#cg!patton

A/N: So this chapter starts off with a cute teen!logan scenario, then skips to Logan talking with Virgil after his date with Patton. I honestly wanna focus on the agere aspect of this story, so I'll probably continue to make the romance plot a background thing unless people request that I bring it to the forefront more. I'll have sweet romance moments here and there and their relationship progresses but it'll be a here-and-there thing, y'know?

Anyways, enjoy the chapter. It's kinda short, 2000-ish words. <3

--

"Good morningggg," Patton opened Logan's door, speaking in a sing-songy voice to wake him up. It took Logan a moment to register where he was and what happened the day prior.

Once he realized, his face went red. He had wet himself yesterday. And he wore a diaper.

Though, the diaper part wasn't terrible. But he'd address that thought later.

"Morning," he muttered, after realizing that he hadn't replied to Patton out loud. He sat up, running at his eyes. He was still in the onesie, and the space themed pull up.

"Are you okay, Lo?" Patton asked, coming in the room all the way and shutting the door behind him. Logan nodded softly. Yeah, he was technically fine, but he was very embarrassed.

"I'm fine," he replied verbally.

"If you're embarrassed about yesterday, you don't have to be. No one's gonna make fun of you," Patton sat down on the bed, giving him a soft look.

"I knoww, it's just-" he cut himself off, realizing he had no real reason to be embarrassed. His caregiver had only wanted to help, and Roman was probably the one who gave him the pull up. No one was upset with him, no one had laughed at him. "I'm sorry." he mumbled.

"Don't be sorry, kiddo- uh, Logan. Shutting off the pet name thing is hard." Patton's slip up caused them both to chuckle.  After a moment, Patton spoke again. "I figured you'd be a little shy about it." he shrugged.

Logan nodded. "You said you have trouble with accidents often when you're that little?" Patton questioned, speaking in a tone of curiosity.

"It gets harder and harder the littler I get, I guess. But I've only had actual accidents when I'm 3 or 4." he explained.

"Do you think these accidents can be avoided if I just remind you to go to the bathroom more when you're smaller?" Patton asked another question, Logan shrugging a bit in response.

"Maybe, yeah. When I'm that small, I genuinely don't recognize that I have to go until it's to late. When I'm a little older, like five or six, I just get caught up in playing and hold it off."

"So reminding you would work for when you're five or six, but any younger and it's questionable?"

Logan confirmed his suspicions with a nod, allowing him to continue. "You don't have too, we could figure something else out if you wan't....but would you be okay with wearing diapers or pull ups when you're really little? Just so you don't have to worry about it."

Logan didn't reply, thinking. Patton spoke again. "If you don't like that, we can make a new rule? That you have to wear protection after an accident. So you only wear them when needed."

"I like that, I think. For when I'm a little older though, like when my accidents are caused by me pushing it off because I wanna play." Logan trailed off, biting his lip. "When I'm three or four, I'd be okay with me wearing them all the time." he shrugged, his cheeks a little pink.

"Do you like diapers?" Patton asked suddenly, seemingly curious.

"The pull up made me feel smaller, and safer, I guess. It was one less thing I had to worry about. Plus..they're kinda cute," he was still blushing. "I can always try it and change my mind, too."

Patton nodded softly, "Of course, baby. Now, do you wanna stay big today or no?"

He could tell that Logan was big right now, but he could probably regress if he wanted to. It almost seemed like he was in an in-between state of mind anyway. Logan shook his head quickly. He had had trouble staying big for that conversation, if he was being honest.

"How small are you feeling?"

"Not very. But I don't feel completely big either." Logan admitted. "C-can I get ready by myself? I'll head down for breakfast in a bit."

Patton smiled a bit, leaning forward and kissing his forehead. "I'll see you in a bit."

Logan watched him leave, shutting the door behind him, before he pushed the covers off of him. He started by picking out an outfit. He couldn't find anything that he really liked, throwing on light blue jeans and a dark blue shirt. He pulled a beanie over his head, discarding the pull up in his trash can.

He looked around the room, trying to remember if he forgot anything. He had put on deodorant, and the rest of his mourning routine was in the bathroom. He grabbed his phone, heading into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

After brushing his teeth and such, he left his room, moving to go down the stairs, passing Patton's bedroom. The door had been left cracked open, and an item laying over the bedframe caught his eye. Logan wasn't someone who snooped through others stuff, ever, but the sweater on the bed seemed nice.

It was light blue, Patton's signature color, and it looked soft. He bit on his lip, debating his next actions. He felt a little stupid for wanting to wear his dad's shirt. He couldn't place why it felt dumb, so he ignored the feeling.

He stepped into Patton's room, looking around. He hadn't really been in here much. If Patton and Logan took naps or slept in the same bed, it was Logan's. He didn't take the time to look around, snatching up the sweater, and hugging it close to his face. It was soft.

And it smelt like Dad! He didn't even wonder for a split second if he should ask to wear it, simply pulling it on and leaving the room. He shut the door behind him and came down the stairs, entering the kitchen.

"Morning, Logan." Virgil greeted him first, everyone already seated at the table. He patted the seat next to him, motioning Logan over.

"Hi," Logan said, pulling out the chair next to his brother and across from his caregiver. Patton went to greet him, pausing when his eyes glanced over his outfit. Logan's cheeks went pink, and suddenly that stupid feeling of embarrassment came back.

"Is that my sweater?" Patton questioned, seemingly amused.

"It's mine now," Logan joked, trying to pretend he wasn't blushing. Patton chuckled.

"You can't just steal my clothes."

"Yes I can," Logan defied, giving him a cheeky smile. "It's soft and it looks cute on me." he shrugged. Patton gave him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, it does. Just ask next time?"

Logan agreed, before digging into his breakfast. Roman and Virgil jumped into conversation, and they all talked about whatever came up. They all avoided mentioning yesterday, in a means to not embarrass the boy.

"How old are you today?" Roman was the first to ask. Logan thought, trying to come up with an answer.

"Fifteen?" he decided.  

"Sounds like you're old enough to help me with the chores," Virgil stated, earning a groan from the boy.

"No thanks, Vee. I'd much rather stick to video games and watching videos of other people playing video games," Logan shook his head. He saw Patton looking at him.

"Could you please help your brother, honey?"

Logan didn't bother denying him, rolling his eyes but nodding. "Whatever, dad. I'll do the dishes and fold the laundry."

"Thank you, kiddo." Virgil smiled. "That helps a lot." he assured, causing Logan to smile a bit.

Logan spent the rest of the day regressed, helping his brother with the chores, and playing video games with him. Logan helped Patton with lunch and dinner, and everyone had an overall good day. It was later at night that Logan decided to come out of headspace, completing a few tasks he had just before bed.

The following day, he had his date with Patton. He didn't know whether to be excited or nervous. He felt a mixture of both.

Hopefully, things would go well. Only time would tell.

--

"So, how'd it go?"

"Oh dear god," Logan jumped at Virgil's voice when he entered his room, his brother figure sitting on his bed, waiting for him. "You've been all the more interested in romance since Nico showed up. Why do you care how a movie with Patton went? We always watch movies."

"It's different when it's a dateeee," Virgil teased, watching Logan shut the door behind him and come to sit next to him on the bed. "Come on, tell me how things went," Virgil pouted, looking at him.

"It went well, thank you very much. We went to a cafe after and we talked about stuff," Logan shrugged, fiddling with his hands. He smiled as he thought back on everything. "He kept complimenting me, which was nice. Patton's different, when he's a dad and stuff."

"Roman's the same way. They still care and everything, but it's a different vibe," Virgil agreed. "What'd you talk about?"

"He asked me about work, and we talked about his too. Did you know that he's in charge of sorting memories? Every single interaction Thomas has, he has to go through it?"

"Mhm. I'm the one that interprets fear and anxiety surrounding different things according to those memories. Patton and I are the ones mostly in charge of the whole memory thing," Virgil nodded a bit. "What else?"

"Um....we told stories. Remembered stuff Thomas did, talked about things that happened before the whole "little" thing." he explained, adding onto his statement, "We even talked about before the "living like humans" thing. Which was weird."

