Virgil groaned, before taking a seat. “No. Look, Logan. I get it. I want this over with too. But in order for us to turn back to normal...well, I’m pretty sure this all has to be genuine. We can’t just fake all this and expect whatever power who did this to us to believe it.”

 “Well, then that’s impossible.” Logan subconsciously took a few steps back, lowering his arm. “Because it’s quite literally impossible for me to truly forgive your actions in this form. You’ve already done me harm twice. This…” Logan put a hand on his chest, trying to find the words to describe his emotions. “...well, frightened sensation shall only retreat once you are no longer physically capable of harming me again. Although I suppose that was your goal, so congratulations. You’ve doomed us all.”

 Virgil winced, looking away for a moment. “...I know. And I...I regret it so much. If I had made one mistake you would be-!” Virgil stopped himself, before taking another deep breath. Panicking here would do nothing good.

 “But I know it’s hard for you to forgive me...because I still haven’t forgiven you yet. You’re feeling exactly how I felt when we were normal.”

 “Exactly how you felt?” Logan could have laughed. “And when exactly did I try to psychologically torture you? Or dangle you off a building? My own actions, while wrong in their own right, never came from the position of trying to cause you harm.”

 “And you think I knew that! Maybe after the whole thing with Dee, maybe. But everything before that? I thought you were going to, I don’t know, dissect me or something! And you really never gave me a good enough reason to believe otherwise either.” Virgil grit his teeth. “And even after everything, when I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, the idea of being trapped in that cage forever still gives me a panic attack!”

 “How unfortunate.” Logan sneered. “As if you’re the only one who’s dealt with trauma. I never intended to trap you in that cage forever, but after truly getting to know you I think such a fate would be fitting.”

 “...What?” Virgil had to take a step back and that. Sure, he felt bad and maybe he even deserved that as Logan stated. But Logan actually saying that?

 “Well, then, maybe I should have just let you fall,” Virgil said back, returning Logan’s sneer.

 Logan froze, paling when his own incident was brought up, still so fresh in his mind. “...no.” Logan protested weakly, his voice quieter than before.

 “Yeah, if you think I deserve to be in a cage then might as well do something that’s worth being in there for.” Virgil slowly reached out his hand towards Logan.

 “NO!” Logan yelped, backpedaling away from those fingers that mere hours ago had dangled him over certain death by a loose piece of fabric. In his haste Logan tripped, falling onto his butt as his heart rate skyrocketed.

 Virgil ignored Logan, grabbing him in his fist and bringing him up to eye-level. “Can’t put me back in the cage if you’re dead.”

 Logan felt chilled to the bone, staring into Virgil’s uncaring gaze. He gulped, beginning to tremble horribly. Logan should have known better than to trust Virgil to actually be better. It had only been a matter of time before Virgil showed his true nature, waiting until Logan was alone and vulnerable...but wait! He wasn’t alone, not completely.

 “PATTON!” Logan screamed as loud as his little lungs allowed. “THOMAS! ROMAN!”

 Patton whipped his head to the door. “Oh no.” He whispered as his eyes widened. “Logan!” With Roman in his hands, he ran out of the room only to see the sight of Virgil holding Logan in a fist.

 “Virgil! Put him down now!” Patton demanded.

 Logan let out a few desperate sobs, feeling overwhelmed by emotion as the crowd came in. They had heard him. That was all Logan could ask for.

 Thomas froze, eyes wide as he watched the scene before him. This...this wasn’t his Virgil. Virgil might tease, but Thomas had thought that was all just witty banter. Was something more afoot at play?

 Virgil froze as he heard the others come in and at Patton’s shout. He turned towards them, looking at Patton. His anger was slowly dwindling, replaced by an incoming sense of what he had just done. He winced.

 Patton came over, shifting Roman to one hand as he held out his free one for Logan. Silently, Virgil handed him over, not looking at any of them.

 Patton turned around and looked down at Logan with concern. “Oh Logan, are you okay? What happened?”

 Roman winced, looking at Logan’s disheveled state. “Oh no...Logan, are you alright?”

 “Are you hurt?” Thomas asked, peering over Patton’s shoulder as well. 

 “I…” Logan’s voice was raspier than he would have liked, and he felt quite raw from this experience. “I am not harmed, physically. You came in just prior to him enacting his threats.”

 “Threats?” Patton looked behind him at Virgil, who was looking down at the ground, gripping his arm. Oh, Virgil… Patton shook his head. “Maybe it was a bad idea to leave the two of you alone…”

 “What were you thinking?” Roman yelled, trying to get a good look at Virgil though Patton blocked his way.

 “I...he said I deserved to be in that cage forever…” Virgil mumbled.

 “...well what were you thinking?” Roman turned to Logan exasperatedly. Antagonizing a human who already hated you was generally a good way to get yourself killed. Not that Roman thought Virgil was a killer, but… well, Roman had already been proven wrong about Virgil becoming a good person. 

 “He said he should have let me fall.” Logan looked up at Patton. “He wants me dead.”

 It was quiet for a moment.

 “What?!” Thomas exclaimed, head rapidly turning to look between the two guilty parties. “Why would you say that? Why did any of this come up in a conversation about friendship?”

 “Well to be fair, wanting someone dead is a fairly large barrier on the road to friendship,” Roman commented darkly, looking solemn.

 Patton snapped his head towards Virgil at Logan’s words. “Virgil...how could you. Did you not listen to anything we talked about before?!” Patton yelled. Virgil continued to look down, not wanting to see all the kinds of disappointment on their faces.

 “I don’t...I don’t actually want him...dead.” Virgil finished lamely. At this point though, he doubted anyone would believe him.

 “Then why did you tell Logan that?!” Patton was more than disappointed at this point. No, he was straight-up upset with Virgil. Patton couldn’t understand Virgil’s actions at all.

 “I...I was angry…” He let his anger overtake him when Logan had said that. “I was really trying to make up but when Logan had said that I…” He trailed off, letting out a shaky sigh.

 “Okay, there seems to be a lot of tension here that I don’t fully understand.” Thomas pointed out. “Maybe we should all just...take a moment, calm down and come back to this.”

 “No!” Logan’s exclamation was angry, a passion filling his words that had been absent due to fear. “No, this is ridiculous! Magic is for fairytales. None of this makes any logical sense.”

 “But, the scroll-” Thomas’ argument was cut off.

 “Forget the scroll.” Logan insisted. “We’ve all just interpreted a random mystical hypothesis together because we are frightened of the concept of not having actual explanations. But the point stands that there are no witches dictating our lives. I say we head to bed. We all changed in our sleep last night, did we not? Perhaps it will happen again.” Or perhaps this is all just some horrible dream, and I will finally be able to wake up.

 “...I think that might be a good idea.” Patton agreed. “How should we…? I mean, if we do switch back you two really shouldn’t be in the walls.” Patton spoke to the two shrunken humans.

 “Indeed.” Logan murmured. “Not to mention the giant rat…”

 “I’m sorry, the giant what?” Thomas frowned, feeling like he missed something.

