Virgil smiled and laughed as he slowly waved his hand through the air and watched as the fire in front of them bent to his will. It was the end of day twenty-six since the attack and Logan was helping Virgil learn a new spell. Virgil had really improved with his magic since meeting Logan, something that seemed to have lifted his confidence. The nerd himself sat next to him, every once in a while giving Virgil a pointer to improve the spell, but otherwise, he sat peacefully, and on the log, the two shared and watched Virgil as if in a trance. The other two had gone hunting and searching for wood while they set up the camp and learned spells, they were alone.

The camp had been set up along the shore of a beach with the forest behind them. They were far enough from the water so the waves would not reach them as the tide rose but could still feel the mist the saltwater provided. The waves crashed against the shore, and when paired with the sounds of the forest behind them, it created euphonious harmony.

Logan looked at Virgil with a small smile of his own; it was always so nice seeing the look Virgil got on his face whenever he learned a spell he had been having trouble on. Or the way his face looked whenever he was trying hard to focus. It was always so amazing to watch as Virgil attempted to adapt a speaking spell so he could perform it as well, how Virgil's fingers would move through the air as they performed the correct movements to the spell. It was adorable to watch him mess up a spell only for him to attempt to keep thinking positively and sign something to Logan about how it was better than last time' or how it 'at least it didn't explode this time.' Everything about Virgil was amazing, truly.

Virgil nudged Logan with his foot to snap Logan out of his trance and gestured to the flying flames he was currently using to attempt to spell out his name. Logan allowed himself to laugh slightly with the other as he watched. He needed to tell him. Logan needed to tell Virgil his true feelings.

Roman hadn't stopped flirting with the other prince and Virgil would always have some snarky comment to reply with. Roman and Virgil were getting closer and if Logan didn't confess now then Roman would surely do it. And then Virgil would be Roman's. Logan trusted Roman with his life, he valued him highly. Roman was his best friend though, and had been for years. Logan knew Roman better than he knew his own mother. Roman always put true love ahead of anything, he might even put it in front of friendship. Even if he said he wouldn't. Even if the rules said he couldn't. He would, that's just who Roman was.

And of course, Virgil would choose Roman over Logan. Roman was a prince, he was creative, strong, and protective. He was understanding, he liked to sing and dance and tell stories. He bantered, knew how to fight, he was active. Roman actually knew stuff about courting and dating. Logan wasn't any of that. Logan was the son of a sickly woman who married a looked down upon lord. Logan had no father, his older brother was dead, and his Uncle's title provided him with more respect than his family name. He was a wizard in a kingdom where having magic was looked down upon. His title meant nothing to people once they knew his name. Little of the respect he had from others was respect that he had rightfully earned. He was a nerd who didn't understand complex emotions and who often questioned Dark Realm tradition.

Virgil would have to be a fool to pick Logan over Roman, and Virgil was anything but a fool. If Logan confessed first though, then maybe that would give him some kind of chance with Virgil.

"Ann," Logan began, "I need to tell you something."

Virgil's smile flickered as he glanced at Logan and slowly lowered the flames back into the campfire, 'You usually call me by my first name, you don't call me Ann. Is something wrong?'

Logan shook his head with a small smile, he was so observant, "No. I would just like you to be comfortable when I tell you this."

Virgil tensed nervously and looked forward toward the beach in front of them, 'The beach looks nice. I've always liked the beach.'

"Ann," Logan said as he placed his hand over Virgil's, "There's no need for you to be nervous, it's nothing bad perse"

Virgil didn't relax and Logan doubted he would until Logan told him what he wanted to say. Virgil looked at him, waiting for him to speak with obvious fear and anxiety in his features. Logan opened his mouth to speak, but found he couldn't. He tried again, still speechless. The third and final attempt left him just as voiceless as the last two. Eventually, he looked back to Virgil, nervousness chewing at his gut. He needed to let Virgil know how he felt. And so, without a word, Logan pressed his lips to Virgil's.

