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Logan smiled, the pride of a fully finished monologue filling every inch of his body. He felt a slight twinge in his chest when he saw the admiration in Patton's gaze. He had recently understood that he was not a complete exception to emotion, learning that he had feelings for each of the three Sides. Looking into the situation under an objective angle, he knew that the behaviors each of them exhibited clearly pointed to a purely platonic relationship, and he was more than okay with putting his feelings aside to make them feel better. Not that he would ever tell them.
"Alright, Logan," Thomas started, uncertainty laced into his tone at Logan's need to prove him wrong. They were in the middle of filming a new Q&A video for his channel, and Roman had the nerve to say, yet again, that Virgil's contribution was so low and limited that he wasn't useful in Thomas's personality. Even though the tone and inflection of his voice pointed toward it being a joke, Virgil's expression pained Logan to a point he couldn't explain, and he couldn't help but stick up for him... objectively.
Logan turned his head from the three Sides to lock his eyes on Thomas in curiosity. "If you had to ship yourself with one of the other Sander's Sides, who would it be, and why?" He heard a few 'ooh's from the others around him, but his eyes stayed focused on Thomas's face. It wasn't until recently that Logan had understood the popular term "ship", so he was fully aware of the true meaning of the question. Judging by the look Thomas was giving him, he knew what Logan was thinking. Logically speaking, it would make perfect sense for Thomas to know Logan's true emotions, but the idea of someone knowing about the way he felt made him want to squirm in a way that he wasn't fond of.
Giving each of his fellow Sides a glance, he forced his expression into neutrality. Pushing his emotions down inside his chest, he made sure to look at it from an outward perspective.
His first instinct was to choose Virgil. Though he was very emotionally charged, he was the only side willing to debate with him in a reasonably civil way. Not only that, but Virgil was the first Side that he truly felt a connection to. Their nonverbal communication was a bond he had yet to experience with anyone, and it helped him feel as though he wasn't completely alone. Giving Virgil a quick once-over, he realized the reason why he couldn't choose him. Patton and Roman were both hopelessly emotional. If he were to pick Virgil, their reactions could be anything on a scale from mild irritation to a full-blown tantrum, not to mention the way Virgil's constant negativity would cause Logan to, figuratively, lose his mind. Given the context, Logan couldn't comprehend choosing only Thomas's anxiety.
Turning to look between the two remaining Sides, he found the decision to be harder and harder to make. Roman was one for romance and loyalty. He secretly craved the feeling of love being directed at him, and he knew that Roman would easily be able to satiate that hunger. Not only would he be able to help Logan, but it would be equally beneficial. Roman, upon the furthering of his development as part of the team, had begun to become more dependent on him. Being sure to understand more of what Logan tries to say and being more open to his arguments, they had started to form a strong bond, each helping the other with their regular struggles and strengths. However, part of Roman's Side was an oversized ego and an immense love of Disney movies that constantly tested Logan's patience for animated physics. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to solely dedicate himself to Roman, either.
Attention shifting to Patton, he felt a twinge of guilt for setting aside two of the three Sides. He had accepted the fact that he had loved each of them equally, as irrational as it may have been. However, to answer the question, he knew why he'd have to choose Thomas's morality.
"Hypothetically, of course, if I had to choose one of them to ship myself with-" Logan's voice was fighting the slight emotion trying to rise up, "-I'd have to choose Patton. Given the outward perspective, it would be rather aesthetically pleasing to pair up the metaphorical head and heart. Although from the inward perspective, Patton has always been the one to keep me, as the logical side in Thomas, more neutral in daily situations, in the same way, I've done for him." Throughout his explanation, he felt all eyes on him as he kept his focus off of Patton. He had to make the choice, but he didn't have to see the reaction.
A high pitched squeal came from Patton's side of the room. Out of pure shock and concern, Logan's head snapped over to look at him and was surprised to find pure joy in his expression.
