Story Summary: Written for Intrulogical Week 2022 @intrulogicalweek
Logan is stuck in Limbo until the Afterlife Registration Bureau processes his case so he can properly move onto a afterlife, whether that is heaven, hell, reincarnation or something else. While wandering around aimlessly, he’s approached by a demon that introduces himself as Remus and offers him a quicker way to the next life.
Content Warnings: Gambling, Conflict
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“Hello Remus,” Logan greeted as he opened the door. Remus grinned at him.
“Hey Lo Lo! You through those books yet?”
“Oh, well…” Logan’s face flushed at the memory of how he acquired half of said books. “A few of them I have finished, but most of them I have not gotten to yet.” Remus’ grin became even wider at the sight of Logan’s blush. Logan cleared his throat when he noticed him staring. “Where are we going today?”
“Well, I was thinking. How are you supposed to choose which afterlife you want at the end of the challenges if you don’t know what any of them are about. Y’know, besides reincarnation. So, I decided I would take you on a little tour instead!”
“That sounds indeed logical,” Logan agreed slowly, “but am I even allowed to leave Limbo? You said that technically you weren’t even supposed to take me to Sector Zero.”
“True and yeah, I really shouldn’t do this but I’m a demon so who cares! We’ll go to Hell first and no one there will give a shit. We need to be a bit more careful in Heaven, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
“And if we do get caught?”
“You can just say I dragged you along. They can’t really hold you to anything, you’re literally just a random soul, you couldn’t get anywhere if you wanted to or threaten me to take you. They’ll just bring you back here and I’ll get a minor punishment. Wouldn’t be the first time. It’s fine.”
Logan eyes Remus for a moment, unsure whether he could trust his words, but he believed that he knew the demon well enough by this point that he wouldn’t just lead him to his doom. And he was curious to see what the infamous realms truly looked like.
“Very well, but I want you to promise to not leave my side. I do not want to be confronted by someone alone.”
“You can hold my hand the entire time if you want, teach,” Remus teased, shimmying his shoulders and causing Logan to blush.
“Good,” he said after clearing his throat again. “Then let’s go.”
Remus grabbed his hand with an excited laugh and they both vanished.
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The noise that crashed into them when they reappeared almost made Logan dizzy. It took him a moment to focus on his surroundings, but he soon saw a sight that was familiar though he never visited such an establishment in life.
“A casino?” he questioned. Next to him Remus was jumping up and down in place, his wings flapping excitedly.
“Yes!” he cheered loudly but it was barely noticed by the other demons that were around them. They were too entranced with their games or conversations and general loudness to pay attention to them. “This is one of my favorite places! It’s Hell nowadays in a nutshell! Fun, parties, and booze!”
“What happened to punishing the sinners?” Logan asked, eyebrow raised as he looked around. Remus waved him off.
“That’s still happening but only with the real assholes, like corrupt politicians, billionaires, war criminals and all that. We didn’t have the capacity to punish every soul for every little thing anymore, so we focused our attention on the big fishes. Now the main difference between Hell and Heaven is… how do I describe it… I guess Hell is a party town, but the houses and stuff aren’t super great, and Heaven has the luxury shit, but they don’t let loose like we do here.”
“Fascinating,” Logan mumbled.
“Any games you wanna try?” Remus asked, hoping that Logan would indulge him. It took a moment, but he wasn’t disappointed.
“Do you have blackjack?”
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“Amazing!” Remus cheered as the finally left the table. “How did you win three times in a row? Were you cheating?!” Logan smiled as he watched him bounce up and down.
“It depends on whether you consider card counting cheating. It technically wasn’t illegal on earth, but most casinos would kick you out if they assumed you were counting.”
“Uhhh! How does it work?” Logan explained the technique to him while they walked around the hall, but none of the other games caught his eye.
“Most cheating is allowed here as long as you aren’t caught,” Remus explained once Logan was finished. “If you are, it’s considered an instant loss.”
