Virgil felt really great. They had defeated the 10,000 piece puzzle as a group and admired the thunderstorm it revealed. Patton, completely delighted they all worked together, put it in a frame and put it on the common area wall. Roman boasted about how he pieced the lightening strike and high-fived Virgil for working on the sky below. He really felt like there was nothing that could shake him. So he wanted to put it to the test.

Virgil confidently walked into the mind palace and headed in deeper, where he could hold more control and play god with a room. He wanted to lay out under the stars, feel the wind, hear it rustle the breeze. He wanted dark clouds that moved across the sky over a bright full moon. Somewhere that would be too scary for Virgil to let Thomas go to in the real world in the middle of the night, but the kind of view Virgil wanted to see.

Virgil flopped down in the middle of the grass and sighed. He inhaled deeply and took in the scents of grass and earth and crisp air. He stared up at the night sky and full moon and started looking for constellations. He probably didn't get them all right, but they twinkled just the same. He laid his palms flat and gently ran his fingers through the grass. How's this for grounding, Logan? Whoops, was that a pun? That he couldn't tell Patton? He had to fix that.

Virgil snapped a selfie of him on the ground on his phone, created a copy of it, and attached it to his skull sticky saying "working on my grounding" and sent it off to Pat. He wished he had his number. Pop would probably share his digits, but then Patton would have his. Only Deceit had his number. It seemed safer that way, originally. He was too scared of being harangued even when he wasn't in right in front of them. And he'd seen the duke's texts on D's phone and he'd just... rather not. Virgil has some twisted humor, but certainly not that twisted. But would just Patton really be so bad as long as he promised to keep a secret? Patton's been nothing but nice for a long time. He probably wouldn't be bad. Patton would at least apologize if Virgil asked. Not that Virgil could bring himself to ask very easily. A puppy dog face note fell on his face. Patton covered it in stickers of laughing and hearts. Did this mean Pat was an emoji guy? Virgil could probably put up with that. He wrote another note with his number and the request to not share it and sent it to Pat. His phone dinged with a gif of a dog wagging his tail. Oh, he was a gif guy. That's cool.

Virgil shot jokes back and forth with Patton for a while as he listened to the wind blow and a gentle hooting in the distance. He put his phone back down and looked back up at the gently twinkling stars and the night sky lit by a waning moon. Princey would probably like it out here. He appreciated mystery and romance more than the others. He was proud of what he pulled off. Though Princey could probably make something much better than him, being creativity and all. Roman wouldn't rub that in his face, though, right? Virgil summoned a purple plaid quilt to sit down on and sent princey a note.

It had been a few minutes. Maybe he didn't get it. Maybe he wouldn't come and didn't feel like doing the polite thing and saying 'no thanks'. Princey probably didn't trust him. Virgil would have been afraid to be alone with Roman in the mind palace a few weeks ago. Virgil felt like he could trust Roman better, now, but maybe Roman just didn't feel that way about him. Maybe Roman could never trust him. Maybe Virgil did something that hurt Roman. That feeling stung in his chest for a moment, but he took a deep breath and focused on watching the clouds again. Freaking out is just going to make the room go haywire and then he'd be in real trouble and not just feeling slighted by Princey. Virgil stared at the twinkling stars. He should make a puzzle of the view. Though Logan probably would probably know the stars were wrong and get frustrated. Whatever. Virgil laid back on the blanket, head in his arms and crossing his legs, and hummed a simple tune to distract himself.

He could just enjoy getting to be in his own room for once. Before they accepted him he always had to go out with someone and Virgil couldn't make the room. Remus and Deceit practically lived in the mind palace, they were here so much. It always made Virgil jealous, either being stuck in his room or having to fight off Remus's demons instead of his own. He didn't have to feel jealous anymore, though. He was already here and it was pretty chill.

A shuffling noise came from next to him and he opened his eyes to Roman walking into the area, the tall grass softly crunching under his boots. Virgil closed his eyes again.

"Hey Princerlla, thought you weren't coming. Figured you were busing preening for the 42nd time today."

"No need to cry over spilled eyeshadow, your prince is here!" He said, posing. "What did you want, purple poser?" Roman said, looking down at Virgil on the blanket.

"I don't know, I guess my room isn't complete without annoying overbearing royalty stomping all over it and saying stupid shit," Virgil said and glancing up at him.

"Well, I'm happy to oblige!" Roman said and stomped on Virgil, who bounced slightly from the sudden impact. It wasn't actually painful, but it was jarring. Virgil reached up and tickled behind Roman's knee. He buckled quickly, and Virgil flipped him onto the blanket. Before Roman could get his barrings, Virgil hopped on top of him and pinned him down from his chest.