"Yeah, it's crazy thinking about how we used to live, separately and just summoning things at will. I like this more," Virgil nodded again, "Anyways, did you hold hands? Kiss? Make out?"

"Yes, we held hands over the movie. And I think we almost kissed, I'm not sure...." Logan shoved him playfully and spoke in a tone of fake annoyance. "Like...when we were leaving the cafe, we had this moment where we locked eyes and we were standing real close, then there was a loud noise because some worker dropped something in the back."

"Aweee, that's so cute! I wanna know everything," Virgil requested. "Walk me through the whole date, please."

Logan rolled his eyes, "Can we do this another day? I'm tired."

"We'll have a sleepover then. Get on with it." he ordered. Logan chuckled a bit, climbing farther onto his bed and letting Virgil follow, settling down and starting from that morning.

Yeah, Virgil was annoying and insufferable sometimes, but Logan was glad that he cared. Even if their brotherly relationship wasn't the same when they were big, they still were close outside of their headspaces. And it seemed, that while they were both big, Virgil was interested in gossip and romance.

That's what happens when you spend all your time around Roman.

Logan went through his whole day with Patton, going over the fact that Logan bought popcorn for them to share at the movies, how Patton reached over and intertwined their fingers during the first scenes of the movie, how they both ordered the same type of muffin at the cafe.

Everything. Every little thing that Patton did that made him smile or blush. Every topic they talked about over Logan's coffee and Patton's hot chocolate. Everything he noticed they had in common, everything about Patton that made him happy.

Before today, Logan had only known Patton to a certain extent outside of his headspace, generally recognizing him as either his caregiver, or just another part of Thomas. He was glad he was opening up, and that he could be close to Patton, and the other sides, outside of his headspace too.

He could have a family without being little.

Plus, Patton was really sweet. And really cute.

Logan had never dated any of the other sides, though he knew a romantic relationship between two of them was possible. Roman and Virgil were dating outside of the emo's littlespace, even if no one ever talked about it. Until recently, Logan had always told himself that he didn't need a romantic relationship.

But maybe, it'd be nice if he did. Especially with Patton.

The least he could do was try.

--

T/w panic attack

If you guys like this I'll make a part 2!

Baby's First

Word Count: 354

Virgil couldn't breath and no one was around and he didn't know what to do. He was crying and he felt… weird. He didn't know what was happening and he just wanted help.

Logan walked into Virgil's room, Patton wanted him to get Virgil for breakfast. He was surprised to see Virgil on the floor crying and having a panic attack.

"Virgil can you take a deep breath for me please?" Virgil startled at the sound of Logan and made grabby hands for him. Wait what was he doing?

Logan looked on with understanding and scooped up Virgil. "Shhh baby it's okay, take a deep breath honey" Virgil sobbed and nodded, taking a deep breath.

"You're doing such a good job little one, take another deep breath please?" Virgil nodded, taking another deep breath. His breathing was becoming more normal.

"Let's take you to Patton, yeah baby?" Virgil nodded and whined "don' lik this" He said softly "what don't you like baby?"

"Weird feelin' wan be normal n not smol" Virgil said sadly "baby it's normal to feel this way I promise. Me and Pat are going to take care of you okay? We know what's happening hon''

Virgil nodded and buried his face in logan's neck "Oki daddy" Logan smiled proudly and carried Virgil to Patton.

"Hey Pat, I think our little baby is regressed and might need some help. This is his first time by the sounds of it. He also had a panic attack so he might be a little shy"

Patton nodded and smiled "hey baby! Did daddy help you out?" Virgil giggled and nodded.

Logan and Patton smiled fondly. "Okay baby let's get you some nommies" Logan said sitting at the table with Virgil in his lap.

Patton smiled and left to get Virgil some food and a bottle. Patton came back and smiled "hey baby, do you want a baba?"

Virgil gasped excitedly and made grabby hands at the bottle. Logan and Patton smiled fondly. Patton handed Logan virgil's bottle.

Logan smiled and fed Virgil "I think we have a new cute baby to take care of Pat"

Once they find out about him and he stops just being a scaredy clingy baby to Dadee then yep! These playdates take place when everything has cooled down and everyone is comfortable with everyone, since their first playdates were just a bundle of awkward nerves for Roman and what can he do? with the other two

Logan and Roman Playdates

Logan loves teaching “baby roo” about everything. But, sometimes in little space it tends to be simple things like when they are painting together Logan explaining how Red and Blue makes Purple. Roman smiles and nods happily. Secretly he’s like in his head ‘Yah I know, ‘m a baby but I’m not stupid!’

Logan likes helping caretakers with Roman to show he’s a “big” boy and because he gets lots of praise for doing it (Something that Roman and Logan have in common, their love for praise) This works great when Roman is feeling more on the lower end of his age range, because Logan’s willing to play with the baby toys and do the baby activities to be a good boy

When Roman is real little, they will bring out his baby toys. At first Logan thought it would be really stupid. But he found enjoyment in organizing the alphabet blocks in the right order (He started doing it as a stacking game to make it more interesting to Roman, so he tried to all the right letters in the tower before they fall down) The blocks are his favorite baby toys, but he also enjoys reading Roman the baby books, because they are simple enough he doesn’t end up messing up at all!   

Another thing they have in common is their love for story time. During a playdate it’s highly unlikely that Deceit won’t be forced to read at least 2 stories. Logan however does not approve of Deceit going off book, but adores his silly voices.

If Roman is feeling on his older range, one of their caretakers will take them out in the nature (in the dreamspace) and let them explore.

Out of Roman’s age ranges Logan prefers it when Roman is feeling more around 2, but will still play with him when hes littler.

Logan doesn’t like the messy arts (Which Roman does lean more on), but the two will color together. Logan sometimes gets bothered if things aren’t right (Like when Roman decided to color the grass pink, because grass is green, so you should color it green) Logan’s coloring books are always filled with very well done coloring pages with shading and everything, ALWAYS in line and ALWAYS as accurate as little him can make it. Roman not so much, he colors outside of the lines on PURPOSE! (Example when he colored big butterfly wigs on a picture in his princess coloring book) He doesn’t color things realistically like Logan ether, like the pink grass or when he turns a coloring page of baby dumbo into a pink elephant because it’s Dumbo and the pink elephant’s  daughter.

Once when they were exploring nature, Roman and Logan fell into a mud puddle. Logan wanted a bath right now! Patton was the one watching them, so he was going to have them take a bath together, this did not turn out well. A lot of loud screaming and crying from Roman, until Deceit ended up showing up and was like, ummmm nooooooo, Roman’s real sensitive about his body.

Virgil and Roman Playdates

At first Virgil was really unsure and nervous, because Roman’s a baby and to little Virgil even though he knows Roman is tough, probably the strongest and hardest to hurt of all the sides (In Virgil’s eyes) Baby Roman could get hurt real easy

This is not untrue, but mostly just because Roman physically is weaker then he lets on to be. (He just pretends all his battle wounds aren’t there and don’t hurt)

Virgil still prefers Patton being the caretaker who watches over their playdate and will be in a bit of bad mood if it’s just Deceit. On the flip side Roman has a little unease when Patton is the one there and Deceit isn’t, but he doesn’t say anything. The moment Deceit comes back, he’s a little extra clingy though. The moment Patton comes back Virgil tells him all the cool things they did completely forgetting how much trouble he gave Deceit.

The two of them are both big fans of coloring, for Virgil it helps his anxiety. He takes a long time to make sure it’s perfect, it’s not like Logan. It’s not shaded or anything crazy like that, it’s also tends to fit in reality over Roman’s. Virgil likes other forms of art too, They tend to make a lot of arts and crafts together.

Virgil adores making slimes, and playing with slime. Roman likes it too. They do have their differences with the slime however, Virgil prefers glow in the dark slimes, black slime, or purple slime. He likes making a different slime for each thing. While Roman likes adding everything to one big slime, He also tries to add glitter to every single slime (and personally Virgil not a big fan of raw glitter because it gets on him, glitter in bottles and cool down jars is fine as long as they don’t have any chance of getting glitter on him)

Putty is good too

They both adore squishies and stuffed animals.

Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles and oh Bubbles (They both really like playing with bubbles)

Logan, Virgil and Roman Playdates

This can be a little harder at times, because Logan and Virgil always play with each other they fall into a pattern that at times will leave Roman feeling like an outsider. Which ever caretaker is watching them has to be the one who tells them to remember Roman, because he will just sit there looking adorable sad and lost

Since they all like coloring that’s a big thing they do all together.

Going to the park tends to end up with them splitting off from each other. And not a great activity if they are trying to help the little ones to bond. Virgil’s favorite area of the park is the sandbox, Logan’s is the slides (to put things on and watch them slide down, and of course him sliding down too) Roman adores the swings and being pushed. He likes pretending he can fly. But, he has to use a baby swing his size due to the fact once he was using a “big boy” swing and let go of the chains, while being pushed and ended up fall and hitting the back of his head. This happened twice (because the second time he’d promise to remember to hold the chains, which he forgot minutes later)

They all do play pretend too, though it’s not Logan’s preferred choice in activities he does love being the teacher and the other littles (and which ever big watching them) being his students. Virgil surprising everyone likes to play knights and princess. In which he’s a brave knight Logan is the wizard and Roman the princess. (At first Roman had been the prince, but he was having a miserable time, luckily Deceit was watching them and helped make him the princess since Roman struggle with using his words, even when he’s feeling on his older side)

First post, kind of explains the whole plot of the AU

Question 1: Things Roman and Deceit like to do when Roman is little

Question 2 Nicknames Roman and Deceit call each other

I decided this would be a good name for the AU, I will update this posts. Please feel free to post me questions or even maybe prompts (I’ve very shy about writing tho so they will probably be small)

Logan is a voluntary regressor of 3-5 his carer is Patton

Virgil voluntary regresses but sometimes falls into it after a panic attack. His age range is 3-5, and his caregiver is Patton

Roman involuntary regresses due to triggers. When he over works himself is extremely common. Sometimes it’s other things too. his age range is that of a baby. Baby to 2 (He can end up being very little at times) his caregiver is Deceit who’s trying to encourage him to regress voluntarily at times (because that could help the involuntary ones be less extreme???

Patton is Logan and Virgil’s caregivers very protective over his boys. He’s a Mama Bear (who has been known to fight with Roman if he bullies his baby boys)

In the closet Roman will pick on the other littles due to his own feelings.

Deceit is Roman’s caregiver and he’s a very sweet and good caregiver despite what the other sides and Thomas think at first. He sometimes ends up triggering a regression.

A/N: So basically- this chapter starts off by kicking off the romance part of the story, then skips to Logan regressing. It's one of the longer chapters of this story and I'm pretty proud of it. I hope you guys like it!

Warning for Logan having an accident (wetting himself) while small and wearing a pull-up.

--

"Are you doing okay, Lo?" Patton asked the man as he entered the kitchen from his spot at the table.

"Mhm." Logan nodded, pulling out a chair to sit next to him. "I have so much work to do, though." He groaned.

After a few days of remaining in his headspace following Halloween, Logan had a lot of work to catch up on. He had agreed to the break, and now he needed to make up for it.

Patton chuckled. "If you need anything, let me know. I'll be cutting you off at dinner time." He spoke in a teasing tone.

Logan laughed. "Patton, I'm better at managing my work now. I don't need you to drag me away from the computer because I'm not taking care of myself."

Logan used to slave away in his room, doing his work, working ahead, without any sort of breaks or self care. And then, when he decided that he was done, he'd regress all by himself, until he was forced to interact with the other sides or he had more work to do.

"Okay, okay! But you're eating dinner with the family. No exceptions."

Logan nodded slowly. "Are we the only ones up?"

Patton confirmed. "I'm basically everyone's alarm clock, so yeah. You're the only one that sometimes gets up before I make my rounds."

"Did you want any help with breakfast? Since I'm up, I mean..."

Patton's face broke out into a wide smile. "Of course! You up for pancakes?" He questioned, getting up from his seat and going over to the cabinets, rummaging around the kitchen and grabbing random things.

He'd run over and place them on the table, gathering the ingredients he'd need. "Guess I don't have a choice..." Logan rolled his eyes, before jumping in to help his friend.

They quickly go to work on setting up, Patton making the batter, and Logan making the pancakes.

"We should hang out more," Patton commented, rinsing out dishes in the sink as Logan busied himself with flipping pancakes.

Logan chuckled, seemingly confused. "We hang out all the time."

"That's with little you." Patton corrected. "And I love caring for you when you're regressed, really. But I still feel like you're kinda..sheltered? When you're big, I mean."

Logan frowned, using his spatula to flip the pancake onto its uncooked side. "You're right. I'm sorry, its just hard opening up, I guess. And we can hang out more, if you want." Logan paused his rambling to push down the pancake, listening to it sizzle. "While I'm big." He added.

"Sounds great, Lo. What would you want to do?" Patton asked in curiosity.

"We could catch a movie or go to a cafe," Logan suggested with a shrug. He realized right after the words came out of his mouth that those were two very date like ideas. He was glad that he was facing the stove and not Patton directly, because his face was quite red.

Logan suddenly remembered something Virgil had told him. About thinking that Patton had a crush on big him. He had refused to believe it then...

What about now?

"Sounds like a plan," Patton had a confident and perky smile on his face as he set whatever he had been cleaning on the counter, coming closer to him. "How about this weekend? If you aren't little or busy." He suggested.

"Y-yeah, sure." Logan nodded a bit, still blushing and stumbling over his words. It was so weird to him how his view on Patton shifted. Their relationship dynamic shifted depending on his headspace. Sometimes, Patton was the man who played with him and cuddled him. Others, he was the one who cooked him meals and told him what to do.

But most of the time, when he wasn't feeling like a little kid or teenager, Patton was a really cute sweetheart who made him all flustered. The fact that he was willing to give up so much time to take care of him just showed that he really cared, and that made Logan happy.

He scooped the pancake off the pan, setting it on a plate that had been sitting next to the counter. Patton was standing next to him now, able to get a clear view of his face. As Logan was distracted pouring batter into the pan, Patton got close to his ear and whispered out a few words. So quiet and quick that Logan wasn't even sure that they were real.

"It's a date."

Logan's eyes widened, the logical trait immediately turning to face the moral trait.  Patton had backed away to the sink, pulling a face of confusion when he saw the others red face. "What's wrong, Lo?"

"N-nothing. I'm looking forward to this weekend." He muttered, biting his lip and facing the stove again. Patton smirked, humming a bit before returning to doing the dishes.

This weekend should be fun.

--

"Baby, it's time to wake up."

Logan heard Patton's soft voice as he was pulled out of sleep. After a day or two of working and managing to get everything done, he had woken up small. And it seems that his caregiver had been prepared for that.

"Daddy," Logan mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

"Here, you need to see." Patton chuckled, helping him sit up and sliding his glasses onto his face. "That's better. How are you feeling?"

"Sweepy." Logan decided,blinking his eyes open and letting them adjust. He looked around the room, letting his eyes focus.

Patton seemed amused. "Yeah? Well, we'll just have to have a cuddly nap later, yeah?"

Logan quickly nodded, reaching out his arms. "Wan cuddles!" he pouted, making grabby hands to the carer.

Patton laughed again, pulling him into a hug and onto his lap. "Do we have a little fussy baby today?" he questioned teasingly. Logan shook his head as he pulled away from the embrace, settling in his lap.

"Just sleepy." he assured. Patton wrapped his arms around Logan's waist as he spoke.

"Well, I think you might wanna be more awake today. Your brother is little, but he's a little bigger than usual. Which means...." Patton trailed off, seeing if he could figure it out. Logan only tilted his head, blinking up at him. "He can play more! When he's to small to do certain things, you get bored because you can only do so much with him, right?"

Logan nodded. He felt panicky on the inside, but he tried not to express that. Logan felt so small right now, and now he was hearing that Virgil was bigger? Logan was supposed to be the big brother!

