Hell, but the day had been a damn blur. Virgil was more than pleased when he and Cygnus finally made their way back to the apartment, goods and all. Without being dramatic, he was absolutely certain in his convictions that the outside world was shit and he was foolish for ever deigning to leave the comfort of their apartment.
If they didn't need to make supply runs this whole 'surviving in a post-apocalyptic world' would be so much easier.
"Well, we're back. Mind out for the cans."
Virgil scoffed. As if he'd bump into any of the rudimentary alarms out in the hallway. He could move like a cat when he needed to, and Cygnus knew it well.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that. Hey, you wanna go curl up on the couch and sleep for the next fourteen hours when we're let in?"
Cygnus huffed a little.
"Strictly speaking it isn't healthy for someone to sleep for that long, Virgil. Not without some form of sleeping disorder anyway. Eight hours is the commonly accepted to be the 'correct' amount to-"
"Cygnus, please say yes."
His boyfriend caught himself mid-talk and nodded, a mixture of sheepishness and playful exasperation.
"Ah, my apologies. Yes, I would like that very much."
"Too bad, I'm gonna go cuddle with Wesley or Madison instead."
Cygnus chuckled a little, shaking his head.
"Oh, woe. How cruel of you to get my hopes up like that."
"Yeah, well, what if I change my mind again? What would you do then, huh?"
"Cuddle with you on the couch, I assume. That was the original proposition, was it not?"
"Actually the original proposition was to sleep for fourteen hours but yeah, that was the subtext."
Cygnus chuckled again, the sound of it sending a pleasant warmth through Virgil. How the hell had the apocalypse ended up being so healthy for him? For his relationships? All the stories had been adamant that humanity would continue to turn on each other after the end, that they'd fight over resources or territory or something else. Maybe mankind was better than the stories gave them credit for, or maybe Virgil and his friends specifically were better and kinder than the low standards to which humanity had been held before the end. Whatever the reason, he still found himself being baffled at just how well he and his new family had been able to weather the storms that had come against them. They had before the end, they had after the end, and he was certain they would continue to do so far into the future.
His musings were interrupted by the door opening, a visibly tired Wesley leaning in the doorframe with a half-asleep smile on his face as he looked at them.
"You're back!"
He opened his arms and engulphed the two of them in a very warm hug. Virgil had once wondered why Wesley seemed to run so hot, but then he'd reasoned it was probably something to do with the fact that he spent most of the day huddled under blankets and in all honesty had probably just got up to open the door for them.
"Well, someone's happy to see us."
Cygnus' voice was lightly teasing, but the smile on his face told them all just how happy he was to see Wesley as well. Virgil didn't know how anyone could be anything other than happy to see him; the young man was so sweet and caring that if anyone had told Virgil they didn't like Wesley then he'd probably have distanced himself from whoever had said it on principle.
Unentangling himself from the hug, he moved to enter their shared apartment. It had four bedrooms and a kitchen, as well as a small living room with a pair of sofas, a chair, and a television. It had been more than a little bare when Virgil had first moved in somewhere around a year and a half ago, since Cygnus hadn't had a great deal of money before the end when he'd lived here originally, but with a little bit of thievery and looting there was a great deal more life in this place now. The six of them who lived here had really turned this apartment into their home, and it was made all the sweeter by the knowledge that it was the six of them who had been able to make it so. They hadn't relied on anyone else, they hadn't needed to argue over rent or bills, they just lived here with each other, and did so very comfortably.
"How could I not be? You know how worried we all get when you're out there!"
Virgil smiled at the little back and forwards between his partner and one of their friends, and moved to crash out on the couch as the other two followed him into the apartment and locked the door behind them. As he heard the click of the lock it felt like a weight had been lifted from him, and the last of his anxieties about the outside world faded away. The apartment was safety, and he was safe in the apartment. That was good.
