Virgil felt like he had a crab in his brain. He winced and tensed up as he woke. Dealing with a headache in the first second of the day is not how this was going to go down. He moaned and pulled his blanket over his head. He wasn't ready to deal with the day, not with a crab's relentless grip on his lobes. He cowered under his blankets and hid from the light that assaulted his eyes from behind his lids. He was still too tired to deal with any of this and he wasn't fucking having it. The other sides seemed cool with him sleeping in yesterday. It probably wouldn't hurt if he didn't move until he was jolted up out of bed by Thomas. He crossed his fingers and moaned in the hope it wasn't for a while and settled back into sleep.
— * * * —
Roman came out that morning to find Virgil still passed out on the couch and Patton and Logan were already quietly at the table. Logan must have passed over the funnies to Patton because he quietly tittered to himself and ate slowly instead of his normal morning racket. Roman was blessedly more capable of thinking than yesterday now that he felt better, and could easily come up with a solution to their volume dilemma. He conjured up a rubber ducky and placed it near Virgil's head. Logan watched him from across the room and raised an eyebrow. Roman carefully paced his way over, not wanting to be too close to Virgil when he explained, just in case.
"Sound-absorbing ducky. In case some dishes make a loud noise. And so we can talk normally instead of whispering," Roman said, pulling up his regular chair. Both Patton and Logan sat stiffly, looking over to the couch to see if Virgil would stir. Faithless!
"Y'know, that hurts. Come on. It's fine. Patton, would you whi- um, make me an omelet?" Roman caught himself in before he uttered some obvious Remus bait. He wasn't sure his ducky could handle that noise level. Patton paused in confusion at first, but his eyes widened in acknowledgment.
"Yeah, of course pal," Patton said, did an unnecessary sailor moon spin, and slid a plate across the table to him. Roman appreciated the showmanship, though. "For my favourite prince," Patton winked and pushed a latte towards him as well.
"Thank you very much, Pat. So, he was still asleep when you came out as well?" Roman asked, taking a bite of his heart-shaped omelet.
"Yeah, poor kiddo must have really tuckered himself out yesterday," Pat said, sounding concerned. Logan squinted suspiciously and grunted slightly in response.
"Care to share with the class, professor?" Roman said, rolling his eyes and enjoying his latte. There was obviously a bee in his bonnet.
"It is Virgil's prerogative if he wants to enlighten us," Logan said shortly and returned to his paper.
"I know you like to keep what you talk about during your sessions private, so Virgil trusts you, but can you at least tell us how he's doing?" Patton said, looking like a sad puppy. Logan had very few defenses against the sad puppy face and he was pretty positive Patton knew that. That question probably didn't even need the puppy face, though. Roman asked him something similar before.
"I believe at the moment he is fine other than certain factors. For Virgil, that is relatively normal," Logan stated, hiding behind the paper from Patton's face.
"Well, I'll trust ya if you think the kid's got it handled," Patton said, summoning some extremely stuffed crepes and licking his lips. Roman saw Logan stiffen slightly at the word 'trust'. Virgil must have been less than forthcoming yesterday. Virgil and Logan are very firmly on the 'no lying' train, but Virgil could be cagey with information sometimes. Much unlike The Encyclopedia Britannica across from him, trying to hide behind his paper. Roman knew Virge didn't mean anything by it, though. He was scared of disappointing or hurting people and couldn't always just come out with it. Leave it to Mr. Robot to take it personally. Roman yawned slightly and sipped his latte.
"Oh, oh, my sweet little moonlight is waking up!" Patton cooed, and Roman turned around to see Virgil sitting up still half-buried in the blanket, looking confused briefly, stretching, and then grabbing his head and holding it. What a drama queen. "Hey, Hey, Virge, come eat breakfast with us!" Patton urged Virgil over loudly, waving. But Virgil never turned around to see them and disappeared suddenly. The blanket on him fell to the couch.
"Guess you made that sound ducky thing a little too powerful for him to hear me," Patton said, clapping his hands and conjuring a little trophy that said '#1 magic duck maker' trophy and sliding it over. Both Logan and Roman rolled their eyes at this new trophy thing Patton had been doing. But when Patton whimpered, Roman shot into an acceptance speech. Roman didn't enjoy disappointing people either, he could certainly relate with Virgil on that.
— * * * —
Virgil went back to the office Deceit was in yesterday. He had a gut feeling he'd be back there, and it was here. Perhaps reworking his plans with the new information? Perhaps making new ones? The only constant with Deceit was that there was always a plan. Deceit was also just busy with self-preservation. He was burdened with a lot, much like Virgil, and he didn't like just letting things run loose like Virgil's anxiety ran. Not that Virgil could stop and record things if he tried. He did try at Logan's behest. It didn't go well.
