#he just wants 2 go on a date w/ logan
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Patton: Roman keeps trying to plan a date between me and Logan, but I don't think I like him like that :( i don't think I should go...
Janus: you're right, Pat. You shouldn't go. It wouldn't be honest.
Patton: thanks, jan, you always—
Janus: I'll go. Disgused as you.
Patton:
Patton: what if Logan wants to hold hands?
Janus: I'm prepared to make that sacrifice.
Patton: what if he wants to kiss???
Janus: I'm prepared to make that sacrifice.
Patton: What if—
Janus: you don't wanna know how far I'll go.
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pre relationship: 3, general: 3, 6, love: 10, 13, domestic life: 7 !!
hihihihihihi !!!! i cant wait to start s2 tonight i need to see my kittycat i need to see him !!!!! thank u for always sending asks my aaroman warrior o7 u should rb this ask game 2 so i can pelt u w waystarshipping and jermstone questions
Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?
absolutely fucking not!!!!!!
by the time any of the roys find out its too late, theyre already very much together. i think the fam knows abt aaron before 04x03 and like, willingly keeps him a secret (have 2 believe none of them would out a family member for personal gain. if not just to avoid the shitstorm for logan). some of them wuld obviously would prefer for roman to a) not be gay or b) at least not be dating a Fucking Weirdo. oh well!
aarons friends are also not. thrilled. for obvious reasons. reactions range from 'ok...u r gold digging, right? does this mean we can afford a hot tub :D' to 'morally/ethically what the Actual fuck is wrong with you bro???'
What was their first kiss like?
hmm the first time they kiss probably an impulsive. half-drunken thing. prolly after their first '''date''' (which roman insists is not a date despite calling him up and inviting him for dinner and drinks). it's rlly messy, roman is kind of an awful kisser at first (out of practice #nobitches) so aaron is kinda like...ok....but it's very endearing somehow.
What’s their relationship with each other’s families?
i could write a dissertation on. aaron and the roys. i think he's...polite? i mean, he knows roman is super close to them despite how fockin shitty they are to him all the time, so he's willing to grin and bear it. he doesnt like ken for Reasons (annoying on twitter, involvement in 'dog pound', annoying in real life)*, he's rightfully intimidated by shiv, he thinks connor is rlly fuckin funny, he has a weird psychosexual obsession w tom (as stated, would put tom in a saw trap), he thinks greg is cool and would like to talk about his record collection w him.
*authors footnote: i personally like kendall a lot i do love the fucked up brother dynamic between ken and rome BUT aaron is protective and an asshole and doesnt care abt nuance if youre mean to his boyfriend you go to the gulag for 1000 years !
aarons friends are hsi family! he lives w his childhood + college besties! they are all spectacular assholes as well so roman weirdly fits in! roman likes aarons bff because he is also a snarky asshole. one of aaron's college friends actually is from LA, so that's another person he can relate to somewhat. ovi he's a rich asshole tho and like, has to adapt to how normal people live and socialize (aaron and his friends arent even normal theyre like a weirdly codependent found family) but. they all kind come around to him! (will post extended oc universe lore someday on god)
Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?
i think they both are kinda stupid abt feelings and prefer physical affection, as sometimes its easier to manage than like, pouring your heart out. aaron is big on words of affirmation tho, once they r more comfy in their relationship/roman is more comfortable w receiving stuff like that.
Who remembers the little things?
aaron is def a romantic, he's big on anniversaries, quick to pick up little things like roman's coffee order, his favorite snacks, etc. roman is a little rusty but is surprisingly sensitive when he cares about someone. he's super in to aaron, so he makes sure to note all of aarons favorite movies and albums (so he can bring them up later and Totally sound like he knows what he's talking about).
[also they r a beautiful ocd (aaron) x adhd (roman) couple so in general aaron is Incredibly on top of things (or else he might die, who knows!) while roman is a fockin mess with remembering shit.]
Who kills the bugs in the house?
the real answer is gustav. he eats them. aaron will hold the cat up and he will take care of business.
#asks#me when my answered asks are so unbearably long#sorry im like this guys#it will happen again#jerome 🎥
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Once again back on my bs throwing out another insane but possibly valid Nexomon theory until Nexomon 3 finally gets a proper release date...
Going through the Abyssal DLC again, mostly finding hints on what they foreshadow for 3 (And it's quite a few things, a bit about sorcerers/witches already getting wiped off the map and a possible time-skip prediction of 100,000 years.), but the one thing that caught my eye was after the MC defeated Volcel [N:E Abyssal DLC part 4].
Long story short, it's heavily implied that the Abyssals were engineered like the Greater Drakes and/or Vados, but not in such an unnatural way that Deena couldn't have sensed it. In her own words, "Unlike the dragons and Vados, these Abyssal Tyrants couldn't have been forged by human hands."
Which leads me to the obvious conclusion (and indirectly the mad scientist Logan's): GENETIC ENGINEERING!!
And I'm obviously jumping on the idea that Metta made them (for obvious reasons) since resurrection would've opened up a similar scheme; besides, he's the only one of the fam with these skills so he had all that free time to do something else here. While following the assumption that the main element Abyssals (Fire, Water, Wind, Nature, Earth, Lightning) were modeled after the main Omnicron Fam, the Abyssals also share some physical characteristics with some Nexomon of N1 & N:E as well besides the nixed bag that is Venefelis, but I'll just go in order from appearance in the DLC then explain/ramble from there.
Major-ish spoilers for Nexomon 1 (& Netherworld dlc/arc) and Nexomon: Extinction w. the Abyssal dlc below:
1. Venefelis (Masquiti(?) + Kitsunox, Carnagrius, Fanfrou, Fuzztino, Felicient)
Like I said, Venefelis is such a mixed bag since she came out the gate just after Omnicron's bucket got kicked for good and the N1 protag thought any major world-ending threat was over and done for...Well that was a fucking lie and we all know it. While I feel that Venefelis got that hot-headed attitude (and obvious golden child syndrome) from the other cat-based 'mon, it's easy to see the similarities w. the Masquiti line even when they didn't appear until 1,000 yrs later in N:E (and the off-putting entry about Masquiti fits way too perfectly w. her "ghost" form Salem), but I digress. Whether or not Venefelis could be considered the first Psychic type after N1 (or the first uber-powerful Masquiti known to man), or maybe Metta made a replacement Omnicron on the side if his main plan failed (before he threw her out only to kill Hilda in revenge), that's already up for debate for me. [Also somewhat implying that Venefelis is a mutation of Kitsunox since the cape seems similar and she actively boasts about being the “perfect servant” in killing Hilda for a master she never knew nor witnessed (N:E Kitsunox are unwaveringly loyal too) but that’s my opinion here]…
2. Pluvean (Arqua + Harectic, Hydrose, Reeferus, Torrex)
Even if Arqua/Merida was always shown to be hotheaded and quick to throw a temper (even at the expense of a destroyed ship or two), Pluvean was only mean to be a sacrifice to either confuse the Guild on the Abyssals' purpose or direct their attention away from the real threats...Either way, he's pretty lax on what the Guild wants to learn from him (ie. the bare minimum) and is more concerned over why Venefelis revived him if he already completed his task with flying colors. While this might also relate to the calming nature of water as opposed to Arqua's unpredictable rage, it's an interesting starting point for the Guild (and MC) to figure out that the Abyssals are far from their usual brand of Tyrant. And I guess Metta wanted to see a cooler side to Arqua/Merida when she's not flaunting around with other humans, who knows?
3. Rotramus (Nara + Outgrov, Raksuma, Prisimazor)
While I'm not going to theorize if or how Metta got Nara's DNA to create Rotramus (which that would next to impossible without revealing himself), but it's pretty telling since the only things he has to do is 1. Hide from the Guild, 2. Nap out of sight of said-Guild, 3. Answer or follow any tamer's command without question or self-preservation if they find him (and 4. Deny and insult said-tamer's command without question if they attempt to turn him against the Abyssals); you know, it just like Nara's main deal of betraying Omnicron, joining the humans to destroy her dad and siblings, and wanting to live freely and independently as Deena. Even if Rotramus is perfectly harmless apart from not betraying the Abyssals at the drop of a hat, it's interesting to see how much of an iron grip Metta also has on the Abyssals despite none of them ever knowing their master by appearance or name.
4. Inominox (Ventra + Heliventus, Eqoloptera, Lurkennie, Voltosfrere, Swactrum)
Just like the vulture Inominox is based on, he fights only against tamers he considers weak and easy-pickings and has survived because of that for generations...Yet he heartily declares the MC weak and worthless despite after defeating two Abyssals at that point (Pluvean and Rotramus) despite clearly being the King/Queen of Monsters, then getting completely bodied in the process (mostly after using one Nexomon with a type disadvantage). Makes sense though since Ventra was always shown to be incredibly egotistical and overestimated her enemies in N1, so Inominox might've been so blinded by his cunning and "weakness radar" that he's the only Abyssal besides Helevolk and/or Braccus that don't immediately recognize the MC as Nexomon King.
5. Helovolk (Fona + Carnagrius (N:E), Oregoon, Treclay, Moltano, Shardrillion)
Sucks that I can't find an proper Nexomon to connect to why Helovolk is blind and as irrational as a ordinary monster, but it might relate to the theme of fire being a blind and destructive force if left unattended...Or Helovolk just got the worst part of Fona since he was just a bad-boy dude who always played by his own rules. Also putting in the revived N:E version of Carnegrius since they became increasingly violent after loosing their natural habitat, and Helovolk constantly digs a mindless series of tunnels to stay hidden and elusive...Maybe N3 will expand more on his personality/motives, but that's all I got for him here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
6+7. Caelesa & Byeol (Metta + Raamu, Mistrallion, Starckal, Paupo(?))
I know I know, why add Byeol in the mix, aren't they supposed to be a regular ol' Tyrant? I mean, have you even seen these two side-by-side!? They might as well be half-siblings here! And if anything goes to show, if Metta dabbled with gene splicing with his own DNA, not everything was going to be all sugar, spice, and everything nice here (and probably experiencing ego-death with the "abomination" that is Byeol)...Maybe throwing in a bit of Paupo in the mix so the family resemblance isn't too obvious, who knows.
Besides, they're both Normal type, they both have ring-like objects on them, and they both have a tendency to constantly evade the Guild's Tyrant witch-hunt without a care in the world...Possibly w. Byeol, but their lack of a noteworthy dex entry says as much (And on that note, it was only today ago that I realized that Byeol’s Nexomite/energy crystals are on the cheeks or might be the little stars floating around them…So I’m technically right and they have permanent dimples! 🥰). While Caelesa obviously has Metta's crassness around humans (only calling them idiots and getting huffy about the Guild labeling for a Tyrant for only running around as ordered), I headcanon that Byeol only avoids getting caught as a "game" and enjoys people-watching or nagging for attention so much that it easily weirds out the Guild. But I'm pretty sure Metta would've had a grand old time getting a 2-in-1 Tyrant deal while (possibly) pretending his mini-me cherub doesn't exist at all.
8. Braccus (Grunda + Broshield, Grath, Bitztrong, Rustung)
My boy Braccus is chonk supreme here, already topping off against all the Abyssals in pure strength and size alone (and makes it even funnier when his dialogue sprite takes up 1/3 of the screen on its own), but I have a feeling that this is the kind of terror and might Metta aspires Grunda to be before he "mellowed out" in N:E. Not that he did any kind of extreme damage on purpose, even Grunda's Chasm in N:E was made just from the Nexolord reviving him, and his entry mentions that it's only getting on Grunda's bad side when he goes on a rampage, so tamers and residents always had to walk on eggshells around him. But what does Grunda secretly want more than anything in the world? Take care of a small camp/village in the desert town Solus (aka Lateria in N:E) as its leader and as the human Ulrich (in the N1 dlc btw, sot it's an idealized verision of what he wants in the world...neat!). So yeah, even if Braccus was given actual freedom with distracting the Guild instead of a set-in-stone calling, he decides on his own that cold-blooded destruction was the only way to go...Until Xanders killed him, that is. And yes I will wholeheartedly believe that Xanders did it barehanded, he's just that kind of dude tbh. -Oh yeah, and who wants to bet that the crystal he has was ripped out of his chest? Either Xanders did it or Braccus did it for a power move, who knows?
9. Volcel (Luxa + Resonect, Resonic, Zappnic, Tephragon)
Isn't it interesting to know that both Volcel and Tephragon have an innate skill in tracking other people and/or monsters? While Volcel mainly used his skills to find a safe place for the Abyssals to hide in (aka. Precursor Mountains), his dex entry notes he "excelled at scouting and locating other living beings"...Maybe Venefelis revived him first to track the other Abyssal skeletons and find the mountain? Just some food for thought here...But yeah, I suppose Metta wanted his not-Luxa Tyrant to do something important and meaningful instead of being materialistic and smiting humans only for fun.
10. Kroma (Kromatice, Phantra, Hohopi, Rapilux, Dredrone)
And last but not least, the attack rabbit themselves! While I love the irony of a cute winged rabbit-fox thing having the power to control ghosts (and she was set loose in Immortal Citadel, you know, the one place already filled to the brim with ghosts...), I kinda believe that her appearance was purely meant to be a distraction to hide her true strength (apart from every other Abyssal I mean). While it doesn't clearly explain how Kroma controls spirits in the first place (and being strong enough to control Ulzar nonetheless), it might work like Dredrone or Phantra with a strange otherworldly energy or hypnotism. Sucks that she only got to roam free in a relatively short time, trying and failing to kill Hilda's apprentice Eliza, before Deena curb-stomped that pile of stuffing into oblivion (or not caring to do her mission with gusto since she knew their master won't show up, who knows)...But hey, at least we'll get to see them again in Nexomon 3...Hopefully.
Anywho, thanks for reading my growing brand of rants here, and here's to the future installment in the completely underrated Nexomon series!
#nexomon#nexomon extinction#nexomon spoilers#nexomon extinction spoilers#nexomon metta#nexomon abyssal spoilers#nexomon abyssal tyrants#nexomon byeol#Rotating more Nexomon theories in my brain like a microwave here...#If no one's gonna prove me wrong they're not going to do it anytime soon!#It's Nexomon 3 or bust babey!! >:D
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So what if Victor Creed fell in love w/ a Black girl
Victor would first see you when he was fighting logan. All he was was a girl crouching down beside a car looking like she was wishing on a star. Like she was about to cry.
“This is some white people shit” you'd say to yourself upset looking around to see how to get out the way but anywhere you looked it looked like hell there was a fire almost everywhere and to make matters worse the man with blond hair was throwing wolverine like a child.
From the small glace Victor saw while logan was passed out he was in awe. Big black curly hair, the fullest lips, and eyes that looked upset and not knowing where to go.
After he put logan down for about another 3 minutes not wanting to aim logan at you and hurt you he walked over to you. Not knowing what to do you looked around oh right no way out so instead you looked down at your shoes
Soon enough you were grabbed like a bride and handled with care from the 6 feet 6 man.
There was something the first time you 2 made eye contact but you chose to ignore it but not victor.
After that fight he went searching for you- and when he least expected you he got you.
He was going to get some late night snacks and then he saw you and god all plans went out the window.
Andddddddd it just so happens you were trying to reach something on the top shelf *wink wink* and he helped you and you guys started talking
You were kinda embarrassed cause you were just wearing some shorts a hoodie and a bonet but you didn't think no one cared it was 3AM in a Walmart.
He ended up walking you home and you both talked till you went inside.
He told you that he'd come back around 7 to take you out since he had a “meeting”
The moral of the story is Victor took you out a lot and he chilled at your house after about 4 “dates” which are just you guys walking around and grabbing some sushi or something and trust when I say this man can give a fuck less about what people think.
And I know its cringe but it's the little things you do and he does that makes him fall in love with you
Like when you rub his head
Or kiss him and tell him to be safe before he leaves
Or maybe its how you cuddle up next to him no matter the weather and put your legs on top of his
Any way you put it Victor loves all the little shit and will never stop loving on you
#Victor creed#victor creed x black reader#victor creed x black!reader#victor creed x plus size reader#victor creed x reader#interracial#love
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aaron taylor-johnson. he/him. cis man. › spotted at the met steps , robert ‘robbie’ kent , most likely listening to should i stay or should i go by the clash with their airpods pro . the twenty eight year old gained quite a reputation , known to be -impulsive yet +passionate to anyone who knows them . you'll easily spot them when you hear about black eye and busted lips, never reading or replying to texts, broken bottles in the middle of the room , followed by musk by lorenzo villoresi . latest nepoupdates article talks about divorce lawyers have robbie kent to thank! “not my problem”: robbie is tired of talking about married people’s problems, following the third couple in hollywood to split after oscar-winning actress spotted on his yacht in venice , but i guess any reputation is good reputation .
basics.
full name: robert kent. nicknames: robbie. age: twenty-eight. date of birth: march 23rd. astrology: aries. gender: cis man. pronouns: he / him. orientation: biromantic , bisexual. birthplace: manhattan, nyc. occupation: actor, boxer. languages: english. siblings: andrew (allinmymincl), brother #2.
background.
andrew's oldest brother
your typical childhood actor story
as the oldest, he took the brunt of it from their mom, shielding his brothers as much as he can
mostly fell in line growing up, did his job, brought the family the kind of fame his mom wanted
hollywood heartthrob! showered in love and attention
until he had enough. then followed: arrests, scandals, depositions
every move had been documented and criticised since he was a kid, leaving him with lots and lots of issues
he has made mistakes -- lots of them! and the whole world starts turning on him
finally emancipates from his parents, they blacklist him from hollywood, dropped from all projects and impossible to get cast in anything
falls out with his brothers, breaks off all contact - sad
went on more benders, drinking and drugs, met someone who got him into boxing and he did that for a few years
beat jake paul and logan paul and that’s all that matters, he doesn’t think of it as an accomplishment tho
makes a comeback via an indie movie and it blows up! does an interview where he talks about abuse from his parents
now he's booked and busy, despite the bad press that still follows, but he continues to drag his reputation through the mud
personality.
just an asshole with lots of issues
in his ariana grande era (breaking up marriages)
brutally honest
jokes that he's made it past 27
half the internet loves him, half hate him
he is the type to sleep with his friend's partner but also he is a good friend ??? i can't explain it
has established himself as a respectable actor, chooses projects wisely
lots of indie projects, big name directors, no franchises and superhero movies, famous for his villain roles
honestly his pr team needs a raise, doesn't care about his rep, will say or do anything without hiding anything
it's all a bit of bravado, puts on a show, *gladiator vc* are you not entertained?!
wanted plots.
a ryan gosling x rachel mcadams type deal: costars who hated working with each other has insane chemistry on screen, supposed to be dating each other for publicity reasons but robbie isn't holding up his end of the deal
or costars who hated working with each other, just been cast to work together again
ex friends -- could be something to do with when he got blacklisted from hollywood?
exes etc. just anything w conflict pls
friends of andrew's he can bully ? or befriend ? enemies he can befriend ?
plus all the other general ones: roommates, neighbours, friends, etc. etc.
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Can I hear about your OCs? I've only seen their names in tags and stuff but it seems really cool!
omg yes i will gladly go feral over the main ones i post about on here, depending on how i feel a majority of them are Washington outside of Seattle
starting off simple:
Miriam is one of the younger sisters in the largest family we have and she's like if Zach Stone was a lesbian. That's her story. she's just Zach Stone as a lesbian. she also has a twin brother but she's older and makes sure to tell everyone that because he's like 5'11" and she's 5'0". she adores annoying everyone and hanging out like one of the boys. her best friend (outside of her actual best friend) is just her oldest sister's boyfriend.
Quincy is a doctor but he quits his job every few months because it stresses him out (a solid doctor, 10/10, doing his best). he grew up with his twin sister (younger) and they were both raised by their mom because their real dad is a killer & the person they thought was their dad is a drug dealer. he had 2 friends outside of family friends growing up, 1 he dated & 1 that moved away during high school named Bethany & Logan.
After he quit the ER the first time he went to live on his sister's couch in LA and after living on the couch for like 6 months, he met his endgame Ashton. He operates on his cousin when everyone else is busy in the ER and his cousin ends up dying so he thinks it was his fault and runs off again for like a year. he's a certified mess and i love him w/ my whole heart.
He has like 4 surprise sisters & 1 brother (blood related) and his grandfather & mom are both alcoholics and that's the gene that he got. He & his sister are Quincy & Quinn because their grandpa's name is Quentin and their mom wasn't expecting twins. He mostly just goes by Q.
Elizabeth is the oldest sister in the largest family (also the older twin. we have like 3 sets of twins) she's a mess because she was in a bad relationship that ended with the guy dying (he comes back later) and so from like 17 to 22 she's into partying, and drinking & drugs, and everything bad. Quinn goes to Vegas with her to keep her from dying. she works as a cocktail waitress for a lot of her twenties. she's a lot it's hard to explain her in a few sentences.
Bex's mom left her when she was a baby so she was raised by her dad until her step mom came into the picture. She has half-siblings on both her mom and dad's side but only interacts with the half-siblings on her dad's side because she doesn't really like the ones on her mom's side... or her mom. She's related to Quincy & Quinn and also has surprise half sister & brother who aren't the Q twins. She's a nurse but studying to be a surgeon because her dad's a doctor and she wants to be just like him. She & her adopted brother Richie are the only ones without a full blooded sibling so they call themselves full blooded siblings.
Paris is a nature loving chaos bisexual. she will do anything for animals and often finds herself helping out on a farm more than she does anything else. She didn't go to college and instead spent time volunteering at shelters and sanctuaries. She has a baby sister named Helen but everyone calls her Troy. And her girlfriend is the cousin of her bestfriend's boyfriend. small world.
there's so so many i have like 200 total but these are just a few of them for you
#workshopping quincy so he's the longest#i think his tag is the most packed too#so it makes sense#anonymous
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The Uses of Adversity, Ch. 2: Croft
Prev - Croft - Next - Masterpost - [ AO3 ]
Written for @loginceweek2022 - Day 2: Croft(ers)
Rated M - CW: swearing - WC: 1356
Special CW for this chapter: implied/referenced attempted assault
Spoiler-filled summary if you wish to skip this chapter.
The heavy bass line of Feels poured from discretely placed speakers in the grand ballroom of the Seattle W hotel. The standard lighting was dimmed, apparently to accommodate the light show that had been flashing around the space for past hour.
Logan stood in a quiet-ish corner of the room, a “virgin” Cranberry Redbull on ice gripped tightly in one hand—surveys show that up to 67% of respondents thought that people holding drinks were more approachable at a party, several online articles had insisted. Eying the ten-foot diameter bubble he seemed to maintain in the otherwise boisterous space, he had significant doubts on the veracity of those findings.
His other hand was tucked against his side, caught between his upper arm and his ribs, safely out of view. He took a sip of his drink, gazing around the room, searching for someone else who'd arrived—and remained—alone. His attention was drawn by a tipsy shout, just in time to watch as that slimeball Devin Matthews sauntered into the room.
Of course he would be here. Over their years of working together at Q-Law, Logan has heard countless tales of the man’s annual conquests of that year’s crop of interns. He prided himself on "picking up" at least one each year at the firm’s holiday party. While not technically against any policy, his targeting of the firm's youngest staffers turned Logan’s stomach.
He just plain didn’t like the guy. They’d first met at one of these parties, years ago, when they themselves had both been interns. The man had been drunk and had pestered Logan for half the night like some sort of reverse vice squad, first by continuing to harass him for not drinking alcohol and then for not dancing. Finally he seemed to figure out that most people were there to flirt and to dance, not argue about whether or not Logan was properly partaking of the festivities. He’d been almost relieved when Kelly had insisted he skip the following year’s party after he’d told her about it.
Closing his eyes, Logan took a large gulp of his drink, capturing an icecube between his teeth. He crunched down hard, sublimating his anger and pouring his attention into anything but that asshole. Logan really couldn’t put words to it, but even beyond the man’s constant subtle digs at him, something about the guy just rubbed him the wrong way.
But he was the boss’ best friend, so despite his discomfort, Logan has tried repeatedly to keep up appearances with the man. Logan watched him out of the corner of his eye as he sidled up to a little knot of interns, offering a tray of drinks he’d swiped from the bar. Don’t accept an open drink from someone you hardly know! He wanted to shout at them. Really, Sanders? You think Janus’ Golden Child is actually going to roofie the interns? Way to be objective, man. Just because he’s a dick to you doesn't mean he needs to take what those young men and women seemed so ready to freely give him every year…
Logan shook his head. He really was letting his own baggage interfere with his judgment. An hour later, some of the interns filed past where he stood, sipping at their fruity drinks and raising their glasses back to Devin. Logan cast a friendly smile in their direction.
He’s pretty sure it only came across as a leer.
This whole thing was a mistake.
What the fuck had he been thinking to actually show up at the firm’s holiday party? He didn’t belong here. Everyone else had brought a date or a spouse or was dancing around with multiple people, hips swaying, voices raised. Even his boss, their unflappable Attorney-in-Charge, Janus Prince neé Pater, Esq., was dancing his heart out with his husband, sweaty joy pouring off both of their faces as they moved together to the music in perfect synchrony.
And here was Logan. Divorced father of three. Making up nasty stories in his head about lecherous coworkers. Pathetic.
Logan shook his head and threw back the rest of his second Redbull, then tossed the cup into a nearby trash can. Get your coat and get out of here. Just get in your car and go the fuck home and pretend this entire night never happened.
The cold knot at the base of Logan’s neck began to soften as soon as he left the ballroom, the music and his coworkers’ laughter blissfully fading to a quiet hum as he marched toward the coat check.
Logan fished through his suit jacket pockets for his ticket, finally finding it in his pants pocket. Relieved to have found his ticket just as he approached the coat check counter, he realized he did not see something, or rather, someone even more important.
The coat attendant was nowhere to be seen.
Logan waited for a few minutes, gnawing at his lip until he tasted blood. There really didn’t seem to be any other option but to go inside and find his own coat. He tried the gate on the counter and found it unlocked and unlatched, opening with just a gentle nudge. Shrugging, he stepped inside and, to his happy surprise, found the coats were at least arranged ordinally by row.
To his unhappy surprise, he heard what was likely keeping the attendant from his duties. Two voices came from the far corner of the coat room, about two rows down from where Logan expected to find his coat. Gritting his teeth, he tried his best to ignore the muffled laughter and other sounds of two people enjoying each other’s company.
Until one of them no longer sounded like he was enjoying whatever was happening.
"Wait… stop…"
“Oh, come on, baby… don’t be like that… the boss man wouldn’t wanna hear you’re that kinda guy.”
Logan’s skin crawled. That was Devin’s voice.
“Hey, no … I said not here,” the other voice whispered fiercely.
“Oh, come off it,” Devin purred, a razor's edge to his voice. “If you weren't down to fuck then why did you come back here with me?” His words punctuated by movement that made the surrounding coat racks squeak against their locked casters.
