Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Logan was usually not one for indulging in late snacks. However, there was one particular treat he simply could not resist. He hummed quietly to himself as he searched for his favorite food, the light from the fridge illuminating the dark kitchen. His eyes darted from the strawberry Jell-O Patton had made earlier that day to Virgil’s private stock of dark chocolate bars (that he really should do a better job of hiding due to a certain creative trait with a fondness for chocolate) but Logan could care less about these desserts.

Where is my Crofters?

Logan could practically taste the sweetness of his favorite fruit spread. He already had a spoon in one hand, all he needed now was the grab the jar and retreat to his room to enjoy his treat in peace. After several more seconds of searching, it soon dawned on him that what he was looking for wasn’t in the fridge.

Well, that is odd… Logan frowned and peered inside the fridge. I know I put another jar in here the other day. Patton even assured me this morning that none of them had touched it…

He moved various food items aside. Perhaps Patton had moved it this afternoon in order to make room for the Jell-O. Sadly, this was not the case, and his search turned out to be fruitless.

Where did it go?

Logan stood up and huffed. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but when it involved Crofters his own logic was usually thrown out the window.

I don’t believe this! One of them stole my Crofters! Why?! Who?!

Patton would never steal from anyone, so he was immediately ruled out as a suspect.

Virgil liked Crofters, but not enough to where he would steal Logan’s special jar.

Roman also liked Crofters and was guilty of stealing food from the others before. However, he’d been holed up in his room all day. Logan hadn’t seen him at all except for at dinner when Patton insisted he eat with the rest of them. After that, he’d disappeared into his room again.

Logan sighed and closed the fridge. So much for a midnight snack…

“Looking for something, Logan?”

He whirled around to see a shadowed figure leaning against the counter across from him. Despite the dark, Logan didn’t need to see him in order to know who he was.
“What are you doing here, Deceit?”

“I wasn’t hungry, and wasn’t thinking about finding myself a late night snack.” His yellow eye flashed in the dark for a brief moment. “I haven’t found something more interesting though…”

Logan narrowed his eyes. “I am not in the mood to play your games, Deceit. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed now.” He walked past him and headed for the stairs only to stop when he felt a gloved hand wrap around his arm. 

“What’s your hurry? Why not stay and talk for a while?”

“I am going to bed.” Logan yanked his arm free from Deceit’s grasp and stormed towards the stairs. “If you don’t leave, I’ll have no choice but to wake the others, and I can assure you Deceit, Roman and Virgil will have no problem with driving you away again.”

“Aw, but Logan…”
The Logical Side let out a startled grunt as he walked into Deceit, who was standing in front of him somehow. “I don’t want to spend time with you…”

Logan adjusted his tie, trying to mask his rapidly growing frustration with the Dark Side. “Deceit. I will not ask again. Leave, now.”

“Oh, very well… I won’t leave.”

Logan nodded. “Thank you, goodnight.” He stepped around Deceit and began making his way upstairs. No sooner had he placed his foot down on the first step did a pair of arms wrap around his waist. 

“What-” He was unable to finish as he was suddenly swung off the stairs and spun around. It didn’t take him long to realize what was happening, or who was holding him.

“De-Deceit! Put me down!” 

Deceit chuckled and set him on the floor. Logan sighed in relief and smoothed the wrinkles out of his shirt before turning to confront the Dark Side.

“Deceit-” Again he was cut off by his hand being grabbed. Without warning, he was pulled forward, the sudden action causing him to lose his footing and fall against Deceit.

“Come on, Logan. You could at least try and keep your balance.” Deceit grinned. 

I’ve had enough of this. Logan pushed Deceit away from him but that plan backfired almost immediately when he latched onto his wrists. He was pulled forward again, his face inches from Deceit’s.
“Care to dance?”

“D-Dance…?” Logan stammered. Deceit’s eye flashed again and with a snap of his fingers, the living room was transformed. Logan found himself inside of a ballroom. A chandelier hung from the ceiling lit by dozens of candles, providing enough light for him to see but not enough to illuminate the room completely. He looked down and realized with a jolt that he was now wearing a black and white suit, complete with gold buttons, a bowtie, and white gloves.

“Shall we?” 

Logan turned to see Deceit extending a hand to him. Unlike himself, Deceit was wearing his usual outfit.
“Sh-Shall we what?”

Deceit smiled and took his hand. “Shall we dance?”
Logan’s throat felt dry. He wasn’t used to being in this setting. This was definitely Roman’s department, not his.

“Something wrong, Logan?” Deceit asked, tilting his head slightly.

“I-I-I don’t… I don’t dance…”
“Oh?” Deceit pulled him closer.
Logan nodded, unable to say anything else.
“Well then,” Deceit took his other hand, “we’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?”

Logan opened his mouth to object, only to stop when he heard the distinct sound of a piano.
Deceit hummed. “It’s our song.”
“De-Deceit,” Logan finally found his voice again, “I told you, I don’t dance.”

“Why? Because you don’t like to? Or because you don’t know how?” Deceit asked slyly.

“There’s no logical reason for me to know how to dance.”

“Ah, so you don’t know how. Worry not, I’ll teach you.” 

Logan sighed. “Deceit, that won’t be-”
“First, you put one arm here,” Deceit took Logan’s arm and wrapped it around his waist, “and I do the same.”

Logan’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Then, I hold your hand like this.” Deceit laced their fingers together, white mixing with yellow.
“Deceit…”
“Now, I lead.”

Before Logan knew it he was slowly waltzing across the ballroom floor with Deceit. He had no idea what he was doing and could only do his best to keep up with Deceit’s movements. 

“Just follow the music,” Deceit closed his eyes, “let it guide your steps.”
“How can music guide my steps?” Logan frowned. “It is music.”

“Exactly.” Deceit opened his eyes and smiled. “What better teacher to have than music?” 

“I-I thought you were teaching me…”
“I am merely a helper.”
“Well, your methods don’t appear to be working. I am merely being dragged around by you.”
“It’s only your first lesson, Logan.” Deceit chuckled softly. “You can’t possibly expect to learn everything right away.”

“I suppose that’s true- Wait what do you mean first lesson?” 

Deceit grinned and, instead of answering, lifted his arm above his head and spun him. Logan slipped almost immediately and fell backward, only to be caught by Deceit. “Balance is key, Logan. Remember that.”

“I-” 

Deceit stood him up and resumed their waltz, the music picking up speed. Logan was at a loss for what to do. He looked at his hand which was still intertwined with Deceit’s, then down at the arm wrapped around the Dark Side’s waist.

What would the others think if they saw me now…?

He glanced at Deceit to see that his eyes were closed again.

Why is he doing this? What goal is he trying to accomplish?

Was it a trap? Was he trying to distract him from something? Mess with his head?

“Something on your mind, Logan?” Deceit inquired.
“I am trying to figure out what you are planning.”

“I thought it was rather obvious.” Deceit opened his eyes. Not faltering once in his step as they continued their dance.

“Why have you brought me here?” Logan tripped over his feet. Deceit steadied him. 

“Don’t think about it too much.”

“I think I have a right to know what’s going on.”
“I’m talking about the dancing. Don’t think about it.”

Logan blinked. “Deceit-” 

Deceit grinned sheepishly before spinning both of them around the room. Logan could only cling to him as they glided across the ballroom floor. Everything moved past him in a blur. He felt Deceit’s arm tighten around him slightly and went to question him.

“Just helping you keep your balance,” he answered before he could even ask.

Logan’s eyes widened as the dance picked up speed. He didn’t think it was possible to be moving this fast, but they were. It became rather evident that this was Deceit’s dance and he was merely a part of it. Unable to really do anything else, he allowed Deceit to lead him in the dance and observed.

The Dark Side was surprisingly graceful. Every movement he made was smooth and calculated. As if he pictured everything in his head in perfect detail before carrying it out. Being this close he could clearly see Deceit’s scales, and how the faint candlelight was reflected in them, giving him an otherworldly look.

Speaking of which, Deceit seemed to be lost in his own world. His eyes remained closed and a look of serenity was on his face. Gone was the lying, manipulative snake that Logan was so accustomed to. In his place was a mysterious, captivating stranger.

And, despite his better judgment, he found himself becoming drawn to him with every passing second.

A smile appeared on Deceit’s lips. Before Logan could say a word both were spinning, then he was falling. Logan braced himself for impact, only it never came. Instead, he felt Deceit’s arm wrap around his waist, catching him mere inches from the floor.

The music stopped, and everything was quiet. Logan gasped, his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. He was currently standing on one leg, the other one was left suspended due to the position he was in. Holding him was Deceit, his face mere inches from his own.

Logan’s face turned bright red. “De-Deceit…”

“You did well.” Deceit’s other hand rested on the back of Logan’s head, guiding his face closer.

“I…”

This is it! He’s been waiting for this moment! For me to lower my defences so he can-

Deceit stood him up. “Thank you for the dance, Logan.” He bowed and kissed his hand. “I look forward to our next lesson.”
A shiver ran up Logan’s arm. His heart was pounding and for reasons unknown to him, he couldn’t form one cohesive word to say.

Deceit smiled and tipped his hat. “Goodnight.” With a snap of his fingers, everything disappeared. Logan found himself back on the stairs, wearing his black polo and necktie.

“Deceit?”
The Dark Side was nowhere to be found.

Was-Was all of that in my head?

Logan stood motionless on the steps for a moment, waiting to see if he could catch a glimpse of him in the dark, but there was nothing. He sighed and walked up the stairs. There was no point in watching for someone who wasn’t there.

I’ll just go to my room, eat this jar of Crofters, and then-

He came to a stop. Crofters?

Logan looked down at his hand, his eyes widening when he saw a jar of Crofters.

But… how?

Again he looked down at the living room only to find it empty just like before.

Had it all been his imagination?
Logan shook his head. Preposterous, I never have daydreams that vivid. And why on earth would I daydream about Deceit of all people?

Which meant, it had been real. He had been whisked off to someplace and had danced with Deceit, but why did it all feel like a dream?

Shaking his head once more to clear it, he walked up to his room and closed the door. Left to ponder the night’s events alone over a jar of Crofters.

Chapter Text

His first thought was that he was coming down with a fever. Thus, he took the necessary precautions. Drinking plenty of water, washing his hands frequently, and keeping his distance from the others so they wouldn’t catch it as well.

However, after several days of this and experiencing no sickness whatsoever, Logan came to the conclusion that he wasn’t coming down with a fever.

Well, if it wasn’t a fever, perhaps it was some other malady plaguing him. He ran through a mental checklist of his symptoms.

Slightly increased heart rate, check. Sweaty palms, check. Dryness of throat, check. Loss of focus, check. Spontaneous humming, check. Ditzy, Roman-Like airheadedness, check.

Logan frowned. When he’d first begun experiencing these symptoms he wrote them off as nothing. Once he realized he was beginning to act like Roman, he knew that something was seriously wrong. Standing up from his bed he walked over to his desk and turned on his laptop. When in doubt, there was always the internet, despite how misinforming it could be at times.

Logan typed all of his symptoms into the search bar and hoped for the best. He was met with articles about heart problems and dehydration. The latter couldn’t be the cause, he was drinking the proper amount of water every single day. As for heart problems, he wouldn’t rule that out quite yet.

He decided to narrow down his search by typing: Increased heart rate caused by another person.

Again, nothing helpful. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. This was getting him nowhere…

Straightening himself he tried another search.

Symptoms of possible attraction toward another individual.

One of the first things he saw was 5 Signs You’re Attracted to Someone.

He clicked the link and read through the list.

You act differently when they are around . “He’s never around enough for me to notice a change in behavior. "Even so, I don’t see myself acting differently around him for any reason.”

They’re on your mind, a lot. “Well, I suppose I think about him often. Not that that means anything.”

You want to be where they are and if they aren’t there you feel disappointed. “I’d rather not be wherever it is he disappears to. However, I’ll admit that I find myself pleasantly surprised whenever he happens to shows up. As for disappointment, I’ll come back to that one later...”

You analyze every interaction. “I do that with everyone I come across in every situation. That’s simply in my nature as Logic.”

You start taking care of your appearance. “Hmph, I always strive to keep myself presentable.”

Logan closed out of the website and drummed his fingers on his desk. Well, he’d certainly ruled out that possibility. There had to be some logical reason for his symptoms, one that didn’t involve feelings.

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. “Logan! Lunch is ready!”
“I’ll be down in a moment, Patton.” Logan stood and pushed in his chair. He adjusted his tie and smoothed down his hair before going downstairs. Patton was filling Virgil’s cup with water, the Anxious Side was already seated at the table, phone in hand.

“Heya Logan! I made grilled cheese and tomato soup!” Patton smiled and filled another glass (which Logan assumed to be his) with water.
“Thank you, Patton.” Logan sat at his usual seat across from Virgil. “Kiddo, wanna put your phone away and eat?” Patton sat down next to him.
“Hm? Oh, sure.” Virgil shut off his phone and stuffed it in his hoodie pocket. Patton beamed and began to eat.

Logan frowned when he noticed the chair next to him was unoccupied. “Where is Roman?”

“He’s eating in his room,” Virgil replied while stirring his soup.
“Again?”
Patton sighed. “He’s going through another Daydreaming Episode.”
“Another episode? Didn’t he go through one just a few weeks ago?”
Virgil shrugged. “Maybe he was struck with a bolt of creative lightning.”

“How long do you think this one will last?”
“I don’t know,” Patton looked towards the stairs, “it’s already been a week… they usually end around this time…”

“I’m sure he’ll come out of it soon.” Virgil laid a hand on Patton’s shoulder. “No need to worry.”

Logan looked down at his plate. He could tell that Virgil was just saying that in an attempt to comfort Patton, he knew perfectly well that he was just as worried about Roman as the rest of them were.

“Anyway, what have you been up to Logan? You’ve been spending a lot of time in your room recently,” Patton commented.
“Oh, I thought I was coming down with a fever and did not wish for the rest of you to catch it,” Logan replied taking a bite out of his sandwich.

“You were sick?” Patton’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have made you some soup! Or made your bed extra comfy for you, given you some books to read, or-”

“I wasn’t sick, Patton. I only thought I was sick.”
“Oh, well that’s good!” Patton beamed.

“Why would you think you were sick?” Virgil asked.

“I was experiencing some rather odd symptoms and believed that I was coming down with a fever.”

“What symptoms?” Patton looked at him in concern.

Logan shrugged, seeing no harm in sharing his list with them. “Slightly increased heart rate, sweaty palms, dryness of throat, loss of focus, spontaneous humming, and ditzy, Roman-Like airheadedness.”

“You consider acting like Roman a sign of sickness?” Virgil quirked an eyebrow.

“Huh, those sound pretty serious, Logan.” Patton rested his chin on his hand. “You’ve been drinking plenty of water?”

“Fifteen cups a day.”

“Sleep?”

“Eight hours.”

“Have you been eating too much Crofters?”
“Actually, I haven’t had any since last week.”

“Whoa, slow down Lo.” Virgil put his hands up. “An entire week without Crofters? Patton, I’m pretty sure he’s dangerously ill.”
Logan frowned. “Are you sure? I don’t recall Crofters being that nutritional, but if it is crucial to my health-”
“It was a joke, Logan.”

“Oh, my apologies.”

“Hm…” Patton stood and walked over to Logan, laying a hand on his forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”

“I have taken my temperature several times, it’s always ninety-seven degrees.”

“Gee, I don’t know what’s going on Logan.”

“Me neither.” Virgil shrugged.

“I attempted to research the symptoms in hopes that I would find an explanation, however all I found were articles concerning heart problems and-” He cut himself off.

“And?” Patton tilted his head to the side. Logan waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, it was nothing. Just childish nonsense.”

“Are you sure? What if it’s something serious?”
“It really was nothing, it merely suggested that “attraction” could be a cause.”

“Attraction?” Virgil snorted. “As in, romantic attraction?”
“I suppose so, why is that funny?”

Virgil didn’t answer. He was too busy trying to hide his laughter. Logan’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “I don’t understand, did I miss another joke?”

Virgil shook his head as a burst of laughter escaped him. “I-I need a minute!” He ran upstairs and barricaded himself in his room. Logan’s brow furrowed. “Well, that was peculiar.”

Patton giggled.
Logan turned to him. “Oh great, not you too…”

“Sorry! I can’t help it! It’s just, it’s adorable!”

“What is?”
“You! You’ve got a crush on someone!”

Logan stared. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, I suspected something was up but, knowing that it’s really real and not just in my head… Eeeee! This is so cute!”
“Patton. I do not have a crush on anyone. It is illogical for me to have one.”

“Why’s that? You have emotions just like we do!”
“Falsehood. I am Logic. I do not deal with emotions.”
“Sure you do! You get excited over things you enjoy, angry and frustrated at times, and right now you’re in love! Or at least, feeling something a bit like love.”

Logan narrowed his eyes. “Again, falsehood.”
“I falsehood your falsehood!”
“What? Patton that’s not how that works-”
“I falsehood all and any future falsehoods!” Patton declared triumphantly. Logan let out a long sigh. “Alright, let’s say that I hypothetically have a “crush” on someone, what am I supposed to do about it?”

“Well, do they like you back?”
“I-I’m unsure…”
“You should tell them! Or if you’re not comfortable with a direct approach, you can leave little hints to show that you’re interested!”

“I was hoping you’d have advice for how to get rid of these feelings…”

Patton’s face fell. “W-Why would you want to do that?”
“I told you, I am Logic. I don’t have time for feelings, especially romantic.”

“But… Logan… if you like someone, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Logan lowered his head.
Patton held his hand. “Logan, are you afraid of these feelings?”
“I-I suppose that’s part of it…”
“Logan, if you really like this person, you don’t have to be afraid! Just talk to them, it’ll be okay.”

“It’s not that simple Patton…” Logan rubbed the back of his neck.
“What’s wrong? You can tell me, it’s okay.”
“I-I can’t…”

Patton smiled softly. “Well, if you need more advice, I would suggest talking to Roman. He’s good with this sort of thing.”
“Isn’t he stuck in a Daydreaming Episode?”

“Maybe this’ll snap him out of it?” Patton suggested. “If there’s one thing Roman can’t resist, it’s romance.”

Logan nodded slowly. “I suppose I could…”
Patton smiled. “I’m rootin’ for you Logan! Good luck!” He patted him on the head then went to start cleaning up after lunch. Logan watched him for a moment before glancing at the stairs. Was going to Roman in his current condition a good idea? There was no telling how the prince would respond to being dragged out of a daydream…

Logan shook his head before going upstairs. No, he wouldn’t disturb Roman. It would be best to wait until he came out of his episode. As he walked to his room he was surprised to see Virgil standing in the hallway.
“I see you’ve managed to compose yourself,” Logan observed.
“Yeah, sorry about that. It was just so unexpected.” Virgil grinned. “So, who is it?”
“Who is what?”

“Your crush,” Virgil leaned casually against the wall, “who is it?”

Logan gulped. “I-I’d rather not share that information…”

“Logan, come on. There’s only three of us, we’ll find out eventually.”

“I can’t tell you, I can’t tell anyone!”

Virgil’s grin faded into a look of concern. “Logan, are you okay?”

“No! I am Logic! I shouldn’t feel this way!” He stormed past Virgil and into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. How dare they?! How dare any of them assume that I am actually attracted to someone? And romantically of all things!

Logan stomped over to his bed only to find a folded up piece of paper lying on his pillow. He picked it up and unfolded the paper, finding writing on it.

I’m looking forward to our next lesson, see you at midnight~

Logan’s breath hitched. M-Midnight?

He clutched the note tightly with both hands, causing it to crinkle slightly. He was going to see him again, they were going to dance…

Well, he would dance, Logan was still learning.

His heart began to race at the thought of returning to the ballroom, of the dim candlelight and enchanting music.

He closed his eyes and imagined his arms wrapped around him… Guiding his steps, always keeping him from falling...

Logan’s eyes snapped open. What am I doing?! I’m not supposed to feel this way! He looked down at the note still clutched in his hand. He’s trying to cloud my logic with emotions! This is all his fault! Logan stood and crumpled the note in his hand. I won’t fall for his tricks. I’m far too smart for him.

He walked to the wastebasket that was beside his desk and dropped the note inside. I won’t be playing your games anymore. He turned on his heel and headed for the door. I need to tell the others that all of this was just a misunderstanding. I don’t feel “romantic” attraction towards anyone. Least of all someone like him...

His hand rested on the door knob. He’s nothing but a liar, and a snake! A scheming, charming snake-

Logan’s hand tightened around the door knob until his knuckles turned white, his face completely flushed. I-I meant conniving! Not charming, simple mistake… I-I must actually be ill… Yes, yes that’s it. I just need to rest and clear my head.

He immediately turned around and walked to his bed, but something caused him to stop. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the wastebasket, and the note he had thrown away.

No… You-you’re Logic… You don’t feel… You don’t feel…

He couldn’t stop staring at the note.

You don’t care… It’s a trap… He-He’s tricking you…

He slowly walked over and retrieved the note.

I-I don’t want to see him again…

Logan smoothed out the note the best he could and reread it, letting his fingers trail over the words. He went over to his bed and laid down, holding the note against his chest.

I do want to see him again…

He closed his eyes and hummed softly.

I’ll see you at midnight, Deceit…

Chapter Text

Three more lessons.

There had been three other lessons since the first, and each one only added to Logan’s ever growing confusion. Why did he look forward to these lessons every week? Why was the presence of a Dark Side no longer disconcerting? What was Deceit’s ultimate goal with bringing Logan to the ballroom and teaching him how to dance?

Really, that’s all that ever happened. Deceit would arrive precisely at midnight, bring Logan to the ballroom, and then they would dance. He never spoke of anything else and whenever Logan tried to bring up a topic for conversation, he simply told him that he needed to focus on the lesson.

What on earth is he trying to do? He isn’t attempting to draw information from me, doesn’t ask about the others or myself, he hasn’t harmed me in any way, I do not understand!

He hadn’t dared to go to the others with this. Patton and Virgil were still convinced he had a “crush” on someone while Roman remained locked away in his room. Logan frowned slightly. The Creative Side hadn’t been seen by any of them for days. The last time Logan saw him was last week during dinner, and that was only for a few seconds as he’d just come down to grab some food before retreating again.

His appearance had unsettled all of them. His uniform was wrinkled, his sash missing, hair a tangled mess, and dark circles had appeared under his eyes.

Patton tried begging him to take a short break but Roman was out of the kitchen before he could get a single word in.

Logan flopped onto his bed and let out a long sigh. First the Deceit dilemma, then the so-call “crush” he was supposedly going through, and now all of them were concerned with Roman’s well being.

Speaking of this crush, is it truly possible for me to have one? For Deceit? Logan closed his eyes. He wished he could talk to someone about this. He didn’t understand emotions, least of all love.
Of course, it isn’t really love. A crush is nothing but a brief infatuation for someone. And I am not infatuated with anyone.

A knock brought an abrupt end to his thinking. He sat up and smoothed out his shirt before fixing his hair. “Come in.”
No one entered.

Odd… Logan cleared his throat and tried again, slightly louder this time. “Come in.”

Still, no one entered.

He frowned before walking over. Was someone pulling a prank on him? Patton wouldn’t do something like this, except on April Fool’s. Virgil might, but it was unlikely. Roman, of course, was out of the picture at the moment. Just as he rested his hand on the doorknob he noticed a slip of paper on the floor.

A note.

He immediately reached down and picked it up. Unfolding the note he saw that there was a single word written down.

Midnight.

Logan blinked. Midnight? He’d already had a lesson with Deceit earlier this week, why would he tell Logan to expect him at midnight?

Maybe the note isn’t from Deceit?

He checked the handwriting and it didn’t match Patton’s, Virgil’s, or Roman’s. Of course, Deceit wrote in a different style every time he sent a note, and he’d never seen this handwriting before.

It has to be from him, but what does he want?

Logan bit his lip. Did-Did I do something wrong? Is he going to tell me that he doesn’t want to see me anymore? Or what if he shows his true colors…?

That last thought scared him.

What if Deceit came for him tonight and revealed that all of it, had just been part of some scheme against Logan and the others?

Deceit is a Dark Side… Can he really be trusted? Logan shivered and rubbed his arms. Have I been falling for his tricks this entire time…?

Logan looked at the clock hanging on his wall.

Eleven… One hour until he comes…

Logan began to pace back and forth. Do I wait for him or do I go to one of the others? Should I risk falling into Deceit’s trap? What would happen to the others if I wasn’t able to warn them?
He gripped the sides of his head, tangling his fingers in his hair.

Think logically… Think logically… What can you do to ensure that Deceit doesn’t get away with his plan? But what if there isn’t one?

Logan stopped midstep. What if there isn’t one? Could-Could it be possible that Deceit wasn’t plotting something? He shook his head.

Impossible! He’s Deceit! All he ever does is lie and manipulate! I-I shouldn’t have ever gone with him that first night! Look what he’s done to me already! I can’t think straight!

Logan stopped his train of thought for a moment. “Literally…” He looked down at the note still grasped in his hand. Do I really have a, mild infatuation, with Deceit?

He glanced at the clock again. He’d been pacing for exactly ten minutes. Fifty minutes still stood between him and seeing Deceit again. Logan focused on the note again. Fine, this is what I am going to do. When Deceit comes, I will demand answers. I will not leave this room until I receive them.

With a nod of affirmation Logan sat down on his bed, folding the note up he slid it inside his pocket. Crossing his arms, he waited for midnight to arrive.

---

11:59

Deceit would be arriving in exactly sixty seconds. Say what you will about him, he never failed to arrive on time. Logan counted down the seconds in his head. The one thing he could never predict was where or how Deceit would show up.

Sometimes he’d just “appear” in front of Logan without warning, always whisking him off before he could scream in shock. The only thing worse than that was when he appeared behind him. He’d always wrap his arms around his waist before he took him to the ballroom. While Logan had gotten used to physical contact due to the dancing, he still wasn’t exactly used to it.

Now that he thought about it, Deceit was very Touchy-Feely (a term he’d once overheard Patton use and assumed meant someone who would engage in affectionate, physical contact with another person) towards him.

Any chance Deceit got to hug him or hold his hand he would do so without hesitation. Even while dancing, Logan noticed that he would intentionally pick up speed or do something unexpected in order to cause him to trip, just so Deceit could catch him and hold him.

While Logan found this behavior odd, Deceit never did anything to make him feel uncomfortable. But again he had to wonder, why did he do it? What was he trying to accomplish? Logan sighed and leaned back on his bed, watching and waiting.

Ten seconds…

Logan counted each one. His eyes darting from one point in the room to the next.

Five seconds…

His leg began to bounce, his fingers traced random patterns on his blanket.

Three…

He held his breath.

Two…

His eyes strayed towards the clock.

One…

The hour hand moved one space over.

Midnight.

Logan’s eyes widened in shock when he felt a gloved hand clamp over his mouth, muffling his cry of alarm.
“It’s alright Logan,” a voice whispered, “it’s only me.”

Logan’s heart was pounding. He felt like it was about to burst out of his chest, despite knowing that such a thing was impossible.
“I’m going to uncover your mouth, promise you’ll be quiet?”
Logan nodded.

As soon as his hand was removed Logan stood from the bed and turned around. “What was that for?” He asked, making sure to keep his voice down.

“Fun.” Deceit smiled. “I love sneaking up on you.”

“I’d rather you didn’t… Especially if you want to keep the others from finding you.”

“Do you think I’d let them catch me? I could disappear in a snap.” He snapped his fingers and both of them vanished from the room.

Logan’s eyes widened when he found himself once again in the ballroom, except now it was completely dark.

