Five

Virgil was burning up. He wasn’t sick or anything, but the nerves surrounding this date had every nerve on fire to the point he was surprised he hadn’t melted into a puddle. Was it possible to get heat stroke while blasting AC in a car? If not, he’d likely be the first victim of such insanity. There was just too much riding on tonight. Sure, romance was on the line- but more than that, his job was on the line, and so were his relationships with Logan’s sons. 

Because what if he did something so horribly stupid tonight that left Logan’s fancy suit covered in fancy dinner? Surely, he’d be fired on the spot. And just like that, no job. No money. He wouldn’t see the twins or Patton. Janus would lose some friends. Janus would never get his own room. He’d-

“Are you okay?”

The deafening silence that was swirling around Virgil began to splinter at the sound of his nephew’s voice. Glancing in the rearview, he could see that Janus had looked up from the book he had been reading- was it too dark to be reading that now? The sun was beginning to set, so he shouldn't be straining his eyes. Virgil opened his mouth to tell his nephew so when he saw Janus frown, “So you’re not okay.”

“No-no! I’m fine. I’m fine! I was just going to say you should stop reading for now. But I’m fine!”

“You said that three times.”

“Because it’s three times the truth.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“Well, yes, um… it doesn’t matter. I'm fine, Janus.”

“No, you’re not. Are you worried about your date?”

“A- a little- just the tiniest bit. It’s been a while since I was even on a date.”

“Was that with the guy who cheated on you?”

“W-what? What?” Virgil sputtered. 

“When I talked to Mom this morning, I told her you were going on a date. And then she said that the last guy was really mean, and he cheated on you, and he made you cry. So she said it’s now my job to watch out for you ‘cause sometimes you have bad taste like she does. But Mr. Logan is nice, so I don’t think you need to be nervous.”

Virgil gave a long and heavy sigh before he couldn’t help but smile, “Well, I’m always grateful to have you on my side, Jan… But what else did your mom say about me? Or my past boyfriends?”

“Nothing really,” Janus shrugged (to Virgil’s relief). “Just that you should take her advice more.”

Virgil gave a frown and mumbled to himself, “Did she tell you she’s a hypocrite too?” 

“What’s that mean?” 

Apparently, Janus had good hearing. Good to know. “I’ll tell you later,” Virgil said, pulling into Logan’s driveway. “For now, let’s head inside.”

Inside the home, Virgil found Logan in the family room talking with three other staff members, likely talking about watching the children for the evening… Virgil wished them luck. Upon realizing their arrival, Logan turned to grave Virgil with a small, slight, barely there smile, which somehow made Virgil’s knees feel like goo. He was dressed nicely (as always)- Logan’s attention snapped back to the few he was speaking to, and hushed voices were heard as they crowded Logan before they abruptly shoved Logan in Virgil’s direction. 

Virgil was about to comment on it, when he noticed that in the second he had turned around Logan’s perfect hairstyle had been messed up the tiniest amount in what was clearly an intentional way. Perhaps those three weren’t discussing babysitting at all, had he asked them for advice? The mental image was one Virgil couldn’t help but smile at. 

“You look nice,” Logan said with a nod. 

“You as well, I-”

“Mr. Logan?” Janus interrupted. 

“What can I do for you, Janus?” Logan asked, redirecting his attention. “If you’re looking for my boys, they’re in Roman’s room.”

“Okay! But first, what’s ‘hypocrite’ mean?”

Virgil gave a heavy sigh as Logan answered the question. “A person who says one thing then does another. Like if I told you to eat your vegetables but I never do. Does that make sense?”

Janus pondered for a moment or two before he nodded and turned to Virgil, “Then my mom’s one for not listening to you but wanting you to listen to her?”

“…She listens sometimes.”

“No, she doesn’t. I’m gonna go upstairs to play. Have fun!”

When his nephew disappeared, Logan let out a slight chuckle, “It sounds like you two are having quite… intellectual conversations.”

Virgil’s huff in reply only made Logan’s smile widen, so he turned away. “Let’s not miss our reservation.”

Dinner did not go as planned. 

Despite arriving at their reservation early- their table had apparently been given away which led to waiting. And upon finally being seated their waiter took the drink and appetizer orders and then promptly ignored their existence. The drinks had eventually found a way to them, but as time passed Virgil had the sneaking feeling that the appetizers would never come. This was only proven correct as the waiter vanished from the floor entirely, and according to the whispers of employees in the dining room- he had left the building entirely. Virgil couldn’t help but want to be a tad nosier, but he caught Logan’s amused gaze. 

