10:49pm

So, update of what's happening in Wales (my country): colleges and schools have been cancelled until further notice, now this has caused one particular problem with exams.
Our exams have usually taken in the summer, just before the summer holidays, then we come back in September for the next year of school (next grade, next year, same thing)
(We get the results of said exams in August, before the 'new year' of school starts)
Due to the cancellations of school, the exam boards across the country have decided to cancel the exams which means our grades/results will be a mixture of predicted grades, our results from past mock exams*, teachers professional input and work we have done in class
(*Mock exams: are exams that aren't real, basically give us an idea of what the real exams are like, and tell us where we are and what we need to improve)

So...yeah, if I get three C's + I'm honestly chill, other people are upset, others are unbothered, just a mixture of emotions. This has *never* happened before so, whoop whoop

Anyway, this is what happening to my understanding, I could be wrong with a few things but I'm 90% sure this is what we are living with right now

Trigger warning: Remus being Remus, sex scenes including: one night stands, briefest mentions of animal abuse, mentions of bad childhood, mentions of bad parents, mentions of transphobia, mentions of drugs, threatened by a gun

Au
—

Sometimes Remus really, really wanted to collect every single bird, pin them down and snap each of their vocal cords. He even researched birds to an obsessive extent to the point of knowing accurately how to silence a bird for its life without killing it. He knew he'd never do it, purposely hurting an innocent creature, be it animal or human, was never his style - he'd sure make people uncomfortable by talking about it though. That was what he enjoyed, not physically hurting beings.

Still— he was only like this in the mornings, waking up early to have birds chirping from the tree outside his dorm window. He's never slept in since moving into these dorms for college, and doesn't think he ever will. Letting out a soft, grumpy groan he stretched his arms above his head and slacked his jaw into a yawn, wondering why his bed felt so cramped his bleary eyes looked to his right to see a girl sleeping soundly beside him.

It took him a moment but when he realised they were both naked he was suddenly struck with last nights memories, and damn if he thought about them for too long he'd get hard. That was the best sex he's had in awhile due to the fact the girl beside him was the kinkiest motherfucker he's ever met. He knew for sure this wouldn't be the last time he'd have sex with this girl, but he usually leaves a few weeks between, to avoid any sort of consistency or feelings to form.

He liked to be used, it was sort of his thing, going through girl after girl who was willing to have some fun - never the same girl twice unless under certain circumstances, like this one. He was a slut, a whore, call him what you want he'd embrace it in his stride - having a reputation as the 'sex god' across the college in the first month made him extremely proud indeed.

His twin brother, Roman, was unimpressed but not surprised - it was the exact same in high school and it would continue through his life until he finally met the one. Remus argued with him every single time, "meet the one?" He'd scoff, raising an eyebrow at his brother who would roll his eyes and sigh. "People like me- we don't meet the one, what's the fun in having sex with one person for the rest of your life!? What if they're not even good at sex?!"

Roman would sigh again and give his brother a look, a knowing look, that brotherly connection. "Relationships, dating-marriage isn't just about sex, 'Mus-"

And Remus would laugh and laugh- "love? Me!? Oh, brother! No, that'll never happen"

Remus was an adamant boy, determined, strong willed - if he said he'd never have this or that in his life he damn well wouldn't. Even something as innate and instinctual as love. He'd admit he loves his brother, but he'd never, ever, not in a life time love a human being romantically. And he's stuck with that for nineteen years.

Sitting up in bed he started his usual routine after a one night stand; he'd creep out of bed, not waking up the girl (which he was extremely good at), pull on a pair of boxers and grab his clothes for the day. He'd then leave the dorm and head over to the showers, give himself a wash and dress in front of anyone who might see without a care. He was confident in himself, and didn't have any sort of insecurities towards his body - he'd let anyone see him naked if they really wanted to. But everyone already has - so he's sure they wouldn't ask.

"Have fun last night?" A boy who lived in the room next to him asked, just the same height as Remus, already looking ready for the day. He was a posh boy, came all the way from Britain to make a name for himself in a prestigious college in America. Remus dragged his wet hair back and looked at himself in the mirror, shifting the green turtle neck jumper, ripped purposely in certain spots to give it an 'edgy' vibe. Although 'edgy' rolled off of Remus in waves, whatever outfit he decided to put on. Matching was his tight, black leather jeans and boots reaching his shins, covered in buckles and zips.

The question made him smirk, "wha'? You masturbate to us?"

The boy stammered and blushed at the implication, "what? Good god, no-"

Before he could continue Remus stepped forward and planted a hand on his shoulder, leaning close to his ear, "don't feel embarrassed kid - I don't mind" with that he stalked out the bathroom carrying his things, entering his bedroom he let out a relieved breath - the girl had left with all her belongings. Except for one.

He dropped his towels and shampoo onto the bed, picking up a piece of paper left on his bedside table.

Call if you ever need to de-stress xx

***-***-****

Remus smirked and tucked the paper into the draw, he certainly would find her again but not by phone, he hasn't and doesn't give his number out to his hookups. Or anyone in general.

Still having two hours to waste before his lecture, he grabbed his wallet, keys, phone and left the dorm. Knowing his brother was free all morning he left the building and walked over to main campus - if he knew his twin, and unfortunately he did, he knew he'd be currently wasting his time in the drama department. Remus then supposed it wasn't such a waste for him, as he was getting a degree in theatre, but personally Remus never saw the appeal. Being a biology major himself he preferred work over fake acts, but he would be deemed as 'frivolous' as his brother, so who was he to comment?

"Brother!" Remus' voice boomed throughout the auditorium as soon as he entered the room through the double doors, pushing them both open too for his grand entrance. The room was more filled than he expected, but causing a scene never made him shy away - in fact he didn't even know the meaning of the word.

Many students who were sitting in the audience turned to stare at him but didn't expect anything less from Roman's brother who currently walked down the aisle between the rows of chairs, smirking all the way. His brother, along with a few others who were practicing for the play later in the year, looked over. It wasn't an important session, in fact it wasn't a session at all, simply using an empty room until their classes.

"Oh, great" Roman muttered with an eye roll but wasn't actually bothered. Remus planted his hands onto the stage and hoisted himself up in one swift movement, slugging an arm across his brothers shoulders and eyeing the script in his grasp. "Shakespeare? Ugh" he spat which offended ninety percent of the thespians in the room. "His work is no less than a masterpiece" Roman countered, "you don't like it because you can't read it" he added insultingly and Remus cocked an eyebrow.

"And you can tell me what animal kingdom a hedgehog belongs to?" He fired back and Roman rolled his eyes, shoving his brother away who cackled. "I still can't believe you haven't taken up acting" the drama teacher suddenly popped up out of nowhere, staring at Remus who pulled a disgruntled face. "You'd be great at it, in fact you'd make a wonderful villain" she added with a sly smirk, Remus waltzed up to her, "charming" he murmured, "but I'll leave the fakery to my brother"

"As if you're not faking something" Roman countered, and Remus stared at him in genuine confusion and slight annoyance. This wasn't a one time thing- it was recurring. Whenever he got the chance Roman called his brother out on his supposed 'lies' or 'fakery' but he couldn't understand why. He'd ask but Roman never respond clearly, which pissed Remus off to no end but Roman was as strong willed as him, unfortunately, and if he wasn't telling him something no amount of bribery or persuasion could win him over.

It had made him ponder a lot about himself - to try and truly figure out what he may be 'faking'. He'd often assume it was about love, as Remus was known for his detest to it, but something told him it wasn't that, or at least wasn't just that. Damn it he wished he knew, it's only started in college, what's changed? Nothing he's noticed. He's the exact same as he were in the last grades of high school, fucking girls, living the 'bad boy' life and having an increasing interest in biology.

Maybe one day he'd understand, but for now he was messing up his brothers hair and filling the room with cries of distress, anguish and horror.

Yeah, he could live with annoying his brother until he discovered what he was faking.

—

"On a scale of one to ten" Patton began, facing his twin brother on the picnic bench on campus, opposite the art block. "How easy will it be to get papa to adopt a dog?"

His twin brother rolled his eyes, finally shutting his chemistry text book as even if his brother promised he wouldn't be here for long, he has been here for two hours. "Accounting for the fact our father is deathly allergic to most - if not all - animals, I say your chances are pretty low" he retorted, pulling his rather heavy bag up beside him to put away his belongings. His lesson started in ten minutes - the break from his brother, whomst he shares a room with, would be quite the relief.

He couldn't believe he had to continue sharing a room with his twin, but his father didn't have all the money in the world, and as living in a co-ed dorm was cheaper, he supposed he'd rather 'bunk' as it were with his brother than a stranger. Speaking of, his brother was currently pouting, staring at his phone opened up to the website of the shelter in the city. He seemed to always have it on a separate tab, taking any chance he could to stare at all the 'adorable puppies that are just to die for!' in his words exactly.

"What if he took medicine?" Patton suggested, Logan sighed, unable to understand his unrelenting adoration for the creatures. While he liked animals, he could never see himself adopting one as a pet (maybe a few rats) and was somewhat glad his father couldn't be around them, even if his brother was almost close to tears simply thinking about the fact he'd have to wait until he lived alone.

"Even if he did find medicine to cancel out his allergies, why would he? We don't live with him anymore, you will rarely even see the dog" and that simply made Patton whine more, "besides, you are taking animal science" he added and Patton giggled, finally shutting off his phone. "We don't actually see any animals silly! We just learn about them" he explained, smiling simply thinking about his classes which he was enjoying much more than he originally assumed.

"No, I mean-" he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "you want to become a zoologist, giving you the chance to meet all sorts of animals"

Patton shrugged, "yeah but that's far away! And having experience with an animal beforehand seems like a good idea, right?" he looked up at his brother who couldn't really argue with that logic. But the conversation was dropped when Patton realized Logan was readying to leave. He sat up and grinned, "what do you have?"

Logan quirked an eyebrow at his interest, "chemistry? Hopefully today we will be working on an experiment" he added as an afterthought, noticing Patton rise up, ready to follow. Knowing Patton was free the entire day he supposed he'd be stuck with him outside of lessons. "Anything else?" he added in a sing-song voice, skipping beside his brother as they headed over to the science block. Logan shook his head, "I have math class after, if that is what you mean"

Patton covered his mouth and giggled, "oh silly-billy" he hummed and left it at that. Logan didn't ask more about it and let Patton ramble about whatever came to his mind while he thought in his own. He couldn't say Patton's behavior was anything out of the ordinary, he often referenced things that Logan didn't understand much, especially if they were directed at emotions, but the more he thought about it the more he noticed this behavior had increased since they moved into these dorms and started college - a month into their academic year.

Confusion aside, he was nearing his class and Patton picked up on it, turning to his brother and straightening out his tie he insisted on wearing each and everyday. At first people assumed he was trying to make a good first impression, but once they realized it was a central part to his 'style' they honestly thought it suited the intelligent boy. "Have a good lesson Lo! I think I'll explore town today! A new cafe opened across from the car dealership and it's vegan based too! I hope they don't close down as fast as the last one did, vegan food is wonderful! Of course not everyone could sustain a vegan diet all their life, but cutting down on meats is certainly a healthy way to go for the environment and yourself! Anyway, have fun!" Patton ranted with utmost happiness, dragging his brother into a hug before skipping away.

