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melmac78 · 30 days ago

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Here’s part 6 of my USS Lexington story. I had to do some rewrites to the original because the original location didn’t work right (at least anymore: it’s based on my memory of the ship in 1994).

Pictured are areas mentioned in this chapter: chow lines (breakfast here, but they have lunch too), sick bay, medical storage area*, and engine room, and from the CIC tour, a porthole that uses the climate control to keep things cool, and model airplanes. The hallway I think is the loop around for lower decks.

(Note: this is where I’m having to start major rewrites, so… please be patient.)

Chapters: Five Four Three Two One

•••••

The rest of the day was a bit cloudy, but for everyone aboard the Lexington, there was quite a bit of fun.

Several of the groups were on the flight deck, looking at the planes and other artifacts.

A couple of the kids noticed a bit of water in one of the wheel wells and, thinking it was from rain, pretended it was the perfect dramatic landing for one of their toy planes they got from the gift shop.

A ship leader, seeing the mess they were making, ran up to them and stopped the action. They took them to a scout lead, but didn’t miss a college student also touching the water.

The scoutmaster made them put the toys in a plastic bag that he held out, scolding the boys that they needed to be cautious around the planes.

As far as the Tracy family, John took a nap and tried to eat a little bit more the others had brought down from the party in the break room.

He was able to eat a couple more of the seafood stuffed mushrooms and potato skins, washing it down with a Sprite.

Feeling a little bit better from both, he elected to again to the captains quarters and CIC tour.

If he decided to stay by a couple of the climate control ports to cool down a little bit every so often it wasn’t a big deal he decided,

Besides, there were a lot of model planes to enjoy, and it would take longer than a few minutes to see every one.

The others enjoyed other paths and then took a break to enjoy some of the other food in their quarters as a snack.

Grandma Tracy had elected to go off board for the evening and spend time with Kayo. She knew that the young woman was interested in eating at one of the restaurants on the ocean and spending the afternoon windsurfing at the National Seashore at Padre Island… if only because Sally’s bones had ached going up and down the ladders.

The cloudy evening turned into a slightly drizzly night, although for those who were still aboard for Lexington after it closed for the evening still had a lot of adventure coming.

Mess had come and gone, with the brothers eating various amounts of their meals. They spent the rest of the time of the meal visiting with campers and answering questions they had about the Thunderbirds. John was a bit quieter than normal, but would answer the few inquiries directed his way.

The cake was also well received after singing Scott the “Happy birthday song,” though Scott made sure that Virgil got all the credit for the idea.

The rest of the night’s events lead up to the big event - the scavenger hunt.

The campers, Tracy brothers and others were looking forward to this hunt as the top prize was custom-made dog tags.

Scott had a set from his days serving in the Air Force, however, these were done in the old typewriter embossed tin back in the 1940s. So, ever the history buff, he was looking forward to trying his luck.

The brothers paired off in twos, with the space brothers teamed up, then Scott and Virgil as a team.

Gordon ended up paired with a young woman who was interested in becoming a member of WASP so he didn’t mind being the odd man out.

The five teased each other trying to say who would win – though John reminded them that it could be anyone who won, including the other groups that were on the ship.

Jacob blew the start whistle, and each of the teams could go to any of the tour paths and any order they wanted to answer their questions.

Alan was so excited about trying to win this prize however, after the hangar deck questions were answered, he led John on the lower deck tour – the wrong way.

In spite of that, the two started the tour and just answered everything backward.

Made sense too as they realized the flow of the paths made this a wise choice.

Little did they know that going backward would be one of the best and worst decisions they could’ve made.

“OK, it says 'The crew’s mess hall served breakfasts X many hours per day.' Do you see the answer John?" asked Alan.

The astronaut narrowed his eyes as he looked at the display in front of him. "Yeah, it says '316'," said John, blinking his eyes. He wasn't sure if that was the right answer everything seemed a little blurry. *I should've brought my glasses,* he thought. He occasionally had trouble with his eyesight after spending a bit of time in space.

Alan however glanced over his shoulder and laughed. "Bro, that's the number of calories on the sausage," he said and, seeing the placard at the end of the line, wrote the correct answer.

John smiled weakly as he reread the number. "Yeah, you're right," he said, rubbing his neck.

The youngest brother paused seeing the older man’s gesture. He scrutinized his fellow astronaut, and his laughter faded.

“John... you sure you're alright?" asked Alan. "You've been acting odd since din - uh, mess this evening. Why don't you turn in for the night and I'll finish this up?"

The redhead shook his head. “No, I'm fine Alan. Besides, we can get back at Gordo for calling us space cadets," he said with a faint grin, looking at the display again.

The youngest Tracy laughed. "Yeah - just because he was in WASP and knows ships doesn't mean he's got this won," he said and started down the path.

John however stared at the Mess Hall display, as though a bit dazed. "Can you help me," he said to the mannequins, frowning when they didn't respond. "Hello, can you guys hear me?"

A squeaky voice broke through. "Very funny John - these don't talk like the 'captain' did in his quarters," said Alan, remembering the tour.

John shook his head, clearing it. “Right,… just making sure they’re not Autons… though they’d be better than the projected face ones,” he said.

The youngest smiled. “Yeah… ‘Doctor Who’ did animatronic plastic better,” he said, and checked his watch. “Look, we've got to hurry so we can win."

John nodded. "You're right, they just look real. Anyway, this is about a third of the way through the tour, and we've still got to go through the other routes…” he said as they headed down toward the sick bay area.

Privately though, John was worried something really was wrong. He still felt weak, even after the nap and food. John dismissed it initially, as that could be from the space sickness and not eating a lot in the mess.

Now he wasn’t as sure. His ears buzzed slightly, and while he chalked it off this time to the fluorescent lights lighting their path, he wasn’t so sure.

Then there was the fact John felt warm on the tour route, which was odd as he knew it was air conditioned.

"Then again, anything on the ship is warmer than the sleeping berth," he muttered under his breath as they stopped by the pre-op and operating rooms in sickbay to answer questions.

Alan asked him something, but it sounded slightly blurred. "Yeah Alan - it says they used ether and halothane for anesthesia," he said, looking at the machinery, "doctor" and "patient" in the surgery.

"Um... John, that's not what I asked. In fact that isn't even a question on the hunt," said the youngest, looking through the list.

Confused at the non-sequitur, Alan looked up at his older brother. Seeing John's pallor and dazed look, the teen gently, but firmly grabbed his brother by the arm. "Let's take a break - you look like you really do need one."

John nodded and leaned against the wall, running a hand over his face, wincing at the slight headache he had. "Good idea," he said tiredly. Seeing Alan's look of concern, he smiled. "I'm fine Alan..."

Alan scoffed in a way that closely sounded like Scott's. "Yeah, sure. John - you're a bit pale - well, more than normal, and your cheeks are still slightly flushed," he said, reaching out to check his brother's wrist pulse. "Plus, you're acting funny again, and I don't mean in the Gordon's failed joke way."

John shied away from the younger man's icy touch. "Funny? How?"

"Your answer listing two anesthetics to the question of 'How many towels are in the surgery'. You're never that far off on an answer, even concussed," said Alan.

The older man quirked an eyebrow at the remark. “Hey, it was interesting they had drugs that if they weren't careful could knock out more than the patient in the room," said John, shrugging.

"Maybe," muttered Alan, who was more concerned about the present day issue. "Look, I know you don't want to disappoint Scott, and want the 1940s style dog tags… even if for me… but…”

“But…?”

“But you can't keep pushing yourself too hard there."

"I'm not pushing myself too hard Alan,” sighed John, though he was doubting himself.

The youngest scoffed. "Bro, I love you but let's be real - astronaut to fellow astronaut. You haven't been at 100 percent since you came down from Five," he said bluntly. "You passed out in the living room shortly after you arrived home, then you almost missed this because you had trouble boosting up your levels….”

John reluctantly nodded. "I know - but I'm eating everything that you guys tell me to..."

"Not quite John. You only ate half your hamburger and one Oreo cookie out of six tonight - plus left the chips untouched," said Alan pointedly. "That isn't everything."

"You guys also made me eat the meal Elmo’s brought today ... about two hours before mess," retorted the older brother. “Then a few of the appetizers from Scott’s party…”

"That still isn't a whole lot John, even for you but…"

Seeing Alan pause for thought, John placed a gentle hand over Alan’s mouth.

Seeing the youngest twitch his nose in irritation, John removed it, and continued with a smile. "But this is Scott's birthday and I didn't want to disappoint him being stuck on Tracy Island,” he finished.

The youngest however was not convinced of it was worth his brother’s health.

"Yet Scott would much rather you be 'stuck on Tracy Island' than scaring him like you did yesterday," Alan said pointedly.

Seeing his brother start to speak, Alan put his hand up. "No John… you freaked him and Virgil out - not to mention Gordo and me - trying to take an unconscious header off the flight deck.”

John narrowed his eyes in challenged. "But - again - I didn't lose consciousness yesterday..."

Alan however put a hand on John's shoulder, making him look into his younger brother's blue eyes. "John… contrary to your opinion, you nearly did."

The elder Tracy paused for a moment, and then ran a hand through his bangs. "Not you too," he said, sighing in frustration. "Virgil told me his diagnosis after mess yesterday, then ordered me to lie down again for an hour before the evening programs. I still don't believe him though..."

"You need to John. When Virg said you looked worse than a zombie he meant it," said Alan, shuddering. "Bro, you really looked like the ones in my game - even I know that's too close to out cold."

The astronaut brushed it off. "But Alan, I'm feeling far, FAR better than yesterday. The rests and food have helped a lot," he said. Seeing his youngest brother give a skeptical look, he chuckled. "But, since you insist I'll snag some of Virgil's gummy bears when we get done with this part of the tour."

"Promise?" inquired Alan, quirking a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes, I promise. I'll leave the white-eyed zombies for the video games," John crossed his heart, smiling as he glanced at his watch.

He then straightened up. "Look, we've got an hour to finish the hunt. We'd better hurry or Squid Kid could get the last laugh."

The youngest nodded reluctantly, but admitted that John's dazed look had faded. He smiled and patted hod brother on the back. "FAB John, but let me know if you need another break," he said, then snapped his fingers. “Of course, we can get a soda from the machine at the dining room area.”

The older astronaut nodded. “Sounds good,” he agreed, and they continued their scavenger hunt. They answered the questions for the Sickbay area correctly this time and continued.

After a few confusing turns in the chapel, leading them in circles and briefly going the wrong direction, the duo finally reached the hatch that lead to the engine room.

Alan frowned as he saw the notice. "Caution: Engine Room has low overhangs, narrow pathways and tight spots. Proceed with caution," he read and turned to John.

"Tight spots?" said John, wincing. He didn't want his mild phobia to set in.

Seeing his brother pale a bit however, Alan started putting together a possible issue and placed a hand on his shoulder. "John - if you can't handle small spaces with opaque walls, I can do this one on my own," he said.

Seeing John's surprised look, the younger man shrugged. "Going to bed or waking up in the morning not being able to see sky or stars can make anyone mildly claustrophobic," Alan admitted. "I've had some issues with it on this trip."

"Huh - you sawed logs all night. How did you get over it?" said John, amused.

"Slept on my stomach - the top bunk for some reason feels a lot like the rug on my bedroom floor that way," Alan said, chuckling. Seeing John was still indecisive, he gave a kind smile and gestured to the stairs. "But your call here bro - wait or go?"

The red-head shook his head. "No, I'll go. You might be 20 but that's ONE place we need the buddy system," he said. "Don't want you falling over the side into the engines - again."

Alan rolled his eyes as he started his descent. "Seriously, tripping over sofa cushions onto MAX does NOT count as falling into any engines," he said sourly, but seeing John crack a smile, joined in on the humor.

Once John reached the deck the two started on their scavenger hunt. As they walked through the path, John started to feel warm again - but this time it was different.

The path seemed to be a bit more uneven, and John had to steady himself several times. John dismissed it as minor buckles and floor imperfections caused by 118 years of tourists and sailors walking the paths.

Alan however was so interested in the large machinery and dials that he too didn't notice John's growing unsteadiness.

They reached a wall with wheels, valves, dials and other machinery. "EOS looks good," said John seriously. He was starting to feel even warmer and was confused as to what his favorite AI was doing on the Lexington. He half expected to start being pelted with bagels and have the gravity ring turned off.

Alan however hadn't heard the EOS part and chuckled as he touched the surface of one of the valve wheels. "Yeah, she does look good for 118 years old. Still - there's enough panels on this wall that they probably would've wanted something like EOS to control them," he said as he answered another question at that location marker.

John however was fascinated with the dials, touching a few to see how they felt. In his mind he thought he was really on Five, and wondering why EOS used holograms to look like a 1940s ship. The images kept switching from both themes, confusing him to the point he paused.

When John didn't move, Alan pulled his shirt sleeve. "Come bro, we're almost done, then we'll take another break before finishing up," he said.

The older Tracy snapped out of his hallucination and realized he was on the Lexington. He heard Alan's comments, slightly distorted. "Good, glad to hear," said John, nodding and they continued walking down a longer hallway that lead them on a catwalk over several larger engines.

Shortly after a jump… at least to John it felt there was one, they were in a hallway again, heading to the main crew dining area.

This was where there was a soda machine with refreshments he needed… he remembered, looking forward to another Sprite.

But… as they were heading through more of the medical area, John started noticing some was definitely wrong.

He paused when he realized Alan's voice sounded more like a literal chipmunk's chatter than his still slightly squeaky voice.

“That's odd," he mused and started assessing how he felt again - really felt.

John noticed he was even more tired than he had a few hundred yards earlier, even compared to the engine room, and on a normal, even path.

Looking down, he saw his hands were shaking slightly.

"Alan's right... I have low blood sugar again and need that Sprite," he thought at first, but then came a heatwave - and the trembling got worse.

The combination of the two then alerted him to a more troubling issue. "That's not right - I usually end up chilled," he thought as he looked at the hallway with a medical storage hatch not too far to his right.

It was still in front of him, but the now only sharp thing in the room in his vision.

The rest of the started to blur into a tunnel, growing darker...

It was then John had a moment of clarity. He knew those signs, having fallen victim to them a few times.

He wasn't hypoglycemic he vaguely realized - he'd eaten enough foods to stop that issue.

This was worse - and this time he wasn't going to escape its clutches.

"Alan... I-I n-need...rab-bits," he tried saying as loudly as he could, but it came out as soft as a whisper.

Feeling his muscles quiver, trying to keep himself standing on the narrow hallway, John realized then his estimation was drastically wrong and tried to prepare himself...

Alan however was looking at an answer, not sure if was correct. "Hey John, I think this is wrong. Do you think the X-Ray room…” he said, and paused hearing his brother murmur something wildly offbase.

"Rabbits? Bro, what? -" Confused, the younger Tracy heard a stumble near the hatch he passed.

He turned just in time to see John's eyes roll back as he passed out.

John had been trying to get to the wall to sit down when he collapsed, but fell backward and toward the right, landing in the netting.

While it kept him from hitting his head, when he kept sagging, most of John's weight fell into the net.

To Alan's horror however, the nets there to protect guests - several decades old, then started to tear under John's 180 pounds.

John landed on the plexiglass, which at its age started to crack under him.

"John!" shouted Alan, as the cracks got louder. Diving, he barely caught his brother around the legs and knees as the net tore fully.

Alan succeeded, if barely, keeping his older brother from going completely over to the floor 30 feet below them.

The youngest did shift slightly as gravity pulled John down until his knees were over the thin lip of the hatch.

Fortunately for John, there was enough clearance under the hatch to avoid smacking his head on any item underneathwhen he stopped being a human pendulum.

Unfortunately for John, Alan's position in saving the older astronaut made the younger essentially a human brake, unable to do anything except keep the duo from falling.

"John! Can you hear me?" Alan persisted, only to frown when his brother didn't respond.

Alan carefully worked himself into a position to try and help pull John back over onto the walkway, but quickly stopped when he felt John start to slip further over the edge.

Feeling his own feet slip on the flooring when he slide some, Alan turned his head to find a secure leg hold. The teen saw what was left of the guard supporting the net. It was not floor to ceiling, but any little bit until aid came had to be enough.

He then put his other leg around his ankle, putting himself in a variation of a figure four leg lock. He was able to reach the other side and hold on to it, creating a more secure human brake. The younger Tracy then readjusted his grip around John's legs.

Alan let out a slight sigh of relief as he kept hold of his senseless brother, but knew he couldn't do it indefinitely.

"OK, plan B," said Alan, who used a special whistle code he had Brains program into his watch to turn the communicator feature on. "Alan to Scott, Virgil - anyone," he said in his rescue voice.

Virgil's bass timber spoke up, chucking. "I read you Alan, did you get -"

The youngest just interrupted. "John's collapsed!"

The medic's tone abruptly changed. Alan never joked when it came to John's health. "Where are you?"

"Lower decks - sickbay - medical supply hatch - I'm hanging on to him," said Alan, grunting slightly when he felt John's body shift slightly.

"Hanging on? What..." said Virgil, growing even more worried.

"He's fallen halfway into the hatch. I have him, but can't move without risking him - and me - going completely over."

Scott, who was at the machinery fabrication portion of the route, started running through the lower deck tour. "FAB Alan - just hold on to him. I'm on my way," he said, into his watch. "Gordon, go find Jacob and tell him we have a man down in the lower deck tour."

"FAB Scott," said the aquanaut, who had been studying the "Pearl Harbor" movie display in the Foc'sle. He fortunately was near the end of that tour so he wouldn't have too far to run for supplies and help.

The medic, quickly followed his eldest brother. "Alan - I'm right behind Scott. How is John now?" said Virgil, who then heard some minor shuffling and Alan's voice.

Hearing no further response, he grew even more concerned that he might be treating two patients. "Alan do you copy? Is John awake?"

"FAB, I copy," said Alan, to his older brother's relief. "But John's still out like a light."

Virgil frowned. "You sure? You can’t see ..."

"FAB… I bit him to be sure."

The medic did a double take. "You *bit* him?" said Virgil, not sure if he heard right.

"Well, I've kinda got my hands full - how else am I going to check?" snapped Alan.

Virgil started to argue, then shook his head. Given Alan was holding onto John for dear life, he admitted it probably was the only thing Alan could do besides yell to test his brother's awareness level.

The medic continued. "Understood Alan, but don't bite him again," said the medic as the two continued running down the hallway. "When John starts coming to, keep him calm so he doesn't cause you both to fall."

Alan started to say something when he felt John again try to slip through his grasp. "Hurry Virg! I don't know how long I can hold on," he grunted, holding on tighter and praying his brothers got there in time.

8888888888888888888

Three minutes later, Scott and Virgil quickly approached the area. “Alan, give us an update on John," said Scott as he passed by the Missing Man table.

"He's moaned softly a couple of times, but that's it," groaned the youngest, pained. The discomfort in his shoulders and legs securing his brother was agonizing, but he vowed to let his joints dislocate first before risking John's safety.

The two older brothers frowned as they continued down the hallway. "He should've come to by now," said Virgil.

"Why hasn’t he?" asked Scott, thinking space sickness and the long night before took its toll.

"Not sure," said Virgil, having thought of at least 10 more serious reasons at the moment. "Of course Alan can't really tell if John's woken up though…”

The pilot nodded grimly, understanding. "Let’s get them safe first..." said Scott as they arrived. They froze in their tracks briefly, assessing the scene.

Alan was on the floor and using his weight and grip on thin - but bolted down, pieces of metal to secure John's legs, doing what he could to keep his brother from becoming a pancake.

