#pet perspective

“I do.” Logan said coldly, knowing he was meant to respond when addressed.

 Patton lit up when the tiny spoke. “And what would it be?” Patton asked again. He was loving this tiny already.

“I think it would be ill advised of me to share that information.” Logan responded, careful to avoid the ‘no’ word as he turned back to the human.

 Patton tilted his head. “Oh? And why is that?” He was happy to see the tiny talking but he did think it was weird that he didn’t want to say his name.

“Because then you might get the notion to become attached.” Logan explained. 

 Patton chuckled. “Well, it’s a little too late for that.”

Logan frowned, beginning to feel a sinking feeling in his chest. “...oh?”

 “Yep! I think I’ve decided.” Patton smiled down at the tiny. “I’ll be right back.” And with that, Patton went to go grab an employee to help get his tiny.

Logan paled, looking around at the rest of the tinies within his view, all looking as shocked as he felt. No one ever expected Logan to be sold, and frankly after spending so long in the security of these walls Logan found himself quite nervous to leave.

 Patton came back and pointed to Logan. “I’ll take this little guy, please.” The employee gave him a weird look but didn’t say anything. He just shrugged and opened the case to scoop Logan out and put him in a smaller cage.

“No-” Logan tried to protest, but the moment the word left his lips a slight electric shock was sent through his veins, causing him to be compliant as the worker wrapped his grimy hands around Logan’s form.

 Once Logan was in the cage and it was closed, the employee handed him over to Patton, who took it carefully. He grinned. “Thank you!” The employee nodded and let him to the register to pay. Patton set the cage down for a moment in order to take out his credit card. As soon as the transaction went through he looked down at the tiny. “You are now officially mine!” Patton said excitedly, picking up the cage and holding it close to his chest.

Logan shuddered at the implication. To be merchandise on display was degrading enough, but to be owned?

 Patton walked out to his car, putting the cage in the passenger seat while he buckled up. “Oh this is gonna be great! We’re going to have a lot of fun together!”

“Doubtful.” Logan muttered. This human seemed overwhelmingly bubbly, and Logan began to wonder if his role would be more equivalent to a toy than a pet.

 As Patton pulled out of the parking lot, he couldn’t help but wonder how Virgil’s search was going.

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 Virgil entered the shelter with a small sigh. Maybe he should have just gone with Patton but, then again, the whole reason he chose the shelter was because he didn’t want some frilly, trained tiny or whatever. That wasn’t his thing. And the only place he would find one of those was here. At the tiny shelter.

 A worker led him into the back and Virgil started walking, scanning each tiny nervously. Geez, there were a lot more than he thought. How was he supposed to choose?

Roman, unlike most tinies was always eager to greet humans. He sized them up, hoping to find the ideal match. Not that Roman wanted to be owned, oh no- Roman was a free spirit. He longed to one day return to his borrower roots. That’s why he needed an easy target. Roman had actually been nearly successful on several occasions, but always after sneaking away from his owners something would go amiss and Roman would end up back here. No matter. Sooner or later, Roman knew he could succeed.

However, that would only be possible with a human who was negligent and easily manipulated. Looking at the emo nightmare that had just walked in, Roman could tell from the way his eyes shifted that he was neither.

 Virgil’s eyes wandered over to a strange looking tiny. He seemed to be wearing some sort of prince outfit, probably from a doll. He raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?” Roman scoffed. How dare the human judge him when he was dressed like that. “Move along, Jack Skellington.” Roman advised, waving him off.

 Virgil blinked, eyes going wide. “What did you just call me?” He asked, coming right up to the little cage the tiny was in.

“Jack Skellington.” Roman repeated, unafraid. “Because you look like a halloween nightmare spirit come to life.”

 Virgil stared at him for a moment before snorting. “Well, princey, you sure are creative.”

“I try.” Roman preened a bit, always grateful for a compliment before he remembered that he was meant to drive this human away. Curse his everlasting charm.

“But seriously, hit the road, Jack.” Roman pointed down the aisleway.

 Virgil smirked, leaning against the wall. “It’s Virgil, actually.” Virgil said. “And what are you gonna do about it if I don’t?”

“Ah…” Roman hadn’t considered that. “Well, I may not be able to make you leave, but I’m certainly not going anywhere with the likes of you so you might as well keep your hopes down.”

 Virgil raised an eyebrow. “You act like you have a say on whether or not I bring you home with me.” Virgil chuckled. “How cute.”

“What- you don’t want a borrower like me.” Roman sputtered, desperately trying to make himself sound unlikeable. “I’m a rebel, a firecracker. There’s a reason guys like me end up in the shelter, you know.”

 “I know you're trying to make yourself undesirable.” Virgil said. “But unfortunately, you just listed everything I was looking for in a tiny. Why do you think I came to the shelter in the first place?”

“D-did I say rebel?” Roman let out an awkward laugh. “I meant obedient! Well-mannered, quiet as a mouse even.”

 “Uh huh. Sorry, Princey, but I think I made my decision.” Virgil shrugged and walked off towards an employee.

“HEY!” Roman ran up to the front of the glass, pounding on it angrily. “YOU GET BACK HERE AND UN-LIKE ME RIGHT NOW!”

 Virgil did return, but he was not alone. An employee was there to happily maneuver the little cage out of its spot and hand it over to Virgil. Virgil raised the cage to his eyes, smirking. “Too late. We’re definitely gonna have some fun together.”

“I disagree wholeheartedly.” Roman crossed his arms, glaring defiantly back at his newest owner.

 “Yeah, we’ll see.” Virgil paid for Roman and then got into his car. Heading home. He wondered if Patton was already done with his little errand but that question was answered for him when he saw his car in their driveway. 

 “Looks like you get to meet my roommate today.” And his new pet. He wondered what kind of tiny Patton got.

“Oh, yippee. I’m so thrilled.” All of this Roman said with a deadpan expression, sulking at the bottom of his cage.

 “Don’t be like that. Besides, you’ll have a little friend too.” Virgil revealed, taking the cage and getting out of the car.

“What?” Roman perked up slightly at that. Another borrower could act as his partner in crime, making it twice as easy to escape. Although, Roman quickly dashed that hope as soon as he caught sight of the borrower in the other enclosure. It was trained, still collared up and everything. There was no way the humans would let such a precious pet out of their sight for more than a second.

 Patton perked up as he saw Virgil come home. “Virgil!” His eyes wandered to the cage. “You got one!”

 Virgil smirked. “Yep and I see you did too.” Virgil looked to the tiny still in it’s cage, putting his tiny’s cage next to it.

Logan looked over, eyes wide as he took in the appearance of his fellow borrower. He offered a wave of greeting, but the princely figure just scoffed and turned away from him.

 “Hey,” Virgil said, noticing this. “Princey, play nice.”

 Patton blinked. “Princey?” 

 Virgil looked at Patton. “Oh, it’s just a nickname. Because of his outfit.” He motioned to it. “He hasn’t told me his name yet. What about yours?”

 “Oh. Uh, not yet but I just got home so I haven’t really gotten the chance to talk to him.” Patton spoke.

“I still think providing my name is unnecessary.” Logan spoke up, his voice quiet in the presence of two humans.

“Hey look, we agree on something.” Roman smirked. Perhaps this other borrower was alright.

 “Well, we have to call you something.” Patton said with a small frown. “Wouldn’t you rather us call you by your own name?”

 Virgil shrugged. “Hey, if you want to be difficult, I’ll just keep calling you princey.”

“Well joke’s on you, because I happen to like that nickname.” Roman stuck out his tongue. 

 “Oh darn, guess I should come up with something else, then.” Virgil smirked. Patton chuckled at the two of them, seeing that they really were a good fit. He picked up Logan’s cage.

 “I’m gonna head to my room to bond with this little guy.” Patton announced and Virgil nodded. He thought for a moment, before picking up Roman’s cage again.

 “I think I’ll do the same.” He said.

“Oh, goodie.” Roman twirled his finger with an unamused expression.

Meanwhile, Logan was a bit more nervous in his reaction. What exactly did ‘bonding’ entail? Unlike Roman, who had experienced this song and dance before, Logan was brand new to the pet world and was not a fan of the uncertainties.

 Patton brought Logan to his room, setting the cage down on the desk and sitting down. He sent the tiny a comforting smile and he opened the door of the cage. “Come on out, little guy, I bet you feel all cooped up in there huh?”

“I have adequate leg room.” Logan shifted nervously on his feet, hesitant to come out. He did not like to be grabbed, but in a new environment Logan was unsure how to avoid such an outcome. Perhaps it was inevitable.

 Patton’s smile turned softer. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be nervous. Besides, it’s good to stretch your legs a little.” And Patton wanted to get a better look at him.

Logan supposed he would rather have the choice to walk himself, and knew that one way or another if the human wanted him out Logan would soon be leaving this cage. So, with hesitance, Logan stepped out onto the desk.

 Patton grinned. “There we go!” Patton looked the tiny over, eyes focusing on his neck. Patton blinked as he finally took notice of the thing, lifting his hand to touch it. “Oh! You already have a collar.” He smiled at the tiny. “Well, at least we don’t have to buy you a new one now.” 

Logan touched at it absent-mindedly with a scowl. “I think this collar is unnecessary.”

 “I think they’re pretty handy.” Patton said. “That way if you ever get lost, people know who to contact! Although, I’ll have to get a new tag for it. With all my information on it.” They could do that next time they went shopping. Which he was hoping to do with Virgil tomorrow anyway.

Logan wrinkled the thought of his bane of existence now serving a duel purpose of keeping him tied to a human owner as well. 

 “So! Can you tell me your name now?” Patton asked with a smile.

“I could.” Logan said carefully, watching the human for a reaction.

 “Great! Then what is it?” Patton asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

“It seems you would benefit greatly from learning my name.” Logan observed. “What motivation do I have to be inclined to share?”

 Patton frowned in confusion. “Wouldn’t it be nice to be called by your name?” 

“I suppose, but at this point it feels like I will be submitting my only leverage.” Logan was surprised to find himself admitting this aloud to a human.

 Patton’s eyebrows furrowed. “Your...leverage? Well, why would you need leverage?” His tiny sure was confusing.

“To gain a sense of control, as well as to possibly help manifest an understanding.” Logan explained. “Perhaps my name can be exchanged for a policy decision regarding how I am treated.”

 Patton blinked. “How you’re-oh kiddo, you don’t have to worry!” Now Patton understood. He felt sad that his little pet even thought that of him for a second but now he’ll set the record straight.

 “I promise, I’m not going to hurt you or anything. I’ve never been one to believe in those types of punishment. It’s just cruel, ya know?” Patton said.

“I certainly agree.” Logan gave Patton a suspicious look, trying to gauge if the human was telling the truth. It would certainly be foolhardy to trust an individual so easily. “Regardless, I can guarantee an issue will arise where we do not see eye to eye. For example, I am generally against the entrapment of borrowers, while you clearly view the issue in an abysmally positive light.”

 Patton blinked. “Uh, what?” His borrower was using a lot of big words that Patton wasn’t sure about. What did abysmally mean? 

“I think I should be free, and you think I should be in a cage.” Logan deadpanned, gesturing back to the enclosure.

 “Well...of course, kiddo.” Patton gave him a small, kind of confused, smile. “You’re domesticated. And it’s been proven that a borrowers life is longer than ever when they’re with a human.”

Logan looked to the side. Why could humans not comprehend that a longer live was not necessarily a better life? “Regardless, the idea of being another person’s belonging is rather distasteful.”

 Patton frowned. “I’m sorry kiddo, I don’t know what to yell ya.” He smiled. “But I can promise that I’ll take great care of you. We’ll be a small, happy family!”

“Very well then.” Logan sighed. It was indeed the way of the world, whether Logan enjoyed it or not. At least this human seemed malleable enough, and Logan might even be able to form a tolerable existence here for the time being.

 “Great!” Patton said, clapping his hands together. “Does that mean you’ll tell me your name now?” He asked, putting on the puppy dog eyes.

“N-ah, later.” Logan cringed, quickly changing his answer from ‘no’ as the collar gave a warning buzz.

 Patton pouted. “Pleeeeeeaaaaaase.” He wanted to know his pet’s name!

Logan quite literally could not say no to that face. “What do you intend to do if my name remains unshared?” Logan asked, curious.

 “Be sad.” Patton admitted. “But, I mean, I don’t know. I guess I would call you kiddo until the meantime? Little buddy? Things like that?”

Logan’s lip curled at the juvenile suggestions. 

 “You really aren’t going to tell me your name?” Patton asked, looking deflated.

Logan paused, considering the consequences of not sharing this piece of information. Finding the odds to be in his favor, Logan shook his head.

 “Oh.” Patton looked down. “Well, that’s fine. I get it. You’re in a new place and need to get used to everything. I just, I do need your name by tomorrow so we can get your new collar tag, okay?”

“Perhaps I wish to remain untagged.” Logan stuck out his nose defiantly.

