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#alip!patton
moraent-keys · 3 years
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I finally finished these and it was really fun! Also sorry for the inconsistencies but between Patton and Virgil there was a gap of time where I did nothing, and I’m still trying to work on my artstyle.
@residentanchor
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Platonic Moxiety in the ALiPverse? Naah, never happens. ;)
This is an idea I’ve had for a while, and it involves the Steven Universe Movie. There is meaning to it and how some of the songs I feel would resonate with Patton specifically. Because you need to know the songs, I never shared this, but I figured for a special occasion ... I can make an exception. 
“Hey, Patton?” Virgil knocked on the bedroom door that was slightly ajar, leaning in close to hear the noise on the other side. 
“Come in.”
Virgil pushed the door open and found Patton on his bed, wrapped up in a blanket. He had a laptop in front of him, but Virgil was more focused on the fact that he seemed to be crying.
“You okay?” Virgil spoke softly, walking in and closing the door behind him. “I heard sniffling.”
Patton nodded and wiped at his eyes a bit, smiling. “Yeah, sorry. I always cry when I watch this movie. It’s a good cry, though!”
“Oh yeah? What movie?” Virgil walked a bit closer and glanced at the laptop screen. 
“Um...” Patton cleared his throat and turned the laptop around, letting Virgil have a better look at the screen. “The Steven Universe Movie?”
The screen showed Steven floating in air, the clouds behind him while he was mid speech, though the movie had been paused. 
Virgil thought back to the movie, since it had been a while since he had seen it himself, but was confident he recognized it. “Is this from the end of the movie?”
Patton nodded and turned the laptop back to him. “Yeah, it’s the song Change. It’s just so nice that he sings about how you can reflect and how they don’t have to fight, ya know?”
“And that makes you so happy that you smile?” Virgil could tell by the forced smile on Patton’s face that he had been incorrect. “You don’t have to tell me. I can leave and you can watch the end of the movie.”
Patton fussed with his blanket a bit before letting out a sigh. Looking up at Virgil, who was still waiting patiently for his cue to leave, he stared back at the screen at Steven’s smiling face as he was mid song. 
“You know how he sings to Spinel that they can talk things out and how if they put in the effort, they can change?” Patton shrugged and leaned back against his pillows. “Just kind of... wish I could have that conversation with my mom. Ya know, if I was brave enough.”
Virgil slowly walked closer to Patton’s bed before stopping at the side of it. “Can I sit?” Patton nodded, not looking away from the screen. He felt the bed dip and shift as Virgil scooted onto it, getting close enough to not slide off the side. “Can I tell you something?”
“You’re gonna tell me I am brave enough, I just need to do it?”
“I was going to say that your mom is a bitch sometimes and nothing like Spinel but that also works.”
Patton gasped and shoved Virgil off the bed, laughing as he heard a yelp followed by a thud as Virgil fell to the floor. “Oww! Patton, why?”
“That’s my mom you’re talking about!”
“I just said she’s not like Spinel!” Virgil’s hand slapped onto the bed as he pushed himself up. “She’s more like White Diamond, but that’s not what I was gonna talk about!”
“White Diamond?” Patton’s brows furrowed as he thought back to the character, immediately seeing the connections Virgil was talking about. “Wait, then what were you going to say?”
Virgil slid back onto the bed, shoving Patton playfully to give him more space so he couldn’t be pushed off again so easily. “That you remind me of a song from this movie. Independent Together.” Virgil nudged Patton a few times with his elbow. “I can just imagine you and the Pals singing all the parts together! It’s like your theme song.”
Patton gasped and a smile broke out onto his face. “Wait, that’s such a good idea! I should do that!”
“Yeah, I know. I’m brilliant.” Virgil grinned, smug about his idea. 
“Oh, wait!” Patton grabbed Virgil’s arm and shook it in excitement. “What’s your favorite song? I bet it’s the villain song, isn’t it?” Virgil looked surprised before looking away bashfully. “Wait, is it not?”
“Don’t laugh...”
“What? What song is it?”
Virgil cleared his throat and glanced at the door before tugging at the sleeves of his hoodie. “Um... Roman came home in a good mood one day and started serenading me with True Kinda Love.”
“Aww, Virgil, that’s so adorable! You’re such a softie!”
“Shut it! Not another word!”
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residentanchor · 4 years
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Probable Theorem Ch. 17
<<Chapter 16 Chapter 17
Summary: We take a moment to follow Patton as he forms a plan. Warnings: Cursing, panic(mild), yelling(mild), kidnapping  Word Count: 10,760 (I honestly don’t know how I did it I’m sorry) Note: There was fan art I commissioned for the last chapter! Check it out if you missed it! Also, this one took a lot of editing. To the point where I might have missed something from reading it so much so lmk if there are any issues.
The entire journey home, Patton could feel Virgil’s emotions bubbling over. 
Anger. Panic. Desperation. It all burned inside Patton, twisting around and mixing with his own feelings so furiously that he could barely tell them apart; a concoction of anger and worry and panic brewing inside, try as he might to quell it. The morning had been quite the ordeal already, and Patton’s racing heart and shallow breaths were making it rather difficult for him to focus on anything.
He had managed the entire journey home by focusing his breathing and sending calming waves out in an attempt to soothe the others. He’d seen Virgil relax enough to make it home, though he was worried about how much his mind was panicking and how deep he would spiral by the end of this. As for Logan? Patton could feel the anxious energy radiating from him, but it was unsettling how calm and collected Logan appeared to be despite that. He seemed to be pushing down his feelings about what had transpired to be the level headed one of the group. Patton couldn’t imagine that was going well for him, but he let it slide for the moment.
Once they made it home, Virgil raced forward to get inside first as Patton felt his anxiety spike. Distance made calming him down near impossible at this point, though, so as Virgil moved further and further away, Patton couldn’t help but start to worry about himself. He’d already been struggling to put himself at ease; trying to send those calming waves to the others at the same time was becoming impossible. By the time they all entered the apartment, Virgil had already begun pacing and Patton couldn’t focus on his thoughts anymore. With all of them now together in private, they finally had a chance to process what happened. 
Roman was gone. Attacked and taken in the early morning despite their best efforts to rescue him. Virgil was stressing over how he had failed Roman. Logan was struggling to hold himself together for both of them. And Patton himself was concerned about what the kidnappers could do to Roman, and what if they were too late to rescue him, and–
“Please step out of the room for a moment while I try to calm down Virgil. Do those breathing practices like you taught me, okay?” Patton looked up to see Logan staring at him distressed. He turned to glance at Virgil who was even more panicked than he was, then back to Logan. 
Nodding, Patton turned and headed for his door without another word, focusing on getting away from the swirl of negative emotions storming in their living room. After accidentally slamming his door behind him, he turned his focus solely to himself and the hurricane of  emotions that had built up from the walk home. The separation between himself and the others seemed to be helping already as he promptly managed to settle his thoughts. As he started counting to himself, he could feel the anger and desperation melt away. Not entirely but enough to be notable. In the silence of his room with the muffled voices barely drifting through his bedroom door, Patton calmed down. It was almost startling how quickly he had managed to clear his thoughts with the distance from the others' emotions. It felt like so long ago since that day he sat down with Logan and discussed the possibility of him being an empath. Now he was nearly an expert on his newer skill.
With a much clearer mind, Patton could relax and gather his thoughts. With a few ideas in mind, he had come up with a plan but he knew that Virgil and Logan wouldn’t approve of it. He didn’t want to lie or hide anything from them, but part of him knew that keeping it secret would motivate him to just do it and get it over with. Patton was convinced that this was their best chance at finding Roman as quickly and as safely as possible. “Sorry, guys…” he mumbled to himself as he shut his eyes, hoping the others wouldn’t notice the flash of light from under his door.
As soon as Two had made his appearance, he looked at Patton and sighed. “You’re sure about this?”
“Well, don’t you think it’s worth a shot?” Patton turned towards his dresser as Two glanced away. “You’ll go with Logan and Virgil and I’ll start getting ready for work.”
“This doesn’t feel right,” Two said, looking at the door. “I don’t like the thought of tricking them like that.”
“I don’t either.” Two heard the sound of ruffling clothes as Patton got changed. “I’ll send Three off to work, so I won’t be lying about that part, at least. And we will be helping them search after! I just…”
Two exhaled from his nose and nodded. “Yeah. I get it. Besides, it’s about time, right? We… will tell them afterward?”
“Of course! By this afternoon I’ll have an answer and we'll tell them everything. It’s just a few hours.” Patton walked up to him, buttoning up his shirt. “Go on, I’m worried about Virgil. I’ll join you in a bit. I should call Roman’s job and let them know he’s not coming in for a few days, too. That’ll give him some time. I’ll just say he’s incapacitated and seeing a doctor or something…” 
Two stayed for a moment, watching as Patton pulled out his phone and searched for the number for Roman’s job. He had the number in case of an emergency and he was glad he had the foresight to ask for it. As Patton began talking to someone on the phone, Two reached for the doorknob and opened it up. “You both alright? Feeling any better, Virge?”
Patton was quick to apologize to the person on the phone  and finished the conversation before hiding it away and walking out into the living room, aware that he would probably be mistaken for Two. “Now, none of that! We need to start making a plan, right?” he said as he adjusted his collar, looking over at Logan. He questioned his boyfriend, taken slightly by surprise at his different attire. 
 “Um… ahem. What’s with the outfit change?”
One thing Patton liked about Two was that he never had to share his plan out loud. The Pals couldn’t read each other's minds, but it was almost just as good. They were always on the same wavelength, their ideas forming almost at the same time. It made sense since they were all connected, he supposed. 
Patton and Two were synchronized as they crossed their arms, berating Virgil for his lack of sleep. Virgil admitted to not getting a proper night’s rest in at least two days but lashed out at the idea of staying back to rest. He was running on fumes and anxiety, a dangerous mix, but couldn’t be stopped. Rebelling against the idea of a nap, Virgil turned and bolted out the front door, Logan following after him.
Two turned to Patton and their eyes met for a brief moment. They both nodded at the same time and Two ran out, shutting the door behind him.
Patton took a moment to celebrate his success. So far, the plan was going flawlessly. Two would spend the day looking for Roman with Logan and Virgil. Patton had some time before he needed to head out himself. He took the opportunity to pace himself and try to make sure everything kept going smoothly.
Another flash of light and there was Three in Patton’s work outfit. Three looked a bit uneasy, but smiled. “And you’re absolutely sure about this?”
“You just have to go to work and focus on that. If anything comes up, you know I’ll have the cell on me. If you need to contact him, Logan should have his. If Logan calls, just try to keep him distracted. I don’t want him to find out until I’ve spoken with her. Everything is fine.”
“Right, right… I’m sorry, I guess I’m just nervous.”
Patton chuckled anxiously. “So am I.”
The two looked at one another for a moment before Three gave a genuine smile. “Though, I am upset I’m not going to be there for that conversation with her.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be filled in on everything tonight.”
“Standing up to her will take a lot, One. I know you can do it. Just be careful with whatever you decide to do after."
Patton smiled at the nickname. “I’ve got this, Three. You go on ahead. I’ll leave in a moment. I have one more thing I need to do first.”
Three understood without another word and readied himself for the day before heading out the door for work. With that, Patton had completed step two.
Now for step three…
Locking up his apartment, Patton stood on the porch and took a moment to breathe. The sun was much higher now; Logan and Virgil had been out for a while. He had eaten and prepared for the most difficult task of them all, but first, there was one more important thing he had to do.
He turned to the other apartment door on the shared porch and knocked, hoping it wasn’t still too early in the morning. After a long moment waiting, he heard footsteps approach as the door cracked open.
Leslie appeared on the other side of the doorway and smiled. “Oh, Patton? Good morning!”
“Good morning, Leslie. I know it’s a bit early, but is Clyde awake yet?”
Leslie seemed confused, but nodded. “Yeah, I just made him breakfast. Is everything okay?”
“I just want to know if I could talk to him in private for a moment?”
Leslie gave a worried look before nodding again. “I’ll go ask him, wait right here.”
Patton felt his heart thudding in his chest as he stood on the porch in silence. This was probably the easiest thing he had to do today and it still had him on edge. After a minute, he heard Clyde groan and stomp down the stairway that led to the apartment door.
Clyde appeared in the doorway with a baggy hoodie on, the hood thrown up over his messy bedhead. “What do you want? It’s stupid early, so someone better be dying!”
Patton nervously chuckled and clapped his hands together. “I mean, I sure hope not! But, uh…” 
Clyde raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms, leaning against the door frame. “I’m listening, but make it quick.”
“Okay, well, I know you’re going to say ‘I told you so’, but Roman sort of…” Patton motioned with his hands as he tried to find a delicate way to share the news.
“Did that idiot get hurt?!” Clyde’s eyes shot open wide as he pushed off of the doorframe. “Is he okay?” Clyde caught himself and tried to appear nonchalant. “I mean, he probably got what he deserved.”
Patton was surprised by Clyde’s genuine concern, even if his neighbor tried to shrug it off. “I mean, he was… but he, um… was sort of taken last night.” Clyde didn’t move or respond to what Patton had said. “We think it was the APC. Anti-Prince Club.”
Finally, after a moment, Clyde huffed out a soft laugh and shook his head. “I knew it! I knew that damned idiot was nothing but trouble! So? Do they know about us, then?”
“I… don’t know. We tried not using powers to rescue him, though we eventually had to as they made their escape. We don’t know what they saw. I just wanted to warn you.” “And hear me say ‘I told you so’. Of course, that moron would be the one! What an idiot! I tried telling you all, but noooo! I’m just a kid, don’t listen to me!” Clyde threw up his arms in frustration.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. We really hoped to avoid all this.” Clyde huffed and crossed his arms again. “Um… well… that’s it. I guess.”
“Yeah, thanks for possibly putting me in danger. If they find out there are more people with powers and they find me, this is on you.”
“I know, Clyde. I really am sorry.” Patton hung his head shamefully. “I try to see the good in the world and sometimes I forget how much that can get me in trouble. But don’t worry!” He smiled and puffed out his chest. “I have a plan. I’ll fix this, just you wait!”
Patton turned to march off before he heard the door creak open wider. “Wait!” He looked over his shoulder and saw Clyde looking a bit uncomfortable and glancing away. “I mean… Look, I may be thinking too much into this, but I have a bad feeling, so..."
“What is it?”
Clyde closed his eyes and the air around him shifted. Soon, he was gone, and instead, the image of a middle-aged man was standing in his place. He seemed friendly, with smile lines on his face and a balding head with a widow’s peak. He had a bushy mustache and a beer gut and overall seemed like an average person Patton would see walking down a street. “If you–sorry. A-hem.” Clyde cleared his throat. “If you see me while trying to rescue Roman…” Clyde’s voice took on a much rougher, scratchier tone. “Don’t trust me, Patton. I’m dangerous, okay? Tell Clyde immediately and don’t let my appearance fool you.”
Patton nodded, still in a bit of shock at Clyde’s blatant display, before the image shifted back. “Who was that?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll… I’ll tell you if you do see him. I’m just being paranoid, but it doesn’t hurt to be overly cautious sometimes, ya know?”
With a nod and a wave, Patton said goodbye to Clyde and began to head out for the most difficult step he had planned so far.
