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“Have a good night,” Virgil said, handing a chai latte to a tired looking student.
“Thanks.” She gave him a smile and dropped a dollar into the tip jar before taking her drink and walking out the door into the night. It was almost 10 PM, which meant Sweet Hart’s was minutes away from being closed for the night. Thank God. Virgil was exhausted.
Chai Latte Girl had been the last in a long line, and it had been just him and Roman for his entire shift, which meant show tunes and arguing and even more stress than usual. Remy wasn’t even there to mediate between them. Add to that the fact that it was finals at the university, which meant that the night shift got an uptick with overworked students, and they both had their own exams to study for, and you get a recipe for disaster. Virgil felt raw and strung out, and he just wanted to go home.
Except he had to close first. And once he got home he had to study. And tomorrow he had to get up and do it all again. God, someone kill him right now.
“Your shift is over,” he told Roman.
“Are you sure?” Roman glanced at the absolutely trashed cafe, and then back at Virgil. “I know I’ve only helped with closing once before, and technically it would be keeping me for overtime, but I kinda feel bad leaving you with all this.”
Virgil shrugged. “It’s fine. I like to be alone, and you would just annoy me.”
“Alright, if you’re sure,” Roman rolled his eyes before heading to the back to clock out.
Virgil walked out from behind the counter, flipped the sign in the door to “CLOSED” and started collecting the left-behind dishes and trash on the tables. Once he’d collected everything, he headed to the back to wash dishes.
Roman was there, sliding on his jacket. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, unfortunately.”
And then Roman was gone, and it was just Virgil. Which was fine. Sure, he was tired, and on edge, but he would just have to get used to that. In a week, Patton and Logan would be off on their honeymoon, and Virgil would be in charge.
Oh, God.
Virgil’s hands stopped on the espresso machine he was cleaning. Oh, God. He should not be left in charge. He was going to mess it up. He was going to ruin the business Patton had built from the ground up, and then Patton would hate him, and kick him out of the apartment, and he’d be homeless. He couldn’t be homeless!
His hands were shaking now, his breathing rapid and labored. His throat was closing up, he couldn’t breathe. He was going to be on the street without a job or any friends or family because everyone was going to hate him.
He reached a sweaty hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He managed to find Logan in his contacts. Logan was always good at calming him down.
Salutations, you’ve reached the voicemail box of Logan Croft—
Fuck. Stupid. Logan was probably too busy grading his students’ finals. Patton would be asleep by now. Virgil swallowed hard. He was going to have to pull himself out of this himself. Just breathe , he told himself, but his chest was tight and he was suffocating.
“Virgil?” A faraway voice. “I left my—Oh, shit.” Suddenly Roman was in front of him. “Hey, hey. Can you—Can you breathe with me? In for 4 seconds, hold for 7. Good, now out for 8.”
Distantly, Virgil registered that Roman was the last person he wanted to see him like this, but he followed Roman’s breathing technique anyway. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. Eventually, Virgil’s chest loosened.
“Okay, now that you’re breathing enough to speak, can you tell me 5 things you can see?” Roman asked gently.
“Espresso machine, my apron, the leftover pastries, table, cash register,” Virgil rattled off.
“Perfect. 4 things you can touch?”
“My t-shirt, your jacket, my phone, chair.” Virgil wasn’t even sure when he sat down, or when he started gripping Roman’s arm.
“3 things you can hear?”
“Your voice, the ticking of the clock, and my music on the shop speakers.”
“You’re doing so good,” Roman smiled encouragingly. “2 things you can smell.”
“Coffee and pastries.”
“And one thing you can taste.”
“The extra vanilla, extra caramel, extra espresso monstrosity that guy ordered online and then never picked up,” Virgil answered dryly. “It is still in my mouth three hours later, somehow.”
Roman snorted. “Why did you even drink that thing?”
“It seemed like a waste to just throw it out,” Virgil defended himself. “Besides, I was curious. It could’ve been good!”
“Okay, but it wasn’t though.”
“No, no it wasn’t,” Virgil agreed with a chuckle.
“Hey, a smile!” Roman’s voice was light and hopeful. “Are you feeling a little better then?”
“I mean, I’m not actively having a panic attack anymore,” Virgil acknowledged. “But I’m still really anxious.”
