Hanahaki Disease // Sanders Sides - Virgil

🌹Chapter 31🌹

A/N:
Y'all, I started writing this yesterday afternoon. How did I write this so fast???????

TW: mentions being drunk, Remus, swear word, mentions suicide attempt multiple times.

|Previous chapter:

Turning to look at Patton, I smirked slightly before slurring, "Ya know, Pat, I think you might be right. I should probably go back and rest."|

Roman's POV:
Walking out of the hospital, I squinted my eyes in the early evening light. The sun was just starting to set, causing the village to be cast in a magical golden light.

Lowering my eyes to the ground in front of me, I headed in the direction that I knew the door to the Mind Space was. Before I could get too far, however, I walked straight (gay) into a passing villager.

"Oh, my apologies!" I said as I helped them regain their balance. "I'm afraid I didn't see you there. Are you all right?"

The voice that responded almost scared me half to death.

"I'm fine, Roman, but are you?"

Glancing up, I found myself face-to-face with someone I hadn't seen in ages, but I recognized him immediately.

"Oh, Remus," I sighed, trying to calm down my racing heart. "Don't do that to me, you know how that startles me."

Turning, I started down the path, wanting to get back to the Mind Space.

"My apologies, dear brother," Remus sneered, draping an arm over my shoulders as he matched his pace with mine. "What are you doing here in the village? I thought you'd be holed up in your castle."

Shrugging out from under Remus's grasp, I picked up my pace to try and get away from him, but I didn't get too far before I saw the world start to tip in front of me. A pair of arms wrapped around me, keeping me from landing on the brick sidewalk.

"Roman, are you sure you're okay?" Remus asked once I had regained my balance. "You're acting like you're drunk."

"Oh, I can assure you I'm not drunk," I replied slowly, waving a hand in front of me. "I'm just extremely sleep deprived right now."

"Roman..." Remus sighed, placing an arm under my shoulders to stabilize me. He started heading towards the door to the Mind Space, and I didn't argue, as I knew I wouldn't be able to make it there by myself.

As we walked through the village, I got a few curious glances from villagers heading home for the night. Remus was the one to explain to them that I was tired, as I was too zoned-out from everything to be able to form words.

"What's been going on that's been causing you to lose sleep?" Remus asked once we had reached the outskirts of the village.

"Basically..." I said, trying to think about how to explain everything that happened. "Virgil has Hanahaki disease, which we found out after he attempted suicide. And the suicide attempt was caused by me being an absolute ass to him. And, like, today he collapsed, and that's why everyone's at the hospital, and Deceit also has Hanahaki, except he has it for Virgil, and, like, there's a possibility that he might die—well, they both might die—but, like, let's not think about that right now. And, like, today's just been a really stressful day, and I haven't slept well the past two nights."

By the time my sleep-deprived brain was able to explain the happenings of the Mind Space, Remus and I were sitting on my bed in my room.

"So you used to be a jerk to Virgil?" Remus asked for what must have been the third time. "What made you change how you acted?"

I sighed, closing my eyes as the memories popped up. "I guess I just... I felt so guilty after he tried to kill himself because of me. And, like, I wanted to try and do what I could to make up for how I acted, even though nothing could ever make up for what I did."

Both of us were silent for a few minutes. Remus was staring at an area of the carpet, and he looked to be deep in thought. My gaze was constantly flitting about the room, trying not to dwell on the memories that were brought up by the conversation.

After a while, Remus was the first to break the silence.

"But why did you really change?" Remus stated, crossing his arms and fixing me with his stare.

"What do you mean?" I asked, unsure about what he was saying.

"There's gotta be a bigger reason as to why you changed how you were acting," he clarified, falling backward onto my bed and staring at my ceiling. "Why did you change? What made you change?"

Hearing the question stated as that felt like a sucker punch to the stomach, and that punch was exactly what I needed to realize why I changed.

"I love him," I whispered, for the first time in months, choosing to accept the feeling I had so long denied.

"A-HA!!!" Remus shouted, jumping off of the bed and bouncing around the room. "I KNEW IT. I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!!!!!!"

"Wait, wait, wait, what?" I asked, confused as to why Remus was celebrating so much.

"Please," he said, calming down some. "From what Deceit told me, it was painfully obvious."

"Goddamnit, Deceit," I chuckled, remembering that time long ago in the kitchen when he confronted me. "He knew all along. I should have known."

"But why did you deny it?" Remus asked, plopping down on the bed next to me. "You could have cured him months ago."

I thought for a few seconds before realizing why it was that I had denied it. "I guess... I guess I was scared that he wouldn't like me back or wouldn't want to be with me."

Remus opened his mouth as if to interrupt me, but I continued speaking before he could.

"Of course, that was back when I only had a crush on him and wasn't in love," I clarified, knowing that was what he would have asked. "And I guess I just convinced myself that I could never be with him. But then he almost died and I just..." I paused for a few seconds, trying to figure out what I wanted to say. "I guess I realized just how much I need him alive."

"That's my romantic brother," Remus said proudly, clapping my shoulder as he smiled. "Now, I think you need to go tell your crush that you love him."

"Oh my god," I gasped, "You're right, I gotta go."

With that, I sprinted out of my room and back into the Imagination, ignoring the looks that I got from villagers as I ran to the hospital. I was almost to the door of the stairwell when I heard a voice calling out my name.

"Roman, what are you doing here?" I turned around, instantly spotting Patton in the corner of the waiting room with Logan and Deceit.

Rushing over to them, I crouched over to catch my breath before telling why I was there.

"I'm in love with Virgil."

It was silent for a few seconds after my confession before Deceit burst out laughing.

"Congratulations," he laughed, tears running down his face from how hard he was laughing. "You officially aren't the last to know."

A/N:
Tee hee, I love this so much.

Also, there's only gonna be, like, two more chapters, plus an epilogue. I'm not ready for this to end.

Also, also, I'm gonna be gone for the next, like, week, so don't freak out if you don't hear anything from me for a while.

Until next time,

Take it easy guys, gals, and non-binary pals!!

~death_by_fanfic