Chapter Text
“You hardly ever wear that,” lied Deceit, looking his boyfriend up and down from where he lounged on his bed.
Patton turned and grinned at him from under the hood of his slightly oversized cat onesie, its ears lopsided. “I love it! We all got different ones together.”
“You all?” Deceit said with a slight frown.
“Yeah! Me and the other sides.”
“Ah.” Of course, who else would he be referring to? They did everything together. Deceit wasn’t jealous or anything, though. That would be ridiculous.
Morality moved away from Fidel’s desk, holding his hands behind his back. “Are you ready?”
“Not at all.” Fidel sat up and crossed his legs with a tilt of his head. Patton had been working at the desk for at least an hour without telling him any details, and the dark side was doing his best to not show just how curious he was about the surprise.
Patton skipped over to Fidel, his smile growing even brighter. With a flourish, he held out his hands so that Deceit could see the two charm bracelets resting on his palms.
Fidel leaned closer to get a better look. One was made up of blue and white beads, with a small charm of Patton’s logo – a heart with glasses. Black and yellow beads made up the other and included a charm of the yellow two-headed snake that Deceit was known for. The side of Fidel’s mouth quirked up.
“This one’s for you!” Patton exclaimed, holding out the blue and white bracelet. “Now every time you look at it you’ll think of me.”
Fidel accepted it, immediately slipping it over his wrist. He looked it over once more before meeting his boyfriend’s eyes with a smirk. “I don’t need a bracelet to be reminded of you,” he murmured, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t cherish it forever.
Patton’s face fell. “Oh… Well, if you don’t want it-”
“I never said that, did I? Silly goose,” Deceit purred. He booped Patton on the nose, causing the light side to raise his eyebrows before giggling in pleasure. “Thank you, Patton,” Fidel added, his expression softening into one of pure affection. Morality always found ways to make Fidel’s day better, and Fidel would never stop wondering why a warm, selfless person like Patton would choose to be with a snake like him.
The moral side carefully put on the other bracelet, then kissed Fidel on the cheek and hugged him. “I have to go, it’s movie night!”
“Hm.” Fidel returned the embrace, and when Patton let go and started to move away, the dark side gently grabbed his hand and pulled him back, wrapping his arms tightly around him in one final hug. He couldn’t help it; he loved the feeling of Patton’s small form leaning against his chest.
After another fit of giggles, Patton removed himself from Fidel, skipping away out of reach before his boyfriend could pull him back again. “I really have to go now! I’ll miss you though.”
Fidel smiled lazily. “I definitely won’t miss you.” He ran a finger over his newest accessory, enjoying the texture of the beads. “Now go have fun.” If he was being honest (ha), he wished that he was joining Patton. The thought of spending an evening curled up next to him while a movie played, with the other sides not minding them at all, sounded quite appealing. He knew it was an unrealistic dream, though.
Once he was alone, he stood up and strolled over to his piano, knowing that playing would make the time Patton was away seem to pass more quickly.
Patton had always been skilled at reading others. As a father-figure, he needed to know the best way to interact with all the kiddos in his life, and that meant being able to know how they were really feeling if they weren’t explicitly stating it. Deceit, however, had presented a unique challenge when they were first getting to know each other, with him almost always hiding behind neutral smirks and snickering, and usually speaking in lies but not unable to tell the truth. The more time they spent together, though, the more easily Patton could figure out what was going on in his boyfriend’s mind.
He smiled at this fact as he rose up in the living room. On the coffee table sat a large bowl of popcorn and various bags of candy. Roman, in his dragon onesie, was arranging several soft and colorful blankets on the couch, and Virgil was putting a DVD into the player, the hood of his Batman onesie pulled over his head.
“Hiya, kiddos!” Patton greeted them. He crawled onto one of the corners of the couch, pulling a blanket over him.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Greetings!”
“Hello,” added Logan, rising up and promptly joining Patton on the couch. Of course he was wearing his infamous unicorn onesie, his hands curled around a cup of tea, just like every other movie night.
“What are we watching?” Patton asked. It was Princey’s turn to choose, so no doubt it would be something Disney.
Roman turned to him with an excited grin as he finished with the blankets and took a seat. “It’s a Mary Poppins double feature! I haven’t seen the sequel yet and there’s no way I can watch it without rewatching the first one, so get ready for a long night!”
“Ooh, I’m ready!” But then he got an idea. His hand made its way to his bracelet as he cleared his throat loudly. “Well, almost. Uh, friendos, I was wondering…” He really hoped they wouldn’t say no or get mad.
The others turned to face him, staring expectantly.
“Do you think maybe… it would be alright if I invited Deceit to this?” He tried to smile, but it turned out more like a wince.
Roman’s jaw dropped. “What? No! Listen, I know you two are in love or whatever, but-”
“Hey, hear him out,” said Virgil, cutting his boyfriend off. He stood up from where he was kneeling on the floor and gave Patton a nod of encouragement.
Patton gave the anxious side a weak smile in thanks. He glanced at Logan, who betrayed no hint of what he was thinking. Returning his gaze to Roman, Patton continued. “The thing is… I think he feels a little left out sometimes. I’m sure joining us for movie night would make him happy, and I want him to be happy!”