 “Well, that’s just not safe. What if you got lost? I’d never find you again.” Patton said, shaking his head. He then stood up suddenly. “Alright, well, I’ll let you rest for a little bit while I go make up some dinner, okay?” 

Logan jumped, so startled by the human rising to his full height that he could only nod.

 Patton smiled and lifted his hand to gently nudge the borrower back towards the cage.

Logan quickly shied away from the touch, scurrying back into his enclosure. He certainly preferred his own two feet to being grabbed.

“...crap.” Roman cursed, dashing over the tree root and towards the brambles. He knew he had no hope of outrunning a cat, but the coverage slowed the beast down long enough that he might have a change. The creature kept meowling incessantly, swiping its paws into the bush of his most recent hiding place and breaking off some of the branches.

“Go away, you furball!” Roman screeched, dodging out of the way just in time as the claws came for him again. At this rate the whole neighborhood would be woken up. Why couldn’t Kitty of Hell just give up the chase? Time dragged on, Roman’s adrenaline soon beginning to fade as he sluggishly repeated his actions, his dodges getting slower. How long had they been at this game of cat and borrower? Minutes? Hours? It was hard to tell; all Roman knew, was that unless something changed soon, he very well might lose this time. 

Lost in his thoughts, Roman was too slow and felt a sudden agonizing sensation rip through his right half as those wretched claws cut his arm and side. He yelled, shouting off every borrower curse he knew in the feline’s face, adrenaline spiked back up and he pressed himself further into the brambles that only irritated his wounds further.

 The sound of faint shout caught a man’s attention and he shone his phone light near the base of a tree. It was there he saw a cat, eagerly pawing at something. As a few words reached the man’s ears, he could only assume the cat was after an escaped borrower. He had come across a few in his time. Especially since he was one to take nightly walks like this.

 He shooed away the cat before kneeling down and using his phone to see if it was in fact a borrower or not.

Roman tensed, raising a hand to block out the light and noticing the human peering down at him. The borrower groaned, knowing there was no use running in this state but still feeling absolutely pathetic. He had only been gone a number of hours and was already caught again because of a stupid alley cat.

 “Well, how did a little thing like you get all the way out here?” The man spoke, reaching out and grabbing the borrower in a gentle fist. He noticed the collar right away. “And looks like someone might be missing you.”

Roman just glared at him, hating how he knew that might even be true. No, no it wasn’t… Virgil would have noticed he was missing by now. He was probably furious with him and never wanted to see Roman again.

 “Welp, let’s get you to the shelter so they can contact your owner.” The man said. Technically, the shelter wasn’t open but there was always someone there to take any found borrowers. The man entered and handed the borrower over before tipping his hat and leaving. The woman at the front looked the borrower over, looking closely at the collar and putting it in her notes to call it in the morning.

 “Well, looks like you got into quite the fight.” The woman mused, noticing the injuries.

“It was a stray cat.” Roman grumbled, knowing the shelter’s process by now. Hopefully that mangy calico didn’t have any sort of disease.

 The woman hummed and took Roman into the back real quick. She wasn’t the resident vet so all she could do was wrap the injury up to the best of her ability. “There we go, hopefully that will last until morning.” She then took him into the main area and set him up in his own cage. “Alright, we’ll call your owner in the morning.” And with that, she left.

Roman sunk to the floor, putting his head between his knees. It didn’t matter. None of this mattered. He knew Virgil would react the same as the others, getting pissed over the phone and disowning him on the spot. Nobody wanted a borrower who slipped away, it was a breach of trust and too much trouble. More specifically, nobody wanted him.

Why hadn’t he just stayed put? Virgil had been right, Roman had a good thing going there. Even if it was just a few days, Roman had fun. Maybe it was because he got away so fast that Roman still held the human in such a positive light (humans were often nicer the first week or so), but somehow Roman knew that on the list of ‘owners he didn’t completely despise’ Virgil had somehow wriggled his way to the top.

Roman didn’t know how to feel about that, especially since he would likely never see Virgil again.

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 Patton came down the stairs bright and early to see Virgil passed out on the couch. He frowned and already knew what Virgil had been up to for most, if not all, night. He sighed and decided to let Virgil sleep as he went into the kitchen.

 However, that was when Virgil’s phone went off, jarring him awake. He blinked down at the unfamiliar number before answering it. “‘Lo?” He said, still tired.

 “Is this Virgil Storm?” The voice asked.

 “Yeah, this is him. What’s this about?” If this was another scam thing…

 “I am Holly Beckett of the Borrower Shelter here in town and a borrower by the name of Roman was just dropped off here last night.” Virgil shot up, suddenly wide awake.

 “You have Roman?” As soon as he got the confirmation, he was already putting on his shoes. “I’ll be right there!” He exclaimed, wasting no time as he hung up and grabbed his keys.

 Patton, hearing Virgil yell, had come out of the kitchen. “Roman was found?”

 Virgil nodded. “I’ll be back.” He said before rushing out the door.

 Virgil burst through the shelter door, going up to the front desk as he panted. “I’m...Virgil Storm. I’m here for Roman.” He said through breaths.

 “Of course, he’s in there in cage A7.” She handed him the keys and Virgil took them before going into the room. His eyes landed on the cage-and Roman-almost immediately.

 “Roman!”

Roman jolted, painfully torn from his existential musing by a very familiar voice. He blinked, looking up and trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Virgil was here? 

But… oh god, this was a horrible thing, right? Roman had never had to face the consequences of his actions before. Virgil must be furious with him if he came all this way. Was he going to beat him up or something? Would the shelter let him do that? Probably, if he hadn’t been officially disowned yet. In his fear Roman scooted back, clutching the traitorous tag that had gotten him into this mess. It was always better on the times when he was recaptured after he had removed the collar.

 “Oh my gosh, you’re here! You’re okay.” Virgil fiddled with the lock before opening the door and gently grabbing Roman. He briefly held him to his chest, just taking a moment to calm his nerves and tell himself that Roman is okay. He’s here and he’s safe.

Roman let out a tense gasp of air, cringing as his injuries were jostled. His mind felt like it was short-circuiting, trying to figure out just what game Virgil was playing. Was he acting nice for the shelter workers? Was… was he going to actually take Roman back?

Oh, Roman was definitely in trouble.

 Virgil pulled Roman away, looking him over. His eyes widened when he got a good look at the mess of bandages. “What happened?” He asked softly, hovering a finger over it.

Roman grimaced. Great- now Virgil was going to make fun of him for not being able to take on a cat of all things. Cats were quite a formidable foe, but humans often saw them as cute little furballs rather than the demons Roman knew.

“A...cat found me first.” Roman was hesitant to explain, confused about how soft Virgil’s concern was; the shelter workers weren’t going to hear him at that volume.

 Virgil’s eyes widened. “A cat.” Virgil hissed out. That wasn’t good, especially if it had been a stray. He probably needed to set up an appointment with a vet…

 “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that. Get you properly bandaged and looked at. But first, we’re going home, okay?” Virgil said, voice still gentle. But as his panic was leaving him, a new emotion was growing bigger. Betrayal. Roman had lied after all...and Virgil was a bit upset over it.

 But he could deal with that later. Right now, he just wanted to focus on getting Roman home.

“Seriously?” Roman said incredulously, a wave of surprise and fear overcoming him all at once. This had never happened before. Roman didn’t have a plan for this, and that made him very, very nervous.

 Virgil looked down at Roman and remembered back to what he had been told. “I told you Roman. The cycle ends here, with me. We’re going home.” And having a nice, long talk, Virgil thought as he started out of the shelter, nodding at the woman in the front before he left.

Roman felt such conflicting feelings inside his chest, his face turning ashen. There was a small spark of something positive in him, a little light beam that couldn’t help but be amazed that Virgil had told the truth. Virgil wanted him…. Of course, the fact that Virgil most likely wanted him back now so that Virgil could kill him was putting a bit of a damper on Roman’s revelation. 

What would Virgil do? Take away his things? Make him play games the way he loathed? Toss him around and taunt him about all the secrets he had so foolishly spilled? How was he ever going to escape again? Virgil would certainly become the world’s strictest owner, keeping Roman on a short leash. Oh geez, what if he really did get a leash? Roman hated those more than he hated collars because they put a direct limit on his freedom. 

And then, suppose Roman did get free. The second he ended up back at the shelter, Virgil would be there to pick him up and punish him again. Over and over. He knew now that Virgil was just as stubborn as himself, and though the cycle of new owners might have ended… a new cycle might be beginning.

 Virgil was silent the rest of the way home, holding Roman against his chest. He pushed the door open and noticed Patton and Logan sat down eating breakfast. Patton perked up when he saw Roman in Virgil’s hands. “Oh Roman! I’m so glad you’re okay.” Patton said, smiling softly.

 “For the most part.” Virgil said. “He got a little roughed up by a cat before he was found but he’ll be fine.” He explained. Patton’s eyes widened.

 “Oh, you poor kiddo…” He couldn’t imagine how terrifying that must have been.

Logan felt his back muscles tense, observing the way Roman’s eyes darted around similar to a caged animal. It was certainly apparent Roman was not happy to be here, despite the fact that leaving seemed to have resulted in injury.

 “Yeah.” Virgil agreed. “I’m gonna go upstairs.” He looked down and noticed the full breakfast Patton had made. He bit his lip. “Uh, could you-”

 “I’ll save you two some, don’t worry.” Patton grinned and Virgil sent him a grateful one in return.

 “Thanks Pat.” And with that, he walked up the stairs. He stopped by the bathroom to grab the first aid kit and then to his room. He shut the door behind him before gently setting Roman down.

 “Alright, first things first.” Virgil opened up the kit. “Let’s fix up that wound a bit better.”

“I- it’s fine.” Roman lied, playing with the edge of the bandage.

 “Come on, Roman.” Virgil sighed. He cut up a piece of gauze and took out the lotion. “We need to make sure it doesn’t get infected.”

“Pretty sure if it’s going to be infected, it already is.” Roman almost attempted humor. “Cat claws aren’t exactly sanitary.”

 Virgil frowned. “We’ll have to schedule a vet visit then.” He said more to himself. He reached forward and gently started undoing the bandages already around Roman.

Roman shuddered. A vet appointment? He loathed the vet. It was always so demeaning, with the veterinarians just forcing him to do things instead of asking him to move himself. And whenever something was wrong the humans would just discuss it over his head like he wasn’t even there, not letting Roman have a say in his own health.

 Virgil discarded the old bandages before placing a dab of the ointment on his finger. “Okay, this might sting a little.” He warned before gently applying it to Roman’s side.

“Ow!” Roman jerked away from the touch with a hiss. “You said a little.”

 Virgil winced. “Sorry, sorry but I’ve gotten rub this in.” He said, doing just that. “There, now just gotta bandage you back up.” He took the gauze he cut up and started to wrap it around Roman.

Roman expected the bandages to be pulled taunt, a clear indicator of Virgil’s wrath. He sucked in his breath, preparing, and was surprised when the bandages were applied almost delicately. Clearly, whatever Virgil wanted with him, Roman still had to be in good health. Not exactly the brightest of thoughts.

 “All done.” Virgil said, taking his hands away. The bandages stayed in place and he then busied himself with putting everything away and closing the first aid kit. 

 He turned to look at Roman, a mixture of feelings coming up now that he was no longer distracted. He took in a deep breath. “Roman...we need to talk about this.”

Uh oh. Roman shifted on his feet, trying to decide if it was better or worse to look Virgil in the eye. He felt like a coward when he looked away so Roman forced himself to meet Virgil’s gaze, deciding that this was definitely worse. He tried to make out what was happening in the human’s head, but the eyes gave no hints.

 “I just...I don’t understand. I-I thought we were bonding. Having fun. Was that all just an act? Were you just lying to me? Was everything you told me a lie?” Virgil asked, his feelings rising with each question until he was pulling at his hair as he desperately looked at Roman for the answers.

“No!” Roman shrunk in on himself, feeling scared and guilty and confused. “No, I assure you, I was not lying. Wait, that’s a lie, because I was lying about the promising to not escape...obviously.”

 Well, Virgil was glad that everything else was true, like Roman’s past. But he still had questions. “...Why? I thought we were doing better. I thought…” Virgil ran a hand through his hair. “I thought we were getting along.”

“Well, ah, we… were, I suppose.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “In a way, at least. I was having fun, I’ll admit.”

 “Then why did you still escape.” Virgil asked softly. “I mean, do you know how worried I was! I got maybe an hour of sleep last night because I spend the whole night looking for you!” Virgil exclaimed a bit louder than he probably should have this close to the borrower.

Roman frowned, confused by this new piece of information. He had definitely escaped too early, then, if Virgil was so concerned. Roman hadn’t let the appeal of a new borrower wear off. 

“I told you, I don’t want a ‘not-so-bad’ experience.” Roman huffed, crossing his arms and trying to ignore the pit in his stomach.

 “Well then tell me what I can do to make it great. Tell me how I can be better. I want you to be happy here, Roman. I...I want you to like me.” Virgil admitted, looking away. 

