"And you're positive you want to go through with this, Pat?" Virgil asked timidly. They were sitting in Virgil's dorm and chatting until it was the scheduled time to bite Patton. Patton and Roman were sitting in the desk chairs and Virgil had been sitting on the floor while the were chatting.
"For the hundredth time, yes, you silly billy," Patton said, accompanied by rare Patton eye-roll. Virgil and Roman must have been rubbing off on them. Their comforting smile never left their face, though.
"My name is Lapis," Virgil dead-panned, and Roman and Patton both chuckled. Virgil stood up and walked over to his desk. He leaned down and swept Patton out of his desk chair and held them close. Patton came over to their dorm dressed in their pajamas already, a pair of super-soft pajama pants and a way too big t-shirt with a cat on it. Their style was just so cute.
"Do you want to kick Roman out?" Virgil asked softly, just in case it would make Patton more comfortable. Patton did imply they were into biting and he didn't want them to feel awkward.
"Hey," Roman objected, sitting backward on his chair and resting his head on his arms. He has also already changed for bed, too, a pair of red jogger-style pajama pants and a plain white shirt. He scowled momentarily at Virgil.
"That's just the compulsion talking and he can be a big boy if you want privacy," Virgil said, rolling his eyes. Virgil may have trapped himself in a weird and uncomfortable situation where two people will stare at him while he feeds. That was a relatively mild price to pay for his friends to be happy and healthy. It's against Virgil's instincts and better judgment, but not really an end of the world scenario. He wouldn't mind most of his problems being this simple, actually.
"No, I don't mind," Patton said softly, a little pink in the cheeks. Their heart rate was a little elevated, so Virgil swayed them gently to soothe them.
"Remember, this is going to hurt for just a moment before the venom kicks in. Are you ready?" Virgil asked and sat down on the floor, gently holding Patton in his arms. Patton nodded and rolled their head away to expose their neck for him. Virgil bit down and got a little yelp from Patton, but they didn't move or complain further. Virgil drank as little blood as he could manage to constrain himself of this fresh blood to help with the flow of the venom. After a few life-affirming sips, he stopped to just let it flow from his fangs for a moment before withdrawing and licking the puncture marks to heal them.
Patton let out a gasp from held breath and rubbed their neck, pulling back their hand and examining it. Maybe they were checking for blood? They looked satisfied and smiled after a second of analysis.
"I wouldn't leave marks on you, sunlight," Virgil cooed and stroked Patton's arm. "You're AB-positive if you were curious," He said softly. Patton nodded, blushing. "Let's watch that movie on my bunk till you get sleepy," Virgil added gently and stood to step up the ladder with Pat still in his arms. Roman climbed up right after him and loaded the laptop with the movie. Patton wanted to watch Tangled afterword. Virgil held Patton's upper half in his lap with Roman leaning against him on the side and they watched the intro quietly.
"Hey, Pat," Roman got Patton's attention by tapping their legs.
"Yeah, Ro?" Patton responded with half-lidded eyes, still watching the movie.
"Was it scary?" Roman asked quietly.
"No," Patton shook their head and nuzzled Virgil's chest. "I'm excited," Patton added with a smile.
"I foresee having to kick cuddle monster Pat out of our dorm to get some sleep in the future," Roman said and softly chucked and pet Patton's leg.
"That's one monster I'm okay with making, I think," Virgil mused. "And a sacrifice I'm willing to make," He added and rubbed his nose against Patton's head. Patton tittered and blushed slightly.
They had reclined and watched the movie with little interruption. Roman barely even snarked at the movie or sang along. He probably was trying to be nice and not wake Patton up much. There was eventually an intrusion that surprised Patton despite their efforts, though. A knock sounded at the door and Roman paused the movie. He got up and crawled down the ladder to answer it. It was nearly 10 PM at this point and Virgil was pretty confused about who was visiting. After a moment, though, he recognized the scent through the muddled smells of the dorms.
"It's Logan, Ro, it's safe," Virgil said adjusted Patton slightly so they could see Logan.
"Hey, Logan, what's up?" Roman asked as he stepped aside to let Logan step in, then closed the door behind him.
"I was wondering where Patton was," Logan glanced around and met eyes with Patton waving slowly from Virgil's loft.
"We're watching Tangled," Roman said. "There are only 30 minutes left, but you're welcome to join us. You said you weren't fond of cartoons before, so we didn't ask," He explained with a small shrug.
"Yes, that was astute. I would not have been interested. I also am not sure there is physically any more space on Virgil's loft. You are already on top of each other. May I recommend an air mattress and a projector to the ceiling for the future? I believe an air mattress with some pillows would make a better watching surface that you could easily put away,"
"That's a great idea, Logan," Virgil enthusiastically complimented Logan, trying not to be too loud and disturb Patton resting in his arms.
