Sanders Sides Pride One Shots

Day 27 - Nicknames (LAMP)

C.W. Crying, little!Virgil,

~~~

"Oh, Virgil!" Roman sang as he burst into his boyfriend's room.

Virgil jumped and quickly shoved something under his pillow. "Hey, Ro. You okay?"

Roman plopped down next to Virgil and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I am wonderful. I was wondering if you wanted to go out later? Logan and Patton are going to that boring opera and I don't wanna do nothing."

"Uh- sure. Depends though, where are we going?"

"I don't know, I didn't think I'd get this far."

"We could go see a movie. Frozen 2 is on and I really want to see how bad it is." An evil smirk spread across Virgil's face.

"Alright then, I shall book the tickets! Bye sweetheart!" Roman pranced out of the room, slamming the door behind himself.

Virgil sighed and reached under his pillow. A disney movie, a date and Roman calling him sweetheart? Virgil's little side was incredibly pleased.

He grabbed his dummy and put it back in his mouth, getting his book as well. Virgil tended not to fully go into little space in the middle of the day so he was just reading his borrowed copy of 'The Murder of Roger Akroyd'. Logan had lent it to him a while ago and he was only now getting around to reading it.

~~~

Some time later, Virgil had fallen asleep, but was abruptly awoken by Roman parading back into his room.

Virgil had given up on worrying about his date with Roman and had let himself slip fully into little space. After colouring and watching cartoons for a while, he'd fallen asleep, still clutching his crayon.

"Virg-" Roman stopped himself when he realised that Virgil was asleep. Or... had been. Virgil slowly woke up and rubbed his eyes a bit.

Roman was in shock. Why did Virgil look like a toddler? He had a dummy in his mouth, Cbeebies open on his laptop and a messily coloured picture of peppa pig lying on his bed.

"Virgil, what's going on here?"

Virgil froze. He slowly looked up at Roman and saw a look on his face he could only think of as disgust. He pulled out the dummy and started to tidy up. "I'm sorry, I- it won't happen again."

Roman walked over and cautiously perched on the edge of his bed. As Virgil placed his crayons down, Roman rested his own hands over his. "Virgil, it's okay. I just want to understand what's going on."

Virgil pulled his hands back from Roman and clutched them together in his lap. He took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to explain it without scaring Roman off.

"I-" he tried, but his voice broke before he could say much. "I'm a little."

He looked back up at Roman, but only saw a blank expression. "It means that I kind of go into a headspace where I am a child. I mostly use it to relax and calm down after panic attacks."

All it took was a glance back to Roman. The look of confusion, of terror, on his face. Virgil had messed up.

"Uh- I- Virge-" Roman desperately tried to find anything to say, but couldn't. "I'm gonna go."

He stood up and swiftly walked out of the room, leaving Virgil to panic alone.

~~~

Roman paced back and forth in the living room in front of Logan and Patton, who were sitting on the sofa together.

"Ro, can you calm down and tell us what's going on?" Patton asked, not wanting to further distress Roman.

"Virgil's a little," Roman blurted. He had no better way to say it. "He's a child, and he does all of the stuff a child does and he has a dummy!"

Patton's face had gone from shock to understanding in a matter of seconds. He knew what littles were and he couldn't help but be curious about them. Before he could say anything, Roman kept talking. "That's not even possible! He's an adult!"

"Actually, Ro-" Patton butted in. He was worried about Virgil and wanted to get to him as soon as possible- "being a little is a thing. He's not actually a child but he likes to feel like one and we have to respect that. I'm guessing you reacted badly when he told you?"

"Well, I didn't say anything to him so I didn't offend him. I just left."

"Ro..." With that, Patton got up and walked down the hall. Before he even knocked on Virgil's door, he heard a snivel from inside. He slowly opened the door.

"Kiddo?" Patton peeked inside, seeing Virgil hunched up in the corner of his bed. He slipped inside and softly closed the door.

"Roman told us. I'm here if you wanna talk."

Virgil seemed like he tried to say something but it came out as a whine. He peered around, giving himself time to think about whether he'd accept Patton's help.

"Are you okay with... it?"

Patton gave his boyfriend a sympathetic smile. "Of course I am, Honey. I'll always accept you, no matter what."

Virgil's eyes filled with tears again and he stretched out his arms, inviting Patton to him. Patton graciously accepted and slid into Virgil's arms, pulling him onto his lap in a tight embrace. Virgil stayed silent as he buried his head in the crook of his neck. He took a few shuddery breaths before muttering, "thank you so much."

"It's fine, Kiddo."

Virgil pulled back and wiped his eyes, smearing his eyeshadow. "Sorry about that. You don't have to stay."

Patton cupped his cheeks and kissed his nose. "If you're comfortable, you can get your dummy and cuddle with me."

It was an offer, and one Virgil was hesitant to accept. He'd never been in little space around someone else before... but he liked the idea. He nodded and pulled his dummy out from under his pillow, popping it in his mouth. He leaned into Patton and he wrapped his arm around Virgil's shoulders. He guided them both down so they were lying and Virgil curled into Patton's chest.

"I love you, Sweety."

~~~

Logan strolled in later, wanting to check up on his boyfriends, and especially Virgil. He eased the door open and peered inside. Patton was running his hand through Virgil's hair and murmuring something to him, presumably a story.

In the time between Roman's grand freak-out and now, Logan had done his research. He spent some time finding out how to comfort a little, how to act around a little, what to call a little and just about everything else. He was fairly confident he knew what to do, but was also worried he'd mess up. So, putting his fears aside, he had decided to help in any way he could.

With a fond sigh, Logan let himself in the room. "Mind if I join?"

Virgil, who didn't even need to see who it was, nodded in his half-awake state and shuffled closer to Patton, who shuffled back to match.

Logan took off his tie and undid the top button to get more comfy, before lying down by Virgil's back and wrapping his arms around his stomach. He pressed a gentle kiss under his ear, receiving a thankful hum.

"I love you, Snowflake."

~~~

Just to say, Roman did eventually accept him for being a little, it just took him a bit longer.

Nicknames I do not like: Sweety. It's just... why? No offence if you like the name and like being called it but I'd just feel really awkward saying it.