Chapter Text
Virgil reread his post and sighed through his nose. He edited, deleted, read, edited, delete delete delete, okay no, that should be fine… you know what? Just post.
Virgil clicked the post button and slammed his laptop lid shut. He blew a heavy sigh through his lips and stared up at his ceiling.
Today was the day.
Virgil contemplated sitting in his computer chair and pretending he was sick, but he reminded himself he promised Cassie by the new year he’d get a job. Cassie’s parents did enough for him. It was time he started paying them back. He knew Mr. and Mrs. Jones wouldn’t take his money, but at the very least, he and Cassie could work on moving out and lighten their burden. After all, Cassie and Virgil were in their late twenties. It was time they split from the parental nest, even if they were invited back for supper.
After sliding his computer chair back, Virgil slid on a clean shirt and changed into a presentable pair of pants. He stared into the mirror. Should he brush his hair out of his eyes? He grabbed the comb and gave a few swipes. A grimace tugged his lips down. He messed his hair back up and shrugged his shoulders.
No amount of tidy hair would hide this sorry excuse for a human being anyway.
Virgil slid on his favorite gray jacket, exited his room, and descended the stairs. The smell of fresh oatmeal greeted his nose, and he spotted Cassie's father on the couch. The elderly man leaned his head back and sent a puffy cheeked smile.
“Mornin Mr. Jones,” Virgil greeted.
Mr. Jones swallowed the oatmeal in his mouth and spoke, “Virgil, we talked about this. Call me Peter, please.”
“And we’ve been over this. No,” Virgil shot back. He quirked his lip up into a half smile, and Peter shook his head with a chuckle.
“Well, if you and Cassie keep this up, you’ll soon be calling me dad anyway.”
Virgil did curl his nose at that, and Peter laughed his famous contagious belly of a laugh that Virgil loved. It was one of the things he shared with his daughter, Cassie.
“Yeah, no thanks,” Virgil grumbled.
“Why don’t you grab a bite to eat before your interview?”
“Nah. I already feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Okay, suit yourself,” he replied with a shrug.
Virgil thought he could leave in peace, but when he turned around, Cassie stood right in front of him. Virgil shrieked and clutched his chest. He calmed his breathing, and his face squished into a scowl.
“Don’t.”
Cassie laughed. “Oh, what’s wrong, Virge? Did I surprise you?”
“You know I hate when you sneak up on me.”
“I can’t help it if I’m light on my feet,” she said and gave a spin for emphasis. “You know, if this job goes well, I expect the family discount.”
“I don’t think you really count as a family discount,” Virgil remarked.
“But I took you in. Doesn’t that matter?” Cassie said and stuck out her lip. “I’m practically your adopted sister.”
“Please don’t make this weird. I’m not dating my sister.”
“Virgil, you wound me! I thought I mattered to you. I feel faint.” Cassie put a dramatic hand over her forehead and faked a sigh. She fell backward into Virgil’s chest. He caught her under the shoulder and rolled his eyes, a small smile perking from the corner of his lips.
“I’m going to be late.”
“Everything’s going dark, Virgil. I think I see the light.”
“I will drop you.”
Cassie tossed her head to the side, her face buried in black curls and flyaway strands sticking to her tongue, which extended with a “bleh” noise. Virgil sighed through his nose and shook his head. He raised her cheek up to his lips and gave a quick kiss. Cassie’s eyes snapped open, and she spit the hairs off her tongue.
Virgil snorted. “Serves you right.”
“Yeah, probably,” Cassie responded and picked the last hair off her tongue. She stood up and straightened out her light green sundress. Her eyes smiled with her soft brown lips. “Hey, happy 10 year anniversary.”
Virgil’s breath hitched. “I-is that today?”
Cassie laughed. “Yeah, but don’t worry about it. I thought we could stay inside, order your favorite pizza, and watch some trash TV until we pass out.”
“You know me so well,” Virgil said with a smile. Cassie leaned in and gave Virgil a proper kiss on the lips, her fingers trailing over his cheek and resting at his jaw.
