#borrower!patton

Logan hummed and sat on his bed, “do you by any chance know something about the borrowers?”

“I don’t…” Roman sat next to him. “It’s not like I can get into their house like this, and I think they're hesitant about coming out.”

Logan nodded, “that would make sense. They were already discovered and are not going to take that risk a second time.”

Roman sighed and laid down. “I knoooow, but I just wish we could go talk to them. None of us knew what to say when we left them! And I’m regretting it now…”

Logan looked back at him. They haven't talked about anything that happened at all, they fell in love with someone else…were they in love? Or did they feel like it because that's how they were told to feel? “You're still wearing Virgil's hoodie.

Roman looked down at his clothes and shrugged, “well, you're still wearing both wedding rings.

Logan looked down at his finger, “it may sound ridiculous, but it makes me feel closer to Patton.”

“I get it.” Roman sat up and took Logan's finger between his own, “isn't it crazy? You were supposed to give me this ring. We were actually going to get married.”

“We were,” Logan looked Roman in the eye. “That weight is not over our shoulders anymore with our parents’ wedding, we don't have to do it if we do not desire to.”

Roman nodded, “plus we’re going to be brothers. That is more than a good reason to reject you.”

“Is that the only reason?” Logan took his finger back from Roman's grasp, “are you able to look me in the eye and tell me you're not in love with Virgil?”

Roman blushed and looked away. “That… doesn't hurt you or anything, does it?”

Logan looked away as well and adjusted his glasses, “I don't think it does. We were always expected to fall in love with each other, so we did. Ever since Patton replaced you, I keep wondering if we actually felt anything for each other.”

“That makes two of us.” Roman looked back at him, “I’m not saying you're not great or anything, ruling by your side would have been amazing! But we’ve been living a lie Lo. I fell in love with the idea of our meant to be romance, our fairytale perfect life or whatever. I never thought of getting out there and actually trying to experience love because I thought I had it with you.”

Logan nodded, “I understand, it was a really poor arrangement on our parents side. I will never understand why they kept their love a secret, especially with both our mothers out of the way… apologies if that sounded cold.”

Roman shook his head in reassurance, “I understand what you meant.” He placed his hand on Logan's shoulder, “but I suppose it's easier to blame them without knowing much about their relationship. Dad was very hurt when mom died, and I’m sure it wasn't easy for Remy when your mom left.”

“It wasn't,” Logan looked back at Roman, “for any of us. I felt like I was exaggerating. My mother is still here, she still writes me letters and I still see her. I couldn't bring myself to talk with you about how hurt I was.”

“Loving someone after all that felt impossible.” Roman smiled softly, “at least we found out what was going on before our wedding.”

Logan smiled back, “who knew all it took was an evil plan to take over the throne.”

Roman chuckled, “we would have never guessed it.”

“Well, now that we’ve opened up, what brings you to my castle prince Roman?”

“Oh yeah that.” Roman stood up, “I want to go and tell Virgil how I feel.”

Logan blinked, “you want to what?”

“Listen I found someone I’m willing to give anything up for, I’m not going to lose him.” Roman nodded determinedly, “but, I need someone to take me there and I figured you would like to see Patton again too.”

Logan stood up, “what is exactly that you want to do? Can't you go there by yourself.”

“Not if I shrink down.”

“Roman, let's say we do this and Virgil corresponds with your feelings. What then?” Logan grabbed Roman's shoulders as if trying to ground him.

“Then I stay with him.” Roman pushed Logan's hands away, “I already thought about it. Being a borrower for a week wasn't that bad, I wouldn't mind living the rest of my life like that.”

Logan stayed silent. Roman really looked sure about all this… would Patton and Virgil accept him in their home? And what kind of deal could he offer to Patton for them to stay together?

Roman sighed. “Thomas will take me if you don’t want to do it, but I wanted to give you the chance to talk with Patton.”

“No, I’ll do it. Do you have a way of growing back if something doesn't go as planned?”

Roman took two bottles out of the pocket of Virgil's hoodie. “Thomas said Janus made Remus get rid of his potions stuff, and he only had ingredients for one of each… he begged me to grab the growing potion too but, I want to show Virgil I’m committed to this. Even if that means staying small forever.”

Logan took one of the bottles. “Do you think Patton would accept to live as a human?”

“Woah, we're taking a lot of turns here teach.” Roman took the bottle from him.

“It's not that crazy of an idea. He won't have to worry about Virgil being alone if you're with him.”

Roman fell silent as he thought. “I mean, you can propose it to him, whatever happens next is up to Patton.”

 “Because emo nightmare!” Roman slung an arm around Virgil’s shoulders, ignoring the glare he was receiving. “We’ve made a breakthrough on project Dime!”

 Virgil had just pushed Roman’s arm off of him when Roman exclaimed the news and his eyes widened. “What? Are you serious?”

 Roman laughed and grabbed Virgil’s hand as he led him through the labs. “Yes! Now come on! We’ve been waiting on you before we test it!”

 Virgil allowed himself to be dragged into the Dime Project lab. When they arrived, he noticed the large ray pushed slightly into the corner, with a smaller one now taking up the center of the room, covered by glass and pointed down at the table. Roman finally let go of Virgil’s hand and ran over to grab the tablet, handing it to Virgil.

 “What’s with the scale model?” Virgil asked as he took the tablet, quickly scanning the information on the screen.

 “It’s how we’ve decided to test it. We made a smaller version to try and pull something smaller over.” Roman paused for a moment. “And to make less of a mess if it fails.” Virgil hummed, agreeing with that.

 His eyes continued to scan the documents. “So...you want to try and bring over a borrower? Why?”

 Roman grinned. “It was my idea of course and because of several reasons. First of all, borrowers are small enough for our test. And we have a clear image of them because they exist in fictional form in our dimension. And they’re completely harmless. If we tried with any animal or other mythical creature we could run into some trouble. But a borrower is just a human but small.” Roman explained. Virgil nodded, following along.

 “And borrowers can talk, so they could give us information about the dimension they came from.” Virgil added on.

 Roman grinned. “Exactly!”

 Virgil put the tablet down, heading over to the machine. He nodded in greeting to the other couple of scientists surrounding the main system. “So, we’re all prepared to test this thing?”

 Roman came up beside him. “Just about. We just gotta hook onto a signal and then we’re golden!”

 As if on cue, one of the other scientists exclaimed. “We found it!” Roman and Virgil went over to the monitor, seeing the spike of activity.

 “Perfect! Then we are ready!” He turned to Virgil, motioning with his hands. “On your command, Dr. Lead scientist.” He teased. Virgil rolled his eyes but smiled. This was it, their big moment.

 “Goggles on.” Everyone followed his lead, placing the goggles over their eyes and lowering the glass down so the laser was contained to a small square. “Alright...start it up!”

 Buttons were pressed and a whirring sound indicated that the machine had started. It got louder and louder, the laser building up with energy and light before suddenly shooting down. It got so bright, that even with their goggles on, the scientists had to turn their heads. Only allowing themselves to look again when the light died down.

 Virgil’s eyes widened as he pulled his goggles slowly off his face. Kneeling on the once empty table, was a small humanoid figure.

 “It worked.” Virgil whispered, shocked. 

 “Amazing.” He heard Roman mutter next to him.

 As he continued to watch the figure, the borrower, it seemed to finally gain its bearing and take notice of where it was. Its eyes widened and as it connected eyes with Virgil, it became panicked. Virgil bit his lip, his heart going out to the little guy. But still, they weren’t here to hurt him. The little borrower would be fine.

 “I’m marking this down as a giant success!” Roman exclaimed as he grabbed the tablet once again, furiously writing down more information. “At this rate we’ll have portable Dimension Watches in no time!”

 Virgil chuckled, turning away from the borrower. “Easy Princey. We still have a long way to go before that sci-fi fantasy becomes real.” He turned back to the borrower. “But we are one step closer.” Virgil noticed the borrower seemed to be having trouble breathing and decided that was enough standing around. 

 “Roman, I gotta look some more things over but we need to move the borrower. Can you take it to Logan to prepare while I finish up here?” Virgil asked.

 Roman grinned. “Of course! It would be my pleasure!” Roman, of course, was excited to see the little thing up close. 

 “Great.” Virgil took the tablet from him. “I’ll try to be quick. Make sure you fill Logan in and try not to traumatize the borrower any further.”

 “I’ll try my best.” Roman said, knowing that was much easier said than done. Roman came over to the table, picking up the glass case with the borrower inside. “Come along little borrower, you’ve got an appointment with Dr. Logan!”

 Virgil watched the two leave, not missing the terror on the little borrowers face at Roman’s words and proximity. He did feel bad. After all, the little borrower got pulled from his home so suddenly, with giant strangers no less. Also, Virgil was pretty sure the borrowers whole thing was that humans weren’t supposed to know they existed, which kind of made this all worse.

