#then i sent to the supermarket and bought stuff to make my honey we gotta get you on truvada rw*b cake. got back home around midnight and

[alexiaugustin]

god nobody understands how fucking happy i was exactly two weeks ago and how much ive been feeling like im never gonna be this happy again ever since

[milomeepit]

Diamond In The Rough: Chapter Eleven

Roman has always wanted better. Has always believed that there’s a better life, a better world, just out of reach. Just beyond the veil of shitty teachers who don’t care, angry classmates that scream insults and slurs at each other all day, and drug-hazed parents who are more concerned with their next hit than looking after their ten year old son.

When he runs away after a particularly bad night at home and finds a quiet little cafe/bookstore tucked away in a back alley of the city, the sweet couple who run the joint (an odd pair; a quiet, gloomy man with a wry sense of humour and a cynical gleam in his eye, and a bouncy man who smiles like sunshine and laughs like a storybook king) help show him that maybe- just maybe- he really can have the life he always dreamed of.

Masterpost (to be added soon!)

Word Count: 2091

Warnings: More crying, more yelling, forced parent/child separation, promises, food, implied past homophobia,

Roman scrubbed at his cheeks with his sleeve. It was already damp with tears and did little to clean his face, and he huffed. Typical. Even his own jacket was turning against him today. That fit into the afternoon’s events just perfectly.

“Roman, do you want me to put your pyjamas in a separate bag so you can find them easier tonight?” Virgil asked from across the room, bent over Roman’s drawers.

“I don’t care,” Roman pouted. “It doesn’t matter.”

Virgil sighed and looked over to him. Roman was curled up in the corner of the room, tucked in tight with his back against the slatted sliding door of the closet. “Roman, I know this sucks, but sulking isn’t going to change anything.”

“Why can’t I just stay?” Roman asked, for probably the fiftieth time since they’d left the cafe. “I’m happy here. I like you guys a whole lot.”

“And we like you a whole lot, too,” Virgil’s smile was brittle, and Roman felt a pang of guilt for his stubborn scowling. “I really wish you could stay, trust me. But we can’t. And it sucks, but it’s for the best. Lo will make sure you have somewhere safe to stay, with the stuff you need to help you. He’s good at his job.”

Roman looked up at him. “... I still wanna stay,” He mumbled. Stop with the fucking mumbling, Roman, I can’t understand a word you’re saying! He jumped slightly as the familiar voice boomed through his head. No, he didn’t want to think about that right now. He took a deep, shuddering breath.

Virgil straightened and frowned. “... Are you okay?” He asked softly.

“Mm-hm!” Roman nodded quickly. When Virgil didn’t react, he sagged. “I guess I’m just... just upset about... all this,” He explained weakly.

Virgil sat on the bed and patted the covers next to him. He waited for Roman to uncurl and slowly make his way across the room to join him before he spoke. “You know, it’s okay to be upset about stuff, right? Like, whether it’s a big thing or a little thing, your feelings are okay. And it’s okay to talk about them.”

He wrapped an arm around Roman, who cuddled up to him, clinging to him like a lifeline. Maybe if he held on tight enough, he wouldn’t have to let go. Maybe he wouldn’t have to go back if he held onto this life and dug in his fingers and kicked his feet.

Or, he thought as Virgil reached over and tucked the stuffed monkey that Patton had bought into a bag, he’d be tossed out into the cold winds of fate, regardless of what they all wanted.

“I don’t want to go home,” He said hoarsely. “I just... I hate it. I hate it so much, Virgil.”

Virgil ran a hand through Roman’s hair and frowned sympathetically. “I know, Princey. But Logan says you gotta go. Can’t go against the man on this one, it wouldn’t end well for anybody.”

“... I’m really gonna miss you guys,” Roman whimpered, suddenly feeling a fresh wave of tears spring to his eyes. “I don’t wanna say goodbye.”

