Summary: While at work Virgil spots a couple that are unhealthy for each other and dedicates himself to help.
I see a load of old fan fictions with Janus as the perpetrator of toxic relationships and he's hardly ever the victim - so I thought I'd bring a story like that here.
TW - Heavy mentions of domestic abuse, someone controlling what another person is eating/doing, mention of homelessness and family estrangement.
Words: 2122
Virgil loved his job at an expensive Italian restaurant in the centre of the city. It gave him good pay and apart from the few snobs the patrons were quite relaxed. It was hectic enough to cause excitement but not enough to cause panic. The only part of working as a waiter was when he had to hear the phrase 'angel shot'.
But sometimes he heard the phrase 'angel shot' without actually hearing it. This was one of those times. It was a date between two men, one seemed a bit more aggressive than the other in terms of body language. The weaker man was forced to put his phone on the table as soon as he sat down, and his hands crossed over his lap as if this whole act was rehearsed. The stronger man then sat and grabbed the menu, and after a few minutes the other man was allowed to do the same.
Luckily Virgil had that table so after a few minutes he could introduce himself to these concerning patrons. But when he asked what drink they'd prefer the weaker man didn't speak, just watched his partner as he ordered a red wine bottle. A few minutes later the wine was given and the stronger man was forcing the weaker to drink and not argue. It made Virgil feel sick to watch.
"Have you decided what you would like to eat yet?" Technically Virgil was meant to give them more time to choose, but Virgil wanted to hear this victim's voice just once. But the man still said nothing - as the other man spoke for him.
"I'll have the Sicilian pizza please." Of course this man ordered the third most expensive dish on the menu. "And my darling here just wants a salad." The man that apparently wanted a salad just looked emotionless, his eyes stuck on the menu and particularly the side of the pastas, but he nodded and obeyed. Virgil, however, would never just comply with these dickheads.
"OK... So that's a salad on the side, what about main course?" Virgil turned quickly to the quiet man, ignoring the clicking the dickhead did to get the waiter's attention again. But the man didn't speak - just stared. Another tactic Virgil had to use. "Wait..." The waiter pretended to count on his notepad. "Oh! You're actually our 100th order of the day so you get to take an order from our Angel Menu if you'd like. Do you want to follow me to see our selection? It also brings a discount on your date here."
The man paused and stared at his date, his head tilted. At the knowledge of the discount the dickhead complied and finally allowed his date to step away from him and go to the other side of the restaurant.
The quiet man didn't seem that willing to talk even when away from his date, it took some prying. "Is this your first date?" Virgil started, but got nothing. "How long have you two known each other?" Nothing. "Is he nice to you?"
"He's... Alright." The quiet man's voice was so low and smooth, docile though. "He supplies for me and our son. That's all I can ask for." The man seemed to understand there was no Angel Menu when he was properly hidden from his date, and he felt comfortable revealing a little more in quiet whispers.
"You can ask for a nice person, is he that?" The man shook his head and sighed, and then eventually moved his collar to reveal a pretty big bruise. Virgil's heart broke it two but he tried not to show emotion.
"I deserved it though - Thomas dropped his juice and I didn't clean it up in ti-"
"You did not deserve it." Virgil said harshly, hating that some of humanity still thought they had a reason to hurt another person. He hated having first hand experience with this. "I can call you an Uber to take you back to someone you trust? I'll keep that dickhead at bay for you."
But the quiet man shook his head. "I can't. I have a kid at home that needs both parents."
"They do not need that piece of shit." Virgil's emotions had to take over at this point as memories surfaced of his childhood. "I know from personal experience, my life improved tremendously once my mother escaped my ex-father and I felt so much safer." The man had a flutter of emotion in his eyes and he nodded. "But I can't force you to do anything. It's completely your choice what you do from here."
The man looked awkward and brushed his arm against his hand, sighing and looking back to his date. "I think I just want to go back to my date please."
"Of course."
*****
The bad thing about being a waiter was that Virgil often ended his shift late as he often helped clean the kitchen and dining area. That date was the talk of the evening amongst the staff, everyone could tell that couple was bad news. But unfortunately there was nothing they could do about it. The couple was still on Virgil's mind though as he was walking home through the rain back to his apartment a few blocks over.
And he was stopped when he saw the silhouette of a short man, holding a young child in his arms and hiding in the shelter of the balcony at the front door of a block of apartments. And as Virgil got closer he could recognise the man was crying, then he realised who it was.
"Hey, hey! Were you the person I served at the restaurant earlier?" It was the quiet man, and he paused his tears as soon as he recognised Virgil. The baby in his arms seemed to be asleep and unbothered by the rain, covered in a blanket. Virgil stayed his distance. "Are you safe?"
The man sniffled and looked away for a second before responding. "He threw us out because of what you told me."
Virgil's heart broke again. "I'm sorry to hear that. Do you have a safe place to go or should I call somebody for you?" The man had no suitcases and not even a backpack. He was just alone with a baby - literally thrown out like trash.
