Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was the middle of the afternoon and Virgil was wide awake.

Not of his own will, no, but after the week Thomas was having, he had to question just how much that was actually his own fault. A lot of things were coming up all at once and unfortunately, most of them involved getting up pretty early when the main idiot would rather stay up until 3 am, playing Kingdom Hearts Whatever Number that game was currently on. Virgil never paid much attention to it unless he could use it to his benefit, but since most of the story lines were the equivalent to listening Logan’s manic rambles after Thomas had his fifth coffee of the day, the emo had put that idea to rest pretty quickly. Unlike what Thomas was doing.

Now that he thought about it, he actually hadn’t been doing his job much. Probably because he was just so tired.

He couldn’t even remember all the stupid things Thomas had put himself through throughout this week. There was that weirdly flirty interaction with a barista the other day, but that might have been a couple of weeks ago, and then some new acquaintance of his had tried to hang out but Thomas had gotten lost on his way to their house, so they never ended up hanging out. Considering how he usually reacted, Virgil would like to think he had actually been constructive for once. That was to say he had just stared at the unfolding mess and had decided to pass out on the couch instead of whispering in Thomas’s ear about all of the ways he could die out on the road without ever seeing his friends and family ever again. Stellar progress, 10 out 10.

All of that being said, there was definitely a monster under his bed.

Well, not definitely, but what does Virgil know at this point.

Patton had caught him outside of his room one too many times to seem “normal” by Virgil’s standards, and in true Patton fashion, the moral side had come to sit down next to him on the couch and had showed just how suspicious he was being by asking if they could have a talk. A talk. The idea had put him in so much immediate distress that he almost sinked out once the words finally registered, but by then, the look in Patton’s eyes and his quick clarifications served to temporarily deter some of those instincts, if only for a few seconds.

Most of the conversation was one blurry mess of words and puppy dog eyes, because he didn’t need to listen further once he realized Patton’s concern for him essentially boiled down to the reason why he was avoiding his room in the first place.

Virgil felt like he was being watched.

It was probably an anxiety thing, or so he had thought at first, but it had been a while since that had last happened, so it wasn’t completely unreasonable if he turned out to be right in his delusions. It had been almost too long, now that he thought about it. He must be doing something wrong for it to start back up again, he should have seen it coming—

No, there was no point in beating himself over it at this point. Especially because he didn’t have the energy to actually think about the consequences all that much.

Which was why he had decided to sleep on the Common Room instead of dealing with the problem. Dealing with the problem involved a sharp mind, and talking, and millions of other things that Virgil was just too exhausted to really remember, and it’s not like he couldn’t sense when he was in actual danger, even when he was asleep. No one dared to try to wake him up ever since he accidentally hauled Princey into the Tv stand at one of their first sleepovers.

This presence, this thing... it made his skin crawl in the exact same way.

Still, he had tried it. He tried going into his room after avoiding it for the last few days, if only to get Patton off his back. For an air head, the father figure was surprisingly observant, and Virgil always seemed to forget about that trait of his when he sweetened their conversations with just enough kindness to make him think he was actually a fun person to be around.

Virgil glared at the bed from the distance, trying to see if there was something wrong with it. Goosebumps broke across his skin as soon as he had popped up in the center of the room - too groggy to trust himself to climb up stairs - and that sense of uneasiness that had started on Monday was still there. It grew more intense with each step forward, the churning in his stomach turning more violent, the chills rushing down his arms growing colder, and the need to hiss at it left his throat feeling all the more dried out when the shadows under his bed were uncharacteristically still.

There was something under there, for sure.

His teeth gnawed and chewed on his thumb until the first layers of skin had been picked out, raw flesh peering through. It didn’t hurt just yet, adrenaline keeping his veins electrified until he solved the problem, but for once, his sense of self preservation was working and it was telling him that he should not try to mess with whatever that thing was.

Virgil dropped his hand, moving onto nibbling at his chapped lips. He desperately needed a nap before he made a mistake that he might not be able to cover up, but to get to that, first he’d need backup, someone stupid enough to believe him and just too self-centered to ask too many questions.

