#analogical week

After a lot of hemming and hawing on Virgil's part, of course, and a lot of hemming and hawing on behalf of Logan's parents, who had been concerned about Logan moving in with a boyfriend this soon, and a lot of hemming and hawing on behalf of their landlord, who was shockingly picky with his tenants for a landlord in a college town.

But Virgil and Logan's parents and their landlord had hemmed and hawed quite enough, so Virgil decided to not really think about that part of it anymore. He also doesn't really want to think about anything but the task at hand, at the moment, because driving during snow always makes Virgil nervous.

Well. More nervous than usual.

It's barely even started to snow, really, but it's been so cold all day that it shouldn't be a surprise that it's started to snow. There had been a snowfall of a few inches two weeks back, and the little white snowflakes now are starting to mingle with the grayed-out slush that's clinging to the sides of the road. 

Virgil kicks the heating of his shitty old car even higher, thinking longingly of Logan's newer-but-still-used car that at least has seat warmers, and he thinks longingly of his usual comfort jacket that he'd left hanging on the back of his usual chair at their dining table in favor of his ridiculously long, puffy black winter coat. Not that this coat doesn't keep him warm, it's just that his jacket's much softer and this coat is synthetic that rubs against his skin in a weird way.

Virgil inches along at a pace under the speed limit, which seems to make several of his fellow early morning drivers very angry at him despite the fact that it's snowing and therefore the road is about to get dangerously slick, which he grumbles to his unlistening, uncaring car.

It's the ideal drive for someone going slowly, anyways: a lot of lights that go miraculously red and, once he cuts off the main road, a lot of little residential roads with a plethora of stop signs at each and every corner. It gives him enough time to listen to a podcast that he keeps meaning to listen to because Logan had recommended it; it's very brainy, it goes into a lot of obscure, bizarre history, and Virgil decides he likes it very much. 

It's a welcome companion to a solitary drive; just him, his junky old car, the snow picking up its downward pace, the groceries sitting politely in the passenger's seat and the floor of his car.

It's also the kind of drive where it's easy for his mind to wander to the various mundanities of their life. Virgil knows he's gotten everything they need in the food department, because he had brought the grocery list they pin to their fridge with a novelty magnet that Roman brought Logan after some vacation, one of those fifties pin-up girls saying I LOST MY VIRGINITY BUT I STILL HAVE THE BOX IT CAME IN, which had been so nonsensical that when Logan first laid eyes on it he nearly had an aneurysm.

So they're set on the food front; Virgil, however, has a basket of laundry that desperately needs to be washed, dried, and folded, which is his least favorite chore. Maybe he'll be able to exchange chores with Logan, who would probably do his laundry if Virgil vacuumed, since that was Logan's least favorite chore. Maybe they should make a day of it, be productive and tidy up the house, even if Virgil knows that they'll probably get distracted by homework or studying or... other things that come with living with your significant other.

Virgil's in the middle of convincing himself that he'll for sure at least start a load of laundry by the time he turns onto their street.

He eases his careful way up their steep driveway, examining it with a critical eye; their house faces west, which means the snow from a couple weeks back had melted away much more quickly than it had anywhere else, but it is absurdly steep, so Virgil likes to keep it as clear as he can to minimize risk of slipping on ice. He parks his car, subscribes to the podcast before he forgets, and checks the weather predictions.

A few inches. Hm. Not super definitive; they'll have to wait and see how bad it actually gets before Virgil even thinks about getting out the snow shovel. Plus it just doesn't seem like common sense to start plowing before the snow's done falling. That seems more like a Logan frame of mind, to wait and do it so their work isn't erased if the snowstorm suddenly picks up.

He gathers up the groceries; it's few enough that he can manage one trip, but also enough for him to struggle with the keys to get into the house, making a beeline to the kitchen, even in his haste noticing the lavender-scented candle Logan had lit last night, the low light filtering in through their east-facing windows. As he enters the kitchen, he can hear the old percolator still chugging away, even though he started brewing coffee before he even left for the grocery store; he can also hear the their ice machine in their freezer starting to kick on.

