Roman silently cursed his terrible luck as he lay on the couch, the early morning lights from the sun peeking through the curtains. He cursed the early morning birds that had started to sing as he shifted on the uncomfortable couch. It was fine at first, it took a bit to get comfortable and he fell asleep... but various sounds and the lumpy couch slowly made it impossible to stay asleep. His mother had run a little late earlier that night and said she would bring his bed over the next day. Logan had purchased an inflatable bed to sleep on but Roman found the plastic to make him unbelievably covered in static. His abilities had a field day a he became a constant low charge. The tingling of the small sparks made it impossible to sleep so he had moved to the couch almost immediately. It felt like his entire body was fuzzy like static, almost like when your leg falls asleep and you can't shake it back 'awake'.

He rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling, hearing the soft footsteps of his upstairs neighbor and began to wonder why they were up so early. He huffed and threw his arm over his eyes, wishing the day would go away and leave him alone before it truly began. Roman had a full day of job hunting and begging Virgil to forgive him and this was not a great start. Although, if he was feeling negative he wasn't really up to searching for a new job on top of moving his stuff in and unpacking as well. As for Virgil...

Virgil had jumped back in time last night to that afternoon when they had seen him and immediately buddied up to his sister. Julie had a lot of dirt on Roman and he had kept her quiet with the promise when he dated, she had full reign. Luckily, Roman kept past boyfriends away from her for a long time. He thought Virgil wouldn't be there at that time and knew it was safe for her to drop him off. He didn't expect his potential date mate to spitefully time travel just to ruffle his feathers, even if Roman deserved it. It explained Virgil's initial confusion when he turned up that night with no memory of being there earlier that day.

He knew Virgil had anxiety issues and brushing him off a bit would come back and bite him but his pride and self-esteem worried about what would happen if he had told the truth. Why would Virgil want to date some jobless schmuck who couldn't even take him out on a nice date? It made no sense at first but Roman had it all planned out. He would move in, woo Virgil, do a few in-house movie nights while he saved up some cash and then take Virgil out on a nice dinner date where they would become official. There was music and mood lighting and rose petals raining from the sky in the scenario in his head but Roman knew it would be nothing like that. Currently, it wouldn't be anything at all if Virgil wouldn't forgive him for basically snubbing him after their first date.

Roman groaned, not wanting to think about this but unable to sleep. He knew he was on a steady path downward mentally and needed to stop, but was it worth waking up someone in the house as he stomped around to get ready so early? Or what if he got lost in the new neighborhood if he just went out for a walk?

The door next to the couch slowly clicked and Roman lifted his head and looked over. Slowly pushing the door open, Roman saw Patton's face peer through his door and look over at Roman, giving him a soft smile.

"Hey," Patton whispered, opening the door a bit more. Despite his messy bed head and pajamas, Patton had his glasses on and seemed more awake then anyone should at 4 am. "Not sleeping? Couch not comfy?"

Roman let his head fall back onto his pillow. "It's alright, I just woke up."

Patton walked out of his room and leaned on the armrest by his feet, looking down at Roman. "Ro, I can feel you spiraling from inside my room. I know you've been awake for a while." Instead of answering, Roman threw an arm over his eyes once more and groaned. "Come on, talk to me."

"I really don't want to, Patton." He heard Patton shift around and Roman slid his arm up to look at his roommate. "I'm sorry I woke you up, I'll try and settle down okay?" Patton kneeled down and rested his head on his arms next to Roman. "Patton-"

"Can I at least try and help you relax and get a little bit of sleep?" Roman looked over and saw Patton watching him silently. With a sigh, Roman nodded and closed his eyes. He felt Patton reach up and brush his hair out of his face as he started to relax. "We'll talk when you wake up." Roman let out a soft hum of approval as he felt his limbs grow impossibly heavy. "We're allowed to worry about you." After a few minutes of making absolutely sure Roman was asleep, which was proven by the soft yet growing louder snores, he got up and stifled a yawn as Patton crawled back in his own bed. Dodging all the boxes he had yet to unpack, Patton struggled to get to sleep for a bit before falling back to his own dreamless slumber.

---

Roman woke with a start, his heart jumping as he grabbed the blanket in his hands and took a moment to catch his breath. Roman didn't remember his dream now that he had woken up, but he had noticed it was brighter as the sun shined through the window not completely blocked by moving boxes. Blinking and looking around, Roman spotted his phone still plugged into the wall on the floor. He grabbed it and groaned as it lit up too bright for his eyes, blinking rapidly as he lowered the brightness as soon as he could. Checking the time, Roman shot up awake, pulling the plug out of the wall in the process and silently cursing himself as he checked to make sure it was okay. The last thing he needed was his phone charger breaking on him when he couldn't replace it. He threw his legs off of the couch and jumped up, fixing his hair as he entered the kitchen.

