#patton is a good parent

[tentacle-therapissed]

Sanders Sides fandom when the character whose entire basis for conceptualization was 'what if your dad was kind of immature and didn't always set the best example' is kind of immature and doesn't always set the best example: what the fuck

[witheringnostalgia]

It’s been almost two years. Isn’t that enough time to start talking to you again? Can I say I’ve forgiven you yet and go back to the way things were?

[demilypyro]

Patton Oswalt’s voice cameo in “Stranger than Fanfiction” has possibly the best backstory I’ve ever heard for a celebrity cameo. He’s talked about it before with his standup routine, but basically he noticed that his daughter was really into MLP to the same passionate extent that he was-and is-into Star Wars. His parents didn’t support his fandom interests when he was a kid, and his daughter had no interest whatsoever in Star Wars, so he figured he should show interest in her favorite media like he wanted from his parents. He knows the lore, too, he goes on like a 2 minute tangent during the show talking about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The second cameo he has later on has a different backstory that still involves his daughter.

That's really cute. He sounds like a good dad.

[let-roman-bite-someone]

i know i've said this before but i'm so tired of people acting like Patton is the general embodiment of morality. as if he is the personification of the legal justice system and everything he does must be good and fair™.

folks, Patton is Thomas's morality. remember what Virgil said in the Q&A episode?

this applies to all of the sides. every single one of them.

Remus wouldn't be the same for everyone, different people have different types of intrusive thoughts. Logan wouldn't be the same for everyone, different people have had different levels of education, different forms of intelligence and different applications of logic.

but the funny thing is, i never see people criticize the other sides for being too representative of their title. they don't reprimand Virgil for making Thomas anxious because that's his job. they don't bash Roman for being a perfectionist. but for some reason, people expect Patton to be a saint who does no wrong.

it's emphasized so clearly in multiple episodes that the sides are the result of Thomas's upbringing specifically. Patton is simply the moral code that Thomas's parents and on a larger scale, society, had taught him.

“Patton was so accepting of Virgil but he couldn't accept Remus or Janus!”

yeah. because it's easier to deal with anxiety than it is to deal with intrusive thoughts. don't get me wrong, anxiety is definitely a serious issue. but Thomas's anxiety never went directly against his morals, if anything, Virgil's perspective aligned very much with Patton's. being anxious about say embarrassing yourself in public or not getting your work done in time is not as morally concerning as having thoughts about murdering your brother.

but Thomas, like many of us, grew up with no one to tell him what intrusive thoughts are or how to deal with them. when Patton was chastising Thomas for having these thoughts, that's just Thomas beating himself up over something he can't control.

the same goes for Janus. Patton had a hard time accepting Janus because Thomas had learned to always be selfless since when he was younger, and Janus was challenging that point of view. when Patton was pushing Thomas to be selfless, that's just Thomas pushing himself and feeling guilty at the thought of focusing on his own needs.

i feel like people think that Patton is actually Thomas's father figure or something. i understand if he reminds you of someone toxic in your life and it can be uncomfortable to watch. but while it's good to relate to the media you are consuming, it's also important to view things in context.

Patton is not a person, he's not an individual who has the freewill to do what he wants. he is only Thomas's morality and what his morals are heavily depends on what Thomas was taught and how he was raised.

Patton cannot control the morals that Thomas had learned. he can only try to implement them in Thomas's life and unless Thomas himself decides to unlearn some of the unhealthy ideals that he has internalized, Patton cannot go against his nature. he can only do what he has been programmed to do, with the knowledge that he has.

[obexes]

CATALYSIS

PT. II

R.C x READER • R.G x READER

Warnings: Smut, Self-Sabatoging Reader, Manipulation, Small Amount Of Dub-Con (Fucking Rafe), Underaged Drinking, fingering

A/N: The next part will be longer, and this might end up being 10 parts bc the plot, oh I'm gonna let it cook. I tried to get this out ASAP, while juggling too much other shit. My mental health is sickly, so enjoy my degenerate fantasies. Feedback is so appreciated and encouraging y'all :)

Word Count: 7.5 K

Sundays were always your favourite thing about your parents being home. The smell of Italian sausage and carbonara had summoned you from your room to the living room, where your family sits spread out around the large room, with their dinner plates.

When you and Nicky were kids, your Mom would lose it if she caught you guys on the eggshell coloured living room carpet with anything darker than water. Ever since Henley and Patton were old enough to eat on their own, your dad has enforced mandatory family time, which was simply eating dinner while watching a movie together on Sundays.

To be fair, despite all the travelling, they tried really hard to be home every Sunday. You took your spot at the coffee table and picked up the only unoccupied plate.

“I’m feeling Marvel tonight.” Nicky commented, twirling his fork around in his pasta. “Or maybe Disney?”

“Turning Red!” “Inside out!” Your younger brothers both called out simultaneously. You bite the inside of your cheek to stifle a chuckle as your mom warily eyes the excited kids, or more accurately, the food balanced on their laps. She’s hopeless, you think freely.

“I’m thinking we should watch Euphoria. Bring some real world problems into this oasis.” you comment, earning a look from your Mom as well. Your older brother's idiot laugh doesn't go unnoticed.

Your Dad raises his wine glass to his lips. “I don't feel like having a stroke at 39. Peter Pan and Wendy it is.” Despite the child-like film, you all cheer as he hits play. Finally you start to dig into the meal your Mom, with the help of little Patton, made.

After you all finish eating, your dad pauses the film. You and Nicky carry the dishes to the dishwasher, load and start it, before making your way back to the living room. Your parents are curled up together and you take the spot on the other side of your dad, while he wraps an arm around you, the boys pile up on the mountain of blankets covering the floor.

As he plays the movie, you find your mind wandering to last night. To what you did in the hot tub at Tanneyhill. To Rafe fucking Cameron. Part of you felt guilty about messing with Roman’ s cousin and lying to your Mom, but the other part of you was burning. Burning to feel his hands on you again, burning to feel that intense pleasure over and over, and burning to know more. And then there was an even smaller part that wanted to know what such an intimate thing would feel like with Roman.

Even though you were still pissed at him for a number of reasons. You never made it back to Rafe’s room last night.

⊱✿⊰

“You're sleeping in my room tonight, gorgeous girl.”

You giggle quietly as he opens the back door and carries you the few steps across the kitchen, to plop you down on the island. “Want some water or something?”

You swing your legs back and forth, feeling the effects of the alcohol you'd been consuming since you got here. “Yes, please.” You turn your head momentarily towards the doorway as you hear light footsteps upstairs. You brush it off, enjoying your inebriated break from everyone else in the world but the man who just made you cum on his lap.

Rafe grabs two waters and comes back to stand between your legs. He moved nervously, you noted. He looked at you, like really looked at you, as he handed you a water bottle. “You okay? How are you feeling after... well- after everything tonight?”

“I'm good, Rafe. I had.. fun.” You reassure him with a small smile, unsure how to phrase it but wanting to reassure him. Which is still more than Roman bothered to do for you.

He gives you his signature panty dropping, schoolboy smirk. His tone is still nervous, however. “So it was okay? I mean, that it was me?” He slides his hands up your thighs coming to rest them on your hips. You could feel a flush of heat creeping up from where he’d just touched your thighs making its way all the way to your cheeks.

“Yes, Rafe.” You manage to say. His touch is intoxicating, his eyes captivating. You find your arms wrapping around his neck, hands burying themselves in his soft, dark blonde hair. “It was better than okay.”

He leans in to plant a chaste kiss to the corner of your lips before leaning back slightly and catching your eye. You tug him towards you and his lips meet yours devotedly. He pulls you closer to the edge, your bodies meeting again, chest to chest. He bites your swollen bottom lip and separates from you only to tilt his head and kiss you even deeper.

His hands move to grip the sides of your ass and you whine against his lips, causing him to grip you harder. Still chasing the feeling he gave you outside, you push your crotch against his as best as you can from your place on the counter.

“Y/N.” He keens,”I'm never gonna get enough of you.” Rafe buries his face in your neck, leaving warm and wet kisses, leaving his hands to grope your sides.

Lost in the lust washing over you, you both hear the telltale pad of multiple pairs of feet, too late.

“Oh shit” A giggle. “Dude!” Disgust.

“What the fuck?” Anger.

Your head whips over to see three shocked teens standing at the entrance of the kitchen with varying reactions. Rafe slowly lifts his head but doesnt look away from you. Your mouth opens and closes, floundering for words. You look between the three and Rafe as you push him away and jump off of the counter.

Nicky and Mia are slowly starting to snicker, but Roman is just staring at you with disbelieving eyes. The other girl is nowhere to be seen.

“Okay, now this. This makes more sense.” Nicky laughs, referring to this morning when your parents caught you and Roman in your bed, asleep.

“Looks like you have a date to midsummers now, Y/N.” Mia comments with a raised brow.

You remain frozen, aside from your bottom lip wobbling and you biting it in a second attempt to keep your tears at bay tonight. How many times can one girl be humiliated in a day? You don't even want to look back at Romans face.

Rafe eyes your wobbly lip and reaches for you, tugging your hand into his. “Hey, wanna go to sleep now?”

“What the fuck is this? What's happening right now?” You look up from your entwined hands, at Romans dubious tone.

“Roman-”

“Come outside, Y/N.” He walks past you both, through the doors you just entered from, ignoring Mia calling his name on the way out.

You inhale a deep shaky breath. Your brother casts Mia a clueless, questioning glance, which she ignores as she's focused on examining you and Rafe. “I should...” You trail off as Rafe squeezes your hand softly, meeting his eyes.

“Its okay. I'll talk to him later, yeah?” He places a quick peck to your head.

“Y/N, what's going on? I feel like I'm missing something.” Your brother comments quizzically.

Rafe moves to usher them out of the kitchen, “Later , man.” You hear him mutter quietly to Nicky, who meets your gaze one more time before turning back to the den area. Mia lingers a second as you squeeze and shake your hands out, nervously.

“He’s never gonna get it together. Not for you, princess. Listen to Rafe, maybe that way you can stop stepping on people's toes and you won't get hurt.” Mia says the words quietly, but her tone of voice makes it clear that it's a threat. She smiles at you and follows in the direction of two older boys, while you do your best to ignore her and choke down all of the unpleasant feelings building up and make your way to the patio doors.

When you open the door, you immediately see Roman sitting on the porch swing with his head back, looking up at the sky with his usual pout. He doesn't move, or say anything so you walk over to him and sit down. Anxiety wracks your body, as you prepare to inevitably have an uncomfortable encounter with the bipolar boy you called your best friend.

You risk a glance at him and are alarmed to see moisture pooling in his eyes, “Roman.” You whisper. “Hey, I-”

“What was that?” He sits up and turns to face you.”Just- what the hell was that?”

Your eyes widen a little at the intensity of his behaviour. He takes one of your hands in his and looks at you expectantly. “Was that just you guys being dumb, or was that -” He stutters for a second and then takes a deep breath. “Or was that something more?”

“I dont know.” The truth, you were too drunk to decipher your current feelings toward Rafe.

“What?” He scoffs. “I just caught you making out with my cousin,Y/N, and youre saying you don't know why?” He drops your hand, and faces forward, rubbing his eyes in frustration. Your eyes narrow at him. He was the one who'd failed to verbally recognize the fact that something definitely happened between you two. He's been avoiding it hardcore for the past month or so.

“No, Roman, I don't. Besides, you didn't catch me doing anything.” You snap. “The word ‘catch’ implies that i’m in trouble, and I can do whatever I fucking want, technically. Nobody else seems to give a damn about my feelings.” You run your hands through your messy hair. Maybe you shouldn't have thrown that in his face but at the moment, he was pissing drunk you off.

The lanky boy looks at you with ferocity lurking beneath his incredulous expression. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Use your fucking context clues.” You cuss back.

He just stares at you as you attempt to avoid looking him in the eyes. For a second it seems like he's going to finally acknowledge the kiss you shared, weeks ago. You see the recognition in his features for a fraction of a second before he’s up, pacing. “You're ridiculous. Seriously, if you think Rafe is gonna commit to you, or treat you well for that matter.”

Your mouth falls open in shock when you hear Rafes name come out of Romans mouth. He didn't just blatantly deflect the topic of conversation, did he? Bastard.

“Jesus, have you lost your mind? You know what kind of person he is, Y/N. I thought you were smarter than that.” He pinches the bridge of his nose as he spews his bullshit.

You take his dramatic, silent irritation as an invitation to add fuel to the fire, fed up with his week-long diversions from the underlying issue in your friendship. “Yeah, well, at least he didn't kiss me and then pretend it never happened.” You stand up and cross your arms defiantly.

Roman sighs a deep, shaky breath of air. “Y/N... Jesus. You really wanna do this, huh?” You look up, toeing the area of grass you'd just been staring at. His face, his eyes, his whole demeanour are pleading with you to stop. “It was my first kiss, Roman.”

He shuts his eyes for a second and you watch as his breathing becomes a little heavier. When he opens them, he starts toward your teary eyed figure but you step back and he stops in his tracks. “Y/N, i'm so sorry. I didn't know that.”

You nod, tears spilling over your waterline and cascading down your cheek into the ground. Where you wish you could disappear. You ignore the pain in your heart. You ignore the way this feels like a friendship ending argument. You ignore his own tears as they begin to meet yours in the soil.

“I know.” You sniffle, you didn't want to punish him. You don't even know what you want from this conversation. This isn't a good idea, you're drunk. You can't ignore the wave of anxiety that hits you, completely out of nowhere. “I just can't do this, Rome.”

You start to back up, but he follows you. “Do what?”

You squeeze your eyes shut and uncross your arms to instead wrap them around yourself. After a breath, you open them. Roman looks regretful. “Do what,Y/N?”

Be your friend, Is what you wanted to say.

“I can't see you right now.” Is what you say.

You turn around before he has time to see your face completely crumble. Panic, anxiety, and heart ache all fight for dominance over the sob working its way up your throat. You swallow it down and go find Nicky. You wouldn't be staying in Rafes room tonight.

⊱✿⊰

By the end of the movie, your two youngest siblings are asleep. With Olivia having every Sunday off, you and Nicky fold up the blankets quietly talking about the film. Meanwhile, your Parents had each carried a sibling to bed to be tucked in. You grab a stack of blankets and carry them into the hall to put away in the linen closet. When you come back to the living room, your Mom is refilling your parents wine glasses, preparing to watch another movie with your Dad.

Nicky makes eye contact with you and widens his eyes slightly, insinuating something up.

“Ah, the gangs all here. Good. Sit.” Your Dad walks into the den and clasps his hands quietly.

You and Nicky both sit down on a loveseat near the front door and exchange a look. Your parents only do these little meetings to drop big news.

“So, nothing major but Wednesday night you're both expected to be home early for dinner. We're having guests over and there's a surprise involved.”

Nicky groans,”Mom, please. If you're pregnant again, I'm getting emancipated.”

You scoff out a laugh at your brother's blatant statement, before covering it up as a cough when you get a look from your Mom.

“Dominique.” Your father deadpans. “If your mom is pregnant, I’ll take you all and run. It isn't that.”

Your mom downs her wine. “This is why they don't have respect, Joseph.”

Your Dad gives her a warm grin and wraps her up under his arm. “Like I said, just be home early for dinner. Understood?”

You and Nicky ultimately agree without too much prying for details. After bidding your Parents goodnight, you both make your way upstairs. Your brother stops at your door as you enter your room and leans against the doorframe. “So....” He trails off and you roll your eyes as you search through your dresser for a large Tshirt, settling on one that Roman left here.

“Yes, Nicky?”

“What happened last night? I saw you mackin’ on Rafe but why was Roman so mad?” He walks further into your room and plops on your bed.

“Nicky!” You whine, batting at him with the t-shirt in your hands. “Get the hell off my blankets, you went outside in that outfit!”

It's Nicky's turn to roll his eyes at your rules, as he dramatically rolls off of your bed onto a pile of laundry on the floor, stretching out like a starfish. “Whatever. So what happened? I noticed that you stayed at the house all day. And kinda have been for a while.” He adds.

You let out a dramatic sigh of despair and slide down your dresser so that you're sitting facing your bed. “I’m so dumb, Nicky. I think I fucked up.”

He sits up on his elbows, facing you. “Wait, what? What's the matter?”

You contemplate telling him everything for a moment. What's the worst that could happen? Then you think back to the last time you asked yourself that question, and any ideas of total honesty dissipate. “I don't know...” and then, you remember. “What did you mean when you said that me and Rafe made sense?”

He sits up all the way and musses his hair. “I don't know, I was drunk, Y/N. I guess I always just assumed you’d rebel against Mom and Dad. Rafe would make sense for that. More sense than your childhood best friend.”

"Me and Rafe are friends, too.” You point out, although you know it's not the same.

“Not like you and Roman.”