“I know!” Roman snapped, channeling all his confusing emotions into anger as he watched Virgil mope. This, at least, felt familiar. “I know you do, I get it, you’re one of the rare humans who actually cares about what I think, but you still don’t care about anything that matters! I don’t care who it’s with, I don’t want to be caged!” 

Roman grabbed at the tag of his collar, frustrated tears coming to his eyes. “I don’t want to be collared! I don’t want to be owned! I’m my own person with my own life and I’m sick and tired of humans making my decisions for me for your own selfish wants.”

 Virgil flinched back, looking back at Roman with wide eyes. He felt his heart beat fast as he furrowed his eyebrows and took in everything that Roman said. His words struck a chord in him and Virgil realized that...maybe he had known all along? And he had just ignored it?

 Virgil didn’t know what was worse.

 “Roman...I…” His voice trailed off. He had no idea what to say to something like that. “I...didn’t know…” Virgil winced. Yeah, that was the absolute wrong thing to say.

“Stop it.” Roman scowled, gesturing wildly to all of Virgil. “Stop...that. Why are you sulking? Stop playing around. I know you must be absolutely furious with me, so- so stop playing the victim and just get mad already.”

 Now Virgil was even more confused. “Roman...I’m not mad. I won’t lie and say I’m not upset but-but…” Virgil’s eyes widened as he seemed to realize what Roman was thinking. “Roman, I’m not going to punish you.”

“What?” Roman squinted, his heart still racing and his stomach still feeling like a rock. What was happening? Roman didn’t understand why he was feeling all these conflicting emotions, and it only made him more frustrated. Despite not wanting to be punished, Roman couldn’t help but press further. “Why not? Why am I… why’d you take me back, then?”

 Virgil sighed. “Because I really do want you Roman. I want you to have a good life and I don’t trust anyone else to give it to you. What? Even after everything I said before, you still thought I wouldn’t come back for you?”

Roman took a shuddering breath, cautiously wrapping his arms around his meager frame. “I… I mean, you would have said anything to calm me down. I haven’t known you for long, and I myself was lying about running. I had no reason to trust you, and it’s easy to make those claims. It’s another thing to actually act on them.”

 “I...I guess you do have a good point.” Virgil furrowed his brows again, deep in thought. “I suppose we...did just meet each other, huh? And, I’ve been acting like all this is normal and everything when it really isn’t…” Virgil let out a long sigh.

“Wait, like what’s all normal?” Roman’s face scrunched up in confusion.

 “This. You, being here. Living here. Being...trapped here.” Virgil looked down and shifted in his seat. “Having to act like someone you aren’t and hide your feelings because you’re scared something will happen to you…” He was starting to understand where Roman was coming from.

Roman froze, so caught off guard that he could only utter a single word. “...what?”

 Virgil looked at Roman sadly. “You’re right. You didn’t know me before you were forced to live here. Just like with all your other...owners. You’ve been forced to listen to me because I’m so much bigger than you and the world we live in deemed you...deemed you as pets.” He looked Roman over, his eyes catching the collar around Roman’s neck and he barked out a humorless laugh. “I even collared you...like some animal…”

“Yes?” Roman glanced down at the collar, before raising an eyebrow at Virgil. Had the human gone mad? He seemed to be teetering on the edge of hysterical. “Are you gloating or something?”

 Virgil shook his head. “No...just having a mental breakdown, but it’s fine. I think I needed this.” He took in a deep breath. “Roman...do you want me to take the collar off of you?” He offered.

“Why?” Roman asked, looking the human up and down with a wary eye. For one, Roman was still concerned for Virgil’s mental state. But for another, Roman didn’t particularly like the idea of being taunted with freedom when he knew the collar would just come back on.

 Virgil frowned in thought. “Well...then you can’t watch the movie with us.” He threatened. 

“Oh nooooo, the torture.” Roman rolled his eyes, still folding clothes at his own pace.

 “...Okay, I realize now that that isn’t a good punishment.” Besides, Patton would be upset if not everyone was participating in movie night. “Just, get it done fast will you?” He sighed and looked down at all the clothes, not believing he actually bought Roman all of that. 

 His eyes widened though when he saw a familiar piece of clothing. He reached over and grabbed it, smirking when he saw exactly what it was. “Well, well, well, now how did this get in here?”

...whoops.

“Why’d you sneak that back in?” Roman asked, feigning ignorance as he glanced over at the denim jacket. Now he felt the need to speed up, keeping his hands occupied.

 “I didn’t sneak anything in. What? You think I wanted to buy you more clothes.” Virgil shook his head and smirked down at the tiny. “No, I think someone lied about how much they actually liked it.”

“Oh please, as if you could possibly understand my style.” Roman scoffed. “No, it just got mixed up in the wrong pile.”

 Virgil looked at him before shrugging. “Alright, I guess you won’t mind if I take it back then.” Virgil said.

“No wait.” Roman said hastily. “I didn’t say that.”

 “Oh?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. “What’s the point in keeping it if you don’t even want it though?”

“Okay, fine, you got me.” Roman groaned. “It’s… nice.”

 “I knew it.” Virgil put it back in the pile. “And you said I had no taste.” He said, smug.

“Oh please, you picked it out as a joke.” Roman rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t know taste if it hit you in the face.”

 “Eh, you’re probably right.” Virgil shrugged but the insult didn’t bother him. He had his own style and that was good enough for him.

 Suddenly, Virgil’s door opened up, revealing Patton. “Hey guys! Lunch is ready!” He said with a grin.

 Virgil returned it. “Thanks Pat, we’ll be right there.” Patton nodded and left to go get Logan. Virgil turned his attention back to Roman.

 “Come on, Princey, you can finish later, I guess.” He held his hand out.

“Oh come now, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.” Roman teased, continuing to fold. “I know how much you wanted this done first, I can wait.”

 “Roman, come on, I’m hungry and I’m sure you are too.” Virgil said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, fine, Antsy Pantsy.” Roman abandoned his task, climbing on.

 Virgil smiled and stood up, heading out of his room and down the stairs. When he made it to the kitchen, he saw Patton already there with the old carrier. Logan must have not wanted to get on his hand again.

 Virgil sat down and set Roman down on the table and Patton served them all some mac and cheese. “Here you guys go!”

“Excellent!” Roman grinned, pleased with the borrower utensils available to him as he dug into his own bowl eagerly. 

 “And here you go, Logan.” Patton said as he set the bowl down before sitting down himself with his own portion.

Logan nodded in thanks, using his silverware to take a cautious bite.

 “So!” Patton said, once he swallowed a few bites. “What movie should we watch tonight?”

 Virgil hummed in thought as he chewed. “Eh, I’m good with anything. And I know you’ve been wanting to watch that one movie…” Virgil’s lips twitched up and Patton grinned sheepishly.

 “Yeah...well alright then! We can watch that one then!”

“I do believe I have missed a part of this conversation.” Logan spoke up, looking between the humans like it was a tennis match. “To what film are you referring?”

 “Oh! It’s called ‘Time in the Sun’. It’s about a couple who goes back to where they met for the summer to rekindle their love!” Patton explained excitedly.

 “It’s not usually my type of movie but I’m willing to watch it for Pat.” Virgil said and Patton grinned.

 “Aw, thanks kiddo!”

Logan wrinkled his nose, not sounding particularly enthralled by the idea either.

“It sounds lovely, Pat.” Roman laid on the charm with a smile. Of course, it was disappointing to hear his human would likely be less distracted, but that never stopped Roman before.

 Both humans finished up and Patton stood up to go set the movie up. Virgil turned to look at the borrowers. “You guys done? I can take your bowls if you are.”

“No, but I’ll take more.” Roman said, holding out his empty bowl.

 “Oh, uh, okay.” Virgil took the bowl and brought it to the kitchen to fill it back up. He came back out and set it down gently in front of Roman. “There you go.”

 He turned to Logan. “What about you? Want seconds?”

Logan shook his head, holding out his own dishes. “I am all set, thank you.”

 Virgil nodded and took the dish just as Patton came back out. “Okay! Movie is all set, is everyone ready?”

 “Roman is still eating but he could eat out in the living room.” Virgil said and Patton nodded.

 “Sounds good. Logan?” He motioned toward the carrier.

Logan wordlessly got up, making his way into the carrier.

“Jmsh uh suc!” Roman’s words were muffled, scarfing down his food before leaning back with a slight burp. “Okay, now I’m done.”

“...gross.” Logan commented, giving the borrower a small look of disgust.

 Virgil chuckled and scooped Roman up as he dropped the dish in the sink. Patton grabbed the carrier and then both humans brought their borrowers into the living room. The movie already at the title screen. “This gonna be so good! Where do you want to sit, Lo-lo?” Patton asked.

Logan cringed slightly at the nickname. “My name is Logan, and my preference is irrelevant.”

“Aww, but it suits you so much better, Lo-lo~”. Roman teased, his voice a sing-song.

 “I think so too.” Virgil smirked and Patton sent him a small look.

 “Sorry Logan, I’ll try not to call you that.” Despite how cute the nickname was. “And in that case, how about on top of the couch? You should get the best view up there.”

“Satisfactory.” Logan nodded. 

 “Great!” Patton held up the carrier for Logan to get out and sit on the top of the couch.

 Virgil looked down at Roman. “Does that sound good for you too?” He asked, already lifting his hand to the top of the couch.

“Sounds perfect.” Roman agreed, steadily climbing up to sit on the same surface as Logan. This was ideal- being on the back of the couch meant being behind the humans, and if he played his cards right Roman could make an escape attempt without either knowing.

 Once Patton made sure everyone was settled, he pressed play on the movie and the opening credits started. There were maybe one or two fairly big actors in it but overall it was a new cast. As the opening scene began and played out, Patton grinned. “Oh! They have borrowers too!”

 Virgil chuckled. “Oh yeah, would you look at that.” It wasn’t uncommon to see borrowers in movies but still kind of surprising.

“...ah.” Roman cringed. The borrowers on screen were enslaved, just like they were. He shouldn’t have expected anything less, but a part of his pride still stung.

 The borrowers in the movie smiled as they were pet and held and seemed almost too happy. Not that the humans noticed that. “Oh cool, they’re taking the borrowers with them.” Virgil commented.

 “Oh, you know a vacation doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.” Patton said, looking at Virgil with a wide grin.

 “You might be right, Pat.” A vacation did sound nice.

Roman rolled his eyes. As if he’d want to go anywhere outside these walls if it meant he had to remain a pet. No thank you, Roman would be going on his own vacation- forever. Free to roam where he pleased and not serve some human master.

Escaping. Roman meant he was escaping.

The borrower waited, watching Patton and Virgil become enthralled in the movie. It would certainly be easy enough to climb down with how thick the fibers of this couch were. Roman gave a careful tug, easing himself over the back and beginning his descent. Unfortunately, Roman had forgotten one important variable.

“Where are you going?” Logan asked, curiously peering over the edge.

 At Logan’s voice, both humans turned around to see who he was talking to. Virgil’s eyes widened when he saw that Roman was gone and he quickly stood up on his knees to check behind the couch.

 And there Roman was, in the midst of climbing down the back of the couch. Frowning, Virgil reached out and grabbed Roman in a fist, bringing him back out into the light. “Roman, what the hell?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Roman instantly feigned ignorance, squirming in Virgil’s grip and wishing he could get his hands on that annoying little trained borrower. 

Meanwhile, Logan tensed, having never meant to get Roman in trouble. Spending his life in captivity meant Logan was ignorant to the ideals of wild borrowers, such as the possibility that there was a life out there that wasn’t dependent on a human’s care.

 “Well, looks like you’re staying right here for the rest of the movie.” Virgil said, setting Roman down on his leg as he leaned back. He kept his hand close, just in case Roman tried anything.

 Patton looked back at Logan. “Thanks for giving us a heads up, Logan.” He said, before turning back to the movie.

Logan ducked his head. Despite the praise, he felt far from proud. Logan felt ashamed he had let his curiosity get another of his kind in trouble. It seemed as though Virgil would not punish Roman, but still Logan did not envy his fellow borrower. The thought of constant contact with a strange human made that familiar chill run up Logan’s back. He did not have a problem with being touched, but rather the non-consensual aspect of it as well as the touch of strangers in particular put Logan quite on edge.

 They finished up the movie, Virgil making sure Roman didn’t leave his side the entire two hours. Once it was over, Virgil stretched. “Alright, I think I’m gonna hang out in my room for a bit. Let me know when dinner is done.” Virgil said and with a nod from Patton, Virgil headed back up to his room, Roman in hand.

 He placed Roman on the desk and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “This has to stop, you know.”

“No, I don’t.” Roman’s tone was serious, for once not dodging the issue as he crossed his arms as well.

 “Yes, you do.” Virgil glared. “Seriously, it’s like you don’t appreciate anything I’m doing for you. Do you see how much stuff I bought you? I didn’t have to do that. I also don’t have to listen to your wants but I do anyway because I care.” Virgil shook his head. “It makes no sense for you to try and escape.”

“I don’t care about any of that!” Roman snapped, realizing he had become too tightly wound after the incident with Logan. “I don’t care about trinkets and rewards and however else you try to glamour up a cage. I don’t care about anything but my own independence, and I certainly don’t care about you!”