Step four: Time to give his mother a visit.
The entire bus ride to his parent’s house had him on edge. Patton couldn’t help but glance at his phone over and over again. He tried to keep his nerves down and focus on Two and Three, making sure they were alright. He felt them both on edge but okay for the time being before staring out the window as buildings zoomed past.
Finally, at his stop, Patton hopped off and practically started speed walking down the road. His heart was racing with excitement and nervous energy; he was trying to burn it off as soon as possible.
While he was approaching his parent’s neighborhood, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He jumped and pulled it out, looking to see the name ‘Logan <3’ pop up on the screen. He looked at the clock and sighed, realizing he probably had been found out, since he had been too nervous himself to have felt the other Pals. Of course, Logan had discovered everything faster than he had anticipated. He hesitated before he answered it, hoping to catch it before it went to voicemail. He opened his mouth and froze, his heart pounding heavily. How much had Logan figured out? How mad was he for what Patton had done?
“Patton?” Logan’s tone was even, which didn’t help his nerves.
“Logan? Everything alright?”
“Care to explain why Two is here and Three is at work?” Well, it seemed he’d figured out most of it, if not everything. “Did you really find it necessary to sneak away from us like that?”
“Would you have stopped me from doing this if I had told you?”
“I… We’re just worried. I don’t want you rushing into anything.”
“She’s my mother, Lo.” Patton smiled for a bit, though Patton could feel how empty it was. “I have to be able to talk to her about things.”
“I don’t want her to keep–” Logan paused as he rethought his words. “You always forgive her.”
“Not for this.” Patton’s nose wrinkled and he furrowed his brows in anger. He always forgave his mother for what she would say to him, but his friends? He should have stood up to her before, but this was as good a time as any to fix his mistakes. “I’ll call you back when it’s done. Trust me on this?” 
“Yes, of course. Always.” Logan answered immediately, with no hesitation nor hint of anger in his voice. “Just be careful.”
“Don’t worry. I have her outnumbered.” He heard Logan chuckle softly. “I’ll see you later.”
“Right, of course. Later.”
Hanging up, Patton felt much more at ease than he had before. Logan was behind him every step of the way. He could do this. He wasn’t alone.
As he approached his house, neither of his parents’ cars were in view. There was no sign of his dad’s small sedan which was a familiar sight. Patton was used to the car’s absence when his father would work longer shifts. Patton wasn’t sure when he’d return; he would often stay late, and go straight to bed when he got home. His mother’s beat-up pickup truck was also nowhere in sight. Wondering where she could have been only made Patton worry.
Patton fished out the spare key they had entrusted him with and entered the home he had grown up in. The lights were off and everything was silent, causing Patton to pause. He could almost close his eyes and imagine being a teenager again, coming home to an empty house. Then, it would have made him excited. A bit of peace and quiet alone where he could relax and work on other things. He’d hated being stuck in his room and avoided it when he could, especially since his mother had always made him leave the door open. Moments of privacy had always been a treat, rare as they were.
Now, he was walking into the empty house and the feeling wasn’t there anymore. He’d lived on his own for so long that it was never really quiet. It was a bit unnerving.
Flicking the light switch, Patton took in the familiar sights as a wave of nostalgia swept over him. The photos all around the living room, along with a random painting here or there. The couch with his father’s La-Z-Boy chair next to it. Patton chuckled as he shut the door and walked in–the chair reminded him of the one Logan had favored at their old apartment that was destroyed in the fire. It hadn’t been long since Patton had been back in the house, having moved in temporarily after they’d lost their old apartment. 
He walked around, inspecting the living room and kitchen before pausing at the end of the stairs. “Mom? Dad?” There was no response–not that he expected one. He pulled out his phone and checked the time, letting out a small sigh. “Dad probably stayed late for work again, so where’s mom?”
He paused as he glanced around the living room, the house to himself. A thought caused his heart to jump as his mind raced. Alone. In the house he always hated being alone in. He smiled and glanced around before shutting his eyes in a flash of light.
Patton Pals in the house were a big no-no, and only Two and Three had been around when he had tried as a child. But the rest? They all blinked and looked around, different levels of excitement on their faces as they all had the same thought.
“Mom is gonna be so pissed if she finds out.”
“‘If’? Oh, I am definitely telling her we did this.”
“I don’t wanna start a fight.”
“Yes, you do. Come on, how many times did we imagine doing this? Like stealing a cookie from the cookie jar before dinner.”
They all chuckled and gathered in a group. Four, Five, Six, and Seven all smiled at Patton and he returned the favor. “It feels so bad,” Patton giggled. “It’s as good as I imagined.”
“Yeah, well.” Six crossed his arms and turned away. “I’ve been wanting to do something like this forever, but you never listen to me.”
Patton blinked and threw up his arms. “You’re always trying to get me to rebel by doing something bad! This isn’t bad!”
“Yeah? Tell that to mom.” Patton frowned and turned away as Six rolled his eyes. “That’s why we’re here, aren’t we? We're finally going to tell her off?”
“I wouldn’t put it like that,” Five chimed in, “but we are going to say something, aren’t we? I mean, after that dinner with Logan, we have to say something. We’ve been avoiding her for long enough.”
Patton looked at the four Pals standing in front of him and took a deep breath. “I did want to ask if we were going to take… extreme measures.”
“Obviously, yes!” Seven said, throwing his hands in the air. “She basically admitted to being a part of the APC! And now they have Roman!” “We don’t have proof of either of those things for certain.” 
“Yeah, but we believe that they could be true, and that says enough!”
The Pals turned to Patton, as he hadn’t given his opinion yet. “Well, even still. This is a big decision and I don’t know what to do.”
“You can’t decide?” Seven questioned, as if Patton had said something ridiculous. “What is there to argue about?”
“She’s our mom,” Patton mumbled. “Cutting her out completely is a bit drastic, isn’t it?”
“Not really,” Seven shrugged. “After everything? We’ve asked her to hear us out how many times? We have to draw the line somewhere.”
“I’m with Seven on this,” Six added. “If she cares, she’ll hear us out.”
“I dunno.” Four turned and sat back on the couch, tired of standing. “I think it’s a bit much, don’t you?” Five nodded in agreement. “See? I just think there’s more at stake if we go all in! Why take the risk?”
“Five only agrees because that’s what Three would want.”
“Hey!” Five shouted. “That’s not true! And even if it is, it doesn’t matter because Two would agree with you, which leaves us at a stalemate!” Five turned to Patton. “So, we need a tiebreaker. What do you think? We hear her out and forgive her because she’s our loving mother?”
“Or, and hear me out,” Seven spoke up, holding up his hands defensively, “we stop giving her excuses and hold her responsible for her actions? Like this! ‘Margaret, tell me everything, or else I’m never speaking to you again.’ See? Simple!”
“She’s our mom, Seven,” Patton sighed. “She’s forgiven me for a lot of things. I’m not saying we let her off easy, but cutting her off from us completely is a lot, right? I just don’t know what to do.” “If we can’t agree on this, then how are we going to agree on what to do after we talk to her about Roman, hmm? That’s what we came here to talk about, right?! We need to make a decision and we need to make it now.” “Okay, let’s put it to a vote.” Patton turned to Four. “Four? Do you want to make the deal with mom? Cut her off completely if she doesn’t comply?”
“No.”
Patton nodded and turned to Five. He shook his head and frowned, looking over to the last two. When Patton turned to Six, he didn’t hesitate to answer. “Yes.” “Seven?”
“Yes.”
Patton sighed and pushed up his glasses, rubbing his eyes. “Okay. Well, we still have to vote on what we’re gonna do when we ask her about the Anti-Prince Club. Do we want to take the information back to the others first? Or shall we have her take us there to make sure she’s not lying and that’s where Roman is first?” Four watched as Patton turned to him for his answer. “I think we should go back and regroup first.” Five huffed and shook his head. “No, we need to go and make sure she’s not lying.”
“I’m with Five,” Six crossed his arms. “We don’t want to waste their time if he’s not there or if she takes us on a wild goose chase. We confirm it’s real first, then tell the others.”
“We’ll just worry them by taking too long! If we have a lead, then we should share it right away.” Seven nodded his head toward Four. “So I’m with Four, and we have a tie on both decisions. Now what?”
The front door jiggled and the five froze, eyes darting to the noise. The door opened and the sunlight shined through brightly as a figure stood in the doorway.
Patton watched as his dad tiredly shrugged off his shoes and shut the door behind him. He turned and removed his jacket before hanging it on a hook beside the door. He started walking into his home and looked up, taking in the five men standing in his living room.
“Well, what a wonderful surprise! My favorite son!” He smiled as his eyes wrinkled with age. “All five of them, it seems! Wow, that’s more than I remember. You’re getting good at that, huh? How many can you make now?”
Patton and the Pals all smiled at their dad; the old man’s beard had grown more since they had last seen him. His eyes were sunken in from exhaustion, like always, but he carried himself as tall as he could. He was always such a burly man, but Patton knew better: he was a total softie at heart.
“Hey, dad,” Patton spoke as he turned. 
“Now, none of that.” He held out his arms and wiggled his fingers. “Where’s a hug for your honorary Pal? You call them pals now, right?”
Chuckling, Patton raced forward and wrapped his arms around him and squeezed as much as he could. “You’ll always be my favorite Pat! And my favorite pal.”
“And you’ll always be mine.” He patted Patton on the back and chuckled at the silent joke as they pulled away. “Are you here to see your mother? She told me you argued again.”
“Uh, yeah. Do you know where she is?”
“I dunno, she joined some book club or something.” He rubbed the sleep from his eyes for a moment, but Patton could tell it hadn’t done much. He could just feel the exhaustion rolling off of him. “I’m glad she’s gotten out to be more social, but I’m not usually around to get all the details.” He yawned and ran a hand through his hair. “Want me to stay up till she gets back?”
“No, get some sleep. You pulled a double shift again, didn’t you?”
“Gotta pay the bills.” He shrugged and turned to walk towards the staircase to his room. “Let me know if you need anything, even if I’m asleep, got it?”
“Yeah, dad.”
He paused on the bottom stair and turned to them once more. “Patton?”
“Patrick?”
His father smiled briefly before it fell, his expression turning serious. “I love you and no matter what, I always will.”
“I know–”
“I know you know. But I also know your mother worries about you, and all this–” he waved his hand toward the pals, “–getting out scares her. But you’re an adult and you need to make your own decisions. Now, I don’t know what the fight was about, but due to your track record, that’s my best guess.” Patton turned away briefly in embarrassment. “You ever need to talk to me, I’m a phone call away. I don’t care what it’s about.”
“Thanks, dad. Really.”
Patrick nodded and started heading up the stairs. “I’m off to bed. Oh! And visit again soon, will ya? I know I missed that dinner with that boy of yours but he’s not off the hook yet!”
Patton chuckled and watched his father disappear up the stairs. “I will! Go get some sleep!”
He and the Pals sat silently, listening as Patrick made his way to the bedroom. The click of the door cut off any other sounds that could be heard, diverting their attention back to one another.
They looked around and Patton frowned as their topic came back to mind. “It’ll be hard to cut her out and not him.”
“We can work around that.” Seven spoke immediately to defend his point. “He’s willing to work with us! He can meet us at our place. That shouldn’t even be a factor.”
“You’re right.” Patton held up his hands to prevent any further arguments. “You’re right. Well, at least…” Patton looked up at the Pals with a look of surprise in his eyes. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What?” Six asked. “Is it gonna help us with a decision?” 
“Probably. It’s the best chance we have right now to make up our minds.” “How?” Four asked. “We’re at a total stalemate if you can’t make a choice.”
“No, not exactly,” Patton smiled as the realization sunk into the rest of them. “Not if I give someone else the choice as well.”
“Eight?!” Seven cried out. “You want to make Eight?! You’ve never made anyone past me before!”
“It’s our best bet, I guess.” Four mumbled. “I mean, if he can’t decide, it makes sense. They can vote on both and we get everything sorted.”
“Woah, hold on.” Six stepped into the center of the room a bit more. “Are you absolutely sure? You know that after making a new one, you can’t go back. We’re stressed out right now. You shouldn’t do anything drastic.”
Patton wrapped his arms around himself and paused a bit. Then, looking up at Six, he nodded. “I’m sure. We need Eight. Besides, I feel like… he’ll be helpful to have with everything going on.”
“Right, okay,” Six stepped back and motioned to the room. “The floor is yours, One.”
Patton nodded and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. 
Summoning a Pal was familiar to him. Reflecting in on himself, searching for that warm feeling like when you get a hug and then grabbing that feeling before pulling. But creating a new one for the first time was like breaking something apart. It’d fit back perfectly and he wouldn’t even notice it break, but he’d have to be careful. 
Concentrate and focus. Ignore the warmth building and the light you can tell is shining behind your closed eyes and just pull.
---
Roman was enjoying the view beyond the single glass wall he was imprisoned behind, but his desire to hear what the old man was yelling about meant he couldn’t sing. The two morons that had attacked him and brought him here were looking more like children being scolded for doing something wrong at the moment. They tried to speak up at one point, but Bruce cut them off quickly and they just looked more ashamed after that. Eventually, they walked off and he sighed before disappearing behind the door and out of view from the glass. Most of it was still covered, except for that one part that kept being lifted so people could look in on him. The last time someone looked in, Bruce had appeared and turned red with anger, chasing them off. Then he’d turned to the other two orchestrating the ‘viewings’ and started shouting. 
Roman was glad for the reprieve, but he just wanted to go home. He felt like a prisoner, which he supposed he was, but worse. Almost more like an object to be stared at and less like a person. The people coming in and ogling at him like he was some sort of spectacle made him feel uneasy. His roommates must have been worried and he was still exhausted beyond belief. They didn’t know where he was yet, or else Virgil definitely would have found a way to talk to him and yell at him himself, paradoxes be damned.
The door opened and Bruce walked in with another water bottle, sighing as he shut the door behind him. “Sorry about that. Those two are unbelievable.”
“Then why let them be in charge of anything?”
“In charge?” Bruce laughed at the thought. “No, they know someone who let us use this empty office space until it gets rented as long as we keep it clean. I think they told them we were cleaners, actually. They have no idea what we use it for. Otherwise, those knuckleheads wouldn’t even be here. They’re not in charge of anything.”
Bruce held out the water bottle and sat down slowly. “I told them to stop going out on searches, and said that kidnapping a person was illegal and that we are not the cops, but no. They have it in their heads that this’ll turn out like their comic books or a movie and they won’t get in trouble, and roped all of us into it in the process.”
Roman frowned and played with the water bottle, watching the small bubble of air move around. “So this was all a mistake? Can’t you just let me go, then?”
“Well, now that we have you, the others are arguing on what to do. Fortunately, I convinced most of them that letting you go at sundown was our best bet with the cover of the night where people might just think you’re on another patrol or something. As long as I can convince you not to press charges or anything.”
Roman’s heart jumped at the idea of finally being let go, but he didn’t let it show. “What proof do you have that I won’t?”
