Archive of Our Own ^beta

Patton wore a bright grin on his face as he made cookies, humming a happy little tune as he mixed up the dough. The boy looked to be in a good mood, but he was rarely ever upset. In the mindscape, Patton was known for being cheerful, easily excitable, and a father figure to all around him.
He kept a smile on his face whenever he was out of his room. Even once he fell down the stairs and he just laughed about it, not wanting to worry anybody with his little spill. It was okay, the Moral side hadn’t been injured in the fall, but he did get a bit shaken.
The fun loving father figure figment was pulling the first set of chocolate chip cookies from the oven when another person walked in. Yes, it was Roman. The man seemed to have a sixth sense for telling when Patton was baking, and he was always first down to see if he would get to be the first to snatch one up while they were still hot. Patton had to keep a close eye on him as many times he had turned away just for Roman to snatch a hot cookie, stuff it into his mouth, and burn himself.
While watching over one of the creativities, he still had to make the rest of the cookies. These were transferred to a cooling rack, so the baking sheet was left open for Patton to make more of his heavenly cookies. He was still smiling gently, listing to Romans gentle singing as he waited for the next batch. He knew Roman was only here to have a cookie, and year that hurt a bit, but it was normal. He wasn’t here for Patton.
As the cookies cooled, he handed Roman a plate with three of the cookies on it to take with him. Logan then walked in, shaking his head and making a face.
“Patton, you aren’t ruining appetites before dinner again are you? What have I told you about baking before a large meal?”
Logan didn’t seem to be in the best mood, and that did make Patton’s smile falter. He was ruining Romans, and if anyone else grabbed cookies he would be ruining theirs as well. However he just brought his smile back up to full wattage, offering a hug to the logical trait, even though he knew it would just be brushed off.
“Oh Logan, it’s just come cookies! You know how much I love to bake!”
“Yes yes, but now you won’t finish dinner, and the extra sugar isn’t good for you or for Thomas. Think ahead Patton.”
He hit where it hurts. Nothing meant more to any of them than caring for Thomas. However, he made sure his smile didn’t fall. Patton just set the cool cookies on a plate and waited for the next set to be out of the oven. Logan just frowned and walked off. He hadn’t been trying to be mean, but it was just the way he worked. Logan was strictly logical, and did his best to not let emotions into his reasoning.
It was hours later, after dinner that he had to put on a smile for Virgil. He was sitting in the living room, looking to be slipping into a panic attack. However he seemed to be trying to stay out of it. Patton came up to him, holding a blanket. He knew that Virgil liked the weighted blanket when he was getting anxious. It helped him feel grounded and real. So Patton offered the blanket, only to have Virgil grab it from him and completely disregard Pat. The moral side understood that Virgil was in his own world, but it still hurt to see him just push the moral side away. That was what finally sent him to his room.
As he walked inside, he snuggled. He was upset with the day. T hadn’t been good and he just needed to get some of these repressed emotions out. He felt someone hug him from behind, but he knew who it was. Patton leaned his head back upon the man's shoulder, letting himself cry. He knew nobody else would hear about this.
“De…”
“Shhh… You’ve been lying to them all day. I thought I was supposed to be the snake Patton.”
It was true. Patton had been lying to everyone all day With is smiles and energy, with his decelerations of joy and his positive demeanor. The truth was that he had woken up sad. Patton couldn’t tell why, but he had just been in a blue mood since he opened his eyes. He knew he had to be their happy pappy Patton, so he put on a smile. However he knew that Deceit would sense his lying. That wasn’t a problem though. How could it be when De was his boyfriend. He would know Patton was upset, and he wouldn’t have to explain a thing.
As Patton cried himself out, Deceit continued to hold the shorter side, trying to calm him. Patton loved his scales, and had convinced De to not wear his gloves when they were together. He gently turned Patton around to face him, and raised a hand to place against his cheek. He used a thumb to gently wipe away the tears leaking from Patton’s eyes, removing the fake glasses so they wouldn’t be in the way.
“I’ve got you my little snakelet. You don’t need to worry about them anymore. Act however you want around me. And don’t forget, I will know if you lie how you are feeling. It’s totally not what I’m made for it anything.”
