#and patton's also an advisor he's just out on business

[snowdice]

Little Kestrel (Part 48) [Birds of Different Feathers Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan & Patton & Virgil (future Virgil/Patton but not in this story)

Characters:

Main: Logan, Patton, Virgil

Appear: Thomas

Mentioned: Janus

Summary:

It was supposed to be a quick job either way. Either Virgil would assassinate King Thomas of Prijaznia or he’d be caught and get executed. Yet, when Virgil gets the wrong bedroom and gets caught by Prince Logan and his future royal advisor, Patton, the job ends up getting way more complicated for the 14-year-old. He also ends up sleeping in a (actually pretty comfortable) closet for a few weeks…

Notes: Implied/referenced child abuse, assassination attempt, knives, torture mentioned, captivity, teenagers being really dumb, sexual coercion of minors implied, a minor offering sexual favors

This is a prequel to Kill Dear. I wrote it 100 words at a time on my blog, but this is the edited version. If you want to see how it was crafted (and possibly some future content), look at the tag proofread stories.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43  Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47

Thomas was leaving his office when he ran into his son. Or more accurately, his son almost ran into him. “Is everything alright?” Thomas asked.

“I…” Logan said. His hand came out to grasp Thomas’s shirt sleeve, odd behavior for him at least at this age. He used to do such things when he was very small. “Yes,” he said anyway. “Everything is perfectly fine.” He glanced behind himself down the hall.

Thomas looked at him and then looked down the hallway, concerned by his strange behavior. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” Logan said, but he wasn’t letting go of Thomas’s shirt.

“You seem a bit anxious, Logan,” Thomas said.

“I am not,” Logan denied, releasing his shirt. Thomas caught a glimpse of something moving above their heads. The hallway Thomas’s office was in had large pillars along the outer wall that really no one should be able to scale despite there technically being grooves in them. Yet, there Virgil clung to the chapiter of one of them. Even more bewildering, he was gripping a pouch of some kind in his teeth.

They met eyes briefly. Virgil tilted his head at Thomas. Then, he removed one hand from the pillar. How was he up there? He made a motion with his hand that seemed to be telling Thomas to step back.

Thomas looked back at his son. Logan hadn’t noticed Virgil, too busy glancing behind him and not looking up. Thomas looked back up at Virgil and took a big step back. The moment he did, Virgil grabbed the bottom of the pouch with his free hand and let go with his teeth. The pouch flipped upside down dropping its contents right onto Logan’s head.

Logan gave a high-pitched shriek that Thomas didn’t think he’d ever heard from him before. “Virgil!” he yelled, now absolutely soaked.

“Learn to look up,” Virgil said seriously, still clinging to the pillar.

“I hate you,” Logan replied.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean in anger,” Thomas reminded. He was a bit worried Virgil may overreact to Logan saying things like that to him, though he seemed perfectly calm at the moment.

Logan scowled at Thomas. “You’re on his side?! He just dumped water on my head!”

“He needs to be trained to be more observant!” Virgil said.

Logan turned his scowl to Virgil. “Come down here, you intolerable creature! I’m done with your so-called training!”

“And what would you do if I did come down?” Virgil asked while arching an eyebrow, wholly unconcerned. “Quote facts about animals at me?”

Thomas was unsure what about that comment angered Logan, but it apparently did.

“You little…”

“Boys,” Thomas interrupted. “What’s going on here?”

They both immediately started speaking at once, doing their best to talk over each other. Thomas didn’t catch much of either rants except something about ‘training’ and Virgil ‘stalking the halls’ and an “exploding muffin.”

“Okay, okay,” Thomas said, putting a hand up to tell both of them to be quiet. “One at a time. Virgil first.”

“Really?” Logan asked.

“Logan,” Thomas scolded.

He mumbled something under his breath, but he did quiet down.

“Virgil,” Thomas started again. “What’s going on?”

“I’m training him,” Virgil said.

“Training him?” Thomas asked. “Training him for what?”

“For life,” Virgil answered. “He isn’t observant enough.”

“Ah,” Thomas said, still fairly confused. “And how are you training him?”

“Right now, we’re doing situational awareness training,” Virgil said.

“And how does that translate to you dumping water on his head?” Thomas asked.

“He wouldn’t have gotten water on his head if he’d noticed me,” Virgil answered, seriously. Thomas tried not to laugh at the look on his face.

“That is, perhaps true,” Thomas said. “However, dumping water on people’s heads is not nice. Perhaps there is a nicer way to do this training?”

“People trying to kill them won’t be nice,” Virgil said.

“No one is trying to kill Logan,” Thomas said.

Virgil just pursed his lips. “Maybe,” Virgil said. “Not yet.”

Thomas was unsure where this fear had come from. Perhaps he had heard about the successful assassination of Lamir’s late queen. Thomas hadn’t exactly publicized the fact that the queen had been killed and not simply died when he’d returned, but he had told certain people including Logan and Patton. It was possible one of them had let it slip and Virgil had freaked out about it.

“Well,” Thomas said. “It still isn’t nice to ruin someone’s day over a threat that doesn’t exist yet.”

Virgil just huffed at him. He was being surprisingly petulant which actually made Thomas smile just a tad. He’d not even been able to imagine this side of him a month ago. “Why don’t you come down here?” Thomas suggested. “We can talk through the issue and come to a compromise.”

Virgil stared down at him with skeptical eyes.

“Perhaps with tea and cookies?” Thomas suggested.

Virgil tilted his head and slid down the pillar until his feet touched the floor. “What kind of cookies?” he asked.

“We’ll have to see what Helen has made lately,” Thomas said. He turned to Logan and frowned. “You should probably change before you get sick being wet and in the cold.”

Logan nodded and shivered a little bit while rubbing his own arms. Despite the castle being warm, it was no fun to be completely soaked during the winter. Thomas wasn’t even sure if Virgil would have thought to not use freezing cold water. Even with heating elements, the water in the castle could be very cold if you didn’t wait for a bit for it to warm up. Thomas didn’t think Virgil would have thought too far ahead in this ‘training.’

“I’ll take Virgil down to the kitchen and get some tea and cookies for all of us,” Thomas told Logan.

He gave his son a look trying to communicate ‘I’ll talk to him.’ Logan pursed his lips, but nodded, seeming to receive the message.

“Why don’t we meet you in the royal dining room, so the conversation is more private?” Thomas suggested. It would be a much calmer environment than the main dining hall or the kitchens.

“Sure,” Logan agreed, turning to walk off in the direction of the royal wing. The poor thing was huddled in on himself and cold.

Thomas looked over at Virgil and smiled at him softly as Logan left. “Let’s go see what cookies Helen has ready,” he suggested.

Want to read more? Click below!

Birds of Different Feathers Master Post

My Masterpost

#sanders sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #character thomas sanders #adriana writes #little kestrel #birds of different feathers #implied/referenced child abuse #assassination attempt #past torture #captivity

[jzixuans]

Blink I beg of you to please give us more of that beautiful Roceit, Roman is so pretty my little heart can't take it I need to know what happens to these lovestruck fools.

ooh boyzee let’s see i don’t think i planned much beyond that comic but since you asked so nicely

(this is about 2.2k in bullet fic, with warnings for burns, scars, and corrupt rich people in power)

maybe let’s start with how they met because i haven’t detailed out the post-comic events yet

deceit– that’s the name he earned on the streets thanks to his charmingly deceptive personality– is making his rounds again in the bustling marketplace, looking for any unsuspecting nobles that won’t miss a ring or two

he makes eye contact with those he passes, smiling handsomely, and they can’t help but falter when they lock onto those stunning golden eyes

he’s talented like that, knowing just how to capture his victims’ attention and not have it at all

later, they’ll recount eyes like gold and a dazzling smile, and nothing else that could identify the snake in the shadows

he tips his hat and bids them a good day with a polite bow then disappears back into the crowd, his pocket giving off the slightest jingle from the coin pouches he nabbed

he weaves his way through with practiced ease and he spies a handful of guards surrounding someone wearing the rich, bright, telltale garb of the inner circles of the royal court

jackpot

as he nears his mark, he sees that they’re wearing the deep purple of the king’s advisors; one of the two youngest to ever hold such a position, but from the back of their head, he can’t tell which one

but he notices that they’re jittery, nervous even, as they complete their transaction at the table piled high with old books

deceit pretends to occupy himself at the neighbouring stall, a gentle old woman offering tea

the guards watch him, but he catches their eyes, nods, and hands the woman silver pieces from his stolen coin purse and accepts his tea

the guards resume their posts and pay him no mind

when he turns to walk away from the stall, he slides his hand into the pocket of the advisor

this is where he makes his mistake

the advisor, more vigilant than nervous it appears, catches his wrist in a vice grip, glaring down at him. then he throws deceit back into the stall, sending him crashing into the pot of boiling water

he’s only narrowly able to avoid the water reaching his eye

his body feels like fire is eating at it from all ends

as he writhes in pain he sees regret, pity, and concern flash across the advisor’s face

he’s hauled to his feet by two of the guards, the others have their hands at their hips, ready to draw their swords

around them, the busy marketplace has stilled, and they’ve gained an audience

the guard on his right rifles through his pockets and pulls out the rest of his stolen goods

one man pushes his way to the front of the crowd and points at him angrily

“he stole my wedding ring!” he exclaims

“he took my mother’s bracelet!” another cries

and soon several members of the crowd are shouting their accusations at him

the advisor raises a hand to silence them

another guard announces, “for thievery of countless riches, and attempted robbery of councilman virgil wang, you will face trial and the consequent punishment before king thomas”

the next thing he knows, he’s being muscled into a carriage, then paraded through the castle halls

“see to it that he’s treated by a doctor,” councilman virgil tells the one holding him, sending him a look that’s almost… guilty

normally, he’d be alert, mapping out the castle grounds waiting for the opportune moment to make his escape, but right now the only thing on his mind is holding back the tears in front of the guards

the doctor sweeps in with a mug larger than life, filled to the brim with what smells like coffee. deceit flinches

“alright hon, let’s get you patched up,” the doctor sighs. they tilts their tinted glasses down to take in the sorry state of his face

they hold a cool cloth to his burns and it’s like a balm. he can’t help but sigh in relief

“what’s your name, sweetheart?” 

“don’t call me that”

“well if you’d give me your name, i wouldn’t have to”

“what makes you think you’ve earned the right to know my name?” deceit snaps

“is attending to your wounds not enough?” the doctor tsks as they peel the cloth away and reach for a jar of salve. their hands are rough and calloused, but still they treat deceit with a gentle touch that he hasn’t known in quite some time

deceit doesn’t answer them

“i mean i know who you are, you’ve probably robbed about of a third of the castle by now. not surprised that virgil caught you, he was probably born sleeping with one eye open. but still, a name for the legendary thief of crane would be nice,” the doctor prattles on. deceit let’s them chatter on about everything and nothing, sitting still as a rock while the doctor applies the rest of the bandages

“now i know you’re all chained up, but just in case the king let’s your hands go free, don’t go ripping off those bandages or your next visit here you’ll have to pay me by telling me your name,” the doctor warns with a wink. “good luck on your trial sweetheart, and may the fates smile kindly upon your future.”

deceit’s led out of the room by his attending guards then pushed through the doors to the main hall where he lands on his knees at the foot of the throne

the king is flanked by his advisors– deceit recognizes councilman virgil’s stony gaze– and his adoptive son, the crown prince

deceit doesn’t dare lift his head for anything more than the fleeting glance he got at them

“dante evan feng, also known as deceit, the snake in the shadows, thief of crane, you have been arrested stealing from the royal court and nobility on numerous occasions, and for attempted thievery from a member of the high council,” an advisor to the left of the king recites. he’s wearing the same purple robes as virgil– the other youngest advisor– with large round glasses and long black hair held back in a braid. his voice is cold and monotonous as he reads off the rest of deceit’s charges

“how do you plead?” he asks

deceit lifts his head, a defiant “not guilty!” ready on his tongue, but he sees virgil shake his head, and then sees the crown prince, gorgeous and resplendent, brows pinched in concern, shake his head

“you would do well to answer truthfully. in this court, honesty is rewarded, corruption will be condemned.” king thomas says

so deceit lifts his chin a little higher, and says, “guilty, your majesty, but with good reason”

“elaborate”

“i’ve seen the members of your court laugh at the beggars in your streets as they crawl on their knees to pick up every last penny. they turn their backs on those who need them. they don’t deserve their riches,” dante snarls. the prince winces under his glare

sadness paints itself into the king’s expression, but he keeps his voice steady. “and how have you spent your stolen wealth?”

“they went back to those who should have had it in the first place” 

the advisor in the glasses narrows his eyes. “were you one of those such people?”

“i used the gold to buy goods from local businesses to support my lifestyle and theirs. i don’t see how that is such a crime”

the advisor arches a single eyebrow, then turns to his colleague. “councilman wang, you were a target of his today, what are your thoughts on the matter?”

“he didn’t get away with stealing from me, we’ve apprehended him, and he’s already been wounded. i have faith that whatever punishment his majesty decides for him will be just.” virgil says, so low dante almost doesn’t hear it

the king sits up. he’s made his decision

“dante, in place of punishment, i offer you a chance to work for all that you stole. you will work here, at the castle. you will be given food, clothes, and a room to live in. having you here will give me the opportunity to consult your advice on how to go about resolving the corruption in my court. does this sound fair? should you decline my offer, your sentence will be to serve time in prison.” the king says

deceit wants to say no, that he’d rather die than live a life of servitude, but so far, everyone at the castle has shown him mercy, and the chance to rise up to a seat on the king’s council is too tempting to refuse. having the king’s ear will make it far easier to bring about change in the kingdom. 

“i accept your gracious offer, your majesty,” he says begrudgingly, though the words taste like ash in his mouth

so he takes on the new position as one of the castle’s groundskeepers, tending to gardens, making sure that everything else is in its proper place

for the first year, he’s confined to working outside only at night, where the harsh light of the sun can’t deal any further damage to his scars (virgil, though still distrustful of him, seeks him out and apologizes a couple weeks after the trial, he only meant to push him away, not send him flying into a pot of boiling water. he’s stronger than his robes make out, it seems)

he also pays the doctor– remy dormeil, he quickly learns– regular visits for more salve and other treatment for his scars. he finds their presence one of the more tolerable ones amongst the court staff

king thomas upholds his promise and allows him to attend some of the meetings with the high council. he plans on venturing out into the smaller villages himself to survey the state of things

then the king throws a birthday party for the prince at the castle. dante’s told that he may join the festivities once his duties are attended to. so he dons the suit that has been left in his closet and makes his way to the ballroom

in the centre, virgil is being led by his fellow advisor in a vivacious dance that leaves them out of breath and full of laughter as they spin around and around each other in a twin orbit

as dante weaves through the crowd in a manner not unlike they way he used to move on the streets, he’s greeted with side eyes and distasteful remarks— many of tonight’s guests were his marks once upon a time, and no one could forget those stunning golden eyes— but he steels himself as he always has, and makes a beeline for the refreshment table, where he may hide his face behind a drink or two

on his way, he slips the bracelet of one particularly snobby woman from her wrist and into his pocket. as he accepts a goblet from one of the waitstaff, he hears a voice from behind him say, “are you going to give that back?”

when he spins around, he comes face to face with the birthday boy himself, prince roman of crane, smirking in amusement

“i mean, she probably deserved it, but she is my second cousin once removed, and i would hate to hear her complain all night at the next family dinner,” he continues. “besides, i’m sure i could find you something more your style,” he adds with a wink

dante huffs and takes a sip of his drink. “i can’t say i know what you’re talking about your highness, but i must add that i have quite expensive taste, so if you plan on following through on that promise, i hope you’re prepared to empty your coffers,” he shoots back with a grin

roman tips his head back and laughs, rich and bellowing

“give it here before you get in trouble, and i’ll just tell her that she’s dropped it. then i’ll make you a deal: if you can behave for the rest of the night, i’ll reward you with some exquisite jewelry of you own.”

dante sighs and drops the bracelet in roman’s outstretched palm

“i’ll take that deal, but only on the condition that you deliver it to me yourself. i tend the garden beneath your balcony twice a week,” he purrs in his ear, then he walks away, leaving a dumbstruck prince behind him, never mind his own blush creeping up his neck (which he promptly blames on his scars when remy sidles up to him)

twice a week in roman’s garden soon turns to three times, then four, then every night he’s slipping out to the garden to throw discarded weeds through roman’s window to relish in his dismay, to chat with him as he makes his rounds, laugh as they try to push each other into the fountain, and distract him with beautiful blooms and twinkling stars as he occupies himself in trying to steal the crown right off his head

he hasn’t succeeded yet, because every time he’s just about to reach for it, roman turns his head, ready with a witty remark or poetic compliment comparing him to the brilliance of the moon’s glow that stops him dead in his tracks

one day, though. one day

and when he does, it isn’t just be roman’s crown that he steals, but his heart as well

#roceit #deceit sanders #roman sanders #sanders sides #thomas sanders #blink writes #stupid reason au #remy's nb and logan's the other advisor present they're both dating virgil and also each other #and patton's also an advisor he's just out on business #lmao that ending was so cheesy #i just pulled their last names out of an old yearbook #liked feng because it's almost fang #remy's is just a combination of dormir and sommeil though lol #tashi #ask #everybody say thank you tashi for being super sweet with her comments that i actually wrote stuff

[annaizscribbling]

Crow's horrible challange:

Start writing a story using the prompt: "I don't think I can accurately show my opinion with only two hands." with any character you'd like and the tag 3 people who you want to continue it. You can give them their own prompts to include :D!

Thank you for inviting me to your horrible challenge! I was going to have this out way sooner but unfortune struck, and I was sad and tired lol. But here it is!!!

Roman couldn’t decide is he felt really guilty, or really bored. He was sprawled over the sofa dramatically, soot stains over his usually pristine white prince clothing. He sighed extravagantly, as if he were but a wearisome royal character subjected to unwarranted critique by his secretly evil advisor. He also made a mental note to try writing a story about that later.

The prince propped his head on his hand, watching Logan angrily pace the room. Logically, Roman was sure that Logan was speaking, probably unkindly (which was fair, all things considered.) but Roman was almost fascinated by how little he was actually listening. Logan’s words were as garbled and muffled as someone talking 6 feet under water.

Nice.

Roman found it quite entertaining to imagine different things for Logan to say, things that made no sense but were funny. He nearly made himself laugh out loud a few times, but he muffled that pretty quickly. If Logan saw him laughing it would only spur his fury, and Roman would be stuck listening to the lecture for even longer, which he did not have time for, he was a busy prince after all.

Logan was walking back and forth, quite nearly taking the exact same steps on the carpet. He was holding the large jar of enchanted gummy frogs and fried shrimp in one arm, while the other waved around wildly as he spoke.

Out of sheer boredom, Roman tuned back in.

“You cannot tell me that you don’t know better.” Logan was saying, “When the amount of time Thomas spends daydreaming is especially increased, you know not to conjure magical items in the common area. I have told you too many times to count.”

On one hand, Roman did know better. Things created outside of Roman’s realm when Thomas was feeling creative could have lasting impact on the sides. He knew that.

But in his defense, it was really fun and completely cured his boredom.

Logan slammed the jar he was holding onto the coffee table, interrupting Roman’s thoughts. Roman raised an eyebrow.

“I need both hands to complain.” Logan said flatly.

Roman nodded, “Well, go on then.”

He did, and Roman continued to get an earful of scolding and lecturing until Logan had nearly worn himself out completely, and the prince was about ready to make his escape.

Logan flopped backwards onto the opposite couch, apparently done with his angry rant.

Roman took this as his cue to leave, he got up to stretch and get out of there. “Alrighty, Teach. Thank you, for that informative lesson. You really showed me. I’ll get out of your hair now, kay?”

Logan just glared, “Safely dispose of the frogs.”

“Of course.” Roman smiled dryly, scooping up the jar.

The exhausted Logic let his head fall back against the couch to sigh loudly, he looked ready for a nap. Roman held back a snicker, the poor guy really wore himself out cleaning up and chewing the prince out. One of these days he needs to force the workaholic into a vacation or something, as an apology.

