summary: patton wants to date someone edgy enough to scare his parents and show them that he is old enough to make his own decisions now. he enlists the help of the school's resident emo group and maybe falls for one of them in the process
word count: 1965
this one is so long, so ig the actual dating part is mainly virgil's pov, it's really weird bc it's so long shfkdkjs (also, this one-shot was heavily inspired by/based on 18 by anarbor, i wanted to make it edgier and stuff, but i decided on this fluffy little story instead :))
tw/cw// overbearing parents, sad patton, remus (not over-the-top remus but still remus 0-0), i think that's it :))
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Patton was tired. Tired of school. Tired of his parents. Tired of the same routine every day. Tired of the same path to and from school every day. Tired of needing constant protection. He was tired of everything. He knew his parents worried about him because he almost died when he was a baby, thankfully surviving and growing up with a stronger immune system, but their protection was too much. Just this morning, they'd revealed to him that they would be living with him for the rest of his life; they'd said, "In case something happens, we'll be there."
Patton loved his parents, he was grateful for them, but this was way over the line. He didn't say anything to them though, as much as he wanted to, he still needed them to give him a ride to school, and he didn't want any tension to be there.
While lost in thought, his eyes drifted to the group of loners in the corner of the cafeteria. They all had dark color schemes, only mixing black with one other color for each boy: blue, green, yellow, and purple. They never really interacted with anyone else; everyone was scared of them. Patton needed to be more like them. Confident, intimidating, outspoken. There needed to be a way to show his parents he could take care of himself, some way to be free.
Patton threw away his lunch, not that he ate much anyway, and made his way over to the table of darkly dressed loners. The four boys at the table stopped mid-conversation, now staring at Patton, who shuffled awkwardly under their gazes. "Can we help you?" One asked with a raised brow; he had a scar across one side of his face that made him look even more intimidating
"Um, I need your help." "Well, Remus, your presence is unnecessary since you can't help." The boy with black-rimmed glasses commented. Two of the other boys snickered at the comment while a boy with a black and green aesthetic, presumably Remus, shoved the glasses-wearing boy offendedly. "That was rude. How dare, sir? I bite my thumb at thee!" The green and blue boys bickered, seemingly forgetting Patton's presence at the table.
A quieter boy with a purple aesthetic glanced up at Patton before gesturing to the seat next to him. Patton smiled at his offer before taking the seat next to him. "I'm Virgil, that's Janus, Remus, and Logan. You said you needed our help, right?" The purple boy asked. Patton was shocked at the boy's shockingly deep voice. It wasn't that low, but he'd been expecting a higher pitch from the quiet boy. Patton nodded before Virgil thought he was weird for staring. "It's kinda dumb, but I want to be more like you guys. I need my parents to see that I'm old enough to be on my own, that I can handle myself. That I'm not a little kid anymore."
The other boys at the table stopped their playful argument, staring at Patton again. Remus grinned mischievously. "So what? You want to become like us or date us? It'd get the same reaction from Mommy and Daddy; only one has more benefits." Patton shrugged, hiding the blush he got at the suggestive tone Remus took. "I hadn't thought about it. Whatever you guys think will help me better." Logan hummed in thought. "Well, such a drastic change in your style most likely won't do much. Judging by your current style, you might regret wasting time on such a fruitless effort. I know I will."
Patton giggled at the boy's flat expression, obviously annoyed with his current style. "So it's settled then! Puffball, chose which of us shall be your fake boyfriend." Patton bit his lip. "Are you sure you guys are okay with this?" Janus shrugged. "No strings attached, right? Plus, it's not like it's forever. It'll just be around your parents for, what, a month or two?"
Patton nodded and looked between the boys. This needed to be believable. His parents were highly observant; if he was going to have a fake boyfriend, it needed to be realistic. He'd never go out with Remus or Logan, they seemed like great guys, but they weren't his type. Virgil seemed too dark for Patton's personality, but Janus seemed even more morbid and stoic, way too dark. Patton swallowed thickly, "Virgil."
Virgil stared at Patton with a shocked expression, cheeks bright red. The other three boys held mischievous smirks at the blushing boys.
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Patton smiled at himself in the mirror, happy with his casual outfit. Tonight was the night he'd be revealing Virgil to his parents, but since they had a "date", his parents wouldn't have much time to interrogate Virgil.
There was a knock at the front door; Patton grinned and rushed to the front of the house. Virgil was awkwardly standing there beside Patton's father, John. "Patton, would you mind explaining this?" His dad gestured to Virgil, a slightly annoyed tone in his voice, just as Patton wanted. "Dad, this is Virgil, my...boyfriend." John scanned Virgil with a wary look; Patton smiled even wider and grabbed Virgil's hand. "Well, we have to get going. Right, Virge?" Virgil blushed under the sudden attention, quickly nodding. "Okay, just please-" Patton nodded his head exasperatedly as if he'd heard it all before. "I know, I will. I'll see you at 7! Bye, Dad!" He quickly pulled Virgil out the door before his dad could say anything.