Logan stood there for a moment, then sighed. Patton liked to talk a lot, he supposed he should be used to it by now. Although his interests and passions lied with animals, so it wasn't a surprise he was a vegetarian. Logan used to be vegan, but after some issues with the diet he changed to pescatarian. They both had never eaten an ounce of meat in their lives due to their father being a vegan - he would happily let meat if they wanted to, but neither did. At least, Logan didn't want to eat poultry, he'd much prefer to stick to vegetables and fish. Patton adored cheese so couldn't really handle being a vegan anymore, and changed to vegetarian, which their father was content to.

Dietary aside, Logan walked into his classroom and sat right at the front, his usual sport, awaiting for his lab partner to arrive.

—

"That's fucking gross" Deceit's brother lowly snarled as they walked down the street together, Deceit reading from a poster he had found in the town earlier that morning, deciding to snag to see what it was about. "Honey, that's the sun" he responded to his grouchy twin - why was he annoyed with the world in particular? Well, he was woken up early, too early in his opinion. At seven am exactly, due to their lack of classes this morning as their math teacher was off ill Deceit had planned to go to town, however whenever he does Virgil gets pissy he's never invited, he needs stuff from town too but is too anxious to go by himself - which is why he had to deal with being dragged from his sleep earlier than necessary.

"Whatever, wish it would burn out already" he huffed, dragging his jacket closer to his body, even if it was a warm day. Deceit finally finished with the poster, deemed it not worthy for his interested, folded it neatly and placed it in the bottle holder on the side of his bag, he couldn't see a bin anywhere and littering was a giant pet-peeve for him. "If it did we would all be dead" he added and Virgil snorted, lifting up his head to reveal the bags prominent underneath his dark eyes, "exactly"

Deceit rolled his eyes fondly at his brother's dark humour, but didn't comment on it. It wasn't usually his style of comedy anyway, he certainly wasn't as quick witted as Virgil, nor could he make such dark comments from thin air. "Uh- what d'you have now?" Virgil wondered as they neared the college, bringing out his phone to check the time for his lesson - he knew it started in twenty minutes, but his anxiety told him he was twenty minutes late - which was, thankfully, incorrect.

"Chemistry" he responded with obvious distaste, "although I have law afterwards - I suppose it's not too bad..." he added as an after thought, thinking about his favourite lesson usually spiked his sour mood. "Your lab partner does all the work anyway" Virgil commented, earning a snort from Deceit, "only because he leaves nothing for me. Coincidentally he's majoring in chemistry, too, I'm unsurprised a nerd like him didn't drop the compulsory class" he turned to his brother once they were standing outside of the college, their paths taking them separate ways. "He's also wonderful to talk to, blah blah" Deceit waved his hand, "why don't we have dinner out tonight? My treat" he offered and Virgil's face lifted, nodding lightly to his suggestion.

"Yeah, uh, that would be nice.." he murmured, Deceit smiled a little at his reaction - doing sweet things for his brother always made his heart warm, he hasn't had a great life so far, Deceit wanted to do everything he could to make it better. "Splendid. Meet you in our dorm later" with a simple wave Deceit walked inside the science block, Virgil watching him go with a smile hidden behind his sleeve. He loved his twin so, so much.

—

"Today, class, we'll be doing an experiment" the chemistry teacher grinned from the front of the class, wearing his usual comical lab coat and thick, large goggles that made his eyes bulge they were so tight around his head. He always joked his brain was too big for his skull, everyone laughed out of pity. His jokes were nothing less than the bottom of the barrel dad-puns.

"Make sure to collect one of every sample! And, of course, the right equipment. You can't do much without it!" He chuckled to himself, watching one person from the coupled groups collect their things. Deceit offered every time they had an experiment to get the necessary items needed but his partner, Logan Atlas, always brushed him off and collected them himself - Deceit supposed it was a 'perfectionist' thing as he certainly preferred to do things his way or he became extremely rigid and blatantly uncomfortable. Deceit didn't care enough about this dammed lesson to give a shit, he wouldn't go out of his way to do the work unless he really cared about it and wanted to be apart of it - which he never does. He's content doing little things Logan can't do all by himself and simply marvel as Logan works the experiment to perfection each and every time. Deceit only needed to see him work in one lesson to truly see his passion in the subject, so much so he rarely speaks to his seat partner.

Everyone in the class was coupled with someone, that someone they'd be with for the rest of the year, and the teacher always made sure it wasn't someone they knew. He loved when people made new friends, and that often got in the way of his compassion for students with anxiety, or who simply have a hard time talking to strangers. Luckily Deceit wasn't like that, but his brother was, although Virgil dropped chemistry classes from the start of the year, which eased the brother who (even if they were twins) always acted like the elder.

Back to the main topic at hand, Deceit often had a hard time with his partner. While Logan was exceptionally smart, and not just in chemistry, talking to him was like making conversation with a wall and expecting an answer. He had managed to get a few things out of him, like how he's majoring in chemistry, he has a twin brother, and was attracted to men - plus a few other things, preferred colour, all time favourite book, etc. However Deceit was surprised to learn he was gay - not because it didn't seem like he was, more because usually that can be sensitive information and the two barely knew each other.

Either way, Deceit was touched Logan trusted him.

"Can you believe I've never done anything more boring than this in my life?" Deceit started conversation, he wasn't one for awkward silence, especially if it were a moment where conversation would be beneficial. "No" Logan responded, half paying attention, half focused on the stop watch. "This is very intriguing" he added as an explanation, waiting for the exact moment to stop the timer, which he did five seconds later, jotting down the results. Deceit copied from his book and placed his pen back down, resting his chin on his fist.

Rather abruptly, Logan let out a curse as his elbow knocked against the cup of water. There was only a bit left but still spilled across the table. Deceit pulled his book away, righting the cup and flickering his eyes to his nerdy partner. "Not on your A-game today, huh?" He commented, Logan shook his head and paused the experiment. "A mistake, we all make them" he dismissed, looking across the room for some paper towels, he hasn't needed to use them yet - even if he's had many classes already, he was typically very careful.

"Here" Deceit used the poster from earlier that morning, placing it on the small puddle, soaking it up. "Ah, thank you" Logan took a double take at the poster, eying the saltwater fish pictured on the front. Then he read the headline underneath in big, bold letters.

"An all time favourite clownfish, Nemo!"

"What?" Logan whispered, picking up the poster carefully and reading the description further.

"Looking for a marvellous Nemo for your little one? Then look no further! We have the perfect guy waiting for a home, one of a kind, rare species, for only one winner! Enter before it's too late"

"That seems rather unethical" Logan commented, eyebrows furrowed. "These creatures are saltwater, and need extra care otherwise they will not live for long. I fear whoever might enter this competition won't even bare that in mind - even worse, know the difference between saltwater and fresh water" he rambled, over the years he had become more passionate for animal care, due to his brother, and knows some animals get poorly mistreated simply because they are seen as a 'cool' and 'exotic' pet bought with no prior research committed.

"It's only one" Deceit commented, Logan huffed. "My brother has been looking for a pet recently"

"It's unfortunate dorms don't allow them" Deceit added, gazing at Logan who wobbled his bottom lip between his teeth. "I...sir?" He turned around, calling for the teacher's attention. The man grinned and waddled over to his (secretly) favourite student, gazing at his work with pride. "Wonderful work-"

"Are we allowed fish as pets in the dormitories?" He cut him off, still gripping the poster in his hands, even if it was ready to fall apart. The teacher closed his mouth for a moment in thought, "I don't see why not. The rules don't say a thing about fish"

Logan turned to Deceit, "will you help me? I don't think I can win this competition alone" his voice edging on a begging tone, Deceit couldn't help but say yes.

—

Later in the afternoon Logan and Deceit agreed to meet up in the cafeteria during their shared one hour break, Logan was already sitting down at a table with a poster in front of him - he managed to find one laying on the college floor, it was horribly unsanitary but at least it wasn't wet and ripped.

"Hello" Deceit murmured, taking the spot opposite him. "Ah, Deceit" Logan sat up and twisted the paper around, pushing it towards him. "It doesn't state what the competition is at all, I have done some research but it lacks any sort of media coverage, not even a face book page"

"We have to go to the location they set up in" Deceit explained without even reading it, Logan nodded. "Yes, I- you must've read it before"

Deceit chuckled, "no, I can merely read your mind"

Logan cocked his eyebrow then shook his head, "I hope it isn't something stupid - we should be in the age range as it's directed at parents"

"Speak for yourself, Honey, I'm not a parent"

Logan sighed and stood up, sliding the poster into his bag. "Neither am I, I simply mean we are both adults" he clarified and Deceit knew that, he just liked to rile up the smart boy. He followed Logan outside of the building, across campus and towards the street, over the road was a bus stop which took them to the centre of town, close to the location of the competition. The drive was only ten minutes, they'd make it there and back in time for their classes.

"If you don't mind me prying" Deceit started as they both sat down in the bus shelter. "Why are you so adamant about a simple fish? It can end up in a safe home" ever since he noticed the poster he's been intrigued, and Deceit simply couldn't see Logan caring about an animal this much, he did mention his brother, but why wouldn't he make his brother enter the competition instead?

"I'd feel like I'd be letting my brother down if I let the fish go to a home possibly unaware of its needs. And I cannot hand the responsibility to him, if that is what you may suggest, as... he cannot save all animals by himself. He desperately wants a pet and sometimes it is upsetting to watch, I just want to make him happy" he admitted, looking down at his hands, resting idly in his lap. Deceit watched him for a moment, then smiled.

"I commend you. If anyone deserves that fish, it will be you"

Logan let out a short breath-like chuckle, sending Deceit a quirk of his lips. "Thank you"

The bus journey was shorter than usual due to the two having someone to talk to. Not so focused on his work Logan actually opened up and spoke a lot about what he wanted to get out of college, and how he'll hopefully work in a lab somewhere. Chemistry has been his passion since childhood, something that made him happy.

"Ever since our mother passed away when we were seven years of age, reading chemistry books brought me out of that dark time. Of course, my brother had it much worse than I, our father even more - she was the reason my brother loves animals so much, and half the reason he's planning to become a zoologists, to take after her work, and he is exceptionally good - it is nice to remind him that she would be proud, as I think he sometimes forgets" he chatted, the last note a little solemn, but mostly bittersweet.

"I am dreadfully sorry to hear, Logan. Losing a parent is a horrible thing to go through, and I am blessed to still have both of my own. I couldn't even imagine. However..." he reached over and patted his shoulder, "she'd be proud of you to - going out of your way to push aside your studies and enter a competition for a fish? You're doing the right thing. I can't say I agree with the notion of heaven and hell, but I would believe she'd be smiling down at you right now" he concluded, a tad surprised to see his eyes red with unshed tears. He doesn't often express much emotions, to see this was... a breakthrough in their friendship.

"Thank you, Deceit" he murmured, voice wavering as he pulled out his handkerchief from his pocket, dabbing his eyes dry. "That means a lot. I...suppose I often forget too" he admitted, but then straightened up, clearing his throat. "Our stop is here. Shall we?" Understanding the conversation was over, Deceit nodded and rose from his chair just as the bus parked outside the shelter.

They walked off the bus and across the street towards town square where, like the poster stated, a stand stood with a few men around it, all wearing dark blue shirts, a picture of a cartoon clownfish - specifically Nemo - printed largely onto the back.

A few adults were there, either looking at the cardboard-boards expressing the rules and competition requirements, while others were talking to the men.

As the two boys neared, one of the workers grinned and hurried over, hands clasped. "Are you here for the competition?"

