Finding The Write Words

Chapter Twenty

It was moving day.

Again.

Patton and Roman decided to get Logan's belongings first, with him having much less than Patton, and after Patton scribbled on his arm to let Virgil know they would be busy - not ignoring him - they headed to get a U-Haul.

"Can I help?" Virgil wrote back shortly after.

Patton looked to Roman, who was driving the U-Haul, and to Logan, who sat on the other side of him, near the window, half asleep. "Virgil wants to know if he can help," he said after a moment, realizing that neither of them had seen the writing.

Logan jolted awake, blushing slightly, and nodded. "I don't have any problem with him helping, but there's not an extra seat in here... unless you sit on my lap, of course, Patton."

Patton's cheeks flushed red at their words, and Roman laughed. "I just need to know whether or not I'm going to pick up Virgil. I'm good either way."

"Let's go get Virgil, then. You'll have to scoot over to the middle seat when we get there, Lo Lo, so I can sit on your lap." Patton grabbed ahold of Logan's hand, twining his fingers between theirs for a moment before letting go and writing on his arm to let Virgil know they were on their way.

When they got to Virgil's apartment building, he was already outside waiting for them on the front stoop. As they pulled up, he got to his feet, wiping the palms of his hands on his pants, and approached the U-Haul. He looked different without his hoodie, his pale arms exposed in the black band tee he wore, but he was somehow even more beautiful.

Every time they saw him, he was more beautiful than the last.

With a little bit of shifting, the four of them were able to fit into the front of the U-Haul. Patton sat in Logan's lap, their arms around his waist to secure him as much as they could, and Virgil sat pressed against the door. However, he was turned towards them rather than towards the door, and he looked out the front window rather than the one at his side.

He didn't speak, he didn't look at them, and he didn't stop twisting the hem of his shirt between his fingers, but it was a start.

It was progress.

It was effort.

Logan's dorm was nearly empty, with only the small rickety bed provided by the university, a couple boxes of books, two suitcases of clothes, and a duffel bag of blankets and pillows. They had packed their belongings the night before to make today easier, knowing that Patton probably had a lot more stuff than them.

And they were right.

After they put Logan's belongings - minus the bed, because that belonged to the university - they headed over to Patton's apartment. Patton had packed most of his things, but hadn't managed to get to all of them. The living room was filled with boxes, neatly packed, but there were clothes and old crayon drawings and dozens of notebooks all scattered over his bedroom. The clutter somehow covered every inch of the room, even the unmade bed, tangled up in the blankets.

"Fuck, Pat," Virgil mumbled as he stepped into the room. He laughed, looking around at all the clutter, and when he caught Logan looking at him, he clamped his hand over his mouth, blushing.

"Language," Patton said with a sheepish smile. "And it's not as bad as it looks, I promise."

"Why don't you throw some of this away?" Logan asked, a single brow raising on their forehead. They picked up one of the notebooks and looked to Patton for permission before opening it and looking at the scribbled drawings inside. "Is any of this really necessary to keep around?"

Patton gasped in shock, putting a hand dramatically to his chest like he was wounded. "These are all necessary. That's my journal from kindergarten you have there, and then this here is a story I tried writing in middle school that never panned out, and this is a folder with my kindergarten report cards. It's all important memories."

"But it's... it's all clutter," they stuttered out, being careful not to accidentally offend Patton.

"No worries, you two. We can keep all the notebooks and stuff in the closet in my studio," Roman said gently, bringing in an empty box and setting it on the bed. "Let's start packing up. Do you have anything else going on today, Virgil? Patton and Logan have the day off work, but I just want to make sure we're not keeping you from anything. This could take a while."

He shook his head as he scooped up a handful of notebooks and piled them neatly into the box Roman had brought in. "I work freelance. Only thing I have going on today is helping you three."

"I'm curious," Logan started as they and Patton joined in the packing, "what were you going to do today if we weren't moving today?"

Virgil glanced towards them, amusement flickering to life on his face. "Do you want the honest answer, starlight?"

Logan stuttered to a halt at the nickname, their face turning an interesting shade of red. Roman and Patton turned towards Virgil for a fraction of a second, and he shifted uncomfortably at all the attention, moving to grab for the sleeve of his hoodie. When he remembered that it was back home, that he had taken a chance with being so exposed, he cleared his throat.

"Yes, I want the honest answer."

Roman and Patton resumed packing, as did Logan, though they continued to pay attention to Virgil as he spoke. "Nothing much, really. Probably sitting around starting the first round of edits on my novel."

"Oh, right! I forgot you were writing a book!" Patton chimed, dumping one more armload of papers into the box and taping it shut as Roman grabbed another box. "What's it about?

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Roman interjected.

"No, no, it's alright. It's... uh... it's about fairies and the dark price of their magic."

Virgil talked about his book for a while, rambling animatedly about the plotlines, the characters, the big twists, the setting. Everything.

He smiled, and he laughed, and he joked, and he didn't notice just how much he was talking or how comfortable he was, until all of Patton's belongings were packed up and loaded into the U-Haul.

The other three encouraged him, asking gentle questions when there was a lull in the conversation, and when they loaded the final box into the U-Haul and climbed into the front seat, Virgil seemed a lot more open with them than before.

He leaned the back of his head against the window, one knee resting against Patton's, who had resumed his seat on Logan's lap, and he watched the three of them in silence.

Roman had one hand on the wheel, one holding Logan's, and Logan had their free arm around Patton's waist, their head resting against Patton's shoulder. They were whispering something, making Patton's cheeks flush pink, and Virgil couldn't help but smile softly as he watched them.

The warmth and acceptance he felt here with them was nearly overwhelming, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.

Virgil wouldn't admit it if he was forced to, but damn, was he falling for these three beautiful miracles.