Kids are adorable as heck and I love them, but I don't want any. I don't even know why, because I love kids, I really do. And kids love me.

I guess I've had enough from parenting my two brothers.

Warnings: small mention of blood, (it's just a scratch from falling), swearing

There are many time skips lol

--

"We should get back soon, shouldn't we?" Patton said, with a hint of sadness in his voice. Roman took that as a good sign, that meant Patton had had fun, and that was what Roman had hoped for. He had after all brought Patton along to the imagination because the both of them were bored and wanted to do something exciting.

"I suppose so. We did promise we would be back before lunch, and we wouldn't want to worry our dear Virgil." He said. It'd be mean to cause Virgil to worry over nothing, so he tried to always be back a little before the time he said he would. Once he'd been a few hours late, and Virgil had almost worried himself sick, he wouldn't want to repeat that.

So they started to make their way towards the door that would take them back to the mindscape. Patton was listening attentively as Roman described his latest video idea, something that Roman appreciated greatly. Patton was surprisingly good at giving him valuable feedback and tips. They worked well together, at least according to Roman.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark clad figure appeared. It stood maybe seven meters away from them, and Roman immediately recognized him, he'd recognize him anywhere. Roman grabbed the handle of his sword, staring at the figure with a grimly grimace.

"Patton, I don't want to alarm you, but stay behind me. I'll handle this." Roman said cautiously, standing in front of Patton with his sword in his hands. He raised it, the sharpened edge pointing towards the dark figure that stood in front of them. Patton gripped Roman's shoulders, peeking at the dragon witch, and Roman pretended he couldn't feel how Patton's hands shook.

"Well, well, what do we have here," the dragon witch said with a twisted smile, one that Roman had seen many times before, a smile that never meant something good, "Roman, I see you brought a friend this time. Isn't that double the fun."

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Patton." Roman hissed and raised his sword, preparing to go to attack if the dragon with as much as initiated that he was moving closer to them.

"Oh, I won't need to do that." His grin widened.

"Finally, you're going to regret ever inconveniencing me." The dragon witch sneered a second later, then beginning to mumble something under his breath. Too late Roman realized he was using one of his spells, and then the dragon witch stood quiet, smiling evilly as if he was waiting for something to happen. Suddenly it looked as if the dragon witch was growing, becoming a giant. But he quickly realized he was wrong, because everything around them were bigger than it used to be.

With a yelp of chock he realized they were both a lot smaller than they usually were. Then he didn't have time to think of that any more, because the dragon witch suddenly seemed so much more terrifying than he had before, and Patton looked like he was about to cry. The dragon witch cursed under his breath and glared angrily at them, maybe things hadn't gone according to plan, but it was not very comforting to Roman at the moment.

"Patton, run!" Roman shrieked, grabbing the other sides small hand with his own. Together they ran, as fast as they could, towards the forest that was located only a hundred meters away or so. The dragon with did not seem to be following them, maybe he thought it pointless to do so when two small kids wouldn't survive alone for long anyway.

They found a big shrubbery, that seemed suitable enough to hide in, and they crawled in between the branches and the leaves. Inside of the bushes were an opening, the bushes grew like a circle, making an empty space in the middle, a perfect hiding place. There they sat down and caught their breath, silently waiting and listening, scared that the dragon witch might still be after them.

"Roman, why are we ...children?" Patton asked quietly after several minutes of silence. Roman hadn't got a clue why they were kids, or what the purpose of it was, at the moment he was just glad that they had escaped the dragon witch and that their clothes had shrunk with their bodies.

"I don't know." He admitted, finding it strange how light the voice he spoke with was. Patton's lower lip began to tremble. "The dragon witch must have used one of his spells on us. But I'm fairly sure he used the wrong one, the dragon witch isn't one to leave people uninjured."

"I'm scared." Patton admitted sheepishly. Roman was scared too, but he didn't want to tell Patton that.

"I'll protect you!" Roman exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Patton in a protecting way. Patton let out a shaky giggle and clung onto Roman.

"Thank you." Then they sat silently for another while, Roman still hugged Patton closely, pretending that it was to protect Patton, not because he was scared and it was calming to hug him.

"How old do you think we are?" Roman then asked Patton, who just shrugged and let out a restless sigh.

"I don't know, I'm bored. Play with me please!" He begged, looking at Roman hopefully. Roman grinned at him, that was a wonderful idea, and he was no longer scared, the fear was drowned out by boredom from sitting down for several minutes doing nothing.

"I'm bored too, I would love to play something! Do you wanna play tag? I'll start being it." He suggested, and Patton nodded quickly. Then he stood up and ran, and Roman ran after him excitedly, their fears forgotten as they happily sprinted through the forest, chasing each other and shrieking with laughter.

--

"Hey Lo, shouldn't Patton and Roman be back now? It is soon 11 and they promised they'd be back half past ten." He mumbled, making Logan look up from the newspaper he was reading. The logical trait hummed, checking his watch.

