#starshinewrites

(Another reason added onto the long, long list of reasons that Patton despises the Fitzroys: the fact that Logan feels his emotions are something to repress and hide and ignore, instead of something to share and process and feel to their fullest extent.)

“Logan, sweetheart, of course I won’t make you face it alone.”

Logan blinks in confusion. “But - he has never hurt you directly -”

“That man hurts me every single time I see the way he mistreats you and your siblings,” Patton says, squeezing Logan’s hands tightly. “He hurts me every single time you feel the need to hide from me because you’re worried about my reactions. He hurts me every single time I see the unholy amount of pressure you put on yourself to be perfect so that he won’t hurt anyone else. I love you, Logan. Let me help you.”

Logan’s eyes are suspiciously shiny, and Patton pulls his hands away from Logan’s long enough to open his arms. Logan shifts, hesitant, before pushing fully into Patton’s lap and burying his face in the curve of his neck. Patton strokes his back and cards his fingers through his hair and holds Logan like he can squeeze all of Winston and Josephina’s bullshit out if he tries hard enough.

Finally, when Logan’s shuddering sobs quiet down to the occasional hitching breath, Patton leans back to look into his watery, bloodshot eyes.

“I want to be there,” he says. “I want to help you, Lo, and you know that the others want to help you, too. Let us help you, okay?”

Logan nods, shoving his glasses out of the way to scrub at his eyes.

“Do you want a kiss, honey?”

Logan blushes, staring at the wall behind Patton’s left ear as he nods. Patton moves one hand from its current position braced against Logan’s thigh to cradle his jaw and pull him in.

Logan is so close to having both of his abusers out of his life, and Patton will do everything in his power to make that happen.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

In hindsight, Patton thinks that he should have expected this, if only because the one thing he can rely on when it comes to the elder Fitzroys is that they will always pick the worst option.

Winston is angry, as they knew he would be. Logan’s hand trembles slightly at his side, curled so tightly into a fist that Patton worries he’ll draw blood, but otherwise he maintains perfect composure. (Ironically, Patton thinks, Josephina and Winston are the ones who drilled this composure into Logan’s brain, so there’s no reason for Winston to seem so pissed off about Logan’s outwardly unflappable appearance.)

(Then again, the elder Fitzroys have never made any sense to Patton.)

“You,” Winston says, body vibrating in fury. “You pathetic, worthless, ungrateful little whelp of a boy. You have the nerve to stand here, in front of the only living parent you have left, and tell me off? As though you have any authority? As though you have any right to speak to me?”

“I am the Lord of Kenningport,” Logan says. “I inherited my position from the Lady of Kenningport. I did not inherit my position from you. Any power you may have had previously, you had because Mother granted it to you. I am revoking that power, as is my right, and you do not get to tell me anything anymore.”

Winston screams, wordless and full of fury, and launches himself at Logan.

The world moves in slow motion.

Patton takes in the entire scene at once - Winston, arm drawn back to slap Logan. Logan, bracing his whole body for impact, not even moving out of the way. Roman and Remus, flinching away from their father’s violent wrath. Janus, entire body tensing as he clutches Remus’s arm so tightly his knuckles are bone white. He looks at Virgil, making eye contact, and something unspoken passes between them.

The world speeds up again.

Virgil gathers the twins and Janus in one broad, sweeping arm motion and shoves them all behind him. Patton steps in front of Logan, who immediately begins to protest, and snaps his hand up at the exact right moment to catch Winston’s wrist.

“Let go of me!” Winston seethes. “This does not concern you!”

“You are attempting to physically assault my husband,” Patton says, tightening his grip and feeling a vindictive surge when Winston winces. “It absolutely concerns me.”

“This is a family affair!”

“Again,” Patton says, “Logan is my husband. Ergo, his family is my family, however unfortunate it is to be even remotely related to you.”

Winston yanks against Patton’s grip, trying to free himself, but Patton just tightens his grip and digs his heels into the carpet. “I do more manual labor in three hours than you’ve ever done in your entire life, Winston. You aren’t going anywhere.” Winston goes absolutely apoplectic at the use of his name.

“You will refer to me as the Lord of Kenningport!”

“The Lord of Kenningport is behind me, Winston, and you just attempted to assault him.” An idea pings in Patton’s head. “Hey, Virgil?”

“Yeah, Pat?”

“Do you think we could list ‘assaulting the Lord of Kenningport’ as a reason to kick Winny-boy here out of the manor?”

“Even better,” Virgil says. “I think we could get him arrested for it.”

“How dare you?!” Winston screeches. “That is a child! The only reason he is play-acting as the Lord of Kenningport is that -”

What Winston’s reason is, they never find out. Patton drops Winston’s wrist, letting the momentum of his frantic tugging carry him to the floor. When he recovers, he screams in wordless fury and launches himself at Patton. Logan tugs frantically on his shirt, trying to get him to back down, but Patton stands his ground.

