A mug of lukewarm coffee sat forgotten to his side. It was half empty anyway, and Virgil was pretty sure he’d accidentally dipped his brush into it instead of the cup of water he had designated for cleaning his brushes off. So he wasn’t willing, nor was he eager, to take the risk of getting a mouthful of cold coffee that probably tasted like acrylic paint.

He could just get up and make himself another mug if he really wanted to anyway, it wasn’t difficult.

Virgil pulled back after a moment, eyes flicking over the canvas, picking out small little flaws that only he would really notice. Asking someone if they thought the flower in the bottom corner of the painting looked odd, they would most likely respond with a vehement “no! Your artwork is astounding, there’s nothing wrong with any of it!” Which was nice, admittedly, but not helpful for advancing his career or perfecting his technique. Truth be told though, Virgil knew he was the hardest person to please when critiquing his own work.

He leaned over to the side, adjusting his spot on the stool for a moment, before dipping the brush off into the water—and he knew it was his water for a fact. He pulled the brush back before forcing the water out of the bristles against the side of his easel and wiping the excess off on his jeans. They were already stained with colours, so a little more never hurt anyone.

For his next colour, he went for a charcoal black aiming to use it for the sky above the landscape. The picture itself was of a garden at midnight. The moon was high in the night sky, stars surrounded it. The light, he was hoping, would eventually look like it was glinting off of the stone fountain in the centre of the piece. Virgil was a skilled artist, he took the least bit of pride in that, but getting those minuscule details could be difficult and frustrating. Not to mention, if they weren’t done right, could make the whole piece look ridiculous.

Just as he was leaning back in to the start on the corner of the canvas, a wet splash hit the outside of his leg and soaked into his jeans. He hadn’t bumped the table accidentally, had he?

Virgil turned to see the cause of the mess, only to see the water in the paint cup rippling. He knew for a fact that he hadn’t bumped the table when little air bubbles began to surface and pop.

The artist pulled his headphones out before letting them rest over his shoulders. Leaning forward on his knees, he tried to peer into the water that had taken on a colour of its own. Mixes of grey, blue, black and purple all in one. It was a pretty ugly colour.

Not a moment later a familiar face popped out of the water, treading it to the best of his ability and Virgil had to stifle a snort. The borrower in question coughed and used a hand to wipe the paint from his face.

“Swimming are we?” The human teased, blatantly amused. Which earned an indignant noise from the man currently stuck in the mug.

“Not on purpose!” Roman snipped back, trying to keep his head above the water’s surface.

Virgil set his paint brush down on the edge of the table, making sure that the fresh paint on the end wouldn’t drip onto the tabletop. He then reached over and grabbed the cup and brought it over. He kept his hand as steady as possible, not wanting to slosh the borrower around any more than he already was. “Need a hand?”

Roman only snorted in his direction, his head bobbing under the water for a moment. “I can get out just fine,” he huffed, “just put the cup back down on the tabletop and you’ll see!”

“You keep going under, that doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence that you can actually get out on your own.” Virgil lifted the cup a little higher, silently noting that the thing itself had to be about seven inches. Which was a good three inches taller than the man currently treading within its confines. There was actually no way he could get out on his own.

“If you’d stop moving the cup, I’d be absolutely fine.”

Virgil quirked a brow. “Sure.”

With that as an implied warning, he lowered the cup back down so it was resting comfortably on the top of his knee. He then reached into the cup and, Roman, seeing what was coming, ducked back down into the water.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” He fished after the borrower trying to evade him for only a moment. Thanks to the slippery texture of the paint coating Roman’s clothes and Virgil’s fingertips, said borrower was able to continuously manage to slip his grip a couple times.

Virgil’s brows furrowed in concentration and slight frustration. He eventually settled on scooping two fingers under Roman’s arms was the better option. It took a second before he finally managed to pull him out of the water. Before long, he had a sopping wet Roman glaring at him.

“Now, was that so hard?” Virgil remarked after a moment, watching as Roman swiped at the paint on his face as best as he could from his position.

“Don’t patronize me.” He kicked his legs, managing to fling some water into the artist’s face.

“Real mature.” Virgil scrunched his nose, eyes closed to prevent the water from getting in his eyes. He set the cup of water back onto the table before using the hem of his sleeve to wipe the droplets off. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the way Roman was smirking at him. As if he had won this battle.

Please, that was hardly a win.

“Now,” Roman said, as if this was nothing more than a slight hindrance in his nightly excursion, “let me go, you giant pain in the ass. I could have very easily have gotten out of that mess by myself!”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “No you couldn’t have.”

Roman scoffed, attempting to wrench himself free. Even though he was far enough from the ground that a fall like that would be lethal, the idiot. “I absolutely could have. You just don’t believe me because you don’t want to admit you’re wrong.”

“I’m not wrong,” Virgil told him. “You’re about this big—” He used his free hand to measure out Roman’s somewhat accurate height before putting that against the bottom of the paint water’s mug. “—and you’re about this big compared to the cup. So, I think I’m pretty safe in saying you couldn’t have gotten out.”

“You just have no faith in me,” he huffed, trying to feign ignorance. Roman then scowled, trying to budge himself again. This time making enough progress that Virgil quickly brought his second hand up as a safety net.

“Careful you little pocket prince.” The human artist could feel the way his heart rate had spiked slightly from the scare. “A fall from this height wouldn’t be good for you.”

“If you’d just put me down, we wouldn’t have to worry about that then would we?”

“If you would stop moping we wouldn’t have to worry about it either. Just stop moving.”