He knew just the right guy.

- Alright, where’s the Boogeyman?

- No-- There’s just something under there – Virgil corrected, gesturing towards the small space between his bed and the floor. – I’m already on edge, don’t tip me off.

- Okaaay, no need to tell me twice – Roman huffed, raising his dramatic hands defensively.

It was weird to see him in his room, and even weirder that he had believed him. There was doubt in Princey’s eyes when the anxious side told him about his suspicions, a joke on the tip of his tongue as his lips stretched into a mocking grin, but something made him hesitate, specks of worry dancing in his pupils as his expressions mellowed out into something more somber.

- My ideas do flee from me sometimes – he had said instead, overperforming his supposed embarrassment related to that notion. – Let’s hope this is not one of Remus’s.

Still, something was off. Roman was acting like he always did, talking his ears out about some metaphor that Virgil was not really following, and then he pulled out his sword, which to the sleep deprived emo seemed to have just appeared out of thin air. Maybe it did. It glimmed glamorously as the prince raised it in the air, the blade glistening perfectly against the gloominess of the room, and Virgil watched dumbfoundedly as Roman all but dropped to his knees in front of the bed, placing his hands on the carpet before bending forward, peering into the shadows.

- Princey, wait—!!

His high pitched scream reverberated across the entire Mind Scape, sharp like the blade of his sword as it stabbed right through Virgil’s ears, and as he was recovering from the dizzying attack to his senses, Anxiety found himself with an armful of a cowardly prince, his urgent grip on his clothes breaking through his fear until it turned into irritation.

- That’s no monster!! – he declared, clawing at Virgil when he tried to set himself free. – It’s much, much worse!

Roman’s exaggerated cries fell on deaf ears as the anxious side stared at the darkness from which he had fled, the newfound ringing in his eardrums drowning out any other sound.

There, amidst the shadows, two beady eyes fixed him, a row of sharp teeth gleaming menacingly.

Suddenly, he couldn’t care less that Princey was still holding onto him for dear life, because this might actually justify it.

There was an actual monster under his bed.

And Roman had been inches away from getting his face ripped out.

It tried to retreat back, escape from their gazes as Virgil forced himself to not punch the threat right then and there, but a subtle rumble picked out in the distance before he could move, shaking up the floorboards under his feet as his ears slowly adjusted. Patton’s face appeared in front of his open door, concern wrinkling his features.

- Virge? – he addressed him first, his eyes only then noticing the prince clinging to his side. – I heard screaming. Is--

- Do not come any closer! – Roman shouted, extending an arm out to stop him. – There’s, There’s...

Rapid breathing fanned at the side of Virgil’s face, forcing him to turn to look at the fanciful side, and to his disbelief, a smudge of black eyeshadow smeared underneath his eyelashes, only seeming to get darker with the pacing of his breaths. Fuck, he wasn’t actually joking.

- Roman, what is it? – Patton encouraged softly, ever so impatient as he came into the room. – You’re scaring Virgil. I need you to breathe with me, okay?

The prince refused to let go of Anxiety even as his despair grew palpable, shaking them back and forth with his frantic head movements. At this point, he seemed to have gotten mostly non verbal in his attempts to get Patton out of the room, resourcing to pointing under the bed in the hopes that would get the message across, but that only got Morality to frown at him, his eyebrows disappearing behind his glasses. His eyes searched for Virgil’s, for an explanation that wouldn’t come, but the prince had his arms pinned to his sides, and there was only so much he could do when another person’s anxiety was so overwhelming present.

- Guys, you’re scaring me. – a nervous smile tugged at the corners of Patton’s mouth, his hands coming up to fiddle with the sleeves of his cardigan. – I don’t like to be in here much, so unless you found a cute puppy you want me to pet or need me to deal with a monster under your bed, I’ll leave you guys to it.

Oh, the irony.

Roman seemed to regain whisps of his voice at the mention of their problem, pointing an offended finger at the space under Virgil’s bed immediately. The eyes were still there, as were the teeth, still as visible as before despite having been found, and a chill started from the bottom of Virgil’s spine, quickly crawling upwards as the word blurred around the edges.

