December 24th - 9:00am

                                                                                      Virgil stood in his kitchen quietly, slowly sipping from the glass of water in his hand. He couldn't believe it was Christmas Eve already, truly this month had passed by in a breeze - it also worried him, tomorrow was Christmas and how would it go? Terribly, that's how. Spending most of the day in the same room as everyone else including Charlotte? While being awkward around her, he and Roman weren't exactly in the best place at the moment, he didn't want to ruin the mood in the room but he also knew staying in his room would make it worse too. This Christmas they invited him here and to spend it away from then? It felt wrong.

With a heavy sigh he ran a hand through his hair, leaning on the counter against his arm heavily. He wanted everything to go well but everything inside of him told him it would be a complete disaster, everyone would hate him and he'd never be invited back - Roman would be mad his Christmas was ruined and he couldn't spend it with his family which'll just lead to arguments between them and Virgil didn't think he could handle that.

Taking the last sip of water he pushed away the empty glass and dropped his head, eyes closing while he thought over what he could do.

"Break up with him, Virgil" a voice floated through the once silent space around him, Virgil fluttered his eyes and quickly lifting his head, staring around the dark room he stood in, leaning against the counter.

"Wh-what?"

"That American" the voice came again with a scoff of disgust. Virgil whirled around, gasping when he stared at his grandmother opposite him. She looked different. Her clothes were normal, but her face, it seemed...hazy. As if it wasn't there. He couldn't focus on it no matter how much he tried.

"Leave him in the dirt, Virgil - you'll be better off without him. He'll hurt you, remember?" Charlotte took a step closer and Virgil gripped onto the counter behind him harshly, breathing quicker and quicker and quicker.

"N-no, no he won't, he loves me!" Virgil tried to scream but his voice was a whisper. Charlotte's eyes somehow darkened, the whites mixing with the pupils until there was no colour at all. Virgil harshly dug his back into the counter, unable to move anywhere but push himself back.

"Leave him, Virgil" she demanded, walking closer, face contorting into one of a monster. Virgil recognised that face, he knew it was from his childhood - something told him he's dreamt of this before. Not exactly in this context, but that face was there. He was certain.

"But-but, no-please-!"

A knife was digging into his stomach when she was finally inches away from her grandson, Virgil's breath stopped completely, knuckles impossibly white from their grip, pupils as wide as they would go, screaming fear. He was paralysed on the spot, staring at the monster that had formed before him with no other choice

"I'll leave him" he agreed and as soon as he did he could breathe again, collapsing to the ground and grasping at his neck. The floor beneath him was cold - freezing to the touch and Virgil's legs burned in pain before he had to stand up, forcing himself onto his feet that somehow couldn't feel a thing.

"Oh, Virgil"

He turned his head to stare at his grandmother who looked normal, all he could see on her face was a smile, a caring smile that calmed him down - it seemed so welcoming, it would almost be perfect if the rest of her face wasn't so blurry.

"Come here, sweetheart"

And he did, he collapsed against his grandmother and cried while she held him close and pressed a kiss to his hair.

"Leave him" she whispered and Virgil nodded.

"I will" he promised, as soon as the words left his mouth his eyes shot open and a startled gasp left his lips. Quickly grasping the space around him, subconsciously trying to find Roman but when he sat up and stared at his empty bed he remembered and a quiet 'oh' fell from his lips. He grabbed his blanket and pulled it close to his body, burying his face into the fabric and sighing out heavily.

That dream-nightmare wasn't just made up. He remembered that conversation vividly last night - it was late again, she caught him alone, told him Roman was going to break up with him, told him over and over, like a mantra, drilling it into his head that he'd be alone, that he'd be hurt and left in the dust. Yet somehow if he ended things first? He'd be fine...he wouldn't be lonely, hurt, or left behind - he'd be okay.

Slowly, he moved his hands to grip the side of his head, eyes closing tight.

Think how much better off you'll be without him!

Think about how much he'll hurt you!

Think about-

"Are you going out there?! Into the cold!?" Roman exclaimed, finally taking in his outfit. "You might catch a cold!" He worried, eyebrows creased together in concern.

