The Rainy Day Coffee Shop - Sanders Sides AU

Part 18 - The Solution

"This isn't good." Roman said, fear in his voice.

It was the day after Janus had arrived, and when Virgil woke up after a sleepless night of crying and worrying, he had immediately texted his boss that he was sick, and gone round to Roman's. Once Roman had found out, he was livid - and Virgil didn't blame him. Virgil was sitting on the couch and Roman was pacing in front of the TV, trying to think of ideas.

"What are we going to do?" Virgil asked.

"I don't know." He ran his hand through his hair, "But I am not letting them take you away, even if I'm forced to fight them with my own beautifully manicured sword."

"You have a sword?" Virgil raised an eyebrow.

He stopped pacing and smirked at him, "Yeah, what kind of a prince do you think I am?"

Virgil didn't laugh. There was an awkward pause.

"Sorry." Roman looked away, continuing to pace.

"How did they even find my address? I made sure not to give it to them!" Virgil stressed.

"What about your phone? They could have tracked you?" Roman said.

"Yeah, that could be it..." he examined his phone, and suddenly it frightened him, "this is the same phone I had in highschool, I was too broke to buy a new one when I moved here."

"I'll buy you a new one." Roman said casually.

"Are you sure?" Virgil shuffled in his seat.

"Yes, of course. But let's not talk about that right now."

They talked a bit more. Virgil told him there was no way in hell he wanted to see them, so standing up to them or fighting was out of the question.

"They will get their way if we come face to face with them." Virgil said firmly, "They know my weaknesses like I know the lyrics to High Hopes. They specialize in manipulation, and they've had nearly 17 years to practice on me."

"Right. So our other options?" Roman replied.

There was a pause as they both thought. Then Roman spoke again.

"You could always... leave?" Roman suggested.

"Leave? Like, leave my apartment?" Virgil raised an eyebrow.

"Leave the city - no, the state! Then they'd never find you." Roman smiled.

"But... then I'd have to leave the collage... quit my job... and what about you guys?" Virgil was daunted by the prospect, "You guys are all I have!"

"... I'll come with you. You can come on a bus or a train or something to get to collage each day. We can find you a new job." Roman said firmly.

"Roman..." he was taken aback, "You'd... you'd do that for me?"

He gazed at him with so much love and care in his eyes that Virgil thought he might burst, "You're more important than any life I've made here."

Virgil smiled. Then the smile faded away, "What about Patton and Logan?"

Roman thought for a second, and then sighed, "They'll understand. At least they have each other."

Virgil felt ready to cry. His parents had, yet again, ruined everything. But this time was different. This time he wouldn't just curl up and cry.

This time he could make a stand.

***

"Yeah. Okay. Thank's, Patton." Roman spoke firmly to the phone, pacing as he did so, "Goodbye." He pressed a button on the screen and put it down on the counter before turning to address Virgil, "He understands, and gives us his full support. Says he'll tell Logan right away."

"Alright." Virgil nodded concisely, "Thank you so much, Roman. You dont know how much this means to me."

Roman plopped himself on the couch next to him, "Anything for my favourite emo."

Virgil flashed him a fake smile, hoping it would console him. It didn't.

Roman rested his head on Virgil's shoulder, and Virgil leaned closer. The smell of lavender wafted around him, like fresh air on a summer's day.

"You know, Virgil," Roman spoke quietly, as if he was choosing his words carefully, "I was... so scared when I came to this city."

"You?" Virgil responded, tears in his eyes as he chuckled, "Scared? Be serious."

Roman laughed too, "Hard to believe? Well, I was." He shuffled a bit, "I was scared of a lot of things. I was scared I wasn't smart enough to get my degree. I was scared the new environment would pull me down. I was scared I wouldn't make any friends." He sat up, and pulled Virgil up with him. He gazed deeply into his eyes, "And then I found you. From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one. You made me... so happy. You're so different from me, and I'm so different from you, but that's... what makes it amazing." He put his hand on Virgil's cheek, "That's what makes you amazing."

A tear ran down Virgil's cheek, landing on Roman's hand, "I love you, Roman."

"I love you too."

They kissed once, before embracing. Virgil still felt sad, scared, angry, anxious, and overwhelmed. But Roman's kind words, his loving gaze, his confident ideas, where Virgil knew that even if he was wrong, he could make it right - they all made it a bit more bearable. He knew that he would always have Roman, and that they would handle things together. They didnt need anyone else, or anything else, to be happy. All they needed was each other.