12:57pm
—

Logan silently closed the front door behind him as he left the house the sides shared inside Thomas's mind, heading down the street with a blank gaze. The road was lined with houses either filled with different aspects of Thomas, or the people conjured up by Roman's imagination, for he found the "town" they lived in to be boring, and lacking any personality.

Logan thought it was unnecessary, none of these people were real, but no one else seemed to mind, in fact many thought what Roman did was well needed to make them feel more...human than what they were. Logan didn't want to feel human, he was Thomas's logic, nothing more, nothing less - he doesn't see himself finding love, getting married, having kids, growing old - that was Thomas's job, his job was to keep the host in check, making sure his life doesn't fall of the rails.

Roman and Patton may want to find the happiness Thomas does, but he recoils at the idea - his existence is merely to help Thomas, and to not care about his own needs and happiness.

The temperature was quite chilly, so with a click of his fingers, he relaxed in the warm that surrounded him. He didn't care if it was winter, in the mind it could be any season they wanted. Sweeping his hair from his eyes, he ducked into an alley as a shortcut to get where? He didn't know, he was just...walking. And thinking.

"Well, isn't this normal"

Logan froze momentarily at the snake-like hiss of a voice that came from his right, but it was only Deceit, he thought if he carried on without responding the lying aspect would leave him alone, but of course the heterochromia-eyed aspect had other plans.

Slinking from his shadowed hiding place, he tailed behind Logan who noticeably sped up, probably to try and get away from Deceit who quickly fell into step beside the logical aspect. Logan huffed but let it happen, as long as Deceit would stay quiet-

"What brings you here?"

Great. Tightening his tie, Logan sighed out.

"I do not know, Deceit. Must you interrogate me while I try and think?" He replied back, tone exasperated. Deceit knew the sides had been working hard for a few months for the new sander side video, so Deceit understood why he seemed so tired and out of it, what was confusing to him was why he didn't just go to bed and sleep off this funk.

"I don't have to" Deceit smirked, "but I want to"

"Of course" Logan replied monotonously, crossing the empty street to the side of the road that held a bench, sitting down on the right side, directly under the street lamp. Deceit watched curiously, sitting cross-legged on the left side, facing Logan who had his eyes closed, face screwed up slightly, almost like he was trying to think, but he couldn't. Deceit assumed it was because of his lack of sleep recently.

"You totally don't look constipated" Deceit found himself drawling, huffing through his nose in amusement when disgust ran across his features. Now that he said this, Logan's face relaxed, and his eyes even cracked open to stare down the dark street, abandoned by any other life.

"Are you tired?" Deceit decided to ask, propping his head up by his clenched hand, elbow resting on the back of the bench. Logan shook his head, replying with a firm 'no' that anyone else would have believed, but Deceit was, well, Deceit, so he knew when any of the sides lied - they knew this, yet they still went out of their way to lie, as if they would somehow trick him.

Rolling his eyes, he pursed his lips and rose his eyebrow into a 'really?' Look, but Logan was too focused on the dark distance, so he didn't notice.

"Obviously" Deceit hummed, "Why are you here?"

"To think"

Lie

"Where are the others?"

"Asleep"

Truth. Okay, Deceit might be able to use this to his advantage - usually he spent his time with the lesser-known sides, the ones who avoid appearing in videos, so he was used to helping those, but not any of the main sides. This can be a great learning experience, especially as he felt...different towards Logan than anyone else.

He was tired, he wasn't here to think, and everyone else was asleep. What should he ask now?

"Have you had an argument with anyone recently?"

"No" Lie "well..." Deceit perked up. "I suppose we had a heated debate in the most recent video, but it was sorted out, so do not worry" he wasn't lying per se, but he wasn't telling the whole truth, either. He's still thinking about the debate. But what about it? Deceit hadn't watched the video; why would he? Some of the sides did, most of them didn't, as they really couldn't find it in them to care.

"What was the debate about?"

Logan sighed, "just...Thomas's life" he waved his hand around dismissively, getting more and more agitated by the questions, Deceit had to be careful and try to get through to the answer with the route that used the least amount of questions.

