A/N: Hi! This is a shorter no-little-side chapter to help advance the plot. It is like, necessary to the overarching plot so...but it is cute! Platonic Virgil and Emile Rights. Anyways, the next chapter will be a filler probably focusing around little!Emile and cg!Remy, so y'all can see how I write them.

--

Of course, Emile suggested that they should hang out outside of work so that they could possibly be friends again. And the core sides didn't want to say no, so here they were, watching Disney.

They had to choose the thing that could trigger any of their headspace. It's like they knew and were purposely making it worse for them. It was a million times harder to repress your headspace when you were used to regressing whenever.

Roman silently cuddled into Virgil's side, Virgil wrapping his arm around him. "Not to be rude or anything, but are you two dating?" Remy asked. Virgil nodded, as if this fact was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Have been for a while," Roman scoffed.

"Sorry, we haven't been around to know..." Emile let Remy wrap his arm around him.

"Oh my god, you two are dating!" Patton realized.

"Obviously," Remy turned his head, kissing Emile's cheek softly. "And I'm assuming you and the nerd are too?"

"That nerd is my boyfriend," Patton defended.

This whole interaction heavily shifted the vibe from tense to romantic. They avoided regressing by constantly talking to their partner and being cute. It was just a coincidence that most of the sides paired off when the Neutral Sides weren't speaking with them.

They'd soon find out that there was one other similarity between the three of their relationships, and it wasn't a romantic one.

--

Virgil was scrolling on his phone when he heard a knock at his door. He knew that Remy and Emile were there, but he assumed they were still having their meetings. But he was proven wrong when he swung open the door to see Emile.

"Hey?" he sounded confused, subtly attempting to block his view into the bedroom due to all the baby stuff practically lying around.

"Hey! Um, I was only needed for part of the meeting...my job is a shared one, after all. Mostly there to fix conflict but there wasn't any. I was wondering if I could hang out with you until it was over?"

"Uh, sure," Virgil shrugged. He didn't dislike Emile, at all. It was just awkward, because he knew there was a point where Emile disliked him, and some part of him brain told him that those feelings were still there, and that he was only being nice because he had too.

Like he could read his anxious thoughts, Emile started to reassure him. "Me and Remy owe you a huge apology. I'm sorry that we treated you so badly when you were a dark side...we should've known to just wait until you adjusted-"

"When I first came to live here, I pushed everyone away. Including you. I treated you badly, and you got away from that." Virgil interrupted him. "But you're right, once I adjusted, everything got better. Things changed and we changed, right?"

Emile smiled. "Yeah, exactly. Apology accepted?"

"Yeah, apology accepted." Virgil smiled back at him.

"Can I come in?" Emile asked, trying to look around him.

"We can't hang out in here!" Virgil denied quickly, stepping forward and shutting his door behind him. Emile seemed shocked, and a bit hurt that he wasn't allowed, but he nodded slowly.

"You deserve privacy. We can go to the living room and do something."

Virgil nodded, following him to the commons. They both took a seat, sitting in an awkward silence until Emile attempted to start a conversation. "So...what do you like doing, Virgil?" Emile asked. Virgil thought about how to phrase his response, trying to avoid mentioning his more childish hobbies.

"I go online a lot, and I watch movies and stuff. I don't know, I just spend a lot of time with the others..." he mumbled. "You?"

"Same, mostly. I'm the therapist in the village so that's what I've been busying myself with, keeping all of Thomas's characters and figments happy and healthy. I also just spend a lot of time with Remy." Emile shrugged.

"When did you and Remy start dating? Has that been like, a long term thing or is it new?"

"Long term, I guess. We've been together for a few months," Emile tried not to go into detail here. Remy was his caregiver, and he was his, and in order to avoid mentioning that, he'd have to stick to the romantic parts of their relationship. "What about you and Roman? How did that happen?"

"Things were complicated between everyone due to the dark sides getting involved with everything, so all of us were stressed. I started spending more time with Roman and then it just kinda...happened? Logan and Patton got together just before we did..." Virgil explained. Emile smiled.

"I'm glad you guys are so happy. It's nice knowing that you guys are closer then you were before. You guys also made friends with the Dark Sides, which is cool." Emile seemed kinda tense at that, biting his lip.

"Are you- are you scared of the dark sides?" Virgil questioned.

Emile shrugged. "They're kinda mean, or at least...they were."

