Virgil the Child (Sanders Sides)

5 - What's the Truth and What's the Lie?

TW: sadness and guilt, neg self talk, uh I guess Anxiety, blood

Logan considered himself an expert at most things. Anything logical, and it was his game to control. But emotions? Boy, was that a different story.

That's why he was so baffled by the other's findings.

Not logically, of course; he could obviously read the signs of some sort of...breakdown, yet...he just couldn't cope with how it made him feel.

To put it shortly, he felt bad. Really bad.

And worried, and guilty, and upset.

Stupid. Emotions.

"Logan, are you okay?" Patton asked softly, placing his hand on the Logical side's arm. Logan immediately tensed up, as if embarrassed of ever zoning out. He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, purposely avoiding eye contact.

"I am fine, thank you," he replied in a monotone voice. "I was just...thinking."

"Well, keep thinking, Mr. IQ. We need to figure out what all of this means," Roman said, his arms crossed and his voice more serious than they had ever heard it.

"There is no need, I already have a theory, though I don't have a cause..."

"Will you please share it?" Patton asked, his voice holding his obvious fear of what Logan would say, that it would be something really bad. Roman too held hesitance in his expression, but he was too prideful to admit it.

Logan turned to his friend, trying his best to remain emotionless. "I believe that Virgil had a sort of 'breakdown,' if you will. I do not know the cause, only an idea of what might have occurred," he paused, thinking. "The bathroom must have been the first place where the incident took place; as Patton provided, the mirror was shattered, and blood droplets were visible on the floor. These are two clear signs that the mirror took blunt force, which I am guessing was Virgil's fist, as it is the most likely scenario. The blood Roman found on the bed aligns with that story, as we can match it up from the wound have received from the mirror.

     At that moment, Patton seemed to break a little bit. He let out a few tears silently at first, before covering his mouth to muffle the whimper that escaped it seconds after. Roman and Logan noticed him immediately, with Roman scooting towards his friend and wrapping his arms around him in a comforting way. Logan did not however, but sat uncomfortably off to the side, not sure of how to help.

     "Shh, Padre. It's going to be okay."

     "We should've...should've been th-there for...for him, Roman- I should ha-have been there f-for him..." Patton cried shakily, wiping the tears away as they came from under his glasses. Roman softly shushed him again, letting the oldest side lean into his shoulder to rest on.

     "What's that thing you always say, Padre? 'Physically battle'?" Roman said aloud, after many moments of plain, heartfelt crying. Patton looked up at him, eyes red and cheeks glossy with tears. There was slight confusion on his face, but he didn't say anything.

     "'Physically fight,'"Logan coughed from the corner, but Roman ignored him.

     "Well, Patton, if you don't stop beating yourself up for all this, I will unsheathe my sword and battle you to the death," Roman said, his voice completely serious. Patton however, just simply shrugged and hugged Roman's arm, letting his face sink into the soft fabric of it.

     "We tried to go after him," Logan interjected, trying his best to help the situation. Patton's eyes shifted up to his. "We tried to find his room, but it was no where in sight. We cannot be blamed, nor should we blame ourselves for...bad room placement."

     Patton lifted his head off of Roman's shoulder and stared at Logan, his eyes sadder than any of the sides had ever seen him. There was a moment of silence passed between them, before Roman suddenly tackled Patton in a big hug.

     "Listen to the Microsoft Nerd, Père !" Roman spoke a little louder than normal volume. Patton squeaked at the sudden gesture, before letting a small, nostalgic smile grace his lips.

     "I-I guess so," He said unusually quiet, but the smile was still there. Roman cheered, while Logan silently congratulated himself on his ability to calm Patton down without the use of emotions.

     "W-What's wr-wrong?" A timid voice murmured from behind them, its very speech sounding frail. All three of the sides turned around, only to be met with the face of a very small and half-asleep Virgil.

     Patton couldn't help but squeal at the cuteness of it all. Baby Virgil was just too much for his heart to handle!

     "Heyo Virgo," Roman said with a small smile, saluting the small kid, who in response gave the most precious giggle. Even Logan had to admit; it was gosh darn adorable.

     Virgil shifted his eyes towards Patton, squinting them with curiosity and suspicion.

    "Were you crying?" The small boy asked with such steady confidence that it threw off the other three in the room. Patton quickly recovered though, adjusting his cardigan in a shy sort of way.

     "No, of course not Kiddo...your old dad here was just- very excited about you waking up!" Patton said with fake happiness, an even worse smile plastered on his face. However, baby Virgil was not convinced.

     "It's okay to cry," He mumbled, looking down. "We all cry."

     Again, the three were shocked at the maturity the young Virgil sudden displayed. After a few moments of dull silence, Patton finally said happily, "You know what sounds good right now? Cookies!"

     Virgil cheered, his child-like behavior returning in a flash. He clapped his hands together excitedly, yelling 'yeah''s of approval.

     "Are you feeling dangerous, Kiddo?" Patton asked, getting off the floor and squatting down to eye-level with his small friend.

     "Yeah!"

     "That's the spirit! Now go to the jar, I'll meet you there!" Patton instructed, and Virgil took off at lighting speed towards the kitchen. He only stopped by the door, where he had to jump to reach the handle.

     "What are you doing, Padre? We have a diary to read here," Roman complained, not understanding Patton's Parenting Plan TM.

     "Although I hate reading his own personal thoughts, this is to help Virgil. I'll keep him occupied while you kiddos stay here and read the diary," Patton said, pointing to the dark book still grasped in Logan's hands.

Logan nodding, Patton's plan seeming logical enough for him. Roman shrugged, really only worried about the contents of the book.

Patton gave two thumbs up, smiling softly as he turned and followed Virgil into the kitchen. Logan glanced at where the Moral trait had stood for a moment, before looking back at the dull book in his hands. Roman scooted next to him, gesturing to it.

Without any words passed, Logan grasped the cover of the book, slowly turning it over.

- Minion
Word Count: 1168