 Virgil blinked, leaning back at the outburst before he glared. “Look. Independence for your kind is impossible. You need to stop thinking like your ancestors because the only thing you’ll get if you try and escape is either a one way ticket back to the shelter, death by some force of nature, or caught by another human and then you’re back at square one again.”

“That’s not true.” Roman stomped his foot. Just because all his previous attempts had ended that way didn’t mean freedom was impossible. It had to be… it just had to.

 “It is and now you’re acting like a little kid.” Virgil scowled, rolling his eyes. “You have a good thing going on here Roman. I wouldn’t try and do anything that would jeopardize that.”

“You’re not me.” Roman insisted, feeling frustration well up inside him. “You- you wouldn’t understand.”

 “...You’re right. I really don’t.” Virgil sighed, taking out his phone and turning his attention to it. “Just...finish putting your clothes away.”

“You’re not the boss of me.” Roman growled, but he got to work all the same, not wanting to test his luck. 

--------------------------------

 Patton held up the carrier again, waiting for Logan to get in and chatting as he did. “I just can’t understand why Roman keeps trying to escape.”

“Where is he trying to go?” Logan asked genuinely.

 “I’m not sure. There really isn’t anywhere for him to go. He’d just end up back in the shelter again.” Patton said, finding it confusing. He took the carrier with Logan in it back up to his room.

“It is possible that he misses the shelter.” Logan suggested.

 “Maybe…” Patton highly doubted it though. He placed the carrier on his desk and opened it for Logan to get out. 

Logan did so, waiting patiently on the desk for Patton’s next move.

 “Alright!” Patton moved the carrier out of the way and looked down at Logan with a smile. He thought for a moment, about what they could do. “Oh! So, since you’ve got some clean clothes now and you’re shower is all set up, did you want to get clean?”

“Yes, I suppose that would be ideal.” Logan agreed.

 “Great!” Patton tapped the place in front of him. “Then come over here so I can take your collar off.”

Logan’s eyes widened so much that they were at risk of popping out of his head.

“You’d-” Logan had to pause, his lips chapped as he tried to articulate his quiet question. “You’d take my collar off?”

 Patton blinked. “Of course! I’m not going to make you take a shower with it on.” Patton chuckled.

Logan blinked. Logan knew that the collar would be perfectly fine underwater, having gotten it wet in several bathing sessions before, but he certainly wasn’t about to tell Patton that. The prospect of actually getting to remove the darned thing was far too tempting. Logan all but rushed over to the spot Patton indicated, trying to keep his hopes in check.

 Patton grinned at how cute Logan was being and reached up near the collar. It reacted to his DNA and unlatched from the back. Patton then gently took it off of Logan. “There we go!”

Logan let out a small gasp, shocked at how fully his lungs could expand. His hands flew up to rub against  his neck, where it felt raw and chaffed and indented but at least it was his.

 Patton set the collar off to the side. “Alright, Logan. Go ahead and take a shower. I’ll check up on you in about 20 minutes, okay?”

Logan nodded, eager to be left alone as he headed into his enclosure. 

 Patton pushed the button to lock it with a smile. He then thought for a moment before taking out his laptop and turning it on. Might as well get some work done while he waited for Logan.

Logan ran into the privacy of his own bathroom, running the water and drowning out the noise of the outside world. He quickly got undressed, cautiously scrubbing at his revealed skin. He winced beneath the warmth, turning down the temperature as he scraped away grime.

It was so strange being without his collar. It was almost like a part of himself had disappeared… a wicked, awful part that Logan never wanted to see again, but one he was glad to be free of nonetheless.

But was he free of it? There was only one way to know for sure. Logan took a deep breath, bracing himself.

“No.” He whispered.

Logan flinched on instinct, but when no accompanying shock came, his shoulders slowly lowered.

“No.” Logan repeated, a quiet secret to himself in the water. “No, no, I don’t like it, I hate it, no, bad, awful, not that, no-”

Logan’s words stayed quiet, making sure to never rise above the volume of the water as Logan’s rant began to move on from just the word ‘no.’ Unafraid to speak his mind, he told the shower walls all his secrets. Logan talked about how much he hated everything: the ownership, the cages, the collar. Logan went on quite a long rant about the collar, actually. He complained, groaning about the aches on his body and his poor abused neck. Logan growled, furious about all the changes in his life and how dare the humans treat his life with such flippancy. He was a person, a person who had everything ripped away from him and then his voice muted so he couldn’t even speak up despite knowing that for all the words he had Logan could not do a thing about any of it- 

 Virgil paused at the feeling. “Huh.” He had never held a borrower before. It was...interesting. He had intended to put Roman down but now he didn’t much feel like it. So he adjusted his grip instead and leaned back in his chair to look at him. “So, you gonna tell me your name now?”

“I don’t see why I should.” Roman glared back at him. He pressed his hands against the grip around his middle but didn’t struggle, knowing it was pointless.

 “How about because it’ll be annoying having to call you a number of other things, instead of your actual name?” Virgil said with a raised eyebrow.

“That sounds like a you problem, Virgil.” Roman smirked, for once glad to know a human’s name if only so he could flaunt it. 

 Virgil narrowed his eyes at the borrower before he suddenly got an idea. He reached over to his bag and pulled out the documents he had been given along with his new pet. He smirked down at the tiny and waved them around. “Well, either you tell me yourself or I just take a peek at this and get it myself.”

“Hey, that’s private!” Roman protested, knowing he had quite the file on hand after spending so much time in and out of the shelter. That folder contained a large collection of info on his past owners, escape attempts, personal records, and just a general rundown of what the shelter workers thought of him. It certainly wouldn’t help his escape plans if Virgil knew all his old ones.

 Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Well, maybe I won’t look at it if you gave me your name.” 

“How do I know you won’t look at it anyways?” Roman argued. “Then I’ll just look foolish.”

 Virgil looked from the borrower to the file before shrugging. “I’ll burn it. Right in front of you.”

Roman’s eyes widened in shock. “Seriously? Just for my name?”

 “Yeah, why not.” Virgil said with another shrug. He could always call the shelter for another file anyway if he wanted to. “So, we have a deal?”

Roman considered this. It was certainly worth a shot, considering one way or another Virgil was going to find out. Besides, at least this way he could see if the human kept his word.

“My name is Roman.” Roman revealed.

 “Finally.” Virgil sighed with relief. “Roman, huh? Cool.” It suited him. He looked at the file, welp, time to keep his end of the bargain. He set Roman down on the desk and grabbed a lighter he kept in his room. He lit the edge of it, watching as it caught fire.

Roman gasped, shocked when he actually watched the file go up in flames.

 Virgil threw it in his trash and stomped on it once it was halfway burnt. When the fire went out, he turned back to Roman. “There we go, all burnt. Just like I said.”

“I- wow, I did not think you would commit.” Roman admitted, looking impressed.

 “I would say I always commit to things, but I would be lying.” Virgil said. “Anyway, now that we have that out of the way…” Virgil reached out again and scooped Roman up once more.

“...now what?” Roman asked, nervous at how the human’s sentence had trailed off.

 Virgil tilted his head and smirked. He then proceeded to poke Roman in the side, gently.

Instantly Roman groaned, realizing this one was a teaser. He should have known.

 Virgil chuckled at that. “What?” He poked him again, this time on the other side. “Something wrong?”

“Yes, I get it, ha ha ha.” Roman instinctively flinched. “You’re a human who likes to assert his dominance by trying to poke a reaction out of me.”

 “Not so much that, I just find your reactions amusing.” Instead of poking him this time, he started petting his head.

“I’m glad my suffering brings you joy.” Roman made a pouty face, scrunching up his shoulders. “Must it be the hair?”

 “Now that you said that? Yes.” Virgil chuckled, messing it up even more before bringing his hand away. He was now going to make sure he messed with Roman’s hair every chance he got. 

“Rude!” Roman made an offended princely noise, reaching up to try and salvage his hair.

 Virgil let out another small chuckle, leaning back in the chair again. He hummed as he looked over Roman. “We’ll have to get you some new clothes once we go shopping tomorrow.” Virgil said, more to himself than Roman. “And a collar.” Virgil added.

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” Roman looked down at his outfit, particularly fond of this one. The collar was to be expected, as it always came with each new Owner. That didn’t make it any less humiliating of an accessory.

 “It’s just...not practical.” Virgil said. “And it was clearly made for a doll, which you aren’t.”

Roman winced, the notion of being a doll bringing up bad memories. This outfit had been the only thing of any worth to come out of that dark time.

“Well, I hardly see why practicality matters.” Roman shrugged, hesitant to part with them. “After all, it’s not like humans let us borrowers do much anyways.”

 “Maybe not, but like, those can’t be very warm. Or comfortable for that matter. We can get you some t-shirts, jeans, maybe a couple of jackets. That sort of thing.” Virgil listed off. It would be pretty expensive but him and Pat had been saving up for just this reason.

Roman had to admit, it did sound comfortable. Most of his old owners weren’t so willingly generous. He squinted. “What’s the catch?”

 Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Uh, just don’t rip them or anything?” He didn’t need to be buying Roman even more clothes so soon.

“Well of course I wouldn’t rip them.” Roman wasn’t stupid. Good borrower clothes were hard to come by, and every borrower knew to take good care of useful items. “But why are you buying me all that?” Humans were known to buy clothes for their borrowers to style them, and taking another look at Virgil he groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re going to turn me goth as well.”

 “Heh, trust me princey, you couldn’t pull this off.” Virgil chuckled. “Nah, I’ll just let you choose what you want. I’m not good at the whole clothes shopping thing anyway.” Virgil reached over and messed up Roman’s hair again.

Roman blinked, so surprised by this statement that for once he didn’t tell Virgil off for ruffling his hair. He had never gotten to choose clothing for himself before.

“Ah...well, in any case, I still want to keep this as well.” Roman declared, grabbing his sash firmly in one hand and using the other to idly fix his hair.

 Virgil sighed. “Fine. I won’t make you get rid of it.” Though Virgil didn’t understand why Roman wanted to keep it, he wouldn’t say anything. He set Roman back down on the desk. “Alright, I’m going to help Patton with dinner. So, back in you go.” Virgil said, motioning towards the cage.

“Yes yes, I’m going.” Roman waved him off, knowing his place as he stepped into the cage.

 Virgil smirked and closed the cage door before standing and stretching. “Be back soon.” He said, and then went down to the kitchen to see if Patton needed any help.

 He went down the stairs and noticed Patton seemed to already be halfway done with cooking. “Oh, whoops. Sorry Pat, I got distracted by Roman. I would have come to help you sooner.” 

 “It’s okay kiddo!” Patton said with a grin. Before blinking. “Wait, Roman? Oh! Did he tell you his name?” Patton asked and Virgil answered with a nod. “That’s great!”

 “Yeah, what about you? Did yours say his yet?” Patton deflated a little at the question and sighed as he turned back to stirring the pot. 

 “No, not yet. He said he won’t because something about leverage. I don’t really get it.” Patton admitted sadly. Virgil wrinkled his nose.

 “What? Well that’s stupid.” Virgil leaned against the counter. “You know, you could always check the file the pet shop had on him.”

 “I know...but I want him to tell me himself.” Patton stared down at the food. “If he doesn’t tell me by tomorrow, I’ll look though. Cause I need to put it on his collar.” Virgil nodded.

 “That sounds like a good plan. Anyway, what can I do to help?” Virgil asked and Patton thought for a moment. 

 “Um...oh! Can you set out the pet food? I almost forgot about that.” Good thing they had bought that before the actual borrowers. Virgil nodded and got to work putting them on paper plates, since they had yet to get anything else for their borrowers. Patton finished up their food and served it up.

 “I’m going to go get Roman.” Virgil said as he walked up the stairs but Patton wasn’t too far behind. 

 “I’ll get my borrower!” He said and then entered his room. “Hey kiddo! Dinner time!” He said and opened up the cage.

“I’m not hungry.” Logan tensed, not liking the lack of food before him and the open door. That could only mean one thing.

 “Come on kiddo, you gotta eat.” Patton reached in and wrapped his hand around the borrower’s middle, pulling him out.

Logan felt his limbs lock up, that overwhelming feeling of being touched once again dominating his senses. Logan loathed this sensation, but he could do nothing to tell the human off.

 “There we go.” Patton smiled, petting the borrower on the head.

Logan cringed, wanting so terribly to refuse the touch. But, Logan had to accept this- it was his life now, and a human could do as they pleased with a borrower.

 Patton headed downstairs, borrower in hand.

 Virgil walked into his own room and opened the cage, giving no warning as he grabbed Roman from within.

“Excuse you!” Roman huffed, giving a small grunt when he was lifted. “A little warning next time.”

 Virgil chuckled. “Sorry.” He said unapologetically. “But it’s dinner time.” Virgil started down the stairs.

“So I gathered.” Roman grumbled. “What are we having?” It better not be tiny feed.

