Content warnings: making out (I need to stop), implied smut, swearing.
~~~
Patton was chattering away to his friend, Roman, on his way home from work. They usually met up and walked together. Today was like no other, until they took a wrong turn down an alley. Patton's talking slowed down, and turned into muttering.
He was scared of the dark, and particularly shadows. He tried to be casual, but ended up walking a lot closer to Roman.
"Are you okay, Patton?" Roman asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Patton flinched away and coming to a stop, before realising it was just Roman.
"Yeah, I just don't really like shadows."
"Do not fear, Patton. I will protect you!" Roman threw an arm over Patton's shoulders, pulling him closer.
"Thank you, Roman."
Before they started walking again, Patton heard a whisper, almost like someone whispered his name.
"What?" He turned to Roman, asking him to repeat himself.
"I didn't say anything."
"You didn't whisper my name?"
Roman laughed and pulled Patton along.
"Come on, your fears are getting to you."
Patton glanced back. He thought he saw the silhouette of a person in the shadows, but it was too dark to tell.
"Okay..."
~~~
The following day, Patton returned to the alley to try and find out who whispered his name.
"Hello?" He called out, waiting to see if anyone replied.
He stood in the darkest part and, despite it being the middle of the day, it was pitch black.
"Hey," someone whispered.
Patton yelped and backed away, towards the entrance.
"Please don't go!"
"What on earth? What's happening?" Patton stopped reversing and stood with his hands raised in defence.
"Will you hear me out?"
"Yeah..." Patton's eyes searched the darkness, trying to spot the person who was talking to him.
"Alright."
The shadow appeared from the darkness, standing in the light against the wall. Patton glanced sideways at it, and felt his stomach drop.
"You're..."
"Yeah, I'm a shadow."
"How does that even work?"
"I'm not really sure? I have a physical form, but it's hard to keep up for a long time. Plus, being a shadow is just more comfortable."
"That's actually... really cool." Patton relaxed, assuming the shadow wouldn't hurt him.
"Heh, thanks. It's not really."
"Can I sit next to you?" Patton asked, edging forward.
"Sure." The shadow sat down, and gestured for Patton to sit next to him.
Patton walked over to the wall and sank down next to the shadow.
After a moment of silence, Patton spoke up. "Do you have a name?"
"Uh... it's Virgil."
"That's so cool! I'm Patton."
"Yeah, I heard Roman say it." The shadow chuckled.
"Oh, right. So how old are you? I don't know if shadows age."
"Well, we don't, but I've not existed for long. Only a few years. In human years I'm 23."
"How are shadows born? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, I've never met a shadow before."
"No, it's alright. I've not talked to a human in ages." Virgil paused, and Patton patiently waited for his answer.
"You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable. I could tell you about humans!"
"Well, I know quite a lot about them anyway, but you can tell me what's been going on recently. I'm about three years behind.
"And in terms of shadows being born, we kind of had to swear not to tell any humans, so I can't tell you."
"That's alright!" Patton chirped. "Now, the last three years..."
~~~
Patton and Roman were walking back from work together again. Their main route went via the alley now. Usually, Patton waved Roman off as he walked home, while Patton lingered back to y'all to Virgil. On this day, Roman stopped and turned to Patton.
"Why do you stay behind?" He asked.
Patton was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"You always stay behind, but this is just some dark, dingy alleyway. Why do you stay behind?"
Patton bit his lip. He knew about Virgil's anxiety, especially towards speaking to strangers. He also didn't entirely trust Roman to keep Virgil a secret. But Roman was his boyfriend, and he deserved to know.
"I might show you, but you've gotta wait 'round the corner and cover your ears."
"Why-"
"Do you want to know or not?" Patton snapped. His hands flew to his mouth. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay... I'll go wait." Roman walked around the corner, and Patton turned to the wall, knowing Virgil would appear.
"Virge, do you want to meet Roman?"
The shadow slid into the light. "I don't know. Can we really trust him?"
"He's my boyfriend, of course we can."
Virgil fell silent.
"Did you just raise your eyebrows at me?"
"Oh, right. Yes I did."
"I only see your silhouette, remember," Patton said, with a light chuckle. "So, can I go and get Roman?"
"Sure."
Patton bounced out of the alley, calling out a quick 'thank you', and dragged Roman back in.
As Roman saw the shadow, he looked around for anyone who could be casting it.
"You've been talking to your own shadow?"
"Wow, rude."
Roman screamed and jumped back from the shadow.
"What the fuck was that?"
Patton chuckled and gestured to Virgil. "This is Virgil, he's a shadow."
"It spoke. A shadow just spoke to me."