 Virgil did feel bad but hopefully after some explanations the borrower would understand he was in no danger here. And Logan and Roman could take care of that, right?

 Right?

 Virgil paused for a moment.

Bad news, perhaps, was that it seemed to work a little too well and Logan had accidentally managed to use it on himself.‌‌ (Not that he hadn’t thought about it. Just not instantly. He had wanted to test it before using it on something alive and sentient—just in case it had side effects.)

This accident had rendered him helpless in his own home as he gazed from his new vantage point up toward the table where his creation laid. Unassuming and harmless unless there was someone behind it. Thankfully he had thought ahead, and when he’s actually capable of getting back up there, he had added a switch that would reverse the ray’s affects just in case something like this happened.

(That and he had an overly curious friend that liked to touch his things—even if they were clearly labelled.)

It was a good thing said friend was busy today, so Logan had little worry about his accomplice making his presence known in the meantime.

And then, there was the news that Logan had yet to classify.

At the moment, there was a tiny humanoid creature standing worriedly over him—perhaps saying “tiny” at the moment would be false, as how it seemed, the both of them were currently of the same stature. The only time this creature would be considered tiny was when Logan was at his normal height, which was all the time save for now.

Worried brown eyes blinked at him, watching him through spectacles that seemed as if they had been meticulously handmade. Perfected frames made from wire that had been bent and forced into a shape resembling Logan’s own glasses.

It was rather fascinating.

To see such a level of craftsmanship when dealing with supplies that you only had on hand.

The humanoid being had a bag slung around his shoulder and a fishing line that had a hook connected to the end of it wrapped around his torso. More things that seemed to aid in survival, at least from what Logan could guess and gather.

“Gosh, you must have taken quite the fall!” The other said, dropping down to his knees and sliding his bag over his shoulder. He leaned a bit further into Logan’s personal space, eagerly wanting to help but being far too close for Logan’s comfort. “Did you fall from the counter?”

Well, not technically. However, it seemed as though he would need to come up with a story that would be believable. If he was able to get some help from a creature that presumably lived at this height, then he would do what was necessary. It would be painfully obvious in little time just how unprepared Logan was to be this size, so any help would be appreciated.

Unfortunately he hadn’t had enough time to really think about a story that would be believable. He’d hardly been this size for less than twenty minutes and Logan hadn’t known that a being this small existed in the first place.

The creature’s hands were fluttering to and fro, as if he didn’t know what to do with them. It seemed as though he wanted to make sure Logan was physically unharmed since he was hypothesizing that Logan had slipped from the counter and landed on his back on the floor.

The care seemed to be genuine, however.

Logan floundered for something to say back. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, his eyes flickering between the height of the counter and the being knelt beside him—who was still uncomfortably close. “Yes,”‌ he agreed finally, meeting the other’s eyes and watching as they widened slightly.

“You must be sore then,” he said, letting his hands rest on his knees, even though his fingers still twitched slightly. “Where does it hurt?”

It doesn’t. Logan wanted to say it outright but thought better of it. If he were to say it didn’t hurt, then the creature would probably be led to suspicions. And, to be fair, his right shoulder did sting a little.

The injury itself was from a fall he had taken a couple years back and he had ended up spraining his shoulder. It hadn’t ever really healed correctly, so Logan would feel the pain flare up every once in a while. It didn’t happen all that often anymore and he had come to learn to live with it anyhow.

It also wasn’t Earth shattering pain as one would expect, especially not if one had just fallen from such a treacherous height.

“My shoulder’s just a bit stiff, but it really is not a problem,”‌ Logan assured him, rolling it back to test it. He winced, but schooled the pained expression professionally after a minute. “Nothing I‌ can’t handle on my own.”

“Oh.” The other relented, a bit of a somber expression wiping the concerned one away. If Logan didn’t know better, he would say that he looked a bit let-down. Of course, Logan did know better… didn’t he? “Well. If you’re sure, who am I‌ to argue! I‌ should get back on my way then, anyhow. Gotta finish my borrowings for the day before the human comes back, you know?”

He said ‘human’ as if he wasn’t one. Which only brought more questions forward, such as what was he? Why was here? How long had he been here without Logan knowing? And, because of this, Logan belatedly realized he had made an incredible discovery right here.

A creature that he had never heard of before. Clearly a sentient bipedal mammal that looked, acted and talked exactly like a human. He was just a fair bit smaller. A species that remained inconspicuous to mankind and he was swiftly losing his chance to learn more.

Logan quickly sat up a bit further as the other slid his bag back over his shoulder, sat back on his haunches—almost looking like he wanted to say something before thinking better of it—and then pushed himself into a stand. His hands fidgeted in front of him for a second, before he took a step back.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, really!”‌ He said, offering a smile, before turning and calling over his shoulder. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around then.”

He needed to gather more data. He couldn’t let this chance slip through his fingers. He had to do something. Logan knew he could play up the pain in his shoulder, though, granted he was no actor.

Quickly making up his mind, Logan went with his latter plan.

Leaning back again on his right arm, he winced once more but instead let the emotion play out. “On second thought,”‌ he said, stopping the humanoid being in his tracks, wired spectacles turning and meeting his own eyes once more, “a little help would be appreciated. If it is not too much of a bother.”

He watched the other’s features light up almost instantly at the request.

Immediately Logan was being overwhelmed once more as the creature was suddenly excitedly talking a mile a minute. “Oh!‌ I would be more than happy to help!” He said, clasping his hands and practically bouncing back over to where Logan still sat. “It’s not a bother at all!‌ And I haven’t seen another borrower in what seems like absolute ages, so it’d actually be really nice to have some company again. And really, between you and me, I’d never leave one of my own in need.”

Borrower, Logan filed that information away, already beginning to take mental notes.

“Oh my goodness, look at me fussing over you and I‌ haven’t even introduced myself. Heck, we’re still practically strangers!”‌ His smile stayed bright and shining, practically exuding with warmth. He then stuck a hand out and Logan reeled back slightly from the surprise of it, not to mention how enthusiastic he seemed to be. “I’m Patton!‌ You are?”

Collecting himself enough, and shaking the surprise off with a practiced ease, he shook the borrower’s hand. “Logan.”

Patton took his hand back after a moment, his excitement never seemed to flicker. “It’s a pleasure, Logan. See?‌ Now we're not strangers!‌ Now, let’s get you off the ground before the human gets back, wouldn’t want to be caught now would we?”

Based on how Patton was talking about humans, there seemed to be an amount of fear associated with Logan’s own kind. “I‌ suppose not.” He lifted himself off the ground, and stood just a little taller than Patton did. “Though, I‌ am curious. What is all the fuss about being seen by a— a human?”

It was odd referring to his kind in the third person, as if he was talking about something other worldly, but whatever was believable he guessed.

“Hmm?” The other hummed, quirking a brow while turning on his heels and heading towards the kitchen counter. Logan was quick to fall into pace with the borrower. “Oh, well, humans are gigantic. They grab and they never let go and really, once you’re taken captive you’re never seen or heard from again. Every borrower knows that.”

“Of course, forgive my…forgetful nature.”

Patton didn’t seem to believe it at first. The quizzical look in his eyes as he side glanced Logan said it loud as bells. For a moment, Logan was half afraid that Patton knew. However, he shrugged and turned his attention upward. “You must be Wild then,”‌ he said an afterthought. “Right?”

Stunned at the revelation that there more of the same creature, he nodded in agreement. Perhaps if he feigned ignorance when it came to the dangers of mankind, he could gather more information on how the race of “borrowers” saw mankind.

Obviously so far, it was not a positive perception.

“Exactly,”‌ he agreed, watching as Patton came to stand still and staring upward toward the counter-top. “So, I‌ am rather rusty when it comes to, well, anything really.”

“Well, good thing I‌ bumped into you then!”‌ Patton’s bright demeanor returned swiftly. “I‌ can help you get your bearings and help you with that pesky shoulder of yours, before you get on your way!”

Before Logan could even say another thing, Patton had slipped the hook and rope from around his torso, swung it a wide circle a couple times and threw it up toward the top of the counter. A small clicking sound caught his attention before the hook came tumbling back down. Logan flinched away, worried slightly for his safety but Patton remained unfazed and instead smoothly caught the hook by the hilt and quickly tried again.

After the third attempt, it finally stuck and he watched as Patton tugged on the line to test it’s weight.

“Third times the charm,”‌ he chirped with a toothy grin, before wrapping his hand into the fishing wire and heaving himself upward with what seemed like no effort at all. There had been absolutely no hesitation. It was obvious this was something Patton did on the daily as it took him little to no time to reach the top.

Logan blinked when Patton was peering down at him from so far above.

“Whatcha waiting for?” He called down.

