AN- Please read the authors note at the bottom

TW: Implied abuse

Roman POV

Perhaps exploded was a slight exaggeration, but when half a dozen Cyclopes crash through the ceiling it calls for some embellishment.

The ear splitting sound of metal being destroyed pierced through the air as Virgil flung himself over me. As touched as I was by the gesture, I was too disoriented to do anything more than cover my ears with my hands.

I felt Virgil attempt to push himself up before he was pulled off of me with an admittedly ungraceful noise.

I leapt to my feet at the same time Logan did. He already had his staff in hand and my fingers were itching to grab one of my throwing knives. I looked up to see the roof of the train completely torn open, wind blowing forcibly through.

In front of me though, were the real horrors. At the front of the nearly destroyed train carriage stood six Cyclopses, each one seven foot tall at least and a single bloodshot eye in the middle of each of their foreheads. Most of them held weapons like clubs, and the son of Hades was in the grasp of the one of the largest.

The Cyclopses, chuckling evilly in their deep and scratchy voices, were pinning his arms behind his back as Virgil was too stunned from the impact to attempt to resist. He had a scratch on his cheek from the metal roof and although his face was more or less unreadable, I could tell he was in some sort of pain.

"What the hell dude-" Virgil groaned but a Cyclops covered his mouth with its hand.

I growled and reached to unsheathe two throwing blades but Logan caught my wrist before I could.

"Roman." He said, without taking his eyes off of the monsters. "Get the mortals away. I'll attempt to keep them at bay."

I instantly wanted to object. I needed to save that gorgeous boy like the heroic prince I am before he got hurt! But I could hear the panicked shouts of the mortals on the opposite side of the train carriage and begrudgingly turned to get them out.

There weren't many mortals, one older woman on her own and a two teenagers about my age. I ran up to the older woman, looking over my shoulder with every step, and held up my hands to try and calm her down.

"Ma'am," I said as I approached. "I'm need you guys to leave."

She didn't answer. Although mortals couldn't see monsters, I'm sure that whatever she was seeing through the Mist wasn't exactly great. I sighed, wanting this to go much faster.

"What's your name?"

"M-Mary." She answered, her voice shaking.

"Mary," I gave her one of my best Aphrodite-charm smiles in a way to persuade her. "I'm going to need you to take these two and go through this door, okay?"

Her scared expression wavered as the slight enchantment washed over her. Mary took the two teenagers by their shoulders and lead them through the door behind them to the next train carriage.

With the mortals out of the way, my smile melted off as I turned to face the threats again.

"Release him!" Logan was demanding, but the Cyclopes ignored him.

I whipped two throwing knives out of their sheaths and threw them with careful precision, pinning the largest one to the wall by its shirt. The other monsters quit their laughter.

"He said release him." I growled over the roar of wind.

The one I had pinned down glared at me with its massive green eye and wretched itself free of the blades, tearing off segments of its ratty tunic.

"The mighty Faidon does not fear a puny Aphrodite child." The Cyclops, Faidon, scoffed.

"Well he's about to if you don't drop Virgil right now." I said with narrowed eyes.

Virgil was staring at me with an emotion I hadn't seen on his face before.

"We simply came to collect this prize." Faidon gestured to Virgil, who looked at him with a fierce glare. "We'll be on our way."

With that, the Cyclopes hoisted themselves through the hole in the ceiling and climbed up onto the roof. Panicked, I lunged and caught the ankle of the last one causing me to be pulled up after it.

"Roman what the hell!" Logan yelled from below but the roaring wind nearly drowned out the sound of his voice as I let go of the monsters foot and landed on all fours.

I braced myself against the gusts of wind and pulled myself to my feet. Logan, still inside the train carriage, hooked his staff on the edge of the gap ripped open by the Cyclopses and flipped himself up, landing in a crouch.

And he says I'm dramatic.

