Chapter Text
Patton was cold. As always. He sighed, turning over and pulling the scrap of fabric he used as a blanket up to his chin. It left his toes uncovered.
Patton curled up as tight as he could, trying to get the blanket over all of him.
Having no luck, he groaned, standing up, and taking his blanket with him. He left his room, slowly and carefully opening his door, as to make it not squeak. That task successfully completed, he tip-toed down the stairs, his blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.
Once Patton got to his destination, he raised his fist to knock, then hesitated. Indecisive, he slowly pushed the door a crack open. It made a loud screeeech before giving in.
Patton peeked into the room. Finding Virgil still awake, he crept into it. Virgil was laying on his bed, phone in one hand. The floorboard creaked with each of Patton's steps, making him wince.
"Hey, Pat." Virgil said roughly. He held out one of his arms, an open invitation. Patton gratefully padded over and cuddled up next to Virgil. He wriggled under Virgil's larger blanket, trying to leech as much heat as possible. Laying his head on Virgil's chest, he mumbled a "G'night, love you." and closed his eyes.
"Night. Love you too." Virgil said fondly, leaning down to ruffle his hair. Patton opened his eyes, squinting, and drowsily batted it away, making a noise of annoyance. Throwing an arm over Virgil, Patton let his eyes fall shut again, and slept.
-/-/-
When Patton woke up he was in a tangle of limbs.
"Viiiirgee." Patton whined, shoving at him. "Get up, you're squishing me!"
Virgil just grunted and rolled over. "Hmmph." Patton grumbled. Then smiled.
-/-/-
Once Patton and Virgil had gotten out the door, Virgil expressing his clear dislike of his brother-
"Patton! What did you do?!" Virgil yelled.
"You weren't getting up!" Patton giggled.
-and Patton torturing him with one too many puns-
“Hey, Virgil.” Patton said, smiling. Virgil groaned.
“What now?”
Patton bit his lip to keep from grinning. “What did the pregnant tree say to the other tree?”
Virgil sighed. “I dunno, what did she say.”
Patton was practically bursting with excitement. “I could hardly be-LEAF it!”
Virgil stopped and banged his head against the nearest wall.
-they walked to their bus stop.
While waiting, Virgil saw two people. They waved him over, and .e glanced at them, a besotted look on his face. When Patton nudged him and winked he glared at Patton in the universal sign for don't you dare. Patton simply smirked and leaned back, watching. Virgil went over to join them, shooting Patton another look, but Patton just sat criss-cross on the ground, leaning against the edge of the booth. Seeing someone standing alone, trying to talk to people- but failing miserably- his eyes lit up.
He pushed himself off the ground and bounced over to the person.
“Hiya, my name’s Patton!” He exclaimed, bouncing on his toes and holding a hand out. The other bit at his lip, seeming to debate for a moment before reaching out and grasping Patton’s hand.
“Hello,” He said, voice soft and a bit hopeful. “I’m Logan.”
-/-/-
Patton and Logan had been friends for about 6 months when Patton had started feeling it.
It had begun when he couldn't help but notice how pretty Logan was that day. He had been wearing a galaxy skirt, with a plain black shirt tucked in.
Logan was rambling about math in between classes- something about plants and Fibonacci numbers?- but all Patton could focus on was the way his face had lit up, his hands waving through the air to paint a story. Not quite against his will, Patton’s mouth opened.
“You’re gorgeous.” He blurted out. Logan turned scarlet and cut off his tangent.
“I- That is- Technically speaking-”
“You are!” Patton said, delighting in the way Logan’s face turned even redder. “You are, you’re beautiful and smart and gorgeous and perfect and-” Patton kept going, relishing in the way Logan had turned pink to his ears and was furtively trying to deny it.
“Handsome and cute and nerdy and precious and-” Patton cut himself off, his mouth in a comical “o” shape.
Logan had been still blushing, trying to stutter his way through a response, when he had gone out of reality. Patton tried to keep the butterflies in his stomach under control, but it was hard when he knew he had caused it.
Logan stuttered back into existence, eyes wide and panicked, half-formed words tumbling out of his mouth.
"This- this is highly- ahem- a highly unexpected course of events."
Patton giggled. "Aw, Logie, did I embarrass you?" He said, using the nickname he had given his friend.
Logan shifted, smoothing his hands over his shirt. "Ah- I, um-" He said eloquently.
At that moment, the bell rang. Saved by the bell, Patton thought a bit hysterically, trying to keep a handle on the blush that had begun to spread across his face.
As he walked to his next class- reading, his favorite- he finally put a name to the feelings he had.
