petrichor and stardust - an analogical AU fic

two

There was a delightful amount of bliss before Virgil awoke, feeling more refreshed than he'd been in ages. He was comfortable, warm, and the gentle light streaming onto his face was pleasant. He blinked his eyes open, registering the curtains, the sunlight trickling through, and the wood ceiling. He laid there for a moment, enjoying the first sense of comfort he'd felt in years. After only a moment of relishing in the pleasantness, what happened last night came back to him like a cold knife stabbing his gut. He had fallen when they had reached what was most likely a wall, which was when his consciousness left him. Virgil facepalmed himself in embarrassment, and that movement seemed to have alerted someone else in the room that he was awake.

A bubbly voice interrupted the serene silence, "Good morning, sleepyhead!" Their voice just sounded like they were smiling. Virgil gently shifted himself onto his right side, which allowed him to take in the rest of the room. He seemed to be on a bed in a corner of a small room. It was cozy, with a counter and overhead cabinets in the far left corner from Virgil. A man was standing by the cabinet closest to Virgil, his face covered in freckles. His hair was light brown, curly, and multiple curls fell in his face. He didn't seem to mind them, however, as they hardly fell below his eyebrows. His welcoming, wide eyes were enunciated by the large round glasses perched on his button nose. Comparing him to the bespectacled boy from last night, that boy had the kind of glasses that suited his almond-shaped eyes much better, as they framed his eyes in such a way that he looked even more like a librarian.

The boy from last night. Oh god. Virgil had been difficult with him, even though he was only trying to help, and then he passed out on him. He mentally facepalmed himself as he covered his face with his hands, turning onto his back and letting out a quiet groan. He laid like that for a minute until he felt the bed shift. He peeked through his hands at the boy, who was standing by the counter, but now sat at the end of Virgil's bed. Virgil carefully moved his hands away from his face and pushed himself up with his elbows. He now sat next to this boy, his hazel eyes watching him kindly. Virgil now noticed that the boy not only had freckles on his face, but they were on his arms, too. He wore a short-sleeved striped button-up that was a size too big, which he tucked into his pants in a slightly stylish way.

"You okay?" The boy asked, who was probably the same age as Virgil, maybe younger. "Yeah, I think so," Virgil mumbled quietly, rubbing a sore spot on his neck. He couldn't bear too much eye contact, so he shifted his gaze to the floor. The boy seemed to understand, or just didn't care, because he kept on talking. "Well, I'm glad you're doing better! I've never seen Logan so worried about someone before. He wanted to talk to you when you woke up, so I'll probably invite him down soon." Well, now Virgil had a name to give the boy who probably saved his life, which he passed out on. He shifted uncomfortably at the thought of having to see him again, as he assumed that this Logan probably hated him already.

The boy sitting next to him must've sensed his unease, as he quickly added, "But I can ask him to wait if it makes you uncomfortable! My name's Patton, by the way." The boy, Patton, had dismissively waved his hands to try to ease Virgil's anxieties and then extended his hand out for Virgil to shake. He glanced over at the boy's hand, carefully shook it, and replied somewhat quietly, "I'm Virgil. I guess it's fine if he comes here." Patton seemed to brighten at the notion and shot up in excitement. "Okay, I'll go let him know! If you'd like, you can straighten yourself up in the bathroom over there." Patton gestured to a door near the counter, opposite of the door by Virgil's bed. Patton left through the latter door, closing it gently.

Virgil was still a little fatigued, and his side was throbbing with a dull pain, so pulling himself out of bed was a struggle. However, he had won in only a few moments. He was careful not to put any pressure on his healing right leg as he limped towards the bathroom and opened the door gingerly. He looked at himself in the mirror.

