#stormcrawler75

@badthingshappenbingo  (read my specific rules for taking these prompts here)

Prompt: Trust Issues

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Summary: At a rescue/rehabilitation center for victims of human experimentation, Patton attempts to build a rapport with the newest patient. 

Content Warnings: Fear, mistrust, past trauma, implied human experimentation.

Word Count: 1,336

Read on AO3 here

Bad Things Happen Masterlist

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“How is he today?”

The grim look on Logan’s face was all the answer Patton needed, and he sighed. He placed the tray he’d been carrying on Logan’s desk and stepped around him to peer at the monitors his partner had been studying. They showed a video feed of a small but comfortably furnished room that looked empty at first glance, but Patton knew what to look for. There! In the corner furthest from the room’s door, a small, dark figure was huddled in a ball. Even through the video feed, it was clear that he was shaking.

Patton’s heart ached at the sight, and he wanted nothing more than to swoop in and pull the poor thing into his arms and promise him that everything would be okay. However, given his previous reactions to anyone trying to touch him, Patton knew that would be a bad idea. Still, he wasn’t going to just sit on the outside and observe anymore.

“I’m going to bring him his food today myself.”

Logan looked up, eyes wide. 

“Patton, that is very ill-advised–”  

“He’s not eaten anything, Lo, if we don’t get that to change fast, we’re going to have to sedate him and hook him up to a feeding tube, and you and I both know that if we do that we’ll shatter any chance of him ever trusting us.” 

Logan sighed and rubbed his eyes, staring at the screens. “Yes, I know. I had hoped that us giving him space and providing him with food and water would be enough to show that we mean well, but apparently not.” 

“You know what he’s survived, Logan,” Patton said quietly. “He probably doesn’t even trust that the food is safe. We have to prove to him that we aren’t going to hurt him.” 

“Be careful,” Logan cautioned as Patton picked up his tray again and headed down the hallway to where the holding rooms were. Patton paused outside their newest guest’s room, and took a deep breath before punching a code in the keypad by the door. He hated that the door had to be kept locked, but when the subject was so unstable, they had to keep him confined for his own safety. Patton hoped they’d be able to change that soon. 

“Hey there, kiddo,” Patton called softly as he stepped into the room, the automatic door sliding shut behind him with a hiss. “You doing okay this morning?”

The figure in the corner flinched away, and Patton smiled gently. He kept his eyes lowered and curled in on himself as he approached, trying to appear small and nonthreatening. He sat down on the floor, folding his legs underneath him, and glanced up to check for a reaction.

“I brought you something to eat,” he said. “Are you hungry?” 

The boy glared at him from under a shock of dark hair, and Patton resisted the urge to reach out and brush it out of his eyes. He had to be more delicate than that if he was going to get through to him. 

“You’ve gotta eat something, kiddo, you don’t wanna get sick,” he said. He held out the tray, but the boy just scooted further away. Patton nodded, setting the tray on the ground. 

“Listen, I get it,” he murmured. “You’re scared, and suspicious. I don’t blame you; I would be too if I’d been in those labs. But this place isn’t like that. We’re a rehabilitation facility, you don’t have anything to fear here, I promise.”

The boy didn’t look convinced, but Patton hadn’t expected him to be. For all he was concerned, Patton was just another scientist who wanted something from him. 

“Look kiddo, if you won’t eat your lunch, do you mind if I have some?” he asked lightly. “I haven’t eaten yet today, and this soup smells amazing.” 

The boy frowned at that, glancing at Patton out of the corner of his eye, and Patton suppressed a smile. 

Good, he had his attention. 

Carefully, so the boy could see what he was doing, Patton picked up the plastic spoon from the edge of the tray and took a bite of the soup. He smiled over at the boy, who was staring openly at him now. 

“You sure you don’t want any?” he asked. “It’s really good.” 

He took another spoonful, then picked up the piece of bread lying on the tray and tore off a section, dipping it in the broth. He popped it in his mouth, then nudged the tray towards the boy with an encouraging smile. 

The boy hesitated, and Patton made a show of swallowing his mouthful of bread. That seemed to finally be enough for him, and he scooted closer, just close enough to grab at the tray. He snatched up the hunk of bread and dunked it in the soup broth before tearing off an enormous bite. He barely took time to chew before swallowing and taking another massive mouthful, and Patton fought the urge to giggle. 

“Easy, kiddo,” he said instead. “You don’t wanna choke and hurt yourself. There’s more where that came from if you want it.” 

That made the boy pause, and he regarded Patton with a curious look. He swallowed slowly, then, in a voice so low and raspy that Patton almost didn’t hear, asked “Really?” 

Patton forced his face to remain calm, even though his insides were leaping with excitement. He’d talked! He’d actually talked! Other than his panicked screams and aggressive hissing when he’d first been brought in, he hadn’t made a sound the entire time he’d been here, and now he’d spoken! Only one word, but still, it was progress, and Patton was going to take it. 

“Of course,” he said, keeping his voice even. “There’s definitely enough for seconds if you want. I’d have to take a trip down to the kitchens to get some, but I’d be happy to do so!”

There was a beat of silence, and then, 

“Why?” 

Oh, that simple word spoke volumes, and Patton couldn’t decide whether he should pull the kiddo close and promise him that he’d never be hurt again or go out and hunt down anyone and everyone who was responsible for making the notion of kindness such a strange and foreign one to him. 

“Because you need to get your strength up, kiddo,” he said, pushing both urges away for now. “You’ve been through a lot.” 

