It had been a week since 'the talk' and the apartment had chilled back down. Roman and Virgil were still spending time together; more so now they knew they were studying the same minor. Logan and Patton had been a little awkward at first but after a couple of days they went back to being comfortable within each other's presence.

The topic of Virgil's painting was never brought up again, in fear that he'd either freak out and leave, or explain himself; both options were horrific.

It was now the following weekend and also a bank holiday. Meaning they'd get a 3-day weekend; Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Thus they decided to take a trip to the countryside, somewhere they could be alone to demonstrate and/or test their powers.

"You ready?!" Patton called out from the living room; already packed and ready to go. It was Friday evening and Patton was buzzed, he'd packed everything they'd need in case of emergencies and more. Virgil was the next to come out of his room with a rucksack "You know it, pop star~" he winked before collapsing on the sofa, his wings spread and fully relaxed taking up the rest of the sofa.

Patton giggled but was secretly really happy Virgil felt at peace and accepted here, that dark secret still troubled him though… Nevertheless, he would tell himself 'curiosity killed the cat' whenever he was reminded of that painting, and the thought of a cat dying pushed the thought away instantly.

Logan was the third person to emerge with an old leather suitcase. Virgil snorted a laugh "I wasn't aware there was a war on" he smirked. Logan raised a brow not understanding "Of course there are… there's the-…"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Stop…" Virgil laughed and sighed, "I just meant your suitcase dude, you look like an evacuee" he informed, thankfully stopping the WAY too political conversation he'd almost got himself into.

Patton almost spit out the water he'd just drank when he saw a pout appear on Logan's lips "I like old items… they hold inquisitive history and frankly look great, not to mention they are practical" he informed, leaving Virgil speechless, simply staring at Logan's momentary emotional expression.

"What did you do to him?" Virgil asked Patton, glancing at him just as he'd stopped choking. The latter shook his head, unable to talk right now but wanting to refuse his liability.

"I'M READY!" Roman emerge with 3 suitcases, a rucksack and a box?

All three looked at him and blinked in confusion "Roman… You do realise this is a 3 day trip to the country, correct?" Logan asked, taking a seat on his armchair. Roman shrugged and moved his luggage away from his door "What? I can't look good in the country?" he grinned, like he was the happiest man alive.

Thus the group head off, they took a bus to the train station and then a cab the rest of the way.

When they arrived they looked around. Around them was nothing but trees and grass, no houses, no people, no traffic, nothing.

"We're here! Oh my word, smell that fresh air!~" Patton exclaimed as he ran around the tall grass, already picking daisies to make a daisy chain. Virgil waited for the cab driver to fully leave before allowing his wings to be visible. He shrugged nonchalantly "Suppose it's… relaxing"

Next was Logan whom had already begun putting up his tent, he had no words on the matter; he simply wanted to set up camp and relax with a good book. Roman on the other hand grimaced at what he saw "What is that god-awful smell?" as he dragged his luggage over to the spot Logan had chosen to make camp; just by the treeline and the clearing.

Virgil smirked "That would be animal shit, Princey" he smirked; getting just the reaction he wanted. Patton pouted in response and smacked Virgil's arm "Language!" he huffed and then smiled sympathetically at Roman. "Roman, that smell is nature at it's fullest~! Embrace it!" He grinned before starting to remove the others tent equipment; they had brought 2 tents, Patton and Logan were sharing a tent and Roman and Virgil were sharing the other.

Virgil didn't have a clue on how to raise a tent (no innuendo intended), nor did Patton. However Logan had read up about outdoor camping immediately after being told of their weekend plans. And Roman had gone camping with his family many times before, though he wasn't a huge fan of the dirt, mess, and the manure odor, he enjoyed the quite and time with his loved ones.

Once they were all set up, Roman used his abilities to get a small fire started and they all sat around on logs. It was getting dark and Patton made sure they were fully stocked with marshmallows. The latter had also brought up the fact that they still didn't know that much about each other and this was the perfect time to get to know each other better.

"So Roman, you have a sister, right?" Patton asked, his mouth full with 3 toasted marshmallows. Roman chuckled, slowly spinning his marshmallow stick over the fire "Yes I do, just the one thank god, she is older than me by a few years though so she thinks she owns me" he rolled his eyes. He would talk shit about his sister a lot but he loved her really, and anyone could see that "I have my mum, dad, and big sister, we used to go camping a lot and do all sorts of activities together, my family are very out-going"

The other three listened with small smiles "What's your sisters name?" Virgil asked. "Oh yeah! You never got to meet my sister did you? She's called Julie, she 24, a pain in the ass but always there for you if you're in trouble" he chuckled almost reminiscently. Virgil hummed and nodded his head "That must be nice".

