Sanders Sides One Shots: Volume 1 [COMPLETED]

Shadows (Prinxiety)

Sorry this is angsty too, but it was requested and ends in fluff. Trigger Warning for a little violence and angst.

Virgil didn't tell anyone about them. The shadows that haunted him... they attacked him every time Thomas got an anxiety attack. He hid his bruise, cuts and scars under his heavy black hoodie. No one asked, so he didn't tell. He suffered alone, not wanting to bother anyone. He'd lived his whole life that way.

It was a life changing day when Prince saved him.

Roman had been strolling through the Imagination, enjoying the feeling of being here. All the Sides could come here of course, but Roman, to his knowledge, was the only one who came here regularly. He didn't mind; it meant he could go somewhere to be alone for a while, just like now.

Except, not now, because he heard faint sobs coming from somewhere. One hand resting on his sword, he inched toward the sound.

He found a clearing in the trees, his heart and stomach dropping upon the sight. Someone was being attacked! He drew his sword and rushed forward, putting himself between the victim and the shadow figures. They lashed out at him, but he skillfully slashed through their arms as they did so. They let out animalistic cries of pain. Roman raised his sword, lunging to take off their heads. He landed on the ground skillfully, panting. The figures disappeared with cries of pain. The Prince sighed in relief and turned to see who'd rescued only to find them gone. He frowned, looking around for them, but he didn't find them.

Virgil's heart was pounding in his chest as he hid from Roman. His breathing was rugged from the stinging pain in his chest. Everything hurt, causing him to bite his lip to not whimper in pain.

When the prince finally gave up, he breathed a sigh of relief. He came out of hiding, holding his side and limping. Virgil limped back to his room, realizing it was almost 11:00 at night. He shrugged off his clothes and pulled on his pajamas, going into his bathroom and wincing. His arms were littered with nasty cuts and bruises, as well as scars from past attacks.

I'm disgusting, he thought blankly as he stared at himself in the mirror.

Virgil sighed, going to his bed. He was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, but as he laid down and closed his eyes, sleep didn't come. The pain kept him awake, so he laid there. He laid there all night until finally the sun came up. He groaned as he got up, going once again to the bathroom.

Geez, I look as dead as I feel, he thought looking at the dark circles under his eyes. He reached for his eye shadow, covering the circles with ease. He pulled on his hoodie over his arms to cover the marks. Checking once again, he was ready to go pretend to be okay.

He'd gotten through the day without an incident. It was like it never happened, except, he still felt it. What he didn't realize was how much Roman was thinking about what had happened.

He wanted to know who he'd saved, if they were alright, and... well, he was a prince, and typically when a prince saves someone, romance blossoms. He was skeptical about the last one in the case of this particular incident, but he still wanted to know who it was he had saved. He had been walking by Virgil's room when he remembered he needed some makeup. He was experimenting with it, and Virgil had a lot of it.

He opened the door to his room, forgetting to knock and finding Virgil frozen like a deer in the headlights. His eye shadow was gone, but it looked if it was still there with the bags under his eyes. The makeup had been irritating him for some reason, so he'd retreated to his room to wipe it off. His hoodie was lying on his bed, and not covering his arms.

"Oh my god..." Roman whispered, approaching him slowly. The darkest of the Sides backed away, tears in his eyes. "It was you, wasn't it..."

Virgil didn't respond. His fists were clenched as he looked away. "I-I d-don't know w-what you're t-talking about," he muttered.