“I shouldn’t have to stop moving if you would just listen to me!”

“I am listening to you. I just don’t want you to die prematurely, you idiot.”

“No you’re not! If you were, you’d have put me down by now.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward off an oncoming headache. All he had wanted to do was get at least halfway done on his painting and now, here he was, arguing with a person the size of a mouse. “Just stop squirming, I really don’t want to drop you. You’re soaking wet Roman, which, believe it or not, makes it really hard to keep a steady hold of you.” He then let out a sigh, pushing out the frustration that was welling inside him. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

That question seemed to catch Roman off guard, as he stopped trying to pull himself free and looked back at him. “What?”

“Christ help me,” Virgil mumbled under his breath, before addressing the man still in his hold. “You fell into my paint cup from who know’s how high up. Does anything on you hurt?”

Roman blinked brilliantly at him a moment, before shaking his head. “No.”

Virgil relaxed the slightest bit. “Good. Now,” he motioned back to the cup of water sitting harmlessly on the table. “Do you want to go back into the cup to prove that you can actually get out?”

When he started to move his hand over, Roman twitched away from it. “No! No, no, don’t you dare!”

“That’s what I thought.”

So, instead of the cup, Virgil let Roman off onto the table beside it. He was just about to go back to painting when he noticed the borrower beginning to shiver slightly in the cool air of the apartment. He quirked a brow, but didn’t say anything at first. Truth be told, the water was pretty cold when he’d scooped Roman out, so to have his entire body drenched like that mustn’t be comfortable either.

He wiped his hand off on his pants. “Are you cold?”

Roman’s arms tightened around himself. His shivering increased. “No.”

Virgil found a smirk creasing his features. “You’re a horrible liar,” he said, stretching to release some of the tension in his back. Sitting hunched over on a stool for hours on end probably wasn’t the best for his posture. He glanced the mug of forgotten coffee. “I was about to make myself a fresh cup of coffee anyway, you want some?”

Roman hesitated only a fraction of a second. “Yes.”

Virgil gave a nod to show he’d heard. Just as he was getting up to leave the room and get some extra clothes for the shivering borrower, he heard Roman’s voice speak up;

“Are you ever going to let me live this down?”

Roman ran through the rain, trying to get to the community house before the mud would begin flooding. He did not want to almost drown again. Luckily he made it just in time as he jumped onto the wooden floor, the mud where he had once stood caved into mush as the water flooded out of the dirt making a huge muddy lake. As Roman looked around he spotted the Prime Path and suddenly wondered why he hadn't just walked on it….. until the water continued to flood up and cover it. Right. That's why. If he'd been standing on the path when that happened he would've been dragged away with a current- not exactly a good thing.

Either way, he'd made it. Now all he had to do was grab some stuff from a chest and wait out the storm. Roman made his way over to one of the many huge by comparison, chests in the Community House. He didn't even bother to get out his hook, already having a small hidden door in the side of it for him to enter at the bottom. It was something he'd worked with some other Borrowers to make a while back so they could always have access to the extra resources the Beings of this server didn't need. Most of the time Borrowers came here for food, small pieces of wool, or string- but today Ran had a different goal in mind.

Weapons. It wasn't a surprize that any of his fellow Borrowers found it difficult to move around the server, there weren't enough torches in some places to keep the huge mobs from spawning, and it was difficult for Borrowers to get the supplies to make torches (as Beings seemed to have a tendency to burn up coal quickly or leave it in dangerous smealters), it was made even more difficult as they could only move during the night unless they wanted to be seen. So Roman had decided to come to the community to gather supplies for weapons- because even if not all the Borrowers he knew could fight, at least those who did would now have the proper weapons to protect those Borrowers with. What Roman had not accounted for, however, was the thunderstorm that had started halfway to the Community House. Which is how he found himself stuck for the time being- but at least he would be able to make weapons.

There was another problem though that Roman hadn't planned for that he quickly discovered through the all too familiar booming footsteps now accompanied with a loud splash each step. "Shit…" the Borrower hybrid muttered to himself as he looked out of the Community House door to see a human wearing a smiling mask running through the rain right in his direction. In a split second decision, Roman climbed into the chest and sealed the door behind him, but not before spotting a bottle. For once he was glad that his poncho was a dark purple instead of black as he climbed inside and curled up, hoping to look like a potion.

The roaring thunder almost seemed to pause as Roman listened to the footsteps get closer and closer, until they stopped in front of his chest. The world was silent for a minute as the loud creaking of a chest opening rang out around Roman, in a deafening silence that didn't even exist. The Borrower covered his mouth instinctively, as if he needed to stop the Being from hearing his breathing. He listened to the items around him being shuffled around by a huge hand that he could almost see if he looked up just enough- but he couldn't less he be caught, he didn't want to see it anyways.

Time froze when it finally happened. In slow motion, Roman watched as huge fingers wrapped around the glass holding him and began to lift it out of the chest… taking the Borrower with it. As Roman was raised to be face to face with that emotionless white mask, he felt a scream get caught in his throat. This was every Borrower's worst nightmare, and it was now happening to Roman. What was even worse was that he recognised that mask from rumors- he had been caught by none other than the infamous Dream.

"Well, isn't this interesting?" Roman could practically hear Dream's smile as they spoke. It was terrifying, but he forced a glare onto his face as he looked into the green eyes of the masked man. "A brave thing then?" Dream shook the bottle, eliciting a yelp from the Borrower. "Or not." The Being tipped the bottle, shaking it a little more as Roman tried to hold the walls, forcing the tiny hybrid to fall right into their hand.

