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Ever since he was younger, Virgil had loved to sew. First, it was fixing holes in his parent's clothes, then little jackets and pants for his teddy bear, then full-on outfits. He had received a sewing machine for his 8th birthday and used it right up until he left for college. But now it was college, the land of papers and classes and-
"Virgil!" shouted his flatmate Patton from down the hall. "Dinnertime kiddo!"
And loveable, but very loud roommates.
Virgil turned off Synthesis, his favorite band's album, and trooped down the hallway, smiling at the sight of his flatmates. They were all crammed together in a three-and-a-half bedroom flat that kind of smelled like old socks no matter how many candles Patton bought. Logan was currently mixing some kind of sauce while reading a very heavy looking book, Patton was putting out plates and napkins on their "dinner table" (actually just a folding card table), and Roman was walking towards Virgil with a smirk on his face.
Which made Virgil instantly go into panic mode because a.) whenever Roman walked towards you with a smirk he was either going to tease you or start to serenade you and b.) Roman's hair was curlier than it usually was and that should really be illegal.
"Hey hot topic, how's it going," Roman said, still smirking. There should be a law against hot guys smirking at you. And hot guys teasing you. And having the audacity to live in your apartment. Or just a law against hot guys in general.
"Fine, Sir-Sing-A-Lot," Virgil replied, trying to offset the feeling that his stomach was about to explode. "Have you listened to that band I sent you yet? I'm telling you, qual-i-ty."
"For you, Sunshine? Anything." Roman gave him a lazy smile and walked over to Patton. Again, that should be outlawed. Banned. Forbidden! But it wasn't, and so Virgil just walked over to the counter and grabbed a plate.
The topic at the dinner table was, like it had been for two weeks, Roman's birthday party in 2 days.
"So we have the catering, the guest list, the location, and the bartender." Patton counted off. "Now all we need is..."
"The music and the decorations." Logan finished. "Patton, you're in charge of the music, and Virgil and Roman are getting the decorations tomorrow, correct?"
Virgil was about to nod, but then he remembered. "Um, I actually have a big...project I have to work on tomorrow, so I can't do it. Sorry."
Everyone looked at him like he was insane. "What project?" Patton asked with concern. “Maybe we can help?”
Virgil squirmed. “Ummm, no it’s just a personal thing. And I’ve really got to get it done so-”
“Virgil,” Logan interjected. “I understand that you may feel some...anxiety over finishing this project on time. However, knowing you, you will have budgeted your time accordingly and have nothing to worry about.”
"Plus, I need your help! You have one of the best eyes for detail out of all of us and I want you there" Roman interrupted, ignoring a look from Logan. "Especially since I’m turning 22 and feeling old." Roman looking at him pleadingly. "Two hours. That's all it will take, at most. Please?"
And so what if the reason he was trying to get out of this was so he could finish Roman's birthday gift? Because Roman never said please, and also was incredibly hot and sweet, and Virgil had the largest crush on him known to man. So, what could he even do?
"Two hours," he said, trying to hide his smile. But that got difficult when Roman squealed and gave him a big side hug. Because damn, that boy was persuasive.
Virgil walked into the Party City with Roman, trying to not freak tf out. The car ride had been relatively chill, with Roman blasting his typical playlist of Disney songs and cheesy pump-ups. A little too flamboyant for Virgil's taste, but he couldn't deny the happiness of seeing Roman's bright smile and laughing eyes when Disney Princess started playing. Roman was like an adorable puppy who could sing. Cute, talented, and surprisingly not viral yet.
But now they were in the party store, and the only background music was knockoff classical. Virgil eyed the crumpled shopping list and looked around the store.
"Ok, so we need streamers, balloons, confetti, and stuff to eat on," Virgil said. "Plus a sign. And some table decorations? And maybe-"
"Sunshine." Roman cut him off with a small smile. "Don't stress about it! Let's just stick to the list, and it’ll all be fine.
Virgil breathed slowly. Roman was looking at him kindly with those eyes, and wow, he was gorgeous. Then, he let out a whoop and dragged Virgil into the store. The two boys wandered the aisles for a few minutes, Virgil trying to actually locate the items that they needed while Roman just played around with the decorations.