"They're getting better about that. I won't let them treat you or Remy badly, just don't assume that they haven't changed."

Emile nodded quickly, the two falling into silence. How come this was so awkward? "Do you have crayons and coloring books?" Emile asked.

Coloring always helped him calm down. Remy would often sit him down and have him color after throwing a fit or getting frustrated while little. It seemed like an odd punishment, but he'd calm down after a few minutes and would be able to talk to Remy about whatever happened.

He thought that maybe, if he distracted himself with coloring, talking to Virgil might be easier.

"I mean- yeah, but why?" Virgil immediately seemed skeptical, not knowing what he was planning.

"I thought it'd give us something to do besides sit in silence when we run out of things to talk about..." Emile explained. Virgil didn't know how to object that, nodding a bit.

"Okay, I'll go find them." he agreed.

He came back a few minutes later with a stack of coloring books and a box of crayons. "You guys have a lot of coloring books," Emile chuckled, moving down from the couch to the floor as Virgil cleared the coffee table, spreading out the books and setting down the box of crayons.

"There's definitely more." Virgil assured, moving to sit next to Emile on the floor.

"Why do you have so many?" he claimed a Lilo and Stitch book, flipping through it. Virgil paused, not being able to come up with words.

"Is it an anxiety thing? Because coloring helps me too," Emile suggested, after a few moments of Virgil trying to come up with an excuse. Emile realized that his question might've been a little personal.

"Y-yeah, something like that." Virgil laughed it off, picking out a book.

As they colored and gossiped, they both somewhat repressed a headspace that felt so easy to slip into. Coloring really did help the awkwardness though.

If they ran out of things to say, Emile would compliment Virgil's crayon skills and that would fade into another train of conversation. When they fell into silence, it was because they were focused on drawing, and it didn't feel weird. They remained big by talking about anything and everything. Their boyfriends, their jobs, things that have happened.

They both had to avoid any stories that involved themselves or another side being little. Little did they know, they were both hiding the same thing. Eventually they'd figure everything out, but for now, they were stuck in a loop of keeping secrets uselessly.

--

It was frustrating hiding the little part of their lives, but they eventually got used to Remy and Emile being around. The Dark Sides even hung out with them. For the first time in a long time, it really felt like all the sides were united. There were some tensions, sure.

Like Janus being jealous of Roman, due to the prince replacing him in his only sacred spot of being Virgil's caregiver.

Like Remus trying to adjust to his regression without Remy and Emile finding out,

Like everyone trying to hide this 'secret' from each other.

But overall, they were getting along well. Thomas was doing much better managing his love life when the whole Romance Committee was there to help. Virgil attended meetings now, he deserved to have a say in that too. Everyone sort of apologized to each other about the sides previously being so divided.

It was almost like the labels of Core, Dark, and Neutral didn't matter anymore. They were just technicalities, not barriers. Everything seemed to flow better when they worked together. How did they manage separately for so long?

Besides the working aspect, it just generally felt like everyone was getting closer. Awkwardness faded as they laughed and joked.

Patton almost felt like his family was getting bigger. It was getting bigger.

And after just a few more issues are resolved, and a few secrets are shared, that statement will become more and more true.

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: This chapter is like, longer then most of the ones I tend to write? I write agere content for fun, so sometimes it's cuteness over quantity, y'know? But this is a whole 4600-ish words! Wow. Hope y'all like it!

--

Logan was a bit awkward when he was big again after throwing his first fit, and earning himself his first ever timeout. Of course, Patton could only comfort him so much. It wasn't guilt that he was feeling, but rather a form of embarrassment.

Logan's head shot up when he heard light knocking on his door the following afternoon. "Who is it?" he questioned from his spot at his desk, where he sat working on Thomas's schedule.

"It's Virgil, can I come in?"

Logan fully expected it to be Patton checking on him for the millionth time, so he was shocked when he heard the voice of the emo regressor. "Uh, yeah. Sure." Logan set down his pen softly, reaching forward for his mug and taking a sip.

"Are you drinking another cup of coffee? I know you had like, three this morning." Virgil narrowed his eyes. It wasn't as if he'd actually do anything, even if he was aware of the unhealthy amounts of coffee Logan drank, but he was still concerned.

"It's tea." Logan shook his head, tipping the cup in his direction so that he could see the clearish liquid before setting the mug back on his desk. "Did you need something, Virge?" Logan asked.

