Roman walked back to the coffee shop where he'd met Virgil alone. He'd convinced Mal not to come along, though to be fair, they didn't need much convincing. They wanted to give Virgil and Roman some 'alone time', as they'd so eloquently put it.

Roman walked into the shop, smiling slightly at the light jingling sound from the bells attached to the door. He looked over at the counter, but Virgil wasn't there. He glanced down at his phone, checking to make sure he got the time right.

"Hey! Roman!" He heard a familiar voice call. Looking up, Roman saw Virgil standing up by a booth in the back corner. Smiling, he walked over to join him. Roman sat down opposite Virgil, a slight blush covering his cheeks. He hoped Virgil didn't notice.

"So, you're not working today, then?" He assumed.

"I had a free period at school, so I got an earlier shift," Virgil explained. "I'm uh, glad you came. I was worried that you wouldn't."

"Dude, I gave you my number. If I didn't want to see you, I wouldn't have done that," Roman joked, smiling brightly. Virgil laughed awkwardly, his face reddening.

"Do you want a drink? I might be able to get it free for you," he offered.

"Sure," Roman agreed. The two walked up to the counter. "Any other drink suggestions? That angel mocha yesterday was great, but I want to try something else."

Virgil's eyes sparkled with an idea. "I'm going to order something secret for you. If you hate it, then. . . I don't know, what do you want if you hate it?"

Roman thought for a moment. "If I hate it, then I get to order something for you next time. If there is a next time, I mean." Virgil nodded, smiling.

"You go sit down, then. I'll bring the drink over in a few minutes." Roman walked back over to the booth and sat down, pulling out his phone. A text from Logan had come up on the screen.

LOGAN: How is your date going?

Roman smiled, happy that Logan had thought to text.

ROMAN: Pretty good, actually! It's a little awkward, but I guess that's expected

LOGAN: Sounds great!

LOGAN: By the way, I may be home late.

ROMAN: Is everything ok?

LOGAN: I nearly ran someone over this morning and offered to take him out for coffee to make up for it.

ROMAN: . . . I dunno how to respond to that :/

LOGAN: Just don't make a mess of the house, alright?

ROMAN: Gotcha 👉👉

ROMAN: Gotta go. Emo's coming back

LOGAN: You call him emo?

ROMAN: If you saw him, you would too.

Roman put his phone away as Virgil walked back to the table carrying a recyclable cup. He handed it to Roman, who looked for his name.

"Seriously? You made them write ramen again?" Virgil snickered under his breath.

"Sorry, not sorry. Just try the damn drink, then you can get mad at me, Ramen." Roman took a sip from the drink, still grumbling under his breath. His eyes widened as he tasted the warm liquid.

"What's this one called?" He asked, in awe of the breathtaking taste.

"Lavender crystal tea."

"Jeez, you weren't kidding about the names," Roman laughed, taking another sip. "You didn't get yourself anything?"

"I've already got something I made myself," Virgil said. He reached to the spot beside him, where a bag lay strewn against the booth seat. He pulled out a thermos and took a sip. "Black coffee. Complete with an anti-anxiety powder. Unfortunately, it doesn't entirely do the job, but it keeps me from having panic attacks in public." Roman nodded in understanding, enjoying another sip of his beverage.

"So, Virgil," he said, placing the half-empty cup down on the table between them. "Do you have any plans for the rest of your life?"

"Wow, you're really starting with the hard questions," Virgil smiled, placing his drink on the table too. "I haven't put too much thought into it. After school ends, I'll probably stick around here, at least for a while. I wouldn't want to leave Patton alone in the city."

"Patton?" Roman asked, confused.

"My roommate and best friend. He's already out of school, and he said I could move in with him when my mom kicked me out."

"Your mom kicked you out?" Roman said, astounded.

"For being gay. Can't say I didn't see it coming." Virgil laughed awkwardly. "That got deep quick. Going back to the question, I'd probably start some sort of potion business. That's all that I'm good at, honestly. What about you?"

"It's kind of stupid, and I know it'll never actually happen, but I want to be an author," Roman admitted shyly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the table.

"That's not stupid," Virgil said honestly, his voice taking on a tone Roman hadn't yet heard from him. "If you're okay with it, I'd like to read something you've written one day."

"Maybe one day," Roman agreed halfheartedly, taking a long sip of his drink.

"Okay, changing the topic. . . favourite book?" Virgil asked, leaning his elbows on the table.

"You're making me choose?" Roman exclaimed, offended. "I can't possibly choose between my darling babies!"

"Alright then, top three," Virgil laughed.

"Fine," Roman huffed indignantly. He took a moment to think, staring out the window as he did so. "In no particular order, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Supernova by Marissa Meyer and Dear Evan Hansen by, like, four different people."

"I should've realized that you're a theatre kid," Virgil mused, shaking his head. "But DEH is a good book. Do you have a favourite character?"

"Connor Murphy, definitely," Roman answered immediately. "What about you? What's your favourite book?"

"Hmm. . . Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo."

"I think I've heard of that one. Is it good?"

"I literally just said it's my favourite book. Of course it's good," Virgil smirked. Roman rolled his eyes halfheartedly.

"I guess I'll have to read it sometime, then," he said.

"You should," Virgil agreed, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and checked the time. "It's nearly four. Do you want to stay a little longer?"

"Sure," Roman said, desperately thinking of ways to make this last longer. "And, uh, afterwards, would you want to come to my house for a bit?"

"Wow, you really don't wait," Virgil smirked. "This may be the caffeine speaking, but sure."

"Really?" Roman responded, excited. "That's great." He smiled brightly, causing Virgil to laugh.

"Are you all-sunshine all the time?" He asked. Roman nodded.

"I try to be, at least."

"That sounds exhausting."

Roman shrugged. "It can be, at times."

The two sat in awkward silence for a minute, both periodically sipping on their drinks.

"New question," Roman said suddenly, turning to meet Virgil's eye. "Opinions on Broadway?"

Virgil shrugged. "I don't hate it. I know a couple of musicals, and they're okay, but I'm not the biggest fan."

"Fair enough. And I'm sure you've already figured out that musicals are my entire life."

"Yeah, I have," Virgil laughed. "Opinions on Panic! At The Disco?"

"Oh my god, Brendon Urie needs to be the next Disney princess!" Roman exclaimed.

"Right!?" Virgil agreed. "His version of Into The Unknown is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!"

"I cried, listening to it for the first time!"

"Favourite Panic! song, not counting Into The Unknown?" Virgil prompted, smiling brightly.

"I really love King of the Clouds and Death of a Bachelor," Roman said immediately. "What about you?"

"You can't go wrong with Lying, but Nine in the Afternoon is another one of my favourites."

"What's the full name of Lying, again?" Roman asked, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"Haha, no. We're in public. Someone's going to overhear and assume things, and I'd rather not deal with that."

"Fair enough."

Virgil checked the time again, taking a sip of his coffee while he was at it. "Why don't we head over to your house now?" He suggested, looking up at Roman.

"Sure," Roman agreed, getting up and offering Virgil a hand. Virgil smiled, taking Roman's hand in his own glove-clad one and standing up. He tried to pull away, but Roman held tight, smiling.

"I'll let go if you're really uncomfortable with it," he said quietly. Virgil smiled back, a small smile that only Roman could see, and kept holding on.