Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was normal, considering they were all living in the city and short on cash. They all answered the ad in search of roommates, the apartment was conveniently located for all of them as if the universe had handpicked them the perfect place.

Maybe it had.

All in their mid-twenties, they had stumbled upon an apartment for rent. Central location, decently priced, but the apartment housed four. That was how they all met. The day they moved in, Logan was the first there. Door unlocked and already moved into the smallest room tucked away in the back, Logan greeted Patton, the first to show up.

The third was Roman, entering introducing himself proudly. They went over designated areas and rooms, Roman needing extra space for some of the props he got to keep after plays he performed on the side and the others agreeing to share a little space in the decently sized living room as long as he kept his space.

Hours later, the sun had begun to set and pizza being ordered while the other two unpacked, Virgil showed up. He kept quiet and ducked into the last unclaimed room, second smallest only to Logan's. He hardly carried anything with him, all his materials fit in a backpack and duffle bag he had carried. They all sat quietly, introducing themselves while munching on pizza and garlic knots, getting to know their new roommates.

It had started with Patton a couple of weeks later.

Everyone was at work and Patton had been cleaning up the apartment. They all had day jobs that conflicted most of the time, but this particular afternoon left him alone in the slightly messy complex. Having nothing to do but wait for the others to get home for dinner, he spent part of his days to clean when he could and it was his turn. He never really minded, the others usually consolidated the messes to their rooms and he always had a knack for being able to clean rather quickly.

Which left Virgil confused as he watched two separate copies simultaneously cleaning the dishes in the kitchen and vacuuming the living room, looking back from one room to the other.

"Uhh... Pat?"

"Yeah, kiddo?" The Patton doing the dishes looked up at him and suddenly panicked, the one in the living room vacuuming not hearing over the noise. "Look, try not to freak out." He spoke, drying his hands on a towel and making his way over. "I can explain."

"Please... tell me you have a twin who has the same wardrobe as you."

"Not exactly."

"VIRGIL!" The other Patton shouted, turning off the vacuum. "You're... home early, how wonderful!" He made his way over and smiled, not hiding the panic from his face. "There's a perfectly understandable and not totally bizarre reason as to why there's two of me."

Virgil looked back and forth between the two, the one from doing the dishes shrugged as a response. "Uh... He's a burglar?" The second Patton shrugged, unsure.

The Patton from the kitchen put down the towel he dried his hands with. "That's not going to help, silly."

"Well I can't think of anything, can you?"

"I am you, so obviously not."

Virgil took a step back towards the front door, watching the man argue with his reflection.

"Maybe... could I?" The one who had come from the living room took a step towards the other and stretched out his hand to the one who had been doing dishes in the kitchen. The second one sighed and nodded, reaching out his hand.

In a flash of light, suddenly there was but one singular Patton in the room, and a very confused anxious Virgil. "What was that?!"

"Please don't tell the others but I... Can... duplicate myself?" Patton shrugged and smiled as if he hadn't just spouted nonsense.

Virgil rubbed his eyes with his hand, sighing and trying to convince his now growing headache to go away. "Patton... I had a rough day, can we talk about this later after I freak out?"

"Oh, s-sure! Let me know, okay?"

Virgil silently walked out of the room, leaving Patton truly alone this time. He looked panicked and looked down at his hands, before taking a deep breath.

The second time was Roman.

He worked at a themed restaurant playing a character, as he loved to tell people. Never actually saying what character and where, for most days led him into a mascot costume to attract customers, hiding away his beautiful face from the world, a true crime indeed.

On the side, he sang and performed at the local theater, but he needed money to pay the bills and he was too energetic and over the top for the normal desk job he used to have before he was laid off.

He wasn't home alone, but instead, he was in the living room trying to find a movie to put on in the background. Flipping through the channels was a fruitless endeavor and he was seriously considering steal-borrowing Virgil's DVD player and just putting something on himself.

"I thought the batteries were dead in that thing." Roman looked at Patton, who stood in the doorway with a single plastic bag in his hand. "I ran to the store to get batteries for it and everything!"

"Oh!" Roman looked down at the remote and smirked. "Uh. It started working suddenly?"

"That's strange." Patton walked into the living room and dug a hand into his pocket. "I thought I took the batteries with me to make sure I got the right ones." He pulled out two AAA batteries from his pocket and showed his roommate.

Roman sat up straight and popped open the back on the remote. It was empty. "AH! Uh, it seems... Our remote is haunted, Patton!" Roman dropped the remote on the couch and stood up backing away, feigning terror.

"That doesn't seem remotely possible!" Patton walked to the couch and picked up the remote. "Well, look at that!" He turned and smiled at Roman. "How'd that happen, you think?"

"What's going on?" Virgil walked into the room, wearily eyeing Patton.

"The apartment is haunted!"

Virgil huffed at Roman's statement. "They better start paying rent then." With that, he turned and walked out of the room.

"Come to think of it, Roman." Patton reached into the bag and removed the batteries. "Aren't you always shocking us with static? Maybe that's how it worked."

"Wha- me? No, must be my... positively charged personality! Nothing else!"

"Well unless you can generate electricity-" Patton looked at the slightly panicking man, a look of realization washing over his face. "Can... Roman, can you make electricity?"

Roman forced a laugh, thankful for his acting lessons. "Nonsense, Patton! That's not possible! You've been reading too many silly fiction novels at the library!"

"Your phone never loses a charge."

"It has a good battery!"

"You were drying your hair last week and I thought the hair dryer wasn't even plugged into the wall."

"Now that's not true! It was simply--!" Roman looked around panicked, thinking of an excuse. "It has a battery too, of course!"

"Roman, it's okay." Patton put down the remote, walking towards his roommate, holding his hands up carefully. "I'm not scared okay? Would it make you feel better if I told you a secret myself?"

"No offense, Patton." Roman stood up tall, dropping his act. "What secret could possibly be bigger than my static charm?"

"Aww, you admitted it!" Patton clapped, nearly jumping up and down. "And you made a pun out of it!"

"I admitted nothing!" Roman spun around and marched to his room, leaving a smirking Patton to replace the batteries, thinking about his dramatic roommate, and the two seemingly normal ones... Unless...

Then there was Virgil.

"Patton. Can we... talk?"

Virgil had heard Roman and Patton the day before, and Roman had shut himself in his room afterward. Virgil's mind started racing, he and Patton had never gotten around to their discussion a few days earlier, about how Patton wasn't super fast and good at cleaning, but could actually make physical duplicates of himself. Patton nodded and sat on the couch, motioning for Virgil to sit.

He shuffled his feet before sitting on the far side of the couch, curling in on himself.

"I scared you, huh?" Patton spoke softly and carefully. "The other day. I didn't mean to, that's why I keep it secret."

"You were afraid of scaring us because it's weird," Virgil spoke, looking down at his sleeves as he pulled on them over his hands. "You don't know why or how but you can do this... thing. And you're too scared to tell anyone."

"You've thought about this a lot, huh?"

"Patton, I..." Virgil turned and looked at the man staring at him worriedly. "I heard you talking to Roman." He looked down again. "I didn't mean to, but... It seems like he has this thing he can do too."

Silence fell over the room. The conversation with Roman wasn't solid proof, but Patton recognized the fear in Roman's face from one he felt just days ago. "Our family is a little weird, huh?"

"I wonder if Logan can do something," Virgil whispered just loud enough for someone to hear. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I mean, it would be weird that all of us somehow ended up in the same apartment and he was the only one who couldn't..." The words caught in his throat and he trailed off, but it was enough of a hint. He looked up and saw Patton's face bright with shock. Slowly, a smile spread across his face and Virgil couldn't help but smile back, just a little.

Suddenly Patton shot up with a gasp. "HOUSE MEETING! Quick, everyone! Living room now! We're having a house meeting!"

"We do not live in a house, Patton." Logan walked in from his room, a book in his hands that still held his attention. "Whatever it is, can it not wait for dinner?"

"Not this, no way. ROMAN!" Patton ran down the hallway, shouting. "You don't have a ghost of a chance of missing this, get out here!" Virgil smirked, understanding the comment Roman made the day before.

"I don't know how he made a dad joke, but I am still upset none the less." Logan walked forward and sat on the couch where Patton had just gotten up from, never lowering the book.

"I'm coming, no need to shove!" Ignoring Roman's protests, Patton had shoved him on the couch between the other two and stood on the other side of the coffee table with his hands on his hips proudly. "What's gotten you all excited, huh?" Roman fixed his hair as if being bossed around by Patton had ruined it.

"I have some shocking news to share!" Roman groaned and Virgil hid his smirk in his hand, resting his elbow on the couch.

"Is this about our so-called 'superpowers' we seem to possess?"

"I think we all have--" All eyes shot to Logan, who flipped a page in his book and continued reading. "Wha-when... How did you find out?" Patton was more confused and shocked than anything.

"Observation, recognizing aspects and mannerisms I have with ones I've seen in you." He turned his head to read the next page.

"Can you read minds?" Roman whispered.

"I believe I have what is called Psychokinesis but yes, I can also read minds."

"That's so cool, Logan!" Patton practically jumped up and down where he stood. "Wowie, we all have powers and we all share the same apartment! What are the odds? I mean, I guess--"

"Patton, I know where you're going with that sentence, please just--"

"--the odds are infinitesimal?"

"You are the bane of my sanity." Logan finally puts the book down and took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Next time we play Scrabble, I promise you'll regret it."

"Wait, all of us have some power?" Roman suddenly stood up. "Here I thought I was the misunderstood outcast, but we've turned this apartment building into a secret hideout!" Roman's dismayed look quickly turned back to his bright and cheerful, yet overdramatic personality.

"Do you know what all of us can do, bookworm?" Virgil spoke from his end of the couch, muttering into his sleeve.

Logan had replaced his glasses back on his face, adjusting them unnecessarily. "Yes, I do. You and Patton have just discovered Roman's attunement to electricity, based on the shouts I heard yesterday."

"How do you know that?" Roman looked down with a slight sneer. "You read our minds about that, too?"

"No, I simply connected the dots. Patton told me he went to get batteries for the remote and I heard you flipping channels, then your incessant yelling leads me to believe you finally figured it out."

"What about me?" Virgil spoke, and uncurled himself, leaning forward to look at Logan. "You have me figured out yet?"

Logan sighed and closed his book. "Look, when I use my powers, there's this..." He waved his hand around as he decided on the word he was looking for. "A luminous shine if you will. From-"

"Your eyes glow! Like Rudolph's nose!" Patton giggled at the realization.

"That... is accurate, I suppose."

Roman turned and leaned closer to Logan, a grin growing on his face. "Care to demonstrate, Cyclops? Is that why you wear glasses?"

"I do not use my powers, you needn't worry." He picked up his book and resumed where he had left off. "No need to do something I can do myself, after all."

"Aww, why wouldn't you want to use your psy-super... I don't remember what you said." Patton admitted with a shrug.

"Psychokinesis. He can move things without touching them." Roman and Patton turned towards Virgil, who looked away blushing. "I read comic books, okay?"

"Well, what about you, storm drain? What power do you have? Mind sharing with the class?"

Patton perked up. "No, mind sharing is what Logan does!"

Virgil smirked, looking up at Roman, but made to attempt to move. "Want to take a guess?"

"Oh! Is it your super smile? Oh, no your shining personality!" Roman flashed a big smile towards the darker man on the couch. "I get it right?"

Virgil sighed and leaned back on the couch. "For someone whose powers are pretty bright, you are pretty lacking." Ignoring the protest from Roman, Virgil looked back down at his hands. "I can stop and start time, but I can move around when I do."

"Is that why you always beat me to the last slice of pizza?" Patton spoke, jokingly.

"Don't have to race you if I can come up behind you and take it without you knowing."

"That is unfair, you owe me so many slices of pizza!" Roman stood up staring down the darker side, sneering at the grin that shone back at him.

"Hey, sometimes I let Patton have them."

"Aww, Virge, that's so sweet!"

Logan looked down and flipped the page in his book, listening to his roommates argue on. This time, however, playful banter filled the living room and he couldn't help but smirk.

Chapter Text

It had been roughly two weeks since they sat down and talked. Logan claimed he observed everything by being home the most, he worked part-time at a bookstore and spent the rest of his time on the computer, doing some kind of coding and debugging most of the time. He tried explaining, but he had a tendency to go off on tangents and they had gotten off topic quickly.

Logan promised that he didn't use his powers, not even for simple things if he could help it. He calmed them down, promising he had never read their minds since they had moved in and promised he did not have plans to do so in the future, mostly to settle down Virgil who seemed the most anxious and upset at the news of his ability.

Patton admitted he never really used his at all until he had moved out a few years ago, but mostly just made one or two copies to help with chores or to keep him company when things got too quiet. He had mentioned he was usually careful, until his slip up with Virgil.

Roman had a problem with using his subconsciously and not being aware of it. His phone never seemed to lose a charge when he was using it and sometimes he forgot to plug things in before using them. He also had the problem of constantly being a source of static shock and static cling. Nothing too bad, but after admitting this, Virgil had bought a pack of balloons and Roman had woken up to a dozen balloons clung to him and a snickering Virgil taking photos.

Virgil had stated he never used his powers out of fear something might go wrong... but if he was about to miss a bus or train or was about to be late for an appointment, he didn't see the harm in stopping time for a bit just so he didn't have to worry. That got a chuckle out of Roman, who was amused by the prospect of such a strong power being used to help Virgil get to work on time at the craft store in case he slept in too late.

With the secrets out in the open, they seemed to be more relaxed around one another, becoming closer friends than the first three or so months they had lived together.

Patton could be found cleaning the living room or cooking while he was also at work as a library assistant, a job he found ironic Logan didn't have. Organizing catalogs and working with the computers was up his alley, but Logan much preferred the time he had at home working on small projects and reading, though he never explained what he was ever doing past the first time they had asked. They were too afraid of the confusing answer they would get again. Although Patton's favorite part of the job was when students would come in from school, or when they had nights where he and the librarian read children's books to the younger kids.

Roman had admitted he had been laid off from a comfy desk job about a year or so ago and hadn't found decent work since, resorting in an embarrassing job he refused to talk about besides venting about coworkers with as few details as possible. All they knew was he also worked at the local theater, and his other job involved him acting as well, though those were all the details he ever gave.

Weeknights where everything lined up and they could gather around and talk happened once in a while, but instead of hiding away, they quickly became 'family nights' as Patton called them. They would sit around and talk, just relaxing and having dinner. Patton had the most experience cooking something that hadn't been pre-frozen and had started teaching them the basics and having them explore the world outside of pizza and pasta.

Currently gathered in the living room, Patton and Roman shared the couch, Logan sat in the recliner with a book currently open but placed faced down onto the armrest, and Virgil sat on the floor between the coffee table and the small tv they had. Dinner had been loud and they all ventured over to the living room some time ago. Roman pulled out a bottle of wine he had gotten as a 'housewarming' gift and had shared it, but only Virgil had taken him up on the offer. It was cheap and Virgil was nursing it, mostly just swirling it around the cheap glass he had. Roman used an actual wine glass, the only one they had owned.

"I'm telling you, I could just freeze time and follow you, you'd never know."

Roman huffed, leaning back on the couch and swirling his glass. "I just don't want you distracting me while I work! Besides, you wouldn't dare. It'd be a massive waste of your-" Roman caught himself and Virgil smirked up at him. "I was going to say energy, wipe that smile off your face!" He quickly took a swig from his glass and glanced away, nearly emptying it in the process.

"Sure you were," Virgil mumbled into his glass and took a sip, the glass still nearly full.

"Now kids, no need to fight," Patton spoke in a joking manner.

"But daaaaad," Virgil whined mockingly, smiling up at Patton as he smirked.

Patton smiled and leaned forward. "No need to wine, kiddo!"

"Patton, please." Logan huffed. "Your humor leaves much to be desired."

Virgil leaned forward and put down his glass on the table, using a coaster so Logan didn't lecture him on the importance of coasters again. "I dunno, he's teaching us to cook and he speaks in dad jokes." Virgil pushed off the ground. "Seems like he's the dad of the house to me." Stretching, Virgil made his way across the room. "I have work in the morning, I'm going to hit the hay."

Roman scoffed and turned towards his retreating roommate. "It's a waste of wine if you don't actually drink it!"

"Tell your coworker to give you better wine next time!"

Roman reached forward and finished his wine, grabbing Virgil's and headed towards the kitchen. "I'll do the dishes tonight Patton since you and Virgil cooked dinner."

Logan picked up his book and made his way to the back of the apartment to his room. "I have a project to finish so I'm afraid I will be heading out as well."

"Wait!" Patton stood up and Logan turned back, book half raised to his face already. "I had a question." Patton stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled in his spot. "Do you think, maybe, uh..."

Logan adjusted his glasses and turned to completely face his slightly younger roommate. "Patton, we have all gotten closer these last few weeks. If you are bothered by something, I will hear you out."

Patton smiled and took a step closer. "Do you think your mind-reading ability is due to your psychic-whatever or the other way around?"

"Psychokinesis, Patton. It is also referred to as telekinesis if that helps you." Logan placed his finger in his book and closed it to keep his spot, tucking it under his arm. "That is an astute observation, although, through my personal experiences and research, I believe you may be correct."

Patton perked up. "I am?" Logan nodded, causing his roommate to smile and jump clapping his hands. "I knew it! Oh, that helps prove my theory more! See, I think our powers have a secondary side effect I didn't really realize until last week when we were talking!"

"Oh?" Logan's eyebrows shot up in shock. "Well, that is a possibility I hadn't given much thought. I would love to talk more in depth about this. You work late tomorrow, correct? Perhaps we can talk during lunch before you leave."

"I have to prepare for the school field trip the next morning so I'm closing, yeah. We can make lunch together! Oh, this is so exciting! Thanks, Logan!" Patton waved and headed the opposite direction towards his own room. "Good night!"

Logan watched Patton walk away and smiled, making his way through the kitchen towards his room. Roman wished him goodnight as well, hands covered in soap.

When Logan got to his room, he looked around at the small desk and bed that occupied his living space. There wasn't much room for anything else, his closet filled with books and journals he had filled, and he glanced down at the science fiction novel he had been reading before dinner. Normally he would be done with it by now, but he was quickly finding the companionship of his new roommates much more enjoyable than his love for reading had been.

The next morning had brought a calmer energy to the apartment. Logan had stayed up slightly later than he normally would due to the social gathering that had distracted him the night before. Though ever punctual, he had gotten up as early as he normally would, happy to find Virgil had already made a pot of coffee, on his way to work.

He poured himself a cup, greeting Virgil who mumbled back, already taking a big swig of his own coffee. Virgil didn't drink it often, he said it made him too jittery, but earlier shifts made it a requirement due to the late nights he always had on the computer.

Logan looked at the clock and saw it was just past 8 am. "I take it by your state you are opening the store today, Virgil?"

A groan was his answer as his roommate tilted his head back and finished his coffee. "The only people who need yarn at 9 am are old ladies with nothing better to do." He made his way over to the sink to rinse out his mug. "Thank goodness I stock the store, I couldn't deal with people this early."

Virgil placed his clean mug on the drying rack they had and walked back to his room to get dressed. Not long after, he exited his room and made his way through the kitchen again. "Do me a favor, if Patton asks, I ate breakfast." He reached into the fruit bowl and grabbed an apple, and pulled his hood up on his hoodie. "See ya."

Logan checked the time again, not surprised his roommate was leaving early for work. Virgil had a tendency to worry about most things, so he usually was at work super early, checking things multiple times, and stressing over outcomes he wasn't prepared for. He had calmed down more than when he had arrived the first day, only arriving late to avoid confrontation with the others. Any improvement was a good improvement, Logan reminded him.

It wasn't much later that Patton showed up, and Logan knew Roman wasn't too far behind. He never slept in, claiming it was bad to oversleep and would ruin the whole point of 'beauty sleep'.

Soon after, Roman was off to the theater to work on another possible show before heading out to his actual job afterward, leaving Logan and Patton alone.

They settled back into the living room, Patton taking his usual spot at one end of the couch and Logan taking his recliner. Patton pulled out a few pieces of paper he had, covered in words and scribbled notes.

"So I did a lot of research trying to figure stuff out." He sat closer and reached his notes out for Logan to take. "I had a few theories so it's kind of messy because I just wrote things down as I had ideas, but-" Logan looked up as Patton froze, looking down at the table. Accompanied by the slight buzzing noise, Patton's phone was lit up and vibrating across it. "Oh, I have to take this. Sorry, Logan!" Patton shot up and grabbed the phone, pressing it to his ear. "Hi, mom! Yeah, it's me."

Logan looked back down at the notes, trying to find where they actually had started, distracted by the flowers that Patton had also doodled in the margins. It seemed Patton just started writing things down that he learned before he followed a single thought process which still went a couple different ways.

Patton walked back into the room, pocketing his phone and sitting down. Logan could tell he didn't carry the same energy as he did before the phone call but didn't press him on the matter. He wasn't jumping to share his personal life either. "It seemed you started wondering the correlation of your abilities with outside circumstances and trying to make connections." Logan looked up at Patton, who stared back confused. "You try and find similarities between your powers and things that happen that don't seem related."

"Oh! Yeah, that's what I was doing!" Patton scooted in closer. "See, I was wondering after Roman got all those balloons stuck to him if our powers had side effects!"

"That is an interesting observation." Logan flipped through the notes. "You seem to have written something here about your own abilities?"

Patton sat up straight, hands already moving before he spoke. "When I make my little Patton pals, I can kinda feel how they feel, ya know?" Patton paused, struggling for the right words. "Like, if they are in another room and they feel strongly about something, I can feel that, but I don't really understand why until after we become one again." Logan nodded, motioning for Patton to continue. "Okay, so last week I had started wondering if I had side effects to my abilities, then I started noticing that I could feel nervousness, but none of my little buddies were out. Then I noticed it was coming from Virgil!" Patton looked up, full of excitement. "He was worried about something that happened at work and I got him to talk about it! I mentioned me feeling the emotions of the copies I make--gosh I need a better word for them!"

"Patton."

"Right! Sorry." Patton smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, Virgil said it was called being an empath? I think since I've never made my buddies appear with other people around I had never noticed!" Patton motioned to his notes. "I started wondering if Roman and Virgil had second lesser abilities as well! Besides Roman being so positively attractive!" Patton winked and it took Logan a second before realizing it was just another 'dad joke' of his. "What do you think?"

Logan flipped through the notes again, seeing the word 'empath' scribbled and underlined on the side and reading the paragraph next to it. "I must say, Patton, your note-taking skills are lacking, but you have a solid hypothesis. This could be looked further into."

Patton shot out of his seat in excitement. "Really? I did good?"

Logan put down the notes and smiled. "Yes, Patton, you 'did good', although it would be 'I did well'. I'm rather impressed, I don't know when I would have noticed."

"I'm sure you would have eventually." Patton sat back down, still excited about his discovery. "We only just all started exploring what we really can do, but you seem to have a good hold on yours."

Logan placed the papers down, fixing his glasses. "Well, I think this discussion should be continued with the others when they get home so we may further prove our hypothesis."

Patton gathered his notes with a gleeful smile on his face. "I've been able to figure out mine for the most part before moving in, maybe we can help the others figure out their own if they want."

Logan stood up and Patton soon followed. "If they express interest in learning more about their abilities, a safe and supervised environment would be the best choice. Now, how about we cook something up for lunch before Virgil gets home?"

"You want to cook with me?" Patton turned and ran to his room. "I'd love to, let me put these back!"

It was around 2 pm when Virgil got home, having just missed Patton as he headed towards the library. These moments used to be some of Virgil's favorites. Logan was in his room and the place was empty and quiet. He could put on a show or music for background noise and just relax without any worries. As he sat on the couch, he was aware of how much he had already preferred the noise of laughter and banter from his roommates.

Roman had gotten home around four after a rough day. The theater was doing auditions on a day he couldn't get out of his dreaded job and he wasn't sure he'd even be able to audition, let alone be in the play if he could. Then he got the short end of the straw afterward at his job.

He worked in a themed restaurant as an actor who also waited on tables. Not the most fulfilling job, but until then, he looked for jobs elsewhere while performing for customers and enjoying what he can.

Unfortunately, there was the worst part of the job, the mascot. They drew straws to see who got stuck at the front of the store trying to get customers, where most people ignored him or made fun of him. He was good at banter, but some days people just gotta be mean.

Today, Roman drew the short straw.

He made it up the flights of stairs to his apartment and was greeted by Virgil, sitting on the couch watching something on tv and on his phone. Roman made no hesitation to the cheap wine they had the night before and poured himself a generous glass, not being as slow as it the night before. He finished it before pouring a second and making his way into the living room.

"Watching anything interesting?"

"Not really." Virgil finally looked up for the first time. "Woah, bad day?" Roman huffed and pulled his hair back and let out a frustrated sigh. "That's a yes."

Roman fell back against the couch without a word, not having the energy to talk.

Silence fell between the two before Roman took another big swig. "Slow down there, buddy. You're gonna get a headache drinking cheap crud like that too fast."

"How did I go from a nice cushiony desk job to this in less than a year?" Roman rubbed his face with his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, dropping his hand into his lap. "If I have one more thing thrown at me, I will lose it."

"No you won't, you're too good for that. You're like a prince straight out of a Disney movie."

Roman smirked for a second and finished his glass, putting it down. "Thanks, Maleficent. I appreciate that."

"No prob, Prince Phillip." Virgil turned back to his phone and started scrolling.

Roman took out his own phone and pressed the home button, only to be greeted by a dark screen. "Oh, fantastic." He muttered.

Virgil looked over and looked at Roman's phone. "Looks like the battery died."

Roman scoffed and held a hand to his chest, offended. "My batteries don't just die, Virgil."

"Maybe you need a charge, Princey."

Roman shook his head and lifted his hand, waiting for the small blue light of electricity appear around his hand. He never tried creating more than just the small charge on his hand for charging various electronics, for which he had mastered. After a second, when nothing happened, he flexed his hand and looked down at it. "That's rather odd."

"Looks like someone lost their spark." Virgil nudged Roman, who looked up at him in confusion. "You okay? You seem lost."

"I can't make electricity." Roman tried again, only to be greeted with the same outcome. "That's so strange! I've never had this happen!"

"Never say never." Roman glared at Virgil who put his phone down. "Sorry, here. Let me see your phone." Roman handed it over and Virgil held down the power button. The screen lit up for a second, before dying again. "Yeah, it's out of juice." He handed it back over. "How do you usually do that?"

"I just sort of have this fuzzy feeling and I focus on that and it happens." Roman rubbed his chest, as to specify where the fuzzy feeling came from. "It's kind of fuzzier than normal, now." Roman tried again, closing his eyes and really focusing. This time, a small blue spark formed, before fizzling out. "Ahh, why is this so hard?"

"Well, when's the last time you used it?"

"I used it before I got home, my battery wasn't dead and I checked my phone while walking up the stairs."

"So the battery finally fizzled out?"

Roman shook his head. "It could have no battery but as long as it's touching me it'll stay on and keep a charge."

Virgil looked at Roman, who stared down in dismay at his phone. He looked at his own phone, then sat up. "Maybe... could it be the wine?"

"What?" Roman looked at his now empty wine glass. "You think the wine shorted me out?"

"Shorted you and your phone out, yeah. The charge could come from your brain and alcohol dampened it."

Roman fell back on the couch. "Great, my super weakness is alcohol. Fantastic."

"That's rather interesting." Roman looked over at Logan who had walked into the living room, a book and pen in his hand. "You say you 'short-circuited' because of the wine?" He opened the book and started writing something down. "That is something we need to test as well."

Virgil sat up straight on the couch. "You saying we should get different types of alcohol and see what short-circuits princey out?"

"Well, that is a viable test we could run."

"I'm so in."

A quick trip to the store and Logan had already begun to regret his decision. They made their way up the stairs, headed for the rooftop of the apartment building. The colder weather had made it a perfect place where they weren't likely to be bothered.

Roman pushed open the door with Virgil trailing, both carrying the majority of the bags up to the roof while Logan carried one with his journal firmly in his other hand.

"Alright, Roman. Are you still under the effects of the wine from earlier?" Logan placed his bag down with the others on the only table and opened up his journal about midway through.

Roman took a step back and held up his hand, a surge of blue sparks jumping from between his fingers. "All good now."

"Great." Virgil hand out a can of beer to Roman, holding one of his own. "Now drink up."

Logan started scribbling in his journal, rereading what was on the page afterward. "Yes, I would like to finish early, I have work in the morning."

Roman looked down at the can and cracked it open. "I feel like I'm back in college."

"You're not that much older than me, stop acting like college was forever ago."

"I'm older than all of you." Logan rang out, pulling out cups from one of the bags. "I'll be observing and taking notes as we go along."

Roman looked over at Virgil and scowled. "So why are you drinking? I thought you avoided the stuff."

"No, I avoid caffeine. Besides, you bought it all, who am I to pass up a little bit of free booze?" Roman rolled his eyes and grimaced into the can, beer not being a choice he ever picked when he did choose to indulge, which wasn't often.

Roman finished his can quicker than he would have liked and created a spark like before with no issues. Logan jotted down the discovery in his book and Virgil brought out two bottles. "Champagne or whiskey?"

Roman grabbed the champagne, giving Virgil the opportunity to open the whiskey himself. "This is stupid, whats the point if I never drink?"

Virgil nudged him playfully, pouring a small amount into the plastic cups they purchased. "Come on, Roman! It's for science, I thought you wanted to know how this stuff worked?"

Roman was still sober enough to keep his dignity as he sloshed some of his drink into a cup before downing it quickly. "I do, I'd love to know how my powers work, don't you?" He poured himself another before capping the bottle.

Virgil shrugged and looked off of the rooftop out into the city, though he couldn't see much. "Not really. Sure, there's stuff I don't understand but if I never use them then there's no worry, right?"

"I thought you did use your powers sometimes? I can never tell, it's not like I can see stopped time." Roman looked over the city with Virgil, sipping at his second cup. "You're not even a little curious? Never lost control of your powers?"

Looking over at Virgil gave Roman a better answer than words could. The slightly younger roommate had started glaring out at the skyline before quickly tossing his head back and finishing his drink. "Come on, Roman, light it up!" He turned away and put down his cup, jumping and sitting on the table.

Roman dropped the topic and finished his drink, handing the cup to Virgil who placed it beside his own. Roman held out a hand and once again focused on that feeling, only for his hand to look as normal as ever.

"Interesting, it seems like we have the same physical outcome as with wine." Logan took a step forward, quickly glancing down at his journal. "Roman, how do you feel now?"

"Still too sober for this." Roman shook his head and tried again, closing his eyes with a grimace and focusing harder. "It's like the fuzziness is spread around more and I can't get a good grip on it." A spark shot out of his hand and he dropped it immediately, holding his head. "That was hard. And now I have a headache." Roman leaned back against the wall of the roof and looked up at Virgil. "This is a bad idea, why did I think this would be a good idea?"

Logan took a few of the cups and placed them in a small pyramid stack. "Do not worry, Roman. I believe the more inebriated you become, the less focus you have, which in turn means less control over the generation of your magnetic charge. The type of alcohol may increase the speed this happens, but I do not believe the type matters."

"So he gets too tipsy and can't generate a charge." Virgil hopped off the table. "Tough luck, Sparky."

Logan cleared off the rest of the table, placing the bags on the ground. "Roman, you also wished to learn how to be in control of your powers more, did you not? If you would, I would like to try something." He pulled out his notebook and flipped back a page from the one he had bookmarked. "You said you merely had an energy field about you which could be problematic at times. Have you ever tried to disperse any of this energy before?"

"Well, yeah, as a kid. Accidentally made my mom a living magnet for a week once. I usually just try to burn out what I have in small ways."

"Do you think we could try having you knock over some cups off of the table to see if that would affect you?"

Roman rolled his eyes and spun around. "I'm tipsy, calculator watch! Not completely but enough!" He stopped and pointed dramatically at Logan. "I just told you I can't create anything while like this!"

"Then I apologize for this in advance." Logan adjusted his glasses, a quick flash of light blue light passing over his eyes before he looked up. "How do you feel now?"

Roman stood up straight and gathered himself. His brow furrowed in confusion, then looked up in shock. "Am I... did you make me sober?"

"Holy hell, you can do that?" Virgil laughed, looking between the two. "You'd be fun at parties, Lo."

Logan brought his gaze onto the youngest roommate. "I figured this knowledge would be unsettling for you."

Virgil shrugged and crossed his arms. "I'm a beer and two shots of whiskey into this science lesson. I'm more amused than anything, you could just about outdrink anyone!"

"That is not how it works, but I understand your point." Logan pointed to the cups on the table. "Roman, would you like to give it a try?"

Virgil walked over to Logan and they both created space between them and Roman's target. Roman looked down at his hands and up at the cups as if daring them to challenge him.

He raised a hand and shot out a bigger bolt than expected, which missed all the cups completely and surprised Roman enough that he pulled his hand back immediately. "I didn't know I could do that!"

"You missed, Emperor Palpatine!" Virgil cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

Roman stomped a foot in response. "I am not a villain! Honestly! I'd much rather a superhero, it fits me more, obviously!"

"Whatever you say, Static Shock."

Roman huffed, facing the cups once more. This time he held up a hand, then gestured with just a pointer finger and let it loose. The shot missed, but a much smaller bolt shot out that time. "Woah! Okay!" He looked down at his hands once more. "That's too easy, I'm almost afraid if I actually tried to let out as much power as I could."

"That's why you're practicing, isn't it?" Logan took a few steps forward, closing his journal he had just been scrawling in furiously a moment before. "Patton and I have a bit of a handle on what we can do through time and experience."

"All I did was be a live-in battery for my parents." Roman flexed his fingers and shoved them into his pockets. "I do feel a little better, even after a few small bolts. Like I'm not going to shock the next person I touch."

Virgil walked up and smirked. "About time, I was tired of you passing me in the halls and shocking me."

Roman reached out and poked his roommate, a quick flash shocking the younger man who yelped. "Oh, no. I can do that whenever I want."

Virgil rubbed his arm and glared at Roman. "I'll get you back for that."

"I think that's enough for tonight. It's already getting too dark to continue." Logan walked over to the table and cleaned up the cups, placing them back into a bag. "We can continue another day. For now, we should go see Patton before he begins to worry."

"Hey Logan, would you zap my brain and sober me up if I keep drinking? I have work in the morning." Virgil grabbed the small bottle of whiskey he had been drinking from earlier.

Logan looked back at him and smirked. "That is to be seen." He picked up the one bag he brought upstairs and made his way back down.

Virgil shrugged and took a swig from the bottle. "That's not a good idea. That's not even yours." Roman reached for the bottle and Virgil quickly ducked away. "You're much more relaxed when you're drinking."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Virgil smirked playfully back at Roman before sticking out his tongue. He then picked up one of the bags he brought upstairs earlier. "You can carry the rest, right Princey? World's already spinning for me. Thanks!"

Roman watched Virgil almost clumsily run across the roof to the door and vanish. He looked down at the bags Virgil had left him with and thought back to how this began. His day was bad, yes, and he just wanted to forget about it over a glass of wine. He did not expect a bonding moment on the roof with two of his roommates.

Roman picked up the bags and made his way downstairs. Maybe he could convince Logan to leave Virgil as he is, as punishment for making him carry everything back down on his own.

Chapter Text

Virgil regretted his decision to drink with Roman the day before, considering Logan hadn't pulled his stunt and sobered him up as well. He had a pounding headache, and work was a few hours away.

He sat up and went to the bathroom, pulling out aspirin from the cabinet and headed to the kitchen for a drink. He was greeted by Patton who was cooking at the stove, which meant Logan probably had already been up and had a rare day at work at the bookstore, meaning he had to treat his hangover the old-fashioned way.

He waved to Patton, squinting and not wanting to speak, pulling out a cup and drinking water from the faucet. Usually, he avoided tap water, his brain panicking about all the problems with drinking unfiltered water like that, but his head was distracted by the pounding it was suffering from.

He heard Patton move to the table and turned. Patton waved to the food and pointed to him, then the chair, not saying a word. Virgil walked over and was greeted by a plate of eggs and toast, and sighed happily. Logan must have warned Patton of his earlier exploits. Virgil had just sat down when a glass of ginger ale was placed down, and Patton rubbed his back for a moment before heading back to the stove. They both sat silently as he ate, his stomach not too upset to enjoy the meal.

Virgil had finished eating and was pushing the remainder of his food around on his plate when Patton walked up. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks, Pat." The elder took Virgil's plate and went over to the sink. "You have work today?"

"No, not today, and the apartment is all clean, but I'll find something to do. You have to leave soon, don't you?" Patton turned, looking over his shoulder. "You feeling up to it after last night?"

Virgil stood and scoffed. "Roman and I hardly drank, Patton. I have a headache, but I'm fine." Patton looked skeptically but didn't push the matter, going back to washing the dishes. "I've got to get ready if I want to be there on time. See ya, thanks for breakfast."

Virgil took a quick shower and got dressed, running out the door before Patton could lecture him about his hair being wet out in the cold. He didn't want to be late and he didn't want to use his powers, not if he could help it.

He pulled out a pair of earbuds, never taking his headphones to work, and popped them in as he raced towards the bus stop, checking the time. He'd make it with time to spare, but he always wanted to make sure to be prepared in case something went wrong.

The bus pulled up and he took the first open spot, hopping off a few stops later a few blocks from his job. It was closer to noon on a weekday, the sounds of the city growing quieter as he left the main streets to an older building.

He never removed his headphones, his boss didn't care much if he listened to music as he worked, as long as he helped a customer if they asked. He wasn't hired for customer service, but any job like this would demand it when necessary.

Virgil entered the store, waving at the cashier at the entrance and went to the back to punch in to start working. It was a slow day as he organized the small selection of fabric and sorted ribbon that people would just toss back after looking at it, not that he minded the busy work.

About two hours into his shift, he had sorted the spools of thread and was organizing the yarn that was going to be on sale the next week. The work never took too long but there was enough to keep him busy and the store usually was empty on days like today. 'Usually' is what he told himself as he felt someone tug on his sleeve. He turned and saw an elderly woman smiling up at him as he removed both his earbuds. "Sorry sweetie, but do you mind helping an old lady out?"

"Oh, yeah sure. I work here, so if you need anything, I can help."

"Oh perfect!" She reached over and patted a hand on his arm, leaning on her cane with the other. "I'm looking for the knitting needles. Have to keep up my grandma appearance, you know." She chuckled at her joke and Virgil smiled down at her.

"Sure, you're not too far off. They're just over here." He turned and slowly walked towards a wall a few feet away.

"I know I'm old but no need to walk like I do. I know your long legs can make you walk faster than this." He looked over his shoulder and saw the old woman with a twinkle in her eye. "No need to start walking slowly now, you've got plenty of time to do that yourself when you're my age." They stopped in front of the wall and he pointed to the section specifically for knitting. "Wonderful. You want to know a tip?"

"Sure."

She leaned in and smiled. "Knitting needles make for great self-defense weapons. They'll never see you coming."

Virgil's face dropped as he looked down at her, before breaking out into a laugh. He knew the whole store could probably hear him, it wasn't a big place, but he couldn't help it. "Oh. I'll-I'll keep that in mind!" He shook his head and smiled down at her. "Guess I'll have to take up knitting, then."

She reached up and patted his arm again. "This hoodie you're wearing, did you make this? Or did you find it in one of those darkly lit stores?"

He looked down at his black hoodie covered in plaid purple patches. "Oh, I made it, but I just added the patches." He shrugged and pulled the hoodie closed more. "Working in a craft store too long, it starts to get to you."

"It's not a bad habit to keep up with." She turned back to the wall. "I'll let you get back to work. You'll see me if I need anything else."

Virgil smiled and waved, walking back to the yarn display a few feet away. He kept his earbuds out until she had left, answering any other questions she had and even helping her to the front registers with her checkout.

"Virgil, is there anyone else in the store?" He turned and looked back at the girl after the old woman had left. The cashier was the owner's daughter who usually helped out most of the time. He shook his head no. "Oh, I heard laughter. Thought some kids were messing around."

Virgil tensed, ducking his head away. "Oh, uh. That was me. Sorry, I'll keep it down."

"You can laugh?" He looked up as she leaned forward on the counter. "Thought you were only capable of brooding."

He snorted and smirked. "Nah, sometimes my soul tries reminding me I still have one."

The rest of his shift went as it usually did, the encounter leaving him more relaxed than he normally would have been. The manager even pulled him to the side and told him the old woman had given a shining review based on what his daughter had said. His boss cut him early and told him he could go home as soon as his usual work was done instead of making him organize the storage in the back like he normally would have to.

All in all, it was a good day for Virgil, which was a nice change from his usual worries.

When he got home, earlier than expected, he found Patton walk out from his room to see who had entered. "Virgil! You're home early. Feeling any better from this morning?"

"Yeah, I feel fine now. The boss let me go after I was done with the normal stuff." He pulled his hood down and tucked his earbuds away, walking over and falling back onto the couch. "I actually had a pretty good day."

"That sounds fantastic, I'm glad." Patton put his hand on the doorway to his room and started heading back in. "I'll leave you to relax in peace and enjoy the rest of your good mood, okay?"

Virgil shifted in his seat. "I wouldn't mind hanging out with you, Patton." Virgil looked up as his eyes met Patton's lens covered ones. "I mean, you don't have to. If you're busy, I can just hang out and watch a movie or something."

Patton spun around and smiled, practically vibrating with joy. "Do you really?! Ohh, I'd love that!"
Virgil chuckled and shook his head. "If you have something to do I'm okay with hanging out with a... Patton pal." He looked away and shrugged. "They're technically copies of you, right?"

"Well, that's the thing, kiddo." Patton sat down on the couch next to Virgil. "They're pieces of me, as well as copies. You helped me figure that out."

"Right, the whole empath thing." Virgil looked down and at the coffee table and they sat in silence for a moment. "Do you think you could help me? With mine, that is?"

"Your power?" Patton leaned in and spoke softly. "Are you sure? You seem so skeptical of it."

Virgil looked back up at Patton and saw the concern in the older eyes. Patton smiled and Virgil couldn't help feel comforted about how much Patton really did seem to care. "I want to know what I can do, after seeing Roman try to work on his. You and Logan seem to have yours figured out."

"I'm always learning something new about me and what I can do, Virgil. I've had a little more time with mine than you have had with yours." Patton slowly leaned in and put a hand on his shoulder. "How about we spend some time relaxing and we do some detective work after, huh? We can watch a movie and talk about how you want to approach this."

Virgil scoffed. "I'm fine, Patton. We can just start whenever." Patton crossed his arms and gave him what Virgil could only describe as a 'dad look'. "Okay, okay. You can tell I'm nervous, I get it. We can watch a movie and go out after, pops." Patton nodded and stood up, headed for the small DVD archive they had. "Actually, I have to make a phone call real quick, Patton."

"Alright. Do you want to pick what we watch?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Put anything in, I don't mind."

Patton nodded and waved as Virgil walking out of the room. He grabbed his phone and unlocked it, pressing a few buttons and holding it to his ear, walking to the window.

During the fourth ring, a voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, dad." Virgil turned and faced the entryway to the living room, towards where his new resident 'dad' was before glancing out the window again. "Just calling to check in, see how you've been suffering without me."

"Oh, it's been dreadful." His father sighed dramatically over the phone. "No one plays loud music during the days and there are no messy dishes in the sink from late night snacks for me to clean in the morning. It's so boring!"

"Aww, pops, maybe I should come over and make a mess just to give you something to do."

"Please don't." Virgil chuckled at the quick response. "I miss you, but the last thing I need is having you pop out of nowhere on me."

Virgil bit his lip. His power made him seem like he had the ability to just simply... appear. He could freeze time and take a few steps and start it up again, making it seem like teleportation. He used to prank his dad from time to time when he was younger before he really realized he was only scaring him. Virgil held back a sigh and bit his tongue. "Yeah, sorry. I don't really do that anymore."