Patton turned around, and yelped.

His scream was different than Roman’s, more surprised than startled, but the monster didn’t even flinch, only showing more of his teeth as Morality rushed to their side.

- What is that?! – he screeched, doing Virgil the favor of covering his right ear before speaking right next to it. – I’m too old for these pranks, kiddos!

- It’s not a prank! – Roman whined, his voice breaking as he caught sight of the monster again. – It’s a breathing, living thing, just like you and I, and it’s the most hideous—

Someone cleared their throat just as Roman’s voice started to get louder, directing them all to the open door again. Now, where Patton had stood before, Janus’s figure replaced his spot, wearing his usual caplet and his signature outfit. He was missing his hat and his gloves, but considering that the room was spinning and Roman’s strength wasn’t actually an exaggeration on his part, you could say Virgil had more important things to focus on at the moment.

- Would you mind keeping it down? I was totally not in the middle of something.

- Get lost, snake face! – Roman shrieked in response, only squeezing Virgil harder.

- ... Snake face? Really?

- It feels like there’s millions of spiders running in my blood, I can’t think about nicknames right now!

Deceit took a step forward before chaos could break out again, hands clasped behind his back as he assessed the situation. The left corner of his mouth pulled his scales with it as he gave them all a lopsided smile, following their eyes to the sparkling orbs floating in the darkness, and as if he knew something they didn’t, Janus positioned himself right in front of the bed, quietly staring at the monster. Next to them on both ends, Virgil felt Roman tense up, heard Patton gasp, but neither tried to come forward and stop him before he crouched next to the creature, all but shoving his hand under the bed.

A wounded whine echoed throughout the room, and then Janus stumbled backwards, almost falling on his ass.

- What do you think you’re—?!

- Oh, calm down, will you? – he snapped, his words almost like an order. – Never expected you to be this afraid of your brother, but if that’s the case... It’s not like I’ve been searching for him.

All three sides stared as Janus pulled his arm back, revealing the beastly man dangling from his sleeve. His sharp teeth pierced through the fabric as Remus growled at him, just barely missing his forearm as his eyebrows showing off his discontent over being found, but he was quick to let go once Deceit shook his arm for long enough, dropping on all fours against the ground.

Questions were left unanswered as they watched Remus try to return to the comforting darkness of Virgil’s bed, arms and legs moving at an unnatural speed to try to escape Janus, but the snake side clearly did not intend to let him get away with that hiding spot twice, summoning the rest of his arms before promptly getting to work. Two hands grabbed at Remus’s ankles, dragging him across the carpet, and a third hand quickly ceased him by the back of his neck before he could try to bite him again, unmoving even as the duke struggled against his grasp.

From an outsider’s perspective, the capture seemed to take no effort at all given how quickly Janus had done it, but Virgil knew these two just well enough to know neither was truly fighting to win. At least, not just yet.

- You’re absolutely filthy. Are you proud of yourself? – Janus said, acting as if he didn’t have an audience listening to his every word.

- Depends. Will you punish me if I say yes?

There was undeniable anger under the flirtatious pretense, his shoulders trashing against the floor as he desperately tried to set himself free, but Janus barely paid him any mind, only tightening his grip on his wrists. Remus purposefully moaned.

- You’d actually appreciate that – he grumbled, rolling out his eyes as the rest of his arms disappeared under the bed. – No, I might let you live if you actually behave.

- Oh, we both know that’s not going to happen.

Janus hummed in response, fingers digging into the back of his neck. From under the bed, his arms returned with the missing pair of gloves and his hat, which he would have immediately put on if it wasn’t for the dust covering it, and without further ado, the snake hoisted himself to his feet, not bothering with giving Remus the same treatment before starting to walk out of the room. Face down against the carpet, Virgil couldn’t help but wince with sympathy for the duke as Janus let go of his neck, dragging him backwards by his feet, and no matter how much he kicked and screamed, Deceit was set on not listening to him, not looking back even as Remus stabbed his nails into the carpet, only pulling him harder until he let go.

