Hello everyone! This is my first time working on a big bang fic, but genuinely probably is one of my proudest works now! I worked with the lovely @thebestworstidea and I'm so glad to have been a part of this experience for @tss-storytime! I hope you have a great time reading it and please read the TWs and CWs beforehand, linked in the masterlist!
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Now Playing: Prelude by Cody Fry
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Logan Sanders had spent his entire life hearing thoughts from everyone around him: strangers, family, friends, and more.
“Should I get a sandwich for lunch today?”
“I can’t wait to get back home to my wife.”
“I wonder if he’ll like these flowers I got for him.”
“How am I supposed to tell my parents that I’m trans?”
“I think I might be aromantic.”
No matter the thought, he heard it. And sometimes, they could be really unpleasant to hear. Unfortunately for him, there was no off switch for his telepathy.
He would know. He tried.
Though unpleasant sometimes, it certainly was a tool when it came to gaining useful information. Especially when it came to passing information.
It had been a normal day going to work and he was just stopping by the coffee shop when he heard a thought that sent a chill down his spine.
Now, he had learned to tune out the constant noise that went through his head as much as possible, but some thoughts were louder than others. Logan heard intonation, tone, and volume that came with thoughts. The closer someone was to Logan, the louder their thoughts were. Whoever was scheming was not very subtle about their thoughts. All it took was one sentence for Logan to make him falter in his tracks and dart his eyes around the area to find who had thought that.
“I can’t wait to finally see the Medeis crumble under our grasp.”
Now, Logan was not one to jump to conclusions. He liked coming to academic hypotheses. Circling the area three times, he managed to narrow the thoughts down to a group of people. From a safe distance, he began to follow the group that was slowly starting to weed off until there was one last person left walking.
A man around his age to be precise. The man looked to be the same height as him, wearing a suit in which the color loosely resembled the orange of a prison jumpsuit. However, Logan couldn’t get a good look at the man in the orange suit’s face from where he was at. Great.
At the pace they were walking though, he was going to be late for work, not to mention the fact that Logan was now walking the opposite direction of his work. However, he couldn’t just let it go.
Why did this man have a personal vendetta against the Medeis? The Medeis were the population born with magic, which meant that the man had to be a part of the powerless–or the Impotens. What did he mean when he said the Medeis would crumble? Who did he mean by ‘our’ grasps?
Logan continued to listen to the man and what he was thinking, noting down another alarming one.
“We will prevail over the Medeis and they will all die for the betterment of society.”
Now, Logan knew that there was no world without discrimination. He had seen Medeis discriminated against because of their supernatural abilities, but he had also seen the reverse. However, in a world of harmony, those instances were few and far between. Hundreds of years of protests and wars between the two had finally come to an end and the two groups had come together to create this peaceful society that Logan was lucky enough to be living in. Relationships, jobs, and cities were all diverse with no boundaries. At least most jobs
The Impotens still held most offices, but it was not much of an issue. At least that is what Logan thought until the orange-suited man walked into the city hall and was let in by security personnel. There was something the government was hiding from everyone and Logan wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.
After quickly snapping a blurry picture of the orange-suited man, Logan immediately called out from work and proceeded to rush to the library with one goal in mind: find the orange-suited man and discover his goal.
He spent the next few months, when he wasn’t at work, researching.
Logan never had a big breakthrough about what was going to take place, but the orange-suited man and the government were definitely planning something with the Medeis. He found his new life mission.
Find out what the government had in store for the Medeis and stop it from happening, no matter the cost.
As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. Logan reading the Communist Manifesto as a coping mechanism has to be one of my funniest character headcanons I've had about him. And again, the platonic Analogical takes my heart. Enjoy <3.
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Now Playing: I Knew You Once by Hollie Allen
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It had been three days, four hours, fifteen minutes, and seven seconds since Logan had last talked to Patton. Since their last fight. Since Patton had walked out of the apartment with no answer.
After Roman and Virgil had walked back to Logan’s apartment, Logan had gotten a lot of stern yelling from Virgil for leaving them behind, but upon seeing Logan as a wreck, they both let up. Instead, they let him be. From what Logan had heard from Virgil, no one had contact with Patton since their fight. No one except Roman.
Logan felt hopeless for once in his life. He loved Patton, so much so that he was willing to change to express himself more. Patton clearly did too. There should be no reason that they were in the situation they were in now, but there was always something else underlying. Because of that, Logan stopped looking too much into anything. He repeated the same mundane schedule he used to repeat before he met Patton. Sleep. Coffee. Work. Cook. Prepare for tomorrow. Repeat. Logan began sleeping for longer times too. Logan stopped researching and instead, turned to reading books in his spare time. He read the Communist Manifesto and the Declaration of Independence 5 times within the same week. His condition had gotten so bad that one day, Virgil dragged Logan out of the apartment only to plop him down at Roman’s apartment.
“Fix him. Now.” Virgil demanded his boyfriend.
“How am I supposed to fix Mr. Info Dump here?” Roman scoffed, “I don’t even know what’s going on with him!”
“Exactly! Fix him.” Virgil sputtered out, staring at Logan. “You’re the only one that has contact with Pat.”
“He’s just as bad as Logan! How am I supposed to fix Logan when I can’t even fix our dear Pop?” Roman huffed as he stared at Logan.
“I can hear you two, you know.” Logan rolled his eyes, “And for your information, I am perfectly fine.”
“Are you reading the Communist Manifesto for the sixth time this week?”
“Seventh, thank you very much.”
“Good god.” Roman stared in horror, “At least Pat’s coping through stress-eating ice cream. This seems unusually worse.”
“It is.” Virgil deadpanned, “Did you two break up or something?”
“I assumed we were in a fight, but considering the fact that Patton is not reaching out to me, nor is he reaching out to anyone, I guess you could assume that much. Maybe there is some truth to it.”
“But why? You two love each other!” Roman gasped, “I told Vir that if you two had split up that I’d never believe in true love again.”
“Do not be so dramatic, Prince. We will both move on from this.” Logan rolled his eyes.
“Are you two cursed to be Mia and Sebastian? Summer and Tom?” Roman lamented.
“Must you be so theatrical, Roman?” Logan sighed, “I have already reported that I am fine.”
“Are you though? Are you?” Virgil began to observe Logan before shrugging, “Yeah, I’ve got nothing. Ro, call your brother. He sees L during work. Maybe he’s different there.”
“I can still hear you two and no, Virge, I’m fine during work. I have always kept my personal and work life separate. You know that about me.”
“Let’s leave that up to Remus, shall we?” Virgil narrowed his eyes at his best friend.
Logan sighed as he let the couple do whatever they wished. He just continued to read. Remus and Janus came to Roman’s apartment not too long after.
“Now why have you called us up, Roman?” Janus sighed. Outside of work, he was different. He didn’t have his gloves on like he normally did and preferred to wear a more comfortable outfit than a suit.
“I didn’t ask for you! I asked for Remus.” Roman scoffed.
“Do you really want Remus’ help?” Janus raised an eyebrow at his husband, who was currently trying to hang upside down on the fire escape.
“Good point.” Virgil remarked before pointing to Logan reading in the corner, “Fix him.”
“Goodness gracious.” Janus sighed as he turned to see Logan, “Are you reading the Communist Manifesto again? Do you not find joy in other books? Any other book?”
“I simply have not bought any new ones yet.”
“What an awful coping mechanism.” Janus rolled his eyes as he grabbed a book from Roman’s bookshelf and placed it in Logan’s hands in place of the Communist Manifesto. “Read that instead.”
