More Than Enough (“Never Enough” Sequel)

Mild spoiler ahead

Patton's POV

As hard it still is to get out of my habit of putting others before myself, I know I'm improving. I had help along the way and I feel proud to be in s different spot than before.

When I left Logan, I made my way to a motel and planned to clear my head. It wasn't until I spent over a week at the motel when the front desk worker came to my door. I thought he was going to tell me to check out after staying for too long, but he actually asked if I was okay. I looked at his nametag and addressed him by the name "Janus" before I told him I wasn't sure if I was okay. I let him into my room and explained everything I shouted to Logan and then some and we had a conversation about methods of self care. Fortunately, he said that as long as I continued to pay for my nights, he didn't care too much how long I was staying.

When leaving for work and coming back from work, Janus and I found time to make small talk and it started to grow from there. We traded stories about our work days, talked about the different animals we liked, and he actually made sure I was taking time for myself. For the first time in...possibly forever, I found myself spending time with someone who didn't see me as below him or think I wasn't worthy unless I focus on my needs. I made sure he was taking care of himself (even letting him sleep in my room whenever he had to pull late shifts), but it felt good knowing I wasn't the only one putting in effort. Even when I found a new place for the sake of getting a puppy and a new start, Janus and I still kept in touch.

One day, Janus arrived at my home so we could hang out. We were on a "Scooby Doo" binge and I stayed close to him even though the couch was long. I rested my head on his shoulder and felt him freeze.

"Pat, as much as I enjoy this, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"Janus, I trust you. I know I'm working on myself, but I also want to take a chance if it means reaching out for what I want," I told him.

After some time, we cuddled for the next several movies and we had been together ever since.

Logan's POV

I looked over the analysis forms from students. For a while, I just dismissed them unless it provided genuine feedback from the students. However, there was a form from a student that told the story of warning me that they might have late assignments because they had mental health issues and all I did was remind them of the lateness penalty. What made me freak out internally was that they described my response as "A dead oak tree has more empathy than him". That comment made me think of my relationship with Patton: what he called "affectionate", I called "clingy" and "distracting". He showed so much affection towards me as if I was the most important person in the world and all I did was give him a cat hoodie, stop myself from complimenting his intellect, and look down on him. I also saw a form from a student claiming I was being bias due to dismissing the points of any student who made projects and essays that supported a point that contradicted one I agree with. My mind drifted to the incidents where I did so at school and when I did so to Patton. He made good points about owning a dog and I was so focused about my hopes that I acted like his supported research didn't exist.

One I was done working, I rushed to the motel near my house. It had been a long time since I've heard from Patton, so I hoped I wasn't too late in trying to patch things up and maybe even starting over in our relationship. When I made it to the motel, I immediately went to the front desk and asked which room Patton was in.

"Oh, him? Yea, he turned in his key and moved to a new place," the front desk worker said.

I squinted at his nametag, which I found out consisted of the name "Janus" before talking a little more.

"Did he say where he moved to?" I asked.

Janus gave me a not-so-friendly look as if he didn't want to help me.

"Well, I do know he's now with someone who is willing to actually put effort in being there for him as well as help him care for himself," Janus told me.

It took a while of thinking, but I soon realized that I didn't need to ask him to elaborate. As much as I hated the idea of not having Patton back, it at least felt good knowing that he would be genuinely happy.

"Just tell him I'm proud of him for allowing himself to be happy," I responded.

I just left for home and figured it would be best if I made some changes for myself since Patton did the same.