#alip

Patton stared out the window at each building that passed, keeping note of every turn and every street to their destination. He glanced at his phone to the map he had pulled up, his GPS helping him keep track of where he was. He definitely didn’t expect to find himself so deep into the city where the population would be so dense, but he supposed that any building could be hiding a number of secrets. He kept glancing out the window and at his phone, hoping it would calm his nerves. The longer the drive went, the more the silence taunted him. He kept bracing himself for the inevitable. He knew it was going to happen, he just wasn’t sure exactly when.

Then he heard his mother sigh. There it is…

“Back at the house,-”

“We’re not talking about this.” Patton squeezed his phone in his hand as he felt the car roll to a stop.

“I just think it’s a little unfair how you jumped me with all those questions!”

“And I think it’s really unfair how you’ve been invalidating my feelings my whole life.”

“I have done no such thing!”

Patton huffed and looked over at his mother driving the truck. “Then what do you call what you’re doing right now?” Maggie scrunched up her nose but kept her eyes on the road. He could tell she was thinking of something to retort with. Make her seem like it wasn't that bad. That it wasn't her fault. That it came from a place of love. “I know what you're thinking; you feel like you’ve done something wrong, because you have, so you’re getting defensive. But that doesn't mean you can tell me how I feel is wrong because you didn't mean to."

"Now you're just twisting this around to make me look like the bad guy! I'm trying to help you!"

"Pull over."

"What?"

"I said," Patton balled his fists and braced himself, "pull over!"

"You need me to help find Roman!"

"No, I don't!" Patton finally turned and looked at his mother. The shocked expression on her face as she finally glanced away from the road for a split second before turning back was enough for him to know that she was listening. "I don't need you for this. I can find him without you!"

"No! You don't know where he is and I do!"

"And my boyfriend can read minds." Patton glared as he spoke. "I already told you back at the house. This is the last chance you have or you won't see me again. Ever."

The car grew silent with nothing more than the muffled noise from the city around them.

“Patton-”

“I’m not trying to be the bad guy here, mom. But I can’t just let you do this to me anymore.” Patton’s voice grew softer as he spoke. “I can’t handle it anymore.”

He heard his mother sigh from the driver’s seat, refusing to look at her. Not wanting to lose his resolve if he saw how upset she was. “You’re father would miss you.”

Patton immediately tensed in anger. “Using dad against me won’t work. He already said I could reach out to him and that he would love me no matter what. I don’t need you to get to him and we both know you could never take him away from me.” 

“I wouldn’t-”

“Don’t. We both know what you meant by it, so just don’t.”

Patton watched as the car pulled into a parking lot and the truck slowly came to a halt. His mother turned the car off and sat in her seat, making no attempt to exit just yet. “Do you still want me to show you where he is?”

Patton glanced at his phone, looking at the GPS app he had opened up to see where downtown he was. Technically, it was enough information to give to Logan and they could probably continue here on their own. 

He sat up and looked at her. “Depends. Do you think it was unfair? What I did back home?”

Maggie stayed silent for a bit before turning back to him. “I do, but maybe it’s because I’m being defensive. I just need to think about it and think before I act.”

Patton stared at her, not completely satisfied with her answer. Her emotions were a mess, they were swirling so much and wouldn’t settle on one solid feeling. She was emotionally charged right now, enough that he felt it was the truth. He was also an emotional person, it’s probably where he got it from. It probably explained why he started to become a bit of an empath. Possibly. He could bring it up to Logan who would go on and on with theories about how that would be probable. 

“That’s a start, I guess.” Patton turned and reached for the door handle before getting out. He closed the door and looked back down at his phone while waiting for his mother to follow. 

She hopped out of the car and paid the parking for their spot before heading to a nearby building. The streets were already filled with people going about their day in the early morning. She walked a few buildings down before she stopped and looked over her shoulder. Patton looked up at the unassuming building before his mother continued on. People passed by the front desk and headed for the elevators which Patton could only assume were all filled with offices for all different businesses. 

This is where Roman was? In some office in a giant building? Patton glanced around at the people in business attire going about their day, unaware of what was happening to his best friend inside. 

“Margaret?” Patton turned as someone approached his mother with a confused expression on his face. “I thought you left a while ago.” The stranger’s gaze slowly looked up at Patton. “And who is this?”

Wait a minute.

“This is my son! He works at the city library. I thought he could help us with our project. Maybe he’ll shed some light on the subject.”

