Work Text:
Logan Berry bit his lip as he sat in the booth at the coffee shop. Why on earth was he doing this? He should just run, it would be best if he just ran.
Logan’s two best friends had convinced him to try online dating. Now, Logan wasn’t exactly a romantic. He’d never dated before, or shown interested in having a romantic relationship. This was mostly because of him focussing on college. However, Roman Prince and Patton Foster had got it in their heads that Logan was insecure about his weight. Which he wasn’t! Sure, he was small and chubby, and did not have the ‘ideal male body type’, but he wasn’t worried about it. He definitely wasn’t wearing a baggy sweater in the middle of summer to hide his belly and love handles…
Anyway, the point was, Logan was on his first date ever. He was going out with Virgil Storm, who he’d met on a dating site. Virgil had dark skin, black hair which he’d dyed purple, and wore the same baggy black hoodie with purple patches in all the photos on his profile. He liked many emo bands, and his favourite movie was A Nightmare Before Christmas, and he said he was looking for a guy who was smart and could keep him grounded. The two had messaged for a while, before arranging to meet up.
So here Logan was, sat alone in a booth in a coffee shop, waiting for Virgil to arrive.
Then, suddenly, Virgil stepped into the shop. Logan’s face drained of any colour it had.
Due to the high Florida summer temperatures, Virgil had his hoodie tied around his waist, and was wearing a purple Fall Out Boy tank top and black denim shorts. This clothing revealed something that had not been clear on his dating profile: he was ripped.
Logan should have ran. Maybe if he slid down under the table, Virgil wouldn’t see him and would just leave. Yes, that’s exactly what Logan would-
Too late, Virgil had seen him and made eye contact. Now he’s coming over. Oh dear god.
“Hey, Logan. I, um… It’s nice to meet you in real life properly.”
“Uh… Hi.”
Wow, great start, Logan. Perfect. Fabulous.
Virgil took a seat opposite Logan, scratching the back of his head. “So, erm… Nice place you chose. You want a drink? I can buy.”
Logan smiled. “Really? Thanks. Just a black coffee, please. Oh, and maybe…” He trailed off, catching himself. “Nevermind.”
“What is it? I don’t mind getting you more if you want it.”
“No, it’s okay, really, I- “
“Logan?”
Gosh, why was Virgil so darn pretty? There’s no way Logan could not listen to him.
“Well… they do some really nice chocolate cake here.”
Virgil smiled. “Got it. I’ll be right back.” He got up and headed to the counter.
Logan let out the breath he totally hadn’t been holding to suck in his stomach. Okay, he had to make sure not to demolish the slice of cake when he got it. Eat it slow so Virgil didn’t think he was a pig.
He was honestly surprised, though. He had had no idea Virgil was ripped! It wasn’t clear in any of his photos, and he never mentioned working out or anything like it when they were texting. It wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, he was, to put it as Roman would, ‘flaming hot’. The problem was it didn’t do a lot for Logan’s self-image.
Which he was perfectly confident with, by the way!
Totally.
Virgil came back a few minutes later with two black coffees and the slice of cake Logan requested. “There you go.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Virgil sat back down. He paused. “You know if you’re hot, you could just take off your sweater.”
“Huh?”
“You’re sweating a lot. I understand sweating from the nerves caused by a date, but this is on a new level.”
“O-oh, um…” Logan bit his lip for about the tenth time that day. “I, uh, I’d rather not…”
“Why?” Before Logan could respond, Virgil spoke and answered his own question. “Oh, wait, I understand. It’s like a comfort or safety item right? I’m the same way with my hoodie. It’s boiling hot, but I still brought it with me. It’s like a constant. Everything around you is changing, but you’ve got something that won’t change unless you want it to. For me my hoodie, for you that sweater. I did wonder why you were wearing that sweater in all the photos in your profile.”
Logan nodded because that was definitely true, not because he was constantly trying to hide his gut.
Virgil smiled reassuringly. “In that case, I won’t force you to take it off.”
“Thanks. You know, for understanding.”
“Don’t mention it.”
There was another small silence. Logan picked up his fork and cut off a small piece of cake, putting it in his mouth. It was delicious… but he shouldn’t go straight in for another bite. He needed to make a good impression.
“How’d you know about this place? It’s really nice. Cosy.” Virgil looked around the café.
“I actually work here,” Logan replied, glad to be moving onto a different subject. “Just to get me through college. It’s my day off, and I knew this place is good, so I figured it’d be a nice place for us to come.”
“Well, now I know where to come when I want to ask you on another date,” Virgil smiled a little, looking at the table and fiddling with his hoodie sleeve.
Logan’s face flushed bright red. Well, redder than it already was due to the heat. “Wh-what? Uh, don’t you mean ‘if’?”
Virgil shook his head. “I like you, Logan. I was nervous when we first started messaging, but you really made me feel comfortable with you. Not many people can do that… I want to see you more.”
Logan couldn’t help but smile. “Well… I want to see you more too.”
After he said this, a squeal gained Logan and Virgil’s attention. They looked around, and Logan didn’t know whether to chuckle or groan.
