#magic shenanigans

He had neglected to take into account any miscommunication that could occur. Patton had been distracted in lively conversation with a particularly chatty customer when Logan was explaining what he needed. Janus had also unfortunately joined them late in the conversation— not to mention his expertise was related to brewing and spell-casting, not particular flora I.D.— flying down as he returned from selling their extra inventory at the morning market.

To be entirely fair, Logan could see how a string of unfortunate events had gotten them into the little situation they had now. Still, he had to ask, as he looked down at his boyfriends. "Patton?" "…ah, yes, Lo?" "…you heard me say fall potion flower earlier, right? As in, the blue ones used to negate fall damage?"

"…ooooh. That makes more sense, now that you mention it. I thought you said small potion…flower. Which, technically, does help reduce fall damage…!" Logan ran a hand down his face as he took in the scene one more time.

One of his boyfriends was currently 5 inches tall with folded dragonfly wings, standing on the floor of his shop. That one made some sense, as Patton was indeed a faerie...not a short pixie-sized one, usually. Or ever, before now. Mildly concerning.

The other was 7 inches tall…and an actual bird. A little yellow bird with pretty black speckled patterns on his wings, tail, and head, Said boyfriend was less than happy about the afternoon he was having, but evidently couldn't speak on it. The displeased chirping when Logan had tried to ask was enough. He'd had a long day, with an apparent 10 close calls on the way back to Logan.

Logan moved them both up to the counter, shaking his head. He took a seat on his stool. "…so you've told me briefly about your perilous trip home. But I don't yet understand how you got this way."

Patton tapped his fingers together sheepishly as he now had to explain. Janus certainly couldn't.

"Well— in short, Janus was helping me collect the flowers, and we realized too late that they had some weird sap coating— I'd never actually collected these flowers before, so I thought it was just the petals that were the component!"

Logan folded his hands carefully in front of his mouth as Patton spoke. "Did we not learn this lesson about funnel flowers already? Those are like the same ones that Dryad threw at me because they thought I was a human; their spell component is typically a coating."

Patton fretted. "I should have remembered that…I-I wasn't thinking about that at all! I just figured this one was fine for collecting, like most of the other ones. I'm sorry, Lo." He looked to Janus, hugging him. "Sorry you're a bird, Jay…I guess I don't know as much about them as I'd like."

Janus leaned into the hug, making a few reluctant peeps at him. Logan's concerned frown softened. There wasn't anything to be gained in scrutinizing now, though they needed some sort of confirmation system in the future.

"I'm just relieved you both are alright. I just have to be careful not to make contact with the plant to make a counterspell. We don't know if it will wear off on its own or when, so I will need to get to that. Would you fill me in on what you know about it?"

Patton nodded and explained that he'd realized too late that these flowers' effects were inherent to the plant. They'd only touched the plants and soon after been shrunk down. But that didn't explain why Janus was a bird.

Logan pulled out a spell botany book and turned the pages for Patton to research some more. Janus plopped down to observe as well.

Patton pointed out the flower: a honey-yellow funnel flower called a "Genesimus".

The plant had less of a "shrinking" spell effect and more of some kind of reverting-mutation properties. It seemed to just focus on a dominant trait they both had— magic wasn't always clear in its rules or consistent in any reliable way. Difficult for Logan when it came to less-studied aspects, though he still tried to understand through scientific experimentation.

Logan was careful as he handled the flowers. He wore Janus' gardening gloves, and it seemed to do the trick. He got to brewing a standard reversal spell, as it was a risk and more complicated to try and just fix the symptoms.

Patton insisted on still helping Logan with the timing and gathering of components, though he was limited mostly to the table's drawers— he was not fond of flying himself, but Janus was happy to assist his boyfriend in moving between the storeroom and the crafting room.

Eventually Janus grew tired, though, and seeing as he was no longer needed, went off to check on his indoor plants…or well, that's what Patton had interpreted from the hopping and bird gestures. Patton promised him lots of cuddles and kisses, and gave him one for good measure before he was gone.

Patton found a comfortable perch in Logan's dark blue scarf that hung in loops over his shoulders. It seemed safe enough, and Logan's hands were right there should he need to be caught. Patton could also fly and slow his fall if needed, though he didn't like being high off the ground on his own power.

As Logan tended to the small table brewer, he noted how quiet Patton got with Janus gone.

"Patton? Weren't you telling me about the trip? Are you alright?"

Patton looked down at his feet. "Oh, no no— I'm fine, I was just wondering…does…does this mean I can't help with those anymore?"

Logan raised an eyebrow, glancing down at him, but Patton pointedly wasn't looking at him. "What? Why would I stop asking for your assistance? This isn't the first mishap any of us has had." Patton shrugged, watching as Logan sprinkled some powdered blewit into the concoction, turning it maroon. "I messed up the order, and now we'll be late. And Janus got turned into a bird."

