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Normally, it was Roman and Virgil with the lights glowing under their doors far past midnight, but, as Roman made his way to the kitchen for a little 2am snack, he found a light glowing from under Logan’s door.
Logan, who always chastised Roman for not keeping a regular sleeping schedule. Logan, who recommended teas and apps and methods to calm himself to help him and Virgil sleep and wake at “normal” hours.
Logan was still awake.
And thinking back over the past couple nights, the sounds he attributed to Virgil probably leaving his room and shuffling around in the hallway before going downstairs, those sounds had sounded suspiciously close to being in Logan’s room.
And Logan had the nerve to lecture them about sleep?
Roman’s tired brain immediately got annoyed and he completely forgot about his snack mission, marching over to Logan’s door and busting in (as quietly as he could, he was still aware of the time) without knocking.
“Well well well, what do we have-” Roman started smugly, but cut himself off as he noticed Logan curled up in his desk chair, shaking. His face fell.
“Hey, Logan? You alright, pal?”
Logan cleared his throat, spinning his chair so he wasn’t facing Roman and uncurling slightly. “Yeah. I’m just tired. I didn’t realize the time, I’m working far too late, if you’ll excuse m--”
“Logan, you’re not as good of a liar as you think you are.”
Logan scoffed, pushing his glasses up and scrubbing his hands roughly over his face, still not facing Roman. “I am not lying, Roman, now could you please leave? I’d like to rest.”
Roman walked forward, putting his hand on Logan’s shoulder and immediately noticing how he tensed up.
“Hey,” he said quietly, gently, “why don’t you come downstairs with me for a minute, yeah?”
Logan finally turned back to look at him. His face was puffy and red. He’d obviously been crying, and Roman was going to find out why.
“Why?” Logan asked.
Roman shrugged, trying desperately to remain casual. “I just wanted a bit of company, thought you might like some too, right now? SInce we’re both awake.”
Logan stared at him for a few moments longer, and Roman was certain he was about to kick him out and go back to whatever he’d been doing before Roman barged in. Then, he carefully stood from the desk chair. Roman winced as he heard joints crack.
“Fine. Only briefly, though.”
Roman smiled. “Of course. I was about to make some hot chocolate. Would you like some?”
Logan frowned as they made their way through the house. “That’s rather unhealthy,” he remarked. “Especially at this hour.”
Roman shrugged. “I find it relaxing, I make it sometimes when I can’t sleep and I want something different than those teas you’ve bought for me and Virgil.”
Logan hummed.
“Tell you what,” Roman said. “I’ll make you a mug, and if you don’t wanna finish it, you don’t have to.”
Logan hesitated. “I suppose that would be... agreeable.”
Roman subtly herded Logan into a chair at the kitchen island and started gathering his ingredients.
“So,” he started conversationally, interrupting the silence as he stirred the hot chocolate, “what were you working on so late?”
“Just grading papers,” Logan said noncomittally.
Roman threw him a look over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t sound so sure, there, Pocket Protector.”
Logan sighed, resting his elbows on the counter and lowering his head into his hands.
“Everything. I was trying to finish everything. There’s lessons to plan, tests to make, papers to grade, events to consider.”
“That sounds like a lot to do in one night,” Roman said gently.
“When else does it have time to get done?” Logan’s voice was tight and tense.
Roman placed a mug in front of Logan, hot chocolate steaming and three marshmellows slowly melting. He leaned against the island across from Logan.
“Maybe you need to take some time off,” he suggested. “You work harder than anyone, you’re going to end up working yourself into the ground.”
Logan wrapped his hands around the warm mug, but he didn’t bring it to his lips. “If I take time off there will just be even more work to catch up on.”
“You could ask for help,” Roman tried. “Or, like you always tell me and Virgil, and even sometimes Pat needs to hear it, you’re not going to get work done quickly or efficiently if you’re tired or emotional. And you, my dear teacher, seem to be in both categories at the moment. And I worry that you have been the past nights, as well.”
Logan sighed, rubbing his face again. “I know, I know. I just...”
“Logan, I’m not joking when I say take a break. Even if it’s just a day. Heck, even just an afternoon, but you gotta take a break, man.”
Logan made eye contact with him for the first time that night. Despite the exhaustion in every single one of his features, his eyes were hard.
“And waste my time on inconsequential nonsense? Spend hours doing nothing? I cannot fathom spending that much time being unproductive.”
“Well,” Roman said, shifting around the counter so he was standing next to where Logan was sitting, “maybe that’s precisely why you need to do it.”
Logan looked back down at his mug, finally taking a few sips of the hot chocolate before speaking again. “I don’t know how to take a break. I’ve always been working.”
Roman downed the rest of his hot chocolate. “Will you let me help you?”
Logan looked up and searched his eyes. The hardness in his own was gone, replaced by sorrow and stress and pure exhaustion. He looked back down and swallowed the rest of it, much like Roman had.
“Okay,” he whispered. He looked up with a half-hearted smirk. “What do I have to lose?” He asked sarcastically.
Roman chuckled, offering Logan a hand. “That’s the spirit.”
They slowly made their way back up to the hallway where their rooms were, fingers intertwined. “Yours or mine?”
Logan gave him a bewildered and nervous look.
Roman bumped their shoulders together and rolled his eyes. “Not like that, you dork. Just to sleep.”
Logan rubbed his eyes. “Yours. I don’t want to even look at my work right now.”
Roman led them to his room and had Logan change into some of his pajamas, considering he was still dressed in what he’d worn to work that way. Roman’s t-shirts were adorably huge on him, and Roman had to bite back a comment about that, not wanting to rile Logan up.
“Lay down on your stomach and try to just relax,” Roman said, guiding him to the bed.
Logan gave him a suspicious look, but did as he asked.
Roman carefully sat next to him and began running his fingernails up and down Logan’s back through the thin shirt.
Logan tensed at the contact at first, but he slowly relaxed into it, melting into a teacher-shaped puddle on the mattress. He started letting out little involuntary noises of bliss and Roman had to bite back a grin at how adorable it was.
“Feeling a little better?” Roman whispered, not wanting to break the moment.
Logan hummed, rubbing his face deeper into the pillow.
Roman carefully eased himself down onto the bed so he was laying next to Logan. To his surprise, Logan’s body gravitated towards him and they naturally found themselves wrapping around each other.
“Warm,” Logan mumbled, nuzzling his face into the crook of Roman’s neck.
Roman blushed and smiled, bringing his hand up to carefully scratch at Logan’s scalp. He had never seen someone as boneless as Logan seemed right now.
“How’re you s’good at this,” Logan breathed out, his warm breath on Roman’s neck making Roman shudder.
“Guess I just know you,” Roman whispered. “Get some rest, darling.”
Logan hummed.
Roman was certain he’d fallen asleep, and was starting to drift away himself, when Logan spoke again.
“Really like you,” he muttered. “For a long time.”
Roman grinned and pressed his lips to the top of Logan’s head. “You too. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, love. Let’s sleep now, you need the rest.”
Needless to say, it was the best night of sleep either of them had gotten in a very long time.