Cygnus dropped his backpack down next to Virgil's own, leaning it against the side of the coffee table, then sat down next to him on the couch with much better posture. Virgil turned over a little, sitting up so that he could lean into Cygnus' side and get more comfortable.
"Can I get you anything? A cup of tea?"
Virgil nodded, tiredness seeming to hit him in waves now that he was out of danger.
"Yeah, I'll have one please. Milk and-"
"Two sugars." Came the lightly teasing voice of Wesley from somewhere behind him as he walked over to the kitchen. "And as for you Sea, well, you're no doubt going to ask for no milk or sugar."
"That may be true, but I'd like you to hold on for one moment. Are you sure you wish to make them, Wesley? It's no bother for me to-"
Wesley cut Cygnus off with a wave.
"Don't worry about me! I just woke up, so I shouldn't fall back asleep just yet."
Cygnus made a noise of mild discontent.
"Hm. I trust you to know your limits, but please be careful when dealing with boiling water. I don't want you to get hurt."
The genuine concern in Cygnus' voice made Virgil smile to himself a little. It was strange that he'd once thought of Cygnus as being cold and distant, especially now that he was so much better at showing his care.
"I know, Sea. I promise I'll be careful."
Whether or not that would have satisfied Cygnus didn't matter, for at that moment Madison walked into the room with her hands on her hips.
"Wesley, come now. I can take it from here. Oh, you two, you're back! I'll be over in a moment."
Though he couldn't actually see the boy, Virgil could picture the look on Wesley's face at the moment. It wasn't a happy one.
"I want to help, Madison! Please?"
God, if anyone could say no to the puppy-eyes he was no doubt deploying right now then they were heartless. Madison made a slightly strangled noise as she looked at him.
"No, I don't- come on Wes, don't make that face at me, you know you're not supposed to- no, come on, I can't say no to that face- okay fine, you can help me. Would you mind grabbing the sugar and milk out of the cupboard and fridge please?"
Wesley pumped the air with his fist, an exclamation of excitement on his lips. The adolescent really wasn't supposed to be helping in the kitchen, as both Cygnus and Madison had pointed out in the last minute, but this seemed harmless enough. Besides, Lyla had taught him the art of puppy-eyes very well. When combined with the almost supernatural level of adorableness that surrounded Wesley they became deadly weapons, able to thaw even the blackest and most frozen of hearts.
"Yes! Okay, two cups of tea coming right up. Virgil, you're having milk and two sugars because you're normal. Cygnus, yours will be black, no milk and no sugar, because you're a heathen."
Madison bopped him lightly on the head with a teaspoon, a teasing tone in her voice.
"Oi, that's rude! Just because it's true and Cygnus is clearly incorrect about how to enjoy tea that doesn't mean you can call him out on it."
"You know I am still in the room with you two, right?"
"No you're not," Wesley shot back, seeming rather more awake than normal, which was nice, "you're in the living room and we're in the kitchen!"
Virgil opened his eyes a crack, not realising he'd shut them, and watched as his boyfriend rolled his eyes in a good-natured way.
"There isn't a dividing wall, they may as well be the same room!"
"You're the one who's a stickler for correctness, not us."
Cygnus tutted and shook his head, muttering something about 'insolent youths' under his breath despite the fact he was only a few months older than Madison and ten months older than Wesley, before nodding his thanks to Wesley as a hot cup of black tea was pressed into his hands. Virgil's tea followed not long after, sweetened with milk and sugar just as he liked it, and he closed his eyes in satisfaction as he took a long and deep sip of the still scalding liquid. Honestly, that was the good stuff. He could quite happily live life like this for the rest of his days. He probably would, all things considered.
"If you two are hungry I can chuck a pizza into the oven? Dinner won't be for a while yet, but I don't mind if you two have something to eat now. You must be starving after running around today."
Virgil huffed out a laugh at Madison's motherly concern, nodding his head a little as his eyelids continued to droop.
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"You don't know the half of it. I could go for a pizza right about now."
"Margarita or pepperoni?"
"Barbeque chicken."