Patton nodded slowly, sniffling as he smiled up at Deceit. He always appreciated his boyfriend being here for him. They moved to take a seat on the bed, Patton sitting in De’s lap. They remained close together, the yellow side removing his cape and draping it over his smaller lover. Cuddling was so much better than crying after all.
“They… They never appreciate me De. I bake and cook and clean for them all, and I try to make them feel better… But I didn’t get a single thank you all day. I never… I just… It hurts De… I want them to know that I do everything I can for them. They’re all my family. And right now they’re just… They’re just hurting me by not caring. I just want to get one thank you! Does that make me selfish? Am I a bad person?”
Deceit shook his head with a chuckle. He was being careful to not send Patton mixed messages, doing his best to not lie.
“Patton. Kitten. You do so much for them. You deserve more than a thank you. And if you are a bad person, you can join me and the othersss. I won’t let them hurt you. Never.”
Deceit promised quietly, placing kisses on Patton’s head. Just the thought of them hurting his darling little Patton made him angry enough to let his vocal tic slip through. He grabbed Patton’s hands, putting both of them over his own heart.
“I’ll try to help them realize how much you do. You don’t deserve to hurt Patton. You do too much to deserve to hurt…”

The next morning, Patton woke up with a small yawn. He was curled up Deceits arms, held close to the cold blooded man. He seemed to be in a good mood, as he had pleasant dreams last night. They talked until Patton could sleep, and then both men had moved into bed to relax. Patton was up early, crawling out of bed and clanging into a fresh set of clothes. After writing a cute little note to De, he moved out of the room and relaxed in the kitchen. He had set the coffee maker, knowing both Logan and Virgil would want some when they woke up. Logan was always downstairs at precisely seven thirty, so Patton was preparing for Logan’s arrival. He had just made a cup of coffee just how Logan liked it when the Logical side entered the kitchen. He handed the cup over with a bright grin, only to have Logan a bit surprised. However he accepted the cup with a nod of thanks and moved to sit down. Here in the mindscape, the newspaper was just things Thomas thought about, but Logan still enjoyed reading it. He sipped from the cup as a paper appeared before him, seeming to be enjoying his relaxation time. Roman was next, singing a little good morning song like he did every morning. Patton grinned and began making breakfast, only to be surprised with a hug from behind.
His eyes widened and his head whipped around to see Roman giving him a rather strong one armed hug from behind. It only took a moment, but it brought tears to Patton’s eyes. He let out a small sniffle as Roman looked him in the eye, and immediately the romantic side let go, assuming he had grabbed on too hard. However Patton was just so happy. Roman was appreciating what he was doing. He had gotten a hug!
He turned around and threw himself at Roman, smiling and laughing as tears streamed down his cheeks. He was so happy.
“Pat? Are you okay? Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?”
“No Roman, I’m fine… I, I just… You gave me a hug… That’s like you saying thank you! And it’s been so long, I just thought that-“
Patton was cut off by something even more shocking. Logan. He had placed a hand on Patton’s shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. He then pulled pack, ruffling up Patton’s hair. The moral side was stunned in silence. Logan was appreciating him too. Logan was! He had gotten two! That only strengthened his sobbing, but he couldn’t help it. It was such a happy day. And he couldn’t believe that something like this was happening to him. After a few moments they both managed to pull off of Patton, leaving the still crying side grinning and wiping his cheeks.
“I- We never meant for it to seem like you were unappreciated Patton. We just assumed that you understood that it was implied. I’ve never been one for many words, but I always speak up when I am unsatisfied with something.”
Patton could understand Logan’s words. He wasn’t wrong, but Patton had a different way of thinking than him. He liked to be reassured that he was wanted and needed. He didn’t have to lie anymore. He really was happy, and it was clear they wanted him. Patton’s mouth hurt from smiling so wide, hit it was worth it. He didn’t even notice when his snake came into the room holding the note. Patton ran up to Deceit, practically jumping into his arms and letting the snake spin him in the air a few times. Yes, today was a perfect day. And nothing could ever ruin it.