Minor mentions of past abuse but nothing big. As always take care of yourselves and thank you for reading.

Virgil gnawed his thumb nail as he paced back and forth in front of the bathroom mirror. He wasn't exactly sure how to describe his emotions and thoughts, there were too many tiny parts and levels to what he was feeling. On the most basic level he was happy, really really happy, but also confused and hurt which inevitably led to a muddled mess of anxiety. He wasn't sure how to feel after what had happened last night. He was glad he'd perfected pretending to be asleep years ago, he still regretted not saying something to Patton. He'd been so scared Patton would run away he let the opportunity slip through his fingers. He couldn't help but wonder why Patton had been in Logan's room in the first place, Patton likely needed something. He just came in, stood there for a couple minutes and left, but at least he got a bit of information from Patton, he'd called Virgil "Kitten" again. Patton didn't hate him, or at least that was what it looked like. He still couldn't find any answers as to why Patton was acting the way he was, why he was avoiding him, why he only called Virgil by his affectionate nicknames when he thought Virgil was asleep. He wanted to talk to Patton about it but that was a lot easier said than done. Even more so today since Patton seemed to be in some sort of cleaning frenzy, tidying up and reorganizing absolutely everything despite nothing actually needing to be cleaned. Both Logan and Roman on separate occasions today had attempted to talk to Patton, asking what he was doing and trying to get him to stop but Patton would just laugh, saying he just felt the need to be productive. Needless to say Virgil already knew if they couldn't talk to him, it'd be impossible for Virgil to talk to him. That didn't stop his desire to confront Patton and get answers, which is what led him to being in Logan's bathroom talking to himself.

"Patton, we need to talk."

Virgil immediately stopped rehearsing. Those words were way too confrontational. He'd panic if someone said that to him and he didn't want Patton to panic. He needed to think of something else to say.

"Patton, I know you were in Logan's room last night."

No, that made him sound too creepy for pretending to be asleep. Then again Patton was the one watching people sleep.

"Patton, are you okay?"

Well that's loaded question with an obvious answer that Patton would quite obviously avoid saying, he's already done that to Roman and Logan.

"Patton, you know I love you-"

That sounded like there was a "but" coming, he didn't want to scare Patton like that. Did Patton know he loved him? That could be the reason Patton was avoiding him. Patton used to tell Virgil he loved him every chance he got but Virgil can't think of a single time he's said the same thing outloud. Patton might have gotten tired of waiting to hear it and was punishing Virgil. He heard Virgil tell the dark sides that he loved doing things with them, Patton could have taken that seriously and be jealous, or doubt Virgil's commitment to their relationship. He needed to fix that, he didn't want Patton to think of him like that.

Virgil physically slapped the side of his face with his hands, squishing his cheeks as he looked into the mirror. He shouldn't be assuming the worst but he still needed to talk about that with Patton and make sure he was aware Virgil hadn't meant anything he said while in the presence of the dark sides, he was just trying to avoid torture or having the light sides hurt. It shouldn't be so hard to start a conversation, he just needed to pick something that sounded normal and casual, then go with it. He just needed to find a way to make sure Patton doesn't run away, but he doesn't want Patton to feel trapped either. He can't force him to talk, but he really wanted answers.

"Virgil, what are you doing in my bathroom?" Logan asked, stepping through the partially open door.

"How do I people?" Virgil replied exasperatedly, failing to properly articulate the thoughts in his head.

"I have no words for how atrocious that grammar is. Do tell me, is that something I should add to the vocab cards?" Logan asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Virgil let out a groan and he leaned down the wall, sinking to the floor until he was seated with his head between his knees.

"I don't know how to speak to people," Virgil sighed.

"You are currently communicating with me, although your first statement was rather unusual," Logan replied.

Virgil groaned again, folding his body as far as it could go.

"Is there an issue Roman or I can assist you with?" Logan asked, crouching down in front of Virgil.

"I don't know? Maybe?"

"Why don't I summon Roman and you can tell us what is on your mind?" Logan suggested.

He waited for Virgil to nod before summoning the prince to rise up in the room. He blinked around for a second before his eyes settled on Virgil's tense and balled up form.

"Oh, Stormcloud, what troubles you? How may I help?" Roman asked, kneeling down to Virgil's left.

"I wanna talk to Patton alone but I don't know how to start the conversation or even what to say to him. He'll probably just run away if I try. I just…" Virgil trailed off with a squeal-like groan of frustration.

Roman let out a relieved breath and slight chuckle.

"So that's what this is about? Virgil, have a bit more faith in yourself and in Patton, he might be a bit difficult to understand lately but he's still the same loving person as before. The hard part is finding the right time to talk to him. Once you've done that just speak from your heart, don't worry about the exact words. I can't guarantee it won't be a bit awkwards or that he won't end up leaving, or that he'll even give you the best answers, but I can tell you he'll listen," Roman replied, running a soothing hand through Virgil's hair. "I can't give you the best advice of how to talk to him but just be your charming self and I know everything will be fine."