 “Well, we’re having spaghetti.” Virgil answered and set Roman down on the table next to his food. “And you two are having tiny feed.” Virgil took a seat, as did Patton after he set Logan down next to his own portion.

 “Dig in you two!” Patton exclaimed.

Logan wrinkled his nose, disgusted at the grey slop that was recommended tiny feed. He thought one of the perks of getting bought was better food than the pet store, but if anything this looked worse.

“I am not hungry.” Logan repeated, turning up his nose.

“Nor am I.” Roman made a gagging sound effect. “Certainly not for that.”

 “What? But it’s good for you! It has all the nutrients a borrower needs.” Patton exclaimed.

 “Yeah and we paid good money for it.” Virgil added.

“It tastes disgusting.” Roman blanched, picking up a handful and watching it gloop to the plate. “You cannot honestly look at this and tell me it looks appetizing.”

 Virgil looked at his and scrunched up his nose in disgust. “Uh, no yeah, it looks horrible. I just thought borrowers had different tastes.”

“You thought incorrectly.” Logan informed him.

 “Oh come on, it can’t be that bad.” Patton said and then dipped his finger in it to give it a taste. He gagged almost immediately.

 “Whoa, you okay Pat?” Virgil asked and Patton nodded as he coughed out the taste. He drank some water.

 “...Let me get you guys some spaghetti.” Patton said, standing up to do just that. Virgil raised an eyebrow.

 “Wow, that bad huh?” Patton just nodded as he set the plates down and through the pet food out.

Roman grinned in his triumph, and Logan gave Roman a similar smile of gratitude, content the other borrower had managed to persuade the humans.

“Much better.” Roman inhaled a heavenly waft, coming closer and tearing off a chunk. 

Logan observed the way the humans were eating it. It seemed they possessed utensils that made the task easier. “Do you have any borrower utensils?” Logan requested.

 Both humans paused in their eating, looking at each other. “Uh, not yet, but that’s why we’re going shopping tomorrow.” Patton answered. “Why? Is it too hard to eat? I can make you something easier?”

 Virgil looked to Roman but he seemed perfectly fine in eating with his hands. He shrugged and went back to eating.

“It is a bit... unclean.” Logan admitted, watching Roman nearly spill on himself.

Roman didn’t seem to mind, used to having to make do. In fact, he rolled his eyes at the posh nature of a store-bought borrower. Typical.

“I’ll show you unclean.” Roman smirked, flinging the tip of his spaghetti noodle backwards so that some sauce went flying in Logan’s direction.

Logan yelped, caught off guard when some sauce hit him in the arm.

 “Whoa, hey! None of that now.” Patton said. He grabbed a napkin to help wipe the sauce up.

 Virgil, on the other hand, couldn’t help but chuckle. “Nice aim.”

 Patton glared at him. “Virgil! You aren’t supposed to be encouraging this kind of behavior.”

“Thank you.” Roman looked quite pleased with himself.

Logan glared at Roman but put his arm out, helping Patton reach to wipe away the sauce. Thankfully it had not gotten on his sleeve to leave a stain.

 Patton finished cleaning him up. “Would you rather have a sandwich? I can make you one, no trouble at all.”

 Virgil rolled his eyes, not understanding why the borrower couldn’t just eat.

“That would be satisfactory, yes.” Logan nodded.

“Ooh, satisfactory, that’s a ten dollar word.” Roman mocked, continuing to eat his fill. As if a sandwich was as good as a warm meal.

 “Roman, stop that.” Patton said, turning to make a sandwich.

 Virgil chuckled again. “No, Roman, keep going, this is great.” Patton turned to give a look towards Virgil again.“What exactly is your problem?” Logan asked, turning to frown at Roman. He had been under the impression their shared scenario should make them allies.

“I just think you’re being a bit picky.” Roman shrugged, lowering his voice and pretending to be nonchalant. “But I suppose you must be one of the brainwashed ones who wants a gilded cage and a silver spoon.”

“...hardly.” Logan retorted. “You lack any sufficient knowledge of me.”

 “Here we go!” Patton set down the tiny sized sandwich in front of his borrower. “That should be less messy for ya.”

“Thank you.” Logan remembered his manners, now eating his own meal.

 Virgil rolled his eyes but finished eating, putting his plate in the sink. “You done?” He asked Roman.

Roman nodded, looking down at his hands. “Do you have a napkin?”

“Imagine that, a flaw in your plan.” Logan snarked.

Roman glared at him, and considered using Logan as a napkin.

 “Uh, yeah, here.” Virgil grabbed one and handed it over to Roman.

 “We’ll try to get the two of you proper utensils tomorrow.” Patton said, knowing it was probably hard to eat with your hands.

“Excellent, many gratitudes.” Logan nodded.

“And I thank you like a normal person.” Roman teased, wiping off his hands.

 Virgil chuckled and scooped Roman up. “Alright, come on. Before Patton and his borrower get mad.”

 “Virgil…” Patton warned.

“Sounds marvelous.” Roman agreed, giving Patton a hesitant glance. While dinner had been fun, he certainly might have made some enemies as well.

 “Goodnight Pat.” Virgil said as he headed up the stairs, knowing he was going to spend the rest of the evening in his room. He set Roman back down on the desk, before sitting down as well and pulling out his phone to check tumblr.

“What now?” Roman asked, stretching his arms above his head.

 Virgil glanced at him and shrugged. “I don’t know.” Virgil put his phone down and thought for a moment. “What’s with you and the other borrower? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was hilarious, but why?”

“I don’t think you’d understand.” Roman tried to drop the issue, not realizing his little jests had made such a spectacle.

 “Try me.” Virgil said, leaning in closer.

Roman paused, realizing he was on the verge of sharing his inner feelings with an owner. “No.” Roman said firmly, his gaze set.

 Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Come on, I wanna understand this beef you two seem to have, despite having just met.” It was a bit strange, when he thought about it.

“Why should I tell you?” Roman scoffed.

 “Uh, because I asked?” Virgil tilted his head.

“Well I don’t owe you answers.” Roman stuck up his nose. Though he loved a good bout of drama, exchanging pleasantries with owners was never wise; they’d just use that information against you.

 “Ugh, fine. Don’t tell me then.” Virgil turned back to his phone.

Roman glanced at Virgil, torn between his desire to annoy Virgil and to spill the tea. “What, you’re not going to weasel it out of me?” Roman said finally.

 Virgil continued to scroll through his phone, not even glancing towards the borrower.

“Hey.” Roman’s jaw dropped, offended. “Don’t ignore me while I’m ignoring you!”

 Virgil kept himself from smirking, just continued to scroll through his phone. He was glad his plan seemed to be working though.

“Alright, fine.” Roman spat, turning away and crossing his arms. “I’m ignoring you ignoring me ignoring you! So there, I win.”

 Oh, Virgil was definitely the one winning. He shifted a little, leaning back in his chair. Eyes still on his phone.

Roman could only keep up the charade for so long before he broke, desperate for attention.

“Are you just going to play on that stupid phone all day?” Roman groaned. “Why did you even get me if you don’t want me?”

 At that, Virgil finally glanced up. “No.” He turned back to his phone. “I’m gonna play on my stupid phone all night.” He said with a growing smirk.

“Well, great, this is going to be fun.” Roman grumbled, slouching against some books stacked nearby. 

 Virgil ignored him, actually getting pretty into what he was scrolling through.

 “I know I’m not but it’s still nice to apologize. You clearly hurt Logan’s feelings, kiddo.” Patton tried as he began to walk to the nearest ice cream shop.

“I would not waste your breath.” Logan said to Patton. “It’s clear this is just another act to demonstrate Roman’s lack of maturity.”

“Are you calling me a child?” Roman gasped, offended. 

“I was not, but I was implying you have the mental capacity of one.” Logan corrected.

 “Logan, that isn’t very nice either.” Patton said. “Now I think you might need to apologize too.”

“Why? ‘Nice’ is merely relative.” Logan shrugged. “I have said nothing incorrect.” 

“Maybe I think it’s nice to push you off, then.” Roman pretended to jerk forwards, smirking when Logan flinched and hurriedly grabbed Patton’s finger for support.

 “Roman! That’s it, in the pocket with you.” Patton split them into different hands before placing Roman in his chest pocket.

“Hey!” Roman protested, smart enough not to struggle too much as he was transferred. “No fair, I didn’t even touch him!”

 “Maybe not, but that was very dangerous. You still could have caused him to fall.” Patton turned the corner, seeing the shop. “You can come out if you apologize.”

“...I accept my fate.” Roman muttered, sinking into the pocket. Little did Patton realize that this was far more comfortable than a palm, and Roman didn’t have to share.

 “Alright but then no ice cream.” Patton warned, already walking into the shop with a slight jingle from the door.

...

Slowly, a little bit of hair poked out of Patton’s pocket, followed by a pair of grumbling eyes. Something was said that was completely muted by the fabric.

“I beg your pardon?” Logan said, putting a hand to his ear. He was rather enjoying this.

“I’m sorry!” Roman repeated, louder before ducking back down.

“I do not believe your sincerity.” Logan called back.

 Patton hummed. “Logan’s right. You gotta say it like you mean it.” 

“You asked for an apology, not a sincere one.” Roman argued. “Besides, Logan didn’t apologize to me either, and he’s fine. You’re just playing favorites.”

 Patton bit his lip. “...Alright. I’ll get you ice cream.” Patton gave in. “But no more fighting, you two.” He walked up to the counter and looked over the options. “What do you guys want?”

“Ooh! Do they have chocolate strawberry?” Roman was out in an instant, crossing his arms and holding himself up by the lip of the pocket.

“I have no prior experience and therefore no preference.” Logan reminded Patton.

“The nerd wants vanilla, because he’s basic.” Roman teased.

“Do not speak for my interests.” Logan gave a huff.

 “Hmm...looks like they do! One borrower sized chocolate strawberry please. And here, Logan. You can look at all the flavors they have.” Patton held the borrower up to the glass to see.

Logan paused, trying to take in the vast display. He was very literate for a borrower, but given the fact he had only begun building up his tasting palette a few days ago Logan had no connotation what any of these labels could indicate. Logan could only navigate by sight alone, and the containers were all so colorful that frankly Logan wasn’t even sure half of these were food.

“I’ll have, ah, chocolate strawberry as well.” Logan fiddled with his shirt, trying not to be embarrassed and hoping his choice was adequate.

 “You heard the borrower! Two of those please and I’ll have a rocky road.” The girl nodded. Patton paid while she scooped up the ice cream. Patton took his cone and two small borrower sized cups and sat down at one of the tables. He set Logan down before fishing Roman out putting him down as well. 

 “Here you go!” Patton said as he handed the two ice creams to them. 

“Thank you, dearest pap-sicle.” Roman gave him a dazzling grin, carefully giving his portion a lick. “Mmm, delicious!”

“Gah!” Logan jumped, seeming startled as he took his own first hesitant lick. He hunched in on himself, embarrassed by the looks the other two sent his way. “...it’s cold.”

 Patton chuckled behind his hand. “Well, yeah, they don’t call it ice cream for nothing.” He took another lick of his own, shivering in delight.

“Oh.” Logan looked as if he had been struck by a revelation. “That seems sensible.”

 “Sooooooo...how do you like it then?” Patton asked, excited to hear what Logan thought.

Logan shivered, taking more cautious licks this time. It was sweet, in a pleasant and not overwhelming manner. “It is a strange phenomenon, but I do believe I enjoy it.”

 “He likes it!” Patton cheered.

“I would be ashamed if he didn’t.” Roman put a hand to his forehead as if pretending to faint. “What kind of monster loathes ice cream?”

“I am not a monster, regardless of my tastes.” Logan deadpanned.

 “I can confirm. Logan is not a monster.” Patton said cheerfully. “He’s as sweet as ice cream!”

“What?” Logan looked baffled. “Why do I have a flavor?”

 “It’s a metaphor Logan. I just meant you’re really sweet, like in general.” Patton explained, taking a few more licks of his melting ice cream.

Logan still looked baffled about flavors, but rather than explain it to him Roman just smirked into his own frozen treat.

 Patton finished off his cone and sat back, patting his stomach. “Man, that was so-” He was cut off by his phone ringing and he took it out to answer. “Y’ello?”

 “Patton, where are you? Where is Roman?!” Virgil yelled on the other end. Patton winced before his eyes went wide. 

 “Whoops! Sorry kiddo, should have texted you. We went out to the park and for some ice cream.” Patton explained and he heard Virgil sigh on the other end.

 “Oh, good. Sorry, I sorta overreacted there.”

 “Not a problem!” Patton grinned. “We’ll head back home now. We were just about done anyway.”

 “Oh, okay good. See you soon then.”

 “Bye!” Patton hung up and turned to the borrowers. “Ready to head back home?”

Roman gave a slight nod, but he was more distracted by the conversation he had just overheard. Virgil had sounded so panicked. Was that a good thing? It felt like a bad thing, because it meant Virgil was clingy and if he failed another escape attempt Roman would definitely be punished. But then again… well, in a strange sort of way, it was nice to hear someone care, even if Roman knew Virgil’s concern was more for his pet in general rather than Roman as an individual.

