Tomorrow | Sanders Sides

Chapter 16 - LAST CHAPTER

Love, Patton had learned, could be a poison.

Loving the wrong person could destroy everything, could tear you apart and break you down, and crush you into dust. Loving the wrong person lead to distrust and lies and sabotage. Loving the wrong person meant reckless self-sacrifice and a self-destructive tendency that ended in pain.

Loving the right person, though, well that had its own special kind of magic. Loving the right person brought healing, and happiness, and hugs tight enough to possibly crack a rib. (Virgil was like a cat - he dug his claws in and then you were stuck with him, like it or not.)

Patton would change nothing.

"OHANA MEANS FAMILY!" Roman and Virgil yelled at the screen together with the TV, cracking up as Logan let out a deep sigh. The four of them were back in Roman's room, draped over each other and curled into the blankets so much that Patton thought it was rather impossible to tell where one of them started and someone else ended. 

Patton smiled a small smile and shifted slightly, Virgil subconsciously moving with him so that Patton never lost contact with him. Logan glanced over at him, a gentle question in his eyes. Patton shook his head. 'Leg's asleep,' he mouthed. Logan's lips quirked before he turned away. Patton scowled playfully. Traitor.

"I relate to Stitch," Roman declared loudly, falling back dramatically. The movie had evidently finished. Patton had missed most of it, if he was honest. 

Virgil shoved the fanciful side, grinning. "You're literally wearing a Stitch onesie. If I didn't know better, I would think you were infatuated."

Roman wrinkled his nose. "I don't relate to him like that."

All of them, Patton and Logan included, laughed.

They settled in for Brave, Virgil snuggling deeper into his bat onesie, and Patton inhaled deeply. He felt lighter, like his body was his own again. Dominik and Declan had gone, that he knew for sure, and he'd never felt better. He and Logan had sat down after Patton's tears had dried, and talked through everything. Logan had explained, Patton had cried again, and they'd been okay.

Logan had explained that Dominik had likely been the first to go - the sudden release of Patton's ignored negative emotions would have destroyed him immediately because Repression didn't need to be around if Patton was repressing anything anymore.

Declan had hung on. It hadn't been until Virgil had confessed quietly that it would take time for them all to heal and Patton had believed him. He wouldn't 'wake up tomorrow feeling a-okay'. It had been pretty quick after that.

And it had taken them time. There had been days where Patton hadn't come out of his room. There were still times where Virgil tensed up if Patton moved too sharply, said something too loudly, got too defensive. It would take them all time to drag themselves back to what they were and-and maybe they wouldn't completely fix what they'd broken.

After all, you couldn't remove all the marks from scrunched up paper. They would, however, slide right back into easy trust. Patton would say things without thinking, and he wouldn't automatically try and eliminate any possible negative repercussions. Virgil stopped carrying unrealistic expectations about Patton's attention. Roman stopped trying to hold them all together and just let them figure it out themselves. It wan't a bad thing, because it helped them grow on their own.

Logan, though, didn't change much. When Patton asked him why he didn't seem to be affected, he'd shrugged and said, "I always knew we could help you. Holding onto that certain knowledge eliminated any possible negative aspect of change. I simply think that we will continue to grow closer as a unit. Thomas will be better for it."

Patton knew that was the logical side's way of saying 'I believe in you'.

But there was someone else Patton hadn't managed to track down, and maybe Patton needed to dig his heels in and insist they talk. After all, Deceit had been a centre piece of the whole debacle.

With a murmured explanation in Virgil's ear and a nod from Logan, Patton slipped out of the group pile and walked out the door. He'd felt a pull in his stomach moments earlier - a warning that someone was in his room.

He had a good feeling he knew who it was too.

"I think we finally had a talk," he said quietly, and Deceit didn't startle. 

The devious side was sitting on Patton's bed, staring at his hands with a strange look on his face. Patton felt his heart ache for the side, recognising the same lost look Virgil had held onto for too long before they'd really started to understand and accept in.

Deceit looked up at him slowly, looking nervous. "No lies," he said first, almost desperately. Patton nodded with pursed lips, subtly moving further and further into Deceit's space. It was a trick he'd perfected with Virgil. Sure enough, some of the tension bled from Deceit's shoulders. "How can you forgive me after what I've done?"

Patton considered the question fro a moment, and decided to answer with a story. "When Virgil first became a side, I was terrified," he said lightly, settling on the bed. He didn't reach for Deceit, not yet. "I couldn't combat the energies he was giving off. I went with it, because I liked to avoid conflict. He kept pushing Thomas, kept pushing us. I didn't understand him - why couldn't he see what he was doing to our Host?"

Deceit flinched. "I-"

"It took me a long time to figure out that he was just as scared as I was." Patton kept his voice soft, because Deceit had tensed up again. Patton needed the other side to know that he understood, that he'd gone through this with Virgil, that Deceit didn't need to be scared of them. "He hid behind his name, and his purpose. We let him do that, and then we shunned him for it. I've not quite forgiven myself for that."

Deceit took a few shaky breaths. Patton let him be, let him collect his thoughts. "I want..." Deceit started slowly. "I think I want..."

Patton reached a hand across, because he knew what Deceit wanted and he knew how long it would take the side to say it.

"We'll be ready," he promised, and Deceit took his hand. "Whenever you decide you want to join us, we'll be waiting with open arms."

.

EEEEEEEEEEEEE IT'S OVER!!!!!!!

Not going to lie, these last few chapters have torn into my heart somehow. They've been kind of raw for me, and I don't know why. I literally started tearing up when writing the last  little bit of this chapter, and I just...I don't know, I've put a lot of myself into this story, into this series.

There is still another book to go, and it's a little tricky timeline wise. Bad Moon Rising is a book for the Dark Sides, but I've sort of focused on Deceit more than anyone else. Which means that it backtracks slightly. The events of this book (Tomorrow) don't happen until later in Bad Moon Rising, so try not to get confused there. The first chapter should be up fairly quickly.

Anyway, I love this book, I love this series, I love Thomas Sanders, and I love aaaaaalll of you guys. A million hugs from me. A millions thank you's as well. The support I got on this book has been amazing, and has really helped me keep writing. You guys have no idea.

Please leave your thoughts in the comments, I love reading them and interacting with you guys!!

Bekka