“I am afraid I’m not as swift as you are when it comes to climbing anything of such scale,”‌ Logan admitted.

His eyes locked on the fishing line in front of him, the thin rope was deceptively strong.

The last time Logan had done something even remotely like this was when his friend had insistently begged—and then inevitably dragged—him to come to the rock wall at his University. However, they had been harnessed and spotted. This, this was nothing like what he was used to. A free handed climb was not Logan’s specialty, nor was he remotely interested in trying something of the like.

“Isn’t there an— easier way up?”‌

One that didn’t completely rely on Logan not slipping and actually break something? That and his shoulder was already messed up enough, surely Patton would understand him not being able to make the climb anyhow. When he only got a confused look in response, he decided to prod at the fact his shoulder was screwed up.

“My shoulder hasn’t exactly healed in the past two minutes,”‌ Logan reminded.

“Oh shoot, of course it hasn’t!” Patton disappeared over the edge of the counter. There was some shuffling and before long he was peering back over, just as the fishing line was being drawn up and out of sight. “There’s an outlet just a couple paces away from you. It should be a bit loose around the two left screws. When you get in the passageway there, wait for me and I can meet you down there in a few seconds! We can still get to my place from there.”

A passageway inside the walls?‌ What an odd place to call home.

Logan nodded, his eyes drifting over to the outlet on the wall. “Alright,”‌ he called back up in a final affirmation.

Turning to the side and heading over, it took far longer than it would have if he were of normal height. As he laid his hands over the smooth grooves of the outlet cover, Logan was surprised to find that the thing was loose enough as it was. All he had to do was shimmy it a little to the right and he had created a space wide enough for him to squeeze through.

For a second, Logan turned to glance over his shoulder. The shrunken human looked up to the counter where the machine sat, unassuming and out of harm's way. He’d get back to it in a day or two. There was nothing wrong with spending a little time getting to understand the quirky borrower that was so willingly taking him into his home.

Logan would have to do something for him as a thank you gift.

It was only logical, of course, to want to repay someone for their hospitality and generosity.

Shaking the thought from his head, especially with how absurd this entire situation was, he pulled himself inside. Stepping over the thick electrical wires, he fit the cover back into place and was welcomed with a dusty darkness. He scanned the inside of the walls, intrigued at the absolute detail of everything that would go entirely unnoticed to the average eye. Being at such a small scale gave you a keen eye for detail.

His attention shifted when he heard footsteps from just to the left of him. Before long, a shape emerged from the total darkness and came into the slightly less dark darkness.

“Great to see you could make it,” Patton said, meeting his eyes as best to his ability. “Sorry about that whole climbing thing. Totally forgot about your shoulder for a hot minute.”‌

Logan offered a shrug. “No harm done.”

“Well, with that out of the way, let’s get home! That way I can actually help you. That’s where all my supplies are, you know,” Patton chattered at him, brushing by the taller man and heading down the opposite way he had come from. Logan was prompt to follow, not wanting to lose his only guide in the darkness and twisting passages. “That and I‌ actually have light there as well. Not that the kitchen didn’t have light, but we can’t risk helping you right out in the open.”

Easily keeping up with Patton’s pace, Logan was able to ask a few more of his questions. “Are humans really as bad as you’re making them out to be?”

“Well, of course they are.”‌

“You are not…overreacting on the entire thing? How are you so sure that a human would not be willing to help aid in your survival?”

“Logan, you seem like a nice guy but you’re also Wild,”‌ Patton said, taking a sharp left. “Out there you don’t survive off of humans. You can live off of nature and all you really have to worry about are animals. I‌ wouldn’t think some animals would be all that interested in something as small as we are, but cats—” He shuddered involuntarily, “—just stay away from cats.”

“I’m not entirely sure what my status as a Wild, as you put it, has anything to do with this.”

“Well, if you don’t come in contact with humans,”‌ Patton continued as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “you don’t have to worry about them. You don’t rely on them for anything.”

Logan hummed in response. “If you’re so terrified of humans, why not move out and live in the wild?”

Patton laughed. A gentle sound, but one that said more than just mirth. “I wish it were that easy, I really do.”

What did that mean?

Patton then put a hand out, stopping Logan in his tracks and just in time. Not another footstep in front of them was a steep drop downward.

“I hope you’re not afraid of heights,” Patton teased, sending a smile in Logan’s direction before taking his first step into the dark.

Logan could just make out the shadow of a nail protruding from the left hand wall. As his eyes got used to the constant darkness, he could see an entire pathway leading up. There had to be about fifteen steps in the staircase like creation and if one were to misstep, it would be a deadly fall.

Heights had never been an issue before now and while Logan wasn’t afraid of them, this almost reminded him from the incident before. It was like free handing another thing. His heart stammered as he watched Patton do it with a memorized and practiced ease.

Once again, Logan found himself falling behind. He moved to the wall and placed a hand firmly against it, feeling nerves welling without his permission.

“Nervous?” Patton’s voice came from somewhere in front and a little above him.

“That statement wouldn’t be…incorrect,”‌ Logan mused.

“Don’t worry, it’s probably just as easy as human stairs. You just have to get into the rhythm of it,”‌ the borrower explained, trying to ease his worry. “And, hey, I’m right here and I won’t let you fall.”

Slightly reassured, Logan stepped onto the first nail and his hand pressed firmer to the wall as if looking for a handhold on the smooth wood.

Okay. One step after the next.

“I presume there’s no way around this?”‌

Patton laughed. The sound was warmer this time. It sounded like an actual laugh and not a halfhearted chuckle. “Not this time, I’m afraid.”

“That is what I‌ was afraid of.”

Okay. One breath after the next.

It took a while, and with some unsteady steps and two almost slips, but Logan was at the top in little under ten minutes. It wasn’t one of his proudest moments, but he had come out of it alive so it couldn’t have been that bad at all.

“See?‌ That wasn’t too hard!”

And just like that, Patton was off once more. It took a few more minutes of walking through winding corridors and hopping up onto one slightly more elevated platform (that was far easier than climbing over a stairway made of nails) and they were headed down a skinnier passage.

Not lower, but just thin enough that nothing but a borrower would be able to sneak through. It was almost as if Patton had chosen this place to make his home for that very reason. It hadn’t really occurred to Logan, but there were probably a lot more things out there that could injure a borrower—other than humans, as they were thought to be the primary threat. It seemed as if it wasn’t just cats that were worrisome when you were this small. It was everything.

And that was a startling realization.

“You’ll have to excuse the state of my home,”‌ Patton told him sheepishly, a shy grin on his features as he nudged the door open. A door that was made by an old credit card. Not one that Logan recognized.

The house itself was dark as Logan stepped inside, his eyes scanning around as if trying to make out what he was looking at. He couldn’t really see a mess, so he didn’t understand why Patton was apologizing.

Before he could even voice his thoughts, a small clicking sound of a door closing followed by another softer click caught him by surprise and all of a sudden a warm yellow light filtered into the room. He blinked spots from his eyes and suddenly Logan was looking at the interior of a home lovingly made from hand. The light itself being shone via a single Christmas light hanging just above the kitchen table like a chandelier.

“Oh.”

“Hmm?” Patton turned at the quiet sound, slipping his bag over his head and hanging it on a nail protruding from the wall, bent into the shape of a coat hook. “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing,” Logan hadn’t even realized he had made the sound of astonishment until Patton had said something. “Just that— this is all fascinating. Did you wire this all by hand?”

The interior was astounding to look at, truly. The small home closely resembled that of his own, or perhaps anyone’s house for that matter. It was becoming clearer by the minute that Patton was just as human as he was, just smaller.

He could talk, think, react…It was all just rather startling.

How had a race like this remain unheard of for so long?

Were humans really so oblivious that borrowers could live off of them and not even notice they were sustaining a complete society of creatures?

Looking around the room, it seemed to be filled with little things that Logan wouldn’t have noticed had gone missing in the first place. That being said as well, Patton probably didn’t only take things from his own apartment and instead would scour the entire building.

Logan was left to assuming that taking things from a single person could be dangerous, especially if they started to notice things disappearing periodically.

“Oh, uh, yeah!”‌ Patton said, toeing off his shoes at the door before slipping his jacket over his shoulders and hanging that up next to his bag. “I‌ can’t really call an electrician. Did it all by hand. I did have some help though, but it mostly just runs on this pack of batteries.” Patton patted the slightly transparent battery container, which had two different wires stuck out from the top of it and were hidden somewhere within the walls of the home to hide them from sight. “It’s nothing too groundbreaking though.”

“Falsehood,” Logan said before he had realized it. It was the second thing he had said without thinking about it, but he was getting to see a completely independent world that laid right under humanity’s nose. And yet, even with all of this intricacy of maintaining life, there was no inkling that borrowers even existed. “Whether you did this by yourself or not is irrelevant.‌ The fact that you were able to mimic a human-styled electrical design is an incredible feat.”

