Virgil entered the apartment, still feeling shaky after his encounter with his soulmate just fifteen minutes earlier. He heard Patton in the kitchen, likely cooking lunch or testing a new recipe for his shop. He exhaled and quietly tried to pass by without getting his attention.

However, his friend looked up immediately. "Hey Virge! How did your first dance class go?" he chirped. "Come here! I'm working on something new, you can be the first taste tester!"

"Uh, I'm kind of tired Patton-"

"Oh don't be silly, it doesn't take any energy to sit down and eat food that's handed to you," Patton teased, beckoning him over again. The artist sighed heavily, knowing he had no choice. He plopped down into one of the chairs in front of the breakfast bar and tried to look like he wasn't coming down from a panic attack that had nearly caused him to pass out. He thought he was doing a good job, but the concern on Patton's face told him otherwise. "Did everything go okay? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Virgil shook his head and swallowed. His mouth felt dry as he avoided his friend's gaze. "I kind of... met someone there," he managed.

"Oh? Someone cute?" he asked, happily clapping his hands.

"Yeah, he was... he was really cute and really handsome," he said. "He was the instructor and he was really patient with us even though he usually doesn't teach beginners. His name is Roman... and- uh- he-" He fidgeted with his hands, feeling incredibly nervous to tell someone else the truth. He squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled shakily. "He's my soulmate."

Patton gasped loudly, his hands flying to his mouth. "Oh my gosh! Virgil! That's amazing! Congratulations!!"

Heat rose into the artist's cheeks and the tips of his ears turned red. He always felt embarrassed when Patton acted so supportive; sometimes the man seemed like a father figure despite being only three years older than himself. Virgil managed to nod in agreement, feeling his throat close up. "Yeah, it's great, it's just... a little... weird..."

"What happened?" his friend asked.

"I almost passed out in front of him and the whole class," Virgil whined, reaching up to bury his face in his hands. The humiliation came flooding back as he remembered. "It was fine and nice until like halfway into the class. He took off his shirt and I saw our mark... I felt all dizzy and lightheaded and started blacking out! I went over the side of the room and I recovered fine, but I'm just so embarrassed!"

Patton patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. "Does he know who you are?"

"I don't think so... at least, he didn't act like he knew or anything," he said uncertainly. "I don't remember if we touched or not, so I'm not sure if the marks glowed or if he noticed if it did... mine was covered the whole time so..."

"Well, are you going to go back and see him?" Patton asked, giving him an encouraging grin. "He sounds pretty sweet and you said that he's super handsome."

Virgil swallowed and reached into his bag to pull out the business card that he'd been given. He placed it on the counter and slid it toward his friend, fidgeting nervously as he picked it up. "Roman Prince, wow, what a name!" he said with a chuckle. He briefly read over the information and flipped it over to see a small picture of him. Patton whistled, making the other man's cheeks flush again. "He's a looker, isn't he? I'm assuming you're going to go back for some... private lessons?"

The suggestive wink that Patton gave him made Virgil want to spontaneously combust. "That is not what I-"

"Virge, I was just teasing! I know how you are," he said. "I think that taking some lessons with him is a great idea! You'll get some good physical exercise and you'll get to know your soulmate better. Other than the whole soulmate revelation, how was the class and how are you feeling? Is your head a little clearer?"

"I want to draw again," Virgil admitted. He looked him in the eye as excitement swelled up in his chest. He remembered watching Roman dance before the class began; his movements had been elegant and almost magical. "I have these... feelings that I need to express somehow."

Patton smiled happily. "Well don't let me stop you, go get working! I'll call you out when the first batch of these cookies are ready so you can taste test for me."

He scooped up his bag and the business card, thanking him as he hurried to his room. He dumped the bag by his door as he entered it and ran straight to his art table. There was a sketchbook waiting for him. He slid into his chair and picked up his pencil. Virgil flipped to a new page, taking a deep breath as he gazed at the blank sheet of paper. A week ago, he would've closed the book again, overwhelmed by the voices in his head. Today, he let his hand move across the paper.

The sketch was rough at first and Virgil felt that tug of frustration. It wasn't perfect, but he kept going. He let the feelings swirling in his head to make their way down to his fingertips. The pencil kept moving.

The artist blinked and looked at what he'd drawn. It was figure kneeling on the ground, reaching upward. Above him, another figure offered a hand. The man standing had the illusion of wings hanging from his shoulder blades. Virgil couldn't deny the likeness between himself and the man kneeling and he knew that the man with wings bore a slight resemblance to Roman.