John's legs from the knees down were the only part visible on the high walkway. Leaning over the hatch, they saw John was upside down facing the an empty, but no less deadly, 30 feet or so header to the floor. Between his lax face and limp body language, John could almost be mistaken for a washcloth hanging from a laundry line to dry.

Scott and Virgil were thankful Alan was there to catch his brother, but worried as it had been several minutes since John's collapse with no known signs of awareness.

The oldest Tracy shook his head and quickly walked forward. "Alan, we're here," he said as he reached for John's legs, hoping to lighten some of the strain on Alan. "Did he hit anything going over?"

Alan by then could only whimper slightly in pain from his locked muscles. Scott pulled a MiniMAX from his pocket he had used to take aerials of the ship, and launched him to assess the situation below them.

Virgil however carefully stepped around his youngest brother and got on John's other side. He knelt over and unabashedly grabbed the waistband of John's Bermuda shorts and what fistful of shirt he could grab safely.

The man paused in the action - he had to be sure before risking further injury to John. "Scott, what did MiniMAX find" he said.

"The area under the hatch is clear. John couldn’t hit anything. Still unresponsive," said Scott.

"OK Scott. Now, this isn't the way I'd like to move him but we have little choice," the medic said. "On the count of three, you and I will pull John up and adjust positions until I can get him around the ribs to turn him onto the hallway."

"What-about-me," said Alan, who finally caught his breath as Virgil lessened John's weight.

"Keep a hold of his legs and pull as we lift," said the medic gently.

Scott nodded as he knelt down to assist. "FAB Virg," said the pilot and on three, they carefully pulled up their brother. Virgil would grab as much of new shirt as their brother's position changed.

Once John was high enough, Virgil had Alan move out of the way so the two older brothers could carefully remove their ill brother.

Getting a firm grip, Virgil was then able to reach around John's shoulders and head safely. The duo then gently turning a further 45 degrees, gently laying John on the hallway floor.

After dragging him a few feet back to not risk anyone else falling through the hatch, the medic then checked John's vitals.

“His pulse is fast and his skin is hot," said Virgil as Scott lowered the storage hatch. "He might have heat exhaustion."

Scott nodded. "We need to move him to a cooler location," he said, lifting his watch. "Gordon, meet us at the medical storage hatch near sickbay. If Jacob is there, ask he get…”

"FAB - Jacob is getting the trauma kit. I’m on my way with a stokes if needed and a first aid kit,” said the aquanaut as if reading Scott’s mind.

Scott looked at Alan, who was sitting behind Virgil, and rubbing his shoulder and knee. "Alan, can you help us carry him?" said Scott. "Three people would be a more secure way to get him to safety."

Alan nodded weakly. "Yes, but I'd suggest I just help with his legs," he said. "I think I've hurt myself stopping him."

The eldest frowned. "Any other injuries - you or John?" asked Scott again.

The youngest shook his head in negation. “He just hit the net. Kept him from hitting his head… just not landing on the plexiglass,” Alan said.

Virgil nodded. "I'll check it and your shoulder too after we get John sorted out," he said.

Alan nodded as the two older Tracys got on either side of their unconscious brother. Virgil put his arms under John's armpits, protecting his head. Scott put his arms underneath John's lower back and knees while Alan secured their brother at his ankles.

On the count of three, they lifted their brother, who gave a mild groan but didn't do much else. "Easy bro, you're safe," reassured Virgil, though he had a feeling John couldn't quite hear them yet. If the man did though, Virgil didn't want him to panic being carried.

They carefully moved John the rest of the walkway to an open area and placed him on the ground, trying to make him more comfortable.

Then they saw Gordon coming down the hallway. “Jacob’s ETA is about 4 minutes.”

"Understood Gordon," said Scott as he used what was in his water bottle to cool his younger brother.

Gordon kneeled next to the group as Virgil reassessed John's condition. "How's John?"

Virgil frowned as he finished checking John's pulse and eye response. "He's a bit too warm, possible heat exhaustion," he said, concerned as he and Scott then moved their brother onto the metal stretcher. "We've got to lower his temperature down."

Gordon nodded, pulling out a small cooling pack from the first aid kit as they heard running footsteps. Turning, he noticed Jacob run to their location with the larger kit, which would contain more, and larger, instant ice packs.

He then knelt next to the group. "I've closed this path to the other groups so they don't interfere," Jacob said.

"Thanks," Virgil nodded and opened up the rescue box, pulling out a cooling packs to place on John’s pulse points.

Jacob then gently grabbed John's wrist and checked his pulse. He was a certified EMT just in case there was an accident on the ship. "Gordon said you had a man down, but what exactly happened?"

Alan took a breath and explained as he helped Scott place cooling pack behind his insensible brother’s neck. "John and me were in the sickbay hallway doing the scavenger hunt… when he all of the sudden he passed out," he said. "I had to keep him from falling to the bottom of the medical storage hatch..."

Seeing Alan’s shudder, Jacob decided to distract the younger man. "Any other injuries - particularly you?" asked the ship leader gently.

The youngest brother shook his head uncertainly. "May have strained my shoulder and something in my knee… but Virg's going to check it out," he said.

"I can help - I'm an EMT," said Jacob, who gestured for the youngest to come over. He gently checked the injury as he continued. "Was there anyone or anything else affected?"

"A set of security nets tore under his weight when he fell. The plexiglas also broke, so you’ll need to replace them and check the others for age before reopening that display," said Alan, hissing slightly at the elder's ministration.

Jacob nodded. "Right now, I'm thankful they worked long enough for you to keep him from falling in," he said.

Privately, the “hangman’s humor” of his EMT side stayed mute.

Jacob had fun with people talking about the ghost in the engine room during the ghost story part of the event.

He didn't want that to actually become fact…. Even if the incident was higher up.

Feeling Alan shiver in memory, the ship leader cleared his head of the darker humor, then gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like nothing's seriously hurt,” said Jacob. “I'd say use an ice pack on it and take some aspirin tonight."

Alan nodded while Virgil again took his John's vitals and checked his temperature.

He smiled softly. "The cooling packs are working some," said the medic.

As if in reply, John groaned and stirred some, partially opening his eyes.

Scott leaned over and smiled. "Hey John, how do you feel" he said simply, wanting to check John's reaction.

The astronaut winced at the metal under his back and sighed. "Fizzy," he said almost deliriously. “Am I in sick bay?”

Virgil shook his head. "Not exactly. Do you know what happened?" he said.

John tried concentrating, but it was too hard for him. He understood enough between that and the “fizzy,” feeling what that usually meant.

"I fainted… pretty certain... in the near a hatch heading from sickbay… I think?" he said, more as a question than statement.

"Yes, you did," said Virgil. "Alan called for help and we got you to safety."

The astronaut however didn't understand and winced. "Still so tired though..." he said, closing his eyes to rest.

"You're going to be - you know what fainting spells do to you," said Virgil gently, much to Jacob's confusion. "John has had issues in the past with low blood sugar."

Jacob furrowed his brow. "Does he need a glucose pack?" he asked, looking through the IR medical box.

The medic shook his head. "I don't think his collapse was from that, not with the past two days being as rough as they’ve been for him," said Virgil.

“Heat exhaustion?”

“Possibly. I think it's space sickness combined with the heat," said Virgil, putting a hand on his brother's cheek to check his temperature. "Look we need to move him back to the berth to cool him down more in private. Is there a way we can get him there with the stokes?"

John cringed… “Don’t wanna stokes,” he muttered.

His plants went unanswered as his brothers continued.

"Or having the Scouts save Sam freak out seeing him," said Gordon. Seeing Virgil's look of disapproval, he shrugged. "What? - It's true."

The ship leader however merely nodded. "Sure, there's an old sailor path through this part that leads to the berths. That's how they'd get to their stations during the service," said Jacob. "You gather up your supplies and I'll lead you through them. Most of them are air conditioned as well so they'll help cool your brother off."

The medic nodded. “Thanks," he said as he and Gordon adjusted the cooling packs on their brother. "OK John, you get to go for a little ride now,” he said, as Virgil and Scott moved him to the stokes.

John looked at his brother blearily. "Great - I hate being carried almost as much as EOS with bagels…” he said groggily.

He however then sighed as the packs cooled him further, appreciating the cool temperature against his warm skin. "Though it's worth it if she has the same coolness in the gravity ring..."

Jacob quirked an eyebrow. "You *sure* you don't want me to take him to the hospital?" he said.

Virgil also shook his head. "I don't think it's necessary. He's just more susceptible to exhaustion than the rest of us because he works in space so much.”

“But EOS…?”

“A private joke between us regarding TB5,” said Virgil. They didn’t want the AI’s existence to be known. “I think he needs just rest and fluids.”

Scott nodded. "I trust Virgil's assessment - he wasn't out long. We should be able to treat it here," he said.

The ship leader nodded. “Aye-aye - just keep me in the loop in case you need me to assist further,” he said. “My radio is on all night.”

The four conscious Tracy brothers finished gathering their items and tucked the kit onto the stokes at John's feet. On the count of three, they gently lifted the stokes, hearing their brother mumble some in protest, but didn’t try to get out.

They followed Jacob through a series of halls that lead them to the women's head and doorway to the berth, not noticing someone else was in those halls.

After gently maneuvering the basket through the doorways and down the stairs, they entered the sleeping quarters.

John still rested quietly, if a little bit annoyed as Virgil and Scott helped transfer John to his bunk.

Virgil sat on the floor next to John, who had dozed off again, and checked his vitals. "His temperature's down another couple of degrees. We can reduce the packs some so he doesn't get too chilled," he said, starting to remove them. "We'll have extras on just in case they are needed again."

Alan nodded and bundled the packs in an unused bunk to be ready for reuse while Gordon gave Virgil a light blanket to swap it out.

Scott took a close look at Virgil's reactions when he gently lifted an eyelid to check John's awareness level. "He is asleep right?" he said quietly.

Virgil nodded. "Yes, but it's a little restless physically - probably because his body is in shock from the heat and tumble," he said, adjusting the blanket over his brother.

"Could it have been exacerbated because John's pushed himself too far to come here?" asked the eldest. He felt guilty not telling John to wait a day and move TB5 to lower an elevator there instead.

"Maybe, but Scott… it isn’t your fault you know. Between yesterday and the late night and weather today…” said Virgil, but then shook his head, choosing to not continue. “Too many factors.”

He pulled out a gel pack for John's forehead and placed it on his head to gently cool it down. "As long as he stays cooling down, we’ll stay the night.”

Virgil then yawned and looked at the time. It was Tattoo, nearing the time they'd have to go to bed anyway. "Guys, we may as well turn in ourselves. I'll stay watch for the first few hours and we can swap out just in case John wakes up in a panic," said the medic.

The others nodded. "FAB Virgil. If you need us anytime, holler," said Scott.

The four uninjured Tracys, along with the Boy Scouts, college students got ready for bed and laid down in their berths. Within a half an hour they were fast asleep.

Little did they know in the next few hours, their trip through history was going to make some more history...

*A note - very minor liberties were made to the hatch: I don’t remember if there was a ladder in it or not, so I went headcanon 2060s there’s not. This is however reversed tour.

#melmac78 observation #thunderbirds are go #gordon tracy #virgil tracy #john tracy #scott tracy #alan tracy #Thunderbirds Are Go fanfiction #TAG WIP

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monkeythefander · 11 months ago

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Prinxiety Headcannons #4 ❤️💜

I’m finally returning to the ship that started my headcannon series. Here is my fourth set of Prinxiety Headcannons.

Content warnings: None that I’m aware of, but let me know if I missed anything and I’ll update this.

Click to keep reading the headcannons.

- After finding out that Roman is afraid of the dark, Virgil got Roman a night light. The night light looks like a dragon and Roman uses it every night. Virgil is always ready to change the light bulb whenever it needs to be switched.

- Roman gives Virgil a sticky note every morning with a sweet message on it to remind the anxious side that he’s loved and appreciated. In return, Virgil always kisses Roman on the forehead and reminds him that he’s his hero.

- The couple wears matching earrings. Roman wears a storm cloud earring on his left ear and Virgil wears a crown earring on his right ear.

- After they started dating, Roman asked Virgil if they could do the “my boyfriend does my makeup” challenge. Virgil agrees as long as Roman doesn’t try to post whatever video or photos he takes of the activity. Virgil ends up giving Roman an emo makeover. The two look back at the video Roman took of the challenge fondly.

- Roman would get Virgil a promise ring after they have been dating for a year to show that he’s very committed to their relationship, without rushing into proposing. This is because Virgil said he’d want to be dating for at least two years before thinking about marriage. The promise ring Roman got for him is silver with a purple, heart shaped gem stone in it.

- Roman and Virgil have movie dates every Saturday night. They wear their favorite onesies and cuddle while watching a movie in one of their rooms.

- Every Halloween, Roman creates a couple’s costume for him and Virgil.

- Whenever Roman gets stressed or feels really insecure, Virgil will pull him into a hug and run his fingers gently through Roman’s hair. Roman finds this touch very comforting and always relaxes into the embrace.

-Monkey💜

End notes: As always, if you like any of these headcannons and want to make a fanfic or fanart based on them you can as long as you ask me first, and then tag/credit me in the post so I can see it.

#sanders sides #sanders sides headcannons #prinxiety #roman sanders #virgil sanders #prinxiety headcannons #roman x virgil #ship headcanons

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tss-anxceit-week · 1 year ago

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The time has come...

...for spooky season, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, orange leaves and windy storms. And, lest we not forget:

The arrival of the prompts for Anxceit Week 2023!

Thank you all for your wonderful submissions; I hope these pairs of prompts will help inspire you.* 💜💛

Day 1 (Nov. 12): Close & Distant

Day 2 (Nov. 13): Eyes & Apples

Day 3 (Nov. 14): Trust & Betrayal

Day 4 (Nov. 15): Free Day!**

Day 5 (Nov. 16): Home & History

Day 6 (Nov. 17): Kiss & Make Up

Day 7 (Nov. 18): Lies & Promises

*Like I mentioned above, these prompts are first and foremost meant as tools to spark your inspiration. You are free to interpret the prompts however you like, choose either one or both, incorporate them in any degree you wish.

**As the name suggests, you are free to choose whatever prompt you like on Day 4! Go wild! Need ideas? Perhaps some of these honorable mentions from the submissions can inspire you: Lantern, Denial, Web, Photoshoot, Past/Future, Shedding, Nightfall, Sewing, Capes.

As for some final announcements, please keep the rules below in mind:

Tag this blog (@tss-anxceit-week) and/or include #anxceitweek2023 in your post when you submit something. That will help me make sure I reblog all the Anxceit content being made for this week.

Artwork of any kind is welcome! Art, writing, playlists, crafts, animation, poetry - you name it, we'd love to see it!

This is a SFW event. Please be aware that NSFW content will not be reblogged here to keep this space available to as many as possible.

As long as Anxceit is the main focus, you are allowed to include polyships featuring Janus and Virgil as well. And further on that note, the ship can be celebrated in any nature: platonic, familial, romantic, etc.

Don't feel obligated to partake in every single day. Whenever you are able/willing/inspired you are free to join, but take care to not overwork yourself.

And most importantly of all: have fun! I am so thrilled to see what you all will come up with and it's an honor to organize this event for the community here. Feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions or comments!

See you sssssssoon...

💜💛

#sanders sides #ts sides #janus sanders #virgil sanders #anxceitweek2023 #anxceitweek #ts janus #ts virgil #ts anxceit #anxceit week #anxceit week 2023

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astranite · 8 months ago

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Notes- Christmas TAG secret santa fic.

Because of this post and @janetm74 and @edutainer2022 here are my additional notes for my 2023 thunderfam secret santa fic.

It contains brainstorming that became part of the og fic and notes as a continuation for the car ride. It was actually these that I came up with first and intended to write but got side tracked with explorations of getting ready, especially given the prompt i was given was “Every day is a school day” with Jeff and Lucy. Also deadlines!

Mind that this is pretty much as is from my notes in its entirety, complete with spelling errors, partial sentences and utter lack of cohesion as I jumped between ideas.

Link for the fic proper on ao3.

---

“Every day is a school day” Jeff and Lucy. And everyone.

Car drive to spent christmas with Grandma and Grant at Gran Rocha. The preparing and road tripping shenanigans.

getting all five kids plus themselves and luggage into the car on time as chaotic as a school day. Jeffs line?

S15, J13, V12, G 6?7, A3

Wake-up call. Alarm going off Lucy tired and grumpy where Virgil gets it from. I’ll get the kids up and you can head straight to the coffee. Jeff fooling around like mock drill sergeant. Scott’s grumpy teenness and chucking a pillow at him with surprisingly good aim for supposedly asleep. Scott getting up. Bed hair mess that Jeff runs a gentle hand through pulling him into a hug. Virgil and John. John and Bagel the cat curled up together. Both hissing at him in unison. Virgil needed to be hugged and woken up more slowly.

Down in the kitchen. Jeff kissing Lucy and trying to steal her coffee. No you cannot steal my coffee Jefferson Tracy, you have your own. Lucy’s massive science pun mug. Hair in her face looking like little Virgil.

HURRICANE LUCY. Time skip to about to go?

packing- John wanting to fit telescope. Or “But I did leave my telescope behind” but bag full of books.

Last min shoving presents in. Neighbour to feed the cat.

Scott nabbed the car keys first on massive ** many different keychain so neither Lucy nor Jeff could lose them. Swinging them around his finger, “can I drive” Parental chorus of “No!” Doesn't have license yet but is learning to pilot. argument of Grandma lets me drive on the ranch. Thats the beat up old ute and theres nothing much out there to hit any way.

And they were done. Bags were in the car, kids were in the car, last final bathroom stops had been had. Lucy patted down her pockets. Keys! She didn’t have them, so Jeff must except that he didn’t. Surely the couldn’t have lost them with the neon pink rocket ship key chain attached to prevent this. Until they both spied Scott leaning against the drivers side door and swinging them around his finger.

“So, can I drive?” Scott asked as if he didn’t already know the answer to that question.

“No,” came the parental chorus.

Then the other kids repeating them, picking up on it slightly behind.

Scott grinning and tossed the keys in the air one last time then caught them. He passed them to Lucy’s waiting hand prompted by a stern eyebrow.

7 seater beat up car. Drive- Kansas to Texas. approx 9 hours to 8 1/2. Lucy english thinking its ages. at least america had good highways. and from her mothers tales at least kangaroo spotter was a redundant position.

Panic at dress clothes for Christmas day

someone packed no underpants. Gordon only packed underwear and swimmers. Trying to sort laundry at last minute. Jeff’s haphazard packing of his own clothes with getting everyone else in military order. Lucy remarking jokingly, “Mightve gotten to mars adn forgot your space suit.

Jeff the nerd, calling Grandma to tell on our way, “Houston we have take off”. Kids dramatic countdown. A “finally”. FOnd eye rolls.

John and Virgil at back seats. Johns already long limbs folded up.

Scott getting the dubious privelige of the middle row. but centre seat between Alan and Gords car seats and on big brother duty.

Lucy hoping but not expecting to get some rest on the trip. Up all night getting ready. has mystery novel to read. but trying to wrangle kids. Putting Jeff’s cowboy hat over her face to keep the sun off as she sleeps.

Stops for toilet breaks. Lunch fast food. “Do not let gordon have soda.” Johns burger order. Virgil picking pickles out to give to john. The chips stealing. Trying to eat and drive. sending older ones in to fish younger out of the play area. losing Scott to it too, send in John planning it like a mission.

