Chapter Text
Virgil stared out the bus window, watching the neighborhoods pass him by in a blur.
"House," He whispered.
"Tree."
"Mailbox."
"Truck."
He liked this game, it helped the time pass. Especially since his phone had died this morning (A misplaced charger was the culprit).
The bus came to a slow stop, one person got off, three got on.
The bus started back into motion.
"Telephone pole."
"Tree."
"Tricycle!"
Virgil's mouth snapped shut and he turned to the man standing behind him, smiling widely.
"I love this game! Christopher Robin was a great movie!"
"... Yeah."
He glanced down at his phone in a desperate prayer that suddenly the battery would fill and he could bury his nose in it to avoid this oncoming conversation.
"My names, Patton!" The man held out his hand, but Virgil sheepishly held up his hand.
"Sorry, I don't... um," He glanced down at the others hand,and Patton immediately understood.
"Oh, no problem! Everyone wants their whole soulmate thing to be an adventure after all!" He took the empty seat beside Virgil as the bus went over a particularly bad pothole,and his body collided with Virgil's side.
"Shoot, sorry," He quickly apologized while pulling away, " I totally didn't do that on purpose I swear, i wouldn't have purposefully bumped you, I know you just said you don't like contact-"
"It's okay," Virgil cut in, trying to keep his voice calm, " like you said, it was an accident."
Patton looked sheepish then smiled wide at the other.
And just like that, the conversation was over. The two spent the rest of the ride in silence, and when Virgil's stop came, he said a quick "Bye" and left without looking back.
He checked his wrist.
10:55.
He hiked his bag up on his shoulder and sprinted as fast as he could down the block to work before his boss began to sacrifice his soul for a new employee.
~
"11:01."
"Not technically late," Virgil grinned.
"Cheek. You better go get your station ready, you got a pretty decent schedule today," His manager ruffled his hair, and he huffed with indignation, he was taller then them, come on!
He went to his station, bobbing his head along to the P!aTD playing over the speakers. He flicked on the lights in his office, and grinned as he blasted his own speakers, the next pirate metal on his playlist.
He looked over his next client, coming in for an industrial in his right ear.
A knock at his door drew his attention from where he was sketching his next tattoo design while he was waiting.
“You’re client is here.”
“Thanks.” He snapped it shut and pulled on gloves before going out to meet his client.
“Hey there,” He said in greeting, holding out his hand, “Names Virgil.”
The man took his hand and shook it once. Formally.
“Logan, pleased to meet you.”
“Formal for a punk,” Virgil said as he looked over the mans information.
“Mellow for a metalhead,” He threw back.
“Eh, just like the music. Wouldn’t say I’m hardcore.”
“Well, neither would I, then I suppose. I like the aesthetic. The freedom and transformation. Plus, my students will find another ear piercing amusing to no end.”
“Come this way and we can get started Mr. Teacher.” Virgil motioned to his work room, where he turned the music off so whatever latest alternative song played quietly in the background.
“Okay, go ahead and take a seat and lean back,” He motioned to the chair in the center of the room, which the other made himself comfortable on.
Virgil washed his hands before turning back to the other and pulled on a brand new pair of rubber gloves.
“So, first I’m going to clean the area surrounding where the piercing is gonna go,a dn then I’m gonna use a marker to mark where the piercing will be, and you can take a look and tell me what you think.”
“Sounds well enough.”
Virgil did as he said and handed a hand mirror to the other.
“How does that look? Won’t get in the way of your other piercings, though during the healing process I do recommend you stick with this rook you have in now and do not change it out until this new one heals. You will run the chance of irritating and infecting this industrial because of the close placement.”
Logan nodded agreement, and Virgil continued.
“Alright, in that case, let’s get this ball rolling.”
It was silent for a minute, before cold metal was set to Logan’s ear and Virgil was speaking.
“Alright you might feel a bit of a pinch, but that’s just the clasp since we’re using a needle instead of a piercing gun. Okay we’re almost read-” before he finsihed talking he did the first hole and smirked as the others fingers tensed ever so slightly.
“‘Startle ya?”