"Yeah, it scared me too. But he's actually really nice."
"I highly doubt that."
"Thanks," Virgil said, sarcasm dripping off his words. "You're not too pleasant yourself."
"Excuse me? I am the devilishly-handsome, endlessly-charming Roman! How dare you call me unpleasant!"
Virgil scoffed.
"Roman, be nice. He's my friend."
"Fine... but no promises."
They continued to talk until nine, around the time Patton usually left to go home.
Patton waved to Virgil, and took Roman's hand, walking out of the alley. They luckily didn't live too far away. They walked in relative silence, a comfortable one, or so Patton thought.
"You really like this shadow, don't you?" Roman piped up, sounding slightly hurt.
Patton turned to look at Roman and saw his upset. "Roman..."
"Don't." Roman let go of Patton's hand, crossing his arms.
"Roman, he's my friend. That's it. I don't even know how I'd date a shadow. Not that I would! You're my boyfriend and you mean so much to me. I would never cheat on you."
Roman furrowed his eyebrows. "I hope so."
They wandered into their apartment building, taking a very uncomfortable elevator ride, and stood at their door as Roman fumbled with his keys.
"You don't believe me," Patton muttered
"What?" Roman stuck the right key in the lock.
"You don't believe that I like you."
Roman sighed and turned the key. "I want to, but with Virgil around? I don't think I can."
Patton opened the door, and grabbed Roman's shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. They stumbled inside, slamming the door behind them. Roman pressed Patton against the wall, tilting his head to the side. He reached up to hold Patton's cheeks and they were damp. He pulled away, looking at his eyes. Sure enough, Patton's eyes were filled with tears.
"Patton-"
Before Roman could say anything more, Patton pulled him back in by his cheeks. Roman rolled his eyes and closed them, grabbing Patton's ass.
Patton gasped, letting Roman's tongue into his mouth. Roman started to get impatient and untied Patton's cardigan, letting it drop to the floor behind him. Roman tugged at Patton's shirt, asking him to take it off. Patton broke away and pulled it off, tossing it to one side. He helped Roman undo his buttons and take off his shirt. Roman started kissing along Patton's jaw and down his neck. He sucked on a few spots, leaving marks. Hearing Patton's moans and whines only served as encouragement for him to make more.
"Ro.." Patton moaned, clawing at his back, but making no attempt to pull him away. "Sofa."
Roman picked Patton up, kissing his collarbones and chest. He dropped him onto the couch, lying him down and clambering on top of him.
"Do you want to keep going?"
Patton bit his lip and nodded furiously.
Roman leant down and growled, "use your words," into Patton's ear.
"Please, Ro, keep going," he whined, desperate for Roman's lips to be back against his skin.
"Okay, love."
~~~
Virgil clenched his fists, concentrating on his form. He tried to wiggle back and forth.
"Okay, how the fuck do I do this," he murmured.
He tried pushing forward, forcing himself against the invisible barrier keeping him to the wall. He pounded his fists against it, desperate to take on his physical form.
"Please, please, please. I want to see Patton, I want to be with Patton. Let me out!"
As he screamed the last part, he fell forward, barely catching himself. He looked down at his hands, seeing that they were pale and 3D. Without hesitation, he ran out of the alley and sprinted to the apartment block Patton told him he lived in.
In his haste, he forgot that the proper etiquette was to knock. He threw the door open and burst into the room. He froze. Lying on the sofa were Roman and Patton, asleep and completely naked. They'd both woke up from the crash and sat bolt upright.
"Get the fuck out of our house!" Roman yelled.
Virgil leapt back and slammed the door shut. He stood against it for a moment, panting heavily. The scene was glued in his mind. He knew about their relationship, Patton had said earlier, but he didn't know it was that serious. Tears fell involuntarily from his eyes, and he slunk away, back to the alley.
~~~
It's not often that I really don't like one of my one shots, but I greatly dislike this one. I don't know why, but I think the story is too long to tell in just a one shot.
- Basically, when humans die, they have a chance of becoming a shadow. Usually, those who have died prematurely have a higher chance of becoming one, and people who kill themselves have an even higher chance of becoming a shadow. Virgil died in a car crash.
- Patton and Roman are just friends when Patton finds Virgil, but they start dating soon after.
- Virgil has had a crush on Patton since before they met, because he saw him walk past the alley every day.
- When Patton is dying (of old age, don't worry), Virgil feels it because of their connection and raced to find him. He takes on his physical form and holds Patton as he dies, despite not having talked in decades. Patton becomes a shadow in the same alley of Virgil, also due to their connection. They live the rest of eternity together.
Also I'm falling behind a bit so I will try and get Day 8 out on time (later today).