Looking For You -Virgil Hawkins
A/N:So, first post... Went with Virgil and his Young Justice-version because I love that guy and kinda never see anything for him. Hope you like it! Enjoy!
"Have you seen this boy?“ you asked, holding out a flier. It been weeks since your boyfriend Virgil had gone missing. No call, no nothing. It worried you sick. As did it his dad and sister Sharon. Neither of you believed he had simply run away. It wasn’t like him. So you and Sharon had come together to make fliers. There was a chance that it was meaningless and wouldn’t do any good, but in the off-chance someone knew something… In any case it was better than sitting around and do nothing.
"Sir, a moment please.” Sharon stopped a man next to you. She looked at him with pleading eyes and showed him a flier with Virgil’s picture. "Have you seen this boy? He’s been missing.“
"Can’t say I have.” the man said and took a flier. “But I keep an eye open.”
You thanked him, it was more than most did. All day people had walked past you two, ignoring the two girls looking for someone. The police had long declared Virgil a runaway, only search half-hearted for him at most. So searching like this was your last chance. Attempting to get someone else to take a flier, you looked around. As you did you saw the man who had taken a flier from Sharon throw said flier in the trash before rounding around the corner.
Your shoulders slummed in defeat. It had been going like this all day. Did really nobody care? You felt utterly helpless.
Sharon laid a hand on your shoulder and gave you a understanding glance. It was only after Virgil’s disappearing that you had really get to know the girl that had been mostly your boyfriend’s sister up to then. Now you were unbelievable close. Without her, you didn’t know how you could have made it through these past weeks. You gave her hand a small squeeze and sent her a thankful smile.
No way you would give up so easily.
Across the street a group of reporters were gathered in front of a restaurant. They had been there for hours. Sharon and you had tried to talk to them but have been waved off. Apparently whoever they had waited for was coming out because the media representatives were starting to actually move and make pictures. With determination you looked over to them. Before Sharon could stop you, you marched over to them.
Questions were shot at the man stepping outside with his female bodyguard and the crowd parted only hesitantly for him. The second you saw an opening you stepped right in front of him. “Have you seen this boy?” you asked and held out a flier. You were proud on sounding calm when you were internally freaking out.
It seemed your question really caught everyone off-guard, as silence hung heavy over the crowd. The man, you recognized as none other than Lex Luthor, blinked at you surprised before regaining his composure. His bodyguard moved towards you as if to sent you away, but he stopped her. He moved closer and took the flier. Giving the picture a good look, he shook his head. “I can’t say I have.” he said slowly and looked at you. “Is there a reason you are showing me this, Miss?”
"He’s missing and I’m looking for him.“
"Yes, I can tell as much. But I’m afraid I will be unlikely to come across him.”
"I know.“ you nodded. "Thing is, I have to assume the same of everyone else I ask. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop searching for him.”
Raising an eyebrow, Lex studied you for a moment. You did your best to not let yourself waver under his glance. Finally, he stepped forward and put a hand on your shoulder. “Then I can only hope that you will find him.” he said. “I promise to keep an eye open and call the number if I find anything.” When he took his hand away you took the hint and left. Returning to Sharon you let out a shaky breath.
"Girl, what the-?“she said, looking wide-eyed between you and Luthor’s leaving limousine. She couldn’t believe you managed to get the Lex Luther take a flier. "Pulling stunt like that! What made you do that?”
Looking at her you gave her a grin. “Wait for it.”
Not long after the reporters had turned their attention to you two. You knew that Luther wouldn’t do anything and giving the rumors about him you heard, that might be better. Your ‘stunt’ had a other purpose. What you did was laying out the bait and the reporters had bitten. Getting on the news would give you much bigger chances on finding Virgil than these flyers.
What you didn’t know was that in his limousine Lex was frowning at your flier. Those idiots were supposed to only kidnap runaways. Strays that nobody would miss.
"Sir?“ Mercy uncertainly asked from up front.
"Tell them to do their jobs right.” the billionaire snapped, crumpling the paper. “We don’t need attention.”
The movement was so light, for a moment you were left wondering what had woke you. Still you didn’t want to wake, since you knew that if you woke up, you would have to face the facts. Another week had passed without Virgil coming home, another week without knowing what had happened to him or where he was. How he was doing. This uncertainly was tearing you apart. So you kept your eyes closed and pretended to be sleeping.
