Revealed

Chapter 10: To Make A Decision Pt. 2

     Roman must have passed out at some point of the night, because come morning, Virgil was shaking him awake. "Wow, my valiant protector." Virgil teased as Roman blinked his eyes awake. "Huh? Oh... Sorry... I must have dozed off..." Roman yawned, rubbing his tired eyes before sitting up. "That's alright, I'm pretty sure the lights kept the Harpies away anyways." Virgil assured him with a shrug. Roman stretched and nodded before getting out of his hammock. "So, have you made your decision?" Roman asked as he packed everything up.
     "Yeah, I think so, but I have to run it by Remus first. It's his decision too." Virgil replied before gathering his courage and kissing Roman on the side of his head. Roman blinked, looking at Virgil in surprise, his surprise growing as did his blush when he saw Virgil smiling. "Thank you for the date." He said rather quickly before running off. "You are very welcome, my darling..." Roman muttered as he remembered the oath, staring blankly in the direction Virgil ran off in as his half asleep mind processed the moment.
     "Remus..." Virgil whispered, crawling back into their tent. "Mmmm... Five more minutes Pat..." Remus groaned. Virgil chuckled, recalling how they had slowly shifted from asking their father, who was no longer there, to let them sleep in to asking Patton instead. Virgil's decision was likely the right one, since he couldn't imagine how Janus would react to being called Patton for the few days following their return. Surely he wouldn't be as flattered as Patton had been upon being called Dad. "Remus wake up." Virgil spoke louder.
     "Hmm? Oh, hey Virge... What's up?" Remus muttered as he adjusted himself into a sitting position. "I made my decision, about whether we should stay or leave, but I want to know yours." Virgil explained. "Hmm... Oh... Right... Let's get packing then... Good thing we came back here, it will be an easy walk to Dad's tower..." Remus yawned, stumbling as he began to pack his things. "Remus, I decided to stay." Virgil told him, causing Remus to pause and look at Virgil in confusion. "So you're going to go to a place we know nothing about, where you'll be forced to take on mountains of responsibility, because you have the hots for a Prince?" Remus murmured, continuing to pack. "Well when you put it that way it sounds insane but-" Virgil began to argue, causing Remus to groan.
     "I'm assuming this means you want to leave?" Virgil asked. "No sh*t birdbrain! I don't have a hot prince and a loving father waiting for me there, I have two random strangers who gave me away to save Roman! Roman got healing powers, and I got this, and you want me to stay with the people who sentenced me to that?" Remus snapped, taking off his glove and revealing a dark grey hand underneath. Virgil's eyes widened with panic as he looked at Remus, unsure what to think. "Remus... What happened?" Virgil murmured.
     "The curse acts up because of stress, and this is the most stress I've been in my entire life." Remus muttered, putting his glove back on. "I didn't want to worry you about it... but... I really thought you would want to leave. You're supposed to be the smart one, Virgil. Now you're thinking with your crotch instead of your brain." Remus cried. "I'm not, ew. Remus, look, I get it, I'm not too thrilled about thinking with my heart either... We don't have to make the same choice though... You can go back, and I can go with them." Virgil offered, letting out a yelp and dodging when Remus threw something at him.
     "No! We stick together! I'll... I'll go with you, if that's what you really want... I'm just scared. What if when we get there, our curse hurts people, and we get executed? What if once they no longer need us, they stop acting so caring? What if Roman gets sick again and I'm sacrificed again? We can't trust these people, Virgil." Remus ranted. "I know, but..." Virgil began, grabbing Remus by the shoulders. "Remus, name me five things you can see." He stated, recognizing the panic attack that Remus was entering.
     "You... The tent, uh... The fire pit outside, trees, and the sunrise." Remus replied. "Four things you can touch." Virgil continued. "The gloves, not much else." Remus muttered. "Three things you can hear." Virgil went on. "You, footsteps... Footsteps, Virgil someone's coming." Remus whispered. "Hey, guys? I wanted to talk to you for a moment." Roman's voice called. "What is it Princey?" Virgil asked, shaking Remus off as he tried to grab his arm before leaving the tent. "I was thinking, and... You should probably just go home." Roman began, seeming nervous as Remus followed Virgil out of the tent.
