Patton was up at the crack of dawn so he went to get out the cookies and wait for the others to awake. He decided to make some tea and started up the coffee machine for Dee, Logan, and Virgil. He couldn't wait to watch them open their presents. He hoped Remus would like his. He'd been so many places and seen so many things.
Logan and Dee were the next up.
"Merry Christmas!"
"Ah!" Logan and Dee jumped.
"Oh! Sorry!"
"It's ok." Dee said eyes wide and clutching his heart.
"You're not usually up this early," Logan noted, regaining his composure.
"I was just so excited!"
"We can see that. Do excuse us while we get caffeinated. It's a much more pleasant experience that way." Dee said.
"Ok. I'll wait here."
"Like here 'here'," Dee gestured to the surrounding area that directly blocked the kitchen and the hallway, "or on the couch?"
"Oh. I guess the couch."
While Logan and Dee waited for the coffee maker Roman and Virgil got up to see what all the commotion was about only to get the same surprise as the previous pair.
"Jeez, Pat." Virgil rubbed his eyes trying to get the sleep out of them, "I know you're excited but isn't it a little early to have this much energy?"
"Not when it's Christmas and everyone's here and everything is so wonderful!"
"If you say so, Padre. Since everyone else is up should I go wake Remus?" Roman asked.
"You don't think that would have woken him up?" Virgil inquired.
"No. He was always a heavy sleeper and then he learned to sleep by trains for a bit so I doubt even an earthquake would wake him up."
"Well we could wake him… Do you think we should? Or should we let him sleep a bit? How late did you all stay up?"
"We did all stay up pretty late playing games." Roman noted.
"But we're all up." Virgil pointed out.
"Well those two are always up at ungodly hours and we're only up because Patton got overly excited."
"But we are up."
"Hmmmm… Patton, why don't you wake him up?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. I don't feel like getting hit in the face with a pillow. Have fun."
Roman dragged Virgil into the kitchen before Patton could protest so there was really only one thing to do.
"Remus?" Patton knocked on the door. He didn't even here a stir so he opened it just a tad to find Remus half off the bed and completely asleep. "Well that can't be comfortable. Rem? Time to get up." Still nothing. Patton got closer and poked him. "Rem? Hey. Wake up? Please?" This time he got a grumble.
"What time's it?" Remus mumbled blinking awake.
"Oh um I'm not actually sure. Maybe 6:30?"
"AM? Or did I sleep all day?"
"AM."
"You all get up early, huh?" Remus sat up revealing the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Not usually." Patton coughed and blushed. Remus was ripped. "That's kind of my fault. I get a bit loud when I'm excited."
Remus cracked a grin then remembered who he was talking to and tried to hide it. "That's ok. It's Christmas after all. I'll get ready real quick then meet you out there?"
"Ok! Feel free to wear your… pajamas."
Patton quickly backed out of the room. He got to the kitchen looking like a tomato but refused to answer any questions other than if Remus was awake. Remus walked in moments later.
"I heard we were doing onesies?" Remus pointed to the dinosaur onesie he was wearing.
"Nice." Dee said wearing his own snake onesie.
Patton was a cat, Roman a lion, Logan a unicorn, and Virgil a skeleton.
"Isn't Virgil's so cool?" Patton started.
"Where is this going?" Logan's pun senses were tingling.
"Don't you just love it…"
"Not again."
"A skele-TON?!" Patton burst out laughing while Logan groaned and everyone else cracked a smile.
"Aw, come on, Lo," Dee smirked.
"You too?"
"Don't you find it the least bit humerus?"
"I will scream."
"You might want to call the police because it seems we're… bad to the bone." Remus joined in.
"I guess Patton spooked him so much he jumped out of his skin," Roman nudged Virgil who was rolling his eyes trying not to laugh.
Virgil looked into Logan's pleading eyes, "Ok, ok guys. Enough skeleton jokes." Just after relief fell over Logan he struck. "Clearly they're too uni-corny."
"I've been betrayed!"
"You're so dramatic. Let's go open presents before Patton explodes." Dee linked his and Logan's arm and went to sit by the tree.
Roman bowed and held out a hand to Virgil. "Shall we, darling?"