Roman shivered at the uncomfortable warmth of the hand and tried to scoot away from the Being, but was quickly stopped by a wall of fingers behind him. Dream chuckled, pulling Roman out of his frightened state enough to go back to glaring at them.

"I assume you're here for items?" It was a simple statement, pointed by Dream tilting their head to the chest Roman had previously been hiding in.

"Y- yeah… a- and why's it matter to- to you?" Roman spoke, cringing at his own stutter. He knew it was dumb to try and talk his way out of this, but what else could he do? Even if he followed the rules he'd more than likely be killed by this person.

"Well…" It only took a millisecond for the Being's grip to change, so fast that Roman didn't even process it, before he was being squeezed Inna fist. "I can give you them- for a price" Roman barely listened as he squirmed in the fist wanting nothing more than to be let go and mlg to safety.

"H- how the fuck wo- would I even pay you back?" Roman glared up into the mask, continuing to writhe in a fist that had an unloosening grip.

"Quite easily actually, you don't even have to do anything you don't already- I just need you to listen" Dream shrugged, as if he hadn't just spat nonsense that confused the Borrower even more.

"What's… what's that supposed to mean?" He looked into those ominous eyes with confusion.

"It's your size- I need it for information, I know that you and your little friends hear a lot in those walls of your's" Finally, the Being set Roman down, as if they knew he wouldn't run… and he didn't, he was far too shocked to.

"Y- you… you know-"

"Of course I know! It's my server you think I'm not going to notice a bunch of tiny… THINGS running around?" He laughed a little. "No, I've known for a while… I could've asked any of you for this…" The Being bent over and leaned their face in close to Roman, making the Borrower stumble back. "The problem was catching you. And look! You've practically given yourself to me!!" They stood up straight again, spreading their arms, proving a point… and sending a shiver down Roman's spine.

"S- so…. You… you want information?" Dream nodded. "Information that I overhear… l- like… like a spy?" Roman hugged himself, needing the small bit of comfort as he priced it together.

"Exactly! I knew you things were smart!!" As Dream cackled in victory, the Borrower backed up, a horrible feeling of dread taking over.

"Can't- wouldn't it be better to just have a Bei- a big person- do it?" Roman fidgeted with his poncho nervously. What was he about to get himself into.

"Oh, I already do… but people can't always be around to hear everything… like when someone's alone- which is why using you would be so great!" Roman could hear their smile and hated it. "Now, of course, you'll be payed in whatever items you need"

"...What kind of items?" Roman couldn't stop his curiosity. Of course it was dumb to even be considering this but… it's not exactly easy to borrow.

"Anything you need at the time- not want, need. Food, wool, weapons-"

"Weapons!!" Roman shouted, and immediately raised his arms up in defense as he realized he'd city of what Dream had been saying…. But nothing happened.

"Yes, weapons" Dream said it slowly, a curiosity playing at his words. "Do you need weapons?" Roman hesitated with an answer, but began to nod. He doubted he would have even been able to find stone here anyways. "Then get me the information I want."

"I…." Roman paused. Would this really be worth it? Working with a human- not just a human but one that everyone seemed to hate? If he didn't they'd probably kill him anyways- but if he did…. He could help so many of his friends, and family. Besides, it's not like the events in the Beings' lives would affect Borrowers too much. What'd they even do that'd be bad, blow up all of L'manburg? Nobody would do that again after Wilbur died. "... I can do that. I'll get your information."

"Good. Then it's a deal." The Being gave his finger to the Borrower, who quickly shook it.

“We have to get the thread.  One of our hooks has already broken!” Virgil had whisper-yelled, stopping in front of the sewing box that reached higher than both borrowers stacked atop each other.

“Virgil, for the last time, we’re already running late, and we just replaced the one that broke!” Roman barely slowed, passing his borrowing partner without hesitation. “We can get it next time, we have to leave.”

Roman felt a tugging on his arm and turned back to see a frustrated pale face lightly glaring at him.  Virgil said, “But we won’t be able to if mine or the replacement breaks beforehand, and then we’ll just have to pray the right amount gets dropped or starve to death!”

Roman rolled his eyes and tore his arm away. “We won’t starve.  It’s one day, and if one of the humans come home early, we’ll be dead by their hands, and I feel like both of us would hate that much more.  Now,” He turned heel, not even looking back, “get your ass in gear and join me before then!”  He walked to the entrance behind the coffee maker, loaded his supplies into the hole, and only then did he look back.  To his exasperation, Virgil was not only not right beside him, he had somehow hoisted himself up to lean over the edge of the box, looking in and grabbing for something within.  He planted his hand to his forehead, feeling a stress headache coming.  He was about to yell something to chastise, when the sound of keys fumbling outside the apartment made his heart stop.  He looked up in time to see his black-clad friend staring in the direction of the noise with unabashed horror writ in his features.

