Chapter Text
Logan never usually talks to any of his neighbours. He's usually in too much of a hurry to have any proper conversations with any of them, with his teaching job taking up most of his time in the mornings and afternoons. No one in their right mind would even be awake in the ungodly hours that he has to get out of his apartment to get to his school.
That being said, his neighbour from across the hall is always there to greet him on the way out.
It's always a brief exchange between the two. Logan would be rushing out of the door with his briefcase of graded papers in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other, and he would catch a glimpse of a garishly bright blue polo shirt and an equally bright smile. Sometimes it's just a wave in greeting, other times it's a verbal call of "Morning, teach!"
Logan doesn't know his name and something tells him that his neighbour doesn't know his either. Somehow, that doesn't stop either of them from returning each other's brief early morning greetings. His bright smile and cheerful good mornings are always returned with a quick nod of acknowledgement or a good morning of his own, though significantly less cheerful than his. They aren't friends, per se. Heck, they're barely even acquaintances. Just two neighbours being polite, as good neighbours typically do.
If so, what on earth am I doing?
It's early in the weekend morning and Logan is standing outside of his neighbour's door, his arms crossed and his bare foot tapping restlessly against the wooden floor. To be perfectly honest, the reason for his early morning visit is a little pathetic. Illogical. It's one of the rare times that he regrets not getting some sort of flatmate. If he had one, he wouldn't be doing something this ridiculous and out of his character.
With a deep sigh towards his own absurdity, he raises his fist to the door and raps against it twice. Almost immediately, there's a distant crashing sound that he can't help but winces at and a muffled "Just a minute!" coming from inside.
The door flies open and his neighbour, while a little rumpled, is dressed in his usual attire and is smiling his usual million-watt smile. In only an old university shirt and loose-fitting boxers, Logan feels immensely underdressed.
"Morning, teach!" he chirps, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet with energy. Somehow, he doesn't notice or comment on his lack of proper pants. "What bring you here?"
"Oh, good morning. Erm..." Logan coughs into his fist, suddenly feeling a little apprehensive. Well, he's already too far in to back out. Might as well just get it over with. "I was wondering if you could assist me with something."
"Why, sure! Do you need help finding some pants?" he chortles at his own joke and Logan can't help but be reminded of a generic suburban father. The teacher barely has time to fully process his statement before he sobers up from his own joke. "I'm kidding. What can I do to help, kiddo?"
Definitely a generic suburban father. Logan feels like he can trust this man.
"There is, uh." Logan scratches his cheek, nearly knocking his glasses out of place. He murmurs the rest of his sentence, quiet enough that the other man barely hears it. He's still smiling, though it has a hint of confusion in it.
"Can you run that by me again?" he asks patiently. Logan grumbles and sighs, heat creeping up his face in embarrassment as he looks down at his feet.
"There is a spider. In my bathtub." Logan says a little louder. "I cannot get it out."
The two are silent for a few moments. When Logan looks up, the other man's expression is the oddest mix of amused and determined.
"Show me."
To his surprise, he simply adjusts the cardigan around his shoulders and marches straight to Logan's apartment across the hall, prompting him to trail behind wordlessly.
"It's over here." he says once they're both inside, still reeling over the surreality of the situation even as he leads his neighbour to the bathroom connected to his bedroom.
"Nice place!" he says, looking around at the books tucked away neatly and the miscellaneous scientific equipment scattered on his desk. "Do you have anything I could catch it with?"
Why he wouldn't just kill the thing is beyond him, but he doesn't question it. Thinking quickly, Logan grabs the Petri dish on his work desk and hands it to him. With a grateful smile, he disappears into the bathroom. It's a little odd having someone else in his apartment, especially considering that said person is someone that he barely knew and that same person is currently disposing of the multi-legged abomination in his bathtub.
"Hey there, little buddy." Came a murmur from inside the bathroom, partially muffled by the door. The man is having a one-sided conversation with the the spider and Logan isn't sure if it's adorable or weird. He tunes out the rest of the conversation and decides to put some pants on. No use scaring away the friendly man with his nudity, though he doesn't seem to mind all that much.
Logan is halfway to buttoning up his jeans when the cardigan-clad saviour emerges from the bathroom holding a the Petri dish upside down with his hand covering the opening.
"Is that...are you holding the spider right now?"
"Yup!" He tilts the glass cover towards him, giggling softly when he shrinks away with wide eyes. "Whoa, no need to be so perti-fied, teach."
That's probably the first time that Logan has seen someone so happy to be making full contact with a spider—wait a minute.
"Was that a pun?"
"You bet! And don't worry, I'm not actually holding it." He holds up the container between his thumb and index, his other hand resting as his hip. The spider inside tips to the side, but doesn't escape the container.
"Oh, well...thank you, I suppose." Logan adjusts his glasses before holding out his hand, "I don't believe we've been properly acquainted. My name is Logan. I apologize for the odd requests. Especially this early in the morning."
"Nah, don't worry about that. I'm just glad I could help." He grabs his hand and shakes it firmly, shooting him a dazzling smile. Logan feels almost blinded by it. "I'm Patton! Nice to finally have a name to the legend."
"Likewise." Logan clears his throat. What is he supposed to do now? It feels like forever since he last had a guest. "I was just about to make some coffee."
"Oh!" Patton lets go of his hand, his smile faltering slightly as it becomes almost shy, "Well, I should get going then. I have to let this little guy go—"
"Actually, um..." he blurts out before he could stop himself, "I was wondering if...you would like a cup? It's the least I can do to repay you for your help."
His smile returns full swing and Logan finds himself returning it, albeit his own more toned down version.
"Um...okay!" Patton giggles, bouncing on his heels again. "But I still need to put the spider outside."
"Oh, yes, of course."