“Yes, I believe we are both finished.” Logan spoke up, collecting the empty containers to hand to Patton.

 Patton took them and threw them away. “Great! Pocket or carrier?” He asked, remembering to this time.

“Carrier.” “Pocket.”

Both borrowers fought the urge to roll their eyes again at their disagreement.

“The carrier with be fine.” Roman amended his vote.

 Patton nodded and took the carrier out, setting it down and waiting for both borrowers to climb on.

Logan climbed in first, watching as Roman sulked to the back. “...are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Roman lied, not wanting to discuss with a human nearby. Thankfully, Logan didn’t press any further.

 Patton lifted the carrier up and started walking. It only took ten minutes before he found himself back home, Virgil ready and waiting at the door. “There you are!” Virgil said, looking at Patton and then at Roman. 

 “Sorry again, Virge. I should have texted you.” Patton set the carrier down on the table.

 “It’s fine, just glad to know Roman is safe.” He opened the carrier and held out his hand. “Come on Roman.”

“Wow Virgil, keep talking like that and I might think you missed me.” Roman teased, climbing on.

 Virgil felt a heat rise to his cheeks. “Shut up.” He muttered. He nodded to Patton before heading back up to his room. He sat down at his desk but didn’t put Roman down yet.

“Now I’ve got you all flustered as well.” Roman practically cooed, holding up his pinky. “It’s like you’re wrapped around my little finger.”

 Virgil groaned, finally putting Roman down. “Whatever, so I was a little worried when I didn’t see you. You’re fine so everything is fine.”

“Why’d you panic so much, anyhow?” Roman asked, a bit of his actual curiosity creeping in. “Don’t you trust Patton?”

 “No, yeah, I do, I just…” He sighed. “He didn’t tell me he was going anywhere and I thought, maybe...but like I said, it’s fine. You’re here and safe.”

“C’mon, what’d you think?” Roman pressed, not letting Virgil drop it so easily.

 “I...I thought you might have escaped, okay!? But...But you promised, so of course I shouldn’t have been worried in the first place, right?” Virgil turned to Roman with a small but nervous smile.

...ah. “Right.” Roman gave him a smile in return, almost just as nervous but hiding it well. Was Virgil truly going to be so broken up if- no, when Roman did escape?

….did Roman even care?

 Virgil sighed in relief, his smile turning less nervous. “Good. That’s...good.” It looked like they were actually bonding, maybe? “So...did you want to do anything? I have another class a bit later but that’s a good two hours of free time.”

Another class. Virgil would be gone. And maybe Roman could make a break for it, if he was lucky. 

“Well, I don’t know.” Roman shrugged. “You’re the human, aren’t you supposed to make the plans? I’m just supposed to sit still and look pretty.”

 “I mean, I could but I...I want you to have more of a say on what we do. ‘M trying the Patton thing where I listen to you more. Seems to be working well for him.” Virgil chuckled. “And...I want you to be happy.”

Roman still found that so baffling. The idea that he could be happy here, no matter how gilded the cage, was simply impossible. Roman was made to be free, even if the world was determined to repeatedly rip that freedom away from him.

“I like board games.” Roman admitted, shifting slightly on his feet. “It’s been a while since I’ve played, but a few of my previous owners passed the time like that. I only like it when I play on my own team though, not- not as a piece.” Roman shuddered slightly in memory.

 Virgil furrowed his eyebrows. “They...they made you play as a piece?” What kind of person would do that?

Roman rubbed at his arm, self-conscious. “Yeah, some of them. The worst being the times I had to just hold still, and get manhandled across the board like a regular inanimate object. The times I’d walk to indicated squares weren’t so bad, but still humiliating.”

 “That’s...that’s horrible.” Virgil said. “I promise, I won’t ever make you do that.”

“Thanks.” Roman chuckled, but his heart wasn’t totally in it. After all, Virgil might get bored one day. Roman only had so many tricks.

 Virgil nodded. “What game did you want to play. I think we have monopoly, sorry, uno, etc.” The human listed.

“Oh, uno is fun!” Roman perked up, recognizing the name. “It’s also fairly easy given my...er, disadvantage.”

 Virgil chuckled. “Awesome. Wait, here, I’ll be right back.” The games were kept in the hall closest so Virgil went out to go and grab it.

Roman sat down, patiently waiting for Virgil to return. He could have made a run for it, but he didn’t. It would be such a small window of time, after all. No, Roman could be patient. He could do whatever it took.

 Virgil came back in and he was secretly happy to see Roman hadn’t even moved. “Found it.” He took the cards out of the box and started shuffling them. “Just making sure but you know all the rules?” Virgil asked.

“Yes, although there’s an additional rule when you play with me.” Roman spoke up.

 Virgil blinked. “Oh?”

“No cheating.” Roman gave him a slight glare. “I can’t hold all the cards so they’ll be on the table, face down. No peeking, and no grabbing the wrong cards if I ask for assistance, you cheeky emo devil.”

 Virgil held his hands up. “No cheating, got it.” He passed out the cards and set it up. “Alright, borrowers first.”

“I like that rule.” Roman grinned, lifting up his cards to peek at what he had. Satisfied, Roman dragged a red four over and placed it on the middle stack.

 Virgil hummed before placing a yellow 4 on top. “So, which owner did you play this with?”

Roman paused, placing his yellow seven up before he answered. He almost never spoke of his old owners, despite them often surfacing in his thoughts. “Rebekah.” Roman answered finally. “I mean, a few liked games, but she liked to, ah, play with me the most. She was ten when we met.”

 Virgil winced. “That’s...way too young to have a borrower.” In his personal opinion anyway. A child wasn’t meant to be around borrowers. “How...how long were you with her?” He asked, placing a yellow 5 down.

“Nearly a year.” Roman explained, tugging a green five up. “And I wasn’t Rebekah’s borrower, officially at least, though I might as well have been. She paid me the most attention. But that was… well, it was a family actually. George and Mary were her parents.”

 “Geez...I’m sorry.” Virgil said, not knowing what else to say. He put down a color changing card. “Blue.”

“How dare you.” Roman glared playfully at Virgil. “New rule, the borrower must win.”

 “Now that’s not a rule I will follow.” Virgil smirked. “If you don’t got any blue then you gotta draw a card.”

“Yes, I know how UNO works.” Roman huffed, dramatically stomping over to the pile looking a bit like a pouting child.

 Virgil chuckled as he waited to see how many cards Roman would have to draw.

Roman threw the three cards back to his hand, stubbornly placing a blue 3 onto the pile.

 Virgil smirked. “Hey, I don’t think you grabbed enough cards there.” He placed down a blue draw four.

Roman let out a loud groan, pointedly glaring at Virgil as he drew the four cards. “I loathe you.”

 “Aww, love ya too.” Virgil laughed. He put down a blue 7.

Roman went back, taking a few minutes to resort his expanded hand. He sorted by color, re-evaluating his haul.

“Rebekah wasn’t so bad.” Roman suddenly blurted, not sure why he felt the need to say it.

 Virgil blinked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Huh?” 

Roman cringed, hating himself for bringing this up and hating himself more for not stopping. “You asked once if I missed any of my old owners. I don’t. But there… it was better than the others, I suppose.”

Roman was quiet for a moment, giving his cards more attention than was strictly necessary. “Rebekah was too young for borrowers, but she was gentle for her age. It wasn’t so terrible. At least I came out sometimes, you know? And families- yeah, they’re kind of neat, even if it’s not your family but I don’t know, sometimes it’s nice to feel like you’re a part of something... even if you were never a part of it at all.” 

After all, the fact they had never come looking said enough about how much they cared when he left. 

 “Roman…” Virgil looked down, staring at his cards. “I know I said this already and it makes no difference but I’m sorry you were separated from your family. I’m...a little scared to ask about your other owners, if a ten year old was the best of them.”

Roman chuckled a bit darkly. “I meant the household. George and Mary were kind, in a human way. There was a dynamic between them that helped. Maybe it’s just that sensation of not being solely focused on entertaining one person. That’s mostly what happened with the others, sooner or later owners get bored of me.”

 “That’s stupid.” Virgil said, eyes hard. “You’re not a-a toy that people can just stop paying attention to. You deserve so much better than that!”

Roman blinked, shocked by Virgil’s outburst. “W-what?”

 Virgil felt heat rise to his cheeks for the second time. “I-I just...you do. You deserve so much better and I hope...I hope I’m doing a good job. And not making you feel like...like that. Like a toy.” Virgil looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

Roman paused, re-evaluating his feelings. Did Virgil make him feel like that? Certainly in the beginning, with all the manhandling and tossing and name-calling. Now… now Virgil was just making him feel like one very confused borrower.

“...draw four.” Roman deflected, placing a card on the pile.

 Virgil sighed, taking the cards. He looked down at them, eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t quite sure what Roman’s deflection meant, but he could guess. “I’ll try to be better.” Virgil said, determined.

“I believe you.” Roman said, and for once he almost did believe it.

But then his collar jangled again, making a noise to remind him of his place in the world as he placed another card up.

 Virgil put another card of his down, biting his lip. “If...If Rebekah wasn’t so bad...then why did you still escape?” Virgil asked a bit hesitant but his curiosity won out.

“‘Wasn’t so bad’ isn’t exactly my ideal state of living.” Roman almost snorted. “I had a better thing going there, and sometimes with the others I wished I was back with her family instead, but I could never stay.” I was still a pet, after all. Roman thought to himself, just as I am here.

 “...Oh.” Virgil shifted through his cards. “You’ve uh...you’ve had quite the life, huh?” What with so many owners and escaping so much. And even being a wild borrower as a kid.

“You’re talking as though it’s already over.” Roman smiled, this time a bit more genuine as he took his turn. “I’m only 23, I’ve got plenty of adventures that await!”

 Virgil blinked. “Whoa, wait a second, you’re older than me?” Virgil looked Roman over but he just couldn’t see it.

“I am?” Roman looked mighty pleased with this revelation. “Why, how old are you, then?”

 Virgil pouted. “I just turned 22.” Virgil revealed. “Well, that’s not fair.”

“Life’s not fair.” Roman shrugged. 

 Virgil looked down and smirked, his mood changing in an instant. “Oh, you can say that again.” He put down a card. “Uno.”

“What? Hey!” Roman’s face fell into a scowl, realizing he hadn’t been paying attention. He looked through his deck again, trying to find any cards that might stop Virgil from winning. “Cheater.”

 “Not a cheater, just a great uno player.” Virgil teased, chuckling.

“How dare you disrespect your elders like this, young man.” Roman growled, throwing up a green four and hoping for the best.

 Virgil rolled his eyes. “You aren’t that much older than me. And also…” Virgil put his last card down. “I win.” He grinned.

“Definitely cheating.” Roman crossed his arms, giving Virgil a good-natured smirk.

 Virgil chuckled before he glanced over at the clock. “Oh wow, that went by fast. I gotta head out here soon.” He started cleaning up their game, setting it off to the side. “Sorry to cut it short, maybe we can play some other games when I get back?”

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.” Roman agreed. “Then I can put you little whippersnapper in your place.”

 “Okay, enough with the being older stuff, it’s already old.” Virgil said but he was smiling. “Alright, in the enclosure you go.”

“That joke’s not as old as me.” Roman retorted, waving him off as he walked into the borrower home without complaint.

 Virgil groaned. “Whatever. I got to go. See you in two hours!” Virgil called back before leaving the room.

Two hours. What was Roman going to do with all that time? Perhaps he could spend it reorganizing his closet, so that he actually knew what the heck he had thrown in there. Or he could…

Roman paused, a slow realization coming to him. He hadn’t heard that familiar click of the lock. Was he just imagining things? Could it really be that easy? Roman crept up to the door, almost hesitant as he put his hand on the handle.

It opened.

Roman gasped, peering out into the room. Was his luck really turning around? Surely Virgil wasn’t this dumb. He would be back any second now to lock the door… but no, as a few minutes ticked by Roman quickly realized he wouldn’t be coming back. Either Virgil had forgotten completely, or… he trusted him. It was a shame that Roman would have to break that trust, but it was Virgil’s loss, not his own. 

Rushing back into the mansion, Roman was quick to grab up the bag he prepared for just such an occasion. He dashed out onto the desk, grabbing a few spare office supplies he knew would come in handy. The Lamp still sat at the back of the desk, and Roman slid down the cord with ease.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Roman re-evaluated his plan. He’d have to be careful; after all, Patton was still home, this could go poorly. Roman snuck over to Virgil’s bedroom door, shimmying beneath it with a grunt and popping up the other side. He jogged down the hall, keeping an eye out for the other human, but it seemed Lady Luck really was on his side as Patton must have been cooped up in his room.

I’m nearly there! Roman felt adrenaline pumping through his veins as the front door came into his line of sight. He was tense, expecting any moment for Virgil to come back through and ruin everything. It would be bad enough to get caught again, but this close Roman was also in danger of being hit with the door itself.

