Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The second his eyes had gotten a glimpse at the man; Virgil knew he was absolutely screwed. He was only there to interview for a volunteering position at the local library near his campus, since his dumb university course required him to do some dumb volunteering for one dumb module. The library was close, easy to get to and seemed like simple work, so Virgil thought it would be a breeze. Of course, nothing would ever be so simple for a human being that comprised mostly of pure unfiltered anxiety and a 2000s emo aesthetic.

The first hurdle had been applying in the first place. Virgil would swear on his own grave (which he’d already started planning out) that professional emails would be the death of him. He’d been in correspondence with the head librarian through said emails and they’d caused the university student much stress – especially around the time when he’d had to send one asking if they’d even received his application without sounding too demanding or entitled, only to find out that it hadn’t come through and he therefore had to redo it, causing him even more worry and fear not only about getting enough hours but also doing it before his project was due. Virgil lost a lot of sleep that week.

The second was the in-person interview. Virgil, on the walk-through town, had gone through each and every scenario of things that could go wrong at least twice over. The thoughts were showing no sign of slowing down as the large building came into view after Virgil rounded a corner. He’d steadied himself with a shaking breath before stepping through the threshold – after triple checking the time to make sure he wasn’t too early, of course.

After a quick conversation with the worker at the desk, the head librarian had appeared. Virgil’s throat somehow ran drier than ever at the sight of him; tall, lean, dark eyes with a piercing gaze from behind thick-framed glasses, a perfectly fitted shirt that was just the right side of tight that-

Virgil broke out of his thoughts with a quick shake of his head. Somehow, he’d followed the man into the children’s section. They were now sat at a table. The head librarian was fussing about with some papers, organizing them whilst muttering under his breath – something about incompetence or the like, Virgil wasn’t entirely sure. It gave Virgil just a few more moments to try and compose himself, though that was unlikely.

His thoughts were running wild. He was going to have to talk about himself to this hot librarian, going to have to try and make himself seem like a worthwhile human. Someone who could be trusted, who would be a good fit for working here. All of that… to the most attractive human being that Virgil had ever had the misfortune to cross paths with. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Virgil’s spiralling thoughts were cut short by the librarian clearing his throat and placing the papers down on the table. Their gazes met and Virgil did his best to not look as nervous as he felt, as the hot librarian seemed to be analysing him almost immediately.

“Firstly, I would like to thank you for coming in today. Apologies that it took as long as it did to schedule this interview, as well as for everything not fully being in order once you arrived.” The librarian offered a gentle smile along with a respectful nod of thanks. Virgil felt something almost melt inside. The hot librarian had been so harsh looking with his sharp features and professional dress – the man was wearing an actual tie, for god’s sake! – but he seemed far more… human in this moment. Virgil went to speak, almost to counter the apology but the librarian cut him off with a raised hand. “The timing of this interview is unimportant. It simply needs to be completed.” Virgil nodded instinctively to show he was paying attention, even as the librarian’s gaze fell down to the papers before him. He very quickly locked eyes with the student once more though, “I must inform you, however, that this interview is merely a formality. After reading through your application, I can assure you that there is nothing to worry over. Now, let us begin.”

Three weeks had passed since the interview and Virgil was back for his first official shift as a volunteer. He was hovering around the front desk, trying not to look suspicious as he glanced around for someone to tell him what he was supposed to be doing.

“Virgil! Hi!”

The student jumped and turned sharply, hand coming up to clutch his chest as his heart began to race from the shock. His initial thoughts of an attacker dissipated upon seeing who had approached him, though his heart would need a moment to catch up.

“Hey Patton. You, kinda scared me. Didn’t expect you there.” Virgil tried to laugh off his reaction whilst internally cringing.

Patton simply grinned and let out a small laugh, “Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to. Are you here to work today?”

Virgil thanked all the gods he could name that they weren’t lingering on the topic, “Yeah, uh, it’s the first shift I have. Last time, I just did all the written stuff in the back…” He trailed off.

“Oh, well in that case, let me show you the sign in stuff!” Patton beckoned Virgil closer behind the desk. He instructed Virgil on where the sign in sheet is, what to fill in, how it’s stored and all other things. Meanwhile, the student’s mind was a little elsewhere.

He’d only been in the library a few times prior to his interview, but he’d noticed Patton around a lot. The man always seemed to be working at the front desk, always with a smile too. He was friendly, warm and kind, yet incredibly perceptive. Virgil was far too relieved that Patton was the one who approached him and not the head librarian, especially since it was his first day – he didn’t want to have to deal with that mess before he knew anything.

“Did you get that?”

Virgil snapped out of his thoughts, “Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Sign in when you come in and take a lanyard, sign out when you’re done. Write the time, the book is back here, make sure it’s over that side not that side. Got it.” He rambled back, avoiding Patton’s gaze almost entirely.

“Great! You sign in and I’ll go find out who’s supervising today and what you’re doing!” Patton practically skipped off towards the stairs, pulling a soft laugh from Virgil who was now alone at the desk.

The student looked around for a clock but couldn’t find one visible from where he stood, so he resorted to pulling out his phone. After copying down the time, he noticed he had a notification from his roommate and so opened it to see if it was anything urgent. Thankfully, it was nothing Virgil needed to deal with right away and so he went to lock his phone back up, but a voice spoke before he had the chance.

“I do hope you don’t intend to be on your phone today.”

If Virgil’s heartrate had been sky high when Patton had snuck up on him, then this time it was all the way up to space. The student turned sharply, and his cheeks burned in surprise, embarrassment and a small amount of fear. He started to blurt out anything and everything that came to his mind to explain himself, “I-I wasn’t meaning to- I only thought-! You see, my housemate, he, uh, I was worried that- it could be important, and I didn’t, I’m sorry, I just…”

Once again, a raised hand cut him off. “It is quite alright, Virgil. I was only meaning to tease. Apologies if I caused you any distress.” He looked apologetic whilst also amused. Virgil gaped for a moment before his instincts kicked in, crumpling up his face as he glared at the taller man. This pulled a deep chuckle from the hot librarian, a sound that Virgil would say should have been made illegal.

“If there is nothing else you wish to say, then we should get to work. Come with me.” The librarian said with a questioning raise of his eyebrow.

The next few hours were a blur. Virgil was given the full tour of the library before being set to work alongside the head librarian reshelving the books that had been returned or left out by the patrons. Somehow, they fell into an extremely comfortable silence almost immediately. They seemed to have a sense of chemistry in their workflow, both barely needing to speak in order to complete the tasks. Virgil let some of his worries fade into the background as the rhythm of work overtook him.

Every so often, someone would approach them with a question. As Virgil was brand new, the head librarian took it upon himself to deal with the question swiftly. Now, Virgil had seen librarians on TV and in movies who were helpful and kind – Patton fulfilled that stereotype easily. He was patient and willing to chat with the sweet old ladies or indulge the young children in their stories, it was kinda adorable. The head librarian, on the other hand… well, Virgil could only find one word to describe how he dealt with questions.

Tactless.

The head librarian was direct, got straight to the point. He had no time to deal with the frivolities or unimportant information, or at least that was the aura that surrounded him. Every question that was asked was dealt with swiftly, and sometimes a little rudely - Virgil’s anxiety didn’t appreciate that last part, but who was he to complain? He was the new one here. Maybe that’s just how things were done here?

The same thing happened for the next few shifts Virgil came in for. He would sign in, be greeted by Patton, picked up by the head librarian and they would work together around the library. Virgil was introduced to several other tasks that he might find himself doing and everything progressed smoothly. Eventually, he was even left alone to work.

Then his allotted time for his volunteering module came to an end. Virgil didn’t have to stick around any longer, but he chose to stay. It was something to keep him busy after all, and he was finding that he was enjoying it a lot. His attraction to the head librarian was still not wavering as well, so if Virgil was able to get a look at him every now and then as he worked, it was just a bonus… right?

The idea was running through his head as he slipped the sign in book back into its place in the cabinet and went to find his first cart of books for the day, when he was accosted by a small bundle of energy.

“Hey kiddo! It’s me and you today! Excited?” Patton asked with a grin.

Virgil rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips, “Patton, I’m only a couple years younger than you…” He stepped around the man and started wheeling the cart over to its destination.

“Still younger, so it counts!” Patton said with a giggle, picking a couple of the books off of the cart in preparation as he followed behind. He began to ramble about whatever came to his mind as the pair got to work. It was normal at this point; Virgil found that Patton didn’t expect someone to offer as much back in return and he simply liked to talk about things, which helped Virgil feel far less stressed about the entire situation. He could listen to his co-worker whilst letting his thoughts wander a little. In fact, his thoughts wandered to something in particular, something that had been bothering Virgil since the beginning of his interview months ago. He didn’t know the head librarian’s name.

Sure, he knew his initial and his last name. Every email that had been sent to him had been signed as ‘L. Studier’, but not once had anyone addressed the librarian by his name. Not even Patton had done so, at least while Virgil was around. And, okay, Virgil had only been in for a few times and most of those had been entirely 1 on 1 interactions with the hot librarian, but still, it was frustrating. Virgil couldn’t just ask. That time had long since passed, it would be embarrassing.

Virgil suddenly felt a sharp nudge in his side, and he snapped back to reality, hand falling to the light ache that was now in his side. “Hey, what was that for?” He frowned, turning his attention to Patton.

“You were just lost in your thoughts, is all.” Patton said, a mischievous smile pulling at his mouth, “I thought you wouldn’t like to get caught daydreaming by him…” He gestured over to the desk, that was easily in view from their bookshelf.

Virgil popped up onto his toes to properly get a look at the desk and his cheeks warmed instantly. The head librarian was stood there, clearly searching for something on the computer. He was bent over the chair, as if whatever he was looking for was only going to take a short while and he didn’t need to sit. As if he sensed someone looking at him, his eyes raised and easily caught Virgil’s gaze. He gave an acknowledging nod while Virgil awkwardly returned it along with a small smile before he turned back to the screen, leaving Virgil to fall back to his regular height and internally die.

The student’s mind was screaming at him, telling him that he was fucked. He’d been caught looking at him, for no reason. He must have looked so creepy and weird, yet the librarian was able to be professional and pretend it was nothing, but he was probably so uncomfortable that his volunteer was randomly staring at him! Like, how could that not be weird?! Well, it could have been worse. Virgil could have been staring at his butt, which how could he not, when he was leaning over the chair like that. I mean, it was practically begging for him to stare. Wait… had Virgil been staring at the hot librarian’s ass? Had he been doing that when he was caught?!

As Virgil catastrophised, Patton simply continued placing books on the shelves, almost as if he was unaware. He casually started talking, gaining Virgil’s attention as the student searched for some kind of distraction, “You know, it’s funny. I’ve seen him out of the office a lot more recently. It’s nice. I dunno why he suddenly started doing it, but… now that I think about it… I see him a lot when you’re here, Virgil. Hmm, well, that’s a weird coincidence, right?”

Patton was many things. Well-meaning was one of them, yet subtle was far from his radar. Virgil knew what he was implying, yet he couldn’t believe that he would be the reason that someone would change their usual schedule. Virgil wasn’t worth that, at least in his own mind, so it didn’t make sense. He would be lying to himself if he said the idea made him uncomfortable though.

Patton’s words stuck to Virgil’s brain like gum for the rest of his shift. He just couldn’t shake the thought that the librarian, the stupidly attractive hot librarian, would want to see more of him. It was still in Virgil’s mind as he tossed the lanyard back into the basket and was signing out. He was just about to shoulder his bag and walk out of the building when a voice called out to him.

Of course, it was the hot librarian. Virgil cursed internally, asking the deities why they were doing this to him in his brain.

The librarian stopped just in front of Virgil. He uncharacteristically looked a tad nervous. “It has been brought to my attention, Virgil, that I haven’t properly introduced myself to you.” A soft pink tinge rose onto the librarian’s cheeks as he held out his hand, “Logan, Studier.”

Virgil couldn’t help the amused snort that fell from him before he reached out and shook the librarian’s hand, “Virgil, Mortenson.” He copied, the slight pause and all. Quickly, Virgil let go and shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets. He watched as Logan was slower to move his hand away, using the same one to adjust his glasses unnecessarily. The first awkward silence they’d shared fell between them.

“Well, I guess-”

“I’ll see you-”

Both of them spoke at once, then stopped. They both laughed. Virgil gestured behind himself with his thumb, taking a step back, “I’ll just be going, I guess. See you next week, Logan.”

“Of course, yes. See you then, Virgil.”

Virgil walked through the automatic doors and down the steps to the street. He unwound his headphones, taking a quick glance behind him at the library’s building. Virgil tried to hide his smile, but it broke through anyway. As much as the stupidly hot librarian was a distraction, Virgil couldn’t quite wait to get back the next week and see Logan again.

Chapter Text

It was only a second after Virgil had put a foot on the ground floor of the library that he heard the voice that made him internally groan. Logan had brought on another volunteer, though how he’d actually thought this man was a good fit for a library job, Virgil would never know. His loud, boisterous voice carried to every corner of the library whenever he spoke, almost like this guy was addressing everyone in the vicinity like they were an audience. It was tugging on Virgil’s last nerve, hearing that frustrating voice whenever he walked in.

‘What did Patton say his name was again…?’ Virgil thought as he approached the cupboard behind the front desk. As he signed his name and wrote the time down, some of his freshly dyed hair fell into his eyes. He flicked his head to try and get it out of the way, but it just didn’t want to move, so Virgil left it be. Getting it professionally done did mean that his hair wasn’t exactly how he was used to, so he figured it was a lost cause until he was fully upright again.

After putting the sign in book back and throwing a lanyard over his head, Virgil looked over the carts of returned books. He mulled his choices over for a brief moment, before realising that the loud voice was coming from the non-fiction section. He immediately grabbed the cart that would take him as far away as possible and Virgil pushed it over to the children’s section, physically relaxing as he passed under the archway that separated it from the rest of the building.