I wasn’t supposed to leave with him! Logan huffed in annoyance. So much for that idea…

“Too dark for you?” Deceit asked. Logan opened his mouth to respond when he saw Deceit’s eye flash yellow for a split second.

There was whoosh and dozens of curtains were blown from the walls, floating through the air like ghosts. Logan watched in astonishment as the room was bathed in moonlight. The curtains floated overhead, weaving and twisting as if they themselves were dancing.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Logan couldn’t tear his eyes away from the enchanting sight above him. “It-It’s illogical…”

“Really?” Deceit crossed his arms. “That’s all you can say about it?”
“Well… I suppose it is possible… If they were able to somehow catch air currents blowing through the building…”

Deceit rolled his eyes. “You’re missing the point. Besides, there are no air currents in here, and the wind has already stopped blowing.”

Logan turned to him. “Then how… They can’t move on their own!”
Deceit smirked. “Is that so?”
Any argument Logan would have made died on his lips when Deceit moved over to him in one stride.
“Deceit-”
“I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve brought you here after we’ve already had our lesson for the week.” Deceit’s eyes met Logan’s. His breath hitched. “Y-Yes… I was…”

“Well, I noticed that during our lessons, you’ve been trying to engage in conversation with me.” Deceit stepped closer to him.
“I have… I-I wanted to know-” He let out a startled yelp when Deceit stood against him, both of their chests were touching.

“Know what? Why I bring you here every week? Why I teach you how to dance and nothing more?”
Logan swallowed. “Yes…”

Deceit held his tie loosely in his hand, slowly wrapping it around his wrist. “You want to know the answer?”

Logan’s ears went hot. All he could manage was a small nod.
“It’s simple Logan,” Deceit smiled, “you need to loosen up.” With one fluid motion he loosened the tie and pulled it off.

That snapped him out of it. “D-Deceit! Give that back!”

“What? This?” Deceit swung the tie in front of him.

“Deceit, I am not in the mood for this.”

“Hm, you didn’t do anything to stop me from taking it.”
Logan narrowed his eyes. “Deceit, will you please return my tie?”

“If you want it so badly then take it.” Deceit held it out. Logan stared at the tie skeptically. “This is a trick.”
“Is it?” Deceit tilted his head to the side, a look of pure innocence on his face. Logan wasn’t convinced. “Deceit, I want to know the truth.”

“The truth?” Deceit chuckled and tossed the tie from one hand to another. “You do realize who you are talking to, right?”

“What are you hoping to gain from this? Why bring me here every week? Alone, without the others knowing?”
Deceit hummed. “If you retrieve your tie, I’ll tell you.” He held it out to him.

Logan looked at the tie. It was lying flat in Deceit’s hand, the other one behind his back. “No tricks?”
“None.”
He reached for it and glanced at Deceit who only smiled at him. His fingers curled around the tie. Still, nothing happened.

Logan lifted it out of Deceit’s hand and began putting it on.
“See? Nothing happened, I kept my word.”
“What was the point of that? You take my tie only to give it back?”
“I was proving a point.”
Logan adjusted his tie. “What point?”
“That I am capable of telling the truth.”

Logan stared at him.

Deceit smiled softly. “So, you want to know why I bring you here?”
Logan nodded. “Please.”
“I told you, it’s to loosen you up.” Deceit spun on his heel and began walking away. Logan blinked once before running after him. “That can’t possibly be the reason!”

“Why not? You’re so stiff, loosening up will be good for you.”

“Deceit! Answer me truthfully! Please!” Logan begged. Deceit glanced over his shoulder, he stopped walking.

“I-I have to know… I need to know…”
“Why?”
Logan trembled. Do I dare tell him?

Deceit watched him in silence.

“I… I’ve been feeling… strange…”
Deceit quirked an eyebrow. “How so?”

“I-I don’t know… I just know that it all started shortly after our first lesson…”

Deceit hummed before walking over. Logan backed away slightly. “Don’t come too close, that makes it worse.”

“Makes what worse?” Deceit stopped walking.
“I can’t think clearly whenever you’re near… I freeze up…”
“Hm, I see. Are you afraid of me?”

“I-I do not believe it’s fear…”

“Hm, then what could it be?” Deceit took a step closer. Logan backed away. “Are-Are you doing something to my mind…?”

“Intentionally? No, I haven’t done anything.” He took another step causing Logan to take one back.

“Then what is happening to me?!” Logan’s breathing picked up. “I-I don’t know what’s happening… This isn’t-this isn’t logical… Logic… Logan… You don’t… I don’t… Can’t…” He gripped the sides of his head and gasped. Can’t breathe… can’t breathe…

Deceit ran over and gently grabbed Logan’s hands. “Logan, look at me.”
“Can’t…” Tears fell from Logan’s eyes.
“Then listen to me, breathe. Just breathe…”

“C-C-Can’t…”

“Follow my breathing,” Deceit took a deep breath, “In…”
Logan took in a shaky breath.
“Out…” He breathed out.
Logan breathed out, he couldn’t stop shaking.

“Again, in… and out…” He slowly moved Logan’s hands away from his head. Logan closed his eyes and breathed along with him. Focusing on only his breathing, and Deceit’s voice.

“In… and out… you’ll be okay…”

I’ll be okay…

Deceit held both of his hands, rubbing small circles on the back of them with his thumbs. “In… out… in… out…”

Logan’s breathing evened, his tears stopped falling.
“That’s it, you’re doing great Logan…” Deceit kissed one of his hands. “I’m sorry…”
“For what?” Logan asked softly, yet he received no answer. He frowned. “Deceit?” He opened his eyes.

Deceit was gone.

Logan whirled around, he was in his room again. His shoulders slumped. “Deceit…”

The room was silent, save for the ticking of the clock. Logan wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. I ruined it… I ruined everything…

Logan walked over to his bed and froze.

A yellow rose was laying on his pillow.

Yellow…? He reached down and picked it up, surprised to discover that there were no thorns on it. He looked around the room but as usual, there was no one there.

What did this mean? Did Deceit leave this here for him? Logan looked at the rose, he brushed his finger over the petals.

I didn’t get any answers from him… I became overwhelmed and panicked… I ruined whatever evening Deceit had planned… Why would he leave me a rose? Unless… He still cares?

He shook his head. Falsehood! He’s Deceit! He doesn’t care about anyone! Logan closed his eyes. He could still hear Deceit’s voice, quiet and calming and he comforted him. His hands had been so gentle, Logan had felt safe with him...

Could… Could he actually care about me…?

Warmth filled Logan’s chest, he didn’t know why, but he liked it. Logan smiled to himself before laying down on his bed, holding the rose against his chest.

I think… I think I’m in love…

Chapter Text

I must be out of my mind! Logan paced frantically back and forth across his room. Deceit? Deceit?! You-You can’t be in love with Deceit! You are Logic! You don’t feel! You don’t love! And DECEIT?! He! Is! A! Dark! Side! He cannot love you or anyone else!

Logan suddenly yelped when he heard a knock on his door.
“Logan? It’s Patton, can I come in?”
“Erm, yes.” Logan adjusted his tie. “You may come in.”

“Sorry to bother you,” Patton stepped inside, “Virgil and I were getting worried.”
“Worried? Why?”
“You’ve been in your room all day… You didn’t even come down for breakfast…” Patton fiddled with his hoodie sleeves. “Is everything okay?”

Logan gripped his head. “No. Everything is not okay…”
“Can I help?” Patton smiled hopefully.
“I don’t see how you could…”

“Well, maybe if you talked about it, I could find a way to help.” Patton held his hand. “Come on Logan, you shouldn’t feel like you have to go through this alone. Whatever it is, I’m here for you.”

Logan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It-It’s this… Crush…”
Patton squealed before slapping a hand over his mouth. Logan turned away. “Why did I even bring it up…?

“No! No! No! Logan it’s okay, I’m sorry, that was just me being, ya know, me! I’m the feelsy guy who loves to feel!” Patton was trembling in excitement. “I mean, I’ll try to tone it down for your sake.”

Logan shook his head. “No, it’s alright. Let’s forget I said anything.”
“Aw, Logan. You don’t have to be embarrassed! Love is a wonderful thing!”

“It’s not embarrassment…” Logan mumbled.

“Oh?” Patton cocked his head to the side. “Are you confused?”
“Slightly…”
“Nervous?”
“A bit…”
“Scared?”

Logan swallowed before nodding slightly. Patton’s eyes flooded with concern. “Logan,” he gently held his shoulders, “what’s going on? Please, tell me.”

“I can’t…” Logan pulled away.
Patton gestured to himself. “You can tell me. I’m here for you, I’m here for all of you. And there isn’t anything you can say or do that would make me love you any less.”  

Logan averted his gaze. “I-I want to tell you Patton… I don’t want to keep it to myself… But…”

“You don’t feel like you can?” Patton said quietly. Logan glanced at him. He chuckled softly and rubbed his arm. “Believe me Logan, I know what it’s like. You wanna open up to someone, anyone, but every time you try there’s something stopping you.”

Logan was taken aback. “Patton…”

“There’s always an excuse. They have their own problems, you’d just be bothering them, he’s had a rough day don’t cause him anymore trouble, you’ve been able to deal with it for this long a few more days won’t hurt you…”

“Patton.” Logan gently gripped his shoulder. Patton shook himself before smiling. “Whoops, sorry Logan. Kinda went on a little emotional spiel…”

“Is that how you feel?”
Patton’s smile faded slightly. “Well, sometimes. But not all the time!”
“Patton,” Logan’s voice became stern, “you said you wouldn’t do this anymore.”

Patton’s smile vanished. “I said I was learning…”

“Why haven’t you said anything? You didn’t even have to tell us specifically what was bothering you, all it would have taken was you voicing that something was wrong. At least we could have started helping you.”

“Yeah but, I didn’t wanna bother you guys. Virgil’s been more relaxed lately, Roman’s been busy in his room, and you’ve been going through this. The last thing any of you need right now is to be bothered by me…”

“You are never a bother, Patton.” Logan gripped both of his shoulders. “We-We care about you. You are important to us, to Thomas, we all need you.”

Patton sniffled. “Huh, allergies… Is there a cat in here?”

“Patton, have any of us done something, intentionally or not, to make you feel as though your voice isn’t allowed to be heard?”

“No! Of course not!” Patton smiled brightly. “All of you are wonderful! You couldn’t ever hurt me!”

Logan frowned. “Hurt you?”

“Oh, gee, this is awkward but, I left cookies in the oven! I need to take them out before they burn! Bye Logan! Thanks for talking!” Patton nearly bolted out of the room but Logan managed to grab his arm.

“Patton please… This-This isn’t healthy…”
Patton looked down. “I know… I just, I can’t say anything right now.”

Logan sighed. “I understand,” he let him go, “but please promise me that you’ll come talk to me when you are ready. Or any of us. You cannot keep going on like this.”

Patton nodded. “Don’t worry, I will.”

“Thank you. That’s all I-” Logan froze when Patton suddenly engulfed him in a hug.

“Same goes for you too, promise me that you’ll talk to me once you’re ready?”

“I-I-I suppose…”
Patton smiled. “Love you Lo.” He walked out of Logan’s room and headed downstairs. Logan blinked and tried to process what had just happened. There were too many emotions stirring around inside of him. At the top of them all was worry.

First Deceit… Then Roman… and now Patton? What else do I have to add to my list of things I need to stress over?!

“Oh… my… Disney…”

Logan stiffened before slowly looking up, his eyes immediately widening in shock. “Roman-”

“You?! Patton?! I DO NOT BELIEVE IT!” Roman ran over and engulfed Logan in another unwanted hug. “BUT AT THE SAME TIME I DO! I DO BELIEVE IT! IT IS TOO PERFECT!” Roman spun him around.

“Ro-Roman stop! Stop!” Logan pushed against him. “Keep your voice down!”
“Oh of course! I’m sorry! You must be wanting to keep it a secret! Don’t worry we can talk in private!” Roman dragged Logan with him as he ran to his own bedroom and shut the door.

“Roman! What on earth are you-” Logan cut himself off when he saw the state of Roman’s room. What happened…?

The floor, his walls, they were completely covered in sheets of paper all scribbled in Roman’s handwriting.

“Roman what-what is this?!” Logan bent down and picked up several sheets of paper. There were so many he could bury his feet in them! “Is this what you’ve been doing all this time?!”

“Yes!” Roman beamed. “Are you proud of me?!”

“Proud?! This-This-I don’t even know what this is!” He shook the papers in his hands for emphasis.

“Oh! Well I was doing some thinking in my room one fine evening when an idea so grand struck me that I simply could not ignore it and had to begin working immediately!” Roman’s eyes were wide, a little too wide, as he walked closer to Logan.

“W-What idea was that…?” He took a step back.

“Well answer me this Logan what is the one thing Thomas needs in order to create?” Roman’s words tumbled out of his mouth in a muddled mess. He barely stopped to take a breath in between sentences.

However, Logan was able to catch most of what he was saying. “I suppose he needs an idea?”

“Exactly he needs an idea and who is responsible for giving him those ideas me!”

Roman kept getting closer. Logan could see that his eyes were bloodshot, and the circles around them had become darker. “Yes, you generally are the one who gives Thomas his ideas. When was the last time you’ve slept?”

“Can’t recall not important what is important is making sure that Thomas never ever never ever ever never never runs out of ideas!” Roman’s clothes were hanging off him. Alerting Logan to how the Creative Side was. “Roman, when was the last time you ate?”

“Who cares all that matters is that I came up with a way to ensure that our dear beloved sweet wonderful delightful Thomas never runs dry of ideas ever again!” Roman flashed a toothy grin, his head tilted at an angle that caused him to look uncanny.

“Roman are you even listening to-” He stopped when a sheet of paper fell on top of his head. “Me…?” He grabbed the paper before looking up at the ceiling. His jaw immediately dropped.

“Oh yeah I ran out of room on the walls then the floor then the bed then my desk so I had to use the ceiling!”
“W-What even-”

“They are my ideas!” Roman grabbed an arm full of paper and tossed it into the air. “My amazing spectacular one of a kind all Roman all me all for Thomas ideas!” He laughed before grabbing Logan’s hands and skipped around in a circle with him. “He’ll never run out of ideas again once I’ve supplied him with every idea I have!”

“What do you mean? Roman stop for just one second!” Logan yanked his hands away and narrowly avoided slipping on the stacks of paper. “Can’t stop stopping means no ideas no ideas means Thomas has no ideas meaning Thomas can’t create and that’s bad Thomas has to create so I must make sure he always has ideas!”

“Roman it’s okay to not have ideas! There are plenty of creators like Thomas who have hit creative blocks, it isn’t a bad thing.”

“We need to be better than the others Thomas needs to always be at the top of his game and he can’t do that without ideas ideas ideas ideas ideas ideas!”

“Well, how many ideas does Thomas need?”

“Infinity and beyond and beyond beyond and beyond infinite infinity and beyond!” Roman danced around while humming to himself.
“You-You are just going to stay in here and continue coming up with new ideas…?”

“Yep yep yep yep yep yep yep yep!” Roman let himself fall onto the floor and hugged his ideas. Logan, while being absolutely terrified of this behavior, managed to keep a level head.
“Roman, this has gone on for long enough.” He stood up tall and adjusted his glasses.
“What’s gone on for long enough Lololololololo?” He giggled to himself.

“This!” He gestured to the entire bedroom. “You are causing severe harm to yourself! You are not sleeping, you are not eating, and to top it all of you have cut yourself off from the rest of us! Have you not stopped to consider how this has affected Patton and Virgil?”

Roman chuckled lightly. “They won’t mind they’d understand that the ideas were important and needed to be completed.”

“Oh? Then why don’t I bring them here now and we can see what they think about this?” Logan started towards the door when Roman’s hand latched around his ankle.

“No Logan you’ll ruin it you’ll ruin everything I have to create I have to I have to!”
“When will you stop?” Logan tried to pull away but Roman managed to hold on.
“I can’t stop I have to keep going have to keep creating the ideas for Thomas it’s all for him I can’t let him down!”

“And what would he think about this? Do you honestly think that Thomas would want you overworking yourself? Foregoing taking care of yourself to pursue this pointless goal?” Logan attempted to shake Roman off but this only resulted in him latching on with both hands.

“Not pointless I know what I’m doing I know when it’ll end it’ll end when I’ve come up with all the ideas I have then I’ll stop I’ll stop!”

“Roman the probability of you being able to write out every idea that you will ever have is almost nonexistent. Just when you’d think you were nearing the end, all it would take is a sudden burst of inspiration to launch an entire myriad of new ideas! It is an endless spiral and any attempt to bring an end to that spiral will prove to be pointless.”

Roman’s grip faltered slightly before tightening again. “No I can do it I can do it all I’ll work hard for it then I can rest at the end.”

“There is no “end” Roman. And I apologize, but there is no way you or anyone else can prevent a creative block. It is inevitable.”

Roman’s smile faded. “But I’ve been working so hard to avoid that…”

“Roman this,” Logan knelt down and held up a piece of paper, “this isn’t good for you.”
Roman stared at the paper, struggling to decipher his own crazed handwriting.

“Locking yourself away, trying to reach a goal that simply doesn’t exist, working yourself literally down to the bone, is madness.”

Roman shook his head slightly. “No… it isn’t…”

“Roman, look at me.” Logan carefully lifted his head. Tears glistened in the prince’s eyes, though he was desperately trying to hold them back. “You don’t have to prove anything to us. You are creative, you are talented, and you come up with the most unique ideas I’ve ever seen. You try to do your best, and that’s good enough for me. And I know for a fact that the others feel the same way, including Thomas.”

Roman trembled. “Logan…” He sat up and slowly looked around his room. “Oh… oh what have I been doing ?”
Logan said nothing. Giving Roman a chance to sort himself out.
“I’ve pushed all of you away, and for what? This?” Roman crumpled up one of the ideas. “These aren’t even good ideas! Why one earth would i want Thomas to use any of these? I wouldn’t even use them!”

“It seems that in your rush to create as many ideas as possible you didn’t stop to look over them and make sure that they were ideas that could be used.”
“No kidding… Ugh, how embarrassing…”

“You made a mistake, Roman. It happens to everyone at one point or another.” Logan laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Well, this mistake is going to take forever to clean up…”

“Perhaps we could ask Patton and Virgil to help us?”

“Um, heh, about that…” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “I was hoping we’d be able to keep this little incident between us?”

“Roman, not only will cleaning this mess up by ourselves take an excruciatingly long amount of time, but in your current condition we might as well build you a new room. Besides, Patton could nurse you back to health better than I could.”

“Logan please. I don’t want them seeing me like this…”

He sighed. “Roman-”

“You can bring me my meals. And I promise as soon as my room is restored to its former splendor I will join the rest of you.”

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. “What happens if Virgil or Patton begin to question why I’m the only one you will allow in your room?”

“Just-Just tell them that you’re helping me come out of it…”

He sighed and shook his head. “Fine. I won’t tell Patton or Virgil about this. I’ll bring you your meals and aid you in cleaning these ideas out of your room.”
“Oh, what a relief!” Roman fell back on the mound of papers. “Where should we start?”
“I think you mean when. ” Logan stood him up and draped one of his arms over his shoulders.
“Well, I assumed we’d be starting now…”

“No.” Logan helped him over to his bed. “We start once you have regained some of your strength.”

“Logan I’m fine! Why waste time resting when we could be getting to work? Besides my bed is a mess.”

Logan had him lean against the bedpost and began shoving papers off of his bed. Knowing that there were probably more stored on top of the canopy, but he’d deal with those later.

Once the bed was clear he pulled the comforter back and fluffed the pillows.
“Logan I don’t need to sleep right now!”
“Falsehood.” He pulled him over and laid him down.
“But-”
“If you don’t need to sleep then why aren’t you fighting me?” Logan asked calmly as he covered him up.

Roman couldn’t argue with that as his eyes began to close on their own, despite his best attempts to keep them open.

“Roman, when was the last time you’ve laid down?”
“Don’ ‘member…” He yawned.

“Exactly. Sleep, I’ll make sure no one comes in here.”
Roman nodded slightly, the action causing his eyes to close.

“Goodnight, Roman.” Logan began making his way out of the cluttered room.
“G’night… Lo…”

Logan crept over the papers while trying to make as little noise as possible. Once he was out of the room he locked it from the inside before closing the door, letting out a long sigh of relief.

“He actually let you in?”

Logan jumped and whirled around to see Virgil, who was staring at him in shock. “Erm, yes. Yes he let me in.”
“I-I’ve been trying to get him to open that door for weeks! And he never responded once! How did you get inside?”

“I was dragged inside…”
“He brought you in there?”

“Well, yes?”

Virgil blinked. He didn’t say anything else.
“Virgil? Are you well?”
He shook himself before answering. “Yeah, sorry it’s just… Is he okay?”
“He’s tired, he’s been working hard lately. I managed to convince him to take a break and sleep.”

“Is that what he’s doing now?”
Logan nodded.

“Did he happen to mention anything about when he’d be leaving his room again?”

Logan shrugged. “I don’t know, he told me that he will once his work is completed.”

“What is he even working on? He’s been in there for almost a month!”

He shrugged once more. “Again, I don’t know the answer to that.”

“Well I’m just glad that he finally talked to someone, being alone for that long isn’t good for anyone.”

“I agree.” Logan nodded.

“Are you doing alright?”
“I suppose so, why do you ask?” Logan crossed his arms.

“Patton’s been worried, he’s afraid that we might’ve overreacted to hearing about… you know… you’re crush.”

“Oh…” Logan shuffled his feet.

“I get that emotions and feelings aren’t really your thing Logan, but come on. It’s just a crush. No need to get so embarrassed over it.”

“Why does everyone assume it’s embarrassment?” Logan snapped.
“Whoa,” Virgil held his hands up, “calm down, I just assumed that’s what it was.”

“Perhaps you should stop assuming and try to understand.” Logan pushed past him and stormed to his room.
“I can’t understand if you won’t talk about it! Logan? Logan come on!”
He ignored him and slammed his door shut. I know he’s right. I’m being unfair to him and Patton by not telling them the truth. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He could feel a headache coming.

But how can I tell them when the truth is I may be in love with Deceit? None of them like him, and for good reason… Am I being foolish for entertaining romantic feelings for a Dark Side?

Logan sighed before removing his tie and tossing it onto his desk. Normally, he would fold his tie and place it in his drawer, but he just didn’t care about being organized at the moment.

He kicked off his shoes before falling into bed. Not even bothering to cover himself up.

Are my feelings for Deceit even real? I don’t know much about his abilities but, what if he is capable of manipulating my-my thoughts towards him?

Logan closed his eyes.

When will I stop this back and forth? One moment I believe that I love him, and the next I doubt that I do because of what Deceit is… I just want the truth…

As Logan drifted off to sleep he couldn’t help but feel as if there was something he was forgetting…

It’s probably nothing…

Rolling onto his side he allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep. The only place where his troubled thoughts couldn’t reach him.

Chapter Text

Logan was exhausted. He’d been spending the past several days taking care of Roman and helping clean up the mess in his room. At the moment he was the only who could actually do the work, seeing as Roman was still recovering his strength. Of course, that didn’t stop the prince from constantly insisting he was capable of helping.

This led to Logan’s work being interrupted by an argument between him and Roman which usually ended with him pouting and sulking on his bed while Logan resumed his task. The only time he ever willingly paused cleaning was when he brought up Roman’s meals. He hadn’t been able to eat with Patton and Virgil anymore since he needed to monitor how much Roman was eating.

It was important to make sure he didn’t eat too much food at once, lest he become sick. Therefore, Logan would portion Roman’s meals once he brought them to his room. But this raised more problems as Patton and Virgil would take every opportunity they could to question him about Roman’s wellbeing.

He assured them both that he was alright and was finishing up a project of his. This seemed to satisfy them but he knew that they were still worried, specifically, about him.

I suppose I can’t blame them… Logan flopped onto his bed. Too tired to even remove his glasses or tie. The last time I talked to Virgil I yelled at him… and Patton… He sighed and closed his eyes. Something was wrong with Patton, which was another thing he had to worry about. Though he’d promised to talk to him once he was ready (and Patton never broke his promises) Logan feared that his situation would only grow worse during that time.

I have to lie to them about Roman, while nursing Roman back to health. Patton needs help but he won’t come to any of us. Virgil and Patton are worried about me and though they haven’t brought it up, I know it involves these feelings I have. What they don’t know is that I may be developing feelings for Deceit, and if they found out…

Logan groaned and rubbed his face. If was doomed to fall in love with anyone, why did it have to be Deceit? Patton wouldn’t be so happy for me if he knew, and Virgil would most likely hate me, and Roman would think I was out of my mind…

He opened his eyes and frowned. Logan, you are thinking illogically. Knowing Patton, he’d still be happy for you, just cautious about you having a possible relationship with Deceit. Virgil wouldn’t hate me, though it is likely he would turn his anger towards Deceit. And Roman- Alright Roman would certainly think you were out of your mind.

Logan rolled onto his side. You need to know… You need to know once and for all if your feelings are real… His eyes slowly began to close, despite his efforts to keep them open. The next time… you see him… ask him… Logan gave up the struggle and let them close. Ask him… how… he feels… He sighed and let himself fall into a much needed sleep.

That was soon interrupted by a knock on the door. Logan’s eyes immediately shot open and once he realized he had been awoken, he buried his face into his pillow and let out a frustrated groan. I just want to sleep! Is that too much to ask?!

The knocking continued. “Who is it?!” Logan shouted. There was no answer, just more knocking. He stood up and stormed over to the door, ready to give whoever was on the other side a piece of his mind. He threw it open. “What do you want?!”

No one was there.

He stared blankly at the empty hallway and swayed slightly. “What…?” He looked down at the floor and that’s where he saw it, a note. With shaking hands he reached down and picked it up before unfolding it. Again, only a single word was written down.

Midnight

Logan slumped against the doorframe. Deceit wanted to see him at midnight…? Why…?
I-I can’t… I’m too tired… I just want to rest… Logan closed his eyes, his legs shaking. One night, all he wanted was one night of sleep…

“Logan?”
He forced his eyes open and saw Virgil standing with Patton. “Oh… you two…”

“Is everything okay?” Patton asked, his eyes filled with worry. He nodded, his eyes sliding closed again. “You look like you’re about to collapse,” Virgil said, “and we heard you shouting. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“M fine…” Logan’s legs gave out and he fell forward. Fortunately for him, Virgil’s quick reflexes saved him from an unwanted meeting with the floor as he caught him.

Virgil held him upright before glancing at Patton.
“Let’s get him in bed…”

Virgil nodded before lifting Logan, gently cradling him in his arms. Patton walked into his room and pulled the blankets back. Virgil carried him over and laid him down. Patton removed his glasses and shoes while Virgil covered him up.

Logan snuggled under the blankets to where only the top of his head was sticking out. Patton smiled softly. “Sweet dreams Lo.”

“Come on.” Virgil took Patton’s hand and led him out of the room, quietly closing the door behind them.

“Poor Logan, so tired he fell asleep standing.” Patton sighed and shook his head.
“Yeah…” Virgil frowned, his eyes fixed on Logan’s door.
“What’s wrong Kiddo?” Patton tilted his head to the side.

“We both heard him shout, right?”
Patton nodded.

“So we come up here to check on him, find him standing in his doorway half asleep, then he just collapses?”

“I guess that is weird… Maybe he was talking to Roman?”

“Maybe, but Roman still hasn’t left his room. And we didn’t hear him, also why would Logan be shouting at him?”

