Megan’s Writing

#2- Writing on your arm that tells you what your soulmate is most passionate about  Ships: Logince

Warnings: None? | Characters: Logan, Roman. (Human au) 

Word count: 836 

_ _ _ _ _ 

Logan’s soulmate must love storytelling. That’s the only thing he could figure out. Drawings mixed in with the writing from his soulmate, which was rare. It was possible some of his soulmate’s passions couldn’t be communicated with words. That secretly made Logan fall in love with the unknown man even more. 

Logan covered the drawings with long sleeves and black gloves. People in class would never take him seriously with arms full of drawings, even if some of them looked cool. On his right arm were original ideas for fairy tales, descriptions of princes, on top of that a tattoo of a tower. A long dragon’s tail wrapped around his left upper arm with a sword tattoo piercing it’s scales. They were even on his hands, which was also rare. A tattoo of a Disney castle appeared on his left hand, with stars around it. A lot of animals as well, woodland creatures, and cartoon drawings from The Lion King. Those were the ones he tried to cover. 

In public he pretended the drawings didn’t exist, but at home he would study them.

Some changed with time, but most of them stayed. The Disney tattoos, fairy tales, one of his favorites was the silhouette of a dancer printed on his left wrist. He kept track of them, hoping to make some sort of conversation about the interests if he ever met his soulmate. 

He thought about what his soulmate would look like, what sort of writing he had on his arms. Maybe he had the drawings too. He wrote all of his ideas in a secret notebook. Maybe the drawings had something to do with his pictures, stars, something to do with teaching. Sometimes it was all he could think about. 

After the sun went down Logan went to the park with his camera, where the stars shined brighter than they would in any other town. The camera and equipment was rather expensive, but it was worth it. He collected millions of pictures of the sky at night, nature in the daytime, some on the streets. He rolled up his sleeves so he could work. He didn’t have to hide it in the darkness. 

He aimed the camera at the parks shadows, stars sparkling above it, a strange man walking in the middle. One he didn’t see while he was distracted setting up. 

When he looked up again the shadow was sitting on one of the benches with what looked like a sketchbook resting on his knee. He debated taking a picture of the man after deciding it would be rude to do so without telling him, so he left it alone. Something made him want to talk to the stranger. What would he talk about? Why was he here so late at night?

He could only stare. And that’s what he did, until the man turned towards him. Logan hid behind the equipment. Could he talk to him? 

Roman saw drawings on the stranger’s arm. He was the only one with drawings. The shapes were hard to make out, but he could see a snake or a dragon wrapping around his arm, a castle on his forearm, all things he liked. Roman stared at the drawings on his arm. He looked at the camera on his wrist. 

It’s possible. 

The man behind the camera was staring at him. He tried not to stare back, trying not to look rude or creepy. 

Being the hopeless romantic, Roman had to be the one to talk to him. The potential soulmate didn’t look like he would be the one to make the first move. 

He set his sketchbook down on the bench and slowly made his way over to the stranger. He walked behind him, looking at the scene from the digital camera. There was a clear picture of the stars shining above the trees, the bench Roman was once sitting on in the corner of the frame with a lamppost sitting directly behind it. 

“The stars are pretty, aren’t they?” 

Logan spun around to make contact with the prince like character. Up close he looked like something straight out of a Disney movie, outside of the tattoos. Now he could clearly see the constellations drawn on his arm mixed in with planets. 

Roman brought his arm next to the camera, comparing the equipment to the drawing on his wrist. 

“You like taking pictures?” 

Logan didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t scared, like most would be when a random stranger approached them along in the middle of the night. But this wasn’t a random stranger, this was a stranger that had drawings of puzzles and constellations on his arm. That was important. Without knowing what else to do Logan held his hand in front of them, waiting for the man to take it. 

“Hi, I’m Logan.” 

Roman took his hand. 

“Roman,” 

Roman turned his hand to show the castle on Logan’s wrist. 

“I’ve never seen anyone with drawings of their soulmate before. I thought I was the only one,” 

#1- if you pass by your soulmate but don’t meet them, the day you passed them will repeat over and over until you finally find them. Ships: Romantic Remile, background Deemus, Logicallity, and platonic Sleepxiety

Warnings: Deceit is sympathetic but also a dick, sympathetic Remus | Characters: Remy, Emile, Virgil, (mentioned- Deceit, Remus, Logan, Patton) 

Word count: 1237

_ _ _ _ _ 

Remy didn’t notice at first. He got up and did his normal routine- shower, pick out an outfit, go down to the coffee shop to get coffee- that’s when the strange feeling came. The people around him seemed familiar. Of course he never paid attention to the people walking past him on the street, but when he walked in the shop he remembered the same people sitting at the same places as yesterday. A lot of people were every day regulars like him, but it was weird to find them at the exact same tables. He brushed it off. He got is usual coffee and left to blend in with the city again. 

Virgil was in his down when he walked in. Feet layed out over the couch and scrolling on his phone waiting for his friend to come back and find him. This was a fairly normal thing to walk into. Virgil and Remy were surprised to both be accepted in the same college, and even though they didn’t end up being roommates they secretly shared keys so they could sneak into the other’s dorm whenever, even in their actual roommates didn’t approve of it. Deceit was barely around after finding his ‘soulmate’, so having Virgil around for company felt extra nice. Remy wasn’t one to enjoy spending time alone. 

The rest of the day continued as normal. Virgil put in a movie, the same movie they watched yesterday, and Remy was told he was remembering things when he mentioned it. Virgil made the same comments he did while watching it the first time. 

And it all happened again. The next day he showered, picked his outfit, got coffee, and came home to find Virgil spread across the couch. They talked for hours as they had the first two times, watched that same movie. Virgil went back to his dorm at the same time he had before. Now it was weird. 

People talked about soulmates. Deceit talked about how many times the same Thursday afternoon repeated before he realized the idiot almost running into him on the sidewalk was his idiot, and instead of flipping him off he needed to stop and introduce himself. Since then Remus was almost all he could talk about. Remy doubted there was someone really meant for him, but it happened to his roommate, and it’s happening to him now too. 

But who could it be? He walked by hundreds of people every day. If the whole soulmate thing was true then it could be anyone. 

“Virgil, do you believe in soulmates?” 

Remy interrupted Virgil’s repeated greeting throwing his friend off guard. Virgil stopped and stared at him before giving an answer. 

“I don’t know. I guess it’s possible…” Virgil trailed off, thinking. “Logan and Deceit both claim to have them/” 

“No like- the days repeating thing. Is that real?”

“Why do you care? You said you didn’t believe in them.” Remy paused debating if he should say his next statement out loud. Virgil would think he’s crazy.

“...My day has been repeating.” Virgil froze, trying to figure out if what Remy said was right. 

“Are you serious? How long?” 

“Three days. I didn’t think it was real at first but everything matches. The same people at the coffee shop. We’ve been watching the same movie for-” 

“I wasn’t planning on watching any movies.” 

“Yes you are. We’ve watched the same one for three days now.” 

“Alright-“ Virgil sat back, starting to avoid eye contact when Remy raised his voice. “Who do you think it is?” 

“Anyone.” Remy lowered his voice when he realized how angry he was. It was frustrating. He was confused. He didn’t have to take it out on Virgil. “Maybe I’ll just talk to some people and see if I can figure it out.” 

An awkward silence lasted for too long. 

“...You wanna watch a movie? I have one you might like.” 

“I feel like I have it memorized now. I’m choosing.” 

_ _ _ _ _

Remy scanned the coffee shop for the 10 people seated at the same tables they were for the past four days. His soulmate could be anyone he passed on the street, but he would start small. If it wasn’t anyone here he would stop a few people tomorrow maybe. Ask around. 

He got his drink and sat down at a table instead of walking out of the building like he had before. Remy was good at conversation, only when the conversation was supposed to be happening, and it happened naturally. He couldn’t just approach some random person minding their business and ask if they were is soulmate. 

His soulmate can, apparently. 

“Hey, do you mind if I sit here?” 

Remy looked up to see a stranger standing next to his table. He looked soft, like a librarian of sorts, wearing a knitted brown sweater over a tie and white shirt with pink sparkly glasses. At the sight of him Remy’s confidence suddenly returned. 

“I don’t mind.” 

The man sat across from him, setting his own drink next to his. Emile was written on the cup. An interesting name, but it fit him. Emile must have been staring at the drinks as well.  

“You’re name’s Remy?” Remy nodded, making Emile smile. He held his hand out in front of Remy. “I’m Emile, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Remy repeated him, taking his hand and copying his smile. He waited until they let go to speak again. 

“So, what brings you to this corner of the coffee shop?” 