“You’re going to do fine.”
Virgil sighed through his nose. “I sure hope so.”
“I know so. And if they’re crazy enough not to hire you, I’ll be here with pizza and cupcakes so we can ugly cry together.”
“Sounds like a date.”
Virgil gave a quick peck on her forehead before wishing her goodbye and stepping outside the door. He listened to the click of the latch before releasing all the air in his lungs.
What Cassie saw in someone like him he’d never know. She wasn’t even tied to him by fate, and yet here she was, giving him a home, giving him love he didn’t deserve, giving him a family that was way too nice for his liking. It was too perfect. What did he do to deserve any of this?
The sun barely peeked over the city skyline and mixed its red, gold, and pink pastel colors together like a painting. The silhouetted building still glowed with lights inside, along with streetlights that refused to rest for the day. Cars started to pass more frequently as daily commuters awoke and hastened to work. Birds chirped, and horns blared. The sour smells of fuel gas clouded the city in a sleepy daze.
Youtown may not have been the biggest city, but there was a certain charm to it that Virgil always admired.
People started to pass Virgil on his commute to the coffee shop, which should be about another ten minute walk from his current location. People chattered on cell phones and ignored his existence. Some tried to say hello, but Virgil shrugged them off. It’s not that he wanted to be rude; he couldn’t bring his voice box to make a noise. The words stuck to this uvula and made him almost throw up.
And here he thought he’d be suited for retail where he’d have to actually look people in the eye and talk to them. What. An. Idiot.
A woman bumped into his shoulder, and Virgil caught his balance against a building. She whirled around and met his eyes, her own wide with shock.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she spoke and held out a hand. “Are you okay?”
Virgil’s eyes caught the glowing pink soulmark on her cheeks, two hearts with swirls running down the side of her face. His eyes flickered over to the woman beside her, and he watched her cold eyes settle on Virgil, waiting for an answer. He could see the indigo swirls peeking out from her shirt sleeves and running down to her wrists.
“M’fine,” Virgil managed to hiss out.
The woman who bumped into him sighed in relief. “Oh, that’s good. I’d hate to start off Monday by accidentally hurting someone.”
The woman beside her wrapped an arm around her, and the two took off down the street. Virgil fussed his jacket back in place and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Stupid lovebird idiots probably weren’t even paying attention to where they were going. Virgil caught himself. No, who said they were dating? Just because they were soulmates didn’t mean they were in love. Stop bringing up prejudice thoughts you dull witted loser.
Virgil tried to ignore what happened, but his mind continued to replay the conversation over and over. Maybe he was the one who wasn’t watching where he was going. Maybe he was projecting his frustrations on the two of them, obviously hating how they could be so happy with their soulmate. They must’ve seen each other’s glow at first sight. Well, maybe the one with the cheek soulmark didn’t, but she could see her soulmate’s glow, and her soulmate could see her glow.
Virgil would never get to see his, and that wasn’t just him being poetic.
The sign for the Heart and Soul cafe shimmered in a spotlight cast between two buildings. Virgil shielded the sunshine with his hand and sighed through his nose. Now that he was here, his gut started to twist around in worse knots. He should just leave. What was he thinking? Why would anyone want to hire a nervous mess like him?
For a while, he stood outside of the cafe window and gripped his hands in his hair. He should go in. He should just get it over with. But what if they hated him? What if they laughed in his face when he said he wanted to work there? What if he never was able to find a job afterward? This was a mistake. How could he even-
“Hey, you okay?”
The voice pushed Virgil’s soul outside of his body. He jolted as it returned and snapped his head over to the left.
A gentle smile greeted him. A man leaned out of the doorway of the cafe and gave Virgil a sympathetic gaze he didn’t deserve.
“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you,” the man spoke. “It’s just, you’ve been standing out here for about 10 minutes, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Virgil replied. His eye drifted down to the nameplate on the man’s chest, with “Thomas” written above he/him pronouns, and back up to those warm brown eyes.
