Remy sat with Virgil's filled backpack in his lap, feeling very nervous. Roman pulled into the parking lot for the shopping center to park to grab some Starbucks. Remy was pretty vague about his errand and he was thankful Roman didn't ask. He tapped his foot impatiently, looking around a little disquieted.
"You can't already be having caffeine withdraw, dude. You just had a cup two hours ago," Roman said with a slightly concerned chuckle, putting his hand on Remy's shoulder as he turned around to back into the spot.
"I'm coffee powered, what can I say?" Remy shrugged. Roman put the car into park and Remy got out of the car and slid on the backpack. "What do you want to drink? I think I need a latte and a frap," Remy said. And he meant it.
"Eh, probably just a mocha and a cake," Roman shrugged. "I need enough pick me up to try on jeans, but I'm mostly fine," They strolled into the Starbucks and stood in line. He checked his phone for the time and sighed. They wouldn't be near here yet. Remy probably had time to get some cake, too.
"Cake sounds good. They have the glazed lemon and chocolate, it looks like," Remy said, leaning slightly to check the display.
"Oh, I'm getting chocolate, for sure. I always crave it when I'm hungover," Roman said. Remy listened to the music and waited in line, still feeling restless. He needed the cake, too. Comfort food. Roman ordered next. Remus and Virgil wouldn't be in the car. He knew there was a ride with some unnamed cult weirdo. But it was soon. And he wanted it to be sooner. He needed it to be sooner. He needed a drink. The vodka was buried in a reusable shopping bag in Roman's trunk. It wouldn't be a good idea to go out and get it. Caffeine would have to do. Remy placed his order and Roman managed to snag a table with the nice fake leather chairs instead of the uncomfortable hard ones. Remy held the backpack between his legs and sighed.
"Are you sure you're alright? You're not usually so…" Roman sort of just motioned to Remy.
"Yeah, I know. I just need a pick me up. I'm pretty tired," Remy said. He knew this wasn't how he acted tired and that Roman would know that. It's not like Roman never saw him at school. But what was he supposed to say? Virgil and Remus finally contacted him? He was having an identity crisis? He was about to run away and join a cult? That he was worried he did actually have a caffeine addiction, and the withdrawal was going to be a bitch? Well, maybe he could say that one.
Roman got up to get their drinks and cakes for them when the names "the prince" and "sleep" were called. That was nice of him. Remy's legs felt a bit like jelly. Remy gratefully took a long and satisfying sip of his mocha frappuccino. Oh, there was that creamy sugar and that comforting kick. Remy sighed and leaned back.
"God, I think you might have a problem, dude," Roman laughed as he picked up his plate to eat the cake while it was freshly heated. Remy picked up his slice of lemon loaf and did the same.
"Yeah, I think I do," Remy chuckled nervously. He had a lot of problems right now.
"How much coffee do you drink, anyway?" Roman asked.
"I don't know, maybe 3-4 cups a day," Remy shrugged.
"That's… a lot of coffee," Roman said, probably trying not to sound like he was judging. But Remy knew he was. He didn't particularly care, though. "So what's your errand today?" He asked, probably trying to change the subject before it got awkward. But it was already there.
"Private," Remy said dismissively. "You're going to Forever 21, right? I'll text you," Remy said. "So, I'm curious. You and Pat?" Remy asked, trying to distract Roman with gossip. Plus, he was curious. Some fresh gossip could also distract himself during the agonizing wait time.
"Pat's cuddly with everybody," Roman said, even more dismissively than Remy did. Hm.
"I know he is. That's not the question I asked. I'm just wondering if there's any chemistry there," Remy said, flipping his hand and eating more cake.
"I don't know. I like someone else more, but I'm certain they don't feel the same way about me. I'm not uninterested or anything," Roman mused. "But I was thinking about taking him out on a date soon, just to see. Maybe get my mind off the other crush at least. I can't keep pining after them,"
"So you're into him a bit?" Remy asked, enjoying his latte.
"Um, yeah, maybe," Roman rubbed the back of his head.
"You should take him out tonight," Remy said firmly. "Why wait?"
"He's hungover, Rem, I doubt he wants to do anything," Roman said, motioning with his hand.
"We're young. Go to one of those nice low-light restaurants where you have to dress up nice. I bet he eats that shit up," Remy said. "How would you feel about not taking him out if he was gone next Monday?"
"Okay, yeah, I know. I miss my brother, too," Roman groaned. "It was nice at first to not be arguing with him, but… you had a point that I could have tried harder to be more supportive. And it's been kind of eating at me now that he's been gone so long. I could have been nicer to Virgil, too, as much as his opinions rub me raw. He and Remus were so attached at the hip and I could have at least tried to be nice for Remus's sake when we were kids. I didn't… I didn't really know his home life was like that. I didn't really realize how much I was hurting Remus, either," Roman said, sounding pretty upset at himself.
