Roman flopped down on the couch, punching at a throw pillow a few times to fluff it up before leaning on it. Therapy was tiring, even if it was relieving to know that he was doing the breathing thing right. He felt like doing jack shit. Roman didn't want to do his dumb breathing practice or hunt down a journal to use as a dream journal in his spare school garbage. He wanted to sit on the couch and be garbage. Since he was with Virgil, instead of sitting alone with his stupid textbooks and struggling to understand anything, he could justify it as family time. It helped that he was stuck downstairs. Can't just bring his homework down here, no, that's banned. It was quality time with his foster brother. A great excuse.
Virgil was making faces at his phone, perched on the back of the couch with some ancient TV show playing again. It wasn't black and white this time, but it did kind of look like they filmed it with a shoebox. The canned laughter as the nerdy guy talked to his shoe was weird and stifled from the low quality, and it had a kind of haunted feeling. The show was very dated, probably from around the 60s just from the outfits and constant talk of the cold war.
Roman patted the couch to get Virgil's attention. 'Hello fuckface,' Roman signed to him. Virgil gave Roman a half-hearted wave. 'The laugh-track are ghosts,' Roman didn't quite know how to word it with the ASL vocabulary he had and hoped the message came across. Virgil just glared at him for a moment until he looked back at the TV and the realization dawned on his face. He faced Roman again with an amused grin.
'When you die you join the eternal laugh-track for your sins,' Virgil signed back with a silent laugh shaking him. Roman snickered and turned to face the TV, watching the male lead bumble about while the female lead was perfectly competent. It was a little surprising from a show that was obviously deeply dated. It didn't seem like Roman had to think to watch it, so he could pull out his phone and veg for a bit.
He kicked off his shoes to pull his feet up on the couch and fought to get his phone out of his pocket as he tucked a foot under himself. It was not the ideal order to do things, but Roman was too stubborn and pushed forward with fighting his phone out of a bent pocket. He got it out with a small smile and leaned back, just to get a shoe chucked at him. Roman looked up in surprise, seeing the black sneaker on the ground and looking around to see who threw it. Virgil waved at him while he scanned around, but it took a second to register that it was Virgil's shoe. Oh. Roman felt a little dumb.
'How did your punch beat a kid bigger than you?' Virgil signed, turning to face Roman. Roman paused, glancing to make sure Thomas stayed settled at his desk and not watching them.
'Technique is important,' Roman replied when he was sure Thomas wouldn't be paying attention.
'Could you teach me?' Virgil asked, looking remarkably sincere compared to his normal demeanor.
'We would have to practice,' Roman bit his lip and motioned with his head towards Thomas, and then pointed at his rib after signing. Virgil stared at Roman for a moment, thinking, but then yanked out his phone and started typing with both thumbs. Was it something Virgil didn't know how to sign? Roman looked at his phone, but after Virgil finished typing, he didn't get a message. Maybe Virgil just took it as a no. Roman shrugged and pulled up Twitter for some nice mindless scrolling to this old spy show.
Virgil got up off the couch and bent down to pick up his shoe from the floor in front of Roman, poking his knee with the toe of the shoe and showing his phone screen. It was a text conversation with a 'Dorkmas'. The texts were Virgil asking for a punching bag and the responder agreed right away to put one in the garage. Thomas, then. Wow. That was disturbingly easy. Virgil grinned and threw up the horns.
'I'll teach you, then,' Roman signed, and Virgil pumped his fist and hopped back up on the couch, climbing back up to the top and laying down on it to watch TV. Okay, then. That was a thing. At least they didn't have to punch each other or a wall to practice.
Roman shrugged and looked back down at his phone. It was always nice to get to use his usually cursed skills for good. Well, maybe Virgil would not use it for good, but he understood the desire as a foster kid to be able to defend himself. So it was probably more of a comfort thing? He hoped it was, anyway.
He was more perplexed by the sudden purchase of a punching bag. Could they really just ask for anything high-dollar and get it with no consideration from Thomas? Exercise equipment is expensive. And he was kind of glad Virgil asked for it, in general, because having a thing to punch that wasn't human when he really wanted to punch something sounded nice. He didn't prefer giving in to that side of himself, though.