He settles the bags on the counter and goes about putting things away. Logan has organized their kitchen with a devastating kind of efficiency, an outcome that looks strangely Pinterest-y for the home of college students, but Virgil can't deny that the use of various clear bins and vacuum-sealed containers and immediately discarding the bigger, bulkier packaging makes it much easier to see at a glance what they've got and what they're running low on.

He's in the midst of putting away the last of the groceries when he hears a muffled thumping upstairs, followed by a padding of footsteps, and then feet on the stairs.

He smiles briefly at the sound of it, and he touches the weathered old papers also stuck to their fridge; the very finals that they'd been studying for when they'd held their first star party, when they'd had their first kiss.

He turns away from it just in time to see his boyfriend turning the corner to enter the kitchen, feeling a warmth settle over his heart: a quiet sort of ah, yes, here you are, my love.

Logan stumbles past him, intent on the percolator and the immediate commencement of his caffeination. Virgil catches Logan around the waist, holding him loosely in a hug, pressing his cheek against Logan's shoulder, against the familiar fabric that Logan's wearing, hiding the grin that breaks wider over his face.

Because Logan's wearing his jacket.

Virgil is suddenly glad he'd left his jacket at home, so that he'll be able to see this; it's not the first time he's ever seen Logan wear his trademark jacket, of course, but every time it fills him with such silly delight.

It reminds him of the first time Logan had worn it, the summer after their freshman year, when Virgil was waking up from top surgery with Logan sitting at his bedside him, wrapped in purple and black plaid. Virgil had been hopped up on drugs and looked down at his flat chest and, so overwhelmed with dizzying gender euphoria and his joy that Logan was his, visible to all with his jacket on, that Virgil had immediately burst into tears, the first time he'd wept from happiness in his entire life.

Virgil presses his lips to Logan's clothed shoulder, inhaling the scent of their laundry detergent mingling with Logan, not yet showered for the day.

"G'morning," Virgil mumbles against his shoulder.

"Good," a yawn breaks Logan's words, "morning. Ugh, I should have listened to you to stop working on that paper, yes, you told me so..."

"I did," Virgil agrees, and he reluctantly steps back so that Logan can reach up into their cabinet for a mug.

However, Logan pauses, and he notices the grocery bags for the first time.

"Did you...?"

"Oh," Virgil says, "that's—"

But it's too late; Logan's unearthing one of the last bags that Virgil had not yet unpacked.

The bag that happens to be chock full of every variant of Crofter's preserves that their local grocery store stocked. Apricot, Blueberry Blast, and Concord Grape, along with the three new spreads that Crofter's had released that Logan has not yet had the chance to try: Peach, Pomegranate Power, and Strawberry Banana.

Logan's face is doing something and Virgil almost feels the urge to look away; the furrowing of his brow, the tilt of his head, and Virgil looks down at his socked feet, suddenly finding the rug that they put in front of the sink very interesting. It's getting frayed around the edges. Maybe they should get a new one.

"Virgil," Logan says, his voice very soft and gentle. "You hate driving in this kind of weather."

Virgil scuffs his toe along the floor.

"Snow hasn't gotten too heavy yet," he mumbles.

Logan's hands, cool and dry, cup his cheeks. Virgil meets his eyes.

"Did you go to the grocery store just to get me Crofter's?"

Virgil shrugs. "You wanted to try them." A beat. "And we needed flour. I wanted to make that recipe you sent me last week."

Logan's face softens as he presses his lips together, as if to suppress a smile, and brings Virgil's face to his.

"Aww Emo's not a morning person, cute." Roman smiles at him, as always missing, or disregarding Virgil's hints telling him to shut up.

If only his parents didn't forbid him from drinking coffee until he's 18, then he could have maybe been able to interact normally in the mornings. But no, you pull up an all-nighter one time and they never let you forget it.

"Roman be nice, let our kiddo wake up a little." Patton chimes in from his seat next to Roman, flushing Virgil another bright smile.

Virgil just pulls up his hood over his head and rests his cheek on the palm of his hand, thinking wistfully about his warm bed back home.

He didn't realize how much time passed until their teacher walked in and he shot up straight, his tired mind finally realizing something's wrong. "Where's Logan? He's usually here before all of us." Virgil asks as his eyes dart around the classroom, trying to see if maybe he missed him.

Roman shrugged, not bothered. "Probably stayed up late with his nerdy stuff and slept through his alarm or something."