"That was...interesting." Virgil commented softly. Patton sighed, a small smile still gracing his face. "I know; I'm sorry about him. But, that reaction was the whole point, right?" Virgil smiled back in response. "Well, we have about two hours to kill, so we can do whatever you want." Patton smirked. "Have you ever gone to the arcade? They have laser tag." He sung out the last two words, showing Virgil just how much of a dork he was. The emo boy just laughed and guided Patton to his motorcycle.
He offered the peppy boy a helmet, but Patton refused; he didn't want to be coddled. He expected Virgil to urge him to wear it but, to his surprise, Virgil simply nodded and got on the bike. Patton got behind the boy, excited for a fun night.
~~p.s. plz wear helmets, it looks dorky, but it's for your safety dkhfksj~~
Virgil stared down at the small cookie bag in his hand with a small smile. He'd never been aware that they made bite-sized cookies, but Patton opened him up to many things he'd never known before. They'd been "dating" for a month now, and Virgil couldn't be happier. It was no secret that Virgil had a crush on Patton for a while, frequently rambling about the boy to his friends whenever they were willing to listen.
He never thought he'd have the chance to get closer to him, but Remus decided to push Patton into his arms by suggesting Patton date one of them to rebel against his parents. He knew Patton didn't actually like him that way, but going on dates with the boy and doing "couple things" was the most fun Virgil's had in a long time. So far, they'd gone to laser tag, a skating rink, a skate park, an arcade, and many late-night drives. He smiled even wider as he recalled last night.
Patton texted him and asked if he was free for a quick date at 10. Virgil had rushed over and picked up the boy, right as his parents were going to bed. They drove off to a nearby desert. The two boys sat on a bench in the area since it was an open tourist attraction. With no light pollution, the stars were more abundant and brighter than anywhere in the city. They stared at the sky; Patton turned to Virgil with a smile. "Thanks for this, by the way. My parents were finally open to having a serious conversation, and it was going pretty great until they started saying that I'd have to live in the same area or neighborhood as them for the rest of my life. That's when I texted you."
Virgil hummed in thought. "I don't entirely know why your parents are clingy and overprotective, and I'm sure there's a reason. But you don't have to listen to them, you know. They want what's best for you, but sometimes parents don't realize they aren't the best for you. They are always so scared to get it wrong that they forget we need space to find ourselves without their help. If you want to go to some enormous college, you should push yourself to get accepted. If you want to move the next state over, nothing is stopping you. If you really want something, especially as a legal adult, you can go out and get it. I promise you, Patt, one day you'll look back on all this trouble and pain you're going through, and you'll breathe a sigh of relief just knowing that you made it. You earned everything you got, and you're happy by your standards."
"Yeah, maybe I will." Patton whispered with a smile. Virgil looked down from the sky to see Patton staring back at him. Virgil gulped and glanced down at Patton's lips, immediately snapping back up to meet the bubbly boy's eyes. Patton just giggled and got off the bench, tugging on Virgil's jacket sleeve as he made his way back to his bike. "Come on, emo boy. I should be getting home soon. We want to make my parents uncomfortable, not scare them into filing a missing person's ad."
"Why can't you smile at me the way Virgil smiles at his cookies?" Remus whined. Virgil looked up at his friends, just in time to see Logan and Janus simultaneously rolling their eyes at Remus's overdramatic nature. "Speaking of, how's your boyfriend doing?" Janus asked, mainly just trying to take attention away from Remus. Virgil scoffed. "He's not my boyfriend-" "Says the guy who's taking him out on dates and being all lovey-dovey around him." Remus teased. Virgil just ignored him, trying to keep his red cheeks under control. "Speaking of, hey, Patton!" Remus waved the bubbly boy over to their table, grinning when Patton practically skipped over.
"Hey, guys. What's up?" "I have a question for you," Remus said smoothly. "So, you and Virgil have been going out, quote-unquote, for a month. How did your parents take it?" Patton smiled. "Actually, this morning, I finally told them no matter what, I will live my life how I want, and if I want to be away from them, that's my choice." "How did they take it?" "Amazingly. They weren't too happy about it, but when I explained how much they were hurting me, they wanted me to be comfortable and free." Janus smiled. "Good for you. Guess this means you and Virgil can go back to being friends, right?"
Patton's smile faltered. "W-What?" "Well, you've accomplished your goal. There's no other reason for the two of you to continue dating." Logan explained. Virgil glared at his three friends, knowing exactly what they were doing. He appreciated their intentions but not their actions; surely, Patton would agree with them and friendzone Virgil right there. "Oh, well, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if we kept going...right?" Patton looked up at Virgil hopefully. Virgil stared back with wide eyes. "R-Right. We can keep going on dates...and stuff."
"You two did not just ask each other out like that. No, we're starting this over. Virgil, say it." Virgil scowled at Remus but sighed and turned to Patton again. "Patton, do you w-want to go out with me?" Remus grinned. "Okay, now Patton says?" Patton smiled at Virgil, not paying much attention to Remus. "I would love to, Virgil."
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this took way too long to finish bc, like remus, i didn't like the way patton and virgil asked each other out, but i couldn't find another way sjhsfkjs. also, i wanted to include more intruloceit, but it didn't fit in, so just know that the three of them are dating ;) hope you all enjoyed, love you all, stay safe, buh bye!!
3/20/21