Patton managed to keep his food down after eating extremely slowly, which was a success in Virgil's book. They were doing alright, if you considered going in and of consciousness up on the loft alright. Virgil kept a close eye and ear on them, but it mostly was a while of switching between snoring and labored breathing until Patton's fever got worse. Virgil had joined them on his loft to hold his hand to Patton's forehead as the fever spiked. Patton was still sweating profusely despite Virgil's chilly hand, though.
"It's still too hot, V," Patton groaned. Virgil reached over with his other hand for the cold water bottle he brought with him. Patton's loose pajama top covered lots of skin and had gotten sweaty.
"Let me give you a cooler and drier shirt to change into," Virgil said and handed Patton the cold water bottle. "Use this for a moment," Virgil said and climbed down, digging through his dresser for black tank tops and tossed one up to Patton. "Tell me when I can turn around and come back up," Virgil faced Roman's bed and listened to Patton struggle with their shirt for a moment until it came whooshing down to the floor next to him. Virgil shed his hoodie and T-shirt to the desk and put on a black tank top himself while Patton changed.
"You can turn around," Patton croaked, sounding strained. Virgil quickly ascended the ladder to the loft bed. Patton was leaned against the wall and breathing hard from the effort of the shirt swap. Virgil sat on the loft against the wall, picking up Patton and laying Patton against his chest to get the most contact. Virgil put his hand on Patton's forehead again. "Oh, thank god," Patton moaned in relief and relaxed into his chest, their arms flopped to either side of them both. Patton's strained breathing evened out, and they seemed to fall asleep again, or at least were more relaxed. Patton's heart rate was too erratic right now to judge and Virgil didn't want to wake them accidentally by asking.
'I'm headed back now, I need a break. If I keep practicing I'm going to strain my throat,' Roman thought to Virgil. 'Is Pat up?'
'I think they just fell back asleep,' Virgil thought to him. 'They weren't awake very long. Just some slow eating and then drifting uncomfortably until the fever got worse. It's been pretty quiet most of the afternoon, they're too dizzy to do anything,'
'God, I really thought I was melting,' Roman thought bitterly. 'My memory of that day is hazy, but I think Pat beat me by like a few hours or something in getting the heat spike,'
'Yeah, theirs seems to be worse than yours, but also going faster,' Virgil thought. 'They're really pitiful, Ro, it hurts to watch,' Virgil frowned and looked at Patton. He was pretty certain they were asleep now.
'I think I'm less jealous about you lazing about all day with Pat,' Roman thought with a little humor.
'I think you were just so excited about superpowers you forgot how bad it was,' Virgil thought a little humorously.
'You know, I learned in biology that people forget the pain of childbirth as some kind of evolutionary thing, I wonder if it's like that?' Roman mused.
'I think they framed that in the capacity of having multiple kids. The only way you'd go through a painful change again is if I turned… Oh,' Virgil cut off his own train of thought with the realization.
'Well, maybe that's it? You keep a Brood for food and then you turn them?' Roman asked, sounding intrigued.
'Hecate, that kind of makes sense,' Virgil thought, surprised he hadn't connected the dots in recent memory.
'Huh, maybe we just had a breakthrough in vampire biology. College works!' Roman joked. It was so unexpected that Virgil nearly laughed out loud instead of mentally.
'Geez, Ro, I nearly woke Pat,' Virgil mentally admonished, but was just met with Roman's mental laughter.
'I mean, obviously, the Alpha would get attached to the Brood since it's a two-way bond. If it were purely for food and not just companionship, it would be a one-way bond, right?' Roman mentally thought.
'I really never thought about it like that. That gives me some serious existential dread. Or blessed that whatever created me created a way to not be lonely for eternity. I can't pick. I'm pretty conflicted about it. That would be up to you and Pat, though,' Virgil thought despairingly.
'So you would make more vampires?' Roman thought inquisitively.
'It's about consent, Ro, D asked me to be turned even if the circumstances of me turning him weren't extenuating. I'm not that stubborn,' Virgil thought.
'Almost home. You are stubborn, especially about consent, so I say both. People shouldn't have to consent a ton of times for the same thing like you made Pat do,' Roman mentally admonished him.
'It's not reversible, I needed to know Pat was sure,' Virgil reminded Roman.
'Deceit knew Pat was sure the day he met them,' Roman thought with a lilt. 'Don't get me wrong, I think consent is important, but you're stubborn as hell,' Roman thought critically.
'Fine. I'm scared, and it makes me pester my friends incessantly, and I need to work on that. Are you happy?' Virgil admitted petulantly.