Isn’t that…?

The man seemed super friendly. He smiled down at Maggie and shook his head. “Thank you for thinking of us but we’re gonna try to keep eyes off of that project for now.” 

Patton immediately got the hidden meaning. ‘We’re not letting people look at Prince Charging right now.’ Why? Why the sudden change? Did they figure out Roman’s identity already? Looking at the older man, Patton immediately knew this wasn’t the first time he saw him. He shoved his phone into his pocket.

This is the guy Clyde told me about.

“I’m sorry,” Patton stepped up and placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder. “She hasn’t really told me what this was about. Just something urgent. Is there no way I could help, Mr.-” Patton hesitated for a moment, hoping the man would respond.

He smiled and reached out a hand. “Call me Bruce.” 

Patton grabbed his hand and shook it, repeating his name in his head so he didn’t forget it. “Nice to meet you. Are you sure there’s nothing I could do to help? I came all this way and I’m already late for work.”

Bruce let go and seemed apologetic. “No, I’m sorry. I put a hold on it for now due to a few things beyond our control. I thank you for wanting to help.” Bruce looked back to Maggie. “This is your son you’re always talking about, right? You raised a fine young man, Margaret.”

“Thank you, Bruce. Are you sure there’s no way we can’t just look?”

Bruce shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Sorry for making you come all this way again.”

“It’s fine,” Patton shrugged. “Whatever it was, if my mom really thinks I can help then we can try again another day.” He patted his mother on the shoulder. “Come on, I’m already late enough. You can tell me about it another day.”

“But, Patty-” Patton wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulder and turned them towards the front door. 

“It was nice meeting you, Bruce! Come on, mom, let’s go. Other people are trying to work.” 

Patton waited until they were outside before he pulled out his phone and sent Logan a quick text. “Mom, what floor do you go to when you come here?”

“Oh, um… the fifteenth floor, why?”

Patton punched in the address and the floor number before pressing ‘send’. “That was all the proof I needed.” Patton immediately went into his contacts and started a call. The phone rang a few times before it picked up. “Clyde, listen. We need to meet up. I just met Bruce.”

—

“You’re absolutely sure about this, Thomas?” Logan asked again. 

“I’m sure.” Thomas nodded. “There’s a lot going on right now and I want to help.”

Virgil walked back in, a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. “On one hand, I’m not sure how much training is gonna get done with everything going on.” Virgil blew on his coffee before taking a sip. “On the other hand, he’s already learned it before so maybe he’ll be faster this time. Besides, not sure how else we’re gonna find Roman so fast. It’s worth a try, especially since the fan club is helping look.”

“Then maybe you should put down the coffee and get some rest.” Virgil looked over to Elizabeth, Roman’s mother. “My boy is strong and you’re no help if you’re too tired.”

“Tell that to my brain,” Virgil grumbled and took another sip of coffee. 

“Tell me more about these recipes, Liz! I’ve never tried Puerto Rican dishes before.”

“Oh, honey. We need to go food shopping together.” Liz seemed excited at the notion. “I know this grocery store that would be perfect to get you stocked up.”

“Perfect! Logan and Virgil can help!” 

Virgil almost choked on his coffee as Logan gave Two a confused look. “I apologize if my inquiry seems a bit rude. We are getting brought into this how?”

“Well, Virgil is Roman’s boyfriend and Roman’s your best friend!” Two spoke as if it weren’t the most obvious thing in the world.

“Wha, wait, Roman is not my best friend!” Two kept smiling at Logan. “He is not!” Logan stood his ground for a moment before his face fell. “Oh, Roman’s my best friend.”

“That’s rough, buddy,” Virgil patted Logan on the back sympathetically. 

A strange noise rang out and everyone looked at Logan as he pulled out his phone. He tapped on it a few times and froze. 

“What is it?” Virgil peered over Logan’s shoulder and looked at his phone. His eyes shot open as he reread the screen. 

Logan looked across the room toward Two. “It’s from Patton. It’s an address.”

“Logan, hold this for me, thanks,” Logan put up his hands to catch Virgil’s hot cup of coffee, dropping his phone in the process. Virgil was already scrolling on his phone and walking away. 

Logan blinked before he reached a hand outwards, “Wait, Virgil, we should talk about this-” In an instant, Virgil was gone. “-before we do anything…” Logan finished and let out a sigh.

