Virgil glanced at the clock again and then the door. Logan was running late and he was starting to get worried. Logan wasn't responding to his text messages and he was supposed to be home two hours ago. The inconsistent coming home times were really starting to mess with his anxiety. He never knew if he was allowed to tell himself he was just working still or if he should be calling 911!

Click.

The unexpected noise startled Virgil. His eyes snapped toward where the sound was his body tensing. It was coming from the door. The noise he heard was one of a key being turned in a lock.

The door opened to reveal his husband, still dressed in his work clothes: a dark polo shirt with the blue tie Virgil had given him on his last birthday.

"Lo, you're back." Virgil was visibly relieved, letting his shoulders relax and his wings not curled against his body so tightly. He stepped toward him to greet him, either for a hug or kiss. Whichever felt the most natural.

Logan pulled him close for a hug and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm sorry, starlight. Work kept me later then I would have preferred."

"You could have called." Virgil muttered, lowering his gaze. A slight blush graced his cheeks at the kiss and nickname. It still made him feel warm inside, even after all this time.

"I know, I should have," he agreed with Virgil's statement. "Being busy was no excuse." Logan looked down to meet his husband's beautiful eyes.

Virgil caught his gaze before breaking contact both with his eyes and with his body. After pulling away, he walked toward the kitchen and dining room space with a slight flick of his wing. "I have dinner waiting."

Before Logan could say anything else, he disappeared around the corner. He sighed softly before locking the door. It was habit, but not a bad habit to keep. Between Virgil's anxiety and the fact that locking your doors is just a safe thing to do overall, he wasn't exactly upset by it. Though they kept everything locked, they also had keys hidden around just in case. It was only logical to prepare for both scenarios.

Logan set down his work things and hung up his keys on the key hook. He walked to the kitchen shortly after his love.

When he entered the room, Virgil was pulling out food from the microwave. When he turned and spotted Logan, he turned and went to set the plates down at their respective seats. "It had gotten cold while I was waiting." He explained, his tone of voice quiet and soft spoken. Other than the plates set down, there was silverware, glasses of lemonade and a bowl of cooked green beans.

"Pistachio crusted salmon. My favorite." Logan looked slightly surprised, going to sit down at his set out seat. "What's the occasion?"

"I just wanted to surprise you." He looked up at Logan, eyes widening slightly. "Why? Was it too much? I'm sorry, I could-"

"No, no, Virgil. It's perfect. I love it." Logan quickly reassured him. To prove his point, he picked up his fork and knife and then cut into his salmon.

Virgil let out a breath, falling quiet. He grabbed the bowl of green beans and scooped some onto his plate.

They had a rather quiet dinner, which wasn't unusual for them. Alone together was something they specialized at. They've spent hours reading different books besides each other or working on various projects in the same room. It's just that there was an awkward undertone to this specific dining experience. 

"How's work going?" Virgil glanced up at him, fiddling with his wedding ring.

"It is keeping me occupied more than I would prefer." Logan set down his fork and pushed his glasses up on the ridge of his nose. "But we are getting much done so I shouldn't complain."

"That's good." Virgil hummed softly, "Is Basono still giving you trouble?"

Logan huffed, shaking his head. "Yes, he is. He is a nuisance and unhelpful but I don't have the power to fire him."

"Could you put in an anonymous complaint?" He suggested, pushing around the green beans with his fork.

"That is an option I've considered recently." Logan sipped his drink. "I think I'll do it tomorrow."

They fell quiet again after that, continuing to eat the dinner Virgil prepared.

After several moments, a ringing echoed through the room. Logan sighed softly, recognizing his ringtone. He didn't make any moves to answer the phone and it stopped ringing. A few moments later, his phone rang again.

"Are you going to get that?" Virgil asked after he swallowed what was in his mouth.

Logan sighed softly, pulling out his phone to look at the caller I.D before answering it. "You've reached Logan Berry, who's this?" He knew who it was due to the caller I.D. number but the greeting was habit. "Wait, slow down! What happened?" He paused so the person on the other end could respond, "Okay, understood. Let me wrap up what I was doing and I'll be there to help. Talk to you soon."

"Sounds important." Virgil commented after he got off the phone, not glancing up from his plate.

"Yes, it is. They need me." He stood up but quickly hesitated. "Do you mind that I'm cutting dinner short, dear?"

"No, no, not at all." Virgil dismissed with a shake of his head. "Go do your work thing. They seem like they need you."

Logan still seemed unsure but he dipped his head anyway, dismissing himself from the table. He headed toward his personal office, leaving Virgil staring after him.

