"Hey, look at that one!" He pointed excitedly at a large shark that swam through the overhead aquarium, its tail moving slowly with grace. "Wonder what shark that is."

"Well," Logan pushed his glasses that had started to make its way down the bridge of his nose, "I believe that is a bull shark. Did you know that bull sharks can survive in both freshwater and saltwater? Some have been found to migrate from the ocean to freshwater bodies such as the Amazon river and even Lake Michigan."

"How do you always know so many things about so many things?" Patton tilted his head in wonder, making his wavy locks swish over his head. Logan couldn't help but found it adorable. "Like, not even just about space."

"I read frequently about many things," Logan answered plainly.

"Shocker."

"I didn't know you were capable of sarcasm."

Patton only responded with a beaming smile as they continued walking down the long tunnel of the aquarium. That morning, Patton had suggested going to the aquarium which Logan had no objection to. If anything, Logan did not expect Patton to choose such a place. Though recalling the way Patton looked at a little fish back at the fair last time, he could recognize how Patton would like the aquarium. He looked to his side again, seeing Patton looking at the aquatic specimens with a wonder as a child would. He couldn't possibly imagine what Patton would have been like when he was younger.

They've already spent the whole morning in the aquarium and had their lunch there as well. As they stepped out of the aquarium tunnel, the room became duskier. Walking a little further, there were towers of tall and narrow aquaria. The LED lights gave the glass boxes an eccentric neon hue that shifted from a warm red, to purple and blue. In them, were—

"Oh my god, Logan! Look at the jellies!" Patton rushed to one of the aquariums and pressed his face against the glass, sending his glasses free falling to the carpeted floor—and he didn't notice. The jellyfish pulsed slowly in the tank, moving leisurely with eloquence.

Logan let out a small chuckle which he tried to hide with a hand concealing his face. He retrieved Patton's glasses and gently turned the bubbly man around by the shoulder. "Here," he said, placing the glasses onto Patton's face. He was glad that the dim lighting of the room concealed the color that was streaked across his cheeks. He obscured his face with a fist against his mouth and coughed. He smiled when he heard Patton's faint giggles. He hadn't heard Patton's enthusiastic voice or laughter of glee in what felt like ages. Glancing at Patton who was looking at him with a smile—a smile that caused something in him twist—made him want to wrap his arms around the other and protect him at all cost.

'I really think something is terribly wrong with me,' he thought as he felt a tiny jolt in his stomach.

"Did you know that jellyfish consisted of approximately ninety-five percent water?" Logan walked past Patton to stand in front of the next aquarium with smaller jellies. "They would evaporate if they were to be pulled out of water for too long."

"Again, it's weird you know more about animals when I'm the one who's taking a veterinary major." Patton followed, standing next to Logan in front of the other aquarium.

They walked again through another short tunnel into an enormous hall. A massive circular aquarium stood in the middle of the room. Patton stood in shock with his jaw hanging open as he stared at the five-storey-tall aquarium. Even Logan seemed to be amazed. There were hundreds of colorful corals in the aquarium—it looked like someone installed neon lights in the water. There were schools of small fishes swimming around, some in a sluggish pace, others with a force of energy.

Patton found a sudden burst of energy in him as he jumped up and down with excitement. He yanked Logan's arm, running towards the giant aquarium. He crashed onto the metal fence that set as a barrier with force. For a second his mind blanked. He was certain he knew what the big square thing was called. He couldn't seem to place it at the moment.

"What's the sea ravioli, Logan?" He asked with enthusiasm.

"That's—did you just refer to manta rays as 'sea ravioli,' Patton?" Logan uttered the rhetorical question with amusement written across his face.

"Look, I knew what it was called, okay. I forgot!" Patton said between laughs. He instinctively leaned towards Logan, burying his face on his soulmate's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Logan's neck tightly and let go instantly. "Thanks for bringing me here, Lo!"

"Uh—uhm... yes—uh, I—it's... alright?" Logan frowned at the jumble of words that came out of his mouth. What was wrong with him? He felt another jolt in his stomach, making him place his hand against his sternum.

Patton once again dragged him to the other side of the aquarium, looking at another part of the corals. "Oh! Logan, look, it's a mantis shrimp!" He pointed at a colorful animal on the aquarium floor. "Did you know that a mantis shrimp's punch is so fast that the water around its claw would boil and kill its prey?"

"You know what a mantis shrimp is and not a manta ray?" Logan said with a teasing smirk.

"Hey! I knew what a manta ray was! I just forgot what it was called."

"Okay," Logan said with feigned disbelief, the smirk still sitting firmly on his lips.

"Did Logan just say 'okay,' everyone? Whoa, what an oceanic surprise!" Patton faked a gasp. Logan furrowed his brows in discontent—or at least he appeared discontent as a smile was starting to worm its way to his face. "And in case you didn't know," Patton said with his best impression of Logan, "the word 'oceanic' could mean great or vast as is the word 'astronomical.'"

