The Rainy Day Coffee Shop - Sanders Sides AU

Part 20 - The End

"Thanks, have a nice day." Virgil sighed as the lady walked out of the coffee shop.

He turned around and began to stack cups, reading the label on them wearily.

Wilkinson's Coffee.

He was a little disheartened. This was the name of the new coffee shop he worked at. Despite the fact that the new town overall was smaller than his previous town, the coffee shop was more popular than the Rainy Day Coffee Shop. It felt more commercial, less homey. He didn't have regulars in the same way as before, just 'customers'. Becuase there was no big college or university nearby, there weren't as many students; mainly just middle-class women out for a coffee, or teenagers who'd come in babbling groups and cause a ruckus. There were always at least 3 or 4 people in the shop, and most of them came in groups. Because of this, Virgil had two other employees that would work in the shop with him. It was so different to before, he thought. There was no bakery down the road with a happy, teenaged cashier, and nobody ever stayed in the coffee shop longer than an hour like Logan did. Well, at least he still had an upper-class prince who would come in and flirt with him. But even still, him and Roman couldn't be too loud, or they might scare customers.

His thoughts were brought back to reality when the bell rang again. He turned around and saw Roman waltzing into the shop, a smile on his face. His happiness make Virgil a little less sad.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Virgil leaned on the counter.

"I got the job!" Roman grinned, as if it was Christmas day.

"Oh, good for you!" Virgil smiled back. Because of his past jobs and experiance working in coffee shops, Virgil managed to get a job pretty quickly. Roman, on the other hand, had never worked a day in his life, and so found it hard to get any kind of interview. But finally, it seemed, he had managed to land a job as a waiter at a local restaurant.

"And to celebrate, I've got a surprise for you." Roman gave him a flirtatious look.

Virgil blushed a little, before glancing around and the other two employees, who were busy with other customers, "Can it wait till the end of my shift?"

"Yeah. It's in the apartment, so come home whenever you're ready." Roman smiled and left, giving Virgil some finger guns before he closed the door.

Home.

That's what Roman always called the apartment. Virgil loved the way it sounded in his mouth. Home. Home is where you feel comfortable. Home is where you feel safe, where you feel like you can be yourself.

Home is where your loved ones are.

***

As he walked back to the apartment, Virgil took in his surroundings. The streets were less busy then his previous town, and the houses were less packed together. It was 8:30pm on a Wednesday, and it has been two weeks since they'd moved in. Despite the stresses and the car chase, Virgil was getting back into a rhythm. He felt happier than he ever had, and whilst the thought of his parents finding them still loomed in the back of his mind, he felt more at ease knowing that he would always have Roman. Every morning he woke up at 5am, did his shift at the new Coffee Shop until 7, and then him and Roman drove to the college together in time for 8. Then they did their work, and were usually back home by 4pm. Virgil then took the evening shift until 8, before coming home for the night. They sometimes ordered takeout, though Roman had taken up cooking so they'd spend less money on food. Virgil was taking driving lessons on weekends to work towards his licence now that he was 17, so that he could drive himself to school if he needed to study in the library or whatever. He'd been having regular contact with Patton and Logan, video calling every now and again, though it broke his heart that he couldn't see them in real life.

Virgil approached the door, opening it and stepping inside. He could hear voices coming from in the living room. The TV? No... too clear and loud to be the TV. His parents, finally caught up to him? No, the voices were to calm to be his parents. But it was definatly voices he recognised... could it be?

He rushed through the hallway, dropping his backpack carelessly, and opened the living room door.

There, on the couch, sat Roman, Patton, and Logan.

"Virgil!" Patton leaped forwards, wrapping his arms around him and laughing.

"Patton? What are you doing here?!" He laughed back.

"We thought we'd pay you a visit, to see how things are going!" Patton let go and sat back down, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Virgil was grinning too, "I cant believe you're here!" He turned to Logan, "It's so good to see you both!"

Logan seemed to be unable to hold back a smile, "It's good to see you too, Virgil."

"Surprise!" Roman smiled, "I was just telling them about what it's like here."

Virgil sat down on the floor, his back to the radiator. Like always, he slipped easily into whatever they were talking about before he arrived.

They talked for a while, and Roman told the two of them about Virgil's new job, and Virgil complained about how different it was to his previous coffee shop. Roman not-so-subtley bragged about his new job, and Patton and Logan both profusely congratulated him. Then, the other they talked about how college was going, and Logan said he'd been promoted from the night guard of the museum, to being the tour guide. He says he loves to talk to others about the things he's passionate about, though his supervisor told him he needs to stop rambling and going off on tangents to the school kids. Everyone laughed about that; it was such a Logan thing to do. The talked and talked, as if nothing had changed. They talked until the sun went down, and then they talked some more. They joked and laughed, until Patton had fallen asleep on the couch, on Logan's shoulder. Logan carried him out to the car, and said his goodbye, before driving off down the road. Virgil and Roman watched and waved as they drove off, hand in hand.

Then, Virgil turned to Roman, tears in his eyes, "It's never going to be the same again, is it?"

Roman gazed at him, before putting his hand on his waist and pulling him closer, "No. But we will make the most of it."

He looked back forwards, and they both gazed into the setting sun, as the car drove further and further away into the distance.