Thomas was three years old when he got his first real toy; you know, the type of toy you hang onto for years beyond the age they're meant for. He received it on his birthday, a soft doll of a boy in a blue polo shirt, a grey handing from his shoulders and a pair of glasses on his smiling face. He'd giggled with joy and hugged it close to his chest, carrying it everywhere he went for months. He'd named him Patton.

That year for Christmas, he got another plush doll. This one wore a black polo shirt with a blue tie, also having glasses though he wasn't smiling as wide. He'd held this one up to look at him more closely, deciding on the name Logan for him and then grinning as he hugged him and Patton together. He stopped carrying around Patton after he got Logan; not because he'd been replaced, but because Thomas often told grownups who'd ask that Logan didn't like the outdoors, and Patton didn't want him to be lonely.

His fourth birthday he got a third doll. This one was a prince! He'd gasped upon taking him out of the box, smiling wide at his pretty red sash and gold accents to his suit. Roman was the next to be carried around everywhere, being the prince. He fought off the dragon witches with him.

For a long time, it was the three of them as Thomas' primary toys. Sure, the kid had many other action figures and toys, but those three were special to him. He felt like they were real, that they had feelings and personalities, and he couldn't have been more right.

Whenever he was away, the toys of his room became animated. They moved, they talked, they lived. The three dolls in particular were the supposed leaders of the toys. It wasn't like they bossed them around, the were more like the ones that watched over them. Patton made sure every toy felt at home. Logan made sure every toy knew the rules of the home. Roman made sure every toy felt safe in the home. They made sure everyone was where they should be when Thomas came home, they made sure no one got lost, or felt left out. Things were perfect for a while.

Things changed a little on Thomas' seventh birthday, when he received a fourth doll. The young boy had run up to his room beaming, clutching a doll dressed in black and purple. "Guys! You've got a new friend!" he'd told the three, who were sitting on his bed awaiting his return to his room. "Patton, Logan, Roman, meet Virgil!"

He held him up, making him wave a little before introducing him to who each of them were. "Virgil, this is Patton! He loves sweets and dad jokes! This is Logan! He doesn't like dad jokes, but he'll make them sometimes when he's around Patton," Thomas explained enthusiastically before leaning in close to Virgil and whispering, "he's a little grumpy, but he's got a really big soft spot for Patton," and winking before continuing. "And this is Roman! He's really brave and creative! You two should get along great!"

As he placed Virgil next to him, his mother called from downstairs, telling him it was time to go to dinner. He said goodbye to each of them before running out of the room. When the dolls heard the car pull away from the house, they began to move.

"Aw, Thomas looked so excited and happy!" Patton said as he stretched. "I mean, it is his seventh birthday! Pretty soon he'll be in the double digits."

"Oh, that'll definitely be interesting," Logan replied as he too stretched. "Once he enters his teen years, he'll start to have a better understanding of how the world works. He'll start figuring out what he wants to be-"

"Well he's a teen, he's gonna have a boyfriend!" Roman exclaimed excitedly, clapping.

The three of them gushed over their Thomas growing for a moment before a small voice spoke up. "You don't think... he'll out grow us though?" it asked quietly. They turned around, suddenly remembering their new addition. The darkly dressed doll fidgeted as he kept his gaze low. He looked very nervous. "What if he gets rid of us?"

"Oh! It was Virgil wasn't it?" Patton said, moving forward to hug him as he nodded. He felt the other toy tense up, before he pulled away. "You're new here, but there's nothing to worry about! Thomas is the sweetest boy ever, and he really loves us! He won't get rid of us."

"Well, he won't get rid of us," Roman corrected, glaring at the new toy. "You on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if he stuffed you in a box in a week or two."

Virgil flinched, backing away in fear of the sudden aggression from the prince. The other two gasped at him, Patton interjecting in surprise, horror, and disappointment. "Roman! That's a horrible thing to say to our new friend!" he scolded, crossing his arms. "Apologize right now mister. That was uncalled for."

"Whatever, sorry," he mumbled before strutting away, clearly unhappy.