You contemplate this quietly. Nicky comes over to where you're sitting and plants himself beside you.

“Listen sis, I don't know what the hell is going on, but you can tell me if I need to kick someone's ass. I won't ask questions.”

You shake your head sadly. ”It's not like that. I just did a dumb thing and now I have to live with it.”

Your older brother stands up and ruffles your hair. “Well, that's nothing new, is it? Goodnight Y/N/N.”

“Goodnight, Nicky.”

He shuts your door and you change into your shirt before turning on your fan and hopping in bed.

After about 15 minutes of staring at your ceiling, trying to make sense of your feelings, you were over it. You were agonising over whether or not to check your phone for a text from Roman and beating yourself up over what happened with Rafe. You flip over and grab the TV remote. Deciding to listen to something scary, you settle on a rerun of the Paranormal Activity films and turn back over, letting the TV lull you to sleep.

Not 10 minutes later, when you're almost out like a light, does your phone begin ringing quietly on the nightstand. You register the noise and flail under the covers, frustratedly. You snatch your phone up and accept the call, barely registering the name on the screen.

“What?” You almost growl.

“Wow, hello to you too, beautiful.” Rafe’s deep voice rings through the speaker.

“Do not disturb means do not disturb, not call twice, Rafe.” You can't help your tone, your anxiety keeps you up most nights, and you were so close to ending the night on a good note, moments before.

“I'm sorry, I’d take any option that guaranteed your attention.” He laughs.” Did I wake you up?”

“Yes actually.” You sigh, readjusting your covers from the flail. “Did you need something?” “Can I come over?”

“Seriously, Rafe? Its-” You pull your phone away from your cheek and look at the time, faltering.

“Only 9 P.M.? Exactly.” You can hear his smug face over the phone. “So?”

You feel queasy at the thought of seeing Rafe, despite being so explicit with him the night before. It felt like a betrayal to Roman in a way because you two hadn’t spoken since the fight last night where he expressed his disapproval of Rafe and you together. Although a small part of you doesn't care about his opinion, after his blatant disregard for your feelings.

“I don't think that's a great idea, Rafe, my parents are awake downstairs.” You try.

He’s quiet for a second, and then there's an incoming facetime from him. You answer the call and you see Rafe sitting up, shirtless, against his headboard. He has to fight his smile, seeing you laying on your side, hair cascading around your shoulder like a waterfall of curls.

“Is it because of last night?”

You mentally smack yourself for answering a call where he can see your face. Rafe always knew when you were lying. When you guys were 12 and 13, you covered for him when he broke one of Wards Golf awards and he figured out that you had a tell. You couldn't make eye contact.

“W-what?”

“The real reason you don't want to see me.” He says in a bored tone. “Is it because of Roman?”

“No.” You roll your eyes.

“Dont lie to me, Y/N.” The dominant tone he's taking right now has you rethinking your previous statements.

“Fine, yeah. It Is, Rafe.” Pulling the covers up to your chin. “He’s one of my best friends, and you're his cousin. It feels weird that things are like this. I can't stop thinking about that stupid fight.”

You hear shuffling on Rafe’s end and then the sound of keys.

“What are you doing?”

“I'm comin over.” You start to protest but he cuts you off. “I'm gonna take your mind off of it.”

He ends the call and you're left staring at the screen dumbfounded. Now that he’s ended the call, you see a whole slew of texts and missed calls from John B and Kie, and even JJ asking you to join in on the boat day they had today. Nothing from Roman. He was usually always the first to cave after an argument, seeking you out almost every time. The lack of contact, admittedly worried you.

You sigh, sitting up in bed now. There are so many questions swirling around in your head. What was Roman thinking about? Was he still angry with you? What was Rafe thinking about? Was he going to try something? How were you supposed to hide yet another boy in your room without invoking your Mothers anger? More importantly though, how did you look right now?

You spring up and run to the ensuite bathroom. Your hair, once pinned up with a claw clip, now falls loosely around you with flyaway curlies everywhere and you wore only Roman’s T Shirt and a pair of boy short panties as makeshift PJs. You pull your clip out and stare at the excess tendrils of hair falling around you, trying to finger comb them down.

“Is it even worth it, for real?” You ask yourself as you eye the brush that would no doubt make your situation worse. Deciding that, no, it isn't worth it, you grab your mouthwash and gargle a mouthful before spitting it out, rinsing your mouth, and washing your face.

Back in your room, you realise how hot and stuffy it is. You unlock the balcony doors that face the ocean, so that Rafe can get inside. Then you pad across the floor and unlatch your bedroom window, going to open it for the breeze but nearly screaming out loud as it's pushed open, seconds later. “Ahh!”

Rafes hand shoots out to cover your mouth as he precariously balances himself between your windowsill and the branch he's perched on. He gives you an exasperated look. “Jesus, I literally live 5 minutes away. Move.”

You clutch your chest and take a step back just as he pushes off of the branch and pulls himself through the window. “Why didn't you just climb onto the balcony, you could've fallen.” You comment as he steadies himself.

Rafe examines your face, stepping closer. “Your Mom had all the trees near it cut down, remember?”

You’d forgotten about that. As soon as you turned 15 your Mom had to escape-proof your room because of an incident involving a party, a week prior. Which included cutting down the trees near your balcony and removing the garden trellis that crept up right beside it, leaving only an old oak tree beside the window that was across from your bedroom door. “Oh, right.”

You back up and sit on the edge of your bed, patting the spot next to you. Rafe pushes his hair off of his forehead as he takes a seat. The sound of the movie playing is all that can be heard as you both quietly observe each other. He looks really good in his simple blue tee and basketball shorts, and you can't help the natural, girly giddiness you feel.

“You look really pretty.” he starts.

Letting out a small laugh, “Shut up. I look like I was about to go to sleep. You look good though.” You go to smack his chest playfully, but he catches your hand.

“You're still the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.”

Your heart flutters a little at his words, but you quell it and withdraw your hand slowly. One thing Rafe and his cousin had in common was their notoriety as two of the island's biggest playboys. “Don't say things you don't mean, Rafe.”

Rafe smiles at you knowingly, yet you don't know why. “Remember when we were like...” He thinks about it. “I was 9 and you were 8. We were playing hide and seek with a bunch of other kids at Olivia’s garden party?” He questions.

You remember. You’d gotten locked into the old outdoor cellar, while trying to use it as a hiding spot. You'd been locked in for what felt like hours as you plotted a way out, the music and ongoing party drowning out your cries. As a kid you remember thinking you’d be down there forever, You nod, telling Rafe to go on.

“You had all the other kids going crazy, we all thought you’d gotten kidnapped but we were too scared to tell anyone.” He chuckles at the memory. “But then you walked around the side of the house covered in dirt and I remember being so happy to see you. Even though you were crying and looked like a mess, running for your parents. You were the prettiest girl to me then. You're still that same girl, now.”

You make a face, scrunching your nose. “Why is my near death experience such a significant memory for you? I could've died, digging that little tunnel under the door.”

“But you didn't.” He laughs, ruffling your hair. “Jesus, you suck at accepting compliments.”

“Yeah, well, you kinda suck at giving them.” You smack his hands away, smoothing your mussed hair. His eyes shoot to your bare legs as your T-shirt rides up. Then they flick up to scrutinise the shirt itself and you wonder if he’ll mention anything about its owner.

Instead he tugs at the hem of it with a sudden mischievous glint in his eyes. “Anything under here?”

You blush. “Rafe, shut up.” You weren't expecting Rafe to be here right now in the first place. In fact, you'd tried to avoid it. Just because you guys got drunk and fooled around didn't mean you suddenly were into Rafe. That's just what teenagers do, right? Yeah, he may look like a god and he always smells good but you didnt wanna risk your friendship with him or Roman further.

“Make me.”

His fingers slip past the hem, teasing their way up your thighs. Your breath hitches in your throat, and you swear you stop breathing. But when his fingers brush too close to your clothed pussy, you snatch at his wrist and he looks up at your face, fingers frozen over your core.

“Rafe, what do you want?”

“Honestly?” You nod, matching his heavy eye contact.

“I just wanna make you feel good, baby. ” He inches his face closer to yours, while you slowly start to forget why you stopped him. “Right now I really want to make you cum on my fingers.” He only breaks eye contact as he presses his lips against yours roughly. You loosen your grip on his wrist, your inhibitions melting at his actions.

He takes the opportunity to press his thumb against your clit, eliciting a soft whine into his mouth. Your breaths mingle together, hearts beginning to race in sync with the electric tension that's filling the air.

Rafe cradles your face gently in one hand, fingertips tracing the delicate lines of your jaw as your tongues swirl against each other. His warm touch causes a shiver to go down your spine and he smirks into the kiss. You feel his heartbeat against your chest as he lowers you onto the bed, his fingers stroking you over your panties.

“Rafe,” You coo against his soft lips. “Keep touching me there.”

“Yeah, Princess? Like this?” Rafe drags his thumb around your clit in circles, increasing the pressure. Your hips grind involuntarily towards his hand as you nod, a moan escaping your lips.

“Shhh, be quiet.” He presses another short kiss to your lips, letting go of your face to yank your shirt up to your belly and focus his gaze on his handiwork.

Rafe continues to tease you, your panties preventing you from feeling his skin. He looks up at you, watching your reaction as he ghosts his fingers over your entrance again. You were suddenly filled with a longing for something more - an indefinable desire that was rooted in your core, and it made you shiver with pleasure.

Rafe smiles smugly as he watches you, his gaze tender yet smouldering. He leans forward and kisses you, your mouths exploring each other with an intensity that takes your breath away. With each kiss, your concerns about Roman faded away, replaced by something new and exciting and unbearably sweet.

When he finally pulls away, Rafe drags his hand away from your pussy to brush lightly against your hips, tracing a gentle line along the curve of your waist. You shiver again, skin prickling with pleasure as he moves his hands lower.

To your surprise his fingers lace between yours, and he gently tugs you towards him. “Do you want me to keep touching you, baby?” You nod desperately, extremely flushed. “Can you keep quiet?”

You nod again and before you can protest his fingers are in your panties. He teases you slowly, and his breathing becomes heavier. You're lost in a world of sensation as his thumb finds your clit again, beginning to create blissful, swirling patterns.

His fingers slowly trail lower, to your entrance, and you can feel your body responding to his touch, almost dripping over his fingers. Your skin is alive with a pleasure you've never felt before.

Rafe groans while you throw your head back as he begins pushing his index and middle fingers inside of you, the stretching sensation too intense for you to take it. You grab at his forearm as he begins pumping his fingers in and out of you, the heat from his touch making you moan.

”W-ait.” You attempt to push his arm away but he holds you in place with his free arm, his pace becoming more insistent. The painful stretch begins to fade into something much more pleasurable.

“Let me make you feel good,Y/N.”

Rafe moves his fingers at a quick pace, repeatedly stroking against your G-spot until you're a whining, moaning mess. As you begin to feel yourself nearing an orgasm, you silently beg him to stop before you could release, as if that would make this any better. Rafe, however, seemed to be enjoying your reaction and continued his assault, his fingers sliding deeper and faster.

You felt your entire body ignite with a pleasure that was both overwhelming and exquisite. Your hands find his shirt and you ball it up in your fists, feeling yourself release, squirting on his hand and your covers. You’re screaming muffled profanities into Rafes palm as your orgasm finally engulfs you. Your body goes limp with relief, your breathing ragged as you lie there, trembling.

Rafe withdraws his fingers and sits up, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. You lay there for a few moments, trying to process what just happened. You felt embarrassed and ashamed, but at the same time, you couldn't deny the pleasure you had just experienced. As you slowly sit up, fixing your panties, Rafe's smirk widens.

"That was quite the experience, hmm?" he says in a smug voice.

You could feel your cheeks flush and you quickly look away, your heart pounding with a mix of emotions. Rafe leans closer and puts his hand on your shoulder, turning you to face him. "Hey, It's okay," he says softly. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I'm just glad I made you feel that good. That was fun right?"

You nodded, your face still flushed with embarrassment. You look away again, not wanting to meet his gaze. ‘It's just that... I didn't expect it to feel that way. I'm kind of overwhelmed. Sorry if that sounds stupid.”

Rafe pulls you into his chest and wraps an arm around you. “It doesn't sound stupid. I get it, I've never seen a girl squirt before, either. I'm sorry if that was too much.”

You roll your eyes, as he can't see you, at his boyish thoughts. "It's fine, Rafe.” You pull away from Rafes hug and stare at your carpet awkwardly. Sensing your hesitance he looks away from you nonchalantly, “You tired?”

Seeing the question as an out, you meet his eyes and nod, feeling the atmosphere in the room change. His smile is small, disappointed. “I'll see you tomorrow then? Or Wednesday?” You furrow your eyebrows. “The dinner that your parents are hosting..?”

You remember your Dads statement earlier, the dinner and the surprise. “Oh, okay yeah. You're coming?”

“Yeah, So are Olivia and Roman.” Rafe replies as he stands up, wiping his cum covered hands on his shorts. You internally cringe at how awkward this interaction is turning out to be. It's your fault, you have to fucking ruin everything. You nod your head as if you aren't mentally cursing yourself out. “But hey, Y/N?”

You meet his expectant stare. “Yeah?”

He kisses your forehead before backing towards your window, smirking as he opens it once again. “I took your mind off of it, didn't I?” And with that he's gone.

⊱✿⊰

He did not, in fact, take your mind off of it.

Two hours later, you're still awake, staring at your ceiling fan trying to drown out the negative thoughts eating you alive. You had a tendency to overthink, and with that came anxiety. The best remedy for your anxiety was alcohol, which not only did you not have access too at the moment, but it also caused you to make dumb bitch decisions, occasionally. You couldn't help but crave it anyways.

You felt incredibly guilty and even ashamed that you let things go that far with Rafe, especially given the fact that he didn't seem to be concerned about your actual feelings about it.

As the minutes go by and sleep evades you, you give up rolling over to pick up your silenced phone. You have a slew of unanswered notifications but one name immediately catches your attention. Sitting up in bed you click on the notification, fast as shit.

45 Minutes Ago

Romeo: Jelli bbeen

Romeo: com to our beecfh

Rome: Plz im srory

Fuck, I'm a horrible person, you instantly hit the call button, knowing that he’s drunk off of his ass. When the call goes to voicemail straight away, you hop out of bed and throw on a pair of shorts and crocs, slipping quietly out of your room determined to go make sure he's okay.

You pause at the top of the stairs, listening for the sound of your parents, when you hear nothing you creep down the carpeted stairs slowly.

FInally reaching the back door, you slide it open as quietly as you can and creep outside. Shutting it behind you, you turn around to walk towards Romans house when you spot a figure, down on the beach, near your family's dock.

You curse under your breath and hurry towards the figure. As you near, you can clearly see Romans broad torso hunched over, one arm laying on his knee holding a bottle of Jack and the other stuck in his extremely messy hair.

“Rome.” You call softly so as not to startle him.

He raises his head slightly, back to you, but doesn't move otherwise. “Jellybean?”

“Yeah... it's me, what's going on Roman?” You put a hand on his shoulder, sitting down beside him. “What are you doing sitting out here? It's almost Midnight.”

Roman looks at you in a mixture of melancholy and clear intoxication. His lips twitch into a slight frown, as if he is going to cry, but only momentarily, before he takes a shot and hands you the bottle. You take it, gratefully. “I needed to see you, talk to you.” He’s slurring, dangerously. ”I really fucking hate what happened yesterday.”

Before you reply you take a shot too, and sigh. “Which part?”

“All of it. I really fucking hated it all, guppy.” He turns towards you, his demeanor slightly more defeated than a minute ago. He was naturally a manic person, but when he was drunk, he went from tough guy to busting out every pet name in the book in hopes of being babied. “Seeing Rafe touch you, seeing you like it.... us fighting.”

Your eyes widen, slightly. “What does that even mean, Roman?

Roman stares at you with his sad green eyes, dejectedly. “I want to fix it. I fucked up and I want to fix it.” He taps the bottle in your hand and you hold eye contact as you take another drink, passing it to him afterwards, him doing the same.

“It's not entirely your fault, Roman.” You let your eyes fall to the sand between you. You hated lying, but you didn't know what was going on in his head and telling him about Rafe being in your room, less than 3 hours ago, would possibly just serve to make him more upset. “I shouldn't have kissed Rafe.” You omit the part about you grinding and cumming on his dick, for Romans sake.

He grabs your hand in his and pulls you to scoot closer, you do. “Ya’guys only kissed cuz’ I never talked to you about us.” he says. “M’ sorry if I hurt you baby. I love you, Y/N. I really fucking love you.” He cups your face, dragging his thumbs across your cheeks.

You hold your breath, deja vu from a few weeks ago hits you square in the chest. This is exactly how he kissed you the first time. You've wanted to hear those words from him for weeks, hoping that he was secretly in love with you too, not while he was this heavily inebriated, however.

