G/t I Guess

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Logan's afternoon had been going pleasantly enough. The rain wasn't coming down hard, but it had persisted for most of the day since before dawn, so everything outdoors appeared damp and unwelcoming.

Perfect weather.

The March afternoon was quite peaceful at Logan's kitchen table where he sat, a warm mug in his left hand, and one out of hundreds of puzzle pieces in his right.

After spending his morning completing some household chores, Logan had decided during lunch that he was due for a bit of a break. He could always grade his students' assignments later, and he had one more day of his weekend left to complete that anyway.

His mind had wandered off throughout the day a couple times to what Virgil might be up to on a day like this, but reminded himself calmly each time that it wasn't really his business, and from their last meetings, he knew Virgil liked his privacy, and Logan would respect that. As great as his curiosity was towards such a unique creature, the last thing he wanted was to be the reason someone ended up homeless, based on how Virgil had explained his situation, so he had made it his personal goal to give him as few reasons to leave as possible. If for nothing else, it would make Logan admittedly a bit sad to know he'd be losing someone that kept him company from time to time, in his own way. Still, Logan had kept his distance, and ultimately left the borrower be unless Virgil directly approached him on his own.

The thought crossed his mind for the third time in a day, and once again, Logan let the thought leave his mind, returning his focus to the broken up painting on his table. The puzzle of a galaxy had been a gift from his old roommate, Patton, from before their careers had sent them in different directions. Apparently three years wasn't enough time for Patton to forget the date, as the package arrived from his old friend around just the right time with a charming little note attached wishing him a happy 28th. Logan really didn't see the great significance of his birthday, at least not nearly as much as Patton (according to whom, a birthday was a sacred celebration of the passage of time spent alive), but nonetheless appreciated the gesture, and had finally opened it and began working to solve it a couple months later.

This was the second time Logan had properly sat down to work on completing the puzzle since opening it a few weeks prior. It was starting to collect dust, and he wanted the accomplishment of completing it before it got too dirty. A couple of hours into the afternoon, only about 50 unmatched pieces remained strewn about across the table, so he would have an easy time finishing it.

This sentiment was retracted later when Logan discovered that a single piece was missing.

It was entirely possible that one fell to the floor and slid underneath some furniture, somewhere for him to find much later on, but he'd just cleaned this entire room earlier in the morning, so it wasn't likely. He checked anyway, every nook and cranny nearby, but to no avail.

Logan sighed in mild annoyance, but took the roadblock as an opportunity for him to take a break. His coffee now gone, he made his way to the kitchen counter and prepared his kettle to make some tea. No harm in taking it easy on caffeinated beverages.

The water began to heat up inside, and Logan let his mind wander, reminding himself that there were still assignments to be graded, and he'd feel better later the sooner he got them taken care of. He was making the decision in his head to get that done after his cup of tea when something cut through the quiet of his kitchen.

"Hey, Logan." He said it quietly, but the absence of any noise outside of the bubbling kettle contrasted heavily with Virgil's words, so Logan noticed them right away. A glance to his left where the words had come from confirmed that, sure enough, the borrower was paying him a visit, having appeared from somewhere behind his toaster without him noticing.