Chapter Text
Virgil was awoken by screams.
Usually when that happened, it was the result of his own screams. Nightmares were something he was fairly accustomed to, and at this point, he had a whole routine for those exhausting types of nights.
These screams were not his own. He was confident that his screams were not anywhere near this gruesome. Maybe gruesome was the wrong word, but it was the only one that came to him in that moment. He was now sitting up in bed with wide eyes, he was partially tangled in a mess of six different blankets and sheets. The screams were still going, and frankly, they were the most unnerving sound he’d ever woken up to.
Hoarse, desperate, ragged, painful, nightmarish screams. Like somebody was being murdered slowly with a dull knife. The sound had every single one of his defenses coming up.
It took Virgil half a moment for him to register where the sound was coming from. To the left, and down the hallway. It was a dead end to just one room. That meant it could only be one person.
Logan.
The realization had Virgil out the door in an instant. He sprinted down the long hallway, one missing sock left behind without a thought. He nearly crashed into a potted plant around the corner. Nothing mattered but finding Logan.
Logan’s in danger. Logan’s hurt. Who’s hurting him? He’s dying. Somebody is killing him. No. No. He’s dying. He’s in pain. He’s in pain and you’ll be too late. Run. Run faster. Hurry. Hurry up. He’s dying. He—
Virgil slammed Logan’s bedroom door open without hesitation. The room was almost completely dark, and the terrifying screaming had quieted to ravaged weeping from somewhere on the floor. The door to Logan’s room was left swing open, but nightlight in the hallway provided so little aid.
“Logan!” Virgil shouted over the sobbing. He dropped to his knees to calm his friend. When he found his form in the dark, he reached out to touch his shoulder gently, “Logan, Logan, what—"
To Virgil’s horror, Logan shrieked like had been burned and jolted backwards, hitting his head on his metal bedframe. His sobs switched to hysterical hyperventilating as he gasped for air around his overwhelming terror.
“No!” Logan screamed, “Please! Please I didn’t- I-I don’t- Stop coming after me!”
Virgil stood frozen, hands beginning to shake. He stammered, trying to find something, anything to say. He’d never seen such a violent display of fear before. And from Logan? It was even scarier. Logan, the composed, emotionally repressed, responsible, unshakable Logan. Logan who was sobbing and screaming on the floor, completely inconsolable. Virgil did not know what to do for this Logan. It was the worst feeling he’d ever experienced.
If perhaps only out of sheer desperation and helplessness, Virgil jumped up to his feet and reached for the nearest light switch and smacked it with his palm. He winced as the light shocked his eyes, but refused to tear his gaze from Logan, where he was on the floor, huddled in a devastated ball.
Virgil steeled himself and approached again, moving slower this time. He turned on both of Logan’s lamps as he crept closer.
“Logan, c’mon buddy. I need you to see me,” he said softly, trying to keep his voice even and calm for Logan’s sake, “Everything is okay. I’m right here, see me? You see me? I won’t touch you, I’m just going to sit, okay?”
Logan wasn’t responding, but also wasn’t screaming more, so Virgil kept slowly approaching. He was trying to catch Logan’s eye, but Logan didn’t seem to be seeing anything. He was struggling to breathe and cry at the same time, which Virgil knew from experience could be quite difficult to manage.
“Light’s back,” Logan whispered between gasps of air. He wasn’t really talking to Virgil so much as he seemed to just be talking out loud, but Virgil took the opportunity anyway.
“The lights are all on, and they’ll stay on, okay?” Virgil assured Logan gently, still coming closer as obviously as he could manage.
For the first time, Logan looked at him, and Virgil nearly shed a tear of his own in pure relief. Logan’s face was red from crying and sticky with tears. His eyes were bloodshot with dark circles around them. His gaze was glassy and completely shattered. He was shivering. His pajamas were clearly soaked with sweat. He was the saddest thing Virgil could have possibly seen that night.
“Please keep the lights on,” Logan said, voice impossibly tiny.
“I will,” Virgil promised, “All the lights stay on. Everything is okay, I promise. I’m right here.”
“Right here,” Logan parroted shakily, starting to wrap his arms around himself, “Right here. Not- No. Nobody else.”
“That’s right, but I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. It was just a nightmare,” Virgil soothed, coming a little closer to sit beside Logan on the rug.
“Nightmare …” Logan spaced out, staring at some unremarkable spot on the wall, “I had a nightmare. A terrifying type of dream in-in which the dreamer experiences strong emotions such as fear, helplessness, anxiety, or-or sorrow.”
Virgil nodded, wondering if Logan would let him help. He was far too out of it to clean himself up just yet, or maybe even be left alone until morning. “Yeah, buddy. Just a nightmare, a really bad one from the sound of it.”