He was a total mess. His hair was sticking up in multiple places, dirt smudged on his face, and he still looked tired. He picked up a hairbrush on the basin of the sink and began brushing through his hair, which had somehow always manage to make itself look horrible, even though it never really took long to straighten out. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and noticed the clothes neatly stacked on a stand near the sink. They were accompanied by a small card written in loopy handwriting, which read "Hope you like these! - Patton." Virgil chuckled as he changed out of his old, and frankly tattered clothes and slipped on the new ones. The new ones fit him perfectly, and he found them to be rather comfortable. It was a simple long-sleeved white button-up with black high-rise pants. They complimented him quite nicely, and he took a page out of Patton's book and tucked his shirt into his pants. He quietly exited the bathroom, spotting his old combat boots by the bed.

Despite how easily his previous clothes had torn, his black combat boots were still very intact. That's why he liked them so much - they were stylish and durable. He had broken them in a while ago, so running in them last night wasn't too hard. He grabbed them as he plopped himself gently back down on the bed. Virgil had slipped both of them on, tying them tight before deciding to lounge on his rather comfortable bed.

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When Patton had barged himself into Logan's quarters to announce Virgil's awakening, Logan dropped what he was doing and promptly followed him to meet his guest. He lagged behind Patton, occasionally stumbling over himself, as he wasn't as nimble as the shorter boy. His almost knee-high leather boots were not meant for him to be walking at such a brisk pace, but he kept pushing forward anyway. He had reached his guest's room in only a few minutes, but he was wiping sweat from his forehead. Patton had appeared in front of him, not phased from how quickly he was walking, and opened the door, leaving it open so Logan could walk in after him.

Logan entered the room, closing the door behind him gently. The boy from last night was staring out the window by his bed, chin in hand, the gentle sunlight illuminating his soft features. His hair was a warm charcoal color and seemed very fluffy. Logan was glad he was doing much better, and he thought that the boy looked rather nice in his new button-up shirt. He felt a fluttering feeling in his stomach, which he wrote off as hunger. He had yet to eat anything substantial today, after all.

The split-second illusion only lasted for so long before the boy moved, swiveling his head around to look at Logan and Patton. His upturned amber eyes were entrancing, and Logan stared into them for a moment before the boy glimpsed at him. Logan was quick to turn his away from the boy, glancing at Patton uneasily. Patton gave him a reassuring smile, and Logan regained his composure. He extended his left hand as he talked. "I'm Logan. Logan Dumotri. It's a pleasure to formally meet you." The boy on the bed reached out to shake Logan's hand, which was pleasantly cold like it was the night before. "I'm Virgil. Sorry for passing out on you last night." The boy, Virgil, looked embarrassed as he apologized. They both withdrew their hands as Logan spoke, "It's quite alright. I'm glad you're feeling better."

While the two of them spoke, Patton had moved himself to sit on a chair at the small table. The dark wood table sat parallel to the counters on the wall, a white linen cloth with lace around the hem sitting in the middle. On top of it sat a beige vase full of purple and blue flowers, which stuck out against the warm and neutral tones of the room. When they had come to a pause in their conversation, Patton piped up from where he was sitting and brought himself over to Virgil. "Well, Virgil, I think it would be best if you avoid strenuous activities for a while so your injuries can heal. Do you have a home to return to?"

Based on Virgil's reluctance to answer the question, Patton took that as a "no." He opened his mouth to speak when Logan said exactly what he was thinking. "Well, I don't see a problem with letting him stay here in the castle. Do you?" Logan turned to Patton, who was beaming. "No, I think that'd be perfectly fine! No one really uses this room anyway, so I think it'd be fine if he stayed here." Virgil looked back and forth between the two, "Wait, seriously?" Virgil sputtered, shocked. Patton excitedly nodded, then turned to usher Logan out of the room. "Well, we'll give you some privacy, kiddo. Hope you like it here!" Before Virgil knew it, Patton and Logan had left, leaving him to have the room to himself.

Virgil slipped his combat boots back off, grabbing the sheets and pulling them over himself as he laid down. He quietly drifted to sleep, napping for only a few hours.