Virgil found himself unable to stop a small smile light up his face when he remembered that day, Roman was always quite the worrier when it came to the people he loved - knowing him he'd try to defeat any illness Virgil caught with his sword he loved so dearly. 

He wants to break up with you-

Roman lifted his head once again, shuffling up further so he could easily stroke Virgil's jaw, making a smile raise on the boy's lips as he did, leaning into the touch. "quiero estar contigo para siempre" Roman murmured

Virgil lifted his head from the blanket and stared into the distance, the corner of his eyes crinkling when he recalled what that meant. At the time he had no idea but that night Roman informed him when they were brushing their teeth - it made him blush and elbow him for being so romantic, but Roman just laughed, hugged him from behind and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.

Leave him-

"Virgil!" Roman exclaimed when he saw his favourite person. He moved from the corner of the room where he stood to stare out the window over to his boyfriend, wrapping his cold body into a warm hug, their lips pressing against each other's in a long-lasting, loving kiss. "You're frighteningly cold" Roman commented, a frown forming on his face

Virgil lifted his hand and pressed his fingers against his lips, able to feel the touch of Roman's to his, he recalled each kissed they shared but the really special ones were always the ones Roman would initiate whenever Virgil came back from being gone for so long or would finish doing something that worried Roman to no end. He remembered cuddling with Roman that day, the two switching positions but never once losing their comfortable warmth.

He'll hurt you-

"No, he won't" Virgil whispered with a smile, "he loves me, you hag" he added, obviously not to try and hurt the woman who couldn't hear what he said but instead to reassure himself that she was not to be trusted, she was the same as before, just changing her ways for selfish means. He had a moment of weakness, he believed what she said because he's been tricked by her before - he's been trapped in her clutches and maybe...maybe he allowed himself to slip back. Or at least did it subconsciously. Either way it was no excuse for how he treated the man he loved with all his heart, the man who was by his side for eight years - if he wanted to hurt and leave Virgil he would've done it ages ago.

And he had the perfect idea of how to apologise to him.

So, an hour later, after calling Logan and forcing him to stay awake so he could use his help (plus Google translate) he had an apology written down on a piece of paper, the English translation below the Spanish.

"Can I sleep now?" Logan begged, Virgil smirked and looked at his phone, watching Logan barely able to keep himself up in his desk chair, glasses slipping down his nose, bags heavy under his eyes. He must be really tired.

"Yeah, see ya, nerd" Logan sent him a half-assed glare, reaching over to fumble with his phone, ending the call quickly. Virgil smiled at his phone before looking down at the paper, breathing in and out a few times - he knew he would pronounce it terribly however he hoped Roman would see the sentiment behind it anyway.

Standing up, he folded the paper and stuffed it into his pocket, leaving the room and hurrying down the hallway. While walking down the staircase he sent a smile at the few family members he passed by, heart swelling when they smiled back with the same amount of love.

He really didn't need her

Entering the basement, he looked at Gabriel and sent him a half smile. He didn't look happy, turning his head back to his phone but Harper waved her hand around dismissively, pushing aside his grumpy behaviour as nothing too serious. Virgil would talk to him later.

Finding Roman talking with the children, he tapped his shoulder, the man looking up at him with a surprised expression.

"Virgil.." he drifted, lifting Sebastian from his lap and setting him down on his bed before arising from the floor, raising his eyebrow questioningly. "Can we-uh-talk?" He managed and Roman nodded but he was still frowning - it didn't settle well with Virgil at all.

Leaving the basement, they stepped into a random empty room, Virgil bringing the paper out from his pocket and silently reading it over a few times. Roman looked at it, a smile drawing at his lips at the idea of Virgil writing out an apology.

"Um-okay" he breathed out, relaxing as much as his anxious self could. "Lamento lo que dije, no soy bueno hablando español, ¿podrías perdonarme?" He spoke slowly, cringing at a few of the words he knew he didn't say correctly, but he hoped Roman could translate whatever he just said.