“He’s gone,” Liz stared at the spot Virgil vanished from. “He just disappeared.”

“Oh boy, it’s okay!” Two reached over to comfort Roman’s mother. “I guess we have a little more explaining to do.”

—

“Patton, wait,” Maggie cried out as she chased after her son. “I can drive you!”

“Go back home, mom. I need to meet up with the others so we can come up with a plan.” Patton looked around to find the nearest bus stop. He could figure out which line to take him closest to home from there.

“I want to help, sweetie!”

Patton stopped and spun around quickly. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough to help?”

“Wha, but I thought you forgave me! I thought we were getting along again.”

“This doesn’t erase the years of damage you’ve done, mom.” Maggie froze and Patton felt a pit in his stomach. “I appreciate you helping me now but as it said, this was a start. I can’t forgive you for years of you making me feel bad about who I am just because of one good thing you did.” The bustle of the city drowned them out and no one even gave them a second glance. “So this is where I ask you to stay out of it and let me know if you get any updates. Otherwise, leave this to me and my friends.”

“Wait,” Maggie reached out and grabbed Patton’s arm. “Please, just… Let me at least take you where you need to go. No questions, no talking. I’ll bring you wherever you need and I’ll leave.”

Patton stared down at his mother and sighed. He felt his anger slipping away immediately though not completely. This was his mother and despite it all, he did still love her. “Okay, you can drive me.”

“Good! Excellent! Let’s get back to my truck.” Maggie kept her grip on her son as they walked arm and arm back to the parking lot. “You spoke with someone on the phone, right? Where do they live?”

“Oh, um, actually, just take me home.” Patton pulled out his phone and immediately dialed a number. They picked up almost immediately. “Logan. Hey. I’m on my way back home.” 

“Alright. Just a warning, Virgil’s already gone.”

“I’m not surprised. He didn’t reappear there?”

“No, we're not quite sure where he is right now.”

“Alright, no problem. I have to make one stop before I come back but I’ll explain everything then, okay?”

“Alright, please stay safe. We’ll see you soon.”

Patton and Maggie walked into the parking lot. Maggie reached to get into her car before she looked over at her son confused. “Do you need me to stop somewhere before I drop you off back home?”

“No.”

 Maggie stared at her son for a moment before she pulled her door open. “Right, I won’t ask. Back home it is.”

When Margaret pulled up to her son’s building, she watched as he ran up the stairs of the porch and knocked on his neighbor’s door. He turned around and Maggie immediately turned her eyes away from him and back to the road. She pulled away from the curb and gripped her steering wheel as she drove off, wondering just how much she messed up her relationship with her son.

—

Roman was… Fine.

Except he was bored. Completely stir-crazy and stuck in an empty office in some random office building. In an empty conference room with no table or anything. The floor was carpeted and there was an outlet and Roman could feel it. He could feel the static from the floor and the charge running to the outlet. He could feel the electricity on his fingertips itching to be used. He wanted SOME sort of stimuli, anything to keep his mind off of the power itching to come out. Any distraction other than the faint pang of pain in his head. Though it was surprisingly feeling a lot better than it was just a few hours ago. 

Roman knew he could break out but there was a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Logan telling him it was a bad idea and he knew it. He had convinced them that his powers weren’t real and he was sticking to it. It wasn’t worth the risk to everyone else. This was HIS mess and he was gonna think his way out of it. 

Although hearing that Bruce guy knew someone with powers had him curious. And maybe Roman could have Clyde disguise himself as someone else so none of them REALLY had to reveal themselves. Though getting Clyde to agree would be difficult maybe this guy would understand if they didn’t want to meet him.

Roman sat up and groaned, rubbing his head. Okay, now he was pretty sure he was thinking too much and it was making his headache worse. But he didn’t know what else to do! And he couldn’t really burn off the energy he had, moving on the carpet only made it worse and-

POP

Roman was immediately tackled to the ground which caught him completely off guard. He didn’t think he was so distracted that he hadn’t heard the door open. He grabbed the person on top of him and looked at the door and, there it was, open and unguarded. Roman pushed with all his might but whoever had him wouldn’t loosen their grip around his neck. Roman shoved again, the stench of coffee filling his nose. 

“Let go of me!” Roman leveraged himself and spun around, pinning the person beneath him, although they still didn’t let go. They also weren’t fighting either. Roman gripped the old sweater they were wearing, grabbed the hoodie, and pulled. “I said let-”

“Shut up you moron!” Virgil’s voice rang out loudly against his ear. 