Virgil may have had a giant crush on Roman, but he still had his limits. So when Roman plopped a giant cowboy hat on top of Virgil’s head, Virgil didn’t know whether to slap him or kiss him. Maybe both.
“C’mon Virgie! Lighten up!” Roman cheered. “I’m gonna teach you a little game, ok?”
“No Roman!” Virgil insisted, grabbing Roman’s hand and trying to pull him in the direction of the balloons. But apparently Roman had turned into a solid brick wall, and Virgil just ended up falling into him.
They looked at each other, almost in an embrace. Virgil was still clutching Roman’s hand, and Roman brought his other one up to Virgil’s face, carefully brushing away some hair that had gotten in his eyes. The gesture was so tender and delicate that Virgil kind of wanted to scream.
“Sorry,” Roman whispered. “There was some-”
“It’s ok.” Virgil cut him off. It felt like there was a bubble around them, something that made it feel like they weren’t in a party store, but somewhere far away, where nothing mattered except the two of them. Virgil could almost visualize one leaning in to kiss the other…
...And then two men walked into the aisle. Two men that shocked Roman and Virgil out of their embrace.
“Why hello Roman!” Remus said with a devious grin. “C’mon, won’t you give your brother a hug?” Roman looked at Remus, then at Virgil, then Remus again. But Virgil’s eyes were only focused on one person.
Janus
Virgil hadn’t seen Janus since he had moved out of their dorm room freshman year. After they had broken up because Janus cheated on him with Remus.
And now they were here, together.
“Umm, hey Remus.” Roman stuttered, obviously uncomfortable. “What...what are you doing here?”
“Well, our birthday is tomorrow, or have you forgotten? J and I were just picking up some decorations for the party. It’s just gonna be a little get-together, close friends only.” Remus turned to Virgil with that same smile. “All of the old gang, well, except for you I guess.” Janus laughed at this, and Virgil wanted to run away. Or cry. Or possibly both.
Roman turned to Virgil, eyes wide. “Sunshine, you never told me that you were friends with Remus?”
Janus and Remus let out a snicker at the nickname, and everything in Virgil’s body was screaming for him to run away. Except, he knew that if he did, Janus and Remus would win. And he was nothing but stubborn. So, every muscle protesting, he stood his group and crossed his arms.
“Yeah our paths crossed back in freshman year,” he said with a scowl. “Guess it never came up.”
Roman looked at Virgil, then at Remus and Janus again. “Ummm, ok well we have to finish shopping, but you guys should totally stop by the party tomorrow! I gotta see my twin on our birthday!”
“We’ll be there.” Janus smiled and looked right at Virgil. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Virgil and Roman slid into the car after putting their many shopping bags in the trunk. After their run-in with Janus and Remus, Virgil had rushed through the rest of the shopping, determined to get home and lock himself in his room for a few hours. Roman had gone along with it, but Virgil had caught him shooting concerned glances his way the whole time.
Once their seatbelts were buckled and they were on the road heading home, Roman broke the silence. “Okay, so what was that with Remus and Janus?”
Virgil sank in his seat. “Ummm, nothing, just some old friends reuniting.”
Roman raised an eyebrow at that. “Really? Because I feel like you maybe should’ve mentioned to me that you were friends with my brother.”
“Look we weren’t exactly friends-” Virgil said before realizing that he’d just contradicted himself.
Roman sighed. “Look Emo, if you were dating my brother, you can just tell me.”
Virgil looked up in shock. “What?! No, no, that’s not what happened.”
“Okay, so what did happen.”
Virgil was stuck. He hated lying more than anything because that was exactly what Janus had done to him for 2 months, while he was sneaking around with Remus. Janus didn’t even have the decency to tell him, he had to find out from Ollie, who had seen them cuddled up at a party.
But he couldn’t tell Roman. He would think he was pathetic, that no wonder someone had cheated on him because he was such a loser. Telling Roman was out of the question. So, he just fidgeted with his shirt-sleeves.
“Can we drop it Ro?” he said quietly.
Roman looked over at him, taking his eyes off the road for a split second. But that one glance had so many emotions wrapped into it that it almost felt like they were back in their little perfect bubble.
