"I will physically fight you!"
Virgil should have paid more attention to the words, but he hadn't thought much of what Patton had said multiple times throughout the filming of the most recent video. Anxiety had been more concerned with how accepting the others had tried to be, and Morality had only been doing his best to convey that he shouldn't be putting himself down so much. He wasn't completely sure he believed them yet, but he was coming to a better understanding with the traits.
The other three had already synced out, and Virgil was the last to return to the mindscape. Much like any other time they were called to the real world, they would reappear in the commons. Most times they would discuss further the topic that they had just gone over with Thomas, so naturally that was what the darker facet was expecting when he got back.
When he synced into the mind palace he only caught a glimpse of Roman and Logan before a force knocked him to the ground, somewhere between an intentional tackle and an aggressive hug. When the force lifted, he looked up from where he lay on the floor to see Patton standing before him.
Confusion was the only thing Anxiety felt as propped himself up on his hands, "Wha- why?"
There was a glimmer in the eccentric trait's eyes that only appeared when his paternal side took over, but it was also glazed with a slight sense of humor. "I told you that if you kept putting yourself down, I was going to physically fight you."
Realization sank in, when the moral side made a promise, he kept it. Without thinking, Virgil scrabbled backwards on all fours, he still sat on the floor, but the creative and logical traits now stood between him and the determined fatherly one. Logan and Roman looked down at him in surprise; it was unlike him to act so rash in these types of situations. When it came to the two in question he had no trouble talking back, or getting into arguments with them, but he would never lay a finger on any of the other three.
Both of them turned their heads back to face Morality as he spoke, "Move aside." There was laughter behind his tone, but he still wore the expression of a concerned parent, which was enough to make any of the traits wary.
"No! Don't!" Virgil moved a little bit further away, letting his eyes flit between the ones in front of him, and the side that was threatening him.
Roman looked down at him helplessly, "Sorry Virg, but creativity verses paternal instinct…paternal instinct is going to win." Slowly he stepped to his left, leaving only Logan between him and Patton. He knew Roman's words were true, but he also knew that the egotistical trait would never hurt Morality or anyone else on purpose.
Logic glanced down at the side dressed in black and purple, a hint of amusement behind his eyes, "Logic verses paternal instinct, I hate to say it but the advantage falls heavily on Patton." With that he stepped to his right, a glance passed between Roman and Logan before the moral side took another step forward.
In a moment of fear he looked at the three of them, "Paternal instinct verses fight or flight…" He trailed off for a moment. Glancing up at the trait who stood before him, he let his voice rise into the air again. "Paternal instinct wins…and of fight and flight…I chose flight!" As he said the words he jumped up and shouldered past Patton, rushing up the stairs. Virgil could hear the sound of laughter coming from Logan and Roman, but he was more focused on the footsteps that followed him to the second floor. He managed to get to his room before Morality caught up; he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Don't you dare come back in here! I am not going to be responsible for you getting hurt because you came back into my room!"
There was knocking at the door for a while and voices rose indistinctly from beyond his door, but they all seemed to be light-hearted. Sitting on his bed, and leaning against the headboard, Virgil allowed himself to think over the events of the past few minutes and without warning, he began laughing. The whole thing was petty and hilarious, of all of them, Patton was the least likely to hurt anyone, and yet, they all respected him enough to be fearful in the moments such as the one they were in. For once, Anxiety let himself fall whim to the sense of joy that he felt, something he was unaccustomed to, but it wasn't unpleasant.
A while later he poked his head out of the door, to make sure the coast was clear before heading down to the kitchen to grab some water. No one was within sight and he couldn't hear any voices; he guessed after the filming everyone had retired to their rooms for the night. Slowly he made his way through the corridor and down the stairs. He took a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water before turning to head back to his room; he jumped back in surprise as he saw Patton standing in the entrance to the kitchen. How had he gotten there without Virgil noticing?
The moral side took a step forward and the darker trait dropped the glass, it fell to the floor, and miraculously didn't shatter, but water spilled everywhere. Another step and the youngest trait sprang forward, jumping over the counter and darting around the dining table heading back towards the stairs. Somehow Morality managed to block his path, and Virgil was vaguely aware of the other two approaching the top of the steps, probably drawn by the sound of the cup hitting the ground.