The walls, which had been painted bright red, were dotted with artwork done by the children who came to the library. They mostly were pinned around the large clock on the wall opposite Virgil and in between the tall ornate windows that looked out onto the street outside. Lining the lower portion of the walls were shorter bookshelves, just the right height for children to reach, all decorated in bright primary colours. The colour scheme followed to the beanbags and child-sized chairs that littered the floor. Virgil pushed the cart of books into a free space up against the wall before grabbing an arm full of books.

Virgil found that most of the books needed to be put onto shelves that ran deeper into the room, so he ventured in. The shelves further down here were taller and far plainer than the ones in the first half, most likely because the books here were for slightly older children. That didn’t mean that the drawings didn’t trail into this area too. Instead of haphazardly being stuck to the wall, they were categorised onto the four boards that were attached to the walls – each having some kind of theme. It was cute. Virgil liked looking at the art that the kids had made; he’d never admit it out loud, but it made him smile.

But that wasn’t what he was here for right now. He had books to put back on shelves. As Virgil got to his task, he heard a familiar voice from the corner behind him. The student glanced over his shoulder to check if he was right.

Patton was sat with two small children in said corner, a book open in his lap but clearly not being read. He seemed to be in a deep conversation with the child to his right, while the other wriggled in the beanbag almost as if they were trying to fall in as far as they could. Virgil turned his attention back to the books in his hands before something jumped out at him.

“Wait… It’s Thursday today, right?” He muttered under his breath, trying to remember, “and it’s only 2… I mean, maybe they changed that reading thing, but I don’t remember seeing that… Not that I’d know anyway, I don’t do that. Whatever, doesn’t matter.” Virgil was so deep in his own thoughts, mumbling to himself that he didn’t notice as someone approached him. That was until a hand rested on his shoulder and had him jumping out of his skin, the few books he’d still been carrying falling to the floor.

“Woah! Sorry, kiddo, didn’t mean to scare you!”

Virgil clutched his chest and tried to breathe as deeply as he could, “Well, you didn’t do such a great job of that…”

Patton smiled despite Virgil’s harsh words, crouching down to pick the books up from the floor, “Sorry again. You just look confused and a bit lost. Just wanted to check if you were okay is all.”

“Oh… uh, I’m fine, yeah.” Virgil felt his cheeks warming at the thought of being caught talking to himself as well as causing worry for Patton, “Just thinking about… something.”

“Anything I can help with?” Patton asked innocently, putting the books Virgil had dropped into their place on the shelf nearby.

Now, Virgil was a nervous being. He would say to anyone that he was made of pure anxiety and the human body was just a case to hold it all. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming with a lot of information, especially when he wasn’t sure if he was right – being wrong and then corrected was just the absolute worst… at least right now it was. So, then why did Virgil feel like he could just immediately say what was on his mind to his co-worker?

“Um, well… I was just, uh, I saw you with the kids over there and, like, I was kinda confused. I wasn’t sure if I had the day wrong or whatever, or if they changed the day for story time or what. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Virgil trailed off near the end of his rambling, allowing his purple fringe to fall across his eyes in that moment, almost as though it was a barrier from the judgement he was scared of facing.

Not that he had anything to worry about with Patton. Virgil knew deep down that Patton would just give him a smile and explain with zero judgement, yet his deep-seated insecurities made him doubt it for a second. That was before Patton gave him that signature sunny smile.

“I’m just looking after the kids from a couple that came in to see Logan today. They sometimes volunteer, but lately they’ve been so busy with raising the little cuties. Not sure what they came in for, but they asked I just keep an eye on them, so I brought them here to read with me!” Patton explained easily, the grin never leaving his face.

Virgil’s own mouth twitched into a gentle smile as he felt some of his self-doubt crawl back into its hole, “Well, don’t let me keep you from them. I’ll get back to work before Logan catches us doing nothing.”

Patton waved a hand between them with an exaggerated noise of dismissal, “Pssssh! We’d be fine. I’d vouch for us doing only the most important work: being good co-workers and looking out for each other so we can do a better job!”

That pulled a laugh from Virgil. Patton was always good at that; lightening the mood. He had this knack for knowing just what to say to help anyone out without making them feel any worse – something that Logan definitely struggled with, so Virgil could see why he had Patton around. Patton could normally be found at the front desk, making use of his fantastic people skills. If he wasn’t there, he’d be around helping someone. It could be a student with some homework, or an elderly person with one of the library’s computers, or even a small child with finding the best dog books. Patton was honestly just what this library needed: a small ball of sunshine that found joy in the mundane.

“Sure, Pat. Try that line next time, okay? Right now, I really should get back to these books.”

“Aww, c’mon Virgil! Come join us for some reading!”

Virgil’s brain grinded to a halt. He wasn’t quite sure if he heard that correctly and so he gave Patton the ‘did you seriously just suggest that I should leave my scheduled work and come hang out with two children I don’t know and read them a book with you?’ look – or more succinctly, the ‘are you crazy?’ look.

Patton only continued to smile and beckon Virgil over, “Come on. Just one story?” Patton fluttered his eyelashes as though he were trying to woo someone in a comedy. Unfortunately for Virgil, it worked.

“Fine. But just one. I don’t want Logan catching me and tearing me a new one, alright?” Virgil grumbled.

“Sure, sure. I promise I’ve got you covered if Logan has anything to say!” Patton almost went to grab Virgil’s arm, but stopped just short and awkwardly curled his hand into a fist before heading back to the corner where the kids were still sat, Virgil following shortly behind. “This is Virgil, he’s going to join us for a little bit. Virgil, this is Alex and Jesse. We were reading through ‘We Are In a Book’, weren’t we?” Both of the kids nodded, their eyes fixated on Virgil. It was unnerving, almost like they didn’t think Virgil really existed or something.

It took a moment to get into a comfortable enough position for them all, but they eventually managed it. Virgil sat furthest back, content to kneel behind the beanbag and rest his forearms on it while the kids sat on the front, with Patton cross-legged on the floor in front of it, book held high enough for everyone to see. They began to make their way through, Patton doing his best kid-engaging voices and interactions, but it was clear that the two children were not giving him their full attention. Instead, they kept looking back at Virgil, who was starting to regret agreeing to join them.

After only two more pages, Virgil was about to say that he really needed to get back to work but one of the kids – who looked no older than 6 – piped up.

“Why is your hair purple?”

Virgil stilled. He wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. Especially not to a kid, who probably thought it was some kind of magic or something. He shifted his gaze to Patton, trying to see if the older had any ideas on how to save him. But Patton was equally as caught off guard by the question as he was, so Virgil instead went with the first thing that came to his mind.

“It’s from a magic spell, of course.”

Immediately, the kid’s face lit up and they turned fully around to face Virgil, “What kind of spell?!” They asked excitedly. The other kid also turned, now more interested in him than in the book in Patton’s hands.

“Uh… it’s a curse, that was put on me… when I was about your age…” Virgil tried his hardest to think of something, but his brain was drawing a blank. He looked to Patton, hoping that he could save him in his hour of need. Thankfully, whatever had paralysed him previously had gone and the librarian was back to his usual self.

Patton quietly gasped, taking the attention of the kids for a moment before he reverently whispered, “You met the Aubergenie?!”

Silence followed Patton’s question as Virgil let it sink in. He almost couldn’t believe that Patton had really just said that, and that Virgil had heard it with his own two working ears. He’d really just come up with ‘Aubergenie’ on the spot? “Yeah… I, I totally did… meet that…” Virgil slowly responded, still unsure if he was impressed or disgusted.

The other kid then asked, “What’s that?”

Patton then began to weave a tale of this all-mighty Aubergenie that cursed kids who didn’t eat enough of their fruits and vegetables by making them lose all of their colour, while Virgil sat back and calmed himself. He wasn’t good with being the centre of attention, but Patton just seemed to thrive with it. There was something about the man that, when he was being helpful or listened to like this, just lit up and became almost radiant. He cast such a captivating aura that no one could bring themselves to look away or ignore him. It was magical, in a sense.

“You see, in order to get purple hair like that, Virgil has to have eaten many purple foods. Isn’t that right, Virgil?” Patton addressed him, pulling the student out of his thoughts.

“Uh, yeah. So many purple foods, because I… wanted to get purple hair.” Virgil awkwardly added. He didn’t want to throw a wrench into Patton’s story. With the way Patton grinned, however, it seemed as though Virgil had done exactly what he needed to.

“You see, the curse will make you change colour completely if you eat too much of one colour. It starts with your hair, then it will be your fingers and toes, then your nose and then all of you! Virgil, you must be careful!” Patton pleaded with large eyes, playing the part masterfully.

“It’s okay. I’m making sure to not have too much.” Virgil tried to confidently assure him, but found his voice being a little shaky.

Patton grinned, “I’m sure you are. I bet you eat all sorts of purple foods. Did you know that you can find purple potatoes?”

That got the kids fixated on what other vegetables could be purple. Patton managed to keep up with the flow of questions effortlessly. It was mystifying to Virgil. He knew he could never be like Patton. Normally, such a thought would have caused his stomach to churn with nerves, but he felt almost at peace with the idea. It was almost as if… he didn’t want to be like Patton, he just wanted to see more of Patton.

Virgil didn’t have the luxury of indulging his odd feelings for very long as Logan rounded the corner and noticed them all quickly, his expression both confused and disappointed. “What are you both doing down there?” He asked sharply. Virgil almost flinched.

Patton was unphased, however. He simply put on that sunny grin and turned to Logan, “We were just looking after these two while you had your meeting.” He waved to a couple that had just stepped into view. The kids bolted from their seat on the beanbag to the couple, clearly telling Virgil that those two were their parents. They were babbling about the Aubergenie and the Vegetable Curse incessantly.

Logan looked from the kids to Patton to Virgil before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, “Could you both finish up that cart over there? There are two more waiting by the desk. Complete them afterwards.” The head librarian then led the couple and their kids out of the children’s area and into the library proper, leaving Patton and Virgil alone.

Virgil’s heart was hammering, his thoughts racing. He was dead meat. Logan was going to be rid of him because of this. He was running circles in his head before the gentlest of touches was placed upon the pulse point of his wrist, grounding him in reality. Virgil followed the arm towards Patton, who was smiling at him comfortingly. It wasn’t his sunny customer smile. No, it was something… far more subtle, Virgil may even go as far as to use the word ‘intimate’ to describe it if the word didn’t fill him with far too many unanswerable questions.

“Don’t worry about Lo, kiddo. I’ll handle him. I promise that you won’t get in trouble, okay?” Patton spoke softly, as if he were solely communicating with Virgil.

“O-Okay… if, if you say so.”

“C’mon. Let’s get those books back on the shelves, shall we?” Patton then said, grunting with effort as he stood back up from the floor.

Virgil couldn’t resist. His instinct to snark was too strong. As he stood himself, Virgil let out a quiet snort of laughter, “You make so many dad sounds.”

Patton pouted at him, “I’m only a few years older than you!”

“Maybe in age. But you have major Dad energy.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment.”

The two of them fell into their usual comfortable working mood; Patton bringing up anything that came to mind to talk about while Virgil only responded if he had something to add. It was normal, just what Virgil needed.

The carts of books were finished in what felt like no time at all and Virgil wandered over to the front desk with Patton now that he was done for the day. Patton took his seat, while Virgil rooted around for the sign in book.

“Y’know, there was something I’ve been meaning to say about your hair all day.” Patton said, absent-mindedly.

“What’s that?” Virgil felt a bubble of nerves start to form in his stomach, but he did everything in his power to not let it show on the outside. Did Patton hate it? There was no way. But… if he did… what would Virgil do?

“I just think that it's a pretty grape look on you!” Patton’s voice was filled with pride as he delivered his pun.

There was a beat of silence. Then Virgil’s cheeks warmed, and a grin appeared across his face. He couldn’t believe Patton had just said that to him. “Like I said, Dad energy.”

“Like I said, compliment!” Patton winked playfully. He was then called to by one of the regular patrons who needed help, leaving Virgil with the sign in book. Virgil was still smiling to himself, but it couldn’t last all that long with him.

Someone cleared their throat nearby and Virgil raised his head from the book to see who it was. He immediately regretted it upon seeing the new guy’s smirk.

“So, you and Patton, huh? What an unexpected development…”

Virgil only gave him a raised eyebrow and quick look of disdain. He said nothing as he put the book back in the cabinet and then began walking towards the stairs, so he could get to the office and his belongings as quick as possible. He didn’t count on the new guy following him.

“Hey! Wait for me!” The other volunteer jogged after him, catching up to Virgil at the top of the stairs as he’d had to sign himself out first. They were alone in the office, which doubled as a cloakroom. Virgil already had his bag slung over his body. “I was talking. It’s rude to ignore someone.”

“Funny. I don’t think I care.” Virgil responded shortly, untangling his headphone cord.

“Right. Well, if we’re to be working alongside each other, then I think you should at least be civil.” The new guy retorted after taking a moment to dramatically gasp. He grabbed his own things before blocking the exit as Virgil finally had the headphones around his neck.

“What are you doing?” Virgil asked, already tired of this.

A hand was shoved into his space. “Roman. Roman Wonder.”

Virgil looked from the hand up to his face and back. He humoured the new volunteer and shook his hand before sarcastically responding in kind, “Virgil. You don’t need my last name.” Without much else to say, he managed to slip around Roman and make his way out of the office. As he passed by the front desk, he saw Patton once again. The man waved and Virgil returned it, the same heat returning to his cheeks again.