You gently grab his hands and squeeze them, lowering them so they are between you both. “Maybe we should talk about this in the morning, bubba?”

Roman's lip starts trembling, barely noticeable, at the nickname. “Y/N, no. You deserve an explanation, please let me explain.” He whines. “I do love you. It wasn't about you.” He looks at your joined hands for a moment before placing a kiss on your knuckles and peering hesitantly up into your eyes.

You couldn't help but want to hear him out. Your heart constricts as he begins speaking in a pained voice. “It's my Mom, Y/N. Shes fucking insane. Do you remember, 9th grade, I was with Allie Mcentyre?”

You nod, pensively. You'd been friends with Allie that year, because she was dating Roman, before she abruptly cut you off. Roman seemed not to care, so you didn't either. “Yeah before she ditched us.”

He grimaces. “She didn't ditch us, Y/N.” You furrow your eyebrows in question. “She was the first girl I ever brought around Mom, and the entire fucking time, she gaslit and- and lied an' manipulated both of us." Roman pauses as he hiccups, and gathers his words. "She would text her cryptic shit from my phone and then delete it so that it seemed like her angry texts were random, she’d tell her that she wasn't good enough for me and me the same. Allie told me she didnt want to see me anymore after my mom told her mom that I’d been having sex with multiple girls at a time.” He chuckles. “I was still a fucking virgin. She just wanted to ruin what I had. I realized she’s only going to let me be with someone that she chooses for me.”

“Roman...” Your mouth opens and shuts while you process your next words. “Im so fucking sorry, that I didnt know about that. That's literally insane.”

Roman chuckles drily, you pull him into a bone crushing hug. “It's okay, I didn't tell you.”

You squeeze him and pull away. "I shouldve been there for you, I'm sorry."

Roman shakes his head, placing a hand back on your cheek, thumb resuming its soft, delicate strokes. “No. I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve the way I treated you. I love you, jellybean, please don't be mad at me.”

You gently press your palm against his hand but this time you don’t remove it. “I could never stay mad at you, Roman. I love you too.” How could you ever be angry with this side of him? Nobody ever gets to see this side but you. The whiskey stupor you were beginning to feel caused you to zero in on the tall boy beside you.

His lazy, responsive smile is so boyish and sweet, it makes you buzz with desire, and briefly you recall wondering what it would feel like to do what you did with Rafe, with Roman instead. They are different in more ways than they were similar. Roman is hard and broken, but his pure heart radiates through the cracks, whereas Rafe was a tried and true asshole, though you had to confess you didn't know him as well as you knew the boy in front of you.

“Y/N?” Roman bites his lip and a slight frown forms between his brows as he glances down at your lips. “Can I kiss you?”

In lieu of answering, you tangle your hands in his hair and pull him to you, desperately connecting your lips. You caught Roman off guard but he quickly grabs ahold of your waist in his free hand, managing to hastily pull you onto his lap.

As your mouths slowly move together, a warm electrifying feeling spreads through you, time seems to slow down, allowing you to focus solely on his lips and the emotions they were making you feel. His hands find yours, intertwining them with his, solidifying the bond you two were experiencing.

You couldn't help but think about the way Rafe kissed you earlier, only in that his kiss was much less intimate, yet more hungry and physically intense. WIth Roman, it was a slow dance of tongues and lips meshing that made you soaked for him in a completely different way. You purposely rolled your hips over his and he groans, squeezing your joined hands. You break the kiss and lean back slightly, admiring the boy who has your heart.

“Hmm, baby?” His lips look a delicious, puffy red and his eyes are half lidded, he looks so sexy right now. Before you could help it, you’re grinding your pussy against his member again, both of you letting out satisfied moans at the friction. “Y/N, shit. What are you doing to me?”

The whiskey in your system has your body acting on its own, out of sexual frustration from the months of built up tension between you two, desperate to explore it with him. You just let his cousin finger fuck you. Fuck, two shots wouldn't be enough.

You pick up the bottle of Jack Daniels, resigned to the choices you were about to make, and downed two or three shots. You force yourself to ignore the burn, and Romans drunk, questioning gaze as you tipped his chin and poured some into his mouth. He shakes his head with a grimace, swallowing down the shitty tasting alcohol.

Without wasting a beat, you begin peppering kisses along his neck, and he lets out a spur of dirty, drunken noises from the back of his throat.

“Does that feel good?” You can't help but tease your clit along his clothed erection again, body moving intoxicatedly of its own free will, chasing the friction his shorts provided, as he struggles to answer and resigns to nodding. You move your mouth up to his ear, sucking softly on it before whispering, “Roman, I want you so bad, want you to fuck me.”

“Wh-” Instantly his hands are on your hips, pushing you slightly back. “Jellybean, what?” He seems almost instantly sobered as he examines your features. "I thought you were a virgin?” You flush at your own obviousness, feeling it even over the warmth of the alcohol coursing through you.

“Well... I mean, I am. But, I want you to be the first.” You grip onto the bottom of his shirt, glancing down, doing your best not to appear as the tipsy, desperate slut you feel like.

Roman sighs heavily, closing his eyes for a second, squeezing your hips gently. “Y/N, I dont know about you, but Im really fucked up right now.” You nod, still not looking up but he lowers his head, forcing you to meet his eyes. “I want it to be good for you. I want it to be special, not like this, pretty girl.”

Your eyes begin to well up quickly, in humility at the perceived rejection and you look out at the ocean, wiping at your tears before they can fall. “I'm sorry, Rome, I'm so stupid. I'm sorry.”

“Love, you aren't stupid. Believe me when I say I want this as bad as you.” Roman shocks you when he removes your hand, that's clutching his shirt, to place it on his hard length. “This is what you fucking do to me, baby. And when the time is right, I won't just be the first, I'll be the last too.” He gives you a lopsided smirk and a delicate kiss on the lips.

You offer him a small smile in response, he was being such sweetheart and you felt horrible. At the forefront of your clouded brain, you were desperate to replace Rafe's touch with Roman's as if it would erase your prior actions, but you shove it to the back, focusing on his reassurance. "Is that a promise?"

“Of course, it is. I know I've been so wrapped up in my own head, trying to keep everything...normal, but I don't want to do that anymore.” He pulls you close again and rests his forehead against yours. “I want this, baby. I want you.”

No, no, no. Roman, dont. Not right now. The guilt is going to crush you. You look down. “Will you be my girlfriend?” His hopeful eyes await yours.

You're quiet for a beat too long before you slowly look back into his expectant face. “I can't, Roman... my Dad. You know how he is.” It's bullshit, but he doesn't know it. Yeah your dad would have an aneurysm but you didn't care in the slightest. You had to make sure that Rafe wouldn't say anything about what you guys did, and break things off with him first, before you made an even bigger mess. Roman was wasted, he might not even remember this in the morning.

Romans face falls a bit at your words. He just promised to endure his mothers psychopathy for you and you wouldn't even return the favour? You hate the look that flashes across his face and hurry to reassure him. “I'll talk to him, okay? After dinner on Wednesday.”

He nods somberly, “Yeah, okay. If you want to.”

You grab his face and plant a kiss on his pouty lips. “I do, Romeo, don't worry. And I promise, I will.”

He laughs at that, loving the nickname. You made many mistakes, but you wouldn't let this be one of them. The feelings that the boy under you made you feel, compared to absolutely nothing else. At least that's what you keep telling yourself.

[tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors]

you mentioned in the tags of that burnout post that its been 6 years and you still havent gotten to everything you wanted to in laoft, just out of curiosity are there any fics youve had in mind since the beginning/early on that youre still planning on writing but havent yet?

mostly prequels ive referenced but never gotten around to actually writing

the time as young teens/middle schoolers roman fell out of tree, hit his head and lost consciousness and logan had a week-long catastrophic meltdown about it (this is titled 'logan and the terrible horrible no good very bad week' in my documents)

a fic about very early LAMP dealing with/talking out romans habit of agreeing to or initiating things he doesnt actually want to do in order to protect himself from anything he perceives as them being mad at him

midquel during what you choose to put in the ground, were patton and logan discuss roman the day after meeting him and whether or not theyre going to try and be his friend

Virgil misunderstanding a human cultural thing because of movies/tv and assuming its like, Legally Required Of Him to ask permission of LMPs parents to marry them, so he goes to shelley first sweating bullets and shelleys like 'oh sweetheart' and we get a little bonding moment for them

more companions to Wit where i show all of the lamp combos moment of Realization when they fall in love

silly tea leaf reading fic that been languishing 3 sentences long for like 5 years

may and night!roman the first time she teaches him magic

logans flower shop opening

death threat jar.... TWO

gc goes camping

may and roman visiting abby's grave when he's a kid (9-10) and him feeling conflicted about it because he doesnt remember her/worrying he doesnt love her 'enough'

a more bittersweet companion to Requiem with Linda and Remus and their families

i really want to do more guidebook entries but i got a new computer and lost my copy of clipstudio and cant figure out how to get it back XD so i have to wait until i figure that out or buy a new copy

May + virgil hurt/comfort reminiscing about Greta and Trudi.

Dot and Larry romance fic featuring alternating cheerleader and heckler abby

analogical word association games (analogical because logan has a ginormous vocabulay and virgil is hundreds of years old, so the goal winds up being trying to say a word the other doesnt know or doesnt know enough words to play off of)

We've had badass protective LAM but i have one for Patton thats languishing as well

Virgil stumbling up on the Gage's hunting blind, which used to be Greta and Toby's house and is now derelict

fae specific idioms vs wickhills specific idioms

fire poker drama with roman and dot - he finds out about it and is uuuuuh. unhappy, to say the least

roman doing knot/weaving/braiding magic like his mom on his and linda's hair

a day in the life of dr. emile picani the only psychotherapist in a town full of magically traumatized people only he is qualified to treat (AKA So Much Pressure)

Dot and Larry with a very young Logan realizing that they have a child who physically can't lie and that it would therefore be extremely easy for them to violate his boundaries and privacy without even meaning to, and them talking about how to handle that

theres other stuff in the someday file, but these are the once ive had from or almost from the start

[analoceits]

I have a feeling Logan isn't good at shapeshifting because he overcomplicates it. Like the atoms and organs and he hates having his body be fantastical

EXACTLYY YOU GET ME. also here is MORE tss body horror hc's that werent in the og post:

logan: if hes in an "unrealistic" body [think: puppet logan] for any long amount of time, he will break down, as he starts asking questions. how is he sentient and aware? how is he breathing? after a while, he'll end up as a gory puddle of pure panicked breakdown and one of the twins will have to fix him. he'll usually end up Checking his own organs after this. just to make sure.

patton: though the inside is.. uh. Pretty Simple. he has one organ: the heart! it is exactly what a 5 year old would think a heart is. it Beats Too :D. also, any "sharp" parts of him (aka teeth and nails) are.. Soft, like Plastic. sometimes they will come loose. their will be No Blood. it makes logan Viscerally Uncomfortable.

roman: though his body is Perfect, as previously mentioned, when hes alone.. hes willing to play with it. make it art. hes cried tears of blood before. sometimes, whenever he feels too fake, he'll take himself apart. just to make sure. just to make sure. (him and logan are alike in too many ways)

virgil: he is a glass canon. his body is fragile, any stray thought he has is susceptible to hurting him (what if im having a heart attack? what if this cut hit a vein?) but. whenever he feels the other sides are in danger? he is horrifically strong. like a parent with a child in danger, he will punch hard enough to break someone but shatter his arm in the process.

janus: though he tries his best to hide it, remus and virgil Know intimately how sick he is. sometimes, he gets poisoned with his own venom and seizes up for hours. in the winter, hes in and out of consciousness, with no rhyme or reason. he gets wild mood swings too, occasionally loosing the ability to feel affection for hours or days, as snakes cant feel that. it terrifies him.

remus: besides logan and janus, his body is painfully realistic. he takes it farther though. his shapeshifting is never.. clean. its all disgusting and gross and like shoving all his organs and bones into a new bag and all the terrible consequences that come with that. as well, he doesnt heal instantly like the other sides. no. he lets it stay as long as it takes.

[dukeyeatsdeodorant]

Moceit ship dynamics (Or moceit au's?) that tickle my fancy the most!

Tattoo artist (Janus) x Florist (Patton)

Cunning Prince Janus x Baker boy Patton

Parent Janus x Teacher Patton

Villain Janus x Hero Patton

Good omens AU Moceit. Too sweet for its own good.

Moceit as Roomates

Anything thats them sharing their animal traits with the either (Snake and froggie)

Cupid x Anti cupid or Cupid x Grim Reaper (that might be closer to a moxiety thing, but things can be two things at once!)

Anyways enjoy this small list, have a lovely day/night/evening.

[bugtoonz]

hii!! what headcanons do u have for the moonbase trio (362, 86, and 60)?

i always thought it was funny they were called the moonbase trio, bc isn’t patton stationed in like antarctica lol? anyways they’re super fun and i’m excited to talk about them!

for Rachel, i 1000% believe that girl lives on coffee. i know it’s like the equivalent of cocaine in the knd universe, but there’s no way she runs a worldwide organization of kids and isn’t majorly dependent on caffeine. that being said, since she’s also one of those said kids, she definitely piles it high with sugar and creamer. the sugar intake is probably worse for her than the coffee part😭 i also feel like she’s pretty tall. like especially now since she’s young, but even when she gets older i can see her being above average height. it’s definitely something she appreciates because it makes it easy to look down at people disapprovingly when they go against her orders. also, her and chad used to be super close. he was basically her older brother and the one that introduced her to nigel. since she’s soopreme leader, she’s aware of the teens next door, but Chad became somewhat distant after his fake-betrayal, and it’s something that really hurt her.

for Fanny, this is kind of random, but she’s definitely the kind of girl that reads fairy books about friendship and girlhood. she tries to apply what she reads to her real life, but for some reason it’s a lot harder for her to be kind and understanding than it is for Princess Sparklewand of Fairylandia. i also think that the reason she has an irish accent, despite having grown up in the same town as Sector V is because her parents are divorced, and she splits her time between Mr. Boss in Vermont and her mom in Ireland. it’s easy to do both when you own your own spaceship/aircraft/boat. her and her brothers all have her mother’s last name because she refused to change it when she married Mr. Boss and also refused to give her children his surname because she’s the one who had to give birth! it’s no wonder fanny is the way she is. her little brothers spend more time with her dad, though, which is why their accents are american. as much as Fanny bullies them, she’ll bully whoever tries to do the same to them 500x harder. she’s very protective of the people she loves.

i think Patton is really funny. he’s a total hard-ass that knows the KND rule book like the back of his hand, but also a total softie when it comes to his cadets. i feel like he’s from alaska. he seems rugged enough to be able to live there. i also feel like all of his time spent in freezing cold climates means that a trip below the equator might actually make him melt. Fanny doesn’t let him stand to close to her at the beach because she’s worried he’ll get his gross boy sweat all over her. Patton is also, like, super awkward outside of the work setting. someone get this poor boy an etiquette manual or something!! it’s not his fault he spends all of his time running drills and locking up villains. a lot of operatives avoid him because they always think he’s mad, but that’s just how he talks. he gets really confused when he tries to say hi to someone and they run away crying.

as for like their relationships with each other, Fanny has a huge, massive crush on Rachel that the latter is oblivious to. Rachel in turn sees Fanny as one of her closest friends, but also thinks she could maybe take a chill pill sometimes. Fanny and Patton have a sometimes-not-so-friendly rivalry with each other over which one’s the toughest out of the two. that being said, Patton is one of the few boys Fanny will tolerate, mostly because of his similar no-nonsense approach to work. Patton and Rachel are also good friends, and Patton has a lot of respect for her. when Rachel stepped up as Soopreme Leader, he was the first to back her campaign. Rachel likes Patton a lot, but he also needs a chill pill. it’s okay though, she loves her neurotic besties. (birds of a feather and all that)

[not-your-average-highschool-au]

✨Random facts about each character✨

Logan has a pet turtle named Donatello

The first official musical Roman saw was a middle school production of “Into the Woods” (only the first half) and he’s been thinking about it ever since

Patton owns a Polaroid camera and in my original character sheets (seen on Instagram), some of his pictures were shown as a way to show that the character sheets are suppose to look like pages of a scrapbook he made

Virgil wears a flannel for ✨narrative purposes✨

Remus likes science class cause things can explode in there

Despite what people might assume, Janus actually has a really good home life (his parents are frickin precious like my gosh-)

[prodigal-explorer]

okay i have a wild concept

a heroes and villains au

in which janus and virgil are villains

and patton is a hero

patton is also the father of roman and remus, two young boys whose powers are that they were born with wings.

but patton horribly mistreats roman and remus, caring more about them becoming heroes than their well-being’s. so in order to save the kids, janus and virgil kidnap them and introduce them to the villain life. as the children grow, virgil and janus discover that while remus’ wings work great and he can fly very fast, roman’s wings are defective. he can’t fly at all. now, the kid takes it in stride and he realizes that he’s very good at other things, but the wings on his back are completely useless.

when janus and remus realize how vulnerable roman is, with wings that don’t work, they keep him inside while going on missions. remus is allowed to come with them and fight heroes, but roman is not, because it is just too dangerous for a powerless kid to be anywhere near adults with powers.

roman starts to resent this as he becomes a tween, and he decides that he wants to become a hero to spite his overprotective parents and brother.

so he runs away, and goes to the hero headquarters to try and get recruited, lying and saying that he has perfectly functioning wings so that he gets let in (hey, he’s a tween, his brain isn’t that developed yet). and he is thrilled that he’s finally being treated like he’s powerful.

but patton sees roman. and he believes that roman is trying to infiltrate the hero headquarters for virgil and janus, since he saw remus working with virgil and janus and he thinks roman is being groomed as a villain in the same way.

so he tells roman to meet him at the rooftop, and they spar. patton just wants to put roman in his place, to show him that he’s weak compared to the heroes, and he shouldn’t even try to go against them ever again.

and to really sink that lesson in, he shoves roman off the roof, thinking the boy will just fly away.

but roman can’t fly.

