A/N:

alrighty so um i kinda forgot about updating this story here (i have been on ao3 and wattpad though) and i don't know if i would have updated here at all if i hadn't just gotten one of the loveliest reviews ever? "this is literally the best story I've EVER read" said a guest in addition to other ridiculously nice comments. what the heck thank you so much? i love you a lot? i'm posting these chapters because of you lol. also i reread all the old reviews too and they made me so happy so thank you very much to everyone! i yell some more at the end of this chapter so you have that to look forward to (i might have copied and pasted it from the other sites oops). okie dokie enjoy! i love you!

"What're we gonna do? We can't wait around for Deceit to let him out."

"What if we just killed him?"

"I don't think that's possible, Princey."

"Well, how would you know? It's not like you've ever tried."

"You don't know everything I have and haven't done."

"Both of you shut up." Logan had to think, and listening to the two other sides bicker made it significantly more difficult. "Virgil's right, killing Deceit isn't an option. He can't die unless Thomas goes through some kind of trauma that affects him permanently, and even if we could kill him, it isn't a good idea. Thomas would never be able to lie again."

"So?"

"Don't you remember Kant's dilemma? Lying is occasionally necessary." Logan shook his head in frustration. "We're getting distracted. Clearly each of us telling different truths isn't working." He crossed his arms and began pacing around the others, staring hard at the floor. They were focusing on the wrong thing. They couldn't be the only source of Deceit's power.

Suddenly, he froze where he stood and his gaze shot back up towards Virgil and Roman. "I know what we have to do."

"What is it?" asked Roman with a raised brow.

"Go to Thomas." Without waiting for a response, Logan sank down and rose up in Thomas's living room where the latter was lying on the couch watching TV.

He glanced up at Logan with a disinterested frown before turning back to his show. "What do you want?"

At that moment Roman and Virgil rose up nearby, but Logan ignored them. "Thomas, Morality's in trouble and it's Deceit's doing," he began, his voice low and thick with fear.

"That sucks." Thomas took a sip of his coffee.

Logan glared at him. He knew Thomas was only acting this way because Patton was gone, but it still irked him. "You're the only one who can save him."

"Why would I wanna do that?"

"Look at yourself!" Logic hissed. "Your sense of right and wrong is incredibly askew. If you don't return to your regular self you'll lose everything you love." Thomas was making him increasingly nervous; if they couldn't get through to him, they were very likely out of options and would be forced to wait until Deceit decided to let Patton out, and there was no telling how long that would take.

Thomas heaved a heavy sigh and crossed his arms. He met Logan's eyes and said, "So you're saying if I help you, I won't lose my stuff?"

That wasn't exactly the reaction Logan was hoping for, but he knew that he had to play along if he was going to convince the young performer. "Yes, yes, precisely. You just have to do what I say."

Roman and Virgil watched quietly from where they stood by the staircase, no doubt trusting Logan to handle Thomas on his own. It was primarily his fault they were in this mess, after all.

"Okie dokie." Thomas grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, turning to face Logan completely. "What?"

Logan quickly glanced at the two other sides, receiving an encouraging nod from Virgil and a shrug from Roman. He looked back at Thomas. "You need to face any and all truths that you've been hiding from yourself. What haven't you been admitting?" Logan had some suggestions if Thomas continued to be difficult, but he wasn't entirely sure if they really were true. He just had to hope they'd work.

Thomas furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment. Finally, he shrugged. "I dunno."

"You can't lie, Thomas! You'll make it worse."

"What about how you're secretly in love with Joan?" said Roman, stepping closer to them.

Thomas's eyes widened and Logan almost smiled. That was one of his ideas; it was only a guess, but if Roman, the most romantic side, brought it up, there was probably some truth to it. He could sense romantic love much more easily than any of the other sides could.

"I… No, I'm not."

"Thomas. You don't want to lose your belongings, do you?" Logan prompted. The hesitation was obvious and a good sign – it indicated falsehood. He couldn't help but feel a bit more confident.

Looking from one side to the next, Thomas stammered some more before finally speaking the truth. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"Say the whole of it."

"I'm in love with Joan." Thomas looked down at his lap, seemingly ashamed or otherwise unhappy that it was the case.

Logan nodded, careful not to get too excited just yet. "Good." He turned to Virgil and Roman. "Keep trying to get him to tell whatever else he's been hiding. I trust you won't screw everything up?" He phrased it as a question, and the two sides glanced at each other before agreeing. "I'm going to see if anything's changed."

He sank down and attempted once more to rise up inside Deceit's room, but it was still blocked. Instead, he returned to the area outside of the room, trying not to feel discouraged. "Please open," he mumbled to himself as he turned the doorknob. Relief flooded him when the door swung inward without issue and he immediately ran over to where Patton was collapsed on the floor face down. "Patton!" Logan knelt beside him and gently turned him over, forcing himself to stay calm. "Patton, I'm here."

