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Patton knocked on Virgil’s bedroom door. “Hey, Virge, can I come in?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Virgil answered, and Patton pushed open the door. He frowned a bit when Virgil wasn’t in his bed as Patton had expected but was instead sat upright at his desk with a textbook. He’d looked pretty tired at dinner, this being the end of his first week back at school since his injury, and Patton had expected he was going to his room for a nap, not to do more homework on a Friday night.
“What are you up to, kiddo?”
“Math,” Virgil answered.
“Weren’t you and Logan working on that earlier?” Patton asked.
“Yeah, but I have a lot to make up.”
“Well,” Patton said. Virgil went a little tense when Patton stepped closer to him but sending him a soft smile seemed to calm him a bit, “it’s getting pretty late and it’s only Friday. Why don’t we table, or well,” he knocked on the top of the desk once before reaching over to close the textbook, “desk the homework for tonight?” Virgil’s face scrunched up a bit. “Logan or I can help you tomorrow morning once you’ve rested up a bit.”
He dithered for a moment, but then apparently chose not to argue. “Okay,” he agreed quietly.
“Now,” Patton said. “If you’re too tired, you can go ahead and go to bed, but it is only 8pm, and I was coming up here to ask if you wanted to watch a movie with us.”
“A movie?” he asked as though he were trying the concept on for size.
“Yep,” Patton said. He wondered seeing the expression on his face if the boy had gotten to watch many movies in his lifetime. It was looking like no. “Lo and I were going to watch one and we wanted to invite you too. We also have snacks.” It was worrying how immediately the promise of food seemed to clear up any hesitancy. “You don’t have to stay for the movie to get the snacks though,” Patton promised.
“I’ll come down,” Virgil said.
“Great!” Patton said. “I’ll go help Logan finish setting up. You can change into something comfier if you’d like. Watching movies in jeans is no fun.”
Virgil nodded and Patton turned to leave the room. In truth, the movie was pretty much all set up already. There was popcorn with a bag of M&Ms mixed into it on the coffee table and Lilo and Stitch was already keyed up on the television. Logan wasn’t in the living room, so Patton walked into the kitchen.
“He’s coming down,” Patton told him.
“Good,” Logan replied. “I’ll make him some tea as well.”
Patton nodded and walked over to lean on the counter next to him. Logan finished placing a tea bag in a third mug and then turned to smile at him. Patton leaned forward to kiss his cheek, and Logan grabbed the hand Patton had placed near his on the counter to idly rub his thumb across Patton’s knuckles.
“We might need to keep an eye on him with schoolwork,” Patton informed him. “He was still working on his math when I went up. I think he’s a bit anxious about his schoolwork.”
Logan nodded thoughtfully. “He’s expressed such emotions to me after meeting with his teachers.”
“I suggested he stop and come watch the movie,” Patton said. “We should probably watch him and make sure he’s taking breaks. I think he might… be prone to overworking himself out of anxiety about doing bad.”
Logan hummed in agreement and pulled Patton’s hand up so he could kiss the back of it. “Do you think making a schedule would help or hinder him?” Logan, of course, worked best with a strict schedule, but Patton needed a looser plan for his own work and, in fact, would often mess up firmer schedules and feel guilty because of it leading to decreased productivity and mental health.
“I’m not sure,” Patton said. “It might just have to be some trail and error. He probably doesn’t even know what he prefers.”
“We can speak to him about it tomorrow,” Logan said.
“But for now, movie!” Patton said.
“For now, movie,” Logan agreed.
Patton heard soft footsteps on the stairs and, with another peck on Logan’s cheek, turned to walk into the living room. Virgil was standing next to the couch seeming lost. “You can sit wherever you like,” Patton said. Virgil’s hands fisted around the fabric near the wrist of the hoodie Patton had given to him. He had brand new ones, but he seemed to favor that one, at least at home. Patton didn’t mind because he was very adorable in it. “Logan usually sits on the right side of the couch,” Patton offered. “I’m a cuddler so I’ll probably sit next to him. So, good options would be the left side of the couch or the recliner. Usually, I’d say you could get some pillows and blankets and lay on the floor, but you’re still recovering a bit.”
Virgil bit his lip, seeming to consider his options before sitting on the couch. Patton smiled and walked over towards him. He picked up the popcorn and offered it to him. “Here, have as much as you want. We have a lot of popcorn stashed away and will definitely make more later in the movie.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a couple of pieces and an M&M shyly. Patton plopped the bowl into his lap to his clear surprise.
Logan came in a couple of seconds later with the tea. He held two in his hands and let the third hover near him. “Would you like your tea on the coffee table or on the table beside you?” he asked Virgil.
“Uh, the one beside me is fine,” he said.
The hovering tea mug floated to land next to the lamp near his side of the couch. Logan set the other two down on the coffee table. Patton sat down on the couch next to Virgil and grabbed his mug to take a sip. He left enough space, so Virgil didn’t feel crowded but did reach over to pat him gently on the leg briefly.
Logan surveyed the scene and then, instead of sitting down next to Patton, turned to walk to the hall closet and grab a stack of blankets.
“Here,” Logan said, walking back over to stand near Virgil. “You should have a blanket in case you get cold during the movie. Which would you like?”
Virgil stared at the choices for a long moment, clearly anxious about the number of options. “Anything is fine,” he finally said.
Logan hummed. “You like purple, do you not?” he asked. Patton would certainly hope so considering that Logan had bought out the local office supplies store of all of its purple school supplies earlier this week.
Virgil nodded, and Logan pulled out a dark purple blanket from the stack, setting the others on the recliner. “Will this suffice?” he asked, holding it out to him. Virgil reached out a hand to touch it and must have liked the material because he nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah, it’s good,” he replied.
“Good.” With the confirmation that Virgil liked it, Logan unfolded the blanket and leaned forward to tuck it around Virgil. Patton was unsure if he caught the subtle shifts of Virgil’s expression as he did so. There was caution and then surprise and then confusion. Logan drew away and chucked a different blanket onto the couch where he’d be sitting (he and Patton would be sharing a blanket) and took the rest of the blankets back to the hall closet.
Patton watched as Virgil readjusted himself both physically and mentally under the blanket, wrapping it around himself a bit and smiling just a tad.
Logan handed Patton the remote on his way back to his seat, and Patton immediately leaned over to lay his head on his husband’s shoulder as he pushed play on the movie.
Though Virgil spent most of the movie trying to make himself as small as possible on the couch, he seemed to enjoy it. Patton made a note to make family movie nights a thing.