Random Sanders Sides Stuff

A Sleepless Story

Tw: Insomnia, vivid nightmares, mentions of death. Let me know if I missed any.
Virgil's P.O.V.
I suffer from insomnia, and every time I do manage to fall asleep, I always have nightmares. I sleepwalk sometimes, that's why my door is always locked at night, and I usually sleep-talk as well. My nightmares are based on real fears I have, it's just my fears becoming a reality. That's why no one has ever seen me sleeping. I don't want to accidentally hurt someone, or otherwise spill all my secrets and fears when I have no control over it. I also wouldn't want to worry Patton with all of this, he really is a father-figure to me, and for him this would be heartbreaking.
Today I wasn't up for much social interaction with the sides, but it's not like I could just lock myself in my room and expect them to not notice, so I sink down to the real world.
"Sup Thomas." I say, sitting down next to him on the couch.
"Geez! Warn me before appearing a foot in front of me!" He shouts, jumping in shock.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you" I say with genuine guilt. I hate scaring him, I wish I didn't have to tell him all the bad possibilities. I would still protect him, but I wish I didn't have to make him afraid of everything I was scared of.
His expression changes. "Nah, it's fine, just don't appear so close. So, what's up?"
"Nothing much, wanna watch The Office bloopers again?"
His eyes light up. "Sure!"
I stifle a laugh as he puts it on. He's just too pure for this world. I believe some of his fans call him a "cinnamon bun" for just that reason. People are weird. I just relax with him, and for the first time (in for)ever, I fall asleep somewhere other than my bed.

Thomas's P.O.V.
I was just chilling on the couch, looking at some fanart, when a figure appeared like a foot away from me out of nowhere.
"Sup Thomas" Virgil says, sitting down next to me while I jump in fear.
"Geez! Warn me before appearing a foot in front of me!" I shout, though I didn't mean to say it that loud. He immediately looks guilty, and I feel bad for yelling at him.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." He says, and I feel even worse.
"Nah, it's fine, just don't appear so close. So what's up?" I ask, hoping he doesn't feel too guilty. He seems to brighten at this, even if just a little bit.
"Nothing much, wanna watch The Office bloopers again?" He asks, and I immediately forget anything and everything else.
"Sure!" He holds in a laugh as I put it on, and we watch it for the 16 1/2 time.
At some point I feel a weight on my shoulder, and whip around. Virgil's head is resting on my shoulder, and he's fast asleep. Funny, I don't think I've actually ever seen him asleep before. He starts mumbling something, and I shut off the show to hear him better.
"No. Please! Don't. Chose me! Please, I beg you! Not them, chose me! Take me on the trip. Please..." Normally I would've laughed, but the way he said it... It made chills run down my spine.
"No! I'll do anything, just don't take them on the trip to the cliff! Throw me off it! They hate me anyways..." He trailed off again.
This obviously was some sort of nightmare. I needed to wake him up, but the second I touched his shoulder he jumped up and ran, still asleep. He cowered in the corner. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought, and I had a feeling he wouldn't want the other sides here.

Virgil's P.O.V.
I was standing in front of a man with a mask over half his face, the other half looked like metal.
He was towering over the other sides, all of them oblivious to the fact I was there.
"I'm taking you on a little trip. Just to Callivour. It's a fun place you know."
I looked down at the object in my hand. It was a brochure of Callivour, which was a 10,000 foot tall cliff.
"Why not take Anxiety. He's never been one of us, we'd be better off without him. It's not like we'd even care if he died." Roman said, spitting out the word anxiety like it was sour in his mouth. I knew that they probably always thought this, but it hurt hearing it confirmed like this.
"We don't need the disorder here. Take him." Logan said simply.
"Now now guys. We should get to be the ones to get to go on a fun trip, not the disappointment. I mean I used to think of him as my son, but he couldn't even recognize that it was Deceit until almost half an hour after he switched us out." That really hurt. And I also wanted him to realize what was going to happen if he went. I didn't want him dying just because he didn't know what was really happening. The masked man then knocked them all out. 
I knew I had to do something. It was usually a last resort, but maybe begging could help? Begging to take their place that is. I called out to the man.
"Yes? I'm about to bring your friends to the cliff." He responded with a harsh tone.
"No. Please! Don't. Chose me! Please, I beg you! Not them, chose me! Take me on the trip. Please..." I trailed off at the look the man gave me.
"Like I'll listen to you. You can watch me take them to the cliff if you'd like." I had to try harder!
"No! I'll do anything, just don't take them on the trip to the cliff! Throw me off it! They hate me anyways..." I trailed off again.
Suddenly he put his hands on my shoulders. I jumped up and ran, hiding behind a boulder.
"I'll come with you willingly, as long as you give me your word that you won't hurt them." The man sighed, and nodded. "You have my word." He said. I felt his arms on me again, and I let him lead me away. He teleported me to the cliff, and told me to walk off it. I nodded. I jumped into the air and turned around, watching the shocked faces of the other sides as I fell. I landed on something soft, and suddenly I was in a forest. The shadows were palpable, and there were glowing red eyes all around me. I heard a voice.
"When should we tell him? He deserves to know." That sounded like Patton.
"I'm the actor, and even I don't think I can pretend to like him any longer." There was no doubting that was Roman.
"I see no benefit to continuing to befriend him. Yes, he is useful, but there is no need to get to know him. We will just let him do his job to keep Thomas alive, and make sure he doesn't overdo it. " His voice and the way he spoke told me that that was Logan. I turned a corner, and saw all three standing there.
"I... heard everything. You don't have to keep pretending to be my friends. I understand. I mean, who would want to befriend me? If it wouldn't hurt Thomas, I would just kill myself. There's no reason for me to exist." Sadly , everything I told them was the truth. If it wouldn't probably kill Thomas, I would've offed myself a long time ago. I felt water on my face, and someone shaking my shoulders. Only then did I remember falling asleep with Thomas. Uh, oh.