“They have your face, Charging. Those morons who brought you here never got a photo, but some of the others did, and I can’t get them to delete all of them.” Roman frowned at that, gripping the fabric of his jacket in one of his hands. He knew he had convinced the two idiots that had attacked him, and he had hoped that was it, but someone must have snuck a photo without him knowing. “So we’ll both have to agree to each other's terms and come to an understanding. Besides, the photos are of you locked in a room trapped so it’ll be hard for them to share it and also look innocent. Everyone wins.”
“All I understand is that I’ve been assaulted more than once and you want to get away with it completely.” He shook his head. “Short of you disbanding, I can’t agree to that. You don’t just have my face. You find out who I am and everyone I care about is in danger. I can’t have that.”
“Well–” Bruce leaned in a bit closer – “can your powers do something about that? Take out their electronics?”
“I told you, I don’t actually have powers!” Roman hissed out and turned away. “I would if I could, that sounds great! Point me in the direction and I’ll fry everything in this building if I had to. But I can’t do that! Because powers aren’t real.”
Roman waited a moment before turning to Bruce who just watched him carefully with a frown on his face. “You really don’t have powers, huh?” Roman waited a moment before he shook his head. Bruce sighed and turned away. “Damn, and I was really hoping. Shit.” Roman sat up in surprise at his reaction. “Well, I can still get you out, but it looks like my time in this club is done.”
“Really?” Roman squeezed the water bottle and heard it slightly crinkle. “Why is that? Sick at what they did to an innocent person?”
“I infiltrated this club to find someone with powers, Charging. If you don’t have any, I’m not interested. Sorry, no offense.”
“You infiltrated–wait, why? You said you knew someone else with powers, what’s going on?”
“I’m afraid that’s classified on a need-to-know basis.” Bruce leaned back and slapped his hands on his thighs. “Well, if you come across anyone with powers, you’ll have to let me know.” Bruce leaned forward and started to stand. “I’ll let you think about their proposition and come back for an answer.”
“Wait!” Roman dropped the bottle and reached out. Puzzled, Bruce knelt back down to look at him as Roman felt his throat close up. “Maybe I do know something…” He pulled his hand to his chest and could almost feel his heart pounding through his jacket. “How do I know you’re not lying? Who’s this person with powers?”
“You know someone with actual powers? You’re not lying to me?” In response, Roman shook his head quickly. “Well, ratting out someone else isn’t exactly fair, is it? But if we both know someone, maybe we can work something out.”
Roman sat a moment, processing his next words carefully. “I suppose… it depends. I’ll have to talk to them when I get out.”
“Alright.” Bruce began to push himself up from the floor slowly and leaned back to crack his back. “Well, then sit on this as well as your answer and I’ll return in an hour, okay?” He looked down at Roman and paused for a moment. “If you’re willing to share, then I’d love to meet up with this person. I’ve been searching for others with powers for years.” Roman watched as Bruce turned to walk out the door. “ Just remember. I’ll come for your answer in an hour, Prince. I hope you’re ready by then.”
---
Everything was still, no one willing to move and break the quiet that had fallen. They all stood there, staring at the new Patton Pal in anticipation. Patton had tumbled a bit as Eight appeared, catching himself on the side of the couch and glancing around the room.The others were all waiting excitedly for the newest arrival to speak.
“Eight?” As Patton spoke, the new Pal turned toward him. “Um, hi! Nice to meet you, Eight! We were kind of… stuck. Did you have any input? Or something you wanted to say?” Eight blinked at Patton and then looked back at the Pals, standing and stepping away from the side of the couch. “Eight?”
“Say something!” Seven cried out, frustrated. “We need an answer, please just say something already.” After a moment, Eight opened his mouth, abruptly spinning around and turning to Patton. “You’re going to tell mom that she’s going to bring us to the APC, or we walk out and find them ourselves and we won’t ever be coming back.”
Patton and the pals jumped as Eight spoke, glancing around at one another in surprise. “Are you sure?” Four asked from the couch. “She’s family!”
“Yes, and we gave her ten years’ worth of chances to hear us out. How many has she returned in kind?” Eight looked at Three as he spoke. “How many times have we asked to talk before she cut us off, saying what she says goes? How many times do we excuse her behavior? We’ve stood up to her too many times.” Eight turned to Patton and frowned. “It’s time to stand up to ourselves. She made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean we have to forgive her for them. I think you know that. I think you all know that. You’re just not brave enough to say it.”
“Is that what you are to me?” Patton spoke softly. “My bravery?”
“Another thing we need to discuss.” Eight spun around instead of answering. “Our plan. In a little more detail, at the very least.”
Patton and the others waited a moment before Eight squared his shoulders and looked at Patton. 
“I know we’re all afraid… but I think you know what you want to do.”
“But… Logan and Virgil…”
“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. You know you can convince them, but we don’t have the time. We don’t know what’s happening to Roman right now. At least let them know we have a plan. We can keep them updated as we learn more.”
“But…” Patton sighed. “Are you sure? We could just get the location from her. She might not even tell us!”
“She’ll tell us. I know you don’t trust that she’ll be completely honest, though, so we need to make sure Roman’s actually there first. We can’t get the others’ hopes up. After we know where Roman is, then we can regroup just like you want. We need to do this, we’re risking more if we take the safe route. If we don’t pace ourselves, we’ll just be putting the others at risk.” Eight paused for a moment. “Don’t you think Virgil will just run there in frozen time the first chance he gets? We have to be sure.”
Patton slowly nodded before looking at the others. “Yeah. Okay. We go to the APC first, then we regroup.” Five and Seven looked a bit upset at the news, but nodded in agreement. “So, what do we tell her when she gets here?”
“We can discuss that together until she does.” Eight smiled. “We got this, One.”
---
“Thomas?” Logan spoke softly as he approached the other. “I just wanted to apologize again for my behavior in the past. It was rather uncouth of me. I may have had my reasons, but it does not justify my actions. I am sorry.”
Thomas smiled and shrugged. “I know you feel bad about it, and Patton said you had some personal reason why. You’re trying, right? So I can forgive you this time.”
“I don’t get it, though.” Virgil walked up with a new cup of coffee in his hands. “I didn’t think you wanted anything to do with this. Why are you here?”
“About that.” Thomas ran his hands through his hair. “I was talking with Joan and they kind of acted like they already knew I was going to do something. Even before I decided to tell them that I wanted to come on my own. Which was weird, because I kept getting this deja vu feeling like I needed to go find you guys and help.” He looked up at Virgil and Logan. “Is this something we’ve been through before? Maybe not this exact scenario, but similar? I just couldn’t stand by, something wasn’t sitting right with me.”
Virgil sipped his coffee, let out a loud sigh, and nodded his head. “Your memories aren’t completely gone, just locked up.Your body is responding based on what you’ve done before, I guess.”
Logan turned to Virgil, confused. “That’s not actually how any of that works?”
“Hey. Who’s sipping at coffee looking brilliant with his deductions, huh?” Virgil raised his mug. “That’s what I thought. I don’t have to be right. I just have to look like I know what I’m doing.”
“That’s not how that works at all either, Virgil.” 
Virgil shrugged. “Works for Tony Stark.”
Logan looked even more confused. “Who?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Thomas interfered. “So, what have you figured out so far?”
Two walked up at that point, rubbing at his chest. “Well, I don’t know what Patton is up to, but I just got a weird feeling, so I at least have an idea.”
“Are you alright?” Logan turned his full attention to the Pal. “Are the others alright?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, Lo.” Two smiled sincerely, which put Logan at ease. “He’ll tell you later. Right now, he’s fine.”
Confused, Thomas turned toward Virgil, who mouthed ‘Patton Pal’ back. Thomas nodded and Virgil held up a hand, raising two fingers to signify it was Two talking.
Clyde walked in from the kitchen and up to the others, holding a mug in his hands. “So, you figure anything out yet?”
“Are you drinking my coffee?” Virgil looked offended as he stared at the cup. “Is that my Nightmare Before Christmas mug?!”
Clyde looked Virgil dead in the eyes as he brought the mug up to his mouth and took an obnoxiously loud sip. “No.” “What do you mean ‘no’?” Virgil pointed at him. “I can see you drinking my coffee in my mug right now!” “Oh?” Clyde tried to hide his smile behind the mug. “Do you have any proof of that?” Virgil stuttered, a bit speechless as Clyde held a shit-eating grin on his face. “Alright, enough of that.” Two stepped in and looked at Clyde. “Should you even be drinking that?”
“Should he?” Clyde motioned to Virgil with his totally-not-stolen mug. “Besides, didn’t you wake me up super early this morning?”
Two was taken aback by the comment and blushed in embarrassment. “You were already awake when Patton knocked on the door!”
“I’d like to see your evidence to this claim,” Clyde simply took a sip of his coffee again as Two was flabbergasted. “This is slander. I demand a lawyer.”
“You always like this?” Virgil asked with a quirked eyebrow. “I bet you’re fun at parties.”
“I light up the room more than you do, Tinkerbell. Don’t see me complaining.” Clyde felt a bit of pride when Virgil snorted out a laugh at the comment.
Logan stared at the two before turning back to Thomas. “Right. Well, to answer your question, Thomas, we’ve figured out very little since we discovered–”
“We don’t know jack squat,” Virgil cut him off, huffing as he took a big swig of his coffee. “I’ve been awake while trying not to panic for hours and we had to come back because Roman’s mom is on her way here to kick my ass.”
“She’s not going to harm you, Virgil. She was simply worried about her son and wanted to come help and figure out what happened.”
“He disappeared under my watch and she’s going to kick my ass.” Virgil stared down at his almost empty mug with a frown. “Not how I wanted to die, but I’ll take it.”
“Aww, Virgil, I’m sure she won’t kill you that slowly.” Clyde tried to seem genuine as he placed a soft hand on Virgil’s back. “I’ll totally miss you. It’ll be easier to steal this mug if you’re dead.”
“You’re putting that back or I’ll kill you myself before I die.” Virgil glared at him and Clyde smiled and rolled his eyes in response.
“Are we going to tell her about our powers?” Everyone turned to Thomas as he spoke up. He quickly became self-conscious with so many eyes on him and shuffled his feet. “I mean, she knows about Roman’s, right? What about us?”
Logan hummed and closed his eyes as he took a moment to think about it. “It would probably be for the best to wait for now. I’m sure we all aren’t comfortable with divulging such a big secret so let’s keep it to ourselves unless we need to ‘spill the beans’. Metaphorically speaking.”
Another cup of coffee and a worried scolding from Two later, there was a knock on the door. Virgil sighed and stood up from the couch to answer it. “Well, it was nice knowing you all.”
Opening the door, Virgil blinked as his gaze drifted downward. At least a foot shorter than him was a middle-aged woman with graying brown hair. She smiled up at him excitedly and threw open her arms.
“Oh, I’d know that face anywhere! My son has shown me pictures! You have to be Virgil! Come here and give mama a hug!” She waited for Virgil to hesitantly bend down and extend his arms a bit before latching onto him. She squeezed him and swayed back and forth before letting go. “Such a handsome, strong man! Oh, my boy better be taking good care of you! Come, let us talk.” Virgil moved out of the way as she walked in and inspected the room. “Oh, company! Hello, I’m Roman’s mother, Liz. I’m sorry if he’s been quite a handful.”
The room was silent for a moment before Clyde started snickering to himself. “At least someone apologized for that moron.”
Liz frowned and sighed, placing her hands on her hips. “My son is a brilliant boy who is just very passionate and thinks with his heart instead of his head sometimes.” Clyde blushed and turned away, focusing on his coffee. “But I understand. That is why we are all here, yes? What has he gotten himself into now?”
“Hello, ma’am. My name is Logan.” Liz turned to shake Logan’s hand he had extended already. “You may want to sit down, it’s not good news.”
“So I take it he didn’t just break something again?” Liz looked worried as Logan led her to the couch.
Two walked up and tried to smile, though it came off more as a grimace. “Hi, I’m Patton. Would you like something to drink?”
“After I hear the news, dear. I don’t know how much you’ll need to put in the glass.”
Two looked confused for a moment. “How much what? Water?”
“Tequila.”
Virgil covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing as Clyde’s eyes grew wide. 
Logan cleared his throat and ran a hand down his tie to distract himself. “I’m afraid Roman was assaulted and taken early this morning.” Logan diverted his gaze away and braced himself for her reaction. “As of right now, he is currently missing.”
Liz paused and nodded her head. “Ah, is that all?” She turned to Patton with a smile, though still seemed tense. “Water will be fine, dear.”
Virgil walked up to the couch as Two moved to go to the kitchen. “Wait, that’s it? You’re not mad?” Virgil ran both of his hands through his hair. “I was there! I froze and I didn’t stop them!”
“Well, goodness, Virgil! I sure hope not!” Liz reached for her purse and sat it in her lap. “I wouldn’t want to have heard you got hurt as well. That would be far worse!” She began rummaging through her purse for a moment. “It sounds like that hate group that was out to get him might be behind this if I had to guess. I’m a part of his fan club, though I’m sure my Ro doesn’t know that.” She pulled out a pack of gum and extended it out to Virgil. “Dear, take this. I hear chewing gum can help with the nerves.”
Virgil took it and stared at her before looking down at the gum. “You… figured that all out already?”
“He’s my son, my shining star! I will always worry about him so I like to make sure he’s okay.”
“Wait a second!” Clyde pushed past Virgil and looked at her. “You knew he was out there using his powers and you just let him?!”
“It is who he is, who am I to deny that? He’s not hurting anyone and is trying to put more good in the world. I’m proud of what he does.”
“He has powers!” Clyde threw up his hands. “He is showing the world that people with powers exist! He could be putting all of them in danger!”
Liz watched Clyde as he slowly grew impatient, waiting for an answer. “Honey… are you mad he is using his powers because you’re worried about someone else? Are you worried about yourself?” 
“What?!” Clyde shouted. Two jumped from where he stood in the doorway, holding a tall glass of ice water. “I mean, what do you mean by that?”
“Well, if he has powers, I always assumed others probably did as well. Is that what worries you?” She turned back to Clyde. “I could just be guessing but… sweetie, do you have powers?”
Clyde turned red in the face before turning and heading for the door. “That’s it! I’ve had enough of all of you. I’m out of here! Don’t bother me again, he’s your headache and I want nothing to do with him!”
Clyde slammed the door and they heard his feet stomp all the way up the stairs to the apartment above him. Liz, however, seemed undeterred as she started to stand up to take the glass of water from Two. “Well, how about a plan to find my little bolt while he calms down, shall we?” Virgil was beginning to realize that he was still afraid of Roman’s mother, but for completely different reasons.
---
Patton’s phone began to ring, cutting short the conversation they had been having.
‘Mom’ popped up on the screen and Patton answered it immediately. 
There was a pause as both remained silent before Patton spoke. “Hello?”
“Patton? Is that you?”
“Well, you did call me.”
“I’ve been getting your answering machine all week! I didn’t expect you to pick up this time.”
Patton looked over to Eight who silently was cheering him on. “Well, I figured it was about time we talked. Where are you?”
“I was out running a quick errand, but I’m home now.” Patton watched the front doorknob twist as it unlocked and opened. 
“Good.” Patton pulled the phone away and hung up, watching as his mother walked into the house. “We can start there. What errands were you running?”