Logan didn’t catch the words that followed but he couldn’t miss the emotion behind them. Fear, and maybe even a little pain. A rush of adrenaline compelled him to move. Humming loudly, he walked toward the source of the voices, staring down at his ticket number as though he was still looking for the proper rack.
“Croft, what the fuck are you doing back here?”
Logan feigned surprise, looking up, eyes wide. Devin stood scowling in front of him, a hand locked around the wrist of whichever intern he’d lured into his web this year. Logan ground his teeth at the sight. Devin’s grip looked painfully tight on the intern’s wrist, tight enough to cut off the circulation, the man’s hand turning a dusky color and shaking.
He looked up and locked eyes with the intern.
Logan nearly dropped his coat check ticket. The man staring back at him with wide eyes was no intern. The man was Janus’ brother-in-law.
Blinking away his shock, Logan let his disgust for his co-worker flow. “My name hasn’t been Croft for nearly five years, Matthews. It is no wonder you haven’t made partner yet, with that appalling lack of attention to detail,” Logan spat back at him. Dismissing Devin from his attention, Logan addressed Janus’ brother in law.
“You’re Remus’ brother, aren’t you?”
The man nodded, “Yeah, uh, Roman.” Logan’s eyes widened for a moment, but were drawn to where Devin still gripped the man’s wrist. Logan’s fingers flexed and tightened reflexively as Roman tugged at his hand. Devin wouldn’t release him and instead moved his body between them.
“Did you need something, Sanders?" He glared at Logan. "You've kinda caught me at a bad time.”
“Ah,” Logan stammered, briefly meeting Roman’s eyes. Roman looked pointedly at Devin. “Well, yes, actually. Ah… Janus is looking for you, Roman.”
Devin’s body language shifted the moment Logan said Janus’ name. “Oh, yeah?” Roman said, tugging one more time and freeing himself from Devin’s grip.
“Yes, he said something about the… the crème brulee….” Logan nodded as Roman stepped away from Devin, pulling his suit jacket closed around his body. “He sounded rather put out, actually.” Logan raised an eyebrow at Devin. “We wouldn’t want to keep the boss man waiting, would we?”
“Do you know where he is?” Roman asked Logan, edging further away from Devin.
Logan smiled. “I can take you to him.”
#The Uses of Adversity#ts roman#Roman Prince#ts remus#Remus Prince#ts janus#Janus Prince neé Pater#ts logan#Logan Sanders#Devin Matthews - OC#dad!Logan#Logan's sons‚ Remy‚ Virgil‚ Patton mentioned#Life out of Order series#Happily Ever After Butterfly story#a continuation of It Could Always Be Worse‚ but you don't need to read it to understand what's happening#cw suggestive#loginceweek2022#logince#dukeceit#demus
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Everything Could Use More Ducks
Summary: The want for perfection is a universal inclination to possess, but Logan and Patton are going to find that sometimes the unexpected makes for the most beautiful memories and experiences.
A.K.A. An overly-long fic about Logicality’s first date and kiss.
Part 2 of Light and Tenderness Verse
Pairing: Logicality
Word Count: 23,585
Genre: Fluff with some Angst (it was supposed to be mostly fluff with the barest traces of angst but that’s the direction writing took me in as I was going along)
Warnings: Self-doubt, self-worth issues, self-esteem issues, some lingering tension from past canon conflicts (POF), food, kissing, swearing, crude language, explicit language, sexual humour, gross/disturbing facts and imagery (those last five are all Remus alone), Remus being Remus (I mean, he really goes to town in this one; also unplanned but it’s how it unfolded)
AO3 Link
Part 1: AO3 Tumblr
Author’s Note: Hello, all. It’s been a while but I’ve returned with another story. It also just occurred to me that I’m posting this story a week later from when I posted it on AO3 much like the first one (this time for Logan’s ‘birthday’/appreciation day). A funny coincidence, though I hope this doesn’t turn into a pattern. I admit to having more difficulty writing this new installment. With LaT, I knew exactly how it was going to pan out and planned it out to a tee with some room for freestyling. Here, I had less of a clear vision beyond the premise (Logicality going on their first date and having their first kiss) so I ended up doing a lot of freestyling, which I’m not accustomed to. Although there was a thrill in letting myself see where my writing would take me with little boundaries, I often found myself getting stuck more often than I’m comfortable with. So, my confidence in this final product is more shaky. But it’s finished and I hope it still provides some level of entertainment, and I know how to better approach the process for the next story. My waffling probably wasn’t necessary but I felt a need to explain myself. With that said, thank you for your time, take care, be safe, and enjoy.
Roman prided himself as a Side who rose to any challenge, but even he could (privately) admit when such a challenge that stumped him came along. Though, this time, it wasn’t the request that threw him off. It was the requester.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that again?”
Logan huffed irritably. “Did I not articulate about my request adequately, Roman?”
“Oh, no, no! I heard you crystal clear, Specs! I just wanted to hear it again for clarification!” Roman smirked at the logical trait, his eyes glittering with amusement and intrigue. “After all, it isn’t everyday that you, Logan, comes to me, the remarkable, ravishing Roman, for romantic advice!”
Logan sighed and turned around to head back to his room, muttering under his breath: “If you’re not going to take this seriously, I’ll just try to figure it out on my own. Or seek someone else’s guidance –”
Roman shot out a hand and grabbed the crook of Logan’s elbow, preventing him from leaving. “Hey, hey. I was playin’ around, Lo. I’ll hear you out, okay?”
Logan looked back at the romantic figment. Roman at least had the decency to look contrite, and he seemed sincere enough. Logan stared at him a moment longer before motioning towards Roman’s room with an incline of his head.
Roman grinned wide and all but yanked Logan inside before locking the door for good measure to ensure privacy. He turned around and jogged towards his bed, spinning around and jumping backwards to land on it with a graceful – in his opinion – wump. Logan elected to sit down on Roman’s desk chair, keeping his perfect posture and legs pressed together, feet flat on the floor. When they’d both gotten comfortable, Roman crossed one of his legs over the other, rested interlocked hands over his knees and leaned forward with eager expression and eyes.
“All right, Teach. Spill.”
Logan blinked in confusion. “Spill what? I didn’t bring any liquids with me.”
Roman rolled his eyes and waved an exasperated hand. “No, no! Tell me what is troubling you romantically!”
“Oh. Right. Apologies.”
Logan fiddled with his tie for a moment before folding his hands primly in his lap, eyes fixed on the ground.
“I…wish to treat Patton to a…romantic excursion,” he mumbled, the apples of his cheeks turning rosy.
Roman blinked for a moment before his head clicked what Logan had meant. He trilled and clapped his hands excitedly, eyes shining. “That is fantastic! Your very first date! Oh, what a joyous occasion for you lens-wearing lovebirds!”
Logan rolled his eyes at Roman’s enthusiasm, but the deepening colour of his cheeks and his lips twitching upwards belied his aloofness.
“It’s about gosh darn time, too!” Roman continued. “The two of you have been together long enough!”
Logan arched an eyebrow. “ ‘Long enough’? We’ve been a couple for ten days, fourteen hours, twenty-seven minutes and counting.”
“Like I said: long enough!”
Roman leapt to his feet and started pacing around his room, his eyes already alight with inspiration.
“Now then, we hafta decide on what you’re actually gonna do on the date. Of course, we gotta make sure it’s something both of you like. Now, what would that be…”
“Well, actually, I did have an idea –”
“Wait! I’ve got it!” Roman gasped. “Ducks!”
Simultaneously, Logan’s face went blank and he hunched his shoulders slightly as though anticipating rainfall or some heavy object to fall on his head.
“…What?”
“Ducks!” Roman repeated, the ruby ribbons laced throughout his cinnamon eyes glittering like the last trails of colour and light after a fireworks finale. “You two should go to a pond and feed ducks! It’s got the cute, fuzzy animal factor for our puffball, and you can infodump about any duck-related facts you’ve got rattling around in that big dome of yours! There’s this secluded yet quaint lil’ pond in my side of the Imagination that would be just perfect!”
“Well, yes, but – ”
“But I think it’s empty right now, so I would just hafta conjure up some ducks! How many should I put in? Five? Mmm, no. Too little. Fifteen? Maybe. Though, the pond’s pretty big soooo you know what? Better make it fifty.”
“Wait, hold on –”
“No, wait! You know what? We should make it a parade of ducks! Yes! I’ll conjure up fifty ducks and make sure they put on a show for you that neither of you will ever forget!”
“But, I –”
But Roman kept on going, too caught up in his excitement to listen to Logan.
“So! Here’s what we’ll do…I’ll give you directions to the pond so you both don’t get lost on the way, and before you enter the Imagination, I’ll conjure them up and make sure they’re all sorts of different species! That way we get a nice variety and be able to have colour-coordinated sections!”
“Roman –”
“Ooh! Ooh! You know what else we should have? Kazoos! YES! I’ll teach them to play kazoos and when you two arrive at the pond, they’ll serenade Patton with a rendition of ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ while spelling out the phrase ‘LOGAN HEART PATTON’! But, if you don’t want too much attention on you, we can just use ‘I’ instead of your name.”
“Roman…”
“And then they’ll all leap into the pond and conclude with a synchronized swimming routine! Bam! Perfect evening! Although, it’d be a lil’ much for me to train fifty ducks on my own. Not that I couldn’t or wouldn’t do it! Maybe I should probably conjure up a choreographer…actually, you know what, maybe an animal trainer, too –”
“ROMAN!”
Roman stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at his sensible counterpart, equally put out by the interruption and bemused by Logan’s outburst.
Logan took a cleansing breath to quell his exasperation and pushed his glasses up his nose. “As much as I appreciate your…enthusiasm, I had something less exuberant in mind for the date.”
Roman made a face. “Lemme guess. Something uber doober boring like doing a jigsaw puzzle? Or reading one of your murder mystery books out loud?”
Logan glowered at the princely trait. “Actually, I was thinking along the lines of taking Patton for an afternoon walk through the Imagination, and ending it with a picnic around sunset.”
Roman opened his mouth to make a retort, then stopped and closed it again, blinking at Logan. “Huh. That is…actually quite romantic,” he said, a little impressed.
Logan preened a little, looking pleased with himself. Of course it was a good idea. He thought of it.
Roman made his way back to his bed and sat back down. He needed to catch his breath and rest his feet after all the pacing and talking he’d been doing not even a minute before. “Is it safe for me to assume that this is why you came to me?” he asked.
Logan nodded. “Indeed. Since you are in charge of one half of the Imagination, it seemed only logical to approach you in order to gain access to it. At least for an hour or so. I certainly wasn’t going to go to Remus for his half.”
Roman winced. “Yeeeaaah, probably a good idea. That wouldn’t fly well with Patton.”
Logan nodded in agreement, his eyes softening just a touch at the mention of Patton. Roman noticed but said nothing about it.
“So, did you have something in mind for how you want the Imagination to look like on your date?”
“I do, actually.”
“All right, then. Spit it out.”
Logan reared back slightly at that, face twisted with alarm and disgust. Then he shrugged and started working his jaw.
Quickly recognizing his mistake, Roman waved his hands hurriedly. “NO, not like that! Just tell me what you want!”
“Oh. Okay.”
Roman breathed an internal sigh of relief at his close call.
Logan reached into his pocket and took out a piece of folded paper, which he proceeded to unfold, smooth out and hold out to Roman. “I’ve done some research, and I’ve compiled a list of conditions and factors that, if adjusted just so, will ensure the ideal environment and setting for the date.”
Roman took the paper from Logan and read through its contents. His eyes slowly widened as he went down the list. Logan had taken into account every single factor he could think of and researched ways to ‘ensure the most optimal chance of dating success’ (Logan’s words, not Roman’s). The list ranged from things that were actually rather important and that Roman could easily accomplish like the ideal temperature (‘somewhere between 70 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit, or 21 to 25 degrees Celsius’), to absurd stuff like the softness of grass (‘to prevent, or at least reduce, the likelihood of irritation or ticklishness, as Patton has sensitive skin’). He also noted that the date was to take place a week from today. Well, that was good. At least Logan was giving him ample time to tweak and mold the Imagination into the requested dimensions until it was just right.
When he was done, Roman looked back up at Logan. “You really put a lot of thought into this, didn’t you?”
Logan lowered his head a bit as though shy, but he nodded. “Well…yes. It’s only natural. I want Patton to be happy. And for him to have an enjoyable time.”
As he said this, a soft look came over Logan’s face, and his lips curled up into a rare tiny smile. Roman took advantage of the ensuing quiet that followed to observe the change in Logan’s demeanour. Falling in love with Patton had really had a positive effect on Logan. He was still his serious, stick-in-the-mud self, but his sharp edges had been softened. He clearly wanted his date with Patton to go well, considering the amount of effort he had gone through to compose the list. It was very in line with Logan’s sensibilities, which made Roman chuckle inwardly. He was a nerd, but he was their nerd.
Then Roman thought of something and he furrowed his brow. “Hold on…don’t you hate picnics? I think I kinda remember one time we all went for a picnic in the Imagination and you spent the whole time complaining about eating on the ground and getting eaten alive by bugs!”
Logan flushed at this and looked away, fidgeting uncomfortably.
“Specs?”
“��Again, ‘hate’ is a strong word to use…but…you aren’t incorrect in that assessment.”
“Then why are you going for this? Why make yourself uncomfortable doing something you don’t like? Why not something more along the lines of what you like? Like stargazing or something?”
Logan’s demeanor changed instantly at these words. His dreaminess – which had dimmed slightly at Roman’s first query – fell away completely to reveal a timider interior that the others were very rarely privy to. It honestly caught Roman off guard. The teacher’s self-confidence seemed to dissipate and was replaced by uncertainty and meekness. He looked down at his hands clasped in his lap and avoided eye contact. He stayed quiet for a moment, and Roman waited patiently, giving Logan the space he needed to speak freely and without judgment on his own time.
“This is my chance to really make Patton happy,” Logan finally said, quietly and morosely. “After everything that’s gone on, he deserves something special…to feel special. In a way, I feel like I have a lot to make up for the way I regarded and treated him in the past, even though it seems that he doesn’t hold me in contempt or bear any grudge for it. But…I guess I still feel some level of guilt that I’m not able to assuage. So, I feel compelled to make a great effort to really make this date special for him and make sure nothing goes wrong.”
Roman’s frown deepened as he watched the rational figment before him wilt and falter. He mashed his lips together. Even though he could be a little self-absorbed, Roman still cared for his loved ones, and it was unnerving to see Logan so unsure of himself and vulnerable.
If he was honest…Roman admired how far Logan had come. They were both similar in how opinionated and arrogant they could be, as much as that was difficult for him to admit to himself sometimes. So, to see how Logan had grown more thoughtful of others – like how he’d taken Patton’s own wants and needs into account to do an activity on their date that Patton liked – and how he tried to be better than how he was before…it was more than Roman could ever hope to achieve. Logan had been the first to reach out and try to repair the discord that had taken place after ‘The Incident’, whilst Roman had hidden himself away in his room, smarting and spiteful. It made sense; Logan had always possessed a maturity Roman himself could never duplicate.
Then Roman shook himself internally. No time for self-pity now. Someone else’s spirits needed lifting up.
Roman got up from the bed and slowly made his way to Logan, kneeling down in front of him. He paused for a moment before raising his hands and resting them on Logan’s knees.
Logan started a bit and looked up at Roman with surprised eyes. Roman smiled kindly at Logan and gave his knees a gentle squeeze.
“Listen…I know we haven’t always been buddy-buddy in the past, but it’ll all be fine. You and Patton are made for each other. And I’ve seen how he’s been since you started dating. He’s doing better than ever. And that’s just you being you. So, you’re doing something right. You’re good.”
Logan looked at Roman, parsing his words. Then his face broke into a small, grateful smile and he placed his hands on top of Roman’s, giving them a squeeze back. “Thank you, Roman,” he murmured. Roman grinned back at him, glad to see some cheer coming back to their beloved nerd.
Right at that moment, an enthusiastic knock sounded on Roman’s door, making Roman and Logan jump and breaking the moment.
“Hey, Roman! You in there, kiddo?” a cheerful voice called out.
It was Patton.
Logan froze like a deer caught in headlights and Roman shook himself out of his surprise to give an answer.
“Yes, I am, Padre! You need something?”
“Oh, no! I just came over to let you know that dinner’ll be ready in a few minutes!”
Dinner?
Both Roman and Logan looked over at the gold-plated, sunburst-shaped clock on the wall, and their eyes widened. They hadn’t realized how much time had passed since Logan stopped by.
“Oh! Okay! Sorry, Patton! I didn’t realize the time!”
“No worries, kiddo! I know how you can get preoccupied with your projects!”
The two Sides watched the shadow under Roman’s door start to recede as Patton turned away – presumably to continue his mission of letting everyone know about dinner – when it stopped abruptly.
“Oh! Roman! By the way, do you happen to know where Logan is? I stopped by his room before yours and he wasn’t there.”
Logan paled slightly and Roman racked his brains quickly for something to say in his defense. He just hoped that the verbal fabrication wouldn’t be too extreme. He didn’t want a certain snake to sneak his way into his ‘Sanctuary of Solitude’ right this moment.
“I – I don’t, actually. Sorry! Um...did you check his study? Or his lab? You know how hyper-focused he can get.” Roman heard a thoughtful hum in response.
“I did think about that, but I didn’t wanna go in without permission. I know how protective he can be of his personal space.”
Logan’s face softened and he opened his mouth to say that Patton was always welcome to check in on him no matter where he was and what he was doing, forgetting where he was for a second. Roman waved a hand frantically for Logan to keep quiet, and Logan snapped his mouth shut, remembering.
“Roman?”
“Yes, yes! I’m still here! Sorry! Y’know, I’m sure he won’t mind if you go in. You are lovers now!”
“Yeah, we are…but I still wanna make sure I don’t cross any boundaries where I shouldn’t. I don’t wanna make him mad or anything.”
Patton’s voice sounded quiet and uncertain. Logan’s face fell at that. He never wanted Patton to feel like he couldn’t ever go into his room for any reason. He supposed that it didn’t help how impatient and short he had been in the past whenever anyone ever came into his room without permission or invitation. Roman looked at him in sympathy and squeezed his knee.
“Well, I’m sure he can’t be gone simply like that! He probably just went to the bathroom or something! Or maybe he’s with Virgil? You know how the emo often goes to him when he’s having one of his attacks.”
The shadow didn’t move but Roman had a feeling that Patton was nodding in agreement. “Yeah, maybe. I’m actually on my way to Virgil’s room right now, so we’ll see. See ya in a bit, kiddo!”
“Will do! Thanks again, Pat!”
Once the shadow was gone, Logan let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and ran a hand through his hair. “That was close. Thank you, Roman,” he said shakily.
Roman smiled and patted Logan’s hand. “No prob, Bob.”
Logan blinked. “I’m Logan.”
Roman rolled his eyes. “Of course, Steven Universe would fly over your head. You really need to be more up-to-date with pop culture references, Teach.”
Logan stuck his nose in the air. “At least I’m not always stuck in Never Never Land like you.”
“Rude. And also, I think you mean La La Land.”
“Isn’t it the same thing?”
“No! Both are completely different places!”
“But they’re both rife with unrealistic, fantastical elements, so my point still stands!”
“Oh, for the love of Dionysus! – ”
Roman and Logan glared at each other for a moment. Then their mouths started twitching, and before long they were laughing.
When their chuckles died down. Logan stood up and smoothed his tie out. “I should get going. I don’t want Patton to get any more worried than he is now.”
Roman nodded, wincing at the creaks in his knees as he stood back up. “Yeah. Maybe if you move fast enough, you can get back to your room before he comes back to check on you again.”
“That is my plan, yes.”
Logan got himself in position and was just about to sink out when Roman called out to him. He stopped and turned back towards Roman.
Roman chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh…sorry about earlier. With the whole duck thing. And not listening to you. I guess I got a little over-excited. So, sorry about that.”
Logan’s face softened and he shook his head. “It’s all right, Roman. Really.” Roman’s idea had been a little much, but that was how Roman was. He was Creativity, after all. There was nothing wrong with allowing inspiration to flow freely when it was present in the moment. But Logan did appreciate Roman’s acknowledgement of and apology for the indirect disregard. “Also, thank you again for helping me out,” he continued. “Both for the date and making sure Patton didn’t know I was here. I really appreciate it.”
Roman waved an airy hand. “No trouble at all, Lo. See you at dinner.”
Logan nodded once with a small smile and adjusted his glasses before sinking out. After waving Logan out, Roman picked up Logan’s list and started reading through it again. Logan’s specifications were really…specific. Roman was a little unsure if he would be able to get everything just right, but he was going to try. Patton and Logan were going to have the best first date of all first dates!
But first, dinner.
Roman folded the paper back up, slipped it into his pocket and primped himself up a bit in his mirror before heading downstairs for dinner. As he did, he thought to himself that Patton and Logan’s date could still use more ducks.
*******
Three days later, Roman was in the common room, writing in his trusty notebook. A while back he’d started a new story when something Thomas had said inspired him, and then it got left on the back burner when another busy video-editing session came around, so he was trying to get back into it. Normally, Roman would write in his room since it enhanced his creative ability, but sometimes it got a little stifling and then Roman wasn’t able to get anything done. So, he’d read online that sometimes a change of scenery was a good way of clearing a writer’s head and allowing them to get some work done, hence why he’d moved to the common room for that mid-morning.
Roman let out a groan and ran a hand through his hair. This stupid short story was stumping him big time. He’d been working on it for a couple hours now and he was still stuck on this one particular part. What was the point of him being Creativity if he couldn’t come up with stuff?
Immediately after that thought floated by, Roman shook his head vigorously. No. None of that. No more bad self-talk. It wasn’t good for him as Thomas’ Ego, especially when it could lead down a slippery slope to a ‘creative block’ – he shuddered violently at the thought. Plus, he didn’t want to revisit the bad feelings he’d felt after ‘you know what’. That was in the past. Everyone was friends again (well, most of them; some of them were still on precarious ground but had promised (through gritted teeth) to try their best to get along for Thomas’ sake), and it would be nice to keep it that way.
After a few more minutes, Roman gave up and put down his notebook and pen. He was clearly getting nowhere. Maybe he should take a quick break before giving it another go.
He took Logan’s list out of his pocket and looked through it again. Whenever he completed a requirement, he made sure to tick it off. At this point he’d ticked off almost half of the requirements, which was good. A few were proving to be a little tricky but Roman figured he’d be able to find a work-around for them. He still had a few more days to get everything done.
Roman sighed. He really, really, REALLY wanted Logan to be pleased with his work, and to get it just right for him and Patton, seeing how much this meant to Logan. Roman was a perfectionist so anything creative he worked on couldn’t be half-assed. He was still learning to not be too hard on himself or hold himself to high impossible standards, but that was easier said than done.
“Hey, Roman!”
Roman jumped and let out an “Eep!”. He looked up to see Patton standing on the raised landing at the bottom of the stairs.
“Oh! Sorry, kiddo! Didn’t mean to make ya jump!”
Roman hurriedly shoved the paper back into his pocket. “N-No worries, Padre!”
If Patton noticed Roman acting strangely, he said nothing. He figured that if it was something private, he wasn’t going to stick his nose in Roman’s business. He wasn’t going to do that anymore. That’s how things went wrong.
Getting a handle on his composure and putting on a charming smile, Roman looked up at Patton. “How are you doing on this fine morning?”
Patton smiled back. “I’m doin’ good! Thanks for askin’! How ‘bout you?”
Roman shrugged. “As peachy as I can be. Just trying to work on this story here.”
“Oh! I’m sorry! I’d no idea. I can talk to you later if you want – ”
“No, no, no!” Roman waved his hands reassuringly. “It’s fine, Pat! I’m on a break, anyway.”
Patton looked at him uncertainly. “You sure?”
“Positive, Padre.”
A look of relief swept over Patton’s face before he made his way over and settled himself down next to Roman on the couch, slipping off his sneakers and pulling his legs up so he could sit cross-legged. Roman took a moment to take in Patton’s body language: his posture was better than normal, and his shoulders were more relaxed. Clearly dating wasn’t only doing wonders for just Logan.
“So, you wanted to talk to me about something?”
Patton, at this point, looked back towards the stairs as though anticipating that someone was going to come down at any moment. Roman had a hunch the ‘someone’ Patton was looking out for was Logan. But Logan worked in the mornings so luckily there was no fear of any eavesdropping or walking in.
When he was sure that the coast was clear, Patton turned back to Roman. “Yeah, I did. I actually need your help for something.”
Roman leaned forward, interest piqued. “On what?”
“My date with Logan.”
Upon saying Logan’s name, Patton’s cheeks turned rosy and a dreamy expression came over his face. Being the Side of romance, Roman could recognize even the subtlest of love signs, and here was a Side who was a smitten kitten over his sweetheart.
Roman smiled at the paternal trait. “Looks like things are going well with you and Teach!”
Patton nodded, his smile widening and the colour of his cheeks deepening. He ducked his head momentarily in mixed embarrassment and fondness. “Yeah,” he mumbled eloquently.
Roman grinned and chuckled. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. What did you need?”
After getting himself back under control, Patton straightened up and took a breath. “So, my date with Logan is coming up in four days…”
Roman nodded, outwardly showing that he was paying attention, but inwardly he was concentrating hard on thinking his words through before he spoke. Logan had explicitly stated that his whole picnic thing was to be a surprise for Patton, and Roman didn’t want to mess it up for either of them if he misspoke, so he had to be extra careful. “Go on.”
Patton played with his fingers. “I…want to do something special for Logan.”
Roman cocked his head. “In terms of what?”
“Like, how I want the date to go.”
Roman furrowed his brows, feeling a tinge of not necessarily panic but a sense that things were about to get complicated. For him, at least.
“I see. What did you wanna do?”
Patton clasped his hands in his lap. For a moment, a vision of Logan doing the exact same thing flitted through Roman’s mind. Geez, these two were already similar enough in appearance since they looked like Thomas (okay, they ALL looked like Thomas) and wore the same glasses, but they were already starting to adopt each other’s mannerisms. What a difference almost two weeks of dating can make.
“I wanna take Logan on a walk through the Imagination during the evening, and end it with a night of stargazing. Would you be able to set up the Imagination like that for me?”
Roman’s anxiety ratcheted up. Patton wanted an evening date. At the exact same time as the daytime date that Logan wanted. When he was halfway done with setting up the Imagination for Logan’s daytime date that he asked for help with three days ago. Oh, this was getting more than just complicated. This was getting borderline impossible.
Unfortunately, he was taking too long to reply, and Patton took Roman’s silence as disapproval. He bit the side of his lip, his mouth going a little lopsided as he did so. “I’m sorry. If it’s too much for you, or not possible, or not enough time, it’s totally fine, Roman. I don’t wanna push something on you that you don’t wanna do – ”
“No!”