Jeff adn Lucy discussion over what coffee is supposed to do. ADHD Jeff. starting with Scott asking for coffee, cheekily. No, we dont need you any more hyper. Jeff’s confident, “Coffee doesnt do that” Even same with Aa. spirited debate. JSSo that means I can have some? eff still saying no coffee for Scott.

Lucy driving at some point.

If Lucy had to hear one more rendition of baby shark she was the one who was going to get out and walk.

music and Lucy and Virgil comparing synesthesia.

John reading massive heavy text book, splayed out across knees. not getting car sick, serve well for astronaut. for fun, reminded he didnt need to study.

Scott bored and restless. tinies asleep. no phone signal. twisting around, being told off for seat belt, trying to see what Johns doing. seat swap and he and John are in the back doing maths and physics, heads bent together. virgil eyes closed but awake or leaning around car seats to look out the windows, bobbing head to music through headphones.

when John adn Scott get stuck, calling questions out to Lucy. Jeff snoring in front seat, head on lucy;s jumper, went from wide awake to clonked out even after the coffees.

Virgil using breath on fogged up windows to draw. Scott and John used it for math.

Gordon are we there yet. Alan copying him.

naming animals and animal sounds. then naming sea creatures. then sounds of sea creatures. some known, some gordon happily making them up.

car sickness. Scott getting car sick, in spite of crazy spins and flips but then hes in control. another reshuffle, Jeff wedged into the middle seat, Lucy laughing and looking in rear view mirror at tall, broad shouldered husband folded awkwardly into the back. John and Virgil back-back. Scott getting shotgun, window open and nauseous. Vomit bags in glove box because learnt from past fiascos and puke in hat story. Scott grumps would be fine if I was driving

some point tinies and Jeff all asleep. John and Virgil happy together. Lucy getting to check in and chat to scott.

on destination. everyone there, big family. Lee? Kayo adn Kyrano and Kayo mother. Jeff brothers? packed into the big ranch house. noise and merriment. hot dry texas air. smell of good food cooking. some slight odour of burnt.

explain lucy parents farm????

“The eagle has landed” finding rooms, unpack car. eldest three in together. youngest.

John overwhelmed after trip, not wanting to talk to anyone. near tears at thought of going into party. going to stable to spent time with horses.

Virgil running up to Grant and talking his ear off, to much delight of both parties. Grant, still broad shouldered and strong from farm work, charcoal black hair now salt and pepper grey.

Achievements getting caught up with. Jeff telling grandma about scotts, Scott proud but a bit uncharacteristically shy, leaning into a side hug.

the comments of how big the kids were all getting, and theyd better not be having more. Lucy laughing and very nope five is plenty enough.

somewhat tired cranky, sticky dusty kids. Gordon spilling something sticky on him in the last hour, waiting to get there to wash him off. Recovering excitement at bath.

grandma’s welcome cookies.

——- other fic. Graduation. car crash. Injuries—the bruises. Scott burst into tears with brothers because he wants mum

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #astrawrite #jeff tracy #lucy tracy

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onthevirgeofdestruction · 3 months ago

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Shatter the Glass

I was paired up with @diamondwind99 for the @xts-reverse-bangx! I picked up this as a backup writer, but I went ham all the same! (Special Thanks to @spiritwell-sides-i-guess for beta-reading!)

Setting: Sanders Sides Canonverse side-story type situation Characters: All canon sides & c!Thomas Shipping: None Word Count: 11,014 (22 Pages) Rating: Teen Warnings: Standard for Sanders Sides, mostly. Mild Dirty Humour, Violence, discussion of eating things that shouldn't be eaten. Standard "Remus Being Remus", as well. Heavy Depression is Depicted as well. Tags: Mild Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Roman is Incapable of letting Other Sides finish a sentence, Bratty Creativities, Catty Janus, Someone give Logan a hug, Patton is trying really hard, C!Thomas is too but depression flavoured

You can see the art that inspired the piece here:

The first thing he could see in the darkness was the colorful lights shimmering on the floor, like a smattering of each colour on a messy painting palette. Roman blinked twice, looking up to find the source of the rainbow refraction, scanning the darkness for any sign of the light. Looking high up, a stained glass window suspended in the darkness. He half-wondered if he was picking his class in Kingdom Hearts before he processed what the colourful blocks of glass depicted, and then his heart stopped.

He would have thought it was Remus at first. The black clothes, the sinister expression, those things reeked of Remus. But the red sash and jewels on the crown made it clear—it was Roman. Creativity, passion, even ego, all gone dark. The room darkened as Roman cried out in confusion, a strangled noise of loss echoing in the empty chamber. The stained glass cracked at the soldered seams, light breaking through into a blinding flash blasted out as the window shattered completely.

Roman gasped, his eyes opening up to the familiar sight of Thomas’s living room across the dining table. He blinked a few times, looking down at his hands. He grasped them a few times and looked around the room. Thomas blearily picked at a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, scanning his phone as Logan harped on him to review the schedule. Virgil sat on the top of the fridge, chewing his thumbnail and Patton begged him to come down. A very normal morning. Was that a daydream? Or some kind of nightmare? Roman wasn’t sure.

“He always does this, Patton, there’s no point. He must like it up there,” Roman pointed out into the kitchen, and Patton turned to look at Roman.

Patton smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, ah, Roman. Well, I still want him to sit at the table like a family.” Virgil pulled up his legs and looked away. “Aw, Virge, don’t be like that!” Patton knocked on the fridge, but Virgil just ignored him.

Roman sighed and ran his hand through his hair, glancing at Thomas struggling through his oatmeal another time. He didn’t seem to notice Roman. That was a motif, lately. Logan didn’t look up either, too focused on trying to get Thomas’ attention. Patton was back to ignoring him, pleading with Virgil to come down. Virgil just pulled up his hood and put on a pair of headphones. Virgil didn’t even have to be here. It was just breakfast. What was Thomas even worried about?

“Patton, wh—”

“Virgil, that’s not good for the fridge,” Patton insisted.

“He doesn’t weigh anything, Patton. He is imaginary,” Logan reminded Patton with a weary tone, putting down his clipboard on the table with a clatter. “Thomas, there is nothing wrong with your food, and it is getting cold. You are going to fall behind schedule if you keep procrastinating like this.”

“Logan, please,” Thomas pleaded desperately, causing every side to look at him. “… I just need a minute.” Thomas just slumped further, holding his head down on the table. The oatmeal spoon was knocked out, leaving a mushy trail on the table where it fell.

Ah, well, that’s what Virgil was doing here. Would have been nice to have someone tell Roman that, but it seemed he was just in the way here. He didn’t tarry any longer, just sinking out on the spot. He knew when he wasn’t wanted, unlike some sides. Roman didn’t bother showing up the rest of the day. If they couldn’t appreciate his greatness, they didn’t deserve his presence anyway.

—

If Roman knew he’d be stepping directly into a minefield, he wouldn’t have tried to come out today. When Roman rose up to suggest an idea to Thomas more directly, he caught Patton’s eye. Patton looked stressed, a weak smile and shooting his eyes over next to him where Janus stood and mouthed ‘leave’. But it was too late, Janus caught the cartoonish gestures and turned from talking to Patton to see Roman standing there.

“Oh, you again. You know, as much as I love to see you, I think we’d all be better off if you and your ‘sense of humour’ took a little break, hm?” Janus suggested, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. Patton sighed heavily, looking conflicted.

“I wasn’t here to make jokes, Janus. Thomas wasn’t paying attention to me,” Roman stated in annoyance, fixing his hair with a sweep of his hand.

“Probably because he already has plenty of creative suggestions at the moment,” Janus said haughtily, flicking his gloved fingers over to the couch, where Thomas sat with his head in his arms, a TV show going on ignored in the background. Remus was sitting there rambling off things in an animated fashion that talked through a shadowy figure in front of Thomas, crouching on the top part of the couch like a gargoyle over Thomas’ left shoulder. The debris of one of his insidious (and overcomplicated) traps lay all over the living room floor and across the back of the couch.

Roman bristled and clenched his fists. “I assure you, my suggestions would be leagues better than his,” he shot defensively, motioning widely over to Remus who just ignored him as he continued to prattle off horrible, disgusting things as usual.

“Buddy, I think I’d prefer to hear what you had to say, too, but it’s more fair if we listen to everyone, isn’t it?” Patton said weakly, fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater.

“Nobody has even heard what I have to say yet, how is that fair?” Roman insisted, stamping his foot.

Patton almost looked hopeful for a moment, but Janus’ sharp tongue sliced that away in an instant. “I’m sure we’ve all heard enough of you. I’m sure I have,” Janus scoffed, turning away from Roman to face Patton directly. Patton looked like he was about to object, but bit his lip, looking between Janus and Roman.

“I mean, Remus will be done soon… Right?” Patton said warily, holding up a finger just for it to sag as he watched the gross green gargoyle gallivant over the top of the couch, just out of sight of Thomas.

Roman recoiled at the idea, then again at Remus who was now topping his arm with deodorant to eat. “There is no way that those suggestions are anything worthwhile,” Roman insisted firmly, but nobody reacted to his loud frustration.

“Hm? Did you hear something, Patton? Anyway, as I was saying, a little sunlight does wonders. Perhaps a little sunbathing,” Janus said airily, twisting his hand in the air. Clearly he was not wanted. Once again. Roman groaned, his head suddenly hurting horribly. He sank out, feeling the blood pounding under his fingertips as he held his skull.

Roman’s hand nudged something on his head that was not there earlier, which he rubbed in surprise. It was hard and solid. He created a hand mirror and pulled back his hair to check what was hiding in his perfectly styled hair. A sharp white horn was sticking out of his skull. Roman panicked, shifting his head to check the other side. There was a horn sticking out there as well. The same size, evenly spaced, a beautiful curve. The perfect horns if they weren’t so deeply unwanted. Horns were always a sign of an evil character, and Roman was sprouting the devil’s accoutrement!

He gasped, shifting the mirror again to examine them. He tried to simply shift them away like he was changing clothes. The horns stayed, sticking out of his hair. Was this some sort of prank? A trick? Roman tried to push them down back into his skull, but it only hurt his head worse. He summoned a comb and tried to style the hair up around them, but Linda continued to fight him and he just looked ridiculous with the only style that hid them. Roman reset his hair with a huff and summoned a crown. It hid the horns well enough, but an involuntary shiver ran down his spine when he realized the crown was familiar. He thought he had come up with it on the spot, as he often did, but it looked like the crown from his dream.

The crown slid, and Roman huffed and adjusted it. It’s just a crown with red jewels. He’s overthinking it. Who is he, Virgil? No. It was fine. It hid the horns and it looked good. It wasn’t that deep. Whatever was causing the horns might not even be that deep, either. Maybe this was a prank from Remus. Or payback from some other side for a slight they imagined. Well, no matter. They were easy to hide and he always deserved a crown. Things just fell off of his head easily. The horns would hold it on for him, though. A blessing in disguise. Surely. Roman has a cool new crown and other than being purposefully ignored, things were fine. He would talk to Thomas later. And make him listen. ‘Fairness’ his royal hindquarters. Right now, though, his entire body hurt and he needed a nap.

—

It made sense Roman ended so bruised up, if he took the time to think about it. But when he woke up, yawned while he stretched out like the Disney princess he was, then summoned a mirror to check his hair, it surprised him so much he let out a very unmanly screech and dropped the mirror. It broke, of course. While Roman was preening and whining for help, he stepped on it by accident. But no one came, and the weight of it all sunk in slowly in the silent room.

Roman slumped to the floor and gingerly picked the mirror back up, checking again. A yellowing bruise around his eye. A pale blue on his cheek. Barely noticeable, but there. A massive green bruise on his neck. So his ego was bruised. And nobody cared to come take care of him. Unreasonable, really. Here he is trying so hard to keep Thomas distracted and delighted with all of his greatest creations, and nobody can even spare a pitiful ‘there, there’ with a pat on his very sore head. Roman reached up to check, and the horns were still there, though. Perhaps even bigger, but still hidden by the combination of the crown and hair. Maybe not a head pat, then. He grumbled and adjusted a loose strand back into place through the cracks of the mirror.

This is how people get hurt. Not that that was a threat. But maybe it should be. No, that’s not who he was as a side. Well, who was he? Because he wasn’t being creativity, lately. Remus was doing that, much to Roman’s chagrin. His ego was too bruised to exist. His desires aren’t being listened to in the slightest right now, even if he knew all too well he wasn’t sure what he even wanted at the moment. But normally someone would at least listen to Roman ramble out vague feelings of yearning. There’s nothing but a hope of romance on the horizon, and all of his romantic schemes keep getting shut down as ‘premature’. His dreams are also shut down as ‘unrealistic’. All there is left is passion, and at the moment there was nothing anyone would let him be passionate about.

If the universe (or at least Thomassphere) was trying to send him a message, it needed to be a bit more clear. Like a shimmering golden scroll with a dyslexic-friendly font. Or perhaps some mystic herald. Ideally, an extended and fantastical musical number. That would really be grand. Roman tapped his chin, and it twinged in pain. He groaned loudly, still feeling like he just couldn’t win.

Carefully getting up, Roman started to pace the room again. It felt cold, and he wanted some comfort, so he summoned a red blanket to wrap over his shoulders as he walked, holding it tight over himself. It was honestly strange that no one came to visit. Patton would have been helping Roman in a heartbeat before. Patton loved helping. And yet he never answered any calls?

“Patton?” Roman tried again, but it just felt like his words rammed into the wall and turned into dust that dumped all over the floor. He slogged through the debris of his words and sighed, pulling the blanket tighter. He kicked the dust and choked on his dead words, the coughing wracking pain through each and every bruise dappling his skin.

This was truly unfair. What, was one catty remark enough to earn such revile? Well, not even that. That would require someone to even speak to him. He’s being completely ignored. Spurned, even. Is just one mistake all that it takes? If so, what a cruel double-standard to be held against him. Janus and Virgil are often making snide remarks, but Roman is somehow better than that? Were they not all Thomas? Even Logan gets to be a judgey bitch. And honestly, he didn’t even want to consider the types of things Remus said. And if Patton can make mistakes and apologize, then where was Roman? A unique doghouse made just for him. Unfairly. Cruelly. He wasn’t even given a chance to apologize, if that was indeed even the problem. No one ever even said what he did wrong to earn this exile. There’s no guidebook for this.

Roman tried his hardest every second of his life to be who he thought Thomas needed. Creative, stunning, passionate, strong, dashing. A prince of fantasy writing scrolls of genius literature. But what was any of it worth if no one listened. If no one cared what he had to say or the works he wanted to put into the world. Why was Thomas putting so much time into listening to Remus and ignoring his glorious self? One who was objectively better in every way! For one, Roman could take the damned hint. If he wasn’t wanted, fine. He would be unwanted. If people—well, sides, at least, he knew the fans loved him—can’t want a good thing, that’s their problem. But he still had a job to do, even if they never gave him the chance.

He looked like hell. Felt like shit. Honestly, not at his ‘A game’. But none of that mattered. It was time to make that hell someone else’s problem, whether they liked it or not.

Roman rose in Thomas’ bedroom, ignoring the looks he got from the other sides already in the room. “Thomas!” The man himself looked up from the edge of the bed warily. Remus was building another one of those god-awful contraptions across the bed. Roman raised his hand and Remus disappeared with a stinky gasp, clearly caught off guard. “Stop. Ignoring me for him. Make some time for me or I will do it myself. And I am right now.”

Patton held up his hand and opened his mouth, Roman just shushed him and zipped his mouth shut with his free hand, still holding the blanket around his shoulders. “Get your bodacious ass to that desk and write this down. I’ve been trying to tell you this idea for days and I don’t want to forget.”

Thomas just stared blankly at Roman, not seeming to follow. He looked where Remus was, and his eyes shot to Patton who was trying to pull the fiddly zipper back open. “I don’t—”

Roman’s laughter cut Thomas off, gripping the crumpled bedsheet and leaning back in surprise. “I’m sorry for making that sound like a request somehow. I will turn this bedroom into a children’s hospital, so help me god. Desk.” Roman pointed at the desk with his unsheathed katana as he stared Thomas down. After a heavy pause, Thomas swallowed heavily and got up to go to the desk.

“I really don’t have the energy for this, Roman,” Thomas said weakly, and his exhausted face spoke that leagues more than his words did. Creases under his eyes, dry lips, a sag of the skin. Ugh, what he wouldn’t give for a spa day. But he sat at the chair and looked at Roman like he wished he did. The telltale pound of their shared heart in anticipation. A wave of nausea from needing some sleep and a good meal.

Roman steeled his heart for Thomas, and smacked the desk with the katana. “That’s what happens when you only make time for him. But I’m not letting any of you”—Roman pointedly glanced to the other sides in the room—“kill me. So it’s my time now. Open the damn notebook. And then we’re going for a shower. Have some pride, for god’s sakes,” Roman hissed out bitterly.

“But the schedule—” Logan tried.

“Was I even on it?” Roman shot, the sword now under Logan’s chin. Logan held up his hands and backed off. There was a look in his eye full of anger. But he bit his lip like he had something to say and sunk out, not another word. It seemed Logan understood how to choose his battles.

“Oh, hold on, change that word choice. This is better,” Roman hummed, waving his hand. Thomas scratched out the previous sentence and wrote the corrected version. He made notes of direction and key, and the corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly before another sigh knocked through his chest, exhaustion not playing any games with this poor man’s body much longer.

“Isn’t this a little…” Patton trailed off. He must have worked that zipper open.

“I’m done being little,” Roman huffed, using the hilt of the katana to knock his crown back into place.

“I can see that,” Janus hummed, crossing his arms.

“Oh, shut it, snake boy,” Roman snipped, Janus holding his hand to his chest and gasping in response.

“Perfect. Finally, that’s written down. We’re not filming anything like that, though, gorgeous, so to the shower with you,” Roman commanded.

“We have other—” Virgil tried to object.

“Sh. Actually, strip the bed first. These sheets are disgusting. Touching them after a shower is nightmare material, and I’ve had well enough of that, I think,” Roman ordered. Thomas looked confused and looked to the other sides.

“You want to get that bee out of your bonnet?” Virgil huffed, his hands shoved deep in his hoodie pockets as he sat on the edge of the bed. The sheets were pulled off under him by Thomas, but he didn’t shift from his spot as they phased through him.

“Someone else put it there, and it’s made its new home. And if I have to deal with this forsaken bee, then you can all deal with me dealing with the bee,” Roman insisted firmly.

“What?” Virgil’s stiff posture dropped to look at Roman sideways.

“Oh, you know what I mean.” Roman waved Virgil off. Thomas deposited the sheets in the hamper and looked to all the sides again.

“Well, we do kind of smell. I thought that was Remus, but…” Patton trailed off again, looking to the floor and wringing his hands.

“Hot shower. Now. We’ll listen to Dear Evan Hanson for the emo, but we need some cleaning and hydrating, tout de suite,” Roman said, sending his sword away. Janus just rolled his eyes and Patton kept staring at the floor.

“I can’t call that musical anywhere near alt rock, princey,” Virgil said, leaning back on the bare mattress.

“It’s about all those sad loser things, close enough.” Roman grinned, leaning with one hand on the desk.

“Speaking of being a sad loser,” Janus said derisively.

“I’m sure you’re a professional at it, but I don’t have time for nonsense like that. Shower time is when I shine. Keep the phone close for notes, Thomas!” Roman motioned with his free hand and Thomas sighed, doing as told. Janus said something back, but Roman just ignored him and followed Thomas into the bathroom.