There was an empty waiting room between him and Deceit's office, and Virgil wasn't entirely sure if he should wait or knock or what, so he just shuffled his feet in the entrance, eyes looking around for any sign of what Deceit preferred. But a crackling noise broke the awkward silence, and Deceit's voice came out of some unknown speaker. "Next," He said, tonelessly. Virgil shyly walked up to the door and slid in as quietly as possible. It sort of reminded him of being in trouble at the principal's office or a job interview. Those were not comfortable memories.
"What do you need, Virgil? You seem in dire straights," Deceit said, watching him enter. Virgil only barely cracking the door to slip in. Deceit gave him a once over and looked back to his papers.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a headache... I don't need anything. I just wanted to say thanks for helping yesterday… y'know. With the whole mind palace thing and in Logan's Room…" Virgil said, muttering off at the end. Deceit put down his papers and stood up. Virgil watched him hopefully and Deceit nodded, so Virgil came around the desk and hugged him. "Thanks-for-all-that-stuff-and-junk," Virgil mumbled, his words blending together. "And, um, sorry I gave you the impression I'd only visit if I needed something…" Virgil apologized, just above a whisper, his eyes glistening slightly when he realized how shitty he'd been to Deceit. Deceit let go and stepped back.
"I took it very personally," Deceit said smoothly and 'checked his nails' through his gloves. Virgil chuckled and pushed back his tears. Deceit was trying to be nice again so he could try to be less of the train wreck that deserved his scorn. Maybe they could just move on and be friends again. It really felt like that was what was happening, but Virgil just couldn't trust that feeling. Water under the bridge can be just as dangerous as water on it, depending on your position. But it was in Virgil's nature to be scared, and he could at least try.
"We should actually paint those nails with how much you check them. But we can't pick black or yellow, though, it's too obvious," Virgil offered with a light laugh. He was half-joking, but it actually sounded like a nice time.
"Those colors would be perfect," He said with a smirk and sat back down at his desk, returning to his paperwork. Virgil shuffled awkwardly for a moment, trying to make a decision. Fuck it. Deceit said it wasn't a one-time thing before. If he gets crushed, he gets crushed.
"If you're not doing anything later, we could have tea and do our nails? I haven't done mine in a while, either," Virgil offered, hoping for some non-trashfire time to with Deceit to help make up for how much he'd fucked up lately. As much as it pained him to admit to himself, Virgil was also feeling kind of clingy, and he really wanted to spend time with Deceit.
"Sounds dreadful. Don't expect a calling card." Deceit never looked up from his papers and flipped his fingers at Virgil, as if motioning him to 'shoo'. Virgil smiled weakly, a little concerned he'd be actually been rejected. But Deceit seemed very busy and was probably just distracted. It was possibly okay. He'd find out later, in any case. Virgil quietly slipped back out the door and disappeared from the office's waiting room.
Virgil appeared in his normal chair at the dining table, lazily saluting Patton. Patton had a giant beaming smile, and Roman seemed happy to see him too. What did Virgil do? Were they hiding something? It was too early for smiles like that. It was too early for smiles in general. Something in him said it was a trap, but he shook it off. It was breakfast, not some elaborate trap.
"Kiddo! Would you like more Patton-cakes? I put in extra chocolate chips for you," Patton said, sliding over another giant stack of pancakes. Virgil's stomach groaned in pain just looking at it.
"No, pop, I'm good on food. I'll have my normal tea, okay?" Virgil said, a tea mug rising out of the table between his hands.
"Oh, classy summon," Roman nodded. "You probably ate enough for 3 weeks yesterday, huh?" Virgil bristled at the question. Crap, he really did go to town on pancakes yesterday. His stomach clenched just thinking about it, and he felt a little sick. He gently sipped his tea to settle it down. Virgil was grateful there wasn't actually any food there to throw up.
"Virgil did over-indulge yesterday. We don't eat for sustenance, just comfort. I'm sure you saw that on your unhealthy coping mechanisms packet?" Logan said, staring pointedly at Virgil. Virgil shrunk away from his stare.
"I didn't expect Patton-cakes to be so good," Virgil said, dodging the truth with another one. Patton squealed in delight at the compliment. He was looking for comfort yesterday. He felt really guilty about that morning when Deceit had to save him again. Now he felt guilty about dodging the truth, but he couldn't possibly eat with his stomach doing flips like this.