“Ok Virg,” he responded.
watts up roomies
You: hey guys social battery used up so imma stay in for the rest of the night
Pop star: All good Virgil! If you want me to bring you some food, lmk!💗💞💖💙💛
Pocket Protector: Sounds like an enjoyable night, Virgil.
Virgil sighed and plugged his phone in after texting the roommate group chat. The rest of the car ride with Roman had been spent in awkward silence, but his non-response to the chat felt so loud. He hated how they had left things in the car, but he couldn’t bring himself to text him one-on-one. Seeing Janus and Remus had shaken Virgil more than he had realized, and he just didn’t want to drag Roman into his whole feelings mess. Nevermind his giant crush on the guy…
But he was behind on Roman’s birthday present, so feelings weren’t the focus right now. For the next few hours, he blasted Queen and worked diligently on the present. No one in the house knew about it, surprisingly. Since he was always locking himself in his room anyway, no one questioned what he was doing in there.
After around 2 hours, a few cans of monster, and a ton of jams, Virgil heard his phone buzz. Or rather, there was a small break in the music and he heard his phone buzz for the 15th time. He rushed to grab it, and looked at the screen in horror. 13 messages from Janus, one message from Roman, and one missed call from Roman.
Virgil almost dropped the phone. He didn’t know what was worse; all the messages from Janus who was never supposed to talk to him again, or the singular text and call from Roman. Virgil quickly scrolled through the messages from Janus first, scared to see what his ex had sent.
Two-faced bASSterd: hey virgie
Two-faced bASSterd: it was soooo fun seeing you today
Two-faced bASSterd: missed you sooo much
Two-faced bASSterd: remus is totallyyyy worse than you in bed
Two-faced bASSterd: also, what's going on with you and remus’s yummy brother?
Two-faced bASSterd: i remember roman from high school lol
Two-faced bASSterd: we hung out a few times, sad he didnt say hi to me :(
Two-faced bASSterd: maybe bc im fucking his brother lol
Two-faced bASSterd: damn, ignoring me are you?
Two-faced bASSterd: matter of fact, does roman even know that we dated?
Two-faced bASSterd: bc he acted like he didnt
Two-faced bASSterd: maybe if you keep ignoring me i’ll let him know
Two-faced bASSterd: how’d you like that raccoon boy
Virgil’s eyes widened, and he sank to the floor. He looked over Janus’s texts again, trying to make sense of what his ex had sent. Janus and Roman knew each other from high school? Why had Roman never mentioned it? To be fair, he hadn’t mentioned his past with Janus either, but he expected Roman to be more up-front about this stuff.
But the last few messages were the ones that chilled Virgil to the bone. If Janus told Roman everything...no. He quickly typed out a response.
You: shut up janus, and never talk to me again
Two-faced bASSterd: wow, finally a response! well, i will be seeing you at the party tomorrow, correct? Maybe instead of talking to you I’ll just talk to Roman…
You: stay away from him
Two-faced bASSterd: see you tomorrow babe
Virgil felt like he was going to be sick. And then he remembered; Roman’s text and call. He opened the text thread and immediately smiled.
Romano: hey sunshine, i didn’t like how we left things in the car and was hoping we could talk? i care about you a lot and want to make sure you’re ok. <3
And one missed call. Roman had written the sweetest text ever, fuck, said he CARED about him, CALLED HIM, and Virgil hadn’t answered. He felt like the worst person in the universe.
Before he could think it through, Virgil had hurriedly put away Roman’s nearly-finished present, ran a comb through his hair, and carefully opened his room door. While it wasn’t exactly nighttime yet, dinner had passed, which meant all his roomies would be in their rooms. So Virgil walked nervously over to Roman’s room door and knocked softly.
Roman opened the door with a flourish, and it took all of Virgil’s willpower not to gape at him. Because his hair was wet after a presumed shower and he had a pair of red sweatpants on with a white shirt that was sticking to his shoulders from the water dripping from his hair and he was just so...Roman.
“Oh, hey Virg,” Roman said, obviously surprised. “Want to come in?”
Virgil nodded and stepped into Roman’s room. While his own room was dark and plastered with posters, Roman’s felt lit up, even with only one window. His room was decorated with reds and whites, there was a whole wall full of playbills, and his shaggy rug looked more comfortable than anything he’d ever seen. And more than that, there were pictures everywhere. Selfies, insta screenshots, random polaroids.