The man in question stared at Virgil with narrowed eyes as he thought, his lips moving as he repeated what Virgil said to him silently, as time went on Virgil felt embarrassment flood through him, wishing he could go back in time and just say the apology in English but thankfully Roman finally reacted - at first he laughed then smiled warmly, that smile Virgil knew meant he forgave him.

"That is very sweet, and you are terrible at Spanish, but I love how you tried anyway" he grinned and Virgil rolled his eyes, murmuring 'shut up' in his flustered state. Roman merely chuckled, taking the paper to look over what he had written down.

"It's perfect" he finally concluded, "just like you"

Virgil looked up at him and relaxed, opening his arms to offer a hug which Roman gladly leaned into, swooping his boy into his arms and up from the ground, leaning closer to press a long kiss to his lips - Virgil (more than happily) kissed back, wrapping his legs around his waist and arms around his neck.

"I love you" Virgil whispered against his lips and Roman opened his eyes, their faces inches apart, air around them filled with love. "Yo también te quiero, cariño" he whispered back and Virgil kissed him again.

For a few hours the two cuddled in their bedroom, hugging each other close in comfortable clothing. The world around them didn't matter for the moment, completely focused on each other, murmuring sweet nothings into each other's ears, sharing brief kisses and pecks across their faces - both men wondered how they allowed themselves to be away from each other for those couple of nights.

It was peaceful, a regular occurrence that happened between them at home - relaxing peacefulness settling across them as they laid in bed and cuddled the hours away.

However, right now? They weren't entirely relaxed, for they were both still angry, not at each other not by a long shot but at her. The woman that tried to tear Virgil down again but thankfully didn't succeed and once Roman was sure Virgil was sated he pressed a kiss to his forehead before leaving the bed and heading towards the doors.

"Where are you going?" Virgil asked with a frown, already missing his warmth.

"I'm going to talk to your grandmother" he explained and instantly Virgil was sitting up, rushing after Roman who walked like he was a man on a mission. He headed down the staircase quickly, Aria and Aiden who were walking along the foyer heard the sound of his feet stomping and looked over at him, taking note of his tense posture and rage burning in his eyes - attention caught, they hurried on into the living room after the two, standing in the doorway as they watched.

In the living room sat many family members with their husbands or wives, annually the adults would spend most of Christmas Eve together, conversing for hours with snacks laid out on the table and generally having a nice time together - the children sometimes got involved but this year they would all rather sit in the basement with their toys which they have collected over the years.

"Tú, bruja manipuladora!" Roman's voice cut short all conversations being held, the adults quickly turning in succession to stare at the American who crossed the room, halting before Charlotte who was sitting in her armchair.

Aria and Aiden quickly moved to sit down on the spare seats, entranced by the anger coming off of the man in waves. Virgil just stood by the coffee table, praying Roman wouldn't let himself get too angry - when he does he rambles in Spanish until he calms down.

"Did you really think you'd get away with all this? Manipulating Virgil? Your own grandson? We should rename this year's Christmas to Bitchmas because that's what you are!" He suddenly exploded and Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose, willing himself not to roll his eyes to the back of his head.

"Oh no" Camila whispered, shuffling closer to Samuel who hugged her tight.

"Bitchmas?" Aria whispered, grinning at Aiden who grinned right back.

"I have no idea what you are taking about" Charlotte responded calmly as if keeping her voice level would give her some sort of advantage in this argument.

Roman made a few indecipherable noises at her response, "if I remember you told me Virgil wanted to break up with me-"

"She what?!" Virgil cut off as he definitely wasn't informed of this information!

"Hold on, dear" Roman shot him a smile, it fading away when he turned back to her, watching her smugness melt away as she realised all truth was about to be laid out.

"And he certainly does not! I don't need to be told what had happened years ago to understand you did some really bad things to my love, and you tried to do it again! You-to your own flesh and blood. You disgust me" he spat with malice, venom and everything in between.

"And if" Roman suddenly looked at everyone else in the room "you still side with Charlotte on this, still treat her with respect and love as if she deserves it then I will be thoroughly disappointed with you all" finally, he turned back to Charlotte with eyes burning who sat stiffly in her chair.

