Work Text:
Summer of 2006
Roman smiled wide, making sure his suitcases were completely zipped up despite being packed full to bursting. He rolled them over to the front door and left them to wait until the morning when he’d be leaving for his summer-long acting camp. The very same acting camp that he had absolutely begged his parents to send him to. It took a fair amount of pleading, promising, and reminding them how quiet the house would be without him in it, before the Towers agreed to shell out the cash to send their younger son off to camp as a gift for his 15th birthday.
He scampered back up the stairs, nearly crashing into his older brother who was on his way to the bathroom.
“Hey! Watch it, Tom Thumb!” Roman smirked, dramatically brushing his hands down his pajama shirt to smooth it.
“Roman, for the umpteenth time, you and I are the same size. There is no reason for you to call me nicknames that are derivative of ‘small.’” Logan sighed, moving around him to enter the bathroom.
“But! You are two entire years older than I am, Albshort Einstein! So it only follows that I am going to be the tallest! Soon enough, my teeny older brother.. Soon enough.” Roman said triumphantly.
Logan just rolled his eyes and began brushing his teeth, not paying attention as Roman strolled to his bedroom and shut the door.
The next morning saw hugs and goodbyes, the youngest Towers leaving for a full summer. Over the course of the time he spent away, he made sure to check in, texting and calling when he had the chance. Time flew by, the days becoming weeks, weeks becoming months, before it was time for Roman to come home. Roman’s dad, Louis, decided to go pick him up from the airport alone, helping Roman load up his bags before beginning the trip back.
After a long winded retelling of his entire three month experience, Roman finally turned to his father and asked, “So, have I missed anything interesting at home while I was gone for an entire summer?”
His father just laughed slightly. “Not too many big changes really… Yeah, I’m just not thinking of anything out of the norm or above average for the Towers family.”
Roman raised an eyebrow at his father’s words, but he wasn’t sure what exactly he was getting at. They arrived home a short while later, the elder Towers moving to grab the bags and ushering Roman inside. He was met with a big hug from his mother, before looking around to find his brother.
“Logaaaan… You’re favorite brother is hooooome!” He called, not seeing him anywhere.
“Roman, you are my only brother.” He heard the calm voice of Logan, descending the stairs. As the bespectacled Towers rounded the corner, he had a strange look of subtle triumph on his face as he settled to lean against the bottom of the banister. Roman didn’t know how to place this expression, so foreign on his brother’s face. Logan took one more moment to enjoy his theatrical younger brother’s confusion before strolling forward to fully great him.
As Logan walked up, Roman’s eyes slowly trained upward to maintain eye contact, realizing as finally stood before him just what had happened. Logan was towering over him. And while he was not anywhere near tall by any means… In a family where their father was just around 5’3” and their mother stood below 5 feet, the fact that Logan was suddenly noticeably larger than Louis was quite a sight to behold.
Roman’s scowled slightly, having to look up at his older brother for the first time since he could remember.
“Welcome home, Thumbelina.”
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Chapter 21.5
“Alright, you’re sure they’re both busy?”
“Yes. Patton checked in with me to let me know he and Roman arrived safely at the mall, they should be held up with shopping for the next several hours. We have plenty of time.” Logan nodded, looking up at his companion.
“Ok. Let’s do this then.” Virgil nodded, glancing up at the building they were standing in front of. Logan nodded in return and the two of them made their way inside.
“Hello there! Welcome to Sanders Animal Rescue! How can I help you two gentlemen today?” The woman behind the counter asked as she saw them.
“We are here to find a pet to give as a gift for the holidays.”
The woman tried to hide a slight disappointed wince. “…You see, we don’t recommend giving animals as gifts unless you exceptionally sure they will be able to handle and take care of a companion for several years. It is a serious responsibility that is not to be taken lightly.”
Logan and Virgil shared a glance. “I promise, we are very confident.” Logan nodded to her.
“We aren’t getting a surprise puppy for the child of a friend or something. We are looking for a pet for an adult, who we know can and will handle it.” Virgil added, a slight edge to his voice.
The woman gave them both a nod. “If you are sure then, what kind of companion are you looking for? What is the recipient like?”
Logan and Virgil shared another glance. “He’s a big guy. Very sweet… A bit of a homebody. But he has a large backyard, a pool…. A heart of gold… And a cat allergy.” Virgil explained.
She definitely looked a little concerned when the giant infront of her described this other person as ‘a big guy.’ “…So when you say ‘big’ you mean…” She trailed off as Virgil gestured to Patton’s height and then vaguely out to his sides to show his relatively size. She gave a nod and only had to think for about a half a second before responding “…I think I know just the dog. Follow me.”
She stepped from around the desk and led them both off, taking them around to the area with the dogs. They made their way to a room with a large glass window, the three of them peering in to see a few puppies bounding around the room. They all seemed fairly small, Virgil and Logan not sure exactly what she was going to show them. She opened the door and watched as the tiny excitable puppies rushed to her feet, her smiling happily at the adorable little animals. But she continued, moving to the bed in the back corner that neither of the two men had really noticed. She reached in and picked up a large brown ball of fluff, the sleepy puppy immediately curling into her chest and yawning.
“This, not so little, girl is a Newfoundland.” She smiled, holding out the puppy for Virgil who took her into his arms cautiously but found all she really wanted to do was sleep and not squirm.
