Warnings: nervousness/anxiety, mention of nausea/feeling like he's going to throw up, mention of feeling like he's going to pass out, stress, virgil isn't having a calm day, mentions of homophobia, It's fine tho

Summary: Virgil and Logan are making dinner for Virgil's parents, and sure, their evening would be lovely if it weren't for the fact that his parents neither knew of his sexuality nor of the fact that he is engaged to be married

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"No, Logan, please, hun, that's not correct. We're doing it wrong!" Virgil said with a shaky voice which made Logan look up at him.

"The mix of spices should have been added already, in the recipe it says that-" Virgil turned around, grabbing the cookbook and not caring that he was accidentally folding a bit of the page, "here, for best results, add your mixed together spices at the same time as the bell pepper."

"This will not ruin the entire stew, we've already added loads of spices, how important could these be? It's fine." Logan said, now adding the spice mix that Virgil had been talking about. Logan's words did not make Virgil feel better in the least. In fact, he was unsure if he had ever been feeling more stressed, and that said a lot considering his stress levels through the entirety of high school and college.

Virgil avoided telling Logan that no it isn't, it is not fine, and instead he turned towards the cutting board in front of him where he's got two handfuls of cherry tomatoes, ready to be sliced into fourths of a whole.

He sent quick glances Logan's way now and then, unwillingly annoyed at Logan's much calmer pace, trying to tell himself that there was no point in trying to rush him, it would only lead to accidents.

"The cucumber should be cut into smaller pieces." Virgil said as he did his best to cut the tomatoes and not his fingers into even pieces.

"Do you want my help or not? I promise the size of the diced cucumber will not make or break this dinner. How tonight goes relies on other things, things out of our hands." Logan said, and while not exactly making Virgil calmer it was true. No matter how perfect their cooking was it would make no difference in his parents reaction to his sexuality and their relationship.

He put his knife down, letting out a sniffle and blinking the blurry away from his eyes. This situation was completely and utterly out of his control. Of course he could cancel the dinner, call his parents and tell them he wasn't feeling good. But he'd told them it wasn't a good time, that he was sick, that they were busy, so many excuses so many times, he shouldn't avoid this much longer or his parents would start to worry, or ask questions.

"Stop stressing, love, the situation will not get any better if you have an anxiety attack." Logan said with a sigh, putting the his knife down with a worried frown at Virgil, disregarding his now more neatly sliced cucumber squares.

"I can't not stress. You know that." Virgil said, trying to not sound like he was hyperventilating, which he might be. Not that he can trick Logan into not realizing how anxious he is, they're years past Logan not seeing right through him when it comes to these things.

Logan held a hand out for Virgil to take, which he did, only to be pulled into a hug.

"It will be fine. From everything you've told me about your parents I've gathered that they're great people who've always looked out for you. Do not forget that they love you." He said slowly, as if trying to make sure that Virgil heard every word he was saying. Virgil bit back a sigh and instead wrapped his arms around Logan's middle.

"No offence, Logan, but that is not very comforting coming from someone who's parents still say they won't be coming to our wedding." Virgil said without succeeding well at all on keeping his panic out of his voice.

He'd been there when Logan had called his parents after they'd gotten engaged. He wasn't sure what had been said on the other end of the conversation, but gathered from the little he had heard both Logan and his mother had been crying, and then she'd hung up on Logan and Virgil had spent the evening holding Logan and trying to make sure he was at least a little okay.

Seeing Logan that upset was nothing Virgil wanted to ever have to live through again, and neither did he want Logan to have to take care of him if he broke down because of his parents response when they found out that not only was Virgil gay, he was engaged to be married to another guy.

Logan cupped Virgil's face in his hands and forced him to look at Logan. Virgil gave him his most miserable pout.

"Virgil, I know you're worried. But despite that I need you to breathe calmly, okay?" He said, not letting go of him until a minute after Virgil closed his eyes, leaned into the touch and tried to take deep breaths. Virgil placed his hands on Logan's chest, feeling every breath he took and trying to match his breathing.

"That's perfect, keep that up, love." Logan murmured, pressing small, soft kisses to his cheeks, nose, forehead and lips which gave Virgil something else to focus on than the weight compressing his chest.

Virgil pulled back from the embrace, definitely feeling calmer now that his breathing was under control. He stood on his tip toes and pressed a grateful kiss to Logan's lips, then letting go of him and turning back towards his cutting board.

"I still feel sick." Virgil muttered, hand against his forehead to try and cool himself down a little.

"Hey, Virgil," Logan said in an incredibly soft voice that would have Virgil feeling flustered if he wasn't anxious enough to worry that he was actually going to throw up, "I love you, and I'll always love you. And no matter what they think I will always be here with you."

Virgil turned his head to send him a faint smile, then the two of them finished making the salad. Logan put it in their nicest bowl (the one they usually just used for doritos) and placed it on the table. He checked the rice, making sure it wasn't burning in the bottom before turning back towards Virgil.