Deceit hummed again, "His life, hm? Surely not about the romance-" when he said the word, Logan tensed ever so slightly, which made him pause, and a smirk fall on his face. It was odd to have logic think about Thomas's love life, he was the only main side not in a relationship; Patton and Virgil had found a blossoming love between them while Roman had "accidentally" fallen for one of the residents in this town.

"No!" Logan snapped, feeling more tense with the silence, "I do not care about what Thomas does with his romantic partners" he forcefully sounded angry, and tried his hardest to make it sound like the truth, because at this point he wasn't trying to convince Deceit, he was trying to tell himself he didn't care, he never had cared, he was logic, Thomas's logic, he doesn't need to be in a relationship with anyone, nor should he feel this way about the prospect!

But it was a lie. Deceit knew it was a lie. Deep down, Logan did, too.

"You're lonely, aren't you?" Deceit pried at him, knocking down wall after wall, breaking brick after brick until he left Logan defenceless and vulnerable to his onslaught of questions. "No, I'm not lonely" Deceit was surprised to find that was the truth, so he backtracked and rushed down a different route.

"You're jealous"

Logan shut his eyes. "I am not jealous" he gritted out, hearing Deceit chuckle deeply. That was a lie.

"You are jealous Thomas will find love and you will not" Deceit felt alight with joy. "No I'm not" Logan tried to reinforce, but his voice broke on the last word, Deceit didn't notice it though, he didn't realise how much this was hurting him.

"Why? Logic doesn't entail emotions, does it? Do you like someone?"

"No!" Logan quickly blurted. Lie.

"Falsehood" Deceit mocked.

Logan's breath fell short, heart hammering as Deceit asked question after question, the more Logan answered, the more he gave Deceit the truth, even if that was the last thing he wanted to do, he couldn't let anyone know he felt this way, especially himself, he wanted to carry on, incompetent to the raging emotions he locked in a cage.

Deceit's voice was surrounding him, echoing through his ears, suffocating him. He couldn't move, or breathe, all he could do was stare at the ground and blink away tears that tracked down his cheeks without his consent.

When Deceit noticed this, his mouth clamped shut. He was standing in front of the shaking side, watching as he slowly drew in laboured gasps of air, shoulders hunching forward as they quivered with every heart wrenching, muffled sob that escaped Logan's lips.

He did it. He made Logan cry. Although not his intention, it made him understand the situation Logan was in. Everyone knew him to be logic; the emotionless, stoic side who focused entirely on what their host was doing, planning to do, and how his schedule could fit around it, to make sure he ate, cared for his health and slept at the right time. No one ever questioned how he cared for himself; he was never visually upset, he was almost as good at lying than Deceit, and with his "lack of emotions" it was assumed he didn't need to be cared for, no one needed to be a shoulder for him to cry on.

Everyone thought he was okay.

But now everything was different - Deceit was gazing at the Logan no one saw, or knew existed - the side he had kept buried deep inside of him. The side he didn't know how to control, for when it took over, Logan physically couldn't do anything to stop it, obviously as now he was clamping both hands over his mouth, wailing into them as he desperately clawed to keep himself composed, he hated people seeing him in distress, and he hated crying even more.

Maybe he wouldn't be so upset if he was alone, maybe he wouldn't be so upset if he wasn't sitting in front of the side he had fallen for.

Now that Deceit has gotten what he wanted; the truth, he slowly picked Logan up from the bench and appeared in his house that he decided to live in. They all had rooms in the main house, but being surrounded by so many people, and so much noise it became unbearable. Through Thomas's teenage years - and when Roman made the town - many sides "moved out" into their own place to be away from everything, while still doing what they needed to do for Thomas.

The main sides stuck around for whatever reason, and now it seemed most efficient that they did.

Laying Logan down on his couch, he threw a blanket across his body and sat on the armchair, watching as Logan curled in on himself, throwing off his glasses in abandonment, leaving them on the floor without a care. His cries and sniffles filled the room, Deceit didn't really know what to do - the side hadn't cried before in anyone's presence, so obviously he couldn't go ask someone how to comfort Logan. Logan didn't need comfort, he was logic, what emotions would he need to be comforted?