Winston pulls his hand back. Patton takes a deep breath, curls his hand the way his mother taught him, and punches Winston squarely in the face, knocking him flat on his ass with a resounding CRACK.

Winston screams, both hands flying up to stem the red flowing from his nose. “You - you struck me!”

“No, I punched you,” Patton says, shaking his hand out. “It’s something I should have done a long time ago.”

“How dare you -” “Well, gee, Winny, I sure don’t know!” Patton drawls, leaning fully into what Winston and Josephina always called his “peasant” accent just for the pleasure of seeing Winston flinch in pain when he tries to scowl. “How dare you assault and abuse your children their entire lives and expect them to show you any respect at all?! You’ve gotten away with this for so long because you had your wife and her reputation to protect you, but guess what?” Patton crouches down, leaning in so that Winston has no choice but to lean back.

“Josephina isn’t here to protect you anymore.”

“There will be repercussions -”

Patton laughs. “There are more repercussions for accidentally dropping a bag of flour than there are for me punching you.” He grips Winston’s shirt, yanking him forward sharply, and drops his voice to just above a whisper.

“What -”

“You are going to gather whatever belongings you can scrounge together. You are going to load them into the shittiest carriage on your estate - which, might I add, is still worth at least three years’ rent in your city. You are going to leave this mansion, and you are never going to come back. Because if you do - if I ever see you around here again, if I hear so much as a whisper of you plotting something against your children - I will find you, and I will break more than your nose. Do you understand?”

Winston tries to snarl. It does not work.

“I said,” Patton says, low and dangerous, “do. You. Understand. Winston.”

“I . . . understand,” Winston grits. Patton drops him, stands up, and stands shoulder to shoulder with Virgil in front of the Fitzroys and Janus. Winston stands, still cradling his nose, and glares at Logan.

“You will pay for this. All of you, you will -”

Patton takes one step forward, and Winston flees the room with a whimper. “And stay out!” Virgil snaps, pumping his fist. Patton crosses the room and slams the door shut, locking it, before turning around to see Logan dropping to his knees.

“Logan! Baby, talk to me, please,” he says, kneeling in front of his husband and pulling him into his lap. It’s not the easiest thing to manage, given how tall Logan is, but Patton is nothing if not determined. “Are you okay?”

“He - h-he’s really gone,” Logan says, voice the faintest whisper. “He is - he is leaving, and he will not - he will never come back?” “He can try,” Virgil mutters. “Patton’s not the only one who wants to punch that asshole out.”

Logan looks up at Patton like a flower turning towards the sun. “You - you struck him? You kept him from striking me?”

“Oh, honey, of course I did,” Patton says. “No parent should ever strike their child. I wish I could have done it sooner, I wish I could go back in time and make sure neither of your parents ever hit you. Any of you,” he adds, looking around Logan to make eye contact with the shaken twins. “But I’m here now, and I will never let anyone else do that to you. Or you, Janus.”

“What Pat said,” Virgil adds. “If anyone tries to say anything to you guys, let me know. It’s my turn to punch out the asshole - I only need to punch one more and I get free drinks for a year.”

Remus laughs, and Logan leans in to hug Patton so tightly that he shakes. Patton holds him back just as tightly, exhaling as he rubs Logan’s back.

It’s going to be okay. He’ll make sure of it.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

“Patton?”

Patton blinks, grumbles sleepily, and reaches across the bed. He can’t see anything in the dark, especially without his glasses, so he feels across the unnaturally smooth sheets until his fingertips brush skin. Logan shivers slightly and slips across the bed, slotting himself around Patton.

“W’s wrong, honey?”

“I . . . I wanted to - I needed to - I just - I -”

Logan makes a strangled sound of frustration, and Patton wakes up a little more. “Take your time, sweetheart. Take a deep breath. I’m not goin’ anywhere, and I’m not gonna judge you for whatever you say.”

Logan presses his face into Patton’s hair, gripping his sleep shirt. “I . . . thank you.”

“What for, honey?”

“For standing up to my fa - to that man,” Logan whispers. “For protecting me from his physical assault. For sticking with me, even though you did not know what you were signing up for.”

“I knew exactly what I was signing up for,” Patton says. “I signed up for Logan Fitzroy, my wonderful -”

He kisses Logan’s forehead.

“Intelligent -”

He kisses Logan’s cheek.

“Amazing -”

He kisses Logan’s nose.

“Soulmate,” he finishes, pressing his mouth against Logan’s. “Your parents are shitty, but that has no bearing on how I feel about you. I wish I could have stood up for you sooner, but I meant what I told Winston earlier. You’re my family, you and Roman and Remus and Virgil and Janus, and I love you.”

Logan sniffles a little, and Patton lifts one hand off Logan’s side to touch his face. “I love you,” he repeats, soft and sure. “I love you, Logan Fitzroy, and your stupid parents can’t change that. They never could, and they never will.”

“I love you,” Logan says, pressing himself closer to Patton. Patton exhales softly, nuzzling into Logan’s neck, and slowly drifts off with his husband wrapped around him.