No. There was… absolutely not. He couldn’t. Virgil couldn’t be finding both the librarians attractive, right?! His face burnt even hotter as he considered the thought. What would he even do about it? It’s not like Virgil was going to approach them and talk about it or anything. He would just have to act normal. Completely and utterly normal. I mean, with that new guy – Roman, was it? – around, there shouldn’t be much attention on Virgil anyway… or maybe it was about to get even harder, if his comment was anything to go by. Virgil shook his head to clear the thought and put the headphones on, turning his music up loud enough to drown his thoughts. No, he told himself, it was all going to be fine.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, Patton!” Roman greeted the librarian as he strode confidently up to the front desk. “How are you on such a fantastic day?”

Patton grinned and spun the chair around as Roman approached the cabinet behind him in order to sign in, “I’m doing great! You seem to be in a pretty good mood too.”

“How could I not be?” Roman asked rhetorically, pausing half-way through writing down his name to look at Patton, “I am at the place I enjoy the most with such a wonderful companion! There is no reason for me to feel down.”

Patton couldn’t help but blush and giggle a little at the compliment, “Roman,” He playfully chastised as he turned back to the computer in order to put it into sleep mode, “You should be careful with all these compliments. Some people might think you’re flirting with me.”

The volunteer had crouched down in order to place the sign in book back but was back up to his full height almost immediately, “Let them think what they please! I am only saying the truth!” Roman dramatically proclaimed, his voice booming through the area. The display managed to get a few more giggles out of Patton, but it also attracted someone else.

“How many times must I tell you to keep your voice down?” Logan said exasperatedly, surprising both Patton and Roman with his sudden appearance.

Roman quickly became sheepish. “Ah, sorry again, Logan. I just don’t know how loud I am sometimes; being used to projecting and all…”

“As you’ve said on numerous occasions.” The head librarian deadpanned, “You’ll need to spend some time setting up today. Another event was held in the auditorium a few days ago and I doubt they put everything back.”

Before Roman could ask a single question, Patton shot up from the chair and gave an exaggerated salute, “Yes sir!” He said with a heavy fake scowl that was clearly meant to look serious, though its effect was the complete opposite.

It did accomplish one thing, however; getting Logan to lighten up just the smallest amount. A tiny smile tugged at his lips and he let out a breath of laughter before gesturing the pair away, “I’ll be taking over the front desk until you’re done.”

“Thanks Logan!” Patton’s faux serious façade dropped entirely, and the sunny grin returned. He turned on his heel and began to almost skip towards the auditorium, leaving Roman to follow him. As they walked, the librarian turned to the volunteer, “I honestly can’t thank you enough for agreeing to help out today. It can be a pain doing this all on my own.”

“No one else has ever offered to help?”

“Well, no, we’ve had some that help out but they’re all really busy now and don’t have time. Usually it’s not all that bad, it’s just when all the stuff has been… undone?” Patton sounded unsure with the word he’d settled on. Roman questioned it, but Patton simply waved him off for the moment, implying that seeing what he meant would explain everything better. “But yeah, you can guess that Logan’s not really the kinda guy to want to play around and look silly in front of little kids, same with Virgil…”

They’d just stepped through the doors into the small auditorium when Roman rested a hand on Patton’s shoulder, effectively stopping them both from taking another step. “I will gladly make a fool of myself with you, Patton.” Roman’s voice was quiet, emotional… and theatrical, of course.

Patton grinned and patted the hand on his shoulder, “Thank you so much, Roman. You are so wonderfully brave.”

“Anything for you! Now, what needs to be done?” Roman glanced around the auditorium for the first time properly, taking in the space. As he looked, Roman followed Patton as he descended the steps through the audience seating.

Roman dropped his messenger bag onto one of the front row seats before stepping up onto the small stage, turning to look back at the seating. Immediately, he felt relaxed. This was his home, after all. There seemed to only be around 10 rows of seats, split into three sections by two sets of steps; the ones to his right where he and Patton had come from and the ones to his left that led to what he could only assume were the technical positions. Roman paced the stage space, figuring out how much he could realistically move around. The sudden sound of something falling and a surprised yelp tore Roman from his thoughts though and the volunteer sprinted over to an opened door off to the side.

“Patton?! Are you okay?!” Roman braced himself by placing his arms on the doorframe, stopping himself from throwing his body completely into the small space and possibly making everything worse. On the floor before him sat Patton surrounded by coils of black cables, an overturned plastic crate laying at his feet. Seeing the librarian unscathed calmed Roman significantly and he turned to his next question, “What happened?”

“I didn’t expect it to be that heavy, is all!” Patton cheerfully responded as he moved onto his knees. He reached for the crate, but Roman was quicker and had already turned it upright. Patton began to gather up the cables and place them back in the crate, giving Roman a moment to look around the cupboard.

It was larger than he expected it to be. The walls were covered by metal shelves, each looking meticulously labelled and organised – no doubt due to Logan’s seemingly insatiable need for perfection. One set of shelves was full of the colourful crates, while another held spare technical equipment that Roman somewhat recognised though it looked extremely well-used and not in the best state. The one thing that did give Roman a moment of pause was the very bottom shelf to the left of him. It was full of children’s musical instruments and toys? “So… is there anything else we need from in here?”

“Could you take this box to the middle of the stage for me? I’ll grab the projector really quick and we can set that all back up.” Patton gestured to the previously empty crate on the ground. Roman grabbed it and headed back out of the cupboard, followed closely by Patton.

The librarian went on to explain exactly what they needed to do in preparation: they’d need to set up the projector, check the sound system and microphones, get out the plastic instruments, find nursery rhymes from the collection that they would like to perform and put them together in order to be projected onto the screen that needed to be brought down. All fairly simple things that just added up over time from the separation of the elements around the room.

Everything started fine. Patton retrieved the stand from off stage and left Roman to plug it all in once he’d indicated the nearby socket. It was simple stuff and Roman had just started to use the remote to bring down the screen for the projector when a loud popping sound came from the speakers. He shouted loudly to Patton to stop whatever he was doing immediately before taking the steps up to the technical position two at a time. “Patton, did you not turn the speakers down before powering on?!”

Patton looked at him with wide eyes, confused, “Um… maybe? Why? Is that a bad thing?”

Roman then realised just how helpful he was going to be around here. He walked Patton through the process, explaining what the sound was, how to stop it from happening and the damage it was likely causing… and if Roman had repeatedly and heavily pushed the solution more times than was likely necessary, no one could really blame him, right?

“I had no idea!” Patton said as they headed back down to the stage after finishing up the checks on the sound system. “I always hated when they made that sound. Thank you so much for teaching me, Roman! I had no idea you knew so much about it!” Roman couldn’t help the soft blush that was coating his cheeks at the sudden praise.

He attempted to shrug it off, “Oh, it’s not all that impressive.”

“No, it really is! I was doing that forever and we kept having to get the speakers replaced because they went all bad. But now, they shouldn’t do that as much, so you’ve really helped us out!” Patton kept heaping the praise on Roman as they completed the rest of their tasks.

Roman was no stranger to receiving compliments. In fact, he even went out of his way to garner them at times – though he would never admit it outright, of course. This, however, felt… different for some reason. His cheeks were flushed, and he was almost tingling from the sensation, every little thing had Roman chuckling or laughing in what he could only describe as embarrassment. It was entirely abnormal and made no sense… or maybe Roman was just imagining it all. Yeah, that was probably it.

The pair finished up setting out the instruments and getting the presentation ready just moments before they opened the doors to let the kids and their carers in. They all filed down to the front row of the middle section, only just filling all the seats. The kids were happily playing with the toys, while Patton chatted and greeted all of the adults. Somehow, Roman was surprised that they were all familiar with Patton. It shouldn’t have been that surprising, when he thought back on it. It was Patton, after all. The volunteer wasn’t given much time to think on it though, as he was pulled into a conversation quickly with Patton introducing him to a particularly enthusiastic parent.

The time was ticking closer to 10am and with each passing second, Roman’s nerves and excitement grew. He thrived from performing and so, when Patton grabbed one of the microphones and began the event, he was more than ready to get started.

“Hi everyone!” Patton managed to get the attention of everyone in the room with ease, “Wow, so many of you today! I hope you’re all ready to do amazing because we have someone new joining us, so let’s show him how good you all are! That means being on your very best behaviour. Yes, I mean you, young man.” He pointed at one child that was eagerly bouncing in his carer’s lap, who giggled at the attention.

Roman stepped forward to introduce himself, doing his best to keep up with Patton’s upbeat, kid’s tv presenter vibes as they started the first nursery rhyme. He quickly found that his confidence and talent in performing were giving him his own style, allowing Roman to interact with each of his audience members with his unique flair. He was so lost in it that he hadn’t noticed Patton distance himself after introducing the second rhyme, leaving Roman to excel on his lonesome. Only once he was done did the volunteer realise that Patton had taken up a seat alongside the children in the audience, watching him with a warm smile. He feigned a pout and shook his head, “He asks you all to be on your best behaviour and then he sits out? How rude.”

Patton grinned and acted embarrassed at being caught but stepped back up onstage to take over from Roman for the next couple of rhymes.

This gave Roman a chance to sit out himself and watch the master at work. It was Patton being his usual self; cheerful and upbeat, but something seemed different to Roman. He was noticing new things, like Patton’s twinkling eyes as he laughed at something one of the kids did or the very light freckles that dotted his entire face, giving the volunteer a trail to follow in order to trace every line of the other’s face. His ears were ringing with the melodious laugh and the affectionate tone of the librarian’s voice, along with the surprisingly rich singing voice that accompanied the rhymes. He was noticing how Patton just… looked cute and huggable. The librarian was only a tiny bit shorter than himself and had a similar build, maybe just a touch on the softer side if Roman had to guess from just a glance, yet he had this aura that made him seem like a living teddy bear.

However, Roman knew that all this admiring from a distance is all he would be able to do. From his encounter with Virgil the other week, it was clear to him that something was going on between the other volunteer and Patton, and Roman was not going to get between that. It was a tad disheartening to realise that he was finding that some feelings were surfacing, but at least Roman knew from the start that they were unattainable. It kept his expectations in check.

“Roman?”

The sudden call of his name had Roman freeing himself from his thoughts, “Huh? Sorry, what?”

Roman immediately made eye contact with Patton, and boy was that a mistake. Patton’s gaze was mesmerising, almost making Roman feel like he was being enchanted. The man’s smile was relaxed, and his hand was outstretched, begging for Roman to grab a hold. Roman prayed that the blush on his face could be passed off as embarrassment.

“I was asking you to join us for the last few rhymes. You will, won’t you?”

“Of course!” Roman perked up, jumping onto the stage with haste. He grabbed his microphone and waited for Patton’s cue. They worked so easily together, finding ways to blend their own styles without so much as a glance or word. It was over all too soon and they were saying goodbye to the carers as they carried sleepy children out of the auditorium. It was only once the room was empty that Roman heard Patton let out a sigh.

“That was so fun. I didn’t realise just how much fun it would be with someone else.” Patton seemed almost wistful as he started collecting up the instruments, “I know you likely won’t be helping every week, but I would love to have you back again sometime.”

Roman would have sworn that his heart ached for a moment. The idea that Patton would be back to being alone, doing all of this without him. He wanted to help; not just because he was seemingly deeply infatuated with the man, but because it was incredibly enjoyable and fun. He wasn’t sure how to put the feeling into words or if he even should.

Patton glanced up at him and smiled warmly, “You don’t have to hang around here. It’s probably time for you to head out. Don’t worry about all this, I can handle it.” Patton held the plastic crate he was filling up against his hip and grabbed the strap of Roman’s bag, holding it out for him to take. The volunteer graciously took it and said his goodbyes to Patton. He casually wandered through the library, thinking about how he could possibly get a chance to do that with Patton again. Then he got a view of the front desk and his brain supplied him with an idea.

Logan was busy with a patron when Roman arrived at the cabinet to sign out, so he stalled the sign out process for a few extra seconds by pretending to search for his phone in his bag. This was the one time when Logan’s curtness with strangers was a blessing; he was free quickly.

“So, Roman, how was it?” The head librarian asked, giving the volunteer his full attention.

Roman finally grabbed his phone and pulled it out as he glanced at Logan, trying to be as casual as possible, “It was great. Patton showed me everything and I really enjoyed it. The kids were super into it too…” He trailed off, turning to actually sign out finally and letting Logan pick up the conversation thread.

Thankfully, the other was both incredibly smart and dense at the same time. “Would you be interested in hosting the event on your own? I realised that I have left Patton with the entire responsibility for a long while now and it is somewhat unfair, no matter how enthusiastic he is about it.”

Roman smiled as he finished scribbling his name down, “Sure, I’d be happy to. Though, it was very useful to have someone else to work alongside. I can imagine it getting quite taxing on the voice if done alone. Perhaps it would be better to have two people work it as often as possible?” He was trying so hard to not let Logan know he had an ulterior motive. He wasn’t lying; performing things for an hour was strenuous on the voice, especially when having to sometimes be louder even with the microphone to be heard over the excited children. It didn’t stop Roman from avoiding Logan’s analytical gaze by putting the sign in book back in place once more.

It was only once Roman was standing back at full height that Logan ended his few seconds of consideration, “You make a good point. I will consult with Patton on your idea and contact you as soon as we have come to an agreement. Despite all of that, I will rota you for the opposing weeks to Patton, if you are okay with that.”

“That sounds fantastic! Thanks Logan, have a great day!” Roman flashed a grin before heading out the front doors. It was only once he was definitely out of sight that Roman allowed himself to indulge in the excitement of possibly being able to spend time with Patton like that. Even if he had zero chance, he could at least enjoy his time with the excitable man.

Chapter Text

Logan Studier was never one for unprofessionalism; he wore an impeccably tied tie every day for crying out loud. So, for him to be resting his head on the front desk while the library was still open was definitely not normal. It had been a horrid day.