"Yeah, well, some of us just aren't nice off the bat. We gotta learn that shit," Remy said, holding out his cup for Roman to bump. Roman bumped it and took a long sip. "It's always a process, right? We're always gonna do some new thing to piss off somebody," Remy said dismissively. Roman shrugged and watched Remy oddly. Remy sort of hoped doing this wouldn't piss off Roman. It's not like they knew each other that well. He'd probably get over it, at least. "What about this mysterious cutie you've got a crush on? What makes you think they're into someone else?"
"Oh, it's a lot of little things. I have a sort of complicated relationship with them. I'd rather treat it like you private errand and not talk about it if that's okay. It hurts to talk about," Roman said, dourly fidgeting with the paper from his straw wrapper. He was blushing and everything. Poor guy must have it bad for whoever it is.
"Sorry, babe. You know I love some hot goss. Did you hear that Mitchell's house party got crashed by the cops? Thank god we weren't there," Remy said, changing the subject.
"Shit, really? That's crazy. I've never been more thankful for Mario Kart," Roman laughed brightly. He seemed to be able to shake it off okay, at least. Remy couldn't help but cheer for him a little. Roman wasn't a bad guy or anything. "I kind of wanted to go just to wreck Mitchell's house, he's such an ass to Pat,"
Remy and Roman worked on finishing their sugar feast, sort of chatting about nothing in particular after that. It was a little less awkward after they both finished their cakes and talked about less personal and emotional stuff. They were both probably too hungover to deal with it. Remy probably checked his phone too much for the time, but when it got close, he finished his things quickly. Roman was already mostly done considering he just had one drink.
"You'll text me when you're done with your mysterious private errand?" Roman asked a little sarcastically as he got up and brushed the cake crumbs off his pants.
"I'll text you, hon. Thanks again for the ride," Remy dropped his sunglasses to wink at him. Roman smiled, and they got up to head outside. Remy watched and waited for Roman to enter the Forever 21 before he went up to the intersection and headed down the street. He was meeting this guy at a flower shop. He was picking up seeds for the hippies. Cult. Whatever.
The bell rang as he stepped inside. The sudden sweet floral smell immediately overwhelmed Remy. He idly walked around, not really looking at the flowers. Just waiting. He was slightly early. Remy accounted for gay walking speed, but he didn't expect nervousness making him walk faster. He just had to wait a couple of minutes. There was a black flower that caught his eye as he wandered aimlessly. It sort of reminded him of Virgil's bed head before he dyed his hair. The tag said it was a black dahlia. He… was it cheesy to get a flower for someone you might like? Remy didn't know much about flowers, but it was black, so Virgil would like it. It had to be cheesy, right? Remy picked up the pot and took it to the register, anyway. If he was going to be a gay disaster, he was going to be a gay disaster.
The bell rang as Remy was checking out the surprisingly expensive flower. Remy turned around and saw a guy about his height with swept brown hair walk into the shop. He was dressed pretty plainly. It probably wasn't the cult member. Remy stepped aside with his flower when the guy walked up to the counter.
"Hello, I'm here for the bulk order of seeds," He said with a sweet smile to the cashier. They nodded and went into the back of the shop. Huh. He looked really… normal for a cult member. Maybe Remy was prejudiced or maybe he was just convinced the guy would come into town in those robes he saw people was wearing on camera.
"Um… I'm Remy," He said nervously to the guy.
"Oh! I was wondering where I'd see you! Let me buy these seeds and we can start the drive back," He said.
"Okay," Remy nodded and swallowed. The man was cheery and talked about the weather with the cashier while she rang up the bulk ticket he must have placed earlier. He beamed at the cashier with his bag of seeds as they walked out, Remy following quietly out to the car. He slipped the backpack between his feet in the passenger seat and held the dahlia in his hands carefully.
"Did you purchase that for Sir Virgil?" He asked calmly as he backed out of the lot and pulled on to the street. "He loves flowers. I've seen him in the flower garden a few evenings already, talking to them,"
"Um, yeah…" Remy mumbled.
"That's very nice of you," He smiled. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm Thomas. I'm one of the Acolytes. I manage the flower and herb garden,"
"Um, nice to meet you," Remy stared down at the flower.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked with concern.
"I think I'm sick of being asked that," Remy grumbled.
"No, that's fair. None of my business. Sir Virgil requested some of these seeds, but he and Sir Remus were mostly just very excited about seeing you again,"
"Did they really wander in the woods until they found you?" Remy asked, still somewhat disbelieving of their story. It was completely wild.
"Sir Virgil was dowsing. They were dehydrated and delirious, so it must have been a long way. Sir Virgil had pocketfuls of herbs and berries they collected in the forest. He found boysenberries, which are rare around here. We've planted them. It was very… interesting to talk to them while they were coming to after food and water. I was the first one they stumbled into," Thomas said. "They're unique individuals with a strong bond," They really were. Remy nodded and swallowed heavily.
"I don't suppose you have coffee, there, do you?" Remy asked curiously.
"No, the beans are too temperamental to grow. We have a few strains of tea leaves, however," Thomas said. Well, at least he wasn't entirely without caffeine.
"That's good," Remy mumbled.
"How long have you known them?" Thomas asked.