"Kinda of.." Virgil trailed off, sitting down on the end of Logan's bed. When he looked up, he saw Logan looking at him in an expecting silence. "So I know it's Patton's job to check in on you and stuff, and that I don't usually do this. But..are you okay after yesterday? You seemed really emotional and anxious."

Logan sighed before speaking. "Of course I'm fine. I just overreacted when Patton punished me because I was scared of him being mad at me. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but three year old me doesn't want to make sense."

Virgil chuckled a bit at that. "It does make a bit of sense though. I do it too, I assume that just because Roman has to be a little strict or something, that he absolutely hates me. It's not stupid or anything."

Logan nodded, giving him a small thankful smile. This was Virgil's way of telling him that he wasn't alone. The same mutual feeling that came about when they both realized they were regressors spread between them. A feeling of unity, of support.

Of family.

"And also, if you're embarrassed or anything, don't worry about it. I'm sure Patton understands that little you is going to do things like that sometimes, and he won't view big you any differently." There it was. Virgil finding what Logan was actually worried about. Logan had the urge to give a sigh of relief, because those were the words he needed to hear.  

Instead, he gave a larger smile and thanked him. "Okay, cool. See you at dinner." Virgil got up and went to leave the room, he paused at the door with hesitancy, looking back at him and speaking quickly.

"Also, I'm like pretty sure Patton has a crush on big you. So there's that."  

Virgil was gone and out of the room before Logan even got the chance to retort.

Logan sighed, going back to organizing the schedule and trying to convince himself that it couldn't possibly be true, and focus on his work. But no matter how hard he tried, his mind wondered and he thought:

What if Virgil was right?

--

"Oh, hello Logan. I went to check on you but I guess you were already up." Patton entered the living room, where Logan was on his phone. Patton assumed that if Logan was already up, he probably had work to get done today and wanted to be wide awake for it. He figured that the coffee mug on the coffee table in front of Logan confirmed his original thoughts.

"Morning, Dad. What are we having for breakfast?" he asked, looking up from his phone and making Patton pause in his tracks. Patton went to speak, but Logan quickly replied to his unasked question. "I'm fourteen again, by the way."

"How did you know that I was going to-"

"I figured you'd ask how old I am, you always do. Anyways, what's for breakfast?" he repeated. "I can try to make something myself but I don't know how well that would go..." he admitted.

"It's okay,don't worry about that." Patton assured, "I'll make toast for breakfast-" He went to keep speaking but Logan cut him off.

"Do we have Crofters to put on it?"

"You're just full of questions today, aren't you?" Patton teased, deciding to come sit with his regressor. He sat next to Logan, making sure not to look at his phone screen in order to respect his privacy. Logan turned it off, looking at him. Patton realized he wasn't amused by the teasing and that he wasn't going to respond. "Yes, we have Crofters." He gave up.

Logan was definitely excited about this, and if he was regressed younger, he would've bounced in place and giggled a bunch. But he just replied, "Okay, cool."

"Why are you up so early?" Patton questioned. "How long have you been awake?"

"Less than an hour. I just fell asleep watching Youtube last night, earlier then I usually go to sleep. So I woke up early," he explained. Patton paused, looking at him skeptically.

"Were you regressed last night, as well?"

Logan looked at him with wide eyes, as if he hoped he wasn't going to ask about that. "Uh..yeah, sort of. But it was after dinner and I was ready for bed, I didn't really need to come get you!" he defended.

Patton gave him a slightly stern look with a sigh. "Alright, but if you do need something, or regress younger then your teenspace, come and get me." he instructed. Logan nodded with an annoyed look on his face. Patton glanced at the coffee table, eyes widening when he saw the coffee mug again.

"Wait, why are you drinking coffee if your reg-"

"What coffee?" Logan cut him off, quickly snatching up the mug and chugging the last of it before Patton could take the mug. He wiped his upper lip with the back of his hand, giving Patton a dorky smile. Patton knew he shouldn't have, but he laughed a bit.

"Fourteen year olds shouldn't have coffee, no more." Patton took the mug from him softly. "If I catch you drinking anymore, you'll be in trouble." he threatened halfheartedly, still giving him the stern dad look. Logan immediately replied with a cheeky smile.

"You just won't catch me next time."

