Sorry this is being posted a little late, I fell asleep while writing yesterday and had to finish it this morning. Anyways not many trigger warnings, some issues with self-image and inability to eat, but that is it. As always take care of yourselves and thank you for reading.
After Logan and Patton returned Roman proposed the trip to them as well and as soon as they agreed Roman vanished, likely to set things up, leaving them only a message to pack anything they didn't feel like summoning when they were there. It was going to be a quiet weekend trip between the four of them. They'd leave tonight, which was Friday, stay through the weekend and return at some point on Monday so they could be back in time to film on Tuesday.
Virgil hadn't wanted to be left alone long so Patton and Logan had taken it upon themselves to help him pack so he could hang out with them while they packed. They finished packing as quickly as they were able, not really worrying about making sure they have everything since they could just summon anything they forgot later, figuring giving Virgil more comfort was far more important. They returned to the living room where they sat with Virgil in the middle, sitting at an angle so his legs were draped over Logan's lap and his head on Patton's shoulder. Patton was humming softly to no particular recognizable tune while he ran his fingers through Virgil's Logan had taken his hand and was rubbing his knuckles in a steady, soothing pattern. Their touches were gentle, when paired with his preexisting exhaustion from crying earlier he was being lulled off to sleep. He likely would have fallen asleep but one thought still remained persistent.
"Lo? Patt?" Virgil started, looking up at the ceiling.
They both let a hum of acknowledgement as they shifted to look at him.
"What is it, Kitten?"Patton asked, his hand moving from Virgil's head to around his shoulder.
Virgil hesitated for a second, uncertain about what exactly he was trying to ask them.
"What do you guys think about all of this? Everything with Deceit and stuff?" Virgil asked.
"Well, just as you said in your final statement it is not likely that none of us will ever be able fully trust his story. Like in the story of the boy who cried wolf, he's lied and manipulated others too often to be believed when he is telling the truth," Logan replied.
"I agree," Patton replied, a bit more hesitantly.
Virgil turned his head the best he could in his position so he could look at Patton.
"You seem like you wanted to say something else," Virgil said.
Patton let out a sigh as he stank a bit deeper into the couch.
"I agree he can't really be trusted, he's mastered lying pretty well at this point. But, at the same time… There is just something about him right that reminds me of how he used to be back when we were kids, before all of the fighting and him leaving. I don't know, it's probably just me being stupidly reminiscent," Patton chuckled weakly.
Virgil grabbed the hand that rested lightly and his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze as he shook his head.
"I didn't know back then but I can say I've never seen him quite the way he is now, even when he was pretending to be kind or caring to emotionally manipulate me. Plus, as I said before, he can't get rid of those scales on his face unless he takes an entirely new form, but he definitely is missing a lot of scales. Logan said that this might be because they are supposed to make the dark sides into something Thomas would fear and thus stay away from. But what if this means Deceit is still being repressed but isn't really that big of a threat to Thomas anymore?" Virgil theorized.
"I thought we were leaving on a vacation to forget all that," a new voice cut in.
Virgil looked over to see Roman had risen back up in the room. His face was smiling but Virgil could see the exhaustion in his eyes from having likely summoned too many new details into his imagination world.
"Are you okay?" Virgil asked worriedly.
"Worry not my fair skinned prince, I am quite alright. All the preparations are complete whenever you'd like to leave," Roman replied quite proudly.
Virgil glanced at the other two who gave him a nod. He then held his hands up to Roman in a silent request for help getting up from his slightly awkward positioning. Roman grabbed hold of him and pulled him up off the couch. Once up he grabbed his backpack and handed the other two theirs.
"Well, lead the way Princey," Virgil said when they were all ready.
Roman opened the door to the imagination and stood back allowing the others to go through first. Virgil stepped through the door to the imagination, pinching his eyes closed as he went through the portal. He blinked open his eyes to find himself on a cobblestone path, in the distance there was a decently small cabin style house with a covered, wrap around porch. In the backyard the blazing orange sunset shimmered off of the small lake. There was a marked trail leading off into the woods in either direction from the house, Virgil could only assume they looped around the lake.
"What do you think?" Roman asked as he stepped through last.
"It's gorgeous!" Patton squealed, clapping his hands. "Can we go inside?" Patton asked excitedly.
When Roman gave a nod Patton latched onto Logan's wrist and began dragging him towards the door. Virgil couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Patton's child-like excitement.
"Thanks Roman," Virgil said, watching the other two vanish through the door.
"No need to thank me. We could all use the break from reality," Roman said, ruffling Virgil's hair and being met with the usual hiss. "Come on, Mi Gatito, let's head inside."
Roman held him hand out to Virgil who grabbed it and allowed himself to be guided inside the house. It was built much differently than Thomas's house, thus different than both the one he currently lived in and therefore the one he used to live in. The living room and kitchen were the same room. To the left were dark oak and white marble counters, an oven, a microwave, and a refrigerator. Slightly further out than that was a square shaped table fitting four people. To the right was a large TV, a brown couch with dark burgundy throw pillows, and an octangular coffee table. There was a short hallway beside where the TV was located, leading over to another section of the house, where he could only assume Logan and Patton had already run off to. The back wall, looking out over the lake, was made up of giant windows to make the most of the view and the evening sun. Virgil took note of the bird feeder hanging up over the porch, figuring it may be fun to see if he could spot any birds stopping by. The scent of Pizza filled the cabin and Virgil noticed two Pizzas sitting on the counters closest to the table. Virgil's stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought of eating food.