Virgil sat there for several moments as he continued to fiddle with his wedding ring. It wasn't Logan's fault he was always so busy. Virgil knew he was busy, especially since he was the main source of income for their household. He tried to take care of the house and make it so whatever time they had together wouldn't be spent doing house projects but that time seemed to just be dwindling down significantly.

Virgil stood up and started to clean up. He doubted Logan would come back for it to be worth waiting for him. He first cleaned off the plates and cups before setting them in the dishwasher. He took the dish of green beans and put them in a plastic container before placing the item in the dishwasher as well. He continued to clean up after dinner and soon finished. He started doing some other mindless chores as well, just to do something with his hands.

Virgil walked past the office a little bit later. He caught a glimpse of Logan from the corner of his eyes as he passed, causing him the double back.

Logan had pushed up his glasses as he rubbed his eyes with one hand with a long sigh.

He felt a pang of guilt. What gave him the right to be so selfish when Logan was clearly doing the best he could do? He didn't deserve such a hard working husband.

Virgil entered the room and went behind the chair Logan was sitting on. He wrapped his arms around his husband's shoulders and buried his face into the crook of his neck.

He could feel how tense Logan was... he couldn't help but feel even more guilty at that fact. "I'm sorry." He whispered, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

"Sorry?" He raised his eyebrow, attempting to glance back at his partner. "For what?"

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He couldn't come up with the words very easily. "For my negative thoughts..." Virgil's voice trailed off.

"Your cognitive distortions are nothing to be sorry for, love." He put his hand up to mess with his partner's dyed purple hair. "Would you like to explain what falsehoods your brain is telling you?"

"Just... I'm not good enough. I don't do enough." He squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face into his shoulder now. "I feel selfish. I am competing against your work... I know I shouldn't. You work so hard there and I know you love it when it isn't this stressful-"

"Virgil, there is no reason for you to beat yourself about this." He interrupted with a hum, not wanting to give his partner a chance to spiral further. "It is normal to want to spend time with your partner and I'm sorry that I haven't been around much to comfort you. I will try harder to be a reassurance for you, love."

"I love you, Lo." He whispered softly into his ear.

They stayed like that for several moments before he got an idea to make his husband feel better. Logan spun the chair around, slow enough to give Virgil time to let go of his shoulder. As soon as he was facing Virgil, he stood up, picking up his husband, bridal style. There were perks to being the taller one in a relationship.

"Woah, hey-" Virgil exclaimed, eyes widened. He wasn't expecting to be swept off his feet. Literally!

"Stop squirming!" Logan struggled to keep him up. "I'm going to drop you!"

"Then let me down!" He hit his arm, laughing out loud. The atmosphere seemed to have changed completely.

"Nope, you are under arrest." Logan declared, walking out of the office and toward the back of the house.

"Oh really?" Virgil raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms though he did stop thrashing around. "And what are my charges, officer?"

"You're charged with being the best husband ever." Logan leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Virgil blushed at the kiss and the compliment. He kissed him back, letting his eyes close. When they stopped, Virgil tried to hide his dorky smile. "Gosh, Lo. When did you get so cheesy?" 

"You say cheesy, I say romantic." He went to open the slide glass door and carried him out into the backyard.

He spread out his midnight blue wings and smiled down at Virgil. "Ready, love?"

"You know I can fly myself." Despite his words, Virgil wrapped his arms around his love tightly and he curled in his black and purple wings to allow for Logan to more easily carry him.

Logan pushed off of the ground as he launched into the air. He landed on the roof of their house. Only then did he let Virgil down from his grasp.

Virgil glanced up at the sky once his feet were on something solid. Time under the stars had become a sort of special thing between them in their relationship. They've spent countless nights out here either discussing the constellations, discussing life or even simply being alone together.

When Virgil turned to look at his love, he was already sitting down. A non-verbal conversation was held between them when Logan stretched out his wing and patted the spot next to him. Accepting his silent offer, Virgil sat down next to his husband and snuggled against him, wings pulled close as well.

Logan's wing wrapped around him, keeping his starlight warm. He knew how cool nights such as this left Virgil freezing. Virgil had been able to maintain a healthy body mass which helped his general inability to contain body heat well but he still ran on the colder side, much like his biological mother. Logan wanted to provide heat and warmth, knowing this. It also helped that he simply enjoyed cuddling close to his partner.

Virgil closed his eyes, letting all of his worry leave his body. He sunk into his husband's embrace, unable to cover a smile that was displayed brightly. "I love you." Virgil's eyes fluttered open to meet Logan's beautiful chocolate brown ones.

"I love you too, my starlight." They leaned in closer, closing the space between with a loving kiss.

A/N: Happy birthday, Sam! You're an amazing, kind, smart person that I can't even begin to describe how wonderful you are. I hope you have a great birthday! <3