“Approximately how large will she be when she is fully grown?” Logan asked, looking at the dog and noting that at least with how sleepy she was, she had no problem being up as high as Virgil’s arms.
The shelter woman looked back at Logan and looked him over for a moment before responding with amusement in her tone. “…I’d say about as big as.. You.”
“….She’s perfect.”
——————
Text Messages from March 19 (TW: Slightly implied NSFW joke that completely goes over Logan’s head)
Logan: Virgil, Patton seems to be ill and does not seem to be willing to rest. Do you have any suggestions?
—— Admin ‘TD&A’ has added ‘Logan Towers’ to group message ‘The Squad’ ——
—— Admin ‘TD&A’ has updated ‘Logan Towers’ to ‘Dr. Spocktopus’ ——
TD&A: We have a code yellow on our hands
Charizard: Shit.
Sir Mix Somewhat: Oh lord no
Dr. Spocktopus: …What is this? What is a code yellow?
TD&A: Lo, it’s Virge. This is the group chat, hey everyone, text in so Lo know’s who’s who.
Charizard: Hi Lil Lo! It’s Charlotte!
Sir Mix Somewhat: Really? He can’t tell who I am? I’m obviously the best one here
—— ‘Princey’ has updated ‘Sir Mix Somewhat’ to ‘Literally the Worst’ ——
—— ‘Literally the Worst’ has updated themself to ‘Roman sucks’ ——
—— ‘Roman sucks’ has updated ‘Princey’ to ‘Tiny’ ——
Empress Neko: Great, the two idiots are at it again.
Dr. Spocktopus: …Hello Charlotte and Julia, I believe I have also determined who Reggie and Roman are.
—— ‘Tiny’ has updated themself to ‘Magnificent’ ——
—— ‘Magnificent’ has updated ‘Roman sucks’ to ‘Awful’ ——
TD&A: Great. Anyway, Code yellow means Pat is sick. I’m gonna pack up some stuff and head over, should be there in about 20.
Dr. Spocktpus: Oh. I didn’t realize this situation needed a code. Or assistance.
Charizard: It definitely does. I’d be there to help, but i’ve been home with the cats all day and I don’t want to make things worse. But I want updates!
—— ‘Awful’ has updated themself to ‘6’2’ ——
—— ‘6’2’ has updated ‘Magnificent’ to ‘5 nothing’ ——
TD&A: Will do. Lo, just tell Pat i’m gonna come by. And try and get him to sit down, maybe drink some water. Put a movie on and tell him you are the one who wants to relax. That should help.
Charizard: Good idea. Try and get Nutmeg into his lap, he won’t get up if it means disturbing her.
6’2: You could always just tie him down, use rope.
Empress Neko: That’s perfect!
Charizard: Love it.
—— ‘5 nothing’ has updated themself to ‘Talented’ ——
—— ‘Talented’ has updated ‘6’2’ to ‘Tone Deaf’ ——
Talented: Could we… Not insinuate my brother has rope?
—— ‘Tone Deaf’ has updated themself to ‘Sulley’ ——
—— ‘Sulley’ has updated ‘Talented’ to ‘Mike Wazowski’ ——
Sulley: What’s the problem, Ro? Rope seems like a fairly common household thing… And if they need some… I could bring some…
Dr. Spocktopus: Why on earth would we need rope?
—— ‘Mike Wazowski’ has updated themself to ‘Prince Eric’ ——
—— ‘Prince Eric’ has updated ‘Sulley’ to ‘Scuttle’ ——
—— ‘Scuttle’ has updated themself to ‘Buzz Lightyear’ ——
—— ‘Buzz Lightyear’ has updated ‘Prince Eric’ to ‘Mrs. Potato Head’ ——
TD&A: ….seriously, you two? Holy crap. Also, No. No rope. No more of that. Anyway.. Just got to Pat’s, Lo had set him up with a movie and he has Nutmeg across them both, pro move Char
Charizard: I do what I can.
—— ‘Mrs. Potato Head’ has updated themself to ‘Moana’ ——
—— ‘Moana’ has updated ‘Buzz Lightyear’ to ‘Heihei’ ——
TD&A: Update- I’ve managed to get him to take some NyQuil, so hopefully it knocks him out soon.
Charizard: Good. Hopefully a good rest will do him good. He never takes care of himself when he’s sick.
TD&A: Yeah, I think we caught it before it got too bad. Luckily.
—— ‘Heihei’ has updated themself to ‘Garchomp’ ——
—— ‘Garchomp’ has updated ‘Moana’ to ‘Joltik’ ——
—— ‘Joltik’ has updated themself to ‘Timon’ ——
—— ‘Timon’ has updated ‘Garchomp’ to ‘Pumbaa’ ——
Dr. Spocktopus: Thank you for the help, he’s actually asleep and hopefully he will get ample rest.
—— Admin ‘TD&A’ has locked nickname updating for non Admins ——
—— Admin ‘TD&A’ has updated ‘Timon’ to ‘Tweedle Dee’ ——
—— Admin ‘TD&A’ has updated ‘Pumbaa’ to ‘Tweedle Dumb’ ——
Tweedle Dee: Hey!
Tweedle Dumb: What the hell!
Empress Neko: …You two can’t be surprised.
Charizard: Honestly.