Thomas's P.O.V.
After running, Virgil spoke again.
"I'll come with you willingly, as long as you give me your word that you won't hurt them."
The person he was talking to must've agreed because I saw him visibly relax. I grabbed him by the shoulders again, and this time he just walked with me. Right in front of the couch he stopped, and nodded. He walked forward a few steps, then jumped. The way he jumped though, it was like he was jumping off of something. Once he landed, he looked around. I ran to the kitchen and filled a bucket with water. He walked around a bit before appearing to listen in. He responded, and what he said chilled me to the bone.
"I... heard everything. You don't have to keep pretending to be my friends. I understand. I mean, who would want to befriend me? If it wouldn't hurt Thomas, I would just kill myself. There's no reason for me to exist." My heart broke. How could he say such things about himself? I dumped the water on him and started shaking him. He woke with a start.
He looked around and sighed.
"I guess I was sleepwalking again? And by the look on your face I was sleep-talking too? " I nodded. "This is why I don't fall asleep in front of people. " He muttered, clearly thinking I couldn't hear him.
"Does this happen every time you fall asleep?" I ask, now concerned.
"More or less. I don't have that exact dream every time, but a nightmare none the less. At least, when I fall asleep, which isn't often." So he has insomnia? And constant nightmares? My heart goes out to him.
"If you don't mind, may I ask, did you mean the things you said? About what you would do if it wouldn't hurt me?" He looked like he had just been caught.

Virgil's P.O.V.
I should've seen this coming.
"If you don't mind, may I ask, did you mean the things you said? About what you would do if it wouldn't hurt me?"
"...yeah" I muttered sheepishly, hoping he wouldn't hear me. He did.
"Virgil, even if it wouldn't hurt me, it still would emotionally. I'd miss you so much. You're as much a part of this group as anyone else. I know it may be hard to believe, but we all love you. We would all miss you, and I don't want you to believe anything otherwise." It was nice to finally hear those words. I know it was implied, but no one has ever directly said that they care about me, or that I matter. And that's all it took for me to break down in sobs on Thomas. Happy tears of course, but Thomas didn't seem to realize that. He just kept mumbling reassurances to me, which only made me cry harder. I realized just how much I needed this. Someone to just hold me while I cry, not question me or anything, just be a comforting presence. Once I've finally calmed down I realize just how weird and embarrassing that was. I pull away and rub at my eyes, and realize the eyeshadow is gone. Not like anyone would be able to tell, my bags are dark enough to stand in for it.
"Sorry. That was probably really weird." I say, hoping he won't be mad.
"It's fine, really. And if you ever need someone, I'll be here. Even if I'm in the middle of something, you're more important." He says, and he's so sincere I almost start crying again.
"Thanks. I really needed that." I say, and we both sit in silence for a moment.
"Look," he says, breaking the silence "I know that right now might not be the best of times, but we should probably tell the others about this at some point. They'll be there for you, I know they will, and they deserve to know."
"Yeah. I'm gonna wash up real quick, then you can call them down." I say, and sink out. Once in my room I wash my face and make sure my eyes aren't as puffy. I put my foundation back on, but leave out the eyeshadow. It's one small way to show them. I sink back into the real world.
"I'm ready." I say, and it's the truth.
"Okay. Patton, Logan, Roman! Can you come here please?" He asks, and they all appear.
"What's up kiddo? Is something wrong?" Patton asks, ever the fatherly figure.
"Is something bothering you? I shall slay it!" Yep, that's Roman alright .
"What problem would you like us to find the solution to today?" Inquires Logan, ever efficient.
Thomas looks at me. "Virgil, would you like to explain or should I?" He asks.
"I'll do it." I say, and they all look at me. Before I can say anything else though, Patton gasps and points at my eyes.
"Kiddo, are you not wearing your eyeshadow?" He asks, shocked.
"Of course he is! Look, under his eyes it's still dar- oh." Real smooth Roman.
"Is this why you wear eyeshadow? To cover your, er, bags?" Logan asks.
"Yeah. I have insomnia. And whenever I can sleep I have nightmares that make it far from restful. I also sleepwalk and sleep-talk sometimes as Thomas is now aware." I say, and they all look from me to Thomas to me again.
"Is this really true kiddo? Why didn't you come to us sooner?" Patton asks, looking upset.
"Because like half of my nightmares were about what went horribly wrong when I told you. And even without that I was anxious about your reactions. Big surprise there." I said, and he just whispered a quiet "oh" in response.
"We'll be here for you if you need anything. And I'm sure there are some methods to help your insomnia." Logan said.
"We shall slay this beast!" Roman exclaimed.
It might not be perfect, but we would get through this. Together.