It was almost two weeks before the six of them could sit down and have a conversation.
The marks on Logan’s face had barely faded at all by the time he returned to classes the next day, but any questions his students may have had were quickly silenced by what Roman called his ‘death glare’. Remy was a little harder to shake, but a promise of coffee every day for a month was enough to get them to drop the topic… for the time being, at least.
Virgil was released from the hospital the day after the crash, but Janus’s more extensive injuries kept him detained for almost a week.
Then Roman had been swamped with work since the opening night of his theater’s musical was less than a month away.
But now all of their schedules finally lined up.
Logan, Patton, and Roman were all sitting on the couch in their living room while Virgil took one arm chair and Janus took another. Remus sat on the floor between them holding on to each of their hands and blithely plowing through the obvious tension between the two in a way only Remus could.
Patton had been baking nonstop for days in preparation for this meeting, so the coffee table was laden with different types of pastries and desserts.
All of which had so far gone untouched as everyone pointed looked at anything but each other.
“I will begin if no one has any objections,” Logan said eventually, deciding that the best way to start was to just jump right in.
“That sounds perfect, Lolo.”
“Whatever.”
“Joy of joys.”
Logan ignored Virgil and Janus’s less than optimal responses.
“I am not an expert on feelings, but I am well aware that this will likely be a complicated mess of them. I have no intentions on pressuring anyone into any type of relationship that they are uncomfortable with, nor do I intend to pressure anyone to end any relationships that they are currently in, and I know that Roman and Patton feel the same.”
This last part was spoken directly towards Remus, who seemed to release some of the tension that he was very pointedly pretending that he didn’t feel.
“It’s not my intention to take anything from you,” Roman said quietly, speaking directly to his brother.
“Oh, so now Virgil and I are just objects to you?” Janus demanded, finally letting his dismissive attitude drop in favor of burning anger.
“Janus!” Virgil hissed.
“That’s not what I said!” Roman objected loudly.
“Isn’t it?” Janus snapped. “This is the problem with soulmates! The universe throws some stupid blotches on your skin and suddenly people think they have some kind of claim over you! It’s bullshit!”
“Janny–”
Janus yanked his hand out of Remus’s grasp. “I need a smoke.”
He stormed out of the room as best he could while supporting his weight unsteadily on two crutches, seconds later the walls shook slightly as the front door slammed shut behind him.
Remus looked torn for a moment before seeming to make up his mind. He hopped to his feet, kissed Virgil hand before releasing it, and hurried off after Janus.
Once Remus was gone, Virgil brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his good arm around them, curling himself into a ball on the armchair.
The four of them sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Patton decided to break it.
“I’m sure it’ll be okay, kiddo,” he said gently, looking for all the world like he’d like nothing better than to wrap the other man up in a warm blanket and hold him for a while.
“Easy for you to say,” Virgil muttered into his knees. “You’re not losing anything.”
“Oh sweetie, we’re not trying to take anything from you!” Patton gasped, jumping to his feet. He froze when Virgil shrunk into himself, looking to Logan and Roman uncertainly.
“It’s not you guys,” Virgil said, his words barely intelligible with how little escaped the fabric of his ripped jeans. “I’m sure you guys are fine or whatever. Janus hates soulmates — he thinks they’re a blight on free will.”
“I can see why that would be a mark against the three of us,” Logan conceded thoughtfully. “But why would that affect his relationship with you? As far as I’m aware, neither of you knew the other one was your soulmate, therefore you both chose each other out of your own free will.”
Virgil shrugged and didn’t reply.
Logan looked to Roman and Patton, hoping one of them would know what to do now. After a moment, Roman cleared his throat.
“And, what about you?” He asked.
“What?” Virgil lifted his head from his knees to look at the three of them again.
“What are your thoughts on soulmates?” Roman asked. “If you share in Janus’s sentiments then I believe our part in this drama has come to an end — none of us wish to pursue a relationship that is unwanted by any party involved — but if you’re amenable then perhaps… erm…”
Roman faltered, losing steam as he lost confidence in his point.
“I mean,” Virgil said slowly. “I’m not necessarily against soulmates, it’s just… fate just kinda throws you in with some strangers, y’know? And then you’re just expected to be in a relationship with them.”
“It doesn’t have to be romantic,” Patton pointed out, easing his anxiety by reorganizing his pastries on the table. “I’m not sure, I mean, after so long with Lo and Ro, I’m not sure I’d be comfortable jumping right in with more people. We can be friends! And if all we ever are is friends then that’s a-okay with me.”
“And if romantic feelings someday develop,” Logan continued. “Then we can have another discussion later. The important thing for right now is that everyone is comfortable with how we proceed.”
“I– yeah, that sounds good to me,” Virgil admitted, hiding the smile that tugged at his lips behind the sleeve of his hoodie.
<(^-^)>
By the time Janus and Remus returned, Patton had fully won over Virgil with terrible puns and delicious snacks, and Virgil and Roman were now engaged in a raging debate over Disney.
“It was to lift a curse!” Roman gasped, playfully horrified. “What’s with all the prince-hate, Doctor Gloom?”
“Gee, I wonder.” Virgil had adopted a much more relaxed pose with his back against one armrest and his legs thrown over the other. Patton had gotten him to try several of his creations, and Virgil had taken a plate of brownies to hoard in his lap and protect fiercely — not that any of them would have taken it from him.
Janus cleared his throat from the doorway and the lighthearted mood instantly died. Virgil swung his legs off of the armrest and hunched in on himself once more. Janus surveyed the scene for a moment before turning to the three soulmates sharply.
“Would you three mind giving us a minute?”
“This is our house!” Roman objected at the same time Patton said “sure thing, kiddo!”
Patton hopped to his feet and dragged Roman into the kitchen. Logan followed behind at his own pace only once Virgil had nodded in confirmation.
Remus looked like he was going to stay, but Janus snapped at him too. “You too, Re.”
Remus pouted but followed his brother and company to the kitchen.
The four of them stood around in awkward silence, whatever Janus and Virgil were saying was quiet enough that all Logan could make out was a faint rumble of voices — which may have been a good sign in and of itself as they weren’t yelling. Remus was pacing nervously and Roman, unsure of where his relationship with his brother currently stood, looked torn between comforting him and staying out of his way.
After several minutes, they heard the telltale clacking of crutches approaching the kitchen.
Remus all but jumped Janus as he walked through the doorway, Virgil behind him.
“Well?” Remus demanded, taking Janus by the shoulders.
Janus looked at Remus, a softer expression on his face than Logan had seen. “All’s well, darling. Can we go home now?”
“Yes!” Remus answered immediately.
“No!” Roman objected loudly.
Janus’s expression soured again. “Why not?”
“We haven’t settled anything!”
“What Roman means to say,” Logan cut in quickly. “Is that we still have some unresolved issues that need addressing.”
