Seven Minutes Suffocating
Requested by @quietlyponderingā. Roman has claustrophobia, and Virgil finds out the hard way when they play Seven Minutes in Heaven.Ā
TW: panic attacks, maybe implied past abuse (who knows??), bad writing, ask to tag.
Ships: Prinxiety (gets less subtle as it goes on), maybe Logicality (if you squint).
(The above GIF is both somewhat relevant and also me seeking validation with this story)
I barely had time to react when Patton pushed me into Virgil and then pushed us into the closet. There was a tiny light that was too dim to give proper light but let us see each other. I fell into his arms as we thudded against the back.
We looked at Patton, who winked at Virgil before shutting and locking the door. I got up and I could see Virgil's horrible blush on his face. "Patton!" He went to the door and hit it once and got a single response:
"You got seven minutes - don't get too into it!" And then a giggle.
"Patton, I swear to God, if you weren't my brother," he growled. "Let us out."
"It's not been seven minutes yet!" We then heard murmurs and footsteps as, assumedly, Patton walked away with Logan and discussed other subjects.
"... Fuck." Virgil looked down at me, the crimson on his cheeks very adamant, scanning me.
I'd slumped down into the corner, legs arched, arms hugging my knees, head on my arms. My breathing was already accelerating, oh God, oh sweet Jesus.
"Roman?"
Oh Jesus fucking Lord, sweet fucking God, shit, fuck, fuck, fuck. fuck, shit, shit, fuck, sh-
"Roman? Roman, are you okay?"
I knew his hand was on my leg, I couldn't feel it though, my thoughts were swarmed with how I was touching three walls of the closet, how I felt crushed, stuck, trapped, all over again. The darkness seemed to swallow me and grab at my throat, clawing at it, stabbing into me, all over again. I choked out a cry, a sob, an apology.
"I... I'm sss-ssorry!"
"Hey, Roman, there's nothing to be sorry about."
I could hear him, but only just about, over the blood rushing through me, my heartbeats, my sobs, my breathing, which kept going faster and faster. My arms suddenly left my side, I think I might have hit Virgil, and slammed against the walls, trying to push the closet apart from within, just like my heart was pounding against my chest, trying to push me apart from within. My tear stricken face was now visible, and I pushed against the wall behind me with my back and my head. Filled to the brim with fear, I screamed, though it was more like a wail, until my throat became sore and my voice became hoarse and I could scream no more.
"Oh crap, oh shit, Patton, get us out!" I heard Virgil hitting and kicking the door over my now hoarse sobs, but to no avail. And that's when I felt him gently hold the sides of my shoulders. "Roman, it's okay, can you look at me, I'm going to get us out? Roman, listen to me. Deep breaths, breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth, breathe in for four seconds, hold for seven, breathe out for eight, you got that? Do you need me to do it with you?"
I tried to follow his instructions with my trembling lips, and I managed to open my eyes, vision blurred by my tears. He moved one hand to wipe them so I could look at him, the other firm but gentle on my arm.
He was looking at me, concerned, but doing the breathing exercise that he'd told me about. "Copy me, Roman, okay?" I nodded. "Good." We stayed like that for maybe a minute, but once he was sure I'd gotten a hold of it, and asked if I had (which I had), he turned away and stood up. "I'm going to try and break down the door, okay?" For someone so anxious, he was so incredibly calm about the situation. Maybe it's because he knew how to deal with it.
That's when I realised why I had so much of a crush on him, why I'd fallen so hard for him after years of a rivalry. And, even in my panic, I couldn't help but admire and adore him. Because he didn't have to lie anything.
"Patton! Bro! Get us out! Seriously! I know you're just trying to help but this really, REALLY backfired!"
I couldn't help it. Suddenly, warm tears started streaming down my face and I let out a shrill shriek, that just hurt my throat even more and broke down sobbing again.
I heard Virgil swear before he hugged me. It was... tight, but not so tight I couldn't breathe. He whispered in my ear, "Follow my previous instructions." He repeated them to me as I did as he said. My thoughts cleared and I could hear two pairs of footsteps and Patton mumbling loudly.
Virgil tried to pull away to respond to a concerned question from Patton, but I made a noise I can't describe and held onto him. "I won't go, okay." He turned his head. "Patton, unlock the door!"
"Mmkay, let me get the ke- Ah heck, I left it on the counter. Lo, can yo- and he's gone to get it for me, he knows me so well."
Virgil pulled me up with him as he stood up. "Can you tell Logan to hurry up, it's been too long already!"
"I got the ke- I DROPPED THE KEYS!"
"What?!"
"They fell through the floorboards!"
I heard Logan sigh heavily. "... Fuck."
I started to cry, my throat still aching from screaming, and Virgil's grip tightened on me. "We're going to break out. We'll have to explain to Logan's mother that we broke his closet. Logan, we'll pay the price, literally." He turned to me. "Roman, you have to move with me, okay, we're going to break through the closet, got it?" I nodded, burying my head further in his chest. I felt his head rest on my head and he breathed in deeply. "It's going to be okay, Roman." He began to rock me sideways a bit. "It's going to be okay."
It was only as he began to run at the closet door that it occurred to me that maybe the rocking was not solely just for comfort, but to get a run up.
It only took one hard smash into the door to break it, and Virgil and I tumbled out, but only I fell to the ground in a heap. Thankful to be out of the dark, closed space, I spread out and opened my eyes... only to begin sobbing again.
"... Shit."
I don't think an hour has passed since... all that chaos happened, but I'm currently wrapped up in a blanket cocoon, with only my arms free so I can drink my hot chocolate. Patton feels guilty, of course, but he couldn't have known. He's Virgil's brother, not mine. He's more of a dad to me.Ā
Thinking about it, Patton didn't know about my crush on Virgil, so why did he try to make us play Seven Minutes of Heaven randomly?
A smile creases across my face. Maybe. Just maybe. I sip at my hot chocolate again as the brothers in question come back to sit on sofa near me (I sit in one of their armchairs).
"How you feeling, kiddo?" Patton asks, eyebrows creased with concern.
I smile a little, but it's at Virgil, who notices my look and blushes before looking away and obviously trying to find somewhere to look. He eventually sets his gaze on Patton.
"Just... peachy."
God we're so gay.














