Sanders Sides Oneshots

9- I'm Fine

Analogical
Angst, Sleep Deprivation, Anxiety
743 words
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Logan was scribbling rapidly in his room. Papers covered his desk and most of his floor, and the only light was from a tiny desk lamp, which by this point was starting to flicker.

It had just passed 3:00 AM, and Logan's head nodded slightly as he wrote- he desperately needed to sleep, but was ignoring the fact with rather grim determination. He needed to sleep so badly.

Every so often he groaned quietly in frustration. He was aware that his health was deteriorating due to the consecutive late nights, but he needed to get this project done. Thomas was far behind as it was, but it was getting ridiculous.

It didn't matter if it killed him; he needed to finish this.

And so at 3:50AM, Logan still continued to work.

And just as Virgil walked past his room on the hunt for an extremely early morning snack, he heard Logan still scribbling away, muttering to himself.

At first, Virgil thought he was imagining it; Logan would never stay up this late. He had a very particular sleep schedule that he stuck to religiously. In all the time that Virgil had known him, Logan had never stayed up.

This was a bit of a first, to put it lightly. After a moment's hesitation, Virgil opened the door, peeking around the corner almost nervously.

He was shocked to see Logan in such a state. His clothes were disheveled, his eyes barely open, his hands shaking as he furiously typed.

"Logan?" Virgil asked, stepping inside.

Logan jumped at the sudden noise in the silence, and turned around. Far too quickly. He closed his eyes for a brief moment until the world stopped spinning.

And then, uncharacteristically disregarding logic, acted like everything was fine at 3:00 AM.

"Hello, Virgil- something wrong?"

Virgil stared at him before sighing in annoyance.

"A lot of things are wrong," he answered. "With you."

Logan readjusted his tie, giving Virgil a completely unbelievable fake smile. The smile didn't reach his eyes; they remained dull and lifeless.

"Nonsense," he scoffed. "I'm simply catching up on some work, that's all."

Virgil didn't answer at first, and simply let the silence drag on until Logan's dazed mind couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm fine," he snapped. "Normally I maintain a reasonable sleep schedule, but just this once there's some work that I deem more important."

"More important than your own health?" Virgil asked lowly, eyes trained on the floor.

Logan faltered.

"One night won't cause any lasting damage, Virgil," Logan reasoned, attempting to reassure him. But Logan sounded less confident.

"That doesn't make this healthy!" Virgil bit back.

"I'm not saying it is!"

Virgil almost hissed at him again, but caught himself, trying to control his steadily growing anger. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Why are you still up over some stupid project?"

"It's not stupid!" Logan countered. He lowered his voice. "It's important to Thomas."

Virgil saw straight through Logan's anger, and sighed. He knew anxiety when he saw it. He slowly walked over to his bed, and patted the spot next to him.

Logan, too dazed to argue, slowly got out of his chair and sat next to him, looking at his clenched hands in his lap.

"Look at me," Virgil said gently.

Logan obliged, and started slightly when he saw that Virgil's eyes were glowing purple.

"What's-"

"Don't; just calm down, and look at me."

So Logan continued to look at Virgil's blazing eyes, and felt himself relax, and instantly even more drained than he already was. Feeling his stress slipping away, almost unnoticed.

His eyes fluttered from behind his glasses as an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crossed his mind.

"Go to bed, Logan," Virgil said calmly, slowly helping him up.

He aided Logan to his bed, slowly taking his tie and glasses off for him, and smiled as Logan almost instantly closed his eyes.

As soon as he closed Logan's door behind him, he broke down. He slid down the door until he was curled up on the carpet, head resting on his knees. He tried taking deep breaths, but it felt like he was being suffocated. All he could do was wait until the pain and anxiety subsided.

But it was worth it.

He didn't mind if he had to live with Logan's anxiety as well as his own for eternity.

Because Logan was okay.

And that was all that mattered.