Patton jumped and blinked at the princely trait. Roman gave himself an inward shake at his outburst and smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile at the fatherly figure figment. “It’s all fine. I’ll do it.”
Patton’s eyes brightened. “Really?”
Roman nodded. “Really.”
Patton squealed and threw his arms around Roman to give him a big hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Despite the rising anxiety within him at his predicament, Roman easily returned the hug. “It’s no trouble, Padre.”
When Patton pulled away from his hug attack, Roman leaned back into the couch, summoning a notepad and pen as he did so. “All right, I’m all ears.”
Patton grinned. “Well, I hope I don’t talk your ears off!”
That got a chuckle out of Roman, and Patton giggled along with him. Roman thought how if he’d said that idiom to Logan, the intellectual Side would have likely taken the phrase literally (as usual) and countered that Roman was not made up of ears and was a fully humanoid form. Don’t get him wrong, he was fond of the nerd, but it was nice to be able to make jokes and puns without causing confusion or alarm. That’s why he and Patton got along so well.
At any rate, once they’d sobered up, Roman dutifully listened and jotted down notes as Patton told him how he wanted the Imagination to look for his date idea, giving off the appearance of a calm, collected Side, though inwardly he still worried about how he was going to pull this off along with Logan’s request. He noticed how Patton was just as attentive as Logan had been about little details he wanted to get right, and just as eager to make sure that Logan would have a good time. Most of all, he realized that Patton had chosen an activity that Logan liked. He, also, was being thoughtful of his partner’s needs and wants and trying to make him happy. Thankfully, he wasn’t as intensive as Logan had been, but he was no less determined to make sure that everything would be just right.
“ – And, like, I wanna make sure the sky is as accurate as possible, with lots of constellations so we can look at them and Logan can talk to me about them. There’s one he’s mentioned before that he seems to really like a lot…I think it’s called – what was it? The Pilates Cluster? The Play-Doh Cluster?”
Roman froze in the middle of the sentence he was writing and looked up and blinked at Patton for a moment. Seconds later, he burst into peals of laughter.
Patton did a small double-take of surprise at Roman’s reaction. “Did I say something wrong?”
Roman’s only response was to laugh harder. Patton’s confusion grew.
Soon, Roman was able to come down from his laughing fit, trying to take deep breaths while wiping tears off of his face.
“I – I think you mean the Pleiades Cluster!”
Patton’s eyes widened before his cheeks turned strawberry-pink. “Oh…oops. I guess they sound pretty similar, huh?’ he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Taking pity on him, Roman tried very hard to curb another laughing fit bubbling in his chest. He coughed a few times to get the urge out of his system so he was able to speak normally again.
“A-Anyway, yeah, sure, Pat. I’ll make sure to put that in the sky for you.”
Patton smiled through his flush. “Great, thanks.”
Another minute or so of talking later, Roman wrote down the last few notes and huffed out a breath. “All right. I think I got everything.”
Patton beamed at him. “Thanks, kiddo! I really appreciate this.”
Roman waved a hand. “Of course, Padre! It’s what I’m here for.”
A strange look came over Patton’s face then, one that Roman couldn’t decipher. Then Patton reached out and took one of Roman’s hands in both of his, his eyes heavy with an emotion that made Roman wonder if he’d said something wrong.
“Um, Patton?”
“I mean it, Roman,” Patton said earnestly. “I really do appreciate you helping me out. I have full trust in you. I know you’re gonna come up with something amazing.”
Roman’s mouth opened slightly at this, and his eyes felt a bit teary, touched as he was by Patton’s words. After what he did, how he’d treated Patton after ‘the thing we don’t talk about’, he almost felt unworthy of such genuine trust and faith. But Patton, blessed Patton, was looking so contrite and earnest that Roman couldn’t help but feel compelled to make his date idea come true, as tricky as it was going to be. He supposed, in a way, he also felt like he had to make amends, and this was a good way of doing so. And the most important thing was, he wanted to.
“I…thanks, Pat,” he whispered.
Patton’s smile turned softer and he squeezed Roman’s hand.
Roman took a moment to compose himself and he patted Patton’s knee with his other hand, managing to give him a smile.
“Just you wait and see, Padre, when I’m done, Specs won’t know what hit ‘im!”
“What’s that about me?”
Patton and Roman yelped in surprise and whipped their heads towards the stairs.
There was Logan, standing on the landing with a curious, amused expression on his face.
“H-Hi, honey!” Patton stammered out, face pink.
Logan’s face softened and he smiled softly. “Hello, love.” Then he turned towards Roman. “What was that about me you were just discussing?”
Roman panicked, scrambling to come up with something. “Oh! Um – we weren’t talkin’ about you! We were just discussing about…um, that is – “
“Ducks!”
Logan and Roman blinked at Patton. “What?” they chorused.
“Ducks!” Patton chirped again, his smile a little too wide to be comfortable. “We were talking about ducks! They’re just so cute, aren’t they? With the waddling and the quacking and that thing they do where they ruffle their feathers when they’re taking a bath! They’re just great! I love ducks! Don’t you love ducks?”
Patton said that last sentence to Roman, who immediately jumped in as if that had been the plan all along. Thank goodness for Thomas’ love of acting and knack for improv (most of the time). “Oh! Yes, of course! Ducks are truly splendid creatures! Aren’t they, Logan?”
Logan did a mini-double take of surprise at being asked this question by Roman, and he cleared his throat before answering. “I…yes, they are a rather fascinating species, though I don’t possess the same emotional attachment as either of you.” But he was distracted from what they’d actually been talking about, which greatly relieved the right-brained Sides.
“So, Logan, why’re you down here? Taking a break from working?”
Logan adjusted his glasses. “Yes. Actually, I’ve come down because Patton and I made plans to cook lunch together.”
Patton blinked and he looked at his watch. His eyes widened.
“Oh my gosh! Is it time, already? Man, time really does fly by when you’re talking! About ducks!”
Roman winced and subtly nudged Patton’s foot with his own. No need to keep beating a dead horse when there wasn’t even a horse to beat in the first place. (Ew. Why was he thinking like Remus?) Thankfully, Patton got the hint and Logan was none the wiser (or, if he did notice their strange behaviour, he said nothing).
Patton slipped his shoes back on and stood up, brushing his clothes off. “Well, I should get goin’. Thanks again, Roman!”
Roman gave Patton a warm smile. “Anytime, Padre! See you at lunch!”
Patton grinned at him and bent over for one last quick hug. Then he skipped over to Logan – who had a tender expression on his face – and they took each other’s hand before walking into the kitchen together.
Roman allowed himself a moment to watch this tender display, a small smile on his face before he gathered up his things and sank out to his room. He was truly happy for his friends. They looked so happy together. He was so glad things worked out for them, and seeing their love and care for one another made him more determined to make sure that their date went off without a hitch.
Speaking of which…
Once he was back in his room, Roman’s smile vanished and he let out a loud groan. He padded over to his bed and – after throwing his things haphazardly onto the bedspread – turned and collapsed on top of it, staring at the ceiling in a starfish position. He rubbed his face with his hands, the anxiety over his predicament back with a vengeance.
“Sweet Stephen King, what am I going to do?”
“Maybe not keel over and die from a heart attack, for starters?”
Roman let out a startled shriek and quickly sat up, hands clutching the front of his shirt and his heart hammering in his chest. He frantically looked around until his eyes fell on the source of the voice.
“Heavens above, Jack Scare-ington! Don’t do that!”
Virgil, standing with his arms crossed, lifted an unimpressed eyebrow. “Geez, Princey. Could you be any more on edge?”
Roman groaned again and sat up fully with his legs over the edge of his bed, bracing his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. “You would be if you were in the position I’m in right now,” he mumbled into his hands. As startled as he had been, Roman was not too surprised at Virgil’s presence. He’d forgotten that, as the embodiment of Thomas’ anxiety, Virgil could feel when the other Sides were anxious. The little panic session he’d been having earlier must have been palpable enough to catch Virgil’s attention.
Virgil – who had risen up to chastise Roman for the erratic roller coaster ride he’d ridden for the last hour – surveyed the prince for a moment before coming over to sit on the floor next to Roman, lying on his back and resting his legs against the bed in a ‘L’ shape and his arms on his stomach.
“All right, Roman. Spit it out. What happened?”
“Logan AND Patton both came to me separately to tell me to design the Imagination in different ways for their date!”
Virgil grimaced. “Yikes. Now I understand why your anxiety levels were through the roof. But why didn’t you tell either of them you couldn’t or something?”
Roman exhaled heavily. “Because they both want it to be a surprise for each other.”
“Ah.”
A beat of silence followed, then Virgil exhaled.
“So, you wanna discuss a solution, or do you just want someone to listen?”
“Listen?”
“Sure.”
Roman started ranting about his problem, and Virgil kept quiet and listened, just allowing Roman to get it out of his system. He could see how worked up he was and he figured that yelling at him would’ve exacerbated it. Even though he didn’t give the impression with how broody and moody he appeared, Virgil was actually a good listener. He was skilled at sitting back and just letting the others talk out their problems. Part of it had to do with how he didn’t like to talk about himself, but it was also because of how he’d been suppressed and not listened to for so long that he just kind of learned how to listen. It was a little alarming how well he slipped into the role, and how often too. But he was fine with it. Mostly.
“ – And like, just, I dunno how I’m gonna be able to pull this off! Logan wants a bright blue sky with fluffy clouds so that there’s shade cover during their picnic, but that would interfere with Patton’s wish for a clear night sky for stargazing! It’s all just – UGH!”
Roman drew in a big breath after his rant and then flopped back onto his back, finally having run out of steam. He did feel a bit better, but it still didn’t solve the fact that he was still going to have to figure out how to make both of Logan’s and Patton’s requests come true. What to do, what to do?
Virgil shifted a bit and rested his hands behind his head. Then he reached up one hand as best as he could and patted Roman’s knee in what he hoped was a comforting manner, since it didn’t come easy to him.
“Yeah. It’s a really sticky situation. And the date’s four days away, too. Is there even a way to fulfill both of their requests at the same time before then?”
Wait. Hold on.
Roman sat up suddenly with a gasp. Virgil had to steady himself from falling head over heels in surprise.
“What the hell, Roman?!”
“That’s IT!”
Virgil looked up with a furrowed brow. “What’s ‘it’?”
Roman, bright light bulbs in his eyes, just pulled Virgil up so he was standing up and threw his arms around the emo in a hug.
“Virge! You’re a genius!”
Virgil, while trying to extricate himself from Roman’s hold, froze at the praise, blinking blankly. “I am?”
“Yes! I know what to do now! Thanks!”
Roman squeezed Virgil a final time before jumping up and bounding away to his desk. He sat down, grabbed a spare piece of paper lying around and a pencil and started furiously scribbling (or sketching? Virgil couldn’t really tell) something down, inspiration having struck him. Virgil stood there gaping in bewilderment and wondering what epiphany Roman had had and how what he had said had gotten the prince so fired up. He’d just been saying whatever had popped into his head without thinking too much. But then he shrugged. Roman seemed less tense now, and if he had an idea, he had an idea, so he wasn’t going to interrupt his creative process. He knew how hyper-focused Roman could be when he was in that state.
“ ‘kay, cool. Guess I’ll see you around, Princey.”
Roman waved a distracted hand back, still scribbling (or sketching, again, Virgil still couldn’t tell) like there was no tomorrow. Virgil rolled his eyes but it wasn’t with any true contempt, and he sank back to his room.
Roman felt a bit bad for ending his time with Virgil so abruptly. He’d have to make it up to him somehow later. But right now, he had a plan to…well, plan. He now knew what he could do to fulfill both of Patton’s and Logan’s requests with little time left.
It was going to be tricky. But he had a feeling that he might just be able to pull it off.
*******
The day of the date finally arrived, and Patton was alight with equal parts excitement and nervousness. He was currently sitting on Roman’s bed, looking up at Roman. “Thanks again for helping me out, kiddo,” he said earnestly.
Roman beamed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I’m honoured that you came to me, Padre! A momentous occasion such as this should not be taken lightly!”
Patton fiddled with his hoodie sleeves. “Yeah. I thought I’d know what to wear or how to look when the time came, but I honestly really don’t know how to go about it.”
"No need to fret, my frantic father figure friend!"
Patton beamed in appreciation at the quadruple alliteration and pointed double finger guns at Roman. "Nice."
Roman bowed with a flourish. "Thank you! Now then, what to do for you...”
Roman tapped his chin with a finger, brow furrowed in deep thought. Patton had told him that he wanted to wear a dress for the date, but he didn’t know what, and he didn’t really own dresses in his own closet. Luckily, Roman did, and since they were physical copies of Thomas, they were the same dress size, so at least Roman didn’t have to worry about fitting issues. It was just a matter of finding a dress that Patton would like, but which one?
Then his face lit up.
“Aha! I've got it!"
"What?"
Roman turned around without answering and jogged to his walk-in closet, the door opening by itself as the prince approached. Patton watched as Roman started looking through his collection, murmuring under his breath. After a moment or so, he grinned suddenly and pulled something out.
“There you are! You would look great in this!” Roman exclaimed, showing it to Patton. Upon closer inspection, Patton recognized it as the Grand Duchess gown from Anastasia.
“It’s pretty, but…maybe a little too formal?” he said, trying to go for a diplomatic tone.
Roman pouted a little but acquiesced and put the gown back. “Okay, something less formal…oh! Maybe this one?”
This next one was a simple pale green shift dress. Nothing more, nothing less.
“That’s nice…but maybe something with a pattern?”
Roman pouted again but dutifully turned back to the closet.
For the next minute or so, Roman took out a different dress every time. And every time there was always something that wasn’t right for Patton. Too busy. Not colourful enough. Too colourful. Etcetera, etcetera. Before long, a small pile of discarded dresses sat on the floor, and they still hadn’t found anything for Patton. The emotional Side hunched his shoulders slightly, feeling a bit guilty for shooting down Roman’s offerings. It seemed that history just couldn’t stop repeating itself.
“I’m sorry, Roman,” he said morosely. “They were all really pretty, I swear!”
Roman, who had started feeling a little frustrated, immediately softened at the sad tone in Patton’s voice, and he gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Pat. You’re just being choosy about what you wanna wear. And that’s a good thing! It means that when we do find the right dress, you’ll feel extra good about yourself! How about you think about what you’re really looking for? Maybe this way we’ll be able to narrow it down without going on a wild goose chase.”
“Honk.”
Both Roman and Patton snorted at that, which helped to lighten up the mood in the room.
Patton scrunched up his face, trying to really think about what he wanted to wear. He still wasn’t used to thinking for himself or his wants.
“Hmm…well, I do want it to still be a dress. Maybe something that’s…cute? Like, with a pattern or something that I like, like dogs or cats? And comfortable? ‘Cause we’re gonna be walking around for a bit so I wanna be able to move around freely.”
Roman nodded. Cute and comfortable. He could work with that.
Then he thought of something. “What about your skirt outfit from the photoshoot? It’s cute, and it seems comfortable enough.”
Patton looked up at an indiscriminate point, pursing his mouth in thought, trying to remember what he looked like when he was wearing it. “Well, yeah…but everyone’s already seen me in it.”
“Ah. You wanna wear something new?”
Patton nodded.
Roman returned the nod and turned back to his closet. His brow furrowed further and he bit his upper lip as he looked through his wardrobe one last time. Then he stopped, grinned and pulled out one more dress.
“How about this?”
Patton looked up, and he paused, mouth falling slightly open. Roman was holding up a pretty apple-red sleeveless dress covered in a white butterfly print. It had a boat neckline and a knee-length skirt that was perfect for swishing around.
“It’s so pretty!” Patton breathed. Then he faltered. “Just, it’s a little…bright, for me. Otherwise, it’d be – ”
Roman snapped his fingers.
“ …Perfect.”
Roman’s grin widened. Date outfit: check.
After laying the dress down carefully on his bed for later, Roman snapped the dresses off the floor and back into his closet, made his way to his vanity and picked up his makeup kit. Then he bounded back to where Patton was sitting and sat down beside him, already emptying the contents of his kit onto the bedspread.
“Do you have a makeup look in mind?” he asked, fingers skittering past blush compacts and mascara tubes.
Patton gave a small start. “Oh! Um…I actually didn’t really think about doing anything like that.”
Roman stopped and looked up. “Do you not want to?”
“Oh, no, no! I do! I was just caught off guard!”
Roman’s brow furrowed and he shook his head. “Patton, I will only do it if you really want to.”
Patton mashed his lips together and looked down for a moment, conflicted.
“…I do. Just…nothing too over-the-top, if that’s okay. Not that I think that you’d do that! Just – well – you know – ”
Roman placed a hand on Patton’s arm, making the dad trait stop. “It’s okay, Padre.”
Patton deflated a bit before nodding and looking down. Roman’s face twisted a bit at that, but he said nothing and gave Patton a comforting pat before retracting his hand and going back to rummaging through his makeup collection.
“Don’t you worry, Pat! I already have the perfect makeup look in mind for you!”
Patton nodded, though a teeny tiny part of him couldn’t help but be a bit apprehensive at what Roman had planned. Roman’s style was more extravagant than the other Sides, but…he was still better at makeup than Patton. So, Patton decided to keep trusting him.
Silence fell over them as Roman continued to look through his makeup collection and set aside those which he thought would work well for Patton’s makeup look, the only sound in the room being that of Roman’s clock ticking.
Soon, Roman found everything he’d wanted. Pleased, he turned back to Patton, and he stopped, smile faltering. Patton was looking off into space with an unsmiling, unfocused look in his eyes. Roman waved his hand in front of Patton’s face.
“Patton? Patton!”
Patton jumped and looked up, startled out of his thoughts. Roman looked at him with mixed concern and confusion.
“Everything okay, Padre?”
Patton pasted on a smile and nodded. “Yeah! All hunky-dory, kiddo! Nothin’ to worry about!”
Roman’s brow furrowed. “You know…if something’s bothering you, you know you can always come talk to one of us, right?”
Patton’s smile vanished, and he broke eye contact and heaved a small sigh. “Yeah…I know.”
Roman paused for a moment before reaching out and placing his hand on Patton’s arm, not saying anything, waiting for Patton to come forth.
Patton looked down at the hand on his arm. “I…honestly thought I’d never have this again.”
Roman cocked his head to one side. “Have what?”
Patton looked up at him, and Roman saw a sliver of sadness slide over the paternal Side’s face.
“Like…how we’re talking again and hanging out together like we used to. Before everything that happened. Before…everything I did. Or said. And…everything I didn’t do.”
Roman’s heart pricked and his face winced. He knew what Patton was alluding to. He put on what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Patton. Really. I mean, yeah, things were icky before, but we’re in a better place now.”
Patton nodded, but he didn’t look any more reassured by Roman’s words. He only looked more guilty and ashamed. Roman’s smile fell away and he heaved a small sigh before moving closer and wrapping an arm around Patton’s shoulders. Patton let out a breath himself and laid his head on Roman’s shoulder, and Roman rested his head on top of Patton’s. They stayed in that close position for a moment, just taking in the quietness of the moment and each other’s company.
“I still can’t help feeling guilty, sometimes.”
“I know.”
“I mean, like, I don’t purposefully remember, but every so often something will remind me of ‘that time’ and then it all comes back to me and just…I end up feeling bad all over again.”
Roman rubbed Patton’s shoulder comfortingly. “We worked through that, though. We all did. And Logan did say that there’s no problem remembering the past, so long as we keep moving forward and let go of regret.”
Patton let out a weak chuckle. “Yeah. Logan really is smart.”
Roman chuckled back. “He sure is.”
A small smile lingered on Patton’s face at the thought of Logan, which relieved Roman a little. That relief was short-lived, however, when that same smile disappeared as fast as it appeared.
“I still wonder if I’m good enough for him. Or just…enough, period.”
Roman’s heart sank at these words and he removed his arm around Patton to take Patton’s hands in his and make him look him in the eye. “You are.”
Patton blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but the look on Roman’s face told him that he wasn’t done talking, so he closed it again and waited, letting Roman have his turn.
Roman rubbed gentle circles into the back of Patton’s hands, feeling a sense of déjà vu of what he was about to do. “You are enough. And you don’t need to change yourself for anything. Logan adores you. For all that you are. I’ve seen how he’s like around you, and he’s never been better. And I’ve seen it in you, too. So, you have nothing to worry about. You’re doing fine.”
Patton’s heart wobbled in his chest at this. It was just so much: how they were talking it out, talking about ‘it’, and Roman was being so reassuring and calm. He wasn’t sure if he knew or not, but Patton felt like he and Logan weren’t the only ones who’d come a long way. It had been a long road for Roman, but he’d come out the other side even stronger than before. The growth he’d gone through, and the maturity he’d developed and now displayed like a silent badge of courage, even if Roman wasn’t aware of it himself, it was a proud moment for Patton, and awe-inspiring, too.
Fortunately, Patton was able to stop himself from breaking down. He nodded his head quietly, looking down at his lap. “That’s why I want to make this date extra-special for Logan. Because he’s wonderful and has done so much for me, and it’s my chance to do something back for him.”
Roman's eyes softened a touch, and he squeezed Patton’s hands comfortingly. "It’s gonna go great, Padre. You’ll see."
Patton lifted shiny eyes at that, and he looked at the creative trait for a moment before giving him a watery smile. "Thank you," he whispered gratefully.
Roman beamed and he pulled the moral Side in for an extra-long hug for added reassurance, Patton clinging back. They lingered in the hug for a while before breaking apart.
"Now, then! Let's get cracking! You've a date to get ready for!"
*******
Meanwhile, a hop and a skip to the other side of the Mindscape, Virgil was sitting on Logan’s bed looking up at the logical trait with an uncertain expression.
“Remind me why I’m here again?” he asked.
Logan pushed his glasses up his nose and brought his hands behind his back. “I have a date with Patton.”
Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I know that. But why do you need me here?”
Logan shifted slightly on his feet, suddenly a little sheepish, which caught Virgil off guard a bit since Logan was never one to be unconfident or at a loss for words.
“I…require some help on my attire,” Logan finally admitted quietly. “I want to make sure that I look acceptable for Patton, and out of all of us I’ve always considered you as possessing the highest level of competency with wardrobe.”
It was true. When Virgil had revealed his new outfit following his acceptance, Logan had been honestly impressed with the level of thought and care Virgil had put into its design and his chosen colour scheme.
Virgil blinked briefly before turning away slightly and coughing, cheeks reddening a little. He was unused to praise, even though he’d been with the Light Sides for ages now.
Seeing Virgil’s reaction, Logan furrowed his brow. “Did I make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so forward like that.”
“No, no. You’re good, Lo. Just…y’know, I’m not used to hearing that kinda stuff.”
Logan cocked his head. “Hearing what?”
Virgil flapped a hand haphazardly, avoiding eye contact. “Just, like, hearing…I dunno…compliments? I guess? Like, from any of you. I’m not used to it.”
Logan’s eyes widened slightly at this before softening. He swallowed before speaking again. “I see. I take it that it wasn’t really commonplace on the ‘Other Side’?”
Virgil gave a non-committal shrug, but the tightening of his lips and furrowing of his brow spoke otherwise.
At this, Logan’s face creased slightly and he said, in a soft, reassuring voice: “I did mean what I said, Virgil. You know very well that I wouldn’t say anything just for the sake of saying it.”
This was true. Logan said what he meant, and meant what he said. So, he wouldn’t say what he’d just said just to be nice. Virgil nodded then changed the subject so that they weren’t focused on him anymore.
“Anyways, you wanted me to help you pick out an outfit?”
Rolling with the subject change, Logan nodded. “Yes. I’ve already devised an outfit, but I wanted your honest, keen opinion on it.”
Virgil looked at Logan with uncertainty. “You sure, Lo?”
Logan nodded.
Virgil let out a breath and waved a hand towards the rational Side. “All right. Show me.”
Logan nodded again before taking a brief, deep breath. Then he snapped his fingers.
A beat of silence followed.
Then Virgil raised an incredulous eyebrow at Logan.
“Really? This is what you were planning on wearing for your date?” he deadpanned.
Logan furrowed his brow. “It’s different from what I usually wear, is it not?”
“Logan, you’re wearing the exact same thing. Except your tie’s colours are now inverted.”
“Yes…and?”
Virgil let out an exasperated sigh and pinched his nasal bridge. “Listen, buddy, it’s a date. Ya gotta put in more effort. Otherwise, Pat’s gonna think you don’t really care.”
Logan’s eyes widened slightly. “But – I do care. That’s why I thought to switch the tie’s colours around so they differed slightly from the norm.”
“Wait. Hold on. That’s not – ugh!”
After groaning, Virgil jumped up from the bed and strode towards Logan, taking him by the shoulders and steering him around and pushing him downwards so that he was the one sitting on the bed now. “Let’s see what else you’ve got in here.” He turned back to the chest of drawers and opened a drawer.
The anxious trait blinked. All he saw was neatly folded piles of black shirts and jeans. He opened another drawer. The same sight greeted him. Upon opening the rest of the drawers and getting the same result, Virgil turned back towards Logan, bewildered.
“You really don’t have a lotta variety, do ya?”
Logan fiddled with his glasses uncomfortably. “Thomas based all of us on figures in his life that left an impact on him in some way. With me, it was his teachers at school who cultivated his drive for knowledge. It just so happened that the clothes I wear were the clothes they wore, so as I grew into my role, I ended up taking on the appearance as such. It’s all I’ve known since Thomas’ school days.”
That…Virgil could actually understand, a bit. Since he was based off of Thomas’ ‘emo’ phase during his adolescence, anything that wasn’t comfortable nor shape-concealing was deemed out of his comfort zone. It was all he’d ever known. So, he couldn’t fault Logan too much for sticking with something that worked once he’d found it.
Still…
“But, like, didn’t you have other outfits when Thomas was little?”
Logan made a face, but nodded all the same. “We all did. But our conjuring abilities weren’t as developed during Thomas’ childhood, so we all drew inspiration from wherever we could. Though, for me, it came from books and television that Thomas consumed. And back then they generally portrayed characters who were academically inclined in an…exaggerated manner.”
“So, nerd stuff like suspenders, big glasses and bow ties?”
Logan’s grimace deepened. “Yes.”
Virgil made a face back at that. “Yeah, probably shouldn’t go with that. Roman looked like a Young Sheldon reject in that get-up he wore for the jam commercial.”
Logan let out a snicker at that and Virgil joined in with a brief chuckle before sobering up and refocusing on the task at hand. He looked around Logan’s room before his eyes fell on Logan’s closet. He walked towards it and opened it.
