#alien!roman

Wings that their human needed to use in order for them to gain enough strength so that he could eventually fly.

Roman ran his fingers over his horns, sitting back in his chair with a sigh as he turned to his mate. “I’m just saying, a mindlink would make this easier.” 

Far easier than the pantomiming they’d been doing up until this point. He could sense how wary Virgil was of them. Feel the panic swirl of the boy's thoughts whenever Roman or Logan had to physically move one of his limbs to get him to understand what they wanted from him. 

“Or it could send him spiraling further than he already has.” Logan retorted, indigo waves flashing across his dark skin as his ears twitched, his attention too on Virgil. “You saw how he reacted to his wings! He doesn’t understand what is happening to him and if we introduce too much--”

“But talking isn’t the same as learning how to use a new set of limbs, Lo. He’s exercising his brain not his muscles!” He spun to his mate, tail twisting to wrap around Logan’s. “If we could just communicate our intentions clearly to him we could--”

“I know.” Lo exhaled, resting a hand on Roman’s shoulder. “We could show him we mean no harm, that we merely mean to aid him as he grows. But, Ro--” He grimaced, showing a brief flash of his fangs. “He’s quite timid compared to the reports of other Humans.” 

“Timid?” Roman snorted, touching a small lightning shaped scar on his wrist. Virgil had managed to draw blood from them more than once in the early days of their guardianship over him. He had been quite feral until he realized that he was safe--well safer here with them.

“You know what I mean.” Logan said, carefully placing a book down on the table, the pages flipped open to a hologram of a Waie fledgling flapping her wings. “He could have another relapse. I can’t--” 

He knew. He didn’t want another relapse either. The screams the human had let out when he first saw his new wings still haunted them both. 

At the time Logan had had to physically restrain Virgil to keep him from destroying his new limbs with his own hands and had received quite the series of bites to his fingers in the process.

But those actions, that lack of communication between them had cost them dearly. 

Virgil had reverted to being just as feral as when they’d first rescued him after that. Refusing to trust them with anything. They’d had to start back at square one and it was frustrating. So frustrating to see all their progress lost in the matter of minutes. 

“He didn’t relapse five days ago though.” Roman said, tail flicking to wrap around Logan’s.

Five days ago when their human’s eyes had finally shifted from their baby brown coloration into the more adult shade of a shimmering galaxical violet.

Five days ago, when Roman had successfully formed a telepathic link with their human and clearly communicated to Virgil and had him understand that Roman was only trying to help him and not hurt him further.

Understand and be…leery of it. Okay. Frightened by it. Roman could still feel the slight headache behind his eyes from how forcefully Virgil had slammed the ‘figurative door,’ as Logan would say, on their mindlink. 

But he hadn’t relapsed. No, if anything, Virgil was looking at them more frequently now, brilliant eyes wary, but no longer scared. 

Though….He glanced down to see their human had moved to his feet, wings trembling where they were folded tightly against his back as he glanced to the holographic image of flight before deliberately turning his back on it. 

Roman pressed his lips together, running his fingers over his horns. Honestly, they couldn’t make it any clearer than that that they wanted him to learn how to fly. Was he purposely not understanding? Purposely refusing? A mind link would do wonders in clarifying the human’s thought process.

Cautiously he sent out a tendril of reassurance to him and was rewarded as the human jerked, wings half spreading before he snapped them shut. 

Huh. Virgil was getting better control of that at least. His wings remained folded most of the time now instead of hanging limply from his back dragging across the floor like an oddly shaped cape whenever the human tried to walk anywhere.

Of course, from the swirling tumult of his thoughts, Roman could gather that Virgil was trying to not think about his new limbs. An ‘if I can’t see it then it’s not there’ philosophy that was...well silly. He doubted the human could just forget the new weights on his back, not when they were a part of him now.

No, it would be better if Virgil would just accept this change and move his wings more. Spread them out at least if he didn’t want to flap them yet. Stretch. He could only imagine how cramped the wings had to feel being constantly folded like that.

Roman raised an eyebrow, smirking as the human turned, purple eyes taking on a soft glow as he glared up at him. “He seems fine to me.” 

Couldn’t Logan see that the shifting in Virgil’s eye color and therefore, the maturing of his brain to accept a telepathic link could only be a good thing for them?

It meant he and Roman could now communicate their intentions directly to the human--if he would let him--rather than having to rely on pantomime and sifting through Virgil’s tumultuous color and pattern filled mind to interpret whether or not their intentions were understood.

Granted, he knew humans didn’t normally use their minds to talk, but if theorists were right, whether he wanted to or not, it would only be a matter of time before Virgil’s brain matured enough to automatically instigate telepathic links with those around him.