"See that's a stupid action, not a stupid phrase," Virgil said, holding Roman's head and jiggling his cheeks. Roman slammed down his feet and threw off Virgil who rolled in the grass. "Or perhaps I was barking up the wrong Prince?" He said after skidding on the grass and catching himself. He pounced from the grass and tried to tackle Roman again, but he missed and landed on the blanket. Roman pinned him down right after he landed.

"Whose the damsel in distress now, Virgil?" Roman taunted him with a victorious cry and punched Virgil in the back. Virgil fake swooned.

"Oh, the prince whom I adored has turned evil and betrayed me!" Virgil mocked back but didn't make an effort to get up. Roman punched him again and actually stopped to look around.

"Did you invite me out here on a date, hot topic?" He asked facetiously. Roman leaned back, pinning Virgil's legs down with his hands as he sat on Virgil's lower back.

"I think we already established I'm a masochist today, princey, for even considering inviting you out here," Virgil chuckled slightly, looking out over the field. They were quiet for a moment.

"Needs fireflies," Roman stated nonchalantly. Virgil considered him and drew a little firefly on the blanket with his finger and some fireflies now gently floated around the meadow. "There, now it's perfect. This is where a hero would sneak to meet his one true love in secret as they are kept apart by social convention," Virgil lightly turned pink, hiding his face in the quilt.

"Uh, thanks," Virgil mumbled. It surprised him Roman actually liked it. Surely Roman could make a much better room in a snap than Virgil could if he put weeks of planning in. Roman crawled off of him and sat on the blanket next to him.

"But what's that in the sky?" Roman asked curiously.

"You mean the moon?" Virgil said, rolling his eyes and shifting to sit up.

"There's no moon. It's some dark thing. Did you need to emo up our romantic getaway?" Roman said sarcastically and pointed upward.

Virgil's eyes shot up. Where did the moon go? Oh, fuck, what is that? He started to feel sick. He could hear the echo of something he couldn't quite make out, but it sounds a little like him and Roman talking. Both voices sounded upset. Virgil was frozen on the spot.

"Perhaps it's a more suitable challenger for me?" Roman asked, almost sounding excited and summoning his sword.

"N-no, princey, don't t-touch it," Virgil stammered out, his breathing starting to turn ragged.

"Well, it's coming this way, Emo October. I won't have much of a choice soon," Roman sassed. Virgil felt a sickly sensation rising in his chest, gripping his throat. The voices were getting a little clearer and more familiar. "Virgil, that looks like me. Did you make a clone of me? ...Well, a less fabulous clone of me? That prince has missed quite a bit of beauty sleep," Virgil locked eyes with him and the Roman clone mouth started moving with the voice in his head. "Is he saying something?" Roman asked, trying to focus on the floating Roman coming closer.

The gripping sensation tightened and Virgil threw up a wad of black webs. "What the fuck, Virge?" Roman said, dodging the darkness as Virgil gagged.

"Roman, you got to go, man," Virgil said, choking slightly on more rising in his chest. Roman reached out for Virgil and they both sank out and appeared in Roman's room. The sensation in Virgil's throat and chest loosened, and he coughed hard. "Th-thanks…" Virgil coughed again.

"What the hell was that about?" Roman asked and backed away from Virgil. Virgil shuttered again and held himself tightly. "Don't you dare puke in here!" He cried.

"I… I don't know," Virgil said, holding his stomach. "I'm sorry, Ro… My thoughts… They do things to me in there,"

"Well, why in the world did you go in, then?" Roman nearly shouted at him with angry concern.

"I thought it'd be okay today. That wasn't what normally happens. I don't know what the fuck that was or why it looked like you," Virgil said and laid down in on the spot. "The mind palace is the only place that-" Virgil started rambling but stopped himself quickly. That was close. He felt queasy for a whole new reason. Roman grunted in acknowledgment and looked worried.

"Maybe you can ask Logan-" Roman started, worry taking over the irritation in his expression.

"No, please, Ro, don't say anything to anybody, okay? I won't go back in alone, promise," Virgil pleaded, holding himself on the floor. Roman sat next to him and placed his hand on Virgil's back, rubbing slightly. "I already knew better, it was just a dumb judgment error, okay?" Virgil pleaded.

"Fine. I won't say anything. Just because it's ungentlemanly to embarrass your date," Roman smirked, but his expression dropped quickly. He paused and stared at Virgil's face for a moment. "I'm serious about killing you if you throw up in here, Virge," Roman said. Virgil must have looked ill still.

"No, I'm fine now, dude. Can we forget about him? It? Whatever happened? Can I, like, watch you play video games or something?" Virgil asked and Roman bristled.

"I don't play those nerd distractions!" He bit back too quickly.