The atmosphere went silent for a moment; all eyes glanced at each other before converging onto Virgil; who was nursing his marshmallow stick, they all suddenly realised that they knew nothing about Virgil's family or past.

"Virgil? What about you? I don't think you've ever mentioned your parents" Roman asked, scooting closer. Virgil cleared his throat, trying to make eye contact but failing "Oh… well… umm… what about you Pat? I bet your family is a blast~" he spoke with a fake cheer, obviously wanted to change the subject so not to depress all his friends.

All eyes glanced at each other once more, this time with more concern than before "Virgil, you know you can tell us anything right? We all love you and accept you no matter what" Patton spoke up this time, offering a nod with an encouraging smile.

Virgil sighed heavily and ate his toasted marshmallow to buy himself some time.

"W-Well… I… I don't really have a family…"

Logan, Roman, and Patton's eyes all widened but remained silent as to let Virgil continue, "I'm… I'm an orphan… My family didn't want me so they left me on the streets when I was 2 days old… the orphanage found me and raised me, they were practically my only family, though… they shut down when I was 14… so then I just… well… lived on the streets…" He spoke; his head hung, not really wanting to see the expressions of disgust from those he loved.

Nonetheless, a crying Patton suddenly tacked him "Pat? Why… why are you…"

"Oh my…" Patton cut himself off with a hiccup and sniffle "…You poor little bean!... you've been through so much a-and… and I never even knew…"

"Virgil I… I… I don't know what to say…" Roman spoke up next from beside him, Virgil reluctantly looked up, seeing Patton hugging him tightly and the expressions of concern and guilt from Roman and Logan "I had no idea you'd been through so much and yet here you are, this amazing guy! Push aside the sarcasm and mean pranks" Roman said with a small smile, trying to cheer him up a little bit.

Virgil blinked before returning the smile; these guys really were his friends, his family. "Thank you guys, this mean a lot really" Virgil replied, slowly getting Patton to sit up and wiping his tears "You don't need to cry for me, Patton, it wasn't that bad really~ I had a great childhood… mostly" he chuckle awkwardly "…The orphanage manager was awesome, she accepted me with the way I looked and acted. Sure, the streets weren't fun; I was close to death on multiple occasions whether it be starvation, the cold, or a beating… My ex tried to help me out but that… ended… but then my boyfriend found me and took me in when I was 17, he gave me a house, food, love, and even paid for my tuition so I could start a new life~" he smiled warmly.

As much as everyone wanted to be really happy, everyone froze at this information. Patton had started crying again when Virgil had brought up the beating, however…

"W-Wait…. You… you have a boyfriend?!" Roman exclaimed, Logan and Patton also asked in astonishment.

Virgil blinked and nodded his head "I haven't mentioned him? I'm sure I have…" he hummed in thought "his name is Rem, short for Remy, I have definitely told you about him before" he nodded remembering that he had.

Roman sat there in shock, his heart feeling heavy "O-Oh…. Well… yeah… you've mentioned Remy before but… you just talked about him like he was your brother so I… I just… assumed…" Roman looked down; it was his turn to nurse the marshmallow in his hand.

Virgil looked around, all three had forlorn expressions "D-Did you all think he was my brother?" he asked, to which they nodded, however, he couldn't understand why they all looked so bummed… did they no want him to be happy with a partner that loved him?

Virgil's expression showed that he was slightly pissed off, scared, and saddened. His wings were tight to his back and he was hunched over slightly. Patton gasped in realisation "Oh Virge! We don't mean to look sad! I'm sorry! We are really happy for you, truly! Just ummm shocked is all~ I mean… ummm" Patton bit his lip and looked to Logan for help.

Logan obliged "What Patton is trying to say is, we are… mmm… how do you put it… 'happy that you are happy'? Nevertheless, we simply imagined, from clear evidence, that Roman and yourself seemed rather… close"

Roman raised his head with a deep blush and wide eyes shooting daggers at Logan, to which the latter recoiled "What? I am simply stating truth"

Virgil blinked and looked at Roman, who looked away "R-Ro? Do you… I mean…"

The atmosphere of the evening had defiantly gone from zero to one hundred very fast.