Patton blinked. Almost unsure of how to respond to such a kind compliment. It…was a compliment, right?

But he broke out into a wider smile nonetheless. “Thank you.” He then shifted the conversation, not sure how else to keep it going from there. “Well come now, get comfortable. Make yourself at home, I have plenty of room! I’ll get some supplies and help you fix up that shoulder of yours.”

Logan knew there wouldn’t be much Patton could actually do for his shoulder since it was an old injury anyway, but he was getting the chance to talk to a creature that shouldn’t be able to physically exists and, yet, here he was being proven very wrong.

So, he could let Patton bandage his shoulder and do what he believed was necessary as long as he got the answers he hoped for.

When the borrower returned from a room further down the hall with an armful of what looked like bandages and tape, Logan was beckoned forward and motioned to take a seat on the chair at the table. His eyes drifted around the home further and it was cozy. The warm yellow light made it feel comfier than it probably was, and he couldn’t help but feel astonished. Everything here had to have been handmade or stumbled upon by pure chance.

After a moment though, Logan’s attention drifted back to Patton as the borrower’s hands had suddenly appeared on his right shoulder, feeling around the tendons carefully. He pressed down, but not enough to cause too much discomfort. He then paused. “Shoot,” he murmured.

“Whatever is the matter?”

“I didn’t ask permission to touch you.”‌ Logan blinked, surprised that Patton had even brought that up. Logan had thought it had been sort of unmentioned at this point. Sort of like a silent agreement. That and he wasn’t uncomfortable. He did have a friend that liked to hug him out of nowhere, so two hands on his shoulder wasn’t something Logan was particularly worried about. “Can I?”

“I‌ thought that was already previously agreed upon.”‌ Logan voiced himself and Patton relented, his hands pressing back into his shoulder blade.

“It’s more of a comfort thing for myself too,”‌ he explained. “It’s…nice to hear vocal permission, instead of just banking on the hope that it’s okay. I know that permission is really important for some people, while others can be really lenient with it.”‌

Logan carefully phrased his next question. “Do you know people that prefer to be asked?”

“Mhmm,” Patton hummed, moving to stand in front of Logan. “This is going to sound...weird, but you’re going to need to take your shirt off. It’s easier to feel the damage from there.” He seemed to consider something before quickly adding on, “though if you’re not comfortable with that, I‌ can work around it!”

“That’s alright,” Logan assured him, though it was a bit odd. He complied by pulling his shirt over his head and settling it over his lap.

With no hesitation this time around, Patton’s hands smoothed over his shoulder once more and the borrower hummed again. “I‌ knew a whole family of borrowers. They moved in about five years ago and moved out about a year later.”

“How come?” Logan winced as the other pressed a bit too harshly into his pained area by accident.

Patton mumbled a soft apology before pulling back and reaching for the bandages. “The family had twins, Roman and Remus, that liked to get into a lot of mischief. Bless their hearts, but the kiddos managed to continuously cause mayhem everywhere they went. There was one night the two had managed to tip over an entire thing of flour and tracked it absolutely everywhere. Virgil said they’d nearly given him and Dorian a heart attack when they came back covered head to toe in all this white powder.”

So, that’s what had really happened when Logan had come back from work, only to find flour spilled in every crack and crevice. He had seen the little footprints, but they had looked more like paw prints than footprints. It now also made far more sense on why those tiny footprints had led directly to one of the loose tiles on his counter-top.

It was strange to find the truth of the accident had been tiny children messing around and accidentally spilling it, but this whole situation was still so surreal that Logan was just about ready to believe anything he was being told.

To a point, of course. He wasn’t naive.

But had the family really been so terrified for their safety that they had fled? The idea almost made him feel queasy.

Were humans really as terrible as borrowers were taught?‌ Certainly, there had to be some exceptions right? Logan, himself, didn’t believe he’d be all that awful if he were to stumble across a creature of such an incredible size. Especially not if one of those creatures were a child.

Logan leaned back a bit more, lifting his arm slightly in response to Patton gently tugging on his elbow. “That was the only reason they left? That single accident?”

“You have to understand that an accident like that could have gotten the entire family caught,” Patton reminded him softly, beginning to wrap the gauze around the affected area. “With two kids that like to run around and play pretend, all the while shouting and giggling, not to mention how much the twins fought; let’s just say that Dorian realized very quickly that living in an apartment building so close to humans was not the right place for their little family.”

“I see.”

“Yup. Moved all five of them out as soon as possible.” Patton wrapped the bandage around Logan’s shoulder a couple more times before using his teeth and ripping it off. He set the roll aside and grabbed the tape, tearing a piece off and then tearing that single piece in half. Logan belatedly noticed that that one piece of tape possibly could have covered his entire chest.

“All five of them?”

“Mhmm. Dorian was the oldest, he’s actually just a couple years younger than I‌ am. Then there was Virgil, then Thomas and the twins were the littlest brothers of the bunch, but goodness, they’d have to be, what, 13 now?”

Logan was almost curious enough to ask Patton how old he actually was, since he didn’t look much older than Logan himself, but refrained. Asking someone their age was considered a rude question anyhow, but there was the lingering question in the back of his mind that wondered if borrowers were some sort of mythical creature that had either a longer—or even a shorter—lifespan than humans.

He decided to direct the conversation in a different direction for now, assured that he would still get the chance to ask his questions.

“Since they moved out,” Logan moved his arm to test the hold of the bandages and tape before moving his eyes back to Patton, “are you the only one in the entire building?”

“It seems that way,”‌ he agreed, before holding Logan’s arm still. “Stop moving it, I’m not done just yet.” He relaxed his hold once Logan quit squirming. “Besides, it’s not like I‌ haven’t been alone before, so it isn’t that big of a deal.”

The borrower then moved to stand behind him once more and pressed his hands down firm enough to feel comfortable, but not enough to hurt. Then, he began to massage at the slightly swollen muscle.

“I‌ do suppose it’s better that way, though,‌”‌ he said after a heartbeat of quiet. “If any of the Steelgates had been caught, they would have had someone to miss them, you know. Me?‌‌ Well. I‌ guess no one would really notice.”

It was such a sad thought, but Patton had said it so casually that Logan had nearly startled.

“It’s alright though,” he continued before Logan had gathered the wits to say something back to him. To refute it. “At least if I were to be found and caught, none of the humans in this building would be able to find any more borrowers—assuming you’re not sticking around after I‌ getcha all patched up.”

Logan shook his head. “I wasn’t exactly planning on it, no. Living so close to humans is not my area of expertise.”

“I‌ can’t blame you for wanting to get back to the wild,”‌ Patton said, his voice lowering slightly. Logan wasn’t good at reading emotions, but this didn’t take a professional to read those signals. This mood change was obvious and immediate. “It must be so much nicer out there. Not having to be constantly worried about mouse traps and cats. Heck, even humans probably.”

The more Logan heard, the more it sounded like humans were a borrower’s natural predator if they were to get their hands on them.‌ It made sense, logically, that a creature of this stature wouldn’t be able to escape from a human being that was so obviously superior to it. Maybe not intelligence wise, but in strength, size and dexterity.

Logan cleared his throat as the silence seemed to rage on longer than he was comfortable with. He was curious though, since Patton didn’t seem to recognize him. “Do you…know the human in the apartment here?”

“No.”‌ The response was cutthroat, concise and to-the-point. “I avoid him mostly, if we’re being honest. A human with all that science-y stuff in their apartment can only mean bad news for borrowers. I try not to go into his apartment too often. Only if it’s really absolutely necessary.”

“Oh.” Logan almost felt…hurt by that statement. Which was stupid and irrational. He had barely known Patton for two hours and yet here he was, feeling somewhat awful. Did he really exude such a cold exterior? For most people he was fine with that, but he guessed from a borrower’s perspective it would only make him seem heartless, cold and analytical. “I see.”

He had to take a moment to recollect his thoughts, fiddling with his glasses for half a second before righting them.

“Do you think he’s really all that bad?”

“Well— no,”‌ the other softened, his hands lessening their pressure on his back before removing themselves from his skin entirely. Logan felt something in his chest warm at that, but only for a moment. “I‌ like to try and see the good in everyone, you know? But sometimes, he makes it a bit…difficult. I don’t think he’s inherently bad, but I‌ don’t know if I’d be able to trust him.‌ Especially not with all those beakers and scalpels and such.‌ Who knows what would happen if he got his hands on someone like you and me.” Patton fiddled with his hands, before pulling up the other chair and sitting. He pushed his glasses further up his nose idly. “But…no, to answer your question. I don’t think he’s bad. Just– morbidly curious.”