"What made you decide to talk to him alone? Just yesterday you were making plans with Roman to have a group conversation," Logan asked.

Virgil looked up at the ceiling as he thought of how to word it, he didn't want to tell them about last night just yet, Patton's behavior might worry them.

"I want answers. There are a lot of things that confuse me or that I'm unsure about. I want Patton to talk to me about it. Don't get me wrong, I still agree with Roman that we all need to sit down and talk about the metaphorical elephant in the room instead of dancing around it like we've been doing for way too long, I just feel like there is more that Patton needs to say before then," Virgil reasoned.

Roman let out a soft snort.

"Tell me about it," he muttered so quietly Virgil could barely hear him.

"What was that Roman?" Virgil asked with a raised brow.

"Oh nothing important, just thinking out loud. How about you, Specks, anything to add to what I said?" Roman asked, quickly changing topics.

"I supposed I'd say not to be discouraged if your first attempt at a conversation doesn't go well. Patton seems to be in some sort of complex mental state. Being at the center of Thomas's emotions, that's not entirely surprising. Be patient, unless he becomes a danger to himself or others then there is no rush to get everything figured out," Logan replied.

Virgil looked between the two of them. They were right but he felt like he needed to talk to Patton sooner rather than later. Patton must have had a reason for coming into Logan's room last night, he needed to know what Patton needed. If it was something important Virgil needed to help him or at least support him.

Before Virgil could dwell on his thoughts any longer he felt the familiar pull summoning them down to dinner. Roman gave Virgil an encouraging pat on the shoulder before the three of them sank out of the room and into the kitchen for dinner.

Virgil desperately wanted to talk to Patton throughout dinner but he couldn't find his voice. He'd occasionally sit there with his mouth hanging open but unable to articulate any words. He was too nervous, thinking about too many scenarios where things could end up less than pleasantly. Roman and Logan of course noticed this and tried their best to give Virgil openings in the conversation but the anxious male let most of them fall through, only sharing a few unimportant words and never anything that could lead into him asking Patton to stick around so they could talk privately. Before he knew it, Patton was gone again for the night.

"Keep your head up Virgil, you'll get your chance," Roman said.

"I know I will, it's like Logan said, I need to be patient," Virgil replied trying to stay hopeful.

It wasn't like he was going to lose sleep over not being able to talk to Patton. Or at least that is what he told himself as he was lying awake in Roman's bed at two thirty in the morning. After barely getting any sleep the night before because of Patton's visit he didn't expect to not be able to fall asleep at all. He had so much anxious energy swelling up in his chest he felt like he had to get up and move right that instant. He didn't want to disturb Roman though.

Virgil couldn't stand sitting around anymore, he slipped out of bed, grateful Roman was a heavy sleeper and snuck out of the room. Virgil rubbed his arms as he walked down the quiet dark halls, heading for the staircase. It'd been a while since he'd snuck around the house after dark while he was alone. He was pretty sure the last time had been before the light sides even knew what was going on with him. To be honest it felt all too familiar but also so strange to be doing it without at least some sort of limp or ache.

He rounded the corner to go downstairs but froze when he saw a figure on the couch. His first instinct was to assume it was a dark side. He knew they couldn't get in here anymore and even if they could they'd probably have already gone for him, but he still couldn't help the fear. He remained fearful until he heard the pitiful whimper coming from the figure. Virgil silently crept down the stairs and towards the couch to find the figure was none other than Patton. He was on his back with his head propped up by the arm to the couch and the throw pillows. He didn't have any sort of blanket on so Virgil could clearly see how tense he was, shifting around a bit. His brows pinched together and even in the dark he could see the tear tracks on Patton's face. He was whimpering out small fragments of words that Virgil couldn't make much sense of, but he knew it wasn't a pleasant dream.

Virgil felt pain welling up in his chest. He couldn't understand why Patton would be sleeping down here of all places. These nightmares and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements could easily explain why Patton always looked so exhausted.

"Virgil…" Patton managed to mutter out clearly. "Sorry… 'm sorry…"

Virgil didn't want this to go on any longer. Screw Patton avoiding him, he knew what it was like to suffer alone, he wasn't going to make Patton go through that any longer. He summoned in his cat ears and cat tail, he couldn't believe much he had missed them now that he was finally using them again. He then crawled on top of Patton, pressing his head under Patton's chin. He could feel Patton beginning to stir as he began to purr loudly, the same way he normally would to comfort himself, while rubbing Patton's upper arm the same way Patton had told him about on their first date together. Patton tensed and jerked slightly under Virgil when he fully woke up.

"V-Virgil? What are you-" Patton began to ask with a broken and wet voice, his words tailing off when Virgil curled up further onto him.

Virgil wrapped his arms around Patton in a hug, his tail gently wrapping around as well.

"It's okay, it's over now. Weren't you the one who told me it's okay to have a good cry?" Virgil asked before immediately returning to steady purring.

And Patton did. He wrapped his arms around Virgil, clinging tightly as his whole body began to shake with sobs.

"It's okay, I'm here, I promise."