The Demon and the Child

Cooking Up Some Feelings

"Jump, just jump! Roman- BUBBLE!" Virgil shouted as Roman's character fell off the mushroom in Super Mario Bros.

"Ack!" Roman shouted, trying to click the buttons in time and failing.

Virgil started laughing as Roman lost his last life and he started pouting.

"I don't like the mushroom levels," he whined.

"That was your own fault, I tried to help."

"You screaming doesn't help, it just makes me panic!"

"Do you want me to follow your Toad so we can start over? Or do you think I can finish this level on my own?"

"I'm sure you'll be able to finish it by yourself. Just wait, I'll find something that I can best you in and then it's over!"

"Is that so, princey?"

"It is!"

Virgil smirked at him. "The only thing you could beat me in is probably a beauty contest."

"Maybe, but it'll be challenging. After all, you have the prettiest eyes in the world. A soft gray."

"Soft? I don't think so."

"They seem soft to me, or maybe that's because you have a soft spot for me."

"Again, I don't think so- no!" Virgil shouted as his Luigi jumped right into a flying turtle.

"Ha! You got killed by a turtle!"

"At least I didn't fall off like a fool!"

"A fool! How dare thee!"

"Okay, Shakespeare!"

"Oh William was a jerk, don't compare me to him!"

"Everyone from Elizabethan England was a jerk."

Roman laughed at that, mostly grateful Virgil didn't catch his slip up. "That is true."

"Do you want to try this level again?"

"No thank you, I've already lost enough of my dignity today."

"What dignity?"

Roman made offended noises. "Excuse you! I wasn't the guy drooling in the school library this morning!"

"I don't drool! And you're the one that didn't jump in time in the game!"

"The mushroom was going down! I didn't have enough time to make the jump!"

"And you died."

"So did you! You're so mean!"

"What can I say? Teasing you is easy."

Roman pouted for a moment before the two heard the door open.

"I'm home!" they heard Patton call out.

"Dang, it's that late already?" Virgil mumbled to himself, checking the time on his phone. It was already past 7, usually Patton is home earlier than that.

Patton came into the living room after taking his shoes off and saw them sitting on the couch together.

"Hey you two, sorry I'm late, there was a lot of traffic. Did you get anything to eat?"

"We weren't paying attention to the time," Roman admitted.

"Well that won't do. I'll cook something up then."

Roman sprang up from the couch. "No need, padre, Virgil and I can cook something up for you. You already had a long day at work."

"I work at a library."