“And what...” the boy’s voice shook, and he paused, swallowing before continuing. “What happens...after I get my strength up?” 

Patton smiled sadly. 

“Absolutely nothing. We’re not here to hurt you.”

The boy looked skeptical, and Patton sighed. 

“I don’t blame you for not trusting me,” he said quietly. “I’d be cautious too, if I were in your shoes. I just...hope that you’ll give me a chance to prove that I really do want to help you. Will you let me do that?”

The boy regarded him silently, and eventually nodded. Patton smiled brightly at him, then took a deep breath. Time to test the waters. 

“My name is Patton, by the way,” he said, and the boy's eyes widened just a bit. “Do you have something I can call you, besides just kiddo?” 

The boy looked away, and Patton held his breath, hoping that he hadn’t moved too quickly. If he spooked now, it could take ages to coax him into opening a dialogue with them, and- 

“Virgil.” 

Patton nearly squeaked in surprise. 

“My name is Virgil,” Virgil said again, and Patton’s face bloomed into a smile. Virgil watched him for a moment, then offered a tiny, hesitant smile back. 

It was official. Patton was putting all his other cases on hold until he was sure that Virgil would never be afraid to smile again. The path towards his recovery certainly wouldn’t be easy, but if Virgil was willing to try, then Patton would give it his absolute everything. 

“Well, Virgil,” he said, his smile growing wider. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

---

Part Two: Gaining Trust

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Sanders Sides Taglist (pt.1): @lizethemotherlycat,  @coffeestudylive, @logically-asexual,  @migraine-marathon, @princeyssash,  @idontevenfreakingknow22, @tree4life25, @spacevirgil, @virgiltheanxious, @thebaagelboy,  @msu82, @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2, , @thesleepyraziel, @bobolovesoze,  @littlemiracle05, @pattson,  @nerd-in-space, @thesides,  @stay-in--place, @ravenclawunicorn1, @at-least-seven-pretty-potatoes, @michealawithana, @anotherfandomtrasher , @fandomsofrandom,  @a-deliciouslyfadingcollection, @nightmarejasmine, @xxfoxit, @quoth-the-sparrow, @katatles-the-fish, @misty-the-mysterious, @alyssadashrub, @punkassplonker, @noctisvalex, @i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom, @funsizedgremlin, @vigilantvirgill, @nonamefightergirl, @thomasbemyfriend, @starsinger , @milomeepit, @justabookworm39, @shortandfantastic, @thesilentbluesparrow, @royallyanxious, @mirror2thespirit, @coffee-stains-paper-and-ink, @silverrhayn, @mooksie01, @backatthebein, @nye275, @anastasialestina, @callboxkat, @a-lexicon-of-words, @emeraldfoxface,   @peachie-keeen, @llamaly, @witch19,  @heythereprincey, @bring-it-on-perra, @nienna14, @bubblycricket,

remus never thought he would love soft things. he’s always been the hard, sharp, fast one, tongue sharp like razor wire and slicing apart anything that gets in his way or threatens his brother or friends. now, curled up on the loveseat of his very first apartment with patton on his left throwing his socked feet into remus’s lap and virgil on his right sound asleep on his shoulder, drooling on his shirt and soft hair tickling his nose, remus can see the merits of softness. 

@stormcrawler75 said:

Why wouldn’t they take him seriously?

Anonymous said:

So in WIBAR do the aliens know that humans are an advanced species nearing space travel to other galaxies or do they just look at us and nope out of there, cause I'm curious to the others reaction to hearing how community based human society is. (Love your writing)

so, the thing about earth is that a majority of species would NOT even consider landing on it. deathworlders are rare, and thats because most deathworlds dont have sapient life, just flora and fauna in a super dangerous food chain.

the few that have gone down to earth and brought back a human and survived were well before modern times, so humans got their reputation as vicious merciless survivors and most everyone went “okay, not even gonna touch that” and left it alone (excluding, of course, smugglers and daredevils that could get past the guard). 

then the moon landing happened, and suddenly everyone was a little more nervous. there’s rumors going around that the council is considering containing the planet before any further space travel can be achieved, though of course nothing concrete. there haven’t been any in depth explorations or research, since keeping the humans in the dark about space is highly valued. 

“Well, here I am just sitting in my room, having a peaceful sleep, when suddenly I get the alert that the summoning rune is activated, and I’m dragged forcefully-” 

“Your cup of tea would suggest that you were already awake,” Logan noted, and Remy winked before downing a gulp of his drink. 

Hi Storm! :D

“Virgil? Virgil have you seen my–” 

Patton froze, suppressing a squeal at the sight of Virgil curled up on the stomach of a teddy bear on the couch. 

Patton backed out of the room slowly with a grin on his face; his question could wait until after his brother’s nap. 

Months later, I still feel really conflicted about it. I’m over the moon that Kaldur is officially m-spec.

And I appreciate that Wyynde cares deeply about Kaldur’s well being. He’s one of the only characters to prioritize Kaldur’s emotions and to acknowledge Kaldur deserves more. The episode they had together really was good and I love that we have them being flirty and supportive.

Plus THIS gif, is my WORLD

But Wyynde’s backstory........is horrendous. There’s no other way to put it. Like it’s just layers of one bad thing after another, all of which could’ve been avoided if Greg had just...not gone on twitter.

Even without Wyynde’s backstory, I still have the issue that it would be thematically better if Kaldur’s bf were Garth or La’gaan, but take that complaint with a grain of salt, since I understand there’s no way DC would’ve let either Tempest or Lagoon Boy be not straight.