“A picture book?” Logan scoffed, “I am not 5.”
“You are also not a communist.” Janus pointed out, “Is this about the fact that he has yet to reveal the information needed about his boyfriend to me?”
“What information?” Roman raised an eyebrow.
“Of course you haven’t told that idiot.” Janus groaned, turning to Virgil, “I assume you know.”
“Patton has to be Patient 50.”
“He’s not sure about the evidence leading up to it.” Virgil stared at Logan before continuing, “But I don’t think it’s too important.”
“Of course it’s important! Have you seen the news about the convention?”
“With the mysterious sickness that took the Medeis by storm for a day? Of course I have.”
“Medeis said that there were ringing in their ears and that they all wanted to go to the same place. There was nothing shown besides the fact that some Medeis were shown to temporarily have no powers.”
“I am betting Logan knows more than he lets on about what happened. He’s just staying silent.”
Logan didn’t say anything to that, but he could tell that Janus was already reading him.
“Lie of omission.”
“Virgil, would you mind being a dear and staying here with Logan for me? I need to talk to Roman and Remus in the hallways.”
“I need to tell Roman about the research and get him on board. If I can get him to get the door open with Patton, I might be able to convince Patton to tell us the truth. Maybe that’ll fix Logan too, with whatever fight he’s having with the man.”
“Sure. Whatever.” Virgil rolled his eyes, “Just come back soon, okay?”
“No promises.” Janus sang as he walked out of the room. Roman and Remus followed suit, though Roman looked confused to say the least.
“You know what Janus is about to do, huh?’
“Not fully. They’re going to see Patton though.” Logan murmured as he glanced around for another sufficient book. Logan had been done with the picture book for a couple of minutes now and Janus had unfortunately taken the manifesto with him.
“I see.”
“How is he actually doing?”
Logan sighed as he realized that Roman didn’t read enough books for Logan to pick one that was even mildly interesting to read. He leaned back on the sofa he was sitting at and turned to Virgil, “I’m okay, Virge. Seriously.”
“I know, but you always say that.”
“I mean it this time, Virgil. Patton’s going through something right now and I can’t be there to help him through it. I told him I loved him. Maybe I scared him off, or maybe he’s scared of showing that back to me. I don’t believe we’ve broken up yet. I think he just needs some time to process what happened at the convention.”
“What happened at the convention?”
“I got confirmation that he is in fact Patient 50, though I have no idea what correlation he really has to the weapon. We ran into the man in the orange suit once more. His name is Phobus Graves.”
“Phobus?”
“Yes, like the god of fear and terror. At least the Latin spelling of the god. I guess it’s quite fitting considering how terrified Patton had been of him.”
“I feel like we should have seen it.”
“How could you? We were in a time manipulation void. Of course you wouldn’t have seen it.”
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Or at least me? I’m your best friend.”
“Because I wasn’t sure what to make of it.” Logan admitted, “To be honest, I’m not sure what to make of it now. I was really scared.”
“You? Scared?” Virgil raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t know you could feel, let alone feel scared.”
Logan rolled his eyes, “I lost my powers for a bit too. It ripped away a part of me.”
“Well, I’d assume so, considering the magic is literally within your blood.”
“Yeah.” Logan cleared his throat, “I just think Patton needs some time.”
“How much though? I hate seeing you like this.”
“Well, you are my best friend. It’s only natural to feel that way about someone you care about, especially platonically. But as for a timeframe? I’m not sure. I’m not even sure if Patton wants to bother me again.”
“I think you just need to wait and see, even if it’s really hard now. He loves you.”
“I know.”
“Then believe in that love, dumbass.” Virgil snorted, “Now come on. What’s another way we can get you to cope besides reading another dumb book for the umpteenth time?”
“Books are far from dumb!” Logan scoffed.
“Oh, sorry, forgive me.” Virgil mocked, “Come on, L, let’s do something.”
“I’d really like to see the jellyfish.”
“Let’s go then.” Virgil stood up, grabbing the keys to Roman’s apartment. He dragged Logan all the way to the aquarium until they had reached the jellyfish exhibit. Once they were there, Logan sighed as he stared at the jellyfish moving around.
“Thanks, Virge.”
“Don’t even mention it.” Virgil grinned as he nudged Logan, “That’s what best friends are for, right?”
“Yeah.” Logan let out a small laugh. “You’re right.”
He leaned his head against Virgil’s shoulder as they began to watch the jellyfish swim.
As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. As much as I enjoy fluff, there's gotta be a little bit of conflict. Enjoy <3.
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Now Playing: Angry by Paravi
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There had been an incident. Logan hadn’t been careful. He should have been more careful. Patton and Logan had been on a date together, holding hands with one another. They were going to meet up with Virgil and Roman for a double date–something that both Logan and Virgil had protested to. However, they had managed to pull the two of them in with a simple word: magic. Roman had managed to snag a couple of tickets for the four of them for a convention all about the powers facing the Medeis. Virgil, though an Impoten, had always been interested in seeing what the Medeis could do. In fact, that was one of the biggest reasons Virgil had stuck to Logan’s side whenever he ranted about magic, always interested in seeing how Logan’s powers worked. Logan, of course, was interested in everything related to Medeis, as he was one, though he was mainly drawn into the convention because there was a chance that someone from the government could be there. Maybe he could gain more information about them or if anything, he’d gain more personal knowledge of what the Medeis could do. After all, he only knew as much about telepathy as a 34-year-old could. Roman must’ve known this, for it became the reason he hung over both the men’s heads for this unfortunate double date.
“Are you ready, my love?” Patton hummed as he walked into Logan’s apartment. Logan had long since given Patton the keys to come and go into his house as Patton pleased. “Roman and Virgil are waiting for us outside!”
“Almost. I just need my keys.” Logan darted around to find it on top of the cupboard, just like he always left it. Putting it into his pocket, he finally looked up from his scramble around the house to look at Patton. He blinked, “Woah.”
“Do you like it?” Patton giggled as he gave a spin. Patton was wearing a blue button-up shirt, similar to Patton’s normal polo, but was now also wearing a tan skirt that flowed all the way to his knees. Logan blinked as he grabbed Patton’s hand, bringing him to spin another time as he stared at what Patton’s outfit was. At first glance, Patton’s skirt seemed to be a plain and simple suspender skirt, but Logan pulled his boyfriend in closer to look at the outfit in clearer detail. The suspenders were paws, something that tied the entire outfit together to show it truly was Patton’s style.
“Patton, I-you look spectacular.” Logan managed to stutter out, pointing to the paws, “I like the paws. It really does compliment the ‘Patton’ style.”
“Aw, thank you! I think the suspenders are paw-some too!” Patton grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as soon as he uttered the pun.
Logan’s smitten look immediately shifted into a look of disapproval as he began to fix Patton’s collar. The button-up Patton was wearing allowed for the cover-up of his tattoo and Logan was just fixing it to look a little cleaner than it did at the moment.
“Aw, come on, Lo. Don’t be like that.” Patton pouted as he wrapped his arms around Logan’s shoulder, trying to kiss him, “It was only one pun.”
Logan put a hand on Patton’s lips before he could make contact, “No kisses for the punner.”
“Nooooo.” Patton whined, “Please fur-give me, Logan. I’m fur-real sorry and I hope you will paw-don me.”
“Three puns in one statement is abhorrent to my entire lifestyle, Morris.” Logan rolled his eyes. “You deserve a round of applause for that.”
“A-paws?” Patton grinned.