“I see no issues,” Janus said coldly. “I don’t want any type of relationship with you past you being Remus’s brother and his partners. You said you wouldn’t force me to do anything I don’t want and I don't want you.”
With that, Janus pushed past Virgil and left the house.
Remus looked after him a moment before turning to Roman. “Are you still mad at me?”
“Lemme get you some leftovers before you go!” Patton insisted, taking a tupperware to the living room to fill with desserts.
Virgil shifted from foot to foot, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
“Virgil,” Logan said. Virgil turned his lead slightly, not quite looking at Logan, but enough to show he was listening. “You can do whatever if you, Remus has our numbers if you so wish.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Virgil took the desserts from Patton and followed Remus out of the house, leaving the three soulmates alone in their home once more.
“Well,” Roman said after a couple minutes. “That actually went better than I was expecting.”
~~~END~~~
Two years? No I think you're mistaken, it hasn't been two years...
requested by Kat @i-cant-find-a-good-username! hope you love how it turned out!
summary: Virgil will sometimes wear his headphones without music playing so that he can hear what the other Sides are up to. But when he overhears something he’s not supposed to… he decides to have a little bit of fun with it.
established queerplatonic/vaguely romantic royalogicality and eventual queerplatonic LAMP
TW: anxious, spiraling thoughts. food mention.
[masterlist]
---
Virgil was perched on the back of the couch, his favorite spot in the living room that wasn’t the staircase, his headphones set over his head. Normally, he’d be playing stuff from his playlist, a little bit of Paramore, some Evanescence, a lot of MCR, some Panic! At the Disco. The usual. Except today, he decided to just… pretend. No music was coming through the headphones and every once in a while he would nod his head as if there was music.
He wanted to know what the others said about him when they thought he couldn’t hear. Every so often, he’d be listening to music while the others were doing their thing, their lips moving in conversation. And, sometimes, their eyes would flick over to Virgil, then back.
His anxiety rose every time it happened. What were they saying? Did they secretly hate him? Did they want him to go back to the others? Were they making fun of him?
On this particular day, Logan was seated at the kitchen table with Roman, and they were plotting out their ideas for the next few videos. Patton was in the kitchen, humming as he made the group some lunch. For the most part, the only things that Roman and Logan were talking about were their creative endeavors.
Virgil wondered if he was overreacting. Maybe they didn’t talk about him at all?
He wasn’t sure which was worse: them talking about him when they think he’s not there, or them not talking about him at all.
“Ro, how’s the surprise for Virge going?” Patton’s voice was there as he joined the others at the table. Virgil’s eyes widened, but he made no movement, instead listening carefully, watching out of the corner of his eye. He could see the Prince glance over at him, as if to make sure that Virgil’s headphones were on, then look back at Patton.
“It’s almost ready,” Roman responded, and Logan looked up from his work. “I’m thinking this weekend, I’ll ask him to go on an imagination adventure with me, and you two will already be there, setting up a picnic or something in the flower field I made.”
Patton reached his hand out, settling it on top of Roman’s. “Do you think… he’ll want to?” From his limited view, Virgil could tell that Patton was nervous about whatever it was they were planning. He decided to tune out the rest of the conversation, pressing play on his headphones, letting his music flow through once again, as his mind raced over every possible scenario.
Was it a trap of some kind? Were they going to leave him out in a field in the imagination, so that they never had to deal with anxiety ever again? Was Remus out there, ready to attack? Or perhaps Janus, though he’d been even more reclusive lately.
He didn’t want to be tricked, but if it was something fun for the others, maybe he’d play along with it a little bit. Maybe he’d trick them back, if they were so keen on ruining his life.
-
A few days later, Virgil was perched on the top of the fridge, keeping himself hidden as Patton packed a picnic lunch then sunk out, Logan sinking out immediately afterwards. Virgil had noticed that Patton had packed his favorite foods, ranging from PB&B&J (peanut butter and banana and jelly) sandwiches to freshly washed grapes and chocolate peanut butter cups. There was even a large thermos full of iced tea. Virgil was confused. Was this a last meal of sorts? Giving him joy and yummy food before sending him to his doom?
Eventually he heard Roman wandering the halls, calling out his name, so he hopped down from the fridge and pulled his sleeves up. If he was going to go out, he’d go out with a fight. Roman finally spotted him and marched over, a big smile on his face.
“Good afternoon, my chemically imbalanced romance! Would you care to join me for a stroll in the imagination?” When Virgil stepped up to him, he noticed a fine layer of makeup over Roman’s skin, complete with shiny lipstick.
“Nah, I’m good, Princey,” he finally said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. He attempted to walk past Roman and out of the kitchen, but a strong arm held him back. “What gives?”
“Please, Virge? I want to show you something I’ve been working on,” Roman’s voice was a bit softer then, and had taken on a bit of a pleading tone. “I promise it’ll be worth your while.” Virgil wasn’t sure if he wanted to fight or fly, but he answered his own question when he stepped even closer to Roman, a scowl on his face.
“Let’s get one thing clear, Princey,” Virgil dropped his tone, not quite to the tempest voice range but teetering on the edge, in case he needed it, “There are very few things that are worth my while, and I’m almost certain that this is not one of those things.”
Roman’s face fell, and Virgil felt a twinge of guilt in his gut, but pushed it down, still staring right into the royal’s face. “I just… I think you’d really like this, Virge. Please?” He held out his hand, and Virgil wanted to take it. He really did. But… what if it was all a trick? What if Roman was pretending to be upset?
Virgil hesitated, his hand nearing Roman’s, and he finally took it. And then they were sinking out of the kitchen, and they were in the imagination.
Virgil had only been in the imagination a few times before. He’d seen different rooms and scenes, but nothing like what had appeared in front of him. It was, truly, a field full of purple flowers; lavender, wisteria, alliums, salvias, and geraniums. And in the middle of it all was a circle of grass; within that circle was a white picnic blanket, Patton laying on his back, gazing up at the miraculously formed clouds, head in the lap of Logan, who was reading a book.
“What is all of this?” Virgil asked, finally letting go of Roman’s hand. He let himself follow Roman through the flowers, the plants seemingly casting themselves aside to let the pair wander through without trampling any of their stems. Patton glanced up at the two, a bright smile on his face.
“It’s… well, Virge, it’s for you,” he said quietly, and Logan closed his book gently, setting it off to the side as Roman found his way to sit on the picnic blanket, pulling Patton’s legs into his lap. “I don’t know if you’ve… noticed. But… the three of us, we’re kind of… together.”
“What?” Virgil was sure that he sounded and looked incredulous. “Together, as in…”
“A queerplatonic relationship,” Logan said, glaring down at Patton a bit. “Well, sometimes. Sometimes Patton and I get a bit romantic, and, well, if you ever wanted to be romantic with one of us, that’s fine.”