“Hmm.”‌ Logan nodded to himself, taking the fact that Patton was now sitting in front of him as a sign that he could put his shirt back on. As he did that, he was careful not to upset any of the carefully placed bandages and was actually surprised to not find any tightness in his shoulder. None.

Deciding that now was as good a time as ever to change the subject—especially with how downtrodden Patton looked—he rolled his shoulder as a test. Nothing. “Can I ask what you did to my shoulder?”

Patton instantly looked distressed at that. “Oh no, did I‌ make it worse?”

“No, no,”‌ Logan was quick to reassure him, “if anything, I think you may have made it better.”

“Really?”‌ He looked genuinely surprised.

“Really.” Logan rolled his shoulder once more, but felt the slightest twinge. “It was an old injury I‌ managed to acquire a couple years back but I‌ can hardly feel it now. Where did you learn to do that?”

“Oh! Um, just from the Steelgates.” Patton raised a hand to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. “Dorian and Virgil learned it somehow and they taught it to me. I’ve taken quite a few falls myself, so I learned how to ease that pain. Makes borrowing easier if you’re not constantly hunched over in agony.”

“Understandable,”‌ Logan relented. “Nevertheless, it is very impressive.”

“Awe, it was nothing,”‌ Patton shrugged it off, directing his gaze elsewhere though the gentle grin on his features said that Logan’s compliment had been taken to heart. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Logan’s heart stammered for a moment.

Truth be told—and a surprise to probably literally no one—Logan didn’t have many friends. He had acquaintances, coworkers that he got along with, but no one that he was close enough to really consider a friend.

It was…nice.

“Yes,”‌ he agreed, a small grin twitching at the corners of his own mouth, “I suppose that is what friends are for.”

An odd friendship, no doubt. But a friendship.

“I really cannot thank you enough for all of your assistance,”‌ Logan said as the two  made their way down the corridor back toward his apartment.

He had said he had left a few things in the apartment that he would need to collect before they parted ways, however, Logan had a bit of a…different plan in mind.

Patton shrugged it off, giving Logan a humble grin as he looked over his shoulder briefly. “It’s not a problem!‌ And hey, if you ever find yourself back in the complex, my house is open to you.”

In reality, he did feel a bit bad that he hadn’t exactly told Patton the truth just yet. But it wasn’t like he was holding out on it for too much longer. He just had to make sure Patton didn’t react too badly once he learned the truth. Especially when it came down to how the borrower viewed him.

Well, not him specifically of course, but his kind.

The thought was a bit sour and it didn’t sit well with him, but he wasn’t going to let that rule his thoughts.

However, instead of following the same path, Patton had taken a few different twists and turns and, much to Logan’s relief, they hadn’t had to cross any more nail bridges or climb anything that needed a hook and a rope.

He had mentioned that since he had supposedly taken a tumble off of the table, that’s where all of his belongings were. Which wasn’t entirely untrue.

Logan’s things did reside on the counter.

Before long, Patton was stepping over a cacophony of electrical wires and Logan was following suit. The borrower held up a hand for a moment, biting into his lower lip as he peered around through the small holes in the socket. After a few seconds of deliberate silence the coast was deemed clear—of course, since the owner of the apartment was currently stood behind him—and soon the other managed to jostle the outlet from it’s socket and slipped through the small opening it had created.

As soon as Logan had stepped out and righted himself, his gaze was directed onto the interior of his own kitchen. He straightened out his shirt, adjusting his glasses before really taking in the sight before him. A look of astonishment crossed his features as he reveled in the fact that his shrink ray had worked in the first place. Not to mention because it had worked, Logan had been introduced to a whole new secret society of tiny humanoid bipedal creatures that survived wholly on their dependence of humankind and taking things that humans wouldn’t miss.

“It’s pretty scary, isn’t it?”‌ Patton said to the side of him, crossing his hands in front of him. He had obviously mistaken the look on Logan’s face. “You’ve…never actually seen a human before, have you?”

“No,”‌ Logan said, inching a bit closer to the edge of the counter, before turning around and looking upward. Seeing the scale of his cupboards and such. He was still entirely taken by the sights. He would have to try out his machine more often now.

“You’re pretty lucky then,”‌ Patton hummed, following him slightly before his attention shifted to the ray sitting harmlessly to the side of them. He seemed to consider it uneasily, not liking the look of it, but turned his attention back to the other supposed borrower. “And I really hope you never have to.”

Logan understood that Patton was wary and that was good of him, especially in a world where everything seemed to outmatch him. However, everything was coming down to this point and he had to make a decision. He could tell Patton the truth and risk the borrower fleeing, or he could wait until Patton showed himself out and then turn himself back to normal.

However, while the second option was admittedly more attractive, Logan could only keep the whole charade up for so long.

And maybe, just maybe, he could prove to Patton that not all of humanity were mindless monsters that would just grab with the intention to keep. If everything worked out according to plan, there would be no worry of Patton packing his things and leaving the complex altogether.

“They must be terrifying from your stature,”‌ Logan mused then, his eyes scanning over the ray that sat harmlessly next to them. The thing itself towered over him, just as everything else in his kitchen did, and he paused. Considering his next words carefully, he turned to face Patton head on. “Do you trust me?”

The sentence was obviously startling as the other blinked at him, brown eyes surprised and suddenly cautious. “Well, yeah,”‌ he relented after a moment. It was true because there was trust in the relationship but a lot of it came from how neither had done anything to prove that trust to be faulty. “Why?”

Logan flexed his hands, unsure of how to phrase it without it coming off as alarming. “Then I‌ need you to stand there,” he said finally, watching Patton’s confused expression morph into a slightly more concerned one. Even more so when his hands tightened on the straps of his bag. “I am asking a lot of you and I‌ will not take offense if any of this is startling and you feel the need to leave.”

The more Logan spoke, the more nervous he seemed to be making his accomplice. “What are you talking about?”

Logan took a moment, gauging his expression and considering whether or not he should say what he was about to. After a moment, he decided that he might as well get it over with. “Patton, I’m not what you think I am.”‌

Patton laughed nervously, taking a slight step backward. “What?”

Knowing that just saying it wouldn’t be taken seriously, Logan turned to look over his shoulder eyeing the ray that sat behind him. He turned on his heel and went right over to it. The thing itself was taller than he had ever thought possible and pushed the button he knew would reverse the entire mess he had gotten himself into.

He could feel Patton’s gaze watching his every move, carefully aware and astute. Logan had noticed that the other was incredibly vigilant. Even if he didn’t always let it on. Patton could notice small shifts in one’s features or dips in the atmosphere of a room.

He was incredibly intelligent and knew a lot more than he seemed to let on.

After adjusting some more of the settings on the machine itself, Logan stepped back and stood in front of it. The silence was tense, but filled with the low humming of the ray coming back online and beginning to work just as it had before.

After a second more, there was a flash of bright white light and Logan prepared himself as best as he could for it, but the change was still weird and odd and rather staggering. Going from one size to a completely different one was not a feeling he would ever get used to, but perhaps he could find a way to make it a little less uncomfortable.

However, as he blinked his eyes open and adjusted his glasses that had gone askew, Logan was looking up at the kitchen counter once again, but from a normal size while sitting slightly disoriented on the floor.

He shook off the wave of nausea as he pushed himself up onto his knees and made it so that he was eye-level with the counter and the borrower in turn, whom of which—to put it kindly—looked shaken.

Logan could read the expression on Patton’s face easily. ‌It was a mix of terror and betrayal. As this was not a secret that would be easy to swallow or wrap one’s mind around. As the whole act of shrinking and growing oneself should be scientifically impossible. And yet, here they were with yet another captivating anomaly.

Patton shook his head, unbelieving of what he was seeing right in front of him. “I, um…”

“Take a breath Patton,”‌ Logan instructed, but not unkindly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Instead, he was greeted with another shake of the head. It seemed as though his words had gone right over the borrower’s head. He was obviously in shock.

“Y-you’re a—”

“A human, yes,”‌ Logan stated, his tone remaining calm, soft and collected.

“I…I said all those things,” he stammered out, almost looking horrified at the information he had revealed without truly realizing it. His hands tightened on the strap of his bag. “And you…you know—and I…”

“Easy.” Logan would remain the calm one in this situation if that is what the other needed, which it obviously was. “Do you really think I‌ would use any of that against you?”

The borrower’s hands were shaking.‌ Actually, if Logan looked closer, his entire body was trembling.

Patton was petrified.

It set an uneasy feeling in his chest, knowing that his very presence was causing this amount of distress. So, trying to alleviate some of it, Logan lowered himself down further so he was below Patton’s eye-level. Perhaps it would have been better to have admitted to his human nature before now, but it was too late for that and now he had to deal with the backlash of such a thoughtless decision.