 “Perhaps it would be best if we all slept together, then?” Roman suggested, ignoring Thomas’ question. He glanced in Virgil’s direction. “...almost altogether. It’ll be like a slumber party.”

 “I can go prep your bed, Logan,” Thomas suggested, figuring they would need the room. He left, heading back down the hall.

 Patton nodded and turned back to the two shrunken humans. “Maybe you’re right Logan. Maybe we...will turn back if we just sleep.” At least, he hoped for all their sakes. 

 Virgil finally looked up at them, noticing none of them were paying any attention to him. He sighed, he deserved the cold shoulder in all honesty. He’d probably be sleeping on the couch tonight.

 “Um, guys?” Thomas returned, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “There’s a bunch of papers all over, what should I do about them?”

 Logan tensed.

 “Ah...you know, maybe it’s best we sleep at my place,” Roman suggested tactfully.

 “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” Patton started towards the door, paying little attention to Virgil. Virgil didn’t move, staying where he was. He knew he wasn’t welcome with them.

 He heard the door open and Patton’s footsteps growing quiet.

 “So...where are you gonna go?” Thomas asked quietly.

 Virgil blinked as he looked up, almost forgetting that Thomas was still here. He shrugged. “I’ll probably just...stay here. Sleep on the couch or something.” He mumbled.

 “I mean, no one’s using Logan’s bed.” Thomas pointed out. “You’re probably welcome to it.”

 Virgil let out a humorless chuckle. “I’m probably not welcome to it, actually.”

 “...oh, right.” Thomas bit his lip. “Well, I don’t have a second bed, but if you’re really fine with crashing on a sofa you can come to my place if you’d like.”

 Virgil paused. “...Really?” Truth be told, he didn’t really want to be alone right now. But that was hard when everyone seemed to hate him right now. Except maybe Thomas, it seemed like?

 “I don’t know everything that’s gone on between the two of you, but...well, I think you just said some things you didn’t really mean,” Thomas said determinedly. “And I think everyone deserves a second chance.”

 Virgil’s lip twitched upwards. “Thank you, Thomas.” He hoped Thomas would still feel that way tomorrow.

 “No problem.” Thomas smiled at him. “Come on, follow me.” He led the way downstairs into his own apartment. “Here’s the sofa, I’ve got some spare blankets in the closet. One sec, I’ll grab them.”

 Virgil nodded and sat down on the sofa. It wasn’t as soft as the bed he had woken up in that morning, but still better than his nest of old fabric.

 “Here you go.” Thomas handed the blankets over. He paused, looking at Virgil. “Do you...I mean, do you really think you’ll change back in the morning?”

 “I don’t know...I have a feeling, though, that this isn’t over quite yet.” Virgil said, taking the blankets from Thomas and starting to lay them over himself. At the very least, it couldn’t be as simple as just going back to bed.

 “Yeah, probably.” Thomas agreed. “Doesn’t hurt to try I guess though. And maybe we can figure out something in the morning when you’re not at each other’s throats.”

 “...Yeah.” He wasn’t going to tell Thomas that they still were going to have a lot of issues to deal with tomorrow. And he was sure they were all still going to be angry.

 “Anyways, I’m gonna head to bed too.” Thomas walked over to the light switch. “Need anything?”

 “No, I’m good.” Virgil paused for a moment. “Thanks again, Thomas.”

 “You’re welcome.” Thomas gave him a soft smile. He turned off the lights, heading down the hall to his own bed.

 Virgil settled down on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. How did this all go so wrong? Why was he like this? None of this would have even happened if he had never been caught in the first place…

 But it was too late now. He had gone too far and now even his best friend probably hated him. A few tears escaped him. 

Meanwhile, Logan was trying very hard to keep those pesky emotions in check. Once again his heart was racing thanks to his newly acquired borrower instincts.

Virgil’s eyes immediately went to the desk and what was on top of the desk, smirking. He never thought he would be thankful to see that Logan still had the cage. He took a seat at the desk and set Logan on top of it. He simply stared at him, smirking.

Logan glanced around at his surroundings, taking note of Virgil’s chosen placement. It was a spot that had hosted a slew of unpleasant memories between them, admittedly most being Logan’s fault.

“We’re alone now.” Logan stated. “What’s so urgent you can’t allow Roman to be present?” Though Logan often found Roman to be incompetent, he found himself wishing for the shrunken human’s company.

“Well, you see…” Virgil reached behind Logan, picking him up by the back of-technically Virgil’s-shirt and holding him up to his face. “I didn’t want to scare him.” Again.

Logan quickly grasped at the front collar of his clothing, making sure it didn’t pull too tightly around his neck as he was dangled precariously. His legs hung uselessly, kicking slightly at the air.

He gazed at Virgil’s giant eyes, sitting right before him and filled with a flurry of emotions. Logan read the human’s expression and realized his instinctual fright might actually be reasonable for once.

Virgil felt joy at the slight fear Logan was giving off, but it wasn’t enough. “See, Roman actually treated us halfway decent and was the one to let us go in the end. So he doesn’t deserve any of this.” Virgil let his grip slip and let Logan fall a little onto his other hand below. “You on the other hand, well…” Virgil’s hand closed around Logan.

“If it were up to you, we’d still be trapped in that cage over there, huh?”

“Why does everyone act like Roman’s a saint?” Logan argued, pushing against the uncomfortable grip around him. “He scared Patton first, traumatized him even. I’m the one who rehabilitated Patton and actually made him feel safe!”

Virgil grit his teeth. “Look, I know Roman isn’t a saint. I know what he did to Patton. I wasn’t going to tell you this, I’m actually surprised Roman didn’t. But he didn’t fall, like he said he had. I...admittedly, went too far, giving him a taste of his own medicine.” Virgil shrugged, though he did feel really bad about hurting Roman, he was trying to make Logan as scared as possible.

“Besides, Roman ended up making up for it, more or less. You, on the other hand, despite Patton’s thoughts and feelings towards you, ended up betraying him. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about all the things you did to me.” Virgil chuckled darkly. “How could I?”

Logan began to get concerned, now knowing the origin of Roman’s injuries. If that was the extent Virgil was willing to hurt Roman, a human who was possibly a friend, what extent was Virgil willing to go to for Logan? From the very beginning Virgil had despised Logan, and Logan knew it was for a good reason.

“Virgil, you have to understand.” Logan began to plead, knowing words could be his only salvation. “The way I treated you was the worst decision of my life. I have felt guilty about it ever since. It’s why I didn’t present you to the dean. It’s why I treated Patton so much kinder. I was trying to reform myself just like Roman. To make up for my past actions, if you will.”

“Really?” Virgil rolled his eyes and placed Logan back down on the desk. “You mean you tricked Patton. Not telling him the whole truth, making him decorate his own cage for petes sake!” Placing two hands on either side of Logan, Virgil leaned in close. “And don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn't answer my earlier question. It’s because it’s true, isn’t it? If it was up to you, Patton and I would still be in that cage right there. Right?” Virgil glared daggers at Logan.

Logan gulped, quickly taking a few steps back. His heart thudded under his ribcage, voicing its own distress at this situation. Should Logan try and make a run for it? But where would he go? In any direction Logan was still trapped on the desk.

