A Missing Persons Case
Ships: Romantic Logince, Familial royality
Genre: Fluff
Warnings: None
If you like my work, please reblog ! And maybe, buy me a ko-fi?
I wrote this fic a few years ago, as a Valentine’s day gift for @poisonedapples . So, hopefully he still likes it!
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This is a detective story. Logan Sanders was a serious man. He was perceptive and thorough. He could solve cases faster than any other P.I in town. He was nothing short of a genius.
This is a love story. Roman Prince has always been a hopeless romantic. He finds love in sunsets, walks alone in the park, and clouds that look like cotton candy. He walks amongst a trail of memories- lost loves and broken hearts- but he walks with his son by his side. Patton reminds him that it’s all worth it.
It’s an obscure first meeting- far stranger than that of the other couples they know- but it’s a story they’d tell for years and years.
Logan was busy filling paperwork, a task he had delayed after the last two cases when he heard the familiar bell ring of a new client entering. He sighed, sitting up straight and becoming increasingly aware of all the knots in his back. He picked up a pen and quickly scribbled “Schedule vacation SOON” on a post-it note and hid it in a drawer.
A young boy ran up to Logan’s desk, his head barely showing over the top. He put a piggy bank on the desk. Logan looked around the room, searching for a parent or even an older sibling. The boy was completely alone.
“Excuse me, Mister,” he said. “My name is Patton Prince and I’d like to report a missing persons case.”
“A missing person?” Logan asked, his hand hovering over his phone to call the police.
“Mr. Snuggles has gone missing,” the boy said very seriously. He pushed the piggy bank closer to Logan. “I saved up my allowance.”
“Where is your-”
Another bell ringing. “PATTON!”
“Uh oh.”
A man ran in. His brown hair was the same as the young boy’s and Logan could see a slight resemblance in their faces. “Patton, how many times do I have to tell you not to run off?!”
The young boy looked to the ground ashamedly. “I’m sorry, Papa.”
The man met Logan’s eyes. “I’m so sorry about him, he lost his favorite toy and he’s been pretty upset about-”
“I’ll take it.”
“What?”
“I’ll take the case,” Logan said with a soft smile. He handed the piggy bank back to Patton. “Free of charge.”
The man blinked. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I am. I wear a necktie.” He handed a business card to the man. “Please contact me when you’re ready to officially begin this investigation. I’m available as early as tomorrow at nine A.M.”
“Nine, uh, nine works,” the man said. “My name is Roman, by the way.”
“Roman, what a lovely name,” he said with a smile. “Logan Sanders. I look forward to your call.”
Roman took Patton’s hand and smiled.
+++
Logan had arrived at promptly 10:15 in the morning. He was business casual but serious nonetheless. When Roman opened the door he was still bed head ridden with crooked glasses and his shirt only half-buttoned. “I didn’t expect to see you here so soon, please, please, come in.”
“You set the appointment for this exact time,” Logan stated. “Was that a typo? If so, I really don’t mean to intrude-“
“No, no, you’re fine. Time just got away from me,” Roman said. “Come in, please, Patton is just finishing his breakfast.”
The young boy looked up from his cereal and waved. “Hi, Batman!”
“Patton, honey-“
Logan laughed and winked at the child saying, “Please, call me Bruce Wayne.”
Patton’s eyes went wide with a gasp. “You really are Batman.”
He chuckled and turned to Roman. “Should we begin our investigation?”
They cleared through Patton’s room while the child in question was out of the house being babysat by Roman’s friend Virgil. They had vigorously searched under the bed and dressers as well as several toy chests.
“I think it’s safe to say Mr. Snuggles isn’t here,” Roman said, glancing at his watch. “Holy shit.”
“Hmm?” Logan looked up from where he was half-buried in a pile of stuffed animals. The serious detective was so out of place he almost looked adorable.
“We’ve been searching for three hours,” he laughed. “What kind of lunch meats do you like? We have turkey and hams or- no, we just ran out of ham yesterday. Hmm. We have turkey.”