But for the time being, Roman was ready to just get out of there and work on a painting.

That was the plan at least, until Patton came down the stairs, with a telling guilty expression.

“. . . Logan?” Patton said sheepishly.

Logan didn’t get up to look at Morality. He just ran a hand over his face, “What did you do?”

Patton laughed guiltily.

Logic still didn't move, "Stay here, Roman." he said as Roman tried and failed to sneak away.

Logan looked down at his hands and sighed again, "I don't think I can accurately show my opinion with only two hands." he muttered, “I’m calling Janus to help me complain.”

“You don’t even know what happened!” Patton protested.

Prompt: “Don’t you wish you had done it too?”

No pressure tags! @canonicallypuzzled @remy-the-lemon-berry @lost-in-thought-20

#crow's horrible challenge #anais writes #writing #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders

[pirate-au]

A Pirate's Life for a Prince (Part 5)

Summary: Roman was a dashing Captain, content with his exciting life out at sea, diving head first into adventure both on and off land. He wouldn't give up his life for anything, and yet he found himself...lacking something. He was never sure what.

When he meets Virgil, a seemingly common traveler in an old tavern, that lacking feeling in his chest goes away for the first time in a long while. So surely there's no harm in offering the stranger and his friend a ride, right?

Notes: TW for Remus being Remus, threats of violence

thank you again to @cheshirevalentine for editing! Check out their spinoff @actorau it's going to be so cool

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 6

The throne room was quiet, the guards stationed around the golden walls silent and motionless, the air just as heavy as it had been since news of the missing Prince had made it to the King.

Janus’s eyes were on the blue skies outside glass stained windows, the guards around him staring straight ahead, backs straight, unmoving for hours.

He leaned against the back of the throne with a sigh. The golden throne was grand and elegant, but also old and uncomfortable. It was honestly more for show than for furniture, and his back always protested the hours upon hours he spent in the throne room. He was always staring at the door, waiting for the same boring pointless people to come in with their same boring pointless demands.

It had been a bit more frantic since Virgil had disappeared along with his advisor, but with over a week of no new leads, no way to track down the missing Prince, things had settled back into routine, just coupled with a rising sense of uncertainty and dread.

Janus could barely even remember the last time he’d had a proper conversation with Virgil. They saw each other in meetings, Virgil quiet and nervous, out of place in a room full of adult royals, but that was about it.

He’d stopped by to congratulate the young Prince on achieving adulthood on his 18th birthday, as well as to praise Patton for his success, but that had been almost a year ago now, and they’d barely said a word to each other since.

Janus had never bothered to get to know the boy- too many bad memories, too much responsibility on top of the crown that had been thrust upon him after the death of the Queen.

He’d been given the throne to the kingdom he was never meant to rule, expected to ignore his own grief and confusion in favor of piecing things back together. He couldn’t raise a child on top of that.

Virgil had his mother’s mismatched eyes. Janus still couldn’t bring himself to look at the Prince without a simple glance being accompanied by waves of unwanted memories.

Patton had raised him well in place of any real family, and Janus had paid him enough to support the young advisor for decades.

And now both Virgil and Patton were gone, vanished without a trace in the middle of the night, and Janus didn’t know what to do.

Virgil was the only heir, set to be King in less than a year’s time now. The boy was a wreck. Anxious, timid, unprepared, and unsociable. So Janus had managed to push back the crowning until he was twenty, rather than eighteen like originally planned.

Patton had done his best, but he and Janus both knew that boy wasn’t fit to be King. Not yet, at least. Probably not for a long while.

But there was nothing Janus could do about that. He was never meant to be King, he was simply a placeholder until the late Queen’s son came of age.

He'd been able to keep Virgil from being crowned as an unprepared teenager like Janus had been, but he couldn't keep the crown off his head forever.

But now the late Queen’s son was gone, and Janus was still on the throne, his back still protesting the long, uneventful hours.

He’d been King for nearly a decade. He’d built his kingdom, built a reputation, placed his spies, made sure he had eyes and ears on every corner. The people knew him, respected him (more out of fear than anything, he suspected). The King was always the first to hear anything.

And yet there hadn’t been a word about the missing Prince. Nobody was sure when he left, if he was still in the city, if he’d left on a ship or was just hiding right under their noses. Nobody knew if he’d left willingly or if someone had stolen him.

It had been over a week, and still nothing.

Janus was pulled from his thoughts when the double doors at the end of the hall swung open without any warning or announcement, loud heels clicking against the floor, the guards startling to attention.

“Hell of a place you got here,” the intruder called, weaving around the two guards stationed at the door, expertly avoiding their grasps. “Did you decorate in puke yellow on purpose?”

Janus leaned forward, watching with his one good eye as the man pushed his way into the throne room, grinning as he surveyed the area, avoiding the apparently incompetent guards.

Janus raised a hand, stopping the rest of his men from rushing forward, weapons raised. The day had been never ending and dull, he might as well see how this played out.

Janus kept his eye on the intruder, eyebrow raised. “And who might you be?”

“That’s not important right now,” the man said, finally spinning around to face the throne. “What is important is… holy shit. What happened to your face? It looks like it was on fire and someone tried to put it out with a fork! Like, in a good way. It works.”

He sounded almost awestruck, staring shamelessly at the marred side of Janus’s face, and for the first time in years the King felt uneasy up on his throne, tensing under the gaze.

Nobody looked at his scar. It was common courtesy to pretend it wasn’t there, an unspoken agreement among the people.

“Tell me who you are and what you want before I have you arrested.”

The man gave a dramatic, woeful sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. “You have a kid, yeah? Short, big mop of black hair, crown prince and heir to the throne of Naither?”

That piqued Janus’s interest much more than the bizarre show the nameless man seemed intent on putting on. “My nephew is the heir, and the city is aware there is a reward for his return. If you have information you should have scheduled an appointment.”

“Appointments aren’t really my thing,” he said, looking up with a bright, crooked grin, one hand moving up to brush over his mustache. “The point is, I know where your kid is.”

“Wonderful,” Janus said. “Where?”

The man merely shrugged. “That depends. How much are you paying?”

He kept his voice disinterested and bored, picking at chipped, painted nails. Well, two could play that game.

Janus leaned back in the throne and examined his gloves, black and gold rings glittering in what little sunlight managed to filter in. He saw the man’s gaze fall on the jewels, his eyes brightening hungrily. “I’m sure we could get you a handsome reward for helping to bring the Prince home. If your information is authentic.”

“Well I’m not offering information,” he said, tilting his head to look at Janus. “I’m offering to collect him myself. There are very few people you could trust with the job, you know. You can’t just pick up any rando’ off the streets.”

“I have plenty of people who are more than capable of bringing the heir back home. You’re expecting me to entrust his return to a stranger?”

The man shrugged again. “I won’t share the information with just anyone.”

“You’ll share the information if there’s a knife to your throat.”

The man actually grinned at that, brown eyes brightening dangerously. There was a scar across the left side of his face, that eye a bit glossy, parallel to Janus’s own injury. “Any fool willing to attack the ship he’s on will die. I can guarantee that. Except myself, of course!”

“Is that so?” Janus drawled. “Care to explain why?”

Remus hummed, rocking forward onto the balls of his feet, smug grin only growing. “You’ve not heard of the Calypso? She’s mighty notorious, especially about these parts. And I’d simply not let anyone near her. There’s precious cargo on that ship, you know.”

Janus had heard of the ship, but only vaguely. He tended to ignore rumors of pirates, busying himself with more important things than following those stories. Especially when such stories didn’t often involve the land he was ruling.

Well, he couldn’t exactly ignore the pirates when they were kidnapping the kingdom’s only heir, could he?

“How do I know you’re right about Virgil being aboard?”

“Why, I have written proof from the Captain, of course!” The man bounced a bit on the balls of his feet, leaning forward. “He’s been on board for… nearly two weeks now? They’ll stop in Gladena in about a day's time, and from there be off to Deigh. You can check any record you please, the first mate is absolutely meticulous about it all.”

Janus drummed his fingers along the throne, studying the intruder carefully. He should have this man arrested for daring to barge into the throne room, whether he was telling the truth or not.

He could send someone he trusted after Virgil, but… the Prince and his advisor would be on the lookout for someone they recognized. And despite himself, Janus was achingly curious. "And how long would it take you to get my heir back to me?"

“Well, considering it took the Captain two weeks to get to Gladena,” the man mused, dropping his arms to fold his hands behind his back, swaying slightly. “I could cut them off at Deigh and be back in less than two months.”

It wasn’t… ideal. The kingdom needed it’s Prince back as soon as possible, especially when he was so close to taking the throne. Janus couldn’t keep the fear and uncertainty at bay forever.

But Deigh was a decent way away. Assuming this man would actually do what he said he would, two months was the best they could hope for. It wasn’t a bad offer.

“Very well,” Janus relented with a heavy sigh. “Every day over two months you’re gone, I reduce your pay. I expect Virgil to be returned unharmed.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re no fun.”

“And I’ll need your name,” Janus said. “I’d like to know who I’m trusting my nephew’s safe return with.”

The man brightened, toothy grin spreading across his face as he put a hand to his chest and bent forward in a mock bow.

“Remus of Lucoria. At your service, your majesty.”

Janus sighed, and some of the guards at the foot of the throne shifted anxiously, no doubt waiting for the order to attack.

As it turned out, there was one pirate Janus couldn’t ignore the rumors about. No one could, with how they seemed to spread with viscosity like no other.

“Ah,” Janus said. He wondered briefly how Remus had managed to dock without word getting to the King, making a mental note to fire his head naval officer. “Wonderful.”

“There we go.” Remus straightened, his grin never faltering. “Now you know who you’re dealing with.”

“And now I trust you to deliver Virgil safely even less.”

“Oh come off it,” Remus said, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like I’m incompetent.”

“You do have a reputation,” Janus pointed out. “And I’d like my nephew back. Not his corpse.”

“I’m ruthless, not stupid. He’ll be alive.”

“He needs to be unharmed.”

“Unharmed is… such a big request these days,” Remus said, turning back to examining his nails. “Should I kiss his booboo if he gets a splinter?”

Janus set his jaw, staring down at Remus from his vantage point up on the throne. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had talked back to him like this, especially in his own throne room. “You should deliver the Crown Prince without injuring him. He’s royalty.”

“Yes, and as am I,” Remus said. “He’s not special.”

“You’re not royalty anymore.”

Remus rolled his eyes once again, turning back to Janus with a smile. “It’s a mindset.”

“Of course it is,” Janus drawled, leaning forward in his throne. “Royalty is power. If I wanted you dead today, your head would be at my feet in seconds.”

Remus laughed then, the sound short and humorless. “I had no problem getting in here, did I? If I wanted you dead today, you would be.”

“Not if you wanted to escape with your life,” Janus said. “But you’re welcome to try.”

“I did say if, sweetheart. I’m not here for that today.”

“Good,” Janus said, keeping his voice cold and sharp. “I still need the Prince back in one piece.”

“Yeah yeah,” Remus agreed, waving him off. “I heard you.”

“Completely unharmed, Remus.”

“Yes,” Remus growled. “I heard you. I’ll kiss all his booboos.”

“Good,” the King said again. “And I trust you’re aware of the reward for Virgil’s return?”

“Oh, I am,” Remus said. “And it’s not enough. I want 3,000. To start.”

Janus scoffed, raising an eyebrow. “To start, huh?”

“I’ve got to be compensated for my time, don’t I?”

“Sure,” Janus agreed. “But I’ll remind you I do have an army at my disposal. I don’t need you for one job. You’ve given me all the information I need to send my own men.”

“The Calypso’s Captain won’t let him go so easily,” Remus said. “And much less to anyone but me. So either I go get him, or he makes it to Deigh and is never heard from again. Your choice.” He said with another infuriating shrug.

There were countless eyes on Janus, the guards watching and waiting, ready to move at the King’s word. Remus was smiling, smug and knowing, and Janus took a steadying, resigned breath.

“Fine,” Janus relented. “I’ll give you 1,500 before you depart, and 1,500 when you return with Virgil.”

“Plus the pre-existing reward.”

The King sighed. He’d pay just about anything to get Remus out of his castle. “Fine. 3,000 on top of the reward.”

Remus smiled again, giving one more fake, flashy bow before sending the King a wink Janus would have anyone else killed for.

He started towards the double doors before pausing and turning back to the King. “How ‘bout a kiss, too?”

“Get out of my throne room.”

Remus cackled, striding past the bewildered guards and pushing past the double doors, the clicking of his heels echoing against the walls. He disappeared and the doors closed behind him, leaving Janus perched on his throne in silence like nothing had even happened.

Taglist:

@i-really-like-dragons @stitches-system @poettheythem @remy-the-lemon-berry @shrubs-and-bushes @i-sexually-identify-as-a-mistake @wordsmithandworm @the-dead-and-the-decaying @hope340 @winterwynd @thomas-sanders-tothe-standers @angstysunshine @sunshineandteddybears @pixelated-pineapple @fire-and-ash67 @blues-clues-oh-wait @shinekittenace @marrymebishop @all-panic-nodisco @ravenclawunicorn1 @someoneiwasnt @listenherebuddypal @aroace-energy

#pirate au #sanders sides #janus sanders #ts janus #remus sanders #ts remus #demus #dukeceit #writing #fanfiction #pirates

[codevassie]

i've got a request! prinxiety fantasy au. roman became a prince after making a deal with a magical creature (that can be a side but also can remain unnamed, whatever works for you). the deal was: roman would become prince but in exchange, the creature would take his true love when roman would meet them. so roman was always careful not to fall in love with anyone. that worked until he met virgil. aaand i leave the rest up to you! i hope this makes sense lol

CV: Sorry it’s so long and also not long enough and also really late. Thank you so much for your patience! My mind would not stop coming up with ideas for this fic but I wrangled it in enough to get this out. Hope you like it, An!

CW: Weapons, Trauma, Injury [Edit: Angst, Unhappy Ending]

On Ao3 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Prince Roman was kind and fair to all who knew him. It was uncanny to his citizens how Disney their prince was. He glowed in all ways–always smiling, exceedingly handsome, eyes gleaming with pride. 

He was also a bachelor, sworn to it almost like a monk. He loved to flirt and would dance with many a handsome man; Roman was no stranger to romance and collected kisses like precious stones. He was not one for staying with one person, sweetly turning down those who came back, wanted more. There was guilt in his eyes, but the prince never wavered.

He was determined to rule on his own, with only advisors to lean on and citizens to give his love. This was something that had never happened before, but their kingdom had also never had a prince like Roman before.

Since the day their prince had been crowned heir to the throne by the childless king and queen, things had been very different in their kingdom. Royalty did not have to be blood, and a king did not need a queen, or any spouse at all. 

Roman did not want to marry. And no one would have batted an eye at this–but the prince did not seem to want anything at all. Full of love, he had no one to give it. Friendly, but lacked friends. It was a constant source of gossip around the castle–why their beloved prince insisted on being alone.

But the prince knew what he was doing. Roman knew well the dangers of growing close to others.

He didn’t regret the decision he made. As prince, he could make a difference; he had somewhere he belonged. A mother and father who cared. Citizens he adored, and adored him in turn. People to care for, to fight for. Roman now had more than he ever hoped in his once hopeless life.

Most importantly, Roman had his brother back. That was worth more than anything Roman could have gained or given. Worth more than his very life.

So, no. He didn’t regret it. If he had the choice, he’d always go back and face those wild eyes, those scales and wicked lies for the chance to have this.

Whoever he’d meant to love one day would have to find someone else.

-/-

“How are you today, Remus?“ 

Remus hummed. Roman knew that translated to ‘not very well.’

“Okay,” he said calmly. He moved over into the brightly lit room to where his brother sat at the window. Roman sat across from Remus and said nothing else. Today wasn’t a talking day.

So Roman sat and let his nerves calm, his mind wander like his brother’s must have been. He couldn’t imagine what sort of things Remus saw–flashbacks from the hills and the caves and the fear. Roman grew restless, and he couldn’t imagine how Remus did it for days on end, jolted into another reality that existed in his head, in the past.

He passed a lot of his days like this, sitting quietly by his brother’s side. Probably not enough though. Never enough to help. But it was hard to balance his time now that he was prince, always something more to do, something he could do to help, to plan, to sign, to consider. It was a lot.

But at least they weren’t terrified every day would be their last.

At least Remus was with him again, safe. 

“I miss Dee,” Remus surprised Roman by speaking up. Roman looked over, but his brother hadn’t moved. His gaze was towards the hills.

There was nothing Roman could say to that. He stood reluctantly, taking a glance towards the horizon himself, before stepping back. “Sorry I can’t stay very long today.” It had only been twenty minutes Roman noted by the clock on the mantle, but Remus didn’t seem phased. “I’ll come eat dinner with you tonight, though,” Roman offered. Still, nothing. “Alright. Bye, Remus.”

Roman stepped out, careful to not make any loud noises as he shut the door. Days like this were the reason Remus’ room was far away from the hustle and bustle of the castle. The noise was too much for him. There were still plenty of people around to attend to him though, to make sure he didn’t get up to too much trouble during the times he was lucid.

That didn’t stop Roman from stepping away and quietly knocking his head on the opposite wall. Forehead supporting him, Roman sighed, trying to piece himself back together. Once he had built himself up, able to give a winning smile and a confident gait, Roman picked himself up and squared his shoulders.

A prince had very little time to spare already, and he had used what he had to visit with his brother.

Winding through the halls, Roman made his way back to the front study, where his advisor and a handful of guards waited. When he opened the doors, he shot them all his winning smile. “Are we all ready?”

It took them no time at all to get to town, then just a little further to the square, which was under construction. It was a smaller project, but one that Roman loved: a park, with room for community gardening, a playground with outdoor instruments, a couple pieces of exercise equipment, and a small stage for community theater. 

It was important to him, but it was something he rarely had the time to see into fruition. There was more pressing matters in the kingdom that Roman had to oversee.: discussions to meditate, economic policies to study, corruption to dig into. When Roman became a prince, he’d known it would be a tough job, but he had never expected what seemed like such a nice kingdom on the outside to have so much else on the inside.

It was exhausting, but this park was where Roman hoped to make a positive influence. He barely had the time for it, but he made the time for it. It was usually what kept him awake at night in his office, going over budgets and blueprints.

He hadn’t been to the site for a month.

When the carriage pulled up, Roman jumped out, guards already on his tail. He didn’t wait for them, though, striding straight towards the ring of architects and construction crew at one side. A quick glance around told Roman they were making decent headway on the tiny amphitheater. 

Looking back, he took stock in what he would be dealing with. The kind architect was there, so he’d have to do his best to steer clear. Roman was a sucker for nice guys. The smart one was there too. Damn it; double the threat. 

“Hello, Shelby, Logan, David, Patton, Christie,” he greeted the ones he knew by name. “How is everything going?”

Shelby, the team leader, stepped forward, giving a kind smile. “Moving forward at a considerable pace, my prince,” she said, and, from there, they dived in. The architects pointed to blueprints and talked about estimated times for finishing different aspects, as well as possible obstacles and needed materials. They talked for half an hour before they were talking in circles again, and Roman knew he needed to draw a line and make a retreat.

“It sounds like you all are doing splendidly and have things well under control. I would say continue forward with how you’re doing. I trust you to make the right calls.” His smile was wide, and he was beginning to feel the line of business and friendly failing. 

All Roman wanted to do was share jokes with Patton. Listen to Logan tell him about the book he was reading. Even hear about Shelby’s family–though she was hardly a threat to the curse inside Roman. Still, Roman felt wrong for staying around, for getting near anyone with the danger he posed.

Roman needed to get somewhere safe. He needed just a breath of fresh air–somewhere without pretense, where he wasn’t constantly tottling between unnecessary rudeness and letting his traitorous heart do what it does and fall far too quickly.

He had always fallen fast and hard, always one for all or nothing. Never at a mere glance, no. He may be a romantic, but love at first sight simply wasn’t real. Deep longing at first sight was something Roman was prone to, though.

But Roman was careful. Never would he let an innocent soul pay for his deeds. If the price he had to pay was his love, then he would simply never fall in love. 