“You can trust me,” Logan said, his voice was firm but calm. A reassurance that he hoped was working. With the panic overriding probably everything in Patton’s being, he supposed it may be difficult to get a positive reaction. “I‌ will not touch you without your permission, I promise.”

Patton eyed him warily, his hands still snapped shut on the strap of his bag. Logan did notice that the borrower’s eyes kept darting around as well, trying to figure out a safe escape route without alerting him to the silent idea. Not that he faulted Patton for wanting to find a way out of this situation, but he supposed it was better handled now and explain himself, rather than to have Patton run off believing the worst.

Even if it hurt, inexplicably, to have Patton staring up at himself the way he was.

“I–I’m sorry,”‌ Patton stammered out, ducking his head as if waiting for something.

“I‌ assure you there is no reason to apologize.”‌ Though, Logan was a bit baffled by what Patton meant. When the borrower kept his head down, Logan understood. The talk they had about the human that lived in this apartment, the one with all the science-y stuff, as Patton had put it. “I‌ am very much not upset by that at all.”

“But I— I‌ said…”

Logan raised a hand to stop him, only acutely aware that that was the wrong movement a few seconds too late. He quickly put it back in his lap, trying to remedy his thoughtless action. “I‌ know what you said Patton, and I‌ harbour no ill will towards it. In fact, your statement earlier was rather accurate and one cannot argue with the facts.”

The borrower shuffled nervously on his feet, eyes still flicking around to make sure that he did have some sort of way to get away if things did go south. Logan could guarantee that if Patton decided to make a break for it, he wouldn’t grab for him—as that would shatter any and all chance of getting Patton to trust him.

Patton bit his lower lip, trying to weigh the pros and cons of this situation. An easy con, the human knew about him. The pro to that, however, it was Logan. Someone he had talked to and gotten to know fairly well. While everything in him was screaming that he should duck and run, it almost didn’t feel right. He tried to still his shaking hands as he dug further into the strap, looking up and meeting Logan’s eyes finally. “R-really?”

Logan offered a single nod in affirmation. “Really.”

Well, while he was still very scared—and with good reason!—Patton found himself wanting to understand, more than anything. “Then why did you…?”

“Use the shrink ray on myself?” Logan chuckled slightly when he got a nod, finding the situation almost comical as he recalled the event. “I‌ can assure you that it was not deliberate. My finger slipped on the trigger, if you must know. And while it was not an intentional usage, I‌ cannot say that I‌ am disappointed with the results it yielded.”

Such terminology seemed to make Patton almost more nervous and Logan belatedly realized that his vocabulary could make him seem intimidating, even to other humans.

“That said, I mean such in the way that I got to meet you.”‌

Logan was not one for sentiment, that much was very apparent, but for the short time that Logan had known Patton, the other seemed to be incredibly sentimental. Kind, understanding, if a bit melancholy at times. Patton was an absolutely fascinating bipedal mammal that should not be able to exist, but that was not the only fascinating thing about him. What Logan also found intriguing was just how delightful and considerate he had been with a complete stranger. Patton was sensitive, so much so to the point that it almost baffled the human. How someone could be so giving and genuine with a person they had never met before, it was almost unheard of.

Such a gentle statement had seemed to have startled Patton, but it didn’t take long before a tentative grin broke across his features. Logan was surprised to see the borrower take a few steps toward him. “You really mean that?”

The statement was so hopeful and warm, Logan couldn’t help but a let a small grin alight his own features. “If I did not mean it, I‌ wouldn’t have said it.”

Patton had been alone for a long time, at least that’s what Logan had gathered from his chat with him. Like this, he supposed one could remain in the building and live in safety and he could continue to learn more about borrowers as a whole. Only, of course, if Patton was willing to share such information with him.

“I‌ am curious, however, does me being human taint our friendship?” Logan completely understood if it did, but Patton almost looked hurt at the statement.

Logan was simply stating the facts, not trying to be inconsiderate to one’s feelings.

“Of course not!” The vehemence behind Patton’s voice was surprising, to put it lightly. “I— I‌ admit that this surprise scared me. And I’m still kinda scared, I’m not gonna lie, but you said you wouldn’t do anything to me and you haven’t yet even though you’ve had plenty of time.” He was almost rambling to himself at this point, before shaking it off and meeting Logan’s eyes again. “So, no. To answer your question, you being human does not taint our friendship.”

Logan felt warmth bloom in his chest at the reassurance and he found his smile becoming more genuine.

It was hard to say if one had been able to befriend a borrower before (which did have it’s possibilities) and just didn’t document it, but knowing this secret felt sacred. And looking down at Patton, who was no longer anxiously clinging to the strap of his bag but instead looked more comfortable, said far more than Logan would be able to fathom.

 ...Or maybe not, as Patton tried to move, he found himself too cold to do so. It hurt to move his limbs, they were so numb. Patton could only lay there.

It was only when Logan was putting the kettle on the stove that he saw it. A pale, trembling form barely the size of his palm sat shivering on his kitchen counter. Logan’s eyes widened, realizing how freezing the tiny person must be.

“Are you alright?” Logan asked hastily, grabbing the person to inspect them further.

 Patton let out a little squeak as he was picked up and tried to force his limbs to move to struggle in the grip, when he paused. The grip was...warm. The fingers that wrapped around him radiated a heat that started to warm Patton’s whole body. 

 Suddenly, he didn’t care that he was in a human’s grasp. He fell limp in the grip, soaking up as much heat as he could with a small sigh.

“Oh dear, you’re freezing.” Logan rubbed his fingers gently along the little body, trying to share his own warmth as well as encourage muscle movement so the creature didn’t go unconscious. He looked around, trying to remember what would be helpful in preventing hypothermia. 

 Patton leaned more into the touch, eyes closing as he had a content smile on his face. “Hmm...warm…”

Logan paused, his gaze shifting back to the miniature person. “Did you just speak?” Logan raised his hands higher so that he was at eye level with the thing.

 Patton let out a little questioning hum, still kind of out of it. At the moment, all he cared about was the warmth he was now surrounded by. And slowly, that warmth was lulling him into a much-needed sleep.

“Wait, no, stay awake.” Logan nudged the creature, desperate for answers. “What are you? Where did you come from? Why are you in my kitchen?”

 Unfortunately for Logan, his words fell on deaf ears as Patton finally succumbed to both the warmth and sleep. His breathing falling into a slow and steady pattern.

“...oh no.” Logan bit his lip, holding the creature close to his chest to try and radiate more warmth. With his free hand he pulled out his phone, frantically googling what to do in this scenario. It seemed the best thing to do was dress the individual in many warm layers. Logan walked back to his room, swaddling the tiny person in his blankets. 

Next it suggested consuming food and drinking fluids. Well, that wasn’t quite possible at the moment, but Logan was sure that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prepare for the future. Logan looked down at the being, nestled snugly into the covers.

“...stay.” Logan put his hand out, as if the unconscious being would listen. Then he rushed back to the kitchen, pulling out an assortment of foods. While there the kettle beeped at him, so he poured a mug of tea as well to bring with him. That would certainly help warm up the creature as well. Do tiny people drink tea?

Finally equipped, Logan returned to the bedroom, setting most of the belongings on his desk. He brought the mug of tea with him, sipping from it every so often as he watched anxiously to see if the person would awaken.

 Patton shifted, sighing in content as he felt himself surrounded by warm blankets on a rather comfy surface. He burrowed into his a little more, wanting to go back to sleep.

 But then he realized he didn’t have anything like these blankets or this surface at home. Patton opened his eyes, looking around him. His eyes widened as he realized he was on the human’s bed in the human’s room. His heart practically stopped when his eyes met the actual human’s. 

 He yelped as he sat up, the blanket falling from his shoulders. He shivered as he was exposed to the cool air of the apartment and immediately grabbed the blanket to wrap around him. He looked back up at the human with wariness and fear, wondering how he had even gotten here.

“Careful.” Logan warned, coming closer to kneel in front of the bed and be at eye level with the being. “How are you feeling? Better?”

 Patton scooted back a little as the human came closer, his eyes wide with fear. “I-I...wh-what?” Patton felt himself begin to shake as he desperately tried to wrap his head around how he had ended up here. But the last thing he remembered was being so cold in his home that he decided to try and find somewhere warm to stay. Had...Had he just walked out into the open in the middle of the day?

“You passed out on my kitchen counter.” Logan winced sympathetically, hating how he was being viewed with such primal fear. “I brought you here and have been raising your core temperature. I suspect you might have been experiencing hypothermia.”

 Well, that answered that then. But what the human said caught him off guard a little.

 “You...warmed me up?” Patton furrowed his eyebrows. “W-Why?” He had been at the human’s complete mercy and even more so as sick as he had been. But the human, instead of killing him or something equally bad had...helped bring him back to health?

“Well, your temperature was extremely low.” Logan explained. “If I had left you in that state I feared the worst.”

