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The fact that Virgil only gulped and nodded when told he was the only person the mayor could find to house the baby... thing, was probably testament more to his numbed exposure to this new world rather than any good coping skills. Inside he was sort of screeching still, blinking at the thing in the corner of the room that was apparently now his to look after. 

It was a baby hydra, the mayor said, though Virgil only counted two heads. It looked more like what he imagined a small dragon to be, with rounded snouts and scales, two tiny pairs of wings one under the other on its back. The two heads were similar but distinct, one with a white crest and one with a red, although the rest of the scales were a glittering deep silver that looked almost black in the dark and nearly white in the sunlight. 

And admittedly it was pretty cute. Virgil needed to stop thinking of the hydra as it, actually, because according to the mayor this was a little male. They’d called it Caesar, for whatever reason, but it hadn’t responded once to the name.

When they arrived back at Virgil’s way-too-small apartment the kid ran off, sniffing through every room at great speed while Virgil tried to set up the spare room as a bedroom with all the stuff he’d been given. D.C. was asleep in his tank as Virgil murmured to him. “What on earth have I got myself into, huh pal,” he wondered. 

And then he noticed the silence. 

Whipping around he came face to face with two little human toddlers. They stared at him, and he stared back, all three frozen perfectly still. Could this be... but how?!

“Don’t be nervous, you can come closer,” he managed to murmur after a moment, slowly kneeling down on the floor and giving them both a smile.

When the first boy grinned back with sharp teeth and the other one’s fuzzy ears twitched under his hair Virgil realised that they weren’t actually human. And also that this was somehow Caesar, both heads separate and stood right in front of him, real as anything. 

It didn’t take long to get used to Remus and Roman, in all honesty. They were just kids, and Virgil was surprised as anyone to find he had a knack for childcare. Rambunctious as they were, he adored them, and they seemed all too grateful (no really, there was clearly some trauma in their past there) to be in a happy, safe living situation. He was frequently attacked for cuddles, either by the both of them in their shared hydra form or in whatever supernatural being they’d decided to split into that day. 

They were the first additions to his crazy family, but they certainly weren’t the last.

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Logan joined the growing family only a few weeks after Roman and Remus did. Virgil just couldn't catch a break, heading out on mission after mission in order to try to keep the secret wonderful world he protected hidden from the humans that shared the city. It was like every dastardly individual around had decided now was the time to try and execute their evil plans, perhaps after the removal of the Dragon Witch there was some kind of perceived power vacuum, that Virgil was determined to keep empty.

One of the outings had been a supposed routine check on a reformed fae scientist, now just selling vaguely suspicious electronics to unsuspecting humans. But their visit had turned into a fight when they'd discovered the secret basement, and as the fae was being led away Virgil had spotted him; a highly complex android stood in a corner of one of the lab rooms, blinking at him with magic-lit eyes.

The poor thing seemed almost human in its processing ability, and yet also definitely not. It seemed to be having some memory troubles as well, recalling a vast amount of facts but very little of the events of the past few weeks. The fae magic that powered it was too complex for even the clever clogs Virgil got to work with at the town hall, and at a loss what to do with the thing they suggested Virgil take it. It could babysit the hydra perhaps, they shrugged.

So he took the android home, and wouldn't you know within a week he had sweet, earnest Logan running around after the boisterous twins, just another part of the family. He'd chosen his own name and pronouns, and had shown a remarkable aptitude for emotional depth, even if he couldn't actually seem to always understand it. His cool, slightly spongy fingers made for great head massages, that were freely offered the first time Virgil was feeling rough around him despite the surprise on his face at his own suggestion, and Virgil could've sworn the guy nearly cried when they revealed the little bedroom they'd curtained off for him in the tiny living room.

And perhaps it was the fact that he spent much of his time with the little hydra, but Virgil found himself quickly falling into the parent role for the android too, for all he looked to be modeled on an adult human. It just fit right.

Logan fit right.

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When Virgil comes home with the baby they’re all stunned into silence. Firstly because he’s come home with a baby, but secondly because the little thing is sound asleep and even the raucous twins are quelled by the instinct not to disturb him. He looks maybe a year, a year and a bit old, still very much a baby but there’s awareness in his bright eyes when they flutter open to see the others peering into the buggy he’s strapped in. He reaches out one clumsy hand and bops Roman on the nose, sending the little unicorn skittering into this brother and after they run to hide behind their foster parent they twist back into the hydra form they share, only theirs is complete with just two matching wide-eyed heads, looking out from either side of Virgil shyly towards Patton. 

Patton burbles, a splitting shriek of acknowledgement, and they hide again. D.C. winces and curls up a bit but Logan just tilts his head and kneels down in front of the buggy curiously. “Hello.” The baby stops, blinking at him, and then carefully holds a hand out towards the android. Logan offers a finger, and gasps audibly when Patton grasps it tightly. If he weren’t a finely tuned android with wired muscles and electronic nerve endings he might’ve trembled, but as it was he just stares fiercely at the baby and asks, “is he staying with us now? Are we his family?”

Virgil, watching the scene, smiles. “That’s right, Lo-bot. He’s not got anyone else, you think you can help me give him a family?”

Logan keeps on staring intently at Patton, who coos back, still gripping the finger tight. "I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand. You should know I'll be there for you,” he says with the most determined voice he’s got. It’s heartwarming, and apparently the declaration is enough to convince the twins that Patton is there to stay, because they creep out from hiding to properly meet their newest member. 

“You’re going to have to stop adopting strays at some point,” D.C. mutters from a few feet away, under the sound of children’s voices. “The apartment isn’t big enough for this many.” 

Virgil just laughs quietly. “Guess you’ll be moving in with me then.” 

D.C. huffs and twines up over Roman and Remus’ back with an eye roll, to introduce himself, and Virgil admires his little family. It’s messy, and crazy, but it’s fantastic.