerer’s eyes glowed yellow when he used magic, and Virgil’s aura was violet. Reversing auras took the most damage against each other. Red against green, orange against blue, and yellow against violet.    “You have to be the one that can save the kingdom!” Patton announced, startling Virgil. “Save you?” The young warlock repeated, his confusion a bitter taste on his tongue. “Indeed. I usually do not believe in something as vague as this, but you seem to be our only option. You have the skill, it seems.” “I’m not that skilled; I’m only eighteen.” Virgil protested. Virgil guessed that if Logan could, the scholar would have been arching a brow. “I do not see how your age plays into account. I was ten when I met with the head scholar and impressed her enough for her to take me on as an apprentice. Patton was twelve when he saved Roman from bleeding out after the prince had gotten hurt chasing after an imp. Age is only a mental barrier, disregarding it allows you to achieve what you desire.” "I'm still not that skilled." Virgil defended. "Falsehood. You heard Patton; taking down the Daemon was not an easy feat to accomplish by one's self. And you managed to slay the beast and without major injury as well. I do not like the idea of dragging you into our dilemma, but I do believe you might be our only hope." "I could go get my Mum! She's a talented witch, she could help you!" "Kiddo, I think you've got what it takes to help us. I'm also not a fan of bringing you into this mess, but I really think you can save us!" Patton walked over to Virgil, placing his paws on Virgil's knees. "Why do you think so lowly of yourself?" "Why do you think so highly of me? You know nothing about me- you met me an hour ago!" Virgil countered, crossing his arms and glaring down at the cat. "Well, you saved us when you could have just run away to keep yourself safe. And even after that, you stayed and healed Logan, which put you at risk because you used so much magic. You stayed and listened to our story, even when it became crazy and unbelievable. Plus, I just know it!" Patton's voice became soft. "My intuition has never been wrong..." Virgil considered what the other had said. The words were heartwarming, that the cursed man could like him that easily. Though, Virgil had a suspicion that Patton could like anyone. The warlock turned to Logan. The falcon had his head tilted slightly, watching his friend interact with Virgil. A curiosity formed in Virgil's mind, and he blurted out, "What about you?" Logan turned his turned to meet the warlock's eyes. "Pardon?" "Do you think I could save Craea?" "I believe it's possible. Patton made several valid points towards your character, and as I already mentioned, you have proved yourself as a talented warlock. I also agree with Patton's intuition." Virgil let out a shaky breath. He had to be dreaming, right? He pinched his arm and winced as subtle red blossomed under his fingers. Not dreaming. His heartbeat began to quicken, and he took in a sharp breath. He was in control here. Not his fear. His mind dropped back to a question he often visited when in doubt: What would his parents do? The answer came easy. They'd both help. If his other could cross a border with a baby while running for her life, and his mum could face dragons by herself, he could do this. "All right. I'll help you. Let's save your kingdom."

TAGLIST

@sanders-trash-4ever

@ilovemygaydad

@icequeenoriginal

@ooftothedab

@ccecode

@agirlinthegalaxy

@analogicallythinking

@kaileah-kat

@residentanchor

@soft-transboy

@no-no-no-no-6

@literally-logicality-trash

@kitkat-the-muffin

@planetkookie

@mac-and-art

[hiddendreamer67]

All Stories Have a Grain of Truth

Part 1   Part 2 By @randommuffinyt

“Patton, you’re back early.” The biologist noted, his normal pattern of observing the creatures that Patton brought back was interrupted by the fisherman racing into the house with a wild look in his normally calm sky blue eyes that was concerning to the scientist. Logan’s brow furrowed in concern as Patton started babbling his recount of being out on the open waves, the tangents about the weather and the feelings he had about fishing throwing Logan for a metaphorical loop.

“Patton. Breathe. I can’t understand you like this.” His voice was almost monotone in a soothing manner that allowed Patton to pause and slowly breathe before staring at Logan with wide eyes and a nervous smile that was reminiscent of a child that had been caught trying to make a surprise for someone they cared dearly for.

“I found a merman!!” Patton finally blurted out with a smile before frowning as he recalled the strange man’s cuts on his hands. “But, Lo, I think he hurt himself when he was trying to free a fish from the line. He also tried to jump out of the boat on the way back here, he hasn’t moved much since i got him back in the water.” Logan frowned and slowly shook his head, the fisherman’s imagination finally got too carried away while he was alone out on the open seas.

