No More Gary

(Warnings: references to an abusive father, accidental death, and manipulation)

Patton and Logan were busy packing up what they could for their new home. They'd been together for a few years and mutually decided that the next step in their relationship would be to move in together. Since they already found a house and packed up Logan's belongings, all that was left was to pack up Patton's belongings from his childhood home while his mother was out socializing. Patton looked around the house with various expressions that Logan couldn't see. At first, the latter wasn't that fond of it delaying their time, but after remembering the kind of man he fell in love with he didn't seem to mind.

"Would you mind if I packed some of these boxes while you venture on your trip down Memory Lane?" Logan asked.

"Only if you're okay with it," Patton responded followed by a brief kiss they shared.

Logan brought an empty box throughout the house looking into a few rooms. He would've asked Patton for help navigating if not for his need to figure things out on his own. Eventually, he found a room with a decent sized bed for someone a little bit taller and bigger than Patton's size as well as various stuffed animals and stickers placed in different areas. From those clues alone, Logan knew he found the right place and chucked at the acknowledgment that there were some things that never changed.

Although Patton was a bit of a hoarder for the sake of nostalgia, Logan was able to help him climb out of that hole by going over items that Patton hadn't used in a long time nor planned on using any time soon. It was that trust in judgement alone that kept Patton from thinking twice about letting Logan pick and choose what to pack from his old room. Logan was able to gather some clothes and accessories that looked like they would still fit Patton and/or Logan thought Patton would look cute in as well as at least one stuffed animal while sending others to Goodwill.

At some point, Logan thought it would be a good idea to check out the back of Patton's closet to see what would be better for their new home or Goodwill. He saw a box under a knitting basket and found curiosity taking over his body. He looked through the box and saw that, unlike the average boy growing up, it contained a crochet puppy, a letter labeled "To Patton; From Santa", and some other stuff. The one thing that surprised him the most was what seemed to be Patton's birth certificate. The birth date and mother's name checked out, but the name on it said "Gary Kyle Andrews Jr." and that, from what Logan could see, the owner was named after his father. Logan didn't know what to think; the detail was unexpected, but he didn't feel anything bubbling up within him emotionally. He had formed questions in his head about his boyfriend, but he figured that they would be answered when and if Patton told him about his birth name. Until then, Logan decided to just keep all questions related to the discovery in the back of his head until Patton said something.

It had been over half a year since Patton and Logan moved into their new home. That night, they were having an argument about Logan's struggle to be empathetic to a mutual friend's job. As much as Logan wanted to remain down-to-earth duringthe situation, he couldn't keep his frustrations from getting the better of him.

"Well, we don't all take in emotions the same way, Gary Andrews!" Logan shouted before realizing what he had said.

Patton froze as soon as the words came out of Logan's mouth. He struggled to get anything coherent as a response, but Logan seemed to understand what he was trying to say.

"I...saw your birth certificate in your closet," Logan told him.

Patton took a deep breath and slowly regained his ability to move his limbs before he turned to face away from Logan. At that point, the questions that developed in Logan's head on the day of his discovery came back as well as the acknowledgment that it seemed like Patton would never address the subject. Out of all the questions Logan was thinking, he could only release one: "Who are you?"

"Forever my father's property, apparently," Patton chuckled as he made the remark, but sobs made themselves known.

Logan wanted so much to comfort his sobbing boyfriend, but he didn't feel like he had the right to do so.

"My father...he was great at drawing people in and wanted to make sure they had no strength to leave. That led to my birth and naming me after himself was a reminder of who's boss. He would do anything to make sure we knew he was in charge as well as make sure no one suspected a thing," Patton explained.

Patton struggled to say more, but more sobs occurred before he could go into detail. Logan silently approached Patton since he was worried about Patton walking away if he made too much noise.

"One night, my mom put her foot down and...he didn't like that one bit. I got hurt trying to help her and, well, if you're a good person, never threaten violence with a metal bat near electricity. The funeral was funded by the town, his journals were found, and anyone who was tricked into respecting him worked to pretend he didn't exist. I was almost 18 when it happened, so it wasn't long before I changed my name to Patton Splenda as a way of distancing myself from him. But, you know, who cares about that as long as Sherlock has solved another case, right?"

Logan felt a lot more guilt as he was an inch away from his crying love. He wondered what would've happened if he had just waited until Patton was ready to talk about it (presumably on his deathbed) instead of revealing his knowledge in the heat of the moment. Patton looked down and wiped his eyes.

"I need a sign; who am I?" Patton asked while hiccuping.

Logan gently hugged Patton from behind and pulled him closer to his body.

"You are Patton Splenda: the sweetest, strongest, most energetic, most clever man I have ever met. You made a man who couldn't forsee himself settling down with anyone fall in love. You put a smile on the grumpiest of faces. You have overcome all odds and showed you figuratively have a big heart. You are not Gary Andrews and you will never be Gary Andrews."

Patton turned around and sobbed as Logan hugged him close. If there was ever a reason for Logan to try harder to consider emotional motives behind various actions from then on, Patton was that reason.