And, since love at first sight wasn’t a thing, Roman could simply stay away from anyone he might have liked. If Logan’s smart words made him blush, if Patton’s puns made him giggle-

Off Roman went. If he didn’t stay around them, he couldn’t fall in love with them. Easy enough.

That may have been a reason Roman rarely made his way to the park construction or spent too much time at any of his projects. He cycled through advisors. He exchanged polite greetings with guards and nothing else. He was an amiable prince, who reached out to his citizens, but he couldn’t afford to be too friendly, to get attached.

He knew he could be better. Without this fear, he could be so much better. He’d be friends with everyone he knew, not acquaintances. He’d be a personal ruler, not a distant one. 

He couldn’t risk the lives of his citizens though.

So, at the nearest chance, Roman ducked away. The others invited him to coffee, but he declined. 

Instead, he went somewhere he’d normally never go. He marched into the library, waltzed straight up to the most infuriating person he knew.

Not even Roman was hopeless enough to fall for Virgil.

“My prince,” the librarian greeted lazily, not even standing from his slumped position across the desk. “What can I do for you today?“ 

He picked up a pen and scrawled across a paper, deigning to not even look Roman in the eye. Whatever pleasantness Roman had felt upon seeing a familiar, unexpectant face, soured at the blatant rudeness.

This callousness was what had sealed the deal for Roman in the first place though. The absolute zero percent chance that Roman could like, much less love, this man. Roman never thought he could hate one of his own citizens, but this guy… He was the worst. 

Roman could have never fallen in love with someone so… Virgil. So condescending and sarcastic and pessimistic. Virgil brought with him a stormy cloud of hatred everywhere he went. The mere thought of being around him was deplorable.

Which made him perfect.

“I just came to see your lovely face, my chemical woe-mance,” Roman said breezily. He had taken to maliciously flirting with the library assistant. It satisfied both his need to flirt with someone and his abhorrence of the man’s face.

And tone.

And personality.

And the way he pointed out every security detail his guards had missed by walking in there. 

And how he always pointed out the measures Roman was slow to take with his policies, and ones that he missed, redirecting Roman’s attention to needed areas. 

And when his hair fell in his eyes because, damn it, Roman wasn’t blind.

And when he laughed at something because he wasn’t horrible all the time and those were the times Roman panicked the most because shit did he mess up by letting himself talk to Virgil so much-

And his fashion sense was also horrible, so there.

But, of course, Roman was above such things. If the gloomy broody wanted to stoop, Roman would not-

“Forget how to say your own name again?” Virgil asked, and Roman stopped in his tracks, shooting him a confused look. “Hate to break it to you, but Roman doesn’t have a W.”

Roman’s face lit up red and he straightened faster than a cat struck by lightning. 

“I am your prince,” Roman said, hands curling into fists. The guards behind him didn’t react, however. By this point, they were all used to Roman and Virgil’s arguing. 

They thought it was ‘banter.’ Roman often reminded them it was a verbal battle of wits. They asked why he kept coming back.

He never answered that.

“I don’t need reminding every time you’re here, my prince,” Virgil rolled his eyes. It was ironic how the honorific fit in his mouth, like a bad taste. 

“Don’t call me that,” Roman snapped. Virgil raised a brow.

“What do you expect me to call you then?” he asked. “Your excellency? Your highness? General pain in my ass?”

“You make all of those sound like ‘general pain in my ass.’” Roman shot back with fire. 

“Then what?” Virgil crossed his arms.

Roman spoke without thinking. “My name.”

One of the guards coughed behind him. Virgil looked stunned.

“You want me to call you…” he said, and all anger had dissipated. If Roman had known this was all it would take to knock Virgil off his high horse, he would have done it so much sooner.

“Yes,” Roman said, feeling awfully proud of himself. “Call me Roman.”

Another cough behind him. What was it with the guards today? He hoped no one was coming down with anything.

“Roman?” Virgil asked, and it was said quickly, like he was still shocked at everything going on. This, however, is where Roman realized his mistake.

His name on Virgil’s tongue did not, in fact, sound like ‘general pain in my ass.‘ 

His name sounded….

Softer.

Sweeter.

Like a melody he’d never heard,

And one he’d kill to hear again.

Roman was suddenly hit with a sadness so unmistakable it was as if it had always lived in him. Something that felt lonely, something that felt like… goodbye.

Goodbye to this. Goodbye to the only person he had left that saw him as something that wasn’t a prince, or a stranger.

Oh gods, not Virgil too.

Roman straightened up, clearing his throat suddenly. “Um, yes?” he said, voice coming out squeaky. He cleared it again. “I mean, yes. Yes. Of course. If you’re going to insist on butchering everything else…”

“Might as well butcher the real thing?” Virgil asked, and he finally broke out of his shock to snicker. Roman’s heart thumped.

Fuck.

“Yeah, well. I actually have to go now, but it was nice seeing you and-”

“Nice seeing me?” Virgil asked, thrown off guard by Roman’s sudden departure. Roman hadn’t been there five minutes, but he had to get out of there.

“As ever. Terrible to see you as always, hot topic, and, if you’d just excuse me-” Roman was backing away, making his way to the door. He assumed the guards would follow.

“Hot topic…” Virgil seemed to be asking, but Roman didn’t give an answer.

“See ya!” were his final words before he ducked out.

Roman paid no mind to the knowing glances his guards shared behind him as he rushed off to the carriage.

He could only think of the heart in his chest.

And the noose it could lasso around Virgil.

-/-

“It’s not Virgil, right?” Roman asked pacing around his brother’s room. “Anyone but Virgil, surely.”

Remus continued to look out the window, mind probably elsewhere.

“It wouldn’t be. Virgil is… Virgil.” Roman shook his head. “He’s Virgil.”

“Virgil?” Remus spoke up, but he didn’t look at Roman. Maybe he was present, just a bit.

Roman nodded, pacing again to the other side of the room. “I can’t see him again. That’s it. It’s too dangerous. Even if there’s absolutely no way I’d fall for that guy, I can’t risk it.”

Remus turned Roman’s way, eyes looking troubled. Roman’s mind was spinning out of control.

“But it couldn’t be Virgil. I wouldn’t fall for him. I can still talk to him. It’ll be fine, right?”

Roman paused, thinking through his words before groaning.

“Oh my gods, I want to talk to him!” he lamented, then sat down heavily on his brother’s bed. Remus continued to watch him, looking for all the world like there was a puzzle in front of him, very close to being solved. 

“Remus, what am I going to do?” Roman asked, covering his face. “I like Virgil.”

“Virgil,” Remus mumbled.

“I can’t ever see him again. This is the end. We were never even friends! He was the asshole in the library. That’s it. That’s all he’ll ever be. And, somehow, I like him. What the fuck, heart? What the actual fuck?”

“Virgil,” Remus repeated, brows furrowing. Something was there, but Roman was too distracted to consider it.

“Gosh, but I can see it now. He’s got the warmest brown eyes to go with his shit personality. He’s so sarcastic. He actually makes me laugh. How dare he?! How dare he make me like him and all his assholeness?”

Roman stood from the bed. One look Remus’ way and he immediately regretted everything. 

“Rem? What’s wrong?” he rushed to his brother, who had the most distressed look on his face, fingers sparking green. Roman folded his hands over them, not minding the slight sting. It was better than someone walking in and seeing the magic. “Remus?” Roman asked again, kneeling before his brother. 

Remus blinked. Looked down at his hands and frowned. “Sorry, Ro,” he said, then looked back at the window. Whatever he’d been thinking, it was gone. Roman couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him.

One second of lucidity and Roman was glad it was gone. What kind of brother was he? Watching Remus look out the window again, lost to everything but the hills past the kingdom, Roman felt a deep sinking loss in his chest.

But, with that look that’d been on Remus’ face… how could he not be relieved? 

He sighed again. Roman did that a lot in this room. He wished he could help it, for Remus’ sake.

But Remus probably didn’t hear it anyway.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” he breathed, words lost to his brother. “I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Roman retracted his hands, absently noting the singe marks across his palms. He’d wear some gloves to cover them.

“Sorry,” he repeated. The word rang in his head, begging to be said again and again, until his sins were carried off with them, somewhere far away in the wind of those words. “Sorry.”

-/-

The next time Roman visited the park, he didn’t go to the library. However, it seemed he didn’t have to.

“Thank you so much, kiddo!” Roman absently heard from Patton as he scanned over some of the construction plans. “I can’t believe I forgot this.”

Roman heard one of his guards cough, stifling what sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Funny, they usually only did that when-

“No problem, Pat,” a deep, vaguely uncomfortable sounding voice replied, and Roman shot straight up. There was another noise that was definitely a laugh this time, but he didn’t pay mind to it. His eyes shot to the interaction happening not five feet from him.

Virgil.

He was standing a bit slouched, hands stuffed into his pockets and nodding along to Patton’s excited gibbering. It was sort of adorable, how patient Virgil was, the way he hid his smile when Patton punned, how out of place he seemed to feel, but comfortable around his friend.

Roman hadn’t known Virgil and Patton were friends. That was adorable.

Okay, Roman should really stop thinking of Virgil as adorable. Soon. Now.

But his eyeshadow was slightly smudged–probably from wiping it on accident–and that was adorable too.

No. Stopping now.

Roman dipped his head back down, boring his eyes into the blueprints. He absorbed none of it, but he acted the part like a champ. Looking busy sure came handy when a prince wanted to avoid people. You couldn’t argue that a prince wasn’t doing important work.

Well, perhaps a lesser prince. But everyone knew how seriously Roman took his job (whether he lived up to expectation or not. Virgil saw past that. Virgil pointed out exactly where Roman lacked…. but he also commented on the good things too. He’d said how much safer it was to walk home lately–how the children were excited about the park–how some patrons of the library complained about the tax increases, but Virgil argued with them about the necessities of the kingdom; all the community works, roads paved, safety measures).

“Ro?” Patton asked, and, even if it weren’t for his voice and bubbly nature, Roman would have known it was him. Patton was the only one on the construction crew that had taken him up on his offer to not use ‘my prince’ every time they referred to him.

“Hm?” Roman asked, pretending to be busy. He saw Patton from the corner of his eye, dragging another person by his side–no doubt Virgil. Roman swallowed harshly.

“This is my friend Virgil. Sorry to interrupt work and all, but I try to introduce him to everyone around here. He doesn’t get around too often and-”

“Pat!” Virgil hissed beside him, and Roman couldn’t help it. He looked up.

And they locked eyes.

Virgil’s cheeks were a dull pink, furiously trying to escape the bounds of the pale foundation he’d applied. For a moment, they were suspended there, Virgil and Roman just looking at each other.

Then, Virgil looked away. “Patton, you can’t just drag me around everywhere.”

Patton, the dear, had the good grace to look sheepish. “I just thought you’d want to meet the prince is all.”

“We’ve already met,” Roman said, against the wishes of his panicked nerves. It felt like something he wanted to keep for himself, something he could hold secret and close to his chest. He forced the words out though. Surely there was no valid reason to keep it secret.

Virgil flinched as Patton whipped around to face him. “Really?!”

He shifted a bit on his feet, and Roman noticed how considerably less confident he was outside the library. Maybe it was the new space, or the unknown gazes, but it worried Roman how much smaller Virgil appeared outside his familiar walls.

While Patton excitedly talked to Virgil about this new development, Roman was able to take a second to himself. It was Roman’s first time around him knowing how he felt about Virgil–without the panic of last time, mind spinning with Do I like him? Do I like him? Do I like him? Roman could examine those feelings up close here, scrutinizing them for what they were. He definitely liked Virgil, that much was definite by then, but how much? Roman fell quickly, but, as long as he was even still a bit afloat, it was fine. Virgil was safe.

And Roman understood with relief that this was indeed the case. He wasn’t in love with Virgil. It was still frightening how easily he’d fallen in deep like with the man, but Roman could remedy the situation. It just… took a bit of… severing of their relationship. Just a dash of distancing, a pinch of avoidance and rigid politeness. 

It was less than a minute that Roman had to think on this, Patton and Virgil’s conversation ending abruptly when Virgil started to get visibly overwhelmed. That worried Roman too, but it only seemed to embarrass Virgil.

“Virge? Buddy?” Patton asked, but Virgil’s red face shook back and forth.

“It’s fine, Pat. Let’s just moveonrightnow,” Virgil spoke without a lot of breath, words coming out quick. He was different outside the library, like he was constantly afraid of… something. He was jumpy, and Roman was sure that if someone were to sneak up on him right now, purposefully or not, they would be socked in the jaw.

“Yes,” Roman spoke up, seeing his opportunity. “I’m afraid I’ve actually ran out of time here, but we got a lot done here today. Great job, all of you.”

“You’re leaving?” Patton asked, looking disappointed. 

And Roman realized what he’d tried to avoid for so long. Patton was cute. He was funny and kind and made Roman feel like the world had light. But Roman really had nothing to be scared of. He looked at Logan too, clever and full of passion for his work and interests, and thought the same. He’d been avoiding all the wrong people–people who could’ve been his friends.

So to Patton Roman gave a sad smile of his own. He gave his excuses–the many duties of a prince, how busy things have been lately, that he really should let them get back to work instead of hovering over their shoulders so often–he was just a prince, after all.

It all paled to the real reason, nestled deep in his chest where he hoped no one would look, see his obvious lie.

Roman couldn’t be near Virgil.

Too risky.

-/-

The thing with falling for someone–it doesn’t stop when you don’t see them.

What was the saying? Distance makes the heart grow fonder?

That saying existed because days without those you’re infatuated with just make you think about them more. And Roman, the chronic dreamer he was, could not stop thinking about Virgil. He dreamed in his sleep about pushing the hair from Virgil’s face, curling it around his ears and leaning down for a gentle kiss. He day-dreamed about Virgil in his library, slouched over his desk, waiting for patrons and passing the day in boredom.

Roman thought of his snarky quips, eyerolls, insistent gestures when he was trying to tell Roman something. Those milliseconds of a softer look that Roman would ignore, trying to convince himself he loathed Virgil, so he wouldn’t have to go away.

He realized now how too late it was.

Virgil’s laugh was stuck in his ears–Virgil’s nervous voice outside the library–Virgil’s stories of friends he’d never see again, growing up in a distant place. 

And Roman hadn’t realized how much of himself he’d given as well. Virgil had been an ear to Roman’s rants, a backboard to spring off horrible ideas. Virgil could be ruthless, and Roman could be idyllic, but, somewhere in there, it actually worked. He’d told Virgil about spreading himself thin, about the demands of a prince he hadn’t expected when the king and queen had adopted him. He told him about how much he cared, cared so much, about the people of this kingdom, even while he’d only been there for three years himself. 

There was so much, now that Roman considered it. And still so much he wanted to share. He’d never told Virgil about his brother–no one knew about Remus. He wasn’t fit to be in the public eye. That much scrutiny and pressure, after everything he’d been through, would destroy him.

But he found himself wanting to tell Virgil. Found that he trusted him with the information.

And he wanted to tell Virgil about where he and his brother grew up, about the night he woke up and Remus wasn’t by his side, and it took two years of searching and loneliness to find him and save him. Roman wanted to tell Virgil his favorite color was red, that his favorite stories as a kid were about knights, not princes, that he spent his free time–or what freetime he used to have–writing poetry, and he had a secret love for theater that he’d never had the opportunity to explore. 

Roman felt his heart pulling pulling pulling. It wouldn’t rest, wouldn’t relinquish the hold it had over him, would not forget him- him- 

Virgil. 

His heart was a selfish thing. It stuck like glue to those who didn’t want it. It kept its love in a cage, never to let go.

But Roman had to stop thinking of him. It would only lead to heartbreak. It would only lead to Virgil’s doom.

That should make it easier on his heart–knowing the person it longed for was at risk for its choice–but nothing did sway it. It was up to Roman to wrangle it in, suppress, push it down down down.

A sound at the door of his office snapped Roman out of his thoughts–spiralling, an hourly occurrence at this rate, sending him straight to a world far away, spinning in purple irises. The door creaked open, and there stood an odd sight.

“Remus?” Roman asked, concerned. He was already standing, walking around the desk and across the room. “Is everything alright? Why are you on this side of the castle?”

Remus was very far from his room, and the castle was pretty confusing. It was a surprise his brother had found him at all.

“Virgil,” was all Remus said, like it held all the answers he’d ever been looking for. Roman paused, eyebrows furrowing.

“What about him?”

“It’s him.”

“What?” Roman asked, and Remus reached out, grabbed his hand. Before he knew it, Roman was being pulled along. Remus was leading them down the corridor, looking more sure of himself than Roman had seen since they were kids. “Remus, what are you doing? Where are we going?”

Remus didn’t answer him. In fact, Roman was thrown into even more confusion when he was steered into a random room at the end of the corridor, his brother huffing as he shut the door behind them. “Walking takes too long,” he seemed to be realizing. His hand was glowing and, when he reached out for Roman again, it was a blink of an eye before they were standing somewhere completely new.

“Remus, what the hell?” Roman asked, retracting his hand. “You shouldn’t use your magic like that! Anyone could see you.”

But Remus wasn’t listening. Was he ever? Instead, he was looking around. “Not where I would have picked.” He was sounding… like himself. Roman stared, wide-eyed. If he wasn’t so confused, he’d be elated. He’d long since thought getting his brother back to any normalcy–or whatever was normalcy for Remus–was impossible. 

“Who’s there?” a voice interrupted his thoughts, carrying across the library stacks. Roman recognized it and cursed internally. Why had Remus taken them there?

Slowly, Roman put up his hands and crept out of the small alcove Remus had taken them to, ready to come up with an explanation for their sudden appearance on the fly. “Do not be afraid,” Roman said, as any prince would. He stood in the open and found Virgil’s gaze. All Virgil had to protect him were his own fists–not the best tactic, Roman thought. Then again, it was only the other day that Roman had been afraid Virgil would sock the nearest person.

Still, just his fists didn’t seem like a great defense against swords or knives or any number of weapons a burglar could have. There was a pang in Roman’s heart as he thought of what might have happened if it wasn’t just him and Remus in there. Virgil would have been defenseless.

As realization dawned on Virgil’s face, they stood at a stand still, both almost afraid to move. When Virgil’s eyes drifted to his raised fists–loose, not really fists at all, who had taught Virgil to fight?–he dropped them like hot coals, stuffing them in his pockets. 

“Fuck, Roman, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” Virgil said, and Roman knew he shouldn’t be focusing on this–but Virgil had said his name again, and his heart was singing.

“My dearest apologies,” Roman bowed, and, going by the weirded out look on Virgil’s face, that was not of norm between them. He supposed they had never been quite civil with each other–even at the beginning. “I wanted to show my brother the library and you weren’t at the front desk, so we just came in.”

“I’ve been at the front desk this whole time,” Virgil said, not defensive, but confused. Well, at least Virgil wasn’t in a bad mood.

“Funny. We didn’t see you.”

“Wait wait wait,” Virgil said, backing up a second. “You said brother?”

Shit.

Looked like Roman would have to explain that sooner than he’d thought. Or, really, at all. Wanting to tell Virgil and telling him had been on two separate lists entirely. Roman wasn’t actually supposed to be talking to Virgil at all. 

“Okay, so-” Roman went to start, but he was caught off by a twin set of gasps, one shortly after the other. The first had come from behind him, so that’s where he looked.

“It is you,” Remus said. Roman’s eyes widened, finally catching on to what his brother had been trying to tell him.

“Wait, do you know each other?”

“Remus?” Virgil’s reply answered that question well enough. Roman turned back to him, eyes darting between the two. Virgil sputtered, “What- How-”

“It’s too late,” Remus mumbled. It sounded a bit more like he had over the past year–less like himself, but his eyes were present; he looked to be considering something–something he didn’t seem to favor. “It was a trap.”

“A trap?” Roman asked. “What do you mean? A trap for who? Who’s trapping?”

“Remus, what the fuck? How are you here? How did you get away?” Virgil asked, walking closer, but not too close, like there was still a part of him that couldn’t believe what was in front of him. 