Patton had called in sick last minute, leaving Logan with no one to cover the front desk. He had reassured Patton that it was fine, that he should focus on looking after himself rather than worrying about work. This meant that Logan was left with a front-facing job to do, with his mediocre interpersonal skills. It was exhausting. He just needed a moment to centre himself.

He was halfway through a thought about how he should consider hiring a second for the front desk when a loud slam jolted through the surface, causing the librarian to shoot upright and search for the source. Logan’s expression fell immediately once he noticed the irritating smirk plastered on the volunteer’s face.

“My, my. The head librarian, asleep at the front desk? Not a particularly good look, Logan.” Roman’s tone was smug, and Logan was not having any of it.

Logan spun around in the chair, reached into the cupboard and extracted the familiar sign in book. He harshly dropped it before Roman, along with a pen, “I was not sleeping, Roman.” Logan said simply, habitually adjusting his glasses while turning his focus back to the screen before him.

An exaggerative thoughtful hum came from Roman in response, riling up Logan even further. “Then why would the ever-poised and stoic head librarian Logan Studier lay his head down upon the front desk in broad daylight?” The volunteer hadn’t even started writing his name. Roman was bent down as if he was going to, but instead he was resting his head on his hand and watching Logan. He knew what he was doing.

Logan sighed, doing his best to remain outwardly calm, “If you must know, I have been here at the front desk all day and it has been quite busy. I was simply taking a moment to recompose.” His tone was final. That line of conversation was over. “If you are quite done with your prying, it would be best for you to finish signing in and put your personal belongings in the office. There are two trollies of books waiting for you.” With that, Logan stood and walked over to an already-half empty cart between two nearby shelves.

Thankfully, the busiest part of the day had passed and now there were very few patrons left, allowing Logan the time he needed to be productive. He finished up the cart he’d been forced to leave several times and he reorganised the shelves fully – along with the nearby tables and the books that had been left on them. He was starting to feel relaxed once more, though the feeling could never last forever.

Roman accosted Logan as he was about to exit from between two shelves, “I finished them both. What else can I do for you?” The volunteer had trapped Logan in from one end as he leant against the bookshelf.

The librarian was able to duck under the other’s arm though. He was quick to stand back at full height and act as though nothing abnormal had occurred. “I placed yet another cart over in that section.” He gestured off somewhere deeper into the library before walking in the opposite direction. “If you have trouble finding it, let me know.” He said, without looking back.

Logan practically refused to turn and face his volunteer. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Roman, far from it actually. He wouldn’t have a volunteering position if Logan truly disliked him. It was simply that sometimes, Roman managed to tug at just the wrong strings and frustrate Logan to no end.

The librarian was lost in thought as he worked, thinking about Roman and all the times he’d had to have words with him. All the times Roman was being too loud or distracting, all the times Roman was engrossed in conversations with the patrons, all the times Roman had been late for his shifts. As all of the memories drifted through his mind, one particular event stuck out and Logan cringed slightly.

It had been just a little under a month ago, on a surprisingly busy day. Logan had requested all volunteers and library staff, that were able to, come in and lend a hand. Roman was stationed in a particularly busy part of the fiction section with an extremely full cart, which meant no suspicions were raised when Roman hadn’t resurfaced for a long while. Logan was preoccupied anyway; he didn’t have much time to devote to considering how much time others were taking on tasks. He was stationed alongside Patton at the front desk, working to return the flood of books that were coming in. He was there specifically to reign in Patton’s rambling pleasantries.

Eventually, the flow of returns was slowing, and Patton had gotten the hint to keep interactions short and sweet, so Logan had a moment to breathe and check in on the rest of his staff. The cart they’d filled first was for the fiction section, so Logan decided he’d start there.

The first indication that something was amiss was the fact the first cart – now empty – was still sat in the same place, up against the pillar. Logan moved it aside and replaced it with the full one before searching between the bookshelves for staff members. The next hint was the relative silence. Roman tended to sing to himself as he worked or would be practicing monologues and yet the area was so quiet – as though Roman had just up and vanished.

Finally, Logan found who he was looking for. He didn’t expect how he’d find him, however.

Roman was being crowded up against the shelves, back flush to the fake wood. Another man was entangled with him. They looked to be kissing, at least from where Logan stood. The stranger’s hands were grasping the sides of Roman’s face. Or at least, Logan thought he could have been… His memories were fuzzy from the very moment that he’d gotten a glance at the pair.

From what he could remember, Logan felt a shot of white-hot anger drip through his entire body. His presence was noticed quickly, and the stranger gave Roman a flirtatious one-liner along with a wink before he sauntered off, knocking the sunglasses off of the top of his head and back onto his face. Logan remembered releasing his anger on Roman, ranting about how unprofessional he was to allow that to happen and other such things. If he thought about it harder, Logan could just about make out the uncomfortable and downtrodden look that the Roman in his memory had. It was decidedly out of character for Roman, so Logan dismissed it as a flaw in his memory.

As he’d been reminiscing, Logan had pulled a step stool over to allow him to reach the top shelves with ease. He was so lost in the memories that he wasn’t paying full attention to his surroundings. So, when Logan went to step down in order to pick up another few books, he didn’t step far enough, and the edge of his foot got caught. While his pristine, well-kept wing-tipped shoes looked professional, they had very little grip. This meant Logan began to fall.

A surprised noise ripped from his throat – something he would downright deny if asked about it later – as he braced himself for the impact with the ground.

But it never came. Instead… he felt like he was… being held?

Logan wrenched his eyes open. He didn’t even realised he’d closed them. The reality that greeted him was far too cruel and Logan wished he would perish instead.

Above him was the cocky smirk of a certain volunteer. Logan’s body was entirely rigid, as if he was still bracing for the fall that was never going to come. Something about this was entirely wrong, yet something was also right. The warmth was nice. It was also nice to feel someone’s arms against himself. Wait. What. Logan’s brain ground to a halt. Then Roman spoke.

“Good thing I came to find you when I did, or else you’d be on the ground with both your dignity and body wounded.”

Finally, Logan snapped back entirely to reality. His face heated to levels that he didn’t know was possible and he squirmed in an undignified manner, all in a futile attempt to get out of Roman’s grasp. “Put me down!” Roman did just that, helping Logan to his feet. The librarian righted his outfit in order to keep his hands busy, “Honestly, falling to the floor is a far more inviting prospect.”

Roman laughed and he raised an eyebrow, casting his gaze down Logan’s body and back up, “I never thought you’d be into that sort of thing, Logan. I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover, huh?”

Logan spluttered, body tense once more, “Th-that was not what I was implying at all!”

“Sure, whatever you say.”

The librarian’s grip on his composure was loosening far too much for his comfort. He needed to get away from Roman immediately. He was still completely flustered, but he tried his best to outwardly maintain some professionalism. “If you are done elsewhere, finish up this cart. I have things to attend to in the office.” Logan swept out from between the bookshelves before Roman could even respond.

It took all of Logan’s might to not entirely lose it before the door to the office swung shut behind him. As soon as he was sure he was alone, Logan buried his face in his hands and let out a loud frustrated groan. He beelined for the nearest chair and threw himself down onto it.

There was absolutely no way in hell that this was happening to him. After years of little interest in romance and relationships, Logan was finding that he had these sorts of feelings for not just one, but two of his volunteers?! It was unfair and, not to mention, unethical. Logan tried his hardest to search for a solution in his mind that didn’t end with the same conclusion, but he only found that such things required some rather impressive mental gymnastics.

Logan pushed the keyboard further up the desk and rested his elbows on the now free space, propping up his head as he sighed. He was beginning to begrudgingly accept his fate. “It was all because I was thinking about that…” Logan muttered, glaring at his darkened reflection in the unlit computer screen.

His mind turned back to the scenario from before, with Roman against the bookshelves. However, now that he was thinking about the attraction he was feeling towards the volunteer, things were morphing in Logan’s mind. Bodies shifted, people changed, expressions were different. His own viewpoint moved from the end of the bookshelves where he stood to in the eyes of the stranger. It would be a good way to be rid of Roman’s cocky attitude that was for sure.

Two rapt knocks on the desk brought Logan sharply out of his thoughts.

“Was the office too overwhelming as well?” Roman had perched himself on the end of the desk, arms folded and looking expectantly at the librarian.

Logan couldn’t get words to form for a moment. He despised Roman’s ability to rile him up. He hated that the volunteer seemed to have a sense for just what to say or do to get to Logan, but him doing so after Logan’s recent fantasy definitely didn’t improve anything. After a moment of thought, the librarian simply gave Roman a withering look before finding the words, “If you are finished with everything, you are free to leave, Roman.”

A smirk flashed on Roman’s face for a moment before he moved away from the desk and over to the lockers. Logan couldn’t help but follow the movement, watching the way Roman walked. He averted his gaze and pretended to be pulling out some paperwork when the volunteer began to walk towards the exit.

“Have a good evening, Logan. See you next week!” Roman said casually. He paused just as his hand rested on the door handle, “Oh, and be careful, wouldn’t want you falling for anyone else.” With that, Roman was gone.

Logan stared at the closing door, unsure if his ears really did just hear what Roman had said.

“That was decidedly awful.” He muttered once more, dragging his hands down his face. Logan took a look at himself in the computer monitor once more, noting how obvious his blush was even there. He carded a hand through his hair in frustration. Of course Roman would know that was the button to push right now.

Chapter Text

“Ah, Roman. Perfect timing.”

The volunteer looked up to find Logan approaching him, his arms full of an over-stuffed folder that was clearly full of paperwork. Roman hastily finished writing down the time before giving Logan his full attention.

“I would like you to go and find Virgil. Take this cart with you, he should have finished the one I left him with. To save you the time, I can take your belongings up to the office and return to you with the key as soon as I am able. Is this alright with you?”

Roman had been volunteering at the library for long enough to know that when Logan finished a list of instructions with a question, it was very unlikely you’d find yourself saying no. He lifted the strap of his messenger bag over his head and placed it into Logan’s open hand, enjoying how his fingers brushed against the head librarian’s as he did so.

“Of course! Thank you for the offer.” He gave Logan a brief grin before grabbing a hold of the cart and pushing it towards the non-fiction section. Roman vaguely heard Logan thanking him in return as he walked away from the front desk.

It took a minute of weaving between tables and chairs before Roman approached the spot they’d usually leave the carts for easy access. There was an empty one already there, so Logan had been correct. The volunteer swapped the trollies around, putting the empty one further away and went to take an armful of books from the top when he had an idea.

“Virgil…” Roman whispered loudly, adding a teasing lilt to his voice that made it sound almost ghostly, “Come out, come out, wherever you are…” He crouched low and stalked along the rows, peaking around each of the bookshelves in an attempt to find Virgil before he was found himself.

It only just occurred to Roman that he’d not interacted with Virgil all that much. They’d always been far apart when they were both working a similar shift, or they’d just miss each other. Perhaps it was Virgil avoiding Roman or maybe it was just fate. Either way, it meant that Roman didn’t know much about his fellow volunteer and that only made him want to know more. He was curious as to what made Virgil tick; what did he like and dislike, what scared him and what made him laugh, what things would Virgil say he loved.

‘What was that thought…?’ Roman stopped dead, looking at his hands in confusion as if they’d given him the strange idea.

“What are you doing?”

Roman almost screamed. He jumped harshly and almost fell over onto his face from his crouched position. He’d really not been expecting a voice. Only once he glanced over his shoulder did Roman realise it was Virgil, who was looking down at him as though he was the strangest man on earth while also being an inconvenience somehow.

Immediately, Roman got back up to his full height – finding amusement and pride in the fact he was just a touch taller than the emo, his eyeline landing just above the other’s eyebrows – before he said anything, “We’re working together. Logan’s orders! I was just looking for you.”

Virgil’s expression didn’t waver, “You were looking for me… like that?”

“Yes.” Roman responded with the most confidence he could muster, almost as though he was definitely not caught in such an odd position. He watched as Virgil sighed and nonchalantly shrugged, shoving his hands deep into his patched hoodie’s pockets. A beat of silence passed between them where Virgil seemed to be thinking deeply.

Eventually, he spoke, “Fine, whatever. Where are the books?”

Roman’s smile grew wider, “Right where they usually are. I already moved the empty cart away.”

“Cool, thanks.” Virgil’s voice was dull and quiet, and then he fell silent as he grabbed a couple of related books from the top. He wandered off with them, leaving Roman to grab his own books. The louder volunteer tried multiple times to get Virgil to engage in a conversation, but it seemed like it was all for naught. The only response he was given most of the time were either one- or two-word answers, sometimes just a noncommittal noise. It was frustrating Roman to no end.

This was a challenge now. Especially once Virgil had smirked and let out an amused snort-like noise in response to Roman asking if he didn’t like to talk. Roman needed Virgil to open up to him, to speak to him like a human. He needed it like he needed air to breathe or water to drink. It was almost like an addiction that he hadn’t even had the first hit of – that smirk was a tease to the smile lingering beneath the surface, and Roman craved it.

He tried everything he could: serenading Virgil with a song he said he liked, reciting the most amusing passages of blurbs he could find on the books they were returning to the shelves, recounting his favourite memories that ended in a way that was supposed to start a conversation. Roman was even using his greatest jokes and dramatics, but absolutely nothing was working!

Eventually, Logan came and found them both. He passed Roman the key for the staff locker upstairs before talking to Virgil, “Thank you for coming in on short notice, Virgil. You are free to leave.”

Roman glanced over to the emo and he swore on every single one of his Disney DVDs that Virgil looked a little flustered. He was avoiding Logan’s eyes and the corners of his mouth were twitching slightly, as though a smile was trying to destroy his barrier. But perhaps he was seeing things. Roman was only able to glance at Virgil for a second before he’d turned and walked off, saying goodbye.

