Virgil couldn't find his hoodie.
He needed his hoodie.
But Thomas needed him.
The tugging at his shoulders grew more and more intense the more he searched.
He couldn't even find his old hoodie.
Patton probably has it in his room.
But Virgil hesitated, he couldn't just go into Patton's room. If Patton was there, he'd see exactly what he was trying to hide. But even if he wasn't, he wouldn't want someone going in his room when he wasn't around.
But he had to go, if he didn't go now, the others might think he ducked out again.
He settled on crossing his arms tight to his chest and ducking his head.
He rose up into Thomas's living room in the midst of a fight between Roman and Logan about one of Roman's ideas.
It didn't take him long to realize it was about Valentine's day.
Roman wanted to do some kind of grand gesture for Nico and Logan thought that his ideas were impractical and too "extra".
Virgil was glad that they were distracted, but he still didn't know why he was summoned.
He cleared his throat loudly and Patton's face lit up when he saw him.
"Virgil! Glad to see you kiddo, we were getting a little worried."
He shrugged in response and the attention returned to the argument.
Virgil did not attempt to get their attention again.
Logic was the first to notice.
"You aren't wearing either of your hoodies." It was more of a statement than a question, but Logan was clearly confused.
He shrugged, "I couldn't find them."
"It's weird seeing you without it, you look so much smaller without a hood to hide behind." Roman remarked, clearly teasing.
"You do look smaller than usual." Thomas commented, agreeing with Roman.
"That would be due to his hunched shoulders and crossed arms. It's slightly unusual behavior for even him and it's an obvious sign that he's hiding something." Logan replied, before adding offhandedly, "Either that or he's simply cold."
Patton took the latter statement as a personal insult and immediately took the cat hoodie off his shoulders and threw it at Virgil, who didn't even try to catch it as it fell short.
"I'm fine." He insisted. "Can we please just focus on the problem? I don't even know why you summoned me here, this is clearly a Roman/Logan problem."
Patton looked disbelieving towards both statements, but didn't push it, and instead focused on retrieving his hoodie.
"Well, this is about Nico, and we thought you might have your own opinion on the matter considering we would have never taken the chance without you." Thomas explained.
Virgil ducked his head to hide the blush that flushed his cheeks.
"Whatever, I don't really care what you do, just don't mess it up." He began to sink out when Logan stopped him.
"That was surprisingly passive, especially coming from you."
"Yeah, are you sure you're ok?" Thomas asked with growing concern.
He felt frustrated that his attempt to get away had only served to bring full attention to himself.
Virgil could feel his anxiety growing the longer he stayed here without his hoodie.
"I'm gonna go try to find my hoodie again, you keep debating, or whatever."
"You didn't answer Thomas's question, Virge." Roman replied.
Virgil whipped his head around to look directly at Roman, surprised to hear him use his nickname instead of coming up with a "creative" one.
"If you're cold, you can just borrow my hoodie, kiddo. At least until we find your hoodie." Patton offered.
"We?" Virgil asked, unable to keep the panic from his voice, revealing to the others how anxious he was.
"Well, sure. We're just about done here, right?" Patton replied, looking between Logic and Creativity.
"I will admit I was being a little overzealous, I just really wanted to do something special for him." Roman admitted.
"And I will admit that I may have been a little too unenthusiastic. Of course we should do something special." Logic replied.
"You both do realize we still have three weeks to think about it, right?" Thomas added, looking between the two.
"Obviously, I just wanted to make sure we knew what we were doing so we wouldn't procrastinate and put it off until the last minute so we'd be inevitably forced to get something last-minute and impersonal." Roman answered, the words rushing out in a panic.
"Don't worry about it kiddo, Logan will never let that happen." Patton reassured.
"It's true, I would never let such an important occurrence slip my mind."
Roman looked visibly more relieved at hearing this information and relaxed before turning to hand Virgil the sweater Patton had handed him.
"But this is your cat sweater, you don't want me to wear it. What if I mess it up?" Virgil asked, not moving to take the sweater from Roman.
"It's only for a little while, it'll be fine. I'll start looking in my room, I don't know why it would be in there but at the very least I can pick up your old hoodie while I'm there."
Patton sank out before anyone could tell anything, even if they wanted to.
"And I shall check the common room, because there is no reason for anything even remotely yours to be in my room." Roman added, just chucking the sweater at Virgil before sinking out.
This time Virgil caught it and quickly hugged it to his chest, not ready to put it on when others were around.
"Right, now that we've taken care of that for the time being, I shall check the laundry room for Virgil's hoodie because it's the most obvious place that it could be."
Logan sank out, leaving Virgil alone with Thomas.
"Before you go, are you ok, Virgil?"
He hesitated before answering with, "I will be." And then he sank out.
After returning to his room to put the cat hoodie on in private, he searched his room again, only to find it unsuccessful. Again. He decided to head to the common room in order to help Roman with his search.
