The Prince, The Gangster, The Teacher, And The Poet (Sander Sides Fanfic)

Chapter Thirty Eight-The Pond

TW: Mostly fluff, maybe spicy at a small point with one line? But nothing insane. Small flash to the city that Esseray took over at the end, but nothing disturbing, mentions of lies. Enjoy this cuteness while it lasts because there's one more chapter before they get to the castle! (What? Plot? In this fanfic? Insane!)

"It's so hot!" Patton whined, leaning on Logan's shoulder.

"Our combined body heat isn't going to make it any cooler, Patton." Logan rolled his eyes, but Patton just giggled, lacing their fingers together.

"Yeah, but it'll make me feel better." Logan relaxed a little.

"Then I suppose there is no harm done." He cleared his throat, looking to the side.

"It is unbearably hot. How are you still in that thing?" Roman asked, looking to Virgil, who was still in the hoodie Logan had given him.

"It's not that bad, you're just a royal baby." Virgil stuck out his tongue, but he was sweating. Patton always had some form of air conditioning, so he had never gotten stuck with this kind of heat before, but now he was starting to see some of the drawbacks of staying outside.

"What do people usually do when the sun has waged war on the earth?" Patton asked, looking to Virgil mostly.

"Well, we used to go to a pool or something." Virgil shrugged. "Though I'm not sure where we would find a pool out-"

"Found one!" Roman pointed to where, further down the road, there was a beautiful clear pond. Virgil stuttered for a few moments before shaking his head. 

"You know what, yeah, that works." Virgil blinked a few times. Roman was already taking off his shirt, walking over to the pool quickly.

"Come on, then! We can take a break now and just make up the time later tonight." He called to the others. Logan paused before turning to the other two. Patton only hesitated for a moment before sprinting over to where Roman was taking off his pants, moving to undo his shirt as well. Virgil looked to Logan.

"Everything alright?" Logan nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Yes. I'm fine." His voice was somewhat clipped.

"Are you sure? You don't have to swim if you don't want to." Logan gave him a small smile. It was sweet how nervous he was.

"I swear, I am fine. I actually enjoy swimming. You just..." He paused. "You just have to promise not to think less of me."

"What, do you swim weird?" Virgil raised an eyebrow.

"I do not 'swim weird'." Logan huffed, folding his arms as the pair started moving to the shore.

"Cold!" Patton shrieked, laughing as he stepped into the water.

"I warned you, pequeño lobo. It's going to be cold for a bit." Roman walked in too, grinning. It was nice and cool against the hot sun, and he turned to Patton, who was wading deeper. "Do you know how to swim?" He spoke as the thought dawned on him.

"Uh... sort of? I kind of assumed it's like riding a bike. I knew it once, so I'll kind of remember as I go, right?" Patton turned around with a smile. "And if I don't, my wonderful hero boyfriend will just have to save me!" Roman laughed.

"Of course I will! Just stay by me, and you will be as safe as a..." He trailed off. "As a person in really protective armor." He concluded, striking his pose again. 

"Logan, Virgil! The water is really cold!" Patton called out, waving to the pair. Logan went behind a rock to change, but Virgil didn't seem to really mind, taking off his jacket and shirt and putting them in a pile near his clothes. And suddenly, Patton was staring, because Virgil was muscular. Much more than Patton had expected. He always kept himself covered with something, whether it is a shirt or a blanket, and it dawned on Patton that this was one of the first times he'd seen anyone around him even remotely close to getting fully naked.