"Ro, you don't gotta lie. Thomas likes video games, so you do, too. You're the one who kept suggesting Thomas play Kingdom Hearts when you thought nobody was looking. I won't tell anybody. Put on some game that-" Virgil cleared his throat and tried his hardest to sound British. "Reminds you of The Hunt!"

"Does that make you Vicky?" Roman sassed, slightly pushing him. Virgil sat up and crawled onto the couch as Roman put a game into the TV. "You are the pure embodiment of all evil."

"What, do I remind you of the hunt?" Virgil asked, bemused. "I'm Jorgen for sure, and you're Juandissimo," Virgil smirked.

"First of all what in the world drugs are you doing to make you think you're Jorgen? And second, what makes you think I'm that selfish narcissist?" Roman said, sounding annoyed but not actually angry.

"I just see a lot of parallels, Princey. How many times did you look in the mirror today?" Virgil asked, settling in on the couch while Roman huffed, flustered, and sat cross-legged in front of the TV.

They chatted about which sides would be what fairy while Roman beat triumphed over evil in the game. The only one they could agree on was that Patton was Papa Cosmo and Logan would be H.P. Sanderson. There was some cackling after they riffed about all the ways that Logan was like the head pixie. Virgil started drifting at one point, but mostly stayed awake and watched him play. He resisted the urge to take a photo of Roman hunched over and focusing on a boss battle as blackmail. He was positive the others wouldn't care. Even Logan enjoys puzzle and sci-fi games. But part of Virgil just wanted to embarrass Roman with it.

A few hours later, Virgil and Roman sat together playing a fighting game and shouting at each other with each victory and loss, occasionally punching or pushing each other in real life. They hadn't realized how much time passed until Virgil started passing out with his hands on the controller. Roman loudly grounded and shouted in frustration.

"How can you beat me in your sleep!" Roman cried in indignation. "Your eyes aren't even open and you just combo'd me into oblivion!"

Virgil yawned deeply. "I'm just that good, Princey," he said and accompanied it by a sleepy smirk. A little blush crept across Roman's cheeks that confused Virgil. Virgil probably stared at him too much trying to figure it out, because Roman's face dropped to a scowl.

"Yes, my countenance is enticing, but staring is rude. Go on, go to bed then!" Roman grunted. "You need your beauty sleep,"

"You're just tired of losing," Virgil mumbled, drifting again.

"Maybe I am!" Roman threw his arms in exasperation. "Go on, finding emo, let me finish working and get ready for bed," Roman pushed him which woke Virgil up a bit more. Enough to pay attention, anyway.

"Fine. Good night, sleeping princey. Happy to kick your ass later," Virgil gave a very weak smarmy smirk and enjoyed watching Roman get even more flustered.

"I beat you before and I'll beat you again!" Roman cried, shaking his fist as Virgil sank out of Roman's room.

Virgil appeared in Deceit's room, flopping down on the bed. Deceit wasn't in yet, it seemed, so Virgil just crawled on top of Deceit's big ridiculously pompous bed with the billowing gold sheets. They were fabulously soft. Deceit's room was full of stuffy airs, but it was very cozy and comfortable if you weren't looking for flaws. The atmosphere was a bonus. Virgil and Remus were saddled with terrible atmospheres. It was so easy to tell yourself it would all be okay or things would be solved soon. Anytime you wanted to believe something, you would. It was very conducive to sleep.

With how many plans and schemes Deceit had, Virgil couldn't figure out why he didn't think of trying this earlier. It's so much easier to spend time with the other sides like this. He bet he could even hang out with Remus again. Remus was funny and sometimes his humor was edgy and it was easy to laugh with him since Remus never judged. But after a while of being in the same room, they would sort of feed off each other and things would take a turn for the worst. Virgil was pulling away before he left them, and it made him feel like shit. It would be nice to hang out again. He could hang out more with everybody, really. He didn't feel like he had to sit alone all the time anymore. He stayed away because he was scared, and because he knew he would fuck up. Virgil was less of an awkward nightmare now and less scared. He could handle this. The bed shifted, and he sleepily looked over to Deceit sitting on the edge of the bed near him.

"Good morning, Virgil," Deceit cooed. "You stayed right where I could see you, I noticed,"

Virgil yawned slightly. "Mind Palace. Wanted to see if I could go in there alone, now. Something weird happened," Vigil said with a little yawn and summoned a thick blanket to lay under.

"Something you expected?" Deceit asked, sounding annoyed and looking pointedly at Virgil. Virgil withered slightly under his intense expression.

"Um... Yeah. It did something different this time. I made Princey promise not to talk about it," Virgil explained weakly. Deceit's eyebrows furrowed. Virgil made a fat yellow snake pillow and laid down on his side to sleep. "G'night, D," He said with another yawn.

"Enjoy your nightmares," He said, sounding off and standing up from the edge of the bed. But Virgil was asleep before he could think about it.