Inside was a mish-mosh of clothes that were more varied than those in Logan’s chest of drawers, from the Sherlock cosplay to his holiday winter sweaters. Virgil’s eyes roamed over the eclectic selection before something caught his eye. He reached out and pulled it out. It was Logan’s skirt outfit from the ‘Sanders Sides Skirt Series’ from months ago. He turned back towards Logan, gesturing to it with his head.
“What about this? You haven’t worn it since your photoshoot with Thomas, right? It’s probably nice enough for something like a date.”
Logan pursed his lips slightly.
“Not too keen on it?”
“It’s not that. It’s just…“ Logan let out a breath. “It is nice, I’ll grant you that, especially considering that I picked it out myself while scouring the Internet with Thomas. And I haven’t had another opportunity to wear it again since the photoshoot so it could work. Just…the pencil skirt wouldn’t be conducive to my plan of walking through the Imagination with Patton. Neither would the shoes I wore, too.”
Again, Virgil could get that. He could see how much thought Logan had put into every aspect of the upcoming date. He clearly really wanted everything to go well. Which was sweet…so long as he was aware that there was always the potential for something to go awry. But Virgil knew better than to voice that at the moment when Logan was being open and vulnerable with him.
He took in the outfit then turned back towards Logan, burnt umber eyes raking over the teacher with a thoughtful look. The jagged bolts of amethyst in his irises seemed to burn like the dying embers of a mystical, fantastical campfire.
Logan shifted slightly, a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny. “What?”
Virgil stayed quiet for a moment before speaking. “You said that you think I have a good handle on fashion, right?”
Logan blinked at him but nodded. “Yes, I did. It wasn’t an empty statement.”
Virgil nodded, cheeks flushing mildly again before getting a hold of himself by taking a breath. “I have an idea. But…before I do anything, I wanna make sure you actually trust me, okay?”
Logan looked at Virgil for a moment before nodding firmly. “I do.”
Virgil nodded a final time before motioning for Logan to stand up. Logan complied, nerves taut with anticipation of what Virgil had in mind. The vigilant Side approached his calm counterpart until they were face to face but with a respectable distance between them so that Logan was at ease.
“Okay. First, I want you to close your eyes.”
Logan did a mild double-take at that. “What? Why?”
Virgil huffed. “You said you trust me, right?”
“I do, but…why do you want me to close my eyes?”
Virgil rolled his own but replied: “So that it’ll be a surprise.”
Logan wasn’t one for surprises, but he was still willing to place his trust in Virgil’s fashion expertise, and he didn’t want to hurt his feelings by being distrustful. Their amiable companionship had come a long way since the early days of Virgil’s appearance in the Light Side of the Mindscape, and he didn’t want to do anything to make it go sour. So, Logan closed his eyes and kept still, waiting for Virgil to enact his plan.
Virgil mashed his lips together and swallowed as he gathered his concentration. Then, once he was ready, he snapped his fingers.
Logan started a little as he felt his whole form shift from his head to his toes, but kept still so as not to throw anything off. Then he heard Virgil say: “I’m gonna guide you to your mirror. Keep your eyes closed.” Once Logan nodded his affirmation and consent, he felt Virgil’s hands settle around his upper arms and himself be moved in some direction. He disliked the brief loss of control, but he knew still to keep trusting Virgil.
He felt himself come to a stop, and heard Virgil say: “Okay. You can open your eyes, now”
He heard the waver in Virgil’s voice, and the tension in his muscles prickled. Was something wrong? Why did Virgil sound unsure?
Then Logan opened his eyes, and he gaped at his reflection.
He was dressed in an interesting combination of clothes from different outfits he had worn, plus others he’d never seen before. His standard shirt and tie were gone; in their place was the matching dark blue brocade vest-and-tie ensemble from his skirt debut over the black long-sleeved button-down shirt he wore during the Sides’ court showdown with Janus with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His jeans had stayed, though now they were black like Virgil’s. The biggest, most stark change was his shoes; his dress shoes had been replaced with galaxy-printed Converse sneakers. The cat-eye glasses from his photoshoot completed the look.
He didn’t look like himself. It was different.
But…he looked good.
Virgil – who was already tense when he’d changed Logan’s clothes and maneuvered him to the mirror – hunched his shoulders even more self-consciously with Logan’s continued silence.
“If you hate it, I’m really sorry. I’ll change it to something different. I thought it would work ‘cause it’s, like, formal, like you like it, but it also makes you look good. Was that weird? Is it the shoes? It’s the shoes, isn’t it? God, I’m sorry! I really don’t know what I’m doing. I should just – ”
Virgil’s ramble came to a halt when Logan placed a calming hand on his upper arm. The anxious trait took a couple of breaths before looking at Logan.
The logical Side had a rare smile on his face, and he gave Virgil’s arm a couple of comforting pats.
“This is just right, Virgil. Thank you.”
Virgil flushed a bit from the praise and he turned his head away for a moment before looking back up at Logan with a lopsided smile. Logan smiled back at him.
“Well, isn’t this just sweet?”
Both Virgil and Logan jumped and looked around them for the source of the voice.
“Yep. It’s almost sweet enough to make me wanna puke my guts out.”
Both left-brained Sides looked in time to see Remus – sitting on top of Logan’s chest of drawers, when he hadn’t been before – throw his head over the side and start puking his guts out.
Literally.
In graphic, overly exaggerated fashion.
Virgil flinched and looked away, trying to block out the horrific sounds of squelching and retching. Logan watched Remus’ spew fest with unflappable disinterest.
The vomiting continued for a minute.
Then two.
Then three.
Then –
“Are you done yet?” Logan deadpanned, his tone etched with the slightest trace of irritation.
Remus, while still throwing up, held up a finger to indicate ‘not yet’. After coughing up both kidneys and his gallbladder, Remus sat up, shifted himself so that he was sitting as though on a chaise longue and propped his head on a hand. “All done!”
Virgil went through a full-body shiver then – while pointedly ignoring the sizable pile of internal organs sitting placidly next to the chest of drawers – leveled the intrusive Side with a glare. “What do you want, trash rat?”
Remus pressed a hand to his chest as though offended, a faux offended look on his face. “Why, emo! Is that any way to say hello to a friend?”
“More like constant annoyance,” Virgil retorted. But Remus, as always, didn’t take offense to that. He thrived on chaos and dissonance, after all.
Logan lightly placed a hand on Virgil’s arm as a silent form of communication to not take it too far. He looked up at Remus coolly. “Is there a particular reason for your presence, or did you show up just to be a nuisance?”
“Oh, you know me! I like showin’ up when I’m not wanted!”
Then Remus peered down to look at Logan more closely.
“My, you clean up nicely, Logan! A lil’ predictable considering what you like, but damn!”
A faint flush peeked out of Logan’s cheeks but he kept a straight face. “I don’t know if that’s your form of a compliment, Remus, but…thank you, I guess.”
“Of course, it’s a compliment, you dork! I could just eat you out right now!”
Logan’s brow furrowed in puzzlement. “I thought the expression was ‘eat you up’?”
“Nope!” Remus chirped, popping the ‘p’ sharply. “I meant, eat you out! As in eating as-“
“OKAY!” Virgil shouted, now crimson. “No need to finish that sentence!”
Remus tutted and slipped a hand into his pocket. He pulled out a white round container, screwed the top off and dipped his fingers into the contents inside before smearing it all over his face like a face cream.
“You are way too tense, Virgin! You should relax! Like what I’m doing right now!” He held out the container. “Facial?”
Even from their respectable distance away, both Virgil and Logan could see that the white substance inside the container was way too thick and viscous to be a face mask, not to mention the sharp, pungent scent accompanying it. They wrinkled their noses and chorused their refusal in perfect unison. “No thanks.” Remus shrugged and continued his impromptu self-care routine.
Virgil let out an annoyed growl. “Would you mind shoving off? We’re in the middle of something.”
Remus looked back at them. “Oh? Would that ‘something’ happen to involve Nerdy Wolverine’s date with Sugar Daddy?”
Logan and Virgil stopped and stared up at Remus, their irritation evaporating on the spot.
“You…know about my date with Patton?” said Logan.
Remus rolled his eyes. “Who doesn’t? It’s all Patty-Cakes has been talking about for a week! At least, that’s what Janny told me, since he talks to him more than I do.”
Virgil’s lips tightened at the mention of Janus, but he bit his tongue this time. He was still tense around the snake, and he still had a tendency to lash out in small, passive-aggressive ways. But after the ‘big talk’ all of them had from ages ago, he really was trying better to at least tolerate Janus’ presence even at his discomfort. Mostly for Thomas, but also a bit for Patton, seeing as he still felt a bit bad for the way he’d treated him after the wedding. If Patton really didn’t have a problem with Janus, then he would try himself too, though old habits die hard.
Logan’s flush deepened at the mention of Patton, and his eyes softened a smidge, but his neutral expression remained uncracked. He adjusted his glasses and said: “Anyways, as Virgil said, I’m in the middle of preparing for my excursion, so your presence would be greatly appreciated if it turned scarce.”
Remus hummed at this and licked some of the white stuff off of his fingers, relishing in the looks of disgust he got out of the left-brained Sides. It was clear that he wasn’t planning on leaving any time soon. Virgil growled again.
“Let’s just ignore him, Logan. We still need to finish up.”
“Indeed.”
But they didn’t move very far before Remus spoke up again.
“Oh! I’d be worried if I were you!”
Logan turned back at this, intrigued and a little concerned. “About what?”
“Your date with Patty!”
Logan frowned slightly. “Why should I be worried?”
“Oh, you know, anything could go wrong! You two could get lost in the forest! Or you could get eaten by a bear! Or he could get eaten by a bear! Or –”
“HEY! LEAVE OFF. That’s MY thing,” Virgil snapped, his Tempest Tongue tempering down in a serrated decrescendo towards the end.
Remus tilted his head to the side, fluttering his eyelashes at the vigilant trait. “Oh? Really? You don’t say?” he said in what was supposed to be a sweet tone but was actually not that sweet. Virgil clenched his teeth and fists in unison. Sensing the tension, Logan swooped in once more to diffuse it, resting his hand again on Virgil’s arm. Virgil was still tense and pissed but kept himself in check.
Logan looked once more at Remus, a hard, stern look in his eyes. “Try as you might, Remus, you can’t get to me. I have full confidence in my outdoor excursion with Patton, and nothing you say can convince me otherwise.”
Remus perked up at this, beaming all of a sudden. “Perfect! Then I guess the only one who needs to be worried is Patty himself!”
Logan frowned. “Patton? Why Patton?”
Remus grinned, sharp teeth on display. “ ‘Cause he’s standing in front of the door to the Imagination with Ro-Bro right now! And he’s been waiting for almost fifteen minutes!”
Logan froze at these words, and whipped his head around to look at his clock.
The colour from his face drained instantaneously.
Then – faster than an inexperienced student who’d managed to light themselves on fire with a Bunsen burner – he bolted from his room without another word.
Virgil gaped after him, then turned back to Remus. The chaotic figment smiled sweetly at him and winked at him saucily while sucking on his fingers obscenely. Virgil blushed and rushed out after Logan, flipping Remus off as he left. Remus shrugged and continued his spa routine.
*******
Logan rushed down the corridor to the door to the Imagination, heart pounding with panic. How did he lose track of the time? He was usually so conscientious. Oh God, he hoped Patton wouldn’t be mad at him, though he wouldn’t blame him if he did. He also inwardly cursed Remus for distracting him. That was probably the main reason why he popped up in his room. Just causing his usual chaos. Only this could potentially sour his relationship with Patton, a thought which pricked Logan’s chest uncomfortably but was immediately pushed away by the main thought of ‘MOVE YOUR ASS’.
Soon the door came into sight, along with two amorphous blobs of red and light blue whom Logan knew to be Patton and Roman. He skidded to a halt and bent over to catch his breath, lamenting how his brief burst of physical activity must have affected his appearance.
“Patton – I’m sorry – I wasn’t – I didn’t –”
But then, in his out-of-breath state, Logan looked up, and he stopped, gobsmacked.
Standing before him was his sweetheart, and all he could think was…’Wow’.
Patton was a wonder in frost and winter-cloud, with cheeks glowing like the rising sun. He was wearing a pale blue dress covered with a white butterfly print. The skirt cut just above his knees, allowing him to show off his calves. A grey cashmere sweater was tied around his waist in place of his cat hoodie, and nude ballet flats replaced his usual sneakers. He had gone with a simple jewelry set consisting of a light blue rhinestone butterfly necklace and matching dangling earrings. The butterfly motif ended with a papery-thin, decorative butterfly clip clipping back his bangs.
The full look was completed with what Virgil – who’d shown up behind Logan and was also admiring Patton’s look – could define as ‘throwback 90’s’, which was: white eyeshadow, black eyeliner on the bottom eyelid only, black mascara on top lashes only, a sheer pink lip tint and glitter all over his cheeks. But…it was done tastefully, and, somehow, they managed to make Patton’s eyes look even more voluminous and bright, able to see the light within. Best of all, the glitter made the freckles on Patton’s face stand out even more. It all came together really well and was the most striking aspect of Patton’s appearance.
In short, Patton looked – objectively – adorable. And, in a word, Logan was enchanted.
Meanwhile, Patton felt faint at the sight before him. Logan was a vision in sapphire and ebony, steady and certain as the dusk that followed the twilight. His brocade vest and the black button-down really helped to set off his broad shoulders, while the rolled-up sleeves did a good job of showing off Logan’s forearms. The cat-eyes both contrasted well with his sharp features and face shape and made them less severe. The galaxy sneakers took him a little by surprise but he felt like they actually went well with what Logan was wearing. And his brief sprint had fluffed up his hair, brightened his eyes and left a dewy flush in his cheeks. There was no question: Patton’s heart was almost about to fly out of his chest.
Logan was still panting slightly and gaping at the sight before him before being shaken out of his lovestruck stupor by Roman clicking his tongue and raising an eyebrow at him. “Got caught up with work stuff or something, Teach?”
Logan shook his composure back into place and managed to say somewhat evenly to Patton:
“I…you look wonderful.”
Patton beamed. “Thanks! So do you!” Then his eyes widened as he remembered something. “Oh! And you know what’s even better?”
“What?”
Patton’s grin widened, and he slipped his hands into two slits in the sides of his dress. Then he leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial-like whisper:
“It has pockets!”
Logan smiled in appreciation. Pockets were always a good thing to have.
Then it occurred to him that he didn’t have a gift to give to Patton, and his smile fell a little.
Just then, the teacher felt something materialize in the hand that he was holding behind his back, and he just managed to stop himself from flinching in surprise. He surreptitiously looked out the corner of his eye to see that it was a bouquet of flowers. He looked back in time to catch Roman smirking at him from behind Patton, his fingers fluttering amidst a fading mist of red and gold sparks.
Logan swallowed and revealed the flowers from behind him, holding them out to Patton almost shyly. “F-For you,” he said, a little stiltedly.
Patton let out a small gasp and clasped his hands close to his chest. He looked up at Logan, and Logan was alarmed to see tears in Patton’s eyes. Did he do something wrong? Were the flowers not the right kind of gift to give?
Then he looked down and took a better look at the flowers.
White carnations and blue forget-me-nots.
His eyes widened in realization.
A pure and true love. May it remain everlasting and faithful.
Logan remembered the flower language associated with both plants from the time he’d studied the topic all those months ago when he was first trying to repair ties with Patton. It was hard to believe that all of that had brought him to this point. Suffice to say that they were very apt descriptors for his relationship with Patton. Now he understood that Patton’s tears were not because he was sad or hurt, but because he understood and was touched by the message.
Logan looked up microscopically to make eye contact with Roman. The princely figment had a gentle smile on his face and gave a tiny nod. Logan then thought that the choice in flowers was also an unspoken message of well wishes on Roman’s part, not just a display of his own knowledge on flower language like he and Patton. He felt a rush of warm affection for the creative trait and hoped that his silent look of gratitude was communicated fluently.
He felt the flowers leave his hands and Logan looked back down in time to see Patton taking the bouquet from him. Patton cradled the bouquet against his chest, gazing down on it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Then he looked back up at Logan, and his face held an expression of such intense yet tender adoration that Logan felt pinned in place like a butterfly from Patton’s dress on a corkboard.
The sweet moment between them was broken when Roman clapped his hands and cheered:
“All right! No more standin’ around! It’s date time!”
Logan and Patton looked back at Roman with equal parts fondness and exasperation (but only a little for that last one; they couldn’t bring themselves to be too annoyed at Roman, not with how excited and nervous they were).
Then Patton looked down at his bouquet and held out to Roman. “Do you think you could – ” he started saying, before the bouquet disappeared into thin air.
He jumped in surprise and looked at his empty hands before looking back at Roman, who was smiling at him. “Already in your room and in a vase, waiting for your return,” Roman reassured him.
Patton smiled at Roman in gratitude, then he turned back towards Logan, his eyes sparkling. “You ready?”
Logan gave a smile. “Always.”
Patton beamed and held out a hand, which Logan gladly took.
Roman beamed and unlocked the door to the Imagination with a wave of his hand. “Have fun!”
Virgil, leaning against a wall and watching them, waved them off. “Be safe.”
Logan and Patton smiled in gratitude and reassurance to the anxious Side and started making their way into the Imagination.
Once they’d fully entered and the door started closing behind them, Roman called out: “Make sure to look for the red rose bush at the entrance to the woods when you wanna come back! Enjoy!”
And with that, the door clicked shut behind them.
Virgil let out a breath and slipped his hands into his pockets.
“Well, that’s that. Hope things’ll go fine for them,” he said quietly.
Roman rolled his eyes and slung an arm around Virgil’s shoulders. “They’ll be fine, emo. I’m certain they’ll have a date they’ll never forget.”
Virgil nodded in agreement, then looked at Roman. “By the way, did you manage to solve your problem?”
Roman furrowed his brow. “Problem?”
Virgil rolled his eyes. “Y’know, the whole thing with Logan and Patton?”
Roman’s eyes widened. “Ah! That! Yeah, yeah, I did!”
Virgil waited. But Roman didn’t say anything after that. He raised an eyebrow.
“Well? How did you do it?”
Roman shrugged half a shoulder airily. “Oh, you know. A lil’ of this, a lil’ of that...”
Virgil side-eyed the romantic trait warily. He didn’t like how cryptic that sounded.
“Roman…what did you do?”
Roman just smiled. Boy, were Patton and Logan in for a real surprise.
*******
On the other side, after watching the door dematerialize behind them, Patton and Logan turned to look at each other before smiling, both giddy with excitement about the date and enamoured with the sight of each other.
Then they turned around and –
They stopped dead in their tracks.
They blinked.
Then they looked at each other.
Then they turned around again and blinked once more.
What they saw before them was…not what either of them had been expecting.
They were standing at the entrance of a large wood, with tall trees looming over them on either side. The red rose bush Roman had mentioned was sitting on their left, as expected. This whole set-up wasn’t unusual.
What was, was…well, it was a bit difficult for them to put into words.
Logan had anticipated a picture-perfect summer’s day: blue sky, white cumulus clouds, a lush wood filled with friendly fauna which would lead to bucolic rolling hills of green and flora, with a perfect temperature in the 70s range (or, again, in the 20s since he had no preference for one system over the system and had studied both Metric and Imperial enough to be well-versed). The ideal setting for a picnic.
Patton had expected a peaceful summer evening: just a simple forest for them to walk through while it was still light out, with the sky all painted with pretty colours like orange and pink to start with. Then once they reached a wide, open clearing at the end, the warm colours would fade to cool ones like blue and purple in time to welcome the expanse of stars dotting the sky above, with a breeze that was cool but not too cool. The perfect way to enjoy stargazing.
What they got…was an amalgamation of both.
It was as if the whole world around them had been divided, split evenly at its center, into two different lands: one bathed in sunlight, and the other shrouded in moonlight. A split screen between day and night come to life. For Patton, it reminded him of that Pixar short with the two humanoid blobs – one personifying Day and the other personifying Night. Somehow – unbeknownst to each other – Roman had managed to literally fulfill both of their requests at the same time. It was both jarring and strangely beautiful at the same time.
Both Sides were beyond confused. What had happened? Why was it like this? Did something go wrong when Roman tried to fulfill their request? Should they go back or try to contact Roman in some way to inquire about the layout? Was it safe?
But the door was already gone, and it wouldn’t pop up again until they were ready to leave. They’d barely started the date! They figured that it was no use worrying about it, for now. It was the Imagination, after all; even though Roman and Remus could control it, it could still be unpredictable and flighty at times. It was in its nature. So, they decided to roll with it.
Patton looked around again. “So…which direction should we go?”
Logan looked around himself, then bit his lower lip. “I…admittedly do not know.”
Just then, something flickered in their peripheral vision and they turned around in time to see twin rows of white bioluminescent mushrooms light up along a long pathway they hadn’t noticed before.
“What the?” Patton commented.
“I suppose this is Roman’s way of making sure we don’t get lost on our way to…well, wherever we’re going, I guess,” Logan replied.
Patton nodded, nibbling on his lip a bit. He hoped that the clearing was actually going to be there. He didn’t know what he would do if it wasn’t.
“What mushrooms are these?” he said to distract himself from that worry for the time being. “I don’t think I recognize them from anything in real life.”
Logan hummed in thought and walked closer to them, gently tugging Patton along. He bent down slightly and peered at one of them, trying to get a better look. After a moment or so, he sighed and shook his head.
“I cannot identify them, unfortunately. Knowing Roman, they’re probably an amalgamation of any mushroom Thomas has seen in his life, or maybe they’re a whole new creation altogether.”
Patton nodded at this. “True. We are in the Imagination.”
Logan nodded at this and looked back down the pathway. The end of it was too far off for him to see what was there, but he hoped the hill where their picnic was supposed to take place would be there. Otherwise, his surprise for Patton would be all for naught. Well, there was no use worrying about it for the time being. They would cross that bridge when they came to it (although, from his peripheral vision, he was pretty certain there was no actual bridge for them to traverse).
Logan turned back to his loved one and gave him a smile, then nodded his head in the direction of the path ahead of them. “Shall we?”
Patton smiled back at his sweetie and nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. Logan felt his heart skip a beat at that.
The two lovers started following the path towards whatever destination they were going in, illuminated by the mushrooms lining the pathway. They took their time – after all, there was no hurry when it was just the two of them – and they took in their surroundings, never breaking the link between them. Even though it was a little unnerving to be traversing the Imagination in such a juxtaposed state, both had to admit that seeing how different the Imagination looked in both settings was oddly beautiful, in a way. To observe how the trees began by being lit up in shades of shiny gold and chartreuse before turning into deep greys and silvers. To have sunlight filtering through the canopy on one side and moonlight peeking through on the other. To hear birds singing in one ear and crickets chirping in the other. It really was something to experience.
And, as an added bonus, it allowed them to admire each other in secret.
As though by natural design, Logan found himself walking in the shaded section of the Imagination, which left Patton walking in the lit side. They’d done it without even thinking about it; it’d just felt right to do so. And as Patton looked all around him and cooed at all the fauna and flora to his heart’s content, Logan admired his darling in all his effervescent glory.
The sunlight fell softly on Patton, leaving him framed in a golden aura reminiscent of the holy figures Thomas read about in his early Catholic upbringing. His butterfly jewelry left speckles of light briefly on nearby objects. The butterfly clip in his waves seemed to dance with merriment. And the glitter on his cheeks shimmered even more, like traces of fairy dust, even Logan wasn’t really in the habit of using such fantastical, flowery language and metaphors.
In truth, Patton was wondrously, gloriously, inebriatingly magnified, and Logan felt like he would never get enough of just looking at him.
Granted, Patton’s beauty – both outer and inner – made Logan feel a bit inadequate, even if he never admitted it out loud. How could he ever keep up with him?
Then Logan shook his head firmly. No. None of that. Patton had told him: you are enough. And though he wasn’t Janus, he could tell that Patton was telling the truth. So, he pushed the thoughts away and allowed himself to sink into the belief that he was enough for Patton, and that was okay.
Then something caught his eye and Logan turned to see bats flitting about on his side, starting their evening search for food. He watched them with a slight smile, facts that he’d memorized about these nocturnal creatures flitting through his head as he observed.
At this point, Patton turned his head and took in the sight of Logan, the moonlight falling on him like a gossamer curtain. Logan came across like an ethereal woodland ruler, the epitome of calm and steadiness. Which was ironic considering his penchant for disliking anything not rooted in reality, which was why he still clashed with Roman on occasion. Just…the way the glow of the moon highlighted his cheekbones and shoulders even more. How the vest defined his waist. The galaxy sneakers seeming to twinkle like their real-life counterpart as he walked. And his forearms…oh boy. Logan just looked and was perfect to Patton.
Okay, well, maybe not perfect. Yes, Logan had his moments of temper and stubbornness, and he still tended to get so focused on his work that his self-care suffered (and Patton or Janus had to step in), but in general the logical Side was unflappable, able to get through anything with steely nerve and steadfast standing. Patton wished that he could be more like him. Less energetic, less extroverted, more collected, more careful.
But he knew that Logan wouldn’t want that of him. He loved Patton as is, and would be devastated if he changed any part of him. Patton could take a few lessons from Logan, yes; allow himself to be influenced, but never lose the core of who he was as a Side. He could do that.
Soon the path started narrowing, and Patton and Logan came to a curtain of leaves that clearly led somewhere. They looked at each other for a moment, then each pulled a curtain back. They gaped at the sight before them.
A large, wide clearing stretched out as far as they could see, with the woods framing its sides all around, and in the middle of the clearing was a medium-sized hill with a somewhat flattened top. Above them, the sky expanded out into infinity, and its appearance was most awe-inspiring to behold. It was still evenly divided by the dichotomic light filters, but without the canopy in the way, Logan and Patton could experience the full scope of its beauty. On the light side, the sky was still bright and gay with the golden rays of the sun, Disney-esque blobs of fluffiness and its rich azure hue. On the dark side, the moon was the only source of light amongst the inky blackness of night. And right in the middle, uniting the two opposites, shades of fiery vermilion and rosy gold, royal blues and soft violets, all blended seamlessly into each other, with no muddiness or mismatches.
After taking in this lovely sight, Logan and Patton noticed something at the top of the hill. Looking at each other again, they started climbing the hill together. Fortunately, it wasn’t too steep, so at least neither of them would get too tired by the end. Once they got closer, they saw that the ‘something’ was a brown wicker basket sitting on top of a large black-and-white checked blanket.
Logan smiled. It was his picnic. Thank goodness Roman pulled through for him in the end. He gently tugged Patton towards it. Once they reached it, Logan let go of Patton and slowly sat down on the blanket. He looked up at Patton and smiled, patting the empty space beside him.
Patton complied, though he was still a little confused. “Where’d this picnic come from?”
Logan flushed. “This is…a surprise. For you.”
Patton blinked. “Me?”
Logan nodded and reached out to take Patton’s hand in his again. “I wanted to do something special for you, and I know you love picnics so…here you go.”