“Would it help to talk about it? Or would you prefer a distraction?” Roman asked. “I know talking about it is good, but also sometimes talking about it can just get you worked up again.”
Virgil blinked in surprise. Logan and Patton were both pretty understanding about his anxiety, but they always wanted him to talk things out, and couldn’t understand why when he didn’t want to. “That’s…surprisingly understanding of you.”
“I do have empathy, you know,” Roman rolled his eyes. “I talk my brother down from panic attacks all the time.”
“Oh.”
“And…” Roman sighed. “Sometimes I have them, too.”
“You—Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.” Roman huffed. “So, I know a thing or two. Now talk or distraction?”
“Distraction,” Virgil answered. He didn’t need to talk things out to know that his fears were largely irrational. Even if he did fuck up somehow while Patton and Logan were gone, they wouldn’t throw him out.
Roman grinned. “Excellent. I can tell you about the summer show I’m auditioning for.”
“Sure.”
“So, it’s Much Ado About Nothing! Do you know it?”
“Roman, I’m an English Lit major,” Virgil deadpanned. Not to mention Much Ado was his favorite Shakespeare play, but he wasn’t about to admit to Roman that his favorite was essentially a rom-com.
“Right,” Roman laughed at himself. “I’m an idiot. Anyway, I’m auditioning for Benedick, and I’m super nervous about it. I love Shakespeare, but I’ve never actually been in a Shakespeare play before.”
“Ah, you’re a shoo-in,” Virgil responded.
“Really?"
“Yeah, Benedick is a clueless moron just like you.”
Roman huffed. “Rude. Anyway, if I don’t get Benedick, I hope I at least get Don Pedro or Claudio. Although Don John would also be fun, I love playing a villain…” As Roman rambled, he made his way behind the counter and started to clean. Virgil almost said something—Roman had already clocked out, this was technically illegal, and Virgil should be cleaning.
But he didn’t. He just sat and listened to Roman talk about Shakespeare and the drama with his theatre company and how the frequent lead actress Maria and the stage manager James should just fuck it out before they ruin another show, and how Benedick was such a deep character, and how the play was about respecting women, seemingly anything and everything that came to his mind, really. Roman’s voice was warm and rich, and Virgil found himself so caught up in listening to Roman that his anxiety began to fade. He laughed when Roman joked, and rolled his eyes fondly when he was dramatic, and asked all sorts of questions about the drama.
It surprised Virgil, how nice it was. Patton was pretty good at distracting Virgil, but this felt different. Virgil wasn’t just momentarily distracted from his anxiety, he actually, legitimately felt better. Something about Roman’s nonsense was actually, sort of, soothing.
Eventually, the cafe was clean, and it was the end of Virgil’s shift. He grabbed his bag and headed for the door, Roman close behind.
“Hey, thank you,” he said, turning to face Roman.
Roman reached past Virgil and pushed the door open. “You’re welcome, Emo.”
“Look…” Virgil swallowed, still not moving. “I still don’t understand why you did what you did freshman year, but I don’t think it matters anymore. It’s been three years. We’re different people. And what you did tonight? It meant a lot to me.”
“I didn’t do anything special tonight,” Roman shrugged.
“Yes, you did, Ro,” Virgil insisted, letting the nickname slip out. “Can we maybe just start over? Put the past behind us?”
“Really?” Roman broke into a slow smile. “I’d like that.”
Virgil stuck a hand out. “Hi, I’m Virgil. I’m your new manager.”
“Hi,” Roman took his hand and shook it. “I’m Roman.”
"Nice to meet you, Roman." Virgil smiled tentatively. "See you tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," Roman agreed, as their hands dropped. "Looking forward to it."
Virgil rolled his eyes. "Okay, you don't have to lie. It's still work."
Roman shrugged as he headed down the street, in the opposite direction of Virgil's walk home. "Who said I was lying? Maybe I just like seeing you."
Virgil shook his head, biting back a smile as he watched Roman disappear down the street. As if those cheesy lines would work on Virgil. Who did he think he was, flirting like that? Did he think he was charming? Because he wasn't. Not even a little bit. Besides, even if he was, Virgil wasn't about to make the same mistake twice, and—
Oh, who was he kidding? He was so screwed.