Patton arrived at the daycare bright and early. He met Gender Expression in the parking lot and they walked to the doors together. The sun was just starting to peak out over the trees.

"Word on the street is there's a game night." Expression said as they pulled out their keys.

Patton laughed and nodded. He held the door open after Expression unlocked it.

"Yeah, this Friday. Can you make it?" Patton asked, excitement clear in his voice, "We'll play board games and watch movies!"

"Sounds like a blast." Expression mimicked a bomb exploding with their hand, "Boosh!"

"It will be perfect; all of my friends and my Sides will be in one place, playing and having fun!" Patton set his bag down on one of the tables while Expression turned on the lights.

"Yeah, what's it like living with your Sides? Spunk is still rooming with Elliot, and we've been… talking about things." Expression said, trailing off.

"Do you want to move in together? You should totally move in together!" Patton clapped his hands and bounced a little.

"Not this year, probably, but the next?" Expression said, shrugging. They smiled, hesitantly, and added, "Taylor's worried about Elliot. Apparently they don't take change very well, and they weren't expecting to meet me. I kinda threw a wrench in their plans. You know, since most people don't meet their Sides til they're, like, 30 or 40."

They looked up suddenly, eyes wide. They were surrounded by the little cots that the tots use to take naps. The tot cots.

"Oh my god, I'm rambling about myself. What's it like living with your Sides?!"

Patton smiled but allowed the focus to shift to him. He said, "It's amazing. Roman is so cool and Logic is the smartest person I've ever met. I love being close to Virgil all the time."

Expression watched him closely. "And Deceit?"

"He's … okay. He keeps to himself. Probably because he knows we'll see through his lies." Patton said as he checked his watch. "The kiddos will be here soon."

Expression nodded while walking up to the door. "I think our first one just showed up."

Patton looked up as Expression opened the door. "Oh, is it-"

"ROWDY! HOW MANY TIMES DO I GOTTA TELL YOU TO WALK!?" Patton heard from outside.

"SORRY!" Rowdy shouted back before running through the door. He raced to his cubby to put his tiny backpack away. They didn't ever have any homework, but some of the kiddos liked to bring toys or snacks. And bags were helpful for sending information home to guardians. Rowdy's had the Power Rangers on it.

"I hate that guy." Expression muttered, glaring outside. They opened the door again and another two kids ran in.

"Rowdy, good morning. Good morning, Mr. Mason. Good morning, Shelly." Patton said as they all got settled. Shelly immediately went for the blocks, making a quick mess of the play area. Patton didn't expect anything else, she was an enthusiastic player.

"Good morning Mr. Morality." Mason said, stopping by his feet. "Except it's a bad morning actually."

"What happened?" Patton asked, lowering himself to a squat. Mason puffed out a long sigh and showed a sticker on his shirt.

"I went to the doctor yesterday cuz my mom thinks she knows my Side name." Mason told him. He looked around, then gestured for Patton to come closer. He leaned further and Mason whispered loudly, "She doesn't."

Patton nodded and said, "I understand. So she took you to get diagnosed, what did the doctor say?"

"He said I'm too small still." Mason shook his head.

Mason was one of their older kiddos who had kindergarten in the afternoon. Patton watched them until it was time for their school. He'd walk the few kindergartens to their school down the road. (Usually Expression volunteered to do it; to escape the younger ones.) Their parents would pick them up from their school, if they didn't ride the bus. Most kids arrived early in the morning, but they had some stragglers. It all depended on the parents schedule.

"Well, that makes a lot of sense." Patton said, sitting down fully. He spread his legs out and raised his arms up to show just how big he is. "A lot of people don't get diagnosed until they're my age."

Mason shook his head, "But Rowdy is dia- is died."

"Uh, diagnosed, ha," Patton laughed awkwardly. "And that's because Rowdy is-"

There was the distinct sound of blocks falling over. Then Shelly yelled, "ROWDY!"

"SORRY!" Rowdy shouted as he backed up and knocked over more blocks.

"NO! STOP!" Shelly was crying now as Rowdy tried to frantically put the blocks back together. He kept knocking them down again in his haste.

Expression rushed over to help them. They were stuck in a conversation with a parent and probably were thankful for the excuse to leave. Patton watched for a few seconds to be sure they had it handled.

"Rowdy is rowdy." Patton said, sitting back on his hands. "There's no better word to describe him. It's okay that you don't have a Side name yet. The word that fits you best is Mason."

Mason thought for a second before shrugging, "Yeah, maybe."

He walked off with the swagger of a child who just forgot what they were talking about. Patton chuckled and stood up. He made his way to the door to welcome the rest of their kiddos. His day had just begun, and he was happy to have it. But he really couldn't wait til game night.


After lunch and nap time, Patton's phone rang. He saw the name and excused himself to step outside. Expression was leading the kiddos in a coloring session. The kids were drawing hand turkeys. Expression was making a hand demon. Patton thinks they had it handled.

He answered the phone with, "Hey, Literal, is everything ok?"

"Yes, I'm calling for a simple request. It is a non-emergency." Literal said in his usual monotonous voice. Patton smiled and thought about how much he sounds like Logic.

"Okay, shoot." Patton said.

"Shoot what?" Literal asked.

"Sorry. What's your request?" Patton asked, shaking his head. He hadn't talked to his little brother in months. Literal was the second oldest sibling. He was in college now, as an English major. Metaphors were his enemy.

"What is the recipe for your raspberry cobbler? I want to make it next week." Literal said. "It's Reck's favorite."

"Oh, that's easy." Patton said. He lost track of his thoughts as a parent walked up to the door. Patton opened it for her and said, "Shelly had a rough day today. She was a delight, but there was an issue with blocks and crayons and cots."

"Thanks, Patton." The mother said as she entered the building. Patton let the door close behind her and look up at the clouds.

Literal asked, "Is this a bad time?"

"No, no. I mean, I'm at work, so this'll be a quick chat. But let's see, raspberry cobbler," He started pacing while he thought, "I know I have it written down at home. You'll need raspberries, butter, lemon juice, sugar…"

Literal asked after a few seconds of discussion, "This gives me a good grocery list. Would you be able to send me the measurements tonight?"
"Sure, I'll have to see where Logic moved the recipe books." Patton said with a small laugh, "He didn't like them being in a cabinet."

"I was unaware you had a roommate." Literal said. His tone didn't change much, but Patton could hear his curiosity. "I last remember you living alone."

"Oh, yeah! Exciting news!" In all of the rush of finding his Sides, he hadn't remembered to mention it to his siblings. He hoped they wouldn't be upset with the late notice. Patton cheerfully announced, "I found my Sides and we're all living together!"

Literal didn't respond for a second, then he said, "That's excellent news, Morality. I'll pass it along. Mother will be thrilled."

Shelly came outside then, with her mother in tow. She was pulling at her arm like she couldn't wait to leave. Patton knows the feeling, even he gets tired of the daycare sometimes.

He nodded to them as they walked by, "Have a good one. See you later, Shelly!"

Literal said in his ear, "I've taken enough of your time. We can discuss further when you have the recipe on hand. Thank you for conversing with me, Pat."

"Yeah, I'll text you that recipe tonight. Reckless likes it with ice cream, so be sure we have a pint." Patton said, thinking fondly of their sister. "Tell everyone I said 'hi'!"

"I will." Literal hung up without another word. Patton looked at his phone for a second before he went back inside. Literal wasn't usually one for baking. Patton wondered if Reckless wanted to make it herself and Literal stepped in. He smiled at the thought.


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