By some miracle, the door stayed shut. This was even a tighter squeeze, but after several stressful minutes of scooting Roman sat up on the other side.

“I wasn’t.” Roman let out a choked laugh. “That’s the dumbest part, isn’t it? What finally got me wasn’t even an escape attempt.”

 Virgil blinked. “Wait, then...what were you trying to do?”

“I was just trying to have some fun!” Roman groaned. “And I shouldn’t have been so careless, and I tried to turn back, and… and….”

 “Hey, it’s okay. It...It was an accident. You did what you could and you shouldn’t fault yourself for trying to have...fun.” Virgil said, trying his best to be comforting.

“Being a borrower isn’t about having fun.” Roman hissed, hating he had lost sight of what’s really important.

 Virgil frowned, confused. “Well...what’s being a borrower about then?”

“Surviving.” Roman grumbled bitterly. “And preserving our way of life.”

 Virgil sighed. “Roman...I hate to be the one to point it out. I really do. But...I don’t think that’s really possible anymore. I know I said I would give you the decision if you wanted to leave and I still stand behind that...although it might be a bit longer now with your legs like this...but I think the old way borrowers used to live, your old way of living...I’m not so sure it exists anymore.”

Roman bit his lip, opening his eyes to stare up at the ceiling. They were watery, like Roman was trying to hold back a river of tears.

“...I know.” Roman’s voice was shaky. “I think… I think I’ve known that for a long time now, actually.”

 “I’m sorry, Roman.” Virgil said, feeling so bad not only for him but for all borrowers. “It’s our fault. Humans fault that that’s the case.” He was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Despite knowing that...do you still want to leave?”

“What?” Roman turned to Virgil with a slightly betrayed expression. “I’m in the middle of a breakdown and you’re still trying to get a roommate headcount?”

 Virgil blinked and then looked sheepish. “I...no, you’re right. Now's not the time for that, gah, I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “There I go, messing things up again.” He muttered.

Roman sniffed, rubbing at his nose. “Well, at least you’re not the only one.”

 “Roman, the car thing wasn’t your fault. It was an accident.” Virgil repeated himself. Yeah, Roman probably could have slowed down but he was doing exactly what he was supposed to do with a car. More or less.

“It was my fault there was an accident.” Roman corrected. “You… you told me to slow down, to stop, to go back. You knew best. And I didn’t listen.”

 “Okay...yes.” Virgil finally agreed. “Yes, maybe you were going a little too fast. But I also understand why you didn’t listen to me. You’ve spent your whole life listening to humans. Doing whatever you wanted. You saw this as a chance to have a bit of freedom. Which is good because that’s why I got it for you. Though it...kind of backfired.” Virgil explained.

Yes, in a way where Roman would never have the same limited freedom as before. “It… it was sort of sweet.” Roman admitted. “That you trusted it with me at all.”

 “Roman, of course. I...you know I was serious, about before, right?” Virgil asked, eyebrows furrowed. “About...giving you more freedom? Making your own decisions? Letting you…letting you leave if you wanted to?” Virgil paused. “...Right?”

Roman looked away from him. “Well… you didn’t want me to leave. And you were right, about all that stuff about the outside world being unsafe. I mean I didn’t even get down the street.”

 Virgil felt himself deflate, seeing how Roman really felt for what seemed like the first time. “It’s true, I didn’t want you to leave. I thought it was too dangerous and this only proved my point.” Virgil said but then continued. “But I was never, for one second, going to stop you if that’s where you wanted to go. I may think it’s a stupid decision,” He gave Roman a smile at that. “But it would be yours. And I wasn’t going to take that away from you.”

“Oh, well good.” Roman gave a dry laugh, trying to diffuse his discomfort. “Because I beat you to the punch.”

 “Roman, seriously, why would you think I wasn’t serious about this? I mean, I know your track record with humans. And just...humans in general are jerks to your kind, but still! And Roman, this...this isn’t the end. Your legs are...hurt now but they’ll get better. They-They should get better.” According to the doctor, at least. He was hopeful.

“I’m sorry, I just have trust issues!” Roman threw his arms up in exasperation. “It’s a character flaw, sue me. I knew you cared, and- and you’re honestly the best human I’ve met, but I thought you cared so much that… that it didn’t matter what I wanted.”

 Virgil looked down at Roman sadly. “...I’m sorry you thought that. If I had known I would have...reassured you more? Though...I guess it didn’t really help when I said you could decide in a week, huh? I put limitations on your own decision, didn’t I? I...I shouldn’t have done that.” Virgil realized, looking ashamed of himself.

Roman looked at Virgil consideringly. “Thanks Virgil.” Roman gave him a small smile. “I’m glad you’ve come around.”

 Virgil gave a small smile back. “I’m...I’m glad too. Thank you for opening my eyes to how much of a jerk I was being.” Virgil chuckled.

“You can always count on me for that, Emo Nightmare.” Roman playfully winked. “And I mean… it wasn’t so bad. If I had left when I wanted, I never would have gotten the chance to take Specs under my wing. ‘Course, I also would have access to both my legs right now… unless another cat found me.”

 Virgil winced. “How about we not think about that right now.” Virgil asked, not wanting to think of Roman even worse off then he already was. “You have gotten pretty close with Logan though. Which is good, I think that’s what Logan needed.”

“The shop ones are always lonely.” Roman looked a bit forlorn. “They get broken. I’m glad they didn’t get to Logan.”

 Virgil winced at the thought. “Do I...even want to ask what being broken entails?” He was curious but he also didn’t want to know.

“Obedient, which I guess Logan is, in a way.” Roman frowned slightly. “But the good thing is Logan’s loud, when needed, and he speaks his mind. And he’s curious about the world around him, how it works and all that. He wants to learn. I admire that, truly. Usually the curiosity gets snuffed right out of them.”

 “That sounds awful.” Virgil said, but then frowned as he thought back to when Patton first got Logan. “Wait a second...when Patton brought Logan home, he was already wearing a collar. You-You don’t think…?” Maybe there was a reason Patton had taken it off of him.

“What, the shock collar?” Roman raised an eyebrow.

 Virgil blinked. “The...shock collar? Wait, it was a shock collar?!” Virgil exclaimed, more than a little shocked.

Roman gave Virgil a bewildered glance. “You- you didn’t know?! That thing was huge, bulkier than a bison! And the little guy was twitchier than a flea, you could practically see the sparks.”

 “I-I didn’t know what a shock collar looked like, and I never paid much attention I just...I just thought the pet shop gave it to him for some other reason I didn’t know it was hurting him!” Patton must have figured it out, that’s why Logan had stopped wearing it. Why hadn’t he been told? Why hadn’t he figured it out?

“I mean, knowing Logan now, he was probably getting in trouble for talking back.” Roman gave a chuckle. “Can you imagine Logan’s actually the rebel of this household?”

 Virgil couldn’t help but chuckle as well. “I guess it’s the teenage rebellion.” Virgil joked but then paused. “I...still can’t believe he’s so young. And...he’s already had to go through so much. Including having a freaking shock collar on him.”

Roman gave a sad nod. “It’s terrible, growing up in a world like this.”

 “I never knew...no, I mean, I guess I never cared enough to think about it.” Virgil sighed at that, hating that that was the truth. “Humans are awful, aren’t they?” Virgil chuckled humorlessly.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Roman agreed. He sent Virgil a glance. “Most of them, anyways.”

 Virgil smiled. “Heh, yeah…” He cleared his throat. “It’s going to be a rough couple of months though.” Virgil said, changing the subject. “I know you still want to leave but I think we might have to postpone it until...after you’re all healed.”

Roman gave an awkward cough. “I mean...so, I might have sort of...changed my mind?”

 Virgil froze. “I...what?”

“I mean, there really is nothing out there.” Roman grimaced at that painful truth. “I’ve been in and out of the shelter enough to know better by now, and honestly? This isn’t so bad.”

 “Yeah but...I don’t want you to just settle either.” Virgil said, shifting awkwardly. “I mean, I’m thrilled! I just...want to make sure this really is what you want.”

“No, I- I think it is.” Roman decided. “I mean, it’s a big turn around, but- well you and Patton are really nice, heck you let me ram myself across the yard in a car, so I know you’re not going to be overbearing. And there’s Logan, so it’s not like I’m alone in this either, we can totally talk behind your backs about how annoying you’re both being.”

 Virgil snorted at that before smiling. “Well...I’m glad then. I’m glad that Patton and I make you feel listened to enough that...that you actually want to stay.”

“I’m glad, too.” Roman admitted. “I think it’ll be fun, bossing a human around.”

 Virgil laughed. “I’m sure you’ll have a blast.” He let his laughter trail off though. “Roman, I will do everything I can to make sure you are your own boss but...Patton and I might mess up along the way. I’m not going to lie and say we won’t. So...tell me when I’m being a jerk, yeah?” Virgil chuckled, though more nervously.

“It’s cute that you think I wouldn’t.” Roman teased. “But...yeah, sure thing. I appreciate your honesty.”

 Virgil relaxed laughing. “Right, I should have known.” He smiled down at Roman. “Welp, I think it’s about time we head to bed then. That medicine should have kicked in by now too, how are you feeling?”

“Good.” Roman closed his eyes a bit blissfully. “Really, really good.”

 Virgil smiled as he stood up. “Well, I’m happy to hear that.” Virgil looked between the bed and the desk. “I know you said you didn’t care before but...do you want to stay on my bed or do you want me to make you something on my desk?” Virgil asked, wanting to make sure he got Roman’s input on this.

“I don’t think I ever want to move from this spot.” Roman mumbled sleepily.

 Virgil chuckled. “My bed it is then.” Thankfully, Roman was already off to the side enough that Virgil still had plenty of space on his own side. He got into bed, being mindful of Roman and reached over to turn off the light. “Need anything else before lights out?” Virgil asked.

“Nope.” Roman shook his head, giving Virgil a smile. “Thanks for asking, though.”

 “Of course.” Virgil gave a smile back. He shut off the light. “Goodnight, Roman. I’m...glad this all worked out.”

“Me too.” Roman said, pleased to believe his own words.

-------------------------------------

 “Happy actual Birthday, Logan!” Patton shouted as they finished singing. They didn’t go with candles this time, so Virgil simply went into slicing up the cake to pass out. The whole thing was vanilla, since Logan seemed to prefer that one last time.

--------------------------------------

“Thank you, Patton.” Logan gave him a grin, so used to the human’s volume now that he felt no need to cover his ears.

--------------------------------------------------

 Patton grinned and Virgil came over with a slice of cake. “Alright, first slice goes to the birthday boy.” He set it down in front of him. “Can’t believe you’re eighteen already.” Virgil laughed, although it was more like, he still couldn't believe Logan was only eighteen.

----------------------------------------

“It feels as though it has taken a lifetime.” Logan admitted, eagerly digging in to his portion.

“Don’t worry.” Roman teased, prodding Logan in the side. “You’ll always be our lil’ baby calculator.”

Logan groaned. “That is the exact opposite of what I want and you know it.”

“I do?” Roman pretended to look innocent. “Because I thought just last night you were informing me I knew nothing.”

“Nothing about air travel, which is why the prospect of launching yourself in a paper airplane is dangerous-!” Logan began to rant again.

-----------------------------------------

 Virgil frowned as he came back with another piece of cake. “I’m sorry, what was that about a paper airplane?” He raised an eyebrow in Roman’s direction.

---------------------------------------

“I would never.” Roman was quick to not meet anyone’s eye.

--------------------------

 “Roman, I thought we agreed on no dangerous stunts until your legs are fully healed.” Virgil said, motioning to the borrowers legs, still in casts.

-------------------------------------

Roman let out a loud groan. “Spoil sport!”

-----------------------------

 Virgil rolled his eyes, placing the piece of cake down for Roman to eat. Patton then came over, having cut a slice for Virgil and handed it to him. “Thanks, Pat.” Virgil said.

 “No problemo, kiddo! Oh! Virgil, you have something on your face!” Patton exclaimed. Virgil blinked, hand going up there.

 “I do?” He asked, feeling around for it.

 “Yep! Right...there!” He placed some frosting on the tip of Virgil’s nose. Virgil blinked going cross-eyes to stare at it. Virgil smirked, getting a nice dollop of frosting on his finger.

 “Oh, it’s on.” Patton squeaked and started running as Virgil chased him around the kitchen with the frosting.

“I thought I was supposed to be the youngest.” Logan rolled his eyes. “They’re so childish.”

“Surprise, we’re raising children.” Roman joked. 

“Oh, as if you’re not also a disaster.” Logan huffed.

“But we’re your disasters.” Roman reminded him.

“Yes, you are.” Logan looked off into the kitchen, gazing fondly at the way Patton was still trying to dodge Virgil’s frosting attacks. “I’m glad we stayed.” He said suddenly.

 Patton blinked and snapped his hand back. That...was the loudest he had ever heard Logan speak. “O-Okay, if you’re sure.” Something still didn’t seem right here though.

“Yes, I- I am fine.” Logan lowered his voice, rubbing once at his eyes. If he was honest, he was fine. Well, he wasn’t, but he was certainly better with that cursed collar off.