He sounded so lost...Deceit finally stood up, pulled Logan up too and into his chest where the side broke down even further, face hidden in his chest, tears streaming down his red cheeks. Deceit did feel his own heart shatter at the sight, seeing him so broken actually scared him, he wanted Logan to be okay, not falling apart at the seams - it was so destroying to watch.

Lifting his head up, Deceit cupped his cheeks, catching his glossy eyes. "Breathe" Deceit murmured softly but demandingly - he knew Patton would be able to feel such raw emotions, but even if he was a main side, he wasn't powerful enough to know who was so upset. It pains him too, which was why when this happened he usually went around each side to see if they were okay, meaning if Logan didn't want anyone else to see him like this, Deceit would need him to calm down.

"Breathe" he ordered again, purposely breathing in and out slowly and loudly, watching Logan try and follow his movements. The last thing Deceit wanted to do was for him to fall into a panic attack - as then both Virgil and Patton would be on the man hunt for the distraught side.

Conjuring up a box of tissues, Deceit gently cleaned his cheeks and dabbed his eyes, relaxing when he stopped crying. Letting him blow his nose, he waved his hand in the direction of Logan's glasses, watching as they floated in the air until they landed in his hand.

Resting them back on his face, Deceit dragged Logan closer on his lap, letting the tired aspect rest against his chest, drained.

"Logan?"

"Yes?" He murmured, lifting his head to meet his gaze, face red with shame.

"Don't ever hide your feelings from me again, otherwise I will have to do what I did earlier" Logan looked away, nodding his head solemnly, knowing Deceit would follow through with his threat.

"Look at me"

He did.

"I'm doing this for you, it seems I care too much about you" Deceit brushed his thumb across his cheek bone. "Whatever you're feeling, tell me, I can help you" Logan sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating his request. If he told him, his thoughts and feelings he spent years hiding away would be on show, surrounding him for everyone to see, if he lied, and disappeared, Deceit would be on his back until he broke down again, and he couldn't bare through that again.

"You were right" Logan eventually murmured, sitting up straight on Deceit's lap. "I am jealous; and I do not understand why. I am Thomas's logic, yet I cannot stop thinking about how different things will be when he marries and settles down. All I will be is his logic, I will not feel that affection like Roman or Patton will, I will not feel so anxious or relaxed like Virgil, I will feel...nothing" Logan admitted.

"Why can't I feel anything?" He whispered, flickering his gaze to Deceit, letting the lying aspect see his vulnerability shining in his deep brown eyes.

"Oh, Logan" Deceit smirked, "and I thought you were Thomas's logic" he cooed patronisingly. "You're jealous, that must mean you can feel something. Who cares if you can't feel like the others? It means you're free from Thomas's life when it comes to your own. While helping Thomas, you can form a relationship with someone without feeling the sense of loneliness like Roman"

"But...he has a romantic partner-"

"But does Thomas? So long as our host is lonely, Roman will be too. What about our Patton, huh? He's with Virgil, yet still cries while cuddled up to him, because he feels that sense of longing for someone, even if that someone is in his arms - and Virgil? He's afraid. Afraid of being alone even if before him stands his boyfriend. You are lucky, more lucky than you understand, for you don't feel" Deceit shrugged, "at least, don't feel what Thomas feels. You are closest to a human than any of us, cherish it"

Logan sat in bewildered silence, staring at Deceit with a distant look in his eye, trying to understand everything he said. It clicked, which made him want to cry again, for being so selfish.

"I'm sorry" he murmured lowly, head dropping along with his heart.

"I have something that might help" Deceit replied, gripping his jaw to lift his head up. Logan wanted to ask what, but Deceit's lips were on his, kissing him so deeply he lost his ability to think, and move. And in that moment, he suddenly didn't want it to end, leaning closer so their lips pushed against the other harder, taking in shallow breaths every few moments between their heated kiss.

His heart swelled with emotions he thought he would never want to feel.

And only then did he feel like he was more than just Thomas's logic.

—
2:15pm