His mate huffed as he too watched their human, before sending out his own tentative wave of thought to the human to see his reaction. “Well yes, but we haven’t yet seen the full ramifications of that yet.” 

Roman fought back the urge to roll his eyes. “Because you’re not letting us do more than brush the edges of his mind!” 

He could get not wanting to overload their human with even more changes. Agreed with it actually. It was better to not force Virgil to run before he was ready to walk when it came to telepathic links...but the anticipation of what they could have was killing him.

Logan exhaled, scooting his chair closer to Roman’s so he could lean against him. “Patience, Ro. While I agree a mind link would be easier, we have to take into consideration how Virgil will react. How he’ll feel to have such a method of communication presented to him. We can’t just force him before he’s ready.” 

He knew. He didn’t have to like it though. 

But surely, Virgil had to realize that those brief seconds of clear communication was a good thing. 

If their human would only--but no, he knew their human wasn’t fond of change, his near hysterical reaction when he’d seen his newly formed wings for the first time proved that. But it didn’t stop him from hoping that Virgil would accept his new telepathic ability far quicker than he was accepting his wings. If only--

He sent out another light tap to the human’s mind. Like a knock on the door. Asking to be let in. 

“Just think of the possibilities, my love. How he could answer all our questions. How we wouldn’t have to guess at what he needs. He could just tell us.” Roman whispered, a small smirk flicking on his lips as he felt his mate’s own careful knock on the human’s mind.  “We can’t know how he’ll react to a mindlink if we don’t give him a little stronger push--” 

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

Roman cut off, breath catching in his throat as he felt a responding knock brush against his thoughts. Could it be?

Logan twitched, sitting up, his tail flicking into a question mark as another swirl of blue danced across his skin, his dark eyes lighting up. “Ro?” 

He held up a hand to silence his mate, crouching down in front of the table to make eye contact with the human. 

Virgil didn’t flinch away this time, small hands clenching into fists as his purple eyes took on a brighter glow at the same moment Roman felt another tap tap tap at the edges of his mind. 

Logan inhaled sharply, leaning forward. “He’s!” 

“SHH!!” He hissed, well aware of how both their heart rates had skyrocketed. Their human was reaching out! He was attempting to communicate! He! 

Roman drew in a shaky breath as he tilted his head, carefully sending out a tendril of thought towards the presence he could sense hovering just outside his mind and waited. 

Waited for something to happen. 

This could be their only chance at having their human reach out. Their only chance to finally establish-- 

Almost like the roll of thunder in the sky, another’s presence warily entered his mind forming a tentative connection. Then like the sound of waves breaking against the distance shore. He heard him.

~...Hello?~ 

 “Alright, you’re forgiven this time,” Roman said and Virgil was thankful for Roman not asking about it. Not that he could give any details about it anyway but he would rather not think about it at all. “So, how was work?” Roman asked and Virgil shrugged.

 “Eh, it was fine. Same old, same old.” Sometimes Virgil wondered why they still even worked in the first place. But the other part was thankful for the sense of normalcy. “What about you? Anything interesting happen?”

 He watched the screen as Roman sighed dramatically. “No, honestly, I have the most boring job in the world.”

 “Sucks to suck, man,” Virgil said with a smirk and Roman glared at him. Though there was no heat behind it.

 “Thank you, Virgil, I can feel your sympathy all the way over here.” Roman deadpanned, causing Virgil to laugh.

 Virgil had to admit he was at least thankful to the giants that they allowed them to keep their internet. If they hadn’t, he might not have ever met Roman. Roman, who had become his best friend, but also someone who he could never meet in person. They were both in completely different cities and no one was ever allowed to leave the city they had been trapped in.

 Thinking on this had soured Virgil’s mood and he stopped laughing, looking away from the screen. Roman blinked at the quick change in behavior, confused at what had caused it. “Virgil? What’s wrong?”

 Well, wasn’t that a loaded question.

 “Everything.” Virgil murmured. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “Just this whole-this whole giant invasion alien thing! Who do they think they are, coming down here and deciding we were less than them and taking over our entire planet.” Virgil leaned back up in his chair, looking at Roman again.

 “The worst part though is that they look exactly like us! That means they came down, saw our size and thought, hey! Let’s enslave these mini versions of us just because we can! But not really, we’re just going to trap them in their own cities, let them live life and watch their every move!” Virgil shook his head. “And that’s another thing, what are they even planning? It’s been five years, Ro! Five years of the same old thing. Nothing has changed but they have to be planning something, right?!” Virgil exclaimed, letting everything inside him come out in some fast ramble. He let out a sigh as he finished, looking up to meet Roman’s eyes.