Logan tried not to be a little amused by that note. He set his ladle down, sitting with Patton.

"Of course you can still help. You grew up in this region, Patton, I still trust your knowledge of the local plants. You even knew this plant would achieve what the customer wanted, in an… unconventional, but insightful way. We just had a tiny mishap in communicating. No harm was done." Patton looked up hopefully again, swinging his feet and wings fluttering. "Really? The customer won't mind…?" "Yes, I certainly wouldn't 'kid' about this. Also, we won't have to worry about that. I'll simply go out with you in the morning to get the right flowers. And I'll still have time to make the spell before they arrive tomorrow afternoon. I really don't think Janus is all that upset. He seemed content to take his usual afternoon nap in the windowsill upstairs, but he may appreciate some 'TLC', as you've called it, to help."

Patton got up fast, startling Logan as he teetered precariously in his scarf. His wings fluttered quickly to help him balance as he grinned at Logan, darting up to hug his cheek. "Thanks, Lo, you always have the best words." Logan blushed, slowly returning the 'hug' with his hand, careful to wait until Patton's wings were still. He saw more than he felt the kiss Patton pressed to his face. "I'm happy it helped you feel better, love. Now, we'll let this finish up and perhaps get dinner in order."

~*~*~*~*~*

Soon, the potion was done, and not much was needed of the small brewing pot portion. Logan had made enough for two doses with what they had. Patton mentioned it tasted like carrots and oatmeal, which was…an interesting note he'd jot down for future reference. He'd ask Janus later what he would describe the taste as. It could be important, and he was nothing if not thorough in his witchery.

Then it was just a waiting game.

They ate a simple dinner of salad with roasted nuts and potatoes on the side; it was the best thing Logan knew how to make that was also most likely safe for birds (just in case). Then Logan sat down with a novel to wait for the brew to take effect. Janus perched on his shoulder to read with him and Patton settled back into the loop of his scarf as it turned out to be the perfect hammock.

Logan didn't actually get much reading done, as he ended up idly stroking Janus' back with a fingertip and Patton asked him engaging questions about human culture (he was trying to understand the characters). Not that Logan minded this. He enjoyed being asked and explaining about his past travels to human lands more than he was currently invested in the book, so that's what they ended up doing.

"You're sure it's a good idea to let us lounge on you when it could kick in any minute?"

"The change should be fairly gradual, considering it hasn't happened yet…I wouldn't say this is entirely bad. Definitely aesthetically admirable, at least. Besides, I will not miss out on nightly quality time together."

Janus bumped Logan's jaw affectionately with his head and Patton gushed at how sweet that was, his own spread wings a testament to his inner joy at Logan's way of calling them cute. Logan smiled, adjusting his glasses carefully. "Let's just hope we can still get to bed on time. We have an early day tomorrow, and we don't want to run our sleep schedule."

…

In hindsight, Logan wondered if he had never said such a thing, would he still have ended up like this? Surely it was just the universe waiting, in its infinite, cruel capacity for comedic timing.

The good news was that his partners had grown back to their proper size and been able to get ready for bed within the hour. The bad, though….

Patton exited their bathroom and covered his mouth while Janus shamelessly snickered. "Oh, dear."

Janus leaned on the bed, smiling down at Logan, who was 5 and a half inches tall and sitting dumbfounded between his glasses and book, both far too big for him now. "Well, now you understand our plight, my love. Don't worry, you're just as aesthetically admirable as we were," he murmured, winking. It got the result he hoped for. Logan covered his red face, unable to look at either of them. "I…but I was talking about your wings…" Patton hid his smile poorly, shooing Janus towards the room door. Janus headed for the hall, shouldering his robe as he slid his wings through the large slits at the back, stretching. "Well, I guess bedtime cuddles are delayed a little longer. I'll get the cauldron reheated."

Patton offered Logan a lift with his cupped hands. "We…will get the brew going again, don't worry. We'll use the tongs this time."

Logan sighed, settling into the curve of Patton's palm. "Now we know why Janus was affected despite his precautions and disciplined glove usage. Evidently, they were unhelpful and only delayed the change...probably soaked through."

He went to adjust glasses that were not on his face and settled for squinting. "Nevertheless, I am not worried. My partners are quite capable. I will guide you both through the steps thoroughly." Patton looked touched. "Awww, Logan!" He pressed a kiss gently to the top of Logan's head before offering to let him hang out in his nightshirt pocket to oversee their work. "You will be back to the right size in short order!"

Logan made a show of groaning because he had principles he stood by. He didn't think he was going to see less than 6 more of those, as he suspected Patton had been saving them for this very moment (or brainstorming the entire afternoon).

All this really proved was that he needed to invest in some magic-proof fabrics. He was just thankful his clothes were all natural fibers.

"Mm. Let's make enough for extra this time."

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A/N: Formal apology to Janus, because I didn't consider the consequences of you not being able to talk for most the fic!