"That is correct, they should have been back half an hour ago." He said, confirming Virgil's worries.

"What if something had happened to them?" He said, thinking of everything that could have possibly gone wrong. There could be anything in the imagination. They could have drowned in a lake, fallen down a cliff, met the dragon witch. Hell, there were probably wild animals there too. Anything could have happened to them.

"I am sure they are alright, they are both adults, they can take care of themselves," Logan glanced at Virgil, who still felt just as worried, "but if you want to then we can go and look for them."

Virgil nodded, helping Logan up from the couch.Thankfully the door to the imagination stood open still, and he dragged Logan with him through it. They found themselves standing on a big field, a forest nearby, but other than that the field looked to be continuing on forever. Virgil helplessly looked around, how were they possibly supposed to find them here? They could be anywhere as far as they knew.

Then as Virgil turned to Logan to ask what they should do they heard a shriek from the forest. They stared at the woods for several seconds before they both exchanged concerned glances and hurriedly walked towards where they thought the sound had come from. After a few minutes they heard quiet crying, and walking over a little hill they saw two small boys in the grass.

One of them was sitting and holding his arm and it looked like he was the one that was crying, the other one stood and looked like he was trying to console the other child. Virgil recognized the children's clothes and let out a panicked sound, looking at Logan.

"Are those two children who I think they are?" He asked Logan, who was staring at the children with a fearful expression.

"I am afraid so." He said slowly, tearing his gaze away from them to look at Virgil. Logan looked to be just as horrified as Virgil himself felt. They walked a bit closer, Virgil stepped on a branch that loudly snapped, alerting the two boys that they weren't alone. The two of them jumped to their feet and turned around, looking terrified, but quickly relaxing when seeing Logan and Virgil.

"Virgil," Patton screeched and ran towards him, he hugged Virgil's legs, which was as far as he could reach, "we thought it was the dragon witch that came back! But it was just you guys. We got tired of hiding, so we played tag! But then I fell and hurt my arm!"

Patton held his arm up, showing a scratch on it, thankfully it was barely bleeding. "Guys, what happened?!"

"You know what, let's take that when we get back to the mind scape." Logan said, when Roman and Patton began explaining at the same time, loudly babbling about what they had gone through. Virgil glanced at Logan, trying not to freak out over everything that was going on. He lifted Patton up, who was making grabby hands at him, in his arms.

"Hey kiddo." Virgil said with a small smile, making Patton gasp.

"I'm the kiddo now. How the tables have turned..." He said with a small giggle. Virgil just fondly rolled his eyes, Patton was even cuter as a child.

"Let's get back to the mindscape, I don't like it out here." Virgil said, suspiciously looking around and peering in between the trees and bushes. He was scared that whatever had done this to Patton and Roman might still be out there. Or maybe there was something else dangerous out there too. Who knows what could hide in a forest in the imagination?

Logan turned towards Roman, reaching his arms out to pick him up, but Roman jumped back, out of reach from Logan. Virgil didn't care if Roman was carried or not, he just hoped they'd get out of there soon, before anything bad had the time to happen.

"I can walk myself!" Roman said, looking insulted and glaring at the two of them. Neither Virgil nor Logan had the energy to argue, so they let Roman walk. Now and then he glanced at them, especially at Patton, who was still happily being carried by Virgil. He walked beside them in silence for a few more minutes, until he spoke up again while pulling at Logan's shirt.

"I'm tired, carry me?"

Logan sighed with a small smile, picking up the tiny Roman and carrying him the rest of the way to the mindscape. Back in Roman's room they made sure to close the door to the imagination so that nothing potentially dangerous could follow them. Virgil and Logan put the small children down on the couch in the living room, turning the tv on. Both Patton and Roman agreed on Beauty And The Beast, so that was the movie that started to play a moment later.

As soon as the movie started the two tiny traits were transfixed by the tv. Virgil pulled Logan aside into the other room, still having things to freak out over and hoping that Logan might be able to calm him.

"Logan, we're not fitted to take care of small children!" Virgil panicked, as soon as they were out of earshot. He didn't want to worry Patton and Roman. He began summoning stuff to baby proof the mindscape with, young children ran around a lot, what if one of them ran and hit their head against the corner of the table?

"What are we going to do? What does this mean for Thomas? Will they turn back into adults?" Virgil rambled, and Logan watched as he taped foam rubber to sharp edges on tables and other furniture.

"Virgil, calm down. I am not sure I can answer your questions, but I will do my best to find out what this all means. I am going to start by asking Roman and Patton what happened, they seem more than willing to blabber about their adventure." He smiled reassuringly at Virgil, who did not look much calmer.

"Do you think this will affect Thomas?" He then asked again, while reading a paper with instructions for how to install baby proofing on drawers. They had knives and other sharp objects in the kitchen that were within reach for Patton and Roman. That would not stand.