"Logan, you chose me?" Patton's tone was one that caused Logan to blush, but he nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth for fear of smiling too broadly. Without warning, he leaped toward Logan, Patton's lips crashing into his in a flurry of pure, unadulterated emotion. He hardly had time to react before Patton wrenched himself away from him, embarrassment causing his cheeks to flush. Logan, however, was flushing for a completely different reason. Grabbing onto the sweater tied around Patton's shoulders, he pulled him back, locking their lips once more.
This kiss was something Logan had never experienced before. As aspects of Thomas's personality, they each had experience with kissing when it came to each of his partners, but it was something different entirely to be kissing another Side. The emotion coming from Patton only pulled them closer together, almost as if being pulled by a figurative magnet. Much like the rest of their dynamic, their kiss was rather equal, each of them matching each other's passion with their own. Logan could practically feel the joy and relief pouring into him from Patton through their kiss, and he couldn't name anything that made him happier than that moment.
They separated, both somewhat out of breath, but Logan looked down, somewhat embarrassed by his actions. He hadn't meant to let emotions take over, but saying he didn't enjoy it would be a lie. A soft 'damn' sounded from Thomas, and it only made Logan flush deeper before he heard Patton take a deep breath.
"That was..." the anticipation practically killed Logan as he waited for the adjective Patton would use. "Amazing!" He let out a low sigh and smiled, feeling rather elated at the happiness Patton was showing. Roman let out a frustrated huff, causing the two of them to look up to meet his eyes. Patton, seemingly understanding whatever Roman was feeling, walked back to his spot, a twinkle in his eye that caused Logan's smile to grow. After a second, his attention drifted back to Roman. He straightened as he finally caught his breath and waited for Roman's frustration to filter out slightly so he could say whatever it is he wanted to say.
"Patton gets a kiss with my prince, and I just have to watch?" Logan was slightly taken aback by Roman's usage of the phrase "my prince", but he was more focused on Thomas's creative Side as he marched over to him. Yet again, with no time for a reaction, Roman grabbed Logan's tie and pulled him into another breathtaking kiss. This kiss was quite different than the one he shared with Patton. While he and Patton were both equals in their passion, the amount of raw romance caused the kiss with Roman to become much more heated.
Roman was quick to take control, wrapping his arms around Logan's neck to pull him closer. He practically felt the love figuratively oozing out of his body and it only brought joy in Logan's heart. All sense of his surroundings faded away as the intensity of Roman's kiss took over. He wanted nothing more than to continue switching between the two as he learned, one by one, that his feelings were reciprocated. The high he experienced from just a simple kiss was something he had never experienced, and he found himself already hoping for it for the rest of his life.
The two parted, but both stood absolutely still, their noses separated by a hair's width. Just when Logan was about to lean in to kiss him again, Roman backed into his spot by the television.
"What is happening?" he found himself asking, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath for the second time. Virgil chuckled from beside him, and Logan turned, his face expressing pure curiosity.
"I did say that Patton was the most impulsive out of all of us. Guess I underestimated Princey's passion," he said, smirking. Logan felt a sharp pain in his heart, catching him by surprise considering how happy he was following the kisses he had just received. For some reason, a wave of sadness drowned him at the idea of Virgil not returning his feelings.
"It seems as though you did," Logan said, hoping that his voice didn't give away his feelings.
"Hope you don't mind, but I underestimated my own impulsivity, too." Logan's eyes went wide at the implication and he quickly turned to both Roman and Patton. Unfortunately, their faces didn't hold any answers as both of them glanced at each other with uncertainty. Virgil grabbed Logan's tie, pulling him toward the banister as their lips connected in a much more hesitant way.
