Virgil sometimes wished his room would apply the eyeshadow to his face the same way it did for the other sides.
When the other sides spent too long in his corner of the mind, they became corrupted, and the room itself would darken the shadows under their eyes the longer they were there, as a way to visualise the heightened anxiety it made them feel. Virgil suspected it was the room's way of warning them that it wasn't good for their health to stay, and to persuade them to leave. The anxious side was jealous. No matter how long he spent in the room, he still had to apply the eyeshadow manually.
He sighed as he applied the black eyeshadow under his eyes, curving it around the lower eyelid to form a semi-circle of black edginess. He stopped for a moment and frowned. It wasn't enough. Grumbling in frustration, he sponged the makeup onto his face even thicker. He needed it to be as black as it could be.
He needed it to hide the scales.
He absolutely loathed the half-moon shaped scales under his eyes that marked him as a 'Dark Side', as Roman liked to refer to them. Though he supposed it could have been worse; he could have had scales like Deceit, which covered half his face –in fact, he was probably lucky that they were only under his eyes– but that didn't mean he hated them any less.
He had been so thankful when he'd found the eyeshadow after he ducked out (before the others came to retrieve him and he revealed his name). He'd been in his room, feeling like shit even as he told himself it was for the best, when he'd passed his mirror and thought he saw a scale underneath the eyeliner he'd smudged onto his in an instant he was overcome with self-loathing for who he was and where he'd come from. Caught in a mania, he'd rifled through his small makeup bag for the pencil and his hand had come out with the eyeshadow instead.
He was so glad it had. The eyeshadow hid the scales much better.
It also added to his edgy aesthetic.
A knock on the door yanked him out of his reverie, and he narrowly missed streaking the eyeshadow across his nose when he started in surprise. His accelerated heart rate slowed relatively back to normal when he heard Patton's voice from the other side of his door.
"Hey kiddo, it's me." The fatherly side called. "Are you coming down for movie night? No pressure though if you don't want to!"
"Yeah I, I'm coming!" He responded. "Just give me a minute."
"Okay kiddo." Patton's footsteps faded from earshot as he walked to the end of the corridor and descended the staircase into the commons. Virgil drew in a deliberately slow breath as he turned back to the mirror, examining the eyeshadow under his left eye. He spent a few seconds touching it up before deciding it was done and moving on to the other. When he had covered up both sets of scales to his satisfaction, he put the makeup away and left his room, making his way downstairs.
Roman and Logan were both on the couch, Logan with his nose in an astronomy book and Roman practically vibrating with anticipation as he waited for the movie to play. He turned his head to see Patton coming out of the kitchen, a plate full of cookies in his hands. Based on the smell, they were fresh out of the oven. Virgil smiled. He loved Patton's cookies. They were delicious.
"Hey there kiddo." Patton grinned at him, holding the plate out. "Want a cookie? They're fresh."
"Well I'm definitely not saying no." He smirked as he grabbed two cookies, immediately stuffing one halfway into his mouth. "Thnks Pattn" He said through the cookie. Patton gave him a light slap on the shoulder.
"Don't talk with food in your mouth." He said sternly, but he was smiling, and Virgil could see his shoulders shaking with laughter. He awkwardly swallowed what was in his mouth, apologised for his bad manners, and plonked himself down onto the couch next to Logan.
"So what are we watching tonight?" He asked.
"The Princess and the Frog!" Roman exclaimed, and Virgil huffed in amusement at the dramatic pose the fanciful side made.
"Nice." He said simply.
Roman pressed play on the movie as Patton sat down between Roman and Virgil, offering cookies to the other sides. They sat and watched the movie as it played, Roman mouthing the dialogue along with the characters. The corner of Virgil's lips quirked up – he loved movie nights with his family. It was relaxing, being able to just sit here and have nothing expected of him. He enjoyed being able to sit with Logan as he sat in silence, a small smile on his face as he watched the movie, with Patton, who leaned forward slightly, beaming.
He turned back to Roman as the movie's main antagonist made his first appearance, just in time to see Roman's eyes go wide. "Oh my God!" The creative side yelled, scrabbling for the remote. Patton, Logan and Virgil jumped at the outburst, and Patton asked Roman what was wrong. The creative side paused the movie and turned to them.
"I just realised something!"
"What?" The other three asked in unison.
"Deceit looks like a white Dr Facilier!" Roman exclaimed. Virgil blinked.
"How do you get that?" He asked sceptically.
"Look!" Roman grabbed his phone and pulled up a screenshot from the Can Lying Be Good video and facing it towards the others, where Deceit's face was turned to the side, and then pointed at the screen, where Dr Facilier's face was paused at a similar angle. "They look the same!" He said again, passionately, and Virgil had to admit, he did have a point. He voiced his agreement, and turned to look at the other two, who both nodded.
"Yup, I see it." Patton agreed.
