ThinkyFae

I, Roman "Princey" Fulgencio, am in a band with my good friends Patton and Thomas, our friend Logan being our manager. Today was a normal practice day. I was tuning my guitar when Patton came in with a purple haired man behind him who I immediately recognized as Virgil from a rival band. "Patton, what is he doing here?" I point at Virgil. 

"He wants to speak with Logan" I immediately shake my head. 

"No member of a rival band is meeting with our manager" Virgil whispers something at that and I glare at him, "what was that?"

"I'm not a part of them anymore" I am surprised by this fact but still glare at him as I don't fully believe him but then Logan comes into the garage with Thomas next to him. 

"Are you guys ready-oh hello there Virgil" he gives a polite nod in Virgil's direction as I keep my intense glare at him, "why are you here?"

"I wish to speak to you, I'm not a part of them anymore" Logan nods

"Very well follow me into the house-"

"No!" I immediately interrupted, "You are not having a meeting with a rival!" Logan sighs like I'm being a difficult child. 

"He just stated himself that he's no longer a member"

"And you believe him?!" Logan nods

"Yes I do, now follow me Virgil" I keep glaring as they walk away. A few minutes later they come back while Thomas was setting up his microphone, "looks like we have a new member"

"What?!?" We all reply in different tones and I happen to notice I'm the only one feeling negative about this fact, "okay I'm not agreeing to this, let it be known I don't want Virgil as a member" Thomas pats my back.

"Hey just think about it like we stole their member, now we have one up on them" he gestures to Virgil, that does sound good. 

"Fine, he can stay, but I don't like it" I glare at Virgil as I grab my guitar. 

~×~

I wake up groggy as my stomach growls, the noise of Patton snoring from his bed doesn't help. I get up carefully so as to not step on Logan or Thomas, I didn't even notice Virgil's absence, I head down to Patton's kitchen and grab a bag of chips but that's when I hear something. Singing. A gentle singing. I followed the sound to see Virgil sitting at a window looking out at the night as he sang a gentle song. He looked almost beautiful with the moonlight on his face. As a songwriter I always pay attention to lyrics in every song I listen to and I quickly realize he's singing about his time with his past bandmates (I can't write songs so you ain't getting any of Virgil's singing shush) it's a beautifully sad song. After Virgil is quiet for a few seconds I set down my untouched chips and walk over to lean against the wall next to the window

"Nice singing"

"Thats the first complement you've ever given me"

"Yeah well you were my rival" that earned a cute chuckle from Virgil. 

"Seems like I still am"

"Nah, just gotta get used to you" we both stare at the dark living room, "you know" I break the comfortable silence, "you have a nice voice and a talent for songwriting" I stare at the discarded bag of chips as I wait for Virgil's response which didn't come till I looked at him. His unique purple eyes shone as he stared at me with wide eyes. 

"You liked my song?..." I nod slightly before Virgil looks away, "it's a slight rewrite of one I made a while ago while I was still with the others, our manager didn't like it, at least that's what Janus told me, Brutus only spoke to Janus" I shake my head a little. 

"Well they must be deaf to hate something that beautiful" Virgil turned to face me again and our eyes locked for a brief second before we both looked away. I feel my face heat up as I clear my throat and stand up straight, "we should go back to bed before anyone else gets up and realizes we're gone" then my stomach growls again. Virgil chuckles as he gets off the windowsill and grabs my discarded bag of chips. 

"You should eat Princey, I'll head back to bed" I grab the bag from him causing our fingers to brush against each other before he nods a little and heads back to Patton's room. 

What is going on with me?

"Patton I-"  before Janus can finish his sentence he looks up to see Virgil and Patton sitting on Patton's couch, 

"Oh sorry Jan I'm a bit busy" Virgil glares at the snake while Patton smiles. 

"Very well, you know where to find me" he sinks out again and Patton turns his attention back to Virgil. 

"You're actually close with him?" Virgil questions as he looks back at Patton. Patton sighs as he looks down at his lap. 

"I knew I was gonna have to tell you eventually I just didn't think it'd be like this" he rubs the back of his neck. 

"Tell me what?" Virgil has a multitude of emotions rolling in his eyes as Patton sighs. 

"I have been hanging out with Janus and Remus" Virgil's eyes widen, "I spend time at the manor, wine nights with Janus every Saturday" Virgil can't find the words he wants, "I just" Patton looks at the ceiling and sighs "I know you have negative feelings about them, and so did I, but that manor, Remus's manor it..." He smiles a little as he looks down at his lap again, "it's a place I can do, say, and be whatever I want with absolutely no repercussions, they don't care if I drink alcohol, swear occasionally, make dark jokes here and there. I'm not expected to be the perfect bright morality there I'm just Patton there" Virgil looks down. 

"How long?"