“Why don’t you come in for a cup of coffee. My treat.”
“No, I couldn’t- you don’t need to- I-”
“Hey, calm down. It’s okay. Listen, it’s cold out, and you look like you could use a pick-me-up, so I thought… you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Virgil fussed with the lint in his pocket. He could go in for a quick cup. Maybe then they’d just be nice and tell him to leave instead of him embarrassing himself. He swallowed his pride and nodded his head.
Thomas held the door open for him as Virgil stepped inside. The once sour smell of the city faded to the sweet smell of freshly baked donuts and roasting fresh coffee. Light classical music played in the background, mostly piano. Virgil heard the bell jingle closed as Thomas closed the door and muted the sounds of the city. He walked across the wooden floor, which echoed his footsteps, and stood behind the bar.
“Take your time and figure out what you want. I’ll be back as soon as I check on the donuts, okay?”
Virgil gave a slight nod, and Thomas disappeared behind the swinging door to the kitchen. He looked around the shop, which was about the size of his small apartment. Five bookshelves towered over in the corner, closing the reading world off from its coffee counterpart. Soft bean bag chairs sat by electrical sockets, and a few tables lined the left by the windows, allowing its patrons to spy on the outside world as they drank their cares away.
Virgil returned his gaze to the long list of coffee options above the counter. He skimmed over the names, each one longer and more confusing than the last. However, he supposed if he wanted to work here, he should learn all their names. They mixed together after a while and hurt his brain. Why were coffee names so weird?
“Did you figure it out?”
Virgil jumped for the second time, and Thomas offered another apologetic smile. He swallowed as much air as he could and released it in the next breath.
“Uh, I guess just a small cup of coffee would be fine.”
“Any cream or sugar?”
“Milk, uh, just milk if you could.”
“What kind?”
Virgil grit his teeth and stopped breathing. He closed his eyes and chewed on his lip.
Thomas informed, “We have two percent, skim milk, almond milk, rice milk-”
“Rice milk. Rice milk would be fine.”
“Alright, one small cup of coffee with rice milk. Anything else?”
“No, no that’s it.”
“For here or to go?”
To go. To go. To go to go to go to go to gotogotogotogotogo
“For here is fine.”
“Okay, give me a minute and I’ll have that done for you in a second. Why don’t you have a seat at the bar while you wait?”
Virgil studied his surroundings once more. He was the only one crazy enough to be up at 6 am apparently, as no one else graced the store. A quick glance at the sign showed they didn’t open until 6:30. Oh, so Thomas invited him in before the store even opened. How lovely.
A mug of coffee rested on the counter in front of him, and Thomas handed him a stirrer. Virgil muttered thanks and began to swirl the milk around the black liquid, giving it a soft brown color.
“So, is everything okay?” Thomas asked. His smile dropped and he chewed his lip. “I mean, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. Your life is your life. But you looked kinda upset outside, and I just-”
“It’s fine,” Virgil mumbled. He sighed. No going back now. “Actually, I… I uh-” spit it out- “I wanted toapplyforajob.”
Virgil drowned his gaze in his coffee. His lungs captured all the air he inhaled and refused to let anything in or out. They started to burn. He grit his teeth as sweat lined his brow.
“Oh.”
Virgil resurfaced. Thomas’s smile was so warm and understanding that Virgil couldn’t help the sigh of relief that left his lips.
Thomas continued, “So you saw Logan’s ad in the paper. Good, ah, we’ve been really short staffed, and it’s been hard to keep the cafe going smoothly with just the two of us.”
“There’s only two of you?”
“Yeah. Logan’s only been in business for about 5 months now, and the few people who do apply for a job here usually only last a week.”
Virgil swallowed. “Why’s that?”
“Uh, well,” Thomas twisted his hands together. “You see, there’s something about Logan that- he’s just-”
“He’s a prick?”
“No! Well, kinda, but I mean, that’s usually not what gets people fired.”