"Yes, please" Logan nodded in agreement and the man beamed, ushering them over to the stand. Inside was another man, sitting on a stool and reading a magazine, completely disinterested in the world around him. Logan then gaped as he saw the fish, the poor fish in a tank way too small with no plant life - rather plastic objects designed to look like a sunken ship and bits of debris. While there was no issue with having those, they needed to be cleaned throughly which he wouldn't be surprised if they weren't. More importantly, there wasn't a single ounce of life other than the fish! Logan could explode at the workers, but that could mean they wouldn't allow entry, and he couldn't have that.

Deceit noticed his change in demeanour when he saw the tank, and he assumed it wasn't at all what the fish needed to survive and keep healthy. He knew next to nothing about animal life, his parents hated them - both Deceit and Virgil knew not to even ask for a fish.

"Our competition is based around underwater creatures, obviously, and you will need to submit and A3 - or larger - drawing of underwater life! It can be a painting, stencilled, coloured with crayons! Any sort of medium of art! We will be judging the best one, and the winner will be announced in two days! Any questions?" He looked between the boys, Logan swallowed and looked at his friend who looked back.

"Any specific aquatic animals?"

The man shook his head, "nope! As long as it's underwater and has at least one fish, you're free to do whatever"

Logan nodded, he wasn't an artist to any degree, he could barely draw a stick figure. Still, he couldn't leave this fish without trying. "Yes, I will enter"

The man vibrated in delight, "what about you?" He directed at Deceit while grabbing the entry form, the boy shook his head. "No thank you, fish don't interest me" he dismissed and the man shrugged, focusing solely on Logan who jotted down his information rather speedily - he could naturally write very quick with pristine handwriting but as he needed these people to read it, he relented from cursive and separated each letter.

"There y-"

"Perfect!" The man ripped the paper from his hand and landed it on the pile, "the entry fee is fifteen dollars and if you don't hand in an entry the fine is fifty dollars, have a nice day!" With that he parted and moved onto another adult who was nearing, Logan watched him go in bewilderment while Deceit snorted. "I smell a scam" he murmured and Logan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

As they walked away, he expressed his concerns. "I cannot draw" he dragged a hand through his hair, "if I try it won't look like a fish at all! I'm certainly not going to win, even if I was the only one to enter. They wouldn't accept my work thinking it was an offence or a joke" he lamented, Deceit smirked.

"It's a good thing my brother an art major, hm?" At the mention Logan brightened up "he is?"

Deceit chuckled, "the only reason he's here is due to his art scholarship. Our parents paid for my tuition as they affirmed my interest in law - unfortunately they couldn't see Virgil's art going anywhere and refused to pay. They're certainly the best parents anyone could ask for" he rolled his eyes, thinking of the hardships his poor brother's been through because of them breaks his heart.

"I am sorry to hear that - would he be willing to draw this? In two days, no less?"

Deceit shrugged, "I wish I could give you an honest answer, Honey, but I have no idea. We'll have to go find out"

Logan nodded slowly, then turned to Deceit with a small, genuine smile. "Thank you for helping me"

Deceit smiled back, "it's my pleasure"

—

Virgil watched his brother walk away to chemistry class with a hidden smile, once he was out of sight he turned on his heel and walked over to his dormitory. He had a bit of time before his first class and wanted to finish of his art piece he should've finished sooner as homework - what can he say? He's a procrastinator.

Heading up the stairs to the second floor he walked down the hallway to the end where his room was located. He didn't know many others on the floor, or in the entire building - he didn't willingly make new friends, but did talk to whoever made conversation with him. He knew the boy next to him was named Frank, and opposite him Roman, but other than that he was lost.

The only good thing about living on this floor was hearing Roman's singing. He barely knew the boy but knew one thing for sure - his voice was angelic. He purposely wakes up early sometimes to hang out in the showers while Roman sings, nothing creepy, at least he wouldn't want to be seen as creepy. Maybe he should be more discrete.

And while he was attractive, he wasn't really Virgil's type. Too extravagant, extroverted, flirtatious. Virgil didn't think he'd be able to handle him most days. Not that they would ever date, Virgil just had a tendency to imagine what it would be like to date someone - especially the attractive boys. Well, only the boys due to the fact he was; the homo.

Entering his room he shut the door with his foot and picked up his large folder, too large in his opinion but it held all his A3 pieces neatly so he supposed he could suffer for it. Pulling out his unfinished drawing of a flower he sat down at his desk, gathered the necessary supplies for his water painting and continued with the light flow of music in the background.

The theme given was death, unsurprisingly as their teacher was quite gothic - she had to stick to the curriculum, otherwise she'd only make them draw things with dark and rather upsetting pieces - however for homework she could decide, and Virgil didn't expect her to give them anything other than creations to do with her gothic nature. Not that he minded personally, but he felt for the students who might be disheartened by it.

He decided to draw a rose that looked alive and well, but was plucked and left on the ground - symbolic, almost, that death can be beautiful. He knew the teacher liked those sort of messages in her student's art so this was merely for brownie points.

Twenty minutes later Virgil was stressed, boys in the hallway wouldn't stop making a commotion and he couldn't handle their bickering any longer. He planned to put on headphones to block them out but first he wanted to see what the issue was. Rising from his seat he pulled open the door and looked out, not fully stepping out to avoid getting into whatever trouble they were having.

"-whatever the fuck, who gives a shit?" A tired looking boy growled to another who was holding some white fabric, Virgil couldn't tell what it was for it was scrunched up in his hand. He guessed it was a shirt? But he could be wrong. And he was.

"I give a shit! She doesn't belong here, she needs to stay in the girls dorms!" And Virgil thought he understood, someone had a girl over and the boy was either jealous he couldn't have the same thing or he simply found it unfair, for whatever reason, Virgil couldn't see why.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Virgil flinched back as the door opposite whipped open and Roman stepped out, holding a script in his hands. "Can you children not have this argument someplace else? I'm practicing in here and your relentless bickering is causing me a great headache!" He lamented, the angrier boy rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut it, theatre nerd" he fired back, but it only caused an amused reaction. He snorted, cocking an eyebrow. "What are you, five? This isn't high school sweetheart, get over yourself. Besides, who cares who's sleeping with a girl? It's human nature, don't be jealous that you can't get it" He sassed and Virgil hid a chuckle in his sleeve, staring at Roman who glanced at him and winked.

"What?" The other boy exasperated, "we're not talking about fucking girls! He can't get over the fact he's sharing a dorm with a trans man!"

And in that moment Virgil nearly fainted, all colour soaked out of him like a sponge with water - his anxiety skyrocketed and curled in his stomach like a fiery beast clawing it's way out. Whether or not they were talking about him mattered extremely, he wanted to hide the fact he was trans the entire time he lived here, and did a pretty good job for the first month but obviously not enough for as soon as he said that he recognised the white fabric in the other boy's hand - it was his binder, well one of them, he had a few and must've left it in the shower room while he was changing. Shit, shit, shit.

"With a girl!" The boy corrected, eyes fiery flames. "I can't believe any of this shit- you're born a girl, you're a fucking girl"

With tears rimming his eyes Virgil darted back into his dorm and shut the door, sliding to the ground and curling up into a ball. This couldn't be happening, not again, he can't live through the same treatment he suffered with at home.

Virgil was suddenly snapped from his thoughts when he heard a thud and a cry of pain, stricken with fear he opened the door a crack to see what was going on, shocked to find Roman looming over the transphobic boy who clutched his bleeding nose. "I dare you to say that again" he snarled, the other boys who had been watching the fight all started in surprise, but in no means ready to help the boy on the ground from his impending doom.

Roman knelt down and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him close to his face. "Listen bitch - I don't care how you were raised, what you believe, but if you ever say that again around people who will be extremely affected by it you'll be kicked out of this place faster than you can apologise, you disgusting filth" Roman physically spat in his face before standing up from the ground, and like nothing had happened elegantly strode back to his dorm, but before entering he turned around to survey the onlookers.

"Next time don't be a coward and say something" with that he disappeared back into his room with a door slam, the boys began murmuring to themselves as they went back into their rooms while others left the building to go to class - but if they were to pass the transphobe on the floor they'd give him a kick and an insulting spit.

Virgil shut the door and sighed out, while he did feel better everyone was so willing to disagree with that boy and put him in his place he still felt horrible - he didn't want everyone to know he was different, even if he was a boy, no matter what, he would still get treated that slight bit differently... he just wanted it to be a secret, and while he was blessed with the fact he could easily pass, he could still be caught if he wasn't careful.

Picking himself up he went to go sit down when a knock at the door startled him, fear coursing through his veins at the thought it was the transphobe but the boy spoke up; "it's me, Roman? The one across"

And he was relieved. Opening the door he stared up at the boy taller than he with a small, grateful smile. "Uh, hey, what's up?"

Roman glanced down the hallway before revealing his hand, holding the white binder which he folded neatly. "Is this yours..?"

Virgil felt sick to the stomach, Roman must've saw his reaction to the earlier boy's comment and put two and two together. "I-um..it's- I.." he stammered, taking an inch back and slowly meeting Roman's face with his eyes. "Please don't tell anyone" he whispered, begged, and Roman's eyebrows shot up in surprise - he didn't expect Virgil to sound so scared.

"Never, ever, I promise" Roman agreed, stepping into the room and closing the door. "I-I only knew because you hid away...it's not obvious or anything- not that that matters, you're still a man. And you belong here, in the boy's dorms" Roman hurried out, not wanting to hurt the boy's feelings in any way. He had never met someone who was transgender before, at least to his knowledge, but knew they faced a lot of shit and really didn't want to say the wrong thing.

Virgil nodded his head slightly, staring at his carpeted ground that was suddenly extremely interesting. "Thanks, uh... and thanks for hitting that guy, he's a jerk" Virgil murmured softly, fiddling with his sleeves by pulling them over his hands. "It was my pleasure, my job as Prince of the Dormitories is to slay beasts like him! If he ever causes trouble again just call my name and I'll be there to save the day - as usual" Virgil couldn't help but snort into his hand, staring at him with a risen eyebrow.

"You're a theatre major, aren't you?"

Roman laughed, "of course! The best major one can take, what about you? I see you like your art" Roman crossed the room to look at the rose, Virgil blushed and hurried to his side to close it but after noticing how awe-struck he seemed he... didn't. He only let teachers and Deceit see his work, extremely self-conscious over it otherwise.

"It's beautiful.." he murmured, reaching to touch it but then thought better and retracted his hand. "Almost..." he grinned, "almost as beautiful as me"

Virgil sighed while Roman stepped back to laugh, as he did he finally shut the folder, gazing up at Roman who still chuckled to himself. "Oh I do make myself laugh" he mumbled, looking at the bed before deciding yes, he would leave the binder towards the pillows, not wanting to bring any more attention to it.

"Well, Virgil, we should talk more often! I like you" Virgil choked on air, being complimented by such an attractive man never came frequently, and made him quite flustered. In result Roman giggled, but didn't bother him more over it.

"Yeah, uh..thanks again"

"Like I said, no problem" Roman turned to the door, "have any classes for today?"

Virgil trailed his hand across the folded, "yeah um, later, I need to go to the forest at the edge of town though...for reference shots, of nature and shit. I'm doing a visual arts major, to answer your earlier question" the more he spoke the more confident he became, which made him feel...proud of himself. Not to toot his own horn but talking to new people never came easy to him, maybe Roman had that presence, he seemed easy to get a long with and obviously his social anxiety approved of him.