"A couple months" Patton rubs the back of his neck. Virgil nods. "Janus invited you" Virgil looks at Patton shocked, "a couple weeks ago he got very drunk and mentioned missing you, Remus was there for this one and mentioned the idea of you coming to a wine night to which Janus told me to ask you when you were finally told about them" Virgil looks at his lap thinking, Janus was drunk when he said that "he wasn't wearing his gloves" Patton added quietly and Virgil looked up at him surprised then looked away before taking a deep breath and getting up. 

"I'm going to Logan's room" he runs his hand through his hair. Patton nods, 

"You don't have to join, just don't hate me for hanging out with them kiddo" Virgil nods before sinking out. 

Virgil pops up in Logan's room, "what do you need Virgil?"

"Can't I just visit my friend?" Logan looks at him,

"While I'm out of my room yes but you don't normally come into my room unless you need something" Virgil sighs and sits on Logan's bed. 

"Just need some logical thinking to clear my head" Logan nods and turns his attention back to his puzzle. After a few minutes of silence Virgil starts tapping his knees, "welp I'm good now, perfectly clear, thanks" but he doesn't get up. Logan turns to face him, 

"No you're not, those nervous taps and tone of voice tells me everything" Virgil lays back. 

"God you're right I just..." He closes his eyes, "Patton invited me to wine night with Janus" Logan looks a little surprised, 

"Patton has wine with Janus?" Virgil nods, 

"And he invited me" Logan nods, 

"Well, do you wish to hear my opinion on your relationship with Janus?" Virgil looks over at him and sits up with a groan. 

"Go ahead I guess" Logan clears his throat. 

"I believe that while you were one of them you had metaphorical rose tinted glasses on, you saw the best in him but after whatever happened between you two you started wearing metaphorical black tinted glasses you now only see the worst in him" he rolls his chair over to Virgil "you need to take off all your metaphorical tinted glasses and see both the pros and cons of him as well as everything that can't fit perfectly in those categories" Virgil's eyes widen as he looks at Logan, hes right, fuck he's so correct. Virgil runs his hand through his hair, "I believe you should go to this wine night, you won't be alone with him at least Patton will be there" Virgil nods a little as he gets up. 

Virgil appears in Patton's room where he is on his phone happily, "hey Pat?" Patton immediately looks up at his son and smiles gently. 

"Yeah kiddo?" He pats the spot next to him on the couch but Virgil doesn't move as he nervously rubs his arm, 

"I'm, I've thought about it and" he takes a deep breath "I'll go to wine night" Patton's eyes light up with pure joy as he gets up to hug the purple side, 

"I'm so happy!" He pulls away a little, "you don't have to stay the whole time kiddo, if you need to go for any reason I will escort you out"

"Right because obviously you can get through the forest with no problem" Virgil's tone was a little sarcastic and Patton nods, 

"Remus and I are close" Virgil looks away from the fatherly side, 

"It's gonna take a while for me to get used to you being friendly with them but I won't police who you hang out with, just be careful okay?" Patton nods, 

"Don't worry Virge I can handle myself" 

~•×•~

Saturday arrived too soon for Virgil's liking as he laid on his floor listening to his music. He didn't hear the knock at his door or Patton enter but when the light side leans over to look at Virgil he gets startled and takes off his headphones, "didn't hear you enter pops" Patton giggles a little and reaches out a hand for Virgil to take which he does. 

"You ready?" Virgil sighs, 

"Ready as I'll ever be" Patton helps Virgil up, 

"Remember you can leave at any time for any reason" he giggles "I may have not told Janus you're coming" Virgil looks shocked. 

"What? Shouldn't he know?" 

"Well I wanted it to be a surprise" he smiles gently, "ready to go?" Virgil sighs and nods. 

The two sides walk to the dark forest in the imagination, Virgil huddles closer to Patton as they step on the almost broken bridge, Virgil stares out at the dark forest he could never walk through alone. Patton gently rubs the back of Virgil's hand with his thumb as he starts walking, "nothing will attack us while I'm here kiddo, just take a deep breath" Virgil does as instructed and they start walking. They get to the manor gate with no problems and Virgil lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. With a wave of Patton's hand the gate opens and Virgil's eyes widen, 

"You really are close with him huh" Patton nods as they head in, Virgil finally lets go of Patton's hand since they got through the forest. When they enter Janus comes over to greet Patton, 

"Ah Pat you're-" before he can finish he sees Virgil "oh Virgil, Patton didn't mention you were joining us tonight" Virgil looks the snake up and down noticing the slightly more casual attire and missing gloves. 

"Do you normally dress like this for these?" Virgil questions to which the snake nods, 

"I enjoy being comfortable for these, since you're joining" with a wave of his hand two new wine glasses join the two already on the table and a new bottle of wine appears beside the one already there, "I'm sure Remus would also wish to join" 

"Thought he didn't like wine" Virgil walks over to the table and picks up the new one, his favorite. 

