TW: Drowning, brief caps lock, general fluffiness.

Virgil wholeheartedly believed for a few moments that he was legitimately going to pass out right at the edge of the water. He was shaking out of his skin, bare chested, staring at the water for signs of life.

No no no no no no nonononono-

There! An arm popped out of the water! Virgil's eyes darted over to the movement and he watched with heavy breaths as Patton swam over to the edge of the beach. "Dad!" He cried, rushing into the water and pulling Patton up from the lingering waves.

Patton was most definitely not okay with this. "Virgil! Verge- oH V-" He threw himself into Virgil's arms and hugged into Virgil's chest tightly. They were both trembling in tandem and words tumbled freely from Patton's mouth.

"He was there and we were playing and then he was just gone and the water was pulling me and I-"

Virgil pulled Patton into his chest and silenced him with some hair petting. "Shhh Dad. Logan's going out to get Roman." At least this gave him something to focus on other than the raging anxiety flooding his system.

Patton curled his fists against Virgil's back and inhaled raggedly, then opened his mouth a little and softly began to cry. He was scared for Roman. The look of pure fear on his face left Patton shaken and cold. He was so glad that Virgil was holding him so tightly to his chest. That support was the only thing keeping him from crumbling right into the waves that lapped at their ankles.

Logan squinted through the water, his eyes burning. He'd need eye drops when they returned home. With powerful strokes, he glided through the turbulent water, searching methodically for his creative counterpart. Where was he? The ocean was endless. Could he even find Roman on his own?

He spotted a flicker of red out of the corner of his eye and turned quickly, propelling himself towards it. It was Roman, and thank god, he seemed to have summoned a life jacket to stay above the waves before passing out.

Logan grabbed the life jacket and began to slowly and steadily tug the unconscious side back to shore. It took what felt like forever as the waves worked both for Logan and against him. He had to stop and rest for a few moments and make sure Roman's head didn't slip below the surface. Eventually, Logan made it back to the beach and dragged Roman up. He laid his body on the sand and knelt down to de-manifest the jacket, giving Logan the ability to listen to Roman's chest and check his pulse. Thank goodness his heartbeat was still strong.

A pit opened up in Logan's stomach and he grimaced. He was the one that forced Roman to come to the beach, even when he knew of Roman's fear of water and the horrible occasion during which he'd acquired this fear. Damn. What had he done?

Logan pushed aside his guilt for the moment and focused on taking care of Roman. He lifted him up bridal style and settled him against his chest. Nice and comfortable. Roman was quite heavy with his very well defined musculature. Logan walked slowly across the beach back towards Vigil. He was extremely grateful to see Patton clutched to the anxious Side's chest. Relief flooded through his chest and he made his way over to the pair.

The moment Patton spotted Logan holding Roman in his arms, he broke away and ran over, openly crying with his arms outstretched. He scrambled across the sand and stopped short right in front of Logan. "Roman? Roman! Oh mY- is he dEAD?!" His hands fluttered over Roman's body uselessly, as if he could find the right place to press his palms in order to bring Roman back to life.

Logan shook his head. "He merely fainted after summoning a life jacket. He is alright, but I believe he should rest." Logan knelt down and placed Roman on the sand in front of Patton, who followed him to the ground. Logan turned away a little and looked back to their chairs and abandoned clothes strewn across the beach.

Virgil trudged over, doing his best to calm his shaking. His hair fell squarely over his face and now that the danger was past he felt extremely vulnerable without a shirt. He knelt with Patton and put an arm around his shoulders. "Hey. He'll be fine. Trust Lo." He rubbed Patton's back and the fatherly trait settled his hands on Roman's chest, breathing deeply and nodding.

Logan couldn't look at either of them. He hadn't experienced shame like this in years. Why was his face burning so much? Had Deceit somehow managed to deposit a snake inside his chest? He felt like his insides were crawling.

His musings were interrupted when a harsh coughing emanated from Roman. Patton squealed and flopped himself onto Roman's chest.

"Roman! You're okay! Oh thank the dishwasher gods!" He felt like crying again, he was so relieved. He never wanted to lose his right brain partner, not ever!