“Get away?” Roman said, pieces further slipping into place. He didn’t like where this was going.

“What about Dee?”

“Dee…” Roman mumbled, the name familiar in his ears. I miss Dee, Remus had said. I miss Dee I miss Dee I miss Dee…

“It’s too late,” Remus repeated. “Of course it was you.”

Then, the room erupted into chaos.

-/-

Books flew, shelves rocked, windows clattered. From the corners of his eyes, Roman could see flashes of purple and green. Past the wind in his ears, he heard vague shouts from Virgil and a round of fuckfuckfuckfuckfucks from Remus. He couldn’t recall if he was saying anything himself, but he knew what he was feeling. Scared.

Roman had no idea what was happening, but, from the flashes of light, he deduced it must have been magic. This made him turn toward his brother, suddenly scared that all of this had gotten to him. Being outside the castle, some place unfamiliar, not to mention Remus had always been kind of a loose cannon with his magic–it could have caused Remus to panic.

But one look at him and Roman knew his brother wasn’t the one doing it. He turned to Virgil, remembering what he’d been saying, how he’d known Remus, how he’d raised his hands in a stance that made no sense in traditional fighting–but, with magic?

Purple sparks flew across Virgil’s skin, like they were doing on Remus too, but his eyes weren’t aglow. He wasn’t doing it either.

What was happening?

Then, abruptly, it stopped.

Shelves balanced back to their places and books dropped to the floor, lifeless. It was all they could do to just stand there before movement caught Roman’s eye at the top of one of the shelves.

Someone sat there, legs folded elegantly over one another where they balanced precariously. Roman recognized the one glowing eye peering down at them, the scaly hands, the knowing smirk.

“What a lovely reunion,” she purred. Roman was stricken, fear clenching his gut. Instinctively, however, he stepped forward in front of Remus and Virgil. He watched as her eyes traveled over each of them, finally landing behind Roman’s left shoulder, lips curling further into her face. “I was hoping it would be you.”

“How- How did you-” Virgil stuttered, but his voice died out. Roman narrowed his eyes, something protective overpowering his fear.

“You should not be here,” Roman stated. 

“But, my prince,” she said, “We made a deal.”

“A deal that hasn’t come to fruition,” he said. 

“I see someone’s still in denial,” the woman leered. “A witch’s curse knows all, though. You can’t scam the Dragon Witch of her hoard, my prince.” The way she said ‘my prince’ infuriated him, but nothing like Virgil’s had. The Dragon Witch said it like it was nothing, like it was delectable and sweet and hers to keep. 

“What is she talking about?” Virgil asked, and Roman turned. Instead of scared, he now looked confused. He was watching the two of them, apprehensive, but ready to fight. His hands were up again in those loose fists, purple sparking off of them. Magic. Virgil had magic. “You made a deal with the witch?”

“Not that he had much choice.” The witch shrugged. It seemed casual, despite the manic glee in her eyes. “I was going to kill him and keep Remus. But he wanted his brother, and he got to be prince of a kingdom! Fair trade, if you ask me.”

“It’s not fair,” Remus said, and the witch seemed to remember he was there. “You can’t take him-”

“Shut up, Remus,” she said offhandedly and Remus flinched. Rage filled Roman, and he stomped further toward the witch.

“Don’t you dare-”

“Don’t I dare what, sweetie?” she asked, folding her legs up onto the bookshelf with her, where Roman couldn’t reach. He was ready to topple the whole shelf when her words caught him. “I’m only here for what I’m due. I was hoping you’d choose Virgil.”

“What?” he asked, and his voice echoed. He turned around and saw Virgil’s ghostly face, mouth open, having spoken at the same time.

“There’s so many possibilities, you know,” she said and sighed like she was bored. “There’s some realities where you fall for the architects, but there were quite a few where we’d end up here and that was certainly a risk I was willing to take. So glad it paid off.”

“But I’m not-” Roman protested, and when he was cut off again he felt ready to pull his sword. It would do nothing against her magic–something he knew well–but she was really getting to him.

“Not in love? Please,” the Dragon Witch scoffed. “It’s not my problem you haven’t realized it yet.”

“Wait!” a voice suddenly tore through their conversation, and Roman looked back at Virgil, something tightening his gut. Virgil looked simultaneously angry and afraid and lost. “Hold on for a second. What the fuck is going on?”

With a grace that shouldn’t have belonged to someone so wicked, the witch floated down from the bookshelf, jumping right over Roman and landing in front of Virgil. Virgil seemed to have masked everything in those few seconds, standing defiant and tall before the woman. It mystified Roman. It was nothing he had ever seen before–nothing like Virgil’s comfortable confidence in the library. Virgil lowered his hands, appearing defenseless and unafraid under her manic gaze. 

“Long story,” she said, tossing her head side to side. “But I’ll tell you the ending if you want. My little happily ever after… minus dear Remus over there. I’d rather have all three of you but Remus turned weak. This. This was the outcome I was betting on.”

She leaned in, centimeters from Virgil’s face and anyone else might have missed the minute flinch in the man’s body, but Roman saw–tuned into it. Virgil’s eyes were hard. He said nothing.

Even as he was sentenced to his doom–to a doom brought to him because of Roman–because of a heart he couldn’t control–because Roman had signed away another’s life–a life that wasn’t Roman’s to give–a life Roman hadn’t yet met–that he was destined to love and hate and damn forever.

And it’d been a trap.

“Virgil, my long lost terror, you belong to me again. The End.”

#sanders sides #prinxiety #roman sanders #virgil sanders #ts creativity #ts anxiety #ts #tw weapons #tw trauma #tw injury #minor edits: realized the italics didn't copy over #but that's fixed #also i'm going to lose my shit if people don't stop walking behind me while i have writing on my screen #i have an allergic reaction to people seeing my writing when i'm not ready for them to #which for irl people is next to never #requests #tw angst #tw unhappy ending #ahhcc

[grouptalekindnesssoulstories]

To Fly A Rainbow

So uhhh...I just wanted wings? I have no other explanation

Words:~1,200

Warnings:Swearing, misgendering, homophobia/transphobia, threatening to out someone

“Lady Danielle Ekafae and her parents, Lord and Lady Ekafae” A herald announced the arrival of the last guests. Prince Roman settled his wings slightly, adjusting them to compensate for a too stiff chair. The estate who was hosting the ball had very few chairs made for the royal family and their wings. Those had gone to the King and Queen, and Crown Prince Remus. Roman knew there was another chair he could have used, but his gayness was offensive to the hosts. So he would suffer silently until the ball ended. 

“If I may, Prince Roman, I would like to request a dance with you” or not.

“Of course, my lady” He stood to honor Lady Danielle’s request. Like the perfect gentleman he was, he bowed before offering his arm. The lady giggled and took it. He swept them out to the middle of the dance floor. 

“That chair didn’t look comfortable” She remarked, eyes glittering. Curse her sharp eyes. 

“No, it wasn’t. However, a prince never complains-” He twirled her “-and my gay ass offended our hosts” 

“Well I hope Deceit strikes them soon” She took her eyes off him for the first time since the songs began. He noticed her studying the walls. 

“Usually I would say that he is a criminal and I hope he’s caught. However, because it’s you and you’d know I’m lying...I hope the same. He’s done a lot for me and my brother. Hopefully Re can come public with his marriage soon” Roman watched as for the first time all night, Danielle’s muscles relaxed. 

“Oh? Is he gay too?” She looked up at him, a small smile on her face.

“Yes. We’re twins, what did you expect? He’s married to our advisor Logan and Patton, a cook down in the kitchens. So, that’s another strike against him. Luckily, he’s good at social stuff. He also has helped marry others, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Our parents are trying, but the nobles aren’t budging” 

“You love him a lot. Well, I can tell you my parents are for it. They’ve accepted me since I came out” She smiled.

“Lesbian?” He dipped her, kissing her hand as he prepared to step away. She was swept away before she could answer fully. 

~~~

The rest of the party passed in a blur. Before Roman knew it, he was settling in a guest bedroom. He sighed, putting away his day clothes. He’d help wash them tomorrow, but right now he wanted to sew up a hole in his sock. As he was finishing, he heard a creak. 

“You can come in Re. I’m still up” He called softly. Instead of a door open, the window swung open of its own accord. A figure dressed all in black climbed in, making the odd event less odd. When its face turned to the prince, he saw that it was covered in snake face paint. 

“D-deceit” He stammered, scrambling backwards on the bed. Deceit just tilted his head at the prince. After studying him for a moment, the black-clad figure raised a finger to his lips and crept out of the room. Roman’s hands were shaking as he tied off his work and put his sock away. He considered going to sleep, but decided against it. Deceit occasionally left bodies in his wake and the prince’s would be quite the fuss. After an agonizingly slow hour, Deceit returned. When he noticed the prince was still awake, he once again tilted his head. 

“I wouldn’t dare hurt you, Your Highness. Besides, you have been nothing if not a leader in the fight for our rights. Sleep well, and know that you have nothing to fear” A familiar voice hissed through the painted face. Before Roman could place it, Deceit was gone. 

~~~

The next few weeks were quiet in the hunt for Deceit. After Roman reported the sighting to his parents, they stepped up the defense as well. It seemed the man had decided to lay low while the alarm was raised. 

“Ro. Why are you so distant?” Patton nudged his brother in law to startle him out of his thoughts. The Crown Prince had invited his partners and his partner to hang out in his room. Logan was busy trying to keep their husband from completely derailing a speech they were working on. 

“It’s nothing. Just thinking about what the thief told me. It still haunts me” Roman admitted after a second.

“Well, I have been looking over the records. It appears he goes after those who have been homophobic. Either behind closed doors, or openly, they all have that connection” Logan had given up trying to stop Remus, and had hidden the original copy of their work and left the other one with their husband. 

“Wait, really?” Roman straightened. 

“Indeed. and all of the murders he left a note. All of the inheriting children reported that it was a warning to not follow in their parent’s footsteps” The advisor straightened, adjusting their glasses. 

“Huh. That’s kinda neat? I guess. I know, I know. It’s rude to be glad of their deaths” Ro waved off the reprimand. Logan sighed and continued after a moment.

“Yes. Well, in an effort to prevent that, your father has compiled a list of everyone who has been against the changes. Hopefully we can prevent further crimes by our elusive friend”

“Awww, you think of me as a friend! Can you show me the list? My brain is coming up empty on who to go after next!” The group’s attention all snapped up to the top of the window. Deceit sat there, picking his nails. When they all finally took note of him, he wiggled his fingers in greeting. Remus reached for his bow. The thief clicked his tongue. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I told my associate that if I wasn’t back by dinner, to reveal your little secret. It would a shame if the crown prince was revealed to be gay and polyamourous!” Remus immediately lowered his bow and drew his partners behind him. 

“Deceit, please. Leave him alone” Roman begged as he stepped forward. 

“Only for you dear. Oh, and tell Dee I said hi. Well, Lady Danielle I suppose. He’s trans though. Goes by Janus. His parents are sweethearts. Use them to help get your reforms in place. Ta-ta” the familiarity of the voice finally snapped into place within Roman’s brain. 

“Wait, please. I’m sorry I misgendered you throughout” The figure paused. Before long, he turned around again. The forced hissing dropped. 

“You...you figured it out? I. I was so careful. Hit them regularly for a simple robbery to disguise it. How?” He sounded so vulnerable. Roman finally realized why it was so hard to pin down his voice. He was on T. Before he could think any more, he shot in the air to perch next to him. 

“Your voice. And how gentle you were when you saw me awake. When I used the right pronouns. there were a thousand little things that snapped into perspective when you mentioned yourself” He reached out a tanned hand, carefully wiping away some of the make-up around Janus’s eyes. 

“Get him bro!” Remus cackled, his bow returned to his place. Both of the perched duo went bright red at that. 

“Look my scaly friend, you don’t have to do this anymore. We’ve got it. Please, just....go live your life. i’m guessing your parents know?” Roman finally choked out, a flashy smile replacing the surprised expression. 

“Yea. They were the first to know. I told them when I was little, and they’ve done everything they could to help. They also figured out I was Deceit too. They told me as long as I wasn’t cruel, I could continue” Janus had a quiet smile on his face. Roman smiled and kissed his forehead. 

“I’ll take over the fight from here. Thank you dear, but it’s time for political battles” Roman made to move so his companion could leave. Before he could do anything though, Janus grabbed his sash and pulled him into a kiss. After a minute, Roman melted into it. They broke apart with twin gasps amidst cheers. 

“I never answered your question. I’m gay too. Sleep well Darling” He called over his shoulder, drawing out the name sweetly. 

“I’m so doomed”

“That you are Ro. Come on, we have dinner with Dad soon” Remus snapped his wings to get his brother’s attention. 

