Worn-Out Guard Virgil

Now that Thomas knew why Virgil took the self-imposed task of keeping the Dark Sides very seriously, Logan took in the information and Patton knew why he noticed the extra feelings of distress in Virgil's direction.

Virgil got back from the Dark Side entrance and, unless you knew what you were looking for, it was hard to tell that his hands were blistered from manually changing the locks again, as well as him getting more exhausted from how long it took. He went to his room and lied down on his bed while listening to his Spotify playlist of Panic! At The Disco songs. He looked at his card from Patton resting on his dresser and looked down. Not that he would admit it out loud, but he wanted to feel comfort from the others; maybe by a movie night, maybe with a family cuddle session, heck, even a game of Disney trivia where no one got too overexcited and loud would sound nice for him. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring himself to tell them he'd appreciate doing a group activity with them, since he thought they'd only feel obligated to care for him and he thought they'd probably blame him for his exhaustion. Why wouldn't they blame him? He used to be a Dark Side, so of course it was his responsibility to keep the others at bay. That was his consistent thought, as his eyes were watering and closing from exhaustion.

Logan summoned the Roman and Patton to his room, though not without accidentally pulling Roman's hair again and Patton's cat hoodie over his mouth. After the right-brained sides readjusted themselves, they turned their attention to their summoner.

"It has come to my attention that the majority of Virgil's exhaustion was from keeping the others under control," Logan stated the obvious.

"Doesn't he know that he can turn to m—I mean any of us to help him when it overwhelms him?" Roman asked, almost becoming self-centered in the process.

"Well, from what I can guess, it seems that he doesn't feel it would be right to turn to us for assistance, since he's the only one of us four that used to be one of them," Logan explained, while looking distressed as he sounded neutral.

"Sleeping at least 13 hours doesn't seem to be doing him well, either. He deserves more," Patton announced.

The three were thinking things over a little more, one of the benefits to being in Logan's room, and came across an idea that might help Virgil, at least for a little while.

Much later, Virgil woke up and his senses were immediately alert in case something was wrong. He gazed at the card on his dresser, but his ears were still paying attention to his surroundings and beyond. He heard some shuffling and followed it to the common room, only to be greeted by fairy lights, a large pillow fort, and the sides he grew to care for and trust. He didn't know what to think or how to react.

"What's going on?" the emo asked.

"Well, pillow forts and cuddling usually help with the least mature of us, when they are not feeling like their best selves, so we figured trying this as well as essentials suited for you might help you to relax, even if it's temporary," Logan explained to Virgil, due to the memory that he's not the most fond of surprises.

Virgil looked at the room before looking at Logan again.

"Wait, why?" the purp man questioned.

"As a reminder that you don't have to face hardships alone. Sure, I have to deal with an uncontrollable brother when I'm not working and the mirror shines the wrong way, but you had to deal with so much worse so much longer than us," Roman answered, as he tossed a Sonic plushie with bloody eyes in Virgil's arms.

Virgil looked at Roman, gazed at the plushie in his arms, and held it close to his chest while muttering "These dorks really care about me."

The Crofters addicts led Virgil to the pillow fort and Patton gestured to a spot right next to him.

"Tim Burton or Brooklyn Nine Nine?" Patton asked.

"How about one Tim Burton film after every fifth episode?" Virgil suggested for the sake of them not being too scared.

The group spent the rest of the evening on a TV binge while in the pillow fort, and having snacks until they fell asleep. Virgil knew it wouldn't calm him down forever, but at least he fell asleep knowing that he chose the side of the mind that truly cares about him.