“I-I’m not sure Kiddo…”

Virgil lowered his head and spotted something on the floor. “What’s this?”
“What’s what?” Patton followed his gaze and watched as he picked up a piece of paper.

“A piece of paper with the word Midnight written on it. Where did this come from?”
“Not sure Virgil. Maybe Logan dropped it?” Patton suggested.
“If he did then where did he get it from?” Virgil turned to him. “I don’t like this.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I’ve just got a bad feeling.” Virgil stuffed the note in his pocket. Patton frowned slightly. “What are you going to do?”
“Probably watch Logan’s room tonight, specifically at midnight, and see if anything happens.”
“You sure that’s a good idea Kiddo?” Patton fiddled with his hoodie sleeves. “What if Logan doesn’t like it?”

“It’s just want to make sure he’s safe. And it’s only for one night, I promise.”
“Well…” Patton bit his lip. “I guess it won’t hurt anyone…”

Virgil smiled softly before hugging him. “It’ll be okay Patton. Who knows? Maybe it’s nothing and I’m just being my usual, paranoid self.”

Patton hugged back. “You’re probably right,” he pulled away slightly, “promise me you’ll be careful though, just in case it is something.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

Patton glanced at Logan’s door again. “You… You don’t it’s one of them , do you?”

Virgil’s eyes briefly flashed with anger. “It better not be.”

Patton lowered his head. “I-I’m going to start dinner…”
“Okay…” He watched as Patton walked downstairs.

Virgil sighed before turning back to Logan’s door. He watched it for a moment longer before going down to join Patton. He would be back at midnight.

---

Logan’s eyes opened slowly, his vision was hazy.

What happened…? Why can’t I see?

His second question was answered when he realized that he was laying in his bed, and that it was dark. After that it didn’t take him long to piece things together.

I fell asleep. Wait, what time is it?

He quickly switched on his lamp and put on his glasses. He then looked to the clock.

11:45?!?! Oh no Roman! I never brought him dinner!

Logan tumbled out of bed, collapsing in a tangled heap inside his blanket. He freed himself and kicked the offending covers away before running to the door, not even bothering with his tie and shoes.

I have enough time to get Roman something to eat before Deceit comes.

He ran out of his room only to run into Virgil.

“Whoa!” Virgil’s arms flailed as he tried to keep his balance and in his panic latched onto Logan. Unfortunately for both of them, his attempts to keep himself upright backfired and he ended up bringing Logan down with him as he fell.

Logan landed with a wince on top of poor Virgil, who could only grunt as he got his breath knocked out of him.
“Virgil! My apologies…”

“A-Apology… Ac-Aceppted…” He wheezed.
“Are you alright?”
“I-I think?” Virgil lifted his head to look at Logan, who pulled back just in time to avoid a head on collision.

“I-I didn’t think you would be awake…”
“You know I’m a night owl…”

“Of course…” Logan swallowed. It was too dark to see but his face was completely red. How embarrassing… At least the others will never see this.

A light suddenly turned on causing both of them to turn and see Patton standing in the hall, his hand still on the light switch, and his eyes wide in surprise.

Logan suddenly realized the position he and Virgil were in and his face only became redder.

“Pa-Patton I… We-We can… It-It isn’t…” He frantically turned to Virgil with a look that clearly said: HELP ME

However, Virgil appeared to be in as much shock as he was, not only that it was difficult for him to talk with Logan still on top of him.

“Er… Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt anything, Kiddos…” Patton chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I just heard a loud noise and, well… I’ll leave you two alone…” He quickly turned around and went back to his room.

“Pat-Patton wait!” Logan tried to go after him but ended up tripping over Virgil’s legs. Virgil, meanwhile, was still trying to figure out what had just happened. Logan turned to face him. “Virgil I-” He froze. Midnight… Deceit!

He ran back into his room and shut the door, leaving Virgil alone in the hallway. He checked the time, 11:56

He raced over to his nightstand and quickly put on his tie, not taking time to notice how sloppy it looked on him. He then searched frantically for his shoes. Where are they?!

11:57

Logan threw his closet door open and searched everywhere, tossing just about anything that wasn’t his usual pair of shoes out behind him.

11:58

Logan darted out of the closet. Where did I put them?!

11:59

Logan panicked. What will Deceit think of me?!

Midnight

“Looking for these?”
Logan whirled around to see Deceit standing behind him, holding his shoes.
“Um, yes…”
Deceit smiled and handed them over. “My, my, all this stress over little old me?”

Logan didn’t comment as he sat down on his bed and put on his shoes. He stiffened when he felt Deceit’s hands on his head. “It’s okay, I’ll help you get ready.”

“W-What do you mean…?”
“Well, first we’ll start by fixing your hair. You look like you were just struck by lightning.” He chuckled and began smoothing his hair down. Logan couldn’t help but find the action relaxing and closed his eyes. Deceit smiled and admired his work. “There we go,” he walked around to the front of the bed, “now let’s fix your tie.”

Logan’s eyes opened slightly. He watched Deceit undo his tie and slowly pull it off, or perhaps he pulled it off at a normal speed and he was just delirious from exhaustion. Deceit hummed softly as put the tie on him. “Hm, there’s still something missing…”

“Missing?”
Deceit took his hand and stood him up. “Yes, there’s definitely something amiss.”
Logan trembled slightly. What was wrong with him?

“Ah, I know what it is.” Deceit snapped his fingers.

Logan looked around, expecting to find himself in the ballroom again, only to find that Deceit had brought him somewhere completely different.

“The setting was all wrong.” Deceit shook his head and tsked. “This is much better.”

“Is your definition of “better” a field of grass at night?” Logan asked, then immediately wished he hadn’t. Why would you say that to him?!

Deceit, much to his surprise, seemed to find his comment amusing and laughed.

“This isn’t just a field of grass, it’s a meadow.”
“That-That’s what a meadow is Deceit…”
“I know, isn’t it beautiful?”

“I suppose?” Logan honestly couldn’t find anything particularly interesting about a field of grass. He was also confused as to why Deceit would bring him here instead of the ballroom, it was much more enchanting than this place….

“Oh! Silly me, I forgot to turn on the lights.”

Logan stared at him, perplexed by the comment. “Deceit, we are outside in a meadow.”
Deceit turned to him and grinned. “Your point?”
“My point is that there are no-”

Deceit snapped his fingers, a explosion of light appeared overhead, dispersing millions of stars into the sky. Logan’s jaw dropped. He’d never seen this many stars before in his life…

Deceit watched him for a second before looking up at the sky himself. He waved his hand and a moon appeared, bathing the meadow in beautiful, silver light.

“Deceit…” Logan breathed. “This is amazing…”
“It is?”

Logan nodded, unable to say anything else. Deceit smiled before waving his hand again. Shooting stars began flying across the night sky, leaving white trails behind them that weaved around the other stars like mist.

“What-What is that?”
“Stardust.” Deceit replied simply.

Logan couldn’t take his eyes off of the myriad of stars. His eyes reflecting the night sky above him. Deceit watched him for a moment before looking up again. “You know, it might be more comfortable if you were to lay down.”

“Lay down?” Logan glanced at him, not wanting to take his eyes off the stars for more than a second.
“The grass is soft, go ahead and lay down.” Deceit did so without waiting for him to respond, letting his hands rest under his head. Logan sat down and felt the grass in surprise. It was soft.

He laid down and stared up at the sky, marveling at its beauty. “Deceit, how can you make all this?”
“Now if I told you my secret Logan, it would spoil the wonder.”
“Oh…” Logan’s brow furrowed. “Do you make it in the same way you create the ballroom?”

“You just can’t help yourself, can you Logan?” Deceit chuckled. “Always asking questions, always wanting to know how the world works.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with being curious.”
“Never said there was. I admire your curiosity.”
Logan’s eyes were torn from the sky to Deceit in a second. “You-You do?”

“Of course,” Deceit turned his head towards him, “you’re so fascinated by the world we live in. So many people want to escape it for something better, but not you.”

“I just don’t understand why anyone would want something else. I mean, look at this!” Logan gestured towards the stars. “It’s-It’s beyond words!”

“Yes, but still, it isn’t real.”

“Well, yes. However, there are stars in the real world. And they are just as beautiful as these.”

“You know Logan,” Deceit looked at the sky again, “there’s nothing wrong with wanting to escape from time to time.”

“What do you mean? You just told me that you admired how I didn’t need to escape.”

“I do, but at the same time, I am assuring you that if you ever come to a point where you need to escape, it’s okay to do so.”

Logan frowned before turning his attention back to the stars.
“It’s all about balance, Logan.”

He turned to him again. “Are you referring to dancing?”
Deceit didn’t respond.
“Deceit?”

“Wasn’t there something else you wanted to ask me?” Deceit didn’t look at him. Logan frowned slightly. Yes, there was something he’d been wanting to ask him, but should he? Now?

Yes. Ask him. You have to know the truth.

Logan sighed before sitting up, Deceit mirroring the action. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”
“Bringing me to places like this, the lessons, spending time with me, what is it all for?”

“Why do you want to know?”
“I just have to know… please…”

Deceit stared at him. Logan couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Suddenly he stood and extended his hand to Logan. Cautiously, he accepted it and was pulled to his feet. Deceit waved his hand and suddenly a forest appeared around them.

Logan looked around in astonishment before realizing that he was wearing his suit again. “Deceit…?”

He said nothing as he walked over and took Logan’s hand, wrapping his other arm around his waist.

I suppose we’re dancing…

Logan put his own arm around Deceit’s waist.

The light from the moon shone down on them, creating a silver spotlight. Deceit, as usual, took the lead as they slowly danced around the clearing. Logan had improved a bit since their first lesson, but he was nowhere near Deceit’s level. Still, the new setting and Deceit’s dancing were not enough to distract him from his goal, which was getting answers.

“Deceit, please answer my question. What is all of this for?”
Again, his question was ignored as Deceit started humming.
“Deceit…” Logan trailed off as Deceit began to sing.

“I see shadow and light, stroking the mist. And I hear voices take flight, and send out our wish. Of peaceful dreams on a night, moonlight kissed.”

Logan’s eyes widened as Deceit slowly danced with him.

“Tendrils of smoke lash the street, and shamelessly court. Disguised honey sweet, to cater all sorts. And hushed tones all agree, and the world distorts.”

They spun around slowly, dancing to music that only Deceit could hear.

“Wishing on a speck of dust in this, crazy ocean of fate. An echo of a memory and maybe just, a little too late…”

Logan couldn’t help but close his eyes as he listened to him sing, trusting Deceit to guide him in their dance.

“Fingers of blue on the snow, reaching to touch.The warm light still aglow, across the porch. We watch the scene die untold, outside our window.”

Logan shivered as Deceit’s hand brushed over his neck.

“For my words are the salt of lust on that, ivory skin. Difficult to hear at all through the everyday din…”

Logan’s eyes opened slightly before widening in surprise as Deceit suddenly pushed him away, his voice rising as he sang, his eyes flashing in anger.

“What is this if not some witchcraft? Wrapped up widdershins, to lead us all astray. Hook in mouth on through such webs of lies,” He gestured to himself, “truth’s a distant star in our eyes. Moonlight kissed…” His eyes softened, the anger in them gone, and sorrow taking its place.

Logan was shaking as he stepped towards him. Deceit turned away and began singing again.

“New day comes again, and it laughs in your face…” He wrapped his arms around himself and closed his eyes. “Whispering secrets of pain, by all its names. What flame could burn out the stain, of a life misplaced?”

Logan stood beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He opened his mouth to say something when Deceit suddenly hugged him, holding him tightly as he trembled.

“But summer’s scent still lingers, in your hair. Despite the ache there’s magic, everywhere.”

Before Logan knew it they were dancing again, sweeping around the clearing in swift, flowing motions.

“Out the window run rebellion, rapt with all you find for seeking something new. Play in the ponds like summer’s wind, dance with the trees melding with mist. Beyond their flower field like…”

Deceit slowed their dance and stared into Logan’s eyes, leaning close enough to where their lips almost brushed together.

“You’re moonlight kissed…”

Logan’s lips parted slightly, he leaned closer to Deceit, only to feel disappointment well up inside his chest as he pulled away. And the only kiss he received was on the back of his hand.

“Thank you, Logan.” Deceit looked up at him. “Next time.”
Logan stared at him dazedly. “Next time…?”
“You will get your answers next time. For now, rest. I’ll see you soon…”

Logan’s eyes closed. When he opened them again he was laying in his bed, in his regular clothes and his room no longer a disaster. He sighed and rolled over, his fingers brushing against something soft. He picked it up and held it against his nose, breathing in the sweet scent of the yellow rose.

Holding it in his hands, he closed his eyes. Deceit’s song lulling him to sleep.

Chapter Text

“Oh! Logan! What about this?!” Roman sat up in bed and held out one of his ideas. Logan looked over from where he was kneeling on the floor, stuffing ideas into trash bags. “Roman, you know I can’t read that from here.”

“What if we did a video where we recreated fanart?! The Famders could submit their work and we can recreate it in real life! They would love it!” Roman hugged the idea against his chest. “It’s like combining the Voices of Unreason videos with Sanders Sides!”

“Well… That would certainly be interesting…” Logan went back to sifting through ideas. “I’m going to show Thomas this!” Roman placed it on his right before picking up another idea. “Ooh! Cartoon Therapy/Sanders Sides crossover?!”

“How would that even work within the canon that Thomas and Joan have already established for the series?” Logan asked.

“That’s the beauty of crossovers Logan! They defy canon! It’s what makes them so amazing! Like when the Power Rangers teamed up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!”

Logan paused for a second and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am embarrassed for you…”

Roman just giggled before placing the idea with the small pile on his right. “Alright, I’m done sorting this one!”

“Good, because I have more for you to sort through.” Logan picked up a small stack of ideas and carried it over to his bed, setting it on Roman’s lap.

“This is fun, isn’t it Logan?” Roman smiled and handed him the ideas he’d stacked on his right.
“Oh, yes. Just wait until we get to the ceiling…” Logan took the ideas and carried them over to Roman’s desk. He pulled open a drawer and set them inside with the other ideas Roman wanted to keep.

What? Not all of them are garbage! Roman had said to him. So, instead of just disposing of the ideas, Logan had to go through all of them and find the ones that could possibly be good ideas for Roman, bring those ideas to Roman, let him sort through them and decide which ones he wanted to keep, then Logan would store the good ideas with the others.

In the meantime, he would focus on saving the possibly good ideas and tossing the unintelligible ones into trash bags for Roman to dispose of once he was back to his full strength. Logan took a moment to asses his work. The floor was almost visible again and Roman’s desk and bed were clean.

That just leaves the walls… And the ceiling… Logan sighed and got back to work.
“Say, Logan?”
“Hm?” He didn’t look up.
“Do you think I’d be well enough to go downstairs and eat dinner with everyone?”

Logan sighed before turning to see Roman’s eager face.
“I don’t know about that Roman…”
“Please? I miss being with you guys…” Roman attempted to win him over with his “Sad Prince Eyes” which had no effect.

“If you are wanting to avoid Patton and Virgil discovering what happened to you, then eating with them is not the way to go about doing so.”

“But I’m not as skinny as before! Honest!” Roman started to climb out of bed.
“Roman!” Logan ran over to steady him before he toppled over.
“You are treating me like a piece of glass! Come on Logan, I am a prince! I don’t need to be doted upon.”

“Would you rather me let you fall?” Logan questioned before forcing him to sit back down on the bed.

Roman crossed his arms and pouted.
“Now Roman, I know you are frustrated with your current state, but if you want to return to being the strong, capable prince you once were then you have to rest.”

“But Logan look!” He spread his arms out. “My pajamas don’t hang off me as much as they used to! I’m not as tired anymore either! Please, just for one night let me go down and eat with the rest of you!” Roman’s voice quivered slightly as he lowered his arms. “I-I don’t want to be alone anymore…”

Logan’s eyes softened, just barely though.
“Have I not been here for you?” He asked while crossing his arms.
“Of course you have, and I couldn’t be more grateful. But I miss us , all of us! You, Patton, Virgil and I… It’s not the same without all of us being together. ”

Logan sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Patton and Virgil will ask questions…”
“I’m prepared to answer them.”

“What if they ask you to stop shutting yourself in here?”
“Then I’ll stop.”

“Roman-”
“It’s not as if I’d be letting them in my room. I’d just be staying out of it less.”
“Then how are we supposed to get this cleaned up?” Logan gestured to the room.

“I’ll still help you…”

“Roman, tell them the truth.”
Roman’s face blanched. “I can’t!”

“Why not?! Don’t they deserve to know the truth?!”
“It’s not that easy Logan!” Roman flopped back onto his bed. “What would they think of me?! And Logan I-I made you lie to them! What kind of prince forces another to lie for him?!”

Logan’s shoulders slumped. Why do I have to be the one to deal with this?

Roman grabbed Logan’s hands. “Please?”
“Roman-”
“Plllllllllleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssseeeeeeeeeee?”

Logan deadpanned. “You know that doesn’t work on me, right?”

Roman huffed and flopped back onto his bed.

“However…”
Roman immediately perked up.
“I believe you have regained enough strength to go downstairs and eat with us.”

Logan nearly fell over when Roman jumped into his arms and engulfed him in a hug. “Aw Specs! I knew you loved me!”

“Well… I care about your wellbeing…” Logan patted him awkwardly on the back.
“Oh! What should I wear?!” Roman attempted to stumble over to his wardrobe, he only got as far as the end of his bed before Logan had to go over and walk him the rest of the way.

“How about your regular outfit?” Logan suggested.
“Um… I was thinking something more, casual?”
“What did you have in mind?” Logan opened the doors to the wardrobe and was startled to see a snow forest inside. Roman quickly slammed the doors closed and laughed nervously. “Nothing to see here…”

Logan blinked. “What-”
Roman opened the wardrobe again revealing his clothes. “Let’s see, how about that shirt,” he pointed to a white t-shirt, “that dark red jacket, and a pair of jeans.”

“Alright.” Logan gathered the clothes and helped Roman over to his bed, laying the clothes out for him. “Do you need help getting dressed?”

“I want to do it myself.” Roman began to unbutton his shirt, his fingers trembling slightly. Logan moved away and resumed cleaning up the ideas, glancing at Roman every so often to see if he needed help.

To his surprise (and relief) Roman was managing to dress himself just fine. Sure, it was slow going, but he was able to do it on his own. Logan smiled to himself and returned to his task. Roman flashed a triumphant grin as he finished. “I did it!”

Logan looked over and nodded in approval. “Well done.”

“Can we go down now?”
“I suppose.” Logan stood and walked over to help him. Roman smiled and linked their arms together. Logan led him to the door and opened it.
“I hope Patton doesn’t mind you spending all this time with me,” Roman said as they walked out.

Logan’s brow furrowed. “Why would he mind?”

“Oh, I just feel bad for taking time away from the two of you.”

“I don’t understand, was I supposed to be doing something with Patton?” Logan walked him over to the stairs and slowly walked down.

“Well, the usual I suppose. Cuddling, whispering sweet nothings to each other, you know, stuff that couples do.”

Logan’s foot slipped on one of the steps and was only saved by Roman latching onto his arms and quickly setting them on the handrail.
“Wha-What do you mean, couples? ” Logan pulled himself up and gasped for breath.

“Oh come on Teach, I saw you and Patton together. I saw you comforting one another and then you both hugging and then him saying he loved you while you looked on all embarrassed, it was so cute!”

Logan’s face turned bright red. Roman-Roman thinks that-that me-and Patton are-are-no!

“I mean, I suppose it was only a matter of time.” Roman chuckled and linked their arms together again, guiding a stunned Logan down the stairs. “Aw, it’s so romantic! You two were practically made for each other!”

I-I’m not in love with Patton! Roman stop! Logan opened his mouth to say something but, every time he tried to words seemed to die on his tongue.

“Logicality is real! The Famders will be so happy! Have you told anyone yet? Does Thomas know? Ooh can I be there when you tell him?! I wanna see the look on his face when he hears the two of you are together!”

“B-B-But w-we-we ar-aren’t-”

WHY WON’T MY WORDS WORK?!?!?

“Oh wait, you aren’t officially together yet? Ooooh…. Is it a one sided thing?! Or are you both waiting for the right time to tell everyone?”
Logan shook his head and held a finger to his lips.

“Ah, I see.” Roman lowered his voice and winked. “You guys are keeping it a secret for now. Well, worry not! Your secret is safe with me.”

“Th-Th-Tha-”
“No need to thank me Logan, that’s what friends are for.” Roman smiled.
On the inside, Logan was fuming. THAT’S NOT WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY!!!!

Roman sighed. “Oh Logan, my young Nerd has finally grown up and has accepted his feelings.”

Logan frowned. Nerd? Seriously? He quickly shook his head. That’s not important right now! You need to tell him that you and Patton are not together!

However, before he could even open his mouth-

“Roman!” Patton came running over and engulfed both of them in a hug. “I’ve missed you so much!”

Roman laughed and hugged back. “I’ve missed you too Padre!”

Logan stood awkwardly in the group hug. His arms were pinned to his sides so he couldn’t exactly hug back. His eyes wandered past Patton and suddenly locked onto Virgil. The Anxious Side was reclined on the couch, eyes closed with his headphones on.

Neither had said anything about the night in the hallway and Logan had been purposefully avoiding the topic.

“Oh Roman! I love the outfit!” Patton pulled back slightly and smiled at them both. “Are you two hungry? Dinner’s almost ready!”

“Hungry? I’m starving!” Roman laughed while Logan didn’t find the comment amusing in the slightest.

“Well you two sit down and I’ll serve everyone!” Patton turned to Logan and giggled. “Our first dinner together with everyone!”
“Right…” Logan shuffled his feet.
Patton giggled again before running into the kitchen. “Hey Virgil! Look who’s back!”

Virgil opened one eye and looked over in Logan and Roman’s direction. His eyes widening when he saw Roman.

Roman chuckled. “Greetings, Storm Cloud.”
“Roman?!” Virgil threw off his headphones and shot up. “Where have you been?!”

“Aw, did you miss me?” Roman teased. Virgil stormed over and punched Roman in the arm (not too hard of course) and glared at him. “Don’t ever leave us like that again!”

“Heh, sorry Virge…” Roman rubbed his arm and smiled at him bashfully, but Logan could tell by looking at his eyes that Virgil’s playful punch had actually hurt him.

Not only that, he knew how guilty Roman felt about the whole thing. His eyes softening, he laid a hand on his shoulder. Roman glanced at him and smiled gratefully.

“Well, you’re here now,” Virgil stuffed his hands in his pockets, “that’s all that matters, right?”
“That’s exactly right Kiddo!” Patton chimed in. “By the way, dinner is served! I made pasta bake!”

“Excellent! Come Logan!” Roman linked their arms once again and walked into the kitchen. Logan noticed that he was trying not to lean on him too much.

Roman sat at his usual spot on Logan’s left while Virgil sat across from Logan. Patton served everyone a spoonful of pasta before filling their glasses with water. A basket of breadsticks had been placed in the center of the table.

“Dig in everyone!” Patton beamed.
“Thanks Dad.” Virgil grabbed a breadstick from the basket.
“Yes, thank you Patton.” Logan took a bite of his food.
“No problem Lo!”

Roman picked at his food, opting for a breadstick instead.

Logan glanced at him. Of course… Pasta would be too filling for him right now…

Roman took small bites of the bread, taking long drinks of water in between. It didn’t take long for Patton and Virgil to notice this behavior, but oddly enough, neither of them said anything.

Patton couldn’t stop smiling as he ate and Virgil kept glancing at all of them. Every time Virgil’s eyes passed over him Logan instinctively lowered his head. Part of him was glad that they were all together again, but another part of him was terrified that one of them had heard what Roman said on the stairs.

So what if he has? If he says anything just tell him that it was a misunderstanding and you don’t love Patton that way!

I-I can’t…

Why not?

Because if they find out that it’s not Patton then in their eyes that will only leave Virgil and Roman as my possible love interest!

Ah, I see… and if those two are ruled out…

Then it’s only a matter of time before they find out who it really is…

“Logan?”

“E=MC SCARED!” Logan jumped out of his seat, accidentally bumping the table and spilling his and Roman’s drinks. The others all jumped out of their seats, Roman just missing having water spilled onto his lap.

“Logan?” Patton looked at him worriedly. “Are you okay?”
Logan trembled before looking at all of them, each one mirroring Patton’s expression of worry. “My-My apologies… I-I’ll get a towel…”

“Oh it’s alright Logan! I’ll clean it up!” Patton ran to grab some towels.

Logan lowered his head. Great… our first dinner together in almost two months and you ruin it…

“Logan?” Roman laid a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s just water.”

“I ruined it…” He mumbled.
Patton walked back in and managed to catch what he said. “Oh Logan, you didn’t ruin anything.”

Logan shook his head before walking away.
“Logan…” Virgil gently grabbed his arm but he pulled himself out of his grip and continued walking.

“Logan wait! Please!” Roman stumbled after him, not caring if Patton or Virgil saw him.
Logan stopped by the stairs, his hand resting on the handrail. Roman collapsed against him, unable to stand up anymore, and held on to him.

“Logan please, stay with us. You didn’t ruin anything, we’re fine.”
Logan sighed and helped him stand on his own. “Roman, I’d much rather just go up to my room.”
“Then I might as well go with you…” Roman sighed, which only made Logan feel worse. Roman needed his help getting up and down the stairs, if he left now he’d have to go back up to his room.

Roman smiled. “It’s okay, I’m tired anyway. A prince needs his beauty sleep after all.” Before Logan could object he looked over at Patton and Virgil. “Sorry to cut this short, I’ll see you both tomorrow!”

“Okay! Night Roman!” Patton smiled.
“See ya.” Virgil waved.
Roman linked their arms. “Shall we?”
Logan nodded and led him upstairs without a word. Once they were up and out of earshot from the others Roman spoke. “Logan, is there something wrong?”

“What do you mean?” He wouldn’t look at him.

“The Logan we all know wouldn’t become this upset over spilled water. And even before that you spaced out all of a sudden, we couldn’t get your attention. There’s clearly something on your mind.”

Logan sighed and looked down. “It’s complicated…”

Roman’s eyes softened as they neared his room. Logan said nothing as he walked him inside. He helped him into his pajamas before tucking him into bed. Of course, Roman knew he could have done this himself, but he knew that Logan needed a distraction.

“Goodnight Roman.” Logan started to walk out of the room.
“Logan?”
He stopped in the doorway.
“You helped me, please let me help you…”

He closed his eyes. “I don’t think you can help me, not with this…”
“Come on Logan, I thought I was supposed to be the dramatic one?” He teased. Logan didn’t respond and left the room, closing the door behind him.

He headed for his own room hoping to have some time alone to clear his head.

“Logan? Can we talk for a second?”

Virgil… Why now? Logan turned around and faced him. “Yes?”

“Patton and I just wanted to make sure you were okay, you’ve been acting, off, lately.”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind…”

“I can tell.” Virgil put his hands in his pockets. “Is it about Roman?”

Logan sighed. That was part of the truth, it wouldn’t hurt to tell him, would it?

“Yes, we’ve been working on some things. I suppose I’m just tired…”

“Right,” Virgil looked down at the floor, “I promise I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop but… I walked by Roman’s room on my way downstairs and-and I heard the two of you shouting at each other…”

Logan stiffened. “How-How much did you hear…?”

“Not much. I had my headphones on but the sound was low. The only thing I managed to catch was Roman not being able to tell Patton and I the truth about something?”

“Oh…” Logan lowered his head. What am I supposed to say?!

