The Melting Pot Complex

Chapter Sixty-Four ~ Roman

{Possible trigger warnings: swearing, tornado, minor arguing, death threat (Logan means well, he was just worried), bad decisions

If I miss something, I apologize and please let me know}

If his music hadn't picked that exact moment to buffer and lose connection for a moment, Roman probably wouldn't have heard the sirens. His head immediately shot up and he snatched his phone and a hoodie.

Logan was halfway down their hallway, knocking on Patton's door loudly. Roman grabbed shoes from next to his door and yanked them on as quickly as possible.

"C'mon, to the lobby. Don't use the elevator, take the stairs." Logan grabbed his hand as Patton darted out past them.

"Where's Virgil?" Their roommate asked as they started out of the apartment.

"He went over to Emile's apartment. I'm sure he'll be smart enough to stay there and get down. Stairs, Patton, not elevator." Logan grabbed Patton's arm and corrected his direction.

They sprinted down the hallway to the stairs, Logan falling a little behind as he stopped to pound on every door. Patton took the lead down the stairs, and they came out in the lobby, across from the front doors.

Thomas was standing there, talking with a middle aged woman. As Roman skidded to a stop next to him, she nodded and raced off down the hallway.

"Alright, Roman and Patton go through here. Go all the way down the stairs and take a left into the laundry room." Thomas instructed.

"What about Logan?" As he asked it, Roman realized his boyfriend wasn't behind them. He gasped and spun around, starting to head for the stairwell.

"I'm here, I'm here." Logan assured as he stepped through the door. "Thomas, are you missing anyone?"

"I haven't seen Marjorie or her sister yet." Thomas said. "I don't know if they were out or not."

Logan turned to Roman. "Go downstairs where he tells you. I'll be right there."

"I'm not just letting you out of my sight when there's a tornado nearby!" Roman scoffed.

"I'll be fine. Just stay here."

Before he could protest, Logan had pulled the stairwell door closed again. It locked from the inside and Roman growled in irritation.

"I'm not going downstairs until he's back." He told Thomas stubbornly.

Several more residents passed them and went down into the basement while they waited for Logan. Patton hugged himself, his oversized hoodie making him look very small.

"They're not there." Logan confirmed as he rejoined them. "Were they your last ones?"

Thomas nodded. "Everyone downstairs."

Roman grabbed Logan's hand as they descended into the darkness. He could see faint light up ahead, probably some small generator in the back of the laundry room.

"You're not allowed to do that on the regular, okay?" He told Logan softly, squeezing his hand. "Scared the hell outta me."

Logan nodded and gently tugged him off to the side as they entered the laundry room. Patton plopped onto the ground while Thomas began to make the rounds checking on his tenants.

"Perhaps it's a good thing Virgil isn't here, though I hope Emile can help him keep his nerves in check through this." He said quietly, resting his head on Roman's shoulder and leaning against him a little. Roman wrapped an arm around him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine- oh." He pulled his phone out and stared at it as it vibrated. "Speak of the devil."

Accepting the call, Roman brought the phone to his ear. "Hey, you and Emile holding up okay in all this?"

"Yeah uh-"

"Where are you? It's loud as hell."

Virgil hummed nervously. "How mad would you be if I said I'm outside the apartment?"

"What the f*ck?!"

Roman slapped a hand over his mouth and quickly apologized to a mother nearby who shot him a scandalized look. He pulled away from Logan. "What- why?"

"I didn't hear the sirens until I was partway back, there was nowhere I could park and hide so I decided to just outpace it- yes, I outran a tornado." Virgil huffed. "Listen, I can't find my keys, I need you to come let me into the building."

"Give me a minute, I'll be right there." Roman hung up and kissed Logan's cheek, then ducked past Thomas as he took up a spot next to the door and sprinted back up the stairs. He ignored the people shouting his name. 

Virgil was standing near the door, soaked to the skin from the rain and watching the sky nervously. Roman ran over and shoved the door open, grabbing his roommate by the hood and dragging him inside.

"Come on you idiot."

"F*ck off." Virgil snapped as Roman led him to the stairwell.

Logan was just leaving the laundry room. He saw them and stopped, chest heaving.

"Roman. Tulio. If you ever do something like that again and you survive, I'll kill you myself."

Roman winced and pulled his boyfriend into a hug as Patton saw Virgil and began to mother him, asking if anyone nearby had towels or blankets.

"I'm sorry. There wasn't time to explain, I just wanted to make sure Virgil was safe."

He took a seat against the wall, pulling Logan down to the floor and holding him close. Logan sighed heavily, resting his head on Roman's chest.

"Hey Ro, can I borrow your phone?"

Roman looked up to see Virgil, now bundled in what looked like a good seven blankets.

"Mine died at the end of our phone call and I-" He swallowed thickly and sniffled. "I need to make sure Emmy's okay."

Roman nodded and handed it over.

Virgil stepped out into the hallway to call his boyfriend and the laundry room went quiet. Several families had already piled together and fallen asleep. Thomas was keeping a watchful eye over everyone.

Patton curled up against the wall, his back pretty much against Roman's arm. Roman chuckled and reached over, pulling him in to the sort of dogpile he now had going.

Silence reigned.

~~~ Twenty Minutes Later ~~~

Roman looked up as the same woman who they'd seen earlier approached him. Logan was dozing in his arms and Patton was now cuddled up against Virgil, who was fiddling with what looked like a fidget cube.

"My son said the man you're holding is a YouTuber." She said quietly, crouching in front of them. "He's a very big fan."

Logan stirred and looked up. "I am... Is your son alright?"

She nodded quickly. "He's shaken, but physically okay."

The theorist adjusted his glasses and slowly clambered to his feet. "I could talk to him for a few moments, if you'd like."

Roman sighed and ran a hand through his hair as his boyfriend walked off, stopping to speak with a boy who couldn't have been older than eleven. The kid was practically bouncing now, grinning as he explained something to Logan, who was nodding sagely.

"Really makes ya want kids, don't it?"

Roman glanced at Virgil.

"Until Emile sent me pictures of him holding his baby cousin last week, I never would have considered having a kid." Virgil shook his head. "I guess seeing the guy you love with a little one changes you sometimes."

"Yeah... I guess it does."

{DON'T FOLLOW VIRGIL'S TORNADO ADVICE. YOU CANNOT OUTRUN A TORNADO. BE SAFE, IF YOU'RE OUT TRY TO FIND A BRIDGE TO HIDE UNDER OR A LITTLE RAVINE OR SOMETHING.}