“Ah...well…” Logan floundered for words, not even knowing the true answer himself. Logan wished he could confidently say no, but he could not. He had certainly intended on keeping the borrowers before, who's to say he wouldn’t fulfill that intention? Possibly for a lifetime?

Virgil hummed. “Welp, that’s enough of an answer for me.” Virgil grabbed Logan up again, this time scooting the cage a little closer and dropping him inside. He closed the door with a resounding click. He smirked, watching Logan through the bars. “So, how does it feel?”

Logan groaned, his back hitting painfully against the metal bottom. He stood up, glancing around at his enclosure. Though the bars were intimidating, it was a bit difficult for Logan to guess Virgil’s plan. Did the human mean to keep him here indefinitely? It was hard for Logan to actually fear such a fate, given the knowledge that Patton and Thomas were sure to return shortly.

“Unpleasant.” Logan answered Virgil’s question with a defiant glare.

Virgil returned the glare, his coming off much harsher. “That’s it. That’s all you have to say?” Virgil was getting angry at the lack of reaction and so he gripped the side of the cage and rocked it harshly once. “How about now?”

Logan was thrown to the ground, his hands just barely catching himself from smacking his head against it. His heart skipped a beat, panting from the adrenaline. Logan could feel his legs and palms throbbing. The sudden movement had caused both areas to scrape along the surface.

“VIRGIL!” Roman yelled, all but limping into the doorway. He had taken a slight tumble off the coffee table leg and had had to travel the distance from the living room to the bedroom on foot, but one look at the scene before him and Roman knew that it had been worth it. His horrible gut feeling had been right after all.

Virgil looked down, eyes going wide at the sight of Roman. “Wha-Roman, how did you-?!” Virgil kneeled down and wasted no time in scooping Roman into his hands, looking him over. “Did you climb down the coffee table? Roman, you aren’t actually a borrower, you could have died!” Virgil used a finger to gently nudge Roman’s leg, which seemed to have taken the worst of Roman’s little fall.

“Ow!” Roman hissed, pulling his leg away from Virgil’s touch. “I’m borrower enough, thank you very much. And it’s your fault I had to climb down in the first place.”

Logan sat up slowly, watching the scene above him apprehensively from his spot on the cage floor. He didn’t want to stand just in case the cage was shaken again. Of course, Logan also spotted the cruel irony in how fast Virgil changed from torturing himself to babying Roman.

“I didn’t make you do anything.” Virgil said, but looked away.

“Come on, Virgil.” Roman scolded gently, gesturing to the cage with his hand. “You’re better than this.”

Virgil looked at the cage, at Logan, and glared. “...This doesn’t concern you, Roman.” Virgil said, looking back at Roman, his glare softening a little.

“Yes it does!” Roman argued. “I’m trying to help you, you stormy scoundrel. You’re all twisted around this foolish idea of revenge that you’re not thinking clearly.”

“Revenge against acts for which I have already apologized.” Logan pointed out.

“Logan, I swear to odin, you are not helping your case.” Roman glared briefly in the direction of the cage.

“He deserves all of this!” Virgil told Roman, before once again glaring at Logan. “And you. You think a simple apology makes up for everything?” He set Roman down on the desk, before lifting up his shirt, showing off the many black and blue bruises covering his skin. If one looked close, they would see that they matched the outline of giant fingers. “You think words make up for this.” Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t allow them to fall.

At this magnitude, it was hard not to notice every detail of Virgil’s markings. Courtesy of both former human’s manhandling. They both could only stare so long before guilt overcame them. Logan began fiddling with his glasses, trying to distract himself. After all, neither had ever intentionally done Virgil harm. It was merely due to the size difference and gripping Virgil too tightly. Yet their intentions were irrelevant when it came to actual results.

Logan was at a loss for words. Though this process was frightening, perhaps he did deserve this. Logan had never been an empathetic person by nature. A shared experience might allow him to feel some empathy towards all the pain he had caused Virgil.

Roman, however, still did not believe that Logan deserved this punishment. After all, Roman was just as guilty of accidentally bruising borrowers. He was sure that if Patton were to show off his chest it would be just as littered with markings. But Roman now had his own set of bruises, and hoped that perhaps that could be his ticket to getting through to Virgil.

“You know what?” Roman looked up at Virgil. “I think words do make up for that.” Roman lifted up his own shirt, showing off the large oval bruise left there this morning by Virgil’s finger. “Because guess what, ya vengeful viper? You did it too. And all you did to fix this was apologize.”

Virgil’s eyes widened at the sight of Roman’s bruise and he let his shirt drop back down. “I…but I…” He hated to admit it, but Roman had a point there. He only had his words to give when what happened this morning, well, happened. And, he was honestly surprised, but Roman had forgiven him. Even though the shrunken human was clearly still hurting.

Virgil couldn’t just forgive Logan though. He had done so much more to deserve this. Caused so much fear in Virgil, tricked Patton and then broke his heart, almost showed him off to a human, who also happened to be a scientist. Not to mention, thinking back on things, Logan hadn’t actually, truly, apologized.

“B-But I meant my apology! And Logan hasn’t even given me a proper one but even if he did, how do I know he means it? He just admitted he would have kept both me and Patton in that cage if it hadn’t been for you!” Virgil said through gritted teeth.

“Why would you say that?” Roman turned exasperatedly towards the cage, dropping his own shirt to use his arms to emphasize his point.

“I thought honesty would be the best policy.” Logan shrugged.

“Unbelievable!” Roman threw his hands up in the air before turning away from Logan.

“Although, in my defense, I never actually admitted to that.” Logan continued.

“You’re silence was enough.” Virgil said. He opened the cage door, once again grabbing Logan in a fist.

Logan struggled, feeling bruises of his own forming as Virgil’s fingers pressed the air right out of his lungs.

“Virgil, put him down!” Roman yelled, trying to hide his own fright at how fast Virgil had grabbed Logan up.

Virgil didn’t put him down, but he did loosen his grip when he felt Logan struggling a bit too much. Despite what both of them might think, he wasn’t here to actually hurt Logan. He turned to Roman. “Give me one good reason why I should! Give me a reason why I shouldn’t scare him as much as he scared me, Roman. I thought he was going to kill me. I thought he was going to dissect me for heaven’s sake!” He glared down at Logan. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t hate him.”

Logan paled, staring into Virgil’s terrifying gaze. He felt his form shivering despite the fact it wasn’t cold. Though Virgil had loosened his grip, Logan still found it difficult to draw breath.

“Um…” Roman bit his lip, trying to think of a good reason. He wasn’t particularly fond of Logan himself, but that didn’t make this right. Of course, morality alone didn’t seem to be having any effect on Virgil right now. The old borrower was so blinded by his rage that it was hard to come up with any answer that would get through to Virgil.

“Patton likes him?” Roman said with a shrug.

“Patton likes everyone.” Virgil deadpanned. “I know it took awhile for him to warm up to you and all, but eventually he does. And take into account that Logan tricked and lied to him…” Virgil shrugged and smirked. “It’s hard isn’t it? Giving me a valid reason. Because, you’ll find, that there isn’t one.”