'Immensely,' Roman thought, and Virgil heard him come down the hall. The door unlocked a few moments later.
'Welcome back,' Virgil thought.
'Oh, my god, I'm so retroactively jealous. I wish I could have done that!' Roman thought sourly. 'I'm glad you're pinned under them,'
'Jealousy much? I wasn't trying to out myself until I knew it was safe. I mean, I know you're an idiot, but somebody colder than a corpse is pretty sus. They'll probably wake up when I warm up from their heat, anyway. Would you get a cold wet washcloth for me? I'm worried my hand is starting to get warm,'
'You're an unrepentant bastard and I resent that. I'll get you a rag, but for Pat, not for you,' Roman thought, putting down his bag over at his desk and headed into the bathroom for a cool washcloth. 'Thanks for cleaning the toilet,' Roman added much more lightly.
'It's my fault they're sick,' Virgil thought.
'Oh my god, you are a hopeless case,' Roman sighed and Virgil watched him come out of the bathroom holding a damp rag. 'Here's Pat's rag. I'm going to send you Emile's number to talk about your wildly out-of-control guilt complex,' Roman walked over and passed up the rag. Virgil gingerly folded it up and placed it on Patton's head that was leaned back on Virgil's chest. Virgil heard a buzz on his desk. Virgil raised his eyebrow at Roman, but he just shrugged. Roman slid off his white denim jacket to the back of his chair and went over to the recording equipment. He dug out the camera and a lavalier microphone and smiled mischievously. He turned both on and walked to the middle of the room. Roman pointed the camera straight at Virgil and Patton and pressed record.
"Here we have a wild goth who abandoned his loner ways for a pastel angel with a heart of gold. He has marked the angel as his territory with a black top, but do not be fooled. That is not the early coat of a baby goth, but an angel in black," Roman whispered into a microphone. Virgil scowled at him. 'The goth has noticed our presence, but will not move lest he wakes the pastel angel who captivated his heart,"
'Roman, I swear to Hecate,' Virgil angrily thought to him and scowled.
"The goth has become enraged at our proximity but is rendered impotent by the angel. What a truly amazing discovery for science," Roman finished and turned off the camera, grinning up widely at Virgil. Roman laughed loudly at Virgil mentally and covered his mouth to keep any laughter from bursting out. Virgil just continued to glower at him crossly.
'Patton will think it's funny, lighten up!' Roman thought and rolled his eyes. Virgil softened quickly. If the recording was just to make Patton laugh when he woke up, that would be fine. Patton probably needed a laugh. And it was kind of funny. Virgil probably could star a nature documentary.
'They probably would,' Virgil thought. 'So how's talking with Emile going?'
'He's really weird and excitable, but he's fun to talk to. We were chatting about Avatar yesterday. We tried to give everybody elements, and he thinks you're a fire bender, but I think you're a water bender,' Roman thought.
'It this another cartoon I need to watch?' Virgil asked mentally. Patton shifted uncomfortably.
'Absolutely. Maybe when Pat wakes up, we can watch a few episodes,' Roman thought. Patton's heart rate stared increasing suddenly.
"Pat? Pat, what's wrong?" Virgil asked quickly, trying to tap them on the shoulder and tentatively shook them. "Pat, wake up," Virgil said, panicking.
"Shit, what's happening?" Roman asked and started up the ladder. Patton's face cinched tight, but they didn't respond, possibly in too much pain.
"Pat's heart rate suddenly spiked!" Virgil whispered loudly. Roman took Patton's hand, looked scared.
'Darling?' Deceit asked Virgil.
'Hold on,' Virgil thought quickly back to Deceit.
"Pat? Patton, can you talk to us?" Roman said, now sharing in Virgil's panic. Patton convulsed briefly in Virgil's arms, Virgil held them loosely but made sure they didn't fall over. After a thick, leaden moment of dread, Patton's eyes shot open, and they gasped for air. Roman Reached for the water bottle to hand to them while Virgil hugged him in panic.
"Pat, please, are you okay?" Virgil asked desperately. Patton kept gasping but nodded.
"What happened?" Roman asked, holding their hands compassionately.
"Pain," Patton croaked and reached for the bottle. A sharp feeling pinched in Virgil's chest and flopped into tired relief as Patton chugged the bottle. Roman's eyes widened and Patton clutched their chest. "Is… is that you?" Patton stammered and looked down to their chest, up to Virgil and then Roman.
"Yeah, Pat, that's us," Virgil said and let out a deep sigh of relief. Roman let out a laugh that half sounded like a sob and hugged Patton. Wow, Pat had a lot going on inside.