"There certainly are some...similarities." Logan conceded. "But I do think that Deceit is more-"
"You called?"
The four sides jumped to their feet and whipped around to see Deceit standing behind the couch, arms crossed, grinning at them. Virgil immediately placed himself between Deceit and his family, his instinctual desire to protect them going into overdrive.
"What do you want, Deceit?" He snapped.
"The question isn't what do you want?" The serpentine side responded. "You aren't the ones who summoned me after all."
"We were talking about you, not to you, Count Creepula." Roman jabbed. "Now get out of here."
"Why wouldn't I want to do that when I'm having such a horrid time here?"
Virgil glowered. "Get lost, snake." Deceit's attention turned to him.
"Ah Virgil, how terrible to see you. Not still hiding behind the darker eyeshadow I see." He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat as he glanced at the confused expression on his friend's faces. Fear began to grip him, but he shoved it down, letting the anger take over instead.
"What do you want?" He repeated, enunciating each word slowly.
"Well, I definitely had a goal in mind when I came here." Deceit admitted. "But now I totally don't want to wipe the makeup off your pretty little face and see what hides underneath." Virgil snarled; a low, guttural sound that had his friends look at him in shock. Deceit knew exactly what was underneath the makeup he wore.
"You leave Virgil alone!" Patton demanded, moving to take a step forward. Virgil threw out an arm to stop him.
"Aww, that's adorable." Deceit crooned, mockingly. "Look at you, Virgil, trying to protect them from me." He took a step closer, moving around the couch, and Virgil snarled again. "But is it really me they need protection from? Sure, I lie, but at least I'm honest about it." He chuckled at that, and then took another step. "But you, on the other hand…" He left the statement open, and this time Virgil was the one to take a step forward.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Logan finally spoke up.
"Virgil would never lie to us!" Patton defended. Virgil felt shame well up in him. Patton had such faith in him, and he did not deserve it.
"Do you remember what a lie of omission is, Logan?" Deceit asked.
"Of course I do." Logan responded indignantly, likely offended that Deceit had implied he could forget. "What of it?" Deceit raised his eyebrow expectantly, and waited for Logan to catch what he had implied. After a moment, the anxious side glanced back, and saw Logan adjust his glasses.
"You're implying that Virgil is keeping a secret from us." Virgil's heart dropped. He opened his mouth to say something, but found he was unable speak. It wasn't that Deceit was controlling him, he just couldn't find the words to defend himself with.
Deceit clapped his hands sardonically. "Ah, finally, he gets it." He turned his attention to Virgil. "Oh, would you look at him, so pale, and he's not even wearing foundation! So how about it, Virgil, ready to tell, or even…show…the others what you've been hiding?"
Virgil snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in, and stepped forward, angrily. He shoved Deceit, who stumbled backward, still grinning.
"Get. Out." He demanded, his voice starting to echo. "Now!"
"Oh you'd just love that, wouldn't you?" Deceit responded, angling his head to look past Virgil's shoulders. "Well, if you're not going to do it, then I think maybe I will." Deceit twisted his wrist and closed his palm, and from behind him, Virgil heard the sound of slapping skin. He twisted, and sure enough, all three sides had their hands covering their mouths, and they were unable to move.
"Let them go!" He demanded.
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Deceit taunted, smiling wide. "But no, there's still some fun to be had here."
"What are you –" He was cut off when Deceit suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and twisted, slamming him into the wall. He grunted at the pain the impact caused in his back, but forced himself to shove it down as he tried to fight the other side off. He managed to get his arms free of Deceit's grip and he shoved the lying side as hard as he could, but he quickly realised that was a mistake when Deceit just grinned, twisting his palm, and instantly all control over his body was gone. He tried to fight it as his body backed itself against the wall at Deceit's command, but the other side's control was too strong.
He struggled, trying to make his body obey him. "Let go of me!" Deceit's grin was sinister, and it sent shivers up Virgil's spine. He stepped closer. Panic began to set it.
"Stay away from me!" Virgil knew exactly what Deceit intended to do, but Virgil wasn't ready for them to know yet! If ever! He wasn't ready to see the looks of disgust on their faces as the beheld the brand that marked him as their enemy. Wasn't ready for them to realise that he was stupid and worthless and not one of them. He wasn't ready for them to send him away.
"Stay away!" He screamed, willing his body to obey him as Deceit took another step. He flinched when Deceit touched a hand to his cheek, and he glared daggers at the side, but Deceit just laughed at him, and raised a hand. Virgil braced himself; thinking for a moment Deceit was going to hit him. He did not. Instead, a makeup wipe appeared out of thin air into the other's hand. "No!" He barely noticed the echo his voice had taken on. He jerked back as much as Deceit's control would allow when the other side lowered the wipe to his face and dabbed it at the eyeshadow under his eyes.
He wished Deceit had hit him.