"I do not know, but I would guess that nothing catastrophic will happen. Maybe he will be acting a bit more childishly now, until I find a way to turn Patton and Roman back into their true age. Meanwhile, could you make sure they do not break anything or get themselves hurt?"

"Oh, but don't worry," Logan continued, when Virgil gave him a panicked look, "just make sure a movie is playing, then they will be stuck in front of the tv. And if they get bored of that then bring out some crayons and papers. Text me if there is anything you need or anything you are wondering about, this will only take a few hours of today."

Logan placed his hands on Virgil's shoulders, then standing on the tip of his toes to kiss Virgil's forehead. Small gestures like that always managed to calm him a little. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was because it made him aware of the fact that Logan was there for him and that he loved Virgil. That was something that Virgil sometimes managed to forget.

"I'll do my best to find a solution to this as quick as possible. They still seem to be the same, with all their memories intact, they are just young children." Logan said, looking through the doorway at them as they sat and stared at the screen.

"I think I will ask them what happened later though, they seem to be enjoying the movie right now." And then he hurried back towards his room, no doubt to start researching about what could cause a side to age backwards so quickly. Virgil could practically see him google things furiously while reading his books full of complicated information about the sides.

With a small sigh he turned back towards the living room, joining the small traits on the couch and hoping that Logan wouldn't overwork himself on his way to solve the mystery of the tiny sides.

--

He knocked on Logan's open door, just to let him know that Virgil was there. They had watched through half of Beauty And The Beast before Roman and Patton had started to complain and say that they wanted something to eat.

"Hello dear, do you need my help with anything?" Logan said after he had turned around and saw that it was Virgil who stood in the doorway. Virgil stepped into his room, standing about a meter away from Logan.

"They are saying they're hungry, Logan. How old are they? What do they eat?" He said with a tired sigh and looking at Logan with pleading eyes.

"I'd say that Patton and Roman are around 3 years old, maybe. And why don't you ask them what they want to eat-" Logan might have intended to keep talking, but two small boys jumped out from behind the door and interrupted him.

"PANCAKES!" They yelled, jumping up and down and running around the room with their hands up in the air. Logan stood frozen and looked slightly horrified, but jumped into action when Patton began to look through a stack of papers he had on his desk. He lifted Patton up in the air, making him giggle and drop the documents he was holding onto the floor. He then looked down with a sigh at Roman, who was clinging to his leg.

"Virgil, could you make them pancakes?" Logan said with a pleading look, which Virgil translated as 'get them out of my room this instant'. Virgil did his best to keep a straight face and nodded.

"I'll make lunch, and I'll text you when it's done." He said, hoping that he would be able to cook at the same time as looking after Patton and Roman. He walked up to Logan, bending down and prying Roman off of his leg, lifting the struggling child up in his arms.

"Thank you." Logan said with a clear tone of relief in his voice. Virgil just gave him a quick kiss on his lips as if to say 'you're welcome'.

"Eww." Patton giggled, then allowing Virgil to take him in his arms too. He carried the two small traits out of Logan's room, heading towards the kitchen while marvelling over how heavy the two of them were to carry despite being so small.

--

"Alright guys, who wants to draw some nice drawings?" Virgil said with faked enthusiasm, just wanting them out of the way. They didn't seem to want to continue watching the movie. Cooking was hard, and with two toddlers running through the kitchen and shrieking it was almost impossible. He had almost stumbled over them twice already and was beginning to become irritated with them. He would never understand how actual parents survived.

"ME!" The two of them screeched and Virgil summoned all of the crayons and paper sheets from Patton's room. The two of them immediately became busy with drawing colorful figures and suns and clouds. Roman was drawing a castle, that was clear to see. What Patton was drawing he wasn't sure of yet, there was a lot of bright colors at least.

While glancing back at the small boys now and then, who were sitting on the floor behind him, busy coloring, Virgil began to stir together the batter. The two toddlers were quiet now, deeply concentrated on what they were doing, and Virgil was thankful for the peace and quiet that was so rare in the mindscape. And he suspected that it'd be even rarer while Roman and Patton were literal kids.

"Fuck." Virgil exclaimed a while later, he had dropped a spoon in the pancake batter and it was now no longer visible.

"No swearing!" Patton exclaimed with his light childlike voice, and looked up at Virgil. Virgil found it impressive that Patton was able to speak in a dad-tone while being a child.

"Yeah Virgil, don't swear in front of the kids." Logan said with a chuckle from behind him. Virgil rolled his eyes fondly at Logan's words.

"Hey Lo. Please help them get something to eat while I finish the last of this batch of pancakes." Virgil said, trying to fish up the dropped spoon with another spoon, which turned out to be very hard, it kept slipping and falling back to the bottom of the bowl. After a few tries he gave up and just stuck his fingers down into the bowls five centimeter deep contents, then washing both the spoon and his hand and hoping that the pancake in the pan wasn't getting burnt meanwhile.