“Logan?”
“Yes?”
“Um,” Virgil shuffled his feet, “I know this is a really, really bad time to ask but… Is Roman your crush?”

Logan’s eyes widened and once again, his face turned bright red.
“I’m sorry it’s just- he started his whole “Daydreaming” episode right when we found out you liked one of us, then you’re the only one he lets in his room, and even tonight the two of you were practically inseparable from each other!” Virgi looked up at him nervously. “I’m really not trying to pry or anything but, I’m worried.”

Again, Logan’s words appeared to be malfunctioning. “R-R-Roman? W-What do-do y-y-you me-mean? Worried…?” He swayed slightly.
“Why doesn’t Roman want us to know? Is he making you keep it a secret from us? I-I know he’d never want to hurt any of us but, why doesn’t he want to say anything?”

Logan stared at him before fainting. Virgil yelped in surprise and caught him as he fell forward. “Logan? Logan?!” He looked around frantically before carrying him over to his bed and laying him down. “Logan? Logan come on wake up!” He felt his forehead, he wasn’t warm, why had he fainted?

Virgil was shaking. This is my fault… This is my fault! Why did I fall asleep the other night?! I should have been watching his room! He ran out into the hall. “Patton!” He screamed.

Patton was upstairs in a heartbeat, immediately going to console Virgil.
“It’s okay, I’m here, what’s wrong?”

“Lo-Logan… He fainted… I don’t know what happened… We were just talking… My fault…”
“Shh, it’s okay Kiddo.” Patton rubbed his back and looked over at Logan.
“It was them… It was the Dark Sides… One of them hurt him I know it…”
“Easy Kiddo, we don’t know that for sure.” Patton kissed his head before walking over to check on Logan, Virgil following closely behind.

Patton laid his hand over Logan’s heart, it appeared to be beating at a regular pace.
“He isn’t warm…” Virgil wrapped his arms around himself.
“I-I don’t know what happened Virge…” Patton looked over at him. “Do-Do you really think it’s a Dark Side?”

“I don’t know, but… He’s been acting so strange… Scared…”

Patton lowered his head. Logan had told him that he was scared. Was he being targeted by a Dark Side? He noticed Virgil breathing heavily and pulled him into a hug.
“Virgil, it’s going to be okay. We’ll find out what’s going, we’ll protect him.”

“I-I should have been there last week… I should have guarded him…” Virgil sniffled.

Patton frowned. “What do you mean? You said you were going to watch his room at midnight? I saw you out in the hall.”
“W-What? I-I fell asleep in my room by accident… I never made it to his room to watch it…”

Patton pulled away slightly and looked at him. “Virgil, you and Logan were in the hallway that night, I saw you.”

“That-That never happened! I didn’t see Logan.”

“But I remember! Logan looked like he’d just woken up and you were out there with him. Although, I didn’t understand why you were wearing your old hoodie.”

“My old hoodie?”

“I mean, I figured you put it on to help you hide in the dark better.”
“Patton, I got rid of my old hoodie. I don’t have it anymore.”

“Then why were you…” Patton trailed off, his eyes widening.
“Patton? What’s wrong?”

“Virgil… You know how after Logan got me this cat hoodie, I stopped wearing my cardigan?”
“Yeah,” Virgil nodded slowly, “I don’t see what this has to do with-” He cut himself off. “You ended up losing your cardigan, didn’t you?”

Patton nodded. “It disappeared out of my closet… But then we found out that someone took it…”
Virgil’s hands curled into fists. “Deceit.”

“That-That wasn’t you I saw with Logan at all!”

“I should have known that he was behind all this!” Virgil growled.

Patton whimpered. “N-Now, hold on a-a minute K-Kiddo. We don’t know for sure if-”
“Who else could it be? He disguised himself as me and was waiting outside of Logan’s room! At midnight! Who knows how many times he’s been going in there when we’re all asleep?!”

“I…” Patton played with his sleeves nervously. “What do we do…?”

“When Logan wakes up, we’ll ask him about it.” Virgil looked at the sleeping Side. “Then, we find a way to catch Deceit.”
“How? He’s never around, and we don’t know where he disappears to.”
“We’ll find a way. I’m not letting him hurt any of you. And I’m not letting him near Logan ever again.”

Patton said nothing and kept his eyes on the floor. Virgil hugged him. “We’re going to stop him. Whatever Deceit’s planning, we’re not going to let him get away with it.”
“What if he already did?” Patton whispered.
Virgil looked over at Logan. “Then we’ll make him pay.”

Chapter Text

Logan had received a note exactly one week later from Deceit, telling him to once again be ready at midnight. While he should’ve been relieved that he’d finally be getting answers, a part of him still doubted Deceit’s reliability to tell the truth.

I want to trust him, but how can I when he is the personification of Deceit? All of this could still be an elaborate set up in whatever scheme he’s planning…

He kept going over his last encounter with Deceit, he hadn’t detected any malice behind his actions.

Still… He is Deceit… He could easily hide his true emotions…

Speaking of hiding emotions, Logan didn’t seem to be the only one hiding his. He knew Patton was hiding something, and recently Virgil had been acting strange around him too. The only one who wasn’t hiding anything from him was Roman. Well, Roman was hiding things from Patton and Virgil. So really, everyone was keeping secrets, not just him. Which, in a strange way, made Logan feel slightly better about himself.

Then he remembered that Roman thought he was in love with Patton and that Virgil thinks he’s in love with Roman…

A part of him was screaming to tell the truth and clear everything up, but then another part shouted that it would only lead to them finding out about Deceit.

Then there was Logan himself, who had all of his own reasons why telling them would be a bad idea.

If I told Roman that I didn’t love Patton, he’d most likely forget about the whole thing. He’s the only one who doesn’t know about my crush… However, he’s been spending more time with Patton and Virgil lately so it’s only a matter of time before one them tells him about it. And if he knows by then that it’s not Patton he’ll narrow it down to himself and Virgil…

Logan began to pace back and forth. He’d been doing a lot of that lately. Especially once he realized that it was the only way for him to think about this situation without becoming overwhelmed. He had to keep moving.

The same will happen with Virgil if I tell him that it’s not Roman. Except he’ll assume it’s himself or Patton. Then if Roman tells him that it’s not Patton then… Then they’ll all think I’m in love with Virgil! And once he’s ruled out then… Then maybe they’ll think I never had a crush at all?

Logan shook his head.

Unlikely, I admitted to Patton that I had one. Besides, if I told them I no longer had one they’d all think I simply gave up on it because of my nerves… Then they’d all encourage me to pursue it even more .

He gripped the sides of his head and closed his eyes.

Why did I ever say anything?! None of this would be happening if I’d just kept my thoughts to myself! I can’t think logically, all of these emotions are clouding my judgment, what am I supposed to do?!

He felt his heart beginning to pick up speed. He curled his hand into a fist and held it over his mouth.

Breathe… Breathe… Do not panic… There is no reason to panic… Breathe…

Logan closed his eyes and kept pacing. As long as he kept moving, he’d be fine. Besides, it was almost midnight, Deceit would be here soon and he wouldn’t be alone. With that in mind Logan kept pacing and focused on taking deep breaths. Every time he checked his clock another minute had passed.

Just one more minute…

Midnight came and Logan looked around for Deceit, wondering where and how he’d appear this time. But after several seconds went by, and Deceit didn’t arrive, Logan began to worry.

Deceit is always on time. He is never late.

Logan kept pacing. It was still midnight, maybe he was just playing a joke on him. He could be mischievous whenever he wanted to be…

But then a minute passed, then two… Then three…

Logan sat on his bed rocking slightly. Something was wrong, Deceit wouldn’t keep him waiting. He wouldn’t! Where was he?!

He started shaking, he couldn’t stop.

Wrong… Wrong… Deceit is supposed to be here… He’s supposed to be here… You need him… You need him… Help… Help… Deceit!

Logan curled in on himself before falling off his bed.

Breathe! Breathe! You need to breathe! Can’t… Can’t… Deceit…

His fingers were tingling, his face, his chest was tight, too tight.

Air. Breathe. Can’t. Deceit.

He tried to crawl towards the door, but his arms kept giving out.

“Help…” He whimpered, but no one was close enough to hear him. Tears fell down his face. No one was coming for him…

Then, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, lifting him off the ground.

“Logan? Can you hear me?”
Through his tears he could just make out the silhouette of a person wearing a bowler hat, and two mismatched eyes staring into his own.
“Deceit…?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”

Logan sniffled and tried to wipe his eyes, he didn’t want Deceit to see him cry.
“Shh, it’s okay…” Deceit sat down on his bed, cradling him in his arms. “S-S-Sorry…”
“Don’t be. It’s okay,” He wiped the tears from his eyes, “I got you.”

Logan closed his eyes and laid his head against his chest. He listened to Deceit’s heartbeat and took deep breaths.

“That’s it, match your breathing with mine.” Deceit laid his hand over Logan’s heart. “Deep breaths, you’ll be okay.”

He felt himself becoming calmer. His eyes opened and met Deceit’s. The Dark Side smiled at him. “Feeling better?”
Logan nodded. “Yeah… Thank you…”

Deceit kissed his forehead, instantly making Logan blush. He hummed and combed his fingers through Logan’s hair.
“Um, Deceit, shouldn’t we go somewhere else?” Logan fiddled with his tie.
“Hm? Oh, we will.”
“But… What if someone comes in?”

Deceit didn’t answer.

Logan frowned. “Deceit?”

He kept brushing his fingers through his hair, his eyes had a faraway look in them.
“Deceit, you promised me answers.”
“I did.”

Logan jumped slightly. He could never tell if Deceit was paying attention to him or not. Deceit went silent again causing Logan to sigh.

I suppose he’ll tell me in his own time…

He stiffened when he heard his door creak open. His eyes immediately went to the doorway and saw Virgil standing there. He flicked the lights on and his eyes flooded with anger. “Deceit!”

Logan jumped to his feet and stood in front of him. “Virgil wait! Please!”

“What is he doing here Logan?!” Virgil’s voice had dropped and echoed as he spoke.

“He isn’t doing anything wrong! Virgil please-” His eyes widened when he felt own hand clamp over his mouth, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach.

Deceit had silenced him.

“My, my, I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Virgil.” Deceit smirked and stood behind Logan. “So, you haven’t caught on to my little game…”

Logan closed his eyes. I knew it… I knew it… He was lying this whole time…

“Get away from him.” Virgil stepped forward.

“Of course…” Deceit wrapped an arm around Logan’s waist and pulled him up against him. Logan trembled and fought back tears.

How could I have been so foolish? You can’t trust Deceit… He can’t love…

Virgil growled. “I’ll get the others.”

“Right, because I’m so afraid of them.” Deceit rolled his eyes.
Logan looked at Virgil desperately, his eyes pleading for help. Virgil faltered for a moment. Logan rarely showed any of them his raw emotions, and the fear in his eyes was heartbreaking.

“De-Deceit…” Virgil turned to face him again. “You-You can do whatever you want to me. I know I’m the one you’re after…”
Deceit laughed. “Oh yes, I’m definitely after you, Virgil.”

Logan’s blood ran cold.

He has been after me… He’s been tricking me this whole time…

“Deceit please! Logan hasn’t done anything! Let him go!”

“Hm…” Deceit ran his hand over Logan’s chest, making him shudder. Virgil was almost crying. “Please…”
“Alright,” Deceit grinned wickedly at Virgil, “I will. ”

Logan’s scream was muffled under his hand as Deceit snapped his fingers, and Virgil could only watch in horror as they disappeared.

“Patton! Roman!” Virgil ran to each of their rooms, screaming their names and pounding on their doors. Patton was up almost instantly and ran into the hallway in his light blue pajamas. “Virgil what’s wrong?”
“He took him! He took Logan!” Virgil was shaking and sobbing. His tears had caused his eyeshadow to run down his face.

Patton’s eyes widened and he immediately pulled Virgil into his arms.
“Who-Who took him Kiddo…?”
“Deceit! They just vanished! I’m sorry it’s my fault… it’s my fault!”
“Shh, shh, it’s okay Kiddo…” Patton held him close and looked to Roman’s room. Where was he?

“We-We have to save him… We have to…”
“We will kiddo, we will.” Patton rubbed his back.

Roman’s door suddenly opened and he stumbled out, wearing an oversized red-shirt with a white crown on it and black shorts.
“Who took Logan…?”

“Deceit…” Patton whimpered. “He took him from his room…”
Roman’s eyes blazed in anger. “That snake…”
Virgil clung to Patton, his fingers digging into his shirt. “How will we find him…?”

“I-I don’t know Kiddo,” Patton cupped his face in his hands, “but we won’t rest until he’s safe and at home.”

Virgil sniffled and nodded.
Patton smiled softly and kissed his head.

Roman turned from them to Logan’s room, his hands curling into fists.

We’ll save you.

Chapter Text

He had no idea where Deceit had taken him. At the moment he was being ushered down a set of stairs, too dark for him to make anything out. All he was aware of was his own hand covering his mouth and Deceit’s hand latched around his wrist as he dragged Logan behind him. Occasionally, Logan would lose his footing due to their brisk pace, but Deceit never let him fall.

He always turned around just in time to catch him or help him regain his balance. But once he was no longer in danger of falling Deceit would immediately turn around and begin their descent once again. Logan couldn’t stop shaking. He was terrified, heartbroken.

This is all your fault! If you had just listened to reason instead of giving yourself over to these feelings, then you wouldn’t be in this mess!

Logan’s foot slipped and once again he felt himself falling forward. Deceit immediately turned around to catch him. For a brief moment, their eyes locked. He tried desperately to read those mismatched eyes, to find anything that showed the Deceit he believed he’d fallen in love with was still there.

Did you feel anything?

The Dark Side’s eyes remained cold as ice. He shoved Logan in front of him and forced him down the rest of the stairs. He’d been brought to what Logan could only describe as a dungeon right out of Roman’s fairytales. Cold and damp with stone walls and floors, barred cells and lit by a single torch. Was this what Deceit had been planning all along? To trap him here in this prison?

Deceit said nothing as he led him forward, dragging Logan further and further away from the light. He tried to pull his hand out of Deceit’s, but this only caused him to tighten his grip. Logan couldn’t even beg for Deceit to let him go since his own hand prevented him from doing so.

Had he been in his right mind, he would never even consider to resorting to begging for his freedom. But Deceit had gotten inside his head and brought out these emotions, which had ended up being his downfall just as he’d feared.

Why didn’t I listen to reason? To facts? To Logic…

Logan fought back tears. He was already beaten, Deceit had won. The last thing he would give him was the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Deceit led him to the end of the hall, where it was almost completely dark. Logan could only see a faint silhouette of Deceit. He looked over his shoulder to catch one last glimpse of light, but even that seemed dark and cold.

Deceit opened one of the cell doors and forced Logan inside, backing him into a corner. Logan could stop his tears from falling, but he couldn’t stop himself from shaking. It was only made worse when Deceit gripped both of his shoulders tightly, although perhaps that was because he himself was shaking just as much as Logan was.

“Listen to me, if you want to see your friends again stay here. Stay quiet. Don’t come out no matter what and do not make a sound. Understand?”
Logan couldn’t have answered if he wanted to, or if his hand wasn’t covering his mouth. He was too afraid to really comprehend what Deceit was saying, and he didn’t understand what he meant.

“Do you understand?!” Deceit hissed and dug his fingers into Logan’s shoulders. Logan winced before nodding frantically.
“Good.” Deceit released him and stood up. “I’ll be back.” He walked out of the cell, shutting the door quietly behind him, before disappearing out of view.

I’m alone.

Logan couldn’t see anything. All he could hear was the rapid beating of his heart, and Deceit’s warning.

Stay here, stay quiet. Don’t come out, don’t make a sound.

Why? What was going on?

Logan tried to pull his hand off his mouth but it was no use. He hadn’t been silenced like this since Deceit was first revealed, and while that had unsettled him at least the others had been with him, and Thomas being there had kept things from escalating further.

But no one was here to help him now…

Virgil, Patton, Roman, Thomas, none of them knew where he was. A tear escaped one of his eyes and he quickly wiped it away with his free hand.

No, I can’t cry. No… No more feeling… No more emotions…

Logan closed his eyes.

Think logically. You won’t be trapped here forever. Virgil saw Deceit take you, he would have gone to the others immediately and told them. They won’t rest until you’re found. There’s three of them and only one Deceit. He doesn’t stand a chance against them, especially if they go to Thomas and ask for his help. If he told Deceit to release me he’d have no choice. We can’t disobey Thomas.

Logan’s eyes shot open when he heard the door at the top of the stairs slam open. Was that Deceit? Why had he slammed the door? Was he angry? He pressed himself into the corner even more, as if hoping the walls themselves would swallow him up and hide him from whatever was to come.

But the footsteps he heard, they were too loud to be Deceit’s. The Dark Side’s steps were light and, for the most part, completely silent. Even when he’d been hurrying Logan down here they were still quiet. No, this wasn’t Deceit coming down the stairs. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a voice that definitely was not Deceit.

“You said that you could handle this Deceit! But guess what?! Everything we tell you to do, you manage to mess up!”

Logan trembled at the voice as it echoed throughout the dungeon.

Who-Who is that…?

“Well, perhaps you shouldn’t have just dealt with it yourselves.”

That was Deceit. Who was he talking to? And what were they talking about?

“You’re the one who was bragging about being best suited for the job, well, you’ve certainly succeeded in screwing everything up! Why did you have to show yourself to them?! What the heck were you thinking?!”

“Calm down, I don’t have everything under control.”

“I’m starting to believe that…”

“Well, since you’re clearly more capable than I am, perhaps I won’t just go.”

Logan flinched when he heard a cry of pain.

That-That wasn’t him… Was it?

He couldn’t make out what else was said, the unknown Side having lowered his voice, but he was still afraid. It was quiet for a moment before a scream echoed throughout the dungeon, followed by cruel laughter.

“See ya, Deccy. ” Those same footsteps stormed up the stairs, slamming the door shut, then there was silence. Logan didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until a burning sensation in his chest alerted him that he was doing so.

Was the other Side gone? What about Deceit? That-That hadn’t been his scream, had it…?

Logan shook his head.

Why do you care? He betrayed you.

Betrayed me, or protected me?

Logan cautiously walked over to the cell door. He tried to look down the hall but it was impossible from his current position. He strained to listen for Deceit and heard, crying?

Logan frowned and tried to open the door but it was locked.

So he did trap you inside, you still think he’s good?

Maybe he wasn’t keeping me in here. Logan inspected the door and saw that it opened from the inside. He pulled it open and walked into the hall. Maybe he was keeping someone else out.

Logan turned his head and saw Deceit sitting against the wall underneath the torch. He was cradling his arm against his chest and trembling. Slowly, Logan approached, careful not to make a sound. As he neared he could see a faint, yellow glow surrounding Deceit’s hand as he cradled his arm.

He hissed and Logan flinched as the sound of a sickening *pop* was heard. Deceit closed his eyes and laid his head back against the wall, letting his arm fall limp at his side. Logan continued to move towards him, noticing the way Deceit was slowly breathing in and out as if he were trying to calm himself.

Logan purposefully tapped his foot, catching Deceit’s attention. He looked at him and narrowed his eyes. “I told you to stay.”
Logan just shrugged before looking down at Deceit’s arm. He followed his gaze and quickly stood, taking Logan’s focus away from his arm.

“You probably hate me now, don’t you? Why shouldn’t you though, I betrayed you didn’t I?”

Logan said nothing, he couldn’t say anything. Deceit’s shoulders slumped and he lowered his head.

“I’m sorry…” He waved his hand and Logan gasped as his mouth was uncovered. He looked to Deceit who refused to meet his gaze, he took a step back.

“Deceit, why did you do this? Who was that Side?”
“I had no choice,” Deceit fiddled with his gloves, “it was either this, or the alternative.”
“Which was?”
Deceit finally looked at him, his gaze once again revealing nothing about how he felt. “You getting hurt.”

Logan frowned.

So he was doing this to protect me?

Falsehood! He’s trying to trick you again! You can’t let him! Keep him out!

“I see those gears in your head turning, what’s on your mind?”
“I-I want to know what all of this is about… The lessons… You kidnapping me… That Side… I need to know what’s going on.”

Deceit nodded slowly, he appeared to be thinking it over. When he didn’t say anything after a while he added, “Deceit, you promised me answers.”

“So I did.” Deceit crossed his arms. “Very well, I’ll give you some answers.”

Logan nodded. “Thank you.”

As if he’ll tell you the actual truth.

“That first night I encountered you in the kitchen, it wasn’t to take you dancing.”

I knew it! I knew you couldn’t trust him!

“Then what was it for?” Logan ignored the voice in his head, and the sinking feeling that entered his stomach.

“I was supposed to kidnap you.”

Logan stiffened and backed away. “You-You were-”
“Roman was already out of the way, having fallen victim to his insecurities and delusions. You were next.”

I told you! I told you and you didn’t listen!

“Of course, I couldn’t trick you the same way I tricked him. So the best thing to do was get you out of the way.”

Logan froze. His fear quickly turning to anger. “ You were the one who made Roman write out all those ideas?!”

He sighed and lowered his head. “Yes.”

“He nearly drew himself insane because of you! He was so weak he couldn’t stand on his own!”
“I know.”

Logan stormed towards him, jabbing his finger into his chest. “Do you feel any guilt for what you’ve done?! You hurt my friend!”
Deceit said nothing.
“Roman already struggles with his self-worth! This-This could have pushed him over the edge! Do you even care?!”

“Of course I do…”
“Falsehood! You don’t care! If you cared you wouldn’t have done this to him!”

“I didn’t have a choice Logan!” Deceit snapped, his eye flashing yellow. Logan quickly backed away. “What do you mean?”

Deceit turned his head away, trying to cover his eye. Logan’s brow furrowed. Something wasn’t right here. “Deceit, what do you mean?”

“Nothing…”
“Deceit. The truth. Now.”

“I can’t tell you…”
“Why not?”
“Logan please!” Deceit’s head snapped in his direction. His eyes were glistening with tears, but he wasn’t letting them fall. “Just drop it… Please…”

Logan was taken aback. He hadn’t been expecting this at all. “Deceit-”
“If you ever cared about me, you’ll stop...”

He froze. There was no denying it now, something was definitely wrong with Deceit, and he knew that the other Side he’d heard was somehow involved.

“Deceit, why did you bring me here?”
“To protect you, and the others.” Deceit closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. All traces of tears gone. “Logan, it’s important that Virgil, Patton, and Roman all view me as a threat. They have to believe that I’m the villain.”

“But why? Deceit I don’t understand!” Logan grabbed his hand. “Help me understand, please.”

Deceit looked down at their hands.

“Deceit… Let me help you…”
He pulled his hand away. “I can’t.”

Logan’s heart sank. “Please-”

Deceit snapped his fingers and suddenly, they were back in Logan’s room. The door was shut and the lights were off, it was as if he’d never left.

Logan turned to Deceit, their eyes meeting.
“Deceit-”
“They need to believe I hurt you. I don’t care what you tell them, just make it convincing.”
“I can’t-” Logan stopped when Deceit took his hands into his.

“If you want me to, I’ll stop seeing you every week. I’ll leave you alone.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “What?”
He pulled away and took a step back. “I-I’ll come back next week. I won’t leave you a note just, let me know in your own way what your choice is…”

Logan blinked, and just like that, Deceit was gone.

He looked over his shoulder at the door.

They’re probably worried about me… Should I go to them?

He nodded.

Yes, that would be wise.

Logan walked towards his door and rested his hand on the knob.

They have to believe that I’m the villain.

His hand tightened around the knob. Deceit wanted him to convince the others that he was the bad guy, but how could he when Logan could clearly see the truth?

He’s being forced to do these things! He doesn’t want this!

How do you know? This could all just be another trick. And once again, you’re too clouded by your stupid emotions to see through it.

Logan shook his head. No… no that’s not true… Deceit was hurt, he needs my help…

He wants to use you. You’re nothing to him. Accept it already so we can move on.

Logan squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his head. Stop it! Stop it!

I’m only stating the facts, Logan. It’s time you stopped fighting and embraced the truth.

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?!

There was no answer.

Logan trembled and backed away from the door, wrapping his arms around himself. He didn’t know what to do…

Deceit was giving him the choice to be done with him. All it would take was Logan rejecting him, but where would that leave Deceit? What if he needed him?

Logan closed his eyes.

Then there was Patton, Roman, and Virgil. Didn’t they come first? What if cutting himself off from Deceit was the only way to keep them safe?

I don’t know what to do… Logan sank to his knees and curled in on himself.

Somebody… Please… Tell me what to do…

Chapter Text

Logan groaned as he woke up. His head was pounding, he was almost tempted to lay back down on the floor and fall asleep again. Then he heard his door open and looked up to see Patton staring at him in a mixture of shock and relief.

“G-Guys! It’s Logan! He’s back!” Patton yelled down the hall before running to Logan’s side. “Are you okay? What happened? You’re not hurt are you?”

Logan couldn’t say anything, honestly, he felt sick to his stomach…

He felt Patton’s arms wrap around him, pulling him into a gentle hug. “I got you, it’s okay.”

Deceit says that…

He heard more footsteps running up the stairs and soon Virgil appeared, Roman staggering inside shortly behind him.

“Logan!” Virgil ran over and knelt beside him and Patton. “What happened?”
“Are you okay?” Roman asked walking over and practically falling next to Virgil.

Logan looked between them nervously. What was he supposed to tell them? Deceit wanted him to convince them that he was a villain, which wouldn’t be hard to do considering how they all knew Deceit had kidnapped him…

Any fabrication I come up with, they’ll most likely believe. That, and none of them expect me to lie…

“Logan?” Patton’s eyes were soft, filled with concern towards him. “You don’t have to tell us anything right now. Take all the time you need.” He smiled warmly at him.

“I…” Logan’s voice was hoarse. Patton frowned before turning to Virgil. “Could you please go get him some water?”
He nodded before running downstairs.
“Logan?”
He turned towards Roman who was refusing to meet his gaze. “I-I’m sorry. I failed to protect you…”

It isn’t your job to protect me.

He wanted to tell him that, but an attempt to do so would most likely end in failure. He’d have to wait until Virgil returned with water.

“Oh, Roman, you can’t blame yourself Kiddo.” Patton smiled, hoping to reassure him. “None of us could have known this would happen.”

You might have if I’d told you the truth…

Virgil returned before Roman had a chance to reply, a glass of water in hand.

“Here, Lo.” Virgil knelt down again and handed the glass to him. Logan’s hands trembled as they took the glass. Patton sat him up and made sure he didn’t drop it.

While Logan was grateful for his help, he hated feeling so weak. He held the glass to his lips and drank. The cool water relieving his sore throat. The others watched him in silence and Logan felt uncomfortable under all of their collective stares.

He knew they were all waiting for answers, and he supposed he couldn’t blame them. If any of them were in his position he’d want to know if they were alright and what had happened. Logan finished drinking the water before closing his eyes, taking a moment to just breathe before attempting to explain anything.

“Logan?” Patton held his hand. “How do you feel?”

The last question I want to be asked right now…

Still, they deserved some kind of answer.

“I’m well…” He sat up with Patton’s help, the Moral Side wrapping a supporting arm around him.

“What did Deceit want?” Virgil asked. Logan couldn’t help but flinch when he heard Deceit’s name. His mind instantly going back to the dungeon, Deceit being hurt by another Side…

Who cares? It’s what he deserved.