Emile hesitated, staring at the leather on the seats instead of him. He fidgeted with his sweater below the table.

“This is going to sound weird, but you might be my soulmate.” He made eye contact with Remy again, who couldn’t think of anything to say in response. “It- It makes sense. My day has been repeating for four days now and that means I ran into my soulmate at some point. Every day it was the same except now you’re here. You’re what's different.” 

Remy wanted to tell him there was no such thing as soulmates, walk away, and never come back to the coffee shop again. He would, but he would be wrong. The entire situation proved him wrong. He connected what Emile said to what has been happening. Four days. It’s been four days. 

Remy smiled with nervousness. 

“I still think all this is crazy, but you found your guy. My day has been repeating for as long as yours has.” 

Emile’s smile brightened, but Remy cut him off. 

“We still don’t know for sure. We live in the city, you walk by so many people every day. You don’t know if I'm the right one.” Emile’s smile faded. “You’re so sweet, but maybe…. If this is right we’ll ease into it. I don’t think having a soulmate feels right to me. At least right now.” 

Remy stood up and grabbed his drink, taking a slow breath to help calm down. 

“We’ll meet here again tomorrow and if the day has changed, we’ll talk more. Deal?” He held his hand out to Emile, offering him to accept the deal. He imagined himself falling in love with the stranger. It was a happy feeling, but not a fitting one. It didn’t feel right. The stranger took his hand. 

“Deal.” 

When he walked home, Virgil wasn’t on the couch anymore. 

The four friends have been waiting in line for almost an hour, watching the haunted house get closer and closer to them every minute. All of this was Virgil’s idea- a sort of way to say I’m sorry for trying to scare you out of your pants but I still wanna show you how cool Halloween can be when the scaring is done right. Out of everyone, Patton was the one that was the most scared about coming. He still agreed to it since everyone else was, and spending time with friends was just as special as anything else. Logan worked as a distraction for him as they got closer to the building and more spiderwebs could be seen in the bushes. The two had eventually run out of games to play to pass time and turned to letting Patton ramble about something that happened in a dream. From what Virgil picked up from their conversation there was a dog, and Patton took him from the owner and kept picking up random people’s dogs until he had like ten. 

Most of Virgil’s attention had been on Roman, who had been trying his hardest not to complain about how long the line was and talked to Virgil about the endless cool decorations that filled the line (the same spooky decorations Logan and Patton were trying not to talk about). Many of them were motion detectors that made the machine jump out and light up at whoever was walking by, and Roman got a good laugh when the first one went off and made Virgil jump a mile almost into his arms. He saw them coming after that and tried his hardest not to flinch whenever one suddenly screamed at him. A few of the decorations held baskets of candy meant for the guests to take but both Logan and Virgil mentioned it wouldn’t be a good idea to take them. Most of them were empty from the line in front of them, and you don’t know if people had messed with the open candy in the baskets. It wasn’t worth the risk. 

As the line ahead of them started to go down Patton had snapped out of his own world and began to notice the decorations surrounding them, but he was quiet unlike what Logan expected. He got closer to him and eventually decided to rest is hand on Logan’s arm to help calm down. There wasn’t anything to be scared of, yet at least. Maybe that’s what he was telling himself. It was hard to tell from standing behind the two. 

After a moment they could see the inside of the building, which sort of looked like a haunted mansion in a vampire world, but better lit. The walls were lined with gold diamond-patterned wallpaper with lanterns hooked to the walls and fake candles flickering inside of them. The people in front of them were being lowered into moving carts below the ground that traveled into the house on their own, two at a time. It was obvious Logan and Patton didn’t want to be separated at the time so the last two mentally agreed they would go together. Getting closer you could see the carts sort of looked like a Halloween pumpkin carriage that had giant windows with no glass and brown stains on the walls making the pumpkin look like it was rotting. When the two were lowered in they could see only a few feet of space between them, and no seats or handles inside of the plastic carriage. 

Three giant windows let them see the dirt walls of the tunnel and the back of the pumpkin Logan and Patton were in front of them. Speakers were set up in each corner of their space, drowning out all of the talking with loud sounds of rustling trees and howls. Virgil reached out and brushed his hand against the dirt. No glass. Meaning anything can and will get inside to attack. Roman must have been paying attention to his reaction. 

“You know anything that gets in here I can protect you from. I’m not going to let anything hurt you.” Roman hovered his hand over his sword, showing he was ready to draw it any second if he had to. 

“You know it’s all fake right? It’s all lights and paid workers. You can’t use that here.” Roman’s first instinct was to flinch when Virgil moved his hand away from the handle. After taking a breath he started to fidget with the ends of his sash not knowing what else to do with his hands. 

“No, it’s… Something’s not right. It feels like I’m in your room again.” Virgil was quiet waiting for him to continue. “You don’t feel it? The moment we stepped in here it was like- Like a mountain of bricks dropped in your head. No that’s not right- I don’t know.” He looked at the moving walls outside the window, pushing forward. “Yeah. It’s all pretend. I’ll protect you from whatever it is though. I promise.” 

Just when it was almost pitch black the dirt wall turned into an open room, with glowing projections of ghosts and flashing lights and echoes of screams in the speakers. Virgil instantly moved to the window to see. On the opposite side was the same mess, but Roman wasn’t as excited to see the monsters floating dangerously close to their cart. He gripped his hand on the handle of his sword, ready to pull it out in case any of them actually started to attack. The thing Virgil couldn’t see while focused on taking in the rest of the haunted house made it way through the window and into their cart. It’s pretend. It’s pretend, right? It’s now inside the car. 

Roman could never describe what it was. It was a sort of, thing. A slimy creature with thin arms and large sharp claws on each hand, glowing dark green to be seen in the darkness. The darkness only Roman could see and he assumed everyone else could too. He slowly brought his sword out of his sash, pointing it at the creature slowly getting closer to him. He wouldn’t use it unless it jumped, he promised. Maybe it was only meant to scare him and it would go away in a moment. But he didn’t dare move until then. 

“See Ro? It’s just… lights…” When Virgil turned he saw Roman with his sword drawn, pointed at the faint outline of a ghoul. A projection, Virgil had assumed, but it was hard to tell where it was coming from. It looked real to him. Slowly Virgil moved towards him and brushed his hand through the lights to help Roman relax a little. “It’s a projection, I think. It’s all lights.” 

Virgil still had to project his voice to be heard over the speakers, and even then it was hard to tell if the prince actually heard what he said. It was hard to hear anything instead of ghostly screams and howling. Roman backs up until he hits the wall, thinking nothing could sneak up behind him if he did. 

“I-it’s fake.” 

“What?” 

“It’s-” Roman suddenly screams, dropping the weapon falling to his knees with his hands shielding his head. Dark shadows swirled above him, with glowing eyes and sharp looking claws, reminding him of the Shadowman’s friends. What had to be at least 20 of them were surrounding him, moving too fast to look at one before it gets lost with the rest of it’s friends. After a second the shadows completely block his view of the prince and stop him from being able to help. 

Roman felt like he was trapped in a storm. He managed to sit up again after being pushed down the second time, by what was probably the same ghoul that struck him first. Pain still stung in his shoulders and back from the attacks. He reached his sword again, which this time made a loud screeching sound when it brushed against the concrete floor. The weapon wouldn’t be useful against imaginary ghosts, but the false security helped him. One thing for sure, the creatures didn’t look or sound imaginary. His emo friend was nowhere to be seen now, not that he would be much help in fighting if he wasn’t. He may have been trying, but it wouldn’t matter unless he was successful. 

A painful shock struck Virgil’s hand when he reached into the storm to help. For just a second, one of the shadows held onto his hand and dug what felt like real claws into his skin, leaving a scratch behind once it finally let go. That was real. A fake projection couldn’t leave a real wound, even if it was really light. He couldn’t imagine how much of it Roman felt. 

In a wave of panic he pushed himself into the storm and the same shock pierced through his arm, and left his hoodie torn when he managed to get out of it. The force made his stumble to the ground after letting go, and slowly getting up again he watched them. Despite the pain, it was really impressive for a haunted house. Or it was real, which wasn’t possible. 

On a normal day Remy would be wearing his leather jacket and ripped jeans or whatever outfit he had planned for today, but this time he saw Virgil’s hoodie hung over the chair of his vanity table left untouched for months now. It was an awkward fit, but as long as it was left unzipped he could fit into the small jacket. No one had touched it since Virgil left. The old thing was frayed at the sleeves and the pockets were filled with candy wrappers and old headphone wires, but that only made it seem more like Virgil’s. 