Virgil's reaction was slightly delayed yet still quick, before Logan could even form any thoughts about the kiss Virgil had suddenly slapped him and shoved him off the log before jumping to his feet and stumbling away from him. The sound of something falling to the floor caught both their attention and they turned to find both Patton and Roman standing at the edge of the forest, a pile of firewood dropped to the ground by their feet.

"What the hell Logan?!" Roman said to the scholar with obvious anger and hurt.

"What?" Logan asked harshly as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Y-you broke the rules!" Roman shouted, "You-you-you knew I liked... liked him too."

Virgil's head shot to the other boy as he stared at everyone with wide-eyed panic. Neither Logan nor Roman seemed to notice how terrified Virgil seemed to be. How he stood still as a stone, one hand pressed to his lips as the other wrapped around himself tightly. His eyes danced between everyone as if he expected another one of them to do something to him. "Ann?" Patton asked softly, the only one to have noticed his petrified state as the other two continued to yell at each other.

"-We had a deal!"

"We made those rules when we were twelve Roman, they don't-!"

"-doesn't matter when we made them-!"

"-If I hadn't done it you would have done so fir-!"

"-no I wouldn'tve! You can't just break the-!"

"-I can when they're stupid rules-!"

"Ann, are you okay?" Patton asked, his voice barely even audible over the yelling. Patton took a tentative step forward, one hand stretched out towards him. The others stopped their yelling and turned to look at their younger companion, but as soon as their eyes had landed on him Virgil had sprinted off into the trees and disappeared.

"Ann wait!" They all shouted, but it was too late, Virgil was gone.

Patton turned back to the other two with burning anger written clear across his face, "What was that?" his asked them both, glaring down at them.

"Ask him!" Roman shouted, "He's the one who broke the rules"

"I liked him first!" Logan retaliated, though even he had to admit how childish that sounded.

"It doesn't matter Logan! The rules-"

"The rules don't matter!"

"Yes, they do!"

"Guys!" Patton cut in loudly, fists clenched at their sides, "Ann has a boyfriend!" the other two froze, looking as if they had just been shot.

"He has a..." Roman trailed off.

"I kissed him when he...." Logan muttered with shock.

Patton stared at his two friends with disappointment and anger, "Did either of you even ask if he was dating him before you started trying to court him?"

"We weren't courting him we were-" Roman insisted.

"He didn't tell us he had a-" Logan tried to reason.

"First of all, he doesn't need to tell you if it's not brought up. Second of all, yes you were courting him and he told you to back off multiple times. And third of all, yes he did tell you."

Roman shook his head slowly, "We thought he was just flirting..."

Logan did the same, "When did he...?"

"This means boyfriend," Patton said as he showed them a sign very similar to the word best friend, the word they had thought Virgil had been saying whenever he had used it. "Did you guys even think about this? Logan, Ann doesn't even like being touched without warning, in what world would kissing him without permission ever be logical. And Roman, this isn't only Logan's fault, you're both to blame and you need to grow up and accept that. Now, I'm going to go looking for him, you two are going to stay here. When we get back you will be friends again and both of you will be apologizing to him. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Patton," Roman and Logan both mumbled to him with shame. Patton nodded approvingly before turning towards the forest and running off to go find Virgil.

"Ann!" Patton called loudly into the forest, "Ann!"

No response came. No intentionally loud noises to make it easy for Patton to find him. No spell's to show him where the other hid. No nothing. The forest remained quiet, dark, and still.

"Ann! Please, it's not safe for us to be alone," Patton called again, "We don't have to go back yet. We can just talk, you and me right here." Still no signs of wanting to be found, "Or we don't have to talk, we can just sit in silence if that's what you want... please Ann I just want to make sure you're okay."

The sound of leaves shuffling and crinkling made Patton swiftly turn towards where Virgil had hidden not too far away, the boy gave a timid wave as tears made their way down his face. "Ann!" Patton cried as he rushed to the other and took a look at him, "Did you seriously come out here without a jacket? Kiddo! You're gonna freeze" Patton quickly took their own cloak off and handed it to the other, wrapping it around his shoulders.

