"Welcome back Virgil!" Patton called from the couch when he heard the front door open. "Can you come into the living room before you head upstairs?" There was no response, but a lanky teen stepped into the living room instead of pivoting up the stairs like he clearly wanted to. He was buried in a purple plaid hoodie that looked two sizes too big and dressed in all black otherwise. His hair was black and he had on some weird makeup under his eyes. He didn't acknowledge anyone in the room and just stood there, holding his backpack with one arm, standing off-center.
"Virgil, this is Roman," Thomas said. Roman waved slightly. "Remember us talking about him coming today?" The kid rolled his eyes and waved sarcastically. Roman wasn't even aware you could wave sarcastically, but he definitely was.
"If you want to join us for dinner tonight, dad's making homemade pizza, and it's best fresh," Patton said. Virgil nodded again slightly and turned and bolted up the stairs.
Roman didn't terribly mind being ignored right now. He was pretty sure he looked like a mess after this afternoon. He normally liked a bit of attention, but right now he thought he'd much more like another nap. Roman pulled the afghan up off the couch and wrapped up back in it. Thomas restarted the cartoon, and they went back to watching, Roman restlessly fidgeting with the tassels at the edge of the afghan.
"I've got to get up and start the pizza for dinner," Thomas said a little while later. He kissed Patton's forehead as he got up and waved to Roman. Roman was a little dazed and watched him leave the room.
"Are you doing okay, champ?" Patton asked, looking over to him.
"Yeah," Roman mumbled, rubbing his face.
"That's good to hear. Do you want to help me set up your room? The laundry should all be done now," Patton asked gently. "It's okay if you don't, but if you pick where the clothes go, it will be easier for you to find them tomorrow,"
"Yeah, okay," Roman said a little and extracted himself from the afghan. He folded it when he stood up and draped it over the back of the couch. Patton came out of the kitchen with a laundry basket a moment later and Roman followed him up to his new bedroom.
Someone had already brought his other decorations up, since they were all sitting on his desk, along with a pair of unopened bluetooth headphones. Roman sighed and focused on the bedroom for now. Patton started separating the sheets and curtains from the rest of the laundry and handed Roman the fitted sheet. They made up the bed in silence. Patton pulled down the curtain rod and Roman helped him slide on the new curtains before placing it back on the hooks.
"Do you help with the clothes, kiddo?" Patton asked, motioning towards the laundry basket.
"No, I've got it," Roman said, eying the basket suspiciously. There better not be any more surprises in there or he might lose it. Patton paused in the bedroom, watching him carefully. "I'll be okay," He reassured Patton, who looked nervous.
"Okay, Roman. I'll trust you. I'll be in my bedroom trying to coax Lita out to let her outside," Patton said and left the room.
Roman nodded and sat on the floor, untying the garbage bag with the rest of his things. Roman dutifully folded up his clothes into the dresser and hung his shirts in the closet for a while. There still wasn't much, even with the new clothes. Roman had hit another growth spurt at 14 and had grown out of most of his clothes. He also pulled the few mementos and other personal possessions out of the trash bag. He used the empty bag to line the can he found under his desk. Roman placed a few of the old toys on top of the dresser and his books and school things on the desk.
Roman hesitated when he pulled the photo album out of the stack of Harry Potter paperbacks he'd placed on his desk. He stole a look at the end of the book with the most recent photo he had of Remus. It had been years now. Remus was his twin, but Roman couldn't help but wonder how different he looked from the 10-year-old staring back at him with a gap in his teeth and holding a foam sword. Roman sighed and finished moving around his things. A pack of poster strips was left with the posters, and Roman hung them on either side of the window. There was something satisfying about that wall now that cheered Roman up a bit.
Roman exhaled and kicked off his new shoes to lay back on his new bed. He reveled in the soft sheets and giant size for a moment before he felt bad again. He did nothing to deserve all of this. Roman cringed and balled up, flicking the sequins on the throw pillow he didn't get a chance to put back. Roman closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.
Patton poked his head in on the open door after a few moments of Roman trying to get a hold of himself.