"He doesn't but he'll probably mix these two together" Janus walks over to his seat "even though they're completely different flavor profiles" Virgil rolls his eyes as he sets the bottle down and sits, 

"Yeah sounds like him" Patton sits next to Virgil as he waves his hand gently to summon Remus who appears covered in blood, no telling if it's his or someone else's, this shocked Virgil as it's very hard to summon Remus especially when he's busy with something

"Pat I was-" his eyes immediately light up as they land on Virgil "little Virgin in my manor?!" Virgil rolls his eyes, 

"I don't appreciate the new nickname"

"Well you decided to ch-" Janus shuts Remus's mouth and gestures to Patton, this shocked Virgil because he didn't think Janus cared if the others knew he wasn't always named Virgil. Patton looked a little confused but just shrugged as Remus rolled his eyes, snapped the blood away, and sat down on the other side of Patton, Janus sits across from Patton. 

Janus expertly opens both bottles immediately handing Virgil his favourite, Virgil stares at the bottle for a second before pouring it the way Janus taught him years ago. Janus nods a little when he sees that as he pours himself some from the other bottle then hands the bottle to Remus, 

"oh I haven't tried this one" Patton states as he looks at the one Virgil is holding, 

"Want to? It's my favorite" he whispers that last part and Patton nods excitedly, "honestly thought you hated alcohol" Patton shrugs as he pours himself some wine, 

"Well it completely depends on the type, I enjoy specific wines"

"You'll like that one, it's sweet" Janus states as Remus grabs both and mixes them like everyone knew he would. Virgil sips his wine as he half listens to Patton and Janus chatting about their days but that's when he notices something, a bracelet. Patton wears a lot of bracelets, one to represent each of his friends, but this one was different, green and light blue beads with three beads spelling out "P♡R" on it. His brain takes a second to process the significance of it but when he does he almost chokes on his wine, everyone turns to him. 

"Pat, may I see your arm?" Patton's eyes immediately widen as he pulls his arm with the bracelet closer to himself, "so you know why I'm asking?" He glances at Remus and Patton sighs, grabbing Remus's hand to show Virgil a matching bracelet Remus has on, Virgil's eyes widen, "how long have you two been?..." His voice trails off, 

"Dating? A couple weeks now" Patton answers then Remus wraps his arms around Patton's neck, 

"And it's been the best couple weeks in my life!" Patton giggles a little and nods, 

"Mine to" he looks back at Virgil who is staring at his wine then he takes a deep breath, 

"If you're genuinely happy, I guess I won't judge" Patton smiles widely. 

"Thank you Virge" they continue drinking and talking, Virgil has to admit he actually enjoyed this time with his ex friends and father figure, it was nice finally removing the metaphorical black tinted glasses and just trying to see everything.

Around midnight Patton yawns, “welp sounds like its time for Virgil and I to head out” that's when he turns to see Virgil already passed out on his chair, “or you guys could find somewhere here for him to stay”

“Don’t worry Patton his old room is still here, he’ll be fine” Janus gets up and walks around the table to pick up Virgil, “you should head back to your room” Patton nods as he looks at the sleeping Virgil in Janus’s arms. He quickly gives Remus a kiss and waves as he heads out,

“See you later!” he smiles as he exits the manor.

~•×•~

In the morning Virgil woke up groggy with his head pounding, for a second he didn’t recognize where he was before he realized he’s in his old room in the manor, each of the “dark sides” have a bedroom within Remus’s manor and this was Virgil’s. He hasn’t been here in a very long time but it looks like nothing changed from the last time he was here, there was even some dust in places but it did look like someone kept it clean over the years. He notices a mug of water and painkillers with a note on his bedside table. The mug was purple with a small spider on it, a crack on the rim, his mug. He grabs the painkillers quickly taking them with the provided water then he picked up the note reading it “Virgil make sure to drink all the water than go check in with Patton so he isn’t worried about you -Janus” Virgil sighs as he finished the water and gets up, he looks around the room again taking in the darkness around him, he sighs before leaving the room. He finds Remus walking in covered in blood yet again. 

“Ah Virgin you’re up!” Virgil sighs,

“Can you make the forest safe for me to cross? I need to check in with Patton than head home” Remus shrugs,

“Sure” he snaps and Virgil feels a weird wave of something rush over him, “you’re fine now for a couple hours, see ya” Remus heads upstairs and Virgil nods. He exits the manor and looks out over the dark forest, he's never been able to walk through with no problem but apparently he can now. He takes a deep breath and pulls his hood on before starting his walk, to his surprise he does make it through completely fine. He sees Patton in his swimsuit putting his hair in a small bun next to the river,

“Oh hey Pat, Janus told me to check in with you so you’d know I’m still alive” Patton smiles up at him,

“Well glad to know you didn’t die, you headed to your place?” Virgil nods, 

“See ya pops” he waves before he walks over to his apartment across the field.