“No! You know what I mean.” Logan scowled as he looked in the mirror for a final glance. He fixed his hair and adjusted his glasses before he turned to his significant other, “You ready, Patton?”
“My name is Paw-ton Morris, Logan, thank you very much.” Patton grinned, “And I won’t be going anywhere until you give me a kiss.”
Logan stared at Patton in horror, “Absolutely not.”
“At least a smile for a pun then.” Patton grinned, mischief glinting in his eyes. Jeez, he really had it out for Logan today.
“Isn’t it enough that I am forcing myself to spend my time with the insufferable man you call your best friend?” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Roman Prince is not someone I would willingly spend time with otherwise.”
“Oh come on, Logan. You know you love us. All of us. Including Roman.” Patton smiled at his boyfriend. “But please, Logan? Just one kiss.”
Logan sighed, staring at Patton’s puppy dog eyes. Of course he’d never be able to stop himself from saying no to a man who he found he yearned to exist only in the gaze of his.
“Alright, fine, but no more puns until another hour.”
“Oh, Logan, how you wound me.” Patton placed a hand on his forehead dramatically, “But alright, fine. But may I first say how fetching you look?”
With that, Patton tiptoed to press his lips against Logan, causing a smile to grow between both of them.
“There’s the smile I’ve been waiting for.” Patton grinned as he separated from his boyfriend. He adjusted Logan’s tie to be perfect before starting to walk out of the apartment, “Now come on. I did say Virgil and Roman were waiting, didn’t I?”
“Alright, love. I’m coming.” Logan nodded as he went to put on his shoes. It was at that moment that it struck through his head and he groaned as he came out of the apartment. “Fetch-ing? Really? That one was low.”
Patton giggled as he tiptoed to press his lips against Logan’s forehead. “You know you love it.”
Logan huffed, not responding back as he locked the apartment. He turned towards Roman and Virgil, who had been staring at the two men. “Alright, Prince, let’s see what you have planned with this convention.”
“Huh, I was wondering how long it’d take for the Drama Turd to finally recognize that Patton and him are not the only ones in the room.”
God, Logan really missed hanging out with Patton alone. It got rid of having to read between the lines by listening to others’ thoughts. He could just focus on Patton alone.
“Oh, have you guys finally decided to stop acting like newlyweds?” Roman blinked, raising an eyebrow as he mocked them.
Logan raised an eyebrow, motioning to the fact that Roman and Virgil were currently holding hands, “You were saying?”
“That is different.” Virgil glared, “We aren’t like you two.”
“Whatever. Must we continue arguing a pointless battle?” Logan asked, “I would like to hear what is planned in this convention, considering Roman has kept it secret from all of us.”
“Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. Especially for my dear Virgil, who so desperately wants to learn more about the lives of the Medeis, though I wouldn’t imagine why. I, an Impoten at heart, am more than enough for Virgil than any Medeis could be. Patton thought it could be cool to see some magic, and I assumed you would want to talk to other Medeis, considering none of us are like you, Logan.”
“Alright, tone down on the dramatism, Ro.” Virgil rolled his eyes, “Let’s just go, okay? I don’t want to be late.”
“Yes, of course.” Roman blinked as he began to lead the way. “Let’s go!”
Logan sighed as he watched the couple in front of him begin to walk forwards. Logan followed in suit, intertwining his fingers with Patton to make sure Patton wouldn’t leave his side. The man was a wanderer and Logan didn’t need Patton leaving him any time soon. Especially in a place such as a magic convention.
“Hey, Lo?”
“Yes, my love?” Logan asked to acknowledge he was listening.
“What are Medeis and Impotens? I was sort of lost with what Roman was talking about.”
Logan raised an eyebrow at Patton. “Have you never heard of them?”
“No? Should I have?”
Right. He remembered Patton mentioning he was homeschooled. That might’ve been one of the reasons he didn’t know anything.
“Ah, what Roman was referring to were the magic users in this world. The universe is filled with magic, every part of it. Every human was born with the capability to handle magic because to walk on this Earth is to be able to handle the capacity of Earth’s magic. When time continued to pass and humans continued to evolve from homo neanderthals to homo sapiens, they evolved into two different forms. Medeis and Impotens. Medeis is Latin for magic and refers to the magic users. They had evolved to have the ability to carry the magic of the Earth within their bloodstreams. In that sense, the magic began to be a part of them and Medeis had the ability to cast magic. The magic ranged from telekinesis to the ability to bend certain elements. Impotens, on the other hand, are those who are born without that special element within their bloodstream and therefore cannot use magic in that sense. Impotens is Latin for powerless, which is often why they are called the powerless and Medeis are called the magics.” Logan explained to Patton, “There was a lot of conflict relating to the two of them beforehand, but most of that seems to have died down. There will always be discrimination towards the other, but we, as a society, have done our best to accept the other with open arms.”
“Oh, so does that mean Medeis and Impotens can’t have babies together?”
“They can. It is not up to genetics that determine whether or not someone is a Medeis, but instead it is fate by Earth itself. Unfortunately, that is the way things are.”
“Okay, last question, sorry-”
“Do not be sorry, Patton. I quite enjoy it when you ask me questions.”
“Great!” Patton smiled, “Because I like asking them to you and listening to you explain the topics to me.”
“Go ahead. What’s your question?”
“Roman said you were a Medeis.”
Logan hadn’t had this conversation with Patton yet, though he supposed it was time.
“I am.”
“What’s your power?”
“Telepathy.” Logan let the word slip out of his mouth, though he tried to catch it within his hesitation at first. The word had flown out quickly, but began to slowly float downwards and sink into Patton’s brain. He watched Patton’s expressions shift from confused to terrified to worry to wonder before it landed on an anxiety-filled one.
“You can hear my thoughts?”
“No.” Logan ensured Patton knew that Logan had no access to Patton’s mind. “I do not have access to your thoughts.”
“But…”
“Roman looks so pretty in the sunlight.”
“I hope Virgil likes this convention.”
“Oh shit, I’m going to be late for my date!”
“I wonder when my daughters are coming back to town.”
“I think I love more than those that love me.”
“I need to turn this in. Please focus, brain.”
“Why isn’t she texting me? I’m worried.”
“Fuck. I think I’m in love with her.”
“No, she can’t be dead. She just can’t. My sister just can’t.”
“How do I tell her I can’t afford that?”
Logan nodded as he let the voices flood his mind until he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts. That was the normal for him before he had met Patton. “Everyone’s.”
“Oh.” Patton’s voice quietened down as he began to process what it must be like for Logan. Before either of them could say anything though, they had arrived at the convention and Roman had pulled the other three into the registration line.
“Isn’t this absolutely wonderful, you three? We get to hang out with our bestest friends!” Roman hummed, spinning around where he was. Virgil was trying to calm the energetic man.
“Jeez, Ro. I know that this is a cool thing, but please. I’m trying not to draw attention to myself.”
“I agree with Virgil, Roman.” Logan remarked as the line continued to inch closer to the front, “As much as I am enthusiastic…I’d rather not draw attention to myself.”
“Especially not here, right, L?”
Logan turned to Virgil, sharing a glance with him. Virgil’s thoughts were right. He, especially, didn’t want to draw attention here. Not when he was still uncertain about when the government would strike. If Logan wasn’t careful with his research, he could be miles wrong about the date and time. For all he knew, if he was wrong, the attack could have been at the exact convention they were at.
“Calm down, Logan. I can see your mind racing. Let’s go into this assuming you’re right about the attack date being later down the line, okay?” Logan forced himself to relax his shoulders as he nodded, turning away from the crowd to focus his attention on Patton.