But what stood out to him most was a photo in a frame on Roman’s nightstand. It was a picture of the two of them, during Halloween last year. Virgil had been a vampire and Roman was a mummy. They had their arms around each other and were laughing at some joke. It was the same photo Virgil had as his phone background.
And that was the drop of water that broke the dam. Virgil sank onto Roman’s rug and just cried into his hands. Because it should just be him and Roman, no exes, no brothers, no nothing. It should just be a simple crush, not wrapped up into some web.
Roman quickly sank next to him, urgently whispering. “Hey, hey Virgil, what’s wrong? Take some deep breaths, it’s gonna be okay, let's do some square breathing okay, i’m here for you…”
Virgil hiccupped and looked over at Roman. His friend, his crush, one of his favorite people.
“Can I stay here tonight?”
Virgil woke up to the sun shining in his eyes. He rolled over, determined to block out the light, and bumped into a chest. His eyes shot open and he looked up to see Roman lying there. Asleep.
Then it all came flooding back. Seeing Janus and Remus, his and Roman’s kind-of-argument, Janus’s threats, and his breakdown. Him asking Roman to stay with him.
And of course, Roman was a perfect gentleman and insisted he take the bed and gave him a snack and never pressured him with any questions because he was just good. And so when Virgil had crawled into Roman’s bed he had dragged him in too, threatening to sleep on the floor if he didn’t sleep in the bed with him. And Roman had laughed and they had curled up on the bed facing each other, so close but so far away.
And now they were here. Roman’s arm was flung over Virgil’s body and the two of them were so close. And as much as Virgil wanted to relax in this little bubble of theirs, he suddenly had a vision of Roman waking up and looking at him with disgust, or worse, pity.
And so he was about to quietly crawl out of Roman’s bed, open the door, and retreat to his room to finish the final details of his birthday present, when Patton burst in, with Logan following behind carrying a plate of pancakes and both of them donning party hats.
“Happy birthday Roman!” Patton shouted. Roman and Virgil both shot up, Roman yawning loudly. Virgil felt his face turn bright red, and he looked at Patton and Logan, who’s eyes had both widened.
After a beat of awkward silence, Logan set the pancakes down on Roman’s dresser. “Umm, we’ll give you two a moment.” And he grabbed Patton’s forearm and dragged him out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Virgil turned to look at Roman and gave him a weak smile.
“Happy birthday.”
Roman smiled brilliantly back at him. He looked way too good for someone who had been sleeping 3 seconds ago. “Thanks, sunshine.” The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Their hands were almost touching. Roman leaned back on the headboard. Virgil fidgeted with his jacket, which was apparently not the most comfortable to sleep in. He shrugged it off and put it on his lap.
“I was getting hot,” he explained to Roman, who was still looking at him.
“All good Virgil.” Roman smiled at him. “C’mon, relax with me.” he gestured to the headboard, and Virgil copied him, leaning back. Roman laid his arm around his shoulders, and Virgil leaned into Roman a bit. It was nice. It felt like they were...something. More than friends.
They laid there for a bit, just relaxing with each other. After everything that had happened in the last two days, this moment felt like it was in a parallel universe. Even with Patton and Logan- oh shit.
“Do you think Patton and Logan think we...y’know?” Virgil said with a note of panic in his voice. “I mean...it does look kinda bad.”
Virgil saw a fleeting expression cross Roman’s face. Roman took his arm off of Virgil’s shoulders and looked away slightly. “Yeah maybe,” he said, sounding far away. “But we can straighten that out.” His eyes cut over to Virgils. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
Virgil was wholly confused. “I mean...we didn’t do anything last night. You were just...there for me I guess.”
“And you’re ok? Still not wanting to talk about it...but you’re ok?”
Virgil shrugged. “Ok as I’ll ever be.” And the moment was gone. Virgil threw off the covers, grabbed his hoodie, and looked at Roman. “I gotta work on something but...happy birthday Princey.”
Roman gave him a small smile. “Thanks, sunshine.”
For the rest of the day, Virgil found that he couldn’t talk to Roman. Every time he tried, he would end up blushing like an idiot and turning away. After he FINALLY got Roman’s present all wrapped up, he came out of his room to hang out with everyone. The party was that night, and everyone was pitching in with the preparations. Although, Roman and Patton’s insistence to take pictures took even longer than the set-up.