"I wouldn't have minded being asked, though. I may be willing to try one from time to time," Logan smiled up to Patton who golf clapped with a bright smile.
"Sounds good. I wasn't a cartoon fan either, other than Disney films. They're slowly converting me," Virgil smirked and rubbed Patton's arm.
"Virgil, would you be interested in a Greek pottery exhibit that has made a stop at the local museum on Sunday? They have a selection of broken pottery with poetry on them, which looks fascinating," Logan asked and dug one shoe slightly into the carpet. His voice didn't show it at all, but his heart rate said he was a little nervous. That was cute as fuck.
"I'd love to, when is it?" Virgil asked. Roman rolled his eyes and muttered 'nerds' under his breath.
"10 AM would be an ideal time to visit, in my opinion," Logan suggested, sounding very pleased.
"I'm free then, I'll meet you downstairs at 9:30. I'll be looking forward to it," Virgil said and smiled at Logan.
"Excellent. I will be going to bed shortly, Patton, so please be quiet when you return," Logan said and turned around to leave. Roman closed the door and seemed to listen to Logan's steps recede down the hall before turning to face them again.
"That nerd?" Roman asked, with a slight scoff. "I thought you had higher standards than that,"
"Hey, he's so open and inquisitive and interesting," Virgil said sweetly. "And he happens to be really cute. We met because of ancient poetry. That's a really romantic date, even if he didn't intend it like that. That's a pretty high bar to me," Virgil shrugged. Roman's got some serious cognitive dissonance going on if he doesn't realize he's also a giant nerd.
"What are you guys talking about?" Patton said, rubbing their eyes and looking up at Virgil.
"Virge has a little crush on your roommate," Roman said, climbing back up to join them after locking on the door. Virgil was a little annoyed that right now seemed to be the time that Roman would start to pick up on the finer aspects of understanding his emotions, but proud of his progress none the less. The fact that Roman could pick out affectionate that separate from towards him or Patton was surprising. He's either got Virgil completely clocked, or he's some kind of savant. Probably the former, sadly.
"Me, too," They admitted sleepily. "Logan's good at acting disaffected, but he really listens and is always happy to help with anything. He's sweet in his own way," Patton explained and yawned widely behind their hand.
"See, they get it," Virgil smirked and kissed Patton's hair. Patton tittered slightly and blinked, slowly turning back to the laptop screen.
"I get it, I'm outvoted, he's cute," Roman grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning against Virgil, pouting.
"That's not how it works, Princey," Virgil said with a chuckle. "It's fine if you don't see it. But I've seen you looking at his strong jawline and butt before,"
"My eyes wander sometimes, so sue me. That nerd really keeps it tight somehow," Roman huffed and unpaused the movie.
"We're not accusing you of anything, Ro, come back and cuddle Patton to sleep," Virgil said softly and held open his arm for Roman to lean back on his chest and a bit of Patton's lap. He grumbled for a moment more but softened back up quickly. He was probably just grumpy because he was tired from him practicing his audition pieces earlier. He was opting to audition for 3 roles and was practicing 3 times the material before the auditions. The grumpy feeling faded away quickly, and the warmth between the two returned while they watched the movie. Patton fell asleep during the credits sequence of the movie, possibly determined to watch the wedding at the end.
'They're asleep, but let's sit still until it's a little longer so we don't wake them,' Virgil thought to Roman, sitting very still and holding Patton.
'That's fine with me. I'm enjoying no-shield time,' Roman thought back and sighed in satisfaction.
They sat in comfortable silence, sometimes mentally chatting about something they thought of, for about a half-hour until Patton looked to be deep enough asleep for them to shift. Roman crawled off slowly first and Virgil waited a moment before tucking Patton into the satin sheets and under the weighed blanket. Virgil and Roman shifted down to his desk where they plugged in a headphone splitter and watched another movie, The old version of The Adventures of Robin Hood, which they had mentally argued a little about earlier. Virgil had helped Patton finish any homework they had before biting them, and tomorrow the plan was just to let Patton sleep it out as much as possible. Lots of sleep seemed to make it relatively manageable for Roman other than all the pain.
Roman got up to go to bed around 1 AM after Robin hood was over and kissed Virgil's hair as he got up.
'Goodnight, Virge. I'll need to practice my audition material tomorrow so I'll be out for a bit,' Roman's hand lingered on Virgil's shoulder before crossing the room.
'Night, Ro. Let me know if you can't get a practice room and I'll find you somewhere else to practice. I'm staying unshielded for Pat tomorrow so try not to have a panic attack or something,' Virgil thought back.