The newfound silence sounded foreign to his ears as Virgil stood in the middle of the room, unsure if he wanted answers for what had just happened. Roman still refused to unhand of him by the time Patton slowly started to pull away, quiet chuckles falling from his lips as he apologized, but to his growing confusion, the anxious side found himself missing his touch, exposed to invisible attacks without Morality there to stop them.

- You guys should leave now – he said a little too softly, his eyes dropping to the ground. – Princey will have a heart attack if he stays in here for much longer.

Roman might have complained about the comment, and Patton might have agreed, but despite how ridiculous this whole thing was, it was still incredibly draining for someone that hadn’t slept much in the last three days, and it only served to make his eyes feel all the more tired as Virgil’s blinks turned longer and harder to complete.

The warmth pressed to his side slipped away as Patton convinced Roman to hold onto his hand instead, to which the prince responded by clinging to his entire arm, and they walked out of the room without much further prompting, their voices echoing inside of Virgil’s mind as he rushed to close the door behind them with a click of his fingers.

The covers draped over his body didn’t serve to replace the cooling presence of another person, but he wouldn’t need to think about that if he fell asleep fast enough.

Chapter Text

Virgil sighed as he plopped down on the couch, staring blankly at the wall space on top of the Tv. Thomas’s life had become a little more monotonous in the last few days, and if nothing else, that meant he could actually get some shut eye when Thomas went to bed, but if he had to be honest, Anxiety had no reasons to stop nitpicking at all of the details of his personal and social life. And if not Thomas’s, well. Retrospection had always been one of his worst traits.

Janus hadn’t been seen slithering around ever since that weird altercation had happened in his room, and Remus was also not showing face. Any other day, Virgil would be counting his blessings and actually trying to relax before the calm was inevitably broken, but that metaphorical peace was also not back, not exactly.

Roman had become weirdly touchy ever since that day. That’s not to say that he wasn’t already touchy, but to Virgil, it felt like it was becoming more frequent. When one of his stupid jokes was enough to make him snort, the fanciful side would clasp at his shoulder and blind him with one of his dashing smiles, and when something good happened in Thomas’s life, Virgil was the one he searched for to break the news to first. For multiple other instances, Roman had tried to hold his hand so Virgil could join him in a singing number, or had spread his arms out in an attempt to hug him, and for the few times he hadn’t seen him coming, Princey ended up getting his way, squeezing him to his chest or twirling him around as his deep voice rumbled and projected across the Common Room.

It was annoying and endearing in equal parts, even if Virgil would never tell it to his face.

Patton too had been acting kind of weird, fidgeting with his hands a lot when he sat next to him on the couch, putting too much syrup in his pancakes for the breakfasts where he actually showed up, and if Virgil didn’t know any better, he’d think Morality was bidding his time before dropping some awful news on top of him. Those never came, and the week went by.

It only really hit him that maybe these two in particular might be hiding something from him when they all showed up in the Common Room, randomly in the mood to watch Bluey. It had become Patton’s new obsession, so by extent, Princey was bound to get entranced by the simple story lines and the familiar love at some point or another, but to Virgil’s and Logan’s joint confusion, they had both chosen to seat next to Virgil, leaving the logical side on the couch paralleled with the window. Their placements usually followed this pattern, though Patton would sit much closer to the Tv if left unsupervised, but it definitely seemed purposeful, that Logic sat alone on the other couch while the two boisterous sides dropped quietly next to Virgil.

Logan kept stealing thoughtful glances at them, assessing the situation as he came to the transitional breaks between the chapters of the book he was reading, and his piercing eyes were the sole reason why Anxiety had questioned the situation in the first place, his confused insistence getting Virgil to accidentally overthink the situation. That’s when he noticed just how close they were all seating, how Patton kept putting his hands on his arm, on his leg, squealing at something happening on the screen or laughing at the jokes. How Roman had thrown an arm over the back of the couch, not touching and yet, just present enough that he might, and what once had been comfort quickly turned into suspicion, hidden meanings stuffing his head with spiraling thoughts that wouldn’t let him focus on anything else.