— * * * —

Deceit cursed his atmosphere for making Virgil less than with-coming with information. What was he doing in the mind palace and why was Roman there with him? What happened that was different? He didn't like not knowing variables. It always disrupted his plans. Virgil was starting to show to be a good manipulator this morning with the puzzle, though. He hoped Virgil had this handled as confidently as possible. Deceit can't confidently choose options without this new information, though. He considered waking up Virgil briefly, but Virgil doesn't wake well. There was either an anxiety attack or a literal attack involved if he was deep enough asleep, and Deceit could hear light snoring from the other end of the bed. But Virgil would tell him later. Virgil still trusted Deceit despite his admittedly childish outburst a while ago.

Virgil had agreed very readily to the plan with a little persuasion. It was more than the fact that he was feeling vulnerable and wanted an escape. Virgil knew Deceit would be there for him. It was flattering to be trusted by a side that was the literal embodiment of anxiety and distrust. Deceit would help him every morning as needed until Virgil had a handle on things. Knowing Virgil's anxiety, it would likely take some time. To minimize time gone from the other sides from their morning breakfast get together, Deceit told him to stay in here.

He had hoped the atmosphere would also give him a boost of confidence in the mornings, not that atmosphere effects last long after leaving the room, typically. Deceit had just found his room had a placebo type of effect after others left. The sides who visited for long enough would still be under the influence of the things they internalized in Deceit's room until they released the notion later. It could help Virgil very much with his task. But it was a drain on Deceit's privacy, and that annoyed him. Deceit didn't mind the company, it was even perhaps a nice change. But he preferred solitude most of the time and he knew it might eventually wear on him.

Deceit couldn't have expected how much of an idiot Virgil could be to require this much hands-on assistance. There must have been factors Deceit was missing. The snake pillow, however, was adorable, damnit. He felt half of his face grow hot. Deceit always had a soft spot for Virgil since they performed similar functions. But sleeping with a snake pillow instead of his signature spider felt like Virgil wasn't playing fair. Not that Virgil would have known it would bother Deceit. He probably wasn't even thinking, unlike his usual self who over-thought every little thing on the planet.

Deceit noted that this was the second time Virgil fell asleep early after being bitten. He summoned his folder and took notes on it. Not being himself seemed to drain him. Or perhaps he was feeling stressed about the things he was doing and didn't realize it. There maybe were applications with the other sides for the future, though he didn't know how it would affect the others. Possibly just make them more insufferable. There were also long term-effects to consider. Deceit had never struggled with side effects in the past. But he has also never done it this much on one side before. It would require testing. He always had a willing subject, however, and that was a non-issue. He took notes on possible applications and outcomes until he fell asleep.

Deceit woke up and was alert immediately, as he did every morning, and watched Virgil shift and moan and fall back to sleep. That could be a problem, though the other sides had shown acceptance of Virgil sleeping in before, with only mild annoyance. It could help solidify the personality shift. Deceit opted to let him sleep a little longer. It certainly had nothing to do with how pitiful he just sounded and cute he was when he was sleepy or how terrifying he was to wake up early. Thomas didn't need his anxiety first thing in the morning anyway, he liked to lie about most mornings.

Sometime later, Deceit saw Virgil stirring slightly and decided it was safe enough to wake Virgil up. Virgil's eyes registered alarm and fear as he glanced around before relaxing slightly when he saw Deceit's face. That reaction to Deceit was also flattering, and Deceit hid his reaction behind a poker face. Virgil would be even more insufferable if he knew.

"Time for you to avoid the day whole day in bed, Virgil," Deceit said and placed a hand on him, searching deeply for his less productive fears in his true feelings. His other hand produced a snake and Virgil held it briefly before lifting his shirt for it to bite and take hold of him. Virgil immediately relaxed he looked over to Deceit with sleepy, half-lidded eyes.

"They're really cute, you know. I'd keep one as a pet if I could. I wonder if one would get along with my spiders." He said, absentmindedly. Deceit realized that perhaps they could. Another thing to test. Those creativity exercises really were doing something. Deceit briefly regretted not wanting to join in before remembering why he didn't. He took note quickly and looked back to Virgil who was slowly crawling out of bed and stretching.

"Off to make the donuts, love," He said with a lazy and cavalier posture while waiting for Deceit to dismiss him. He looked like a punk model with his half-smirk and 'can't fuck with me' attitude. Deceit looked away briefly, trying not to react. But he saw just saw Virgil's smirk widen when he looked back. Damnit. He clocked Deceit for sure.

"Well, stay here, then," He said, waving him off and masking being discombobulated by that purple doofus. Virgil vanished from the spot. Deceit glanced over at the now empty side of the bed with the fat snake plush laying where Virgil was. This would require some adjustments.