 His eyes were wide and it seemed like he was further back from the screen, as if he had been just that taken aback by Virgil’s outburst. Roman swallowed thickly. “I-Sorry, Virgil. I couldn’t tell you.”

 Virgil sighed. “Yeah, I know. We’re both in the same boat, along with the rest of humanity. I just…” Virgil ran his hands over his face. “This whole thing just really sucks, you know?”

 Roman nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know. I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”

 Virgil snorted. “You and me both.” Virgil rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Sorry to dump all that stuff on you, Ro. I just…”

 “I get it, Virgil,” Roman said, sending Virgil a gentle smile. “How about you relax a little, go eat something more than just a granola bar-I can see the wrapper from here Virge, don’t look so surprised-and then we can talk a bit later if you feel up to it. Sound like a plan?” Virgil thought for a moment, before nodding.

 “Y-Yeah, alright.” Virgil sighed but smiled at Roman. “Talk to you later then.”

 “See you, you stormy nightmare.” And with that, Virgil ended the call.

 Roman’s smile dropped as soon as he was sure Virgil couldn’t see him anymore. He clicked out of the Skype tab, moving over to the surveillance one. In an instant, Virgil was back on his screen, albeit at a different angle. Roman watched as Virgil stood up and moved out of his room. Roman pressed a button to switch cameras, following Virgil as he started to make himself a sandwich in his kitchen.

 Roman was well aware of how creepy this was. And even though he really did try to not use it often, he found himself using it a lot more than he should. Really, he just wanted to check up on someone he considered a friend. He wasn’t using the site like the others were. That had to count for something, right? 

 He was sure Virgil wouldn’t see it that way though. And honestly, Roman could not fault the human for that. He had known about Virgil’s understandable opinions on giants since they had first spoken with each other. But really, this was the first time he had gone off about it. Roman fidgeted in his seat as Virgil’s words came back to him.

 He had lied to Virgil, then. Told him he didn’t know what the giants had planned. Roman clicked into another tab and typed his passcode into the website. He went into his shopping cart, to where he already had one thing in there. Or, he should say, one person.

 Virgil’s face stared back at him and Roman felt sick all over again. 

 The site had been created for the giant race in order to watch and choose which humans they wanted to buy. Because after five years, his race was finally ready to take the next step. Turning the humans into pets.

 As a guard, Roman got first pick out of everyone. When he had found this out, he had immediately placed Virgil into his cart. As long as Virgil was in there, he was essentially on hold and no one else could buy him. But there weren’t many other options for Roman to go with this.

 Deep down, Roman knew he had already made his choice. In fact, it had been an easy one. Of course, he was going to buy Virgil. No other giant would treat Virgil like a person. Like a friend. 

 The reason Roman had held off so long, though, was because it just felt...wrong. He was about to buy a person. And not just some random person but someone he had started seeing as his best friend. But with the deadline for the guards coming up close, Roman no longer had the choice to wait.

 With a deep breath, Roman clicked on the checkout option. He went through all the steps and when his mouse clicked the last button and the ‘order confirmed’ receipt appeared, Roman sunk back into his chair. He had done it.

 Roman closed out of the tab and back to the surveillance. Virgil was now eating his sandwich as he scrolled through his phone, most likely on Tumblr, knowing the human. Roman watched him sadly for a few more moments before he exited out of that too.

 This was the best option. Roman knew that. 

 But he couldn’t help but be nervous for when Virgil finally found out the truth. 

***

 The announcement was a bit more than a week away. When all the humans would find out what would happen to them. A week away from Roman finally meeting Virgil in person...in the worst way possible.

 Roman sighed as the human’s sun beat down on him. It was the only thing he had been thinking about since he had officially put in the order a couple days ago. He knew he should probably be paying more attention to his job as a guard but it was getting more and more difficult.

 He adjusted his face mask when he suddenly heard a yell. It had come from fairly close by and Roman couldn’t help but find something familiar in it. He left his position and started off toward where he had heard the voice come from.

 He froze at the sight he was met with.

 Virgil was on the ground, surrounded by three other humans. They hovered over him and one was even brandishing a knife. Muggers, Roman couldn’t help but guess. And when the one with the knife took a step closer to Virgil, Roman continued his bound toward them.

 Virgil trembled as he tried to glare up at the muggers. He didn’t know any of them, they had just jumped him, out of the blue. Apparently, Virgil had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. When what appeared to be the leader brandished his knife, Virgil cowered.

 “Give us your wallet and maybe I won’t use this.” The leader smirked and Virgil bit his lip. Not knowing what else to do and not feeling like getting stabbed today, Virgil began fumbling in his pocket to take his wallet out.