The group of one-eyed giants were stomping towards the end of the train, pulling a struggling Virgil with them, and Logan and I took off after them.

When we were within striking distance Logan leaped over my head and knocked two Cyclopses off the side, sending them tumbling and bursting into dust as they hit the ground.

The remaining monsters turned to face us with murderous looks but I didn't waste much time.

Not wanting to accidentally hurt Virge, I hit the Cyclops next to the one holding him square in the forehead with a perfectly aimed throwing knife and he crumbled to dust. The one holding Virgil was so distracted that he loosened his grip on the demigod's wrists and mouth.

Virgil swiftly dropped and swung his leg at the back of the monster's knees and kicked it over the edge. He jumped back just as a large heavy fist came down where he had been mere seconds ago. He rose to his feet next to me, his hair blowing in the wind wondrously.

"Okay." He huffed, unsheathing his Stygian Iron sword and looking at me. "Now I'm pissed."

"Roman! Virgil!" We looked behind together to see Logan fending off most of the Cyclopses but he didn't look overwhelmed. His tie was blowing behind him like Pocahontas's hair. "Take down Faidon!"

Virgil and I nodded in unison. Then Virgil gestured formally towards the towering form of Faidon.

"Feel free to go first." He said.

I flipped a celestial bronze throwing knife into my hand.

"And they say chivalry is dead." I replied. Then I hurled my blade at Faidon, hitting the target of his eye.

Blinded, he stumbled and fell onto his back. Virgil stood above him and held the point of his sword over Faidons stomach.

"Don't fuck with me!" He yelled over the roar of wind. "I have the power of Hades and anime on my side!"

Then he stabbed down causing Faidon to melt into shadow.

I smiled at his odd line, then turned to help Logan with the other Cyclopses to see that the last one was trying to charge at me. So I roundhouse kicked him over the side.

"That's the last of them." I said as I wiped my brow. "And the conductor seems to have realized that something's up so we should get going."

The train was beginning to slow down so I figured we should leave before mortals tried to ask us questions. I turned to Virgil expecting a sarcastic remark but he was standing in the same spot I had left him.

His sword was back in its scabbard and he was staring at the dark remnants of Faidon that hadn't been blown away by the speed of the train yet.

"I still can't believe I can do that." Was all he said before his knees gave out. I caught him before he hit the ground.

"Logan," I called as I started to carry Virgils passed-out self in my arms. "A little help?"

With Logans help, we were able to get Virgil back inside the train.

"He's most likely injured." Logan observed. "But we cannot examine him here; we must take him somewhere away from the prying eyes of mortals."

I nodded and grabbed our bags to hand to him.

"I'll carry Virgil." I told him, wanting to keep Virgil as close to me as possible so he wouldn't get hurt again. "You just find somewhere we can set up camp."

So as I lifted Virgil into my arms, Logan hit the emergency stop button and we jumped out of the train.

*******

Logan eventually found us an abandoned campsite that we could use for now and laid down a blanket I could put Virgil on.

"Stay here and assess his injuries." The son of Athena instructed. "I'm going to survey the surroundings."

When he left I began to scan Virge for any large cuts or the like that would have caused him to pass out, but found nothing but the still-bleeding scratch on his cheek that I cleaned off and wouldn't need stitches and blooming bruises around his wrists where the Cyclops had grabbed him.

I found myself staring at the purple haired demigods face in almost a trance. How his long eyelashes cast shadows on his cheekbones and how adorable the little freckles around his nose were, and how calm and tranquil he looked in his sleep.

The words of my sister Leena came back to me in that moment: "He's mega hot!"

Goddamn right he is.

I snapped out of my daze and went to go scan his other side as well. But when I turned him over, I could see that blood was soaking through his hoodie, along with pieces of metal lodged in the fabric.

I thought about how he had thrown himself over me the second the Cyclopses had crashed through the rood. How he had shielded me and taken the pain and harm instead of me.

