Virgil's POV
When I woke up that morning, I hadn't expected to find a complete stranger standing in my kitchen. His appearance had been appalling, and his attitude was even worse. He looked like a clone of my boyfriend gone wrong; his hair was streaked with a stripe of gray, and he had the mustache of a children's T.V. show villain.
Lying on my back, questioning my sanity, my ass hurt, my head hurt, and I was too fucking sick and tired to be out of bed, let alone deal with anything like that mess. I glared at the ceiling and uttered, "Fuck me."
Remus, the psycho that had broken into the apartment that Roman and I shared, stepped forward, clearing offering himself up.
I sat up quickly, getting a little light-headed. I clarified harshly, "Figuratively." Too much of that, I thought, and I'll turn into Logan.
Roman was in the apartment now, and he slammed the door shut behind him, drawing our attention. His eyes glowed. "Don't you dare lay a damn hand on him."
"Where's the fun in that?" the intruder questioned.
Roman—Princey, as I'd come to call him—walked over to me, helping me up.
"You got here quick," I whispered, clinging to the blanket coiled around me like it could protect me.
"I flew. Fast." He asked quietly, "Do me a favor and go to the bedroom."
I tried not to look at him like it was the dumbest fucking thing I'd ever heard. "Yeah, that's not happening, sweetheart, but good try."
His eyes dropped. "If he is who he says he is, it's gonna get loud; if he's not, I—I might kill him."
"Roman!" I grabbed his arm like it would do something—like it would snap him out of whatever trance he was in and he would go back to the good-hearted man I loved who knew violence was never the right answer.
But, his hands were clenched into fists, and he wouldn't look at me. "I know. I—I just... I'm sorry." He sounded so defeated.
I would have kissed him or comforted him in some way if we hadn't had company. "It'll be okay," I reassured him instead. I backed up and leaned against the back of the couch. I knew I wanted to see this to better understand the relationship the two had—to better understand why this "Remus" made Roman act completely unlike himself.
Roman's POV
I stayed where I was even after Virgil had stepped back, still staring at the floor. I took a shaky, infuriated breath. "You—You're not him." I finally looked up and really saw the supposed Remus for the first time. "You're not him, and this is some sick joke," I tried to convince myself. "I'm only going to ask this of you once: Put an end to it immediately."
He smiled widely, and it was so familiar it hurt. "I'm glad you finally grew some balls, baby bro."
He'd always say that when we were younger: "Baby bro."
"You don't get to call me that. Remus was only fifteen minutes older than me, and he's dead, so cut the bullshit."
The man's grin only grew. "I could prove it." His eyes shifted to Virgil for a split second.
My heart dropped.
"You know what I can do. Whatever you want, I can make him do it." His eyes glowed silver as he looked to Virge again.
I whirled, but I knew I was too late. I always managed to be too late.
Virgil's eyes were bright purple and glowing as well. His breaths came in short gasps, and he collapsed into a heap of blankets.
Remus seemed very concentrated.
I had to make a choice—go after him or comfort Virgil. I chose the latter (like it was much of a choice). Crouching down in front of him, he seemed to look through me. He didn't blink, and he barely breathed.
"What's going on?" I demanded, beginning to believe that this was, in fact, my brother. "What are you doing to him?" When I grasped Virgil's hands, they were ice-cold.
I heard a thud from behind me and turned to see that Remus had collapsed, too, catching himself on the kitchen counter.
"What the hell is happening?" I asked. At this point, I wasn't sure anyone could answer.
My brother looked at me with bright, erratic eyes and a shocked smile.
Virgil gasped, and I snapped my head back to him. Tears rolled over his cheeks, and his entire body shook. He let out a sob, and, with the heart-wrenching sound, his powers radiated into the space.
I was used to the dull pain it caused in my head. I squeezed his hands firmly. "You're okay, babe; everything's gonna be okay."
He shook his head. "No, no. You don't... He—He... Ro—Ro, he killed them. Oh my God, he killed them."
I dreaded knowing what he meant.
"Ro, your parents, he—he..."
I smiled gently—sadly—and wiped away his tears with my sleeve. "I know, hun; I know." I held his hands for a moment longer before standing. That's Remus, I told myself, still trying to process it.
Remus was just now standing up, running a hand through the gray streak in his brown hair. "He is quite strong," he complimented.
I took a long breath. "Let's say I believe you—that I believe you're the dead brother that I explicitly remember having cremated. Why are you here? I mean, how did you even find me? I moved almost a thousand miles from home for a reason."
My brother hoisted himself onto the counter. It seemed like an effort for him, but he was playing it off like he was fine. He was good at that. "Well, let's see... About a year ago, I was minding my own business when I happened to get kidnapped. It wouldn't have been a problem normally because I'm me, but they kinda took away my powers. I was there until about three months ago."
Virgil shifted and stood, his blanket lax off his shoulders. He swayed on his feet for a second, but I wasn't sure if it was from being sick or fighting with Remus.
"The police finally found the place, arrested a shit-ton of people, and I left."
Virgil seemed strangely calm now. The tears from before were drying on his cheeks. We never talked about what happened during his captivity those few, long days. I could never really tell if it changed him because of the unconventional way that our relationship began. He asked my brother very simply, "You were there?"
Remus nodded with a shrug.
Virge looked at me, and his eyes were blank—emotionless. "I'm gonna go get dressed." He stepped into the bedroom, and I thought I'd finally have a chance alone with Remus, until I felt a pull on the back of my shirt, though no one grasped it.
I decided it was best to oblige him. Closing the door behind me, I pulled N—that being the nickname I called him when we were alone—into a hug.
"You have a brother you didn't tell me about," he whispered.
"Diddo," I accused.
He sighed. "Twin brother, Princey."
I tightened my grip on him. "I'm sorry. I just didn't think it'd ever come up."
"You never talk about your family. Are they really all...?"
I shrugged; I didn't know anymore. "Mom and Dad are; I know that much. Our grandparents didn't want me, so I was put into foster care until I turned eighteen. I haven't spoken to them since."
Virgil pulled back and sat down on the edge of the bed, the emotions returning to him. "I saw what he did to them..." A shiver seemed to run down his spine as he straightened. "He enjoyed it; I know he did."
My heart felt heavy, even though I'd always suspected such a thing. "My parents weren't good people," I admitted, "and they weren't kind to me; however, they were even worse to Remus. I think they finally broke him that day."
"I don't want him here."
"Virge—"
"He's a murderer, and I know how he did it. Do you?" His voice broke over his words. "He controlled their minds, and he made them kill each other—beat each other to death. He could get into my head, Princey, and I could hurt so many people... I don't want to hurt anyone again."
I stepped between his legs and leaned down to kiss him. "I'll go talk to him and figure out what he wants. Get dressed, okay?"
I tried to pull away, but he wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed me again. "Stay, please, and tell me about lunch. How's my mom?"
I backed up, pulling him with me. "Good—really good. She misses you."
He began grabbing clothes. "I know; I know, but when I get sick, I get sick. You're lucky your powers make you immune."
I walked up behind him as he took off his shirt, kissing his neck. "I gotta go make sure he's not stabbing our cat or something."
"I love you."
"Love you, too."