the flowers in my hand(the crown on your head)

thirteen

a/n : recently on alex's search history : how to write fluff without adding angst to it

Patton had first found it weird when Virgil came back into the palace almost shaking. It wasn't even that cold outside, so why...?

That when Patton saw the large grin on his face and his hands doing the 'flappy' motion they always did when Virgil was extremely happy. 

Oh.

He got up from the couch (he was, thankfully done with reports that day) and frowned when Virgil giggled behind his hand.

"Hey, kiddo! Is there any reason you look like you're going to take off?"

To Patton's surprise, who was expecting Virgil to scowl at him, he laughed, loud and joyful and Patton hadn't heard that sound in a while. 

"I, just-" Virgil hid hid face in his hands yet again, then emerged a few seconds after taking a deep breath. "I'm really-"

"Jittery? Happy?" Patton raised an eyebrow, with a grin, as he sat back on the couch, inviting Virgil next to him. He obliged, curling up next to his father, hugging a pillow tightly.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked, when Virgil had calmed down a bit. "I'm supposing it has something to do with that gardener you skip lessons to see?"

"I'm not doing it on purpose.." Virgil started, voice getting quieter with every word. 

Patton laughed. "I know, I know. I'm not blaming you." 

Virgil let out a relieved sigh, smiling a bit. Patton looked at him expectantly. "So? Are you going to tell me?"

"Okay, okay!" Virgil huffed, ending the last word with a hint of a giggle. He took in a deep breath, screwing his eyes shut. "I'm sorry, can you ask me? I can't-" he pressed a hand over his mouth, definitely grinning. 

Patton smiled. He was happy Virgil was feeling so lovestruck that he couldn't form proper sentences. It was a feeling that he knew people had to experience to realize how overwhelming it actually is.

"Alright... Did he compliment you?"

Virgil pressed his face into the pillow un elegantly, nodding. After a few seconds he lifted his head, the most helpless expression on his face.

"He told me my eyes were beautiful!" he gasped out, voice higher than usual. "He said-" Virgil gulped. "He said that the color was like the sky after a storm and-" he inhaled shakily and Patton couldn't help but grin. He remembered how it felt like to be utterly in love so vividly. 

"Alright, but he has complimented you before, right? I remember one time you told me mystery-boyfriend said your make up looked amazing."

Virgil opened his mouth in protest, then closed it, a bright blush on his cheeks : "He's not my boyfriend!" he muttered. 

The other grinned : "Not yet anyway. So, when are you going to ask him out?"

Patton was expecting Virgil to stutter at the mere idea of that, but instead a bright blush settled on his cheeks, going up to the tips of his ears. He smiled shyly. 

"Well, about that..."

Patton gasped, suddenly understanding why Virgil was acting so jittery : "He asked you out on a date?"

Virgil shushed him in the middle of a laugh. "Well, not exactly. He.. You know there are assemblies in town, right? Every weekend. And we were talking about them and-" he exhaled shakily "and I told him I'd never been to one before and he seemed so shocked and offended." Virgil giggled at the memory. "So h asked me if I wanted to come to the next one."

Patton couldn't help but smile : "I hope you didn't say no."

Virgil's eyes widened at the mere suggestion of it : "Of course not! Who in their right mind would say no to Roman?"

Patton short circuited for a few seconds. Roman? Roman? Roman, being Logan's kid? There wasn't another gardener named Roman, right? It was a pretty rare name. He looked at Virgil, who seemed like he hadn't even realized he had let the name slip as though he hadn't been refusing to tell Patton for over four months. He decided not to mention it, afraid it might stop these evenings that had become weekly.

"I obviously said I would try to make it and he smiled. That sort of smile that makes me-" Virgil stopped talking for a few seconds, then began once again. "Then he pulled us into this weird half dance and it was just, so.. And the look on his face!"

Virgil turned to look at Patton "He looked so happy!" He buried his forehead in Patton's shoulder, who just huffed, clearly amused. 

"I'm so screwed." Virgil's complaint came out muffled and Patton laughed, patting him on the back. 

"Watch your language!"

Virgil huffed, getting up and moving back into the hugging-pillow position.

"So, you're not mad?" he asked, and there definitely was a hint of fear in his voice. Patton shook his head. 

"No, of course no! Why would I be ? I used to do the same too, when I was even younger, so why would I even try to stop you."

Whatever reaction Patton was expecting, it wasn't what he got. Virgil frowned, a confused look on his face as he looked to the ground in concentration, like he was adding up pieces of a puzzle Patton wasn't even aware of. He looked back at Patton, blinking twice and whispering a quiet : "oh"

Patton frowned : "What happened?"

Virgil's eyes widened : "Nothing, nothing, why would something happen?" he laughed nervously, keeping his eyes trained on the floor.

Patton was worried now. The sudden change in disposition was peculiar and he didn't know what had caused it. He placed a hand to Virgil's shoulder, tilting his head ever so slightly.

Virgil sighed, looking back up at him. He bit the inside of his cheek, gathering his words. "The person, did you love them?"

Patton would've melted if he wasn't with Virgil right then. I still love him. More than anything.

"Yes, I loved him. More than I thought was possible." he finally said and something in Virgil's face fell.

"Why.. Why aren't you with him? I mean, I know people fall out of love, but-" he looked up at him. "- you don't look like you've ever stopped. Loving him, I mean."

Patton smiled, despite the heavy feeling in his chest and the newly found pressure behind his eyes. "Some things aren't meant to be, others are are stopped by everything around them."

Virgil gulped. "And you were in the second category, right?"

Patton nodded, the ache in his chest growing every passing second. "Yes, we were."

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, now, kiddo, It's not your fault. And it wasn't mine or his either." Patton took a deep breath. "It's just how the world is sometimes, you know? It's cruel and unforgiving, but I've learned to live with it."

Virgil was looking at him with such sadness and disbelief, Patton would've cried if he hadn't learned how to stop tears from falling from over 12 years ago.

"Now I feel bad." Patton half laughed. "You were so excited about your date-"

"Not a date"

"-and i ruined it with my sob story."

Virgil smiled. "You haven't ruined everything. I'm really glad you wanted to tell me that."

Patton couldn't help but give his son a shaky smile. "Of course, I trust you and I love you, Virge."

"I love you too, Dad"