“Patton, I feel that I must inform you that mermaids or mermen are impossible. The tales started when sailors were thought to have seen a manatee swimming alongside their ships-” Before Logan could have a chance to finish his lesson, Patton grabbed his hand and pulled him outside to their private dock, bringing him to the boat’s starboard side where he stared at his catch while Logan readjusted his tie and hair from being so rudely dragged outside the study.

“A little more warning next time would be ideal, being dragged is not my preferred…” The words from the professional caught in his throat as he spotted the large striped tail of a lion fish curled in the bottom of the boat’s tank. His dark blue eyes widened as he adjusted his glasses, slowly leaning forward over the side of the boat. While the tail was clearly that of a lion fish, the fins too jagged to be anything else, it was too long to be any normal fish that he had seen. Lion fish could only grow to be 18 inches long, but this tail was easily 2 and a half feet in length. As his eyes traced the strange creature’s body up towards its face, the white of the scales melted into tan flesh with the dark red markings marring it’s perfect… waistline?

“Patton, hook the boat up to the tank. I’ll get the tank ready for them. And whatever you do, don’t touch that striped fish’s… mermans’ fins.” Logan quickly ordered as he actually ran back inside, his mind racing as he flipped a series of switches across the room from the giant tank watching as the back of the tank extended slowly on hydraulics and the top rock at the back opened to create the “fish slide” as Patton called it. His mind was racing, trying to recall every last piece of information that he had learned about Lion fish, from it’s invasive status on coral reefs to the venom on the barbs along its minimum of 13 dorsal spines. No sooner had the boat been hooked up to the slide, then the bottom of the tank opened like a gate to the unknown and the new fish swam in a panic from their small temporary enclosure and into the larger Plexiglas tank.

The large lion fish tail however, slowly sank and slid onto the ramp, Logan’s eyes widening at the human top half of the creature as he slid down the ramp and was safely deposited into the tank. He must have been just over 5 feet in length, the gills on his side gently opening and closing was the only indication that he had survived the shock of being pulled from the deep and was now sleeping peacefully, his eyes closed as his dark auburn hair swayed gently in the water covering his features from Logan’s prying eyes. Faint wisps of crimson came from his hands every once in a while, the appendages tucked near his chest and not easily visible from the front of the tank. It was times like this when Logan was glad that the front of the tank stuck out from the wall, allowing him to walk around the side and observe the mild injuries on the merman’s hands.

“How bad is he?” Patton’s sudden worried tone behind him caused Logan to jump in surprise. He had gotten so caught up in observing the merfolk, that he hadn’t noticed Patton closing the boat’s bottom and re-entering the study. The fisherman’s eyes were a storm of worry for the poor unconscious creature, surely having thought the merman was more seriously hurt after watching him sink into the tank.

“I… I’m not sure. But the scratches on his hands seem minor, as for why he isn’t responding at the moment, I wouldn’t put it past the idea that shock is taking its toll on him. Based of your recount of this afternoon’s events, I would be willing to bet that he passed out after trying to escape earlier.” Logan spoke carefully, all too aware of Patton’s gaze on him as he studied the merman. “If he isn’t awake and responding within 24 hours, I will see what I can do to help him.” His mouth was pressed in a firm line of determination, only to stagger sideways as Patton launched himself into Logan’s side, his arm locked firmly around his waist in an embrace.

“Thank you, Logan!” The kindhearted fisherman beamed as he held onto his friend for a solid 3 seconds too long. “You’re a lifesaver!” The biologist gently bit the inside of his lip, nodding absentmindedly as his mind was too busy trying to comprehend that the merman in the tank was even real. So many questions swirling inside his mind; some about the creature’s eating habits, to its biological makeup, and even if it was the only one of its kind.

“…we’ll see after he awakens.”

(I think i’ll finally give this story a constant title. Thank you to hiddendreamer for helping me with the grammar, its not my strong suit by far. I hope you guys all enjoy and I’ll see you inthe next chapter.)

HiddenDreamer: Yay! More mers! :D and we finally got to meet Logan who seems like such a good boi!

[stars-and-rose]

anything for you

aka emily realized she only writes prinxiety and forgot how much she adores the glasses gays 

this one-shot is set in the “Flowers and Flame” universe, which i began with this one-shot! you don’t need to read it, but it’s about the chaos gays getting together.  

@planetkookie <3, its your boys!

Fandom: Thomas Sanders/Sanders Sides

Parings: Logicality and Background Prinxiety

Summary: Sir Logan Sagacitas has finally gotten his fellow knight to allow him to go on a rescue mission to save his prince. Then things go off the rails, but end up back on the perfect track.