Patton and Roman both laughed at the same time, getting Virgil to flinch at the sound when he wasn’t expecting it, and then the moral side was leaning in, lightly resting his cheek on his shoulder.

- Oh, I know I wouldn’t get rid of my favorite toys – he said to no one in particular, a wide smile on his lips. – Like that one video we all recorded recently! I have us all cuddling in my bed so that no one gets lonely.

- What nonsense! – Roman spoke to his left, leaning forward to catch sight of Patton’s face. – Everyone knows you need to hold them all at the same time! Otherwise the love won’t soak in.

The conversation broke through Virgil’s thoughts, his brain trying to imagine how that would look like. He had seen Patton gathering up their plushies and pushing them all together like he was playing house, while Roman kept staring at his own tiny version of himself and gently playing with the soft fabric of his hair with a thousand yard stare, and just like he had noticed at the time, Virgil could only think about how Janus and Remus didn’t get to be a part of the equation. Sure, they got their figurine things or whatever, but it was not the same. Even now, he couldn’t help but wonder if they had been invited at all or if Patton had just not been able to find them.

Gathering up his courage, Virgil excused himself to his room, lying about a headache, and promptly sunk out before anyone could try to stop him.

That crawling sensation spread down his arms as soon as he was alone.

Remus hadn’t been stupid enough to pull the same trick twice, the shadows under the bed hiding his shiny eyes and the rest of his body, but Virgil knew he was there. It would be hard to miss him if he could sense him like this every single time.

A tired sigh escaped from his lungs.

- I know you’re there – the anxious side rasped out, shoving his hands inside of his pockets.

Remus didn’t say a word.

- Why are you even here? – Virgil continued, his brain to mouth filter ruined by the tiredness weighting down on his shoulders. – Hiding from Janus in the exact same spot as last time? I knew you were dumb, but not this dumb.

Still nothing, but if he focused hard enough, he could swear he had heard some shuffling, like the duke was scrambling further into the darkness in the hopes of not being found.

- You’re not going to scare me this time around – he declared to the silence, suddenly crossing the room to come stand right next to his bed, staring down at the covers for a moment. – So quit it. Get out.

The only thing he could hear was the blood rushing past his ears, the deafening sound of his suspicions left unanswered. Virgil had to hold back the urge to kick at his bed frame to scare the duke out of hiding like the rat that he was, instead focusing on why he was here in the first place. From the way Janus had acted, Remus seemed to have stolen his belongings and then promptly spent the rest of the week hiding away from view in the only place the snake would refuse to enter, out of respect for Virgil’s privacy. It was a surprisingly good plan, if that’s what happened. Utilizing what few weaknesses Janus had in order to beat him in his own game.

His eyes dropped to his feet, to the few inches between where he was standing and the bed. Anxiety could easily imagine Remus suddenly pulling out his hand and grabbing at his ankle, getting him to fall backwards before dragging him under the bed like they were in a horror movie, but he quickly dispersed that image by shaking his head. He might be careless and impulsive, but Remus wasn’t entirely bonkers. If he was here simply to annoy him, he would have started talking as soon as noticed his presence, and if he didn’t want to be found, he wouldn’t have chosen the same spot twice.

There was something he was missing, and Virgil hated that he couldn’t piece it together all at once.

- The others are downstairs watching Bluey, you know? – he said to the air, keeping his eyes glued to the sliver of darkness. – You could go there and make dick jokes to your heart’s content.

- It’s a show about dogs, basically. Surprisingly wholesome. Hence, why I think you’d have fun ruining it.

Nothing. Virgil played around with a loose thread hanging from the inside of his right pocket before coming closer, kneeling down on the ground. He had no intentions of checking if he was actually talking to Remus or not, knowing his anxiety would spike if he saw anything else other than the duke hiding from under there, but he chose to believe it might be him. Virgil was choosing Remus’s possible well being over his own safety.

How chivalrous. He could practically hear Roman making fun of him for it as he pulled his knees up, sitting on the carpet with his back pressed against the bed frame.

- Look, I... I’m sorry I called you dumb, okay? – the emo grumbled, sliding across the floor with embarrassment over having to do this. – I know you don’t like that. I was just, frustrated, I guess.