“Well you’ve got me there.” Roman muttered to himself, putting his hand on his chin to think.

“Look-” Roman said finally after coming up with nothing. “-I’ll admit it, I’m stumped. I cannot think of a good reason for you to not hate Logan. He was manipulative, selfish, and is generally unpleasant to be around.”

“Wonderful.” Logan said sarcastically. His life was figuratively in Roman’s hands (whilst literally being in Virgil’s hands), and Roman decided to insult him to his face. How helpful.

“But!” Roman quickly continued. “Hating someone is not a good enough reason to torture them. An eye for an eye may make eyepatch sales go up, but it doesn’t leave anyone feeling better about themselves. Hurting Logan isn’t going to change the past or help the future. Just let it go, Virgil.”

Roman’s words were getting Virgil mad, only because he was starting to see his point. But, that didn’t mean Virgil was giving in so easily. Besides, it seemed Roman’s whole point was based off of Virgil planning to hurt Logan, and well… “I’m not going to hurt him.” Virgil spoke. It might take some of the fear factor away, admitting that to Logan, but he needed to say it.

“I had never meant to hurt you either, but I didn’t know my own strength as a human. Now, I can control it a bit better.”  Virgil took a deep breath. “This isn’t about hurting him, it’s about making him feel what I felt. Emotionally, mentally, but not-not physically.” Despite...hating Logan, he would also hate to hurt him.

“Well, I think you’ve met your goal there.” Roman gestured to Virgil’s fist. “Nano nerd over here is shaking like a leaf.”

“Y-yes.” Logan’s voice stuttered against his will. “You’ve made your point...incredibly clear.”

“Please,” Virgil rolled his eyes. “You’ve only experienced a portion of what I went through. This isn’t over.” The stutter in Logan’s voice was satisfying to hear though. Suddenly, they heard the front door open.

 Slowly, Roman began to join the waking world next. He groaned, feeling the pain of his injuries return full force now that he was conscious. Roman looked around, frowning when he saw he was still small. Well, it had been worth a shot. Although if that meant Logan and Virgil really did have to become friends...maybe Roman should get used to this size.

 “Up and at ‘em, Micro-Microsoft.” Roman shook Logan’s shoulder gently. “We’re still small.”

 Logan groaned into the pillow, the reaction likely a mixture of hearing he had to wake up and he was still a few inches tall.

 Patton turned over when he heard Roman’s voice, looking at him with a sad smile. “Morning, Ro. Morning, Lo.”

 “Morning.” Both borrowers returned the greeting with an almost deadpan expression.

 “So...I guess going to bed wasn’t the answer,” Patton said, biting his lip. 

 “I suppose not.” Logan sighed, sitting up. 

 “Perhaps we should regroup and refuel,” Roman suggested, trying to lighten the mood a little.

 “I think that’s a good idea. Come on, we’ll go get Thomas and have some breakfast.” Patton didn’t mention Virgil, of course, knowing he was currently a sore subject. He offered his hand to them.

 “Why Thomas?” Logan raised an eyebrow, helping Roman climb on as they both looked worse for wear.

 “Because he’s our friend?” Roman raised an eyebrow of his own.

 “...oh, right,” Logan said. “I had forgotten that is a friend thing to do.”

 Patton chuckled a bit and then carefully got out of bed, heading out and to where he knew Thomas’ apartment was at. Patton was just about to knock on the door when it opened. His eyes widened when he saw Virgil.

 Virgil stared back with equally wide eyes. He had decided to leave back to Logan’s apartment before they got there, knowing they would probably come here and eat with Thomas. But it looked like he was a little too late. “Uhh…” He was at a loss for what to say.

 “What are you doing in Thomas’ apartment?” Roman asked, his tone a bit snippy. He felt the way Logan tensed up next to him.

 “I...he offered to let me sleep on his couch,” Virgil answered quietly, only briefly glancing at Roman before turning away.

 “Well, that was um, nice of him.” Patton tried but he felt awkward. “Where is Thomas?”

 Virgil shrugged, taking a few steps back to allow Patton to enter. “Probably still in his room.”

 “I’m right here, actually.” Thomas’ voice came from behind Virgil, having snuck up on them. He leaned around Virgil, smiling at the trio. “Do you guys want to join us for breakfast?”

 Virgil jumped slightly but quickly composed himself. Patton blinked and then smiled. “Yeah! That sounds great!”

 “Awesome, come on in!” Thomas waved them all into the kitchen. “Ah...I haven’t really gone grocery shopping in a while, but I’m sure I can scrounge up some eggs.”

 “That is satisfactory.” Logan murmured quietly.

 “I’m sure whatever you make will be wonderful, Thomas.” Roman praised.

 “Are you aware of how many times he has set off the smoke alarm?” Logan reminded him.

 Virgil watched, not moving, as everyone headed into the kitchen. He wanted to follow them but...once again, he probably wasn’t welcome. He glanced back towards the front door, wondering if he should stick with his original plan and go back to Logan’s apartment while the rest of them ate. Just to give them a little peace before they were forced to talk to him again.

 Seeming to sense his guest’s hesitation, Thomas called over his shoulder. “Virgil, you coming?”

 Virgil met Thomas’ eyes before sighing and walking over to the kitchen. Patton was already at the table with Roman and Logan on top. He avoided eye contact with all of them as he went over to the corner and leaned against the counter.

 Patton looked at Virgil for a moment and then sighed as he looked away. Things were so tense, how did they even begin to fix this?

 “You know, you don’t have to keep inviting him, Thomas.” Roman reminded him, feeling the tension as well.

 “Okay, let’s lay some ground rules.” Thomas said, frowning at Roman as he pulled out the eggs. “My apartment is a safe zone. There will be no threats, no insults, and no shaming. Sound good?”

 “And here I thought my apartment was supposed to be a safe zone.” Logan pointed out. “And yet, look what occurred.”

 “Logan, what did I just say?” Thomas sighed, cracking some eggs into a pan.

 Virgil closed his eyes tight to stop any tears from falling before he pushed himself off the counter. “Maybe I should just go.” Virgil muttered, already walking towards the living room.

 Patton bit his lip. “Virgil, wait.” Virgil froze, waiting for Patton to continue. “I…” Patton didn’t know what to say and after another few beats of silence, Virgil sighed.

 “Right.” He mumbled, before continuing.

 Thomas pushed the eggs around in the pan a bit, contemplative. The only sound in the kitchen being the eggs frying. “So...do we want to talk about the scroll?”

 “No,” Logan answered immediately.

 “What about it? It isn’t like it’s actually helped us at all.” Virgil muttered, having paused for another second when Thomas said that.

 “Well, I think it’s important,” Patton spoke up. “Maybe if we look at it again, it will give us another way to fix everything?” Patton suggested but Virgil scoffed. 

 “Yeah, I highly doubt that.” He should just leave already.

 “The scroll is our best bet,” Roman argued. “We just have to keep doing as it says.”