 “O-Oh.” That still didn’t really answer Patton’s question. But he was too afraid to try and ask again. “Uh, well, th-thanks?”

“You should really eat something.” Logan gestured back to the desk behind him. “I wasn’t sure what you consume, so I gathered a few options, but regaining your energy will be vital for your recovery.”

 Wait, now the human was going to feed him. Patton was only getting more confused. Why did the human care so much? “Oh, um…” Patton took a deep breath. “I’m...good with anything.” He said quietly. He shifted a little in the blankets. Despite everything, the warmth was so nice.

“Alright.” Logan slowly got up, not wanting to startle the creature any more than necessary. He surveyed the options, coming back with a granola bar. He unwrapped it, placing it in front of the tiny person. “Will this do?”

 Patton nodded and hesitated before reaching out and breaking off a piece. He started to nibble on it but eventually started taking normal-sized bites. It was really good and Patton could tell it was fresh too. “Th-Thnk yu.” Patton said with his mouth full.

Logan chuckled slightly. “You’re most welcome.” Only now did he realize he didn’t have a cup suitable for someone of this person’s scale, but at a glance it seemed a bottle cap would have to do. This Logan grabbed, hesitating before dipping it into his own mug. “Do you drink tea?”

 Patton blinked. “Uh...what’s tea?”

“It’s leaves and spices that are steeped in warm water.” Logan explained, filling the bottle cap with it and placing this on the bed as well. “Careful, it’s warm.”

 Patton was once again hesitant but finished up his food and grabbed the cap to take a small sip. The warm liquid shocked him for a moment, despite the human’s warning but he swallowed it. It warmed up his insides in a way nothing ever had. Patton smiled and felt himself relaxing as he took another sip. The taste was good as well but Patton was more focused on the warmth of the drink.

“...do you have a name?” Logan asked, realizing he had never properly introduced himself either.

 Patton nodded, setting the now empty cap off to the side. “Um, it’s Patton.” He revealed nervously, fidgeting with the blanket.

“Logan.” He introduced himself as well. “Now Patton, how exactly did you end up on my counter?”

 Patton bit his lip and it only just occurred to him that he shouldn’t be speaking to the human. Though he supposed it was too late for that. Patton shrugged. “I-I don’t really remember.” Patton admitted. “But I think...I was trying to find somewhere to get warm?”

“Well what do you remember?” Logan asked, looking concerned. “Where did you come from? Why are you so small?”

 Patton bit his lip. “I was...born this way.” Patton revealed. But that’s all he said, once again shifting in the blankets.

“Are you some sort of...mystical creature?” Logan’s brows furrowed. “What exactly are you, Patton?”

 Patton curled up a little into himself. “Um, I...I can’t tell you.” He spoke softly, remembering the rules.

“Why would you be unable to tell me?” Logan’s gaze shifted into one of confusion.

 “I just can’t.” Patton said, shaking. Part of him wanted to go home but...he knew home was cold and he was so warm here. It was the only reason Patton hadn’t tried to leave or ask to be let go yet.

“Okay, you can’t tell me.” Logan eased off, noticing how anxious the question made Patton. “What can you tell me, then?”

 Patton thought for a moment. He had really already revealed too much but he didn’t want to make the human angry by not answering with something. “I...live in the walls? And-And the walls got really cold, a lot colder than they usually do during the winter. I wasn’t prepared for it and that’s why I tried to find somewhere warm to stay.” Patton explained, not meeting Logan’s gaze.

“Yes, that would be because the central heating unit has broken down.” Logan explained. “We were told it should be back online sometime tonight, but you’re welcome to stay for as long as you need. I certainly don’t want you to freeze.”

 Patton furrowed his eyebrows, once again confused. “Why? Why do you...care?” Patton was genuinely confused. He had never heard of humans actually caring for his kind.

“Well I’m certainly not a sadist.” Logan raised an eyebrow. “I would feel awful knowing you froze in the walls while I was able to help. I certainly have plenty of resources to spare; you don’t take up much room.”

 Patton bit his lip. “I-I shouldn’t, I...I need to get back home.” He said, watching Logan carefully to see how he would react to that.

“You have to stay.” Logan insisted. “At least until the heat comes back on. I doubt the walls are in any livable condition until they warm up again.”

 “B-But…” He trailed off. He knew Logan had a point but he also didn’t want to be trapped here. “You...You would let me go back home once the heat turned back on?” Patton asked tentatively.

“As soon as it’s safe, yes.” Logan nodded. “Although I would prefer you bring back some blankets to better prepare yourself next time.”

 Patton looked down for a moment. He really had no reason to trust this human...well, other than the fact he hadn’t done anything to him yet. Had even...helped him.

 Patton did not want to go back to the cold. But was the human really a better choice? Patton sighed as he realized he would have to take that chance. It wasn’t like the human was going to let him go anyway.

 “O-Okay…” Patton said, glancing up at the human. “I’ll stay but just until the heat comes back on.” Patton reiterated.

“Understandable.” Logan was undeniably curious about Patton, of course, so the knowledge that he had limited time to learn about him only encouraged Logan to make the most of the time he did have. “Why do you live in the walls, anyway? It seems like a less than ideal living environment.”

 “Oh, well...it’s just the safest option for me.” Patton said with a shrug. “There’s enough food and supplies to gather and it’s, well, usually warm and stuff during the winter.” Patton explained, trying his best to relax into the blankets but it was hard with the human still looking at him.

“Have you lived in this building all your life?” Logan asked. 

 “No...I’ve been here about two years now. Before that I was in another building with my parents.” Patton answered. 

“Do you have any siblings?” Logan took mental note of the fact that this was confirmation that there were more...well, more of whatever Patton was.

 Patton shook his head and then paused. “Do...you?” He wasn’t exactly curious but he wanted to try and throw some of the questions back onto Logan, just to get a bit of a break.

“Just one.” Logan answered. “A stepbrother, actually. I grew up an only child.”

 “Oh, that’s...cool.” Patton said with a slight wince, not knowing what else to say. Patton nervously fidgeted with his ill-fitting glasses. Pushing them up onto his face more.

“Where did you get your glasses, by the way?” Logan asked, his eyes now drawn to the tiny specs. He wanted to inspect them himself, but it would certainly be rude to take them so Logan refrained.

 Patton stopped fidgeting with them. “I...I made them myself.” Patton sighed as they started to slide off again. “They don’t exactly...fit, though.” That wasn’t due to lack of trying.

“Perhaps I could help with some alterations to make them a better fit.” Logan offered. “How did you make them?”

 Patton blinked, shocked by the suggestion. “Oh! Uh, I made it after finding some discarded human glasses and some wire. I just, I wasn’t very good at cutting the glass and I made them too big.”

“May I see them?” Logan stuck out his palm slowly.

 Patton flinched back, holding the sides of his glasses. He looked from Logan’s face to his hand and took a deep breath. “Just...be careful with them?” He carefully set his glasses in Logan’s palm. His vision now blurry as he tried to squint up at Logan.

“Of course.” Logan handled the tiny spectacles as though they were a baby bird. He brought them closer to his own glasses, inspecting every minute detail. “Extraordinary.”

 Patton felt heat rise up to his cheeks. “Thank you.” Despite them being off, Patton was proud of them.

“The ingenuity is remarkable.” Logan praised, lowering them back down. “I could attempt to tighten the wire to hold it more securely, but I certainly don’t want to risk damaging them without the proper tools.”

 “Yeah, those are my only pair, so I’d rather them not get broken.” Patton chuckled. “I’m pretty blind without them.” He said, waving a hand in front of his own face.

“Ah, I see.” Logan said, no pun intended. He slowly reached out to give the pair back. “How blind, exactly?”

 “Well…” Patton took back his glasses, trying to figure out how to explain it. “Everything is really blurry but it’s less blurry the farther away something is?” 

“Farsighted.” Logan nodded in understanding. “I’m the same way, actually.”

 “You are?” Patton asked, tilting his head. “Well, what a coincidence!” Patton smiled a little. “Where did you get your glasses from?”

“The optometrist.” Logan explained, giving his frames a slight tap. 

 Patton blinked. “The...what?” He wasn’t even sure if he could repeat that word back to the human.

Logan gave a slight chuckle. “The human eye expert. They inspect people’s eyes and prescribe which type of glass will be most beneficial.”

 “Huh, I wish borrowers had that.” Patton said, more to himself than anything.

Logan’s ears perked up at that. “Borrowers?”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “No! I, uh, I didn’t say that, I mean…” Patton bit his lip, looking down, knowing it was too late. 

“Is that the thing I wasn’t supposed to know?” Logan guessed.

 Patton just nodded, silently beating himself up over his mistake.

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask then.” Logan assured him.

 Patton’s eyes grew wide. “R-Really?”