Patton seemed shocked. "You're gonna be bouncing off the walls whenever the caffeine kicks in, and I don't wanna be the one to deal with that."

"I mean..." Logan leaned back into the couch, "Do you have a choice? You're technically my only carer, and I've already drank it. And plus, I'm not a baby. Sugar and caffeine won't make me hyper." he scoffed at the end of his statement.

"We'll see about that, sweetheart." Patton gave him a skeptical look before getting up. "I'll go start breakfast, how about you get off your phone and do something else? Like read your comic books or something."

"I'll get off my phone..." Logan agreed quickly, shocking Patton. That excitement went away when Logan grabbed the tv remote and pushed the power button. He gave Patton a smile, while Patton gave him a disappointed look.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." he said, crossing his arms as he watched him locate Netflix.

"I don't know anything. You told me to get off my phone,and in all technicality, I did." Logan started playing whatever show he was interested in at the time, and Patton leaned forward to kiss his forehead. He wasn't going to bother with pushing it anymore.

"Love you, Lo. I'll let you know when breakfast is ready."

He left, mug in his hand, disappearing into the kitchen. A little while later, he had butter,honey, and Crofters jelly sitting out on the table, along with a plate of stacked up pieces of toast.

"Babyyyy! Can you get Roman and Virgil for me?" He appeared in the door way of the kitchen, looking at whatever Logan was watching on the screen. Logan looked back at him, looking back to the screen after a few seconds of thinking.

"Maybe if you'd stop calling me baby."

"Logan." Patton stated in a simple and stern tone, crossing his arms again. Logan dramatically sighed, but he hopped up and headed up the stairs. "Thank you!" Patton called after him.

"Welcome, dad." Logan replied quickly, before he was completely up the stairs and heading toward the door of Virgil's room.

--

"Hi, Logan. Is it breakfast already?" Virgil swung the door open. The makeup under his eyes was smeared a bit, and he was still wearing black ripped jeans and a band t-shirt. He had fallen asleep in his clothes, and his hair was a bit messy.

"Yeah, Dad made toast for everyone. And he sent me to get you guys." Logan replied. Virgil went to open his mouth, probably to question if he was regressed due to his sue of the word 'dad', but Logan replied to his unasked question just like his did with Patton. "I'm fourteen again, before you ask about it."

Virgil gave an understanding nod. He walked back into his room, leaving the door open so that Logan could come in if he wanted to. "Okay dork, I was given the job of grocery shopping. If you want, and your caregiver doesn't care, you can come with me." Virgil offered as he picked up his hoodie that was balled up on a dark purple bean bag chair.

"Maybe if you didn't call me a dork, I'd consider it." Logan hesitantly entered the dark-styled room, his arms crossed.

"Oh come on, you're wearing a spiderman t-shirt and a beanie. You're either a nerd or a dork, take your pick." Virgil teased. Logan now wanted to cover up his shirt, and he pulled the black beanie off of his head. "Hey, wait. I didn't mean it like that," Virgil quickly finished pulling the hoodie on, and he came over to where Logan stood, taking the hat softly from his hands. "I was only teasing, dorky isn't bad, and the hat and shirt look good on you."

He pulled the hat back over Logan's head, patting his head. "I'm sorry I teased you," Virgil apologized.

"It's okay..." he looked up, so that he wasn't staring at the floor anymore, giving him a weak smile. His eyes wandered over Virgil's hoodie, but he didn't say anything.

"Do...do you want my jacket, buddy?" Virgil hesitated, but Logan nodded a little.

"I-is that okay?" he stuttered a bit, he couldn't place why he wanted it, it just looked comfortable. Maybe the fact that it also belonged to someone he considered his brother while regressed factored into it.

"Yeah, of course it's okay. Just make sure to give it back to me when you're big again, okay?" he pulled it off, handing it to Logan, who smiled. Virgil didn't usually give his hoodie to anyone, but the middle seemed to want it fairly badly and he knew that Logan would take care of it. Plus, he had his old hoodie to wear if he really wanted too.

"Go get Roman and head downstairs, okay? I'm gonna be down in a sec," Virgil told him. Logan nodded, leaving the room and pausing in the hallway to pull the jacket on.

"Roman, Roman, Roman!" he knocked on the door loudly between each time he called his name, "Breakfast is downstairs..." he spoke sheepishly when the door flew open and Roman gave him a stern look. Roman knew for a fact that he was at least somewhat regressed because of how energetically he woke him up.