"Well, he's wide awake and he wants to play with his brother. It'll be fun," Patton smiled at him. "How old are you today? Vee said that he's five."

"Seven!" Logan lied, biting on his lip.

Patton didn't second guess it. A lot of the time, when Logan first woke up, he'd be a lot more childlike then he actually felt. He had no reason to believe that he wasn't just a sleepy seven year old, instead of a three year old trying to be 'grown up'.

"Alright, kiddo! Let's get you dressed for the day!"

--

Logan felt like he had to skip out on what he really wanted. Declining the offer for a pacifier, asking for a shirt and overalls instead of one of his onesies, doing everything to seem like he wasn't a baby.

He wore a light blue sweater with clouds on it, paired with black shortalls. "You look so cute, baby." Patton complimented.

Patton calling him 'baby' every two seconds didn't help. Logan didn't even know why he was lying. It made him feel guilty. But he also didn't like feeling so vulnerable. He needed to be bigger then Vee. He's the big brother.

The thing was, he acted very different as a three year old then when he was seven. Adjusting his behaviors to sell the act seemed impossible.

"Can I have Lilly?" Logan questioned, turning away from the mirror and looking back at his carer,who nodded.

"One elephant stuffie, coming right up," Patton joked, going over to his bed and grabbing the stuffed toy. He held it out to the little, causing Logan to smile. He hugged the elephant tightly, rocking on his feet.

"Are you feeling smaller then seven, sweetie?" Patton asked, looking him up and down. He was so much..softer seeming then he was when he was seven. Logan shook his head, only feeling a little bad for lying.

"Still just sleepy." he replied. Patton nodded softly, walking past him and opening the door. He let Logan walk through it, following him.

Patton should've picked up on the fact that he was lying a lot sooner. There were so many things off about how he was acting, and yet, Patton managed to come to a explanation besides 'he's lying to me' every single time.

First off, no matter how sleepy Logan was, he usually was full of energy after breakfast and a sippy cup of juice. He pointed this out to Roman while the boys watched cartoons together. "Logan is very sleepy today. He's acting...weird?" Patton sounded questioning of himself.

"Give him something sugary. If it's really just him being sleepy, he should be back to a hyper kiddo with enough sugar." Roman told him. "Have fun with the sugar high, though."

Patton chuckled in response.

"He likes pop when he's this old. I think I can make an exception to the normal rule."

--

"Here." Patton set a sippy cup full of some sugary soda in front of him on the coffee table

"Thought I could only have juice." Logan mumbled. He always asked for soda when he was a bigger kid, and Patton almost always said no. But when he was littler, he preferred milk and fruit juices. The bubbly feeling felt weird on his tongue and he didn't like it,

"Yeah, usually. But I know you're really sleepy today and I thought this might wake you up." Patton explained.

"Can I has milk?" Logan shook his head, pushing the cup away from him. He looked up at Patton with pouty eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Sure thing, sweetheart." Patton picked the cup back up, seemingly confused.

Logan almost wanted to admit to lying then and there. Patton treated him different based off of how old he was. If he admitted to being three, he'd probably be in Daddy's lap, being fed a bottle of warm milk. Logan reminded himself that he was lying, so even if he admitted his mistake, he'd probably be in trouble.

So Logan continued throughout the day, trying to act as big as he could. It was really hard being a seven year old. Bigger kid stuff was hard for someone that felt like a little baby.

There were so many instances where Patton should've caught him but didn't. So many instances where Logan had to lie again and again.

At one point, Virgil had asked to play video games. Sometimes, they'd play more kid-appropriate games together, with Logan showing him how it works. Instead, he fumbled with the controller. He sniffled when he couldn't figure out what button did what, becoming all the more frustrated with this situation.

"M-maybe this is a little overwhelming for Logan," Patton jumped in, taking the controller away from him the moment he saw his eyes gloss over. He pulled him out of his seat, hugging him. "The game's stupid anyway." he joked, trying to get him to smile.

Logan didn't though, simply pulling away and sitting back down in his previous spot. He picked up Lilly from next to him and hugged her tightly, facing his attention torwards the screen and watching Roman show Virgil the controls instead.

By then, Patton had a feeling he knew what was going on. There were so many other small things, and his behavior overall was a lot closer to a much younger age.

It wasn't until Patton found Logan in his bedroom, crying with a pair of wet shortalls on, that he finally put it together with certainty.

When Logan was as little as three, Patton made a point to remind him to go to the bathroom. Sometimes, he'd forget and hold it off as long as possible. But he hadn't actually had any accidents (to Patton's knowledge) until the reminders were gone.

When he was older, Patton didn't do as much to assure that there'd be no accidents. The older he was, the more capable of going to the bathroom himself he was.

Of course, when Logan lied about his age, things got confusing and he ended up here.

Patton was planning on pulling Logan to the side and talking to him about the day, to see if he was possibly right about the boy lying. When he noticed him, suddenly jump up and run off, he decided to wait until he got back. Except, he didn't come back for a while.

"I'm gonna go check on Logan." Patton told Roman, who quickly nodded.

"I was wondering where he went."

--

"Logan, baby? Are you in there?" Patton knocked on his bedroom door, hearing a whimper on the other side. Followed by a sniffle. Logan was crying.

"Baby, I'm coming in, okay?"

He didn't get a response. He opened the door, glad the boy hadn't locked it behind him. Logan was standing by his personal bathroom door, his shorts soaked with a little puddle under him. Patton snapped, getting rid of the puddle magically to avoid the mess on the carpet. Logan didn't even question his use of powers, going quiet as he waited for Patton's words.

Logan was crying, sobbing even, seemingly scared of what his caregiver would say. "Looks like you had a little accident. I think this calls for a bubble bath," he spoke softly, smiling a bit as he approached him. Logan seemed genuinely confused by his softness and sympathy.

"M' sorry, d-didn't mean to.." he mumbled.

"That's why I called it an accident, sweetheart." Patton said, cupping his face and wiping away his tears using his thumb. "Toddlers have them sometimes, baby."

"N-not a- Not a..." he stumbled over his words, babbling.

"Not a toddler? You're still gonna lie and try to say you're seven?" Patton questioned, raising his eyebrow, dropping his hand from his face. Logan looked down, blinking out a few tears and shaking his head.

"m' sowwy."

"Don't be, baby. I'm not mad at you, I just don't want you to lie to me. Especially not about something like that," he told him. Logan looked up at him, remaining silent. Patton continued, "I care for you differently depending on your age. It's why I always ask, I do whatever I can to make sure you're happy and healthy, but those needs and wants change."

Logan nodded a bit. He didn't try to say anything, knowing that he'd probably just mumble out another apology. "Why'd you pretend to be older, sweetheart? I'm not mad, I'm just wondering," Patton opened the bathroom door, taking Logan's hand to help him inside.

"Wanna be bigger then Vee." Logan admitted as Patton sat him down on the closed toilet seat.

"You don't always have to be the big brother. I know you like playing that role, but sometimes it's not easy to do that," Patton spoke in a reassuring tone. It told Logan that he wasn't mad, but what he said was probably right. "You're gonna be littler than him sometimes." Patton explained, leaning over the edge of the bath tub and putting the drain in.

"You want it like usual?" he asked. Logan usually liked warm water that was on the edge of steaming hot. Patton didn't know how it didn't burn him, but he liked it. Logan nodded, and Patton moved to twist the faucet on. "Is this your first accident?"

Logan looked down, shaking his head a bit. "Dis only happen when I'm this small- not this small a lot."

"Hmm. You've only been this little with me a few times. I wish you told me that this was a problem, baby," he felt the water, deciding that the temperature was acceptable before standing up and facing Logan.

"M' sorry. Thought you'd think it's weird," Logan let Patton unbuckle his shortalls, standing up and letting him slide them off.

"Accidents aren't weird. A lot of kids are still in the process of potty training by the time they're three. Virgil wears diapers or pull ups most of the time when he's little," Patton pointed out, tapping Logan's arm once the wet pants were set to the side. Logan lifted his arms, letting his caregiver pull his shirt over his head.