Patton had never really gotten crushes. He might have once or twice thought someone was cute and called it one, but not an actual, stomach-flipping-and-face-on-fire crush. But when he was around Logan… well.
Logan was just so amazing, just smart enough to be impressive, but never, never, making Patton feel bad. Whenever Patton would struggle in school, Logan would be there, talking to him in that gentle voice and showing how to do something. Whenever kids- or teachers- would pick on him, Logan would be there, mouth pressed into a firm line and a ferocious kind of quiet fury on his face. He wasn’t quite a knight in shining armor, but he was just what Patton needed.
And so Patton let it grow. Grasses flourished and flowers bloomed in his chest, and butterflies and birds ticked his stomach. And then Logan would go on a date, and thorns would grow on all the flowers, and wasps would make their home, stinging with a painful reminder that Logan wasn't his, and he would have to deal with that.
He tried, he really did. He kept a lid on his emotions, only letting it out when he was alone, in tears or laughter or throwing empty bottles his dad had left against the wall.
But, somehow, that still wasn’t enough.
-/-/-
When they had gone to prom, it had all been too much. Logan was dancing with an unknown person, but all Patton could see were thorns, pressing at his sides. The grass had grown unruly, curling around his heart and pressing with a force only matched by-
He couldn’t even think of the word. The wasps were back, bigger and bolder and stinging, stinging everywhere with a vengeance.
He could barely breathe, escaping to the bathroom and falling to his knees in front of a toilet, retching, trying to get everything out. But nothing came, and hazily Patton realized he hadn’t eaten lunch- or breakfast- because even with his and Virgil’s part time jobs, they still didn’t have enough money to eat.
He sighed, slumping to the floor. He decided that he had earned just a little rest, just to get him through the rest of the night.
His eyes slipped closed, and he slipped under.
-/-/-
Patton was woken by a hysterical shouting. Still half asleep, he blearily realized it was his name being called.
Wait. It was his name being called.
Jolting upright, he only gave himself a few seconds to let the wave of dizziness wash over him before he was opening the stall door. As he crept toward the bathroom exit, he caught his own eye in the mirror.
He looked terrible.
Bags under his eyes, tear tracks going down his cheeks accompanied by his puffy and bloodshot eyes. His hair was a rat’s nest, tangles and dirt from the floor making it look like he had been rolling around in a dumpster.
However, Logan didn’t seem to care about any of that as he burst into the room, eyes frantically searching until they landed on Patton.
“Patton.” Logan breathed, stepping closer until he could envelope him in a hug. He buried his nose in Patton’s hair, heedless of the mess it was. “Oh, Patton, Patton.” He said reverently,and it wasn’t until his voice cracked that Patton realized Logan was shaking.
He squeezed Logan tighter, unable to talk but still trying to give a silent reassurance. I’m here, I’m okay. It seemed to work, because then Logan was talking.
“I- I know that I’m...” He sighed, pressing his face further into Patton’s hair, so that his next words came out muffled. “I know I’m not the best at these… emotional predicaments.” He paused, as if searching for words. “I’m still going to try to help you. So Patton, I implore you, please tell me what’s wrong.” For all his stoic and serious exterior, he looked like he was going to break at the thought of Patton hurting. Trying not to read too much into that, because he meant is as a friend, and of course Logan cared about him as a friend, he would never care about him as anything else-
Patton hadn’t realized he had started to cry until Logan’s face twisted in panic and he was wiping away the tears with a soft, gentle hand. He let his fingers rest on the side of Patton’s face, and that was when Patton broke. He couldn’t take it any longer, this teasing and taunting, never actually getting what he wanted.
In a moment of startling clarity, he saw the drawn lines of Logan’s face- for him. In that moment he saw all the teasing remarks and banter they had shared. In that moment, he saw Logan handing him a soft cat onesie- “For you.” In that moment, the garden in his torso grew until he couldn’t take it anymore, and he burst.
“I love you!”
The statement was said with so much force it knocked the wind out of Patton. It gave life to the garden, feeding it until it was almost too much to bear.
Patton looked at Logan. His face was a picture of impassiveness. In that moment, the garden squeezed, one last time, and his heart shattered.
But then Logan spoke, so quietly Patton could barely hear as he pulled back to look Patton in the eye. The garden and Patton waited in anticipation.
“I love you too.”
The garden came to life, flowers blooming and holding his heart up as it mended, and started to glow with happiness. Patton smiled, then giggled, then laughed, delirious and gleeful. Maybe, he thought, it wouldn’t be so bad with a garden in him after all.