"Alright. Patton, Roman, sit down by the table and you'll get some lunch." The two young boys jumped up from the floor and ran towards the table, and Logan started to follow them, only to stop abruptly.

Logan looked down at the floor, lifting his foot up and revealing a crayon that he must've stepped on. He picked it up from the floor, holding it up. It was a light blue crayon which now appeared to be broken. With a sigh Logan placed it on the kitchen counter, before kneeling and beginning to pick up the rest of the scattered around crayons and papers.

--

"Can I eat with my hands?" Patton asked excitedly, having pushed his knife and fork away from his plate. Logan considered saying no, because two three year olds eating pancakes covered with jam with their hands would surely make a mess, but he did not want to give them a reason to throw a tantrum of some sort.

"Alright. But please try to not spill anything." He said hesitantly, and Roman and Patton cheered in delight. As soon as Patton grabbed his glass with jam-covered hands Logan began to regret his decision though. He had to suppress a groan as Roman left sticky handprints on the table. He glanced at Virgil, who did not look very impressed with his decision making.

A couple of pancakes later (and several minutes of washing their hands and faces so that the two young traits wouldn't go around making everything they touched sticky) Roman and Patton ran away from the kitchen, saying that they were going to Patton's room to see if they could find any toys from when Thomas was little. Logan stood up after finishing eating, taking his, Roman and Patton's plates and glasses from the table. Virgil chewed the last of the pancake he had left and looked at the messy table with a sigh.

"I'll clean up, you can go and watch a movie with the tiny problems meanwhile, because I doubt that they will be occupied for long." Logan said, beginning to place all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

"Thank you. Also... tiny problems?" Virgil laughed. Logan just shrugged while washing a plate that was practically covered in jam.

"They are tiny and they are also a problem. I thought it was a fitting name." Logan explained, and Virgil laughed loudly. He smiled fondly at Virgil, who smiled back.

"What?"

"Nothing, you're just beautiful." Logan said, his smile widening when Virgil blushed and hid his face in his hands, just like Logan knew he would.

"Stop it, you dork." Virgil said, still covering his face, but not being able to hide his grin. Virgil left the room, not quite being able to keep his usual broody look on his face, and Logan stayed behind to clean up.

--

It had taken almost five minutes to get Patton into his pyjamas, simply because the tiny trait did not want to go to bed at all despite it being 9 pm. He had run around in his room, excited to find toys from when Thomas himself was a child, and pretended not to hear Virgil when he told him to get into his bed.

But now he was finally wearing a tiny pajamas that Virgil had conjured up, and he was lying beneath his covers, looking up at Virgil with big eyes. He looked like there was something he wanted to say, so Virgil stood there silently, waiting for Patton to speak.

"Virgil?" Patton finally said, after a minute of him awkwardly staring at one of Patton's stuffed animals that were lying on the floor.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared of the dragon witch." He said with a small pout, which looked adorable and made Virgil unable to leave the room before having made sure that Patton felt safe enough to be able to sleep.

"Alright, what about if Roman sleeps in here?" He suggested after a moment, and Patton's face immediately lit up with excitement and he nodded.

"Will you be fine alone while I go and get him?" Virgil asked, thinking that summoning Roman while he was a toddler might not be a good idea. He was scared he'd manage to get hurt in some way. Patton didn't seem to like the thought of being left alone, so with a small sigh Virgil lifted him up from the bed and carried him with him. Looked like Patton was sleeping in Roman's room instead.

He found Roman loudly arguing with Logan, seeming very reluctant to go to bed. He was holding a small plastic sword, that looked like it was from Thomas' early childhood, and he was swinging it in front of himself to keep Logan at a distance. At least Logan seemed to have managed to get Roman into his pajamas.

"Roman, no fighting. If you don't get enough sleep you will never grow up and become strong enough to fight the dragon witch." Logan tried, and Roman gasped and jumped up on his bed, falling backwards down into the mattress. Logan turned to Virgil, looking like he was very relieved that that had worked. Then he tilted his head questioningly and looked from Virgil to Patton.

"He's scared of the dragon witch, so I thought that them sleeping in the same room might help." He put Patton down on the bed, tucking the two boys in beneath the covers, and then turned back to Logan who was suffocating a yawn.

"There we go."

"Did you remember to brush Patton's teeth?" Logan asked, reminding him of what he, of course, had not remembered to do.

"Oh, no, I forgot that." Virgil exclaimed with a small groan, and Logan turned around towards the two small sides, probably to make sure Patton's teeth got brushed. But they found the two of them already asleep.

"We'll brush his teeth in the morning. Now lets go to bed." Virgil and Logan quietly left the room, really not wanting to accidentally wake them up again. They changed into their own pajamas and went to bed, putting on a nature documentary on the tv, one that Logan had heard of and had wanted to see.

--

Logan could feel Thomas summoning him, and quickly made the decision to not leave Patton alone. He was worried the tiny side would manage to get himself hurt while he was gone. So Logan picked the child up and sank out of the room with him and joining Thomas in the living room, who began to speak the moment Logan appeared.

