Unexpected Wattys 2022

Chapter Thrity

23 Weeks Into The Pandemic:
TW: Talk of attempted suicide and a toxic relationship, mention of hospitals (if anyone wants a summary, lmk)

    Roman was sitting with Cerberus in the backyard after Virgil had left and made him make coffee. He had drunk it and made more and now he was just watching the dog run around. Sometimes he would bring a toy and Roman would throw it for him to find, but mostly he entertained himself. Roman was trapped in his own head trying to find a way to survive the half hour to two hours that Virgil was gone.

    "If you are waiting for him to go to the bathroom, you are wasting your time." Janus said from behind him. Roman jumped slightly.

    "I'm not, just getting fresh air. He won't leave me alone so I took him with me." Roman answered. "It's like he never runs out of energy."

    "It's just his midlife crisis, don't worry about it." Janus said. Roman laughed and nodded. "What?"

    "Virgil said the same thing. I can see where he got the sarcasm from." Roman responded. Janus scoffed and sat next to him on the deck steps.

    "Please, that boy was sassy since the moment he popped into this world. Gave his parents a run for their money and myself for that matter. My parents gave me a parenting book for Christmas the year I took him in." Janus said.

    "Did you use it?" Roman asked with a smile.

    "Are you kidding me? Of course I did. He was moody all the time, I had to do something and make sure he felt at home. Sadly, those books don't tell you how to handle a sixteen year old passed out on the couch." Janus sighed.

    "Video games? Vrigil doesn't seem like a big gamer but I can't judge." Roman said. Janus gave him a weird look.

    "No...he hasn't told you yet?" Janus said. Roman shook his head.

    "Should he have?" Roman asked. Cerberus came over and nudged Roman's leg. Roman waved him off and threw his toy that he chased.

    "Depends. Has he mentioned someone named Kevin?" Janus asked.

    "No, we haven't really talked about exes. The only ones he knows about are the ones from college and even those are a bit fuzzy." Roman responded.

    "Ah yes, the revolving door." Janus said. Roman tensed, Janus noticed. "Relax, I am not judging you on past mistakes unless you killed someone in the past."

    "No, that sounds more like Remus." Roman responded.

    "Yeah, I think he told me he did once but I can't remember if it was joking or not. Other than that, I am inclined to give you a pass but I can't really do that unless he tells you." Janus said.

    Roman sighed, Remus and Patton were being weird about it. Even Logan knew, Patton told him! "I really don't think that's going to come up soon." Roman said sadly. He put his mug down and got up off the deck.

    "Why?" Janus asked. Roman shrugged.

    "There are some things we avoid talking about, after our first date we really didn't delve into our pasts all that much. He had some trust issues in the beginning but I think he's coming around a little bit. If he felt that we were going too fast, he knows he can say the word and I won't do anything to stop that. If one day he woke up and didn't want to sleep in the same bed, I would go to the guest room." Roman said.

    Janus was impressed. He had heard everything Virgil had to say about him. Sure Patton told him Virgil liked Roman, and Janus would try his best to get him to admit it but he never thought Virgil would actually date him. Roman was nicknamed the Theater Slut. Doesn't he know what that would do to Virgil when they were known around school?