Hello everyone! This is a work that's been in the making for a little over 5 months now! I really hope you guys enjoy this, as it is only one of the amazing fics of this year's Big Bang Event hosted at @tss-storytime! As with every big bang event, there's always an artist and I'm so lucky to have worked with @thebestworstidea. The art she did for my story is absolutely phenomenal, so go check her out!
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Summary:
Logan Sanders had spent his entire life hearing thoughts from everyone around him: strangers, family, friends, and more. He had learned more about people than he ever wanted to hear, but it became very useful when it came to gaining useful information.
His one goal in life? Find out what the government filled to the brim with powerless people has in store for him and the rest of the population with powers and stop it from happening.
Which was why it was even weirder when he had run into the prettiest man he had ever seen who just so happened to have the answers he might have been searching for. Unfortunately for him and for some frustratingly unknown reason, Patton Morris was immune to his telepathy.
The worst part? This cute guy seemed to be completely opposed against the government just as much as he was. Now it was up to him to decide if Patton was telling the truth and if Logan was to trust him in his crazy plans to try and overthrow the government.
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I got paired with @wolfprincesszola's story Memories of 50.
Logan and Patton meet in a coffee shop, Logan tries to figure out a conspiracy about the difference between people with powers and without, while suffering from a case of 'can't turn my receptive telepathy off'. Romance, action, subterfuge and jellyfish.
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
<Masterlist>
<Next Chapter>
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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.
It’s time I did a masterlist of everything I’ve made. It’s long overdue. Most of my stuff is not only on Tumblr, but also ao3, if you like the format of ao3 better. I also have some exclusive stuff on Tumblr and some exclusive stuff on ao3 (aka me not wanting to post twice). My ao3 account is here. My favorites are starred!
Advice:
Word Replacer
Summary: How to replace Y/N with your name so it doesn’t make your brain confused :)
Sanders Sides:
Sanders Sides Incorrect Quotes
Summary: Stuff People Around Me Have Said
Porch Tears (Tumblr) (ao3) ⭐
Summary: After Logan has too much to drink, he goes outside to cry. Patton notices him outside on the porch and decides to ask him why he was crying and comfort him in his time of need.
The Fate of the Marked Six Masterlist (ao3) ⭐ - ONGOING
Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.
Echoes of 50 Masterlist (ao3) ⭐
Summary: Logan Sanders had spent his entire life hearing thoughts from everyone around him: strangers, family, friends, and more. He had learned more about people than he ever wanted to hear, but it became very useful when it came to gaining useful information. His one goal in life? Find out what the government filled to the brim with powerless people has in store for him and the rest of the population with powers and stop it from happening. Which was why it was even weirder when he had run into the prettiest man he had ever seen who just so happened to have the answers he might have been searching for. Unfortunately for him and for some frustratingly unknown reason, Patton Morris was immune to his telepathy. The worst part? This cute guy seemed to be completely opposed against the government just as much as he was. Now it was up to him to decide if Patton was telling the truth and if Logan was to trust him in his crazy plans to try and overthrow the government.
Miraculous Ladybug:
Believe (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Chat Noir didn’t believe in fate until he met Marinette.
Presentation Anxiety (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Marinette has presentation anxiety and Adrien can't do much for her before the presentation. However, he can be a shoulder to cry on after she finishes the presentation.
Table Sitting (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Marinette decides to take Alya’s advice to sit underneath a table during New Years in order to see if in 2023, she could get a relationship. What she isn’t expecting is for Adrien, her very good friend and lowkey-crush to sit next to her underneath the table. Conversation ensues.
Lovesick (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Adrien's been feeling all sorts of symptoms recently that all root down to one problem: Marinette. He thinks it's sickness, but his friends help him realize that it's much more than a common cold.
Aphrodite’s Visit (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Nino Lahiffe had just been face-to-face with Aphrodite herself and thinks he managed to curse every love interaction he would ever have in the future with bad luck. Is he truly as screwed as he think he is, or will he come to terms with some feelings he has for his best friend, Alya Césaire?
Dungeons and Daddies:
Brown Eyes and Strawberry Blond Hair (ao3) ⭐
Summary: In a world where Jodie "Joe" Foster was just a regular human and Glenn Close never revealed that he was Nick's original father, Glenn finds himself reflecting the events that led him to where he is upon seeing the love of his life, Morgan Freeman.
Ace Attorney:
Reasons Not to Kiss Him (Tumblr) (ao3) ⭐
Summary: Miles Edgeworth debates whether or not to kiss Phoenix Wright when there are so many reasons against kissing him.
Inspired by reasons not to kiss him by natalieweepoetry
Criminal Minds:
Brown (Tumblr) (ao3) ⭐
Summary: You slowly fall in love with everything that revolves around the amazing Spencer Reid, especially the color brown.
Traffic Lights (Tumblr) (ao3) ⭐
Summary: You slowly start to see Spencer Reid fall out of love with you and you can’t help but confront him.
Unlucky Valentine’s (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: You and Dr. Spencer Reid were both romantics, Spencer being more of one. You hated Valentine’s Day, but Dr. Spencer Reid loved the holiday. What happens on the first Valentine’s Day that you guys have as an established relationship?
Clarification on Fic
Spencer Reid at the Pool HCs
Summary: A bunch of headcanons of you and Spencer Reid at the pool
Mystic Messenger:
Spaghetti (Tumblr) (ao3) ⭐
Summary: When Saeyoung gets into a fight with Saeran and refuses to eat his dinner, how will you find a way to get him to eat it and what will ensue from it?
“Do you want a kiss?” (Tumblr) (ao3) ⭐
Summary: You offer Saeyoung a kiss and he gladly takes the opportunity.
Dream SMP:
Happy Ending (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Dream looks back at what he’s done to Tommy in his last moments and he regrets it. His story’s come to a close.
Loss of a Hero (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: After Dream kills Tommy, Sam tells everyone. How will all of them deal with the loss of a hero?
Discord (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Tubbo feels something is wrong and as his presidency continues, he realizes that L’manberg is collapsing on itself.
DadSchlatt AU ⭐
Summary: DadSchlatt but Phil lied and just doesn't want people to know he kidnapped Tubbo and turned Schlatt insane.
Ran and Boo Back at It Again (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Ran and Boo had been fighting inside of Ranboo for so long. So long that Ranboo had grown a splitting headache and fainted out. Ran and Boo had finally become two people. Can they reconcile and become one again?
Ability to Fly (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Tommy has always looked up to Wilbur and has always had the dream of flying high. What does Tommy do when Wilbur loses his wings?
The Twisted Story of Three Goat Hybrids (Tumblr) (ao3) ⭐
Summary: Clay "Dream" Schlatt wants to protect his little brother, but finds it hard to do when he has to do it from a distance and without any suspicion. Toby "Tubbo Minecraft" Schlatt wants to find out who his real family is, but finds it hard to do when the only two people who know are people he doesn't trust. Jonathan Schlatt wants to be a better father for his sons, but finds it hard to do when both distrust him with a passion, both for very different reasons.
Things Wilbur Remembers (ao3)
Summary: When Wilbur came back as a ghost, he didn't remember much, but these are the things that he does remember.
Welcome Home, Ranboo (ao3)
Summary: Ranboo never thought that Phil was a bad father. In fact, Phil was to show him where home truly was.
MCYTs:
Someday (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: George and Dream had moved in together and George starts to notice things. Then, it hits him. The moment that George found out he loved Dream was a normal Saturday.
Just What a Best Friend Does (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Dream gets stood up by his prom date, but Sapnap comes to the rescue. It’s just what a best friend does.
Stargazing (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Dream had been missing for the whole day and George gets worried. He decides to try and find him. When he finds Dream on the roof, he doesn’t know what to think.
Demon Slayer/Kimetsu no Yaiba:
Zenitsu Familial Headcanons ⭐
Summary: You being an older sister to Zenitsu and embarrassing him
S & D Tier:
Birthdays (ao3)
Summary: Alex didn't like birthdays. How will he react this year with Morgan finding out?
Late Night Sleepover Talk (ao3)
Summary: S (Alex) and D Tier (Morgan), upon their first meeting, had decided not to call each other by their names. Instead, they learned each other's Tiers and referred to each other as S and D. Through a late-night sleepover talk, will they finally learn them?
Floating Lanterns (ao3)
Summary: Alex and Morgan never had much time to have dates or do anything together, but on Valentine's Day, they finally have the time to have one.
Detroit Become Human:
The Forgotten Truth Masterlist (ao3)
Summary: Alice Reed is an undercover cop who finds herself in Detroit, her childhood home again. How will she deal with it when her past comes face to face with her?
D:BH HS AU HCs
Summary: A bunch of headcanons of everyone in a high school alternate universe based on a fic on ao3 that I can’t find the link to
Julie and the Phantoms:
Incorrect Quotes (Swearing and Weird Edition)
Summary: Things My Friends and I Have Said, except we swear a lot and talk about weird stuff
Lightbulb (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: Luke finds a cute girl in his college class and finds himself obsessed with wanting to learn more about her. However, she isn't making it easy with her quietness. Then, he watches as she lights up like a lightbulb.