     "What do you mean?" Virgil asked, crossing his arms as Remus stood protectively in front of him. "Neither of you belong on a throne. I've been training my entire life to rule a kingdom one day, while you two have trained in the arts of being a nervous wreck and eating absolute garbage." Roman began. Virgil's brows furrowed as Roman spoke, unsure where this was coming from, and unsure how to react. "I do apologize for misleading you, but I do think it's best for you to go." He added. "Fine... If that's how you feel, we'll leave." Virgil muttered, turning to walk away, but Remus grabbed his arm. "No... Something's not right." Remus muttered, approaching Roman. "What do you mean?" Virgil muttered as Roman took a step back from Remus. Remus pointed to the path Virgil had just come back on, and Virgil followed his gesture to see Roman spinning around and singing as he walked down the trail.
     "Who are you?" Virgil asked the duplicate, standing guard as anger shined in his eyes. "What do you mean, Stormy?" The duplicate asked, reaching for his sheathed sword. "You aren't Roman, who are you?" Virgil demanded as the duplicate sighed. "Remus, you should have taken the opportunity. Now I'm going to have to force you both out." The duplicate hissed, taking out his sword and swinging at Virgil, who easily avoided the attack. "Go home, or I'll make you!" The duplicate threatened before walking towards them.
     Remus readied his morning star, doing battle with the duplicate as Roman, the real one, arrived at the campsite and saw Virgil panicking while Remus fought... Him? Roman ran over, grabbing the duplicate and pulling him down before planting a foot firmly on his chest. He drew his sword, and aimed it at the copy's neck. "Who art thou, foul villain? Reveal yourself." Roman demanded as Remus dropped his weapon and hurried to calm Virgil.
     "Stay out of this." The duplicate hissed, eyes glowing a gold colour as Roman felt a terrible headache build up in his head. The duplicate chuckled as Roman dropped his weapon and backed away, the duplicate now holding both swords as he approached Roman. "I can't see what Virgil sees in you." The duplicate sighed as Roman fell to his knees.
     "So reckless, so idiotic. I could kill you easily. Fortunately for you, it appears my son has lower standards than I thought, and appears to be fond of you. So I'll spare you for now." The duplicate sighed before snapping his fingers, freeing Roman from his headache as he kneeled down beside Roman. "Get in my way, however, and I promise your demise will be slow and painful." The duplicate hissed, his red hair turning black, his blue eyes turning golden, his skin growing scales on his left half. Virgil and Remus watched, fear in their eyes as their father revealed himself. "Stilskin..." Roman muttered, hatred in his tone as he stared down the sorcerer. "Yes, now..." Janus muttered before standing up.
     "It seems I have ruined any chances of you two coming home willingly." He sighed, turning to Remus and Virgil, who backed away as Remus readied his morning star. "I see... Disappointing, but not unexpected." Janus admitted. "Choose what you will, but I'll tell you this." He began, turning to walk away. "I could threaten you to stay, capture you, hold hostages, heck I could reverse the spell that cured your precious Roman's illness, but I won't... This is a decision you'll have to make willingly." Janus sighed, regretting the act of desperation that inevitably sealed his fate. "You won't believe me, but I do wish the best for you." He then sighed, ignoring Virgil's call for him to wait before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Dad!" Virgil yelled, crying as he pushed past Remus and ran to the fading cloud.
     Virgil fell to his knees in tears as he hugged himself tightly, Roman and Remus sharing confused expressions as Virgil sobbed. "I don't know what to think anymore..." Virgil cried, hunched over and shaking as shadows began to loom around him, grass and flowers turning to ash as they did. Remus tried to run over to Virgil, only to wince when the shadows touched his hand and instantly back away. He then grabbed Roman, stopping Roman from running towards Virgil and pulling him back as the shadows began to grow.
     "I'm trapped... I'm trapped... Shut up... shut up shut up shut up..." Virgil muttered as he grabbed his head. "SHUT UP!" He screeched, Remus creating a shield to protect himself and Roman as a wave of shadows shot out from Virgil. "Oh no..." Roman muttered, looking around at the tents that were now surrounded by ashes. "Don't worry, they were inside, they'll be fine." Remus assured him. "What about Virgil? How can we help him if we can't go near him?" Roman demanded. "It's a panic attack... I guess we're just going to have to wait it out and hope no one comes out." Remus muttered. "I'm gay." Roman chuckled, causing Remus to hit him in the head, which only caused Roman to laugh.
