Sanders Sides (and more) One Shots

The Only Way to Win His Heart

Warnings: drunk, references to an accident and a surgery

The evening was young and the only ones drunk were Roman and Remus. Miles didn't drink since he wanted to make sure Remus survived the night and Virgil wanted to do the same for Roman. Thanks to the two art majors, a game of "Truth or Dare" turned into "2 Truths and a Lie" so gradually that it took a while for anyone to notice.

Patton glanced at his crush, Logan, as he was trying to come up with some things. There was something Patton knew that Logan only half knew and Patton debated on whether or not Logan needed to know. It also didn't help that the only other person who knew, Roman, often joked that telling Logan would be the only way to win his heart. Patton wanted to know that Logan would like him for him...if Logan liked him at all. He shook his head and came up with some truths and a lie that weren't related to his secret.

As the game went on, they learned about Virgil's liking to pistachio muffins, Logan being able to afford traveling the world before 18, and Patton watching Lucas the Spider as a coping mechanism. No one had to call on Roman when it was his turn and could barely stand.

"Allllright! Here's my ssssentencessss!" he was slurring.

Virgil got up and grabbed some pillows to surround the area with a good idea of where his boyfriend might collapse or roll.

"Disneysssss my number twoooo! Remus gave me stripping tipsssssss! And Logan here, that blind nerd, will only notice Patton's attempts to flirt with with Mr. Cold Heart if he knew he had Patton's lung!" he declared before passing out right in front of a mortified Patton.

At first, everyone else except Logan wasn't surprised by the first half of the last remark since they had all seen Patton's attempts to flirt with Logan be completely ignored, but it was the last part that made everyone look at Patton in shock and the poor manchild run off.

Patton didn't know what to say or what feeling he should feel the most: relief and terrified that Logan finally saw the big picture, angry at Roman for blurting out his secret, sadness that Logan would never like him or would just feel obligated to be with him. Patton's head was spinning and his stomach was hurting. He looked out the window as if it would pause time. He heard a knock on the door after who-knows-how-long and just said "It's open" in defeat.

"Hey, um, Pat? Do you have time to talk?" he heard.

The knots in his stomach confirmed that Logan came in and he just sat down without turning around.

"Let me guess, you're taken, you're aromantic, you wouldn't be with me if I were the second to last man on Earth. I might as well have fallen in love with a wall!" he vented.

There was a tense silence in the air. He didn't know if he wanted to see Logan's reaction, but he was at least glad Logan couldn't see his tears.

"Do you know why I work ahead of schedule, Patton? It's my way of procrastinating. Virgil and Roman had been on my case since I first told them that I somewhat wished that your jokes, laughs, and gestures towards me were more than just friendly. Every time they suggest I go figure it out, I put some work in front of my face because it made me less nervous," Logan explained.

"What changed this time? The second part of Roman's statement or did you somehow sense that I'm considering the advice of falling out of love?" Patton snapped.

"I take it you're upset and you have every right to be. The confirmation that you had feelings that were more than platonic towards me caused me to...'get my act together' as Virgil would say," he answered.

Silence filled the room again until Patton heard soft footsteps get louder and louder. He couldn't bring himself to look at the source, but he couldn't find the strength to walk away. However, he did have the energy to sob as he felt his head on the different materials from a button-up and a necktie.

"You don't have to believe me, Patton; I probably wouldn't trust me, either, if I were you. Just know that whatever you want to do, I'll be here for you," Logan did his best to assure.

Once Patton was done sobbing, Logan played with the former's hair and sighed.

"May I ask what the last part of that statement was? About the lung?" Logan asked.

"Remember that accident that caused you to wake up in a hospital?"

"Yea, you were right by my side."

"While you were out cold, your lung was bleeding and they were low on extras. So...I provided what I had to."

"Why were you scared of me knowing?"

"I didn't want you to feel you had to like or tolerate me. Roman knew, but his insistence that it would be the only way for you to like me made me squeamish."

They gave soft chuckles as they stayed close. It took some time before they started dating, but Logan kept his word of being there for Patton. Plus, everyone made sure the brothers were suffering during their hangovers, especially Roman.