Maggie lowered the phone as she took in the sight before her. Her son who had not answered his phone in days was in her home, and he had made more of those copies. They stood there in the center of her living room without a care in the world, all of them watching her. After what she had just witnessed this morning? She wasn't pleased.
“What are you doing?!” She closed the door quickly and locked it once more before marching into the living room. “You know you shouldn’t be using your powers! What if someone saw?”
“The door was locked, mom. Please be quiet, dad just got home not too long ago and should be asleep.” Patton watched as his mother grew red with rage.
“Do not speak to me in that tone, young man! This is my home!”
“Which you have extended to me as my home,” Eight called out. Patton felt his heart flutter in fear as he spoke.
“I was not talking to you! I was talking to my son!”
“How do you know I’m the original?” Patton asked. “How do you know? Can you look and tell me that he didn’t just give me his phone? That he’s even in this room right now?”
“Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes!” She quickly looked around the room before turning back to him. “I am very cross with you leaving dinner the other night! And hiding the fact that Logan had powers? Now I find Roman is Prince Charging and he has powers too! You moved into an apartment with a bunch of delinquents! I wouldn’t be surprised if Virgil had them; you're just keeping all sorts of secrets now, huh? What else have you been lying to me about? How many times have you told me you haven’t been using your powers and you’ve been running around with half a dozen of them out?”
Patton remained motionless as she berated him. 
“Well? Answer me!”
“Where’s Roman?”
“What?”
All of the Pals approached Maggie, surrounding her and cutting off all her exits. “Your little ‘book club’ has him. Dad told me about that, by the way. You’re keeping secrets too, mom. So, where is he?” 
Maggie looked around and opened her mouth to speak.
“Think carefully,” Eight cut her off before she could say a word. “Because whatever you say will decide how we handle the other conversation we will be having afterward.”
“What ‘other’ conversation?” Maggie backed off a bit as she glared at Eight.
“Well, mom, funny story about that,” Seven spoke up, crossing his arms. “When your friends decided to attack Roman and hit him over the head with a bat before kidnapping him,-”
“Remind me. Was that before or after they tried running us over?”
“They what?!” Maggie shouted as she stared at the Pattons in disbelief.
“Funny story, really,” Four cut in. Maggie gawked at all of their faces in her growing panic. “When you side with people willing to hurt others? They don’t care who gets in their way.”
“So.” Patton took a step closer and held his head up high. He imagined Logan standing beside him and supporting him every step of the way. He knew that no matter what happened, he wasn’t alone. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Maggie looked anguished as her eyes quickly flickered from each Pal before landing on Patton, who she had talked to first. “They almost hit you?” Her voice was soft and it shook before she reached out. As she cupped his cheeks, Patton frowned and tried to cling to his wavering confidence. “My baby boy, are you okay?”
Patton felt his throat ache and close up and took a moment to calm himself. “Yeah.” He pulled her in for a hug and looked over her shoulder to the Pal staring at him. “I’m okay.” They embraced for a moment before Patton pulled away. 
“Mom, where’s Roman? Is he okay? What do they want to do with him?”
“The poor dear! He’s at the office, I just saw him. They’re trying to see if any of us recognize him.” Maggie watched as Patton paled at her words. “I didn’t say anything! They asked and I said I’d never seen him before! I said he was such a young boy that he reminded me of you, and that I had to go.” She reached out and grabbed his arms. “You have to believe me, sweetie, I didn’t say a thing! You’re all I talk about there, and they know that.”
Patton nodded and closed his eyes. “Okay. I believe you.” She sighed and he opened his eyes once more, standing up tall as he did. “But you have to take me to him. I want to see him for myself.”
“No, Patty, it’s not safe!”
“They have my friend, mom!” Patton stepped back and shook his head. “We’re all worried about him. Virgil was there when he was taken and he hasn’t slept, and Logan’s barely holding himself together.” Patton’s voice wavered. “I have to see him. We need to get him out.”
“Well, maybe no one will recognize him! Maybe we can come up with a plan, or...”
Patton shook his head. “No! No, he worked in public for years and he performs in plays! He puts his face out there every chance he gets. Anyone could accidentally recognize him. The sooner we get him out, the better!” Maggie looked conflicted. “He has a family. His mother will be worried sick. What if it were me?”
Maggie clenched her eyes shut and nodded. “Yes. You’re right, of course, you’re right.” She looked up at her son as her eyes glistened with tears she fought back. “I just wanted to protect you. You know that, right? I want to keep you safe. I haven’t been doing a great job of that, have I?”
“It’s not too late to start.” Eight spoke up. Everyone turned to him as he smiled. “We were going to walk out if you didn’t want to help, if I’m honest.”
“Walk out? W-what do you mean ‘walk out’?”
“Of your life, mom.” Eight stepped closer and left no distance between them. “Logan was right. We love who we are. Every quirk we have and everything we can do. But you lashed out with rude comments and backhanded jokes. You didn’t realize how harmful your words were. Every time we tried to talk to you, you didn’t want to hear anything about it. We gained empathetic abilities. Did you know that? Did you ever wonder if these powers grew to something more?”
Patton held a hand up to his chest and rubbed it. He was so overwhelmed with his emotions, but the heartbreak his mother felt at Eight’s words were blossoming. He watched as she shook her head and looked at him. 
“Is it true?”
“I’m okay with you not agreeing with my choices, mom. I’m okay with you worrying about me using my powers. But it’s more than that. It’s not just me anymore. When you start interfering with my friends, that’s when I have to realize that something isn’t right. I have to say something about it for their sakes.”
“Not the healthiest thing we’ve ever said,” Five chimed in. 
“But that’s our issue.” Seven said. He approached Patton with a smile. “Maybe we still need to learn to love ourselves more. Maybe we’re not selfish enough. Maybe we care about others over us and we need to work on that.” He reached out and disappeared in a flash of light. Maggie gasped, not used to seeing it again after so many years.
The others gathered and all smiled at Patton as they reached out one by one, each one disappearing in their own flash of light. When Eight reached out, Patton mouthed a quiet ‘thank you’ before he disappeared. The rush of the Pals’ emotions from their conversations surged for a moment before he turned to Maggie once more.
She tried to smile at him before she launched and pulled him in for another hug. “I never meant to hurt you. I’m so sorry, I hadn’t realized it was so bad!”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Well, yeah. You’re right, it’s not.” Patton chuckled and felt his tears finally overflow. “But we can work on that together. I’m not exactly the perfect son either.”
“Yes, you are. And maybe Logan isn’t so bad. When he’s not scaring the living daylights out of me with those eyes!”
“You don’t know half of it.” Patton pulled away and removed his glasses to wipe at his eyes. “Gosh, I’m not ready for this talk.” He put them back on to catch his mother doing the same thing. “It’s going to have to wait, unfortunately. I want to see Roman.”
“Okay. Of course, absolutely. I’ll take you there right now.”
---
“So, that’s it, then.” Liz seemed frustrated with the plan they had shared, which hadn’t been much. “You think you might know how to get in?”
Two nodded and crossed his arms. “I’m working on a way to get into the APC. I’m just waiting to hear back from my source that’s checking to see if they even have him. I don’t like waiting around but we’re running out of ideas.”
Liz sighed and nodded. “That’s good. What other plans do you have?”
“We aren’t sure,” Logan frowned and looked at Two. “Patton’s plan was all we came up with, really. We were going on a manual search when you had called. We came back here to tell you everything we knew.”
“Well, what about the fan club?” Eyes turned to Virgil, who ducked his head and began nervously chewing on the gum Roman’s mother had given him. “I mean, would they know anything?”
Liz smiled and pulled her phone out of her purse. “That’s not a bad idea! I’ll contact Sammy right away. We may just get lucky, maybe they can reach out to the others. I know some old members left to join the other club as a way to get inside information, like spies! We can ask the rest to keep their eyes open.”
“Is there anything we can do as we wait?” Thomas ruffled his hair a bit, then leaned in and whispered as Liz started to call someone, distracted. “I mean, power-wise?”
Logan shook his head. “Not really. I mean, I could scan the city for him, but that could take days, and it’s not a perfect process. I missed Clyde the first time.”
“That’s if he’s even in the city,” Two chimed in. “Clyde mentioned moving from the suburbs. You didn’t miss him, he just wasn’t here. So there’s a chance Roman’s out of reach, too.”
“Can we extend that reach?” Thomas asked. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
“We’d have to amplify his powers to do that,” Virgil pointed to Thomas. “But our power amplifier is busted and we don’t have a manual, so that’s a no.”
Thomas’ eyes widened in realization as he turned to Logan. “Well, that just leaves one thing left to do.” He smiled at Logan before fishing into his pocket and pulling out a small, beaten up memo pad. “I was actually planning on bringing this up anyway and now seems as good of a time as any.”
Logan seemed perplexed as his eyes went from Thomas to the small memo pad. “Thomas, as you sure? You don’t have to do this now.”
“I’m sure,” Thomas lowered it and took a step closer. “Time to take up those lessons again. Let’s fix my memories, shall we?” --- Chapter 18>> (If your name is in italics, I was unable to tag you. Please contact me before you are removed.) Tag list: @cyberpunkjinx @phlying-squirrel  @equipodeleo @ace-anx​ @tisithelittleelephant @fandomsofrandom @thestoryofme13 @herequeerandverytired @too-random-for-me @midknight-mania @sleepyssnail @dragonsight9 @queer-human-being @ab-artist @arandompasserby @musikasworld @hellomusicalnerdhere @izzynuggets @noahlovescoffee @rosesisupposes @detective-lemon @kanejandkruge @draw-till-die @dreaming-about-kittens @nico-holly @maxwithanxiety @cornycornfriendo @pixelysparklez @icequeenoriginal @coloursintheblur @omg-rainbowgalxy-things @myqueen4art @billy-jeans23 @llamaly @len-art-trash @i-know-im-smart @nightmaretyrantvantas @mooniecoockie​ @prettymuchpugs @itsalexiastuff @littledog-draws @jay-reid @the-better-bard @the-lavender-creator @skskskkskskskk @starry-knight-skies @lynnthefander @notkolaidoscop @sweetkirbi @stablerock @astute-goldfish @4ngstyc00kie @a-5-7-b-8-4-c @nadja-chamack16 General: @helloisthisusernametaken @entitydark @lightningbug04 @moonstone-fox @another-sandersidesblog @thesynysterunknown @roo-kangas @singingjo-blog-blog @unikornavenger @rememberfateau-nowoffical @sanders-sides-trasshcan @sleepyssnail @jemthebookworm @spectralheartt @fandomsofrandom @johnlaurensadmirer-johnsenpaiowo@rosie601 @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @izzyfandoms @zaidiashipper @enbyamy @romanmustberomantic @daylnvale @that-one-sunfish-with-a-wig-on @squiddney69 @decayingfoxx @watchoutforthefanfics @pigeonsinatree @lynnthefander @k1ngtok1 @wewuzraw @lovelyisthesunrise @sparkedawg @pukingdraws @pixelatedrose
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impractical-au · 4 years
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Impractical Ch. 2
<<Chapter 1 An ALiPverse Story Note: Parts of the beginning have been revealed in the Origins stories but this is the official story! You can read those to get an idea of what’s going on but be wary of spoilers! Chapter 2
Roman sat on the couch of his shared apartment, hunched over with his mask in his hands. It was crudely made with his limited knowledge and a few hours online searching, but he was proud of it. He ran his thumb over a part of the border that held on a piece of gold ribbon that was hanging on by hot glue. It was uncomfortable to wear but it was his. It’s what made him Prince Charging. It’s what allowed him to run around and help people as he had always dreamed.
It did nothing against his best friend who had discovered his secret anyway. He knew he had to be careful around Patton, but his friend had listened to him as he shamefully hung his head and admitted to running into danger on a daily basis. To his surprise, Patton had admitted to knowing about it before they had moved in together before walking off to make them some tea so they could talk.
 “Okay!” Patton walked in with two mugs in his hands, eyes focused on them so he didn’t spill either as he walked. “Got the tea ready! Just how you like it, here you go.” “Thanks, Pat,” Roman took the mug and let the warmth soak into his hands. He had removed his gloves just before his mask and now was grateful he had done so. He looked into the dark liquid at his poor reflection. He never really looked at himself as Prince, usually throwing on the costume as quickly as he could for fear of being caught. 
 He felt Patton take a seat next to him with his mug in his hands. “Roman?” He glanced up and noticed Patton’s expression, wondering what thoughts were running through his friend’s head. “You okay?”
 “I’m fine. You’re, uh, taking this a bit better than I had expected, I suppose…”
 He felt a weight lifted as Patton smiled before looking down at his mug. “Yeah, well, I did want to talk to you about it first. You know, calmly…” Patton turned toward the doorway to the kitchen. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to just drop that on you.”
 Roman placed his mug on the table atop one of Patton’s punny coasters and shook his head. “No, no! It’s fine! You were worried for me, I can understand that.” He reached over and placed his hand on Patton’s knee. “I appreciate how accepting and caring you’ve been.”
 Patton’s eyes flickered to the doorway again before turning back to his tea. “There’s something I have to share with you, Ro.”
 “What is it?”
 Patton looked at the doorway as footsteps approached. Hugging himself close was someone who looked exactly like Patton wearing the same outfit. He smiled and waved a bit before turning his gaze to the floor. “Hi,” he spoke softly as if worried his voice would give out on him.
 “You have a twin?” Roman looked between the two before Patton shook his head. “Am I missing something?”
 “Roman,” Patton placed his mug down next to Roman’s and turned toward him. “This is Two. He’s my… duplicate? I’ve called them my Pals. I can make them… from myself.” Patton looked over at Roman and shrugged. “I have powers too?”
 Roman stared at Two before he started to smile. “Patton, this is amazing!” Roman shot up from his spot on the couch and tugged on Patton’s arm, pulling him up as well. “You have powers! We have powers!” Patton chuckled as Roman started bouncing around. “Yes, I do! I was trying to plan on how I wanted to tell you but I didn’t want to before you told me first. I didn’t want to pressure you into revealing your secret.” Roman started giggling and Patton began bouncing with him. “You seem excited!”
 Roman gasped and stopped grabbing Patton by his shoulders and smiling. “Become a hero with me!”
 “What?!”
 ---
 “-new about the newest hero in town, the Vigilante, has spread since the recent shooting downtown.”
 “That’s not what I said!” The hooded figure threw his hands in the air, gripping the remote as the local news prattled on about the same things they’ve been repeating every hour. However, they played the clip of him calling himself The Vigilant and then said his name wrong.
 He wasn’t a vigilante! He was vigilant! Determined and stubborn to keep the city safe. He swooped in and saved the beloved hero Prince who was in danger! He deserved to at least have his name said correctly!
 “Virgil!” The figure on the couch jumped and fumbled the remote before quickly changing the channel. “You want anything special for dinner?”
 Virgil looked over the back of the couch to his father who was watching the tv carefully with a frown. “I’m fine, dad. Whatever you want.”
 His father looked at him with a pout. “My little hero goes and saves the day and he doesn’t want anything special for dinner?”
Virgil couldn’t hold back the wince that spread across his face. Found out so easily. “You know about that?”