(what happens next? does the poor boy fall to his death? is he rescued at the last second, perhaps by a young hero named logan who has always questioned pattons methods, and now realizes that the hero headquarters is a lot more twisted and cruel than he first thought?)

[krayonkiddos]

agere outfits!

im sure it’s obvious but just in case, the order goes patton, roman, logan, virgil, janus, and remus :3

i’ve never made outfit collage things before, so i hope y’all like these!!! i did my best haha

now for ages and headcanons and such under the cut :3

patton:

age range: he usually reaches like,, tiny baby age. i originally thought he’d be a bit on the older kiddo side cos i thought it’d be cute if he was like “i wanna help take care of the others even if im regressed” but nah his brain is like “you’re an infant now, let others help you whether you like it or not” ksjdjfkf

he’s nonverbal when he regresses, aside from the occasional single word sentence (such as “up!” or yes and no, though he usually nods or shakes his head for that)

it actually took him a while to realize he was an age regressor. he was the last of the group to realize their regression (though everyone else had their suspicions lol)

he doesn’t have a specific caregiver, everyone kinda takes turns caregiving, but baby patton is very (hilariously) attached to remus. his nickname for remus is “mouse” because he can’t really say remus or duke. mouse is just easier (roman is a bit jealous of the affection baby patton has for his brother, but he’ll take that to his grave)

roman:

age range: he goes from roughly 5 to 7, a bit younger if he regresses from stress

he started out being a rather proud regressor, not wanting to accept help from anyone. nowadays he’s the opposite, being extremely needy and clingy lol (no one really minds)

if you think he loves disney when he’s big, hoo boy little him is alllll about it lmao. he’s especially into bluey, watching at least one episode every time he regresses (and usually it’s not just one lmao)

big him isn’t really the biggest fan of remus, but when he regresses it’s a different story. he thinks of remus less as an annoying twin brother and more like a cool uncle that lets you do things your parents wouldn’t let you do. he’s embarrassed by this in a non-regressed state, and it doesn’t help that remus teases him endlessly for it lmao

logan:

age range: similar to roman, roughly 5 to 7, but much younger when stressed. he also has a tendency to age up slightly when others regress in his company. like if he’s seven, but patton goes baby mode, suddenly he’s twelve. not fully out of the headspace, but not as young as he’d prefer

surprisingly, he can be a bit of a brat. i mean this with love lmao. when he’s on the younger side, he has to have everything go his way or else. he also doesn’t handle rejection well. the others learned this very early on, and they each have different ways of dealing with it. but little logan’s smart and caught on to that, so when he needs or wants something, he chooses the big side he goes to carefully. little schemer <3

when he’s on the older side (or really when anyone is younger than him, which happens a lot), he becomes very protective. especially of patton, since he’s baby. he’s surprisingly good at knowing what patton needs, and verbalizes it on his behalf

when he’s feeling sad or stressed, he goes immediately to virgil. and if he can’t go to virgil for whatever reason, he goes to virgil’s room and lays on his bed. or, if he can’t go into virgil’s room, sits outside virgil’s door. virgil is his comfort person <3 or- comfort side. whatever kajdjfkf

virgil:

age range: he’s a teen regressor. like, 14 to 16 ish. he gets even more emo when regressed and no one knows how it’s possible skdjfkfkf

he has a paci he rarely uses, and it took a long time for him to become comfortable using it. he only really uses it when he’s particularly stressed (which, i mean, he’s kinda always stressed lol but the paci is basically for emergencies)

he’s an extremely protective older brother to everyone, and is almost like a caregiver even when regressed. on days where everyone’s regressed (as rare as they are), it’s him against the world lmao though he can enlist help from thomas (or remy if thomas is asleep) (remy only shows up in the mindscape when thomas is asleep)

he doesn’t need a caregiver since he’s always old enough to care for himself, but there are days when he goes to janus. he’s always mortified by it when he ages back up, but when he’s in the throes of teenage angst he needs janus’s support more than anything. he’s just grateful that janus doesn’t really bring it up when he ages up

janus:

age range: usually about 3 or 4, and doesn’t really go outside of that

lil dude loves hissing. but not like mean hissing, just excited hissing. he just goes “ssss!” and everyone knows he’s happy. the hissing is usually accompanied by hand flapping. stimmy lil snake <3

loves giving everyone hugs all the time. he just clings and won’t let go. he’s probably given the most hugs to either patton or roman, the latter of whom is basically always caught off guard by it. patton was caught off guard the first few times but has since adjusted (and happily so)

much like how little patton is very attached to remus, janus is extremely attached to roman. initially, roman wasn’t a fan of this, as he wanted as little to do with janus (both big and little) as possible. but once the two of them managed to bury the hatchet (as in, janus actually apologized), roman didn’t mind as much. it took a bit to become fully comfortable, but now roman is quite fond of little janus (and maybe big janus isn’t so bad <3)

remus:

age range: he could be any age, really. he doesn’t have time to figure out how old he is, he has mischief to get up to. he’s usually pretty capable when regressed, so he’s probably older than most of the others. he doesn’t act like it tho lmao

dude loves aliens. wants to be one. also pirates. his aesthetic can be summarized as alien pirates. or pirate aliens? thats actually why janus has an alien stuffie, it makes him think of remus <3

loves messing with the others when they’re also regressed. says things like “you’re now aware of your own breathing” and no one is a fan <3

definitely the most physically active of the regressors. if he’s not running, he’s jumping. and if he’s not jumping, he’s running kajdkfkfkf bro wears everyone out, even fellow regressed sides. the only one who can calm him down fully is janus, but only when janus isn’t also regressed. if janus is regressed he’s joining in on the chaos

thats the end of the post. i love these guys so much <3

[blackoutbugza]

an au idea i had

patton is a father of four. he’s a usual dad; funny, protective, into sports, sweet to everyone, doesn’t swear or the one that says “there’s no swearing in this household!” he is against alcohol, but he doesn’t confront logan about it harshly.

logan is his husband. he’s a wine and cig momma obviously. tired, never wearing efficient clothing, swears the most, and the kids call him mom because they already call patton dad. he drinks way too much but tries not to expose the kids to anything. he tries to be a good parent, but he’s still trying to get his life together.

roman and remus are their two oldest, being 15. roman has the passion and love of patton but the anger issues of logan. remus has the upbeat energy of patton, and the feral swearing of logan. the two always fight, but can get along when looking after the younger two.

virgil is the middle child, being 12. he gets really nervous around logan because of his aggression so he depends on roman and remus for a lot of things and was basically raised by them and patton. he nerds out to remus about a lot of things and plays a lot of games with roman.

emile is the youngest at 8 years old. he is a little quiet like logan but they’re both great listeners. he has patton’s happiness, loving personality, and smile. roman got him into disney and remus and virgil got him into cartoons. he looks up to his parents the most.

janus is logan’s brother and the kids’s uncle. he also drinks but not as much. he comes to visit every little while and knows a lot more than everyone. him and patton are friendly, and remus sees him like a third dad. janus’s daughter is named dolores, the dragon witch.

dolores is the kids’s cousin. they call her the dragon witch because of her obsession with the wings of fire series and the dark academia aesthetic. she’s very intelligent for her age, being 14 years old. she’s very close with the twins, mostly remus, since her and roman don’t get along too often.

[lefaystrent]

In the Frostweald Forest

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Pairings: platonic Moxiety, Patton/Virgil

Summary: On the night that Patton overhears that his parents intend to sell him to pay off their exorbitant debts, he runs away to a place where no one will be able to find him.

A cursed wood of eternal winter awaits.

AO3 Link: click here

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

On the night that Patton overhears that his parents intend to sell him to pay off their exorbitant debts, he runs away to a place where no one will be able to find him.

The pine forests outside of his village are cursed. As the story goes, an elemental behemoth known as Errevon invaded through a rift from the Elemental Plane of Ice. Along with his army and a white dragon, Errevon sought to encase the continent in an eternal winter. Stories say he even constructed a towering ice citadel in the middle of the continent to act as his fortress. But the elves of Syngorn and the dwarves of Kraghammer allied with humans for the first time, and they beat him and his army back and closed the rift.

Hundreds of years later, the scars remain.

Most of the year, the Frostweald Forest is blanketed in snow. Even in the summer months, the woods are home to a bitter cold. And if that isn't enough to deter people from traversing inwards, the monsters would make any fool regret entering.

Patton wonders what monsters he may encounter as he crunches through the thin-layer of snow in the dead of night. His boots slip on frost patches occasionally, and he struggles with the rucksack hanging from his shoulder. He doesn't know why he brought supplies, as if he actually thinks he'll survive out here for longer than a day. He's never set foot within the Frostweald. Most sane people don't.

He doesn't feel entirely sane at the moment. He tried to be a good son. He thought his efforts counted for some measly crumb of worth. That if they could not love him as parents should, that he could still find ways to not be a burden.

Instead, he overheard that he is worse than a burden. He is collateral.

Selling people isn't legal. He could have gone to the authorities. But the thought that no one would believe him... Or if his parents managed to sell him before that, and what these unknown people would do to him...

If Patton is to suffer or die, he will choose how. Of course, maybe he doesn't have to die. Maybe he could have run to a different city. He envisions the relief of making it to the coast and bargaining for passage on a ship to flee the continent. He could start a new life abroad.

The thoughts, imaginary or not, melt into his bones thick and heavy. What could have been meets reality. It croons in his ears and tells him to just stop walking. Lay down on the cold, wet ground and let the forest eat him alive. What good can someone like him do anyway? Isn't that why he came here instead?

And yet, he walks on, a meager sack on his shoulders and a weary hope in his heart.

***

Surprisingly, Patton survives more than a day.

Most of the snow thaws gently in the high noon sunshine. The wind remains, lashing at Patton's face and surely turning them ruddy. He tugs his threadbare coat close and minds where he walks, wary of stepping on more mundane dangers such as sinkholes or snakes. The more prevalent dangers prowl more openly, and Patton is quick to duck and hide when he catches sight of beasts. He crawls into rotting logs or burrows into dead leaves. Anything to mask his presence.

A couple of times, he spies humanoid figures walking through the brush. He can't be sure what they are. They could be fae. There's a portal to the Feywild said to be lurking within these woods. Patton shudders to think what they would do to him if they found him, or if he accidentally fell into the portal. He pays special attention to erasing his breath in those moments.

Stay still. Stay quiet. Stay alive.

The woods are barren of signs of life. Not because nothing is living out here, but because all the prey know better. Birds do not sing, and the fear of discovery discourages Patton from so much as humming. The incredible hush could make a whisper sound loud. It's not all bad though. Aside from the eeriness, the forest is beautiful in its own way. He likes the large pine trees and holly bushes and snowdrops. He finds edible berries, or he thinks they're edible, and he collects them as he goes and hopes it doesn't kill him later.

Eventually, he comes across a spider's den. It's a large cavern entrance draped in gossamer webs. With the size and volume of the silky strings, Patton thinks there must be either one huge spider or numerous small ones. Perhaps both. Either instance is nightmare fuel.

The most crucial observation is that the area around here is relatively bereft of other creatures. It could be that this is the biggest predator in the vicinity and everyone else acknowledges that this is its territory. It's almost peaceful here. It would be nice if Patton could ask the spider if he could move in next door. He would promise to be as unobtrusive as possible, if he could just have a safe little hidey hole to live in.

Patton nearly laughs. If he so much as looked at the spider, he would run screaming. Nothing scares him more in this world than creepy crawlies that have too many legs.

It goes to show you though, how different you think you would react in a situation versus how you actually do react.

Because the spider returns to its nest while Patton hides in the bushes nearby debating his next move. It is tall, at least by ten feet, probably more, and even wider. Its legs bend and move in hairy symmetry. And the oddest part is that it's not completely spider. Atop the front, the spider's body changes into a human torso, arms, and head. It's a pale human top with a black spider bottom. It's an intriguing horror and Patton can't tear his eyes away.

The spider person walks towards the cave entrance, unhurried and carrying a bundle of something in its arms. Their arms? Could this be a regular person that was cursed? Or maybe it's a creature from the Feywild. Can they talk? How intelligent can they be? What does something like that eat?

As Patton contemplates, his body-which he had been so observant in not moving a muscle-betrays him and he sneezes before he can smother the action.

The spider startles and drops the bundle. It hits the ground with a weak thud, like cloth or similar material. The face, a human face, looks in Patton's direction. And their eyes– Gods above, there are too many eyes– they look at Patton, straight at him, and there's realization igniting there.

Patton's cover is blown. He can't find the will to scream or run or plead for his life. If the spider person were to charge him and cut him down, he would go into death silently.

But the spider doesn't charge at Patton. They skitter back, almost diving into the cover of the cave before remembering their bundle and freezing for a moment. Two moments. Glancing between Patton and the bundle as if weighing their options. Then the third moment hits and they scurry forward again to snatch it up and dart away, disappearing into its own hidey hole.

Patton lingers for a while. A part of him is convinced that if he doesn't move, that means he was never seen. Mostly though, Patton runs the memory of the incident over and over in his mind.

Why did the spider person look so scared?

***

Against his better judgement, Patton does in fact set up camp in the spider creature's territory.

There's a lot of reasons he justifies it. Again, he tells himself that this could potentially be safer than other areas of the forest. If he can just stay hidden from the spider, then he won't have to worry about anything else in the spider's territory. Another reason he thinks is that at least this monster is half human. Half-people can be reasoned with, right? More so than full monsters. If Patton is confronted, he might can plead his case. Better yet, maybe Patton can prove useful to the creature in some way? Failing that, the spider probably won't eat him, just drain his blood. That would be a kinder death than most out here.

But the real reason? Patton is curious.

Does the spider person live alone? How long have they lived out here? Do they get cold? Or lonely? Can they talk? Why didn't they hurt Patton? Why did they look at him like that?

As the days pass, Patton theorizes on the spider's existence. It's a lovely distraction from the cutting cold and aching hollowness inside. Patton is not brave enough to confront the spider and confirm his theories. But he can still think about it all he likes.

The spider either does not realize Patton has become their neighbor or doesn't care enough to do anything about it. Patton found an outcropping of rock that buffers nicely against the wind, and it's hidden enough amongst the vegetation. No critters or spiders alike have bothered him, so maybe it's simply that well-hidden.

Patton eats the berries he collected and doesn't die. He finds a freshwater stream with fish and constructs a trap to nestle in the current. He finds some regular animals trapped in webs. Patton doesn't touch the fresh ones, but the ones already drained of blood? He figures their bodies have been abandoned and should not go to waste. He skins hides from deer and rabbits, and he breaks off antlers to use for crafting.

He survives.

He survives until he feels like he wants to live again.

There is plenty of timber around to use for construction. Patton brought a few tools from home and there are some he's made here. He stays busy by building small pieces of furniture to make life a little more hospitable. And when he's not doing that, he whittles. It's something that he did before, to calm himself, and it's a good reminder that he can find beauty anywhere.

Patton carves a little wolf statue. It's howling at an unseen moon, and he wishes he could at least paint it, but he's proud of it regardless.

Throwing caution to the icy wind, Patton takes the wolf to the spider's den and leaves it outside the entrance. The spider doesn't see him this time, or if they do, they certainly don't come out. Patton hopes that they may accept his offering as a sign of peace.

Occasionally, Patton does see the spider out of their cave. It's inevitable; he's in their territory after all. Patton never forgets this fact. Constantly, he checks over his shoulder for danger. If not from the spider, there are rare instances where neighboring monsters encroach. Patton becomes and expert at hiding and holding his breath. No one seems to notice him. The spider doesn't look his way again.

