6:12pm

I live in Britain

Trigger warning: Neglectful parents

Au
—

"I agreed to switch lives for a break - it seems I get bombarded more as you" Logan spoke as soon as he met up with Roman before school started. The boy looked up from his phone, grinning when he saw the boy he was so alike. "Hello to you too, Nerd"

"Do not start, prep. Come on, let's change clothes"

With that, the two hurried to the bathrooms where they quickly changed into the clothing the other had worn. Logan adjusted his tie, fixed his glasses and sighed out in relief once he was standing in front of the mirror, hair styled to perfection. Roman was currently washing the gel from his own hair, instead of drying it leaving it wet and slicked back, tugging on his favourite brown, red and white jacket overtop his red t-shirt Logan had decided to wear to give to Roman.

"I always catch a break in my home" Roman commented, finally carrying on their started conversation. "'Tis why I added sound proofing to my room, surely you must have noticed it" he carried on, cocking an eyebrow and turning to the nerdy student once he had finished styling his look for that day.

"I suppose..." he sighed, fixing his bag on his shoulders. "But Belle would not leave me alone" he added on solemnly, Roman tapping his chin and humming in thought. "You must've agreed to her demands - ignore her, she loses interest pretty quickly" Roman shrugged, gesturing towards the door. After a moment, Logan tailed after the brightly dressed boy who suggested they meet up during lunch before he strode down the hallway towards his class.

Throughout the day, the two had obtained many comments from different students about their appearance - the teachers even asked the head teacher to see if they were twins! Although, they weren't, even if Roman would love for it to be true. Secretly, Logan wished that was the case, too.

After school, they followed the same routine as yesterday - change in the cubicles, get into the others car, and drive to their home. Although, Roman did give some advice to the nerd, in his room on the top shelf in his closet was a small box filled with a few keys. The one with the purple key ring opened the door to the attic which was completely silent to the noises from downstairs - on the left side was home to a large, dark wooden glossy desk Logan could do his work on.

And when Logan arrived at Roman's home, he planned to do just that. 

Like yesterday, he was nearly deafened by the yells. Today, the two twins weren't fighting, instead they were breaking the others toys' while their parents ordered them to stop - but they wouldn't listen. Logan wanted to go upstairs and do his homework, but the more he listened to their screams, the more he felt inclined to help - groaning, he marched straight into the room and grabbed Tristan by his arm, yanking up him from the ground to give the boy a pointed look.

Tristan's curses caught in his throat when he realised his 'older brother' had stepped in - usually Roman always left them alone, in fact the boy was rarely here. "Leave your sister alone. Annie, leave your brother alone, too. If you cannot behave around each other, we will have to split you two up until you can. Come with me" he spoke to Tristan, leading the boy out of the room and upstairs into his own. Closing the door, he glared at Tristan who crossed his arms and pouted.

"Annie started it" he muttered, making Logan tut and roll his eyes.

"Whoever started it is just as immature as the other - if Annie did start it, you should have ended it and vice versa. Now, you stay in here, I will send Annie to her room and you can help me clean" Logan demanded in a stern tone that brook no argument, but Tristan tried anyway.

"But-"

"Do you wish to be grounded?"

That silenced the boy who stomped his foot and sat stubbornly on Roman's bed. After a brief moment, Logan rushed down the staircase, spotting Annie looking all smug on the couch while plopping some candy into her mouth. "Annie. Room. Now" Logan ordered, flicking the television off as he did. The girl's jaw slacked, almost ready to hit the floor.

"What-!?"

"You and Tristan made this mess" he gestured across the room, "and you both will face the consequences. Room" he growled, pointing up the staircase. Annie spluttered, but with another warning look from her older brother, she cried out and left her candy scattered across the ground as she stood up in a huff, stormed off to her room, and slammed the door shut so loudly Logan could almost see the walls reverberate.

"Tristan!" He yelled, not a moment later the boy appeared on the balcony of the second floor, his anger once present on his face had faded into a pout. Logan clicked his tongue and sighed, leading him to the living room where he motioned across the floor, telling Tristan to pick up one side of the room while he would do the other. The twin was surprised, he thought he would have to do it all - he guessed it was more of a pleasant surprise, really.

