Home Is Where The Heart Is (Take Two)

Stay or Go?

Virgil's POV

Okay, maybe he lied. He did truly only plan to stay the night but then Roman pulled out the black cauldron which was his favourite and Patton made brownies with ice cream and honestly, who could blame him?

So there he was, sitting in the living room with three, virtual strangers eating ice cream and watching his favourite movie. When he ran, he had no clue it would end up like this.

/flashback/

It was his birthday, a bright, yellow sponge cake sat in front of him, candle wax dripping onto the white frosting. As he blew out the candles, his parents smiled and took a photo despite him having turned 19, it's hard to let go of a child.

His mother and father turned to face him, smiling broadly, a small wrapped gift held in his fathers hands. Taking it and opening it revealed a small key chain with one key. A car key. Overjoyed, he followed his parents out front to see a beautiful purple and black car. They had never been wealthy so this meant a lot to him. Hugging his parents tight, he was encouraged to take it on a test drive, his parents accompanied him.

/end of flashback/

"Anx? Anxiety? You ok, buddy?" Roman asked, kneeling down to sit beside him on the floor. Patton and Logan had paused the movie. Patton had a concerned expression and Logan just looked curious? Unsure, Virgil looked away.

"I'm fine, just got lost in thought".

"You sure? You were shaking and everything" Roman said, placing a hand tentatively on his shoulder. He tensed slightly before relaxing under the reassuring touch.

"Yeah, just memories.."

"Okay then, if you say so" Roman grabbed the remote and unpaused the movie but remained beside him.

It hit him.

He was in a room with people he didn't know and no one knew where he was. It was almost absurd. Why did it take so long for him to be concerned about a bunch of strangers? Usually, his anxiety kicked in and he'd have freaked out and left. The name he gave them was more the just a nick name after all.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Patton stood up, cheerfully grabbing the discarded plates and balancing them expertly on his arm while the end credits rolled. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he had missed the end of the movie.

"Better go clean up the guest room a bit. Would have done it earlier but you needed to rest more. I'll make sure to add clean bedsheets for you".

"What do you mean for me?"

Patton scratched the back of his neck nervously, "well, I thought you could stay here awhile. You don't seem to have anywhere to go. So I thought I would extend the offer."

He looked hopefully at Virgil.

"I don't want to inconvenience anyone" he muttered quietly, balling up his sleeves into his fists. He had honestly just planned on staying for as long as it took for him to eat, he hadn't expected anything more from a group of strangers.

"It's no inconvenience, none at all" Roman trilled, getting up and taking some of the touring plates from Patton's arms.

"Roman, we don't live here, it's not for us to say" Logan corrected, "but Patton's offer is genuine. He has let us stay over many times in our times of need."

Virgil shook his head slowly, uncertain.

"It's no big deal, really" Patton said, "in fact! I'd enjoy the company".

This was surprising to Virgil, no one has ever enjoyed having him around before.. except his parents. No, he can't think of them right now, he didn't want to scare them away with his tears.

Who was he to turn down some company?

"I mean...if you insist.."

"Yay!" Patton cried, shoving the plates into Logan's unwilling arms and pulling Virgil into a tight hug. Again, he tensed but the contact was nice. It had been a while.

"That is adequate, Patton" Logan stated, smiling a little at the over enthusiastic man. Virgil smirked to himself, looking at Logan's clearly love filled eyes. It seems the man he had dubbed 'robot' was not entirely unfeeling, at least when it came to a certain blue shirted man.

As Patton and Roman washed and dried the dishes, he and Logan set about cleaning the living room of dusty popcorn and chocolate smears.

"So, Patton huh?" He smirked, "not really my type but he seems like a great guy".

"What?" Logan asked, oblivious to his meaning.

"You and Patton" Virgil answered, cackling in glee, internally of course. This just got better, either he did not know or he was not willing to say anything. Virgil would get it out of him. It was his specialty.

"I see how you look at him" he said, whilst scrubbing at a particularly stubborn stain.

"I don't know what you mean" he responded, "I look at him the same way I look at all my friends, including you and Roman."

At this, Virgil chocked.

"You consider me a friend?" He asked.

"Well of course. You see polite and well informed. However, you do have your secrets. But don't worry, we won't pry, not unless we find reason too." Virgil coughed, startled that he could be read that easily.

"But you barely know me" he said, "and I have, like you said, secrets.."

"We all have secrets. And I would like to get to know you. You are quieter than the other two and your thought and ideas are a refreshing change. That is, if you would like to be friends."

"Yes." He blurted out, surprising both Logan and himself. "I mean, yeah, friends sound good." He said, blushing.

"Very well, I look forward to our next meeting, friend. Oh, and if you turned it down, I would have been forced to get Patton. He seems determined to feed you up, you are too skinny." With that Logan stood up from where he had been sitting cleaning the table and walked over to the others, cleaning supplies in hand.

Virgil remained seated, shock starting to settle in. Life had been rough, but he had finally found some people who seemed to accept him and wanted to help despite knowing next to nothing about them. Maybe, just maybe, he could give this a chance..

It was then that he realised that he never truly did get to ask Logan about his feelings for Patton. He had been outsmarted..turns out he needs to work on his 'specialty'. But rest assured, he would have his ship. He could tell they were perfect for each other.

With that he stood up and headed over to the others. It seems like life had thrown him a second chance and he was gonna grab it with both hands.

Now, how to make Logan confess...