"Sure." Virgil walked by without taking Roman's hand who then ran after him.
"Guess that leaves us. After you," Remus stepped back to let Patton walk through the doorway.
"Why thank you," Patton smiled and did a little curtsy.
They all sat on the ground in a semicircle. They each got everyone one present and one person would distribute, then the next, and so on.
"I'll start and we can go clockwise!" Roman announced as he started distributing gifts.
Virgil opened first and found a nice set of paints, a little canvas, and some new brushes. "Thanks, babe," he gave Roman a peck on the cheek who blushed.
Logan was next and he found an updated star map that you could find your view on and a time table of when and where you could see planets, galaxies, and various space events. He deadpanned Roman and said, "'Thanks, babe.'" Everyone following him did the same.
Dee got a book of restaurants with weird foods to try out, Patton got a recipe book that used to belong to Roman and Remus's grandmother (with permission of Remus, of course), and Remus got a photo album from when the two were younger all the way up through highschool.
"I made it all by myself!" Roman exclaimed once Remus opened his.
"I can tell. No one but you would use this much glitter."
"Well of course. It had to be fabulous."
Remus laughed and gave Roman a one armed hug before backing away and following in Logan's footsteps.
From Virgil they all got hand-painted mugs. Logan's had a periodic table, Dee's had snakes, Patton's had puppies and kittens, Remus's had a desert scene, and Roman's had stars and crowns on it. Logan gave them all books related to their interests. Dee had picked them up cool looking rocks. Everyone likes rocks. Patton had gotten them all stuffed animal was last to give out gifts
"Oooooh! What do we have here?" Roman asked as he lifted out a red, white, and gold sweater.
"I made us all matching sweaters. They have the first letter of our names on the back."
Virgil opened his and found a swirling purple, black, and silver storm. "Nice. This is pretty rad."
"I figured it would make a statement when you finally overthrow society."
"I appreciate that."
Logan pulled out a chess board with dark blue sleeves, "Thank you. I appreciate the simple design. I'll be able to wear this to teach without being distracting."
"Oh yeah. They blast the AC in your building don't they?"
"Indeed. I realize we live in Florida, but the building doesn't need to be cooled to 50 degrees."
"So they just borrowed the ones from the kids who passed your class?" Virgil asked.
"... No." Logan replied.
Dee pulled out his own yellow sweater with silver and gold snakes complete with a large pocket for actual snakes. "Jamie and Cassandra are going to love this."
Patton was the last to open his sweater from Remus. He pulled out a light blue sweater with pastel pink and yellow flowers made of a fluffier yarn scattered about.
"Oooo! It's so pretty! Just like…"
Just like the sweater he received in high school… With that stitch. That stitch that just two days ago Remus said he had invented. He should have connected the dots earlier, but now it was staring him in the face. That sweater… That note! They had to have been from Remus… but it's possible he could have taught it to someone else, or maybe someone had asked him to make it? But the most likely possibility was that Remus had made it for him and left that sweet note. He had nearly forgotten, but that year he also received flowers. Pink and yellow ones on Valentines day. He had carried them around in a makeshift vase that was really just a pringles can. They were waiting on his desk first period with a note that had only his name.
"Just like what?" Virgil asked.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered something is all."
Remus had thought he already knew and was just ignoring it, maybe even liked him a little back, but as he watched the dots be connected before his very eyes he felt a cold panic begin to creep in and the warmth of hope fade. This was it. Patton would want nothing to do with him. He'd probably burn both sweaters, or worse, give them back.
After they had opened the gifts they made their way to the kitchen to heat up pancakes. Patton tried to get Remus alone, but Remus was on a mission to do exactly not that. Remus ended up nearly attaching himself to Logan for the rest of the day, who wasn't quite sure what was happening, but knew enough that something was happening.
"Are you going to tell me why you're avoiding Patton?" Logan finally sighed.
"I'm… not?"
"Ok. I'll let this be happening, but you have to tell me eventually, deal?"
"Deal."
Roman knew something was up when Patton started eating the cookies, and not just one or two, but one after the other while he stared off into space.
"Hey, Pat. You good?"
"I'm great."
"You don't look or sound it and you're stress eating cookies."
"It's just… I think I might have made a mistake, you know?"