"Oh Virgil." I said to seemingly no one, my voice full of affection.

I pulled up the hem of his hoodie and shirt so I could see the damaged caused to his skin by the shards of metal and I gasped at what I saw, but it wasn't the recent injury that spurred that reaction.

Across nearly all of his pale skin were scars. So many scars. Some were clearly from long ago, perhaps years, but some of them looked more recent, like within a few months.

"Oh Virgil." I whispered.

Virgils POV

My dreams flickered by like a flip-book with a different drawing on each page.

The glowing sun, an agonizing pain in my stomach, Roman's crimson eyes filled with hopelessness and regret, a dark throne room alight with glowing green flames.

The final image was of Sebastian lumbering towards me before two figures stood in front of him, stopping him from getting any closer.

My eyes flew open as I awoke on my side. I was surrounded by trees in a clearing that seemed to be a sort of campsite. I tried to sit up but I cried out in pain as my back felt like it was on fire. I reached my hand around to feel that it was wrapped in bandages.

I rolled onto my stomach to try to ease the pain, breathing heavily as I propped myself up on my elbows.

"Ah, you're awake." I turned my head to see Logan walking towards me with his black backpack swung over his shoulder.

"What gave it away?" I asked through the pain as he knelt next to me. "It was the scream, wasn't it?"

"Well yes, but also I simply saw you moving." Logan answered. "Here, allow me to assist."

With Logan's help I was able to get off my stomach and sit up. He handed me a square of Ambrosia.

"We couldn't give you any Nectar or Ambrosia while you were unconscious." He told me as I ate it. "So we settled for mortal treatments, hence the bandages."

I nodded then tried to recall the events of earlier.

"What happened? And how long was I out?" A questioned.

"You've been unconscious for about three hours. As for what happened..." Logan then launched into a complete recap of everything that happened with the attack and I could remember everything.

Everything from the screech of metal as the roof was torn apart, to how impressive Romans ability with throwing knives were. And how Roman had helped me break the Cyclops' grip on me. And how hot Roman had looked as he fought off the monsters. And how I had realized something as he had stood up to that Faidon douche.

"Where is he?" I blurted out. Logan looked confused and my face went pink. "Roman, I mean. Where's Roman?"

"Oh, he went to go look for a store or something similar so we could figure out exactly where we are and to get some food. I could go search for him if you'd like-"

Logan began to stand up.

"No!" I burst, grabbing his arm to stop him. I cleared my throat. "No, I uh, actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Logan sat back down.

"I'd be happy to provide my assistance." He said. "What would you like to converse about with me?"

"Well... it's about emotions for one thing." I told him as I avoided eye contact.

"Ah. Well emotions are not my strong suit." He straightened his glasses. "Roman would be much better equipped to aid you-"

"No." I insisted firmly. "I can't tell Roman, and neither can you, about this because it's about Roman."

Logan, his intense blue eyes burning into my purple ones, motioned for me to continue.

"Okay so." I started as I pushed my self up more, trying to avoid more physical pain but luckily I could feel the Ambrosia doing its job. "I realized it on the train when he stood up to Faidon with the whole "Well he's about to fear me if you don't drop Virgil right now" thing, but I feel like it might've been more of an "at first sight" kinda thing. I don't know if he told you this but when we first met it was after the first campfire and he said I had a good singing voice, even though he was probably lying, then he kissed my hand like a freaking Disney prince! My face was super red but he didn't notice since it was so dark and I was freaking out so much! Plus that's why I call him Princey.

I tried to stop talking but the words kept coming and I couldn't stop talking.

"Then at the campfire when we got our prophecy, Roman hugged me and I literally felt like I was in heaven, I could've stayed like that forever! And then when that weird green mist started creeping around I instantly grabbed onto his arm, purely just on instinct. Roman just makes me feel like I'm safe and, I don't know, cared about? I can't really explain it. And then when-""

Logan interrupted my nervous rambling, and I'm sorta thankful he did.