“Hey, hey!” Virgil tipped his chin up, and Roman met his soft, bright, mismatched eyes and sniffled. “This isn’t goodbye. It’s just see you later. Maybe we could be pen pals or something. Not to mention the fact that we’d probably have to move to keep you from visiting out cafe, especially once you get your license.”

Roman giggled wetly, leaning his head against Virgil’s hand. “Yeah. You make really, really good hot chocolate. I’d really wanna come back for that, if nothing else.”

Virgil flashed him a lopsided grin. “See? It’s all good.” He paused, and Roman saw emotion flicker across his face, too quickly for him to identify. “You have my word, Roman. We’ll meet again, I promise.”

Roman’s heart fluttered at the intensity that Virgil spoke with. He felt, deep in his gut, that Virgil fully intended to keep that promise, come hell or high water. That made the idea of being sent home a little more bearable. “... Okay,” He said softly.

Virgil kissed his forehead. “Come on, we still gotta finish folding clothes. If we finish soon enough, we might be able to make a batch of cookies before Logan picks you up.”

Roman nodded and picked up one of the shirts Virgil had picked out, a black and white tee with a Maleficent design on it. “Okay, then. Can we make chocolate chip ones?” He asked shyly.

Virgil grinned. “Whatever you wanna make, bud.”

When Patton got home an hour later, he crept into the apartment, not sure what he would find. The lights were on in the living room, though he couldn’t see any sign of Virgil or Roman.

A sudden burst of giggles from the kitchen clued him in, and he followed the noise to see Virgil with his arms around a squealing Roman, ruthlessly tickling the small boy. Roman squirmed away from him as he spotted Patton. “You’re back!” He grinned. “Virgil and me made cookies! Do you want some?”

Patton beamed, sitting down at the table as Roman zipped over to him and pulling him into his arms. “I’d love some, sweetheart! Thank you very much,” He replied cheerfully.

Virgil grabbed a plate from the counter, offering it to Patton so that he could have his pick. Patton carefully selected two cookies, taking a bite of one and almost moaning at how the chocolate chips melted in his mouth. “Gosh, these are good!”

Virgil grinned impishly. “Yeah, I might’ve took a peek in Abuelita’s cookbook. Figured it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.”

Patton paused. “... Sneaky,” He chided half-heartedly as Roman settled . “You know that book is for my eyes only.”

Virgil pecked him on the cheek. “Okay, but you got free cookies out of it. Are you really that mad?”

“Nah,” Patton said breezily before taking another bite. “You guys did a really good job!”

Virgil sat in the chair next to them. “Glad to hear. I’ve always aspired to cook as well as Abuelita,” He said with more than a hint of pride in his voice.

Patton giggled. “It only took you seventeen years,” He teased.

“Hey, Patton?” Roman piped up. “What’s your Abuelita like? You guys talk about her a lot.”

“Oh! She’s great!” Patton perked up. “She pretty much raised me, after my parents were gone. She’s really sweet, and she cooks the most delicious food, and she taught me how to cook and how to knit, and she helped me with my schoolwork wherever she could, and she taught me all about how important it is to remember history and culture, no matter where you go!”

“She was also 4’9” of terrifying when she got mad,” Virgil quipped with a grin. “Remember the time we got caught kissing behind the school and the principal got all pissy about it, just ‘cause it was us? She came down to the school and ripped him a new one.”

Patton burst out laughing at the memory of his tiny Abuelita shouting down the large, bearded principal of their high school. “Oh, heck, that’s right!” He giggled. “And then she spent the whole car ride home lecturing us about consent and being safe and appropriate behaviour.”

“Longest thirty minutes of my life,” Virgil shook his head. “Almost as bad as when I told her I wanted to pop the question and she fussed over me til you got home from work and overheard her talking. Really ruined the surprise element of that.”

“Aw, it was still lovely!” Patton cooed. “Besides, she made it up to us by helping out with the wedding. I reckon that we would’ve been completely without flowers if she hadn’t driven up to that florist near Uncle Ed’s farm.”

