Patton hugged Virgil as they unfused, clinging to him and keeping him close. He stepped back once he felt solid and looked into Virgil's eyes. Intense emotions flashed in his gaze; although Patton couldn't pinpoint all of them. Hurt, anger, fear. The rest were too complex to be interpreted in silence.

Virgil squeezed his hand once, then let go. He looked at the floor as he said, "You should probably go. Expression's waiting."

Patton tried to keep a smile on his face, even as his heart sank. He nodded and said, "Right, yeah. Um… I'll text you later. And-" He licked his lips, nervous, "dinner tomorrow?"

Virigl hesitated, before he nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Dinner tomorrow."

Relief washed through Patton as he waved at Virgil before exiting the room. He tried to ignore Spunk and Elliot's eyes on him.

Stupid, Patton. Why do you have to ruin everything?


Expression's smile fell as soon as they saw him. They stepped aside, letting him into the apartment. They asked, "What happened?"

"Deceit." Patton said, his lips curling unkindly. He grumpily kicked off his shoes and set them aside.

Expression inspected him, walking around to see his face. "Are you okay? What did he do?"

"I'm fine." Patton said, pushing away his scarier thoughts. "He started a fight with Virgil outside the tattoo parlor."

"He what?!"

"Spunk chased him away with a broom." Patton said, his lip quirking up slightly. "Virgil's okay."

Expression growled, pressing their fist into their palm, "Oh, I'm gonna kill him."
"No, no more violence, please." Patton said, waving them off. "Let's just, just set up for this liveshow."

Gender Expression gave him a funny look, but nodded anyway. "Sure, Pat."

They silently led him to their room where a camera was set up next to their computer. Bags full of craft items sat on the floor and a foldable table was propped up against the wall.

"Help me with this?" Expression said, and they worked to set up the table together. After it was righted and in place, Expression explained, "I was thinking we could have everything laid out on this side, and we'll work on this side. So let's put the balloons over here…"

Patton helped Expression unpack glitter, feathers, construction paper, googly eyes, and much more. He tried to stay upbeat, but his movements felt slow and distant. His smiles looked forced even to him. He never really was a good liar.

Liar. Patton grit his teeth at the reminder of Deceit. After silently working for about ten minutes, the dams burst. "Deceit's a bad person."

Expression looked up at him, surprised. "Okay."

"He's bad because he lies and steals and hurts people." Patton said, staring down at his hands. Yellow feathers covered the table as he couldn't quite get them all together.

"Makes sense to me." Expression said slowly.

"But Virgil's not- he's not bad." Patton continued, almost as if they hadn't spoken. He shook the feathers off his hands and grabbed for a bag of glitter. "He doesn't lie or steal. He's nice and sweet and…"

Expression waited for him to continue, then prompted after silence, "And?"

"And he punched Deceit." Patton said in a whisper. He swallowed back his emotion as best he could. His eyes couldn't focus on one thing in front of him. "They- they were arguing. And Deceit called him a Negative trait, and Virgil punched him. They were so angry and vicious to each other."

Expression crossed their arms and said, "Wait a second… We don't like Deceit. He was antagonizing you guys."

"Yes, but," Patton scrunched his face up, trying to voice his thoughts. "You shouldn't hurt someone, even someone you don't like! What Virgil did was wrong."

"Deceit's a bully." Expression said, "You're allowed to fight bullies."

"But then that's not fair!" Patton said, his throat tightening. His knees started to shake as he asked himself, "Or is it?"

Expression gave him a concerned glance, "Uh, Pat…?"

"Does the pain Deceit caused outweigh the pain that Virgil provided?" Patton asked, not expecting an answer. "Is his slate wiped clean now that he received a punishment? No. That fight wasn't a good enough punishment."

"Patton?"

He was pacing now, staring at his feet as he walked. He kept thinking out loud, his mind spinning. "Then what punishment is fit for a Negative Side? Does Virgil deserve a punishment now? Is violence in the name of protecting someone else justified? Yes. No! Not this time. He could've talked it out, we could've left, or-"

"Patton!"

"So why is it different?!" Patton asked himself, his volume rising in frustration. "Why is it okay for Virgil to fight, but not for Deceit? Can I trust Virgil? Is he-"

Expression grabbed him by the shoulders, turning him to look at them, "Morality!"

Patton forced himself to focus on Expression's face. He needed to stop spinning in circles. Oh, he was standing still? Must be the room.

"It's okay." Expression said, "You're freaking yourself out. Take a deep breath."

"I-I-"

Expression pulled him over to their bed and they sat down together. They put a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, "You witnessed something you didn't like in two of your Sides. Do you know why?"

Patton swallowed and shook his head.

"Because you're their opposites. Their problem solving processes are a 180 of yours. You find the least confrontational option possible, and they beat the shit out of whatever is bothering them." Expression said, voice pleasant despite the cursing. "That doesn't make them bad. That makes you their conscience."

Patton blinked in surprise, his thoughts slowed by his emotions. "But…"

"If you were Empathy when Deceit walked up, would he have punched him?" Expression asked.

"No," Patton shook his head, "I don't think so. That would've made me upset and we'd unfuse."

"Right." Expression said, "So, when you guys are Established, and someone messes with you. Will your Established self fight? No. Because you'll be there to stop that from happening."

Patton nodded slowly, "My job is to keep them from doing bad things."
"Well, uh, when you're Established, yeah." Expression said, coughing into their fist. "Or if they do start fights, you'll certainly be what's making them feel bad about it."

"If they feel bad about being bad then they won't be bad anymore." Patton said, gaining some of his pep back.

"Well, maybe." Expression said, glancing away from him. "Look, I just don't think you should be pissed at Virgil. He was just trying to help."

Patton sighed and sat back, watching Expression as they spoke.
"Deceit hurt you. Virgil was just trying to make sure he didn't do it again." Expression said, "Don't punish him for that."

Patton nodded and silently admitted that they were right. He had told Virgil all about how Deceit was scary and violent. Why wouldn't he fight to keep them away from each other?

It was quiet for a few moments, and then Patton said softly, "I don't think I'm good for Virgil."

"What? What do you mean? You two are so cute together." Expression joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Patton shrugged, not smiling. "He has a scary mind."

"He's Anxiety." Expression said, slowly, "Everything is scary to him."

"I just mean, when we're fused, usually I can help him through it and make it better. But sometimes," He sighed and shook his head, "sometimes I feel like I just make everything worse."

"Then maybe fusion isn't always the solution." Expression said, watching him carefully. "Next time, try helping him on your own before making Kyler."

Patton thought about that for a moment, before he reluctantly nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

Expression looped their arm under Patton's and rested their head on his shoulder. "It won't be easy. You're dealing with a whole other facet of yourself. But he's yours. And that's what makes him worth the trouble."

"I like him. A lot." Patton confessed, "Even if he has spiders on his arm."

That made Expression laugh, which released some of the tension in Patton's chest. They smiled at him and asked, "Do you want to stay with us and be a guest in our live show? It might help you keep your mind off things."

Patton nodded, "If Spunk doesn't mind."

Expression hopped up from the bed and waved him off, "Oh, please, Spunk loves you. And Vogue will be thrilled to have you around. How do you feel about makeup?"

"I don't mind it." Patton laughed, standing up as well.

He pushed aside all of his confusing thoughts and feelings. It was too difficult to decide what was right or wrong just then. He needed a distraction, and Vogue would be more than willing to provide.


Tell me what you think!