“I had another nightmare.”

That was the entirety of the explanation Logan got on nights like these. Nights where Patton- his adorable, upbeat, optimistic boyfriend, Patton- would come to Logan in tears, his whole body shaking as though he had been soaked through with ice water.

According to Patton, these unpleasant nights had been much more frequent before they had begun dating, which was concerning to Logan, because Patton had nightmares nearly every night.

As much as Logan wanted to push for answers, he never did. He would ask- of course he would, being the curious soul he was- but Patton never answered with more than a shake of his head or a small “no” whispered almost inaudibly. Logan knew better than to push Patton for answers, so he’d hold his boyfriend close and read aloud until eventually they both fell asleep.

Tonight, unfortunately, was one of the worst he’d seen. Patton had burst into his room- tears and snot running down his face, his hair an absolute mess, and his body shaking furiously- without any warning. He was out of breath from a mix of running, hyperventilating, and sobbing.

It was those heaving, hiccupping sobs that shook Logan to his core. He’d never seen Patton so… distraught. It was concerning, to say the least.

Without a word- there were hardly any words spoken on these nights- he set the book he’d been reading in bed aside and lifted the covers up beside him. Patton walked swiftly over and buried himself under the covers. He hid his face in Logan’s chest, clutching desperately at the fabric of his shirt and sobbing brokenly.

Logan ignored the pang that reverberated in his heart and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s smaller, shaking frame.

“Would you like to talk about it, dearest?” He’d expected a no, or, more realistically, to be ignored. However, Patton surprised him- he always surprised him.

“Y-yes.”

Logan blinked, surprised, and pulled his boyfriend impossibly closer to him.

“Okay, stardust. I’m listening.”

And as Patton stuttered through the horrors of that night, a nightmare in which everyone he held dear had insulted, hurt, and abandoned him, Logan felt his eyes fill with tears and his heart swell with love and the instinct to protect. He whispered gentle reassurances into Patton’s ear and ran his fingers through his hair, and when Patton finally calmed down enough to fall asleep, Logan gently laid him down and covered him with his space-print blanket.

He sat beside his boyfriend and made a vow, gazing lovingly at his sleeping face.

“I will love you even after the stars fade from the sky. You are my universe, Patton Foster. You are my forever.”

For a few hours, he keeps watch, making sure the nightmares and shadows in Patton’s head are entirely gone. Sometime around five am, he allowed himself to lay beside his partner and wrap his arms around him. With Patton in his arms, it didn’t take long for exhaustion to claim him.

Neither of them woke until noon, when their roommates, Roman and Virgil, set the fire alarm off by burning a grilled cheese.

Once the panic subsided and explanations were given, Logan grumpily cleared the smoke from the kitchen while Patton got started on making tomato soup, directing Roman on how to properly make a grilled cheese without trying to “flavor the bread with pickle juice”. Virgil and Logan watched their respective partners, and shared equal looks of exasperation.

Patton no longer felt the fear that had possessed him the night prior. He laughed, joked, and smiled, happy in the company of his family and excited to be teaching his friend how to not set fires.

And they were all okay.