Sharon sighed softly. With sad eyes she studied your form, before pulling the blanket over you. She watched you for a moment. In the weeks since Virgil disappeared, you had started coming over nearly daily. To help with the search and hear if there were new leads, but also to help them with everyday stuff around the house when things were simply too much to handle. Really, you kept them going, encouraged them to not give up hope and lend an ear whenever needed.
Then a few hours ago your opportunistic facade had crumbled down. The police had called, informing the family that the search would be called off as they couldn’t look forever for him. Virgil was a runaway to them, simply as that. It had been too much for you. You had gone up to his room and broke down crying. Sharon had hold you, crying herself. Helplessly Mr. Hawkins had stood next to you, unsure how to comfort you two when his entire world was breaking down. In the end you had passed out from crying and Mr. Hawkins had let you sleep on Virgil’s bed and called your parents to let them know that you were staying over.
You listened to the girl silently leaving the room. Slowly you opened your eyes. Too awake to sleep, you felt too emotionally tired to do anything. Numbly you starred in front of yourself.
Before you the dark room stretched out. You had been over at Virgil’s often before, hanging out in his room. Laughing at each other’s jokes and having fun. Other times you would cuddle together, enjoying having the other in their arms. Pulling the blanket closer, you frowned. Somehow this room was very cold right now, even if it was normally warm here.
Shaking your head you got up off the bed and slowly wandered down stairs, careful not to wake the Hawkins. While being around them had helped you greatly since Virgil had disappeared, you couldn’t help but wonder if you weren’t a burden to them, always pushing yourself into their life. As if they didn’t worry enough themselves. But… Closing your eyes in defeat, you sighed as you walked into the kitchen.
Today’s news echoed in your ears, but you couldn’t wrap your head around it. On a logical level you knew that the police simply didn’t have the money to search endlessly for a missing person, years and years to come. Yet -this was Virgil. You couldn’t give up on Virgil, you couldn’t.
The ringing of the phone cut through the silence, making you jump a little. Surprised you looked at the phone. Who would call at this time? It was one o'clock in the morning.
Only hesitantly you picked up the phone. This was not your home, so weren’t sure if you should, but you also didn’t want the ringing to wake the Hawkins. “Hello?” you took the call.
For a moment there was silence. “Y/n?” a surprised voice asked on the other side.
“Virgil!” you recognized his voice right away. Unbidden tears sprang to your eyes and your legs weak from joy suddenly. “Is that really you?”
“Yes, it’s me.” You could hear the smile in his voice. “Man, you have no idea how good it does to hear your voice, babe.”
Tears ran down your cheek, but you smiled. It was him, it was really him. “Where are you? Are you alright? What happened?” Questions just kept coming. Without thinking you started running upstairs. “We were looking for all over.”
“I know, I’m sorry. ” Virgil said. “ I -they just grabbed me. It is just all so messed up. First the Reach, then StarLabs.”
“Wait -What?” you stopped him. The Reach was all over the news since their arrival, peace their official goal during their negotiations with the governments all over the world. And StarLabs was known for working with the Justice League. It didn’t made sense that either would kidnap him. Of course you didn’t think he was lying but this was hard to understand. “What is going on, Virgil?” you asked as you shook Mr. Hawkins awake.
Mr. Hawkins shot up, wide awake, when he heard the name of his son. “Virgil?” he asked confused till his eyes landed on the phone on your ear. Slowly hope showed in his eyes, nearly as if he was afraid to be wrong. “Is that Virgil?”
“It is complicated.” Virgil sighed. He sounded tired. “I swear I explain everything once I get home. But right now we have to get out of here before they catch up with us.”
Just as confused as before, you frowned in worry. In front of you Mr. Hawkins held his hands out for the phone with pleading eyes. While you didn’t want to stop talking with Virgil, you understood that the father had to talk with his son. Slowly you handed him the phone.