Patton blinked. A picnic. Logan set up a picnic. Logan didn’t like picnics very much. And yet he set one up. For him.
Logan’s confidence started to waver the longer Patton was silent. “Is it not acceptable? Maybe I could have gone with something else like –”
But Logan didn’t get to finish his sentence because Patton suddenly tackled him in a hug, nearly knocking both of them over. Logan just barely managed to keep them upright. He was also barely breathing due to how tight Patton was hugging him. Did this mean Patton liked it?
Then he felt Patton press a long, fervent kiss into his cheek before the moral Side sat back, his arms around Logan’s neck. His eyes were watery but he was grinning, and the light in his eyes was shining bright.
“I love this,” he breathed.
Logan nearly sagged with relief. Patton liked it. Patton was happy. That was all he had wanted.
“I – I’m glad to hear that,” he said shakily.
Patton grinned wider and he kissed Logan’s cheek again before letting go of him and crawling his way to the basket. Logan allowed himself a moment to get back his composure before crawling over himself to assist Patton.
They spread out their meal on the blanket. There were sandwiches (Logan was pleased to find that Roman had followed his instructions on making sure they were an equal balance of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins to ensure good nutrition and energy upkeep, though this was negated by the fact that they were cut into various shapes of both geometric and animal types for some reason, but he let it slide upon seeing the delighted look on Patton’s face), a simple salad for Logan and potato chips for Patton, lemonade and – the pièce de résistance, if Logan thought so himself – buttery thumbprint cookies with Crofter’s in the middle.
Patton immediately dove for the Tupperware containing the cookies, yanking the lid off of the container and taking one out.
“Patton, you’ll spoil your appetite if you eat dessert before the main meal.”
Patton paused and looked back at Logan, keeping steady eye contact. He brought the cookie closer to his mouth at a slow but steady pace.
“Patton…”
Patton slowly opened his mouth, cookie an inch away from consumption, still never taking his eyes off of Logan.
Logan looked back, poker face in place, unmoving and unreadable.
Patton started lowering the cookie onto his tongue.
Suddenly, Logan whipped out a hand lightning-quick and grabbed Patton’s wrist. Patton tried to pull his arm away and bring it closer to his mouth so he could still eat the cookie, but Logan kept a firm grip. Soon he and Logan were in a weird tug-of-war, impulse versus self-control. But there was no heat behind their struggles; both Sides were smirking, the ‘fight’ turning into a playful scuffle. Soon, Patton found himself on his back with Logan straddling him on top and pinning his arms down by his head, cookie still in hand but out of reach of his mouth.
Logan smirked down at his partner, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Looks like I have the upper hand.”
Patton pouted up at him. “No fair. You cheated!”
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?”
“You tickled me! That’s, like, the dirtiest trick in the book!”
Logan let out a laugh at that. Then he bent down low and whispered into Patton’s ear: “All’s fair in war and love, darling.”
Patton shivered at the close proximity of Logan’s mouth to his ear, his low, deep voice sending his heart aquiver.
Then inspiration hit him, and he quickly turned his head and licked Logan’s cheek.
Logan let out a squawk and sat up slightly to wipe at his cheek with mild disgust. As Patton had hoped, Logan used the hand which had been holding down the one holding the cookie. He immediately popped the cookie into his mouth, grinning triumphantly.
Logan froze and looked down, blinking in confusion at what had happened. Then it clicked in his head what Patton had done. He glowered down at the moral Side, who just smiled back up at him innocently while still chewing the cookie. But Patton wasn’t worried. He could tell that Logan was fighting a smile by the corners of his mouth twitching so he knew he wasn’t really in trouble.
It wasn’t long before Logan gave up faux-frowning and he rolled his eyes fondly. Then he lowered himself further so he was lying on top of Patton, faces inches away from one another. He reached a hand up to cradle Patton’s face and stroked his cheek with his thumb. Patton leaned into his touch.
“You are very lucky that you’re objectively adorable,” Logan murmured.
Patton scrunched up his nose. “I know you are, but what am I?”
“Adorable.”
Patton’s flush deepened and Logan felt his heart stutter in his chest. Patton craned his neck to boop his nose against Logan’s and gave it a little nuzzle. The minute skin-to-skin contact was still enough to send sparks shooting through both of them, and their muscles went taut. Their chests were flush against each other, and Patton wondered if Logan could feel the warmth in his chest radiating out. The sweet, fruity scent of the jam on Patton’s breath wafted near Logan’s nostrils, and a surge tingled through him, much like the one he’d felt the night when he and Patton first held one another in each other’s arms. He felt the magnetic pull from before push his face closer to Patton’s, but he let it this time. Patton felt the same, and he didn’t stop it either. They were alone in the Imagination, they were on a date, and they were in a very intimate position. Why not let it happen now?
Soon their lips were scant inches away from each other, and their anticipation was palpable. Almost there –
A chittering sound jolted them out of their dream-like state. They turned their heads around in the direction of the picnic basket, just in time to lock eyes with a grey squirrel poking his head out of the basket, a cookie in its mouth.
“Hey – hey! What are you – ” Logan exclaimed, immediately clambering off Patton to chase after the squirrel, only to fall flat on his front. But the squirrel was too quick for him, scurrying out of the basket at top speed and scrambling down the hill, leaving Logan lying on the ground looking very put-out by the cookie theft.
Patton, however, was giggling up a storm; he was too amused by the situation to lament the loss of warmth, nor the squandered opportunity.
“Let ‘im go, Logan. He just wanted a little snack!”
Logan couldn’t help but pout an infinitesimal amount. “But they’re our cookies,” he grumbled.
Patton snickered again and he crawled closer to Logan and kneeled next to him. He placed a hand on Logan’s cheek, and that action made Logan look up at him. Patton smoothed out the creases at the corners of Logan’s mouth with his thumb.
“I can always bake more, honey,” he said softly.
The sour look on Logan’s face dissolved away at Patton’s gentle tone and tender gesture, and he nodded. “Alright, love.”
The look on Patton’s face then turned mischievous. “Besides, you could say the little guy is –”
“Wait, Patton, don’t –”
“– nuts for Crofter’s, too!”
Logan let out a groan that could probably raise the dead from their eternal slumber. Patton broke into peals of laughter over Logan’s reaction.
“Why are we dating again?” Logan said wryły.
Patton let the last of his giggles fade away and he bent down to place a peck on Logan’s forehead. “Because you love me.”
Logan gave him an unamused side-eye, which lasted for a fraction of a second before his face softened and he let out a sigh. “I do,” he acquiesced quietly.
A thrill rushed through Patton at this, and he just barely stopped himself from just kissing Logan point-blank right then and there. Another opportunity would come up. Besides, he was starting to get hungry.
Patton helped Logan up into a sitting position. “C’mon, let’s eat the rest of the food before the little guy decides to bring some friends over!”
Logan agreed, and they helped themselves to the rest of their picnic with no further mishaps or interruptions. Roman – as asked – had manipulated the temperature to keep it staying at 74 degrees Fahrenheit/23 degrees Celsius, so, this way, they were comfortable. The sun was still warm, though, so they were grateful for both the occasional cloud cover on the sunny side and the cool breeze they could feel wafting from the moonlit side. All in all, it was a delicious meal.
After they were done and had put away the remnants of their picnic back inside the basket, Patton sat back on his hands and gave a satisfied sigh.
“So…whatcha wanna do now?”
Logan was about to reply when something flickered in his peripheral vision overhead. He looked up in curiosity, and his eyes widened.
At this, Patton looked up just in time to see the first stars of the night sky popping into view. He grinned with delight and relief. It looked like Roman actually did come through with his promise to make Patton’s wish come true. He could get the stargazing underway.
He turned to Logan to say something, then stopped and stared at the sight he saw.
Logan’s face was aglow with awe and wonder, his mouth slightly open and the stars reflected in his eyes. For a moment, Patton saw a glimpse of the little Side once known as Curiosity. Who used to be fascinated with the world around him and everything in it. Who could study and spout facts and information about anything that interested him without pretense or self-consciousness. Who never failed to be overjoyed whenever he learned something new. Before he grew up. Before he turned serious. Before he became Logic. It wasn’t completely gone, just buried deep beneath the stress, jadedness and stringent foundation of the adult ‘Logic’ mentality. It came out every so often, especially when Logan got started on a topic he liked, but Patton wished it would come out more. Maybe it could, with a little more time and coaxing, and doing stuff like this. Just seeing Logan like this was more rewarding than he could ever know.
Patton let the moment linger for a bit longer before sliding closer to Logan and slipping his hand back into Logan’s. This seemed to jolt Logan out of his trance and looked at Patton, his face still possessing that same wonder. Patton gave him a big smile and, with a nod of his head towards the sky, whispered:
“Surprise.”
The wonder turned to confusion, and Logan looked from Patton to the sky and back again a couple times. Then the realization hit him between the eyes, and he looked back at Patton with a completely open face. He pointed a trembling finger upwards.
“That…you mean…did you…” he said hoarsely, trailing off.
Patton’s cheeks flushed and he nodded shyly. “Yeah…I had a surprise for you, too. I know how much you love stars, and how you like to talk about them, so I figured that stargazing would be a good idea and I made sure the sky was as accurate as the one in real life so…yeah.”
Logan stared. Patton had also had a surprise. He had had a surprise for him. Out of everything Patton could have chosen to do, the empathetic trait had thought about what Logan liked. And he chose stargazing. He went through all that effort. For him.
It was Patton’s turn to grow anxious as Logan’s silence stretched on. Was this the right thing? Oh, he hoped it was. He didn’t know what he would do with himself if this was a mistake. Why wasn’t Logan saying anything? Was he mad? Disappointed? What? Patton had to fight hard to keep the thoughts from snowballing, though he still found himself opening to say something – what? An apology? To explain himself? Who knew?
“Logan? Are yo–”
But this time it was Patton’s turn to be cut off as Logan wrapped an arm around his waist and raised a hand to cradle his cheek. Then Logan leaned forward and pressed a kiss into his other cheek before gently pressing their foreheads together.
“Thank you,” Patton heard a wobbly whisper. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Patton felt like he could almost faint. Logan wasn’t angry. He wasn’t disappointed. He was happy. He loved the surprise. That was all Patton had wanted and hoped for, and he got it. He copied Logan by raising a hand to cradle Logan’s own cheek, and closed his eyes.
As they lingered in that tender moment, it slowly dawned on the two lovers why the Imagination was the way it was when they first entered. Both had gone to Roman and pitched their ideas to him separately, without any knowledge of each other’s plans. And, somehow, Roman was able to mash the two ideas together. That’s why the sky was showing a steady progression from day to night. That’s why there was a hilly clearing for picnicking and stargazing. That’s why both of them could do the things they wanted to do.
Patton made a mental note to make sure to bake a batch of extra-special cookies for Roman later.
Soon, they pulled back from the tender embrace and smiled at each other, and Patton figured that it was time to get the stargazing underway. He looked up and scanned the sky briefly, before spotting what he’d been looking for and grinning.
“Hey, Logan, can you tell me more about that constellation?” he asked, pointing at some indiscriminate point above him.
Logan looked up at where Patton was pointing. “Which one?”
“The…uh, the Pila- no. The Play-Doh – no. The – ugh!” Patton flushed with embarrassment. Why couldn’t he pronounce things right?
Sensing Patton’s consternation, Logan reached out to take one of Patton’s hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “No need to rush, darling,” he said patiently. “Can you describe it for me?”
Cheeks still flushed, Patton gave a minute nod. “Um…there’s, like, six or seven of ‘em, and they’re kinda in a clump.”
Logan’s eyes widened in realization. “Ah, the Pleiades Star Cluster?”
“Yeah! That! I, uh…don’t really know how to pronounce it. Heh, heh.”
Logan chuckled and squeezed Patton’s hand again. “No worries, love. I’d be more than happy to tell you all about it. It’s actually one of my favourite constellations.”
Patton cocked his head. “Really? How come?” He already knew that it was one of Logan’s favourite constellations, but he actually didn’t really know the reason why.
Logan’s smile turned tender, and he reached out a finger to lightly trace the faint freckles speckled across Patton’s nose. “Because they remind me of someone very dear to me.”
Patton’s eyes went wide – both from Logan’s smile and the implication of that statement – and his face went through a full flush. “Oh,” he squeaked.
Logan smiled at him fondly before sliding an arm around his waist. Patton wrapped both of his arms around Logan’s own waist and snuggled into Logan’s side. They positioned themselves so their backs were to the lit side and they were facing the night sky of the dark side. That way, they had warm sunshine caressing their backs and a cool breeze on their faces.
“So, the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, got its name from Greek mythology, specifically from the seven daughters of the Titan, Atlas, and their mother, the Oceanid Pleione…”
Before long, Logan was prattling enthusiastically about every constellation he could identify in the night sky, telling stories and facts and everything in-between. And Patton absorbed everything Logan had to tell. How could he not, when Logan looked so excited to share something that was meaningful to him and made him happy? And Patton found it all interesting, anyway, so it was a win-win.
Just then, something caught Patton’s eye and he craned his neck to look at it better.
“Hey, Logan? What’s that star? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one before.”
Logan looked in the direction of where Patton was pointing and squinted a little, trying to see better. The star that Patton had pointed out was a pale yellow, and its glow was pulsing in regular intervals. What was unusual about it, though, was the fact that it seemed to bob up and down not unlike a toy boat in a bathtub. Logan’s brow furrowed.
“I’m…actually not sure. It doesn’t fit any description of any of the stars I’ve memorized. It certainly can’t be a Yellow Dwarf like our Sun, considering how small it is. Maybe it cou-”
Suddenly, the light winked out of existence.
Patton sat up, stunned. “Huh? Where’d it go?”
Logan was also stunned, but intrigued as well. “I…I don’t know.”
Then, it winked back on again.
Patton and Logan exchanged confused looks with each other.
Then, another yellow star flitted up from the ground, winking on and off like the first.
Then another.
And another.
And –
Logan and Patton gaped as a cloud of millions of these yellow stars floated up out of the grass and into the air. It was like a star-patterned theater curtain being pulled up into the rafters, and they were all blinking on and off in a silent symphony.
That’s when it hit Patton.
These ‘stars’ weren’t stars at all.
They were –
“Fireflies!”
Logan looked at Patton. “What?”
Patton flapped an excited hand. “They’re fireflies! Not stars!”
Logan looked back at the shimmering sight before him. Patton was right.
“Of course, Lampyridae. How did I miss it? That would explain their intermittent bioluminescence.”
“Well, they certainly know how to light up the night!”
Logan sighed at that, but he was smiling.
As they took in the iridescent beauty circling around them, an idea lit up in Patton’s head. With a wide grin, he jumped up from the picnic blanket and held his hands out towards Logan.
“Dance with me.”
Logan blinked up at Patton. “What?
Patton made grabby hands at him. “Come dance with me.”
“But…there’s no music, a-and I don’t really –” Logan started saying before he stopped. Patton was looking down at him with a pretty pronounced pout. Logan caved then. How could he possibly say no to his other half? So, he extended his own hands and allowed Patton to enthusiastically grab ahold of them and pull him to his feet.
Patton maneuvered them both into a basic starting position: he placed one of Logan’s hands on his waist, then he rested one of his own hands on Logan’s shoulder, and finally their remaining hands grasped each other, almost like they were about to start a waltz. Once they were in position, Patton led them into a simple slow dance, just swaying them back and forth, left and right.
Logan was rather stiff at first; he wasn’t much for dancing. Or, at least, he wasn’t much for dancing in public. He didn’t like having attention on himself, not like Patton. And also, even if he did do a little bit of dancing in his own free time – which he didn’t! – he always thought that music was a necessary accompaniment to physical activity to ensure movement and whatnot. So, them just dancing to nothing was a little jarring for Logan.
But as they continued, Logan took in his surroundings. The light and dark modes of the Imagination allowed them to see something different as they turned around. He had to admit that there was something special about being able to see the world in both ways at once, and how the sounds of nature acted as their accompaniment. Also, the fact that it was just him and Patton, no one else around – well, except for the cookie thief – meant that no one was watching them. They could enjoy each other’s company in peace. Lastly, he looked down at the Side in front of him. Patton was glowing with enthusiasm, enjoying himself. Patton had always been better at celebrating the little moments in life than Logan. Dating the lively figment had shown him how to slow down and just breathe, even for a few minutes. That there was more to life than just being a Side and performing their function as a part of someone’s personality.
So, Logan slowly began to relax and allow himself to just be in the moment, be with Patton, nothing more, nothing less. He relished in the warmth and closeness between him and his love, and how it was just the two of them. Patton could feel Logan loosening up, and that in turn both turned up his joy and made him let go of his own trepidation, too (he’d been a little worried about stepping on Logan’s feet due to his clumsiness). As they kept swaying and turning, the proper dancing positions they’d started in slowly fell away as the space between them became non-existent. Patton wrapped his arms around Logan’s neck, and Logan wrapped his arms around Patton’s waist. They touched their foreheads together and they just held each other tenderly, still continuing to sway.
This lasted a little while longer, then Patton looked up and took in the moment. Something about being just the two of them, surrounded by all this beauty and magic, filled Patton with a euphoria he hadn’t felt in a long time. Just a bubbly joy popping and bursting inside of him, making his limbs tingle and his feet itch. He loved it. He loved this setting they were in. And he loved Logan.
With a laugh, Patton started swinging and spinning them around enthusiastically. Logan was caught off guard by the sudden change in the comfortable dance routine they’d fallen into, nearly tripping over his feet in the process. But Patton’s joy and enthusiasm was infectious, so Logan couldn’t help but go along with it. He let out a startled laugh himself, but, again, knowing they weren’t being watched, he let it happen. Soon, their laughter was the only sound ringing through the air, besting the birds and overshadowing the crickets. After a while, they stopped so as not to make themselves too dizzy.
Catching their breath from the increase in physical activity, Logan and Patton took in the new sight they were bearing witness to.
Patton was now standing in the moonlight, and Logan was standing in the sunlight.
If seeing one another in the light gradient that suited them most had further endeared them to one another, it was nothing compared to when they each stood in its opposite.
In the moonlight, Patton seemed like a watercolour sketch, his edges blurred and softened by Mother Nature’s night filter, the glitter on his cheeks now twinkling like stardust.
In the sunlight, Logan came across like a supernova, exploding in an ineffable burst of sound and light, his normally immaculate hair now all wild and flaring out like a solar flare.
Unable to look away, Logan and Patton stared at one another.
Then, in a bold display of courage, Logan gathered Patton into his arms, sliding his arms fully around the moral Side’s waist and pulling him close.
Patton let out a squeak and braced himself by resting his forearms against Logan’s chest, his fingertips just resting over the slope of Logan’s shoulders. He looked up, face bright with awe and love. The light in his eyes increased in intensity. It seemed impossible that it could burn any brighter, but it did.
As they stood in that loving embrace, the two Sides felt everything that made up the world around them fall into place and settle. Safety and comfort made tangible and all-encompassing. The world around them crawled to a tranquil quiet, still and hushed, as though holding its breath in anticipatory observance of what the two Sides would do next.
To Patton and Logan, they knew what was going to happen.
This was it. The moment they’d been waiting for, not just all day, but ever since they’d realized how much the other meant to them. How they’d wanted to share everything that made each of them endearing to the other, and all that set them apart, too. This time, this place, this opportunity, was right where they should be, and it just felt so right.
Caught once more in that magnetic pull, slowly but surely, Patton and Logan’s faces drew closer to each other, much like what happened all those weeks ago when Patton had nearly fallen down the stairs and Logan had saved him. But this time, for Logan, there was no hesitation. No self-consciousness. No balking. And for Patton, there was no uncertainty. No nerves. No second-guessing.
And right then and there, the world fell away as the heart and mind united as one. Every opposite half seamlessly slotted into place like the last prodigal puzzle pieces.
Cool water cascaded over Patton’s head, akin to jumping into a refreshing pool on a hot summer’s day. An airy breeze wafted into his face, helping to bring down the warmth in his face a bit to prevent him from overheating. With Logan in his arms, the ground felt sturdier beneath his feet, and not just in the literal sense. Patton felt steady when he was with Logan: less unsure, more apt to listen than react, less impulsive, more calm, more likely to think his actions and arguments through. Logan tempered his energy enough so that it didn’t get out of control, but not completely so that he wasn’t his usual happy pappy self.
Warmth rushed from the top of Logan’s head all the way down to his toes, as though he’d laid down to soak in the full brunt of the sun’s rays fully. And the only thing he could feel was…comfort. Loving and unconditional. When he was with Patton, Logan laughed more, smiled more. He was less quick to temper and more willing to listen through other people’s arguments that were pathos-leaning. Patton helped him to be less judgmental, less calculating, more open to new ideas and approaches that he’d otherwise dismiss completely or sneer at for not being within the realm of reason he was used to.
Patton’s hands reached up to cradle the underside of Logan’s face as he smiled into the kiss. Logan smiled back as he drew his arms tighter around Patton’s waist, pressing him further against his person. The contrasting sensations and temperatures danced around each other much like when they’d actually been dancing before: weaving and skimming but never clashing. And throughout their shared intimacy, the fireflies rose up around them like a protective barrier, as though shielding them from any unwanted attention or intruders in the vicinity.
Soon, they had to come up for air, and Logan and Patton pulled back from the kiss. They both heaved tiny sighs and then looked up at each other. Both had flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and both were feeling fuller and more complete than they ever did before.
Logan felt something bubbling up in his chest, and he started to chuckle, which turned into a giggle, which ended in full-on laughter. Then – in a rare act of exuberance – Logan lifted Patton into his arms and spun him around in a circle, laughing loud and joyfully. Patton squealed in surprise but also delight, wrapping his arms around Logan’s neck and holding on tight. His skirt flared out with the momentum, and it seemed like he became an extension of the day sky, the butterflies coming to life and flitting gayly on their canvas.
Once he’d completed a full turn or two, Logan carefully lowered Patton back onto the ground but kept his hold on him. Patton beamed up at him then cuddled in close, resting his head against Logan’s chest and sighing in contentment. Logan’s own smile widened and he drew Patton closer again, arms wrapped fully around him, with one holding on his upper back and the other cradling his waist, then laid his head against Patton’s.
Holding each other tenderly, they looked back up at the sky. They once more noted the contrast of the day and night modes the Imagination was in. But, this time, the differences felt less divisive and more unifying. They saw the opposites coexisting in harmony alongside each other: the sun and moon, the stars and fireflies, the warmth and cold – all of it. How they complemented one another and propped each other up. Fortifying strengths and buffering weaknesses. Never clashing, taking turns, giving each one their time in the transient state of nature. If that wasn’t a metaphor for something, neither knew what was.
Taking his eyes off of the wide expanse stretching above him for a moment, Logan lowered his head down to place a kiss on Patton’s forehead. Patton shivered at the action and looked back up at Logan, a lopsided smile on his face. Logan grinned back at him. The date hadn’t been what either of them had expected, but…if they were being honest, this was better than what they had planned for.
Just then, a strange noise that sounded like a ‘peep’ broke through the quiet. Logan and Patton startled and looked around them, confused.
“What was that?’ asked Patton.
“I don’t know,” Logan replied.
Then they heard the peeping sound again, but this time, it sounded like it was right in front of them.
Logan and Patton looked down, and they blinked at what they saw.
Right in front of them, looking up at them with tiny, beady black eyes, was a tiny yellow duckling.
Logan’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, which immediately clicked shut again as Logan winced at Patton’s high-pitched squeal. The moral Side’s eyes were wide with excitement, and he flapped his hands hard enough that they were a blur for a few seconds before covering his mouth with them. He looked back at Logan with an expression that Logan (privately) called Patton’s ‘enamoured by cute, baby animals’ face.
“Oh my gosh, Logan! A baby duck! Where did it –”
The tail end of Patton’s sentence broke off when he looked back, due to his excitement morphing back into confusion.
There were now three ducklings standing in front of them, looking blithely back up at them. Patton and Logan exchanged bewildered looks.
“Wait. Where’d the other two come from?”
“I’m…not sure. But there’s probably –”
This time, Logan was the one who trailed off when he looked back down, his bemusement growing.
Five ducklings now looked up at them.
His own confusion increasing, Patton looked around them. “Hold on. Where’re their parents? Are they all alone out here?”
“Wait, Patton –”
Seven ducklings.
The pattern continued a few more times, with one Side or the other inadvertently looking away for even a millisecond, whether to look at each other or their surroundings, and before they knew it, there were twenty-one ducklings surrounding them, peeping and cheeping and waddling about. Some were pure yellow, others were dark brown, and others still were a mottled mixture between the two colours.
Logan ran a hand through his hair, his bewilderment at an apex. “I – what – how –”
But Patton, while no less befuddled, soon fell swiftly under the spell of the adorableness of the ducklings. He stepped forward and knelt down on the ground, his skirt spreading out around him like a Disney Princess. Immediately the ducklings took to him like such, swarming around him, settling on his skirt and trying to climb up into his lap. Patton was beyond delighted, and he cooed and chatted with the little creatures to his heart’s content.
Logan stayed standing up, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do. Then he heard a series of deep quacks a little off to his right, and he turned his head to look.
Sitting a little off from where they were, keeping a safe distance but still in full view of the ducklings, were two adult Mallard ducks. A quick look-over told Logan that they were two males. A brief staring contest took place between the humanoid figment and the Anas platyrhynchos, with nothing said between them. Logan wondered very briefly where the mothers were.
Then it hit him. He remembered that homophobia doesn’t exist in the animal kingdom, so these mallards were likely partners.
As though to prove his point, one of the mallards let out a quack and pressed its bill into the other’s neck. The other, in turn, turned its head to nuzzle their beak against the other’s head.
At this sight, Logan smiled. Nature truly was a wonder.
Then he looked back down at the other wonder in front of him. Patton was still basking in the adoring attention of the ducklings. Thankfully, no more had spawned since they’d reached the current number they were at, so this way they wouldn’t be overrun with them. As it was, Patton’s lap had no less than ten ducklings, his shoulders were occupied by one occupant each, and two somehow managed to make it to the top of his head.
Logan chuckled at the sight, then he lowered himself onto the ground as slowly and carefully as he could, so as not to spook the ducklings nor his sweetheart.
At hearing the shuffling next to him, Patton turned his head as best he could so as not to jostle his passengers. His face was aglow with joy and wonder, and the light in his eyes was as bright as the sun itself. Logan’s smile widened at Patton’s happiness, and he leaned forward to carefully kiss Patton’s cheek.
As he did, he thought to himself that, maybe, Roman had been right. The date had needed more ducks.