“Gimme...a sec. Gotta figure out what just happened” 

~~~

Seven long years, the new laws were welcomed in with the younger prince kissing his husband. 

Janus had stolen Roman’s heart for his final crime. 

#roceit #intrulogicality #trans!janus

[deviantofthemind]

𝕾𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕾𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖘 𝕱𝖎𝖈𝖒𝖆𝖘 2020

Inspired by @doctorroseprompts​ I’m bringing to you Sanders Sides Ficmas *.*

Snuggle up, dearies, because we are doing this! I changed some prompts that just didn’t vibe with me and here we are. I can’t believe I really managed.

Anyways, please enjoy my humble offerings 🎁 and have a wonderful December!  

I’m going to do a taglist for Ficmas ^.^ Let me know if you want in <3

Under the cut you’ll find the teasers if you’re curious <3

Dec 1: Snowed in - Logince

Logan accompanied Roman on a Dragonwitch coven stalk out. They end up trapped in an old hunting cabin by a snowstorm in the middle of the imagination with nothing to entertain them for the next 24 hours. Roman grows very interested in Logan's recent reading material.

 Dec 2: Ginger/gingerbread - Moceit

Janus comes home from a long business trip, stressed and burnt out to a nicely decorated house, the smell of gingerbread and his very lovely husband.

 Dec 3: Shopping - Prinxiety

Roman is unduly excited about christmas shopping. Virgil finds it annoying, but also unsettling, embarrassing and so very nice.

Dec 4: Holiday movies - Anxceit

Virgil is cosied up for christmas break with his boyfriend in his parents otherwise empty house. They plan on nothing but eating an ungodly amount of food, relaxing and watching mushy christmas movies. They don’t actually watch anything.

Dec 5: Ornament - Royality

A royal Christmas Wedding. (This is essentially just the newlyweds gusching about each other :)]

Dec 6: Hope - Intruality

Patton spends the night before Christmas in the hospital after his boyfriend had been in a fatal crash.

Dec 7: Cold - Roceit

Roman is waiting impatiently for the return of his most trusted advisor and diplomat to return for the Christmas festivities at Sanders Castle.

Dec 8: Ice-Skating - Dukeceit

Janus isn’t ready for going ice-skating with his NHL playing boyfriend for the first time. Not really.

Dec 9: Snowflake - Logicality

He was eternally grateful for Patton's foresight and preparation because when the time came, he just had to say one word. OR Logan announces a code snowflake and Patton delivers on it.

Dec 10: Candle - Analogical

Use me with care and never leave me alone.

(This was NOT inspired by the warning label on a candle, NO SIR.)

After Virgil finds he has the best naps in the logical Side's room and Logan has gone to desperate matters to overpower the scent left in his sheets.

Dec 11: Mistletoe - DRLAMP

The Art of kissing. [I just want to see them snog ¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Dec 12: Tree - Moceit (Part 2 to Dec 2: Gingerbread)

Patton had been promised a ride and some (kinda) quiet holidays.

Dec 13: Peace - Moxiety

Patton and Virgil are planning on spending a holiday together a few months into their relationship. Patton is a mess about everything this entails.

Dec 14: Smell - Analogical (Part 2 to Dec 10: Candle)

“Because you gonna burn the house down?” - “No because I’m going to start to cry and we both don’t want that.”

Dec 15: Ring - Loceit

If you asked Logan then he would say that they were good. Comfortable, running smooth, fitting together. No need for change at all. 

Dec 16: North Pole - Creativitwins

“Had I known that penance is so easy, Roman, you need to believe me, I had done it before.” 

Dec 17: Mittens - Royality

Patton is an okay student, an okay friend and prefers not to look in the mirror too closely. Needless to say he is a bit shell shocked when Roman Sanders starts flirting with him.

Dec 18: Presents - DRLAMP

Logan is tired. It has been a long year and he is tired. He has accomplished nothing and he isn’t sure how to improve to be heard and tolerated again amongst the other Sides.

Dec 19: Christmas jumpers - Moceit (Part 3 to Dec 2: Gingerbread and Dec 12. Tree)

Janus is aware that they look like a bit of a gay clichè but he honestly couldn’t give two fucks about it when Patton is this happy.

Dec 20: Love - DRLAMP

A spell gone wrong leaves Patton de-aged. The newly five-year old is not what everyone who knows and loves adult-Patton expects. 

Dec 21: Star - Gen

Janus is an immensely successful and well known lawyer. Over the years he had taken countless pro bono cases in favour of abused or neglected children. Now he feels like it’s time to take a step back from his work and start his own family.

Dec 22: Mulled Wine - Logicality

When left to one's own devices unwillingly, with annoying urges and confusing emotions it was the most logical thing in the world to overindulge in something that could help with all three of one’s predicaments. Wasn’t it?

Dec 23: Traditions - Logince

When Roman was ending his work night he usually hurried home as fast as possible. But tonight he’s hungry and his ankle hurts too much to walk even one step further.

Dec 24: Midnight - Intrulogical

This could have gone horrible in so many ways that Remus is pretty grateful that it’s only about a pint of blood on the polished marble floor.

Dec 25: Christmas Dinner - Logicality

Since Patton lived with the Sanders Clan and their Master Vampire Logan Sanders he had never been summoned for Dinner. Until this Christmas Eve.

Dec 26: Box - Loceit

Jan almost choked on her Chai Latte when the unfairly attractive, very tall and obviously stressed woman behind the counter shouted “Ultimate Christmas Cookie Boy for Janice!?” 

Dec 27: Joy - Gen (Part 2 to Dec 21: Star)

It’s Christmas and after six months in Janus’ care his adoptive son feels safe enough to start talking. 

Dec 28: Shiver - Loceit

Logan desperately needs a few lessons in self-care. But until Janus manages to hammer this into his thick skull he takes on the care work, for better or worse.

Dec 29: Sleigh - Prinxiety

It was going to be Virgil's first official event without his parents and he had been nervous since the invitation came weeks ago. The prince had personally invited him to the Christmas Ball.

Dec 30: Countdown - Loceit

Logan had not expected it to be like this, not ever. Because had he, he maybe wouldn’t have done it. But he was glad that his evaluation had been wrong as he was laying face down on a soft blanket, more relaxed than he had ever been in his life.

Dec 31: New Beginnings - Anxceit

In Virgil's humble opinion the whole year has been a gigantic shit show and he was tired. His best friend Patton still had the audacity to bully him into applying for an apprenticeship with the fancy new tattoo shop in town.

---------

#sanders sides #not safe for sanders #31 days of ficmas #ficmas #fluff #smut #angst #soft boy hours #i promise #loceit #logicality #roceit #royality #anxceit #prinxiety #moceit #logince #intruality #sanders sides fanfiction

[ambersky0319]

Fic idea: Everyone finds out that Remus isn't as bad as they think he is, he's actually really nice, he just can't help saying whatever comes to mind. He'd never actually act on it. But Roman? The Prince everyone believed was Netflix Kids and Family? He has his own spot in the imagination simply to taste out the ideas Remus blurts out.

Basically, this is that one AU where they’re all friends, things are exaggerated for videos and they all actually get along okay? Okay (also no pairings hope you don’t mind)

Warnings: Mentions of violence, mention of corpses and bones, there’s nothing graphic in this one but lmk if I need to add anything!

Masterpost 

———————————-

Patton needed to find Roman, wanting to ask him if Roman could help him bake. None of the other sides wanted to/were busy with other tasks. So after checking the entire mind palace and not finding Roman, he left to the one place Roman could be.

The Imagination.

The door to the Imagination opened up on two paths. One was towards Roman’s land, a magnificent castle standing in the distance(Patton found it odd it was black, but it did make the castle look more dramatic, so he guessed that’s what Roman was going for) and the other was Remus’s land, which made Patton shudder even glancing at it, seeing the piles of either corpses or bones.

He walked along the path to Roman’s castle. The path finally shifted away from Remus’s domain, the ground becoming littered with vibrant flowers being tended to by villagers. A few did a double-take when Patton strolled by, before shaking their heads and getting back to work. No one made an attempt to stop or talk to Patton, and he didn’t want to disrupt their concentration.

Finally, Patton arrived at the castle. One of the guards stopped Patton on his way, briefly giving Patton a once over and frowning at the other guard. The other shrugged.

“His Majesty said this one was the bubbly dad of them. I doubt he’d mind.”

“You don’t have weapons, do you?”

Patton shook his head. The guards exchanged another glance, before stepping out of Patton’s way.

“Make sure to get all the mud off your shoes before you go too far in though, his Majesty doesn’t like the floors being dirty.”

Patton beamed. “Alright! Um, where can I find his uh… His Majesty?” Patton asked just as he passed them. The first guard that had stopped him pointed down the long, seemingly never-ending hallway. “Should be in the throne room, it’s the tenth door down this hallway and on the right.”

“Thank you!” Patton chirped before walking further into the castle(after wiping his shoes- it made sense Roman wouldn’t want mud in his beautiful castle). He followed the guard’s instructions, counting the doors as he walked by. Patton was surprised by the paintings on the wall though- all depicted battlefields or executions or weird creatures he had never seen. Patton shook his head. Roman did enjoy a good dramatic final battle. Maybe that’s what all those were.

Patton pushed open the tenth door on his left, and it swung open easily. He stopped in his tracks though when he saw Remus on the throne, not Roman, and the Dragon Witch sitting on the floor nearby reading some scrolls to Remus, reports or sounded like.

Remus looked away from his advisor at the sound of the door and his face lit up. “Patton! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Remus jumped out of his seat and the dragon witch rolled her eyes. “What brings you here anyway?”

“Um- I was looking for Roman? Why are you here and not him?”

Remus tilted his head. “This is my kingdom, I kinda need to run it.”

Patton furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Yeah! It’s my kingdom! Roman rules the other land.” Remus suddenly gasped. “Oh my God! I need to show you around! You’ve never been to the Imagination, have you? Well, when Roman and I are in our separate kingdoms at least. I should check up on what he’s doing- Hey Hope!”

Remus turned back to the dragon witch as she finished cleaning up her scrolls. She raised a brow. “Can you let Roman know I’m bringing Patton over after I show him my kingdom, or maybe send Kyle over if you have other things? I know he can handle the stuff Roman’s been playing with.”

Hope grimaced slightly. “I think I’ll send Kyle.” As she left, she smiled warmly at Patton and Remus. “Have fun touring the kingdom.” And then she was gone down the hall.

“Wait- you’re telling me- so that… Um. How do I not be mean about the other land?” Patton asks, growing very hesitant and nervous. He didn’t want to insult the other land.

Remus shrugged. “I don’t think you can be mean. Roman works very hard over there! We had a sort of agreement that if I gave him ideas he’d leave my kingdom alone, and it gave me an outlet for my thoughts.”

Patton nearly sighed in relief. Nearly. “So those are your ideas?”

“Yep! Well, most of them. I know Roman comes up with a few by himself when he’s frustrated. I don’t like acting on them though.”

“Why not?” Patton followed Remus out of the throne room, taking in how Remus looked a bit more regal here than he did in the mind palace. “I mean, I don’t want to be rude, but uh… I figured you would be all for torturing and murdering creatures?”

Remus shook his head, opening a door further down the hall and waiting for Patton to go inside first. He did, and Remus closed the door to the garden once he entered.

“I would never harm anything! Not intentionally. I can’t help my intrusive thoughts. I had to accept that.” He let Patton explore the massive garden as he spoke. “Plus, the people here are my creations! My children! It’d be as if you murdered one of us sides!”

Patton shuddered at the thought. “My point exactly,” Remus said, before shrugging. “Besides, Ronan is still Roman. You finding out that his kingdom is actually the more gruesome of us two shouldn’t change your opinion of him.”

“I don’t think of him differently!” Patton whipped his head around at the slight accusation. “I just…”

“Didn’t think Roman had it in him?”

Patton hummed, nodding. “I didn’t expect it. He was always so…. So… Harmless, I think? Like, he wouldn’t actually hurt one of us? Or Thomas.”

Remus frowned, leaning on a hedge. “He wouldn’t hurt either of you. Sure, sometimes he’ll grind up a figment that looks like one of us other sides into a smoothie or toss us in a wood chipper, but those are all figments of the imagination to relieve his stress. He still comes up with his normal, boring as fuck fairy tales, but he can like testing out my ideas if he wants.”

Patton took a moment to soak in Remus’s words.

“You’re certain he won’t hurt us? Even if you say something about us getting hurt?”

“Absolutely. You’re talking to the pure honest side, Patton. I wouldn’t lie to you about Roman.” Remus glanced up at the few storm clouds starting to form. “Maybe I should get Kyle and tell him to let Roman know another day. I don’t think you could actually handle seeing the stuff in there just yet.”

Patton hugged himself. “Not really.”

“Okay one sec.”

Remus summoned what appeared to be another scroll, as well as a normal pen and scribbled something onto the paper before making it vanish.

“What were you doing here anyway? I don’t think I asked.”

“Oh, uh…” Patton raked his brain. Why had he come here again? “Oh! Right! I wanted to ask Roman if he would help me bake. But if he’s busy I can always do it by myself. Unless you wanna help?”

Remus laughed. “Dee banned me from cooking anything for the next century. But if you want help decorating whatever it is you’re making, I can help!”

Patton smiled slightly. “So… Do we sink out or do we have to walk all the way back to the Imagination door?”

Remus grinned. “Sink out!” And he flopped backwards, where a hole appeared in the ground and he disappeared. Patton yelped as Remus vanished out of sight, until he heard him call up, “just jump!”

“… Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.” Patton mumbled, but he jumped anyway. The hole sealed up above his head and he popped back up into the mind palace, his head spinning. Remus was perched on the table already, leaning forward to watch Patton.

“Well chef! Take it away!”

———————————-

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@treasureofpriam @theloveliestsweetspongy @tacochippy @anderswrites @romanknite @0beansprout0 @random-fandom-dragon @daflangstlairde @princerhubarb @that-one-ts-artist @heyitsmeimjustkindahere @aromanticandaromatic @deliciouslycrookedme @batpinkstudentpersona @avocados26 @fandomloverangel @red-eyes88 @adarkgreensoul @analogicallythinking @thatreallyawkwardpotato @insanegoldie2 @gothams-lil-sweet-potato-pie​ @alexkittycat1 @len-art-trash @faithyfander @an-absolute-failure @lexilucacia @o-hello-its-me @fearthesmolpotato @moxiety-my-love @thatonenerdphotographer @diadems-arewornon-capita @morrogirl9024 @thefandomnerd15 @sulphur-and-honey @aroaceagenderfluid @yalltookmyurlideas @brain-iak @theoneandonlydork @sidesareathing​ @surohsopsisofclouds @dissappropriation @demigodbookdragon @too-many-fandoms89 @a-soul-among-the-stars @croftersgamer @thenaiads @theyluna-womoon @logic-with-a-pinch-of-deceit @willowaudreykeyes @nafsbluebery @stopitanxiety @shipper-devil @underthesea73 @jackscareington @askrae-the-fander 

#remus sanders #patton sanders #roman mention #roman sanders #no ship #platonic dlamprt #platonic dlampr #sanders sides #ts sides #ts remus #ts patton #ts roman #prompt #amberskywrites #ambersky ask #ask #anon #anonymous #violence mention #corpse mention #bones mention #fluff

[snowdice]

Little Kestrel (Part 37) [Birds of Different Feathers Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan & Patton & Virgil (future Virgil/Patton but not in this story)

Characters:

Main: Logan, Patton, Virgil

Appear: Thomas

Mentioned: Janus

Summary:

It was supposed to be a quick job either way. Either Virgil would assassinate King Thomas of Prijaznia or he’d be caught and get executed. Yet, when Virgil gets the wrong bedroom and gets caught by Prince Logan and his future royal advisor, Patton, the job ends up getting way more complicated for the 14-year-old. He also ends up sleeping in a (actually pretty comfortable) closet for a few weeks…

Notes: Implied/referenced child abuse, assassination attempt, knives, torture mentioned, captivity, teenagers being really dumb, sexual coercion of minors implied, a minor offering sexual favors

This is a prequel to Kill Dear. I wrote it 100 words at a time on my blog, but this is the edited version. If you want to see how it was crafted (and possibly some future content), look at the tag proofread stories.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36

Virgil had not spent much time out of Logan’s room. What little time he had spent outside of it was either with Patton and/or Logan or tucked away in secret corridors he found in the walls where no one would stumble upon him. Yet, here he was willingly in a, well, not public by any means place, but one that was still more exposed than he was used to being in. Somehow, he was managing to not care at all.

It was helped by the fact that both Logan and Patton had been in the room at the start, but they had gone off to go… somewhere. Food sounded like it might have been the reason. He liked food, and usually he would have been all for going to get some, but between them promising to bring him back some and the fact that he was never going to move ever again, he’d decided to stay.

Princess Marisol seemed to be the only other rational being in the whole castle because she had also not moved since discovering the contents of this room. She was currently laying on his chest purring happily.

The fireplace was a wonderful invention. Now, Virgil had, of course, warmed up by a fire before when it was cold, but this was much different. There was a grate that blocked off the fire a bit keeping it from burning the person in front of it and there was a plush rug right by it, perfect for laying down on. Someone had known what they were doing when designing this room.

He didn’t even care that the king had access to this sitting room as well as Logan.

…

Okay, so he did care a little bit, but he was ignoring that. He was probably busy this time of day anyway, right?

…

He really didn’t want to run into him after being caught watching the castle workers set up the bigger fireplaces. Kings probably didn’t like people sneaking around watching things from the shadows even when they didn’t know that the person sneaking around was literally sent to kill them.

Princess Marisol must have had a sixth sense for his anxieties (or he’d just started breathing faster and disturbed her) because she stirred a bit. She started up a calming purr as she moved to gently kneed his chest. “That sort of hurts,” he noted idly as she dug her little paws into his sternum. She responded by purring more. He moved his arm to scratch behind her ear.

Virgil still was feeling a little bit anxious about the fact that he was out in the open, though he very much did not want to leave the room with the nice fire, and Patton and Logan would be back soon anyway. He should find some way to distract himself, and, well, the best way to distract himself was to investigate his environment, and it had the added benefit of making him feel safer.

He carefully turned to his side to gently deposit Princess Marisol on the rug. She gave an insulted ‘mew,’ but quickly forgot her ire to sprawl across the ground with her belly to the fireplace. Virgil got to his feet and eyed the room as a whole.

It was fancy, to be sure, but a lot more homely than he’d expect a room in the royal wing to be. Logan’s bedroom was much more extravagant than this. It was closer to what he’d expect in the home of a financially stable, but not well-off family’s home both in contents and décor.

There was a nice, but older looking couch that was probably older than Logan, perhaps even older than the king. It was huge though and comfy looking. It had two chairs that weren’t quite matching but were close enough and a table in front of it that had slightly chipped wood. A seemingly random set of pillows was on it, none quite matching the rest, but all sort of earthy browns and greens. There were bookshelves stuffed with books of all different shapes and sizes, and a giant painting of a turkey of all things over the fireplace. The fireplace itself was probably the fanciest thing in the room.

Most of the fireplace was made out of bricks, though it had a wooden outline a good distance from the fire, and there was an ornate iron grate in front of it with pretty little leaf designs. On top of the mantle were little figurines that grabbed Virgil’s attention. They were small little pieces of wood that had been carved into animals. Some were painted and some left the wood to be exposed. There were a good number of horses, but there were also things like rabbits and birds. There was even a few creatures Virgil did not recognize himself. They ranged in size from only about as big as his thumb to as big as his hand.

He leaned closer to take a better look at them, careful to keep his legs away from the hot iron grate, though he could still feel the intense heat from how close he was. He did not dare touch them. The room may seem like it did not belong in a castle, but it still was in one, and who knows how expensive or important the little figures were.

He settled his chin on the edge of the mantel, getting as close to the decorations as he dared, his eyes locked on a little robin that had been painted orange and grey with a bright yellow beak and eyes that almost looked alive.

He spent a good minute staring at the wooden creature, before finally drawing back.

“They’re nice, aren’t they?” a voice asked, and Virgil just about jumped onto the ceiling, but there weren’t any good footholds, and the ceiling wasn’t very high besides and wouldn’t give much cover. “And that is why I waited until you stepped back,” the same voice said and perhaps it sounded a bit amused, but Virgil was not focusing on that.

“S-sorry,” he stuttered, cringing back. Why did he always have to be screwing something up when the king came upon him. Why did the universe hate him?

“Oh, it’s okay,” the king said. He was still by the door, having only paused outside of the room instead of coming in. “You weren’t doing anything wrong.”

He certainly had been doing something wrong even if he was allowed to get that close to little things that seemed so fragile (which he almost definitely wasn’t) or be in one of the royal rooms without Patton or Logan in sight. Virgil had come here to kill this man even if he didn’t know it. He was an assassin in one of the private royal chambers. If the king had any idea, Virgil would be dead

He made as though to take a step into the room, but he paused when he saw Virgil take a step back and grimaced. “I’ll, uh, just be going,” he said. “You can stay. You can look at the figurines all you want.”

Virgil looked at the man’s feet and didn’t say anything. He hoped he didn’t take that as an insult.

“Okay,” the king said. “Goodbye.”

He walked off then, likely to his own private room. When the footsteps faded, Virgil bent down to pick up Princess Marisol, who meowed her complaints at being pulled from the fire. He snuck quietly back into Logan’s room.

Logan and Patton found him in the closet 10 minutes later.

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41

Birds of Different Feathers Master Post

My Masterpost

#sanders sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #character thomas sanders #adriana writes #little kestrel #birds of different feathers #implied/referenced child abuse #assassination attempt #past torture #captivity

[jzixuans]

hiya, love!! if it's okay, can we know more about the royality in the stupid reason au? or maybe just patton relationships in general? :D

yeah of course!!!

let’s start by establishing patton’s character a little bit

he grew up in the lower levels of the court, as his mother was a court physician and his father was an entertainer 

he’s about ten years older than logan

due to the busy nature of their jobs, their parents left patton in charge of watching over logan while they were at work

logan and patton are very close! patton taught him how to cook and logan loved to sit him down and teach him about whatever he learned that day from his tutors

while logan was able to get higher education from masters in their fields who later vouched for his early admission to university, patton’s education was more more basic, although he picked up history, philosophy, and ethics with great speed

imagine hiro and tadashi kind of