Patton turned at the sound of noise and perked up, placing down the utensils he was organizing into drawers. "Roman! How'd you sleep?"

"Patton, it's almost noon!" Roman looked around the kitchen, noticing it was littered with boxes and drawers and cabinets were all opened and partially stocked. "Seriously, you're better than a sleeping pill! I didn't even know you could do that." Patton smiled and shrugged. "You setting up the kitchen, huh?"

"Yeah! I was hoping you'd be up soon, though. We have no food and I'm hungry." Patton closed the drawer he was working on. "How about we go explore and get some lunch?"

"Oh, splendid!" Roman perked up at the offer. "We could explore the neighborhood and take in the sights!"

"Yeah, and I can look for the nearest place with food." Patton pulled out his phone and froze as a quick shot of panic bolted across the room before looking up at Roman. "On me of course! I offered."

"Oh, not necessary!" Roman smiled, ignoring Patton's smile slowly slipping. "I have it handled!"

"Roman," Patton spoke firmly as he stared down his roommate. Roman physically deflated and shrugged. "I'm getting lunch, it's fine."

"Your empath abilities seemed to have improved in our time apart," Roman mumbled but gave Patton a small smile as he turned to go to his room. "I'll go get ready, then."

Patton smiled at his small victory and searched nearby places they could walk to. After a few minutes, the screen changed and a photo of Logan appeared on his screen. It was a photo Patton took while Logan had been talking, a book half in his hand and his arm out as he spoke. He had a tendency to talk and express himself with his hands a bit and Patton loved watching Logan go on about things even if he didn't quite understand. Logan had a tendency to talk about topics and not really explain anything about them.

Patton tapped the green icon and put the phone up to his ear. "Hello Lo!"

"Greetings, Patton. Do you perhaps have a moment to talk?"

Patton smiled and looked over down the hall out of the kitchen. "Yeah, Roman just went to go get ready for the day so I have plenty of time."

He heard Logan chuckle and suddenly clear his throat. "Excellent. Patton, I have a proposition for you. I know you have Sundays off from working at the library, correct?"

"Logan." Patton smiled a bit to himself. "Are you reading something you wrote off of a piece of paper?"

"Wha-no! No, of course not." Logan sounded a bit panicked and Patton covered his mouth from laughing at the sounds of paper coming from the other side. "I was just wondering if you wanted to get together with me next Sunday?"

Patton mock gasped and started bouncing on the tips of his toes. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Oh, well, I... yes. Yes, I am." Patton squealed excitedly into the phone before covering his smile with his free hand. "Oh, well... That certainly is a noise."

"Of course I will! Oh, where are we going? Should I dress warmly? Oh, do I need to dress up all fancy?" Patton started pacing to burn off his excited energy as he thought about what he might have to wear.

"Calm down!" Patton knew Logan would never admit it, but he sounded a bit happy and excited as he spoke. "Don't wear anything fancy, you may get a bit messy so just something comfortable will do. I'll take care of the rest. We will have lunch first, though."

"Ohh, so mysterious! I can't wait! Pick me up at, let's say noon? Do you need my address?" The sigh on the other side of the phone was answer enough for him.

"Patton, I think I can manage to walk down the hall. You need not worry about that."

"Mmm, I dunno. It took you a while to get the guts to do it the first time." Patton's tone was entirely playful. "Don't worry, I'm sure you can figure it out! Have fun at work!" He quickly hung up the phone before Logan could answer back and squealed once more, bouncing up and down in the middle of their small kitchen.

Roman came running out of his room, pulling down a shirt and adjusting it. "Woah, calm down!" He ran up and grabbed Patton's hands, both of them jumping up and down. "You're making me all giddy and excited and I don't even know why!" Roman laughed and Patton finally stopped jumping, taking a moment to calm down. "What happened?"

"Logan asked me out!" Roman watched as Patton simply radiated happiness, and he did it quite literally. Although unaware, his empath abilities simply made the entire room light up and shine in excitement that Roman felt it through the walls. "He's taking me out to lunch and then he said the second part was kind of secret because he wouldn't tell me and oh my gosh can you help me pick out an outfit after we eat?!"

"Of course I can!" Roman wrapped his arm around Patton's shoulders and headed for the front door. "When I'm done with you, Logan won't be able to take his eyes off of you!"

Patton chuckled and shook his head on the way out. "No, I just wanna be myself! If you dress me, I'll be dressed like you! I just want you to help me choose."

Roman threw a hand to his head as he sighed. "Fine, as you wish. I will withhold my creative prowess for you if I must."

The walk went longer than they thought but Patton had taken them to a small burger place just a few blocks over. Patton speculated on what Logan had planned and Roman gave ideas of things to wear. Every moment that felt silent was comfortable, but Roman couldn't stop wondering in the back of his head if he had royally screwed up with Virgil.

