Work Text:
Patrick is six years old and he's about to do the scariest thing he's ever done in his whole life.
In his hands is a sheet of paper and a green crayon, because that's the best colour. He's standing just outside the library, scuffing his new sneakers, probably ruining them, but he's just so nervous! His life could change completely in the next few minutes.
Patrick takes a deep breath and walks in.
*****
Jonny is sitting in the corner of the library, with a book on his lap, completely oblivious to his surroundings.
Well. Not completely oblivious. He notices when Patrick walks in, but that's only because he trips on a step and falls to the floor. Anyone would look towards a loud noise. It has nothing to do with the fact that Patrick has really curly golden hair that's also really shiny and reminds Jonny of Goldilocks.
Jonny doesn't like Goldilocks. She broke into people's houses and ate their food and ruined their stuff. And while Patrick hasn't broken into Jonny's house, he has definitely tried taking Jonny's Halloween candy and almost broke Jonny's fire-engine truck.
Patrick is trouble. At the moment he's dusting himself off and picking up his stuff. Why has he brought a crayon and paper? The library already has that stuff. But then again, he isn't a library regular, so Jonny guesses he can be forgiven.
Jonny watches as Patrick sweeps his gaze across the room, eventually landing on Jonny. Patrick seems to puff his chest up and walks straight up to Jonny, arms swinging. When he reaches him, he stands to attention and drops the piece of paper in Jonny's lap and places the crayon carefully on the floor next to Jonny's foot.
"You gotta answer the question. Please. I'm gonna play with the blocks over there," Patrick points to the bean bag area, steadfastly avoiding eye contact with Jonny the entire time, and then walking quickly to the blocks. Jonny never plays with the blocks because none of the pieces match and no one helps him clean up afterwards.
He looks down at his lap and opens the paper. On it is written a complex question:
Do you like me? YES or no.
Oh boy.
*****
Patrick is so nervous he can't even build his standard Kane Castle and he can usually build that with his eyes closed! It's been a million years almost and all Jonny has done is move from the floor to a nearby table so that he can write really long sentences probably. Sometimes he'll run to the Librarian for help and she'll tell him off for running which makes Patrick smile. It's nice to know that Jonny gets in trouble sometimes as well.
Ever since Jonny came into Patrick's class a while ago, he's been taking Patrick's coveted spot as Teacher's Favourite. Patrick worked hard for that spot! He always does his homework, he's got the best handwriting and he never spills his food. Ever.
And then Jonny came with his cool pencils and stupid hair and changed everything. The worst part was how he acted like he hadn't even done anything wrong!
No, scratch that. The worst part was how, despite that fact that Jonny had basically robbed Patrick of everything he held dear, Patrick still felt a funny curl of warmth whenever he looked at Jonny. His heart would beat so fast whenever Jonny smiled and he'd blush every time he had to talk to him. It was crazy. Patrick tried taking some of Jonny's candy once, to make himself feel better, but Jonny was so affronted, all Patrick felt was guilty. His life is out of control.
Eventually Jonny walks over to where Patrick is sitting, blocks abandoned. He's got the piece of paper clutched in his hands. Here it is, the big moment...
"Why did you give me a crayon?" Jonny asks.
Patrick blinks. Blinks again.
"It broke, y'know. I couldn't finish writing what I wanted."
Patrick is just about to demand a replacement crayon from Jonny when he continues.
"But Maman says actions speak louder than words so I guess I'll just say it to your face," Jonny takes a huge breath and looks down at his shoes. "I don't know if I like you or not because I don't know myself yet," he mumbles. He looks up at Patrick, keeping eye contact this time. "I'm under a lot of stress at home so I can't tell."
They're both silent while Patrick processes this new information.
"So when will you know yourself?" Patrick asks. He's proud that his voice doesn't squeak too much.
Jonny looks up at the ceiling and then off to the side, as if searching for answers.
"You don't know yourself until you're eighteen," he sounds bewildered, as if he doesn't know how much of what he's saying is true. Either way, Patrick doesn't believe him.
"I know myself!" Patrick claims hotly. "I'm six and three quarters, I'm not a baby!"
"Just because you know how old you are, doesn't mean you know what you want!" Jonny counters, hands on hips.
"I know what I want! I want to hold your hand!" yells Patrick. He gets up and grabs Jonny's hand, distantly noting how clammy they are. Jonny doesn't jerk away, like how Patrick half-expects. Instead his fingers grip Patrick tightly, his eyes going huge.
"A-Are you sure?" Jonny looks so worried that Patrick takes pity on him and pats his shoulder with his other hand.
"Yeah Jonny, I'm a big boy. I know these things," he claims matter-of-factly.
"Well it's a good thing I want to hold your hand too," Jonny grins goofily and Patrick's heart expands three sizes too big for his body.
They look at each other for a while, just smiling, and then Patrick pulls Jonny down to play with the blocks. He teaches him how to make the foundation of a Kane Castle, going into detail over the different rooms and sections. Jonny pays attention and comes up with some pretty cool additions. They try building it while still holding hands but that quickly dissolves into an argument so they compromise by shaking hands every so often.
They build and construct until its the end of lunchtime, and when the bell rings, Patrick only whines a little before helping Jonny pack up.
Before leaving, Patrick picks up the discarded paper and is about to throw it when something catches his eye.
The box next to the YES had been ticked and then scribbled over. Patrick giggles a little and watches how Jonny finishes putting the last couple of blocks in the bucket and then struggles with closing the lid, eventually pressing his whole body against it until it snaps into place. His whole face is flushed and red and he's breathing heavily. Patrick can't stop smiling; he looks so funny.
"What?" Jonny demands, wiping his face with his sleeve. He's so gross. Patrick is a little bit in love with him already.
"Nothing, let's go." Patrick extends his hand and feels gratified when Jonny takes it immediately.
All in all, it's a pretty sweet day.