Encanto:
Encanto Incorrect Quotes
Summary: Stuff I’ve Heard in my Math Class into incorrect quotes Encanto Characters Say
Genshin Impact:
Love Songs
Summary: After a failed date with a certain Hydro vision user, Zhongli finds you and asks you why you did something so stupid.
Sick Day
Summary: Diluc ignores his needs for some time, so you make him take a day off to take care of him.
Sleeping In
Summary: You find yourself sleeping in with your boyfriend, Diluc.
Home
Summary: You get injured and when Childe is the first visitor you have while you’re recovering, you can’t help but think about him.
Simplicity
Summary: You were never the best at flashy things unlike Childe, so he needs to remind you that it doesn’t matter. At least not to him.
Valorant:
Phoenix Fluff Alphabet
Summary: Fluff alphabet of Phoenix as your s/o
Tears of Themis:
Nightmares (Tumblr) (ao3)
Summary: You wake up from a nightmare and your boyfriend Luke is there to distract you.
Misc:
Everything to Her
Summary: Songfic based on She by Dodie Clark for International Lesbian Day
100 Word Love Story
Summary: Love stories in 100 words, featuring the other admin of my shared blog, the lovely Hurricane
Overanalyzing Things that Don’t Need to be Overanalyzed
Summary: Me overanalyzing Ghostbur
Google Slide Templates (Dream Team)
Summary: Me showing the dream team google slide templates, except I never showed the rest and I should probably show the rest soon
I hope you have a great rest of your day, wherever you are! :)
Happy pride month! It’s always nice when someone finally discovers their identity and stop rejecting the truth, and you know, it was my time to finally realize that about myself :)
And we are finished! I hope that this fic really did change you as much as it changed me writing. Sometimes, all we can do in the darkest parts of our grief is to continue going and loving others. No matter what, we are always going to be enough for our loved ones. As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. Enjoy the last chapter of the fic with a song from my favorite artist <3.
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Now Playing: Phantom Pain / the rapture by Leanna Firestone
<Masterlist>
<Previous Chapter>
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Logan Sanders had spent his entire life hearing thoughts from everyone around him: strangers, family, friends, and more. No matter the thought, he knew it. And sometimes, they could be really unpleasant to hear. Unfortunately for him, there was no on-off switch for his telepathy without pulling at his sense of self. He would know. He tried.
He had learned more about people than he ever wanted to hear, but it was a tool when it came to gaining useful information. It had been a normal day going to work and stopping by the coffee shop when he had heard a thought that ran 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 said that.
“Logan Sanders, you really are the worst for making me wait for you. I thought you were always one to be on time.”
Logan sighed, rolling his eyes as he turned to Thomas. “Hello, Thomas. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Oh come on, Logan. Don’t be like that.” Thomas grinned as he pulled Logan into a nice side-hug. Unlike all the other times, Logan indulged in Thomas’ physical affection. “I know you love it.”
“Whatever.” Logan rolled his eyes.
“How are you feeling?”
“Awful. Virgil kept me up all night. I’m sure you can relate the same way with Roman.” Logan rolled his eyes, “The night before their wedding, you’d think they’d get some sleep.”
“Ah, you know how they can be.” Thomas nudged his brother. “Now come on, before we go, you know who we have to visit first.”
“Of course I do. I’m the one with two bouquets.” Logan rolled his eyes, “I don’t see that you’ve brought one for Mom, now have you?”
“Whatever. You know you were just going to give me yours.” Thomas winked, “Now come on. We don’t want to keep Mom and Patton waiting. You can go talk to Patton first.”
It had been 3 years, 9 months, 20 days, 12 hours, and 13 minutes since Patton had died in Logan’s arms. It had taken Logan more than half that time to process his grief. Even now, he was sure he would never get over Patton’s death. Still, he continued to grow and continued to keep going through the ever continuous moving world.
“Hey, Pat.” Logan placed the bouquet down against the grave. “I really miss you. Virgil and Roman are getting married today. They saved you a seat next to mine. I hope you’re watching and I know you’d be proud of them. Maybe you’ll be watching them from the stars. They really have grown from those awkward adults that couldn’t even muster a word to each other. In other news, I finally got that permit to build an observatory right next to the Mystic Oaks Aquarium. I’ve already gotten contracts with nearby daycares and elementary schools. They’ll be visiting on field trips. I’m sorry I won’t be able to stay as long as I usually do, but you know how much I love to be on time. I love you so much.”
Maybe in another universe, Patton Morris had lived to become a daycare worker. Maybe in that universe, Logan was an astronomer who grew old with him. Maybe, just maybe, in another universe, they lived long enough to see each other become old with grey hair.
In this universe though, Logan Sanders had loved Patton Morris and Patton Morris had loved Logan Sanders. That was all that mattered in the world.
Logan stood up as he brushed dust away from Patton’s grave. He would visit the grave, no doubt, soon again.
Patton Morris. 19 October 1989 to 15 August 2024. Beloved son, friend, and lover. “Aren’t the stars beautiful?”
Grief was a funny thing. It always found a way to stick around, but as time passed, it became more bearable. It became lighter on your shoulders and it allowed you to grow around it. Sure, his grief would always be there, but so would the love he had for Patton. So would the good memories. So would the story Logan told about Patton.
One that was not a love story, but instead a story about love.
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Genuinely, this fic is now one of my proudest works. I really hope you liked it and if anyone caught my One Day and 500 Days of Summer reference, good for you. From the beginning, I was always planning for this fic to not have a happy ending and though I knew it would've been easier on me and my heart if this did, I like the way this turned out. Sometimes we don't get to spend all the time on Earth with our loved ones, so it's important to just cherish the present. I hope anyone that's dealing with grief learns to take a deep breath and cherish those around you. It's going to be a rough journey, but otherwise, you'll grow around your grief.
In terms of how proud I was to work on this project, I'm amazed at everything that went down and the hard work on everyone's side. Special thanks again to @thebestworstidea for creating such amazing art for my fic and to @tss-storytime and the mods for giving me such an amazing opportunity. I probably won't do this again because of the amount of work that I had to put into it, but it was amazing while it lasted. Genuinely, thanks to everyone for making it such a fun experience AND if you like my writing, you should check out the rest of my writing in my masterlist of all fics and fandoms I've ever done. If I don't get to interact with anyone again, I hope you have an amazing day and an amazing life. Peace <3
As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. This chapter broke me while writing. I hope it breaks you while reading. Enjoy <3.
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Now Playing: In Cold Light by Vanbur
<Masterlist>
<Previous Chapter> <Next Chapter>
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Logan should’ve known something was off when everyone showed up for the heist with power suppressors on, though Logan was given them last and was surprised to note that his did not take away his telepathic ability.
“Are you sure this works?” Logan raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, Sanders. It does.” Janus rolled his eyes, “I specifically bought you the ones that work similar to Patton’s power where it resists others’ powers against yours, but it does not have an effect on yours. Thought yours might be useful to help predict when people are entering the building and where they all are.”
“I’m impressed.” Logan nodded.
Logan should’ve known something was more off when everyone began to whisper around Patton in hushed tones and pull everyone into a group hug for final goodbyes. He really should’ve known something was off when Patton said that he would go off with Remus just as they had arrived above the room with the DS device, still in the vents. He seemed anxious to say the least to find Phobus.
“You should stay here. At least until we can drop down.” Logan shook his head, “We need Remus to use his powers.”
Remus nodded as everyone awkwardly shuffled around to let Remus see above the vent.
“Ouch! Get your ass out of my face, Wright!” Virgil scowled quietly.
“That’s not very nice of you to say, Virgil!” Patton scolded.
“Ooo, didn’t know you were into that, babe~” Remus sang.
“Do you think I have much of a choice? I’d rather Remus be there right now, but we can’t all be winners!” Janus shot back at Virgil.
“Ew! That’s so gross. Don’t talk about my brother like that!” Roman gagged.
“Can you all shut up for one second?” Logan scowled, “Mind you, they could still hear us.”
“Sorry, Logan.” All five of those talking murmured as they focused on getting out of the vent.
Once he was above the vent, Logan watched as Remus’ eyes began to flicker green until it was glowing a steady color. He listened below to the workers and their thoughts to see that they were going insane. That they had thought someone had called them from outside. Once they were out, everyone dropped down and Roman was quick to help lock the door. Logan turned to Patton who was down with them.
“Will you be alright with that freak?” Logan raised an eyebrow to Patton.
“Yeah. I’ve got to go. If we want the best chance at getting this done, we need to find Phobus as quickly as possible.” Patton murmured, dashing his eyes around the room warily.
“Alright.” Logan nodded as he rubbed his thumb against Patton’s cheek, “Stay safe, okay? I love you.”