“But he’s a slimy snake boi! Don’t you remember what he did to you?”
“That’s enough, Roman,” Logan snapped. He turned to Patton, and in a much gentler tone, added, “I don’t like him, but I trust you. If you wish to include him, then I am willing to tolerate his presence.”
Patton smiled. He really did love Logan. It wasn’t exactly the same kind of love that it used to be, but he was still so glad that they remained friends.
Logan crossed his arms and gave Roman a stern look. The prince glared back at him, but eventually sighed and fell back against the couch dramatically. “Fine. Go get the snake boi.”
“Yay! Thank you, kiddos!” Patton threw the blanket off of him and jumped to his feet before sinking down and rising up in the space outside Fidel’s room. There was just one thing he had to do before he could invite Fidel.
He’d had enough time to think of a design for a onesie that fit Deceit’s character perfectly, so he quickly conjured it. Within seconds, a large, yellowish-green onesie rested in his arms. A cheerful snake face adorned the hood, and the ends of the sleeves functioned as two tiny snake puppets. The look was made complete with a sagging tail.
Patton looked it over hurriedly to make sure everything was just right, then folded it up and hid it behind his back. He knocked once on the door before letting himself in, knowing that Fidel wouldn’t mind. He found his boyfriend at the piano, looking over at him with a raised brow. Grinning, Patton skipped over to him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be with your friends? Why are you back so soon?” Fidel asked, standing to greet him.
Morality giggled. “I came back to get you! Movie night can’t start until you’re there.”
Fidel opened his mouth, then closed it. He rubbed at his forehead. “Excuse me?”
“I noticed how sad you got when I was talking about it earlier so I asked them if you could come! They said yes!”
“I wasn’t sad. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Patton gave him a knowing smile. “Do you need an extinguisher? ‘Cause your pants seem to be on fire.”
Fidel looked away, the corner of his mouth twitching up. “Fine, fine, I’ll go to your silly movie night,” he said, meeting Patton’s bright eyes again.
The moral side’s grin widened and he placed a quick kiss on Deceit’s scaly cheek. “Thank you! But you can’t wear that.” He glanced down at Fidel’s grey t-shirt and sweats.
“Oh?” Deceit quirked a brow. “What do you suggest I wear, then?”
Patton thrust his arms forward, letting the formerly hidden onesie fall to its full length.
Fidel stared at it for several seconds in silence, a wide smile slowly forming on his face.
“Well? Whatcha think?”
“I… absolutely hate it.” The dark side chuckled as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Patton, pulling him into a tight hug once more. “I don’t deserve you,” he murmured into Patton’s ear.
Morality returned the embrace happily. “Hurry up and put it on!” He let go of Fidel and shoved the onesie into his arms.
In an instant, Deceit was peering out from under the snake face, his previous outfit now back in the dresser where it belonged. His eyes traveled over himself, taking in his new appearance. He pulled on his hood and held up the snake puppets. “How do I look?”
Unable to find the words to describe how adorable his boyfriend was, Patton let out a high-pitched shriek and clapped his hands. After several more seconds of fawning, Patton grabbed Fidel’s hand. “Okie dokie, let’s go!”
Together, they sank down and rose up in the living room, still holding hands. As soon as they arrived, all eyes were on them. For a moment, no one spoke, the only sound coming from the TV as music from the movie’s menu screen played.
“This isn’t awkward at all,” Fidel eventually drawled, his guarded gaze shifting from one side to the next.
Patton nudged him in the ribs and flashed a smile at his friends. “Thanks for letting us come, kiddos! I know you’re gonna be nice to Deceit here, aren’t ya?” He raised his eyebrows, daring them to say something mean.
Logan simply looked Deceit up and down in silent judgment before focusing on the TV, a deep frown etched on his face.
Virgil smirked at the dark side, holding back a laugh that was only contained because of the sharp look Patton had given him. “Wow.”
Deceit raised a brow at the anxious side. “Ah, yes, you’re definitely in a position to be judging me, Mr. Wayne.”
At that comment, Virgil shut his mouth and turned his attention back to the screen, earning a crooked smile from Fidel.
“Okay!” exclaimed Roman, whose wide eyes had been fixed on Fidel’s clothing the whole time, jumping from the face on the hood to the puppet sleeves. He forced a grin. “Let’s get this over with!”
Logan and Roman begrudgingly slid across the couch to make room for the couple while Virgil took his usual spot on the floor in front of them, leaning against Princey’s legs. Deceit, of course, claimed the seat farthest from the others, separated from them by his boyfriend.
As Roman turned off the lights and hit play, Fidel gently wrapped his arm around Patton, prompting the light side to curl up against him with his head resting on Fidel’s chest. Patton sighed in contentment, and Fidel couldn’t help but smile a bit to himself as he settled back into the couch and focused on the movie, his hand finding Patton’s and tenderly playing with the beaded bracelet on his wrist.
The peace might not last forever, but for the rest of the night, at least, there were no snide remarks or disapproving glares directed towards the dark side.