Patton shapes a duck figurine next. Then a moose. Then a bear. Pretty much going from animal to animal. He continues to take stupid risks and leave them outside the spider's den.

Notably, Patton never glimpses his previous gifts. They are always gone the next time he sneaks by with the next one.

When Patton goes to sleep at night, he likes to think that the spider has collected them all and keeps them on a shelf somewhere. He wonders if the spider looks forward to each new one as much as Patton enjoys leaving them. And on the nights he lays awake, when the shivering becomes too much and his teeth chatter so hard they rattle his skull, and when the hollowness eats him from the inside out, he weeps alone and imagines the spider as a friend who would spare him a kind word or two.

***

Weeks into his new existence, Patton discovers his generosity repaid.

He's just returning from a successful trip to the river. He's been gone awhile. Although the stream isn't that far, it's made more difficult to get there while trying to stay as stealthy as possible. Patton doesn't mind the difficulty. He's not got much else going on in his life. Nothing to rush back home to. No one to miss him.

As he approaches his camp sight, he notices something shiny hanging from a tree limb. It's almost directly in front of where he ducks to pass into his hidey hole of a home. There's no more prominent spot that a person can pick that screams, "Hey, look at me!"

Patton looks to find that the shiny thing is a necklace. The necklace string is some kind of strong, smooth white fiber, and the adornments hanging from it are a series of small rocks. Some of them are gemstones, an emerald here, a sapphire there, while the rest are unidentifiable, yet very pretty stones. It's not the kind of jewelry Patton would normally see people wear, well-off people or otherwise. There's no real design to it other than a bunch of pretty rocks strung together with no rhyme or reason.

It's absolutely gorgeous and Patton adores it.

He begins wearing it every day. The stones click wonderfully together against his collar, muted under the cover of his shirt, and they are smooth under his hands whenever he fiddles with them or simply holds them for comfort. If there are any illusions as to the purpose behind the necklace and why it was left for him, they are dispelled as Patton finds more items. He leaves his camp, or he goes to sleep, and whenever he returns or awakens, he'll find there at the same pine tree a silk embroidered scarf, or fur lined coat, or a basket of fresh strawberries.

There's only one entity that Patton is aware of that shares a home in this area of the woods. One that could move about this frequently in the spider's territory. The spider themself may never have been seen leaving the gifts there, but Patton knows in his heart that it must be them. Patton's carved figurines were not a waste of effort. They did not disappear in disdain. They were cherished so much that the spider wanted to return the favor.

Patton accepts the gifts with dizzying happiness. He keeps the cycle going and leaves the spider a miniature rocking horse. The spider next leaves a bundle of flowers that could not possibly have grown in the Frostweald.

The next step would be to thank the spider in person, but Patton isn't brave enough for that yet.

But maybe one day, he will be.

***

The night before an incoming storm, Patton finds one of his most favorite gifts: a practical, yet beautiful blanket. It's a lovely work of crochet, black and white diamonds stitched on the top of it and smooth and soft to the touch. Underneath is fluffy wool lining. It's wonderfully thick and warm, and it fills Patton's heart with joy that someone is looking out for him.

He pictures it, the spider looking up to the skies, seeing the clouds loom overhead and the winds picking up. How the temperature already drops at an alarming rate, and the spider surveying it worriedly while thinking of what they can do to keep their human neighbor comfortable through the storm. Because a storm is surely approaching. Patton's shelter has improved by leaps and bounds these past weeks, but the weather has been admittedly docile. He's not sure how it'll hold up against bludgeoning gusts of ice. The blanket will make things more bearable, certainly. He will have to make something extra special next to repay his friend.

Shortly after nightfall, the winds begin to howl and something patters the ground outside. Tiny flecks of hail at first that seem to grow in size, the weight of them intimidating in their clamor. Patton doesn't dare peek out to confirm it, but he can hear it well enough. He hunkers down deeper in his coat, his scarf folded around his face, and curls up into a ball under the wool blanket and various other hides he's made a pallet from.

It's freezing, brutally so. This is by far the coldest night he's experienced thus far in the forest. It will be a long night of shivering with no rest. He even made sure to eat and drink very little before bunking down for the night. He would hate to have to take care of bodily needs somehow in the middle of all this.

There's a makeshift door that Patton built a while back to fit the entrance. Another animal hide has been utilized to cover one side of it, twine sewn in to tie it to the surface in hopes that the cold air cannot seep through. The wind beats against the structure now, and Patton prays it will hold. It's already tough enough. He's scared he'll be at risk of hypothermia if the door flies off.

Much like most nights, Patton takes solace in thoughts of his spider friend. He wonders how they are fairing through the storm. Do they get cold? Do they get scared? What does the inside of their cave home look like? Is it safe? Is it warm?

Patton wishes at times like these he could cast magic. Not many people in his village could, but a few could do some cantrips. Minor spells that could change their eye color or snuff out a candle. There was one girl who lived there for a few years as the carpenter's apprentice, and she could make little flowers and fruit grow out of nothing. She gave Patton a handful of grapes. It was the first and last time he had tasted them.

Strange that he thinks of home fondly in times like these. There were simple comforts and brief acts of kindness that Patton treasured. He wouldn't be wishing he could summon fire if he had a proper hearth. Maybe being sold to slavers wouldn't have been so bad, if they at least gave him access to a fireplace.

Patton chuckles. Is that all it would take for his resolve to crack?

No, he's just miserable right now, that's all.

And in that misery, he hears something awful that has him bolting upright on his pallet.

It's an echoing cry that breaks the night and overcomes the sound of wind and ice. It is haunting as it is terrifying. Patton has never heard such a sound. He can't fathom what it could be until after it stops and starts again.

Wolf. The wind isn't the only thing howling out there. But what could make one sound like that?

Patton wraps his blankets more securely around himself, but he can't manage to settle his nerves enough to lay back down. He sits perfectly still, ears prickling and waiting for each throaty howl. It's far enough away. The bad monsters don't come this close in. Maybe it's just a wolf that got lost in the storm. Maybe nothing will come of this and Patton will laugh about it later.

Many scenarios drift in his head. It's deep into the night, his body is exhausted from all the shivering, and it's scarily easy to dissociate from what's actually happening. He fully believes for a few minutes that it's just a wolf that got caught in one of the spider's web traps. Sad though it is, that is life. Patton wishes though that the poor creature didn't have to be trapped out in the storm. The cold would kill it before the spider could.

But alertness comes crashing back into focus when the howling cry comes much closer. It is not a distant thing anymore. Patton can hear the rough low growls of an animal hunting. He can hear a body stalking through the brush. He listens in abject fear as it creeps closer and closer...

A sharp bark just outside his door has Patton flinching. It's right out there. It sounds big and snarling, voice guttural and angry. No, not angry. Hungry. It's rummaging around for food outside. How can it be so brazen in a storm like this? Why isn't it finding shelter to wait out the storm? Why can't Patton be left in peace?

Answers don't come. They're not important anyway, in the scheme of things. What matters is that a snuffling has begun at his door. Something wicked is on the other side, sniffing him out, and Patton has never been so panicked since coming to this cursed forest.

Adrenaline pumping, Patton shucks off his blankets and grabs his axe. He doesn't truly think he can fight anything off with success, nor does it make him feel much better to be armed. But his body moves on its own and seeks out safety. He stands up as much as he can in the limited space. He won't die sitting down, at least.

To Patton's horror, he sees a glow emanate around the door. The pitch-black space is invaded by pale blue light. A cracking, shifting, breaking– what is going on? Something forms around the door, geometric shapes in the crevices, jutting out and expanding up the walls. It's loud and jarring and cold. So cold. Patton can see his breath now.

It's ice. Whatever the wolf creature is, it has power over ice.

Oh. No wonder it's fine being out in the storm.

Patton realizes this just as something barrels into the door, sharp and swift. The hide tears and the wood of the door caves in halfway. Patton grips the handle of the axe grimly and watches a second battering enough to splinter the door completely into pieces.

It's indeed a wolf, the largest Patton has ever seen. Its head is as tall as Patton. The strong, thick muscles are encased in white fur with more glowing ice shards growing out. Icicles hang from its open jaw, and the teeth appear to be the length of Patton's forearm, maybe longer. It happens so fast, and his fright is certainly skewing things out of proportion. But there is a very real threat that has broken into his home and wishes to eat him.

The wolf growls.

Patton doesn't hesitate. He lunges and embeds the blade of the axe into one of its gleaming blue eyes.

The beast roars and Patton can feel it reverberate in his chest. The head rears back in pain and the axe is jerked out of Patton's hands, the metal left sunk into the eye socket. He is weaponless now, and his gloved hands are spattered in freezing blood. It's so cold that it burns him, causing him to have to swiftly shed them.

Luckily, the wolf was not expecting its prey to bite back. It's either wounded enough or startled enough to back off and clear the entrance. Wind sweeps through, Patton barely feeling it against his chilled skin. The wolf could duck back inside at any second, and his home is already compromised.

Patton let's instinct take over. He scoops up his whittling knife and races outside into the hailstorm. Immediately he is pelted with balls of ice, and the larger pieces thunk harshly against his head, but it's a small matter. Thankfully, the wolf illuminates the space enough that Patton knows exactly where its hulking form writhes in pain. It's pawing at its face, and out here in the open, it seems so much bigger and more threatening.

Into the dark Patton runs. There's no other choice. Either he stays and dies, or he flees and perhaps escapes with his life. The wolf could lose interest now. It could possibly be more concerned with the axe in its eye, giving Patton time to escape.

But he's just not that lucky. The beast gives chase with thunderous steps, paws hammering in a thrumming cadence. The glow catches up but is too dim to light the way for him. Patton is still running blindly into the forest, praying every step that he doesn't slip or faceplant into a tree. Desperation fuels him, and the muscles in his legs burn as he gives sprinting his all. He feels like he's flying.

The wolf is faster. Patton's only warning is a coughing huff before claws shred down his back. Patton gasps soundlessly. It's sharpness and fire and cold cold cold. He can't tell if he's bleeding or how much. He hears the fabric of his wonderful coat tearing. The air rapidly numbs the exposed skin. Perhaps if it were warmer, he could feel the extent of the damage. The numbness gives him the edge to react.

Although he stumbles, Patton uses his momentum to spin around. In one motion, he brings the knife up in both hands, striking upwards and predicting that the wolf would be closing in.

His fast judgement pays off. The knife pierces the furry flesh of his tormentor, close enough to the neck that there would be volleys of blood were Patton to yank out the knife. He doesn't. Though it would do more damage and he could keep the weapon, he can't risk more of the freezing blood on his hands. If his fingers freeze too stiff to move, it won't matter if he keeps a knife. So he pushes it in as deep as it can go, aided by the wolf lunging forward, and he releases it as soon as he can to try to push away.

Patton cries out as the wolf manages to clamp its jaw around his shoulder at the same time. There will be holes in his coat, and Patton can feel the pointed edges piercing his skin, but it could have been deeper had he not been wearing the coat or ruined the wolf's attack by injuring it. As it is, the wolf releases Patton almost as soon as it's bitten him. It yelps and shuffles away, shaking its head now with two weapons sticking out of it.

Patton doesn't wait for it to recover. He spins on his heel and dives into the dark. He runs and runs until his lungs threaten to collapse. He knocks into pine branches, and he slips on ice and crawling roots alike. He can't stop though. He has no time to assess the damage. He jumps up and keeps running.

The glow doesn't follow him this time. It's awhile before he notices or realizes that the only sounds he can decipher is the wheezing of his own haggard breaths.

Still he runs, unable to shake the feeling that he is being chased. Where is he going? He doesn't know. He just wants to feel safe.

He smacks into a tree, not a pine this time. It's one with a thick trunk and low hanging, hardy branches. Patton can't keep running like this. He grabs hold of the branches and climbs. It takes precious, teeth-chattering minutes. His fingers can barely keep ahold. His legs are like jelly, struggling to support him. The air hurts his throat and aches in his chest, and he wants to give up, but he doesn't until he cannot find any more branches within reach.

In the darkness, he can't tell how high he's ascended, but he's sure a fall would be fatal. He lays on his belly and wraps his arm around the branch underneath him. There, he breathes and breathes until he wants to sob.

He's lost his home again.

He's bleeding, but it's so cold he can't tell how bad it is. There's a tackiness on his back that pulls when he moves. The torn strands of his coat are probably stuck to the wounds in a layer of ice. He whimpers but won't be able to do anything about it until the sun rises.

He will die from blood loss or the cold before then.

Patton sheds no tears, but his heart weeps all the same.

***

It is a grueling night.

Patton cannot genuinely think of a worst night in his life. For hours, he slips in and out of consciousness. He tries not too. You're not supposed to fall asleep in the cold like this. He moves his limbs as much as possible to keep the blood flowing. He hides his freezing hands in his sleeves or brings them to his neck. Anything that will keep the frostbite away.

At one point, he jerks awake, breathing rapidly and convinced he was nearly slipping into death. He sits up after that and leans against the trunk. His back is stiff, as well as hot and cold at the same time. He leans more on his shoulder in an awkward pose. If he survives, he'll probably die from infection anyway. How funny would that be?

The wolf never returns. Patton idly wonders if it died or lost interest. He used to love dogs. He'll never be able to look at one the same way again.

He drifts like that for hours, lost in thoughts that he can barely hold on to. The storm eases over time. Patton opens his eyes to snowfall. Huh, the sky is lighting up.

He's laying down again on his stomach next time he opens his eyes. He wonders why he's bothering. He's going to die here. Can't he just go peacefully?

Something rustles in the forest. It must be what woke him. It's an odd sound that rushes over the forest floor. Kind of light and almost silent, were it not in such a hurry. Maybe someone was late for breakfast? What a weird thought...

Patton hears it again but closer. He opens his eyes and blinks to clear away the blurriness. There, about a hundred feet away or so, is the spider.

Patton smiles. He thought he would never see his friend again. At least he gets to see him before he goes.

The spider is bolting through the trees, kicking up pine needles as they go. Their legs march in tandem, a flurry of spindly crooked things, moving with haste. Where is the spider going? Patton will never know. The spider leaves seconds later and Patton wants to giggle.

Later, Patton is roused again by the same sound. The spider has come back. He doesn't know how long has passed. Could be minutes or hours. The morning light isn't much brighter. It must be cloudy. The snow continues to fall and a blanket of white covers the earth.

The spider whips their head around, searching. Their dark hair slaps against their face. They dart closer than before, and their many eyes investigate something that Patton cannot see. The spider crouches at intervals, sweeping the snow away, searching... But they don't find what they're looking for, or they're in too much of a rush to look properly. They skitter off to another spot. They look behind a tree, pry back the gnarled mass of a dead bush. Their pace increases in their frantic need.

Patton thinks about calling out and asking what they're doing. He might could startle the spider, at this rate. So far, the spider hasn't seemed to notice him, not looking up much.

But the spider leaves again and Patton has waited too late.

Patton begins crying for real now. Why didn't he just say something? Can he still not trust the half-creature? Does he not consider them a friend? What does he have to lose now?

Nothing. He is nothing and he has nothing and he will die with nothing.

"Please," Patton whimpers from chapped lips. It's too late now, but he calls out anyway. "Please... don't go... please."

He thinks of his parents who would not love him. They raised him. They knew him. And they chose not to love him.

Does the spider have parents? Does the spider have anyone? Have they ever known love, or are they as lonely as Patton?

If Patton could have one wish, he would have been braver from the start.

"I'm sorry...please..."

The patter of legs dance across the ground. The spider breaks through the trees with renewed energy and looks all around in a frenzied state.

Patton sobs out, "Don't go."

His voice is thin and weak to his own ears. Somehow though, the spider hears him instantly. They snap back their head and their eyes meet. Patton is brought back to the first time, weeks ago, or months now? When they first met. The spider had been scared.

The spider is still scared. They stop short and survey the surroundings before looking over Patton again. He can feel those eyes gazing up and down his body. Does he look as banged up or frozen as he feels? Does he look tasty?

Whatever internal struggle the spider wars with, they come to a decision. A couple of slow steps forward, at first, and then they are racing over to clamber up the tree. It's pretty impressive how elegant the spider makes it look. All too soon the human half hovers over Patton while the spider legs stick to the trunk.

"Please," Patton asks. He doesn't know whether he's asking to be spared or have his suffering ended.

The spider's eyes, eight of them– they are not so dark from this close up. They're amethyst colored and reflect in a way that make them shimmer softly. They're pretty actually.

The spider's mouth moves, forming words that Patton cannot hear. There are fangs peeking out behind the human lips. They don't seem so scary after the wolf's toothy maw.

Patton doesn't respond and the spider seems to come to their own conclusion. They shrug off a jacket (oh, they're wearing a jacket! How did Patton miss that?) and they swaddle it over Patton. Patton doesn't flinch as it touches the wounds on his back. He can't feel much now.