“I love you too.” Patton giggled as he was helped back up the vents by Remus.
Logan smiled before he turned towards the device.
“I love you.” Virgil’s voice came in, smugly mocking Logan’s relationship, “God, you two are insufferable.”
“Why don’t you just shut your mouth, Virge, and start unscrewing that panel for me?” Logan scowled as he threw a screwdriver in his pocket towards the man. He turned his attention towards the computer hooked up to the device and began to do his work. Logan was a chemical engineer who managed to mainly do software. He should know how to do everything.
“I knew assigning you to do software was a good idea.” Janus grinned.
Logan raised an eyebrow at Janus as he began to decode the password on the computer. He turned his focus back onto his decoding, but still spoke up, “I will file a complaint with you at work about that, especially since I’m supposed to be employed as the head chemical engineer. Must I remind you of that?”
“On the bright side, we are paying you the salary of both the software engineer and chemical engineer salary.” Janus offered as he watched Logan doing his work. He turned to grab a screwdriver to help Virgil with the device disarmament. Logan had briefed him early on so that the three of them could multitask.
“Satisfactory enough.” Logan remarked as he managed to get into the computer.
There was pounding on the door.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Roman remarked as he pulled out a taser gun. Logan couldn’t necessarily focus on what was going on, but from the chaotic thoughts of all the workers and of the noise Roman was making, Logan could only assume there were a lot of injuries being sustained from anyone that was not Roman. Roman was always someone who knew how to fight, even if he didn’t show it too much.
“Roman, I do hope that you stay intact throughout all of this.” Logan remarked as he began to erase the entire software and the drive that the device could access. “I am about halfway done.”
“Doing just peachy, thank you so much.” Roman let sarcasm drip out of his mouth as Logan could hear the workers.
“Oh shit, he has one of our guns!”
“Fuck, I don’t know how to disarm him. I don’t want to get my power taken away.”
“Well, shit, we’re screwed.”
“Keep it up, Ro!” Virgil yelled out as Logan managed to scramble to erase the entire device before shutting it off and checking in on Virgil and Janus.
“Duck!” Roman yelled. Logan, Virgil, and Janus all ducked, right as a flying object came into view.
“Shoot at the Medeis, Roman!” Logan yelled out, “We believe in you.”
“Jeez, you cannot do anything on your own, can you?” Janus huffed as he stood up, “Logan, take over what I’m doing. I’ll help Roman.”
Logan began to take over what Janus was doing, beginning to cut wires and rip out boards whenever he could in hopes that he could damage the device as much as possible. Considering it was such a big device, there was only so much he could do.
It was quiet, at least in the outside world. There was no more fighting. Logan turned to see Roman and Janus heaving. Janus was carrying one of the ray guns the workers were carrying as Roman had out his taser gun. There was no doubt that Janus worked to disarm each worker while Roman went to tase each one until they were all unconscious.
“Well, that was easier than expected.” Virgil blinked, “Is that it?”
“We should get up to the viewing point.” Janus nodded.
“Yeah, we can meet Patton up there. There’s no doubt he must’ve found Phobus already.”
Janus, Roman, and Virgil shared a look.
“What?” Logan raised an eyebrow.
“Nothing. You’re right.” Virgil stifled a smile as he pointed to the vents, “Let’s go back up now, right? Better to get to Patton faster than slower.”
“No.” Logan stopped Virgil as the man began to walk back towards the vent, “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Virgil raised an eyebrow.
“I know you, Grey.” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Being your best friend for this long has allowed me to know your behaviors and mannerisms. You just twitched your ear.”
“What are you talking about?” Virgil scoffed, darting his eyes over to Roman.
“You scoffed and turned your head away from me! You only do that when you’re hiding something.”
“He’s not going to break.” Janus’ voice came in.
Logan turned towards Janus, raising an eyebrow, “What the hell did you do, Wright?”
“It wasn’t my choice.” Janus shook his head, “You should be asking that to someone else.”
Logan’s heart dropped. Now, it made sense. The guns that everyone seemed to be aware of except for Logan. Logan only found out their purpose because of the workers’ thoughts and from context clues. The glances everyone would share with each other. The goodbye hug they shared before the mission. The way Patton kept telling Logan to live without Patton. The way Patton kept telling Logan he loved him. The reason Patton and Remus wanted to leave to do something else. The reason everyone was acting weirdly. The reason everyone was acting power suppressors. Patton had something up his sleeve and no one wanted to let Logan into it because he would automatically decline the offer. No one wanted to tell Logan what was going on.
“This isn’t the only copy of the software, is it?” Logan let his stare harden as he turned around to the DS device.
“We did a lot of damage to DS Enterprise.” Virgil offered first.
“Where’s the software room?” Logan replied coldly as he pulled on the rope they had used to get into the room, “I’m going back up.”
“Come on, Logan. Don’t ruin the plan-”
“The plan?” Logan raised an eyebrow, turning to Roman, boiling fury catching the back of his throat. “Are you really concerned about the plan?”
“I-” Roman began before Logan shook his head, efficiently cutting Roman off.
“The plan was to disable the DS device and to get help from Thomas’ team. What the hell is this?” Logan spat, “When were you going to tell me Patton went after Phobus himself and went to delete the entire software of DS Enterprise by himself? That he was going to disarm every single goddamn ray gun until he was caught? Why didn’t any of you stop him? This is reckless and stupid!”
Everyone stayed in silence, each one unable to meet Logan’s eyes in shame.
“I’m going to stop him.” Logan scoffed as he tugged on the rope to make sure it was steady enough to go back through the vents.
“Remus is there.”
“Sorry?” Logan raised an eyebrow, turning his head back to Virgil who spoke up. “You have something to say?”
“Remus was there.” Virgil cleared his throat. He brought his eyes up until they had met Logan’s. His eyes wavered with shame and apologies, though none of those emotions came out as prevalent in his voice. Instead, Virgil gave a response, “Remus is strong and has the power to create hallucinations. He was our best bet at keeping Patton alive.”
“And that makes it any better?” Logan let his words drip like a poison dart an assassin would use for a slow-killing death.
“Logan, it was for your own good. Patton didn’t want you to know for a reason.” Roman pleaded with the man.
Logan huffed. As much as he hated to admit it, they were right. Patton always was smarter than he let on. Patton knew how to delete the entire drive, probably faster than Logan could. Logan could dodge attacks from the others pretty well, but Patton was better. Patton had to grow up dodging them.
“I know you don’t like admitting we’re right, L.” Virgil shook his head as he grabbed the rope from Logan, “But Patton’s not a weak duckling in need of help. If anything, we’d be in his way.”
“It doesn’t mean that I won’t stop fighting to try and keep him alive.” Logan grumbled as he began to climb back up into the vents.
“Of course not. What would we expect from the best loving couple in all of the Mystic Oaks?” Janus mocked as he began to climb back up behind Logan. The other two were behind them.
“Stop grumbling, Janus. Let’s just get to Patton before anyone else comes.” Roman rolled his eyes as he climbed in as the last person.
The four of them began to crawl through the vents before Logan began to hear the thoughts once more. A perk of being in the vents meant that it gave a clearer view as to where the thoughts were coming from and where exactly they were coming from. Logan heard Talyn’s thoughts before it happened.
“Patton must’ve escaped through the vents last time. Maybe I should throw a bomb in there.”
“We need to get down now.” Logan urged as he dropped through the vents upon reaching a grate.
“What? Logan, why?” Janus raised an eyebrow. “Did you even check for-”
“No time. Get out, Wright!” Virgil yelled as he pushed Janus through. Janus fell through, Virgil and Roman getting out after.
“What the hell?” Janus yelled out, glaring at Virgil as he went to compose himself.
Not a moment later, there was a blast and the four looked up to see that the vents had completely exploded.
“That was why.” Logan huffed as he began to take a look at his surroundings. “Though I’m not sure if our current situation is better…”
The four were surrounded in a circle with workers of DS Enterprise all pointing the ray guns at them. In the very front was Phobus grinning at him, wearing a golden ring that he didn’t have before. Logan realized the gold ring must’ve been a power suppressor, as Logan couldn’t hear any of Phobus’ thoughts. Dammit.
“Hello, Logan. It’s nice to see you again.” Phobus grinned. “Mind telling me what the rest of your friends’ names are?”
“Oh sure! It’s ‘go’, ‘fuck’, ‘yourself’!” Virgil replied happily as he flipped Phobus off, “Why are you even here?”
“Oh, you didn’t think you were the only one planning for this visit, were you?” Phobus grinned. “I’ve been waiting for you, Logan. You know that I have.”
Logan stayed quiet, trying to observe Phobus’ habits. It was a little odd. He didn’t remember Phobus shifting to the right when he smiled. He didn’t remember Phobus having such a playful expression on his face.
“Hm, playing hard to get? Why, that won’t do. Let’s play a game, shall we?”