"None of your roommates know, do they?"

"Can't really see when I do something, can they?" Virgil knew he was avoiding the truth, but he didn't want to spill on his roommate's secrets. That wasn't his place and the fewer people who knew the better. "I was just calling to see how you were holding up. Want me to visit soon? I just got off of work, I can stop by for dinner."

"Virgil, your old man is doing fine. Yeah, it's a little lonely with just me here but I can manage."

"You're going to end up with an apartment filled with cats if I'm not careful."

"Don't threaten me with companionship, son!" At that, Virgil did actually laugh. He rather enjoyed talking to his dad, even if things would get quiet and awkward after they talked about everything they could. When he moved out, his dad was excited and nervous, just like he had been, but their relationship only grew better with both of them able to breathe and get some space.

"I've got a movie date with my roommate, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Ohhh, a date, huh? Is he cute?"

"Dad, no! Not like that. We're friends!" Virgil hissed into the phone, looking back and hoping Patton hadn't heard him talking. "Besides, I don't see him like that. He's become like my second dad. Not that he's as cool as you, of course. He can cook better than you do though."

"Ouch, right where it hurts, thanks." He heard his father chuckle on the other end. "Enjoy your movie not date, talk to you later."

"Later."

Virgil hung up the phone and went to the living room. Patton sat up from kneeling on the floor. "Oh, perfect! I had found something I think we've both seen just so we don't mind talking over it."

"Sounds perfect, Patton."

Virgil had claimed one end of the couch from day one pretty much, and Patton usually sat in the middle, but he left room for Virgil and sat at the other end of the couch, pressing play on the remote.

Virgil brought his feet onto the couch and got comfortable before he heard Patton clear his throat. "You okay, Pat?"

"Something bothering you, kiddo?"

Virgil frowned and looked back at the tv. "I'm fine, why do you ask?" The advertisements and warnings at the beginning of the DVD were still playing, so he turned back towards Patton, who gave him a concerned look. "I can't get anything by you anymore, can I?" Virgil sat up from his sunken position. "I called my dad. He doesn't like me using my powers and I wanted to tell him but I couldn't. He worries as much as I do, sometimes." He laid his head back on the couch and looked at the tv again. "I'm just going to worry about it until I'm distracted."

Patton turned towards the other, paying the tv no mind. "If you're not comfortable, you don't have to push yourself, Virge."

"No, I want to do this. I want to understand this thing I have. Watching Roman learn about his and seeing you use yours like it's second nature and I never use mine, I just can't help but worry." He curled into himself more. "Worrying is what I do best."

"I don't think it's what you do best, but worrying about something like that is never a bad thing." Patton turned back towards the tv to see the menu screen pop up. "Sometimes I think people forget to worry about some stuff, it's good to have someone to ground them. You don't worry about anything you don't think is important, remember that. Your feelings are valid, no matter what they are."

Patton pressed play on the screen and Virgil stared blankly at it as the opening started. "Patton?" Virgil sunk back into his comfortable position. "Thanks." He stretched out his legs and nudged Patton with his foot, who smiled back at him.

They had started watching the movie until Patton asked questions about what Virgil had already learned, and what he wanted to learn. He discussed the notebook Logan had kept his notes on all of this and decided to share only what Virgil felt comfortable with later if he was up for it. They talked back and forth, Virgil keeping his answers vague until the credits were already rolling and they had gotten sidetracked.

"I can make a few but after three or four it starts to feel kind of fuzzy, so I usually stick to one or two." Patton had completely turned to the other side of the couch, not paying any mind to the tv. "I've had slumber parties with myself as a kid but my parents were never fans, so I just stopped doing it until I moved out. I told them I never used it again, but I think they know I'm not being honest."

Virgil did a dramatic gasp, putting a hand on his chest. "Patton. Have you told a lie? I'm surprised at you!"

Patton smirked and Virgil nudged him with his leg, sitting closer than they were before. "I either had to lie to them or to myself, and they just don't understand. I've tried talking to them but..."

"I get it." Virgil stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned forward. "No one really understood until you guys. So I just pretended I couldn't do anything, no matter how badly I wanted to just be normal."

"Oh, Virge! We are normal." Patton reached over and grabbed Virgil in a big hug. "Our normal just isn't everyone else's normal, but there's no shame in that!" Patton rubbed Virgil's back as the other just sat there confused and shocked until Patton let go. "You're beautiful just the way you are!"

Virgil rested his back against the couch and hid his face behind his hair, trying to hide the smile he couldn't seem to get rid of. "Patton, come on..."

"It's true!" Patton grabbed Virgil's arm and stood up, pulling him along. "Now come on. I promised I would help you so I will!"

"R-right now?"

Patton nodded enthusiastically. "We can eat afterward, or you'll just keep putting it off. You can do it!"

Virgil nodded and looked up at Patton, taking a deep breath. "Take a few steps back, Patton. Ready?"

Patton let go of him and followed his instructions, leaving a few feet of space between them. "Go ahead, Virge!"

Virgil closed his eyes tight and froze.

Suddenly, he looked up, stumbling forward and intaking a breath of air. He saw Patton in front of him, who had his arms on his hips and stood proudly, smiling down at Virgil. He turned and looked to where he had stood.

In the spot where he had been frozen, as always, was a ripple suspended in mid-air. Virgil always had left them when he broke free of time, figuring it was the way for his powers to show where he had once been, where he tore away from frozen reality.

He turned back to Patton and flexed his fingers before reaching up and grabbing a hold of Patton's shoulders, pulling him forward.

Suddenly, after a moment of tugging, Patton stumbled forward and grabbed onto Virgil, pulling him into a hug and using him to keep himself upright. "Woah, kay." Patton pulled back and brushed off Virgil's shoulders. "There we go! So, how did it go?"

Virgil smiled, proud and tried hiding behind his hoodie. "Take a look for yourself."

Patton looked up and at the tv, seeing it frozen midroll of the credits. He glanced at the clock, which had stopped ticking. "Oh. Ohh, this is nifty!" He spun around as he checked out the small differences around the room before he stopped suddenly. "Oh, what's this?"

"It's where I took you out of frozen time." Virgil motioned toward both the portals that sat in their places. "Wait, Patton, no don't-" Patton reached a hand forward into the ripple in space, the tips of his fingers vanishing to whatever was on the other side. He had quickly pulled them back at Virgil's insistence. "Don't touch those!"

"Why, what are they?" Patton looked over his shoulder at the one Virgil had left behind. "They're just wobbly things. Oh!" He pointed down at Virgil. "Your power is just like that Doctor Who episode! Wibbly wobbly timey wimey!"

"Yes, great Patton. Just don't touch them, I don't know what they can do."

Patton put a hand on Virgil's shoulder briefly and walked over to where he had broken out of time. "Well, mine went somewhere, I think. So-" He stuck his hand through Virgil's, much to the others dismay, and his hand suddenly came back through next to where it had entered. "Ohh that's weird." He wiggled his fingers and giggled. "Yours doesn't go anywhere."

Virgil grabbed his arm and pulled it back. "Patton! You shouldn't just stick your hand through one of those! Who knows what would have happened!"

Patton frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, how else are you supposed to figure out what they do?"

Virgil grabbed both sides of his head. "I don't know, stick something else through first, not just your hand?"

"Oh," He dropped his arms to his sides. "Yeah, that would have worked." He turned back toward his side. "So yours doesn't go anywhere, so where does mine go?"

"Who cares, leave it alone."

Patton looked over at Virgil who had once again tried to retreat back into his big purple hoodie to hide away. "Virgil, if you want to understand yourself better, you need to take a chance. Isn't that why I'm here?" Virgil looked away, shrugging but not saying a word. "Look, I'll just take a peek through mine and you can hold my hand just in case, okay? If it makes you feel that uncomfortable, I'll leave it alone."

Virgil looked up at Patton, who smiled down at him holding out his hand. His eyes trailed down, before reaching out and grabbing it carefully. "Fine, but just for a second."

Patton perked up and stepped up to where he had originally stood, looking back at Virgil before slowly sticking his head through.

Virgil looked down at the hand he held as it suddenly gripped tighter and he pulled Patton back in a panic. "Patton, are you okay?"

The smile on Patton's face was bigger than ever as he turned and looked down at him. "It leads to a dog park! Ohh there are so many cute dogs Virgil you have to come and see!"

"A dog park?" Patton nodded and tugged on their clasped hands, encouraging him to follow. They both took a step forward, Virgil closing his eyes as he came up to the portal. After Patton had stopped tugging him along, he slowly opened his eyes. "Oh, wow. This is the park across town, isn't it?"

Time was still frozen, but there were dogs stuck mid-run, one chasing after a ball that had just been thrown with two others trailing behind, and a mess of people stopped where they had been.

Virgil turned around and reached his hand out, watching it vanish as it came in connection with where the portal would have been. "They're invisible on the other side, but they work both ways." He dropped his hand and looked up at Patton. "I've been running across town when I could make portals this whole time. That's not fair."

"Portals to dogs, Virgil! That's the important part."

Virgil looked around at the park, before shaking his head. "No, my portal didn't lead anywhere, yours did."

Patton let go of his hand and took a few steps forward before spinning around. "Right! After the movie, I was thinking about how I might take a walk by here, I've been inside all day today."

"Some part of you was thinking about it so that's where it led, maybe? I usually think about stopping time, so mine led nowhere." Virgil and Patton looked at one another before smiling and laughing. "That's so cool, Patton! I can make portals!"

Patton gasped loudly and covered his face with shock. "You're like a Tardis! Ohh, what if you were thinking about something else, maybe a certain event. Could your portals lead back in time?" Patton looked at Virgil, who froze. "Or we can explore that another day. Want to head back home?"

Virgil needed no other prompting and they both reached out and went back the way they came. Virgil went in front of his portal and Patton stood in front of his, nodding and giving a big thumbs up. Virgil closed his eyes tight again, and everything started to move.

Patton let out a yelp and stumbled sideways and onto the couch, holding onto it tightly. "Woah what was that? It's like I felt the planet rotating all of a sudden!"

Patton looked up at Virgil, suddenly realizing what he had just said, causing Virgil to pale and start to panic. "Wait. Do I stop the whole planet when I do that?"

Patton got up, slowly as to hide how dizzy it had momentarily made him. "No, don't worry! Probably was just a side effect, okay?"

"I stop the whole planet when I do that," Virgil muttered, looking up at Patton. "I didn't think about that, it makes sense though. I don't stop it for just one area, I stop it for everyone but me."

Patton wrapped an arm around Virgil, turning him and leading him to his room. "Calm down, big guy. Go sit down and relax, I'll make us a snack, okay?"

Virgil didn't fight him and walked into his room, as if on autopilot. Patton looked concerned as he pulled the door closed, making a mental note to share his findings with Logan later if Virgil was okay with that.

He heated up some quick leftovers in the fridge and called Virgil out, who seemed better after some time to himself. He didn't speak besides a quick thank you and they both sat wordlessly at the table.

Suddenly, the front door slammed open, causing both of them to jump, Virgil almost knocked his chair out from under him. Roman walked in, covered in paper confetti and glitter. He looked over at Virgil, who suddenly found his voice and was biting his lip, trying not to laugh.

"Don't." Roman walked over to the fridge, pulled out a water bottle and walked out of the room. "I'm taking a shower."

They both waited for the tell-tale sign of the bathroom door closing before they both burst out laughing.

"Oh gosh, he looked like a party threw up on him on accident!" Virgil grabbed hold of the table. "Oh, I needed that. Thank you, universe!"

Patton wiped away a tear under his glasses and looked up. "Finish up kiddo, we could go check out the dog park after this!"

"You think dogs make everything better." Virgil was still smiling and began to eat off of his plate. "Your not wrong, though."

After Roman's reappearance, Virgil broke out laughing again. "Har har, I get it, hilarious." Roman sat on the couch and huffed. "I'm just glad no one took a photo of it."

"Aww, man, I so wish I had!" Virgil sat on the couch next to Roman and nudged him, causing Roman to nudge back. "Should I start calling you Tinkerbell then?"

"Shut it, All-American Terror."

"That one was bad, you're losing it princey."

"I've had a bad week!"

"Guess you're not feeling very glittery?" Roman and Virgil looked up at Patton who dramatically shrugged, causing Roman to cover his face and Virgil to break out laughing again. They were interrupted, which Roman was thankful for when the apartment door opened up.
"How was work, Logan?" Patton called out as Logan walked in. "Two days in a row, huh?"
Logan adjusted his glasses and smirked. "There's something therapeutic about organizing and alphabetizing books all day in quiet." He pulled out a few sheets of folded paper from his pocket. "I also acquired all the crosswords from the free papers today as well to do in my spare time. It was a good day, all things considered."

"Seems like everyone had a good day today! Isn't that fantastic?"

Roman huffed and crossed his arms. "My day was fine until I got water dumped on me, then someone thought it would be funny to drop glitter and confetti all over me on my way home. I looked silly! And it ruined a perfectly good hair day!" Roman ran a hand through his hair which was now pulled back and away from his face. "One good day, is that so much to ask?"

Logan held up a hand. "I did have a question for you. Patton?" He placed his crossword puzzles on the table. "Your copies, they can touch one another but coming into contact with you merges them back together with you, correct?"

"Yeah, I guess it pulls them back in." Patton placed a hand on his chest and smiled softly to himself.

Logan nodded at this information. "Any discoveries you made today, Roman?"

"No, but I don't mind blowing off some steam back on the roof if you don't mind."

Patton stood up and glanced at the clock. "It's going to be all of us for dinner tonight Roman. How about I let you decide, huh?"

Roman looked happy at the suggestion. "Sure, Pat. That sounds delightful."

The rest of the night went smoothly. Logan and Roman went to the roof and Virgil went to his room. Patton stayed in the kitchen and cut an apple for Roman in case he was hungry when he came back, using his powers for too long usually made him a little hungry afterward. Suddenly Virgil ran into the kitchen from his room and ran to him, not expecting the biggest smile on Virgil's face he had ever seen.

"Patton, I have the best news."

"What is it, slugger?" Patton asked before Virgil ran up and held out a colorful plastic bag. "What's this?"

"Remember that stuff Roman was covered in earlier?" Patton looked down at the bag full of colored paper and confetti. "I had it lying around. I was saving it in case I needed to get back at him, and I bet if I try to go back to this afternoon, I can find Roman before he comes home. I had completely forgotten about it and it's been bugging me since Roman came back."

Patton tried his best to make a disapproving face. "That doesn't seem very nice."

"I just want to test it to see if I can go back, it might not even work." Patton looked at Virgil, knowing very well that if he had tried, it would work. "We can go to the dog park afterward!" Patton's face finally betrayed him and he started smiling. "I knew you'd join the dark side, Patton. Now, let's go have some fun!"

Chapter Text

"Are you sure I can't help with dinner, Patton?" Roman had been rehearsing in the living room with Patton as his audience to give him tips... and stroke his ego a bit.

"Tonight is my night to cook, I'll be fine!" Patton leaned forward, giving him his full attention. "Besides, you said you wanted the practice for the audition if you could make time for it!"

Roman looked back to the kitchen entryway. "You always help on our nights. Well, not Logan, somehow brainiac can make a decent meal, though he could use some work."

"Roman, it's fine! Besides, I like watching you, you're really good."

Roman puffed out his chest and held up his script. "Stroking my ego will get you everywhere, Patton."

"Dinner's almost ready!" Patton's voice cried out from the kitchen.

"I wonder if Manic at the Disco will be joining us tonight."

"Don't be rude." Patton stood up and headed for the kitchen. "You know he's not one for social things."

"Whose not?" Patton turned around from the stove, a simple blue apron tied around him. He never really needed to wear it but said it completed 'the look'. "Roman, are you insulting Virgil again?"

Roman looked offended, sitting at the small table they ate at in the kitchen and closing the script he had been reading from. "It's our thing, Patton. We insult each other, it's what we do."

"Not when he's not there to defend himself."

Roman sat back and huffed in his chair. "He was all fine hanging out with me last week and then he goes back to hiding away from all of us again!"

Patton turned around and removed his apron. "Wasn't he drinking that night?" He placed his apron on a hook. "Don't go getting any ideas, Roman."

Roman flipped the corner of his script a few times as he fidgeted with the papers. "He wasn't as uptight as he normally is, it was nice for a change." Both Patton's let out an 'aww' and put their hands on their cheeks, causing Roman to blush. "It's not like that. I just think he could do to relax a bit more. Is all."

"You like him!" One Patton called out. "You wanna be friends with him!"

"Our sons are growing up so fast." The other Patton wiped a pretend tear from his eye.

Roman huffed and lifted up his script, hiding his face in the pages. "You are twice as insufferable like this!"

They chuckled and turned to one another. "I'll go get Virgil and Logan, okay?"

Patton nodded and went to get plates, setting up their table for dinner while the other walked down the hall to the smaller rooms where Logan and Virgil slept. He knocked on the first one and waited for noise. "Virgil?"

He heard a rustling and leaned back as the door opened up. Virgil's headphones were missing, which is why he probably heard the door in the first place, honestly. "Patton?"

"I'm a pal that's a Patton!" Virgil nodded and opened the door wider. "Dinner is about ready, kiddo."

"Thanks, uh, pal? I'll be out in a few." Patton waved as Virgil closed his door, turning to the end of the hall.

Three solid knocks and he stood back, patiently waiting. It took only a few seconds before the door swiftly opened. "Patton, I told you I was working on something. Is this important?"

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Logan. "You're always working on something, Logan. Dinner is very important, you need to eat!"

Logan looked down at his wrist curiously. "Ah, yes. I suppose it is that time. I will organize my things and be out momentarily."

Having successfully completed his goal, he marched back into the kitchen. "Looks like we're having another family night! We haven't had one since last week, I'm so excited!"

A jingle played out through the room and the original Patton walked over, glancing down at his vibrating phone. "Oh, I need to take this."

"You're good ol' Patton Pal will serve dinner, don't you worry." He walked over and picked up an oven mitt, sliding it on his hand. "Go take care of that."

With a smile, Patton picked up his phone and answered. "Hello?" He quickly walked out of the kitchen.

"Oh, Patton sweetie, it's mom. This is you, right?"

Patton marched quickly across the living room and entered the door on the side to his bedroom. "Yeah, mom. It's me. It always is."

"You know what I mean. It's the real you, right?"

Patton's smile fell, not that his mother could see. "Yes it is, mom. Who else would it be?"

"I know, you told me you don't do... that anymore, but I just like to make sure!"

Patton rubbed his eyes with his spare hand, feeling a headache coming on. "Is everything okay?"

"Do I need a reason to call my only child?"

"No, of course not." He turned back to the door, wanting to join family night as soon as he could. "I was cooking dinner when you called, so..." He trailed off, dropping the hint without actually saying anything.

He heard his mother gasp. "Oh, do you need to go back to cooking?"

He smiled a bit. "No, my roommate took over." He felt bad lying to his mother, but he had unfortunately gotten good at it. "Have I told you I've been teaching them to cook?"

"Yes, you have, dear. I'm so proud you've been so independent and taking care of things for your new friends!"

Patton wanted the call to be over, he knew what it was about. Once in a while, she'd call out of the blue just to make sure he hadn't been using his ability. He could almost feel her nervousness through the phone, but he didn't think that was possible for him at least. "You know me, always one to help! I'm busy tonight, do you mind if I call back tomorrow?"

"Don't worry about it, honey. Just wanted to call and check in." Of course, she did. "I'll talk to you soon. Love you!"

"Love you too, mom. Tell dad I miss him too."

Patton hung up the phone and let out a big sigh. He took a minute to collect himself, he wasn't going to let that bring him down! He had a family night to get to! He shook off the conversation and decided to toss his phone carefully on his bed, just in case.

Taking a deep breath, he put his signature smile back on and walked out of his room and back toward the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm back!" He entered the kitchen and all eyes were on him, filled with worry. "Gee, did I miss something?"

"Patton," He looked down at Virgil who was searching his face for an answer Patton didn't know the question to. The words seemed to have died on Virgil's tongue as he turned and looked away.

"Is it the chicken?" Patton looked worried. "I can make salmon on my next night! It's been a while but I don't clown around!" He smiled at the others. "Get it? Like the fish?"

His Patton pal from the table stood up and walked over. "Sorry, I kinda..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You got upset, so I got upset." He looked over and reached his hand out, disappearing in a flash of light.

Patton froze and frowned deeply at the table. He could suddenly see what he had missed when he had walked out of the room to take the call. Everyone was looking at him, or the Pal, while he was in his room. He could see his duplicate's face fall as he felt upset and unease over the fact his parents didn't trust him, as they called to check up on him once again. As they didn't truly accept him, as if--

Patton blinked, the memory now joining his own. He smiled at the others and took the seat his copy had occupied. "Thanks for worrying, guys, but I'll be fine."

"Patton," He looked up at Logan, who seemed just as confused as concerned. "It's okay if something is wrong."

He shook his head slowly. "Really, I'm good. Knowing you were so concerned means a lot." He reached over and grabbed the vegetables. "It was just my mom."

Roman leaned over the table. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Patton scooped some onto his plate and passed the bowl to Roman. "She can just be a bit... strong at times." The table was silent as Patton continued on as if nothing happened. "Really, I'm good! Come on, we can have another family night, that'll cheer me up!"

"If you are sure everything is fine, Patton." Logan reached over and placed a hand on his arm. "We are merely concerned for you, but we shall take your word for it." Patton smiled and nodded at Logan as a silent thank you. "Also, Patton? That fish joke was terrible."

"Guess I floundered that one, huh?"

The rest of dinner went off fine, despite a few worried glances around the table. Patton really did want to keep their 'family night' going and had suggested a game afterward. He went and grabbed a few in his excitement a while back and came out with a few options.

Currently, Patton was hiding behind a small hand of cards, smirking at Roman who stared back at him, squinting his eyes and glaring at him.

"I'm sorry about this, Patton." Roman removed one of the cards from his hand. "I didn't mean for it to come to this."

Patton lowered his hand and frowned. "No, you wouldn't."

"You leave me with no other choice, my friend." Roman slammed the card down onto the pile on the table and slowly removed it, revealing a yellow 'skip' card. "You lose a turn!"

Patton clutched his chest and let out an overly dramatic gasp. "Roman, how could you? I thought we were friends! Maybe, maybe more!" He leaned over to Roman. "I think of you all as a family!"

Logan put down a yellow reverse card. "Don't you worry, Patton."

"No!" Roman shouted. "He only has a few cards left, Logan! How could you?"

Logan looked confused and glanced down at his cards. "It was my only option, am I playing this wrong?"

"Ignore him, Lo. Roman's just being over-dramatic again." Virgil shuffled his cards around, organizing them in a different way. "You're playing fine. Have you never played Uno?"

"I don't really know much Spanish but I know enough to understand it means 'one' and the objective is to be rid of all your cards first. Also calling out when you have only one card left. The rest is elementary, a grade school child could figure this out."

Patton put down a yellow number 4 card, holding up the three he had left. "Don't worry, Lo! I can show you how to win a game of Uno!"

"Wait, do you not know Spanish, brainiac?" Roman put down a red 4 card. "I know something you do not?" He looked up and smiled. "I'm rather shocked!" Roman quickly turned to Patton. "Don't."

Virgil drew a card, putting down a red number 8 card. "He's still smarter than you, though."

"I'll have you know I took both French and American Sign Language in school." Logan adjusted his glasses and placed a red reverse card down.
"Aww. There goes my turn again." Patton frowned.

"Don't worry, Pat. I'm about to make things interesting." Virgil held up a card and looked over at Roman.

"You wouldn't dare." Roman stage-whispered.

Patton gasped and Logan looked around confused. "What wouldn't he dare? I'm missing something."

Virgil waved the card back and forth. "You know what this is." Roman shook his head in panic. "Sorry, I have to do it." Virgil placed down his card.

"Not the dreaded draw four!" Roman covered his mouth, feigning tears. "No, it can not be!" He turned to Virgil. "I thought what we had was special, Virgil!"

Virgil snorted a laugh and hid behind his remaining cards. "You wish, Sir Sing a lot."

Roman let out a laugh and reached for his new cards. "I actually like that one, I just might use it!" He leaned back and rearranged his new hand of cards. "What color do you pick?"

"Blue."

Patton huffed and slumped, looking down at his three cards. "I only have one of those!" He placed his blue number 3 card down.

"I thought you could only play that card if it was the last one in your hand?" Everyone looked over at Logan as he scrolled on his phone. "The official rules state so right here."

"Of course you'd read the rules," Virgil mumbled. "No one does it like that."

"As much as I hate to agree with Doctor Gloom, it is more fun this way."

Patton put down his cards and leaned over. "I never knew it said that!" He read the phone over Logan's shoulder. "Well, you learn something new every day!"

"Personal space, Patton?"

"Oh, sorry Lo!" Patton shifted back into his spot. "No changing the rules mid-game though. So we can decide if that's how we want to play next time!" Logan placed down another skip card, causing Roman to cheer. He put down a green card to match it, and Patton slammed down a green number 7. "Uno! Ha, thanks, Roman!"

"No, what have I done? Logan, please say you have something to stop Patton's reign of terror!"

Logan furrowed his brow. "I do not. If I did, it wouldn't be of help. Virgil would be affected, would he not?" Logan drew a card and passed his turn.

"This is up to you, Roman. I just gave you a lot of cards, you have to think about your next move, okay?" Virgil put down a green 8.

Roman looked up at Patton who smiled and waved his one card around before looking back down on his own. He glanced around and suddenly smiled. "Oh, poor Patton. So close to victory, and yet so far far away!" Roman put down a blue number 8 card. "Thank you, Virgil! You said you only had one blue card, Patton! Take that!"

"No!" Patton sighed. "I guess there's only one thing left to do." Patton looked up and smiled. "It was nice knowing you, boys! Unfortunately!" He threw down his last card, a blue draw two. "I lied, I had one more left! I win!"

"What? NO!" Roman looked at Patton in shock. "I didn't even know you were capable of lying so well!" Patton smiled brightly at Roman and shrugged. "It's always the nice ones you don't expect," Roman mumbled and picked up the cards.

Virgil stood up and stretched. "Well, Patton cooked which means I have dish duty. I'm off to bed after that."

"Try and actually get sleep tonight?" Patton took Virgil's shrug as the best answer he was going to get and picked up the box for the cards. "Well, looks like another successful family game night is over."

Roman handed the cards over and stood up. "I'll help with the dishes and I'm off to bed myself. If they aren't cleaned the way I like I end up re-cleaning them anyway. Those stupid gloves are uncomfortable, though."

Patton put the cards away and waited for Roman to walk out before leaning over to Logan. "He's started to become attached to our little guy! Have you noticed?"

Logan looked up from his phone. "What was that, Patton?"

Patton looked at Logan, feeling a sense of worry roll off of him. "You okay, Logan? You need to talk about something?"

"Yes, actually." Logan put down his phone and stood up from the floor. "Do you mind if we take this somewhere quieter?"

Patton got up and nodded to his bedroom door behind him before leading the way. He stepped to the side and let Logan in before shutting the door closed.

Despite having one of the bigger rooms, Patton did very little with space. He had lots of old toys and knick-knacks sitting around on a small bookshelf, along with a decent variety of books he gathered from the library he worked at over the years. Logan walked over and inspected his collection, smirking at the small section of children's' books Patton had accumulated. He spun around and tucked his hands behind his back as he cleared his throat. "There is a matter I wish to discuss with you, but do not hesitate to stop me if you do not wish to." He shuffled his feet. "It's about your parents."

"Oh," Patton walked over and sat down on his bed. "Is this about earlier? I'm fine, really!"

Logan walked over and sat next to him on his bed. "Patton, if your parents are being, and I don't use this term to scare you, abusive in any way..."

Patton sat up straight in shock. "Oh, no no, nothing like that!" He waved his hands back and forth. "I mean, my parents can come off the wrong way but they mean well!" He looked back down at his hands and messed with one of the old worn bracelets on his wrist one of the kids made him at the library. "Sometimes they call and check up on me, making sure I don't use my power. They're worried something will happen, or someone will find out. They just want me to be safe, ya know?" He fiddled with a frayed string. "I just get this weird feeling if I don't use it. Like I have to use it and let out all this pent-up energy, kind of like Roman does. Besides, there's no such thing as too much company, right?"

Logan reached over and put a hand on Patton's, causing him to look up and stop messing with his bracelet. "I think I understand, but you don't have to feel that way here."

"Logan, you don't use your powers, at least not that I've ever seen. You don't feel weird if you don't use them?" He put his other hand on top of Logan's. "You're doing okay, right? We're all here for each other as we figure all of this out. You never talk about anything, I tend to worry."

They sat in silence for a moment and Logan looked down at his hand sandwiched between Patton's. He pulled his hand back, flexing it and straightening his glasses. He sighed but nodded. "We'll all figure this out, I'm sure of it. It's nice to know you do worry, I'll admit." Logan stood up and turned to Patton. "I believe I have discussed enough of this with you for tonight. I don't want to darken the mood after your triumph over Spanish name based card games."

"Current reigning champ, I'll have to fight for my title next time."

"Challenge accepted." Logan headed for the door and opened it. "Good night, Patton."

"Thanks, Logan." Patton fell back on his bed as he heard his door click shut.

The next morning held a different atmosphere in the air, and it took Roman a minute to figure out why.

"Virgil, are you making pancakes?"

Virgil, who was even wearing Patton's apron, never looked up from the stove. "No, must be the breakfast fairy." Virgil grabbed the handle of the pan and shook it before expertly flipping a pancake over.

Roman rubbed his eyes and looked back up, but was still greeted by the younger man in PJs and a blue apron. "I'm still asleep, that's the only reason for this delirious vision before me!"

"Har Har. Be nice or you're not getting any." Virgil flopped the finished pancake onto a plate that already had gathered a small stack. "So, how's the theater been?" He asked, pouring the batter from a measuring cup into the pan.

Roman walked over to the coffee pot and started making a pot for himself and the others. "I'm heading over early to help out with some stage props before work so I got up earlier than normal. The things I do for the theater." He added the grounds and grabbed the pot to fill. "Autumn is almost upon us and they're talking about doing A Christmas Carol in Winter."

Virgil steadied the pan and looked over at Roman. "Sounds like fun, you gonna play Scrooge?"

"Oh, only if you play the role you were made for."

Virgil smiled and turned back to the pan and did another flip. "You mean Ghost of Christmas Future?"

"Bingo."

Roman filled the machine and placed the pot underneath, closing the top and letting it start heating up. He turned to the cupboard and grabbed his cup and a plate. He walked over and took a few pancakes, setting the plate down at his spot. "So, how has the restaurant been?" Virgil asked, focused on the stove.

"Same old, same old. Pirate month ends soon, thank gosh. I'm trying to convince them to do a Renaissance theme. The costumes are heavy enough to not be too warm, but they say it's not Winter appropriate." Roman pulled syrup and other things out of the pantry. "Worst of all is, I have this Prince costume I got from an old play the theater is finally letting me have and they won't let me use it!" He walked to the fridge and started digging around, not noticing Virgil had turned off the stove and had given him his full attention. "Can you imagine? Me, the perfect prince, and they say it doesn't fit what they're trying to do!" He stood up, an assortment of jams and creamer in his arms. "They're a themed restaurant! We put on performances and do a different theme every month! How is that not what I'm trying to do?"

Roman placed all the items on the counter and spun around. Virgil stood there, arms crossed and spatula still in hand, looking as smug as ever. "What's with the look?"

Virgil leaned in, somehow managing to smile even more. "You work at that fantasy nerd restaurant across town."

"Yes, is that not what we're talking about?" Roman looked confused, walking towards the coffee pot. "Have you not been listening?"

Virgil turned around and turned the stove back on, continuing his stack of pancakes. "Oh, no. You had me hooked on every word, Princey. Kind of hard not to, seeing as you promised to never talk about it."

Roman froze with the coffee pot in one hand and cup in another. Slowly, he turned to Virgil, who still managed to look smug as he poured pancake batter into a pan. He looked back down at the coffee and let out a loud groan. "No amount of coffee can fix this day."

"You keep expecting to have bad days so you keep having bad days. Trust me, I'd know."

Roman poured his coffee and sat down at the table, glaring at his pancakes. He could feel himself making the air tense and sighed, reaching for the creamer.

Patton slid into the kitchen dramatically on his socks before looking up. "Oooooh, looks like a party in here." He walked up to Virgil and leaned on the counter next to him. "Pancakes? Aww, you shouldn't have!"

Virgil shuffled and slid the last pancake onto the tall stack and shut off the stove. "Yeah, well, we had a box of the instant kind. Though I can make them from scratch if we actually had the stuff for it. I made them for my dad's birthday every year." He reached to untie the apron. "I borrowed this, by the way. Didn't feel right cooking without it."

Patton laced his fingers together against his cheek. "Aww, you love it, don't lie!" Virgil rolled his eyes and pulled the apron off and hung it back up on his spot. "Speaking of birthdays!" Patton spun around to Roman. "I need to know both of yours so I can make cakes! I'm not the best at baking, though."

"You don't need to do that, Pat. You do more than enough around here. Now shut up and eat my pancakes." Virgil grabbed a plate and forks for both of them, even leaving a spot set up for Logan. He grabbed himself a cup of juice to drink, leaving the remaining coffee for Logan as well.

"Come on, Virgil, sharing wouldn't hurt. My birthday is the day of love!"

"Aww, you're a Valentine's baby?" Patton cooed. "That's so sweet!"

"And not at all surprising." Virgil sat down at his spot between Roman and Patton.

Roman reached over and grabbed the syrup Virgil had reached for. "I'll give this back if you tell us yours!"

Virgil sighed and reached his hand out. "Soon. Now give it."

"Not good enough." Roman pulled the bottle back more. "We need an actual day."

Virgil looked over at Patton, who tried but utterly failed at hiding the fact he wanted to know. "Fine! Fine. It's in December."

Roman held the bottle a little longer before slowly handing it over. "Good enough for now." Roman looked up at Patton as Virgil drenched his pancakes. "What about you, Patton?"

"It was actually just before we moved in, back in Spring!" He made his way and sat down at the table. "I found the ad for this place on my birthday, actually."

Roman suddenly shot up from his seat, causing Virgil to grab the table to stabilize it. "Roman!"

"I knew it!" Roman brought his foot onto his chair and puffed out his chest. "It was destiny that brought us all together!" He looked down at the other two. Patton looked on with a smile and took a sip of his coffee while Virgil looked too tired to be part of something so energetic so early.

"What is with the incessant yelling?" Everyone turned to Logan as he entered the kitchen, fixing his hair. Stopping, he looked up and frowned. "Am I the last one awake?"

Roman placed his foot back on the ground and walked over to Logan. "Patton was telling us he found the ad to this place on his birthday, proving it was destiny that brought us all together!"

Logan walked by and headed to the coffee pot. "Illogical. I'm sure it was just a coincidence."

"I don't know, Logan." Virgil scraped his chair pushing it back and spun around sideways. "I'm the first one to admit that I don't really believe in destiny, but isn't it weird that we all answered the same ad?"

Logan spun around, coffee mug in hand. "The answer is far more simple than you are making it out to be. An ad for an apartment was posted. It needed four tenants. We all answered said ad. Now we all live together."

"That's the whole problem, Logan!" Virgil spun around completely in his chair, sitting backward and leaning his arms on the back. "Out of everyone in the city, the only four with weird powers all answered? By the way-" Virgil threw his arms out in frustration. "-where did these powers even come from? Actually, who signed the lease? I never did, and I never put my name down on it."

"Well, Logan did." Patton pointed to the man in question. "He was here and moved in before me. He had a copy of the lease signed and said he took care of everything, even the deposit!"

Logan adjusted his glasses but made no move to join the others at the table. "I explained how much rent would be and you all paid your fair share of the deposit when you all moved in. It seemed most logical one of us took care of it all instead of each sending separate payments to the landlord."

"Rent is cheap for a four bedroom place near downtown. I still say something played a part in all of us moving into the same place." Virgil spun back around and stabbed his pancakes. "What are the chances, out of thousands of people in the city, we ended up altogether?"

"Infinitesimal," Logan muttered, walking over and finally taking his seat. "Whatever happened shouldn't matter too much. What matters is that I am grateful that my roommates happen to be..." Logan looked down at his cup to gather his thoughts. "To be such understanding individuals. People I can finally relate to."

Patton reached over and wrapped an arm around Logan's shoulders, pulling him into a one-sided hug. "Aww, me too, Lo! We're a bunch of super friends, huh?"

"Oh, right!" Roman shoved his bite of pancakes into his mouth and held up a finger before running off. He headed towards the front of the apartment and made some noises before running and sliding in just like Patton had done before. "Tadaaa!" He held up a white shirt that had a red sash across the chest. "I thought I could wear this and maybe a masquerade mask for my outfit!"

"Your outfit for what?" Roman dropped the shirt that was blocking his view and smiled brightly at the others. "I don't like that look. Patton, he's scaring me." Virgil leaned over to his other roommates.

Roman frowned and held it to his chest. "My superhero outfit of course!"

His bright smile was answered with silence and he looked around confused. "You sure that's a good idea, Roman?" Patton spoke first.

Logan put down his coffee cup and frowned. "You're still learning how to control your abilities and now you want to run around and shoot at random civilians?"

Roman dropped the shirt and stomped his foot. "Not random civilians! Ne'er-do-wells! Villians! Criminals! I want to be the hero I always dreamed of being and what better way than this?"

Virgil shook his head frantically. "That can go all sorts of bad. Besides, shouldn't we be figuring out how to get rid of our powers?" He turned around to the others. "I mean, learning and embracing them is good so we don't hurt anyone, but wouldn't everything be easier without them?"

Patton's shoulder's dropped at the admittance. "Oh, kiddo, I thought you liked your powers! You were so happy last week after you learned about the portals!"

Logan perked up at the news and looked at Virgil. "What portals?"

Virgil crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "The idea of time travel doesn't sit right with me. I can do it too easily. We can do these things to easily, does that not upset anyone else?"

"What time travel?" Logan looked back and forth between the two. "I've not heard of this!" His eyes lit up in excitement and he looked at Virgil. "You can create portals and time travel?"

"He's like a Tardis," Patton whispered. "I even got to see dogs."

Virgil bit his lip and looked over at Roman. "I dunno..." His mouth jerked upwards a bit and he bit his lower lip. "I got to go back to that afternoon and dump confetti on Roman."

"What?!" Roman walked up and tossed his shirt onto his chair, reaching out and grabbing Virgil's shoulders. "You did that?!"

Virgil smirked up at him and wiggled his eyebrows. "I took a photo too. Thanks for reminding me to do that bit." He reached up and patted Roman's cheek, causing the other to let go of him. "At least I didn't film how you got water all over you."

Roman went back to his chair and sat down in a huff. "Thank goodness for that."

"I could, now that I know where you work."

Roman pushed his plate away and placed his head on the table. "I just want one good day! Why does the universe hate me so?!"

They sat in silence awkwardly, absorbing everything that happened the past few minutes, the sound of silverware and dishes making the only noise. "Well," Patton lifted his coffee mug up. "To destiny making us friends!"

Virgil joined in, lifting up his juice. "And ruining Roman's life!" He clinked his glass to Patton's and took a sip as the other just put his cup down with a strained smile.

"Is no one going to tell me about these time portals?!"

Chapter Text

Virgil had always felt a bit like the odd one out, ever since he was in middle school. Well, maybe even before that, he wasn't sure when it started exactly, but his small selection of friends slowly stopped talking to him around then. They left him to sit alone during lunch, the ultimate act of betrayal one could do during middle school. High school was no better, leaving him to be mostly on his own, which he had eventually realized he didn't mind. Sure, there were his 'friends' who let him in on conversations, not that he ever gave any input. There were also his bullies, but most things never got physical, especially after his deeper dive into his now cringe-worthy emo phase. Yes, his edgy-ness had dulled over the years and the eyeliner would last longer without him piling it on, but he never truly let it all go.

When he moved in with the nerds, as he loves to refer to them, things didn't change. He was introverted, he hid away in his room most days. When it was his turn to do dishes, they usually got done in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep unless he was in a good mood. If he had to cook dinner, it usually was something basic or offering to buy a pizza just so he didn't have to be out of his room as much as possible. Of course, Patton had offered numerous times to help teach him the world beyond boiling noodles but he hardly took him up on the offer. Not until he walked into the apartment and found himself seeing double.

He still remembered that day, more surprised than scared. The only reason it took him so long to talk to Patton was the fear of outing himself as well. After finding out about Roman? He swallowed his pride and built up the courage, and even then he was vague and didn't actually do or show anything until after he had a bit of alcohol in him to calm him down.

He was lucky, his power could be easily hidden and written off since no one could really see him do it unless he pulled them out of time with him. Roman and Patton could walk around so carefree, but Virgil couldn't help but worry about them. It was one slip up and Patton had been caught, what if it had been anyone else? What about Roman? He was like a battery, affecting everything around him, there was no off switch. They never seemed to be too worried about it so Virgil was worried about them, though he never did try to show it.

Then there was Logan, who Virgil had more than a few issues with.

"Logan, I have to go to work." Virgil pushed passed his roommate with a shove. He had been avoiding Logan to prevent this very thing, but the other was persistent. They were the only two left in the apartment and Virgil didn't like feeling trapped. The casual conversation Logan wanted wasn't going to happen, not if he could help it. Not that Virgil wasn't okay with talking about these things, but the way Logan spoke? The way he acted when he learned new things about their powers? It made Virgil feel...

"You are leaving with adequate enough time, Virgil. I merely wish to speak with you for a moment."

Virgil spun around and looked back up at his roommate with a glare. "You wanna know why I don't want to talk about my powers with you?" The conversation from dinner earlier in the week was still fresh to him, how the usually calm man's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. He took a step forward, poking harshly against Logan's chest. "You immediately pull out that damn journal and start writing everything down like... like we're lab rats! Guess what?! We're people, not some science experiment!" Virgil huffed and spun back around. "If I hadn't seen you use your powers, the one and only time you actually have since we moved in months ago may I remind you, I'd think you were some crazy scientist playing us this whole time!"

Logan didn't stop Virgil from leaving after his roommates outburst. He flinched as their door slammed shut, wondering if the apartment downstairs would complain about the yelling. He walked over to his recliner and sat down, looking down at the worn journal in his hands.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there in silence before sighing and smacking his forehead with the leather-bound book. "You're an idiot sometimes, Logan." He brought it back down and tossed it on the coffee table and leaned back. His eyes never left the book, waiting for it to tell him that all his hard work he had recorded would be worth it. He was starting to wonder if it had been. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. "Let's think about this logically. What has your research gotten you thus far?" He mumbled to himself. "More questions than answers, some you aren't even sure you want answers for anymore." He closed his eyes. "So what does that leave?"

Lost in his mind, he started listening to the sound of the clock, ticking away, reminding him how much time he was wasting sitting in the chair. When was the last time he did nothing? When did he ever just sit there and let the world move around him as he took a minute? He'd been working for so long on such a meaningless topic it had seemed. 'Where did these powers come from?' A note he had written down years ago, more than half his lifetime, and he was no closer to answering it.

Maybe... he went about this the wrong way. Logan knew he was not experienced in any way with dealing with others. He searched how he should talk to and comfort Patton before pulling the man into the other room on his phone. He had spent so long trying to figure things out himself, he had become unaware that his behaviors would be seen as not just strange but negative to the others. Virgil always seemed to focus on the bad and 'what ifs' but did the others see him like that? Did he make them all uncomfortable? He would have to talk to more than just Virgil...

When Virgil eventually arrived back home, Logan didn't bother stopping him as he headed straight for his room. He waited a few minutes after Virgil settled into his room before getting up and knocking on his door.