"Oh, thank you bucko, you fill me with paternal pride!" Patton said, wiping a fake tear from his eye, though they were slightly shining. That seemed to be just as quickly remedied by Patton's crepes, however. Patton returned to eating them fervently, and they looked like they were 90% sugar and fruits. There might have even been ice cream in there. Logan seemed at least slightly assuaged and returned to his paper. Roman tried to jab Virgil in the side, but Virgil dodged instinctively.
"What do you want, Disney Dunce?" Virgil hissed and slid his chair slightly farther away. Roman was maybe trying to play fight him like yesterday, but Virgil just couldn't stand the idea of being touched and it wouldn't be fair to sock him right in his dumb face if Roman couldn't sock him back without Virgil having a freak-out.
"Just wanted to remind you to finish your story, Emo city," Roman said, air jabbing this time. Roman must have gotten the picture the first time. Virgil felt really guilty about shying away from him again. He didn't have it in him to tell Roman it was fun. He wasn't sure he could ever admit Roman himself was fun. But today he was scared again and couldn't handle being touched. Only Deceit's touch didn't burn, and Virgil feared what that meant, along with fearing the burning sensation.
"It's already done, oh glorious lord of the himbos," Virgil grumbled sarcastically. He put his head down on the table and held his warm mug in front of him. All these racing thoughts were killing his headache.
"Lord of the himbos? I am a hunk, but I am no dullard!" Roman shot back, sounding oddly defensive for an off joke. Virgil's hands shot to cover his ears, but the damage had been done. Virgil's head started pulsating painfully again. He groaned and pressed the hot mug to his head gently, hoping it would help settle it down.
"Well, you sure aren't kind either, so I guess I'll admit I was wrong today," Virgil growled. It felt like he was holding his head together. Logan glanced over at Virgil passively.
"That is true. Virgil clearly has a headache. You just raised your voice at him, likely causing further distress," Logan said plainly, but his intent to berate Roman was clear.
"Gee, thanks for the helpful exposition," Virgil said sardonically, not really caring about telling off Roman. It was a mistake and nothing to get bothered over. "Can I get away with some caffeine for the headache, today?" Virgil looked to Logan hopefully. Logan straightened up. Oh, no, Virgil knew what that meant. Logan's got a speech. Virgil briefly considered running.
"Studies show that caffeine can actually prolong the length of the headache even if in the short term it can decrease the pain symptoms-" Virgil rose one hand from his head to stop Logan from the lecture, the other still clutching his head desperately. He couldn't take any helpful information today. "Fine. Hydrate and be restful in a comfortable area with low eye-strain," Logan finished in a huff. Thank god. He hoped that was enough face time for breakfast and heaved a deep sigh. Virgil and his tea disappeared to his room in a blink.
— * * * —
"How come you never let me stop you from one of your rants?" Roman whined after Virgil left. Logan shot Roman a quick stink eye.
"It wasn't a rant. It was pertinent information. Virgil would not retain much of the information with the apparent severity of his migraine. It was ideal to postpone it to a future date when he would be capable of absorbing new information," Logan stated, and his hands shot up to hide back behind the newspaper. Logan was feeling touchy, it seemed.
"Wait, Lo, what would cause us to get a headache?" Roman asked, genuinely curious. He had gotten headaches before when working too hard, but it didn't make sense for Virgil to have one when he just woke up. Logan dropped his paper again, looking much less annoyed this time. Logan did always love answering questions.
"Obviously, physiological factors are not relevant, but psychological stressors can cause pain. Excessive stress or a slew of other more emotional reasons could cause us to have pains like headaches, stomachaches, and myalgia." Logan said, returning to his article, but not hiding behind it this time.
"Why would hydrating help Virgil if it isn't physical?" Roman realized and blurted out suddenly.
"Drinking would have a calming effect," Logan responded straightforwardly and sipped his own coffee.
"Oh right, the same reason he has morning tea. How does caffeine work on us, then?" Roman asked, having fallen down a curiosity rabbit hole. It was going to bother him all day if he didn't find out, and he'd already gotten this far. May as well ask.
"It doesn't. They are purely placebo effects," Logan said, finishing off his mug of coffee and heading to the sink to rinse it. Roman stared wide-eyed at his nearly finished latte.
"Well, won't it no longer work now that I know?" Roman asked, taken aback. He was pretty upset at the idea of losing his morning kick-start.
"It will work as long as you expect it to, Roman. Just like your toy duck. Why are you just wondering these things now? It has been years since you started imbibing coffee," Logan asked, folding up his paper. Imbibing? Was that really a necessary word choice? What, was he a Grecian god guzzling wine? Actually, that was a cool comparison. Logan stared at Roman expectantly.
"I, uh, just never noticed until Virgil's headache brought it up." Roman stumbled briefly as he returned from his thoughts of being a Greek god. He was not a fan of admitting it never occurred to him, but there wasn't much else to explain it.