“And why would we do that?” Roman replied in horror, “You’re clearly going to rig it!”
“Now, now, hot shot, I play fair. I always do. Let’s make a deal, shall we?”
Logan raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Phobus never played any games. Even in his thoughts, he was serious. To play along to someone’s games was out-of-character.
“What’s the deal?”
“Logan, you can’t possibly-” Both Roman and Virgil spoke up to yell at Logan. Janus glared at them to shut up, knowing that they could do more damage by talking than by just listening. It seemed to be what Phobus wanted to do anyway.
“A simple game of chess. You win, I give you the exact location of your precious…Patton. I win? You turn yourselves into me and subject yourself to the same fate as your dear boyfriend.”
“Rigged deal.” Logan scowled, “I don’t want the location of Patton. I know where he is.”
Phobus raised an eyebrow, “Do you now? Because last time I remembered, Patton had exited the vents from here to get to the archive room. I intercepted him on the way here.”
Him. Not them. Phobus hadn’t caught Patton at all, if he didn’t know that Remus was with Patton.
“Then I guess I do not care as much as I thought for that man. I don’t want his precise location. I want to know where the archive room is.”
“Archive room?” Phobus laughed, “Why? Are you planning to finish the job that Patton couldn’t?”
No. Logan planned to help Patton finish the job that he could do on his own. He planned to protect Patton from Phobus. Maybe stalling him was the best course of business.
“I just want to know what goes on in DS Enterprise.” Logan grit through his teeth, holding his hand out, “Deal?”
“Deal.” Phobus grinned as he shook hands with Logan. A chess board on a table was brought out.
“L, can we have a word before your chess game?” Virgil raised an eyebrow at Logan.
“Oh sure! It’s not like the fate of your entire lives is on the line.” Phobus winked, grinning as he turned away.
“Are you crazy?” Virgil hissed, glaring at Logan. “This could cost us everything. A chess game? With Phobus? Do you know how crazy smart that man is?”
“What’s a little fun in this place?” Logan mustered up a faux smile.
“Oh come on, Logan. I don’t believe you believe that.” Roman scowled, “What’s going on? This is only going to make things harder to find Patton!”
“I agree with Logan.”
Roman and Virgil darted their heads to glare at Janus. “What?”
“If Phobus is here, he can’t be near Patton at all. Patton’s probably still alive, so no doubt, he’s going to try and get the information out of us. Let’s give them a show and stall them, okay?” Janus winked.
The problem to Logan was that Phobus didn’t feel like Phobus. There wasn’t the same energies, the same command, the same anger that bubbled inside of Phobus. Instead, Phobus felt just like a normal man. Just as Logan had known the other workers of DS Enterprise were supposed to be. Most likely someone else posed as Phobus, though it wouldn’t make sense why it looked so accurate.
White pawn to D4. Black pawn to F5. White bishop to G5. Black pawn to H6. White bishop to H4. Black pawn to G5. White pawn to E4. Black pawn eating the white bishop at H4.
Logan stared blankly at the chessboard. There was no way that Phobus was being serious. If Phobus was really playing Logan against a chess match, it made no reason for him to fall for something as simple as the Dutch Defense.
“Scared you’re going to lose?” Phobus grinned as he rested his head on his hands, staring at Logan. Maybe Phobus thought that would bring some pressure onto Logan.
“The opposite, in fact.” Logan replied calmly as he moved his queen up to H5. “Checkmate.”
Phobus gaped at the game.
“Really, I do not know why you thought you could beat me at chess.” Logan tsked as he stood up, brushing off the dust from his clothes, “Now, the location of the archive room now?”
Phobus scoffed as he stood up too, “You’re not getting that.”
“I think I am, in fact.” Logan remarked as he stepped back for Virgil, Roman, and Janus to surround him, each of them holding out a ray gun as well as their taser gun. It wasn’t long before Logan heard zapping around him. Though he couldn’t see much from the way the others were covering him, it was only when they had managed to take down every worker except for Phobus that they let Logan out.
Logan sighed as he grabbed a gun from one of the unconscious workers, “I really am sorry for this, Joan.”
With that, Logan pointed the ray gun towards Joan and zapped them to get rid of their shape shifting power. In an instant, they were back to Joan. Janus was quick to tase Joan until they, too, fell unconscious.
“How’d you know, Logan?”
“Simply, it’s elementary.” Logan shrugged, “Now, onwards. I think I have the map of the entire place memorized, though I didn’t think we’d be going through the building this way.”
They rushed through areas, hiding behind walls and doors whenever any workers came by. They were trying to get through the area without having to tase yet another worker that did nothing to them.
Once they reached the archive room, Logan hesitated.
“What? Why are you hesitating?” Janus raised an eyebrow.
“I can’t hear anyone’s thoughts.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, of course you can’t. Two of them are wearing a power suppressor and the other one is a living power suppressor. We just need to make sure that Phobus knows he’s cornered.” Janus scowled.
“There you are! I was wondering when you’d get here!”
Logan huffed as he turned to see Phobus grinning at him. The real Phobus. He seemed preoccupied as he was in front of two magic bubbles, made from throwing potions that contained Remus and Patton in each one.
“Remus!” Janus yelled out, beginning to run towards the man. Looks like the snake did have a heart, even if he tried to pretend he didn’t most of the time. Especially when it came to his husband.
“Feisty one, I can see. Married, are you? I was wondering what the ring was for.” Phobus grinned as he pushed Janus down. “I’m afraid they’re unreachable. Why don’t you sit down there?”
Phobus kicked Janus until Janus slid back to where Virgil, Roman, and Logan were.
“Janus, are you okay?” Roman raised an eyebrow as he held a hand out. Janus took it as he huffed in embarrassment at what had just happened.
“What are you doing with those two?” Logan spoke up, staring at the magic bubble that was beginning to move towards the computers.
“Well, I saw them trying to hack and decode all that I’ve worked upon for the last 10 years and I just couldn’t have that.” Phobus tsked, “I’m keeping that green one. His power is useful and will make a good power for my second-in-command. Patient 50 on the other hand? I don’t know what I’ll do with him. Especially since you destroyed the only purpose he was made for. It’ll take me forever to rebuild that back up, Logan.”
Logan scowled, “What do you want, Phobus?”
“Wow, Logan. I didn’t know we were on a first-name basis.” Phobus gasped. “Might not want to tell your boyfriend that.”
Logan rolled his eyes as he looked over to Patton. Patton seemed to be wrapped up in cords and connected to some device, though Logan wasn’t sure what. The wires were too long for Logan to tell what it was. “Patton!”
“Just stall. Ten minutes.”
Logan definitely heard that. He stared at Patton. Patton seemed somewhat conscious, but not enough to move or even open his eyes fully. Patton’s glasses were nowhere to be found, probably broken off to the side during a fight with Phobus. Enough to let Logan hear some of Patton’s thoughts. Stall for what? Ten minutes for what? For Patton to regain energy? For everything to be fully deleted? For reinforcements to come in? For karma to kick in? Logan didn’t know.
“What do you have him hooked up to?”
“Ah, you always love getting me into villain monologues, don’t you, Logan?” Phobus grinned, “Unfortunately, I will not be indulging you in them, as it’s clear it didn’t hold you back from defeating Joan. Jeez, you can never get that good of help around here, can you?”
Logan stared at Phobus as he began to take out the ray gun he had.
“Those don’t work on me, remember?” Phobus tsked, shaking his head, “Last time I checked, I was an Impoten. There is nothing of me to take away.”
“Your IQ maybe.” Virgil shrugged as he pulled out the taser gun. Phobus easily dodged the bolts before raising an eyebrow at Virgil.
“Did you really think that would work, emo?”
“Emo! Ha!” Roman burst out laughing before cursing at himself, “Dammit, you’re funny, you wicked villain!”
“It was worth a goddamn try.” Virgil pouted.
“Well, it was a bad one.” Phobus remarked as he sighed, “Well, it’s time to say goodbye to all of you. I am sorry that I never got to learn your names, Logan’s friends. I do wish you well, but there are some things I need to take care of.”
With that, Phobus whistled, allowing for several police officers to come into the room and approach all four of them.
“This has to be my worst nightmare.” Virgil grumbled, “Logan, go save Patton.”
“What?” Logan stared at Virgil with bewilderment. “Have you seen what’s around us?”
“Yes, I know about the enclosing circle of police officers. But you’re faster and for some odd reason, you become crazy scary when something is happening to Patton. So go! Save him or whatever that cheesy stuff is.” Virgil glared at Logan as he pushed the man. Logan took a deep breath as he grabbed the dagger that he still had sheathed inside of his boot. He really had to thank Janus for thinking of everything when he had made the plan. Logan rushed over the police officers, jumping over and under them, with the help of Virgil’s help tasing the others he couldn’t outrun or outfight. With that, he began to follow Phobus, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike. Almost immediately though, his plan was foiled as Phobus had snapped his fingers and a bubble that had Patton trapped in originally popped. Patton fell to the ground with wires still attached to him, while the bubble went to keep Logan in the bubble.
