#(though that portmanteau has Logan in the middle...

[nonbinary-octopus]

Not Just the Two of Us Chapter 3:  Confession, Take Two: Asking Virgil Out

Chapter 1: Confession

[Masterpost]

[More of my writing]

Wordcount: 2.2 K

Summary: The plan immediately falls to pieces.

~~~~~

The best setting, they decided, was probably their living room. Virgil was often over anyway, and it provided a comfortable atmosphere, without the distractions of other people around, or strangers to watch if things got awkward. And if things went poorly, it was a short trip to their bedroom, where Roman could cry about it while Logan de-escalated with Virgil if necessary.

It took several minutes for Roman to work up the courage to actually say it. He and Virgil sat in what would normally be a comfortable silence, Virgil with his feet up on the couch, looking at his phone, and Roman on the opposite couch, watching him and trying to psych himself up. This was even harder than telling Logan!

“Virgil?” he said at last. Virgil looked up.

“Hm?”

Abort, abort! Roman’s mind screamed, but he ignored it. He wasn’t about to back down now! “I have a crush on you,” he blurted, like ripping off a bandaid.

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Oh no,” he said. “Don’t— don’t you dare, I’m not having this dream again.”

What? That had not been the response Roman had expected. In fact, it wasn’t any of the several responses he had considered, and as such, he was without a contingency plan. “What dream?”

“This dream,” Virgil hissed, gesturing furiously between them. “You. Me. The idea that you would conceivably like me back. I know how this ends, and it isn’t good.” He jabbed a finger in Roman’s direction. “You are taken, and I can’t have you, so get out of my head and let me have a normal, nonsensical kind of dream instead of the kind that will make things awkward when I see the real Roman.”

“I… I am the real Roman,” said Roman, feeling very confused.

“No you’re not,” Virgil answered grumpily. “You’re a product of my wishful thinking. When I wake up, you’ll be gone.”

“Um.” Roman honestly had no idea what to do. “Logan?” he called. “I need help!”

Logan appeared at the doorway. “How is it going?” he asked.

“Well, the good news is I think he likes me back. Bad news is, he thinks he’s dreaming.”

“Go away!” Virgil yelled, throwing a coaster at Roman’s head.

“Ow!”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Which part of his reaction lead you to believe that he likes you back?” he inquired.

“The part where he called me a product of wishful thinking,” Roman answered, rubbing the spot where the coaster had connected. “Can you convince him he’s not dreaming, and then explain the polyamory thing?”

“I can try.” Logan sat down next to Virgil, who scowled. “How are you feeling, Virgil?”

Virgil hissed at him.

“I see.”

Virgil hugged his legs. “I would like to wake up now,” he whispered.

“Why do you believe that you are asleep?” Logan asked gently.

Virgil gestured vaguely at Roman and said nothing.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more explanatory than that,” Logan said. “What about Roman?”

Virgil was quiet for several seconds, hugging his legs tightly. “A dream is the only place where Roman would ever like me back,” he said at last. “But even in a dream, I don’t have a sliver of a chance with him.” He ducked his head, hiding his face with his knees. “Please. I wanna wake up before we get to the part where you’re furious.”

There was stunned silence. Then Logan said in a kind tone, “I am not going to be furious, or even mad at all.”

Virgil peeked out at him. “You’re not?”

Logan shook his head. “I can understand where you are coming from,” he said. “And I apologize for not addressing this concern from the start. I should have realized that you would also be worried about how I would react.”

“‘Also’?” Virgil repeated, barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” Logan said. “When Roman came to me yesterday to tell me that he had a crush on you, he was worried that I would dump him.”

Virgil’s eyes flicked to Roman for a second, then locked back on Logan. “You didn’t dump him, did you?”

“No. I did not.”

“Good.”

“I told him he should ask you out.”

There was silence again. Then Virgil asked, “Why?”

“For a couple of reasons, but largely so that he could find out if you liked him back, so we could proceed accordingly from there,” Logan answered, still using the carefully calm tone so as not to unnecessarily agitate Virgil. “If you did not like him back, knowing that would permit Roman to work through his feelings for you, and eventually move on from them.”

“And if I do?” It wasn’t quite a whisper, but it wasn’t anywhere near regular volume either.

“Well, then the three of us could try to work out an arrangement which allows both you and I to date Roman at the same time.”

Virgil glanced again to Roman, who was watching them, quietly hopeful and still. Then he looked back at Logan. “Why would you want me to date your boyfriend? Why would you let me?”

“Well, for one thing, Roman would like it,” Logan said. “In general — and with some caveats, of course, which do not apply here — I approve of things which will increase my boyfriend’s joy. I believe that Roman would enjoy you as a partner, and as I have quite enjoyed you as a friend, I am of the opinion that I would likewise enjoy you as a metamour.”

Virgil didn’t say that he didn’t know that word, but he didn’t have to. Logan explained, 

“A metamour is someone with whom you share a partner. Were you to begin dating Roman, you and I would be metamours.”

Virgil nodded slowly.

“I also have a selfish reason for encouraging you to date Roman,” Logan admitted. “While I thoroughly enjoy his attention, he is an extrovert, whereas I am an introvert. Although Roman does not ‘count’ as much as most people in terms of my social exhaustion, and I find the reward to be more than worth the drain, the fact remains that I am often quite tired after spending the day together. You, meanwhile, are another extrovert, despite your social anxiety. I theorize that if you started to date Roman as well, we would stand a better chance of matching his energy as a team.”