'Now you're cold' Virgil signed shakily

Patton waved him off, "I'm a dad, I don't get cold," they assured as he moved to sit next to him, "Are you okay kiddo? You seemed so spooked." Virgil shook his head and buried his head in his knees, allowing Patton to wrap an arm around him. "I understand, it's okay though. It won't happen again, I swear it. Logan won't even touch you if you don't want him to. And they're both going to apologize."

'They can't control their feelings Pat'

"No. But anybody can take the time to learn if you had a boyfriend or not. And neither of them should have acted like that either, it was immature." Patton said in the dad tone that for some reason always made Virgil smile and laugh. "They're at fault Ann, not you. You've told us you were dating somebody, it's not your fault they never asked about a sign they didn't know"

'It's close to friend though. Maybe they just thought-'

Patton pushed his hand down gently, "No, they don't get excuses Ann, they're at fault. Not you. Okay?"

Virgil nodded and there was a moment where neither did anything before Virgil sighed, 'What if he gets mad? I don't want him to be mad.'

"Your boyfriend? Virgil nodded, "From what you've told me about him, he doesn't seem like the type to get mad about this sorta thing. Especially when Logan kissed you, and you didn't want it. You pushed him away, you made it clear what he did was not okay. If your boyfriend gets mad at you over this, then maybe it's not the best relationship."

'I want it all to be over already. I want Dee and Remus.'

"We'll find them," Patton assured, "We'll find them I promise."

'Pat?'

"Hmm?"

'Thanks for coming on this trip. I don't think I'd be able to handle it all without you.'

Patton smiled, "You would've been great without me. I'm just here to make being great easier."

'Can we go back now? I'm tired and we need to make sure the other two don't kill each other'

Patton laughed as he nodded and stood up, Virgil walking next to him as they made their way back to the camp.

Logan was sitting on the log and staring into the fire. Roman was pacing the shore of the beach not too far away, neither had said anything to each other since Patton had left. Logan glanced at his b̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶ with a small glare. "I don't see why the rules are of such importance, they don't matter," Logan started.

Roman didn't stop pacing, "They're important to me," he told the other, "We made those rules so we wouldn't stop being friends. You said you wouldn't do it, Logan."

"Yes well, I hypothesized that if I didn't confess to him first, you would and that he would choose you over-"

"You hypothesized wrong Logan!" Roman shouted angrily, "You have to stop acting like you're always right! You're not! Deal with it!"

Logan frowned and shrunk in on himself slightly as Roman looked away and continued to pace, "Well, are we still friends?"

"Do you even care?" Roman asked bitterly.

"Of course I care. I don't have many friends, only you, Patton, and Virgil. Both of whom are very upset with me right now and-"

"I'm very upset with you right now!" Roman yelled, "God, am I just a number to you? It's not my fault you're so mechanical, Logan. It's not my fault people don't like you!"

"That is off-topic. And no, you're not just a number to me. You're my friend, my best friend."

"Really? 'cause you're not acting like it," Roman kicked at the beach sand as he continued to pace.

"It's just a set of silly rules Roma-"

"No! It's not." Roman insisted, "Those rules are supposed to preserve our friendship. Don't you understand?" Roman looked at Logan, the answer was obvious, he did not understand. "Fifteen years and you throw it all away for some boy."

"He is not just some boy," Logan fumed, "I thought you'd understand that." Roman glared at Logan but quickly looked away, more pacing. Logan sighed as he tried to calm himself again, "Are you upset because I broke the rules or because I kissed him?"

Roman paused, shrugged, then spoke, "The second one," he muttered.

"Did you want to kiss him?"

"What? I-I don't know. He obviously didn't like when you did it." Roman muttered, his face was slightly red at the suggestion.

"It was my first kiss," Logan mumbled.

Roman scoffed, "Pretty crappy first kiss."

"His lips were soft. They were-"

"Can you stop talking about it?" Roman asked, "I saw it, isn't that enough torture?"

Logan looked to Roman, "I'm sorry I kissed hi-"

"I'm not upset that you kissed him" Roman cut in.