The fanciful side couldn't help but laugh, seeing the "Gloomy Gus" in such an adorable garment.
Virgil chose to ignore his reaction and continue his search.
When Patton joined them a few moments later, (sadly, he was empty handed) he too made a comment about how adorable he was.
This led to them comparing him to a cat.
"Think about it, he sits anywhere, whether it is or is not a chair, he prefers to nap rather than sleep at night like a normal person, his first reaction to something that he doesn't like or finds overwhelming is to hiss at it..."
"Yes, he does seem to have many qualities in common with felines." Logan added, as he walked in holding Virgil's hoodie. "Also, I was right. Patton must have put it in the wash last night."
"Oh, you're right!"
"Isn't that what I just said?"
"I mean, I did put it in the wash last night. I completely forgot about it. Sorry kiddo." Patton explained as Virgil hastily took his hoodie back.
"It's fine, just warn a guy next time you go washing his belongings, ok?"
Patton nodded and opened his mouth to speak before being interrupted by Logan.
"Why do you wear a hoodie all the time. Thomas's apartment has more than adequate central heating and air. There is no reason to be cold."
Virgil froze.
"Now Logan, don't go asking questions Virgil clearly does not feel like answering." Patton scolded the logical side. "However, I will need my hoodie back, it's weird not having the weight resting on my shoulders."
Virgil nodded. "I'll be right back." He escaped to his room to change before anyone could protest.
He found Patton in the kitchen preparing dinner when he returned to give him his hoodie back.
Both Logan and Roman were nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, Patton?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you need some help cooking dinner?"
The fabric softener made his scars itch.
He tried not to scratch, but it itched.
He had ended up absentmindedly scratching at his scars all night, and when morning came he felt them burning, but he put off checking them until after he finished helping Patton with breakfast.
Only after he had retreated to the safety of his room did he dare push back his sleeves.
The scars were flushed and raw.
Some of the most recent were split open and quite possibly infected.
He pushed his sleeves back down and chose to ignore the "superficial" injuries.
Throughout the day he kept catching himself absentmindedly scratching and he felt the inside of his sleeves sticking to the open wounds.
Still, he continued to ignore it because tending to his wounds would remind him of memories he would rather not have.
Eventually, he didn't even notice the itch anyway.
Like a Week Later or Something
Virgil sat on the couch in the common room, headphones on, listening to music and basically just vibing.
He saw Logan walk into the room and mime taking headphones off.
Virgil paused his music for a moment to listen to what the logical side had to say.
"Are you suffering from an allergic reaction to the new fabric softener as well?"
"Am I what?"
"I noticed that you have been scratching your arms quite a bit since we changed fabric softeners. Roman has complained of a rash as well."
"Oh," Virgil muttered, forcing himself to stop scratching again, "I guess I have."
"How curious, neither Patton nor I have suffered from such symptoms. Perhaps it has something to do with heightened sensitivities. Roman does complain of sensitive skin quite often. You yourself have never verbally expressed such concerns before so I must ask, do you know why you might be suffering from an adverse reaction to the change in fabric softening solutions?"
"Uhh…"
"Perhaps you suffer from eczema? I did notice you cover your arms up all of the time."
Virgil hesitated, he could lie, and most likely get caught, or he could tell the truth and cause the other sides to panic and worry.
He bit his lip, unsure.
Logan noticed his hesitation, "Or perhaps it is something else? Scar tissue can be sensitive, although I see no reason for you to have scars in such a place as your… arms…" Logan trailed off, choosing not to pursue that train of thought. "Never mind, Roman insists we change back anyway so you shouldn't have to worry about it for much longer."
Logan immediately turned to leave, but Virgil stopped him, asking, "Are you going to tell the others?"
Logan turned to look Virgil directly in the eyes and said, "That secret is yours to tell. However, I would stop scratching them, you're going to reopen and inflame them."
Virgil's face flushed and he looked away.
"Guessing by your reaction, that has already occurred, hasn't it?"
Virgil nodded.
"At least tell me you're taking proper care of them."
Virgil rubbed the back of his neck guiltily.
Logan sighed. "Meet me in my room in 15 minutes, and bring the first aid kit."
Virgil opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly shut up by Logan, who insisted that he would have no choice but to tell the others if he refused.
And that's how he found himself sitting on Logan's bed when Roman walked in.
Judging by his reaction, he was not expecting anyone to be in the room, much less Virgil.
However, Roman's surprise quickly turned to irritation.
"What are you doing in here?!"
"I could ask you the same question."
"I was just borrowing Logan's thesaurus." The fanciful side retorted, grabbing the heavy book from the desk in the corner of the room.
As he did so, he noticed the first aid kit sitting on the bed next to him.
"Are you injured?" Roman asked, concerned.
"Uhh… no?"
This was, apparently, the wrong answer.
"What foul creature has dared to harm you? I shall slay them for you."
"I'm fine, Roman, seriously. I just had a bad reaction to the new fabric softener."