"Hey kiddo, the pizza is ready! Would you like to come down to dinner?" Patton asked hopefully.
"I wouldn't miss fresh pizza for the world," Roman said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and walking to the door.
"I'll let Virgil know and meet you downstairs," Patton said with a smile as Roman passed to head to the kitchen. The downstairs smelled divine. A symphony of garlic and oregano danced with the yeasty crust and cheese. Roman quickened his pace and skid on his socks a little at the table.
"Hey, Roman, happy to see you excited!" Thomas said as he ran the roller cutter across the pizza.
"It just smells so damn good," Roman said reverently, sitting on a chair at the already set table.
"Patton'll have a heart attack if you cuss around him, try not to," Thomas slightly chided him. He didn't seem too bothered himself, though.
"Sorry," Roman muttered. He was really bad at controlling his mouth, and it always got him in trouble.
"I'll take it as a compliment this time around," Thomas chuckled. "Go ahead and serve yourself," Roman excitedly took a slice of pizza and scooped out a side of salad onto his plate as Patton and Virgil walked into the kitchen. Patton stopped and hugged Thomas as he was rinsing the cutter in the sink. Virgil walked right past them and took a slice of pizza and started eating it as soon as he sat down, pulling his feet up onto the chair.
"Careful, there, Virgil, that's still a bit hot," Patton warned, but Virgil just kept eating. Patton shook his head slightly and sat down at the table with Thomas. They served themselves pizza and salad and started eating.
"Was everything okay at school today, Virgil?" Thomas asked. Virgil nodded. Thomas took a bite of salad and paused. "Do you need any help with your homework tonight?" Thomas asked another question. Virgil shook his head and sipped some water. Roman watched them with interest. Did this Virgil kid talk at all?
"We had a nice day with Roman today. Maybe we can do something as a family tomorrow?" Patton asked. Virgil didn't nod or shake his head this time. "Do you have other plans?" Patton continued. Virgil shook his head. "Are you worried about what we'd do?" Virgil nodded this time.
"We can pick it together. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," Thomas offered. Virgil nodded after a moment of quiet chewing.
"Great!" Patton exclaimed and enjoyed his pizza.
"Um, what kind of things were you thinking of?" Roman asked.
"We have a few options. We can do a bracket later," Patton said in between bites.
"A bracket?" Roman asked curiously before taking another bite of the amazing pizza.
"It's how we pick things like dinner or activities when we can't decide, or there are lots of options. We pit the choices one versus one on a bracket board like a tournament. It makes it easier for Patton and Virgil to pick things," Thomas explained. A little white and brown dog trotted into the kitchen. "It was a nightmare getting Patton to pick where to go when we were dating and we have stuck with the brackets ever since," Patton flushed slightly, but he didn't seem that upset.
"Lita!" Patton exclaimed. "Good to see you, girl," Patton cooed.
"Don't you dare feed that dog your pizza, Pat," Thomas chided Patton as he started to pick a topping off. "That's people pizza," Thomas said firmly. Patton sighed dramatically and went back to eating. Roman wasn't sure, but he thought he might have seen a little smirk on Virgil's face for a brief second. Lita sniffed around Roman's feet for a moment, but seemed to accept him pretty quickly and went back to scouring the floor for food.
Roman took a bite of his salad, which was pretty good for salad, and was a little in awe of the situation. It all seemed so simple but idyllic. Things couldn't be this easy. That's not how the world worked. But nobody was mad at him. Patton and Thomas weren't even mad at Virgil, even though he was being what his last foster family would call charitably call 'difficult'. Maybe they still did awful things Roman just couldn't find. Maybe Thomas got belligerently drunk or Patton would constantly invade his privacy. He couldn't know for sure since he couldn't just ask his new foster brother if they did anything Roman needed to watch out for. Patton must have noticed Roman worrying since he smiled and tilted his head.
"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Patton asked cheerily.
"Nothing. This pizza tastes even better than it smells, Thomas," Roman said, trying to change the subject.
"Thank you! I've been making them for years," Thomas said proudly.