"Logan, I've been feeling quite unusual for, like, a whole day now, do you know what-" Thomas fell silent, staring at Logan who was holding Patton in his arms. Logan could not blame his host for staring, he supposed it must be strange to see one of his traits as children.

"Is that Patton? Dare I ask what is going on?" He said, looking around the room as if he hoped to find the answers to all of his questions written on the walls.

"Patton and Roman has managed to get themselves turned into children. Virgil and I am currently looking for a solution to this problem. Trust me, we will fix this as soon as we are able to." Logan glanced at Patton, who was babbling to himself about something. Then Patton patted on Logan's shoulder, wanting his attention.

"Let me down! I don't want you to hold me any longer." Patton said, squirming and trying to get away from Logan. He carefully put Patton down on the floor, the small side immediately running towards Thomas.

"The two of them have complete recollection of who they are and their lives, but their minds has become one of a toddlers, so it is quite chaotic in the mindscape at the moment. You might experience a lot of childish feelings and urges only small kids have, until we fix this. Apologies for the inconvenience." Logan explained, then turning his attention back to Patton who was sitting by Thomas' feet and hugging his legs.

"Patton, do you want to watch some cartoons?" Logan asked, not wanting Patton to bother Thomas. That got the young traits attention, and he bounced up excitedly.

"Voltron! Voltron! Voltron!" He chanted, sinking out of the room. Logan did not worry about that, he knew Patton still remembered how to use the tv, he and Roman had proven that yesterday. Hopefully he would be alright alone for a short moment until Logan had answered whatever other question Thomas might have.

"Where is Virgil?" Thomas asked after a moment of silence.

"He took care of Roman and Patton almost all day yesterday while I researched how to fix this, so I thought he deserved to sleep in today. Roman is still asleep too, I am not going to wake him up either. Just dealing with Patton is quite hectic." Logan mumbled, checking his watch.

"I need to make breakfast, summon me if there is anything you need." And with that Logan sank back into the mindscape's kitchen. He started with making coffee and preparing a sandwich for himself. He ate it in silence, now and then glancing at the living room where Patton sat to make sure he was still there and not doing something he wasn't allowed to.

Just as he was about to, yet again, check that Patton still was alright he heard silent steps coming towards him and a small hand grabbed his shirt, pulling at it. "Logan, I'm hungry."

Patton always ate strawberry yoghurt for breakfast while in his adult form, and Logan doubted that that had changed just because he was a child, so he poured up some in a bowl, added sugary cereal and poured up a glass of chocolate milk. He doubted Patton could eat a less healthy breakfast, but the last thing he wanted to have to deal with was a three year old throwing a tantrum.

He placed the bowl and the glass in front of Patton, then handing him a spoon, and he began to eat without any complaints. Logan poured up coffee in two cups, one for him and one for Virgil, and he was just about to turn around when he felt someone hug him from behind.

"Good morning, Virgil, I was just about to go and wake you up." Logan said with a small smile. Virgil mumbled something that Logan guessed were the words 'good morning' but spoken very silently and muffled. He carefully turned around so that they were facing each other, kissing Virgil's cheek.

"You tired?"

"Mh." Virgil leaned against him, which Logan really didn't mind, because Virgil was always warm, and he was not. He hugged Virgil with one arm, the other one handing Virgil his cup of coffee. Virgil opened his eyes, took the cup and smiled gratefully.

"You're a lifesaver." He mumbled, leaning in and capturing Logan's lips in a slow, and quite sleepy, kiss.

"That's gross." A sleepy voice said behind them, and they separated, looking towards the entry to the kitchen to see Roman, holding a stuffed animal in one if his hands.

"Hey kid, wanna eat some breakfast?" Virgil said with a yawn. Roman climbed up on a chair and sat down, looking out at the options on the breakfast table. He then pointed towards Patton's bowl, indicating that he wanted the same as he had.

"Sure thing kid." He grabbed the yoghurt, pouring up some in a bowl and handing it to Roman.

"Don't call me kid, I'm as old as you." Roman pouted, giving him what was supposed to be an angry glance, which looked positively adorable coming from a three year old.

"You have been turned into a three year old, and practically have a three year old child's mind. Even if we all are the same age I'd say that it is perfectly accurate to call you a child." Logan said. Roman looked more affronted than he ever had before and Virgil lifted his cup of coffee up to hide his amused grin behind it.

"I'm done." Patton announced, leaving half of the bowls content untouched.

"You sure you're not going to eat the rest?" Logan asked, only to be met with a short nod. Patton slid down from his chair and ran out of the room, a few seconds later they could hear the tv being turn on again. A couple of minutes later Roman claimed he was done eating too, and Logan and Virgil were left alone to finish their own meal.