"Oh! I can see why, Vincent Van Gogh cannot compare to thee!" Roman threw his arm in his direction and Virgil chuckled, pushing it away playfully. "Whatever, Princey, but yeah...my brother's busy though so guess I can't" he shrugged with a sigh, grabbing his bag and shoving away his pencil case.

Roman stared at him, confused by his response. "Why does your brother need to be present?"

"Oh, I'm not... comfortable visiting the town on my own yet, I know I've been here for awhile but..anxiety, y'know?" He shrugged meekly, yet Roman nodded his head in understanding. "Do you need to go now? I'll be happy to tag alone" he suggested, Virgil stared at him in surprise, fidgeting with his sleeves again.

"Really? You don't have class or? Not that we'd be gone for long or anything-"

"Don't worry about it" Roman cut off his worries, "it's physics, who cares about physics?" He threw his voice around as he spoke, then grinned at Virgil. "Come on, I'd love to get some fresh air! I haven't visited that forest in forever"

And it was settled. Virgil collected his photography gear and the two were out of the dorms and heading over to the bus stop. It was a short twenty minute drive to the outskirts of town, while sitting beside each other Virgil was content to listen to Roman's endless rants about college drama, something about the sporty kids getting on his nerves being so hot yet homophobic at the same time.

"And-oh! You will not believe what she said to me after, I was appalled! I haven't spoken to her since" Roman finished once they walked off the bus, gazing at a pathway that split off from the quiet street. "Uh huh, that's great" Virgil mumbled, mostly focused on his camera he was currently setting up. Roman took a few steps towards the trees and brought in a deep breath, the relaxing scent of nature calming him down and making him feel incredible.

"What do we need pictures of?" Roman asked, turning to his companion. Virgil put the camera around his neck once it was on and ready, "just wide shots of the landscape" he replied, walking along the path with Roman right beside him, hands clasped behind his back, taking in everything.

"I can't recall if I mentioned but I also have a brother, a twin, a...nuisance" Roman started conversation, remembering to why he was here in the first place - being that person Virgil needed as his own brother was busy.

Virgil snorted, bending down slightly to take shots at different angles. "A nuisance, huh? Guess I got lucky..." he drifted, flickering through the photos, satisfied with what he took. It didn't need to be perfect, simply something he could use in his landscape drawings.

"You did- my brother is gruesome" Roman sighed, but didn't love him any less. "Tell me about your own! Is he wonderful, hot like you?"

Virgil took a moment but blushed to the tips of his ears when he registered Roman's flirt, sending him a half-assed glare. "Shut up, flirt" Roman laughed but still insisted he told him about his sibling, so with a sigh he did.

"Yeah he's great, people have called him hot I guess, he doesn't really date though...focused on finding 'the one' which-"

"OH!" Roman cut him off, startling the boy who stared at him in bewilderment. "The one? Oh! We already have so much in common! I've been dyer to find the one too! Tell me more, please?" Roman begged and Virgil huffed, "which I find stupid" he continued, "how does he know who the one is if he doesn't even have a type?"

Roman sighed wistfully, "someone's type is a person, Virgil! Someone whomst they love with all their heart! Would do anything for! My type, my type..." Roman thought for a moment, "my type is the person whom I want to spend the rest of my life with, grow old with, start a family with! Adopt a few boisterous ones who will run around the house, playing their imaginary games. I simply cannot wait!" He exploded gleefully, while Virgil thought that was touching, he was still the type to respond to most situations in a joking way.

"Sorry dude, I can't take anyone who says 'whom' seriously"

Roman rolled his eyes, "is that all you learnt from that!?"

"No, no" Virgil carried on further into the forest, diverting off the path with Roman close behind. "My brother, Deceit, is actually really similar. He believes in love at first sight, blah blah, and has an appreciation for theatre" Roman was close to swooning over a boy he doesn't even know! Goodness.

"I must meet him, oh I must! Please? Take me to him?" Roman pleaded to his new found friend who turned to Roman with an exasperated yet unsurprised look, "y'know? Whatever dude, it'll be nice to hear him stop complaining about being single"

Roman brightened like a star, "you mean, you approve of me?!"

Virgil smirked lightly, "I do...but if you hurt him I'll kill you"

Roman smirked right back, "I'll never dream of it"

—

"His art class finished five minutes ago" Deceit murmured as they headed to the dorms, "and we still have ten minutes" he added, referring to their next lesson - Deceit had law while Logan had biology. "What's his name again?" Logan questioned as they climbed up the stairs to the second floor of the building, the walls around them marked with small graffiti and name tags. Logan and Patton stayed on the bottom floor, so he never had a use for the staircase - maybe if he made friends and visited their rooms but usually his studies got in the way of making friendships.

"Virgil" Deceit replied, holding the door open for his friend who smiled in gratitude. They passed by a few boys who were all staring at a billboard for news updates and clubs being held in the college - his room was right at the end, with no sort of sticker or plaque on the door like the other ones in the building. Virgil didn't like to do anything to draw attention.

Opening the door without knocking, as it was Deceit's dorm too, Virgil looked up from his side of the room, brightening when he saw his brother but stilling when he saw a stranger, however recognised him to be Deceit's smart chemistry partner he pointed out.

"Hey" Virgil murmured, turning back to his work, expecting the two to hang out on Deceit's bed or something along the lines but was surprised when Deceit stood beside him. "Brother of mine, we need your help" he began, gesturing to his tag along who waited by the door politely.

"With what..?" Virgil drifted, eying the two suspiciously. Deceit grinned, "my friend Logan here has joined a competition, he must submit a drawing of the ocean - with a few aquatic life - to win, unfortunately he can't draw for a dime - would you be so kind to help us? We'd appreciate it immensely" he tempted with a simper, leaning over his brother who put down his paint brush and sighed.

"Why enter a competition you can't even compete in" he muttered while walking over to his bed. "From the kindness of his heart - he wants to save a fish" Deceit surmised, watching his brother pull out a dark blue folder from his collection, flopping it onto his bed and skimming through the pages.

"A fish?" Virgil deadpanned, "christ- if it's a goldfish—"

"On the contrary" Deceit cut him off, "it's a clownfish"

Virgil's hands hovered, then he looked over at Logan. "A clownfish? One that needs sea water or whatever?"

"A saltwater fish, yes" Logan affirmed, "I cannot let it go to a home where it will be mistreated and suffer with it's owners lack of understanding"

Virgil felt a bit better about it now, realising Logan really was doing something good, rather than trying to win a cool fish for popularity or whatever. He carried on searching until he withdrew an A3 sheet of cardboard, revealing an outstanding image of the ocean, a clear view of the seabed covered with creatures both Logan and Deceit had never seen before, all living in harmony. There were a few fish swimming, but it was mainly focused on the sand and it's home for dwellers.

"That's incredible" Logan murmured, standing beside Deceit after he gestured for him to come inside, gazing at the drawing in awe. He didn't know what to expect, but he trusted Virgil would be a good artist - and he was proven right.

"I don't know if you'll get this back" Logan advised, Virgil shrugged. "It is a scam, clearly. I wouldn't be surprised if they collected all the work and sold it as their own. Would you be okay with that?" Deceit added, gazing at his brother seriously, that look that Virgil knew - he'd call out a lie if he sensed it, which he was extremely good at.

"Honestly? It's not my best, I couldn't give less of a shit if whoever-the-fuck sold it off. If someone wants it, even just a slight bit, they want it more than me" Virgil reassured, giving the piece to Logan who held the edges delicately. "Thank you, Virgil. I shall give you something in return if you desire-"

Virgil held up his hand, "don't, really. I need to start getting rid of old drawings so..you're doing me a favour"

Logan understood that giving him a gift would only make him uncomfortable, so he settled for simply thanking him. "I shall hand it in tomorrow, I fear they might realise I cheated if I do today" Virgil snorted, sitting back down in his seat. "Oh, we can't let that happen" he sarcastically quipped, making Deceit roll his eyes fondly.

"This is for the greater good, Virgil. Now- we should be off to class, hm?"

"Ah, yes, of course" Logan nodded and the two walked to the door, but Virgil stopped them. "Oh, De?"

"Yes?" The boy threw him a look over his shoulder, "this boy I was with earlier, he wants to meet you, Roman Kingsley?" Deceit tried to cast his mind back to find whoever that was, but he hadn't come across someone of that name before. "What ever for?"

"You're both really common or some shit, he says he also wants to 'find the one' and... is majoring in theatre" he explained lamely, but Deceit was snagged. "Wonderful, I'll find him as soon as I can, thank you Virgil" with a newfound grin Deceit left the room, Logan bid Virgil a farewell before following suit, closing the door behind him.

Virgil held his headphones and sighed, of course, he should've known his brother would be as excited to meet him too.

—

"This place is beautiful!" Patton marvelled to the waiter ready to take his order. They grinned and gave the place a quick once over too, "thank you, I..came up with the idea awhile ago, I'm glad it came to fruition" he chuckled softly, "I hope it lasts, I can't believe the prior vegan cafe closed down so quick" he then frowned, Patton copied, both disheartened by the loss of a lovely place that really could have benefitted the town.

"Hopefully! I have high hopes for this place! I'll be telling all my friends" Patton gushed and his waiter smiled genuinely, touched by how excited this customer was. "Thank you, that means a lot...um, what can I get you?"

"Oh! Yes, I'll have..." Patton surveyed the menu quickly, "this! Vegan chilli?" The waiter nodded and hurriedly wrote it down, "with some orange juice, please" Patton giggled softly, laying the menu down on the table. "Yes, of course, coming right up" they took the menu, gave him one more smile and left to the counter. Patton hummed delightedly and looked out the window, the view of the well kept street and gentle bustle of civilians gave it a wonderful atmosphere - simply the perfect place for this cafe.

He just wished he wasn't alone. He had many friends but they were mostly college friends, aka ones he'd spend time with in college, but none he'd really hang out with outside - not his choice! They simply never take up his offers, or offer themselves. He had a few online friends too, but obviously being in a different country they couldn't come here either.

It would be great to spend time here with his family. Maybe when his father came down they'd, including Logan, have a fun time in town. The more he thought about it the wider he smiled - yeah, that would be nice.

Someone abruptly sitting opposite him snapped him from his thoughts, wide eyes staring at the boy who screamed 'bad boy' from just his appearance. How could he wear a turtleneck and seem scary?

"Boo" he cooed, Patton tilted his head, confused but amused. "Hello, can I help you?"

"As a matter of fact" the boy began, laying his arms across the table in a slutty manner, "you can. But first-" the stranger leaned back and waved over the waiter, calling he'd have whatever he (Patton) was having, to which the waiter nodded and added to the order.

"I'm Remus, you are?" He held a hand to his chest as he greeted him, "I'm Patton! I...think I've seen you around before" he then added, Remus smirked. "Oh you have! I'm the boy who's had sex with every girl in our college"

Patton blushed, "oh, yes, that's you.." he murmured, not at all judgemental to Remus' life decisions, or the girls decisions either, he's just easy to become flustered. "It is! And you're the little twink from the bottom floor~" he mused, Patton blushed further and awkwardly shifted in his seat, having no idea what the word 'twink' meant but knowing it had sexual undertones.

"Let me guess... in a wild turn of events, you're the top to Logan's bottom?"