“Any more info?” 

Virgil shook his head as he sipped at his near-empty water, “Nothing I can hear from here. But sorry, I forgot what I was saying.”

“I don’t recall myself,” Logan admitted. “I was staring at the couple behind you who received their meal. We have been here far longer than they have.”

“Does the food look good, at least?”

“As hungry as I am, everything does. I neglected to eat lunch today.”

“What? Why?”

“I was distracted by the boys and pulled in different directions. I had to make some calls, and then I had a meeting over Zoom. Ultimately, I didn’t even realize I had missed a meal until I began to get ready. So I simply ate an apple to tide myself over until dinner.”

“That’s not like you at all.”

“I agree. But I digress; how was your day off with Janus?”

“Good, good. I had told him to pick what we would do today, so we ended up at one of those pottery places where kids can paint the pieces. He was very meticulous over a few pieces of dish ware. He wanted a perfect matching set.”

“That’s adorable,” Logan smiled. “I’ve wanted to take my boys to do that, but I have a feeling that Remus would break far more than he’d paint. But he also wouldn’t take kindly to me just taking Roman even if I took him elsewhere.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“What did you paint?”

“I chose a shark piggy bank because… because it was there? Anyway, I made it purple with different colored polka dots because it annoyed Janus.”

“Brilliant reasoning.”

“I think so.”

“You-”

Logan’s words and Virgil’s train of thought flew off the tracks at that moment as a server walked by, holding a tray of dishes that looked beautiful but also smelled divine. 

“As good as that looks, I regret not choosing a place I am familiar with,” Logan frowned. Apologies.”

“Don’t apologize; you had heard good things about it. It seems like this is an off day. And I appreciate the thought process that we could try something new together.”

“Why do I sense a but coming?”

“However,” Virgil started because it was a different word than ‘but.’ “It is clear we are both starving, and it’s also clear that our food will never get here considering we still have menus. So, would it be such a bad idea to go elsewhere? I know a hole-in-the-wall a few blocks away with the best tacos I’ve ever had.”

Logan didn’t speak for the longest moment. Rather, his piercing eyes stared into Virgil’s as he folded his hands and sat up straighter in his seat. And in that moment Virgil couldn’t stop the strike of fear that shot through him as he wondered if he had accidentally insulted his date- if he had offended his boss. Logan had put in all this effort for tonight and yet, Virgil just wanted to throw it away. He opened his mouth to quickly amend his statement, but Logan spoke first. 

“Couldn't you have said that ages ago? Do they have quesadillas?”

Virgil gave a slight sigh of relief, “Real good ones.”

“No point in bothering for the check, it’ll take forever. I’ll leave more than enough cash for the drinks. Lead the way.”