Not half an hour later, the room looked spotless, and Tristan was actually smiling, something Logan hadn't seen before then. "Now" Logan sat him down, kneeling on the carpeted ground before him. "Who really started the fight?" Tristan wanted to lie, tell him it was all Annie's fault, but in the end he gave up and confessed the truth.

"She stole my teddy..." he murmured meekly, pulling out a small teddy that fit in his palm perfectly. It was missing an arm, white stuffing pushing it's way out. In his other hand, he revealed the arm that Annie had supposedly ripped off - Logan didn't realise how much this small object meant to the young boy who looked ready to cry. "So I stole hers back..." he shrugged, "then it turned into a war...I'm..." he cleared his throat, clenching his doe-eyes shut for a moment. "I'm sorry.." he managed a whisper, hands clenching around the teddy.

"It is alright...I can get this fixed for you, would you like that?" At the prospect, Tristan nodded hurriedly, pushing the teddy into Logan's hands. "Do you think you can talk to your sister?" He hesitated a moment, slowly shaking his head. "Can you talk to her first? Please?" Logan nodded and stood up, allowing him to watch tv for all his hard work, - although, he turned down the volume before leaving.

Upstairs, he left the teddy in his bag, knowing Virgil was actually really handy when it came to sewing. He just hoped the man could fix it.

"Annie? May I come in?" He requested after knocking on her door.

"Yes" she replied back, but she sounded harsh. Logan straightened up and headed in, closing the door behind him. He spotted her sitting on the ground, fixing the dolls that had their heads ripped off by Tristan. Kneeling beside her, he slowly picked one up and helped her fix them until they were all neatly put away in their pink box.

"Tristan was very upset about his teddy" Logan clarified, watching as Annie's face morphed with slight guilt, but still overpowered with anger. "So? He's such a brat-"

"That is no way to speak about your sibling" Logan snapped coldly, slowly leaning over to grab her hand softly when she flinched. "I am sure having a twin can come with it's hardships, but if both of you stopped fighting, you will see the potential of having someone so close" after a moment, he stood up, bringing Annie up with him.

"Your grounding is over, but if I hear a peep out of either of you, neither will leave their room for the rest of the evening. Understood?" Annie nodded and disappeared down the stairs, leaving Logan to stand in her empty room, finally able to understand all of his actions. How did he find it so easy to slip into the persona of an older brother? He's always been an only child, and this is the first time he's actually dealt with a child - more than one child, in fact. Especially ones who were acting up.

Even if those thoughts whirled around in his mind, what he wanted to know was where were their parents during this. Closing Annie's door, he headed down the staircase, glancing in the living room to see Annie and Tristan sitting on opposite couches, Lara and Belle sitting on the couch Annie was. Everyone was silent, staring at the tv that had definitely increased in volume.

Logan grabbed the controller and turned it down - although that made them all glance at him, they didn't feel it in them to argue, so they allowed it. In the room over, he found Venessa and Phineas making dinner together - from the smell, Logan new it was fish and chips. He watched them move in the doorway, happy smiles on each of their faces as they glided by each other, sharing a gentle conversation while often exchanging kisses.

"Annie and Tristan are both settled" he clarified, but neither looked over. He clenched his jaw, crossing his arms. "Venessa? Phineas?" Finally, the two adults reluctantly looked over.

"Yeah, Ro?" Venessa sighed, "I said, Annie and Tristan are-" before he could finish the two adults fell into a conversation once more. Throwing his hands up, he turned around and gave up. Following Roman's suggestion, he grabbed a key from the box and hid himself away in the attic while periodically opening the door to see if anyone was acting up. Sometimes, he heard raises of voices, but it was mainly over what they wanted to watch on tv, so Logan left it, allowing them to sort it out between them.

Throughout the course of the evening, Logan had finished his homework and online studies. By the time he was leaving the attic, there was chaos again. Checking the time, he realised why;

It was bed time.

Leaving his stuff in Roman's room, he first traveled down the staircase to the crib, scooping up Venus who was thankfully fast asleep. Gently, through the nightmare the children were causing, he left her in her room, grabbing a spare baby monitor to carry around in case she began acting up. Then, he moved onto Lara who luckily wasn't causing any hassle at all. She was sitting on the couch, thumb in mouth, large eyes glued to the screen.