Virgil breathed a heavy sigh and pulled on Patton's shoulder a little. "Let him breathe, Pat." Patton got the message and nodded, sitting up. He wiped a few quick tears from his eyes and leaned on Virgil for support.

Logan cleared his throat and stood. "Uhm..." he really needed to remove himself from this situation. His guts felt the urge to turn themselves inside out and no one wanted that right now. "Why don't we collect our belongings and go home? I will help Roman to the car if you two can collect the chairs and umbrella."

Patton sniffled and nodded. He and Virgil stood and started to make their way back to the chairs. Virgil picked up his hoodie and shirt as they went, putting them back on. Oh good, now he wasn't practically naked by the ocean. He leaned over and wrapped his arm around Patton's shoulder. They both comforted each other, which was much needed right now.

Logan knelt by Roman once again and slid an arm under his shoulder to sit him up. The prince groaned and weakly batted Logan away. "Get off, iBoy. C'n do it myself."

Logan winced. Roman's anger was quite clear. He eased off and watched as Roman sat up all the way. Points to the Prince for being stronger than he looked, even in his weakest state.

Roman covered up the tiny trembles in his hands. He immediately reached up and snapped on fresh, dry clothes for himself and Logan. "Okay, let's get out of here, I have had my fill of disaster, no thanks to you." He managed to stand on wobbly legs and turn around, following Virgil and Patton up the beach.

As Roman passed Logan, he growled softly, "Never do that to me again."

Logan stood and sighed. He really messed up, didn't he. Usually, he would brush it off with only mild disappointment. However, this time he had emotions to contend with, and he didn't particularly like it.

~🌨~

Everyone was thoroughly exhausted by the time they got home. Patton and Virgil fell asleep in the back seat, and Roman's muscles felt quite loose and shaky. He still didn't feel like looking at Logan or talking to him, so their ride back had been silent and somber.

Logan parked the car in the driveway and hustled around the back. He opened the door and undid Virgil's seatbelt, then gently lifted him out of his seat and carried him into the house without disturbing his rest. He walked up the stairs to Virgil's room and set him down on his bed, tucking him in. After Logan's emotions returned, he found himself being drawn more and more to taking care of the others and providing for them when they needed him.

Currently, he was very aware of the fact that the pit in his stomach only grew as the silent treatment from Roman became more apparent. It made him quite uneasy and he wasn't sure what he could do to remedy the situation.

He returned to the car and went around for Patton this time. He tenderly lifted his counterpart from the back and began to carry him in. Logan was somewhat surprised by the fact that he was so enthralled by Patton's small sundress-wrapped form in his arms. Logan could count every little freckle if he wanted to. And Patton had the lips of a child. No matter how he aged, they always remained red, soft, and smooth. Logan made an inner remarke on their texture every time Patton skipped by him in the hallway and blew him a kiss or pressed a small smooch to his cheek.

Just thinking about those moments now made his face flush with heat. Perhaps he'd contracted a cold. He needed to take his temperature once everyone was situated and resting peacefully. Just as he finished mounting the stairs and headed to Patton's room, the moral trait in his arms stirred and gave Logan one of the most adorable yawns in history- wait, when did Logan start think that way?

"...mnh... Lo? What're you doin'?" he asked softly, pressing his face into Logan's chest. He sniffed Logan's shirt and sighed happily. Logan smelled like fresh ocean air with hints of mint, which Patton found absolutely perfect. Patton's heart did little happy flip-flops in his chest when he realized that Logan was carrying him.

OhgoodnessLoganwasholdinghiminhisarmshewassostrongpraisethecookiegodsHeWasBeingCarriedByALiteralAngel-

Oblivious of Patton's thought stream, Logan was dealing with his own turmoil. He caught himself before he could make some kind of embarrassing "error" noise. Why was Patton looking at him like that? He was so cute and sleepy, and he was looking at Logan with hecking starry eyes, sheesh. Logan was blushing hard under the gaze. "I am carrying you into your room, Patton. You fell asleep in the car."

Patton made a soft oh face and nodded, then settled against Logan's chest again. Who knew when he'd get another chance like this. Patton froze the moment in time and stored the memory in his Important Memories chest. No way would he let this feeling slip away from him. Logan set him down in his incredibly soft bed and snapped some soft, dry pajamas onto him. Logan pulled the covers up and Patton snuggled into them, sighing happily. Nice and warm.