Patton furrowed his eyebrows, "Logan?" He repeated, "my brother?" He then added, Remus' eyes widened, "record scratch...?" He mumbled, then grinned, shooting forward and making Patton flinch back. "You're brothers? That means Lolo's...single?"

Patton let out a short giggle, he could sense where this was going. "Yep! Single and ready to mingle" he replied, Remus grimaced and leaned back in his chair. "Disgusting phrasing, but that's...great" he looked to the floor for a few seconds in thought, then turned back to Patton.

"Enough of that- now we're friends I need your help"

Patton brightened, "we're friends?"

Remus, surprised by his excited tone and a little touched, nodded. "Duh! My little twink" he winked, then reached into his pocket and drew out a crumpled piece of paper which he unfolded and spread across the table, spinning it around and pushing it to Patton who leant forward to read the scribbled words.

"I've had a little...trouble" Remus explained, "with an old friend of mine. If you sign that paper I'll do everything I can to protect you, but you have to come with me on a small trip to the beach" Patton looked up quickly after deciphering most of the more, explaining in further detail what Remus already said.

"Wh..I..what is this?" He whispered, suddenly filled with dread. He doesn't often judge someone based on looks but he could tell Remus was the type to become involved with not the kindest of people, why he wants him to tag along he really didn't know.

"Nothing serious! Just an old friend, please?" Remus stuck out his bottom lip, Patton's eyes drifted back down to the paper which Remus placed a pen on top of.

"Why me?" Patton murmured, "I'm from out of town, none of my stinky friends are willing to travel aaaallll the way here so I decided to pick on the cutest boy in our dorms. Trust me~! No one's attacking someone so innocent looking" Remus then blatantly gave Patton a once over and he blushed his entire face red, gripping his hands into balls nervously.

"I-...I want to help" he gave in softly, it was in his nature to do whatever he could for people. "But I'm scared" he added quietly and Remus cooed, sitting over the table. "Look at me" Remus gestured ro himself, "ya think anyone could get past me? I'll protect you, twink" he promised and Patton wobbled his bottom teeth between his lips, he knew his brother would be seriously upset with him if he took up this offer, it wasn't safe in the slightest and Patton barely knew Remus, could he trust him?

But they were friends now so...

Patton slowly signed the note and Remus giggled manically, stowing it away in his pocket along with the pen. "Well, new friend of mine, you're about to have an adventure of a life time" he winked. Patton giggled nervously, "I sure am..."

Over the course of their lunch Patton learnt quite a bit about his new friend, he was studying biology, majoring in it in fact - he had a brother, Roman, than Patton did know and trust. They weren't friends, merely acquaintances that sat beside each other in social studies on the first day and didn't move since.

The more they spoke, the more Patton relaxed and even laughed at some of Remus' outbursts, not all of them however. "And then we'd see all the intestines-"

"Remus, maybe you shouldn't say that in public.." Patton murmured, placing his cutlery in the bowl. The boy pouted dramatically, "why not?"

"Some people may not be comfortable"

Remus scoffed, then narrowed his eyes. "Is that you?"

"Well..." he sighed, shifting in his seat. "I really like animals and thinking about them like that isn't nice" he explained, Remus glared down at the table, more angry at himself for making his friend upset. He didn't expect to actually like Patton, but getting to know him over this short lunch actually changed his mind. Not having many 'good' friends growing up this was a change and he liked it. Contrary to popular believe Remus didn't always want to be bad, or do bad things, he did want to be 'normal' sometimes and he'd grown attached to Patton. Plus he wouldn't hear the end of it from Logan if he got him hurt.

He looked up when Patton placed a hand on his, "don't be upset, it's okay"

Remus shrugged, "what if I...said those things about people instead?"

Patton giggled and squeezed his hand, "I guess that would be less uncomfortable" he agreed and Remus instantly grinned, forgetting all about his bad mood in favour of carrying on with the conversation, but avoiding animals unless they were involved in a nice way.

Once everything was paid for (they split the bill) the two walked out of the cafe and towards the parking lot.

"What do you say? A nice trip to the beach" Remus mused and Patton giggled, "well, I don't think we'll be playing in the sand" he joked, Remus cackled and agreed, jumping into his car. Patton did the same on the passenger side and the two were off down the street, both singing along to the music that came through Remus' phone.

"What happened with the old friend anyway?" Patton started conversation when Remus turned down the volume as they were nearing. The boy scoffed in annoyance at the thought, "he stole from me" his grip tightened on the wheel, "and thinks he can get away with it, obviously he doesn't know no one messes with me" his voice lowered to a growl and Patton stared at him in concern, not at all fearing for his own safety. He trusted Remus. Something about him just said...loyal. Even if he could obviously beat someone up, he wouldn't do it to a friend.

The car parked and the two jumped out, the beach (as usual) was pretty empty, the town was only filled with college students and the elderly, other than that one never really saw a family being raised here. Which was why it was quite easy to find a quiet place when most students were studying or in class.

They walked across the barren parking lot to a parked, dirty truck right at the end. Outside of it was a chair, and a man sitting on it, legs stretched out but shorter than Patton expected. On closer examination he noted the man looked like he'd been in an accident of some sort, for his left arm was covered with a burn mark, reaching up to his neck and pausing at his jaw line.

He heard footsteps and looked over, his blasé expression shifting to neutral when he saw Remus approaching. Stubbing out his fag on the plastic arm rest, leaving a black mark along with the rest, he stood up. Patton was honestly surprised at how short he was, must've been exactly five foot - however he didn't say anything, or look for too long, this was Remus' business, not his own.

"What do you want, Remus?" He coughed out roughly, throat destroyed with the cigars he smoked daily. Remus crossed his arms, jutting his hip out to the side. "You know what, you money hoarding bastard" the man simply laughed and hobbled over to his truck, Remus followed close behind. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" he shrugged, "whatever the fuck" Remus spat, glaring down the man.

"Give. Me. The. Money!" He demanded in a tone that made Patton step back, sure a fight would break out.

The man side eyed Patton, smirking. "Really brought an eye witness, huh?"

Remus's jaw clenched, "I said-"

"I can't give you the damn money" The man cut him off, becoming agitated himself. Patton quivered, taking a step back, ready to whip out his phone and call someone if this got out of hand. Maybe Roman? They did swap numbers awhile back for a small project they worked on in class together. "Why the fuck not?" Remus hissed, stalking closer to the man who didn't seem at all bothered.

"I already spent it, you're two weeks too late - I have left overs if you want" he then waved a small bag of some kind of drug, but Remus was too pissed off to care, ripping the drugs and throwing them to the side, ready to start pummelling the man but taking a step back when a gun was jabbed into his stomach.

Patton gasped, eyes welling up with fearful tears. "Remus, this...this isn't worth it" he cried, covering his mouth as he watched the scene play out. "Listen to your friend, kid" the man's eyes glowed with passion, but Remus wasn't as smart as the next guy - at least, didn't have as much common sense. Instead, he shot his arm forward and grabbed the gun, ripping it from his hand and using it to smash against his head.

The man let out a groan of pain, falling to the ground from the force, spluttering and heaving as a smoker's cough fit began. "Remus, please" Patton grabbed his arm and tugged him back, "let's go"

Remus stared at Patton for what seemed like forever, his eyes that pleaded with him, showing he truly cared about Remus' safety made him relent. "I'm not done with you" Remus muttered to the man who could barely stagger to his feet. The two turned and walked back to Remus' car, getting inside before the man could even say a word. Patton locked the doors and turned to his friend.

"Remus, he could've shot you!" He exclaimed, watching as Remus pulled the gun from his back pocket and yanked out the magazine, which was empty. "He's never owned bullets in his life. All bark, no bite, the fucker" he snarled, winding down his window and throwing the gun with great force towards the forest behind them.

"It...it can't be worth it, still"

"Five fucking grand, Patton!" Remus yelled, slamming his fists down onto his wheel. "He spent five fucking grand in two weeks!"

Admittedly Patton was shocked, more at the fact he managed to wrangle so much money from the boy. "Do you need it for anything?"

Remus paused, sighed, and shook his head. "I'm not in dept with anyone, if that's what you mean" he grumbled, picking at his nails. "I just hate being a fucking idiot. He tricked me- and I'm not supposed to get tricked! I could poison his water so fucking easily, they'd never track it back to me" Remus muttered, Patton reached forward and grabbed his hand tight.

"If you kill him I'll never forgive you. His life isn't worth that much effort. What if you get caught? You have so much going for you, Remus, please" Patton whispered, becoming teary eyed again - he couldn't help it, he was an emotional boy. "Don't kill him" he whispered, on the verge of sobbing.

Remus stared at him for a long while, his own bottom lip beginning to tremble. "I'm a fucking idiot" he muttered disdainfully, whipping at his eyes. "No you're not, Remus. Even the smartest person on Earth can get tricked! You could tell me anything, anything to do with biology, anatomy, genetics, couldn't you? That's pretty smart to me!" Patton managed a small, reassuring smile. Remus chuckled and gazed at his new friend, "you really think tha'?"

Patton nodded, "I do, I really do. You're one of the smartest people I know. Don't let meanies like that get you down. And don't ever let them bring you to this moment again"

Remus leaned back in his chair and sighed out, "thank ya, Pat. Glad I brought you along, I would've been a real idiot otherwise" he started the car, then shot a smirk at his friend. "Meanie? I was wrong" he scoffed, "you're such a bottom"

"Wh...hey!"

And the two laughed and smiled the entire car journey back to college.

—

It was the morning two days later to Logan entering the competition, as per usual he flicked through his emails while brushing his teeth - but one particular caught his eye. At first he assumed it was a scam or a virus, then he realised it was the competition, and he read over it speedily.

Patton, who was just sitting up in bed after waking up completely twenty minutes after Logan flinched in surprise when his brother rushed in and threw his phone onto the bed, sitting down to tug his shoes onto his feet (having already dressed for the day prior).

"Lo..?" Patton questioned in confusion, but he simply shook his head and gazed in the small mirror hanging on the wall, fixing his hair as best he could. "No time to talk, I shall see you later" Logan grabbed his phone and left the room without a further word no explanation, but poked his head back in a few seconds later. "And don't be late for class" with that he was off up to the second floor, squeezing past the jocks that were littered across the halfway half dressed.

He found Virgil's and Deceit's room, remembering from the first (and only) time he visited. Rapping on the door with quick succession, it was opened seconds later by a prim and pristine looking Deceit who grinned at his lap partner. "Hello there, Honey" he murmured, stepping aside to allow Logan in.

"I won" he cleared confusion from both brothers, Virgil sitting up in his bed. "The competition?" Deceit clarified, Logan nodded and showed him the email. "Well- Virgil won, regardless this means I can save the fish. I have already prepared the necessary items, which I will be able to set up later this morning while Patton is in class - but" Logan took his phone and shoved it into his trouser pocket.

"I only have half an hour to collect it before they start a new competition. They're scam artists for sure, will you come with me?" Logan inquired, gazing at Deceit somewhat pleadingly. He wouldn't have trouble in the town by himself, but he didn't know how trustworthy those men could be, and he'd much rather have someone by his side.

"I would but I have class" Deceit frowned, "I'd hate to miss it" he exaggerated the word with an eye roll, blatantly willing to skip class but Logan shook his head. "No, I won't take you away from your studies"

"I'll come?" Virgil suggested after the two paused to think. Both boys looked over at Virgil in surprise, but for Logan it changed to relief. "Oh, thank you. But we really need to leave now" he insisted, not wanting to risk being late.

