Lita had bolted for longer and faster on this evening's walk, pushing Roman a little harder then he would like on a nearly empty stomach. Roman managed to snap a photo of Lita during a flower-sniffing break for his phone, though. The lighting was killer and the scene was almost magical, so he posted it to Instagram. Roman was ravenous when he finally got back in the front door, just before the last vestiges of the sun were lost to the horizon. No scary after dark monsters to spook Thomas. He was ridiculous. Lita made another sick drift across the living room into the kitchen for water. Roman leaned against the wall in the entryway and finished the bottle.

"She gave you a good workout, huh?" Patton asked from the couch in the living room.

"Yeah, she ran faster this time. Keeping up with her took a bit of pushing myself," Roman said and wiped his brow on his sleeve. He headed into the kitchen to refill the bottle, to chug more water. Roman left the taser on the counter in there, not sure what else to do with it.

"Well, I'm glad you got back quick! We're all set up and have picked our characters, so just pick up a controller and we can start," Thomas said. Roman shot a longing look at the fridge before heading back into the living room. They left the controller sitting on the arm of the couch for Roman to take, so he selected Rosalina quickly to start the game, solely on the fact that she reminded him of Elsa.

Picking up the game was pretty easy, just like the older Mario Parties he had played. Roman had even managed to take the lead from Thomas by grabbing the second star and having more coins. But Boo, played by Virgil, had stolen it from him in three turns.

'You little shit,' He signed to Virgil before he could think twice about it. After a moment he realized Patton or Thomas could also possibly know sign language, and he'd be in so much trouble. Roman froze and watched Patton and Thomas carefully, bracing himself.

'Takes one to know one,' Virgil signed back from the arm of the couch with a smirk. Roman rolled his eyes but still sat stiffly, unsure if he was royally screwed still. There wasn't a reaction yet, anyway.

"Boys, you know sign language?" Patton asked cheerily, perhaps finally recognizing what was happening. Oh, thank god Patton didn't see him cuss. Roman really didn't want to see him mad. He would have nightmares for weeks if a guy with such a nice smile ever hit him, even if he deserved it.

"Um, kinda. I took it for a semester in middle school," Roman explained a little awkwardly, not sure if he was in trouble still. He fiddled with the seam on his jeans and kept watching Patton and Thomas, not sure if he should bolt or just keep bracing himself.

'They don't know,' Virgil signed and Roman breathed a sigh of relief, loosening up. 'I'm coming for your coins, next,' Virgil added with an evil smile, and Roman scowled at him. Damnit, he fought hard for those. Well, some of them. He'd probably lucked into half. Still, he'd earn them.

"Boys, I don't know what you're saying, but I'm not a fan of the tone it's taking," Patton admonished them, warily looking between the two of them as if he was trying to parse it out.

"We're just talking about the game," Roman offered in explanation, trying to shrug it off. Thomas grunted with dissatisfaction at the answer. If Roman had an out from punishment, he would take it. They seemed to accept his answer since they didn't object.

"Virgil, if you would have let us known before we would have started learning so we could talk to you," Thomas said gently. Virgil just rolled his eyes and pointed to the game with both hands, clearly communicating he wanted to drop it.

"Seconded," Roman said, also hoping to drop it and just play the game. He was having fun before all the gut-twisting fear. Thomas and Patton conceded with varying levels of grumpiness and Roman exhaled in relief. No punishment for now, and they got to keep playing. 5 turns later, Virgil fulfilled the prophecy of coin theft and Roman wanted to show him a sign that Pat and Thomas surely knew. He settled on a glower and signing at Virgil that he was a fuckface. Virgil had no such qualms about showing a sign that Thomas and Patton knew.

"Virgil! We don't do that in this house," Patton chastened Virgil, wobbling between firm and clearly shooketh while Virgil shook his middle finger at Roman. Roman was heavily torn between laughing at the ridiculousness and being terrified of getting in trouble.

'Out of the house is fine,' Virgil signed, and it pushed Roman over into the humor of the situation couldn't stop the snickers that broke out. Roman tried to hide them behind his hand.

"Boys," Thomas groaned and rubbed his face. The doorbell rang, and Thomas got up with a small huff. The sudden motion had Roman flinch, and he shifted back, all the amusement drained from his body in a millisecond. Shit, Roman had probably gone too far. He always did. Roman sighed and tried to steel himself for what was to come. He knew it would come, eventually. It always did.

"Clearly, you two are hangry. Thank goodness that's the food! Apologize to each other and we'll go eat dinner," Patton said, folding his hands in his lap. Virgil looked incredulously at Patton for a moment, raising an eyebrow and grimacing. Roman was baffled, too. What kind of… He didn't get it. They fucked up. Where was the punishment?

"That's it?" Roman asked skeptically, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer. His hands were clenched so hard they hurt. He needed to know what the hell was going on and if that would really be the end of it.