His passion, which had yet to dwindle, grew from that. Roman was determined. He would get Virgil to smile one day.

“I cannot believe that plan 60 didn’t work. It always works…” Roman huffed, violently crossing out another line of his notebook, “It was going so well, and Patton was in tears… yet Virgil still simply stood there. And then Logan interrupted. Again.” He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly, before reaching out and taking a deep drink from his coffee cup.

He was sat in a café nearby the library, at a table right by the window which allowed him to watch the people outside briskly walk past in order to get out of the pouring rain as quickly as they could. The sound was relaxing and usually sitting in this one spot allowed Roman to dream up hundreds of ideas, but today he was just too fixated on his recent failures. He’d been getting further with Virgil. The other volunteer was opening up to him, engaging in conversations and allowing Roman to know more and more about him. But that smile was still out of reach.

Roman sighed as his phone buzzed, letting him know his time was up and he needed to head into the library now if he didn’t want to be late again. He shut his well-loved notepad and slipped it into his bag as he stood. A short goodbye to the café workers and light jog down the street was all that stood between Roman and his next attempt – though what he was going to try was still up in the air as he’d not had a good idea yet.

He’d not taken one step away from the stairs leading down from the office before Roman was distracted by a voice calling out to him.

“Hey Roman!”

The volunteer couldn’t help but smile, “Hello Patton. Can I help you with anything? You usually don’t call on me from so far.” He’d had to cross the majority of the length of the room in order to speak at a respectable level – or at least, a level Logan would not immediately hunt him down for.

“You just looked a little down, is all. I wanted to check and see if you were alright.” Roman could tell Patton didn’t want to look too concerned, but the man had never been too good at hiding his emotions.

Roman simply waved a hand in dismissal as he grinned, “I assure you everything is perfectly fine, Patton. I just have a few things that aren’t exactly going my way, a couple of bumps in the road. Nothing to worry yourself over.”

Patton’s shoulders lost some of their tension, “Well, I hope things start to go your way, Ro. I’d hate to have you upset. It would be so much duller around here without your energy!” Before Roman could fully take in Patton’s compliment, the librarian gasped and snapped his fingers into points. He aimed them at Roman, “Oh, right! I actually did need you! Logan told me that these books need to go back as soon as possible. Could you…?”

“My dearest Patton…” Roman softened his voice, as though he were the romantic lead in a Shakespearean production and reached out to rest a hand on Patton’s shoulder, “For you, I would take on any task. I shall bear the weight of this burden for you.” He swept the books into his arms and began to walk away from the giggling mess that was currently Patton. “I shall return to you one day with tales of my perilous journey!”

The laughter followed Roman as he slipped between two bookshelves, searching for the space that the first book in the pile needed to fill. It was always a joy to get Patton to laugh, even if it were a fairly simple task. Roman heard a voice in the back of his mind telling him that he should be proud of that and just enjoy being able to bring joy to at least one person, while another voice contradicted and started to berate him on how it was barely an accomplishment. Roman worked on autopilot while the voices in his mind continued on, meaning he was barely paying attention to his surroundings.

He’d moved between another pair of bookshelves a little further down. While he should have been searching for the correct place for the book in his hand, Roman was simply staring ahead as he started to get lost in his thoughts.

Then a hand rested on his shoulder.

Roman was startled. He screamed, twisting his upper body harshly to wrench it away from the hand. He shuffled back, but the awkward position of his limbs had his feet catching on themselves and he went down. The books in his arms went flying into the air as Roman instinctively went to use his arms to catch his weight, which then immediately came crashing down onto him. The force of one particularly thick book falling onto his stomach had a rather loud noise being ripped from Roman’s throat. He groaned in pain, one arm coming to rest across his stomach afterwards as his brain caught up to where he was. Then, he heard something, and he stilled completely.

It was laughter. Roman could hear laughter. It wasn’t any laugh he’d heard before, but it seemed slightly familiar. It was almost rhythmic and breathy, as if the one who was laughing was trying to not be heard.

Roman’s gaze rose, his eyes wide like an awestruck child seeing the most beautiful fireworks for the first time. He saw Virgil standing before him; one hoodie-covered hand tightly clamped to his face, the other wrapped around his body. Roman went to stand up, going to grab the shelf next to him as a steadying point.

What he didn’t quite realise was that his hand had rested on top of the books, not the shelf. So, when he put his weight on his hand, the books tilted and Roman ended up back on the ground, surrounded by even more books. He pouted and flapped his arms with a whine like a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum.

It was like a dam burst.

Virgil all but collapsed to the ground in a fit of laughter, the hand that had previously been over his mouth now gripping onto a shelf for dear life. His face was covered with the widest smile Roman had ever had the privilege of seeing on the emo’s face, and his laugh was spilling out uncontrollably. The other arm was still wrapped around his stomach, now seeming like it was supporting some of Virgil’s weight.

Roman couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. He watched for a couple of seconds, unsure of how he was feeling. Had it been anyone else, Roman would have been offended at the prospect of them laughing so heavily as his misfortune. But this wasn’t just anyone. This was Virgil. That thought brought a shining grin to Roman’s face.

“I did it! I actually did it!” Roman practically shouted with elation, “I got you to laugh! I mean, there was no doubt I could, but I did it!”

Virgil, who’s laughter had started to subside, wiped tears from his eyes. He seemed to not care that his makeup was getting far more smudged than usual, as he continued to smile. “You sure did, Wonderboy.” Virgil said, almost breathless from his outburst. He reached out, offering Roman his hand. It was quickly grasped and both volunteers were standing, staring at each other.

Roman was about to suggest they should get the books up off of the floor, but he didn’t have a chance.

“What on earth is going on over here? Must I remind you that this is a libr-” Logan’s practised rant was cut short as he rounded the shelves to find two of his staff standing there alone with a sea of books at their feet. Patton’s head popped out from around Logan, trying to get a look himself.

Roman felt Logan’s pointed gaze lingering on his hand. He glanced down to find that neither himself nor Virgil had let go. There was a moment of panic as Virgil and Roman locked eyes, both obviously having noticed the same thing. In the same moment, they ripped their hands apart, as though they’d suddenly been shocked.

After a long stretch of silence, Logan sighed heavily. He was clearly frustrated as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Patton stepped out from behind him, looking up at his boss with concern. Virgil shrunk in on himself, pulling his hoodie tighter as though it were a defensive barrier.

Roman considered all three of the men around him and was struck with a realisation that had him in a mild panic. He’d found something to love about each of them. Roman was beginning to wrack his brain for what it could possibly mean and what he was supposed to do with this information when Logan’s voice cut him off.

“I’ve decided that I really do not wish to know what happened here. Clean this mess up quick. Mortenson, you stay here. Wonder, to the other side of the library. I’ll have Patton prepare something for you to do.”

The head librarian turned sharply and stalked off, leaving the other three standing in silence. Patton looked conflicted and apologetic, going to open his mouth to say something to the volunteers, when a call of his name from Logan had him scurrying away with a gentle wave.

Roman and Virgil began to pick the books up off of the floor, both nervous to speak and unsure of what they’d even say. The events were playing on repeat in Roman’s mind, when something suddenly stuck out to him and he paused.

“You… made a Disney reference to me… and you remembered my last name.”

Virgil cleared his throat, looking sheepish as he avoided Roman’s gaze, “Well… yeah, and?”

Roman continued to stare with a surprise smile tugging at his lips. Virgil did eventually glance his way and catch his eye, giving him a soft smile of his own. The moment was over quickly however, as Virgil rose back onto his feet.

“You should probably go. Logan might actually kill you if you hang around here for too long.”

Roman gasped indignantly, “Why, Virgil. It sounds as though you are trying to get rid of me!” He couldn’t help the chuckle that followed the playful shove he got from the emo volunteer as he went to leave.

“Just shut up and get going.”

They shared yet another glance and a smile before Roman started to cross to the other end of the library. While Logan was likely angry with him and Virgil, nothing could bring Roman down right now. He felt as though he were walking on air with how light he felt. While there may have been a storm brewing around the corner, Roman pushed the thought of it away. He’d deal with that when it arrived. For now, nothing could darken his day.

Chapter Text

It was finally the end of a day that felt never-ending after a long and hectic week. Every single staff member had been in at least three days this week, meaning Logan had far more scheduling to do than usual. Thankfully, the library was closed for the bank holiday tomorrow, giving everyone a well-deserved break.

This didn’t mean Logan wasn’t about to enjoy his favourite part of the day, however.

They’d just closed. The front doors had been locked up and the artificial lights switched off, leaving the low evening sun to stream in through the high windows and coat the library in the orange-tinted light. It felt almost ethereal, like Logan was standing a world utterly removed from the usual one they inhabited.

He wasn’t alone, however. Patton was busying himself with tidying around the front desk, as he usually did.

Something had been eating at the head librarian as he considered his longest standing member of staff and friend. It was… almost like disappointment? After a bit of searching, it struck him.

Due to the inordinately busy week they’d just been through, the two had very little spare time in their days to interact much more than a few sentences before and after work. Patton had been swamped at the front desk, rarely even needing a second pair of hands to assist him – Logan sometimes honestly wondered if he would ever truly be able to run the place without Patton - while Logan had been locked away in the office for a large majority of the week, working through reams of paperwork and schedules.

Usually, they would have at least one lunch break together at some point in the week, allowing them to catch up and chat. But that had been a luxury they had to forgo due to the need of a senior member of staff to be available at all times.

Logan was stood watching Patton from between two of the shelves opposite the front desk, following his movements as he tidied diligently. He put down the books in his hands and made his way over to join Patton.

As he got close enough for Patton to hear him, Logan cleared his throat to announce his presence, hoping it wouldn’t startle the other too much. Thankfully, it only had Patton turning his head sharply to see what was happening.

“Oh, Lo, it’s you. Do you need some help?” Patton asked, his customary cheery smile on his face as he spoke.

Logan responded with his own soft smile, “I thought that, for today, we could work through tasks together. We haven’t had a chance this week to speak, just the two of us.”

The way Patton’s entire being seemed to fill with air and his face lit up let Logan know that he’d done the right thing. He moved to stand beside his co-worker, sorting through the assortments of leaflets and notices that littered the table before them. Patton got back to it as well, while also jumping into a conversation about the events of the week. They both worked seamlessly, never getting in each other’s way somehow.

Logan was able to converse with Patton like it was second nature. Considering that they had known each other for years now, it was unsurprising yet still a comfort. Even when they ran out of things to say, they worked in an extremely comfortable silence – neither feeling the need to talk.

Once the leaflets were full sorted, Logan began to walk towards the shelves he’d abandoned earlier. However, he quickly noticed he could only hear his own footsteps. He stopped and turned, seeing Patton awkwardly shuffling behind him.

“Patton, is everything alright?” He asked, concern seeping into his stomach and causing it to churn nervously – a feeling Logan was wholly unused to.

Patton’s eyes focused on anything but Logan, “I was, uh… well, I just looked at the time and I know how you like to get out on time, and I know that us working together might slow us down and I didn’t want you to be annoyed if we took longer just because we were working together… But I didn’t want to assume as well… so, um…” Patton trailed off, unsure of how to finish his ramble.

Logan was unprepared for the sudden pile of emotion and unease that had been thrown in his direction. He never was good with comfort, but he knew he had to try for Patton’s sake. All Logan could really do was tell the truth, “Patton, perhaps you would have been right on a normal day. Taking longer on tasks we have done so frequently in the past would have frustrated me a little.” He watched as Patton started to deflate even more, so he quickly continued, “However. Today is not all that normal. While it has been a long and tiring week for us both and we should aim to finish as soon as we can, I do not wish for us to stop working alongside each other like we have been. It has been… enjoyable.”

Patton quickly returned to his sunny self, looking a little sheepish as he approached Logan, “I’m sorry for being such a silly, Logan.”

“No need to apologise. Well, except for that terrible sentence you decided to utter.”

That got a laugh out of Patton and they both fell back into their work, relaxing a little.

All the tasks were simple and monotonous; putting books that had been left out on tables or in the wrong place back into their space, turning off computers, pushing chairs under tables, locking cupboards and so on. It was all getting done at a relatively fast pace.

The pair had made their way up to the office, giving the space a quick once over. Logan was filing away the last few pieces of paperwork when he looked up at his companion and something felt different.

It was certainly not a bad feeling. It was just… unusual. Logan normally would be doing all of this on his own, as the office tended to be his area and he was very particular about how it was arranged. It was also the place he escaped to, if he needed a moment of respite. Never had it ever felt so displaced from reality, though. The sounds of the outside world did ring through the windows; cars and pedestrians and the like – but it was as though they were far off, in a different world from his.

Logan couldn’t put his finger on what was causing this. The only factor that was even slightly different was the addition of Patton. The head librarian continued to watch him, curious as to why Patton’s presence would make such a difference.

Soon, he was thinking back to how the evening had been different. The two had been working together for a while now, but rarely ever did they work side by side like they had today. As usual with Patton, the conversation had been easy and inviting and they’d not once truly gotten in each other’s way, as if they had a sense of what the other would do. Sometimes they had knocked arms or elbows, but it was nothing significant. They had instinctively worked on parts that the other would have had trouble with, such as Logan going for the higher shelves while Patton went for the lower.

The more he dwelled on tiny details of the past, the more he began to notice the tiny details of the present.

Patton was working directly next to one of the windows, allowing the golden light to shine on himself. The light bounced so beautifully off his curled hair, acting almost like coloured streaks that Logan’s eyes traced. It created a glow around his body that made him almost look… angelic, for lack of a better word. His movements were never all that graceful, but the way Patton’s hands moved seemed to capture Logan’s imagination – almost as though they were weaving a dance before him.