*******
The door to the Imagination creaked open and Logan and Patton stepped out into the corridor, holding hands and with lazy, blithe smiles on their faces. Once they were through, Logan turned around and pulled Patton into another embrace, Patton letting out a giggle as he did so. Without looking, Logan waved his hand and shut the door to the Imagination, and then he brought Patton in for another kiss. Patton sighed contentedly and stroked Logan’s cheek lovingly with a thumb. Logan cradled the back of Patton’s head tenderly, chest warm and full.
“So…I take it the date went well?”
Patton and Logan broke apart at the voice, looking around to see Roman and Virgil standing a few feet away from them, amused yet fond looks on their faces. Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.
“Yes, it was…satisfactory. In more ways than one.”
“Everything was perfect!” Patton cheered, the grin on his face almost splitting his face open.
Roman squeeed, shaking excited fists, then he came forward and pulled Patton into a hug. As the right-brained Sides chittered and chattered about what happened, Virgil slunk over to where Logan was and gently nudged his shoulder with his own, smirking slightly.
“That good, huh?” he quipped.
Logan blushed slightly and looked away, but he couldn’t keep a smile from coming over his face.
“Quite.”
After Roman and Patton broke apart, Patton skipped over to Virgil to give him a hug as well. Virgil – though not one for frequent physical affection – allowed it, smiling slightly as he did. He was glad to see Patton so happy, and he listened as Patton babbled happily about the date, interjecting with a comment every so often.
While this was happening, Logan made his way over to Roman and held out his hand. Roman looked at it in surprise before taking it. Logan gave him a firm handshake and smiled. “Immaculate job, Roman. That was some splendid work.”
Roman blushed and cleared his throat. “O-Of course! Nothing but the best from yours truly!”
Logan’s eyes softened and he said, in a quieter tone: “You really did do a good job, Roman. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Imagination as beautiful as it was today.”
Roman squeaked and looked down, flustered. He really wasn’t too good with genuine compliments, and especially if they were coming from Logan of all Sides. Logan saw this and took pity on him, so he switched topics.
“Did Patton also come to you about the date?” he asked under his breath.
Grateful for the change in topic, Roman nodded and grunted: “Yeah.”
Logan snickered at that and shook his head.
“I hope it didn’t mess it up too much. I know that –”
Logan stopped him with a hand on his arm, his eyes understanding. “It’s fine, Roman. It all worked out in the end. I haven’t seen Patton this happy in a while.”
Roman looked over at the Dynamic Duo – Patton was still chattering a mile a minute and Virgil was still listening and nodding though Roman could tell that his social spoons were starting to run low – and smiled. “Yeah, me neither.”
Then Logan looked back at the prince with a smirk. “More ducks, huh?”
Roman squirmed and shifted on his feet slightly. “Um, well –”
Logan chuckled and patted his arm. “You were right. It did need it.”
Roman looked back up at Logan, face still red and with surprised yet delighted eyes. Logan smiled back at him.
When Patton ran out of steam, Virgil let out a breath and said: “All right, well, good to see you two had a great time. I think I’m gonna head back to my –”
A peep cut through Virgil’s sentence, seeming to echo throughout the corridor.
Everyone froze, blinking at each other in surprise.
“What was –”
Then three pairs of eyes looked at the last remaining pair, who was shifting slightly on his ballet-flatted feet as though he was hiding something.
Logan lifted an eyebrow. “Patton…did you take one of the ducklings from the Imagination?”
Patton squirmed a bit then looked up with an unconvincing smile.
“Um…no?”
Another peep squeaked out, this time louder and coming from the general vicinity of where Patton was.
A woosh was heard, followed by a tsk.
“Really, lying to your beloved? I never thought you’d do such a shameful thing, Patton.”
Virgil and Roman stiffened slightly as Janus popped into view but held their tongues, not wanting to break the present happy atmosphere.
Patton blushed scarlet but – under Janus’ steely gaze – slipped a hand into one of his pockets and pulled out a yellow-and-dark-brown ball of fuzz. The fuzzball untwisted itself till its head was free before looking around at the company surrounding it and peeped.
Logan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?” he said wearily. But there was no true anger or even irritation in his tone, which helped Patton relax a little.
“I mean, how could I not?” He lifted up the duckling to eye-level, eyes sparkling. “He’s just so cute!”
Roman and Virgil rolled their eyes fondly. That was their Patton. Then they turned to look at Janus with less fond expressions.
“Is there a reason why you’re up here, snake?’
Janus pressed a hand to his chest as though hurt. “Am I not allowed to share in the joy of our fellow comrades?”
Virgil sneered. “I never thought you cared much in the way of being a team player.”
“Boys…”
Virgil and Roman winced. Patton had put on his ‘Dad’ voice. Recognizing a need for civility when it was necessary, they cut their confrontation short, though it didn’t stop them from throwing hard looks at Janus’ own smug one.
“At least there’s only one of them here,” Roman muttered under his breath quietly.
“Think again, Ro-Bro!”
Everyone jumped at that, including Janus, and immediately looked up. Remus was sitting upside-down on the ceiling, grinning that Cheshire-cat grin of his. The chaotic trait twisted himself once, twice, then fell towards the ground. Everyone turned their heads away just in time to avoid watching the impact, though they couldn’t block out the sickening CRUNCH that accompanied it.
Janus sighed, muttering “Oh, Remus…” under his breath with his eyes closed.
After snapping his limbs back in place, Remus twisted his neck this way and that to get out every last crack he could possibly get, relishing in the cringes he got from everyone. Then he turned towards the two lovebirds, with Logan looking down on him coolly and Patton looking a little nauseated. Remus immediately noticed the duckling in Patton’s hands.
“Aww, a duckie! How cute! Hey, didja know that male ducks have corkscrew penises that can reach up to almost ten inches? That’s more than half their body length! And if there’re as many as three or more male ducks and one female duck, they’ll actually conduct a fucking gang bang! Sometimes injuring or even killing the female! But hey, that’s why the females evolved to have vaginas that’re like fucking mazes –”
“OKAY, Remus! Thank you very much for that commentary! Very helpful of you!”
Janus’ sarcasm was not lost on anyone, not even Remus, who simply didn’t care. Grinning wildly, he blipped out of existence and back right behind Logan and Patton, throwing his arms around their shoulders and catching them off guard.
“So, anyways! It looks like the date went well, considering the sappy looks on your faces!”
The expressions on their faces were very much not of the sappy kind at that moment; Logan had his stoic mask in place and Patton was trying very hard not to cringe at the duke’s close proximity. Luckily, Logan took up the initiative to continue the conversation.
“Yes, Remus. Thankfully, very little went wrong, so, all in all, it was a successful excursion.”
“Y-Yeah, it was!” Patton managed to stammer out. Remus still unnerved him, but he was truly trying his best to be nice around him.
Remus grinned wider and he gave their shoulders a strangely comforting squeeze. “Glad to hear that! If you two’re happy, then that’s good enough for me!”
Everyone stopped at that. Remus, giving a nice compliment? Was this real life or some sick twisted reality the Mindscape had thrown them into? But the look now on Remus’ face was softer than usual, more genuine. So…it seemed that he wasn’t bullshitting with them. Virgil and Roman were at a loss, Janus’ face was unreadable, though his eyes seemed a smidge softer as he looked back at the intrusive Side, and Patton and Logan were truly gobsmacked. This was so unlike Remus: being sincere and contained in his chaos. Maybe that was why it made it all the more meaningful. So, they returned tiny half-smiles, not quite fully trusting but willing to extend an olive branch.
Of course, it didn’t last long.
“So! You two gonna fuck now?”
“REMUS!”
“What? They went on a date, they’re hot for each other, now’s a good time for a juicy session of stuffing the meat locker!”
“Oh – my – fucking – GOD –”
Shouts of disgust and shock rang throughout the hallway at Remus’ words. Remus simply shrugged and took out a nail file to smooth out his acrylics.
Virgil sighed noisily. “Okay, well, that’s my cue. I’m out. See you guys tomorrow.”
Roman waved. “Have a good evening, Emo! Hopefully no nightmares befall you in your sleep!”
Virgil rolled his eyes. “I think after having to stare at your face all night, Princey, I think I can handle a nightmare or two.”
Roman gasped in indignation, and Virgil smirked back at him.
“Oh, please! As if the two of you weren’t cozying up to each other all night!”
The look of indignation and smirk were swiftly wiped off the faces of their respective owners who whipped around at the intrusive Side and chorused in strangled voices: “WHAT?”
Logan blinked. Janus’ eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch. And Patton squealed: “You guys were cuddling?! Oh my gosh!! I can’t believe I missed that!”
“How – how did you – where –” Roman could barely get the words out. Virgil’s face was as pale as his foundation.
Janus looked at Remus with a calculating slit-eye. “Did you hide behind the couch again?”
Remus tilted his head innocently. “Mmm, maybe! I may have been in the middle of planning another Rube Goldberg machine so I may have been testing things out behind there and then, when they came and sat down, I may have peeked in on them from time to time!”
Janus hummed thoughtfully at this. Then he said: “So, what happened next?”
“Janus –”
“Wait! I wanna know –”
“We don’t –”
“Let’s not –”
But Remus, looking for all the world like Halloween had come early and delighted to have a captive audience, ignored Roman and Virgil’s protests and plowed on.
“So, while I was behind the couch, they came into the common room after seeing Nerdy Wolverine and Pattycakes off on their date to watch some movies! They started arguing ‘bout what movie to watch – Ro-Bro wanted to watch Disney as usual, and Emo wanted to watch something horror-related! Finally, they decided to compromise and watch Nightmare Before Christmas since it’s both scary AND it’s owned by Disney! At first, they just watched it quietly and sang along to the songs so I ignored them and carried on with my thing. But THEN Emo started crying during ‘Sally’s Song’ and Ro-Ro immediately went to comfort him, and from that moment on they continued cuddling through the rest of the film!”
Both Roman and Virgil looked like they wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow them whole. Logan and Janus both had mild expressions of surprise. But Patton was beaming and would have pressed his hands into his cheeks if he wasn’t still holding the duckling.
“OH, that is ADORABLE!” he squealed, and Virgil hid his face in his hands.
Janus smiled crookedly. “Who would’ve thought that big, bad, Anxiety was actually a softie?”
“Nooooooo,” Virgil moaned, trying to disappear into thin air. Roman was also trying to make himself as small as possible.
Remus cackled. “Yeah! I guess I was wrong about which Sides should be fucking!”
Roman started sputtering, face as crimson as his sash, and Virgil hid inside his hoodie, pulling the hood strings tight. Remus roared with laughter on the floor while holding his stomach and Janus smirked, shoulders shaking in silent laughter.
Logan rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness happening in front of him before he looked down to his side. Patton was leaning against him, giggling at the others’ antics and having recovered from Remus’ usual discord. His face was open with laughter and happiness. Logan’s face softened and he smiled down at his sweetheart, wrapping an arm around Patton’s waist and pulling him in closer against him. Patton looked up at him and beamed, the light in his eyes bright and effervescent. He slowly lifted up his hands so that the duckling was closer to Logan’s face. The duckling blinked up at Logan and gave a tiny peep. Logan chuckled and – understanding the silent cue Patton was communicating to him – put out a finger to scritch the top of its head.
Yes, things went a little more differently than what he’d expected or wanted. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
#sanders sides fic#sanders sides fanfiction#sanders sides#ts sanders sides#logicality#romantic logicality#ts logicality#patton sanders#logan sanders#ts patton sanders#ts logan sanders#ts patton#ts logan#tss patton#tss logan#patton morality sanders#logan logic sanders#roman sanders#virgil sanders#janus sanders#remus sanders#fluff and angst#fluff#angst#light and tenderness au#melanie's writings#p.s. happy birthday logan#happy belated birthday logan#happy logan appreciation day
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C/w: caps, crying, cursing Virge mentions a hit list, implied kissing without consent
A//N: I FUCKING DIDN’T POST FOR ANALOGICAL WEEK. So here, have this one-shot cause they have my whole heart right now. Human AU with ace, sex repulsed Logan. Story under the cut.
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Virgil:
I’m usually up late. That’s not a surprise to you, I’m sure. But what is a surprise however, is how late Logan got in tonight.
He had told us that he was going on some date with some guy he met at the coffee shop. He said that the guy was great and funny and interesting and he wanted to see if dating him would be good. He told us he would be home around 7:30-8 in the evening.
Which is why I was surprised when he came into the house with tears streaming down his face, his hair a mess, his tie practically undone and faint marks on his neck at around 2 in the morning.
“Lo?” I say, trying to keep quiet so I don’t wake our other two roommates “Hey… are you okay?”
Logan said nothing but hugged me, and buried his face into my shoulder, letting out quiet sobs.
This threw me off. I’ve known Logan since we were 11. Now at the age of 27, I’ve come to terms with the fact that Lo doesn’t like physical touch that much and he doesn’t like to show his emotions
So if he’s crying and hugging me after a date with this man who he thought was going to be great,
Then something is extremely wrong.
“Logan? Do you want to talk about it?”
He nods yes very slightly. I almost didn't catch it. “N-not out here though.”
“Okay, okay. That’s fine. Here, we’ll go to my room. Does that work for you?”
He nods again so I turn off the lights in the kitchen and I lead him to my bedroom. Once we get there, I turn off the quiet music I had playing in the background, close my door and sit on my bed, facing him.
“So, do you want to talk about it now?”
Logan sighs and wipes the tears from his face. “It’s just… this guy seemed so great you know? We talked, we ate and he suggested we go back to his place for some wine and dessert. I agree of course but when we got there, his whole attitude changed.”
“What do you mean L?”
“I mean that… we had some cake and some wine and I was going to get a cab home when he told me to stay a while so I did. He turned on a movie and we started… making out a bit. I didn’t mind it too much. I’m okay with kissing. But then… it progressed. He started off by just running his hands through my hair which was actually kind of nice. But then, he started pulling at my tie. And then he started kissing down my neck. I hated it. I hated it because I knew he was trying to get this to go somewhere. So I told him to stop. I told him that I didn’t want to have sex with him. When he asked why, I told him that I’m ace and sex repulsed and I didn’t see him in that way.” Logan sighs “That just pissed him off. He started accusing me of just not wanting to have sex with just him. He told me that asexuality isn’t actually a thing and just… he kicked me out and I walked here crying because of how awful that was.”
That stupid son of a fucking bitch.
I’m going to tell Remus to add that mother fucker to his hit list if/when the purge comes around.
Lo puts his face in his hand. “I don’t know Vi… am I that unlovable because I’m ace?”
“Hey, no you’re not.”
“Really? Because that seems to be a deal breaker with everyone I go out with.”
“Hey, Logan, look at me.” I gently pull his hands away from his face and place both of my hands on his cheeks and look him in the eye. “You are an amazing human being. You’re smart and sophisticated and so, so, beautiful. Any person would be lucky to date you regardless of you being asexual.”
He scoffs. “Yeah? Like who?”
I almost slip up and say ‘me’.
Instead, I don’t answer his question. I look at his face. At his features. His eyes are an amazing shade of warm brown. He has freckles that dance across the bridge of his nose. He has more on his collarbone and chest. His lips… they look oh so soft. He’s beautiful and intelligent. Inside and out.
“V-Virgil?” Logan whispers and it’s only then that I realize I’ve been staring at his mouth for longer then I intended to.
“Yeah?” I respond, looking him in the eye.
“Kiss me.”
“W-what?” I say, startled.
“I said,” He leans in close to my face. “Kiss me.”
I close the gap between us and kiss him. His lips move in sync with mine and they are incredibly soft like I predicted. I can taste the cake and wine he had earlier on his lips and honestly? I don’t mind it.
When he pulls away, I have to stop myself from chasing after his lips.
“Truth is, Virgil, I’ve liked you. For so long at this point. I’ve been going on these dates with these awful people in hopes to get over you but… I don’t think that’s not going to happen. I don’t think I’ll ever be fully ‘over you’. At least not completely. So I hope I’m not being too forward in asking… Do you want to go on a date with me? Next Friday perhaps?”
I feel a goofy grin pull at my mouth. “Logan, going out on a date with you sounds like a dream come true.”
He’s smiling now too. “So, is that a yes?”
I pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. “That’s a yes.”
A//N: They 🥺🥺🥺🥺
Word count: 1,012
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1,500 Followers Challenge!
The Title/Trope Challenge!
Again, thank you all for all your support! You are all amazing and I truly cannot thank you enough for helping me get this far. It’s certainly a milestone that I never thought I’d see.
Straight to the challenge!
Basic rules apply ~ there are 30 songs and 30 quotes posted below, pick one from your fandom with your character. This will be open for a while as 2 requests per song/quote. The only rule is here is, is that the requests cannot be from the same fandom. I will try and keep the lists as updated as I can to try and avoid cross overs!
The extra - This time around, send me either a title and/or a trope to base to the fic on. They can be as weird and wonderful as you want, or something simple. In your ask, just specify which you are sending me and I’ll do the rest from there!
Recap:
Send me an ask with your request
Include your fandom and character
Choose a song and quote
Give me a title and/or a trope to base the fic on!
In saying that, please remember that this is all just a bit of fun, I’m sure you can have a laugh at some of the quotes below (based off of some of my favourite movies). Please send all requests through asks, it’s easier for me to keep track of, and let me know of any questions! It is, of course, okay to request more than once!
For now, there is no closing date, we will just keep going until all the requests are full! Requests will be closing 1st May.
Further info below the cut.
Songs
Evermore ~ Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast) - Lord of the Rings
Protector ~ City Wolf - Supernatural and The Hobbit
I See the Light ~ Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi (Tangled) - Lord of the Rings
I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) ~ Meat Loaf - Marvel and Supernatural
Bloodshot ~ Sam Tinnesz
Let’s Hear It For The Boy ~ Deniece Williams
All Eyes On You ~ Smash Into Pieces
Feel Invincible ~ Skillet
Natural ~ Imagine Dragons - Lord of the Rings
Wrong Side Of Heaven ~ Five Finger Death Punch
Shatter Me ~ Lindsey Stirling Ft. Lzzy Hale - Supernatural
Feeling Good ~ Nina Simone - The Hobbit and Marvel
Somebody To Love ~ Queen - The Hobbit and The Witcher
Hurricane ~ Thirty Seconds to Mars
You Give Love A Bad Name ~ Bon Jovi - The Hobbit
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ~ Cyndi Lauper - Supernatural
Total Eclipse of the Heart ~ Bonnie Tyler - The Hobbit
Don’t You (Forget About Me) ~ Simple Minds
Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be ~ AC/DC
Love Is A War ~ Jeremy Renner
A Reason to Fight ~ Disturbed - The Witcher
True Love ~ P!nk ft. Lily Allen - Marvel and Supernatural
Poison ~ Alice Cooper
Sucker for Pain ~ Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons w/ Logic & Ty Dolla $ign ft X Ambassadors (Suicide Squad)
Hello Hello ~ Elton John ft. Lady Gaga (Gnomeo and Juliet) - Lord of the Rings and Supernatural
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) ~ The Proclaimers - Marvel and Lord of the Rings
I Will Always Love You ~ Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard) - Supernatural and Lord of the Rings
When You Wish Upon A Star ~ Cliff Edwards (Pinocchio) - The Hobbit
Raise Hell ~ Dorothy
Leave Me Lonely ~ Imelda May
Quotes
I mean, those people aren't exactly our regular customers. (Legion)
I would not have shown you such mercy. (Legion) - Lord of the Rings
When you hesitate, people die. (Doom)
Yeah, I was thinking about it. (Doom)
Will you please get this child off my leg? (Bedknobs and Broomsticks) - Supernatural
Do you poison the dragon or just the liver? (Bedknobs and Broomsticks)
I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering. (The Music Man) - Supernatural and Lord of the Rings
A man can't turn tail and run just because a little personal risk is involved. (The Music Man) - Marvel
You idiots! You fools! You imbeciles! (101 Dalmatians) - Supernatural
It was a beautiful spring day. Tedious time of the year for bachelors. (101 Dalmatians) - Marvel
I think I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this problem until it swims up and bites you in the ass. (Jaws) - Lord of the Rings
Smile you son of a bitch! (Jaws)
You never have control, that’s the illusion! (Jurassic Park) - The Hobbit
Boy, do I hate being right all the time. (Jurassic Park) - The Witcher
The suspense is terrible. I hope it'll last. (Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory) - Lord of the Rings
So shines a good deed in a weary world. (Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory)
That was naughty. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) - The Hobbit and Supernatural
You broke my heart once. This time you missed. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)
You know, he looks heroic and he walks fast, but he’s kind of got a negative attitude. (The Meg) - The Lord of the Rings
Yeah, well, I’m not crazy, I’ve just seen things no one else has. (The Meg) - Marvel
Eight years is a long time. Can I make you a cup of tea? (Godzilla) - Marvel
As far as he's concerned, you're just a pair of breasts that talk. (Godzilla) - The Hobbit
Afraid? You don't know what afraid is. You will not last five minutes without me. (Jumanji) - The Hobbit
Oh, okay, honey. Well, that would be cheating. (Jumanji) - The Hobbit
Carrots? Why is it always carrots? I didn't even eat carrots! (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) - Supernatural
I know what you seek, and you will not find it here. (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) - Supernatural and The Witcher
No. I can't do that, and if you were in my position, you'd do the same. (Alien)
When I give an order I expect to be obeyed. (Alien)
I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. (Dogma) - Lord of the Rings
Well, I say we get drunk, because I'm all out of ideas. (Dogma) - Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Characters I will write for:
The Hobbit – Thorin, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Bofur, Nori, Gloin (friends only), Frerin, Thranduil, Bard, Legolas, Bilbo, Lindir, Beorn
The Lord of the Rings – Aragorn, Boromir, Eomer, Faramir, Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Elrond, Haldir
Supernatural – Sam, Dean, Castiel, Crowley, Gabriel, Lucifer, Benny, Balthazar, Chuck, Garth, Mick, Gadreel, Charlie, Bobby
Marvel – Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Loki, Thor, Peter Quill, Logan, Stephen Strange, Carol Danvers, Sam Wilson, Heimdall
Dragon Age – Alistair, Anders, Cullen, Morrigan, Zevran, Leliana, Fenris, Sebastian, Iron Bull, Dorian, Cassandra, Blackwall, Varric
Harry Potter – Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Neville, Remus, Sirius, Fred, George
Star Trek (Newer Films) – Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty
The Witcher (TV Series) – Geralt, Yennefer, Jaskier
Of course, this list isn’t a final thing, if you feel I could write a character, please just send me a message and I’ll let you know if I’m comfortable with it or not.
Please of course note that all drabble requests are reader insert. I will not do character pairings, but I will change to first/third person if you prefer reading that way. Y/N will be the standard name though and remain that way.
For any Dragon Age requests, if you wish to appear as a certain race, please let me know.
#1500 followers challenge#the lord of the rings#the hobbit#supernatural#marvel#dragon age#harry potter#the witcher#star trek
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The crown and the Queer (Chapter 2)
Previous next Masterlist
Summary: Roman’s life takes a turn for the worse when he’s convicted of magic and sentenced to death. But when Prince Logan saves his life, a lot of feelings are stirred. Roman is grateful for the save, but he knows his life will never be the same again.
Word count: 2936
Pairings: Logince, Thomico
Characters: Logan, Roman, Thomas, Nico, Virgil, Patton, Remus, Janus
Triggers: Starving/malnourishment (not willingly), talk of execution (it doesn’t happen), chains, dungeons, being attacked, mention of death in the family (let me know if I missed anything!)
Roman laid in the cell, having hardly slept. He didn’t even have a bed, only the cold stone floor. He didn’t even look up as he heard someone approach his cell. “Are you Roman Magus?” The stranger asked calmly.
Roman didn’t answer, he didn’t care anymore. He’d be burned at the stake tomorrow. So why even bother?
“Sir? Answer the question.”
“Yes,” Roman said hoarsely, not looking up. He was malnourished and severely dehydrated. He had barely slept in the week he’d been here, and they hadn’t provided him with food and gave him just enough water so he wouldn’t die of dehydration. “I am Roman Magus”
“Alright” the man replied, unlocking the cell and coming inside.
This got romans attention. He sat up and looked at the stranger, it was one of the dungeon guards. “C-can I help you?” Roman asked nervously.
They unlocked his arms from the wall. He had been chained by the wrist to keep him from reaching the cell door.
Roman couldn’t help but flinch back. This could not be good.
Roman was put in a pair of chains and harshly dragged out of the cage. Had his execution date come early?? He fought against them, breath quickening.
“W-wait- please- I’m innocent I swear- please don’t do this“ Roman pleaded, they had to practically drag him out of the dungeon.
Instead of being taken out to the courtyard in front of the castle, he was brought out to the garden near the back.
“Wh- where are we going??” He asked nervously, not fighting as much, but still resisting.
A young man was sitting on an elegant bench. He had a book in his hand and he seemed lost in his own world. He had a soft smile on his face as his eyes traced over the words on the pages. The man had brown hair and ocean blue eyes that hid behind square glasses.
Roman blushed, this fellow was quite cute…
“Prince Logan, I got the prisoner as you requested” One guard said softly. He forced Roman on his knees in a bowing position.
Roman blinked, eyes widening. This was the prince??
Logan jumped, looking up. He hadn’t heard them arrive. His smile was instantly replaced with a neutral frown. He stood and looked down at Roman.
“I thought I told you not to treat him like a criminal” Logan said, a slight edge to his voice “Why is he in chains?”
“Well- your majesty I wanted to make sure-“
“The charges on Roman have been dropped. He is no longer a prisoner. You will treat him like a person”
Roman flinched as his arm was grabbed, but he realized they were just taking the shackles off and he forced himself to relax.
“You can leave us now,” Logan said calmly.
The guard hesitated, holding Romans arm tighter “Sire, with all do respect-“
“I know he will not hurt me. And even if he tries to, I can hold my own against him.”
The guard nodded, bowing again then walking away. He shot Roman one last glare.
Roman stayed kneeled on the ground. He didn’t know what to do. He was now alone with the crowned prince.
“Roman, right?” Logan asked formally.
“Y-yes your majesty”
“…are you alright?”
“Yes your majesty” He replied automatically.
“Would you prefer we went inside or stayed out here?” Logan asked softly.
“Uh- Wh-whatever you prefer is alright with me, sire,” Roman tried to keep his voice steady.
Logan sat back down on the bench and gestured for Roman to sit next to him. “Come sit, we need to talk.”
-
Roman stretched up in bed, feeling much more refreshed than he did before.
The sun was high in the sky, meaning it was sometime in the afternoon.
“How long have I been asleep?” Roman mumbled, he got out of bed and fixed his hair. He was still in his clothes from the previous day, but he realized now that he didn’t actually have any clothes to change into.
Logan had given him these clothes after he was released from the dungeon, but Roman hadn’t thought of asking for any spares. Maybe he could go back to his home village and get all of his things from there.
Roman rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, maybe he could at least explore the castle a little.
He walked out of his room and down to the main hall. He was surprised with how busy everything was. Roman looked around at all of the people, most of them looked so elegant and Royal.