"Yeah, yeah, on it" Virgil agreed, Deceit told Logan his brother would be right out and closed the door to leave Logan to wait in the hallway. "Are you sure, Honey?" He carefully asked, watching Virgil tug on his jacket and slip his feet into his shoes that he leaves tied up yet loose enough for him to pull on and off.

"Look-" he turned to his brother and ruffled his own hair, "I won't lie 'cus you'll just call it out- I'm kinda anxious, but I can fight, right? Besides, Lo's clearly desperate for that fish... I'll text you if I need to" he reassured, Deceit smiled gently and nodded, allowing his brother to leave after they shared a goodbye. He knew he shouldn't be so worried over his brother, they were both eighteen, they could look after themselves, he just cared about him a lot.

Sighing softly, he picked up his bag and began packing it ready for today's lessons, wondering if he'd see Logan in chemistry later that morning.

Meanwhile, Logan and Virgil were currently walking as fast as they could without seeming weird outside of the building and to the bus stop. "Christ- I don't leave my room enough for this" Virgil huffed as he tried to keep up with Logan who could move faster than anyone Virgil's ever seen while walking.

"Sorry" Logan glanced at him, after noticing his struggles he slowed down but not by much. "I really want that fish" he added, Virgil sighed, "I know, De said it's for your brother, right?" He questioned, relieved when they reached the stop so he could sit down on the bench. Logan nodded and gazed at the time schedule for busses, content when he saw one arriving in the next five minutes. They should make it in time.

"Um, yes, sorry" he finally registered Virgil's question, sitting beside him. "I suppose there are numerous reasons. My brother, Patton, always gives me his praise over everything I do. I..." Logan swallowed, fidgeting with the end of his tie. "I am lucky to have him, he has helped me through tough times and I hope I have helped him, even if I am useless with emotions" he added quietly, disdainfully at his lack of knowledge around feelings, even if he loathed them on the best of days.

"This fish means more than I originally hoped it would. I have become attached to something I haven't even named, but when I saw it on that poster I saw my brother, which is very odd I realise. However he rubs off on people, and after everything he's done for me it makes me want to give back in anyway I can. Which is through this fish who will hopefully live longer with me, as I know how to care for it after extensive research with Patton, than another family who might have won" Logan rambled without stopping, once he finished however he looked up at Virgil apologetically.

"Sorry, I did not mean to go on for so long"

However Virgil shook his head, "no, dude, that's...that's really sweet. I don't know your brother but he sounds great. And I'm sure he'll appreciate what you're doing" his words eased him and Logan managed a slight smile. "Thank you, Virgil. I wish I had made friends with Deceit and you sooner. I suppose I was caught up in my studies for so long, I have seen how happy friends make Patton, I have always wanted that but never really knew where to start" he then admitted, this morning his emotions had increased, not by much but any sort of increase for Logan was powerful.

"You can start here" Virgil gestured between them awkwardly, "if you want...you're cool, and De likes you so.." he began fiddling with his sleeves, waiting for Logan's response which he hesitated on, then smiled wider at. "That would be nice. Of course my studies will be top priority but if I am ever free in the afternoon or on the weekend we could possibly go on an outing or simply spend time together on campus" he suggested and Virgil hadn't expected this at all, but he wasn't complaining.

He did mean it when he said he thought Logan was cool, especially after admitting why he was doing this. Virgil respected him, and did legitimately want to be his friend. He, along with Deceit, didn't have many due to Virgil's anxiety and Deceit's lack of want for one, but now they had one in their grasp and they'd try and keep their nerd for as long as they could.

"That'd be great, Lo" Virgil agreed and the two shared more smiles just before the bus pulled up beside them.

Ten minutes later Logan was rushing off the bus and basically running to town square, with Virgil hurrying behind him. While he doesn't exercise much, if at all, he was a naturally fast runner and kept up with Logan who blatantly never runs if he had the choice. Virgil saw the stands in the distance, posters and boards of underwater life, all cartoons, especially the images of Nemo they used - Virgil was entirely sure they didn't have rights to use it, either.

"I am here!" Logan panted when he reached the main stall, "I'm here. Give me the fish" he stared at the two men who were sitting playing cards, they looked up, chuckling. "Sure, kid" the left on agreed and stood up, reaching under the counter to pull out the fish in the plastic bag, where it swam around, still full of life. Relieved he didn't look in bad condition, Logan twirled around and left without a word - the scammers didn't deserve it.

"This it?" Virgil gestured and Logan nodded, holding it up so the two could see. "I have a tank set up in my room. I told Patton it was for an experiment with algae, while it isn't the plant life will be perfect for him" he gestured to the fish and Virgil nodded in agreement. "How long will it survive in there?"

Logan stared at the back and sighed, "hard to say, I don't know how long they've kept it and I'm sure they did not keep track. Come on, let's get back before it is too late"

And the two hurried back to college.

—

With his first lesson over and done with, Deceit had a half an hour break until his next. With his brother and friend busy, he debated what to do. He could return to his room and read some law books, study up on other lessons... or find this Roman who Virgil said wanted to meet him. He had discovered their rooms were opposite each other, which he didn't know due to his lack of care about everyone else in the dormitories, and realised he was the man who would sing all the time.

Like Virgil, he loved to listen to it, but unlike Virgil he didn't express that to his brother. He liked to think of himself as romantic, but due to never dating someone before he was rather stifled with trepidation, he wanted to find 'the one' and unfortunately Roman may not be it, if the man was expecting to date someone who would be as charming and affectionate as him. Deceit could be both but not to his level, he'd need practice and he didn't know if Roman would want to be that tutorial, as it were, for him.

Still, he wanted to meet this man he unfortunately never had time for before, and knowing he spends most his time in the theatre that's the way he went. The auditorium was rather large, he had been in it a few times when the college would held seminars to give information out to it's students, but he's never been in here to watch performances or plays.

Opening up the door, he peered inside the darkened room, the only lights hovering over the stage. He spotted two girls walking from one end of the stage to the next and disappearing behind the curtains. Other than that the room was empty. Stepping in, the door silently shut behind him, enabling him to be discreet as he walked down the isle and right up to the tall stage, hoisting himself up onto it before realising there were stairs to the side. Rolling his eyes he walked further across the wood - the tapping of his shoes filled the silent room, which made him pause.

Should he look backstage? Is he even allowed? Roman might well be busy, or they might be preparing for a play and he was right in the middle of their production. Feeling like all he would be is a bother he turned to the stairs, ready to reside himself in his dorm when a second pair of footsteps from behind paused his movements and made him look over his shoulder.

There he was. Roman Kingsley. Staring right at him with a grin.

"You look familiar" he commented, Deceit straightened out his shirt and nodded. "My brother told you all about me" he restarted his memories, making his grin finally reach his eyes when he realised.

"Deceit? Oh!" He rushed forward in enthusiasm, "heavens...you're just as beautiful as I imagined" he murmured, making Deceit's cheeks colour pink.

"I-oh, thank you, Prince Charming" he quipped back a little shakily, Roman chuckled deeply and leant down, picking up his hand delicately and kissing his knuckles. Deceit watched in fascination, no one has ever given him that sort of affection before, it was new and made his heart race like a stampede was on it's tail.

"I've been thinking about you since your Dear brother first mentioned your name" Roman carried on, letting go of his hand slowly, and Deceit already missed the warmth. "And I cannot simply withheld myself from...asking you on a date? You are simply breathtaking and I would be at a loss for words if my heart didn't yearn for a Friday evening with you" he spoke with grace and charm that of a pure romantic, and Deceit's insides melted into goo, ready to swoon at any given moment.

His mouth opened but only incoherent whispers escaped, Roman grinned in amusement and stepped forward to the man who he shared the same height with. "The room opposite mine, yes?" Deceit nodded dumbly, Roman reached up to cup his cheek, able to feel how much it burned. "I fear I cannot wait so many days. If you are free tonight...?" He suggested with an eyebrow raise, again Deceit nodded, subconsciously tilting his head right into his palm.

While Roman kept a calm composure, his brain was going wild, especially his heart, both of which screaming and freaking out without means of stopping any time soon. Everything in him wanted Deceit and he'd make sure he'd have him.

"Wonderful. I'll see you at eight" with that Roman pulled him close and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, staring into his eyes that he knew he could become lost in for hours before slowly stepping back, his hand leaving his face last. Deceit swallowed thickly and watched him stride back behind the curtain, leaving him alone again.

"Holy shit" he breathed, closing his eyes and taking a seat on the edge of the stage in case he were to faint and fall off. He couldn't believe anything that just happened, he thought it was a dream, but it wasn't, this was real, and he couldn't be more glad he chose to come here than stay in his room.

—

"And that should do it" Logan finished, gaining Virgil's attention who looked up from his phone to see the saltwater tank for the fish in perfect condition. The fish was still in it's bag but now in the tank too, to get used to the different water temperature otherwise it would give the poor guy a great shock.

"Great- when's Patton getting back?" Virgil questioned, glancing at the time and realising he had to leave in five minutes. "I don't know" Logan responded, rushing to grab a piece of paper and sprawl something across it. "I shall leave this note for Patton" he explained, sticking it to the tank. "If he arrives before me I will need him to take the fish from the bag - I am sure he knows what to do more than I, so I'm not worried" he then grabbed his rucksack and turned to Virgil who quirked the corner of his lip.

"Class?"

"Yes, soon I'll be late" he worried, glancing at his watch. "Don't worry, you'll make it. I'll see you later?" He offered and Logan nodded "yes, later" with that he was leaving the room and Virgil stuck around for a few seconds after, gazing at the fish while letting a smile grow on his face. Who knew befriending people could feel so...good?

With one minute to spare Logan just made it to his chemistry class, he sent a breathless smile to the teacher before sitting beside Deceit, in his opinion he had done too much running today. And it was still the morning.

"Everything went well, I hope?" Deceit questioned, now not at all hesitant to make conversation with his lab partner who prior to the two getting the fish rarely continued talking with him for long. "Yes, thankfully" Logan nodded, bringing all of his stuff out onto the table.

"The fish is fine, in healthy condition. I am sure Patton will make it back to our dorm before I, he will make him feel more at home" he presumed, Deceit nodded then looked down at his book to copy some notes from the whiteboard.

"Is Virgil okay?"

Logan nodded again, "me and him are friends now"

That made Deceit's eyes brighten, "you are? That's wonderful news. I can assure you he doesn't make many friends"

Logan drew his eyebrows together, "why not? He is pleasant company"

That made Deceit's eyes glow, one way to his heart? Complimenting his brother.

The rest of the lesson was smooth sailing.

Virgil's class ran just normally too, he collected all his belongings after the matter and instantly began his walk to his next class, which was unfortunately in quick succession for most of the day. These days, for him, sucked ass - he had the least amount of breaks and was worked off his has right until five pm where he was finally making his way back to the dorms, the golden hour shining right across his tired face.

As he passed through the first floor, he noticed the door to Logan's dorm room shutting and he decided to check on his friend and how the fish was doing. Without really thinking he knocked once and walked in; "Hey, Lo, how's-"

Words died on his tongue when his eyes met with someone who wasn't Logan and his whole body filled with dread and regret, why did he bother!? He probably went into the wrong room! But he didn't, this was Logan's dorm room, then he suddenly remembered he shared a room with his brother - and dammit Logan didn't tell him his brother was cute. 