Roman froze and glanced around. The sound of nothing but their breathing filled the air. Then Roman pieced it together. The quietness, the pop, Virgil. Time must have stopped.

With a sigh of relief, Roman sat back and Virgl fell into his lap. “You found me.”

He could breathe. He was fine! In an entire city of people, his friends had found him. In only a few hours to boot! Roman was sure he’d have to plan an escape later tonight.

Roman hugged Virgil closer and felt the stress he had been holding disappear. “I’m so sorry I made you worry.” Roman waited for a response before nudging Virgil a bit. “Hey, please. I really am sorry!” Virgil’s arms fell down a bit and Roman nudged him again. “Uh, Virge?” Still no answer. “Virgil, are… Did you fall asleep?!”

—

“Just you?” Clyde looked at Patton through the screen door. “Fine by me. Come on up.”

Patton tugged the door open and made his way to the second-floor apartment Clyde and Leslie shared. “I didn’t talk to him for long so I don’t have much to say.”

Clyde vaguely motioned to the couch for Patton to sit before he began pacing the floor. “You’re absolutely sure it was him?”

Patton sat down on the couch and nodded. “Yeah, a few more grays in his hair but that was him.”

Clyde stopped pacing and faced Patton. “Where were you? What were you doing?”

“Well, you remember the APC thing? That club that’s against Prince Charging?” Clyde nodded. “Well, turns out my mother was a part of it? She sort of revealed it on accident but I got her to bring me there to see him. This guy, Bruce, stopped us at the door.”

“And?” Clyde marched over to the couch. “What was he like?”

Patton frowned and shrugged. “He seemed nice?”

Clyde scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You’re an empath and all you can tell me was he seemed nice?”

“Oh,” Patton became a bit stoic. “That. Well, he strangely seemed a bit,” Patton struggled to find the right word. “He seemed excited about something.”

Clyde seemed irritated by this news and let out his frustrations. “Auugh of course he was! Still so full of himself! Gosh, I hate him sometimes!”

“Clyde, who is this guy? Should we be worried?”

Clyde quickly fell into a sitting position on the floor. “I had hoped that he would have stopped this by now but I guess I was too optimistic.” Clyde huffed out a laugh. “Imagine, me? Too optimistic?”

“Clyde?”

When Roman can’t sleep (which isn’t often), he will seek out Virgil and sort of gently nudge him awake and Virgil will move over so they can share a bed. He then sometimes will sing songs he thinks Virgil will like to help both of them sleep again. (He has a playlist of these songs labeled ‘Virgil’)

Logan will try using the cooking skills Patton has taught them and look up recipes within his abilities and make them lunch/dinner just to impress him. He’s gotten quite good! (He enjoys Binging with Babish/Basics with Babish) He will use his abilities to help him multitask while he watches his phone.

Patton has read many books in his time working at the library so sometimes he’ll sit in Logan’s room/his room and read and Logan will join him. If Logan is reading a book Patton has read, Patton perks up at every noise Logan is at and wonders what part he’s just read.

Logan will visit Patton at work and take him to the cafe down the street where they initially met for lunch dates.

Virgil will randomly walk into the room Roman is at and will try to sit on him or coax him into a makeout session if he’s bored. Roman will try to fight it just to bother him.

Logan likes taking pictures of things he sees that he thinks Patton would like. Pretty pictures of sunsets on his way home, a random dog he’s seen, a cute shop he thinks they could visit, etc.

Roman, knowing Virgil’s love for family-owned businesses, will often scope out places for their dates and take Virgil to them if he’s interested.

Virgil knows Roman isn’t a huge fan of his new desk job and will (eventually) paint pictures for his desk for him to switch out once in a while.

Patton Pal cuddle puddle with Logan.

Logan will sometimes softly sing to Patton when Patton has a bad dream. He doesn’t sing otherwise.

Roman eventually(so much farther in the future) learning to use his electricity to generate heat and becoming a living heater that Virgil latches onto all the time... so Roman gets free snuggle time.

Patton will buy cheap cards at the dollar store and write fun facts (or puns... or both) on the inside.

As Logan laments about the terrible customers at the book store he has to deal with, Patton will cheer him on and give him a high five for keeping his cool.

Virgil will go to every showing Roman performs in using his abilities and brings roses on the first night without fail.