/I own nothing, seriously. Enjoy!

"I just wanna watch the birds go by, from my handy foldable blue canvas throw.

I wanna watch them fly and fly; see them soaring up into the unknown.

But I'd feel just like a nerd, watching birds, watching me here all alone."

~Birds (feat. Terrence Williams Jr.) from Ultimate Storytime

Roman loved nature.

You'd think that it would be more of Patton's thing, and that Roman would rather not have a dirt stain on his pristine clothes. Well, that's true, but the absolute inspiration one can glean from wildlife that Roman can't even begin to describe it.

Plus, Patton was afraid of spiders, which were in their garden in the Mindspace. Roman had no idea why the little creatures were there, but they were. The fanciful side was only slightly afraid of them, and even so he preferred to not kill the little arachnids.

But he digressed.

Nearly half of his inspiration came from his surroundings. He found that a boring office space in the Mind Palace would only stifle his creative whimsy, so off into the great unknown he went.

The results were more than he could ever hope for.

Lush forests, bursting with life as newly formed dew glistened on the grass and leaves. Rivers, so clear that one could see straight to the bottom, gently washed over any rocks they came into contact with and reflected the sunlight almost as good as a diamond could. Mountains towered in the east, to the west being snow-covered plateaus that he could explore at anytime. The wildlife were friendly and accepting, managing to calm him down whenever Roman felt the other sides starting to grate on his nerves. A deer even let him pet her, the warmth that spread through him as an uncontrollable smile nearly split his face in half the result of such trust between human and animal. (He's also pretty sure that he saw a fairy at one point, but whatever it happened to be was gone after he blinked. He'll find out eventually, though.)

Despite the breathtaking scenery, Roman felt that something was missing.

As he settled down in a clearing with a rabbit nuzzling his hand, the other holding a book that he read aloud to the other animals that filtered in to hear his words, he realized what it was.

He was missing his dear friends to enjoy this experience with.

Then again, would they enjoy it? Logan would probably shy away from the animals, content to just observe them and not truly relax; he'd probably question Roman as to why he even brought him there in the first place. Patton would be speechless the whole time, an adorable grin on the father figure's face as he wanted to never leave the place. That would end up in him ignoring Roman and, more importantly, his duties to Thomas. Virgil would warm up to it, in due time, but he would always worry about the possibility of him accidentally hurting the fauna to the point that he'd say that the place was awful for his wellbeing. (...Not in those exact words, sure, but the message would be all the same.)

All ended with them not truly appreciating the world for what it has to offer. Not just that; they wouldn't appreciate each other.

He might be wrong; maybe, just maybe, they would all want to spend the day here together and talk about nonsense until the sun went down. No, they wouldn't stop there; they would continue even after the moon made its debut, as the scenery was much more beautiful at night in Roman's opinion.

But that's just wishing for something that would never come true, wasn't it? Especially with the way things were now. He was still seen as...overdramatic, extra.

A nuisance.

- Ah, so that's what this is about.

He...felt like they didn't appreciate him and his way of thinking. Why couldn't they just see things from his point of view?

And yet here he was, longing for their company. He was a glutton for pain, wasn't he?

As he continued to read aloud to the forest animals, a sad smile crossed his face.

In the end, he was still alone.