     "Let me go... Let me go..." Virgil muttered, closing his eyes tightly. "I'm not doing this." Roman muttered, Remus tried to hold him down, but he pushed Remus off and walked towards the now growing storm of shadows.
     "I have been destined to find you..." Roman began, skin and eyes glowing as the shadows grazed his skin, leaving grey marks that disappeared instantly. "I know your name." Roman sang, lifting up his hand and creating a glowing energy that mimicked the behaviour of the shadows, bringing life to the area around him as they burned away the shadows. "They are burning down the world around you." Roman went on, walking closer as a swarm of light was created around him. "But this does not define you." He sang as he arrived next to Virgil, picking him up and pulling him into a hug as a wave of light surrounded him. "This is not who you are..." He sang as Virgil hugged him back tightly. "You know who you are..." Roman sang, the shadows fading away as he and Virgil absorbed the light around them.
     "Shh... You're okay..." Roman soothed, rubbing Virgil's back as he sobbed into Roman's shoulder, careful not to let their skin touch. "How..." Virgil muttered, pulling away and looking around. "Fear seems to be what causes the curse to act up, so I figured that feeling safe must be what calms it down." Roman explained as he placed a hand on Virgil's cheek. Virgil instantly pulled away, frowning at the grey mark that appeared and vanished on Roman's hand. "I'll be fine." Roman assured him. Virgil hesitated before nodding, taking in a deep breath as Roman returned the hand to his cheek.
     "I am perfectly safe with you." He told Virgil confidently, before taking his hand off Virgil's cheek, showing that there wasn't a mark there. Virgil smiled, taking off his glove as the grey on his own hand faded away. Roman returned the smile as he held Virgil's hand in his, and Virgil blushed as light flooded over them both again. He closed his eyes as Roman leaned in and kissed him, blushing as he returned the kiss.
     Remus kind of just watched dumbfounded as Patton came out of his tent, blinking his eyes as he looked around the thriving field around them. "What happened?" He murmured as Remus turned to look at him. "Oh, Vin... Virgil had a panic attack, and Roman calmed him down." Remus muttered. Being half asleep, Patton didn't quite register the words at first. "Oh... Does he need anything?" Patton asked with a yawn. "I think he's fine now... Can I ask you something, if you're awake enough to answer, that is?" Remus asked.
     "Can it wait until after I've had my coffee?" Patton mumbled. "I might be gone by then." Remus sighed, causing Patton to look confused. "You're leaving?" He asked. "Yeah... Don't get me wrong, it's been fun and all, but I'm just going to go home and sort things out with my Dad. I'll join y'all if ya manage to find me later though, or I manage to get to you." Remus replied before walking over to his tent to pack his stuff.
     Patton tried to register what he said, muttering to himself as he did so. "Virgil... Virgil?" He mumbled, looking towards Virgil and Roman with wide eyes as Roman stood up, offering a hand to Virgil, who put his glove back on before accepting it. "Then... That means..." He muttered, brows furrowed as he watched Remus exited his tent and tried to sneak away.
     "Should we stop him?" Roman asked, gesturing to Remus. "Nah, let him go. I'll take you guys to the tower later and we can try to sort things out with Dad... Maybe we can come to some sort of compromise." Virgil sighed. "After what he did, do you think he'll be willing to compromise?" Roman asked. "I think so, trust me on this, okay?" Virgil replied. "Alright." Roman agreed as Patton ran over, launching himself into a hug with Virgil.
     "Ah, Patton what are you-" Virgil began, looking at Roman in panic as Roman began to laugh. "That's Dad to you young man!" Patton cried, holding Virgil even tighter as Virgil struggled to breath. "I can't breathe, let me go." He pleaded, struggling to escape. Patton did, and Virgil, gasping for breath as he stumbled away, noticed Patton was crying. "Uh... Everything okay, Padre?" Roman asked nervously. "He's my son Roman! We found him, we had him with us all this time and didn't even know." Patton cried. "Oh... You found out then?" Roman asked, causing Virgil to shoot him a glare. "You knew?" Patton gasped. "Yeah... I found out at the last camp site..." Roman admitted. "And this was the day Roman died." Virgil chuckled as Patton looked at them both in confusion.
