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Remy was sitting on the sofa with the attitude of someone who was certainly not scared of getting their wisdom teeth out. Virgil was perched next to him, listening for the tenth time as Mr. D told him why he couldn’t come along and take funny videos of Remy when he woke up from surgery. Patton entered the room as he was finishing, tying his gray sweater around his shoulders and directing a look at Virgil over his glasses,
“We don’t know how Remy is going to react, Kiddo, it may not be as fun as you think it will be.” Remy swallowed hard at this, looking away quickly when Patton’s all-seeing eyes landed on him.
Through a long chain of events, Remy had convinced his parents to list Patton as his emergency contact. This had involved lots of zoom meetings between the couple, Remy, and Patton but had ultimately come to pass. So, when it was discovered that one or Remy’s wisdom teeth was coming in sideways and he needed to get them removed sooner rather than later, his parents had asked if Patton could help out. The man had agreed readily and made arrangements with Roman for Remy to stay with them for the next few days. Logan had asked thousands of questions about the surgery and how it all worked which Remus answered so well and so easily that it was somewhat unsettling. Remy had seemed super chill with the whole thing on the outside but this wasn’t Patton’s first time dealing with suppressed feelings. Now, as he glanced at the clock and sighed, he turned to Remy with a smile,
“Come here, Kiddo, let’s make sure everything is ready.” He beckoned to the teen and Remy followed him after a moment of hesitation.
Remy was just shy of two years younger than Virgil, but he seemed determined to act older than what he was. Patton smiled at him again and Remy had to admit that it pushed him a little closer to breaking when the softhearted man placed his hand on Remy’s. His other hand came up and cupped his cheek,
“Hey, you’re gonna be okay.” He promised, “I’m gonna be with you the whole time. Janus already agreed to do the driving so I can sit with you in the back if you need me.” Remy scoffed slightly, turning his gaze away,
“Thanks, Pops, but I’m fine. I’m used to taking care of myself.” He didn’t miss the flash of sadness that darted through Patton’s eyes but he forced himself to look away again. He shoved down guilt and tried to remind himself that he really was fine by himself. His parents thought so…so it must be true. Right?
The drive went by without Remy noticing much. The waiting room was cold and, even in his fashionable leather jacket, Remy shivered and inched himself closer to Patton. The fatherly man watched the teen out of the corner of his eye but made no move to offer any sort of touch or comfort. Remy needed to come to him. He wasn’t like Virgil and Logan who were used to relying on each other to share burdens. Remy was his own special brand of broken. He was caught up in the illusion that he didn’t need anyone. An idea that he further pushed for himself with his persona as an strong independent queen who “didn’t need no man”. Patton had seen deeper, though, as his own past had taught him: everyone needed someone. Before there was further time for the teen to wrestle with his internal conflict, the door was pushed open and a woman with her blonde hair tugged up into a tight bun swept her green eyes around the room,
“Remy?” She called and the poor boy jumped. Patton stood and smiled at him, helping him to gather his book and messenger bag before following him back into the room.
There were brief questions and answers, the IV was given, and Remy was on his way to dreamland. Patton and Janus sat in the waiting room. Janus busied himself with emails and phone calls while Patton scrolled through recipes and texted back and forth with Logan. When the doctor called them back, neither adult was prepared for what awaited them. The nurse had told them that there were generally three kinds of people that came out of anesthesia: the Chatty Cathys, the Sleepy Sallys, and the Weepy Wendys. Still, they hadn’t expected to see a sobbing Remy waiting for them.
Tears gushed down Remy’s face and Mr. D had to admit that, despite all the fabulousness that was Remy, he was one of the ugliest criers the agent had ever seen. He stared in somewhat stupefied silence, completely unsure how to proceed. Patton, however, seemed perfectly comfortable with the situation and went forward immediately,
“Hey, Kiddo,” he cooed, “you did great” Remy didn’t say anything but let himself fall against Patton’s shoulder and continued to weep.
They were released a few minutes later and getting Remy to the car was an interesting affair. The teen clung to Patton’s arm in disoriented panic and wouldn’t let go of the kind man. Patton was able to put them both into the back of the vehicle and they were finally heading back to the Prince mansion. That’s when Remy started talking. Mr. D glanced back as the first blubbering syllables made their way out into the world and he wasn’t surprised when he couldn’t understand most of them. Remy’s words were obstructed first by his own sobs and secondly by the rolls of gauze in his mouth. Of course, Patton, with his magical Dad Powers, was able to understand the boy or so it seemed. He nodded along with what Remy mumbled and stroked his hair, whispering reassurances to him. Janus was able to decern some of the words and none of them sounded happy. Something about “alone” and “abandoned” an occasional muttering about his parents.