He was beginning to see this man, who’d been one of his few friends for years, in an entirely new light – excuse the pun.

Logan couldn’t believe it. He must have been kidding himself. It was all a joke. There was no way he could be feeling like this for another person. There were already two in his life, how could he have a third?! Dread and fear curdled in his stomach, bringing with them a feeling of nausea. Logan felt as though he needed to sit down, the world was starting to spin.

Then a hand rested on his arm so lightly. The spot it touched tingled pleasantly. Logan looked down, only to see Patton’s questioning gaze. And that was it.

He’d gone and fallen for them all.

“Logan? Are you alright?” Patton spoke so quietly, as though he were afraid of harming Logan in some way, “You’ve been staring off into space for a while now and you’ve lost a lot of the colour in your face… Are you feeling sick?”

Immediately, colour was back into Logan’s cheeks as he flushed darkly in embarrassment. He coughed a little, “Ah, I must be far more tired than I originally thought. I apologise for the concern; I think I just need a good rest. Thank you for finishing up on your own, sorry that I wasn’t of much help at the end…”

“It’s not a problem, Lo! Let’s just get out of here so you can rest up.” Patton quickly smiled, but his eyes betrayed him by harbouring as much concern as before. He seemed to want to ask more questions but was keeping them to himself to not make Logan uncomfortable. “You know,” Patton piped up again, head poking out from behind the locker door to look at Logan, “If you ever want to talk, I’m always here for you.”

Logan smiled warmly, “I know, Patton. Thank you. While I may not be as… well versed in emotional matters, I am here for you as well.” He could have sworn that Patton blushed, but his face was quickly obscured once more by the locker door and Logan told himself it must have been his imagination.

A short walk down the stairs later and they were already out the back door of the library. Logan turned the key slowly and pocketed it, before turning to Patton. He was lingering a few paces behind him as usual.

“Thank you for your help, Patton.”

“It’s nothing, Logan. You know I’m more than happy to stay a little longer.”

“No. I mean, for all of your help. I can hardly imagine how this library would run without you around.”

Patton obviously blushed this time and squealed softly as he grinned, “Aw Logan, that’s just about the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

The head librarian chuckled lightly, “I am merely stating observable facts.”

The two stood there, simply smiling at each other for a moment. It was almost like they were lost in each other. Logan caught himself quickly and lowered his gaze to the floor. There was something in him that almost desperately wanted to reach out and offer Patton a hug or… anything that could truly express Logan’s immense amount of gratitude he was feeling in the moment. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, however hard his mind screamed at him.

“Well, um… I should, probably be getting on home. I’ll see you in a couple days.” Patton said, getting Logan’s gaze to raise back up. He gave a tiny wave and turned to leave. He’d only taken a few steps away when…

“Wait!”

Logan’s outburst shocked them both. Patton stopped in place and turned back to Logan, his eyes wide and confused, while Logan’s hand was hovering just inches above his mouth in shock.

“Okay. I’m waiting…?” Patton said, clearly unsure of what was going on.

There was a brief moment of hesitation where Logan considered his options before he slowly and cautiously began to open his arms. It was only a small space, but it was an obvious indication. He watched nervously as Patton realised what he was silently asking. That sunny grin grew once more and Patton all but threw himself into Logan’s arms, wrapping his own tightly around the head librarian’s waist. It was extremely comfortable. Patton was so wonderfully warm and just the perfect height for Logan to rest his chin upon. Not that he had much of a chance to as Patton pulled away quickly.

His entire body was now tingling, though if it were from the sudden loss of warmth, Logan wasn’t quite sure yet. It was almost as though he could still feel Patton’s arms and body embracing him.

Patton’s gaze was fond with a touch of amusement when Logan’s own locked with it once more, “That was new. What’s happened to you today? Compliments, hugs… What have you done with the real Logan?!” Patton playfully accused him.

The antics pulled a real laugh from Logan, who couldn’t help the smile on his face, “I am still myself; I assure you. I think the exhaustion is affecting me, allowing me to be… more open with you.”

“Well then, maybe we should get you exhausted more often! Maybe everyone will get a compliment then!”

“Let’s not go making assumptions.”

They fell back into their silence, simply standing there once more. Patton turned to leave again and the two said their goodbyes. Logan watched as the man rounded the corner and disappeared from his sight before he even entertained the idea of heading to his car. A content sigh fell from his lips as tension dissipated from his body.

Overall, it was a positive development, Logan told himself as he slid into the driver’s seat. After the moment he’d stumbled upon a week ago, Logan had been feeling far too down but this was the breath of fresh air he needed. No longer did he feel an overwhelming sense of despair, rather there was a small glimmer of hope shining on the horizon.

He couldn’t deny the facts, however. It wouldn’t be easy. As he started the engine and began to turn out of the car park, Logan made his mind up. He’d need to talk to them all about this. To get it all in the open and be done with it.

Chapter Text

Patton couldn’t help but hum a happy tune to himself as he walked through the tall shelves. How could he not be extremely happy working in a place that he loved? It wasn’t exactly all that busy today, but that didn’t matter; simply existing in the building did wonders for Patton’s mood. One of the regular elderly patrons called Patton over as he was passing by, asking something about the computer they were using. It took a little longer than he expected to get them to understand, but Patton didn’t mind.

He got back to the front desk and took a seat in the chair, turning it slightly as he rocked back and forth. Patton’s gaze fondly swept across all he could see. Virgil was off to the left, working diligently between two of the bookshelves. Patton noted that the volunteer was holding several books in his arms, something that was unthinkable a few months ago. He’d clearly gotten stronger. A loud voice grabbed Patton’s attention before he could linger on the thought for more than a second. In the children’s section, Roman was acting out some kind of story to a small audience of kids that sat before him. Patton couldn’t help the laugh that fell from his lips as he watched, seeing the volunteer mime out sparring with someone with a foam sword. It was extremely endearing.

Someone cleared their throat behind Patton, and he jumped, spinning the chair sharply around. He came to a stop in order to face a nervous-looking Logan. Patton’s heart dropped for a moment and he went to ask if Logan was okay, but he was stopped by a raised hand.

“I shall explain in a short while. I wish to have a meeting with you and a few others. Would you…” Logan didn’t seem to want to finish his question, his eyes darting around as if to look for something else.

Patton simply nodded and stood, “Okay. I’ll get the sign up, don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Patton.” Logan’s shoulders hunched ever so slightly, as if some of the tension had left his body. Patton wanted so desperately to stand his ground and get the answers from Logan then and there, but instead he headed up the stairs to the second floor.

The door to the cupboard they used as a meeting room and a storage room creaked quietly as Patton pushed it open. He flicked on the light switch and gave the room a quick glance. Two tables were pushed together with four different chairs surrounding them. Nothing out of the ordinary, so perhaps Patton didn’t have too much of a reason to worry.

He searched through the floor-to-ceiling shelving units that completely lined the walls in order to find the sign that got stuck to the door. Patton looked under all the old newspapers, between coloured card and paper and around the pots of pens, pencils and crayons. He finally found it on the table, underneath a children’s storybook that had been left out from the last story time. Patton slipped the book on the shelf as he passed by on his way to place the sign on the door.

As he was pulling a piece off of the blutak supply next to the door, it opened to reveal a very scared looking Virgil. Patton stepped out of the way, attempting to give Virgil a reassuring smile but the volunteer never met his gaze. He simply offered a quiet thanks, that Patton would have definitely missed if he hadn’t been paying attention. As quickly as possible, the sign was stuck to the door and Patton had taken up the seat next to Virgil.

“I’m sure everything’s fine, Virge…” Patton attempted to comfort the man. Instead, it seemed to have the opposite effect as the volunteer curled up further into his hoodie.

“Easy for you to say…” Virgil muttered. He looked so tense, his eyes were trying to focus only on the edge of the table before him, but they were darting everywhere instead. Even though Virgil had his hands stuffed deep into his hoodie pockets, it was clear they were shaking, as was his leg. Patton felt a pang in his heart as he watched and waited with the volunteer.

Patton wanted to reach out and give Virgil a comforting hug, assure him with affirming words and hold him close. Of course, Virgil probably would be uncomfortable with that, so Patton had to come up with something else if he wanted to try and calm the volunteer. Patton started wracking his brain to try and come up with an idea. He didn’t have much time to think before the door opened yet again.

This time, Roman walked through. He stopped slightly upon noticing both Patton and Virgil already seated at the table. He took up the seat opposite of Patton, perching just on the edge. Roman may have looked fairly calm as Patton looked at his face, but the librarian couldn’t help but notice the way Roman kept fidgeting. He was playing with his shirt, his hair, the bracelet his wore around his wrist. Clearly, he was just as nervous as the all were.

Logan stepped in almost directly behind Roman and remained standing. His eyes were unfocused, and he stared at the table, rather than looking at any of the people in the room. His brain must have been moving a mile a minute, if Patton had to guess. Logan could sometimes be too smart for his own good; he wanted to have the perfect strategy for everything.

Silence stretched out for seconds as the three seated at the table waited to hear why they had been called to the meeting room. Eventually, Logan took a long deep breath in and out before finally making eye contact.

“It has come to my attention that there is some form of… tension, between us all.”

Virgil turned into a convincing statue immediately upon Logan’s words, while Roman spluttered slightly. He was only able to get out half mumbled words, while his eyes darted between each person in the room with some level of fear. Logan simply stood there watching, though his body language was far too tense for his own good. Amongst this, Patton sat there confused.

He’d never felt tension with any of them. Maybe they’d all had weird moments, but that was just what happened when you spent a lot of time around people, right? Patton tried to think hard, as if him delving deep into his memory would dig up anything he could use to understand what any of them were talking about. Instinctively, his head tilted to the side and his eyes moved upwards, as though them moving in a vaguely searching motion would assist in his search.

It felt like well over a minute had passed yet the clock on the wall would indicate only a few seconds went by before Logan spoke again. “I have decided that, in the best interests of ourselves and our other colleagues, that we should be open about whatever is happening.” Patton noticed that Logan’s cheeks were flushing very slightly as he spoke, something Patton had never really seen on the head librarian before. Had it been a more casual situation, Patton may have said something about how cute it was, but now was far from the right time – especially since Logan was clearly not done. “If need be, I will be the first to air my side.”

Silence fell once more. Virgil was still a statue on the chair behind Patton, while Roman had managed to somehow find his bracelet suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Patton was still unsure of what was even going on, so he had little to say and he only hoped that Logan would start speaking so he could understand.

The standing librarian sighed and seemed to ready himself, “I anticipated this, so I shall begin.” Logan stood straighter and clasped his hands together tightly in front of himself, “I believe that I have found certain aspects within each of you that has given me reason to…” He trailed off, seemingly unsure of how to finish his sentence. “Reason to, like all three of you. And I do not mean in a simply friendly manner. I mean… in a romantic sense.”

Both the volunteers’ heads snapped up so fast, Patton could have sworn he heard their necks make awfully loud noises. Virgil’s eyes were disbelieving and wide, while Roman’s mouth had dropped open comically. Then it hit Patton and he felt like crying, in the best way.

Logan had just said it. He’d said exactly what Patton had wanted to hear. And even better than him just being interested in Patton in such a way, Logan was also interested in both Roman and Virgil too! It couldn’t be better. Patton wanted to smile, wanted to laugh and jump and dance and spin. He was pretty sure he’d never felt so happy. Then Logan spoke once more, his voice still as stoic yet somehow sounding hollow. Patton’s heart sunk immediately.

“However, I am aware that not all of you may reciprocate these feelings, and I would like to make it clear that I understand completely. There is clearly something going on between you, so Roman, Virgil. I would like to let you know that you have my support in your relationship and I hop-”

Logan was cut off by Roman and Virgil’s joint outburst. Both were yelling something along the lines of ‘WHAT?!’ or ‘WOAH! WHAT?’ – Patton couldn’t quite make out what was said due to the overlap. He did notice that the two were glancing between each other and Logan, still in utter disbelief.

Eventually, Roman stood and almost began to pace. “Hold on for just a second, Logan.” He gestured in the head librarian’s direction, his fingers twitching as though he didn’t know if he wanted to simply show his palm or if he wanted to point. “You believe, I mean, you think, that Virgil and I, us, we-” Roman waved his other hand between himself and Virgil wildly, now turning to face Logan straight on, “That WE are together?! I… How? How could- What? Please tell me how you came to that.” Roman asked, almost laughing.

Patton noticed that Virgil had curled back in on himself as Roman had spoken. His eyes were unfocused, his arms wrapped tightly around his torso. His entire body was shaking almost imperceptibly, as though Virgil was fighting hard to control it. But Patton’s focus was split between Virgil’s current situation and the other two who were now speaking.

Logan was clearly thrown off by Roman’s response and so his tone was confused, “Well, I mean… after what Patton and I came across the other day. It seemed to be the only sensible conclusion…?” He ended his sentence with a questioning tone, almost as if he expected Roman to correct him.

 Roman blinked once. Then twice. Then he laughed, hollow and empty, “Logan. Are you kidding me right now? That is what gave you the idea that we were dating? Ha. In my dreams.” Roman almost threw himself down into the chair at the table. Virgil’s head had tilted up only slightly at Roman’s words and Patton could get a look at his face, he seemed utterly dumbfounded. “I mean, I could pray and beg and sacrifice every mortal possession I own to every deity and god there is in the known universe for just a single chance that Virgil, or even Patton, could be interested in me, yet I doubt I would get a response.” Roman continued, his tone harsh yet sad. Then his frustrated gaze that had been directed at the floor raised to catch Logan’s along with yet another outstretched finger, “And you want to know something, Logan. You should really quit with all your assumptions, because you’re way off with both of them that you’ve outlined today. Because I do in fact return your feelings. AND I also clearly share in your affection for them, too! How about that?!” Roman huffed and crossed his arms tightly across his chest. He seemed to be holding back tears, and oh lord, did that make Patton want to get up and hold him and squeeze him so tight. “I didn’t think any of you would accept my feelings… or even return them. I did everything I could to not hold out hope, I couldn’t let myself get too invested or in too deep and end up hurt…”

Patton hated this. He hated that things were getting loud and heated, that everyone seemed upset. Even though they were admitting such lovely feelings. Patton was so utterly conflicted. With both Roman and Logan’s confessions, he was filled with such warm fuzzy feelings that made him so incredibly happy. Yet, as Logan stood there absolutely dead still and in shock and Roman sat with tears in his eyes, Patton was entirely upset. He hated it. What could he say? What should he say? Could he even say anythin-

“You think I wouldn’t like you?”