Not simply cute, rather the cutest fucking boy Virgil had ever laid eyes on. He was speechless for a moment, same with Patton who stared at him awkwardly, a bag of fish food in his grasp. 

"I'm...so sorry, I'll just go-" he stammered, tripping out the door but Patton rushed forward. "No, wait, are you Virgil?" He questioned, "Logan's talked about you- Deceit's brother, right? You can stay if you want! Logan will be back soon" he gestured to his brother's side of the room, smile welcoming and certainly calming Virgil's nerves.

"Nah I..I just wanted to see how the fish was" he shrugged, scratching his neck.

"Oh, Guppy? He's great!" Patton gushed, walking to the fish tank. Guppy? Virgil assumed that's the name they chose. With his heavy bag and large art folder he walked back into the room, next to Patton, gazing at Guppy the clownfish who swam idly around his large tank, happily bobbing through the plant life and plastic toys.

"Me and lo talked earlier and told me what he did! Isn't he the sweetest!?" He gushed, smiling happily as he thought of his twin. "I'm so lucky to have him, and I'm glad he saved Guppy! With your artwork, right? I heard you're a great artist!" Patton rushed out at once, a little overwhelming for the poor boy who was extremely awkward around new people.

"Artist?" Virgil scoffed, "nah...I'm okay"

Patton hurriedly shook his head, "don't be humble! Lo described it to me, I thought it was beautiful"

"Well I..." he looked down at his folder, cheeks flaming red. Patton noticed and furrowed his eyebrows in concern, "oh I'm sorry, am I being too much? I get that sometimes. I should be more careful" he giggled softly, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can go if you want, I'll send Lo up to your room" with another smile he turned to Guppy and began the feeding process while humming a song.

Virgil felt guilt plunge his system, he didn't mean to disappoint Patton like that- the excitement draining from his voice hurt to hear. In hopes of making up for it, Virgil turned around and laid his folder on Logan's bed, opening and flicking through his work until he found his favourite, a landscape of the forest he drew with the photos he took with Roman used as reference.

"Here, you can judge for yourself" Patton looked over at him and gasped, placing down the fish food and taking a few steps closer, marvelling at the work in a way Virgil had never seen before. He looked stricken with shock, awe, happiness and so much more, nothing Virgil ever thought his art could create - not emotions like this.

"Virge.." he murmured, covering his mouth with his hands. "It's beautiful! My goodness, thank you for showing me, I-..." he grinned so wide Virgil hoped his cheeks didn't ache, then again smiling seemed his default setting, so maybe they were used to it. "I could stare at this for hours!" He gushed, genuinely stricken by the masterpiece before his eyes.

"You can if you want, this was just for practice, I don't need it or anything" he shrugged awkwardly and Patton gasped again, clasping his hands together to try and contain his excitement. "Really?!" He exclaimed, bursting at the seams. Virgil managed a smile, his enthusiasm leaking into the room and latching to Virgil, raising his spirits.

"If you want"

"I do want! I can hang it above my bed!" He then raced to his set of draws, pulling open the bottom and riffling through his belongings until he found his packet of blue-tack. "Can I?" He gestured to the painting and Virgil nodded, handing it over and watching him stick the tack in each corner, than hop onto his bed and stick to the wall. He was serious about this- Virgil's never had someone interact with his art like this, be so sincerely excited and mesmerised by it.

With his parents ruining his confidence with his art ability, this...this was really needed. And appreciated.

"Thank you, Pat.. this- that...you're um, very, sweet" he tripped over his words with a growing blush, Patton cooed and walked over to him, bobbing on the balls of his feet. "Of course! Who'd give up the chance to have art by you? I can't wait to see it in a museum one day" he spoke dreamily, Virgil shook his head.

"Nah, I don't think so"

"Not with that attitude" Patton hummed and Virgil chuckled, afterwards the two simply stared at each other, it wasn't awkward, neither was nervous or wanting it to end, they simply smiled cutely and fiddled with their sleeves.

"I'm glad Lo did this" he gestured to Guppy, but quickly looked back at the boy in his room. "For Guppy and... making new friends. I don't know if we would've met otherwise and I...like you" he pushed his hair behind his ear shyly, "maybe we could be friends?" He suggested and Virgil felt himself short circuit for a few seconds.

Not only has he made a friend in the past couple days, but now he's making another one? A cute one at that? One that brushed his hair behind his ear and had the audacity to stare up at him through his eyelashes so fucking cutely that he almost passed out!? This was unfair, this seemed highly unfair. But then again Virgil's anxiety could be dramatic from time to time.

"Yes, yeah, uh..sure" he coughed and Patton giggled, cheering lightly. Fuck- Virgil's heart was going to explode.

"Oh-!" The two boys jumped and gazed at Logan who was frozen in the doorway, "Virgil, Hello. I see you have met Patton" he gestured to his brother who waved, fucking waved holy shit Virgil was dying.

"Yep! Why didn't you tell me your friend was so cool!?"

"I did" Logan corrected, dropping his bag onto his bed to give his back a break. Virgil blushed- Logan called him cool? He meant that?

"How is Guppy?" He gestured to the fish and Patton smiled, "he's great! I'm about to feed him, want to watch so you know what to do?" He offered and Logan nodded, standing beside him to watch. Virgil, now awkwardly forgotten, picked up his folder and inched towards the doorway- he presumed he was unneeded now they had each other, but as he was about to leave Logan stopped him.

"Ah, Virgil. Deceit told me he was going on a date tonight with his friend Roman, would you want to stay with me and Patton? Incase you're lonely" he offered, Virgil gazed at them with a smile he couldn't suppress, is this what it felt like to be genuinely cared for? By people that weren't family? Of course he loved his brother but he didn't think anyone would like him but Deceit, in all honesty.

"Are you sure?" As much as he wanted to spend time with Patton he-... Patton and Logan he didn't want them to feel pressured to asking out of kindness. "Of course!" Patton nodded, "Lo usually gets busy with work anyway, and I can talk to you instead of bothering him!"

Logan frowned, "Patton, you never bother me" the boy smiled sweetly and gave his twin a short hug. "I know Lo, but I feel bad anyway, please Virgil? I wanna get to know you!" He insisted and Virgil couldn't say no, so he left his folder and bag by the end of Patton's bed and joined in watching Guppy be fed, while his heart felt warm and gooey in his chest.

After Guppy was sated, the twins sat on their respectful beds (with Virgil joining Patton) and conversations started. Now, Virgil had been around groups of friend sharing conversation in the past, back when he was younger and actually tried to make friends, or if he simply joined his brother who didn't really have many friends either, but whenever he did they never tried to include him, didn't talk to him and ignored whatever he said. But Patton and Logan were different, they included him, listened to him and made him feel wanted.

It wasn't a surprise he felt comfortable around them so quickly.

"And then we had to go to the hospital- that was the day we found out our father was really badly allergic to animals! He didn't tell us before 'cus he didn't want us to stop petting animals, but then he nearly died so we had to.... but I missed petting dogs so I just made sure to be more careful!" Patton rambled, swaying back and forth where he sat cross-legged on his bed, Virgil relaxed against the headrest.

"Wow, you nearly killed your dad because of a dog"

Logan smirked while Patton whined, "hey! I didn't mean to, it's his fault he didn't tell us" he pouted which made the other two boys chuckle. Patton whined once again, and Virgil just wanted to hug him, but never wanted to cross a line like that.

"I'm kidding Pat"

The boy simply giggled, "I know"

A knock at the door interrupted them, Logan called they could enter and unsurprisingly Deceit stepped in, spotting his brother and sending him a smile. Was he extremely proud and happy for him for making friends and hanging out with them? Yes, yes he was.

"Logan, I need your help" he spoke rather urgently, everyone in the room gazed at him in concern. "I have ten minutes until my date and I cannot wear anything that I own - none of it is good enough. Do you have a suit or formal clothing I can borrow? As much as I'd love to look like a slob on my first date" he rolled his eyes and everyone relaxed, realising it wasn't so serious.

"Yes, I do" Logan set his work off his lap and traveled to his set of draws, picking out a pair of neatly folded black trousers, a white shirt and a suit-jacket.

"Is this satisfactory?" Deceit looked them over and nodded, but handed back the white shirt. "I have my own" he explained, setting the clothes on the end of Logan's bed. "I will not have time to return to my room and change. Everyone, turn around" he began to strip before they even had a chance, Logan twirled on his feet with a blush on his cheeks while Patton squealed and buried his face into Virgil's chest, the boy froze and tensed simultaneously, gazing at Logan with eyes silently asking what the fuck to do, but of course the nerd didn't pick up on it and instead looked down at his hands.

Patton shuffled closer to Virgil, curling his arms around his waist, Virgil prayed Patton couldn't feel his heart hammering in his chest but he could and it made him smile widely, not realising he had such an affect on the boy but he was sure to utilise it.

"Decent" Deceit called once he was fully dressed, Patton looked over first, still cuddled up into Virgil. "Oooo!" He gasped, noticing his yellow shirt and tie. "That looks so good, De!" He complimented, the boy smirked and looked into the mirror on the wall. "It does, doesn't it" he murmured, eying himself.

"Humble" Virgil quipped, Deceit rolled his eyes and glanced at his blushing brother. "Don't turn into a tomato" he fired back, Virgil huffed. "Oh my god-" he whispered, hiding his face in the pillow. Patton laughed, nuzzling his head into his chest until Virgil looked down at him, and he smiled. "Don't hide your face, it's too cute" he whispered and Virgil felt the tips of his ears turn red, hiding his face again which caused Patton to explode into giggles.

"Patton-!" The door burst open and Remus waltzed on through, "I'm bored! Mr fucking ass-licker of a brother is going on a date and I have no one to talk too!" He complained, then caught sight of Logan and smirked. "Never mind~" he called in a sing-song voice, stepping closer to Logan who stared him up and down and swallowed.

Remember... Logan and Remus noticeably acting off ever since they entered college, specifically pointed out by their brothers? Well, it was because of the boy they were currently staring at. They shared nearly all of their compulsory classes and often had shared breaks, they'd catch sight of each other and look away, unable to cope with the fact they had a crush on someone they had never spoken to, only seen and heard speaking in class.

Of course their brothers noticed but didn't say a word, they knew they had a crush but on who? Now Patton knew and he grinned in delight at watching their interaction.

"Logan, is it?" Remus struck out a hand, "I'm Remus... it's nice to finally meet ya" He murmured, Logan nodded and swallowed thickly again, shaking his hand but letting out a yelp when Remus tugged him forward and threw an arm around his waist, staring down at the shorter male. "I-I-yes, it's nice to meet you too" he managed to splutter out, tongue tied in his mouth.

Remus went to continue but his eyes caught sight of the tank, he spotted the fish and grinned. "An ocellaris clownfish! Or false percuta clownfish, or whatever" he rolled his eyes, "a fish belonging to the family Pomacentridae" he added, Logan's jaw fell a bit, his crush was fucking smart.

"Well, what a sight" Remus caught his brother's voice and ignored it, while Deceit looked over at him in an instant and smiled - he wore a suit too, but with a red shirt underneath. "Awh!" Patton giggled, "you look like ketchup and mustard!" He pointed out, Remus broken from his moment with Logan to cackle loudly, turning to his brother and date.

"He's not fucking wrong" Remus laughed, Roman rolled his eyes and struck his hand out to Deceit who took it timidly. "Have fun, use protection" Virgil murmured to his brother who shot him a glare, Remus giggled again and the two hurried out the room, leaving behind the four boys.