Roman frowned and let out a small huff. He needed to use his energy 'productively'. People were always telling him that. Beating up a padded sandbag for his stupid anger issues probably wasn't productive. He should study or something. He technically had homework to do right now. But he didn't want to do any of it. He was fucking exhausted by everything that happened this week. Roman was forcing himself to do so much that he just didn't have the energy right now. He knew he needed to get to it later. Roman knew that when he fell behind even a little, it took weeks of work to catch up. But he just couldn't get himself off the couch to gather his homework.
The social media feed and the show were a pleasant distraction, though. Roman ran his gloved fingers over a ridge on the couch with one hand and reading his phone with the other, keeping the phone in the eye-line of the TV so he can watch and listen to the stupid spy show. Roman slid comfortably into the zone, episodes zipping by. He had melted down into the couch, his head sagged, his foot sticking out and leaning against the corner. He didn't really feel like he was absorbing most of what he was seeing, but he felt profoundly relaxed.
Virgil appeared to be in a similar half-conscious state on the other part of the couch. He was lying on top of the couch on his stomach, watching the TV screen with his phone in his hands. He didn't appear to be both on his phone and watching the show at the same time like Roman, but switching between the two. Virgil also sagged in exhaustion, with a melancholy look on his face. He smiled at the show sometimes, but it seemed to make him sad. Either that or Virgil was just sad today, which Roman could get behind if he wasn't too tired to feel things.
Roman's phone went off with the wind chime noise to remind him to do his breathing exercise. He groaned quietly and fell down to the side, lying down on the couch. He attracted a confused look from Virgil, but he didn't care enough to ask and returned to the show. Just a little. Today Picani said even if Roman couldn't start something he didn't want to do, he could just chip away a tiny bit and things would get easier with time. Just… one deep breath and then he can say he tried even if he forgets until the next alarm. That was good enough.
The feeling of exhaling actually felt kind of nice this time, and Roman wasn't as mad at it. His shoulders were a little looser and the couch a bit cozier when he was done. He still didn't feel like doing anymore, though. Roman angled his head and returned his focus on not focusing on anything and just letting things pass through his head.
"Evenin' boys!" Patton greeted them as he closed the front door, Lita jumping around at his feet with excitement. Roman and Virgil both waved to him at the same time, not looking away from their screens. "Lazy evening? Sounds great," Patton responded happily and squatted down to pet Lita, who spun in circles under Patton's hand, basically petting herself. Was Roman being lazy? Probably. He was putting off his work and won't even do his dumb breathing exercises.
"Missed you." Thomas came out of his office to give Patton a hug while Lita bolted around their feet. "Are you taking Lita out tonight, or shall I?" He kissed Patton's cheek and leaned down to pet Lita's head.
"I'll take her out. You should watch… What is that? Get Smart? Watch Get Smart with the boys, you've been glued to that computer for days." Patton held Thomas's shoulders with a small affectionate smile.
Thomas leaned around Patton to look at the TV in confusion. "Virgil, where are you finding these old shows?" He asked incredulously. Virgil didn't even acknowledge Thomas, staring pointedly at the screen.
"Go on, that's enough responsibility out of you. I'll cook something simple." Patton shoved Thomas towards the couch, but he stumbled and stopped.
"You've been working all day, too," Thomas looked suspiciously at Patton.
Patton held up his hands and shook his head. "I'm fine. It was a laid-back day. Just a bunch of check-ups. I played Lemmings on my workstation between appointments," Patton smiled, getting that concerned look he often wore around Roman.
"Where did you find Lemmings? Someone would tell me if we time traveled, right?" Thomas looked around in confusion.
"I also played Oregon Trail, and you died of typhoid." Patton looked much more amused, pushing Thomas towards the couch again.
"Of course I did." Thomas's shoulders sagged dramatically, and he actually walked over to the couch this time. He deposited himself in the middle of the couch, in between the existing layabouts.
"If it makes you feel any better, I died of dysentery. I lost about halfway down the trail," Patton chuckled, walking towards the kitchen. Well, now Roman was curious about the rest of his party. Roman and Virgil were both looking expectantly at Patton. Patton kept walking, but he seemed to notice that they were staring at him when Roman sat up to look behind the couch, following Patton's path to the kitchen. "What?" He looked between the both of them. "Oh!" Patton laughed one of those dad laughs that moved his whole chest. "Virgil died of a snakebite and Roman died of drowning." He shook his head with a small chuckle before stepping into the kitchen. Huh. Roman thought it would be Patton's friends and not them. He turned back around to face the TV.