"Food!" Thomas called as he carried the delivery to the kitchen. Roman watched him disappear around the corner to the kitchen and they shot back to Patton, unable to stop himself from following the motion.

"Come on, boys, apologize," Patton said firmly. That can't be it.

"Um, sorry, Virgil" Roman muttered, still expecting another shoe to drop and bracing himself, shifting to gripping his legs.

'You're safe,' Virgil signed, making a mock apology face. 'They don't do that,' Virgil seemed relieved, too.

"Thank you! Come on, let's go eat," Patton said, slapping his hands on his knees as he stood up off the couch. Roman winced at the loud sound and flinched back again, but he stayed seated. He wearily watched Patton leave to the kitchen. His eyes didn't leave the path until he was sure they weren't coming back out with a pan or something. There was just the rustling of the delivery bag coming from the kitchen and muttering about which container was what.

'You okay?' Virgil signed. Roman wasn't sure Virgil actually looked kind of concerned about Roman, which was weird and new, too. Roman's heart hurt from all this shit.

"They really don't?" Roman whispered. Virgil shook his head. "At all?" Roman struggled to believe it. He'd been in homes that didn't hit before, but there had always been at least yelling or punishments or something. Not just… say sorry and eat dinner. Roman was relieved, but this all still felt incredibly wrong. He shouldn't be allowed to eat dinner at least.

'Safe,' Virgil signed again. Roman exhaled a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"That will take some getting used to," Roman whispered, glancing back to the corner where the kitchen entrance was. A lot of getting used to. He loosened up on his legs and took a deep breath, feeling a little light-headed.

'It did for me,' Virgil signed. 'Why I saw,' He added. Roman swallowed and nodded.

'After dinner,' Roman signed and looked pointedly at Virgil, trying to play off his fear a bit. He then fingerspelled revenge. Virgil smirked.

'You wish,' He signed back and got up from the couch. Roman followed him into the kitchen where Patton was making tea, and Thomas was recycling the bag the food came in, already unloaded on to the table. Roman placed his water bottle on the table and slowly opened the take-out container with the moo shu pork in it. He also grabbed some chopsticks and two fortune cookies, passing one Virgil's way. He snapped the sticks and started making his rice wrap to eat. Roman was still feeling a little shaken. Just because Virgil swore they wouldn't, didn't mean that he could just turn it off like that. But if he was allowed to eat dinner, he should try.

"You doing alright, kiddo?" Patton asked curiously, jabbing a fork into a piece of pineapple from his food.

"Yup," Roman said, popping the p. He didn't look up to Patton or Thomas, he didn't think he could meet their eyes. "Just hungry," Roman lied. He wasn't hungry at the moment, but he knew the hunger would come back after he ate a little and settled down. No point in starving himself over a threat that wasn't supposed to come. It hurt a little to eat with his tight throat, but he chewed carefully and monitored the others at the table.

Virgil was sitting on one leg with another up on the chair, eating something that smelled like a garlic spice bomb with shrimp. He looked pretty satisfied with his atomic-red food. Patton was dipping his chicken so thoroughly in the sauce that he may as well drink it. Thomas sipped some tea and used his chopsticks to eat a savory smelling beef plate. The mood seemed to be calm other than Lita weaving around like a shark under the kitchen table. Roman took a long pull of water from the bottle and tried to calm down. They all ate in silence and eventually, Roman's shoulders loosened a little and it was a bit easier to eat.

"When did you learn sign language, Virgil?" Patton asked cheerily. Virgil sighed deeply and didn't respond, pushing around his food while Patton looked at him expectantly. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable," Patton said after a moment. Virgil nodded and went back to eating, notably less enthusiastically, prodding his food a few times before taking a small bite.

"We'll have to take a class," Thomas said to Patton, who nodded. That meant Roman couldn't openly call Virgil a fuck face anymore in a while, which was a shame. It was fun to openly tease someone like that. Virgil shot Roman a look, maybe sharing the sentiment. Roman meant nothing mean by it and he was pretty certain Virgil knew that which just made it more fun. Roman felt bad for signing at Virgil in front of Patton and Thomas. Maybe he didn't want them to know, and Roman blew his cover. Roman signed sorry and Virgil just shook his head dismissively. Either he didn't want to hear it or it wasn't a big deal.

'Did I fuck up?' Roman signed, hoping for some clarification. Virgil shook his head again, which was hope-giving, but Roman couldn't be sure what he meant or even if he was lying. The sounds of eating seemed a little loud as Roman berated himself mentally.

'No. Learned to talk to them,' Virgil signed to Roman after a painful moment. So Roman didn't fuck up too bad. He did out Virgil before he was ready to ask them to learn, though. He was definitely a shit head for that.