Logan blushed, biting on his lip. Patton threw the shirt into the same pile as the shortalls, before quickly moving to tickle Logan's bare sides. The boy giggled, pushing his hands away. "My point is," Patton removed his hands after a moment, his antics leaving a light smile on Logan's face. He continued, "You didn't need to hide this from me. I'd never get mad at you, or judge you for something like this. Can you promise not to keep things from me anymore? No lying about how old you feel, or hiding accidents."

Logan nodded quickly, holding out his pinky. He had felt bad about lying that day, and the accidents had been a long term secret. He had hoped he wouldn't of had to worry about that, since he had managed to get by with Patton's reminders the few times he did get this small.

Patton chuckled, wrapping his pinky around his and smiling. "Finish getting undressed while I put the bubbles in, okay?"

Logan nodded, waiting until Patton was facing away from him to pull off his wet underwear. He felt so gross. He stood there, chewing on his lip until Patton turned off the faucet, setting away to reveal a very bubbly bath. Logan took Patton's outstretched hand, letting him help him step into the tub.

For a moment, Patton let him settle into the water as he typed out a message on his phone, letting Roman know what happened. Then, he set it down and redirected his attention to his little boy.

Patton helped him wash his body, ticking him when his fingers ran over a part of him that was sensitive. Logan's worries seemed to wash away in the water. The idea that Patton was mad at him went away with Patton's constant reassurance and affection. The embarrassment from being so little faded as he splashed and played in the water.

"You keep playing while I go get you a new outfit, okay?"

Logan nodded a bit, currently distracted by the bright red cup in his hand. All he was doing was taking the plastic container and filling it with water, before dumping it out, but he was entertained by it.

Patton picked up his phone on the way out, closing the door behind him and seeing Roman at the door. "How is he?" he questioned.

"Okay, I think. I ran him a bubble bath and he's playing," Patton replied, going over to Logan's closet and pulling out a few things. He located his unicorn onesie. He usually didn't let Logan run around in it during the day, because the boy would be so upset if he spilt something on it, but he knew it would probably be the most comforting thing right now.

"I talked to him about hiding things from me. Told him that he doesn't always need to be bigger then Vee. I'm not getting onto him to much though, he feels bad and I think he just needs comfort right now." Patton admitted, going over to his dresser and pulling out his plain dark blue pacifier, setting it with the onesie.

"As long as he understands why he shouldn't do that, there's no need to be to stern on him." Roman nodded, entering the room and approaching Logan's bed. He set the item he was holding with the pile. "I'm pretty sure Logan and Virgil wear the same sizes in pull-ups. These ones are technically overnight ones, so they should hold a few accidents. I explained to Vee that Logan's a bit smaller than him right now already."

Patton nodded, smiling a bit. "I don't know how often these accidents happen, so I'm just going to have him wear one until he's bigger and I'll talk to him about it then. We should be down soon."

Roman nodded, leaving the room without another word.

"Hi, baby. You having fun in the water?" Patton opened the door, scaring Logan. Once he realized that it was just Patton, he nodded a bit. Patton seemed amused, shutting the door behind him and setting the pile of clothes in his hands down on the closed toilet. He had grabbed a towel from his closet on his way back into the bathroom, setting it with the clothes. Patton sat in front of the bath.

Logan slapped his hands on the surface of the water, causing it to splash. He giggled, bouncing in place. "Spwash!" he was so entertained by this.

"Maybe we shouldn't 'spwash' water on Daddy," Patton chuckled, wiping his face with his hand. Logan smiled, doing the splash motion again to see how Patton would react. Patton only shook his head with a playful sigh. "You're a silly baby. You know that?"

Logan blushed, sticking his tongue out before bursting into more giggles. "Hey, Little Scholar? How would you feel about wearing a pull up for today? Until you're bigger."

Logan frowned a bit, seemingly thinking. "Just so if you have another accident, there's no issue. This isn't a punishment, I just thought it would help." Patton rushed to explain, waiting for his reaction. Logan's face was red.

"Not a baby." he mumbled.

"But you are a very little toddler. Pull ups and diapers aren't exclusive to itty bitty babies." Logan still shook his head. Patton sighed, reaching over to the pile of clothes and picking up the pull up. "It has spaceships on it," Patton tried to sound convincing, "No one will see it either."

Logan seemed curious at the mention of 'spaceships', his eyes glancing over it as Patton held it up for him. "How about this...If you be a really good boy and do this for me, I'll let you wear your unicorn onesie." he bargained. He was gonna let him wear his unicorn onesie regardless, but Logan didn't have to know that.

Logan quickly nodded, agreeing on those terms. He wasn't against the idea of wearing the diaper, he was just embarrassed. But embarrassment could be overridden by a cute onesie.

"Thank you, Little Astronaut. I'm proud of you," Patton set the pull up back on the pile, before standing up and holding out his hand. Logan took it, stepping out of the bath. Patton helped him dry off, helping him step into the pull-up, which was surprisingly comfortable. Then, he zipped up the onesie for him, and gave him the pacifier.

"You ready to go downstairs? You can play with your brother, if you want."

Logan nodded a bit, letting Patton lead the way out of his room and down the stairs. The rest of the day was surely gonna be better than it's start.

Logan had gone from a sobbing mess trying to apologize to his caregiver, to a playful baby boy with just a bubble bath and some reassurance. Patton always made him feel so much better about himself. No matter how little he was, despite any accidents or temper tantrums. That's part of the reason why their relationship worked.

He knew how to adjust to taking care of him depending on his headspace and emotions, and was always willing to adjust if it'd make him more comfortable. He was always so understanding and soft with him, even when he broke the rules. He was the perfect caregiver for him

And, come Saturday, he'd find out if Patton would also make the perfect boyfriend.    

--

A/N:Y'all ik Halloween was like, a week ago, but I wanted to make this chapter good for y'all. I didn't mean to make it as angsty as I did so yeah-

here's your warning for crying, emotions, and Logan snapping at Patton. Enjoy!

--

It was finally Halloween, and the Core Sides were rather happy due to this fact.

Everyone in the house was so excited. Patton and Roman had been planning the perfect little day for their regressors for weeks, and had managed to keep it secret until just a few days prior. The two boys weren't to keen on it at first, worried about going out while in littlespace, but they were quickly reassured that everything would be alright.

They'd be trick or treating, watching children's Halloween's movies, and so much more. This was supposed to be a fun day for everyone.

Also, this was the first time ever that Logan voluntarily regressed.

"Do you have all the makeup stuff for your costume?" Roman asked, looking to Logan, who was currently using scissors to cut up a plain white t-shirt.

"Yep! My costume is gonna look so cool once it's done!" Logan cheered. He sat at the kitchen table, surrounded by different supplies. He kicked his feet underneath of him, swinging them back and forth just above the ground. He was around fifteen, but his positive emotions made his behaviors mix between those of a teenagers and those of a older toddler.

But he swore up and down that he was strictly a teenager at the moment.

"I'm sure it will, kiddo." Roman smiled at him, picking up his glass of water and ruffling Logan's hair on the way out of the kitchen.

Logan continued to work on his clothes for his costume, using paints and pens to decorate his shirt. He was shocked when he heard a knock at the door. "Can someone get the door?" Logan called out, setting his stuff down and turning in his seat so that he could see into the living room, he had a good view of whoever could be behind the front door.

"Who's here?" Patton came down the stairs, looking to Roman, who sat on the couch with Virgil.  Roman shrugged.

"All four of us are here...so it could only be-" Roman spoke as Patton approached the door.

"Hello!" Remus cheered, greeting everyone the moment the door swung open. Janus seemed a lot less excited to be there, his arms crossed. Virgil locked eyes with him for a second, immediately burying his face into Roman's side. Roman wrapped his arm around him, holding him close.

"Chill out, we're not here to hurt you or anything. Remus thought-" Remus interrupted Janus's words with a look, silently urging him to correct himself. "We thought that we should celebrate Halloween with you...since we're trying to be kinder and work together and everything."