"Virgil, I was hoping we could talk." Logan quietly counted to ten, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer. "Alright, this will do. I was hoping to apologize for my behavior. Perhaps we could re-establish boundaries with each other?" This time, he had hoped to hear some noise from the door, but after counting way past ten, Logan had to face facts. "Alright, another time then."

He walked back to his room right next door and carefully shut his door before he sat at his small desk. He picked up a note and glanced at it once more. 'Be patient. Apologize. Ask to talk things through.' Logan had spent all too long figuring out the best way to approach Virgil, the note littered with options on how to handle the delicate situation he had gotten himself into. He ripped up the note and threw it out, looking at his journal he had been writing in since the beginning of the year. It had a small magnetic clasp on the front to keep it shut. The sound of the front door grabbed his attention, and for once Logan decided he would much prefer the company of others over his thoughts.

"Logan, what a surprise." Patton hung up a scarf near a hook on the doorway. "You ventured out of your room!"

"Indeed I have." Logan stepped out of the doorway from the kitchen.

"So, what's bugging ya?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Patton put his hands on his hips and smiled. "I could feel your worry from outside the door, silly." He shrugged. "Not that I was trying to and I don't mean to pry. Is this about Virgil?"

Logan took a seat on the couch instead of his usual chair. "Yes, I'm afraid I've made some mistakes and I'm not sure how to fix them."

Patton sat down next to Logan. "Well, talking to him about it seems to be the best option."

Logan looked over Patton's shoulder towards where Virgil's bedroom was located. "I attempted when he arrived home but received no answer. I am not very good in situations like these."

"You're trying, that's what matters." Patton placed his hand on Logan's shoulder and smiled when their eyes met. "He'll come around. Just be patient." Logan couldn't suppress the smirk that grew on his face, nodding his head. "There. Now, I believe I have some cleaning to do!"

"Patton, wait!" Logan reached out but stopped himself, settling for adjusting his glasses instead. "The apartment isn't messy, and it's not your turn. You seem to clean a lot, more than on just your days."

"Aww, Lo, don't worry about me!" Patton stood up. "I'm a bit of a stress cleaner, I'll admit. Can't sit still and just end up making the place spotless."

Logan stood up and grabbed onto Patton's sleeve. "You've done nothing but clean since you moved in, Patton. While it is a healthier option, perhaps working towards removing that stress would be better?" He dropped his hand. "Perhaps a walk to that dog park you and Virgil visited? We can also get something warm to drink if you wish."

The suggestion was enough to cause Patton's face to light up. "Really?! Oh, you don't mind?"

Logan adjusted his shirt and dusted himself off. "Might as well go before the weather makes it too cold and unfavorable for owners to take them every day. I will just inform Virgil he will be home alone for a while."

Patton grabbed his scarf off of the hook again and wrapped it around his neck. Logan had returned, now sporting a light jacket he had gotten from his room. "Did he answer?" Logan shook his head. "Well, let's let him be. A walk will cheer both of us up!"

The afternoon chill caused them to change plans and head to the closest park instead of one across town, especially since this one passed a small cafe they could get beverages at.

Patton was able to sway Logan's decision away from coffee and to hot cocoa so he wasn't up half the night. Caffeine late in the day wouldn't help him, especially when Patton said he needed to relax.

"So," Patton's hands were holding his cup close to keep him warm. "How's that project of yours going?"

"Distracting me from what we should be talking about won't work, Patton." Logan glanced at Patton who smiled back sheepishly. "However, I believe I'll be taking a step back and focusing more on other things."

"Oh, is everything okay?"

Logan looked at his cup and watched the steam drift away in silence for a moment. "Everything will work out, I believe. It is something I will discuss with everyone soon enough."

"Oh, our next family night!"

Logan shook his head, "Patton, we are not a family."

Patton sped up and turned around, walking backward and facing Logan. "Come on, we're like some weird superfamily. Like the Incredibles! Virgil can be Violet and Roman is energetic like Dash!"

"Patton, that comparison doesn't make sense-"

"You can be Mr. Incredible!"

Logan stopped walking and looked up at Patton unamused. "Are you insinuating that you're the wife in this situation?"

"Hey! I'd make a great Helen!" Patton spun back around and continued walking. "That just leaves us with no Jack-Jack!"

"Patton, I'm flattered." Patton stopped and turned around. Logan walked up and placed his hand softly on his shoulder. "I don't know if I'm ready for a third child just yet." Logan removed his hand and kept walking as if he said nothing.

"W-wait!" Patton jogged up and fell into step with the other. "Who knew you were a jokester?" Patton smiled and bumped shoulders playfully. "I was more hinting at a dog."

"Our lease does not allow pets, Patton." He brought his cup up and blew carefully into it. "Besides, we are supposed to be talking about this supposed bad habit of stress cleaning you have."

"Oh, it's not so bad!" Patton tried to play off. "I could be doing unproductive things! Besides, it's not like I've been cleaning every day!" Patton kicked his foot out playfully to lighten the mood. "Your good ol' Patton's got it taken care of!"

Logan let out a sigh and turned into the park. "Deep cleaning the apartment once a week is still too much by yourself. Finding someone to talk about stressful situations has helped me in the past, you should at least vent your frustrations a bit."

They walked in silence for a bit, watching the leaves start to fall and the occasional jogger pass. A man walking his dog caused Patton to let out a cheerful cry at the sight. Eventually, Patton sped up and walked to a bench, motioning for Logan to sit.

Taking the hint, they both sat down and sipped at their beverages and enjoyed the peace for a moment. Patton cleared his throat and turned towards the other. "Okay, you want me to talk, but would you mind listening, just for a minute?"

Logan stopped and looked at Patton. The other seemed to finally drop his seemingly endlessly happy facade and took the moment seriously. Logan nodded and held his cup firmly. "Patton, if I may speak first for a moment?" Logan looked away and didn't wait for a response. "It is to my understanding that in these past few months, you have done a lot for us already. Virgil really only comes out when you are there and Roman can be over the top most of the time... but you always encourage his habits when he is in a bad mood or hear him talk about himself so we don't have to." Logan smirked at his comment. "You have called me out on my poor social behaviors before and have helped me adjust appropriately. The least any of us can do is let you vent a bit."

Logan had to catch himself as Patton suddenly launched them both into a hug. "Oh, Lo! That was so sweet!" He pulled back with a shining smile. "It's nothing too bad, I promise! If you want to listen, I guess there are a few things I could get off my chest." Patton shifted back and fiddled with the cup in his hands. "I guess I'm just worried about Roman, he seems to not be happy with his job but won't talk about it. Then Virgil has been upset with something since last week when he tried figuring things out with me. Then the other night you two stopped talking after dinner and he's been avoiding you and you've been upset and--!" Patton let out a big sigh and slumped forward. "I guess I just feel like I'm not helping enough. On top of that, my parents want to visit but I don't think that's a good idea. I guess it all just built up for me."

A moment of silence passed over the two and Patton leaned back and looked up from his cup, faced with a look of confusion. "Patton." Logan stared him down intensely. "Are you upset... for us? You are frustrated with our situations?"

Patton chuckled and picked up his cup. "It's called being friends, Logan." He tilted his head back and finished his hot cocoa." It's getting hot choco-late, so maybe we should head back?"

He was met with Logan rubbing his eyes with his hand and fixing his glasses. "I'll never understand you." He stood up and followed suit.

"I get that a latte."

"Please, don't."

Patton unleashed his arsenal of dad jokes and puns on Logan, who walked faster to hide his losing battle with his smile. He marched up the stairs first, not bothering to hold the door for Patton.

"Did you ever hear about the man who lived on a stoop? He got stairs from people all day!" Logan quickened his pace up the stairs. "I'm sure it wasn't always the case though! Get it? Like staircase?" They approached their door. "If Roman's home, I'm sure whatever scene lies beyond is a-door-able!"

The creak of the door was enough for Logan to march himself into their apartment.

And to be met with Roman, fully decked out in his prince costume.

"Ohh, Roman! Look at you!" Patton raced forward and picked up the cape that now adorned the costume. "You're a real superhero!"

Roman spun around and struck a pose, a black mask covering his face. "Of course I am, Patton! And soon the world will know it!"

"I still say ditch the cape," Virgil called from the couch, staring down at his phone. "You look stupid."

"I think he looks great!" Patton added. "However, since we were talking about the Incredibles, maybe the cape isn't a good idea?"

Roman inspected his cape in his hands. "You may be right. Besides, I look fantastic enough without it anyway!" Roman started unclasping it from his shoulders. "So, where did you two run off?"

"Logan got us hot chocolate and we went for a walk in the park!"

Logan looked up from removing his jacket to find all eyes had fallen on him. "Was that your idea, Logan?" Roman called out.

"Yes? I don't understand the purpose of that question."

Virgil got up off the couch and headed out of the room grumbling to himself. Roman watched with a frown as he left. "Nothing, nothing. Hey, Patton, make sure dark and dreary is okay?"

"Of course!" Patton sped out of the room, leaving the other two to themselves. "Hey, Virge?"

It took half a second and Roman had his arm wrapped around Logan's shoulder, pulling him in close. "Alright, common nonsense, we need to talk."

Logan pushed the other back but Roman didn't budge. "Let go, Roman."

"I see the robot grew a heart. Who knew you were the romantic type?"

"It was a walk in the park, Roman. Now let go."

Roman laughed and did as he was told. "Sounds like a date to me, Logan. Who knew, you and Patton?" Logan froze up, his face quickly growing red. "Look, you're even blushing!"

"That is a perfectly reasonable response to the accusation you just made!" Logan huffed. "You are incorrigible! I try to do one nice thing for a friend and this is what happens!"

Roman crossed his arms. "So he's your friend now, is he?"

Logan shuffled past Roman. "I'd like to think we all are, wouldn't you? Now if you'll excuse me."

Roman watched Logan leave the room and shrugged, going back to the mirror and checking out his costume. He looked over at the sound of footsteps and saw Patton enter. "Ahh, padre! May I have a word?"

Patton lit up at the nickname and practically skipped over. "Oh, Roman! You do look swell in that outfit!"

Roman smiled and stood up as tall as he could. "I know. I'm excited to wear it out tonight!"

Patton tilted his head to the side and his face scrunched up in confusion. "You have a performance I don't know about tonight?"

Roman spun around and puffed out his chest. "This is the debut of my superhero identity, The Prince!" He waved his hand back and forth. "Working title. Nothing seems to stick, but I'm hoping it'll come to me at the right time!"

"I dunno, that doesn't sound very safe."

Roman smiled and put his arm around Patton's shoulders, much like he had just done with Logan. "I'll be safe, and I promise I'll come home okay. Besides, why sit here when I can help people?" Patton at him, still unsure, but gave a soft smile. "Good! Now, I wanted to ask you!" He pulled Patton in close and whispered. "Have you ever dated before?"

"Uh, yeah, of course. What brought this up?"

"Just a moment. Do you have, let's say... any preferences?" Patton still looked baffled at the question. "Okay, let's say if someone was interested, would there be things that would make you say no?"

"Are you asking my sexuality, Roman? Cause you can just ask." Patton smiled up at him. "I just like people, kiddo, I don't really care otherwise, I don't feel like I need to have a label. It doesn't matter, because I'm sure things would... pan out."

Roman jumped up and pulled Patton into a hug. "Ah, it's always so good to see someone so open with themselves!"

Patton chuckled and hugged back. "Not that I mind, but you gonna tell me where this is coming from?"

Roman pulled away and pointed dramatically at Patton. "My first act as a hero, I'm going to set you up with Logan!"

Patton stared at the finger pointed in his face and reached up, grabbing it and pushing it down. "Roman, I don't like Logan in that way."

Roman pulled his hand back and rolled his eyes. "Pat, buddy, amigo, you practically just came back from a date with him!"

"Roman, for it to have been a date, it would have to be mutually agreed upon. It wasn't a date."

Roman watched Patton walk across the room and approach his bedroom door. "Fine, but if you ever change your mind and realize you do have feelings for him--"

"I'll be sure to tell you, Roman. No matter what, promise."

Dinner came and went, just as awkward the night before. Virgil grabbed dinner and retreated to his locked room and Logan acted like it didn't faze him. Roman ate and ventured out, promising to keep himself and the city safe, despite Patton's last attempt to prevent him from leaving.

It was going to be a loud day the next day, Roman was the only one working and Virgil knew Patton was going to make him sit down and talk to Logan, so he was determined to sleep in as much as possible to prolong the inevitable.

Virgil waited until the other two went to sleep, then kept an ear out for Roman, not knowing when he would be returning. After a bit past midnight, he crept out of his room and put his plate from dinner in the sink. He made as little noise as possible, slinking his way over to the fridge and prying it open. He grimaced at the sudden bright light and pulled out a paper bag he placed in there from earlier. Swiftly, he rummaged through their junk drawer and pulled out a lighter and sat down with the bag.

He was painstakingly careful to unravel it and remove the objects from within, still on edge that someone would walk in at any second. He opened the small box of candles and pulled one out, placing it on the cupcake that had been placed inside.

He looked at the dessert, lit candle and all, and smiled. "Happy birthday, Virgil."

Virgil blew out the candle and sat in the dark for a few minutes, staring down at the table. When he looked back up, the cupcake looked more appealing than it ever had years before. His little ritual never felt right, but knowing he wasn't truly alone did make this time a little easier on him.

Virgil heard the door creak open and froze, listening to Roman trudge across the living room, silently praying he would just go to his room and go straight to bed. Everything fell silent and he held his breath.

"Virgil?" Despite speaking softly, the noise made him jump and he looked over, pulling the treat closer to hide it. "What are you still doing up?"

"Oh, couldn't sleep. How was Princey's first night?"

Roman walked over and practically fell into the first open chair. "Terrible. I tried following a police scanner but they get there before I can, and I just walked down disgusting alleys and nothing happened. How do heroes find trouble so easily?" Roman ran his hand through his hair multiple times and threw his mask on the table, looking over at Virgil's hunched form. "What are you eating?"

Virgil glanced down at his cupcake, stomach suddenly heavy. "It's just some dessert, you want it? I'm not in the mood anymore, and you could use it more than me." He slid it over, pulling out the candle as inconspicuously as possible.

Roman looked down, noticing the spot the frosting had been disrupted and looked back over at Virgil. "Was there a candle in this? You celebrating without me?" Roman placed a hand on his chest and looked away. "Be still my heart!"

"No, it's nothing, just eat the darn thing drama queen."

Virgil went to stand up and found Roman had grabbed a hold of his sleeve. Their eyes met and Roman pulled away, looking concerned. "Look, I know Logan's been a lot and you don't do mushy feelings, but is there something we need to talk about?"

Virgil looked away, back at his bedroom door. Biting his lip, he spared one more glance down at Roman. The night had not been kind, he looked disheveled and tired, but his face was lit up with concern. Virgil gave in and sat down, pulling his cupcake back over and ripping a part of it off. "It's my birthday."

Roman pulled a small bit off for himself. "You just told Patton and I it was in December." He didn't sound accusing, just confused as he ate the piece of cupcake.

"Yeah, well, I was born in December. Let me ask you something." Virgil leaned in a bit. "The first time you used your powers, how did that go over?"

Roman huffed and ran a hand through his hair again. "Not so good. Parents freaked out but eventually got over it. Took a while, though."

"Yeah, well, mine wasn't all sunshine either." He fiddled with the paper of the cupcake, pulling it off. "Let's just say, I didn't know how I did it, and I got stuck for a little while."

"You got stuck in frozen time?"

"For about fifty-two days-ish. Freaked out pretty bad, my mom was confused about how in a couple of minutes my hair had grown a lot. Stole food from the store to eat, mostly junk. Couldn't cook when time technically didn't exist." He took a bite of his cupcake and pushed it back to Roman. His roommate glanced back in amazement before suddenly snapping out of it. "Yeah, I know. So, I celebrate my birthday a little earlier than I should, since I did technically age through that."

"How." Roman shook his head. "You just... How did you keep track of time during all that?"

He shook his head and shrugged. "Honestly I guessed. The whole situation freaked me out and made me the paranoid mess I am today. I tried keeping track of what I thought a day would have been, but it was impossible, so I improvised. When I figured out how to start things up again, my notebook had fifty-two tally marks in it from my counting so that's what I went with. Next year came by and I decided to celebrate my birthday on the day I think it is."

"Does anyone else... know?"

Virgil shrugged and leaned back, sticking his hands into his hoodie. "I eventually told my dad, but that's a different story." He stood up and looked over his shoulder. "Eat it, celebrate your first day, even if you didn't get to save anyone."

Virgil left Roman alone, a partially eaten cupcake abandoned on the table.

It was near noon when Virgil finally got up out of bed the next day, another restless night had passed. It was still technically his 'birthday', a day he hadn't been fond of since he usually celebrated in secret. He mindlessly walked out of his room and straight into the kitchen to scavenge for food when he was met with Patton and Logan.

"Hey, kiddo, sleep okay?" Virgil let out a groan and grabbed a box of cereal. "Okay, well, Logan and I have been talking and-"

"Stop." Virgil pulled the bag from the box and shook it around. "Give me five minutes and I'll hear him out if it gets you to stop giving me that look."

"What look?"

Patton's eyes stared at him with unbridled kindness, Virgil was certain Roman and Logan had fallen victim to it just as easily as he had. "Nothing. Let's just get this over with, okay? Just give me a minute."

Virgil walked into the living room and jumped into the recliner, throwing his legs over an armrest and sitting sideways. He scrolled through his phone and ate straight from the bag, killing the last few minutes of peace he had before the inevitable confrontation he had been avoiding, he just needed a few minutes to mentally prepare for it.

He looked up and saw Patton nudge Logan to the couch with a smile and tucked his phone away. "Must you eat like that in my chair?"

"Fine, I'll move." Virgil swung his feet onto the ground and planted himself on the coffee table. "Better?"

"Is it too difficult to sit on something that is meant for sitting?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, does this bother you?" Virgil took a handful of cereal from the bag. "Good."

Logan sighed and sat down on the couch, staring at his chair and grumbling to himself.

"What I think Logan means is that he has some apologizing to do."

"I heard him yesterday, can I go now?" Patton shot Virgil a look and he slumped in on himself. "Fine. Go ahead."

Logan cleared his throat. "I must first apologize for my behavior. My abilities seem to be influenced by my emotions and it hadn't occurred to me to explain since it had been a known fact in my upbringing. That being said, I have taken notice that my behavior these past months has been unacceptable."

Patton leaned forward towards Logan. "You never mentioned that." He whispered to himself.

Virgil snorted a laugh and looked away from them. "That does explain a lot, though."

"Yes well, I would prefer not to go into details about that. Just know that it has gotten me into a bit of trouble in the past, so I do try to be more careful. As for the journal, I do sincerely apologize for that as well. I wrote down things you entrusted to me without your consent. It was a place I wrote my daily thoughts until the discovery of all our abilities."

"It's a diary." Virgil rubbed his face with a hand. "All this over a stupid diary."

"Its highly probable that we had separately gained trust issues since-" Patton put his hand in front of Logan's face.

"What he means is that it's okay! We kind of fell into a weird situation and we're still getting to know one another!"

"Precisely."

Hours later, Roman was greeted at the door when he had arrived home to a very serious Patton, a sight he had only seen when something was wrong. "Roman," Patton grabbed his shoulders. "We have to move out immediately."

"What? Pat, what happened?" Roman heard snickering and leaned over to peer into the living room. He could barely make out Virgil who was hiding his face with his hand.

Patton shook Roman's shoulders and grabbed his full attention. "Roman, we need to go! Our lives are at stake!"

Logan rounded the corner, his hands cupped together. "You're over-exaggerating, Patton. We'll all be fine."

Roman walked past Patton and into the living room. "Okay, what doom is about to fall us, Logan?"

"Roman, no! It'll get you too!"

"It's just a spider, Patton."

Roman jumped and shrieked, backing away from Logan. "A-are you holding a spider? Why would you touch one of those things?"

"It was bothering Patton so I gathered it to remove it to the outside."

"Just kill it!" Patton ducked behind Roman. "Roman, kill it before it kills us!"

Virgil started laughing and Logan looked confused. "I do not understand what is so funny."

Roman waved his hand to shoo away Logan. "Out of our way so we may pass. I don't want to be anywhere near that thing."

Logan took a few steps back and watched his roommates scoot by keeping as much distance as possible. "I don't understand what the big deal is. Arachnids and insects have always been so interesting."

Patton started backing up towards the kitchen. "You can use fancy words for them, but they're still creepy, crawly creatures of doom and I want nothing to do with them!" He turned and walked into the kitchen. "Now please remove it before I move out forever!"

Logan rolled his eyes and looked over at Virgil. "Would you mind getting the door so I may remove our unwanted guest?"

Virgil hopped off the couch and opened the door for Logan. "You don't have a problem with spiders?" Roman asked the darker roommate.

Virgil shrugged. "I had a spider live in the corner of my room in high school, kind of kept it like a pet. Never really bothered me."

Roman shivered and turned to walk to his room. "Of course you did." He could almost hear Virgil's laughs through his door.

Chapter Text

Roman returned from work in a better mood than he had been in weeks. Whatever slump he had plagued him since starting his new job finally seemed to be passing and things were looking bright. Naturally, he was singing while walking on his way home and burst into the apartment in a grand gesture.

"Your prince has returned, my subjects!" Roman sauntered into the apartment and was met with the noise of the tv and Virgil on the couch. He glanced around into the kitchen to find it empty. "Are the others not here?"

"They had work, they mentioned it last night." Virgil didn't move from the couch. "You seem happy." Virgil looked up and saw Roman glancing at the tv. He looked over and watched a woman talking into a microphone somewhere downtown. "Local news, I just wanted some background noise."

"Shhh!" Roman walked up to the remote and turned the volume up.

"-was found late last night. According to witnesses, she left around ten from the local bar where two men pulled her into this alley. Police-"

The tv was suddenly shut off and Roman's hand sparked furiously. "I went out last night, I was near there maybe an hour before! I could have-!"

"Calm down, Sparky. You'll break something." Roman threw the remote on the couch and started pacing as Virgil continued. "No need to get upset, things happen that you can't control." Virgil looked up at Roman and found the other staring back. "What?" Roman started to smile and walked closer, causing Virgil to push himself further into the couch. "Dude, what? You're creeping me out."

"You! You're the answer!" Roman threw his arms in the air cheerfully. "I'm over here thinking I don't need anyone's help and you're the perfect answer!"

Virgil sat up quickly and put his phone away. "No, no way. I want no part in any of this."

"Virgil, don't you get it?" Roman motioned to the television. "Someone was hurt!"

"I get it, Roman!" Virgil shot up from the couch. "They were talking like someone died! And you want me to help you go back and try to stop it? You'll get yourself killed! No way." He turned and marched out of the room.

"Virgil, come on!" Roman chased after him. "Just once, just let me be a hero and save someone. I could have helped them last night!"

Virgil spun around and glared back. "We shouldn't mess with the time stream, have you not seen any sci-fi movies?"

Roman looked offended and threw his arms out. "You went back in time and dumped confetti on me!"

"Well, yeah! After I already saw you got covered in confetti, I had to. It would have been a paradox if I hadn't!"

"Virge, please." Roman sighed and spoke with a softer tone. "Someone got hurt last night, or worse. Someone that had a family. They were loved and now people are concerned and the people who did it are probably still out there."

Virgil groaned and covered his face. His hands ran through his hair and he began to pace back and forth. Looking up at Roman, he just met with a pleading look and sighed heavier. "Fine, but not before doing more research. Where it happened, when, are they okay? I'm not going in blind with this." Roman perked up immediately. "This is the only time, Roman. You hear me? I'm never doing this again."

Roman ran forward and picked up his roommate, spinning in a circle. "You are a hero, Virge! Patton was right, you're not a complete storm cloud all the time!" He dropped his disoriented roommate and ran to his room. "I'll get the costume, you do the research!"

A few minutes later, Virgil was grumbling to himself on his phone when Roman emerged. "Looks like it was a woman and she's okay but in the hospital. Mugging and assault, that's all the police have said." He looked up and rolled his eyes. "You still look ridiculous, you know that?"

"Shush and explain how this works."

Virgil tossed his phone casually onto the table and squeezed his eyes shut. He was still for a second before breaking free, the world frozen around him. He walked up to Roman and went to grab his shoulders to break him free, but paused and smiled. "I'll get you back for this, next time I have a sharpie." He grabbed and pulled Roman forward, watching him stumble and catch himself. "Welcome to the world of frozen time, Princey."

Roman looked around the kitchen. "It's a lot more underwhelming than I expected."

"Yeah, well, you're the flashy one. I'm not." Virgil took a step back. "So, when you break free of where you were frozen in time, that's where the portal is created." Roman turned to look at the wavy ripple he had been pulled from. "Whatever you were thinking of when I stopped time, the portal leads there. Mine leads to the location just before the incident. This is VERY IMPORTANT!" Roman spun around and jumped; Virgil never got very loud. "The portal is not visible from the other side. Please remember where it comes out. Time will start again when you jump through. Get your hero business done and jump back, okay? I think the portal will close only after I close it on this side. Don't make me wait all night."

Roman stood up tall and fixed his hair. "Technically you won't be waiting at all." Virgil rolled his eyes and stepped out of the way. "Wait, if you've stopped time after the first time, do you celebrate your birthday earlier and earlier?"

" That's what you're curious about? No. It's a..." Virgil gestured vaguely, thinking of the correct words. "It's a ritual, I guess, to remember the first time I used my powers. Too much work to keep track of every time after that. Now go, before I change my mind."

Roman smiled and stood up tall, marching straight through the portal at Virgil’s back.

He couldn't resist squeezing his eyes shut at the portal but quickly was met with a dark alleyway and the sounds of the city. That's what had unnerved him about Virgil's ability. Nothing moved and nothing made a sound, it was dead silent. The sounds of the city seemed to be shouting at him in comparison.

Roman ran out of the alleyway he was in and turned around. It was darker, but it looked just like the place on the news he had seen. He ran back and saw a fire escape, jumping up and pulling himself out of the way, kicking his legs and promising himself to work on his upper body strength more. He needed everything to go like he wasn't there until he was needed, and the height could make him have a grander entrance.

Roman waited for a while, kneeling down but not dropping his guard. Someone got hurt tonight. His mind was frantic with how this would go, but not for a second did he doubt his ability to help. He was made to be a superhero and nothing was going to stop him.

The sound of footsteps with scraping and shuffling noises frantically following caught his attention. Roman peered over the bottom of the fire escape farther. The woman seemed to be stumbling, but two men were definitely pulling her along. The sight made Roman's hair stand on end and he couldn't guarantee it wasn't from the surge of electricity he could feel building up.

He quickly got on the ladder and jumped down without a thought, stumbling slightly and standing up straight to hide it. "She doesn't seem to be very interested in whatever you two have in mind," Roman spoke loudly. He puffed out his chest like this was a scene in a play. He could act any part, this would be no different.

One of the men, the slightly taller one, started laughing. "The hell you supposed to be, little girl?"

Roman made an unamused face and took a few steps closer. "The man that's going to make you let the poor woman go, and I'm not asking."

The shorter of the two let go of the woman, pushing her into the other's arms before stalking towards Roman. "Two hits, that's all it'll take, pretty boy."

"Aww, you think I'm pretty, well-" The man suddenly ran up and punched Roman in the face. His head turned and moved as he put a hand on his cheek. Slowly, he looked up, a bit shocked. "That... didn't hurt at all."

"What?!" The man got angry and punched Roman's stomach, causing him to stumble back. He watched the masked man stand up and pat his stomach, seemingly fine. "The hell?"

Roman started to laugh and placed his hands dramatically on his hips. "Seems like this will be easier than I thought!" The man growled and took a step towards Roman. "Ah! Not a good idea, I'm armed." Roman placed a hand on his back and the stranger stopped. "Let her go or I'll shoot."

"You don't have a gun." The taller man struggled with the woman in his arms for a second. "You don't even have the guts."

Roman couldn't stop the smile on his face from growing. "Never said I had a gun." He threw his arm out, holding it out like it was a gun. His pointer finger and thumb stuck out and Roman gave a smile.

The shorter man started laughing, pausing to catch his breath. "You're an idiot, just some loon in costume." He reached into his pocket and pulled a knife. "Should have stayed out of our business." He motioned to Roman with the blade. "I like the red sash. How about I make the rest of you match?"

He took one step before Roman aimed and pulled his thumb down, pulling his hand back. A sudden, small shot of blue light raced towards the man, striking him in the chest. He stood on his feet for a second before crumbling to the ground.

Roman looked panicked, having never used it on a person, but he saw the man’s chest move up and down. Still breathing, good. He looked up at the taller man and held his hand out. "Let her go."

"You some freak or something?" The guy pulled the woman closer and took a step back. "Don't matter, can't hit me when I got her, yeah? You trying to play hero?"

Roman put both his hands together and slowly pulled them apart, bolts of electricity stretching between the two. "Don't worry, I don't need to worry about her. A prince must stop the villains, especially for a damsel in distress!" He brought his hands together and little sparks shot out and lit up the alley.

The sight alone caused the guy to let go and throw the woman on the ground. Roman took the opportunity and held up his hand like before and shot the other man. "It was just a little light show, a true hero never seeks to harm others that don't deserve it!"

Roman walked up to the woman on the ground, noticing her business attire looking too disheveled and her eyes staring at him frantically. He stopped once their eyes met and he watched her scoot away. "Hey." He kneeled down and spoke softly. "Do you have a phone? You should call the cops, let them know what happened, yeah? I'm not going to hurt you, promise."

"W-who, what-"

"Shh." Roman reached out a hand. "Ever have those dreams as a kid that you wanted to make a difference in the world? I’m just a lucky guy who has the chance." Roman smirked softly at the woman. "Just trying to be Prince Charming, ma'am. I just want to help those who seem like they may need it."

It was a solid minute before she reached forward and flinched when they touched, but not a spark came out from Roman's hand. He reached forward and grabbed her hand and stood, pulling her up. "T-thank you." She looked around for her purse and saw it a few feet away. "My- uh..." Roman nodded and slowly helped her walk over, her body slightly shaking involuntarily. "W-what are you? Or, who are you?"

Roman watched her pick up the phone and look at him in awe. "Just a prince saving a princess." She smiled and nodded, looking down at the phone. "I will have to go before the police appear, however."

"I think I'll be okay," she spoke softly. Roman took her shaking hand and reminded her the number of the local police. He listened as she gave the cops all the details she could while Roman dragged the two men to the wall. Once he heard sirens, he gave a two-fingered salute and went back to the wall he was sure he came out of. Reaching forward, he followed it until his hand disappeared, walking forward and not looking back. The last thing he heard was her voice, calling out a thank you.

Roman stumbled back into his kitchen and saw Virgil sitting on the counter, biting his thumbnail. His head shot up and he jumped down. "What took so long?"

"Why, are you actually concerned about me?"

Virgil ignored him and shut his eyes. Roman stumbled into the table as the flow of time started back up again. "Never again, that was a bad idea." Virgil shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched in on himself.

Roman pushed himself up and walked over to Virgil. "I got there in time thanks to you. She's okay, I waited for the police before I left."

"Careful, that almost sounded like a compliment." Virgil looked up at Roman before turning towards his room. "I'm going to hide away until the sun dies, don't bother me."

"Virgil?" Roman smiled and took off his mask as his roommate glanced over his shoulder. "Seriously. Thank you." Virgil shrugged and retreated back to his room. Roman turned and entered the living room, turning the television back on to the local news. He unbuttoned his Prince costume and pulled off the jacket, revealing a plain black shirt underneath as he listened to the news in the background.

"If you're just joining us, we are at the scene downtown with police who got a call late last night from a distressed young woman. According to witnesses, she left around ten from the local bar where two men pulled her into this alley. " Roman tensed up at the news reporter repeating the same news as before. "Police arrived at the scene to find two men unconscious. The woman claimed a masked hero dressed as a prince had come to her rescue."

Roman jumped in joy and threw a fist in the air. "Yes! Roman you handsome, smart devil. Look at you now!" He turned off the tv and headed to his room. "This is exactly what I needed, all these ideas I'm getting are gold!"

Roman sat out in the living room, scribbling down his ideas as they came. It wasn't too much longer later that he heard a door creak and looked down past the kitchen, seeing Virgil emerge from his room. He calmly walked down the hall and sat on the couch next to Roman without saying a word.

"Feeling better, J. Delightful?" Virgil looked up and raised an eyebrow. "From Heathers?" Roman prodded.

"I got the reference, Princey. Deciding if I should be flattered or offended. Kind of depends."

"Oh?" Roman leaned over. "What does that depend on?"

"Well, first off, if you mean the movie or the musical."

Roman huffed and looked offended. "The musical, obviously! It's like you don't know me at all!"

Virgil rolled his eyes. "It also depends on which Heather you are." Virgil stretched out a leg and nudged Roman's playfully. "I'm thinking Chandler. The leader of the she-devils."

"I do look good in red," Roman muttered. "Ironically enough, I did perform in Heathers before." Roman looked over with a smirk. "As one Jason Dean."

This got Virgil to laugh and clutch his stomach. "You? I can't see you as anything that dark." Virgil snorted for a second. "Actually, he is pretty over the top, seems you fit the bill."

Roman went back to writing. "I'll have you know I did a great job during that play!" He smirked to himself. "Had to be if I played a convincing straight guy."

"Whatever you say, Captain Bad Breath."

Roman shot up and glared at Virgil. "I'll have you know I always keep my breath nice and minty fresh! Never know when I'm going to need it."

"Ohh, does Roman have a boyfriend? Please, tell me about your prince charming." Virgil nudged Roman some more. "I'm sure you love to gossip."

"Sadly, I am on a solo quest at the moment, not that it's any of your business." He scribbled down a few more notes. "You never know when your eyes will meet those of your true love! What would be more embarrassing than bad breath?"

"You really do try to be a prince, huh?" Virgil rolled his eyes. "Gross. What did the mighty prince go to college for?" Roman looked away and mumbled. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said liberal arts, with a minor in theater. I got an accounting job for a bit before the company had layoffs." Roman looked over and Virgil was covering his mouth with a hand and biting back a smile. "What's so funny? I like math and science, so what?!"

"You're a big math nerd!" Virgil burst out laughing. "Oh, Logan I expected it from, but you? No way!" Virgil sat up and walked back to his room. "I needed that laugh, thanks." He waved over his shoulder. "See ya, space cowboy."

"Did you just make an anime reference?"

Virgil turned and smiled back at Roman. "Did you just notice an anime reference?"

Roman's face fell. "This conversation never happened.?"

"Whatever you say, Prince of Nerds."

Roman looked down at his list of projects and adventures he had been scribbling and had a even bigger, better idea. He flipped the paper over and began writing furiously.

The next day at work was the best one Roman had since he was hired. The cafe handed over ownership temporarily while the owner went on a leave. His son had taken over and the place was tanking fast. Unfortunately for Roman, he had been hired to assist in work that had turned out to entirely unrelated to the work he actually did. The interview had named dozens of things Roman never got the chance to do. Instead, the new owner pulled out an old costume and threw away half their ideas.

He took the job for the sole purpose of doing what he truly loved. He got the degree because his parents helped take some of the debt off his hands as long as they chose his major. He took the job because the cash was great and worked at the theater on the side. Half the work there was volunteer but he got the chance to perform and even help teach the younger kids so it was worth it, even if it meant two jobs.

This new place was a cafe that had a stage and performances and everything wrapped in one. It didn't pay nearly as well as his last one, but Roman had been willing to sacrifice that for doing what he loved, which he was starting to regret. Now, however, he was back to his usual self, and he had decided to set things right.

He went to the owner with a huge list of all the numbers, and math he had done the night before. The guy wasn’t just impressed, he was ecstatic. He hadn’t known much of he was getting into and wasn't ready to run a business. Roman's knowledge and numbers convinced him to set up a team-wide meeting. Everyone gathered and they talked through changes for the future.

Firstly, the mascot costume was done, something Roman was more than happy with. Second, they were bringing back more of the events they held. Roman convinced the theater to run short shows once a month for promotion as long as they got volunteers, something Roman was happy to do all alone if he must. Talking about it got all of his coworkers amped up with excitement as ideas were thrown around. Leaving, Roman was pulled to the side and asked if he would take charge of some things. They'd talk to the original owner and make plans, but in a matter of days, everything was different.

It was the first time Roman had felt so light and happy in weeks and it showed. When he went to the theater, everyone flocked around him as he sang. He was on top of his game and still in a great mood from his recent rescue.

When he came home one night, he was singing as long as he could. Even Virgil wasn't as agitated by his singing as much as he usually was, though he still tucked himself away in his room after a while.

When everyone retreated to their rooms for the night, Roman ventured out and down the hall. Stopping at Virgil's door, he knocked. "Virgil, are you decent?"

"I'd like to think so." Roman opened the door and peered in, seeing Virgil's face lit up with a laptop. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to thank you again for what I was able to do the other night. I wouldn’t have been given the chance if it weren’t for you." He stepped in and closed the door.

"No."

Roman tilted his head in confusion. "No? About what? I didn't-"

"I'm not helping you go out again, I don't care what happened. I told you, I want no part in this."

Virgil never bothered to look up and kept his attention on the screen. "Well, I didn't ask you to, that's not why I'm here."

Virgil took off his headphones and looked up. "Then why are you here? You never visit me in my room. Matter of fact, until a few weeks ago, we couldn't stand each other."

Roman's shoulders dropped and he groaned. "Yes, I know, but that was before, you know."

"We discovered we were all a bunch of freaks?"

"Before I-" Roman cut himself off and his brow furrowed in frustration. He had his roommate's full attention at this point and decided to not back out. "Before we..." Roman grumbled something quickly. He looked up and met with the confused stare knowing he hadn't been heard. "Before we learned we weren't really alone. In this. It's not something people relate to and it's nice to be able to talk about it so openly."

"Roman."

"I mean, it's been more stressful than coming out as gay, which I'm starting to wonder if it's a side effect of having powers, because seriously-"

"Roman!"

"-what are the odds? I mean, I don't know about Logan but who really is completely straight nowadays? That was rude, what I meant was-"

"ROMAN!" Virgil sighed as the other man finally stopped his rambling. "I did not miss how hyperactive you can get, princey."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Roman glanced around the darkly lit room, vaguely making out movie and band posters on the wall. "Maybe your room is cursed and that's why you're so morbid."

"Yeah. Maybe that's it. Did you come here for something?"

Roman shifted his feet and put his hands behind his back, standing up tall. "Yes, actually. I was here to thank you."

Virgil put his headphones back on and went back to his laptop. "You already thanked me, dude. It's okay."

"No, not like that." Virgil glanced up at him once more. "Maybe one night, we could watch a movie or something? I'll buy the snacks and you can pick the movie." Virgil leaned back and raised an eyebrow at Roman, not that it was visible through his bangs. "I mean, what do you watch anyway? Tim Burton movies and horror flicks?"

"That's not all. I, too, am a Disney fan."

Roman chuckled and held up a hand. "You? Love the embodiment of all that is good? What one is your favorite, then?"

"Black Cauldron." Roman nodded, looking slightly impressed. "Besides, they all have some dark things to them, especially the older ones."

"Well, I'll buy some snacks and later this week I can prove you wrong."

"I'll hold you to it, princey."

Logan eventually made his way out into the living area and Roman had intercepted him immediately. "Hey, smartwatch! I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"What seems to be the matter, Roman?"

"So I went out and stopped a mugging the other night." Roman puffed out his chest and stood proudly. "A slow start but in the end, everything turned out as planned!"

"Roman. That's..." Logan adjusted his glasses. "...extremely reckless. You should be more careful."

Roman pouted and placed a hand on his hip. "Logan, I'm a hero and a prince, I find danger whether I want to or not. However, this may have been my first time in an actual fight."

Logan shook his head and let out a breath. "That is extremely careless. You could have gotten injured."

"I had it under control! I have that one move!" Roman put up his hand like a gun again. "Great for stunning people. I also let out some sparks. It doesn't do anything but I was right that it might spook someone!" Roman crossed his arms. "Anyway, that's not the issue. The issue was when the guy punched me in the face."

Logan jumped in surprise. "Roman, that is the exact thing we've been warning you about!"

Roman grumbled and looked away. "I told you I'm fine. I was just curious, have you ever been in a fight? I felt the punches but they didn't really hurt." Roman rubbed the cheek that had taken the punch. "Good thing, he aimed right for my face."

"I have not. I usually avoid people, let alone confrontation." Logan put a hand on his chin in thought. "This is curious, I wonder if whatever gave us our abilities have heightened other senses or lowered our tolerance to pain. It may just be you, however, this requires further-" He froze up and shook his head. "Actually, I'm trying not to be so invasive with my tests anymore. Perhaps you should investigate this on your own."

"Virgil!" Roman looked down the hall and saw a head pop out from behind a door. "Perfect. Virgil, you remember last time we did an experiment?"

Virgil took a step out of his room. "Wait, are we drinking again?"

"No, I need you to punch Logan." Roman jutted a thumb over to the man. "It's for science."

Virgil looked over at Logan and they exchanged a confused glance. Then Virgil shrugged and cracked his knuckles and stalked forward. "V-virgil, this is highly unnecessary,” Logan stuttered. “Surely you wouldn't do something so savage without reason."

Virgil stopped right in front of Logan and smirked. "Of course not, Lo. Who do you think I am?" He pulled his arm back and punched Roman in the arm. "Stop picking on the nerd, King of Nerds."

Roman rubbed his arm and looked down at Logan. "I hardly felt that."

Virgil glanced back and forth between the two. "What is this about?"

Logan pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat. "Apparently when Roman was struck the other night, he did not receive any pain from the contact like one would expect."

"Dude, someone hit you the other night? Okay, absolutely no more using me as your personal driver to crimes, you got that?"

"Yes, we've already established you won't help me a second time. A little punch won't hurt me."

"We are trying to determine if it is simply a side effect of Roman's abilities or if it is tied to all of us." Virgil nodded his head in understanding, then reached out and punched Logan in the arm. "Hey!" He rubbed the spot and stopped. "It appears... I am not experiencing much pain from that." His face scrunched up in concentration and he walked off, mumbling to himself.

"There he goes, we've lost him." Virgil looked up at Roman. "I didn't really pull back much so maybe this theory has proof? When was the last time you felt a lot of pain?"

Roman hummed aloud. "I broke my leg as a child but didn't cry about it much."

"I think I sprained an elbow in middle school but walked around fine for a whole day. Dad took me to a doctor when I complained it hurt to bend."

"We do experience pain, but to lesser levels, maybe to the point where it doesn't do as much damage." Logan spun around. "I conclude we do not do further research as to prevent harm to ourselves." He cleared his throat. "Perhaps we also don't tell Patton we were fighting with one another?"

Roman groaned. "It'd just upset him, good idea." Virgil nodded in agreement. "We are all agreed?"

"Agreed." Virgil quickly shot out a punch to Roman and casually turned around, marching back to his room. "Thanks for the science lesson again, guys. They're tons of fun!"

Roman glared at Virgil's retreating form and shrugged it off. "I guess I deserved that one."

A few days later, the Halloween season was in full effect. October had already started and everyone had put up decorations in every shop window. Everything was covered in fake cobwebs and pumpkin-flavored everything filled every store.

Virgil had gotten through the door to one of his later shifts that day, the rush of people making their costumes starting already for the few that planned ahead. He walked into the living room and froze.

He could smell apple and cinnamon, which he crinkled his nose at. The two windows had plastic stickers on them of bats and jack-o-lanterns and one had a witch. There was a black candle burning and it was dripping a rainbow of colors next to the one Virgil was sure was creating the apple cinnamon smell.