"Sleep well, Patton." Logan wouldn't wake him for dinner. They'd all endured enough for today. He could at least make some toast for everyone.

Patton smiled into his pillow and mumbled, "Love you, Lo." In just a few seconds he was out like a light again.

Patton said "I love you" to all the Sides, and he did it quite often. Logan never even considered the possibility that the moral trait's feelings for him were romantic in nature. Right now he was much more concerned with the sensation of warmth that spread through his chest when Patton said those sleepy words to him. His illness must've been progressing quickly. He made a mental note to get a good night's rest tonight.

He turned and exited the room, returning to the car one last time for Roman.

The Prince was decidedly uninterested in receiving Logan's help. He prefered not to talk to Logan if he could help it. However, despite several valiant attempts, he could not dismount from his seat in the car without feeling like his whole body was about to turn to jello, and that was a problem he could not solve by himself.

When Logan returned, he didn't make eye contact with Roman or try to speak to him. Thank the heavens Logan was receiving his message loud and clear. Roman slung his arm over Logan's shoulders and grunted, heaving himself up out of the seat. With great difficulty, they made it into the house and up the stairs to Roman's room. Roman held onto his door frame and gave Logan a very pointed now-go-away-I-don't-need-you look.

Logan received the message, removing his shoulder from under Roman's arm and muttering, "Goodbye," before heading to his own room.

Roman entered his chambers and headed right for bed, flopping down into the red duvet. Perfect. Now he could just sleep and cool off. Thank goodness Logan could withstand his anger, being so unemotional and stone faced all the time. Roman would admit some of his actions and words today were a little harsh... perhaps he would apologize to Logan later. He was still mad at the moment. He could sleep it off.

Logan went to his own room and sat down in his chair. He sighed deeply and put his head in his hands. This was terrible. He'd messed everything up. He knew that Roman was terrified of water, yet he pushed him to accompany him... and then things went wrong and he was to blame.

He must have sat there in his chair for over an hour, recalling everything he said and did leading up to that fateful moment. His eyes were red and irritated from the ocean water, but he made no effort to take proper care of them. There was enough swimming around in his head at the moment.

Eventually he decided to stop wallowing and do something about the situation. Assertive communication was the logical solution at the moment. He got up from his chair and exited his room. Perhaps he could bring Roman a peace offering? Logan went downstairs and quickly made a cup of herbal tea. Hopefully Roman would actually take it...

Roman drifted in and out of sleep. Every time he descended into dream land he was met with swirling pools of water. They dragged him down down down into the freezing cold. He clawed and paddled his way up to the surface- it was useless! A huge icy wall blocked his escape. His lungs burned and he scrabbled at the ice until he was forced to inhale-

Gasping awake for the third time in an hour, Roman groaned and turned over in bed. Ugh. How horrible. He was surprised that Virgil didn't wake with the levels of anxiety Roman exuded. It was a sign of the anxious trait's exhaustion. Roman grumbled into his pillow and closed his eyes to try and sleep again. Stupid sleep. Stupid mood. Stupid water. Stupid Logan.

Oh great, now someone was knocking on the door. Three guesses who, and two of them didn't count. Roman sat up and quickly fixed his hair, then called, "Enter!"

Logan took a deep breath and turned the elegant golden door knob, letting the door swing open easily. "Salutations, Roman," he said quietly, making his way through Roman's room over to the bed. "I see you still have an unnecessary amount of floor to ceiling mirrors."

Roman rolled his eyes and eyed the cup in Logan's hand. "If that's tea, leave it on my bedside table and go." Just get this social encounter over so he can get proper beauty sleep.

Logan set the cup down and turned to leave. He got halfway to the door before stopping in the middle of Roman's room. No. He came here to talk, not be pushed away. He turned back to Roman. The pang in his gut was almost unbearable. "Roman, I would like to apologize for what happened today. Had I known what would happen, I would not have pressured you into coming."

Well, that was a nice apology, and usually Roman would accept it and move on, but hell, he almost died. He wasn't going to let that go. He huffed and flung the covers off of him in his usual dramatic fashion. Standing, he made his way over to Logan with obvious anger in his face. "Logan, this requires more than a simple apology. You cannot come into my room and expect me to be all, 'yay, sunshine and rainbows! He apologized so now I can be happy and carefree again!' because that's not fair."