The Core Sides and Dark Sides were currently in a weird spot. After much conflict, they decided that they wanted to try and unite, be kind and stuff. But it was pretty hard to work together with someone when you've had a ongoing rivalry for the majority of your existence.

"You guys usually throw a party..but I'm assuming that something else is happening today?" Janus's eyes landed on Virgil, then on Logan, who quickly casted his glance downwards.

"Something else, yes. And you weren't invited," Patton finally spoke up, giving them a unkind glare that was so unlike himself.

"We're not here to start a fight! Why can't we join in on the family fun, hmm?" Remus tilted his head, looking at Patton with pleading eyes.

"Because.." Patton trailed off, looking over the the kitchen entrance at Logan, who was packing up his stuff in hopes of getting out of there. Patton couldn't come up with a good reason.

It was true, they were trying to work together and get on better terms with one another. If Patton blocked them out every time they initiated time together, then nothing would get better. But Virgil and Logan were regressed, so he needed to find an excuse.

"Cat got your tongue, Patton?" Remus questioned. Janus gave him a look, as if telling him to drop the mean tone.

"If this is about the nerd and the emo regressing, we don't care. We're open to spending time with them while they're in headspace." Janus explained.

Logan's head shot up, looking at them. Patton got the question out before him or Roman did, though. "How do you know-"

Janus cut him off, raising his hand in front of Patton's face, causing Patton to shut his mouth. "Virgil regressed even back when he lived with us...and he didn't hide it well. And it doesn't take genius to figure out that Logan does it too. We were never judging of it."

Patton nodded slowly, looking to Roman. "Let me talk to Roman, okay? Come sit inside for now." Patton stepped to the side, letting them in and shutting the door behind them. "Logan, watch your brother, please."

Logan nodded, agreeing to the task. Roman stood up, keeping hold of Virgil's hand and leading him over to Logan. "He's kinda scared..be nice to him, okay?" Roman asked.

"Of course," Logan stood up, taking Virgil's hand from Roman's, causing Virgil to pout. "Dad says that I'm a good brother." He spoke as if his words would erase any worry in Roman's mind that Virgil wasn't in good hands.

"You are, baby. You're doing great," Roman assured, turning to face Patton without another word.

Janus and Remus sat on the couch, looking back at Logan and Virgil, who seemed pretty scared. "You don't have to be scared of us. You know that, right?" Janus spoke first, locking eyes with Logan. He figured he'd understand what he was asking more then the toddler.

Logan shrugged, moving to pull out a chair for Virgil. Janus seemed kind of hurt my that response, but he didn't comment on it. "What are you two being for Halloween?" Remus offered, trying to redirect the conversation.

"Kitty!" Virgil blurted out with a light giggle. He couldn't talk super well when he was this young, so Logan was a little shocked to hear him respond so quickly to people who he hadn't been regressed around in a long time. Janus and Remus gave fond smiles to him.

"Really? That sounds like a great costume," Janus complimented. "How about you, Logan?"

"Uh, a zombie." Logan replied, his voice full of that teenage awkwardness that he absolutely hated. He didn't sound put together and smart, like when he was big. But he didn't sound cute either, like when he was younger. He just sounded weird.

"Ooh! Are you gonna do like, fake cuts and stuff?" Remus asked. Logan shrugged again.

"Probably, I'm not good at it though." He replied.

"Remus is very good at fake gore stuff! If your...caregivers?" Janus seemed questioning of the term, but Logan nodded, allowing Janus to continue. "If they let us stay, I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you with your costume." Janus looked at Remus, who quickly nodded.

"Sounds good to me." Remus affirmed.

"Really?" Logan seemed excited. He knew how good Remus was at fake gore stuff. Of course, his powers aided in that, but he was also just decent at special effects makeup. Remus nodded. "Cool." Logan smiled, suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable then he did before.

They really weren't there to hurt them, or even make fun of them for regressing. They were being nice. Logan didn't make an effort to continue the conversation, turning and continuing his process of packing up his costume supplies so that he could bring it upstairs.

Roman and Patton didn't come back down stairs for a few minutes. When they did though, they came to stand in front of the couch, Patton making a motion to Logan to come into the living room.

"Okay, so we decided that if the boys are comfortable with it, then you can spend Halloween with us." Patton announced. There was a pause following his statement, so he spoke again. "What do you think, boys?"

"I'm okay with it, I guess." Logan said, before looking to Virgil next to him. Virgil nodded, seemingly nervous and hesitant, but not saying no.

"Okay, then it's settled. What's the plan for the day?" Janus leaned forward, looking at the two core sides in front of him.

"Where should I even begin?"

--

"Where's Logan?" Roman asked, sitting at the kitchen table with Virgil, helping him with his kitten whiskers. Of course, the toddler didn't enjoy sitting still, so Roman had to keep scolding him for moving.

Which of course led to Virgil feeling bad, setting an endless cycle of messed up makeup and babyish apologies. "Upstairs with Remus, he's helping with his makeup. They said they were almost done, though." Patton explained, setting two baskets down on the kitchen table.

One was shaped like a witched cauldron, and the other was a light blue basket covered in superhero stickers and sharpie doodles. You could probably figure out which one belonged to who.

"Okay, cool. I'm almost done with Vee, then we can get shoes on and head out." Roman smiled at Patton, who nodded. Patton went to exit the kitchen, pausing to kiss Virgil's forehead before continuing.

Upstairs, Remus held up a mirror for Logan as he packed up his makeup stuff. "Whoa! This looks awesome!" Logan exclaimed, looking over his face.

Logan was, at first, a little uncomfortable being alone with Remus while regressed. But then, Remus starting asking about his interests and what made him choose to be a zombie, and suddenly, that worry faded away as he rambled on about comic books and Netflix shows.

And just like his family, Remus sat there, listening and urging him to go on as he applied his makeup..

The fake gashes looked pretty convincing, and the dried fake blood on the side of his face looked pretty cool. He just hoped he wouldn't freak out his little brother to much. "Thank you," Logan remembered to use his manners, handing the mirror back to Remus.

"You're welcome. My brothers good at the glam makeup,but gore had always been my specialty." Remus smiled, stuffing the mirror into the makeup bag before making it disappear.

Logan gasped, "We aren't supposed to use our powers anymore."

"Technically that rule only applies to you guys. The Dark Sides never agreed to it." Remus corrected.

"Oh," Logan paused, not knowing what to say. He didn't have to continue his statement, because Patton's voice interrupted the conversation from the door.

"You guys may not have agreed to the rule, but while you're here, with us, please refrain from using your powers. The rule is in place for a reason. " Patton gave Remus one of his 'stern dad' looks, silently telling him that if he didn't do this, the invitation to spend Halloween with them would be quickly revoked. The Dark Side rolled his eyes, but shrugged.

"Whatever."

"Anyways, you look amazing, darling! Did you thank Remus?" Patton turned to Logan, looking him up and down and observing his costume. Logan nodded quickly. "Good job. Virgil is almost ready, so you should probably get your stuff together quickly before we head out." Patton instructed.

"Okay, dad." Logan grabbed his phone off of his desk, before heading out of the room.

Remus and Patton followed him out and down the stairs.

Time to go trick or treating.

--

The boys definitely had fun trick or treating. Patton stuck to Emile and Remy's neighborhood, the people were generally kinder in that area of the town, and they got no more then a few odd looks due to Virgil and Logan's behavior. Since all the interactions were quick, and Logan spoke for both him and Virgil, most people didn't even notice them.

It just looked like they were a few young adults going out because they wanted free candy.

Logan insisted that he didn't need to be watched, so him and Virgil walked a bit ahead of the other four, stopping at houses and collecting candy. Virgil seemed pretty excited, giggling and babbling things to his older brother. Eventually, Patton caught up to them and told them that they should walk home soon.

"But dad-"

"No buts. We've been walking for a while, your bucket is basically full, and everyone is tired." Patton spoke sternly, watching as Logan gave him an annoyed glare. "Lose the attitude, right now. Or that candy will be taken away until you're big again." Patton threatened, raising his eyebrows and watching to see if Logan was gonna push this farther.