Logan blinked in surprise, "But, you just said you were. Are you not upset anymore? Does that mean we're friends aga-"

"I'm not upset that you kissed him, Logan. I'm upset that you kissed him."

Logan tilted his head in confusion, "I don't understand. Is that not the same thing?"

Roman sighed angrily, "It doesn't matter, just drop it. We're friends again, alright? Happy?" Roman wiped at his face, tears, Logan realized.

Logan stood up and shook his head, "No. Somethings the matter, is it not? What is it? Why are you upset?" Roman tried to wave him off but Logan ignored him and took him by the shoulders. "Tell me."

Roman shook his head, "I tried. You didn't understand. You've never gotten it, no matter how I say it."

"So this is a prolonged issue?" Logan asked, Roman, nodded, "Tell me again, perhaps this time I will understand."

Roman looked at Logan for a moment before nodding his head, "I'm not upset that you kissed him. I'm upset that you kissed him." Roman looked at Logan for any sign of understanding but he displayed none. Roman sighed and tried to walk away, "It's fine, whatever."

Logan pulled him back, "It's not fine. Stop doing that. Explain it again, in a different way this time."

Roman shook his head, "It's not going to work Lo, you just don't understa-"

"I am very smart." Logan declared, "But just like everybody else some things need to be explained to me multiple times, multiple different ways, for me to understand. Feelings are one of those things, tell me again."

Roman sighed, he took Logan's wrist and lifted his hand till it was in front of his face, "You're skins not green."

Logan gave him a look as though he had gone crazy and waited for Roman to say something more but he didn't, "Okay... My skin has never been green."

"No!" Roman said exasperated, "Logan, what was the consequence of one of us broke the rules on the contract?"

"Our friendship would be terminated."

"And..." Roman said expectantly.

"And... I'm not sure what you expect from me."

Roman frowned, "You put a spell on the contract Logan. A spell that if the contract were broken..."

"The skin of the contract breaker would turn green," Logan finished, his eyes went to his hand and he looked at the pale skin, "Did I not perform it correctly? That spell wasn't supposed to expire, however while unlikely, I may have gotten it wro-"

"You didn't get it wrong Logan," Roman insisted, "So if you didn't get it wrong, why would your skin still be the same color?"

Logan waited for a moment before it finally, figuratively, hit him, "I didn't break the rules"

"Exactly," Roman said with a small smile.

Logan felt a feeling of pride in figuring out the mystery before he realized he still wasn't sure why Roman was so upset with him, "Then why are you upset that I broke the rules if I did not break the rules? And how did I not break the rules, we both have romantic feelings for-"

Roman groaned with exhaustion, he really wasn't getting it. "I lied Logan!" Roman shouted, Logan looked at him with slight shock, "I lied, I don't like Virgil like that."

"You... dont?"

"No! He's best friends with my brother, clearly, he has awful taste!"

"I-I don't understand, why did you lie?"

Roman groaned with slight embarrassment, "Because even though I don't like him like that, I could see why you saw him like that, and I didn't want you to date him. And I knew that if I told you I liked him, then you couldn't date him."

Logan still looked confused, but also a little bit hurt at being lied to, mostly just confused, "Why wouldn't you want me to date him?"

Roman sighed, "How much clearer do I have to be?" He groaned again and turned away from his friend, obviously slightly annoyed.

"Much clearer I'm afraid." Logan told him, "Could you-could you say it to me as clearly as possible perhaps?"

Sighing one more time Roman turned back to him, looking Logan right in the eye as he put a hand on each of the other's ears, "I like you Logan," Roman told him directly.

Logan's eyes widened in realization as it finally all clicked.

Roman hadn't been upset about the rules because Logan had never broken the rules. Roman had been upset that Logan kissed Virgil because Roman wanted Logan to kiss him. Roman didn't like Logan talking about his 'kiss' with Virgil not because he was jealous of Logan but because he was jealous of Virgil. Roman had lied to prevent Logan from dating Virgil because he wanted Logan to date him.