For a moment you watched Mr. Hawkins talk with him. Relief was clear on his face, but also worry. They were the same feelings you felt. After all those weeks of worrying, hearing Virgil’s voice had a effect like nothing else. Suddenly you realized that Sharon didn’t know. Leaving the room reluctantly -it was hard leaving the only connection to your boyfriend when you didn’t knew when it would break down- you hurried to get the girl.
Like her father she woke rather quick once you mentioned what this was about and raced you back to Mr. Hawkins’ room. The man had gotten up and nodded at something said on the other end of the line. “Yes, I do that.” he said seriously, before biting his lip in worry. “Just stay safe till we get there, you hear, Virgil? Don’t do anything stupid.”
Sharon took the phone from him. Tears sprang to her eyes as she talked to her brother. Mr. Hawkins turned to you slowly. “He’s coming home.” he insured you, but it sounded like he was insuring himself as well. “He asked me to wire some money so he can buy train tickets.” Looking off into thin air he was silent for a minute. “The army is in on this. Can you believe it?”
You couldn’t. Nothing of this made sense and you felt utterly lost. As the man left the room, you stayed behind with nothing but the sound of Sharon talking on the phone. The whole situation scared you. So when the girl finally turned to you, you were so deep in thoughts, you jumped a little. She gave a understanding smile. “He wants to talk to you.”
No more encouragement was needed for you to take the phone. “Virgil?” you said, hating how weak you sounded.
“I’m here, babe.” he said. You could hear him giving a weak laugh. “I’m coming home and I promise to tell you everything when I do.” His voice was sincere. The second statement sounded important for some reason, like he had been unsure about telling you before but then made a choice to do so.
Blinking back some tears you nodded, till you remembered he couldn’t see you. “I’ll be waiting.” you promised. Whatever happened, you were glad he wanted to talk with you about it. Confused and scared as you were you knew you could handle anything as long as he came back to you. You would face it together. “Be safe.”
“Believe me, I will try my best.” Virgil sighed. “Y/n?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
Stubbornly you tried to ignore the tear that left your eye. “I love you too.”
Everything should have been fine there on. Virgil should have come back to Dakota. He should have been home. Safe.
Thing was, he wasn’t. No call had reached you or his family since that night. His warning of the Reach and StarLabs rang loud in the ears of all of you, keeping you from going back to the police. In the end, it even took you a lot of easing to get Mr. Hawkins to tell you from where Virgil had called.
The second he told you you bought a ticket and drove down to Taos. During the train ride you sat in silence. You had no idea if you could find something, or what you were hoping to find. It was simple something you had to do.
It was late afternoon when you arrived. The station itself was closed for repairs. Both the roof and the street-facing front seemed get redone, forcing you around the building. Once on the other side, it was easy to spot the telephone booth across the station. According from Mr. Hawkins Virgil had called from here. You went a bit closer and studied it. Then you turned away, you looking around. The place was empty.
Virgil was long gone. Something you were very aware of while coming down here. There was no sign of him. Also something you expected. You hugged yourself, felling cold suddenly. A frown formed on your face. But maybe there was something. Anything. Slowly you started moving around the station. Then through the bordering park. Before you knew it you were searching the streets.
When you came back to Dakota City the next day your parents were anything but happy. Sharon waited with them for you at the station. Not saying a word, she pulled you in a hug. You welcomed the comfort and hugged her back, but right then and there you weren’t strong enough to cry.
The night air felt cold on his face, but Virgil welcomed it. As he glide on his saucer over the roof tops, he was careful not to be seen. He really needed a mask. Still, he hadn’t been this happy in months. A light laugh came from him as he made a flip with his saucer.
With the Reach defeated, he no longer to worry about being re-captured by them. And since the Runaways helped the League and Young Justice with the final battle, the big guys talked with StarLabs to let them go. Which meant one thing: Virgil was finally free to go home!
He knew his pops and sis had to be sick with worry. And Y/n. It was nearly painful thinking about how much he must have hurt you with his silence. Especially after the call. The only reason he did it was because Luthor had pointed out that the Reach would attack you and his family if they suspected that any of you knew where he and the other Runaways were. No matter what happened, he rather die than see you hurt.
Realizing he was near your neighborhood, Virgil stopped. His eyes went in the direction of your house. Being away from you had been anything but easy on the boy. He couldn’t count the times he nearly called you. Every waking hour you had been on his mind. There was just this hole inside him that called out to hold you again. To see you. Or even just hear your voice. Know you were okay.
