CW: emotional repression, another break down (side note, this chapter is exactly 1000 words long)
Patton rolled out what was probably going to be the hundredth cookie, setting it on the pan. He did his best to keep his focus completely on the cookies. Scooping some dough out with a spoon, rolling it into a ball, placing it down, repeat, cooking dough coating his hands.
Eventually, Logan had to come check on him, the smell of cookies somehow covering the giant house. He sighed softly and walked over, hugging Patton from behind, resting his chin on his husband's shoulder.
"You should sit down and take a break," he suggested.
Patton shook his head, a smile stretched on his face. "Nope! I'm fine, I want to keep baking."
"Dearheart, your feet must be killing you, you've been at it for a while."
"It hasn't been that long, I swear I'm fine." Patton went to scoop out some more cookie dough.
Logan frowned and grabbed his wrists, pulling them away from the mixing bowl. "Patton, what's wrong."
"Nothing is wrong, I'm fine. I swear I'm fine," Patton's voice cracked and Logan could see him blinking rapidly.
He turned him around to see his eyes were red. "Patton..."
"God- it's nothing." Patton tried to wipe away the tears that started to pool and slip out with his wrist, trying to avoid getting cookie dough on himself. He still got a small smidge on the edge of his glasses, making him frown in annoyance. "I-I just..."
"You're stressed out, I understand, I am too. But you can't bake your emotions away," Logan cooed, moving his hands to Patton's shoulders.
"I'm not-" Patton cut himself off as a pressure formed in his chest and throat. Logan's eyes softened as he sighed.
"Let me help you finish this, but this is the last batch. I'm going to put the ingredients away too so you can't make anymore."
Patton nodded and tried to wipe some more tears that slipped, sniffling. Logan placed a kiss on his temple before grabbing the ingredients.
"Do you want to talk about it as you bake?" Logan asked, looking over as he put the flour and sugar away.
Patton just simply shook his head, his bottom lip trembling slightly. He felt like a giant child.
"It's not good to bottle up your emotions, dear. I know you hate crying, especially in front of others, but you should talk about it. You need some form of release."
Again, Patton shook his head, saying nothing still.
"Okay. Is it alright if I talk? I have some things I want to get off of my chest myself."
"M-mhm," Patton hummed with a nod.
"Thank you, love. I'm worried about Virgil, and that whoever tried to hurt him may try again. I know we're going to have to put in measures to make sure nothing like this ever happens again, but it's still worrying. Not only that, but he must have been terrified. I want whoever is responsible to be put in jail, but there seem to be no leads. And then there's the lack of memory that Virgil has that seems to suggest severe trauma, and I'm afraid the memories will come back to him in a nasty way."
"What if we're not good parents?" Patton asked, his voice wavering.
Logan hesitated, seeing how close Patton was to breaking down. "That's- that's not true. We couldn't have possibly known- nothing like this has happened before."
"What if it happens again? What if our home isn't safe for Virgil? We shouldn't- we shouldn't be his parents. He-he deserves better." Tears cascaded down Patton's face faster as he started to cry. "He-he should ha-have better parents."
Logan grabbed a paper towel, wetting it with sink water before grabbing Patton's hands and cleaning the cookie dough off. "I know how you feel, and I would be more inclined to agree if it weren't for the fact that he's turning 18 in less than a week. Even if we choose not to go through with the adoption, he will be out of the system and Delores won't be able to take care of him. I doubt that that's enough time for her to find him a new home."
"I just don't want him to be hu-hurt again, I want him t-to be safe."
"We will do everything we can to keep him safe." Logan set the paper towels to the side, taking Patton's now clean hands and running his thumb across his knuckles.
"B-but what if it's not enough! What if he still gets hurt? What if we're not good enough?" Patton squeezed Logan's hands.
Logan sighed, "We'll have to be. We can talk to Virgil about this if it will help ease your mind, but I guarantee that he'll most likely want to stay with us." Patton tried to stop his tears, and Logan wanted to calm down his husband more, so he decided to change the subject. "Why don't I finish these cookies, and you can go play with Buttercup? I have a feeling she isn't happy about being locked in our room. Or maybe you can take her to Virgil?"
Patton nodded with a sniffle. "I'm s-sure they'll want to see each other. B-but..."
"You want to calm down some more first?"
"Y-yeah..." Patton tried to give Logan a smile. They always seemed to know what the other was thinking.
"Okay, then we can finish the cookies together. That would probably be best so you're not alone."
"You worry too m-much."
Logan put a hand on Patton's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "I will always worry about you. Now let's finish this up so Virgil has some cookies."
"He should get s-some real food soon."
"We can worry about that at lunch, we should spoil him with a bit of sugar. Not too much though, we don't want him to get a stomach ache and eating healthy will help with his recovery. However, keeping him happy will also help."
"Cookies and Buttercup," Patton said. "I-I'm sure he'll enjoy that."
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Misinformation Can Be Deadly
Fanfiction*completed* Despite being only 17, Virgil's had a horrible life, living in an orphanage and being an outcast at school, and it just got even worse when he's kidnapped by a freaking cult! He thought he was dead for sure when they started sacrificing...
