Deceit threw Hatred’s body to the side, it turned into dark mist on impact and bonded with the knife. Patton opened his eyes and collapsed into Logan’s arms; Logan held him close, doing everything he could think of to calm him down. Within a few seconds Patton forced himself into a more stable state and Logan let him go.
“I believe this is yours now,” Deceit was suddenly in front of Patton holding the knife out, handle first, for him to take, “Take it, you’ll need it.” His voice got more forceful at Patton’s hesitation.
Patton slowly took the knife and put it in his pocket. Then he did something none of us expected; he threw his arms around Deceit and forced him into a hug, “Thanks for saving us Kiddo.” He tried to sound happy, but we knew how terrible the situation was for him.
Deceit tensed at the hug and looked incredibly confused, “What- what is he doing?” He asked us, not knowing what to do. None of us answered; we just gawked at the scene, trying not to laugh while hoping Deceit didn’t react in a way that would hurt Patton. Mentally or physically.
“I’m hugging you.” Patton replied giving him a small smile.
“Yes, I know this, but why?!” Deceit demanded trying to escape from Patton.
Logan straightened his glasses, “You saved our lives, took away Patton’s pain, and helped us kill Hatred. Obviously he is grateful.” He stated matter of factly, then noticed Deceit’s struggle, “Also, Patton has a tendency to “bear hug”; you are not getting away from him until you return the act of affection. The only person this does not apply to is Virgil, as he can react poorly if forced to have prolonged physical contact with someone.”
Deceit hesitantly wrapped his arms around Patton, “You’re welcome, now please let go of me, so we can save Thomas.” He audibly sighed with relief when Patton released him.
“Thomas! We need to save our little guy!” Patton immediately went into Dad mode at the mention of Thomas, “Let’s go!” He pointed in the direction that he sensed would lead us to Thomas, then ran forward.
“Patton! Slow down, we must stay together!” Logan yelled, running after him, followed by Roman who decided he wasn’t injured enough to keep him from running.
I glared at Deceit before going after the others, but of course he followed. Patton and Logan lead the group; much to Roman’s complaint, was in the middle. Unfortunately I was stuck in the back with Deceit. Like before we walked in silence before someone broke it. That someone happened to be Deceit.
He looked at me and whispered, “I don’t know you don’t trust me-”
“Hah, that’s an understatement.” I whispered back, trying not to alert the others, “I don’t like you, I don’t trust you, and I promise you; the moment you prove to be a problem we’re leaving you stranded in this abyss.”
He sighed, “Please understand, I’m not on your side.” I rolled my eyes once I finally noticed he had switched back to “lying”, “I don’t want to save Thomas as much as the rest of you. It’s not like he’s responsible for my very existence or anything. It’s not like I care about his well being-”
I cut him off again, “You don’t, you never did.” I growled and walked faster until I was next to Roman, “Hey, Princey. You doing okay?”
He nodded, his look somber at first, “I’m fine Virgil,” Then a sad smile spread across his face and he chuckled bitterly, “We've come so far, I hope it doesn't all end in vain.”
I put my hand on his shoulder, “It won't. Not if I can help it.” I promised him.
His smile turned a bit more hopeful, “Thank you Virgil. That really helped.” I was relieved that he believed me. Too bad I didn't believe myself.