"So, from what I have found out during my research the spells used by the dragon witch usually lasts about 3 days. It's at least what Roman has managed to tell me. He is an extremely easily distracted child. I asked about the exact spell the dragon witch had used, and it took him 10 minutes to tell me that he didn't know, because there was a butterfly by the window." Logan said with a small eye roll.

"At least we now know that we won't have to be babysitters for the rest of our existence." Virgil said with a small shrug, finishing his cup of coffee.

"Thank god." Logan mumbled, and Virgil nodded in silent agreement.

--

The both of the small sides had fallen asleep on the couch, just at the end of The Lion King. At first Virgil had worried that they'd have trouble sleeping at night if they took a nap now, but Logan googled it and apparently young toddlers napped 1-2 times a day, so they had let them sleep.

Virgil and Logan were almost doing the same. They were both in bed, resting a bit, not sleeping, just having some alone time. Virgil was playing music from a speaker somewhere in the room and the both of them were lying on their backs, staring up at the ceiling where they could slightly see glow in the dark paint. It didn't look like much during the day, but when you turned the lights off at night the ceiling in Logan's room looked like a night sky full of stars. Virgil loved Logan's room, it was a very calming place.

"Our tiny problem is evolving, I walked in on them trying to climb up to the cookie jar earlier today. They had put a stool on a chair and almost gave me a heart attack, because it looked like it was going to fall any second and Patton had already climbed on top of it." Virgil said fearfully, ending the silence in an attempt of trying not to think of what could have happened if he hadn't gotten there in time.

"Dear god, why don't children have a concept of what's dangerous?" Logan looked a bit pale, and Virgil only nodded. Then Logan rolled over on his side, facing Virgil. He placed his hand beneath Virgil's jaw, tilting his head up slightly and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. Virgil hummed a little, returning the kiss just as softly.

"You know, you're pretty good at calming me down." Virgil said with a small chuckle, kissing Logan again, cupping his face and rubbing small circles on Logan's cheeks with his thumbs.

"Good."

Logan pulled Virgil closer, pressing a kiss to his throat. Then glancing up at him with a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes that Virgil recognized with ease and he shook his head.

"Not a chance, Lo, there's two toddlers who might walk into the room." Virgil said with a small laugh, and Logan rolled his eyes, playfully disappointed.

"I really hope they turn back into their adult selves soon." He mumbled.

"Me too." Virgil said with a grin, then pressing their mouths together again for a short kiss, desperately wishing they'd have some guaranteed time alone soon.

--

"Logan, help! Roman is throwing a tantrum because I wouldn't let him eat cookies right before dinner and now he's yelling and crying. I tried to give him a cookie to shut him up but now he doesn't want it anymore, but he also keeps yelling that he wants a cookie, what do I DO?!" Virgil yelled hysterically the moment he found Logan, who was sat by his desk, doing more research.

"I- uh, I do not know how to shut a child up. Is he too old for a pacifier?" Logan asked, a concerned frown on his face.

"Logan, I do not know anything about kids, even less than you do! Roman and Patton are the ones who love children and want Thomas to have kids when he's older. It'd be so much easier if they weren't the ones who were toddlers. Out of all of us I'd say we are the two who are least prepared for something like this!" Virgil said, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"It's alright dear, we'll figure this out together, as for now, I'll go and deal with Roman and you'll stay here until you have calmed down, okay?"

"Okay... thank you." Virgil said silently, taking Logan's hand and squeezing it gratefully. Logan squeezed back, giving Virgil a tiny smile. Then he left him and followed the sound of a screaming three year old.

He found Roman sitting on the kitchen floor, yelling at the top of his lungs, banging at the floor with a spoon. He had tears smeared all over his face and Patton stood beside him, worriedly patting his back, which the screaming child ignored fully.

"Roman's sad." He cried out when he saw Logan, running up to him and grabbing his hand, dragging him towards Roman. Logan stopped in front of him, looking down at the tantrum throwing toddler, at a loss for what to do.

"Hello, Roman. Can I help you?" He carefully asked, only to be met with more loud and angry wailing. He sighed, having expected nothing else. He tried holding up a cookie in front of Roman, but it got hit out of his hand and onto the floor. Logan held his phone up, quickly googling what to do, because he felt more clueless than ever.

"Maybe he wants a hug?" Patton said, eating a cookie that he had picked up from the floor. Logan grunted, scrolling through advice on what to do. Giving the child a distraction such as a cookie or a toy did not seem to be of any help. The article said you could also either give the child a big hug or just walk out of the room and check in on him every few minutes.

Just walking out of there really seemed like the most desirable option, Logan did not want to stay in the same room as Roman while he was yelling like this. But Patton had suggested a hug, and maybe there was something in what he had said, even if he wasn't an adult. So Logan, without saying a single word to either of the kids, hugged Roman tightly.

It felt like a miracle when Roman almost silenced. Maybe it was from surprise, or maybe he liked the hug, who knows. Logan certainly didn't know, and he didn't care either, he was just glad that no one was screaming anymore. He picked the boy up in his arms brushing away the hair that hung down into his face while Roman continued to whine quietly.