 “Hmm,” His father stroked the whiskers on his chin. “A mysterious hero with the power to ‘teleport’,” his father even dared to use air quotes. “Suddenly appears dressed with a dark purple aesthetic? Must have nothing to do with my anxious son with a similar style and the ability to stop time and move around who reads far too many comic books. Nope, no connection.” Virgil pulled his hood down over his face and turned away. “Come on, now. Be glad I’m not freaking out over the fact that the thief had a gun.”
 “I’m surprised you’re not, honestly.” Virgil peeked up from his hood. “You worry as much as I do.”
 “I’m honestly trying not to think about it. Hasn’t quite sunken in yet.”
 “I’ll take advantage of your good mood, then.” Virgil turned and leaned his arms on the back of the couch. “Can we have Chinese for dinner?”
 “I know how to cook!” Virgil raised a brow at his father’s statement. “Come on, Virgil!”
 “Come on, James!” Virgil grinned as he spoke his father’s name. “Chinese! Besides, you’ll make me wash the dishes when you’re done ruining dinner anyway.”
 With a sigh, he watched his father turn around and pat his pockets down for his phone. “The usual?”
 “You know it.” Virgil spun back around and turned back to the news, watching clips of him and the Prince once more with a smile on his face. It was terrifying at the moment but right now? He had no regrets for what he did.
 ---
 “Come on, Pat!” Roman followed Patton down the sidewalk like a lost puppy. “Please?! We could do so much together!”
 “No, Roman. I’m glad you’re helping people but it’s just not for me! What good could I do?” Patton kept marching toward the bus stop, gripping the strap to his messenger bag over his shoulder. “Besides, I have to go to work!”
 “You mean you have to go flirt with that guy on your route?” Patton flushed and ducked his head, ignoring his best friend as he trailed along. “At least tell me about him! When are you going to ask him out?”
 “He’s not interested. I’m not even sure if he’s gay or anything.”
 “Excuses!”
 Patton sighed and finally stopped walking, turning to find Roman right on his trail. “Look, I like him, but this isn’t some romance movie. We’re just friends!” He shuffled his feet a bit and looked away. “Actually, I’m not sure if he even sees me as a friend. We just talk on the bus.”
 “You said he was cute and had the same glasses and liked mystery novels!” Roman pouted. “Sounds like a rom-com to me! Why not at least try to bring it up? Try to see if he’s even interested?”
 “I’m sure he’s not interested in me. He might not be single!”
Roman put an arm around Patton and started walking toward the bus stop once more. “Well good thing you have me!  Your personal wingman!”
 “Roman, no.” Patton shrugged the arm off but kept walking. “I appreciate it, I do! But I just want to keep this a friendship right now. Maybe, if I think I have a chance, you can help.”
 Roman sighed heavily through his nose as they approached the stop. “Fine, but you read a book for this nerd. I think you’re close enough.”
 “Hey! Agatha Christie is worth it! It’s such a good book, Ro! I can’t wait to see how it ends!” Roman watched as Patton’s face lit up. “Now Logan and I are reading through the books to talk about them together! It’s great.”
 “As long as you’re happy, I won’t interfere.” Roman watched his best friend prattle on about his crush and the topics they talk about until he saw the bus pull up to the stop. “Have a good day at work, Pat. I’ll see you tonight.”
 “See ya, Ro!”
 Patton got on and swiped his card before heading to the area he normally sat in, waiting excitedly for the stop Logan would hop on. 
 Logan. He was younger than Patton and worked at a bookstore, which was a surprise. He didn’t seem much like a people person, but he loved books! Patton could relate to that. Although a job at the library was originally his mother’s idea, it wasn’t one Patton was upset by.
 When Logan’s stop came, Patton perked up and waited. After the exchange of people, he slouched in his seat defeated. Logan didn’t work today. How had he forgotten that? It was Friday and Patton didn’t work over the weekend so he wouldn’t see him then either. When did he say he worked next. Tuesday?
 Tuesday. Patton could wait a few more days until then. He pulled out a book from his bag, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Logan had said it was his favorite and Patton had signed it out immediately. He was still at the beginning and already hooked. He could finish it by Tuesday and then he could talk to Logan all about it!
 Patton’s heart fluttered as he flipped open to his bookmark and kept himself busy for the rest of his ride.
 ---
 “This just in! The Vigilante has made another appearance downtown to help the Prince! Wait, it looks like the Prince is… attacking him? Perhaps the Vigilante isn’t as much of a hero as he had thought!”
 “Listen here, miscreant! I’m grateful you helped me the other day but we are rivals from here on out!”
 “Are you kidding me, Princey?! I just want to help!”
 Logan watched the broadcast with great interest, eying the new ‘hero’ as he bickered with the Prince. “Interesting.” He smirked and stood from his couch. “I’m going to need a closer look at these two and I have just the idea on how to do it.” -- Taglist: @arandompasserby @waywordwriter
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robinsdraw · 5 years
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Tomorrow, 19th July where I'm at, is a pretty special day, any guess what it is😜? (It's ... It's not ALiP 3... Yet.)
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k1ngtok1 · 4 years
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@robinsdraw @residentanchor I offer my humble ALIP/PT doodles as homage to your great works (tbh they’re just stuff I did in class and the Roman one is the only one I spent any real time on)
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shapa-likes-art · 5 years
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I doodled Patton from the ALIP ep 3 animatic by @robinsdraw and the series written by @residentanchor (celery) because I swear I've watched it a bit too many times and needed to draw pat-
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spacegayparty · 4 years
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Look, I made an alip meme with 0% effort and 100% ew
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jay-reid · 4 years
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Practically wizards
Word count: 479
Summary: Roman has a great idea to sort the rooommates into houses
triggers: none that I know of
Based off of A Lesson in Practicality by @residentanchor
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“Guys!” Roman ran into the living room. “I just had an idea!”
Virgil, who had been looking at his phone, only glanced up “What is it now?”
“I found this website called Pottermore! We should all get sorted into Hogwarts houses!”
“Ooh! That sounds super fun!” Patton clapped excitedly. “What house do you think I’m in?”
“Is it really a question Patton?” Logan asked from his chair. He hadn’t looked up from his book. “For the most part, the houses we are in is fairly obvious, with slight variations depending on state of mind before taking the test. This is all a drastic waste of time.”
“C’moooon Point Dexter where’s your sense of fun?” Roman smirked as he handed his phone over. “I already tested and I’m a proud Gryffindor!”
Logan huffed and took the phone
“Big surprise...” Virgil muttered. Though he had to admit he was curious, so he pulled up Pottermore
“Oh! I wonder if each of the Patton pals would be in different houses?” Patton thought out loud
“Now that seems like a hypothesis worth following.” Logan smiled as he handed Roman his phone. “I’m in Ravenclaw by the way.”
Patton let out 2, 3, 4, and 5 to test out his hypothesis and they each took turns on the test. Patton, 2, and 5 are all Hufflepuffs, while 3 and 4 are Ravenclaws.
“Wait- so which house would Patton as a whole be if he wore the sorting hat? Because a quiz and the real thing are different.”
“While that is an intriguing question Roman, the answer is simply Hufflepuff.” Logan explained. “While Patton’s personalities were sorted into different houses, they mainly lean on Hufflepuff. So if the sorting hat were to be placed on his head he’d be Hufflepuff, with considered Ravenclaw.” “I don’t believe this!” Virgil looked at his phone confused
“What’s wrong Dr. Who? Get sorted into Slytherin?” Roman smirked
“No- I got sorted into Hufflepuff-” Patton gasped excitedly “Yay! House buddies!”
“I just- I don’t get how-”
“I mean- I do see some traits.” Roman scratched his arm. “Like- you’re pretty fucking Loyal- and patient- for the most part-”
Virgil blushed and snorted “Thanks Princey-”
“What I find intriguing was the first result I got-” Logan was thinking out loud “I was sorted into Slytherin.”
“I see it.” Virgil spoke up “Slytherins are leaders, and thoroughly think things through before acting on them. Trits are there but it’s not you to a T.”
“There are no t’s in the word you-” Logan pointed out.
“I wonder what houses 6 and 7 would be in-” Patton wondered. “I’d guess Slytherin for both of them-”
“Perhaps we shall learn another time. I believe it is my night to cook so I shall get right on that.” Logan got up and left “Guys I just took another test-” Virgil spoke up “I got Ravenclaw-”
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toadandtails · 5 years
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I JUST FINISHED CHAPTER 14 OF PROBABLE THEOREM AND NOW, IDK HOW TO REACT WITH A CLIFFHANGER LIKE THAT. OMGS I LOVE YOU MOM BUT LIKE, PLEASE.  I know, writing takes a lot of time. 
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fangirltothefullest · 3 years
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Hello!! As a new person to the fandom, do you have any fic recs for Sanders Sides?
These are basically the fics and authors I really like:
TheAsexualofSpades has some truly phenomenal work. I literally read every single fic of theirs on AO3.
In Memoriam by Acantha_Echo is excellent, and honestly all of their work is perfection.
Anything by notveryglittery. Usually very sappy and wonderful.
Chivalry is dead by uncrownedking is a truly glorious fic with a wonderful take on every part of Roman. The entire Chivalry series is something I highly recommend.
@teacupfulofstarshine (teacupfulofbrains on ao3)'s fics are all tremendously good. High key recommend the Patonella AU, (aka so this is love (what makes life divine) ), and Lovely Dark and Deep. Mermaid Logan and super gay Virgil is always A+.
Time heals by a_forgotten_note. If you want old Victorian romance and pining and ghosts? This is the fic for you. It's so good. Literally it's so beautifully written it the thing thay inspired me to start writing Where The Lovestruck bleeds.
Love and other fairytales (aka the laoft series) by sodoroses/fairychess is probably the biggest hyped series in the fandom and for good reason. There's so much to read! Like I don't know how they do it, there's so much to the story and so many fics it's a wonderland of excellent content.
Powerless by patentpending. Oh yes yes yes please read this its so good. One of my absolute favourites and its another superhero one.
I just keep losing my beat by @djpurple3 is such a fantastic story. Its about single dad Remus and his kids!
@coconut-cluster is another great author I love to read. Really wish for Crowns and Cutlasses to update though it's been so long.... TT^TT
Worthy by Appleflavorkitkats
The Effects of Shame by jinx72
Don't paint wonderful lies on me (that wash away) by codevassie
All bitter and clean by thunderbottle
Monsters of the subconscious by quarantinevibes
you don't like the ending (we'll find one that's yours) and i picture it, soft, and i ache by angelsdemonsducks
A transformation by amybri2002
Our own villain by ironwoman359
A lesson in practicality (aka ALiP) by residentanchor is so freaking good and I have admittedly read it more than once. Also recommend The seeds we sow and Probable Theorum which comes after alip.
The value in a name by sleepless_in_starbucks
A Snake in the Grass by RainbowMartin
Shatter by picnicsandstars and rosegoldroman
The Curse of the Dragon Witch by WanderingKinder
'Til the end of the night by quantumducky
Deceit's hunger by shay_nioum
Ephemera by nkmln
MIRROR | ЯOЯЯIM by altruisticskittles
Call it fae-t by jackfruit
Your Soul In The Palm of My Hand by SocialBookWorm
We were never welcome here (at all) by wisepuma23. Oh what I would give for this fic to update. But it's a good read regardless.
The low light (18+) by a_forgotten_note
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And now to self promote my multi-chapter fics because I also write fic and I've been told they're pretty good? None of them are complete yet but none are on hiatus.
A Promise Promise (platonic, virgil-centric royal au, very angsty but almost complete)
Iridescent (fae!Patton au)
A Pirate's Tail (mermaid Roman. Drakken is a bitch)
O Roman, Our Roman (or, what happens when Roman is sad after svs-r and the dragon witch finally wins a fight)
Where the lovestruck bleeds (ie, the somewhat remus-centric Victorian vampire slow burn au fic with the most prose I've ever done in my entire life. 18+)
Theres more but thats all I've got the brain for right now. X3
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What are some cute things the couples do that you haven’t mentioned in the fic?
OK SO some of these were gonna be side chapters I’ve been planning on writing so minor spoilers for that. (There’s a lot because I could write a whole sequel of just their dates and cute stuff I omit for plot oops)
Enjoy this massive fluff dump.
When Roman can’t sleep (which isn’t often), he will seek out Virgil and sort of gently nudge him awake and Virgil will move over so they can share a bed. He then sometimes will sing songs he thinks Virgil will like to help both of them sleep again. (He has a playlist of these songs labeled ‘Virgil’)
Logan will try using the cooking skills Patton has taught them and look up recipes within his abilities and make them lunch/dinner just to impress him. He’s gotten quite good! (He enjoys Binging with Babish/Basics with Babish) He will use his abilities to help him multitask while he watches his phone.
Patton has read many books in his time working at the library so sometimes he’ll sit in Logan’s room/his room and read and Logan will join him. If Logan is reading a book Patton has read, Patton perks up at every noise Logan is at and wonders what part he’s just read.
Logan will visit Patton at work and take him to the cafe down the street where they initially met for lunch dates.
Virgil will randomly walk into the room Roman is at and will try to sit on him or coax him into a makeout session if he’s bored. Roman will try to fight it just to bother him.
Logan likes taking pictures of things he sees that he thinks Patton would like. Pretty pictures of sunsets on his way home, a random dog he’s seen, a cute shop he thinks they could visit, etc.
Roman, knowing Virgil’s love for family-owned businesses, will often scope out places for their dates and take Virgil to them if he’s interested.
Virgil knows Roman isn’t a huge fan of his new desk job and will (eventually) paint pictures for his desk for him to switch out once in a while.
Patton Pal cuddle puddle with Logan.
Logan will sometimes softly sing to Patton when Patton has a bad dream. He doesn’t sing otherwise.
Roman eventually(so much farther in the future) learning to use his electricity to generate heat and becoming a living heater that Virgil latches onto all the time... so Roman gets free snuggle time.
Patton will buy cheap cards at the dollar store and write fun facts (or puns... or both) on the inside.
As Logan laments about the terrible customers at the book store he has to deal with, Patton will cheer him on and give him a high five for keeping his cool.
Virgil will go to every showing Roman performs in using his abilities and brings roses on the first night without fail.
There’s more but... that’s it. A lot of it is things that have to happen in the future because they just started dating but they’re things that will happen. 
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breadthecat · 5 years
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This is it. Peak comedy gold
Alip Patton belongs to @residentanchor
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residentanchor · 4 years
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Probable Theorem Ch. 16
<<Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Summary: A search begins... Or the search TRIES to begin but phone calls keep happening! Warnings: Cursing, Panic, angry yelling, kidnapping, injuries(bruises) Word Count: 7944
Note: Savoir Faire Definition: the ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.
Author’s Note: This chapter comes with some special fanart! [Click here!]  Also hi. These past 6 months have been terrible but I still love all of you and this story so it’s not stopping anytime soon!
The trek home took far longer than any of them had hoped. When they managed to make it back to their apartment, the sun was already in the early morning sky. Virgil jogged up the stairs and pulled out a key before running in ahead of the others. He tossed the backpack onto the floor next to the door and raced over to the couch. He spun around and fell back before pulling up his legs and burying his face. The fabric of his hood, which he pulled up a while ago on their journey back home, completely hid his face.
Logan closed the door, and Patton watched Virgil closely while tugging at the hem of his shirt. 