No…

“Logan?” Patton’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. The voice in his head was becoming much louder lately…

“What happened? What did Deceit do?” There was an unsettling glint in Virgil’s eyes, one Logan wasn’t used to seeing. He knew that Virgil and Deceit didn’t get along, and that there was definitely anger towards him from Virgil’s end. But he wouldn’t actually harm Deceit, would he?

“Logan please…” Roman laid a hand on his shoulder. “Tell us…”

“We want to help you,” Patton added.
“But we can’t do that if we don’t know what’s going on,” Virgil concluded.

I don’t even know what’s going on myself… Other than Deceit is most likely being forced by another Side to harm us…

Logan looked at each of them. If he told him the truth about Deceit, all of it, then he could start helping Deceit. All four of them together could find out who this unknown Side was, they could stop him and get Deceit to safety.

But… Deceit had asked him not to…

What if telling them the truth only ends up hurting Deceit more? And… There’s no guarantee that they’d believe the truth…

Logan turned to each of them again. He had a choice: Tell them the truth about Deceit, or lie about what actually happened and make Deceit appear as the villain they already saw him as.

The latter was what Deceit wanted him to do, but was it the right thing?

“Logan?” Patton held his hand. He took a deep breath and stood up, the others standing with him.
“I-I don’t really remember what happened…” Logan wrapped his arms around himself. Hoping to give off the impression of one who’d gone through a traumatic experience. So far, it seemed to be working as Patton instantly went to comfort him with a hug.

Logan decided to lean against him and closed his eyes. “He brought me to a place I’d never seen before, it looked like a dungeon…”

“A dungeon?” Roman’s eyes widened slightly. He nodded before continuing. “It was so dark… I could barely see anything… I tried to reason with him… I-I begged him to let me go… But he wouldn’t listen… He locked me inside a cell…”

Virgil growled and shoved his hands into his pockets. For a brief moment Logan felt fear towards him, and was reminded that Virgil wasn’t just Thomas’s anxiety, he was also his “fight or flight” instinct.

“Do you remember anything else?” Roman questioned. Logan turned to him and trembled. “I-I’m sorry… Roman… It was him… He was behind it…”
“What do you mean?” Roman’s voice shook slightly.
Logan just stared at him, expressing everything he needed to say in a single look. Roman’s hand went over his mouth, Logan could hear his sharp intake of breath.

Virgil turned his attention to Roman, his eyes softening slightly, but not by much. “Roman? What is he talking about?”
Roman didn’t respond. Instead he ran out of the room, all of them having just enough time to see that he was fighting back tears.

Logan lowered his head. It pained him to say that, but Roman needed to know.

It’ll also help to raise the others distrust towards Deceit….

Virgil turned back to Logan. He couldn’t tell for sure, but it seemed like Virgil’s eyeshadow had become darker than before. “Logan, what did Deceit do to Roman?”

“Easy Kiddo…” Patton rubbed Logan’s arms comfortingly. “He’s been through a lot, both of them have.”

“I know, I know. But I can’t do my job if I don’t know what’s going on!”
“Of course you can Virge! You can protect us, like you always do.”

“Yeah,” Virgil laughed dryly, “I’ve done a great job of keeping everyone safe.”

Patton’s smile faded. “That isn’t true. Virgil-”
He was out of the room before he could finish. Patton sighed and lowered his head dejectedly.
“Patton?”
“Sorry Lo… This shouldn’t have happened…” Patton walked Logan over to his bed and sat down beside him. Logan studied the Moral Side closely. It looked like Patton was carrying an invisible weight on his shoulders, and his eyes seemed to have lost their usual glow.

He’s getting worse, you need to help him.

But what if now isn’t the best time?

You saw how Roman and Virgil leaving upset him! He’s falling apart before your eyes and you don’t even care!

That’s not true-

You’re so quick to forgive and help Deceit, someone who you barely know and could still be tricking you, but Patton? Who cares about Patton? The one who’s always been there for you even when you didn’t think you wanted him to be, the one who takes care of everyone, the one whom you’ve made fun of and ridiculed for years for no reason, other than you think he’s beneath you.

Logan trembled and bit his lip. Guilt washed over him in waves, smashing into him and threatening to sweep him away.
“Logan?” Patton laid a hand on his shoulder which put a stop to his trembling. “Something wrong?”

“I…” Logan looked down at his hands.
“You can tell me Lo, and if you want me to, I won’t tell Roman or Virgil.” He smiled warmly and Logan was overwhelmed by the desperate urge to tell him the truth. He wanted to spill everything that had been building up inside of him.

He wanted to tell him about his feelings for Deceit, how he wasn’t as bad as they all thought he was, and how he was possibly a pawn in another Side’s game.

Deceit. Doesn’t. Matter.

Logan’s head jerked up and he found himself staring into Patton’s eyes.

Patton. Does. Matter.

“Patton…”
“Is everything okay?” Patton’s eyes studied Logan’s carefully, as if he were searching for the cause of his distress, and the answer could found somewhere inside of Logan’s eyes.

“I-I’m worried…”
“About what?” Patton gently rubbed the back of Logan’s hands with his thumbs, an action that Deceit had also done to calm him down…

Stop. Thinking. About. Deceit.

Logan had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from flinching. What was going on?

Patton. Think. About. Patton.

“Patton…” Logan swallowed and wished that he had more water, his throat was so dry.

“I’m here Lo, what do you need?” Patton’s smile never left him, it was comforting.

He needs help. Help him. Confront the problem.

“Patton,” Logan cleared his throat, “Are-Are you ready to talk?”

Patton’s smile faded and he shook his head. “No, not yet. But soon! I promise it’ll be soon.”
“Patton please-”
“It’s not about me right now,” Patton interjected, “It’s about you guys.”

“None of us are more important than the other,” Logan gently squeezed Patton’s hands, “your feelings matter just as much as everyone else’s.”

“I know, just, not now they don’t…”

“Patton-”

“I’m sorry Logan.” He stood and pulled his hands away. “I-I’m just making things worse for you, aren’t I?”

“You’re making things worse by not talking to me!” Logan flinched.

Why did I say that?!

“Exactly…” Patton sniffled. “I’m just a bother…” He began backing away.

“No Patton! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that!” Logan tried to stand up but his legs gave out and he only ended up falling back onto the bed.

“I’ll just go before I make things worse…” Patton left the room, crying softly as he ran out.

“Patton…” Logan closed his eyes. What a mess…

A mess that could have been avoided if you’d done the smart thing and rejected Deceit the second you saw him in the kitchen that night.

How was I supposed to know he was originally planning to kidnap me?!

Exactly, isn’t the fact that he confessed his true intentions that night enough to prove he can’t be trusted?

Then why didn’t he kidnap me?! He’s had all these opportunities to do so but he hasn’t! Tell me why he hasn’t done what he said he was supposed to do in the beginning!

No answer.

Logan groaned in frustration and buried his face into his pillow. What was happening to him? To all of them?

Roman was almost driven mad by what Deceit did, I’m being torn apart (figuratively of course) because of Deceit’s actions, Virgil is upset because he failed to protect us from Deceit, and Patton-

Logan froze, his mind drawing the connections faster than he could process them.

Roman, Virgil, Myself… We’ve all been affected by Deceit…

If-If he’s responsible for us breaking, what if he’s behind whatever Patton is going through?

Logan closed his eyes. No, no it couldn’t be true, it couldn’t. Deceit wouldn’t hurt Patton, he wouldn’t…

Unless, he was being forced to?

Logan opened his eyes before slowly sitting up. It could easily just be coincidence, but he couldn’t ignore how Deceit was at the center of everything plaguing him and the others.

However, he couldn’t deny what he’d heard or saw in the dungeon. Another Side was involved and he had clearly harmed Deceit. When Logan tried to get answers Deceit had done everything in his power to avoid the subject, only giving him enough information to both satisfy and confuse him.

I need to know what’s going on. For all of our sakes, including Deceit’s. And to do that…

Logan glanced at his desk.

I have to keep seeing him…

---

~One Week Later~

At midnight Deceit appeared in Logan’s room. He wasn’t surprised to find all the lights off. He looked around for Logan, both eager and afraid to see him. His eyes lit up when he saw him in bed, only for them to dim when he saw that he was fast asleep.

Deceit fought back tears as he slowly walked over. Logan looked so peaceful, probably due to not having to worry about him anymore. Deceit reached a hand out towards him only to pull it away.

Logan had made his choice… It was time to let go…

Deceit took a shuddering breath and blinked back his tears. He wouldn’t cry.

Crying never solved anything.

Just as he was turning away his eyes caught sight of something lying on Logan’s nightstand.

A yellow rose, and a note.

Deceit picked up both items, noticing that the rose was wilted slightly, meaning it was one that he’d given to him. He held the note close, his snake eye glowing so he could read in the dark.

I’m looking forward to our next lesson.

Deceit’s eyes widened, both the note and rose slipping from his hands. It-It couldn’t be, could it?

He turned to Logan, still fast asleep on his bed, covered up to where only the top of his head was sticking out.

Deceit smiled and bent down to retrieve the note and rose. He walked over and planted a gentle kiss on Logan’s head, laying the rose beside him.

“Soon, my love…”

With those words he vanished from the room, and in there in the dark, Logan smiled softly in his sleep.  

Chapter Text

Logan sat patiently in his room, waiting for midnight to come, and for Deceit to arrive along with it. He wished he could be more enthusiastic for their meeting, but his worry for the others nearly smothered any amount of happiness he might’ve been feeling that night. Almost all of them had become reclusive. The only thing they all did together these days was eat their three meals in the dining room, and even those seldom held any conversation.

Roman was well enough to where he could handle cleaning up the rest of his ideas without Logan’s help, so they spent less time together. Virgil took to hiding in his room all day and spending his nights out in the living room. Occasionally, Logan was able to engage in some small talk with him while going to get a glass of water, but he could always tell that Virgil would rather just be left alone.

Patton tried to make an effort to still be there for all of them, which was hard when Roman was busy and Virgil was avoiding everyone. For his sake, Logan would spend as much time with Patton as possible. He’d help clean around the mindscape, prepare meals, and sometimes the two would engage in a game of chess.

Patton was certainly grateful for his company and honestly, so was Logan. However, there was still an awkwardness between them due to Logan knowing that Patton was hiding something from him and the others. He vowed not to bring it up so as to not upset Patton (who was already suffering from the lack of interaction between the four of them) but at the same time, he only became more worried for him.

Normally, he’d see his upcoming time with Deceit as an escape from these worries. This time though, Logan wasn’t looking for an escape. He was determined more than ever to get answers from Deceit. He needed to know once and for all if Deceit was solely responsible for what he did to Roman (and possibly Patton) or if he was truly being forced to do these things by another Side.

I need to be careful with how I approach the topic.

Logan glanced at the clock, one more minute.

When I tried to question Deceit about the other Side he refused to answer and avoided the question entirely. He also begged me not to ask him about it. So, if I want to get answers…

He looked at the clock again, Midnight.

Then I have to gain his trust.

“Logan?”
He turned around to see Deceit standing there, his sudden appearances no longer startling him as much as they used to. A brief study of Deceit told Logan that the Dark Side was nervous, his usual confidence gone.
“Good evening, Deceit.” Logan stood and walked over to him. “I’m ready for our lesson.”
“Oh, alright.” Deceit extended his hand and Logan took it. The two vanished from Logan’s room and reappeared in the ballroom, once again Logan found himself in his familiar suit and looked to Deceit for instruction.

“We don’t have time for a long lesson tonight, so I’m going to let you lead the dance and show me what you’ve learned.”
Logan could tell from the quietness of Deceit’s voice that there was something wrong with him, but he didn’t comment on it.

“Very well, shall we begin?”
Deceit nodded and the two assumed their beginning stance, arms around each other’s waists and both hands clasped together.

Once the music started Logan led them in a slow waltz across the room, taking the dance one step at a time. This was his first time taking the lead in a dance and he was going to stick to what Deceit had taught him. While he was far from being as skilled as Deceit, he’d certainly come a long way from simply being dragged along to the dance.

Logan secretly wondered what Deceit thought of his dancing, but his teacher didn’t seem to be paying attention. His eyes had a distant look in them, he wasn’t even looking at Logan.

Well, Deceit usually does “space out” during our dances. But this? This isn’t normal.

“Deceit?”
He didn’t respond.
Logan frowned and tried again, using a slightly louder voice this time. “Deceit.”

“Hm?” He blinked before facing Logan. “Did you need something?”

“I wanted to know how I was doing.”
“Oh, you’re doing fine.” That blank look returned to Deceit’s eyes. Logan wanted to stop the dance then and there and ask what was clearly bothering him, but he knew if he did that he wouldn’t get any answers.

My best option is to finish the dance and, hopefully, I can spend some time talking with him.

Logan remained silent until the song was over. He released Deceit and stood quietly, waiting to hear his thoughts.
“You did well.” That was all Deceit said as the lights in the room faded.
“Is there anything in particular that I need to improve on?” Logan clasped his hands together behind his back.

“Balance,” Deceit replied simply.

Logan’s brow furrowed slightly. “My balance?”
“There isn’t enough balance, it’s causing dissension.”
“I fail to see how that applies to my dancing…”
Deceit just sighed and looked up at the ceiling, acting as if there was some obvious point that Logan just wasn’t getting.

“What now? Shall we practice more?”
“No, that’s enough for tonight.” Deceit offered his arm to him.”Shall we walk?”
“I suppose…” Logan linked their arms together and allowed Deceit to lead him. They left the ballroom and entered a long hallway lined with windows, the curtains were pulled back revealing a starry sky.

Logan couldn’t help but be drawn to the windows, the stars here were much brighter than the ones in the real world, seeing them filled him with wonder and awe. Deceit remained silent as they walked, occasionally glancing at Logan.

At one point Logan managed to catch Deceit looking at him only for the Dark Side to quickly turn away. Logan smiled softly at Deceit’s shyness. Deceit glanced at him again and noticed him smiling. “What?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing.”
Deceit stared at him for a second before averting his gaze once again. Logan looked out the window again. “It’s a beautiful night.”
“Would you like to walk outside?”
“I would.”
Deceit nodded before leading him further down the hall. They came upon a door and he led him out.

Logan’s eyes widened as they entered a garden. Everything was illuminated by the moonlight, giving everything a silvery sheen. There was a fountain in the center of the garden and the air was filled with the sounds of crickets chirping, but the sound was almost melodious, as if they were performing a song.

Deceit started walking ahead of Logan leaving him to catch up, but he kept becoming distracted by the flowers growing in the garden, he couldn’t identify any of them.

“What flowers are these?” Logan asked.
“Mine.” Deceit didn’t stop walking.

“What do you mean?” Logan trailed behind him.

“I created them,” Deceit let his hands brush over a bush covered in small, black and white flowers.
“All of them?”
Deceit nodded.

“I was unaware that you were so creative.”

“You never took the time to find out.” Deceit picked one of the flowers and looked at Logan. “None of you ever took the time to get to know me.”

Logan frowned slightly. “You never exactly gave us a chance to. Every time you showed up you made it seem as if you couldn’t care less about us.”

“You’re right. I have mistreated all of you in the past, I won’t deny that. However, when I’ve tried to show you all that I’ve changed, I am rejected.” He walked over to Logan.

“Well, you have tricked us into believing you had changed in the past. We simply stopped falling for it.”

“And is this not a trick now?” Deceit gestured to the garden. “Am I not fooling you this very moment?
“I-”
“Exactly, you don’t know. You can’t know. Why? Because I’m Deceit. Everything I do could be an act of deception. There’s no trusting me, is there?”

Logan said nothing. He didn’t know how to counteract Deceit’s accusations.
Deceit sighed and looked at the flower in his hand. Logan followed his gaze and saw how the flower was mostly black, but it looked as if someone has splattered white paint on its petals.

“There are many people who see the world in black and white,” Deceit mused, “if only it were that simple.”

Logan glanced at him. “What do you mean?”
“If the world wasn’t grey, everyone would truly know what was right and what was wrong. Two sides: Dark and light, with nothing in the middle.” Deceit’s eyes met Logan’s. “Ponder that for a while.”

Before Logan could say anything else Deceit was walking again and he had no choice but to follow. He walked up to the fountain and slid off one of his gloves. Logan watched as he let the water pour over his hand, he spared a brief glance at Deceit’s face before turning back to his hand.

And that’s when his entire body froze, his eyes locked on the stream of red that was flowing from Deceit’s hand.

That-That’s blood… That’s blood…

Deceit’s expression was calm. He didn’t look at his hand or the blood, he just stared ahead at the water falling.
“De-Deceit…” Logan could barely speak. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the water that was slowly turning red.

Deceit remained silent and motionless until he gradually drew his hand out of the water. Logan could see a cut on Deceit’s palm, still bleeding slightly but not as much as before.

“Deceit…”
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold the illusion any longer.” Deceit sat down on the edge of the fountain. He took his cape and wrapped it around his hand.
“Illusion...?” Logan sat down beside him.

“I cut my hand earlier,” Deceit explained, “I couldn’t get the bleeding to stop but I was supposed to meet with you. So, I used an illusion to cover up the injury.”

“You can hide your injuries?” Logan perked up slightly.

“Minor injuries, such as a cut or bruise. However, I can’t hold the illusions for long.”

“Why would you want to hide your injuries?” Logan inquired, moving a little closer to him.
“Well, in doing so, it removes any pain they might cause. It also slows down the bleeding. Really, I just use it to slow down the effects of the injury until I can properly treat it.”

“That’s amazing! Does it only work with minor injuries?” Logan’s eyes were alight with wonder, he leaned closer to Deceit.

“If I answered that, I’d be implying that I’ve had worse injuries than cuts and scrapes.”

Logan met his gaze. “Have you?”

Deceit stared back at him. His mismatched eyes wavering slightly. Logan found himself staring at Deceit’s snake eye, he’d never truly studied it before.

“Can you blink?” He asked suddenly.
“Excuse me?”

“Are you able to blink? Snakes cannot blink, I was wondering if the same applied to you.”
“Logan, just because I have some snake features, doesn’t mean that I inherit all the traits of a snake. And, haven’t you seen me blink before? I am clearly able to close both of my eyes.” To prove his point, he blinked.

“Interesting,” Logan moved even closer to him.
“Are there any other questions you’d like to ask me?”
“You said that you don’t have all the traits of a snake, does that mean you do have some?”

“Besides my eye and scales?” Deceit grinned slightly.

“Yes. Oh, while we’re on the subject of your scales, may I ask you a question?”
“I thought you already were,” Deceit chuckled.

“Are your scales slimy?”

“What?” Deceit seemed genuinely confused by this question.

“I am hoping to prove a point to someone.”

“I see…” Deceit nodded slowly.
“So, are they?” Logan pushed his glasses up.

“Why don’t you find out?”

Logan tilted his head slightly. “Um, I was hoping you’d just tell me…”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Deceit’s smile was innocent, but his eyes were glittering with mischief.

“Er, well, I suppose I could just…” Logan studied his scales, but the moonlight caused them to shimmer and he couldn’t really make anything out in the dim light.

“I guess there’s only one way to find out.” Deceit leaned forward slightly. Logan felt his face go red.
“Um, that’s alright Deceit I-I wouldn’t want to intrude on your personal space…”

“I don’t mind, go ahead.” Deceit moved even closer, they were only inches apart.

Logan swallowed nervously. His curiosity was taking over, his need to simply know the answer to his question burning in his mind. He slowly raised his hand. He glanced at Deceit who nodded. Taking a deep breath he brushed his fingers over Deceit’s scales.

His eyes widened. “They-They’re smooth…”
“Of course they are. Since when do snakes excrete slime?” Deceit grinned teasingly at him.
Logan chuckled and gently ran his hand over his scales, marveling at the pattern they made on Deceit’s face.

Deceit closed his eyes and leaned into Logan’s touch, catching him off guard. He went to pull his hand away only for Deceit to lean forward more so as to not lose contact. Logan frowned slightly and ended up cupping Deceit’s face with his hand, the action seemed to please Deceit as he smiled softly.

“Deceit?”
“Hm?” He didn’t open his eyes, in fact his body seemed to be relaxing, and before Logan knew it Deceit was leaning against him.

What is he doing? Falling asleep?

Logan looked down at Deceit’s head which was resting against his chest, he didn’t appear to be in a very comfortable position, but he didn’t seem to mind. Logan’s brow furrowed as he carefully positioned Deceit to where his head was laying on his shoulder instead of his chest, the two sitting side by side next to the fountain.

Logan kept one arm around Deceit, holding him so that he wouldn’t fall. It was evident by now that he was asleep, seeing as he no longer responded when Logan said his name.

Odd, Deceit never falls asleep whenever we’re together…

Logan looked around the garden.

How am I supposed to get back?

He sighed before looking down at Deceit.

I don’t want to wake him but, if I’m not back in my room by morning and the others see that I’m gone… I don’t want them to worry because of me…

“Deceit,” Logan said quietly while gently shaking him. “Deceit, I need you to wake up.”
He moved slightly but didn’t wake up.

“Deceit, please, I need to go back…” He shook him again only to stop when he heard him whimper. He moved closer to Logan, his body shaking.

“Deceit?” His only response was more trembling, and whether it was real or just a trick of the light, Logan could have sworn that he saw a tear roll down his face.

What am I supposed to do? I can’t stay here, but…

Logan looked at Deceit’s face.

I can’t leave him…

His eyes softened as he gently laid Deceit down, letting his head rest on his lap. He took off his hat and set it aside, noticing with a light chuckle that his hair was a floofy (A term he’d once heard Roman use to describe hair that is both fluffy and poofy) mess.

He gently combed through his hair with his fingers. The slow, repetitive movements seemed to calm Deceit as his body started to tremble less.

“I’m here,” he murmured, “you don’t have to be afraid.”

With that, Deceit’s trembling was reduced to nothing more than quiet, steady breaths as he slept peacefully.

Logan felt warmth flood his chest once again, only this time the feeling was much more noticeable, it burned but not in a painful way.

What is this?

He placed a hand over his chest, almost certain that he could feel the heat on his skin.
Is this… Love?

Logan looked down at Deceit, smiling softly as he brushed his fingers over his scales.

If this is what love feels like… Then I want it…

He kissed Deceit’s head.

I won’t run away from this.

Chapter Text

A couple of weeks passed by and the four Sides found themselves eating breakfast together. As usual, it was quiet and awkward between all of them. Virgil stared at his food without looking at the others while Roman appeared to be distracted with his own thoughts, ignoring Patton’s attempts to engage in conversation, and Logan…

Well, Logan was happy.

He hummed a tune to himself while he sipped his coffee and did a crossword puzzle, pausing occasionally to take a bite of the scrambled eggs and bacon Patton had made for them.

“Um, want some Crofters for your toast?” Patton asked.
“Oh yes, thank you.” Logan didn’t take his eyes off the crossword. Patton smiled (albeit a confused smile) and went to grab a jar out of the fridge. The fact that Logan hadn’t retrieved the jar himself was slightly concerning to Patton.

Not once in his life since discovering Crofters did Logan fail to have a jar with breakfast. Still, he supposed that even Logan forgot things sometimes. He got a jar out and set it on the table beside Logan. “Here ya go!” He chirped.

“Thank you Patton.” Logan didn’t even glance at the jar.
“You’re welcome Lo!” Patton managed to keep smiling, even though he was truly starting to worry about Logan. He glanced at Roman and Virgil and wondered if either of them noticed, but both were still trying to avoid interacting with anyone.

Patton sighed and slumped dejectedly in his seat. What was the point of pretending to be happy if no one was paying attention to him anyway?

Logan finished his coffee and went to clear his dishes. “Thank you for breakfast, Patton.”
“No problem!” Patton beamed. Logan continued humming to himself as he retrieved his crossword from the table. “If anyone needs me I’ll be in my room.”

“Oh, okay Logan. Have fun!”
Logan nodded before heading upstairs, and Patton didn’t know if it was his imagination or not, but he could have sworn that there was a light skip in Logan’s step.

Patton turned to Roman and Virgil and cleared his throat. When neither responded he did it again, only this time much louder and even banged his hand on the table. Virgil let out a startled yelp and Roman grabbed his fork off the table and wielded as a sword while looking around wildly.

“Sorry kiddos! Just needed to get your attention!” Patton smiled sweetly before propping his elbows on the table and resting his chin on the back of his hands. “Have either of you noticed anything, different, about Logan lately?”

“What do you mean Padre?” Roman asked, glancing at the fork in his hand and slowly lowering it onto the table.

“Are you talking about how he’s been uncharacteristically chipper while the rest of us have been sulking around feeling sorry for ourselves for whatever reason?” Virgil leaned back in his chair with his hands in his pockets. Still not looking at anyone.

“Exactly!” Patton, while concerned for Logan, couldn’t hide how happy he was to be talking with the others again. “I mean, whenever we spend time together, he’s always so happy! Not this it’s a bad thing but, he also seems distracted at the same time. He didn’t even touch his jar of Crofters this morning! I even got his favorite flavor!”   

“Hm, I don’t know what could be causing him to act this way.” Roman glanced at Patton. “Unless…”
“Unless?” Virgil still didn’t look at him.
“You said he’s been spending time with you, Patton?” Roman leaned forward slightly.

“Yep!” Patton nodded.

“I see…” Roman grinned. “Well, I think I’ve figured out the cause.”
“You have?” Virgil asked skeptically.
“What is it?” Patton leaned forward eagerly.

“Sorry, I can’t say.” Roman rose dramatically from his seat. “I am under oath.”

“Under oath? Roman just tell us!” Virgil finally looked at him.

“My apologies, Dark and Dreary and all things Weary, but when a prince has made a promise to a friend, he cannot break it.”

“Ooh, is it about Logan’s crush?” Patton gasped. “Did he tell you who it is?!”

Roman frowned. “Wait, you know about the crush?”
“Um, yeah? We were the first ones he told,” Virgil crossed his arms, “what he didn’t tell us was who he had a crush on .”
“We’ve been trying to figure it out for weeks!” Patton was shaking in excitement. “I mean, we thought it’d be easy since it’s just the three of us, but it’s actually a lot more difficult…”

“Well,” Roman puffed his chest out slightly, “I’ll have you both know that Logan told me himself who his crush is.”  

“Are you serious?” Virgil couldn’t hide his disbelief. “He couldn’t tell me or Patton, but he told you?! ”

“He either trusts me more than either of you, or he couldn’t say because his crush was in the room.” Roman realized what he just said and clamped his hand over his mouth.

“I…” Virgil looked at Patton. “I honestly did not think of that…”

“Does that mean it’s you or… me?” Both turned to Roman who was in the process of inching towards the stairs.
“Roman-”
“Hark! The sound of a damsel in distress! I must go to their rescue! Prince Roman away!” With that he charged upstairs, accidentally tripping on the last step and letting out a not-so-nice word before stumbling into his room.

“Well then…” Virgil glanced at Patton. “We’ve finally narrowed it down…”
“I mean, have we?” Patton rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, for all we know Logan just told Roman it was either you or me so he wouldn’t find out. I mean, they both spent a lot of time alone together…”

“Patton, we both know Logan wouldn’t do something like that. He’d rather withhold information than spread falsehoods.”

“Still… I don’t think it’s…” Patton played with the sleeves on his cat hoodie nervously.

Virgil’s eyes filled with concern and he stood up. “Patton? Are you okay?”

“Just nervous about… You know… What’s been going on lately…” Patton looked down. “This is the first time we’ve talked in so long Virgil…”
The same realization dawned on Virgil and before he knew it, he was engulfing Patton in a hug.

“Patton I’m-I’m so sorry! I never meant for this to happen! I didn’t!” Virgil trembled as tears began to fill his eyes.
“Oh, Kiddo, it’s okay.” Patton smiled and rubbed his back. “I understand that you were going through a lot, you needed some time alone.”

