{Possible trigger warnings: swearing, anger/irritation, slight alcohol mention
If I miss something, I apologize and please let me know}
Okay, so maybe Roman was right.
That a**hole.
Virgil crossed the living room as quickly as he could, ignoring his roommates cuddled on the couch.
Roman was sick, and nearly delirious. Currently he was sitting with Logan, cackling as his boyfriend turned pet-names scientific.
"I'm going out." He told Logan as he pulled his jacket on.
"Where?"
"Just out." Virgil made sure his keys were in his pocket.
He heard Roman ask that Logan 'do honeybun!' as he went out the door. Logan obliged, resulting in a roar of laughter from Roman at the phrase 'bee food pastry.' Virgil shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, relying on his height, irritated facial expression, and general aura to keep people from talking to him.
Downtown was crawling with people, and Virgil didn't know why. He made his way to the pub he and Dorrian usually hung out at and took the corner seat at the bar.
Of course Patton had to be out of town this week. With him gone and Roman in his current state, Virgil had been slapped in the face with the whole 'you're single' thing over and over with no buffer.
He took a sip of his drink and slid himself into an even slouchier position, resting his head on his arms.
"Hey, are you alright?" Someone asked in his ear.
Virgil flinched and slowly raised his head.
A man had taken the seat next to him. He was, for lack of any other words, incredibly pretty. Virgil blinked at him a few times.
"Are you talking to me?"
The man nodded, pushing his glasses up. "Mhm. You look like you're going through it."
Virgil grunted and put his chin on his arms again. "I'm having a bad night. Go away."
The guy didn't move. Virgil sighed and took a sip of his drink.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really. Just leave me alone."
The guy smiled and Virgil felt his heart jump in his chest. F*ck's sake, now really wasn't the time to catch feelings.
"Listen, my friends are trying to convince the bartender to let us play Smash upstairs, want to join?"
Immediately Virgil was on edge. As cute as this guy was, he really didn't want to be recognized tonight.
"Why?"
He shrugged. "Sitting with some people is better than sitting alone, right? You don't have to play or anything, but if you're having a bad night it's probably better for you to be around some people, just in case."
Virgil grunted, sitting up a little.
"F*ck it." He picked up his drink. "Lead the way."
The man grinned at him, offering his hand. "I'm Emile."
"Virgil."
Emile nodded and turned around. "Oh shoot- I lost them. Every time I turn around these kids are gone."
"What do they look like?"
"There's a range." Emile shrugged. "One of them has blue and purple hair, that's probably the most noticeable part of the group."
Virgil stood up, peering out over the crowd. He didn't see anything helpful a for a few moments, then someone stepped to the top of the stairs and crouched, revealing bright hair tucked under a backwards snapback.
"YO PICANI!"
Emile whipped around and grinned, waving. "Hi Kai!"
Kai motioned for him to come that way. "C'mon, we're getting the game set up!"
Virgil heard cheers from upstairs. He glanced at Emile.
"Yeah, they're a little wild. But I'll keep you safe." Emile laughed. "You can hang out on... the verge."
Virgil snorted before he could stop himself. "That was awful."
"I'm the master of bad puns. Disney related, mostly."
"Oh, boy." The two of them started to make their way upstairs as Virgil smiled a little. "You haven't met my roommate."
~~~Four Hours Later~~~
"You guys go back to the hotel, I'll be along in a little while!" Emile laughed as the group all reconvened on the sidewalk outside the pub. "Elliott, don't let Sloane convince you to stay up all night again!"
Elliott waved a hand in his general direction.
"Wait, where are you going?" Kai frowned.
"I'm going to make sure Virgil gets home safe." Emile grinned. "Go, I'll be fine."
Virgil raised his eyebrows as the rest of the group began to head off. "I live in town, and I'm 6'2. I think the one who needs to get home safe is you."
Emile crossed his arms, smiling. "I'm not really the kind of person to let someone having a bad day just disappear on me. I'll walk home with you, then figure out what to do from there."
Virgil nodded and turned towards the apartment. He was surprised to feel Emile grab his hand, and felt his cheeks heat up.
A bubbly personality, cute giggles and laughter, an ungodly amount of puns. The kind of person who wormed their way into a heart.
Well f*ck, Virgil realized, I really do have a type.
"My friends really liked you... and I think that's the first time I've seen Kai lose at Smash in years."
Virgil shrugged. "I'm uh, good at games."
"Oh yeah. Kai actually yelled at me for bringing a professional gamer up to the group when we planned on playing."
Virgil froze up.
"You knew?"
"Yep, Corbin and Kai recognized you in like five minutes, but I told them not to say anything."
Virgil paused and looked at Emile. "You all knew? And you didn't say anything?"
"Well I figure it's like being a celebrity." Emile shrugged. "People act like you don't deserve to be treated like a person."
"That's really nice of you... thank you."
Emile nodded and they walked in silence for a few minutes.
"Is it raining?" The shorter man suddenly asked.
"I don't think so- oh sh*t-" Virgil quickly pulled Emile under a nearby awning as it began to rain.
Emile laughed, leaning against Virgil's chest as they stared out at the sudden downpour.
"Well that's something." Virgil ran a hand through his hair. "Now what? You're not gonna be able to get home, and your friends shouldn't drive to get you with how many people are out. We're not far from my apartment, let's awning-hop to try to stay out of the rain, then you can stay over at mine."
Emile nodded and Virgil grabbed his hand again, pulling him along as they sprinted to the next awning.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Emile asked suddenly as they paused under one, looking up at him.
He blinked, answering automatically. "Uh, no."
"Neither do I... but I believe that sometimes people are drawn to each other, in ways that make them more compatible... does that make sense?"
"Yeah." Virgil nodded, staring at Emile. Where the hell was this going? "But it can still take a lot of spontaneous action..."
The man grinned and grabbed his hands. "Spontaneity is one of my strong suits."
Virgil didn't even fight it when Emile pulled him out into the rain, and into a kiss.
{slow-burns juxtaposed with a quick-start relationship... although the other couples weren't really that slow-burn}