Patton and Roman were sat at a nearby table, watching the two of them. Patton gave a little awkward wave when they were noticed, while Roman grabbed his hand and pulled him over to Logan and Virgil’s booth. Roman slid in next to Virgil, while Patton went next to Logan.
“Hi, Roman Prince, and this is Patton Foster. We’re Logan’s best friends. Nice to meet you.”
“Um, hi. Virgil Storm.”
“What are you doing here?” Logan asked, looking between them.
“‘Dad’ here got worried for you,” Roman replied, gesturing to Patton. “Which is understandable. You can’t trust those dating sights, you might have been being catfished for all you knew.”
Logan rolled his eyes. He guessed they were right… But they could have at least told him they’d be coming!
“So, how’re things going with you two?” Roman asked, leaning forward, elbows on the table.
“Uh, pretty good,” Virgil turned to Logan, giving him a small smile.
“I think better before you two showed up,” Logan added.
“I’m sorry, Lo, I didn’t want to ruin anything. I was just a little worried, that’s all,” Patton replied. “Speaking of being worried, you’re a waterfall right now. Why are you wearing a sweater and baggy jeans in the middle of summer?”
“U-um…”
Shoot.
“Lo, I don’t want you getting heat stroke. You need to take off the sweater.”
Logan looked between Patton and Virgil, feeling his hands shaking under the table. He tried his best to keep his voice steady. “Patton, I would prefer to keep it on- ”
“Logan, I’m not letting you get overheated and dehydrated.”
Roman tutted. “Uh oh, Lo, you got the Dad Voice.” He turned to Virgil. “You do not want to mess with Patton when he’s in Dad Mode.”
Roman wasn’t lying, which was why Logan was so torn. He couldn’t let Virgil see what he really looked like… but Patton would not let him sit there and continue to melt in his sweater.
After a moment of hesitation, he did the only thing he could think of: squeeze past Patton, leave the booth, and run from the shop.
He ignored his friends and Virgil’s calls after him as he ran. He sprinted all the way back to his, Roman and Patton’s apartment. He locked himself in his room, curling up in his bed. Tears streamed down his face. He’d ruined it, he never should have tried dating in the first place, he wasn’t good enough for Virgil, he wasn’t good for anyone…
-
The next day, Logan was at work, trying his best to avoid looking at the booth where everything went wrong. He had refused to pick up his phone all of the last night and that morning, not wanting to see the countless messages Virgil had undoubtedly sent.
After serving café regular Remy Sleep, Logan turned to the next customer, reciting his usual welcome. However, he only got through, “Hi, what can I- ” when he froze.
It was Virgil.
Oh dear god… Logan was in his uniform, which was a plain polo shirt with the shop logo and a pair of shorts. The outfit very clearly showed his size. He wanted to run, but was frozen with shock.
After a moment, he managed to choke out some words. “P-please, just… just go.”
Virgil looked hurt. “But… if I go I wouldn’t be able to give you these.” He pulled one of his arms out from behind his back, revealing a bouquet of blue and purple flowers.
Logan’s eyes widened. There was no way… After yesterday, and seeing what he actually looked like today, there was no way Virgil could want to give him those.
“Look, I don’t know what happened yesterday…” Virgil continued. “But I meant it when I said I wanted to see you again. Since you weren’t responding to my messages yesterday, I figured I’d come here.” He leant forward on the counter. “If something’s bothering you, you can talk to me, Lo. I really like you. Nothing could change that.”
Logan blinked, feeling tears welling in his eyes. “I… I don’t understand…”
“Understand what?”
“Why you like me! I… Look at you,” Logan sniffled, trying and failing to hold back his tears. “You’re so so handsome, and have the perfect body. Then, compare that to me… Short and chubby. The second I saw you step in yesterday, I thought us being together was hopeless, so I tried to hide it, but I guess I failed. Now you know I’m fat… and I just can’t understand why you still want to go out with me.”
Virgil paused before putting his hand to Logan’s chin, lifting the barista’s head, so they were looking each other in the eyes.
“Logan, listen to me. I couldn’t care less about your weight. Stuff like that doesn’t bother me. Sure, I may work out, but that’s just because exercise can reduce stress, and I am an anxious mess. Weight and body shape does not, and will not ever bother me. An anyway… I think you’re beautiful, Lo. Just the way you are.”
Logan gave up trying to hold back the tears. “R-really…?”
Virgil nodded. “The way I see it, a little chub just means you’re nice and soft like a teddy bear. Perfect for hugs.”
Logan’s face broke into a smile. Both he and Virgil started to lean forward, closing their eyes, their lips about to meet over the counter…
“Logan, get back to work! Have you seen the line?!”
Logan cursed under his breath at his manager, eyes opening and wandering to the queue that had built up. “Sorry, I’m on it!”
Virgil stepped back, allowing Logan to take the orders of the people in the queue. About fifteen minutes later, everyone had been served, and no new customers were coming through the door. Virgil stepped forward again.
“Want to have a second try?”
Logan smiled. “I’d love to.”
This time, their lips met as they leant forward.
Logan smiled against Virgil’s lips. He loved his body. And this time, it wasn’t a lie.