The spider slips their arms under Patton, maneuvering him until he rolls carefully over into the spider's chest. The spider wears a long sleeved purple shirt. Patton's cheek presses against the material, and underneath he feels the shocking warmth of the spider.

Patton shivers briefly and goes all the way limp. When did he stop shivering? That's not a good sign. Neither are the black spots swimming in his vision.

The spider's lips move again and they're looking down at Patton with a pinched expression. They're worried. That's sweet.

A subtle roaring stuffs up Patton's ears. It clouds his mind. The world fuzzes over, and soon he knows no more.

***

When Patton wakes again, he is buried beneath a mound of blankets. It's beyond soft and warm. Too warm. He sweats lightly, and he shifts in discomfort followed by a stretching pain in his back. He whines once and stops moving. Moving equals bad and he's so tired.

"Are you okay?"

The voice is gravelly and low like it's unused to speaking, but it is without a doubt another person's voice. It has been a terribly long time since Patton has heard someone else's voice or had a conversation. As tired as he is, he forces his eyes open.

He's in some kind of room. It's dark but there's a gentle orange light spilling out from a fireplace. No wait, that's not fire. It's crystals. There are orange crystals, a glob of them really, sitting in a recess in the wall. Patton can feel heat emanating from that direction, so they must be enchanted. Convenient.

He's laying nearby on a pallet of blankets and animal hides. There's a pillow under his head, a luxury he hasn't had in a long time. He's on his stomach to avoid further irritation to his back.

His savior comes into view. It's the spider. They stand nearby but not too closely. The eyes are making new iridescent colors as they reflect the crystal light. Their fingers pick at their sharp nails, and a fang peeks out to bite at their lip.

"Where am I?" Patton asks. His mouth is dry as dust and he must make a face because the spider turns to a table and picks up a clay cup. They lean down, offering it.

"You're...in my home. You're safe, I promise. I won't hurt you."

Patton doesn't think he has any fear of that anymore. He wouldn't be waking up in such a nice setting, if not. Plus, the spider has that scared look again.

Patton wordlessly sits up slowly, panting through the effort, and takes the cup. The spider let's him take his time and steps back several steps. They wait while Patton sips long pulls at the drink. It's water. Just water.

Patton stares into the remaining liquid. He tips the cup around to see it spin and slosh. "I thought I was going to die," Patton says in wonder.

"You almost did," the spider agrees.

Curious, Patton glances down at himself. His torso and shoulder are bare, save for bandages. His coat is nowhere to be seen. It had been a gift. It had been one of his favorite gifts. It was probably ruined and discarded.

That more than anything has Patton sniffling into his cup.

The spider jolts. "What is it? Are you hurting? What's wrong?"

Patton chokes on a bout of tears pitifully. "My coat..."

"Your...coat?" they echo. They tilt their head in jerky movements, similar to a bird.

"It's gone," Patton mourns.

The spider hurries around the chamber and brings back a bundle of fabric. The familiar weight of his coat is laid half in his lap.

"It's right here," the spider assures him. "It's not clean though."

"It's torn," Patton cries. Why can't he stop crying? It's just a coat.

The spider waves their hands in the air uselessly. "It's okay, I can fix it, just please don't cry. I don't know what I'm doing as it is. Just tell me what you want to make it better."

That gives Patton pause. He looks up at the tall figure. The irony is not lost on Patton, that the spider can crush him like a bug. And yet, in the face of a crying human, the spider balks.

"You can fix it?" Patton asks.

The spider nods emphatically and bends lower, trying to make themself smaller. "Yeah, I can fix it. And even if I can't, I'll just make you another one like it. How does that sound?"

Patton's lip wobbles. He doesn't know what he's done to deserve such kindness. He wipes at his eyes. "You...gave it to me. Didn't you?"

The spider hesitates at first, but nods eventually.

Patton grips onto the coat. He pulls it closer, protectively. "I want to keep it...if that's possible. I kept all of your gifts."

The spider perks up. "You did?"

"Yeah. I love them."

"You do?"

His lips twitch into a smile. "Yeah, I really do."

The spider lets out a chorus of clicks, entirely inhuman. They falter and turn away, hiding their face under their bangs, as if embarrassed at the sound. One of the spider legs rubs against another, and Patton thinks it might be a nervous habit.

"Do you have a name?" the spider asks. "Humans have names, right? Do you have one?"

"I do. It's Patton."

"Patton," the spider repeats and clicks again. Their mouth splits into a fangy grin, so Patton concludes it's a happy sound. "I wondered... It's nice. Uh, it's a nice name. My name is Virgil."

"Virgil," Patton repeats in the same way the spider did, and they must like it because they click again. "Virgil, it's nice to finally meet you. Thank you for saving my life."

"It's uh, it's no problem," the spider– Virgil– returns. There's a jittery excitement to them that's fairly infectious. Patton finds himself relaxing.

"Virgil, what pronouns do you use?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I go by he/him. What do you go by?"

"Oh. I didn't think humans cared about that," they say a bit in awe. "I go by he/him too. Do all humans introduce themselves like that?"

Patton scrunches his nose up ruefully, "Not as much as they should."

Virgil nods seriously. "It's not much of an issue for those born in the Feywild. We tend to just...know."

Patton brightens. "So you are from the Feywild! I've been curious if you were."

"You've been curious about me?" Virgil blurts out. Immediately after, he seems to withdraw in on himself. He looks away and grabs something else from the table. It's a plate of diced fruit. Apple and something else that Patton isn't familiar with. The plate is nudged onto the pallet beside him.

"Of course I've been curious about you," Patton says softly. Feeling bold, he reaches out and offers a light touch at Virgil's wrist while it still lingers by the plate. Virgil tenses and doesn't move. The skin is warm. "You leave me such nice presents... And you've let me stay in your territory. I was afraid at first that it would bother you, but you let me stay."

Without moving his arm away, Virgil lowers his spider thorax to the ground. The legs fold into and under themselves. He's still taller than Patton, even like this, but he appears more at ease.

"I didn't know what to make of you at first," Virgil admits. He doesn't look away from where Patton touches him. "I thought you would run once you realized... But then you built a shelter. And you never tried to hunt me. You left me gifts–"

Here he break off. He snaps to attention and looks Patton in the eyes with barely restrained enthusiasm. "Your gifts. I kept them too."

"You did?!" Patton squeals. Oh, he had hoped, but to hear it confirmed!

Virgil nods vigorously. "Every single one."

Deliriously overcome with joy, Patton grabs hold of his hand and cups it sweetly in both of his. He would squirm with excitement were it not for his injuries.

"Where do you keep them?" Patton asks, because he hasn't spied any of the wooden figurines. This chamber of the cave, for they must be in the cave, is small and has one entrance that leads into another part of the cave. It's too dark to tell where the tunnel leads. There's the fireplace, and the table, and in a corner Patton spots a woven basket full of material and what could be sewing instruments.

Virgil moves to jump up, but he stops when he realizes he will have to let go of Patton in order to do so. He frowns at their hands, obviously torn.

"Oh," Patton says and loosens his grip. He does so slowly and awkwardly, and he marvels at the way Virgil looks on the edge of snatching his hands back up. Patton tilts his head. "Do you...want to show me?"

That gets Virgil's gears moving. He nods and gets back up to leave the room. He gives Patton a backward glance before he goes, like he just can't believe Patton is there.

Patton also can't believe he's there or that he didn't get frostbite or get eaten.

"He kept them," Patton says to himself and smiles.

Virgil returns to the chamber after a minute and is holding an intricately carved chest. It's carved out of wood and plated around the edges and central latch with thin, embossed silver metal. He sits it down beside the pallet and opens it to reveal the spoils inside.

Virgil did not place the figurines on a shelf. Instead, he kept them in a pretty box nestled all together. There is the rocking horse and there is the moose and there is the duck. Each of them kept safe and laid on top of a folded silky blanket.

Virgil pulls them out one by one to show Patton.

Patton crafted them with his own hands.

Why does it feel like he's seeing them for the first time?

"I'm scared I'll break them," Virgil admits sheepishly, unaware of the reverent look Patton has adopted. "I just take them out when I want to see them."

How often did Virgil do this? Sit and admire them? Did he also dream of bridging the gap? Did he think often of Patton and feel comforted knowing he was nearby?

Patton did. He experienced all of that and more. It was his favorite past time these days. He would hold onto the necklace or trace his fingertips over flowers, and the residual warmth was enough to ease the longing.

Patton watches Virgil pull out the wolf statue, the very first gift he left, and Patton flinches so hard his shoulder creaks. Worst yet is how the flesh of his back protests and threatens to re-open. Patton stifles a gasp and noticeably hunches in on himself.

Virgil abandons the figurine and is at his side. He holds Patton up so he isn't slumping and tugging at the wounds.

"Hey, hey, what happened? Are you hurting?" Virgil asks. His hands are feather-light ghosting over his bandages. He clicks but it's much deeper now. "I need to change them again. I've got a healing salve. Maybe I didn't use enough..."

"Sorry," Patton whispers out between labored breaths, though he has no idea what he's apologizing for. Virgil too seems bewildered.

"Why? You're okay. You can't help if it hurts. Is there anything else wrong? Uh, like internal?"

Patton takes a moment to assess and shakes his head. "Just hurts, sorry."

Virgil frowns but doesn't say anything more. He holds Patton up through the worst of the radiating pain, then leaves him long enough to grab his medical supplies. There's...a lot more than Patton would expect. Lots of meticulously organized pouches in a large leather backpack, the kind Patton might see on passing adventurers who are prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Rolls of bandages are retrieved along with a clean cloth and a small, ceramic container that must have the salve he mentioned. Patton does his best to remain sitting upright even when he shakes from the strain. It allows Virgil better access to unwrap the soiled bandages.

Virgil is silent as he observes Patton's wounds. He takes too long, and Patton breaks the quiet by asking, "How bad is it?"

Virgil blinks and glances at Patton, a bit surprised. He takes the rag and dampens it with water to wipe ever so gently at the wounds. Despite his best efforts, it stings, but Patton clenches his jaw and bears through it.

"You'll be okay," Virgil vows, and there's more to that statement that he isn't saying. "I had to apply stitches to the worst of it, but the rest wasn't so deep. It's long scratches though, from your shoulder blades down to your waist..."

"Mm," Patton hums and nods. It could have been worse. It could have been so much worse.

"The bleeding is much better. Your movement will just be...limited while you heal."

"Okay," Patton agrees. There's not much else he can do.

"...okay. I'm going to apply more salve and get these wrapped again. Then you can rest some more."

"Okay."

"Patton?"

"Yeah?"

"...what did this to you?"

Unbidden, his eyes stray to the wolf figurine. He blinks and he can see the icicles hanging in the fur. The blood spurting out. His heart skipping beats. The fear. The dark.

How did he survive all of that? By all rights, he should be dead.

Patton shuts his eyes. "It was a wolf. It... it got in and...it wasn't normal, it had– ice, it was covered in ice. And– and it was big. So big. And I tried to fight it, but I ran.... I ran."

From where Virgil has situated himself, his shoulder is by Patton's temple. It doesn't take much for Patton to turn into him and press his forehead against it, to feel the solid reassurance. Virgil stills and doesn't move for a while.

Patton loathes the silence now. He's spent too long by himself, cautious of every step. Wary of every exhale, afraid it would be his last. He just wants to feel normal again, whatever that means.

"What were you looking for?" Patton asks when he can't stand it any longer. He stays with his face hidden there, keeps his voice from being too loud. "Earlier. You were looking in the forest for something?"

"Uh..." Virgil lets out tremulously. Patiently, Patton waits, because maybe Virgil is getting used to the noise too. Virgil's hands mechanically resume their work, and Patton feels the slight coolness of the salve. "I was looking for you."

"Why?" Patton asks, because he can't picture it. Why would Virgil go out of his way?

"I checked on you, after the storm let up." Here Virgil pauses. There's resentment in his tone, brittle and chaffing. "Obviously I should have checked earlier. I didn't think– I thought the storm was the biggest worry. I should have known something would happen."

Somehow, Patton knows that the resentment is not directed at him. For once in his life, the voice in the back of his head, the one that's constantly berating him, telling him that it's his fault- it peters out and has no words. Because like understands like.

Patton brings his hand up, softly brushes his fingers over Virgil's bicep. The arm beneath is solid and real. He sighs.

"You knew there was a storm coming. And you know what you did? You went out of your way to bring me a beautiful blanket to make sure I was warm. You did that, when you didn't have to."

"It...was just a blanket. It's not like it helped with a ravenous wolf attack."

Patton finds it in himself to smile, just a little. "No, it didn't. But if you knew a wolf would come last night, would you have done something different?"

Virgil's silence speaks volumes.

Patton leans back. Virgil holds the new bandages limply, ready to apply but too stubbornly lost in thought to take initiative. His mouth opens a couple of times, starting and stopping with ideas of how he could have been better.

That's the thing though, isn't it? There can always be better, even when you've done your best.

Suddenly, Patton's hand rests gently over Virgil's mouth. That gets his full attention and settles him into a tense waiting game, as if Patton has all the power here.

Patton shakes his head and directs that smile to his favorite spider. "It's the fact that you would try. Once you knew something had gone wrong this morning, you searched for me. You thought of me, and you searched for me, to make sure I was okay. It's the thought that counts. I am lucky to have a friend who thinks of me so kindly."

Virgil's eyes, the two large ones and the other itty-bitty ones, go comically wide and Patton does his best not to giggle. "Friend?" Virgil asks, muffled against the hand covering his lips.

"Best friend," Patton agrees and takes his hand back. He can feel his face flushing a bit at his boldness, but he refuses to take the words back. "We've been giving each other gifts for weeks and you kinda saved my life today, so yeah. Best friends. If you want. Which I think you do as much as I do."

Virgil drops the bandages and smacks a palm over half of his face. He stares at Patton with his uncovered half, drinks in Patton grinning from cheek to cheek. His clicks become a chitter that reminds Patton of happy bird calls.

"How can you want to be friends with me?" Virgil asks, unable to let himself have the goodness that's offered to him. Patton understands. Oh does he understand. "How can... Why aren't you scared of me?! I'm a monster to humans. Don't you think I'm gross? How can you just sit here and... and..."

"Smile?" he says back, teasingly.

Virgil waves his free hand at him, a silent demand for an explanation.

Patton keeps smiling. The horrors of last night have chilled him bone deep. He's still scared despite knowing he's safe.

But he's safe. He's safe.

The need to convey this sentiment surges within him. Relief. Gratitude. Happiness. It seeks purchase in his bruised heart and urges it to keep beating.

"Virgil, I don't think you realize, but you've pretty much meant everything to me since I came to live in this forest."

A singular, squeaky click emits, and Patton discovers that half-people can blush too. Virgil has far too much energy to remain sitting when flustered, and he springs to his feet at lightning speed to crawl up the wall to regain his bearings. His hands flap about, and he looks at Patton only to quickly avert his gaze again. Patton laughs in abandon. He would not trade this moment for the world.

"So no, to answer your questions, you don't scare me. I've been wanting to get to know you for weeks now, and I'd really like the opportunity to do that."

Virgil mutters something to himself that sounds close to, "I can't believe this is really happening." Patton is patient and waits out the excitement. He never thought that spiders could be cute before. Virgil's legs are practically dancing back and forth. Patton would be content to watch this for hours.

"Shit, your bandages," Virgil says, snapping himself out of his euphoria. He hops back down and comes back to his original space on the pallet. Patton ushers him over when he hesitates.

"I really appreciate you patching me up," Patton says. He obligingly lifts his arms to allow Virgil to wrap the roll around his abdomen. "You do good work."

Virgil snorts. "I uh, I get by."

"Mm-hm."

"So...friends."

"Yeah. What do you think?"

"What do friends do really? I mean, I've never had a human friend."

"Well," Patton eyes their surroundings with heavy lids. There's not much here in the way of bonding activities, not that Patton's up for much. "We could start with a sleepover, since we're already kind of doing that."

"Sleepover?"

"Yeah, friends will stay over at each other's houses so they can spend time together. They'll stay up late talking and playing games and sometimes pranks. I would offer to have a sleepover at my place but...I don't think I have a home anymore, sorry."

Virgil secures the last of the bandages. After a thought, he pulls the covers up over Patton more. Patton takes him up on the offer and lays back down on his side. He never really tried any of the fruit plate, but he's too worn out now to be hungry.

"It wasn't too terrible," Virgil tells him. "I think it can be fixed. I'll help you. And...in the meantime..."

"Yeah?"

"You can stay here. If you want." Virgil throws it out too fast. He looks away too quickly.

Patton wriggles an arm free to take up Virgil's hand. There are little retracted claws instead of fingernails, but overall, it's just a regular hand.

