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Virgil woke with a deep sigh, body relaxed and warm. He felt better than he had in a long time, like he had actually rested for once. He cracked open his eyes, blinking in the dark blue light, his mind scrambling for a moment to come up with where he was. Dark blue?
Oh. He- well, they had- that is, he finally broke. He tried so hard to keep everything bottled up inside, to not make things weird between them. But he just couldn’t take it anymore. Hiding it was becoming physically painful, the way this heart would race and make him dizzy. And Logan had been… overjoyed. He’d looked happier than he had in a long time in fact. The other man had held him, kissed him. They’d done that for a while. Virgil had cried, just for a moment. And then neither of them wanted the other to be out of sight.
So where was he now? Virgil turned over expecting warmth, and instead found an empty bed. He looked over his shoulder, surveying the room. The blackout curtain was still in place, but Logan usually pulled it back as soon as he woke up, if he even pulled it across the window to begin with. He used it more often to stop the glare of light on his computer when he was working during the day, but he liked having natural light in the mornings.
Instead of natural light, the room was bathed in blue from his overhead light strip. It had always put Virgil at ease, and he suddenly wondered it that’s the reason they were in the room to begin with. Virgil had his own, and Logan hadn’t been interested until he was. It made butterflies and warmth spread in his stomach all at once, thinking that Logan got up and turned them on for him, and probably left it dark in the room to make him comfortable as well. But where was he?
The clock on the nightstand read seven thirty on the dot, a half hour before he normally got up. Maybe he’d gone to the bathroom. The door was shut. But Logan kept the doors shut at all times, that and the closet. He insisted that house fires had more difficulty with shut doors, and he was right. With Remus around it was always a good idea to take into account safety precautions. Looking under the door though, he could see that’s all it was. A safety precaution. The light wasn’t on.
Virgil sat up slowly, digging around for his phone. Why had he woken up? He didn’t have a missed call or text that would have made noise. Nothing in the room was out of place, except Logan not being there. The alarm didn’t go off. And surely he wouldn’t have woken up naturally at seven thirty after going to bed at almost two in the morning. It made unease stir in him, despite everything being comforting in the room.
If he was awake, and there was no other explanation… something must be wrong. Even though that wasn’t how that works, he tried to remind himself. No, everything was fine. Maybe he just got up because… he didn’t want the alarm to wake up Virgil, and so he got up early and turned it off. But then how did he wake up if he didn’t have an alarm?
What if he never went to sleep?, Virgil’s traitorous mind thought. What if he laid down, holding him tight, and had second thoughts? Regrets. What if he got up and left his own room because he didn’t want to be around him? Virgil took a deep breath, forcing himself to lay back down against the mattress. That wasn’t what happened… right?
No, no. The blue lights. He wouldn’t have turned on the blue lights if he were hurrying to get the hell out after making a mistake. He wouldn’t do something to intentionally make him more comfortable. Unless… unless that was the point. To make him comfortable before the painful truth came out. Virgil’s heart began to race, and he rolled over, facing away from Logan’s side of the bed.
Stay calm. One breath, two, three. He pulled back out his phone and unlocked it, clicking a playlist of music that helped him stay calm. It was always so much easier to calm down in Logan’s room. He loved his own aesthetic and decor, but it was- well, spooky. Dark. It didn’t help to look around for five things you can see and land on a Michael Myers mask and a realistic fake spider hanging from the ceiling. He kept the volume on his phone low, setting it on the pillow next to his head.
Everything was fine. Logan was probably just doing something and would be back any moment. He was overreacting. Virgil let his eyes fall shut, and took a few calming breaths. The pillows smelled like lavender. Knowing Logan, he probably put fresh pieces in the pillowcases to help him sleep. He always was a fan of aromatherapy. It was the last thought he had before his body relaxed again, and he was drifting off.
He wasn’t sure how long he drifted before a shrill, blaring alarm woke him. Not the one on the nightstand. No, this was much, much louder. It rang through his very bones, and he rushed to cover his ears. His heart hammered in his chest, panic filling his body. A glance to the clock told him he’d been out nearly an hour. Right, so the nightstand alarm never went off, Logan did turn it off. And this sure as hell wasn’t his phone. Not the nightstand alarm. Not his phone-
The smoke alarm. That was the smoke detector. There was a fire. He grabbed his phone and stood on shaking legs, rushing to the bedroom door. What the hell did he teach him? He had just been thinking about it. The door would block the flame, but the knob would burn him. But he shouldn’t try to climb the emergency rope ladder unless the stairs were actually in flame, right? He tapped it with a finger, relief flooding him at not being scorched, before wrenching it open and running into the hall.
Roman was already out of his room, ushering Patton out of his room and telling him to leave the stuffed animals. He ignored them, running down the stairs. The apartment complex was only so big, so the added basement section was where Remus and Janus slept. With Remus’ habit of causing trouble, there was no telling what he would find down there. That is, if he was the culprit, and it wasn’t bad wiring, or arson. He barreled down the stairs two at a time, gripping the railing hard. He had to make sure they were ok, that it didn’t trap them, and on top of that he still had to find-
“Logan?”
“Everything’s fine!” Logan yelled, wrenching the oven door open so hard he heard it hit the floor. He jogged into the doorway to the kitchen to see fully, as Logan pulled a completely burnt something in a tin out of the oven and slapped it down on the stovetop. He threw the oven mitts off, moving to pry open the kitchen window, and freezing in place.
“Uh oh.”