Logan couldn't suppress his grin any longer. "Alright, that's enough." He waved his hand in front of his face. "You know, you always surprise me."

"Good," Patton said with a wink, making Logan cough awkwardly as redness climbed up his neck and bled across his cheeks.

A fuzzy feeling started growing in his chest. It was uncomfortable, and Logan was surprised he didn't want the feeling to fade. Patton was walking next to him with a bounce in his step. The smile on his lips gradually faded. Something was amiss.

It had merely been a month since Patton's father's death. 'Mostly, people would grieve for at least six months up to two years after the lost of a close loved one.' Logan continued to observe his high-spirited soulmate with attentive eyes. 'Isn't this...'

"Patton," he called hesitantly as they stepped out of the aquarium building. Patton looked up with his trademark sunshiny smile. "If you don't mind me asking... why don't you ever talk about your father?" Logan cringed at his own words. 'Logan, you moron. You don't ask that to people.'

Patton's smile fell in an instant, replaced by a growing frown and furrow of the brows. He immediately marched away from Logan with forceful stomps, wanting to get away as quick as he could. Logan sighed and dragged a hand down his face. He jogged, catching up to Patton and placed a gentle hand on Patton's shoulder. He half expected Patton to snap, but it didn't happen. Instead, Patton looked up at him with glassy eyes as his lips quivered slightly.

"I'm sorry, I..." Logan didn't finish his sentence as he quickly decided to find somewhere for Patton to sit and calm down. He took Patton by the hand and led him to a bench by the sidewalk not far from the building. He calmly told Patton to sit as a sting of guilt attacked his chest. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to breach into a sensitive topic."

Patton looked at Logan carefully with his mismatched eyes. He was thankful when he found no trace of pity in those icy blue eyes. His vision became blurry as memories that he had tried to suppress came flooding back.

He remembered when his dad used to tell him and his brother bedtime stories that were so ridiculous it filled his imagination with fantastic images. He remembered the time when his dad gave him small advice to get him through tough times. And he remembered the time when his dad knew just what to do when Damien had been so angry. He remembered how his dad would make them feel safe in a way that mom couldn't. Patton loved his dad's dad jokes and the puns, the humor, the hugs.

And he remembered how his dad would give everything he had for his family—especially to his mom. She was everything to him. They would share secret glances and laugh together for no reason. Sometimes he and his brother would find their parents chatting in the backyard, leaning on each other with smiles on their faces. He missed his dad. And he missed his mom.

"I haven't seen her in ages, Logan..." the tears that he'd tried to hold back for weeks finally came falling. "When is she coming back?" he buried his face in his hands, ignoring the glasses that was squished against his face.

Logan moved to crouch in front of Patton's hunched figure and delicately pried the fingers away. He took Patton's glasses off and wiped them with his shirt. "Who are you talking about, Patton?"

"Mom. I haven't seen her in ages. I don't want anything to happen to her." Soft sobs started breaking their way out of him. "And I miss dad. I miss his hug and his jokes. He always made everything seem so funny. He always made bad stuff seem good. I miss him so much. "

Logan moved again, sitting next to Patton and circling one arm around Patton's shoulder in an awkward attempt at comfort. Patton leaned his weight on Logan, clutching his face to keep the sobs away. There were so many things that he didn't want to think about. He could hear his dad's voice saying "Damien, don't be like that to your brother," or "Patton, what is this mess?" He could taste the omelettes that his dad would make every morning—the omelettes that he and his brother hated so much but now miss.

"Come here." Logan hesitantly pulled Patton closer into a hug. As Patton slumped onto his chest, he tightened his hold, as if trying to hold Patton together if in any case he will break. "I'm sorry, Patton. It's alright... It's alright..."

After a few long moments, Patton's crying was reduced to hiccups. He buried his head deeper into Logan's chest and under the coat Logan was wearing. Logan smelled like coffee and old paper; the scent was soothing. He tried calming himself down, focusing on Logan's arm that rested around his shoulder and his other hand that was rubbing tender strokes on his back. He focused on Logan's steady heartbeat—stable and heavy—making a sense of calm wash over him slowly.

"Do you wish to go home, Patton?" Logan asked in a low voice.

"No," Patton whispered. He looked at the streaks of colors that was starting to color the sky. The sun was setting soon. "Do you mind going somewhere else?"

"Of course not. Do you have somewhere in mind?"

Patton nodded against Logan's chest and slowly pulled himself back. Logan stood up and helped him stand on shaky legs. After that, they were off again with the light mood from before no longer hanging over them.