their parents are both retired now and live in a nice cottage in a more rural area of the kingdom

the boys go to visit on holidays and for birthdays and other celebrations, and once a month they’ll head out for a picnic

patton doesn’t put much stock into romance. he’s never fallen in romantic love, but he doesn’t mind, because family will always come first to him

his first job in the castle was as a chef in the kitchens! it was a well known fact that his pies and his pies alone were the king’s favourite

he has several connections in high places, partially because he’s a great chef and no one wants to bite the hand that feeds them, and partially because he’s just so damn approachable

these connections are part of why logan’s had such a high education! that and the fact that thomas has a soft spot for him and sponsored him through university

he only ever knew thomas as the king because they met after thomas’ coronation

running the kingdom is stressful work, but thomas was always able to find solace in the kitchens

he would sit there at night and watch patton prep the stations for breakfast the next morning and they would have idle conversation (patton also slipped him lots of late night snacks)

patton’s a great listener, and thomas had lots of worries to talk about

every so often patton would throw in his two cents on a subject that would actually be super clever and insightful, so thomas took to bringing a notepad with him to write down patton’s advice

they become super close!! they’d hang out outside of their working hours to goof off and do dumb stuff

thomas loved that neither patton nor his genius kid brother were afraid to call him out on stuff just because he was the king

patton met thomas around the same time that thomas adopted roman, a baby boy from a small village with parents too sick to care for him. when they heard that the king was visiting, they begged thomas to find their son a home where he could grow up healthy and happy, fearing that they wouldn’t survive their illness

“his name is roman,” they told him, “and he is the most important thing in our lives”

so thomas took him in as his own

patton was roman’s favourite babysitter

he spoiled roman with sweets and always read him fantastic stories right before bed 

as one of the king’s closest friends, he started supervising roman’s lessons with his tutors and his coaches when roman turned ten (the kid’s got a knack for geography by the way)

he always made sure that roman had time to take breaks and be a kid

he even brought his brother, just three years older, in to play with roman

patton endured many, many shenanigans from those two

roman will never admit this until he’s older, but patton was the primary influence in his motivation to do good by his people, and treat them with kindness and fairness as a prince should

this goes on for a few more years until patton’s in his late twenties and thomas in his mid thirties, and thomas decides that more people deserve to hear patton’s ideas, so he approaches his friend with a proposition

patton becomes an advisor about halfway through logan’s time at the university, so logan split his time between his classes and the practical experience of sitting in on meetings with the high council

roman would be there too, and it was almost always impossible to tell which of them was more guilty of getting into trouble at these meetings

the rule became that they would only sit in on half of the meetings, and they would be filled in later to soothe their restless energies

they hardly got into too much trouble of course, save for some gentle scolding, because one of them was the crown prince and the other was the younger brother of the king’s best friend

even still the castle staff adored roman, he was just that charismatic

patton’s also in a queerplatonic relationship with emile picani, an artist from the nearest city to the castle

emile uses he/him and she/her

emile’s a great help in getting patton to destress after a particularly long day of meetings

she’s got a super hyper energy about her that never fails to make patton laugh

their favourite date was when they went out to dinner, and there was a live performance that had them laughing and dancing and singing along. neither of them were particularly good at it but it was silly and light-hearted and a good couple hours spent letting loose

they’re both great supporters of the performing arts, so whenever roman put on a show with the castle troupe, they were always there in the front row

emile’s not at the castle often, but she was commissioned to paint roman’s portrait on his eighteenth birthday

they first met when patton was on business in the city, and he saw a beautiful landscape painting of a lake at night and he wanted to buy it for logan

enter the artist himself, cheerful and bubbly, so excited to talk about his piece

patton’s suddenly more enamoured with the creator than the creation

he makes several more visits to the city with the hopes of being able to chat with emile

patton bought her a couple of drinks and the rest is history

logan thinks that they took too long to get together

patton’s always quick to remind him that he’s been pining for virgil for years

#patton sanders #thomas sanders #sanders sides #brotherly logicality #queerplatonic patmile #blink writes #stupid reason au #this is such a brain mash #i started this and then patton decided that he was going to be friends with Literally Everybody so there are like eight tangents going on #and none of them have proper direction #anyways we post without editing #dani #ask

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

Royal Growing Pains - Chapter Eight

Warnings: Homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, sympathetic Deceit

Royal Growing Pains Tag

Roman woke up the next morning to a harsh knocking at his door and an unpleasant voice demanding his attention. “Veronica, open up, I know you’re still in there!”

Sitting up silently, Roman rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and went to answer the door, greeting his mother still in sleep shorts and an oversized sweatshirt, and wearing nothing else. “Do you need something, Mother?”

“You’re having breakfast with Rose and I,” his mother told him.

“I’m still exhausted, Mother—”

“—This is not a request, Veronica,” his mother said. “You will be having breakfast with us. You cannot run away from your duties and hide behind Damien forever.” 

I can certainly try, Roman thought. “That’s not what I’m trying to do, Mother. I wish to know the man I’m going to marry, beyond his name and basic knowledge of his interests. If that means I’m running away from my duties, then I fail to see why you would set this up. You of all people should know I like to get to know people better than just surface knowledge if I’m going to be spending a lot of time with them. And Remus is the same, especially with romantic ventures. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

His mother huffed. “You still must have breakfast with us. You will be spending a lot of time around Rose, as well.”

“If you don’t mind me looking and feeling dead inside at breakfast, yeah, give me two minutes to get dressed,” Roman said, closing the door. He grabbed a T-shirt and looked through his suitcase, grimacing when he saw no more pairs of jeans. He had forgotten that his mother had made him pack all his feminine clothing first. So he put on one of the least form-fitting skirts and opened the door again. “Acceptable?” he asked.

“You should wear your hair up,” his mother said. “You look so much prettier with your hair up.”

Roman resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “May I have my phone back after breakfast, Mother? I want to add Damien to my contacts.”

His mother sighed. “I suppose,” she allowed. “But no talking to those online friends of yours! We got rid of those apps that you had on your phone that allowed you to talk to them, but I don’t want to see you redownloading them!”

Roman sighed. “Is that really necessary, Mother? They’re my friends, they deserve to know that I’m all right.”

“They were hurting you, Veronica, and I will not allow you to delude yourself about this transgender... thing any longer!”

Roman resisted the urge to flinch, and the urge to growl. “I’ll text Remus and see if he can tell them I’m all right. I haven’t been able to talk to them in a week, they’ll be worried.”

His mother sent him a glare, and Roman just shrugged. “I don’t want them thinking I’m dead, Mother.”

“And if they try to contact you outside those apps?” his mother asked.

“They can’t,” Roman said. “I never gave them my email address or my phone number. They’ll be relieved that I’m alive, and you can still isolate me from the only people who ever understood me.”

“Don’t act like that, Veronica,” his mother scolded. “You know everyone at home loves you. We just want you to see sense.”

Roman sighed in frustration. “Whatever,” he growled. “Let’s just have breakfast.”

His mother gave him a warning glare but they both walked down the halls to a dayroom where the Queen was already waiting. She smiled at Roman, and Roman offered a weak smile back. He really wasn’t looking forward to this. Not because he didn’t want to spend time with the Queen. She seemed really nice, and inviting, and she was more than accepting. But because his mother was there, he would be forced to stay in the closet during the entire conversation that was breakfast. And that pained Roman to no end.

No sooner did Roman and his mother sit down than Patton swooped in, carrying three plates on a tray in one hand, and a tea set in the other. Roman whistled. “Nice balancing act,” he said.

“Thank you, Your Highness!” Patton said, giving him a big, toothy smile. “It took many years of practice to get it down, but once I figured out how to place everything so no one side is topheavy, I could run through the halls with trays over my head and still keep everything in place!”

Roman grinned at Patton, ignoring the way his mother was giving him a searching stare. “Maybe you could teach me some time, that could be fun,” he said.

“I could enlist both you and Damien to help me in the kitchen and teach you both how to balance anything,” Patton laughed. “Although, I must admit, with Damien’s track record for balance, I’m not sure that would end well.”

Roman snickered and the Queen laughed a little, herself. “My boy is talented in many things, but balance is not one of them,” she said. “That seems to be where most of his art problems stem from. Not looking where he’s going, or misjudging how light or heavy a piece of pottery will be. Then he inevitably drops something and whatever he dropped proceeds to get in every nook and cranny in the room he was working in.”

Laughing outright at that, Roman said, “I certainly hope no one ever hands him a child, then.”

Patton snorted, said, “It’s a bit late for that, Your Highness,” and left.

Roman turned to the Queen and she sighed. “Yes, Damien has tried to hold children before. Family members, sitting down, of course, but he never could quite cradle them correctly, let alone pick them up.”

“Has he gotten any better at it?” Roman asked. “Any improvement? At all?”

“If he has improved, I haven’t seen it,” the Queen said with a slight smile.

“That might be a problem,” Roman’s mother cut in. “When you two have children, he’d have to learn how to balance very quickly, or risk not being able to hold them at all.”

Roman grimaced, busying himself with grabbing a plate of breakfast (pancakes, he was pleasantly surprised to find), and a cup full of tea. He hadn’t even considered that he would be expected to have children. If the thought of sex had repelled him yesterday, the thought of children today made his heart leap into his throat and his stomach sink into the depths. “I don’t know about children at this point, Mother, Damien and I aren’t even married yet.”

“It’s never too early to think about these things, Veronica,” his mother pressed.

“Yes, it is,” Roman said. “I may have played house as a child but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for a baby now. It’s...more than a little stressful to think about, so I’d appreciate it if we took the discussion in a different direction.”

“That works for me,” the Queen said. “Diana?”

“She will need to plan for it,” his mother protested.

“Yes, but there’s already an entire wedding to plan. One thing at a time, I think, will help Veronica adjust better.”

His mother sighed. “I suppose,” she allowed.

“So,” the Queen said. “I spoke with your mother quite a bit yesterday, Veronica, but I didn’t see very much of you. Is there anything you believe I should know about you?”

“Other than the obvious?” Roman asked with a little sniff of a laugh and a smirk. “I mean, my favorite color is red, so I very much enjoy the guest room you put me in. The turkey last night reminded me of childhood adventures with my brother, which I’m sure Damien mentioned in passing.”

“He did mention something about that this morning,” the Queen said, smiling. “About how the two of you traded places as children. I think it’s rather charming to hear about.”

“You might be the first person to call it charming,” Roman laughed. “But there are plenty more stories where that came from.”

“I can’t wait to hear them all,” the Queen said. “But for today, I’m afraid we might not have much time to talk about that. We need to go over your first dance, after all.”

“Oh, right,” Roman said. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the thought of getting married. The thought of slow-dancing with Damien seemed even more foreign. “I mean, I can barely do a passable waltz, which may be a problem...”

“Not to worry, I’m sure Logan would be willing to teach you. He’s a man of many talents. It’s one of the reasons Damien chose him to be his advisor.”

“Huh,” Roman said, taking a sip of his tea. “The more you know.”

“Indeed,” the Queen said, and when she smiled, Roman saw where Damien got a majority of his grin from.

“So, as for music,” Roman’s mother said. “What are we thinking? It has to be something Veronica can be able to dance to, but I think it should also be sweet. Something that really seals the idea of love.”

“Damien suggested a song to me earlier when we were talking. It was the reason he came looking for me. It was by this band...Sleeping at Last, I think? And they did a remake of the song I’m Gonna Be. The five hundred miles song. I haven’t listened to it, yet. I was hoping we could listen to it together.”

“Excellent idea, Rose,” Roman’s mother said. “Veronica, you can pull it up on your phone, can’t you?”

When Roman had his phone offered to him, he practically snatched it out of his mother’s hands as he looked up the song. “He said he thought of you with this song, Veronica,” the Queen said. “He hoped he wasn’t being too forward when he chose this, but he said he thought it really was what he needed to say to you.”

Roman’s heart thudded in his chest when he heard that. He knew the song, but he had never heard the version the Queen was talking about. Still...Damien doing those sorts of things for Roman, it had Roman’s heart beating hard and fast. Someone being chivalrous to him, as him, and not as Veronica, made him feel weak at the knees.

The first notes of the song hit the air around them, and Roman instantly knew this would be a romantic version of the song, but then the singer came in, and he had to fight back tears. They sang so earnestly and with so much heart in the song that Roman wouldn’t believe anyone who told him that the singer didn’t have someone in mind when they sang it. “I love it,” he said, voice thick with tears. “This is perfect.”

“I’m glad you think so,” the Queen said with a knowing smile. “Damien puts thought into every song he recommends for any occasion. It looks like he got this one perfectly.”

Roman nodded, locking his phone as the song ended, and slipped it into the pocket he had secretly sewn into this skirt when his mother first got it for him. She never liked that he altered any outfit she got him, but he would claim he needed at least one pocket and his mother would drop the subject, knowing that Roman would argue for his right for pockets until he was blue in the face. Roman took a breath and sipped his tea, trying to get rid of the tears that threatened to overflow and make him start crying.

As breakfast continued, Roman ignored every time his mother said “Veronica” in favor of thinking about Damien calling him Roman. A man who truly cared about him, using his name. It almost made the whole thing bearable.

His mother kept going on about the kind of dress Roman might be wearing at the wedding, and Roman noticed even the Queen looked somewhat uncomfortable by this point. “I do wish the tailor would have let me see his designs,” his mother sighed. “I tried to talk to him last night as he was leaving, but he said nothing.”

“Remy doesn’t like sharing sketches of his ideas, because what he does might change radically from the sketch to what the final result is,” the Queen said. “He doesn’t want anyone to get attached to an idea he realizes no longer works.”

His mother seemed somewhat appeased, but she still sighed. “I would have liked to be there, regardless. I do want to be present for the first fitting.”

Roman’s eyes flicked over to the Queen in a panic. The Queen hummed. “I don’t know, Diana. Remy doesn’t like too many people hovering around him.”

“I’ll stay out of the way,” Roman’s mother insisted.

“Actually, Mother,” Roman said. “I had talked to Remy last night about a possible surprise about the dress. A surprise specifically designed for you and Father, and I don’t want to ruin it by showing you before the wedding day.”

His mother sent him a searching stare. “And this surprise isn’t risqué? You’re not making the dress provocative or otherwise unacceptable?”

“Of course not, you know I hate when I wear anything that shows off my body like that,” Roman said, shaking his head. “We were actually discussing...” He forced back a shudder. “We were talking about designs in the lace he considered using. Among other things.”

His mother’s eyes lit up. “You’re considering the lace after all?”

“Remy knows ways to make it less scratchy than what I’ve dealt with in the past,” Roman lied. “And if what he designs is more comfortable than what I’ve worn in the past, then I will be more than happy to wear it.”

His mother hugged him, and Roman allowed his discomfort to show on his face just as long as his mother couldn’t see him. The Queen winced in sympathy. When his mother pulled away, he reset back to his neutral face and let his mother grin at him. “I knew you would see sense, Veronica!” she exclaimed.

“I don’t know how wearing lace would be me ‘seeing sense,’” Roman said with a shrug. “But if it makes you happy...”

As his mother took over the conversation, once again gushing about her excitement for the wedding, Roman slowly retreated in on himself until he was practically huddled in the chair he was using. He wanted to be anywhere but here. He’d settle for some place in the castle that his mother wasn’t, at this point. He just wanted to leave. Now. Roman stood, clearing his throat. “I’m afraid I need to use the restroom, as exciting as this conversation is,” he said.

“Oh, that’s quite all right, dear, I was about to suggest we head to the ballroom and send someone to fetch Damien so the two of you could practice your first dance,” the Queen said. “The bathroom is right down the hall, and anyone in the castle can tell you where the ballroom is if you get lost.”

Roman nodded and left quickly, rushing through the halls and finding refuge in the bathroom as he took a shaky breath and gripped the counter with white knuckles. “You can get through it, Roman,” he breathed, staring at himself in the mirror. He hated the long brown hair he was forced to sport, now falling into his face, but he reminded himself he would be getting it cut the day of the wedding. “Damien even said you could get through it. It’ll hurt like hell, but if he thinks you can do it, and Remus thinks you can do it, and even the tailor thinks you can do it, then no matter what doubts you have, you can get through this. It doesn’t have to be unscathed. That’s what therapy later down the road is for.” He started to laugh slightly hysterically at that. “You just have to get through it. Reach the finish line. Everything that comes after that is after that. Not something you have to worry about now.”

Leaning back to assess himself in the mirror, Roman splashed some water on his face and took a deep breath, leaving the room and heading in the direction he assumed the ballroom was.

Eventually, he was rewarded with the entrance to a rather large room, with that horrendous bright yellow covering the walls. Damien was standing there, waiting for him. “Good morning, my dear,” Damien said. “I managed to convince our mothers to step away for a moment, so that we can talk alone, and get the awkwardness out of the way without them.”

Roman offered a smile and nodded. “Sounds good,” he said.

Logan approached the two of them from somewhere that Roman couldn’t see, and said, “Shall we get the positioning done?”

Damien nodded with a small smile and Roman offered a nervous grin. “I apologize in advance for crushing your toes,” he told Damien.

“No matter, my dear,” Damien said. “Did you listen to the song I told my mother about?”

“I did, and I think it’s perfect,” Roman said, genuinely smiling. “Honestly, the thought that anyone would do something like that for me is almost unbelievable, but if you think it applies...well, I’m certainly not going to say no to such a beautiful song.”

Damien offered Roman a grin. “Perfect,” he said. “I was hoping you would enjoy it. Logan will take us through the steps of a waltz, and once you think you have it down, we can practice with the music.”

“First, you two need to get your hands in the right positions,” Logan said.

“I know this part, at least,” Roman breathed, taking Damien’s left hand in his right, and putting his other hand on Damien’s shoulder, and Damien got in position as well.

“All right. Now, let’s take the first step. Damien, you’ll lead. That means you take a left step forward, and Roman takes a right step back.”

They did so, and all the while Roman’s heart was thudding in his chest. He really didn’t want to trip Damien up.

“Very good. Now, Damien, you’ll take your right foot and move it forward in a diagonal, and Roman, you take your left and move back in the same manner,” Logan instructed.

And no sooner did they try it than Roman accidentally kicked Damien in the shins. Damien winced. “Gah, I’m so sorry!” Roman exclaimed.

“It’s not a problem, my dear, let’s keep going,” Damien said.

“This next part should be easy, you bring your feet back together. Roman, this will be your right, and Damien, your left.”

Roman nodded and together, they made the step. Roman giggled nervously.

“Now, we will repeat these same three steps in reverse,” Logan said. “And try not to kick anyone in the process.”

Roman stuck his tongue out at Logan, but looking down at his feet, he managed to not kick Damien in the shins again. “All right, that will be the bulk of the dance,” Logan said, walking over and forcing Roman’s chin up. “But you can’t look at your feet as you dance, Roman.”

“That’s going to be hard, and result in a lot of kicking,” Roman said, turning red in embarrassment.

“Be that as it may, you cannot stare at your feet for the duration of the dance, so try to keep your head up as you practice. Now let’s try again,” Logan said.

Tag List: @lunareclipse-13 @sanders-sides-crofters @blushy-gigglee-mess @wannacrymetoo @kaytikitty @magicalspacepanunicorn @bootsinthesun​ @pricklyfish777 @flowersanddinosaurs @leiasolo77 @birdybabybird @enby-phoenix @luna–28 @justagaygoose @the-prince-and-the-emo @fandomsandanythingelse @randommuffinyt @snekky-boi @thesoftestlittlepuffballwegot @twilight-trix @abby5577 @escalatingtoofast​ @friendlyfacestabbing @remus-is-stinky​ @foggybanditdreampeanut @ghostskull300​ @sprinklestheditty @canvas-the-florist​ @askthesnake​ @samuel-the-gay​ @determination-saved @beyondthestacks​ @juicy-cashew​ @loganpatton​ @lilbeanblr @kittyboof8 @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch​ @sanders-trash-4ever @hamilspntrash @swords-and-kittens @phantomfander @narniasfinestavengingsociopath  @rjmeta​ @ambersky0319 @anni-cat-flower @idosanderssidespromptssometimes @nafsbluebery​ @redisawerewolf23 @voidvirgil

#roceit #sanders sides fanfiction #roman sanders #deceit sanders #logan sanders #royal growing pains #our creations

[perspective-series]

Kingdom Perspective (18)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, panic, kidnapping, keeping/treating people like pets, threats, and unwanted touching/grabbing

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

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By the time Logan returned for the evening, the moon was high in the sky.

“Patton?” Logan called out softly, entering his bedroom with a yawn. 

But the human was already asleep, awkwardly leaning on some of Logan’s books. Logan smiled at the sight, gently scooping up Patton in his palms. He got into bed, pulling the covers over them both and placing Patton on his chest.

“Goodnight, Patton.” Logan said, laying his palm atop the human and falling asleep.

 Patton woke up the next morning, not where he had gone to sleep. Blinking his eyes open, he saw that he was on Logan’s chest. Logan must have moved him when he came home last night. Patton smiled and snuggled deeper, a frown forming when he realized what day it was. He didn’t want to wake up yet, not when it meant having to leave Logan forever.