Immediately, Roman was on the move.  He sprinted the distance from the entrance to the box, which was far too long for his taste in this situation.  Virgil was struggling to get down, the box bending under his weight, making his footing uneven and giving him next to nothing to grab or push to get himself out alone.  Roman heard the click of the lock and doubled his efforts, eventually skidding to a halt just beneath Virgil’s frantically swinging legs.  He could hear Virgil’s panicked breaths from here, and his heart jumped in protective panic.  “I’ve got you, come on, Star!” The lower borrower hissed, trying and failing to latch onto the makeshift shoes on the other’s feet.  Just as Virgil had wiggled enough for Roman to reach a strap of his boot, both heard the damning sound of the front door opening.  They only had a few seconds to get back, and the run over would take just over that time if they were lucky.  With a harsh yank, Virgil tumbled onto the countertop and upon Roman with a huff.  The pair didn’t have time for pain, though, and immediately, Virgil stood and beat it for the opening.  Roman wasn’t far behind, at least, at first.  However, the running over and jumping and yanking had taken a bit out of the small man, and adrenaline could only go so far.  He was substantially slower, and just as Virgil ducked behind the kitchen apparatus, a bespectacled man in a dark blue tie rounded the corner into the kitchen, then almost instantly locked eyes with Roman, who was only half the distance to the entrance.  Roman caught a second wind and used the man’s stunned pause to his full advantage.  He got tunnel vision, all that mattered was what was in front of him, the coffee maker and the entrance and his friend’s arms, waving him over desperately.  Every cell in his body burned, but he couldn’t stop, not if he wanted to live to feel anything again.  Finally, he was almost there, just a few more moments, if he just jumps-!

*

Logan couldn't believe his eyes as he turned into the kitchen and saw a tiny humanoid standing on the counter.  His shock could only last so long before instinct kicked in as he saw the man booking it towards his fridge and coffee maker.  The little thing was fast, but Logan covered the distance between himself and the creature just as it was ducking for the wall.  Without thought, Logan’s hands dropped his keys and shot out in front of him, trapped the creature between his fingers.

*

Roman whimpered involuntarily.  The air was knocked out of him, his vision blurred, and he could feel immovable heat clasped around him, no doubt ready to squeeze the life out of him.  He closed his eyes, the world around him fuzzing out as all he felt was panic, panic, panic panic panicpanicpanicpanic-

*

Logan blinked at the thing in his hands, slightly shocked he actually managed to catch it.  He felt something akin to wonder, similar to when a child manages to catch a firefly for the first time, surprised at his dexterity.  Within the moment, though, he raised it to his eyes, still not quite believing what they were seeing: a tiny man wrapped in white and red patchwork, in a sort of makeshift poncho, or at least a long shirt.  The whole body couldn’t have been longer than ⅔ of his outstretched hand, wrist to fingers.  His hair was dark brown and slightly matted, with sweat, Logan realized.  At the same time as that registered, Logan became cognizant of the state of the creature.  He could feel it’s panting and shaking, see it’s face contorted in distress, and hear small whines every exhale it seemed to make.  It’s terrified, he recognized with a start.  He looked around for a moment, then began to take his newfound specimen to the couch in order to hopefully allow it to feel a bit more secure rather than have it dangling five feet off the hard tile floor.

*

Roman was distantly aware that he was moving through the air in the human’s hands, but his senses were barely functional at this point.  He heard someone, maybe it was himself, yelling, but he couldn’t be sure.  His head was filled with static, and he couldn’t feel his limbs.  Is this what it felt like to die?  Was he being crushed to death, or had the human decided to toss him into a wall and watch him splatter like a fly on the window?  Would Virgil make it without him?  Would Virgil do something stupid out of vengence or sorrow?  His world was darkening, and he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.  He wanted his last thoughts to be of Virgil, of their friendship, of their happiness.  At a loss, he sobbed out, “I’m sorry!” before finally succumbing to whatever the human had done to him.

“I just- I’ll miss you!” Patton’s voice was muffled by Logan’s shirt, pressing himself in further. “So much.”

“…I’m only departing for class.” Logan reminded him, giving Patton a concerned glance.

“I know, but how am I supposed to enjoy morning tea when you’re not there to make it?” Patton pouted, holding his attention.

“Is this your way of attempting to guilt trip me into making you a beverage?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Only if it’s working.” Patton gave him a hopeful smile. Yes, go into the kitchen, that’s perfect!

“In that case, you need to release me.” Logan said.

First Patton whirled him around, startling Logan again as Patton put himself between Logan and the bookcase. He stepped to the side, blocking the borrowers. “Okie dokie!” Patton finally released Logan’s shirt, giving him a wave. Logan gave him a bewildered expression, sending him one last look before heading into the kitchen.

Once he heard the kettle going, Patton gave a sigh of relief, crouching down to be at eye level with the frightened tiny people.

“What happened?” Patton asked, already reaching out to try and untangle Virgil. The borrower hissed at him, and Patton paused with his hand still at a distance.

“Stop it Storm Cloud, he’s our only hope.” Roman scolded. “Please, go ahead Patton, I swear he won’t bite. We’re in desperate need of your aid.”

“I’m fine.” Virgil growled, tangling himself further.

“Ooh, careful, let me just-“Patton winced, hoping his eyes portrayed his apology as he reached out to grab Virgil. Delicately he unraveled the string, freeing Virgil to sit in his palm. He handed the hook to Roman, giving Virgil a brief glance for any injuries.

All three of them froze, hearing the sound of human footsteps returning. Patton and Virgil locked eyes for a moment, and Virgil’s widened in realization.

“Don’t you dare put me in your pocket.” Virgil glared at him.

“Sorry, Virgil.” Patton whispered, knowing there wasn’t time as he quickly hid the borrower in his jacket pocket. He stood up, turning his back to the bookshelf once again and smiling as Logan returned with the tea.

“Here you are.” Logan announced, setting the mug on the table. “In the future, you can just ask me directly for a favor.” He didn’t seem to notice the way Patton was blindly grabbing behind him, fingers finding the second struggling borrower and stowing him away in his other pocket.