They returned home when Roman got a call from his mother who was finally driving over with the small moving truck with his bed and dresser. It was his old ones from his childhood he had left behind, but it was all he had since he could not afford anything else. Roman was just excited to be able to sleep properly that night. When his phone chimed and he saw a moving truck pull up, Roman ran outside eagerly.

"Mother!" Roman spread his arms out wide as he approached the truck before looking confused. "Oh, goodness. Julie? What are you doing back here?"

Roman's little sister jumped out of the passenger's seat and smiled up at her brother. "I knew how to get here so I helped mom out!"Roman looked down curiously at the manila envelope gripped tight in her hands. "Oh, by the way, do you mind if I drop this off? It's for Virgil."

"Oh, what is it?" Roman reached a handout and Julie dodged carefully, holding it out of harm's way. "Oh, come on! What's the big secret?"

His sister stuck her tongue out and smiled up at her brother. "Go help mom, just trust me on this." She waved the envelope in her hands for him to see. "This is your way to Virgil forgiving you for being a complete idiot."

Roman felt his heart jump at that as he smiled at his sister. "Truly? You are wonderful! Thank you!" He watched his sister wink at him and run inside as he turned back to the truck, hoping the hard labor would distract him from what his sister had planned. "Mother?"

An older woman walked around the truck and smiled up at him. She was under five feet tall and lean but Roman knew the truth. His mother was a powerhouse that was not to be messed with. "Roman, honey! You look exhausted! Not sleep well last night?"

He smiled and shook his head as his arms reached out and wrapped his mother in a hug. "Turns out inflatable beds don't really agree with me."

"Oh!" His mother chuckled as she pulled away. "I do believe I knew that, sorry hunny! Memory isn't quite what it used to be." She pushed open the back of the truck and Roman smiled at his few things strapped down inside. "Now, lets put those muscles of yours to work! Hope you can keep up with me."

"Oh, I'll certainly try." Roman was confident he would be able to. His mother was surprisingly strong and sturdy, but he had been running around at night saving lives for the last few months. While he was lean before, he was much stronger than he was now. Although with his wonderful costume ruined and thrown away since it was ripped and covered in blood, he had a simple pullover hoodie he wore with a crown on the back. Not as fancy but Roman managed to keep up his somewhat princey vibes over the last few difficult months. He hadn't seen or visited his fan club recently but he was sure they had questions about the change.

Helping lift and carry everything was still difficult but it did turn out that his mother had to play catch up with him. She always had labor-intensive jobs growing up. He would never forget when he saw his mother tackle his father and pick him up bridal style the first time, it was quite the sight since his father was over six feet tall.

After carrying the mattress into the house and into his room, his mother practically bombarded Patton with questions as he was back to sorting out the kitchen.

"-and I want you to make sure he's eating properly. He doesn't eat enough greens! Also, you don't have to cook for him all the time, just make sure he isn't just buying frozen pizzas every night."

Patton smiled and nodded as the woman talked, looking over at Roman with a smirk. "It's so nice you care so much about your son! Don't you worry, if it's anything like it was before then you shouldn't worry at all."

"You're so sweet! Oh, I'm upset I'm not meeting any more of your roommates."

"Yes, terribly sorry mom but they're both working. I know how much you wanted to meet Virgil but he won't be back until a bit later." Which Roman was extremely grateful for.

"Good thing your sister is looking out for me." Roman turned and looked at Julie who smiled and waved at him. "She got his number for me! The boy was lovely enough to send a photo." Roman jumped and looked back at his mother as she held out her phone. True to her word, a selfie of Virgil looking very shy was smiling back at him. "He looks like a total sweetheart."

Roman was disappointed when the screen faded and his mother pulled the phone away. He wondered how much his sister would blackmail him to be able to get that picture sent to him. "Yes, well... So glad Julie seems to have buddied up with him rather quickly." He looked over at his sister once more. "Where did you put that folder by the way?"

"Come on, let's finish unpacking the truck!" Roman glared at his little sister as he mother tugged on his arm and pulled him out of the kitchen and back outside.

Her trip was short and Roman was glad as they drove away, in a rush to return the rental truck before the end of the day. Roman sighed and went back inside, closing the door and leaning back onto it. Setting up his bed took no time at all but unpacking was going to be just as bad as packing it all up in the first place was.

Roman walked into the kitchen as Patton turned and smiled at him. "They left?"

"Yep, just us." Patton wasted no time as suddenly Two and Three popped out, heading for boxes and unpacking the kitchen at a much faster speed. "Go take care of your room, we've got it in here."