Little did he know, Logan was lying awake thinking the same thing. At the feeling of Patton shifting, however, Logan slowly opened his eyes.

“...Good morning.” Logan greeted, though there was little ‘good’ about it.

 Patton sighed but put on a sort of sad smile as he looked up at Logan. “Morning.” 

A knock came at the door, Emile poking his head in.

“Your highness?” Emile greeted. “I apologize profusely for the intrusion, but...well, you have slept rather late.”

“I have?” Logan scooped Patton up, looking puzzled as he sat up and glanced at the window. Indeed, the sun was much higher than it should be.

“We are all awaiting your arrival.” Emile explained. He glanced at Logan’s hands. “It’s time.”

“...Right.” Logan was surprised to hear a crack in his own voice. “Give me a moment.”

“Of course.” Emile nodded in understanding, shutting the door again.

 Patton blinked as Emile left. “A-Already?” Patton felt tears start to form.

“I’m sorry.” Logan’s voice was only a whisper as he suddenly held Patton tight to his chest, scared that if he spoke louder he wouldn’t speak at all. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

 “I-I…” Patton shook his head. He couldn’t give into this sadness. This was important for Logan and Patton couldn’t be weighing him down. He sent Logan a smile, slightly forced. “Come on Lo-Lo...you gotta get ready for your big day.”

“I do not wish to partake in this endeavor anymore.” Logan closed his eyes. “I do not want you to leave.”

 “I don’t want to leave either.” Patton said, he wanted to stay, he really did but...he knew Logan also needed to do this. “But you gotta become King, so you can be the best king this kingdom and everyone in it has ever seen.”

“You think so highly of me.” Logan muttered. “You know me better than anyone, and yet you still put me upon a pedestal.”

 “Because you deserve it.” Patton reassured Logan. “I don’t think, I know you are going to be the best king. Because of how well I know you. Especially over these past few days. You’ve...changed quite a bit, I think. And that’s gonna make you an even better king.”

Logan took a deep breath. “I hope you’re right. One way or another, we shall see.”

 “I won’t have to see to know you’ll do a lot of good.” Patton said. Of course, he wouldn’t get a chance to see Logan become king. Since he was leaving very soon.

“Your highness?” Emile entered again.

“One more minute.” Logan rubbed at his eyes, holding Patton near his heart.

“I apologize.” Emile winced. “We don’t have a minute.”

“I thought the king’s word was law.” Logan argued.

“You’re not king yet.” Emile gave a half smile. “But if you come with me now you can prove me wrong.”

 “It’s time, Lo.” Patton said, despite not wanting to go. It had to happen.

Logan gave a deep sigh, standing up and getting out of bed.

“I’ve arranged for a messenger boy to take Patton away.” Emile explained.

Logan stiffened. “What?”

“That is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Emile frowned. “You’re sending him back?”

“I- well yes, but...how do you expect me to put his life in the hands of a stranger?” Logan looked down at Patton. 

 Patton tensed at the idea. “I...c-can’t you just drop me off on the way?” Patton asked Logan.

“Yes, Patton can stay with me a little while longer.” Logan suggested.

“Or, I can take Patton.” Emile offered. “If a stranger makes you uncomfortable, it would be an honor.”

 Patton shifted. “I mean, I’d rather stay with Logan...but if Logan can’t…”

“He cannot.” Emile answered for Logan, knowing the crown prince would protest. “He is already late as it stands.”

 Patton nodded. “Then I guess that works. And…” Patton turned to face Logan. “I guess this is...goodbye.” Don’t cry, don’t cry...and he was already crying.

“Oh, Patton…” Logan felt his own eyes begin to water. “I suppose it is.”

Emile held out his hands, waiting. Logan looked at him, wanting to ask for one more minute, but he knew that he would always want one minute more. So, with a heavy heart Logan transferred his best friend’s life into his advisor’s hands.

 Patton squirmed at being in unfamiliar hands but he ignored it in favor of sending a smile up at Logan. He had tears in his eyes as he spoke. “Goodbye Logan...Thank you for everything.”

Look took a deep breath. “Goodbye, Patton.” 

“You’re needed in Wardrobe.” Emile explained, heading out the door. Logan followed, but while he had to turn left he watched with slight dismay as Emile turned right. Logan held himself back from following, but could not bring himself to head to Remy’s quarters until Emile had turned the corner and was out of sight.

 Patton watched with sad eyes as Logan disappeared from his view and he took in several shaky breaths to try and calm himself down. That was it...he would never see Logan again. He ducked his head at the thought. He knew this was the right thing to do now but...a large part of him still very much wanted to stay.

 Emile stopped at the younger prince’s door, transferring the human to one hand so he could rap on the wood with the golden knocker. “Prince Roman? Are you decent?”

 Roman groaned as he woke up to knocking at his door. “Huh? What?” He glanced outside, realizing the sun was already fairly high up and his eyes widened. He hopped out of bed, being mindful of Virgil. “Uh, y-yes!”

Virgil sat up, awoken by the large movements at his side. He rubbed at his eyes, watching as the royal advisor entered. Looking closer, Virgil realized he had Patton in his hands, but why would he…? Oh. Seeing how miserable Patton looked, Virgil had a good guess.

“Your highness, you’re not even dressed.” Picani gave a sigh of disappointment. “You’re worse than your brother. Hurry up now, we mustn’t be late.”

 “Right, sorry.” Roman quickly disappeared into his closest and came out in under a minute fully dressed. “Oh! And I see you have Patton. Great! If you can just give him to me, I’ll drop him and Virgil off on my way there.” Roman said, holding out his hand for Patton.

“No, you need to get to the ceremony.” Emile corrected. “I’m here to collect the humans for you.”

 Roman blinked. “Wait, what?” Roman shook his head. “N-No, I’m supposed to be taking them to Dee so they can get home.” Roman went over and scooped Virgil up to make his point. “It won’t even take me that long.”

“Yeah, how come Roman can’t take us?” Virgil gave Emile a suspicious glance. 

“That was before Roman slept in.” Emile gave the prince a pointed look.

 Roman huffed, he was not letting Emile take his friends. “I won’t be going at all if I can’t be the one who takes them.” Roman threatened. 

 Patton’s eyes widened and he looked up at Emile to gauge his reaction.

Emile raised an eyebrow, but despite Roman being an insolent child at times it was true he could pull rank over the advisor. “If you are quick… I suppose you can complete the deed and then rush so no one is the wiser. And you better not let your brother know or he’ll have my head. Logan would be quite jealous.”

 “Of course.” He didn’t wait for Emile to give him Patton, instead scooping the human up into his free hand and then cupping his two hands together to allow both humans to sit next to one another. “Thank you Emile, I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Please hurry!” A frantic Emile called after him, watching the Prince disappear down the hall.

“How you doing, Pat?” Virgil asked, taking in the state of his fellow human as they were a bit squished together.

 “I’m...uh, holding it together.” Patton said honestly. “For the time being.”

 “Oh, Pat. I’m sorry you couldn’t spend longer with Logan.” Roman said with a frown. He wished he could spend more time with Virgil too but he knew that Emile was right and he had to get going. So, as they talked, Roman was already making his way out of the room and down the hall.

“Yeah…” Virgil was secretly glad though that he hadn’t had to drag Patton along like he had thought. Virgil certainly didn’t envy Emile for coming between Logan and Patton. 

Of course, Virgil was also facing a lot of complex feelings himself. With every step Roman took he felt a mixture of excitement and dread. It didn’t help that Virgil’s mind was barely awake.

 All too soon, Roman stopped in front of a door. “Well...here we are.”

 Patton shivered as he recognized where they were. He knew Dee was their only way back but he was not looking forward to seeing that particular giant.

 Roman looked down to the humans in his hands. “I’m...I’m going to miss the both of you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” Virgil said it automatically, before realizing he actually meant it. 

...huh. He hoped he wasn’t making a big mistake.

 “Same here, Roman.” Patton said and Roman smiled down at both of them. He then took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

“Who dares disturb my-? Ah.” Dee’s scowl quickly formed into a business smile, spotting the humans. “Forgive me, I had forgotten I was expecting royal company.”

 Roman nodded. “Sorcerer Dee, by the orders of the new King. You are to return Virgil and Patton back to their home.” Roman said, putting on his royal voice.

 Patton, at the sight of Dee, cowered and averted his gaze. His hand found his way to Virgil’s arm and he clung to him.

“Oh?” The sorcerer raised an eyebrow. “And what made Logan so keen to give up his precious pet after so many years of guarding it like a hawk?”

Virgil scowled. Though he barely remembered Dee from their first encounter, Virgil decided he still hated him.

 “He realized, like I did, that they are not pets. But people who deserve to be go back to their own home.” He looked down at them sadly. “It’s a hard decision, but the best one.” He looked back up at Dee. “Now open the portal so we can send them home, I have places I need to be.” He could already hear the lecture he was going to get from Emile about being late.

“Oh I’m sorry, you have places to be?” Dee didn’t look at all sorry as he put his hand to his chest. “I still need to finish orchestrating a majestic display of grandeur for tonight, and yet you want me to drop everything and begin the extremely intensive scrying transportation spell. Not all magic is sparks and instant gratification, you know. If you’re indeed in a hurry Princey- which given the fact the coronation starts momentarily I can only assume you are- you’ll leave the humans with me and I’ll get around to the spell as soon as I have a moment to do so.”

 Roman blinked. “But I-I mean, I…” Roman groaned, knowing Dee was right. He had wanted to be here when the humans were sent back home but...he really did have to be at the coronation soon. He sighed sadly. “Alright.”

 He held the humans up, looking at them with sad eyes. “I suppose this is our last goodbye, then.” 

“Bye, Roman.” Virgil gave him a small wave. 

“Ahem.” Dee put his hands out, looking impatient.

 Patton looked at Dee warily. “R-Roman I really don’t think-” He started but he was so quiet with fear that Roman couldn’t hear him. And Patton found himself and Virgil transferred over into Dee’s hands. He started to shake.

 “Just be careful with them. That’s an order.” Roman said. He looked down at the two of them one more time before shutting his eyes tight and turning towards the door. “Have a good life, you two.” He said. “I’m going to miss you.” And with that, Roman was gone.

“Sooo~” Dee’s voice got lower, more ominous as he closed the door to his lair behind him. “Look who finally got his hands on the spoiled little humans after all.”

Virgil tensed. “Send us back.”

“Ooh, but transportation between universes takes so much energy and I’m sooooo tired.” Dee drawled, a snakelike grin growing on his almost scaly features.

 Patton shook, remembering everything Dee had done to him before. “P-Please, just, just send us back!” 

“And why should I?” Dee asked.

Virgil paused, slowly realizing that there was nothing they could do to make him. “Because Logan ordered it?” Virgil tried feebly.

“Ooh, that he did.” Dee nodded in agreement. “And I am bound by magical contract to obey any command given to me by the king. But ah, there’s something you seem to have neglected.” Dee’s gaze darkened. “Logan’s not king yet.”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “But...no, you can’t do this! Logan...Logan still out ranks you!” Patton tried, gritting his teeth.

“Sorcerors don’t abide by human politics, and frankly ever since he went softI haven’t been a fan of that stuck up prince.” Dee let out a weary sigh. “Such a shame- he really had potential before you came along.”

 “He’s a better prince than he was before. And a better person that you will ever be!” Patton shouted to Dee in an act of bravery.

“Ooh, tiny has a sharp mouth!” Dee broke into an animated smile, looking sinisterly playful. He grabbed Patton’s leg, dangling him by it as he held the human higher. “Do it again.”

 “Ah!” Patton screamed. “S-STOP!” Patton cried.

“PUT HIM DOWN!” Virgil yelled, terrified as he watched Patton dangle several feet above him.

“Ooh, you still think you can tell me what to do?” Dee raised his eyebrows, that unnerving grin stretching further as he shook Patton back and forth. “Has someone really forgotten their training already? Well, there’s certainly time for a refresher course.”

 Patton froze at that, memories washing over him. “N-No, No please, please!” Patton whispered before going into a desperate and pleading yell. He couldn’t go through training, not again.

“Then QUIET!” Dee snarled, all traces of amusement suddenly wiped from his face as he gathered up the human’s legs in his fist, giving them a hard squeeze.

 Patton screamed before biting his tongue and silencing himself. Knowing the only way for the pain to stop...was to listen. Tears ran down his cheeks as he kept back his screams of pain.

“Stop it, you’re hurting him!” Virgil pleaded, but he realized with a sickly feeling that was the intention. Not to mention, it seemed the giant wasn’t going to listen to anything he said. 

“There we go~” Dee purred, once again looking pleased. He relished in Patton’s tears, glad to see the human was just as he remembered. “That wasn’t so hard, what a well-behaved human you’ll be.” As a reward for his obedience, Dee even flipped Patton around in his fingers like one might twirl a quill so that the human was once again facing upright.

 Patton kept silent and his gaze pointed downwards. He so desperately wanted to speak his mind but the promise of pain if he did kept him in check.

“Now…” Dee clenched his fist around Virgil, amused to hear the human gasp for air as he pushed everything out of his little lungs. The sorceror raised him higher. “You, on the other hand, seem troublesome.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.” Virgil managed to choke out, seeing spots from the pressure all around him. Why did he say that? What was he doing? Dee held his life in his hands and Virgil was still putting up his sarcastic front.

“It seems all that time you’ve spent with that pushover has given you quite a sharp tongue.” Dee hissed, pinching Virgil’s head between his fingernails to force the human’s mouth open. “If you’re going to be difficult, I can always remove it.”

Virgil felt his heartbeat racing, terrified at the pressure all around him. He had forgotten how incredibly powerful giants were, having gotten so used to the way Roman would listen to him. But that was just Roman being polite- a real giant could do whatever they wanted without giving a care in the world how Virgil ‘felt’.

Dee released his pinching grip around the human’s face, watching with a laugh as Virgil quickly pulled his tongue inside and pursed his lips like a fish. “Excellent choice.”

 Patton hated this. He wanted nothing more than to yell at Dee for even thinking about hurting Virgil but he couldn’t. His past training had come back and slapped him in the face. He didn’t want to obey but he also didn’t want to be hurt. He sent Virgil a sad look, hopefully one that told him to just go along with everything. For his own sake.

“Now, you two are going to wait here.” Dee strolled over to the other side of his laboratory, where two wicker cages sat. He shoved a human in each, giving a snap and causing the magical doors to slam shut. “I will be working on items of actual importance, and then attending the coronation myself. If I hear a peep out of either of you, there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?”

 Knowing better than to speak, Patton simply nodded, keeping his head down.

Unfortunately, Virgil didn’t have the same train of thought. He tucked his knees up to his chest, shrinking in on himself as he looked up at the sorceror looming overhead.

“I said,” Dee repeated, picking up the cage containing Virgil by its handle to dangle in front of his face, “do I make myself clear?”

“Thought you said no talking.” Virgil muttered defiantly, his rebellious nature getting the better of him. 

The two were locked in a staring contest for a few moments, Virgil quite anxious about the fact that the giant’s expression was unreadable. Then, Dee gave a long almost tired sigh, his warm breath washing over Virgil in an unpleasant fashion. 

Without another word Dee tossed the entire enclosure over his shoulder.

#gt #Giant/tiny #thomas sanders #sanders sides #infinitesimal!sides #au #giants #human!virgil #human!patton #giant!logan #giant!roman #giant!emile #giant!deceit #platonic #Kingdom Perspective #part 18

[vvirgils]

Chronicles of Straith #2-The Witch’s Dragon:Chapter 12

Chronicles of Straith #1-Fate’s Door///Chapter 11/Chapter 13//Masterpost

Dinner in Canea was a lighthearted affair, much more casual than the day before but still a thousand times more relaxed than the structured evenings Roman had at home. There was no entertainment today, just conversation.

From across the table, Lilly handed Roman a folded newspaper. “I don’t know if you’ve been getting any news these past days, but you might want to check out what’s going on in Straith. If I was your advisor, I’d want you to know.”

Roman took another mouthful of their dessert, then unfurled the paper. “Thank you.” Scanning the headline, their mouth fell open.

Absent King Increases Panic

So...Virgil had not told their cabinet. Or she had, and— it didn’t matter. Roman’s absence was no longer a secret. There would be people after them soon. People that they knew, but likely those tasked with keeping Roman under control.

A quick skim of the article revealed that everyone was expecting Roman to do something. One quote from an anonymous source read, “Just because our king is a teenager doesn’t mean he can send his girlfriend out to fix this mess. This is the time to lead.”

Virgil had to be taking care of it, then, all on her own. Although she wasn’t Roman’s girlfriend, by any stretch of the imagination. Another article speculated about the absence of Rafaela, and Roman’s gut plummeted. They had to get back, and soon. Looking up from the newspaper, they wondered how they could get out. Escape. Get back to Straith as fast as possible.

“Let me guess, you didn’t actually put your affairs in order before you left Straith,” Lilly said, fixing them with an expression somewhere between motherly and bemused.

Sheepishly, Roman said, “Not…entirely.”

“If you were someone who had decades of ruling experience and pulled this stunt, I would be going off on you right now. But you’re a teenager, and I understand wanting to get away from the pressure,” Lilly said, stirring her tea.

Roman didn’t exactly know what to say. This was— well, they’d fully expected her to yell. To tell them off, and make Roman feel even worse than they, well, already did. They opened their mouth to say something, then closed it.

Lilly smiled at Roman. “So I’m going to not tell Mark that you abandoned your country, and you’re going to go meet with your friend who came a very long way, and is waiting for you out in the Summer courtyard. He’s a nice guy, and you’re fortunate to have friends like that right now. I will tell everyone that you have business to attend to in Straith and had to leave earlier than planned.”

“Can I just leave…now? Like right now? Won’t somebody…” Roman looked around nervously. “Notice?”

“I’ll tell them you had a stomach ache, okay? Go. Your people need you,” Lilly said. When Roman didn’t move, she sighed. “Okay, how about I walk you to the Summer courtyard to avoid suspicion?”

“Alright,” Roman said, getting up from their seat. They walked to the room’s exit, where Lilly waited. “Um, there’s this chest full of my mother’s letters, can I…?”

“I can mail it to you, Roman.” She ushered them out the door, and into the hallways of the palace. “You should probably focus on leading right now.”

“Okay, that works,” they replied, looking at the art on the walls one last time, missing it already. Lilly let them take their time, a silent yet supportive companion as they walked to the Summer Courtyard.

“We’re here,” Lilly said when the two reached the door to the courtyard. “Goodbye, Roman. I’ll miss you, and I hope you return under better circumstances.” She gave them a quick hug.

“I’ll miss you too, Lilly. I want to come back.” Roman could see Patton through the window, but they didn’t want to move. Their mother’s scarf felt tight around their neck, amplifying their discomfort with what they’d left behind in Straith.

“Visit us the second you’re free, alright?” Lilly said, leaving Roman at the door as she went back to dinner.

Taking a deep breath of warm summer air, Roman pushed open the door and started to walk over to where Patton was. They didn’t make it very far, since Patton got up and ran over the second he saw them.

“Roman, finally!” Patton didn’t give Roman the chance to speak, sweeping them up into a hug. “Are you alright? What happened? You know what, nevermind. We can talk about it on the way back.” The warm air of the courtyard, and the comfort of being held tight by someone familiar made Roman relax for the first time since he read that headline.

“I’m— I’m fine, Patton. Thank you for coming and getting me,” Roman said, breaking out of the hug with a brand new smile on his face. Fresh sunlight made Patton look even kinder than he usually did, and Roman was silently grateful for Patton coming for them.

They’d certainly take this over being chewed out by Virgil for leaving her to deal with the magical issue in Straith. Or Logan’s quiet disappointment, though Roman would have to face both of those when they returned to Straith. No, Patton was happy to see them and concerned about Roman’s well-being.

“Alright, let’s go. To the boat, Rafaela’s driving. Well, not exactly. Kind of. It’s weird,” Patton rambled, walking towards an open-air corridor leading out of the Summer courtyard. “This goes right to the docks, I think.” The warmth and sunshine of summer made way for the sharp winds and clouds of winter as the pair moved down the courtyard. Roman had a light cloak on, but they still felt the cold as the temperature dropped.

“How…how bad is it? Back in Archdale,” Roman said, keeping their head down as Patton led them through the crowded marketplace to the docks. They couldn’t afford to be distracted at a time like this.

“It’s only getting worse,” Patton said, approaching a small motorboat. “Virgil found out that the source of the problem is a magical creature, a dragon. She doesn’t know how to fix it, but initially she wanted you to make a speech to set people at ease. Now, you’ll probably need to figure out a way to contain it with her. She’s not exactly happy with you right now, to say the least.” Roman could only imagine.

“I’m guessing that Virgil is not the only person who is upset with me,” Roman said, following Patton into the boat. It started moving immediately, catching Roman off-guards. “Wait, how is the boat steering itself?”

“Rafaela. And there’s a long line of people who are upset with you, including me, Logan, your entire cabinet, and maybe all of Archdale, if not Straith,” Patton said, not sugarcoating the words. Roman knew what they’d done, and there was no reason why they shouldn’t know how it had affected others. He sat down on one of the chairs.

“Oh,” Roman said, sitting next to Patton. “I’m sorry, really. I just… I never knew my mom. So I wanted to see where she grew up, meet people she was close to. But I shouldn’t have left the second I got a letter from King Mark. The kingdom is— it’s my responsibility. I can’t abandon it without warning. I’ll be better. In the future.”

“Apology accepted. You’re going to need a better one for Virgil, though. Also, if you had by any chance found a way to stop the dragon while in Canea, tell her when you get back to Straith. She’s been running herself ragged, trying to keep the damage at a minimum,” Patton said, looking out at the river. He was grateful for the thick coat, since the wind was still bone-chilling. Roman shivered a little next to him, and Patton wondered if they missed their friends when in Canea.

“That’s… I’ll talk to her when I get there.” Roman fell silent, and Patton let them have their space. The pair watched in silence as the boat sped along, the sun eventually falling behind the horizon and making way for the stars.

When the castle of Straith came into sight, Roman stood up from their seat. “I miss my bed,” they said, to no one in particular.

“Good luck with getting past your cabinet,” Patton said, following Roman’s mournful gaze at the castle. “But they’re probably all asleep. We can sneak in quietly, and you can just go to bed. You’re going to need the rest, tomorrow’s going to be something.”

“Okay,” Roman replied, sitting back down. The boat slid into the port, and Rafaela’s magic tied it to a post before disappearing into the night. “Follow me, I know how to get around everyone.”