"Yeah Virge, I'm sure he's fine." Patton agreed, trying, and failing, to ease Virgil's concerns.

Virgil fidgets with the strings of his hoodie, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, eyes darting around in vain hope Logan will suddenly show up. He didn't for the entirety of the day. Logan, missing out an entire school day, and not answering his phone either… something was definitely wrong.

"How are you all not worried?!" He asked his friends frantically on their way out of their last class.

Janus, who only shared with them the last class, rolled his eyes. "Apologies…" he cleared his throat. "Oh no! Teach is finally taking a break from school after overworking himself all month! He's probably dead by now from lack of brain activity." He smirked at Virgil. "That better?"

Virgil scowled at him. "I'm serious! If he's just taking a break why doesn't he answer his phone?!"

"Oh, definitely can't be because he ran out of battery. Virge I'm sure he's fine." Janus tried to assure him, tune turning silky soft.

Virgil just shook his head. "I'm going to check on him." He announced as they walked out of the building. He didn't miss all of them exchanging glances, undoubtedly thinking he's overreacting. Well, overreacting or not, he won't be able to rest until he sees Logan is okay with his own eyes.

Logan's parents usually went to work before their school starts and come back a bit later after it ends, which means there's no one in his house now beside Logan himself as Virgil knocks on the door.

"Logan? A-are you okay?" Voice shaking a little from an entire day of worrying. The silence is nearly deafening as he waits for a response.

After what feels like forever, he finally hears shuffling from the inside and after a few more moments, the door opens.

Virgil takes in a sharp inhale from the sight that greets him. For starters, Logan isn't dressed, still in his starry pajamas, his hair is messy and uncombed, there are faint bags under his eyes and his eyes blink relentlessly behind his glasses as he tries to adjust to the brightness of the world outside.

"What…" he starts, voice rough from sleep. "What time is it?"

Virgil tries to keep his breathing even as his heart rate quickly picks up. Logan? Asking what time it is? The man is usually a walking clock, knowing exactly the date and time at any given moment… What the hell happened to him? He was just fine yesterday right? Virgil would have noticed if not, right? …right?!

"Ah… 3 P.M.? School just ended… you didn't show up and I was worried. The others kept telling me there's 'no reason to worry' and that I'm overreacting… especially Janus, sarcastic asshole, thinks he knows everything. Well he doesn't and I was right anyway cause there's clearly something wrong- oh shit, I'm rambling, I'm sorry-'' he cuts himself off, cheeks warming in embarrassment.

"No, no I like hearing you talk." Logan says, before stopping himself and flushing after realizing what he said. "I mean, I can understand the tendency for rambling, there's no need to be embarrassed about it with me… Anyway, I'm perfectly fine, Virgil. Though I do appreciate the concern I merely seem to be experiencing sleep problems resulting in me losing track of time." He explained, voice still a bit rough from sleep.

"Oh, I know a thing or two about those… but um… if you're okay then I'm… glad I guess, I'll just leave then-"

"Don't go- I mean, I won't object if you would rather stay." Logan cuts him off, flush deepening.

For some reason that made Virgil blush too. "You… want my company?" He didn't mean to sound so shocked, he really shouldn't be, he always felt like he and Logan understood each other on a different, deeper level. And he enjoyed his company very very much, weirdly so considering how much he hates socializing even with the rest of their friends… but he never thought it can go both ways…

Logan frowns slightly. "Of course, I would think it obvious considering we're the only sane and leveled headed people in our social group and… well, your presence is quite comforting… to me…" he clears his throat as he moves aside slightly to let Virgil in and closes the door behind him when he does.

"Give me a moment to dress, you're welcome to sit and get comfortable anywhere you want while I do so." He says and walks to his room after Virgil nods. 

He ended up choosing to sit on the floor next to Logan's door, still too worried about him to start thinking about appropriate sitting spots. "So why couldn't you sleep last night?" He asked a bit louder so he could hear him through the door.

"What do you mean? I told you, just sleeping problems." Logan answered.

"Well… sleeping problems, for me at least, are because I can't stop thinking… sometimes in general and sometimes about certain things… so, what were you thinking about?" Virgil stumbled through his explanation. But Logan didn't answer for a long moment.