“Get up.” Phobus commanded, slapping Patton in the face. Patton jumped, slowly standing up. It seemed as if his physical activity was hard to control.
“Patton!” Logan screamed towards the man.
“It’s okay. I’m okay, Logan.” Patton smiled weakly, his words slurring together. From the way that Patton had to stumble around to even keep balance, it was clear that the wires that were hooked up to him were making him delusional.
“I’m okay, Lo. Don’t worry. I’m just not able to stand.”
Logan tried to walk closer to Patton and ended up bumping into the wall of the bubble. Logan continued to pound on the wall, trying to find a way out.
“We’re finishing this, no matter if you like it or not. I did not put more than 40 years of my life, just for you to throw it away out of the reasons that you were being hurt. People got hurt all the time. You need to just accept that fate. Get in the machine. It’s time for the Medeis to fall.” Phobus pointed to Patton.
Patton stared blankly at Phobus.
“One more minute.”
Until what? Whatever Patton was planning better have hurried up because Logan knew that Patton didn’t have much longer. He had seen the anger that had burned in Phobus’ eyes. It was the fury of a dragon, one that would burn down an entire kingdom to get even one more gold coin for the greed of itself. Phobus was the dragon, selfish and arrogant in every way imaginable.
“Why aren’t you getting in?” Phobus raised an eyebrow, “You don’t want to disappoint me, do you?”
“I’m not getting in.” Patton remarked, his words still slurring in the slightest. It was better though. Patton had successfully removed half the wires that had been attached to his body and was currently removing more as he continued to speak to Phobus. “You know, I used to be really scared of you, Phobus. I really did. You always knew the right words to push and pull someone in and for the longest time, I always thought that when you threatened me, that you meant it. That you would kill me. That you would kill everyone else. I guess at the time, it didn’t occur to me how much I matter to your experiments.”
“Get in.” Phobus grabbed a nearby knife. Logan’s knife that had dropped when Logan had become trapped in the bubble. “Or I’ll kill you.”
Patton began to step towards the machine, “I pity you, you know? I was wondering how hurt someone would have to be in order to treat someone–let alone a child–like this. I didn’t deserve it, Phobus, but you also didn’t deserve all the grief you had. I’m sorry that you couldn’t grow from your grief enough to not be a shitty person.”
Patton began to step inside the machine. Unfortunately for Patton Morris, he was too kind of a person to even refuse his abuser. But Phobus was angry. Too angry.
Logan widened his eyes as he watched Phobus begin to approach Patton with the knife, intending to kill.
“Patton, watch out!” Logan yelled out.
Patton turned too late.
There was a scream. There was red. Blood everywhere.
“If we go down, then we go down together.” Patton remarked, winking at Phobus.
Logan blinked to see that Patton had successfully managed to dodge the knife that was aiming to pierce straight through his heart. Phobus, however, had a deep cut that ran along his right side that was closest to Patton.
“Freeze, Special Force!” A voice yelled out near the room.
“Fuck!” Phobus spat out as he began to rush out of the room quickly. Phobus might’ve cared for his company, but he cared for his well-being more and Logan knew the man wouldn’t last a day in prison. Phobus was gone.
Logan turned towards Virgil, Janus, and Roman. They were no longer fighting the police officers, as the police officers had run as soon as they heard that the Special Force was there. Instead, they began to tiredly make their way over to Patton, Logan, and Remus. Patton struggled to find the button to let Logan and Remus out of their bubbles, but managed to find it soon enough. Logan and Remus both braced as they dropped to the ground, groaning as they sat up.
“That was not fun.” Logan grumbled as he turned to Patton. The love of his life. The man who was more clever than he put out to be. The man who seemed to defy all the forces of the universe. The man who was missing his glasses from a fight he had just had. The man who saved him.
The man who was bleeding out the side.
“Patton!” Logan screamed as Patton collapsed onto the ground from the loss of blood.
“Hey, Lo.” Patton smiled softly. “I’m sorry.”
“What? What are you sorry for?” Logan asked as he began to take off his shirt to tie a tourniquet around Patton’s side, “We’re going to get you to the hospital. The Special Force is here.”
“I’m not going to make it.” Patton shook his head, “I never was.”
“What-what do you mean?”
“Every child of DS Enterprise born for testing was bound to die at one point to the hands of Phobus Graves.” Patton echoed his words when he had first told Logan about Phobus.
“Patton, no. That’s not true. You can be the only one to survive-”
“No, Logan. I am the last one to die. When I first encountered Phobus again, I knew. I wasn’t supposed to live at all. At least not this long.” Patton shook his head.
“What?”
“I was a freak of nature. I wasn’t supposed to be half-Medeis, half-Impoten. I was supposed to be dead. Just like the other Patients. But for some odd reason, I was saved. By my parents. By the other patients. By Remy and Emilie. I was meant to find you, Logan. That’s what the universe has always wanted from me. I was supposed to be the last child to die because I was supposed to meet you and help you stop Graves from hurting anyone more than they hurt me.”
“No, no. This can’t be. Patton, we can still save you-” Logan’s voice broke. He couldn’t bear to part with Patton. Not when he had just figured out Patton was the love of his life. Not when he had just had a plan for the rest of his life. Not when he could barely breathe when Patton was not near because all he wanted to exist for was to love Patton.
“Stop that.” Patton hummed. His voice was barely a whisper now; he was struggling to even get words out. “I can see you spiraling, Lo.”
“Patton-” Logan cleared his throat, trying to brush hair out of Patton’s face, “Just keep fighting. It’s almost time.”
“Look up.” Patton whispered.
Logan did as Patton requested, staring at the open sky. The part of the building they were at had no upper floor, so when the vents above had blown up, it had blown a hole to see the stars.
“Aren’t the stars beautiful?” Patton pointed to a star, “Sirius A, right?”
“Yeah. You remembered.” Logan swallowed the lump in his throat. No. He couldn’t feel emotional. Patton needed him to stay strong. They would find a way to heal Patton in time.
“Promise me that you’ll make an observatory. Next to the aquarium with jellies. That would be nice.” Patton whispered, “Become an astronomer.”
“Patton, you’ll be okay. You’re going to get out of this safely, okay? Just trust me-”
“Just promise me, Logan. I don’t need you to go into a stellar rant.”
God. Of course even now, Patton was still making puns.
“Funny one, my love.” Logan swallowed the heartache that was trying to force itself out of his system. “I promise, Patton. But I can promise with you in my life-”
“Shhh.” Patton gave a small smile, the coffee eyes that Logan had fell in love with all that time ago glazed over. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Logan tried to keep a calm face. It was all that he could do at that moment.
“Listen.” Patton requested Logan, smiling. God, Logan loved that smile. Would that be the last time Logan ever looked at that smile? If it was, Logan would spend every last moment trying to memorize Patton’s smile. To keep it in his memory forever. “Let me tell you a secret.”
“Okay.” Logan nodded, sniffling as he pretended as if he wasn’t gasping for air. As if it wasn’t impossible to breathe knowing that Patton may not be next to him in the morning.
“Thank you, love.” Patton smiled as he pulled Logan’s face closer to him. Patton cupped Logan’s face as he placed their foreheads together. And almost immediately, thoughts flooded Logan’s mind. “I love you.”
Thoughts of the past. Of the present. Of the future.
All of Patton’s memories from the very beginning of his memory until the moment he stood with Logan. From his abuse to his realization that things could get better. From his first memories of his parents to his last. From his first impressions of everyone to the reflections of what brought him here.
“Mom said not to disturb her while working.”
“I wonder if I’ll always feel this way.”
“I want my mom and dad.”
“I hate Mr. Graves.”
“Why can’t I go out like the subjects?”
“That hurts.”
“I want to tear my skin until I am nothing left but a puddle of blood. Maybe then, I’d be useful to the DS workers.”
“How could they lie to me?”
“I don’t think I’m that important to lie about. Why would Emilie and Remy sacrifice themselves for me?”
“He’s really kind. Is it bad to trust him?”
“Thomas said I should also keep an open heart. It’s the best thing I can do.”
“I like him. I really hope I can be friends with him.”
“Is Roman offering me a job? I can’t accept it.”
“I want to be a daycare worker. I like working with kids.”
“I hope this Virgil is sweet to Roman.”
“I think Roman is my best friend.”
“I don’t want to mess up on my first day.”
“Why is studying so hard?” “I need to push through.”
“Oh my god, he’s really hot. And I just spilled coffee on him.”
“I know I’m bad with names, but Logan. Logan. Logan. Logan. I really want to remember.”
“Find a way to repay Logan back.”
“I really like him. Does he feel the same?”
“Is Logan asking me on a date? Oh my god.”
“I wonder what I should wear.”
“Logan looks really enthusiastic talking about this. I like seeing him this way.”
