It was quiet at first, barely audible, as quiet as a mouse's squeak, and as silent as the clock tick, tick, ticking, but Patton heard it. He always did. Patton had memorised each of the Side's knocking pattern, to where he knew who it was just by the way they hovered their hand ready.

Logan's knock was a brisk, turn away and miss it kind of knock. Two knocks. The knuckle of one finger giving an echo through the entire room. He would only knock if he needed to know something 'important'... But Patton always tried his best to give as much information he could, answering each question he would ask him. Logan would never come into his room, he just tended to hover outside so he could leave as quick as he had came.

Roman's knock always seemed to change, though, Patton knew it was Roman since his knocks always tapped out a Disney song. At the moment, his knock was from Frozen when Anna is trying to get Elsa to answer her, which made Patton giggle on a few occasions. Roman would never wait for Patton to answer the door, per se, he'd do his knock and then just walk in… sometimes leaving the door open on his way out.

But Virgil's knock… Virgil's knock was his favourite of all. It always put a smile on his face whenever he heard the light tap of fingers on his door. The tiny 'Tunk, tunk' against the wood. It always gave Patton shivers rushing up his spine. But there was also a down side of Virgil knocking on his door, especially when it was late and whimpers accompanied the small thunks on the door. It was always as if Virgil tried very hard not to knock loud enough for someone to hear, but Patton did. Always.

"Hey, Kiddo…" Patton quickly snatched his glasses from the bedside table, glancing over at his alarm. 2:57 am… He rubbed a hand over his face and sat up, twisting his body toward the door. A tiny shuffle reached his ears, almost as if Virgil was moving from foot to foot. Patton could just imagine him tugging on the sleeves of his hoodie, trying to hide his hands with sweater-paws.

"Can, um, can I come in, Pat?" Virgil's voice sounded like death… tired, drained and empty. It was just loud enough for Patton to hear. He'd had a nightmare. It happened a few times to where the older trait knew Virgil's little habits of each situation.

Patton adjusted the pillows on his bed, knowing that Virgil would most likely want to climb in with him for some comfort. "Of course you can!" He tried his best to mask the tiredness of his voice, using his usual perky and peppy tune.

The door creaked open, revealing a worn looking Anxiety. Bags under his mud brown eyes even darker than their usual ashy colour. Magenta hair looking like a nest for more than two birds to live in, casting more shadows over one of his eyes, making him look even edgier.

Virgil shifted from foot to foot, head barely glancing up from his bare feet, giving the occasional nervous toe wiggle. "I-I didn't wake you, did I?" He stepped in slowly, gently closing the door behind him.

Patton gave a tiny shake of his head. "No. I've been up for a while." He wasn't one for lying, but he knew Virgil wouldn't want to stay if he knew he had woken him.

The Anxious trait gave a nod, shuffling over to the bed and lifting the covers to lay next to Patton. "I don't want to talk about it…" He said suddenly as he buried his head against Patton's chest, hiding his face so the older trait couldn't see.

In response, all Patton did was wrap an arm around the smaller trait, burying his nose in magenta hair. "Whenever you're ready, kiddo."

They snuggled until the alarm beeped at 5 am, which was when Virgil un-tucked himself from Patton's chest and glanced up. "Prom-promise me something?" Eyes serious, almost fearful making Patton pull back and look at Virgil with a brow raised with worry.

"Anything."

"Don't leave…"

Leave? Why would he leave? Patton had never thought about leaving, ever. This was his home, his family. There was no way on Earth Patton would leave them for anything…

Oh…

"Virgil… you know I would never leave you, right?" The younger trait stared up with tear filled eyes, fingers gripping around Patton's blue puppy pyjamas.

"I-I just… Promise me?" A whimper pushed past Virgil's lips, making him let out a strangled cry at the noise.

"I promise I will never leave you." The Moral trait sat up, pulling Virgil up and into his lap letting him rest against his body.

"I'm sorry… I feel stupid, Pat." Virgil wiped at his eyes, smearing the ashy substance down his face with a trembling hand.

"Hey…" The older trait placed a gentle hand under the others chin, stroking a thumb across his cheek to catch the tears from streaming down. "You never have to feel stupid for anything, Virgil. You know you can always tell me anything. Anything at all."

"I know… Thanks Patton." Virgil sniffled and wiped at his nose with one of his sweater-paws. "It felt so real. S-so-"

"It's alright, I'm here. You can't get rid of me that easily." Patton joked, encouraging a small giggle from Virgil, which melted his heart.

Virgil was silent for a moment, nose wrinkling. Leaning forward, wrapping weary arms around Patton's neck, Virgil pressed a tender kiss on the others lips.

"I love you."

Patton blinked and licked his lips tasting where Virgil's had been moments before.

He smiled. "I love you too, kiddo."