“Oh, thanks Logan!” Patton said hastily, cautious of his pocket’s contents as he slowly brought his hands out, walking over to the table to grab the mug. “You’re the best!” Satisfied that he had avoided suspicion, Patton gave the beverage a nervous sip and speed walked back to the privacy of his bedroom. Mercifully, the borrowers were still to avoid the detection of Logan’s keen eye.

“Are you two alright?” Patton asked, giving them a worried expression as he emptied his pockets on the bed.

“We’re fine.” Virgil insisted. “And we didn’t need your help.”

“Virgil.” Roman said sternly under his breath, but Virgil wasn’t listening. He was already storming off towards the wall edge of the bed.

“Don’t worry about him.” Roman turned to Patton, and the human noticed even he looked a bit shaken up. “He’s a bit…”

“Traditional?” Patton supplied.

“Well, I was going to say a bit of a pain in the ass, but that’s a much kinder way of putting it.” Roman chuckled.

“Oho, big surprise there, considering this is what I have to deal with every day.” Virgil threw up his arms flippantly, clearly still mad about the incident.

“Sorry for all the grabbing!” Patton called after him with a wince. “And sorry again about the pocket.”

Virgil just flipped him off, sliding down the comforter and out of sight.

“Oh, come now.” Roman gave Patton’s hand an awkward pat, looking up at him with sympathy. “We’re truly thankful for your service.”

Patton gave a sad chuckle. “Well, one of you is.”

Patton knew it must have been this statement that led to Virgil’s return a week later. Roman had occasionally popped in to say hi and had even stuck around to hang out. It filled Patton’s heart, eager to share his fun with Roman. In fact, he was just in the middle of teaching Roman the secret art of blanket fort construction when he heard a tiny voice being cleared.

Patton turned, surprised to see Virgil on the desk. “Hi Virge, what can I do ya for?”

“I…wanted to talk to you.” Virgil shifted on his feet, looking a bit anxious. Patton stayed seated to give him space. “It’s just, gah.” Virgil ran his hand down his face, letting out a groan. “Oh, I’m breaking so many rules to be here…”

“Oh, well, we don’t really care about rules here.” Patton shrugged honestly.

Virgil quirked an eyebrow. “We?”

“Uh, I mean, me.” Now Patton looked uncomfortable, remembering how Roman’s visits were supposed to be secret. “Roman’s definitely not here.”

“Roman!” Virgil hissed, glaring at the blanket fort.

“Traitor.” Roman mumbled, sticking his head out to give Virgil a nervous wave. “Evening, Storm Cloud.”

“Okay, that’s…whatever.” Virgil gave a very loud sigh. “I’ll deal with you later. That’s not why I’m here. Patton, I wanted to… thank you.” Virgil scuffed his foot, not looking Patton in the eye. “For the stuff last week. That was, helpful. I guess.”

Patton felt his grin growing, trying to contain his excitement. “You’re welcome, anytime!” Virgil winced, and Patton quickly backpedaled. “I mean, well, not like that again, with the pockets, I promise. But I’m happy to help anytime.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Virgil scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I guess I should stop spoiling your fun.”

“You’re not spoiling anything. In fact-“ Patton looked to Roman for confirmation, who nodded, “-would you like to join us in our blanket fort?”

“I dunno.” Virgil bit his lip. “That’s not really my thing.”

“Oh shut up, buttercup.” Roman scoffed. He turned to Patton. “Virgil’s quite the cuddler.”

“ROMAN!”

Patton giggled. “Well, it’s up to you, but blanket forts are very good for cuddles. I was also going to turn on a movie for us to watch as well.”

That seemed to spark Virgil’s interest. “What kind of movie?”

“Whatever you like.” Patton assured him.

Roman was good at fighting. At least, from his perspective. He could his swing his needle and beat any pests. He considered himself the hero and protector of this bean's house, even if he wouldn't get any credit. So when one fateful day, he heard the chittering of a rat, it was common sense for him to go after it, needle sharpened and ready. He hadn't fought too many rats, but he was so good with those ants the other day he was sure he could handle it.

In fact, when he finally found the rat in the passage onto the kitchen counter, he was so confident he decided he did not need the element of surprise. "En Guarde!" He said, poised and ready to fight. Unfortunately, so was the rat. It launched itself at him at a speed hard to counter with just a needle. He dodged, only barely missing the claws aimed at him. Not only that, but it had caught his shoulder, ripping into his favorite outfit.

"Fine. We duel without honor." Roman spat at the rat, dropping his needle in favor of the smaller and handier makeshift knife. The rat lunged again, but he was ready this time.  With a quick jump and flash of his knife, he wasn't the only one bleeding. He took the spot between the rat and the outside kitchen with a sneer.

"You will not plague this house any longer!" Roman hit first this time. The rat was just as fast as he was, making it a struggle to keep the upper hand. If he could just get an opening...

There.

He straddled the rat and held the knife to its furry throat. "Adieu, my foul fiend." He said and pulled the knife back for maximum power. However, the rat had decided that this fight was in fact, not over. It ran as fast as it could towards the kitchen counter while shaking Roman off.

It succeeded just near the edge, and although Roman hit the ground hard, he got up as fast as possible. He grabbed his knife from where it had fallen. Roman and the rat stared each other down. Roman was tense and ready to spring at a moment's notice. And just as he was about to, the lights in the kitchen turned on.  The rat sprinted off into the wall again. Out of surprise, Roman's battered legs gave out, making him trip backward. His foot felt the edge of the counter, and suddenly, he was falling. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back tears as he readied himself for impact.

 ...Or maybe not, as Patton tried to move, he found himself too cold to do so. It hurt to move his limbs, they were so numb. Patton could only lay there.