The way everyone swivelled around to look at Virgil would make an observer think he just screamed, while in fact he’d spoken so softly. Now under scrutiny, Virgil seemed to want to crawl away under the table and hide forever, yet he was using every ounce of bravery to stay where he was. Patton was hopeful for what was about to come out of Virgil’s mouth. Hoping so desperately for him to say it too. Both Roman and Logan also seemed to be hoping; their eyes saying what their mouths didn’t want to.

Virgil’s lip quirked up into a tiny smirk as he locked eyes with Roman, “You should take your own advice some time, Wonder…”

Roman’s eyes widened, yet he still said nothing. From where Patton sat, he could just see that the volunteer’s hands were gripping each other so tightly as if that were the only thing keeping him from asking the question he so desperately wanted the answer to.

“Maybe at the start, I didn’t. You are loud and obnoxious…”

“Hey!”

“But that doesn’t mean shit now. I mean…” Virgil lowered his head, his hair falling into his face and giving him something to hide behind, “I understand the ‘not being hopeful’ thing. It’s kinda all I do… but like, I did it too… How could I not? You guys all seemed to be happy and you just kinda… clicked, y’know? I didn’t fit like that…” Virgil brought his hoodie tighter around himself, his usual shield against the outside world, “But like you guys were so obvious. You could see it from space or whatever. Aliens that had no concept of the idea of love could land a spaceship right next you guys, step out and immediately understand. Like, that kind of obvious.”

Roman clearly went to interject, but Virgil scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Don’t fucking try and say I’m wrong. You two-” he gestured between Roman and Logan, “have this weird fighting chemistry thing going on. I’m surprised one of you didn’t like make-out with the other before this, for real. And then don’t even get me started on you guys with Patton. Like, both of you have been so smiley and giggly and shit. And then Logan, you came out of the office with Patton like a week ago and had like a bright red face. It was so obvious.”

Patton hadn’t realised he’d been staring at Virgil for the entire time he’d been speaking. Finally, he tore his gaze away to get a look at the other two in the room, only to find them both blushing. They looked embarrassed. Did that mean…

“Wait, is that true?!”

Now, all the attention turned to Patton.

Confused silence responded to him. At least, until Virgil spoke once more, now a little out of his safety cocoon, “Is what true?”

“What you said about them and me. Is that true?” Patton asked genuinely.

The others shared glances and Patton simply watched. He couldn’t quite make out what they were silently saying to one another, but whatever it was ended with Roman snorting out a laugh and the other two hiding smiles behind their hands.

“What he said is accurate, yes.” Logan said, his blush only darkening with the affirmation.

“So… we’ve all liked each other for a long time then? Is that what all this was about?” Patton continued to question.

“Apparently, yeah…” Virgil shrugged, finally admitting that he also felt the same.

It was Patton’s turn to burst into laughter. He laughed for minutes, loud and hearty, as the others all shared yet more looks of confusion. Patton clutched his stomach and almost fell out of the chair. It was all so silly to Patton. Eventually, after the pain was becoming too much and he’d been able to calm himself, Patton explained whilst wiping the tears from his eyes.

To him, it had all been so obvious. Virgil had been enamoured with Logan from the first second he’d stepped into the library and Logan had quickly come to find his own attraction. Meanwhile, Roman and Logan’s heated arguments had turned from something with real frustration to something that they partook in for the fun of it. Now, Roman and Virgil had been harder to notice, as they rarely spent a lot of time together, but Patton had seen how hard Roman had tried to get Virgil to laugh for him and – once they’d been caught the other day – Patton noticed just how much Virgil had warmed up to Roman. And, for them being in love with him, well…

“I will admit, I didn’t notice that part…” Patton admitted with a sheepish laugh.

Logan had joined them at the table during Patton’s story, taking up the free chair beside Roman. He chuckled softly, “I hadn’t noticed my own feelings until only a week ago, Patton, so I doubt you had much to notice yourself in regard to myself. But with these two… I do wonder how you managed to be so oblivious.”

“Excuse you! I was doing all I could to not be outwardly showing my feelings, thank you very much!” Roman proclaimed dramatically. The tension and fear had pretty much disappeared from the air between them now, leaving them all in their usual states of being.

Virgil snorted from across the table, “You didn’t do a great job then, did you?”

“Like you were any better!”

The two playfully bantered for a short while before Logan interrupted, reminding them that they still had work to do. They did stay a little longer, only to discuss what they would do now that all of the information was out in the open. Ultimately, they decided to meet up somewhere outside of work to make their final decision – somewhere that was neutral, where their roles at work meant nothing.

It was as they all stood to leave that Patton remembered something. A feeling deep in his chest that was so intense, he couldn’t ignore it.

Patton stood at the door, unmoving. He stopped them all from leaving. They asked what he was doing, and Patton only opened his arms, a silent invitation.

Virgil was the first there. He wrapped his arms around Patton so tightly and laid his head on Patton’s shoulder, as if the man thought he was going to disappear if he didn’t. It was warm, oh so warm. Patton relaxed and, finally, held Virgil close. Roman and Logan joined almost immediately after, both taking up a side of the two already in the embrace. This allowed them to have an arm around each of them, as well as somewhat embrace each other. Patton could feel Roman’s fingers interlink with Logan’s on his back and he couldn’t help the content sigh that fell from his mouth.

Sadly, they couldn’t stay like that for long and they split apart. One by one, they all left the meeting room. Patton stayed behind last, removing the sign off of the door and flicking the light off. Everything would work out; they’d make sure of it.

Chapter Text

“Fuck… where is it?”

Virgil sighed and blew away the hair that had fallen over his eyes as he rummaged through his bag. He searched desperately for his lanyard, all the while cursing himself for his tendency to be over-prepared and never take anything out of his bag ever. Finally, Virgil felt his fingers brush over the fabric and he grasped a hold. As he yanked it out, he realised too late that several other things had gotten tied up alongside it and all of that was now falling to the ground. The lanyard was haphazardly thrown over his head and Virgil dropped to the floor, shoving everything back into his bag as quick as he could. He then placed it in his locker and shut the metal door.

That was something still new to him. That this locker was his.

It had only been a little over two months since that meeting Logan had called when Virgil had gotten a job offer from said librarian. A paid, permanent position kind of job offer. Virgil had, of course, jumped on the opportunity immediately. He’d been assured that his job role would not change all that much; he would simply be rota’d for longer hours, and he’d need to be officially trained – all of which had been remarkably simple.

Now, a month later, here he was, looking at himself in the floor length mirror in the office of the library he worked at. So much had changed, yet it was still sort of the same. Virgil couldn’t quite put everything into words, and he didn’t feel like he wanted to either. As he checked to make sure everything looked good in the mirror, Virgil couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips. The bright bluey green lanyard clashed horrifically with his usual dark brooding aesthetic and it stood out so much that Virgil couldn’t ignore it. Normally, such a loud accessory would make Virgil immediately want to throw it in the bin and never allow it to enter his sight ever again. However, this one meant something to him.

It was something akin to a symbol of where he was now. Something that showed how loved he felt and how much love he felt for his partners who worked with him. Sure, maybe the cute puppy-covered one in the volunteers’ basket downstairs may have done a better job conveying who Virgil loved – at least partially – but Logan had essentially banned it, even in the face of Patton’s patented puppy-dog eyes.

Virgil headed towards the desk closest to the door, getting a glance at the clock. “Shit.” He muttered to himself, grabbing a hold of the black binder and spinning it around so he could read it. He flipped the cover open and ran his finger down the list of names in order to find his. He hastily memorised which sections he was assigned until his break before hurrying out of the office and down the stairs. The last thing Virgil wanted to do was be late.

He approached the cabinets behind the front desk, looking across the trollies full of returned books in order to find his. On the other side, Virgil could hear Patton happily chatting away with a couple of older ladies. The emo allowed himself one quick glance up at his partner, getting a glimpse at that warm smile before he wheeled the cart over to his section.

Minutes passed by as Virgil worked. He fell into his usual rhythm and essentially zoned out. He had been reaching up to put a book back on the top shelf, when arms wrapped around his waist and Virgil was suddenly at eye level with said shelf. He fought hard not to shriek in surprise, instead letting out a strangled yelp and shooting his eye level down. Of course, it was Roman.

Before Virgil could say a word, he found everything spinning. Then, he was back on solid ground with no book in hand. Virgil blinked a couple of times to get his bearings before swatting at Roman’s shoulder, “Fuck you, asshole.” He whispered.

Roman easily avoided Virgil’s hit, twisting his body so the other’s hand flicked uselessly at nothing. Being one for dramatics, Roman immediately put up his hurt façade. His head turned, his eyes shut, one hand coming to rest at the wrist on his forehead while the other reached out for Virgil, “Your words! They wound me so! I don’t know if I can go on with the knowledge that you harbour such fearsome hatred for me!” He cracked open one eye to get a glance at Virgil’s reaction.

The only thing Virgil gave in response was a gentle laugh and shake of his head. He went to turn and get back to his task, but Roman’s outstretched arm grabbed a hold and stopped him.

Virgil rolled his eyes and went to speak, but Roman’s finger resting so gently against his lips stopped him. He felt his cheeks warming, especially as Roman raised Virgil’s hand up in order to press a feather-light kiss to his knuckles.

“Hold that thought until later, my love. I shall count the moments until we can reunite…” Roman smiled charmingly.

Unfortunately, Virgil was becoming used to his charms and tugged his hand away with a scoff. He did offer a fond smile as he shooed the other man off, “Go away already, you’re late.” Virgil watched from the corner of his eye as Roman simply sighed and walked off in the direction of the stairs. Once he was sure Roman wasn’t able to hear him, Virgil allowed himself to laugh quietly to himself. The emo wasn’t about to let the other know that he was doing that good at getting to him.

Though, Virgil was likely an open book by now. Movement just in his field of vision had Virgil turning to look and he ended up watching the following events with a disbelieving smile. Roman had returned to the main floor and was now standing by the front desk, chatting with Patton. He reached out and performed a similar set of moves on Patton. Instead of kissing the librarian’s knuckles, however, Roman instead guided Patton onto his feet and initiated a clumsy dance of sorts – ending with Roman taking up the seat and Patton blushing a fierce pink. It was sickeningly sweet, and Virgil couldn’t help but love it.

Virgil would have rolled his eyes and pretended to vomit had it been anyone else. Instead, he simply smiled warmly – returning the wave Patton gave him once their gazes caught. Virgil forced himself back to his work before Roman could get a glance at him. He really didn’t want the gloating and teasing that would come from that.

It was a few hours past that when Virgil trudged up the stairs in order to seek refuge in the office for his break. His legs felt heavy, his feet ached, and his shoulders were tense; his body was still not entirely used to the new hours and amount of work he was doing. Virgil was just looking forward to getting to sit down for a while. Thankfully, not a single patron accosted him on his way through. Just a few more steps stood between Virgil and the office door. Or, at least, that’s how it should have been.

Virgil stopped at the top of the stairs and stared for a few seconds. Logan seemed to be standing idly in front of the door, unmoving as though he were engrossed in something. However, arms wrapped around his waist told Virgil a different story. He didn’t need to lean to the side in order to know that Patton was there too. When Virgil did get the better look, he did see that it wasn’t as though they were just staring at each other – of course, they were sharing a kiss.

The wheel of responses spun in Virgil’s head. He could almost hear the clicking of the… the arrow thing? On those picking wheels? Virgil didn’t have time for this. He just wanted to sit down. So, he quickly landed on his go-to response.

“Blech. Gross.” Virgil made a fake vomiting sound, exaggeratedly gagging and sticking out his tongue.

Patton’s head then popped out from behind Logan, while Logan himself glanced over his shoulder to see who had interrupted them. They both seemed surprised to find Virgil standing there.

“If you’re gonna make out, do it somewhere no one has to see you… or at least in a place that isn’t in the way.”

The shorter of the two immediately grinned and moved around Logan to approach Virgil, looping his arms around the emo instead. “Aw, c’mon Virgil. You love it, don’t hide it.” He teased.

Virgil merely blinked and remained unimpressed, “Yeah, no. I don’t think so.”

A deep chuckle came from behind Patton and that set Virgil on edge. Logan only ever made that sound when he had some sort of… scheme. He was formulating some kind of plan and – while Virgil trusted his judgement, it didn’t make him any less nervous for what was to come. “Perhaps Virgil is right. We should take this to a spot where Virgil doesn’t have to see it…” Logan was specifically looking at Patton, as though he was hinting at something and only looking deep into his eyes would give someone the answer.

Patton initially looked confused, the grin falling from his face for a moment. Virgil glanced between the two, trying to figure out what silent conversation was happening in front of him. He wasn’t able to decipher it before Patton made a quiet sound of comprehension and started giggling. Virgil was in for it now.

“I guess you’re right, Lo. Let’s go. Sorry to be in your way, Virgie.” Patton released Virgil and gestured for the emo to approach the door.