Roman walked into the room grabbing Virgil's attention. "Well? What do you think?" He spun around and admired his work. "It would have been so much better with the fake cobweb and spider curtains but I promised Patton I wouldn't."

"It's something alright." Virgil didn't bother hiding his smirk. "Definitely my style, if not a little more flashy."

"Not surprised. Speaking of!" Roman picked up a DVD from the table and held it up. "I was thinking we could do that movie and snacks tonight? I've got the perfect film!"

"Nightmare Before Christmas? What, you assume because I'm the resident emo that I like all the stereotypes?"

Roman looked unamused. "You have posters in your room of Jack and Sally and I heard you listening to My Chemical Romance the other day. You fit the bill, Jack."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Virgil headed towards his room. "I guess I'm feeling up for it. What snacks did you plan on getting?"

"Already gotten!" Roman entered the kitchen and opened a cupboard. "I got popcorn and gummy worms and some chocolate because I mean, who doesn't love chocolate?"

"You went all out."

Roman smiled proudly. "I like to go all in, so I covered all the bases. We can start after dinner, it's my night to cook anyway."

Virgil glanced back into the living room at all the decor, noticing more this time around than the first. A fake bat sat on a shelf, a stuffed black cat on the couch. He looked back at Roman who was already rummaging through the fridge. He decided to retreat to his room for now.

After dinner, Patton went to sleep pretty early to be ready for the next day, as did Logan. They both had work early, while the other two had discussed their jobs calling them in later, so a late night with movies and snacks was perfect. Virgil checked Logan's 'chore chart' that he had made on the first day and did the dishes while Roman set up the movie.

Move in day seemed like so long ago, but it had only been earlier that year. Virgil had hardly said anything and when he did, it was usually to argue with the roommate he was about to watch a movie with. Not that Logan and Patton were any better, the two were not as loud, but they did argue, or 'debate' as Logan put it, over every decision until they came to a compromise. The first two months were stressful, but knowing now that they were all keeping the same secret, the earlier agitation made sense.

The tell-tale sounds of This is Halloween played from the title screen as Virgil put the last cup on the drying rack and wiped his hands dry. He entered and saw the couch had more blankets and pillows on it than before and all the snacks were set up on the table.

Roman perked up and waved him over. "Come on, nightmare fuel, I've been waiting!"

Virgil sat down and grabbed the bag of popcorn for himself, sitting back and putting his feet on the edge of the table, away from the rest of the food. He threw a kernel in his mouth and looked at Roman who stared back. "What?"

Roman jumped, having been lost in thought. "Sorry, I was wondering." Roman turned towards him. "You do a bit of makeup from what I can tell, right? Would you mind if I do yours?"

"What, you wanna do my nails too?" Roman looked upset like he had tasted something sour. "No, princey. I mean that. My nails are all chipped." He waved his hand at Roman. "Sorry, my voice is set to sarcastic, it doesn't shut off."

"I have some stuff in my room, we can do it after the movie?"

Roman's eyes lit up so much at the idea, Virgil had a 'no' sitting on his tongue but wouldn't let it loose. It was more friendly than they had gotten before, but was that a bad thing? He started feeling anxious at the idea of taking too long to answer, but not too anxious at the actual thought of Roman letting his wall down and relaxing. Letting his walls slip just a little was a scary thought, but he had put trust in Roman before and had yet to be disappointed.

"Nah, I have Corpse Bride, we can toss that in while we do makeovers and talk about cute boys." Virgil grabbed more popcorn from the bag, chuckling to himself. "Now get the stuff before starting, we have a little bit of time after the opening before the next song. I know you won't be able to resist singing but maybe we can get some stuff done."

"As if you're not going to belt out every word with me!" Roman bounced up off the couch and bolted for the door to his room. "I have the perfect dark purple for your dreary mood, you'll love it!"

Virgil stared at the doorway with a smile on his face before he realized what he was doing. He shook his head and turned back to the screen before him, giving it his fullest attention.

He was not smiling at Roman, he wasn't. He got up and got a glass of water, definitely not thinking about how he had been more than thanked, and if he had to guess, it felt like this 'movie night' was more than Roman wanted to hang out than to thank Virgil again. They never hung out. Virgil didn't 'hang' with others. He stayed locked away in his room. He walked back into the living room and looked at everything spread out for their chill night. Roman had done it all, then even offered to do more. Virgil didn't know the feeling in his gut, it felt a bit like dread, but he didn't like it.

Roman walked out of his room carrying two bags with a big smile on his face. Suddenly, Virgil wasn't as anxious as before. At least for a few moments.

Chapter Text

Things had picked up for everyone and group nights became far less frequent. The apartment even started to become a bit of a mess as little things started piling up. Despite the increase in overall stress, everyone seemed to be taking everything in stride. Logan had even convinced Patton to only clean on his day to everyone's surprise and delight.

Such was a day like today, an early morning and Patton was cleaning as well as cooking and picking up the entire apartment. He had let two copies out to help him get as much done before work since it was his day to clean.

Logan was the first up after him, as usual, and was immediately handed a cup of coffee and directed to the table. "I know you have to go out to work soon so just sit, I have breakfast ready."

"Thank you, Patton."

"Oh, we have decided on names! I'm Pat Two!" Logan looked up at the one who handed him his coffee. "Patton is cleaning up the apartment. Pat Three is the one wiping everything down." The Patton he had been talking to, Pat Two he had been told, turned back to the stove and continued cooking. "I'm making french toast! I can make some regular toast for you, we still have that strawberry stuff you like."

"That would be wonderful, Patton. Sorry, Pat Two?" He looked over and got a nod of approval. "Is there a reason for the name changes?"

Pat Two headed to the fridge and pulled out a small jar. "Well, we were trying to think of a way to differentiate ourselves. Whenever Pat One makes a copy, I'm the first to come out. The one he makes after that is Pat Three. "

Logan put down his coffee and inspected the copy. "So you're always the same versions that Patton creates?"

"Yep!" He pushed the lever down on the toaster. "I was the one who made dinner last week while Pat One helped you with that problem?" Logan thought back to the last week. He had called Patton to help him figure out how to interact with this one customer that always comes in and wants to talk, but he was no good with people. "I'm usually the one that helps with the cooking. Pat Three likes cleaning though."

"You have different interests you prefer?" He blew on his coffee and took another sip. "Fascinating."

"Yeah, we were trying to come up with a better name, but this works and we all like the name Patton so we compromised!" He put a plate in front of Logan with a slice of french toast. "Though I wanted to be called Clifford, like to big dog? Then Pat Three got upset because he wanted a new name as well, things started to get confusing." The toaster popped up as Pat Two walked over and set it on a plate. "You should talk to Pat Four, he's never usually out but sometimes we all sit there and talk when we start feeling lonely. He hasn't met anyone yet, he's the shyer one I guess. Not as shy as Pat Five, though, let me tell ya!" He turned around and placed the toast on the table. "You have that look on your face, Lo. That one you get when you're piecing things together, I can tell."

Logan looked up at the copy. "Your back was to me, how could you tell?"

"I think we know you well enough." Another Patton walked into the kitchen. "It's almost like we can hear your brain working sometimes."

"Patton?"

"Yes?" A third poked their head in as they all answered in unison.

"Well!" The last Patton fully walked into the kitchen. "Are there three people in here or is it just me?"

"Clever. Very amusing, Patton." Logan grumbled to himself. The other two gave a high five to each other before turning to the original and disappearing in a flash.

"Thanks, Logan! Got the place mostly cleaned up just in time for breakfast!" He took a seat at the table.

"Good morning, isn't it a beautiful day?" Roman casually strode into the kitchen.

"It's overcast and likely to rain this afternoon."

Roman huffed and walked past. "Everyday can be a beautiful day!"

Patton let out an 'awww' and smiled up at Roman. "That was cute." He glanced down the hall towards the only closed door. "We haven't had a family night in a while."

"Still not a family," Logan muttered.

"Oh, come now, Logan! We might not be related but this year, something brought us together be it fate or destiny-"

"Or an advertisement," Logan mumbled and took a bite of his toast.

"You love us, shut up." Patton smiled.

A few hours later and the apartment was silent, Patton is the only one still there awake. He kept glancing down the hall with worry. He was distracting himself with anything he could find, including one of Logan's books. Eventually, he heard the creak of the old bedroom door open up and held himself back from running and checking up on Virgil, casually walking into the kitchen.

"Well, good morning. Sleep okay?" Virgil grunted in response and headed for the coffee pot. Patton looked up at the clock and saw it was nearly noon. "Coffee this late? You usually avoid caffeine."

"Didn't sleep well." Virgil poured a cup of the cold coffee and stuck it in the microwave, ending the conversation there.

Patton looked on in worry and approached the other. "If you want to talk about anything-"

"Don't." Virgil took out the steaming mug and leaned against the counter. "Look, you are the most understanding and caring person on this planet, Patton. You're great, but..." Virgil blew on his coffee a bit. "A few restless nights isn't out of the ordinary for me, I'll be fine." He sipped from the mug and pulled back, looking up at Patton who looked back lost. He sighed and put the mug down. "Look, you've been helping. You all have. This is something I can handle alone, okay?"

Patton nodded and placed a hand on Virgil's shoulder. "Just know that you don't ever have to handle it alone anymore. We're here for you."

Virgil smiled softly before catching himself and attempted to rub it off his face. "Yeah, whatever." He glanced over and saw Patton smile back knowingly. "Thanks, Patton."

"Aww, come here!" Virgil was pulled into a hug and lightly pushed back in protest. Patton let go and smiled. "You try and relax today if you can, okay?"

"Sure, whatever you say, Pat."

Virgil decided a little detour on his way home from work was more than deserved. He stopped by a bookstore to see if anything new jumped out at him. Sometimes getting lost in the pages of a story helped him calm down at night enough to at least try to sleep, though it had been a while since he had gotten any new comics. The old store he used to frequent was across town closer to where he used to live, but a quick search showed one a few blocks from where he worked. He walked over and ducked into the store, trying not to make eye contact as he paced the shelves.

He was walking passed a section on poetry when he stopped and grabbed one off the shelf out of curiosity. Old cringe-worthy memories of his high school days where he wrote sonnets and poetry crept back up as he flipped through the pages.

"An interesting choice, one I am mildly surprised about." Virgil jumped and slammed the book shut, looking up and meeting eyes with Logan. "Although I am rather intrigued if you wish to discuss this topic with me."

"Don't sneak up on me like that." Virgil shoved the book back in its place on the shelf. "What are you doing here?"

"Working, I thought that was obvious enough."

Virgil finally noticed the small stack of books Logan seemed to be carrying. "I didn't know this was the bookstore you worked at." Virgil shrugged and started to walk away without another word.

"There is no need to leave simply because of that discovery." Virgil stopped but didn't turn around. "I can help you look for anything if that is a benefit. Is there something you were looking for?"

Virgil finally turned around and looked at Logan. They had been more civil since the small spat over Logan's journal but never quite got back to the level of comfort they had before, not for a lack of Logan trying in his small ways like this. "Anything you suggest?"

"That depends on the genre you are looking for. I know a few good mystery novels but if you prefer something like romance or fiction I'm sure I can give you recommendations."

Virgil spun back around and crossed his arms. "Do I look like a romance kind of guy?"

"I am not one to judge if that is what you enjoy."

Virgil scoffed and didn't hide a smirk that grew on his face. "Romance novels are for saps and idiots like Roman who don't know how to get out of their heads about how delusional all those fake romances are."

Logan chuckled and shook his head. "While I see your points, I would have to counter argue on Roman's behalf. I do not personally enjoy romance, but isn't the point to get swept up in something you don't understand yourself? I'm sure we could spend some time debating about this."

"Maybe we should, I wouldn't mind."

If Logan was shocked, he hid it well. Virgil had extended an olive branch after their silence and didn't have to wait long for the nod in approval. "That sounds... quite satisfactory." He smirked and shuffled the books in his arms. "I have to be going, let me know if you need help, Virgil."

After the unexpected meeting, Virgil was tired from being out and social and just wanted to get home. He wandered the store a bit before asking Logan the easiest bus route home and headed out quietly.

He tried sneaking into the apartment but was met with the loud boisterous voice of Roman serenading himself in the living room. "Ahh, Virgil, nice to see you made it home in one piece."

"Do you have to be so loud all the time?"

Roman went and turned off the music coming from his phone. "Someone doesn't know how to relax at the end of a long day." Virgil rolled his eyes in response. "If you'd like, I could give a few ideas to help."

"What makes you think I need any ideas?"

"Patton may have accidentally let it slip you haven't been sleeping. It is my duty as this cities newest resident hero to help all its citizens, no matter the issue!" Roman put a foot on the coffee table and stood tall and proud. "Besides, it may help those around you not worry as much." He put his foot back on the ground. "By that, I mean Patton, of course. Logan seems a bit worried as well."

"Right. Of course, no one else who lives here is worried." Virgil winked and headed down the hall to his room.

"Well, if someone else was, they might want to give some suggestions! You seem to like the quiet, maybe one night a rest in the tub would help you relax before bed."

Virgil stood in his doorway and raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Not that you're suggesting that though, right?"

"Me? Psh, no, of course not!"

"Right. Thanks for nothing, I guess I'll just take that suggestion you totally didn't give me into consideration."

Roman turned his music back on and lowered it, walking into his room to continue singing, but keeping it a bit more quiet now that he wasn't alone. After a few songs, he ventured down the hall to the bathroom to look for his brush that he surely had left there in the morning, humming quietly to himself.

"Do you mind, princey?" Roman jumped and spun around. His eyes trailed down and saw Virgil sitting in the tub. The curtain was drawn back and he was still completely clothed. "Can't relax with you interrupting me."

Roman glared down at Virgil. The grin on his face made Roman aware that Virgil knew exactly what he was doing. "You left the door wide open. Also, that works better with, I don't know, water in it?"

"Oh, does it?" Virgil slid down a bit and put his feet up at the other end of the tub. "That explains a lot because I just don't get it. This is not comfortable at all."

Roman turned around and grabbed what he came in for. "I'll be more specific then. Warm water would help a great deal. You can even use my bubble bath, you're welcome." He walked out of the bathroom and pulled the door closed behind him, cutting off the laughter he heard from the other side.

It wasn't much later that Roman started heating up leftovers since it was just he and the dreary roommate brooding in the bathroom. He heard the door creak open and waited a few minutes before venturing down the hall. He hadn't heard Virgil's door click shut so he walked to the bathroom and peered inside the opened door.

Closer, he could hear soft music coming from the other side and gave it a knock. "Virge? I'm heating up leftovers for dinner since it's just us."

"Can't hear you, come in."

Roman walked in and cautiously peered around the corner. "Yeah, of course, you didn't." He covered his face with his hand. "This isn't any better, you know."

Virgil's grin was bigger than last time. "I added water, what's the big deal?"

"Usually baths are taken without clothes, oh dreary one."

"Roman, are you trying to get me undressed? How scandalous." Virgil wiggled his eyebrows up at him.

Roman removed his hand and looked down at Virgil who was still completely clothed, including the hoodie. "You even used my bubble bath, a complete waste on you." Roman turned and walked out of the bathroom. "Why do I bother?"

Once out of sight, he smiled and laughed quietly to himself.

The next morning, Virgil woke up a bit earlier than he had previously and even was able to manage without the coffee. He had to admit, messing with Roman had cheered him up a bit and he still had trouble sleeping, but not as much as before. The nightmare he had been having didn't return last night and he was able to catch up on a bit of sleep. The fear of the nightmare popping back up stopped him in his usual desperate attempts to get sleep by stopping time to take a short nap.

Virgil was sat on the counter with a bowl of cereal when Logan walked in. "Ah, Virgil. I see you're not using chairs again. Glad to see you're in a better mood."

"What can I say, I like to have a different perspective on things."

"I am sure," Logan adjusted his glasses, a nervous habit of his at times. "Speaking of perspective, I was wondering if I could get a recommendation from you?" Virgil perked up but didn't stop eating. "We talked about books and such yesterday, but I was hoping you might have some reading material that might be more directed towards something we could relate to."

Virgil swallowed his cereal and stared at Logan for a minute. "Are you... asking for comic book suggestions?" A smirk bloomed across his face. "Logan, I am surprised at you. Didn't take you for that kind of nerd."

"I merely wish to see how nonsensical the world sees people such as ourselves. It may give me a different look at things, which you seem to enjoy doing." Logan motioned to Virgil who was still comfortable atop the counter.

"You won't read much more than whatever comes out of Roman's mouth. It's all about destiny and fate and doing things for the greater good. Or it's dark and brooding and moral grayness."

Logan made a noise of disgust. "I do not like it when people simply use fate as an excuse for their actions. At least Roman does it to try and bring about some good."

"Oh?" Virgil hopped off the counter. "I mean, I don't believe in destiny. The universe isn't going to decide what I should do for me, that's just stupid. Why do you hate it?"

"Much for the same reasons. No outside force decided this is where we are all in our lives, we each made our own decisions which lead us here. There are an infinite amount of variables that lead us to this exact moment. Take your power, for example." Logan motioned towards the other and Virgil slid his bowl into the sink, leaning against the counter and giving him his full attention. "You realize the dangers of what you can do and are always cautious. If Roman had been given this power you possess, we would not be here. That was not destiny, that was the actions you chose based off of your abilities, molded by past experiences and your own moral sense of right and wrong."

Virgil stared down Logan and crossed his arms. "Yeah, very good point. Roman could be jumping through time and messing with who knows what."

"Same for Patton. I think the abilities we gained helped us realize who we were, but that was probably some genetic mutation lottery or some bio-chemical marvel we had no control over. However, the absence of complete control in certain situations does not mean we should throw everything we don't have control over to some fallacy we call destiny."

This time when Logan was met with silence, he looked up at Virgil and met his eyes. Virgil pushed off of the counter and walked up to the other, almost glaring him down. "I have one question for you, Logan. A simple yes or no, but be completely honest with me."

"Well. I can answer it to the best of my abilities, I suppose."

"This has been bugging me almost from the day we moved in." Virgil got face to face with Logan. "Do you know how we all ended up in the same apartment?" Logan went to open his mouth and Virgil held up a hand and stopped him. "I don't want some stupid cop-out answer like 'yes we all happened to apply to the same place' bull you've pulled before, I want the truth." Virgil leaned back the slightest amount. "It wasn't destiny or fate and I don't believe in coincidences, not for something this big. Just yes or no, do you know how it happened?"

Logan bit back a response and the immediate silence was enough of an answer. Virgil spun around and began to pace, pulling at his hair. "Virgil, there is a very reasonable explanation for-"

"You freaking knew!" Virgil's pacing never slowed. "This whole time, all these months and you let Roman spout on about fate and you knew!"

"What's going on in here?" Patton walked in rubbing his eyes and adjusting his glasses. "I heard shouting."

"Damn right you did!" Virgil spun around and glared down Logan. "Care to explain?"

"It's a misunderstanding, I assure you." Logan looked up at Patton, growing concerned. "It's also not quite that simple."

"Of course not!" Virgil shouted louder. "That's the perfect answer, isn't it? Sounds like you've already read every comic on how not to do things in this very situation!"

Roman groaned in protest and walked in. "I was trying to catch up on beauty sleep. This face takes work, why the yelling?"

"I'm not quite sure either." Patton never looked away from Logan.

Virgil threw his hands in the air in frustration. "No, because Logan here never bothered to tell anyone he knew! How about you share with the class?"

Patton walked up and placed a hand on Virgil's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, and it was immediately shoved away. "Virgil, maybe we should calm down and talk about whatever this is together?"

"Yeah, I'm sure whatever the nerd hasn't mentioned to us-"

Roman was cut off by the light flickering. He looked up and saw the hanging light swinging side to side.

"Tell them, Logan. It wasn't destiny or fate that brought us together and you knew this whole time." Virgil practically spat the words out. "Tell me, I'm right about my assumption, aren't I? You can read our thoughts. Am I right?"

Logan stared down at the floor and stayed silent. His eyes tried to light up gold as they flashed, but he blinked it away every time. Small things around the room started to shift slightly in their spots as he fought for control. "I-I didn't-" Logan muttered out softly. "I promised I never would."

"Perhaps you're being too hard on him?" Roman started to look skeptical but put his hands up in reassurance. "Yeah, it's bad he knew and didn't tell us but I'm sure it's not so terrible that you need to shout at him like this, surely."

Logan completely tensed up and shook his head, closing his eyes. "Oh, Lo." Patton let out and sighed. He put a hand on his own chest and rubbed it trying to soothe the ache that started to grow but did not feel like his own as he was  staring down the other.

Virgil spun around to the other two. "He always said he would never use his powers on us, but he said that after we moved in." Virgil spun back around. "You made us all find this place somehow, didn't you? You're the reason we all decided to move in with you. You can get in our heads, who says you can't do more when you're there?"

"That's enough." Roman pushed by Patton and grabbed Virgil's arm. "All these are baseless accusations and you're upsetting him. Let's just talk about this!"

"He's right." All eyes were on Logan as he looked up, not bothering to blink away the lights in his eyes. The light overhead finally stopped swinging and froze in its place. Papers and silverware that sat in the sink had begun to lift into the air slowly. "I found you all and I planted the idea to move out into your heads. I can't make you do anything you don't want to do, but I gave you the idea. Pushed you in the right direction, made you all find this place." He shut his eyes tight. "I did all that and I never told you."

Roman let go of Virgil and stared at Logan , shocked . "You? All this time?" Logan nodded and stayed silent.

Virgil suddenly stormed out of the room, the apartment door slamming shut in his wake. No one bothered to chase after him.

Patton was the first to move, sliding by Roman and holding up his hands in surrender. "Okay, Lo. Take a deep breath, can you do that?" Logan opened his golden eyes and took a step back. "No, no, it's okay." Patton reached forward. "I felt it all. The regret, the hurt, everything. I'm willing to hear you out, but you need to calm down first."

Logan bit his lip and let his breath out in a big shudder. He took in another, much more shallow one and let it loose. The objects he had under his control slowly started to fall back into their places and the light shook a bit more after being let go.

Roman stepped out of the way as Patton ushered Logan into the living room and onto the couch. Roman had kept his distance and thought on the discovery they’d all just made. Logan appeared to be back to his usual calm self, but he looked so tired and didn't bother trying to hide his distraught expression off his face.

Roman took a step towards the couch and grabbed the attention of both of them. "Do you mind explaining?"

Logan brought his hands and laced them together as he leaned forward. "It's a long story, one I wish Virgil was-" He cut himself off and took a breath. "I won't go into details just yet. However, you both deserve an answer after these past few months."

"Well then. Why?"

Patton rubbed Logan's back slowly. "He was lonely," Patton muttered, causing Logan to tense up. "I felt it the second Virgil started talking. It took me a minute to realize what it was. You suddenly felt like you were alone." Logan nodded silently and looked up at Patton. "So you found us and brought us together so we could all be alone together." Patton smiled a bit. "Can't say I approve of how you went about it, but I do understand."

"How did you find us?" Roman sat down on the chair Logan usually sat in.

"Well, I have an old hobby I used to do before we met." Logan looked up at Patton fully. "I would people watch and try and guess how they lived. If I found someone interesting enough, a quick scan of their mind would let me know how I did. In doing so, I had met one of you."

Patton held his gaze and sat up in surprise when it sank in. "Wait, me?" Logan nodded and a quick smile appeared on his face before disappearing completely. "We met before?"

Logan shook his head and looked back down. "No, not officially, it was at some small cafe and I was tucked away in a corner. However, I was able to see you duplicating yourself just that morning. I decided to dig deeper and found the basic chemical makeup of your brain was very slightly altered from what I could recognize. After I knew what to look for, I spent a lot of time scanning the whole city to see if we were alone."

"Obviously, we are not." Roman sat back and crossed his arms. "So, what? You found someplace for all of us to live and gave us all the idea to move in?"

Logan chuckled to himself. "No. I thought approaching all of you one at a time and explaining might be a better option. However, my first attempt did not go over as planned."

"What happened?" Patton asked. "None of us remembered meeting you before we moved in."

"Can you erase memories?" Roman leaned in a bit again. "Did you erase one of our memories?"

Logan shook his head and finally leaned back on the couch. "Yes, I can, but that's not... This is why I wanted Virgil here." He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I did go out to meet up with one of you, but... I don't remember what happened." He placed them back on his face.

Patton's hand froze and he looked over at Roman. They exchanged a shocked look before turning back to Logan. "You don't remember?" Patton muttered. "That's why you always had that journal you wrote everything in."

"I think there's a fifth person in the city, and they erased my entire memory of our meeting." Logan finally turned and looked up at Patton. "I remember clearly going to meet up with someone and I know none of you can alter memories. I was afraid to find them and try again, so I left them out and came up with a plan B."

"Moving us all in together and letting us find out naturally." Roman sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Still not the best way, but now knowing why you did it..." Roman stood up. "So now we have to find out who this stranger is and why they erased your memory in the first place."

"I don't know, Roman. It doesn't sound very safe." Patton looked up at Roman who smirked back in response.

"Nonsense, I'm a hero! Well, trying to be one. I'll protect us and we'll just go back with Logan." Roman motioned towards the telepath. "He can read his mind to make sure they don't try anything and Virgil can-" Roman froze. "Oh, I suppose finding Virgil would be priority numero uno."

"Give him some time, he was pretty upset." Patton glanced at the front door. "Maybe he will come back?"

"If he doesn't, we send out the search party tonight and make sure he's safe! I'll even leave the costume off if you want."

"Perhaps it is best if I stay here." Logan stood up from his spot. "I can tell you if he comes back while you're out. I doubt he will return with me anyway."

Roman gasped with joy. "Can you send us messages telepathically?"

"No, Roman. It's called a cellular device." Roman's shoulders dropped as he frowned. "I can't tell you or make you do anything, it's just a matter of planting thoughts and ideas, and even then I don't do it very often, if at all. I haven't done it since meeting you all." Logan tensed up a bit. "I was hoping to avoid this very situation."

"Virgil will come back, Logan." Patton smiled at him and Logan looked away. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's okay."

Chapter Text

In his spare time, the random quiet cafes tucked away in the corners of the city were his favorite. Logan usually went with a book, one he’d read previously and didn't mind getting distracted from. His life had stagnated a bit but the pattern was one he was comfortable with. A quiet corner and a small snack provided by the cafe gave him an hour or so in peace. He could duck away and hide his face when needed but still observe the area around him. Some people had the same hobby, watching people go about their lives and just quietly observing, he just had a peek into what was hidden just underneath the veil people hid behind.

Anytime someone came in and piqued his interest in any way, Logan would observe and think of what had gotten them to this very spot at the same time as him. Years of quietly observing and quickly checking to see if he was right had left the hobby mostly dull. Most people thought about the same things and it would get stale and boring from time to time. However, there were moments when someone would stand out and give him a bit of a shock. It rarely happened anymore but it was always interesting nonetheless. Being able to read mannerisms was never Logan's strong point. Someone would carry themselves with confidence then be fighting a battle in their head, he could never quite get it right.

The bell over the door jingled and Logan waited for the person to walk into the cafe before looking up. He quickly looked back down in uninterest, glancing over the words in his book. People could be so easy to read sometimes that a single look was enough. This particular cafe near the city library didn't seem to bring much for his unorthodox hobby.

Laughter caused his eyes to flicker back up over his book curiously. The newest patron had a grin on his face as the cashier let out a hearty laugh. He couldn't quite hear what was being said, but he decided a second look wouldn't hurt.

The man carried himself well, not quite with confidence, but he seemed to dance in his spot whenever he got a smile or laugh from the cashier. He and Logan could be about the same age and they even wore similar glasses, but nothing truly remarkable stuck out. The ones who smiled the most usually carried the most pain or something along those lines from his experience. Though, as time carried on and the man continued to smile, Logan couldn't help but begin to wonder. Was he having a particularly good day or could someone truly be that happy? It had been a boring visit and he was the most interesting person he had seen all day. Logan checked around and held up his book, glancing at the pages more. He reached up and rubbed his eyes, covering his face. A quick scan would only take a few moments.

Logan had nearly dropped his book.

He hunched in on himself a bit more and tried to not look up at the overly joyful man. Had he seen that right? The man split himself into two people that morning. Logan hadn't even bothered to take the second to check why or how the thought never occurred to him. There were others like him? He sat up straight and looked over once more, the smile still on the man's face who was completely unaware of his secret being discovered. Years of this silly habit and somehow Logan had possibly crossed paths with someone similar to him in the same city.

He covered his eyes again and did another check. Patton. Seemed to live alone in a small studio apartment and could indeed make multiple copies of himself. Logan had to know more, or at least dig deeper. His powers never worked on himself, it didn't make logical sense, but he had always wondered if his brain just worked differently than everyone else. An autopsy on his own brain was physically impossible so this was the first chance he got to test his theory. Was this human different in some way that stood out if Logan scanned deep enough?

With a bit of effort he did seem to find something but he wasn't quite sure what. Something metaphorically made this 'Patton' stick out like a red dot on a hypothetical thermal scan. He blinked away the shine in his eyes and looked up after hearing a noise, seeing the other powered man leaving the cafe with a small bag and drink in his hand. Logan pretended to be reading as he left, their eyes never once meeting.

He wondered if he could scan the whole city bit by bit now that he knew what he was looking for. Logan closed his book and casually gathered his things before walking out, he had a lot of research to do.

It hadn't taken long as he scribbled in a small notepad that fit into his pocket. After knowing what he was looking for, he tried broadening his range and got on a bus that stretched the city. After a few rides, he had scribbled down some notes about the people he could point out. Across the span of two weeks, Logan was certain he had found at least those in the city who could be similar to him, it just took figuring out how to bring it up to them carefully. One stood out from the rest if only slightly, so after deliberation, Logan decided to 'accidentally' run into them and start talking. Maybe some things could be pieced together.

The next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of a sidewalk, apologizing for bumping into a passerby and walking away confused. He remembered going somewhere to see someone, but couldn't remember who or what. He reached for the notepad in his back pocket and found it missing. He had been writing in it for two weeks and without it, he wasn't sure he'd be able to remember absolutely everything he wrote. The other people, their names, and abilities he at least was able to see where jotted down in itthat. Logan could only hope someone took it as notes for a novel or story someone could be writing. Most of his notes could be re-written with a little hard work and weren’t worth the stress. The four other people in the city... Three other people. Four? He couldn't quite remember, he thought it was four...

Logan decided to rethink his entire plan with a bit more caution.


---


"Are you sure you don't want me to come in and help, sweetie?"

Patton pulled the last bag out of the truck and turned to the driver. "No thanks, mom. I'll let you know when I'm settled in."

"Alright, alright, I won't push. Take your time, dear. Call me tonight, and I want to meet these roommates of yours soon! Love you." Patton grinned and closed the door, waving as the truck pulled away. He looked down at his few small boxes and frowned. The trip could be over in a few minutes if he hadn't absolutely promised he would just do it himself and he was far too stubborn to ever break a promise. He picked up a box and a bag and made his way inside. He contemplated bringing the boxes inside the apartment and decided to wait until he had them all inside, not wanting to get distracted. Knowing him, Patton would leave his belongings outside while checking out his new apartment, he could very easily be taken off track of what he was doing.

He was on his third trip when he saw his mother drive by and wave. After she was out of view, Patton shook his head. His parents never did trust him sometimes. He made his way up the stairs and paused at the very top. Third floor and no help, he knew this was going to take a while.

He walked out of the stairway and to the only door at the top leading to the apartment. Shuffling the box onto the floor, he checked where the spare key would have been hidden under the fake plant and found it missing. It was early, he wasn't the first here? He grabbed a rolling suitcase he had packed his essentials in and turned toward the door. With a knock, he waited for any noise to come from the other side. It took only a few seconds before it swung open and he was met with his first roommate.

"Hi, I'm Patton. You my new roommate?" Patton smiled as the man stared back at him inquisitively. "Oh! We have the same glasses!" He pointed happily.

"It appears so. Salutations, I am Logan." He extended his hand and Patton took it happily. "I've already moved into the room in the very back. Do you require assistance with your belongings?"

Patton waved a hand and tugged on his rolling suitcase. "No need, bucko. I'll take care of it!" He perked up and walked in. "Oh, it really is all furnished! Wonderful!" Patton spun around. "So, anyone else here? Kinda thought I was going to be the first."

"You are the first to arrive beside me, feel free to take any room you see fit." Patton walked to the nearest doorway and peeked in. "I'll just take this one then! Thanks a Pat-ton!" He walked in and placed his suitcase onto the bed. "I'll be back with my other belongings!"

It took half an hour of running up and down stairs but Patton had all his belongings in his room before he sat down on the couch for a rest. "It seems you have finally finished moving in. Would you like a beverage? There is only water as I have not had the chance to shop for groceries as of yet."

"You talk all nice and formal, I like it!" Patton smiled up. "A water would be great, thanks, Logan!" Logan nodded and entered the room with a glass, handing it to Patton. "Thank you! So, sit! Tell me about you, I want to know more about my new roomies!" Patton took a big gulp of water and sighed in relief.

"Oh, well. I am currently employed at a bookstore and maintain a healthy yet quiet lifestyle I suppose. What about you, Patton?"

Patton put the glass down on a coaster and perked up. "Well, that's not enough! Here, I'll start. I'm Patton! I work at the library as an assistant, it's a lot of organizing and computer work! I'm an only child, and I love cats and dogs! I'm allergic to cats though, it breaks my heart when I see one and I can't pet it! Oh! I also love to cook so I'd love to help out when I can!"

"That is certainly interesting, you said you work at a library? Do you enjoy reading?"

"Ohh, yes! I like to read to the kids that come in all the time! Oh, there was this one book I read about someone's job as a dog catcher, it was so cute and sad!"

"Somehow I'm not surprised." Logan stood up. "I'm sure you have some unpacking to do, so I shall leave you to it."

It was a few short hours of just the two of them, most of the noise being Patton's rummaging and humming as he set up his room. There was a loud thumping and both roommates came to investigate.

Logan had just entered the main room when the door swung open.

"I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss~." The man sang and barged into the room. He froze and noticed he wasn't alone, placing down the boxes he had been carrying. "Well, hello there! I see I am not quite early enough."

"Nice to meet ya, my name’s Patton!" Patton walked up and they shook hands. "You've got one nice set of pipes there, kiddo!"

"Ah, yes! Thank you for noticing. I must admit, it is a bit early and still before noon. I thought I would be the first one to arrive." He looked around at the living area. "My name is Roman, am I the last here?"

Logan approached and reached out his hand. "Greetings, I'm Logan. We should still be expecting one more person."

"I see! Well, which rooms are available? I've got quite a few trips ahead of me."

Discovering one of the bigger rooms was still up for grabs, Roman immediately started moving his belongings with the help from Patton. Logan had announced he would go out and grab grocery essentials so that they at least had some things in the fridge.

Roman didn't sing much after his entrance but did continue to hum to himself. Patton reassured him that at least while it is the two of them, he was okay with singing and started to join in.

The day was overall quiet. Patton helped out and sorted his things while Roman unpacked as much as he could before the day was over. Logan, who had unpacked completely before Patton had even arrived kept to his room as much as possible.

---

The day was winding down as they chatted over what they should have for dinner before settling on ordering a pizza, Patton insisting on saving some garlic knots for their final roommate whenever he appeared. They had to clear off of the table of boxes of kitchen supplies and other belongings in order to eat. Logan had moved his share of the boxes and was sitting down and enjoying a cup of tea when he heard the door creak open. He looked over and saw a purple head of hair peak in and look around nervously. "Ahh," Logan placed his mug onto the table. "You must be our final roommate. My name is Logan." The man kept silent as he walked in carrying nothing more than a duffle bag and a backpack. Logan motioned to the last unclaimed bedroom. "Well, that would be your room, then. It's the only one left available." The man nodded and ducked into the room, quickly disappearing behind the door. Logan sighed and picked up his warm mug once more.

Roman let out a loud groan and walked in from his room, falling into the chair across from Logan. "I haaaate unpacking! Is the pizza here, yet?" Logan placed his mug back onto the table and rolled his eyes. "It should be arriving shortly. Actually, our-" "I thought I heard the door open!" Roman sat up and leaned back in his chair as he let out a whine. "I'm gonna die of starvation!" "We did buy some food if you want a light snack, Roman!" Patton walked over and sat down next to Logan. "It should be here really soon, though!" Logan shook his head and stared down at his mug. "As I was saying, while we wait, our last-" Logan was cut off by the sound of knocking on their door and Roman jumping up to his feet. He huffed silently and remained seated at the table while Patton helped him carry in their food. They placed it down, pulling open the pizza box and letting the warm aroma fill the apartment. Roman let out a sigh and immediately grabbed a slice while Patton grabbed some napkins. "Remember, we should save some for our last roommate, okay?" He said as he sat down with a slice. "As I have been trying to say," Logan reached over and grabbed a slice himself, dabbing off some of the extra grease with a napkin before eating it. "Our final roommate has arrived." The bedroom door creaked open and all three turned to see the purple-clad man standing there awkwardly. "Uh... hey." "Good, now I don't have to save you any garlic knots!" Roman reached over and grabbed one for himself while Patton stood up from the table. "Hi! I'm Patton!" He walked over and extended his hand in greeting. "It's nice to meet you!" The stranger eyed the hand before shaking it quickly and shoving his hands into his pockets, responding. "Virgil." Patton smiled and turned back toward the table, motioning for Virgil to move past and take a seat. "You're just in time for dinner, we ordered pizza!"



The next morning was a new beginning in Patton's eyes. Eager for his first day with his roommates to start out perfectly, he ran down to the store bright and early only to arrive back witheveryone was still asleep. He started on a big breakfast to celebrate his new start with his roommates. He gave them space yesterday, besides the quiet one who ducked in last night and kept to himself at dinner, but he was determined to break them out of their shells.

Patton giggled to himself as he cracked open an egg, laughing at his own joke.

It didn't take long for the smell of breakfast to awaken the others. Logan was first, walking in still quite tired but dressed completely for the day. He blinked at Patton and the array of food spread on the table. "It was nice of you to cook, Patton, but it's highly illogical to cook so much for the four of us." Logan headed for the coffee pot and grabbed a mug, freezing and staring into the cabinet. "Would you happen to know which one of us brought in that mug?"

Patton walked over and peered inside. A big mug with 'You've cat to be kitten me right meow' was scrawled across it. "Oh, that one is mine, isn't it purrfect?"

Logan lifted a hand up to rub his eyes, fearful a headache would start forming. "I assume it fits your humor quite well then?" He focused back on the pot and muttered to himself. "I'm going to regret all of this by the end of the week."

"What are you talking about over there?"

"How much I'm going to regret all the coffee I will no doubt drink by week’s end." Logan never took his eyes off of the coffee pot.

"Aww, come on! I'm sure we'll get along great!"

"That is still to be seen. We have barely just met and objectively it has been shown that throwing random strangers into a living space can hold negative effects. There are too many variables to be able to tell so soon."

"I just think it's too early to start doubting us. Besides, it's never a bad time to make friends!" Patton looked over as Roman entered, still in his pajamas as he stretched. "Roman! I made pancakes! And eggs! And I may have made a bit too much."

Roman smiled at the sight. "Ahh, you are too kind, thank you."

"Thank you! See, Logan? We can be civil."

Patton finished adding the last pancake onto the stack and glanced down the hall. "I'm just gonna check on him, he got in late last night but breakfast is important!"

"Not late enough to miss the pizza, though," Roman huffed. "There's plenty of breakfast, though. I think you overdid it a little bit, Patton."

"Not knowing our eating habits and having just last night to base it off of, I don't see it being too much of an issue. Besides, we can always save it for later, it is better to have too much. Your kindness is appreciated, Patton."

Roman just looked up at Logan and stifled a laugh. "You are a prime example of a nerd if I've ever seen one."

Patton walked away from the conversation in the kitchen and knocked on the bedroom door. "Hey, you awake?" He waited for a response before knocking once more. After a moment of silence, he bit his lip and debated with himself. Caving, he grabbed the doorknob and quietly pushed it open. "It's getting late, you still asleep?"

Curled up on the bed with his back facing the door, Patton heard a groan cry out from the lump of blankets. "Go away, dad." The purple-haired lump pulled the blankets closer to himself. "If it's not noon then leave me alone."

Patton chuckled and started to close the door. "Whatever you say, kiddo."

The door clicked shut and Virgil shot up in bed, looking around. "This isn't my room." He blinked and remembered. He just moved in. "...I called my new roommate dad." he covered his face and ran his hands across it in frustration. "Fantastic, great job, Virgil. Gold star on that one." He grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it.

It wasn't too much longer before he convinced himself to get out of bed and make his way into the kitchen. It was still before noon, much earlier than Virgil would have personally liked. Patton was humming to himself and cleaning while the few remains of his breakfast were sitting on the table. "You're awake! I left you some breakfast, you just have to heat it up!"

"Uh, thanks." He tugged the sleeves of his shirt down. "Pat, right?"

"Name's Patton, but I guess you can call me dad!" Patton smiled and laughed seeing his new roommate's face flush and glow red. "Sorry, couldn't help myself! Not an early riser, huh?"

He cleared his throat and looked away. "Sorry again about the whole 'dad' comment thing." He mumbled softly.

Patton waved a hand and shrugged it off. "No need to worry, we can just wash our hands of the situation!"

Virgil looked up at Patton who smiled too brightly as he dried his hands. "Dad jokes, of course, you do." Despite his words, Virgil hid his smirk behind his hand.

Virgil retreated to his room after finishing his breakfast and washing his plate. He decided to face the music, quite literally as it was coming from the living room, and meet his other roommates properly.

Logan was absorbed into an old worn book and Roman and Patton were talking over the music that was playing. Roman noticed him enter and jumped in surprise. "Well, it looks like the walking personification of emo from the last decade is our newest roomie, I was hoping it was a one day fashion choice." He leaned back on the couch. "So you still post all your angsty poems on Myspace or what?"

"Aww, it's always nice to meet a fan." He walked in and leaned against the wall, keeping his distance. "What are you, a Disney prince reject?"

"Excuse you!" Roman stood up and fixed his hair, posing dramatically. "I am an actual prince, thank you very much!"

"Whatever you say, Prince Hans."

Roman scoffed and crossed his arms with a smirk. "Who knew mister tries-to-be-edgy has seen the purity and goodness of Disney?"

"We must not be watching the same movies because pure and good are not what I would call them."

"You dare speak badly about my beloved Disney? Have you no shame, man?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I upsetting you?"

Logan slammed his book closed and stood up. "That will be enough out of the two of you. Hardly five minutes and already at each other's throats, childish. You were fine just last night."

"They hardly spoke to each other, last night." Patton stood up and walked over. "Well, it's good to see you both are so passionate about the same thing!"

"I hardly call immediately breaking out into a verbal disagreement talking passionately, Patton." Logan turned to walk out of the room. "Please do not bother me, and keep the noise down."

The sound of music coming from Roman's phone was the only noise in the room before he turned and shut it off, retreating into his own. Patton looked in dismay as they dispersed, eyes meeting Virgil's. "It's okay, Roman and Logan will come around, you'll see!"

The apartment stayed quiet that afternoon and the tension could still be felt in the air. Patton walked into the kitchen for a snack to find Logan placing something on the door of the fridge. "Ah, Patton, perfect timing." Logan took a step back. "I have made a 'chore chart,' if you will, to try and keep things organized and civil around here. I didn't think it necessary but apparently I made the wrong assumption."

"That's fine, Logan! I'm sure we're all just tired and getting used to things. We'll warm up to one another!"

Logan looked at Patton and pulled off his glasses. "How you remain so optimistic is a mystery to me. Not one I am entirely unthankful for, however." He pulled a cloth from his pocket and started wiping the lens.

"Aww, thanks, buddy! See? We're getting along just fine!"

Logan placed his glasses back on and turned to the hall to his room. "I would disagree, we seem to have varying differences but in comparison to the others, yes. We are 'getting along' better than the other two."

