Getting It Together

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

"Pascal, what is wrong with you‽ How could you do this to Logan‽" Potter had finally returned from where ever they had disappeared to when Beatrice left, and now he was on the warpath.

Pascal squeaks, hardly hearing them. He moves his hand to wrap around Logan's waist to stabilize them as they leaned against the door in their room. Logan moved downward, kissing his jawline.

"He loves me...He loves me!"

"Pascal, Pascal, please! This isn't the way! I can assure you this is hurting Logan physically, and boy you've got no idea what this is doing to his mental state! I know you were raised not to question this, but please do try to understand, what has just been done to Logan is wrong! You were even worried yourself! You're hurting him until he caves in! Please, we've been over this!" Koala begs.

"He's good..." Pascal cuts off with a meep as Logan moves his hand around Pascal's shoulder. "Mm! Oh-"

"Cal, please, we saw that you were uncomfortable by the whole situation. Surely you can see why this is wrong?" Seagull pries.

"For God's sake, can you at least put this on hold for two seconds?" Potter complains. "Detach your mouths from each other!"

"But-" Pascal whines, before cutting off. "Ah! Bunny!"

"Pascal, you electrocuted your bunny many times. Do you really think he loves you for being you?" Lolita asks. "True love just doesn't work like that!"

"It sure seems like it." Pascal quips, biting back another noise.

"He loves you because when he doesn't love you he gets hurt. Is that really a good thing?" Seagull presses on.

"But...But he..." Pascal's eyes were slightly glazed, his knees buckling under him.

"Logan, for god's sake put the blood back in your head!" Potter yells. "Two seconds for a normal conversation in this godforsaken hellhole!"

"Bunny wait, h-hang on..." Patton trails off, his eyes fluttering. "Lo, we should-Oh-We should stop-"

Logan pauses and slowly backs away.

"Okay. Forgetful and Koala, go check on Alejo." Seagull instructs. "Lolita, go find...Something else for Logan to do. Potter, go check on Gio. I'll talk with Pascal."

The ghosts all go their separate ways, and Pascal sits down on the bed. Seagull drifts next to him. "Finny? Are you okay? You know what you did was bad right? You should never hurt someone, even if you love them."

"You're not supposed to call me that nickname," Pascal says quietly, shifting on the bed. "Mama said it wouldn't hurt him. She said it was like giving a kid a shot."

"She lied to you. I know that's hard to believe but sometimes...Parents don't have your best intentions at heart. She didn't have Logan's best interests at heart either." Seagull says gently.

"Are you sure?" Pascal looks confused. "But...But now he loves me..."

"Pascal, the thing is, Logan isn't a baby. He wouldn't react the way he did if it didn't hurt him. Believe us, you did hurt him and the way he's behaving now isn't who he is and is a result of, for lack of a better word, torture." Seagull reprimands.

"But he was bad!" Pascal argues, "He...He said he wanted to kill me...Now he's happy..."

"Hun, if someone took you away and began to hurt you, over and over in ways you can't stand wouldn't you say anything to make it stop? Your bunny does not love the fact that you hurt him. He was confused- never hurt your loved ones when they are confused. You should have given him a time-out, not electrocution. At least you know for next time now." Seagull sighs.

"He wasn't confused! He knew he was hurting me!" Pascal tears up.

"Pascal, hun, please try to understand. You used pain to get your husband to comply and that is never okay." Seagull scolds. "Your family heard his screams you know? They're even more scared now. Did you know Flores once had a breakdown thinking you would kill them? That's how scared they are, and hurting them isn't ever going to help."

"I would never kill my family. Never, never, never..." Pascal rapidly shakes his head.

"He hurt you because you hurt him, Finny. Simple as that." Seagull shrugs.

"Well, I wouldn't have to hurt him if he'd just behaved!" Pascal argues. "And you're not supposed to call me that!"

"Pascal!" Seagull says sharply. "He vomited and screamed for his life, do you seriously not see that as painful torture?"

"But he was fine afterward!" Pascal whines.

"Pascal." Seagull crosses her arms, staring down at the squirming man. "You need to do better. You have to fix this, okay? Remember what we talked about before."

"Okay..." Pascal mumbles.

"Hey, Gio." Potter drifts over to the kid. He'd found Giovonnie sitting curled up in his closet. "Are you okay? It must've been so scary to hear Logan freak out like that behind that door...We appreciate that you tried to calm him down Gio."

Giovonnie sniffles, hiding his face in Sela's fur. "I couldn't save papa...A-And everyone older than me aren't talking, and are acting weird..."

"Please don't blame yourself, Gio, you did nothing wrong. I-I'm sure the adults will come around..." Potter tries to comfort.

"None of them look at me anymore...An-And I'm scared! I don't know what's going on and I want Kai!" Giovonnie babbles.

Jory walked in, scrunching up his face at the three. "Why are you in the closet?"

"Gio's a little scared right now. How are you, Jory?" Potter asks.

"M'fine." Jory shrugs blankly. "We're all gonna die here anyways, all the adults are brainwashed, and I have a broken arm. What's the point anymore."

"Jory, please don't talk like that! You have to be strong and don't lose hope! Someone's gonna find you guys or... or maybe Pat will slip up and you can escape or-! Or-"

"We tried to escape." Jory interrupts, waving his baby blue cast. "And he just ended up reminding everyone who we belong to."

"Don't give Pascal what he wants Jory!" Potter scolds. "Don't give him that satisfaction. I know it's hard but in times like these, hope is the only thing you got."

"What? That the cops are gonna arrest him? That we're gonna escape?" Tears well up in Jory's eyes. "That Klaus is gonna come for me?"

Florencio sat with Alejo in the living room, holding Jasper. He had come down from his room after first hearing his brother's screams, but remained unable to get Alejo to respond to him. Jasper was still crying in Florencio's hold, upset that his father was ignoring him.

"Alejo?" Forgetful prods.

"Do you want to hold Jasper?" Florencio asks him.

Alejo remains silent, but his hands move to form a cradle shape. Florencio smiles, pained, gently setting Jasper in Alejo's arms.

Jasper finally stops crying, hiccupping as he closed his eyes and snuggled into his dad's chest.

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