With no escape, Anxiety did the only thing he could think of, he synced back into the real world. Thomas who was sitting on the couch with his laptop looked up at him in confusion as he appeared in his normal spot, but before he had a chance to say anything Patton showed up as well, the other two following closely behind. Morality lunged forward, and Virgil attempted to scrabble up the steps behind him, but both stopped when their host's voice rose up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on?!" The eldest and youngest traits stayed locked in a state of hunter and prey, Roman was laughing too hard to respond, so that left only Logan.
The logical side managed to speak around the giggles that he was trying to suppress, "A-As far as I know, Patton threatened to physically fight Virgil if he kept putting himself down, and when he came back to the mindscape with the rest of us, Morality tackle-hugged him."
He was unable to continue as he gave into the laughter as well, and Roman picked up where he left off, "Then Virgil tried to use us as a shield…but we all decided that paternal instinct over-powered our traits and Anxiety ran up to his room." He took a deep breath, trying to hold back the hilarity that was trying to take over the regal trait. "We headed to bed ourselves, but the next thing Logan and I know, we hear the sound of something falling to the floor down stairs. We see Virgil jump over the counter to get around Patton-" Once again, he lost it and couldn't explain.
Logan did his best to continue, "We were blocking the stairs, and to get away from Patton, Virgil synced into the real world. Morality followed with a laugh and we knew we couldn't- couldn't miss what was going to happen next, so we joined them."
Thomas looked at them blankly, as if he were trying to take in what he had just heard, but Virgil's focus was still trained on the fatherly trait, and it was a good thing it was, because Patton jumped for him. Anxiety hurdled the railing of the stairs and ran for the couch adjacent to the one on which their host was sitting, but he wasn't fast enough. Morality caught his leg, and the two of them fell to the floor with a thud. For a moment there was a scared silence, Logan, Roman, and Thomas sat in fear that the two had been hurt. Patton looked over to see if Virgil was all right, and he did the same for Morality. Noticing that the oldest trait was okay, he couldn't help himself; he broke into a fit of laughter, something the others were not used to seeing. Knowing he hadn't hurt Anxiety, the moral side also fell into giggles, and their joy was contagious because it wasn't long before the others started chuckling as well. It must have been a sight, Virgil and Patton splayed on the floor after a mock fight, both laughing too hard to speak, Morality still clinging to the leg that had brought his downfall.
Putting his hands over his face he could feel the tears that came to his eyes from the hilariousness of the situation. After a few moments of indulging in the emotion he so rarely felt, Morality stood, offering him a hand. Helping him up, Anxiety brushed the tears from his eyes, more than likely smearing his eye shadow in the process, but he didn't care. Looking around he registered the looks that each of them had, Logan was failing miserably to keep his composure, Roman wasn't even trying, and neither was Patton. Thomas while seeming a bit confused, laughed along with them, and Virgil himself, probably looked happier than any of the others had ever seen him.
They said great minds think alike, but apparently so did a mind and its facet, because in the same moment, Morality and Thomas drew the other three into a group hug. Anxiety normally would have pulled away, but he couldn't bring himself to break the embrace. When they did let go of one another, mostly from Logic saying he couldn't breathe, they looked around fondly, grins passing between them.
Their host's voice made them all turn to him, he sounded almost teary with elation, "I'm glad to see all of you getting along…even if it did require one of you being tackled." He flashed a smile at Virgil, "This has to be the happiest I've ever seen any of you!"
They all smiled and the youngest trait knew he had to say something, "Well, I am now certain that Patton is a Hufflepuff."
His words were received with giggles, and Thomas was the one to respond, "And why is that?"
Looking over to the side in question he spoke, "Because, no one else would be determined enough to stalk me all night because they wanted to 'fight' me for putting myself down." Patton squealed in appreciation at the words, "I guess we were right, paternal instinct does overpower all creativity, logic, and especially fight or flight."
Once again they all fell whim to the laughter that consumed them, but it was more than that. Virgil felt something he had never had in the past, a familial sense of joy. At that same moment he couldn't understand why he had doubted it, they may all have their differences, and they may not always see eye-to-eye, but they were a family. For the first time, the dark trait actually felt like he belonged, like he was a part of the team…like he had a family. Without a doubt he knew that now.
Not having the heart to send them back to the mind palace after a moment of such unity, Thomas allowed them to stay in the real world for the night, talking and of course laughing with one another. There were no insults or negativity towards anyone else, Logan didn't even reprimand them about needing adequate rest, Roman didn't complain about his beauty sleep, and knowing that he was going to be up for the remainder of the night, Thomas cancelled any plans he had for the next day. Together for the first time as not only family, but as friends they sat in conversation for hours, ignoring the clock, and leaving behind the problems of the past.