Patton frowned as Logan walked out and looked around the kitchen. Having three other roommates still left him feeling all too alone in the new apartment.

---

The first week was anything but ideal. Patton tried keeping the peace, but Logan refused to leave his room for more than the bare essentials. Virgil was seen even less, only coming out to complain about the noise Roman was making down the hall. Roman would snark back and they would argue before Patton separated them. However, Patton was an optimist and refused to give up too soon.

"Family night?" Roman scoffed and turned away. "We aren't a family."

"I figured we could watch movies or do karaoke, doesn't that sound fun?"

"Appeasing to my nature is a smart move, but you'll never get Jekyll and Hyde to agree to it."

"If I can, would you join us?"

Patton stood determined and stared down the other. Roman sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. If you can convince them then we can give it a shot. I have to agree to the movie, though. I doubt they'll want to sing, I mean. They've heard me, my voice is so wonderful, it's intimidating."

Patton jumped up and hugged Roman, bouncing with energy. "Oh this is perfect, thank you!" He ran off and Roman couldn't help but smirk back. Patton just had that energy about him.

Patton headed for Virgil's room next. He was quiet but they've managed to be civil the whole week. Any time Patton talked to Logan, he was shot down immediately, and Roman would shrug him off from time to time. He didn't hesitate to knock and crack open the door. "Hey, Virgil. Mind if I come in?"

"Sure." Virgil was on his bed with a bag and a pile of colored paper. "What's up?"

"I'm planning a night for us to hang out, I was thinking maybe watching a movie?" Virgil ripped a piece of paper off and shoved it into the bag. "I think we just need to sit down and enjoy each other's company. We can't keep hiding from one another living like this."

Virgil finally glanced up and ripped the paper once more. "You already pick out a movie?"

"No, but I'm sure there's something we can all enjoy! Roman said he would join us, but he just has to agree on the choice."

Virgil snorted out a laugh and shook his head. "So anything Disney, then? It's most of what he listens to, I swear he blasts it just to annoy me."

"You don't like Disney?"

"I do, but constantly having to hear it can get annoying, even if it's something you like." Virgil looked up timidly. "You talk to Logan yet?"

Patton frowned and shook his head. "I may have some trouble convincing him, we don't really get along. That's why I want us to try, at least once! We'll never know otherwise!" Patton watched Virgil rip the paper into a few more pieces. "What are you doing exactly?"

"I brought home some stuff and I'm making a confetti glitter bomb for the next time Roman gets on my nerves." He looked up with a smirk of pure mischief. "Don't worry, I won't use it tonight. I'll save it for after."

"If that's the best I'll get, then okay. Now, just have to convince Logan!"

"No." Patton was met with the closing of a door and froze in his spot. He stood there silently for a moment before knocking on the door once more and was greeted with Logan's face. "Patton, I am not joining you all on some frivolous attempt to get along. Is there anything else you need?"

"But why not?" Patton put a hand on the door as Logan made an attempt to close it once more. "Just tell me why. Everyone else is willing to attempt to get along, why won't you?"

"Patton, there are an infinitesimal amount of things I'd rather be doing than watching a movie with you three."

Patton looked completely baffled and raised an eyebrow. "So that's a yes? You'll join us?"

"What? No, that is not what I said."

"But..." Patton pointed at Logan. "Infinitesimal means really small. So you said there wasn't really anything else you'd rather do."

Logan jerked back in surprise and pulled out his phone. He quickly typed away and paled after a moment. "I see, it seems I have misused that word. How on Earth did you know what it meant?"

Patton smiled and puffed his chest out proudly. "I know big words too! You'd know more about me if you came out of your room and gave us all a chance..."

Logan scoffed and rolled his eyes, looking back towards his desk. He peered back at Patton and his shoulders fell in surrender. "Fine. I will join you all on this silly quest to 'get along' if that's what it takes to get some peace and quiet around here."

"Yay! You won't regret it, Logan!"

"Perhaps." Logan shut his door closed and smirked to himself. "Perhaps I won't completely regret this. We shall see."

Chapter Text

The day rolled by and the light started to fade in the sky, causing the three to grow anxious. Logan had taken out an old puzzle he had after nervously finishing all the crosswords he had stashed away. He sat at the kitchen table and worked on it, doing his best to ignore the unsteady feeling that he couldn't quite shake.

Patton had started pacing after he cleaned all the dishes within the first hour. After vacuuming and wiping everything down twice, Roman got him to try and relax on the couch and watch a movie. It distracted him a little bit, but Patton would suddenly snap out of his daze and his leg would start to shake from not being able to sit still.

Roman had already gotten out his costume, mentally preparing himself to go and hunt the time stopper down. He was the calmest of the three, but he would be overcome with bouts of energy and start worrying more as well.

Eventually, he ended up in the kitchen with Logan, staring down the puzzle. It was a forest path, and Logan had worked out the border and random bits of the trees starting from the left and working his way over.

"So, this fifth person." Logan ignored Roman, searching the small pile in front of him. "How much around that situation do you remember?"

"I told you, Roman, I don't. I had a note written down that I was meeting up with someone. I remember going there, then I remember leaving with no memory of anything in between. About an hours time had passed."

"We need more than that to go on! If they can alter memories then we need everything we can! Luckily they know you but not us at least."

"I am unsure of their abilities, Roman. All I am aware is that my memory was altered." Logan moved and pieced together another bit to the tree he was working on. "It's strange that our abilities all differ but this last person holds similarities to my own."

Roman huffed and pushed back into the chair. "So they might be able to read minds as well, fantastic." He fiddled with a puzzle piece on the table, another small random green one that could go anywhere. "So what exactly can you do anyway?"

Logan sifted through more pieces, sorting them into piles as he went through. "It started out as psychokinesis. I started moving things around as a kid. No shelf was too high for the cookie jar, my parents were quite baffled until they saw it themselves."

"Ohh, good thing I didn't have that power." Patton walked in and sat down. "Can you imagine? Little me with unlimited access to cookies?"

Logan smiled a bit and pushed the feeling away. "Yes, well, it grew the more I learned about it. By middle school, I realized I was hearing people’s thoughts. By high school, I knew I could give them ideas and suggestions. Before I graduated I had pulled off enough tests to discover I could slightly alter a few things as well. Such as memories or, as you have experienced, sobriety."

"Logan with the power to alter memories and give suggestions." Roman leaned forward and smirked. "So what did teenage Logan do with all that knowledge?"

"Surprisingly little." Logan looked up and frowned. "I was worried about what I could do, whom I could hurt. I spent a lot of time keeping my powers under control. I learned they were tied to my emotions at a younger age and tried keeping myself in check."

"Oh? So tell me, Logan, how old were you when you made that discovery?"

Logan froze and looked up, staring at the wall in deep thought. "Fourteen, I believe. Give or take." He started sorting his small pile once more.

"So fourteen-year-old Logan held an experiment to figure himself out. You ever go and redo the test just to make sure? I mean, that was a long time ago, I would think you had to redo it to prove your theories." Logan froze once more. "We're always learning stuff about ourselves and grow as people. That was over ten years ago for you and you still think the answer you got then might not be different with the new information you have now?"

Logan looked up at Patton who smiled back innocently. He put down his pieces he was holding and stared at the table in front of him. "That was a surprisingly deep and poignant inquiry, Patton."

"I'm just saying, after that emotional scare earlier, it seems like your powers aren't controlled by your emotions, but strengthened by them. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the reaction. Perhaps the only reason you lost control is that you haven't been expressing yourself like you should." The kitchen grew quiet and Patton smiled at Logan and shrugged. "Just a thought."

"P-perhaps." Logan cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should look into that further and re-evaluate my standings on past research."

"That's the spirit?" Roman questioned and looked out the small kitchen window. "It's getting dark. Patton, how about you head out and start looking for him while the sun is still up? I'll join you shortly."

Patton stood up from the table and stopped to pat Logan's shoulder reassuringly. "I'll call him first, maybe he'll pick up this time. You know what they say, twelfth time's the charm!"

Roman waved at Patton and waited after hearing the front door click before turning back to Logan. "Alright, let's settle something first." Roman leaned forward and pointed accusingly across the table. "I don't trust you right now, and I'm sure Virgil doesn't either. Patton seems to be willing to give you another fair shot, but you'll have to earn it back from us."

"That is fair, Roman. I hid something rather important after pressing for information far too much from you and the others."

Roman stood up and walked over to Logan. Their eyes met and Roman stared him down, before sticking out a hand. "I'm willing to give you another shot as well since I know why you did it. I understand it, though I don't agree. Can't say I wouldn't have done something similar in your shoes."

Logan stared the hand down before reaching up and grabbing it. "That is more than enough, thank you, Roman."

"Don't thank me yet, we still need to get Virgil home."

A few hours later, Roman had gotten suited up once more and waited for night to fall. He had texted Patton, asking where Patton had checked and where needed to be checked before quickly calling him.

"Alright, Patton, check the north side, I'll check near the south side. Stick to cafes and stores. I'll do the alleys. Keep me posted. Okay. We'll find him, he's a grown man with the ability to stop time. He could randomly just appear back here. Yes, I'll check his room before I go. Goodbye."

Roman clicked off and sighed. "He's starting to freak out a bit. It's been a few hours." Roman stuck his phone in his pocket. "Keep checking to make sure he hasn't come back, Logan."

"Of course. I will inform you both immediately."

Roman checked Virgil's room one last time before running out the door and down the stairs. He ran down the road and headed for his usual area downtown, praying he didn't have to find his roommate in the more unsavory parts of town.

Roman had weaved in and out of some alleys and even a few businesses. Not many people paid attention to the man in the masquerade prince costume running around. A few looks were the most he got on nights he patrolled. Usually, he cared about his image as he strolled down the streets, but knowing Virgil had left that morning and hadn't been heard from since, along with Patton's worry, made Roman start to be on edge as well.

It was another hour or so before Roman's phone went off. He reached down and pulled it out, answering the call. "Have you found him yet?"

"Roman?"

He pulled the phone away and looked down at the caller id, seeing 'Emo Nightmare' on the screen and sighing in relief. "Virge, we've been looking for you everywhere!"

"You have?" Virgil let out a scoff. "I was visiting my dad, you obviously didn't look hard enough."

Roman stopped walking down the street. "We don't know where he lives, or his number, or how to contact him. You didn't answer your phone all day!"

"Yeah, I saw Patton called me a bunch of times. That's why I called you."

"Me?"

"Yeah." He heard cars honking on the other side of the phone. "Patton forgave him already, didn't he? Figured I could at least talk to someone with some sense first."

"Virgil, where are you?"

"Got off the bus and I'm walking home. Why?"

Roman looked around and headed back into the center of the city. "I'm near downtown by the abandoned movie theater, I'll meet up with you if you tell me where you are."

"Did Logan explain anything?"

"A little, and you really should hear him out."

He got a deep sigh as a response. "He can mess with our heads, you know that right? How do you trust someone like that?"

"You trust me not to shoot electricity at you, do you not? Same concept."

"There's a difference, you haven't shot me before. He's already messed with our heads, Roman."

"You're telling me if you found a group of people like you and that you weren't truly alone in this world like you thought, you wouldn't try and do whatever it takes to bring them together?"

"He could have talked to us!"

"You really need to hear it from him first. Trust me at least, okay?"

"Whatever."

"I'll call back in a minute, I'm going to let Patton know I've found you, alright?"

"You're in costume, aren't you? I'm not your damsel Roman, I swear-"

"Oh, sorry, you seem to be cutting out!" Roman hung up the phone and let out a big sigh of relief. "He's such a pain, I swear."

"I heard that." Roman jumped and spun around, spotting Virgil casually walking up with a smug look. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry sir. Did I scare you?"

Roman shoved his phone away into his pocket. "Where did you come from? There's not a bus stop nearby!"

Virgil shook his head as he walked by Roman without hesitation. "I can stop time. I just walked over here and started it back up again." He stopped and spun around with a cocky grin. "Isn't the big hero gonna walk me home?"

"I swear, I do not like you." Despite his words, Roman smirked and removed his mask. "I still need to let Patton know you're alright."

It barely took two rings before Patton picked up in a panic. Virgil could actually hear the sigh of relief come from Roman's phone for a brief moment. Virgil looked back and locked eyes with Roman who smirked down at him, causing him to look away. "Come on, it's getting late and I don't want to miss the bus back."

"Sorry, Patton. I have to go. The one who can stop time is worried we might miss the bus. See you back at the apartment."

"I try to be more practical, thank you very much."

Roman walked up to Virgil and they continued their trek back home. "Practical? You just used them to walk across town and scare me. Appearing out of nowhere is practical?"

"More practical than running around the city in a costume to stop purse snatchers." Virgil leaned over and nudged Roman. "Besides, I don't like messing with things that already happened, nothing changes if I just stroll across town without anyone noticing. Still, I don't do it often just to be safe." Roman rolled his eyes and shook his head at the comment. "If you get popular, aren't your theater geek buddies going to recognize the costume?"

Roman jumped as a look of realization spread across his face. "Sweet cheese danish you might have a point." Roman looked down at his plain white jacket and red sash before glancing over at Virgil. "You seem to be a bit crafty, any ideas on how to upgrade my wardrobe?"

"You want my help? Seriously?"

"Hey, you upgraded a plain hoodie into something so angsty it's impressive. If I give the ideas could you help?"

Virgil didn't answer at first as he kept his gaze down on the sidewalk. He hunched over a bit more and pulled himself closer. "I mean, I guess, if you really want my help."

"Perfect! I thought you might make a great sidekick!"

"Woah, no, I am not your sidekick."

Roman stared Virgil down and smiled. "You're right, I guess you're more like my Alfred then my Robin."

Virgil laughed and didn't bother hiding his smile for once. "Yeah, sure. Keep dreaming, princey."

They eventually made it home, talking about possible quick wardrobe updates for Roman that would be easy to add. Roman wanted it pretty much the same, but different enough that no one could outright point him out, at least for now.

They made it back to the apartment and saw Patton standing outside. He came rushing up when he finally saw them and immediately pulled Virgil into a hug. "Oh, I was so worried! I'm so glad you're okay!" Patton pulled away and left Virgil a little frazzled, but not too terribly upset. "I know you're probably still upset, but let's just get some rest and we can all talk to Logan in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Virgil shuffled his feet and pulled his hoodie closer. "Patton?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Thanks for, you know, looking for me."

"Aww, of course, I did, Virgil." Patton gave a sincere smile and shrugged. "I understand why you left, but I was still worried. I'm just glad you're back."



Breakfast was quiet the next morning. Virgil was in the kitchen waiting for the others first, the anticipation of the inevitable talk preventing him from relaxing and getting enough sleep. Patton smiled at him and gave him a hug, not letting go of a good solid minute.

When Logan emerged, he ducked his head and looked away. His eyes fell on the puzzle he left out last night in the rush of things. Virgil had done a big chunk of it, making Logan curious if the other even slept at all.

When Roman came out of his room, Virgil just sighed and stood up, breaking the silence. "Alright, we need to talk." He spun around the chair and sat backward in it, pointing at Logan. "Any time you're ready, I just want to get this over with."

Logan looked around the room and Patton nodded, shooting him an encouraging smile. He cleared his throat and stood up. "I would like to formally apologize. You all moved in under a false pretense, that was my own fault. However, due to recent events, I'll just come out and say it." Logan looked at Virgil. "There's another one of us in the city."

It was not the news he had expected, causing him to jump, shocked. His mouth fell open and closed a few times as he looked over at Patton and Roman, who had already heard the news. "H-how do you know? I mean, I kind of figured there might be? Maybe not in the city, but the odds of us being the only people in the world..."

"True, but as far as I am aware, there is only one more person in the city. I do not know who it is. I believe we met and my memory of the meeting was eradicated, so I am unsure."

"They erased your memory?"

Patton took a step forward. "That's why he kept it secret, apparently he tried approaching us and the first one he did was this other person and it didn't go so well."

"I have my memory of searching for all of you. I remember going to talk to someone, but I can't remember who, and I remember walking away confused. It was then I decided to bring us together more discreetly."

Virgil looked up at Logan and stared him down. "Have you used your powers on anyone else since we've met?"

Logan jumped back and cleared his throat. "I don't believe that is relevant." He pushed his glasses up. "But to ease your concerns, no I have not. I could have easily found you last night if that were the case."

Virgil stared down Logan and kept quiet. Logan met his gaze head-on, having nothing more to hide. Virgil shifted in the chair and shot him a more serious glance. "So, you brought us together and never hunted down this mysterious last person because the first time didn't go so well. You kept this a secret, even after we figured each other out without your input. What did you think was going to happen?"

Logan cleared his throat once more for effect. "The lease would run out and we would have made a friendship so strong that it would have been inconsequential."

"And you would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling kids." Roman let out a laugh. "So close!"

"Let's say I believe you. Let's say I decide to let you earn my trust back." Virgil motioned to the room. "What now?"

"Well, we could either agree to leave this stranger alone or seek them out and figure out what happened."

"I think" Virgil began, standing up from his chair. "That we should eat breakfast and worry about that later. I need to absorb everything you've told me."

Logan nodded and turned towards the coffee pot. "That is more than adequate, thank you."

"Logan." He didn't acknowledge his name being called and continued making himself a cup of coffee. "I want to trust you, but I just can't. Not yet."

"No need to explain, Virgil. I have broken that trust by not explaining myself and fully intend to remedy the situation, even if it eventually means my departure from the group." The harsh chuckle was not the response Logan was expecting. He turned and glanced over his shoulder, looking at Virgil who stood up and fixed the chair. "What is so amusing?"

"You don't get to just duck out at this point. You're stuck with us."

"Yeah, we're all friends! We can work through this!" Patton perked up. "I know we can!"

Chapter Text

Both Logan and Virgil had an earlier shift and had spent their time since arriving back home dancing around and avoiding one another. Logan had read through his book and even finished the puzzle from the other day before packing it away, not even feeling the sense of accomplishment when he had finished. Eventually, Logan grew restless and got up, knocking on Virgil's door. He stood there, hoping the other had heard when the door cracked open a bit.

He cleared his throat and looked through the small crack at Virgil who had his headphones on underneath a hood. "I would like to extend an invitation to watch something together in the living area."

Virgil raised an eyebrow up at Logan before the creak of the door opening a bit more broke the awkwardness. "This you fulfilling some promise to Patton at trying to be nice?"

"No. Well, yes and no. I wish to restart our friendship from the beginning with a clean slate. I thought maybe we could watch something the other likes in an attempt to get to know each other better." Logan's awkward tick of fixing his glasses when not needed kicked in. "Despite us living together all these months, there still is not much I know about you."

"Yeah, wonder what you can learn when we don't hide away from one another," Virgil spoke with pure sarcasm. "I kind of get it, though. Ignorance is bliss and all that."

"No." Logan shook his head. "As much as I hate to admit it, I should have thought of a way to mention something instead of keeping it all to myself."

"Like how? You shouldn't have done it in the first place, yeah, but I get why you tried to hide it." Virgil leaned against the door frame. "There really wasn't an easy way for you to tell us without the same thing happening anyway."

"Still, the absence of knowledge can do more harm than informing you all in some way could. Knowing and gaining more knowledge could never hurt, not like withholding it can."

"Doesn't really matter now, does it? Damage is done."

Logan tensed at the words and sighed. "Fair enough. If you would like the quiet instead..." Logan turned back towards his room. "I have been thinking I could perhaps share a bit of that journal then? I never shared it for fear of reaction when someone read it, but at this point, you have been informed of the biggest parts."

The door creaked again as Virgil opened it completely. "You don't have to do that if you're not ready to share."

"It's really not a big deal, the biggest secret it kept was that there was a fifth unknown person. Besides that, it's just observations and research. I was never one for 'diaries' as it were."

Virgil looked up and nodded, trying not to seem too eager. "Fine, and if we have time after, maybe we could watch Doctor Who?"

"You watch Doctor Who?"

Virgil shrugged and smirked a bit. "Trying to figure out how you can control time and space, yeah. Kind of figured I could look into it a bit. It has its charms, I guess."

"Fantastic."

"Is that a Nine reference?"

"Not important." Logan walked the few feet down to his door. "I'll get the things necessary and meet you there."

Virgil shook his head and went back to his room, removing his headphones and pulling down his hood before escaping back out into the kitchen.

He had only just reached for the remote when Logan walked in, carrying a few DVDs and the journal he had walked around with. He placed them down and slid the journal over before sitting. "Figured we can get this part over with first."

The journal was a little worn, but Logan had kept it in good condition. Virgil opened up the front and glanced down. "You really did start this out as a diary." He glanced down the front page of neat handwriting. "First page you just write to yourself because you just lost your memory." He flipped to the next page and grazed through everything quickly. "You talk about us, yadda yadda." He flipped to the next. "Oh?" Virgil looked up. "A whole page dedicated to Patton, huh?"

"I don't see why that's so important?"

"Oh, no reason. 'I do recall my first glance at Patton to be uninteresting until he spoke. He charmed everyone behind the counter rather quickly while-'"

"Yes, I know what I wrote, Virgil. Is that important?"

"Oh, I don't know." Virgil placed the journal in his lap and looked up at Logan. "Should I call Patton and start reading this to him? I'm sure he'd love it."

The smirk on Virgil's face grew at Logan grew more flush. "It is still my personal journal, Virgil."

Virgil couldn't help but throw his head back in laughter. "Yeah, I know. I get it, you're trusting me with this. I'm not gonna tell anyone, I promise." He glanced back down and flipped a few more pages until the format changed. "I'm kind of disappointed in you. This is kind of boring, I was expecting more, I guess." He glanced up. "You thought my power was teleportation?"

"The quick glance I got when I found you didn't reveal much because I was only looking, not prying. I did wish to respect your boundaries. My observations seemed that you could just randomly appear. To be honest, I still don't know how they quite work. You've only taken the other two through a demonstration once before."

Virgil flipped slowly through the rest of the journal. "Yeah, not really my style. Stopping time is nervewracking enough. Don't really want to go messing with it." He got to the end and closed the book before placing it on the table. "It's a lot of nonsense and theories, not what I was expecting. You could have just asked after we all found out."

"I have with Roman and we did that alcohol test on the roof. Patton has and we sorted out he was an empath. I've asked you and you declined my offer."

Virgil shrugged and picked up a DVD. "Don't know how things can change, right? I don't know what is and is not a fixed point. Things happen for a reason."

"That's rather counterproductive to your way of thinking." Virgil shot him a confused look and stopped reading the back of the DVD. "You don't believe in fate or destiny but you have been given the power to change and you feel it is not your place."

Virgil looked down at the table and placed the DVD down before leaning back. "Do you remember that episode where the Tenth Doctor goes to Mars? The Doctor changed a fixed point to save people even when he shouldn't and people still died. Then he realized he was in the wrong the whole time."

"That was not the point of the episode, Virgil. He saved people, yes, but he overstepped his bounds and abused his power." Logan leaned forward and laced his hands together. "I'm not saying go around and change everything you don't like. You let Roman go back and save someone and nothing bad came of it. Do you regret that?"

"No." Virgil sighed deeply and covered his face. "Of course not, but I can't guarantee it will always be like that."

"Of course not, but that is the same of everyday life is it not?" Logan stood and grabbed a case and opened it. "I'm merely pointing out a flaw in your logic, take from that what you will."

Silence fell until Virgil suddenly stood and strode into the kitchen, leaving Logan confused in his chair. He stood and placed down the disk case and followed. "Is everything alright?"

Virgil spun around and looked up at him. "I'm being an idiot."

"False, I'm sure whatever you are or were thinking is valid, Virgil."

"No, like..." Virgil rubbed the side of his nose and looked away. "I forgive you a bit about what happened, I guess. I can understand why you did it, even if I can't completely trust you. It's just..." He looked up and shifted uncomfortably. "Trust goes two ways and I've never tried reaching out towards you. Now that I have, you make sense, but I'm still anxious about the idea..."

"Virgil." Logan held his hands up as a sign of peace. "Whatever it is, we can just talk about it. I understand you keep people away. We can sit down and talk about this while watching tv if that helps."

Virgil spun around to face the wall and Logan let his arms drop. He saw Virgil glance over his shoulder and shake his head, muttering to himself. "Don't make me regret this, pocket protector."

"Regret what, may I ask?"

"Think of a happy place." Virgil suddenly slammed his eyes shut as Logan looked on confused.

Then stumbled forward, catching himself as Virgil held him up. "Welcome, nerd."

Logan blinked and stood up, noticing the distinct lack of sound. "Did you stop time?" Logan turned and saw the spot where he broke free. "Oh. Is that the portal you've spoken about?" He walked passed and stopped in the living room, glancing at the clock. "Oh, this is fascinating!" He turned to Virgil who tried not looking too terribly smug. "You didn't have to do this."

"Just a quick trip wouldn't hurt." He shrugged and motioned back toward the kitchen. "I don't like freezing time too long, we still age and everything."

"We do? How old are you really then?" Virgil shrugged and walked away. "How long have you spent in stopped time?"

"You really expect me to be able to measure time when time is frozen?" Virgil stopped in front of the portal Logan had made. "I have a terrible sense of time, I set alarms on my phone for absolutely everything." He slowly raised his hand. "So, where did you think of when we stopped time, hmm?”

Virgil stuck a hand through and saw it didn't come out the other side.

"Is that how the portal dictates where to go? I'm not sure what I was thinking of."

"I said think of your happy place." Virgil carefully took a step and leaned forward before pulling himself out with the biggest smile Logan had ever seen on him. "Oh, Logan. How interesting."

Confused, Logan approached the ripple and Virgil stepped through, causing him to follow. He blinked and looked around, recognizing the area immediately. "The library? True, I guess the quiet atmosphere mixed with the access to knowledge is a happy place for me."

Virgil nudged Logan and pointed across the room, where Patton could be seen sorting through books, frozen in time. "The staff is friendly too, I hear."

"A coincidence, I assure you. If I was here for Patton, would we not have appeared closer to him?"

"I don't believe in coincidences."

Logan looked over at Virgil as a smile spread across his face. "I suggest you stop this senseless taunting or I'll have to return it," Logan teased.

Letting out a snort, Virgil looked back towards Patton without a second thought. "What can you do?" Virgil shot back in a lighthearted challenging tone.

"Virgil, you can't really be daring me to..." He turned and saw Logan standing there, eyes wide with confusion. "This doesn't make sense."

"Think of it as a thank you for letting me read that journal. I want to trust you, so take the chance while I'm offering. Just don't go digging around in there."

Logan stared down Virgil, looking for any sign of a trick before he blinked and his eye lit up. "I swear he better hurry, I'm not a patient person. Oh, he actually did it. Wait, don't think about anything embarrassing." Logan blinked and his eyes returned to normal. "That was only surface level, I can go deeper."

Surprisingly, Virgil let out a laugh and shoved Logan back, watching him disappear into nothingness that was the other side of the portal before following through. "I never outright said you could read my thoughts."

"You certainly implied it! Surface level thoughts are nothing. Now, if I wanted to find out if you had a secret or what you truly felt about someone, I could. However, I did not."

"Better not or I'll tell Patton about the love letter in your diary."

"There is no love letter."

"Exactly," Virgil smirked and laughed in an evil tone. "The damage would have already been done."

"You are insufferable sometimes."

Virgil squeezed his eyes shut. "Prepare yourself, the Earth is going to start rotating again."

Without a second to respond, time started up again and Logan stumbled back, barely catching himself. Logan stood up and pushed back the frames of his glasses as they threatened to slide off. "That certainly is a jolt."

Virgil walked away as if nothing had happened. "So, you still up for some Doctor Who?"

Patton returned home and saw Logan and Virgil sitting on the couch together. Virgil looked up and smiled, reaching for the remote and pausing whatever they had been watching. "How was work, Pat?"

"It was fine. Lots of organizing, lots of books. Same old." He crossed his arms and smiled. "You two seem to be getting along better."

"Virgil realized that he hadn't been as open as he should have been after my apologies and we tried making amends."

"Still not completely sold but I get it, at least." Virgil elbowed the other in the side. "We have made a wonderful discovery today."

"Oh?" Patton perked up. "What did you learn?"

"The uncanny resemblance of Roman to one Captain Jack at times."

Virgil snorted out a laugh and hunched over chuckling. "They're both so dramatic and flirt with everything."

"You could say they are both 'extra'."

Virgil laughed harder and playfully pushed Logan away. "Don't try and be 'hip', it sounds wrong coming from you."

"Well, I for one am excited you two got along!" Patton clapped happily.

"We should stop here." Virgil stood up from the couch. "I believe it's my night for dinner, so I should get started."

"I would be more than happy to help." Logan shut off the tv. "I am rather enjoying your company." They walked into the kitchen and Logan leaned forward to whisper. "The other two can be a bit carefree, it's nice to be able to talk to someone more grounded."

Roman arrived home and announced his presence as he walked into the kitchen. Logan froze from placing a plate down as Virgil spun around from the stove. Suddenly, Virgil took a step back and covered his mouth, snickering. Logan soon joined and both burst out laughing.

"What is so funny?" Logan was the first to stifle his laughter as Virgil took a breath to calm down.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Virgil spun back around and continued cooking.

Roman huffed and looked over at Logan, shooting him a confused glance that went unanswered. "I'm not the mind reader here, but if everything is going okay, then I'm not one to complain."

"Ohh!" Patton walked in and clapped his hands together. "That's a nifty idea! Roman, if you could have any superpower-"

"Patton." Roman placed a hand on Patton's shoulder, holding him down in place. "You need to relax and remember that we actually have superpowers."

"I know that, silly! What would you do if you could swap yours with any of ours, though?"

Roman looked back at Logan and Virgil with a thoughtful look. "Huh. Guess I hadn't thought about it."

"Can not having a power be an option?" Virgil turned off the stove. "It's too stressful, I'd honestly rather not."

"That is a rather interesting idea." Logan looked around with a thoughtful look, hand on his chin. "Either one of yours holds benefits I wouldn't mind having."

"Psh, you'd take Virgil's powers and run off to explore the world." Roman shot him a knowing look. "All the time and none of the travel sounds perfect, wouldn't mind it myself."

"This is why I'm thankful neither of you has my powers." Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets. "You're too reckless, the world would burn."

"You can just stop time, think of Paris, and walk through. How is that dangerous?"

Virgil rolled his eyes at Roman. "Exactly. How could showing up in the middle of another country with no proof of how I got there to be dangerous?" Roman make a face at Virgil who just stuck his tongue out as a response.

"I like my power, but I wouldn't mind swapping with Logan!" Patton pointed over to the other. "I'd be able to make friends with everyone and no shelf would be too high!" His face fell a bit. "Dunno if I'd like peeking at everyone's thoughts, though."

"It's a lot better after you learn how to turn it off." Logan looked over at Roman. "Yours would be useful, seeing as you seem to generate a source of energy. I find that to be quite useful."

"Yeah, I-wait! I am not just a battery, excuse you!"

"If I had no choice and had to choose..." Virgil glanced around the room before he pointed. "Patton."

"Aww, can you imagine more than one Virgil? That would be the best!"

Virgil huffed and tried hiding in his hoodie while looking away. Roman made a noise of disgust. "One is enough, Patton, thank you."

"Aww, and here I thought I was your Alfred." Virgil headed down the hall. "I even sketched out ideas for your costume. Just need the go-ahead to start working on it."

Roman was practically bouncing when Virgil walked back with a notepad in his hands, flipping through until he stopped and turned it around. Roman reached out and grabbed it, gasping in excitement. "Oh wow, you... can really draw! This is magnificent!"

"It's nothing, focus on the design."

"It's even more princely than before! I look like you plucked me from a Disney Studio!"

Virgil shrugged off the compliments as nonchalant as he could. "Yeah, well, a bit of cleverly placed cording and a little touching up, easy work."

"I can not wait, thank you, Virgil! I can get it for you right away."

"AFTER we eat, you two!" Patton perked up. "Food is important!"

Roman handed back the notepad and they eagerly set the table, not nearly as silent or awkward as the night before.



Virgil hopped off the bus and tucked his hands back into his pockets to hide from the chill of the morning, making his way down to the little tucked-away shop, he had awoken on edge after his relaxing night and couldn't quite figure out why. He shook it off and drank his coffee, knowing it wouldn't help his mood but he found it necessary for his early morning shifts. The wind picked up and he continued his pace, holding back the shiver that tried to overcome him. It wasn't too terribly cold, but he felt like he was waiting for something bad to happen.

Some days were like this and it was best to take them in stride. When he turned the corner and saw a cop car lit up just down the road, he could practically hear the sound of something falling in his head.

He picked up the pace and jogged down the street, the sense of dread increasing a bit before he saw the officer talking to the owners turn around and look up at him.

"Virgil! I didn't realize it had gotten to be so late." The man looked up at the officer and sighed. "I'm afraid we're closed for the day."

"W-what happened?"

"Break in." The officer spoke, turning his attention to Virgil. "Late last night. Alarm when off around 3 am, you know anything about this?"

"No, he works here. He's a great kid." The man spoke again to the officer. "I haven't called to tell him not to show, sorry."

"Is everyone okay?"

His boss nodded and let out a sigh. "We have to assess the damage inside and see where we stand financially. I'll call and let you know when you can come back to work. I'm sorry."

"No." Virgil shook his head, looking into the poorly lit shop. "It's not your fault. I hope it's not too bad."

"We can only hope, thank you."

Virgil nodded and said his goodbyes, turning and walking back towards the bus stop. He had a bit until the next one came through, causing him to think back. He needed this job, yeah, but who would break into a craft store in the middle of the night? The bus pulled up and he automatically approached and took a seat, still lost in thought. It was early and the bus was fairly empty. He grabbed a window seat at the front and watched the city fly by. He sat up, determined, and watched as his usual stop vanished, not tugging on the cord to alert the driver to stop. He had an idea, and he was going to need help.



Roman was shocked to see Virgil standing on the stage, standing tall with a look of determination cross his face. "Virgil? I thought you had work."

"I need a favor, Princey."

"Right now? I don't have the time, can it wait or is it important?"

Virgil shook his head. "Time isn't important right now."

Roman looked baffled and glanced around carefully. "Are you serious? What happened?" He walked up and grabbed Virgil's shoulder, directing him to the backstage. "Is everything okay?"

"My job got broken into last night." Roman gasped at the revelation. "They are good people, Roman. I need Super Princey to help them, they don't deserve this."

"You realize what you're asking me, right? You've been against this since the first time I mentioned it."

"I trust you." Virgil shuffled his feet and glanced away. "I'm trying to trust people more, but I know that when it comes down to it, I trust you, Ro."

"Ro?" Roman smirked devilishly at the other. "You're warming up to me, Virge. Better be careful, people might think we're friends."

"Shut it." Virgil smiled and playfully pushed Roman. "So, you up for it or not?"

"Of course I am! I'm not one to ignore a cry for help!"

"I didn't cry-"

"Just lead the way and let's get me suited up!" Virgil turned to walk away before Roman grabbed his shoulder once more. "Wait! You were fixing up my costume, I don't have it!"

Rolling his eyes, Virgil shook his head. "Roman. Portals. I can get it from my room, though it's not done. I did stop at a good spot last night with it." He brought them to an empty spot in the theater and hid them from view. "Okay. I need you to think of my bedroom while I think about the crime scene, it's the fastest way to do this, alright?"

"Oh, Virgil." Roman placed a hand on his chest and fanned himself with the other. "Us in your room so soon?"

"What?" Virgil felt the blood rush to his face. "No, shut up." Roman laughed at him. "Now focus."

"Alright, alright, I promise." Virgil took a deep breath and Roman shouted. "Wait!"

"Gah, warn a guy, Princey. What's wrong?"

Roman bit his lip and looked away. "Could we perhaps do this later today, not right now?"

"Wha- but... you just promised!"

Roman looked over his shoulder to see if they had gained any unwanted attention. "Look, I still will do this, it's just... it doesn't feel right." He looked back down at Virgil with a sincere look. "I want to make sure that this is what you want. You just found out what happened and this is the first thing you did, right? You need to think it through more."

Virgil got ready to shout before shaking his head and sighing. "Fine! Meet me back home and we'll do this if you're so sure."

In an instant, Virgil disappeared, causing Roman to flinch. He reached for his phone and pulled it out, sending a quick text.

'I promise.'



Virgil was pacing the apartment when Logan returned from work. "Are you quite alright?"

"No." Virgil stopped and spun around. "My job got broken into and in a rash decision I asked Roman to go back in time to stop it and he said yes but wanted me to think about it more so now I'm just anxious and worried-"

"Virgil!" Logan raced forward and grabbed the other's arm loosely. "Breathe, take it slow."

Virgil took a few shallow breaths before one decent one, nodding his head. "Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts there. Kind of like a downward spiral."

"I understand, Virgil. I also understand what you were saying if a bit rushed. How do you feel now?"

Virgil shrugged and pulled his arm back, hugging himself a bit. "I'm glad he told me to think about it, but I kind of... still want him to? Like you said, I can take a risk and that doesn't mean the end of the world."

"Only do what you are comfortable with, you don't have to push yourself." Logan waited for a response but got a nod before smiling. "Good. I'll be in the kitchen with a crossword puzzle, feel free to come and talk if you need."

Virgil walked off into his room and played music to distract himself, working more on Roman's costume. He was altering the sash a bit when the door cracked open, bringing his attention off of his project. Roman's meticulously flawless head of hair popped in and he smiled, motioning him to remove his headphones.

"You still mad at me?"

Virgil finished what he was doing and flattened out the sash. "I'm not mad, you had a point. I wasn't thinking it through."

Roman nodded and kept a straight face. "So, you feeling more like yourself?"

Virgil got off the bed and stood up, tossing the jacket over to Roman. "We're doing this, Princey."

Roman caught it and perked up, running off to change. Virgil exited his room and saw Logan sitting at the table engrossed in a crossword. He looked up and saw Roman re-enter, masquerade mask covering his face and costume fully on in record time.

Logan stood up and walked into the living room. "I want no part in this."

"You're just jealous because I'm beautiful." Roman mocked and puffed out his chest, turning towards the darker dressed roommate. "I can tell you're not done but it's coming along nicely! I like the new shoulders, I should definitely get a logo though."

"You're still a dork, but I appreciate this, Roman. I don't know too much other than it was late last night, some time close to three in the morning according to the cop. I can bring you around the corner but don't make me wait too long. If nothing happens or it's too late, just come back."

"Got it!"

Logan shook his head and took a spot on the chair and glanced back down at his crossword. The front door creaked open and he glanced down at the entrance as a head poked through.

"Psst, Logan. Have I left yet?" Logan looked down at Roman as he peeked in, mask removed and hair more disheveled then he could ever recall. Logan leaned back in the chair and turned to look into the kitchen, seeing a more energetic and put together Roman talking to Virgil. He turned back and quietly shook his head. "Am I leaving yet?"

"Good luck, Princey." Logan looked back to see Virgil close his eyes, and Roman disappeared. Suddenly, Virgil was pacing frantically, hands running through his hair. "Damn it, Roman!"

Logan stood up and looked over at Roman confused as he entered the apartment. "Virgil?"

"Logan!" Virgil practically ran at the other. "I screwed up, Roman never came back. This is all my fault."

"It is not, Virgil, calm yourself." Roman approached, keeping his voice quiet. "I am afraid I must apologize."

"Roman!" Virgil ran forward, hugging the other. Before Roman could react, he pulled back and punched him hard in the arm. "You jackass! Do you know how long I waited for you? Oh wait, I don't, because time was stopped!"

Roman rubbed his arm. "Ow, that hurt! Last time I was punched it didn't hurt nearly that bad, what do you eat?"

"You've been punched before?" Logan inquired.

Virgil grit his teeth. "Roman!"

"Alright, sorry!" He walked over the couch and practically collapsed. "It was my fault, I found the culprit and stopped them before they got too far in and took anything. I chased them out and down the street, but I got lost. When I got back, the cops were there and I couldn't find the portal."

"So you've been doing what exactly since I've waited for you? Walked around? Couldn't tell me you were okay?"

Roman threw his hands into the air. "You're always talking about keeping safe and not messing with the flow of things, so I kept my distance and waited for the moment I disappeared to come back." Roman leaned forward and sighed, lowering his voice. "Virgil, I'm sorry, I really am. I know you trusted me with this and I blew it." He looked up and Virgil huffed. "I have good news, though."

"Oh yeah?"

"Guess who found the fifth mysterious person while walking around town today?"

"You know who it is?" Logan tensed up at the exclamation.

"What? No, I said I found him, not that I knew him. Total accident mind you, but perhaps we should wait for Patton before discussing all this?"

Virgil walked over and punched Roman's arm once more. "Don't freak me out like that, Princey."

"Ow!" Roman rubbed his arm. "Aw, you do care. I knew you liked me."

"Shut it!" Virgil stormed out of the room. "Let me know when Patton gets back. I need to be alone right now."

Roman looked out towards the entryway and turned to Logan. "He's cute when he's angry." Logan raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Not like that! Like an angry declawed kitten or something!" Logan made no comment and Roman huffed in annoyance. "Whatever, shut it!"

"Of course, whatever you say Roman."

Chapter Text

"Roman, come on, can you just get on with it? We've been waiting forever."

"Be patient, Virgil. Roman hasn't eaten properly all day since he was running around." Patton placed a glass of juice on the table. "Let him get a quick bite in first."

"Yeah." Roman took a swig of the juice and went back to his sandwich. "Thanks, Patton. Time traveling while trying not to screw up anything is very tiring."

"We aren't even sure anything would have happened," Logan spoke up from his seat at the table. "It's all speculation."

"I'd rather not risk messing with things," Virgil muttered. "Guess I can thank you for waiting around, Roman. Even if you did freak me out."

Roman stayed quiet as he continued to eat, finally slowing down and taking another sip before sighing. "Okay, I'm good for now. What do you want to know?"

"Um, hello? The other one of us running around town?" Virgil waved his arms around. "How could you forget?"

"Just want to know where to start." Roman cleared his throat. "I mean, he was kind of cute, not my type but I can see us totally being friends-"

"Roman!"

"What?" Roman looked over at Virgil and shrugged. "I didn't get his name or anything, I kind of just ran into him."

Virgil rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Are you serious--how did you run into him?"

Roman gestured to himself. "With my body, of course."

"Ohh, you actually ran into him!" Patton giggled happily. "That makes sense!"

"Yes, well, I was just walking around, trying to avoid normal places you guys usually go to. No jobs or parks or anything like that. I was walking down the street and we suddenly bumped into each other!"

"Are you sure it was him?" Logan questioned. "None of us know what he looks like and I wasn't there to confirm anything."

Roman groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Just let me finish my story, okay? No more questions." He looked around and everyone silently nodded. "Thank you! Anyway, I bump into him and accidentally shock him when I do. So, of course, I have to go 'there seems to be a spark between us. I must be your Prince Charming' which he laughs at of course-"

"Roman..." Virgil groaned out, gritting his teeth. "Enough, just get to the point!"

"Fine, ruining my story." He shifted in his seat. "Anyway, I finally let go and the guy looks down and his hands are doing the thing, you know?" Roman holds up a hand and small blue sparks connect to each finger lighting up the room. "Like this! He looked kind of panicked and he ran off after that."

"You didn't chase after him?" Virgil asked. "You run into the guy and just... let him go?"

"Finding him again should not be an issue, it never really was." Logan began to ponder. "However, the problem arises that this may not be the same person. The one we were looking for had powers similar to my own."

"So, Roman has someone like him too?" Patton spoke up. "Does that mean we all have someone just like us?"

"Maybe," Roman asked, picking up his sandwich once more. "I didn't really stop him and ask if he remembered anyone named Logan, but I figured if there was only one more person in the city like us than it would have gone differently."

"This is all still speculation." Logan sighed. "The only way to truly know is to go and ask him. We just have to think of a way to not scare him again!"