"Roman, I must say that you did quite well on this house despite preparing it on short notice," Logan said as he and Patton reemerged from the hallway.
"Why thank you," Roman replied with a purposely over dramatic bow. "Now, anyone up for dinner?"
"Uh… I'm going to skip if that's okay. I'm not really hungry. I'll go unpack my things, okay?" Virgil said, biting his lower lip nervously.
"Are you sure you don't want to eat, Kiddo? You really shouldn't skip meals," Patton replied worriedly.
"Sorry, Patt. I just really don't want to eat. I promise, even if I'm not hungry I'll eat properly tomorrow," Virgil promised, his brows furrowing pleadingly.
Patton glanced at the others before letting out a sigh. He still looked worried but he also looked understanding.
"Alright, but if you decide you're hungry don't hesitate to come get food. Do you want anyone to join you?" Patton asked.
"No, it's okay. I know it's safe here and I'll leave the door open so I can call out if I need anything. You guys go enjoy your meal," Virgil replied, giving them a slight wave as he walked away.
He entered the hall and found two doors, the one directly at the end of the hall was open and he could tell it was the bedroom by the long dresser on the far wall of the room. Virgil entered the room and looked around. A soft rug covered most of the floor and the massive bed was covered in a dark burgundy and white comforter. There were four drawers in the dresser and as he opened each of them he found the others had each claimed one as their own, leaving Virgil one of his own at the top right. He folded his clothing and placed them in his drawer, taking his time so the others could finish their meal and put it away. Once he was done and had heard the refrigerator being opened and closed he returned to the main room. Like he had assumed they had already cleaned up and were just sitting around talking at the kitchen table. Roman brightened when he saw Virgil entering the room.
"Hey Virgil, you done?" Roman asked, waiting for his nod before continuing. "Patton, Logan and I were discussing how I put a hot tub out on the back porch. Do you want to use it tonight, or do something indoors, or would you rather head to bed early tonight."
Virgil really didn't want to think too much about the options and make a decision. It seemed like they wanted to use the hot tub but were just giving him other options in case he felt uncomfortable. It did sound pretty relaxing though.
"Hot tub sounds nice… I don't have a swimsuit though," Virgil replied slowly.
"No problem, I'll summon you one," Roman replied excitedly.
"Alright," Virgil said with a soft smile, rubbing his arm.
They made their way back towards the bathroom and Roman summoned him a pair of black swim trunks with the top hem being a bright lavender color. The others found or summoned their own and began changing, none of them being embarrassed around each other anymore. Virgil's face flushed bright red as he slipped out of the room, heading towards the second door in the hallway. This one led into the bathroom where there was a large mirror, a Jacuzzi bathtub, a small shower, white counter tops similar to the kitchen and a toilet separated from everything else by a partial wall divider.
Virgil stripped off his clothing and pulled on the swim trunks. They fit well enough and he was fine with it, until he caught his reflection in the mirror. He saw his scarred up arms and chest, although they had all faded a bit since he first got them they were all still clear as day. That included the word printed messily across his chest, "unwanted". After the events that had taken place today, the word stung just that much more. The more he thought about them the more his scars began to physically hurt more than they should, especially the word he knew was carved down his spine. He let out a soft whine as he covered himself with his hands. He hated his reflection, it was just one of those days where he couldn't stand seeing the marks they left behind.
"Virgil? Are you finished changing?" Logan asked, knocking on the door.
"Uh, yeah, I just need a second. You guys can go on out, I'll meet up with you," Virgil replied nervously.
"Virgil?" Logan said, his voice softer and obviously concerned.
"Please? I'll meet you out there," Virgil promised.
Virgil could hear Logan sigh from the other side of the door.
"Alright Darling, come and get me if you need anything at all," Logan replied before his footsteps drew away, joined by two others.
Virgil let out a relieved breath as he glanced back at the repulsive image in the mirror. He knew it didn't matter if they saw him like this. Logan had seen him naked several times while treating and re-bandaging his injuries and Roman and Patton had each at least seen him naked once. He had nothing to hide from them, and yet he couldn't stand the thought of them looking at the worst of his scars right now.
He left the bathroom, glancing around to make sure no one was around first and headed back to the bedroom. He didn't know what to do. The others were waiting for him and he did actually want to use the hot tub. He bit at his thumb nail for a moment as he paced but then his eyes caught his drawer. He pulled open his drawer and dug through his shirts until he found an old, lightweight purple T-shirt he had brought as one of his night shirts. He pulled it on over his head and glanced in the full length mirror across the room. There were still scars along his arms but it wasn't more than he'd normally see. He felt a lot more comfortable like this.
He quickly ran out and to the backdoor to find the others already in the hot tub which was situated beside a large hanging bench. On a short table both Logan and Patton had put their glasses to prevent getting them wet. Virgil looked over at his gorgeous boyfriends relaxing in the water, the rising moonlight glowing off of the water droplets on their skin. Their typically neat hair was wet and slicked back out of their faces. Virgil didn't deserve them.
"Ah Virgy! Come join us!" Patton said excitedly upon seeing him, reading out a wet hand to him.
Virgil smiled and took his hand, stepping into the soothing, warm water. None of them asked about the shirt. They all understood the signs he wasn't in the best mindset and none of them pried about it. They took turns coddling him, making sure he knew just how much they all loved him and making sure he knew they were all there no matter what.