'Sure, dork, it's just private practice. It'll be no sweat. Enjoy babysitting Pat,' Roman thought and climbed into his loft to sleep. Virgil shielded to not wake them and let out a deep sigh. Maybe Virgil feels so wrong about Brooding them because it's been so long. By all accounts, they were excited, interested, and Virgil appreciated the added benefits of Pat being safer and being able to spend more time with D. He really needed to learn how to let things go. Having multiple Brood in one place made it pretty obvious there was a vampire here, which was Virgil wasn't a fan of. Maybe he needed to mark this campus as his clan's territory to be safer, but then there may be territory disputes in the future if he did. And having enough venom would require live feeding. All this vampire shit is too complicated. Virgil pulled out his sketchbook to finish his art homework and leaned back to sketch the 'Emo Nightmare' desk placard in front of him.
—
At 8 AM the next morning, there was a knock on the door. It shook Virgil from his novel and he was confused for a moment, but he listened intently to make sure it didn't wake anybody up. Roman groaned, but Patton didn't move yet. Virgil got up to answer it. It smelled like Logan again. Virgil opened the door and stepped out into the hall to not wake the others.
"What can I owe the early call, Logan?" Virgil asked quietly, not wanting to bother the people in his dorm or the one next door.
"Patton is not in our dorm room. I was concerned about their whereabouts. I had hoped they were still here and forgot to text me," Logan explained the reason for his visit faster than he normally spoke. It wasn't quite fast enough to be a ramble, but Logan possibly was getting there. Virgil felt bad for spooking him without meaning to.
"Pat's not feeling great. When they fell asleep, we didn't have the heart to wake them. I'm not busy today, so I'll take care of them. They probably forgot to text you, Pat was pretty out of it partway through the movie. They mumbled something about a bad chicken wrap," Virgil explained. They really were supposed to text Logan, the poor thing. The chicken wrap was just a reasonable excuse for feeling sick for a day.
"Yes, oftentimes the chicken is not stored at the proper temperature in wraps," Logan nodded, though the concern was evident on his face. "I understand. Thank you for helping. Do you require any assistance?" Logan asked and messed with the hem of his shirt nervously.
"No, they're sleeping deeply right now. I'm just reading. I'll text you if something comes up, thank you for offering," Virgil smiled. "And thanks for keeping an eye out for Pat. I worry about them all the time and it's nice that you are paying attention, too," Logan flushed ever so slightly and nodded.
"I will be returning to my studies, then. Perhaps I will see you later," Logan stated and turned around to return to his dorm. It's so cute how much of a softie he is under his somewhat stoic exterior. Roman said something like that about Virgil. Perhaps they're peas in a very odd pod in their own way. But Logan's zest for life and learning is what Virgil really loved, and Virgil wouldn't exactly call himself zesty. Bitchy and mean, probably.
Roman's alarm, set very quietly, went off an hour later. He got up with a big yawn and headed to the bathroom.
'I'm glad they're still asleep,' Roman thought as he went into the bathroom. 'I'm a little jealous you get to sit around and watch movies with Pat between naps if theirs is anything like mine,' Roman added.
'I'm sure you'll have a great time practicing though, and you can join us one you're ready. You had multiple movie sessions,' Virgil thought back.
'That would be cool. Maybe we can watch a recording of Arcadia later so it's fresh on our minds,' Roman thought as he came out of the bathroom and went to his dresser to get clothes.
'Yeah, I've never seen the stage adaption, just read the book. It'd be nice to have some more visual context. I'll look for a professional recording and we can figure out a time later,' Virgil replied mentally.
'Cool. I'm going to change and head of for breakfast. You got any cash so I can go to the cafe? A smoothie can really help loosen up the throat,' Roman thought. Virgil pulled his wallet out of his bag and handed Roman 40 bucks. 'I'm not buying 4 bananas, dude,' Roman laughed mentally and looked oddly at Virgil.
'It's if you want tea for an assuredly impending sore throat, or a lunch that's actually edible, doofus, it's only 40 bucks,' Virgil thought, shrugging.
'Oh, to be as rich as you,' Roman mentally responded bitterly and rolled his eyes, heading back into the bathroom to change.
'You're in my clan Princey, you can be as rich as me. I'm serious. If you need anything, ask. It's too much paperwork to get you your own credit card, but if you want anything, I can probably find a way to get it to you. Except for houses. The paperwork is nearly impossible,' Virgil thought, turning back to his laptop. Roman popped out of the bathroom right away and spun Virgil's chair towards himself.
'You're shitting me. You never mentioned that!' Roman thought, staring at Virgil with wide eyes and holding Virgil's shoulder.
'I didn't think it needed saying, I already was throwing money at you,' Virgil rolled his eyes. 'You're so weird about money, get over it,' Virgil stared Roman down.
'Well, you better tell Pat they're now millionaire-proxies because I don't want to have that conversation,' Roman thought with a raised eyebrow and a sour expression. Virgil sighed as Roman stormed back into the bathroom.