Patton Morris. His amazing boyfriend. The person that made everything feel okay.
When Logan just leaned his head against the man’s shoulder as they were waiting in line, he felt all worries seep away from his body.
“You okay, Lo?”
“Yeah.” Logan exhaled a breath as he pressed his lips against Patton’s forehead before separating from the man and just intertwining their fingers together. Patton always knew how to make him feel better, even if Patton himself was not aware of it.
“If you say so.” Patton murmured. The four continued to discuss with each other until they were at the front of the line. Roman helped with the tickets and proceeded to drag the four of them around the area. Logan and Patton stayed close to the other couple, not wanting to lose any sight of the other two.
They walked around the different exhibits of powers, Logan and Virgil at the front gazing at all the different powers in awe. Once they had explored the front area, Virgil pointed to a small tucked away area.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t we go check it out?”
Patton glanced at Logan quickly with an unreadable expression before squeezing onto his hand.
“What’s wrong, my love?” Logan turned towards Patton with worry.
“Nothing, nothing.” Patton shook his head, trying to wipe away his expression with a small smile. Logan studied Patton’s face. He had never seen this face of Patton’s before. Patton was always happy and if he wasn’t, he was sad. Logan had seen Patton angry, upset, disappointed, happy, ecstatic, and disgusted. He had seen Patton go through several emotions, but this one was unfamiliar.
“Are you sure?” Logan lowered his voice, staring at Virgil and Roman who were beginning to head into the tucked away section.
“Yeah.” Patton nodded, his eyes giving away any sign of being fine. Then, an emotion flashed through Patton’s eyes and Logan knew.
Fear. Patton’s face was flooded with fear.
“Virgil, Roman!” Logan called after the couple. When they looked over, Logan yelled back to them, “Patton and I are going to wait outside for you, okay?”
Virgil and Roman walked back over, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Patton shook his head, “Let’s just go in.”
“Pat, we won’t know what’s going on with you unless you tell us.” Roman’s expression softened, “Come on, Padre. We’re all friends and whatever you’re going through, you can tell us. Do you want us to leave?”
Patton shook his head, widening his eyes, “No! That’s far from it. I just need some time to catch my breath. That’s it.”
Lie. Logan had known Patton for enough time and had studied every facial feature, every inch, every quirk of Patton’s to know that Patton tended to bite the inside of his cheek when he was lying.
“Is he lying, Logan?”
Logan met eyes with Roman to give a slight nod, but did nothing else to show that he would suggest to not go along with Patton’s lies.
Patton took a deep breath before turning to Logan, “Come on, Lo. Let’s go see it, okay? I want you to experience everything.”
The fear had washed away from Patton’s eyes. Almost as if it had never happened in the first place. Logan didn’t understand how or why, but all he knew was that Patton was genuinely trying to push away his fear so that he could watch Logan be enthusiastic about the Medeis. It was valliable of him, that was for one thing. Something that he would assume Patton had gotten from spending time with Roman.
“Alright, but the moment you feel as if we should leave, we can.” Logan murmured.
“Okay.” Patton nodded.
Logan walked hand-in-hand with Patton as the four made their way towards the small tucked-in area.
“What could have scared Patton so bad that he wouldn’t want to come into here?”
Logan wondered that too. He stared at Virgil who was glancing back at the two of them before focusing his attention on the exhibit. Unlike all the other exhibits that had someone showing off their powers and how it works for them, this was different. A table was laid out with several different trinkets around, one of which was calling to Logan. There was a device in the middle that Logan was absolutely entranced by. It looked almost like an aura handpan that someone could play. With every step approaching up to the device, Logan could feel a buzzing in his ear. He didn’t remember the last time something like this made him feel like this. Was it wonder? Was it excitement for what was to come? What was it?
“I know the looks of those three.”
Well, there was no doubt he didn’t know that voice, though it didn’t seem as if the stranger's sentiment was shared. Logan was too entranced with the device in front of the table.
“Sanders and Grey. I haven’t seen you two in a bit. You look the exact same as you did in high school. Just with less acne.”
Logan ripped his gaze from the device on the table to finally get a good look at the man at the table. The man was wearing a beige vest over a suit and his glasses fit perfectly on his face. He looked very familiar, that was for sure.
“Do we know him?”
Logan was glad to know that Virgil was on the same wavelength as he was.
“Sorry?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “Do you know us?”
“L! You can’t just say that! I was trying to be subtle!” Virgil internally groaned as he glared at Logan.
“Ah, I bet I look quite different than I did when I was young, don’t I?” The man grinned, “It’s Dr. Somnus, though you may better know me as E.P.”
“Emilie Picani.” Virgil filled in as recognition hit his face.
One of Logan and Virgil’s only other friends. They lost touch after high school graduation, but Logan was glad to know that he was still alive and well.
“Picani.” Virgil gave a small smile, “How have you been?”
“Great. My husband and I are doing amazing.”
“Keep up the act. We need to act upon the first reaction.”
What act? What reaction was Emilie referring to? Logan didn’t even remember Emilie sounding the way he did now in his thoughts. His voice was the same as it was in high school, albeit a little lower pitched, but it was his thoughts that sounded different. Maybe things had truly changed, to the point where Logan couldn’t recognize him. Could thoughts change sound the way voices could?
“Husband?” Logan raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sure you remember him. Remy Somnus?”
Patton squeezed Logan’s hand and Logan glanced over to see fear flash over his face. What was going on with Patton? What was going on with Emilie? What was going on with everyone?
“Ah, yes. I remember him. You two were the best of friends. I’m happy to see that’s where everything turned out at the end of the day.” Logan nodded.
“Mind introducing me?” Emilie smiled at Roman and Patton, “You two must be Logan and Virgil’s significant others.”
“Roman Prince. Pleased to meet you.” Roman bowed chivalrously, “I’m Virgil’s boyfriend.”
“Very pleased to meet you, Roman.”
Had Emilie always accentuated the ‘v’ in ‘very’ before? Had he always emphasized his ‘e’s?
“Patton Morris.” Patton managed to mutter out, his voice barely picked up by anyone’s ears. Logan could practically see the thoughts running through Patton’s head, though he had not a clue about what they could be about.
“Morris, huh? What an interesting last name.”
“Is it?” Patton fidgeted nervously, “I’m not sure. I’ve always had it.”
“Not at all. Morris is one of the most prominent surnames. It was ranked #55 here out of 400,980 surnames in the US in 2014. Morris is of Anglo-Norman origin and is derived from Maurice. It has English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ori-”
“Does this man ever stop with the droning? Gosh, the memories show he’s always been this way.”
“Thank you, Logan.” Emilie cut him off, looking a little annoyed, “I think we got the message. What I meant by that though was that I knew a boy named Patton Morris when I was younger, though he never liked his surname. Never really liked his real name either. Always went by P.”
Patton shifted uncomfortably as he squeezed onto Logan’s hand. He was beginning to shift himself so that Logan would be in front, almost relying on Logan to keep the distance.
And keep the distance, Logan did.
Logan stepped forward and pointed to the aura handpan that had still been drawing him in like a moth to a flame, “Well now that introductions are done, may I ask what exhibit you have here? Why is it tucked away from the rest?”
“P’s clever, for one. Found a clever man to match his wits.” Emilie’s thoughts were different from how they were before. They had more malice in them than Logan ever thought he could find in Emilie. Emilie was kind at the core of his heart, similar to Patton. Out of all the things he thought, he would’ve never thought Patton wouldn’t immediately get along with the man.