'It's okay, D, Patton just scared me for a second. They're already linked,' Virgil thought to Deceit.
'That was fast,' Deceit mused. Patton smiled but looked incredibly tired.
"You want to come up, Ro?" Virgil asked. "Pat and I could use some cuddles, I think," Roman nodded, and Virgil held up Patton for a moment while Roman passed, and Virgil scooted down to the edge of the bed and laid Patton down on his lap. Roman helped finish shifting Patton and laid behind them. The trio all sighed as they settled down.
"That was really fast, Pat. Roman and I linked around 9 PM," Virgil said and placed his hand on Roman's side as Roman snuggled with Patton. "It's only just turned 5,"
"Well, you bit them earlier," Roman said quietly. Virgil calculated it up in his head.
"You were about 20 hours till fully linked and Pat was 17. I guess the time just felt longer because I was agonizing over accidentally biting you," Virgil said sourly.
"Yes, and thanks for keeping that to a minimum today," Roman said with a chuckle.
"You should feel better after you sleep it off, Patton. Do you want to stay here with us again? You can borrow a change of clothes from me," Virgil offered.
"Oh, I'd pay to see goth Patton," Roman commented snarkily.
"Yeah, I want to stay here. Can I change later, though?" Patton said with a slightly raspy voice. "I don't think I could move if I tried,"
"Of course, Pat, if you want to take another nap, we won't judge you. I could go get the laptop and we could put on something to space out to,"
"Only if Roman stays," Patton agreed with a weak chuckle. Roman laughed and tenderly hugged Patton. Virgil slid his hand under their heads and slipped a pillow there while he headed down for his laptop and his phone.
'Pat's going to stay here one more night. They're still not feeling well. We're going to put something on the laptop and order dinner if you want to come chat.' Virgil texted to Logan.
"Is there anything you want for dinner, Ro?" Virgil asked.
"Chips, hero sandwich, and small tomato soup," Roman sounded off.
'Yes, I would like that. I will complete this work in about 30 minutes. I would like a turkey sandwich and a cup of vegetable minestrone.' Logan sent back.
"How about you, sunlight?" Virgil asked. "Anything sounding great or do you want something similar to earlier?"
"Protein. Another rice pudding." Patton said quietly.
"How about some grilled chicken breast?" Virgil suggested, tapping around on his delivery app.
"That sounds okay," Patton agreed softly.
"I'll get you some boiled vegetables as a side," Virgil said and finished ordering. He was able to find all of those things at a local deli instead of having to order from multiple restaurants, which meant no staggered delivery. Virgil went to get Patton another water before climbing back up with the laptop. Virgil lifted the pillow onto his lap and Roman yanked the satin top sheet partially over them, bunching up some blanket to lift his head over Patton's to see the screen.
"Logan's going to come in 30 minutes to join us for dinner," Virgil said as he held the laptop. "It'll be here in about 40. Did you want a movie or a TV show, Patton?"
"I want to watch Winnie the Pooh," Patton said quietly.
"Adorable choice," Virgil nodded and loaded it up.
"Thanks for inviting Lo-Lo," Patton muttered. Virgil placed the laptop in front of them and started the movie.
"I could feel you miss him," Virgil said. "I think he missed you, too. He came at 8 AM to check on you,"
"I just felt a vague something-something," Roman said. "How do you tell so specifically?" Virgil shrugged.
"Practice? Deceit's pretty mercurial. Plus, you only just connected with Pat. Their feelings will feel different from mine," Virgil explained and rested his hand on Roman's shoulder. "We can try a practice after Patton's better," Virgil said softly. Roman nodded and shifted to watch the laptop. They all laid there in silence, enjoying each other's company, and bouncing cartoon stuffed animals.
"Is Deceit coming back sometime soon?" Patton asked quietly after a little while.
"We… we'll see. Maybe we can go hang out at his estate sometime," Virgil said.
"His estate?" Patton asked, shifting slightly to look up at Virgil but appearing to give up and return to the movie.
"He's a very rich lawyer in his day job," Virgil said. "It's a town over, but I can drive us out,"
"Oh, what's your rich boy car?" Roman asked with interest and a little challenge.
"Modified 1979 Pontiac Firebird," Virgil said fondly.
"Is that even a rich boy car? Drive something fancier, Virgil," Roman groaned in disappointment.
"She's special and you'll understand when you ride in her," Virgil said proudly.
"It's so old, though," Roman moaned. Virgil just laughed at that.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Virgil said sarcastically.
"Ew," Patton groaned. "My stomach still hurts, guys,"
"Sorry, Pat," Virgil apologized softly.