"Oh my god," Logan rolled his eyes, holding his basket closer to him. "Sorry."

His apology wasn't genuine, he was just annoyed and wanted his carer to drop the topic.

Patton gave him a look that said 'we'll talk about this later', before directing his attention to Virgil. "Did you have fun tonight, baby?" he asked him. The other three had been trailing behind them, but Roman came forward to take Virgil's hand.

Logan dropped of behind, not wanting to listen to the two caregivers fuss over Virgil, instead matching pace with Janus and Remus. "You okay, Lo?" Remus asked.

Logan shrugged. "Dad's mad at me because of an attitude I don't even have," he complained, seemingly disappointed or upset about something.

Janus looked in front of them as they walked, where Patton was. "I'm sure he isn't mad at you. I think everyone is just a bit tired from walking, everything will probably be good once everybody has gotten the chance to sit down."

"You think?" Logan asked, swinging his basket back and forth a bit. He felt bad. He wasn't trying to upset his caregiver with his annoyance about going home. He was just a little annoyed, and Patton threatening to take his candy just put him in a worse mood. But now, he felt bad for ever being annoyed in the first place.

"Yeah, definitely. I don't think Patton could ever be mad at you," Remus jumped into the conversation, wrapping his arm around Logan's shoulder as they walked. Logan didn't seem convinced, but he went quiet and dropped the subject. Remus and Janus didn't make him talk, simply walking with him as Patton and Roman led the way back home.

Virgil was giggling about something when they got home, following Roman inside. Remus led Logan inside, while Janus paused at the door Patton held open. He made sure that no one else could hear him, speaking quietly. "Can you talk to Logan and make sure he knows you aren't mad at him? I think he feels bad for giving you attitude earlier. Me and Remus tried to comfort him but I don't know if it helped."

Patton's face softened, and he nodded. "Yeah, of course..." he trailed off. "Thanks, for trying to help. It means a lot to me, and I'm sure it does to him too."

Janus smiled, "Of course."

He walked inside without another word. He busied himself with turning on the requested children's movie (Nightmare Before Christmas) while Roman helped Virgil take of his shoes. Patton shut the door behind him, looking around for Logan, who seemed to be gone.

He locked eyes with Remus, glanced upwards, silently telling him that he had gone upstairs. Patton gave a thankful nod before disappearing up the steps.

Patton found Logan in the bathroom, rubbing at his face with a makeup wipe, his eyes a bit teary. He seemed frustrated, and emotional. Logan jumped when he caught Patton's face in the mirror, seeming to register that he left the door open.

He sniffled, "I'm just getting out of my costume." he explained, rubbing at his eyes quickly, casting them downwards. Now, his demeanor was embarrassed, and shy.

Teenagers weren't supposed to cry when their parents were upset with them. That was something Little Logan did.  He was to old for this.

"Logan," Patton approached him, taking the makeup wipe out of his hand and pulling him into a hug quickly. Logan rested his chin on Patton's shoulder, not cuddling into him because he didn't wanna get makeup all over his shirt. "Why didn't you tell me you felt so bad, hmm?" he questioned once pulling away.

"You were fussing over Virgil and you seemed upset," Logan shrugged, pulling another makeup wipe from the container and wiping down a section of his face, focusing on the mirror instead of facing his Dad.

Patton gave him an apologetic look through the mirror. "I'm sorry that I was focused on Virgil, I should've paid more attention to you and realized that you weren't okay."

Logan hummed, "It's whatever, I don't need extra attention. I'm a teenager that can take care of myself, I don't even know why I got so upset." he scoffed, seemingly annoyed with himself.

"That's not true, Logan. Biological teenagers still need attention, don't they?"

Logan shrugged. "They do sometimes, yeah." he admitted.

"And they don't completely take care of themselves either. And you shouldn't feel like you have to either," Patton explained. "And you're allowed to feel emotions, baby." he added.

"Every emotion but annoyance, right?" Logan challenged, looking directly into his eyes through the mirror before glancing away, focusing on wiping down his face once again. Patton's mouth fell open. He didn't know how to reply to that.

"Every time I get annoyed, I'm told not to give any 'attitude', even if I don't realize that I'm doing anything wrong!" Logan exclaimed, his voice laced in frustration. "You talk about expressing emotions but the moment it's not positive or something you can fix with a hug and some dad advice, suddenly it's not okay anymore."

Patton seemed hurt by that, but he slowly nodded. He couldn't take this personally right now. He needed to talk this out with Logan, and hopefully set him back up to have a good night. Patton went over to close the bathroom door. "Sit down," he instructed, lowering the toilet lid.

Logan seemed confused, but he took the order quickly. Patton took the container of makeup wipes before sitting down on the edge of the bathtub next to him. Logan turned to face him, not knowing what was happening.

Was Patton mad at him for snapping? Did he hurt his dads feelings? Did he just make everything worse?

He felt like he did.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel like you couldn't express your emotions," Patton pulled another makeup wipe out, cupping the clean part of his face and wiping down another. "You're allowed to be annoyed, or even angry with me. You might not like some choices I make and I understand that, I just don't like it when that happens."

Logan noticed the forced neutral expression on Patton's face, like he was trying to avoid giving away what he was feeling at the moment. "But.." Patton started speaking again, "That doesn't mean I should be so harsh on you when you do get annoyed."

Logan nodded in an understanding way, letting Patton clean his face. Patton continued.

"I'll try to get better about that,l promise. I'm glad you talked to me, though."

"Dad, I didn't mean to hurt you! You're doing amazing, I promise. I just lashed out because I'm emotional and-" Logan started up his quick, panicked rambling, and Patton held his hand up, telling him to stop. Patton started speaking, his face softening a bit.

"It's okay, baby. I did something wrong here, not you, okay? You don't have to feel bad for communicating with me." Patton spoke softly, wiping his face one more time before throwing away the wipe. Logan nodded slowly.

"And just so you know, I was never mad at you." Patton added.

"Really? I got so worked up and emotional for no reason?" Logan seemed shocked. Patton smiled lightly,

"Guess so."

Logan laughed, leaning forward and hugging him. This time, he snuggled into Patton's shoulder. "I'm sorry if I messed tonight up." he mumbled. Patton quickly pushed him away from the hug, his hands on either of Logan's shoulders as he looked him directly in the eyes.

"You messed nothing  up, baby. You still had fun trick or treating, right?"

Logan nodded quickly, smiling. "Yeah! Me and Virgil got a lot of candy and people complimented my costume!"

"One emotional part of the night doesn't ruin the rest of it. We agreed to a late bedtime tonight, remember? There's still time to have more fun," Patton assured. Logan nodded.

Patton kissed Logan's forehead before standing up and going over to the door. "Come on, I'm pretty sure Virgil would love to cuddle his amazing big brother right now." He held it open, making way for a laughing Logan to walk through.

Logan's first Halloween spent regressed may not have been absolutely perfect, but spending it with his family still assured that it was still amazing. He couldn't of asked for a better day then Trick or Treating and cuddling with his little brother.

Then getting his makeup done by Remus. Then getting praised by Roman.

Then being with his family.

There were ups and downs to every relationship, including a regressors with their caregiver. But those downs don't erase the good parts. After every valley, there was a hill.

A/N: Y’ALL EMILE AND REMY ARE FINALLY HERE- there’s not any little sides in this one (besides a mention of little remus), because this chapter is meant to advance the story. This is the start of the end, really, but I can definitely stretch it out depending on how I order the plotlines and how many filler plots I can stuff in between every. 

also spoiler warning for the most recent asides episode, because I used stuff introduced in that episode as a way to make this plot so much simpler then it originally was gonna be. 

please let me know if you liked the chapter (sorry that it’s kinda short)!

--

"ROMAN! I can't even-"

"I know!"

Virgil and Roman were completely enthusiastic after the day they had. They really hoped that things would go well with Nico, and both of them were pretty excited about this.

"Will you two stop screaming for two seconds? You sound like teenage girls," Janus laughed, giving them a look from his spot on the couch.