"You sure are making Virgil stressed and anxious." He said softly, just stating (what he thought was) obvious, but Roman actually fell completely silent and stared at him as if that was a thought that had not crossed his mind.

"Let me down." He then said, after a minute of silent staring. Logan did as Roman told him to, and he immediately ran out of the room. Logan didn't bother following him, he had to make sure their dinner got done.

Then he felt someone tugging at his shirt and looked down to see Patton. He smiled brightly and asked to be picked up and began to excitedly talk about all the cookies that he wanted to bake when he was back to normal.

--

Virgil heard small and quick footsteps coming towards Logan's room, which most likely meant that either Patton or Roman was looking for him. Whoever it was struggled to open the door for a moment, but then succeeded in pushing it open a few centimeters.

Roman stared at him through the gap, partly hiding behind the door and just observing Virgil, who began to feel a bit confused. But he was thankful that Roman was silent, he was no longer screaming as loud as he could. Thank god Logan had managed to calm him down. Though Roman still had visible tear tracks down his face.

"Don't hate me, please!" Roman exclaimed after another twenty seconds of staring, taking Virgil in surprise.

"What?" Virgil said, then hurrying towards Roman when seeing that his lower lip began to tremble. The last thing he wanted was for Roman to cry again. He sat down on the floor, looking at Roman through the cracked open door. "Hey, hey now. I don't hate you. We are long past those days Roman."

"But I yelled, and I made you worried." He said with a light and shaky voice, looking like he was going to begin to cry again any second. Virgil pushed the door open and pulled the tiny Roman into a hug.

"You've been turned into a child, Roman. I am not going to get mad at you for acting like one." He said in a soothing voice, drying the fresh tears away with the sleeves of his hoodie.

"You promise you're not mad at me?" Roman asked quietly, and Virgil smiled slightly. He would admit it was easier to talk to Roman when he was a child and not afraid to let Virgil know how he felt, and it was easier for him to talk to a child than an adult.

"I promise that I'm not mad at you, even if it seems like it. I'm just worried or scared because I don't know how to handle the situation." He said, because it was true. Mostly when he got angry or defensive it was just because he was at a loss at what to do, which was why children made him anxious. He didn't know how to take care of them, and he was scared of doing something wrong. But so far both Roman and Patton were still alive, so he guessed he and Logan were doing something right.

"Good." Roman said, and finally he smiled. He hugged Virgil, then ran out of the room again, presumably to play with Patton. Strangely enough this conversation had left him feeling much calmer than he had been feeling before.

--

"Come on now, little prince, it's time for you to sleep." Virgil said, looking down at him as he sat on the couch, his eyes persistently fixed on the tv. Virgil found it to be a really fitting nickname for Princey, but so far he had only been glared at.

"My bedtime is never." Roman mumbled sleepily, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Sure thing, Roman." Virgil said with a small smile, turning the tv off and picking the exhausted child up, carrying him to his room. Thankfully Roman did seem to be too tired to argue. Roman was almost asleep in his arms when he finally got to his room, but he woke up when Virgil set him on the bed.

"You change into your pajamas while I go get your toothbrush and some toothpaste." He said, throwing the pajamas in front of Roman and going to the bathroom to get the toothbrush. When he got back Roman was already wearing his pyjamas, and sat on the bed, looking very tired.

"Open up, Princey." Virgil said, poking at his lips with the toothbrush. The child just blinked tiredly, then looked down at the red toothbrush that Virgil was holding. Then, thankfully, Roman did as he was told. It only took Virgil three minutes to finish brushing Roman's teeth and get him to bed.

Virgil left once he was certain that he was asleep, not wanting to leave him alone until he knew he'd manage to fall asleep. He hoped that Logan was having as much luck with Patton, which he had made sure to get to bed this evening. He then made his way to Logan's room, as that was where he would find him. And indeed, Logan was lying in bed, glasses still on and attentively reading a book. When Virgil walked up to the bed he looked up, smiling and putting the book down on the nightstand. Virgil laid down next to him after having changed to his pajamas, crawling beneath the covers.

"Patton is asleep, but he did make me read him a bedtime story before I was allowed to leave. Luckily he fell asleep halfway through the child friendly version of Little Red Riding Hood." Logan said with a yawn, and Virgil laughed.

"Roman was quite easy, he was practically half asleep the whole time, didn't even argue when I brushed his teeth." Virgil said, inching closer to Logan and cuddling up to his side. Logan took his glasses off, putting them on top of his book on the nightstand and throwing an arm around Virgil, pulling him closer. Logan kissed him on the nose, mumbled a sleepy 'good night', and they drifted off to sleep.

--

He wasn't sure why he woke up, but then he felt someone poke his cheek and he understood that that must be the something that had chased his sleep away.