“With one… of you?” Virgil was sure this was a joke. “I don’t understand.”
“We want you to be a part of this,” Roman’s voice was calm, and the way he was looking at Virgil definitely hinted at some kind of romance, but it was too much and Virgil’s brain couldn’t handle the thoughts and the implications– how was this affecting Thomas? How was it affecting the others?
The others. Did the others know? Did Remus know what his twin was up to? Janus had to be aware of this, he knew when any of them lied to each other. And… if he knew… they could all be in danger.
He felt hands gently take his, and looked up to find that he had fallen to his knees, and Patton was there in front of him, a face full of compassion right there, and Virgil wanted to bury himself in that cat hoodie and sob because it was too much and how would this work and what if down the line they decided they didn’t want him anymore—
And Virgil realized that he wanted it. He wanted in, and he wanted them.
“Okay,” he finally said, and there were three pairs of arms around him instantly, and lips on cheeks and tears were falling from someone’s eyes (probably his own or Patton’s). The thought spiral stopped itself for a moment to allow Virgil to be flooded with joy and a sense of belonging, and he could worry about all of those other things another time but for now, he was in the arms of three people who cared enough about him to make a picnic lunch and grow a garden of purple flowers.
omg i LOVE the idea of using ur ship masterpost as a prompt list. may i request 25, and if u want a prompt, maybe "birthday cake"? i have no idea what ship that will be and i love that
(Thanks! It lets me experiment with ships I've never used before, so I'm having fun with it)
Logan blinked, surprised. "You two didn't have to get me anything."
Roman scoffed. "Of course, we did!"
His arms were piled high with presents, wrapped in shiny, dark blue and black wrapping paper. Patton was carrying a similar amount, though, unlike Roman, he looked like he was struggling not to drop them.
"Yeah!" Patton added. "We love you, and we couldn't decide what to get you, so we just got everything we could think of!"
Roman nodded. "And that's not even the best part," He continued.
"What's the best part?" Logan asked cautiously.
Patton and Roman exchanged a pair of identical grins.
"Just lemme put these down, and I'll go grab it," Patton said.
He then walked past Logan, into his room, and carefully dropped all the presents onto his bed. A sphere-shaped one almost rolled right off the bed, but he caught it just in time, as Roman followed him inside and placed the presents he'd been carrying beside Patton.
"This is excessive," Logan said, watching as Patton brushed past him to go get the 'best part'.
"Only the best for our favourite nerd," Roman smiled, strolling back up to Logan and cupping his face with his hand, pecking him on the lips.
Logan couldn't help but subconsciously lean into the touch, and Roman grinned, leaning down to kiss him again.
Patton returned about a minute later, returning with a large cake in his hands. It was decorated with large black and blue candles, that spelled out Logan's name.
"Ta-da!" He cheered.
Logan turned around to look at him, and Roman placed his hand on Logan's shoulder, leaning in to talk in his ear.
"It's got Crofters in it," He said.
Logan immediately straightened up.
"Crofters?"
"Uh-huh!" Patton smiled. "Your flavour, too."
Logan blinked, and then smiled back - one of Patton and Roman's favourite sights to see.
19. kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing
Exhausted eyes strained themselves as they continued to stare at the laptop screen. So focused of his task, Logan had been unaware of how much time had passed or that the other residence of Thomas’ mind where vanishing away to sleep for the night. A vital component for Thomas’ welfare for sure, and had he become aware of the late hour he would surely be off himself. But his attention remained sorely on the designing of schedule and finding a balance for all of Thomas’ needs.
He was delayed as it was on finishing it, as Roman continued to create more and more ideas that Thomas was eager to do for both channels. And with the new office, it only expanded the possibilities. Which meant it gave Logan more workload. He would have strangled the creative aspect had he not been so… fond… of him.
Maybe he cut some of the Joystick Joyride segments- no that wouldn’t work. Patton loved Thomas being able to play video games, especially with his friends. Even if they sometimes played scary ones. Regardless of how illogical it was, Logan could not bring himself to cut back one of the things his other companion enjoyed so much.
Curse those pesky emotions.
“Lo?” Well speak of the devil, as his note cards would say, there was Morality now.
“Hmm?” he hummed out, still not looking away form the screen as he adjusted, yet again, a time slot to better fit the run of filming needed. “Did you require my assistance?” As much as he cared for Patton, he hoped the answer was no.
“No, I was just surprised to see you still up.” That gave Logan pause, brows furrowing. Intelligent eyes glanced down on the screen, taking note of the time in the bottom corner. Oh. It was nearly one in the morning. Thomas should have gone to bed ages ago. But of course, if Logan was up, he was likely not.
“My apologies. I was working on the schedule and lost track.” he stated. This would be the time to get up. To be done for the night and finish after some form of decent sleep. But he could not find himself capable of moving. He truly needed to get this done. He wasted so much time as it was. “I’m almost done. You go ahead, I won’t be long.”
Logan was met with silence, and the logical aspect allowed himself to believe that was the end of that. He went back to work, occasionally blinking, and leaned further towards the screen to see it better. It did not seem like that much time had passed at all before he found himself being pulled backwards.
A startled yelp left his lips as he shot his head up, looking away from his laptop for the first time in ages. Surprised brown eyes found warm chestnut ones as he realized that Roman was staring down at him, hands on his chair being how he had been moved. “What are-” he began to ask but was cut off by warm lips covering his own. Logan blinked, trying to process what was happening. And just when he did and was prepared to return the affectionate gesture, they were off his.
“Time for bed my darling Belle.” Roman said simply, pulling the chair back more to increase the distance from Logan and his computer. He opened his mouth to object when Patton was suddenly beside him.
“Pretty please Lo?” he asked, batting his eyelashes as he leaned over to wrap his arms around his neck. A soft kiss was pressed to his cheek, then another against his jawline.
“But I-” He was once again cut off, this time by Patton’s lips being the culprit. He felt his hand being taken hostage where another set of lips -logically it must have been Roman’s- pressed against his knuckles. Warm filled the logical aspect’s entire being as his two partners continues to pepper soft kisses onto his person. So distracted by their ministrations, he did not even realize they had managed to get him up and moving until his legs hit against the edge of his mattress.
“Oh alright.” he finally sighed out, and was rewarded by a pleasant kiss from both of them.
First and foremost, the ask box is always open, I haven't closed it before and I'm not gonna start! Which means, send in whatever whenever all the time forever! I will never not want more asks, they are the lifeblood of the story! There's no dumb questions!
That goes for likes and reblogs too, go fuckin nuts!
And second, hi hello! You can call me Core (or as I have been nicknamed by the Road Trippers: CC)
Okay! Here we go!
Like the title says, this will be a helpful little guide! Here's what you can expect!