“Did I startle you?” The other corrected, seemingly out of instinct.
“Punk.”
He saw a smirk quirk the others lips.
“Alright, I’m gonna get the bar ready to go through as I pierce the second. Should I count this time?”
“If you insist upon it.”
“Alright, on the count of five. One-” And with that, he got the needle through the other side and was twisting the ball on the end of the earring.
“There we go, all done.”
Virgil laid his toolson his sterile tray and removed his gloves before picking up the mirror again, passing it off to Logan, who took it, accidentally bumping his hand against the others.
“Apologies,” He said quickly, “I too prefer to refrain from physical contact with others.”
“Eh, it’s no problem. Happens all the time.”
Logan was admiring his ear, it was red and very slightly swelling, but nothing bad.
“Alright-” Virgil went through the process of cleaning it with the other, showing a demonstration with his own barbell.
“And did you want a check up text or call in 30 days?”
“Yes, a text would do just well.”
“Alright, then we are all set. Here’s my business card if you have any questions or wish to make any appointments in the future.”
“Thank you very much for your time, Virgil.”
~
“Here we are, one raspberry cosmopolitan for Mr. Bigshot over here.”
Virgil blushed under the stare of the bartender, reaching out for the drink set in front of him.
“Ah, yeah…”
“So, what’re you doing here tonight? Tryna drink the week away?” The bartender winked.
Virgil felt an awkward cloud fall over his mind. Which always seemed to happen around the hot bartender.
“Uh, drink, yeah. Right.” As if to prove his point, he began draining his glass.
“Wow, you sure have a tolerance,” The bartender through his head back and laughed.
“Heeeeey, Roman!”
A man at the other end of the bar waved his hand and Roman winked at Virgil before turning and throwing his arms out in open greeting to the other patron. Virgil watched as the two began to throw playful flirting back and forth.
Though, part of Virgil wondered if maybe it wasn’t playful. Maybe that was serious flirting.
What would I know? He thought sourly. I can’t flirt to save my life .
Though, I don’t know if I’d want to. That would most likely bring more problems then not.
“Hey, earth to Mr. Brightside!”
He snapped out of his thoughts.
“I thought you were off helping someone else?” Virgil remarked.
“And I did, but I wanted to help you out a little more,” The other remarked, a glint of mischief in his dark eyes.
“Uh, I’m good, thanks…”
Flirting. He’s flirting.
Fuck, how do I tell him he’s handsome but I’m not interested? Will that offend him?
“I don’t know how to tell you honey, but you’re sucking down air there,” The other pointed to his glass, and Virgil looked down and felt his face begin to burn in embarrassment.
“Don’t worry suga’ I got you,” The bartender winked as he took the others glass.
“Oh, um, I don’t really drink that much…. One’s enough for me.”
“Oh,” The other pouted, “Does that mean I’m dismissed for now?”
“Uh.”
Okay, this was too much flirting, playful or otherwise, for Virgil to process.
“Um, I-”
Roman smiled. Not smirked, but smiled and reached his hand out to take Virgil’s, slipping a piece of paper into his own grasp, and not seeming to mind Virgil’s sudden reflexive jerk backwards. A Lot of people probably came and went like him all the time.
“Well, if you ever wanna bask in my radiance again, just gimme a call.”
With that, roman turned and headed back to help his coworkers, and the other patrons.
~
Virgil sat at his desk, water colors staining both his paper and hands, eyes bloodshot and drooping, when he felt a soft, trickle, like water, running down the back of his hand.
Assuming it to be paint, he rubbed his hand off on a towel, and paid it no mind.
Two hours later though, as he washed the paint off in the shower, he felt the trickle again. Cold compared to the steam of the shower, and not running off his hand but across it.
He looked down,blinking the dripping water from his lashes so his vision stopped blurring, and his heart stopped.
Is someone there?
It was written in red pen. In small, neat print.
Then below it, another line.
Sorry, if I scared you
He quickly sat on the floor of the tub, not wanting to slip and fall in his sudden dazed state.
It was them.
It was Virgil’s soulmate.