Nostalgia came when he slid his hands in the pockets. It was a good and a bad feeling. When Virgil was with the dark sides they spent all their time together staying up until sunrise and talking about what they thought of the light sides, sharing music, sometimes going to concerts that were held in the imagination. Remy would enter the dark palace at midnight knowing Virgil was awake with a tray of Starbucks and a bunch of conspiracy ideas for them to add on to- one of Virgil’s favorite things to talk about late at night. 

Tangled wires wove around his fingers grounding him back to reality. All of that was in the past, and really he wasn’t supposed to think about it anymore. Nothing bad happened, of course, but Virgil crossed a barrier Deceit had set for the unknown sides never to cross- and Remy was left behind. Virgil being a light side wasn’t the problem, Remy was completely neutral when it came to the whole “light side/dark side” thing Patton set for the sides, but since Deceit kept him secret Remy could only visit the dark palace and could only see Virgil if he was with them. 

That only happened once. Virgil quit, completely ducked out and ran away to where the neutral sides lived with Remy and Emile. That was a mess in its own. He spilled everything about the light sides and why he ran away. He ended up going back, which Remy shouldn’t have been upset about. It was what he needed, Emile reminded him of that. It still hurt. 

When Remy snuck into the dark palace Deceit was alone- which meant something about the barrier changed. Remus was an unknown side and was trapped in the dark palace with Deceit. He never said anything since he wasn’t supposed to be there. He wasn’t sure what he was doing there to begin with, he just wanted to feel at home like he felt with the dark sides. Voices came from everyone, belonging to Thomas, Logan, Remus, Patton- Sanders Sides. Whenever a video started the dark sides could hear everything going on from the palace. Remy sat back and watched Deceit silently listen to what was going on. 

“Why should you be held to a different standard than any other side?” The room was silent, as both sides waited for Virgil to respond. Remy could feel his own heartbeat coming with the tension. 

“Because I was one of them.” 

He could only imagine how hurt Virgil looked. Before he ranted about how scared he was for the light sides to know- especially Thomas. From what he listened to in the previous episodes he worked hard to keep the side’s trust- to forget about everything that happened before switching. All of that trust he had broke with six words. 

Virgil sank down and reappeared in the living room in front of Deceit, and before he could say anything he pushed past the side and went straight to his old room to be left alone. Remy could only see the backside of him but he could see a lot in his appearance had changed since he ran away to him and Emile- a different hoodie, mostly. He changed out of the one Remy was currently wearing and left it behind. Instead, he wore a soft-looking all black coat with a purple stormcloud symbol and purple plaid patches stitched to it. The same purple that matched everyone’s hair color after Thomas decided to dye it. He heard the voices of everyone changing their look but never got to see it in person. All he knew was Virgil wasn’t the same as he used to be anymore. 

Deceit finally looked over to where Virgil first appeared and saw Remy standing against the wall, biting his nails and trying to take in what just happened. Deceit only gave him an understanding look and walked away to his room. It was best for Virgil to be left alone for a few minutes before talking to someone, and Remy made a mental note to have that person to be him. He just needed some time alone first. Remy did too. 

_ _ _ _ _

“Virgil...?” Remy creaked the door open to reveal the side sitting on his bed still thinking about what happened. Remy held drinks behind his back for them to share and hoped Virgil wouldn’t notice the old black and grey hoodie tied around his waist. When Virgil heard the voice he looked up and smiled at him. 

“You heard everything didn’t you?” 

“Yeah…” 

“What’s behind your back?” 

“Your favorite.” Remy brought the drinks in front of him- two for Virgil and two for himself. Virgil’s smile grew brighter when he saw them. There it is. Maybe the Virgil he loved wasn’t gone after all. 

Virgil reached up and grabbed one of his drinks before sitting back on the bed and letting the straw in his mouth be an excuse not to talk. Remy sat across from him careful not to create any more tension than there already was. 

“...You wanna talk about it?” 

“Nope.” 

“Cool.” There was another silence as Remy continued to stare at the ice in his coffee. It took a while to gather enough confidence to say something again. 

“...Emile misses you.” Another beat of silence. “Trust me I would visit you a lot, but we can’t get into the mind palace like you can. Deceit has been keeping us hidden.” 

“...I might stay down here a while.” 

Dark voices came from the twin’s bedroom. It was normal for the other sides to be able to hear a few voices coming from whatever was going on in there, but they were never this loud, or spooky sounding. On any normal day Patton would have hidden from the voices until they stopped but the feeling was different this time. Like the Duke wasn’t causing the chaos up there and kept trying to control the situation, but he couldn’t. Thinking about that was the only thing keeping Patton from panic. 

It was growing closer to noon, so most of the sides were already awake and in the mindscape, which included Roman. Which meant the screaming coming from the twin’s room belonged to Remus. Everyone was trying their best to block it out like they normally did, but this time was different. Everyone sat trying to guess what was happening in the imagination world upstairs. Patton was the one to finally break. Despite everyone’s warnings of what could be happening Patton crept upstairs and stood outside the twin’s room. 

The muffled screams turned real when he opened the door. Remus’ half of the room was covered in vague smoke, and visions of people running and a shadow of Remus standing in the middle of it. The real Remus was curled up on his bed, frozen and shaking while clutching on to one of the many plushies covering the blanket. Patton’s voice could barely be heard over the chaos surrounding them. 

“...Remus?” He shook him a few times, then took a pillow from Roman’s bed and threw it at him. “Remus!” 

The duke shot up from his position in a cold sweat as the visions around him disappeared. It took a second for his breathing to slow down and for him to figure out the shadow in front of him was actually Patton. His octopus plush fell out of his arms and joined the rest of his plushies sitting on his bed.  Patton didn’t move any closer. 

“...Patton?” He stared forward at the shadow- Patton- still trying to bring himself back to reality until he shot up and realized why the side was standing in his room with a worried look. 

“Oh, I was… oh no everyone could hear that. I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-” 

“It’s not your fault.” Patton sat at the end of his bed in the most gentle way he could think to. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know…” Remus rested his head on his knees. “That’s all normal. You didn’t have to come up here and stop it-” Remus stopped when he saw Patton’s arms stretched out in front of him for a hug. Remus blinked for a second, before jumping up and pushing all his weight onto Patton and pulling him tighter. It wasn’t until then he realized how much his breaths were still shaking. Remus was frozen, wishing he could tell Patton everything he was feeling but couldn’t find the right words to put them in. He wished that hug could move words from his head into Patton’s and he would know. 

Remus was quiet the rest of that day. No one seemed to question it. It was a lonely feeling holding all of that inside but he could imagine what would happen if he told the others. They would be scared or him- more scared than they already were. If he kept quiet, no one would get hurt. 

Patton didn’t understand. He didn’t want him to, but maybe there was a part of him that wanted to support Remus and help him out of whatever was happening in his mind. The only thing Remus could wish for was for him to stay away and stay safe. 

Ships: Logicallity, Analogical Warnings: Supernatural powers, violent unsympathetic Remus, abusive relationship (creativitwins), beating, major character death (referenced), weapons, referenced mass shootings, dark magic/hallucinations, drinking, sympathetic Virgil, (if I need to add anything to the warnings please let me know!)  Characters: Logan, Patton, Virgil, Remy, Remus, Roman (referenced- Character!Thomas) Word count: 2739 Thank you @stop-it-anxiety for beta reading! (and starting this whole trainwreck. It’s great) 

 The town felt oddly familiar, too similar to the one Logan moved away from to start all over here. He blended in with everyone busying around and getting to wherever it was they needed to go. His horse slowed down to a careful trot and he moved through the crowd. In his old town the rich got around with horses and carriages, but this didn’t seem to be the case here. Most got around on foot, which helped make the town look less crowded when traveling though it but made it harder for Logan to make sure no one was standing in front of his so he wouldn’t crash into anyone. A horrible first impression of the soon to be new sheriff. 

This place has been without any sort of law system for around a month now since the death of the old sheriff, who had lost a fight and was practically beaten to death by the town’s best criminal. It wasn’t the beating that killed him but the shot right after, but that didn’t matter now. What mattered is that he was dead and not what it was that killed him. What mattered is that Logan was there now and was able to help, no matter what it took. Even if he had to go through the same painful death Thomas did. Despite what everyone said he wasn’t scared like he was supposed to be. That’s what made him such a good sheriff, he didn’t believe in fear. He didn’t believe he could feel any sort of fear anyway. It felt unnatural not to flinch when a gun was pointed at him, but that’s what happened. There was no way of explaining it. 

Crofters was tied to the fence of the house he would be staying in for a while with his partner he had yet to meet, Patton. Thomas’ old deputy, and now his. He’s heard the name plenty of times going through the town mixed in with his own. He heard Patton was nice. Almost too nice, and let people get away with a little more than what they were supposed to. Thomas was the same way he heard, but that was going to change fast now that he was here. No one is going to get away with hurting people because the law is too scared to fight them. Sure, Thomas wasn’t scared in the moment. Look where that got him. He became the reason everyone was scared. 