Having Patton's abilities was probably perfect for things like moving. No asking for favors or begging for help, you could simply just make as many of you as you needed and pack things yourself. Roman spend a good two hours in his room before the front door opened and closed once more. Footsteps approached his hallway and Roman turned to greet Logan as he approached his room across the hall. What he did not expect was Virgil leaning in his doorway with that blasted envelope in his hands.

"Heya, princey. I see Julie and Elizabeth stopped by already."

Roman fumbled with the box in his hands and placed it down carefully. "You're on a first name basis with my mother?" He paled as Virgil smiled and looked down at the envelope. "Do I even want to know what that is?"

Virgil hummed to himself as he played with the tab at the top, slowly tugging and opening it as he did so. "Your sister promised me it would be enough to forgive you. I was doubtful but even your mother thought it would work."

Roman sighed and sat on his bed that was still covered with various items. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just ignored you because I was having issues. You didn't deserve the silent treatment."

"Do you even know why I'm upset?" Roman looked up as Virgil glared back. "You asked me out, you want to start something between us... and the first thing you do? You don't talk. Every stupid television show would tell you that communication matters, and you did the opposite." He held up the envelope and bit back his anger. "Your family is sure this will be enough to forgive you, but I'm still not convinced."

Roman shot up from his bed and looked a bit desperate. "I'm sorry, Virgil. My stupid pride got in the way." He ran a hand through his hair and grabbed it, tugging at it. "I thought I was this cool hero that saved the day and could whisk you away. The truth is, I'm not." His hands let go and fell to his sides. "I'm just an unemployed loser who couldn't even see why you would want to go out with me in the first place."

It grew quiet and Roman risked looking up at Virgil. The other looked back with a hint of anger, but mostly confused. "Are you that stupid? It goes two ways, you already got me to agree on the date! You already had me! It goes both ways, moron!" Virgil stormed into the room and smacked Roman in the arm with the envelope. "You don't just get to try to 'woo' me." He raised his hands as he gave air quotes. "What, do you think I can't sweep you off your feet either?"

Roman opened his mouth to speak but found himself at a loss for words. Virgil sighed and shook his head, his bangs falling into his face more. "Virgil, I really am sorry. I didn't think... I thought I still had to win you over and I just thought I wasn't enough."

He heard Virgil snort out a laugh and look up. "You thought you weren't enough for me? Seriously?" Virgil grumbled and whispered so softly, Roman wasn't sure if he was meant to hear. "Of course, you are. You're more than enough." He held up the envelope and his face fell emotionless. "Well, wanna see if your family was right?"

Roman was afraid of answering until he saw Virgil smile and look up at him. "I have a feeling I won't like what they have in store either way."

Virgil looked down and tore the envelope open. He stuck a hand inside and slowly pulled out a piece of glossy paper. He flipped it over and held it up but Roman only saw the white back of it. Suddenly, Virgil held it close to his chest as he bent forward, laughing so hard he reached out and grabbed onto Roman's arm to hold himself up. Confused and unsure what to do, Roman held onto his roommate as the man fell into breathless laughter, struggling and gasping for air. When he finally saw Virgil raise his head, his eyes held tears as they ran down his face and smudged his makeup. His face even looked a bit red underneath as he finally took a big breath of air. "Oh, Roman. I love your family." He wiped his eyes with his hoodie and ignored the fact he smudged his makeup worse. "Okay. I'm good. Wow." He smiled brightly up at Roman. "You're forgiven! However, you have to start over and take me on a whole new first date. If you're successful, I'll take you on one. Sound like a deal?"

"That sounds..." Roman blinked and looked down at the slightly crumpled glossy paper in Virgil's hands. "...too good to be true. What did they give you?"

Roman reached out a hand and Virgil danced backward and out of the doorway. "You had braces as a kid."

"Well, yes. These dashing good looks had some help down the-..." Roman tensed up as he looked over at Virgil. "No. No, tell me they didn't."

"You had braces and electric powers." Virgil became giddy simply saying the words. Suddenly, Roman saw the photo in Virgil's hands as he flipped it around. "You had to use plastic utensils after getting a fork stuck in your braces!" Roman jumped forward and Virgil ran down the hall. As he reached the doorway, he saw Virgil practically dancing on air at how happy he was. "I'm framing this and putting it in my room. No!" Virgil took another step back as he stared Roman down. Roman could barely make out one of the Pattons as he slowly approached the kitchen. "I'm framing this after I make a bunch of back up copies and hiding them, then framing this one in my room!"

Roman ran down the hall and Virgil simply slammed his eyes closed, disappearing from sight. He spun around before he heard Virgil's bedroom door slam shut in the front of the house. He ran over and tugged on the doorknob to find it locked. He knocked on it and was answered with laughter. "Virge, come on! Please! I beg of you, burn it!"

"Never!"

"Virgil!"

"You better make it a good date, princey!"

(art by ierindoodles on tumblr!! )