Adventures In Dad-ing (9)
Y'all ready to be crushed?? Sorry this took so long, I've been in a weird place lately but I'm sick of this sitting in my WIP's and I wanna write more again. If you have any ideas for later chapters or scenes you wanna see, hit me up.
Summary: Flashback to when and why Virgil was late that time that lead to Roman asking him out. Word Count: 1303 Relationships: ex-Virgil/OC, mentioned Remile Previous Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Tags: @katatles-the-fish @karma-the-tax-collector @analogical-mess Ao3 Warnings: This deals vaguely with the beginnings of a custody battle and teh abusive ex comes back into teh picture so be careful young ones.
It’s funny, really, how quickly your life can fall apart.
You build a foundation, create fields of flowers and design the perfect castle all for it to come crumbling down in two minutes flat.
Virgil Casey had a perfect life. He had a brilliant son, a good job, his mental health was mostly in check. Everything was going well.
Until that day.
Remember when Virgil was running late and Patton got left at school, resulting in Roman asking the cute dad out? This is why.
It was a Monday, one of the cafe’s busiest days, but the boss knew that Virgil had to be out of there by 2:30 in order to pick his son up from school. Usually, there was no problem with that, but that fateful day, someone walked in at 1 pm, just as Virgil’s mind was ticking off for the day.
Virgil’s anxiety had been acting up all day, he would flinch at louder than usual customers and knocked several of the businesses plastic mugs off the counter. So when the bell rang, his head snapped up quicker than Patton’s when cookies were mentioned.
A woman sauntered in, blonde hair falling over her shoulders in perfect ringlets, lips painted in red and stiletto heels tall enough to kill a man. Her sharp blue eyes glared over dark sunglasses, locking on the shocked man behind the counter.
“Virgil, what a surprise.” She drawls, perfectly white teeth glinting in the soft lighting of the cafe.
“Meghann.” He breathes, hands starting to shake. She struts over, leaning on the counter. Her low cut shirt exposes flesh that really should only be seen at midnight in the type of club Virgil would never step foot in.
“Oh Darling, it’s been so long.” She winks, “Tell me, how’s the little one doing? I never did get to say goodbye.”
“You were the one that left. Don’t even try that shit.” Feigning confidence, Virgil pushes away from the counter, stepping out from the staff area to stand face to chest with the woman. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave, we don’t serve __”
“I just wanted to say hi, no need to be so rude.” She sneers, crowing her arms as the short man looks up at her. “Oh, and give you these.” She thrusts a hand out, a collection of papers hitting Virgil straight in the chest, winding him briefly. As he gets his breath back, Mayghann turns on her heel and sashays her way out of the building.
Confused, Virgil places the papers on the counter to straighten them before scanning his eyes over the first page.
Applicant: Meghann Frost Respondent: Virgil Casey
Contents: Application for change of custody regarding Patton Casey
Virgil’s heart stops.
His lungs freeze mid-breath.
If you had told him a week ago that his abusive ex would find him at his workplace to serve him a summons to court for custody of his son, he would’ve laughed and called you crazy.
But as he stares at the inked papers, tears brim in his eyes.
Virgil Casey, the strong-willed, determined, caring single father, shuts down. His mind runs a million miles an hour as he tries to process it all, his body failing to respond for a solid five minutes before someone intervenes.
A grounding hand rests on his shoulder.
His apron is removed and placed on its hook.
He’s pushed into a booth, the papers are placed in front of him on the table.
A warm mug is pressed into his hands.
It’s not until the coffee has gone half cold before Virgil snaps out of it. His head spinning and heart beating faster than ever before. His eyes scan over the mug, ignoring the papers glaring at him in favour of looking at the person that helped him over to the seat in the first place.
Remy, Virgil’s boss who barely ever actually works, sits in front of him, sunglasses pushed up so his dual coloured eyes are on full show. His white shirt is half unbuttoned and pushed up to his elbows, showing off his toned chest as he leans forward on the table.
“Remy,” Virgil breaths slowly, still adjusting to coming back to reality.
“Hey Virgil, you doin’ okay hun?” His usual smirk transforms into a soft smile. His hand waves to the young barista at the counter who smiles back, nodding in understanding.
“What am I gonna do?” Remy pushes a small plate across the table, the chocolate brownie barely making it halfway before Virgil starts picking at it. “I can’t afford a lawyer, I can barely afford our house. And I can’t put Patton through court, he doesn’t deserve that.” The barista brings over a new mug of steaming black coffee, taking the cold one just as Virgil shoves a large piece of food into his mouth.
“Virge, sweetie, you needa calm down. You’ll make yourself sick, worrying like that.” Remy moves the plate away, replacing it with the new mug.
“What am I supposed to do Rem?”
Remy and Virgil had been friends for years. When Virgil first moved into the area and was looking for a job, he came in with baby Patton in a pram and a hopeful look in his eyes. Remy had actually been working that day and was immediately in love with the chubby baby smiling up at him. He had darted around the counter, asking to pick up the child before giving him a hug and letting the boy chew on his sunglasses as he talked to the young man.
It was that same day that he offered Virgil a job. He put a crib in the staff room and cleared out the biggest locker so the man could store nappies and things, even going as far as to baby proof the whole cafe should the child get loose at some point.
They had quickly become friends, with matching sarcasm and a love for coffee, they were a match made in heaven. Had it not been for Remy’s already being engaged, he would’ve jumped the man, but neither was interested in being more than friends and Remy was very committed to his partner.
“Listen, I know a lawyer who often works in family court. He runs cheap, most often his cases are with those that can’t really afford to be there, so money won’t be too much of an issue to him. If need be, I can help,” Virgil opens his mouth but Remy twists his wrist, hushing the man quickly. “Do not, not only are you my employee, but you are also my friend, I am here to help you. Should it come to that point, I will help pay for any legal fees.”
“Remy…” The man doesn’t take no for an answer, sliding Virgil’s satchel across the table, having grabbed it while the man was zoned out, wrapping the leftover brownie in a napkin and tucking it into the pocket.
“Now, you have more than enough time to walk your perfect arse down to his office and get this sorted. I’ll give him a call and tell you’re coming.” Remy stands quickly, Virgil still sitting in surprise as he starts to tap his foot.
“Come on, Babes, I’m not paying you to sit on that cute little butt.” Virgil jumps up, swinging his bag over his shoulder and picking the papers up, making to leave. He stalls briefly, spinning on his heel to wrap his arms around the older man.
“Thank you so much, Remy, for everything.” He mumbles, running out the door before the man can even process that his little emo had shown him affection.
“Stupid emo making me feel things. Only Emi can do that.” The man mumbles, a smile creeping its way across his cheeks without permission.