'Sure, fine, you want more walking around money than 40 bucks? Because I can open the safe and make it an even $200. That's what I usually keep in cash on me,' Virgil turned back and leaned on his desk. Virgil also wasn't looking forward to that conversation. Roman and Pat were kind of weird about charity. Logan just accepted it and moved on. Some kind of capitalist brainwashing or something to think they don't deserve free money with no strings attached. Roman exited the bathroom and grabbed a messenger bag.
'Maybe later,' Roman thought. 'I'm leaving, keep me posted,' Roman thought. Virgil nodded, and Roman was out the door. Virgil resumed working on his Spanish homework in silence. Roman seemed less pissy after coming out of the bathroom. Hopefully, this doesn't have to be a whole giant thing.
Around 11 AM, Virgil ordered some light soup, a smoothie, and some vegan rice pudding for Patton. He figured they'd like something sweet like they always did. They had been sleeping for over 12 hours and would likely wake up soon. Virgil tapped gently at his keyboard, working on some English homework while he waited for the delivery. But in a few minutes, Patton was already stirring. Virgil got up and went to stand halfway up the ladder to look Patton in the face.
"Hey there, darling, how are you doing?" Virgil said softly and brushed Patton's hair out of their face.
"Awful," Patton groaned creakily. "It's too bright and too loud and I think I might throw up," Patton rubbed their face slowly.
"I'll get you some earplugs and cover the window better, okay? Would you like help to the bathroom?" Virgil asked softly.
"Yes, please," Patton moaned despondently. Virgil very gently slid his arms under Patton's back and legs to lift them out of bed. He moved slowly to make sure Patton wouldn't get too dizzy. Virgil took them to the bathroom and let them slowly slide out of his arms to stand.
"Do you need any help?" Virgil asked. Patton flushed and shook his head ever so slightly, so Virgil nodded and closed the door to give Patton some privacy. Though the retching sound that came about 5 minutes later sort of ended that. Virgil grabbed one of the cold water bottles from Roman's fridge and re-entered the bathroom after a quick knock to see Patton sitting on the floor, panting over the toilet.
"Here's some cold water, and I can get you a fresh toothbrush to use. Do you think you're done?" Virgil asked gently, squatting down to look Patton in the eye.
"Yeah," Patton said, their voice strained from a raw throat. Virgil got a cloth from under the sink and wet it with warm water and a little soap to wipe off their mouth. Pat sat still as Virgil wiped them off, then shifted off the toilet to lean against the wall. "Let me sit here a minute," Patton groaned and closed their eyes as they leaned against the wall, their knuckles pale and slightly crunching the cold water bottle in their grip. They sat there for a few minutes while their breathing evened out.
"Help me up so I can brush my teeth, please," Patton asked meekly. Virgil pulled a new toothbrush and some mouthwash out from under the sink and stepped over to Patton. Patton wrapped their arms around Virgil's neck, and he slowly lifted them to their feet.
Patton washed their hands at the sink first and then brushed lethargically. Virgil kept a hand on their back to keep them steady while they worked, which was a good call as Patton nearly fell back when gargling the mouthwash.
"Thanks," Patton said meekly, with a little half-smile.
"Let's get you back up to bed with a sports drink, yeah? You've got some food coming later," Virgil said and lifted Patton back up and back into Virgil's loft, pulling the weighted blanket down to their feet so they wouldn't get too hot. Virgil got the new food tray off the top of Roman's fridge and put Patton's abandoned water bottle and a cool sports drink from the fridge on the tray and placed it near Patton's head and they laid there weakly.
"How did Roman describe what it felt like?" Patton asked with a small cough, looking very dizzy.
"Like getting hit by a bus," Virgil said and stroked Patton's hair, feeling incredibly terrible for them.
"I think that's about right. But I think there's more spinning involved," Patton said and squeezed their eyes shut. "I wish the room would stop spinning,"
"Would you like to go back to sleep until the food gets here, Patton?" Virgil asked, feeling guilty about making Patton so sick. They looked absolutely pitiful.
"More than anything," Patton moaned despairingly, furrowing their eyebrows.
"Sleep until I snap," Virgil compelled Patton. He barely felt bad doing it. Patton was clearly suffering and that was something Virgil could help with. Patton let out a sigh and fell back to sleep, the tension melting from them quickly. Virgil adjusted the blankets and took the tray back away to give Patton space to rest. Virgil pushed Patton's hair off their forehead and frowned. At least they didn't look so dismally ill in their sleep.
'Patton woke up and threw up. I just compelled them back asleep while the food's coming,' Virgil thought to Roman, giving him an update.
'Yuck. That sucks,' Roman thought back. 'Probably a good call,' Virgil hoped it was.
Virgil went to go clean the toilet thoroughly rinse the rag to hang dry before putting it with the laundry, then went back to his English homework. He groaned in frustration, wishing that some English class out there would just switch up the curriculum with some new books for once in his endless life.