Tally Marks (Thomas Sanders PolySanders/LAMP fanfiction)

11

Okay, I just wanna clear something up real quick. So-about the tally marks. They are red when love is not returned, and black when it is. Red tallies can change into black tallies if the other ends up falling in love with them. Black tallies however, do not change. Once a tally is black it stays black, regardless of whether or not they end up not loving them anymore. The only time a black tally would change in the au(which was from a prompt) is if someone died, and then it would become a scar, but that has literally nothing to do with this story lol. No deaths here. If you have any questions about the story just ask me and I'll explain.

A few days had passed since Logan and Patton had talked about things, and Logan still had a lot of questions. No, he was not angry and he did not mind at all, but that didn't mean he wasn't confused still. He truly didn't understand all of this, but he wanted to.

This was Patton after all. He loved him, and he always wanted to understand him and the things he was going through. He wanted to be there for him, no matter what.

Eventually he couldn't hide his curiosity any more. He wanted to ask Patton questions, and although he didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable he had to ask at least once. Which is exactly how the two of them ended up sitting across from each other in a nearly empty cafe, both of them staying silent for a while. Logan was attempting to gather his thoughts, figuring out what to ask first and how he should ask it.

"So," Logan spoke at last, unable to take the uncomfortable silence any longer. "You're sure you're okay with me asking questions?"

Patton stared down into the cup in his hands, thinking for a moment before nodding. He looked up at Logan with an unsure smile. "Yeah. Like I told you, if I don't feel like answering something I'll just say."

Logan frowned, and slowly opened his mouth to speak. "Okay, well... How did you first realize that you liked... Roman and Virgil."

Patton's face was already burning at the first question, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Logan immediately felt bad, wondering whether he should wait for him to answer or apologize. "I'm sorry," he spoke quickly, deciding on the latter. "You really don't have to answer, I-"

"It's okay!" Patton assured quickly, one hand reaching across the table to hold one of Logan's. "Really. It's just... I mean, I never thought I'd be talking to my boyfriend about my crushes on two other people. This is... weird. But I don't mind answering."

Logan looked down at their hands, his own face lighting up. He didn't say anything, waiting for Patton to speak again. He trusted that Patton would tell him if he didn't want to talk about something.

"It was... when we all stayed the night at my house." He admitted, tiny smile making its way to his lips. "That was when it started, anyways. Or maybe it started in the beginning of the school year... I don't know. I just know that I started to realize just how much I cared about you, all of you, and... I didn't realize that's what it was at first. I just thought... well, they're my friends. Of course I love them-I just didn't realize I loved them in that way... until the marks showed up, at least."

Once he finished talking Logan didn't say anything for a while. Patton began to worry he had said the wrong thing, or maybe Logan really was upset with him for this. He hoped not, but it scared him.

"Are you..." he spoke up, voice almost too quiet. "Are you upset with me...?"

"What?" Logan asked, seeming to break out of a trance. "Of course not. I was simply thinking. I am sorry if I worried you, Patton."

"Oh," Patton breathed, looking relieved. He stared down at the table again, taking a minute to breath and calm himself down.

Once he had accomplished that he looked back at Logan, finding him staring right back. He chewed his lip nervously, wondering what he was thinking about. "You... you had more questions, right?"

"Yes," Logan answered, him now being the one to look down at the table. "So... you have said multiple times since telling me about all of this that you still love me-and I trust you, one hundred percent-but I have to ask... how do you know? How can you be sure?"

"Well, that ones easy," Patton smiled slightly. "I'm positive about that because I still think of you the same way I did before I ever got the new tallies. And I feel the same way about you as I do them... it's different, because I've been with you so long and I feel comfortable around you, but that hasn't changed the way I feel. I still feel happy even just when reminded of you, I still enjoy all my time spent with you. Yes, I do feel these things around Roman and Virgil now, but... well that doesn't mean I'm any less in love with you."

Logan found himself fighting a smile at hearing that. It was the most reassuring thing he had heard since he first found out, and he felt incredibly relieved. He trusted Patton, he truly did, but he had simply needed something to confirm that he still loved him. Logan knew that it was the truth now. His hand, still holding Patton's, brought the hand up to press a kiss to it. He couldn't stop the smile from growing then, not after seeing Patton's bright cheeks and happy grin.

"That... is comforting." Logan admitted. "I love you very much, Patton."

"I love you too," he responded, squeezing Logan's hand. "Now... what's next on your probably gigantic list of questions?"

"Oh," Logan's face fell, and Patton grew worried. What did he have to ask? "Well... this is the last question, actually."

Patton nodded, sitting back and waiting. "What is it?"

"It's... you don't have to answer right now, remember that. It's only a question I think we should discuss." Logan started, and Patton nodded. He just wanted to hear it already so he knew what it was.

Logan cleared his throat, looking away from Patton for the umpteenth time that day. He didn't speak for a moment, not quite wanting to ask the question anymore. "Let's say something happens, and your marks... they turn black. What-" Logan drew in a sharp breath, looking back at Patton again. "What would we do then?"

The question definitely shocked Patton. He hadn't even considered that idea-in all honesty, he didn't believe it was even possible. Why on earth would his two best friends, who were already in a relationship with each other, ever fall in love with him? It seemed ridiculous, but he supposed they did need to think about it. Even if it never happened it was better to be prepared.

However, that question led to a thousand more questions, none of which Patton wanted to worry about in that moment. He sighed, looking over at Logan who looked just as unsure as he did. "I don't know." He answered honestly. "I have no idea... we do need to talk about it but..."

"It is perfectly fine if you would like to change the subject. We can discuss things better later." Logan suggested, and Patton smiled thankfully.

"You know you're the best boyfriend ever, right?" He asked, grinning. Logan shot him a grin back.

"Of course. Although, I'd say you are just as wonderful." He returned, and Patton blushed and giggled.

"I love you so much," he laughed, Logan smiling along with him.

"And I love you, Patton."

Here's the prompt thing, in case you haven't seen it before. Also heyyyy I was on time today! Yay lol

Anyways, once again just ask if you've got any questions about the story and I'll try to respond whenever I can. ^•^ Thanks for reading, take care of yourselves! Bye!-Bob