Hello, fellow fanders!
Okay, so there's been a thing I've noticed recently which I think impacts a lot of people who are into fandom.
So I've been on a high with the ATLA fandom recently, (especially zukka they're so cute istg) but I've kinda been running out of fanfiction on AO3 to read about them. And for some reason my excitement in other fandoms have been sinking a little as well, and so I was really bored.
I went on a walk to try to take my mind off of things but I was just feeling crappy.
I think this is what happens when we devote too much time to things that create quick dopamine release, like my personal fanfic-addiction. Even looking at the word fanfiction makes my brain perk up, and it's kind of freaking me out. So I know I sound like a boomer, and there's no way I'm going to stop reading fanfiction any time soon, but this is just a reminder to try and derive dopamine and feel-good vibes from things that aren't just related to the internet or technology, because once you take that away, it leaves you feeling like crap.
Anyway, sorry about the long author's note.
WARNINGS: Implied homophobia, references to bullying, I think that's it?
.............
"Virgil!"
The moment he stepped out of the car he was smothered by flowing scarves and bouncing curls. He felt his lips curve upward as he wrapped his hands around Janice, taking in the smell of dusty clothing and cinnamon.
"Hey." he said, pulling back a little to pick up his bag.
"Mike's waiting in the car." she said, wrapping an arm around his forearm and leading him to the parking lot. "We were in a mess getting here, let me tell you. I kept telling Mike to turn on the GPS but he was determined to prove he could get there without."
"Well how did he do?" asked Virgil, falling back into the easy rhythm of letting Janice talk and periodically asking questions. She glanced at him and pursed her lips.
"We took the wrong exit four times."
The two of them made their way down the parking lot, and Virgil was swamped with a feeling of nostalgia. He hadn't been to this side of the school since Mike had dropped him off. The few deciduous trees around them had lost their leaves, but the overall picture of the space was that it was flourishing.
"So how did the term go?"
Virgil's eyes meet Janice's green ones in the rear-view mirror. "It was good. Apart from the big things." Mike's eyes flitted up to join too.
"That whole Thomas situation was a real shock, you'd think they'd be more careful about this sort of thing." he said, his eyes back on the road.
"Yeah," agreed Janice. "And that thing with your friend's medicine! How's he doing, by the way?"
"Logan's doing good. A bit stressed, but anxiety and stuff, so that's pretty much it."
"Hey isn't that the kid you have a crush on?"
"Mike!"
"What? Isn't it?" His eyes met Virgil's again. "It is, right?"
If the seat split open and swallowed him right about now, Virgil would be very happy.
"Aw, look at you!" Janice rolled up her window as the merged onto the highway, her dimple shining through as she smiled at Virgil. "Y'know, I was exactly the same when I was your age, all it took was a boy with big arms and brown eyes to make me drop everything."
"Ew," said Virgil, his face screwing up. Mike stared at her with his jaw hanging open.
"Is that why you dated Kelly in senior year?"
"I thought that was obvious."
"No it wasn't-"
Virgil left the parents to their argument and took out his headphones, letting the familiar warmth settle over his ears and blocking out the smaller sounds around him. Mike had gotten him noise cancelling ones around a year ago when a few assholes dumped his old ones in a clogged sink.
He'd been really attached to those ones, they had been a gift from an older foster-sibling he'd had. Janice had tried to get them repaired but they were unsalvageable, and had disinfected them instead. They now lay in a box under Virgil's bed at home.
"Wait, before you put those on, what do you wanna grab for lunch?" asked Janice.
Virgil shrugged, "You guys can pick."
"Chick-fil-a sound good?"
"Sure."
He melted against his seat, feeling the tension in his body drain for the first time in a while.
+++++
Queerin was great and all, but there was something special about returning back to Mike and Janice's house, and settling back into his lavender-smelling room. The walls were painted a gentle lilac by Mike when he moved in, and he'd eventually grown fond of the strangely chopping wallpaper-ing of the hallway.
The room was filled with memories, some good, some bad. Two years was a long time after all. MIke and Janice were perfectly fine with him, and as far as he could tell they didn't want to cast him out, but there was always a lingering feeling of how long? streaking the walls.