“I will never get tired of this.”
“Please, universe, just let me stay with him.”
“What if Logan learns about Phobus?”
“What if I’m going to hurt him in the end?” “What if Phobus finds me?”
“Maybe I should end things with him because he deserves better.”
“I deserve to be better for him.”
“I know Janus and Remus from Roman.”
“I think Janus scares me.”
“I can’t believe my life changed because of him a year ago.”
“I should make him a present.”
“What if he thinks it’s stupid?”
“I hope Logan likes roses.”
“Oh shit, I’m in love with Logan Sanders. Fuck.”
“I wish I could tell him more.”
“Why did I have to chase him away?”
“I really hope this plan works.”
“I need to protect Logan.”
“I’m not afraid of Phobus Graves anymore.”
“I think I’m dying.”
“I wish I could’ve spent all of eternity with Logan.”
“The stars are so pretty in the night sky.”
“I need him to hear my thoughts and know who I am.”
“I love you, Logan Sanders, more than anyone in my entire damn life. I love you more than the sun loves the stars. More than the sun craves to be them. More than each planet craves to be near the sun that they will orbit endlessly in hopes of one day reaching the sun. And it’s stupid for me to say when I have not experienced love other than you, especially since I have never been outside of the world. But I met you and I just couldn’t help but fall apart in your arms. I never knew what true love was until I saw it run directly into me. It was of spilled coffee and shared smiles and tickle fights and onesie pyjamas and reading books and arguing about the stupid little things that never really mattered. My favorite animal is the jellyfish, not just because I thought they were pretty, but also because I wanted to share a little part of you in me. I wanted to always be there to see you rant about them to me. Maybe I will never find the courage to tell you any of this, but the truth is that I will love you until my dying breath and even after that. No matter what awaits us after death, I will be waiting for you. It’s just terrifying to think that we could never have a finished story awaiting us at the end of life. If I could do life again, I’d do it with you. I love you and I hope that maybe in another lifetime, in another universe, that we got the time to be ourselves and that I got to love you until we were both old and grey.”
Logan blinked as he separated from Patton. The echoes from Patient 50. From the last child haunted by Graves. From the love of his life. From Patton Morris.
Logan knew Patton was no longer breathing from the fact that Logan’s glasses didn’t fog up anymore from being close to his lips. From the speed of which Patton bled out, Logan knew that Patton must’ve been bleeding for a long time. That he just wanted to stay alive to see Logan once more and tell him all that had been unsaid. That he wanted to stay alive to see the justice of all the children haunted by Graves. Logan stayed with Patton for a long time. Even when the Special Force team had come around. They didn’t bother Logan and Patton. Only the others in the group.
Logan laid in the rubble, staring at the intimate face of the man he loved. Memorizing every feature and inch of his face, in hopes that when he found Patton once more in another lifetime, in another universe, in the afterlife, that he would be able to recognize the man right away. He was sure he would. After all, he could feel it in his soul that they had been soulmates.
The ambulance came after an hour of Logan sitting with Patton’s body. They came with a body bag to carry Patton in. Patton was right. The ambulance would’ve never come fast enough for Patton to survive. He had been fated to die since the moment he was born within the haunted halls of the corporation headquarters. Logan let the emergency techs carry Patton away as he stood up. He couldn’t move. His legs and arms were numb. His heart ached of something lost that he would never find again.
“Logan-” Virgil tried to begin. It was the first time his name was called. Or to be more correct, it was the first time he processed his name being called. He knew the group had been calling him since the moment Patton had died, but Logan hadn’t processed it.
Logan blinked as he stood up, his voice hoarse, “Right. It’s time to go home, isn’t it?”
“Logan…” Roman opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his mouth. Just as Logan had loved Patton, the other five had too, in their own platonic way. It must’ve been hitting them just as hard.
“This is hitting Logan really hard.”
“I wish I could help him.”
“Is Patton really dead?”
“Logan looks broken.”
“Patton was the only one who could make him feel better.”
Logan tried to move his foot. To take a step. To do anything to move forward. To go home. Maybe it’d make him feel better. Maybe the ache in his heart would cease. Maybe he’d forget about Patton there.
But he couldn’t even drag his foot anywhere.
There was something cold on his cheek. Something wet. It ran down his cheek until it dropped onto the rubble below him. Logan had never felt it before, so he looked up. Maybe it was raining. But it was a clear night sky. What could it be then? A water pipe leak? It was possible.
“He’s crying. I’ve never seen him cry before.”
Logan brought his hand to his cheek. As Virgil had commented, they were in fact tears.
“Oh, look at that.” Logan sniffled, giving a small laugh, “Looks as if emotionless robots can cry.”
Logan had never cried before. He had gotten close many times. But never once had he cried. For a long time, he thought it was his curse. The emotionless man. Never to shed a tear. But now here he was. Crying. Over a man, of all things. Ironic, he knew, considering that he thought he would never fall in love.
Now, here he was. Logan Sanders, the man deemed to never have emotions, crying over the love of his life, Patton Morris.
“Logan-”
“Let’s go home, Virgil.” Logan shook his head as he began to take each step forward. With every step, he found it harder and harder to breathe. The grief took up space in his lungs so much so that Logan felt himself shrinking with every moment the grief overwhelmed him.
“No. Logan, look.” Virgil called out.
“It’s Thomas.”
Logan blinked as he looked up to see a man standing a few yards away from him. A man that looked so different from the moment he left their childhood house. A man who Logan only recognized from his eyes and hair color and that stupid smile that he inherited from their mother.
“Thomas.” Logan uttered out.
There was so much to say to him. So much to catch him up on. So much to ask him about. So much to do anything. But all Logan could do was utter out Thomas’ name and run to Thomas.
And all Thomas did was envelop Logan into a big bear hug, squeezing him tightly to no return. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve complained Thomas was holding him too tight. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve forced himself out of the hug within a few seconds. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve demanded to know why Thomas wanted to hug Logan.
But this wasn’t any regular basis.
Logan had just lost the love of his life.
And he really needed his older brother.
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And roll credits! Jk, there's still an epilogue for you, but seriously, this chapter was heartbreaking. I really hope you enjoyed it, and genuinely, I hope you caught the title. Echoes of Patient 50, and if you count, there are 50 echoes that are highlighted (something I thought was super clever).
As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. The drama's picking up and I thought the song I picked just goes to show the suspense. Hehe. Enjoy <3.
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Now Playing: Here, Before, Now, and After by Morgan Clae
<Masterlist>
<Previous Chapter> <Next Chapter>
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“What’s our plan?”
Logan raised an eyebrow, staring at Roman who had joined the rest of the group at Logan’s apartment dining table. “Roman, you are not a part of this.”
“What? I want to be included!”
“What? Why not?” Roman pouted. “Everyone else is!”
“Janus and Remus have been sneaking consistently into the government and DS Enterprise buildings to obtain information for over two years. I have been researching Project Orange for over a year now and have made crucial steps to finding out what they plan to do. Virgil has been caught up with every information because he accompanied me with research on days, and has shown an interest in protecting his family by helping. Finally, Patton has dealt with this since the moment he was born. Pray tell, what do you have to offer to this conversation? You have neither the brains nor the fast instincts to help us.”
Roman paused for a moment as he stared at the group.
“I don’t want to feel left out. I can help too. I can protect. I have the bravery that none of them seem to possess. I go out and do things. Do they not see that?”
It was true. Roman did, in fact, possess the audacity that so many others seemed to lack, especially in this group in particular.
“Logan, please. I want to help.” Roman pleaded with him.
Virgil’s thoughts came in, “I don’t want him to get hurt. Please say no, Logan.”
Logan sighed. They needed all the help they could get, even if Logan didn’t like the idea of having another fatality to avoid. Roman was reckless, but he was strong. They were going to need that in this case. With Roman’s strength, Logan was sure that they could all survive.
“Fine. Patton, why don’t you fill him in on what Project Orange is about?”
“Yay! The entire group’s here.” Patton gleefully clapped his hand as he began to fill Roman in. “So Project Orange is a project led by a guy named Phobus Graves. He’s a man famously in an orange suit. His original plan was to create a society where Medeis and Impotens shared magic, but as the years continued to go on, he became more resentful of the Medeis’ powers. He was jealous, so he ended up switching up the final plan. Now, it’s about finding a way to get rid of every Medeis’ powers and either giving them to the Impotens or to control the system in which people get their powers, allowing for those he finds favorable to have magic. They’ve made a lot of products throughout the years that have managed to hurt those around them. The second most important is the one you guys saw at the convention. The aura handpan is one of the modified Aura devices. It temporarily uses sound and touch to block out the magic sensors from Medeis and instead, copies those magic signals to Impotens, therefore allowing every Impoten around hearing distance to gain the ability to use that Medeis’ power. It affects me both ways. When it’s played, it blocks out my resistance powers, but when others play it, I gain their powers as well. The most important is the one that they want to use against me as Patient 50. They hook me up to the device, which is supposed to transfer the Medeis’ power to me, where it’ll become storage to be placed into use with another Impoten.”