"That wasn't one of the options, young man."
Virgil snorted at her calling him a 'young man' before nodding.
"Margarita in that case. Unless you want pepperoni, Cyg?"
"No, I'm quite amenable to a margarita pizza. I don't often like to eat outside of scheduled mealtimes, but I must admit today's run has made me rather more tired and hungry than normal."
Madison raised an eyebrow at the two of them as Wesley sat down on Cygnus' other side, huddling into the young man's left just as Virgil was on his right.
"Oh? Why's that then? Did something happen?"
"Yeah," Virgil responded almost without thinking, "got chased out of the building we'd been looting by one of the creatures that was upstairs. Ugly thing it was, with a really creepy screech."
Wesley flopped down over Cygnus' lap, resting his head on Virgil's own lap, and looked up at him with concern and worry in his eyes.
"You got chased again? Are you alright? You didn't stumble and hurt yourself, did you?"
Virgil smiled once again at the sweetness of the adolescent. Wesley was, if nothing else, a wonderful person to be around at home.
"I'm alright, I promise. Cyg as well. It lost our trail after a quarter of an hour or so, I think. We weren't able to get into the staff area, but we still picked up some good shit from the store itself. Which reminds me actually, I got you something!"
He nodded towards his bag, which was resting against the coffee table, and madison handed it over to him. He opened it up, rooted through it for a few moments, before pulling out-
"Aha! Here it is. One very expensive, very soft, comforter. All yours, courtesy of yours truly."
Wesley's eyes lit up at the sight of the soft blanket, and as soon as he got hold of it he hugged it to his chest. Cygnus pulled the bottom of it out so that it could cover Wesley's entire body as he lay atop their laps, and with a cosy and contented sigh he muttered his thanks to Virgil.
"Thank you Virgil. I could fall asleep right now."
"Go ahead," Cygnus responded, "I don't think we'll be going anywhere anytime soon."
At that moment Madison walked back in, looking down at the three of them on the sofa with a fond and yet exasperated smile.
"Okay, the pizza is in the oven. It'll take just under half an hour to cook since the oven isn't up to heat yet though. Now, what happened here?"
"Oh, I was just reminding Wesley why I'm his favourite."
Wesley's giggles at his smugness were almost infectious, and Virgil couldn't help but run a hand through the young man's hair and ruffle it in response. Cygnus playfully scoffed and proclaimed that Wesley had "lost the privilege to lie over my legs", which the young man responded to with a half-giggling half-panicked apology, though they all knew Cygnus would never actually stop anyone from leaning on him for affection and rest. With the stress of the day now far from his mind, and a human furnace on his lap, Virgil couldn't help but shut his eyes for just a moment.
----------------------------------------
Virgil wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been asleep, but it couldn't have been long. Cygnus was still next to him, Wesley was still awake, and Sterling was walking in with the pizza on two plates. Virgil smiled at Sterling, nodding his thanks to the boy for bringing the food in, then stretched his arms and legs a little from where he was sat.
"Oh, you're awake again! Sleep well?"
He smiled down at Wesley.
"Yeah, I slept well. Not for long enough though. I'll rectify that after this with a proper nap I think."
"Oh, can I-"
"Yes," he started, cutting Wesley off, "of course you can join me. Cyg, what about you?"
His boyfriend smiled, shaking his head a little.
"I'll probably take the armchair and read a little, if it's alright with you."
Virgil nodded.
"Fine by me. Looks like it's just me and you, Wes."
Wesley weakly punched the air.
"Woo! Sleep time here I come!"
There was a round of chuckling around the room at that. Virgil took the lull in conversation as being an ample time to start eating his pizza, groaning in delight as he took the first bite. Frozen pizza wasn't exactly gourmet, but it was still damn good.
"Okay, that's some good fucking food. Anyone want some?"
Sterling nodded, and Virgil held out his plate so that the youngest of their group could grab a slice.