Tears threatened to spill over as he felt the protective makeup he'd come to rely on being wiped off his face like it was never even there, but he squeezed his eyes shut, denying them the chance to fall. He wasn't going to cry in front of the others. He refused to let them know how weak he really was. Refused to let them see how much it was going to break him when they inevitably abandoned him, when this was all over.
After too long and not long enough, Deceit was finished, and he tossed the blackened wipe aside. Virgil felt a gloved hand grasp his chin and tilt his face up, and he was forced to make eye contact with the side that had outed him against his will.
"You know, I think you look much better when you're not hiding behind all that makeup." Deceit whispered, and for once, he actually looked sincere. Then, without any warning, the serpentine side sank out, and his control over Virgil –and the other sides– vanished.
Virgil's knees gave out from under him and he dropped to the floor, his entire body shaking as he struggled to breathe. He vaguely heard one of the other sides –Patton, he thinks– ask him he was okay. He didn't respond. They made to move towards him.
"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" He was definitely aware of the echo that time, but he didn't care. Maybe he could scare the others into staying away from him. It had always worked before, right? He heard them hesitate, and, while the opportunity was there, he sank out.
Well, he tried to.
He quickly realised that Deceit still had some influence over the situation, and wasn't letting him leave. Dammit! He curled up into himself and hid his face behind his knees.
"Virgil?" That was definitely Patton, his voice soft and comforting. He felt the fatherly side kneel down in front of him. "I'm going to touch you, okay? Just a hand on your shoulder." Even with the warning, Virgil still flinched a little when Patton's hand made contact. "It's alright, Virge. I promise I won't hurt you."
"I know."
"Neither will Logan or Roman."
"…You promise?" Patton made a noise of despair and Virgil suddenly felt horrible. It was one thing to doubt his friends – it was the logical move, this was Virgil, after all; he wouldn't blame them if they wanted to hurt him– but it was another thing to let them know that he doubted them. God, he'd probably insulted them, now they'd definitely hate him and even if they didn't know his secret they'd probably leave because of that! He was such an idiot! Why did he have to ruin everything? Why did-
"I promise, kiddo." Patton murmured softly. "No one is going to hurt you."
Virgil covered his face with his hands before looking up, peering through his fingers at Patton and the others. Patton was right in front of him, a hand still on his shoulder, his face full of concern and worry. Logan was a little ways behind him, still standing, looking rather alarmed by what had transpired, if not a bit discomfited. Roman was beside him, and he appeared to be quite shaken.
He turned his attention back to Patton, who offered him a comforting smile. He closed his eyes, and, trembling with trepidation, slowly lowered his hands. The three of them gasped and he winced. A moment passed, and no one spoke. And then;
"Oh kiddo." Patton breathed. "They're beautiful."
What?
He opened his eyes, confused, and met Patton's gaze. "What?"
"I said they're beautiful, kiddo."
Virgil's confusion only grew. "I don't…I don't understand…" Patton cupped Virgil's face in his hands, and Virgil forgot how to breathe.
"I love your scales, Virgil." Patton said softly. "I really do."
Virgil opened his mouth to form a response, but no words came out. He analysed Patton's face, trying to find some tell that would let him know that Patton was lying, that he was just trying to spare Virgil's feelings and didn't really mean what he was saying, but all he could see in Patton's eyes was love, pure and genuine.
Patton was telling the truth.
His chest tightened and he bit down hard on his lip to stop himself from letting out a sob of relief. Patton accepted him. He wasn't going to cast him away because of his scales.
But the other two might.
His gaze snapped toward Logan and Roman, and Patton lowered his hands as he scanned their faces, but before he could discern anything, Logan stepped forward, and knelt in front of him, beside Patton.
"I can tell that you are afraid of my –or rather, our– reactions." Logan stated. "But you need not worry." He gave Virgil a reassuring smile. "You are part of this family, and we love you, and nothing is going to change that. Especially not something so insignificant as scales on your skin."
"Th-thank you." Virgil croaked, nonplussed.
"Think nothing of it, Virgil." For a moment, there was silence, before Roman clearing his throat interrupted it. Virgil looked up at the fanciful side and shrank back at the anger he saw in the other side's eyes. Instantly Roman's gaze softened, and he lowered himself to the floor beside Logan.
"I'm not mad at you, Virgil." Roman said gently. "I'm mad at Deceit, for outing you on this when you clearly weren't ready." He took Virgil's hand and squeezed it gently, and Virgil relaxed a little, comforted by the gesture. "I have no idea what horrible thoughts must be racing around in that anxious head of yours, but I can assure you, we do not love you any less because of these scales. In fact, I find them rather endearing, myself."
"Yes, I must agree." Logan said, shifting his glasses slightly. "Your scales are quite striking."
"They really are beautiful." Patton added.
"I…don't know what say." Virgil admitted timorously.
"You don't have to say anything, kiddo." Patton grinned at him, opening up his arms in invitation. "Hug?"
Patton didn't have to ask twice.