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Logan looked out at the open sea, taking in the ocean breeze, the sun was setting over the horizon, as beautiful as the first 5 on the island. What was sorely out of place was the gash he had on his leg. He had waded into the water, wanting to feel the current and the coolness of the water when he suddenly felt a sharp sting on his leg, cursing quietly as he nearly fell to the ground, gritting as he had to put immediately on the leg, sending pain rocketing through it.
Logan didn’t want to burden the others with his stupidity and the stupid gash he had, though. They already had enough trying to set up a signal fire or weave baskets, he hadn’t been doing anything and now his stupid leg was stupidly cut and Logan hoped it stupidly wouldn’t get infected, and he wouldn’t stupidly die and leave his actually smart friends alone without his stupidity.
Logan could dress it himself, he just need the little bottle of anti-septic that he knew he would have to at least try to get. He just hoped he wouldn’t have to wait long, as he was determined not to burden his boyfriends with his stupidly hurt leg.
He stood there one last moment, breathing in, trying to steel himself as his leg screamed at him from the cut. Luckily for him, the pain slowly ebbed into something more bearable and Logan felt secure walking back after he had torn just enough from his shirt to make a mini tourniquet so no blood would stain his pants, and miraculously, it worked, Logan pulling his pant leg back over the cut, seeing no evidence of the tourniquet or any blood.
Walking as normally as he dared, balancing the pain of walking normally with trying to draw as little attention to the leg, Logan hobbled back to the camp inland. First through the thick reeds brushed up against Logan’s legs, lighting up the nerves on the outskirts of the gash where the tourniquet was, Logan clenching his teeth. Thankfully after that, the tropical trees gave to much shade for reeds to thrive under them, transitioning the ground from a field of reeds to a forest, Logan walking just a minute or two, still in excruciating pain, until he reached the camp he and his boyfriends had.
Virgil was weaving a basket with Patton, who was talking animately about something, dimples plain as day despite Logan still being a ways away. Virgil himself had a small smile on his face, one Logan loved to see as it was only when Virgil truly was comfortable and enjoying himself that the smile ever came out.
Janus and Emile were working on the shelter, Emile being held up by Janus to reach the roof that they were just near to completing.
Logan passed the project he had been working on since the moment they all had been stranded on the island. A water filtration system.
By the end of the 2nd day Logan had finally managed to perfect the contraption, filling a basket below with seawater, setting it out in direct sunlight letting the water evaporate and condense on an upper canopy above it, running down into a container to collect the now salt free water.
He saw so many things he could improve on with it, but that would have to wait until after he took care of his leg.
Patton was the first to notice him, somehow beaming even brighter as he called out to Logan.
“Logan, how was the sunset? All you could hope for?” Patton knew the answer, Logan knew that, but he replied anyway with what he always said.
“No more than yesterday.”
“And yet you keep going back.”
Logan would’ve smiled at Patton, their little personal little inside joke bringing a sense of comfort and mirth to him, but instead a stab going through his leg cut through any amusement and reminded him of what he had to do, that he couldn’t- he couldn’t...
Logan stopped, staring at the bag he knew had the anti-septic. He knew he should walk towards it, slip it away and make sure his stupid gash doesn’t get infected. But instead he stopped, realizing the world is starting to spin. He wanted to reprimand the world, telling it to stop spinning, but instead her heard someone distantly say his name. Logan for the life of him couldn’t tell who it was. He felt like that should alarm him, that he shouldn’t let them... know something, but all his brain could do was tell him to determine who was speaking to him.
As Logan turned his head, he realized how slow everything felt, feeling as if he were moving through molasses as he saw the soft and concerned face of Emile looking at him, having been lowered back to the ground by Janus at some point. Something told him Emile shouldn’t be looking, shouldn’t be concerned, but the why escapes him as the world speeds up, throwing him off balance, Logan crying out as his leg suddenly buckled, Logan feeling something running down his leg as the world turned to black before he hit the ground.
Logan caught only snippets of things after that, someone yelling something, a hand pressing on his leg while someone carded through his hair gently, whispering gentle encouragements he couldn’t make out, and so, so much pain.
When Logan finally opened his eyes for good, it took a moment for his brain to catch up, wondering why he was lying in the shelter and not gazing at the sunset. Then all the memories flooded back, of him wading out foolishly into the ocean getting cut by something in the water and hobbling back to camp to clean it himself only to collapse.
Must have lost more blood than I thought...
Logan craned his head to look around, wincing when his head spun and he made a tiny whimper at the tiny headache pain he only just registered.
“I see you’re finally awake, Logan. ” Logan nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice, having not registered whoever else was there. Janus’s head poked into Logan field of view, a disapproving frown etched into Janus’s face.
“That was not smart, Logan.” Logan winced, knowing he would hear those words, but they still stung as Logan knew it was true. However, Janus’s expression became confused as Logan replied rapidly.
“I know, I should’ve been out so far in the ocean, the pieces of the ship are still out there and-”
“No, that’s not what I meant, you just wanted to enjoy yourself and I can’t fault you for that, it was unlikely the part of the ship would’ve washed here. I’m not talking about you getting hurt, I’m talking about you hiding it. In fact-”
Janus got up, peering his head out of the shelter and announcing to the others: “Logan’s awake.”
Janus pausing and chuckling as he heard Virgil yell out, “Pocket Protector’s awake?!” and sounds of desperate scrambling.
Logan started to protest, something about not being worth the trouble of-
“And he’s talking bad about himself!” Not prepared for the absolute screech of “WHAT?! No one talk bad about my son!” by Patton, who rivaled Logan’s own proclaims of ‘Falsehood.’
Janus mutters something about Logan not being Patton’s son as he pulls his head back in, waiting to the cavalry to arrive, a smug grin on his face.
Logan could barely form a word to scold Janus for bothering them before his boyfriends are hovering over him, checking Logan’s temperature and the cut, making Logan wince as Emile got a little too close to the cut in his light prodding. Patton gave him a stern talking to, alternating between grabbing at Logan’s hand and pointing a stern finger at Logan as he rattles on about why he’s great and ‘no son of his can talk bad about himself.’ Virgil decidedly the most anxious and frustrated, switching between looking concerned and glaring at Logan.
Logan wilted under Virgil’s gaze, causing Virgil’s expression to soften immediately and signifcantly, Virgil squeezing around the other two to raise Logan’s head to rest in his lap, Logan recognizing who was carding through his hair in the snippets of memory he recalls. He whimpered, not knowing exactly why, but in the process he got three of his boyfriends soothing him just from that simple sound.
Logan looked to Janus, who was quietly sitting nearby, smirking at Logan, locking eyes with him. A simple message in Janus’s expression conveying everything.
You think you’re stupid, we are here to prove you’re not. You think you’re a burden, we are here to show you you’re a gift . You think you don’t deserve our love, we are here to tell you our love for has no conditions.
You are loved, Logan. Don’t ever forget that.