Ships: Moceit (Platonic or Romantic, you choose)
Warnings/Triggers: Hugs, crying, touch starvation, breakdown
Patton had started to be way more touchy with Dee since they started talking. It was almost ridiculous how he noticed every little thing about him. The father figure always knew if he had a headache, or didn't get enough sleep, or even if he just wasn't in a good mood. It hadn't even been a month, and he already knew what comforted him, what he liked, what he didn't like..
A palm massage when he was frustrated, holding hands when he had a headache, rubbing his arm when tired. How did this man know so much when Dee had barely even talked to him? If this was just a trick to get him comfortable with Patton, it was working. The longer he was with the moral trait, the more he relaxed he felt. As the days passed, Deceit began doubting every little gesture. Surely he didn't deserve this, it had to be a joke. He refused to let his guard down. He forced himself to resist believing Patton cared for him.
When Patton walked up behind him, it was late and Deceit was at the table drinking coffee. He groaned, still unaware of the side behind him, and rubbed his eyes to relieve the tension that had built up over hours of Remus' screaming.
Carefully, a soft voice broke the silence, "Dee, are you okay…?"
The dark side jumped a little, but eased within seconds. He got up, and turned to Patton. "Yes," came his automatic response, knowing the other would understand anyways.
Frowning, Patt approaches the snake hybrid, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Deceit turns away, ignoring the question as he goes to wash his cup.
After a few minutes of waiting, Patton sighs when he realizes Deceit has no intention of replying. He walks up to Deceit, and with an unnecessary amount of determination, he turns the other around and wraps him up in his arms. The dark side tenses, and Patton can feel as his muscles relax and he lets go. He can feel the reserved side of him fall away, replaced only with pure surrender. Such a vulnerable state Deceit was in, melted just by a hug. Patton can feel the relief tear through Deceit so violently that even he's surprised.
Deceit tries, he really tries to keep himself together when he leans away from Patton. It's not that hard to tell that he's exhausting himself trying not to let the tears in his eyes spill over. If he starts crying, he isn't convinced he'll be able to stop.
Years ago, he had been able to hug Virgil whenever he wanted. His hugs were always so warm and nice, comfortable and comforting. After Virge left, he would hope and wish for that feeling of touch, the feeling of being cared for. Patton's touch now, after years of nothing but his own, shocked him. For a moment he could let his doubts about being accepted drift away.
Patton cupped Deceit's face in his hand, his gaze so unbelievably caring, "You are loved."
That one little sentence destroyed the walls he had taken so long to build around himself. Not that he had a chance in the first place.
Deceit choked softly, covering his mouth in a poor attempt to hide a cry of pain when all the emotions he'd kept under lock and key became too much. The chains broke, and it sent a hurricane tearing through his soul and body. He broke down on the spot, and even he knew had no chance of fighting it. So did Patton apparently, because without hesitation, he pulled Deceit close, petting his hair gently. Quickly, like Patton had expected, the snakelike side hid his face in his shoulder. Recently, he had figured out that snakes hide their heads when they feel threatened/vulnerable. He smiled at the thought that he now knew even more about Deceit.
Hours had passed, and yet the fatherly side hadn't even once tried to stop Dee from crying. He hadn't said to stop, or even that everything was fine. Neither of those would be helpful to Deceit. It was about time the poor reptilian man had release from all that pain. He couldn't imagine…
"I could bake some cookies if you'd like," Patton suggested, offering a soft smile to Dee, who lifted his head slowly to meet his eyes.
Deceit didn't trust his voice to give a coherent answer, so he just nodded. Then he realized that he'd only ever seen him give cookies to the other sides as a reward. Why would he deserve a cookie?
Patton giggled, pulling Deceit over to the pantry, "You can help! I'll do the ingredients, you can stir!"
It took an hour start to finish, but with flour on their clothes, they had their cookies hot and fresh. Deceit was greatly surprised when the light side have him two cookies, not just one. He had to know, "Why are you rewarding me, dear Patton? I certainly wasn't aware crying was something worthy of a reward."
Smiling warmly, Patton giggled, "Oh, but it is! It's never a bad thing to share emotions, and it was healthy for you to let those bad feelings out!"
Okay, Deceit wasn't expecting that answer, but he could live with it. And maybe he would ask for more hugs in the future. Hopefully he got used to it.
That he did. Deceit got a lot of attention after the first hug. Eventually, he did explain why he broke down that night. It took a while though, because he could only get parts of it out at a time. Patton didn't mind, waiting patiently for the entire story. They hung out a lot more too, normally just enjoying each other's company as they watch a movie. That, or getting into a pun war.
Maybe, just maybe, Deceit could let his guard down this once.
gracieabrams
yousharknotpass
gummygunk
tangentwithtanner