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed with a laugh. “I still dunno how she managed to make it there and back without a speeding ticket or six.”

Patton opened his mouth to respond, but a knock on the front door interrupted him. Roman’s hands immediately clutched fistfuls of his sweater, clinging to him tightly. Patton and Virgil exchanged a look before Virgil got to his feet, brushing flour off of his shirt before going to answer the door.

“Do I really have to go?” Roman whispered, his voice trembling.

Patton’s heart ached terribly. He wanted nothing more than to slam the door in Logan’s face, and hold Roman tightly and never let go. He wanted to make more cookies and watch movies and listen to Roman’s sweet laughter forever. But they couldn’t.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry,” He said softly, pressing a kiss into Roman’s hair and rubbing his back. “You do. I’m sorry.”

“Virgil... Virgil said I’d see you guys again. He-he promised. Is that true?” Roman looked up at him, his eyes wide and shining with tears.

A lump rose in Patton’s throat, and he tried to ignore the way his heart thudded. “If Virgil promised, then I just know we will, honey,” Patton answered. “He wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it.”

“... Okay,” Roman nodded and cuddled back up to Patton, squeezing his arms around him tightly.

Patton returned the hug, resting his chin on top of Roman’s head as Virgil and Logan appeared in the doorway, Virgil holding Roman’s old backpack and a couple of supermarket bags with the rest of his things. “Hey, bud, it’s time to go,” He said, his voice low and gentle.

Roman sniffled. “Okay,” He slowly peeled himself out of Patton’s arms, and god, everything in Patton wanted to kick and scream and take him back. It was like watching a piece of his heart get ripped out of his chest.

Logan extended a hand to Roman, who took hold of it limply. “I’ll talk to you two later,” He nodded. “Thank you.”

Patton tried not to glare at Logan. He was just doing his job, what they’d heard about a hundred times, helping children in need find a stable environment, but it felt like a punch to the gut to hear that they weren’t good enough to be that for this boy that he loved so much. How could he not take it personally when his (almost) friend didn’t trust them enough to even let Roman stay with them while CPS investigated his parents.

Sure, their apartment was a little small, but there was plenty of space and light, and windows cracked open during the day to let in breezes of fresh air. They had clothes and a room and a bed and money- not a lot, sure, but enough- and love to support Roman.

Not just any child. Roman. Patton tried to force down the lump in his throat as he mulled over that. Even if they adopted a child sometime later, he knew he’d always want Roman, would always miss him. He was theirs, damn it. And it hurt worse than anything he’d ever felt in his life.

Virgil held out the backpack to Roman, who slipped it on without a word, and handed over the other bags to Logan. He ruffled Roman’s hair. “Hey, remember. Not goodbye. Just... see you later.”

“See you later,” Roman repeated mechanically, his voice thick with tears.

“Let’s go, Roman. We’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us. Maybe we can get something to eat on the way there.” Logan at least tried to sound warm, bless his heart, but Patton still wanted to knock his teeth in right now.

And then, far too quickly, they were gone, the front door clacking shut behind them.

Everything bubbled up inside of Patton, raw and ugly and painful, and he burst into tears. His shoulders shook violently as he curled in on himself, as if trying to protect his wounded heart. Distantly, he felt Virgil’s arms around him, pulling him up into his lap- when had he ended up on the floor?- and cradling him close.

“Virgil, wh-what do we do?” Patton buried his face in his husband’s neck. “I don’t want to lose him, I can’t, I can’t live with that, I don’t want to!”

“Shh, shhhh.” Virgil murmured, his hands tracing patterns over Patton’s back and shoulders. “It’s okay, corazón. I promise you, it’ll all be alright.”

“How do you know that?” Patton sobbed, shaking his head. “You can’t make that promise!”

“Because it has to be,” Virgil said softly, pressing kisses to the top of Patton’s head. “Because it has to be.”