“I’ve never had one,” Logan whispered, still shaking. “They told me I have one every night, that it will happen again,” his breathing began to get erratic again, “he said he kills me every 24 hours. Which means I might go back. I-I can’t go back. I can’t kill her again! He’ll—"
“Logan,” Virgil interrupted quickly, before Logan could spiral further. He wasn’t concerned about the contents of the dream at that moment, just taking Logan’s mind off it, “You’re not going back. You’re with me right now. Right?”
Logan nodded frantically.
“I’m going to stay with you, we have the lights on, and everything is safe,” Virgil said firmly, trying to channel the rational Logan they both could use right then, “Now, you hit your head a second ago, can I take a look at it, please?”
“Yes, I-I didn’t even feel …” Logan trailed off softly, seemingly unaware that he even had a head injury. His confusion was not a great sign overall.
Virgil gingerly maneuvered Logan’s head as he searched for any blood but found nothing. Hoping he recalled correctly, he knew he’d just need to keep an eye on him to make sure it wasn’t anything worse. He asked him if he had a headache, and Logan said yes, but Virgil knew it could just be from the crying.
“Your skin is really hot, bud,” Virgil said as he put the back of his hand up to Logan’s feverish forehead. Logan stiffened at first. But then subtly leaned into the movement, “Cold compress sound okay?”
All Logan offered was a disgruntled huff, so Virgil went ahead and summoned one. Carefully, he wiped down Logan’s teary face before leaving pressed to his forehead. Logan apparently liked it enough to keep it there for a minute or two before dropping it.
“Do you want to stay on the floor? Or up on the bed?” Virgil asked as he finished examining Logan’s skull one last time. He needed to get their Logic to drink some water next.
“I don’t want to go to bed,” Logan whispered, avoiding eye contact. Virgil took quick notice of that distant fog beginning to creep back into Logan’s eyes.
“You don’t have to. I just want you to be comfortable after all that. We can stay on the floor, or in my room, or even downstairs,” Virgil explained gently, “But let’s not worry about it for now. Do you think you can drink some water?”
“Rehydrate,” Logan said numbly, “Water. Of course.”
“Exactly,” Virgil nodded as he summoned a small glass of water and handed it over. He made sure it wasn’t too cold, or too heavy for Logan to manage right then. He waited silently as Logan slowly drained the cup before taking it from him and vanishing it.
“Can I snap you into some fresh clothes?” Virgil asked, they were still sitting together on the floor, “Yours don’t look too hot right now.”
Somewhat ashamed, Logan hugged himself tighter. “I can handle it. There’s no need to make you do it for me. I’m not a child.”
“Of course you aren’t, L. I just know how much summoning wears you out even on a good day,” Virgil explained, “You’ll feel even shittier if you try and do it like this. I’ve got it this time.”
“Just … no ties, please,” Logan requested blankly, as if Virgil could somehow be considering putting Logan in business casual clothing at a time like that.
“You’ve got it. Just comfy clothes today. How about I let you borrow one of mine, bud?” Virgil suggested as he snapped his fingers. Logan’s sweat soaked pajamas were swapped for a clean skeleton onesie. It was a bit big on Logan, but it barely mattered with onesies anyway.
Logan seemed to like it, as he immediately wrapped himself up in it tighter, burying himself in the soft fabric. He was still sniffling at this point, and he still seemed spacy and numb, but he was steadily calming down.
As the atmosphere calmed, Virgil had a moment to let the strangeness of the moment sink in fully. He was sitting on the floor in Logan’s bedroom at 4:00AM, next to a frightened Logic. Just the words frightened and Logic being next to each other in a sentence was disconcerting on its own. Having their roles reversed like this was unnerving.
It was usually the other way around. Logan was the levelheaded one. He was the calm one who held their hand while they were struggling. He was the one with the advice and the rational perspective. He was Virgil’s rock when he was spiraling. Logan was nearly untouched by the same fears and anxieties everyone else suffered through.
Then Virgil found him like this. He found Logic completely terrified of a simple nightmare, and being alone in the dark. It was times like that, when Virgil remembered that Logan was human, just like him. Logan still needed care and comfort, just like him. Logan needed support, and someone to look after him for once.
And Virgil could return the favor.
“I need coffee,” Logan announced quietly. His eyes were still watery.
“You tired?” Virgil asked.
Several moments passed before Logan answered, “I’m exhausted.”
“And it’s four AM, and you don’t want to try going back to sleep,” Virgil guessed.
“… Correct,” Logan said with some reluctance, “I think I’d rather die than relive it. It, It was more than I could- no. It was more. Too much. No, no I’m not making sense!” Logan gritted his teeth together, seemingly quite angry at himself for not being quite as eloquent as usual.