It was only when Logan was putting the kettle on the stove that he saw it. A pale, trembling form barely the size of his palm sat shivering on his kitchen counter. Logan’s eyes widened, realizing how freezing the tiny person must be.

“Are you alright?” Logan asked hastily, grabbing the person to inspect them further.

 Patton let out a little squeak as he was picked up and tried to force his limbs to move to struggle in the grip, when he paused. The grip was...warm. The fingers that wrapped around him radiated a heat that started to warm Patton’s whole body. 

 Suddenly, he didn’t care that he was in a human’s grasp. He fell limp in the grip, soaking up as much heat as he could with a small sigh.

“Oh dear, you’re freezing.” Logan rubbed his fingers gently along the little body, trying to share his own warmth as well as encourage muscle movement so the creature didn’t go unconscious. He looked around, trying to remember what would be helpful in preventing hypothermia. 

 Patton leaned more into the touch, eyes closing as he had a content smile on his face. “Hmm...warm…”

Logan paused, his gaze shifting back to the miniature person. “Did you just speak?” Logan raised his hands higher so that he was at eye level with the thing.

 Patton let out a little questioning hum, still kind of out of it. At the moment, all he cared about was the warmth he was now surrounded by. And slowly, that warmth was lulling him into a much-needed sleep.

“Wait, no, stay awake.” Logan nudged the creature, desperate for answers. “What are you? Where did you come from? Why are you in my kitchen?”

 Unfortunately for Logan, his words fell on deaf ears as Patton finally succumbed to both the warmth and sleep. His breathing falling into a slow and steady pattern.

“...oh no.” Logan bit his lip, holding the creature close to his chest to try and radiate more warmth. With his free hand he pulled out his phone, frantically googling what to do in this scenario. It seemed the best thing to do was dress the individual in many warm layers. Logan walked back to his room, swaddling the tiny person in his blankets. 

Next it suggested consuming food and drinking fluids. Well, that wasn’t quite possible at the moment, but Logan was sure that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prepare for the future. Logan looked down at the being, nestled snugly into the covers.

“...stay.” Logan put his hand out, as if the unconscious being would listen. Then he rushed back to the kitchen, pulling out an assortment of foods. While there the kettle beeped at him, so he poured a mug of tea as well to bring with him. That would certainly help warm up the creature as well. Do tiny people drink tea?

Finally equipped, Logan returned to the bedroom, setting most of the belongings on his desk. He brought the mug of tea with him, sipping from it every so often as he watched anxiously to see if the person would awaken.

 Patton shifted, sighing in content as he felt himself surrounded by warm blankets on a rather comfy surface. He burrowed into his a little more, wanting to go back to sleep.

 But then he realized he didn’t have anything like these blankets or this surface at home. Patton opened his eyes, looking around him. His eyes widened as he realized he was on the human’s bed in the human’s room. His heart practically stopped when his eyes met the actual human’s. 

 He yelped as he sat up, the blanket falling from his shoulders. He shivered as he was exposed to the cool air of the apartment and immediately grabbed the blanket to wrap around him. He looked back up at the human with wariness and fear, wondering how he had even gotten here.

“Careful.” Logan warned, coming closer to kneel in front of the bed and be at eye level with the being. “How are you feeling? Better?”

 Patton scooted back a little as the human came closer, his eyes wide with fear. “I-I...wh-what?” Patton felt himself begin to shake as he desperately tried to wrap his head around how he had ended up here. But the last thing he remembered was being so cold in his home that he decided to try and find somewhere warm to stay. Had...Had he just walked out into the open in the middle of the day?

“You passed out on my kitchen counter.” Logan winced sympathetically, hating how he was being viewed with such primal fear. “I brought you here and have been raising your core temperature. I suspect you might have been experiencing hypothermia.”

 Well, that answered that then. But what the human said caught him off guard a little.

 “You...warmed me up?” Patton furrowed his eyebrows. “W-Why?” He had been at the human’s complete mercy and even more so as sick as he had been. But the human, instead of killing him or something equally bad had...helped bring him back to health?

“Well, your temperature was extremely low.” Logan explained. “If I had left you in that state I feared the worst.”

 “O-Oh.” That still didn’t really answer Patton’s question. But he was too afraid to try and ask again. “Uh, well, th-thanks?”

“You should really eat something.” Logan gestured back to the desk behind him. “I wasn’t sure what you consume, so I gathered a few options, but regaining your energy will be vital for your recovery.”

 Wait, now the human was going to feed him. Patton was only getting more confused. Why did the human care so much? “Oh, um…” Patton took a deep breath. “I’m...good with anything.” He said quietly. He shifted a little in the blankets. Despite everything, the warmth was so nice.

“Alright.” Logan slowly got up, not wanting to startle the creature any more than necessary. He surveyed the options, coming back with a granola bar. He unwrapped it, placing it in front of the tiny person. “Will this do?”

 Patton nodded and hesitated before reaching out and breaking off a piece. He started to nibble on it but eventually started taking normal-sized bites. It was really good and Patton could tell it was fresh too. “Th-Thnk yu.” Patton said with his mouth full.

Logan chuckled slightly. “You’re most welcome.” Only now did he realize he didn’t have a cup suitable for someone of this person’s scale, but at a glance it seemed a bottle cap would have to do. This Logan grabbed, hesitating before dipping it into his own mug. “Do you drink tea?”

 Patton blinked. “Uh...what’s tea?”

“It’s leaves and spices that are steeped in warm water.” Logan explained, filling the bottle cap with it and placing this on the bed as well. “Careful, it’s warm.”