“There will be other exhibits in this area. I’m just a bit early.” Emilie chuckled as he pointed to the instrument. “It’s a handpan. A special one at that.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It acts differently around the Medeis versus the Impotens. Medeis have a special calling to it because it draws the magic within their bloodstream, similar to a magnet.”
Logan raised an eyebrow as he stared at the trinket. There had to be some truth to it, considering how mesmerized Logan had been with the instrument while the others hadn’t even spared a glance.
“Go ahead. Try it out.”
“I wonder what he has in store for us. Maybe P really did finally become useful after all these years.”
Logan knew that voice. That thought. It came from the man in the orange suit. The one that had started all of Logan’s research and theories of rabbit hole evolution. He darted his eyes around, trying to do a quick scan of the area.
Nothing.
No one.
“Logan?” Emilie raised an eyebrow.
Logan cleared his throat, “Apologies. I thought I heard a noise and got distracted.”
“It’s okay. Try it out.”
Logan reached his hand towards the handpan. He knew as soon as he finished entertaining Emilie’s booth, he had to look around for more clues. Just as his fingertips were about to brush onto the pan, Patton stopped Logan, gripping tightly onto Logan’s hand. So tightly Logan was sure it would bruise.
“Pat? What’s wrong?” Logan asked as he turned to Patton in confusion.
“Let’s go home, Logan.” Patton shook his head, an emotion flashing in his eyes that chilled Logan’s spine. Terror.
“And why is that, my dear Patton?” Emilie grinned, “Why would Logan tapping the pan ever matter to you?”
“I don’t think it’s worth finding out.” Patton shook his head, his arms practically shaking.
And because Logan trusted Patton and because Logan loved Patton, he brought his hand away from the handpan and nodded.
“Okay, Patton. I’ll follow your lead. Let’s go home.”
“Thank you.” Patton relaxed.
“Either Logan is smarter than he lets on, or our little bird has flown out of the nest.” Emilie’s thoughts were hostile and invasive. Logan was beginning to think that he wasn’t the boy that Logan had become friends with all those years ago.
“We have enough evidence that it’s him. Let’s get P before he gets away from our grasp once more.”
Logan raised an eyebrow as he turned to squeeze onto Patton’s hand. Patton began to pull Logan out of the convention, and quickly at that. Virgil and Roman called after them, but Logan was trying to keep up with Patton’s pace. Something was happening with Patton and Logan desperately wished that he could hear what Patton was saying. Maybe then, he’d know how to help him.
Then, time stopped in front of them. Everything quietened down as the crowd noise died down, as did most of the thoughts from the crowd. From what Logan could hear, there were a few other people that were also unfrozen as their thoughts were still whirling with ways to try and corner the couple. Logan stared at those around him. Only he and Patton were moving. Everyone else was frozen. Patton stopped in his tracks and Logan took that time to fully look around. Roman and Virgil were behind them, frozen as they were midway calling for Patton and Logan. Logan hadn’t even noticed their calling with how much noise there was around him. The crowd and the thoughts from everyone whirling around him. Logan observed those around him as he held onto Patton. Patton was shaking in place, glancing around. Logan continued to stare in wonder at how the power of this Medeis worked, whoever they were.
“Most likely, P will know how to avoid us, but it does not mean that his little boyfriend does. If we can capture Logan, then we can catch P off guard.” The voice was different from anyone Logan had ever heard.
“Let’s try a diplomatic way first. We still don’t really know what Logan is capable of. The memories of E aren’t serving us well either.” Emilie’s thoughts came through and Logan turned towards the source to find Emilie smiling at them.
“Logan, Patton, let’s talk about this.”
The first thing that threw Logan off was the fact that Emilie was here. Emilie was an Impoten. It would make sense if the Medeis who stopped time excluded Emilie from it, but Emilie was far from someone who would be a part of a scheme to capture Logan and Patton. Emilie was kind, similar to Patton. This was nothing like how Emilie was.
“No.” Patton stepped in front of Logan to protect him, despite shaking.
“It is you, isn’t it, P?” Emilie’s eyes softened, “Come on, you know me.”
“No, I don’t.” Patton shook his head, “You are not E.”
E and P. Logan knew it was their first initial, but he still didn’t understand what the correlation was for everything. He was trying to wrap his head. He knew Patton was involved with all of his research. If he was correct, then would Patton be Patient 50? It made sense with all of the hexadecimal jargon Patton was always spouting off. Then, would Emilie be one of the subjects Logan had seen throughout the journals? Would that even be the correlation?
“Maybe P will believe me if I lay it on thick. Or maybe I should just dig it into his skin that it was his fault.”
“Now why would you say that?” Emilie tsked, frowning, “I’m the same E I’ve always been.”
“I know it’s you, Joan.”
“50 was always smarter than 45 or 52.”
“Hm. I never could get anything past you.” Emilie smirked, their entire facade changing as they morphed back into what Logan would assume was their true form. “Congrats, P, you always were more clever than you let on.”
“You morphed into Emilie. Of course I’d know.” Patton scoffed. “And it’s Patton.”
“Hm.” Joan made an unamused scoff, “Come on then, Patton. It’s time to come back to the nest before the ones you love get hurt again.”
“They have already been hurt.” Patton glared at Joan. This was a new side of Patton that Logan was now seeing. It was one filled with anger and hurt, and one that was hostile.
“Now you know that’s not what I meant.” Joan sighed as they snapped their fingers. Almost immediately, an entire group appeared before all of their eyes. Every single one of them held out a gun, a gadget Logan was too similar with. Joan, too, had taken out one from their pockets as well. The guns were banned a few years ago for cruelty as they could temporarily disable a Medeis’ power. Logan began to wonder if Patton was truly an Impoten as he had implied it all of this time.
Logan couldn’t recognize any of them besides the one that stood to the right of Joan’s side. The man in the orange suit.
“I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.” Almost all the people had thought at the same time. All except the man in the orange suit. Logan stared at the man, trying to understand who everyone was and what they all meant.
“Logan, duck!” Patton yelled before anything could happen. Logan did just that right as everyone shot at the two of them. It was clear that no one truly knew what Logan’s power was, but knew just that he was a Medeis. He could hear the man in the orange suit’s thoughts crossing off abilities that Logan could have had as they continued to dodge each other.
“Patton, what-” Logan began as the two of them began to make a dash for the exit. If there was any way Logan was thinking of getting out of this conundrum with Patton by his side, it would be by running out of the convention until they lost the entire group.
“Just trust me, Logan.” Patton shook his head, “And dodge all the attacks as best as you can. Use your power to your advantage.”
“What?” Logan replied incredulously.
“We should take another shot at them. I need to tell Talyn to line everyone up once more. I can get them to teleport everyone at once.” Joan had thought.
Oh. That’s what Patton had meant.
While Patton knew everyone and had the advantage to try and dodge all the attacks, Logan didn’t. Though Logan had assumed his power to always be an inconvenience, he guessed that it was better for spontaneous actions. Everyone always thought about what they were going to do before they did them. That’s what Patton was referring to. Listen to what everyone was going to do and dodge them before they could happen.
Logan ran to the right just as Patton had run to the left, effectively splitting up the group. When Talyn–whoever that was–had teleported half of the group to each person, Logan was able to dodge the attacks from the gun more effectively. Now, all he had to do was figure out who each person was and what they did.
“He’s not making this easy.”
“Maybe I should try to rush them without the others.”
“How is he able to predict our moves?”
