The Melting Pot Complex

Chapter Fifteen ~ Logan

{Possible trigger warnings: sad roommate bonding, finding something personal

If I miss something, I apologize and please let me know}

When he finally got himself pulled together, Patton stood up slowly and looked at the others. He wiped his eyes a couple times and took a shaky breath, then straightened his back.

"Logan."

Logan raised his eyebrows at his name. "Yes?"

Patton took another deep breath. "I want you to gather everything in the apartment that's soft. Blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, anything you can find."

"And what should I do with those?"

"Pile them all up on the couch in the living room." Patton turned to Virgil. "Virgil, there's a box of brownie mix on the top shelf of the cabinet left of the sink. The directions are on the side and it shouldn't take long to make."

Virgil grunted, playing with his hoodie strings.

"Roman, I want you to put together a list of as many lighthearted movies as you can think of. Disney, musicals, romcoms, anything dumb that might make us smile, just a little bit."

"What is the point of this?" Logan asked, raising his eyebrows. The other two looked at each other, then him, then Patton again.

Patton took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "We are having a movie night. I'm going to go down to the vending machine down the hall from the lobby and buy as much junk food as I can carry, and we're going to all cuddle up in a big pile in front of the TV and watch the goofiest movies ever made."

He nodded to himself, as if confirming what he'd just said. "And even if we are still absolutely miserable at the end of the night, we will know that we can come to each other with things like this because we've all been through it together."

For a moment, no one budged, then Virgil grunted and began to move.

Patton moved after him, but stopped short when Virgil walked over to the cabinet by the sink and pulled it open, reaching up to grab a red cardboard box.

"Well?" He asked as he turned back around. "He gave us all jobs. How am I the first one to get on mine?"

Roman bustled out of the room, muttering to himself. Patton followed him, each of them going to their respective rooms.

Logan started in his room, grabbing the blankets out of the storage trunk he kept at the end of his bed. He tossed them on the coffee table and returned to his room, grabbing his pillow and the one that laid in his cozy reading chair. 

"Virgil, do I have your permission to enter your room?" He called as he set the pillows next to his blankets.

"Go for it." Virgil grunted from the kitchen. "Just don't touch anything that isn't part of what Patton told you to do."

"Of course." Logan went back down the hallway.

Virgil hadn't made his bed that morning. Logan tugged the thick blanket off the top of it, then picked up Virgil's pillow as well. He looked around for other things that might be useful.

There was a small something shoved under the edge of the desk, something that looked soft and cuddly, but Logan's instincts screamed that such a hiding place meant it was very private. He left the small something and added Virgil's things to the pile in the living room.

Roman had returned to the kitchen and was diligently scribbling away on a piece of paper. Logan asked him for permission to enter his room, as he'd asked Virgil. The man grunted and waved a hand, a sign that Logan took to be a yes.

The beauty vlogger had quite a few blankets around his room, draped decoratively across the bed and hung on the walls. It took Logan several minutes to collect them all, and he carried them in folded pairs out to the living room.

Patton pushed the front door of the apartment open as Logan set down the last of Roman's things. His arms were filled with bags of chips and candy bars.

"So much processed food will not be good for any of us, Patton." Logan admonished quietly. He really wasn't sure if he meant it.

Patton offered a weak grin. "We'll brush our teeth, don't worry. Did you get my things yet?"

"No, I saved your room for last." Logan adjusted his glasses.

"Good. There's a massive pile of stuffed animals in the corner and I have them all stacked on a blanket to be moved easily. You won't be able to do it yourself though, hold on."

~~~Two AM, After the Final Movie~~~

Logan yawned widely, glancing at his roommates. Patton and Virgil were both asleep, and Roman was going to be very soon. He stretched and slowly extracted himself from the pile of blankets and limbs.

Roman grunted sharply, his head snapping up as he blinked tiredly. "'Gan?"

"We should go to bed." Logan said quietly, looking around the living room. "We'll all be miserable if we sleep out here the whole night."

Roman nodded and shifted a little, then his head drooped again. Logan rolled his eyes.

He woke Patton first, gently shaking the man's shoulder until he was responding. They agreed that yes, it was time to go to bed. Patton went to get Virgil up while Logan re-gained Roman's attention.

His roommates moved in zombie-like fashion as they gathered their things. Logan helped Patton move the blanket of stuffies back to his room, then went to pick up his blankets and pillow.

"Good idea, Patty-cake. It did help some." Roman mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Patton managed a small smile.

Virgil just gave him a hug before disappearing down the hallway. Logan waited until Patton's attention was on him before nodding quietly. "It did help. Thank you for suggesting it."

Patton nodded, shrugging. "When I was little and one of my family would have a bad day, that was how we dealt with it. I figured I could bring a little family tradition to my new family."

Logan paused. "We're... not a family."

"We are in our own way. Goodnight, Logan, and good luck with your appeal."

Patton wandered off down the hall. Logan sighed and checked to make sure the front door was locked, then made his way back to his room.

There was a picture frame on his bedside table, and after he'd changed for bed, Logan picked it up.

His mother's gentle face smiled up at him. Only now, once he was alone, did Logan let the silent tears fall.

{They watched like, 90% Disney movies and Virgil only complained once a movie, y'all should be proud of him}