When there was silence at what Patton said, Patton replied weakly, “Orange you glad I escaped all those years ago?”
Logan groaned, “Patton, my darling, why must you torture me with such wordplay?”
“I thought it was good!” Patton pouted.
“It was funny!” Roman defended his best friend.
“It really wasn’t.” Logan scoffed.
“What kind of device is Patton talking about that may be the weapon to wipe away the Medeis as they know it?”
Logan echoed the question that Janus had. “What is the device? All I know is that it’s called the DS device.”
“I think we saw it while we were sneaking into buildings to find more information. It’s the orb thingy, right?” Remus turned to Patton.
“Yeah, it’s hard to explain, but it’s an orb that they put me inside of and press a button that hooks me up. That gets rid of any surrounding Medeis’ power within an area, which can go up to 50 yards, and any Impoten that is hooked up to the device with a headpiece can have a power transferred into them. It is temporary or permanent for as long as they’re in the headquarters with the device turned on.” Patton tried to put his visualization into words as best as he could.
“Janus, Remus, and Logan may be affected the most by this operation.”
“So we’d need to find a way to infiltrate the area and destroy this device?” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Seems easy enough, especially with the blueprints Janus and Remus had composed for us.”
“Yeah, at least that’s what I know.” Patton nodded.
“Janus? Remus?” Roman raised an eyebrow.
“I know my way around. I can make a plan.” Janus locked eyes with Logan just as he composed his thoughts.
“I can-”
“Logan. I know that you’ve done a lot of research. I need you to do more, especially on the DS device. Work with Patton. You’ve done a lot and I commend you for finding the information I would have never come in contact with. Now, it’s my turn to help everyone. I can create a plan and get everyone in order. Roman and Virgil will be to our advantage in knowing everyone’s strengths. I need you to figure out how to disable the DS device. You are our best bet.”
“Alright.” Logan murmured. Janus was right, as much as Logan hated to admit that he couldn’t have as much control as he wanted.
The next three weeks were spent with the six of them brainstorming on what to do. It became their new schedule. As soon as work was done, they would head back to Logan’s apartment, where there was research and drawings sprawled everywhere. Roman would help Patton with cooking in the kitchen before the two would join the discussion. Oftentimes, Virgil would order out when everyone decided to train on the roof of the apartment. They needed to prepare and pull out all the stops if they wanted to defeat Phobus and bring down the power DS Enterprise had on the government. It took two more weeks after that for them to create a plan. They were running out of time. Everyone was sure Phobus was on the search for Patton and to find a way to bring Patton in as the weapon once more.
“Good evening, Janus and Remus.”
“Evening.” Janus nodded.
The first thing that Logan noticed upon Janus walking into the room was that he could not hear Janus’ thoughts. He could hear the chaos of everyone else’s but it was weird not to hear Janus’. The second thing Logan noticed was that Janus was wearing his gloves, and different ones at that. They were a deeper shade of yellow that wasn’t as pale as normal. Janus never wore them at their planning sessions, as he had aforementioned that he found those uncomfortable.
“New gloves?” Logan raised an eyebrow, staring at Janus’ gloves.
“Yes.” Janus nodded, “The other ones were just too uncomfortable.”
Logan knew Janus was lying. Having been around the man for so long and having lined up his tells with when he was lying meant that Logan knew when he was. He didn’t bring it up. It wasn’t his place to hear Janus’ thoughts and he trusted Janus enough to know that it was probably for privacy reasons.
“What are we doing here, L?” Virgil groaned as he laid tiredly on the kitchen table. “I thought we had a solid plan.”
“We need to go over it one last time, plan when we’re going to infiltrate the area, and plan for anything that may go wrong, Virgil. I didn’t know you were that adamant on all of us dying.”
Virgil sat up, raising an eyebrow at Logan.
“Woah.”
“Woah, a little brutal much?” Roman raised an eyebrow as he came over with bowls of spaghetti. “Come on, you five, eat up. We’ve got work to do.”
Logan sighed as he adjusted his glasses, “Apologies. I did not mean to snap like that. I’m just…frustrated.”
“Why? We have a plan down.” Remus raised an eyebrow as he began to scarf down the food in his bowl. “Hey, you don’t mind if I eat the bowl too right?”
“You ask that every night and for the umpteenth time, I do in fact mind.”
“Aw.” Remus frowned.
“Logan never lets me have any fun.”
Logan huffed.
“Patton, may I talk to you outside?” Janus turned to the man next to him.
“Uh oh. The last time one of you goobers asked that, I relapsed into my PTSD.” Patton remarked with a playful look in his eyes.
“Patton, I don’t think that’s something you should be-” Roman began, concern spreading across his face.
“I think we should pay for Patton’s therapy after this is done.”
Logan couldn’t help but agree to that sentiment from Virgil. It would definitely help Patton, especially in the long run.
“Would you like me to do it again?” Remus grinned at Patton, his eyes beginning to glimmer with green.
“Only if it’s about unicorns and rainbows.” Patton remarked back.
“Gross.” Remus spat out, crossing his arms. “Roman, we should draw out the plan so they can visualize it!”
“Great idea, Remus!” Roman grinned as the two began to get to work.
“Great. I’m stuck with two idiots.” Virgil’s thoughts came through as his eyes finally traveled to Logan. “Oh, and you too, Logan.”
Logan sighed as he sat down next to Virgil, grabbing a bowl of spaghetti to eat. He watched as Janus motioned out the door. Patton glanced wearily at Logan before nodding and turning to follow Janus out. Janus closed the front door behind them as the two men talked outside in the cold night.
“Alright, I know that face. Stop looking so down in the dumps, Egghead.” Roman pointed out to Logan, “My brother-in-law isn’t going to steal the love of your life.”
“Besides, if you’re so worried, why don’t you read his mind? Can’t you hear it from here?” Remus raised an eyebrow, gnawing on the plastic fork Roman had given him. “Jan isn’t private about his conversations.”
“That is not what I’m worried about, Roman.” Logan scowled, glaring at the Prince brother before turning to the other one, “I believe Janus’ new gloves are power suppressors, am I right?”
“How’d he know they’re new?” Remus asked in his head.
“They’re pretty on him, aren’t they? I can’t wait until he’s on the couch wearing nothing but those gloves-”
“Ew! Remus!” Virgil made a face. “That is disgusting and I don’t need that mental image in my head!”
“I don’t either.” Logan glared at Remus, “I especially don’t need the mental image from all three of you too.”
“Well, I’m just saying.” Remus shrugged, “You guys are just such spoilsports.”
“We’re people who respect that we don’t need to know your every intrusive thought.” Roman shuddered.
“Oh come on, that wasn’t even an intrusive thought. I thought you’d know better, dear brother.”
“Oh god.” Virgil groaned as he clutched his head, “I can’t get it out of my mind now. I hate you, Remus!”
“Good.” Remus grinned, “Now, to answer your question, yes. They are power suppressors. New ones he just got a week ago. He says it’s more comfortable.”
“Well, it works too well. I can’t hear a thought that comes out of his mind.” Logan grumbled. “I am not one to be nosy-”
“Oh cut the shit, you’re the nosiest person alive, Logan Sanders.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “Your telepathy only fueled that need for gossip.”
Logan groaned, “Alright, fine. I have to admit I’m a little curious.”
“Nosy bastard.”
“I can still hear you, Roman. You’re not the one with the power suppressors on.”
“Maybe I should invest in a pair of those gloves, though yellow is such an ugly color on me.”
“Good point, Roman.” Logan perked up, “If the power suppressants work with my passive power, who is to say it wouldn’t work on other passive powers? When we prepare for the day, we should remember to have power suppressants on hand.”
“Aren’t power suppressants usually to suppress the power of the Medeis wearing it?”
“If powerful enough, it can suppress any power from affecting them too.” Logan explained.
“I’m just saying, Janus. This idea is to die for.” Patton grinned.
Logan whipped his head to see Patton and Janus entering the apartment once more, with Patton having a grim expression, covered by his fake smile of optimism.
Janus groaned as he turned to Logan, “Please restrain your boyfriend from making any more jokes. I swear that I cannot stand another one of his puns.”
Logan could agree with that sentiment, though it was true that he was starting to find it quite endearing and adorable the more Patton was doing it. Patton hadn’t been doing it recently because he was never nervous anymore around any of the group, but to say it suddenly to Janus made Logan worried. What could Janus have talked to Patton about that made Patton so nervous he began to make puns once more? Could that have anything to do with dying someone’s hair?
“What pun would go with die?”
“Oh come on, Janus. It was not that bad.” Patton shook his head as he sat down next to Logan. “Lo, you have to agree with me.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t hear the joke, so I wouldn’t be of much help. Besides, you know my relationship with wordplay, Pat.”