_ _ _ _ _ 

Logan and Patton traveled by foot to blend in with the rest of the town. This place seemed much bigger than his old home, and there were many more shops and restaurants and theatres to go to if anyone had some time to kill on a normal day. The two of them were stopped at a bulletin board posted in the center of town, with plenty of random papers stapled to the board from places wanting to hire, missing posters, and the town's most wanted. All of the posters could already be seen splattered on walls and posts and trees, and this was just another reminder those same famous criminals existed. The face he saw in most places was Remus. That same picture with his crazy smile and clown-ish looking outfit printed in black and white all over. The same poster was stapled multiple times on the board mixed in with the rest of them. 

MOST WANTED: 

REMUS SANDERS “DUKE”

Charged with:

-Kidnapping and abuse of Roman Sanders

-Killing over 100 passengers on a stolen train

-Contributions to the black market

-Seriously this guy killed like 50 people just riding through town just turn him in plz.

REWARD: $150,000 

“One hundred fifty thousand…” Logan stares at the picture, the Duke’s wild hair and crazy smile printed into the paper nailed to the board in the center of town. “No wonder this town was in need of a sheriff. This guy probably killed the last one.” 

“Aren’t you scared?” Patton asks, Logan’s new assigned deputy. They had met only a few hours ago, and decided to spend time together walking through town to help Logan get more familiar with the city and get to know his partner better before going into official business. 

“Scared of what?” 

“Getting killed?”

“Well, he hasn’t killed me yet, has he?” The picture on the poster amused him- how Remus looked exactly like a cliche criminal in the movies, mostly the moustache and cowboy hat that set him off like that. And his costume, like some sort of cowboy-clown. Logan takes the poster from the board and folds it, then slides it into his pocket to use for later. 

“You know what happened to the last sheriff, right?” Patton’s voice was soft, watching the reflections in Logan’s glasses. He remembered everything. How much the other sheriff fought the beating and ended up shaking on the ground. And Remus finally put a bullet in his chest. Maybe he would have had some mercy if he hadn’t fought back so much. The two had always pushed each other to their limit until then, and Patton was there for all of it. He witnessed his death, but Remus didn’t know until he was charged of murder and Patton testified against him. He broke out of jail, and everyone was too scared to try him again. 

“Of course,” Logan adjusted his glasses and let out a breath, starting to reimagine the story Patton had told him before. “And that’s why I need this job. I’m sorry for your old friend by the way, you guys were close.” 

_ _ _ _ _  

Logan snuck out again around 10:00 after Patton had gone to bed, just to explore town again on his own and go into the things he was most curious about and could be most helpful to his work. The only thing they had done the first time was walk as Patton rambled about what there was to do here and all the people he knows and stories that came from certain buildings he liked to spend time in. Now he was alone, using his hat to help him blend in with the crowd and using the shadows after sunset to his advantage for blending in. Maybe a few people recognized him, but it was unlikely considering he hasn’t even started his job yet and since more people were here it was harder to tell when someone new came along. Less people crowded the streets at night, so at least he didn’t have to worry about moving through people anymore.  

The only thing still open this late was a small tavern across from where Patton and Logan had found Remus’ poster. It looked fairly empty from what he could see, which wasn’t much of a surprise since most people drank during the day and started to go home once the sun began to set. From the window, he could see it was dim and uncrowded, with only one or two people at the counters and no one sitting at the tables or dancing. 

All eyes turned on him, all eyes being only two. The man behind the counter looked up immediately as if he already recognized the man who walked in. The other slowly turned once he saw his friend was staring at something and met eyes with Logan as soon as he did. Both men dressed a bit strange, one of them wearing a purple vest- purple being an extremely rare color for clothes where he was from- with smoke-colored bags under his eyes, and the other wore a leather jacket with a dark blue skirt that went down to his boots. The first one looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words in the moment. Logan was the first one to speak up. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m new here, I’m just exploring to get more familiar with the town.” 

“You’re Logan?” The man in purple finally spoke, quickly changing the topic from whatever Logan was about to say. 

“...Why does that matter?” 

“Your name’s been going around like wildfire. We saw you walking with Patton out there a while ago. It’s not that hard to connect the dots.” The man gestured to the open seat next to him, inviting Logan to come sit with the two of them. “May I offer you a drink?” 

“I shouldn’t. I have a big day tomorrow.” 

“Then come sit with us and tell us what you’ve learned so far.” Logan didn’t move. “You’re gonna be sheriff, you gotta know your stuff. Do you know any of the top criminals here? You’ll be working against them.” Logan reached in his pocket for the flyer and tossed it at the counter in front of Virgil. 

“Remus Sanders. Worth $150,000 dead or alive. The average criminal is like 50 or 60 thousand.” 

“He killed a lot of people,” Remy said. “Important people too. That’s why you’re here.” Virgil never said anything, but kept staring at the picture and re-reading the words on the flyer. Virgil slams the flyer back down to the table. 

“How long do you really think you’re gonna last here? Be honest.” 

“If all goes well I plan on staying until retirement.” Virgil went quiet. “Listen you might not believe me right now but I’ve done this before and I can do it again. This guy isn’t any different than anyone else I’ve arrested. With me here now all of this is gonna stop. I’m not gonna let it keep going.” 

“Why should I believe you?” 

“It’s my job. Someone has to do it.” Virgil tried not to look at his smile. “Things are gonna change here.” 

_ _ _ _ _

The real first day Remus was the only thing set on Logan’s mind. Town’s most wanted. Most wanted. As his days in the new town grew he learned more and more about the highest criminal. No one was able to arrest him, and everyone who tried didn’t make it. Even if they could, Remus seemed like someone that could break out in a matter of days. Still, all the chaos he was bringing had to be ended somehow. He heard stories of his brother, the only one of his victims that didn’t end up buried in the ground. His mind wandered as the horse sped up, starting to make him lose balance. The grip on Crofter’s saddle grew tighter fighting against the wind as his mind returned to the dirt path in front of him and his horse. 

The image that was in his mind came to life as they pulled up closer to the scene they were heading towards. The two were called to handle one of Remus’ episodes with his brother. Past the train tracks, Remus had his brother tied to a thin tree with rope. No weapons were seen, yet the prince appeared like he had been mentally beaten. Defeated. Normally the crimes involving his twin were ignored since no one is killed in the crime, and most were too afraid to involve themselves in the Duke’s presence. 

Logan thought differently about letting him get away with it, whatever he was doing to him. Maybe he was scared knowing the Duke had magic unlike normal humans. No one knows where they came from, and only Roman had been able to witness it and survive. Yet he kept quiet. No one seemed to blame him for it either. Virgil had seen a glimpse of what he could do and bailed before anything could happen. He described darkness taking over everything in his vision, and controlled hallucinations in the corner of his eyes, then he escaped and hadn’t seen Remus in person since. They talked about his powers, and Logan got the whole story when he made himself heard to the boy behind the counter dressed in purple leather and dark eyeshadow surrounding his eyes. Makeup looking similar to Remus’ on the paper he stole off the town’s Most Wanted board. 

The two horses had slowed down to a halt on the other side of the tracks. From a distance, it didn’t look like much, in comparison to the other things Remus has done anyway. The scene was exactly how they had been told. The victim was tied to a tree, no longer trying to escape, and there weren’t any weapons being used, though from a distance you could see weapons hiding in the Duke’s pockets in his costume. This was the first time Logan had seen Remus in person. Real. Not just some story that had been told to him in the tavern by local drunkards. Real criminal, real crime. Though no magic had been seen where Remus and his brother had been standing. That was the hardest part for Logan to believe. 

Patton seemed a little more on edge than usual. He stared at the Duke, watching his smooth gestures toward the prince in fear of what he was saying to him unaware of the law’s presence behind them. Patton had dealt with the Duke’s chaos before, only he was the one to live. The past sheriff didn’t live, and that fact didn’t scare Logan as much as it should have. Not at the time anyway. 

Without saying a word, Logan swung off his horse and tied it to another thin tree close to Patton’s. Patton stayed still, silent, They addressed the plan beforehand when Patton protested coming up to Roman’s rescue, so Patton wouldn’t have to interact with the Duke unless he had to. The fear was real, even if it had to be part of the job. Logan walked past the train tracks, pulling a gun from his belt to use if he needed to. He held it beside him so Remus wouldn’t see it as a threat straight to him, but still see the weapon to know not to do anything stupid. 