I'll be putting in the story thus far in bullet points if anyone doesn't want to read through everything.
Links to my art (they will be categorized by story, memes, requests, reference sheets, and any others there may be.
Links to things sent in (art/writing/memes)
Links to important parts of the story.
Useful tags I use (even though we all know the tag system sucks but oh well)
A list of all the emojis/names anons have used.
A link to a ficlet I wrote for this.
Links for the boarding school years blogs.
And here we go!! Buckle up! There's this post which is the first five days. Then a link with the rest of the days and THEN another link with all the other things!!
The links are here and at the bottom.
Days Continue
The Other Stuff
If you do want to read the whole story in its entirety and not just the bullet points, AO3 is your best bet to go through it!
The Story Thus Far And Important Story Links! As bullet points!
Not all of the links provided are essential to the story, but I do find them amusing. If the bullet points are enough context for you it's fine if you don't want to read the post.
Day One.
Remus makes the blog, pesters Dee and Virgil to go on the road trip. Link
Remus' car is a 1969 VW buggy, nauseatingly toxic green in colour. He adores this car. (no there is no foreshadowing with this definitely not)
They pack and leave once Remus gets home. (He was at Roman's)
Yes the three of them are in a relationship.
Virgil quits his job to do this (he forgets to quit)
They all met in boarding school, under not so great circumstances.
They have no destination, they're just going and doing, taking suggestions from followers.
They stop to get slushes
They go to the post office? Because it was a suggestion
The post office gets stuck up by a gun toting hooligan
Murder was suggested, they (unfortunately) did not go that route
Virgil throws Remus' slush at the mugger then hides, Remus fights the guy, knocks him unconscious and zip ties him, they leave before the cops get there. Link
It's revealed that Remus has one eye. He always makes a new story on how he lost it.
They get to a campsite for the night. Link
Short answer on how they got together, Bonfire at school, Remus made the first move on both of them. Link
Their ages revealed! Virgil and Dee are 26, Remus is 25.
Their heights are revealed! Remus tallest then Vigil then Dee.
A couple of asks about murder, Remus is for it the other two not so much (dependent on specific situations)
Dee has vitiligo confirmed.
They have been up for a long time, they go to sleep.
Day Two.
Day two begins post. Link
Virgil might have done crimes before. (what crimes? Who knows)
They plan to have a picnic today. It doesn't happen this day.
Dee is used to camping.
Remus likes to cook, he's not bad but he is Inventive. Dee is the best at cooking.
Remus asks Virgil to put 'atrocities' to their list of things to do. He does not.
Remus says money is handled and he will not lose it anytime soon. We'll see.
The anons want Arson. Dee says maybe.
Virgil remembers that he did in fact, not quit his job yet. Oops. He was a manager at an art store, his boss sucks and the job was soul sucking. No loss here.
Dee will not tell you his name.
Virgil puts arson on the list at the request of the anons.
Remus gets into a fight with a rabbit (anon)
Dee knows how to hunt, skin and clean animals for food. His mother taught him survival skills.
His mother is a sore spot for him.
[The anons dub me CC]
They're leaving the campsite, Dee is voted to drive, he loves driving.
They need supplies.
They ask for suggestions on stuff to buy.
A skeleton, beer, chocolate, sandwich bags, rubber bands, lube and water is suggested.
The skeleton is named August.
Their phones gain signal again. Roman is Worried. Link.
Roman is now following the blog.
Favorite food: Remus' sweet spicy ribs, Dees Korean barbecue and sushi, Virgils coffee mocha ice cream.
They get to a mall, it has a Halloween store where they get August, Remus and Virgil also get Dee to dress up in costumes for them. Link
They dress August up in grunge clothes.
Remus is banned from having gum, for multiple reasons, but mostly the gum catastrophe of 2015. No they will not elaborate.
Dee is asked his exact height. It's 5'4, he's not bothered by it at all.
He gains an army of short anons.
They get to the grocery store. They are kicked out of the grocery store. Link.
We learn that Remus (or at least his family) is Rich.
An anon calls Dee and Virgil Remus' sugar babies. Virgil does not take kindly to it. Link.
Like really not kindly to it. He sprains his hand. Link.
We gain our first antagonist anon.
We find out why Virgil went to boarding school, he's trans with transphobic parents. Link.
Dee knows medical things. He went to medical school for about a year.
Remus goes to the pharmacy to get supplies for Virgils hand. He forgot to bring payment.
Instead of going to get payment he... just kinda steals the stuff. Link.
Chatting in the car while driving to a motel, the boys are tired and calming down, Dee reveals that his mom is dead and died the year before he was shipped off to boarding school.
End of day two! Link.
Day Three.
Day three start post! Morning starts, Remus gets breakfast for the boyfs. Link.
The anons want to play truth or dare. It's Remus' favorite game, they can't not do it. Remus will do anything he's dared to do.
The first dare is that Remus needs to paint something on his car. He's down for it, they plan to continue playing and go to the store for paints.
Second dare is also for Remus. Link
Three truths for Virgil. Link
Another truth for Virgil, about his parents sending him to boarding school. Link
They get to the hardware store. It is Life Changing. (more on that in the next bullet points)
A crying small child approaches them. Link
The anons suggest kidnapping.
Dee and Virgil take the kid to look for his parents. Remus is left alone with the paints. He doesn't notice.
Dee loves the child. They may kidnap. Link , Link
Remus is unattended. He's pouring brown paint in toilets. He was alerted about the kidnapping as he was doing so.
They are probably taking the child. Link
Well, that's their child now. They re-name him. Welcoming Thomas to the group! Link , Link
Do we see a hint of abandonment issues in Dee? Link
Thomas' dad got mad at him for making noise.
They go to a Toys R Us and a clothing store to get some essentials.
Remus gets antagonized, it doesn't work. Link
Remus gets antagonized more, it kinda works. Link
Virgil explains what arson is to Thomas. Link
Dee and Virgil realize Remus isn't following them anymore. Link
Thomas is really small for his age.
They finally step into the stores. Thomas gets some new stuff, Remus is weirdly really good with kids. Link
Thomas thinks all rodents are just different rats.
They get back to the hotel, they're just chilling now.
We are informed that Roman is in a relationship with both Patton and Logan.
They start to get ready for that picnic they were gonna do on the second day.
Oh yeah, technically still playing truth or dare, here's a Remus dare that is funny. Link
The last post of day three, they go on the picnic, Remus' car actually gets washed so he can paint it, the rest of the night is peaceful. Link
Day Four.
First post of day four, Thomas is the first to wake, he's quiet about it, his father didn't like being woken up. He unintentionally wakes Remus, Remus does not care. The morning is quiet, they pack up their stuff to get on with the trip, a magic coin is found. Magic anons are on. Link
Of course the first thing the magic anons do... gives Virgil a dick. It's free bottom surgery babeey. (He owes Rat anon a favor now.)