 As he did this, he noticed the muggers had gone strangely quiet. He looked up in time to see them all backing away, looking at something up and behind Virgil. Before Virgil could react, they ran off without another word.

 Virgil was confused...until the large shadow cast over him. 

 Virgil slowly looked up, eyes wide as he was met with one of the familiar masked giant guards. Suddenly, without a word, the giant started to reach his hand down. The human found himself unable to move and instead he shut his eyes tight, expecting the giant hand to wrap around him.

 However, after a few minutes of nothing happening, Virgil slowly opened his eyes. He flinched back as he saw the hand was right in front of him. Held in a way that the palm was open and their fingers pointed at Virgil. Almost as if they were offering a hand.

 Slowly, Virgil realized that that was what they were doing. Offering him help to get up. Virgil really didn’t want to take it, he could get up himself perfectly fine, but he was too afraid to refuse. So, with a lot of hesitance, Virgil used the nearest finger to hoist himself onto his feet. Once he was stood up, he quickly let go and backed up a few steps. 

 Not wanting to appear rude to someone a hundred times his own height, he bowed his head. “Um, th-thank you, sir,” Virgil spoke.

 The giant still didn’t speak, which creeped Virgil out. Instead, he tilted his head and pointed at Virgil. Virgil blinked and took another step back for good measure. “I..Wh-What?”

 The giant motioned toward him and then back towards where the muggers had run off before once again tilting his head in confusion. It took another minute and a lot of piecing together to try and figure out what the giant was asking. “Are...are you asking if I’m okay?” The giant nodded and Virgil sucked in a breath. What? Why did this giant care?

 And why didn’t he just ask? Could this giant just really not talk?

 He shook his head. Now was not the time to think about that right now. “I’m...okay. They didn’t get the chance to do any real damage.” He supposed that was thanks to the giant, of all things.

 The giant nodded before standing back up to his full height and walking away. Virgil watched them go for a moment before he practically ran back home, wanting to put as much distance as he could away from the giant.

 He immediately headed into his room and opened his laptop. He went to skype but frowned when he saw Roman wasn’t on yet. He wanted to talk to him about this very strange experience but he supposed he would just have to wait.

***

 It was two hours later before the little light next to Roman’s name became green. Virgil pressed call as soon as he saw it.

 “Hello, emo nightmare, a little eager today, are we?” Roman chuckled, though the humor didn’t quite reach his eyes. Thankfully, Virgil didn’t take notice.

 “Roman, the craziest thing happened to me today,” Virgil spoke and Roman did his best to appear surprised. 

 “Oh? What?” He asked and Virgil took a deep breath.

 “I...Well, okay, I got cornered by some muggers today and-”

 “Wait, what?” Virgil winced at Roman’s cry. “Are you okay?”

 “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Virgil bit his lip. “I’m fine because...a giant stepped in and saved me.”

 Roman blinked. “What? Really?” Roman acted surprised and Virgil nodded.

 “Yeah, I was surprised too. And, uh, terrified.” He admitted. He missed the way Roman winced. “But...they did help me. I guess I can’t ignore that part.”

 Roman was quiet for a moment. “Maybe...maybe this means something? That...not all giants are bad?” Roman asked, a little too much hope in his voice. The hope was crushed when Virgil shook his head.

 “No...they were probably just doing their job or whatever. They didn’t even talk the entire time, which was just creepy.” Although the thing about making sure he was okay at the end was a bit too strange. He was certain the giants didn’t require that of the guards.

 Roman silently groaned. He would have talked if he thought Virgil wouldn’t recognize his voice. As the case may be, he had a very distinctive and boisterous voice, as Virgil had pointed out to him in the past. If he had spoken to Virgil while he was helping him, Virgil surely would have recognized him.

 “Well, in any case, I’m glad the giant was there to help you. Who knows what could have happened if they didn’t.” Roman said, indeed glad that he had gotten there in time.

“Yeah…” Virgil was just glad the interaction with the giant hadn’t ended badly. “Still though, I hope I never get that close to a giant again.” Virgil shivered.

 Roman chuckled nervously at that. “Er, yes, of course. I totally feel you.” Oh, Virgil was not going to like next week.

***

 It was a week after the giant incident that Virgil felt...off. Like something was wrong or going to happen but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what. He went through the entire day like this, so antsy at work that his manager allowed him to go home an hour early. Something he was incredibly grateful for.

 He threw his bag on the ground as soon as he got home, heading to his room and to his computer. He went to Skype, which was standard procedure at this point but wasn’t surprised when Roman’s name wasn’t green. He was probably still at work, at this time.

 So Virgil stood up and decided to eat something, hoping that would calm his nerves. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and curled up on the couch as he watched reruns of Parks and Rec. 