The food was wonderful, and with it in their stomachs, conversation flowed easily. It was almost scary how easily Virgil forgot he worked for Logan. Right now, they weren’t boss and employee; they were just two (severely overdressed) guys on a date, and that was perfect. There was something alluring about just watching Logan be Logan. Just in the way he spoke and expressed himself as if trying to remain reserved but in the same way allowing Virgil to see his true expressions underneath. Virgil had always known how nice it was to listen to Logan speak of his children, but it was just as nice to hear him speak about his life and dreams. And even nicer was how smoothly he came up with ideas on how to integrate Virgil into them. It was a first date unlike any Virgil had been on, and as Logan took his hand as they walked back to the car- Virgil couldn’t have been more thrilled with that fact.

~~~~

“Roman, five more minutes of tv before bedtime.” Logan sets a timer next to the tv before heading back to the kitchen to finish up the dishes.

“Buttttt, Papa, Daddy always lets me stay up. This isn’t fair.” Roman pouts and whines and clings to the couch.

“Hey! That isn’t true. Nice try though.” Virgil comes up from the basement holding a basket of clean laundry. He plants a kiss on Logan’s lips before going to Roman, “It’s nearly bedtime, little prince.”

“But I’m not tired.” Roman hides between one of the couch pillows, occasionally peeking out to see if his dads are still there.

“A good sleep schedule is very important for a growing little boy, especially on a school night.” The tv clicks off. Logan moves the pillow to reveal Roman’s hiding spot, “Is there anything we can do that you come upstairs without a fight?”

“I want a bedtime story!” Roman cheers and jumps off the couch. He reaches up for Logan and does the little grabby hands to signal he wants to be picked up, “With dragons and princes and ummm magic!”

Logan scopes Roman into his arms and heads to Roman’s room. Right before following them up, Virgil snaps a picture to always remember how adorable his husband and son are.

After plopping Roman onto his bed, Logan picks out a bedtime story for him, “How about the story about how the prince rescues his lover from the dragon?”

“I love that story!” Roman giggles and pulls his plushie closer to him.

“Once upon a time the was this mean old dragon who lived in solitude in his abandoned castle.” Virgil starts to vividly narrate the story, “But life in solitude gets boring. He flew to the nearest village when his eyes landed on the prince of the kingdom, Ronan, and his lovely boyfriend, Jack. He swoops down capturing Jack in his talons before flying back to the falling apart castle.”

“Noooo!” Roman whines, “Give Jack back you stupid dragon.”

Virgil passes the book to Logan, “As the dragon made it back to his castle, Ronan started making his plan to save Jack. He gathered his sword, shield, and magic potions then started on his hike for the dragon’s castle. For five long days and five long nights, Ronan marched until he found the castle guarded by the large fire-breathing dragon.”

“He storms to the door and screams, ‘LET GO OF MY BOYFRIEND’. The dragon being a dragon said no, go away little prince.” Virgil continues dramatically telling the story. “Since the dragon would not agree to diplomacy, Ronan grabbed his sword and laced it in a stunning potion. As hard as he possibly could, Ronan threw his sword right for the dragon’s neck. The second the sword hit him, the dragon froze in place.”

“Ronan rushed into the castle to search for his love. In the distance, he heard soft whimpering. ‘Jack, I’m coming to save you!’ He followed the sound to the end of the hall where Jack was trapped in a cage and crying.” Logan flips the page, “The second Jack saw Ronan his face lit up. ‘You came to save me!’ Jack cheered. As soon as Ronan broke the lock to the cage he scooped Jack into a tight embrace, ‘I’ll always come to save you.’ The prince and his boyfriend head back on their long journey back to the kingdom. Ronan cast a spell over his kingdom to stop any other dragons from entering.”

In unison Virgil and Logan finish the story, “And they lived happily ever after. The end.”

Roman yawns and holds his plushie tighter. Logan tucks him in and Virgil kisses Roman on the forehead, “Goodnight Roman. We love you.” Roman falls asleep before Virgil could even finish his sentence.

“Now for the hard part of the night,” Logan whispers to Virgil, “Trying to get Remus to bed.”

“That can wait 10 minutes.” Virgil takes Logan’s hand and leads him back downstairs to the couch, “How about we watch tv, relax, and cuddle for a few minutes until we find and catch Remus.”

“Sounds good, Virge.” Virgil leans his head on Logan as Logan wraps his arm around him. 15 minutes pass and they both hear little footsteps running between them.

“Did you two forget about me?” A teary voice asks, “Usually you come to struggle to put me to bed by now.”

“We could never forget about you, Rere. We just wanted to give you a few more minutes to play before we came to get you.” Logan hands Remus a tissue.

“I thought that you abandoned me or maybe I was the last person alive.” Remus attaches himself to Virgil’s leg and starts to hysterically cry.

“Hey, little duke. We are right here and will never abandon you.” Virgil takes Remus off his leg and holds him securely near his chest, “Let’s get you to bed. All that crying must have tired you out.” Remus weakly nods, hiding his face in Virgil’s oversized hoodie.

Logan and Virgil take Remus up to his room, the one right across from Roman’s. While Virgil tucks him in, Logan checks on Roman to make sure he’s asleep.

“But what if I have another nightmare tonight?” A sad and tired voice asks his parents.

“You can always come to our room and wake us up.” Virgil hands Remus his octopus plushie and turns on the nightlight, “Slept tight. Goodnight we love you.”

Logan tucks him in tightly, “Now the monsters won’t be able to get you.”

They leave the room, keeping the door slightly ajar. “Does this ever get easier?” Virgil collapses into bed next to Logan.

“Probably not but adopting these two is the best decision we ever made.” Logan pulls up a picture of the baby twins from the day they were adopted.

“Yeah, it is.” Virgil smiles at the memory, “I love them both with all my heart.”