"Five years. We were in middle school and they sort of adopted me when I moved to town," Remy muttered. Thomas chuckled.
"I'm not surprised. They have very big hearts despite their darker interests," Thomas smiled. "We have a little while to go," He said after Remy didn't respond. Remy nodded and looked out the window. Every minute was agonizing. He gripped the flower pot tightly, not really intending to, but unable to let go. Even if Virgil wasn't interested, he'd still get a flower. Remy pulled out his phone.
'Got a ride home
Thx for the ride
Had fun last night' Remy sent to Roman and put his phone into airplane mode. It wouldn't be coming back out unless Remy decided to leave. There's no way his dad would keep paying for it after he found out Remy ran away, so it would be a music and photo box, probably.
It was a little weird to think about that. He could still log in to his Instagram on a laptop, but he probably shouldn't log in and have his history tracked in case his dad tried to look. He felt really weird, completely dropping his entire life on a dime. On a hope. On… Well, it was better than his dad's house no matter what happened. Unless he was ritualistically sacrificed. Buying tons of seeds didn't mean they weren't a murder cult. Virgil and Remus could be into that. Well, not really. Virgil's too sensitive, and Remus was too caring in real life. Remy realized it wasn't really the cult he was scared of and swallowed heavily.
The drive felt like an eternity. Thomas got the picture that Remy didn't want to talk, but the minutes ticked by so slowly on the car's dash and the trees all blurred together. They eventually pulled down a long grass field, slightly barren in spots from being driven on, but mostly natural. It was a few minutes until three figures in dark robes standing near what looked like a free-standing garage came into view. Remy's heart leaped into his throat and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Remus's massive grin came into view before Virgil's nervous smile and Remy's heart felt like it exploded. Holy crap, he needed to cut back on the caffeine. Remy unbuckled his seatbelt before the car fully came to a stop and tried to open the door.
"Woah, woah, almost stopped!" Thomas said when he heard the door handle click. As soon as the car was set in park Remy shoved the Dahlia towards Thomas and jumped out of the car. Virgil was already running at him, and they collided painfully into each other.
"I missed you so much it nearly killed me," Virgil nearly cried into Remy's chest and looked up to Remy with shining eyes.
"I missed you, too, babe," Remy smiled sweetly at him. And there was that look again. And Remy wasn't missing his chance this time. He went in for the kiss and everything in the world felt right again. And he didn't care about anything he was worried about anymore. Because here was Virgil, in his arms, kissing him back.
"My goodness, was this whole ordeal about picking up Virgil's boyfriend?" A very cool and smooth voice asked curiously, though it felt very distant as Remy shared a passionate kiss with Virgil.
"No, this is a new development," Remus chuckled. Remy opened his eyes and pulled back, and Virgil's eyes were shining so brightly Remy could swear they were glittering. "It wasn't unanticipated, but it is new,"
"You bitch," Remy smirked at him. Virgil let go and Remy walked right into Remus's arms and hugged him just as tightly as Remus bear-mauled him. Virgil hugged Remy tremulously from the other side.
"I got your things from the car," Thomas said behind him. Remus let go of Remy and smirked.
"Rem, is that a black dahlia?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow. Virgil let go and turned around. He gasped when he and then he definitely cried.
"Shit, um, what did I do?" Remy asked in confusion as he took the flower from Thomas.
"Virgil speaks flower-ese," Remus laughed.
"Fuck, what does it mean?" Remy asked, heavy with concern. It just reminded him of Virgil!
"It's a celebration of joining a new religion or trying a new healthy habit, which is pretty accurate," Remus started with a knowing smirk.
"But it also signifies a lasting bond and commitment between two people," Virgil chuckled slightly as tears ran down his face and he took the flower. "I know you didn't know, but-" Remy cut him off with another kiss.
"Shut up, babe, I mean every petal of it," Remy smiled at him as he pulled away. The tall guy with the green and gold-hazel eyes coughed slightly.
"Um, Virgil, I wasn't aware… Well, of the nature of your relationship. There's a provision that allows Remy to stay without joining us as your paramour, technically. He would be a seer consort. He'd still need a job. We all work if we're able, but there are acolytes with uninitiated loved ones here. Um, though he would have slightly different standards than them, that is…" The fancy robes dude trailed off awkwardly.
"Hey, you don't gotta be an initiate if you don't wanna, Rem!" Remus smiled.
"Could I change my mind and join later?" Remy asked curiously. He did sort of intend to join a cult coming here. He did not intend to make out with Virgil. But he would take the win.
"Of course," The tall guy smiled. "You will not be allowed to participate in rites otherwise, and I hear you are fond of drinking," He smirked somewhat sardonically.
"Which one of you bitches called me out?" Remy groaned. He took Virgil's hand and squeezed it as Remus laughed and put his hand on Remy's shoulder with one of his signature manic grins. When combined with Virgil's blush and shy smile, Remy could swear he could feel his heart melt. Remy bent down and kissed Virgil on the cheek while Virgil looked reverently at the flower, and Virgil turned bright red. He could get used to seeing that.