Oh my god this chapter kicked my butt. Enjoy the 1,830 words of pure struggle.

——

"He... he thinks I did what?" Patton cried out, hugging everything he had just acquired from their room to his chest. "But I— why- did, do you think— is he okay?" Patton finally stammered our, tears streaming down his face as he stared at Logan.

Logan sighed, adjusting his glasses, "I.. I do not believe so. Somebody has obviously ...assaulted him terribly and he has been led to believe that it is someone he considers a friend. It seems obvious that his life is not one consisting of safety or consent so it is very possible the deep physiological trauma he seems to suffer from has caused him to project you onto his abuser or attacker, in hopes that it will hurt less if done by you, someone who has shown him care and comfort,"

"Oh," Patton breathes out, tearing up once more, "That's— that's so terrible Lo, you— you really think—" Logan cut Patton off by holding his hand up, moving it to squeeze Patton's shoulder once he had stopped.

"Unfortunately, I was not finished." Patton just nodded, swallowing hard. "There is also the possibility his attacker noticed your recent connection, and led Virgil to believe they were actually you. I... I am also worried that there was magic involved... dark magic."

"You could smell it too?" Patton said, eyes wide.

Logan deflated a little, "Yes and, as I suspected, you seemed to have noticed it also, leading me to believe that this was not Virgil's mind, using your image as a coping mechanism but rather, someone involved with dark magic. I still wonder who would be so— so jealous of your relationship that they use magic to ruin that. Not to mention, who has access to that kind of magic here?"

"Um," Patton started, eyes wide, "I... I think I know but, V didn't want me to tell anyone..." Patton frowned, not meeting Logan's eyes.

"Patton," Logan said, slightly exasperated: curse Patton's bleeding heart, even now, he was attempting to help Virgil. "I understand that you do not want to break his trust, but we need to get to the bottom of this before he begins to feel worse." Patton still looked hesitant, not looking Logan in the eyes. Logan sighed, running his hand down his face, "Would it make you feel better if you were to ask Virgil?"

Patton perked up a little, nodding, "Sounds great, Logie!" He chirped, walking towards the door.

"Patton," Logan said, Patton turning to face him when he heard the serious tone Logan had used, "Be careful. He's..." Logan trailed off, struggling to find the right word.

Patton's smile turned sad as he looked into Logan's eyes, "I know." He said somberly.

——

"So," Roman started, the silence after Logan had left the room deafening, "You come here often?" he asked lightly, raising his eyebrow dramatically. Virgil stared at him silently, blinking. "Oh come on!" Roman said, "Nothing?" Virgil raised his eyebrows as he tilted his head slightly, almost looking amused. Roman narrowed his eyes as he looked at Virgil, "Oh come on Hot Topic, give me something!"

"Aw," Virgil said, voice quiet and gravely, "You think I'm hot."

Roman spluttered, having not expected to lose in his own game, "How rude!" He lamented, placing the back of his hand against his forehead as he softly fell back on the bed, making his actions as over-dramatic as possible in an effort to let Virgil know he wasn't being serious.

It was quiet for a few second before Virgil attempted to shift in place at the head of the bed and gasped, breathing turning shallow. "Woah," Roman said, standing up from the bed and moving to stand by Virgil's side, "hold on V, don't hurt yourself." Roman reached out to grab Virgil, but hesitated when the boy before him flinched, hands hovering in the air, "I..." Roman started, before clearing his throat and starting again, "Can I touch you V?" Virgil looked unsure, swallowing hard. Roman melted a little at his hesitation, smiling softly, "You can say no, of course!" Roman said happily, despite how painful the thought of not being able to help V was.

"...yes." Virgil graveled out quietly, hands clenched in his lap.

Roman was concerned at the hesitance in Virgil's voice, so he made sure to move slowly, proceeding to ask permission whenever moving his touch. Eventually, after softly grabbing above Virgil's elbow and moving his other hand to support Virgil's head, Roman had maneuvered Virgil so he was sitting up against the headboard of the bed. "Good?" Roman questioned, hands still hovering around Virgil. The boy before him grunted, nodding as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, breathing out deeply. "Okay!" Roman exclaimed, pulling his hands away from Virgil and setting them on his own hips. The two stayed silent for a moment, the awkwardness slowly creeping into the atmosphere, "Um—" Roman started, clearing his throat, only to be interrupted with a knock on the door, "Come in!" He called, flashing Virgil a small smile as the door began to creep open, revealing Logan and Patton, the former holding various items. Logan nodded to Virgil, making his way inside the room and putting everything in his arms down on the couch. Patton remained in the doorway, rocking on his heels as he fiddled with the cardigan tied around his shoulders.

"Can Patton enter the room, V?" Logan asked, walking to stand over by Roman.

"Um," Virgil started, eyes darting between the three, "sure, I guess." He grumbled, wrapping an arm around his stomach. Logan gestured for Patton to walk forward, stopping him before he could get too close to Virgil.