"I don't know if you can tell," Virgil said jokingly. "But I was very into the punk movement in the 70s, it's my relic of then I can get in and drive around,"
"You're the relic, you don't need a car for that," Roman grinned and Virgil laughed. "No, I would never have guessed you listened to anything that wasn't Panic! at the Disco," Roman added sarcastically.
"I didn't know about the emo subculture until you called me that, Princey. I just enjoyed the music while praying for death at my desk job." Virgil replied.
"Wow, you missed most of the 2000s?" Roman asked in amazement.
"Yeah, I didn't get much from the 90s and 2000s culture. I didn't care much for cartoons, for one. Other than the 2000s internet flash animations, anyway," Virgil shrugged. "I watched that damn kitty cat dance video so many times. I've actually composed a violin version,"
"That's so freakin' extra. You're a dork," Roman laughed.
"You have to watch Invader Zim," Patton suggested and was cut off by a small yawn. "It's important to 2000s emo lore,"
"I'll watch anything you both tell me to watch, I have 8 hours a day to kill that you don't," Virgil shrugged and adjusted Patton slightly, who was slipping down.
"I'd miss sleeping," Patton said. "I like being able to dream,"
"I think I'd just go stir crazy without sleeping to break up the days," Roman said. Virgil just hummed in agreement.
"Do you sleep at all, Virgil? Or were you just pretending those few times I saw you in bed?" Roman asked and carefully looked up to Virgil.
"Only if I need to heal. I've never had dreams, though. The only vampires that can still sleep and dream normally are omegas, I think. So, like if Deceit turned somebody," Virgil explained.
"So sometimes you just lay there and listen to music for a few hours? Doesn't that get boring?" Roman asked, sounding confused and disbelieving.
"I was alive in the 1600s, that was boring. At one point I ran a shop of all the things I knit and sewed in my endless, boring downtime. I can take laying with one of you listening to music for 8 hours. That's not a big deal," Virgil said a little sourly.
"Dibs," Patton and Roman said at the same time, and they all chuckled.
"Okay, I'll see if I can send a shopper to a department store to get us that air mattress tonight," Virgil said, rolling his eyes affectionately. "I'll need to measure the space though, which means I have to get back up," Patton made a whining sound but giggled softly afterward, so it seemed safe to go. Virgil slid back out from under the pillow and let them lay normally.
Virgil was digging through his art toolbox for a measuring tape when he heard Logan come to the door. He went over to let him in.
"Hey, Logan, come on in. The food should be here soon. Pick a chair," Virgil offered and stepped out of the way for Logan.
"Are you measuring something? Could I be of service?" Logan asked when he looked down and saw the tape measure in Virgil's hand.
"Yeah, the distance between the bunks. I'd appreciate it if you'd hold the measure on the lofts support," Virgil asked and handed him the edge of the tape. Logan went to go stand at Virgil's loft.
"Hi, Lo," Patton croaked.
"Hello, Patton. I am sorry to see you are still not faring well," Logan said softly.
"I'm feeling a little better, I'm just very exhausted," Patton replied quietly.
"Got the measurement, thanks, Logan," Virgil said and went to go look for a model that fit that area with some pillows and sheets for it online. Preferably with a padded top and sturdy.
"It is always a pleasure to help measure things," Logan said and pulled out Virgil's chair to sit on it where he could see Patton on the top bunk. "Are you in need of anything, Patton?" He asked up to them.
"No, I'm okay," They said with a little yawn.
"The app says the driver is almost here, I'm going to head downstairs," Virgil informed them. Logan nodded and looked back to Patton with concern. "Don't light anything on fire without me," He said in a deadpan, and Roman tittered.
"Why would we light anything on fire?" Virgil heard Logan say in bafflement as he walked out into the hall and head down the stairs. He didn't have to wait very long in the lobby for the delivery driver to appear with his food.
"Thank you so much," Virgil said and handed him a large tip.
"Thanks!" The Delivery person said enthusiastically and ran back out quickly, probably for other deliveries. Virgil walked back upstairs to his dorm and hungry friends. Virgil entered the dorm with a big smile.
"Food's here! I'll put it on the tray for you, Pat. Ro, you'll have to come down to the desk so you don't crumb up the sheets for Pat," Virgil said and walked the food over to the desk, unloading it by order. Roman groaned loudly.
"I can be careful," Roman sounded annoyed at the implication he was a messy eater.
"The nature of chips and subs is crumbs, Ro, you can go back when you're done," Virgil said firmly. Roman dramatically huffed and crawled down. Virgil rolled his eyes and passed behind Logan to get the tray and a lemon-lime sports drink for Patton.