"Did you have coffee or something?" he asked jokingly, rubbing at his eyes. Logan nodded quickly, and Roman seemed shocked. "Is your caregiver aware of this?"

Logan nodded again, "He doesn't like it, but he knows."

"Hmm, well please tone is down a bit while I'm still half asleep, okay? I need beauty sleep."

"Beauty sleep whatever, Dad sent me to wake you up." He stuck his tongue out at the end of his statement

"I'm assuming we're stuck with teen Logan again?" Roman questioned, running his fingers through his hair.

"Fourteen." Logan confirmed. Constantly confirming with others that he was in fact, in teenspace, reminded him that he was a teenager at the moment and that was okay.

"The sassiness and dorky beanie gave it away." he teased. Logan pouted, this was the second time his hat had been called dorky within the span of ten minutes. "Dorky isn't bad." Roman corrected quickly, just as Virgil had. Logan nodded, turning to walk away without another word.

"Logan, are you wearing Virgil's jacket?" Roman realized, looking at him.

Logan nodded shyly, turning back around to face him. "Hmm, that's cute. Just make sure not to stain it, or you'll never hear the end of it from Vee." he gave a reassuring smile, Logan nodding gratefully and walking off, for real this time. He had been worried that Roman was going to pick on him for taking Virgil's jacket.

Logan went downstairs, going into the living room to get his phone off of the coffee table. Once he had acquired this, he went into the kitchen and greeted Patton. "They should be heading down soon. Look! Virgil let me steal his jacket," he laughed a bit, doing a twirl for his caregiver.

"That was very nice of him. Did you say thank you?"  Patton asked, and Logan looked down.

"No, I didn't..." he sighed guiltily.  

"Well, make sure you do at some point, okay?" Patton told him, coming closer to him and giving him a forehead kiss. Or at least, he tried to. Logan ducked away before he could, stepping to the side. Patton audibly gasped, looking at him. Logan giggled, sticking his tongue out like he did earlier to Roman.

"You're silly, kiddo." Patton shook his head, patting Logan's head softly before moving on to do something else. Logan pouted, because he expected Patton to go in for another forehead kiss after missing the first one, but he just kept going. Logan told himself that he was being a dork anyways, and that being playful was something for littler him, and that his caregiver didn't need to play along.

He didn't need to play, he was a teenager. He didn't need affection either, no hugs or cuddles or kisses.

But even as a teenager, Logan craved exactly that.

He watched Patton as he plated breakfast for himself, buttering the bread. Logan took action before he could stop himself, side hugging Patton by ducking under his arm. He wrapped his arms around his carer and laid his head on his chest. Patton chuckled, "Hello there, baby."

He dropped the butter knife back on his plate, and set the piece of bread down in favor of hugging Logan back. He hugged him tightly, Logan melting into the touch. "You know, you could just ask for a hug instead of attacking me."

"What hug? I don't need a hug," Logan replied, pulling away from him and grabbing a plate off of the stack on the table.

"The hug you just pulled away from..." Patton seemed confused.

"I never hugged you, dad. You're crazy," Logan kept going, making himself breakfast and acting as if he never hugged him. Patton brushed it off for now and didn't worry about it, because Virgil and Roman entered the kitchen.

Patton greeted them, and as they all sat down to eat, Virgil mentioned taking Logan to the store with him. "Um..well, I'm not sure if that's a good idea..." Patton admitted, setting his piece of toast down on his plate. Virgil seemed confused, as did Logan.

"Why not?" Logan questioned, looking at his caregiver with a confused glance.

"Well, I've never taken you outside of the house while regressed, I'm just worried that someone might see you acting younger and be mean." Patton explained, and Logan frowned.

"Logan's a teenager though, and I'll be there to help if anything like that happens. It's not like he'll throw a fit or anything, he's fourteen." Virgil argued.

"Last time he regressed to teenspace, he was so anxious that he practically threw a fit!" Patton snapped, not exactly shouting. He looked at Virgil with somewhat angry eyes. Patton never gave that look, unless someone he was protecting someone he cared about. Logan sunk down in his seat, zipping up Virgil's hoodie and hiding away from the world for the time being. Virgil raised his hands up in mock surrender before speaking.

"Patton, I'm sorry that I upset you, but please be mindful of Logan. You're probably scaring him by snapping." Virgil reminded. Patton's expression faded from anger to an apologetic look, and he looked toward Logan,who nodded a bit.