"I'm estranged to my family so I literally have nowhere to go." The man whispered, struggling to hold the baby as he began to wriggle and wake up. Luckily Virgil knew a place that was safe and warm for the family in need.
"I can take you to the domestic violence shelter if you need a place to sleep?" The man smiled a little bit at that offer and ran down the stairs, taking shelter under Virgil's umbrella as the baby's eyes started to open - but he wasn't at the stage of awake where he'd ask a million questions about what was happening.
After a few minutes of walking the man finally introduced himself. Virgil supposed he wasn't used to doing so. "I'm Janus, by the way." The man whispered, receiving a smile from Virgil. "And this is little Thomas - he'll be 2 in a few months."
"It's great to finally meet you." Virgil smiled, eventually reaching the shelter (which was a diversion from his usual path home) and making sure Janus was settled in for the night before going home himself.
*****
Janus and Virgil stayed in contact after that night, Virgil helping out financially if ever needed but Janus wanted to be a bit more independent. Childcare was free in the domestic violence shelter so Janus could go out and work for the first time since entering that toxic relationship that barred him from most things.
A few months into the friendship Virgil came to the shelter on his day off work with a couple of presents in his hands. When he walked in he was greeted by the front desk that recognised him well by now. "Good morning Virgil! I suppose you're looking for Janus and Thomas?"
"As always, how's the little guy spending his birthday?" Virgil laughed, about to be shown to Janus' room but a small being sprinted towards him before he could walk forward.
"Ver-guh!" The young child with bright hazel eyes screamed and ran by Virgil's feet, tugging at the waiter's trousers and smiling wide. Virgil could always see himself inside of little Thomas, from the curly hair and excited screams to the joy that he and his father were safe and away from 'mean dad' as he put it. "Hi hi!"
"Hey buddy! I have a few gifts for you - where's Dada?" Thomas grinned and ran upstairs with Virgil following, screaming once he saw his dad about how Ver-guh had new toys and games that he can play with (with his new friends of course). Janus was in the small bedroom, sitting on his bed with a book in his hands just relaxing. "Hey Jan, got some stuff for the ball of chaos."
Janus let a small smile escape as he placed the book down, replacing it with placing his toddler on his lap. "You didn't have to."
Virgil smirked back and gave the first gift to Thomas. "But I wanted to. Little guy deserved to be spoilt." Janus watched Thomas try to tear the wrapping paper, with love and a little laugh as Thomas resorted to using his teeth as his hands didn't work. Janus tried to pry the toddler's teeth away from the paper but when the toy was revealed controlling the two year old was rendered impossible.
"Teddy!" Thomas shouted and waved around the Steven Universe teddy, leaning against Janus to be held more into the hug and kicking his feet into Virgil's leg. Neither man minded the energy though.
But Thomas quieted again when he was given another present to open, this time Janus was allowed to help him. The second present revealed a new game of 'Guess Who' - the toddler's favourite game when he was in that toxic situation. "I wanna show my f'ends!" Thomas shouted and eventually escaped Janus' grasp to show his friends the new gifts he got. This left the two adults alone.
"I don't know how I can repay you." Janus mumbled softly, watching the doorway where screams and giggles of all the children in the shelter could be heard. "Thank you."
"You have nothing to thank me for - nor repay me. I'm doing what I want to do." When Virgil turned his head he could see how close Janus and Virgil's faces were, and then he could see Janus' eyes move down to Virgil's lips. Janus already had an idea on how he could repay.
In reality, Virgil would love to settle down and be a father figure of Thomas - with Janus by his side. Janus was attractive and super nice and caring once he gained his confidence again - and that made him even prettier. And Thomas deserved a father figure that was actually a good person, and that cared for him. Virgil was ready for this step.
And having Janus' lips on his was nice. It was soft and gentle, and Janus' hand on his cheek brought a comfort that Virgil had never quite felt before. But there was still a voice in the back of his head saying that something wasn't right about this situation yet. So Virgil leant his lips away.
"Um..." Virgil started outing his inner debate with the most descriptive word in the human language. "First, I like you. I would really like to date you." Janus let a little smile go as his cheeks pinkened. "But I don't think it's the best time yet." That smile disappeared. "You're just a couple months out of a toxic relationship where you lost your sense of self - and I don't want to accidentally take advantage of that." Sadness showed in Janus' eyes and that hurt Virgil more than anything. "Again, I want to date you. I just don't want to take advantage of your situation right now. Maybe we can stay platonic for a little bit and then when you've got your own place with Tom we can reconsider our relationship?"
After a few minutes of thought Janus smiled again and ruffled his hair. "You're right." He breathed out, leaning away and looking at his nails. "I'm glad you feel the same way - and I'm glad you actually care for me."
Virgil smirked and brought his arm around Janus' shoulders for a side hug. He knew he'd be happy watching Janus recover as a friend without the expectation of romance. "I always will."