The hot water was divine. Life-giving, really. He could see what all those metaphors were about. Surely he could come up with a better one, though. Thomas gargled the hot water before just standing under the hot waterfall. Virgil appeared sitting on top of the toilet tank, surprising Roman. Everyone else seemed to have backed off. But if Virgil wanted a fight, he could get one.

“We’re not worrying this shower through, Virgil,” Roman stated flatly.

“Maybe you’re not,” Virgil scoffed, leaning on his thighs. “No, what’s with…” He motioned in Roman’s direction. “All of this?”

“The perfection? I know.”

“I more meant the shiners.”

“I am sparkling, aren’t I,” Roman said with a fond sigh.

“I’d rather be shiny,” Thomas sang in the shower. Oh, they forgot to turn on the tunes. Well, any musical is a good one. Virgil looked over to Thomas for a moment, humming along.

“Is that why the crown and the cape, too?” Virgil asked, turning back to look at Roman.

“Cape. Yes. Right. This is a cape.” Roman blinked and quickly turned the red blanket over his shoulders into a proper cape, hooked in the front with a golden embellished cape hook, sporting a red amulet in the design. He dropped his hand from the nape of his neck to lean with both hands on the bathroom counter.

“… That’s what I said,” Virgil stated oddly, looking over Roman again. “Are you sure you’re okay? Even other than the full spectrum of bruise going on,” he asked with a suspicious twinge.

Roman turned over his shoulder to look into the bathroom mirror at himself. There were massive cracks along the surface of the bathroom mirror. That was odd. When did that happen? The breaks in the surface distorted and fragmented the image of himself from behind. He saw a small version of his face give himself the once over. Small hairs sticking out from under his crown, littered with bruises, but still standing tall. Perhaps not ideal, but ideals were Pat’s territory. Creativity and passion could be messy. Wrought with mistakes and burdened with criticism, however heavy either are, these things move on. Perfection is an idea, but passion is a force of nature, not to be reckoned with. Creativity is the divine spark that brings new life to the world. Maybe ideals and such were beneath him all along, even.

“Princey?” Virgil asked again, shaking Roman from his reverie.

Roman looked back to Virgil and cleared his throat. “No. No, I’m not. I don’t think I’ve been okay in a long time, even. I may never even be okay again. But I can’t keep waiting for someone else to fix things. And I’m certainly not going to put up with being shoved aside any longer.”

“Uh, Ro—”

“Honestly, it’s been hard. And I’m tired of all this gaff and faff. Really, it’s too much for any side to handle. I shouldn't have been the side who who had to stepped up.”

“Roman—”

“I simply couldn’t handle all that mess any longer,” Roman said, with a hot huff through his nose, reaching up to adjust his crown again, since he shifted while he spoke. “And if no one is going to take care of my poor bruises, I will. And if that makes me a problem, I’m afraid that’s a you-problem. Not a me-problem,” he said resolutely.

“Princey,” Virgil insisted loudly.

“What is it, nightmare on whine street?” Roman narrowed his eyes at Virgil. If he was going to object…

Virgil pointed behind Roman, which was odd. There was just a sink there. Roman turned to look over his shoulder and just saw the shattered mirror again, the red cape misshapen along the breaks of glass. Fog spread along the edges of the glass as the steam from the shower heated up the bathroom, giving the visage a dreamlike appearance. Virgil grunted, attracting Roman’s eyes once more, and motioned with both hands to Roman’s body.

“Yes, I’m here, Virgil, spit it out already!” Roman’s head lolled back, and the crown caught on the horns this time instead of sliding off his head like it probably would have. He’s so not used to hats.

“How’s the amazing technicolour dreamcoat?” Virgil said, returning to leaning on his thighs with a big smirk.

“You know, I considered going full rainbow plenty of times, but it just gets clashy. So classic was the way to go. At least for now, anyway. Though getting someone over here to dye our whole head rainbow really would be a fun way to mix things up, wouldn’t it?” Roman hummed, rubbing his chin as he pondered the idea. Thomas pulled at a wet lock of hair and looked at it in the shower with interest.

“Classic villain?” Virgil asked, sounding amused.

“Now’s not the time for jokes, Virgil, don’t be silly,” Roman waved him off, still thinking about rainbow hair. Wasn’t that what people did when they wanted a change, anyway?

Virgil snorted. “Hey, Princey, what colour is your tunic?”

“Black, of course,” Roman joked, figuring he may as well play along. He stood up straight again and it was too fast, causing the crown to shift on his head, so he reached up to adjust it. The sleeve of his arm caught in his eyes though, and it was genuinely black now. Roman’s breath caught as his eyes locked on the fabric. Virgil tilted to look at his face, but Roman just grinned, rubbing the amulet on the cape hook with the sleeve to a shine. “It was time for a change. Isn’t it great? I’m a dark side like you used to be!” Roman enthused.

“Dark side? Roman, you made up that name. We never—”

“So? Everything real starts as an idea!” Roman defended. “What, are you jealous I look better in it than you?”

“More surprised than anything,” Virgil said, covering his mouth.

“You really did wuss out, Virgil. I think you were right all along. Being horrible and demanding gets things done,” Roman pondered on.

Virgil’s back shot straight, gripping his knees. “Excuse me?”

“Ugh, we still have to make the bed to actually go to bed,” Roman realized with a whine. “Oh, wait, that scene! Thomas, phone!” Roman waved at Thomas frantically, and Thomas reached for the phone to write it down, leaving wet marks on the screen. “Well, maybe since we’ve been staying up late already, it would be fine to write a little more…”

“Roman, what is going on with you,” Virgil demanded, standing up and hopping down from the toilet seat.

“Nothing that wasn’t a long time coming,” Roman huffed, crossing his arms and looking away.

Virgil jabbed at Roman’s chest with a finger and stared him in the eyes. “Do you really think—” Virgil started, and Roman snorted out an angry sound, heat licking at his face as smoke rose past his eyes in the fogged bathroom. Virgil’s eyes widened and he stumbled back, looking over to Thomas before looking back to Roman. “Creativity,” Virgil said, sounding taken aback for some reason. “Right,” Virgil muttered flatly and walked through the bathroom door, fading out and leaving nothing but the humid haze of the small bathroom to keep them company.

Roman turned quickly to look back into the shattered mirror, but the fog had completely overtaken the mirror, leaving nothing but a black and red smudge staring back at him. He could barely make it out as himself, but he knew it instinctively to be true. Roman gripped the counter top and stared where his eyes should be. This was what he wanted, right? Though having two dark creativities was a bit much to handle for his brain. That didn’t make sense. They needed new names. Roman was still passion, love, and hope. He wouldn’t be doing this if he wasn’t. And he’d be damned if he wasn’t creativity, as well. That’s not a phase he’s growing out of. Remus being called ‘creativity’ is an affront, in Roman’s opinion. Perhaps the poopoo-stinky side still worked. Or the murderwhore. Buttface? Well, he could workshop that.

“Roman! That’s an unexpected look from you,” Thomas stated warily, sliding open the shower curtain.

Roman turned around with a flourish. “Fortune favours the bold, darling, and I will be bold and fortunate if it kills you,” he said confidently, stepping out of the way of the sink.

“I’m sure Virgil has something to say about that.”

“Face, body, and hair moisturizer, Thomas, the emo already scampered off. We can get back to writing now that everyone is off my back, and I’m not wasting a second of my time,” Roman insisted, pushing Thomas closer to the sink to get to his beauty routine.

—

“Well, one of us will have to change,” Remus said cattily as Roman rose up to enter the room.

“I already changed. Since you’re the stagnant skidmark in question, how about you?” Roman snipped back, putting up a hand to block his face. He ignored Remus’ gasp and faced Logan. “When am I on the schedule today, my walking, talking spreadsheet of a side?”

“My opinion matters today?” Logan asked shortly, his fist tightening at his side.

“Oh, like anyone else was listening to you either,” Roman scoffed, flicking his wrist to hurry along with the indignation and answer the question. Logan didn’t say anything, just continuing to glare. What a drama queen. “I’m asking now. Have you made time for moi, or am I taking time for moi?”

Logan paused as if considering something, before responding, “a half-hour in the evening,” between gritted teeth.

“That will absolutely not do, Logan. We’ll barely get started in that amount of time,” Roman objected right away.

“Well, you kept Thomas awake late with that stunt, and we are very behind on other responsibilities. We need to clean. Get proper groceries. Update our budget spreadsheets. Do some exercise. There is only so much time in the day, and as you are well aware, we still need extra sleep. Be reasonable,” Logan stated flatly.

Reasonable? Roman glowered back at Logan, who summoned a notebook to write something down. He didn’t think he was being unreasonable. Not that he was even ‘reason’ to begin with. That was so stupid it didn’t even dignify a response. And from Specs of all sides. Really.

Roman looked over Thomas, who looked like a zombie as he tried to eat some dry cereal. “Out of milk?” Roman asked.

“Out of nearly everything,” Patton piped up. “I think—”

“Hm, well, I don’t think I care that much about all the minutia. I’ll let you all handle that and be the artiste I am and just do what I need to as the moment demands,” Roman said haughtily, feeling joyously indulgent in himself. He reveled in Patton’s gaping stare, Virgil throwing back his head in a groan, and just ignored whatever Remus was doing as usual. “Ta ta for now!”

Roman wiggled his fingers and sank out of the room, letting himself get caught up in a fantasy of not having to deal with all those things and simply get to be the star of the show. Oh, getting into another production was also a good idea. He had Thomas pull out his phone to check for auditions while he crunched on dry cereal and considered the options. The other sides had gotten into an argument, but it wasn’t about anything that mattered, so he left them to it and focused on more important things.

—

“Hello again, my adoring audience!” Roman rose into the room with a twirl, his arms in the air in a pose. “Oh, not so much an audience today,” he said, examining the room with no one but Thomas. So many sides have been very present lately. “Finally feeling a little free of conflicting feelings, Tommy-Salami?” Roman put his hand on Thomas’ shoulder, who was splayed on the couch like a starfish.

“Not really… feeling.” Thomas’ head lolled over to Roman, looking up at him. “The cape is neat. What made you change your mind?”

“Ah, well, just an impulse, really,” Roman dismissed, not caring to even think about that himself. He looked around again, looking for Logan. Logic made it sound very important, and While Roman didn’t particularly care or agree on the methods, their life needed a bit of organizing. Who better than Logan to help? “Wasn’t there some schedule you were supposed to be keeping? I thought I’d be having at least a little rebuff here,” Roman stated, scrunching up his face in confusion.

“Happy to provide,” Janus hissed, appearing with his leg crossed over the other and his hands folded in his lap in the chair. Thomas’ head rolled over to look at him, but didn’t react otherwise.

“That wasn’t an encouragement,” Roman objected.

“Funny thing! Neither is this. I thought you realized we had a problem here and were doing the gracious thing,” Janus said pointedly, staring Roman down.

“I’m not feeling particularly gracious at the moment.” Roman rolled his eyes, motioning to the bruises all over his face and neck.

“We did always have an easy to bruise ego, didn’t we,” Janus remarked banally, as if he couldn’t be less interested. Roman just narrowed his eyes at him. “We’re taking a breather.”

“We’ve been doing nothing but taking a breather. Trust me, I understand a good spa day. But we’re not even recuperating! Look at him!” Roman motioned to Thomas who looked up lazily at Roman and shrugged. “Go do something good, or stop wasting me time.”

“What’s this really about Roman?” Janus said flatly.

Roman startled, pulling up his hand to his chest as his jaw dropped. “Excusé moi?”

“All… this.” Janus motioned to Roman, who looked down and looked up so fast he nearly launched his crown. It caught on his horn and he pushed it back into place on his head with a huff. “I’ve always known you were bitchy, but plagiarism? Come now, that’s supposed to be beneath us. Other than that whole… Inside Out situation,” Janus said insultingly, twisting his gloved hand in the air. Roman bristled, a thousand insults all fighting to bubble out at once, leaving him speechless and stammering. “No more zingers? Thank god,” Janus scoffed, looking away to Thomas and opening his mouth again once more, but Roman beat him to the punch.

Literally.

Janus stumbled back, holding his face and looking utterly and completely aghast.

“I have listened. And struggled. And tried. And I get all these conflicting requests and messages. Give me fun nicknames and quips Roman, they’re good for comedy! Oh, but not right now. Express yourself, Roman! But not that way, no no! That will not do! Perform right now! Ope, the moment’s passed, too late. Stop acting afool!” Roman shouted out as Janus stumbled back to fall on the couch next to Janus. Thomas seemed to be coming to, the haze in his eyes clearing as he looked over to Roman. “Or how about even just you, no other side involved? Doting on me with sweet compliments, playing along with my jokes, having a gas. Just to throw me out of the damned air balloon the first disagreement we have! I’m not buying what you’re selling anymore, Sanctimonious Snitch!”—Janus gasped loudly at that one—“If you have a problem with me, tell me. I’m not a damned mind-reader.”

“We’re literally the same person, but go off, I guess,” Janus muttered, rubbing his face. He knocked his hat back into place and tugged at the caplet to remove the rumples. But that wasn’t an answer.

“Oh, you can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” Roman said cattily, crossing his arms. His tail flicked behind him, knocking over a trinket on the shelf. Wait, tail?

“I could ask you the same question,” Janus grumbled, looking away. Roman shot his tail to fall down the back line of his legs to hide it in a panic. “Fine, I’ll leave you to these wet mashed potatoes. He’s so responsive right now, I’m sure it will be a breeze,” Janus drawled and disappeared from the couch.

Thomas looked up at Roman, seeming to slip back into that daze. Roman snapped. “Bup-bup-bup! Look at me! Best side, most handsome, easy on the eyes, shouldn’t be a problem,” Roman said confidently, striking a pose. But Thomas waned again. “Wake up, bitch!” Roman shot, clenching his fists and stamping his foot on the floor. The tail flicked again, but it was no matter. “Thomas!” Smoke billowed from Roman’s mouth and the room heated.

“Someone’s throwing a little temper-tantrum,” Remus hummed, placing an empty can on a precarious pile in his latest abomination of a Rube Goldberg machine. “What, do I get no invite to the pity party? You know how much I love balls,” Remus preened, leaning forward with a manic expression distorting open his eyes and lips.

“I already made that joke. But better. And ages ago. Get with the program,” Roman huffed, looking away. He let his tail swish freely along with the frustration, not caring if Remus saw. Roman took the chance to look at it as well. A red-scaled dragon tail with a spade at the end. On the thinner side. The base had some golden-white scales on the underbelly. At least the color-scheme made sense. Suddenly having a dragon tail didn’t.

“Aw, did nobody wisten to your tales and you got so constipated with them, they shot out of your ass instead of your mouth?” Remus joked, flicking his fingers in Roman’s direction.

“More action than you’ve gotten,” Roman scoffed, his arms crossing again as he paced the room. He turned on a foot and faced Thomas pointedly, ignoring whatever machinations Remus had going on pointedly. Roman tugged at his tunic and cleared his throat, looking directly at Thomas who was still utterly dazed. “Thomas. You are getting up off this damned couch. We are making a mug cake for a little sugar so I can think in this hell hole we call an apartment, and we are writing, do you hear me?”

Thomas just stared at him. Or maybe through him.

“Listen to me!” Roman shot, fire passing from his lips, the carpet smoking beneath his boots.

“Did we upgrade to temperature-tantrum?” Remus mused playfully, rubbing his mustache.

“Weak, Remus. And you call yourself creativity,” Roman scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Eh, we’re sleep deprived.” Remus waved off, unfazed, and Thomas seemed to have caught himself tittering. Remus adjusted the remote control right next to Thomas’ hand, teetering to get knocked off to start the trap.

Roman sighed heavily and pulled Thomas off the couch by his left arm, away from the obvious set up all crafted behind him.

“Spoilsport!” Remus shot, knocking down the remote himself. The trap set off, but Roman simply pulled Thomas away into the kitchen and away from all that mess.

“I’m not really hungry, Roman,” Thomas objected, but Roman didn’t care and sent a single arm flying, tugging him through the kitchen to the cabinet and pantry to make a mug cake.

Logan rose up with a tired sigh, the other hand going into Thomas’ pocket for the cell phone, looking up a recipe for one. Roman was just going to wing it—honestly, how hard could it be—but with Logan’s help they had a mug brownie in hand with a spoonful of frost-bitten ice cream no one remembered buying on top in short order. Roman stuck the tail to the back of his pants and tried to hide it there, but Logan didn’t seem to be looking Roman’s way at all. He wasn’t sure if he was offended or relieved about that.

There was a bit of fight to eat the sweet treat, Thomas stubbornly dodging with his head when they tried. The poor fool got a big smear of brownie on his face. But after a single bite, his stomach woke up and he was eating it in no time.

Roman felt incredibly self-satisfied with the victory, but Logan looked just as stale and unimpressed as before. “Geez Logan, it’s not a funeral,” Roman huffed, Thomas tossing a glance to Logan in-between bites. He handed off a wet paper towel to Thomas for him to clean off his cheek.

“Do you even care what I have to say?” Logan asked flatly, looking stoic as usual. Thomas took the paper towel automatically, and then did a double-take between Roman and the wet rag before cleaning off his face.

“Not really, but it’s not like you care at all,” Roman said dismissively, and Logan’s eye twitched. “But I don’t think that matters. When is dinner time on that schedule of yours again? I wasn’t paying attention,” Roman asked. Logan’s arms dropped to his side and he stood there blankly for a moment. “Logan?”

“Earth to the ass-tronaut!” Remus shot from the living room.

“Remus I will cut you into bite sized pieces and feed you to the birds!” Roman shouted back angrily.

“What, not enough of a man to vore me whole?” Remus teased, wiggling his ass in the air.

“Logan, what time do we need to go and make dinner,” Roman asked again, just ignoring Remus. Then glanced around the kitchen to all the dirty dishes. There wasn’t even a clean counter to work with. “Er, well… order out dinner, actually,” he amended his question. Even if they started cleaning the kitchen now, he didn’t think they’d be done in time to make dinner. And they certainly didn’t have the energy to clean up after making dinner, either. Roman glanced over to the garbage, and even that was full of take out containers. Roman groaned inwardly as his head sagged. He knocked the crown back into place and looked at Logan who still stood there like a robot.

“You’d think he’d be hopping on the opportunity to answer a question like that,” Roman remarked.

“Maybe that scheduling fetish doesn’t have the same spark anymore,” Remus suggested, leaning over the counter to look into the kitchen. “Let’s add roaches to the mug cake. Ant sprinkles. A little bit of sh—”

“No,” Roman and Thomas said simultaneously, but Thomas was still struck with a shudder.

“Rude,” Remus whined.

“I… don’t understand the purpose of this question,” Logan finally said, and to his credit he really looked lost.

“And I don’t understand the confusion. What, did you shred it up? Feed it to the neighbor’s dog? Did Remus light it ablaze?” Roman asked incredulously.

“Oh!” Remus cackled with delight at the idea.

“Well, obviously not that one, then,” Roman groused, shoving some food in Thomas’ mouth since he got distracted from eating again. “I know you have redundant schedules. And those back-ups have back-ups. Just give me a time, I don’t care about the specifics or some sob story about how one of Remus’ little brain demons at your day planner,” Roman said, leaning on the counter lazily.

“… Why?” Logan asked.

“Ugh. I see now that too much chaos and disorder is a problem. And while I don’t want it cutting into my me time, I’ve been cut all the same. I’d rather stop early than not get to be myself at all. Did you think I wanted this fashion flip? No! It sucks!” Roman tried to explain but fell off into complaining.