"Slow down Virgil," He told me. "It's hard to understand you. What are you trying to say?"

I took a deep breath.

"Logan," I began. I looked right at him, but my fingers were playing with the hem of my hoodie sleeve. "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Roman."

It was completely silent after I said it. Logan looked nearly stoic.

What if he laughs at me? I thought frantically. What if he doesn't want me to be around Roman any more? They've been friends much longer than I've known either of them so it's not hard to guess what side he'd take if the situation arose. What if he tells Roman? I'd never be able to show my face around him again!

The silence stretched to nearly a full minute before either of us spoke.

"Oh." Logan finally said.

"Oh?" I questioned in near disbelief. "That's it?"

"Well, I had my suspicions but I never thought that you'd say it out loud." He continued.

I watched him expectedly.

"I believe you two would be quite good for each other." Logan finished. And even more shockingly, he smiled.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding and laughed a little to clear my receding nerves.

"So how deep exactly do these...feelings go?" The son of Athena asked.

"I don't know I just...I love everything about him." I exhaled. "I love his voice, I love his obsession with glitter, I love his stubbornness, I love how he always tries to lighten up my mood. And yeah, he gets on my nerves sometimes, but I love that too."

I threaded my fingers through my sure-to-be-messy hair.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do with this. All I know is that...I've never felt like this before. And it's absolutely terrifying, but here I am."

I don't know what I expected Logan to do, but it wasn't for him to nod and say:

"I understand completely. I feel the same exact way about Patton."

He patted me on the shoulder just as Roman appeared from the path leading away from the campsite holding some take-out food bags.

"Ah, it seems like Sleeping Beauty has awoken!" He greeted upon seeing me.

I raised my eyebrows, my moment of vulnerability over.

"Why do I have to be Sleeping Beauty? I'd rather be a more kick-ass princess." Was what I responded with. "Like Tiana.

Roman looked vaguely offended that I would insult any Disney movie as he set down the food so he could lay out more blankets on the ground.

"Oh come on! What's wrong with Sleeping Beauty?"

"What isn't?" I shot back with a smirk. "Kissing an unconscious woman without consent? Sounds a bit problematic, doesn't it?"

"It was to lift a curse!" He exclaimed, waving around his arms.

Through my laughter Logan rolled his eyes and told Roman to sit down.

"Ooh, mama Logan just got you in trouble." I teased, really showing my immaturity.

Roman scrunched his nose at me and Logan rolled his eyes again. though I could tell he was holding back a smile.

"Now Roman, pass me the food! Almost dying really works up an appetite." I demanded dramatically.

Roman scoffed as he passed me the bag that was filled with fries and chicken nuggets. I swear, this boy will own my heart until the end of time at this rate.

"You didn't almost die."

"Did too, Princey."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Stop acting like toddlers and just eat your food." Logan instructed.

"Mama Logan's angry." Roman said quietly as he took a bite out of a chicken nugget.

I was expecting another eye roll from the son of Athena but I was pleasantly surprised.

"Damn right I am." Logan said proudly, clearly holding back laughter.

Roman and I laughed so hard I almost dropped my chicken nugget.

AN- All comments are read and appreciated <3

Sup my dudes, it's ya boi.

So yeah it's been a while, sorry. I just found it super hard to write.

The thing that motivated me to update was one of my readers cosplaying Virgil August on TikTok. I can't tell you how much I love it when you guys make videos about my story, whether they're cosplay videos or just thoughts about the chapters. It literally makes my day.

IMPORTANT-- If you do make any sort of video or fan art for this story, tag it with #LimitsFic so I can actually see it. It makes it so much easier.

(And thanks for over 9k reads btw)

Fun fact: Logan's afraid of heights and spiders, Patton's afraid of spiders, Roman's afraid of the dark, and I think you could guess some of Virgil's fears

I hope you enjoyed :)