Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 19: Seriously, Patton and Logan Basically Adopted Virgil

Patton's head shot up when he heard a knock at the door. He quietly made his way over, passing Virgil who had fallen asleep on the couch. Opening the door, he found Logan waiting.

"Logan!" he whisper-shouted.

"Hello dear," Logan greeted. He stepped inside as the other moved out of the way, looking up and seeing Virgil fast asleep. "I see he's had a long day."

Patton laughed slightly, "Yeah, he spent most of the day with Roman. Apparently they spent most of their time using their magic, practicing water magic."

"That explains why his wings appear wet." Logan passed the couch as he and Patton made their way to the kitchen. As they passed Virgil moved slightly, disturbed by them, but he didn't wake up. Instead he wrapped one of his wings over him like a blanket. "It's nice to see he and Roman become close, though they are unlikely friends. Very unlikely friends."

"Well Roman's been teaching him magic, and it seems to make Virgil really happy. Virgil's been wanting to use magic to help with the farm, and I told him he can only use a little bit so he won't end up like that everyday." Patton gestured to the couch.

"Oh, right, because magic takes energy. I think he told me about that." Logan leaned against a kitchen counter. "How do you feel about their friendship?"

"I'm really happy that they've become such close friends, I think they both really needed someone. Not just a friend, but someone that they can feel comfortable to share their secrets with. I mean, Virgil has me but lately I've been spending a lot of time with you. Not only that but... one day one of us could move out. I mean, I don't think I can continue farming for long because of my disability. Don't tell Virgil, and I know that makes me a hypocrite but... it's been getting harder to work in the fields. I'm probably going to have an early retirement. And I'm only twenty eight!"

"I know it's hard, and I had a feeling that was going to happen eventually. But I don't think Virgil could run this farm on his own, that's a really big job!"

Patton sighed, leaning against his arm that was propped up on his wheelchair. "Yeah, and that scares me. We can't hire any help because of Virgil's wings, it's bad enough he has to bind them when we're selling. I don't think he could do farm work with his wings binded like that, it would hurt him. The only people that know are you, your parents, and now Roman. And I could ask Roman if he would like to be hired, have a stable income and all that, but I don't know enough about him to know if he would enjoy a job working with us."

"And Virgil isn't inclined on telling anyone else about his wings any time soon."

"Absolutely not, I don't think he would enjoy it. The only reason he didn't freak out when he told your parents was because... well... our mother had just died and I think the grief hit him harder than any panic could."

Logan folded his arms. "Well he didn't panic when I found out."

"That was because it was his decision to tell you. Our relationship became more serious, and he saw that. He figured you would be part of the family forever and so he showed you, he needed me to hype him up but it was all his idea! I suppose that was also why he didn't freak out when your parents found out, because at that point they were family. After Dad died, your parents did everything they could to help Mom and the two of us."

"What about Miss Kayda? He's scared of her finding out."

"I don't know, I guess he cares about her a lot but is scared of her hating him. Maybe after what happened in town the other day, he can see that she cares about him enough to get into a fight for him but... when or if she finds out is up to him. I'm not going to pressure or rush him."

Logan hummed. "I suppose should you retire, which shouldn't be for a few years, Roman would probably volunteer to help out. So even if no one else in the village finds out about Virgil being a fairy, Roman could possibly have his back."

"I hope so, I don't want to leave him all by himself."

"Well, if his magic becomes stronger then he could theoretically work on the farm on his own."

"I just- I don't want him to." Patton hugged himself. "That's a lot of work. And as much as I'm happy that he's learning magic, it scares me."

Logan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What if someone sees him using his magic? Someone that isn't so good. He... I'm scared he's going to get hurt."

"You know that Roman wouldn't let anything happen to him. Already he's proven that he would go out of his way to help him."

"Yeah... I still can't believe Virgil never told me that the hunters attacked him."

"At least he told you about the bear trap."

"Well that would have been harder to hide. I wonder how bad he was actually hurt, what he healed and what Roman was able to heal."

"This is just a random thought, and I apologize for the slight change in conversation, but... do you believe Virgil's feelings for Roman could deepen?"

Patton frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've never seen him so close to someone other than you. It's only been two weeks, and he seems to be spending a lot of time with Roman. Perhaps it's because he's learning magic and nothing else, but he's seemed very happy these last couple of weeks. Aside from yesterday, that was a disaster."

"I mean... I'll admit that Roman does make him happy. I think Virgil had a nightmare last night, he was tired this morning and something seemed to be on his mind. But when he came home after spending time with Roman, he was really happy. Right now his feelings might be platonic, but they could become romantic." Patton's eyes darkened. "And that scares me."

Logan nodded. "I can understand why. This world isn't kind to those that are different, Virgil and Roman already know this. So if they were to develop a relationship, should Roman be into men, then it would be another secret to hide. And Virgil hates keeping secrets, even if he's afraid to reveal them."

"It took us years to get together because we were both afraid of how the other would react. And while that fear is normal with a hetero relationship, it's even worse for a gay one! Virgil's lost a lot already, he's lost so much family, I don't want him to lose a friend. His heart doesn't deserve to break anymore."