“That was good thinking, Patton,” Logan whispered. “Telling the cops you were looking for a friend’s missing pet. At least they have records of something happening to the Prince. It may come in handy in the future.” Patton nodded and looked back to the floor, silent. Logan let out a soft sigh when he hadn’t received any kind of verbal response. Patton glanced up at Virgil, and his frown deepened and he took a step back. Logan took the opening as an opportunity to slowly approach the couch. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, Virgil, but we need to make a plan if we want to get Roman back.” Logan waited for Virgil to move and the heavy silence between them grew. “We should rest a bit and then-”
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Virgil threw his head up, his face barely visible from his hair covering his face. “We don’t have time to rest! Roman just got fucking kidnapped! The longer we wait, the more danger he is in!”
“Yes, and what do you expect us to do in our condition?” Logan raised his voice a bit in retaliation. “We can’t help him even if we do find him right now. We should rest and come up with a plan first.”
Virgil stood up and grit his teeth. “Fuck that!” His hands balled into fists and he stomped forward. “We go out there and we find him! Just like you found us the very first time, you can manage that, right?! Then when we know he’s safe, we infiltrate, and I bash everyone’s stupid face in! How’s that for a plan?”
Logan held up his hands in surrender as Virgil grew closer. “It took me days to check the whole city last time and the buses won’t be running this early!” Logan commented, hoping to ease Virgil’s anger. “The sun is only just starting to rise.”
Virgil backed off and began to pace. “No no no no no! We need to find him now. I can’t just sit around and wait!” Virgil growled and kicked a pillow on the ground from the bed he had placed before everything. The sight of the blankets and pillows seemed to be Virgil’s current target for his frustrations. He had been in denial about the whole thing the entire walk home. He was silent, almost in a daze as the reality of the situation started to settle in. Now he was simply frustrated with himself that he was so useless to stop it! When Roman needed him most, he stood there, frozen and too afraid and in shock to do anything. Now he was fired up and unable to stand by and wait.
Logan watched Virgil’s panic fueled rampage from the sidelines, unsure how to help as he looked over at Patton. “Any help here?” Patton looked up, his fists were now on his chest grabbing at his shirt, balling them up in his hands. Patton seemed a little panicked himself and shook his head quickly. Logan looked between the two as something clicked. Desperation. Panic. Empath. “Patton, please step out of the room for a moment while I try to calm down Virgil. Do those breathing practices like you taught me, alright?”
Wordlessly Patton nodded in agreement before turning to retreat into his bedroom, shutting the door loudly behind him. Logan turned back to Virgil and went to stop his pacing and destruction of the pillows before thinking better of it. He didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. “Virgil, can you breathe with me?”
“This is all my fault, Logan. He’s hurt and gone and it’s all because of me.” Virgil finally stopped his pacing and let out a gasp of air. “I did this.”
“You were not the one that attacked Roman so I don’t see how this is your fault.” Virgil huffed out a silent laugh, shook his head, and started pacing once more. He almost looked like a caged animal searching for a way to escape. Logan’s mind raced as he tried to think of ways to deescalate the situation. “Vir-”
“Oh, let it go, Lo!” Virgil spun around with a shout. “I did this! I left him alone when I knew he was tired! Because I knew he likes to have a moment to himself before he comes home! And because I wasn’t strong enough to keep the portal open because I was tired, I let him get kidnapped! This is my fault!”
“That is factually and objectively not true!”
“Bullshit!”
Patton’s bedroom door let out a soft squeak as it opened back up, causing the other two to stop and turn. Patton stood there much more calm and at ease. He smiled and walked out, looking carefully between the two. “You both alright? Feeling any better, Virge?”
Virgil seemed to settle just enough to realize what he had done to make Patton step away for a moment. “Oh shoot, Patton!” Virgil ran over and held out his hands. “I’m so sorry, I made you panic, didn’t I?”
Patton smiled and pulled him into a hug. “You don’t have to apologize for how you were feeling, Virgil. I know you were trying to keep it together the whole way home. Besides, it was a bit of all of our feelings that kind of became too much for me.”
Virgil pulled away and tried to give a smile to Patton as reassurance. “I’m a little better after my freak out. I’m still sorry, though.”
Another Patton walked out of his bedroom and adjusted the collar on his button down shirt. “Now, none of that! We need to start making a plan, right?”
“Um…” Logan cleared his throat as the newly appeared Patton turned to him. “What’s with the outfit change?”
“Oh,” they looked down at their outfit confused. “What do you mean? These are just my work clothes, you’ve seen them before.”
“You’re going to work?!” Virgil cried out, turning to the other. “Today?!”
“It would be suspicious if we all called out. I already have for Roman, promising a doctor’s note after all of this. That should give us some time.” 
“Oh, no!” Virgil called out, searching his pockets. “I have work this morning!”
“Not anymore, you don’t!” Both the Pattons crossed their arms at the same time, giving Virgil a stern look. “When I got out of bed yesterday, you were up and cooking breakfast.” The first Patton spoke.
The second nodded. “Did you just get up super early or did you have trouble sleeping? You obviously didn’t sleep last night.”
Virgil ducked his head, confirming both their suspicions. 
“Virgil,” Logan spoke slowly as he turned to them. “Pat and Two seem to be insinuating… you are exhausted due to lack of sleep. Which I’m afraid I’ll have to believe since you just told me you were unwilling to keep the portal open too long due to exhaustion... When was the last time you slept?”
“Do naps count? Cause I took a short one...” Virgil flinched as the three looked at him. “Okay, so it’s been a day or two, so what?!”
“Virge, calm down,” the one Logan referred to as Pat Two said, reaching out, “It’s probably for the best you get some sleep soon.”
“I can’t just--I have to do something! I have to start searching or, or… I can’t just go to sleep right now!” Virgil turned and stormed out of the apartment, quickly grabbing the backpack he had left by the door as he did so. “Virgil!” Logan called out, chasing after him. “Wait, hold on a moment! Wait for us!”
The two Pattons looked at one another and nodded. The normal dressed one turned and ran out the door, leaving behind the other for them to head to work.
---
Roman was completely bored.
The kidnapping attempt, if you wanted to call it that, was absolutely pathetic. It only took Roman minutes before he broke free of the zip ties and threw them out of reach before inspecting the room he was trapped in. There were no windows lining the walls so there was no way to pinpoint where in the city he was located. Though, one wall was made completely of glass covered by blinds on the outside. He could almost imagine a long table with chairs all around the white room and people in suits having a meeting for some boring office job they had. It reminded him of his own old office job he used to have... He had to be in some office building downtown, trapped in an old meeting room if he had to guess though there was no way to be sure. They could look in on him from the other side, peering through the blinds to see what he was up to. The only thing that blocked him was the door, locked from the outside. It would be easy for Prince Charging to break free, but after much thought, he decided against it. He wasn’t willing to give them the satisfaction of being right. Not about his powers and not about him attacking to escape. He was going to be quiet and patient and wait it out.
Well, not completely quiet. After a bit of waiting, he started getting bored. A quick walk around the room revealed nothing but a few covered outlets and a paperclip that had been left behind. Sliding down against the wall, Roman sprawled out his legs in front of him and tapped his fingers on the carpet before he started humming to himself. They were not going to get the better of him. Seriously, they had no idea what they were doing. Still airing on the side of caution, he sat down and winced at his throbbing headache and rubbed his cheek where he had been struck.
Once the two he had labeled ‘Harry’ and ‘Marv’ made their first appearance, their tune was completely different than it had been last night. They offered him ice for his wounds and water to stay hydrated. While he turned down the ice, the water bottle was very much appreciated. He didn’t want anything they could have possibly tampered with. They were being polite and checking on him, though Roman wasn’t an idiot. He smiled and thanked them, fully aware he wasn’t wearing his mask and keeping his distance as much as possible.
Once they asked his name, he fell silent. His short responses had made them bold enough to ask but he wasn’t playing any games. They asked again along with a few more questions. They asked about his powers and how they worked and what he could do, but Roman did what he does best. Besides from being dashingly handsome, of course. He performed.
“Wait, you don’t think I have actual powers, do you? You know that, right?” He chuckled awkwardly as he took a sip from the water bottle they had given him.  “I’m just a guy in a costume. Powers like that are only things you find in comic books.”
They weren’t pleased to say the least. Their little kindness act dropped fast and the hero watched as they grew tired of his silence and lack of answers. One took out his phone and went to snap a picture before Roman panicked.
“Wait!” Roman covered his face and held out a hand toward the camera. The shouts were enough to get them to stop just long enough for him to come up with an excuse only a gullible moron would believe. “The only advantage you have against everyone else in this city is that you know what I look like. Would you really take a photo and ruin that?”
They looked to one another before nodding, and Roman watched the phone slide away… apparently he was dealing with two gullible morons. He wasn’t sure if that made things easier.
After that, they began whispering to themselves. Though, in a quiet secluded room with no one else around, Roman was able to pick up a few things. They were worried about someone but desperate for a solution. At least, those were the only pieces of the puzzle he was able to pick out from the murmurs. Eventually, they walked out and left the lonely prince once more.
That’s where they had left Roman now. Alone to entertain himself in a room blocked off from all outside light and noise. Roman flexed his hands in his gloves and brushed his face where his mask usually lay. 
He heard a muffled noise and glanced up, his hand falling from his face. One section of the glass wall was revealed, the blinds pulled up from the other side. With it’s reveal, someone new was standing there. It wasn’t ‘Harry’ or ‘Marv’ or anyone Roman had seen before. They stared at one another wide eyed and in a bit of shock. The figure turned to the side and spoke to someone he did not see. Then they glanced back and shook their head with a defeated look. They turned back and stared into the office before the blinds cut off their view of one another and left Roman alone once more.
Were these members of the APC? Were they trying to see if they recognized him? The blinds went up again with a new person once more. It happened a few times, again and again. With each shake of the head, the blinds fell and they vanished before the next person walked up. With each face, there was the realization that there were so many people who hated him… for what? For stopping a purse snatcher? For chatting with people who needed someone to just listen? What had he done that was so bad that warranted this much hate? It stirred something in his chest and made him shift on the floor, but he was still in costume. Mask or no mask, he swore Prince Charging was going to help the people of this city and nothing would stop him. Roman needed to distract himself, and he knew exactly how.
He started singing Disney songs.
“You feel like some classic Disney?” Roman leaned against the wall, shouting through the closed door to the people on the other side. Sitting down, he could see their shadows and knew he wasn’t alone. “Something slower? I can do some Mulan!”
The voices never gave a loud response as Roman started singing. He started with some classics and went to new school, only seeing one or two people check in on him while he did so.
Luckily, it was when he was in between songs when he saw her. Staring through the glass and frozen in shock was Patton’s mother. He was glad he managed to catch himself and keep his expression from giving anything away. As he watched her at a loss for words, Roman simply felt anger bubbling underneath the surface. Her own son was a man with powers just like his and she had the audacity to join a group that forcefully kidnapped him just to get what they wanted?
Eventually she jumped and mumbled something before running away, the blinds falling shortly after. To her credit, though, another person came in not long after as they continued their search. Had she not ratted him out? Or, he had hoped this wasn’t the case, was she planning on using this information against Patton somehow? He wouldn’t pass her, the scoundrel. Roman took the opportunity to keep up his charade and continue on as if nothing had just transpired.
“Oh, I just thought of a great song that fits perfectly! You’ve ever seen Oliver and Company?”
Roman sat up and crossed his legs before clearing his throat. He bobbed his head as he began to sing. “One minute, I’m in Central Park! Then I’m down on Delancey Street…”
They continued to ignore him as usual until he heard a loud bang come from outside the room. He paused a moment, listening carefully, before picking back up on his song. “Whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo! I’m street wise! I can improvise!”
Another resounding bang echoed out, causing Roman to pause once more.
“What did I tell you?!” Roman jumped at the new voice shouting from outside the room. His heart began pounding in his chest. He sat waiting in silence, the silent ringing in his ears all he could make out. Then the blinds from before began moving up, revealing yet another new face.
This man was older, bigger with a widow’s peak and a bushy mustache sat atop his upper lip. The man seemed to gasp in shock as he looked in on the unmasked prince before turning to the side, enraged. 
“I told you to leave him alone! What part of that told you to bring him here?!”
The man vanished as the blinds dropped, and the hushed conversation on the other side came to an abrupt end. Roman was once again left in silence, unsure of what had just transpired outside of the room.
With a deep breath, he kept singing to keep himself calm.
“Why should I worry? Why should I ca-are? I may not have a dime, but I got street savoir faire!”
---
They chased Virgil down the street, who was marching on with determination to an unknown destination. They both managed to catch up quickly and struggled to keep pace with him. 
“Virgil,” Patton spoke up, walking in step next to him. “Where are we going?”
Virgil finally stopped and turned to Logan who almost ran right into him. “I don’t know, where do we start, Lo?”
Logan blinked and reached for his glasses as he gathered himself. “Well, anywhere is a good start. We know where they started but we couldn’t eliminate any part of the city. We can always start downtown and work our way there, it’ll cover the most ground. But they could just as likely have left the city. It could take days before we find him.”
“Wait, we’re starting now?” Patton looked between the two. “Shouldn’t Virgil get some rest? He’s exhausted! He even said so himself!”
Logan shook his head and frowned. “His anxiety has him wide awake and is causing a sort of ‘fight or flight’ response from him. Since there is nothing to fight or to run from, having him burn off the energy can help lower his anxiety and settle him enough for him to rest.” Logan turned and smiled at Virgil who huffed in response. “Until he gets to that point, it’s best we let him be. We just need to figure out a plan first.”
“That makes sense…” Virgil mumbled to himself. “I should try it more.” Silence quickly fell over the group as they all started to think about their next plan of action. Virgil quickly began to shuffle his feet and grow impatient before letting out a sigh. “Let's walk and talk. We need to come up with a plan, right? I can’t just stand here anymore.”
“Yes, though it is not quite as simple as that.”
They walked in silence a bit before Patton chuckled awkwardly to himself. “Talk about deja vu, am I right??” Both stopped and turned to Patton. “I mean, we are looking for a danger but we don’t know where or who it is and when it will strike. Kinda… less supernatural this time but just as scary.” Patton shrugged. “All we need is to call Thomas about all this and it’s just like last time.”
“Thomas…” Logan murmured. “Do you think we should warn Thomas about this? Like we had in the past?”
“Maybe…” Virgil fussed with the backpack strap over his shoulder and shrugged. “Even if he said he wanted space, this is kinda big.”
“Well,” Patton interjected, “he might feel bad if we don’t tell him, right? He is Roman’s friend. We could give him the choice.”
“Excellent,” Logan clapped his hands together. “Patton, you call Thomas while Virgil and I discuss what to do next.”
“Oh, um…” Patton shuffled on his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I don’t have it on me.”
Logan paused for a moment before turning toward Virgil. They stared at each other a moment before Virgil shook his head. “Mine is dead, dude. I’ve been out all night and my human phone charger got shoved into a van a few hours ago.”
When both Patton and Virgil looked at Logan, he immediately grew uncomfortable. “Well, of course my phone is on me and charged! B-but Thomas would never--I mean I really shouldn’t bother him. He wouldn’t want to hear from me anyway.”