“I see. That seems like a good compromise for a place like this with no real currency.”
“Yeah, all bets are just for fun! Though if you lose too much, you might get a cool down for a few days. Just so they don’t end up in a downwards spiral because that isn’t fun for anyone.” Logan nodded in agreement. “Anyway! Ready for our second stop? You’re gonna love it~”
“Now I’m certainly curious. Lead the way,” Logan said with a smile and grabbed Remus’ hand. The demon grinned and teleported them away.
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They reappeared inside a building with wide, white, marble halls. Remus held up his finger to his lips and took a look around.
“Alright,” he whispered, “so far, the coast is clear. But we’ll need to stay quiet. Keep close to me.” Logan was a bit confused but did as he was told. He followed Remus who kept close to the walls and stood still every once in a while to listen for something. Finally, he ushered Logan through a heavy door before slipping inside as well and closing it carefully behind them.
“Okay, we should be safe here for a bit,” he said, not quite whispering anymore but still speaking in hushed tones.
“Where are we, Remus?” Logan asked, getting a bit annoyed. Remus grinned.
“We, my dear professor, are in the only place on this side of life where you can see the stars you love so much.” Logan’s eyes widen and only then it occurred to him that he hadn’t taken a look at the room yet. He turned around and there stood the biggest telescope he had ever seen. It took his breath away.
“Oh my,” he whispered softly. He didn’t notice how Remus watched him with a fond expression.
“We can’t stay long because we are definitely not supposed to be here, but I wanted to show it to you at least. I know Hell is the coolest, but Heavens got some good shit, too. I hope I didn’t make you envious of all the people who get to use this whenever they want.”
“I cannot say that it doesn’t. At least a little bit. Can I go closer?”
“Sure. But better not touch it, I dunno if they got some sensors on it.” Logan nodded in acknowledgement, but his eyes never left the telescope. Remus followed him as he took slow steps forwards, fascinated by the look of pure awe on Logan’s face. But of course, the moment couldn’t last.
“Remus? Is that you? You are not supposed to be here!” a voice called out from another door to their left Logan hadn’t noticed before. There stood an angel, with wide, white wings. He was dressed in a uniform of sorts with a red sash across his chest. As he approached with quick steps, Logan noticed that his brown hair and face structure matched Remus almost exactly.
That is probably the brother he had been told about. A brother that shouldn’t have seen them here.
“Oh, Ro-bro, it’s just you.” Remus breathed a sigh of relieve.
“Just me?!” the angel hissed. “I am here as a guard, Remus, I should arrest you! And who is that?” He nodded towards Logan.
“He’s an astronomer I’ve met a while ago. I just wanted to show him the telescope. We weren’t going to touch anything!”
“Like I believe that!” Remus’ brother turned to Logan. “I am so sorry he has dragged you here. I am Sir Roman. I am a knight. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gave a little bow.
“Likewise. My name is Dr. Logan Croft.” Suddenly, Roman leaned closer to him, his eyes squinted. Then he shot around to Remus.
“He’s from Limbo?” he hissed. “You can’t bring the Damned up here and Unassigneds even less so! What were you thinking? Oh wait, you weren’t!”
“We didn’t even do anything!”
“Why did you bring him here?”
“Like I said, he’s an astronomer, I just wanted to show him the telescope!”
“Why am I even asking you?!” Roman threw his hands up before turning back to Logan. “I am so sorry about this, but please tell me your perspective on this? Why are you here with him?”
“Remus said that he wanted to give me an impression of Heaven and Hell before I complete his challenges and get to choose which afterlife I want to go to.” Roman’s eyes wandered back to his brother who was making a cutting motion across his throat. He narrowed his eyes before looking at Logan again.
“I think I know what’s going on now,” he began, and Remus tried to shush him, but he continued talking. “I’m afraid I must inform you that Remus has played a trick on you. The custom of a soul beating seven challenges set by a demon to earn a place in the afterlife of its choosing is no longer in effect.”
