Christmas King

If you were to ask Virgil, his favorite part of the Christmas season would be when the season ended. It was cold, it was expensive, it was loud, it was stressful for everyone still in school, there was a lot of pressure put on everyone to come up with a great gift; Virgil didn't really see why anyone would really be fond of the season and an episode of Adam Ruins Everything made him miss the days where Americans were fined for celebrating Christmas. The season gave him sensory overload and anxiety and he hated the finances reminding him that he used to and still did live within the lower end of middle class (not poor enough to need food stamps, but not wealthy enough to the point of not caring if he's out of milk in the apartment). The only job that would hire him paid him minimum wage and his boss was an arrogant ableist who would purposely put him through anxiety attacks for the sake of dark humor.

As implied before, he was careful with his spending habits, especially when it came to food at home. As a result, once a month, whenever he found a Burger King receipt in the trash and took advantage of the surveys, he considered it his way of splurging and treating himself. That particular day for December happened to be Christmas Eve and Virgil felt lucky he was able to make it during a time where it wasn't crowded while it was still open. As he was headed for the door, he accidentally bumped into a man who was completely bundled up for the winter.

"Oh my God! I am so sorry!" Virgil reacted.

"Hey, it's okay. I was distracted," the man responded clearly from under his blue and pink scarf.

The man held the door open for Virgil, but the latter backed away to let the man go in. As the man entered, suddenly, a strong wind blew and Virgil's receipt flew out of his pocket. The introvert shrieked and tried to chase after it, but a combination of the loud noises surrounding him and the shock from slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk caused him to suffer to himself while struggling to breathe.

Several minutes of torture passed before Virgil slowly got back up while shivering. He felt his pockets and recognized he still had enough money for a soft drink since his receipt was long gone. If not for that acknowledgment, he would've felt more awkward and defeated once he made it inside. He limped his way back to Burger King while shivering and found himself dreading the season more. As he made it inside, he noticed a familiar-looking coat, hat, and pink and blue scarf draped over a chair. By the time he made it in line, he noticed that there was whom Virgil thought was an angel occupying the seat. He had a sweater of light blue and white that was winter-themed as well as a warm smiling and something he barely noticed outside due to the awkwardness: glasses framing chestnut brown eyes. Virgil also squinted due to trying to figure out if he also saw freckles on the man's face.

Before Virgil knew it, he was in the same spot in line and everyone else initially in front of him had vanished. He counted the money in his pocket and asked for a medium soda, feeling grateful that he was able to afford it and tax. As he went to fill his soda, he heard someone's number be called and, less than a minute later, felt a tap of his shoulder as soon as he got himself a straw. Virgil flinched before turning to see the man. As it turned out, Virgil was right about seeing freckles on his face.

"Excuse me, um, are you planning on leaving or sitting with anyone?" the man asked him.

"Well, I don't really know," Virgil admitted.

"Well...would you like to sit with me and share a Whopper? I don't know what happened to you after I came inside, but you look like you could use a little help," the man retorted.

Virgil wasn't sure how to respond. He hadn't expected such an act of kindness (or maybe pity) from a beautiful man who barely even knew him. Out of sheer awkwardness, Virgil limped as he was following the man and sat in the seat across from him. The man tied his scarf around Virgil's knee and got him another chair to put his leg on.

"Um, thank you. You didn't have to do this," Virgil expressed.

"I wanted to. Cutie or not, anyone who needs it deserves help," the man proclaimed while lightly poking the tip of a blushing Virgil's nose.

"Um, by the way, I'm Virgil."

"I'm Patton. The winter promotion is near its end, so I thought I'd take advantage of it while I could."

"Well, I just hope it ends soon."

"Empty on the tank of Christmas Spirit? Hopefully not for the same reason as Scrooge."

"I've got my personal reasons, but greed is not one of them."

As Virgil was sharing the Whopper with Patton, he realized that he was doing something he never thought would be possible: he was feeling comfortable while in the company of another person. The two were talking more than they were feasting and Virgil noticed a lot of care and love coming from the angel in front of him. He noticed snow slowly falling outside through the window and couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he could enjoy Christmas with the presence of the little things like care.