“Mr. Prince-“
“Oh, unless you don’t eat meat? We should have some other things in the fridge too-“
“Roman,” Logan said, pressing his hand against his knee. “You don’t have to make me lunch.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I insist,” he said. “If you won’t let me pay you in cash, I’ll pay you in sandwiches.”
“Roman-“ Logan called out but the single father was gone in the blink of an eye. Logan chuckled and smiled fondly, deciding to check under the bed just one more time.
They settled into an easy routine like that. They’d search through parts of the house, Roman would make lunch (and would never take “no” for an answer), and then Logan would leave just before dinner, claiming he had important paperwork to get to. All the while the detective couldn’t even spot the stolen glances and held breaths.
But Roman knew better.
It was a tiring day and they had finished their second full sweep of the house. Roman wiped the sweat from his face and sighed. “I should just buy him a new rabbit and hope he forgets about it all in a week.”
“And what lesson does that teach your son?” Logan teased.
Roman jokingly smacked his arm. “Since when did you become an expert on parenting?”
“From watching you,” the detective said nonchalantly, smiling as he checked the time.
Roman’s face turned bright red as he quickly turned away. “I, uh, should get Patton from Virgil’s-“
“AHA! THAT’S IT!”
“Heart attack much?!”
Logan looked at him, stars in his eyes and smiling brightly. “Virgil babysits him all the time, right?”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Then one can conclude that Patton would regularly bring toys there, yes?”
The epiphany hit Roman like a truck. “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?!”
Logan winked and grabbed his hand, saying, “Because you’re not Batman,” before taking off down the street with Roman in suit.
The knocked on the door and Virgil was only extremely confused to see a P.I at his front door. He swallows his nerve. “Can I help you, Officer?”
“Not a cop, but yes,” he said, the excitement in his veins slipping from his voice. “I need to search your house.”
“What?!”
“Just go with it,” Roman said. “Where’s Patton?”
“The, uh, guest room. Why is there a P.I searching my house?”
“We’re looking for Mr. Snuggles.”
“Roman, buddy, I love you. I love Patton. But this is not worth hiring a Private Investigator over. I’m not holding him hostage.”
“I FOUND HIM!” Logan yelled. He came into the kitchen holding a stuffed rabbit by the ear. Mr. Snuggles was faded and covered in dust. “He was under the couch!”
It was upon Logan’s call that Patton, half asleep and in half-buttoned pajamas, came running in to collect the toy. Virgil presses a hand to his chest and monotonically exclaimed, “I’m a kidnapping monster. Take me away, officer.”
“Still not a cop,” Logan laughed. “But I’m happy to help.”
“Okay, seriously, what do I owe you?” Roman asked, pulling out his wallet.
“No, no,” Logan said. “If you must insist on paying me, all I ask is that you accompany me to dinner. Say, next Friday at 8?” He winked and handed the toy to Patton as he started towards the exit. “Call me.”
Once he was gone and Roman has started gaping like a fish, he asked, “What just happened?”
“What happened, my friend,” Virgil answered, “is that you’re paying with your ass.”
Roman flushed red. Patton continued living in his bubble of blissful ignorance.
+++
Logan had emailed Roman the address to the rendezvous point as agreed. Roman smoothed out his red button down and let out a deep breath. He hadn’t been on a date since Patton was born and he had all the nerves of a high school student walking into an exam they were fated to fail.
Logan was waiting at the table, fiddling with his glasses nervously. He sat by a bouquet of roses and Roman’s heart swelled at the sight. “Hello, Detective Sanders,” he teased as he took a seat at the table.
Logan smiled, his face nearly matching the color of the roses. “H- Hi. Um, these are for you. I hope you aren’t at all offended by my apparent nervousness. You- you look amazing, by the way- seem to have a more anxiety inducing effect on me than I expected. It’s been so long since I’ve done this.”
Roman gently laced their fingers. “Hey,” he whispered. “It’s okay.”
And Logan smiled. He smiled at what Roman would call the greatest detective story and what he would know as the case that taught him what love was.