 He checked Skype two hours later but Roman’s light still wasn’t green. He frowned, bouncing his leg up and down in nerves. Everything was probably fine, there were days Roman couldn’t talk, it was fine.

 Still, Virgil sent Roman a quick message via Skype before going into another tab and scrolling through Tumblr.

 His nerves remained shot until 5pm, when he was surprised by a loud alarm coming from outside. Jumping to his feet and putting his hands over his ears, Virgil raced to the window, pulling it back and looking around. His eyes widened as he looked up at the sky. Was that...was that a giant drone?

 As the alarm died down, Virgil removed his hands from his ears and took notice of everyone coming out of their houses or peering through their windows like he was doing. His eyes turned back to the drone. What was happening? Nothing like this had ever happened before.

 Silence stretched over what seemed to be the entire city before a booming voice came from out of the drone.

 “Good afternoon, little humans.” The voice spoke, sending shivers down Virgil’s spine. None of them needed to see, to know that a giant was currently speaking. “Sorry for startling all of you but I needed your attention.” The giant, for his part, did not sound sorry at all. In fact, he was a little too cheery for Virgil’s liking.

 “It’s time to reveal to all of you what happens next.” Virgil’s breath hitched. “After five years of us allowing you to live in these cities, we are ready to start transitioning all of you out of them.” 

 ...What? What did that mean? Virgil felt himself shaking as the giant continued to speak.

 “During the next couple of weeks, you will be bought and sold to us giants. No longer will you have to work or care for yourselves. For we will be the ones to look out for you from now on. You will be our companions. Our...pets.” Virgil became numb all of a sudden at those words. Vaguely, he was aware of people yelling and screaming but they were muffled by the ringing in his ears.

 “Now,” The voice continued, unaware of the panic going on below. “The actual shop opens up for the giants next week. However, for our loyal and hardworking guards, they have gotten first pick.” Virgil was going to be sick. “If I call out your name, you are to exit your building and come to the edge of town. You are not to bring anything with you and if you try to run or hide, there will be consequences. Now, onto the names!” As the names were listed off, Virgil prayed that his name wasn’t called. That, at the very least, he would be given a bit more time to take it all in. To have a few more days of freedom.

 Apparently, no one was listening.

 “...And Virgil Storm!” His name was called out and he was definitely going to throw up. “Please make your way to the edge of town if your name was called.” The voice repeated but all Virgil could think about, was that he had been bought. He was going to be a pet to some giant. 

 He didn’t want to go but he didn’t want to face any consequences either. He forced his legs to walk to the door before he paused. They said not to take anything with him but he grabbed his headphones from his desk and stuffed them in his hoodie and then went ahead and shoved his phone in his pocket. His three comfort items. He would need them.

 He opened the front door and took one last look at his apartment before starting on the long walk to the edge of town. People stared at him and he threw up his hood in order to avoid them. He felt like he was walking off to be executed or something. He supposed that was half true, after all, they were killing his freedom.

 As he walked, his mind wandered to Roman. His only friend in all this. Had he been bought already too? Or was he simply dreading the next week when he would be anyway? Virgil realized with a heavy heart that he wouldn’t even get to say goodbye to his friend.

 The walk there seemed to drag on forever but at the same time, it went by way too fast. Virgil felt his heart beat faster as he noticed all the giants surrounding them. Most were guards, still in their usual get-up. Making this whole thing even creepier. The only one not in uniform stood in front of what looked to be ten giant carriers. 

 “And the last one has arrived, perfect!” The giant exclaimed with a large grin. Virgil could feel all the eyes on him and he threw up his hoodie and moved towards the crowd. He looked at his fellow humans, all of them with similar expressions of fear. Not surprising. There were nine of them and Virgil made ten. Meaning there were just enough carriers for all of them.

 “Now, if you humans could be so kind as to get into your carrier, that would be wonderful.” The giant said, motioning towards them. “Make sure you get in the one with your name on it! Wouldn’t want to get all mixed up, now would we?”

 None of the humans moved.

 The giant hummed. “Come on now, we don’t have all day.” Still, no one moved. The giant groaned. “Fine, I guess we are doing things the hard way.” Before anyone could react, the giant reached down and grabbed one of the humans. Virgil watched in terror as the guy was picked up roughly and all but thrown into a nearby carrier. The door closing with a resounding and final clank.

 Before the giant had the chance to grab the rest of them, they all started to move. The giant grinned at this and Virgil was starting to think that had been his plan in the first place. Scare them into doing what he wanted. Virgil had a feeling this would not be the last time that trick was used on him.