 “It’s a scroll, it’s not like the message is going to change!” Logan threw his arms up in exasperation. “And there is no doubt in my mind that it requests an impossible outcome.”

 Virgil growled. “We all get it, Logan! I’m a monster! This is all my fault!” Virgil yelled before realizing he was letting his anger get the best of him again. He let out a deep sigh. “I’ll be in Logan’s apartment, in case you wanted to continue this whole avoiding me thing.” Virgil turned around and started walking out of the kitchen.

 “STOP!” There was a loud voice suddenly echoing through the apartment. Everyone froze, heads snapping to look in the direction of the front door as it suddenly burst off its hinges, lying on the living room floor. 

 Two girls stood each leaning on one side of the doorway, arms crossed and looking smug. Both girls were adorned with long flowing robes and pointy hats to match. The girl on the right wore a robe that was a beautiful ombre of violet to teal, with her hat sharing a similar hue. The girl on the left had a more brash pattern, her robe split down the middle with half being a bright red and the other a dark blue. Her hat was split in the same fashion but with the sides of the colors swapped. From both hats, several charms hung, a series of symbols whose meanings were not immediately transparent. 

“That...that isn’t possible…” Logan sat there, trying to comprehend what was happening as he gaped like a fish. 

At the sound of their voices, Mandy let out a gasp, taking a step forward and grabbing Arc’s arm. She pointed at Patton’s hands. “Oh my goodness, look at them. They’re cuter than I imagined.”

 Patton held the two closer to himself as the two witches came closer. Looking at them both warily. Arc’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, you’re right.” She sent the two of them a smile. “Hello Roman, Logan. It’s nice to finally meet you two.” She paused. “Oh, and it’s great to meet you guys too!” She said, looking between Patton, Virgil and Thomas.

“How do you know who we are?” Logan asked warily.

“And why’d you curse us?” Roman got straight to the point.

“‘Curse’ is a strong word.” Mandy put her fingers in a steeple formation. “This is more like… a gift gone awry. Have any of you seen the movie ‘Ella Enchanted’? It’s about a girl who’s fairy godmother gives her the gift of obedience. Sounds like a great idea, but ends up backfiring. Repeatedly.”

 “In other words, we really were just trying to help you guys.” Arc finished and Virgil let out a humorless chuckle, bringing attention to himself. 

 “Yeah, well, fat load of good all this did.” He waved towards all of them, indicating their sizes. “You know, none of this would have happened if you had just left us alone.” Virgil growled through grit teeth. 

 Arc frowned. “We can still fix this.” She walked over to Thomas and held out her hand. “The scroll, if you could, please Thomas.”

“...I left it in my bedroom.” Thomas said, almost in a daze.

“Then go get it.” Mandy waved him off with an eye roll, watching the human trip over himself to get the scroll. “Honestly, you all keep leaving your props in the most bizarre places. You didn’t even put away the ice cream yesterday.”

Roman blinked. “We didn’t?” Not that it was his responsibility, being only a few inches tall, but...still. That was a lot of ice cream wasted.

“Here’s the scroll, your majesty.” Thomas panted, running back into the room to hand it to Arc.

 Arc laughed. “Arc is fine, Thomas, neither of us are royalty.” 

“Speak for yourself.” Mandy preened, looking pleased.

Arc ignored her. She looked down at the scroll moving it so Mandy could see it too. “Alright...I’m thinking we change that?” She pointed.

“Perfect.” Mandy pulled the quill out from thin air again, crossing out the text and scribbling something else down. “All set, the terms of your contract have been changed.”

“Changed how, exactly?” Logan pressed, always a stickler for details.

“All of you are no longer required to be friends.” Mandy explained, her quill disappearing. “But in exchange, you do have to live together.”

 Virgil blinked. “I’m...I’m sorry, what?”

 “Basically,” Arc continued. “You don’t have to be friends but you have to be civil and agree that you, Virgil, won’t move when you return to your original height.”

“Any questions?” Mandy asked, taking the scroll and shoving it back into a flustered Thomas’ hands.

“Well, actually-”

“Good!” Mandy cut Roman off. She raised her hand, and with a puff of smoke both witches were gone as quickly as they appeared.

 “What...What the hell was that!” Virgil exclaimed. 

 “Virgil…” Patton warned at the language and his tone. Virgil shook his head, trying to calm himself down. But it wasn’t really working.

 “This is insane, how does this even help us?!”

“It gives an opportunity for redemption.” Roman huffed. “Now suck it up and make up already you two.”

 Virgil bit his lip, looking over at Logan, knowing Roman was talking about the two of them. Or, really, more specifically himself. He sighed. “You’re right…” He took a step closer to the human turned borrower and found himself unable to meet his eyes as he began to speak. “Logan…” He thought back to his previous conversations with both Roman and Patton. “I messed up.”

“Indeed.” Logan agreed.

“Logan.” Thomas gave a warning tone, still clutching the scroll.

Logan sighed. “I have committed many errors as well.”

 “I want to be clear that I really don’t want you dead.” Virgil said, closing his eyes for a moment. “I just...I let my anger get the best of me and I did things to you and-and you, Roman, that I’m not proud of. That I regret.”

 Patton smiled, his heart welling up inside his chest. “Aww, kiddo…” He was proud of him for trying to make things right.

Roman didn’t meet his eye.

“That is...welcoming to hear.” Logan admitted. “Though I hypothesized such a mindset, your actions at times made me suspect otherwise. It is at least of benefit to know that your actions were not intentionally fatal.”

“...but they were fatal.” Roman couldn’t help but mutter.

“I beg your pardon?” Logan turned to him.

“Virgil, you still-” Roman took a deep breath. “You could have killed Logan. Me. Us. And I really do think that wasn’t your intention, but… it just kept happening. And I just want to know why I wasn’t enough to stop it.”

 Virgil’s eyes widened and he could already feel the tears start to roll down his cheeks. “Roman...I-” Virgil bit his lip as he looked down at the ground. “None of this is your fault Roman. And you shouldn’t blame yourself for not being able to stop me, I’m not your responsibility.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

 “I think, the truth is...I’m still scared.” Virgil admitted quietly.

 “Kiddo?” Patton asked but he already knew what Virgil meant.

 “I’m still scared and I forced it to turn into anger because I could finally do something about it.” Virgil added on, possibly even quieter this time.

“It’s a survival mechanism.” Logan’s eyes widened in realization. “A side effect of the …. Traumatic events.” Logan paused. “For which I am responsible.”

“I scared him too.” Roman admitted.

“You didn’t resort to cages.” Logan sighed, knowing he was fully responsible. “And you didn’t mistreat Virgil as I did.”

 Virgil finally looked up and met Logan’s eyes. “A large part of me is still scared that you’ll put me back in that cage.” Virgil closed his eyes. “Especially...after what I’ve done today.”

 Patton felt his eyes water at the sight of Virgil so scared. He knew all too well what Virgil was dealing with in terms of feelings.

“I understand your fears.” Logan admitted, knowing he still felt a similar fear that Virgil would reach out and grab him at any moment. “But Virgil, I can assure you that is not the case. I do not feel a need for revenge against you, at any size. I simply want safety and peace between us. I am sympathetic towards your plight and already intended to return that device at my earliest convenience, once I can again lift the contraption unassisted.”