Logan's jaw dropped open. "Excuse me? What exactly do you expect me to do, Roman? I have admitted to my mistake." He balled his fists, letting his nails dig roughly into the beds of his palms.

Roman mocked Logan's clueless expression and cried, "'I've admitted my mistake!' Yeah, because that makes it all better. I was swept away, Logan!"

"I know!" Logan shouted, gritting his teeth. His chest hurt and tears threatened the corners of his saltwater-abused eyes.

"-And Patton was left stranded out there! How could you keep Virgil on the shore?! What if Patton had died in a whirlpool or something?!"

"Roman, Virgil wouldn't have been of any help! He would have-"

"Fixed the situation? Yeah, great deduction Watson-"

"How dare you! I am much smarter-"

"Smart enough to swim out into the ocean to save your own reputation and be the hero-"

"I saved your life!" Logan cried, his voice wavering dangerously.

"I COULD HAVE DIED!" Roman shouted, leveling a burning gaze in Logan's direction.

Logan screwed his eyes shut tight and clamped his hands over his mouth. The distinct feeling of a large stone sinking in his chest overtook Logan and his shoulders hunched forward. He shuddered intermittently, trying his absolute hardest to shut off any emotional weakness and failing miserably. Water leaked from the corners of his windows to the soul. How fitting.

Everything in Roman's mind screeched to a halt and he stared for a few seconds. Logan went from shouting to silenced in a second. The Prince had never seen such a dramatic change in the logical trait. What happened? Was he sick? Maybe nauseated? Perhaps he'd developed some obscure disease from the ocean water- oh.

It clicked.

Logan was crying.

"Oh Logan..." what had he done? Roman closed the gap between them and pulled Logan into his chest. "Breathe, Logan. Shh... everything is alright now. I'm here. I'm still alive." He guided them over to the bed and sat down, keeping Logan close and rubbing his back comfortingly. How could he have missed this? Roman was so caught up in his own rage that he didn't realize Logan's feelings could be so thoroughly hurt. Logan didn't look like the composed, logical trait Roman knew. Logan was quivering in his arms, wracked with silent sobs, completely shattered. How... horrible.

Eventually, Logan couldn't hold his torrent of emotions in any longer. His hands fell away from his face and wrapped around Roman's midsection. He cried loudly and with much relief. It'd been over a decade since he cried like this. Or since he even felt anything this strong. Having a comforting, warm presence protecting him was a tremendous asset. This lasted for about ten minutes before his sobs finally calmed into sad sniffles. Roman kept rubbing his back and whispering soothing words into his ear.

"Do you want to lie down?" Roman asked softly. If it meant Logan feeling better, he was willing to share his bed with the logical trait.

Logan nodded and breathed deeply. Expelling so much emotion was entirely draining and he was bone tired. He needed some time to recuperate and reinstall his carefully numbed emotional state.

Roman eased them back into bed and rearranged the covers with his powers. There. Now they were encased in soft, warm blankets. Roman curled around Logan's body and rubbed his hair soothingly, letting the logical trait relax completely in his arms.

Logan breathed a long, heavy sigh and let the tension in his muscles ebb away. He was safe and warm, with Roman protecting him. Roman was alive. He was still here, alive and breathing. Logan didn't need to take care of anything now. He didn't have to be uptight and controlling. He could just sleep peacefully and forget what worries were.

Patton yawned and padded out of his room, wearing his cat onesie with his cat hoodie over it because, ahem, perfect combination of cat aesthetic in his opinion. He was making his way down the hallway towards the stairs so he could go down to the kitchen and begin making dinner. He paused when he noticed Roman's open door. He was a Curious Catton... Roman didn't usually leave his door open for all to see inside. He tiptoed over to the empty frame and poked his head inside.

"Aww..." he said softly. That was way too cute. Logan and Roman were snuggling in bed and it was the purrest thing he'd ever seen. Patton manifested his phone and took a few Quick Pics™ for his memory chest. Purrfect. Now, for dinner.

He was feeling like fish.