 He found the carrier with his name and took in the carrier. It was the same as all the others but this one, somehow, seemed a lot more foreboding. He hesitated greatly but when he saw another human get nudged in for doing the same thing, Virgil climbed in. He had just barely moved a step away from the door before it shut, leaving him in almost complete darkness. 

 Virgil listened to the outside as he heard the other carriers being picked up and handed off. Finally, he felt his own lift into the air, so unexpected that it threw him off balance. “And here is your human for you. Thank you once again for service.” He felt his prison being passed to this giant stranger, his world becoming a bit more stable in the new grip.

 He waited to hear a voice but the new giant didn’t say anything. Instead, he felt his prison start to move and could only assume the giant was walking away. Taking him back to his home.

 Virgil pressed up against the wall and sunk down it, wrapping his arms around his legs. He was going to be a pet to this random giant. Treated like he was an animal and not a person. Would the giant change his name? Make him eat some sort of horrible pet food? Realize he had made a mistake and just straight up kill him?

 Virgil groaned but the noise turned more into a sob as he stuffed his face into the fabric of his jeans. He had thought his life had ended when the giants first came down to earth and forced them into these little city bubbles. But that was nothing in comparison to this. His life was truly over now. He would have no choice but to do whatever his...whatever his owner said. Lest he want to face some sort of punishment.

 There was a strange sound that came from outside, almost like an echoy ding. Virgil wasn’t sure what it meant but the weird feeling that passed over him during the next minute gave him a guess. Virgil could only assume they had been transported to the giant’s world. Which meant Virgil was officially very far from home. 

 There was some more movement and then the sound of a door opening before Virgil felt the container being set down. There was silence for a long moment as Virgil waited for something, anything to happen. He expected the cage to be opened and a giant hand to reach for him. What he didn’t expect, were words of comfort.

 “It’s okay Virgil, it’s okay.” The giant said.

 Virgil froze.

 Slowly, he lifted his head up toward the door. No...no, he must have heard wrong. That...it couldn’t be. There was no way, it was utterly impossible.

 But at the same time...Virgil would know that voice anywhere. So either he was delusional or…

 “R-Roman?” He called out, voice wavering and hesitant and small. He was met with more silence and then the door to his prison opened. From where he was, Virgil could see the giant’s torso. The black outer part of the uniform was gone and Virgil could now see that the giant was wearing just a plain white t-shirt.

 The giant shifted and then Virgil saw him kneel down until his face was visible.

 There was no denying that that was Roman’s face.

 “Hey...Virge.” Roman greeted nervously, doing his best to send the human a comforting smile. Virgil simply stared at him with wide eyes, his brain trying to process what he was seeing. That was his best friend...or was he?

 “You’re a...giant.” Virgil finally spoke, voice barely above a whisper. Roman just barely caught it and he winced.

 “I-well, yes, I am,” Roman said, looking off to the side. He had never been more ashamed to be a giant than in that moment, with Virgil looking at him with fear. 

 But fear was not the only thing coursing through Virgil at the moment.

 “You lied to me,” Virgil spoke again, eyes going hard. It was a desperate look when combined with the tear tracks that still stained his cheeks.

 “Virgil, I can explain-” Roman tried but was cut off.

 “You lied to me! You-You what? Found some sorry human online and decided to start chatting them up? Lure them into a false sense of security so when the time came to buy yourself a pet you would already have one, I don’t know, trained or submissive or something!? Is that really all I’ve ever been to you!?” Virgil screamed, his tears returning as they came out of his eyes in waved. He glared at Roman through them, feeling all sorts of betrayed and angry but also so utterly terrified of what this all meant.

 Roman’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “N-No! Virgil, please, I-” But he was once again cut off as Virgil’s own eyes went even wider in realization.

 “Or...Or did you try and find the human who complained the most? The one who hated the giants and what they did so you could...punish them. Punish me.” Virgil scooted back more into his carrier, even more afraid now than before. “You-You want revenge, don’t you? You want to show me why giants were meant to rule over humans. You-You-” Virgil collapsed as his back hit the opposite end of the carrier, body shaking as he curled himself into a ball.

 Roman’s heart broke at the sight. He knew Virgil wasn’t going to take this well but he never imagined it would be to this extent. Virgil really thought he was going to…

 “Virgil, please listen to me.” Roman pleaded, looking at the sad little ball in the back of the carrier. “I only ever lied about what I am. Everything else...our entire friendship was real.”

 Virgil glanced up at Roman. “H-How can you expect me to believe that? You...You bought me.” And wasn’t that a reality check. It really showed how much these giants saw them as people. That being, not at all.

 “I...did.” Roman took in a deep breath, racking his brain for the right way to say what he wanted to. “But I didn’t want to. I don’t agree with what my kind as done to yours. You’re people, just like us. Something you actually showed me.” He sent Virgil a smile but Virgil returned it with a wary look. Roman sighed.