 “I...want to believe you.” Virgil admitted but his heart still beat rapidly inside his chest. “It’s just hard.”

“I...think that’s what this is for.” Thomas spoke up, looking again at the scroll. “Perhaps that’s why you two are meant to agree to be roommates- so you can have time to understand each other.”

 “That makes sense.” Patton agreed, looking over Thomas’ shoulder to see the scroll too. “Remember guys, those witches changed the rules. You don’t have to be friends and make up right this minute. You just have to agree and promise you’ll live together.”

 “I...guess you do have a point.” Virgil admitted. Still, the thought of interacting with Logan at his normal size again was giving him anxiety already.

“Well, what do you say?” Roman looked between the two. “Can you two suck up your pride for once?”

Logan rolled his eyes at Roman’s comment, but took a step forward. “I am willing to coexist.” Logan declared, sticking out his hand. “I promise to be understanding to the best of my ability and provide a safe living environment.”

 Virgil hesitated before reaching out and gently taking Logan’s hand between his two fingers. “And-And I promise to give you a chance and to not move away.” 

 “Virgil, please!” Quickly Logan switched tactics, clinging to the garment because his life depended on it. Logan’s eyes began to water. Tears began to stream down Logan’s face as he began to desperately plead for his life as if he had any control over whether or not Virgil released him to plummet to the cement several stories below. “Virgil, I don’t want to die. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I’m so sorry Virgil please don’t kill me please no VIRGIL-!”

 Virgil should have been happy, having finally broken Logan, having finally shown him the fear he had gone through, but...he didn’t. It felt bad. No, it felt worse than bad, he felt-he felt absolutely awful. Logan’s cries were painful to listen to, absolutely heartbreaking.

 What on earth was he doing?

 He quickly but carefully brought Logan to his chest and backed several feet away from the edge. Now that he was thinking more clearly...what had he been thinking?! What if his hand had slipped? What if Logan managed to slip out of his shirt? What then? Logan would have…

 “Shh, it’s okay, I’m sorry. I’m not going to hurt you, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Virgil tried to reassure Logan. Wanting to get away from the roof, Virgil started back downstairs and back to Logan’s apartment, still cradling Logan close to his chest.

 The tear stains on Logan’s cheeks had frozen in the chilly rooftop air, creating an unpleasant sensation on his skin. Of course, this was hardly a problem, as the new tears just washed away the tracks once they were inside the building. It seemed once the tears started, Logan couldn’t stop them. Almost as if his many years of not expressing emotions had been bottling up tears for this very moment.

 You’re alive. Logan tried to comfort himself. The tears kept falling.

 Virgil shut the door behind him and raced to the bedroom. Logan was feeling cold, which made sense seeing as how it had been very cold outside, and so he placed him on the bed. Moving the covers so Logan could use them and then ran to the bathroom real quick, grabbing a tissue and coming back. He winced at Logan’s tears, looking away as he placed the tissue near Logan. He didn’t say anything.

 Logan tucked himself into the small crease in the blankets, allowing them to fall around him and begin to warm up his shaking limbs. Logan pulled the tissue closer, using the corner to wipe at his eyes. Slowly it seemed Logan ran out of tears, and with a slight hiccup, Logan wiped his face one final time with the tissue.

 Virgil didn’t know what to say. What could he say? What he did had been awful. He had been so blinded by his anger that he had really almost killed Logan. All it would have taken was a simple mistake and the former human before him would no longer be here.

 Not even Logan deserved that.

 First Roman and now Logan… “Maybe I did deserve everything that happened to me.” He muttered. And then, a little louder, he said, “because I was wrong. That was wrong and I am...so sorry.”

 Logan only nodded, still clearly in shock as he stared at a spot of nothingness in the distance. He shuddered, pulling the edges of blankets tighter around his chest as if they could offer some form of protection.

 Virgil sighed but hadn’t expected Logan to talk. “...Do you need anything?” He asked, echoing what he had said this morning to Roman.

 Logan paused in consideration before giving another nod.

 “Okay, um…” Instead of trying to get Logan to tell him what he wanted, he left the room a got a little of everything. Just as he had done for Roman. He placed the pile he had gathered at the end of the bed, looking back at Logan.

 “Alright, so I have some water, food, I found a heating pad? If you want that?” Virgil asked, holding it up.

 Logan shook his head. He didn’t want any of those things. Instead, he motioned to himself and then whooshed his arms in another direction just as Virgil had done back when they first met.

 Virgil deflated, recognizing the gesture and knowing exactly what it meant. “...You want to leave, don’t you?”

 Logan gave a simple nod. He now understood why, as a borrower, Virgil had been so desperate to get away. When the adrenaline brought on by fear was still fresh in your veins, a human presence felt overwhelming no matter what their intentions.

 “Well, okay, but um…” Virgil looked from Logan to the floor. “No offense but uh...how are you going to get down?”

 Logan gave Virgil a glare, feeling offended anyways. Since his limbs were warmed up, Logan decided to prove himself. He moved out from under the covers over to where the comforter draped all the way to the ground. This way, even if he fell a pile of blankets were beneath him. Logan grabbed onto the thick fabric, jumping off the edge of the bed and sliding down.

 It took everything in Virgil’s power not to dive over there to grab Logan, to stop him. But he didn’t, he simply watched, though he did move closer a few steps just in case.

 After a few moments Logan landed safely on the ground, the only injury gained was a slight rug burn on his hands. Logan tried to look smugly up at Virgil, but the further back he craned his neck the less confident he felt. The shrunken human crossed his arms, hoping to look more confident and hide his shaking as he stepped back against the bed frame.

 For Logan’s benefit, Virgil ignored the shaking. “Huh, impressive.” He knew that had been quite the distance for the shrunken human. Especially since he had no borrower skill.

 Logan gave him a nod in acknowledgment.

 Virgil nodded back as he fidgeted slightly. “So, uh...Where are you gonna go?” If Logan wanted to get away for a little while, sure, that was fine. But it would make Virgil a little too anxious not knowing where Logan was.

 Logan paused, having not thought this far ahead. Where did a borrower go to get away? Should Logan go there, too? He wanted somewhere far away from Virgil, someplace safe and out of a human’s reach…

 Getting an idea, Logan began to walk towards the doorway, taking the long way around where he pressed himself up against the wall to keep as much distance from Virgil at all times as possible.

 Virgil didn’t move but continued to watch Logan closely as he walked. “Um…?”

 Logan didn’t bother answering as he entered the hall, turning the corner to get out of Virgil’s line of sight.

 Virgil bit his lip. Logan wanted to be alone, so he really shouldn’t be following him...but at the same time, a number of things could happen if Virgil let Logan go off on his own completely. If Logan had been born a borrower, it would be fine. But a human at that size, having only very little idea on how things were...yeah, no. Virgil didn’t want to take any chances.

 Virgil walked until he was in the doorway, scanning the floor until he saw Logan still walking.