"Bed time, Lara"

The girl looked up at 'Roman', cocking her head for a few moments before nodding and holding both arms outstretched towards him. With a warmth blossoming in his chest, Logan scooped her up and carried her to her room, helping her change into her pyjamas before allowing her to brush her teeth. He didn't realise how much he would enjoy being the older brother - but he knew it definitely wasn't something he wanted to get used to. Although it was satisfying, tucking Lara into bed, watching her plop her thumb into her mouth and fall asleep, he didn't think he could carry on forever.

Next, he found Belle in the play room, all her toys lined up on the carpeted ground. "Bedtime, Belle" Logan called, which made her pause and turn around with narrowed eyes. "No!" She whined, stomping her foot harshly. "I don't need sleep!"

"Every human needs sleep - otherwise your brain cannot function properly. You will begin to hallucinate, and not even a week later you will start to die" From his words, he noticed the fear that fell across her expression, and he did feel bad at first - but then he realised this was one way to get to her. "You do not want to die, do you?" She hurriedly shook her head and allowed Logan to hold her hand while taking her up the stairs.

She changed, brushed her teeth - after Logan informed her what would happen if she didn't - and tucked her into bed. "Turn on the night light" she demanded before he could leave, but Logan didn't, he stood in the doorway, hand hesitating over the light-switch.

"No"

"What? Why!?"

"What is the magic word?"

She huffed. "Please.."

Nodding his head curtly, he turned on the nightlight, then left. Now, the twins, then he would check on Marshall, possibly try and talk to the parents one more time, and go to sleep himself.

The two weren't fighting, although neither were asleep. They were both in their separate rooms playing with their toys. It didn't take much persuading from Logan for them to listen to his rules. He awarded them each with separate things - Tristan was allowed to sleep with more teddies if he followed Logan's rules, and Annie was allowed to bring candy into school if she did, too. It worked, and before ten o'clock struck, the children were in bed, asleep.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, he hopped up the second staircase, finding himself standing in front of Marshall's room - currently, the only sibling he hasn't talked to as of yet. He instinctively reached up to straighten his tie, but when he realised he wasn't wearing it, he opted for crossing one arm over his chest, the other knocking on the bedroom door. He repeated this action, but stepped in when he realised he wasn't getting an answer.

Marshall was sprawled across his bed, headphones on, eyes lazily staring at the screen as he moved his character around. He noticed the movement from the corner of his eye and lolled his head to the side, perking up when he realised it was 'Roman'. Pausing his game, he slid off his headphones, sending him a polite smile. "Hey, Ro...what's up?" He asked after a brief moment of silence.

Logan had to think for a moment - this was presumably the only sibling that truly knew Roman and as he was older was going to be more observant. This was where he had to try and act like his friend. Clearing his throat, he shrugged lightly. "Oh, nothing, just being the best older brother in the world" he forcefully grinned coyly, flopping beside the fourteen year old on the bed.

He giggled lightly, instantly resting his head on his chest, reaching for his remote again. Logan wanted to stop him and tell him it was time he should turn the game off but a sudden thought struck him - Marshall was falling into the same place he- Roman was. The older the child became, the less attention is put on them. Marshall spends all his time in his room - so he must feel the same neglect Roman feels. If the eccentric boy feels upset by it at all. And, like Roman told him, he barely stays around his house during the day, Marshall must not get this treatment often.

So...a little longer wouldn't hurt.

Logan wrapped a stiff arm around Marshall's body, and the boy hummed in content shuffling further against Logan's warm body. He didn't know what to do at first, but the more he watched the screen, the more he subconsciously relaxed until both arms were loosely coiled around Marshall's body and his lower face was pressed into the top of the boy's head. Marshall had also fallen asleep, the room soon falling into darkness once the console shut off by itself.

While Logan had quite the eventful afternoon, Roman had a comforting one.

Arriving home, his heart filled with adoration once he heard Patton call 'hey, Kiddo!' From the kitchen. Acting like Logan wasn't too difficult at the best of times - but when Patton acted like such a sweetheart, he had such a hard time holding back his gleeful grins. Tonight, Patton was cooking up a roast, and Roman didn't particularly want to stay in Logan's room - so, picking up his homework, he sat at the table Virgil was lounging on, catching his attention.