Virgil also now has a pet spider. She is fuzzy, black and purple and kinda sentient. (she doesn't have a name, we kinda forgot about her...)
Magic anon sends bad memories to the boys. A little bit of Lore Link
Talking about Dees mom and abandonment issues. Link , Link , Link , Link
On that same note, was she really sick? It hasn't had a direct answer yet ;p
They pull over to get some air after the antagonizing.
The anons Will Not Let Them Rest. Remus throws the magic coin away in the forest. Link (warning for fake gore)
An anon takes their clothes away for 10 asks, they still have underwear, Thomas is still fully clothed. Remus is loving it, Virgil not so much. Link
Some of the nice anons however come in and give encouragement to our boys. And treats! The coin is unfortunately (for them) back ~Magically~ . Link
They decide to go to another campsite to unwind and sleep, they are going to be there for a while this time. Remus texts Roman to tell him about an ask that came in for him. Thomas is awed by fire. Link
Two anons have hugged them for comforting.
The attack on Roman, basically saying how fake he is and how he's probably jealous of Remus cause he doesn't hide his real self and not 'perfect' saying that people wouldn't like the real him. Remus defends Roman. We find out they didn't always have a good relationship and we find out Roman is a Broadway star. Link
The Main Antagonist Anon asks for hugs. No One Liked That.
Another anon comes in to take away their warm things for the night their blankets are gone and they're not allowed to start a fire. Their clothes will be back soon though. It is still going to be cold.
Another anon... doesn't exactly hug them so much as envelopes them in a sensation of tongues.
Another antagonist anon gives Thomas only a hug. And and ominous message of "I'll be back soon".
People are very huggy today, but at least this time the anon asked first. Virgil is getting sick of them, Remus is enjoying them.
An anon takes away their food by putting it all in a bag and getting it stuck in a tree. Remus mourns the snacks loss.
A ladder is given to them, Remus immediately tries to get the food down but it's stuck with magic. He tries to cut it open with a butterfly knife, still doesn't work and the ladder falls. He falls with it, he lands in a bush, the ladder lands on his face and his nose is bleeding.
Someone gives them bandages, Dee checks for a concussion, he's fine. We learn Remus' full name. Remus Able King, he doesn't seem to like it.
Oh yeah, his knife landed in his thigh when he fell. And his ankle is sprained. Dee patches him up. Link
UFO Anon distracts Thomas with a light show.
Rat anon erases the adults memories of each other, they are mentally teenagers again. This lasts the rest of the night. It doesn't go well. The only thing they remember is school, they don't trust each other. UFO Anon tries to abduct Thomas, Wasp Anon tries to as well. Remus is Not Okay with Thomas missing. The rest of this night is a pretty important part of the story, so there will be many links here for it. Link , Link , Link , Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link.
Day Five.
Day five begins, everything is normal again. They decide today is for strictly relaxation. Link
They talk a little bit about how last night was crap, and about how much they've changed since high school, and that them meeting was the best course that their lives could have taken.
They're determined to have a good day, they decide that swimming is a nice idea.
They get to the campsite beach, they give more insight to how they got together. Link , Link
They talk about how much their lives would have completely sucked if they didn't meet. Link
Talking about their parents reactions to them getting together (hint none of them cared a bit for it). Link
On how the school reacted to it also was not good, but our boys like to go against authority if nothing else. Didn't stop the adults from targeting them and turning a blind eye to anyone else who was deemed 'good' i.e the favorites.
They also didn't like Roman just by association with Remus.
Virgil was roommates with his bully. Here are some pranks he pulled on her for payback. Link
They used to sneak out a lot, to Remus' room or to the forest.
Virgil used to do gymnastics.
Roman begged Remus to join a sports team with him, Remus didn't really enjoy it.
Remus speaks German. Virgil knows Latin. Dee speaks French and ASL.
Thomas knows a little bit of Spanish, so does Roman.
They have yet to get into the water. Dee pushes Virgil in, Dee ends up falling into the lake when Virgil tries to drag him in too.
Thomas does not know how to swim. Remus tosses him to Virgil who is in the water to teach him.
They realize that they should probably be more careful with Thomas. He seems to have no self preservation. Link
They go back to the campsite, Dee says he's going to go to town to get food stuff, he's taking Thomas with him, and the two injured should stay there.
Someone suggests finding Mothman, they want to but are injured. So they make it a plan to go to Point Pleasant.
Virgil and Remus want some *ahem* Alone Time, so they turn the anons to Dee. It is uneventful shopping (except for the fact that I had to have Thomas accidentally erase all the asks cause... I accidentally did that...)
Also the cashier at the store is Suspicious of Dee (he seems to recognize Thomas (though no one picked up on that))
He goes to buy some clean blankets then back to the campsite.
The rest of the night is nice and smooth.
Before sleeping Remus and Virgil tell Dee that they're handing the blog over to The Others for a few days so they can relax.
My apologies, but I am running fifteen minutes late
Virgil felt his heart rate spike just from reading the text. Logan was considerate enough to text him forty minutes before they were supposed to meet up, but Virgil was already almost to his destination. Now forty-five minutes early.
Ever since the accident two months ago, just being in a car was enough to give him a panic attack. Even when he was walking sometimes if a car was coming his way, no matter how slowly or how far away, he’d freeze up in fear, praying it would stop before it ran him over. It was so bad that even when he took the bus — somehow the least stressful form of transportation for him — he had to have his head buried in his phone the whole time, lest he notice a car outside slightly too close for comfort.
Knowing how public transportation was, coupled with an anxious desire to be slightly early, Virgil had given himself a half hour cushion time, none of which had been used up.
He could still go to the café he and Logan had planned to meet at, but then he’d be faced with a dilemma, order a drink and wait out the time, or wait out the time without ordering anything. If he ordered a drink, he’d likely finish it before Logan got there and would then either awkwardly not have a drink while Logan got his own drink, or order a second drink and risk getting too wired. But if he ordered nothing and just hung out, he’d feel like the employees would hate him, he’d be taking up space without actually funding the function of said space — which was basically trespassing.
Virgil spent the final ten minutes of his bus ride in an anxiety spiral.
Caffeine was definitely out of the question, and Virgil was beginning to resign himself to the employees hating him when he noticed a bookstore right next to the café. A bookstore was perfect! He could kill time without feeling like a nuisance.
He ended up wandering the bookstore thinking more about how he got here than the books themselves.
