The next morning, the four were still cuddled together on the couch. Patton was always first to wake up, to get the others up and make breakfast; so when he woke up and remembered what they had discovered about the youngest side, he couldn't help but feel discouraged. That was, until he look at said side, who was still sleeping on his shoulder with a smile plastered on his face.
He had to get up and make breakfast, but he didn't want to rob Virgil of his peaceful sleep with touch. He tried to gently stand not to wake him, but the second he stood Virgil popped up looking fearful and wide-eyed.
"Woah, Virge calm down, it's just me." Patton put his hand on the frightened side to try to calm him but it didn't seem to work.
"Yeah-yeah, I'm sorry, I'll just go." he muttered, trying to get up quickly only to be stopped by the fatherly trait.
"Hey, Kiddo, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Patton sat him back down on the couch and crouched down to face him.
"I-I'm fine, Pat. I'm sorry about last night, so I'll just go." once again attempted to flee and failed.
"Why are you sorry about last night? You didn't do anything wrong."
"I don't know, I fell asleep on you. Just, sorry? I don't know, I'm really sorry." he hung his head in confusion and embarrassment.
"Virgil, I didn't mind at all. You don't have to be sorry about anything, if you need anything you should just come to us. We don't mind if you need anything from us." Patton's tone alluded to knowing something. Virgil had a feeling he wasn't just talking about last night.
"I know but I should be able to take care of myself, I have for years..." he mumbled the last part under his breath, but Patton heard.
"Listen to me," he turned Virgil's head to where he was looking at him, "we are all SO sorry for how we treated you in the past. It was wrong and we made you feel like you couldn't come to us. But you CAN! We all love you and we are so sorry that we made you feel this way."
Virgil looked Patton up and down. One hand on his leg, the other holding his head: touching him.
"You know don't you?"
Virgil was confused and kind of sad; he tried SO HARD to hide it so the others wouldn't notice.
"Yeah, Virgil, I am sorry we couldn't see it before now but, we just want to help you. Why didn't you come to us sooner?" he pleaded with the darker trait, who was now curled in on himself.
"I didn't want to admit that it was a problem. Then, it got to a point where I COULDN'T ignore it anymore, even then, I was scared; about how you guys would react, how I would react. I just... didn't want you guys to think I was weak."
Patton was heartbroken to hear this. Knowing that Virgil thought they wouldn't want to help him because he thought he was weak? Patton just wanted to cry, but he knew that that wasn't what his Dark Strange Son needed from him right now. The dad looked up at the other side, he saw tear tracks making their way down hi face. Seeing this, is what broke Patton.
He immediately pulled the dark aspect into his arms, in which Virgil froze. He knew that this was what he needed, but it was so sudden. His skin tingled at contact. It felt like fire, when his skin was already ice. He loved it immediately, but he needed time to process. After about a minute, Virgil hesitantly wrapped his arms around his father figure, and suddenly realized he was crying. But, for the first time, they were tears of joy. He felt accepted, safe, and loved. He gripped Patton tighter when the voice in his head tried to convince him otherwise; but now he KNEW. He KNEW he was loved.
"Virgil, I am so, so, sorry for making you ever feel this way. What can I do to make it up to you?" Patton asked desperately, feeling Virgil shake in his arms.
"Just... just don't let me go. Please, just don't let me go." Virgil sobbed, hoping Patton would fulfill his wish. He did.
They didn't know how long they stayed on the floor, crying and holding each other. But at some point, the others had to wake up also.
Logan was the one to first wake up to the sight of Patton and Virgil on the ground. He saw them crying, and knew he couldn't do anything to help because... emotions. So, the nerd woke up Roman, who he assumed would have an idea of how to help the situation. When Roman awoke to the sight, he had a guess to what went down while they were asleep. But, he didn't know if he should interrupt them or not.
Thankfully, he didn't have to make that decision, when Patton saw the other two aspects staring at them in confusion. He didn't want to let go of his Dark Strange Son, but he knew the others should know what happened.
Patton slowly let Virgil go, and the anxious trait saw the others looking at the two with confusion and sadness. When he saw this, he was hit with a wave of embarrassment. They knew the secret he had tried so desperately to hide; he failed. He failed, and now they knew how pathetic he was. But then, he remembered how Patton told him that they loved him and wouldn't think he was weak.
"So, you guys know too?" he already knew the answer, but he hoped differently.
"Yes, Anxiety, we figured it out just yesterday." Roman said, shocked at how up front Virgil was being.
"Why didn't you communicate your basic needs with us?" both Logan and Roman wanted to know.
"Because I didn't want to admit that I needed it. And when I realized I DID need it, I was scared you guys would think I was weak." the nervous aspect drew out hesitantly. Patton wrapped his arm around him, he knew it must've been hard to admit something he tried so hard to hide.
"Oh my goodness, Virgil, we are so sorry we made you feel that way. You know if we cod take it back would in a heartbeat. You can always come to us, we will never judge you."
Virgil was now tearing up again, hearing Patton say it one thing, he knew the dad always liked him. But hearing Roman and Logan say that they cared, was completely different. Upon seeing the dark persona tear up, Prince engulfed him in an embrace, which the other gladly expected.
"Virgil, I too am sorry for not seeing the signs sooner, and for making you feel that you couldn't trust us." Logan joined the hug, wrapping his arms around both Prince and Anxiety.
"Virgil, I am so sorry you know I love you all." Patton immediately joined the three, tearing up as well.
"Thank you all, so much. You have no idea how much this means to me." Virgil was now fully crying, but, once again, tears of joy. He felt complete, whole, and loved once more; but heightened tenfold.
"And I promise, we will never let you go."