"Thanks Virgil. Hey, how was it out there today? Cygnus got us started but he was focusing more on disabling alarms and electric locks than he was with the store itself."
Virgil nodded. That certainly sounded like the Cygnus he knew. He took another large bite of his pizza, holding up his finger to signal that he'd speak as soon as he'd swallowed, and after a few seconds more he began recalling his day.
The highlight, it had to be said, was finding the ring on that aisle of comforters. As he got to that part of the story he held his ring up for the others to see, and both Sterling and Lyla came in closer to get a better look.
"Christ, that is a nice looking thing. And you just found it on an isle?"
Virgil nodded, gently setting his arm back down on Wesley's chest.
"Yep. Just left there, for one reason or another. Don't know why, but I thought it looked like my sort of style."
"Well, you got that much right at least." Lyla's retreating voice sounded out as she moved to sit back down on the other couch. "Didn't get a matching one for your beau, then? I'd feel hurt if I were you, Sea. He's clearly forgetting about you."
Cygnus rolled his eyes and gently grabbed one of Virgil's hands, running a thumb over the lightly blushing young man's knuckles.
"I don't think I need to worry about that sort of thing. Besides, the diamond brings out the colour in his eyes. Don't you agree?"
Lyla scoffed a little and made a gagging noise, feigning disgust at Cygnus' sappiness. By itself that made Virgil chuckle a little, doubly so when he pressed a cheek to the man's cheek.
"I don't think I'll be forgetting about him anytime soon. Anyway, you've all still got to sort out what we picked up at the store today. That's your job, not mine, so I'm clocking out and sleeping as soon as I've finished this pizza. You want any, Lie?"
Lyla smirked at him and all but swiped a slice off of Cygnus' plate, causing him to give her a mildly disgruntled look.
"Nah, I'm all good. Yo Mads, we got any sriracha out there?"
The older girl tutted under her breath at Lyla's exaggerated rudeness, but Virgil couldn't miss the fact that she went to go grab it for Lyla anyway. Lyla was a force of nature at times, one made of jokes and mischief, but they all appreciated her forthright sense of humour. It contrasted greatly with the more reserved members of the group, and if Virgil was being honest that was most of them. It brought some much needed noise and levity into their lives.
Madison walked back into the front room and tossed the sriracha to Lyla, who caught it with one hand and squirted some directly onto her slice of pizza. Sterling grumbled something or other under his breath, but Virgil didn't catch what it was that he said. Either way, he was happy with moments like this. Some warm food, a few people to curl up with, some light conversation in the background, and above all in a place where they were all safe. What wasn't to love about all of that?
"You alright there, Virgil? You look more tired than I do."
He nodded as he finished the last of his pizza, smiling down at Wesley.
"Yeah, sorry. Today was a lot for me. I think I'm about ready for that nap now. I'll wash my hands up and then come and lie down with you, if that's still fine with you of course."
"Virgil," Lyla called out with a mouthful of pizza, "my brother is quite happy to cuddle with literally anyone at anytime. You should know this by now."
Wesley smiled over at her and gave her a thumbs up. Yeah, that's true I guess, Virgil thought to himself. Then again if I were in his position I probably wouldn't complain either.
"Well in that case I'll be sure I don't take too long cleaning myself up so that I can be back here as soon as possible. Don't fall asleep without me."
There was another round of chuckles and light laughter at that comment, and Wesley sat up a little with a groan so that Virgil could be freed from his extremely comfortable prison and go wash up. He was only gone for a few minutes, and yet when he got back he found Wesley sat in Cygnus' lap with his back to the slightly older boy, leant back with Cygnus' arms around his sides and his eyes half-lidded again.
"Okay, come on. You had one job, Wes. Cyg, stop stealing my sleep-buddy."
"Too slow," came the response from his boyfriend, "he's comfy."
Despite his comment Cygnus did begin to disentangle himself from Wesley, who giggled a little as he was carefully and yet unceremoniously deposited into Virgil's arms.