 “The reason I did buy you was because I knew that if I didn’t then...someone else would. Someone who wouldn’t treat you like a person. Or like a friend.” Roman looked away, sad look crossing his features. “I want to give you a good life, Virgil. I don’t want to own you.”

 Virgil didn’t know what to think anymore. His heart beat rapidly inside his chest and the tears were still streaming down his face but...Roman sounded sincere. He had always sounded sincere, whenever they had spoken via Skype. He knew Roman to be a good actor but, somehow, this seemed too genuine to be an act.

 But what if Virgil was wrong? What if Roman really was just that good of an actor. What if this was all some ploy to-to…

 To what, exactly? He was already in Roman’s possession. It would be all too easy for the giant to simply reach in and grab him out of the carrier. And if Roman’s goal was obedience, then it wouldn’t be all too hard to break him into listening. Just to be cruel then? To get back at him for all the bad stuff he said about giants?

 That didn’t sound right either.

 Roman noticed the thoughtful look that crossed Virgil’s features and hoped it was a good sign. “Virgil, I promise you, this whole arrangement will not be master and pet. Not even close. You’ll still be able to make your own decisions and I’ll respect your boundaries and whatever else you need.”

 Virgil looked up, meeting Roman’s gaze. “Why?”

 Roman smiled. “Because you’re my best friend, Virgil. And I don’t want to see you suffer at the hands of one of my own kind.”

 “You...really consider me your best friend? This really isn’t some-some elaborate plan or anything?” Virgil asked, slowly loosening the grip on his own legs.

 Roman nodded. “I do and this isn’t. Please, Hot Topic, I just want to make sure you’re okay.” The nickname caused a sudden laugh to escape Virgil and he wiped away his tears. Which had now finally stopped. Slowly, he unfurled himself fully, leaning against the far wall in an almost casual position. He sent Roman a hesitant smile, his body still full of nerves but willing to give Roman a chance.

 “Well...honestly, I could be better,” Virgil spoke, glancing to meet Roman’s eyes for a second before looking back down at the ground. Roman blinked before he smiled, knowing what Virgil was doing.

 “I don’t blame you. You have certainly been through a lot today.”

 Virgil snorted. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it.”

 A silence stretched between them. It was a little awkward but not as much as it could have been. Which was progress.

 “Do you...want to come out?” Roman asked, hesitant. 

 Virgil frowned, because no, no he did not. Going out meant seeing this new world he was in. Facing the fact that Roman really was a giant and seeing him at his full size. And not just seeing his face through a small door. But he also knew that he had to face all of that eventually. Might as well get it over with, right?

 “Y-Yeah, I just...can-can you back up a little bit?” Virgil asked and Roman’s eyes widened.

 “Oh! Yes, of course!” Roman exclaimed and Virgil watched as Roman’s face disappeared from his view as he stood up straight. And then the giant was completely gone from view as he took a few steps to the left.

 Virgil took in a deep breath as he got to a shaky stand. He could do this. This was Roman. Yes, he may be a giant but Roman had done nothing to not warrant his trust. That...didn’t make it any easier to give, unfortunately, but Virgil could do this.

 He took a hesitant step forward. And then another. And another. He forced himself to keep walking, even if his anxiety was yelling at him to turn around and go back to the safe, dark corner he had been hiding in previous.

 He had just about made it to the entrance and was about to cross the threshold into this new giant world, when he realized he had forgotten about the slight step. It was too late though, as Virgil tripped over it and fell out of the carrier and onto the wooden floor of the giant table. He let out a groan.

 “Virgil! Are you alright?” He heard Roman asked. 

 “Ugh, fine.” His pride was more shot than anything. Which was just great considering he didn’t have a lot in the first place. 

 “Here, let me help.” At those words, Virgil felt his heart rate spike and he pushed himself up by his arms. What greeted him was Roman’s hand, right in front of him. The palm was facing up and his fingers were pointed to Virgil, as if offering a hand.

 Virgil got a strong sense of deja vu, so much so he physically shook his head. He stared at the hand. Wait a second…

 “You were that guard!” Virgil suddenly exclaimed. As he did, he hesitantly accepted Roman’s help as he used the nearby finger to help himself up. Roman looked happy at this but confused by what Virgil meant.

 “I...what?” Roman asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

 “You were that guard that helped me from those muggers! ...Right?” Virgil asked, now not so sure since Roman hadn’t immediately gotten what he had meant. That feeling went away though when Roman’s eyes lit up.

 “Oh! Yes, that was indeed me! Your brave and handsome savior!” He threw up his arms in a dramatic gesture and Virgil chuckled at the familiar sight. Though it was something else entirely to see it in person than through a screen. Especially now seeing just how big Roman really was.