“I know.” Patton giggled as he pressed his lips against Logan’s forehead. Logan melted at the touch of Patton, but gave no expression change to show that Patton made him weak.
“Alright, let’s go over the final plan.” Janus sighed. “We will all enter through the gates which Remus and I have cut into. From the last time I surveyed the area, they have not fixed it just yet. We will cut through this field and get to the vents through accessing the first floor. This is most likely the way that Patton escaped and this is the way that Remus and I have been accessing this building for as long as we have. Roman will survey the area and stay in the back while I will lead at the front. In case we get split up, Remus will be in the middle to help with anything. Everyone should be equipped with a couple of self-defense weapons and should try and disarm a soldier as fast as possible to gain their weapons. From the vents, we will navigate left, right, up, down, left, left, right, straight, straight, right, and then left to get to the room with the DS device. Logan, do you have a plan as to disarm the DS device?”
“Yes. Unfortunately for me, the village idiot also known as Remus Prince Wright-”
“Hey!”
“That was mean.”
“Deserved. Remus is stupid sometimes, or most the time.”
“That was a sick burn, L.”
“-and a temporary solution that can destroy the device is by hijacking into the system and shutting it off. Once I’m done with that, I will cut the wires and disarm the mechanisms, as well as begin to disassemble the machine, taking one of the most valuable parts alongside it. The microchip.”
“Great. Virgil and I can help with the disassembling. Roman will keep a lookout and be the brawns.”
“Hey! Why am I always the brawns?”
“Would you rather be the brains?” Janus raised an eyebrow.
“No. You’re right.” Roman flexed his arms, “Shows my bravery too.”
“Alright, babe. We’ve got it.” Virgil pat Roman’s shoulder, “Now sit the fuck down and let me listen to the rest of the plan.”
Roman huffed.
“For some reason, Roman reminds me too much of Gaston.”
That was fair enough, though it seemed more like an insult because it was Remus remarking that within his mind. Logan shared eye contact with Remus and nodded to agree with him. Remus just broke into a grin as the two focused back to the plan.
“While that is happening, Remus and Patton will be on the other side of the facility.”
“Why?” Logan raised an eyebrow.
“They will be trying to find where Phobus is. Once they find where Phobus is, they will contact us with where he is and proceed to wait on the rooftops.”
“Aw! No way you put me on the boring job!” Remus pouted.
“We need you to protect Patton.” Janus replied calmly. Logan couldn’t tell if Janus was lying or was just not as caring about Patton’s life as he was about the rest.
“Boo!” Remus rolled his eyes.
Janus sighed, ignoring Remus’ comments, “Hopefully from there, we can safely meet up on the rooftops and scout out for a secret force to come.”
“A secret force? And do, pray tell, where may we get access to that? As far as we know, the local police are working with Phobus.” Virgil scowled, crossing his arms.
“Me.” Patton spoke up. “When I was an escapee, I ran into a lot of unusual people. One of those people was training to be a Special Force Agent in the FBI.”
“Patton, that’s still with the government.” Roman raised an eyebrow, concerned.
“The Special Force agency is probably one of the only agencies not affected by DS Enterprise. In fact, it’s partnered with LS Corporations.” Virgil grumbled as he crossed his arms, “I can’t believe you thought of that, Janus.”
“Well, it was all Patton.” Janus shrugged, “Would you mind explaining more?”
“I kept in contact with him all these years. I contacted him recently to ask how he was and told him all about what I was doing. He said that he’s been investigating DS Enterprise for years, but has not been able to find anything. He said to give him a call if I found good evidence. He said that he’d be there with a team right away.” Patton remarked.
“What’s his name?”
“Thomas Sanders.”
Oh. Logan knew that name. Better than anyone else could. After all, who could forget someone whose his blood ran in?
“Well, that is news to me.” Virgil murmured.
“What’s news to you?” Roman raised an eyebrow.
“My older brother ended up becoming a Special Force Agent, despite being adamant against the corruption present in the government.” Logan cleared his throat, “Though I guess I should’ve seen it coming after he had run away.”
“What?”
“What the hell, Logan?”
“Oh my god, did no one else know about Thomas?”
“This seems tense.” Janus blinked between everyone.
“Well, aren’t you surprised?” Patton motioned as he was gaping at Logan.
“Yes, but there are bigger things to worry about.” Janus’ eyes flitted in annoyance, “Why are you surprised, Patton? Aren’t you dating him?”
“Well yeah!” Patton sputtered, trying to explain himself. Logan spared Patton the embarrassment.
“He only knew I had an older sibling. I never talked to him about it because I found it unnecessary. My older brother ran away pretty early on when I was only 16 and unfortunately left me behind. By the time I, too, had run away, it was too late to find any contact with my brother. We both have never looked back. I guess it also does not help that neither of us have reached out or really looked for the other.” Logan shrugged it off, “Now, may we leave this conversation out and go back to the issue at hand?”
“Yes, yes.” Janus nodded, “Thomas will lead a team in and help us with capturing Phobus. Patton will help by playing the aura handpan that he will search for while he is also finding Phobus. It’ll help all of us once we meet up on the rooftop and protect each other before the team arrives.”
“Yay! We’re done! Jan, let’s go get a drink from the beer!” Remus jumped up before going to tackle the man onto the ground.
“Remus, I’m holding papers still-” Janus spoke up as he tried to focus his grip to catch Remus before the two of them could fall to the ground. He barely caught Remus in time as he stumbled back.
Logan was quick to grab the papers from Janus’ hands. “Don’t ruin my floorboards, Wright.”
“Thanks.” Janus scowled as he pulled Remus to stand up normally, “I guess, since that’s it, we should get some rest?”
“Most definitely. We can finalize the things we need tomorrow. We should strike during the night. Easiest to stay hidden and there is less likely to be as many workers to worry about.” Logan nodded.
“Great job everyone!” Patton giggled. Everyone began to say goodbye in pairs, first Janus and Remus, and then Roman and Virgil. When Patton was left, Patton hummed, turning to wrap his arms around Logan’s shoulders.
“Hey, my love. How are you feeling?” Logan murmured.
“I’m okay.” Patton nodded softly, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Logan smiled.
“Do you want to dance with me?”
“What’s gotten into you, Pat?” Logan raised an eyebrow as he swayed his hips to Patton’s humming.
“I could say the same about you, Sanders.” Patton grinned, “Not telling me about your brother being Thomas Sanders, smiling all the time, telling someone you love them, listening to others’ advice, dancing along to my voice? What have you done with my Logan Sanders?”
“I like that.” Logan chuckled.
“Like what?”
“Your Logan Sanders.”
“I like it too.” Patton giggled.
The two began to sway in place to the sound of Patton’s humming. Logan spun the two of them around, letting them slow dance around the living room of his apartment. It was peaceful like this. Logan wished he could always be like this, especially with Patton. He would, once all of this with DS Enterprise was over.
“I wish things could always be like this.” Patton vocalized.
“It will be. After all of this is over.” Logan remarked as he pulled Patton away to spin him around. Logan watched as a flash of melancholy entered Patton’s eyes before he tucked it away behind a smile that spread to his eyes. Patton was happy, especially in Logan’s arms.
“Tell me then.”
“What?”
“What’ll you do after this is over? After this is all done.”
“Go back to my job.” Logan sighed, “Go back to the same routine.”
“Oh yeah?”
“6:30 AM. Wake up and get ready for work. 7:30 AM. Head out of the apartment and walk to the nearby coffee shop. 7:45 AM. Order my regular: a caffè mocha. 8:00 AM. Arrive at work on the dot. 5:00 PM. Arrive at home and prepare dinner. 9:30 PM. Get ready for bed. 10:00 PM. Mandatory cuddles with Luna and no blue light. 10:30 PM. Sleep.”
“Well, hopefully get a promotion enough to leave and become an astronomer, adopt a puppy just for you, have dates with you from time to time, move in with you, get the courage to talk to my brother, make amends and involve my brother in my life once more, visit my mother at the grave more often, take the puppy on walks, dance more often, tell you “I love you” more, support you in becoming a daycare worker so we can live out the fieldtrip dreams of you coming to my observatory, but most importantly, watch you grow old with me.” Logan grinned as he pulled Patton in for a tender kiss.
Patton smiled as he let go of Logan to grab the glasses from off his face. He pulled a cloth out of his pocket and wiped it all clean. He put the glasses back on Logan’s nose, perfectly framing it against his face, “I love you, but don’t you think you should look at more than just plain old me?”
“You brought purpose into my life, Patton. I’m sure I do look forward to more than just having you in my life. I know I do. It’s just easier to think about it with you by my side to go through life.”
“Hm.” Patton giggled, “I love you, Logan Sanders.”
“I love you too, Patton Morris.”
It was all the pair needed to say as the day came to the close and they continued to dance within the safety of their apartment. There, no one could hurt them. There, no one could take their love away. There, they were happy and content. There, they could be forever in each other’s arms.