A flush rose into his cheeks, but he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty about it. After all, this wasn't some passing attraction to a handsome stranger; this was his soulmate.

It took Virgil about a week to gather the courage to actually schedule an appointment with Roman. He swore that he wasn't stalling on purpose, but Logan had seen through his lies and practically forced him to set up the session under his supervision. His lesson with Roman was from 9:30 to 10:30 in the morning on Friday. He spent the days leading up to it pacing around his room and sketching frantically to release his nerves.

The day of the lesson, he woke up two hours early. Patton and Logan were shocked to see him actually awake for breakfast. A plate of freshly made eggs and toast was set down in front of him. He kept quiet as he began to nibble at it, bouncing his leg up and down.

His friends were watching him cautiously, which wasn't helping even though he understood why. "You know everything's going to be okay, right?" Patton asked encouragingly, giving him a comforting smile. "From what you told me, he's a sweetheart; also, he's your soulmate! Even if something goes wrong, I'm sure it'll be fine!" Virgil looked up at him with a scowl. His words were anything but comforting. A bashful chuckle escaped Patton's lips. "Okay, maybe that was the wrong thing to say. What I meant was that-"

"You are biologically proven to be soulmates," Logan interrupted, adjusting his glasses. "You are compatible on a level beyond scientific explanation; that is something that cannot be broken by trivial human conflict."

His explanation left the other two men speechless. Virgil looked down at his hands, eyes wide as the words hit him. Logan was right, as usual. Soulmates were bound to each other in a way that couldn't be explained by science. Nothing could break the bond. It seemed silly now to be so worried about going to see him. Even if he ran away, he would run into Roman again. He would be fighting fate if tried to live his life without his soulmate in it.

"Thank you," Virgil murmured.

Once he was finished with breakfast, Virgil gathered his things and headed for the door. His friends waved him goodbye and wished him luck again. The fresh air gave him a burst of energy as he stepped outside. He inhaled deeply and let it out with a small smile. He could do this. This would be a good thing for him.

This revelation did not completely ease his anxiety of the situation. His hands were still trembling slightly as he reached for the door handle of the dance studio. Nina gave him a bright smile from behind the front desk. Virgil swallowed as he nodded to her, moving passed the desk to head down the hallway. Roman's appointment information said they were going to be practicing in one of the smaller studios in the back. He looked along the doors, searching for the one labeled '4'.

The muted music inside told him that Roman was already waiting for him or currently teaching someone else. He shoved the urge to run away down and knocked on the door.

"Come on in!" the dancer called from inside.

Virgil swallowed again and opened the door. He'd seen this man dancing before. He'd seen the way he glowed radiantly under the studio lights, slightly shiny with sweat. He thought they he'd be prepared this time.

His breath left his lungs in a quick gasp as Roman leaped across the room, back arched and legs spread into a split effortlessly. He landed impossibly quietly, twirling to a stop with grace. His chest was heaving as he turned to look at him. Virgil felt warm crawling up his neck and into cheeks as the dancer's mouth stretched into a wide, excited smile. "Greetings!" he said, dropping out of his stance. He moved to turn off the music and grabbed a towel for his hair, which was slick with sweat. "It's good to see you again, Virgil. I'm excited to teach you!"

"Y-Yeah, I'm uh... excited to learn?" Virgil tried. He bit down on the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from visibly wincing at his own uncertainty. "Um, sorry for interrupting you."

"No, no it's totally fine, I was just passing the time," he reassured him. He reached down to grab his water bottle. The artist felt like he was intruding as he watched the man take long sips; he forced himself not to stare at his neck as it moved. Roman exhaled as he stopped drinking and gave him a smile. "Okay, so what are you hoping to get out of ballet? Why do you want to learn it?"

The questions caught him off guard. Virgil hadn't thought about the futuristic goals of ballet; to be honest, he'd been more focused on the fact that his teacher was his soulmate. "Uh, I'm not really sure?" he replied. "I hadn't really thought about it. I just sort of... needed something to get me physically active? My friend thought ballet would be a nice idea so..."

"Okay, so you're not really interested in learning it for skill," Roman said, nodding. "Well, we can just have fun with it then. I'll put on some music, and we can run through some stretches and basic exercises!"