Word Count: 1,793

Trigger Warnings: Cursing, Fainting, Not actual kidnapping

"Are you sure you want to do this? We still can turn around. I can handle R- the Warlock."

Sir Logan Sagacitas glanced over at the more experienced knight. "I am quite certain. I am aware of your skill with defeating the Warlock, but he still continues to kidnap the prince. I wish to speak to him on that behalf."

Logan knew he was not imaging the look of panic that crossed over Virgil's eyes. Every time Logan had suggested accompanying Virgil on  his missions to save Prince Patton, the other knight had  quickly denied him, claiming that 'l can do it alone' or 'You should be here when His Highness comes home.' But Logan had gotten Virgil to agree to allow Logan to come with him. Albeit, Virgil had been tired and slightly tipsy when he'd agreed, but Logan still counted the confirmation as valid.

The two had set off a few days ago, and ever since they'd left the castle, Logan had noticed the odd mix of excitement, fear, and love in Virgil's coffee eyes. It was strange, and Logan was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Maybe…. Virgil was in love with Patton? And he was excited to see him, and fearful that the Warlock had hurt him?

Something clenched in Logan's gut. Damn these feelings. He knew Virgil wasn't in love with Patton- that was him. Logan was the one in love with the prince. Virgil knew of Logan's dreaded feelings for the prince, and would never do anything to hurt Logan.

So, if the love wasn't for Patton… who was it for?

He had heard the rumor's circling around the barracks, rumors that were whispered between new recruits: Virgil had acquired a love interest. But no one knew who it was. Maybe that was it, maybe Virgil just wanted to go home to his secret lover.

Suddenly, Virgil pulled on his reins, effectively stopping his horse. Confused by the sudden stop, Logan also pulled his own horse to rest. "Is there something wrong?"

The dark-haired knight took in a shaky breath. "Okay, Logan... there's something Patton and I haven't been telling you."

Oh god, Patton and Virgil were in love and Logan was going to be heartbroken-

"It's about the Warlock."

Oh, good. Logan's heart would remain from being metaphorically crushed today-

Wait, about the Warlock?

"What is it?"

Virgil sighed, slipping down from his horse, the sunlight making his silver armor gleam. "We're almost there. Let's let the horses rest. We can make the rest of the journey on foot."

Raising an eyebrow, Logan complied to the request, dismounting from his steed and tying the caramel horse to a nearby tree. Virgil did the same and gestured for Logan to follow him. The two followed a worn path through the woods. Virgil's violet cloak billowed in the light breeze, and Logan tried not to step on his own cobalt cloak.

"You were saying before, about the Warlock?"

Virgil flinched. "Ah, right. So, the Warlock, he isn't exactly like what you've heard-"

"Virgil, my darling!" A streak of red came out of nowhere, toppling over the other knight. Logan winced, hearing the sound of Virgil's armor clashing against the forest floor. Surprisingly, Logan heard Virgil let out a muffled laugh.

"Goodness, Ro, you couldn't wait for me?"

The figure in red rolled off Logan's comrade, and Logan took his opportunity to study the scene in front of him. The red one was an unfamiliar male, with soft curls and a gossamer crimson gown flowing around his ankles. Virgil's eyes were bright as the man he'd called Ro helped him up, both sporting a light crimson color on their cheeks.

All Logan could do was arch an eyebrow. "I see that the rumors of you having a sweetheart were true."

Virgil looked over at Logan, a slight grin forming on his face. "Ah, yes, um, this is Roman Lux, my lover."

Roman gave Logan a once over. "Wait a moment… square glasses, cobalt eyes that match your cloak- you're Logan, aren't you?"

"Virgil has told you about me?"

"No, I've heard all the details from Patton."

Virgil's Roman knew the prince? Logan's confusion formed a question, "You know His Highness?"

"Oh, yes, I know him well. He made me this dress, isn't it pretty? He told me he was planning on adding some gold stitching tonight too!" Roman spun, grabbing Virgil's attention immediately.

Logan's mind caught on the last two words, specifically tonight. The prince was currently being held captive by the Warlock; how would he be seeing Roman? Suddenly, Logan stared at the knight's lover's eyes. They were flickering warmly, like an open flame.

Instantly, Logan drew his sword and pointed it at Roman. The ma-, no the warlock, looked down at the blade. "I haven't had one of these pointed at me for months. The last time was when you almost made me lose an eye, Vee. Good times." Logan could hear the fear in Roman's voice as he rambled.

"Logan, please put the sword down, it's not what you think-"

"He's the warlock! The one who has been kidnapping His Highness!"

"Why does everyone think I'm kidnapping Patton!"