“He does have a lot of energy,” Virgil agreed. He looked at Roman for a long time. Roman looked back with a hopeful expression. Then Virgil asked, still looking at Roman, “Am I allowed to kiss him?”

“Yes,” Logan said. “So long as Roman also agrees to it, you have my permission to kiss him.”

Roman, who had bodily perked up upon hearing Virgil’s question, nodded quickly. Virgil beckoned for him to come closer, and Roman all but scrambled across the room to him, skirting around the coffee table. Virgil stood as he approached, biting his lip.

Roman stepped into Virgil’s bubble. Virgil, head tilted down, lifted his eyes to meet his gaze. Tenderly, Roman brushed a finger along Virgil’s jawbone. “May I give you a kiss?” he asked, nearly in a whisper.

Virgil, who seemed to have stopped breathing, nodded. Roman leaned in, and Virgil tipped his chin up to meet him. Roman brushed his lips against Virgil’s, a mere ghost of a kiss, to give Virgil a chance to change his mind and back away. Virgil didn’t. Roman kissed him harder, though still gentle. Virgil kissed back, awkward and uncertain.

After a few seconds, they pulled apart. Virgil looked down at Logan, who was calmly observing them from the couch.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?”

Logan nodded. “If you had gone behind my back to begin dating, then I would have indeed been furious,” he said. “But as it is, I am quite happy for both of you. We ought to discuss what boundaries will be in place, so as to avoid hurt down the line, but if the two of you would like to have a makeout session first to resolve your mutual pining, I have no objections.”

Virgil turned back to Roman. Roman grinned.

What followed was not, strictly speaking, making out. However, they kissed long enough for Logan to get up, go to the kitchen, and return before they pulled apart again.

“Do you still think you’re dreaming?” Roman asked.

Virgil shook his head, a soft smile on his lips. Then, suddenly, he froze in place, and his expression turned stricken. “I threw a coaster at your head!”

“It’s okay,” Roman said, but Virgil stood on his toes and put both hands on the back of Roman’s neck to pull him back down to his level. Roman obliged, stooping so that Virgil could look at the place where the coaster had struck.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked, parting Roman’s hair to look for a bruise.

“I’m fine,” Roman insisted. “It only stung for a little bit.”

“Which coaster did you throw?” Logan inquired.

Virgil didn’t even glance away, still prodding at Roman’s scalp in search of an injury. “I dunno, I just hurled the first thing I could grab.”

Logan set the papers he’d fetched on the coffee table, and crossed the room to where the coaster had landed after it bounced off Roman’s head. “It’s the one Patton made us,” he said, turning it over in his hands. “Leather is relatively soft, although I suppose the plastic lacing might count as a hard edge. I would be more concerned if you had thrown a metal or glass one, especially considering the greater mass of the latter, along with its potential to shatter into sharp pieces.”

“See?” Roman said. He shook Virgil’s fingers off and stood upright again, grinning. “I’m fine, Virgil.”

Virgil didn’t seem fully convinced, but he said, “I guess so.”

Roman chuckled. “Besides. It was worth it, for that kiss.”

Virgil blushed, looking down.

Logan came back and picked up his papers again.

“Whatchu got there?” Roman asked. 

“I have the list of boundaries you and I set when we began dating, along with the amendments,” Logan answered, “and some paper and pencils to draft the new version that includes Virgil.” He paused, addressing Virgil next. “That is, if I am not ‘jumping the gun’ — so to speak — and you are indeed willing to become a part of our relationship?”

“I want to at least try it,” Virgil said softly. “What kind of boundaries, though?”

“Ones like, Logan is allowed to kiss me whenever he wants, because I like surprise kisses,” Roman said, “but if I want to kiss Logan, I need to get permission first.”

“However,” Logan chimed in, “within a few months of dating, we were able to adjust the definitions of asking and receiving permission for kisses from exclusively verbal to various methods, including body language.”

“I want to be asked first, too,” Virgil said. “At least for now.”

Roman nodded, and Logan sat down on the couch so that he could use the coffee table to make a note of that.

“Do you want to sit on my lap?” Roman offered. 

“Won’t I squish you?”

“Nope!” Roman sat down and held his arms out for Virgil, who still looked hesitant. “You’re even smaller than Logan,” Roman encouraged gently. “And I can hold him, if he’ll let me. You won’t squish me.”

After a moment more of hesitation, Virgil delicately sat down on Roman’s lap. Roman wrapped both arms around his waist to hold him in place.

“Can I read your list?” Virgil asked Logan.

“Certainly.” Logan handed it over, and Virgil began to read it. After only a moment, he looked up.

“This is very organized.”

Logan grinned. “Thank you.”

After Virgil had finished reading, he asked, “So, what exactly is the plan?”

“Probably make a list like that for you and me,” Roman said, pressing his face happily into the back of Virgil’s shoulder.

“It’s fine if it’s not nearly so neat,” Logan added. “This is the product of a few years of refinement. And of course, the style may be different. I am more than willing to assist as much as you would like, but if you find that another format is more beneficial, obviously you ought to use that instead.”

“Uh,” Virgil said. “This— like this is fine, I think. I wouldn’t know what else to suggest.”

Logan nodded with a smile. “Alright,” he said. “Let me know if you change your mind. Also, in addition to the two of you setting boundaries with each other, we need to look at how the addition of Virgil affects Roman’s and mine, and Virgil, you and I need to discuss boundaries as well.”

Virgil looked surprised. “I’m… not going to be dating you though, right?”

“No, but we are going to be metamours. I expect that there will be plenty of chances to metaphorically step on each other’s toes now that we are both dating Roman, and I would prefer to avoid doing so.”

“Oh. Right. Okay.”

