[inspired by a oneshot by @ChickitaGurl. go check them out!]

Virgil rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand, letting out a yawn and sighing. Staying up all night to wrap presents was a stupid move, on his behalf.

He had never particularly liked Christmas, since it was a time when family and friends gathered together to celebrate, and he had neither of those for a long time. Being accepted by the guys was a massive change for him, and he wanted to express his gratitude.

Glancing at the clock and taking a moment to process the swimming numbers, he gathered the boxes in a pile in his arms and snuck out of his room, careful not to make a noise. Managing to arrive at the commons without being caught, he set the presents down, before taking a step back and admiring his handiwork.

Each box was wrapped neatly in a silver sheet of wrapping paper, with labels and colour-coded ribbons tied around each: a brash red for Roman; a baby blue for Patton; a deep navy blue for Logan. The labels simply had the recipient's name on it, in case the colours didn't suffice.

One of the parts that Virgil had always liked about Christmas, was the decorations. Twinkling lights, and colourful tinsel, never failed to make him feel better. Looking around at the ornaments - which Patton had spent the entire day setting up, with help from Roman -, Virgil skimmed over the stockings before stopping, reading the names on them again.

Roman, Logan, Patton...

No Virgil.

Virgil took a step back, shaking his head. Rushing over to the kitchen, he spotted a tray of baked goods on the counter. Patton made each side a cookie every year, which they would eat after their dinners. He looked over them.

One with a cartoonish brain - Logan; another with a heart - Patton; and the last with a crown - Roman.

No Virgil.

Although he knew it was wrong, Virgil paced clumsily to the presents underneath the tree, reading the labels on each.

To Roman; to Logan; to Patton; to Logan; to Patton; to Roman; to Patton; to Roman; to Logan.

No Virgil.

Virgil felt his breathing quicken, and his heartbeat thumped deafeningly in his head. His knees stung from the impact of dropping to them.

Wait, when did he fall over?

Scrambling up, Virgil stumbled to his room, shutting and locking the door. He wasn't needed.

He wasn't wanted.

He wasn't supposed to exist.

They wanted no Virgil?

-~*~-

Patton skipped into the commons, humming a cheery tune underneath his breath.

'Greetings, Padre! Merry Christmas!' Roman greeted enthusiastically, in a sing-song voice. He was practically bouncing off of the walls with excitement.

'Heya, kiddo! Hi, Logan!' Patton chirped joyously, gaining a nod of acknowledgement from Logic, who was engrossed in his book. He folded the corner of his page - as much as he hated it, he couldn't buy a bookmark, because Roman continuously insists that they're microphones for him to 'perform' with - and focused on the other two.

'Salutations, Patton. Happy holidays.' He spoke, more emotion in his voice than usual. Patton grinned at his two friends, before looking under the tree.

'Oh, Roman! You remembered to wrap Virgil's gifts last night!' He exclaimed, spotting three purple-wrapped presents which weren't there before.

'Why, of course! How could I forget our little storm cloud?' Roman joked, before gesturing to the stockings, 'I even helped Logan sew his stocking back up!'

Patton looked over at Logan, who nodded in approval,

'Yes, Roman did, in fact, aid me in sewing the tear in Virgil's stocking last night.'

Patton's grin grew impossible bigger, before a look of realisation dawned on him.

'Oh, I forgot!' he rushed over to the kitchen, taking another cookie out of the oven. It had a small picture of a storm cloud, and was littered with purple and black sprinkles, 'I kept Virgil's cookie in the oven overnight, when it was turned off, so it kept warm, just how he likes them!'

'Well, all of that's good, but where actually is Virgil?' Logan commented, 'I haven't seen him this morning.'

'Ah, he's probably still asleep...' Roman replied, glancing to the hallway where their rooms were, 'I can go and wake him up.'

Roman nodded and walked casually to Virgil's room, knocking gently on the door. Although he would never admit it, he found Virgil utterly adorable when he slept, or when he was drowsy, so he took every chance he could to wake up the trait and see him in the morning.

'Virgil? It's Christmas!' Roman cheerfully exclaimed, only to be greeted with silence.

'Huh. He's usually quite a light sleeper.' Roman recalled, before trying again, 'Virgil?'

'Yes, I'm very aware.' Virgil finally answered, a sharp edge to his voice. Roman nearly stumbled back in surprise.

'May I enter?' Asked Roman. The only answer he received was the sound of a lock clicking open.

Roman cautiously opened Virgil's door, peeking in to see if he was okay. He was greeted by the younger, curled in a ball in the corner. Although he managed to hide most of his face, the tear stains were still visible in the dim light, and his eyes seemed glassy and fake. Roman felt a physical pain in his heart at the sight. He quietly shut the door behind him, pushing his heartbreak behind him for the sake of his crush- friend. His friend.

'Princey...' Virgil's voice was weak and frail, not to mention hoarse from sobbing. Roman went to give him a comforting hug, but decided against it.

'Virgil... Can I touch you?' He decided to ask instead. When he received a nod, he immediately scooped Virgil into a hug, doodling small circles on his back, and whispering small words of encouragement. It seemed to calm Virgil down.

'Thank... Thank you...' Virgil managed, loosening his grip on Roman's shirt and shuffling away.

'It's not a problem, Vi.' Roman reassured, 'May I know what set this off?'

Virgil hesitated.

'I-I went to the commons to put... I went to the commons to put my presents for you guys under the tree. It was... about one am,' Virgil ignored Roman's disapproving look at the time, 'And...' Virgil's words drifted off.

'Take your time.' Roman encouraged, giving Virgil what he hoped was a comforting look.

'You guys didn't do anything for me... No stocking, no cookie, no presents... It- I took it to heart. It took so long to get accepted... It felt crushing...' For someone who most likely stayed up all night having a panic attack, Roman was impressed by the choice of words.

'Virgil...' Roman began, gathering his thoughts before speaking again, 'We were still preparing last night, and we just finished putting things up this morning. Patton left your cookie in the oven, because he knows you like them warm; your stocking had a tear in it, so me and Logan were sewing it up again; and, I had been putting off wrapping your presents, and I just finished them this morning. We didn't forget you, not at all!'

Virgil felt the words of gratitude fizzle out and die on his tongue, instead replaced by silent shock. Roman took in a deep breath, debating whether he should continue, before settling on an answer, 'We wanted to spend as much time on you as possible, because we all love you, and we care about you and your feelings. We love you, Virgil. You're our family. Nothing will ever stop us caring. I promise.'

He promised, as he forgot that promises were fragile things, and even the slightest mistake can break them.

(this chapter is very quantity over quality.)