“Excuse me, are you Remus?” The man ignored him, continuing his business with the man dressed in red. There was no mistaking him even from behind. His outfit, that made him look like a lime green clown more than anything. When no response came Logan repeated himself. “Mr. Sanders, we need to talk.” No response. After a moment Logan reached into his belt for his gun, then fired a warning shot that moved just pass his head, just enough to get him to turn around and acknowledge the sheriff behind him. 

“You’ve got a nerve.” Remus turns, reaching for throwing stars in his shirt pocket in case he needed to use them on his intruder. “...Sheriff? Oh, they must have hired a new one.” 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m afraid playtime is over. Time to let him go.” 

“Who told you to come up here?” 

“There was a report of a goblin harassing a young prince. I have reason to believe that’s you.” The Duke stopped, taking slow steps toward the sheriff. “This is only a warning. Let him go and we can all move on with our lives, if you protest I have right to arrest.” 

“Arrest me?” The Duke laughs. “You haven’t heard the stories, have you?” 

“I have. I believe you haven’t seemed to hear anything of me before.” The Duke waited for him to continue. “I don’t have fear. That’s what made me so good in my old town. Must be some sort of magic like yours.” 

“That explains it. To come here during brother’s playtime you must be crazy or have a death wish. You seem to be the first one, crazy.” Logan stuttered at the strange nickname he was given. Remus isn’t a normal criminal. Well, he found that on the first day exploring town with Patton. Most criminals he worked with before never used any cute nicknames. “You know about my magic?” The cheer in the Duke’s voice was strange, interested in whatever it was Logan was about to say. 

“I’ve heard stories…” A wave of darkness takes over the nature surrounding the three until the only thing Logan would see was the green and black figure standing in front of him. Remus. 

“Don’t believe in magic, do ya? Not before anyway.” Logan never moved. Remus reached in his pocket and pulled out a knife and made a cutting motion where the prince was once standing, pointing over to where Patton would be standing if it were for the cloud of darkness blocking his vision. 

Deceit never really did anything wrong. That’s the problem. The lies that spill from aren’t meant to hurt anyone, and that’s why Patton thought the frustration he held against him needed to be suffocated. He sat quietly, letting the snake lie with no shame, flirt with his friends, continue to control everything he could with the power he had. It’s wrong. 

After the courtroom scenario, the five had returned from the imagination and back into the mind palace where all of the light sides stayed. It was silent, mostly, with all of the sides taking in everything that went down. Roman feeling slightly guilty with his decisions, Logan realizing how much the others were beginning to shut him out and what that meant if it kept up. Virgil had gone back to his room alone, a normal thing for him to do. Virgil rarely showed himself in the common room unless he had to. Deceit had stayed with the light sides for a while instead of going back with Remus and the others. 

Patton had started to block out his presence as he searched through the books lined on the wall of the living room. Hundreds of them, all of random things Thomas remembers in his life. Logan’s idea that turned out to be helpful for the rest of the group when something needed to be remembered. The book of lawyers was missing from when Logan took it with him in the courtroom. All the printed titles gave him a reason to avoid eye contact with the others. 

It’s all wrong. The lies. The manipulation. Deceit was still talking, but nothing he said sounded like words at the moment. Just sound. 

“Patton?” Patton turns around at the sound of Logan’s voice to see Logan and Deceit standing there, Deceit with confusion and slight fear in his eyes at the way Patton moved. Calm, a bit too smoothly. Not the small jump he expected when they knocked Patton out of his trance. “...Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” He smiles, putting his hands behind his back so the two couldn’t see them shaking and avoiding eye contact with Deceit. Deceit and Logan share a knowing glance for a second about what was going on, but that didn’t change anything. Deceit started to cower back at the happiness in his voice knowing it was forced and Patton was about to snap for all the things that happened in the last episode. The whole thing went against Patton. The whole time Deceit had been trying to show off the worst in him take away his power. 

“This episode had to be pretty hard for you, proving Thomas isn’t as good as you thought.” 

“It’s fine.” A bunch of words spiraled in his head coming up with what he was about to say next. You’re just trying to prove a point right? You’re just trying to help. None of them deserved to see the anger he had deep down. Just before he began to snap he stops himself and pushes it down again. “I have to go.” 

“Patton-” Deceit starts to follow to try and apologize for everything before Logan brings his hand up to hold him back, and Patton is gone. Patton rarely got angry, but when he did there was always a reason. Usually anger turned to tears in the end, and the situation had already escalated enough to where it is. The two stood in silence watching Patton move up the stairs and out of their sight. 

Out of the three of them Roman was the most clingy. He would randomly sneak up of his two boyfriends when they least expected it and shower them in cuddles and kisses until he either got pushed away or ended up asleep in their arms.

This time Roman completely tired himself out doing so. Deceit was the last victim of all his affection despite how busy he was. Dee stopped what he was doing to let Roman bring him over to the couch and shower him with hugs. After a long time he ended up almost asleep with his head in Deceit’s lap and Dee brushing his fingers through his hair, refusing to move and wake him up. Everything was quiet before Logan walked in and smiled at the two boys on the couch. Deceit stopped him before he could walk away.

“There’s room for three on here.”

“I’m busy.”

“So was I.” Logan stopped to look back at the side still twirling Roman’s hair around his fingers. Logan set his books down on the counter.

Logan rested his head on Deceit’s shoulder, forgetting everything he had to do in the moment and enjoying the gentleness of the scene. Logan too began to drift away in his arms before Deceit reached up and stroaked his hair with an extra arm to keep the one around Logan there. It wasn’t hard for the two boys to both fall asleep in his arms.

“Virgil? I’m sorry! Please come back!” 

The entrance of the imagination was covered in dark purple smoke, matching the light purple and pink sky with shining silver stars and silhouettes of pine trees taking over the imagination. Orange and brown leaves crunched under Roman’s feet as he started to walk through on his search. The forest had always been the first thing you see entering Roman’s half of the imagination, but Virgil was the one to make it look somewhat… haunted. Roman was careful not to step on any cats or other animals through the fog or let his boots catch on any of the thorn bushes. 

“Come on Virge, there’s smoke everywhere. I know you’re in here.” A few clouds hovered only a few inches above the trees. He had to be in one of those. After an argument like that, he imagined floating by himself in a cloud would be something Virgil would do to calm down. Roman created a cloud of his own under his feet and used it to fly up over the trees and look down at Virgil’s organized mess. Sure enough, Virgil was lying on one of his clouds looking to be asleep with his headphones on. Roman’s red cloud slowly drifted next to his. “...Virgil?” 

A small push makes Virgil jump from where he was lying and almost fall through the cloud scaring Roman in response. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you! Are you okay?” 

“Roman…?” Virgil rubbed his eyes until the figure in front of him became clear. “...oh no… I’m not supposed to be in here. I’m sorry I ruined your forest, I-“ 

“It’s fine.” 

“Are you still mad about Deceit?” 

“We can talk about it later. I’m not mad. I’m sorry I was before.” Virgil took off his headphones and placed them around his neck, letting Roman hear the loud Halloween music he was listening to before. 

“Really in the Halloween mood, huh?” Virgil stayed quiet. “This place is really impressive. You did all this?” 

“I didn’t mean to take it that far. Besides this is your thing and Remus’. I shouldn’t be able to create here in the first place.” 

“But you can.” Roman smiled. “For what it’s worth I think it’s really cool. At first I thought you were only able to make clouds and shadows.” 

“For the most part, yeah. That’s all I really know how to do.” Roman sat back watching his friend fall back into his thoughts. It would have been quiet for a long time if Roman hadn’t spoken again. 

“...May I show you something?” Roman’s hand was held out in front of him, offering Virgil to take it. “You can sulk in the shadows later. I think you will like this.” 

“...What is it?” 

“The imagination. Have you ever really explored?” Virgil snickered remembering the mini adventures he’s had by himself sneaking into Roman’s room. Nothing too big except for climbing the trees and watching the woodland animals, but it was nice to be alone in a calm world like that. He could never explain it. 

“A little. I didn’t want to wander too far so I wouldn’t get lost or end up on the wrong side.” 

“Then you have no idea how much your missing.” Virgil began to block him out. “Come on, I know this place like the back of my hand. We won’t end up in Remus’ territory. Trust me.” Virgil finally reached his hand towards Roman’s, and once is was there Roman took it and pulled Virgil over towards him and the two floated back down to the ground. Once they were on the ground they started to walk through Virgil’s haunted forest, still not letting go of each other's hands. 

Soon enough the purple smoke started to clear and the leaves turned bright green and sparkly like they had been before. Virgil’s sunset skyline turned bright blue with Roman’s mountains towering in front of them with millions of trees. Just as Virgil remembered it there. He began to relax at the familiar sights of Roman’s world. 