He knew he should go home first. Tell his pop and sis that he was back. Yet he found himself racing towards your place. Virgil had to see you.
Your house was dark. Hesitantly he lowered his saucer in front of your window. Raising his head to knock, the boy hoped you wouldn’t be mad with him for waking you. At first nothing happened. He had to knock a second time before he heard movement in the room.
Throwing the curtain back you came in view, rubbing your eyes. Virgil couldn’t describe the feeling that bubbled in his chest when seeing you after so long. He felt so light and a smile stretched over his features. Subconsciously he flew a bit closer to the glass that separated him from you.
Your eyes widened as you saw him and your mouth fell open in disbelieve. For a moment you stood frozen before you ripped open the window. “Virgil…"you breathed as tears gathered in your eyes. He was here. You reached out to him and he caught your hand.
"Hi, babe.” he whispered back. It was as if he spoke to loudly he could wake up and everything would be just a dream. He squeezed your hand, enjoying feeling it in his. You were wearing a old T-Shirt and pajama bottom, your hair was messed up from bed, but to him you had never been as beautiful as in that moment.
Suddenly you realized that your room was not on ground level. Looking down out the window you saw Virgil was standing on a flying saucer several feet off the ground. White lightning moved softly over the metal. Confused your eyes went to Virgil’s brown ones.
He noticed and gave a tight smile, before he looked down at his saucer. With a small sigh he looked back up. Virgil supposed he had to explain some time. “Can I come in?” he asked carefully. To his surprise he found himself worried if you could accept him as a meta. The thought had never occurred to him before.
You didn’t let go of his hand, which he took a good sign. Hesitantly you stepped back, letting him fly in and land. He never took his eyes from you as he stepped off the saucer. But really, he had no clue how to start telling you about everything that had happened. Gentle he reached out with his other hand and cupped your cheek.
Laying your own hand on top of his, you leaned into his touch. For a moment you closed your eyes as you relinquished in the feeling of his warm. “This isn’t a dream, is it?” you asked carefully.
Virgil knew exactly what you meant. “No, it isn’t.” he said,stepping closer. He wiped the tears from your eyes and let go of your hand to cup your other cheek. Gentle, his lips found yours. Your arms went up around his neck, pulling him closer. When you finally separated he leaned his forehead against yours. “I missed you.”
A teary laugh came from you. You wanted to tell him that you had missed him too, how you looked for him anywhere. But when you looked into his eyes you couldn’t find the words. So instead you kissed him again. Virgil returned the kiss passionately. It was only for the lack of air that you separated again.
For a while you only held each other close, enjoying having the other in your arms. It was something that had been taking from you for much to long. You closed your eyes and heard his breathing, felt his warm and took in his unique smell. The first time in months you felt whole. Part of you wanted this moment to last forever. Except for one question that nagged in the back of your head. You didn’t want to break this moment, but you had to know. “Where were you?” you asked softly.
His brows furrowed and Virgil gave a sad nod. Slowly he started telling you everything. How he was abducted by the Light, the experiments the Reach put him through. He told you of being rescued by Young Justice and getting sent to StarLabs, who experimented on him as well and didn’t allowed him to contact anyone. Fleeing with the Runaways till to when they defeated the Reach and he joined Young Justice. As he talked his voice broke several times and got softer each time.
You broke down crying not even half way though. Virgil lead you to your bed, where you cuddled up together as he continued. Long after he finished he laid there, holding you close as you sheath bitter tears for him. Burying his face in your hair he found comfort in your embrace and love.
Raising your head, you looked at your boyfriend and kissed him. Softly you placed small kisses all over his face, before looking him in the eye again. They were so full of love, you couldn’t believe all the things he had to go through.
Virgil rubbed your cheek softly. He knew you would need time to work through what you had just learned. Hell, he was still working through a good chunk of it. Pulling you on top of him, he ducked your head under his chin and started rubbing your back comfortingly. You were right beside him and that was all he needed. Together you would figure this out, he could do anything as long as you were there beside him. Closing his eyes he relaxed.
Before long the two of you fell asleep, contend in each other’s arms.