Plastered over that were fairy lights and family pictures; the first shopping trip they'd taken him on where he'd got his purple hoodie, the look on his face when he tried it on and liked it. The first time they'd taken him to the beach was commemorated by a picture of him with ice-cream on his nose -- he ended up getting so badly sunburnt he looked like a tomato, but that was beside the point. A photo of Mike and Janice on their wedding day that they'd found while cleaning out the attic sat on his bedside table, slightly dusty from his absence.
His bed was neatly made and had a few of his older plushies sitting on it. They'd previously been in the cupboard, making it obvious that Janice had been through his room.
There was a dent in the wall from when threw something at it a few months after moving in, and a scratch on his bedside table from the time he'd scraped a chair against it during a panic attack. Framed on his table was a picture of a seven-year-old Virgil standing next to a small boy with vitiligo he'd met at school -- He couldn't remember his name exactly, but he knew it sounded like Janice's.
He dumped his bag on the floor and changed into an old t-shirt and some jeans, forgoing his hoodie due to the excellent heating in the house. The ratty alarm clock on his dresser said that is was around four, Mike's parents would be here around six. He had two hours to mentally prepare.
"Virgil! Come down here and help me with the salad please!"
"Coming!"
Mike was in the kitchen, watching a pot bubble.
"Gravy?"
"You betcha," he beamed. "Janice wants me to cut down on the meat, so this is a vegetarian version."
"Isn't gravy just the broth though?" asked Virgil, tying an apron around his waist.
"Eh, potato potahto."
Mike held out a spoon. "Wanna taste?"
Virgil tried it, and couldn't stop himself from making a face. Mike's face fell. "That bad, huh."
"No, it's not bad... just different than what I'm used to." he washed his hands and manned his position at the cutting board, starting up on dicing carrots.
"Everyone knows that's just a nicer way of saying it's bad, Virgil."
"It really isn't. Where's Janice?"
"She's getting the good china from the attic." Virgil raised an eyebrow, and Mike sighed. "I know, but you know how they are, they won't settle for less."
There was a crash from upstairs, and Mike's eyes widened.
"Honey?"
"I'm fine!" Came a faint call. "I just tripped. Oh -"
"Janice?"
"Uh, I may have smashed my elbow into something-"
"Oh my god," he wiped his hands on a towelette and turned to Virgil apologetically. "Think you can watch it, kiddo?" Virgil nodded, and Mike disappeared into the hallway, leaving him alone with a basket of unchopped vegetables and two boiling pots.
Virgil decided the pots took precedence, and went to stir them using an abandoned spoon. Mike's parents may be nice, but they were anything if not foodies. Burned gravy would not be appreciated.
His phone buzzed as he was absent mindedly stirring the thickening liquid, and he dug it out of his pocket to take a look. A text from Patton popped up, and he smiled. He turned the heat to low and set the spoon aside before double-tapping.
Patton: Heya v!
Virgil: hey Patton.
Patton: Howre you doing so far? Feeling greatful?
Virgil: This holiday shouldn't exist.
Patton: Ikr
Patton: But apart from that
Virgil: Meh. the grandparents arent here yet, im helping mike cook
Patton: Oof. I wish you luck
Patton: Dont burn anything!
Virgil gave the gravy a stir, just to be sure.
Virgil: I kinda feel bad for getting bad vibes from the grandparents
Patton: Virgil vibes are vibes. Ur still nice to them, arent you?
Virgil: yea
Patton: Then whats the problem?
Patton: I gotta go, luv uuuuuuu
Virgil: bi
Virgil went back to watching the gravy bubble, and he realised that he hadn't asked Patton about how he was. Should he call back? But the conversation had already ended, so Patton would probably think he was weird. But it was Patton, he didn't judge Virgil.
Maybe he does and you just don't realise it.
Shut up.
"Virgil!" Virgil looked up to see Mike standing in the doorway, looking at him sheepishly. "Could you get the first aid kit for me?"