He started flipping through his phone for some music as Virgil put his bag down and switched his shoes out for his ballet slippers. The artist glanced up, noticing that Roman's damp white shirt allowed him to see the shadow of their soulmate mark. He realized how fast his heart was beating as he gaze at it.

Music started to play through the speakers as Roman turned around. "Ready?"

Virgil put his hands on his knees, bending down as he panted for breath. He'd been practicing with his soulmate for almost an hour and his body was not prepared for the strenuous nature of ballet. His muscles screamed for rest. Sweat was dripping from his hair onto the floor as he tried to regain his bearings.

"Are you alright?" Roman asked, sincerity laced with amusement in his voice. "We can stop if you want."

"I just... need a moment," he wheezed out.

The dancer chuckled and walked over to the side of the room where Virgil's water bottle was. He offered it to the artist as he looked up at him. "Don't push yourself, you almost passed out last time."

"I w-was..." Virgil stammered, face flushing with embarrassment. It really wasn't the first impression he had wanted to make. Upon realizing who Roman was, he'd practically collapsed to the ground and spent the rest of class curled up on the sidelines. He hid his eyes behind his bangs. "I was really hoping that you had forgotten about that."

Roman let out a laugh, shaking his head back and forth. "How can I forget about finding out who my soulmate is?"

His words were an icy shock to Virgil's overheated body. He froze, his breath stopping in his throat. He stood up straight and looked toward Roman as the dancer moved across the room. He knew who he was. Why hadn't he mentioned it before?

"You... You know..." he managed, his voice cracking a little. Roman hummed affirmatively. Virgil shook his head in shock. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I wanted to let you take the first step," he replied, turning to meet his eyes. It was clear that the artist's face showed his confusion. Roman smiled and looked down at the ground. "I'm not an idiot. I kept an eye on you through the whole session and you were physically fine. It was obvious that your dizzy spell was brought on by something shocking. You clearly suffer from severe anxiety, no offense, it's not a flaw, it's just part of you I noticed. You started to black out after I took off my shirt, and while I certainly am a specimen," he flashed Virgil a wink, "it's unlikely that a man's back would be cause for you to pass out. I'm well aware of where my- our- soulmate mark is."

Virgil couldn't do anything besides stare. The dancer laughed a little bit again. "Not to mention, when I touched you to help guide you to the side of the room, my mark was glowing. I could see it in the mirror."

"So... you..." he said unintelligently. Virgil felt anxiety welling up in his chest as he started tapping his foot. He started fidgeting with his hands, fighting the urge to start crying on the spot. He wasn't ready for this information. He stared down at his palms, noticing smudges of pencil lead still visible from his sketching early that morning. Despite all of Logan's kind words earlier that morning, all his thoughts rushed toward doubt. Roman was a beautiful human being with talent and confidence. Virgil pressed his face into his hands. "You must be so disappointed."

Roman rushed across the room and seized his shoulders. "Why on earth would you think I would be disappointed?" he demanded. "I'm... I'm thrilled! I've been dying to meet you! Our mark is breathtaking! Are you an artist? Whenever I look at it, I get the feeling that you're an artist."

"I'm- I... I am, y-yes," Virgil said softly, pulling his hands away and staring at his soulmate. "But... you're so... you're so perfect and talented-"

"And flawed and human," Roman interrupted. He released his shoulders and took a gentle hold of his hands. The artist gazed at him in awe as he smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I happen to think I'm pretty great, but I also know that I'm not perfect. You shouldn't expect me to be. I would never expect you to be perfect either."

Virgil stared at him, feeling tears welling up in his eyes. He knew he should've expected his soulmate to accept him as he was, but he still wasn't prepared for someone as gorgeous as Roman telling him these things while clutching his hands. A small giggle rose into his throat as a couple tears dripped down his cheeks. "You think you're pretty great?"

"Oh yes, I'm a fantastic dancer and stunning to look at," his soulmate boasted with a smirk. Virgil busted out laughing, wiping his eyes as the stupidity of the situation fell over him. Roman grinned and gave him a tight hug. "You feeling okay?"

He nodded into his chest. "But no more dancing, I'm too freaking tired."

It was Roman's turn to laugh. He squeezed him and then pressed a kiss to his cheek. "That's okay, I may have cleared my schedule for today other than your appointment," he admitted. "I figured that something like this might happen and I wanted to be sure I could be with you."

"That's stupidly sweet," Virgil replied.

"Ah, you should know, that's what my name means," he said, pressing their noses together. "I'm a hopeless romantic."