Time For Others

After putting together his special art project, Virgil left his room sheepishly. He looked at the card in his grasp nervously uncertain of whether or not Patton would actually like it. It wasn't until he felt his body smack into that he looked up. As he did so, he was surprised to see Logan holding a fruit basket with a bow on it.

"Oh, Logan, what do you have there?" Virgil asked.

"Oh, hello, Virgil. Well, I have this fruit basket right here. I thought it would be an appropriate expression of gratitude to Patton," Logan explained.

Virgil looked down at his card while feeling insecure. Logan noticed and followed the plum's gaze.

"Did you make that card?" Logan asked.

"Y-yes, it was supposed to be used to thank Patton for our movie night. Although, I'm a bit concerned about how often he had to go to the bathroom how long his trips were," Virgil responded.

"Huh, well, I'm planning on showing my gratitude to him for participating in some research to see if the Heart is prone to Obsessive Love Disorder. Although, he kept saying he had to leave to regain his composure for the research," Logan mentioned.

As the two were talking about their events, Roman carefully walked by with a container of beignets.

"Hey, have you seen our puffball? I want to find him before these beignets get too cold," Roman stated.

"Did you say 'beignets'?" Virgil asked.

"Yep, just like a princess makes them. It's the least I could do after Patton helped me with the festival in the Imagination. Though, he kept leaving for more decorations," Roman said.

As the three Sides talked about their obligations and Patton's contributions/mild absences, there was a chill and a hiss in the air before a piece of paper appeared by everyone's feet. As someone with less in his hands, Virgil picked up the page and they saw that it was a page ripped out of a planner. In Patton's handwriting, they noticed that all their obligations were happening at the same time and that something was crossed out; it was hard to tell, but Virgil and Logan eventually saw that the crossed phrase was "Winnie the Pooh marathon and honey cookies". The three had icky feelings within their stomachs. They wanted to talk about what happened to Patton, but they weren't sure who should talk to him.

"Look, out of all of us, you're closest to him, Virgil. Besides, you sympathize with what he must've felt," Logan decided.

Virgil silently nodded before going to find Patton. He went to Patton's door and softly knocked. When he didn't hear anything, he slowly opened the door, he saw Patton on his bed munching on cookies like a rabbit munches on lettuce.

"Pat?" Virgil called as he approached Patton.

Patton looked up at Virgil and offered a cookie.

"No thanks, Pat. Um, I just wanted to say thank you for being at my movie night last night," Virgil said.

Patton nodded with a small smile. Virgil placed the card on the bedside table before rubbing Patton's arm.

"And Logan and Roman wanted to thank you in their own ways, too," Virgil concluded.

Patton's eyes widened and he placed his head under the pillow frantically.

"Pat, no one is mad at you now and we would've been fine if you just said that you were planning a personal day or if you only spent time with one of us," Virgil said.

"No you wouldn't have. The only time being selfish would be justified would be when I'm on my deathbed," Patton claimed while looking down.

Virgil sighed. He lied down next to Patton and held him close.

"If you got that statement from Janus, he was intentionally lying. If you wanted time to yourself tell us next time and we'll give you the space you need to relax," Virgil told him.

Patton sobbed under his pillow and found himself wishing he could be more.

"Do you want to be alone now?" Virgil asked.

"Please?" Patton asked while crying.

"Alright, but just know that we c-love you and wouldn't think less of you for taking time for yourself," Virgil told him before leaving the room.

Once Virgil explained all he could, the other two Sides left their gifts in Patton's room and decided not to interfere with Patton's solitude.