"Oh..I'm sorry sweetheart. And you too, Virgil...Just let me think about this and we'll talk after breakfast, okay?"

Virgil gave a nod of agreement, and Logan muttered a weak 'okay'.

--

Patton eventually agreed to let Logan go with Virgil, but not without a lot of convincing and second guessing his decision.

"Promise that you'll be nice to Virgil, and if you get to anxious-"

"Let Virgil know and step away to text you." Logan interrupted, pocketing his phone and looking at his dad. "I'm not a baby, and I'll be fine."

"Yeah, he's safe with me." Virgil assured, coming down the stairs, clad in his old hoodie and a pair of black ripped skinny jeans. "We're good, right?" he looked at Logan, double checking just to be sure.

Logan laughed, "We're good." he confirmed.

"Oh, okay. I love you both, be good," he looked at Logan, as if he needed the reminder, "And please be home before dinner."

Both boys nodded, taking their final hugs from Roman and Patton before heading out. Virgil let Logan sit in the passenger seat

The mindscape was set up to be a small, little town. It wasn't one that existed in the real world, but it was heavily based off of the real world and would change according to real world events. If they really wanted to, the mindscape extended past their imaginary town, it was a whole little world just inside Thomas's head.

"Okay, so I have a shopping list on my phone, and the grocery money we all pitch in for. Though I found that there's always a little extra money, so if you want an extra snack or whatever, go for it." Virgil spoke, stopping as they approached a red light. He looked around, his eye catching on a street sign as he assured himself that he was going the right way.

Logan nodded. He was usually the one to go on the grocery runs, so he already knew about how he slightly over estimated how much money they needed. He'd usually either buy something extra, a treat or dessert, or save it for the next shopping trip. They all got their limited allowance (for the whole 'realistic human life' thing), and they'd pitch in a certain amount of it to pay for food for their home.

"Is there anything you want for the store? That isn't already on the usual list, I mean?" Virgil asked. He was trying to start a conversation, but Logan was being quiet. That was the main reason he offered to take him with him for errands. Virgil wanted to spend more time with his newfound brother, though he'd never admit that out loud. Virgil and Logan regress together all the time, and there's been plenty of time where Logan is bigger than Virgil, but it's rarely the other way around.

Virgil wanted to know Logan more, and also earn his trust. Because it seemed that currently, the only person Teenage Logan really trusted, was Patton.

"I don't know, maybe one of those starbucks bottled frappe things?" Logan said hopefully, giving his, currently older, brother a look in the hopes that he didn't shoot it down immediately.

"Hmm, Patton wouldn't be to happy about that one...and if he found out, he'd be pretty mad at me." Virgil thought out loud, anxiously biting at his lip while he focused on the road. Logan sunk down in his seat in disappointment, immediately taking his hesitancy as a 'no' and looking out the window.

Virgil sighed, glancing at him for a split second before turning his head to examine the road in front of him. "I suppose...if you promise not to tell your caregiver, and you also don't get like, super hyper on me..." he pauses, taking a turn before continuing his conditional agreement, "You can get the coffee. But this is a one time thing, I don't condone littles-" Logan gave him a look.

"Middles?" he hesitantly corrected himself, glancing at Logan again.

"Or regressors." Logan nodded. Virgil hummed before continuing.

"I don't condone teenagers drinking a bunch of caffeinated drinks in one day. I know you had coffee this morning. But today's the exception, alright?"

Virgil was only agreeing to this because he wanted to make Logan happy. And he didn't quite mind stretching the rules just a bit to get there.

"Okay." Logan agreed, looking back out the window.

Virgil had a feeling that this would end up being a good day.

Or at least, he hoped it would.

--

"Virgil, I know I said I'd be okay..but I'm scared."

Virgil stopped in the middle of the cereal aisle, pulling the cart to the side so that people could walk through if they needed. Logan seemed ashamed to admit that, looking up at his, currently older, brother for support. Logan fiddled with the zippers on the cuffs of Virgil's jacket.

"What are you scared of, Logan?" Virgil spoke softly to him, in a voice that seemed to assure that he'd be ready to comfort him no matter what his answer.

"Dad was right, it's my first time going out while regressed and I feel..." he trailed off, his eyes following a cart as a family walked by the aisle. "I feel stupid. Like people are staring a me or something." He looked back at Virgil, who nodded.