“I understand,” Virgil interrupted empathetically, “I have some pretty rough nightmares too. They suck the life out of you.”
Logan stared at him silently. Virgil knew Logan well enough to know something complicated was going on behind that glassy stare. Logan was absently biting at his thumbnail. It was a motion he’d never seen Logan do before. His usual self-soothing motions were usually related to his tie or glasses. “Are they still as bad as before?” Logan asked quietly, “I meant it when I said you could come get me. There were other alternatives too. Nightlights, journaling, routines. Has anything been helping you?”
Virgil didn’t respond at first, only staring at him with a sad smile. He melted a little at the question. Poor, sweet, caring Logan, who was still trying to take care of somebody that wasn’t him. Virgil sighed fondly, “Some,” he said, “I go through phases. Sometimes it’s a bit worse, sometimes better. I’m in a better phase right now.”
“That’s good,” Logan said, “Have the dreams changed at all?”
“Not really,” Virgil said with a shrug. He leaned back against the bedframe, “It’s most of the same stuff. Realistic scenarios that gradually get worse and worse, until everything that could possibly go wrong does. It’s hard to tell it’s a nightmare until I wake up, so I just keep living out my worst fears until then.”
Logan went entirely silent.
Virgil pursed his lips with concern. “You okay, buddy?” he asked gently.
A sharp exhale escaped Logan’s mouth. He forced a painfully fake reassuring smile on. “Of course,” Logan said breathily, “what do you usually do after a nightmare?”
“My routine is usually to wait out the rest of the night then nap in the living room while you guys are there. I’m pretty good at bouncing back these days,” Virgil explained, “So I guess, I wait awhile, then go back to sleep when I feel safer.”
Logan swallowed.
“That’s just me though,” Virgil said easily, “For you—"
“I am not going back to sleep,” Logan said abruptly, hands starting to shake again.
Uh oh. Virgil knew it was only a short matter of time before Logan inevitably fell asleep again. He was completely emotionally and physically wiped out. A nightmare like the one Logan just woke up from drains everything. Logan would have to fall asleep again, and he was clearly terrified of doing so. It made sense, he’d never had a nightmare before, and his first one appeared to be extremely intense.
“You don’t have to,” Virgil reassured him once more, “how about—”
“I can’t,” Logan said again, becoming more frantic, “I-it, it was so wrong. Nothing made sense and everyone was watching me, and it kept changing. I know. I know it sounds like nothing but, Virgil, Virgil it was more than that. It- It It—"
“Logan, buddy. Hey, we don’t need to talk about it just yet,” Virgil tried to cut in gently.
“And it was on fire, and I was on fire and there was a woman,” the mention of the woman from his dream brought fresh panic to Logan’s eyes, “I killed her,” Logan gripped the sides of his head, “I killed her with a knife, Virgil! Why would I do that? It made so much sense, I-I can’t- I don’t know!”
“Hey, let’s take a break,” Virgil tried again, “Don’t think about it until later, sound good?”
Logan didn’t seem to hear Virgil at all. He was trembling and gripping at his hair. He frantically wiped his tears as they flowed.
“I made a mistake. I don’t understand what it was, but I killed her wrong. So he drowned me. Bottom of the ocean. My body collapsing. It was so dark. So dark and I didn’t know what was there or how I would die. I couldn’t speak or breathe or scream. It was so dark, so, so—”
“Logan,” Virgil said more firmly, putting his arms out, “Logan, you’ve gotta stop thinking about it. Look at me, c’mon.”
“It was so dark,” Logan sobbed into his hands. He was desperately trying to choke back his hysterical tears but all it seemed to do was hurt him. “Dark and cold a-and I know why he—"
Virgil moved without thinking. He gathered his terrified Logan in his arms and held him tightly, knowing the grip would ground him. Logan was still sobbing unintelligibly, but the grip was quicky reciprocated. He held him close and gently shushed him, rocking slightly as Logan cried into his hoodie.
“You’re okay,” Virgil whispered into his hair, “I’m right here, buddy. I’ve got you. You’re not alone. Shhhhhhhhh, you’re safe, L.”
Logan wept, clinging to Virgil like his life depended on it. He was shaking like a leaf and pressing his teary face into Virgil’s chest. Some part of Virgil was just relieved Logan trusted him enough to let him hold him.
They sat on the floor for what must have been about an hour. Virgil never stopped rocking or reassuring him, but Logan’s panic slowly subsided into pure exhaustion.
Logan ended up collapsed against Virgil, all but in his lap, eyes half closed. He was still gripping Virgil’s hoodie, as if afraid that if he let go, Virgil may somehow disappear. His eyes burned from crying, and his breathing was now slow and tired.
“Hey, bud?” Virgil whispered softly, still gently rocking and rubbing circles into Logan’s back.