“Of course.” Logan looked a bit surprised at Patton’s response. “The topic clearly makes you uncomfortable, and I’m certain there is a valid reason for you keeping such a name secret.”

 Patton could barely believe it. Logan was actually respecting his wishes and basically completely ignoring his slip up? He had never heard of a human doing such a thing before. The borrower couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Thank you! I mean, that’s...that’s nice of you.”

“It’s really nothing.” Logan admitted sheepishly, but he looked a tad bit pleased at the praise all the same.

 Patton felt a bit more relaxed, which was surprising. But Logan seemed like such a nice human. Well, as of right now anyway. Patton hoped that didn’t change.

 “So...what do we do until the heat comes back?” Patton asked. 

“Well, how do you usually spend your free time?” Logan inquired. “Or rather, is there anything you would like to do?”

 Now the human was asking him? This whole situation just got weirder and weirder. “Well, uh, I usually maybe go for a walk or something.” Or hang out with Roman but he wasn’t about to reveal another borrower to this human. “But...it’s too cold for a walk.” Patton brought the blankets closer to him to further his point.

“Indeed.” A sudden thought occurred to Logan. “Patton, have you ever met a human before?”

 Patton shook his head. “Humans...aren’t supposed to know we exist.” Patton admitted, looking down a bit.

Logan’s first instinct was to ask ‘why’ but after a moment of consideration he understood. “I suppose we would be considered a major threat to you.” He murmured. The idea was personally unsettling but logically sound.

 “Y-Yeah…” Was all Patton could say about that. He didn’t even want to think about all the horror stories he had heard about all the things humans had done to his kind. It was why he was so surprised that Logan wasn’t yet acting like that.

“Well that may be the case, I want to assure you that I personally mean you no harm.” Logan said sincerely.

 Patton nodded after a moment of hesitation. “O-Okay.” He hoped he could believe Logan was being honest about that.

Logan glanced back at his desk, his mind nagging him to continue working but his heart wanting to continue talking to Patton. “Do you mind if I work on homework while we talk?”

 “Uh, sure!” Patton said, before curiosity took him over. “...What’s homework?”

“Oh! Ah, well,” Logan struggled to explain it as he gathered his materials, “do you know what school is?”

 “Sort of?” Patton said, thinking for a moment. “I know it’s a place that humans go to for a few hours a day. And they...learn things?” They always seemed to come home with new knowledge anyway.

“Yes.” Logan nodded. “See, at school you are taught a variety of subjects, and when you come home, homework is a series of exercises designed to make the material stay in your brain.”

 “Ooohhh.” Patton said, understanding a bit more. “That makes sense, I guess.” It was nice to see he was right about what school was too. 

 “Then yeah! Don’t let me stop you from learning.”

Logan nodded and began to solve a few math problems, pausing when he was stumped after quite a few minutes.

“Did you receive any form of education, Patton?” Logan asked.

 Patton thought for a moment, not having expected the question. “...My parents taught me how to read a little but that’s about it.” Patton shrugged.

“Oh.” Logan glanced up at him. “How?”

 “They would bring back small packages or small pieces of paper with writing on them.” Patton explained.

“I see.” Logan rubbed his thumb softly against the pages of his textbook. “Would you like to learn more?”

 “...You would teach me?” Patton asked, hardly believing it.

“Absolutely.” Logan scooted closer, looking eager. “I’m actually studying to be a teacher, so I would be honored to have such an opportunity.”

 “Um, okay, yeah! Let’s do it!” For some reason, Logan’s eagerness was contagious. And besides, Patton would be lying if he did said he wasn’t curious about all the things the humans learned about.

Virgil froze, never expecting to get so far as a response. It was quiet, so quiet he thought he could have just imagined it. And then there was the question itself- why did it fill him with such anxiety? Was he supposed to know?

“…no?” Virgil admitted. “I’m sorry if that, I dunno, upsets you? I’m not really great with people skills. As you might have been able to tell, based on the way I was sorta…stalking you. Sorry about that. And sorry for bringing that up if you didn’t already know. I should…probably just shut up, huh?”

“Please don’t!” The mysterious voice sounded more hasty this time, clearly wanting to keep talking. “I’ve been waiting to get to know you since the moment I first saw you.”

“That’s… ominous.” Virgil decided, even if he had felt the same way. Virgil received a giggle in response, and he glanced around the room to try and pinpoint the noise. “But I guess I did too. Wanted to know you, I mean. How long have you lived here?”

“Not long.” Disembodied voice replied. “I actually almost left because of the younger ones, quite dangerous they are,-” As if Virgil needed more reasons to kill his brothers- “But you… you’re different. I can just tell, I guess.”

“Yeah, well, don’t use me as an example.” Virgil shrugged. “I wasn’t a good child either.”

“I don’t believe that.” The tiny person decided.

“What, you really have to destroy my edgy persona so fast?” Virgil teased. “Building up walls is kind of my thing.”

“Well it doesn’t have to be.” 

There was silence for a moment, Virgil shifting awkwardly. He didn’t know how to respond to that, but more worryingly he didn’t know how his new- friend?- would react to his next request.

“Could you please come out?” Virgil just came out and said it, like ripping off a band-aid. More silence greeted his question, and Virgil tried not to let his heart sink like a rock. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

“I- I know.” The voice said, though it still sounded nervous. Virgil thought they had good reason to be; after all, how could they possibly know that Virgil wouldn’t hurt them? 

There was another awkward pause, and Virgil was just about to assure the visitor they didn’t need to reveal themselves when a quiet shuffling caught his attention. Virgil turned, eyes widening at the figure no bigger than his hand emerging on his dresser. It was a small man, all dressed in sky blue and adorned with a pair of lenses that were barely hanging onto the edge of his nose. The little guy fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, letting out a puff of air to blow some of his sandy-brown locks out of his face. 

“Wow.” Virgil said, realizing that the guy was probably waiting for a response. “You’re so…cute.”

Instantly Virgil felt his cheeks flush, not having meant to say that out loud. Thankfully, the little didn’t seem to take offense, instead letting out a laugh that helped release the tension in the air.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” He teased, turning Virgil’s cheeks redder than before. 

“Sorry, it just…slipped out.” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m uh, I’m Virgil.” 

“Patton.” The tiny figure replied. Patton hesitated for a moment, before holding his hand out for a shake. Tentatively, Virgil reached out and gave Patton’s delicate hand a polite touch.

The second contact was made, both figures let out a yelp, jumping away as a spark leapt between them. Virgil watched the little light fly up, a pale yellow shimmering into existence before fading out. 

“Oh my god, this is terrible.” Virgil decided, trying to remember what the hell yellow represented on the all-illusive chart. Virgil was never very informed about this stuff; frankly, he thought it was all just a myth.

“It…it is?” Patton looked uncertain, and now Virgil really felt like an ass.

“My soulmate knows where I live.” Virgil shook his head. “It was a…poor attempt at humor. Oh my god, you must have seen me do so much embarrassing shit-”

“Language!” Patton immediately scolded.

“Shit, sorry, ah, goddamnit, shit, FUCK!” Virgil’s cursing only seemed to get worse as he tried to stop. He grimaced. “I’ll…I’ll work on that.”

“Thanks, kiddo.” Patton gave him a shy grin. “And um, guess I know now why I actually wanted to meet you. That’s really not something we’re supposed to do- I mean, who would ever imagine a human bonding with a lil’ ol’ borrower like me?”

Virgil blinked. “What’s a borrower?”

Patton blinked right back. “This is going to be a long night.” He declared, settling in and hopefully getting ready to tell Virgil the tale of what he was and how he came to be living in the walls.

Hopefully, that wouldn’t be for much longer. Virgil would hate if something were to happen to Patton because of his brothers, and bond or no bond Virgil already wanted to help Patton however he could, even if Patton seemed to be doing alright on his own. Would Patton want to come back with him to college? That might be safest, but he wouldn’t force it on Patton. Oh shoot, Virgil hadn’t even considered the possibility of Patton already living with other borrowers. Could Virgil convince them to come? But how many could there be? Would that even be safe to move so many? 

“-Virgil?” Patton’s voice cut him out of his own thoughts. “I think I lost ya for a sec there, kiddo.”

“Uh, yeah, sorry.” Virgil apologized. “Just… trying to figure out what this all means.”

“What do you mean?” Patton frowned. “You think it was a fluke?”

“No, no no!” Virgil hastily assured him. He didn’t want Patton thinking Virgil was looking down on him for his stature, or saying that made him any less of a soul mate. “I’m just- okay, thing you’re gonna learn about me, I have a habit of worrying about everything. And it just so happens that I’m already well on my way to doing that about all of this.”

“Okay, let’s just take things slow.” Patton put out his hands as if easing a frightened horse. “Get through as much as we can tonight, and figure it out from there. Okay?”