He realized he was beginning to get dirty looks, everyone knew him as the man who used magic. He quickly grew uncomfortable by all the glares and turned down a quieter hallway.
He explored a bit more, enjoying the calm atmosphere. Roman slowed his pace …did he hear footsteps behind him?
Before Roman could react, he was grabbed by the collar and turned around.
There were two men, they both wore fancy clothes that meant they must be noblemen.
“There he is, the man of the hour” One of them sneered.
“Bit scrawny isn’t he? I’m surprised he lasted so long in the dungeon” The other one looked down at him in disgust.
Roman struggled in his grasp, trying to get away.
The nobleman held him tighter, bringing him closer. “Not so fast, you filthy sorcerer. I don’t know why the prince took such pity on you, but I don’t think he’d care to notice if you just… disappeared” he smirked darkly.
Romans eyes widened, he fought against them as they began dragging him away.
“What are you doing?!” A threatening voice asked from behind them.
Roman didn’t care who it was, he just knew the nobleman let him go. So he ran as fast as he could. He ran into something- no someone and jumped.
Whoever this was instinctively wrapped their arms around Roman.
“It’s alright,” he soothed, “did they hurt you?” It was Logan, his voice was more gentle than Roman had ever heard it.
Roman pulled back slightly, he turned back to the noblemen who were glaring daggers at him.
Logan followed his gaze and stepped in front of Roman protectively. “Roman is under my protection, if I find him hurt I will personally come after the two of you. Do I make myself clear?” His voice was the same threatening tone that he used before.
The two men bowed quickly “Yes sire, we won’t lay a hand on him” there was a slight edge to their voice, like they didn’t mean it in the slightest.
“Good. You are dismissed.”
They hesitated, then turned and left.
Logan turned back to Roman. The servant couldn’t tell if Logan was upset or if this was just Logan’s natural stance.
“It’s worse than I thought” Logan mumbled. “Roman, follow me please.”
“Yes, your majesty,” Roman said softly, bowing his head a little.
Roman stayed close to Logan. The prince was uptight and cold, but Roman trusted him more than everyone else they passed.
Logan led Roman out to the large castle courtyard. The knights were currently practicing. One of them looked up as Logan approached. He took off his helmet and frowned worriedly at the prince.
“Hey Lo, you’re never late, what happened??” The knight asked softly.
“Don't worry Virgil, I’m alright. I was just watching over my new servant” Logan said, seeming to relax a little.
“You got a new one already? Didn’t your last one get fired like 2 days ago?” Virgil snorted a little “you sure did replace him quick.”
“It wasn’t I who replaced him. It was my father… and this is more of a .. special case.” Logan stepped to the side and revealed Roman to Virgil.
“Uh.. hi..” Roman said softly, a bit tense.
Virgil's face fell “the sorcerer-“ he mumbled, one hand gripping his sheathed sword and he took a few steps closer.
Romans eyes widened, he scrambled back slightly. Relieved to see Logan stopping virgil
“Roman has been cleared of the accusations, he’s an innocent man” Logan said firmly.
“How can you know he can be trusted??”
“I personally investigated. Whatever the woman saw was most likely a trick of the eye”
“But what if it wasn’t?” Virgil mumbled seriously, glancing over at Roman.
“If he really has magic then I’ll deal with him accordingly. But there is little evidence that he does have magic, not enough to go against him”
“Ok. Fine. I’ll play nice.” Virgil mumbled, crossing his arms.
“Ok, great,” Logan nods. “That makes my next request easier. I need you to guard him.”
Virgil blinked. “What- Lo- no!”
“Virgil please, Roman has already been attacked once. I trust no one more than you.”
The knight was clearly giving in. “I never signed up to be some servant's bodyguard.” He mumbled.
“But you’ll do it?” Logan asked, a bit of hope in his voice.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do it” Virgil sighed “but you owe me one”
“I always do,” Logan chuckled. “After practice I have things I need to attend to. I trust you’ll keep him safe?” He asked Virgil.
Virgil nodded with a small salute. “Of course I will,” he smiled a little then went and joined the other knights.
Logan turned back to Roman. “Stay close. I don’t want you going off by yourself anymore,”
Roman nodded, embarrassed that he needed such protection. “Yes, your majesty,”
Roman sat under a tree and watched them practice. It was mostly them sparring each other with various weapons. Logan was quite the fighter.
After about an hour and a half, Logan came over to him. “I have matters to attend to, as of now Virgil will stay with you. You’re free to go as you please, but I’d like you not to leave the castle grounds,” he explained “Trust Virgil’s judgement, whatever he tells you to do, do it.”
Roman nodded “Yes, your majesty,”
-
Roman sat down on the bench, looking up at Logan nervously.
Logan looked as though he didn’t know how to begin. “Is there anything you need before we begin?”
“N-no sire, I am alright,”
Logan nodded. “You might’ve already guessed. But, the charges on you have been lifted. You’re now a free man,”
Roman had guessed, but he still couldn’t believe it. This must be some cruel joke. “S-sire, no offense but that’s- that’s impossible. I was accused of magic, there isn’t a way to get cleared from that.”
“I called in a few favors” Logan said simply. “I learned of your case and knew the evidence was shaky. So I went to your home village and investigated. I talked to the woman who claimed you used magic. She said it was possible that it was just a trick of the mind.”
Roman couldn’t believe this. The prince had personally freed him??
“It seems your village has mixed opinions of you. They either speak very highly, or claim you’re quite the outcast,”
Roman looked away “Well after the death of my brother, I wasn’t quite the same. But I do try my best sire,”
Logan looked at him curiously. He had heard of a late brother while talking to people in Roman’s village. “What happened..?”
“He- there was this accident in the woods. And I- I couldn’t-“ Roman looked away, tears stinging his eyes. “I’m sorry sire- I- I can’t-“
“You do not have to talk about it if you’re not comfortable,” Logan said softly. “If it’s alright with you, I can give you a change of clothes. I guess you have been wearing that since you first came to the dungeon”
Roman nodded “You would be correct, sire, and thank you. That would be greatly appreciated.”
-
Roman hugged himself tightly as Virgil walked with him. He was nervous to be around the latter, especially since Virgil clearly didn’t like him.
Virgil seemed to be on alert, especially around Roman. He seemed like the naturally jittery type and Roman just made it worse.
“So how exactly did a sorcerer get a job as the prince's personal servant?” Virgil asked suspiciously. “Did you use some kind of mind trick? Or potion?”
Roman looked over at him confusedly. “No? I hardly even want the job,” he sighed.
Virgil crossed his arms “Then why take it?”
Roman hesitates, he just shrugged and sped his pace.
Virgil immediately became more suspicious. “What do you have to hide, Sorcerer?” He growled.
Romans eyes widened, he scrambled backwards. “I’m not hiding anything,” he said quickly, voice full of fear.
“Then why keep this job if you don’t want it? Are you just trying to get close to the prince so that you can do your evil sorcerer things on him?” Virgil knew there was something off about Roman. He couldn't wait to tell Logan ‘I told you so’.
“B-because I don’t have anywhere else to go!” Roman said quickly, his back pressed against the wall as he tried to get away from Virgil. “If I go back to my village, I’ll be a deadman. No one will accept me there, they don’t care if I’ve been proven innocent. Anywhere I go people are going to know who I am, it’s not often sorcerers are captured so it always becomes big news.”
Oh. That wasn’t the answer Virgil had expected.
“A-and I mean how do I even quit this job? The king offered it to me, I can’t just say I don’t want it. As long as I’m working for Prince Logan, I have a place to live and I’m safe from the dungeon, this- this is all I have right now.” Roman shook slightly, terrified of how Virgil would react.
Virgil didn’t know how to respond. “Oh.. I-… I didn’t know,” he said softly.
“It’s fine.” Roman mumbled. “I get it, nobody likes magic here. So that means they hate me just as much.” He turned his gaze to the ground.
“Logan doesn’t hate you,” Virgil said simply “And the king doesn’t either, otherwise he wouldn’t have offered you the job.”
“Yeah.. I guess” Roman mumbled, hugging himself. Two people in an entire kingdom didn’t hate him. Boy wasn’t he lucky.
“And.. I don’t hate you either,” Virgil said softly. “You’re clearly not some evil sorcerer. So.. I’ll give you a chance,”
Roman looked up at him “Oh- th-thank you, Sir Virgil,” he bowed his head again.
Virgil smiled a little “Of course. Don’t make me regret it,”
“Yes sir,” Roman smiled a little. He already had a friend.
They continued their walk in silence. Virgil still seemed on guard but less so than usual. Roman was relieved that less people were staring. He allowed himself to relax a little, maybe things would be ok..
“Hey, if you’re up for it, I have a friend I’d like you to meet,” Virgil said softly.
Roman looked over at him. “O-oh?” If they were anything like Virgil, Roman would pass. Virgil alone was scary enough.
“Yeah, he’d probably like to meet you. And he won’t care about the whole magic thing,”
That peaked Roman’s interest. “Alright, I suppose we can go meet him…” who in this kingdom didn’t hate magic?
Virgil led him down a different hall. “He’s usually around here at this time…” he looked around.
Roman tilted his head, looking around. He didn’t know who he was looking for.
A soft voice was heard from one of the rooms, the voice was singing a sweet song.
“Found him.” Virgil smiled, following the voice. “Patton?”
A boy jumped, he had golden brown hair and light blue eyes. He wore a blue shirt and round wire glasses. He seemed a bit younger than Roman, but maybe it was because the boy had a childish spirit.
“Virgil!! Hey kiddo!” He ran over and hugged Virgil tightly.
“Hey Pat! Just came by to see you!” Virgil smiled brighter than Roman had ever seen. And for good reason too, the room practically lit up with Patton in there. “And so you can meet my new friend,”
“Aww, you made a friend? I’m so proud of-“ Pattons eyes landed on Roman. He clearly recognized who Roman was. “…you..” he finished.
Roman squirmed uncomfortably, Virgil said that Patton would be ok with him.
Patton gently let go of Virgil. He slowly walked over to Roman. “Permission to hug you?” He asked softly.
Roman, who had expected to be hit or something, was surprised. “I- uh- y-yeah, granted,”
Patton smiled softly, gently hugging Roman. “I’m really sorry for everything you’ve been through kiddo, I hope it’s all behind you now,”
The hug was surprisingly warm and comforting. “Th-thank you” he said softly, hugging Patton tighter.
Patton smiled softly, he gently rubbed Romans back. “Of course, I really hope we can be friends. No pressure of course!”
“Even if everyone thinks I’m a sorcerer? I’m hardly popular right now, I don’t want to get you in a bad place…” Roman mumbled, pulling away from the hug. Logan and Virgil had high statuses, not many people would mess with them. But Patton was just a servant, he didn’t want Patton getting hurt for involving himself with a ‘sorcerer’.
“Nah, everyone loves Patton. No one would lay a finger on him,” Virgil piped up with a smile.
Roman laughed softly. “I can see why, you’re the softest little puffball,” he smiled.
“Awww thank you- … I don’t believe I caught your name,”
“Roman, Roman Magus,” He smiled. “You’re Patton right?”
“Yup! Patton Castor!” Patton smiled happily.
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you,” Roman smiled softly, Patton’s happy demeanor was a welcome break from everyone else being so serious.
@crossiantgay
#roman sanders#logan sanders#Logince#Thomico#the crown and the queer#Roman#Sander sides#My fic#Tss writing#Sander sides writing#Sander sides fic#Tss Fic#Tss roman#Tss Logan#Tss Virgil#Virgil sanders#Patton Sanders#Tss Patton#fantasy au#Fantasy#medival
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plz teach me how to start writing smth /silly
i want to write a fic but idk how to start lol
-rauberrauber
I WILL TELL U MY WRITING PROCESS (BADLY EXPLAINED) @rauberrauber
STEP ONE: THE IDEA PHASE !!!
Come up w/ an idea & then write it down like. Halfassedly. Like my current fic was written down as "Logan transforms in2 a wolf on a full moon & virgil stays w/ him & makes a potion or whatever 2 keep the pain away & then he just turns in2 a dogy" (exact quote) & then was added onto 2 make my outline
This is my current outline (censored just so you guys dont. Get spoiled 4 everything that happens in the fic HEHDKDN) its just a lot of like rambling, trying 2 get everything in ordsr
REVYS TIP: MAKE SURE YOU ARE DAY DREAMING ABOUT YOUR IDEA NONSTOP. /silly whenever I try to write something when I haven't thought about how it'll go while I'm doing a chore or listening to music or falling asleep, the idea will never ever come out bcuz I have no idea what I'm even trying to do.
STEP TWO: THE PLANNING PHASE !!
Start planning ! I use Notion 2 organise everything, but i used 2 use my notes app 4 the longest time (& sometimes still do if I am too lazy to open my computer).
I write down a basic summary of my plot, how many chapters there are if its a chaptered fic, the characters & relationships, a timeline if its needed, a to-do list (ex. Research [insert thing], give the characters last names, create the timeline, etc), a list of what I need 2 research (& then keeping track of everything I research), title ideas, world building, etc etc
My planning phase is like... A Lot of work bcuz i really like to plan! It is my favourite part of any creative work i do, bcuz there is something wrong w/ me /j /silly.
This is sort of what my notion page looks like for "To The Tune Of Your Death". I also have a page for character info, like pronouns & ages & genders & races & relationships w/ each other, & two separate timelines with exact years and days (bcuz it is very much needed 4 this entire au). One for the main fic timeline (like when Janus dies and when Logan and Virgil start dating) AND one for background information (like their parents divorces, bcuz it unforrunately relates to the fic)
REVYS TIP: DO NOT GET SCARED BY HOW MUCH PLANNING I DO. it is entirely a me thing. I have yet to meet anyone who plans as much as I do & enjoys it like I do.
STEP THREE: THE WRITING PHASE !!
Note: the writing & planning phase overlay each other A Lot. You are going to start writing & then pause 2 keep planning or u will be planning & realise you need to start writing to Continue to plan. This is very normal, esp if ur researching for a disability or a race— you will not do research One Time & know everything immediately.
START WRITING!!! I always have like 7-10 drafts & I'm usually rewriting as I write. I use CalmyWriter to write on my computer and then I transfer it to discord so I can have it on my phone. I also use my notes apps a lot of the time! Bcuz its easy to just write on my phone anywhere than wait 2 use my laptop. I avoid google docs, simply bcuz i absolutely hate google docs (& it usually lags real bad 4 me)
(I do however transfer everything to google docs once I am done, bcuz i like 2 share my fics w/ ppl who want 2 beta!)
When I start my first draft (which u will always have a first draft) I am not at all focused on grammar, spelling, or "good writing", I'm focused on getting the idea down & the basic flow of events & following my outline (unless it needs to be revised). Literally my first drafts are so awful & thats the point.
Its usually very like (example): Virgil walked to the store and he bought this. [Insert what he bought as it relates to what he will be doing later] logan said hi to him he is blushing & gay. They arw talking. [Skip kissing scene] janus dies yayyy yippee
Thats what my 1st drafts r like. & then either once I am done, or while I am writing, I'll start revising. I will go back and rewrite scenes or add scenes in or move stuff around. Sometimes I have my 1st draft side by side with my revision & sometimes I go off memory
& once I am done w/ my revision... I do it all over again. & then again. & then I keep doing that until its finished.
I always keep my sketchbook & a pen/pencil by me while I am writing, incase I need to make a quick note of something for later or if I need to sketch out a layout of somehing (for example, I stopped to layout Virgil's witchcraft/office room while writing tge analogical fic)
STEP FOUR: UM. THE REST... OF IT ALL PHASE !!
I title my fic (if it hasnt been titled already), I create a summary for AO3, I send it out for my friends who want to beta, I reread it like 50 times & go "wow I am so good at writing", I create drafts on tumblr & ao3 and make sure its tagged correctly & the correct ppl r @ ed if i had a taglist of some sort etc etc
Any of my fics (or art) that you see get posted, were 100% in my drafts for like 3 hrs b4 they were posted bcuz i kept going through it and making sure everything is good (esp bcuz i cross post on tumblr & ao3)
& that is... pretty much my entire writing process broken down.
I think one of the scariest parts of starting to write for me personally was the first draft part. I always felt like it needed to be good IMMEDIATELY or else i wasnt being a "good writer". But most, if not all, writers dont start off "writing good", they start off with a shitty rough draft. & then keep revising & rewriting.
The best advice i have ever seen was "just start it", bcuz if ur so caught up on writing well, nothing will ever get done. Just GO START IT RIGHT NOW GO QUICKLY RUN!!!!!! RUN !!!!!!!!!!!!! WRITE !!!!!!!!
#i spent an hr writing this & getting screenshots HELP EJDHDIDN#I was like “ok ill sleep rn!” & then spent an hr writing this#ask
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DamiRae Hospital AU?
No I am not writing one, if I could write well I would though! So here are some HCs for a hospital AU.
If someone decides to write this then I’ll be your first reader. Also I am sort of basing things off of Grey’s Anatomy just a bit and my limited knowledge of the medical field.
- Starts of as 1st year residents, specialties may vary
- The “Titans” are residents and 1st years that show great promise, this doesn’t really play a role its just what people call them behind their backs
- Dr. Kori Anders is a OBGYN (women parts and birth) resident, a year or two away from finishing
- Dr. Richard “Dick” Grayson is is a surgery resident, trained by the hospital owner Bruce Wayne (who is a world renowned surgeon, has awards, etc), specifically general surgery
- Dr. Garfield Logan is pediatrician (kid doctor) res, bonds well with kids, but is considering going back to school to become a vet instead
- Dr. Jaime Reyes is an oncology (cancer doctor), having had cancer as a teen and is now forever trying to rid the world of it, works mostly with kids and teens
- Dr. Jonathan Kent is a physical therapist that works with pain management. Up beat guy and is always trying to brighten his patient’s lives.
- Dr. Damian Wayne is a surgical intern, blood thirsty little thing, hoping to become a neurosurgeon (brain, spine) (or cardiothoracic (heart, lungs) both are competitive)
- Dr. Raven Roth is an anesthesiologist (the drug person that knocks you out) and is starting her surgical internship (she wanted to do more than just help people get high essentially or whatever) has no current preference for any specific surgical field
- Add in characters:
-- Dr. Jason Todd, trauma surgeon (fits too well)
-- Dr. Timothy Drake diagnostician (medical detective basically)
-- Dr. Donna Troy gynecologist
-- Terra Markov is a nurse (i don’t like Terra but nurses are the actual best)
- Story stuff:
- Damian and Raven meet as they are put under the guidance of the same resident
-Damian has an automatic dislike for Raven because she knows everyone already and is equally, if not much more, knowledgable about surgery, the OR, the ER, protocol, etc He also thinks she is cold because she rarely shows emotion (pot kettle Damian)
- Raven can always be found in the medical archives researching old cases and studying new ones, Damian stumbles upon her when looking for an old cardiomegaly case (enlarged heart).
- Raven gets along with all of the past ‘Robins’ making her a go to intern
- Garfield can be seen whenever he is not needed trying to flirt with Nurse Markov and often goes to Raven to sulk
- Damian and Raven are always early to pre-rounds and are typically the first ones there (usually early in the morning, getting there before 500)
- Jon bumps into Damian more often than not and they start becoming friends (Damian is reluctant at first and is still you know Damian about everything), Damian even recommends patients to him
- Though Damian doesn’t want to really ‘hang out’ with anyone he reluctantly hangs out with the Titans, because of Jon and Dick
- When in a large group when at a bar, club or whatever Damian tends to stay close to Raven because 1) they actually have things to talk about 2) she isn’t loud
- Raven & Damian are both assigned to a case that is frankly befuddling and have to start spending long nights and early mornings together to figure it out
- Over that period of time they learn things about each other:
-- Raven learns:
Damian has a dog (Titus) and cat (Alfred)
He is single (Kori told her) and lives in an apartment close to the hospital
He has lived in various countries
He is trained in multiple martial arts
He prefers his tea with brown sugar and a slice of lemon
His eyes are a true emerald color with a ring of gold and flecks scattered within
He may hide it well but when Raven compliments him he becomes flustered
He speaks to himself in Arabic when he curses, trying to remember something, doesn’t want anyone to know what he is saying
He isn’t always an asshole
When he actually smiles a true and genuine smile, she has heart palpitations
-- Damian learns:
Raven has two tattoos (neither are a bird), a gang tat (she is saving up to get it removed), and a mantra in Azarathian; Azarath Metrion Zinthos
She immigrated from Azarath when she was around 8
Her notes are in Azarathian
She actually feels a lot of emotion and knows how to control them
If she is not reading about a current or past case she is reading any book or file she can get her hands on, he has caught her reading in multiple different languages; Azarathian, English, French, Russian, Arabic, Dutch, Mandarin, (could be more or less)
She lives alone and has a cat, Nevermore, and thanks to Dick he already knew she was single
She likes all tea, no matter how prepared, but prefers the sweetener to be honey
Her hair is black but shines purple, especially under the ER lights
Her eyes are a purple that at first glance look blue, like Elizabeth Taylor, he realizes though her eyes are galaxies on their own
When she smiles the world actually stops moving, her eyes shine like stars and he never wants the world to start moving again
She always wears a necklace with a gold and ruby ring at all times (it was her mother’s wedding ring)
- When Damian starts having le feelings for Raven he considers actually seeking medical advice as this has never happened to him before
- Raven tries her best to contain her feelings when at work, going so far as one day a month staying home just to scream, cry and feel her feelings
- It does not help that new feelings towards Damian start popping up, especially since he starts bringing her tea and hanging out with her at work
- During the middle of their 2nd year of residency someone holds Raven hostage in the hospital to fix someone that person loves (this person had connections to Trigon and knew who Raven was)
- That was not a fun time for either Damian or Raven; Damian was outside the hospital pacing trying to figure something out with the other Titans trying to calm themselves and him down
- Shots are fired and when all is said and done, Raven gets shot in the abdomen and the hand (she was in ICU for a hot sec)
- Damian seemed to be there every time Raven woke up, he was always checking on her during rounds even though he wasn’t on her case
- Raven did have to have surgery on her hand and in her abdomen (idk where i’m not getting that specific), she hated being, in her words, coddled
- Even though Raven was right handed (the one that got shot) she learned how to do everything, writing, eating, going to the bathroom, etc. (many of the other residents are impressed since she keeps working on it after her other hand heals)
- Raven’s room also becomes a space for other residents to destress and just vent about their day. She listens and gives advice, all without looking up from whatever she was doing.
- During this time Raven becomes hooked on Pretty Pretty Pegasus
- Raven’s room is also full of cards, flowers, etc all from fellow staff and some from patients. When she leaves (she spends a couple weeks in thanks to multiple surgeries, recovery, and other minor injuries) all of the gifts litter her apartment, the cards end up in a box by her desk, she presses the flowers, and stuffed animals are donated to children’s shelter (she keeps some that she has grown attached to)
- During this time Damian is more of an ass than usual (people notice and tease him)
- Damian at some points keeps working without breaks/sleep for hours on end. Dick pulls him aside after noticing, scolds and forces him to sleep in one of the on call rooms. (He really wanted him to go home, but Damian wasn’t leaving)
- Once Raven was discharged Damian and Garfield help her back home (clothes + gifts + Raven w/a healing hand/other injuries = need help) the other Titans would have helped but were needed at the hospital
- Garfield leaves after dropping off Raven and Damian (and her stuff) as he is called in on a Peds case (could be fake, may not be) and Raven & Damian spend the rest of the time basically watching terrible movies. (with Nevermore sitting on both of them)
- That is the night Damian realizes that not only does he like Raven, but he like likes her. He starts devising plans on how to get her to date him.
- All his plans basically are thrown out the window because of one reason or another (he kept overthinking it)(poor guy)
- It is not until their 3rd year of residency that Raven realizes her feelings towards Damian (Have I made it clear she likes him? I can’t remember...)
- She realizes her feelings when she has to crash at his place for a night (because he lives ridiculously close to the hospital, like how expensive is that??) and he tries to make sure that she is as comfortable as possible
- She never realized how much he cared for her? Like she was always helping him out and there for him but she never realized he reciprocated that care? *Shocker*
- Raven becomes kind of a mess because of all her emotions that she is trying to bottle up. (all the corks are disintegrating and the jar is overflowing)
- Raven is during her Ortho rotation (bone surgeon people, they are cool, ik from experience) that she actually gets a good release for her emotions (setting peoples bones and drilling and hammering in pins is actually therapeutic)
- Raven thinks that may be the specialty she chooses
- Damian saw her as a mess and could not fathom why she was said mess, he figured it was about a romantic interest after someone made an offhand comment about her love life and she became a blubbering mess (very un-Raven like)
- After all of well *motions with hands* that Raven asks why Damian doesn’t have a s/o or someone
- He says there is only person that he has been meaning to ask out (looks pointedly at Raven)
- All Raven says is “Go for it.”
And that is where my HCs end. Now if anyone who happens upon this post decides to write a Medical AU with any of these please tag me, tell me, message me.
You do not have to give me credit, I just want to read it.
This took me a couple of days to write up, so if it is disjointed I apologize.
If anything needs to be corrected for any reason let me know!
I hope this fuels some imaginations!
-I may post more HC AU things if they come to mind, we will have to see.
#damirae#damian x raven#demonbirds#teen titans#raven#damian wayne#rachel roth#headcanon#medical au#au
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Aaah, don't shoot me! Don't know who to ask this of. Eh, first of all Logan! Remus doesn't hate you, he said so himself, he's just… there's no way to sugarcoat this, he's in denial. (Heavy denial, I'm worried about him.) Btw Janus! Janus, how's that hangout date with Remus and Remy turned out? (Plz give good news, plz give me good news…)
(This is technically part 2 of the amusement park thing but part 1 isn’t necessary to have read to get this part)
(Words: 3352)
Logan: "You certaintly isn't the only one who is worried about Remus"
He looked over to the passenger seat where Janus sat. He'd come to pick him up from the hangout over half an hour ago but they hadn't even left the parking lot yet.
"Especially after tonight"
Janus let out a low mhm in agreement "Well the hangout....happened...That's for sure.....after”
After they’d gotten out from the tunnel of love they decided to go to that restaurant Janus had seen with the big fake snake outside. Jan ordered an egg soup. Remus put a gastronomical amount of salt on his sausages (that had been cut to look like snakes). Remy just had a plain black coffee.
“Mongooses are actually really good at killing snakes. Like the best. they even are resistant to the venom” Remus ranted while making the snake sausages look like they were fighting.
“I am now very afraid of mongooses. Thanks” Janus replied sarcastically.
Remus kept info dumping about animal biology. His friend listened intently but he couldn’t help but notice the way Remy was staring at him. They took off their sunglasses and squinted at him.
“Wait. Top tier information octobabe, but girl what the fuck” They interrupted.