Virgil gave both the librarians a suspicious once-over before he even thought about taking a single step closer to the door. Eventually, after a slightly snarky comment from Logan which Virgil rebutted, he cautiously started to take the four or so steps it would take to reach the office door. He was just about to tap his card to the sensor when his shoulders were caught by two hands and kisses were being pressed to his cheeks.

It felt like time stopped in the moment. Out of all the possible scenarios that had run through Virgil’s mind, this was definitely not one of them. His cheeks were burning, and his eyes were wide. To his left, Logan was simply resting his hand upon Virgil’s shoulder and pressing his lips so gently that it could only be described as chaste. To his right, Patton’s arms were curled around Virgil’s and he was enthusiastically pressing his kiss to his cheek with a clear smile.

They obviously weren’t there for long, but it felt like an eternity before Virgil’s brain returned to him. His hands flew up to cover his face as he whined in protest and embarrassment. The sound was drowned out by the sudden over-the-top gasping and scoffing that came from behind him. Ever so slowly, Virgil turned to see that Roman had joined them and was apparently very offended at being left out.

“How could you?! All of you! Excluding me?! How horribly rude!” Roman stalked forward, a fierce determination in his eyes. He reached around and used Virgil’s pass to trigger the sensor that unlocked the door, before opening it and practically dragging Virgil in. “I shall show Virgil how romance is truly done!” His expression suddenly switched to suspicion, “Wait a moment… shouldn’t both of you be back to work already? If I am correct, your breaks were over 5 minutes ago! I might just report you both for this!”

Virgil couldn’t quite see past Roman, who’d jammed himself between the door and the door frame, but he could still hear Patton’s giggly voice, “I suppose you’re right, Roman. We should be getting back down there.”

“I agree. Whatever would we do if we were reported, Patton?”

“I don’t even wanna think about it! C’mon Lo. See you two later!”

Footsteps started to descend the stairs; the tell-tale sound of Logan’s well-kept work shoes clicking against the plastic edging of each step telling Virgil everything. Roman extracted himself from the doorway, muffling the sound by letting the door swing shut. After a quick conversation about where they would go for lunch, the two grabbed their things and headed back out.

Altogether, their lunch break was uneventful. They ended up at a rather quiet café nearby the library that had only opened recently. Virgil had picked a table right by the windows so he could people-watch, while Roman took care of ordering their food. It was calm, even when Roman joined him, and they started chatting about anything and everything. They simply were enjoying each other’s company as well as some decent food and relaxation. Virgil thoughts strayed in a particularly quiet moment where Roman was engrossed in his notebook. Roman had been the most difficult for him to find the common ground with. Not in terms of interest, no, they had that in spades – it was in their levels of intensity and what they were comfortable with.

It had taken a good few conversations between not just the two of them, but also with their other partners for it to reach a good place. Roman had been doing his best to not have the loudest, craziest outbursts when he was out with only Virgil, while Virgil had been learning how to better communicate how he was feeling about things without losing his composure as much. It was still a work in progress, and they butted heads every now and then, but it was never going to be perfect straight away. Anyway, sometimes Roman’s dramatics and attention-grabbing antics were fun, and Virgil actually appreciated them.

“You okay over there, emoodle?” Roman lightly tapped his pencil against Virgil’s hand whilst also nudging his foot, bringing Virgil back to the real world.

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I’m good. Just thinking…” Virgil said, before raising a questioning eyebrow, “Where did ‘emoodle’ come from? Not one of your best.”

Roman responded nonchalantly, “It just came to me.”

“You noticed the guy eating noodles over there, didn’t you?”

“Quiet.”

As they neared the end of their hour-long break, the pair wandered slowly back towards the library and up to the office. Virgil slipped his bag back into his locker, gave himself a quick once over in the mirror and approached the black binder – following his morning pattern almost beat for beat. However, as he checked his sections, a weight draped over his back and arms wound around his waist loosely.

Not a word was said. Virgil indicated Roman’s next few tasks by running his finger along the page, while Roman offered only an acknowledging hum in response. It was comfortable and warm in the embrace; Virgil really didn’t want to leave it. A part of him wanted to turn and embrace his partner completely, burying his face into the delightful heat that radiated from Roman’s body. A quick glance up to the clock on the wall told him that his desire would have to wait. Virgil let out a gentle breath and stepped out of Roman’s arms, who put up no resistance. They exited the office and parted ways, still with no words.

Time trickled by as Virgil returned books to the shelves, tidied tables and assisted the odd library patron here and there. The light filtering in through the high windows started to dim and the fluorescent ceiling lights began to help more and more. Before he knew it, the sky above was alight with oranges and pinks, meaning it was time to close up.

Virgil descended the main stairs, watching Patton as he said goodbye to the final remaining members of public who were leaving. He ended up waiting at the front desk for the doors to be locked. Patton, after noticing Virgil waiting, almost skipped over with joy, “Shall we get started?”

Fridays were the only days where all four of them were around to close, when on every other day, only two were normally on hand to do so. This meant that tasks got done far quicker. They’d already figured out a system: Roman and Logan would do a final sweep of the bookshelves and office while Virgil and Patton were responsible for clearing up any rubbish left around on the tables and generally clearing up the surfaces.

Thanks to it being an especially quiet day, Virgil and Patton had very little to do and were done in under an hour. They were standing near the back exit with their things; Virgil scrolling on his phone while his arms were resting over Patton’s shoulders to let him see as well. After far too long of that, Virgil pouted and double checked the time.

“Where are they? There can’t be that much to do…”

“I dunno. I haven’t seen either of them since we started…”

Virgil rolled his shoulders and pocketed his phone, “Well, let’s get looking for them.”

They split up and began to peak around bookshelves and in every corner they knew of. Virgil started on the downstairs, while Patton took the second level. With each passing empty space, Virgil’s mind began to worry that something horrible had happened. But then Patton leant over the glass banister, making a hissing sound to get the emo’s attention and motioning for Virgil to come upstairs.

He took the stairs two at a time and hurried over to Patton. Virgil opened his mouth to ask if Patton had found them, but Patton motioned for him to be quiet and just follow. Virgil did as he was told, some of his fears put aside. Patton wouldn’t be doing this if there was a problem. Finally, he stopped and pointed between two bookshelves. He was trying to stifle his laughter as best he could as Virgil turned to see. A snort left Patton as Virgil sighed and shook his head.

Roman was currently trapped up against one of the bookshelves, held in place by Logan’s strong grip on his shoulders. Their lips were locked; Logan clearly being in control of the situation as Roman looked almost entirely passive. Well, besides the hands grasping at Logan’s torso. Of course this is why they’d be late.

Virgil pulled his phone out, held it up and turned on the flashlight. Immediately, someone yelped in surprise and Virgil lowered the light to see two of his partners now staring at him, “Are you two done? Can we go?” Patton was pulsing with his suppressed giggles now.

Somehow, Logan looked completely unfazed, “Apologies, it seems we got carried away.”

“You think?”

“I was just teaching Roman a lesson, specifically how that was properly done.”

“Dibs on the next lesson!” Patton threw his hand up in the air and bounced on his toes, as if he desperately wanted to be picked to answer a question in class.

Logan adjusted his glasses, exiting from between the bookshelves and walking towards the office, “That is not how that works, Patton, you can’t call dibs on that…” His voice seemed to hold a tinge of frustration, but the gentle look in his eyes betrayed him.

Virgil watched him go for a moment, seeing how Patton trotted behind him and toyed with him on the subject, before checking on Roman, who still looked a little dazed. “Hey, wake up. Time to head out.”

“Huh? O-oh, right, yes.” Roman physically shook himself to clear the heady feeling before he followed behind Virgil.

Finally, they all made it out the back door. Logan pocketed the key after locking the door, turning to his partners, “What shall we do now?”

It took very little deliberation before they settled on their usual Friday evening plan. A short ways down the street was a takeout place that was open until fairly late. The door was propped open as always, allowing them to enter without any hassle. Before Logan stepped up to the counter, he turned and asked if his partners had any changes from their usual. Everyone said no and he proceeded to order for all four of them, as well as pay – despite several protests that ranged in intensity.

In no time at all, they had their food in hand and had already left the small shop. While there were spots to sit inside to eat, there weren’t enough for all four of them. So, they instead wandered slowly back over to the library and took up their favourite spot.

Virgil sat on a low wall that connected to the library, while Patton and Roman perched themselves on the steps next to the wall. Logan remained standing, only leaning a little against the wall beside Virgil. They ate their food, enjoying the cool evening air after a full day of being inside. Virgil decided that this was what people meant when they said a moment felt perfect – practically everything he loved happened in these moments. They remained in their spot long after they’d finished their food.

It wasn’t until Patton began to shiver and Roman wrapped his arms around Patton that an unasked question started looming over the four of them. Silence fell between them all and Roman cast a glance between Virgil and Logan as he finally said the words he never wanted to say, “Maybe we should start to think about heading home? It is getting a little cold…”

No one wanted to agree, but they knew it was the most sensible thing. Two of them did have the early shift tomorrow as well, so staying up late wasn’t exactly on their list of fun things to do. Very slowly, they all got back to their feet and started heading around the building, towards where Logan’s car waited for him.

Patton, who was still wrapped in Roman’s arms, buried his face against his shoulder. Virgil reached out and easily laced his fingers together with Patton’s in an attempt to be comforting. The fact Patton raised his head and smiled did wonders.

However, it was far too short a walk and they were in the car park behind the library in only a couple of minutes. This was always the hardest part; who would be the first to say goodbye.

“Well.” Roman said, after taking a loud breath and smiling, “Today was fantastic. I’ll, see you all during the week… I suppose…” He trailed off, smile faltering a little. Virgil could tell he wasn’t exactly liking the prospect of not seeing his partners for a few days.

“It really was! I’m glad we do this every week. Can’t wait til… next week…” Patton was trying so hard to be optimistic, but the way his eyes glanced back at the hill he’d have to walk up told Virgil that the usually bubbly librarian was also not having the greatest time.

“Yeah, I mean… it’s pretty alright, I guess…” Virgil managed to get out, eyes now cast downward at a very interesting pebble he was toying with. In order for him to leave, he’d need to head back where they just were and keep going that way. A part of him said it would have been better to leave when they were over there, maybe it would have been easier.

“Would you all like a lift home?”

Logan’s suggestion immediately relit the light behind Roman and Patton’s eyes, while Virgil glanced up hopeful that this wasn’t a joke.

It wasn’t until Virgil was sat in the front seat beside Logan while Patton and Roman clambered into the back that it hit Virgil that Logan wasn’t joking around. They figured the route they’d need to go, who would be dropped off first and all that before setting off. Roman demanded control of the music from the back seat and Virgil fought back, refusing to relinquish his hold on the position.

“Shotgun gets to control the music, Roman. It’s basically the law.” Virgil shot over his shoulder, scrolling through his music.

“But Virgil, we don’t need depressing emo music right now!” Roman pleaded. He went to reach for Virgil’s phone, but he was stopped by Patton grabbing his arm and scolding him. His protests eventually went away when Virgil compromised and put on something they could all agree on.

After minutes of loud singing and joyful laughter, they stopped outside Roman’s home. He leant into the gap between the front seats in order to offer a kiss goodnight to his two boyfriends there, who were willing to indulge him. Roman gave one to Patton as well before he slipped out of the car. He stood out on the pavement, waving goodbye as they drove off. Patton had turned around in his seat to wave back.

“Finally, some peace and quiet.” Virgil sighed. The immediate response of more scolding from Patton made Virgil grin playfully. He stood his ground and offered implausible defences for his stance, which did their job of convincing Patton he was only joking.

They finished just moments before Logan announced they were coming up on Patton’s home. Once the car had stopped, Patton shot out of the back seats and made his way to the front. He pulled open the door and gave his boyfriends hugs and kisses goodnight, while telling them to message once they got home safely. He only allowed Logan to shut his door once they’d both agreed. Patton then stood and waved until the car was out of sight.

It was then just Virgil and Logan. It was now far quieter, as the two weren’t exactly what they’d call the life of the party. The quiet did allow Virgil to think once again. He realised something as he looked at Logan’s brief reflections in the windshield.

All of this had started with Logan. With the stupidly attractive head librarian who’d given Virgil a chance. And now, here they were, sat in Logan’s car after having just dropped off their other two loving boyfriends. It was a lot to suddenly process, but Virgil felt like he needed to thank Logan, to properly express his gratitude for being part of the reason he was here right now.

He got his chance once they pulled up outside his home. Logan turned to him and asked, “This is yours, correct?” Virgil could only nod, as he didn’t trust his throat not to close up on him if he tried to speak. “Right, well, I suppose this is goo-” Logan was cut off by Virgil throwing himself across the console between them and kissing him frantically.

But it was over as quick as it began. Virgil’s mind raced and he muttered apologies and goodnights as he fumbled with the handle to the car door. He was just about to step out, when Logan’s hand rested on his arm and had him stopping dead.

“Virgil.”

The man in question turned and locked eyes with Logan, who’s gaze was soft and understanding in that way that only Logan could pull off; still somehow serious yet incredibly loving. Virgil’s nerves soothed a little at the sight.

“It’s okay. I believe I understand.”

Virgil smiled gently, “Thanks Logan… I, uh… I’ll see you tomorrow…” He finally slipped out of the car and shut the door.

“See you tomorrow, Virgil.”

The car began to drive off down the street as Virgil stood on the steps outside. It may have been a cold night, but Virgil wasn’t feeling any of it. He was warm and tingly all over. It was weird, but it wasn’t so bad. Only once Logan’s car had completely gone out of sight did Virgil open his door and step inside. It may be a lonely night for them all, asleep in their cold empty beds, but they weren’t truly alone. Eventually, one day, they might even be able to all find a home together. That thought put Virgil’s mind at ease for a moment and made him genuinely smile. Tomorrow would come, and it would be fine.