“Sure suits you though,” Remus said with a high teasing tone. Roman raised his arm and tried to send off Remus again, but the gremlin’s smile only widened. “That trick will only work once! You can’t surprise me with the audacity anymore when you have nothing but!” Remus announced brightly, leaning in and shackling himself dramatically to the counter, the chains loudly clanking and he posed like a waif dying in a dungeon. “I’m here forever,” he sighed miserably.

“No one is allowed to call me over-dramatic ever again,” Roman said flatly. Remus collapsed to the counter and coughed out blood, his cheeks growing hollow and dark as he coughed. “You act like you’re trapped and withering, but you’ve always had it good,” Roman stated darkly.

“Oh ho?” Remus looked up from the counter with high eyebrows, wiping the blood from his lips with his hand. It smudged all over his face, only looking worse.

“You’ve never been stuck listening to all these stupid rules,” Roman started. “Do it this way, Roman. What about what’s popular, Princey? That won’t sell, Roman. Don’t be mean, Roman. You can’t talk about our current project, Roman, that’s spoilers! Why don’t you stand up for what’s right, aren’t you a prince? Distract me, Roman!” He said with increasing volume in a mocking tone, his hands yapping along with him. “You’ve always just done whatever you wanted without ever considering another soul, and nobody blinks an eye. If I was anywhere near as bad as you, I’d get chastised from all sides!” Roman ranted out, slamming his fist into the counter. Thomas put down his mug and considered Roman carefully, looking aware of him for the first time this afternoon. “I didn’t even ask, and you helped me,” Roman said quietly. “Which is more than I can say about any other side right now!” He shouted to the ceiling. Remus cackled loudly, echoing eerily in the room. “So. When are we ordering dinner on your schedule? Or have you been shut up by Janus again,” Roman insisted in a hard tone.

“You. You started that,” Logan said in a baffled tone.

“Be the fun side, Roman. Come up with a joke, Roman. Keep it light-hearted, Roman,” he hissed through his teeth as he reiterated, glaring at Logan through the words forcing their way through the walls of his pearly whites.

“That’s rich,” Remus said with a dreamy sigh.

“If we were rich, the kitchen would be clean and our private chef would be making us a meal right now!” Roman shot angrily, his tone nothing short of bitchy and done-with-it.

“Soak the mug, Thomas,” Logan said quietly, pointing at the empty mug Thomas held as he gaped at the other sides.

“Please do.” Roman waved him to the sink. “I thought it was a joke. Between friends. But here we are and I fucked up again if you’re holding something that stupid against me. Sorry. Should I hold a sign,” he grumbled out, flicking his head side to side.

“I would appreciate that,” Logan said, suddenly holding the day planner in his hands.

“That was a joke, but you know what, sure,” Roman agreed with exasperation. “Time!” He snapped impatiently again.

Logan regarded Roman through thin eyes. “We should order dinner in around two hours. Ideally, something nutritionally sound. And since we’ve been eating out or having pre-packaged meals, we should be drinking plenty of water to be mindful of our sodium intake,” Logan said warily, like he expected to get cut off any minute.

“Ugh, boring,” Roman groaned, his head falling back. “Alright then. Thomas, a glass of water and to the desk, right now. We’re going to color a little to wake you up from whatever fog you’ve been in and then writing for the rest of the time. Let’s go! We have a limited amount of time! Look alive, Thomas!” He stood up straighter and pointed, adjusting his crown.

“Unlike me!” A zombie Remus conjured said at the same time as Remus.

“The cross on the wall will handle it, go!” Roman insisted, and Thomas grabbed a glass from the cabinet with wide eyes and filled it from the pitcher in the fridge.

Roman thought he saw Logan smiling out of the corner of his eye, but he was just stoically taking notes in that stupid spiral notebook as he sank out of the kitchen when Roman looked at him properly. More zombies appeared, but Roman just made a bolt-action holy water stake launcher appear in his hands and shot them all in the head before Thomas had a chance to notice them as he took his glass of water upstairs. He passed Virgil, who shot Thomas a quizzical look, but didn’t say anything as Thomas passed.

The zombies all fell over into dust, which Roman gathered and washed down the sink with a sigh as Remus threw a massive fit on the floor, thrashing his arms and kicking his legs. “One of those days, huh?” Virgil remarked.

“Oh, like you wouldn’t believe, sister,” Roman agreed with a tired whine. He looked at the stake-launcher in his hands and where Remus threw a fit on the floor and took aim. Roman paused and sagged, walking over to Virgil and dropping off the gun in his hands as he passed upstairs to follow Thomas. “If you use it, I won’t say a word.” Roman winked and headed up the stairs with a flourished wave, turning away from the nonsense.

—

Roman lounged in the chair, munching on one of the cream cheese wontons they ordered as a side to the mushroom stir-fry and watching the film. It wasn’t exactly his choice of media, but it seemed that Thomas somehow got it in his head that a zombie movie would be fun. He couldn’t imagine where.

Virgil sat on the top of the couch, gripping his knees, while Remus laid on the floor far too close to the screen, propped up on his palms and kicking his legs as he watched the carnage with rapt attention. At least it was distracting the little bastard. Roman didn’t pay much attention to the screen. He really only wanted a wonton.

Thomas, as usual, wasn’t a big horror fan. Especially watching horror movies alone. It was honestly a terrible idea. Virgil may be extra ‘vigilant’ all night. Roman didn’t see much merit in these kinds of shows, and they also freaked him out, but he didn’t really want to be even more alone by going back to his room, either. Sitting there was close enough. Janus checked in from time to time, but otherwise there were no other sides there, and Thomas wasn’t paying attention to them. It may be the closest they were going to get to ‘relaxed’ for tonight, anyway. After Roman wrapped up with writing, it sunk in with Thomas that he laid around and did nothing all day when he could have been writing or cleaning or organizing or catching up on any number of other things and Roman didn’t quite know what to do with that.

These little dilemmas where Virgil goes between stating the obvious and being helpful to being part of the problem randomly seem to be tricky waters. Roman honestly would have rather been writing than moping. Logan would agree that it would have been a better use of his time. Patton was the one most wrought with guilt about it sometimes. Putting on a scary movie as a distraction was Janus’ suggestion in the end. Something about leopards. Roman wasn’t paying attention, he was busy picking what he wanted to eat. He’d been struggling with wants lately and just needed to feel sure. Thankfully, the wontons hit the spot, so he was right.

“Are you even watching?” Virgil whispered, and Roman just hummed in response, pulling out his phone to play on it. “Why even be out here if you don’t want to watch, Princey?”

“Logan’s probably busy with Patton at the moment. That whole ‘effective use of time doesn’t include guilt, so it is unproductive to mourn time you wasted’ spiel we’ve heard a million times before that never seems to click. So sitting alone while our heart is pounding out of our chest from this zombie nightmare is not how I would like to spend this evening. May as well sit here if I’m just going to sit somewhere, anyway. Our brain is proper mush after today, I’m not wringing another word out of it no matter how fine the cheesecloth,” Roman explained quietly, swiping through the apps to pick what he wanted to play. Oh, the prince dress-up app seemed nice.

“And the tail?” Virgil asked, leaning over to look around Roman’s side, to the red scaled tail wrapped around his side.

Roman glanced at it briefly to see the end flicking like an annoyed cat before returning to dressing up his dream prince. “Like I’m in control of that,” Roman huffed distractedly.

“You’re literally the mos—” Virgil started, but jumped when there was a sudden noise, stopping to look around suspiciously. “Zombies!?” Virgil hissed in surprise.

“Shotgun?” Remus asked, as if in a daze.

“Sides, Virgil,” Logan said, standing with Patton in the kitchen as they gathered a drink of ice water. Roman summoned a throw pillow right away and slammed it over his tail.

Virgil looked over, seeing Roman’s hot face and his hand gripping over the red throw pillow to hide the tail. Virgil snorted, flicking his eyes between Roman’s face and the white-knuckled grip on the pillow. “Princey—” Virgil started, but Roman shushed him quietly and sat up straighter, smiled a bit, and quickly checked to make sure his crown was in place.

Logan looked into the living room, a bored look on his face when he saw the TV. Patton said something quietly, and Logan returned to conversation with him and they both sunk out a moment later. Roman’s shoulder’s relaxed and he sighed as he sunk back into the chair.

“Kiddo, can I talk to you?” Patton asked, rising up, and Roman screamed, falling over sideways on the chair.

“Okay, maybe this movie was a bad idea,” Thomas admitted, looking over to them. Roman’s face grew hot again and he knocked his crown back into place. He coughed and sat up straight.

“Shut it or I’ll shut it for you,” Remus sang out, waving a hand above his head.

“Let’s go elsewhere,” Patton suggested warily, grabbing Roman’s shoulder. Roman nodded and swallowed heavily, and the pair sank away from their spots and Roman found himself sitting in the same spot in Patton’s room. Though the throw pillow that hid his tail here said ‘there’s no place like home’ in sky blue instead of the plain red one he summoned before.

“I’m quite done explaining myself, Patton,” Roman defended when Patton didn’t talk to him right away. Patton just wrung his hands and stared at the floor.

“No, you’re right, I think I heard enough. I am on a streak, lately,” Patton said despondently, trailed by a weak laugh. “It’s not about that. But I am sorry for the mixed messages I had a part in. It’s not as simple as ‘do this but don’t do this’, though. But that’s besides the point.” Patton waved slightly, looking nervous. “You did a good job.”

Roman froze at that, not expecting those words out of his mouth. Honestly expected some kind of long-winded discussion about nuance with that starter. Compliments, though? He couldn’t believe that for a second. He’s been doing nothing but fighting for the last few days. “Spare me the platitudes, Patton,” Roman dismissed, looking the other way.

“Really, kiddo. You did. We’ve done something other than sleep and distract ourselves for the first day in months. You somehow got Thomas out of that fog yesterday that no one else could shake,” Patton said with a soft smile. “Hoo boy, I was there before Janus. And I just don’t know how you did it, champ! Must be magic,” he added, putting his hands on his hips and laughing lightly.

“I did my job. And I haven’t exactly been the most pleasant prince to parlay with,” Roman said, blinking up at Patton. His tail tried to twitch out of the pillow, but he slammed it down harder. “And I’m still mad at you for not coming when I called for help,” he added, his tone biting.

“Sorry again, Roman. I just… didn’t know what to say. I was worried I’d do it again, say the wrong thing, and just… contribute to the mess instead of fix it,” Patton said, contrite with his palms wide open. “And I still don’t know what to say.”

“I’d rather you stand there mute then leave me to rot, Patton,” Roman hissed out softly, looking up at him.

Patton’s smile sagged slightly, but he spread his arms wide. “Then would you like a hug?” He asked, and Roman’s arms shot around him faster than he even realized that yes, he desperately did. Patton’s arms wrapped around him slowly, rubbing Roman’s upper back as they embraced. “I’ve been learning a lot lately. Especially a lot about what it means to be good. I used to think that kindness was always the right thing to do. There’s no situation that a little kindness would hurt. At least, that’s what I thought. But…” Patton trailed off for a moment, and Roman looked up to see him looking to the ceiling, deep in thought.

The hug loosened, and Roman reluctantly let go for Patton to back up. He dropped onto the floor and looked up to Roman instead, crossing his legs and summoning himself what looked like a mug of hot cocoa. Patton sipped it silently for a moment, and Roman was at a loss for what could possibly come after that. That was what made sense. Every scene could use a hero. A dashing prince whose kindness and generosity helped the many, and people supported that prince in return.

Patton swallowed a gulp of cocoa before putting the mug on the floor and folding his hands in his lap. “Well… sometimes the kindest thing to do is be firm. And insistent. And sometimes that will end up looking a little mean.” Roman scoffed at that. “Okay, more than a little. You’ve been very mean. But Roman? I tried every kind word and encouragement under the sun. I tried to be soft. I tried to be patient. I almost tried bribes! But Thomas never moved. He just sat there like a rock while Remus worked on his next contraption. Janus literally came to take bets to see how long until you give up. But you forced your way through it, got us some food, and got us out of that funk. I’ve always been pro-peace, and I still am, don’t get me wrong. But I see now… in situations like this… an unwavering force can be good. And you did more good for Thomas than anyone else did with it.”

“I… How can I be unwavering if I don’t even know what I want, Patton?” Roman said weakly, letting go of his vice grip on the pillow to sag back into the chair.

“You wanted some time to write. You wanted a sweet to get the brain going. You wanted people to pay attention to you. Those seemed to work plenty!” Patton said brightly, going back for the cocoa.

“But those are so small and meaningless,” Roman objected, dejected.

“Rainbows start out from raindrops,” Patton said wisely, holding up a finger. “We’re just… starting small. While we figure it out. But we need to be resolute, I think. And forgiving,” he explained, his hand dropping back to the mug to hold it. “Speaking of, I think you have some words to say, mister.”

“Explaining how light refracts is a Logan-type situation.” Roman waved off, lolling his head to the side.

“No, no,” Patton chuckled. “The mean behaviour? The dismissing? I think you can be firm without being so rude,” he chastened.

“Can I?” Roman drawled, summoning himself a cocoa to hold on his lap.

“We’re re-learning our priorities from the ground up. I can’t say that it’ll always be a walk in the park. But I can say the stroll will be more merry��—Roman winced at that—“if we all start out with being kind… then perhaps be a bit more forceful if it’s important and we’re being bull-headed,” Patton explained.

Roman sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. “How am I supposed to know what’s ‘important’?” He asked, raising a hand to do finger quotes around the weightiest word.

“I… don’t know. I guess we’ll have to find out, huh,” Patton said, his gaze dropping to the floor.

Roman’s arm fell to his lap, and he took a deep breath in as he looked up to the ceiling. “I’m… Sorry, Pat. I shouldn’t have zippered your mouth shut. I felt like you wouldn’t have my back and was too tired for a fight. But… I can see now that wasn’t fair of me,” Roman said genuinely, his eyes growing uncomfortably warm and wet. “Who am I, teenage Virgil?” He joked with a weak laugh.

“Very moo-ving apology,” Patton dropped a delayed pun, and Roman shot him with a finger gun along with a half-smile. “And?”

“Sorry for steam-rolling you, too,” Roman sighed, lifting up his mug to his face.

“You’ve been a real steam-powered dragon like—”

“How did you know?” Roman shot, gripping at his tail under the pillow. “Who told you?” He demanded.

“Like… like in one of those coolio steampunk novels?” Patton finished with a completely lost expression, and Roman’s face heated worse. “Roman, your head is smoking.”

Roman cleared his throat and swished at the air to clear up the fog, the tail now sticking out from under the pillow at the corner of his vision. “It… does that?” Roman said. It wasn’t necessarily a lie.

“Well… you’re going through some things. We all are. Change can be… difficult. But it’s good, this time. You did good. That’s my point,” Patton followed up, ignoring the Roman’s obvious failure to mask the draconic situation.

“… Things were easier when they were black and white,” Roman admitted quietly. It felt hard to take the praise, for once. That used to come naturally to him. But he had to admit that considering how long they’ve all been wallowing, it was a victory worth claiming.

“Speaking of,” Patton hummed over his mug of cocoa. Roman slowly pulled his head off the chair to look at Patton who bounced his eyebrows and looked down, then back up to Roman’s face again. Roman sighed and looked down, seeing his tunic had turned back to white somehow. He lifted the pillow, but he still had the dragon tail underneath it. “Oh, neat!” Patton declared excitedly.

“I have no idea what I’m doing. But I also think I need people to respect me for what I am doing. Is that something that’s even possible? To respect someone with no control over themself?” Roman asked tiredly.

“I respect you, champ,” Patton said softly. “Especially if you apologize to everyone else as well,” he added in a chiding tone, and Roman rolled his eyes. He’ll apologize for punching Janus if he asks. And he wasn’t even sure what he did wrong with Logan. Or Virgil. He also couldn’t mean Remus, could he? Roman was knocked from his reverie as Patton continued. “We’re all just doing what we can, and myself in particular learned the hard lesson that doing what you can when there’s still so much more you could do isn’t some kind of moral failure. Maybe you can take a page out of my book on this one. It wasn’t a fun lesson to learn,” he suggested, sounding very battered and worn.

“Patton, darling, I’m sure it was very poignant or whatever, but I don’t see how that applies,” Roman stated tiredly, leaning back again to drink his cocoa.

“Judging someone for not doing something they can’t do isn’t helpful. So If you don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re trying… that’s enough. And that will probably always be enough. We just keep… trying,” Patton said, sounding like he was coming to the conclusion at the moment rather than explaining what he meant. Maybe it didn’t quite matter. All this morality discussion was hurting his head.

Roman looked to Patton again, who seemed to be deep in thought now. Figuring out some big answer to the meaning of life no doubt. Roman looked down at himself and took stock. Still had a dragon tail. Tunic turned white again. The cape bunched up under him on the chair. Roman knocked at the crown, and it still bumped against the horns. Well. Maybe being part dragon wasn’t so bad. As long as he wasn’t a dragon witch. That would be awkward to explain. Made him more interesting than Remus, at least. Damned side put so much thought into his outfit’s small details it was embarrassing to look so plain next to him. But no matter.

“I think I’m keeping the cape,” Roman said resolutely. At least he could follow that. Want what you want whole-heartedly. Even if it’s little.

“It looks very fun,” Patton said happily.

“And Remus still sucks.”

“R—” Patton was cut off right away.

“Dick!” Remus screamed, reverberating through Patton’s room.

They both sighed together and sipped some cocoa, and the moment grew quiet. It was comfortable, though. Patton’s loud and eccentric room glowing softly. Some familiar music played distantly in the background, and Patton hummed along.

“And wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong?” Roman sang along, starting out a bit meek before leaning into it and adding a riff. The mirror above the couch also looked shattered, still, but he just moved on and let his eyes roam all the other pictures on the wall.

“You know it's gonna make it that much better, when we can say goodnight and stay together. Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up in the morning when the day is new?” Patton joined along for the next line, and they sang together to the Beach Boys with their cocoa. Roman’s tail flicked against the chair, Patton having slipped on his cat hoodie and moving to lean against Roman’s legs. They swayed together to the tune, and Roman let his brain wander to nice places, ignoring the random zombie noises and letting himself hold onto this little joy in the orangey-glowing colours of the sunset flooding in from the sliding patio door.

#sanders sides fanfic #tsss fanfic #tsss #sanders sides #sasi #ts sides #tss #tss fic #sasi fanfic #ayri writes #sanders sides fanfiction #ts roman #dark!roman

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skylarstar1000 · 5 months ago

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Pots and Pans

Summary: Virgil has POTS, some days it was easy to deal with and some days it was harder. Today looked like it would be harder.

Tags/warnings/ships: Chronic illness, invisible illness, POTS, LAMP, Virgil gets my pain

AO3 link if you would like to support there!!: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55272889

(Now onto the main event!)

————————————————

The spoon theory was a simple way to explain to someone how Virgil’s chronic illness worked. He had found it very helpful in explaining his situation to Patton and Roman- who just didn’t understand at first.

Basically the gist was that you had twelve invisible spoons, and you used them throughout the day depending on what you did.

Some tasks took more spoons and others just took one.

Virgil usually pushed himself past the point of exhaustion, leaving him with negative spoons- but what did it matter. The spoons weren’t real to begin with.

Virgil had Dysautonomia, an autonomic disorder that affected his every day life.

More specifically he had POTS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, which elevated his heart rate beyond the normal range.

And with such severe anxiety he was just going through all the pain and suffering wasn’t he?