"Easier said than done," Virgil mutters to himself.

Roman stands up and goes to take care of his dishes. "Well, I don't know about you three, but I haven't slept properly for far too long, it's been about two days. I'm going to take a much-deserved shower and head to bed."

"I mean, I wasn't going to mention anything-" Roman shoved Virgil playfully in retaliation as the other smirked back. "Hey! You deserve it."

"Just remember, I did this for you, Black Cauldron."

Virgil froze and looked away, ashamed. "I know."

"Come on, you'll get a call that everything is fine and you can go back to work soon, okay?" Roman put his hand firmly on Virgil's shoulder for a moment before walking away.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo!" Patton smiled up at Virgil. "Looks like in the end, things worked out. There's nothing to worry about!" Patton got up and wished the other two good night, deciding to spend the night relaxing before going to bed.

Virgil and Logan sat quietly before Logan quietly stood up, preparing to leave himself. "Hey, Logan." He turned back and looked at Virgil who made no movement to indicate that he had spoken. "Should we really track this guy down?" Logan looked over, tired from the night he’d had. Virgil wasn't sure how long he waited for Roman in frozen time, but it couldn’t have been more than a few hours and he looked ready to fall asleep at the table. "I mean, if it didn't really work out the first time, what would make this so different?"

"Perhaps... having all of us working together and coming up with a plan might help. I was alone, whereas we are a group of sorts. Maybe being careful and approaching him to let him know he is not truly alone would help. Did that not work for us?"

Virgil nodded, staring back down at the table. "Yeah. Maybe you're right. Night, Logan."

"Do make it to your bed before you get some sleep, Virgil. The only thing the table will bring you is a few cramps."



The next morning went as if nothing had occurred the night before. Each roommate danced around the others, preparing for the day ahead of them, except Virgil who stayed in his room quietly since his job was currently unavailable. Roman had told Patton to let him sleep in for a bit.He was confident things would fall back into place for Virgil soon enough. They each left, one by one, leaving the apartment completely still.

Virgil eventually ventured out of his space, checking to make sure he was alone. Since Logan did work from home as well, he was often the one always there, but today was a rare case where he had left for the bookstore.

He scavenged for a snack before sitting on the couch with some granola to hold him over, music blaring from his headphones around his shoulders. He hadn't yet heard back from his job and he hadn’t slept much, just barely calming down from Roman's disappearing act.
Virgil took time to absorb everything that had happened the night before. His job was broken into, a random act that threw him for a loop more than it should have. It resulted in him running to Roman, gathering the courage to ask him to go back and help them out. He liked where he worked and the owners were so kind and understanding. He was not a social person;, the first few times customers had tried talking to him, he freaked out and ran the first chance he got. He quickly realized the owner's wife also suffered from high levels of anxiety, so they accommodated him well. Virgil was even able to get through conversations with customers now after working there for so long. Moving had taken a lot out of him, but he had been holding himself together pretty well and the others hadn't really noticed since he always hid in his room.

His music was cut off by a loud jarring alarm, causing him to jump. He pulled out his phone and sighed, shutting it off. The reminder to get ready for work was not needed for the day and he quickly went back to the music he had been listening to.

He took a deep breath and fell sideways onto the couch. He hadn't really slept all that much after being awake for who knows how long. He tried keeping timers on to see how long he slept, but he was doomed to live in a world where time was a concept he just couldn't follow. It was easier for him to go based on how bright it was and the time of year more than what a clock told him.

He thought back to the night before, watching Roman confidently stride through the portal and not return for what he could only guess was hours. He even peered through the portal himself and saw nothing out of the ordinary, calling for Roman before giving in and going back, starting up time again. Luckily, he knew when and where Roman had gone, so he knew if he had been hurt, they could track him down.

Virgil was rather surprised that these things kept turning out alright in the end, and worried it would make Roman even more likely to stride confidently into danger and a situation they couldn’t fix.

He huffed, closing his eyes for a moment. He felt rather lethargic today and he wasn't quite sure it was the lack of rest. Virgil had fallen into a comfortable routine and it had been broken. His first instinct was to break a rule of his and try to fix it, but now he wasn't sure it was quite worth the risk. Simply because Roman was an idiot destined to get himself killed trying to play hero, Virgil had been more anxious about what the next stupid thing would be. Someone had to look out for that idiot.

Virgil jumped from his spot on the couch and jolted upright, heart racing. He had fallen asleep sometime during the day, lost in his thoughts, and a dream he couldn't quite remember had seemingly shocked him awake. Virgil took a few slow shaky breaths and shook it off, which was much easier to do without a memory of the what he’d been dreaming about. He glanced down and saw his phone was nearly dead and had a few notifications, and perhaps a few hours had passed. The light from the window showed it was still earlier in the day and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Slowly getting to his feet, he shuffled into the kitchen, finding Patton carefully pouring a glass as slow as he could.

"Pat, what are you doing?" Virgil tried to clear the sleep from his voice.
"Oh, you're awake! Sorry, I didn't make too much noise, did I?" Patton finished pouring his juice at a faster rate and twisted the cap back on. "I saw you taking a nap so I tried being as quiet as I could."

"Nah, you're good Pat. Woke up on my own."

"Aww, not get much sleep last night?"

"A night is just the darkness that scares those into a comfortable false sense of security where they sleep to pass it as quick as possible, not knowing that the true evils are the ones that can still hide in the light."

"Oh, yay, that's... more like my Virgil I know and love!" Patton smiled a bit, glancing down at his juice. "But when darkness and light mix, you get some cool things. Like shadow puppets! I can make a dog!"

Patton quickly demonstrated as he bent his fingers around, making Virgil snort out a laugh. "That's great, Patton. Thanks."

"So!" Patton just seemed to radiate energy Virgil could only wish to have. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

Virgil shrugged and stuffed his hands into his hoodie. "Dunno. Probably more of what I've already done."

"Are you still tired? It's probably not so good to sleep so much if you plan on sleeping tonight, kiddo."

"What can I say, I just feel like if I'm not good at going to sleep, maybe I should get some practice in."

Patton took a sip of his juice before placing it down as a sound rang out through the kitchen. Virgil pulled out his phone as the sound of his ringtone blared from his headphones. 'Work Calling' lit up the screen and Virgil didn't hesitate to answer.

"Hello?"

"Virgil? You sound like you just woke up. You doing okay?" He smirked at the concerned tone of his boss over the phone.

"Hey, boss man. Couldn't sleep but I'm okay now."

"Good. I have great news, we watched the security footage and it looks like they hardly were in the door before some random guy walking by chased them out! The shop's in pretty good condition, we were going to keep it closed for one more day before opening back up."

"Oh, great!" Virgil perked up, suddenly panicking on the inside. He had forgotten to get the exact details from Roman about what happened, hoping he didn't do anything stupid where the cameras would have caught him. "The camera just pick up one guy coming in and scaring them off?"

"Not sure, it cut out a bit and was a little fuzzy, but they suddenly were out and running down the street. The police aren't sure they'll catch them because of it, but at least we know someone came to our rescue!"

'Roman, you are so lucky, you clueless moron,' Virgil thought, letting out a sigh of relief. "That's great. Need me to come in tomorrow?"

"Nah, we're going to clean the place up and get everything in order. We're also having extra security installed, but it's nothing we can't do. Just continue your schedule for the rest of the week, things should be back to normal."

"I'll see you in a few days then. Bye." Virgil ended and call and shook his head. "Roman is so lucky the cameras didn't pick him up. Looks like it worked out."

"That's great!" Patton exclaimed. "How about we go out for a walk and get something to celebrate?"

"That sounds great, but I'm still pretty tired. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. I'd rather just stay in today."

"That's fine, I get it. Want me to give you some space?" Patton offered with a smile, not at all offended. "It's hard to get me time with the others here but they shouldn't be back for a bit."

Virgil glanced over at his bedroom door and stared it down a bit. "Actually, can we just hang out? I don't mind just sitting and talking on the couch."

"Sounds perfect!"

Logan was happy to return home and even shocked to find Patton and Virgil casually lounging on the couch talking to one another.

"Logan!" Patton perked up at the other. "Just in time, Virgil gave me a great idea!"

"An idea for what, Patton?"

"When we go meet this person Roman was talking about, of course!"

"Ah, yes, our mysterious stranger." Logan readjusted his tie a bit looser. "What would this idea entail?"

"Well, whether it's the person who wiped your memories or the one who ran into Roman, we figured we should be cautious, right?" Virgil shifted upright on the couch. "So, we should definitely go together, but keep our distance as one of us talks to them. So, who would be the best choice?"

Patton braced himself as a light shone out, causing Two to emerge. "Tada!" Two called out. "He can wipe my memories and that would be okay. Even if he shocks me, you'll still have a full team!"

"I doubt he'd attack us on purpose." The real Patton spoke up, causing Two to nod in agreement.

"It's not perfect but it does give a level of security," Logan observed. "Very well, that is something to consider."

"Oh, I'm free tomorrow night to try and find our new friend!" Patton offered.

"So is Virgil, right?" Two asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I have one more day, looks like Roman was actually able to save the shop."

Logan nodded in agreement. "I am free as well, and I believe Roman told me he was available. Alright, tomorrow afternoon, we shall find out who this mysterious person is, and if there are any others I may have missed."

"Yay!" Two turned and gave Patton a high five, disappearing in a flash of light. "I can't wait, I know we'll be friends!"

"Not likely," Virgil muttered, crossing his arms.

"I suppose we can continue planning when Roman arrives."

Roman arrived right after dinner had been delivered, walking in as the pizza van pulled away. He opened to door and walked in, the aroma of pizza filling the air. "I knew when I saw the delivery guy that it was for us!"

"I didn't feel like cooking, so sue me." Roman rounded the corner to see Virgil sticking his tongue out at him.

"It's been a while, I was starting to think we were too responsible for pizza."

Patton gasped and nearly dropped his slice. "Roman, I am shocked at you! There is never a wrong time for pizza!"

"Besides, we could always learn how to make it ourselves if we desired."

"Ohh, that would be fun!" Patton clapped happily. "Having total control, an endless supply of pizza..."

Roman sat down with a plate of his own. "So." Logan cleared his throat. "We all seem to be free tomorrow afternoon and decided we should finally get to try and find this mysterious person, or persons, left in the city."

Roman shot up in surprise, looking around. "Oh, uh. Tomorrow? When exactly?"

"Do you have something better to do, princey?"

Roman smiled brightly and sat up straight and tall. "Actually, I have a date."

"Oh my goodness, Roman!" Patton squealed with excitement. "Oh, who is it? Where did you meet? What are you gonna do? Tell me tell me!"

Roman laughed and placed a hand on Patton’s shoulder, holding him from bouncing around. "One of the theater guys asked me today, so we're gonna go out tomorrow after I get out of work."

"Really?" Virgil groaned. "Dude, we aren't all going to be able to get together like this and you know what the guy looks like."

"Are you telling me to cancel my date?"

"What, no." Virgil huffed out. "Couldn't you like, push it back? Or at least come with us to find the guy before you get all kissy-faced?"

"Why not just have Logan hunt him down like he did the first time? Why even need me?"

"The first time didn't exactly work for me, Roman." Logan adjusted his glasses. "I do not wish to delve too deep into their mind, lest something bad happens again. I can find them, but having you for reassurance would help ease my nerves a bit."

"Come on, guys." Patton looked back and forth between Logan and Virgil. "I want our local hero there too, but this is a chance at love! Maybe! We can't stop that!"

"I'm not asking him to stop it, just... push it back a bit."

Roman had a disdainful look on his face before letting out a big groan. "Fine! If we do it early enough, I can be fashionably late for my date. Shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"I appreciate it, Roman, but Patton does have a point. I don't want you to give up your evening for us."

"No, no, it's quite alright." Roman ran a hand through his hair. "I'll make it work. It's just a first date, anyway."

"I'm surprised you even managed to get a date."

Roman looked over at Virgil with a smile, running a hand through his hair once more and keeping it pulled back. "Well of course. Have you seen me?" He flexed his other arm a bit.

"Yes I have, Gaston, and I've seen how your movie ends."

"Excuse me!" Roman mocked offense. "I may be just as handsome but at least I'm not as ugly on the inside, I appreciate true inner beauty... I have to, we're friends, aren't we?"

Despite the insult, Virgil actually snorted out a laugh, shaking his head and going back to his food.

Patton leaned over to Logan, a big smile on his face. "I love it when our kids get along."

"We're not married, Patton."



The next afternoon held an air of nervousness. Patton was calming down Virgil while Logan went over the base plans. Pat Two was all ready to go, dressed in a different outfit than Patton. They would go to the center of town and Logan would start there, in the busiest areas, until he found something. They would start on the bus and depart at the stop in town, making their way to the other route that circled around the other half. It was Logan's first plan that helped him locate the others in the first place and he was sure it would work a second time.

"Let's just get this over with, I don't have much time." Roman huffed, adjusting the sleeves of his button-down shirt.

"We would have had more time if you didn't spend forever getting ready."

"I'm sure you wouldn't understand, you don't have the sense of taste and flair like I do."

"Thank goodness for that." Roman glared down at Virgil who smirked back up. "I'm kidding, can we go now before I get even more anxious about this whole thing?"

They got on the bus and Logan brought out an old book to read, occasionally ducking down from time to time.

"Find anything?" Roman whispered, leg bouncing repeatedly.

"No, and calm down. You're annoying the person two rows back."

They all got off at the stop downtown and started their trek into the heart of the city. The next step was to find a secluded area and keep attention off of Logan as he checked around, making Virgil nervous about the whole thing.

"Anything?" Virgil glanced around at passing faces, eyes darting from one person to the next.

"Yes, please, I really don't want to ruin my hair before I even get there."

Logan perked up and looked over at the others in surprise. "Actually, yes. I have. Well, I found someone at least."

"Oh, where is he?" Patton perked up, more enthusiastic than the others.

"Grocery shopping, it seems."

"Good, let's go."

Virgil grabbed Roman's arm before he got too far ahead. "Pump the brakes, princey. There's a couple of grocery stores around. We don't know which one."

Logan tucked his book away and nodded to the others, making his way through the streets with ease. Within half an hour, they were outside a grocery store Logan had led them to. He stopped and looked back at the others before they all walked in, one by one. Virgil grabbed a cart to make believe they were actually there to shop, while Patton started going off about things they could pick up while they were already there.

Logan waved Roman over to him and leaned in close. "I don't want to check, stores like this usually have a lot of cameras. If you see him, point him out, okay?" Roman nodded and marched down a few aisles before stopping and turning around.

"Patton." Both Patton and his copy looked over at Roman. "Perhaps we should make some pasta for dinner?"

"Oh, well, I was actually going to-"

"Patton!" Roman nudged his head to the side, down the aisle next to him. "Red shirt brown hair, can I go now?"

Patton walked up and peered down the aisle. A couple of people were there, but only one had a red t-shirt on. Patton leaned back and gave a thumbs up to Two, who made his way casually down the aisle.

"Thanks, Roman." Logan nodded at him. "Enjoy your date."

"Thanks!" He winked and quickly walked back towards the entrance and out of the store.

"I feel bad for the guy," Virgil muttered.

"Yes, I too feel bad we kept him from his outing."

Virgil shook his head. "No, the guy who asked him out. Poor dude doesn't know what he's getting himself into."

"Shh!" Patton whispered a bit too loud, looking down the aisle.

Two had casually walked up and genuinely was holding a box of pasta, inspecting the different types of sauces and standing next to the one they had come looking for.

He sighed and looked over at the man in the red shirt. "Man, picking one of these just seems im-pasta-ble sometimes."

The man looked over and smiled at Pat Two, letting out a small chuckle. "Don't I know it."

"I don't mean to be saucy-" Two smiled brighter at the man, "-but I love me some pasta. All the way from my head down... to-ma-toes!"

This earned a louder, fuller laugh from the man who shook his head. "Okay, that was a good one."

Two stretched out his hand and gave his best smile. "Patton."

The man reached out and took it, shooting a smile back. "Thomas."

"Well, Thomas. It is very nice to meet you! I knew you were a man of excellent taste!"

Thomas shook his head at Patton. "What can I say, I enjoy a good pun." He turned and faced Two. "Penne for your thoughts?"

Two let out a laugh and Patton had to cover his mouth, fully enjoying what he could hear from down the aisle.

"Not much." Two answered. "I've been teaching my new roommates how to cook lately, but nothing like going back and making some good old fashioned pasta once in a while, am I right?"

Patton suddenly walked down the aisle to his duplicate, causing Virgil to grab Logan's arm. "Where is he going? That's not part of the plan!"

"Hey!" Patton walked up with a smile. "Oh, you made a friend!" Thomas looked back and forth at the two in shock. "Don't mind him," Patton spoke to Thomas. "This is just my copy, good old number Two!"

Logan smacked his palm to his face as Virgil let out a groan, but Thomas simply took it as a joke and spoke nothing of it. "Well, it's very nice to meet you as well. Patton here was just telling some of his jokes. He was really crushing it." Thomas motioned to the cans of crushed tomatoes with a smile.

Both Patton and Two laughed and looked at one another. "You're a funny guy, Thomas," Patton said.

Thomas looked confused for a moment and looked over at Two. "I just told you my name, how did he know it?"

Patton jumped and looked over at Two, who was just as blind-sided at their slip up. "Uh," Patton muttered.

"Twin telepathy?" Two asked more than stated.

"Or I heard you when I was coming down the aisle," Patton said with a shrug. "Saw he was making a friend and decided to keep out of it for a bit."

"Oh," Thomas asked, looking back at his hand basket of groceries. "Well, it was really nice to meet you both, but I really-"

"Hey!" Patton interrupted. "Sorry, didn't mean to cut you off, but you should meet my roommates!"

Logan sighed and looked down at Virgil who shrugged before speaking. "I knew it was going too well... He's thrown the plan so out of the loop, what do you think?"

Logan looked down the aisle again before standing up and adjusting his tie and heading down the aisle. "Ah, there you two are." Logan approached, trying not to eye down the man. "I apologize if they've been harassing you. They can be a bit..." Logan looked up at Patton and his duplicate. "...friendly."

"Not at all," Thomas said, shifting the weight of the basket in his arms.

"How rude of me." Logan extended his hand out to Thomas, ignoring the silent cries he was sure Virgil was giving him. "My name is Logan."

Thomas went to extend his hand out and stopped, pulling it towards him. "Logan?" He muttered, eyeing the man warily. "Have we met before?"

"I do not recall having met you before." Logan chose his words carefully. "Have we?"

Thomas looked over at the two Pattons and slowly reached out taking Logan's hand. A shockwave of warmth shot between the two and Thomas suddenly pulled his hand back, dropping his basket. "It's you." He muttered, turning towards the Pattons. "And you two are..." His eyes flashed and shifted back and forth between the three men before diving between Two and running out. He shoved Patton out of the way and Two jumped, giving chase.

They flew by Virgil who watched Pat Two run out of the store. "Patton, wait!" He ran out after them, stopping at the doorway. He glanced around, looking through the parking lot and down the sides of the building.

Logan emerged out of the building with Patton and all three glanced around. "Where did he go?" Logan muttered.

Virgil shook his head. "I don't know, I don't run very fast. I got out here and they were just gone!"

Patton let out a big sigh. "I think I feel him, he's okay." Patton turned to Logan. "Can you track him down?"

Logan blinked down at his hands and shook his head. "I need to clear my head a bit." He turned and started walking down the street.

Virgil looked up at Patton. "Can't you call him?"

Patton shook his head. "No. I can duplicate what I'm wearing but technology doesn't transfer over. I can feel him, but not where he is or anything... Unless Two comes back, I don't know what's going on."

Virgil grabbed the sides of his head and pushed his hair back. "Great, this is great! Your copy is on the loose with some possible maniac and we don't know what's going on and Logan is freaking out so now I'm freaking out-!"

Patton calmly placed a hand on Virgil's back, causing him to spin around. "Sorry!" He held up his hands. "Just calm down, Virgil. Deep breaths, you're okay. We don't need to be worried because Two is okay and Logan is okay and we are both okay." Virgil took a shallow breath a few times before managing a decent one. Patton reached up and rubbed his back. "Feel any better?"

Virgil nodded. "S-sorry. Kinda got away from myself." He smiled timidly up at Patton. "At least it wasn't a panic attack, right?"

Patton jumped up at the news. "Wait, do you have those?"

Virgil shrugged and looked away. "I usually hide away in my room and I've been pretty okay lately, so..."

"Oh, Virgil!" Patton stepped closer and slowly wrapped his arms around the younger man, making sure he was comfortable with it. "You've got us now, okay? You can always count on me."

Virgil just lets himself be engulfed in the hug, looking down the street where Logan had walked off to. "I guess... things could have gone worse."

"Oh, the bright side!" Patton leaned back a bit. "Thomas likes puns, that's a win in my book!"

Virgil laughed and shook his head. "He handled two of you pretty well."

"Looks like he knew Logan, so he must have been the one who ran into him a few months back."

Virgil pulled out of the hug, looking up with a look of confusion. "Roman said that it was the same person he ran into, that shot out electricity." His eyes shot open. "Wait, what if he copies powers? That explains both the memory stuff and the electricity! How would that work?"

"He didn't copy anything from me and I was right there." Patton frowned at the discovery. "That's a good thing, since we were in a public place, but doesn't make sense."

Virgil ran through the meeting in his head. "Two shook his hand. Did you?"

Patton thought about it and gasped. "No! Since Pat Two technically can't duplicate, nothing happened! Wait... he did push me."

"It wasn't skin contact, that might matter." Virgil grabbed Patton's wrist. "Come on, we have to find Logan and tell him. Then we can start looking for Two and this Thomas guy!"

Patton nodded and they jogged down the road, searching for both their roommate and Thomas.

Chapter Text

Logan made his way down the quiet street of the city, walking away from the noise the center of downtown provided. He didn't want to get lost in the sea of people right now, he usually kept to quieter places. The quiet lets him think where he could relax, where he could pretend everything in his life was normal for a bit.

A part of him felt bad, leaving Patton and Virgil in front of the store alone. He was concerned for Two running off after Thomas, but it had just been too much at once. His brain told him to get away and take a moment and  for once, he didn't think and just listened. He needed a moment to sort through everything that had happened. Barely two blocks down the street and he heard footsteps quickly approaching. He turned and saw Patton running towards him with Virgil falling a bit behind.

"I know you want to be alone, but you really shouldn't walk through the city by yourself!" Patton stopped and panted a bit, catching his breath. "We probably also shouldn't split up more! Roman is busy and Two is off who knows where."

"I apologize, Patton. You are right."

"That's okay. We can keep walking quietly until you're ready to talk."

Logan shook his head and looked over at the two. "No, it's quite alright. Just a bit of time was enough to ease me some."

"Are you sure?" Patton looked concerned but took a nod as enough of an answer. "Well, alright then." He turned and looked over at Virgil who was still a bit out of breath from running. "Gee, kiddo. I should take you out around town more."

"Yeah, I know I'm not... exactly the most fit person..." Virgil took a deeper breath and stood up straighter. "I'll be okay, Pat. We can worry about that later."

"Right." Logan cleared his throat. "The man we identified as 'Thomas' seems to be the same person both Roman and I have had an encounter with. I still do not remember what happened during my encounter, but with the limited data we have, it might be a sort of mimic ability."

Virgil nodded. "Yeah, we sort of figured that out."

Logan sighed and fiddled with his tie. "I have a growing list of theories we really should work out."

"Oh, more science tests huh?" Virgil perked up a bit. "I actually have one for Roman I was meaning to mention."

Logan cocked an eyebrow but simply nodded. "One thing at a time, we will shelve that conversation for a later day."

"So, what now?" Patton asked. "Two is still out there and Roman is preoccupied. Do we go and try to find them or do we just go home?"

"As easy as it would be to try and track him down again, I am not quite... up to it right now." Logan glanced away, looking down the barren street. "I don't know how long he will hold my ability for, so I do not wish to find him again today."

"That's okay, no need to push yourself." Patton put a hand on Logan's shoulder. "Two will find his way back to me, I'm sure of it. I believe in him as if he were, well, me!"

Logan looked over at Patton with a bemused look. "He is you, Patton."

"So, we're just gonna... go home?" Virgil spoke up.

"Yes, well, perhaps retreating back to where we know Two will go when he needs to, as well as regrouping and coming up with our next plan of attack."

"Remind me to play a game of Risk with you one day, Logan." Virgil let out with snark.

"A game called Risk does not seem like the type of thing you would enjoy," Logan smirked to himself. "Since you never seem to take any."

"W-was that a joke?" Virgil was surprised. "Well, look who’s feeling better?"

"Aww, let's go home and have our family game night! I can even bring out Three to fill Roman's role. He can start saying random Disney quotes too! Not the same but it'll be like he's with us!"

"Eh, no thanks." Virgil spun back towards the center of town. "Let's not ruin our night away from Roman, shall we?"



Across town, Two was in a crowd of people, pushing his way through as quickly as he can, excusing himself as he did. He knew the others weren't following anymore, but he was so close and hadn't lost sight of Thomas yet, he didn't want to give up.

He was able to get a break in the crowd and sprinted, reaching out and grabbing Thomas' wrist, tugging back gently.

Thomas spun around, yanking his arm out of his reach. "Stop, no! I just-" He took a step back, holding up his hands. "I don't want anything else weird happening!"

"Could you at least let me explain? We lost track of everyone else, it's just us!" Two held up his hands, keeping his distance. "I don't mean any harm! We were getting along before weren't we?"

"Logan already explained enough, how do you keep finding me?" He took a careful step back. "What do you want?"

"To be friends!" Two shouted. "Is that really so bad?"

"Yes! Maybe?" Thomas ran his hands through his hair. "Look, I was living a normal life until Logan showed up one day, talking like some dude out of a comic book, but he didn't make any sense! What do you want me to do about it?"

"Oh." Two slowly dropped his hands, his face falling into a concerned frown. "Did... does nothing happen unless we're around?"

Thomas marched closer, getting right in Two's face. "Well, he showed up one day and suddenly I could hear people's thoughts. It happened again back there." Thomas angrily whispered, motioning back the way the came.

Two leaned back a bit. "M-maybe your power only works around us? Or copying ours or maybe-"

"I don't have powers!" Thomas took a step back and spun around, taking a deep breath. "I'm not like you, I can't be!" He put his hands through his hair again. "I'm not."

Two watched the man calm down, shoulders falling a bit. He turned around with a frown, analyzing him. "I'm sorry. We just, Logan didn't remember meeting you and we all wanted to find out why and... got over excited."

"No, no." Thomas dropped his arm to the side, looking away sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled. It took me by surprise, I guess." He looked up at Two and gave a small smile. "Can we just... start again?"

Two perked up and let out a friendly hand. "My name is Patton! Or, Pat Two. You can call me Two!"

Thomas took the hand cautiously and shook it. "Thomas." He pulled his hand away, looking down at it. "Nothing happened that time."

"Or the time back in the store." Two nodded. "I'm not the original, maybe that's why?"

"Right." Thomas nodded and looked up at Two. "So, Logan doesn't remember me?"

Two shook his head. "Said he knew he met someone like us but didn't remember anything else."

Thomas nodded, looking around. "Can we talk somewhere less crowded maybe?"

"Oh!" Two perked up. "There's a dog park a few blocks away! Can we go there? I like going there on my downtime since I'm not allowed to have pets in my apartment."

"Sounds perfect."

Two walked forward and led the way, the quiet between them filled with the passing conversations of the people passing by. The park was a bit out of the way, but Two knew the ease of the familiar and friendly environment would make it easy for him. Also, who didn't love dogs?

It wasn't as busy as the day grew on, but that left them alone on a bench facing the park as a few sparse dogs ran around, playing with one another. Two motioned for Thomas to sit as he took his own seat.

"I think I know what happened with Logan." Thomas let out, staring out at the field. "I wasn't sure it actually happened, I kind of thought it was a dream at first, but I had this little notebook. It must have been his or something." Thomas motioned to describe and show how small it was. "Just fit in your pocket, he was carrying it around I guess and showed it to me. It was all about us. Just names and not too detailed, but he started going on about powers and how he could read minds..." Thomas leaned back on the bench. "I thought he was crazy, I was ready to ignore him. Being nice and telling him I wasn't interested in whatever he was selling didn't work, then he reached out." Thomas turned to Patton. "I kind of jumped and told him to let go and leave me alone. I think the words 'forget I ever existed' may have been said."

Two's face lit up with understanding. "If your ability works by touch, you could have been using his against him. He said he could give suggestions to people, I didn't think he could actually wipe someone's memory!"

"I was afraid of that."

"Thomas." Two leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "We aren't asking you to do anything you don't want to do. Logan was just concerned since he didn't remember and we wanted to find out why." Thomas silently nodded and looked back out at the field. "I'm not asking you to do anything you don't feel comfortable with, but maybe we could..." Two sighed and pulled his hand back. "We could help you understand this ability more, just enough to make sure you have a control over it and it's not something else. Or you can go home and we will leave you alone."

Thomas didn't answer as he kept his eyes on the playful dogs running around. He sighed and looked over at Two for the first time since sitting down. "How many of you are there? Sorry, of us, I guess."

"Oh!" Two perked up at the question. "Well, there's Virgil. He was at the store too, but he's a big worry wart. He's sweet, though he pretends he's not. Then there's Roman. He had a date tonight so he wasn't there, but he's a big softy too. He sings Disney songs all the time and performs at the theater!"

"Oh, he does?" Thomas perked up and smiled. "I do too! Which theater, I don't think I've met him."

Two shrugged. "Sorry, don't know. He could tell you all about it though!"

Thomas looked a bit unsure but nodded. "And what can they do? You make duplicates and Logan does stuff with his mind."

"Oh, well..." Two shifted a bit on the bench.

"That's okay." Two looked up at him. "It's not fair for you to tell me their secrets, I can just ask them myself."

"Oh... OH!" Two jumped up from the bench. "That's perfect, we can go back to the apartment right now and you can meet Virgil and-" Two stopped mid-rant. "I don't know if they're home yet, but they should be soon!"

Thomas laughed and smiled up at him. "We can go another day, I really should be getting home. Maybe order a pizza since I never bought those groceries."

"Sorry about that." Two said still smiling. "We had pizza last night, though! I recommend it!"

Thomas stood up and turned completely towards Two. "You know, today was weird, strange beyond words, but..." He smiled up at the other. "Thanks for chasing after me. I probably would have worried about it forever." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Here, let me have your number, I'm sure the others are worried but we can sort this out a different day." He handed his phone over showing the 'new contact' screen.

Two grabbed the phone and typed everything in before handing it back. "Thanks. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Thomas!"

The two parted with a wave and Two let out a sigh, heading for the nearest bus stop. He got to the exit of the park before freezing, patting down his pockets. "I don't have bus money." He whispered to himself, looking around. "Guess... I'm walking home then."



Patton was staring out the window in the living room watching the light fade away from the city. "Two isn't home yet."

"Don't worry, Patton. He will return when he can." Logan spoke, not looking up from the crossword he was doing to pass the time.

"I felt his panic a little bit a while ago!"

"You also stated that it passed quickly and was probably nothing."

"I know I did but he still hasn't come back yet! What if something happened? What if he got lost, or he-"

"Patton!" Virgil walked into the living area and stared down the other. "Listen, I know I'm the last person who should be saying this, but you can't worry about 'what ifs' all the time. You'll keep going down and down until you set yourself into a panic."

Patton nodded and bit his lip, looking back out the window before turning away and taking a spot on the couch. "You're right. I said I trusted him and I do, so I just need to calm down and wait. I don't need him feeling me panic."

The door suddenly creaked open and Patton bolted from his spot to the door. He stopped and looked up at Roman as he froze in the doorway, concerned. "Are you alright, Patton? How did things go?"

Patton sighed and his shoulders fell. "They went kinda okay? He sort of ran off and Two chased after him and we haven't seen him since."

"Oh." Roman walked in and pulled Patton into an embrace. "Come here, padre. It hasn't been too terribly long, he'll be back."

Patton pulled out of the hug reluctantly and nodded up at Roman. "You're right. Thomas seemed nice, too. I'm sure if he did catch up to him, everything would be okay."

"Thomas?" Roman looked over Patton's shoulder at the others. "Is that his name then?"

"Yeah, he kind of freaked out on Logan and ran off though."

Roman's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I thought this was the guy I ran into, with the electricity."

Logan looked up from his crossword at Roman. "Yes, we hypothesized that it might be a type of mimic ability of some sort."

Roman tilted his head at the thought and nodded. "I see, that does make a bit of sense."

"Enough about us!" Patton clapped his hands together. "How was the date?"

"Oh." Roman shrugged. "It was alright."

"Just alright?" Virgil spoke up. "Doesn't sound too promising."

"I do not wish to judge based off of one date, the offer for another has been extended. He will get back to me about it." Roman spoke as if he was done with the topic. "Is there anything for dinner?"

"We had leftovers, I thought you would have eaten while you were out," Logan questioned. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine, I'll just grab a snack before I hit the hay."

Virgil looked over at Patton who was glancing at the doorway to the kitchen with concern. "You're gonna worry Two if you keep this up."

Patton sighed and nodded. "Perhaps a cup of tea will help me calm my nerves." He made his way into the kitchen as well.

Roman took out a small container of pasta from the other night and turned, jumping when he saw Patton standing behind him. "Geez, Patton!" He placed a hand over his heart. "You scared me there. You're usually not so quiet."

"Sorry, I'm just a bit worried. Would you like some tea?"

"Mmm, that sounds delightful."

Patton took out two mugs as Roman placed the container in the microwave. He spun around and looked over at Patton. "I know you want to ask."

Patton reached for the kettle and started filling it with water. "What do you mean?"

"My date."

Patton looked over and smiled. "I'm not going to ask you about it since you don't want to talk about it."

"That's not what I said." Roman crossed his arms. "I said you want to ask."

"People are naturally curious, but again, you don't want to talk about it." He looked over at Roman who stared him down before diverting his eyes away. "Unless you really do and you're waiting for me to ask."

"No." Roman looked back up and smiled. "Honestly, it was just a boring date."

Patton went back to making the tea, placing it on the stovetop when he froze. He felt something, a sort of excitement that wasn’t coming from himself. He looked up and over at Roman with a puzzled look. He then turned back towards the other room and ran out without a word, abandoning any thoughts of making tea.

Logan and Virgil looked up at Patton as he stared at the front door. "Is everything alright?" Logan spoke with a tone of concern.

Patton nodded and started to smile. The door creaked it's familiar screech and opened up, revealing an exhausted Two walking in. Patton took a few steps forward before stopping himself. A flash of light and out popped what was another copy. "Three, I demand you hug Two for me!"

Three didn't even hesitate as he ran up and grabbed Two in a tight embrace. "We were so worried!" Three cried out. "Where were you? What happened?"

Two pushed back and smiled sheepishly. "I didn't have money for the bus. I had to walk back, got a bit lost, sorry. It takes longer to trek across the city then you think, especially during rush hour."

"Could you not have just asked someone for change to take the bus?" Logan questioned.

"Heaven's no! What if someone really needed that money, I couldn't do that!"

Virgil scoffed and chuckled to himself. "Typical Patton."

Two walked passed Three and up to Patton. "I'm just glad to be home."

"Me 'two'." He winked and Two smiled, reaching forward and returning to his host in a flash. Three walked forward and quickly joined, leaving Patton to let out a sigh of relief as he felt completely whole once more. "Ah. OH." He perked up. "Well, Two certainly had a bit of an adventure!" He spun around and smiled at Logan. "I think I have some good news and a bit of explaining!"

The three sat around the kitchen table as Patton retold the entire story from the beginning, filling in Roman as to what happened after he left. Roman sat, engrossed in the story as he ate his pasta, Logan filling in any gaps Patton may have missed. Virgil sat quietly, absorbing the new information they had.

"So he has your phone number?" Virgil spoke up, watching Patton nod. "So we just wait for him to answer us?"

"I guess so."

"Then what?" Roman pushed away his now empty plate. "You said he could help figure out his abilities, so how exactly do we do that?"

"We can make a whole day of it!" Patton perked up. "We can spend some time trying to figure out everyone's abilities in some way to make him feel more at ease. I can make us all lunch! You use the roof, right?"

Logan brought a hand to his chin, contemplating the idea. "It could work. There have been a number of things I have been curious about. Remember when Roman mentioned being attacked by the mugger but the punches did not hurt?"

"What?!" Patton stood up, almost causing his chair to fall over. "No, no punching! I'm not letting you guys purposefully hurt each other!"

"Of course." Logan smiled. "I was merely suggesting a way to test if we are simply more durable or if it is just Roman."

"No." Patton crossed his arms. "I don't like the idea of you finding out if we are--are durable! That's that, no more discussing this!" He stuttered in his anger.

"Man, Patton, you really are our dad," Roman muttered. "Except that would make Logan our mom."

Logan ignored the comment and turned to Virgil. "Didn't you say you had an idea for Roman's abilities?"

Virgil looked unsure before perking up. "Oh! Yeah, I did. I want to keep it a surprise though." He looked over at Roman and the grin on his face grew with fake malicious intent. "Don't worry, it shouldn't hurt you."

"Oh yeah? Well, I accept whatever challenge you throw my way!"

Patton pushed his chair in and clapped his hands together. "Okay children, dad says it's time for bed!"

"Okay, we've officially started to push that to its limit." Virgil got up and waved his hand. "I'm off to bed. Night, guys."

"Me as well!" Roman shot up from his chair and smiled at the two. "Good night you two. Have fun."

Logan glanced over at Patton, baffled. "Have fun sleeping? I do not understand what he meant, his tone indicated other intent."

Patton shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Lo. Have a good night."



Patton woke up the next morning to the sound of his phone going off. He groaned and opened his eyes, noticing a bit of light in the sky. He picked up his phone and realized he slept through his alarm, but it was still early. He had no work today so no second alarm went off, luckily meaning he could sleep in a bit more. Quickly checking what had set off his phone, he shot up and put on his glasses.

A new message from an unknown number read: 'Hey, it's Thomas. Did Pat Two make it home okay last night?'

Patton smiled and quickly responded. He hadn’t been quite sure if Thomas was going to respond or not. He added the contact and hopped out of bed, suddenly filled with excitement.

He saw the coffee pot wasn't quite empty, a sign that Logan was probably still here, working from home. He usually made a pot and drank it throughout the day. He marched down the hall and knocked on the door, just to be sure. "Logan? You still here?"

The door opened just a few seconds later. "Morning, Patton. Did you require my assistance?"

"No, I just wanted you to know that Thomas texted me!" He held up his phone, pointing at the screen. "We can set up a day to run experiments now! Isn't that exciting?"

Logan quickly read the message and stood up straight. "Yes, quite. Do tell me when he can make his way over one of these days. I feel we should 'clear the air' if you will and make amends."

Patton nodded and started typing out a flurry of messages in his excitement. He sat at the table in the kitchen as he scrolled through his phone, awaiting the arrival of every new message. Thomas seemed a bit nervous about the whole thing, but Patton was good at comforting people, and it seemed like Two left a good impression on him.

A tone announced the arrival of a new message and Patton barely finished reading it before running back down the hall, knocking repeatedly on the door.

Logan opened it with a huff, watching Patton bounce up and down in place. "Patton, are you alright? You're giving me a headache with all the movement."

"Sorry! It's just... Thomas is free can he come over today? I can make us all snacks and I can help out too since I'm here and-"

"Woah, shh, calm down." Logan held up his hands. "Thomas is willing to come over today?"

"Yeah." Patton looked down at the phone. "He said, 'I would rather do it now before I get too anxious and back out' and then he put that laughy, crying face, see?"

Patton shoved the phone in Logan's face who simply pushed it down. "Yes, wonderful Patton. He may come over whenever he feels comfortable. It will just be the two of us until after lunch if that eases his nerves at all."

The rest of Patton's morning was a whirlwind of running around and getting things cleaned up and ready. It took almost an hour before he realized he could cut his time in half by letting Two help out, let alone Three. Thomas already knew about it so he suddenly was all abuzz cleaning and cooking while Three set up a cozy area for them on the roof. It was getting colder so he made a nice warm lunch and some tea, not sure what Thomas would be drinking.

The day flew by until he heard a hesitant knock on the front door. Two opened it and smiled, pulling the other into a hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" Two pulled back. "It's me! I made it back safe, thank you for asking! You're so sweet."

Thomas smiled a bit, eyes darting around. "Yeah, of course. I didn't think about you having a way home until later, sorry. I should have offered money for a cab or something."

"No worries, it was nice to just walk and enjoy the city for once." Two moved out of the way and motioned for Thomas to enter.

He was hesitant, glancing around the apartment at the various knick-knacks the others had placed. Patton walked in with just as big of a smile. "Nice to see you, Thomas. It's just Logan and me here. I'll go get him, he usually works in his room!"

"We made all sorts of things for lunch, didn't know what you liked!" Two headed to the kitchen, motioning for the other to follow.

"Wow, that's a lot of food. It looks so good! You didn't have to do all this."

"Nonsense!" Two waved off the comment. "It's food for the week if anything. Roman and Virgil won't mind either."

Logan entered the kitchen behind Patton and cleared his throat, causing them both to turn around. "Thomas." He said with a nod, pulling something from his pocket. "I would like to apologize. It seems both times we have met were not quite ideal and it caused you distress. I was hoping I could make amends?"

Logan stretched out his hand and Thomas glanced down, noting that Logan had put on a glove. He smiled a bit and took it, pausing to see if the same warm feeling ran up his arm. When nothing had happened, he shook it with a smile. "No, that's okay. Sorry I kind of freaked out and ran away." He pulled his hand back. "You've been very kind, considering everything that happened."

"We should bring the food up and get started." Patton nodded to Two as they carefully gathered the containers they made. "Just tell us what you want to munch on and I'll leave the rest here."

Thomas insisted on helping carry something as they made their way to the roof. Three was staring out at the city when the door opened up. He quickly greeted Thomas before leaning over to Patton, disappearing in a flash. Patton chuckled when Thomas jumped, not expecting it at all.

"So." Logan walked forward and took the lead. "We shall start off wherever you feel comfortable, Thomas. There is no pressure to join in. If at any time you are uncomfortable, you may ask us to stop and you are free to leave." Logan waited for a sign of approval before continuing.

"Yeah, I don't know where to start with all of this." Thomas rubbed his arm and shuffled his feet. "Maybe kind of guide me through something?"

"Oh! I have an idea!" Patton jumped in. "I never tried to see how many of me I can make!"

"I'm not sure that is wise, Patton. We don't know how much stress that would put on you."

Patton huffed at Logan. "Well, then how about I just make as many as I usually stop at? We want to make Thomas comfortable, right? You have anything you would like to test out?"

Logan pondered and looked over at the two before shaking his head. "Not without the other two, and I'm not quite sure how to redo the test I did about my emotions you suggested. That one is a more long-term experiment."

"Then mine it is!" Patton turned to Thomas. "That okay big guy?"

Thomas shrugged. "Yeah, go ahead, I guess."

Patton walked forward to the center as Logan took his spot. He turned around and took a big breath before closing his eyes. Suddenly, three more copies appeared next to him. All of them looked up at once and then at one another. "So this is Three, Four, and Five. I usually don't go farther than this."

Two wan over and joined the others. "I'm Two!"

"Hi!" One of them spoke up. "I'm back! It's me, Three!"

"Hello." The next one said. "I'm Four."

The last one smiled and waved, not saying much. Patton pointed happily at him. "That's Five. He's a bit shy."

"So the more you make the more the personalities differ from your own?" Logan questioned. "Perhaps..." He held a hand to his chin and started speaking out loud. "When you make a copy, it is more an even fragment of yourself that you then copy over to a whole person? The more you chip away, the less even the pieces? All hypothetical of course." He looked over at them all as they gave varying responses back. "You've never made more than this?"