Logan froze for a moment before his eyes wandered slowly to Remus who was biting his bottom lip and avoiding eye contact.
“Is that true?” Logan asked him. Remus fidgeted in place for a moment before nodding. Logan took a deep breath before turning back to Roman. “Thank you for telling me. It seems that I fell for the demon’s plot.” He ignored how Remus flinched. “I will remain more vigilant in the future. Would you be willing to bring me back to Limbo, please?”
“Logan, wait-!” Remus spoke up but Logan ignored him again.
“I am sorry for being an inconvenience.” Roman glanced at his brother and saw the deep hurt in his eyes. Maybe he had said too much. But he couldn’t take it back now.
“Of course. I will be happy to escort you.” Logan nodded stiffly, still not looking in Remus’ direction. Roman watched the devastation on his brother’s face before the demon disappeared. He screwed up this time. He really wanted to talk to Patton right away – maybe his boyfriend had an idea on how to fix this – but for now he had to take Logan back.
“Shall we?” he asked, offering his arm for the other to take. He did so without another word and they disappeared.
"We really shouldn't be here" Virgil murmured as he kicked at a pebble on the grass floor.
"Good thing I didn't ask for your opinion" Roman shot back, his wings weaving around a bit to avoid being injured by the branches that surrounded them. Virgil scoffed at this remark, glaring at him.
"Roman, why does it matter if we find our old cottage anyways? It's not like we left anything of importance in there-" He tried, looking around the dark forest he used to know like the back of his hand. Now though, a couple hundred years later, he could barely recognize it.
"For memories sake! Aren't you curious to see what's become of it?"
"Not really" Virgil murmured "It's probably in shambles at this point" He pointed out, still trying to discourage Roman from going in any deeper. What if something happened in here? What if one of them got attacked, or fell off a cliff? They don't even have phone service to call emergency services. Finally, Roman seemed to be taking Virgil's worries into consideration. He slowed down and looked over at his husband.
"Virgil, we've lived for hundreds of years, and we lived through so much shit. Something like this is nothing compared to what we've been through in the past" Roman said, voice soft and reassuring. Virgil bit at his lip and let out a sigh.
"I know Ro, but... I still worry. Now that we have all of these tools in our palm, I'm scared we'll die because of something fucking dumb, you know? I can't lose you after everything we fought just to preserve our lives and love" Virgil admitted, glancing at the forest floor, tugging gently at his hoodie sleeves. He heard Roman fondly sigh, and his head was gently tilted up. There he found Roman looking at him with a clear, loving gaze.
"You don't need to worry Virge, nothing like that will happen, okay?"
"I can, because I've never let anything happen before now" He said gently, and Virgil raised a brow, opening his mouth to retort only to be cut off "Okay! Yeah, maybe some things have... gotten close, but we're still here today, and that's all that matters, okay? We're both more resilient than humans, we heal faster, and we live so much longer. If we do end up facing danger, we'll work through it, just like we've done in the past. Okay?" Roman said, looking down at his love. Virgil finally gave a small nod, the anxiety and worry in his eyes slowly dissipating.
Roman chuckled softly and leaned down, catching Virgil's lips in his. Virgil leaned into it, and after a few seconds they pulled away, smiling fondly at each other. Roman grabbed at his lover's hand and intertwined their fingers.
"Now that we've made that clear, how about we continue on our adventure, shall we?" He inquired, and Virgil felt a swell of love for this man. Even though he clearly wanted to continue on, he was still giving Virgil the choice to back out now. In response, he nodded slightly.
"Yeah, let's keep going. I am a bit curious to see how our cottage turned out" He finally admitted, and a huge grinned suddenly made its way to onto Roman's face.
"Exactly! Now come on, it can't be that far off from here!" Roman said before turning around, starting to walk in the direction with newfound vigor. Virgil chuckled softly and followed after him.