It was tough some days with having three boyfriends who were adventurous.

He always had trouble keeping up on the hikes Roman loved so much, especially in the summer. He couldn’t regulate his body temperature so being out in the heat for extended periods made him lightheaded.

Roman had taken that as a light warning- and well…the first time he took them on a mountain hike Virgil had passed out against a tree.

Patton liked to go to amusement parks- and as much as Virgil hated crowds he loved thrill rides.

For the first five minutes-

After waiting in lines in such intense heat and then going on a roller coaster? Virgil would get dizzy and miserable and have to sit the rest of the day out. Luckily Logan wasn’t much of a thrill rider so he stayed behind with the Emo.

Logan didn’t do too many things that made Virgil’s body want to quit. But he did like to take them to Planetariums and…well Virgil always had to leave in the middle and go sit against the wall for a good half hour.

It’s not that his boyfriends wanted him to feel awful- but it always frustrated Virgil when they just didn’t understand that he was literally disabled.

Even if it was invisible- it was still there and annoying.

Virgil groaned as he woke up, rolling over to check the time on their alarm clock. The blaring red light said 10:00am. Everyone was definitely at work already, that would explain why the bed was so cold and empty.

Logan worked as a professor at a local university teaching astronomy.

Roman was a professor at a different university for theater and even ran shows at the local community theater sometimes.

Patton was an elementary school teacher, who volunteered at the local shelter as often as he could.

Virgil was very much unemployed- and while everyone always said it didn’t matter, Virgil knew it did.

Living in a house of four wasn’t cheap- and hell they had a cat too! That was an extra mouth to feed!!!

Virgil ran a hand through his hair and sat up, wincing when his head started spinning.

Fuck- too fast-

Virgil groaned, falling back against the headboard. He didn’t need this bullshit today.

But it seemed like it was going to be a bad day. His body was exhausted and his head was spinning and he had only just woken up.

Wonderful.

He forced himself to stand a few minutes later, able to walk into the bathroom and get ready for the day.

Which took way too much energy- so Virgil decided to go downstairs to get something to eat.

The stairs were a small problem but he managed to get down without too much of an issue.

He trudged into the kitchen, making himself a bowl of cereal.

Cheerios to be exact-

Logan had restricted Patton and Roman from anything sugary for breakfast. And Virgil just didn’t care what he ate.

He just sighed and took the bowl and a cup of coffee over to the couch. He dug around for the remote and turned on the tv.

It was on the news so guess he was watching the news. He didn’t feel like changing the channel-

Virgil wasn’t sure how long he was sitting there, but eventually he got a call from Patton. His lover always called him while the kids were outside for recess.

“Hi Virgil!! How are you this wonderful beautiful day!!!” Virgil winced at the sickly sweet and happy voice. But Patton’s smile even over the phone was infectious.

“Uhhh I’m okay, just sitting on the couch.” Virgil muttered, realizing he had been doing nothing for almost an hour.

Fucking hell-

“How are you feeling today?” Patton asked, voice much softer than before.

That made Virgil sigh out, trying to find out how to lie around this.

“I mean I’m fine?” He must’ve hesitated a few seconds too long because Patton responded with.

“So it’s a bad day today?” He had that caring sound in his voice that just made Virgil weak to his knees.

“Yeah it’s a bad day…but I’m fine Pat- I really am. Just exhausted..and have a headache….and my head is spinning.”

He heard Patton hum in thought.

“Well there’s some Gatorade in the fridge if you need it…and I can come home really quick after school..”

Virgil wanted to scream. He hated being fussed over, he hated that they planned their lives around him.

He hated his fucking disability.

“Patton it’s really okay, I know you have parent teacher conferences tonight that you have to prepare for. And the other two have late classes. Don’t worry about me, honestly I’m fine.” He really hoped he was convincing Patton.

Convincing Patton and Roman that he was okay was the easiest.

Logan was harder.

He just always…knew.

“Okay..but please call us if you need anything. I have to go- I love you times a million billion!!!” Virgil could hear the smile through the phone again. And oh he couldn’t help but smile back.

“I love you too, take care and if you need me or anyone please let us know..” he trailed off into a sigh after a quick affirmation from Patton and the phone hanging up.

He couldn’t be there for them- he couldn’t drive. The roads made him nauseous and lightheaded- which is also why he would get severely car sick.

Virgil just groaned, throwing his phone across the couch and flopping back down to stare at the ceiling.

He didn’t remember falling asleep but he remembered when the lights turned on.

He was such a light sleeper- a pin drop could wake him up.

He shot up quickly, panic and anxiety flooding his body. Oh god had someone broken in?!

“Oh gosh-! Gods above you scared me Virge-!”

Oh he knew that voice- it was Roman.

His body didn’t catch up though, he had sat up too fast. His vision went blurry and then there was nothing…

He woke back up in someone’s lap.

There was a hand in his hair..it was calming..

“…I don’t know what to do Lo-…mhm mhm yes yes I did that yes he’s right- oh my stars he’s awake I’ll call you back later.”

Virgil blinked up, meeting Roman’s concerned eyes. He had such pretty eyes…green and a weird brown that looked almost red. His brother had the same eyes but in reverse.

“…fuck did I pass out?” Virgil groaned, rubbing his forehead and trying to sit up. Roman held him down by the shoulders, leaning down to give his forehead a kiss.

“Mhm…luckily you were just on the couch so you didn’t hit anything. I was just on the phone with Lo- he wanted to know how much you’ve drank today.”

Virgil bit his lip, averting his gaze. He thought back to his morning coffee with a sigh. “Uhhh…like one cup…and it wasn’t water.”

Roman let out a dramatic sigh, running his nails through Virgil’s hair again. He had nice long nails…they felt really good against his scalp.

“Love you need to be better with that..we care about you so much..I know I can speak for all of us when I say we don’t want to see you constantly passing out…” Roman was looking at him but Virgil couldn’t look back.

He couldn’t give him that satisfaction..they were always right about how he took care of himself. He didn’t- it was hard some times…most times actually.

There was a bit of silence, nothing but Roman combing through his hair for a few minutes.

Eventually they could both hear the garage door open.

“Logan’s homeeee~” Roman hummed out, helping Virgil to sit up slowly.

Virgil leaned over and kissed Roman’s cheek. “You mean the man who’s going to bury me alive?”

Roman snickered and bounced up, running over to the door when it opened. Virgil watched Roman and Logan share a kiss before Logan’s eyes landed on him.

Welp.

Virgil gave a half wave. “Hey- how was work?”

Logan set down his bag and walked over to the couch, kneeling down to Virgil. He absolutely hated sitting anywhere with his work clothes still on.

“Work was alright, the more important question right now is how are you?” Logan was staring at him deadpan and Virgil wanted to crumble right then and there.

“…I’m better than I was- I’m sitting up at least.” He laughed to himself like it was all just a joke.

Logan didn’t laugh.

Roman came over and sat down next to Virgil. “Hun we’re really really reallyyyyy concerned about you…”

Virgil started to laugh again, shaking his head. “Well don’t I’m fine-“

“Virgil you have been fainting a lot more recently.” Logan interrupted. “You haven’t been drinking as much water as you should be. And eating far too many salty snacks throughout the day. There’s an uneven balance going on in your body, making it harder for you to feel able to function correctly.”

Virgil was silent again, staring at the carpet instead of Logan’s drilling eyes.

“I don’t want you to worry about me..I’m fine..” Virgil muttered, digging his nails into his arm.

“Well that’s just impossible to do!” Roman exclaimed, shaking his head. “We all take care of each other when needed Virgil! It’s in the contract!”

Logan furrowed his eyebrows and looked at them both. “I don’t recall ever signing a contract?…”

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh a bit, waving his hand to dismiss Roman’s words. “No no no he’s joking there’s no contract.”

Roman laughed a bit, hugging onto Virgil.

“No there isn’t- but we do all care for you as much as you care for us.”

Logan nodded, grabbing onto Virgil’s hands and squeezing them gently. “Precisely, you are valued just as much as the rest of us are. We all care about your issues even if you find them minuscule.”

Virgil squeezed back, taking a deep breath. “I know…it’s just hard some days..” he said with a forced laugh, leaning against Roman.

He closed his eyes, smiling a bit when he heard the garage door open.

Roman gasped and jumped up, making Virgil fall against the cushions. “Ow hey-“

“Sorry but Patton has food and I’m hungry!!!!” He dashed over to the door.

Virgil glanced at Logan, sharing a small smile with him.

Logan squeezed his hand once more, leaning forward. “May I kiss you Virgil?”

Virgil was closing the gap before he could say anything more. Drowning out the other two’s happy chattering with this kiss.

Patton eventually came over, tackling Virgil into a tight hug. “Oh Virge Roman just told me what happened are you okay?!…”

Virgil took a deep breath, hugging onto his third boyfriend and squeezing him with all his might.

“Yeah Pat..I think I’m going to be alright…”

Logan got up from the floor. “Well I’m going to go get changed and then how about we all sit down together and eat dinner on the couch.” He proposed.

“Oh yes!!! I got Italian food!!” Patton grinned ear to ear, peppering kisses down Virgil’s neck.

Virgil let out a deep sigh of content. The rest of the night passing with no big surprise or complications.

They all ate dinner together on the couch in pajamas, went upstairs to cuddle and watch a movie.

And as Virgil laid there in the arms of his lovers he realized…

He was going to have to really start making an effort on himself.

Because he loved them all more than words and never ever wanted them to hurt because he was stupid.

He would ask Logan for tips this weekend.

Right now he needed to sleep.

He needed more spoons for tomorrow.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #writers on tumblr #writing #my fic #fanfic #fanfiction #lamp

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skymaiden32 · 1 year ago

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Heavy Lifting

Read on AO3 here

Fandom: Thunderbirds

Tagging: @dragonoffantasyandreality @thundergeek59 @janetm74 @katblu42 @liseylou @amistrio @uniwolfcorn @idontknowreallywhy (Please ask if you would like to get alerts when I update or post new stories.)

Thundertober Day 8: Gentle Giant

Even the strongest people need a pick me up.

Continuity: TAG

------

‘An absolute unit.’

That’s what his dear brother Gordon liked to call him. And it was something Virgil embodied in pretty much everything he did.

He was by far the strongest of his family. Sure, Scott and Gordon, being military trained, had a fair bit of muscle on them. And John kept relatively fit with his exercises up in space. But Virgil had always been the strong one. Even as kids, he could easily lift two of his little brothers onto each shoulder and carry them around. He continued to lift them up to this day. In more ways than one.

Whenever Scott was having doubts or John wasn’t talking to anyone. Whenever Gordon was having flashbacks or Alan just needed a nudge in the right direction. He was there. He would always be there, supporting them. Just like his beloved Thunderbird 2 supported her sister craft on rescues. He was a lot like his ship in that way. They were kindred spirits, Virgil and Thunderbird 2. Gentle giants in every sense.

He was the heavy lifter. The demolition expert. The medic. All he did was support. So, he snarked to himself as he was laying down in his bed one random Thursday morning, unable to get up. Just why couldn’t he push past this? This feeling he had right now? Of hopelessness and despair that he hadn’t been able to shake since that rescue two days ago? He didn’t know how long he’d been lying there, senses so dead to the road that everything blurred together. But clearly, his brothers did. Because it was his brothers who saved him.

“Virgil?” The door creaked open, Alan’s voice gentle as he looked at his brother. Still in bed at three in the afternoon. It worried them. It worried them all… “Grandma made cookies if you want any.” Instead of the usual sounds of disgust whenever someone mentioned Grandma Tracy’s cooking, Virgil simply grunted. The alarm bells in Alan’s head went off. “Stay where you are, I’ll be right back.” Virgil grunted again.

Alan came back. With everyone. Even John had come down from Thunderbird 5. Scott didn’t say anything. He just wrapped Virgil up into the tightest hug he could possibly manage, squeezing hard. The rest of their family joined in as well, cocooning Virgil in a warm embrace. One that he’d desperately needed. For the first time in what felt like forever, Virgil began to cry. Sobbing into his big brother's shoulder, letting the emotions out that he’d held in for so long.

At long last, he spoke. “I should’ve done more…” His voice cracked. “I should’ve done more to help that little girl…” If at all possible, the hug got even tighter.

“It wasn’t your fault, Virgil.” Gordon’s voice was strong in contrast to his own.

“It was.” Virgil insisted. “She was right there in front of me. She was…”

“Already gone.” Another voice interrupted his tirade. John. “Virgil, she was already gone. Her life sign was dead before you even got into that cavern.”

Virgil cried again in despair. What John had just told him was new information to him. “Then I should’ve worked faster!”

“No.” Scott simply stated, pulling back from his brother as much as the group hug would allow. “Virgil, look at me.” The younger of the two struggled to lift his head, but he did. His brother’s determined blue eyes met his dull brown ones. “You were already working as fast as you could. I know it hurts. But you did everything in your power to save her.”

Kayo’s voice was in agreement with Scott. “She knows you did what you could Virgil. It’s alright to mourn her. But she doesn’t blame you, and she wouldn’t want you to blame yourself…” Virgil sniffled.

“I wouldn’t blame you if I were in her shoes…” Alan’s voice was small. “She was my age. I didn’t know her, but I know better than anyone in this room what would’ve gone through her head.”

“That’s why I should’ve done more…” Virgil replied. “A family lost their sunshine. They lost their Alan Tracy because I wasn’t strong enough to save her.”

Everyone froze. “Honey…” Grandma weaved her way into the centre of the hug. “Now listen to us, none of this is on you.”

“But-”

“Virgil. None of that.” Grandma’s voice was firm, but not unkind. “It’s not your fault. I want you to get that into your head right now.” Virgil wiped the last of his tears away. Of course she was right. They were all right.

“You okay now, Virg?” Scott ruffled his hair.

Virgil smiled sadly as the hug parted, but his heart was lighter now. Much lighter. They’d done all the heavy lifting… “I will be, Scott. I will be…”

#thunderfam #thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #virgil tracy #alan tracy #gordon tracy #scott tracy #john tracy #kayo kyrano #grandma tracy #sky writes stuff #thundertober #thundertober 2023

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reanimated-owl · 5 months ago

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Alt!

((EHEHEHE THANK YOUUUUUU

under a readmore for the sake of not clogging anyone's dash; i wont put EVERY character i've done but I wanna talk (i.e. ramble) about a few of them

Past Characters:

Xe/phos (Yo/gscast) (slashes to avoid appearing in tags)

Oh man. I think this was the first character I ever made an RP blog for. From what I remember, Xep/hos was an alien/human thing that worked with a couple other people.

In/k Sa/ns (undertale AU)

I know, I know, AUs are polarizing. I happen to enjoy a lot of them, and Ink's probably one of my favorites. The problem is that he's not really portrayed correctly by the vast majority of the fandom... I think he's also only an AU by name only, the original creator I believe has since made him more into an OC? This is one I didn't have a specific blog for, but I did RP him on Amino and technically ran a ship blog with a former friend of mine.

Glitchy (Port/al)

So... Po/rtal is a HUGE interest of mine. I actually set up a blog (I still have it, actually), but I don't think I ever used it. Glitchy's a core from a series on Youtube; his whole thing is that he doesn't know what his purpose is, so he does all sorts of things to find it. He's also known for spontaneously bursting into flames ('Glitchy' is actually a nickname given to him by the other cores).

Fun fact, this is where I got the name 'Glitchy' from; I thought it sounded cool and I desperately needed a new name for the Internet lol.

Virgil (PS/M)

Another core, because I love me some robots. He's a maintenance core, so his entire job is fixing the other robots and the test chambers. Glitchy is a frequent flier of his repair wing. Virgil is a very snarky guy, but for some reason everyone thinks of him as a cinnamon roll who did no wrong and it drives me NUTS (I have an ongoing list of instances of virgil being an asshole for this reason). There are a lot of really good android designs of him out there, too.

Finally, character(s) I'd like to do in the future:

Med/ic (TF/2)

So... this is kind of my current hyperfixation, lmao. I don't know why I latched onto this guy, but I did. He is the reason I am currently learning German. He's a (formerly) licensed physician whose entire role is just keeping the rest of the team alive. He likes doing experiments involving non-human organs. He also keeps a flock of doves that he just lets... fly around his OR. He is a liiittle bit on the crazier side, but he is still really smart and he does try to help others. I'm also making a costume for him rn and it's... gonna take a while :(

#ooc #asks #((god sorry for the long answer lmao i just like talking abt these guys

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touyubesposts · 1 year ago

Text

Ghosts aren’t Real (Part 1/?)

Hey, this is my first Storytime Big Bang (@tss-storytime) submission! It was very fun, even thought here were a couple of road blocks (Mostly my fault. 😅) I was partnered with @pizza-box-raccoon, who has some amazing art! (Some of the best IMO.) Their art is here, go check it out! There's nothing too serious in this chapter (or in the next one (I think)) but look at the tags and keep them in mind just in case ❤️

Summary: After a ‘Ghost’ knocks over something in his kitchen while he was coming up with video ideas with friends, Quill and Davi come up with the idea to go ghost hunting in his house. Virgil is scared that they’ll somehow get detected, but Logan is less convinced. Because Ghosts aren’t real… Right?

Rating: PG?

Word Count: 2135 (A short read :))

Ships: None, everything is purely platonic

CW: Mentions of death, Negative thinking, Remus being Remus, if I miss anything let me know 👍

(Fanfic under cut)

(Thomas's P.O.V)

"- So yeah, that could be a fun video idea," Davi finishes up his statement, taking a bite of Chinese food.

Quil chimes in, "Yeah, I could see that, but we don't have a pool."

"There are public pools."

We were talking on the couch about video ideas and things the others wanted to do, trying to come up with ideas while also talking a bit about how we were doing. Patton was watching over us in the kitchen fondly, smiling at every idea and laughing at every joke, even if they weren't particularly good. Patton adjusts himself, accidentally knocking a spoon onto the floor, causing Quil and Davi to look in his direction.

"Thomas, your ghosts are hungry," Davi jokes.

My sides come around and check on me often. It's not surprising at this point and there is nothing I can really do about it anyway. However, they can be clumsy at times as well, accidentally knocking things over and bumping into furniture or walls. No problem, they usually pick whatever they knocked over up and go on their way. The problem is when people are over and they do it. At first, it freaked out my friends and made me self-conscious about it. But over time it became a light-hearted joke, so now whenever something gets knocked over or there's an 'unexplainable thump,' they say it's 'my ghosts' messing around.

"Well, they'll have to stay hungry," I smile, "I have no idea how to feed them."

"That rude, Thomas," Quil joins in, "You should always feed your guests."

I glance at Patton for a split second, "More like unruly roommates. They're lucky, they don't even pay rent."

"Technically we do, but-" Patton goes on to say before being cut off by Quil.

"Damn, must be a hard afterlife. Knock over a random guy's stuff and he doesn't even make you food."

"Would you?”

"... Depends."

Davi asks, "Hey, Thomas? Random question, but were you scared when you first moved into this house?"

I glance at Patton for help, but he just shrugs wildly at me. "Umm... No, not really. I mean, I guess it was scary at first, but after a while, you just tune out the noise."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Do you think it's actually a ghost or a demon or what?"

Oh boy, if only you knew. "Well... No, I don't think it's a ghost or a demon. I'm sure there's a solid, logical reason that all of this is happening but we just aren't seeing it. But the way I think of it is... If it was going to hurt me or wanted to hurt me, it would've done so by now, you know?"