Logan didn’t like any of the noise. He barely even liked hanging around in crowds, so it was hard to concentrate on his actions while listening to everyone’s thoughts. He was trying to figure out what to do. It also didn’t help that the man in the orange suit was getting closer to figuring out what Logan’s power was. However, Logan was also getting closer to figuring out what everyone did and who everyone was.
Joan. Shapeshifting. Talyn. Teleportation. Valerie. Stopping time. Terrence. Impoten. Dalton. Impoten. Dahlia. Impoten. Quil. Fire manipulation. There were too many powers and too many Impoten to really count.
“Telepathy.” The man in the orange suit had finally figured out.
Patton and Logan both knew that they couldn’t tire the others out though, and that they’d need to find a new plan soon enough if they wanted to get out. They were trapped as they were right now. Then, Logan remembered something.
“Patton, the handpan!” Logan yelled.
He watched as Patton began to think about what Logan was saying. The gears began turning in Patton’s head until he came to an idea and nodded as he went to retrieve the device. Logan was left unknown to the plan as once again, he wondered what went on in Patton’s head. All Logan knew was that Patton was smarter than he let on, even to Logan. It probably came from a sense of urgency and needing to learn to be smart in order to survive. It was about ten minutes of Logan dodging attack after attack when there was a noise. A note to be specific.
C-sharp.
And then another note. E.
Then another. A.
Then, a melody began to play throughout the halls of the convention. Through the crowd of frozen people. Something that Logan knew all too well.
“Why are there so many songs about rainbows? What’s on the other side?” Patton sang, the harmony traveling throughout the entire place.
There was a buzzing in Logan’s ears. He felt drawn to the device that Patton was playing. He could tell the other Medeis were too.
“Someone needs to get him to stop playing that before we’re all affected.”
“I need to touch the pan.”
“I will die if I don’t play the handpan for myself.”
Logan could relate to those thinking about the pan because it was hard to resist himself. Almost everyone was in a trance except for those that were Impotens. Logan’s feet began to travel towards the sound. Though the Impotens tried to hold onto Logan or to pull their teammates back, the Medeis were stronger. They always had been. Patton was in view now as he continued to sing.
“I can’t keep myself from walking. Is this what Phobus meant by others being impossible to resist?”
Who was Phobus?
“I need to stop before I touch it. No one else knows what it does.”
“Why aren’t any of the Impotens trying to wrestle him away?”
Logan searched around for the Impotens. They weren’t able to keep up with the speed and strength of the Medeis as the Medeis continued to try and go towards the handpan. They seemed to be more concerned with their teammates not touching it over stopping Patton or capturing Logan. In fact, stopping Patton seemed to be something they couldn’t do as they also couldn’t wrestle Patton away from the handpan. The only person that didn’t seem to be doing anything was the man in the orange suit. All he was doing was smirking and watching what was happening.
“Interesting. I can’t wait to see what this holds for us in the future.”
This was part of the man in the orange suit’s plan. That was what terrified Logan. If the man in the orange suit was going along with this, then what truly had he planned for the demise of all Medeis? And why was he having Medeis working for him if he truly hated them?
Logan got to the handpan, staring at it. He could resist it for as long as possible, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to any longer soon enough.
“Logan, I’m sorry for this. Try not to be too alarmed by what will happen next.” Patton’s voice came through. Had Patton moved his mouth? How had he said that as he was singing? Did Logan just imagine Patton’s thoughts? That had to be it.
“I’ll see you soon, Logan. You are an interesting man and an integral part of our plan.” The man in the orange suit spoke in his mind.
Valerie and Talyn got to the handpan next and began to reach towards the pan. Logan felt his hand reaching for it too. The three of them touched the handpan at the same time and immediately, Logan felt a sharp ringing go through his ears. He clutched his ears in pain, trying to silence the ringing. Patton stopped playing as the Medeis all began to touch the pan and grabbed Logan. Logan’s vision began to blur as Patton dragged Logan away from the noise. Logan could still hear noises, but no longer voices. There were no voices, no thoughts. Instead, all he could hear was random notes on the handpan playing with every touch a Medeis gave to them. Then, Logan heard time begin once more as the crowd began to fill his ears.
And then, nothing.
Nothing at all.
It was completely quiet.
Why was it quiet? It didn’t make sense why it could be so quiet. He should’ve heard noises. Anything. Thoughts especially. Why couldn’t he hear anything?
Logan looked up, trying to see who was next to him. Who was holding onto his arm at the moment? But he couldn’t. There was nothing there. No one.
Breathe. He needed to breathe. Then, he’d be able to see.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Why couldn’t he just fucking breathe? What was wrong with him? It was a simple task. He had known how to do it since he first came out of the womb. Why wasn’t his breathing techniques working? What was happening to him? Was this how it felt to die? Was he dying? Where was Roman? Where was Virgil? Was that really Patton next to him? What was happening back at the convention? Was he going to die had he been caught? Were they safe? Where was he?
There was something cold on his face.
Logan blinked away the tears that threatened to spill his face as he forced himself to focus his vision. It was Patton. There was an ice pack on his face. They were in his apartment. A weight began to rest on his lap and he looked down to see Luna. She was quiet but she laid on his lap, purring only when Logan began to pet her. With Logan’s free hand, Patton placed it onto Patton’s heart.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Patton’s heart was slowly becoming more steady, probably from the adrenaline. Logan began to listen to it and realized Patton’s heartbeat was syncing into its resting rate, just like Logan’s.
“Breathe with me, my love.” Patton whispered as he began to take steady breaths. Logan followed suit, questions whirling in his head still. He had so much to ask Patton. Still, he waited, letting Patton help him through the panic attack. When Logan’s breathing had returned to normal, Patton looked at him cautiously, “How are you feeling?”
“What was that?” Logan began, his voice hoarse.
Patton was quiet at that. Logan wished he could hear what was going on in Patton’s head. He just wanted some answers.
“Patton, what was that?”
“It was a handpan. One that takes away the Medeis’ powers temporarily.” Patton’s tone was soft while the news he dealt was hard. “It gives it to those that don’t have powers. Impotens.”
“How do you know this, Patton?” Logan wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer. “And how did you not know about the Medeis or Impotens if you know about this?”
“I knew about magic users and non-magic users. I didn’t know the terms or how they worked, not the way that you did.” Patton murmured. Logan swore Patton had this incessant need to not answer the most important questions, especially when it pertained to his past.
“You’re mad at me.” Patton stared at Logan.
“I’m not mad at you.” Logan let the lie sit on his tongue, festering in his frustration. It wasn’t anger that Logan had towards Patton. It was frustration. Frustration that he didn’t know anything about Patton. Frustration that he should’ve been able to protect Patton. Frustration that he should’ve known what could happen at the convention and stopped it. Frustration that everything was turning upside down. Frustration that he had touched the pan, because as much as he hated his telepathic powers, it was a part of him. He had lived with it all his life and to hear complete silence was deafeningly lonely. He had learned to think with noise in the background. He had grown up with noise in the background. It was difficult to accept that even if it was temporary, Logan missed the noise in the background. He missed being able to hear about others’ thoughts because he had learned to live with it as a part of him. It felt as if a hole had grown in his chest when it was gone.
“I know you are.”
“Right.” Logan sighed, “You can hear my thoughts.”
“It’s okay to be mad.”
“I’m not really mad.” Logan groaned. “I really am not. I’m more frustrated.”
“It’ll come back. Your powers.”