It might have been his mind playing tricks on him, but the crawling sensation seemed to ease away as soon as he stopped talking.

- I’m naked under here – came Remus’s weak voice, something similar to shame lacing his tone.

It would have startled Virgil if he hadn’t already been sure of his presence, and it was still enough to get him to flinch, if only because of the mental image it brought up, but considering that Remus had announced it instead of appearing in the nude in front of him already told him that he had been right about the missing pieces.

- Why are you naked? – Virgil asked, huffing playfully over the fact that that he was having this conversation at all.

- Janus tried to give me a bath – he whimpered, some sort of shifting happening against the carpet. – He’s one insistent motherfucker.

- Aren’t you allergic to soap?

- I am! But he’s trying to find alternatives that won’t get me to break out in hives.

- Hmm. Is it working?

Remus made a vaguely pathetic noise of disapproval, to which Virgil responded by placing a hand in front of his line of sight. It must have appeared slightly violent from the other’s end, because the anxious side heard a gasp coming from under the bed, but not even a few seconds later, the duke was reaching out towards his fingers, a hand slowly emerging from the shadows.

He didn’t try to touch Virgil, simply resting his own hand next to his in silent comfort, but even that was enough for the anxious side to get more information for his theory, his eyes spotting out the details without needing to have Remus saying a word on the matter. His nails had been cut short, as short as physically possible, but they were uneven and caked with dirt, as if Janus had to physically restrain him to get the job done. His skin was rough and flaky, dried out on several places, and closer to the wrist, peering out through the matt of arm hair that only Remus seemed to have, uneven blotches of red were starting to fade into bright pink.

It made Virgil’s own wrists start to itch just by looking at it.

- You were starting to smell a little – he joked, hoping that Remus could hear the softness in his voice.

The cackle that came from underneath the bed immediately reassured him that was the case.

- They don’t call me Reek for no reason! – the creative side announced proudly, and even without looking at him, Virgil knew he had to be smiling.

- Stinky bitch.

- Harlot’s web.

Virgil blinked, not entirely sure why he was surprised by how affectionately he had pronounced that.

- Are you sure you want to be flirting right now? Your looks aren’t exactly going to win me over.

- Hey! For your information, I’d totally fuck myself if I could.

A snort escaped from him, his hand inching ever closer.

- Of course you’d say that.

- I got a big fat ass and an equally big heart. – Remus continued, completely unprompted. – Who wouldn’t want to tap this??

- You tell me. Probably Roman.

- Ew.

Virgil chuckled breathlessly, curling his fingers around the short fabric blades of the carpet. They were barely long enough to pinch between his nails, but he needed to keep his hands busy to divert some of the feelings churning around inside of his chest. It wasn’t working all that well, but it was still something. Better than thinking about Remus’s supposed nakedness.

- Are you ready to come out now? – the anxious side asked, dropping his head back against the mattress.

- Are you that eager to suck my dick?

- Gross – Virgil sighed quietly, throwing his head off to the side. – No, I just wanna see how bruised you actually are.

Remus’s visible hand curled and uncurled into a fist, as if that could have even been an explanation for anything, and the demonstration was followed by a hollow thud and a sharp Ow! From the way the mattress bumped from underneath his head, Virgil figured Remus just banged his head against the bottom of the bed frame as he attempted to crawl from underneath it, and when his messy hair popped up unceremoniously next to him, those suspicions were basically confirmed.

All across his body, large amorphous red spots immediately jumped into view, along with visible scratch marks and dried lines of scabs overlaying the blotchy skin. That would explain the short nails to some extent, given the duke’s tendency of getting himself to a bleeding point over anything that itched, but it still did not explain why he was in his room. Janus would have willed away the allergic reaction if Remus had let him. He only let them stay if the idiot trampled all over his boundaries, to teach him a lesson.

The heavy frown on his face told him it was probably not because of that.

- That looks... really bad.

Remus raised his eyes from the floor, crossing his legs in front of him.

- You don’t need to flatter me, emo.

