Iced Lovers

Every day Patton went into work, he always considered himself lucky. His buddy from college, Thomas, was able to put together a museum of LGBT history with the intention of having it grow since there were bits of the history that required a lot of digging. Not only that, he gave Patton a job as one of the tourists. No matter how lucky he felt, though, one part of the museum in particular made him feel guilty for feeling lucky.

Many times, Patton would bring a group of visitors towards a room with a giant freezing container that contained a man wearing dark pants and a red and white suit holding a man with darker clothing close and forever stuck in a kiss. There weren't any records on the two, but the staff at the museum were able to make some guesses as they were receiving it from a bigger freezer unit. From what they could tell, the pair was an example of a forbidden love from the 19th century. Judging by the way the man in red and white was holding the man in darker fabrics, there was a guess that the darker-clothed man drowning in freezing waters was no accident and that the man holding him wanted to spend his last moments with him. Patton would get some remarks on how it's good that things were different in the 21st century and questions about whether or not they were still alive within the ice. The combination of questions, remarks, and seeing the couple every work day made something grow in Patton until, one evening, he snapped.

Upon closing time, Patton managed to get himself back in the room. Fortunately, he was stronger than he looked, so he was able to shove away the container. Once it was removed from the pedestal (after a lot of time and muffled grunting), Patton was able to get a replacement container he snuck in from the back door. He looked at the couple as she shoved the container to the back door and found himself wanting the pair to find happiness.

By the time Patton brought the container back to his home, the couple had thawed only slightly. The eager man shoved the container into his garage, flipped it upside down so the ice would slide out, and turned the heat on in there before he was ready for bed. He knew that anyone he would try to get help from would think he was more than insane, but Patton was the kind of person who believed that anyone who deserved happiness should be happy.

The next morning, Patton went to the garage in nothing but his underwear due to the anticipated heat and walked around carefully before he saw not only the man in red and white pinning the man with darker clothes, but that they were in a giant puddle. Without checking the pulse of either of them, Patton called an ambulance for the two.

Not long after the ambulance picked them up, Patton went through the rest of his morning routine before driving over to the hospital. Considering Patton didn't know the names of the men he called an ambulance for, he was struggling trying to explain whom he wanted to see until a doctor familiar with Patton approached him.

"Ah, Patton, I think I have your friends in care," the doctor said.

With a smile, he responded, "Thanks, Logan," before walking with him.

They made it to one of the hospital rooms that had a window and Patton confirmed that both were the men he called an ambulance for. Logan looked at Patton and cleared his throat.

"So, Patton, how did you find these men?" the doctor asked.

"Oh, I'm guessing they were drunk and I had no idea why they were soaked. I let them in once they passed out, though," Patton claimed as he repressed nervousness.

"Mhm, I see, but I just have one question for you, Patton," Logan proclaimed.

"And what might that be, Lo?" he responded.

"You know I go to the Museum of LGBT+ History, too, right?" the doctor asked with a smirk.

Patton looked down and he wasn't sure how to respond.

"These gentlemen had the same outfits as the frozen men in the museum. Not only that, but they needed a lot of treatment for pneumonia and their hearts just started beating, even if faintly," Logan explained.

Patton sighed and looked over at Logan to see a soft stare that he didn't share all that often.

"Alright, you got me. I couldn't stand those two being stuck in the ice without experiencing the freedom to be together," Patton admitted.

Logan gently squeezed Patton shoulder since he knew how compassionate the man had always been. Patton got a call from a frantic Thomas about a potential break-in and he had to explain everything.

At some point in the afternoon, Thomas came in and assured the employees that there was no real threat to the museum and told Patton that he knows what it's like to be too sweet for his own good.

After several more days of visits and intense care, Logan brought the two to the room to show the lovers squirming into consciousness. The men both sat up slowly before looking around at their new surroundings. They seemed worried about the room they were in, but certainty seemed to the pair upon seeing each other.

"Roman?" the man in darker clothing slightly croaked.

"Virgil, dearest!" proclaimed the man in red and white before the two shared an embrace on a hospital bed.

After they hugged for a long time and Thomas, Logan, and Patton shared smiles, the lovers noticed they weren't alone in the room and quickly separated.

"Please don't take him away from me," the man named Roman begged.

"Relax, you're allowed to be together around here," Thomas assured.

The eyes of the lovers lit up before they expressed confusion.

"So... where are we?" the man named Virgil asked.

"Well, may I welcome you to Florida in the year 2019, where there are more people accepting of different identities," Patton announced.