'Snakebite is a bullshit death,' Virgil signed with a bitter look on his face before turning back to the TV. Roman hadn't played Oregon Trail in years. An old library he used to frequent had it on the computers and he was just bored enough to try it. It was an old game, then. Roman was also kind of curious about where he found these old games now. He'd never even heard of Lemmings.
"I don't suppose Oregon Trail is on the laptop?" Roman asked Thomas curiously, glancing around the living room for it. It was such a simple game he could easily play it without missing the show.
"No, I have absolutely no idea where he got a hold of that," Thomas leaned back to glance in the kitchen's direction. "But I got some software you might like. It emulates traditional art tools." Thomas got up from the couch and disappeared into his office for a second, coming back out with the laptop and handing it off to Roman.
"I don't think I know how to draw with a touchpad mouse." Roman scrunched his face, trying to imagine doing that at all. Thomas paused for a moment and pulled the laptop back out of Roman's hands. He folded it back and pulled a stylus out of the side.
"It converts to a tablet. Sorry, I guess I forgot to mention that." Thomas passed both items back to Roman again. Roman immediately dropped his phone on the couch and shifted to hold the tablet/laptop on his legs. He tapped the screen with the stylus and the mouse followed. "It's on the desktop." Thomas sat down next to Roman and pushed the program with his finger, selecting it on the screen. Roman opened it right away to see what it was like. "I thought you'd like to try out other stuff while the markers came in the mail." Thomas smiled and leaned back against the couch, kicking out his feet to stretch them. "What'd I miss this episode?"
"KAOS is trying to convince Maxwell's friends he's crazy to discredit him in a court case," Roman answered distractedly, more interested in all the art tools and paper textures the program had. There were so many options, it was almost overwhelming.
"Villains never change, huh?" Thomas made an amused noise then turned to watch the TV, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest loosely. Virgil watched Roman nervously for a moment before returning to the TV himself, but Roman was too interested in seeing what the computer could do. He'd never had the opportunity to play with an art program like this before.
Roman did a few warm-up sketches to get used to the pen, just trying out the various tools. He made squiggles in watercolour paint, x's in coloured pencil, and a bunch of parallel lines in oil paint, having fun with seeing what it could do. Roman had eventually made at least one mark in every tool available, and he felt satisfied enough with the program to actually try to draw in it. He wasn't sure what to draw, though. Roman glanced around the room, looking for inspiration.
The room was still, other than Virgil slowly kicking his feet in the air as he laid on his stomach on the top of the plush couch and the TV show. The bookshelves didn't have as many decorations as in the master bedroom, and the art up on the wall was abstract. There wasn't anything popping out at Roman right away, so he kept scanning the room.
Thomas's eyelids were half-open, and he looked like he was falling asleep to the sitcom, which was kind of funny. He just sat down… Roman glanced at the clock. Okay, so it wasn't just a few minutes ago. Maybe Thomas was overworking himself, as Patton implied. Roman didn't think twice about how much Thomas spent on the computer. Thomas told him when they met he was normally in his office, so it didn't seem odd. And Thomas had the gall to sass Roman in the past about taking healthy breaks. Dork.
Sketching Thomas as he fell asleep on the couch seemed enticing enough. Thomas's hair had a fly-away that was out and proud and the position he dozed in didn't look comfortable in the slightest, but he was falling asleep, anyway. The whole scene was wholesome and goofy. Thomas's floral shirt scrunched up as he slowly slipped down the couch and Thomas's eyes closed fully by the time Roman finished the base sketch. Roman didn't feel up to lining it, so he just played with the brushes to colour a layer behind the sketch, since blending colours in the program was very satisfying.
Roman wasn't ready to finish playing with the program yet, so he added Virgil to the canvas, too. Drawing him as human felt wrong, though, so he gave Virgil a few demonic features with stretched-out limbs. Thomas was lackluster next to boogeyman Virgil, so Roman turned him into an angel by resting some wings on the couch and an off-center halo. It gave a reason for stretchy-Virgil to not be lying on the couch properly, unlike human-Virgil. Roman never figured out if Virgil was allergic to sitting normally or what. Roman had gotten into the habit of watching TV under his bed, so he was in no place to judge, but he was curious if there was a real reason.
"Dinner!" Patton called from the kitchen, shaking Roman from staring curiously at Virgil while adding more rips and tears to the sketch's outfit from where the jutting-out parts would get damage from slipping it on. Roman saved his progress and closed up the laptop when Virgil hopped off the couch and shoved his hands in his hoodie to trudge to the kitchen.