 Patton was once again hesitant but finished up his food and grabbed the cap to take a small sip. The warm liquid shocked him for a moment, despite the human’s warning but he swallowed it. It warmed up his insides in a way nothing ever had. Patton smiled and felt himself relaxing as he took another sip. The taste was good as well but Patton was more focused on the warmth of the drink.

“...do you have a name?” Logan asked, realizing he had never properly introduced himself either.

 Patton nodded, setting the now empty cap off to the side. “Um, it’s Patton.” He revealed nervously, fidgeting with the blanket.

“Logan.” He introduced himself as well. “Now Patton, how exactly did you end up on my counter?”

 Patton bit his lip and it only just occurred to him that he shouldn’t be speaking to the human. Though he supposed it was too late for that. Patton shrugged. “I-I don’t really remember.” Patton admitted. “But I think...I was trying to find somewhere to get warm?”

“Well what do you remember?” Logan asked, looking concerned. “Where did you come from? Why are you so small?”

 Patton bit his lip. “I was...born this way.” Patton revealed. But that’s all he said, once again shifting in the blankets.

“Are you some sort of...mystical creature?” Logan’s brows furrowed. “What exactly are you, Patton?”

 Patton curled up a little into himself. “Um, I...I can’t tell you.” He spoke softly, remembering the rules.

“Why would you be unable to tell me?” Logan’s gaze shifted into one of confusion.

 “I just can’t.” Patton said, shaking. Part of him wanted to go home but...he knew home was cold and he was so warm here. It was the only reason Patton hadn’t tried to leave or ask to be let go yet.

“Okay, you can’t tell me.” Logan eased off, noticing how anxious the question made Patton. “What can you tell me, then?”

 Patton thought for a moment. He had really already revealed too much but he didn’t want to make the human angry by not answering with something. “I...live in the walls? And-And the walls got really cold, a lot colder than they usually do during the winter. I wasn’t prepared for it and that’s why I tried to find somewhere warm to stay.” Patton explained, not meeting Logan’s gaze.

“Yes, that would be because the central heating unit has broken down.” Logan explained. “We were told it should be back online sometime tonight, but you’re welcome to stay for as long as you need. I certainly don’t want you to freeze.”

 Patton furrowed his eyebrows, once again confused. “Why? Why do you...care?” Patton was genuinely confused. He had never heard of humans actually caring for his kind.

“Well I’m certainly not a sadist.” Logan raised an eyebrow. “I would feel awful knowing you froze in the walls while I was able to help. I certainly have plenty of resources to spare; you don’t take up much room.”

 Patton bit his lip. “I-I shouldn’t, I...I need to get back home.” He said, watching Logan carefully to see how he would react to that.

“You have to stay.” Logan insisted. “At least until the heat comes back on. I doubt the walls are in any livable condition until they warm up again.”

 “B-But…” He trailed off. He knew Logan had a point but he also didn’t want to be trapped here. “You...You would let me go back home once the heat turned back on?” Patton asked tentatively.

“As soon as it’s safe, yes.” Logan nodded. “Although I would prefer you bring back some blankets to better prepare yourself next time.”

 Patton looked down for a moment. He really had no reason to trust this human...well, other than the fact he hadn’t done anything to him yet. Had even...helped him.

 Patton did not want to go back to the cold. But was the human really a better choice? Patton sighed as he realized he would have to take that chance. It wasn’t like the human was going to let him go anyway.

 “O-Okay…” Patton said, glancing up at the human. “I’ll stay but just until the heat comes back on.” Patton reiterated.

“Understandable.” Logan was undeniably curious about Patton, of course, so the knowledge that he had limited time to learn about him only encouraged Logan to make the most of the time he did have. “Why do you live in the walls, anyway? It seems like a less than ideal living environment.”

 “Oh, well...it’s just the safest option for me.” Patton said with a shrug. “There’s enough food and supplies to gather and it’s, well, usually warm and stuff during the winter.” Patton explained, trying his best to relax into the blankets but it was hard with the human still looking at him.

“Have you lived in this building all your life?” Logan asked. 

 “No...I’ve been here about two years now. Before that I was in another building with my parents.” Patton answered. 

“Do you have any siblings?” Logan took mental note of the fact that this was confirmation that there were more...well, more of whatever Patton was.

 Patton shook his head and then paused. “Do...you?” He wasn’t exactly curious but he wanted to try and throw some of the questions back onto Logan, just to get a bit of a break.

“Just one.” Logan answered. “A stepbrother, actually. I grew up an only child.”

 “Oh, that’s...cool.” Patton said with a slight wince, not knowing what else to say. Patton nervously fidgeted with his ill-fitting glasses. Pushing them up onto his face more.

“Where did you get your glasses, by the way?” Logan asked, his eyes now drawn to the tiny specs. He wanted to inspect them himself, but it would certainly be rude to take them so Logan refrained.

 Patton stopped fidgeting with them. “I...I made them myself.” Patton sighed as they started to slide off again. “They don’t exactly...fit, though.” That wasn’t due to lack of trying.

“Perhaps I could help with some alterations to make them a better fit.” Logan offered. “How did you make them?”

 Patton blinked, shocked by the suggestion. “Oh! Uh, I made it after finding some discarded human glasses and some wire. I just, I wasn’t very good at cutting the glass and I made them too big.”

“May I see them?” Logan stuck out his palm slowly.

