"Come on, Virgil, you have to leave your room eventually."

"No way. I don't wanna look at anyone other than you."

Logan sighed. It had been about a week since Janus had initially talked to him in the upstairs hallway, and since that day of pure and total confusion nothing had really changed. The days were all the same- Logan would wake up next to Virgil, bring him breakfast, catch Patton talking to Janus as he brought the plates downstairs after eating, rinse and repeat for each meal, and then go to bed together. It was the same thing, seven days in a row. Logan had mostly enjoyed it at first, except for the parts where he, you know... questioned his existence as to whether or not he was truly a valued member of the mindscape. But as the days passed those moments of questioning grew more frequent, and Logan just wished his schedule as it used to be.

As absurd as it sounded... Logan began to miss the stupid, annoying, and just frankly unsavory sentences that Roman would always say on a whim.

But, regardless of where he wanted to be in life, this was where he was. And he just had to accept that.

...

Logan rubbed his boyfriend's back as he tapped his feet on the ground, both of them sitting on his bed. Virgil began tapping his fingers on his thigh.

"I know you don't want to talk to anyone but I'm sure it will be fine. If you see someone you don't want to ingage with you can just make a quick, easy exit. If they try to talk to you then just make up an excuse."

"Jeez, Lo... look at you being all sneaky-like."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Eh. So does this mean I have to go downstairs then?"

"I suppose... I think it would be for the best. Not leaving your room for as long as you have isn't a very good thing. You don't want to end up dismal, dim-witted, and overly delicate like Roman."

"Nice alliteration. But yeah... you're right. Okay."

"So... would you like to go downstairs now? I'm sure breakfast is being cooked or has been made already."

"Sure."

"Alright, thank you."

"Yep."

The two stood up, Logan grabbing Virgil's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. They both smiled at each other, and then let their hands fall to their sides, since no one was supposed to know they were together.

They started on their way downstairs.

...Big mistake.

"Oh, so you just- are you sure this is the right way to cook them, Jan?"

"Yes, I am. I'm pretty sure I've cooked more things in my life than you have, honey."

"Hah- yeah. Probably."

Logan stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide, putting a hand out in front of his boyfriend in an effort to stop him from entering the kitchen. He lowered his voice.

"Virgil... how about you just go back upstairs? I can-"

"No. I think it's about time Patton got a goddamn piece of my mind," Virgil whispered back, pushing Logan's arm away.

"Wh- Wait, Virgil, are you sure this is a good- well. He is not listening to me. I put forth an effort to stop this and it is not entirely my fault."

Logan stood in the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed, as Virgil slowly walked up to Patton, who was oblivious to where he was. He stood there for a brief moment, anger obviously boiling underneath the surface of his composure.

"...Patton."

"Hmm? Oh, hi, V- I- Uh, oh- uh..."

Patton's face fell into a look of pure terror, glancing between Virgil and Janus. Virgil was standing a few feet away from Patton, and Logan couldn't see his expression but he was sure he was glaring. Janus turned around too, him and Logan making eye contact for a brief moment.

"Morality? What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, goodness, Virgil, I'm right here-"

"You don't get to talk to me, snake."

"Virgil, now hold on, I- you-"

"Didn't I say it's anxiety to you a week ago? Or did you forget?"

Patton's face fell even more, a slight sadness beginning to join the look of fear he was wearing "...I-"

"Did you also forget how horrible a person Janus is? How he impersonated you just to get his way? How he flirted with Roman and used his low self-esteem to his advantage just to be selfish? Morality, he lies constantly. He's literally deceit. How can you not understand that?!"

"I really don't see why you needed to come in here just to be a bitch..." Janus mumbled. Him and Logan made eye contact once more. They shared a look that Logan honestly wasn't sure the meaning of.

"N-No! Wait, V- I- I swear, I wasn't doing anything with him! He just walked in here a few minutes ago! No- only one minute ago! He was just about to leave! Right? Yeah! I'm not- I don't enjoy his company! I didn't want him to be here!"

"God, he's rubbing off on you. You're such a LIAR! How do you expect me to believe that?! I literally saw you and him in here cooking together! He called you honey! Why don't you just suck it up and tell me the truth for once in your goddamn life?!"

Patton's breathing had steadily gotten heavier as the argument had ensued, but now he had begun almost hiccuping. He looked extremely terrified, and like he was about to burst into tears. He sniffled.