Thomas was still asleep, and Roman wasn't sure what to do. Patton would want him to come to dinner, but waking up a guardian never played out favourably for him in the past. But would he get in trouble for not waking him up? Making Patton come do it when he cooked dinner seemed just as bad. Roman chewed his lip for a moment, keeping his hand on the closed warm laptop next to him. Thomas probably wouldn't… would he? He'd never… Fuck it. Roman was sick of considering it.
Roman tapped Thomas's shoulder twice, and he snorted and twitched with his whole body, waking up in surprise. He looked around and blinked a few times, possibly because his brain hadn't caught up yet. Roman shifted back and held his arm, not sure if he messed up.
"Huh?" Thomas's entire face broke into a yawn. "What's up, Roman?" He asked, sitting up and adjusting his shirt.
"Patton said it's dinnertime," Roman replied quietly and pointed to the kitchen.
"Oh, thanks," Thomas chuckled lightly and yawned once more, then stood up and stretched out. Roman leaned further back, watching the scene unfold carefully. He wasn't sure if he was in trouble yet or not. Thomas's back cracked audibly, and he walked around the couch to the kitchen without another look. Roman let out the breath he was accidentally holding and sagged in relief.
Roman followed Thomas to the kitchen a moment after to join them for dinner. It smelled good in the kitchen. It seemed to be some kind of mushroom cream sauce, chicken, and pasta. Patton's best stuff was all pasta-based, so it was probably going to be good, too. It smelled a little weird, but not enough to put him off his food. From the look of it, the odd smell was steamed broccoli, which just smelled bad.
There was already a place setting and a glass of water in the remaining empty spot, and Roman sat down and waited for everyone else to be done to get himself a serving like he normally did. There was a quiet clattering of dishes while everyone served themselves. Virgil was still on his phone while he started eating, but Patton and Thomas said nothing to stop him. Thomas only watched Roman expectantly as he served himself some food. He wasn't starving, or anything, so he didn't feel like eating a ton. He was mostly a little numb and still sidetracked by what he was drawing. Some edits ate at him in his head as he sat back with a full-enough plate and started eating.
Patton looked around the table with interest as everyone ate. "How would my three favourite people feel about a bike ride after dinner?" He asked curiously, stabbing at some firm broccoli without eating it. Roman did not know who Patton's friends even were, so he just ignored the question. Thomas could probably answer that. He enjoyed some garlicky pasta instead, thinking about what else he could draw. There was a watercolour function that Roman wanted to play with. It made everything look magical.
Roman's brain drifted to daydreaming about drawing while he ate, not paying any attention to the conversation. He only focused just enough to continue eating his food, which he chewed automatically. Some kind of fae haven? And underwater grotto? That would be fun to make on Minecraft. Oh, he could paint a build from Minecraft. He normally drew characters, but the fun tools made him want to play more with backgrounds. He liked the idea of designing some fantasy fish and maybe sneaking some merpeople into the background.
Do the merpeople eat the fantasy fish or are they related? Fish eat other fish, and all. Well, there are those massive whales that just eat krill and stuff. Or they could be vegetarian and eat seaweed. That was a boring diet. But if Roman got attached to the fish he drew, he wouldn't want the merpeople to eat them. He wondered what else they could eat. Maybe they just absorb nutrients from the water.
"Roman?" Patton knocked on the table and Roman jumped, stabbing his fork into the plate with a loud clink. He looked at Patton with wide eyes. "Sorry, kiddo!" Patton looked like he was repressing a smirk, and Roman fought back a glare.
"What?" Roman asked in a much more curt tone than intended.
"I asked if you wanted to ride to the cat café after dinner and get some cocoa," Patton repeated for Roman's benefit. Roman didn't quite process what Patton said, only really recognizing the word 'cat'. Mercats sounded enchanting…
"We don't have bikes for you two yet, so you'll have to ride in the tow-behind together," Thomas added on to Patton's, looking at Roman curiously. Underwater fluff demons sounded amazing. Roman wanted to draw mercats. He wondered what tool would be best for underwater floating fur. Furry mertails! Roman smiled and leaned back, thinking about new ways to draw merpeople.
"I think we lost him again," Patton stated mildly. Roman waved his hand and hummed noncommittally, leaning forward on his elbow to continue eating dinner while he was lost in his fantasies.