----------

"Damien and I used to go here during middle school when we were bored at home," Patton said as they made their way to the edge of the city. A small park sat on a small hill where the twins used to go to. Back then, it was full of kids running around the playground or climbing the monkey bars and slipping down on the slippery slide. Now, it's abandoned; wild weeds grew between the cracks of cement, swings creaked with rust and the tree house, although still strong, was starting to hide behind growing leaves. "Mom and dad would be worried when we disappeared for hours after school. They didn't know we went here."

Logan followed Patton's gaze to the view of half the city at the foot of the hill. The dying sunlight reflected on the glass of tall buildings that looked more like porcelain from the distance. He could vaguely see the vast area of the University grounds and the tall library that sat in the middle. The streaks of red across the sky turned into purple and deep blue, cooling the warm sky. The clouds were painted with orange, just like the sky. It was a wonderful sight.

He looked down at Patton who was still gazing into the distance of the city. He paid attention to how the orange and red of the setting sun colored Patton's skin with life, highlighting his features. And when Logan saw into Patton's mismatched eyes, only then did he knew what the meaning of stargazing was. Only then did he understand what a star should look like; shining bright with unrivaled beauty.

"I don't know what to do now..." Patton said, his voice cracking. "About mom... and I don't know what I'm supposed to do now that dad isn't here."

"Patton, I understand you are still grieving. And it's alright to—to feel a little confused." Logan tried to reassure Patton. "I—well, I didn't know what to do when my father left either."

"What?"

"Oh, um..." Logan hesitated for a moment. Only Roman knew of his father. "My mother and father were not soulmates. They both didn't have one. After about eleven years together, they decided to go their own ways. It's alright, though. My parents are still quite close to each other—let's say best friends.

"I still saw him a lot when I lived with my mother. But at one point, I couldn't help but feel like I did something wrong. I understood, of course, that it wasn't my fault... but I still felt responsible."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. What I meant to say was that there wasn't anything wrong with feeling confused or conflicted. And it's definitely alright if you feel dejected or sick in the heart." Logan couldn't believe what he was saying. He didn't expect himself to ever give someone else an advice about feelings and emotions. Especially not to someone like Patton. "What you shouldn't do is bury everything inside for you to disentangle alone. You should perhaps—you could talk to someone."

Patton looked up at Logan and hugged his arm. He rested his head against Logan's shoulder, mumbling "I miss his hugs." When he let go of Logan arm, he found himself being pulled into another warm embrace. He didn't know why Logan was suddenly so tactile, but he wasn't complaining.

"I think it's time to go, don't you think?" Logan asked.

Patton nodded as the last of the purples in the sky turned into darkness.

----------

"Thanks, Lo," Patton said with a smile. "Today was fun... and thanks for... y'know."

"Any time," Logan said with a nod, returning Patton's smile with his own.

Patton unlocked the door to the apartment and Logan turned to leave. As he looked at Logan's back becoming smaller in the distance, he shouted, earning Logan's attention. He smiled wide and ran, launching himself at the taller man to give him a peck on the cheek. Before he heard Logan's reaction, he had run back to the apartment door and went inside.

Once inside, he leaned back on the door with his chin on his chest. He took off his jacket, smile still resting on his face. Despite the rather gloomy turn at the end, Patton loved the outing. He was glad he could get something off his chest even if it was small. There were still lots of things he needed to work on. For now, he'll let his heart rest with the memory the icy blue eyes that brought him peace.

----------

He woke up with a jolt. Carefully, he sat up on the bed trying to calm the thundering beat of his heart that felt like it was going burst out of his chest. Nine days. It had been nine days since the nightmares started—and it had gotten worse the night after he met Damien. Remy glanced at the alarm clock that sat on the bedside table. 03:24. He wasn't sure if he'll ever go to sleep again that night. Walking over to his desk under the window, he took his sketchbook and tried to get an idea.

After turning the desk lamp on, he prepared his painting kit and made a light pencil sketch on the thick paper. After he had finished the line work, he filled the drawing with colors. It was of a boy with his eyes covered by a tangle of blood-red thread, blinding him. There were traces of black tears trailing down his cheeks and dripping down his chin. Bruises littered the skin on the neck, collarbone and chest. The deep colors of purple, red and green came together sickeningly like rotten flesh. The jagged lines of the thread looked threatening, as if it will come alive and attack.

Remy stared at the painting, trying to make sense of it. He sighed heavily, giving up when he couldn't understand. Nothing made sense anymore. Why had the nightmare only came now? Why didn't it come the week after he had left? Why didn't it come when he was still with Varden? Why, of all time, did it come after he met his soulmate? Was the universe trying to scare him? Perhaps he was destined to have a dysfunctional relationship for life.

Looks like he was starting his day super early for the ninth day in a row.

**********

Hi again, readers! Thank you for reading!! I hope you liked this addition and leave a comment on what you think. I think I did an okay job on Logicality this time. I hope you don't find it too cheesy.

See you in the next one!

~AJ