(COMPLETE) The Teaching Elective - A Logicality Fanfiction

Chapter 14 - Crayon Cat Whiskers

Summary: Logan helps Patton at the daycare, and meets a very special toddler that is obsessed with cats.

Why is KickThePJ the only male with cat whiskers on his face on YouTube (minus 2014 Dan and Phil)?

Logan had promised him moms he'll be alright, he had his stim toys and noise cancelling headphones in his backpack and pockets, his phone was also close-by. He was going to be fine. Plus, he knew Patton, he liked Patton... Especially when he was tripping over a step ladder with a smiling face towards him.

"Hi!" Patton cheered and wrapped his arms around himself – his version of giving Logan a hug. It was never said this was a way of communicating, but Logan assumed it was. At least he hoped so, Logan wanted to hug Patton so badly if it didn't make his brain want to abort if the vibe wasn't right.

"Hey, um, do you need help with..." Logan's eyes were stuck on the display of colourful crafts on the wall, all scribble abstract of nothing. The kid probably knew what the drawing was. There were so many colours in many different patterns. All the papers were organised to make a giant heart shape – such a Patton thing to do.

A shout in the distance broke the second of silence as Logan tried not to show his weak knees at Patton's attentiveness. "Let's get the drinks and snacks from the car, come on." An accidental flinch came to Logan's body when Patton grazed his wrist with his hand. Damn stupid random flinches – Logan did want to hold Patton's hand. Instead, the teens walked out of the hall a safe distance from each other until Patton unlocked a rainbow Mini Panda car at the front of the parking lot. "I may have gone a little overboard at Walmart yesterday." Patton giggled a giggle that sent shivers of joy down Logan's spine.

He did buy a lot of drinks and snacks. Logan seemed to spend ages carrying gallons of orange and apple juice with every variety of soda on the planet and millions of cookies and cakes. Patton was doing all the talking and looking cute doing it. He should stop staring.

But then the kids came just as the Oreos went onto the table. Logan expected immediate screaming and calming a three-year-old covered in Pepsi but instead the whole hall quieted and the only voice that mattered to Logan's ears was Patton's quiet whispers. "Hello Theo! I like your headphones!"

Logan turned around to see the cutest sight ever. Patton was on his knees, face-to-face with a nervous three-year-old wearing large cat-eared noise-cancelling headphones. Theo was looking around with a thumb in his mouth, specifically at the snack table. Patton didn't mind though, he continued talking to him as if he was engaging and getting him excited for the day as the adults talked with Theo's parents. Logan never had baby fever before this moment but now he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Patton soon stood and brought Theo over to the snack table, holding his hand and giving him reassuring words. Logan wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans as Patton gave him a small smile. "This is my friend Logan! We got you a special snack today..."

"Cat!" The toddler screamed and started to jump up and down, looking at a pack of four cat-shaped cupcakes. Logan thought it was unusual that there were only four – but if they were all for this little neurodivergent boy that made all this a lot more special. Logan smiled wide as he watched the cupcakes go into the toddler's hands, as Patton encouraged him to give the box to his mommy for safe keeping. His voice was so soft and delicate... so perfect.

"Theo's so cute, isn't he?" Patton's soft chirps turned to Logan, who was still staring at the snack table. It took a minute for Logan to drag himself away from his sweet imaginations. He just nodded and turned his head to Theo and his family. The little boy was running around the hall and pointing at every artwork vaguely shaped like a cat, flapping, and screaming 'cat' repeatedly. His parents were smiling, laughing, and playing along just as Mama and Mom did and still do with Logan's non-typical behaviour. "His special interest is cats, literally mention a cat and he's the happiest kid ever." Logan noticed the look Patton was giving Theo, a look of love he also gave the first graders in the classroom. A look Logan couldn't get enough of seeing as he wondered if that look would be given to him in time.

"You're good with kids." Logan mumbled roughly beside Patton, making Patton look up at him with wide eyes. Getting compliments from Logan were a lot better than getting compliments from anyone else. "You can definitely work with kids."

Patton gave his friend a sweet as candy smile which made Logan melt again. "You're good with kids too, they love seeing new faces!" He then ran away as another family came through the door with yet another young child. Maybe Logan was now believing he was good with children.

The party was soon in full swing with toddlers dragging their parents to see their art, getting their clothes covered in paint, and eating way too much sugar to be healthy. And Logan was in the middle of it. He knew how to keep himself safe though, he had his noise-cancelling headphones on and was focused on collecting crayons from the floor. Patton was manning the snack table – that looked like a stressful job, but Patton was managing it like an expert.

Logan was focused on his job until he noticed two small white trainers with cats all over them. He flinched as he noticed Theo staring at him in silence, swaying and with no parents around. "Hello Theo, how are you feeling?" Logan stayed on the toddler's level and spoke gently and slowly. Theo watched the crayons in the teen's hand. "Do you want to draw?"

Theo didn't say anything. He quickly grabbed a crayon though and started running. Shit. Logan will be in trouble if he let a toddler draw on the walls or something. He really wasn't that good at thinking on his feet so the sensible teen did the only totally mature thing he could think of. He just shouted a very confused yet surprisingly accurate: "Meow?"

The toddler came happily running over. Disaster avoided for now.

"Do you want to draw on my face?" If Theo wanted to draw on something without sitting with the gaggle of kids, Logan was happy to oblige. The boy looked confused until Logan slowly held Theo's little hand and started to draw two eyes, a smiling face, and three whiskers each side. Theo was indeed smiling widely at the mention of cats.

Logan tried his best to not flinch as Theo roughly brought a red crayon to his face, drawing a huge dot on the tip of his nose and three wavy lines on either cheek. He even tried drawing on Logan's lips before he leant away. "Do I look like a cat Theo?" Logan cheered, feeling the infectious happiness this toddler shone into Logan's life. He became a kid again engaging in imaginative play. "Meow! Meow!"

Theo was giggling and screaming at Logan's cat impressions, seemingly timing the screams along with Logan's meows. Was he trying to communicate? Logan moved his hands like paws, hoping meowing would eventually make a difference. "Meow! Theo, can you meow?"

The boy paused in silence for a second, watching Logan confused again as he continued making these weird sounds. But eventually it seemed to click. "Meow!" Theo screamed back, clapping when he saw Logan's smiling face. And after he figured out his new word he couldn't stop.

"Do you want to go tell Patton your new word, buddy?" Theo screamed a meow again and ran towards the snack table, Logan lagging behind and accepting the confused looks from adults around him. The confused looks were worth it when he saw Patton recognise the new word from the toddler's mouth and looked amazed at Logan, before picking the toddler up and showing the boy's new skill to the amazed adults in front of him – Theo's parents.

Logan's baby fever transported him to a world where the toddler in Patton's arms would be theirs, and Logan would feel comfortable enough to walk up to Patton and kiss his cheek, engaging with their child too. Living the family life would be an amazing thing for Logan and Patton to do, he was sure of it.