Broken (Prinxiety)

13

      TW: Panic attack

Virgil's eyes went wide and a strangled cry escaped his throat. He took a step back, his breathing shallow. Panic rose up within him, and he involuntarily reached up, gripping his hair. He fell to his knees, his vision going blurry as tears pricked his eyes. 

      "Hey--what's wrong?" Virgil vaguely registered Roman's voice. Virgil, it's okay...just take deep breaths, okay? Do your breathing exercises."

      Virgil tried, but the panic was overwhelming. His breath was coming in gasps, and tears streamed down his face.

      "Can I hug you?" Virgil shook his head, not wanting that much contact. "Well...can I at least touch you?" Virgil was unable to respond. Wave after wave of panic washed over him.

      Virgil was vaguely aware of a hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles. He focused on the contact, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself. 

      It took a while, but he had finally managed to calm himself down. Seeing that he was no longer panicking, Roman wrapped his arms around Virgil, pulling him into a tight hug. 

      "Hey...you're okay," Roman whispered softly, running his fingers through Virgil's hair. Virgil's cheeks flushed lightly at the contact, but he didn't yet speak. He was still shaking like a leaf in Roman's arms. 

      "What happened?" Virgil didn't know how to respond to him. He looked towards the spot where he had seen his brother, but he was no longer there. Virgil began to wonder if he had just imagined him. 

      "I--I don't know," Virgil stuttered out after a moment, pulling away from Roman. He looked towards the floor. "I just--I panicked."

      "I can tell." Roman nodded. "Are you okay now?"

      Virgil took a deep breath. He wasn't, but he didn't want to appear weak. "Yeah, I'm fine."

      Virgil shakily got to his feet, giving Roman a small smile as he reached out and helped steady him. He tucked the note away, before running his fingers through his hair, fixing it. 

      "Come on...we should take your mind off of what just happened. Why don't we go watch a movie, or go torment Logan or something?"

      Virgil appreciated that Roman was trying to help him. It made him feel as if someone actually cared about him, and it helped strengthen the feelings that he was developing for the other side. Not that he would ever admit his feelings, though. He knew that Roman would never feel the same way. 

      "Yeah...let's go watch a movie."

***

       Virgil was enjoying his time with Roman, but he couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched. He knew without looking that it was Depression. The side was trying to mess with him, trying to get him to react. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction, though. And besides, he didn't want Roman to find out about him. 

      The two of them were in Roman's room, sprawled out on his large bed. They were binging Disney movies, which of course made up almost all of Roman's collection of movies. Not surprisingly, he had a poster for each of the movies that he possessed. 

      Virgil tensed as he thought he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see what it was, and caught the smirking face of his brother before he disappeared. He shuddered slightly, which caught Roman's attention. 

      "What is it? Is it this movie?"

      Virgil shook his head no, taking a deep breath slowly. "No, I just thought I saw something. It's nothing though."

      Luckily this was convincing enough for Roman, who nodded and turned back towards the movie. They sat in silence for a moment before Roman suddenly gasped. 

      "Hey--I have an idea of what might make you feel better!"

       Virgil looked up towards him and opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly there was a weight on his lap. He gasped softly as a furry form jumped up, barking and licking his face. He couldn't help but giggle, stroking the long-furred puppy's blue merle pelt. 

      "It's so soft!" 

      Roman's cheeks were flushed slightly when Virgil looked up towards him, but he assumed that it was because the other side was getting hot or something. "Do you like him? You can name him whatever you want; he's yours."

      "You really mean it?" Virgil was shocked. Sure, he used to enjoy holding Deceit's pet snake , but he had never considered getting a pet himself. "I'm gonna name him Cerberus!" 

      The dog barked and his tongue lolled out of his mouth, his tail wagging. "I think he likes that name," Roman commented, before petting the puppy that he just created. "I'll summon you everything that you'll need for him, too." 

      "Thanks, Princey." Virgil gave him a genuine smile. He felt happiness bloom in his chest. He had never had someone do anything this nice for him, and it made him feel special. 

      His smile fell away as Cerberus tensed, looking towards a corner of the room. The dog let out a low growl, his hackles raising. Virgil looked in the direction that he was glaring at, and his eyes went wide as he saw Depression standing there. He motioned towards where his heart would be, before disappearing. 

      Virgil hugged Cerberus to his chest tightly, feeling faint as he began to stroke his soft fur. He tried to think of what Depression meant by the motion he had made, but nothing would come to mind. 

      "Virge, are you okay? Whatever you saw obviously wasn't your imagination, because Cerberus seemed to have saw it too." 

      Virgil was silent for a moment, thinking of a good enough excuse. He definitely wasn't going to tell Roman the truth, but he was afraid that he wasn't going to be able to come up with a believable lie. 

      "It was a--a giant spider," was the best he could come up with.

      Roman just stared at him with an unreadable expression. "You're lying to me. You would never freak out about a spider; there's a spider that you let stay in your room!"

      Cerberus wiggled around, trying to get out of Virgil's arms. He let him go, and the dog hopped off of the bed, making his way to the corner where Depression had stood and sniffed around. 

      "Yeah, well--this was a big one!"

      Roman was going to answer, but Virgil was saved from having to deal with the situation as he felt a small tug in his chest, the feeling he got when he was being summoned. He closed his eyes and sank out, appearing in the room where whoever summoned him was.

      He had appeared in a room that he never imagined that he would be summoned to. 

      Patton's room.