 “Well...thanks again, for that. I guess I understand why you didn’t talk now.” Virgil would have recognized his voice right away. “Didn’t make it any less creepy though.”

 Roman winced. “Yes, I can imagine. And the masks don’t really help, huh? Sorry, by the way. I wish I could have told you sooner.” 

 “Not sure if it would have made this any easier but thanks.” Virgil took this moment to look around the room. It appeared he was in Roman’s kitchen, on top of the dining table. Of course, he had seen Roman’s kitchen plenty of times over Skype but just like everything else, it was startling to see it so giant.

 Speaking of, he looked up at Roman, getting his first real look at the giant. Well, out of the uniform anyway. “Roman...I just, thank you for buying me. I mean, it’s terrible that you even had to buy me in the first place but I’m glad I’m here with you instead of...someone else.” He shivered at the thought.

 “Of course and hey! Now we can be roommates!” Roman exclaimed with a grin. Virgil hesitantly returned it.

 “Roommates, huh? That...That sounds nice.” It was certainly a lot better than pet. “I just wish I had been allowed to take my stuff with me.” Virgil said, looking down at himself and realizing this was all he had left of his old life. 

 Roman winced. “Right, they made you not take anything. Well...good news is they’ll be opening up some ‘human shops’ where giants can buy ‘their’ human’s things. Hopefully we’ll be able to find a few things that suit your emo style.” Roman chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

 Virgil rolled his eyes and chuckled as well, forgetting for a brief moment that they were talking about going to, essentially, a pet store to buy him clothes and such. “I...did manage to sneak these.” Virgil said, opening his hoodie to reveal his phone and headphones.

 Roman’s eyes widened and he grinned, knowing full well how important those things were too Virgil and his anxiety. “You sly raccoon.” Virgil laughed.

 Silence fell between them once again but this time it reminded Virgil of those times when things got quiet on Skype. When they both decided to check their phones or do another task while they still kept the other on the line. The other task they both happened to be doing now, was thinking.

 “Well, er...would you like me to show you around?” Roman asked and looking incredibly nervous as he moved his hand to the table. Offering Virgil a ride. The fact that Roman was nervous about this actually made him feel a lot better. “Properly, of course. I know you’ve seen it a billion times over Skype but...well things are a bit different now.” Wasn’t that an understatement.

 Virgil took in a deep breath as he looked down at Roman’s hand. It was big and imposing but it was connected to such a familiar and friendly face. Virgil looked up into that face and smiled. “Yeah, let’s do it...roo-roomie.”

 Roman blinked, before he laughed out loud. “P-Please, never call me that again. Oh my gosh, that came out so awkward.” He said through his laugh.

 Virgil felt heat rise to his cheeks and he huffed, crossing his arms. “Whatever. I’m not the creative one here.” He walked over to Roman’s hand and climbed onto it and both parties were happy to note his almost complete lack of hesitance.

 “No, no you are not.” Roman agreed, slowly lifting his hand to rest against his chest as soon as he saw that Virgil was settled. It was such a strange feeling, having him in his hand. Similarly, for Virgil, it was such a strange feeling to be in a hand. “Now let’s go! I’m about to give you the grandest tour you have ever seen!”

 Virgil laughed as Roman went through the house, seeming to become even more dramatic with every room. It was a little overwhelming but with Roman right there, he really did feel safe.

 This whole situation, of humans becoming pets, really sucked.

 But at least Virgil had Roman.

One one hand, I’ve been reading a lot (read: too much) of the work of @delimeful, @arc852, and @hiddendreamer67 lately, and I’ve been thinking about writing my own infinitessimal!sides au. What I have in mind would be essentially a mish-mash of Delimeful’s WIBAR au and Arc and Mandy’s Perspectives Series. Both are really amazing reads, I would highly recommend them to anyone interested, and reading them is what actually made me want to write my own story in the first place. I don’t really have much more than the basic concept and some early plot down, so I don’t know how long this one would be, 

On the other hand, I was thinking I might write a story based wholly on characters I would myself create. This one would center around a group of humans who are trying to fight their way back to their home after being stolen and sold into slavery. The issue here would be that I don’t really have a knack for writing characters in the first place (there’s a reason that I wrote my angst story entirely in first person with nonspecific descriptions of the characters). I have a more refined outline for this story, and it would be around 14 chapters long, spread over 4 acts.

In either case I would write the story out before I begin posting, meaning I probably wouldn’t start posting until at least around the end of the month, if not the new year. I would post one chapter every week, until the story is finished. In the mean time I would work on one offs and prompts, posting those as I finish them.