In the Shadows(Sander sides fanfic)

20:Logan and Virgil talk about family(kinda)(notreally)

TW:Shitty families, death mentioned, there's angst, and gay shit, alcohol/drug abuse,

By the time 8:30, Logan was under the impression he was alone in the apartment. Remus had left first, then Patton(and Logan believed Virgil did too) and Roman left last. He said he had an important meeting or something. So Logan saw no problem picking up this phone call from his mother. It's not that she was awful, just had high expectations. And Logan wanted to keep that side of his life away from his friends(and boyfriend)

However, Virgil was in the other room. He had nothing better to do and decided to just stick around. Going back to his apartment did not sound pleasant, it'd just be another reminder about Ginger. So, he could hear Logan's side of this call.

"Greetings,"

Pause.

"No I haven't finished it quite yet.... I will. I promise."

Pause, this one longer.

"Alright... Yes.... Please calm dow-"

A really long pause this time.

"I will. Bye... Love you too."

A sigh followed that, and the sound of approaching footsteps. Logan entered the room, surprised to find Virgil there. "I was under the impression you left?"

Virgil shook his head. "Still here," He paused, trying to figure out how to word this next part. "who were you on the phone with?"

Logan sat down, raking his brain for a lie. "My... Coworker."

"Seemed like an ass." Virgil moved to sit on the back of the couch, putting his own phone into his hoodie pocket.

"She just has high expectations. It's quite manageable." Logan shrugged.

"Right..." Virgil trailed off. Silence followed that for a few seconds, then Virgil filled it again. "Coworkers suck, I had a really awful one years ago."

"Hm?" Logan said, prompting Virgil to continue.

"She was an addict and expected me and... another coworker to support her. She never payed much attention to us unless it was for money or to yell." Virgil explained, following Logan's coworker lie.

"That sounds highly unprofessional. Was your boss aware of this?" Logan frowned, thinking that this was really a coworker of Virgil's.

"Er, no... She was the boss." Virgil looked at Logan.

"Oh, what was this other coworker like?"

Virgil smiled, his mind drifting to Nayla. "She was great... She's the one who taught me how to.. do the job. She was that kind of person who could get along with everyone."

"So like Patton?" Logan asked, the tension from that call slowly leaving.

Virgil chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yeah, a lot like Patton."

Logan smiled a bit. "I'd appreciate meeting this coworker, she sounds very pleasant."

Virgil frowned, shrinking back into himself. "You can't... she died." His voice dropped down to a mumble.

"Oh, how if I may ask?" Logan watched his friend closely. Patton had been trying to teach him to recognize signs of distress, and this sure seemed like distress.

"Bus crash. She was the only one." Virgil kept his voice flat, forcing away his emotions. Forcing away the fear, the doubt, the fact that maybe just maybe he could've saved Nayla. Could've stopped her from going. But he didn't.

Then the tears started. Virgil didn't even notice at first, until Logan was by his side. Regret seized him as soon as he realized. He was supposed to be comforting Logan but he was crying like a fucking idiot and-

Logan hugged Virgil, and not one of his normal stiff hugs. It was warm, and strong and comforting. Virgil leaned into this hug, his throat closing up as grief consumed him. Ginger, Nayla, Remus.... Janus. All of them got hurt when Virgil was in their lives. He seemed to just bring disaster where ever he went and just destroy people's lives. He should just go live out alone, stop hoping for all this.

"Virgil... Breath. Please?" Logan said quietly. Virgil tried to, breaths short and stiff. Logan gently rubbed his back. Slowly Virgil's throat loosened and he was able to breath. His tears slowed and he moved backwards. Logan followed the cue and released the hug.

"Thanks, sorry for just," Virgil made a circle motion with his hand. "flipping out."

"It's quite alright Virgil. I'm honestly not too surprised." Logan shrugged, returning to his own chair.

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to be offended or..?"

Logan quickly shook his head. "No not at all. It is merely a high stress time and talking about something like a death of a coworker adds to that stress."

Virgil frowned, doubt sinking in. "Logan, was that really your coworker on the phone?"

Logan looked at Virgil, then looked away. "No. It was my mother."

"Thought so," Virgil moved to sit closer to Logan. "You're allowed to talk about things without using some code you know."

"Of course I know that. I just prefer not to," Logan shrugged. "I'd like to hear more about these coworkers of yours."

Virgil stopped, before breaking down laughing. He ended up with his head on Logan's arm. Virgil didn't really notice the closeness but Logan sure did. "Logan, I was using the same code you used. That was my mom and my sister."

"Oh," Logan paused, processing this. "Oh..." The realization sinking in fully. "Apologies you had to deal with such an atrocious childhood."

Virgil shook his head. "Just say shitty childhood."

Logan nodded slowly, looking out the window. "You might want to head home soon, it's getting late."

Virgil followed his gaze, joy fading from his face. He took this as a cue Logan wanted him gone and stood up. "Right, of course." Logan stood as well.

"And Virgil, thank you. You being here... helped somehow." Logan managed to say, avoiding eye contact.

A small smile crossed Virgil's face. "No one likes to be alone when they're off," He stepped closer and put his hands on Logan's shoulders. "Just, don't do anything stupid. Okay?"

Logan nodded. "Of course. You too."

They stood there for a few seconds before Virgil stepped back, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Right, bye I'll see you later." Quickly the emo left, not looking behind him. Both felt way lighter than before, but now had a new worry. What was this weird feeling and why did it feel so close to the feelings of their partners?

Sorry I haven't updated in a while my motivation went 📉📉📉. I'll try to keep writing in somewhat of a scheduled way but no promises.