Virgil nodded, making his way over to the hallway cupboard. The stairs to the attic were folded down next to it. Virgil squeezed himself in the gap between the wall and the stairs, and reached up to retrieve the little green bag. He handed it to Mike, who thanked him quickly before making his way back up.
Virgil frowned.
"Is she okay?" he called after him.
"I'm fine, Virgil," answered an exasperated voice. "He's just being dramatic."
"You cut your elbow open-"
"You what?!"
"I didn't, it's just a cut, Virgil, I promise it's fine," she used the tone she usually did to comfort him, and he felt himself relaxing. "Also, aren't you supposed to be stirring something right now?"
"Oh shit-"
"Language!"
"Sorry!"
Virgil gay-walked back to the kitchen and started stirring the gravy again. He winced at the resistance on the bottom of the pot, and turned to face Mike sheepishly when he walked in.
"It burned."
Mike tried a bit of the gravy, and patted Virgil on the back. "It's hardly noticeable. Thanks for taking over, kid. Could you get back to dicing now?"
++++
"Hello, sweetheart." laughed Mike's mother as she kissed him. "How are you!"
"I'm fine, mum," replied Mike smiling. "Hi, dad."
"Heya, sport. Hey, Virgil!" said Richard, grinning at Virgil. Virgil gave back a slightly shy smile. "How're you doing?"
"I'm doing good, thank you. Do you want me to take that for you?" he asked, eyeing the pea coat slung over Richard's forearm. The older man simply laughed and declined, before making his way into the living room. Molly gave him a once over before saying-
"You've got some color to you! Have you been doing anything?"
"Uh, not really." he said lamely.
"It's that school, Molls," said Janice brightly, wiping her hands as she came into the living room. "It's been doing wonders for him."
Virgil agreed, but he still didn't like being spoken for.
"Ah, yes! Quellings, was it?"
"Queren." said Virgil from his seat in the armchair. Both couples were sitting on the sofas and he was sitting jutted slightly to the side of Mike and Janice, something he didn't have a problem with, per say, but it did leave him open to scrutiny.
"It's a bit strange, isn't it? Having a school for that kind of thing?" piped up Richard, squinting slightly at Virgil. "Are you sure you're doing well there? Your grades were perfectly fine at that other school, although joining a sport would still do you some good."
"Dad-" started Mike uncomfortably, but Virgil interrupted him. Observing Patton had taught him high and far on how to be passive aggressive to nearly anybody on any subject, and it was time to put that knowledge to good use.
"Actually, it's been pretty great. All the teachers are really nice and don't force us to do anything if we're not feeling too great about it and the students are great too," Richard's expression was silent, but Virgil continued on feigning innocence. "There are a bunch of clubs too."
"Are you part of any?" asked Molly, smiling. Virgil's brain froze.
"Uh, no."
Janice shot him a grimace, and he shrugged back. It wasn't like he could say anything else.
"Well as long as you're learning I guess," said Richard, looking like he'd sucked a lemon. "In my day kids were tougher."
"With all due respect, Richard, in your day people had just come out of a war. And besides, the school's been doing wonders for Virgil, and he's made some friends too."
Virgil felt a flicker of annoyance at the fact she was talking about him like he wasn't there.
There was a faint ding! from the kitchen, and Mike smiled. "That should be the turkey! Are you guys up for some grub?" Molly giggled and stood, brushing non-existent wrinkles off of her skirt.
"Are we ever!"
Janice and Mike led Richard out of the room, leaving Virgil alone with Molly. She smiled at him, and gestured for him to walk with her.
"I'm sorry about that, Virgil. Richard has always been too manly for his own good." Virgil smiled, feeling some of the tension in his chest dissipate.
"It's no problem. How are you doing?"
"Oh, old age will always have it's downsides," she chuckled. "Is that school better than the previous one?"
"Way better."
"Well I'm glad you're enjoying it."
The two of them entered the dining room and took their places. Virgil watched the adults interact silently, and took a check of how he was feeling. Mike and Janice had told him that if he wanted to leave the dinner at any point he could just say he had a stomach ache and they would cover for him, but after the conversation with Molly...
Well, maybe he was doing okay.