Roman lead the two of them through the forest until they reached a large field surrounded by trees. I tall tower stood in the center, making the scene look like something taken out of Tangled. Except this castle had a dragon. 

Roman let go of his hand to run towards it, leaving Virgil behind to watch. Roman’s outfit changed from his normal prince uniform to a white and gold dress that was just long enough to let him run without tripping over the laces. Before he could get a better look Roman was gone and reappeared at the top reaching out to Virgil in the most dramatic way he could. 

“My hero! I’ve been cursed to spend my life locked in this tower with this powerful dragon guarding me! I’ve been waiting years for someone to come to my rescue!” Virgil laughed at his show, trying to control how much he would let himself make fun of the prince so he wouldn’t hurt his big ego. 

“Oh my God, are you serious? You sound ridiculous-” 

A giant wave of fire blew in his direction and almost knocked him over. When Virgil reached up to block the attack he saw a new outfit on him as well, a long black sweater with dark purple ruffles on the sleeves and laces holding the front of the dress together. The skirt stopped above his knees, giving him enough room to run without being stiff or tripping. Roman has also conjured a sword for him to defend himself with. 

“Great taste, but I thought you were the princess here.” 

“Princes can wear dresses too.” Virgil pulled the hood of the dress over his head, letting the soft fabric block his vision of the surrounding trees and let him focus on the castle. Obviously, the dragon had noticed him and it was too late to run, but how was he supposed to defeat that thing on his own? 

So that was Roman’s plan. Virgil could use whatever he wanted to rescue him. Cool magic, wings, whatever he could think of. Starting to form a plan, he took a few steps back and got a running head start. Black and purple feathers sprouted from his back and pushed him into the sky. It was shaky at first, but the wings had actually worked. He was only a few feet from the dragon and hundreds of feet away from the ground. Just don’t look down. You’ll be fine. A deep and still river appeared on the ground below him for a soft landing in case he crashed. He flew as far right as he could to dodge the next blow. Maybe he could sneak up behind it and kill it with the sword? How do most Disney heroes slay dragons? 

For a second Virgil perched on the ledge of the castle next to Roman to catch his breath. That time the dragon didn’t turn to strike him again. Virgil noted the sharp scales on its neck and tail and made sure he wouldn’t hurt himself there following through with the rest of his idea. 

It all happened in a moment. Sword in hand, monster no more than five feet away, if he had a chance to strike the creature this was it. As fast as he could, he thrust the sword into the dragon’s neck and watched the creature go limp after a second of fighting. 

“...Holy crap I did it.” 

“I took that so easy on you.” 

“I just killed a freaking fire breathing dragon did you see that?” Roman smiled at his excitement. Virgil turned towards him trying to copy the dramatic act he was using before. “My prince! I have rescued you and now we can ride into the sunset and get married tomorrow evening by the lake.” 

“I wouldn’t be against it.” Virgil giggled, now leaning against Roman and staring up at the silver sky. His wings were smaller since he didn’t need them in the air anymore, but he liked having them on even while they weren’t needed. Roman liked how soft they were as well. 

“You really can do anything here, huh?” 

“As long as you think of it. If you wanted you could make a fire breathing dragon just like that. Your own world and your own stories just like mine.” Virgil let out a breath, going back to his thoughts again. 

“...I don’t think I’m cut out for this whole imagination thing.” Roman perked up and stopped brushing his hands through the soft feathers for just a second. “I mean like- yeah I can make clouds and pretty skies but you have your own worlds with kings and dragons and for me… I just like to imagine soft colors. I don’t know how to explain it, but your world is so calming.” Roman was relaxed again, listening to Virgil fill the silence in their world. 

“The imagination is your happy place. I get it.” He returned to stroking the feathers again. “Even if fairy tales aren’t your thing, you’re welcome here anytime. Haunted forests and everything.” 

“Whatever.” Virgil pulled himself up and brushed himself off. “I think the others are looking for us now. We should get going.” 

“About time we rode off into the sunset and got married tomorrow evening by the lake, huh?” Virgil reached out for Roman to take his hand and pulled him off the ground. The weight of his wings almost made the two loose balance. 

“...How do I take these off?” Roman laughed at him. 

“Erasing takes practice, but everything goes back to normal once you get back to the mind palace. Trust me.” 

_ _ _ _ _

Roman led the two of them back through the forest until they reached a giant cement wall- not the pathway connecting the imagination and the mind palace like Virgil was expecting. The path Roman was leading them on did seem unfamiliar but Virgil trusted him. There wasn’t any reason not to. 

Virgil’s grip on Roman’s hand tightened when he tried to open the door in front of them. He started to panic when Roman turned around to see what was wrong. 

“Uh- I don’t think this is the right way to the mind palace.” 

“I know.” Roman calmed his excitement when he saw how Virgil was clinging on to him. “Nothing is going to hurt you. I promise you’ll like it. Just one more thing before we go back.” Virgil relaxed and opened the door, then Roman led them both inside. The room was about the size of a normal bedroom, with all black walls and floors. Nothing else. No windows or decorations or anything except darkness. 

“It’s… blank.” 

“Exactly. Your own part of the imagination. It’s small now but you can make the room as big as you want. Bigger than mine even. We can even connect it to your room so you don’t have to go through mine to get here anymore.” 

“You think I can make an imagination as big as yours?” 

“No. But potentially you can. No one can be this extra.” Virgil let go of him and walked in further, looking at the corners of the room and imagining what the world would look like once he started. “You wanna try?” 

The only thing Virgil could think of was dark purple fog like what he had in Roman’s forest. The small room stretched as he walked in further, growing black pine trees from the ground with spider webs hanging from the branches. Wind pushed the smoke around and made the room feel colder. Grass started to grow beneath them, leaving space for a dirt path cutting through the trees. The sky glowed orange and purple with pink clouds reflecting the ocean from a distance. He imagined what could be in there. Strange creatures, mermaids, caves filled with rusted treasure. Maybe he could explore there later. 

Roman stayed back, watching Virgil add more details to the scene he was creating until Virgil turned back and ran towards him. Virgil’s arms wrapped tightly around his chest and held on without saying a word. 

Ship: Prinxiety (fluff)  Word count: 725 Warnings: none

The grass Virgil was laying on almost felt nonexistent, along with the rest of the world that turned into a swirling mess of color. Light orange, pink, blue, hints of violet that looked like nothing but a giant mesh of clouds hovering a few feet above his head. In the imagination, you could create anything. What Roman usually made were fairy tales, dragons, forests with glitter sparkling in the trees. The only thing Virgil wanted to make was color.  

This isn’t what the other sides did when they needed to go and calm down. Logan was usually able to calm himself with a few breaths, Roman went up to his room and scribbled in a notebook, and he’d never seen Patton mad to begin with. Virgil always escaped to the imagination when his panic got too extreme. He was the only side able to get in the imagination and have the ability to create along with the twins, however the things he could make were a bit limited. The mess of colorful clouds was enough for him. The texture of the warm fog that condensated on his hand and faded purple into orange and pink at his touch. Like a sunset, but not a sunset. Just the colors. 

“Virgil?” He shot up from the grass and turned to where the voice was coming from, trying to look past the swirl of colors he was making. In a moment the fog faded to reveal Roman standing behind them. 

“I- I’m sorry I shouldn’t be in here this is your place-” 

“You’re fine.” Roman smiles, trying to hide the bouncy excitement he had for his friend when Virgil started to blush. “You were…” 

“Not painting.” 

“You’re a horrible liar.” Roman rushed over and sat next to him, still bouncing a little. Virgil couldn’t help but copy his smile when he sat down close to him and faced the collection of shiny trees and a bright blue sky. “Can I show you something?” 

Virgil silently consented, waiting for Roman to do whatever it was he was about to do. He moved his hand behind is back and with a wave the scene went white, making Virgil move a little closer to him in sudden panic. Roman’s free hand rests on his shoulder. 

“Hey. It’s okay. It’s nothing bad. Look over here.” He gestured in front of them, moving Virgil’s eyes to a dark red rose planted in the smooth ground. He only watched for a second before Roman spoke again. “What’s your favorite color?” 

“Black.” Virgil spoke with confidence before mumbling again. “And purple…” 

At Roman’s touch, the rose turned to water, mixed with black and violet watercolor paint moving through the blank canvas surrounding them. The world around them was only white, but the colorful strokes of watercolor was the only thing with Virgil’s attention at that moment. The colors traveled forward into the white void until they exploded in full rainbow taking over the imaginary canvas and traveling all around them. Virgil began to relax into Roman’s shoulder before an idea strikes and he shot up, brushing his hand across the floor and creating streaks of light purple and pink and blue mixing in with the paint. Light oranges mix in with the colors until his spot on the floor was turned to the same colors his clouds were before Princey came. 