Finally, everything was ready, and the guests started to pour in around 7. Gifts were piled on a special table, drinks were exchanged, and people were dancing to the playlist of musical hits and pop classics.
Virgil had never felt at ease at parties, so he just sat back in the corner of the kitchen, watching Roman flit around with a paper crown on his head. He was wearing a fitted red t-shirt and black ripped jeans, and he looked good. Like...really good. So good that Virgil didn’t even realize that Patton and Logan were standing in front of him, smirking.
“Enjoying the party, Virgil?” Patton asked.
“Oh um...yep, having fun!” Virgil stuttered, lifting his glass and trying not to look for Roman again. “Just chilling over here.”
“Don’t you have to give your gift to Roman?” Logan asked, taking a sip of his drink that was most definitely tea. “Unless you didn’t get one for him.”
“I did it!” Virgil sputtered. “And I’m going to give it to him later!”
Patton and Logan simultaneously raised their eyebrows.
“Your room. Five minutes. I’ll let Roman know.” Patton winked and darted off into the crowd. Virgil was left looking at Logan with panic in his eyes.
“L, I can’t do this. Why on earth does everyone think I can do this?”
“Because, surprisingly, you can.” Logan sipped his tea once more. “You’ve got this Virgil. Now please tell him how you feel already so we can stop dancing around you two.”
Logan pushed Virgil towards his room, and Virgil walked in slowly. Then, realizing that Roman was going to be coming in, he quickly started stress-cleaning. God, why was this whole situation so confusing? And messy? He just wanted to give a gift to his crush and not worry about all the confusing relationships at play here. Why couldn’t one thing just be simple for ONCE?
He heard a light knock on the door, and stood up quickly, holding the wrapped present in his hands. It was now or never, do or die, freak or freak out.
Wait no that was a Victorious song. Curse Patton for making him watch the whole series with him!
He walked to the door and took a deep breath. Then, he opened it.
Roman was standing there, and Virgil just...looked at him. He looked back. Then Virgil realized that Roman had left his own birthday party to talk to him and he should probably invite him in.
“I have something for you.” he stuttered, hoping he didn’t sound like a teenager. Virgil held up the wrapped gift, and Roman smiled.
“Awww, thanks, Virge.” Virgil handed the gift over to Roman, and they both sat on his bed. Virgil was vaguely aware that one of them had closed the door, but he couldn’t remember who.
Virgil fidgeted with his hands as Roman carefully unwrapped the present. Considering he had all but obliterated the wrapping paper for his other gifts, it made Virgil’s heartbeat speed up a tiny bit when he saw how careful Roman was being with it.
Roman finally finished unwrapping the present and grabbed it to hold it up. “Oh my goodness, Virgil…” he trailed off. Virgil admired his handiwork on the present. It was a red, white, and gold version of his usual jacket, but Roman-ified. The fabric was white instead of black, and instead of the plaid patches, the sleeves were adorned with gold and red swirls. The back had mismatched patches spelling out “Princey”, and Virgil had stitched in a red “sash”. It was Roman personified in a jacket, or at least how Virgil saw him.
Virgil looked back at Roman and saw that the other man had tears in his eyes. “So, do you like it?” Virgil asked nervously.
Roman looked directly at Virgil. “Virgil, this is without a doubt, the best gift I have ever received. I just...can’t believe you made this for me. It’s just… I mean…”
Roman trailed off, and Virgil bit his lip. “It’s not too much? I mean I know the sash is a lot but I thought that you would appreciate it and-”
“Virgil.” Roman interrupted him, and the two made eye contact once again. “I love it. Thank you so so much.” Then, Roman rested his hand on top of Virgil’s and Virgil realized just how close they were sitting, and how Roman’s lips were only a few inches away and if he just turned his head and then Roman was leaning in a bit and oh my gosh was this really happening-
“Oh ho ho, are we interrupting something?”
Virgil shot up from his bed like a firework. Because of COURSE, the last person he wanted to see when he was about to kiss his longtime crush was his creating backstabbing snake of an ex. With his current boyfriend, who was also Roman’s brother. Like, seriously universe?!