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot... Is it okay if I sleep some more?"

Virgil squeezes his hand. "Yeah, go ahead. I'll be here."

Deep in the cursed woods of the Frostweald Forest, Patton falls asleep in a spider's den.

[skeletinmoss]

The curse of the dark Phoenix

Chapter 9: The moonflower

First chapter | Previous | Next

Roman was woken up by Logan.

It was time to eat and continue their journey. Virgil was readjusting his cape and offered Roman a small smile.

Roman cocked his head and tried to feel the exact mood behind it. He hadn’t really sought out their bond before now. He’d just experienced it as it happened.

Reaching out now he could feel that Virgil was a little curious, hopeful, but still filled with worry and guilt.

Roman tried to respond with reassurance and Virgil seemed to accept that and relax somewhat.

Roman felt a little pleased with himself at managing to comfort Virgil. Which made the high mage chuckle causing him to blush at being caught.

“If you both are quite finished with… Whatever that was. We should head out,” Logan insisted.

Virgil nodded and broke the circle. Roman felt a weird shift. As if the ground under him suddenly started moving.

He looked at Virgil who smiled at him in reassurance. This was normal.

He relaxed and gathered his things to follow his friends and their guide down the stairs.

“I trust you had a good rest,” their host greeted as he laid out a delicious smelling lunch.

Virgil was hit with a wave of nostalgia and Roman carefully bumped his shoulder

They sat down, thanked their host and started eating.

"I presume we will cut into our travel time now that we have been granted use of the inn then?" Logan reasoned.

"Not really. There is a village I need to visit to stock up on moonflowers. Their healing properties are too potent to go without and I’m not holding out hope my garden held out all these years. Not to mention prepping them for use would cost more time than we'd save with the short cut," Virgil explained.

Logan and Patton flinched, but Roman... he wasn’t as affected as he was yesterday. Maybe using dark magic had mellowed him out. He’d held a Moonflower in his hand and used it’s magic to help those people and he had felt no negative effects. Maybe walking a mile in Virgil's shoes had more influence on him than he'd thought.

He had other concerns though.

"Moonflowers aren't exactly legal anymore. So you might not find what you are looking for there," he pointed out.

"Maybe. But it is worth a try at the very least.”

The group nodded and Virgil took out his message stone.

"Re, I know you only just received my last message, but I wanted to let you know we are maybe 3 days away from saving you. I'll see you soon okay?" He offered. Looking at the stone for a long moment, hopeful and worried, before putting it away with a disappointed sigh.

No one commented on it. They finished their breakfast, bid the innkeepers a good day and promised to return soon.

They mounted the horses, Virgil offering to ride this time and went on their way to make as much headway as possible before the sun rose.

Roman was pretty sure he caught Virgil casting an enchantment on the horses before lighting another magic torch. Likely reinvigorating them to compensate for their lack of proper rest.

Virgil would want them to cover as much ground during nighttime as possible of course.

Roman settled a little more comfortably behind Virgil than he would have yesterday. Trusting that he'd know if V got uncomfortable with their closeness.

Logan took the reins of his and Patton's horse. He couldn't read in the dark anyway and this way Patton got a break.

"So... how did you three end up stuck together?" Virgil wondered casually. Trying to make small talk.

Luckily for him they were all more than happy to tell the story.

"Well. We don't remember not knowing each other honestly," Patton allowed.

"Indeed my earliest memory to date is waking up in a cart full of hay in the midday sun with the both of you," Logan recalled, making his friends aw all over him.

"Patton's family owns a farm near the town where Logan and I lived. On one fateful market day Patton was brought along with his mother while Logan was out with his parents selling their crafts and I was out with mine browsing the wares.," Roman recalled.

"Roman's parents are merchants," Patton offered helpfully. Roman nodded.

"Apparently I became fast friends with Patton and the two of us basically bullied Logan to play with us too. I spent quite some time at their houses whenever my parents were out for business," he explained.

"We were quite attached to each other and all fascinated by stories of the world before the magic plague and the heroics of the arch mage," Logan added.

"And then it turned out we all had magic and we went to school together and dreamed of one day finding out what happened to the arch mage. And now we are here," Patton finished.

"Quite a story," Virgil said amused.

"I met mine at school. We had different backgrounds but we clicked right away anyway. It was a relief honestly," Virgil recalled fondly.

Roman was about to offer some comfort but then a bird flying over spooked him.

"We should get back to a main road soon..." Logan mused nervously, his mind back to the situation at hand.

"How so...?" Virgil wondered.

"The roads are less safe at night. Especially narrow and dark ones," Roman offered. Though he couldn’t feel too scared pressed against Virgil's back.

Virgil was about to press the issue but a beastly growl interrupted him... they'd been spotted.

Their horses halted, stepping in place nervously. They weren't trained for dangerous roads...

"Hush," Virgil whispered. Tracing a pattern in the air, the release of magic calming the group as a whole.

He got of their horse and slowly walked out in front of them, holding the magic torch he'd made out in front of him.

A low hissing came at them through the foliage and finally the creature stalked into view.

It was easily as large as their horses. Black scales shimmering in the moonlight like black gems. Spikes ran across the spine and tail of the long body and a strong trunk hung between large tusks.

The spines and eyes of the creature glowed with some sort of magic.

"Well you aren't happy to see us," Virgil mused.

Roman eyed the creature worriedly. He'd heard of the Forest Dragon. They were one of many reasons you should not travel the roads at night.

The creature hissed again and moved as if it was about to charge, his spikes humming with power. But V disappeared and reappeared right behind it.

It turned around fast and Virgil grabbed it by the tusks and used its momentum to swing up into its neck holding on tight as it tried to throw him off.

Virgil gritted his teeth. Roman calmed himself with Virgil's calm focus. He wasn’t afraid or worried. It would be fine...

After a few attempts to slam Virgil into a tree that made it very hard for Roman to remain calm and not distract him, Virgil finally caught a break long enough for him to lay his hand on the creature's head. Its eyes and spikes glowing with Virgil's purple magic, though there was some red shining through... huh. The beast settled and Virgil got off. Hummed to himself, made a pattern and then the creature slowly walked away.

"It's territory has been invaded by another... once we got things in order we gotta do some wild keeping... is it like this everywhere?" He asked as he got back on the horse and urged it onward.

"Um... well... if you mean massive magical creatures making the roads unsafe at night... yes..." Patton admitted.

"My parents said it wasn’t this bad when the arch mage was still around," Roman offered.

"Hm... I guess it's not easy doing the job of ten high mages by yourself. And that’s just the wildlife. Don't get why he didn’t teach anyone how to do this though..." Virgil mused.

“Was… Bull riding dragons a regular activity for the high mages back in the day?” Logan asked.

Virgil chuckled. “Not for me. I haven’t done that in a long while. Even if I had been a wild-keeper, magical creatures didn’t tend to be this hostile towards humans, let alone a high mage. They know better. Or they did…

It's not Gustav’s fault really. From the sounds of it he spent twenty years trying to do all of our jobs by himself… I wish he’d reached out to Someone for help. Even if he didn’t find anyone who was willing to ascend, a great mage or even a well practiced common mage would have been able to lighten the load… There’s a lot more to do than I thought,” Virgil mused.

“So… What you are saying is… The dragons used to be nice?” Patton asked curiously.

“Well… I wouldn’t keep one as a pet… But most magical creatures would leave humans alone at the very least, even the carnivorous ones. I was kind of surprised that those wolves attacked us yesterday. I figured they must’ve been extremely hungry. But now…” Virgil mused.

Roman saw Patton light up. “So… I could pet them?” he pressed.

Virgil looked at Patton and Roman felt his curiosity almost push into his mind. Roman could guess the question. He pressed himself into Virgil’s back and let his fond exasperation at his friend’s almost detrimental love for creatures of all kinds respond for him.

Virgil chuckled. “Remus is going to love showing you all his favorite creatures once you can keep up with him,” he concluded.

Patton seemed to have completely forgotten about the worrisome title this particular friend of Virgil’s had gained for himself. He was just beaming at the prospect of one day petting all those creatures.

Virgil shook his head and focused on the road ahead.

“Any other dangers I should be aware off,” he mused after a bit. “Just so I can prepare,” he added.

“Nocturnal great beasts and bandits are our main concern,” Logan stated. “The light will likely attract both,” he added, looking at the magical torch.

Virgil hummed in understanding. “Delays by bad guys and grumpy beasts are likely… Got it,” he nodded pensively.

After a few moments of contemplation, Virgil waved the torch and from the light sprung phantom butterflies that fluttered all around them.

"Oooh!!!" Patton breathed in awe. Giggling as one briefly landed on his nose.

"I don't understand..." Logan admitted.

“Their form depends on if you are a danger to me. Any threat will see them as a danger sign," Virgil assured him. "And if they don't scare them off they'll warn us that something is approaching."

Logan nodded, feeling reassured.

"That is such a cool spell! Can you teach me!?" Patton gushed as he made a butterfly land on his hand.

"Sure. First you'll need a light..."

And for the next hour Virgil taught Patton how to make a magic torch. It wasn’t as bright as Virgil's but he insisted it was a good first try. The next three he spent helping him separate a piece of it and give it purpose... Patton grew a bit disappointed as he struggled to hold onto an orb, never mind giving it form.

"I've had a lot of practice. You just learned to make light on a stick. Which i don’t get. You don't even Need any support for that. None of you made an: we aren't allowed to do that face. So why don't you know how to make a torch?" Virgil wondered.

"We know how to make fire... maybe it just went out of style. Frivolous magics are generally considered a waste of energy," Logan offered.

Virgil huffed.

"Was... were there any rules in your day? Other than don't curse anyone...?" Roman wondered while Patton set his orb free and watched it float away a few feet before flickering out.

"You are getting better at it Patton. You gotta let it go. Don't try to hold on so much. Set it free and trust it will do what it is meant to," Virgil instructed before turning his attention to Roman.

"Oh there was illegal stuff. There were mages with the explicit job of finding dangerous herbs and either destroying them or putting up wards to make sure no one harvested them in secret. Not that that meant they weren't used at all. There have been kings who resorted to Rose Nettles to flip a spy. Zimmer Root has been used in torture... I only know about that because Janus was always up to his neck in the intricacies of court life. He kept unsavory things from me until after the king in question ended his reign. Not because he condoned it. Magical vows of loyalty are no joke," Virgil mused.

"Those are level eights..." Roman mused.

"Thats bad right?" Virgil wondered.

"The worst," Roman nodded.

"Well. Those are. We'll have to compare notes. I wouldn’t want you to pick up something that's actually nasty just because I made you think it’s a free for all," he offered.

Roman hummed into his back. Thinking back to the Rose Nettles he'd seen in the box back at the tower... no. Other subject.

"Your magic... it's a little red," he pointed out.

Virgil chuckled. "It is now. Thats a magic bond for you," he pointed out. Roman felt himself blush. Suddenly Virgil halted and got off, handing Roman the reigns. The sun was rising.

“Patton, keep practicing to let go of your magic. If you don’t believe it can last without you it won’t. So start with a simple command. I know you can do it,” he instructed seriously before turning to them as a group. “That's it for me for now. We should stop for some breakfast anyway." He suggested casually. Roman could feel his frustration though. He didn’t like being trapped like this.

Roman didn’t get a chance to say something. A flash of purple with a soft glow of red later and they all once again were looking at Virgil's Phoenix form.

They all got off their horses. “He has a point. It’s been a while since any of us ate. The horses will appreciate the rest and some fresh grass,” Logan pointed out.

They all nodded and led the horses to a small clearing on the side of the road where they let them graze as they gathered around for some breakfast in the increasing glow of the sunrise.

“So. I suppose we should try to contact the council again? At least see if the message has been passed on,” Roman mused as he held up his hand for Virgil to eat from.

“That would be a good idea. I’m a bit worried that we haven’t heard anything at all from them after being away for two days,” Logan mused.

“… Do you think Terance told the king as well? He did ask to be kept in the know of any findings…”

Paton wondered.

Roman looked at Virgil who was pretending to be too focused on his breakfast to follow the conversation. But he could feel that he was not.

The king had fond memories of this mage… Had he been hoping they’d find a clue as to what truly happened to his old mentor?

Roman didn’t even know their king had magic. Had he turned out less talented than Virgil had thought?

“If he didn’t, the king might end up reaching out to us himself…” Roman said worriedly.

Logan nodded. “Keeping our findings a secret will be… More complicated if that happens,” he mused.

“Would that be treason?” Patton asked worriedly.

“Let’s not worry about that just yet. We’ll discuss it with Virgil when he can talk again what he wants us to do if the king asks for our progress,” Roman suggested.

“We could say that we found strong evidence that the arch mage was looking into the night flame and that Noctora had a secondary residence and we are following up on both leads as fast as we can,” Logan mused.

Roman nodded. “We’ll see…” he allowed starting on his own breakfast after Virgil indicated he was satisfied.

After they were done eating, Roman retrieved the stone and cleared his throat.

“Great Mage Roman for the Council?” he called out a bit nervous now.

“Great Mage!” the reply came at once. “Ah, Terance again. Sorry, the council is still in a meeting… They have been since you three left honestly. We aren’t supposed to interrupt… Did you get to your destination?” Terence wondered.

“No, but we are making headway on deciphering some notes. Nothing concrete yet though. Only hope for answers. To more questions than we left with actually,” Roman offered.

“Oh?” Terence wondered.

“It’s too early to make any promises. But we should be returning with interesting findings,” Roman promised.

“Good! That’s great! I’ll leave you to it then! Good luck!!!” Terance bid. And then the stone went silent.

Roman put it away, frowning. “I know it’s good for us that there are no critical ears around him. But…”

Logan nodded. “Yeah. For the council to isolate themselves at this time… It is quite odd,” he agreed.

Patton gathered their things thoughtfully. “If it was something bad. Then Terence would tell us. He's a good kid,” he insisted.

None of them could argue against that, and it did make them feel a bit better. If Terence thought for even a moment something weird was going on he’d most likely defer to them to know what to do. After the council they were highest in rank in the wizard community…

Except… Roman supposed the king counted as part of the community… But he was highest in rank anyway. Terence would likely inform them and the king both regardless. Or be horrible at trying to hide it if the king ordered him to keep his worries to himself.

They continued on their journey once they ensured their horses were fed and watered sufficiently.

Virgil flew up. Scanned a bit of the road ahead for trouble and then returned to perch on Roman's shoulder. Roman found himself having an easier time understanding him than he had the days before. Holding semi conversations with him in a way through feelings and body language

Curiosity when Virgil landed on his shoulder. "How is it looking?"

Settling more comfortably and a happy feeling.

"No troubles for a good while"

A look at his position and bemused fondness. "You alright up there?"

Fond nibbling at his ear.

"Hush I'm napping here."

Or something along those lines.

As they progressed Patton kept practicing making a little orb exist separately from him, under the occasional gentle encouraging caw of Virgil.

By the time lunch came around he managed to make it float by his side for a few minutes before it dissolved. He was a bit disappointed Virgil had just been on one of his scouting flights to find a good lunch spot and hadn't seen him do it.

Not as disappointed as Logan was with his lack of progress. He almost skipped lunch, but Virgil was having none of that.

"Ow!" Logan called out when Virgil bit at his ear.

"Why would you do that?" He demanded. Virgil nodded to the lunch that was being set up and then held Logan's gaze for a long moment. Roman didn’t think that needed a translation.

"Fine," the diviner huffed as he put the journal away and joined his friends.

"Having a rough time?" Roman wondered as he once again fed Virgil before starting his own meal.

"It's not letting me past at all. Every time I feel like I have a grasp off the enchantment it snaps back with more force than before. I didn’t have anywhere near this much trouble yesterday," he complained.

Virgil chirped something, feeling unbothered, then he hopped over to Logan and chirped in encouragement. At least it felt the way it did whenever he had tried to hype Patton up.

"What?" Logan asked, exasperated.

"I think he is telling you that this was to be expected but to keep going at it," Roman offered.

Logan looked at him skeptically and then back to Virgil, who nodded.

"How?" He asked baffled.

"I'm getting better at interpreting his feelings and stuff," Roman shrugged. He didn't mention that he suspected that their link got stronger as their actual relationship grew. And since the baseline was: complete strangers, and it was (hopefully) heading towards a romantic connection... he wasn't sure what That would mean for their link if he was right.

"Hm," logan mused and then he went back to eating. Once their horses were ready to go again they got on and resumed their respective activities to pass the time and to not think too much about the implications of the council being unreachable.

Roman tried to see how long he could feel Virgil's presence through their link and if he could feel him returning before he could see him. It seemed there was quite a radius on this connection...

He did keep an eye on the road though... at least he thought he had.

"What's wrong Roman?" Patton wondered as Roman halted them.

"Um... we are supposed to go straight ahead," he said studying the map.