"Virgil." A voice said, and he opened his eyes, seeing a small child. Suddenly he remembered every horror movies he had ever see that involved a child, and Virgil had to fight against an impulse to kick him in the face and run for his life, before he saw that it was Roman.

"Virgil, I had a nightmare." He said, hugging his stuffed animal tightly to his chest. Virgil groaned, really wishing that he was still sleeping without interruptions. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand which told him it was nearing four in the morning. He really did not want to follow Roman back to his own room and stay there until the boy fell back asleep.

So instead he patted the bed next to him, no harm could be done by letting Roman sleep in the same bed as he and Logan. Roman crawled onto the bed, curling up between him and Logan, almost immediately falling asleep. Virgil pulled his covers over the little boy, hoping that he'd be able to sleep until he naturally woke up without anyone else waking him.

--

In the morning he woke up again, but not because his body actually thought it was time to wake up. No, Virgil could tell it was way too early for any sane person to be awake. But the mattress was moving, which was incredibly annoying. He opened his eyes, blinking several times and looked over towards the one who caused the movements. Roman was jumping on the bed, giggling excitedly, and Virgil just groaned.

"It's 7 am, why are you even awake?" Virgil exclaimed tiredly after opening his eyes enough to look at the clock on the nightstand and seeing how horribly early in the morning it was.

"Small kids wake up early." Came Logan's voice from somewhere in the room. Virgil rolled over to be able to look out over the room, glancing towards the place where he thought Logan was, and saw him busy getting his clothes on. Virgil ignored Roman, who was still bouncing on the bed, and instead enjoyed the sight of Logan without his shirt on. Of course he'd prefer it if Logan was getting undressed and coming back to bed so that they could cuddle, but he'd take what he can get.

Logan opened a drawer, blinking tiredly before choosing a button up to wear. He chose a dark blue one, putting it on and beginning to button it. Virgil loved that shirt, Logan looked particularly stunning in it. After having tied and straightened his tie he walked up to the bed, reaching his arms out and picking Roman up, holding him above the mattress so that he could no longer jump on it.

"Go back to sleep, love. I'll make sure they get some breakfast."

"Love you, Lo." Virgil mumbled sleepily, closing his eyes again and pulled the warm, soft covers tighter around himself.

"I love you too, dear." Logan said quietly, then carrying the very awake, and not at all tired child out of the logical sides bedroom.

--

Around midday Roman and Patton, to their enormous relief, were turned back to their normal, adult, selves. Logan and Virgil left the room for a few minutes, to go and make more coffee, and when they re-entered the living room of the mindscape they found the two of them having a conversation about the disney movie that they had just been watching, as if nothing had happened.

"Thank god, you're back to normal!" Virgil yelled, throwing his hands up in the air, and Logan had to agree. These past days had been the most exhausting ones in his entire life, as Virgil had said, he was not fitted to take care of children. Though he must say they had done an alright job.

"Was it that horrible to take care of us? Or do you guys finally agree that Thomas should adopt children in the future?" Patton said, wiggling his eyebrows at them. Logan and Virgil looked at each other, then at Patton.

"Okay, kids are nice, but no." Virgil said, shaking his head. Children were cute, they really were, but it was so stressful to have to take care of them all the time.

"Agreed. Life is hectic enough as it is." Logan said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"By the way, you guys are not going on another quest for a long time, just so you know. I do not want to have to do this again, and next time maybe the dragon witch will do something worse." Virgil said, warningly pointing at them.

"That's fair." Patton said with a shrug. Roman nodded.

"I can finally reach the cookie jar again!" Patton then exclaimed, his eyes shining, and he jumped up from the couch and ran out of the room, presumably to eat some cookies.

"Being a child was... kind off fun to be honest. Especially since you guys had no idea how to care for us and just let us constantly do whatever we wanted to." Roman said with a huge grin, turning his attention back to the two of them after having stared at Patton until he left the room. Virgil rolled his eyes.

"Well, when I didn't let you do what you wanted you were a little shit and trew a tantrum." He said with a snort, Roman coughed, scratching his neck.

"Yeah, sorry about that." he chuckled nervously.

"Eh, you were pretty adorable when you weren't annoying me," Virgil said with a small shrug, and the he added, "little prince."

Roman glared at him, and Virgil just laughed and sat down on the couch. Logan sighed fondly, he was glad that everything was back to normal. He sat down next to Virgil, throwing an arm around his shoulders. Virgil turned his head towards Logan, he saw the glimpse of a smile before Virgil's lips brushed against his.

"That's still gross." Roman said, looking over at Logan and Virgil, who were still sharing small kisses.

--

Written: 6th, 7th, 8th, 15th, 16th, 22nd & 23rd July 2018
Published: 27th August 2018
Words: 8567

I'm gonna have to write some parent au's now cuz this was fun

It's strange because school is kinda okay, I'm not used to having hope for my education

Sjdhdj it took like 2 hours to proofread this, I hope I didn't miss too many spelling mistakes

Good night