Patton sighed as he watched him go, shaking his head before turning back to the new toy. "I'm so sorry about him," he told Virgil with a reassuring smile. "He's never experienced a new addition before, so it might take him a little while to get used to. He was last doll Thomas got, so he felt special, so you being the new one is probably what made him so aggressive. He's actually really nice."

The darkly dressed doll nodded, still looking small and scared as he looked after where the prince had gone. "Well, Virgil, if you'll follow me, I'll give you the run down of how things work around here," Logan said with a nod. He led him around the room and the house, listing the rules and the schedule that most of the family members followed. "Oh, and finally, do not go into the dog's room without one of us. He's never met you, so his initial reaction will be 'chew toy' rather than 'new friend', understand?"

Virgil nodded as the headed back to the bed. Patton and Roman were talking when they arrived, but the second the prince's gaze landed on him, he stood up and marched away. The darkly dressed doll's hopes of a good relationship with him fell as he sat down next to Patton and listened to him ramble on about their favorite things to do.

Two weeks later, his relationship with Roman remained unchanged and he still hadn't learned his way around the house. There was no one home at the moment, and he'd wanted to go to the office for some quiet time by himself, away from the other toys, but got turned around and stumbled into the dog's room. Now he'd been introduced to the dog, but he was still relatively new and had only encountered him with the others once. When he perked his head up and saw Virgil, he immediately stood up to lunge at him.

The darkly dressed doll yelled as he ran as fast as his feet could carry him, trying to dodge the dog's attacked. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough. The dog bit down on his side, picking him to parade around with him proudly as he struggled. As he did so, two of the dog's teeth ripped the seem of his arm and his leg. He gasped as he squirmed enough for the dog to let go of him, sending him skidding across the floor until he hit the wall. Virgil let out a whimper as he cowered against it, holding a hand to his rip as the dog grew closer.

"Hey!" He looked up in shock to see Roman, who jumped from one of the shelves on the wall to swing from one of the laps before landing between him and the dog. "Whoa boy! This guy's not a chew toy!"

The dog looked confused, recognizing the prince as a friend. Roman grabbed a squeaky toy that was nearby, tossing it to the other side of the room. The dog barked happily as he chased it. He turned toward Virgil, who was shaking as he curled in himself, holding his rips. "Hey... Virgil," he said slowly, leaning down to scoop him into his arms. "Come on, we'll get you fixed up once we're out of here."

The darkly dressed doll clung to him as he sniffled, letting himself be carried to the actual office where Roman sat him down gently on the desk. "Wait here, I know where the sewing supplies is," he told him softly, giving him a small smile before moving away. He came back a moment later carrying a needle and black thread. He thread the needle and moved to kneel in front of Virgil. "So, I'm not sure how this will feel, but let me know if it hurts or something."

He nodded, slowly taking his hands away from the rips. The prince took a deep breath and began patching him up, making sure to go slow and be careful so he wouldn't mess up. After about five minutes, the rips were practically invisible against the doll's dark clothing. "There, all fixed," he said as he put away the needle and thread.

"Roman, why are you... being nice to me?" Virgil asked quietly. The prince looked surprised at his question, but before he could answer, the other continued. "You literally hate me. From the first day you've been hoping Thomas would just t-throw me away, so w-why- why not let the dog rip me apart s-so I'm out of your hair?"

He felt him kneel down in front of him again, placing a comforting hand on his leg. "Hey... hey, look at me," Roman said softly, getting him to look up enough to make eye contact. "I'm sorry about the way I treated you. I don't want you ripped apart or throw away, I was just being jealous. I get like that sometimes... but I actually... really like you."

Virgil looked at him with wide eyes, blinking as he processed his words. "I actually knew I liked you from the moment I looked at you, but I didn't want to admit it," he explained. They both realized how close the were at the same time, his gaze lowering to his lips before quickly going back to his eyes. "May I?"

"I-If you want to..." the darkly dressed doll whispered before feeling the prince kiss him gently; well, kiss in a way that two soft dolls could kiss. It was still adorable, and sweet once they pulled away and Roman took his hand, leading them back to Thomas' room.

That night, instead of laying at the foot of the bed, he found himself next to Roman, leaning into him as he drifted into sleep, finally feeling at home.