“That’s not why I’m frustrated.” Logan sighed. He just yearned to know everything about Patton. What made him tick. And sure, Logan knew how Patton acted the way he did, but he didn’t know why. Was there someone that hurt him in the past to make him as kind as he was? Was it just a character Patton was playing for the government to keep him from that? Logan had continued to research Patient 50, but every time, it brought him back to Patton. He didn’t understand what correlation they had with each other, or if Patton was truly Patient 50, but he did know that whatever he was looking for, it was whatever Patient 50 was thinking. Maybe it was selfish of him, but Logan had accepted that part of him. Logan was selfish in both wanting to know everything about Patton and the way he thought and also in wanting to know everything about what Patient 50 was thinking. After all, he loved Patton dearly and he wanted to find a way to stop the Impotens from hurting the Medeis. If they were to be so interconnected to each other, it would make Logan’s life a lot easier. To protect the Medeis, to protect Patton, to protect the Impotens, to protect everyone from the government that wanted to hurt them. To protect everyone from the man in the orange suit.
“His name is Phobus Graves.”
“Who?”
“The man in the orange suit. He’s the head of this entire operation.”
He was finally getting somewhere in learning about Patton and his past. The way he thought. The reason Patton was the way he was. And yet, Patton wouldn’t talk to him anymore. Logan saw it in the way Patton’s eyes wavered with terror and fear. Fear of losing Logan. Terror for those people that he had seen.
“It’s not worth knowing, Lo.”
“I want to know though.”
Patton shook his head and Logan looked at the man in front of him. The man that had spilled coffee on him all those months ago. The man who was always so cheerful around him. The man who couldn’t help but make Logan laugh despite his need for a serious facade. The man who made Logan’s jaw drop at how gorgeous he could be. The man who got Logan to dance in his apartment with no care about who was watching. The man who got Logan to make puns with him in the private access of their room. The man who had redefined love for Logan.
“Patton, I do not think you understand what it feels like to like someone so much that they infect every part of your mind.”
“I’m sorry, Logan. I’m not sure I understand.”
“I know you can hear what I’m thinking. I know you know what I feel about you. I want you to inconvenience me. I want to be burdened with everything you talk to me about. It feels as if I can’t do that when you don’t talk to me. I want to hear about your past and who those people were. What did they mean to you? What did they do to you? What can I do to protect you from them? But when you shut me out, when you shut everyone out, I can’t help you.”
“I’m trying to protect you from it, Logan. I suffered through hell for 23 years! It took me so long to build up a life with an identity while living in fear every day of my life and it was just starting to get better. Why would I tell you about something that could hurt you?”
“Because, Patton!” Logan huffed, “I don’t know anything about you. Your past, your parents, nothing! All I know is that you hate the government, you were homeschooled, and that you have this tattoo on the back of your neck that you despise. Everything else, I’m not so sure about.”
“You pretty much have seemed to figure out everything though.”
“I want to learn it through you.”
The two began to raise their voice, not with hostility but with frustration that neither one of them really wanted to feel.
“Fine, Logan! You want to hear the truth? My parents are dead, I watched several of my peers die, and I was forced into a sick and twisted experiment from a young age. I am the only survivor of that experiment and now they’re planning to use me as a weapon! What do you want from me?”
“That! I want that!” Logan pointed out, “I want to be able to hear about that from you. I didn’t think I’d need to have us go through a near-death situation where you had to meet those that hurt you again for you to open up about that!”
“Why? Why do you want to learn about it so much?”
“Because.” Logan yelled out before he stopped. He was getting heated over this. He could tell that Patton was heated too, the anger in their eyes more towards the idea that they were not being listened to, rather than the idea that they were angry at each other. Logan swallowed the lump inside of his throat as he admitted the thing he had yet to tell Patton. The thing he had known from day one, but had always been too scared to say. Waiting for the right time to say it. Waiting until the moment when Patton would say it first. Waiting to see if this truly was what Logan thought it was. Because if it wasn’t, it was going to hurt. A lot. Still, Logan could see Patton trying to understand what Logan was thinking. Logan decided that it was time. That it had already been let out for some time.
He softened his voice as he looked at Patton, “Because I love you. I fucking love you, Patton Morris. You know me. You know I was never too much into romance. I thought I would never find the one for me, and if I did, it would come in my own time. I never sought to search for that. But then…I met you and suddenly I have never wanted to exist for more than to simply be in your gaze. I cannot help but fall apart to think there could be anyone in the world that would fit me better than you could because the truth is that there is none. I would sooner die than to be separated from you, for I hadn’t realized just how lonely the world would be without you in my life. You have brought color back into my life because before I met you, I was nothing. You unwound every part of me until I was nothing left but a puddle of thread in front of me. You make me want to change for the better every single day of my life. I don’t ever want to lose you, Patton, so please. Don’t make me lose you by shutting yourself out. I want to love every part of you: the perfect parts, the flaws, the trauma. Everything. I love you.”
Patton stared at Logan, unsure what to think of the confession. Logan was never one to swear and was never one to be more emotion oriented. But in that moment, he was, and Patton was left to be stunned by Logan’s emotions.
“I love you too, Logan Sanders. A little too much.” Patton gave a small smile, “And maybe, if I love myself more, I’d be able to tell you everything, but I love you too much to hold you back, and I love myself too little to beg you to stay despite my flaws.”
“Patton, I-”
“I think you should rethink your decision to hold onto me.” Patton murmured as he dashed out the apartment, not even letting Logan get a chance to grab onto him and make him stay. The slamming of the door rang louder than the voices that began to return into his head.
As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. Time skip!!! Enjoy <3.
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“That’s a nice tie, Logan.”
Logan looked up from his work to see that Janus was hovering over him.
“Thank you.” Logan nodded, “My boyfriend got it for me.”
“Ooh, now this is some spicy news.” Remus’ thoughts traveled through the entire room as he began to run towards Logan’s desk.
Janus gave a small smirk, amusement sparkling in his eyes, “Boyfriend, huh? How long have you been together?”
“This is the first time Logan’s ever expressed romantic interest towards someone, and this is the first time I’ve realized that my confirmations of him being gay were right.”
Logan glanced at the date and looked down at the tie that Patton had embroidered for him, similar to the one his mother did with robots. However, instead of robots, the blue tie was embroidered with a grey version of brains with glasses on. Patton had done the same with his polo, embroidering a grey version of a heart with glasses on at the edges of his sleeves. Patton had said that it fit them, considering Logan was all logical while Patton was more emotional. Opposites attract, as they often remarked towards each other.
“Come out with it already, Nerdy Wolverine! This is some hot goss I do not want to miss before my meeting.” Remus grinned.
“Nice to see you have joined us.” Logan sighed, “Not that it is any of your business, Remus, but we just celebrated our 6 month anniversary last weekend.”
Within that time frame, Logan had become a changed man. Love, to him, felt easy now. Though he did struggle a lot with his emotions still, being around Patton helped him cope with those feelings. Patton brought him the comfort that Logan had never been offered in his life before and gave him a safe space to feel, while Logan gave Patton a safe space to learn without being judged. Giggly kisses, intimate smiles, cuddling, tender hugs, and known looks had been shared between the two of them. Movie dates, picnics, cooking at home, escape rooms, and more had been experienced. Nicknames were passed on. Patton called Logan “Lo” and Logan called Patton “Pat”. Pet names were shared. With Patton, Logan was learning to live in the moment. With Logan, Patton was learning what it was like to truly experience something. They brought out the best in each other and helped to support each other through the worst. Patton was there for Logan when they went to go visit the grave of his mother and he was there when Logan wanted a hug for the first time in a long time. Patton was there for every time that Logan needed him and Logan was there for Patton anytime he needed him. Logan could admit–at least to himself–that Patton had chemically altered his brain in the slightest.
