A Series of Sanders

Logicality- Wardrobe

Virgil, Roman, Logan and Thomas stared at Patton in a mixture of disbelief, shock, awe and confusion.

They all knew Patton to rarely give a second thought about his wardrobe choices, from cat-sweaters to pyjamas, it didn't bother him how he looked on camera, or in front of his friends. But this was a whole new level of carefree.

Logan regarded his boyfriend with mild concern. He had no problem with Patton's outfit, of course. In fact, Logan could honestly not help but think that Patton looked adorable. But he was worried about what the others would think, specifically Thomas. They were filming a video after all, and there was something to be said about maintaining a certain level of professionalism in Thomas's otherwise laid-back job.

Logan knew Patton- he might pretend not to care about the other's opinions, laughing them off breezily, but Logan was very aware of how deep their scepticism could cut. Logan had made the mistake of pushing Patton too far once, and he was reminded of it- and regretted it- every single time Patton was upset, no matter how often Patton assured him that it 'really is okay', and that it was 'an honest mistake'. Logan didn't want the others to tear Patton down because of his decision, and especially didn't want to see his boyfriend hurt. Even if Patton tried to hide it.

Logan watched uneasily as Virgil and Roman shared a look of amused perplexion, the beginnings of laughter growing behind each of their eyes. He avoided eye contact with Thomas, who had thrown a look of astonishment in his direction. Logan knew they weren't trying to be mean, they were only showing what was (probably) the most common reaction to attire such as Patton's, but he still felt himself growing prematurely defensive on his boyfriend's behalf.

"Is anyone going to point out how weird this is, or do I need to?" Virgil asked eventually, looking around the circle with a quirked eyebrow. Everyone turned to Patton, who was wearing a shy smile that was slowly wavering on his face.

And a dress. A knee-length, light blue dress with white trim, to be precise.

Logan didn't find it entirely unbelievable, Patton was always trying new things out just 'for the heck of it'. As it turned out, Patton had been trying on a more... 'feminine' wardrobe... for fun when Thomas had begun filming and didn't see the hypothetical harm in wearing a dress to that day's video.

"You guys hearing that knocking?" Patton asked, his fingers rubbing at the hems of the dress in what Logan suspected was an unconscious action. "Because the silence in this room is uncomfortable enough that I might have to start cracking jokes! Knock, knock!"

"What... ah, what are you wearing, Patton?" Logan asked gently, trying to sound mildly curious as opposed to increasingly distressed.

"Yeah, what are you wearing?" Roman repeated with far less poise, earning a glare from Logan.

"Oh," Patton said quietly, looking down at himself, "It's, uh... well, I found it around and..." He played with the fabric for a second, before looking up at Logan through his eyelashes. "Is it not appropriate for a video?"

"Patton-" Logan said softly, but Virgil took over before he could finish.

"You know, maybe..." Virgil scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "That's something to wear in your free time? On your own?"

"Yeah, I mean-" Roman interjected, laughing loudly. "Come on-"

"Shut your mouth, Roman," Logan bit angrily from the other side of the room. "Please," He added quietly after a look of disapproval from Thomas.

"What?" Roman scoffed, teasing Patton light-heartedly, "He's wearing a dress-"

Anger flared up in Logan. Yes, he understood that Roman was saying all this in good-natured humour, but Logan was feeling incredibly protective. He also didn't feel like taking any of the princes metaphorical shit.

"And that's an issue, why?" Logan demanded.

"I, uh..." Roman stuttered, taken aback by Logan's intensity. "Well-"

"Exactly what I thought," Roman opened his mouth to object, but Logan cut him off, clapping between his words to establish dominance. "No, don't try to talk over me. You- Let me- This is my time. You don't get to come in here and talk about my boyfriend in that way. He is my boyfriend, and he is beautiful, and you're out there, doing whoever. You go and you have your little emo side-piece, because yeah, everyone knows about that, you fucking Mr Eyeshadow over here," Logan gestured at Virgil wildly, who looked terrified. "And now you just waltz in here and are like, 'Oh, ba-ba-ba-ba. Patton's wearing a dress.' Come in here and make fun of my boyfriend in that way? Bullshit." Logan earned another look of wild disapproval from Thomas, and quickly added, "Sorry, Thomas, I just- it's bullshit."

Everyone was silent. Roman was staring at Logan in what could only be described as horror, to Logan's immense satisfaction. Logan pointed an accusatory finger at Roman, making one last angry statement in his direction, "He is beautiful, and you will see him as such."

Roman looked at the ground, then mumbled in Patton's direction, "Sorry, Pat," Patton only nodded, staring at Logan with his mouth agape. A smile twitched upon Logan's lips, and Patton mirrored the action automatically.

"Okay, but there's still the issue of the dress," Virgil said quietly, his hood pulled up to cover his red face. Logan's head swung towards him, and Virgil held his hands up quickly in surrender, not wanting to be verbally attacked like Roman. "I- I'm just saying," He said in alarm.

Logan looked away from Virgil and met Patton's eyes. An epiphany dawned on him. He smiled, silently mouthing 'One moment,' as he sank out.

When he popped up again, it was Logan's turn to be fixed with the stares of shock. Roman was blinking so quickly it looked like someone was flicking a lightswitch repeatedly, and Virgil seemed to have embodied a computer error screen. But it was Patton who Logan was looking at, for Patton's face grew with a brilliant smile, his hands trying, but failing, to hide it.

Logan looked down at the sensible navy and black plaid dress he now wore and smiled shyly back at Patton. He felt the pressure on his head where he had also thrown on a black headband, for good measure. He saw all the joy in Patton's eyes and suddenly felt his face grow red. He looked away, embarrassed, muttering, "It is rather comfortable,"

He felt a pressure on his hand and looked down to see Patton's arm stretched uncomfortably across the circle. He smiled as Patton squeezed his hand once, and squeezed back briefly in return. Logan looked at his boyfriend gratefully, even though all he had done was show up in a dress. He was just thankful to have someone as wonderful as Patton in his life. Patton, who could always laugh and smile, who cared for everyone so vigorously it was a wonder he had time to care for himself, who was always understanding- but never fake or saturated. Patton, who wore dresses and cat-sweaters and one-piece pyjama suits. Patton, who brightened Logan's day with a simple touch, smile, or gaze.

The two shared a moment of content silence, gazing into each other's eyes before Thomas interrupted.

"Wait, are we still doing a video?"

~