Virgil's head snapped over to Janus, giving him a playful glare.

"Let them have their fun, I don't think they've been this happy since..." Logan trailed off, thinking for a moment, "Since we started talking to you two again."

Virgil and Roman went back to talking, moving out of the living room and into the hallway. They were probably going off to Virgil's room to hang out for a while.

"Speaking of Remus, where is he?" Janus questioned, looking at Logan.

"Pretty sure he regressed, he was happy because his brother was happy and that triggered his headspace. Patton's taking care of him." Logan explained.

It had been just a week or so since Remus first regressed. He insisted on avoiding conversation about it when he came out of the headspace, but reassured from the others made sure that he knew he was safe to regress. It was weird, not having gross thoughts for a bit and just letting go. But it was nice. He got to depend on others and just play.

It was relieving.

"Let's go play with him! This is his second time regressing, and we need to get to know little him more!" Janus encouraged, standing up and stretching a bit. Logan agreed, jumping up and following him.

Initially after that day at the mall, everyone was pretty happy. Virgil and Roman spent some time together as a couple, gushing about how Thomas might finally have someone, just like they had each other. Patton, Logan, and Janus kept Remus busy as they teased and played with him.

And Emile and Remy realized that they were going to have to start working with the core sides again.

Of course, none of the core sides had come to this realization yet, but Emile's shared job of empathy and emotions with Patton connected into Thomas's romance life. And if Emile was going to be around the core sides more, then so was Remy.

Remy insisted that he stuck by Emile most of the time. He was sensitive, and he needed to be there to protect him if he needed it. Maybe that protectiveness was because he was his boyfriend. Maybe it was because he was also his caregiver. Maybe it was both.

Who knows?

--

Everyone had been sitting in the living room when they heard a knock sound at the door. Patton was the first to speak.

"Isn't everyone here?" he looked around the room. He glanced over the faces of Virgil, Roman, and Logan next to him. Then, he looked at Remus (who was now big), and Janus.

"It has to be Emile or Remy!" Logan pointed out.

"But why are they her-" Roman's words were interrupted by more knocking.

"Just a second!" Patton called out. Virgil jumped up, running out of the living room and disappearing into the hallway that led to their bedrooms.

"Start hiding the little stuff, quick!" he directed, just moments later when he came back, a box in his hands. Everyone seemed to come to a realization, getting up and helping him.

"I'll keep them at the door as long as I can," Patton told them, before getting off of the couch and going to the door. He heard the sounds of everyone running around behind him as he opened the door. As predicted, the two neutral sides stood on their porch step. They never showed their faces anymore, so it was shocking that they were here.

Once, a while ago, Remy and Emile worked with them all the time. They weren't core sides because their jobs were either shared with other sides, or it didn't directly tie into Thomas's personality, but they helped when they could.

Then, Virgil started working with them, and the two of them backed away and started working from a distance. They stayed in their little cottage in the Vineyard Village and did their best to work by themselves. Back then, Virgil was different, more gloomy. Neither of the neutral sides enjoyed being around him, and they just decided to leave. And once Virgil started changing, they felt like it was to late to drop back in.

Of course they felt bad for judging Virgil so harshly, but the decision had already been made and they couldn't take it back now.

Though, both Emile and Logan knew that logically, they'd have to come back eventually. So here they were, deciding that now was the time to come back.

"Hey!" Emile greeted.

"Hey..." Patton smiled awkwardly, glancing behind him for a moment. "What are you two doing here?" he questioned.

Remy's head perked up when he heard a crash behind Patton, and a shout that sounded like Remus's voice calling out "i'm okay!". "What's going on in there?" he chuckled, trying to peek over Patton's shoulder.

"Why don't," Patton paused, standing on his toes so that he blocked Remy's view of the inside of the house. "Why don't you answer my question first?"

"Oh..um, remember the romance committee? Me, you, and Roman are in charge of Thomas's romance life. And since he's finally met someone he likes, I figured it would be fairly soon that I'd have to work with you guys again." Emile explained. Patton looked to Remy for his reasoning to be there.

Patton was really just trying to stall, and this was the only way he knew to keep the conversation going.  

"I'm here for him. But also, there's the Dream Team. Roman's supposed to help me create Thomas's dreams and stuff? And you're supposed to help walk me through Thomas's emotions so I can let them influence the dreams he has?"

"Oh, okay." Patton nodded. He really didn't know what else to say. In any other case, he would've let them in by now.

"Our jobs really depend on information from you guys," Emile elaborated, seemingly confused and why he hadn't been let inside yet. "Working apart has been basically impossible. It's about time that we came back and started holding meetings again, yeah?"

Patton nodded again, "I suppose so."

"Can we come in?" Remy questioned, still confused. Patton looked behind him, getting a thumbs up from Logan and nodding as he looked back to the other two.

"Yeah, welcome back." he stepped away from the door, allowing them to walk in.

"This place has changed a bit," Emile commented, smiling as he looked around. "It's nice, I like it."

Emile and Remy took seats in the only empty parts of the couch. The core sides living room was technically made to fit all of them at once, because they were all supposed to work together. But that hasn't happened in a while. "Hello Janus, Remus." Emile awkwardly greeted.

"Hello." Janus had his arms crossed.

"So...let's get down to business, right?" Logan was the first to speak, redirecting to situation from the tension between the neutral sides and the dark sides, to the discussion they had to hold.

"To defeat the huns!" Emile and Roman quoted Mulan at the same time, breaking out into laughter.

They did kinda miss this.

--

"So..the neutral sides don't hate me, which is cool..." Virgil pondered, taking a bite of his food. The neutral and dark sides had headed back home, and the core sides were having family dinner.

"What's on your mind, love?" Roman questioned. He had noticed his nervousness, and how disappointed he had been when he had to store away all his little stuff so that Emile and Remy didn't see it.

"Well..if you guys are going to start working with them again, that means they're gonna be here a lot, right?" He asked, seemingly nervous to hear the response.

Logan sighed, "Yeah, you got it right."

"That means that we're gonna have to start hiding all the regression stuff again. Just when I was getting used to the idea of being open about it!" Virgil groaned, seemingly annoyed.

Since they told Janus and Remus, they had stopped trying to hide the littlespace dynamic within their family. Coloring pages were on the fridge, sippy cups and bottles sat in the cabinet, certain toys were stored in the living room. Looking around, you could tell that a child, or someone on the same mental level as one, regularly stayed there.

And now that they finally got to that level of comfort, treating their regression like an every day normal thing, they were put in a situation where they had to hide it once again.

"I know, sweetheart. It sucks. But, we can always figure out ways to bring it up! If we tell them, then we'll know for sure that everyone knows!" Patton pointed out.

"You know how hard it was for me to even tell my brother? I didn't, really. He just caught me in littlespace and I had to explain myself. We haven't seen them in forever, and Vee barely knows them...we're gonna have to start hiding everything again. At least for now." Roman wasn't happy about this either, but he didn't know if they could do anything about it.  

"Well, they most likely won't be snooping in bedrooms without permission, so when they're here, we'll just have to take our personal agere stuff and store it in our rooms. It won't be that hard." Logan tried to sound hopeful, but it didn't come out great.

"We'll figure it out. It's just a few meetings a week," Patton assured.

"Yeah, we'll figure it out. For now, let's enjoy Patton's food, yeah?"

For now, they weren't going to worry about it. But this change was going to be rather stressful on them. Yeah, Emile and Remy were nice sides, but they had no idea how they'd react to something like this. So until they got a better idea on how they could react, they'd have to go back to hiding and being secretive.

And this change was only part of it, there was still more to come.

One last big change before this story comes to a close, but we still have a bit to go before we get there.  

Let's just keep telling this story and see what happens to the sides.

To Thomas.

--

A/N: another spooky ominious ending? oooh. 

Some people have been pointing out that I’ve been hinting to some big change, so here it is! Kinda...there’s still more to come. This little plotline of everyone trying to hide the agere thing from Remy and Emile will be the focus for a little while, and then right as it starts to get resolved....BOOM! Another change. 

Hope you’re ready.