The colors spread until the whole room became a sunset, now with dark blues and purples with a moving blue colored floor as water and specs of white in the ceiling looking like stars, Roman’s help with the project. Eventually, Virgil had to quit running around the room adding touches and collapsed on the ground, looking at what the two had created. A glowing sun peaking out of the water with pink clouds surrounding it with glittering stars a black silhouette of tiny birds flying in the background. Roman sat behind him, which didn’t make him jump like it normally would. Everything was calm. Perfect. 

This was the one painting Roman didn’t erase in the imagination. It became a room in the center of the forest, and inside, a giant moving painting that pulled you into a new world. A world you could relax and just breathe in, taking in all the colors. 

Maybe he should let Virgil in the imagination more often. 

Freaking Anxciet because I can. (Also I don’t know the context of the song but I like this line it’s really poetic and kind of spooky) This was gonna be really angsty but it got romantic and there wasn’t turning back 

Summary: Roman drags Virgil to a party and disappears, leaving Virgil alone with a strange man dressed in black and gold    Ships: Anxceit, implied platonic Prinxiety?  Characters: Virgil, Roman, Deceit Warnings: Deceit, drinking, social anxiety Word count: Around 1000 ish? 

Virgil stood back leaning against a wall, half hiding behind a pillar in the corner or the room. Coming here was a horrible idea. Despite the masks, the real him didn’t belong. Everyone here was anonymous. Wearing face masks and fancy dresses. Virgil himself wore a long purple dress that reached the ground and a dark purple mask tied around his head with silver and black lace on the edges. In fancy masquerades it was traditional women would wear dresses and masks that you hold up to your face and men would wear suits and masks that are tied behind your head, but Virgil and Roman always liked to go against gendered tradition when it came to these things. Virgil did appear slightly feminine with his size and people could possibly mistake him for a flat-chested woman.

He found Roman in the crowd of dancers, the one that somehow convinced him to come to this. He wore a dress as well, with a dark red color matching the mask he had tied around his head. Both the dress and the mask were traced with dark gold lace. He wouldn’t have recognized him if he hadn’t seen his dress before they got here. 

Roman stood against the wall talking to a man dressed in a suit and black cape lined with gold. He couldn’t see his mask from behind, but he was moving in place constantly while talking while holding a drink, and when Roman gestured over in Virgil’s direction he turned for a second and let him see a black mask laced with yellow and gold. Virgil watched them for a while from a distance, ignoring all the strangers around him and the music. Eventually the two parted and the man was lost in the crowd again. Roman found a man to dance with, and that’s when he was sure he forgot he brought Virgil here this time and he was in the corner watching the gathering from afar. Maybe he assumed he forgot about Roman and was gathering in the group like he was supposed to. 

“Virgil?” 

There was a sudden tap on Virgil’s shoulder from behind that made him jump and quickly turn to see what made it. That same man was there, the one in the black and gold suit, and he could see him clearly now. Gold lace covered the front of the suit and traveled down to his sleeves which covered the beginning of soft yellow gloves. He lost his drink, but his hands still seemed to move just as much as it did before while he was talking to Roman. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. Your name is Virgil, right? Your friend told me about you.” He gestured over to Roman in the crowd, taking Virgil’s attention away from him for a moment before returning to him again.” 

“Uh- yeah. Thats’ me. Roman brought me here.” 

“You know I haven’t seen you move from this spot in 30 minutes. There’s more to ballrooms like these than what you see from standing in the corner.” He didn’t get anything from him except a small scoff and a glance over at the crowd, thinking about what he said. “You know this is a social gathering. You’re supposed to socialise and dance with people.” 

“Obviously I’m not very good at that.” 

“I can see.” He smiled, just before holding out a hand in front of Virgil. “Maybe I could be of some assistance there.” Virgil froze, moving his eyes between him and the hand in front of him. Deceit spoke again once he saw Virgil’s confused reaction. “Would you like to dance?” 

“I- I can’t.” 

“Do you know how?” 

“Sort of. That’s not it.” 

“You’re scared?” Virgil finally brought his eyes back to him. “You don’t have to be. Everyone there is focused on themselves. No one is watching you. There’s music and you don’t have to fill the silence. You don’t have to say a thing.” Virgil saw the crowd behind him, half the people close to the walls and chatting and the other half in the center of the ballroom dancing to slow music. Between dancing and trying to make small talk with strangers, the first option seemed much nicer. Even if said dancing is done with a close stranger. 

Virgil hesitantly placed his hand in the yellow gloves and Deceit pulled him closer, making him tense as they walked closer to the people. Virgil stayed close to him trying to avoid the crowd. Deceit intertwined their hands together and moved them to the side to bring Virgil closer in the most formal way possible. The music got louder as they got closer to the band. 

“You said you knew how to dance, right?”

“Not really.” 

(So a writing prompt I was thinking of was a remile cafe au where Remy just walks into his normal Starbucks and like they got a new barista who is wearing a dress and oh god remys gay panicking and it’s fluff because I’m soFT) 

Ships: Romantic Remile, references of platonic Sleepxiety Warnings: Dating, homophobia, caffeine/drug addiction Word count: 1669

Remy wore all black today, his signature jacket, a T-shirt that appeared a bit tighter than his normal ones, and a black skirt that reached a few inches above his knees- not enough to show anything unwanted but enough to make him feel confident matched with low-inch heels that slightly boosted his height and made small ticking sounds as we walked on the sidewalks. Behind his sunglasses, brown eyes were lined with black eyeliner, the only makeup he had enough practice in to actually look good, though it was hard to tell it was on behind shades. Of course this came with a few stares, but they were easily blocked out. Music in his headphones muted the sounds of chatter and general sounds of the city. Virgil had got him addicted to the Danger Days of MCR, which was much more pleasant to listen to than random people’s conversations and footsteps, not that his own weren’t mixed in with it. 

This was his daily routine. 7:30 AM, the nearest Starbucks was five minutes away in a normal 15-minute walk. His class didn’t start until 9:30, which was plenty of time to walk to Starbucks and back and possibly spend some time at the shop with the known friends he made going there every day. 

Once he entered the shop he set his back down in his normal spot and wrapped his headphones around his phone so he could interact with the normal workers and get his coffee. Only the one at the register wasn’t a normal worker, and the only one working the register on a slow morning, of course. From a distance, the man looked about as tall as him, with brown hair brushed over his forehead and pink glasses framing his eyes. Underneath the green apron was a brown dress reaching past the counter where he couldn’t see, and he could see a collection of Disney themed hot-topic pins pinned to his apron next to his nametag. He was talking to a customer, not noticing Remy was still staring from his normal table, and that’s when it hit him. You know if you want coffee, you have to talk to him, right? 

Remy’s face started to turn red. Talking to the workers here wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t that, but talking to him. A completely new worker, at least, one that he’s never seen here before, that dressed like a strangely attractive gay teacher with a Disney obsession. Age wasn’t a problem, they were both college-age and working at separate coffee shops trying to get some cash. He’s seen him around campus before only walking by on the streets, but he blended enough to where conversation wasn’t needed. He never knew his name. If this went well, that could change. He just needed to get his coffee and get out to recover. Without stuttering, hopefully. Maybe he could learn his name. 

Mentally scripting the interaction, he finally gathered the courage to step in line behind only one person, much less time to prepare than he had hoped for. He had his order memorized, but should he try and make a conversation? Compliment his dress or the unique pins? He was able to talk to every other worker just fine, but this was different. How exactly? No idea. But this was different. 

The customer in front of him moved, leaving barely three feet between Remy and the barista. The worker moved to a few of the machines to make the drink, buying him a few extra seconds of stalling. Up close he could see details, his black stud earrings and glitter in his glasses, and chipped brown nail polish on his hands. The dress stopped at his knees with soft-looking black leggings underneath and sneakers. Remy made an effort not to stare, knowing what it was like when people saw him wearing short skirts in public, but he wasn’t trying to judge. It looked really nice on him. 

Remy froze when the barista turned back to him. Up close he finally saw the nametag, Emile, written in cartoonish handwriting with a star dotting the i and a few stars scribbled around it. He moved his eyes from the pins to his face, where he was supposed to be looking. He had been quiet too long and didn’t hear whatever it was Emile said to him when he first turned. “...Are you alright?” Another silence. “I need your order.” 