"What kind of mistake?"
"The important kind. But I'm not even sure…"
"Careful or you'll sound like Virgil."
"I just… How do you know if you've messed something up? Like with a person."
"Normally they tell me."
"And when they don't?"
"They just avoid me and try not to talk to me?"
"Great."
"Is this about what you remembered earlier? Did something happen at work?"
"Nothing at work. How do you fix something if you don't know what you did wrong?"
"Ask. Whoever you're talking about knows, though I can't imagine whatever it is is really your fault."
"Thanks. Also, can you take these cookies away from me?"
"Sure thing, Pat." Roman gave a reassuring smile.
Patton kept trying to catch Remus alone, but at one point couldn't find him anywhere in the cabin.
"Logan, have you seen Remus?"
"I believe he went to the roof."
"Ok. Thank you."
"Patton bundled up and went to the closet. It wouldn't hurt to check, right? Sure enough he found Remus on the roof watching the sunset.
"Remus, I know you've been avoiding me. It was you, wasn't it? You made me that sweater and left that note."
Remus sighed and turned to face him, tears frozen on his cheeks. He would just confess and hope everything would be fine. "I guess I might as well say it. Patton Hart, I have been head over heels in love with you for 10 years and I just can't be around you without my heart fluttering and I know you'll never feel the same way, and that's fine and I didn't want to say anything because you finally seem comfortable around me, but you seemed to have connected the dots anyway. I understand if you don't want to be around me anymore."
"You're… what? You're… In love? With me? Wait… No way. That's it! Me too! I mean, I'm in love with you, not with myself, well maybe love is a strong word, but I definitely like you. I couldn't figure out what I was feeling, but that's it! That feeling in my chest that I remember from high school and happened again just now and why I always paid so much attention to you. I had convinced myself it was because I wanted to keep you out of trouble, but that must have been it the whole time! Thank you!"
"Ummm… Are you ok? That was a lot of jumps to make to arrive at that conclusion."
"Well not really if I think about it."
"Ok? I guess?"
"Did you not want me to return your feelings?"
"It's not that I didn't want you to, I just never thought you would, otherwise I would have said something earlier and I wouldn't have wasted all that time traveling around the world trying to get you out of my head only to end up wishing you were there with me."
"Really?"
"Yeah…"
"Oh! And the sweater! I remember all of the words on the note you left with it. It was so nice and unexpected. In fact, I take the note with me wherever I take this sweater."
"You're such a dork."
"You better not be calling me a whale-"
"No! I'm not! I swear! Jeez."
Patton giggled. "You should see your face right now."
Remus shook his head and smiled. "You're a bit more devious than I originally thought."
"You know what the best part is?"
"What…?"
"The others would never believe you."
"Hey!"
Patton laughed again and Remus predictably melted.
"You're the worst, you know."
"I know. But you love me."
"I suppose I do."
"How shocked do you think the others will be?"
"My bet is it will blow Roman's mind. The others' aren't quite as dense as my dear brother."
"You're probably right. About the first thing."
"And the second?"
"Maybe we ignore the part where you said he's dense and acknowledge that the others have a bit more intuition."
"You're so nice to him. I'm glad he has you as a friend."
"You do too, you know. In fact, I think you might have me as something else too, if you wanted."
"Are you asking me out?"
"Maybe."
"Well I'd say if you want to be my boyfriend, then I'll be your boyfriend too."
"Well then I'd say we're boyfriends." Patton let out a giggle that he felt come from the depths of his soul. This was what love felt like.
"You're too cute. I'm going to melt into a puddle if you keep doing that."
"Shut up and hug me."
When Patton went down to cook the spaghetti he was in a much better mood and Remus was no longer clinging to Logan for dear life. They had decided not to tell the others just yet since it was a new thing. Virgil and Roman hid their relationship for a month when they first started dating and Dee and Logan made it three weeks without anyone knowing. What would a couple of days be in comparison?
Everything was normal at dinner, minus Patton being a bit giddy. He always had trouble hiding his emotions, but this was a normal one for Patton. That night he ended up stopping by his boyfriend's room before bed. They spent about an hour staring at the ceiling, talking and giggling. They ended up falling asleep enjoying the warmth of each other's presence.