Patton smiled and placed a hand on Logan’s arm, causing him to stop his rambling. “Lo, I can call him for you, okay? No need to worry.”
---
The vibrating and generic default tone of the phone rang out across the room. After a moment, the lump laying next to it groaned and lifted their head, tiredly blinking the sleep from their eyes.
Another groan let out from the other side of the couch. “Shut the fuck up, noise.”
“Joan…” Thomas mumbled as he blinked down at his phone. Logan. The call ended and Thomas sighed as the time appeared on the screen. Who calls at eight in the morning? Thomas dropped the phone and laid his head back down on the pillow. He had stayed up late last night with Joan while catching up on a show, and they both fell asleep on his couch. His phone was nearly dead, and the sun was trying to shine through the blinds, though it wasn’t nearly bright enough to succeed just yet.
Thomas shut his eyes and snuggled into the warmth around him, ready to go back to sleep when his phone went off again. Joan groaned and rolled over, covering their ears from the noise.
Thomas tiredly picked up the phone and huffed in annoyance before answering. “Logan, tell me someone is dying or I’m hanging up.”
“Oh, um…” Oh. That wasn’t Logan’s voice. “Well, we don’t actually know? Sorry, Thomas! Want me to call ya back later? I was just planning on leaving a message. I forgot the first time and--oh. Sorry, you’re right Lo, I’m rambling.”
Pulling the phone away, Thomas looked down at the caller id once more. Logan. “Patton?”
“Yeah, good morning! Sorry, we’ve been up for a while, and I guess we just lost track of time.”
Letting out a yawn, Thomas flopped back onto his pillow. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Oh, um, not really? I really didn’t want to do this over the phone, maybe we can meet up later?”
“Patton, the last time we met up for you to tell me something important, you almost died.” A flash of a memory went through his mind. Patton, or more specifically a Pal, grabbing Thomas’ hand and running out of the alley and away from the danger they had found themselves in. The same pal panicking on the bus while the others fought that smoke monster. Though, Thomas was grateful they told him…
It was a memory he had completely forgotten about until just then. The memory took a second to flash in his mind before he let out a gasp and bolted up. “Wait, you wouldn’t call me unless it was something super bad.”
“No! Well, we don’t really know? You should be fine!”
Thomas groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “You said that last time… I think.”
“I did. I’m, sorry… I don’t know how I should say this.”
“Just say it or I’m going to start panicking.” Thomas saw Joan turn back over and look at him a bit confused. “What’s wrong?”
“So, um. Prince Charging was kidnapped last night.”
“He what?!” 
“Thomas?” Joan sat up looking concerned.
“What do you mean Prince Charging was kidnapped?!”
“Wait, the fuck?!” Joan threw the blanket off of themself and walked over to the other half of the sectional couch.
“We are looking for him, but we just wanted to warn you! You might hear some stuff, and we didn’t want to leave you out of the loop. I’m sorry, this could have waited until you actually woke up. I didn’t know what to say when the voicemail popped up the first time.”
Thomas immediately shook his head. “No, no! This is definitely something important I needed to know. Thanks for telling me.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find him, okay? Leave everything to us! We will update you if anything changes!” Thomas bit his lip as he heard Patton trying to reassure him over the phone. “I’m sorry, try and get some sleep if you still need it, okay? We’ll talk soon.”
“Yeah, okay bye.”
Thomas pulled his phone away and watched the call end before letting out a big sigh.
“Well? What did he say?” Thomas looked at Joan and shook his head. “What happened?”
“I dunno, I didn’t…” A million questions suddenly hit him all at once as he shook off his sleep. What did actually happen? Where? How?! He didn’t even think to ask, the shock of the news was a bit overwhelming and it seemed Patton was in a rush, panicking and tired. Why did he use Logan’s phone in the first place? “He just told me they were looking and would give me updates when they could.”
Joan mumbled to themself before leaning back onto the couch. “Well, that’s one way to start the day.”
Thomas looked at his best friend as a feeling squirmed inside of him. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but he felt the need to move. He stood up and stretched before looking back to the couch. “What now? I don’t think I can sleep after that.”
“Me neither. I mean… maybe if I wanted to, but…” They trailed off and shrugged. “You think Roman’s okay? Maybe that group had something to do with it? Or it could have been like, a super obsessed fan or something.”
“I dunno…”
Joan shook their head and smirked to themself. “Alright, well, what are you gonna do?”
“What?”
They leaned over and patted Thomas on his shoulder. “Come on, we need to get some more sleep before your big day.”
“Joan, what are you talking about?” Thomas whined, unsure of what was happening. 
“Thomas,” Joan turned and looked at him seriously. “What do you plan on doing about it?”
Thomas stared at Joan confused for a moment. “Doing about--what? About Roman? I don’t, I’m… I'm way over my head here, I think it’s best I just sit this one out.” Thomas gripped his hair as he nervously ran his hand through it again. “Right?”
“Whatever you want, Thomas. As long as you’re sure. And I get pancakes beforehand.”
---
Patton tapped on Logan’s phone to end the call and handed it back. “There. Taken care of. So, come up with anything?”
“Yeah,” Virgil huffed out angrily. “By the time we find Roman, if he’s still alive, I’m going to kill him myself.”
“Virgil-”
“That’s enough, Virgil.” Logan cut off Patton, holding his arms out. “Of course Roman is still alive. What is a pity party going to do?”
“I can’t do anything else! What do you want from me? There’s three of us and a city full of people! They’ve had him for hours now, who knows if we will even find him!”
“Yes, we will, alright?” Logan spoke in a softer tone. “We will find him, I promise you that.” Giving in, Virgil nodded and shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket before turning away. “Now, Patton,” Logan spun around and looked down at the other. “Virgil is right, there’s only three of us. However, I know you can help us increase the odds a bit.”
“Oh, well,” Patton spoke, flustered.
“With a few more of us, we will split into groups.” Logan turned and faced Virgil. “We will split the city into divisions and spread out from there. Patton and I will start with the westside while a pal and you search where we last saw Roman.”
“Logan, I-”
“Then the other groups can search remaining parts and search for the Prince’s fan club and give them a heads up about what happened. Surely one of them might know something.”
“Logan!” Patton looked flustered as he yelled, completely red in the face with his hands balled into fists.
“I am sorry, was there something you needed to say?” 
Patton flushed when Logan spoke and gave him his undivided attention. “Oh, um… yeah. I can’t.”
The other two waited for Patton to elaborate before growing confused. “I’m sorry,” Logan shook his head. “You can’t what?”
“I can’t make more pals. I, um… I’m Two?” The words slowly sank into Logan’s brain as his eyes slowly widened. “Tada? Sorry, I should have said something sooner.”
“That’s why you don’t have your phone.” Logan mumbled to himself before shaking his head. “No matter, the real one simply went to work, correct?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone once more. “I’ll simply call him there, they should be open by now.”
“He’s not.” Logan froze half way through dialing the number. 
“What did you just say?”
“He’s not at work?” Two chuckled awkwardly and cleared his throat. “Three went to work today.”
Logan took a step closer and looked Two directly in the eyes. “Tell me the truth. Was it Patton I saw wearing his work clothes before we left.”
“It was.”
Logan frowned and paused for a moment. “Then he made a pal after he left to go to work for him?” Two nodded and Logan leaned back. “So where is he?!”
“About that…”
Not waiting for an answer, Logan pulled out his phone and pressed the button to speed dial his boyfriend’s cellphone. The other two waited quietly as Logan silently seethed, waiting as his phone rang over and over and squeezing it tightly in his hand. “Pick up, pick up,” he mumbled to himself impatiently, his back turned to the others on the sidewalk. He heard a click and a noise as the ringing stopped. “Patton?”
“Logan? Everything alright?”
“Care to explain why Two is here and Three is at work?” Patton sighed and looked up at the others as they watched him nervously. “Did you really find it necessary to sneak away from us like that?”
“Would you have stopped me from doing this if I had told you?”
“I…” He knew the answer. If Patton was going to talk to his mother, he would have wanted to be there or would have tried to talk him out of it completely. “We’re just worried. I don’t want you rushing into anything.”
“She’s my mother, Lo.” Logan’s heart broke at the soft tone. “I have to be able to talk to her about things.”
“I don’t want her to keep--” Logan bit his tongue before he said too much. “You always forgive her...”
“Not for this.” Logan tensed at the serious tone he heard through the phone. “I’ll call you back when it’s done. Trust me on this?”
Logan nodded and closed his eyes. “Yes, of course. Always. Just be careful.”
“Don’t worry. I have her outnumbered.” Logan chuckled and managed to relax. “I’ll see you later.”
“Right, of course. Later.”
Logan heard the phone call end and pulled it away, watching the numbers on his phone fade into darkness. He took a moment to let everything sink in before spinning around to the others.
“He went to visit his mother?!” Logan knew shouting so early in the morning would only get him in trouble, but his brain was buzzing with everything that happened and the new information he was just given was a bit too much. “What would he go to her for?”
“This is it, we’re doomed.” Virgil began biting his fingernail and started to pace. “If only I could have stopped this from before. I could go back, couldn’t I?! There must be something I can do!”
Two held out his hands, unsure of which one to attempt to soothe first. “She will know something, we know she will!”
“That’s not the point.” Logan lamented. “She’s trouble! He didn’t have to go alone.”
Two pulled his hands to his chest and rubbed them together for warmth. “We aren’t even sure it’s going to work. We wanted to try first and if something came of it, we were going to tell you.”
“When?” Logan looked heartbroken as he spoke. “When were you planning on telling us?”
“Today, I promise.” Two reached out and grabbed one of Logan’s hands. “We were going to tell you even if nothing came of it, but you were going to find out after it happened.”
“I would just have to go back and follow the truck, right?!” Virgil spun around, still pacing back and forth. “I just have to find where he went then return to the present! Then we can just go rescue him!”
Logan squeezed Two’s hand before letting go and turning around. “Virgil, you know how dangerous that could be to mess with the past, let alone let a portal sit there in the open like that.”
“Then I’ll take his place! Something! I have to be able to do something, Lo!”
A sudden ringing rang out and all three of them looked at one another. Logan patted his pocket and shook his head. “That’s not my phone.”
“I don’t have one on me.” Two responded.
Virgil’s face lit up with recognition and he threw the bag he was carrying over his shoulder onto the ground. The ringing had stopped briefly before starting up again as Virgil dug around for the source of the noise. An old flip phone sat in his hand, vibrating and demanding to be answered.
“He has a burner phone?” Logan asked.
“In case of emergencies, but I thought I was the only one who had the number.” Virgil stared down at the phone as it stopped. A brief moment later, it started up again. “So who is this?” Virgil looked at Logan and Pat Two who both seemed as lost as he did. He sighed and flipped the phone open before answering. “Hello?”
“Oh, goodness! Finally! You know you worry me when you don’t call!” The feminine voice over the phone threw Virgil for a loop.
“I’m sorry, who is this?”
“Wait, who is this?”
“I asked first!”
“Where did you find this phone?” The voice yelled back with a bit of anger.
“In a backpack.” Virgil was vague, wondering if it’s a wrong call at this point.
“In whose backpack?” Virgil looked up at his roommates. 
“In… Prince Charging’s backpack.”
“Yes, so…” Did they know who they just called? Who did Roman give this number to? “Where is Prince Charging?”
“Who wants to know?”
“His mother!”
Virgil gasped and gripped the phone tighter. “Elizabeth…?”
“Wait,” Two furrowed his brow as he started to remember. “Roman’s mother?”
“Who is this?!”
Virgil suddenly became frozen in fear just as he did hours before. What was she going to do when he found out he failed to protect her son? 
“Hello?”
“Yes, sorry. Um, it’s, uh… It’s Virgil, ma’am.”
“Oh! Virgil sweetie, hi!” The harsh tones from before vanished completely. “I should have known. I was concerned for a second there!”
“Yeah… How do you have this number?”
“Come on, now. I know what Roman’s been up to! I told him to call me before and after every patrol to check in! He knows I tend to worry. But he hasn’t checked in last night and his phone is going straight to voicemail! I got worried and tried calling you but I got the same thing.”
Straight to voicemail? Then Roman’s phone shut off too. Probably forgot to plug it into a charger before he left it at home, so used to it always being charged thanks to his powers. “Yeah, um, about that-”
“Something happened to him, didn’t it?” Virgil couldn’t find an appropriate way to answer. “I was worried as much. Are you alright?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess.”
“Good. Then I’m coming over.”
“What?!”
“I’ll be there in a bit and you can tell me everything!”
“Wait a minute-”
“Virgil,” Roman’s mother spoke over the phone in an assertive tone, demanding to be listened to. “Is Roman in any trouble that I could be of any help with?”
“Well, yeah? I guess, but Elizabeth, that’s not really-”
“Then I will not stand by when my son needs my help! I’ll see you soon, Virgey!”
Virgil heard the phone click and the call ended before he could get another word in. He flipped the phone shut and turned around to see Logan and Two staring at him confused. 
“Virgil?” Two asked, approaching carefully. “What happened? What did she say?”
Virgil glanced at the phone before looking back up at Two. “She’s coming over.”
“Over?” Logan questioned before jutting a thumb over his shoulder. “You mean over to the apartment? Where we currently are not?”
“We have to go back and meet her there!” Two jumped and spun around, marching down the street. “She has a car, right? We have to hurry back!”
Logan looked between the two before turning to Two. “What about Patton?”
Spinning around on his heel, Two looked at Logan with a frown. “He’s fine, alright?” Two placed a hand over his heart. “I’ll let you know if anything changes. Don’t you trust us?”
“Of course I do. Sorry, I’m just worried.” Logan sighed and gave in. “Right, so, back to the apartment as quick as we can.”
Virgil threw the phone into the backpack and began to follow them down the street. “What kind of plan is this? We’re getting nowhere! Couldn’t we, like, split up?” He fell in line behind them, looking down at his feet as he walked. “There’s got to be a time I can jump to in the past to do something so we’re not wasting time, right? Maybe I could-”
Logan spun around and stopped on the sidewalk causing Virgil to almost walk right into him. “Virgil, I know this is hard, but his mother needs to know. Besides, our best bet is to trust Patton’s plan works. Okay?”
“Okay…” Logan nodded and turned, continuing to walk down the street. “But, wait, what is his plan anyway?”
“My mother.” Two called out over his shoulder. “She’s part of the Anti-Prince Club. We’re gonna convince her to take us there. Or at least tell us where they could be keeping him.”
“Wait, what?!” Virgil jogged up past Logan to fall in step with Two. “She might know where he is?” Two nodded and pursed his lips. “If she sees him, would she…?”
“I don’t know.”
---
Roman wasn’t anywhere near exhausting his vast library of Disney songs, but he was almost out of water and had opted to stop. He turned and layed on the carpet and stared up at the tiled ceiling, tracing it with his eyes and desperately trying to convince himself to not count them just yet. He had to save himself something to do later, after all.
The door creaked open and Roman turned his head away. He didn’t care if it was a new face or not, he was on a break thank you. He could entertain these fools later.
“They haven’t kept you in here long, have they?” Roman heard the door click shut and listened for the figure to approach. “This place was empty last night. You could have only been here a few hours tops.”