Patton cleared his throat, smiling, "Hey kiddo!" He said, tone betraying his nervousness, "Logan told me about what uh, what you said happened," Patton glanced over to his partners, unsure. Logan just nodded, placing a hand on Roman's shoulder and squeezing. Virgil raised an eyebrow, face remaining neutral. "We, uh, also talked about how we noticed the smell of... magic?" Roman's head snapped up from where he had been looking at his and Logan's feet.

"Magic!" Roman exclaimed, eyes wide. His yelling causing the others to stare at him.

"Roman." Logan said sternly, gripping his shoulder a little harder.

"Right, sorry," Roman said, looking embarrassed. The three turned back to Virgil, who avoided their gazes, knuckles white as he gripped the blanket hard.

"I— I don't know wh-what you're talking about," Virgil stammered unconvincingly.

Patton frowned when hearing the panic in Virgil's voice, "It's okay, honey, I promise." Virgil's breath stuttered in his chest, but he ignored the panic in favor of listening to Patton, "It just made me think.... you said that, the King had magic right?" Roman gasped and Logan inhaled quickly, but neither attempted to interrupt Patton. Virgil just nodded, looking unsure. "Dark magic, right?" Virgil froze, breathing heavily as he looked between Patton, Logan, and Roman.

Suddenly, Logan straightened up, adjusting his glasses, "You think that the King did this." Logan said quickly, "He used his magic to- to shape-shift, or, perhaps, affect V's memory of the event! Patton, you are a genius!" Logan exclaimed. Suddenly he realized how quiet the room had gotten. "Oh," Logan said awkwardly, adjusting his tie, "I apologize for my... outburst. But I agree with Patton. The magic present in this room is much too strong for it to have not been used on you, V."

"Why should I listen to what you have to say?" Virgil huffed, hair falling in his face as he glared at the three. Logan opened his mouth, but stopped. Instead, he turned to look at his two partners, before returning his gaze to Virgil. Logan closed his hands around each other and exhaled slowly, focusing. After a moment, he looked back to Virgil and smiled, before opening his hands.

Resting in Logan's palms was what appeared to be a small galaxy, complete with constellations and planets alike. Virgil's eyes grew wide as he stared at the galaxy. Slowly, Virgil's gaze roamed over the three boys standing in front of him before returning to the image in Logan's hands.

"What— it's—" Virgil cut himself off, transfixed by the image before him.

"Magic." Roman finished wistfully, hooking his chin over Patton's shoulder to watch the illusion Logan held. "Pretty, isn't it," he said, smiling softly at Virgil.

"Okay," Virgil said, shaking his head a little, "Let's say I believe you, which I don't, what happens then?" Patton tilted his head to the side, scrunching his nose as he thought (which Virgil did not find adorable at all)

"Well," Patton started, a small smile on his face, "We would... help you, kiddo. Try to get you out of here, keep you safe, be your friends."

Virgil look surprised, but he quickly schooled his face to return to a neutral look, "I don't need friends. Besides, it's not safe for you guys to be doing that shit."

"Actually," Logan said, adjusting his tie with his, now empty, hands, "The King has expressed his... satisfaction with the payment we have been providing to interact with you. We should have no problem continuing to do so."

Virgil just shook his head, running a hand through his hair roughly, "I can't ask you guys to do that. I don't need, need—" Virgil choked a little, pulling at his hair in frustration.

"Oh, V," Patton said quietly as he, much to Virgil's surprise, began crying, "You, you listen to me, mister!" Patton said sternly despite the tears streaming down his face, "We want to help you! We want to be your friends and friends help friends when, when they need help!" Virgil looked uncomfortable, eye darting between Patton and his own hands. "It's gonna be okay. Just please, please, let us help you kiddo." Patton continued, looking like he was moments away from sobbing, and it was all because of Virgil. All because of Virgil. Virgil stared at Patton, trying to process how his pain could possibly cause another person so much distress. Maybe it was a trick; Another sick mind game for Damien and Remus's amusement. If it was, Virgil decided, the few moments of happiness he had already experienced with the three would make it all worth it.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Virgil forced himself to take a breath. "Okay," he said quickly, staring at his hands. It took a moment for the words to sink in but, once they had, Patton smiled widely, clasping his hands together.

"Yes!" Roman cheered, ignoring Logan's loud sigh at his yell, "You won't regret it V, I promise, oh I've already got so many ideas, we'll be the best friends you could ever ask for, in fact—"

"Hey Princey." Virgil interrupted, smirking. Roman froze, worried he had done something wrong, "My name is Virgil." Roman remained frozen before a moment, before smiling.

"Virgil," Logan repeated, nodding.

"Well Virgil," Patton said, smile so wide it almost looked painful, "Welcome to our family."

Oof. So, there we are. Kinda a filler chapter but it's extremely important for everything happening in the future. Now we can get to the real angst *evil laugh* thanks for the patience and I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading!
-Apollo