 Logan knew where he wanted to go and didn’t let the trembles of Virgil’s footsteps deter him. Logan wasn’t sure if Virgil would try to stop him, so he began to walk more quickly towards his target: the trapdoor in the floor.

 The wood plank was still slightly uneven from when Patton had lifted it this morning, which reminded Logan that this was not a perfect safe haven. No, Logan did not plan on staying there. It was the only entrance Logan knew of into the building’s wall tunnels. Logan would borrow what he needed from Virgil’s own borrowing supplies and set off where no human had gone before.

 Thus decided, Logan lifted the trapdoor and began to climb down.

 Virgil’s eyes widened as he realized what Logan was about to do. “Uh, Logan!” He took a few steps forward but stopped himself halfway. “Look, I know you want to be alone and stuff. I get it, but the walls-the walls aren’t the best place for a human. You don’t know the layout, it’s like a maze in there!” Virgil spoke, trying to convince Logan. He knew taking any sort of action wouldn’t be good at the moment

 Logan frowned. How dare Virgil act as though Logan was an incapable innocent when moments ago Virgil was dangling him over the roof like an active transgressor. Logan had already guessed the layout would be winding and difficult to navigate, but he also had the foresight of the human layout of the building on his side. If he kept in mind what the tunnels would appear as outside the walls, surely Logan could find his way around.

 So, in response to the human’s words, Logan stuck a single finger out at Virgil before pulling the trapdoor shut behind him.

 Virgil found himself confused by the gesture but didn’t have any time to think about it as Logan disappeared from his view. Shoot! Welp, so much for not taking any action.

 Virgil ran to where Logan had been, dropping to his knees harshly as he gripped the loose floorboard and pulled up, easily lifting it from the floor.

 Logan froze, watching the roof disappear from above and flood the entire room with light. Quickly abandoning the idea of looking for supplies, Logan took off into the closest borrower-sized doorway.

 Virgil tried to reach out his hand to grab Logan, but it was too late. Logan was gone, off into the walls.

 This wasn’t good.

 Putting down the board he still held off to the side, Virgil stood up and started to pace, hand running through his hair. This was all his fault, if he hadn’t been so overcome by the idea of revenge this wouldn’t have happened. And now Logan was in the walls, probably getting lost. He just hoped the shrunken human didn’t run into any spiders...or rats.

 He had to get him out of there. But how? It wasn’t like Virgil could go in...after him…

 Maybe he couldn’t, but Roman could!

 “Oh, you suppose?” Logan muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. Thankfully no one seemed to hear him.

 “Okay, well how about you two just talk out here?” Thomas offered, gesturing to the coffee table where Logan already stood. “Then Patton and Virgil, you two can take Logan’s bedroom.” 

 Virgil nodded. “Alright.” He put Roman on the coffee table before following Patton into the bedroom. 

 Virgil stood awkwardly in the middle of the bedroom as Patton shut the door behind him. His friend then came over to stand in front of him, crossing his arms. Virgil found himself receiving the disappointed look from before. “I’m really sorry Pat, I-”

 “I know Virgil.” Patton cut him off, dropping his hands to his sides and looking at Virgil sadly. “I know. I know you and I know you regret it, right?”

 Virgil nodded furiously. “Yes, I do, so much.” Virgil’s earlier self-deprecation and thoughts came back to him and tears welled up in his eyes. “I-I almost killed them, Pat.”

 “Oh kiddo.” Patton came forward and captured Virgil in a hug, holding him tight. “Shh, it’s alright. The important thing to remember is you didn’t kill anyone, okay?” Virgil sniffed against Patton’s shoulder.

 “You sound like Roman.” Virgil let out a watery chuckle. Patton, for his part, looked intrigued. 

 “Oh?” He had to assume Roman and Virgil were friends now, with how they responded to Thomas before, but he wanted to know what happened exactly. Virgil nodded.

 “Yeah, he...forgives me. Told me not to worry about it and that I’m only a bad human because I was never meant to be human.” Patton hummed, nodding.

 “Sounds right to me,” Patton said and pulled away a little to be able to see Virgil. “Look kiddo, we’re already friends, so this talk isn’t about that. And I forgive you for everything as well, but…” Patton sighed. “I’m sure you know.”

 “Logan.” Virgil sighed and Patton nodded.

 “Yeah. I already talked to him about you. And I asked him to at least hear you out about things. So I’m going to ask the same to you, okay? I know what Logan did to you, to us, was wrong. But Logan knows that now, and he’s apologized.”

 “I-I know,” Virgil said after a moment of hesitation. Patton looked at him.

 “Virgil, both of you are feeling some of the same things right now. I can tell. You both regret what you did but you’re not sure if you can forgive the other for what they’ve done.” Virgil’s eyes went wide, that’s exactly how he felt. Even though he regretted his actions and didn’t feel like Logan deserved them, he was still...upset at Logan for everything he did before.

 But Patton was right, as always. They were in the same boat here, and if he wanted Logan to forgive him, he needed to work on forgiving Logan. 

 “I’ll try, I promise,” Virgil said and Patton grinned.

 “Good. I’m proud of you kiddo.” They hugged again before pulling away fully this time. They stood there for a moment.

 “Should we...go back out now?” Virgil asked, motioning towards the door. Patton chuckled.

 “Something tells me they aren’t done yet. We should probably wait for Thomas to come to get us.” Virgil nodded, looking around the room. 

 “So, whatcha wanna do until then?” Patton thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers.

 “Oh! I never got to really tell you about my trip out with Thomas! It was great, okay, so, we get in his car, right? And then-” Virgil took a seat on the bed, listening to Patton speak with a smile on his face as they both waited to be called back.

***

 Thomas waved goodbye to the borrowers, heading back into the kitchen. The two looked at each other, not sure what to say.

 “Sooo…” Roman tried to start off the same way he had with Virgil, but Logan cut him off.

 “Don’t.” Logan shook his head, turning away.

 “Wha- don’t?!” Roman looked offended, jogging over to where Logan stood so the nerd couldn’t ignore him. “Excuse me, did you just tell me to shut up? Did you forget the whole point of this?”

 “We’re neighbors, not friends,” Logan said, putting a hand on Roman and gently pushing him away to keep the prep from invading his personal bubble.

 “Yeah, but we have to become friends to appease the writer witches, remember?” Roman reminded him.

 “That whole idea was preposterous to begin with.” Logan pushed up his glasses. “While I had no problem strengthening my relationship with Patton, I see no reason to do the same for you or...Virgil.”

 “Okay, Virgil, I get.” Roman put his hands up in surrender, knowing Logan was still traumatized. “But why not me? What have I done?”

 “Oh, where do I begin.” Logan looked too gleeful for someone about to list off negative traits about his fellow human. “For starters, the very first interaction the two of us have ever had in person was you running into me and harming our respective borrowers, as well as myself, in the process.”

 “That was an accident-!” Roman tried to protest.

 “Ah ah ah, I wasn’t finished.” Logan waved his finger back and forth. “Even before I met you I disliked you. Frankly, you don’t even make a good neighbor. You’re rude with how loudly you blare your ‘tunes’ and disrespectful in keeping me awake late into the night. I haven’t had a good night’s rest since you moved in.”