Remy leaned across the table and grabbed onto the collar of Janus’ shirt. They pulled him close and squinted again.
“Girl are those hickeys on your neck???”
Janus went as red as a tomato factory “no I-”
Remy looked at between Janus and Remus repeatedly with wide eyes “What the FUCKING HELL where you two doing in the tunnel of love???”
“No!! We uh we no”
“If I was going to do anything to his neck I would have grown fangs and ripped his blood veins out” Remus replied.
“Well I trust that” Remy burrowed their eyes into the flustered fool “Okay gal what happened?”
Janus panicked “Well darling it was just a run in with the vacuum cleaner!! Nothing more! I am still new to this whole living alone thing”
Remy glanced to remus to give him a look about how obvious the lie was, but he was too busy playing with the snake sausages.
“Girl just spit it out- if you want to- who was it????” They tapped the table “W H O??? I gotta get the tea! I will like tots die without it!!”
He dragged in his yellow gloves while looking down at the floor. “Well he has said I am allowed to tell you about it whenever I want to. So uhh” He glanced up at his crushes and let up into a small anxious smile “Logan is my boyfriend!”
Remus droppe the snake sausages. He stared at him. Something in his chest hurt. It hurt really really bad. Like someone had taken their hand right through his skin and pulled out his organs. He didn’t know why. He didn’t understand it at all, but it hurt.
Remy grimaced. They got ready to snark out some vicious insults about how much of a whiny bitch Logan was. But then they saw the way Janus was glancing down at the table, the way his eyes were filled with a kind of happiness they’d never seen from him before, they way his smile was shining of warmth.
“He makes me feel so beautiful” Janus murmured.
All of the insults died on Remy’s tongue. They sunk in on themself. If they weren’t such a bad person they would have been happy his crush was happy.
“I- well uh girl you’re- I mean” Remy fake coughed.
This wasn’t like them. They were so stupid. They leant their elbows on the table and leaned their chin on their hands. They forced a smile.
“Well Logie was poly right? So like girl are you like poly too then? ‘cause like it would be real sad for all of the single people- not me!!- but others if a snack like you got taken”
“We haven’t fully decided to which degree of openness we’re both comfortable having the relationship be but we are definitely poly yes. I enjoy seeing him guide me through how poly works. He’s like a teacher but if the teacher was in my age range and also really p- Where was I?”
“You were being a fucking dork” Remy replied. Remus had crashed his head against the table and was muttering under his breath. The enby patted him on his fluffy hair.
“Ah right. Just like usual then”
The two of them blinked at each other for a while. It was just a bit awkward.
“So how big is Logie’s di-”
Janus stood up so fast the chair fell down behind him. In an instant he’d turned bright red “I need to go powder my nose actually!! Good evening fellas!!”
He spun around and pretty much sprinted to the restrooms. The Rems did an accidentally synchronized sigh.
“Log is definitely big. Asshole guys always tend to have massive dongs” Remus muttered.
“True wisdom babe!” They shot their arms out “I just don’t like get it! JanJan could have gotten like anyone in the whole like world- EXcept for me of COUrse!!- and he like chooses Logan???? What the fuck??? What the absolute fuck????”
“He could have chosen cannibalism and it would have been a better choice” Remus agreed.
“Exactly!!!”
They both sighed again. Remus picked up the snake sausages from the floor and just fucking stuck them somewhere into his fluff hair to eat later.
“....At least Logan is making him happy” He mumbled.
“Well we could have made him happy too!”
They looked at each other for a moment. They both broke up into a flutter of fake chuckles.
“Platonically happy I mean”
“Yeah obviously!! What else??? Sexually???”
“Logan sure has that taken care of I guess. I bet he sweats a lot! He can’t be good at everything!”
“YEAH! Get him!! Fight fight! Babe we’re tots gonna like mown him down an-” Remy quickly shut their mouth “Oh shit Jan is coming back. Act natural!”
“Uhhh so did you know that elephants is the only mammal with 4 entire kneecaps???” Remus babbled out.
Remy nodded along in an overly enthusiastic way “Mhm mhm. Cool cool. Hear you babe. Elephants are just soooo in right now, you know how it is”
Janus had been trying to stim his flusterness out but his cheeks were still pink from blush. He stayed standing by the table. He did an awkward little wave.
“Do you two perhaps want to go do something else?”
“Like each other” Remus joked back.
“NO!”
His cheeks went right back to red. The Rems high fived each other like true bros over an epic joke.
“I was referring to some other ride-” Remus got a mischievous grin on his lips but Jan cut him off before he could even start speaking “No innuendos! Or I will go back into my primal form and swallow you both whole-”
“Swallow huh” Remy fluttered their eyelashes.
“This is it. I’m becoming a cocoon again. I am going back into the deep endless forest and you shall never see me again”
Janus put on an overly extra pout before turning to leave. The Rems quickly hurried along. Remus shoved some more snake sausages into his hair before following along.
Remus poked in Jan’s cheek before pointing over to the big Ferris wheel “How about trying that one? If we’re lucky it’ll detach and roll into the ocean”
“Hmm I’m unsure” he glanced over to Remy “It is quite high up. I wouldn’t want anyone afraid of that sort of thing to have to worry”
The enby patted his shoulder “Aww JamJan. Don’t you worry, I know I’ll be like tots alright if you’re here”
That comment made Janus’ cheeks go pink in a good way. Remus shoved himself between the two and took both of their hands in his. His was warms and slightly slimy somehow, the other twos were cold but he didn’t mind.
“C’mon then!!! Let’s go! Let’s go!! Before the line gets too long!!!”
They dodged between crowds before getting to it. It was as tall as the rollercoaster and painted in different shades of blue. Lights were decorated all over it that blinked in different patterns.
They got into one of the capsules. All of it was see through so they could see the view any where they looked. There were two long seats on either sides. Remus planted himself on one of them, the other two pining dumbasses sat down on the other.
Remy quietly reached out and took Janus’ hand as the ride started to go up. “I wasn’t ready for the floor to like be uh like glass or something”
He squeezed their hand. “Understandable”
“Okay. So get this” Remus held up his hand “We start a fire” he moved his fingers to pretend it was a cracking fire while mimicking fire sounds “I mean this ride takes 10 minutes??? What are they gonna??? Stop the ride???”
“Babe we are not starting a fire” Remy replied.
“No no I think he has a point. I do want to see what happens” Janus added while nodding along.
“Jan if you’re gonna be weird at least have like the courtesy of the rat babe over here and like look the part. Like how I look like a total snack!”
“Noted. I will do you proud by drinking a poison that turns my legs into a snake tail”
“Hot”
Remus grinned “On that note. Who of us do you two think is most likely to be a monster fu-”
“Wow what a lovely view” Janus interrupted while pointing towards the left side of the capsule.
The sky had started to darken into shades of deep purple and blue. The lights of the amusement park had in turn all been turned on making it glimmer in all sorts of patterns. The lights of the city shone in the distance. Between the park and city laid a forest, the trees looked dark in the night but still welcoming.
Remus got up and pressed his hands against the glass. His grin only grew. His breathing left shapes on the glass.
“Wouldn't it be cool if this was actually a spaceship and we could just continue flying and looking all night?” He exclaimed.
Janus’ heart beat faster at the thought of the three of them spending the entire night together. Cuddling together on the floor and admiring the stars. Falling asleep in each other’s arm. Waking up to hear Remy’s sleepy voice and see Remus’ messy hair.
“..That....that would be umh enjoyable”
He stood up as well. He went up next to Remus. His crush happily leaned against Jan. He took his hand. The side of their heads were touching.
Remy got and leant their chin on top of Remus’ head. He let them move their arms around his shoulders and cuddle closer.
Janus moved his free hand around Remy’s waist so now they were just kinda standing in one big cuddle thing, admiring the view. The two pining dorks were casting hasty glances to admire each other without the other seeing. Fucking idiots.
Remus moved his finger to the glass to draw in the tint left by his breathe. He made one short round figure with a big hat, one tall stickfigure with giant sunglasses and one even taller super muscular figure in the middle. They were all holding hands and standing on some sort of disc.
“See? That’s us in the spaceship”
“Hun I hate to break it to you but you are not like that tall” Remy replied.
“It’s us in the future obviously! Dummy! Silly! Fucker! After I get on T I will transform into my ultimate tall form and rule the earth with- Or well I mean umh If I get on T it’s not like it’s uh decided I just-”
“Then we can both annoy Jan by showing of how much we can reach the top drawer!”
“YEAH! Exactly!!!”
Janus was staring down into the floor. There was a happy feeling filling his entire body.
“you think we’re going to know each other for years” He mumbled out. Barely even as a question.
“Of course Snakey!” Remus assured back with a bright smile. he got an unsure look in his eyes and glanced up at Remy “Right?”
“Right! I can’t let my lil babes go all alone. You two are like gonna die from starvation if I’m not here to get stuff from the top drawer”
“Oh...Oh how lovely” Janus was too giddy to make a snarky comment back.
Remus was getting excited over it as well. His heart beat extra at the sight of Remy still wearing his hoodie, at the thought of them going on even more da- hang outs like this, at getting to hear Janus’ silky smooth voice murmur compliments to him for years to come.
It all made him feel like insects would burst out of his veins and like his smile would get so wide it would rip apart the skin on his cheeks and like his heart would burst into a gorey mess.
He didn’t understand why he felt like that. He didn’t get it at a-
oh
Oh he did get it.
He understood.
He understood all of it.
Remy noticed as their friend carefully moved away. They assumed he’d just seen something on the other side of the view. It took a moment before they heard a shaky breathe.
Janus and Remy both looked back to see Remus sitting on the floor. His hands were pressed over his mouth and his eyes were wide and filled with tears. He was hyperventilating so fast his body had started to turn numb as he got close to passing out.
Stupidly enough Janus let out a “Are you okay?”
He obviously didn’t get an answer. He moved closer and sat down in front of his friend but Remus immediately flinched away. His breathing got faster and for a moment his eyes were close to rolling back into his skull and he fell forward.
Janus moved to help him up but Remy grabbed onto his shoulder to stop him. “Do you have his sister’s number?”
“I think so-”
“Then call her. Tell her to come pick him up okay?”
“O-okay”
Remy hunched down in front of Remus, not too close. He was trying to keep himself upright while his breathe only fastened.
“babe you’re having a panic attack. I don’t know why but I can promise you you’re not dying, you’re not in danger, everything will be alright. Okay?”
And suddenly their voice was light like a feather. It was so unlike them and yet so calming.
“Can you hold your arms up like this?” They showed how by holding up their arms above their head “It will help you breathe okay?”
Remus let out a sob but forced his shaky hands to move up. His chest was burning. He could hear Janus’ talking on the phone. He could hear things that weren’t there.
Remy continued “Okay babe please imagine like a window in front of you” They moved their fingers in a square pattern.
It took a moment before he somewhat nodded.
“Okay good. So when you look at the top part of the window breathe in okay? and when you look at the side breathe out. And then when you look at the bottom part breathe in again and so forth. Can you do that? Please?”
Remus stared out at something that wasn’t there. Slowly but surely his chest started to rise and lower less rapidly. He was still hyperventilating but he wasn’t close to passing out. Tears were streaming down his face.
“You’re doing great. I promise” Remy assured “Can you tell me anything that is in the window?”
He opened his mouth to speak but only a sob came out. His entire body was shaking but he was still trying to hold his arms up.
“..la..lamp” He choked out.
“Okay. Can you tell me what color it is?”
“...gr-reen....”
“How pretty. Is there any pattern on it?”
It took a moment before he forced out “..sp..spid..ers”
“Perfect for halloween then”
The end of the ride was coming up. Janus was standing of the side, fiddling with his gloves. He kept casting nervous glances to his friends.
“Okay babe can you stand up?You just gotta stand up and like follow us and you’ll be home soon enough. I promise”
He sniffled before trying to get up. He was shaking so much it was hard to stand but he managed. He was covering his ears to try and get the sounds out.
He couldn’t move. He kept feeling flashes of ghosts. The smells were too strong. The ride stopped. The line waited for them to get off.
“Oh dear” Janus murmured “Is it alright if I grab a piece of your shirt? I’ll simply help you to the parking lot. Like we did at the laser tag remember?”
Remus didn’t look up but he nodded. Janus took ahold of a part of his sleeve and helped him up. He tried to look as menacing as possible so no one around them would try and interrupt them. Remy walked next to them, they kept asking about decorations in the window to distract him. He mumbled back quiet replies.
When they got to the parking lot Rowan had just nearly crashed her car into a tree with how fast she was speeding there. Remus relaxed, if only by very very little, when he saw her.
She ran up and pulled him into an embrace. He moved back as he squeezed his cheeks and checked so he was physically fine.
For just a moment Rowan glared back at the two others. She wasn’t sure if they’d caused her brother’s panic attack. Really she wanted to smash them both up against a wall and threaten them about Ever daring to hurt her brother, but she knew getting Remus home was more important.
Soon enough the car drove away. With Remus still in the middle of a breakdown. The parking lot turned quiet.
Remy took out a cigarette and sighed as they lit it. They sat down on the pavement and took a deep breathe. Their hands shook from seeing Remus like that.
Janus stayed standing. It felt like all of the energy had left his body. He kept staring out at the faraway trees.
“You- you were quite good at calming him down. I- I don’t know what I would have done” Janus said to force away the silence.
“Yeah. The window was a real good distraction when having the shit kicked out of me” They chuckled back “It was so fucking decorated by the time I was like 14 it was ridiculous”
“Oh.....cool”
They took out their phone and tensed up when they saw all the missed calls they had. They gulped. “Shouldn’t you like call Lo to pick you up? Get your man candy to get all this shit off your mind-”
“Do you think Remus will be okay?”
“Girl how am I to know that” They took a blow from the cigarette “I...I hope so...”
“Same here”
They typed something on there phone. For a few minutes it was quiet again. Until Remy finished the cigarette and stomped it out on the ground. They stood up and went up to Janus. They took off the green hoodie they’d gotten from Remus, leaving them in a tank top and short, and handed it to him.
“Could you take care of this until next time I see you? Please?”
Janus held it to his chest “Sure”
“Good”
They hugged him just a few seconds before quickly moving back “Tell me if you hear anything from Rem, kay?”
“Right back at you”
Remy walked away, leaving the air feeling hollow. Janus sat down and waited for Logan to come pick him up. He hoped with all of his heart that he hadn’t been the reason Remus got the panic attack. He hoped both of his love’s would be alright, especially tonight.
#I feel like this is a good time to remind y'all that rowan is open to asks#mini fic#sanders sides#janus sanders#dukeceit#remus sanders#remy sanders#desleep#resleep#hopefully now the blog will go back to regular ask answering instead of me being silent for days on end sfhjhdfk sorry
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i hope you write simmosa fic in the future loved how you wrote them in that one your wrote a while back
Thank you so much for sending this! I am very much planning to write more fic for Amy/Jonah. Life has been a bit topsy turvy (it's been 1+ year of living out of a suitcase) and in this current phase I have not had much writing time.
BUT! Here are the fics I have as WIP/outlined/partially headwritten that I hope to get back to:
My friend @marshmellowbobcat sent me a bunch for Simmosa and one group of prompts/fic ideas she sent, I'm going to try and do like a five stages of denial thing with fake dating, I think, that takes them through each stage of their relationship: strangers to acquaintances to friends to what are we??? Each with a different scenario that leads to fake dating. (Basically four universes in which they fake dated and one where it was real? I should probably make it five and one for fandom reasons, huh?
VM AU where Veronica goes to a coffee shop every day called Logan's for her coffee, pastry, and a bit of a flirt with Logan. And then her family comes into town and aren't pressuring her to get married but are basically like "good old Veronica, of course she'll never settle down" (you know in a way that's not misogynistic but still makes her mad) and she's like OH REALLY NEVER SETTLE DOWN WELL MY BOYFRIEND OWNS HIS OWN BUSINESS AND HE'S SUPER HANDSOME AND I THINK MIGHT BE SECRETLY RICH. Anyway, she shows up to Logan's for coffee the next day and her family is there waving like 'WE JUST MET YOUR BOYFRIEND!"
Chapter 2 of Forgive Me Friend, a post s5 Dan/Blair AU. It includes much feelings, much building of friendship, much Nate being the best, and this little moment: Lei: “Maybe I should go.” / Dan: “No, Blair is going to go home.” / Blair: “No, Blair isn’t.”
S6 AU where Dan moves in with Blair in episode 1 of the season and OH MY GOD THEY WERE ROOMMATES. Right now outlined to be two long-ish sections. Just a lot of the two of them being in their feelings. They hug and Dan whispers to her, “You deserve every good thing, you know that, right?”
A fic currently entitled VM Sleepover Fic for Jennie which features Veronica, Logan, Mac, Wallace, and Lilly in Logan's house on Whidbey Island, one of my favorite places in all the land!, making food, and going for walks on the beach, and teasing Wallace about his love life. Also Veronica and Logan being far too soft for reality BUT I DO WHAT I WANT! Mac: “Rich people should be illegal.”/ Logan: “Rich people have air conditioning.” / Mac: “Fair point.”
S4 Dair AU, which I am calling The W Arc Rehash - Basically I take the W arc and move it to post-s4 summer time and have it be a summer internship b/c I want to. Dan left NY after the s3 finale (transferred to Stanford) and is back for a summer internship. Basically a "what would have been different if Dan peaced out" sort of vibe. The most fun to think about/outline but requires me to rewatch s4 and I don't know if I have it in me. He pretends not to care because he cares too much. Just like she pretends nothing hurts her because everything does.
There's a gajillion more, but this is already too long!
Feel free to send me comments/questions/requests for more details on any of them. Some have massive amounts written in outline, some only exist in my brain.
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Current X-book Mood-Ring Guide
There are an awful lot of X-books on the shelves right now. They are most of my monthly haul. No joke it is at least 12 books at this point. So, in order to cope with that, I’ve organized all the books into one of four different categories, aka “booster-pack” themes. Click through if you want to jump aboard the best X-men run since Morrison before the boat pushes off for the Hellfire Gala this summer! These are the 4 categories:
-Mainline Blue/Gold-style
-Jr. Mutants Academy
-2nd-Wave Krakoa Niche (aka “the good stuff”)
-Cetera
#1. Mainline Blue/Gold-style
Mood-color/vibe: Actually 90s-style Blue/Gold and like bright primary colors (but also muddy-ass colors from X-factor).
Books included: X-men, Excalibur, Marauders, X-force
Typical Pokemon: Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Betsy Braddock, Kate Pride, Beast, Black Tom, Storm, Bishop, Emma Frost, Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, Kid Omega, Domino, a Pyro, Iceman, Avalanche. Rare drops: Apocalypse, X-23, Synch, Darwin, Kid Cable, Fantomex (in that Giant-Sized!)
These be the books for someone who wants those direct, mainline, core-members-style lineups. On the main book (adjective/word-play-less X-men) Hickman/Yu have worked wonders with their run, but it hasn’t been a stable team, instead focusing on Scott and his adventures dealing with some of the more prominent threats to Krakoa.
So it’s essentially been a revolving door of a book with Cyclops sometimes leading assaults against major problems and sometimes just being a dad to teenagers from the future, and it’s been generally great.
Meanwhile, the teams we find on the other 3 books could basically be a main X-men team if you just throw Jean/Scott/Logan onto them (except for X-force because Logan is usually on that one, actually, and Jean sort of is..)
X-force: Wolverine usually, Kid Omega, Beast, Jean (quitting?/back-up), Domino sorta, Sage, Black Tom Cassidy, Colossus once? Forge sorta. [Lot’s of backup or sometimes-members on this team but kinda centers on Beast, Omega, Wolverine and Jean or Domino]
Excalibur: Betsy Braddock, Rogue, Jubilee, Gambit, Avalanche, baby/dragon Shogo, Apocalypse (honorary, mia)
Marauders: Kate Pride, Storm, Emma Frost, a Pyro, Iceman, Bishop
On X-force, you get a little Morrison-homage energy going on what with Beast being sus, Quentin Quire having a character arc and dating a cuckoo and then all the body-horror. This one hasn’t been amazing and the art sometimes has issues for me but it’s been a solid expansion on Krakoa-Era lore.
On Marauders, you get a book centered on Kate Pride and the Hellfire Club. It’s been aight but I’m not the biggest Kate fan. Definitely has heart and the art has been beautiful.
Excalibur started a little weird for me... I lack the references or attachment to Otherworld or Davis/Moore-era Excalibur so I don’t think I’m even really the target demo, but I will say it recently, post-X of Swords-- which it set up single-handedly basically [along w/ one ish of X-men]-- has gotten more interesting in recent months. The Betsy + Kwannon stuff was great! And Howard did great with Apocalypse before he went off to another dimension. (points off for iffy color-palettes sometimes).
#2. Jr. Mutants Academy
Mood-color/vibe: Pastel
Books: New Mutants, X-factor, Children of the Atom, Cable
Common Pokemon: Magik, Cable, Rachel Summers, Doug, Warlock, Armor, Boom Boom, Scout, Dani, Warpath, Karma, Glob, Beak, Daken, Eye-boy, North Star, Rachael, Prodigy those Children of the Atom kids, Magma, Rahne, and a lot of lil kid mutants runnin’ around in Akademos/the Wild Hunt area of Krakoa whose names I don’t know yet.
This is the junior-crew club. New Mutants would be in the Blue/Gold books practically due to being part of the first wave of post-HoX/DoX books, but its basically been 3 different books/teams over its run and along w/ Children/Cable/X-Factor, it feels like there a whole handful of books offering up junior-crew shenanigans specifically.
So New Mutants has been all over the place, starting with a lineup of OG Claremont era New Muties, then focusing on a team consisting of Glob, Armor and Boom Boom (perpetual...”young adult” I guess?), now settling on a new team under Vita Ayala with Magik and Warpath heading up a squad of young ‘uns (beautiful art on the recent stretch). Hopefully it’s settling into its self now, because I can see longevity for this new squad... maybe.
I still have to read the 2nd issue of Children of the Atom, but am intrigued by it. X-factor meanwhile seems to be focusing on queer representation with people like Prodigy, Daken, North Star and Rachel on the same group together. Polaris started out the lead of that title only to be plucked out by Duggan (or the fanbase) for the main X-team coming up. This honestly makes sense, because even though she isn’t drawn this way, shouldn’t Polaris be considerably older than someone like Rachel? Eh.
Also, in issue #4 of X-factor we had a beautiful homage to the Academy X mutants, with several cameos, so it seems like Marvel is intentionally using these junior-crew books to acknowledge all the various junior-crews, whether it be OG Claremont kids, Generation X people, the kids intro’d under Morrison and Whedon, or even the dang ‘ol Academy X ones, they seem to all be getting at least some representation in some book.
Also Cable owns. Didn’t know I’d like the Kid-Cable guy until this book and his appearances in the main title, but now it’s confirmed. Him dating Esme, Kid Omega dating Phoebe? These crazy telepaths! Anyway, I hope Duggan’s main-team book is more like Cable than Marauders, in terms of pacing and characterization, but they both have beautiful art!
New mutants: Karma, Magik, Mirage, Scout, Warlock, Warpath and Wolfsbane
X-factor: Daken, Eye-boy, Polaris (quit?), North Star, Rachael, Prodigy
#3. 2nd-gen Krakoa Niche aka “the good stuff”
mood-color/vibe: purples, metaphysical/cosmic pallets, tertiary colors
books included: Hellions, S.W.O.R.D., Way of X
common Pokemon: I mean they’re basically all rare drops
This is the good stuff! Who would have thought. And when I think about it, Way of X and S.W.O.R.D., as part of the second wave of Krakoa-era books that started with Cable, both address some of the core issues and ideas that the whole HoX/DoX mini kicked off better than-- or at least more directly-- the other books. So I guess the non X-men, first-wave Krakoa books feel “mainline” in terms of their team lineups, but in terms of content, these newer ones almost feel more relevant by design. S.W.O.R.D. focuses on the cosmic context of the mutants post-Krakoa and Way is Kurt’s first spot-light moment in the era and is expressly concerned with Kurt’s addressing of the deeper moral quandaries that a people who have conquered death will be faced with. I mean, it's expressly about religion and like, spirituality-- a very tall order, but first issue pulled it off super deftly.
Also Hellions is better than it has any business being! Read this if you want savagely dark humor and some very obscure mutants + Havok/Psylocke/Sinister. But if I had to reccomend one, it’d be a tie b/w S.W.O.R.D and Way. First issue of Way was exceptional and got right into things and Kurt’s very well-written and will surely prove a meditative lead for a book like this, whereas S.W.O.R.D is epic in scale while still have sick character moments/dialogue. Manifold had a great issue or two and is now my favorite new mutant, even in the context of a somehow-actually-good King in Black tie-in. Damn! And everything going on b/w Magneto and Fabian Cortez (who was made to argue for why mutants should be allowed to murder “flatscans”/humans to the whole Krakoan council this week whilst naked. It’s fantastic. Hell, even the Snark-War sounds...interesting? What’s happening to me.
S.W.O.R.D.: Fabian Cortez, Magneto, Abigail Brand, Peeper, Manifold, Wiz-Kid, Mentallo, Fenzy
Children of the Atom: Cherub, Marvel Guy, Cyclops-Lass (?), Gimmick, Daycrawler
Hellions: Havok, Psylocke, Empath, Orphan-Maker, Nanny, Wild Child, Sinister, Greycrow
#4. Cetera
Mood-color/vibe: colorless, “normal” element
Books included: Fallen Angels (complete 6-ish mini), All the damn Wolverine books, the uh Sword of X “guidebook” and the new Peach Momoko Demon Days books and whatever X-men Legends is.
These are titles which are either complete or don’t fit in with other things or in Demon Days or the X-men Legends’ books’ case, I think don’t even occur in-universe. And per usual of course there are multiple Wolverine books... the main one seems fine.
Anyway all-in-all, these books are doing weirdly well. Mutants as a concept shouldn't be able to be spread this thin story-telling wise, but the books don’t really feel redundant and most are filling a specific niche or purpose. I may be dropping some of the first-wave Blue/Gold style books (Marauders and X-force I'll probably just check in on from time-to-time), but S.W.O.R.D., Way, the main book under Hickman or Duggan and Hellions all have me verrrrrry satisfied. Even standard stories in the Krakoa era feel special, and that speaks to the power of Hickman’s vision. Hellfire Gala, here we come.
#Jonathan hickman#hickman#leinil francis yu#pepe larraz#Scott summers#cyclops#jean grey#summers clan#duggan#tini howard#vita ayala#hellfire gala#gala#Emma frost#phoebe#esme#stepford cuckoos#xavier#kurt wagner#nightcrawler#daycrawler#magik#cable#Rachael summers#children of the atom#S.W.O.R.D.#excalibur#Alan moore#davis#ewing
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