They cut the perhaps too familiar path to the servant’s passage that could take them to their rooms in a second. Patton trailed behind, looking at each tree like a ghost could come out at any moment. After several tense minutes of smoky cold breaths into the darkness and wordless communication, the two had made it past the guards. Roman sighed in relief, and walked to the door in the castle.

“Patton, you should go home. There’s a dragon out there,” Roman told their friend, knowing Logan and his dads had to be worried sick.

“See you in the morning then.” Patton gave them a sleepy hug, waved goodbye, and walked off into the darkness.

Roman enjoyed the warm embrace of the castle, and made their way down the passage and up the stairs without encountering anyone. Eyelids drooping, they pushed open the door to their quarters and-

Virgil stood in the doorway, just as tired as Roman, but her face so distraught that Roman wanted to hug her. They took a step forward, ready to explain and apologize, tell her that they might have a solution, give her a hug and tell her everything was going to be alright.

They didn’t get the chance, because Virgil stepped forward too and hugged Roman tight, like she never wanted to let go. Roman squeezed her back, wanting to tell her how sorry they were with just this one gesture. About a second after it got awkward, the two teenagers broke apart.

“So. You’re back,” Virgil said, not meeting their eyes.

Roman nodded. “Sorry it took so long.”

“You’re an idiot, rushing off to another country right when we really needed you.” She chewed the bottom of her lip, still looking at the floor.

“I know. I wish I’d…rescheduled that. What are you doing here?” Roman couldn’t really think of a good reason why Virgil would be in here, but their brain provided several unrealistic ones.

“I need to know if you can solve the dragon problem, and I need to know now,” Virgil said, looking Roman in the eye. “I can’t keep it at bay forever. I have ideas, but I need to know if you did anything useful when you abandoned everyone.”

There was a pause as Roman gathered their thoughts, flipping through the memories of the last three days. “There’s a place for magical creatures called Lyrwrithe. I don’t know if that will solve it, but a lot of the oopsies from accidental magic are kept there. It’s in Canea.”

“That’s—that’s good. I can use that. We can use that.” Virgil gave Roman a pointed look. “Talk to you in the morning?” She brushed past Roman to the hallway, looking to sleep in her own bed.

“Good night, Virgil.”

“Good night, Roman.”

#ts roman #ts virgil #ts patton #ts logan #prinxiety #sanders sides #starredwrites #sanders sides fanfiction #logicality #teen!sides #fantasy au #bisexual #bi #pan #pansexual #nonbinary #enby #nonbinary!roman #transguy!patton #fem!virgil #glasses gays amirite #trans #trans guy #roman sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #logan sanders #my writing

[davidthetraveler]

David’s Fic-Rec Friday:  2020/01/24

Hey guys.  Sorry about being gone for so long.  Things have been... a little complicated lately.  But I’m getting back into the swing of things, and as part of that we are starting this back up again.  So then, let’s get going.

Winter Sides by IdiotInATrenchcoat (Tumblr Account Unknown)

It might seem a little late for Christmas, but there’s never a bad time for some Sanders Sides fluff.  In this fic, Deceit finds himself in a bit of a spot due to the temperature of the mindscape dropping because of Thomas’ holiday spirit.  In an effort to get some warmth, he ventures over to the light side of the mindscape as a snake and manages to find Patton, who agrees to let him curl up around his neck like a scarf to warm up.  As previously stated, this does feature Deceit in a sympathetic role, and also mentions Remus in a similarly sympathetic way.  Other than that, it’s just good clean family friendly fluff.

Remy’s Birthday 2020 by screamingatstars (No Tumblr Account)

A simple yet sweet story in honor of the birthday (anniversary of his first appearance) of Sleep, aka Remy.  Remy wakes up to his birthday to find his husband Emile making coffee and breakfast.  That’s basically it, just pure domestic fluff.  There is some mild swearing, but really there’s nothing else to worry about.  Just a fun little bit of happy love.

We Should’ve Been More Careful by CharlieRhees (aka @charcharmoomoo)

I don’t think I will ever not be a sucker for get together fics.  Here, Virgil overhears the other three sides talking about needing to tell him something, and Virgil jumps to the conclusion that they know about his feelings for the three and that they’re going to tell him they don’t reciprocate.  In fact, they’re not aware of his feelings and were wanting to invite him into their relationship, leading to happiness and sappiness.  Don’t you just love when love prevails?

Distraction by SandersFander1820 (aka @sandersfander1820)

A short but sweet story about Virgil having a bad day and Patton finding a way to distract him from his dark thoughts and brooding.  Absolutely worth your time.  Trust me.

In your arms I’ll find the Solution by Eshisakka (aka @eshithepetty)

Another short but sweet little story featuring Patton and Virgil.  But in this rather angstier fic, it’s Patton who’s having the bad day.  And thus it’s Virgil’s turn to offer up the comfort and support he needs.  Again, absolutely worth a read.

The Astronomy Classroom Ghost by anxiouslyfred (aka @anxiouslyfred)

A Hogwarts AU that stars Logan as the ghost of a former student, who spends his days studying and sitting in on the Astronomy and Arithmancy classes.  But his routine is somewhat interrupted by the friendly advances of a living student named Patton and his two friends Roman and Virgil.  While it does feature Logan as a ghost, it doesn’t discuss his death in any way, and is otherwise trigger free.  Perhaps a bit odd to mix a Halloween story in with the Christmas remnants, but whatever.  Time is just an illusion, like death, or pants.

For Roman, With Love. by LiamLogan (aka @supergayandaesthetic)

Another Christmas fic featuring Logan and Roman celebrating with their neighbors Patton and Virgil.  It’s actually rather nice to see a version of Logan with the quirk of actually being all giddy and excited for Christmas.  And the four of them are just so kind to each other, especially the couples.  Truly, a wonderful depiction of the best of what Christmas is all about.

Tag by HorseCrazyWriter76 (Tumblr Account Unknown)

A nice story featuring Deceit observing some of the daily habits and behaviors of his housemates, including his odd friend Remus, Remus’ brother Roman, and Roman’s three boyfriends Logan, Patton, and Virgil.  It’s basically all just domestic fluff with a hint of silliness.  This one does feature Deceit, who chronically lies, but you can tell, as well as Remus, who is pretty chaotic but not too triggeringly so.  And both are sympathetic in this.

One’s True Heart by nobody_home (aka @aturtleonjupiter)

Seriously, I am such a pushover when it comes to getting together fics.  In this Medieval AU, royal advisor Patton is comforted by court magician Logan (at the behest of King Roman) after Deceit, another advisor who is cursed to only speak in lies and half-truths, says that the others only pity him and don’t actually take him seriously.  Logan assures him, and even admits that he has feelings for him, which Patton reciprocates.  Deceit here is portrayed in a morally neutral way, and Remus is barely mentioned, and there are some mentions of supernatural elements.  But other than that you should be good.  With wonderfully colorful descriptions of two people in love, this one will probably make you cry, but in a good way.

Pizza and Nailed It! by LissaWho5 (aka @lamp-calm-sanders)

I probably should have just called this the Moxiety Week post.  We’re ending things this week with another short but sweet story about our resident father figure figment and our dark strange son.  Virgil can’t wait for his husband to get home so they can spend the evening together with pizza and the series Nailed It! on Netflix.  Again, pure domestic fluff, and I absolutely love it.

*****

Well, that does it for this week.  But before we go, there’s one last bit of business.  This week’s Featured Fic Writer is:

shnuffeluv (aka @sanderssidesfanfiction)

A truly prodigious writer with a wonderful talent.  He's even an officially published novelist.  How cool is that?!  And he definitely deserves your love and support.

*****

So, with all that being said, I hope you guys enjoy this week’s selections.  Feel free to give these guys some love and attention with some kudos, some comments, maybe even a few bookmarks.  You won’t be disappointed.

In any case, thanks for your participation.  If you’re interested in learning more about my Fic-Rec Friday program or would like to check out previous weeks’ entries, you can find them all here at my Fic-Rec Friday Masterpost.  And if you’d like to be added to my Fic-Rec Friday Tag List, or if you’re on the list and would like to be removed, just drop me a line either in my messages or my inbox and I’ll take care of it.

Once again, thank you all, and happy reading!

General Tag List:

@ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @panicattheeverywheremcr

Fic-Rec Friday Tag List:

@kunnuglegur-tortimandi @max-is-tired

#Deceit Sanders Mention TW #Remus Sanders Mention TW #Death Mention TW #Supernatural Elements #David's Fic-Rec Friday

[imjustkindafloating]

isn’t it lovely, all alone? ch 1

its 1 am, i just finished this after 2 days of work.  thank u to the wonderful @high-ashell-hargrove and @loud_anon for helping me write and revising

relationship: soon to be lamp

summary: Patton is sad because he's alone, and plans to go to his kingdoms plaza

words: 1,248 (the longest one in a while)

trigger warnings: slight neglect, pattons mother is very creepy, crying, parents death (mentioned)

ALRIGHT HERE WE GO

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One of the first things Patton remembers is laughter, the crinkle of his mother's nose as he sat in her lap.  He remembers his father picking him up from her lap, and throwing him in the air.  He remembered his childish giggles, his parents smiling with him.  He remembers when he was tucked into his bed that night.

“Mommy?  Can you tell me a story.”

“Of course, my dear!”  Patton's mother, Octavia, smiled.  Her soft smile and caramel eyes made him feel secure.  His mother hummed for a moment, thinking of a story in her mind.  Once she stopped humming, she smiled wide.

“Now, dear, have I ever told you the tale of Danielle the Great?”  Octavia beamed.  Patton eagerly shook his head, anticipation creeping up his spine.

“Danielle, you see, was a warrior, one of the best, in fact!  She fought against the most horrid people.”

“What kind of people?” “Corrupted people.  People whose darkness had crept into their hearts and ate at their souls until nothing was left.  Nothing but hate.  Danielle never regretted anything.”

“Nothing at all, Mommy?”

“Well, there was one thing.”

“Mommy, tell me!  Tell me, tell me, tell me, please!”

“Calm down little one.  Danielle was one of the best warriors, yes, but she had one deep regret.  It was that she left her duties.  You see, Danielle was a princess before a warrior, but she gave away fame and riches to fight the evil people.”

“Is that bad?”

“Of course it is, dear Patton.  When one has a duty to their nation, they must fulfill it at any cost.  It's what you must do.”  Octavias eyes grew dark, and her smile turned cold.

“Patton, you have a duty to this nation, you must rule over it with a wonderful wife at your side, once your father and I have let you, of course.  There is a reason we are more feared than loved, my dear.”

“But, mommy, why can’t I rule alone?.”  Patton asked, his childlike innocent never leaving his eyes.  His mother didn’t see innocence.  She saw betrayal.  If it were possible, her eyes would have gone darker.  

She lightly gripped his small arm, a counterfeit gentle smile encompassing her face.“My dear,-” the grip tightened ever so slightly, “You must rule with another, or-” even tighter, “your subjects-” it hurts now, his blood flow was being cut off, making his hand turn red, “will not respect you.”  Patton was crying, his cheeks puffy and red, and it seemed it was time for his mother to snap out of her hateful trance.  

At that moment, Patton realized he didn’t love his mother anymore.

-----

Ten years later, when Patton was in his teens, fifteen to be exact, he was told that both of his parents had burned in a fire.  He didn’t care for the details.  Many called him cold and emotionless when he went to the funeral.  The reason for this was because he didn’t cry, not one tear.  He had his reasons.  He knew his reasons, he did not feel guilty for feeling nothing when they left him alone.  He didn’t need to give an explanation.  

When he arrived home, his father’s royal counselor told him the gist of what would happen next.  “Your highness, I would like to discuss something for the future of the kingdom, and more importantly, you.”  Gavel, the royal counselor said.  Patton at the time was sitting in his room, doodling on his desk, something his parents would’ve killed him over.  Patton gestured towards a chair in the corner of his room and simply said;

“Sit, if you like.”  He then smiled sadly at the man.  The man nodded and went to sit in the comfortable armchair, close to the desk Patton was sitting at.  Once sat down, the man began talking.

“Sir,-”  that one was new, “I would like to start out by saying, my deep condolences, the abrupt death of those who raised you must be-”  Patton nodded along, he had heard this before, the sorrys and the tip-toeing and the overall cloud that followed the entire kingdom around.  Everyone but him. 

“Jarring, to say the least, but I didn’t come here to say sorry for an atrocity I did not commit-” what actually happened was, his parents had gone on a trip for their twentieth anniversary and they had stayed in the family's cabin in the mountains.  Lightning had struck the home, and they couldn’t get it out in time, 

“but despite that, we have serious issues to talk about.  Since you are not old enough to be crowned, you will be once you're eighteen, you will be replaced by me, since I was trained to do so in the case of a fatality befalls your parents-”

“Not to be rude, sir, but won't I have to have a w-” he paused, he never truly liked the idea of a wife, but that's not something he could tell anyone.  He had seen neighboring kingdoms house same-sex couples as kings and queens, and the kingdom thrive, but he knew deep in his bones, that it would’ve had a terrible reaction from his parents if he had expressed his desires.  He shook his head,  “Won’t I have to have a partner?” Patton finished, Gavel smiled.

“That is up to you sir.  A wife, a husband, neither-” the man paused, in silent thought for a moment, “Maybe even more than one.”

“But sir, my mother said the subjects wouldn’t respect me if I didn't have a proper wife.”

“Your mother was a woman with hard beliefs, but just because you believe in something doesn't mean that it is right, or even true.” Gavel spoke.  He had kind eyes, it was one of the first things Patton noticed when he met him for the first time.  Patton smiled.  Maybe he didn’t need to be with a woman.

-----

Patton was crowned, Gavel retired, and Patton was alone once more.  Patton knew he needed company, he was, after all, a sociable person.  Patton often took strolls through the streets of his kingdom (most people called his kingdom ‘The Kingdom of Hearts’, completely ignoring the true name, Sandersvania).  

The streets were always busy, packed to the brim with people.  It wasn’t necessarily a kind place or even a safe one at that, but Patton had tried to rehabilitate his people, but it never worked.  He eventually gave up.  He had also tried to clean up the area, plant different trees, not the ashy grey bark, and ugly brown leaves, but the kind he saw when he and his parents visited other kingdoms.  Patton wished those kingdoms still stood.  Some were plagued with disease, others fell because of their lack of crops, and others because of the king up and left.  Patton was tempted to do the same. 

Back to the point, Patton had tried to find a suitable partner, he tried.  None of them clicked, some used him for his power or money, or sometimes it just didn’t work out.  But Patton still smiled, he may be lonely, but he had a duty to uphold, even when he didn’t want to.  

-----

Patton had told his advisors that he was heading into the plaza.  It was a place filled with shops, food, and children.  He grabbed his boots, a guard, and some coins.  He knew, eventually, the guard would lose Patton, but the thought for protection was there.  And so, they set out for the plaza.

-----

thank you for reading! also the tag for this is ‘isnt it lovely all alone au’ and if you want to be tagged in this, send an ask!

#patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #isnt it lovely all alone au #king au sanders sides #patton hart #roman price #logan berry #virgil just has a normal last name #sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides au #lamp sanders #polyamsanders

[sandersidess]

Someone who cares

So Logan angst, and this is more of me projecting about stuff I’ve seen as a child. This might be all over the place so I’ll edit it later on if I find the inspiration or I might delete it, depends on reaction

Someone who cares by a Three Days Grace

tw: cursing, family problems, bullying, awful teachers, mental health talk?, breaking down, ask to tag please

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Logan walked down the hallways, feeling the stares on him, as if he was someone who committed crime. It wasn’t him, it was his family member. People knew. Word spread fast.

Logan sighs and puts up his hoodie and tries to listen in class, but he got in trouble for no reason. Of course he would be signaled out. Any person who had a family member who was a criminal, would be seen as one.

He would grit his teeth and grab his stuff, walk out and not look back. This was ridiculous. He didn’t care the crime. He just happened to be related to them. He hated his community.

No one, not even his mother, cared for him. He was basically an outcast, a freak, a future criminal in their eyes.

How could he break the stigma? How could he when no one would help him?

Why is it so hard to find someone who cares about you?

For all of middle school, he had a dark cloud around him. He just wanted someone to care. Care how he was. Care about his health. Care about his grades. Just care.

It’s so hard to find someone who cares about you. But it’s easy enough to find someone who looks down on you.

Logan would push himself, wanting to prove to his middle school, to the people he knew, that he is nothing like his brother. He cares for his brother, but he resented his brother for the image.

In high school, no one cared for him. No one knew him, since he made his mom move him. He was alone once more, but it was probably for the better.

It wasn’t until sophomore year, they got a new counselor, or well advisor. Patton Sanders. Odd first name. However, he would be able to call him Patton if he wanted to.

He wouldn’t. No one was on a first name basis. Respect had to be earned to be on first name basis. He would call him Mr. Sanders, and that was that.

Logan found it odd how much Mr. Sanders would call him over, for little things such as grades and how he was. Logan gave simple answers, not wanting to talk much.

Everything was well, he had made acquitance with someone named Virgil Storm. It fit him. They worked out for each other.

Surprise surprise, someone that knew Logan and would always target, started to tell everyone what a criminal he would become, how he is just as bad as his brother. Again, the stupid school believed it. Even teachers. Even the principal. He was called for petty things, which he was innocent.

He hated the broken system. This was bullshit.

He would cry to Virgil, breakdown in front of him. He couldn’t handle it anymore. He just wanted someone to care for him.

Patton called him to his office one day, sitting Logan down. Before he opened his mouth, Logan spoke first.

“I am not a criminal.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

They say in silence, Patton looking at Logan,

“You’re not a criminal. You never were. You’re not even a delinquent.”

“I know.”

“So why do you take it to heart?”

“I’ve been called such since middle school. I want to prove wrong.”

He opened up, which shocked Logan, but what’s the harm, right? Well, a lot. What if Mr. Sanders used it against him? He couldn’t allow that.

“Logan-“

“Good day, Mr. Sanders. I would prefer to only be called for academic purposes.”

With that he left.

People still looked down on him. He felt that even Virgil did so. Could he blame him? Yes and no. Yes and no.

Junior year was tough, his brother got arrested once more. He knew this time he was innocent. He was being falsely accused. More money would go into lawyers. More time his mother spent suffering.

It was a tough year, his grades went down. Not by much, but enough for teachers to blame him instead of helping him.

Patton wouldn’t allow that and had Logan come in. Before he said a word, Logan just cried once more, covering his face. Patton shut the door and blinds, Logan screaming into his hands.

“Why is it so hard to find someone who cares?!”

Logan grips his hair and even flung his glasses across the office out of anger, Patton went and was glad they weren’t (miraculously) broken

“I care. I care about you.”

Logan just cried more, Patton standing near him, not touching him. He didn’t want to hug him without consent. Instead, he just repeated the words,

“I care about you.”

Those words seemed to hit with Logan, as no one ever told him that. He just cried, spending the rest of the day in the office until the final bell rang.

It took time once more, before Logan came on his own will and sat down. Patton looked at him,

“Want to talk?”

“Yes please, Patton.”

Patton let Logan spill everything, his history, how school was, how it affected him, how he had no one. Patton sat and listened. He listened to him, seeing how Logan’s shoulders seemed to slowly deflate with letting everything out.

“I’ve never had someone care about me.”

“You do now. Logan, I know you can do this, but I need you to open up about your feelings when needed. You can’t bottle everything up. It’s a big step, I won’t say it isn’t, but I am here for you. I am not here only academically, I am also here to help as much as possible when it comes to personal problems. Everything you said, is confidential. Everything you tell me will be confidential.”

“Thank you, Patton. Thank you.”

Logan tears up, feeling weight being lifted off of him. He would come by when Patton wasn’t busy, do his homework in peace there or they would go to the library. Virgil would join in, and they slowly reconciled.

His grades slowly improved, and teachers backed off when they saw how serious Patton was when it came to defending Logan. Patton was very serious when it came to the mental health of his students. Even if they weren’t his students, he would still have his door open for them.

Senior year came, Logan was now more stable himself. His mother opened her eyes, seeing that she had to also worry for her other son. It would take possibly months, years, to better their relationship, but Logan was thankful she opened her eyes.

It was time to apply for financial aid, for college, so much to do for senior year in terms of homework and projects. He found himself a steady schedule, and with the support of his now boyfriend Virgil, he felt confident himself. Luckily, they had the same classes.

Patton was there to help them both out, and they all spent more time together as they had an off period. Logan was becoming more...happy with himself. It was the only word he can think of.

Graduation came. It was finally May. It was time to grab his diploma.

“Logan James Foster.”

Logan walked onto the stage, wearing his Valedictorian collar, giving a small smile for the camera and shook the principal’s hand. He looked over as he heard the loudest clap and smiled more.

Patton was standing up, clapping for him. He walked off the stage and to his seat, his heart beating fast.

“Congratulations Class Of 2017!”

He threw his cap up, emotions filling up on him and he cried.

Were they tears of happiness? Sadness? Excitement? Dispair? Relief?

He couldn’t know, he didn’t know.

He felt the arms of Virgil around his, accepting it and hugs him back.

Logan looked around, running towards a pair of open arms and hugs them tightly.

“Thank you for caring about me.”

“No need to thank me. I will care for you until you ask me not to.”

They hugged, Virgil taking a picture to capture the moment.

It’s easy to find someone to look down on you.

It’s hard to find someone to care about you.

Logan knew how both felt, but he was glad to finally find someone who cared about him.

#ask to tag #tw cursing #tw bullying #tw family problems #tw broken family #tw mental health #tw mental abuse #tw breakdown #all professional and like friendship except for analogical #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #ts logan #ts patton #ts virgil #platonic logicality #romantic analogical #sanders sides #thomas sanders #fanders #my wriitng #not a quote #sanders sides writing #4am writing