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You should talk to Patton.
Virgil, vague as always, had not explained why Logan needed to talk to Patton. It was possible that Virgil himself didn’t know why he said it; he was the side responsible for most hunches and gut feelings, especially negative ones, but he couldn’t always explain them. It was a little bit infuriating to Logan, but he couldn’t fault Anxiety for being who he was. As much as Logan hated to admit it, those gut feelings were often right.
Still, as he stood in front of Patton’s door, one hand raised to knock, he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain what he was doing there. Should he say he was just there to “hang out?” Should he mention Virgil’s suggestion? What would produce the most favorable outcome? Given that Logan did not know what favorable outcome he was there to find, it was difficult to judge the situation.
Logan decided he would just read the situation as it happened. As he did not know for sure why he was visiting Patton, he could not reasonably plan how to appropriately ensure a desired result, and Patton valued honesty and genuineness, so that was probably a safe bet. Satisfied that he was choosing the most logical course of action, Logan knocked.
After a few moments, the door opened. “Oh, hi, Logan! Nice to see you a-lo-gain!” Patton giggled proudly.
“Patton, do you have to start saying things that make no sense so early in our interaction?” Logan grumbled.
Patton’s face fell. “I guess not. What are you here for?”
Well, so much for a favorable outcome. Logan was pretty sure his purpose there was not to make Patton sad, but it appeared he had already done so.
“I’m not entirely sure,” he admitted, hoping his honestly would help patch the transgression. “Virgil sent me. He seemed worried, although I guess, given that that is his job, it might be more worrisome if he weren’t worried. Still, I thought it was worth investigating.”
Patton tilted his head questioningly. “If he was worried, why didn’t he come talk to me himself?”
Logan had wondered the same, but he hadn’t managed to convince Virgil to explain. “He was pretty insistent that I should be the one to check.”
Patton rolled his eyes, and Logan was really starting to get the sense he was missing a key piece of background information. “I’m fine, Logan, really.” He flashed a wide grin to prove it.
Pinching the corner of his glasses to hold them steady, Logan leaned in to study Patton’s face. “Hmm. No. I don’t believe you,” Logan concluded.
Patton pulled back quickly, his face falling back into an annoyed expression. “Why not?”
“Um…” Logan began nervously, returning to an upright position. What if he was mistaken and making a fuss about nothing? No, he was pretty sure he was right. “It’s just that your smile lacked some of the key characteristics of a genuine smile. A genuine smile, also known as a Duchenne smile as studied by the French physician Guillaume Duchenne, activates the involuntary contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle, which causes the eyes to appear more squinted, and the cheeks to be raised. Your smile lacked these key features, indicating that it was likely not genuine, but merely a staged smile, much like the type one might display when posing for a picture, or trying to be polite when interacting with someone with whom they would rather not be interacting.”
…wait.
“Would… you prefer not to be interacting with me right now?” Logan asked hesitantly.
Patton sighed. “No, it’s… It’s fine. Come in,” said Patton, opening the door wider.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to do something that makes you uncomf-”
“Logan. Come in.” Uh-oh. Dad voice activated. Logan swiftly made his way into the room.
“I know why Virgil sent you,” Patton began, closing the door behind Logan. He gestured to the bed, inviting Logan to take a seat with him. “I told him that it wasn’t a big deal, but he’s been a little extra vigilant since the whole ‘moving on’ thing. You know how our little safety patrol is!”
Logan was not convinced. “Could you please inform me of what’s happening, then? Both of you seem to prefer to leave me in the dark, yet I have reason to believe this is a matter that somehow involves me, so I would really like to know what role I play in all this.”
“It’s really not important-”
“But it’s upsetting you. That makes it important,” Logan insisted.
That got Patton’s attention. He looked at Logan hopefully, and Logan did his best not to break his gaze despite the overwhelming amount of emotion Patton was expressing. Thankfully, Patton was the first to look away.
“Remember the Secret Santa exchange?”
Logan wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t that. He had thought that the exchange had gone relatively well. What could have possibly been upsetting about it?
“Well, yes, it was only about a week ago.”
“Do you…” Patton bit his lip, unsure. “Do you remember what you said about Watson?”
“I didn’t think he was good enough for Sherlock, and I said he wasn’t relateable due to his highly emotional nature.”
Patton looked at Logan expectantly, but when he failed to understand the issue, Patton sighed and continued, “and do you remember when we solved a problem together as Sherlock and Watson?”
Logan nodded. “Yes, but what does that have to do wi- oh.” Logan frowned. “I see. You have created a parallel in your mind between yourself and Watson, and when I insulted Watson, it felt like an insult to you, as well. Am I correct on that?”
Patton shrugged, fiddling with a loose thread on the bed’s covers. “Yeah, kinda.”
“Patton, I assure you, that is a connection I never meant to make,” said Logan. “I really was only talking about the character of Watson.”
“I know, that, Logan,” Patton huffed, “logically, knowing how you work, I know that, but… But it’s not just the Watson thing! You make comments all the time about ‘icky, complicated human emotions’ and how feelings are ‘the bane of your existence,’ and… what am I supposed to think? I’m literally Thomas’s emotions.” He pressed one of the fluffy balls of the hoodie against his face and sighed. “You gave me this hoodie, but you said it was ‘purely for practical reasons,’ and sometimes I feel like we’re having fun making puns and everything, but then any time I point it out, you get mad, and I just… I feel like you don’t like me, but I can’t help what I am! And I wouldn’t want to. I just thought that maybe we could be friends anyway. But you don’t seem to want that.”
Logan wanted to protest. He wanted to offer a comforting explanation of where Patton was mistaken and correct the misconception, but…
“I don’t know,” Patton continued, “maybe it’s just a silly old feeling that doesn’t mean anything.”
“No,” said Logan. “Your conclusion makes logical sense.”
Patton’s eyes widened, and his bottom lip wobbled, and Logan realized he messed up. “It’s not true!” Logan blurted quickly, wow, he was starting to realize just how bad he was at communicating with Patton. “I don’t dislike you. Not at all. In fact, I… have a lot of respect for you.”
Patton chewed his lip, partially to help himself think and partially to help blink back the tears Logan had just rendered no longer necessary. “You… you do?”
“Well… yes. Definitely. The point at which our communication failed is that I perceive your relation to emotion differently from the way you perceive it. You heard my remarks about my disdain for emotion, and you attached it to yourself, thinking of yourself as the emotions that I despise. But I do not think of you so much as emotions themselves, but as the one who masters them, and that’s really quite a remarkable task. Feelings baffle me, and the way that you are able to experience and regulate them for Thomas and understand them in others is truly impressive.”
Patton hadn’t been looking at Logan for most of the conversation, but upon hearing Logan call him impressive, he finally brought his eyes up to meet Logan’s. Logan was relieved to see a smile on Patton’s face.
“Does that mean we are friends?” Patton beamed.
Logan smiled gently. “I certainly hope so.”
“YAY!” Patton tackled Logan in a hug, nearly knocking him off the bed. “I love friends.”
Logan chuckled. “Yes, I know. …Patton?”
“Uh-huh?”
“I truly am sorry,” Logan said quietly. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Somehow, Patton squeezed Logan tighter. “It’s okay, I know you didn’t, now that you explain it. I’m glad we had this talk. I guess we really should try to communicate better, huh?”
“Agreed. You’re sure you’re okay now, though?”
“Promise,” Patton grinned.
Logan squinted, assessed Patton’s face, and gave a satisfied nod. “Okay. Now I believe you.”