A couple weeks before the accident, he’d been laid off from his job, and then after the accident, he could barely stand to leave the house at all. He’d never had many friends, and then he was only ever talking to Janus and Remus — except for that one day when they’d gone to Remus’s brother’s house to talk to Virgil and Janus’s soulmates…
He hadn’t wanted to contact them afterwards — not because they didn’t seem nice, but because he thought Janus and Remus might be upset. He thought Janus would be upset because he hated the concept of soulmates and only accepted Virgil because they’d been together for years before either of them had known about the connection; and he thought Remus might be upset because of how insecure he was about both his brother and the topic of soulmates.
In the end, it was Janus who snapped at him to “stop looking like a kicked puppy and call them if it means so much to you!”
He’d decided to start with Logan because he seemed to be the one that Remus liked best. Logan had been quite amenable — to use his words — to hanging out explicitly in a friendship capacity and had suggested a café halfway between Virgil’s home and Logan’s university.
Five minutes before Logan was set to arrive, Virgil entered the café with a small bag from the bookstore containing a book on snakes and a toy octopus whose eyes popped out of its head when you squeezed it — he couldn’t just leave the store empty handed after wandering around it for so long. Virgil sat at a table, and exactly fifteen minutes after their previously scheduled meeting time, Logan Sanders walked through the door.
Logan was wearing a crisp black polo shirt and a blue tie, leaving Virgil feeling awkwardly underdressed in his well-worn hoodie — which he had luckily not been wearing the day of the accident.
“Hello Virgil,” Logan greeted him, making a beeline straight for Virgil’s table rather than the counter to order. “I hope I did not inconvenience you too much.”
“Uh, no, it’s all good,” Virgil shrugged awkwardly.
“Ah, I see you have already discovered the bookstore next door,” Logan observed, gesturing to the bag on the table. “I suppose my undiscussed idea to go there after coffee can be crossed off the list of potential activities.”
Virgil’s face grew hot. Of course Logan had plans beyond coffee, and of course those plans involved books! How could Virgil be so stupid!
“S-sorry,” Virgil managed to stutter over the staccato of his heart. “I didn't mean to ruin your plans.”
“Not at all,” Logan waved him off. “I did not discuss my idea with you, and I had no expectations that you were a mind reader. There are plenty of other activities around here, the bookstore is just one thought of many. Have you ordered yet?”
“Um, no, I was waiting for you.”
“Excellent! Then allow me to treat you, as remuneration for my tardiness.”
“Isn’t anticipating your thoughts supposed to be one of those soulmate things?” Virgil asked as they got in line, still hung up on the bookstore.
“Not at all. In fact, I find open and explicit communication to be much more effective than relying on some sort of soulmate-driven precognition — heaven knows that if I tried to anticipate Roman or Patton’s desires without speaking to either of them first that I would, at least half the time, be wrong.”
“Right,” Virgil answered, still somewhat skeptical.
“And even if that were not the case,” Logan continued. “You have met me on two separate occasions, and on neither of those occasions did my love of books come up.”
Virgil couldn’t press the matter further — not that he particularly wanted to — as they were the next to order. Virgil ordered a plain coffee with cream and sugar since it would be the cheapest option, while Logan ordered a surprisingly foofy drink.
“Roman called my order of a black coffee ‘boring’ and insisted I try this once,” Logan explained after he’d paid, noticing Virgil’s raised eyebrow. “I am quite hooked.”
Virgil shrugged, fair enough. Remus had certainly turned him onto his fair share of odd orders over the years.
“So, what else is there to do around here?” Virgil asked as they waited for their orders. He had expected coffee to be the entire thing, he hadn’t put any thought into other activities.
“There are quite a few stores we could look at, including an odd gift shop and a music store that has quite an impressive array; there are also three different museums in the area, an aquarium if you don’t mind a slightly longer walk, and a park. I am, of course, open to any other suggestions you may have, but these are the things I know about.” As Logan spoke, Virgil looked for any twitch in his face, any tone in his voice that might suggest which option was his preferred one, but Logan’s genuine demeanor gave nothing away. He sounded just as interested in one option as the next, it seemed it was up to Virgil to choose which one he wanted to do.
“A music store sounds good,” Virgil said, somewhat noncommittally so he could change his answer if Logan seemed disappointed.
Logan’s face lit up. “Excellent. The music store it is.”
Coffee in hand, Virgil followed Logan down the street and around the corner to a music store absolutely stuffed with CDs, vinyl, and cassette tapes. The sheer amount of stuff in such a relatively small space was overwhelming.
“I know that not everyone is a fan of structured time,” Logan said as Virgil took in the organized chaos. “And I certainly respect if all you would like to do is casually look around, but I have a suggestion if you’d like to have an activity.”
“Yeah, activity is good,” Virgil shrugged, shoving his free hand into his pocket to hide his nerves.
“In the interest of full disclosure, this activity is adapted from one of Roman’s favorite date night activities, but I do not believe that there is anything inherently romantic about the activity itself.”
“Sure.” From what Virgil knew about Roman, romance was kinda his thing, so whether or not this activity would cross any of Virgil’s boundaries — and whether or not Virgil would let it — was now another entry on Virgil’s list of worries.
“When Roman, Patton and I are here, we are each tasked with finding an album for one of our partners that combines our musical tastes with theirs. I do not know your musical tastes and I do not believe you know mine, so if you’d like, I suggest a music exchange where I will find you an album that I feel is important to me, and you find an album important for you.”
“Important how?” Virgil asked nervously. Logan was right that this wasn’t inherently romantic, but music was something that could get intensely personal very quickly and Virgil was not ready to bear his soul to Logan.
“In any way you choose to interpret it,” Logan answered. “It could be something your parents liked to listen to when you were young, it could be an album that has your favorite song on it, it could be something you pretended to hate in middle school; you do not have to justify your reasoning to me, I merely thought this could be an enjoyable icebreaker, so to speak.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Virgil shrugged, mind already racing with possibilities. “Sounds good.”
“Excellent! Let us reconvene in ten minutes, unless you feel like you need more time, of course.”
“Sure.”
It took Virgil a couple minutes to figure out the layout of the store, and then the whole rest of the allotted time was spent trying to choose an album that he knew well enough to justify its importance, but he was emotionally removed enough from that Logan wouldn’t be able to read too much into it. When he finally ran out of time, he panicked and grabbed a CD of The Black Parade — an album he was decidedly not emotionally removed from — before rushing to meet Logan back at the front of the store.
“Hello Virgil, did you find something?” Logan asked, Virgil had noticed him wandering around the store too, but he didn’t look nearly as anxious as Virgil felt — what if Logan hated emo music and decided never to talk to Virgil again?
“Yeah…” Virgil fiddled with the plastic case in his hands. “It’s stupid.”
“No such thing,” Logan replied, matter-of-factly. “If you asked Patton to do this, he would likely bring you a CD from the television program Arthur; Roman would likely choose multiple CDs as one would not be enough; I do not consider either of these choices to be ‘stupid’.”
“The… the children’s cartoon?”
