TW: Mentions Emotionally abusive relationships. 

Emotionally abusive relationships can been just as damaging as physically abusive relationships. If you need help please seek it out. The number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline is listed below. 1−800−799−7233

Things had once again calmed down when Patton went back to work. The four of them had fallen back into their comfortable routine. Patton went back to cooking most days, and Virgil insisted they set up a chore chart for everything else since Patton was already doing so much for the house. That being done, it was Virgil's day to do the dishes and clean the kitchen after dinner. He wasn't looking forward to it.

"We have discussed this before. I no longer belong to you, and you no longer have the right to a connection with me. Cease and desist, or I will be forced to get authorities involved." There was only one person Virgil knew who spoke like that. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner, he saw Logan talking to another man. Something was obviously wrong. Immediately, the man's stance made Virgil uncomfortable. Logan looked defensive and the other man, who was shorter than Logan, stalked towards him. It probably didn't help that Virgil had never seen Logan this riled up.

"Lo-lo" The other man cooed. "I'm just worried about you." He reached out, gently running a hand over Logan's face. His hand was quickly slapped away. "You always were so cold when I tried to show you affection." He grabbed Logan's tie and pulled him down to whisper in his ear. This wasn't right, all of the warning bells were going off in Virgil's Head, but his feet were screwed to the ground.

Logan yanked back but was caught but the tight grip on his tie. "I am not giving you any further sway on my emotions and my life." His voice dropped to a cold and icy tone that sent a shiver ran up Virgil's spine. At this point, he was afraid of Logan, but he realized three fundamental truths. Logan was his friend and didn't deserve this treatment. Logan's fists were balled as if he was ready to start a fight. Logan didn't have to fight alone anymore. Virgil forced his feet forward.

"Logan, someone you know?" That sounded stupid, but he had to make his presence known.

"An acquaintance from college, but he was just leaving." Logan yanked his tie out of the shorter man's hands.

For just a moment, this new person's eyes filled with anger. He was quick to compose himself. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After taking a moment to compose himself, he almost appeared kind. "Pleasure to meet a friend of Logan's, I'm Lewis." He held out a hand.

Virgil shook it, but he knew a liar when he saw one.

"You don't have to be so mean with your introduction, Lo-Lo. We were friends once. I was hoping we could be friends again." He shrugged, "I'll leave you for now. I wish you wouldn't be so cold, but I love you for it, and we deserve each other." Lewis gave Virgil a soft smile before turning and leaving.

The silence between them was thick until Lewis was out of sight. Virgil finally turned to Logan, who had an unreadable expression on his face. "Man, that guy is an asshole."

Silence. Had he said the wrong thing? Was that not helpful?

Logan chuckled weakly. "Yeah, He is." His smile didn't reach his eyes, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Let me text Patton, we can go for a walk."

"Virgil, I do not have the particular energy to discuss this."

"You don't have to, and I'm not going to push you, but going for a walk helps," Virgil said, adjusting his bag and pulling out his phone. He texted Patton quickly and led Logan off towards the park, the opposite direction where Lewis had gone.

The two of them walked in comfortable silence, heading slowly down the street. For a while, it was just enough for Logan. The quiet companionship was pleasant, but it left room for Logan's dark thoughts to come back. He let out a shaky breath.

"You are so cold, you're lucky I love you."

"You look exhausted all the time. Are you not sleeping well? Why won't you share what you are going through with me?"

"Have you been stress eating? You have gained a bit of weight, I'm worried about you."

"I am always here for you. I'm the only one who will be there for you."

"I have done everything for you. I accept you at your worst. I put up with all of your emptiness. Yet you have the gall to try to break up with me? You need me."

The words rattled around his head, fighting against his will to push them back. Two years of progress, two years of fighting, two years of freedom, yet one appearance was all it took. How had he been found again? He had moved from California to Florida, he had even changed his last name. How had Lewis tracked him down? Logan could already feel the doubt creeping up his back. The lightning buzzed around his body and with another jolt, and Logan stopped walking.

Virgil looked back. Logan had his slender fingers dug into his arm, standing like a statue.

"Logan," Virgil said, not touching him yet.

"Logan!" He snapped twice in front of Logan, who finally pulled out of his trance.

"Yes, Virgil." His arm relaxed a bit, and he began to focus on Virgil. "I am sorry Virgil, I got lost in my thoughts."

"Yeah, no shit. I know I said I wasn't going to make you talk about it but can I ask you a question?"

"Obviously you are able to."

Virgil rolled his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant."