Davi nods, "Yeah, I get it." I play off a breath of relief as just a sigh. I was making stuff up. I know for a fact it isn't a ghost, it's me. And it's not an it! It's a he! Sometimes a 'they,' but in, like, a plural way.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Quil smiles excitedly. "Let's do a ghost-hunting video!"

I feel my heart drop to my stomach as I realize what that implies. "... A ghost-hunting video?"

"Yeah! I have some equipment I could bring over, try some stuff I saw on TikTok a while ago, it could be fun! I mean, we most likely won't catch anything, but it could still make a cool video if we crack jokes and just have fun with it, you know?"

I nod along, feeling like roots and vines wrapped around my chest and squeezed tightly. "Yeah, totally!"

"Oh my god, I love watching those ghost-hunting videos!" Davi excitedly grabs Quil's arm, "Have you seen the ones that Ryan and Shane do?"

"Are you talking about their newer ones or their older ones?"

Davi and Quil continue talking about Ghostfiles and Buzzfeed unsolved while I give Patton a concerned glance. He holds onto his cardigan nervously, refusing to make eye contact with me. Finally, he sinks down guiltily. I feel bad for Patton. He didn't mean to, it was an accident. But now I may have to face a reality I don't want to face, that being 'confronting the idea that my sides are more than my sides.'

"So when do you wanna do it?" Quil turns to me and asks, catching me off guard.

Oh god, how do I answer this? Is there a good answer to this? "Umm, I don't know-"

"The soonest I'm free is a week from now," Davi chimes in, "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, I should be free then," Quil turns towards me, "Thomas?"

"... Yeah, that works great!" I force a smile, trying my hardest to not let them suspect anything.

"Sweet! Hey, I gotta go, but I'll text you guys about it. It will be fun!"

"Great!" Davi grabs his bag, "I'd stay longer, but Quil's my ride. I'll see you soon, alright?"

"Yeah, of course!" I walk Quil and Davi out the door, waving them off. I take deep breaths as I close the door as sit back down on my couch in defeat. After a couple of minutes of agonizing silence, Virgil pops up by the stairs. Great.

I sigh, forcing a smile, "Hey, Virgil."

"Cut it," Virgil ordered, not buying my happy exterior. I immediately drop my smile after I hear him speak. "You were hanging out with Quil and Davi and now you're anxious... Why?"

Without another word, I summon Patton. As soon as he appeared, he began rambling. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! My hand just brushed against it and it fell and I didn't know it was there! I shouldn't have even been here, I should've ducked out when I could, I-"

"Patton!" Virgil shouts over him. Patton stops, waiting for Virgil to speak. "... Tell me what happened."

Patton takes a shakey inhale before speaking, "So, I... I knocked a spoon on the floor... in front of Quil and Davi-"

"Is that it?"

"No, that's... That's not the bad part. The bad part is... Now Davi and Quil want to ghost hunt here because of me."

"What?!" Virgil shouts, along with Roman and Logan who just arrived. While Roman and Virgil sounded genuinely concerned and panicked, Logan just sounded confused.

"I'm sorry!" Patton covered his face, part in embarrassment.

"Hold on," Logan interrupted, "Why are we panicking? Why is Quil and Davi 'ghost hunting' a bad thing?"

"Because what if they detect us?" Virgil speaks up.

Logan sighs, "They won't. We aren't ghosts, we are a part of Thomas. Also, ghosts aren't real."

Roman buts in, "Yes, I get that, but... Don't you at least find it a little strange that we can touch and throw things even though we are nothing more than Thomas's thoughts and feelings?"

Virgil leans in closer, "Interact with our surroundings... Like ghosts?"

Logan holds the bridge of his nose, "Gosh, both of you are being ridiculous. Yes, it is a little... Odd that we can touch things that exist. But for us to be ghosts, we'd have to be real or human, in some sense. And as far as I'm concerned, we don't even exist outside of Thomas."

At this time, Remus and Janus have both appeared in the kitchen, listening in on our conversations. Virgil pipes up once more, "You say that, but obviously, we have to exist somewhat. We can literally interact with our environment! Meaning we are as real as the things we knock over. Also meaning, we could be ghosts."

"... Virgil, we would have to have died to be ghosts, meaning we existed before Thomas. And that just doesn't seem likely, considering we are Thomas."

"But how do we know that?!"

"Because we are Thomas! Literally! If it looks like Thomas and sounds like Thomas, it's probably Thomas."

"No, I mean how do we know that we didn't exist before Thomas?!"

"We didn't exist before Thomas, there's... There's no way we could've... Ghosts are dead, Virgil. For us to have died, we would have to have lived. And the only one here that has ever lived is Thomas."

"Maybe we did live and we don't remember it! Isn't that the cliche? That the ghost has to remember how they died to pass on? If that's the case, then it makes sense why we don't remember dying or living."

"God, Virgil, you are infuriating right now." Logan turns towards everyone else in a slow turn, looking for support, "I'm not the crazy one here, right? I'm being reasonable? Patton, Janus, anyone?!"

Janus tilts their head slightly, lost in thought, before speaking. "You know... I would try and lie about this, but I... I actually don't know the answer."

"What?" Logan says exasperatedly.

"I mean... I could give an answer, but I wouldn't be lying... I'd just be wrong, maybe."

Logan whips around towards Virgil again, "Okay, then how do you explain all of us looking like Thomas if we are separated beings from Thomas?"

"I don't know, maybe that's the only way Thomas can see us."

"So... What, you think Thomas is a medium? And what about what we represent? We know what we represent, that has to have some meaning for you, right?"

"Guys, let's calm down and take a breath, alright?" Patton tries to de-escalate, moving his hands as he speaks. "I mean, will know the answer when it happens, right?"

"Yes, but-" Logan interrupts himself. He takes a deep breath, before facing Virgil once more, "... But I want to try and ease everyone's mind before then."

Virgil sighs, "I know, I just... I'm scared to be... 'Found out', you know? I mean, as much as we pretend that all of this is normal, we all know it isn't. We know Joan or Kenny or Davi and Quil don't have their own 'sides' that they talk to daily. And I don't know how much longer we can lie to them about this."

"Virgil-"

"And what if they react badly? What if they think all of this is weird or strange, too weird for them to stick around? Or what if they think Thomas is haunted by ghosts and they freak out and run off? And what if they tell Thomas's other friends and they do the same? What then?"

The entire room has gone silent. This wasn't a new train of thought for me, being scared that my friends were going to leave, but hearing it out loud in this context made my stomach flip. Finding out about the sides really would freak them out too much, wouldn't it?

Logan places his hands on Virgil's shoulders softly, with a neutral but sympathetic look. "Everything will be fine. I promise... They may think it's weird, but it should take more than this to drive them away. "

"... And if it does drive them away?"

"Then they weren't real friends anyway. Plus," Logan removes his hands and dusts himself off, "I don't see why they should be scared. We're the ones who live with it."

"Yeah!" Roman cheers, "If they don't like it, they can suck it! We deal with us every day, and that just makes us stronger than them."

"And it's not like they have anything to fear," Patton adds on, sitting on the arm of the couch, "We aren't violent or evil or anything."

"Speak for yourself," Remus cracks his neck, the pops sending shivers down my spine.

Patton winces, "Well... Well, we've never hurt anyone."

"On purpose."

"Or severely."

"Or physically," Logan explains, "We can't touch them. We can touch things, Like spoons or counters, but not people. So even if Remus wanted to put his hands on them, he couldn't."

"If I could physically hurt people, I would've done so already. That's why you gotta... put them to sleep for me, Sanders-man."

I shoot Remus a look, "Okay, that first sentence did freak me out a bit, but... Sanders-man?"

"Like sandman. Not my best work, I admit. I'll workshop it."

Janus clears his throat to get everyone's attention, "So we're lying about this, right? If they suspect anything just deny?"

Virgil takes a harsh breath in, taking a seat on the stairs, "... As much as I hate you and that idea... It's the only one that can keep Thomas safe."

"Aw, Virgil doesn't want to admit I'm useful~"

Logan takes control of the conversation once more. "Reminder: this is all dependant on if their ghost equipment even detects us. And there's a very good chance it doesn't.

Maybe... Maybe attempting to rationalize with fear was the wrong move. Because, and don't take this the wrong way Virgil, but fear can be... A bit irrational. Why don't we try and find different ways to cope until then? Any ideas?"

To be continued…

#thomas sanders #sander sides #sanders sides #roman sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #Thomas Sanders storytime

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sanders-sides-events · 10 months ago

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Hi. I was curious as to what exactly running an event entailed. I was interested in doing Logan x Patton x Janus or Roman x Virgil x Remus (w/o incest ofc).

I figured things like Logicality would be taken already since they're such big ships.

Hi, I'm so glad you're asked!!

As far as I know, there actually isn't a logicality week running at the moment, or a logicaliceit week! There are prinxiety and dukexiety weeks, but not one for Roman x Virgil x Remus that I've heard of.

I've run a couple of events myself. You can run an event however you want, but I'll give some advice here.

I'd strongly recommend setting up a blog dedicated to the event, to keep everything organised. When you pick a date, try to pick one a few months away so people have time to prepare. You can always check the masterpost (link) on this blog or any other fandom schedules make sure the timing doesn't clash with any other events.

You don't have to decide on prompts before you announce your event, or have them at all, but they're a really good idea to get creativity flowing. You can take prompt suggestions from your followers if you don't want to think of them all yourself. Most events have a prompt or two for every day, and make sure they're posted far enough in advance to give people time to prepare (say, a month or two).

Also, tag this blog and @tsseventhub in any announcement posts you make, so we can reblog your posts and help get the word out. Speaking of, I think tsseventhub have a guide on how to make an event so check that out!

#sanders sides #sanders sides events #sry this has been in my drafts a while i keep 4getting 2 post it

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far-from-fran · 4 months ago

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Violence ask game!! 7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Ooh, this is a good one!😈

I'm gonna start with the funnier ones, then get to the more serious ones.

I don't currently hate any of these characters. I've pretty much gotten over it, but these are the first ones that came to mind.

Ok, I'm putting this under a cut as a warning to people in these fandoms. I'm going to be bitching and moaning. Probably about your favs. So, read the tags and:

🚨 DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ! 🚨

Anyway…

Danny Phantom

I don't have anything against Danny. I actually really like him. I just got tired of seeing him all over AO3. Almost every time I searched for a fic, even in fandoms that had nothing to do with him, I'd have to filter out a bunch of DP stuff. It got to the point where I was filtering out more DP tags than tags I actually wanted to filter out. It was annoying for a while, but I took a break from AO3, and now I just find it funny.

Dr. Emile Picani (Cartoon Therapy)

This is a general pet peeve sort of thing, but I just don't like how “uwu babyboy” people make him. He's a geeky therapist with a sensitive side, but people act like he's a softboi who's never done anything bad. (He has. I actually have big problems with his debut episode. The second episode is a lot better, imo.)

It's the same issue with Patton from Sanders Sides. They take a grown man and turn him into a tiny, wittle babyboi. It's mad annoying.

Also, I hate Emile in a skirt. I just don't think he'd ever wear one, so I wrinkle my nose whenever people talk about him in one. Honestly, the “fandom is afraid of masculinity” sentiment I've seen here and there is a completely different can of worms. But I'm starting to agree with it. Nothing against men in skirts in general/irl, though. Just to be clear.

But, anyway, fanon Emile is becoming indistinguishable from fanon Patton, and I hate that. Hell, canon Emile is becoming indistinguishable from canon Patton. Like, seriously. Since when has Emile ever had to “earmuff” because someone was cursing? (Mixed feelings about the Remy/Thomas therapy video.) Let Emile be an interesting character, please. And not just “Baby softboi, but he's wearing pink this time™”.

Virgil (Sanders Sides)

My feelings toward Virgil tend to fluctuate. Most of the time, I love him, but sometimes I can't stand him. (Mostly by his own doing.) But, the way the fandom treats him like the second coming of Christ in a purple plaid hoodie is so fucking annoying. Especially with the way people woobify him.

In canon, he started as a big jerk, realized he was a big jerk, and decided to be a little jerk. It's not like he's a little uwu baby who's never done anything wrong. The Halloween ep is even sort of about not woobifying Virgil. (It's more about taking anxiety seriously.) Like. I get it, but it's still really annoying.

Of course, there's the other side of the fandom that treats him like he's the devil. Which can also be annoying, but at least they actually call him out for stuff.

The most annoying thing, however, is how the other sides will be villainized to make Virgil look better. It's nuts. Like, yeah, Janus and Virgil have beef, but neither one of them is evil, so.🙄

Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Speaking of people treating a character like they're the second coming of Christ…!

In all seriousness, I never really had problems with Aang until toxic Kataang shippers started harassing Zutara shippers. They held the ship, and Aang, to such a high stature that I couldn't like either anymore. Especially since zutara shippers were (and still are) accused of being shallow, at best, and… checks notes supporting genocide????? at worst. And, the brunt of that was when I was, like, 12, so.

Obviously, I don't blame all kataang shippers. Most of them are pretty cool. And, zutara shippers can also be toxic. I'm a zutara shipper, and I've seen some of the toxicity firsthand. But, that experience really made fandom shitty for me.

However, I've watched the show recently and remembered that I really like Aang. Despite how much he can annoy me. So, there's always a bright side.

But, yeah. Thanks for the ask, @msnihilist!😊 Sorry if I got a little heated.😅 That wasn't directed at you, lol.

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teeefftwoarts · 1 year ago

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BLOG TAG GUIDE

If you're on mobile and you want to find a specific tag, you'll have to either find a post with that tag, or use the links below. (Or you can chance the search bar).

If you're on desktop, you'll find the majority of common tags in the header or the dropdown menus; or, you can enter a search/tag directly into the address bar.

See below for how tags work.

FILTERING TAGS

#tf2oc is the tag for non-canon characters. This includes all OCs, even those from fan-created subfandoms. This tag does not include headcanoned BLU characters until they are named.

The tag that applies to people's self-inserts or online personas is #sona. Sonas will be marked with OC tags if and only if the sona is developed as a character within universe.

#tf2shipart is the tag for ship art. It will (with very rare exceptions) be attached to any art that depicts characters in a romantic capacity, including canon romances.

#horror concerns elements of horror that exist outside of the normal scope of TF2 (such as cryptid horror), while #toneclash concerns elements of horror, melancholy, or otherwise negativity that exists within the confines of TF2 (such as respawn horror).

Depictions of violence that are in some way unusual (in context, intensity, or seriousness) are tagged #mercviolence. This tag only applies to strictly canon characters.

#fansfanservice concerns art which has as its main purpose eliciting physical attracting in the viewer (as judged by art type, composition, captions, and people having Moments in the tags).

#suggestive concerns art that alludes to, in composition or outright, suggestive topics. It does not include jokes or offhand mentions.

#AU concerns art which takes place in an alternate universe. Note that this is a comparatively new tag, so some older posts may not filter properly.

CHARACTER-ORIENTED TAGS

Ships are catalogued in class order, with no spaces, like so: #scoutsoldier.

Should art concern romance or attraction focussed from many mercs onto a single merc, the tag will be the merc's class followed by an [x], like so: #scoutx

Canon characters are catalogued under the following tags: #scout, #soldier, #pyro, #demoman, #heavy, #engineer, #medic, #sniper, #spy, #zhanna, #pauling, #saxton, #administrator, #gray, #blutarch, #redmond, #merasmus, #ma, #bidwell, #archimedes, #balloonicorn, #silas (alive and HHH), #radigan, #tilly, #reddy, barnabus, #yana, #bronislava, #chickengirl, #casterwitch, #olivia, #zepheniah, #oldnick, #billy, #monoculus, #bombinomicon, #mrsmundy

TFC characters are catalogued under the following tags: #cheavy, #fred [engineer], #virgil [sniper], #beatrice [pyro], #cmedic. If a character has no canon name, and their tag is not listed here, their tag will be their class name with a 'c' appended to the beginning.

Robots are catalogued under the following tags: #scoutbot, #soldierbot, #pyrobot, #demobot, #heavybot, #engineerbot, #medicbot, #sniperbot, #spybot, #sentrybuster. Robots are not tagged for size.

The following semi-archetypal characters are tagged without the OC tag: #pootisbird, #spycrab, #kiwisniper, #tinydeskengineer, #medimedes, #engiebee, #breadmonster

#[ocname]from[creator] is primarily intended for more widespread works, but every OC has their own tag that can be searched accordingly, which may be useful if the OC themself has fanart. For Tumblr users, [creator] will be their URL. The exception to this rule is established TF2 freaks, who are tagged to [freakfortress] instead. 10th classes are tagged by class name where it will cause RED and BLU variants of a single tenth class to be collated, or if a real name is not provided.

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roseianxiety · 2 years ago

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May we never hide what we feel

Ship: Romantic Prinxiety

Content Warning/s: Alcohol, Swearing, A teeny bit of innuendo (its like one line so dw), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Tooth-rotting fluff

AO3

Author's Note: This is the longest oneshot I've ever written so I'm quite proud of it. If you do like it, please don't forget to reblog and maybe leave some feedbacks :].

(If anyone wants to get tagged in my writing, please do tell.)

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Virgil took a deep breath as he looked at the house before him. Loud music was booming from said house indicating that a party was going on inside. He really stepped out of his comfort zone for this.

He stepped on the porch and headed towards the door, sighing one last time before hesitantly turning the knob and walking inside. The music was much louder inside and God, there were people everywhere.

It was kind of overwhelming. He started to walk further in and tried to find the host of the party, who was the only reason he was here in the first place.

"Virgil, you came!"A familiar voice called and he was suddenly pulled in for a tight warm hug. He smiled weakly and hugged back the latter. He was thankful that the lights were dim enough to hide the blush that crept onto his cheeks. "Well, I didn't want to be rude.".

Roman finally let go of him but his charming and oh so bright smile stayed, clearly happy that his introverted friend attended his party. He says sheepishly, "You know you didn't have to come if you don't want to.".

"I wanted to."Virgil replied, though it was half a lie. He hates parties but he's doing this for his best friend and longtime crush. Plus, he had something to say to him anyway.

Roman's smile grew at that and swung his arm over Virgil's shoulder, "Alright then, let's go get something to drink.".

Roman grabbed his hand, pulling him through the crowd, ignoring how other people bumped into them. He glanced down at their hands, holding on tightly.

The butterflies in his stomach are fluttering around even more now, his face heating up with a bright red. Roman looks so handsome tonight, like he always does, with his perfectly styled hair that frames his face just so right, and that charming smile of his that never fails to make Virgil weak in the knees.

They stop at the kitchen and Roman lets go of Virgil's hand (unfortunately) and goes to get them drinks. "I only have alcohol, is that okay?"Roman glances at Virgil when he says that, waiting for the other's answer.

Virgil stammers out when he realizes he hadn't answered the latter's question yet. "Oh uh, it's fine.".

Roman nodded and walked back over to him with two red solo cups. They take their places next to each other, sipping their drinks silently. They stand in silence again until Roman clears his throat and breaks it. "So what's up?".

Virgil fidgets nervously before blurting out, "I need to talk to you.". Roman nods slowly and takes another sip of his drink, "About?".

"About-"But before Virgil could reply, someone arrived at the kitchen, stopping their conversation.

"I've been looking for you, Roman!"Logan, one of their mutual friends, exclaimed seemingly out of breath. He then noticed Virgil and waved at him. "Salutations, Virgil.".

Before Virgil could respond or even nod at Logan, Roman interjected. "What do you want, pocket protector?". Logan quickly responds to him, "Remus set your coffee table on fire.". That caused Roman to choke on his drink slightly.