"How can you be so sure?"
"I'm not!" Roman admitted enthusiastically, and that startled a laugh out of him.
"Of course not, why did I even hope?" Virgil teased, and Roman rolled his eyes and lightly slapped at Virgil's arm. They both looked at each other for a moment and laughed simultaneously. They continued walking through the forest, hands intertwined as they searched for their old home.
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"Holy shit we're close!" Virgil suddenly exclaimed, and Roman winced at the use of the holy name used in vain. Virgil sent him a sympathetic look "Sorry-" He said, and Roman shrugged it off, quickly changing the subject.
"How can you be so sure?" He inquired, and Virgil gestured his free hand vaguely around them.
"I just recognize this place, so we're close-" He said, and Roman raised his eyebrow with clear suspicion at this, but nodded anyways. Virgil gripped at his hand and started leading him to where he had a vague sense the cottage would be. Roman tried to form a protest, but it quickly fell silent when he saw a vague figure in the distance. He brightened suddenly and quickly gripped at Virgil's hand tighter, starting to run as well.
Finally, they arrived at the remains of their cottage, and surprisingly, it was still standing, although the roof had completely broken, all of the wood laying in shambles on the inside of the small building. Although all of the wood was rotting and moss-covered, or had parts breaking off of it
"Wow, we built this cottage amazingly for it to still be standing-" Roman said, a proud grin on his face. Virgil admired the remains of it for a moment before nodding to himself.
"Honestly, yeah- I was expecting all of it to have collapsed by now" Virgil admitted, stepping forward towards it. The actual cottage had never had any windows on it, if only because they were expensive and it'd be too easy for intruders to enter. Same reason that their door opened to the outside, so it would be harder to break down the door.
It had come in useful from time to time.
"Anyways! Let's try to get inside!" Roman suddenly proclaimed, breaking Virgil out of reminiscing "Should we fly up there, or try entering through the front door?"
"I say we try the front door first-" Virgil said, and Roman nodded along, striding over to where the front door was. The handle was broken off and Roman pursed his lips before putting his hand through the hole where the doorknob was and pulling the door open.
Except the door completely fell off.
At that, Roman quickly stepped back with a girly shriek, letting go of the wood as it fell down where he was previously standing. Virgil rushed over towards Roman, who was quickly flushing pink with embarrassment.
"Are you okay!?" Virgil asked, quickly checking Roman's hand for any injuries. At this Roman laughed nervously, scratching at the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine- It just... scared me? A bit?" He admitted sheepishly, and at this Virgil looked up and cocked a brow at him, suddenly letting Roman's hand fall back to his side.
"You're a dick" Virgil said, and Roman pouted.
"It's not my fault!" He protested, and at that Virgil just rolled his eyes and went to check and see if they could enter through the now gaping hole in their old cottage. He nodded to himself and tilted his head towards the inside "We can enter from here-" He said before placing his feet on the pieces of wood, pushing himself up as he ducked his head to not hit it against the top of the door frame.
There, he stepped forward, careful to step onto the more stable pieces of wood. He glanced around the small space that he used to call home. He ignored Roman's grunts from behind him as he crawled inside as well. He examined the space quickly. The pieces of furniture they'd left behind still in they're original place, granted clearly messed up from the wood that came down from the caving roof.
"Huh, I forgot we lived in such a small space." Roman commented as he looked around. Virgil shrugged slightly at that.
"I mean, we've never really had the chance to live in the height of luxury either." He countered, wincing slightly as the light from the sun hit at his skin. Roman glanced at him and frowned, flipping up Virgil's hood to hide his face from the sun. Until now the trees had hidden most of the sun that filtered through, but they were currently in a clearing.
"Hide your face, I don't need you getting sunburnt on my watch" Roman said, ignoring his earlier statement as he walked forward, examining their old pieces of furniture. He tried to open up one of the wooden drawers, but it wouldn't budge.