His voice was soft, eerily quiet considering from who it was coming from, and the fact that he wasn’t trying to progress the conversation in any other direction or actively attempting to flash himself in front of Virgil’s face immediately darkened the eyeshadow underneath his lashes, the light sparkly purple that had crawled onto his cheeks turning to a heavy black in the blink of an eye. Remus’s expressions fell further at the sight of it.

- Look, I’m not here to pick a fight! – he suddenly declared, probably loud enough to be listened on the other side of the wall. – I’m just like a feral raccoon. I might be cute and fluffy, but I still need to climb into a trash can where I know I can feel safe around!

Virgil blinked several times, not exactly sure where he was trying to go with this.

- Are you suggesting that my bed is trash?

- What? No! – Remus’s brow wrinkled, his frown deepening. – Maybe? You should be focusing on the safe part!

The anxious side didn’t change his facial expressions just because of the clarification, staring at the delirious idiot until he realized he had to actually start to make sense.

- C’mon Virge, it’s cute when you pretend to not care and all, but you have to have noticed it at this point! There’s something so hot about instinctively punching people in the face!

- What, the hell are you talking about?

- Ugh! Are we all himbos in here?? – Remus stared around the room, dramatically gesturing with his hands to the audience that wasn’t there. – I’m saying that we feel safe around you, Virgilicious!

It was Virgil’s turn to frown, his words going around in circles inside of his empty skull.

- Safe...?

- Yea! Have you seen the look on your face when you’re mad?? Straight up the scariest shit I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen myself in the mirror plenty of times.

- I’m still not following.

It was quiet for all of three seconds before Remus opened his mouth, flashing his sharp teeth before lunging for Virgil’s body. The impact had him thumping his head against the mattress, his breath coming out in a hiss as Remus’s frantic movements almost knocked him sideways, and as irritation quickly rose up inside of his chest, Virgil felt more than saw as he brought his leg between them, kicking Remus away with one swift motion. It sent him flying across the room, causing him to crash against the wall, and as the duke laid down on the ground groaning and whimpering, Virgil stood frozen solid, breathless and horrified.

- You could have just told me if you were into pain play – Remus whined with a strained voice, his arms looping around his torso as he curled into a fetal position. – I only like to have bruises where the others can see them...

Any concern left in Virgil’s body was immediately flushed out.

- But see, this is what I’m talking about! – Remus declared, immediately breaking into a coughing fit. – Freaky spider privileges.

The anxious side scoffed, willing the pain away with a snap of his fingers before he could start speaking more nonsense.

- Me kicking you in the ribs has nothing to do with being a spider.

- No, but getting eaten alive does!

Virgil couldn’t hold back the laughter that bubbled up inside of his chest over his cheerful voice, a hand coming up to cover his eyes.

- Pretty sure you’re poisonous.

- That’s not a no! – the fast approaching steps stopped a few short inches from where Virgil was sitting, something heavy resting on top of his lap as Remus let out vaguely struggling noises. – C’mon, I’m a walking snack! Swallow me whole, I promise I won’t put up a fight.

- Why would I want to do that? – Virgil asked around a smile, dropping his hand away from his eyes.

- You tell me, Rabidosa.

This was almost too peaceful by Remus’s standards. He could have taken advantage of his opening and sat on top of his lap before he could have said no, but instead, the duke had chosen to rest his head over his thighs, more than content with lying on the floor if the dopey smile on his face was anything to go by.

It was adorable.

 - You can just, show up in my room if you’re looking for attention, you know that? – Virgil mumbled after a beat of silence, letting his hand sink into Remus’s sprawled hair.

- You might not care for your appearance, but I do – he whispered into Anxiety’s stomach, humming quietly as he started to cradle his fingers through his hair. – You were going to show up eventually.

Virgil didn’t say anything, and Remus was too comfortable to think thoughts, so they pushed the conversation to the side, just enjoying each other’s presence. If they yawned at the same time without the other noticing, it was just a funny coincidence, and if Virgil tapped at Remus’s head to let him know the floor was making his ass go numb, the duke could at least pretend to be disappointed over getting dragged to the bed.