Sweet Circadian

Logan is walking towards his bedroom. It's half an hour before his bedtime and he's shut off his electronics. He hasn't seen Roman all day.

Logan assumed Roman was off on one of his insane adventures, fighting somewhere, conjuring the Dragon Witch and dueling with her. He was wrong.

He passes Roman's room on the way to his own and notices a light coming from underneath. If Roman is on one of his adventures, then where is the light coming from?

He came to the conclusion that Roman had left the light on, forgetting to turn it off before leaving. Logan opened the door to Roman's room to turn it off for him.

But there was Roman- hunched over his desk- pen in hand. There had to have been 50 crumbled up balls of paper on the floor. The paper under Roman's pen was empty- not a word written. The Prince, half asleep, hadn't heard Logan come in.

"Roman? Are you ok?" Logan questioned.

Roman jumped at the sudden noise, bouncing up and quickly summoning his sword, whirling around to strike the scare.

But Roman was tired. The harsh movement sent him stumbling, dizzy, and an inch from passing out. Logan quickly ran over and caught Roman, holding him up so he wouldn't fall.

The Prince stood and rested his head on Logan's chest for a second. It was warm, contrasting to the chill of his room. Roman had kept it cold, he found it easier to stay awake when his body was constantly shivering.

Logan gently stroked Roman's hair. It was messy, undone, and clearly not styled. It didn't take the genius long to figure out what he was doing.

Princey immediately snapped himself back awake, having drifted off in Logan's grasp. He had a play to finish.

Logan wouldn't be so easily budged. He grabbed Roman, tightly grasping him and holding him still, refusing to let him go and hurt himself more. Roman tried to free his body from the nerd's hands but to no avail.

He had no energy left. His muscles screamed in pain, eyes weighing more than his sword. Roman could barely hold himself up- that's why Logan refused to let go.

"Roman..." Logan said in a sweet, soothing voice. Low and calm- caring but stern. Logan didn't finish- knowing that Roman didn't have the energy to produce a sentence. He didn't need Roman to finish. He knew exactly what happened.

Logan gently picked up Roman, lifting him softly off his feet and carrying him to the bed. His strong grip but soft-touch would have made Roman swoon- if he had the energy for that.

Logan softly smiled, sitting down next to the tired prince. His hand gently caressed his cheek, rubbing his thumb up and down his head, soothing him. Roman tried to speak, he wanted to just finish his work, oh but how touch starved he was. Logan's soft movement on his face filled him with something he didn't know he missed so dearly.

Logan picked up on this. He saw how Roman's face changed from tired resistance to helpless giving in. He saw the small smile form on his face, how he ever so slightly leaned into his touch. How, without words, Roman begged him to never let go.

His own sleep hormones were setting in, his perfect circadian rhythm waits for no man. So he laid down next to him. It was just Logan next to Roman, until Roman rolled over half onto Logan's chest. He curled his arm around Logan's waist, pressing into him and falling fast asleep. Logan didn't bother to fight it, he knew he'd never win. Whether he'd admit it or not, he didn't want to win. The sweet long-forgotten feeling of another's embrace filled Logan as much as it did Roman.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. They were both asleep, both warm and comfortable in each other's arms. Before the other knew it, it was 10 am and Patton was knocking at the door. Neither awoke to this, so Patton opened the door.

There were Roman and Logan, curled into each other and sound asleep. The deep circles under Roman's eyes had long since faded away. Logan's eyelids fluttered, a dream swimming underneath them. The scene melted Patton's heart. he wouldn't dare wake them now.

He quietly walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind them and leaving the two to rest.