Chapter Text
“Alright, kids, it’s Storytime!”
Mr. Sanders got all of the kids to sit down so that he could spin them another tale.
“Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a brave knight…” he began.
Immediately, Roman shot up from his seat, striking a dramatic and heroic pose. “That’s me! I’m a brave knight!”
“Shut up…” Virgil said from a few feet away, annoyed.
Roman scowled, “You shut up, buttface.”
“Hey, hey, that’s not nice…” Mr. Sanders said warningly.
“Very creative name,” Virgil said, his voice dripping with an astonishing amount of sarcasm for an 11-year-old.
Roman suddenly flew at him, flailing his arm at the other boy. Thomas got up from his chair, breaking them up. Virgil was clutching his arm, hissing at Roman.
“Alright, that’s enough. You’ve been fighting nearly every day since school started. I’m calling your parents,” Thomas said as he led them into his office. He turned back to the rest of the class. “Kids, just go back to playing until I’m done here.”
Virgil sulked in his chair, looking pointedly at the wall, although that was usual. Roman’s usual cheerful demeanor was replaced by anger and annoyance. Thomas sighed as he dialed the phone and waited for them to pick up.
Patton was in the middle of feeding the cats in the shelter when his phone started ringing. He pulled it out, seeing Thomas’ name pop up. He looked around.
“Hey, Talyn, could you finish this while I take a call? Virgil’s teacher is calling,” Patton asked his coworker.
They nodded, coming to take over his job while he went outside so there wasn’t any howling and meowing in the background.
“Hey-o Tommy-boy, how’s it going?” he answered cheerfully.
“Hey Patton, sorry to bother you, but Virgil had a bit of a fight today with one of his classmates. Unfortunately, this isn’t a new occurrence, they’ve been fighting a lot since school started. I’ll have to ask you to come join me in a parent-teacher conference with Roman’s parents so we can work this out and hopefully come up with some sort of conclusion.” Thomas explained.
“Oh, of course, I’ll come! Will it be when we pick the kids up?” Patton asked.
“Yes, and thank you, I’ll see you then.”
“See you then, bye!”
Patton let himself one sigh before he plastered on his signature smile and went back inside.
When Patton walked into the classroom, he found Thomas sitting next to a couple, who he assumed were Roman’s parents, while the kids were sulking across the room. He went to Virgil first, kneeling in front of him.
“Hey Virge, I hear you got in a fight today. You know that’s not nice…” he scolded softly.
Virgil looked away, ashamed. “I’m sorry, Dad…”
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” Patton said softly, glancing at the other boy, who was staring at him in interest.
“Sorry, Roman…” Virgil muttered.
“Good. Now, I’m just gonna have a chat with the adults, and then we can go home, so just sit tight, kiddo!”
Patton stood up and walked to the others, who were watching him with interest. Thomas smiled as Patton took his seat in front of the small desk. The couple nodded at him, and he smiled back.
“Patton, this is Logan and Valerie. They are actually friends of mine as well, we all went to the same college,” Thomas explained.
Patton grinned, “Well isn’t that just dandy! I’m actually Thomas’ neighbor, my name is Patton, great to meet you!”
Valerie smiled at him, and Logan simply nodded again, looking a little bewildered.
“It’s like I’m sitting in a room of clones,” Valerie joked, looking between the three of them.
Patton looked at the other two, trying to see what she meant.
“I mean, I suppose we have similar hairstyles…” Logan said slowly.
“Yeah, I just don’t see it,” Thomas admitted.
Valerie shook her head as if to say nevermind.
“So, I’ll try to keep this meeting brief,” Thomas said, getting them back on track. “Now, you know why we are here; Roman and Virgil have been fighting for the last month, nearly every day. They seem to have some conflicts… personality wise. I think that they simply need to learn how to get along.”
Logan nodded. “Yes, behavioral studies show that children going through problems at home are more prone to lash out at their peers. Perhaps-”
“Logan.” Valerie interrupted, a slight warning in her voice.
“My apologies. Continue.” Logan said.
“Well, I’ve been thinking on it all day, and maybe them having a playdate outside of school may help. Roman won’t be trying to impress the other students, and Virgil won’t have to worry about the other kids. What are your thoughts?” Thomas looked between the three of them.
Logan adjusted his glasses. “Yes, I think that a ‘playdate’ outside of the social setting may be more beneficial to the two learning to communicate and work together much more efficiently, but it would probably be better to have it in some open area, like a park or playground, so that should a conflict arise, they will have the space needed to calm down. I think it’s a fantastic idea for them to settle their differences.”
Patton nodded, “Oh, it’ll be so much fun! Playdate at the park! We could go tomorrow, since it’s the weekend.”
“I have to leave tomorrow morning for my business trip, so Logan, you can handle this, right?” Valerie said, not really a question as it was a command.
Logan jumped a little, “Me?”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be there to help!” Patton said enthusiastically.
Logan seemed a little soothed by that, eventually nodding in agreement. “Okay, then Vinewood Park at… noon?”
“Sounds like a plan, Stan!” Patton said, pointing his finger at Logan.
“My name is Logan,” he said in confusion.
“It was a joke- ah, nevermind.” Patton said, turning back to Thomas, a little embarrassed.
“Alright, well, tell me how it goes, and hopefully that may be enough to work things out. I know that they are both going through a lot right now, I just want them both to be happy,” Thomas said with a soft smile.
Patton looked back at Virgil, who seemed like he was off in another world, but not in a good way. He nodded in agreement.
Virgil was quiet on the way home, even more so than usual.
“Come on, kiddo, why are you sulking back there?” Patton prompted softly.
“Dad, we don’t really have to go tomorrow, do we? I don’t want to have a playdate with Roman, he doesn’t like me. He never has...” Virgil said, looking hopefully at Patton.
“Sorry, kiddo, we have to. Maybe you can talk to him, ask him why he feels that way. Maybe you could even make friends with him!” Patton said happily.
Virgil crossed his arms, pouting. “I don’t want to be friends with him…”
As they parked in the driveway and got out of the car, Virgil made a point not to look at him. After Patton unlocked the front door, Virgil pushed past him and headed straight for his room. Patton tried not to feel hurt as the door slammed. He sighed, going to the living room and plopping himself down onto the couch. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to figure out what to do.
He looked up at the mantle above the fireplace, up at the old pictures he’d put there. They’d put there. He slowly got up and walked over to them. His eyes immediately fell to his favorite one. The last one they all took together. He picked it up, stroking his glass with his finger gently.
Ellie always knew what to do. She had been the one that really knew how to take care of anything and everything, while Patton was clueless. He looked at Virgil in the picture, his arms wrapped around her, the biggest smile on his face. In the two years since she’d gone, Patton hadn’t seen him smile like that. It had taken him months to even get Virgil to say anything, and even longer to get him to open back up to him a little.
Patton put the picture back, looking away, blinking away the tears forming in his eyes. He couldn’t cry. He needed to stay strong, to stay happy for Virgil. He just wished he knew what to do.
A shuffling behind him made him snap out of it, and he turned around to see Virgil standing there, looking at the floor.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to slam the door…” Virgil said softly, ashamed.
Patton smiled, blinking again to make the wetness go away. “It’s okay, thank you for apologizing. Do you want to watch a movie?”
Virgil perked up at that, running to the couch. “Nightmare before Christmas!”
Patton laughed, knowing that they’d be watching this again and again. It was only a few weeks ‘til Halloween, after all. As they settled down to watch it, Virgil snuggled up against Patton, and Patton stroked his back absentmindedly.
Maybe he was doing something right.