“Yeah, sorry, don’t exactly have a clock in here.” Roman waved a hand toward the voice. “Also, can I complain about the room service? It’s dreadful.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
Roman sat up and gave in, glaring at the older man. It was the one from before, who had yelled at the others for bringing Roman here. “What is your plan, exactly? You gonna just keep me here until you figured out who I am? I have a life and people who care about me. You can’t keep me here long without repercussions, you know.”
The older man sighed and ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I know, I am truly sorry. I’ll get you out as soon as possible. I promise.”
“Okay,” Roman answered slowly, squinting at the older man. “So what is it you want in return for my freedom? My name? Where I live? You gonna drop me off at my house so you can keep tabs on me?”
“No! I didn’t want them to do this in the first place! What kinda morons kidnaps anyone anyway?! I’m surprised they managed to sneak you in without anyone noticing.” The man placed his hands on his hips as he began to pace. “Now that they let everyone know you’re here, I have to figure out how to get you out without suspicion!”
“Hold up, what are you talking about?” Roman crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “You act like you don’t hate me.”
“That would be because I don’t’.” The man turned to Roman and slowly approached him. “My name is Bruce. I’m, well, there’s not a leader to this whole thing really. I help organize the meetings and keep track of everything.” He stopped a few feet away from Roman and kneeled down. “I’ve been trying to keep these people off of your back for months by working from the inside. I don’t hate you, Prince. I promise you that.” Roman watched as the man sighed and reached out before reconsidering. “Look what they did. You okay there, son? Is your cheek still hurting, there?”
Roman reached up and gently brushed his cheek that had been struck by the bat. Obviously it had left a mark, not that he could tell. “Oh, not really, it’s fine. The one on my head hurts more but it’s manageable.”
“I’ll go get some ice.” Bruce stood up and turned toward the door, pausing as his hand rested on the door knob. “Do you need anything? I’ll come back and we can plan your escape.”
“Um, no.” Roman pulled his legs in closer, feeling uncomfortable at the sudden kindness he was being shown. “Why are you doing all this for me?”
“Because,” He smiled sadly, “you’re not the first person I’ve met with powers.”
---
The walk back home was quiet just as it had been that morning. The difference now was that Two led the way walking with determination unlike Virgil who was marching furiously and with impatience hours before. Cars drove past as most of the city had already started the day. Virgil lamented in the back of the group, worried about what Roman’s mother would say when she heard the story.
“She’s going to be so mad at me. I’m doomed, she’ll hate me after this.” He bit his thumbnail in worry. “This is all my fault, he’s probably dead and I’m next.”
“Virgil, you need to stop thinking so negatively.” Logan turned and watched Virgil stare at him with a blank look. “Yes, I know that’s not easy for you but you’ll be fine. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.” Virgil pulled his hoodie closer to himself as his worries grew. “There’s nothing we can do now but accept we’re failures and wait for the end.”
“No.” Two perked up as they turned onto their street. “I refuse to give up. We’ll get through this, Virgil, together.”
The rest of the walk remained silent until their building came into view. Virgil groaned and mumbled out loud. “So glad everything we did was pointless since we ended up right back where we started.” 
Two ignored him and waited for Logan who had a key to unlock the door. He stepped aside as Logan pulled his small keychain from his pocket. The apartment door next to theirs suddenly swung open, causing Logan to jump and fumble with the key, almost dropping it. “Sweet Newton’s cradle!” Logan grabbed his chest and felt his heart pounding. “A little warning next time, Clyde?”
Clyde kept his eyes on Two and marched up with a look of worry. “You’re back! Did you find him? Did you see the guy?”
Two raised an eyebrow and leaned back. “Uhhh, no idea what you’re talking about there, kiddo.”
Huffing at the nickname, Clyde took a step back and crossed his arms. “Roman. Did you find him? And did you see the guy I warned you about?”
Virgil and Logan exchanged a look as Two shook his head. “We didn’t, but I don’t know what guy you’re talking about.”
“The… The guy! I told you like, not even two hours ago?!”
“I get that, but that wasn’t me.” Two held up his hands defensively. “You talked to Patton. I’m Two. He’s still out.”
“Perhaps we continue this conversation inside so you can enlighten us, Clyde?” Logan held up the key and turned to their apartment door, quickly unlocking it and making his way inside for the others to follow.
“Oof, who made this mess?” Clyde eyed the pillows and blankets on the ground as Logan began to pick them up. “You always this messy?”
Virgil ducked inside and hunched over a bit. “Princey and I were gonna nap on it when we got back this morning.”
“Eww,” Clyde scrunched his nose at the thought of the two together. Virgil turned and glared, causing fear to spike in the younger man. He didn’t forget the threats Virgil made toward him in his apartment from before. “I mean, aww. What a shame…”
Virgil scoffed and sat down, staring at the floor as Two began to help fold the blankets from the floor. “So, while we wait for our inevitable demise, mind telling us who you warned Patton about?”
“Because I know exactly what you’re talking about. What ‘demise’ is coming for you this time?” Clyde shoved his hands in his pockets. “You managed to screw anything up in the two hours you were gone? That’s a new record.”
“No, Roman’s mom is on her way here.”
“Roman’s bad enough, I do not want to be here when she shows up…” Clyde mumbled, not exactly hiding what he said. “It was nothing, anyway. Just have a bad feeling that someone I sort of know may be involved.”
“Oh?” Two turned, holding a blanket to his chest. “Who is-”
A knock on the front door cut Patton off, silencing the room. 
“Oh, great. She’s here already. I’m dead.”
“That was rather fast,” Logan commented, making his way to the door. “I was under the impression she lived in the suburbs, does she not?”
Logan opened the door and found himself once again somehow surprised what the day had brought him. “What…?”
“Heeeey, Logan.” Thomas chuckled and awkwardly smiled, running a hand through his hair nervously. “Mind if I come in?”
---
Chapter 17>>
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impractical-au · 4 years
Text
Impractical Ch. 1
An ALiPverse story
This part of the story has already been revealed in backstories if you pieced it together but it is the beginning of the official story so... Here ya go! The OFFICIAL start! Keep an eye open! Anyone with powers, named or not, are all chosen from the ocs submitted! So keep a look out!
Character List
Master List
TW: Gun mention, gun fire, yelling
“Oh, Roman! You’re early!”
“Sorry, couldn’t contain my excitement!”
“I see you brought all your stuff. And… you’re sure about this?”
“Of course I am, Pat! I’m surprised it hadn’t come up sooner!” Roman carried one of his few boxes across the room and placed it on the floor. His handwriting had scribbled ‘Disney Movies’ across the side. “We’ve been friends for years, how have we not thought of living together?”
“Hah, who knows?” Patton lifted another box and let out a huff before carrying it to Roman’s new room. “Better late than never!”
“Movie nights galore! It’ll just be like when I found out you had never had a slumber party so you stayed at my place for three days!” A bang followed by Patton letting out a yelp sent Roman running after. Entering his new room, he found Patton on the ground, the box he was carrying perfectly fine on the floor. “You okay?!”
“Yup! Mhm!” Patton nodded frantically, a wide smile on his face.
Roman skeptically stared at his friend as he walked in, inspecting his new room. “Rather small but comfortable! Thanks for helping me move things in!”
“Sure! You want to get the next box? That was a bit heavy for me and I think I need a minute to catch my breath.”
“Oh, sure thing, Pat.” Roman hesitated for a moment before walking out of the room.
Patton waited a moment before he slowly walked over to the closet door, throwing it open. “What are you doing in here?! You were supposed to stay in my room!”
“I panicked! I didn’t expect Roman to be here so soon!” Patton stood back from the closet as someone reached out for the frame to pull themselves up. An identical copy of Patton, down to the blue sweater and sweatpants he was wearing, stood up and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, Two. Just… come back before Roman finds you.”
With a nod, ‘Two’ reached out and disappeared in a bright flash, one Patton hoped Roman wouldn’t notice or question.
“Hey, Patton! Did you hear about that person that was on the news outside of the city?” Roman walked in and placed down the box, not having noticed the light. “They just teleported! Poof! Gone in an instant!”
“People with powers exist, Roman. Stories like that pop up all the time.”
“Yeah, but how many have popped up since this Masked Prince guy showed up? They’ve been sprouting up a lot more than usual!”
“The Prince is a different story. There’s always been news stories about people with powers being caught. The Prince is just the first in like, forever to try to pull this hero thing.”
“Roughly fifty years but who's counting?”
Patton let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Well, I hope the Prince is careful. I’d hate to see him get hurt. He’s trying to bring some good into the world. There’s not enough of that, ya know?”
Patton smiled and looked over at his new roommate. Roman stared back, shocked and in awe as a smirk grew on his face. “Yeah. I think so.”
“So!” Patton clapped his hands together. “How about I bring in those boxes and you start unpacking, huh?”
---
For a child as lonely as Patton was, it was no surprise when he realized his power was making duplicates of himself. They were all copies of himself and they were each their own little piece of what was Patton. They were always the same ones created in the same order.
Thus, the Patton Pals came to be.
Living with a roommate that he had to hide his powers from was nothing new for Patton. He spent so much of his life hiding it from his own mother who was determined to make him be ‘a normal boy’. The words always made his stomach twist and his chest ache, but he chose to ignore it. Letting out a Pal when she was out was always his little act of rebellion that made him feel better, even if he was aware his mother knew even if he was never actually caught. It was something he was unfortunately good at, so living with Roman didn’t ever stop the Pals from making an appearance every chance he could get.
“Do you think we’ll tell Roman, Two?”
Two let out a sigh before looking over at the other. “You know the answer, why are you asking? If we tell him, it won’t be soon. We need to be careful.”
“Of course you’d say that. That’s what One says and you two always agree with each other.”
“Do not!”
“Do too!” Three sat up on the bed and glared down at Two on the floor. “If you took over for One for a day, not even Roman would notice! You are the perfect copy of him from the rest of us!"
"I'm not just some… copy! And neither are you, stop talking like that!" Three shrugged and sighed. “I know we want to tell Roman, but not yet. We need to be careful!”
“He’ll handle it better than mom did, at least.”
Two decided not to answer.
---
“-was rescued once again by the mysterious Masked Prince.”
Patton clicked the television off and leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes. Once again, the mysterious hero ran head first into danger and barely made it out okay. Patton watched in worry every time, hoping nothing bad would happen. Maybe it was his mother getting to him, making him believe only bad things would happen to those with powers. 
“It’s safer to stay hidden. Gosh, I do sound like her, eugh.” He ran his hands over his face and readjusted his glasses before sitting up. “Alright well, how about I get up and make something for Roman to eat before he gets home, huh?” He wasn’t sure when Roman would be back, but that wasn’t going to stop him from playing it safe. Letting Two and Three out to help cook would make things go faster and he liked letting them stretch every chance he got.
“Alright! Let's get to work!”
“Yeah!”
“Teamwork makes the dream work!”
---
“I don’t see why we should be afraid of them, ya know? They’re just like us! Except they make life more like an action movie!”
“Not everyone sees it like that, Ro. They think people with powers are dangerous.”
Roman huffed, filling his cheeks with air and scrunching his nose. Patton smirked at the face as he watched his friend get frustrated about something he cared so deeply about. “That’s not fair! Regular people are dangerous too!”
Patton nodded and leaned onto the couch. “You’re right about that.”
Roman looked over and watched Patton carefully. “Hey… Um.” Roman’s voice got a lot softer as he started to fidget. “We never really talked about--I mean we have! But it’s normally me ranting and you just listening but. Um, w-what do you think about people with powers?”
Patton smiled and Roman immediately relaxed and smiled back. “That they’re just people, silly. They were born that way, right? So what does it matter? It’s just who they are.”
“Aww, Pat!” Roman ran over and jumped on the couch, wrapping his arms around his roommate. “I knew there wasn’t a bad bone in your body! No way you could be so narrow minded!”
“Of course! Just don’t mention it around my mom.”
Roman pulled away and scoffed. “Margaret. I don’t understand how you came from her. I mean, really! She’s very overprotective to the point where it’s almost like you’re a prisoner.”
“She’s not that bad, Roman.”
“She tried grounding you last week. You’re almost thirty and living on your own.” 
“Y-yeah… I’m sure she didn’t mean it seriously!” Roman gave Patton a look he knew all too well. “She’s gotten better!”
“That’s what worries me. But no worries! I shall be here to protect you!”
---
“The Masked Prince has been pinned down outside the bank in an attempt at stopping an armed robber.”
“Roman you brave idiot…” Patton sat on the couch with a pillow clutched tightly in his grasp. He watched as the news anchor showed the battle from a distance, the Masked Prince hiding behind a car while a man wearing a mask stood with a gun aimed in his direction. The hero dug through a bag and took out a can, cracking it open and chugging it as fast as he could. After a moment, he let out his electricity and let it spark about. The blue sparks gathered and almost solidified into a shield in front of the hero. He glanced over the car and stood up. “No, Roman, don’t you do it.” A moment later, the hero charged.
Patton winced every time he heard a gunshot but the electric shield deflected and stopped each shot. The Prince was able to charge and tackle the robber before attempting to disarm him. They grappled and the Prince shoved the man away before charging. The robber wasted no time, turning around and aiming his gun point blank at the hero.
“NO!” Patton jumped up from the couch as he heard the shot go off. The reporter on the other end went quiet for a moment as everyone held their breath. 
The Prince hesitated a moment, his hands in front of him on his shield, sweat dripping down his face. He staggered back and let his shield drop, sparks fizzling out. The sound of the bullet shell falling to the ground was announced by the reporter, causing Patton to let out the biggest sigh. He watched the Prince jump and dive around the nearest car in a panic, the robber still armed and dangerous.
“No, Roman… Please be okay….” The robber shot at the hero’s direction a few more times, Patton’s heart racing as he tried to think of what to do. What could he do? Even if he went out there, he couldn’t stop a mad man with a gun who was more than okay with killing someone!
Then… Then he saw it. In a blink of an eye, a man appeared in costume with the Prince. They stared at each other for a moment before the robber called out to them. Then, the Prince was alone again.
Except… He wasn’t alone. The new hero appeared behind the robber and reached out, grappling him from behind. He grabbed onto his wrist, pulling the gun away from anyone and aimed at the ground. The Prince held up his hands and sparks shot out, aiming them at the robber. After a moment, the gun flew out of the robber’s hand. The Prince had used his electromagnetism to rob him of his weapon, leaving him defenseless in the new hero’s arms.
After the man was apprehended, the reporters rushed the new hero. Can he teleport? Why was he here? Did he want to help the Prince? What was his name?
The hero watched the reporter as he was bombarded with questions before tugging on his scarf. He pulled it down, giving a smile as he spoke. “I’m the Vigilant.” With a flash, he disappeared without a trace.
Patton stood there in his living room, the news reporting on what little they knew at that moment, but Patton’s heart wouldn’t calm down. Who was that? What would have happened if they didn’t appear??
And boy was Roman going to hear it when he got home.
---
“ROMAN! YOU COULD HAVE DIED!”
“W-WAIT, YOU KNOW I’M THE PRINCE?!”
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robinsdraw · 5 years
Text
I'm actually super proud of what I managed to animate today for ALiP ep. 3 (written by @residentanchor )
Enjoy this little sneak peak ♥️♥️♥️
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