#patricia split

You try to woo her with gifts and cheesy pickup lines at first. Then you quickly realize it was only annoying her.

In the beginning, she thought you were mocking her. Making fun of the fact that their system had women inhabiting a masculine body.

She didn't think you believed each of them were different people. Nobody had before, anyways.

She confronted you, telling you to cease the incessant behavior. Patricia was a force to be reckoned with, when it came to defending her and her boys. She was fiercely protective.

Once you realized why she was angry at you, you became smitten. It was a crush before, now it was bordering on life-consuming. You spent hours trying to figure out how you could convince her you thought of her as her own person. That you believed them completely. That you only had a crush on her, not any of the others, was telling enough that they were all different.

You never stopped with the gift giving- in fact, you doubled-down, tailoring the gifts to Patricia specifically. A pendant you thought she would like, a miniature figurine of a tiger that you had thrifted because she had mentioned once that she liked the bigger cats, a flowy black skirt with lace trims that you thought she would look stunning in...you don't know where they went once you gave them to her. You never saw them again.

Unbeknownst to you (until later on in the relationship), she had kept them all in her room. The figurine placed carefully on a desk, next to a vanity where the pendant hung from a clip. The skirt sitting perfectly ironed in a closet, with her other clothes.

Over time, her room was filled with gifts, little and not so little, that everywhere she looked she would inevitably see something you gave her. It made her think.

Why did she keep all these things?

She was materialistic, sure, she liked to covet things and keep them if they were nice- and all of your gifts were nice. Chosen specifically for her taste. Not for Dennis. Not for Barry, or Orwell, or Jade, or any of the others. For her.

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“So, you are now aware of our true nature. Beholdened, yet unafraid, you have been deemed pure by the Beast.” She had come to you covered in the blood of the others- the smell had you on the verge of gagging but the sight- you were entranced. Perhaps, in the way only an artist could tell, the scene was beautiful, hauntingly so.

“Why…are you here? As in- not him. The Beast- where did he go?” You responded, breath hitched in anticipation. “Are you all alright?”

Patricia smiled, slightly. “We are perfectly fine dear. And you will be as well- though I must say it is an unexpected turn of events. I had fully thought you would meet the fate of the other girls but as it appears, the Beast is quite merciful. I hope you understand, we cannot let you leave here.” She seemed a bit remorseful at that, you suppose.

Not that you really minded staying with them, it provided you with so much inspiration, constantly- you feared that if you ever left you would be devoid of any passion for art going forward…

“Oh- that. It’s alright, really- I don’t mind. As much as you probably think I do anyway.” You remember your drawings of her- and wonder what ever happened to them anyways, you were very fond of those sketches. It would be a shame if she did end up throwing them away.

——————

3 days before Valentine’s Day

She didn’t throw them away. In fact, everytime you had left a half-finished or abandoned idea around on a paper, she had taken to collecting them. Unbeknownst to you, of course. Unfortunately, the others caught wind of it all too soon.

“Oooh, Miss Patricia has a crushhhh!” Her wig teased from their shared mental space. “The- the others didn’t think- you had it in you but, but I knew you were gonna like them! They drew with me one time remember? They’re so cool!”

She did remember- it warmed her heart that you cared for Hedwig even when the other girls had thought he was strange. She understood, of course, but there was no need to be rude. But you- you showed him your drawings and shared a part of your world with him- with them. Patricia thought back to the drawings of herself sitting on a table in her room.

Still, she couldn’t let her reputation slip too much.

“That’s quite enough, child. They are quite endearing; We are all glad the beast has spared them.” She whispered aloud. Not much use in concealing a conversation when you were far from the room anyways.

“Yeah! They’re endarin’ and-“

“Endearing, Hedwig.”

“Endearing! And cool! And funny- and cool!”

“Quite.”

——

2 Days from Valentine’s Day

You were in fact, not far from the room. You were given free roam- with the exception of leaving, of course- and you were about to ask them what the plan was for lunch. You didn’t mean to eavesdrop but you had heard Patricia mention you and your circumstances and, well, if you stayed behind the door a little longer before you knocked then only you would know.

Your face burned a fair bit at what you heard her say. “Glad the beast spared you” and “Endearing” speared through your heart in a way you hadn’t entirely expected. Hm, but what to do about that…

…what if you gave her something kind back? It was rare to hear her be openingly sweet (even if you weren’t meant to hear it). You already gave her drawings though- and you honestly weren’t sure if she liked them. Hedwig said she did, but at the end of the day, he is a child- you thought fondly.

Baking something maybe? Valentine’s Day was coming up tomorrow- perhaps something for the holiday? It would coverup the eavesdropping as something you just wanted to do to be nice. But what to make?

You ran through a list in your head:

Patricia likes…what does she like? Feeling in control? Feminine clothing…no you didn’t have fabrics- music? No instruments…

Then, you thought back to a conversation you had with her while Marcia was still alive…she likes lions. That’s definitely something- a definitive subject at least. You could definitely bake a lion-head shaped cake…you think. Depends on the ingredients in the pantry to be honest, but you could always try and ask them to get more.

————

Valentine’s Day

You had baked a cake. Turns out, the pantry did had a fair supply of baking ingredients- must be a hobby of one of the other alters. You weren’t confident in the shape being correct so you stuck with a circle, and drew a lion on top in frosting. Frankly, you thought you did pretty good- even if the lettering was a bit…wonky.

It was almost time for Patricia to make breakfast- which is when she’ll see the cake you made. You’ve been in the kitchen since- well, not daybreak since you can’t exactly see when that is, but since around 5AM. (You’re absolutely taking a nap after all this.) Dennis gets them up around 7:30AM to prepare for work and Patricia usually takes over to meet with you before they have to get uniform-dressed and leave. Which is around 9, and it is currently…8:36.

No later than expected, the green door to the kitchen opened up and you lifted the cake in your hands towards Patricia, showing her the design-

“I think you’re Ext-Roar-dinary!”

With a little lion perched under it, licking his paw.

You had your eyes to the side- but she was taking a bit of time to react…

You glanced up and blush rose to your cheeks in record speed- her face was completely flushed. Eyes-widened, her mouth hung slightly open- clearly not expecting this.

“Oh, dear. Is this supposed to be for, what, Valentine’s day? She held a hand up to her mouth, still a bit stunned. You knew it probably would come as a shock to her, but her reaction still made you a bit flustered in turn.

What you didn’t know about was the teasing Patricia was enduring from little Hedwig all over again-

“I told you Miss Patricia! That means they likeeee you! Just like I said- like you like them! Wait- does this mean you’re dating now-“

“Enough, Hedwig-“ Patricia whispered in their mind.

You chuckled- likely knowing what was being said internally between the others. And you set the cake down on the table for both of you to enjoy. Hopefully, the sugar will keep you awake for however long Patricia is in the light…though the giddy feeling in your chest might do the trick just as well. Looks like you won’t be getting that nap after all-