~~~~~

Chapter 4: Spreading the News

[stonewallprepbulletinboard]

Gossippy Gossip

People! People shut the fuck up! I have got some Gossippp for you. Who knew all you had to do was lock people’s junk up to get them to get all drama llama. Your girl is like a pig in shit over here. Ok, ok. Breath bish. Breath. Ok. I’m ready. Let’s do this. 

So you all know the deal with this Locktober thing so I won’t say anything else. Except let’s just take a moment to appreciate how fucking kinky our Headmaster is. Like who sits around thinking of kinky ways to fuck with us that fucking he can make into a portmanteau. Or whatever the fuck that is. Props Headmaster FP (Grand Master Flashy Pants to you and me). Anyhow, let’s get to the juicy stuff. I think I just gotta start with the head to head match up of Logan v. Jones. Right? I won’t say I didn’t see this coming, because those gears were grinding the second they met, but I didn’t expect all out war. Ok, fine, all out popularity poll. No wait anti-popularity poll. I got my vote in how about you? And because I’m a shit disturber here’s the link right here. But since I do not want either of these hot heads on my ass I’ll be keeping my own vote on the DL. 

What’s not on the DL is how Oliver Smythe feels about keeping his hairy canary caged up. That boy accepted a whooping and an electric shock collar rather than just lockin’ it up. Don’t know whether to be impressed, shocked, or just twerk in front of him to see what happens with that collar. 

Now, while that shit put the lic in public, Brother Ollie isn’t the only soul not down with packaging up his trouser sausage. Sky Evans has himself a stylish zappy collar too. Doesn’t seem to be keeping the little guy down though. I’ve seen him zapping across campus for days. Or maybe he’s always vibrating like that.  On a less cheerful note I’ve heard tell that the stress is getting to our own little swimming pool jell-o chef Austin Fabray. He seems to have gotten himself into a spot of trouble. Is it because of the cage? I don’t know for sure, but you all tell me. Seems a little coinkydink right? Come on Chandler give the guy a break. Who can think straight when their little brain is getting squished? Am I right? 

But listen, just so you don’t think I only enjoy hearing about people fucking their shit up, I’ve got some good news. Stonewall’s very special little puppy Alejandro Lodge has got himself enough points to be claimed and I’m sure we’re all sure which alpha wolf is going to jump on that, like a dog in heat. Wonder how Mr. Confidence for Days Logan Lodge feels about his kid brother beating him to the finish line? Shh, shh... positive. I’m supposed to be keeping this part positive. Congrats Alex. You deserve it you little tail wagger. 

Welp, I think that wraps it up for me today. I’m pretty sure there will be plenty to talk about after the masquerade. There’s always lots to talk about after the masquerade. But hey maybe y’all can make some predictions. Which siblings will accidentally fuck or at least accidentally fuck the same person... at the same time? Which member of faculty will expose themselves? Which enemies will go down on each other in the middle of the dance floor? Who will go overboard with their costume? Who will show up in a sheet with the eyes cut out? Message me bitches and tell me what you think. Until then this is your girl Mayhem Molly, signing off.