"Right, I don't know about you but I can see a free sofa and a blanket there. You wanna pass the fuck out?"
Madison tossed a balled up piece of paper at him, a scandalised gasp on her lips.
"Virgil, language! You can't swear in front of the baby!"
"I absolutely can."
Cygnus looked around, confused.
"Baby? I don't see any infants around here. There are only the six of us left at all, by our estimations."
"It's me," Wesley replied, a deadpan tone to his voice as Virgil pulled him down so that they could actually make good on trying to get some rest. "I'm the baby."
Virgil rolled his eyes a little, but couldn't stop himself from smiling. He loved all of these magnificent people, each perfect in their own ways. Wesley was one of the sweetest people he knew, if perpetually tired thanks to his sleeping disorder, and also managed to be objectively adorable no matter the time of day. Lyla, by contrast, was a hurricane of activity and laughter. She was the one who raised the others up on days where they might have felt low, and if ever one of them dared to talk down about themselves she would damn near bust the door down to aggressively reaffirm how good they all were. 'Aggressive Wholesomeness', she'd once called her tactic. He couldn't argue with that name, nor the effectiveness it displayed.
Sterling was... he was Sterling. He was the youngest of their group, not by much but still by a wide enough margin for it to be noticeable in his emotional maturity. He was in an awkward period of life where he was standoffish and terse, almost always without intending to be and certainly in moments where he would genuinely have rather been open and honest. He was making a concerted effort to better himself on that front though, and genuinely wanted to be as open with each other as the rest of them were, it was just something that would take time. They all understood that, and given the improvement in his mental health and disposition since meeting them a year ago they were all proud to see how far he had come. It wasn't perfect and he still had his moments, but he would always apologise as soon as he'd overstepped a boundary or realised he was being obstinate for no good reason.
Cygnus had helped him a great deal with that sort of thing; Virgil's boyfriend had struggled with much the same thing when he was younger, being quick to anger and over-stressed by the environment he was in, but had been able to mellow out considerably when around those who would give him space where he needed it and coax him to come out of his shell when he didn't. It meant that Sterling had someone who could relate to him, and more importantly help him, as he went through this. Sterling was trying, and he was succeeding, and Virgil thought that was pretty cool of him. Sometimes Wesley referred to him as a 'Mini-Sea', given how much he acted like Cygnus sometimes seeing as the two of them were the most logically-minded of the group, and if Sterling didn't like that comparison he hadn't mentioned it yet.
Actually, I think he might be rather proud of being like Cyg. He looks up to him like an older brother after all.
As for Madison, she was probably the closest thing the rest of them had to a mother figure at times. A mother or an older sister, anyhow. Well, Wesley already had an older sister, but to the rest of them she was like an older sister.
Virgil settled in, nuzzling into Wesley's neck absent-mindedly as he drifted off. Sure, today had been a hell of a lot, but it was pretty much over now. He'd enjoy this nap and, probably, wake up at about the time Madison and Sterling had dinner ready. He wasn't sure what it was they were planning on making tonight, but he wasn't too picky. They were good cooks, both of them, so he was certain that whatever they both came up with would be damn good. They had an ability to balance taste, nutrition, and texture, in ways that he'd never been able to do. Then again, he had spent most of the last few years living off of pot noodles and the odd ready meal if he was lucky, so he guessed he hadn't ever really learned to cook at all, let alone learn how to cook well.
All those days were behind him now though, and he was now a healthy weight with a healthy appetite and a healthy diet. Thank God for his friends, because he was pretty sure they were the only reason he was still breathing half of the time.
As Wesley's gentle breathing lulled him to sleep, he reasoned to himself that the five people around him weren't a bad reason to keep going at all. In fact, as reasons to keep trudging forwards went, these people were a cut above anything else he could possibly conceive. They were more than just friends, they were a family. Only two of them were related to each other, but they were a family nonetheless.
And he'd be lying if he said that thought didn't make him smile even as he fell asleep.