"Emma?" Patton sat down next to the crying toddler, his voice full of concern. "Why're you crying?"
The two year old wiped her eyes and sniffed. "I miss my mommy."
"Your mommy will be back soon! She just had to work, that's all. But she'll be back before you know it, and you can play together all you want." Patton told her.
Emma hesitated. "How soon?"
Patton checked the daycare clock. "Just about half an hour."
"Is that long?" Emma asked.
"Not at all." Patton shook his head. "Do you wanna watch tv? It'll make the time go by faster."
"Is the tv magic?" Emma asked.
Patton laughed. "No, it's just technology."
"Sounds like magic." Emma said.
"You know, it kind of is." Patton said. He scooped up Emma in his arms and walked across Morality Daycare, the small and friendly place he owned. He set her down on the couch in front of a small black tv. He turned to the other kids at the daycare. "Does anyone else want to watch tv?"
"I wanna watch the show we watched last time!" Jake, a three-year-old boy, told Patton excitedly, dragging along his twin sister Rachel with him.
"Steven Universe, you mean?" Patton smiled. He was glad the daycare kids liked it. That show has been one of his favorites ever since his brother Thomas introduced him to it.
Rachel nodded. "I like the short purple one! She's funny."
"You mean Amethyst?" Jake said, insistent on correcting his sister.
"Yes, Amethyst." Rachel met Jake's tone.
"We're watching tv?" A little girl named April blinked.
Patton nodded and got all the kids of the daycare together. "I'm going to put on Steven Universe. Can we all be good?"
The kids nodded.
"Good." Patton said. He turned on the tv and played the third episode of the first season.
The kids watched Steven Universe, and Patton figured he had maybe a minute or two at most before they started getting bored. He walked over to his hired help, a teenager named Amanda.
"Do you have the snacks?" Patton asked.
Amanda nodded. "And I was sure to check that none of them have allergies or any other dietary restrictions. I have Goldfish for them, and what toddler doesn't love Goldfish?"
"Perfect. Thank you." Patton said.
Amanda had poured the Goldfish into individual plastic cups, one for each of the kids. She had extra Goldfish in case one spilled.
Patton noticed that the kids were starting to lose focus on the show, and he offered them snacks.
"You can get snacks only if you're quiet and you wait in a single file line." Patton told the kids.
The kids formed a single file line while chatting. Jake fidgeted with his favorite stuffed bunny, Mr. Carrots, while he waited.
"Lucy, don't put your fist in your mouth!" Patton said.
Once all the kids had their snacks, they went back to watching Steven Universe. They were doing more eating and whispering than they were watching, but as long as there weren't any problems, Patton didn't mind.
The minutes passed by quickly as the kids watched tv and snacked. The first parent came by to pick their kids up, and other parents followed soon after. It was only about twenty minutes before the last kid was picked up by her mom, and it was Emma.
"See, Emma, that didn't seem like so long, did it?" Patton asked.
"I guess not." Emma said. "The tv really is magic, isn't it?"
"I think you've just discovered one of the secrets of life right there." Patton said.
Emma gave Patton an innocent grin before running over to her mom.
When Emma left, it became time to clean up. Goldfish crumbs were spread out everywhere on the floor, and wrinkled plastic cups were abandoned and never thrown away. Amanda helped Patton clean up the mess, and the daycare was looking nice before long.
"Thank you, Amanda." Patton said. "Well, I should get going. I told my friend Thomas I'd meet him at his apartment after work."
"Oh okay, see you later then." She said.
"See you," Patton returned.
Patton swung his keys in his hand as he walked out to his car. His car came to life with a low revving of the engine, and he left Morality Daycare for the day.
Thomas's apartment wasn't far from the daycare. Patton arrived shortly, and knocked on the door.
"C'mon, Pat." Thomas said to his friend as he opened the door. "You honestly could've come right in."
"I thought the key you gave me was for emergencies?" Patton asked.
Thomas shrugged. "Still."
Patton came in. "So what did you want me to come for?"
"I need to film another video." Thomas said. "I thought you'd be the best one to ask to be in it. You know, the fans love you."
"Oh, okay." Patton said.
"Besides, Joan was busy." Thomas admitted.
"I figured." Patton laughed. He knew how much Thomas hung out with his friend, Joan.
"They're still gonna help me edit the video, though. I don't know what I'd do without them, honestly." Thomas said. "Anyways, I was thinking we do a Q&A video. I've already asked the fans to submit questions on Twitter using a hashtag, so that's all good to go."
Thomas turned on the camera and started filming. He introduced the idea of the video to the viewer, and then got into the questions.
"The first question is: How did we meet Virgil?" Thomas asked.
Patton laughed. "It's sort of a funny story, really. I met him back in the freshman year of college. We had a couple classes together and we were fast friends. He's actually the one who introduced me to Logan. But anyways, I introduced Virgil to Thomas, and so that's how they know each other today."
Thomas nodded in agreement.
"The next question is... What's our favorite memories of each other?" Patton said, reading off the screen.
Thomas thought about it. "Remember when we were young and I nicknamed you 'Morality' because you were always doing the right thing? It's maybe not my favorite memory of you, but it's one that stands out."
"Now it's the name of my daycare." Patton smiled.
"Yup! And the time we first met will always be a special moment." Thomas said. "Your family had just moved to Florida when you were, what, six?"
Patton nodded. "I had just turned six."
"And I was lucky enough to be your next-door neighbor! We went to the same schools and we were in all the same classes and we lived literally right next to each other... It was just a friendship waiting to happen." Thomas said.
"I still remember my mom telling me we were gonna meet the Foley family next door. I was so excited to make a new friend. And the next day at school I heard them call Thomas Foley on roll call and I saw you in my class- it was too much of a coincidence not to be." Patton said.
"Yup! Thomas Foley and Patton Sanders, partners in crime since age six." Thomas joked.
"Exactly! Oh and remember how we would bike to the nearest Dairy Queen and get ice cream cones?" Patton added.
"And remember how we would perform silly plays for our families and our moms would always record them?" Thomas smiled.
The two childhood friends laughed at their past selves, reflecting on their childhood memories together.
"That was a good question." Thomas said.
"It was one to make us think. I liked it." Patton agreed.
Thomas nodded, and moved on to the next question.
The video went by quickly. Filming was composed of questions, answers, jokes, and laughs... And most of all, it was a chance for two already close friends to become even closer.