Chapter Text
The music floats through the hallways, simple guitar and vocals audible but indistinct. Shoes tap on the hard floor, seeking out the origin of the sound, speeding up but not hurrying as they get closer. They will arrive, as they always do, in plenty of time. It was a hard lesson to learn but learn it they did- even if they were late they would be waited for.
The music swells and lifts the heart and soul of the owner of the footsteps, lightening them imperceptibly as they click-clack along. They reach the room the music is coming from and fall quiet in the doorway. Beyond them another two pairs of shoes are gliding over the floor, softer on the ground but just as sure in their steps, placed confidently and with delirious enjoyment in the perfect spot, beat by beat.
Logan leans in the doorway, crossing his feet at the ankles and putting his hands in his pockets, drinking in the scene with a soft smile that mostly just crinkles his eyes.
Out in the centre of the ballroom, seeming to glow radiantly as they beam at each other and move with an ease borne of the most intimate familiarity and years of learned trust. The way they turn around without discussing; the way Patton steps into a spin without a moment of hesitation; the way Diego dips Patton briefly and their feet match exactly and instinctively through the song; it’s a beautiful work of art and Logan’s heart is fit to burst with pride and love. They’ve been dancing together for years and it shows.
He knows they’ve noticed him when Patton leans in slightly closer to Diego’s ear and then Diego’s eyes flick up briefly towards him. They whirl into a complicated move that ends with the two of them stood side by side, taking identical bows with their hands still entwined, and his smile spreads into a helpless grin, applauding and pushing off the door frame to join them.
“Hello sunbeam,” Logan murmurs as Patton bounces over to meet him, catching his curly-haired partner by the waist and sticking his cheek out for a kiss while they walk to meet Diego in the middle and Patton chirps happily about how delighted he is Logan decided to stop by on his way home. Logan looks over at Diego while Patton clings to his side, and their other partner is watching with a similar smile to the one Logan had just been watching them with. He waits, pushing his sleeves up and his hair back, pushing his bangs back into their bobby pins and stepping forwards to bring his arms down around Logan’s shoulders and press their foreheads together when the other two reach him.
“Didn’t think we’d see you until later,” Diego murmurs, and Logan smiles, tugging him in closer by the waist and tipping his chin up into a slow kiss. Patton huffs dramatically, tapping Logan on the shoulder until he, too, gets a sweet kiss.
“Thought I’d stop by and see what all the fuss was about,” Logan tells them, snorting softly as Patton burrows into his arms and forces Diego to step back somewhat, stealing the prime position. Diego rolls his eyes fondly and starts towards the stereo system to turn the music off, but Logan reaches a hand out to catch him by the arm. “Leave that on. I’d love to see the whole thing, if you’d be amenable?”
Patton lifts his head from Logan’s shoulder to look at Diego, and they nod at each other. “Don’t see why not,” Patton says, pecking Logan on the cheek again. “You can stay right here, berry, get the up close view. Don’t worry about getting in the way.”
Logan does as he’s told, and Diego resets the music, hurrying back to the centre to catch Patton up in a perfect hold while the music starts around them. They look beautiful together, they always have, both with the proper upright posture and proud lifted chins of professional dancers. Diego is the taller of the two, of a height with Logan himself, but Patton isn’t far behind, and they both have these gorgeous long dancer’s legs that never fail to make Logan’s knees weak.
He loves the way they flow through movements like they’re lighter than air, extensions creating artful lines with their bodies, making everything look unbelievably easy.
Logan actually knows for a fact that it’s not, and it’s sort of an odd secret that he may or may not have a fair amount of dance experience himself. Not to the level of his partners, by any means, but one day he hopes to surprise and show them that he could do a turn or two around a dance floor without embarrassing himself. Maybe in a room decorated with white, while they’re all in their best suits, and people are cheering and filming from all around, tears and smiles and happiness permeating the air… But that’s just a faint dream that it’s still a little too early to truly consider yet. For now he’s happy to just enjoy watching the two of them dance for him instead.
And boy, do they dance. They seem to be putting on more of a show now than before, Patton’s practice skirt flowing ethereally through the air with their momentum, highlighting each movement and drawing the eye. Logan sighs and turns as they dance a wide circle around him, body swaying with the lure of the sweet music.
It’s Patton that notices once again, and this time when they move near to him Diego spins Patton out away from him and just… lets go of him? He ends up stood in front of Logan with his arms up hopefully, and who is Logan to deny that request?
He laughs softly, warning Patton under his breath that he, “won’t be much compared to Dee,” but Patton just shrugs and pulls him along. They do a few simple waltz steps, moving around on the spot and beaming at each other as Logan concentrates and gets used to the rhythm. And then Diego, hair already escaping back out of its pins to tickle over his face, cuts in and steals Logan away.
Now Logan might not have much practice being the follower in the couple, but Diego is a scarily good and competent lead, and he somehow guides Logan into more and more complicated moves with just a nudge here or a twitch there, or a soft murmur of warning, until they’re dancing, really dancing, around the big space and Patton is clasping his hands by his mouth and Diego’s eyes are wide with surprise at what they’re managing to do. Sure it’s not the sort of choreography that wins competitions, but it’s far better than any of them expected.
The music comes to an end and Logan quickly warns Diego before turning the tables and dropping him in a confident dip, and in the following stillness every breath and noise seems to hang for a moment. And then Patton bursts into applause and Logan flushes red, pulling Dee back up and looking over at their partner with a bashful grin. Diego is staring at him in awe, mouth dropped, held him firmly against his body, and Logan clears his throat gently.
“Um, surprise?” He chuckles, making a swiftly muffled noise of surprise as Diego jumps forwards and kisses him hard, digging his hands into Logan’s hair and the back of his work shirt. Patton whistles at them from the side, wandering over to turn the stereo off and change his shoes, perfectly happy to watch his two boyfriends make out in the ballroom.
At least until he’s nearly ready to go. He calls out to them, laughing brightly at the way they surface with equally love-drunk and blushy expressions, clearing their throats and moving back to straighten (hah as if) themselves back out so they can join him.
They head home, back to the apartment that Logan is getting ready to officially move into in a couple of weeks, where Logan will cook them dinner and they’ll sit together at the tiny kitchen table and talk and talk, sharing their lives the way they’d all quite like to do for the rest of their lives.