Virgil stepped in front of his lover, shielding him. "Logan, he hasn't actually been kidnapping Patton, it's a long story but-"

"What's going on?"

A new, familiar voice cut through the wilderness. Logan turned, and his sword arm lowered. Standing a few feet away was Prince Patton himself, barefoot and wearing a white dress with a pink carnation tucked behind his ear; he was as beautiful as ever. The prince took a few steps forward, taking in the scene around him until his soft eyes landed on Logan. "Lo?"

And with that, Sir Logan Sagacitas, one of the best knights that served the royal family, and possibly the most intelligent man in the castle, fainted.

==============

"Goodness, Lo, you need to take better care of yourself." A voice whispered as Logan slowly woke up. His eyes still shut tight, he felt warm fingers tracing over his cheek and weaving into his hair. "You weren't sleeping, eating, or drinking enough apparently, and that mixed was you confusion made you faint. At least, that's what Roman said, and he's pretty good at healing. You'd be surprised about the number of time's he's healed me. Honestly, Roman is a good man, outcasted for something he was born with. I'm hoping you can see that. It would be really hard to court you if you hated my best friend."

A momentary silence filled the room, and a soft and sad laugh echoed around Logan. "If only you could hear me, but it seems I can only confess to you when you're asleep."

Suddenly not weary anymore, Logan opened his eyes and found himself staring at twin patches of the sky. Patton scrambled backward, the warmth of his hands immediately gone from the knight's cheeks. That was disappointing.

"Logan! You're awake, that's good, ah, do you need anything, I can go get you some water or bread or-"

Logan sat up and raised his hands to calm the prince. "Your Highness, please breathe."

Patton took a deep breath and offered Logan a small smile. "Haven't I told you to call me by my name?"

Logan nodded, looking at the prince. They had discussed Logan using the prince's name, but Logan still didn't think it was proper. But, due to the organ quickly beating in his chest, he put being proper behind Patton's happiness.

"Of course, Patton." Logan tried to stand, but almost immediately fell over. Patton was by his side in seconds, helping Logan back onto the bed. Logan took these few seconds of contact to study the room. They were in a stone room, a bedroom, with two beds and what seemed to be a kitchen area in the corner. A ladder peaked through a hole in the floor, leading downstairs. The walls were covered in detailed painted scenes, and light poured in from a large window.

"We're in Roman's tower." Patton supplied, noticing Logan's eyes wandering around the room.

Roman- the warlock. Logan tensed up, and Patton grabbed his hand.

"Wait, please listen to me. Roman- he's never kidnapped me. The first time I went missing, I was attacked by the Dragon Witch, and he saved me. Every time after that, I, ah, called for Roman to get me away from the castle. I got overwhelmed sometimes, and with Roman- well, he didn't expect me to be a prince. He just wanted a friend, and I wanted an escape. We gave each other what we needed, and he's become my best friend. Then, Roman fell head-over-heels for Virgil but apparently, he couldn't just tell the knight that. It took months, but they talked it out, and they're crazy in love with each other."

Logan was silent for a while, then he finally met eyes with the prince. "Why was I not informed of this?"

Patton winced. "I was afraid you'd think Roman had cast a spell on me or something. And, well, I was afraid you'd think I was weak for needing an escape…"

Logan tightened his grip on Patton's hand. "I would never think lowly of you for needing a respite,  my prince."

A pretty red flared on Patton's cheeks. "I think I like my prince more than your highness."

"Anything to make you happy, my prince. Anything for you."

Patton looked away from Logan for the briefest of seconds like he was gathering courage. Then, the bright blue returned to Logan, and the prince whispered, "What about a kiss?"

Logan almost passed out right there.

Patton seemed to take his reaction the wrong way. "Oh, god, I'm sorry, that was completely uncalled for and I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable-"

Logan decided right there and then he was going to take a chance.

He leaned closer to Patton, their fingers still intertwined and the prince's eyes growing wide, his breathing getting faster. "Are you positive you want this?"

"Yes."

Consent given, Logan closed the gap between them, and their lips met. Kissing Patton felt warm, like coming home after a difficult day and finding fresh cookies on the counter and open arms near the hearth. It was a short kiss, only lasting seconds, but it was those brief seconds that confirmed what Logan had been thinking for a long time.

He was madly in love with Patton.

It was illogical, improbable, and there were so many colossal issues between them courting, but for the first time in his life, Logan pushed all those thoughts aside.

Patton took a deep breath, his eyes filled with the same warmth his kiss had brought. "Kiss me again."

"Gladly, my prince."