'Fast learner,' Roman signed back at him with a half-smile. Virgil looked at him a little oddly and nodded. He seemed to learn farther in a month or two than Roman did in class.

"Could you maybe clue us in, Roman?" Thomas asked carefully.

"Uh," Roman paused and looked pointedly at Virgil. Virgil paused and seemed to consider it. Roman awkwardly poked the moo shu in the take-out container while he waited. Virgil eventually nodded slowly to Roman. Patton seemed to light up.

"Thanks, kiddo!" Patton said cheerily. Virgil just rolled his eyes at Patton.

"Virgil said he started learning so he could talk with you guys," Roman explained. Patton looked touched. Roman exhaled in relief, the tension of the moment feeling like it had lifted. Even Virgil didn't look upset anymore.

"Does that mean we can revisit you seeing a therapist?" Thomas asked, sounding hopeful. Virgil held up his arms in a big X and shook his head violently. "Okay, okay," Thomas held up his hands in defeat. Well, Virgil looked upset again. Roman couldn't blame him, though.

"We'll start learning tomorrow. You'll have to let us practice with you," Patton chirped and took way too large a bite of food. Roman's face probably mirrored Virgil's, which was a little disgust and a little impressed.

"Patton, you're setting a bad example, take smaller bites," Thomas chided him.

"They're old enough to know better than to do this," Patton said. Roman snickered, and Virgil raised his eyebrow.

"So are you, Pat," Thomas groaned and pat Patton on the shoulder, shaking his head slightly.

"Did you choose to foster teenagers so Patton couldn't accidentally impress on young minds his bad table manners?" Roman chuckled. Patton looked a little surprised but laughed after a moment.

"No, though I suppose it's a bonus," Thomas said. Now Patton looked hurt. "Darling, we jest. I'm sorry, right Roman?"

"Yeah, sorry," Roman mumbled. God damn, what was wrong with him? He didn't think he was being mean, but he clearly was being an asshole. Well, if he was an asshole, he was an asshole. Hopefully, they'd get a nicer kid after they kicked Roman out.

"It seemed like where we could help the most," Thomas replied Roman's original question. Roman just stared at the two for a moment and went back to eating. He didn't really have anything to say to that. He opted not to say anything else and just tried to ignore the light conversation between Patton and Thomas from there.

The food was good and Virgil could toss the atomic red shrimp into his mouth using chopsticks, which was cool to watch. Plus Patton kept eating like he didn't fear death, which was also amusing. The mood at the table was relatively light while they finished eating and it was nice to catch a break. Family dinners were always hard for Roman. It was much easier with the Finleys where he just fed the kids while they watched TV in the evenings. Roman prepped and ate his last rice wrapper, feeling much better. Probably because he really was hangry earlier.

Roman finished what he had and got up to pick up all of his food trash. Virgil handed his container off to Roman, and he took those as well and got a paper towel to clean where he ate. Patton finished his food, but Thomas got up to get a container. Roman moved to wipe down the rest of the table when Patton moved his food trash.

"Thanks, kiddo!" Patton smiled brightly and took his things to the trash. Roman smiled back.

"You think you two can avoid signing obscene things to each other when we get back to the game? We still have a few turns left before the game is over," Thomas asked after he put his food container in the fridge.

"Define obscene," Roman stated smarmily, wiping up a final patch of sweet and sour on the table.

"Roman," Thomas said with a warning tone.

"Fine," Roman conceded. Virgil just rolled his eyes. He obviously wasn't interested in staying away from obscenities. Neither was Roman, it was half the fun of Mario Party, but he didn't want to get in trouble any further. They could probably get away with it if they were careful. Roman was feeling a little emboldened after not getting in trouble.

—

Roman had stolen his coins back after a few turns, which resulted in Virgil signing something lengthy and assuredly very offensive about Roman's face. Roman managed to stay impassive, so they didn't get in trouble, but he stuck his tongue out at him when Thomas and Patton weren't looking. There weren't that many turns left till the end of the game, though, and Virgil had won the whole thing. Roman compared Virgil to a donkey butt while Thomas got up to plug in his controller. Virgil stuck out his tongue in response.

'Enough of your faces today. You all suck,' Virgil signed and got up to head out. Roman chuckled. Virgil was fun.

"Thanks for spending time with us, kiddo!" Patton called after him with a smile. "I think I'm going to watch Parks & Rec if you want to stay out here, Roman," Patton offered, sounding hopeful.

"Oh, I'm staying, then," Thomas said excitedly and sat back down on the couch closer to Patton than when they were while playing the game.

"Sure," Roman shrugged. It's not like he had anything better to do. Roman got up to plug in his controller and settle back down on to the couch. He'd seen the show before, but it re-watching things always made him feel comfortable. Plus, he could play on his phone while he watched so he wouldn't get bored. Roman settled into a corner so he could lean against his arm to hold up his head while he looked at his phone. Thomas wrapped his arm around Patton's shoulder and Lita jumped up and laid her head on Patton's lap. The intro playing had already relaxed him a bit. Roman grabbed the afghan off the back of the couch and draped it over himself after waiting a moment to make sure they didn't want it.