"Oh, give me the blue one," Roman said and held open his hands. Virgil tossed it over Logan and Roman caught it.
"What flavour is blue, exactly?" Logan asked curiously. Virgil shrugged.
"That's for the philosophers to ponder, I think. It seems to be contended information. Do you want water or a sports drink?" Virgil asked.
"Water would be my preference," Logan said calmly. Virgil pulled him out a bottle and placed it on the desk. Virgil gathered Pat's dinner and passed the tray up and then climbed up to help Patton sit up enough to eat. Patton leaned weakly against his shoulder as they started to eat small bites. Virgil watched them for a bit to make sure things were settling okay before glancing around. No sick Pat face. Virgil looked down to see Roman enthusiastically enjoy his monster sandwich and Logan eating more daintily. He sliced off pieces of the turkey and spinach sandwich instead of picking it up to eat. Very prim and proper. Not at all surprising from a guy who wore business casual as daily fashion.
"Is there something you need, Virgil? Logan asked when he noticed Virgil staring.
"I'm just enjoying the compare and contrast," Virgil said with a small chuckle. Logan looked over to Roman and nodded in understanding.
"Am I missing something?" Roman asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Manners," Virgil quipped back.
"Hey, you can't cut up a hero sub, it would just fall apart!" Roman objected with an offended noise.
"You're also slouching and have one of your feet up on the wall," Logan supplied. Virgil chuckled again at that.
"It's fine, Princey, I like how you eat, too," Virgil said sweetly, but Roman huffed anyway.
"If you could eat, I bet you'd do it pinky out," Roman grumbled. That wasn't an ideal way to word that. Virgil paused for any reaction from Logan, but there didn't appear to be anyway.
"I'll eat pinky out next time, just for you," Virgil said and turned his head to look back at Patton. Patton was eating slower. "How about I hold your tray closer to you, sunlight, so it's less work?" He asked softly. Patton nodded and Virgil held up the tray at an easier angle for Patton.
"You are very maternal, Virgil," Logan commented and watched Virgil hold the tray steady for Patton.
"I can be," Virgil said dismissively. "If there's a problem I can easily help with, why ignore it?" He can also be a feral murderous bastard, so he didn't take the implications he was caring too seriously.
"That is a good way to approach things," Logan said, almost sounding complimentary.
"Virgil can be chaotic about it though, he's half-gremlin half mother-hen," Roman chuckled.
"That's some terrifying imagery," Virgil groaned. "What kind of noise would that be?" Virgil growled and tried to morph it into a cluck.
"No more growling, please," Patton said and gently pat his legs.
"Are you done, Pat? Want me to clear it up?" Virgil asked.
"I'm done but no moving," Patton grumbled.
"I will gather the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator," Logan said and stood up. Virgil pulled the sports drink and water bottle off the tray before Logan removed it.
"Thanks, Lo," Patton said with a yawn.
"Your growling is really unsettling, dude. I got a shiver down my spine," Roman looked like he was still shaking it off. "I think the addition of clucking gave me mental whiplash,"
"We aim to please," Virgil chuckled and pulled Patton into his lap to hold them in his arms. Patton slowly reached back and hugged him.
"With the amount I have seen Patton or Roman cling to you, I must hypothesize that you are comfortable to lean upon," Logan said after sliding the container with Patton's leftovers in the fridge and returned to finish his dinner.
"He is," Patton cooed weakly. Virgil shook his head more out of bemusement than disagreement.
"Pat could cuddle an armadillo and say it's nice," Virgil accused Patton with a smirk.
"They are really cute, I would hug one if they weren't dangerous," Patton said softly. Roman folded the wrapping back around the other half of his sub and got up to slide it in the fridge. He then climbed up and sat on the other side of Virgil and Patton and pulled the laptop into his lap.
"Patton, can I change it to Avatar? Virge has never seen it and I thought it would be fun to watch together," Roman said. Patton smiled and nodded.
"I love Aang. Do you want to come up and join us, Lo? There's just enough room if I stay in Virgil's lap," Patton offered.
"Isn't that a cartoon?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"If you were to watch any one cartoon series in your life, you wouldn't make a bad choice with Avatar, Logan. It's extremely complex. There's war and political intrigue and betrayal and learning to overcome your limitations, it's amazing," Roman tried to hard-sell Logan.
"That does sound interesting. I did agree to try sometime," Logan said and nodded his head. Roman and Virgil scooted over on the mattress to make room for Logan. There was just enough room for him to fit without hitting the frame. Patton turned and smiled brightly at him and Roman put down the laptop on in the middle and started the show.