Virgil shook his head. “No, no it’s not okay. I had no right to ignore you like that. Especially after all you’ve done for me.”

“Kiddo, it’s fine. I’m alright honest!” Patton kissed his head. “I’m just happy that we get to talk again!”
Virgil sniffled and looked up at him. “Are you sure you’re okay? It-It’s okay if you’re not…”

“Virgil, if something was ever wrong with me, I’d tell you. I promised not to hide anymore! Remember? You guys helped me with that.”

“Yeah,” Virgil chuckled, “I guess we did.”

Patton giggled and hugged him again. “I love you Storm Cloud.”
“Love you too, Dad.”

---

Logan sighed as he stared up at the clouds floating overhead. He was lying down on his back in the same meadow Deceit had brought him to before, hands folded comfortably on his stomach.

“Everything alright?” Deceit asked from where he lay beside him.
“Hm? Oh, yes.” Logan looked at him and smiled. “Everything is perfect.”

“Of course it is, I made it.” Deceit grinned at him in his usual mischievous way to which Logan responded by rolling his eyes. They both fell silent again as they watched the clouds. Occasionally, they would take the shapes of animals and behave as such. For example, one cloud turned into a herd of horses and galloped across the sky before vanishing into wisps of cloud.

He noticed Deceit’s hand laying on the grass beside him and reached over to hold it in his own. They both glanced at each other and smiled.

“Logan, are you happy being with me?” Deceit asked, lightly brushing his thumb over the back of Logan’s hand.

“I always experience feelings of happiness whenever we are together, if that’s what you mean.”

Deceit looked at their hands. “So, you don’t mind us meeting twice a week now?”
“Not at all. In fact, I wouldn’t have minded if we’d started meeting this often earlier.” Logan moved closer to him. “I enjoy your company.”

“As do I.” Deceit rolled onto his side and faced him.

Logan ended up mirroring his position, the two still holding hands.

“If I may,” Deceit mused, “why do you enjoy being with me?”
“Well, if I’m being honest, I started to feel drawn towards you after our first meeting. When you began teaching me how to dance.”

“Oh? Was I that enchanting?” Deceit grinned slyly causing Logan’s face to turn red.

What is it about Deceit’s smile that causes me to become flustered? Is that another symptom of love?

Speaking of which, Logan still hadn’t told Deceit about his feelings towards him. They’d been meeting each other twice a week for almost three months now, and there was no denying it anymore.

Logan loved Deceit, and he wanted to tell him, he just didn’t know how.

And, there was one other thing in his way…

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

If I want to tell him how I feel, I have to talk to him about what he said to me in the dungeon…

He opened his eyes again and stared at Deceit. He studied those mismatched eyes he’d come to love for their uniqueness, how they hid so many secrets, yet revealed so many at the same time.

To him, Deceit was a mystery, and it was that aspect of Deceit hat caused Logan to be drawn to him.

“Logan? Is something on your mind? Besides me?” He added, chuckling slightly.

Logan blushed slightly, forgetting how much he loved Deceit’s laugh.

Focus. This is no time to be distracted.

“Deceit, I need to ask you something.”
“What is it?”

He took a deep breath before answering, “Why didn’t you kidnap me?”

Deceit’s smile disappeared in an instant and Logan wished he could take those words back.

No, I have to know. If I want to possibly pursue a relationship with Deceit, I need to know what is going on.

“I suppose it was rather foolish of me to hope that you’d forgotten about that.” Deceit plucked a blade of grass from the ground and twirled it between his fingers.

“Deceit, you told me that you were supposed to kidnap me that night, but instead you took me dancing,” Logan narrowed his eyes, “Who told you to kidnap me? Why did you disobey?”

“Whoever said someone told me to?” Deceit snapped. “How do you know I wasn’t acting on my own?

“Because if you were, you wouldn’t have told me that you were supposed to kidnap me. You would have said that you were going to kidnap me. Either way, something happened which caused you to either disobey or change your mind. And I’d like to know the truth.”

“The truth?” Deceit laughed dryly. “Again, you want me to tell you the truth? Have you forgotten who I am?”
“No, I am aware of who you are. However, as you have proven in the past, you are capable of telling the truth.”

They both stared at each other, Logan looking down and Deceit looking up. A battle of wills was being fought. Either Logan would give up searching for answers and leave Deceit alone, or Deceit would give in and confess everything to Logan.

“Deceit,” Logan sighed, “if you care about me, you’ll tell me.” He hated to do this to him, and it hurt seeing Deceit openly flinch, but it was necessary.

I’m doing this for both of us Deceit…

Deceit looked at the ground, watching the blades of grass sway in the breeze.
“Deceit-”
“You’re right, there is someone else…” Deceit murmured.

Logan nodded slowly and allowed him to continue.
“He wanted me to get you out of the way, so he told me to kidnap you. But, I couldn’t do it. No matter how much I tried to talk myself into just doing it and getting it over with, I couldn’t do that to you...”

“So, you took me dancing instead?” Logan’s eyes darted back and forth as he tried to piece everything together.
“He’s used to me not always following orders. I figured that as long as you were out of the way, it would be enough for him. And, he never has to know the truth…”

“Which is?” Logan didn’t know why his heart started beating so fast, or why his hands were shaking.

“The truth is,” Deceit’s eyes met his, “I love you.”

I love you...

He loves you...

He loves me...

Deceit

Loves

Me

“I have loved you for a while now, but I chose to keep my feelings to myself for obvious reasons. So when he told me to kidnap you I couldn’t bring myself to because I had to protect you. I took you dancing every week in hopes to keep you safe but, I also hoped that by spending time with you, I could show you that I wasn’t the villain… That-That I could be good…”

Deceit’s own hands started shaking. “Logan I-I understand if you don’t feel the same way towards me and-and damn it how could I be so stupid?!” He slammed his fist into the ground.

“Deceit…”
“What?!” Deceit glared at him with tears in his eyes.
“How long have you loved me?”
“Almost a year now,” Deceit muttered, “stupid, I know. You probably already love one of the others…”

“Well,” Logan pushed up his glasses, “you are right about one thing, I am in love with someone.”

“I knew it…” Deceit wiped his eyes.
“And that someone is you.”

“What…?” Deceit stared at him in disbelief.

“After spending so much time together I-I’ve seemed to have developed romantic feelings towards you…” Logan looked down as he began blushing again. “I-I know it’s illogical for me to feel this way but, I can’t help it. This feeling just feels… right.”

He felt Deceit’s glove under his chin as he gently lifted his head up, their eyes meeting once again.
“You really love me?”

Logan didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I do.”

Deceit looked like he was about to cry again which caused Logan to worry.
“Is something wrong De-”

Logan’s eyes widened when he suddenly felt Deceit’s lips press against his own, the Dark Side wrapping his arms around him and pulling Logan against him.

I-I’m being kissed?! What do I do?!

Deceit pulled away slightly, still holding Logan in his arms. “Don’t think,” their lips brushed together as he spoke, “Just feel.”

Logan nodded slightly, his own arms going around Deceit, and before he knew it they were kissing again.

It felt strange and foreign, yet absolutely wonderful. Logan closed his eyes and melted into Deceit’s embrace. He was vaguely aware of Deceit running his fingers through his hair, and barely noticed that he had his own hand on the back of Deceit’s head, keeping him close.

When the two finally pulled away from each other, only because they needed to catch their breath, Logan felt as if he might burst from pure joy.

No words could describe what he was feeling, which worried him somewhat because he believed that he needed to say something to Deceit, but all he could do was smile at him.

However, it seemed that Deceit was in the same predicament, because all he could manage to say was, “Wow.”

Logan laughed before covering his mouth, but his laughter escaped through his hand. Deceit laughed with him and lowered his hand.
“Logan?”
“Y-Yes?”
“I love you.”

Logan felt warmth fill his chest once again, only this time it seemed to spread throughout his entire body.

“I love you too, Deceit.”

Chapter Text

“We can’t tell anyone about this.” There was no lightness in Deceit’s voice, no fear or worry either. It was cold, emotionless, and Logan didn’t understand.
“What do you mean? Deceit, we’ve accepted our feelings for each other, why must we keep it to ourselves? There’s nothing to hide anymore.”

“Is that so?” Deceit crossed his arms. “Tell me, do you think that Virgil, Roman, and Patton will accept this? That one of their own has fallen for a Dark Side?”
Logan’s brow furrowed. “One of their own? What are you talking about?”

“There is a division between us Sides, Logan, don’t act as if you haven’t seen it. There are the Light Sides, the good aspects of Thomas’s personality, or at least the parts of himself that he’s accepted. Then you have the Dark Sides, we’re the bad aspects of his personality. The parts of himself that he refuses to acknowledge. The parts of himself that he’d rather pretend don’t exist.”

Deceit’s tone became bitter and he turned away from Logan. “And, if Thomas wants nothing to do with us, then neither do his Light Sides…”

Logan was at a loss for words. Yes, he was perfectly aware that Thomas wasn’t exactly a fan of the Dark Sides. However, he also knew that Thomas wouldn’t intentionally drive any Side away. He wasn’t aware of all his Sides yet.

And who’s fault is that? Whose job is it to hide things away? To withhold information?

Logan closed his eyes. He’d thought the voice had been silenced…

“Besides, Virgil doesn’t like me. And after he saw me take you, he’s probably on his guard more than ever.”
Logan shook his head and tried to focus on the subject at hand. “Deceit, that was a misunderstanding. If I explained what happened Virgil would have no reason to remain suspicious.”

“Roman sees me as a villain,” Deceit continued, “he sees things in black and white. I am Deceit, deception is seen as bad, therefore I’m an enemy in his eyes.”

“Roman also saw Virgil as a, villain, when we first met him. Over time, he began to see that Virgil was only trying to protect Thomas just as we all were. He came to accept him as one of us, and I’m certain he would do that same for you.”

“Patton is against lying. It goes against his own morals. I embody lies, I pass them off as acceptable and good. While Patton would never openly show dislike towards me, he will never trust me.”

“He is also the most open and accepting out of all of us. He was the first of us to treat Virgil as an equal, not as an outsider who only wished to cause us trouble. He would be willing to take the time to get to know you if you simply allowed him to.”

Deceit nodded slowly, as if he were processing Logan’s words. “All very good points, Logan.”
“Thank you.” He dipped his head and accepted the compliment.
“However…” Deceit drummed his fingers on the ground. “Virgil won’t simply take your word for it. He’ll believe that I’ve tricked you into trying to convince himself and the others that I did you no harm. His suspicions won’t go away, they will only grow.”

“I don’t think that-”

“Roman wouldn’t dare to give me a chance. Virgil used to be the antagonist in his own story, but now that he isn’t and has been accepted, he is a hero without a villain. Who has he put in that role? Me. And because every prince needs a foe to battle, he won’t be so keen on losing yet another enemy. Especially when his pride demands he has one.”

Logan was certainly troubled by that remark. “Roman can get, carried away by his fantasies, at times. But I doubt he’d go so far as to force you into being his personal villain.”

“And Patton? Patton knows what I am. He knows what I’ve done. He may not hate me but unlike Virgil, whom he knew from the beginning was there to help Thomas, he doesn’t think it’s possible for Deceit to even contemplate wanting to help him.”

“If you would just give him a chance-”

“It’s too late, Logan. The damage has already been done.” Deceit looked at him again. There was no sorrow in his eyes, no regret, there was nothing. “I’ve accepted my place, there’s nothing that can be done to change it.”

“You don’t know that.” Logan held his hand. “Perhaps this will help you. If they see us together, and see that I trust you and love you, they will come to the realization that you are not who they villain they have made you out to be.”

“Or, they’ll think I’m tricking you for my own selfish gain. Making you think you are in love with me so I can get you on my side.”

Logan sighed. This was going nowhere. For every argument he made in favor of helping Deceit, he always found a way to shoot it down, by making himself the bullet.

“Answer me truthfully,” Deceit cupped Logan’s face, “when I first began seeing you, did you believe I was planning something behind your back? That everything I did was a trick?”

“Well, yes. In my defence however, you made it seem as though you intended to to harm me. Seeing as you crept up on me in the dark and wouldn’t let me return to my room then proceeded to lift me off the stairs-”

“You’ve made your point. It doesn’t help that I also make myself out to be evil and malicious.” Deceit rolled his eyes.

“I wouldn’t say malicious. However, invading one’s personal space can lead to one feeling uncomfortable or afraid.”

Deceit mumbled something under his breath.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that…”

“You weren’t meant to.”

Logan sighed. “Deceit, I want to help you. And I cannot do that if you are not honest with me.”

Deceit looked down at their hands. Logan smiled softly and brushed his thumb over Deceit’s glove.
“I love you. I want you to feel safe, and that you belong.”

“I don’t need to belong with them,” Deceit met Logan’s gaze, “only with you.”

Logan’s heart fluttered in his chest, the warm feeling returning once again. “Deceit…”

“Logan, I’m fine with this,” Deceit held both of his hands, “I’m fine with us . Just us, I don’t need anyone else. As long as you love me, that’s all that matters.”

“If-If that’s really what you want…”

Are you serious? Wake up Logic! He’s clearly hiding something! There’s another reason why he doesn’t want you telling the others! Stop being blindsided by these foolish emotions and think rationally!

Logan flinched and pulled his hands back as if he’d been burned. Deceit looked at him in confusion, but mostly with concern. “Logan, are you alright?”

“Yes, just, troubled…”

“What’s troubling you?”

Demand answers! Now!

“De-Deceit,” Logan cleared his throat and sat up straighter, “is there any other reason for you wanting to keep our relationship a secret?”

Deceit appeared to be unphased by this sudden shift in attitude and calmly answered, “Yes, there is.”

“Well, what is it?”
“I can’t tell you.”

What a surprise, Deceit is refusing to tell the truth.

No, he’s simply withholding information from me, and I think I know why.

“Deceit,” Logan laid a hand on his shoulder, “is it because of the other Dark Side?”
He said nothing in response, confirming Logan’s suspicions. “Deceit, are you afraid of what he would do if he found out that we harbored feelings for one another?”

Deceit hesitated before answering with a quiet, “Yes.”

Logan’s eyes softened. “Deceit, may I hug you?”
He nodded and allowed Logan to pull him into his arms. Of course, Logan had never really been one for hugging, but with Deceit, he didn’t mind it as much.

“Logan,” Deceit’s voice trembled slightly, “if he finds out that I love you, he’ll hurt you…”

“I see, that is why you wish to keep our relationship a secret. If the others don’t know about us, the chances of him finding out are lessened?”

Deceit nodded.

Logan smiled. “Deceit, come live with us.”
“W-What? Live with you…?”

“Well, it’s the only logical solution to this problem. We want to be together, but you don’t want this Dark Side finding out because of what he could possibly do to me. You’re wanting to protect me.”

Deceit nodded slightly, still looking somewhat confused.

“There are four of us, five counting you, we can protect each other from him. You’d be safe, we could live together and enjoy each other’s company in peace.”

“It’s not that simple Logan…” Deceit pulled himself out of his arms.
“What do you mean? It’s the only logical solution. There is safety in numbers and we wouldn’t have to hide from the others.”

“Don’t you remember anything I said?” Deceit narrowed his eyes. “Virgil, Roman, and Patton would never allow this. They wouldn’t accept it!”

“Do you remember what I said? You don’t know that.”

“How do you know that they’d give me a chance? Can you prove that to me?”

Logan didn’t miss a beat. “Yes.”

Deceit still seemed skeptical and crossed his arms. “How?”

“Give me time, I’ll show you that they would be willing to give you a chance.”

Deceit was quiet as he considered his offer. Logan tapped the ground with his fingers, hoping that he would agree.

“No, I’m sorry Logan, I won’t risk that.”

“Risk what?”

“Being rejected. Being found out. Losing the one I love.”

Logan sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

There’s just no reasoning with the emotional types.

Be quiet. He’s afraid, there is nothing wrong with that. Besides, we don’t know what this other Side is capable of.

“Logan? Are you alright?”

Logan blinked. “Hm? Oh yes, I’m fine.”

“Right…” Deceit looked up at the sky. “I should probably get you home before they realize you’re gone.”
Logan felt his heart sink. He didn’t want to leave, not now.

Deceit turned to him again. “I’ll see you later this week? For our lesson?”
Logan couldn’t help but smile at the thought of dancing with Deceit again, and his brief moment of sadness faded at the thought. “I can’t wait.”

Deceit smiled and cupped his face. “May I?”
“Of course.”
Deceit leaned forward and kissed him. Logan was tempted to pull him into his arms but wasn’t given the chance as Deceit ended the kiss.
“Ready to go?”

No.

Logan nodded and allowed Deceit to help him stand. With a snap of his fingers, he found himself back in his own room, Deceit nowhere to be seen.

He sat down on his bed and tried to process everything that had happened.

Deceit and I confessed our feelings for each other, we are apparently in a relationship now, we can’t tell anyone about it, and he’s afraid of a Dark Side who will most likely hurt me if he were to find out about our relationship.

Logan sighed and flopped backward onto his bed, feeling almost as dramatic as Roman for a moment.

I love Deceit, he loves me, would they all truly be so against it?

He didn’t want to believe that, he wanted to believe that they would be accepting and give Deceit a chance to prove himself.

And if they don’t?

Logan didn’t answer.

Tell me, what will you do if they find out and they reject Deceit? What if they force you to stay apart?

He ignored the voice and took off his glasses before setting them on his nightstand. It was late, he should get some sleep.

They won’t accept him because they know what he is. Unlike you, who’s been blinded by his emotions, they won’t be fooled by him.

Logan laid his head on his pillow before covering himself up, and as he drifted off to sleep he thought about Deceit, and how much he loved him.

You’re making a mistake.

Chapter Text

“Logan!” Patton knocked on the Logical Side’s door. “I brought you some cookies!”
There was no answer.
Patton tried knocking again. “Lo! Cookies! Can I come in?”
Still nothing.
He frowned slightly before looking both ways down the hall. Neither Virgil or Roman seemed to be around.

Shifting the plate of cookies to balance on one hand, he opened the door and stepped inside. “Been working hard Lo-” He stared at Logan’s desk in surprise, he wasn’t there. A brief search of the room revealed that he wasn’t in there at all.

Patton sighed before walking over to the desk. He’d just leave the cookies here for Logan to have when he got back from, wherever he was. He didn’t spend as much time with Logan as they used to, and while he understood his need for silence and a time to unwind, he missed his company.

Not wanting to linger around in his room for longer than necessary, Patton turned to go when he noticed something laying on Logan’s desk.

A yellow rose.

“Well, that won’t do.” Patton placed his hands on his hips. “Flowers should be kept in vases.” He looked around the room in search of one, but there didn’t seem to be any, and he wasn’t about to go poking around Logan’s room without his permission.

A solution came to Patton and he quickly ran down to the kitchen, returning with a glass of water.
“Here you go little guy!” Patton smiled and set the glass on the desk before carefully setting the rose inside. “You must’ve been thirsty! Maybe that’s where Logan went, to find you a nice vase.” Patton gently patted the rose’s petals. “Hope this will make you happy until he gets one!”

The rose seemed to brighten a bit, much to Patton’s delight.
“I wonder where Logan found you. You’re such a pretty flower!” He imagined having a bouquet of yellow roses in the living room, they’d be so pretty!

Giggling to himself he turned to leave when he once again, noticed something odd on Logan’s desk.

A folded up piece of paper.

Patton’s mind immediately went back to the note he and Virgil had found outside of Logan’s room. Was this another one? He tugged on the sleeves of his cat hoodie nervously. It would be wrong for him to read something that belonged to Logan, but what if it was something bad?

What if it involved him ?

Patton glanced over his shoulder and, with shaking hands, reached for the note. He quickly read the few words that were written there. His eyes widened and he accidentally crinkled the paper. As fast as he could without causing more damage, he folded the note up again before returning it to its previous spot on Logan’s desk before backing away.

What did it mean? Who sent him that?

Patton quickly ran out of the room and shut the door behind him. What was he supposed to do? Tell the others? No, he couldn’t do that. Virgil would start worrying again and Roman would bombard Logan with questions. He shook his head and made his way downstairs. He’d just have to keep this to himself.

Coming down to the living room he saw Virgil reclining on the couch, phone in hand and headphones on. Roman was sitting at the table, writing something on a piece of paper.
“Hiya kiddos!” Patton chirped.

“Hey Padre.” Roman didn’t look up from whatever he was working on while Virgil waved.

“Who’s hungry? I’m making a pasta bake for dinner!” Patton announced happily.
“Sounds lovely, Patton.” Roman still didn’t look up. Patton chuckled softly before heading into the kitchen. He got out a pot and began boiling water.

As he moved around the kitchen prepping his ingredients he kept glancing over Roman and Virgil. While he was glad that the two weren’t secluding themselves in their rooms anymore, he wished they’d go back to interacting with each other. He missed their playful banter, and Roman’s passionate singing that Virgil pretended to be annoyed by.

Patton sighed and absently grated some mozzarella cheese into a bowl. Things would go back to normal eventually, wouldn’t they?

The sound of someone humming lifted Patton’s spirits almost immediately. Was Roman about to sing again? He turned around only to see that the prince hadn’t looked up from his work, and he certainly wasn’t humming.

Movement on the stairs alerted him to the source of the cheerful humming. Logan was walking (more like hopping) down the stairs, his eyes bright and smile on his face. So far, neither Roman or Virgil had noticed him. Patton watched him stride into the kitchen, swinging his arms gaily while humming his song.

“Hey Lo!” Patton smiled. “You look like you’re in a good mood.”

“I am.” Logan went to the fridge and grabbed a jar of Crofters.
“Now Logan, don’t eat too much, I’m making dinner!”
“Oh, I’m merely bringing this to my room to save for later.” Logan closed the fridge and smiled at him. “The chances of me missing out on your cooking are im pasta ble.”

Roman’s hand slipped causing him to accidentally draw a line across his writing.
Virgil (who’d just so happened to turn off his music) dropped his phone onto his face.  

Patton just stared at Logan in a mixture of pride and shock.

Logan just smiled at him before heading back upstairs.

“You-You both heard that, right?” Roman stood up from his chair. “You both heard what I think I heard, I’m not crazy, right?”
“He… He just… He…” Virgil kept stuttering, unable to form one cohesive sentence.

“HE MADE A PUN!” Patton jumped up and down and squealed in delight. “He made a pun! And it didn’t involve Crofters! I mean, he was holding a jar of it, BUT IT WAS A PASTA PUN!”

“But it’s Logan!” Roman shouted. “Logan never makes puns intentionally!”
“Perhaps he didn’t wanna pasta up this opportunity.” Patton giggled.

“I mean… Yeah he’s made puns before…” Virgil stood and walked over to them.

“Never intentionally!” Roman repeated. “Unless Crofters is involved, yet as our dear Patton pointed out, it wasn’t a fruit or jam related pun.”

“Well he seemed to be happy!” Patton looked between them both. “Maybe he was feeling so cheerful he just couldn’t resist!”

“What could’ve made him so happy that he’d willingly make a pun?” Virgil asked.

“I don’t know Virgil,” Roman glanced at both him and Patton, “unless it involves certain feelings towards a certain someone?”

“Not this again…” Virgil groaned.
“What? I thought you two were dying to know who Logan had a crush on!”

“Yeah, that was before I found out it was either me or Patton.” Virgil stuffed his hands into his pockets. “And honestly, I don’t see how it could be me.”

“Why do you think that Kiddo?” Patton asked.

“Sure, we get along just fine and I will admit that he understands me better than most. But as far as romantic feelings go? Yeah, there’s honestly nothing I could have done recently to make Logan feel so happy that he’d go off making puns and skipping around the house like Roman.”

“Hey!” Roman huffed. “There is nothing wrong with my manly skipping.”

“Whatever. My point is, I personally feel nothing towards Logan. We’re friends and that’s about it.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean Logan can’t feel differently towards you…” Patton said quietly.

“You think Logan would be this happy if he knew I didn’t return his feelings?” Virgil tilted his head to the side. “And are you alright? You’re acting really nervous all of a sudden.”

“Me? Nervous? What do you mean?” Patton quickly flashed a bright smile.

“Oh my goodness,” Roman covered his mouth. “This is happening.”

“What is?” Virgil looked between them both before realization sunk in. “Oh…”

“Wait, what do you guys mean?” Patton’s face wrinkled in confusion.

“Roman, you said Logan told you who it was, so it’s not you.”
“Nope,” Roman shook his head, “and while I do value Specs as a part of our little unit here, there is no romantic interest from me whatsoever. And as Twenty One Emos over here stated: I doubt Logan would be as cheerful if he was aware that I didn’t return his feelings.”

“And since that rules both of us out…” Virgil stared pointedly at Patton.

Patton took a step back. “Um, you’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?”

“It’s real!” Roman started bouncing up and down. “The ship is real!”
“Honestly, I’m disappointed with myself for not figuring it out sooner.” Virgil shook his head.

“But… I… We…” Patton kept backing towards the stairs.

“It’s okay Padre!” Roman followed him and gently grabbed his arm. “You guys don’t have to hide anymore! I’m not entirely sure why you both kept it a secret in the first place, but considering how open Logan seems to be about his feelings for you, well all we need is for the two of you to make it official!”

Patton blinked. “Official?”
“Of course! The two of you must proclaim your love in front of the entire world!” Roman made a dramatic sweeping gesture with his arm.
“Or you know, just Roman and I. Eventually Thomas.” Virgil rolled his eyes at Roman’s theatrics.

Patton didn’t say anything. He only looked down at the floor, shuffling his feet.
“Patton?” Roman frowned slightly. “What’s wrong?”
“Dad? You okay?” Virgil walked over and went to lay a hand on his shoulder, only to flinch when Patton pulled away before he could.

“I-I need a minute kiddos…” Patton walked upstairs, head down and looking as though he carried a heavy weight on his shoulders.

Virgil glanced worriedly at Roman who shared a look of matching concern.

Patton, meanwhile, trudged down the hall. He passed by Logan’s room and stopped when he heard Logan’s voice, singing softly.

“I’m helpless, I look into your eyes and the sky’s the limit. I’m helpless, I’m down for the count and I’m drowning and I’m, helpless…”

Patton blinked, slightly unnerved by the almost melancholy way Logan sang the normally upbeat song. He could sense longing and sorrow in his voice, emotions he’d usually keep hidden were as clear as day within the song. He backed away from the door and continued to his room before he was caught eavesdropping.

Once he was safe within his room with the door closed, he sat down on his bed and grabbed his pillow, hugging it against his chest. Yes, it was a cliché thing to do in this situation, but it was the only thing he could think of to make himself feel better.

Hug away all the sad feelings.

He closed his eyes and allowed a tear to escape from his eye, falling onto his pillow which he hugged closer.

Helpless…

Patton sniffled as the song filled his head, but it was slightly different from the one Logan sang.

And I know… I am… Helpless… And my heart… Is just…. Helpless…

Patton buried his face into his pillow to muffle his sobs.

I know his feelings and I know his mind… You will never find anyone as smart or as kind…

His hands clutched the pillow tighter, his body shaking violently.

Oh, Patton, what’s wrong?

Patton shot up.

Crying again? Oh dear… Patton, how many times have I told you? Crying only makes you weak.

Patton immediately wiped his eyes, forcing his tears to stop falling.

What’s made you so sad? I thought we talked about this, you are not supposed to be sad. Do I need to come over for another visit?

No! No I’m fine!

Tsk, you shouldn’t lie to me. Lying is wrong.

