Sanders Sides One-Shots

The Friendship Of Lifetimes | Platonic Logicality/Background Analogical

summary: logan becomes best friends with his dog, maybe some friendships can last lifetimes.

word count: 1125

i'm so sorry if this is all over the place, it's really rushed and not completely planned out, i'm so sorry but enjoy anyways :)

tw// logan has a slight mental breakdown at the beginning, some crying, implied death

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Logan never wanted a dog, he never wanted pets of any kind, but the 'FREEY PUPPYS' sign caught his attention somehow, he wasn't even fazed by the horrendous spelling. If he had to guess, it was probably a moment of weakness, a slight lapse in his judgement. He'd had a terrible month, he was beginning to resent his job and his coworkers, his friends were all moving on with their lives, his parents were constantly asking when he'd date 'a nice girl', and the biggest problem adding to his stress was the fact that he had yet to come out as gay to anyone.

He didn't want to focus on any of that, though. He dried his face so he didn't look like a crazy person and parked his car on the dirt road. He approached the family that was giving away the puppies and tried his best to act like someone who didn't just have a mental breakdown on their way home from work. "I saw your sign for the free dogs?" The woman, presumably wife, smiled warmly and gestured for him to follow her.

She led him to a small pen with eight Golden Labrador puppies, all playing with each other except one alone in the corner. "Go ahead and pick whichever one." Logan crouched bride the pen and the puppies immediately flocked to him, begging for attention. He smiled but focused his gaze on the one in the corner. The puppy seemed preoccupied with a small lady bug on the ground, just staring as it crawled across the dirt.

The woman followed his gaze and chuckled. "Careful there, son. I'm not sure if you know much about dogs but the runt of the litter is usually the most expensive and hardest to train." The dog turned his head and stared at Logan, as if he were pleading that he didn't leave him. Logan shook his head and stood up to face the woman. "I understand, I'll take him anyways."

The lady shrugged and grabbed a collar, a leash, and a harness, all bright blue. "His name's Patton. I recommend taking him to the doctor as soon as you to get him set up for healthcare." Logan picked up the puppy who was now fully focused on his new owner, tail wagging happily. "Patton..." Logan whispered with a small smile.

~~~~

Logan chuckled as Patton tugged on the leash harder, excited to reach the park. "Hold on, buddy, we'll get there soon enough." Logan lost his grip on the leash as Patton tugged harder, Logan was pulled to the floor and Patton ran off across the park. "Patton!"

Logan groaned and pulled himself up, chasing after his dog. The eight year old dog pounced on a stranger in dark clothing, licking his face to show his affection. Logan caught up and quickly pulled the Golden Labrador off the poor man. "I'm so sorry, he's not usually like this, he was just really excited." The man giggled and sat up.

"It's no problem, he's really cute." Logan stared in awe then held out a hand to help this man up. "I'm Logan." The stranger took his hand and stood in front of him. "Virgil."

Patton looked between his owner and the stranger, noticing the strange tension between them. Patton knew humans seemed to think he was incompetent, that he wasn't just as smart as them. Despite only having lived for five years, in dog years he was an adult. As an adult, he could already sense what love meant, and his human was deep in it.

~~~~

As the years passed, Patton only noticed how stressed Logan and Virgil had become together. He knew they still loved each other but they would always fight about bills and starting a family. Patton did all he could to fix it. He protected them against a burglar one night, he scared off a man that was trying to force them to sell the house, and he even tried to make them smile every time they frowned.

Patton wanted to do more, Logan was his family, Virgil had become apart of their duo, making a trio. Patton knew his duty was to protect them, but he found he was unable to do as much as he used to. Right now, he laid on the floor, Logan called for him so they could go on a walk, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get up. Logan frowned and crouched next to him. "What's wrong, buddy? You don't wanna go on a walk?" Patton whined, trying to show that he couldn't move.

Logan picked him up and carried him to his car. "Hang in there, Pat, you'll be fine."

Patton knew he wouldn't be fine, he had to move on. He stared at Logan, who was driving as fast as possible, and silently made a promise. Patton promised to find him in his next life, maybe then he'd be able to show him how much he cared. He wanted to remember everything he'd learned, how Logan loved space, Virgil always made waffles but never pancakes because they were "too bland", Logan was never able to fully communicate what he felt but he showed it in every way possible, Patton wanted to remember so they could pick up where they left off. I promise.

~~~~

Now in their mid-30's, Virgil and Logan decided they would have a kid, well, adopt one. Logan followed Virgil and the social worker down the hallway, barely able to focus on anything she said. He was really excited for this but today was a somber one as it was Patton's death anniversary, four years since Logan lost his best friend, albeit an animal, but his best friend nonetheless.

Logan glanced at one of the rooms then stopped in his tracks, staring at the information board. "Logan? What-" Virgil looked at the board and sighed, it read "Happy fourth birthday, Patton!" in a bubbly font. The social worker followed their gazes and smiled. "Do you want to meet him? He's a very bright child, has a kind heart, and, as you can tell, today's his birthday."

Logan nodded, not taking his gaze off the door. She opened the door and entered the room, Logan and Virgil cautiously standing in the doorway. "Patton? This is Mr. and Mr. Sanders, would you like to meet them?" The young boy turned around and smiled wide. His golden locks matched the fur Logan had come to love and miss so dearly. Patton ran up to the two of them and gave them a hug before pulling back, Logan kneeled and placed his hands on Patton's shoulders, "Patton..." He whispered with a small smile before hugging him once more.

~~~~

okay okay, hear me out, ik this is late, i promise not to make a habit of this but here's the thing, i prewrite all of these (so naturally if something goes down in the new asides episode i won't be able to reference it in this book until next year) but the part i was gonna post was so short and it was a vent from months ago and i just hated it so i deleted it and decided to write this but since this is like 1000 words, it took a while. anyways, again i'm so sorry, i love you guys, hope you enjoyed, stay safe, buh bye!

8/30/20