"I hope you realize you won't find anything of importance in there-" Virgil commented as he made his way towards the corner where they used to share a bed. He smiled softly down at the space, even though there was nothing left there.
"I know that! But I'm still curious. It's not like we took everything with us when we left" Roman said, and finally the drawer opened with a loud thunk. "Yes!" Roman called and looked inside, and now Virgil's curiosity was peaked as well. He shoved his hands in his pockets and carefully made his way towards where the drawer was, stumbling slightly as one of the logs shifted under his weight.
"Is there anything in there?" He inquired, and Roman nodded slightly.
"Yeah!" Roman said and stepped to the side a bit to let the both of them look inside. Virgil leaned his head forward and saw some old paper and quills, even a pot of ink. Some candles lay there as well, and for a brief moment, Virgil wondered where the candle holder was. He hummed and grabbed at the quills with a careful touch. While he examined the contents of that opened drawer, Roman tried to open the one under it, although he was struggling a bit since it was blocked by a few logs. Virgil didn't pay to much mind to him.
He noted to himself how a few of the quills had broken tips, and briefly, he wondered why he'd bothered to keep them if they were broken. He quickly left that thought as he looked through the other contents of the drawer, notably the pieces of paper, which looked to be in pretty bad condition, but it could be worst.
Virgil picked up the small stack of paper, being very careful to not damage them. The first few pages were blank, and he placed does back inside the drawer carefully. Then, he found some poems and drawings, and suddenly tears sprung to his eyes. He had completely forgotten about these. Both he and Roman used to write poems to each other, and they both loved drawing, so occasionally, when they had the time, they'd sit down at a very small desk and draw together, or write while simply basking in the presence of each other.
How could he have forgotten about those moments? How could they have left these here, to forever be forgotten?
"Are you okay?" A soft voice inquired. Virgil glanced down, and there he found Roman looking up at him with a gentle, worried look, still crouching down by the other drawer. Virgil laughed slightly and wiped at his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine... Just, look at these" He said, and handed the stack of paper to him. As Roman glanced down, understanding dawned on his expression. A smile made it's way to his lips, a nostalgic look finding it's way onto his face. He nodded to himself and slowly started looking through them.
"Wow... I forgot about these" Roman said, and Virgil nodded slightly.
"I forgot about them as well... I suppose in our rush to leave, we forgot about these" Virgil said and leaned his hip again the drawer. Roman nodded slightly before handing them back to him.
"They're in pretty bad condition, but still legible." Roman said, looking back towards the bottom drawer "You wanna bring them back to the apartement?" He asked, and Virgil nodded slightly.
"Yeah... I'd like that. I know they won't last forever, but it's still nice to have them, you know?" He said, and Roman smiled softly, nodding in agreement with his statement.
"Okay then, put them back in the drawer and we'll make sure to take them before leaving, okay?" Roman said, voice uncharacteristically soft as he spoke. Maybe these pages were just as important to him as they were for Virgil. He nodded slightly and placed them back in the drawer and slid it closed.
Then there was a loud bang of the bottom drawer sliding open, the drawer slamming against a piece of wood as Roman fell backward's on his ass.
"You good?" Virgil inquired nervously, trying to not make a scene like he did earlier. Roman looked up at him with wide eyes before nodding slowly, looking at his hands for any signs of injury. Then he nodded more certainly.
"Yeah, all good!" Roman said, and Virgil sighed in relief. Roman was like a toddler, whenever he got hurt he just bounced back. Virgil sometimes wondered how he hasn't gotten a heart attack because of him yet. "Okay then, let's see what we've got in here-" Roman said, and pulled open the drawer just a bit more to see better.
"So, what is it?" Virgil asked, and Roman shrugged slightly.
