Storm Clouds (Sanders Sides)

Orange Eyes (pt. 1)

Hey! Don't worry, I'm alive, but thank you for sticking around! Welcome back! :)

I decided to split this into 2 parts. It was getting a little long.

Here goes! :D

{Author's POV}

When Patton went upstairs, he first stopped at Virgil's room. He gently knocked, and was startled when Virgil nearly screamed, "Go away, Roman!"

"Virgil, it's...it's Patton." he stuttered, taken aback. Virgil had said he wanted space.

Did Roman try to talk to him?

He took a mental note to have a word with Roman.

"I'll be down in a minute!" Virgil called. Though Patton smiled at the fact that his child was going to be joining them for lunch, he felt heavy-hearted, knowing the meal was going to be filled with tension.

"Ok, Kiddo! I'll see you downstairs." Patton called, before moving down the hall to Logan's room. He assumed Roman was still in there, and if he wasn't, he would simply ask Logan to grab him on his way downstairs. Sure enough, though, when Patton opened the door, Logan and Roman looked up.

"Lunch time. Virgil will be joining us. Be nice." Patton said, giving them a stern look. They each nodded, matching guilt-filled frowns on their lips. Patton closed the door and headed towards the kitchen, putting a stack of grilled cheese on a serving plate. Logan usually ate only one, Roman at least 2, and Virgil the same as Logan. Patton himself enjoyed 2. Grilled cheese was a favorite of his. He'd also made tomato soup, which he poured into four separate bowls he'd pulled from the cabinets. Just as Patton finished filling the final bowl with soup, Roman and Logan came down the stairs. They looked around, not seeing Virgil, and took their seats, helping themselves to their sandwiches and soup.

Just a minute after they started eating and eased into conversation, Virgil appeared at the foot of the stairs. Everybody hushed, looking over at him. He shrugged, curling in on himself as he made his way over to the table, taking a sandwich. Patton slid him over a bowl of soup with a smile. Virgil gave him a soft smile and a nod as a thank you, and took a bite of his sandwich after dipping it into the soup.

"It tastes good, Pat. Thanks." he hummed, digging in further.

Patton smiled, watching Virgil enjoy his sandwich, and hungrily grab a second one. It was out of the ordinary, but it only made Patton more proud.

Until the silence set in.

Patton looked around at all the others. Logan was doing a puzzle while he ate. Roman was watching a youtube video with headphones Patton assumed he'd either had in his pockets or summoned from his room, and Virgil was awkwardly staring at the table space in front of him, eating his food.

"Hey, why don't we talk about something? Thomas wants to meet tomorrow and make plans for that new mini-series, right? That's exciting!" Patton cheered encouragingly.

Virgil, done with his food, stood from the table, put his dishes in the sink, and headed towards the door. "I'm going out, be back in an hour."

"Hey, wait a second, kiddo! Where are you headed out to?" Patton asked with a gentle smile.

"Just going for a walk, Pat. I'll be back before dinner, promise." Virgil said. He left the room, not even sparing a passing glance to the other two sides in the room. Roman sighed, Logan frowned, and Patton looked off at the door with a disheartened expression.

"I know we need to give him his space, but I can't take this awful feeling. I...I miss Virgil." Roman admitted, looking at Patton with tear-filled eyes.