I’m-I’m sorry! It won’t happen again! I promise!

That’s what you said last time. I don’t think you’re learning.

I am! I am learning! Please I’m sorry! I won’t cry anymore! I won’t lie! I pro-

Patton, Patton, Patton… You disappoint me.

Patton trembled and clung to his pillow, shutting his eyes tightly.

I’ll see you soon, my dear Morality, we have some important matters to discuss in person.

“No…” It came out as a whimper, a silent plea for help that would go unanswered. Patton looked around his room. The once bright, colorful place was now cold and dark. It was no longer his place of refuge, it was a cage.

And he was trapped.

Chapter Text

“Okay but what about this: The Sides play horror games!” Roman was almost bouncing up and down in excitement. “The Famders could see how each of us would respond to a horror situation! I obviously wouldn’t be afraid one bit, but imagine how fun it would be to see our own reactions to scary video games!”

“As much as I love the idea Roman…” Thomas scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know if I can handle that much horror again…”
“But it’s October Thomas! The month of horror and spooks! Combining that with Sanders Sides would be Spooktacular!”

“Boo…” Virgil gave a thumbs down from the stairs.
“I mean, I’m all for celebrating Halloween,” Patton chuckled nervously, “but I’m gonna Side with Thomas here. Besides, I don’t like horror games!”

“Well we have to do something for Halloween!” Roman huffed. “We did a video for New Year’s, and for Valentine’s Day, and for Christmas! What about Halloween?!”

“That’s why I called you guys here,” Thomas gestured to all of them, “I wanted help brainstorming ideas for a Halloween related video. It doesn’t have to be anything too elaborate, maybe just a little short skit involving you guys like the Crofters video?”

“Hm, I do enjoy skits…” Roman tapped his chin thoughtfully.
“Virgil? Any ideas?” Thomas asked.

“Well, the easy and obvious thing to do would be to make a video where we all dressed up in costumes.”

Patton squealed in excitement.
Thomas smiled and nodded, his eyes lighting up. “Yeah, that could be fun! So many people have been drawing you guys in costumes and they look so cool! Joan and Talyn could help design some cool outfits for you guys and-”

Virgil held a hand up. “If you did that, it’d be predictable, most likely bland, and what’s the point of doing it if people are just doing it themselves?”

“Aw Kiddo, it would be fun!”
“Fun? Sure, but after having three whole videos dedicated to holidays, wouldn’t just one short video showcasing all of us dressing up seem a little underwhelming?”

“Right… Thank you for bringing that up Virgil…” Thomas’s shoulders slumped.

“What are you doing Virgil?” Roman looked at him in annoyance. “You’ve been doing so well with not making Thomas back out of his ideas, what gives?”

“What are you talking about? I’m always anxious when discussing new ideas…”
“But not to the point where Thomas gives up on it entirely! I mean, you used to in the past, but you’ve been doing so well with just letting him embrace his ideas! Why the sudden change?”

“Hey, it’s okay Roman,” Thomas assured him. “I didn’t back out of the idea, I’d love to do it, but Virgil does make a good point. We have based three videos around holidays-”

“Four. If you count Way Too Adult where Thomas’s entire dilemma in that video was not knowing how to cook for Thanksgiving,” Logan pointed out.
“I almost forgot you were here Logan,” Thomas commented, “you’ve been really quiet.”

“You know that I normally offer little input into what videos you make.” He shrugged dismissively. “Roman and Patton are the ones who help come up with ideas for a video, and Virgil and I handle making a plan for getting the video done and uploaded”

“Eh, I usually just make you stressed out because you’re not putting out any content.” Virgil shrugged.
“Still, you motivate him to get the work done.”

“All of you contribute a lot to making the videos,” Thomas smiled and looked at all of them, “I’m glad to have you all helping me.”

Patton beamed. “Aw, we love helping you out kiddo!”

“I’m just grateful that you’re actually creating and finishing projects instead of abandoning one while in the middle of working on it to go pursue another one!” Roman huffed and crossed his arms. “All those unwritten stories, half-finished drawings… Gone to waste…”

“I was like five years old Roman,” Thomas muttered, “give me a break for having a short attention span like pretty much all other kids at that age.”

“I thought we were discussing ideas for a Halloween themed video,” Logan raised his voice slightly, hoping to get them all back on track. The sooner they came up with an idea the sooner he could return to his room.

“Do you have any ideas Logan?” Patton asked cheerfully.
“I told you, I rarely play a part in coming up with the ideas for videos.” Logan adjusted his glasses.
“Rarely doesn’t mean never! Come on Lo, surely you’ve got something!”

He sighed. “Patton, I appreciate you trying to include me, but I am perfectly content with being an observer.”

“Oh, okay then!” Patton chuckled lightly.

“Ugh, I am at a loss here!” Roman threw his hands in the air. “Nothing is good enough! And we’re running out of time! Halloween is just around the corner!”

“Hey, we’ll figure something out!” Thomas tried to reassure the distraught prince. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be anything spectacular-”
“Spooktacular,” Patton corrected.

“Right, spooktacular. Maybe it can be something simple. Like a little skit where we all dress up in costumes?”
“You mean the Halloween vlog but with us?” Virgil sighed. “You’re recycling old ideas Thomas…”

“Well I don’t see you coming up with any ideas Count Drab ula!” Roman crossed his arms and pouted.
“Maybe I’m not feeling the best Roman. Did you ever think about that?” Virgil snapped.

“Whoa, let’s calm down for a second,” Thomas shot a quick warning glare at Roman before turning to Virgil, “is something wrong?”

“I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, it’s nothing to concern yourself with.”
“Actually, Virgil, seeing as you are Thomas’s anxiety, it is something he should concern himself with. Seeing as you have a direct effect on him,” Logan gestured to Thomas, “If something is causing you distress, it could end up making him feel the same way.”

“Kiddo, what’s wrong?” Patton’s smile was replaced by a look of fatherly concern.

“I’ve just been on edge…” Virgil stuffed his hands into his pockets.
“Why?” Thomas asked.

“I don’t want to bring it up but,” he lowered his voice, “let’s just say it involves a snake.”

“Oh Virgil, if you’re going to talk about me please, don’t use my name.”

Everyone jumped as Deceit appeared in the living room. He stood in between Patton and Roman, hands clasped together and chuckling mischievously.

Patton yelped and immediately went to stand beside Thomas. Virgil stood up and was on the defensive immediately, his eyeshadow becoming darker as he glared at Deceit. “Get out!”

“Why? I only wanted to help with the video.” He smiled innocently, charmingly.

“Yeah, right.” Virgil rolled his eyes. “You must think we’re really stupid, don’t you?”

“I don’t think that all of you are stupid,” Deceit grinned, “There’s at least one of you who has a sliver of common sense.”

Virgil and Patton both glanced briefly at Logan, who was standing like a deer in headlights, staring at Deceit. Thomas was looking from Virgil, to Deceit, to Patton and Virgil, and then to Logan while trying to figure out what was going on.

Roman was the only one who didn’t take his eyes off of the Dark Side.

“So, what ideas have you come up with?” Deceit turned to each of them, waiting for an answer.
“As if you even care,” Roman spat, “you’ll just try to ruin whatever it is we decide to do.”

“Easy Roman…” Thomas sent another warning look his way.

“You’d better listen to your master, Princey.” Deceit smirked.
Roman was seething. “Get. Out.”
“C-Come on guys!” Patton smiled nervously. “We don’t have to get mad at each other… Maybe Deceit really does wanna help us out!”

“And I want to go back to being an outcast again,” Virgil muttered before saying in a much louder voice, “Open your eyes Patton! He doesn’t want anything but trouble!”

Patton flinched slightly. The action went unnoticed by everyone save Thomas who was standing beside him. He didn’t say anything aloud but held the Moral Side’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Let’s see,” Deceit mused while inspecting his gloves, “Virgil obviously wants me here, Roman does as well, and though neither has voiced it aloud I know that both Patton and Thomas are perfectly comfortable with my presence here. That just leaves you, Logan.”

Logan stiffened but kept his face emotionless. Carefully hiding everything beneath a mask.
“Well? What do you say?” Deceit’s eyes met his own and he immediately felt an odd, fluttering sensation in his chest where his heart resided. He loved it, and cursed it at the same time for nearly giving him away as he now had to fight the urge to blush.

“I stand with the others,” he stood a bit taller, “you are not welcome here. What we are discussing doesn’t concern you.”

“Are you sure? You are wanting to make a new Sanders Sides video, and last I checked, I am a Side.”

“You were not summoned, therefore, you are not welcome.”

“Ah Logan, always the logical one.” He winked before turning to Thomas. “Well, if I don’t need your permission, may I be here?”

Thomas hesitated and glanced briefly at the others. Virgil shook his head, Roman was still glaring at Deceit, Logan crossed his arms, and Patton had lowered his head.

“I-I don’t think now is a good time for you to be here.”
“Why? Because they don’t think so?” Deceit made a sweeping motion with his hand and gestured to the four Sides. “I thought you were the boss, Thomas. Not them. Why are they deciding for you?”

“Don’t talk to him!” Roman’s sword was out in a flash of steel, much to the shock of the others.
“Roman! Put the sword away!” Thomas kept his voice firm and while he was looking at Roman, his eyes kept drifting towards the blade in his hands.
Logan felt his breath hitch. Roman wasn’t close enough to actually harm Deceit, but the fact that he’d actually drawn his weapon was enough to make him feel uneasy. He looked at Deceit and silently hoped he would leave.

The Dark Side didn’t seem phased by the sword, only amused.
“Roman,” Thomas raised his voice, “put it away, now!”

“Your master gave you an order, Princey. Are you going to disobey?”

Roman’s hands tightened around the hilt of the sword, his entire body was trembling.

“Ro-Roman?” Patton chuckled nervously. “S-Someone m-m-might-might get... hurt…” He hid behind Thomas when Roman took a step towards Deceit.

“What are you doing?” Virgil’s gaze was filled with concern towards the Creative trait, who was continuing to advance forward. Deceit, meanwhile, refused to move. He had a look of contempt on his face, daring Roman to carry out his threat.

Logan didn’t take his eyes off of Deceit.

Look at me! Please, Deceit just look at me!

Unknown to the Logical Side, Deceit glanced over and saw it. The desperation and fear in Logan’s eyes. He nodded ever so slightly before turning his attention back to Roman.

“We’ll continue this later.” With those parting words, Deceit sank out, disappearing from view. Roman glared at the spot where he’d been standing before sheathing his sword.

“What the heck was that Roman?!” Virgil shouted.
“Virgil.” This time Thomas’s warning glare was directed towards the Anxious Side who mumbled an apology. Thomas turned back to Roman and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word in the Prince sank out.

“That’s not good…” Virgil pulled his hood over his head.
“Guys what’s going on?” Thomas looked to the three remaining Sides for an explanation.

“Later, Thomas.” Virgil glanced at him. “We’ll explain later.”

“Virgil wait!” Thomas’s words went unheeded as he sank out. “Great! Just great! Logan do you-” He froze when he realized that his Logic was already gone.

Patton whimpered and rubbed his arms. Thomas turned around to face him, looking flustered and worried. “Patton what’s going on? Why is everyone acting like this?”
“I don’t know… I’m sorry Thomas...” He looked at him with tears in his eyes. “I really don’t know…” He sank out without another word. Leaving Thomas to try and sort through everything on his own.

When Patton rose up back in the Mind Palace his eyes widened and his hand flew over his mouth.

Roman had Deceit pinned against the wall, his sword against the Dark Side’s neck. Virgil was watching from a distance, looking as if he was trying to disappear into his hoodie.

Logan was frozen on the stairs, his hand gripping the handrail for support.  

“G-Guys…?” Patton squeaked. “What’s going on…?”

Virgil’s eyes flooded with relief. “Roman’s lost it! We can’t calm him down!”

Patton gulped before turning to Roman. He noticed how Deceit didn’t appear to be concerned at all by the sword at his neck. He actually looked bored, but that could easily be another lie of his.

“Roman? Kiddo?”
He received no response. All of Roman’s attention was on Deceit. Patton glanced briefly in Logan’s direction and they made eye contact. For a split second, he saw the blind fear in his eyes. Who he was afraid for Patton wasn’t sure, and he didn’t want to guess.

“You…” Roman growled. Both Patton and Logan turned back to the scene simultaneously, each mirroring the other’s fear.

“I’m not entirely sure why you’re upset with me Roman,” Deceit smiled, “perhaps you could put the sword away and we can talk about this in a civilised manner?”

“Don’t lie to me!” Roman pressed the sword further into Deceit’s skin, not enough to draw blood, yet.
“Ah, but Roman, I’m not lying. I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Roman pulled him forward before slamming him against the wall, returning the sword to his neck. “YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID!” His voice shook the room, Virgil stumbled and Logan nearly slipped off the stairs.

Patton fell against the wall. If he didn’t find a way to defuse the situation, someone was going to get hurt. Using the wall as support, Patton stood himself up.
“Roman, you need to stop.”
“Oh, I’ll stop…” Roman leaned close to Deceit. “As soon as this little serpent pays.”

Deceit’s eyes were cold, but Patton could see his hands shaking. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Roman, this isn’t you. This isn’t how a prince should be.”

“How would you know?” Roman glared at Patton. A faint, red glow surrounded his eyes.
“Because you told me,” Patton said softly, “you were the one who told me all those stories about brave, noble princes who always did the right thing. Not because they wanted people to love them for their deeds, but because they knew it was the right thing to do. Even when it’s hard…”

Roman stared at him, his eyes darting back and forth.

“I-I don’t know what Deceit did, only that it hurt you. You’re angry and it’s okay to be angry, but this? This isn’t right, hurting someone that hurt you only causes more hurt for everyone…”

Roman’s grip on the sword faltered as he lowered his arm slightly, moving the blade away from Deceit’s neck.

“We care about you Roman, all of us, we want to help you. And if you let us, we will.” Patton smiled warmly. “I love ya, kiddo.”

Roman closed his eyes. The other three held their breath, watching and waiting. Patton sighed in relief when Roman released Deceit and backed away from the wall, holding his sword loosely in his hand.
“I… I don’t know what happened…” Roman looked at Patton, the red glow fading from his eyes.

The fatherly trait opened his arms to him, the loving smile never leaving his face. Roman slowly began walking over, ready to let the sword fall from his hands.

What happened next Patton could barely comprehend, seeing as everything moved so fast. All he knew was that one moment Roman had been walking towards him, then there had been a flash of light, and suddenly the prince had his back turned to Patton. He was hunched over and breathing heavily, sword clutched in his hand.

Virgil was crouching on the floor, holding an unmoving Logan in his arms. The stairs had been destroyed and were still smoking.

Deceit was bent on one knee, a hand clutching his side, his yellow glove slowly turning a dark shade of red.

Patton’s eyes trailed from Deceit to Roman’s sword. He watched as red dripped from the blade and onto the floor, leaving a stain on the carpet.

“Oh… Roman…” Patton whimpered. “What have you done…?”

Chapter Text

When Logan returned to the inside of Thomas’s mind the first thing he looked for was Deceit, hoping that he’d hidden away from the others. Specifically, Roman. Never in his life had he seen the prince so angry. Sure, he was used to Roman’s childish outbursts, but they were just that.

Childish.

What he’d witnessed in the living room wasn’t normal. It wasn’t Roman.

A brief scan of the area showed that no one else was around, which in Logan’s case, was a relief. Deceit was away from Roman, and the latter was most likely in his room calming himself down. Virgil and Patton were still with Thomas and would most likely be arriving soon.

Allowing himself a moment to relax, he headed towards the stairs.

Deceit and I will be meeting again tonight… Hopefully, he’ll have some sort of explanation for today’s actions…

Yes, Deceit had informed him that he would make random appearances when they were all gathered together. It was to “save face” as he’d described it. He was still determined to be seen as a villain to the others, despite Logan’s insistence that he could convince them to give Deceit a chance.

He refused to take any risks.

Logan was halfway up the stairs when he heard a crash behind him. He whirled around and saw Roman pinning Deceit against the wall, sword at his neck.

Virgil appeared seconds later beside the stairs, almost as if he’d sensed the danger that was so near to his usual spot. “Roman! What are you doing?!”

“Stay out of this Anxiety ,” Roman growled, “it doesn’t concern you.”

Virgil flinched but the action went unnoticed by Logan, who had his eyes locked on Deceit.

He didn’t seem bothered by the sword at his neck, but Logan knew better, and he refused to stand by and watch as the one he loved was being threatened. He’d barely made it down one step when Deceit made eye contact with him.

Don’t.

Logan froze and shook his head slightly. Deceit’s gaze was unwavering.

Don’t.

He felt his chest tighten as he gripped the handrail, his knuckles turning white. He wouldn’t interfere, even though everything inside of him was screaming to run down there and put himself between Roman and Deceit.

Suddenly Patton rose up and for a brief moment, Logan felt a rush of relief go through him. If anyone could bring Roman back to his senses it would be Patton, right?

At first, this appeared to be the case as Patton calmly spoke to him. Reminding Roman of tales of virtuous princes and of course, that he had a right to be feeling the way he was feeling, but shouldn’t let those feelings control his actions.

Logan didn’t realize that he’d been holding his breath until he released it in a long sigh of relief. He watched as Roman backed away from Deceit and had to resist the urge to run down and hold Deceit in his arms.

That will come later, you’ll be able to comfort him tonight.

As Roman shakily made his way over to Patton, Logan and Deceit locked eyes once again.

What happened next, Logan didn’t even know.

All he knew that one minute he was standing on the stairs, then he saw Deceit lunge forward while his eye glowed. There was a blinding flash of light, a scream of pain, then Logan was falling.

And finally…

Darkness.

---

Everything hurt.

His head was pounding, his arms and legs felt like lead, he couldn’t move.

He could faintly hear someone talking, but it sounded like he was underwater. There was urgency in their voice, perhaps he should try to open his eyes…

A thin sliver of light filled his vision, then it was blinding him. He immediately forced them closed again. It was too much… There was too much pain…

Someone was shaking him, that only made it worse.

He needed to escape, to get away from the pain.

The darkness was quiet, there was no pain in the darkness…

He let himself fall back into the abyss. The pain vanished instantly, along with his consciousness.

----

“Logan! Logan wake up!” Virgil shook him again, trying and failing to wake him. Everything had happened so fast, but he’d witnessed it all firsthand.

Deceit’s eye beginning to glow once Roman’s back was turned, then his hand…

Before he’d been able to call out a warning Deceit had shot a burst of light at Logan, throwing him from the stairs and destroying them in the process. Virgil had managed to break Logan’s fall but not before witnessing Roman, moving with deadly precision, swing his sword and leave a gaping wound in Deceit’s side.

He’d watch the lying trait drop to his knees, one hand supporting him and the other desperately trying to stop the blood flow, turning his yellow glove dark red.

Roman stepped back, his chest rising and falling with every quick breath he took. His sword trembled in his hand, his face a ghostly white as he took in the sight of Deceit crouched on the floor, coughing and shaking.

Virgil held Logan close to him, struggling to process everything. Deceit had attacked Logan, and in response, Roman attacked him.

No one moved, no one spoke.

Finally, Patton stepped towards Deceit, his entire body stiff and alert.
“De-Deceit…?”
The Dark Side was shaking, Virgil could see blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. For a brief second he looked up and Virgil immediately shielded Logan from him, his eyes glittering dangerously.

Deceit’s own eyes looked hazy and glazed over. He staggered forward, reaching his free hand out towards Virgil, only to pull it back to stifle a coughing fit.

Patton knelt down behind him. “De-” He yelped as the Dark Side suddenly vanished. Virgil did a brief scan of the room but it was obvious that Deceit was gone. Logan moaned softly snapping Virgil’s attention back to him. “Patton! He’s hurt!”

Patton shook himself before running over, dropping to his knees in front of Virgil and taking Logan into his own arms. Virgil’s attention was drawn from Logan and Patton to the sound of something falling onto the floor. He looked in Roman’s direction and saw his sword laying beside him, the bloodied tip encircled by the red stain on the carpet.

Roman was shaking so much he could barely stand, his legs looked like they were going to give out at any moment. Virgil quickly got up and walked over to steady him. “Easy Roman…”

“I didn’t-I didn’t mean-Virgil I didn’t-I didn’t…”
Virgil gripped his shoulders. “Roman, you need to calm down.”
“I didn’t want to… Virgil I didn’t want to hurt him… I didn’t… I didn’t…”
He sat Roman down on the couch and sat beside him. “You were just trying to protect Logan, he attacked him first, you did what you thought was necessary.”

“But I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t… Deceit… He wasn’t… Logan…” Roman buried his face in his hands, sobs wracking his body. Virgil pulled him into his arms and allowed the prince to cry into his hoodie. He rubbed his back and closed his eyes. Wondering how he could’ve let this happen.

I’m supposed to prevent things like this from happening! Why did I freeze up like that?! I should have stopped Deceit from hurting Logan , I should have been the one to protect him! Not Roman! He shouldn’t have had to take on something that is my responsibility! He shouldn’t have been put in that position! He-He shouldn’t have…

Virgil fought back his own tears. He couldn’t cry, not now. This wasn’t about him, he didn’t deserve to feel sorry for himself. Not when he’d failed to do his job, leaving the ones he was supposed to protect hurt.

If you can’t protect them, then what good are you?

Virgil’s breath hitched.

You’re nothing.

He shook his head and tried to focus on something, anything that could ground him. He focused on Roman, making sure he was safe and secure in his arms. He focused on his breathing, keeping it slow and even.

He focused on Patton’s humming- wait, humming?

Virgil glanced over at the floor where Patton was still kneeling, holding Logan in his lap, and smiling softly as he began to sing.

“I don’t know you, but I want you, all the more for that. Words fall through me, and always fool me, and I can’t react.”

Virgil lifted his head more. Roman’s sobs quieted.

“And games that never amount, to more than they’re meant, they’ll play themselves out.”

Logan’s eyes fluttered slightly, Patton brushed his hair out of his face, continuing the song.

“Take this sinking boat, and point it home. We’ve still got time. Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice. You make it now.”

Both Virgil and Roman looked up, their eyes transfixed on the scene.

“Falling slowly, eyes that know me, and I can't go back. Moves that take me, and erase me, and I’m painted black.”

Logan’s breathing evened out, he leaned into Patton’s touch.

“And you have suffered enough,” Patt combed his fingers through his hair, “And warred yourself. It's time that you won.”

Roman laid back against Virgil, who unknowingly put an arm around him.

“So, take this sinking boat, and point it home. We've still got time. Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice. You make it now.”

Patton’s smile faded slightly as he looked down at Logan. He looked so peaceful and calm, beautiful…

“I don’t know you, but I want you, all the more for that…”

He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. Not caring if Roman or Virgil saw.

“I love you…”

Logan didn’t wake or respond. Patton doubt he’d even heard him, and perhaps that was for the best. Gathering Logan in his arms Patton stood and carried him over to the couch, Roman and Virgil quickly moved out of the way so he could lay him down.

Patton hummed softly as he got him a pillow and a blanket, making him as comfortable as possible.

“Patton?” Virgil spoke softly.
“He’ll be okay.” Was all he said as he finished tucking him in.
Virgil glanced at Roman who wouldn’t meet his gaze and sighed before turning back to Patton. “What about Deceit?”
“There’s nothing we can do for him Kiddo, not unless he comes back.”

Roman flinched slightly at that. Virgil held his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“How’re you feeling Roman?” Patton sat down on the couch beside Logan. Roman just shook his head.
“Just take all the time you need Ro, it’ll be okay.”

He didn’t respond to that.

“What are we going to do about, you know…” Virgil motioned towards the demolished stairs with his head.

“Well, until Roman feels better enough to fix it, we’ll just have to hang out here in the living room for a bit.”

“But… Patton… my headphones are upstairs…”

That got a half-hearted chuckle out of Roman, though he quickly cut himself off.

“I can put a CD in! What would like?”
“Eh, you guys wouldn’t really like my song choices…”

“I don’t mind,” Roman mumbled.

Virgil and Patton both looked at him, the latter smiling before rising up to grab a CD off the shelf of CDs he kept near the TV. He looked through them before picking one out and putting it in the player, turning the volume down so it wouldn’t be too loud.

Virgil smiled to himself as the opening for Welcome to the Black Parade began to play softly through the speakers. “Is this the mix of all my favorite MCR songs that you made for me?”
“Yep! Just for you Storm Cloud!” Patton sat down beside him on the couch, putting an arm around him.

“Thanks, Dad.” Virgil leaned against him and closed his eyes. Patton smiled looked over at Roman, his smile faltering. He’d never seen the prince so distraught, he could practically feel the guilt and shame radiating from him.

“Roman… It wasn’t your fault…”
He didn’t respond.
“Roman… Kiddo…?”

Nothing.

Patton sighed and looked down at the floor. The sword was still lying there, the blood just now beginning to dry. He swallowed nervously. It wasn’t his place to whisk something that wasn’t his away, but in this case, he didn’t think anyone would mind…

The sword vanished from sight along with the red stain on the floor. He would have fixed the stairs, but creating things in their living space was Roman’s department, he couldn’t do it alone.

Guess we’ll have to wait…
Patton sighed and glanced at Logan, still sleeping peacefully on the couch. The sight made him smile and for the time being, made him forget about everything bad he’d been feeling.

Sweet dreams Lo…

Patton closed his eyes and laid his head on Virgil’s shoulder, allowing the soft-playing music to lull him to sleep.

---

Deceit stumbled blindly through the darkened halls. He had to hide, he couldn’t let himself be found.

He tripped over his own feet and fell against the wall, hitting his injured side. He was forced to bite down on his own tongue to keep himself from screaming. The slightest sound would be enough to give him away…

He started forward again, keeping one arm wrapped around his side at all times. He’d been wounded before, but never to this extent. And the blood… There was so much blood… Not even he could hide this…

Deceit closed his eyes and leaned against the wall for support. A short rest, that was all he needed. Then he could keep going… Then he’d be safe…

“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.”

Deceit stiffened, his skin turning even paler than it already was, except now it wasn’t from blood loss.

“What mess did you get yourself into this time Deccy? Did the little snake find himself at the wrong end of Princey’s sword?”

“Get away from me…” Deceit hissed.

“Aw, but you’re hurt. Here, let me help you.”

“I don’t need your help!” Deceit backed away, but in his injured state, he couldn’t get far.

“Come on De, I know just the thing that’ll help.”

“Let go of me! LET GO!”

Deceit’s cries went unheeded, and no one heard his screams.

He was completely alone as he was dragged into darkness.

Chapter Text

Logan woke to the sound of music playing softly. He cracked open one eye and noticed that the coffee table had been moved and in its place was a small pallet made up of blankets on the floor, Virgil and Roman sleeping back to back on it.

Why are they sleeping in the living room?

Logan tried to sit up only for his arms to give out. He fell back onto the couch with an audible gasp.

What happened? Why does everything hurt…?

He closed his eyes again and tried to remember yesterday’s events but everything was unclear, that and trying to think of just about anything hurt his head…

All he could really remember was being on the stairs, and something with Deceit.

Wait- Deceit!

Logan’s eyes shot open immediately landing on the stairs, which really, there was nothing left of. Everything that had happened came back to him in a flood of memories. Roman, Deceit, the sword, that blinding flash of light.

Where is he? Where is Deceit?!

Logan tried to sit up again but only succeeded in falling back onto the couch over and over. He could feel his frustration rising with every failed attempt and against his will tears started to form in his eyes.

“Logan? Logan what’s wrong?” Patton ran into the living room, carefully avoiding Roman and Virgil, before going to Logan’s side. “Lo? Are you okay?”