The doorbell rang at that moment, making Virgil flinch hard enough to cause Logan to take a step back. Logan sighed, taking Virgil's hand and pressing a kiss to his temple. Virgil felt as if his feet had frozen to the floor, or as if his legs had turned to jelly. Maybe both at the same time.

"Come now, love. No point in keeping them waiting." Logan said, leading a very reluctant Virgil towards the front door of their apartment. Logan ended up being the one to open the door too, Virgil felt like he had frozen in place there too and he was uncertain if he would even manage to lift his arm.

"Hello!" His mother said cheerfully as soon as the door opened. His dad stood a step behind, smiling softly with a hand on his wife's shoulder. Virgil was pulled into a tight hug before he could blink or even attempt to respond.

"You're trembling dear! Are you cold?" His mother said. Virgil let out some sound that hopefully sounded like an agreement. His parents didn't necessarily need to know he was shaking from anxiety, he'd rather they'd think he was just chilly.

"Hello, who are you? Virgil didn't say he would have a friend over." His father said, holding his hand out towards Logan, which he took and shook confidently. Virgil did not understand how Logan could be so calm, he himself had to focus all his energy on not passing out, throwing up, or hyperventilating.

"My name is Logan, roommate and fiance of Virgil's." He said, and Virgil actually heard on his voice that he wasn't all that calm either, though Virgil suspected he was the only one that would've noticed that.

First now his parents seemed to have noticed that the two of them were holding hands. There was a moment of silence and Virgil was extremely aware of his own heartbeat, almost surprised that no one commented on how loud it was because surely he couldn't be the only one who heard it?

"Virgil, I thought you had a girlfriend?" His mom said, now turned towards him and Virgil would've surely passed out on the spot if it weren't for the reassuring grip Logan had on his hand and the fact that passing out would make him feel terribly embarrassed once he regained consciousness.

"No, I've never had a girlfriend in my life... I told you I'd met someone, you just assumed it was a girl and I didn't correct you." Virgil admitted, unsure if he was blushing or having hot and cold flashes. Knowing this situation and his anxiety it might very well be a mix of the two.

"Well," his mother seemed to find herself in the situation quickly, and she turned to Logan who was quite tense, Virgil saw when glancing at him, "how lovely to meet you. Logan, right? I'm so happy Virgil's found someone."

Logan smiled brightly, Virgil could practically see how his worry melted off of him and his grip on Virgil's hand softened, thumb brushing over the back of his hand. Suddenly the situations whole mood changed, Virgil's anxiety lowered quickly enough for him to almost feel dizzy. So far 50% of his parents seemed to be against disowning him.

His mom hugged Logan too, kissing his cheek. It made Virgil smile, not only because it was nice to see but also because Logan was taller than Virgil was, and Virgil's mom was quite a short woman which led to Logan having to bend down quite a bit.

His dad put his arms around Virgil, patting his back which was his way of telling Virgil he had his support without actually having to speak. Virgil blinked away the stinging feeling in his eyes and tried not to give them a too wobbly of a smile.

"Oh what a pretty ring." His mom commented, holding Logan's left hand and closely examining the ring. "Who proposed?"

"Actually, I did. Then Logan proposed too a few days later because he got pissy at the fact that he didn't get the chance to propose, apparently he'd planned on doing so too." Virgil said, unable to conceal a grin at the memory. He moved past his dad, finally closing the door behind them. He didn't need any nosy neighbours to listen and knowing the mischievous kids living across the hall they'd be listening as well as they could.

After a while of trying his best to answer all of his mother's hundreds of questions he finally got them to take their jackets of and sit down in the kitchen, Logan already having gone ahead and put the food on the table.

Now that Virgil wasn't feeling anxious enough to feel sick he realized just how hungry he was since he'd barely been able to get himself to eat anything for either of the two previous meals, no matter how much Logan had tried to tempt him into eating.

His parents kept asking questions and Virgil soon found himself, with the help of Logan, telling them how they had both proposed, how they had met, the date of the wedding and their plans for it so far (the second they found out Logan's parents weren't coming Virgil's dad offered to walk with Logan down the aisle, and Virgil swore Logan's eyes had looked at least a little bit watery).

Virgil was proven over and over again that evening that whatever he might have feared was very far from the truth, and it could not have gone better. Even their cooking was good, which sure was something considering both his and Logan's lacking cooking abilities.

Virgil might have cried a little as soon as they left too, though that was out of relief and the simple fact that he just loved Logan so much, and maybe a tiny bit from the fact that he was exhausted over having been stressed out of his mind all day.

Whatever the reason for his tears Logan was there next to him, a hand softly grasping to Virgil's and a smile on his face that was brighter than it had been since they'd made plans for this dinner, and he kept mumbling sweet things to Virgil as they sat together, both feeling much more hopeful of the future than they usually dared to.

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Written: 27th May 2019
Published: 18th June 2019
Words: 2189

Hi I hope you are all having a wonderful day, and if not I hope this distracted you from the harshness of reality for at least a little while

<3