"You can really taste the love," Patton said sweetly. Virgil rolled his eyes, but Thomas smiled at Patton. Roman wasn't sure about 'tasting love' or whatever, but the pizza was pretty great. He had two pieces, and with everyone else at the table eating two, they killed the pizza and salad pretty quickly.
"Thanks for dinner," Roman said with a small smile.
"You're welcome!" Thomas said sweetly. Roman went to the sink to rinse his dishes. Virgil got up and left his plate next to the sink, so Roman went ahead and washed his, too.
"You guys don't mind if I go lie down, do you?" Roman asked, pointing in the direction of the stairs. Lita sniffed greedily around his feet while he finished rinsing the plates.
"It's alright if you want to call it a night early, kiddo, but if you want to watch TV or play a game, we can set that up, too," Patton offered.
"Sorry, not today," Roman muttered. Playing a game sounded fun, but Roman was feeling really uncomfortable. Adults rarely paid this much attention to him without him doing something wrong. Going to bed seemed much safer.
"It's all right. I'll be working, but you're welcome to ask Pat if you change your mind," Thomas said. Patton picked up his and Thomas's plates and took them to the sink as Roman walked out of the kitchen.
Roman laid in his bed and flicked the sequins on his throw pillow in his one hand and stared at his new phone in the other. He had skimmed the bookshelf in here, but he wasn't really sure if he was allowed to touch those. He didn't really feel like reading, anyway. He also didn't feel like drawing.
On the other hand, he could link up his social to the phone and let his old friends know he was alive. He'd get to use all those filters his friends were using now that he wasn't on a computer. Thomas and Patton swore to him it was okay. They already handed it to him, they already paid for it. There wasn't anything he could do to change things. He could try to make the best of it, like his caseworker was always telling him, or he could not use it. And it seemed more fun to use it if he was honest with himself. He'd always wanted one of his own.
Roman spent a while catching up on his social, then played a bunch of free app store games before ending up on YouTube and watching videos. He had gotten to use other people's smartphones before, but he'd never had completely free rein before. It was really freaking cool. Roman had even given in and opened up the headphones on his desk to watch the videos and listen to music, since making too much noise in his room made him kind of nervous, but so did the silence. Roman wasn't sure how much time had passed when a knock came at the door.
"It's 10 o'clock kiddo, it's time to get ready for bed. We'd like you to be asleep by 11 PM," Patton chimed through the door.
"Okay," Roman called and got out of bed to pull some pajamas out.
"The red bag in the bathroom on the shelf next to the sink will have a new toothbrush and things for you," Patton added and tapped on the door twice. Roman came out into the hall and watched Patton head to his room. Roman waved, and Patton smiled.
"Good night," Roman said with a half-smile.
"G'night, champ," Patton said. Roman went into the bathroom. The red bag had a new, well, everything. Maybe they didn't know what Roman might be bringing. It was a fair bet he'd need a new toothbrush, though. The shower soap in there smelled amazing and Roman wondered if it be okay to shower tonight. He wasn't sure about Virgil's shower schedule.
'Is it okay if I take a shower now?' Roman texted Virgil. Thomas said Virgil didn't like people in his space, and just crossing the hall to ask seemed like pushing it. Virgil sent back a thumbs up. Roman turned up the shower to lots of heat and stripped down so he could use the new soap and shampoo that smelled so good, like sweet and spicy cookies.
Roman relished the hot shower. It helped him relax and wash off the bad feelings of the day and help him not feel so out of place. He knew he couldn't take too long since Patton had already told him to go to bed, but he wished he could stay under longer. Roman dried off with a big fluffy towel from under the sink and hung it to try on the rack. He dried off his things to put back in the kit after getting dressed.
Virgil must have been listening because he came out of his room as soon as Roman stepped out of the bathroom. Virgil gave him an odd once-over and headed into the bathroom. Roman wasn't sure if Virgil had a problem with him or his old pajamas, but he had a problem with something. Roman headed back to his room and turned off the lights. The darkness was a little unnerving in the empty room, so he turned on the LED star strip over the bed. The soft glow was probably a little bright to sleep by, but the room was unfamiliar and it was a little unsettling in the dark. He felt like if he couldn't see things moving, he couldn't feel safe, and there was no way he could sleep like that.