“mmmm?” Logan sleepily hummed back, eyes trying to keep from fluttering closed.
“Why don’t we go back to my room?” Virgil asked, “We can watch some tv quietly. I’ve got a nightlight, and that weighted blanket you gave me, and my bed is real cozy. Unlike your wooden plank pretending to be a mattress.”
“mmmhmhh,” Logan hummed again, equally unintelligible as before.
“You’re gonna fall asleep eventually,” Virgil said gently, ruffling Logan’s usually meticulous hair.
“No I won’t,” Logan insisted, though he was not remotely convincing.
“Yes,” Virgil shot back playfully, “You will, but you won’t have any more bad dreams. Because I’m going to be with you, and nothing is tough enough to get past me,” he said with a grin.
“That’s not how nightmares work,” Logan said flatly.
“And there’s my Logan. It’s nice to have you back,” Virgil chuckled. “So, yes to my room?”
Logan hesitated in his sleepy haze. His focus cleared slightly, but he did not seem to be thinking about Virgil. Something more grave was holding him hostage.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Virgil said, “Talk to me, L.”
“I’m concerned,” Logan admitted quietly.
“Makes sense, it’s your first nightmare. You’ve never felt this way,” Virgil paused to collect his thoughts, “And … the nightmare seems almost perfectly tailored to scare the shit out of you.”
Logan didn’t respond. He stiffened up, clenching his jaw. He stared at the floor intensely. Finally, instead of speaking, he just leaned his head on Virgil’s shoulder.
“Think about it,” Virgil continued, “It’s everything that scares you. It was abstract, violent without reason, and something about the bottom of the ocean, right? It wasn’t logical, so it scared you”
“Right,” Logan agreed weakly, though Virgil immediately realized it was a mistake. He shouldn’t have brought it up yet.
“Sorry,” Virgil said, “Maybe if you feel okay tomorrow or like next week or something, we can talk about it then.”
Logan hummed noncommittedly. Virgil realized it would be like pulling teeth to get Logan to open up about it later down the road, but he’d probably try anyway.
“C’mon,” Virgil said, slowly standing up. Logan apparently was not keen on the idea of standing up, so Virgil had to support most of his weight and drag him to his feet. “Up you go, c’mon, L,” Virgil sighed as Logan pointedly went limp with the smugness of a troublesome cat.
With a huff, Virgil sank them both out and into his room. The dim string lights and huge nest of a bed were a perfect place to recover. He unceremoniously deposited Logan on the bed before grabbing his remote and putting good old BBCs Sherlock on.
“Scootch,” Virgil said to Logan before flopping on the bed beside him.
They watched the first few minutes of the episode as Logan’s eyes began to droop. He fought sleep, but Virgil watched from the corner of his eyes as he slowly nodded off.
“Virgil?” Logan asked quietly.
“Yeah, L?”
“Thank you,” Logan said, voice soft, “I don’t usually allow anyone to see me in such a state of … distress. I’ve never had a nightmare, that is why it affected me so drastically. I hope you don’t have to worry about me in the future, but I really am grateful you assisted me.”
“Of course, Logan. No need to thank me, if anything, we aren’t there for you enough,” Virgil said, and he almost thought he was Logan grimace at the statement. “I’m always here for you. Now c’mere,” Virgil said as he pulled Logan closer to him.
“Virgil? What—”
“I’m just giving you a hug,” Virgil said as he squeezed him.
“Oh, that’s rather nice,” Logan said as he began to relax into the embrace, “I didn’t know I could get another one.”
“Shit dude, that’s- uh, that’s kinda sad. Okay. We’re doing daily ones from now one,” Virgil sighed, “I forget how emotionally repressed you are. Damn.”
“This is not encouraging.”
“Right. Sorry. My bad,” Virgil said sheepishly, “Doesn’t matter. We’re both going to get some good sleep, and hang out with everybody tomorrow. No work. Just relaxing.”
“Disgusting.”
“Too bad. We love you, so shut up and deal with it.”
“Oh the horror,” Logan said with a roll of his eyes.
“Exactly. Now,” Virgil said gently, “It’s sleep time.”
“Hate sleeping,” Logan grumbled as he settled in comfortably against Virgil’s side. This of course, wasn’t remotely true. Virgil sleepily watched the show as listened to Logan’s breathing slowly even out until he slipped off into a dreamless sleep.
Logan would argue it when he awoke midafternoon the next day, but apparently, Virgil really was tough enough to scare of nightmares.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following days, Logan would act like he had forgotten what he dreamt of. He’d pretend he couldn’t recall every single moment of his nightmare. He’d pretend not to remember what he’d seen. He would dodge Virgil’s attempts at discussing the event. He would act as if it was only a nightmare.
Logan would pretend he did not realize who was watching him.