“Right- I… I like your dress. A-And your buttons.” That was not in his mental script. Not the first thing he planned on saying to him, anyway. Emile smiled despite Remy’s stuttering and returned the compliment, and after a deep breath, Remy finally got his order and left, not staying after and hanging out with his friends like he had first planned. But he now had a coffee and a lot to think about before coming in the next day. Maybe he would see him again. If he did, he could have a second chance to make an impression and possibly befriend the new worker, maybe even more if it really went well. The caffeine in his drink was starting to calm him down. Tomorrow he would try again. 

_ _ _ _ _

Emile dressed masculine the next day, wearing a soft brown sweater matched with a pink tie hidden underneath his apron. Remy took his place at his normal table, sliding his headphones back into his bag without losing any of the confidence he gained on the walk down. On a weekend, the shop was a bit more crowded, and Emile wasn’t the only one working with the register and making the drinks. Still, he would put effort into talking to him again. He knew the other workers well, so maybe he could get one of them to set them up together? They’ve only talked once, and that one time was him trying to compliment his outfit and order a coffee. Trying to, anyway. Finally he stepped into the line with Emile on the other side. 

The first part was routine. The line died down, and Remy ordered his normal drink and gave him a good tip after paying. He slid out of the way for the next customer to walk up as Emile started working on his drink while he waited at the counter preparing his words. 

“Coffee for Remy-“ 

“Emile, I’m really sorry about yesterday.” Picani stopped, turning back to Remy behind the counter. “I believe I didn’t make the good first impression I wanted to yesterday. I guess I’m kind of a regular here and most of the workers know me well. You seem really cool, I thought I would get to know you as well.” Remy was smiling, leaning against the counter next to his drink and talking to Emile with genuine confidence, unscripted. Emile saw his small smile, the faint outline of his eyes behind sunglasses, and almost fell in love at second sight. 

“Can you meet me here at 10:30?” Remy’s smile was brighter with his success, as he pushed himself off the counter and went to grab his drink. Emile gestured over to the table with Remy’s bag. “That table there. Coffee on me.” 

“You don’t have to pay-” 

“It’s fine. Trust me.” Remy turned and grabbed his backpack from the table and made his way out in the smoothest way he thought possible and trying to hide his smile until he made it out of the building. 

_ _ _ _ _

On Remy’s claimed table there was two of his favorite drinks, and Emile’s backpack on the seat to officially claim the spot as he worked. His shift ended at 10:30, now less than 10 minutes away. He had everything prepared. Two of Remy’s drinks ready on his table, and Picani’s own freshly made hot chocolate hidden behind one of the machines for later. All of this, if he decided to show up at least. Remy was the one to ask him in the first place, technically, but he never technically agreed when Emile asked him out today? Was this even considered a date? He had no idea if Remy was even straight, but he definitely didn’t look like it. He’s never seen a straight man confidently wear a short skirt in public before. He remembers the pride pins in Remy’s bag. Yeah, definitely not straight. He might have a chance. 

Remy had changed his outfit since that morning. He dressed feminine again, wearing his black heeled shoes and eye liner behind his sunglasses. With his leather jacket he wore a red flannel tied around his waist, something that looked feminine and felt like a skirt and matched the fall mood, even if he was unsure it matched the jacket. It just felt right. 

When he walked in Picani was finishing the last of his work, and turned to his table to wait for him to finish. All the drinks were ready. Two of the same drinks he ordered each time, and in the other seat Picani’s bag, littered with the same Disney pins he had in his apron. Picani had noticed him walk in, but pretended not to as he was working. It took less than a minute for him to come over with his own drink and sit across from him. 

“Are these both mine?” 

“Yeah. I don’t usually drink coffee and I knew you wouldn’t be against having two.” 

“Oh yeah? Then what do you have?” 

“Hot chocolate.” Remy smiled at the innocence. Not that drinking hot chocolate really made him innocent but he was lucky not to be addicted like he was. Picani waited a second before speaking again. “...Is this a date?” Remy perked up. “It- It doesn’t have to be if you’re uncomfortable with it. I don’t think you really like me like that and you just want to be friends-” 

“No. I do. I thought it would be the other way around.” 

“So… you do? I guess this is a date then.” 

“I guess it is.” 

The words on Logan’s computer screen started to blur in front of him. His notebook was covered with scribbled notes and doodles to match the essay he had been working on since 9:00- the time when most of the sides hid in their room and went to sleep. Logan usually stayed awake in his studies, researching whatever he was interested in at the time, and tonight it was stars. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine being there, floating in space and looking at the galaxy surrounding him. His pen clicked on the desk a few times trying to bring him back to reality. 

The time was growing closer to 1. Normally Logan would stay up until midnight with his work, but this night was different. Refusing to admit how tired he was he switched to another tab, looking at the articles he found to help him with his work. He planned to reach his goal of 1,000 words by tonight, and he planned to reach that goal if it meant going to bed at sunrise. That is if he could think straight enough to make sense of the words in his head and put them on paper. 

Sudden hands on his shoulders almost made him jump out of his seat. Once he gathered himself up again he turned to see Roman laughing at his reaction. Logan would have told him off if he could think of words to say. Instead, he started to block him out when Roman placed his hands on him again in the most playful way he could. 

“Bedtime was ten. What are you still doing up?” Logan tried to think of something to write so it would look like he was still busy. 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Roman paused at his answer, trying to think of something to respond with. 

“...Not tired.” 

“Neither am I.” 

“Really?” Roman turned the chair so Logan would face him instead of the computer. It was hard to tell in the lighting but it wouldn’t take much to see the loss of sleep in his appearance. It wasn’t the first night Logan had stayed up until 2AM either. Thankfully we weren’t that far in the night and bedtime could still happen before then. Roman stared at him for a second before glancing behind him at his work, starting to get a new idea. “Alright. What are you working on?” 

“Astronomy.” Logan turned back to the computer to show Roman what he had been putting his time into for the past week. “Space in general. Just looking at the stars and galaxies and the planets makes you want to-... just look at it.” He switched tabs to a collection of pictures he had gathered in a presentation just to look at. Stars glittered in the mix of dark purple and blue gas that floated in space with the rest of the universe. He collected pictures of the planets, each with a different pattern of colors mixing in with each other. Logan’s face lit up trying to explain what he saw in the pictures. 

“Alright, I’ll make you a deal.” Logan paused to listen to whatever Roman was about to say. “I can show you those-” Roman gestured to the glittering picture in front of them. “But you gotta go to bed right after. So will I.” Logan stared at the picture, trying to imagine the world Roman was talking about. Sure the twins could make anything in the imagination, but Roman didn’t know anything about the stars. It didn’t seem like it at least. 

“You wanna take me to see the floating lights?” 

“Tangled. Nice. Never took you for a Disney fan.” Logan shook his head, staring back at the screen. 

“I don’t have time. I need to finish this.” 

“It’ll help.” Roman tried pushing a little more. “You ever wondered what stars would look like in person? Maybe if you want to think Logically I would say seeing the stars in person would help make your project more accurate. But if you wanna be not lame you could come because it’s fun. I saw how excited you were there.” Logan blushed thinking about how he smiled in front of Roman. 

“Just a few minutes, then we’ll come back, right?” 

“We have a deal?” Roman held his hand out in front of him for Logan to take. The moment their hands touched Roman pulled Logan out of his chair and led him out of his room and to the front of the imagination. In Roman’s room there was a pathway disguised as a closet that took anyone entering to a whole new world in the imagination. Usually the entrance was a forest with glittering trees and a bright blue sky with silver clouds- the default to Roman’s side. He could change it without entering, and altered the scene to something he thought Logan would love. He hoped, at least. He got this far. 

After a breath Roman walked though, taking Logan with him by the hand. 

The world around them changed into a long grassy field only lit with starlight. Dim stars surrounded them mixed in with red and purple stardust. Instantly Logan’s grip on Roman’s hand lightened. 

Logan raced over to the scene and held his hand up to the clouds taking in the warmth of the stars. Not scientifically accurate, obviously, since if they were actually in space they would be dead. But the imagination equivalent of seeing a tiny galaxy in person was just as amazing. Logan’s eyes reflected the swirling colors in excitement, before turning and looking at the millions of stars, all seeming to be in the right places according to his studies. Planets appeared up close blending in with the rest of the scene, which made Roman worry that he was starting to overdo it, but Logan’s smile grew brighter when he saw them. It seemed like you could reach out and touch Jupiter with your own hands. 

_ _ _ _ _

Logan rested his head on Roman’s chest, staring up at the galaxy above them. It was all silent except for the soft sound of breathing and the faint sound of Roman’s heartbeat. He was asleep but him laying there was all the company Logan needed. Roman was gentle, resting his hand on Logan’s chest. All that work Logan forgot about would have to wait now. Tomorrow they would go back and rejoin the sides in their everyday routine, but neither of them wanted to leave here. 

With the whole world silent, Logan started to drift asleep.