Roman half-watched the show and half checked out his social, just sort of spacing out to give his brain a break. Sometimes he reached over and scratched Lita's back when her tail wagged and reminded Roman she was right there. Roman's brain was too busy to run free, and he got a break from dealing with all of this shit. There was a certain kind of contentment to it. Roman seemed to have won the foster parent lottery after 5 years. Remus sure didn't though. Shit. Well, there goes that contentment. Roman sighed and rubbed his face.

"Getting tired, kiddo?" Patton asked and leaned forward to look at Roman.

"Oh, uh, no," Roman stumbled. The opposite if anything, Roman was usually pretty wired at night. And now he was feeling pissed and guilty.

"Well, you might want to start working on it. We've only got one more episode till we're turning it off. Maybe you should get off your phone and let your brain relax," Thomas suggested. That's what he was doing until he thought about Remus. Roman sighed and put his phone down on the side table. Roman tried to focus on the TV, but his mind kept going back to Remus and how he needed a nightlight to sleep like a baby and how unfair everything was and, well, everywhere he didn't want it to go.

"Roman, your foot's tapping a storm there. Is something wrong?" Thomas asked after a few minutes. Roman's eyes shot to Thomas, then his foot, then to the floor, and then back to the TV. He forced his foot to stop tapping, but his leg had a buzzing feeling in it when he stopped, making him feel uncomfortable. Roman shook his head and focused on the show.

"Pal, you're going to make your cuticles bleed if you keep picking at them like that," Patton said gently, another few minutes later. Roman looked at his hand and realized what he was doing and shoved his hands awkwardly in his jeans pockets. Both his legs felt like they were buzzing now. There was no chance of him focusing on the show anymore.

"I'm, uh, just going to go shower for bed," Roman sighed, his face slightly warm with embarrassment.

"We're here if you need us, champ," Patton offered as Roman got up off the couch, grabbed his phone, and headed upstairs. Roman glanced at the bathroom door and saw it was closed with the light on. Virgil must have been in there already. Roman sighed and headed into his room. He wished he could go back to playing that adventure game while he waited. There was that cave he wanted to explore when Patton stopped him. Roman shut the bedroom door and leaned against it, taking a breath. He could draw his character and listen to the soundtrack while he waited. That was almost like getting to play.

Roman pulled out the wheeled desk chair and opened up his sketchbook. He couldn't fully remember what his character looked like, but he would take some creative liberties, anyway. Roman put on his headphones and found some music to get into the zone. Just a few songs to let Virgil finish in the bathroom. He still had some time. It was only just before 9 o'clock. Roman got into drawing and let things drop away while he focused.

A knock came at his door. "Hey, Roman, lights out, it's already past 10:30," Thomas said through the door. Roman looked up from his sketchbook and checked his phone. He cursed under his breath. He hadn't gone to shower yet, and he needed one after two runs.

"Um, okay," Roman said back, heading to his drawers to grab some pajamas. Roman rushed past Thomas, who was now knocking on Virgil's door into the bathroom. He'd have to speed run this shower. He'd trained for this moment. Roman stripped quickly and grabbed his oral hygiene stuff from the bag, hopping in the shower as soon as he could tolerate the temperature.

"I said go to bed, not take a shower," Thomas called through the bathroom door.

"I'll be quick, I swear," Roman said as clearly as he could through brushing his teeth under the flowing showerhead. Roman got out of the bathroom in 8 minutes, huffing a little as he got into his bedroom.

"Roman, when I ask you to go to bed, it means it's time for bed," Thomas said, sitting on Roman's bed. "Though, I am impressed with how quickly you showered,"

"I'm sorry," Roman mumbled. "I lost track of time,"

"I can tell," Thomas said with a raised eyebrow. "You need to work on your time-management skills,"

"I'm well aware," Roman sighed, putting his clothes in the laundry basket as Thomas stood up off Roman's bed. Thomas raised his hand up to Roman's shoulder, and Roman flinched away from the motion. "Sorry," He murmured. Virgil said they didn't do that. They didn't do that. He was safe. They didn't do that. Roman took a deep breath and looked at Thomas warily. Thomas dropped his hand, looking downtrodden. Roman felt bad for making him feel that way. Roman was the one who fucked up.

"It's okay, good night Roman," Thomas said, passing him to leave the bedroom. He turned off the light and closed the door behind him. The nightlight kicked on and Roman looked to the door in the dim light for another moment, making sure he wasn't coming back, before plugging in his phone and crawling into bed, trying his damnedest to keep his breath even and not freak out.