“And yet, he still acts like a robot when he talks about love. Bah, party pooper.”
“You are aware I can hear what you discuss about me in your head, right?” Logan raised an eyebrow at Remus.
“Please don’t mind my husband.” Janus glared at Remus before turning to Logan, “Congratulations on 6 months and I’d like to talk to you in my office, Logan.”
“Ah, I’ve gotten used to ignoring his thoughts.” Logan adjusted his glasses.
“Nice ass, Wright.” Remus managed to comment in his head before slapping Janus’ ass.
“Like that.” Logan rolled his eyes, “Shall we?”
“Yes please.” Janus sighed, a flush traveling across his face. Despite the two of them being married for quite some time now, it was clear that Janus never got used to how outward Remus could be with his public displays of affection.
“Please try to contain your thoughts. I am still capable of reading your thoughts.”
“Great, we can have a threesome!” Remus grinned.
“Or would it be a foursome with Logan’s boyfriend…?”
Logan hoped not.
“Awful. I hate it. Thank you so much.” Logan groaned as he tried to cover his ears to ignore the plethora of inappropriate Remus comments.
“Logan learning sarcasm? I’m proud.” Janus’ thoughts came through this time as the two left Remus at Logan’s desk.
Once they were at Janus’ office, Logan took a seat as Janus came over.
“Is this about my work?” Logan raised an eyebrow.
“No.” Janus shook his head as he took off his gloves, placing them right beside him. “It’s about something I discussed with you about 7 months ago.”
Ah yes. The evidence that Logan had been given by Janus.
“Is there anything you can report back to me?”
Logan nodded, proceeding to tell Janus about anything that he knew. He pulled out his phone, which he had used to keep track of most of his notes, as it helped distract the criticisms of not finding a lot of research–despite the immense amount of time poured into researching. Though Logan had done a lot more research, there hadn’t been as big of a breakthrough as he had when he first learned about the DS device. All he knew now was that the DS device was small and would hook up to someone like an accessory on their outfit.
“And have you found anything with Patient 50?”
Logan stared at his phone and looked at the notes around Patient 50. Though he had found out more about who Patient 50 was as a person, the only lead as to who it could be was still blank. He had yet to ask Patton about it, especially since Patton hadn’t opened up about anything in his past. Sure, there were things that Patton was open to talk about like certain memories, but Patton had always pleaded with Logan to drop the conversation when Logan would catch any glimpse at his tattoo. Logan always did.
“Not a lot. Just that they are a vital part of this plan. I’m trying to press for more details.” Logan hesitated with his words.
“He’s hiding something. He knows something, but he’s hiding it.”
No shit, Janus. Logan wasn’t necessarily hiding his hesitance.
Janus raised an eyebrow, as that peaked his interest. “What do you mean press for more details? Do you have someone you think is Patient 50?”
“Not…really.” Logan sighed, “I have some suspicions, but it is not enough and I am not close enough to them to ask them about it.”
“Hm. I hope it isn’t who I think it is.”
Janus raised an eyebrow before he stood up, “I think you should pursue this further.”
“Sorry?” Logan raised an eyebrow, “How?”
“You’re a smart man, Logan. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Besides, you always have Remus and me to help convince anyone. Remus’ power has always come to good use when it comes to intimidation.”
That was far from the route Logan ever wanted to take, especially with Patton.
“I’ll keep your offer in mind.” Logan cleared his throat as he stood up, “Was that it? I’d like to get back to my work.”
“Yes.” Janus nodded as he walked over to put his gloves on, “You can trust us, Logan.”
“I understand that.” Logan nodded as he walked back to his seat. Before he could fully settle down and become wrapped up in his work again though, he received a text from someone.
“Roman finally asked Virgil out!”
Finally. Logan didn’t know when the two idiots would’ve stopped being so blind for each other, if it wasn’t for him and Patton pushing them.
He texted Patton back, “I am ecstatic for them.”
“Liar. I bet you have the most serious look right now.” Patton texted back before spamming a couple of serious face emojis of Logan. Patton had begged Logan to code custom ones of drawings Patton had made of himself. Patton had also made a couple for Logan, which Logan now used in his day-to-day life. The spam of emojis caused Logan to let the sides of his mouth curve up, though he didn’t allow for a full smile to come across his face.
“You can believe what you want, Pat.”
“Can I come see you today? I want to tell you all about what happened.”
“I thought you said you have a shift right now.”
“Roman let me go home early because it was slow today.” Patton was a quick texter, something Logan did find a good thing.
“I’d love to see you, Patton.”
“Great! I can meet you outside of your work?”
“That sounds amazing. I’ll see you soon.” Logan texted before looking at the time. There was about an hour left before his shift ended and he might as well finish the last part of the project. It wasn’t long until Logan finished the last part of what he needed to do on the latest project from the Mindscape before standing up and stretching. He was going to see Patton, something he always looked forward to at the end of a long day. To say that today was long was a bit of an understatement, especially with the questioning and debriefing that he had given to Janus about all his research over the past seven months. Logan packed up his things and headed down to the lobby to meet Patton, who had already texted him that he was here.
“Lo!” Patton grinned as he ran towards his boyfriend upon seeing him.
“Hi.” Logan opened his arms to catch the man who had jumped to wrap his arms around Logan. “How was your day today?”
“Good.” Patton hummed as he squeezed Logan tightly, “Better now that I’ve seen you.”
“Good. That’s good.” Logan remarked as he held Patton in place to keep the two of them from falling. Patton separated from Logan and looked up at his boyfriend.
“What about you? How was your day?”
“Productive.” Logan leaned down to press his lips against Patton’s. “Did you want to grab some dinner before we head to my apartment?”
“That sounds amazing.” Patton grinned.
“Is that Logan’s boyfriend?”
Logan turned towards where he heard the thoughts to see Janus and Remus hand-in-hand staring at Logan and Patton.
“Ah. The thorns in my side.” Logan sighed as he intertwined fingers with Patton. Janus and Remus began to make their way over to Logan.
“Who’s that, Lo?”
“Patton, meet my boss, Janus Wright, and my coworker, Remus Wright. You may know Remus better as Remus Prince Wright, Roman’s brother. Remus and Janus, meet my boyfriend, Patton Morris.”
“Oh! I’ve met you two before! It’s nice to see you two again, though Roman told me Remus wasn’t his brother.” Patton remarked to Remus.
“For the best.” Logan and Janus both grimaced as Remus began to go on a long grotesque spiel of how Roman and Remus were born.
“I…uh, wish I hadn’t heard any of that.” Patton chuckled nervously as he squeezed Logan’s hand tightly.
“I wish so too.” Logan grumbled.
“Are you heading out too, Logan?” Janus asked.
“Yes, I’m planning to get some dinner with Patton here.” Logan nodded.
“Great. Have fun and I’ll see you at work tomorrow, Logan.” Janus nodded. Logan and Patton turned away and began to walk the other way. Logan adjusted the cardigan that hung around Patton’s shoulder, which he had noticed had moved in the slightest to show parts of Patton’s tattoo.
They turned the corner when Logan caught the last fleeting thought of Janus. One he wished that Janus hadn’t thought of, for it was a jump to a conclusion that Logan knew might go badly if Patton ever met Janus again.
“That tattoo on Patton’s back…could he be Patient 50?”
