#logical conclusion

With his glasses on and his mind slowly clearing the fog of sleep from his thoughts, Logan finally discovered why it had felt strange.  The arm around his midsection was directly proportional to the size of his own arm.  He had been able to reach the bedside table, something his child-sized body hadn't been able to do; he must have aged again.

Trying to contain his excitement, Logan checked his age mentally. Logan tried to think about the working of the universe, remember scientific theories, and recall the psychology he had been studying before his regression and found that he could, in fact, remember all of it.  He even had the mental vocabulary to express those ideas.  He was probably back to his adult self, but he had to be sure.

Logan attempted to lift the arm draped over him, only for the offending appendage to tighten its grip and a leg to flop over his own, effectively pinning him.  The weight was warm and comfortable, but restrictive.  He would have to wake Virgil up in order to get up.

“Virgil,” Logan whispered, not wanting to startle the anxious side. Well, his voice was back to a lower range again, that was reassuring.

Virgil hummed softly and held tighter, pulling Logan against his chest and nuzzling his face into the back of Logan's neck.

“Virgil,” Logan tried again with no effect, it seemed the anxious one was very tired and very cuddly.

“Virgil, I wasn't aware that you enjoy this much physical contact, and I will be happy to indulge such desires in the future should it prove necessary, but you need to wake up.”

“Mmmm, don't wanna,” Virgil muttered into the back of his neck.

The resulting sensation was unfamiliar though not altogether unpleasant. Logan briefly considered indulging in this cuddling activity for a bit longer, for research, before remembering his earlier mission.

“Virgil wake up!” Logan tried again, this time at his normal volume.

“Nooooooooo, this dream is nice,” Virgil muttered back sleepily.

“This is no dream, Virgil.  You are actually holding me in bed and we might be back to our adult sizes again.”

Virgil abruptly stopped nuzzling him. The anxious side pulled away from him suddenly with an exclaimed “Oh shit!” and promptly fell off the other side of the bed.

Logan got up carefully but quickly, walking around the bed to give Virgil a hand up.

“Sorry,” Virgil muttered, taking Logan's outstretched hand and staring at the floor.

“No need to apologize, Virgil,” Logan replied, helping Virgil to his feet. At least he was definitely back to being an adult. “I didn't mind cuddling with you, and I would be willing to repeat the experience,”

Virgil finally looked at him, his eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar,

“but I think this growth spurt deserves investigation first.”  

Logan exited the room, pulling a stunned Virgil along behind him by their still-clasped hands, and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, opening the door and flicking on the light with his free hand.  Logan inspected himself in the mirror.  He was his correct height again, correct build, he looked almost exactly as he had before Roman had spilled potion on him.  He had his vocabulary, his knowledge, and his size back, so what was different?  Logan inspected his face carefully, of course! How had he missed something so obvious?  He was blushing, still holding Virgil's hand.  

“I seem to be back to my previous state. How about you, Virgil?”

Virgil was checking himself over visually in the mirror and physically with his free hand, running it over his hair, face, neck, and torso.

“Yeah, I'm back to semi-normal,” Virgil replied, his voice a touch strained.

“Is something wrong, Virgil?”

“N-not wrong, just, Logan, you're still holding my hand.  Are you okay?” Virgil looked nervous, not an uncommon expression of his lately given the abrupt changes in their lives over the past couple of days.

“I am perfectly fine. I have simply observed that you find positive physical contact soothing in times of change and I am not opposed to providing it.”  Logan smiled as he watched the gears click into place in Virgil's mind, metaphorically of course.

“We can go back to being adults without leaving behind important childhood lessons.”

And with that Logan was off down the hallway again, a now smiling Virgil following behind still holding his hand.  

Logan led Virgil down the stairs to the living room, not at all surprised to see Roman and Patton asleep, both their proper, full sizes again. What did make him arch an eyebrow was the way they were entwined on the couch, a blanket over their legs.  Patton was curled into Roman who was wrapped around Patton.  Logan concluded that they had fallen asleep with Patton still a toddler and that the position had probably been more comfortable for both of them with Patton at his smaller size.

Logan moved forward to wake them, only to be held back by Virgil, who shook his head and pulled the logical side back.  Logan allowed himself to be pulled away, he could let them sleep for now, now that they were their appropriate ages again. They could work out how the experience affected their relational dynamics later.  They could even wait to tell Thomas the good news together.  

For once Logan simply took a moment to appreciate where he was and who he was with.  He stood there, holding Virgil's hand, looking at the peaceful, sleeping faces of Roman and Patton, and relaxed. He was home.