 “You never even tried to talk to me about this,” Roman argued.

 “I left many strongly worded letters in your post box,” Logan informed him. “But after a period of time, it became clear that receptacle was never checked.”

 “So what, you won’t be my friend because I forget to check my mail?” Roman crossed his arms. “Really?”

 “Hardly.” Logan was far from finished. “Let us fast forward to after that incident. I learn you traumatized Patton,-”

 “I already apologized to him for that.”

 “-break into my apartment, repeatedly insult me, and then insist that I’m a villain for trying to protect my friend.” Logan ignored Roman’s outburst.

 “I didn’t call you a villain for trying to ‘protect’ Patton.” Roman huffed, getting annoyed. “I called you a villain because you were trying to keep two people captive. Again.”

 Logan rolled his eyes. “Then let’s fast forward to today, shall we? When you repeatedly took Virgil’s side despite the fact that he was actively trying to torture me.”

 “I wasn’t on Virgil’s side, I was on your side.” Roman insisted. “I came to rescue you. That’s why I climbed off this table to go after Virgil!”

 “Oh really?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you insist I didn’t tell Patton? Why’d you insist I lie and hide the nature of my injuries? What possible benefit could that have for me?”

 “I was trying to keep everything civil,” Roman argued. “I wanted to keep the peace between everyone. I thought Patton deserved some happiness, and I thought Virgil deserved a chance to ...change.”

 “Yes, and that worked out so well.” Logan sneered. “I almost died because of your foolish redemption thoughts. Next time, leave the thinking to those of us with a brain.”

 “Hey!” Roman knew Logan had every right to be angry at him, but that was just rude. “You weren’t innocent as a human, either.” 

 “I didn’t dangle anyone off a building.” Logan hissed, looking extremely tense as he began to shake.

 “Okay, yes, fair enough.” Roman backed up a few steps, giving Logan space. “You didn’t do that. But I talked to Virgil, and he knows he screwed up. Big time.”

 “Stop saying that!” Logan pulled at his hair slightly, tears forming in his eyes. “Stop talking about him like he’s changed or or like he’s not just waiting in there to be alone with me again and- and-”

 “Logan!” Roman rushed over, rubbing at Logan’s shoulders comfortingly. A few tears began to fall from the nerd’s face, but Roman tactfully ignored them as he pulled Logan into a hug. Roman began rubbing circles into Logan’s back.

 “Logan,” Roman said firmly. “Virgil is not going to kill you. Patton and I will stay in the apartment, okay? Thomas is here, too. You have nothing to worry about.”

 “I-I know.” Logan winced, hearing a hiccup come out with his words. He hated appearing weak, but at least Roman wasn’t mocking him for it like Logan would have expected. “Logically, it makes...sense. Virgil won’t try anything with everyone around.”

 “...but?” Roman prompted. 

 “But…” Logan sighed, pulling away from the hug to take a seat on the wooden surface. He pulled his knees to his chest. “It’s just...difficult not to feel afraid of impossibilities at this size.”

 “I know what you mean.” Roman sat down beside him. “I have been scared soooo many times today. By Virgil, by Patton...and by a certain giant rat.”

 “That thing was atrocious.” Logan shuddered.

 “Yeah…” Roman paused, finding the timing right to ask a question he had been wondering ever since that incident. “Hey Logan, why did you save me from that thing, anyways?”

 “It was the right thing to do.” Logan shrugged.

 “Well, that doesn’t seem like a very ‘you’ answer.” Roman teased.

 “I haven’t been feeling very ‘me’ today,” Logan admitted. “Although I suppose that’s the problem, I’ve been feeling far too much today. It’s exhausting.”

 “Does that include feelings...for me?” Roman said hopefully. “Because, y’know, logically, I think saving someone from a giant rat is less of a neighborly thing and more of a...friendly thing?”

 Logan chuckled. “I suppose it...could be classified as such an act, yes.”

 “And does that mean we’re friends?” Roman leaned very close to Logan, eyes sparkling.

 “Ah, not quite.” Logan pushed him back. “I still have one last question for you.”

 “Go ahead, bestie.” Roman winked, elbowing him lightly. 

 “...Why do you hate me?” Logan asked, looking down at his lap.

 “Wait, what?” Roman frowned, leaning back slightly. “I’m trying to make you one of my best friends, why on earth would I hate you?”

 “Back when Virgil was trying to scare me,” Logan winced, “the first time, he asked you for one good reason to not hate me. And you…” Logan looked at his hands, clenching them into fists. “...you came up with nothing.”

 “...oh.” Roman suddenly remembered that he did, in fact, say that.

 “All you could think to say was that I’m manipulative, selfish, and generally unpleasant to be around.” Logan gritted his teeth. “But now that some old piece of paper says we’ll be human again if we’re ‘best friends’, you’re suddenly acting all buddy-buddy.”

 “Logan…” Roman sighed. “I only said those things because I was trying to say what I thought would make Virgil listen. Anything good I said about you wouldn’t have been good enough for him, he’d just shoot it down.”

 “What, so you weren’t even willing to try?” Logan scoffed.

 “I pandered to my audience,” Roman admitted. “I talked about you in a way that I thought would make Virgil agree so that he’d see my point. I was trying to protect you.”

 “Well, you have a funny way of showing that.” Logan pointed out.

 “Okay, fair enough.” Roman conceded. “But you do have to admit that, before, you were all of those things.”

 “I was not ‘generally unpleasant to be around’!” Logan said in a huff. 

 “That one was harsh!” Roman put his hands up in defeat. “I’ll admit, not my best work. I could have phrased it better. But you were, in the beginning, cruel to both of our borrower friends.”

 “But you’ve changed.” Roman continued. “You’re not those things anymore. I know we haven’t spent much time together, but we’ve had our share of good moments. And you’re clearly listening to others, being empathetic, and using your knowledge for good. You’ve made a terrific borrower.”

 “...I do try.” Logan adjusted his glasses. 

 “And you saved me.” Roman reminded him. “Despite the fact you thought I hated your guts, you saved me. You really did do it just because it was the right thing, didn’t you?”

 “Well, yes,” Logan said. “After all, I don’t lie.” 

 “Logan, I’m...I’m sorry.” Roman apologized. “I’m sorry I ever called you the bad guy. You’re a good person.”

 Logan looked over at him. “Really?”

 “Really.” Roman nodded. “You’re a good person, who deserves a decent sleep schedule. So I’m sorry about my music, too, and when everything switches back I promise to fix that.”

 “And I shall promise to approach you with my problems rather than allowing them to accumulate in your mailbox,” Logan promised.

 Roman stuck out his pinkie, wanting to make it official.

 “Really, Roman?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “We’re not twelve.”

 “C’mon, I want to make it official.” Roman gave a small whine. “Besides, I’ve kind of got a thing going right now.”

 “Fine.” Logan entwined his pinkie with Roman’s. 

 “Excellent!” Roman stood up, offering Logan a hand to help him stand. “Friends?”