Virgil wished he could die. Believe him, he could die, but he'd just come back like nothing happened ten seconds later. It was the most taunting and cruel part of his existence.

The first time he'd tried, he'd overdosed on pills and woke up ten seconds later.

The second time, he'd thrown himself off a cliff in the Imagination, only to hit the ground and be unharmed.

The third time the anxious Side tried, he'd stolen a knife from the kitchen and had slit his wrists. That one was the most terrifying; watching the blood drain as you're falling unconscious just to blink and see that nothing had happened.

Virgil tried so many times, but nothing worked. All that remained of his attempts were black scars in the place he'd tried to do it. A black line following the vein on his arm, several black dots as well as a thick line on his neck, black patterns all along his skin. He covered every last one of them with his dark clothing. The other Sides had no idea. That was, until Roman caught a glimpse of the mark on his wrist as his sleeve slid up. His curiosity got the better of him. It was driving him mad as rabbits not to know what he'd seen.

One day, he snuck up into Virgil's room, looking around for some clue to what he'd seen. The prince felt guilty to going through his stuff, but one of the curses of being Creativity was being unable to stop the flow of thoughts and guesses until he had an answer.

Roman's hand found a small black notebook hidden behind his pillow, eyes widening a little. He pulled it out, slowly opening it as though it would shock him. His eyebrows furrowed together as he read the notebook's contents. It was filled with dates, but as he read underneath them, they had times and...

Bile started to rise up in his throat as he read through the countless pages of dates and ways to kill yourself. Roman didn't need to be told that it was Virgil keeping track of how many times he'd done just that.

"Roman?"

He jumped at the sound of his voice, turning to see the anxious Side standing behind him. The prince didn't know what to say, so he opted for not saying anything at all at first. He rushed forward, dropping the notebook as he hugged him tightly.

"Why would you do that to yourself?!" Roman asked, throat closing up as tears started to fall.

Virgil was frozen as the prince pulled away and pushed back his jacket's sleeve. He put a finger on the black line that remained hauntingly on his skin from where the knife had cut.

"This is from an attempt, isn't it?" he asked forcefully as Virgil stared at him. "Isn't it?!"

The anxious Side couldn't say anything as he started to sob, falling to his knees. Roman felt his heart lurch as he knelt down with him. He hugged him tightly again, holding him like he'd disappear if he let go.

"W-Why do you c-care?" Virgil asked, voice laced with as much poison he could muster as he pushed him away. "You've n-never cared! You caused m-most of these-mmf?!"

Roman cut him off, pressing their lips together forcefully. The anxious Side was frozen in shock at first, but soon his eyelids slipped closed and he let the prince kiss him. He was soon on his back with him hovering above as he continued to kiss him. He pulled away, panting as he met Virgil's gaze.

"Don't you dare say I don't care," he told him firmly. "Don't let your mind trick you into believing such a lie."

Roman leaned down, noticing that there seemed to be makeup on his neck. He wiped it away, his breath catching upon seeing the dots and the line. He kissed the marks, mumbling.

"What are these from?" he asked.

"Pills, bleach... and a noose..." Virgil replied quietly as the prince kissed his neck.

He pulled away with a sad look on his face as he leaned in to kiss his lips again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner how madly in love with you I am," he said. Virgil hummed I'm acknowledgement as he kissed him again, a small smile tugging at his lips as he broke the kiss and met his gaze. He leaned up to brush their noses together as he spoke.

"You can make it up to me with kisses."