Virgil frowned, worried he might have said something wrong, until Logan opened the door, now fully dressed in a similar attire to his usual one but a bit more casual. Virgil realized he was blushing again… he seems to do that a lot today… strange.

"I…" he started, swallowing hard.

"You don't have to tell me if you're embarrassed. Hell, most of the things that keep me up at night are extremely awkward and embarrassing." He chuckled awkwardly as Logan's silence stretched. If Virgil didn't know better, he'd say he almost looks like he's gathering up courage for a confession of some sort, but he couldn't imagine what it could be.

"Well I… you see… I just… couldn't stop thinking… a-about you." Logan stammered. Logan stammered.

Virgil shot to his feet. "Oh no did I do something? Said something? I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"No, no. You… you misunderstand me." Logan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"L-let me start over. Do you remember yesterday?" Logan questioned.

Virgil frowned, confused. "Ah… yeah?"

"The picnic Patton put together for all of us?" Logan clarified.

Virgil shuddered slightly upon remembering the chaos and yelling that happened there, even if it all were in a friendly manner, it was still quite distressing. "Yep, what about it?"

"Well… I could tell you were stressed there and uncomfortable but you still… you still noticed I myself had something on my mind. You asked if I was alright and I told you I feel like my grades are going down and that I'm failing myself and my family. I expected you to roll your eyes or call me a nerd or tell me I'm overthinking this. You know, like the others always do. But.. but you didn't, you said I'm the smartest person you know and that no stupid grades can say otherwise." A little smile tugged at Logan's lips as he recounted the events of the picnic.

"Yes Lo, I was there, what are you getting at?" Virgil asked, cheeks warming slightly at Logan's smile.

"Well… it made me realize that… I um… like you… a lot." Logan said, voice slightly strangled and eyes scanning Virgil intently.

Virgil was stunned for a long moment. "I…"

Logan looked away. "You don't feel the same. Apologies, forget I said anything-"

Before Virgil could think about it, he leaned close and sealed their lips together, pulling away almost instantly. "Shit, sorry, I should have asked first-" but he's cut off by Logan grabbing the front of his jacket and pulling him for another, deeper kiss.

"I think I won't have sleeping problems anymore." Logan breathed when they pulled back, panting and gasping for air.

And they both burst out laughing, pressing their foreheads together.

His cellphone was tucked down deep into his pocket, and while he knew he could always pull it out, call Logan, and get picked up, he didn’t think his frozen fingers would cooperate. Of all the days to forget his gloves at home... Logan would bring him his gloves if he called him. Would pick him up in his nice, warm car. No... He was at home, enjoying his day off away from all this cold. Virgil could walk. It wasn’t much further now. 

By the time he stepped into his apartment complex, snow had melted into his boots, soaking his socks. He felt completely frozen through, his clothes clinging to him as he stumbled up the stairs. Stupid, busted elevator... He fumbled with his keys as he finally reached the door, but before he could get the key in the lock, the door swung open, revealing Logan’s concerned face.

The concern was to be expected, he should have been home an hour ago. Virgil allowed himself to be pulled into the warmth of their home without complaint, Logan’s warm hands gripping his hands, cupping his cheeks trying to chase the cold away, and Virgil found himself leaning into the touch. It felt so nice after the biting chill from outside, but he forced himself to pull back before he fell completely against him. 

“Go get a shower and warm up. I’ll have something prepared for you by the time you get out.” Logan pressed a kiss to Virgil’s forehead before ushering him further into the apartment towards the bathroom.

A hot shower sounded absolutely heavenly, so Virgil made his way to the bathroom without complaint. There were some muffled curses as he struggled to get out of his wet clothes, but soon he was stepping under the hot spray. It left little pin pricks all over as his body warmed up, but he didn’t stay too long, limiting the shower to ten minutes before he stepped out and getting changed into some warm pajamas. 

He made his way out to their small living room to see the blanket from their bed on the couch, along with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate sitting on the coffee table. Logan was sitting down and when Virgil came into view, he patted the spot next to him. Virgil felt affection swell in his chest as he took his seat, pulling the blanket up over his shoulders and snuggling close to the other. Logan passed him his cup of hot chocolate before wrapping an arm around him and pressing play on the newest episode of Doctor Who.