“Yes.”
“…okay. Uh, here,” Virgil shoved the MCR CD at him. “Is that how this works?”
“Thank you, Virgil. This one is for you.”
Logan handed him a CD of 8 Mile. Virgil blinked at it. People could like any genre, of course, but Logan did not strike him as a rap guy.
“This is the first thing I bought when I got my first paycheck,” Logan explained.
“C-cool,” Virgil shifted uncomfortably, he hadn’t offered an explanation for his choice, and he wouldn’t unless Logan asked for one, but he still felt like he was failing at something. “Um, what do we do now?”
“We can look around some more if you would like. I do not mind if you don’t buy the CD, picking one out was just meant to be a small activity.”
“No, it’s cool. I, uh, I don’t have this one.” Logan smiled and the knot in Virgil’s chest loosened a little. Logan didn’t hate him and he wasn’t completely bombing this social interaction.
Virgil and Logan spent almost an hour looking around the store together and discussing music. Virgil did end up buying 8 Mile, as well as a couple albums for himself; Logan bought The Black Parade. After the music store, they actually did go back to the bookstore so Logan could purchase a few items from his personal wishlist.
“Where did you park?” Logan asked as they were wrapping up at the bookstore.
“I didn’t. I took the bus here.” Virgil had actually been enjoying himself, to the point where he’d completely forgotten that he'd need to take the bus home, but now that thought was at the forefront of his mind. He needed to look up the bus schedule.
“Ah, well if you would like, I could drive you home.” Virgil knew he’d been trying to be friendly, to help Virgil get home quicker, but Virgil's heart still tried to leap out of his chest at the suggestion.
“No thanks!” He said, much too quickly. “I mean, it’s fine, I like the bus.”
Logan gave him a strange look, but nodded anyway. “If that is what you wish.”
“Yeah. Uh, bye.”
“Goodbye Virgil, I hope the rest of your day is satisfactory.”
“Yeah, you too.”
^(^.^)^
Virgil's heart didn’t stop pounding until he was off the bus, standing a block down from his building. Logan’s innocent suggestion to take a car had put Virgil so on edge that his phone was barely enough to keep him from having a panic attack on the bus.
Much to his surprise, Janus and Remus were both sitting at the apartment’s kitchen table when he finally made it up to his floor. Remus’s head whipped around to stare at him with the most heartbreakingly anxious look in his eye while Janus stayed staring straight ahead, a tightening around his eyes was the only indication he’d noticed Virgil’s arrival.
“Um, hey,” Virgil waved at Remus awkwardly, hoping that would be enough to get his boyfriend to stop staring at him like that.
“You’re back late,” Janus commented, still not looking at him.
Virgil frowned. “Sorry, mom, I didn’t realize I had a curfew.”
Janus’s fingers twitched around the coffee mug he was holding.
“Damn right you do, young man!” Remus said suddenly, slightly too loud and with a forced-playful look in his eye. “Your mother and I have been worried sick!”
Virgil rolled his eyes and tried to get a handle on his temper. “I got you both something.”
He tossed the octopus at Remus and set the book down in front of Janus, more forcefully than necessary. Janus stared at the book, taken aback; Remus put the octopus in his mouth and shook it like a dog with a toy.
“Thanks, Virgie!” Remus said after spitting the now wet toy into his hand. “Love you!”
“Love you too.” Most of the anxiousness had drained from Remus’s face, and the rest disappeared at Virgil’s words.
Janus pulled the book to him and tapped his fingers on the cover a few times before speaking. “And how was Logan?”
“Fine,” Virgil answered quickly. “Good. It was good. Nice to hangout with someone as a friend — been a while… since I’ve had a friend.”
With every word, Virgil could feel himself losing confidence, but when he was done, Janus turned to him with a soft look in his eye.
“Good, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”
Tension he hadn’t even known he’d been holding drained out of Virgil’s shoulders as he returned Janus’s smile.
“Yeah, it was good.”
~~~END~~~
I love writing Logan, he can just explain everything without the dialog reading as weird
I got rear ended a few months ago and ever since I’ve been really anxious about cars coming up behind me when I’m stopped (I was stopped at a stoplight when the guy behind me for some unfathomable reason thought the light had turned green and just didn’t realize that I wasn’t moving?), and I can only imagine how bad my anxiety would be if I had actually gotten injured
I have no interest in continuing Say The Word (And I’m There), but I figured I’d at least write the scene where they all meet
Word Count: 1774
Rating: Gen
Pairings: LAMP, Royalogicality
Warnings: a cliffhanger I currently have no intentions of resolving, allusions to crime(?)
~~~START~~~
Nothing about Remy’s cryptic message, nor the rather impressive house — mansion, Roman had insisted on correcting him, this is a freaking mansion, specs — he had asked them to meet him at had done anything to assuage Logan’s worries that his friend was involved in some sort of sketchy business.
After college, Remy had told Logan that one of their platonic soulmates had offered them a job, and that it would involve a lot of travel. Logan had been happy for his friend and naturally inquired as to what the job was. Remy told him it was a secret.
For nearly a year, Remy had traveled around the U.S., sending Logan a postcard from every city he went to, and FaceTiming him once a week. He never gave Logan any details of what the job entailed, nor whether or not he had any travel companions. They denied any insinuation that they were doing anything illegal with a laugh, and assured Logan every time that what they were doing — whatever it was — was not in any way sketchy, illegal, or at all immoral, but with no details provided to the contrary, Logan maintained his doubts.
The postcards had stopped several months ago, and Remy had been in the same location — what looked like a home office, decorated to Remy’s own style — for every subsequent FaceTime. A week ago, he’d sent Logan a text inviting him and his two soulmates to a ‘launch party’ at his boss’s house (mansion) along with the time and location. He had not answered any questions about exactly what was being launched other than that he thought Logan, Roman, and Patton would enjoy it.
“Are we just going to stare at the door?” Roman asked and Logan made no move to ring the doorbell. Remy had not left instructions for what they should do when they got to the house, though it seemed fairly obvious that they should ring the doorbell.
“I have become even less sure that Remy is not somehow mixed up in something dangerous,” Logan admitted quietly.
“Aww Logan,” Patton wrapped his arms around Logan’s middle comfortingly. “I don’t think they would have invited us to anything they thought might be dangerous!”
“Besides,” Roman continued. “Launch parties don’t usually have insidious purposes. They’re probably working for some tech giant or something — maybe we’re here to witness the launch of the next big social media platform!”
“…yes,” Logan finally replied. “That does sound like something Remy would do; and you are right, Patton, that Remy would not invite us if he thought it would be dangerous.” And with that, Logan rang the doorbell.
The chime from the doorbell lasted at least thirty seconds and followed a tune that seemed familiar to Logan, though he could not quite place it — likely a pop song but played on bells. Soon after the chime finally ended, an older woman with her hair in a tight bun opened the door.