"Not again."He groaned, setting his cup on the counter before glancing at Virgil apologetically. "I'm sorry but I gotta deal with this first, Virge. I'll talk to you later."He said with a long sigh.

Virgil gave him a reassuring smile, "It's okay, don't worry.". Roman smiled back at him before following Logan to the living room, leaving Virgil alone in the kitchen.

Virgil sighed and hopped on top of the countertop before taking a big sip on his drinks. 'Well that failed miserably.'He thought to himself bitterly.

Every single time he tries to confess to Roman, something disrupts him from doing so. He was always unlucky. Did fate despise him that much? Maybe it was better this way. He thinks he's not fit for Roman anyway. I mean, look at him, he looks like a mess. Roman looks absolutely stunning.

He was tall, strong and built well. He was the absolute "standard". Everything about Roman was perfect; he was the definition of perfection. And Virgil was far from that. He couldn't even level with Roman.

He chugged down the rest of his drink and placed his cup beside him. Why did he even bother coming? There's no point now since he knew Roman wasn't going to reciprocate any romantic feelings anyways.

Virgil frowns and stares ahead of him. How did he ever think that this was actually happening? He should just leave already. He shouldn't waste anymore of his night.

He groaned before hopping off from the counter and grabbed his cup again, deciding he would drink his thoughts away with some alcohol. Totally forgetting something.

---

"Next time, you're gonna deal with your own shit."Roman groaned after throwing away the broken and burnt coffee table in the trash. "And you have to repay me for that coffee table you ruined.".

Remus pouted at him, "It was an accident.". No, it definitely was not. "Sure it was."Roman remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his twin.

Remus stuck out his tongue at him. "Alright alright, I apologize. And I swear to repay you. Anyway, you're boring, I'll go bother Lo-lo instead.". Before Roman could even respond, Remus went and ran off with a laugh.

Roman groaned at his twin's stupid antics, sick about having to deal with his chaos again. He went back to the kitchen where Virgil was, well that's what he thinks. He hoped he didn't make Virgil wait long.

"Hey sorry I took a while, I had to put out the fire and calm everyone down. Most of them are heading home because of it-"

Roman stops on his tracks at what he saw. Virgil sitting on the floor, his back leaned against the wall, still holding the now empty solo cup from earlier. He was wasted, he must've drank too much.

He didn't move from the ground, he might've fallen asleep somehow.

Roman immediately went and kneeled beside his friend, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Virgil, hey. You have to get up, the floor's dirty." Roman tries but Virgil doesn't seem to register his words at all.

"Virgil..."

"Virgeeee..."

That seems to break him from whatever he was thinking about. He opens his eyes and turns to see Roman crouching beside him. "What happened, buddy?". Roman asks concerned.

"Nothing....". His voice trails off and falls quiet. "Wanna head home?"Roman queries softly, giving Virgil a concerned look.

Virgil shakes his head no and mumbles something about being tired. "Is it okay if I carry you? You look like you can barely keep yourself upright."Roman offers gently.

Virgil nods, too tired to argue any longer. Roman picks him up bridal style and carries him upstairs. Virgil grunts at the sudden weight but makes no complaints. He wraps his arms around Roman's neck and rests his head on his shoulder as they head upstairs.

"How many did you drink, hm? Did you forget that you can't handle a lot of alcohol?"Roman asked gently, trying to coax information from him.

Virgil groans and closes his eyes as he buries his face into Roman's neck. "Mhhmmm...", he mumbles against his skin, sounding extremely drunk. "I don't know...'m sleepy.". He whines, pressing his whole body closer to the other.

He felt Roman chuckle lightly as he continued walking to his room. "Okay," He says softly. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?".

Virgil hummed in response but kept on nuzzling closer to Roman who just chuckled once more. He opened his door and carefully placed him on the bed.

"Goodnight, Virge." He whispered sweetly before turning around, ready to leave when he felt the other grab him again. Getting his attention.

"Ro, stay."Virgil whined sleepily, making Roman's heart flutter as he looked at him. He didn't realize just how pretty Virgil was till now.

His hair was messy and fell down onto his forehead, almost covering half of his face. His nose was slightly scrunched up as he blinked lazily at Roman, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout as he stared up at him. Roman was tempted to kiss that pout away– Roman, no! What're you thinking? He's your best friend.

Roman snapled out from his thoughts and smiled softly at him before saying, "Yeah, ok". He got under the covers and laid beside Virgil. "Want me to cuddle you too?"He queries.

Virgil smiles and nods slowly, "Please.". Roman smiles back and snuggles up next to him, wrapping his arm around Virgil's waist and pulling him close. Virgil hummed in content and pressed himself closer to him, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. "I love you, Ro..."Virgil whispers quietly before drifting back to sleep.

Roman's eyes widened, not expecting to hear those words from him. He stared dumbfounded at him as he processed the words that came out of his mouth. Virgil was drunk, of course he was going to spew out random words. But there was something hoping inside Roman that... Virgil loved him more than friends.

Little did he know, Virgil already does. But let's keep it a secret, let him figure it out. *wink* *wink*

"Huh? I..love you too, Virgil...". A small smile crept onto Roman's lips as he whispered those words back before burying his face on Virgil's hair, to hide his growing smile.

Virgil woke up, his mind was foggy and his head hurt like hell. He didn't remember what happened last other than him drinking... getting drunk and... someone carrying him to a room.

Virgil sat up slowly to realize that he was in Roman's bed. He remembered everything then. Roman picked him up from the floor, carrying him to this room... and cuddling him. He felt his cheeks heat up in realization, his heart racing rapidly.

Virgil glanced over at Roman who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He slowly climbed out of bed as carefully as possible and quietly made his way towards the bathroom. He needed to freshen up and calm down his blushing face.

Once he got there, he quickly splashed cold water on his face, letting the coolness hit his heated cheeks. He stared at his reflection in the mirror as he rubbed his flushed cheeks. Stupid stupid crush and his equally stupid feelings.

He sighed loudly. Before heading out of the bathroom. As he turned around, he accidentally bumped into somebody. Virgil quickly looked up to apologize to Roman but his words disappeared as soon as he saw his friend's face. He looked absolutely breathtaking in the morning light with that bed hair that made him look more attractive. Virgil's heart might explode sooner or later.

"Good morning, Virge. You alright? Hangover?"Roman questioned, his voice still low and hoarse after just waking up.

"Morning... I'm fine, my head hurts a bit though.". Virgil replied. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, Roman's face was merely a few inches apart from his. Plus, his whole face was bright red.

And of course, Roman noticed it too. "Hey, your face is red. Are you sure you're not sick?''Roman asked, concern laced in his voice as he placed a hand against Virgil's forehead to feel his temperature.

Virgil tried hiding the blush as best as he could by pushing Roman's hand away and laughing nervously.

"Nah I'm good, promise.", he says, smiling sheepishly at him. Roman raised his eyebrows skeptical but nodded anyway, deciding not to push it anymore. "Hmm, you should take some ibuprofen though if your head still hurts. There's some on my nightstand.''He says pointing over to the side of his bed, and with a silent nod, Virgil makes his way over to his nightstand to pick up the bottle. "Thanks..", he said.

Roman hums happily at him before stretching his limbs. "Anyways, I gotta use the bathroom. Wait, for me, yeah? I'll make us some breakfast once I'm done.". He asks and waits until Virgil nods.

Roman smiled brightly before going into his bathroom and closing the door behind him.

Virgil stared at the closed door for a moment before he shook his head lightly. He stared down at the pill bottle before uncapping it, taking out a single pill then popping it in his mouth, not bothering to drink any water.

He swallowed it dry before placing the bottle back down. Virgil plopped on the soft mattress as he fiddled with his finger while his thoughts ran in his mind.

Virgil's crush on his best friend grew every day, he never expected himself to fall for that man. It was overwhelming... yet it was comforting all the same.

This all started when Roman came back to the US after leaving off to Italy when they were middle schoolers. He used to be this cute chubby little geek that always got made fun of, Virgil was the one to stand up for him. Virgil barely recognized his friend when he first saw him again after years, he looked so much different.

He looked completely different, more grown up, more mature, his face was well defined and no longer had those baby fat cheeks that he had in middle school. He had changed a lot. But despite the many changes, he was still the same boy he knew back then.

He was still such a Disney geek and very fond of the arts as always. His personality didn't change much. He was still this cute himbo who would do anything for what he believed was right. His passion and excitement was hard to resist. And of course, he still had that princely mannerism. It was cute.

Virgil unknowingly smiled at the thought. God, he was so down bad for that man. He has fallen deep in the pits of love.

"Whatcha smiling about, sunshine?"

Virgil snapped out from his thoughts as soon as he heard Roman's voice. He quickly looked up and saw Roman grinning down at him.

He couldn't stop the small blush that creeped onto his face from blooming as he smiled nervously back up at him.

Virgil cleared his throat before replying, "Oh, nothing really... Just thinking about stuff." He replies, avoiding eye contact with Roman.

"That doesn't answer my question, Dr. Gloom."He smirks teasingly. "Anyway, do you want me to make us something to eat? Or are you gonna continue to sit and stare at me with that adorable face of yours?" He continues, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

Virgil's cheeks instantly turn an even darker shade of red at hearing him tease. "Jesus Christ, Roman, shut uppp!"He groaned as he grabbed a pillow and threw it straight to Roman's face before standing up and rushing to the door.

"Race you to the kitchen. Last one to arrive is a loser!"Virgil exclaimed with a big grin as he bolted out of his bedroom and ran through the hallway.

"Oh, it's on, Dark knight!"Roman replied with a mischievous smirk tugging on his lips before chasing after him.

They ran like children, racing each other through the halls as laughter filled their ears. "You know I can beat you easily, Stormcloud!"Roman cackled, almost catching up with Virgil.

"Let's see you try, princey."Virgil grinned and looked back at Roman while he hurried down the stairs. But as he hurried down, he accidentally missed a step which caused him to panic, knowing he was gonna fall.

Roman noticed Virgil's panicked expression and he quickly tried to reach for his hand to prevent him from falling. He succeeded but that didn't last when he tripped trying to catch the latter.

Both of them landed roughly on top of each other at the bottom of the stairs together, both groaning in pain. Virgil winced slightly at the sudden impact of the ground and Roman's weight on him.

"...Damn, that hurt."He muttered.

"And you're fucking heavy, get off of me, you big himbo."Virgil huffed playfully as he looked at Roman, realizing it was. huge mistake, their faces only a few centimeters away.

His heart started pounding heavily in his chest as he realized how close they were. Roman's eyes widened at the realization as well. Both stayed still for a brief minute or two, frozen in place. Both of their faces burned red in embarrassment.

"Gross, get a room, you two."

Both their attention to find the source of the voice, and Remus was there standing in front of them with sheer disgust in his eyes while he looked at the two friends.

The blush on Virgil's and Roman's faces darkened, jerking away from each other. Roman got off of Virgil and helped the other up as awkward as the current situation may be.

"What are you two doing anyway? Too impatient?"Remus questions, paired with a wiggling of his eyebrows teasingly.

Roman stammered with his words, trying to respond to his brother's question. "W-we fell down the stairs, okay? And we're just friends! Get your head out of the gutter.". Roman replied hastily as Virgil remained quiet.

Remus looked between the two men and laughed, not fully believing Roman. "Yeah, yeah. Have fun, you "friends"."He giggled before walking past them to the living room.

Roman huffed in annoyance and embarrassment, "What's that supposed to mean?!".

While Roman was ranting about Remus, Virgil was still processing Roman's answer to Remus' question. They're just... friends to Roman. Just friends... ouch. It hurts but it was true anyway, they were merely best friends. Nothing more. Virgil's heart did ache at that.

"Virge? Virge?"

Virgil snapped out from his thoughts upon hearing Roman calling him softly. "Yeh? I'm sorry, I spaced out. Did you say something?".

Roman rolled his eyes playfully before chuckling. "Not really important. Anyway, let's go eat food, I'm starving.". "Alright." Virgil simply replies with an awkward smile before following Roman to the kitchen.

Roman was busy preparing breakfast while Virgil sat on the countertop while he watched the latter. Roman's back turned towards Virgil, as usual, so he could watch the taller man's muscles flex under the tight tee shirt he was wearing. He wanted Roman to headlock him- holy shit, calm your gay ass down Virgil!

"Anything you wanna eat?"Roman hums softly both not turning around to look at him. Virgil says nonchalantly with a small shrug, "I'll eat anything you will cook. I don't mind.".

He received a hum from Roman as a response, the other whipping out some eggs and a pack of bacon from the fridge. Virgil watched curiously while watching Roman work.

"Hey, what were you going to tell last night? You didn't have a chance to actually tell it to me."Roman queries casually as he starts cracking the egg into the pan.

Virgil froze at the question, his breathing suddenly became shallow. "Uhm..."

He looks over to Roman briefly who turns around to face him now. "What?"Roman asks, confusion clear in his tone.

Virgil shakes his head gently, "It's nothin', just forget it.". Roman raises an eyebrow, clearly still curious. The brunette sighs, feeling pressured by Roman's expectant gaze.

"Uhmm... Well, uh, I-I...". Virgil bites his lip, trying desperately to think of a way to put it all into words.

Roman sighed, "Look, if telling it is bothering you then I won't ask anymore-".

"No no, there's absolutely nothing wrong I swear.. Just.. uhm... I'm scared of what you'll think of me if I tell you about it."He admitted as he averted his eyes from Roman.

Roman's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Why?". He asks softly, still confused as to why his best friend would be afraid to tell him something.

"Because- because... I ...." Virgil trailed off before letting out another sigh, finally deciding whether he should continue or not. He took in a breath before speaking again. "Roman, I...I...."He began again, trying hard not to break eye contact this time.

"I... I um..."He struggled once more. Roman patiently waited for him to collect his thoughts. Virgil gulped loudly, his nerves starting to become unbearable. He clenched his fists tightly, trying to relax them, but he couldn't.

"I LIKE YOU, OKAY!?"

Virgil blurted out, "ripping off a bandaid" style. His voice was shaking and cracking a little at the end.

Roman's expression had slowly dropped from surprise to a blank expressionless face, making Virgil nervous at the sudden change in emotions.

Roman finally spoke with an awkward chuckle, his eyebrows furrowing as well, seemingly confused at Virgil's words. "You're kidding, right? Is- is this a prank?" He asked hesitantly.

Virgil's whole world shattered hearing Roman's response and the ache in his heart reappeared. He knew this was a bad idea. He shouldn't have confessed. Now he made Roman uncomfortable, he ruined their friendship with just four words.

"No, it isn't... I... I'm sorry... I-"He stuttered, forcing himself to stop the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. Virgil shook his head as he spoke again, "I should go now.". And with that, he sprinted out of the kitchen leaving Roman behind.

"Virgil, wait!"Roman exclaimed, he quickly turned off the stove and ran after the other, regret eating him whole.

Virgil finally let out his tears as he ran outside but soon his knees gave up, causing him to collapse onto the grass. His shoulders heaved and sobs racked his body uncontrollably.

Roman reached Virgil's side moments later, noticing the tears streaming down Virgil's cheeks as he continued to cry. A frown found its way onto Roman's lips as he knelt beside Virgil and pulled him into his embrace, wiping his tears.

"Shhh, shhh... everything's going to be okay, okay Virgil?"Roman whispered softly as he kissed the top of Virgil's hair softly. Virgil shook his head, trying to break free from Roman's hold. "Nonono, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I ruined our friendship."

Roman shook his head as his arms tightened around the other, "No you didn't ruin anything, don't worry. Please don't cry anymore, please."He says softly while he pressed another kiss on Virgil's forehead. Tears were starting to prick at the corner of his eyes.

"But I am. I am ruining our friendship because I told you about my stupid crush on you!"Virgil cried louder at this point, trying to push away from Roman. Roman held the smaller male firmly, refusing to allow him to escape his grasp.

"That's not true! Geez, Virgil! Can't you already figure it out!?"Roman exclaimed, tears spilling out of his eyes too. Virgil shook his head rapidly, already given up from pushing the other away.

"I like you too, Virgil!"Roman yelled in desperation, almost shouting the confession at him.

This caused Virgil to freeze at the statement. But before he had time to process what was happening, Roman continued speaking once more, "I have always loved you since... since middle school. You always protected me back then and I admired you greatly.".

"You mean everything to me. You played a big part in my life, you were my inspiration in everything. You inspired me to do better, to be strong." Roman said as he brushed the tears from Virgil's face.

He continued, stroking Virgils's cheek with his thumb. "But I never thought that someone like you would return those feelings. That's why... I thought that maybe... maybe you just didn't feel the same way about me, like how I felt for you. So I've been keeping quiet because I figured it was best for us to stay friends.".

"But I guess I was wrong with that."He finished off softly.

They sat there quietly as Roman's confession finally settled within Virgil's mind. Roman liked him too... A small sheepish smile appeared on Virgil's lips and he sniffled, wiping away the remaining tears on his face and also Roman's.

"You're such an idiot." Virgil chuckled weakly. Roman chuckled lightly, pulling Virgil closer towards him and embracing him tightly. "So are you, Virgil.".

Virgil looked away shyly, still unsure of what to say. "Thank you. For everything." Virgil replied softly. Roman smiled warmly at Virgil. "Thank you too, Virge.".

The two stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a bit longer, content with each other's company. Finally though, Roman let go of Virgil slightly. He leaned a little bit closer, now acting shy.

"Uh, hey, Virge. C-can I make a request?"Roman asked nervously.

Virgil raised an eyebrow at his question, "Yeah, sure. What is it?"He says softly.

"May I kiss you?"

Roman asks nervously, his hazel eyes staring up into Virgil's chocolate ones. Virgil swallows thickly. "Yes.".

The next thing Virgil knew, Roman was closing the gap between them and pressing his lips against Virgil's own. It wasn't long after before Roman's hands came up to rest at Virgil's waist and he was pulling him closer while Virgil hands gripped on his shoulders gently.

The kiss was gentle yet passionate, filled with emotion neither one could quite decipher. When they broke apart, panting heavily, they remained in a state of silence, simply holding onto one another as they caught their breaths.

"Last night, you said “I love you”."Roman mumbled softly. Virgil's eyes widened slightly, his cheeks tinted with red. "Wait, I did?". Roman chuckled, "Yeah, you did." He replied.

Virgil blushed even harder, "Fuck, I can't believe I said that.". He groaned.

"Hey," Roman interjected, grabbing Virgil's face with both of his hands, "You don't need to apologize, alright?". Virgil nodded as he tried to calm down. Roman chuckled, "Besides, I really do love you too.".

A genuine smile found its way onto Virgil's lips as he leaned in to peck Roman's lips lightly, his eyelids fluttering shut.

Roman smiled when he felt Virgil's lips move ever so slightly against his own, causing him to smile a little bigger. They continued to exchange kisses, savoring every second of it.

Oblivious to the both of them, Remus and Logan stood at the doorway watching the both of them.

"Virgil confessed first, like I guessed. Now pay up, Remus."Logan said, glancing at Remus while sticking his palm out.

Remus narrowed his eyes at him but handed the latter 10 bucks.

Logan smirks slightly and pocketed the money, looking back at the couple. "Should we tell them to come inside? They haven't eaten yet.". He commented casually.

Remus shrugs, walking back inside the house. "Nah, leave them be. Anyway, let's watch true crime!". Logan hums in response, following after the latter.

#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #roman sanders #virgil sanders #prinxiety #romantic prinxiety #logan sanders #remus sanders #vee writes #alcohol cw #food ment tw

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