"Hey, Lo" he murmured, head in his arms. "Salutations, Virgil" Roman replied stoically, now regretting his choices of doing homework, because he was sure Logan wouldn't stop working because he was bored - this was quite possibly his favourite pass time! Oh well, he was always handing in homework late before, this was sure to bring him on top of it all. So, for the next hour he busied himself with the not-too-hard work. Sometimes, Virgil could strike up conversation, but Roman never found it hard replying in something Logan would say - besides the conversations were usually short lived, as Virgil didn't like to talk for long periods of time.

Other times, Patton would whizz on by, giving Roman brief hugs from behind every so often. Each time, though, Roman would lean into it and send him a tiny, appreciative smile. Patton would grin like a giddy child back, moving onto his husband who he usually showered with affection and love - Roman couldn't help but watch, especially when Virgil blushed and quietly whined for him to stop. Roman thought it was the cutest! His parents do similar things, but whenever he looks at them, all he sees are people who let him live in their house. Not family.

Does he see Patton and Virgil as family?

Would it be weird of he said yes...?

He finished the homework just in time. As soon as he put it all away in his bag, a plate of steaming, mouth watering food was placed before him. Not remembering to hide away upstairs, he almost ravished the food, stopping himself when he realised Logan would do nothing of the sort. Picking up his knife and fork, he delicately and politely cut it up into smaller chunks and placed them into his mouth, swallowing a moan of delight at the sweet flavours scattering across his tongue.

"So, how was your day, Kiddo?" Patton started up conversation, head cocked in a questioning manner. Luckily, Roman had time to think as he still had food in his mouth. "It was adequate. I...even made a new friend" he decided to indulge down this path, seeing where it would end him. The statement made Patton sit up and glow, eyes sparkling in wonder and curiosity.

"You did?! Oo! I'm so proud of you, Kiddo! What're they like? What's their name?" He bombarded in a flurry, making Virgil chuckle under his breath and side eye 'Logan'. "His name is Roman, he is boisterous, eccentric, rather annoying, but bearable to be around. He acts as if the whole world is his stage to perform on - never taking things quite too seriously, but once getting to know him I have come to terms with that, and at times he can be rather...sweet" he concluded, everything he said from comments other people had made about him in the past.

"He sounds wonderful! Maybe you could bring him around?"

Ah shit. Lie, lie, need a lie! Make up an excuse you idiot! "Ah, even if he is quite the extrovert, I do not think he will be entirely comfortable meeting you two as of yet. Maybe in two weeks?" He suggested off the fly, almost fist pumping the air when the two agreed, seemingly buying into his lie. Afterwards, the two turned to each other and began to converse like a couple in love- which was what they were. Roman finished not too long later, quickly washing and leaving his plate and cutlery to dry. While walking by, he gave Patton a quick hug from behind.

"Thank you" he whispered quietly and left.

Later that afternoon Roman was bored out his mind. All his friends told him to stop texting him - if he wanted to talk, he should meet up with them in real life. He had a choice to go on the computer, text Logan, or go see what Patton and Virgil was doing. After some contemplation, he went for the latter, and left his room to go downstairs.

On the couch sat the couple who had a warm, brown fuzzy blanket wrapped around their bodies, eyes watching the start of the Disney movie on their screen. Roman grinned but quickly slapped a hand over it - he couldn't help it - he loved this movie!

"Hey, Logy" Patton whispered, spotting his son in the doorway. "Wanna watch?"

Do I!? He felt the urge to reply with, instead he cleared his throat and nodded his head. "I would love to" Patton shifted from his position to sit up, patting the spot beside him. Roman walked over, noticing the gap between the two men open and inviting. He tugged off his tie, left it on the coffee table, and sat himself between the two males who chuckled at his choice in seating.

"Is this okay?" He decided to ask, but when he was wrapped up in the blanket and cuddled to from either side, he melted into a puddle and relaxed into their welcoming embraces immediately. Tingles sparked through his body, and slowly his legs drew up to his chest, both arms wrapped around one dad, head resting on Virgil's shoulder, Patton's body resting on his side.

That's when he wanted to cry again - it was so overwhelming to be cradled by two people. Yes, two people he barely knew, but in that moment he felt loved, even if it was all directed at Logan, he felt like he had parents who cared for him - for two weeks, he was going to be treated like a son, and not just some boy that lives in the same house.

And, with the feeling of protection spreading through every inch of his body, he slowly eased into a restful slumber, one of the nicest nights rests he's had in years.

—

Awh, Roman bby

7:59pm