“What uh oh?!” Roman asked, running into the room right behind him, Patton’s hand in his, his other full of as many stuffies as he could hold. From behind him, the downstairs door opened to reveal a disgruntled Janus, and a practically foaming-at-the-mouth-in-excitement Remus, thankfully wearing underwear, but no pants.
“The… that is, I may have set off the alarm for the entire complex.”
“Logan!” Virgil blurted out, as Remus began to laugh.
“They’re all exiting. We should too. The fire department will want everyone out so they can clear each apartment, just to be sure.”
“What in gods name we’re you trying to make?” Janus spoke up, rubbing his temples. Logan hesitated, mouth opening and closing as his eyes cast away from them.
“Bread.”
Without any warning, just as it had begun, it ended. The shrill chirps cut mid-sound, and Virgil’s ears rang in the sudden deafening silence. Janus and Roman sighed in relief, while Patton clutched his chest in relief. Remus was the only one who looked almost disappointed, looking between the burnt bread and the ceiling detector like he could will it to scream again by hanging his jaw open far enough.
“We didn’t have any dough. It couldn’t have proofed for nearly long enough. What recipe did you use?” Janus asked.
“And why were you attempting to bake in the first place?! Look, I give you that you can cook averagely. With a recipe. But I bake! Patton bakes, Janus bakes. You cannot bake.” Roman waved a hand around.
“Clearly.” Logan grimaced, turning to look back at the stovetop. It made Virgil choke on a laugh, and for the first time all morning Logan looked into his eyes, a small smile beginning before he cleared his throat and hid it away again.
“I apologize. I’m deeply sorry for disturbing everyone.”
“Ohh Logan, it’s ok! We’re just glad you’re alright.” Patton chimed in, leaving Roman’s side to step forward and offer a hug. Logan caved, falling into him and accepting the embrace.
“I’m not! I wanted to see a fire.” Remus griped.
“Alright, everyone out. Go on.” Janus sighed, ushering for them to move. Roman sighed dramatically, leading the charge. Patton gave him an apologetic look, running back to the living room to grab a blanket and tearing after Remus to cover his bottom half. Virgil watched them go, finally snorting in amusement.
“What the hell Lo?”
“I was attempting to make you breakfast.”
“Why?” Virgil chuckled. It almost made him want to take it back, as Logan began to look sheepish.
“Breakfast in bed is a common gesture after someone spends the night.”
“Oh- god, Logan…”
“I know you don’t like overly sweet food. So pancakes, waffles, and that strawberry muffin mix was out of the question. I thought if I toasted bread or made biscuits, I could make bacon and egg sandwiches. However we’re out of bread, and I didn’t know a biscuit recipe off the top of my head. My phone and laptop are back in the room. I got ready so quietly, I set a vibration alarm, I got out early so I could be back by the time you woke. It was all going according to plan. Clearly I miscalculated… something. I’m sorry I woke you. And the whole complex.”
“Hey, it’s ok. It’s not like it’s a disaster. Nothings on fire, and it’s a Friday morning. Most of the neighbors are probably at work anyway.” Virgil shrugged.
“Virgil, it’s Saturday morning.”
“Oh shit.” He swore, looking out the window as Logan choked back a laugh. It made him forget all about counting how many people there were, looking back at him. His smile, trying to hide it as he was, cheeks turning red, and a speck of ash that probably flew up from the oven on one of his cheeks. It made him begin to smile right back, holding in laughter.
“That’s why I woke up. You leaving the room must have done it. I couldn’t figure it out and eventually just fell back asleep waiting.”
“I’m glad. The process of making the dough wasn’t any prettier than this. You needed the rest. And you didn’t need to bear witness.” Logan added, making him fully laugh this time.
“God, this feels weird.”
“What does?” Logan asked.
“Just knowing you actually do… like me. “Like me”, I sound like a kid.” Virgil rubbed a hand down his face. Logan chuckled, taking his hand away and holding it instead.
“It’s all new language to learn. You’ll get used to saying it. As will I.” Logan smiled, staring down at their hands before glancing up.
“Would you like-”
“Do you want to-”
“Go ahead.” Logan gestured. Virgil nodded, blowing out a nervous breath.
“Do you want to go out?”
“On a date?”
“To breakfast. But- I mean, yeah. I guess so.” Virgil nodded nervously.
“I’d love to.” Logan smiled, making Virgil’s face light up in red.
“Great. Yeah. What were you going to say?”
“I was going to offer the same thing. I don’t think this can be saved.” Logan gestured, and Virgil laughed.
“Are you two done? The fire department is here.” Janus interrupted. Virgil jumped, whirling around in place to face the man who had silently made his way back in.
“We’re n-” Virgil stopped, regret twisting through his mind. He could say they weren’t doing anything. He could deny it. But really, why would he? He hated lying, and he didn’t want to deny that they were… what were they? They hadn’t figured that out yet. But they were together, and he wanted to scream it from a rooftop. He never wanted to hide Logan. He wanted everyone to know. Just maybe at a better time.
“Yeah. We’re ready.” He nodded, squeezing Logan’s hand tighter as he headed towards the door. Logan squeezed back, looking away with a grin that rivaled anything he could ever recall seeing from the usually stoic man. It was almost giddy.
For once, he didn’t notice people’s staring faces. Or rather, he noticed and didn’t care. All he could see was that smile, and all he could do was try not to laugh at Roman’s jaw hanging open as he pointed at their hands and shot him questioning looks and silent questions that he couldn’t quite lip-read. There was no fire, and Logan didn’t leave him in his room out of some crazy regret, and they were going to get breakfast. And most importantly, he was going to get to tell everyone that Logan liked him, and that they were together. He couldn’t picture a better way to start the day.