"Nothing super interesting, just some stuff we used to use for cleaning our clothes and all- Stuff we could spare when we left" Roman said and closed it again, standing up and dusting himself off, his wings quivering slightly as well. Roman glanced around the small area and hummed. "I wonder if we can still access our underground exit-" Roman wondered out loud.
"Even if we could, it's all buried under this wood, it'd take to long to really get the job done" Virgil reasoned, but Roman pouted slightly.
"I knoooowwww, but still, it'd be interesting to see it again." Roman tried, but Virgil shook his head, not straying and letting Roman win this one.
"It's not like there's anything interesting in there anyways Ro... and It doesn't exactly hold a lot of good memories" Virgil tried again, and this time Roman hesitated at tat remark. He stayed silent, seemingly dwelling on that thought for a moment. Finally, he nodded slowly, if a bit hesitantly, in agreement.
"Yeah, it wouldn't do any of us good to live through that again, would it?" Roman wondered to himself, but despite that, Virgil sent him a pained smile. Roman glanced back at Virgil and sighed in defeat, nodding to himself. He pecked his husband's cheek. "Okay then, if it makes you feel better, we won't check it out." Roman said, and he grabbed at Virgil's hand for a moment, squeezing it to reassure him.
"Thanks Ro" Virgil said, voice soft. At that, Roman brightened a bit, nodding a bit.
"Of course Virge, I'd never force you to go through that again" He reassured, pecking Virgil's lips this time before pulling away, letting go of his hand. "Now then! I say we've explored enough, huh? There isn't exactly much else we can look at. There's the river, but I don't believe we want to think back on our hours of laboring to clean our clothes" Roman said, clearly trying to set a less somber mood. Virgil let out a weak chuckle at that.
"You're right, I don't want to remember feeling all sweaty and sticky while grumbling about clothing being a bitch to clean back in the day- We didn't even have a fireplace to dry it by! Only a clothing hanger outside! You remember how horrible it was to have wet clothes in winter?" Virgil said, glaring accusingly at Roman who simply smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry?" Roman tried, but Virgil just let out a dramatic huff, crossing his arms in fake disdain.
"Say that to my old, cold self. You need to care for your elders you know!" Virgil said, and Roman rolled his eyes at this.
"I'm older than you! You should be taking care of me!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Virgil said, and there was a pause before the two laughed. After a while, they stayed silent, just looking around their small, destroyed, old cottage that still held so many memories of their past, some good, and some bad. It had been home though, and it still holds a place in their hearts.
Finally, after about half an hour, Roman spoke up.
"I think we should go now, before we start getting too tired to walk back" He said, voice gentle. It somehow held both the weight of the memories but was light from being content.
"Yeah..." Virgil said, for once holding back a sarcastic remark as he walked towards the drawer. He slid it open with a bit of struggle, but once it was open, he carefully picked up the stack of papers, even the blank ones. He tucked them safely in his hand, being careful to not crumple them or rip them. Roman sent him a soft smile, grabbing at his hand as he lends him to the exit of the cottage.
"You know the way back?"
"Well, we're about to find out now, won't we?"
"You're unbelievable-"
"You love me"
"Yeah, I do"
From there on out, they slowly walked away from their old house, the memories hanging heavy on their mind as the distance between them and the cottage slowly became bigger and bigger.
Even so, they were content, despite the struggles of their past.
Minor Inconvenience : Angel! Roman x Vampire! Virgil
Title: Minor Inconvenience
Word Count: 872
Roman let out a gentle sigh as he looked around the busy main street, mind wandering to a different headspace as he gazed at the different people walking around, sensing the auras surrounding them all. Some would find it overwhelming, but with how long Roman had been wandering on earth, he'd grown accustomed to it.
He chanced a glance at his partner, Virgil, standing next to him, clutching the handle of their purple umbrella tightly as they walked, eyes set on someone further off. He cocked a brow at that and glanced toward a woman holding the Bible, and he felt a swell of warmth at that as she blessed the people who asked for it, even blessing their water. That warmth was instantly squashed down by immediate panic though as the realization hit him. He quickly glanced at his lover, panic in his eyes
"Oh knick knacks-" Roman suddenly uttered and grabbed onto Virgil's wrist, who yanked said limb back towards them.