"Oh, no. I've made one more, but I don't let Six out much." The Pattons glanced around at one another. "Six doesn't like the idea he's just a copy and usually tries acting different, rebelling out. It got a little bad, so I usually stop here."

"Then perhaps we shall keep it that way, for your safety." Patton nodded, looking at all the others. "Who knows what Seven would be like."

"I bet he'd be nice," One of them spoke out. "Can we go back?"

Patton opened his arms and they all gathered into a group hug, disappearing in a big flash. "Well, that was fun! I miss those guys sometimes."

"You sure know how to fill up a room." Thomas joked. "I'm kind of curious about it. Not as much as I am scared, though."

"That is quite alright." Logan turned to Thomas. "Take a few deep breaths and if you're up for it, you can try it. I believe the key might be trying to keep calm. You will be prepared this time."

Thomas nodded, looking up at Patton. "I've tried mind reading, you wanna give it a shot?"

Patton smiled and walked over. "Just breathe in and out, let me know when you're ready."

Thomas seemed to try and shake off his nerves before taking one big breath. He looked over at Patton and nodded, looking more determined than before. Patton let out a hand and he took it. Patton gasped a bit as the familiar warm feeling ran up his arm.

"Oh, wow," Thomas muttered. "This is... it's quite different when you're expecting it. Oh, my goodness." He grasped Patton's hand a bit tighter. "You okay?"

"Yeah! How do you feel?" Patton asked, looking up at the other.

"I feel kinda weird? Like, I feel full?" He motioned towards his chest. "If I focus on that, maybe that's how it'll work?"

"Yeah! That's usually how I feel! It's all the bits of you all gathered up nice and warm! You just gotta let it out!"

Thomas nodded and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Logan and Patton looked on as he stood there before he let out a big sigh. "Sorry, no. I can't, I'm too nervous."

"It's okay!" Patton grabbed a hold of Thomas' hand with both of his. "Don't push yourself."

He nodded, smiling up at Patton. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Patton suddenly shivered, perking up at the feeling. "Oh! Well, that was weird."

"Are you cold, Patton? I could get you a blanket you had brought up."

"I'm kinda warm," Thomas said, looking down at their hands. "It kind of feels warm when I'm doing, the uh..."

Patton nodded. "It was, but it's kinda..." He let out a breath. "Kinda different now."

"Are you quite alright, Patton?" Logan inquired with a note of concern.

"Yeah, I..." Patton took in another breath before swaying, ripping his hands away. Logan launched forward and caught the other before he fell, letting him sit on the ground and allowing Patton to lean on him for support. "Not feeling great anymore."

"It's okay, Patton. It's okay." Logan tried not to panic. "Tell me, how do you feel now? What changed?"

Patton looked up at Logan, shaking his head. "I dunno, light headed maybe? Kinda..." His eyes widened a bit. "Tired, and... lighter?"

"Lighter?" Logan looked up at Thomas who was watching them with a look of shock and panic. "Thomas, are you feeling alright?"

His hand was still frozen in place and he turned and looked down at it. "I don't think..."

"Thomas?"

He shook his head. "This wasn't a good idea. I shouldn't have done this."

"It's fine, Thomas. Just tell us what is worrying you."

Thomas looked down at the other two. He seemed a bit paler, mouth open to speak but too afraid to say anything. "I think... I take them from you, not..."

Logan jumped and looked down at Patton. "Can you make Two show up? Are you feeling well enough to try?"

Patton nodded and closed his eyes. A light started to shine before flickering out into nothing, causing Patton to start panting. "No, no it hurts."

"Oh. You, oh..." Logan looked up at Thomas, holding Patton a bit closer. "This is not your fault, we didn't know it was like this."

"It was like I was draining the life from him, how is that in any way okay?!" Thomas took a few steps back. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be near you guys. I was a normal dude until you showed up and all I do is hurt you."

"No, Thomas." Patton looked up at him, smiling. "I'm slowly starting to feel better, it's okay!"

"NO!" Thomas shouted. "None of this is okay! I'm sorry, I was willing to give this all a shot, I was." He shook his head. "I can't. I have to go." He turned and ran to the door, throwing it open and down the stairs as fast as he could.

Logan didn't move from the ground, staring at Thomas sprinting away from the scene. He looked down at Patton and rubbed his back like he had seen Patton do before. "How are you feeling?"

"I do feel a tiny bit better like it's all coming back." Patton cleared his throat and sat up a bit more, leaning off of Logan for support. "Thanks, Lo. Do you think he'll be okay? I'm worried about him."

"I don't know." He whispered back. "Give him time, that's all we can do I think."

Chapter Text

Logan had successfully moved Patton down from the roof and back into their apartment, wrapping him in a blanket pile on the couch. Patton had stopped randomly shivering intensely but accepted the blankets for warmth and comfort eagerly.

"I-it really isn't his fault, Lo... It's an accident, it's no one's fault."

Logan sighed and fell onto the couch next to him. "We should have still been more cautious, Patton. We weren't completely sure about his abilities and took too big of a risk, you could have been hurt."

Patton leaned over and placed his head on Logan's shoulder, his arms still buried underneath blankets. Logan looked over at him with concern but didn't speak up. "We all thought we had it figured out. The only way to know was to test it, and we did. Now we know."

"I should have done it first," Logan spoke with a softer tone. "He should have tested it on me, not you."

"He was more comfortable with me," Patton answered back. "Worrying about this won't change what happened. I'm okay, it worked out okay." Logan sighed and didn't bother with a response. He shifted and lifted his arm hesitantly to wrap it around Patton's shoulders. He paused and moved the last second, dropping it back to his sides, not quite sure what to do. "This is fine, Lo. You're making me feel better already." They both sat in silence just like that a bit as Logan focused on Patton's breathing as it evened out. Patton smiled and shifted in his blanket cocoon. "I'm getting a bit warm now. Mind helping me shed a few layers?"

"Oh, of course." Logan reached over and pulled off two of the blankets, leaving the last one loose on Patton's shoulders. "Do you need anything?"

"I can get it."

Patton never got a chance to move as Logan firmly placed a hand on Patton's shoulder, putting enough pressure to keep him in place. "I'll get it."

Patton smiled and fell back into the couch cushions. "Water? Oh, and my phone should be on the counter too."

Logan nodded and got up, heading for the kitchen. He quickly returned with both objects, handing them over to Patton.

The water was emptied almost immediately before he leaned over and placed it on the table. He looked at his phone and started typing away furiously. "I'm going to let Thomas know I'm okay, and that he shouldn't feel bad. I still want to try and be friends if I can."

"I truly don't know how you can stay so positive." Patton looked over at Logan who smirked a bit back. "I seem to be more worried and upset than you are. You seem to be comforting me more than I, you."

Patton placed his hand on Logan's knee, sincerely smiling back. "I just try to be me, that's all I can do."

They looked at each other in a comfortable silence before Logan stood up once more, turning back to Patton. "I should go get one of those containers of food, we can sit on the couch and watch a movie."

"Logan, I'm fine, really. I feel much better, almost as if it never happened! I bet I can even make Two come out."

"No, no." Logan cut him off. "Please, I'd feel more at ease if you just relaxed for now. Pick out a movie, I'll go grab us something to eat."

Patton watched Logan leave before staring back down at his phone. He wasn't expecting Thomas to answer anytime soon, but the morning had left a sour taste that he wasn't going to let ruin the rest of his day.

Logan sat back down and handed over a container. "You're gonna let me eat in here?" Patton asked.

"I feel the unusual circumstances call for it."

Patton grabbed the food and leaned back. "I'm not dying, Logan. Really, I'm okay."

"You're always okay, Patton, that's why I'm worried. You were the one who taught me that it's okay to not be okay."

Patton looked up at Logan and smiled, patting his hand down on the couch. Logan took his spot back and Patton pulled him into his blanket. "It's not your fault, Logan."

Instead of answering, Logan just sighed and held onto his half of the blanket keeping his distance. They sat for a moment before the tv flickered to life, causing Patton to jump. "Pick a movie, Patton."

"Oh, sure." He went to move up out of the blanket when Logan reached over and stopped him with his arm.

Logan shook his head and pointed to the small DVD collection. "Just pick something, I'll take care of it." His eyes started to faintly glow and Patton found a small stack of DVD cases placing themselves on the coffee table.

Patton looked at the pile back to Logan with a curious expression but decided not to ask for right now. He picked up a case from the pile and held it up. "How about this one?"



Roman returned a few hours later, tired and trying his best to remain quiet. He found Patton and Logan on the couch, a blanket around Logan and lying down as Patton sat at the end, watching tv. He clicked the door shut and Patton looked up, smiling over at him. He waved and made his way into the kitchen, Patton carefully following.

"How was your day, Roman?"

Patton had no time before Roman spun around with a huge grin. "I don't care, how was yours? Spend the day cuddled up watching movies on the couch with Logan?" Roman wiggled his eyebrows. "Sounds cozy."

"What? Oh." Patton looked over his shoulder to see the faint glow of the tv lighting up what little he could see of the couch. "I think I scared him today."

"Scared, Logan? Really?"

Patton nodded and looked down bashfully. "Thomas came over earlier." Roman perked up at the news before tensing up. "It didn't go so well, but it wasn't his fault!" Patton looked determined to prove his point. "It was an accident and I'm okay so-"

"Wait, did you get hurt?" Roman placed his hands on Patton's shoulders, pulling him in closer to check him over. "Are you injured anywhere? Virgil is super paranoid, I'm sure he has a first aid kit we could use!"

Patton placed a hand on Roman's and tugged it off. "No, I'm okay. A little tired but fine."

"Patton, what happened?"

"Promise me you won't go out and do something stupid if I tell you?"

"Patton-"

"Promise me. You're not going to go after Thomas for this, okay?"

Patton glared at Roman who sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Fine, I won't. I promise."

Patton paced back and forth, mindful of his volume to let Logan continue napping as he recalled the incident a few hours before.

"It was weird at first, like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer placed on my arm, you know the feeling? It kinda started to tingle but then I started getting dizzy. Next thing I knew I got really cold and the world was spinning and Logan caught me before I fell. I even tried bringing out Pat Two but it just sort of... hurt? Like that part of me was shut off or taken out." Patton placed a hand on his chest and rubbed it. "I feel fine now like it never happened. Just kind of tired."

"Kind of like how I have this fuzzy feeling I use to focus mine, but somehow it felt like someone reached in and took it away?"

"Or started to, yeah." Patton looked back over to the couch. "Logan handled it pretty calmly but when we got back to the apartment I could tell his was worried and panicking, but I'm fine really. He kept insisting I relax so I just let him do what he needed to feel better."

"Thus leading to Logan ungracefully asleep on the couch." Roman nodded in understanding. "So, Thomas just kind of ran off after?"

Patton shrugged. "He said he was a danger to us and he was normal around other people. He sort of ran off in a panic. There was a lot of panicking. Should I make panic pancakes? Do you think that would help? I don't know if Thomas likes pancakes."

"Thomas? You're still trying to be friends with him after all of that?"

"Roman, that's not fair." Patton gave a disapproving look. "We forced this all onto him and things went bad. At the very least we should apologize and give him the option to do what he wants. We can all still be friends! Logan even shook his hand with a glove and that seemed to have worked."

"So he has to wear gloves around us at all times? Not fashionable but I could get used to it. I mean, I haven't properly met him yet."

"You promised me you wouldn't go looking for trouble with him. He will come back if he wants to, we are not forcing him into anything."

"Fine, you're right. I'll leave it alone for now." Roman glanced over at Patton with an intense look. "Are you sure you're okay, Pat?"

Patton huffed and let his shoulders drop. "Yeah. I was kinda scared but I wanted to be brave, and then I could feel Logan starting to really freak out and I wanted to try and calm him down." He looked up and gave a tired smile. "I really am okay now, though."

"That's good to hear, though I'm sure Virgil won't be happy about this."





"...I'm not happy about this, Pat."

"I know, but it's okay!" Virgil huffed and pulled out his phone as a distraction. "Come on, we can still be friends and sort this all out."

"I still haven't even met him, Patton," he said as he kept scrolling through the phone, not sparing a glance. "I'll make my opinion of the guy when he isn't running away from us."

Patton sighed and looked over at Roman who shrugged back in response. "That's all I can ask for, I suppose. Well!" He perked up a bit. "Logan went back to working on something and we have plenty of food, so help yourselves for tonight!" Patton walked into his room off of the living room, leaving the other two alone.

"You handled that well," Roman commented, looking down at the other on the couch. Virgil shrugged and kept clicking away on his phone. "I figured you'd be a bit upset about everything that happened."

"I thought you would too."

Roman groaned quietly. "I promised Patton I wouldn't do anything."

"Good." Virgil shot up from the couch. "Then you can not do anything and follow me."

Roman shot Virgil a confused glance. "Excuse me?"

Virgil spun his phone around, a photo of Thomas on the screen. "The internet is a magical place. Come on, I have a super nerd I need to track down."

"...did you just stalk him on social media?"

"You coming or what, princey?"

Virgil headed for the door and Roman hesitated a moment before chasing after. They were only down the street before he couldn't take the silence anymore. "You have any idea where he would be?"

"Not really, but I have a general area."

"A general area." Roman quickened his pace and cut the other off. "That won't help if he's not there."

"Uh, hello?" Virgil pointed to himself. "I can stop time? If he was in a spot like a day or so ago, I can find him. Or we can find out where he will be, it's not that hard." Virgil walked around Roman and kept going.

"I thought you were against using your powers like this!" Roman jogged to catch up. "What happened?"

"I dunno, despite your vanishing act, nothing seems to go terribly wrong. I'm going to avoid it if I can but maybe... not everything that can go wrong will?"

Roman gasped dramatically at this, grabbing his chest. "A-are you... taking a chance?!"

"Har har. Shut up and let's go, we have to take the bus across town."

"Why? What have you figured out?"

They stopped at a corner and looked before crossing. "Based on where he buys groceries and the park you found him, I googled the locations of all local theaters in the city and found a general area he would be in."

Roman let out a low whistle. "That is some grade A stalking there, Virge."

"Yeah, well, Patton almost passed out and then he ran off. I'm not letting him get away with that."

"Aww, it's almost like you care." Virgil shot Roman a look. "What are you going to do?"

"Make sure he apologizes to Patton, of course."

"So you're doing all of this... for Patton."

Virgil stopped and spun around to Roman. "I'm doing this for all of us. Because this upset Patton which worried Logan with makes me super anxious and you're going to want to protect us from it all but you promised you wouldn't so then you'll start stressing..." He turned and continued walking. "I'm allowed to step in too."

"Our hero." Virgil glared over at Roman who had the cheesiest smile on his face. "Really though, Virgil. That's very... kind of you. Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever. Shut up and let's go."

It took roughly half an hour for Roman to start complaining that he was bored. The sun had started to set and they hadn't covered much ground. They had checked the park Roman had met him in and a few blocks but randomly stumbling upon Thomas was near impossible.

"This isn't going to work."

"So you have better ideas? Maybe if you wish hard enough we'll just find him!" Virgil snipped back with sarcasm. Roman scoffed and increased his pace, taking the lead. "We probably won't find him today, but I will find him."

Roman ignored the comment and crossed a street, heading in the opposite direction. "Why is this so important to you?" Virgil didn't answer and Roman looked back at him. "Well?"

"Nothing."

"Virgil, you can trust me, just tell me what's up."

Virgil thought about it before growling out an answer. "Because he's an unknown factor. Will he tell anyone? Are government agents going to show up and take us all away to experiment on us? Is he playing a game with us? Maybe it's part of some big evil plan, I don't know!"

"Woah, calm down, I doubt it's any of that. Logan and Patton seem to believe he was sincere when he ran off."

"That's fine, but..." Virgil huffed. "Patton is too trusting and I still don't completely trust Logan again." He looked down at the ground as he walked. "I just want to form my own opinion."

"Fair enough. I've hardly spoken a word to the guy." Roman suddenly stopped and looked around before turning. "This way!"

"Wha-hey!" Virgil ran to catch up, running across the street in a hurry. "Where are you going?"

Roman shrugged and continued walking. "Dunno. Just following my gut I guess. You walked us around for a while and we didn't get anywhere."

"We haven't been out that long, stop being dramatic."

Roman threw back his head in laughter. "M-me? Not... not being dramatic! Ha!" He held his stomach and shook his head as he tried to contain his amusement. "That's a good one. Next, you'll get rid of everything black in your wardrobe!"

"Hey, I own clothes with color!"

"Yeah, purple and red. Good job with that."

"No, I think I own this one blue shirt too!"

"Oh no." Roman snickered. "One whole blue shirt that I have never seen you wear."

Virgil smiled and shoved Roman playfully. "Shut it. You dress like you're in a Spanish soap opera most days."

Roman ran a hand through his hair to make it look slicked back. "I mean, have you seen me?"

"Yeah, that's exactly my point." Roman took in an offended gasp and started to laugh.

"I bet you we'll waste hours doing nothing and Patton will freak out when we get back." Roman turned to Virgil. "We didn't exactly tell them we left."

"Nah, Patton will text us and we'll be fine. Besides, we won't be out here too long."

"So we're betting on this then? I say you'll stay out all night before going home because you're too anxious to stop until this is done."

"Ohh, what are you placing down, hm?" Roman shrugged and Virgil smiled. "Oh, I know! If we somehow find Thomas tonight, you have to admit that I'm prettier than you."

"What, no!" Roman shouted, offended. "Why would you want to hear that?"

"Only because it would bother you to admit it."

"Wait, if we find him tonight? Ohh, that is too good to pass up!" Roman rubbed his hands together. "If we don't, then you have to ask Logan how you know when you're in love with someone. Or at least get him to then ask Patton!"

"You're still on about that?" Virgil shook his head. "Why are you so determined they'll get together? There's been like, no signs."

"It's a gut feeling I have and it hasn't been wrong yet! Every couple I say will get together has indeed gotten together!"

"...and how many has that been?"

"Uh," Roman smirked sheepishly. "Two?"

"Oh wow, so impressive." Virgil scoffed. "Fine, I'll play in your little shipping game. We don't find him tonight and I'll talk to Logan."

Roman spun around. "Excellent!" He reached out his hand. "A gentleman's agreement!"

Virgil looked down at the hand and smirked, taking it. "Fine, no harm in that." He retreated his hand back to his pocket. "Even if I lose I get to make Logan flustered."

Roman turned and continued back down the street. "Yeah, I knew if I picked something too out there like I wanted, you'd bail. Where's the fun in that?"

Virgil glanced around at the street around them before looking at Roman. "We're not even in the same part of the city, where are you taking us again?"

"I told you, wherever the wind takes me! Just enjoying the scenery." Roman took a turn down a different road.

"Okay, because it seems like you have a place in mind."

"Not really, I'm-" Roman stopped and shot out an arm to stop Virgil as well "...huh."

"What?" Virgil looked up at him and then down the street. "What's wrong?"

"I was just kind of letting my feet guide me." He pointed down the street and across the road. "So how do you think that happened?"

Virgil looked across the street and bit his tongue. "... is that him?"

"I think so." Roman looked both ways before running across the street after the figure heading the same way they were. "He doesn't see us, we have to be smart about this."

Virgil got onto the sidewalk and snorted out a laugh. "Smart nothing." He walked forward and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Thomas!"

The figure stopped and turned around, looking at the two confused. Virgil looked at Roman and jogged up to Thomas, Roman quickly following behind.

Thomas looked at the two before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Yeah, we're-" Roman was cut off by Virgil jabbing his elbow into Roman's gut. "Oof, watch it!" He rubbed the spot.

"Quiet, princey. Let me do the talking."

"Okay?" Thomas asked before taking a step back. "Sorry, do I know you?"

"Name's Virgil." He reached out a hand with a smirk. "Nice to meet ya."

Roman reached forward and grabbed Virgil's arm before Thomas had the chance to shake it. "Are you stupid?"

"Wait." Thomas' eyes flickered between the two. "You're the other roommates, aren't you?" He put his hands up and took a few steps back in retreat. "Look, I'm sorry but-"

"Hey, I just want a few minutes of your time and I'll be out of here. If that takes much to ask, then fine. We'll go." Virgil stated.

Thomas looked between the two before he let out a big sigh. "Fine, a few minutes, I owe you that much."

"You owe us nothing, Thomas. We were the ones who brought this upon you. Mr. Dark and Brooding here just wanted to have a word with you since we never got the chance to."

Thomas looked at Roman before pointing a finger at him. "You're the prince I met in the park, with the sparks."

Roman smiled and lifted his chin proudly. "At your service!"

"Come on, Thomas. Can't forget about me, huh?" Virgil offered his hand once more. "Name's Virgil."

Thomas looked down at his hand baffled. "You know what will happen if I shake your hand, right?"

"Try me."

"B-but... I could hurt you! Or worse!"

Virgil shrugged and gave a sinister grin. "Kind of what I'm hoping for."

"Virge!" Roman grabbed his arm once more, causing the other to laugh. "Don't talk like that."

Virgil pulled his arm away, still smiling to himself. "Relax, I knew he wouldn't do it." He crossed his arms and stared down the other. "So, you hurt Patton."

"Look, I apologized and said I'd leave you all alone."

"Ah!" Virgil cut him off. "Who said that was what we wanted? Patton just wanted to make a friend."

"Have you seen his puppy dog eyes?" Roman stage-whispered. "You can't say no to that face."

"I don't get it, I can't be near you... all I can do is hurt you!"

"Yeah, so can Roman." Virgil jabbed a thumb at the other. "So can Logan, and you've seen that first hand. Hell, all of us can, but we sorted it all out."

"Look, why are you here?" Thomas shuffled uncomfortably. "I was a normal guy. Nothing weird ever happened to me. Now you show up and things got super weird and I accidentally hurt Patton. Wouldn't you want me to stay away?"

"Listen, Rogue, you're not going to give us all the kiss of death," Roman said. Virgil looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. "What? So I can't read comics too?" Virgil rolled his eyes. "All we're saying is... could you at least answer Patton whenever you're ready? If not the rest of us, give him a second chance."

"The guy is the living embodiment of sunshine. He was so upset you left the way you did." Virgil chuckled to himself. "He was also upset you didn't eat or take food before you ran off."

Thomas stood there silently before nervously running a hand through his hair. "So you chased me down to tell me... you want me to still try and be friends with Patton?"

"No," Virgil asked. "Honestly if you could find out if you can take away our abilities without killing us, I'm all for that. I don't want the damn thing anyway, it's a bother."

"Virgil!"

"However!" Virgil cleared his throat. "I'll deny ever saying this but... yeah, I'm doing this for Patton. He believes in you for some reason or another, and I hate to see him upset. It's like watching a puppy cry."

"Aww, I don't want to think about puppies crying," Roman muttered. Thomas nodded in agreement, looking down and shuffling nervously. "At least consider it?"

"Well, you were willing to find me to try and make Patton happy, I don't see why I can't at least answer his text." He looked up at the two. "How did you find me anyway?"

Roman let out a loud laugh and shook his head. "I have no idea, we turned onto this street and there you were!"

"Right." Thomas pointed over to Roman. "So, like, an electricity based power, right?" Roman nodded and Thomas turned to Virgil. "Could I ask what you can do?"

"I can freeze time." Virgil shrugged. "Helps me get extra sleep."

"Oh wow. You... freeze time to take naps and get more sleep." Thomas kept his face blank before he started to smile. "That is... brilliantly lazy." He chuckled. "I can totally see someone doing that."

Virgil shrugged and looked a bit smug. "You know, you're not that bad of a guy, Thomas." He stretched out his hand once more. "It was nice meeting you."

Roman reached over and grabbed Virgil's hand once more. "Will you stop doing that?"

"What? Death sounds like a long, peaceful nap. I wouldn't mind." Despite his words, Virgil was beaming and holding back laughter.

"Oh har har. Mister funny guy I see." He tugged on Virgil's hand and spun around. "Have a nice day, Thomas. Glad to have this talk! May we meet another day!"

"O-okay. Bye."

Virgil looked up at Roman as he marched down the street with determination, dragging him along the whole way. They made it a block over before Virgil was able to catch up and tug his hand back. "Okay, you can let go now."

"Oh, I apologize." Roman took his own hand back. "Did you have to talk like that?"

"What? Dark, brooding, sassy? Sounds just like me." Virgil looked over at Roman still smiling. "Besides, I was kidding. He wouldn't do that, especially based on how he apparently reacted before."

"...Were you kidding earlier?"

"Hm? Of course, I was." Virgil tilted his head a bit. "I just wanted to freak him out a bit."

"No, not that. The not wanting your powers thing."

Virgil cocked an eyebrow at the question. "I haven't hidden the fact that I don't like my powers, Ro. Don't know why you're surprised."

"Because you just started admitting to yourself that you could do some good with them. I just thought..." Roman sighed. "I mean, you don't have to have them to be a part of our group, but I didn't think you'd want them... gone."

It stayed silent for a bit as they walked down the road side by side. "Look, I didn't think getting rid of them was an option, but now it might be. I always thought if I could, I would. No hesitation. I never... I didn't really think about actually keeping them if I had the choice."

"It's your decision, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so nosy."

"You're not being nosy, Roman." Virgil nudged the other and smiled up at him when their eyes met. "It's a perfectly normal concern. We'd still be friends."

"Of course. I mean, it's hard to not want to be my friend after meeting me!"

"In your dreams, princey." Virgil was happy the tension had left the air. "Besides, it's all hypothetical. I'm stuck being a weirdo like you."

"Aww, you do care."

"Speaking of!" Virgil stopped walking and Roman turned and looked at him. "I guess I won that bet."

"What be-oooooh." Roman's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, anything but that."

Virgil cupped his ear with his hand. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Roman huffed and crossed his arms, mumbling. "Speak up! I need to hear it."

"You're cuter than I am!"

"Oooh!" Virgil smiled up at Roman. "Sorry, it was supposed to be 'prettier', try again!"

Roman ignored him and turned around, continuing his trek home. "Which bus will take us on the right route again?"

"Come on, Roman! You lost the bet, let me hear you say it!"

"I did, now which bus? You know the routes better than I do."

They sat quietly on the bus as Roman hummed along, watching the city pass by. Virgil suddenly hopped off at one stop, Roman not paying much attention to where they had been. Disembarking, Roman followed Virgil until the other spoke up. "So I have a theory."

"Ooh? Please do share."

"About you-"

"Oh, my good looks are not the reason for my success, though they do not hurt. Good theory though." Virgil sent Roman an unamused look. "Sorry, do go on."

"We all have some secondary ability that is kind of like a side effect. Logan has his telekinesis but mind reading usually is paired with it though I'm not sure if that counts. Then Patton is also an empath. I apparently also make portals when I break free of time."

"I am a charming overcharged battery, yes do go on."

Virgil stopped and spun around on the mostly empty street. "See, that doesn't fit. That's not a side effect, that's part of the main effect."

Roman frowned and nodded. "You think it may be something else?"

Virgil nodded and looked around. "It's just an idea but... when you were having a few bad days, nothing seemed to go right for you."

Roman rolled his eyes and spun around with a dramatic flair. "Oh don't remind me, it was horrible!"

"You felt better and things started going your way again."

Roman turned and looked at him, nodding. "Yes, that's usually how things work with people."

"I can wake up on a bad day and have a good day. It's all cause or correlation, I think you're different. I think you're more... emotionally charged." Roman looked at Virgil with a blank look. "Okay, how about this... you felt good so you give off a positive charge. Good things start happening because of it."

"Oh." Roman thought back to his last week. "I mean. I can see how that makes some sense, but how are you sure?"

"I'm not." Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets. "But how else can we explain you randomly leading us right to the person we wanted to find? You met him before, so it may be possible."

"I've really never put much thought into it." Roman gasped loudly. "Could I attract people to see my shows? Oh, Broadway here I come!"

"I'm not even sure if that's how it works. It's just an idea. You always seem to be at the right place. Even when I sent you back those times, it all worked out, a little too well I think."

They walked up and entered their apartment, greeted by a worried Patton and a tired Logan.

"You're back! You didn't tell me you were leaving!"

"I told you they would be fine, Patton."

"You wouldn't let me text them!"

"They're full grown adults."

"Sorry, Patton!" Roman called out. "We just went for a bit of a walk around the city to clear our heads. We both had rough days."

"Yeah, the first day back after the break-in and all," Virgil muttered.

Patton sighed and nodded. "Well, then that's good. You feel better?"

"Yeah, the night air helped loads." Roman stretched his arms over his head. "Perhaps too well, I shall prepare for sleep soon."

"Me too. We all had a long day." Patton perked up. "Thomas did end up getting back to me, though! He wants his space but he said maybe we can be friends? I can't wait for you two to properly meet him!"

"Oh." Virgil smiled. "I can wait, you know how I don't like meeting new people."

"Nonsense, I'm sure he's lovely!" Roman smiled down at Virgil.

"Great! I'm off to bed then!" Patton happily walked off to his room.

Roman yawned into his hand. "I am as well, good night you two."

"Now that you both have returned, I shall also retreat to my room." Logan turned to leave.

"Hey, wait. I've got a question." Logan stopped and turned back around. "Why'd you freak out over Patton so much earlier?"

Logan adjusted his glasses casually. "I do not believe I 'freaked out' earlier. I showed concern for a friend and had not been in a position quite like that. Yes, I could have been a bit more level headed but I'm sure I handled things just fine."

"Whatever you say, Logan." Virgil walked passed Logan and waved a small salute. "Good night."

"Yes, goodnight." Logan looked at Patton's door before turning to Roman's. "Interesting," Logan smirked to himself. "Out for a walk together for over an hour?..." Logan pondered the question, walking back to his room for the night.

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since their last run-in with Thomas. No one had heard from him besides Patton, who would happily get a reply every once in a while. Patton had let them know that Thomas really did live a normal life. He didn't seem to have any effect on anyone else besides them. The others were still wary of the man, but most of the apprehension had dissipated when Patton went on a speech about acceptance. Thomas was one of them but had the ability to live life as if nothing was different, but that didn't mean Patton was willing to let him ignore what had happened, it wasn't healthy to push it all aside.

Roman buttoned up his jacket, Virgil having upgraded it a bit. There were no more tassels hanging off the side after they had caught on something and ripped. Virgil still managed to keep the Prince theme, even going as far as redoing his mask. It was still black but wasn't a cheap fabric one that slid around on his face. Virgil had come up with one that molded to his face and fit much better after a bit of digging on the internet.

He was eager to finally go back out, he hadn't been out while Virgil worked on the costume. It had been impossible to wear with needles and pins sticking out of it. It wasn't professional or perfect, but it was nicer than before and Virgil had done it mostly by hand, making it perfect for the hero.

He had tested out Virgil's theory a few times and found it didn't quite work the way they thought. Roman had to focus to find specific people, but he did seem to have an energy about him. He couldn't attract people to him, but if he wanted he could make enough of an effect to make people glance his way. Tonight he was going to test what he had done with Thomas weeks before. If he focused on finding someone with ill intent, will his feet lead him the right way?

The answer was a resounding yes. He started slow, only really finding one criminal a night if he was lucky. After a few days, it became easier, almost second nature. With the costume on, he felt confident and strode through the city with determination as his feet brought him to those who dare to do wrong. Sometimes it brought him to people merely thinking about such crimes, and the site of him staring them down sometimes drove that idea away, stopping the crimes even before they occurred.
Roman had been practicing while he was out of commission, coming up with a few more tricks himself. His little taser stun was helpful, but he had managed a few other tricks as well. People still ran when he let out sparks to scare them off, but he had managed one more trick in his spare time, though it took concentration. He was still working out the issues, of course.

He placed his hands together and pulled them slowly apart, creating a current between the two. Quickly, he grabbed it, causing it to form and shape in his hands. He waved it back and forth as the electric current stretched out. It worked a bit like a rope or a really weak whip, and Roman smacked it against the ground at the mugger. He launched it forward and grabbed the man's wrist, tugging it towards him afterward. The current was small at that distance, more light then energy, but it still shocked and burned as the mugger stumbled forward onto the ground. Roman ran up and grabbed the purse, kneeing the man in the back.

"Foul villain, I believe you owe someone an apology for your behavior!"

"F-fuck off, freak!"

Roman flexed his hand and placed it on the man's back. "Wrong answer." He pushed down, sending a jolt to the man, causing him to go unconscious. He stood up, looking over at the woman who had been assaulted and sighed. "Why is everything a cliche nowadays?" He carefully tossed the purse over, keeping his distance. "Not to fear, ma'am! He is indisposed. If you wish to call the police, I will stay until their arrival so he may not harm you further!"

Roman had stopped three people that night. One mugging and two people breaking into places they shouldn't. Despite the repetitiveness and how exhausting it was trying to calm down the people he was saving (his appearance was always intimidating to some effect, but come on!), it was all worth it. Seeing people finally relax or knowing someone was going to be safe because of him always filled him with a warmth and giddiness he couldn't describe and it never went away.

Roman returned home quietly and sighed in relief, removing his mask from his face. He looked up and jumped, his eyes meeting Virgil's as he sat on the couch. "Virgil!" He grasped at his chest, angrily whispering. "You surprised me, what are you still up for?"

Virgil stayed quiet, staring Roman down with a cautious gaze. After an extended silence, Roman sighed and walked in, ruffling his hair. Normally he would be picky about it but a hot shower and sleep were all he was focused on at the moment. "Roman." He paused, one step in his bedroom doorway and turned around. "You've been out every night since I finished your costume."

"Yes, and your point being?"

Virgil still faced the front door, not turning to look at Roman. He stood up and headed to his room without another word. Roman was confused, not quite sure what the point of the interaction was, but decided to focus more on getting cleaned up and in bed as soon as possible.

The next morning, Roman slept in a bit more than normal. He'd been getting his workout and today was his first day off since he donned his metaphorical cape once more. He stretched and walked into the living room, turning on the tv to local news as he went to make himself something to eat.

He sat down and munched on his toast and jam while the local news played. They ran a report of his exploits once and he eagerly awaited to see them give an update. 'Masked hero continues to be awesome', he could see it now!

He heard a noise and looked over, finding Virgil sitting next to him at the end of the couch. Roman jumped, choking on his toast as he cleared his throat. "V-virgil! W-where did you come from?!"

His answer was a smirk. Virgil had started moving in stopped time more to make him seem like he could teleport around in an effort to scare Roman. Unfortunately, it was working. "Roman, we need to talk."

Roman leaned back into the couch and looked at the news. "What's up? This about your weird behavior last night?"

"You're going to get hurt."

Roman looked over at Virgil who stared him down with a serious look. "I'm fine. I've been fine and I'll continue to be fine."

"You've found a way to find the crime you want, yay. If you don't calm it, you're going to find yourself in more than just trouble."

"Aww, you do care." Roman winked. "Anything for my number one fan."

"What if they have a gun, Roman? What then?" Virgil grew louder. "How are you going to stop a bullet?"

"I can disarm people who use metal." Roman waved it off. "I'll be fine."

"You can disarm it if you touch it, maybe!" Virgil leaned in. "You'll get yourself killed one of these nights!"

"What do you expect me to do?" Roman looked back over. "Let innocent people get hurt while I sit around and do nothing because it just might be dangerous?"

Virgil huffed and leaned back into the couch, growing silent. Roman turned back to the news as they went over local weather broadcast. "Can you at least let me help you help yourself?"

Roman looked back over at Virgil. He didn't seem as angry, but he was still glaring, though his attention and anger seemed to have moved to the couch. "Help how?"

Virgil looked up. "I have a few ideas, wanna run a few more science tests?"

Roman thought back to when Virgil had joined him in drinking on the roof with a smirk. "Yeah, sure. What do you have in mind?"

Another quick stop at the convenience store down the street later, they were headed back up to the roof. This time, Virgil hid what he had purchased, only saying it wasn't alcohol this time. They stood on the roof and went over to the center. Roman stood there as Virgil slowly reached into the bag and pulled out a can.

Roman's face scrunched up in disgust. "I'm not drinking that."

"Oh come on!" Virgil held out the can in front of him. "You never had energy drinks before?"

"Years ago and never for enjoyment. I bet you lived off of them for a while, huh?"

Virgil shrugged. "Yeah, so? Besides, this is the best one you can get without digging through the internet." He walked up and handed it to Roman, who reluctantly took it. "It was banned for a few years because it had too much sugar and caffeine in it. They lowered the dose a bit, but it's still pretty strong."

Roman cracked open the can and held it out as it fizzed over a bit. "So what is this plan of yours exactly?"

"Well, alcohol makes you all dulled down, right? That's what it does. Energy drinks create a burst of energy, so it should be like a temporary power boost before the crash."

Roman looked down at the can with a bit more interest before pulling it closer. "What do you think will happen?"

"Only one way to find out!"

Roman sighed and brought it to his lips before squeezing his eyes shut and taking a sip. He quickly pulled it away and coughed. "This is disgusting, how do you drink these?"

"Shut it and keep going."

Roman took a few more gulps, emptying the can halfway before reaching it out for Virgil to take. He took a step back and took a deep breath, looking at his hands. "So, I should feel it amplify my abilities?"

Virgil shrugged, taking a sip from the can. "I dunno man, I'm just taking guesses."

"I thought you didn't drink those anymore because of your anxiety?" Virgil shrugged and took another swig. Roman shook his head and took a deep breath in before looking down at his hands and reaching for the fuzzy feeling that stemmed from his powers. "Oh, that feels weird." He rubbed the spot on his chest. "It's like it's not fuzzy, but more like... static? I guess that makes sense."

"Alright then!" Virgil took a few steps back. "Light up!"

Roman let the energy flow to his hands and perked up as the familial fuzzy feeling ran down his arms. He held up his arms for Virgil to see. Instead of sparks jumping from finger to finger in an electrical charge, it had coated his hands in tiny sparks, creating what looked to be a glove or shield of pure energy. "Woah..."

"I'll say." Virgil took a few careful steps forward. "How does that feel?"

"I dunno, kind of like when your leg falls asleep but I can still control it just fine." He flexed his fingers. "I wonder how this works?"

"Maybe they're like boxing gloves?"

Roman looked at the roof before marching over to the side. One of his old targets used for practice was on the ground, a glass bottle he had found one day. He picked it up and it vibrated before crumbling and shattering into near dust-like pieces in his hand. He jumped as it did and opened his hand and looked down, not a scratch or even a feeling left behind from the bottle. "I didn't feel that at all."

He looked over at Virgil and smiled, holding both his hands up. "What are you planning?"

Roman ignored him and focused on his hands, placing them together and pushing more of the energy down to them. The small field of electricity grew, before stretching out a foot in diameter. He kept his two hands together and lowered them, looking over at Virgil from behind the newly created shield. "This is awesome!"

Virgil looked around and picked up an old broken piece of cement. "Hold still, make it bigger!"

Roman held it up and the shield slowly grew before completely covering Roman. Virgil put down the can and focused his aim before throwing the cement as hard as he could. It hit near the center of the shield before bouncing off, completely ineffective.

Roman shrunk the shield and lowered it more, a giant smile on his face. "This is amazing! I wonder if I could stop a bullet?"

"Woah, no!" Virgil grabbed the can and walked back over. "That is not something I ever want to find out about, you're staying away from guns."

"Hey, I have a way to protect myself now!" He concentrated on his shield and watched as it slowly melted down his arms. He flexed and held them up. "Look! No one can stop me in a fight now! I bet I can even hold a knife like this."

"Again, please don't test that. I'd rather not find out you can't!"

Roman relaxed and his arms fell to his sides, the surge of the power dissipating. "No worries, I don't plan on finding out either. At least this way, I can protect myself from danger more!"

Virgil groaned out. "I still hate the idea."

"Oh?" Roman leaned forward, smirking. "Don't like the idea of me getting hurt, do you?"

"I just want you to be safe, but I do not like to worry, too much work." Virgil glared back at the other. "Please don't make me do more work than necessary."

"You are my Alfred, don't forget!"

Virgil groaned and hid his smile behind the can, taking a sip. "I have a first-aid kit, don't make me have to use it."

Roman let out a laugh and walked over. "I knew it! You seem like the kind of guy to keep stuff like that on hand."

Virgil shrugged and looked to the side. "Everyone should have an emergency kit at the ready, just in case."

"Yeah, but what is yours, exactly? A zombie apocalypse kit?"

Virgil raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Uh, no. Although it could be used as one, I guess. It's got enough rations to last me a while along with a spare set of clothes and the first aid kit and other essentials." Virgil smirked over at Roman. "I'm waiting for the fall of society, this government will be the death of us all."

Roman smiled and shook his head. "When you were a young boy, did your father take you to see a marching band, emo boy?"

"Everyone loves that song, don't try to lie to me, Roman."

Roman's phone went off and he reached for it before stopping. "How long do you think this charge is going to last?" He looked down at his hands and they lit up for a moment. "I can still feel it and I don't want to fry my phone."

"I can tape oven mitts to your hands until it wears off. I'm sure if you're using it more it'll fade out quicker."

Roman's hands lit up in an electrical field once more. "I will let you do no such thing!" He started messing with the currents, trying to mold it in more ways than the simple shield he had managed. "I'll just wait here and burn it all off."

Roman ended up laying down on the roof, staring up at the sky with his hands in the air, watching the sparks on his hands shoot out a bit. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to change the charge of just one hand, making them magnetic sort of."

"Can you even do that?"

"Dunno, it hasn't worked yet." Roman kept his attention on his hands before looking over at the other. "Hey, Virge?"

"Yeah?" Virgil had finished the energy drink and was messing with the can, trying to balance it on his hand.

"When you're in stopped time, how do you pull people out?"

The can fell off of his hand as his attention turned to Roman, but he let it fall and roll away a bit. "I just kind of tug you out of it. It's not that hard."

Roman looked back up at his hands, giving up and letting his arms fall to the sides. "So, do you think if you pull someone out of stopped time, they can then pull someone else out? Or do you think because it's your ability, only you can do it?"

Roman was answered with silence but didn't bother asking again. He turned his head and Virgil was staring down at the can just out of his reach. "I don't really know, I never tried." Virgil looked over at Roman with a frown. "I never really used my powers much. The only person I really pulled out of time before Patton was my dad, and he wasn't a big fan of it so I never had the chance, I guess."

Roman sat up and turned to Virgil, reaching both his hands up. His palms faced outward and the can near Virgil suddenly shook before rolling and then eventually flying over to Roman's hands. "Ha! I figured it out!" He held up the can triumphant. "And I think it's worn off now!"

Roman got up off the roof and dusted his clothes and hair. Quicky reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and turned towards the door. "Come on, we can go and have some lunch!"

Virgil got up and followed Roman. The other suddenly stopped while staring down at his phone. Virgil approached and he quickly pocketed it, continuing towards the stairs. "So," Virgil spoke up. "you planning on making something? I'm not in the mood to do clean up."

Roman groaned. "I don't want to bother cooking, maybe we can get some cheap food out?"

"Someone to cook and clean for us? Sounds like a plan."

They quickly stopped by the apartment before heading out. Virgil left a note for Patton, pretty certain they would be back before the others returned from their respective jobs but wanting to be prepared either way. They walked down the street towards town, tossing ideas back and forth.

"Italian?"

"Nah, we already eat pasta a lot."

"How about this Thai place I know? It's a bit of a bus ride but totally worth it."

"Eh, not really feeling up to it."

"Well then, how about you throw some ideas!"

"I told you, I don't really care, just pick something."

Roman looked at Virgil who knowingly smirked over at him. "You're one of those, god that's annoying." He heard a snicker coming from his roommate before shaking his head. "How about a diner? Good old fashioned food, plenty of choices, and you can order that pasta you just said you wouldn't order but totally will."

"Ouch, way to call me out on it." Virgil playfully elbowed Roman. "Best idea you've had so far, so why not?"