“Why yes, you are, dear brother,” Roman replied from behind him. Virgil could practically hear his teeth gritting. “So can you give us like 5 minutes and then we can exchange pleasantries?”
Janus just laughed. “Actually, I don’t think we can. Because I think there are some things you need to know, Roman.”
Virgil felt a bubble of panic rise in him. “Janus, don’t do this.”
Janus just laughed. “Do what? I mean, it should be common knowledge that you and I dated.”
Virgil’s blood froze in his bones. He didn’t say anything, just stood there, feet rooted.
Then, Roman spoke up. “Wait...what?” He turned to Virgil, but Virgil didn’t dare look back.
“Oh yeah. Until I realized how much of a boring fucking raccoon he was and dumped him for your brother, Roman.”
Remus just snickered. “Looks like we’ve got a similar taste in guys, after all, bro.”
Now Virgil was just confused. Who was Remus even talking about? He felt like there should be a diagram of sorts for this situation.
“So, first you date me and just flirt with my brother, then date Virgil and then dump him for my brother?” Roman pointed at Janus with an incredulous look on his face. “Geez, you really don’t change, do you, Janus.”
Virgil’s head snapped up. “First of all, he actually cheated on me with Remus for two months before he had the balls to end things,” he said, with unexpected venom in his voice. He glared at Janus, and then at Remus. Then, he turned to Roman. “Second of all, when the fuck did you date Janus?”
Roman’s mouth opened and closed. He looked between Janus, Remus, and Virgil, then smacked his head. “Wait just one minute. VIRGIL was the guy you cheated on in freshman year!?”
“You knew?!” Virgil turned to Roman, feeling like someone had smacked him with a pipe.
Remus just cleared his throat. “Well, I know that we have other plans to attend to, so happy birthday Roman!”
Janus just laughed, and the two of them exited the room. Virgil stared at Roman in shock.
“Tell me everything.” Virgil folded his arms.
Turns out, a diagram really would’ve been helpful for this story.
Apparently, Roman and Remus had known Janus in high school. Janus and Roman dated for a bit but broke up because he was always flirting with Remus. After they all went to college, they fell into different social circles, but he still talked to them occasionally.
That’s when Virgil apparently entered the picture. Roman had only known that Janus was dating a new guy, but had heard rumors that he and Remus were hooking up. After Remus and Janus started dating after Janus cheated on his boyfriend, he finally dumped both of them.
“I swear, if I had known that the rumors were true, I would’ve told you right away. Honest.” Roman said, holding Virgil’s hands tightly.
“I believe you, I do,” Virgil replied. “It’s not your fault that they’re assholes.”
Roman sighed. “It’s not yours either.” The two of them sat in silence for a moment, before Roman asked the question. “So, why didn’t you tell me that you and Janus dated? Or that he cheated on you with my brother?”
Virgil shrugged, not being able to look Roman in the eye. “I dunno...embarrassment? I mean, obviously, there’s something wrong with you if whoever you’re dating stops liking you. I just felt pathetic. Like I couldn’t make him stay.”
“Virgil, you need to trust me on this one. You're not the one to blame for what happened. Janus could’ve broken up with you, but he was too much of a coward. And truth be told...Janus and Remus are a match made in hell. I just don’t understand why they played with our lives instead of just doing what they do.” Roman looked at Virgil intently. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with you.”
“I know, I know, it’s just…”
“I know.”
Then, because of course, Patton and Logan burst in.
“Hey, guys! It’s time for cake!” Patton said cheerily. Then, he noticed Roman and Virgil’s faces. “Ummm, bad time?”
“Nope, perfect time!” Virgil said with uncommon gusto. He stood up, stretched, and looked expectantly at Roman. “Come on birthday boy, we can talk about this later.”
Roman sighed, then stood up. “Well, I’d hate to miss my own cake…” he said. Virgil grinned.
“Super! Now, let’s eat before the candles start melting onto the frosting.” Patton said with a smile and darted out of the room. Logan’s eyes widened.
“You left the candles lit?!” Then, he raced after Patton.
Roman shrugged on the jacket and looked in the mirror. “It’s perfect Virge.”
Virgil just smiled. “I thought it would be.”
And then they walked out of the room, ready to eat cake.