"I love Virgil with everything I have, with my heart, my soul, my everything" he emphasised and Virgil felt a waver of a smile wobble his lips. "So if you try and hurt him again you'll regret it" his voice dropped to one that shot fear down her spine.

Virgil timidly looked away from Roman, eyes trailing around the room, wondering what everyone else would do. Aria just gave him a thumbs up and he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Dearest" Roman murmured, slipping his hand into Virgil's and taking him out the room but Charlotte's voice stopped them in the doorway.

"You seriously can't let him stay here, Amelia!" She cried, the two turning to see what she had to say. "I won't allow it!" She added on, the audacity! Virgil could see his mother's jaw clench in hidden fury he wished she would unleash. This wasn't Charlotte's house - she had no right to decide who should stay or not.

"They ruined Christmas! Virgil's a disgrace and I'm shocked you'd even invite him back! He abandoned his family, so he should stay away" now all cards were on the table, tension was high and no one was getting out of the argument this time.

"He's not the one who should stay away" Abigail commented, Oliver looking at his mum with a growing smile. "Stay out of this, Abigail" Charlotte told her daughter icily and instead of listening to her like she always had she stood up she crossed the room, standing behind her nephew who smiled up at her briefly.

"I won't - not this time" she retorted, the horror morphed on her mother's face was enough to make her smile so wide it almost hurt. Oliver was smiling too, ear to ear, happy that his mother finally stood up to the woman who he knew affected her even if she wouldn't admit it.

Biting his lip, he hesitated a moment before grabbing his fathers hand and taking him up over to his mother, standing next to them all with his face screaming determination. "Don't speak to my cousin like that" he demanded in a tone he's never used before. Yes he was shaking all over but Virgil was still immensely proud of his cousin who usually couldn't stand confrontation.

"If you think you can get away with that shit now you're fucking wrong, hag" Gabriel suddenly piped up and Virgil looked over at him in surprise, watching him and Harper walk away from behind the couch and over to him, standing beside Roman. "When did you two get here?" He asked quietly and Harper smirked.

"We heard Roman's angry Spanish and were intrigued" she explained and he snorted.

"Gabriel! How dare you-!"

"Don't speak to my child like that" Matthew cut her off, standing up from his seat suddenly, looking over at his son then to Roman with a gentle gaze. "I was raised to hate people who were different and in turn it cost me and my son relationship, I'll never allow it to happen again" he spoke confidently and Virgil felt his heart thud harder against his rib cage, gripping Roman's hand tighter.

Matthew made no hesitations to cross the room and stand with his son and Virgil breath hitched, throat clogging. Charlotte watched as more and more family members stood up to stand with Virgil and the others, all of them staring the old woman down, wondering what her next move would be. Soon, everyone was up, everyone apart from one. Amelia was still sitting in her seat, eyes drifting from her mother to her family. 

"Amelia, will you condone this?" Charlotte asked and the woman sighed, standing from the couch and reaching over to hold her mother's hand. "Mother" she frowned, closing her eyes for a moment. "I used to look up to you, you were this strong woman who wouldn't take anything from anybody - but with age I've realised you're not the woman I thought you were - your heart is rotten and I can't bare to look at you anymore" with that, she was leaving her mothers side, walking straight up to her son and engulfing him into a hug.

And Virgil? Virgil broke down onto her shoulder. He thought he could keep it together but ultimately his emotions took control yet again, tears leaking from his eyes, sobs tumbling from his lips. One couldn't blame him, going from being hated to being loved sent his heart into a frenzy - all he wanted to do was hug each and every family member and thank them; thank them for changing; for realising their mistakes and most of all; for accepting him.

When he finally parted from his mother Charlotte was gone but he wasn't complaining. Everyone sat back down, Roman and Virgil sitting where she once sat, Virgil on his lap, legs thrown over the armchair, head resting on his shoulder.

And for hours they talked, laughed, joked, something a family would do.

Something Virgil could finally be apart of.