“Roman-”

“I am aware that there is no road Logan. That is why I’m stopping… I’m hoping Virgil will come back and… Hmmm…” Roman could feel Virgil approaching, but before he came into view he got farther away again…

“He’s confused too… And frustrated,” Roman concluded.

Logan dug through his pockets and moments later his eyes glowed blue.

“Hm. There used to be a road here. But it must’ve gotten overgrown over the years,” Logan stated as he got of his and Patton’s horse.

“Oh… No wonder Virgil is frustrated. This means we’ll have to take a longer way to his home right?” Patton mused.

“We’ll have to wait for him to turn back human and talk about it,” Roman shrugged.

“Nonsense. With all that talk about the earth having a memory I’d think the solution is rather obvious,” Logan huffed as he dug through his pouches again, reached for a book for a moment before thinking better of it. He sat himself down on the ground to meditate for a moment.

Roman just felt Virgil approach again when a soft blue glow surrounded Logan and his magic cut through the forest, lining out a path as far as Roman could tell.

And to his amazement the entire stretch of forest on this road, seemed to step aside to make room for the forgotten pathway…

What!?

Logan got up and dusted himself off, looking satisfied with the result.

“Hm. That went surprisingly well,” he mused. Was he being serious right now?

“I’ll say. It looked pretty impressive to watch the forest part from above. What are you going to call that one?” They all looked back and saw Virgil now back in his human form as the sun had gone down while they’d been staring at the newly reformed road.

“Pardon?” Logan asked.

“Well. As far as I know, no one’s ever made a forest split to make a path like that without destroying habitats. So what are you going to call that spell, Great Wizard Mage Logan of the forgotten roads?” he pressed.

“Wait… You mean this is official? I have… I have made a new spell?” Logan gasped.

“Being a High Mage, linked to the academy for that matter… Yes I have that authority,” Virgil confirmed.

Logan was beaming and looked back at his road.

“I think I’ll call it restoration reforestation,” he mused.

Virgil chuckled. “Good one. Thank you, by the way. This saved us a very long detour,” he added before getting on his and Roman’s horse.

Logan nodded weightily at Virgil and joined Patton on their horse.

Roman let out a sigh. He was going to be insufferable about being first, wasn’t he?

“Virgil, about the notes. You seemed to have thoughts on it, but as Roman’s, admittedly impressive, translations aren’t quite fluent yet, perhaps you could elaborate?” Logan asked. His tone strangely formal but also more comfortable talking to Virgil than he had been since meeting him. Well, giving him a special recognition of his talents that hasn’t been awarded to anyone in the past half century would make him warm up to someone.

He was not quite ready to drop decorum around him completely. But that was to be expected.

Virgil was still a high mage. And far more experienced and connected than them even with being gone for fifty years. Logan had actually been rather direct and confrontational with him all things considered.

“Sure. It’s not uncommon for the first protection to be obvious and easy. It’s supposed to stroke the ego of the mage or wizard who’s trying to read the text and make them misjudge their own abilities. So either they won’t notice the second layer, or they get too frustrated with not being able to break through the second one as easy and give up. Considering this encryption was still fairly noticeable, I’d assume there is another one better hidden underneath this one. So just so you are prepared. The type of encryption will also be very different. You’d be surprised how many mages will just get stuck on trying the same thing over and over again even if it’s clear that it doesn’t work like that this time,” Virgil listed.

Logan nodded. “Yes I noticed that the method I used yesterday didn’t do much. I have been trying to get a hold of the magic but it just slips through my fingers,” he admitted.

“Have you tried starting somewhere where you know what should be underneath? From what I read it’s all covered in metaphors and embellishment, so maybe start with something where you are reasonably certain of what you’ll find underneath. The more concrete the better.

So, a name or a place or a date,” Virgil explained.

Logan nodded. “Yes… I think I see what you mean. Thank you. I will make another attempt before we settle for another rest. You will be teaching us a more advanced method of this sleeping ritual?” he asked.

Virgil quirked his brow. “Yes. But I will remind you again that you shouldn’t overdo it. Nap responsibly,” he pointed out.

Logan nodded. “Of course. Overburdening my body is not my intent. But saving seven hours even half of the days… It is quite exciting,” he insisted.

Virgil smirked, a nostalgic fondness filling him and flowing into Roman’s mind. Hm… Logan must remind him of someone.

“We’ll be at the town soon. Sooner if these beauties feel like a quick sprint…?” Virgil suggested.

“Well, we can see if they have it in them,” Logan mused.

“Or we can ask,” Virgil pointed out. Roman felt him shift behind him.

“Excuse me. Do you two feel up for a quick race to the other side of this stretch of forest, there will be food and rest and water there,” he offered. The horses neighed and shook their heads in excitement.

“They’re game,” Virgil smirked.

Patton let out a squeal. He’d always wanted to learn animal speech spells but they’d all struggled a bit with the material. Virgil had proven a good teacher though, so maybe he’d have more luck explaining it.

“Well let’s go then,” Roman smirked. And so they were off, racing down the road. Roman enjoying the way Virgil held onto his waist and pressed into his back as the world flashed them by so fast they might as well be flying…

And then they were out of the forest and moments later the road opened up into a town. This one less of a farmer community, there was a large lake nearby with a river feeding into it so Roman assumed that this town was more of a fish based economy.

Though that didn’t have to mean that there was no food or herb growing going on.

“Whoa, there. Well done. Let’s get you darlings some first class treatment alright?” Virgil smiled as he got off. He felt at home here. It made Roman smile to see him so at ease. But also worried. Time was bound to hit him again…

Virgil led them through the village with the confidence of someone who'd walked this path many times.

He brought them to an inn where he arranged for their horses to be fed and watered and given a place to rest for a few hours. He paid and asked the innkeeper if the "bosh" family still lived here.

The innkeeper seemed surprised but gave directions that amused Virgil. He thanked her and led them on.

"Still the same old house. The son should be in his sixties now. I wonder if he'd recognize me. He was a kid when I was last here..." Virgil smiled, excited.

Roman shared a look with his friends. It seemed the relief of not having to make a detour and the adrenaline of the race had Virgil feeling optimistic...

Roman was glad, but also worried that this visit wouldn't go the way Virgil was hoping for.

They approached the two story house surrounded by a flower garden. Nothing that Ro recognized as a magic honing plant though...

Virgil knocked on the door undeterred.

A young man opened the door.

"Can I help you?" The young man asked.

"Very likely. Can you tell me what the most talented herbiologist family does for a living nowadays?" He asked. The man paled and stepped outside and closed the door.

"Who are you? Did the council send you to make sure we were still "behaving"? He hissed.

"Hm. Seems I’ll have to straighten out a few of those Council members. But no. Genuinely curious. It seems a waste of the gathered knowledge of 12 generations... I suppose you would be the 15th, since Zoë went into the forest to log all she could about wild growing herbs until she could provide perfect growing conditions in her own garden for each. She practically lived in that forest for 15 years before she went from a gatherer of herbs to someone the magical community came to for her homegrown herbs." Virgil recalled. Roman should have guessed that Virgil likely knew this family since their beginning.

"... yes... I... I’m a florist, actually. My mother took the knowledge on herbs and applied it on flowers. I'm trying to add tea and kitchen herbs to our wares, but...I haven't been granted permission yet," the young man admitted.

Virgil nodded a bit saddened.

"What is all that ruckus about...?” An elderly voice came from the other side of the door before it opened.

"Nothing, grandpa, please go back inside," the young man insisted gently.

The old man took in the lot of them, and his eyes widened in shock. "Master Virgil... is that really you?" he gasped. Apparently, he recognized him.

"Hello Lucas. It is a long story and one I'm not ready to share before all the pieces are clear.

But I do find myself in need of something from the old garden. You wouldn't happen to have kept your mischief going, would you?" Virgil smirked knowingly.

The man grinned and turned, beckoning them to follow.

"When that Gustav man became arch mage, whatever that was supposed to mean, he sent guards to every herb seller in the kingdom. That was when we learned why master Janus was late to pick up his tea order. I still have it, by the way. I took good care of it.

Mother was heartbroken, and then they burned the garden down. But I saved some of it while they were telling mother and father their orders. No one was minding me. And I prepared them all the way mother taught me." They had made it to what Roman assumed had to be the old man's bedroom. He knelt down and removed an old floorboard underneath which he had stashed several boxes of likely very illegal herbs.

"Grandpa!" The grandson exclaimed in astonishment as Virgil opened them and grinned from ear to ear.

"Moonflowers! Lucas, you are a hero. All of this will be very helpful. And I will give Janus the tea. Thank you. You've done your family proud," he stated sincerely.

"Grandpa!" The young man repeated more insistently.

"Sam. When a high mage needs something, you provide it. Especially when it is one who is such a dear old friend of the family," Lucas scolded. Sam paled. "High..." he breathed.

Lucas turned to Virgil without a word. "I never believed you were truly gone, master Virgil." He insisted. "And I am not alone. You have quite a few friends you can still count on if you knock at their door," he promised. Virgil smiled and took the elderly man's hand. "I know. Take care, Lucas. If I have it my way, things will be set right soon," he promised.

There were tears in the man's eyes and he nodded. Patting his hand. "Good. Good. Now you go rest up and head home. You still have ways to go. And I didn’t manage to get hold of enough amber roots to hasten your trip. I will get started on teaching my grandson and my daughter of their heritage while you fix things. Next harvest will be a bountiful one," he mused. Virgil nodded, pulled at the old man's ear, making him laugh, put the boxes away with care and rose to look at them. "Rest and then we head straight home," he announced with tangible relief.

[snowdice]

New Couch; Old Habits (Part of the Envisage Series)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Roman & Logan, Virgil & Logan, Virgil & Patton, Patton/Logan (background)

Characters: Roman, Logan, Virgil, Patton

Summary: Virgil's parents come to visit him in his new apartment.

Notes: Leg Injury, very brief allusions to torture, Superhero AU

This takes place after Best Laid Plans and is part of the Labeled Universe.

Roman couldn’t help but fidget on the landing between the second and third floor of his new apartment building. “Are you sure you don’t want…”

 “Attempt to carry me one more time Mr. Silvia, and I will throw you out of a window,” Mr. Dr. Sanders said. His tone was without heat, but Roman was certain he was serious. His body may not have fully recovered from being captured, but his powers certainly had. Roman was not interested in having a thrown down with Bluebird even on a day where Bluebird had his leg in a cast and was wobbling on crutches. Roman would probably still lose.

He had to restrain himself from reaching for the man as he teetered dangerously on his crutches while tackling the next step.

Mr. Dr. Sanders was not used to going up stairs with his crutches. Sure, he’d been taught how to do so in physical therapy and his and Dr. Patton’s house had a staircase, but Roman doubted he every actually walked up them. Today, however, they were in a semi-public place, so the man did not want to glide up the stairs like Dracula. He also wasn’t confident in using his powers in a non-obvious way to steady himself yet, so normal plebeian stair climbing with crutches was the only option. Or at least, it was the only option Mr. Dr. Sanders’ pride would let him take.

Roman swore he had heart palpitations every time Mr. Dr. Sander’s good leg left solid ground so he could swing forward supported only by the crutches.

Roman heard footsteps coming up the stairs behind him and winced, worried he was about to awkwardly meet one of his new neighbors, but when he glanced back, it was just Dr. Patton. Dr. Patton had gone to park the car and grab something for them all to eat for dinner. It had taken him a bit as the apartment was downtown with little parking, and he’d likely had to park the car on the university campus. Two bulging plastic bags swung on his arms as he came to a stop a few steps below them.

He seemed surprised to see them still on the stairs, but then shook his head with an eyeroll. “Sweetie,” he said. “I didn’t ask Roman to meet us downstairs so you could make him watch you climb two flights of stairs yourself.”

Mr. Dr. Sanders pursed his lips. He did not turn to look at Dr. Patton as he was too focused on the next step he needed to take. “I am perfectly capable of going up stairs on my own.”

As though to demonstrate, he swung for the next step, perhaps too quickly. He made it, but it was a close thing. Dr. Patton made a sound between a tsk and a scoff but didn’t argue seeing as he was only three stairs away from the top. He and Roman lingered on the stairs below Mr. Dr. Sanders as he finished proving himself.

“Alright,” Mr. Dr. Sanders said once firmly on the third floor. “Which is your apartment?”

“This way,” Roman said, walking around the man towards his apartment with his keys in hand. Virgil always insisted that Roman lock the door behind him even if one of them was still in the apartment or he only planned to be out for a moment. (He always said stepping out for a moment can end up lasting longer than expected and Roman hated that Virgil’s dad had just proven him correct.)

It took Roman a few tries to get the key to work as the lock stuck a bit, and he wasn’t used to opening it. By the time he managed to get the door open, Mr. and Dr. Sanders were beside him.

“What kind of surprise takes you half an hour to get it from downstairs?” Virgil asked as Roman swung open the door.

“A stubborn one,” Roman replied dryly, walking into their apartment.

Virgil looked up from his place on one of their two armchairs with a confused pinch to his brow, but then he saw his parents in the doorway. He blinked in surprise. “What are you doing here?” he asked, and Roman knew it was not directed at Dr. Patton considering Dr. Patton had been here 5 days in the past week.

“While I fully acknowledge I was incapable of helping you move in last week, I still wished to see your new apartment,” Mr. Dr. Sanders replied. “We brought dinner, and Roman suggested we could watch a movie this evening.”

“He probably just wants to make sure we didn’t put our canned vegetables in the wrong cabinet,” Roman stage whispered with an eyeroll.

“I trust Virgil to know the correct way to organize,” Mr. Dr. Sanders replied, “so, if they do happen to be in the wrong places, I will know who is to blame.”

The small bit of banter gave Virgil time to collect himself from the surprise. “Uh,” he said, getting to his feet. “Come in, please. You should, er, sit, especially you.”

Mr. Dr. Sanders didn’t argue (he had to be exhausted at this point). He allowed Virgil to lead him by the arm to their couch.

Dr. Patton, meanwhile, did not sit. He set the bags of food down on the coffee table and made a beeline to the kitchen to grab plates and silverware.

“What’s this?” Virgil asked, glancing at the bags after plopping down on the couch next to Mr. Dr. Sanders.

“It’s from that pasta place we saw just opened down the street while moving you two in. I thought we could try it out and see if it’s your new favorite,” Dr. Patton answered from the kitchen.

“Do they have chicken parmesan?” Virgil asked. He’d already leaned forward to open one of the bags.

“Yes,” Dr. Patton said, amused as he re-entered the living room. “They do have chicken parmesan. It’s in the container at the bottom of that bag.”

“I’ll get drinks,” Roman offered. “We have a 2-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and the juice Dr. Patton brought. I’ll bring those and some cups.”

“Thank you, Roman,” Dr. Patton said with a smile.

Virgil was busy dishing out a plate of ravioli and breadsticks for Mr. Dr. Sanders when Roman returned. Roman could tell by Mr. Dr. Sanders’ face that he wasn’t enthused about not being trusted to make his own plate, but he was indulging Virgil by allowing this anyway.

Dr. Patton had gotten double the amount of food needed for the 4 of them even considering Roman’s need for extra calories and Virgil’s willingness to gorge himself on pasta. So, there were a lot of leftovers to be packed away into Roman’s refrigerator once they were finished. Roman and Dr. Patton handled clean-up while Virgil and Mr. Dr. Sanders argued good naturedly over the movie choice.

“Thanks for inviting us,” Dr. Patton said in a low voice that was almost drowned out by the water he was running to rinse the plates. “I think it’s doing them both some good. More than you two coming over to see us even.”

“Yeah,” Roman agreed. That’s all they spoke about it, turning to lighter subjects like Roman’s classes and Dr. Patton’s latest read.

Virgil and Mr. Dr. Sanders managed to settle on the movie Back to the Future eventually. Virgil had stacked pillows on the coffee table so Mr. Dr. Sanders could more comfortably sit with his leg elevated.

Only 10 minutes into the movie, Virgil had already fallen asleep against Mr. Dr. Sander’s shoulder. It was only 7:30pm (and Virgil usually stayed up past midnight), but it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Roman had found that man sleeping in much weirder places at much weirder times and they’d only lived together for a week.

What was surprising was when Roman glanced over near the end of the movie and found that Mr. Dr. Sanders had fallen asleep as well.

Roman and Dr. Patton discussed it in the kitchen about an hour after the movie had ended, and eventually decided to let them sleep. Dr. Patton had to go home and let Missy out but told Roman to call him if at any point Mr. Dr. Sanders woke up and needed to come home.

Before he left, he grabbed the purple blanket Virgil always favored and threw it over both of them.

Virgil and his father slept through the night like that until Dr. Patton arrived back at the apartment with breakfast and coffee the next morning.

Want to read more? Click below!

Labeled Master Post.

My Masterpost.