“Fired?” Virgil’s heart stopped.
“Yeah, but don’t worry! It’s not like they don’t quit five seconds later, but they’re not, uh-”
“Thomas, who are you talking to?”
Virgil and Thomas’s heads snapped over to the spiral staircase by the bookshelves. A man dressed in a black button down shirt, a blue tie, tan slacks, and polished black shoes stepped down the stairs. His eyes locked on Virgil’s own, and Virgil swallowed the bile rising through his throat.
Logan’s eyes passed from Virgil to Thomas, and he pursed his lips. “You know we don’t open for another five minutes, right?”
“I let him in,” Thomas spoke up. “He was standing outside in the cold, and I just thought- he wants to apply for a job.”
Logan’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Virgil tried his best to hold onto Logan’s gaze, but he ended up glancing down at the floor.
“Is that so?” Logan said and cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sure we could give him a chance.”
Something dark hid between those words, and Virgil drowned in his thoughts. He watched Logan start to walk toward him, and panic lit a fire in his chest. Escape. He had to escape.
“So, what makes you want to work here?” Logan asked.
Virgil opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He tried again, but something moved on Logan’s forehead and stole his breath away.
Like a drop in a pool of still water, a white light started to dance across Logan’s forehead. It started in the space between his eyebrows and swirled over his forehead, cradling his eyes and dropping onto his cheeks. The solid white light shined like a diamond.
Virgil blinked. He didn’t recall seeing a soulmark on Logan’s forehead.
A sharp breath caught Virgil’s attention, and he turned his head over toward Thomas. The man’s mouth was agape, staring at Logan like he was a ghost. His gaze then shifted to Virgil and started combing over his body.
“What?” Logan asked and furrowed his iridescent brow.
“Y-you-” Thomas stammered. He looked around the countertops and pulled out a drawer. Thomas fished around in the silverware until he pulled out a large metal spoon. He handed it over to Logan. “Look.”
Logan sent a confused expression before listening to Thomas’s instructions. His eyes studied the spoon before they widened in shock. He looked from the spoon to Virgil and back at the spoon once more. Shaking fingers rose to his forehead and traced the white glowing soulmark on his brow.
“I… it appears I have a soulmate,” Logan breathed out in a quiet voice. His ghost gray eyes flashed up in Virgil’s direction, and all the air left Virgil's lungs.
No. No that’s not right. He couldn’t be. He had Cassie. He didn’t need a soulmate-
“I-” Virgil’s voice caught in his throat. He jumped off the chair and started backing up toward the door.
“Wait,” Logan called out, but Virgil already bolted. He barely heard the bell's cry as he slammed his palms on the door and raced down the street. His heart pounded in his chest. Blood roared in his ears, and his feet pounded into the pavement. People barely dodged out of his path. He ran as fast as his feet could take him all the way home.
Virgil fished in his pocket for his apartment key, his fingers trembling and missing the lock several times, before opening the door and slamming it shut.
Silence.
Virgil swallowed air like water. His hands shook as they barricaded the door and closed him off from the fate life threw at him. Tears pricked his eyes as his jaw quivered.
“Virgil?” Cassie’s soft voice called from behind him. Still, his shoulders tensed and he froze. “Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Virgil's body wanted to cry, but he couldn’t even do that. He rested his forehead on the door and continued to shake.
Cassie’s hand rested on his shoulder, and Virgil tensed. Her hands slid over his shoulder blades and massaged life back into his muscles.
“Hey, take some deep breaths for me, okay? Are you hurt?”
Virgil somehow managed to shake his head no, and he heard Cassie’s sigh of relief.
“Okay, good. Is this okay?”
Virgil nodded yes.
“Can you come over to the couch and sit with me?”
Virgil hesitated. His hands slid off the door and fell to his side. Cassie wrapped him in a one armed hug and pressed him up against her side. The two walked as one over to the couch, and they sat down onto the leather cushions.