No response came from the moral side. His eyes were shut, his glasses were crooked on his nose, and his breaths were shallow. Logan sat on the floor, pulling him into his lap and wrapping his arms around him before burying his face in Patton's hair. At last, Patton was back in his life, and Logan wasn't helpless to protect him anymore. He hated himself for being the reason all of this happened, but at the moment the hatred was overshadowed by pure joy at the fact that now the man he loved was in his arms, right where Logan always wished he could be. "It's alright, you're safe now," Logan whispered, not caring at all that his eyes were wet. "I'm here." He kept repeating that phrase and cradling the moral side, not knowing what else to do, until Patton finally stirred.

"Lo," he murmured. His voice was incredibly faint, no stronger than it was before, but it was something.

Gently pulling away from Morality, Logan looked into his face to find two dull brown eyes slowly blinking up at him. "I'll be your hero again, Patton."

Before anything more could be said, Deceit appeared a few feet away. He sneered down at Logic and opened his mouth to speak when his eyes landed on Patton. The anger and contempt evident in his expression quickly softened into what looked like concern. Logan didn't care.

"Get away, now," Logan growled, clutching Patton even tighter.

Deceit closed his mouth, looked away, then sank down without a word.

Logan looked back at Patton, who had lost consciousness once more. He slowly adjusted his grip so that he could carry him before sinking down and rising up in Patton's room.

As soon as they arrived, Logan carefully laid his friend on the bed. He glanced around the room in search of a blanket, found one draped over a nearby chair, and lowered it onto Patton's cold form, hoping it would help somehow. Once he had made sure Patton was in as comfortable a position as possible, Logan fell to his knees at Patton's bedside and took his hand.

A thousand worrisome thoughts chased each other in his mind. Would Patton ever recover? Would he forgive Logan for putting him in such a terrible situation? How could anyone be certain that Deceit wouldn't pull something similar again?

Logan stroked Patton's hand with his thumb, convincing himself that the only thing that mattered now was staying by his side and supporting him. The other bridges could be crossed when he got to them.

He suddenly remembered that Roman and Virgil weren't updated on what had happened. He considered telling them now, but to be honest, he didn't care if they knew Patton was saved. It wasn't a priority right now, at least. All he wanted to do was stay with the side who had nothing but kind words to say about anyone, who was always there for his friends no matter what, who was a beacon of endless optimism even when surrounded by negativity.

"I love you," Logan whispered right before he fell into a restless sleep, hunched over the side of the bed. Not once did his hand leave Patton's.

Roman and Virgil were eventually made aware that Patton was safe once more. Of course they were irritated at Logan for not being informed sooner, but their anger was short-lived, soon replaced by relief that their friend was back where he belonged.

Patton's recovery was slow to the point where the others were worried he'd never return to his former lively self. When Patton finally woke up several hours after being saved by Logan, he didn't speak. It wasn't until days later that he did, and what he had to say was not at all what any of the others wanted to hear; he accused them of not caring about what happened to him and claimed that they weren't really there, that he was still trapped, that he was just hallucinating. Refusing to listen to anyone, Patton remained in his room while the other sides reluctantly left him alone with the exception of Logan, who visited Patton once a day in an effort to convince him that Logan was indeed really there and cared a great deal about the moral side. As difficult as it was to be pushed away by someone who was known for having an incredibly warm and inviting demeanor, Logan was too stubborn to leave him. In the end, this paid off, weeks later.

Looking up at his visitor with doubt in his eyes, which Logan noticed had brightened significantly, Patton quietly asked, "Are you sure you're here?"

Logan gave a sad smile. "I'm certain. No one's leaving you again, I promise."

Without warning, Patton leapt out of his bed and hugged Logan, burrowing into the taller side's chest.

"Oh." Too shocked to do anything else, Logan gently wrapped his arms around Patton. Hugs were not his forte by any means, and in any other situation he would probably refuse any form of affectionate physical contact, but there was no way in hell that he was going to refuse Patton in this instant after so many days of wondering if the moral side would ever want anything to do with him again.

"Did you mean it when you said you love me?" Patton mumbled into Logan's shirt, causing Logan to look down at him in confused surprise.

How did he know? He must not have been completely unconscious when Logan had made that confession. It didn't matter, though. He was glad Patton knew. "Of course I meant it."

Now Patton lifted his head to look into Logan's eyes, his small, bright smile lighting up the room and making the logical side feel like everything was finally okay again. "I love you too, Logan."

Unfortunately, everything soon became less okay in Patton's opinion.

In the days that followed the moment where he realized he was safe with Logan, the logical side helped him reunite with Roman and Virgil. Of course they greeted him with open arms, and for a while their lives were back to the way they were before, excepting the new aspect of his and Logan's relationship.

The brief period of peace and joy Patton was experiencing for the first time in a long while was cut short one day when Logan asked to speak with him alone. Patton agreed, not thinking anything of it, and followed Logan to Patton's room.

They stood in silence, Patton watching Logan expectantly and Logan looking anywhere but at Patton.

Finally, Logan spoke up. "You are aware I have very strong feelings for you."

Patton grinned and nodded with enthusiasm. "Right back atcha!" He expected Logan to smile a little, or state one of his many fun facts, or pull out a vocab card, but none of that happened. Logan frowned, instead, and Patton didn't like it. "Logan?"

"I… cannot be with you, Patton."