     "Whatever, it doesn't matter... Oh this is amazing! We must celebrate, what's your favourite food? If I don't know how to make it we can go to the library and get a cook book... I don't even know how to process this, can I hug you again?" Patton rambled as he paced back and forth. "Sure, just let me breathe." Virgil chuckled, gasping as Patton launched himself into another hug. It wasn't as tight this time, but Virgil still struggled to stand from the force of the hug. "There there?" He attempted to comfort, stiffly patting Patton's back as Patton cried into his shoulder. Roman gave him an encouraging thumbs up, and Virgil simply shrugged in response, having no idea what on earth to do in this situation.

***

     "Patton, are you okay?" Roman asked, placing a hand on Patton's shoulder as he cried. "My poor dark strange son." Patton cried as he hugged Roman tightly, Roman chuckling as he comforted Patton. There was a knock at the door suddenly, and Roman attempted to pry Patton off so he could stand. After failing to do so, he sighed and struggled to stand as Patton grasped him tightly. The knock repeated itself two times by the time Roman managed to open it, seeing Virgil standing there. "I just figured I should let you know, I think Janus has been eavesdropping on your story." Virgil informed him.
     Roman blinked in surprise, going pale as he wondered how to respond as Virgil put his hands up in mock surrender. "I don't know what he heard, nor do I care. He was just going on about something having to do with you and crushes and other nonsense like that, so I figured I should warn you." Virgil explained. "Well... Thank you for telling me..." Roman sighed. "No problem." Virgil sighed with a shrug before walking away.
     "Janus!" Roman called before closing the door, still trying to stop Patton from clinging to him. Janus appeared with a smirk, applauding as Remus appeared behind him. "Terrible story, truly. I can wait to hear more." Janus snickered. "Hey Ro Ro, how's kissy time with Virge going?" Remus teased, causing Roman to turn a bright red. "Shut up, he might still be outside." Roman whispered. "Oh? In that case." Remus replied before clearing his throat. "ROMAN AND VIRGIL SITTING IN A TREE! F-" Remus began to chant before being sent away by Janus. "That idiot is giving away all our black mail. Well, Roman, it was nice chatting with you. Was there something you needed?" Janus continued. "Yeah, for you to stop eavesdropping on us." Roman shouted. "Oh, and I most certainly will." Janus chuckled before sinking out, causing Roman to growl in frustration.
     "Well, I'm done with this. Basically what happens next is that you have a fight with me and Logan about not telling you, we go to the tower and have a fight with Janus, Janus gives in and agrees to let us have Remus and Virgil in return for two things: They can visit Janus every now and then, and Virgil gives him his first born. Virgil is happy because we won't have a first born so he knows Janus is basically just saying go do whatever the hell you want cause I love you or something like that, and we go off to allegedly live happily ever after. Of course there's lots of problems with Remus and Virgil's new life, but I didn't feel like writing that." Roman rambled as he dragged Patton back to the couch.
     "Will my son be okay?" Patton asked, letting go of Roman and wiping his tears as they sat on the couch. "Yes, he eventually lives a very happy life, Virgil and I get married as do you and Logan, and we all become one big happy family." Roman assured him as he handed Patton a tissue. "That's good." Patton cheered, crying again as he accepted the tissue and began to wipe his face. "I enjoyed the story a lot Roman, I'm sorry about the others. I don't know why they're being such... Well, pardon my language, but such stupid heads." Patton huffed, causing Roman to burst into laughter.
     "Remus, I think Roman's story has given me a grand idea..." Janus murmured as he and Remus walked down the hall. "Ooh?" Remus replied. "Yes... I think it's time our lovebirds we're lured into the birdhouse, and Roman just gave me the seeds to do it." Janus chuckled. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I'm in." Remus cheered. "We're going to play matchmaker." Janus clarified, his tone annoyed and firm. "Hell yeah we are!" Remus cheered, causing Janus to smirk again before they began to discuss their plan.