Virgil stared down at the floor. How was he going to explain this? Would she understand? Would she leave him? He couldn’t bear to lose the only friend he had in this miserable world.
“Virgil, look at me,” Cassie’s voice guided Virgil over to her warm brown eyes. He drank them like hot chocolate, and every muscle in his body relaxed. How she had the power to chase his fears away with just a look baffled him. Her lips pulled into a gentle smile, and she brushed a few flyaway strands out of her face.
Cassie continued, “Can you tell me what happened?”
The dam on Virgil’s eyes finally broke, and tears dripped down his cheeks. Cassie rubbed soothing circles between Virgil’s shoulder blades as he trembled. She whispered calming noises and rested her head against his shoulder. Her hair stuck to Virgil’s cheeks, but he didn’t care. He’d cherish every last moment he had with her.
“I met him,” Virgil spoke.
Cassie’s head slid through her hair as she asked, “Met who?”
“My-” Virgil swallowed- “my soulmate.”
Silence greeted him. He was glad Cassie rested her head where he couldn’t see her. He couldn’t watch the light he loved so much disappear from her eyes. He couldn’t see how her smile dropped, how she realized that everyone was right, that she wasn’t destined to ever find love. He could only imagine the hurt in her heart as her world caved in on her. The circles on his back stopped. Virgil squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath.
“You did?” Cassie asked, her tone unreadable.
Virgil gave a nod of his head. He sucked in a breath, “Cassie, I-”
“So, when do I get to meet him?”
“I-what?”
“I expect to meet your soulmate, being your partner and all. I mean, anyone who is destined to be with you can’t be all that bad, right?”
“Cassie-”
“Hey, I have no problem sharing you.”
“Yeah, but what if he’s not okay with sharing me? And what if I don’t want to love him? I… I love you so much, Cassie, and I don’t want my soulmate to come between us. That’s why I ran. I can’t- I don’t want to leave my life behind again for someone I love. I can’t. I’m not… I’m not strong enough.”
Cassie quieted at that. She blew a heavy breath out of her nose and lifted her head from his shoulder. Virgil still continued to stare down at the floor. Her hand slid from his back to his shoulder.
“Well, we’re just going to have to cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, I think you owe it to him to at least tell him why you ran off.”
Virgil could’ve cried. How could Cassie be this understanding? How could she look at something that might separate them forever and laugh? He had no idea where she got the strength to be a better person than Virgil ever hoped to be, but he admired it so much.
“Okay,” he said with a nod. He finally gained the courage to look at her, and he offered a half smile.
“I’ll even go with you,” she added.
“What did I do to deserve you?” Virgil asked.
Cassie tapped her chin. “Mmm, just looked at life how it should be looked at and became a better person because of it.”
Virgil gave a light laugh and stood from the couch. He grabbed onto Cassie’s hand, and she stared up into his eyes.
“One step at a time,” she spoke. Virgil gave a nod.
The second time he walked to the coffee shop, Virgil’s nerves practically disappeared. Cassie swung their arms slightly as they held hands. They walked as one past people who couldn’t care less about whether or not they were together. It was one thing about the city Virgil admired. No one cared about their neighbor enough to gossip while late for work.
However, once the shop came into view, Virgil’s legs started to drag. Cassie slowed her pace and pushed them toward the wall to encourage people to walk around them. She gave Virgil’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“You can do this. It’s going to be okay.”
“But what if it goes wrong?”
“And what if it doesn’t? You’ll never know if you don’t try, and you’ll worry yourself sick over not knowing.”
Virgil took a deep breath and released it. He nodded his head and followed Cassie inside the shop.
The noise of chattering people, clinking coffee cups, and gentle music followed the jingle of the door’s bell. Virgil noted several people inside the shop since it opened, some casually speaking to others, some reading, and some minding their own business while they sipped on their coffee. He noticed Thomas speaking to people, rushing around the back counter, and grabbing what they needed. Thomas practically ran from place to place. Virgil’s guilt welled up in his gut. They really were short staffed.
