Reluctant

3

Janus is sitting alone in his room when he hears shouting. Immediately, he leaps up and presses an ear to his door. He can't hear much, only snippets: "thought you cared", "cheated on me", "better than this", a few words like that. But it's more than enough to confirm his suspicions. 

His plan worked. 

The fake photo Remus helped him summon must have been pretty convincing. He feels like he could fly - he did it! But then he hears something that draws his shiny new future into question. 

Crying. Virgil crying. 

And the entire situation comes crashing down on him. Virgil is upset. Devastated, even. After all, he was just told that his boyfriend was cheating on him, of course he's unhappy! Janus tries to justify it to himself. It was the only way I'd even have a chance, Virgil was too blinded by his affections for that stuck-up jerk to ever see me. It had to happen. Logan didn't appreciate him anyway. 

But his reasoning falls flat, even to himself, as the truth of the matter sinks in. Virgil is hurting. 

He hurt Virgil. 

He collapses onto his bed, trying and failing to keep himself from crying. What has he done? He didn't mean for it to be like this! He knows he should have seen it coming, but he never meant for Virgil to get hurt! 

And the worst part is that he knows no matter what he does now, he's ruined everything. He can't just let Virgil (and Logan, he supposes) suffer over some stupid fake photo! But if he tells them what he did, Virgil would despise him forever. 

The simple solution is to lie, but it's so hard to lie to someone you love. 

Janus sighs. He knows he messed up, and he doesn't know how to fix it. Maybe a solution will come to him eventually...? But he doesn't think it will. He buries his face in his pillow as a sense of hopelessness swallows him. 

/// 

Patton feels like crying as he makes his way to Virgil's room. He really did think Logan (and Roman) were better than this, and he doesn't know what to say so that Virgil isn't hurting. 

He knocks on the door, but Virgil doesn't answer. Slightly worried, he opens the door slowly - so if Virgil really doesn't want to see him, he can stop him. But nothing happens, so Patton slips inside. 

Virgil is huddled under a blanket, and even from several meters away, Patton can see that he's shaking. Tears prick his eyes. Poor Virgil... He steps slightly closer. "Hey, kiddo." His voice is soft. 

And suddenly Virgil's standing, and launching himself at Patton, and sobbing into his shoulder. Patton is shocked, but he hugs Virgil back, trying to offer as much comfort as he can. After a moment, Virgil's sobs begin to form words. "What- what do I d-do, Dad?" he hiccups. "I th-thought he- he cared about me." 

Patton gently maneuvers out of the hug to look Virgil in the eye. He's barely keeping from crying himself, but he can't fall apart when someone needs him. Hold it together for Virgil. 

"Listen, kiddo," he begins hesitantly. "I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through right now. How much it must hurt. And I know it might not feel like very much right now, but I'm here for you. I care about you. I'll do anything I can to help." 

And Virgil's crying again, arms around him. Patton strokes his hair, whispering "It'll be okay" and "I'm here for you", because that's what a father does. That's what a friend does. 

That's what a boyfriend should have done... or just not hurt him in the first place!!  

Patton pushes the thought aside. His anger won't help anyone right now. 

But god, he wishes he could just take Virgil's pain away from him. His poor kiddo...