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Mrs. Rose looks at Patrick with a glimmer of pride that makes his heart swell, smile tugging at her lips as her gaze rests on him for a few moments before she turns to say something to Twyla. The room is buzzing with anticipation, with only a couple of weeks before opening night. Today’s rehearsal was a success, he would say, overall. There had been a few hiccups with the opening number, and Stevie still needed to be coaxed into letting go of her nerves when performing ‘Maybe This Time’ - which is only a matter of time, Patrick knows. She’s performed it in front of him in private countless times, and he’s in awe of how truly breathtaking she can be when she isn’t panicking. He supposes it’s something she’ll have to work through on her own time. He can only force his praises onto her to a certain degree.
(‘Money Money’ has been perfected, though. He and Stevie - and Derek, sorry Mrs. Rose - have made sure of that.)
“Hey, you staying back?”
Speak of the devil. He turns to face Stevie. She’s changed clothes, a habit she’d only picked up after David had seen her leave rehearsal without having done so and lectured her for 45 minutes about how incorrect her behaviour was. She’d ignored Patrick trying to explain the same thing to her for about a month before that.
“Nope. Just about to leave. You?”
“After you,” she answers, and he throws Mrs. Rose and Jocelyn at the far back of the room a final wave before making his way to where his car is parked. He’s taken to driving Stevie to and from rehearsal, her apartment being on the way to his, and often on Fridays like this one they’ll pick David up from the motel and spend the evening together before David curses them both for having a day off the next morning and sulks on his way to the bed.
It might be his absolute favourite part of the week. As excited as he is for opening night, he’s going to miss those moments when rehearsals finally end.
“You missed a turn.”
“Oh, sorry,” he says, “did you have something to pick up from the office?”
“No,” Stevie replies, eyeing him suspiciously, “but don’t you?”
“What?”
“Is David not joining us, Patrick?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you? He’s got some important vendors coming into the store first thing in the morning. He’s probably gonna call it an early night.”
“Oh,” she says, grabbing her phone from her back pocket and fiddling with the screen before nodding. “Yeah, okay, he texted me during rehearsals. And also he has some very strong feelings about someone named Arby?”
“Oh yeah, hates them. Would have absolutely physically assaulted them a few dozen times by now if the body butter didn’t sell so well.”
“Does this person just not reach the general David Rose standards or…”
“They like to bring their three toddlers everywhere.”
“Wow.”
“And they once told David they don’t know who Mariah is.”
“Wow. ”
Patricks nods, and they share a laugh before confusion seems to befall Stevie and she breaks eye contact, turning to look at the relatively empty street ahead of them. “So, uh, you’re bringing me home?”
Patrick smiles at her. “We are friends, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“I was thinking you were coming over like every other week,” he answers matter-of-factly. “I was going to order pizza and we could probably watch something that isn’t a rom-com. Unless you have other plans.”
Stevie’s eyes snap to meet his, and he’s a little offended at the surprise in them. “Uh, no,” she shakes her head. “No plans. Pizza and booze it is.”
“I never said anything about drinks.”
“There better be booze, Brewer.”
They find themselves on Patrick’s bed with a laptop squeezed between them, an empty pizza box left on his counter, and a couple of bottles of beer on the night stands on either side of them. Stevie demands they watch a horror movie, taking advantage of the fact that David isn’t here to scream in horror at the movie posters and subsequently rebuff their every suggestion. Patrick agrees readily, and they come upon the common decision to put ‘Hush’ on, despite the both of them having already seen it.
Stevie leans her head on his shoulder after a while, and they share a blanket. A few times, Patrick finds himself shoving her stupid cold feet away when she presses them to his leg. The fourth time it happens, she brings a freezing hand to his side and he jerks so violently it almost sends the laptop tumbling off their laps. She laughs at his sudden reaction, throwing her head forward, and any will he has to pretend to be mad at her melts away as he joins her.
“Why the hell do you run so cold?” he nearly yells between laughs.
“It’s my frozen heart, Patrick. You know this.”
“God, you and David both. Icicles for fingers, I swear. I’m going to shove you off the bed.”
“You wouldn’t, Brewer.”
“Try me, Budd. Try me one more time.”
They smile at each other, laptop forgotten between them, and it’s comfortable. Patrick enjoys it. He likes it. A few years ago, Stevie would’ve been the last person he’d go to if he were looking for a friend, but life in Schitt’s Creek has taken up the solid pattern of shoving Patrick into the lives of the people it seems he needs the most.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t want you here without David?” The question leaves his lips before he can really stop himself, but now it’s there, heavy between them, and he’s almost glad it did. He and Stevie hang out all the time. Hell, she’s probably the person he talks to the most, after David and his parents.
“It’s not that,” she shrugs, but it’s not convincing. “I just didn’t want to impose.”
“Have I made you feel like an imposition?” he asks, suddenly worried. He knows she and David were already close when he came into the picture. Had he shoved himself too far in between them?
“Absolutely not,” she shuts down quickly. Then, sighing, “I hate that you’re making me talk about my feelings.”
“Friends do that.”
“I’m not good with friends. David and I have that in common. You’re good. It’s weird.”
He’s taken aback by her sincerity, and his mind goes back and forth between not wanting to push her too far and letting her know she’s being an absolute ass right now.
Instead, he says: “You think I’m good. How cute.”
“I also hate you and will hide your body in your own trash chute.”
“I don’t hate you at all and that is a horrible place to put a dead body.”
She pauses and meets his eyes, and it’s all the indication he needs to know that they’re done with this particular conversation for now. He’s adamant to bring it up someday, later, when she’s more willing to speak to him. For now, he places a hand on her arm.
“I wanna marry David.”
Stevie’s mouth falls open for a split second, and then she’s grinning, eyes wide and hands flying up to meet his shoulders. “Oh my god. Wha- Do you have a ring?”
“They’re not ready yet - but I have four.”
She shakes her head, still in elated shock, and then shuffles to bring herself up to her knees. “Oh my god, Patrick. Four ri- What? Oh my god. ”
He nods and pulls the laptop, now on his calves, back onto his lap. Digging into his emails, he’s able to find the digital receipt from his order for David’s rings. He turns the screen towards her, and she examines it, grin widening.
“He’s going to love this, oh my god. When are you going to ask?”
“The rings aren’t ready yet. And there’s the show and everything, and I just want to make sure it’s all - oh. ”
She throws her hands around him and he hugs her back immediately, relishing the display of affection before she pulls away too soon and grabs him by the arms, shaking him as he sees her make a genuine effort to hold tears from falling. “I’m so happy for you!”
“You’re his best friend, and I just thought I’d ask what you thought.”
“ What the hell would I think?”
“I don’t know, like give me your blessing, Stevie. You’re important to me, I want you to be on board.”
Stevie lets go of him and straightens her posture, deliberately meeting Patrick’s gaze. “I am so happy for you both. And very honoured that you’re pretending that me in any way not agreeing to your goal of proposing would stop you in any capacity.”
“Understood. Thank you very much.”
“Okay, good. Now that was gross and I hated every second of it, so can we please keep watching the movie?”
He nods, wordlessly, and rewinds the movie to where they’d stopped paying attention while Stevie regained her position by his side. He moves the laptop so that it rests between them. They don’t exchange any more words.
A few minutes later, when Stevie pushes her cold feet against his calf again, he doesn’t shove her away.
She doesn’t move it, either.