"There is nothing wrong with being 5x5."

"Vocab word, nice, but you are avoiding my question."

Logan sighed, "You are welcome to ask whatever question you can think of, but I reserve the right not to answer it."

"You know you are not alone, right?"

"Virgil, this is the second time you have asked me a question with an obvious answer. We are standing right next to each other."

"Again, that's not what I meant Grammarly." Virgil resisted the urge to rub his eyes in exasperation. Sometimes, he wondered if Logan did this just to be a jerk, or if it was a coping mechanism. "Let me rephrase that." He cleared his throat and did his best impression of Logan. "You are aware, that you are not alone in your struggles against your own thoughts. I am fairly experienced in the subject, and would like to be of assistance." He gently punched Logan in the arm. "My thoughts can also get pretty dark. You aren't alone in experiencing them."

"Oh." Logan hesitated, trying to process everything Virgil had said. "They are illogical thoughts. I do my best to ignore them."

"Yeah, but they still start to drag you down."

Logan hesitated but began nodding gently.

"So, if you are willing to continue this honesty, what are the thoughts?"

Logan really wasn't sure if he wanted to continue this honesty. This situation was beyond what he understood when it came to emotions. Then again if he wanted to share with anyone, it would be Virgil. He knew Virgil understood. "Please do not discuss anything we that has happened today with Patton, or Roman for that matter."

It was Virgil's chance to hesitantly nod. "I can promise that, as long as you promise to come to me when these thoughts get hard."

He was playing a dangerous game now, but he once again agreed. "I assume that these are fairly normal thoughts amongst people who have these... intrusions."

"What was the first thought that came to your head when you began to spiral a few minutes ago."

They began walking again. Logan had seen the frustration on Virgil's face when he corrected him the first two times, so he resisted the urge this time. "I was remembering a time when Lewis told me, 'You are so cold, you're lucky I love you.' I came to understand that he meant cold emotionally, not physically, but no matter what expression of affection I attempted, it never seemed enough."

"It shows that you were trying. I know you have had work early the past few days, so you don't get to see it, but Patton has been talking my ear off about how kind and thoughtful you are. You aren't cold Logan, you are shy. And no one is lucky to be loved by an abusive asshole. Your feelings are real, and they are valid, but those words are not. We care about you Logan, and we love you. What was next?"

Logan couldn't help but smile a little bit. He thought Patton had not wanted his help, but Patton had actually talked about things he had done? It made Logan feel better. He didn't want to focus on the rest for now. He was just glad he hadn't screwed up with Patton. "What did Patton say?"

"What?" Virgil stopped walking.

"You said that Patton was talking about me, what did he say specifically?"

Virgil furrowed his brow as he concentrated. "He was talking about you covering him with a blanket while he slept, and when you cooked dinner that night he was gone. Patton said you wrote him a note with instructions on how to properly eat it. He thought it was super thoughtful." Turning to look at Logan, Virgil saw a rare sight, he was blushing lightly.

"I am glad I was able to help a bit, even if he didn't want it."

Virgil rolled his eyes. They would address more of that later. "What are some of the other things?"

"Is this really helpful Virgil?"

"We are going to go through all of your negative thoughts, we are going to go through your logical reasoning and examine if they are true. Then we are going to set up a support structure for the next time you have these thoughts."

"And how do you know this will work?"

"Because it's what my therapist and I discussed. Though, I'm sure he is a lot kinder about it than I am. You might benefit from therapy, but that's your choice. On the flip side of that, you are my friend, and I'm not going to let you go through this alone."

Logan rubbed the back of his head, "That is preposterous."

"Which part, that you need therapy, or that you are my friend?" They continued to walk around the city for a while longer before returning home.

"The section of your statement regarding therapy."

"I think everyone could benefit from therapy, just like everyone can benefit from a yearly check-up at the doctors."

He went silent for a little bit. "Thank you, Virgil." They continued to walk around the city for a while longer before returning home.

"Virge, Logi, is that you?" Patton called. He rushed over and when he saw them he hugged both of them. "I made spaghetti and garlic bread."

"Thanks, dad."

"Yes, thank you, Patton. I'm going to put down my bag in my room, then we can all have a nice family dinner."

Patton smiled brightly. "Okay, Kiddo!"

AN: Hey everyone! Long chapter to help you cope with last weeks short teaser chapter. How are you feeling after this chapter? I have rewritten this chapter about 5 times because it was a bit hard for me. I'm happy with how it turned out but I would still like your opinion. Leave me a comment with your thoughts.