"That's okay. I've never been out while regressed, but I'm sure it is a bit scary. I'm sorry that you aren't feeling the best, though." Virgil sighed, not quite knowing what to do. He thought for a moment before offering the best solution he could come up with. "How about you call Patton and talk to him while we shop? I think he'd be the best at comforting you right now."

Logan nodded lightly, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Virgil gave him a reassuring smile before pulling a few boxes of cereal from the shelf. As Virgil motioned for them to keep walking, Logan listened to his phone ring.

"Logan! Are you okay?" Logan winced at how loud Patton's voice seemed through the phone.

"Mhm, I'm okay. Just a bit anxious though...can you talk to me? I-i think it'd help." his voice was filled with hesitancy, but Virgil gave him a comforting look that silently told him 'good job'.

"Oh, yeah. I can talk to you. Do you wanna tell me why you're feeling anxious, baby?"

"I um...you were right," Logan fiddled with the zippers on Virgil's hoodie again, taking a turn into a aisle with bread and snacks. "I kinda started panicking the moment I got into the store. There's so many people, and so much noise. I'm just worried that I'm being judged, I guess." he hummed, glad that there was no one else in their aisle.

"I'm sure that everything is okay, sweetheart. Listen to me, not all the noise, okay?"

Logan nodded, then realizing that Patton couldn't see him through the phone. "Okay."

"Can you tell me what you guys have gotten so far?" Logan was confused by his caregivers request, but he looked in the cart as Virgil set something in it.

"We got Crofters! And butter, and bread." he identified a few items, looking at a few others.

"We can make more toast!" Patton cheered. Logan laughed at that.

"Uh, we have like three boxes of cereal in the cart. And coffee cakes! There's also macaroni..." Logan kept going, not realizing that Patton had successfully distracted him from his anxiety for the time being. Patton spoke in a calm, caring voice all the way through their shopping trip.

"We're heading up to checkout now. I'll text you when we're on our way home," Logan spoke into the phone, following Virgil's guide through the front part of the store.

"Alright. You feel better now, right?" Patton assured.

"Yeah, thanks dad. I'll see you later." Logan hung up the phone, pocketing it and taking a deep breath.

"Feeling better?" Virgil questioned softly. Logan hummed.

He felt almost pathetic for having to call his dad to coach him through a simple shopping trip, but he also felt a lot more at ease. He couldn't quite place why he didn't just pull himself out of middlespace if it really bothered him that much, it almost felt like it'd be to tiring to do. He was getting used to being able to regress whenever and not have to repress it, so when the time came that he might of had to, it felt to hard.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Are we heading home after this?" Logan asked, redirecting the conversation swiftly.

"No, actually. If you're okay with stopping somewhere else first, I mean." Virgil didn't elaborate on where they could possibly be going, which confused Logan.

As they checked out and scanned their items, Logan kept bugging Virgil about where they were headed. "It's a surprise. I'm sure you'll like it, though."

"But Virge! I wanna know!" he whined, handing Virgil his iced coffee to scan.

"Hmm, well that's to bad." he teased. "You'll see when we get there."

Virgil has had this idea since he realized that Logan regressed to teen ages. He was only able to convince Patton to let him take Logan because he revealed his little plan, the second stop that Logan would definitely be excited about. Of course, Logan couldn't know what it was quite yet.

"Virgilll!" he pouted, giving him pleading eyes.

"The pouty face only works when you're a toddler, Lo. Just be patient," he told him, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and looking at the total on the self checkout screen. He counted the money quickly.

"Will a candy bar shut you up?" he asked, pulling a few dollars from the stack.

"That only works when I'm a toddler," Logan mimicked him. It was true, if any of the sides needed to distract Logan while he was little, a piece of candy would do the trick. Of course, it would backfire in half an hour when he got hyper and bouncy, but it works in the moment.

Virgil raised his eyebrows, waving the three one dollar bills in his hand. Logan rolled his eyes, snatching them away. "Fine, I'll be back in a sec."

He disappeared to go pick out some candy, leaving Virgil to chuckle.

Virgil was glad he did this. He felt bad for putting Logan in a situation where he was anxious, but he could still say that they were having a decent time so far. And he was sure Logan would love the next place they were headed to.

There was just one question Logan had.

Where were they going?

--