"Well-" Remus side eyed Patton and Virgil, "unless your brother and his butt-buddy wanna watch, shall we move to my bedroom?" Remus suggested with an eyebrow wriggle, Logan's entire face, ears and chest a dark shade of red, unable to manage any sort of coherent sentence.

"He does!" Patton answered for him, knowing full well Remus would have sex without a care who was watching. He jumped out of bed and ushered the two out the room, "stay safe you too! I don't want my brother pregnant!" Patton joked, Logan huffed, "we're not having sex, and I can't get preg-" Patton shut the door before he could finish, turning to Virgil who laughed into his hand.

"No, no" Patton frowned and rushed over, removing his hand. "I want to hear your laugh" he whispered delicately, Virgil gaped at him slightly, in clear shock he'd even care, then somehow blushed more and buried against the blanket. Patton watched with a gentle, loving smile - he's known this boy for a few hours and would already do anything for him.

—

You know that feeling where you've gone back to the same creation over and over and over you start to get real sick of it? Yeah, this OneShot :/

i hope it's good though

—

A second month into their time at college...

Remus woke up bright and early, growling softly at the sound of the birds right outside his window. Lifting his arms above his head he stretched, then rolled over and gazed at the body beside him, grinning softly at their beautiful face. Sharp features emphasised by the shadows casted by the sun, mouth parted just so, eyelashes like delicate feathers against their cheeks.

Remus could quite frankly stare at them for the rest of their life, but they had to get up eventually. Still, a cute, naked body right beside him? Why would he want to leave utopia? Of course, his reputation as the free-lancer-fucker has died down but he'd never want to fuck anyone else other than the one in his bed.

Did Roman tease him for weeks about it? About him finally accepting the fact he found 'the one?' Yes, of course he did. Remus was a little scared entering the relationship at first- he's lived for so long believing he'd never find love, or feel it romantically for anyone, then this little one crept into his life and after he originally planned to simply fuck him and leave it as friends, it didn't work out that way. He gained feelings and no matter how many girls he fucked afterwards, nothing was the same.

He cursed, stormed, created quite the ruckus in retaliation to these damned emotions but in the end they found him, comforted them in their own way, and admitted they returned those damned emotions.

They kissed under the stars in tears and have been together ever since.

And now Remus got to stare at them every morning; how lucky was he to have a partner comfortable sleeping naked with him? Without always expecting sex? However when it came to Remus they quite honestly expected it- Remus' libido was impossible, but of course their comfort meant more to Remus than sexual pleasure, so if they weren't up for it he'd never, ever push.

"Logan?" He cooed, wrapping his arms around his lover, pressing a few kisses across his neck. Logan hummed, eyes blinking blearily. Then, a soft smile crept onto his face and he rolled over, half-lidded eyes gazing at the love of his life. "Good morning, Remus" he murmured, and boy that morning voice did things to him.

"Morning, sexy" Remus cackled softly, Logan rolled his eyes and cuddled further against Remus' chest. "Mm, can't handle morning sex"

"No, no, I know" Remus quickly corrected, "can I not compliment my baby without wanting sex?"

Logan snorted, burying his face into his smooth chest. "Not if you call me 'sexy'" he remarked, Remus chuckled, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. "You know I know I wasn't asking for sex though, righ'? I...I remember you don't like morning sex! I-"

"I do know, Remus" Logan shifted back and laid his head right beside Remus', gazing into his eyes. "I was only joking. I love you" he caressed the side of his face and Remus melted into the touch, a genuine smile lifting his once worried features.

"I fucking love you too" Remus murmured, Logan leaned forward and connected their lips in a slow yet passionate kiss, Remus gripped his hips gently and kissed back, humming against his skin.

"I don't deserve you" he mumbled once Logan pulled back, the boy rolled his eyes. "Falsehood" he whispered, Remus cackled and the two carried on kissing, wrapped up in each other's love.

—

"You look ethereal, Serpiente" Roman murmured, cupping the side of Deceit's face, glowing orange from the morning sun. Deceit smiled gently, a pink hue spreading across his cheeks. "And you, Prince Charming, look breathtaking" he reciprocated, gazing at Roman with soft shyness that made the 'Prince' swoon each and every time, eyes filling with adoration for his lover.

"Oh, I cannot stop falling in love with you. I have never fallen for someone like this- you truly are the only person on this planet who can make my heart sing" he ranted with pure emotion mixed with each word, Deceit could hear it, feel it, almost fucking touch it. His cheeks now blazing red hummed warmly beneath Roman's touch and he smiled wide, propping himself on his elbow to lean down and kiss him ever so gently.

Every movement he made was delicate for his one and only.

"I..I.." Deceit swallowed, stricken to silence by his mere words, a common occurrence, Roman could spew poetry whenever he damn wished always leaving Deceit a complete and utter mess. "It's okay, Serpiente, my heart, my soul, the light of my life, stars to my night sky, my missing half" he listed, grin widening the more Deceit became flustered by his words of love, in the end Deceit let out a small whine, eyes stinging with tears.

"Remus, christ-" he sniffled and Roman finally relented, rolling onto his back to bring Deceit atop of him, cupping his cheeks and pulling him down into a kiss. "I'm so sorry, my everything, I simply cannot withheld myself, with you here, with me, I feel nothing but you and I want you to know that every second"

Deceit sniffled again, how many times has he cried like this? Many since they started dating after their first date, it did worry Roman the original time, but once Deceit explained he'd never, ever had this before and was simply overwhelmed in a good way Roman was extremely happy yet extremely forlorn, how could no one want to treat his baby like this!? But then again, Roman gets to be his first everything, and he wants to make every experience the best he could ever get.

"I know, Roman" Deceit murmured, trailing his hand across his cheek, down to his chin which he held by his index and thumb. "And I appreciate you" he carried on, smiling widely at the man underneath them, the two only wearing boxers and pyjama pants. "And... thank you, again. As if you're not irritated by how much I've said it already" he chuckled weakly, what he was thanking him for? Well, after a week of them dating Deceit admitted his worries for he knew keeping things bottled up in a relationship never ended well.

He told him he wasn't great at romance, became flustered really easily, and often couldn't respond in such charming ways. He then told Roman if he didn't want to be with him anymore that was okay.

What did Roman do?

He hugged him. Hugged him tight and didn't let go for ten minutes. He rambled and rambled to Deceit that it was perfectly okay, that Roman didn't care whether he was dating someone easily flustered, or so equipped with compliments and affection they didn't know what the word 'fluster' meant, he simply wanted Deceit for who he was, and would grow to love him no matter what.

He told him he was perfect, that to him he was everything he could ever want.

And what did Deceit do? He cried, which wasn't much of a surprise given his record of crying over rapid compliments. They kissed and cuddled and whispered sweet nothings (more from Roman's side) the entire night and woke up the next day unable to stop smiling like mad men.

Of course, they really were perfect for each other.

"Irritated? Oh my beautiful Serpiente, I could never. You don't need to thank me, for it's my pleasure to do everything I can to make you comfortable. And more importantly flustered" he grinned, swiping his thumb across his cheek. "For every time I see that rosy red glow my heart stops" he whispered, eyes glazed over and Deceit was touched; like every single damned time Roman said a single word to him.

They kissed again, this time Roman leading him back to laying beside him, able to wrap one arm around his waist, the other cupping and stroking his cheek, every so often trailing his thumb across his red, thick lips.

"My beauty" he murmured, Deceit smiled, arms loosely around his neck. "My Prince Charming" he whispered, Roman grinned.

The two never, ever grew tire of the compliments they'd send each other's way

—

"Hey, Guppy, ready for breakfast, hm?"

Virgil stirred, tucked closely into the warm cocoon of quilts and blankets.

A soft giggle. "I think your papa is waking up, he's so cute, isn't it?"

In his tired state of mind he barely registered what his boyfriend had said, but it still caused an eruption of pink petals across his face.

"I think he deserves more cuddles, don't you?" Patton carried on, finishing feeding Guppy before traveling back across the room, lifting the blanket softly and laying back down beside Virgil who cracked open his eyes, gazing at Patton who smiled and kissed his forehead. Little affections like that destroyed Virgil inside out the best way possible.

Hand holding (hand hugging as Patton puts it), kisses to the forehead, cheek, nose, hugs from behind, side hugs in a rush, pecks to his lips and sweet calls of goodbye. Virgil felt himself melting into a puddle every time he was around his boyfriend, he always found a way to catch Virgil off guard and send him hiding in his jacket to keep up somewhat a reputation.

Patton adored it endlessly, in his grasp he had the cutest boy alive and heck he wouldn't give him up for the world.

"I love you" Patton crooned, barely a whisper as he played with Virgil's hair in a way he knew he loved. "Bambi.." Virgil whispered back, shuffling close until their bodies were flush. Even if they were usually touching like this when cuddling, it never turned to something sexual between the two, in fact they've only had sex twice since they made it official.

To them, it wasn't really important, what mattered more was the cuddles, kisses, hugs, affirmations, affections and everything in between. What mattered most to them however was each other, and to see them smiling.

Of course Virgil was extremely self-conscious when entering the relationship, and he didn't think it would last. Not because of Patton, but himself. He was frightened each and every day Patton would see he wasn't really worth anything and would leave him because he didn't have the body of a man- and Hell did it make him cry.

Deceit assumed he was crying because Patton was hurting him, and promptly punched him in the face for it, which was returned with a seemingly endless argument from Logan and Virgil while Patton sat on the bed, clutching his red cheek in pain, but listening to Deceit's reasoning.

Everything was resolved in the end, thankfully Patton is forgiving and he's still friends with Deceit, along with Logan who eventually forgave him too after he realised how much it did seem Patton was hurting Virgil intentionally.

After Patton heard Virgil admitting his insecurities and worries that things would end during the argument because he wasn't good enough, and lying about his body, he reassured Virgil each and every day he loved him for him, not his body, but him which he never tired of, Virgil felt extremely lucky and didn't think he deserved it most days, but now he was sure in his heart Patton loved him and wouldn't leave him randomly, or for someone else.

His anxiety was learning to love, they both knew it would take time, but they were both willing to take those steps - the next time Virgil cried over Patton was through joyful tears.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Patton hummed, pressing kisses across his face. Virgil smiled, closing his eyes and allowing it to happen. "You" he murmured, which made him blush and giggle. "Cutie.." he cooed, "all good?"

Virgil understood, and nodded. He cherished Patton. "Yeah, promise. Thank you for making me feel loved, I know it's...-"

"Shh" Patton hushed, pressing his index finger over Virgil's lips. "It's nothing, it's what I want to do. I want you to know I love you, and don't ever want to leave you. Promise, no one on this planet can take my heart like you have" he reassured and Virgil smiled widely, bringing Patton into a delicate, sweet kiss.

"You mean so much to me, Bambi" he whispered, Patton giggled.

"You mean so much to me too, Angel"

—

Six boys in love. Leaving with their diplomas hand in hand four years later. Creating lives with the one they fell in love with. With such stories to tell their children. They were happy.

They were boys in love.

—
The cheese, it's killing me.

Hope you like! This took me waaaayyy too long-
Hope it makes up for my lack of updating frequently?
I am really sorry about that, just short stories I write feel like they aren't enough anymore, I like making long stories like this, but they take me longer and I...

Yeah, sorry, again
Love you all!

9:49pm