 Patton hummed but didn’t question Logan again. Instead, he grabbed the collar and motioned for Logan to come closer. “Alright then kiddo, let’s get this back on you.”

...well, now Logan wasn’t fine.

Logan took another step back, taking a deep breath. “No.”

 Patton blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“No, I-” Breathe. Logan reminded himself. You can use your words now. “I don’t want to put that abomination around my neck ever again.”

 “Aww kiddo, it’s not that bad.” Patton said, frowning at how Logan was acting. He had never seen him act like this before. “And it’s needed, just in case you get lost.”

“If the tag is required, I am willing to carry it myself.” Logan assured him. “But the collar itself is not, and has already caused enough suffering on my end.”

 Patton’s eyebrows knit together. “Suffering? Logan, you aren’t making any sense.” Why on earth would a little collar such as this cause Logan suffering?

“The punishments!” Logan insisted. “The shopkeeper claimed it was mild but it’s not, it’s constricting and powerful and completely inhumane!”

 Okay Patton was really confused now. “Logan, what are you talking about?!”

“I’m talking about that shock collar!” An exasperated Logan pointed to the darned thing.

 “Shock...collar?” Patton frowned and looked down at the collar and for the first time, he saw the little device on the inner area that deemed it such a collar. His eyes widened. “W-Wait you mean this whole time...it-it’s been shocking you?!” Patton asked, visibly upset over this.

Logan’s eyebrows shot up. Of all the reactions he expected to come of his refusal to put the device back on, this was not one of them. “You were ... unaware?”

 “Of course! I-I never would have made you keep it if-if I had known!” Patton growled out, looking down at the shock collar. “The pet store didn’t even tell me. Also, how dare they put it on you in the first place!” Patton crushed the collar in his grip and all but threw it in the trash can below his desk. He would certainly be calling them about this.

Logan blinked, shocked by this development… no pun intended.

“They- they used it for obedience training.” Logan explained, feeling the sudden urge to spill his story. “I was too argumentative, they wanted to force me into submission. I couldn’t raise my voice above certain levels. It was programmed so that if I ever said ‘no’ I would receive a shock as well, not wanting me to get mouthy with potential owners. They had a remote too, for those instances when I used the loopholes to continue to snap at my handlers. I’m surprised they did not hand over that device. I was wondering where it had gone.”

 “Oh...oh you poor thing. No wonder you were so hesitant to talk to me about things! You couldn’t.” Patton shook his head. “I’m so sorry I didn’t realize this sooner...they’ll certainly be hearing from me.”

Logan quickly nodded, surprised once again. If he had been told an owner could be anything like Patton back at the pet store, Logan would have wanted to be sold sooner. Then again, Logan didn’t particularly want another owner. 

“Thank you.” Logan spoke hurriedly, almost as if he still feared he couldn’t get all the words out. “For standing up to them, and listening to me, and getting rid of it. But especially listening to me. No human has ever done that in my lifespan.”

 Patton looked at Logan sadly. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that...I wasn’t lying when I said you could tell me anything. I want this arrangement to be comfortable for you.”

“I do not like being touched by strangers.” Logan immediately declared, taking Patton up on his word. He took a deep breath. “I am beginning to trust you, but I still want to have control over my own fate. I also do not like derogatory names. I don’t like messes or roughhousing. I prefer silence and alone time often to recharge.”

 Patton nodded. “Okay.” The human smiled. “I’ll make sure that happens. I promise.” Like he said, he wanted Logan to be comfortable. And all this was the least he could do, after what Logan had to go through.

Logan was surprised the human agreed. “And… in exchange?”

 Patton blinked, tilting his head. “Exchange? Um...your happiness?”

“Surely that cannot be all that you desire.” Logan squinted suspiciously.

 “Honestly kiddo, I just want you to be happy here. With-with me.” Patton smiled softly. “I guess, all I could ask is that you...give me a chance?”

Logan paused, considering both his own demands and Patton’s character thus far. “I believe I can do that.” Logan confirmed, the faintest of smiles on his lips.

 Patton grinned and squealed a little. “Yay! I’m glad!” He reached out to scoop Logan up and hug him but stopped himself. “Oh, wait, right. No touching. Sorry.” He pulled his hands back to his lap but still continued to smile at Logan.

Logan cleared his throat, feeling obliged to give in to Patton’s whims. “I suppose… some touching at this particular juncture could be, acceptable.”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “Really? Because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or like you are obligated to.”

“No, you’ve been exceedingly gentle, and generous as well.” Logan explained. “You’ve behaved kinder than I expected and for that I want to encourage that behavior with positive reinforcement. I assure you I will not mind the contact.”

 Patton grinned. “Well, if you’re sure!” Patton reached out and gently scooped Logan up, holding him close to his chest. 

Logan tensed at the initial touch, but when Patton’s hands remained steady he reached out to give Patton’s chest a careful pat.

 Patton chuckled. “See? I told you I was right in choosing you. We were meant to be together.”

Logan wasn’t certain about that statement, but he was growing fond of Patton’s compliance. If things kept up in this manner… perhaps the future would not be so bad. But then again, Logan had yet to see Patton experience a wide variety of emotions that had a nasty habit of turning humans foul.

---------------------------------------

 Virgil wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he finally looked up from his phone but it appeared that Roman was basically done putting away his clothes. “Took you long enough.”

Roman didn’t bother verbally responding, just leaning on the outside wall of his prison and pointedly avoiding eye contact.

 Virgil frowned. “You know, if you didn’t get so many clothes it wouldn’t have taken you so long to put them all away.”

Still Roman ignored him, content to provide the silent treatment.

 Virgil sighed. “Okay, I get it. Giving me the silent treatment huh?” Virgil crossed his arms. “Stealing my idea and everything. Very original.”

“It’s not your idea.” Roman snipped before he could stop himself.

 Virgil snorted. “Maybe not but you are really bad at this.” He knew Roman couldn’t stay silent forever. The borrower was a talker for sure. 

Roman scowled, crossing his own arms and sliding further down the wall.

 Virgil sighed, running a hand down his face. “Look. I just don’t get it. You’d think you would be used to all of this by now.”

“Forgive me for not conforming to your captivity.” Roman growled. 

 “Roman, the reason you’re in ‘captivity’ is to keep you safe. Borrowers can’t survive on their own out there. You don’t have the skills your ancestors once did.” Virgil explained.

“You don’t know that.” Roman argued, turning so his back was almost fully facing Virgil. “You don’t know anything about me.”

 Virgil bit his lip. “Okay...then tell me about yourself.”

The borrower’s shoulders tensed, and Roman threw Virgil a calculated look over his shoulder. “What?”

 “Tell me about yourself. If you really think I don’t know you, then tell me about your life. About your likes and dislikes. Whatever you want to tell me.” Virgil said, leaning on his arms on the desk.

Roman turned, not fully facing him but enough that he could look the human in the eye. He was quiet for a while, keeping his face neutral as Roman’s mind raced to figure out what he wanted to say. On the one hand, opening up to an owner was an objectively bad idea, and would most definitely make it harder to escape once Virgil knew how to become more vigilant. 

But on the other hand… Roman was desperate for someone to actually listen for once.

“This was my first borrowing.” Roman blurted out, the words seeming to come on their own accord. He grabbed the front of his princely outfit to indicate he was talking about the costume. “I snatched it on my way out of the last home. It wasn’t a gift; I took it. A little bit of an act of vengeance as well. I took other things before in my escape attempts, things like food and water, but a first borrowing is something that you retrieve on your own, that you can keep. It’s yours, and in a world where even my body is often just another possession, having something of my own is a pretty big flippin’ deal.” 

Roman looked away again, staring off at a random spot on the wall. “Back in the real borrowing days, it was also a sign of independence.” Roman explained quietly. “The first step to showing you could make it on your own.”

 Virgil...didn’t know what to say. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. “I...wow, that’s…” Virgil ran a hand through his hair. “I had...no idea.” The history of borrowers was a short and sweet one. But apparently there was a lot more to it.

“I’m not incompetent, Virgil.” Roman turned fully away again, hiding his face. “I know the wilderness is harsh for borrowers, I’ve lived there.”

 Virgil blinked. “Wait...what? H-How?” That...that should be impossible.

Roman took a slow, shuddering breath. “When I was really young, my family was Outies, or outdoor borrowers. I don’t-” One of Roman’s hands combed through his hair. “I don’t remember it, exactly, just bits and pieces, enough to know that yeah, it was dangerous, but we were fine. At least we were until some humans decided to show up, separate us and sell us to the highest bidder.”

Roman scowled at the memory, knowing that anger was easier because he was not about to cry in front of Virgil and send the exact wrong message of this whole thing.

“It’s near impossible to survive out there, but not because of the wilderness.” Roman explained, getting to his point. “It’s because humans won’t let us. You all act like you know best and put on this savior act all the while ushering us into cages and expecting us to smile about it. It’s infuriating!”

 Virgil looked down, his world view suddenly changing. “I...I had no idea there were even any wild borrowers left. We’re always told that, at this point, you’re all raised in captivity from birth.” Virgil ran a hand down his face, messing up his eyeshadow a bit but he didn’t care. “You...You were really taken from your family?”

“Well, and they were taken from me, a two way street I suppose.” Roman gave a chuckle that was far too bitter and high-pitched. “I’ve mostly made my peace with it, considering there’s almost no chance of a family reunion. I don’t know where they went, and I was so young I often... forget the faces.”

Roman cleared his throat, a poor attempt at changing the subject. “And, as for captivity from birth, that’s where Little Logan comes in.”

 “Logan? Oh, so he was in captivity all his life.” Like Virgil thought all borrowers were supposed to be.

“I assume.” Roman gave a small shrug, leaning back against the wall again and sliding to the ground. He gave a quick wipe of his sleeve across the eyes, almost glaring at Virgil to his left as if daring him to say anything. “I mean, I don’t know his life story, but most trained borrowers are and he’s yet to prove me wrong.”

 Virgil was silent for a long time. “I’m...I’m sorry. You were right. I really didn’t know anything about you.”

Roman let out something that might have been an amused scoff. “I’m not exactly a big fan of leading with my tragic backstory, it’s tacky.”

 “Yeah, I, uh, I understand that.” Virgil looked down. “So then...what’s your overall goal? If...If you managed to escape and not get caught by other humans, what are your plans?”

Roman wasn’t able to hide the surprise on his face that a human- his owner, no less- sounded almost genuinely curious about his goals, instead of just trying to gather information to stop him from doing so.

“...I don’t know.” Roman admitted. “I just kinda always wanted to see if I could do it, I guess. Just take it one day at a time and see what happens. But, it-” Roman winced, his pride hurting as he knew he shouldn’t admit this but apparently it was designated sharing time according to his stupid heart.

“It...it is reckless to be an Outie alone.” Roman explained. “It’s probably part of the reason I keep getting caught. I think I remember easily over a dozen borrowers in my first clan, safety in numbers and all that. So I’m just stuck in this loop of captured, sold, escape, nearly die...aaaaand captured again.”

Yeah, Roman really shouldn’t be saying all of this.

“Except for household number four.” Roman snickered a bit. “I annoyed him so much he just marched me right back to the shelter himself. Skip the middleman, I guess.”

 Again, it was a lot of information for Virgil to take in. “Roman, I…” He bit his lip. “Maybe...the cycle could end here?” He swallowed the lump in his throat.

 “Because like...I want this to work. You and I. I...I know I’ve been pretty crappy so far.” He chuckled humorlessly. “I did throw you across the room, after all. And I...I hurt you, even if I never meant to, I still did. And I’m sorry for all that...I really am.”

 He did his best to meet Roman’s eyes. “I promise, I’ll do better. Please, just...give me a chance?”

Roman took a moment to study Virgil’s expression, finding only sincerity. It made Roman’s chest pinch in an unpleasant, but not necessarily bad, way. Perhaps it was time to settle down. Who was Roman fooling, anyhow? Virgil was the best human he had yet, and if he was eventually going to be stuck living with a human this might be his best shot. It could be bearable, pleasant even. Virgil had already made it clear he was willing to spoil Roman ‘til his teeth went rotten, and he was the first human who seemed to give a crap about Roman as a person.

But then, Roman’s wandering fingers traced over the tag, still hanging from the collar forever around his neck. 

Not as a person, then. Roman winced, correcting his line of thinking. As a pet.

Roman turned away, back to looking at that spot on the wall. His fingers continued to play with the little metal tag, turning it this way and that as if it wasn’t a symbol of everything he loathed about this arrangement. No, Roman couldn’t be happy here. Even if he was merely a desperate fool, Roman knew in his heart he could never stop chasing that elusive feeling of freedom, and he knew freedom was the one thing he could never find here. But he could never tell Virgil that.

“Yes.” Roman said finally, slipping back into his old charming ways. “I think I can do that.”

 Virgil smiled. “Thank you, Roman. I promise, I won’t let you down.” He would try even harder to make sure Roman was comfortable and listened to.