“Can I help you?” She asked doubtfully.
“We are looking for Remington Sonno,” Logan said. “They sent us an invi–”
“LOGAN!” A familiar voice yelled from slightly further in the house.
“Please come in.” The woman nodded and walked away, leaving the door wide open behind her. Logan stepped inside, followed by Patton and Roman, and barely made it three steps before Remy was sliding down the polished hardwood hallway directly into him.
“Oof!” Logan stumbled slightly but managed to maintain his footing as Remy wrapped their arms tightly around him.
“Gurl, it has been too long!” Remy lamented.
“That is hardly my fault, Remy,” Logan stated, wrapping his arms around Remy in return.
“Fair,” Remy laughed. “I’ve been busy, but that’s why tonight is so exciting!”
“Tonight?” Logan asked.
“The party,” Remy clarified. “It’s good. I’m so proud–” Remy cut themself off with a shake of their head, a fond smile gracing their lips. “But that’s for later, I wanted you all to come early so I can spend time with you.”
“And yet he doesn’t deign to greet us,” Roman sniped playfully.
“My deepest apologies, your highness,” Remy pulled back from Logan so that he could bow deeply. “Roman Prince, it is an honor to be graced with your presence once more.”
“Thank you,” Roman bowed his head benignly.
“And Patton!” Remy smiled, opening his arms for a hug that Patton happily accepted. “Lemme give you guys a tour of the place!”
The mansion was expansive. Remy led them through a kitchen which was bustling with catering staff, then through the ballroom where workers were busy decorating for the party that would occur later in the evening, then up a grand staircase, and down a hall. They stopped every now and then to point out interesting pieces of art on the walls or if a door led to a specialized room. Eventually he led them back down a different staircase and out a pair of French doors onto a breezeway.
“So that was the main house — or most of it anyway, there’s more, but it’s Joan’s personal space so no tour of it,” Remy explained, gesturing back to the house they’d just left as they walked. “These are the gardens — we can explore them later if you want — but back here,” they gestured down the breezeway to a second, smaller — though still rather sizable — house, “is the guesthouse. That’s where I’ve been staying.”
“Your employer is very…” Logan trailed off, unable to think of an adjective that both properly expressed what he was feeling while also not potentially hurting Remy’s feelings of insulting their soulmate.
“They’re not as bad as they seem,” Remy shrugged nonchalantly. “I know this is all a little much, but they’re not as out of touch as this makes them seem.”
The four of them had just reached the door to the guesthouse when Remy’s phone went off, they checked it quickly before grimacing.
“Sorry, babes, my boss needs me for a bit, but feel free to make yourselves at home,” he opened the guesthouse door and gestured for them to go in. “You can explore if you want, or if you want to wait for me there’s a media room up the stairs, down the hall to the right, take a left, then third door on your left — I shouldn’t be too long, but we’ve got a bunch of video games or movies, whatever you want.”
“If you’re sure…” Logan trailed off uncertainly.
“Of course!” Remy laughed. “¡Mi casa es su casa!”
“Bye Remy!” Patton called as Remy rushed back down the breezeway to the main house.
The three soulmates entered the guesthouse and were immediately faced with a small problem: the stairs weren’t visible from the door.
“Well…” Patton frowned. “They can’t be that hard to find if Remy didn’t tell us where they were. I’m sure the answer is stairing us in the face!”
“And Remy did say we were free to explore,” Roman pointed out, opening the nearest door — it led to a coat closet.
There were three options for the three soulmates to choose from: straight, left, or right. None of the directions showed any obvious signs of house hidden staircases but figuring Remy had given them the directions slightly out of order, they chose the right hallway.
The hallway contained a few doors — all of which Roman opened, and all of which turned out to be a closet, a utility room, and a bathroom — before opening up into a kitchen. Tucked in the corner of the kitchen was a staircase, so they followed it up and went to the left.
The third door on the left was not a media room, but rather the office that Remy had been FaceTiming Logan from. The second and digest doors weren’t media rooms either; neither were the fourth or fifth door.
Having exhausted the doors to the left, they tried the right, then the right hall. The right hall led into more halls, so they continued that way, opening doors as they went, none led to media rooms. Eventually, having followed the confusing halls of the house as well as they could, they somehow ended up back at the top of the stairs to the kitchen.
“It’s been a while since a house has given me the runaround,” Roman shook his head in disbelief.
Logan was about to suggest waiting for Remy in the kitchen, when piano music began to drift up the stairs.
“Someone else appears to be here,” Logan commented.
“Maybe we can ask them for directions!” Patton suggested.
“Maybe they’re in the media room,” Roman added.
They followed the noise down the stairs and through a different doorway than the one they had entered the kitchen through. The doorway took them to a formal dining room, then into a moderately sized ballroom. As they walked through the ballroom the piano music solidified into Chopin.
Across the ballroom was a smaller room with shelves filled to the brim with folders and books. On one wall, there was a variety of musical instruments hanging from displays.
In the center of the room, there was a person with dyed purple hair and a patchwork hoodie playing a grand piano. The person’s back was to the door, and all three soulmates were too entranced by the music to make their presence known.
As the song came to a close, Roman saw his opportunity.
“Hey, excuse me?” He called, a little too loudly after the trance that all four of them had just been in.
The pianist startled, their hands slamming down a discordant cacophony of keys as they jumped a little too much. They ended up falling backwards out of their stool and sprawling out on the floor at the trio’s feet. Mismatched green and purple eyes blink up at the soulmates.
“Sorry, kiddo!” Patton yelps, concerned for the other person’s wellbeing. “We didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Shit!” The pianist gasped, scrambling up to their feet. “I mean fuck– um, no. Shit–” Logan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he was certain Roman and Patton must be feeling it too. “Sorry, I just– uh, I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here this early. Sorry.” Their soulmate finished, somewhat lamely.
“Ah, it would appear that you are our final soulmate,” Logan said, his mouth working even as his brain tried to catch up — because not only was this their final soulmate, but it was also Virgil Knight! “My name is Logan.”
“I’m Patton!”
“And I am–”
“Remus?”
Reality came crashing down on Roman. His soulmate was famous musician Virgil Knight, former bandmate of convicted murderer Remus Duke… Roman’s identical twin.
“No, I–I’m his brother, Roman.”
~~~END~~~
I know it’s rude to end on a cliffhanger that I don’t intend to resolve, but I just wanted to write them meeting, I didn’t really want to get into the feelingsy part of it. I just wanted to finish smth to break out of my mini slump
Also the party Remy invited them to was the launch party for Virgil’s first solo album. Joan hired Remy to be Virgil’s friend/bodyguard/driver when Virgil decided he wanted to explore the country and be a normal teen for a while