"You too? My skincare routine is positively ruined. I wouldn't have guessed it would bother you, though."
Roman's gaze traveled to Virgil's arm, where he had been absentmindedly scratching again.
He forced himself to stop, but it was too late.
Roman had pieced it together.
Logan had chosen that exact moment to walk into the room as everything came to a standstill.
Logan, in the doorway, no doubt figuring out exactly what was going on.
Roman, by the desk, shocked silent by his realization.
And Virgil, sitting on the bed, on the verge of a panic attack.
After a moment that felt like it lasted hours, Logan stepped forward to explain.
But as soon as Virgil saw his opening, he ran.
He could hear voices calling after him but he ignored them as he raced into his room and locked the door.
He flung himself onto his bed and let the tears fall.
It wasn't until he woke up that he realized he had fallen asleep.
He felt groggy and sticky from sleeping in his clothes.
He also felt really warm, which was strange for him.
He rolled out of bed and found he was unable to stand.
He fell to the floor and couldn't get up.
He tried calling out for help but his throat was dry and voice hoarse.
He began to panic, wondering if they would find him in time, or ever.
Minutes bled into hours and he began to lose all hope.
From where he lay on the floor, he could clearly see the time on his alarm clock and he was forced to watch the hours slip by.
He heard the other sides pass his door, but they never slowed, never stopped.
Virgil knew that it was all his fault, the reason he was in this situation was because he kept everyone away.
If he had just been more open and let people get to know him, then someone would have bothered to check up on him.
It was hours before help came in the form of Thomas summoning him.
His head was turned away from the others when he appeared so he couldn't see their reactions, but he heard someone ask if he was dead.
He couldn't tell who, it was all muddled.
But he did hear Logan's reply.
"He is most likely just ignoring us. However, we should be able to continue without him."
Virgil tried to say something, anything, but all that came out was a grunt.
"See, he clearly agrees, now…"
Logan's words became muddled as Virgil began to lose consciousness.
He vaguely heard someone calling his name before he was shaken roughly awake.
"Don't fall asleep on us now, kiddo."
Patton.
He tried to say something, but once again, failed.
"He's burning up, Logan."
"We have to do something."
Roman.
He figured the others must have given him a look because he added, "We can't lose him, we all know what happens without him. The Yerkes-dodson curve and all that."
And then it all went dark.
Over the next few weeks or days or however long it was, Virgil only got blurry images of concerned faces hovering over him.
He always felt so drowsy and couldn't clear his head.
He couldn't move or speak or even hear that well.
His sleep felt empty, without dreams or nightmares.
But finally, he woke with a clear head.
Looking around, he realized he was in Logan's room, not his own, and he wasn't wearing any pajamas, just his boxers and a thin blanket.
The room was cold, very cold, and his body shivered fiercely, despite his being soaked with sweat.
Dimly, from a deep corner of his mind, he realized his fever must have broken, waking him up.
His throat felt dry and scratchy, and though he tried to call out, he (unsurprisingly) found he couldn't.
Panic stirred inside him, the situation all too familiar.
His fears were cut short, though, when Logan came to check on him.
When the moral side saw that he was awake, he rushed to his side.
"Good, you're awake. We were beginning to think that you might never wake. However, it appears that we've finally managed to break that nasty fever of yours." The usually emotionless side smiled, "I believe the worst has passed and from here, you can only get better."
He tried to speak, to thank him, but his sore throat prevented him from doing so.
Logan saw this and moved to pour the anxious side some water from the pitcher on the nightstand.
Virgil wasn't strong enough to hold the glass himself, so the logical side held the glass to his lips and let him drink.
He shivered, his body wracking with the cold.
"I know it's not comfortable, but we need to make sure your temperature won't rise back up again."
Virgil nodded and forced himself into an upright position, his arms aching with the effort.
He pulled the blanket up so that it covered most of his chest and sat back, exhausted from the task.
"Your fever might have broken, but I believe the expression is "you are not out of the woods yet"."
Virgil laughed weakly, before replying hoarsely, "Sounds about right."
Several days of recovery later, he was finally able to leave the logical facet's room.
He was not however, allowed to wear his hoodie, mainly due to the fact that the bandages on his arms concealed very tender wounds, and the act of putting on his jacket caused him too much pain.
This meant that he was unable to conceal his secret, although his scars were not so secret anymore, after causing everyone so much trouble.
Needless to say, the other sides, and Thomas, wanted to talk with him about that very thing.
The conversation hadn't been easy, and tears were shed from all parties involved, but in the end he felt that he'd grown closer to his fellow sides.
Oh, and they most definitely changed back to their original fabric softener.
A/N: Well that took an ungodly amount of time to complete for absolutely no reason whatsoever. But it's finally finished and I really do hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it, leave a comment and if you didn't, go ahead and comment too if you want. As always, take it easy, guys, gals and nonbinary pals. Peace out!