SECRETS AND AGENTS ~ Sanders Sides

{S E V E N}

Patton lay in his room, staring at the ceiling. If that had been Anxiety Arachnia, he might've been dead already. Since when was Virgil so scary? He was Virgil. Virgil was the least scary person Patton knew! The only thing worrying about him was his sleep schedule.

But now? Now Patton had his fists curled and his senses alert, listening so intently to the sound of Virgil making a coffee in the main room. Every time he heard something unusual, he'd sit up with a gasp. But then nothing would happen. He'd lie down again. He was being stupid.

Arachnia was gone. He hadn't shown up in ages. This was Virgil. The normal one in an apartment filled with secret agents. He would be the clown character in a sitcom, for crying out loud! Always ignoring whatever dumb shit Logan, Roman and Patton ended up in for his 'roommates being odd'. He was not supposed to bring out Patton's fight-or-flight response by any means...

Patton heard the front door open and sat up in fear. Was that Anxiety? Returning to wreak havoc?

"Hey, princey," Virgil said. "Did you find your phone?"

"Yep, Logan called me! It was literally on the table, like, what the hell?"

Patton slumped back against his bed with a groan. Roman was always home at this time... Why was he so freaked out?

"Where's Pat at, Virge?"

"He's in his room. He's got a headache, apparently."

Roman hummed and Patton heard his footsteps approaching the door. "Hey, padre," He called out, coming in, closing the door and sitting down. "How are you? A headache sounds pretty shit, right now."

"I don't want to speak about it," Patton muttered, breathly quiet.

Roman's pretty face frowned. "God, it must be bad if you don't wanna talk. Do you need some water? Hot chocolate?"

Patton shook his head, sitting up. "Get me a notepad," He whispered.

Hesitantly, Roman nodded, getting to his feet. He walked across the room to Patton's desk, picking up a pad of paper and a ball-point pen, testing its ink before heading over and handing it to Patton.

Looking at the blank paper, Patton considered his feelings and what he wanted to say. He couldn't just accuse Virgil - that would be silly. But he could warn them. Warning someone did more good than harm, most of the time.

So, slightly shakily, he wrote.

Anxiety Arachnia is back and I think they have something to do with Virgil

Roman looked at the paper, took the pen and wrote three letters.

wtf

"Trust me," Patton whispered. "I know what I felt and it was just like back then! The whole spiders thing, a-and the silence and the fear!" He stared Roman in the eyes, with as much honesty as he could muster. "You have to believe me."

Roman blinked once or twice, in consideration. "We'll have to talk to Logan about it," He whispered back. "I like Virgil. A lot. I can't imagine him being Anxiety. He's too ordinary-"

"What I felt was not ordinary!" Patton hissed, almost harshly. "What I felt was Anxiety and I swore that I was going to die if he attacked me. I was going to be caught unawares, unprepared and alone. You know how scary that feeling is; you told me that last time!"

Roman's uncertainty hardened into annoyance. "We don't mention the 'last time', remember? I don't believe you on this, Pat, I think you're tired because this is Virgil we're accusing of being Anxiety. Are you even hearing yourself, here?"

Patton narrowed his eyes. "I am and I know what I'm saying but it's true."

Roman stood up. "That'll be for Logan to decide." Then, he raised his voice, to a normal speaking level. "Okay, padre, let me fetch you some water, alright? I'll get Logan to look after you when he gets back, okay?"

Patton glared, but, in his happiest voice, answered, "Thanks, Ro. I need it..."

Roman walked towards the door, shooting a look over his shoulder and then let the door swing closed. He returned a minute later with water, but neither of them exchanged a word. There was no need to worsen their fight.

Logan could decide who was right and Patton had the horrible feeling that Logan wouldn't side with him...