Morality stared at him, eyes wide, his heart in his stomach, and yet the smile stayed on his face. He didn't hear him right. Right? "What?"

Logan took a step closer. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

Patton shook his head with a laugh. "I think you need to work on your jokes, kiddo! That one's kinda sad and not fun-"

"Patton." Logan gripped Patton by the shoulders, gently but firmly. "I'm serious." Under his breath, he added, "Necktie."

"I don't understand," said Patton, his smile now gone. Everything was perfect now! He had his friends back, Thomas was behaving like his old self again, and he had Logan. It was perfect. Logan couldn't take that away from him before he'd even had a chance to enjoy it, could he?

Logan sighed, and Patton thought he saw tears in his eyes, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Logan never cried. "Deceit hurt you because you wanted to be with me. I can't handle the thought of that happening again."

"No! It's not going to happen again!"

"You can't know that."

"Logan…"

For once in his life, Logic initiated a hug. Patton immediately succumbed to it even though he was angry and scared, leaning into Logan as the taller side easily supported him and rubbed his back in comforting circles.

"I do love you, Patton, and I wish the circumstances were different." Logan leaned down and softly kissed Patton's hair before pulling away from the embrace and sinking down, leaving Patton alone once more.

Deceit was disgusted with himself, to say the least.

He never meant for Patton to be as affected as he was. Well, maybe he did initially, but that was before he actually saw the moral side, so lifeless and… broken. That wasn't a state any of the sides were meant to be in, least of all Patton.

Fidel stopped pacing and slammed his fists on his desk. Why did he have to overreact? Patton would probably never want to speak to him again, and he couldn't blame him. His actions were despicable. Looked up at his mirror and glared at his reflection, wanting to shatter the glass but knowing that it would change nothing. He had to deal with the consequences. But that didn't mean he couldn't try to make amends.

He waited several weeks, wanting to give Patton the space he deserved as well as make sure that he had recovered completely. From time to time he would check in on him without his knowing, and because of this he learned that Logan had left him. Deceit didn't know what to think or feel.

Finally, Fidel decided that it was as good a time as any. One night when all the sides had retired to their own rooms, he appeared outside Patton's. He knocked on the door.

Within seconds, Deceit was face to face with Morality, who immediately backed away several steps when he saw who was at the door. A brief burst of pain pulsed in Fidel's heart.

A soft whimper escaped Patton's throat. "Please don't lock me away again."

Deceit's hatred for himself grew. He raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "I promise I will," he said. He didn't realize his mistake until he saw Patton's terrified expression. "That was a lie, forgive me! I meant won't. I only wish to speak with you."

Patton said nothing as he stood with his back against the far wall, looking sick with apprehension.

"You have to know how deeply I regret what I did to you. I'm so very sorry, Patton, please believe me. I-"

"Why should I listen to anything you have to say?"

"Please, I know I'm Deceit, but I never once lied to you about anything important."

"This isn't about you lying! You trapped me in your room for two weeks because you were mad at Logan!"

Fidel sighed. "Yes, you're right, I lost my temper and I made a terrible, terrible mistake. Once I saw how you were so…" He swallowed hard. "Patton," he continued, slowly shortening the distance between them. "My dear, sweet Patton, I will spend the rest of my life hating myself for what I did to you. I don't expect you to come back to me. But please, please know that I'm truly sorry."

Patton was quiet for a moment, carefully watching Fidel move closer. "I lost Logan because of you."

It took every ounce of Fidel's willpower not to roll his eyes. How could Patton still be so obsessed with the man who did nothing but make him feel worthless? "You deserve better than him."

"I loved him!"

Deceit's brows shot up at the outburst. They were both silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Loved?"

Patton hugged himself, his face reddening. "Fidel, will you leave me alone? Please?"

Well, that talk went about as well as Deceit expected. He took one last look at Patton, dipped his head, and sank down, returning to his own room.

The following night, another knock sounded at Patton's bedroom door. He slid off his bed and went to open it, his dog plushie safe in his arms.

Patton opened the door to find no one there, but noticed his cat hoodie was hanging on the doorknob with a note resting on top. He picked up the note and unfolded it. Drawn in a light sketch was a little snake with its body curving around in the shape of a heart.

He grabbed the hoodie, closed the door, and returned to his bed, unable to hide a small smile.

A/N:

i didn't really edit oops

greetings and salutations, friendos! i hope your day/night is nifty as heck!

this may or may not be the end. i kinda wanna do an epilogue-y kinda thing but i'm also pretty happy with the way the ending to this chapter turned out. if you have thoughts please let me know! i'm fickle and in a pickle (honestly though i'm probably gonna end up doing it no matter what because i like my idea for it)

~if~ this is the end, thank you very very very much for reading! i hope you enjoyed it!

aLsO i've been wanting to write some one-shots for sanders sides, and i would love any suggestions or requests if y'all have any!

aLsO #2 can i just say that the most recent sanders sides video was? so good? i think it's my favorite so far? and deceit is sO hecking attractive? ugh i love him and i need his little snake patch asap. petition for deceit merch

okie dokie i think that is all! i love you very much and thank you again for reading!