The nearest diner wasn't far and the sun was out shining brightly, so they saved bus fare and walked. Roman jogged up the few steps to the door and opened it, bowing dramatically like a prince for Virgil. He ignored Roman and walked in, pulling open the second door and letting it close behind him. The hostess at the front looked over and smiled. Virgil could only assume the face Roman was making, looking offended as the door closed in his face. The bell chimed again as he walked in, glaring down at Virgil. "Table for two, if you don't mind." Roman looked up and gave a smile as Virgil glanced around, looking at the diner. Despite it being a weekday, the diner still kept a decent amount of business, though most seats were currently empty.

She led them over to a booth in the corner and handed them the menus before walking off. Roman took out his phone and glanced at it before shoving it to the side and picking up his own menu.

Virgil dropped his and reached over, pulling the other one down from between them. "Okay, I was quiet about it before but I know how you are, so talk."

"What are you going on about?" Roman looked down at his menu, not raising it to cover his face a second time.

"Your phone went off and whatever it was upset you. You don't want to ask to talk about things but you want to be asked, so this is me asking." Roman looked over at him baffled. "I kinda work the same way, I see my bad habits in others. Now talk."

Roman huffed and dropped his menu, leaning back. "Is it too much to ask to be romanced once in a while?"

"E-excuse me?" Virgil flushed at the statement.

Roman leaned over in his arms towards him. "Do you remember that date I went on a while back?"

"Oh." Virgil thought back to the day they met Thomas. "Yeah. What about it?"

"It was an okay date, we had fun, but it wasn't special. He didn't give me anything or plan anything special and the talk was the normal talk we always did when together. We were on a date and it felt like he expected me to do all the wooing, you know?" Roman picked up his menu again, glaring down at it a bit. "Then I never hear from him and he has the audacity to text me that he's dating someone else? At least tell me you're not interested after the first date. What was even the point?"

Virgil sat there speechless, looking over at Roman. He seemed upset but had turned his attention to his menu to hide. Roman sighed and ran a hand through his locks, looking down. "Sorry, I know you asked but I shouldn't have thrown all that at you."

"No, dude, it's okay." Virgil picked up his own menu to try and give him something to focus on. "Sorry, he kinda... never gave you a chance. That's a shitty thing to do."

Roman shrugged, flipping through the menu. "It's fine, it's not like we were serious. Just..." He placed the menu down again, getting Virgil to look over his own at him. "If you asked someone out, what would you do for a first date?"

"I..." He looked up at Roman, tired eyes staring back. "I guess it depends on who I was going out with?" He shrugged, not really giving an answer.

The waitress walked up at that exact moment and Virgil hid back behind his menu. Virgil just got a glass of water, while Roman stared down at the table before looking up with a determined look and ordered a milkshake. Virgil looked over at him and smirked as the waitress walked off.

"I've earned one, I think. Self-love is important, mister glass of water."

"Aww, did you just call me a tall drink of water? How sweet." Virgil answered back with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

A comfortable silence finally fell before Roman put down his menu and stared at Virgil. He looked up and hunched over more, becoming extremely self-conscious. "What if it was me?" Roman asked suddenly.

"What if you were what?"

"What if you took me on a date, hypothetically of course."

Virgil, to his utter surprise, laughed at the idea. "Oh, that's funny, princey."

"What?" Roman sat up straight and stared off into the distance. "Don't tell me you haven't ever thought about it. Look at me!"

"I see you, Roman, and I can say with complete honesty..." Virgil leaned in. "It's never even crossed my mind."

"AH!" Roman gasped and placed a hand over his heart. "How rude! I was under the impression everyone thought about dating me!"

Virgil snickered to himself and went back to his menu. "Keep dreaming, Ro."

"Only if you're there." Virgil looked up at Roman as he winked back. Virgil raised an eyebrow in response. "Well? What would you do if we went on a date?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Come on..." Roman leaned over the table. "My ego has been bruised and I need the help of a friend to aid in my pain!"

Virgil looked over at him before folding his menu closed. "If you asked me or the other way around because that matters."

"Since it was the situation, you asked me."

"Well then, you like big romantic gestures. I'd probably do something stupid like I dunno, bring you flowers and take you to a fancy restaurant." Virgil played with the end of his sleeves a bit, looking anywhere but at Roman. "Dinner and a movie is cliche, so I'd probably take you for a walk in my favorite park and we'd just talk. Maybe ice cream if it was hot or hot cocoa if it was cold after dinner settled a bit."

"Oh." Virgil spared a glance up at Roman, who seemed shocked at the answer. "That... actually sounds nice. Huh."

"You sound surprised."

Roman had an impressed look on his face as he shrugged. "I dunno, it just didn't seem like you were the romantic type. Thought you'd take me to some loud concert or maybe to some dark forest or something."

"What do I look like, a serial killer?"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that."

The waitress brought over their drinks and took their orders. Roman happily dug into his milkshake like a little child.

"Hey, Virgil?" He looked up from his glass of water. "Thanks, you know..."

"Don't mention it."

"Hey, if you ever need a wingman, I'm your guy!"

"Yeah, sure."

Roman smiled over at Virgil. "Like, how would one go about trying to woo a dark emo of the night? I'm gonna need to take notes."

Virgil rolled his eyes at the question. "The same way you would anyone else, Ro. Just consider what I would want before doing anything." Roman nodded at the answer. "So, did you hear that news report about you the other night?"

"Oh my goodness, have I?!" Roman went on and on about the small news segment and Virgil was just happy with the change of topic. He'd rather not think about Roman trying to help him with his non-existent love life.



A few more days had passed and Virgil had nearly forgotten about the lunch with Roman. Nearly, because he did not forget about the leftovers he brought home, happy for the late night snack a day later.

He hadn't thought it important enough to mention to Logan or Patton, but Roman had mentioned it in passing.

"Then we went to the roof and Virgil had this idea and I learned a new ability I have! It's so cool, but I was tired after, so we went out to lunch. I haven't tried it, but you have to see it!"

Patton was surprised at the statement but made no comment as Roman continued telling his story a mile a minute. While Patton was happy Virgil was getting along with Roman finally after all these months, and now even close enough to be spending all this time together like they had been, he took a moment to think back to some self-reflection.

He wasn't quite sure how his mind went from thinking about his roommates to thinking about himself, but he sat up on his bed and stared at the wall before he disappeared in a flash of light. Suddenly, Two and Three were there. He had been letting more copies out since the incident with Thomas. It made him nervous he may lose them someday, knowing how it felt to feel them fade away.

"Two, Three, I need your help."



Logan heard a knock on his door in the late morning. Standing up from the computer on his desk, he took a moment to stretch before reaching over and answering it. "Oh, good morning, Patton."

"Hey, Logan! I was wondering if you had some time to hang out today?"

Logan looked puzzled as he adjusted his glasses. "I was under the impression you had work today, Patton."

"Oh, I do! It's been taken care of."

"Ah." Logan nodded in understanding. "You never send a copy to work for you, so I take it you must be Two?" The Patton shrugged and smiled in response. "Well, I have a bit of work left to do today."

"Oh, no that's okay. If you're busy... it wasn't important."

Copy or not, the look on their face would be the same as Patton would have. Smiling but visibly upset, Two was trying to play it off and act like it was no big deal. Or, at least that is what Logan thought he was doing, it was still hard to figure out emotional cues at times.

"Actually." Logan looked over at his computer. "Perhaps taking a bit of a break and coming back with a fresh mind will help." He turned and smiled a bit. "What was it that you needed, Two?"

Two perked up, smiling brightly. "Are you sure? I just was thinking about going for a walk, there was something I wanted to talk to you about!"

"Of course, just allow me to get myself ready."

Logan walked out into the living room and found Two sitting on the couch and leg shaking nervously. He looked up and practically launched off of the couch. "Ready?"

"You seem tense. Are you alright?"

He nodded, walking towards the door. "Yeah, I'm okay. Do you mind if this takes a while?"

"If there is something you wish to talk about and it is worrying you, take all the time you need."

They made it a couple blocks down the road in silence, Logan waiting for Two to speak up. They sat quietly on a short bus ride, Two giving reassurance that he had a place in mind he wanted to be. They got off at a stop and Two grabbed Logan's hand, tugging him along. They walked up to a gated area that was open and Patton finally slowed down, turning to walk on a path.

Logan looked around at the area, it was like a park covered in flowers and statues. Different roads led to different areas, but he turned to where Patton had been taking him.

"This is my favorite place in town, but I only come here when I need to think. It always manages to cheer me up." Two turned and smiled at Logan. "Sorry, it's out of the way."

"An arboretum? I'm rather surprised I haven't been here before."

"I thought it was just a garden..."

"An arboretum is like a garden that specifies different types of trees, though there seems to be a lot of flora here as well." Logan looked over at a small fountain they were passing. "It is rather calming."

"They have a small cafe to buy food if we get hungry before we leave! I could spend all day here..." Two jumped and turned around. "I know your busy so we won't! I just wanted to go somewhere nice."

"What is pestering you and how may I be of assistance?"

Two snickered and looked over at Logan. "That's one way to ask how I'm feeling." Two walked over to an area surrounded by flowers off of the path. Logan followed and noticed a few benches underneath a tree in the center where Two took a seat. He seemed in his proper environment with all the flowers surrounding him. Logan could tell that he already was more at ease, becoming the smiling, bubbly roommate he was familiar with. He followed, sitting next to him comfortably on the bench. "I have a question for you, and out of all of you, I think you'd answer it the best."

"Of course." Logan nodded. "What is the question?"

Two took a quick breath and turned to Logan. "Am I Patton?"

"... I'm afraid I don't follow."

Two sighed and frowned, staring at a group of flowers next to them. It wasn't often Logan saw Patton upset, but he seemed to be in thought before turning back. "So, Patton is Patton."

"Yes, that I understand."

"So, when copies are made, they are just... copies of Patton, the original."

"Ah." Logan nodded in understanding. "You wish to determine if you are a person of your own or one with the original." Logan placed a hand on his chin and closed his eyes. "This is a perplexing dilemma, but I understand what you mean."

"You said that copies could be pieces of the original broken off and duplicated to make a new one."

"Indeed, however, there is no evidence to this." Logan looked over, adjusting his glasses. "It is possible that in that flash of light that is generated when creating you, Patton manages to copy his full self. However, this does not quite explain how each comes out very slightly different than the other. Talking to you, seeing as you are the first to appear, you are most like our original."

"So, if Patton is the original, we aren't Patton."

"Not necessarily, I would still think you were Patton, in ways."

Two looked up, a completely lost look on his face. "How so?"

"Well, let's say that when you split from the original, that not only creates you but affects Patton since a piece of him is no longer there. This, in theory, could explain the empath ability. However, you all have your own thoughts and experiences when broken apart. This clearly shows you each being your own part of a whole. Oh." Logan perked up and looked at the other. "That does make a bit of sense..."

"What?" Two perked up and smiled. "I love it when you come to realizations, what did you figure out?"

Logan smiled at Two. "Yes, well." He cleared his throat. "When you are all with Patton, that makes you all whole, but that means when I'm talking to him, I'm also talking to you. Because you have merged back with Patton, it would be within reason that I am not only talking to him but all possible parts of him he creates as well."

"Oh. I never thought about that." Two placed a hand on their chest, rubbing it a bit. "When copies get pulled back in, the memories merge back. So, they're all one whole person together? But we're still all one person apart."

"Let me explain it like this. You are you. However, you are also Patton. You are both your own person as well as a part of a greater person, like a piece to a puzzle. Even if it's just the one piece, you are still a puzzle piece. Together you still make a bunch of puzzle pieces, however, the whole picture is also there." Logan sat in silence as Two looked up at him. "Did that make any sense? I tried simplifying it as much as I could."

"No, it does... but I have another question." Logan motioned for him to continue. "If you are hanging out with a copy, is that just like hanging out with the original?"

"I'm sure the experiences could be different." Logan started thinking once more. "How to explain this... If Patton is having a bad day, it's different then hanging out with him when he is having a good day, but both days are still Patton."

"So... This is would be considered a day with Patton, not just a day with a copy?" Logan nodded in agreement. "So, if Patton wanted to go on a date, he could send a copy. Or sending one to work would be no different than going himself."

"Oh, no, I feel that would be a bit unfair." Two looked over at Logan. "Not the work, the dating one."

"Oh. How is that different? If a copy is still Patton, would it not matter?"

"I think it would, even if it was Patton who had gone and left you at home." Logan sighed and turned away. "This is all personal opinion, and in a field, I have very limited knowledge on."

"I wanna know what you're thinking, that's why I asked you specifically. Why would it not be fair?"

Logan watched the flowers move with the wind in relative silence. "If he were to leave you at home, that would not be fair because you would not get to experience it. However, if you went, he would not experience it." Logan turned to Two with a smirk. "It is my understanding that love, as well as a chemical reaction in our brains, is a promise. If you were to start dating a person, I would hope you go as a whole, so as each part of you could experience it together. If you promise yourself to someone, you should bring your whole self."

Two looked up at Logan in awe, silent as the words soaked in. Slowly, a shining smile grew as he launched himself forward, wrapping Logan in a hug. He froze and his harms became stiff at his sides. "That... was so beautiful!" Two pulled back and looked up, eyes shining. "I know you say you don't understand love, but I think you do. In some way all your own, I think you get it completely."

Two shot up from the bench and spun around. "Come on! I think I owe you some lunch after dragging you out here and making you get all philosophical on me! It's the leaf I can do!"



On the way back to the apartment, Two was much more verbal and energetic than on the way to the arboretum. He even asked Logan a bunch of questions about the flora, some of which he knew the answers to. Not really being his field of expertise, Logan ended up searching a lot of information up, becoming engrossed in the new knowledge.

They walked back into the apartment, Two's spirits completely lifted and happy as can be. Logan closed the door and turned towards the entryway that led to the back part of the apartment. He still had work to do, but a part of him didn't want to stop talking so soon.

Another Patton walked in, smiling up at them. "Hey, welcome back!"

"Hey, Three." Logan looked at the two, always curious how they knew which was which but was sure it had to do with being a part of the same entity. "You finish everything for tonight?"

"Yeah, cleaning is all done and I have dinner prepared, you just have to stick it in the oven."

"Patton, I was under the impression it was Roman's turn to cook?"

Two turned to Logan with a smile. "I wanted to thank you for today."

Logan grew more puzzled at the statement. "You had no idea I would be helping you, or how it would turn out."

"You're so smart, Lo, I knew no matter what you said it would be helpful!"

Three walked up and looked at the other, confused. Two smiled and shrugged, causing Three to shake his head. "Well, my work here is done."

Three reached up and tapped Two on the shoulder, disappearing in a flash of light.

"Strange." Logan turned to the other. "I was not aware you could combine copies. I was under the impression they could only rejoin the original, Patton."

"Why do you call me Patton if you think I'm Two?"

Logan blinked at the question. "Well, we just went over how you are the same person, did we not?"

"Soooo." He rocked back and forth on his heels. "What makes you think I'm Two?"

"You told me so."

"No, I didn't." He smiled up at Logan. "I told you I had work today and it was taken care of."

Logan looked at Patton, the original apparently, baffled. "You led me to believe you were a copy this whole time?"

Patton smiled and confidently placed his hands on his hips. "I wanted to see how you treated my Patton Pals without me around, but you treat them just like they are me!"

"Because they are!" Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Oh, I'm going to get a headache at this rate."

"Sorry, Lo, I didn't mean to upset you." Logan looked up and saw Patton smiling, but looking away in shame. "I just wanted your opinion and when you thought I was Two..."

"No, it's fine." He fixed his glasses, pushing them back up. "I jumped to conclusions. We established that you and a copy are the same, so being upset about that would be foolish, and being upset about me making assumptions would be silly. However, do correct me next time if I make a mistake like that."

Patton giggled and turned towards his room. "Of course! Thanks for spending the day with me, Lo!" He stopped in his doorway and turned around. "It meant a lot. I'll leave you to your work."

As Patton's door clicked closed, Logan stared at it with a loss for words. He blinked, snapping out of it as he glanced around. "Huh." He looked down and shook his head, returning to his room to continue on with his work.

Logan had worked through straight ‘til dinner was ready to finish the project he had been commissioned to do. He typed away, mind completely absorbed in it until he was done, realizing the smell that had drifted into his room. He emerged finding the others almost done, chatting happily along.

"Logan!" Patton perked up happily. "I didn't want to bother you since I kept you distracted all day. Are you done?"

"I have just finished my work, thank you for the consideration. However, you could have distracted me regardless, meals are vital for a healthy diet and one should not be missed."

Logan took his usual spot, finding a plate already full and waiting for him. "I was going to bring it to you when we were done so you didn't have to stop. I'm so glad you could join us!"

Roman stood up from his spot and picked up his now empty plate. "Not all of us, I hear a nice hot shower calling my name."

"That's not the shower, that's me begging you to take one."

Roman shot Virgil a look on his way out, earning a tongue stuck out at him back. Virgil got up from his seat and grabbed his plate as well. "I'm off too. Thanks for dinner, Pat."

Logan wasn't too far into his meal before Patton also stood up, headed towards the sink to rinse off his plate. He stopped and looked at Logan, who looked back as his brows knitted together with a silent question.

"Just... thanks again for everything today, Lo." Patton quickly retreated back to his room in silence. Logan enjoyed the rest of his meal in peaceful silence.



Hours later, the apartment was silent as Roman woke up. He stared at the wall in his room, confused and oddly somewhat refreshed. He sat up and looked around his room but not an object seemed to be out of place. He turned towards his shut door and saw a pale flash of light come from underneath.

He debated sitting in bed and trying to go back to sleep before begrudgingly getting up, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. He slowly opened his door, peaking out into the living room.

The tv was most certainly on, but it was muted and not a sound came from it. He opened his door further and peaked out, glancing around the room. His eyes eventually fell onto Virgil, laying down with a blanket facing the tv.

We walked out and carefully glanced down before Virgil moved, looking up and locking eyes with Roman. "Hey, did I wake you?" Virgil spoke softly, voice heavy and low from exhaustion.

"No, just was thirsty." He wasn't sure if it was a lie, not quite sure why he had woken. Roman quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, finishing it quickly before walking back. "You couldn't sleep?"

Virgil was playing with a loose thread on the blanket, eyes unfocused. He shrugged, not diverting his attention. Roman sat down on the other end of the couch, placing a hand on Virgil's ankle next to him. Virgil made no movement or any attempt to answer. Roman squeezed his ankle and Virgil pulled it back underneath the blanket.

"Sorry," Virgil mumbled, pulling his legs close.

"It's okay. You alright?"

"Couldn't sleep." Virgil finally looked over from the string and up at Roman. "You don't have to stay up with me."

"I want to. Unless you don't want me to." Roman held up his hands as a sign of peace. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Virgil lay silently for a bit before taking a shallow breath. He pulled the blanket off of him and shoved it at Roman, though it didn't get very far. Roman understood and grabbed the blanket from him, wrapping it around himself. "Need a pillow?" Roman grabbed the decorative pillow and held it out. Virgil slowly sat up and grabbed it, switching sides and pushing down Roman. He hugged the pillow and lay on the inside of the couch turned away from the tv, causing Roman to hold onto him lest he falls off the couch himself. He was shocked at his roommate but made no comment, holding him close. He could feel Virgil shiver and wrapped the blanket around him before noticing he was warm. He pulled him closer as Virgil shifted restlessly for a moment. Roman shut his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

He wasn't sure what time it was, or how long it had been, but Roman awoke quickly as the world shifted around him. His heart raced as a small rush of wind passed him until he very gracefully met the floor. Roman let out a groan and slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

He glanced up at the couch, finding Virgil huddled into a ball on the opposite end they had been sleeping. Roman leaned over and looked up before becoming frozen in his spot.

Upon the couch, right where he was just sleeping, lay two shifts in space, ripples like funhouse mirrors you could see through. Which only meant one thing.

He quickly turned to Virgil and froze with his hand extended out. He quickly pulled it back and balled his hand into a fist. "V-virgil, are you alright?" He didn't receive an answer other than the impossible silence and Virgil's rapid breathing. "Hey, Virge, you need to answer me or I can't help."

Virgil shook his head and looked up. "S-sorry." He gasped out.

"Oh." Roman thought back to Virgil on the couch, not noticing the silent signs in front of him. "You were having an attack, oh I'm sorry." He sat up straighter and reached out. "Is it okay, you can nod yes or no."

Virgil nodded and Roman reached forward, pulling him into an embrace. "Okay, I think I read about these. I can't really google anything when the time is frozen, huh?"

Roman forced a chuckle at his own joke as Virgil looked up at him. "Okay, it's in for four breaths, our for four, right?" Virgil nodded and Roman tried helping, being as dramatic as he could. After a while, nothing had improved and Roman groaned. "Sorry, I'm no good at this, maybe we could get Patton or Logan?"

A sound started to groan out into the room. It was painfully obvious and loud since no other sound really existed outside the two of them. Roman looked around and turned to the portals before freezing completely.

The portal closest to the back of the couch, Virgil's portal, started to ripple and shake as if something was coming from it. "Sorry, Virgil, I'm going to have to move you," Roman spoke softly and as calm as he could as to not raise suspicion. The last thing Virgil needed was something coming out of his portal and scaring him further. Who knows what he was thinking of when he broke free from time amidst a panic attack. He reached down and pulled the man up in his arms, one around his back and the other underneath his legs. Virgil grabbed onto his shirt and made no further complaints. Roman turned around and carefully headed towards Virgil's room.

He froze as the static noise suddenly grew louder, slowly turning and looking back into the living room.

He hoped Virgil didn't see what he saw, as a mass of dark grey smoke slowly slithered out as if alive. Roman quickly walked down the hall and nudged Virgil's door open with his shoulder. He carefully placed the man down on his bed before prying his hands off of his shirt.

"Virgil, look at me, okay? You're in your room, nice and safe. I promise." Virgil looked up, shaking a bit less but still silent. "Now, answer me, do you think you'll be okay for a moment alone? Do you know what to do to try and calm you down?"

Virgil's eyes shifted around erratically and he looked down, unsure. "Hey, don't worry, you're going to be just fine. You're doing great. Now, I don't want to leave you, but I want to try and get Logan or Patton to help, okay? You froze time so I'm not sure if I can until you start it up again but I'm going to try."

Virgil slowly nodded and pulled back onto his bed. Roman carefully walked out and closed the door, leaving it cracked open just a bit.

A beat of silence passed before Roman ran back into the living room, the creature still stuck in the portal but now about a foot in length. He ran back into the kitchen and grabbed a pot with a lid drying on the rack. "Sorry, Pat. I'll buy you a new one."

Roman ran back into the living room to see the creature finally break free, floating around in space before moving around. It shifted in place before it wriggled a bit like a worm as Roman could only assume it took a look around. It twisted and he froze, feeling what could only be its gaze staring him down. The creature shifted and headed his way causing Roman to freeze before jumping into action.

His hands lit up, one on the handle of the pot and the other on the lid. The creature flew at him and he stepped aside, catching it in the pot and slamming the lid down. He focused and magnetized them together so they wouldn't separate before pulling a hand away. The pot jerked suddenly and he held on, not wanting to let the creature go. Suddenly, Roman stumbled forward onto the couch as he could only assume Virgil had somehow managed to start time again. He quickly stood up and ran to the window, unlocking it and pulling it up. After a few attempts, he managed to get it and the screen out of the way before chucking the pot as hard as he could. Roman slammed the window shut and spun around, gasping and out of breath.

"Whaaat the hell." He ran a hand through his hair, still panicking. "Shit! Virgil!"

Chapter Text

"You threw it out the window."

"I was panicking!"

"You managed to somehow fumble with the window and open it with one hand, and then you threw the pot out the window."

"There were more pressing things going on at the time, Logan!"

"This supposed cloud snake monster creature no one but you saw was not the most pressing thing at the moment?"

"Virgil was having a panic attack!"

"And you... panicked."

Roman groaned into his hands and covered his face. He rubbed his hands down and looked up at Logan from his spot on the couch. "Look, I was trying to focus on one issue at a time and I just wanted to get rid of it, okay?"

Logan rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around the living room. "Well, I'll give you credit for accomplishing that. However, I believe it is in our best interests to go and retrieve the creature?" Logan walked towards his room and spoke over his shoulder. "If we bring it back we can toss it from whence it came. No harm was done."

Logan returned with a warm pullover sweater on while Roman had a jacket unzipped. His frowning attention was down the hall, past Logan.

"I'm sure Virgil is fine alone with Patton while we look."

Roman shuffled towards the door without a word.

Patton was able to eventually slip away and into the kitchen, making himself a cup of hot cocoa in the process, not worried about how the sugar would only keep him awake longer. He sat in the living room tucked underneath a blanket when the two came back. He sat up, holding his warm mug close and gave a smile. "So, how did it go?"

"Good news, we found your pot!"

Patton perked up at the news and smiled. "Wonderful!"

"Bad news." Logan held up the pot and removed the lid. Lifting it towards his face, Patton could still see in the dim lighting that it was damaged with bends and dings, but the entire bottom was missing as if something melted and clawed its way out of the bottom. "Looks like our little friend escaped."

Logan walked over and handed Patton his deformed cookware. He held it up and looked through it with a sigh. "You don't think it'll buy me a new one, will it?"

"I'm so sorry, Patton." Roman walked up and reached out for the pot. "I'll buy you a new one."

"It's the end of the month: if you can't afford it don't push yourself. Besides!" Patton carefully poked at a part of the metal that was loose and threatening to break off. "We can all 'chip' in for a new one!" Patton let out a yawn and looked over at the clock. "It's still early, I'm gonna try and get a bit more sleep."

"That would be wise for all of us, I suppose. No use in worrying about anything right now. Exhaustion will only hinder us on our days ahead. We also will have to tell Virgil what happened in the morning, if he is feeling up to it."

"Great. You know, you sound even more boring when tired." Roman shuffled passed Logan. "Good night."



Patton allowed himself to sleep in a bit, given the night before. Calming down Virgil in the middle of the night and trying not to worry about what Roman had seen was enough to make him want to lay in bed even longer, but that wasn't something he could do. He'd grow restless within the hour and would have wasted time trying to distract himself.

When he rolled out of bed, he was not surprised to see Virgil's door still shut tight and not a sound from within, as he’d had a bit of a rough night. A small creak drew Patton's attention down the hall, where Logan emerged from his room with an empty coffee mug.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you awake. I hope the extra bit of sleep helped."

"Yeah, it did wonders, I feel great!" Patton stretched a bit, still shaking the sleep from his bones. "I'm worried about Virgil though."

"Ah, you have work today?"

"I do, but maybe I should leave Two here to check on him?"

"Patton, while your concern is admirable, you're going to leave Two here to... what? Sit around and wait to see if Virgil comes out of his room today?"

"You're right." Patton crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. Logan moved to the coffee machine to refill his mug. "Aha! That's it!" Logan looked over at Patton who smiled as he had an idea. "I can leave Three to wait and watch over Virgil!"

Logan placed the pot back in its place under the machine. "How is that any different? What would Two do as Three waited for Virgil?"

"He would keep him company, of course!"

Logan turned and looked at Patton, enjoying the smell of the fresh cup he made. "Perhaps a simpler solution? I could watch over Virgil." Logan looked up and watched Patton try and hide his disappointed look. "He has to trust me again eventually, and avoiding me isn't going to help. Perhaps this will help solidify our friendship once more."

"Maybe you're right." Patton muffled a yawn into his hand. "I really should get ready, that extra sleep didn't leave me with much time."

"Don't stretch yourself too thin, I am more than willing to help."

Logan spent the rest of his morning in the living room in his chair, still in his sleep clothes. He read and sipped on his coffee before turning on the news quietly. He would steal brief glances down the hall as the clock ticked closer to noon, but not a sound was heard. Eventually, Logan got up from his seat and retreated to his room to get dressed for the day. He didn't usually laze around but the night before had left him worried about the possibilities, despite how he managed to convince the other two to not worry about it.

He entered the kitchen again and saw Virgil sitting at the table with a mug, the rest of the coffee that remained left over from the pot sitting inside. He looked up and smiled at Logan, raising his mug and taking a sip. "Mornin'." He mumbled softly.

Logan turned to the clock and frowned. "Hardly, it is near noon at this point. Also, that coffee is probably cold."

Virgil shrugged and took another gulp, not bothering to respond. Logan paused and turned his attention back to the living room, wondering if he should give him more space.

"So, everyone at work then?"

Virgil was gazing down at the dark liquid, Logan always wondered why he either took it overly sweetened or just plain black. "Yes, Patton and Roman left a while ago. It will just be the two of us in the meantime."

"I'm surprised he didn't have Two stay."

Logan cleared his throat and glanced away. "I may have told him it was not necessary."

Virgil scoffed and picked his mug back up, not bothering to look at Logan. "Right."

"I had merely suggested he-"

"It's fine, Logan. I get it."

The awkward silence that fell was enough to make Logan uncomfortable. Virgil still hadn't bothered to look over at him since the greeting he received and Logan shut his eyes. He took in a slow breath and pulled out his phone, headed for the living room. "Of course."

Logan paused in the center of the room and unlocked his phone as he dialed a familiar number. He put it up to his ear and crossed his other arm as it rang. He heard the sound of the chair in the kitchen and glanced over, seeing Virgil standing in the doorway confused. "Who are you calling?"

"Patton. He should be able to sneak away and send Two on his break."

Virgil hunched over and glared over at Logan. "I don't need a babysitter."

"I never said you did. It was simply foolish to think I alone could help you-hello?" Logan spun back around facing away from Virgil. "I'm terribly sorry to have called you at work, Patton."

The phone slipped away from Logan's ear and he turned to see Virgil smiling, holding it up to his own. "Hey, Pat! Nah, I'm fine. Slept pretty okay." Logan reached out for his phone and Virgil smirked back, backing away and holding out a hand. "No, he just wanted to call to let you know I'm up and doing fine. Yeah, I told him he didn't need to call but he was worried or whatever."

"Virgil, please unhand my phone immediately."

"You want to talk to him? Sure."

Virgil tossed the phone to him without warning. Logan held out a hand and his eyes lit up as the phone froze in midair. He reached out carefully and grabbed it, his eyes melting back to normal as he glared over at Virgil. "I apologize for that, Patton."

"Are you guys okay?" He heard Patton ask back. "He seems okay, but I know you wouldn't have just called me for that."

Logan looked over at Virgil who gave a teasing smirk back. He stood there, silently challenging Logan to make a move. "No, sorry Patton. Virgil wanted to call you himself and I had simply offered. We're doing fine."

"Oh, I'm so happy to hear that! I knew you'd get along okay!"

"Of course, naturally. We're both adults who can maintain a mature conversation with one another."

"Come on, Logan, no need to lie to him."

He ignored Virgil's comment and turned away. "I'll let you return to work, see you later." As soon as Logan had ended the call, he turned and glared at Virgil. "Was that necessary?"

"I told you, I don't need a babysitter." Virgil walked by and headed back into the kitchen, Logan following close behind. "I've had attacks before, this is just the first one you guys know about."

Logan froze, looking over at Virgil as he reached for his mug. It suddenly flew away and into the air, completely out of reach. Virgil looked over to say something but froze. Logan's eyes were lit up once more, but his face held a frown as he stared up at the mug. "Virgil, I'm afraid there is something we need to discuss."

The mug slowly lowered and headed for the sink, dumping itself out before settling carefully. "So, I'm not allowed to have coffee for this?"

"You say the caffeine can raise your anxiety and this topic may be a bit..."

As Logan looked for the appropriate word, Virgil walked forward, carefully eying him down. Logan's eyes returned to normal once more as Virgil stopped a foot away. "Logan, what's going on?"

"Perhaps if you would get more comfortable for this, I'm afraid you will not like what you hear."

Virgil sat on the table, ignoring Logan's protests of the proper use of furniture. Not able to avoid the topic for much further, he pulled his glasses off of his face as to avoid looking at Virgil as he be told the tale Roman had spun the night before. After he was finished, he replaced his glasses, looking up at the other.

To his credit, Virgil didn't look panicked. He stared at Logan with a stoic expression, taking everything in. After he was finished and silence fell, Virgil slowly nodded, glancing down at the floor. "So, some monster came out and got away? We have no idea what it is or what it can do?"

"It may help to recall what you were thinking about when you froze time, is that not how your portals work?"

Virgil hopped off the table and walked passed him and entered the living room. Virgil practically fell back onto the couch and pulled his legs up close. He stared at the nearly silent tv and glared at it a bit. Logan took his seat in his recliner and sat in silence. He directed his attention to the still silent tv, giving Virgil a bit of peace.

"Roman woke up and found me out here, I felt one coming and I knew I should have gone to my room, but..." Logan drew his attention away from the news and back to Virgil silently. Virgil looked away, staring down at the carpet. "I dunno, having someone there helped a bit, I thought I would be okay. We both fell asleep and I woke up and I was worse than before. I felt trapped and I couldn't breathe and it just got worse and worse. T-then, I tried breaking free but stupid Roman wouldn't let go so..."

Logan listened quietly as Virgil recalled his story, trying to put the pieces together. "You broke free of time in hopes to not wake him?" Virgil nodded but did not continue his story. "So, what were you thinking about at that time?"

Virgil laughed to himself a bit. "The same thing I usually do. I wasn't sure how, but I knew for a fact I was going to die." Logan was surprised at the words coming from Virgil but made no further comment. "Whatever that thing is, Logan, we need to find it and get rid of it."

"Perhaps another day we can-"

"No." Virgil unfurled and stood up. "Look, I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing when I released who-knows-what out into the city!" Virgil's arm gestured widely to the window as his voice rose. "I didn't talk about this stuff because this is exactly what I wanted to avoid, I'm not just going to fall over and break because of one stupid attack!"

Virgil huffed and stared out the window. "That is not what I meant. I simply was stating that perhaps Roman or Patton could be of use in tracking it down as well, we should not separate since we are unsure of what the creature is capable of."

Virgil spared a glance back over at Logan, who was staring at the tv with interest. He looked over and was shocked, watching Logan grab the remote and turn the volume up a bit.

"-have reported numerous sightings of a masked vigilante who appears to be walking the streets at night. There have been multiple reports to local law enforcement about a man in costume taking down muggers and potential burglars and fleeing before police can make it to the scene."

"They're talking about Roman." Virgil turned and took a step closer to the tv. "Must be a slow news day."

"They did a report on him a few days ago if I recall. Roman talked about it at length, this must be exciting for him. Perhaps..."

"What?" Virgil spoke with intrigue. "Go on."

"Perhaps he can track down the creature in costume? I hear he had learned a new ability but I'm ashamed to admit I had tuned him out at a point and missed a few details about it."

Virgil chuckled and smirked a bit. "Yeah, that sounds right, but I don't like the idea of any of us going out alone after that thing."

"This is true. Perhaps one of us could join him? You are adept in creative arts and upgraded his costume, could you not join him?"

"No, no freaking way." Virgil shook his head and tucked his hands into his hoodie. "He's bad enough with all of that. Besides, you won't catch me dead out there."

"It was merely a suggestion, I understand your uneasiness about it all."

"Good. Discussion over."



Patton was delighted to receive the phone call from Logan, though by the nature of the call he was sure it was for a different reason than Virgil had stated. Still, knowing that they had started to get along better put him over the moon, he had a bit of pep in his step for the rest of the day, not that many people noticed. Patton was a cheerful person and it was easy to tell.

His day flew by faster than normal, which he had been happy about. Last night had been tiring and all he wanted was to relax and get some proper sleep, not that he had blamed Virgil at all of course. He tucked a few things away in their proper places as he organized his work area before leaving. Someone approached him at his desk and he looked up, smiling.

"Roman, what a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"

Roman smiled and shrugged. "I had to run some errands for work and I was in the area. I knew you got off about now, I figured we could take the bus home together."

"Oh yay, bus buddies! Let me just finish organizing my paperwork and we can get going!"

Patton flitted around his space back and forth taking care of odds and ends before walking around his desk. "Ready?" Roman motioned in the direction of the door as Patton led the way. As he walked by, Patton had said goodbye to a few co-workers and even quite a few customers. It wasn't a surprise to Roman that Patton was the guy who knew everyone who came into his job, he was the friendly guy who was easy to talk to after all.

They started down the street and Patton continued to lead the way. "Yeah, I saw it on the news they had playing in one shop, they did another report on me!" Roman couldn't smile any brighter if he had tried. "Of course, I'm awesome, it comes to no surprise."

"You're a hero, Roman. Of course, they did!"

"Yes, well." Roman glanced away. "I wasn't one last night."

Patton quickly spun around and poked Roman angrily in his chest. "Now, none of that! You are wonderful and if you continue talking like that I'll have to make you see how wonderful you are!" Patton spit out angrily, only causing a roar of laughter to erupt from Roman.

"No, thank you, Pat. That will be enough. Still, I could have handled it better."

"You got Virgil out and got rid of the possible threat, doesn't seem like a failure to me. Sure, maybe you made a mistake but you're human! We all do!"

"Oh? When was the last time you made a mistake?"

"I made my boss a coffee today, but I gave him mine instead of his. He's diabetic."

"Oh, ouch." Roman patted him on the shoulder. "You drink liquid sugar. Was he okay?"

"Yeah, he spat it out pretty quickly and was fine. I still feel bad, but he told me that it's okay to make mistakes! Also, he joked and said I was secretly trying to poison him so I could have his job, but that's nothing new coming from him. He's a big jokester!"

"Sounds like work could be fun, who knew? I always thought Logan would work best in a library and it didn't fit you, but you seem to make it work for you so well."

"Of course I do! I'm sure Logan could do my job once he knew how, but I make it fun and relaxing. If you don't like what you do, what's the point?"

"I'm sure you'd love to work with Logan."

"Well, of course, I'd love to work with any of you! As I'm sure you'd love to work with Virgil. He did such a nice job on your costume after all!"

"Oh gosh, you should have seen the sketch he did of it first, it was magnificent! Did you know he can draw? He had a few ideas and even let me help decide some things on it-"

Patton smiled as he sat down on the bench at the bus stop, listening to Roman who had lit up at the mention of his new costume.



"What are you asking me? I'm afraid I do not understand."

"I'm just saying if Pat had left Two here or something, wouldn't you have had a better time hanging with him than me?" Virgil was laying upside down on the couch, his feet on the back and his head and hair almost brushing the ground.

"Preposterous, I do rather enjoy your company." Virgil snorted out a laugh. "What? It is true. While I enjoy the others company, you have a more realistic and down-to-earth view that is rather enjoyable compared to their fanciful talks of grandeur."

"Come on, Logan, that's not the same thing. You like talking to me, but if you had to choose randomly, who would you rather spend the most time with?" Logan looked baffled at the statement and Virgil swung his legs down, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "Come on, brainiac, stop thinking with your head and think with your heart. What do you feel?"

"Confused."

"Come on! You wanted to try and figure out this stuff, right? Said it would help with better control of your powers or whatever. Just... okay. Imagine spending a full day with each and every one of us. The perfect day doing whatever you wanted. Start with me."

"This is silly."

"Shut it and close your eyes."



Patton smiled as he cheerfully walked down the street next to Roman.

"He said we could do make-overs but after doing his nails he wouldn't even let me do his make-up! Which is so not fair because I have this nice plum palette I wanted to use and..."

Patton stopped walking and turned and looked at Roman. "You okay?"

Roman looked down at Patton innocently before slowly looking around. "I hadn't noticed how close to home we were."

"Time flies when you're having fun, huh?"

Roman stood up taller at the statement. "F-fun? I was just talking!"

"You got really into it though!" Patton smiled and bounced on his heels a bit. "I love listening to people get passionate about things!"

"Passionate?! No, no! Patton, I am not passionate about-" Roman waved his arms back and forth. "You're misreading this!"

"What? I thought you were passionate about your friendships." Patton tilted his head. "Is that not what you were talking about?"

"Friendships!" Roman pointed at Patton and smiled. "That's exactly it!" He quickly began walking and passed Patton without another word. "Just friendships, nothing more!"

Patton watched Roman march on proudly with a bewildered look on his face.

Roman marched up the stairs and opened the door to the apartment, freezing at the view before him. He moved out of the way after hearing Patton walking up behind him and pointing over.

Logan was sitting in his chair, eyes closed and either asleep or meditating, Roman wasn't sure. Virgil sat on the couch facing him and staring him down.

"Now, what do you feel?"

Roman looked down at Patton who looked up and shrugged. He looked over and stared down the two. His eye flickered back and forth before falling on Logan, breath caught in his throat. He took a step into the room, drawing Virgil's attention.

"Oh, hey Patton!" Logan jumped and opened his eyes, looking towards the door. "Hey Roman."

"Hey." Roman closed the door, his greeting sounding apprehensive. "What's going on here?"

Logan rubbed his eyes and adjusted his glasses. "Virgil was trying to give me a lesson on emotions. Utter nonsense if you ask me, it proved nothing."

"I dunno." Patton smiled and crossed his arms with a knowing smile. "You seemed to be pretty happy when we came in."

"Utter nonsense." Logan got up from his chair and quickly retreated to his room, muttering to himself.

Virgil looked over and shrugged a bit before falling back into the couch. "How was work?"

"Oh, it was okay. Much better after you called, I'm so happy you two are getting along!"

Roman shifted uncomfortably in his spot. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Virgil reached for the remote and fell back on the couch. "Hey, did you see they did another report about you? Must be a slow news day if they consider that important." After a moment of silence, Virgil looked up at Patton and Roman. "What?"

Patton looked up at Roman and folded his hands together. "Hey, I don't know if Logan talked to you about last night yet, but..."

"Oh, you mean that evil cloud thing." He leaned forward in his seat and shrugged. "I dunno. Logan said we probably shouldn't go out alone after it."

Patton nodded and smiled a bit. "Good idea, but are you sure you're doing okay?"

Virgil stared the two down with a neutral expression for a moment, letting the calm turn awkward. "Let me say this once. I am fine, I am going to be fine, and the sooner we can get rid of whatever showed up last night, the sooner I can stop worrying about it. I'm not gonna break, okay?"

"Oh, no! Of course not!" Patton held up his hands in defense. "I was just worried about you, you seem to be handling this all just fine."

Roman nodded in agreement. "Strange as that is, I figured you would be freaking out."

"Oh, it's all internal." Virgil leaned back and turned his attention back on the tv. "Besides, Logan helped keep me distracted after he told me so I'm okay for now."

Patton gave Virgil an encouraging smile and a few motivating words before walking into his room. Roman went to approach his and stopped next to the couch. After a few moments of staring down the other, Virgil glanced over and looked up. "You're going to freak out over this later, aren't you."

"I dunno, am I?"

Roman shook his head and suppressed a sigh. "If you need someone to be there, please don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"

Virgil went to bite back with a snarky remark before seeing how serious Roman was about it. He huffed and turned back to the tv without a word. Roman took his silence as a defeated 'sure' and retreated to his room.

Eventually, Roman got dressed in his princely attire and get ready for a night out. He was unsure if the others would stop him, but made it safely out the front door without interruption.

He knew the others wouldn't want him to go out alone, but he closed his eyes and focused on imagining the creature he saw the night before. It was his mess that caused the monster to escape and it was going to be him to capture the creature and bring an end to it. Learning if he could find it was the first step, he would talk to the others about capturing it and make sure he didn't have to apprehend it alone.

After a few moments, nothing came to him. His feet stayed firmly planted on the sidewalk and he huffed out in annoyance. Of course, things couldn't be quite that simple, but he wasn't going to stop there. He started his trek into the city, not worrying about where he was going quite yet. He may not find the monster tonight, but he would eventually if it was the last thing he did.

A few hours down the way, Roman let out a loud yawn. He had started taking short naps before his nightly excursions, but sleep was still vital, especially is all important beauty sleep. Roman turned and decided to head home before he stayed out much longer.