Logan had gotten to know much about Virgil over the years as he became a part of their team, but it wasn't until that moment that he truly understood why he was known as Anxiety. He could feel it in the hesitation when Virgil pulled him close. He could feel it in the way his body tensed up when they locked lips. Logan could feel the nervousness and hesitation drift into his own body as they kissed, much in the same way he felt Patton's joy and Roman's passion. Using the previous emotional highs to his own advantage, he took control of the kiss for Virgil, pushing up onto his tiptoes to connect them further. Virgil's tense stance relaxed slightly as Logan put everything he had into the kiss, his only objective to make Virgil feel comfortable with his decision. After a second or two, Virgil relaxed completely, pushing himself to try and match Logan's passion as the anxiety flowed out of them both, freeing them from their nervousness.
Logan pushed away first, very hesitantly, his calves giving out as he needed to drop back down to the heels of his feet. He was the one to return to his spot, glancing up to meet Virgil's eyes, joy building in his heart when he saw a childlike smile on his face.
Thomas clearing his throat brought all four of them to snap their attention back to him. He was still holding his phone, a bright smile on his face as he looked at Logan, causing him to blush. "So... that just happened," he chuckled, turning his phone off. Logan narrowed his eyes at Thomas, realization burning a hole in his heart.
"That wasn't a real question, was it?" The question was met with a simple shake of the head, causing Logan to let out a short breath. Logan felt slight embarrassment as he realized that Thomas did, in fact, know about his feelings beforehand. "You knew I loved them and you made me choose?" Logan was unaware of what he had said until he felt three sets of eyes lock onto him. It was rather difficult to comprehend the next few seconds as all three spoke in unison:
"He knew how you felt?"
"You love us?!"
"What a smart tactic... why hadn't I thought of it sooner?"
Deciding to answer the easiest question first, Logan directed his attention to Roman. "You didn't think of it because it took more than just Thomas's creativity. It took Janus, as well. You wouldn't have thought to trick me into confessing my... feelings without the help of Deceit himself. Knowing you, the confession would have involved, and I quote, 'a dragon witch' and or 'a grand gesture', neither of which would work smoothly with, well, Logic." Roman nodded, a slight pout on his lips.
"You're welcome, by the way," Janus's voice rang out. Logan noticed Virgil shiver at the sound, and quickly shifted his attention towards the question he had asked.
"As for Thomas knowing how I felt, he is much better at picking up clues than I had anticipated, much like I am much worse at hiding emotions than I had hoped. The only reason he knew was because of the utter lack of objective truth when it came to defending each of you from each other. I do admit, I may have lost my neutrality, but it only makes sense considering how I... feel. Look at me, spouting nonsense about feelings and emotions," Logan felt a slight tingle down his spine as he watched Virgil's face transform into one of understanding and admiration. Logan turned to look at Patton, who's eyes held nothing but love.
"To answer your question, Morality, Logic isn't one for understanding emotions as complex as love. As difficult as it was to express the sentiment, it's much harder to identify it. To put it as simply as I can, when around the three of you, life is... easy. To put it in Thomas terminology, I feel 'itty bitty butterflies in my tummy, and sunshine in my heart.'" A groan sounded from Virgil and synchronized aww's came from Roman and Patton. Logan glanced at Virgil, both of them sharing a look of mild disgust before Logan continued. "If you don't trust the logical conclusion - which let's be honest, you shouldn't - all three of you should know exactly how I feel. Through the interaction each of us had, I was able to feel each of your specific emotions regarding your feelings towards me. It should stand to reason, then, that you should each have felt the same thing coming from me." Logan found himself holding in a breath as each of them glanced around, smiles and blushes growing on each face.
"We love you, too, kiddo," Patton said, immediately shaking his head. "I won't call you kiddo, anymore." Logan nodded, a slight chuckle bursting from his mouth. Thomas cleared his throat.
"As pure and wholesome as this is, we do have a Q and A to finish," he said, gesturing towards the camera still faced at him. Logan nodded, bringing each of their attention back to Thomas. "Alright, Virgil. Sarah on twitter wants to know how you do your eyeshadow."