"Roman- It's fine, really. How many times do I have to say this? I'm no demon. It's just a bit uncomfortable..." Virgil trailed off, and despite his words, he stepped further away from where the woman stood on the sidewalk as they inched closer. Roman let out a dramatic sigh and grabbed onto his partner's wrist once more, leading them down an alley to get away from the woman, ignoring Virgil's protest.
"Yeah well, it seems like a lot of things make you uncomfortable" Roman said, emphasizing the word to show he hadn't really believed it "Like when you had an allergic reaction to some garlic, something you had ignored on telling me was even a problem-" Roman went to rant on, only to be cut by Virgil once more.
"Oh come on! That was 250 years ago! Are you never gonna let me live it down?" Virgil protested, a cute pout making it's way to his lips as he adjusted his grip on the umbrella so it hid him from the scorching sun as they exited the alleyway.
"Give it another century or so, and maybe you'll hear the end of it" Roman challenged, which only got an annoyed huff out of Virgil.
"That's not the point anyways- It's just minor inconveniences. Nothing like they say today. I don't turn to god damn ash the moment I'm exposed to the sun. I just sunburn in like, 10 minutes of its exposure!" Virgil tried once again, ignoring Romans wince when he used gods name. They've had this debate over a hundred times over their centuries of knowing each other, and yet they never seemed to come to a compromise. While Virgil claimed he could handle all of the things that simply 'inconvenienced' him, Roman claimed that it was no reason to neglect the fact he should avoid such things, even if such things were holy.
Roman still thanked all his lucky stars that Virgil wasn't a demon, because then they'd really meet some challenges with the Council.
He would still do it though, even if it meant losing his angel wings.
Virgil was worth it.
They were lucky it hadn't gotten to that though.
"Whatever, I still insist you wear sunscreen. They have that now! You can just smother a good ten layers of that on and your good for two hours!" Roman said, finally releasing the vampire's wrist and waving it for emphasis. Virgil let out another annoyed huff.
"I feel disgusting when I put it on" Virgil grumbled out.
"Even more disgusting than when all your skin is shedding because you refused to put it on?" Roman countered easily.
"Yes! Even more disgusting than that! I feel like an oily rat and it smells fucking disgusting" Virgil said, nose crinkling at the mere thought of it.
"Say that to all the dead skin I still find floating around our apartment" Roman said, snarling at his lover who simply glared back at him, but Roman could see the smile he was trying to fight back.
"I'll make sure to do just that next time I find my dead skin floating around" Virgil replied sarcastically. Roman shook his head in disbelief at his partner's antics and tilted his head away once more, realizing their apartment wasn't too far off.
"It was a mistake inviting you to help me with errands" Roman finally stated, although his tone implied that he was only joking.
"Well, you were the one that begged for me to join you, even though I insisted that I wouldn't be much help considering these are all angel deeds" Virgil countered, rolling his eyes.
"You help with moral support" Roman said with a shrug, leaning forward to grab at the front door of their apartment building and pulling it open, gesturing dramatically towards the inside. "Your Highness" He said, tilting his head down in an exaggerated bow. Virgil rolled his eyes and smirked, deciding to play along.
"Your Majesty" He said, doing a lazy curtsy before closing his umbrella with one fell swoop and entering the air-conditioned building. Roman smiled at his back and shook his head, a gentle smile forming on his lips as he followed after his lover.
Roman let out a gentle sigh as he looked around the busy main street, mind wandering to a different headspace as he gazed at the different people walking around, sensing the auras surrounding them all. Some would find it overwhelming, but with how long Roman had been wandering on earth, he'd grown accustomed to it.