“Have to find him… Have to find him…” Logan’s eyes were almost glazed over.
“Logan, you’re not feeling well.” Patton gently laid him back down. He felt his forehead. “You’re burning up.”

“Have to find him…” Logan mumbled.

Patton got up and ran to the kitchen. Grabbing a damp washcloth he returned to Logan.
“Find him…” He repeated.
“Find who?” Patton sat beside him and brushed his bangs away from his face before laying the cloth on his forehead.

Logan’s eyes fluttered open. Everything was blurry and unfocused. Who was sitting with him?

Patton smiled softly and stroked his hair. “It’s okay Logan, I’m here for you.”

The voice was calming, loving. Was it him? Deceit?

Has he come to take care of me?

Patton hummed and helped him sit up so he could fluff his pillow. Logan leaned against him, smiling softly. “You’re here…”

“Of course I am Lo,” Patton hugged him, “I’m always here for you.”

Logan hummed and laid his head on his shoulder. He was safe, Deceit was here, they were together.

Patton finished fluffing Logan’s pillow before laying him back down.
“Get some rest Lo, you’ll feel better soon.” He stood and went to leave when Logan’s hand gripped his.

“Stay with me…?”

Patton was taken aback slightly, but his surprise was hidden by a warm smile as he sat down beside him. “Of course.”

Logan continued to hold his hand as his eyes began to close.

“You’re not wearing them…” He mumbled tiredly.

“Not wearing what?”
“Your gloves…”

Patton was confused by that. “My gloves?”

“It’s okay…” Logan yawned and hugged his hand against his chest. “I’ll help you find them later…”

“Um, thanks Lo?”
“I love you… De…”

Patton blinked. De?

He was even more startled when he felt Logan kiss the back of his hand, he went to say something to him but his eyes had already closed. Patton stared at him for a few seconds longer before looking down at his hand, still being held against Logan.

His heart was beating faster than it had in a while, but it was a light and fluttering kind of beat, Patton thought of it as a literal butterfly in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to pull the Logical Side into his arms and tell him just how wonderful and special he was, how much he loved him…

But the note… And De…?

Patton swallowed.

Maybe, maybe he doesn’t mean it? After all, he’s a little sick right now...

Patton ran his fingers through Logan’s hair.

Is it wrong for me to still love him? If he might love someone else?

He closed his eyes and sighed.

Should I move on?

Move on? Oh but Patton, can you really go through that again?

Patton stiffened and quickly pulled his hand out of Logan’s.

Could you go through that heartbreak again? The rejection?

He whimpered and looked for someplace to run. His room wasn’t an option, everyone was downstairs…

Of course, it wasn’t so bad the first time. After all, those were mostly Thomas’ feelings. What about your own?

“Stop it…” He ran into the kitchen, trying to keep quiet so the others wouldn’t be wakened.

You love him, you love him so much… The thought of not having him is crushing you…

He covered his ears and dropped to his knees. “Leave me alone…”

No. I won’t leave you alone. These feelings of yours need to be dealt with.

“Then what do you want me to do?!” Patton quickly clamped his hand over his mouth and looked around wildly. Had Virgil or Roman heard? Would they wake up?

“Hmph… Patt…?”

Shoot.

Patton heard blankets rustling as Virgil got up. Why did it have to be Virgil? He hated lying to him.

“In the kitchen Kiddo!” He called softly before reaching into one of the cabinets to grab a pan. “Just starting breakfast.”

“That’s good…”
Patton rose up and saw that Virgil had flopped back onto his pillow. His son was definitely not an early riser.

Seeing that Roman hadn’t been disturbed Patton began to actually make breakfast. Cooking usually helped distract him, it certainly kept him quiet. He started scrambling some eggs and putting toast in the toaster. Virgil was awake, just scrolling through his phone.

Patton smiled softly and went back to cooking. Eventually, Virgil was dragged into the kitchen by the smell of food and took his usual seat at the table. His hair a shaggy mess and half hid by his hood.

“How’d you sleep Kiddo?” Patton asked dishing him up a plate of eggs.
“Not bad… Back is sore…”
“Aw, sorry Virge. Maybe I can sleep on the floor tonight and you can share the couch with Logan?”

Virgil shook his head. “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” He set a piece of toast on his plate.

Virgil nodded and scooped up a bite of eggs. Patton smiled and poured him a mug of coffee. He’d find a way to make the pallet extra comfy for Virgil, a sore back wasn’t fun.

“Thanks Dad,” Virgil mumbled in between bites of food.

“No problem Storm Cloud!” Patton kissed his head before sitting down next to him to eat his own breakfast.

“Not feeling that hungry?” Virgil asked noticing the lack of food on Patton’s plate.

“Oh, just making sure there will be enough for Logan and Roman when they wake up.”

“Has Logan woken up at all?” Virgil questioned.

Patton stiffened, the movement causing his chair to slightly scoot backward.
“You okay?” Virgil turned to him, the tiredness leaving his eyes.

“Um, yes. Yes he woke up…” Patton pulled his chair forward.

“And?”

Patton shuffled nervously in his seat. What should he tell him?
“He-He’s not feeling the best. Has a fever…”

“He’s sick?” Virgil sat up straighter.

“I don’t think it’s anything too bad, I helped him go back to sleep and he seems okay now.” Patton began picking at his food.

Virgil watched him for a moment, studying his movements. “Are you worried about him?”

“Well, of course I am Virgil. I’m worried about all of you guys…”

“I know but, you know, you’re probably a tad more worried about Logan, right?”

Patton swallowed. He couldn’t lie about that. “Y-Yeah, I guess I am.”

“I just don’t understand why Deceit would attack him like that, what was he trying to do?” Virgil drummed his fingers on the table. “First he kidnaps him, brings him back, and now he attacks him right in front of us? How did he expect Roman to react?”

“What are you talking about Kiddo?” Patton tilted his head to the side.

“He obviously did something to Roman! You heard him, didn’t you? Deceit hurt him! He wouldn’t have gotten that angry for no reason.”

Patton looked down. “Still… It wasn’t right… What he did…”
“You’re defending Deceit?! Why?!”

Patton flinched. “I-I’m not defending him Kiddo! I just… What if there’s more to this then we know?”

“Patton he hurt Logan!” Virgil pointed to him. “He hurt the one you love! Doesn’t that make you angry?!”

“Of course it does,” Patton spoke quietly. He didn’t raise his voice and, contrary to what he said, he didn’t look angry. Virgil was taken aback but the answer, having expected Patton to deny it.

“I’m angry that Logan’s hurt, and that I wasn’t able to stop it.” Patton looked at Logan. “I’m angry that Roman was forced to do something he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to hurt Deceit, but he felt like he had no choice,” Patton turned to Virgil again, “and I know that you didn’t want him hurt either.”

Virgil was looking at Roman. “You don’t know that.”
“I know that you and Deceit used to be friends.”

Virgil gripped the edge of the table.

Patton laid his hand on top of his. “I don’t know what happened between you guys. Whatever it was, it clearly hurt you. Enough to cause you to leave him. But I know that deep down, there’s a part of you that still cares…”

Virgil yanked his hand away. “I don’t want anything to do with that snake.”

Patton flinched. “Virgil-”

“I’m going to my room. Don’t bother coming for me.” Virgil sank out before Patton could stop him. As much as he wanted to follow him, he knew that Virgil wasn’t in his bedroom, he was in his corner of the mind.

Their corners were different from the rooms they had upstairs, with those rooms the Sides could visit each other as they pleased without fear of being affected in any way. However their corners, or their actual rooms, always had some kind of affect on them, especially Virgil’s.

Patton sniffled and looked down at his plate. He wasn’t hungry. He stood up and without bothering to clean up went into the living room. Roman and Logan were still fast asleep, which he couldn’t blame either for.

He sighed and knelt down beside Roman. He carefully fixed his pillows and tucked the blankets around him more. He planted a soft kiss on the sleeping prince’s head before walking to Logan.

He took the rag off and felt his forehead, glad to find that his temperature had dropped some. His skin was still pale and his breathing somewhat raspy, but he was getting better. Patton went to kiss his head then hesitated. It wasn’t the same as giving Roman or Virgil a kiss, they were his kiddos.

I shouldn’t…

Patton rose up and turned to leave.

Why shouldn’t you?

He froze.

Come on Patton. Roman and Virgil already believe the two of you are in love, and he’s not awake right now, what do you have to lose?

It-It’s wrong! He doesn’t… He doesn’t love me back…

Not yet…

Patton blinked. Not yet?

What do you mean?

There was no response.

Patton gulped before turning back to Logan. He looked so calm and peaceful. Whenever he was awake he always seemed stiff and tense, Patton rarely ever saw him simply relax.

Could… Could he really love me? Do I have a chance?

He trembled slightly as he considered the possibility. The thought made him happy, that was for sure. He smiled softly to himself and walked into the kitchen, glancing at Logan from where he stood beside the sink. He was so wonderful, anyone would be lucky to have him.

And it could be me…

Patton hummed to himself and began to clean the kitchen. Unaware of the dark figure who was watching his every move.

Watching, and waiting, for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Chapter Text

Logan woke up the next morning feeling lightheaded and confused. Was he really awake? He’d been having so many dreams where he felt as if he were awake, only for him to fall back into a deep sleep. He moved his hand along the couch, it seemed real enough, and he appeared to have control over himself.

Looking around the living room he saw that not much had changed since his first brief awakening, which he barely remembered. The stairs were mostly fixed, save for a few missing steps at the top. He didn’t see the others anywhere, and it was quiet.

“Guys…?” He squeaked before clamping a hand over his mouth. Why was his voice so hoarse? He could barely hear himself! Lowering his hand he caught sight of a glass of water sitting on the coffee table. Not thinking twice he grabbed it with shaking hands and managed to pour it down his parched throat.

I suppose I’ve been sick. But why? For how long? And where is everyone?

Logan looked into the kitchen, expecting to at least see Patton, but there was nothing. He didn’t like this. He didn’t want to be alone when he was vulnerable.
“Patton? Roman? Virgil?” When he didn’t receive an answer he forced himself to sit up.

Maybe they’re upstairs? There are only a few steps missing, they’d be able to make it.

He slowly stood up, his legs shaking. He could make it to the stairs, couldn’t he? He took one step forward, then another, knowing that at any moment he could fall victim to an unwanted collision with the floor. Logan eventually made it to the stairs when he realized something that would further complicate his trek upstairs: The handrails were gone.

Great…

He looked at the wall. He supposed he could use that for support, but given his condition, there was a chance he could still lose his balance, with a much longer fall.

I could just wait for one of them to come down, but… This silence is rather unsettling…

Logan looked up at the stairs. Normally, his logical reasoning would be enough to convince him that going up would only result in him falling and he should go back to the couch. As it was, he wasn’t thinking clearly, and he did not want to be alone. Lifting one foot he stepped shakily onto the first step while placing an equally shaking hand on the wall for support. This was a bad idea, deep down he knew it was stupid, but the silence… It was too loud .

No, it didn’t make sense. He took another step up. Silence couldn’t be loud. Another step, his hand slipping off the wall. He needed the voices of the others. Another step, his head pounding. Their voices were calming, they were reassuring. He lost his footing. They would help him…

He was falling.

---

He didn’t remember how, but someone had caught him, and that same someone was holding him in their lap. He was definitely laying down, and there were fingers combing through his hair.

His eyes slowly blinked open and Logan found himself staring up at Deceit. His heart immediately began racing and he wanted nothing more than to hold Deceit in his arms, which was exactly what he was going to do.

Logan saw it perfectly in his head, he would jump up and engulf Deceit in his arms, the other holding him just as close. Yet when he attempted to bring this into fruition, something odd happened. He’d barely moved an inch when Deceit laid a hand on his chest to keep him still.

“Deceit?” Logan’s brow furrowed. The other simply smiled and continued to comb through his hair, the action calming. He closed his eyes and curled further into Deceit.

Strange… He’s cold...

“Deceit,” he opened his eyes again, “are you well?”
Again he received no answer, just fingers brushing through his hair over and over, faster and faster. Logan’s heart began beating rapidly.
“Deceit. What are you- ow!” His hands immediately went to cover his head after his hair had been tugged harshly. He looked up at Deceit in bewilderment, which quickly changed to fear.

Deceit’s kind smile was gone, a twisted smirk in its place. Both eyes glowing bright yellow.
“What’s WRONG Logan? Is this NOT what YOU fell in love with?!” His voice was nothing more than a distorted, low screeching that assailed Logan’s ears. In a panic he shoved himself out of his arms, scrambling backward in a desperate attempt to put as much distance between himself, and whatever monster was masquerading as Deceit.

He let out a startled yelp as he backed into a wall, the monster standing only a couple feet away, its glowing eyes piercing his own.

“Scared LOGAN?!”

His first instinct was to clamp his hands over his ears to block out the voice, but he couldn’t move them. He also became aware of something cold snaking its way around him. Looking down he found himself staring a massive, red snake slowly coiling around his torso, pinning his arms to his side.

Logan thrashed and kicked, doing everything in what little power he had to free himself from the snake, but all he managed to do was anger the serpent. Logan gasped as his air was suddenly cut off. The snake’s body tightening around him, crushing him. He couldn’t even scream from the agony he was in. His body jerked in a feeble attempt to save himself, his face stuck in a silent scream.

The monster only responded to this by cackling madly. Taking pleasure in Logan’s suffering. Tears ran down his face. Black was creeping on the edge of his vision. One thought going through his head.

I don’t want to die…

The snake’s grip suddenly loosened, leaving Logan gasping as he drew air into his lungs, every breath felt like he was being stabbed in the chest. So focused on breathing, Logan didn’t even realize that the snake was replaced with a pair of arms wrapped loosely around him.

“There, there, it’s alright Logan, I’ll protect you.”

He stiffened at the familiar voice. “Ro-Roman…?”

“Shh, it’s okay.” Roman hooked his chin over Logan’s shoulder. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
Logan trembled as Roman drew his sword, holding it in a defensive position in front of him, the blade inches from his chest. He could see Roman’s reflection in the sword, and his eyes widened in fear.

The entire left side of his face was covered in red scales, his left eye now yellow and resembling a snake.

Logan tried to escape from the prince’s hold but was kept in place by the sword at his chest.

“You can’t trust him Logan,” Roman whispered into his ear, glaring at the copy of Deceit. Logan could see the doppelganger staring at him, its yellow eyes burning into his own, that same twisted smirk on its face.

That isn’t Deceit… This isn’t real…

The monster’s forked tongue flickered out of its mouth, it chuckled lowly and took a step forward. Logan quickly turned his head away only to have Roman’s force him to look forward again, holding him in place.

“He’s a liar. You think he loves you? He only wants to use you.”

“Roman… Let me go…”

The monster was getting closer, with every step he took the room became darker.

“He’s a Dark Side. Incapable of feeling anything but hate.”

“That isn’t true… Roman please…” He was crying, tears pouring down his face.

The monster was directly in front of him now. The room had gone completely dark, its eyes were the only light in the suffocating darkness.

It stared at Logan as if contemplating what it should do with him. It reached its scaled covered hand out towards him, gently brushing away a tear with one of its claws. Logan flinched at the touch. He knew, he knew that it wasn’t Deceit. Yet it was cruel enough to keep Deceit’s face, twisting the one Logan loved into this monster.

And despite Roman’s assurances that he would protect him, he stood motionless in front of the beast. He felt its claws grip his shoulders and pull him from Roman’s hold. Logan couldn’t stop shaking as the monster brought him closer, their faces only inches apart. His heart was beating so fast, his chest felt like it was still being squeezed by the snake. He wanted to scream, fight, anything that would free him, but he was frozen.

The monster’s tongue flickered out once again, lightly brushing against Logan’s cheek. He whimpered and looked to Roman in a last, desperate attempt for help, but the prince was gone. He faced the monster again just in time to see it open its mouth, its jaw unhinged like a snake, its fangs bared.

Logan didn’t even have time to scream before the monster’s fangs dug into his neck.

---

“Logan! Logan wake up! It’s okay!”

Logan’s eyes shot open. He was finally able to scream as he looked around wildly, his arms and legs thrashing as his mind frantically struggled to figure out where he was and what was happening.

“Logan, it’s okay, it’s okay.”

His head snapped in the direction of the voice.

Patton.

The Moral Side’s eyes were filled with concern, he slowly raised his hand. “It’s okay Lo, you’re safe.”

Logan couldn’t slow his breathing. Was this really Patton? Or was he still dreaming?

Patton reached his hand out towards him, not coming any closer. Logan stared at it for a few seconds before something inside his mind clicked.

This is Patton. This is real.

Without warning he practically threw himself into Patton’s arms, clinging to him like a lifeline. He couldn’t say anything, he couldn’t speak, only cry and shake as the last few moments of the nightmare lingered in his head.

Patton wrapped his arms around Logan, making it to where he could pull away if he needed to. “It’s alright Lo, I’m here. You’re safe now.”

Logan buried his face into Patton’s shirt, soaking his chest with his tears. He wanted to stop crying, but he just couldn’t. Patton hummed softly and rocked him, his presence was comforting, he was safe.

Safe… With him you are safe…

Logan’s cries gradually softened, his tears stopped falling.

“Lo?”
“I-I am well…” He pulled away from Patton’s arms. Though the second he did he immediately wished he hadn’t. He distracted himself from this thought by checking his surroundings.

I-I’m in my room?

Patton, sensing his confusion, quickly explained. “Roman had the stairs finished a few days ago. You were still sick so we moved you up here where you’d be more comfortable.”

Logan nodded slowly, processing what he said. “I’ve been sick…?”

“Yeah, you’ve had a fever. A really bad one. You kept getting woken up by nightmares.”

“How-How long have I been sick?”

Patton rubbed the back of his neck. “About two weeks…”
Logan swayed. “Two weeks?! How is that possible?!”
“We don’t know Logan…”
“What about Thomas? Is he alright?”
“He just had a bit of a headache, he should be okay though, especially now that you’re awake.”

“I… I can’t believe this happened…” Logan gripped his head.
Patton twiddled his thumbs. “Logan? Do you remember anything before you were sick?”

Logan closed his eyes and tried to recall any memories hinting at his sickness, but nothing was clear.

“It’s all clouded…” Logan sighed and lowered his hands.

Patton shifted nervously on the bed. “You don’t remember anything at all?”

“At the moment, no. Is-Is there something I should remember?”

“Um, I think it should wait until you’re a bit more better…”
“Patton, that isn’t proper grammar-”

“See? You’re already correcting my speakage, you’re on your way to a full recovery!”
“Patton please…”

Patton’s smile faded as he gently laid Logan down. “I want to tell you, but I really think it should wait until you’re better.”

He wanted to argue with him, but once his head was laid on his pillow he was overcome with exhaustion.

Patton sighed. “Lo, I promise. I’ll tell you everything as soon as you’re 100% better.”
He nodded as his eyes began to close, only for them to immediately open again. Patton had turned to leave when he felt Logan grab his hand.

“Don’t go…”

Patton stiffened and looked down at him. “You want me to stay?”
He nodded, tears pricking his eyes. “Please?”
Patton smiled softly and sat down beside him. “I won’t go anywhere.”
Logan moved closer before closing his eyes.

He gently ran his fingers through Logan’s hair. He was much calmer now to Patton’s relief, perhaps he was finally getting better. He felt a bit guilty for hiding the truth from him, but it was for the best. He wouldn’t be able to handle it right now…

Poor Lo, he’s going through so much… But, that’s why I’m here, to take care of him.

He planted a soft kiss to Logan’s head.

I’m here Logan, I’ll protect you, always.

---

Deceit coughed. His entire body was bruised, every movement he made sent a wave of agony through him, yet he continued to drag himself across the floor. He had to get out. He had to get to Logan.

He was so close… He could see the stairs…

He screamed as a foot slammed onto his back, pinning him in place.
“Going somewhere, Deccy?”

Tears filled his eyes, but it wasn’t from the pain.
“Let me go… Let me go… Please…”

“Why? Have a date ?” He sneered before grabbing him by the back of his shirt, or what was left of it. “Because last I checked, you were free tonight.”

Deceit kept begging even though he knew it was useless. He pleas fell on dead ears as he was dragged back down the hall he’d spent so long dragging himself through.

I’m sorry Logan… I’m sorry…

Chapter Text

Patton hummed to himself as he finished making breakfast. He placed a bowl of granola and oatmeal onto a purple tray and set a mug of coffee beside it before carrying the tray upstairs. He stood outside of Virgil’s room and lightly tapped the door with his foot.

“Kiddo! Breakfast!” He waited for a response but received none. “That’s okay Virge,” his shoulders slumped, “I’ll just leave it out here…” He set the tray down next to another tray, the food he’d brought up last night remaining untouched, and carried it down to the kitchen.

He set it on the table before grabbing a red tray and bringing it to Roman’s room. “Hey Ro, breakfast!”
Again, no response. Like before Patton set the tray down in front of the door, fortunately, the one from last night had been cleared of food. He set it next to the other tray before picking up the last one, a dark blue tray with a jar of Crofters to go along with the meal.

His spirits lifted somewhat as he approached Logan’s room, not even bothering to knock. “Hey Lo! I brought your breakfast!”
Logan looked up from the book he’d been reading. “Thank you, Patton.”
The moral Side beamed and walked over to his bed, sitting down beside him just as Logan set the book down on the nightstand and took the tray from Patton.

“How’ve you been feeling? Better?”
“My temperature has gone down and sitting up no longer gives me a headache. So yes, my condition has improved immensely since last week.”

“That’s great Logan! I’m so happy for you!”

“Well, thank you for taking care of me.” Logan began to eat his breakfast.
“No problem! Anything for you Lo!” Patton smiled as he watched him eat, ready to help if needed. Logan really was getting better, his arms weren’t shaking anymore and he had no trouble feeding himself.

He doesn’t need me anymore…

Patton’s smiled faded slightly.

Now that he’s getting better, there’s no reason for me to take care of him like this…

“Is something wrong, Patton?” Logan inquired.
“Huh? Oh, no nothing’s wrong! I was just thinking.”
“About?”

“Um…” Patton twiddled his thumbs. “I was thinking about… When would be the best time to tell you… About what happened with Deceit…”

Logan’s reaction was instant. His head immediately turning towards Patton and his breakfast forgotten. “What happened?”
“Lo, are you sure you’re ready to know?”

“Patton please, it’s been weeks. I need to know.”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “How much do you remember?”
“I remember returning from Thomas’ apartment after Deceit had shown up. After that, nothing.”

Patton nodded slowly. “Well, we got back and Roman was a little bit angry…”

“Yes, he was angry at Deceit, I remember that. What happened next?”
“Well… Roman ended up catching Deceit and… He was going to hurt him…”

Logan stiffened. “Did he…?”

“At first, no. But then Deceit, he… You…” Patton bit his lip. Maybe now wasn’t the best time.

“What happened? Tell me, please.”

“He-He attacked you…”

Logan’s reaction was instant. He shot upright in bed, no longer slouching. His eyes were filled with both shock and hurt. “Attacked me? Why would he do that?”
“We don’t know Logan… Roman was going to let him go and then he shot light at you or, something like that… You were hurt real bad and that’s when you got sick…”

Logan didn’t seem to hear him. He wasn’t even looking at Patton anymore, only staring blankly ahead.
“Why would he do that?” He repeated softly. Patton looked down before gently taking Logan’s hand into his. “It’ll be okay Lo…”

“No.”
Patton flinched as Logan yanked his hand away.
“It’s not okay. Where is Deceit?”
“I don’t know-”

“It doesn’t make sense! It doesn’t!” Logan threw his blankets aside and stumbled out of bed.

“What are you doing? Logan you’re still not-”
“I’m fine Morality!” Logan glared at him. “Just get out! I don’t need your help anymore!”

Patton whimpered softly and backed away. “You don’t mean that Lo, you don’t…”  

“Get out! NOW!”

Patton didn’t have to be told again as he ran out of the room. Tears in his eyes and hand over his mouth. He couldn’t cry, he couldn’t cry. He didn’t notice both Roman and Virgil open their doors just in time to see him run down the hall.

“Dad…?” Virgil’s voice went unheeded as Patton barricaded himself in his room. He fell back against the door and sank to his knees, gripping his head in both hands.

Don’t cry, crying makes you weak. Don’t cry, crying makes you weak. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t…

Patton buried his face in his arms and sobbed. All the tears he’d been holding back finally released.

“Patton? Patton open the door!” Virgil was knocking on the door. Patton hadn’t locked it, but he knew that Virgil wouldn’t come in without his permission.

“Patton are you okay?” Roman’s voice. Now he was worried about him. Both of his kiddos were worried because he couldn’t control his emotions.

No wonder Logan doesn’t love me… I’m just a mess of emotions… He doesn’t like emotions…

No, Patton. That isn’t why he doesn’t love you…

Patton trembled and hugged his knees to his chest.

Dry your tears, stand up, there’s no reason to cry.

Patton sniffled before drying his eyes with his hoodie sleeves. He shakily stood to his feet.

I promised to help you, and I will. Take deep breaths, calm down.

Patton breathed in and out, feeling calmer already.

You want Logan to love you. I can make that happen. You just need to trust me.

“I trust you…”

Good. Now wait here, he will come.

“Will he?” Patton whispered, but there was no answer.

---

Roman was the one who ended up going into Logan’s room. Virgil had been unsuccessful in coaxing Patton out or allowing them entry (both had tried the door and found it locked, which was strange because Patton rarely locked his door) so they decided to see if Logan knew what had happened.

Logan’s door was opened slightly when Roman arrived. He knocked softly before entering. “Teach? Are you in here?”

He found the logical Side sitting at his desk holding his head in his hands. He looked, not awful, but definitely not good either.
“Logan? Are you well?” Roman walked over and stood timidly by him.

“I don’t understand…” Logan mumbled. He didn’t seem to notice Roman standing there.
“What don’t you understand?”

“What reason would he have… It makes no sense…”

Roman wasn’t sure who he was talking about, and wasn’t ready to question him just yet.

“He wouldn’t have done it intentionally… He wouldn’t hurt me…”

Roman’s brow furrowed as he tried to piece this together.

Patton ran from here crying after I had heard Logan yelling at him to get out resulting in Patton locking himself in his room. Patton was the one who’d been taking care of Logan while he was sick and Patton tends to show love and affection towards those in his care and in this case it’s the one he loves. Logan doesn’t really do affection though I suppose it’s different with Patton but, seeing as Logan hasn’t been feeling the best it is possible that Patton went a little too far with his caring which made Logan freak out resulting in Patton running from here crying.

Pleased to find that his thought process was once again functioning properly, he believed that he now had an understanding of what was going on, and knew that Logan was the only one who could fix this.

He lightly tapped on Logan’s shoulder. “Specs? Can I talk to you?”
Logan flinched before turning to the prince. “Roman? How long have you been there?”
“Just walked in.”

“I see…” Logan adjusted his glasses. “What did you wish to talk to me about?”

“It’s Patton, he ran out of here crying and locked himself in his room. Virgil can’t get him to come out and we’re worried…”

“He’s crying? Why-” Logan stopped himself. “Oh no, I didn’t mean to…” He immediately stood up. “Where is he?”
“I told you he’s in his room. Logan what- hey!” Roman yelped as Logan pushed him into the wall, the latter Side rushing out of the room.

Virgil was still outside of Patton’s room, looking far more worried than Logan had seen him in a while.

“Is he still in there?”
Virgil jumped slightly having not noticed Logan coming but quickly composed himself. “Yes. He stopped crying but he still won’t come out…”