Upon arriving home, Remy was partially dragged inside by the two adults where they turned all heads with their entrance. Remy was still clinging to Patton, hiding his face in the man’s back as they walked. Virgil lowered his phone, looking a tad bit guilty at his eagerness to record his friend. Logan’s eyes were wide and he stood quickly to hide behind Remus. Something about people in distress seemed to offset the lad. Remus glanced at him before looking back at Remy,
“Does he have the teeth?” He asked, earning a glare from Mr. D. The question, however, drew Remy’s focus out onto the group where his eyes landed on Virgil,
“Gurl,” he sobbed, stumbling behind Patton who was leading them to the sofa, “hey ‘tole meh teef!” Virgil raised an eyebrow,
“Uhhh…” He looked desperately at Patton.
“It’s okay, Kiddo,” Patton comforted Remy with an amused smile, “they didn’t steal them, you’re okay.” Remy, however, didn’t seem satisfied with these reassurances and merely continued to stare at Virgil with tears running down his face and his lips quivering.
“You don wanna be meh fend anehmohe becah hey ‘tole meh teef*.” Remy finally choked out. Virgil’s eyes widened,
“What?” His panic spiked, “No! I’m still your friend!” He looked at Patton again who was biting his lip and trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Remy sniffed,
“Pomis?” He whispered, holding out a pinky. Virgil blinked a couple times before slowly wrapping his own pinky around Remy’s,
“Uhhh…promise?” He said. Behind him, Remus teared up at the display of friendship. Roman, who’d been watching in the background slipped out to get Gummy Bear. Remy’s tears began anew when he saw his pet,
“Meh bby!” He sobbed, gathering her close to his chest. She sniffed his chin, tickling his chin with her whiskers. “Sheeee so gate…**” Remy whispered brokenly, “I wuv ‘er.***” He looked up at Patton with his wet eyes and scooted closer to better rest against him, “I wuv you, too, Dad.” He muttered before letting his eyes wander around, “I wuv ‘igil an ‘incy, an nek boi, an biddy bi’die, an e’en t’ash man****.” After this declaration of love for each of them, Remy promptly fell asleep. Logan was the first to speak,
“I hope I never have to get my wisdom teeth out…” He whispered from his place beside Remus. The man patted him on the head,
“Don’t worry, if you do I’ll make you a necklace out of your teeth!” This didn’t seem to make Logan feel any better.
Virgil carefully removed Gummy Bear, holding the guinea pig to prevent her sleeping owner from crushing her. He stayed close, though, afraid of Remy’s reaction if he woke and his ‘right hand ma’am’ wasn’t close by. Mr. D sighed and moved into the kitchen to get something soft for Remy to eat when he was ready for it. Remus dragged Logan off to learn more about wisdom teeth and Roman went out after them to save his youngest nephew. Patton, from where he was being used as a human pillow, sighed and smiled at Virgil.
“I think we forget that Remy needs a little attention sometimes.” Virgil muttered, “He doesn’t have anyone, does he?” Patton’s smile faltered,
“That’s not true, Verge.” He assured the lad, “He has you and Logan and everyone here.” He looked down at the drama-teen with a sad look in his eyes, “Remy is lonely, no doubt about that, but he’s not alone. And that,” he smiled again at Virgil, “is the best we can give him. I wish we could do more, Kiddo, but sometimes you just can’t replace what a person needs.” Virgil nodded,
“Yeah, I get that…it’s just kinda sad…I guess.” Patton stretched out a hand and placed it on Virgil’s shoulder,
“It is sad.” He agreed, “But just because we can’t replace doesn’t mean we can’t give all we can.” He squeezed the teen’s shoulder, “And I mean that both for Remy and for you.” Virgil huffed a small laugh,
“Yeah, I know…” Patton smiled again,
“Hey,” he called, Virgil met his gaze, “I love you, Kiddo.” Virgil nodded a little,
“Love you too.” He muttered, ducking his head so Patton wouldn’t see most of his blush.