 Patton flinched back, holding the sides of his glasses. He looked from Logan’s face to his hand and took a deep breath. “Just...be careful with them?” He carefully set his glasses in Logan’s palm. His vision now blurry as he tried to squint up at Logan.

“Of course.” Logan handled the tiny spectacles as though they were a baby bird. He brought them closer to his own glasses, inspecting every minute detail. “Extraordinary.”

 Patton felt heat rise up to his cheeks. “Thank you.” Despite them being off, Patton was proud of them.

“The ingenuity is remarkable.” Logan praised, lowering them back down. “I could attempt to tighten the wire to hold it more securely, but I certainly don’t want to risk damaging them without the proper tools.”

 “Yeah, those are my only pair, so I’d rather them not get broken.” Patton chuckled. “I’m pretty blind without them.” He said, waving a hand in front of his own face.

“Ah, I see.” Logan said, no pun intended. He slowly reached out to give the pair back. “How blind, exactly?”

 “Well…” Patton took back his glasses, trying to figure out how to explain it. “Everything is really blurry but it’s less blurry the farther away something is?” 

“Farsighted.” Logan nodded in understanding. “I’m the same way, actually.”

 “You are?” Patton asked, tilting his head. “Well, what a coincidence!” Patton smiled a little. “Where did you get your glasses from?”

“The optometrist.” Logan explained, giving his frames a slight tap. 

 Patton blinked. “The...what?” He wasn’t even sure if he could repeat that word back to the human.

Logan gave a slight chuckle. “The human eye expert. They inspect people’s eyes and prescribe which type of glass will be most beneficial.”

 “Huh, I wish borrowers had that.” Patton said, more to himself than anything.

Logan’s ears perked up at that. “Borrowers?”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “No! I, uh, I didn’t say that, I mean…” Patton bit his lip, looking down, knowing it was too late. 

“Is that the thing I wasn’t supposed to know?” Logan guessed.

 Patton just nodded, silently beating himself up over his mistake.

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask then.” Logan assured him.

 Patton’s eyes grew wide. “R-Really?”

“Of course.” Logan looked a bit surprised at Patton’s response. “The topic clearly makes you uncomfortable, and I’m certain there is a valid reason for you keeping such a name secret.”

 Patton could barely believe it. Logan was actually respecting his wishes and basically completely ignoring his slip up? He had never heard of a human doing such a thing before. The borrower couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Thank you! I mean, that’s...that’s nice of you.”

“It’s really nothing.” Logan admitted sheepishly, but he looked a tad bit pleased at the praise all the same.

 Patton felt a bit more relaxed, which was surprising. But Logan seemed like such a nice human. Well, as of right now anyway. Patton hoped that didn’t change.

 “So...what do we do until the heat comes back?” Patton asked. 

“Well, how do you usually spend your free time?” Logan inquired. “Or rather, is there anything you would like to do?”

 Now the human was asking him? This whole situation just got weirder and weirder. “Well, uh, I usually maybe go for a walk or something.” Or hang out with Roman but he wasn’t about to reveal another borrower to this human. “But...it’s too cold for a walk.” Patton brought the blankets closer to him to further his point.

“Indeed.” A sudden thought occurred to Logan. “Patton, have you ever met a human before?”

 Patton shook his head. “Humans...aren’t supposed to know we exist.” Patton admitted, looking down a bit.

Logan’s first instinct was to ask ‘why’ but after a moment of consideration he understood. “I suppose we would be considered a major threat to you.” He murmured. The idea was personally unsettling but logically sound.

 “Y-Yeah…” Was all Patton could say about that. He didn’t even want to think about all the horror stories he had heard about all the things humans had done to his kind. It was why he was so surprised that Logan wasn’t yet acting like that.

“Well that may be the case, I want to assure you that I personally mean you no harm.” Logan said sincerely.

 Patton nodded after a moment of hesitation. “O-Okay.” He hoped he could believe Logan was being honest about that.

Logan glanced back at his desk, his mind nagging him to continue working but his heart wanting to continue talking to Patton. “Do you mind if I work on homework while we talk?”

 “Uh, sure!” Patton said, before curiosity took him over. “...What’s homework?”

“Oh! Ah, well,” Logan struggled to explain it as he gathered his materials, “do you know what school is?”

 “Sort of?” Patton said, thinking for a moment. “I know it’s a place that humans go to for a few hours a day. And they...learn things?” They always seemed to come home with new knowledge anyway.

“Yes.” Logan nodded. “See, at school you are taught a variety of subjects, and when you come home, homework is a series of exercises designed to make the material stay in your brain.”

 “Ooohhh.” Patton said, understanding a bit more. “That makes sense, I guess.” It was nice to see he was right about what school was too. 

 “Then yeah! Don’t let me stop you from learning.”

Logan nodded and began to solve a few math problems, pausing when he was stumped after quite a few minutes.

“Did you receive any form of education, Patton?” Logan asked.

 Patton thought for a moment, not having expected the question. “...My parents taught me how to read a little but that’s about it.” Patton shrugged.

“Oh.” Logan glanced up at him. “How?”

 “They would bring back small packages or small pieces of paper with writing on them.” Patton explained.

“I see.” Logan rubbed his thumb softly against the pages of his textbook. “Would you like to learn more?”

 “...You would teach me?” Patton asked, hardly believing it.

“Absolutely.” Logan scooted closer, looking eager. “I’m actually studying to be a teacher, so I would be honored to have such an opportunity.”

 “Um, okay, yeah! Let’s do it!” For some reason, Logan’s eagerness was contagious. And besides, Patton would be lying if he did said he wasn’t curious about all the things the humans learned about.