His eyes caught Logan, who spoke to those Thomas wasn’t tending to. Virgil realized he wasn’t imagining things. No soulmark stood on Logan’s brow. The guilt in Virgil’s stomach doubled. Did Logan go his whole life thinking he had no soulmate only to watch that very person run out of his life without even telling him his name?
Cassie caught Virgil staring at Logan, and a knowing smile slid onto her lips. She ushered him to a table and had him sit.
“I’ll go get us some coffee. Why don’t you wait here until the line goes down a bit? They look kinda busy.”
Virgil nodded his head and stared out the window. He played with the inside of his sleeve and chewed the skin off his lip. What if the coffee shop never slowed down? What if they sat here all day and never got the chance to talk to Logan? What if they wasted their entire day sitting here, and Cassie regretted ever bringing Virgil back to talk to his soulmate?
“Oh my god, is that you Abby Picani?” a loud voice called from the counter. The chatter in the cafe lowered as people turned their attention to the bar.
Logan’s back may have been turned to them, but Virgil didn’t miss the slight rise in his shoulders and the stiff posture.
“That’s Logan,” he corrected but never met the man’s gaze. He turned his attention instead to another guest to the left of the noisy man. Virgil focused his attention to listen in as chatter started to return to normal.
“Wow, never thought I’d see you being in business. I thought you were gonna be a scientist?”
“I was,” Logan answered. His answers were short, tone closed off, and trying desperately to close the conversation. Thomas approached the man and tried to take his attention off Logan by asking for his order, but the man’s attention stayed glued to Logan.
“What, they didn’t want someone like you? Told you you’d probably amount to nothing.”
Logan swallowed hard and ignored the comment. The elderly woman Logan was tending to sent the rowdy man a dirty look but didn’t say a word.
Virgil watched the twitch of irritation in the obnoxious man’s brow. Logan turned away to prepare the woman’s coffee.
“I’m just blown away that you would get rid of the only interesting part about you, Abby. Oh no, I'm sorry, you're pretending to be Logan now. You think getting rid of your boobs and name will change the fact that you’re Soulless?”
Everything stilled except for the rage in Virgil’s heart. He stood from his seat and marched over toward the bar.
Logan turned to address the man, his eyes cold and hands gripping a coffee cup so hard it should’ve shattered. His soulmark lit up, and the color drained from the bully’s face. Logan’s anger melted to mild confusion as he studied the annoying patron’s flabbergasted expression. All noise in the cafe deafened, making Virgil’s voice sound like a gunshot.
“Hey, If you’re not going to order coffee get out.”
The man turned to face Virgil, who stood a good six inches above him, then looked back at Logan. He finally snapped his jaw shut, muttered a curse word under his breath, and slipped out the coffee shop door. All the courage left Virgil’s body at once, and he gripped the counter of the coffee bar.
People whispered back and forth as they stood in line. Some looked at Virgil, but most were staring at the white soulmark adorning Logan’s forehead. Virgil’s eyes caught Cassie’s proud smile in the crowd, and his smile flickered toward her.
“Thank you,” Logan’s voice called from behind him.
Virgil turned, and Logan stared up at him with a quirked smile. He gave a swift nod, and Logan asked the elderly woman to have patience while he addressed Virgil.
Virgil’s heart began to pound, “Look, I don’t want to take you from work, because I know you’re busy and all, but-”
“The shop closes at nine tonight. I don’t have time now, but if you wait, I have something important to tell you tonight.”
“Oh,” Virgil replied and tried not to sound confused. He gave a nod, and Logan gave a word of thanks. Before he began his work again, he turned to Virgil and studied him. Virgil figured he was looking for some sort of soulmark on Virgil, but he wouldn’t find it. Not with how covered Virgil kept it.
“What’s your name?” Logan asked.
“Uh, it’s Virgil. Virgil Angstlich.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Virgil. I’m Logan Picani.”
And with that, the storm of work swept Logan away, leaving Virgil to deal with its aftermath.