He chanced a glance at his partner, Virgil, standing next to him, clutching the handle of their purple umbrella tightly as they walked, eyes set on someone further off. He cocked a brow at that and glanced toward a woman holding the Bible, and he felt a swell of warmth at that as she blessed the people who asked for it, even blessing their water. That warmth was instantly squashed down by immediate panic though as the realization hit him. He quickly glanced at his lover, panic in his eyes
"Oh knick knacks-" Roman suddenly uttered and grabbed onto Virgil's wrist, who yanked said limb back towards them.
"Roman- It's fine, really. How many times do I have to say this? I'm no demon. It's just a bit uncomfortable..." Virgil trailed off, and despite his words, he stepped further away from where the woman stood on the sidewalk as they inched closer. Roman let out a dramatic sigh and grabbed onto his partner's wrist once more, leading them down an alley to get away from the woman, ignoring Virgil's protest.
"Yeah well, it seems like a lot of things make you uncomfortable" Roman said, emphasizing the word to show he hadn't really believed it "Like when you had an allergic reaction to some garlic, something you had ignored on telling me was even a problem-" Roman went to rant on, only to be cut by Virgil once more.
"Oh come on! That was 250 years ago! Are you never gonna let me live it down?" Virgil protested, a cute pout making it's way to his lips as he adjusted his grip on the umbrella so it hid him from the scorching sun as they exited the alleyway.
"Give it another century or so, and maybe you'll hear the end of it" Roman challenged, which only got an annoyed huff out of Virgil.
"That's not the point anyways- It's just minor inconveniences. Nothing like they say today. I don't turn to god damn ash the moment I'm exposed to the sun. I just sunburn in like, 10 minutes of its exposure!" Virgil tried once again, ignoring Romans wince when he used gods name. They've had this debate over a hundred times over their centuries of knowing each other, and yet they never seemed to come to a compromise. While Virgil claimed he could handle all of the things that simply 'inconvenienced' him, Roman claimed that it was no reason to neglect the fact he should avoid such things, even if such things were holy.
Roman still thanked all his lucky stars that Virgil wasn't a demon, because then they'd really meet some challenges with the Council.
He would still do it though, even if it meant losing his angel wings.
Virgil was worth it.
They were lucky it hadn't gotten to that though.
"Whatever, I still insist you wear sunscreen. They have that now! You can just smother a good ten layers of that on and your good for two hours!" Roman said, finally releasing the vampire's wrist and waving it for emphasis. Virgil let out another annoyed huff.
"I feel disgusting when I put it on" Virgil grumbled out.
"Even more disgusting than when all your skin is shedding because you refused to put it on?" Roman countered easily.
"Yes! Even more disgusting than that! I feel like an oily rat and it smells fucking disgusting" Virgil said, nose crinkling at the mere thought of it.
"Say that to all the dead skin I still find floating around our apartment" Roman said, snarling at his lover who simply glared back at him, but Roman could see the smile he was trying to fight back.
"I'll make sure to do just that next time I find my dead skin floating around" Virgil replied sarcastically. Roman shook his head in disbelief at his partner's antics and tilted his head away once more, realizing their apartment wasn't too far off.
"It was a mistake inviting you to help me with errands" Roman finally stated, although his tone implied that he was only joking.
"Well, you were the one that begged for me to join you, even though I insisted that I wouldn't be much help considering these are all angel deeds" Virgil countered, rolling his eyes.
"You help with moral support" Roman said with a shrug, leaning forward to grab at the front door of their apartment building and pulling it open, gesturing dramatically towards the inside. "Your Highness" He said, tilting his head down in an exaggerated bow. Virgil rolled his eyes and smirked, deciding to play along.
"Your Majesty" He said, doing a lazy curtsy before closing his umbrella with one fell swoop and entering the air-conditioned building. Roman smiled at his back and shook his head, a gentle smile forming on his lips as he followed after his lover.