"...Because I-I just wanna be your friend, and I don't want you to be mad at me, okay?!" Patton sniffled again, looking to the side, away from everyone else in the room. "There, I said it. I said it. I know you don't like him, but he is my friend! Why can't you two just let go of whatever is in your past and get along? You-"

"I think it's a little late for that," Virgil spat. "Not everything can have a little happy ending. You can't just make everything perfect! I hate him. I'm never going to not hate him. If you wanna be friends with me you have to leave him in the dust, like I did. I-"

"Oh. So you suddenly admit you did abandon me, then, Virgil?" Janus suddenly entered the conversation, leaning his arm against the counter. Patton could tell they were about to get into their own argument, and so he took a step back, hugging himself gently. Logan sighed and took a small step forward.

"Okay, you two- I don't think arguing is going to do you any good so perhaps we should think about this?" Logan asked.

"Not now, Logan," Virgil said. Logan huffed.

"I'm not trying to argue with you, Virgil. I'm just pointing this thing out," Janus crossed his arms.

"You just need to stop talking. Patton used to be a pretty decent guy- look what you've done to him!"

"Wow. You're blaming me for Patton learning to accept other people as who they are? Something that you yourself are incapable of doing? Thank you."

"I don't think anger is going to solve either of your problems," Logan said, "you both need to calm yourselves down a bit and have a more civilized discussion about this. If both of you are angry you're not going to get anywhere in this discussion, you'll only drown each other out in your rage."

"Says the guy that always gets into heated arguments with Roman..." Patton mumbled, staring at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the entire world.

"Yeah, Logan, just stay out of this. You don't need to try and help," Virgil said. Logan sighed, rubbing his temple. Janus stared him for a moment.

"What are you doing staring at my friend like that?" Virgil spat, noticing where he had been staring. Janus's eyes widened a bit, but he blinked and pushed whatever thought had come into his mind away.

"Virgil... you're clearly angry at me. You're angry at Patton, too. If you're going to talk to us you need to calm yourself down a bit."

Logan rolled his eyes. That's exactly what he just said, so obviously no one was going to listen to-

"...Yeah, maybe."

"Pa- Morality? Are you serious right now?! No way are either of you."

-...him.

What? Why were people listening to Janus and not Logan? Oh, right. Because no one listened to Logan. Of course.

"I am calm," Virgil continued, obviously not calm. "I am perfectly calm. You two just need to shut your mouths tell me why the hell you're doing all of this!"

"All of what? Existing? You need shut your own mouth. You were the one who came in here and started this argument, and now you're just trying to blame everything on us. You are the one in the wrong here, Virgil, even if that's an idea that seems extremely foreign to you since you hold yourself to such a high standard. You see me as the enemy and fail to consider that people have the ability to change."

Virgil looked around the room, clearly pissed off. He huffed, and walked over to Logan.

"I'm leaving. Come on, Logan, you're coming with me."

"Wh- okay, then."

Logan and Janus shared one last look as Logan was pulled away from the kitchen. Janus rolled his eyes, and Logan just stared at him blankly.

They eventually made it up to Virgil's room again, and Logan sat down on his boyfriend's bed, Virgil beginning to pace the room. He looked like he was about to go off on a rant, so Logan began to prepare himself mentally.

"Wow... it's like they listen to him more than they listen to me," Logan said aloud, almost surprising himself, as he really didn't mean to say it, considering they included Virgil. Virgil just scoffed, clearly not realizing that last part.

"They probably do. Janus is an asshole and doesn't deserve any of the love he's getting. He's just fake and disgusting- not to mention a liar."

Logan was silent for a moment. Maybe... perhaps the first step to trying to get him and Janus to stop fighting was to try and help him realize he was definitely being a bit rude... right?

Or would that just make him angry? Was he even being rude? Maybe not. But he'd understand an outsider's perspective- Logan was his boyfriend. It was his job to keep him in the know about the cause of his actions.

"Well... yes, though he at least does act as sort of a mental health guru for Thomas."

Virgil suddenly stopped his pacing. His head slowly turned to look at Logan, and in that moment he realized...

"...Are you saying you think he's good?"

He fucked up.

•~~~~•
Welp. Analogical has taken its first blow. Will it recover?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

See ya soon, kiddos!🗣