Virgil walked carefully behind Logan as they approached the rest of the man's family. Virgil swallowed harshly, attempting to push down his extreme hatred for this group for the time being. Logan's partner eyed Virgil carefully, making the boy shrink under his gaze. Logan whispered quietly to Roman for a few moments, no doubt explaining Virgil's situation. Roman's expression turned to one of sympathy, prompting him to turn to the boy. "Hi, Virgil. My name is Roman," he said as he stuck his hand out. Virgil looked at his hand, not shaking it. "So, what, you guys are dating?" Virgil asked coldly. Roman looked at Logan for help. "No, well, Roman is my...husband," Logan managed out. Virgil's heart clenched. "Right," he mumbled, keeping his eyes down. Logan looked at him sympathetically. "I think now may be a good time to return home," Logan said as he lead all of them to his car.

Virgil was sitting in the backseat, trying desperately to ignore everyone else in the car. This was made incredibly difficult by the tiny hands that kept trying to touch his purple hair. Virgil pushed the kid's hand away for about the fifth time when he finally had enough. "Can you make your kid stop touching me?" Virgil growled. Roman looked back sadly. "Hey, Pat, hands to yourself buddy." Virgil felt guilt form in the pit of his stomach, but he ignored it. He didn't owe these people anything.

They soon pulled up to the family's house, and Virgil was in shock. This house was beautiful: much nicer than Virgil's own run down place. He followed the family silently, standing awkwardly behind them as they took off their shoes and set down their things. Logan quickly took notice of Virgil's discomfort. "Here, let me show you to the guest room," he offered, leading his son to a decently sized bedroom. Virgil stood tensely in the middle of the room, obviously waiting for Logan to leave. Logan stood for a moment longer before turning to leave. "Make yourself comfortable. We'll be having lunch in an hour or so if you would like to join." With that, Logan shut the door behind him.

Virgil let out a sigh as he dropped his backpack on the ground. This was all so weird. Just yesterday he was thinking his father must hate him, and now he's having dinner with his family? What the absolute fuck? Virgil decided to lay down on top of the bed for a moment. After the morning's events, he was absolutely exhausted. Against his will, Virgil's eyes fluttered closed as he fell into a restless sleep.

An hour later, Virgil jolted awake at the sound of a knock on his door. He groaned as he got up, swinging the door open with an annoyed expression. Logan jumped back slightly at the sudden action. "Oh, um, sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to tell you that lunch is ready and you are very welcome to join us if you'd like. No pressure." Virgil thought over his options before nodding. "I'll be there in a minute," the boy mumbled before shutting the door. One lunch couldn't kill him.

After his wild hair was tamed and he deemed himself presentable, Virgil left to the kitchen. Upon walking in, he felt a painful jolt in his chest. The small family were all sitting at the table, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Only one thought filled Virgil's mind. That's how we used to be. He would never admit it, but he was jealous. He slid into the last open seat, keeping his head down with his bangs slightly obscuring his face. Logan looked at him for a moment. "I'm glad you decided to join us," Logan said genuinely, earning no response from Virgil. He stared for a moment longer until his thoughts were interrupted by his husband's voice. "Well, lunch is served! You can take as much as you want," Roman said, adding on the last part for the teenage boy. He was incredibly thin, and Roman could only guess it wasn't by choice. Virgil looked at the bowls of food in front of him, waiting until somebody else went first. Logan noticed his hesitance, deciding to fill his plate first in an attempt to ease Virgil's obvious tension. Finally, all four of them had full plates of food in front of them and they began to eat.

The lunch started in a somewhat awkward silence, the only sound being Patton's occasional giggles. Finally, Logan spoke up. "So, Virgil, how has school been?" Virgil looked at him with daggers. Logan squirmed awkwardly in his seat. "Fine," Virgil muttered before returning to his meal. Logan didn't dare attempt small talk again. Virgil continued eating his meal until he once again felt little fingers brush his hair. He flinched back at the action, immediately regretting it when he saw the look of concern on the two men's faces. His eyes then fell on Patton, who was once again reaching for his purple hair. "Alright, little dude, what's the deal? You want to touch my hair?" Virgil asked, and both parents noticed that his voice had softened ever so slightly. Patton nodded quickly with a giggle. "Purple," he whispered in awe. Virgil couldn't help the corner of his mouth turning up slightly. As much as he wanted to hate this kid for replacing him, he couldn't deny that he had a soft spot for children. Besides, everything was Logan's fault, not the toddler. "Fine, you can touch it, but then you have to finish eating, okay?" he finally responded. Patton giggled and nodded quickly, reaching out a chubby hand and tugging lightly on Virgil's hair. Logan and Roman watched this interaction with a mixture of fondness and confusion. This Virgil was vastly different from the one they had previously seen. It was really heartwarming to watch.

"Alright, bud, that's enough. Now you have to eat," Virgil said after a minute, earning an adorable pout from Patton. Virgil smirked at the kid before turning back to his food. "You're really good with him," Roman admitted after a moment. Virgil looked up at the man, slightly shocked that he was even talking to him. "Uh, thanks," Virgil responded. The family finished their meal in silence, although it was significantly less tense. Finally, the were all
finished and Roman was picking up the dishes. Patton stared at Virgil, eventually mumbling, "What's your name?" Virgil looked back at the boy. "My name is Virgil." Patton looked at him in confusion. "That's hard to say," he finally said. Virgil tried to hide his smile at the kid's response. "You can call me Vee if it's easier." Patton giggled. "Vee," he said softly. Virgil couldn't even try to suppress his grin at that. He didn't notice how Logan watched him smile, nor how sad it made the man to realize that was the first time he had seen it in 11 years.