"I will prepare an observation practice this week along with a technical packet," Logan sighed, looking at Roman like he was an idiot.
"Cold, calculator watch! Cold!" Roman moaned. Logan gave a quick smile and sank out. Patton laughed out loud. "Oh, it's not like you ever thought about it, padre!" Roman bit in frustration and took a big bite of his breakfast. He chewed angrily and glared at Patton.
"I don't drink coffee, kiddo, I drink cocoa. I thought you all drank it for the taste!" He announced, and he summoned a steaming mug stacked with both big and small marshmallows.
"If you were human, you would have lost all your teeth from sugar," Roman replied sourly, not appreciative of being made to feel like an idiot by Logan. Knowing how things worked wasn't his job!
"Thank the gosh golly goodness I'm not! Would you like to watch Tangled with me tonight, since we couldn't get to it last night?" Patton asked and beamed at him expectantly. Roman grumbled briefly, still feeling embarrassed by Logan. "I'll invite my purple plaid son," He added. Roman lit up at that idea.
"We can trick him into singing Flynn's part in 'I've got a dream', I'll bet that little goth wants a castle all to himself and he'll give in just to try to spite us," Roman said with a flourish, cheering up at the thought of getting to annoy Virgil. Patton shook his head.
"Now, now kiddo, tricks aren't very nice," Patton admonished Roman for his scheme. Roman took Patton's hands and squeezed them.
"Don't you want to hear him sing again? I just want to give him the chance where he won't be anxious about it," Roman pleaded. He wasn't completely lying. Patton's eyes sparkled in delight.
"Oh well, when you put it like that, then it's no problem! Just don't force him if he really doesn't want to, okay champ?" Patton requested, putting his hand on Roman's shoulder.
"Of course, not, that wouldn't be very princely of me!" Roman said, dismissing Patton's fears and striking a royal pose.
"Great! I will go finish my story! There's plenty of kittens!" Patton called as he sank out. Roman rolled his eyes. Aren't there always, if not puppies? Wasn't the theme this week to overcome something? With kittens? Roman had to admit to himself he was pretty interested to see how that narrative worked out. Roman had already finished his, but he had another idea about overcoming an obstacle that called to him to write. He left to go work in his room to make sure his creative juices were flowing at the maximum. He whipped out his laptop and began typing away.
Roman started a new story about a page that wanted to leave the kingdom to save it, but he was told he couldn't leave without his knight. His knight had gone missing trying to find the cause of the water shortage, so the page was bound in the kingdom. So the page sneaked out anyway, following his heart. He found it was a dragon who was blocking the water supply and eating all the knights. He was clearly outmatched, so the page had to outwit the dragon. The page was made a knight for his heroism.
Roman knew Virgil would love it because the Dragon ate all the knights and the page went against the royalty's wishes. He was a brat like that. Virgil was also into dragons, though Roman doubted he would admit being fascinated by them. Roman really wanted to share it with him. Maybe for the next unprompted story? Logan would also like the use of wits. Roman often wrote other stories that mostly ended up being daydreams during the week, but this one seemed like the perfect one to share. Roman thought Virgil would also like this week's story and didn't want to switch it out, but he did want to share it.
Thinking of Virgil, Roman wondered how he was doing. He had fallen asleep early yesterday and slept in today. Even after all that rest, he still had a headache. If Logan was right, and he probably was, that meant that something was stressing Virgil out… more than he was usually stressed out. And Roman had the impression that Virgil was normally very stressed out. Roman may as well check on him, right? As royalty, he should check on the wellbeing of his subjects, after all.
Roman sank from his room and rose in Virgil's. The room was dim and there were some new spider webs. Yuck. Otherwise, it was the regular amount of spooky. Nothing out of place for Roman to be concerned over, anyway. Roman didn't see Virgil right away, but Roman saw what appeared to be a purple and black blanket mountain under a plaid quilt tied to the banister of the staircase where he normally likes to hang out. Roman tilted down to check the interior.
Virgil was in mount blanketfort, listening to music with his hoodie up and his eyes closed, grasping a full cup of tea. Roman would have assumed he was asleep if he wasn't gently swaying with a sleeve-covered hand cupping one side of the headphones. It was cutespirational. It was some string lights from being pintrest-worthy. Patton would love to see this. But Roman didn't want to scare him or even be noticed staring at him. He seemed fine right now and didn't want to make his day worse by embarrassing him. At least not today, anyway, Roman had already accidentally hurt his head. There was a line Roman was careful not to cross these days. Roman resolved to leave before he was too tempted to join him in mount blanketfort or take another photo that Virgil was most assuredly object to.