Even with the lights on, the strange room had unnerved him. It was really quiet, too. Nobody was watching TV or he couldn't hear the neighbors or people talking in another room. No other kids rustling or snoring. His brother wasn't there to quietly make up stories with. Even the bed being big felt weird when he sat down on it. Roman searched for a sleeping playlist he could put on his phone to play quietly. He couldn't find one without ads, so he just hoped he wouldn't get any ads yelling about great tire deals or something that would wake him up. Though those would be familiar, at least.
Roman crawled under the sheets and laid back, most of his body against the wall. The sheets were nice, and everything smelled good. He balled up and tried to focus on relaxing music instead of letting his thoughts run wild. Roman was never particularly good at falling asleep. He always had a lot of things on his mind that he couldn't tell to stop running. But the warmth of soft sheets and his exhaustion eventually caused him to drift. Until he got a loud ad about shoes. Another knock at the door. Great. Now he was in trouble because of stupid shoe ads.
"Roman? Patton said lights out a while ago," Thomas said through the door.
"I know," Roman groaned. Thomas opened the door and looked in.
"What was that noise?" Thomas asked.
"Ad on the playlist," Roman grumbled, squinting at Roman in the lights.
"Oh, Patton's got a background noise app you can use. Can I see your phone?" Thomas asked as he stepped into the room. Roman pointed to it on the nightstand. Thomas walked over and picked up the phone and started tapping around.
"Here you go. You can pick what you like if you come over here," Thomas said, putting the phone back on the nightstand. "Isn't it kind of bright in here for sleeping?" Roman shrugged under the blankets.
"I can turn it off if it's bothering you," Roman said, sounding a little dejected. He really didn't want to lie in the dark in a strange house.
"I'm more worried about it bothering you. There's a night light in our bathroom I can put in here if you need a light," Thomas offered.
"I don't need a dumb night light," Roman grumbled.
"I don't think that light strip is good for your sleep. How about I put it in here for tonight and you can turn if off if you don't want it?" Thomas suggested. Roman just grunted in response, staying buried under his blankets. Thomas left the room for a moment and came back with a small night light and plugged it in at an outlet over near the closet. He came over and flipped the switch on the LED stars. It was admittedly much nicer in here. He could still make out everything just fine. Roman exhaled in relief. His eyes were kind of hurting.
"Thanks," Roman mumbled, feeling like a giant baby for liking the night light. The lights on in his shared rooms were always for the younger kids, or the glow of a light from the hall. He'd gotten dependent on it somehow, and he didn't like feeling so weak.
"Any time. Is there a reason you're pressed against the wall?" Thomas asked, looking curiously at Roman.
"Not a good one," Roman admitted, feeling embarrassed.
"How about I judge that?" Thomas said firmly and motioned with his hand for Roman to speak.
"It's just… empty in here," Roman explained weakly. It was a bad reason. He should be excited about having a room to himself.
"Is it too open?" Thomas asked.
"I don't know," Roman grumbled. He wasn't sure, but the last thing he wanted was them to spend any more money on him by putting more stuff in there. It did feel off in here, but he mostly just missed his brother. He still couldn't believe he was in Juvie. He hated having to share a bed with Remus when he was a kid, since Remus was a kicker, but he'd give anything to have him here now.
"Are you okay? You look like something just upset you," Thomas said, shifting his weight as he watched carefully. It was weird having somebody pay that much attention to him.
"I'm fine. Thanks," Roman added after a pause. Thomas raised an eyebrow. But he either bought it or was willing to drop it.
"There're no ads on that app to bother you. You can probably turn it up to 40% or so with nobody hearing it," Thomas said and turned to the door. "Did you always share a bedroom?" Thomas added, pausing in the doorway.
"Since I was born," Roman said, the melancholy clear in his voice. Thomas nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Roman exhaled and crawled across the bed to set some noise. There were lots of options, but rain and piano together seemed like a nice choice for tonight. Roman crawled back against the wall and laid on his side, holding his pillow and tried to work on falling back asleep.